so i know i haven't been on here in awhile and it occurred to me today to check it out (since i'm contemplating making the move to tumblr) when i realized that it's been a year to the DAY since i've last posted on here. yeah, so i know this will say 11 march but it's 12.27am and still technically the 10th. how fucking weird is that.

the longer i live in shared housing the more i am coming to despise it. a week ago i had to forcefully implement a cleaning schedule because our kitchen had gotten so out of control i was starting to question my safety. to make matters worse i'm the youngest person on the floor (which i took to mean that the others should know better) and i'm the only one (besides lorraine) that actually seems to care/know how to clean properly. i don't want to be able to eat off of the floor, but i'd still like to see it. what sucks is that i know that i'm just going to have to wait until the job circulates around to me for me to know it's getting done properly. i mean, i had the job of 'appliances' this past weekend and as i was cleaning the oven chung came in and started using the just-cleaned microwave. normally i wouldn't care, i mean that's what it's there for, but he didn't cover his food and shit exploded all over the place WHILE I WAS STANDING THERE SCRUBBING THE STOVE. to add insult to injury: he just said, "okay, bye!" and walked out! i don't understand it. not only does this affect our security deposit, but i thought it was a general feeling that people didn't want tropical diseases from the food they made. what the fuck?! as bad as the kitchen is, thank GOD i don't have to share a bathroom! i can only imagine the horror of having to sort that shit out as well. *shudders*

that said, i really miss spending most of my time with guys. okay, so i know you're probably thinking, "um, guys are disgusting" but i'm not talking about the physical housing thing, i'm talking about the no drama thing. since my entire program consists of about 70 girls and 6 guys i've been spending a LOT of time with girls and let me just say: it is not pleasant. all of the catty shit that i thought i had escaped from last year just travelled with me across the ocean and manifested itself in all new people. ugh. maybe it's like katlyn and i were talking about; i think we should have been born guys. guys don't seem to have this tendency towards drama. or if they do they know how to sort it out right away and GET OVER IT. unlike chicks who have to dwell on every single fucking detail and talk about shit constantly (but never TO the person in question) and then wonder why nothing gets resolved. christ. if guys were a bit cleaner i think they would be the perfect housemates.

on a whim i signed up with this 'Host UK' thing to get a host family and haha i DID! apparently there's a family up in leeds that wants to kick it with me the weekend of january 18th. all i know about them right now is that they're vegetarians (and can do vegan!) which is sweet. only potential downside? they have 4 young children. wasn't told what exactly 'young' means. please don't let them be babies. for the love of god i hope 'young' means 'gradeschool'. let's hope, huh? oh well, learning experience. it's only for a weekend. besides, i've never been to leeds so that should be pretty interesting...right? haha!

guess what, still no loan. blah blah i should be more assertive but i just freaking can't storm into offices and pitch bitch fits and argue. as much as it embarasses me to say i'm much more likely to go in, start talking about how much i've been screwed over and start to cry. yeah...not exactly terrifying. well...maybe to some, but definitely not the people over at the welfare office. believe me, i've tried. *sigh*

okay, going to go prep myself for all of the shit tomorrow. must be strong!

we've officially begun project countdown: jenny's leaving for grad school. the date: september 22nd, 2007. it feels like only yesturday when i was writing in here about the first time i went over to england freaking the fuck out because i thought i had gone mental for wanting to study there for the year. aw, memories. enough so to tempt me to dress up in a cat suit and sing broadway musicals. well, ALMOST tempt me.

i'm still freaking out like i did last time, but not as much (thank god). found out today that my visa was approved (THANK GOD) and they should be fed ex-ing that bitch back to me any day now. lots of god praising going on. studying in a foreign country makes you extremely religious apparently. also heard back from one of my two loans that it has finally been sorted out, so that's another thing to cross off my list of potential seizure-inducing pre-departure problems.

i think it's just going to be 10x better showing up this time versus last time since i'm not going in blind or as blind anyway. granted i've never been to leicester before, so that'll be new, but i've got a pretty good idea what to expect. it's also going to help knowing that i know people already in the country. overall i'm hoping it to be a much smoother transition than that first month or so was up in manc.

i think i'll be more excited like the week or so before i leave. ESPECIALLY the few days leading up to it. this is going to be facilitated by the fact that my last day for work is in about a week and a half so i have 2 weeks of sweet freedom to enjoy before i leave to finalize everything and actually enjoy a sort of 'summer'. damn was getting a full-time summer job a good idea. yes there were times when it was hellishly painful, but that steady income has definitely come to save my ass multiple times in these past few months/weeks. it is also (more importantly i might add) aiding me in aquiring an entirely new wardrobe. i came to the unfortunate realization the other day that i probably shouldn't dress the same for grad school as i did for my undergrad years, so i'm working to slowly upgrade from my all black band t-shirt/crappy hoodies with jeans to clothes with, well, color. i know, i'm shocked as well. i think it'll just make the transition easier for when i'm going to have to start buying business-like clothes later in life instead of trying to go 0-60. this is me thinking ahead.

so since i've taken it upon myself to buy all of these new clothes, i have come to deeply appreciate and respect the glory which is online shopping. i get to take as long as i want to peruse the clothes, i don't have nosey sales people hounding me by following me around and asking me if i need any help, i get to figure out what size i am according to the store in the privacy of my own room, and i have access to any size i want which is especially good because the sites i've been to have said that my size (you know, not stick insect) isn't available in stores so i would have embarassed myself had i gone to a store. the only downsides i've found so far is the fact that i don't get to try the stuff out right then and there and i have to wait for it to get delivered to my house so if there is a sizing problem i have to ship it back and wait again. this aside, the pros seriously outweigh the cons. did i also mention that i get to take as much time as i want and aren't pressured to find something quickly?? because this is a major MAJOR plus. i can also surf at any time of day and don't have to deal with the other annoying assed shoppers in the store complaining about not finding a certain tube top in size 0. i think the bummer of not trying the stuff on in a store will be soon sorted out when i get these clothes and figure out their sizing. needless to say i'm extremely excited. yay to easy online shopping!

catch you guys on the flip side.