May 17, 2008: Big City Girl.
listening: Two 1/2 Men
craving: nothing!
feeling: exhausted!
Well, I am now officially a New York City resident... well, not really officially, but at least for the summer.
I'm exhausted after a day of walking around the city, enjoying the weather and the company. We went to Central
Park, the street fair, and
Best Buy to pick up a laptop for Kevin's
sister. He's going to visit her in London over memorial day weekend, so I decided to go back home that weekend
as well. It'll be nice to be home again - plus, my really good friend Drew will be in town so I'm excited
to hang out with him. All in all it's been an interesting few days. I unpacked and got settled - now its time
to see if I can get used to living in the city. It's so busy and crazy!
Well, this was just a little update before we go to dinner. We may be going with some of our friends to a
Romanian restaurant, or we might just cook. Exciting, I know. I'm off!
|
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
May 13, 2008: ITS OVER!
listening: my roommate snoring
craving: nothing!
feeling: I've seen it all.
It's over. My orgo final was tonight, and though I cried about it for about a half hour, yes, its over. While
it is technically NOT over since I am retaking first semester (and after that final I just took, most likely
second as well) orgo, they can't throw anything at me I haven't already seen. I hope that's enough to make
my grades good enough for vet school. That's all I care about: fulfilling my dream, not letting orgo get
in the way. This class has honestly been the sole definer of my dreams. What do I want? If I don't want it
bad enough, I wouldn't have put myself through this torture to get here. I have a friend whose dream is NOT
to become a profession involving a pre-vet career path, but she decided to go the prevet way anyway. I can't
imagine that. If it's your dream, you should follow it- no matter how dumb or low-paying it may be. I'm
lucky in that my dream job, if achieved, will give me a pretty cushy lifestyle. But if it weren't my dream,
I'd be out of here in a heartbeat. Life is too short. Don't live up to someone else's standards just to find
you are disappointed by your own.
Orgo has been a sort of self-discovery for me. This post may be a little too obviously filled with imbibed
celebratory cups... but I don't care. Orgo, for all technical purposes, is through. I made it - I may have
to take it again, but I still won in the long run. I stuck with it, all for that golden dream. One little
class with a few minor mental breakdowns isn't going to stop me. I'm better than
that.
Oh, by the way...
I'm SO EXCITED to live with Kevin this summer! I can't wait!!!!
|
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
May 10, 2008: I'm royally ... yeah.
listening: Sweet Emotion x Aerosmith
craving: nothing - I'm sick :(
feeling: procrastinate-y
This is just a little update to
1) Take a break from finals and
2) see if I can get this comments
script thing to work (thanks to a little heads up from
Julie). So,
here's a test. PS - Organic chemistry
sucks. And may actually be the end of me. I'm sick :(
|
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
May 8, 2008: Bite the bullet.
listening: It's Your Thing x Isley Brothers
craving: 
feeling: productive
Another beautiful day in Ithaca, NY. Well, not really - it's kind of foggy and a little chilly, but I'm in a
good mood so we'll just
say it's a beautiful day. I've been having trouble sleeping these past few
nights, I'm sure mostly due to the fact that in a week's time I'll be moving in with my boyfriend in NYC for the
summer and starting my awesome
job. I'm also anxious
about finals. I'm lucky, because mine are spread out, but I'm still worried- especially for the dreaded
organic chemistry. Gr. My schedule is as follows:
Saturday, 5/10: French Final
Monday, 5/12: Organic Chemistry Final
Thursday, 5/15: Animal Genetics Final
Three measly little finals and all this angst! Its enough to make someone go
crazy. My plan today is
to read and take notes on the last three chapters of orgo and then restudy all my old French tests. I'll
worry about Genetics once the time comes. It shouldn't be too bad...
On another note, today is
quesadilla day!! Our chef every Thursday for lunch makes wonderful quesadillas.
It's about the only thing he can do right. Those should be coming out in about 15 minutes, so I'm very
excited. It's all about the small things, right? Hah.
It's kind of crazy that in a week's time I'll be a junior in college. That means I'm one year closer to going
to vet school and one year closer to being in
the real world, which is pretty scary. I'm just going
to enjoy the here and now and hope it doesn't fly back too fast. As much of a hassle living in the
sorority this year has been, I'm going to miss it a little. Of
course I won't miss having a ridiculously messy room because my roommate can hardly get her life togther,
or miss sharing a bathroom so that hairspray residue is
everywhere, but I'll miss coming home to a
house full of girls you can just sit down and talk to or hang out with or study with. Next year I'm living
in a 6 bedroom apartment with 2 of my closest friends, Lisa and Tory, and a few other friends from the
sorority. I'm really excited about that, and especially at the prospect of having a single bedroom (finally).
It's always nice to have a little space that's all your own to come home to and not have to share it with
anyone else.
Well, I should start heading downstairs to stake out the quesadilla tray and get ready to start some studying.
Maybe this excited outlook will actually help me study for orgo!
|
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
May 5, 2008: Love and sunshine.
listening: Devil Wouldn't Recognize You x Madonna
craving: surprisingly, nothing yet again!
feeling: organized and sunshiney
Today has been a good day. Kevin left yesterday around 1 PM, I napped, and then got up around 5 to start my 5 page
essay that was due today by noon. I finished it by 11:30 (remind me again why I'm not an English major?) and
went to bed. It was productive but not crammed - hence me feeling organized. I woke up at 11 (which is
a big deal for me considering I didn't really have anything to do today), went to turn in my essay, went to
lunch -
quesadillas, yay! - and went to the library for a little to get started early on my
organic
chemistry aka
bane of my existence studying. After about one section of a chapter was done, I
decided it was WAY to nice outside to be crammed in a little library. So, here I am... I walked home, threw
on my swimsuit, and after this little entry is done I plan to go grill myself on the roof for at least an hour.
This really is the life!
Last night I had trouble sleeping for some reason - it probably had something to do with that 3 hour nap - so
I downloaded a menu planner. It's kind of funny... the one thing I'm really worried about in terms of living
with the boyfriend this summer is how I'm going to work and cook and not spend ridiculous amounts of money (considering
my internship isn't a paid one). I'm going to have to teach myself to be domestic in the span of about a week
or I may find myself eating McDonald's every night. Not so good. If anyone has any ideas about how to plan
meals without spending too much and taking too long to prepare them, please let me in on them.
Other than lie on the roof today, I need to start packing some boxes to put in storage this summer. I also need
to figure out what clothes are really essential for me to bring to the city, considering my boyfriend's place
is already housing one more occupant than it was really designed for. That should be interesting... well,
I don't need to eat as long as I have shoes, right?
This is a rambly sort of message. I don't really have much else to say... plus, the warm weather keeps calling
my name, so I'm going to go enjoy it to the fullest.
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
May 3, 2008: Lizards and parrots and bunnies, oh my!
listening: Here in Your Arms (Remix) x hellogoodbye
craving: ugh, nothing
feeling: hung over
My my, how much has changed in the past few weeks... today was
Slope Day
which is basically an excuse for the university to pseudo-cancel classes in favor of a day of drinking and
music. The drinking started at 10 AM (even earlier for some) and continued til about 4:30. It was crazy,
a lot of fun, but being hungover at midnight is definitely a new experience. Anyway, the much more important
thing on my mind is the internship I just received to work at
The
Center For Avian and Exotic Vets in New York City. I've been working my ass off to try and get this
internship, writing and rewriting my resume and traveling this week to go to an interview. In the end I
got the job, which is
amazing because exotic veterinary medicine is specifically what I want to do,
and there aren't many. There are even fewer exotic vets who hire students - so the fact that I have this
opportunity is really
really exciting. Lorelei, the manager of the hospital, said I would be able to
sit in and watch the more interesting surgeries as well as sit in on patient consultations to see how it all
works. I am SO excited. I'll be living with my boyfriend Kevin, which is a bit daunting. Its almost like
I'm a real person! I work Tuesday through Saturday 9-5, so I'll definitely be keeping busy. I will miss home,
though, especially my kitty Jazz. Hopefully I'll be able to go home for a long weekend at some point just to
see everyone and get a little home time.
I think that's about it. Tomorrow Kevin comes in for his formal tomorrow night, so it'll be nice to see him,
even if I did just visit him while I was going in for my interview. Now I have to worry about finals and packing
up all my stuff to get ready for summer, as well as write a 5 page essay by Monday and make up two quizzes
I missed by going to my interview. Whew, I have a busy week ahead of me - but somehow its all worth it after
getting this amazing internship. I'm so excited!
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
April 23, 2008: Organic?
listening: Are You Gonna Be My Girl x Jet
craving: 
feeling: educated
Today was a very interesting day. I went to an organic dairy farm with my
Animal Science 160: Agriculture and Production class
to learn about organic farming. We had previously gone to a normal non-organic dairy farm, and let me tell you - (not that
it was the worst place in the world) - it was pretty gross. I'm sorry if I offend any dairy farmers out there because I know
there are tons in my class, but it really wasn't all too nice. I thought, okay, this is just how dairy farms are.
That was until we went to
Twin Oaks Organic Dairy Farm in
Cortland, NY. This woman REALLY knew
her stuff about organic farming. Now many of the dairy children scoffed at her ideas, but really, if it is more
profitable
and more beneficial to the animal, why NOT transition? Just because its different? Yeah, the
status quo has really been working out for the US recently...
However politics is for a different day. All I'm saying is that, though some may argue its not necessary, I would
much rather buy milk from a farm I knew let the cows roam freely on pasture daily. Not to say
keeping them
locked in cages isn't an amazing form of management [
cough]... but I really sensed a difference in
how the cows on the farm looked and acted versus the non-organic farm we visited the previous week. They seemed
much less stressed and much less dejected. That also isn't to say that these cows are never chained up. They aren't
allowed on the pasture for a full day until the pasture itself has grown to sustain them, so it is necessary
to keep them inside and chained up for their safety. However, the difference is that they get DAILY exercise, whether
on a pasture or in a barnyard. Also, I'm not a big fan of pumping a cow full of sub-therapeutic levels
of antibiotics that
really aren't necessary.
The biggest seller for me was how the part-owner
Kathie really seemed to be knowledgeable both about dairy
management as well as animal welfare. Imagine that, someone in the production industry who actually cares
about animal welfare. The previous dairy farm owner (which was by no means a sub-standard dairy farm... it complies
to many regulations and is lauded as modern as well as a great practice) just didn't seem to have that same
amount of passion for what she did or care for the animal welfare. Whereas Kathie, when speaking of the cows,
seemed to be speaking of a living and breathing being, the other owner seemed to regard the cows as a way to
make money. Squeeze as much out of them as you can. Not exactly my favorite idea.
It's hard to sell this sort of thing, especially when prices are about to skyrocket because, apparently,
organic feed (which is required to be fed to the cows) is about to substantially increase in price. However,
I really do believe that extra few bucks is worth spending if you care at all for animal welfare. Also,
there have been many studies that laud the effects of organic milk and meat on human health, as well. Give it
a shot. I'm not saying non-organic is bad, by any means - just that, from my own personal experience, I'd
rather give more money to Kathie to keep those cows bright-eyed and alert than less money to the other owner
to ensure they stay penned up in their manure-filled stalls.
Sorry if this post was a little radical, but it just made me realize
why that little label
organic is
really worth the extra buck or two. As always, I'm open to questions, so if you want any more information
about this sort of thing I'll be happy to
help.
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
April 22, 2008: Spring brings new beginnings.
listening: Bleeding Love x Leona Lewis
craving: 
feeling: accomplished
Look at that, I'm back. It has been a LONG time since I've done anything remotely close to web design
OR blogging - I'll admit I have attempted a project or two but then realised I wouldn't have the time.
College takes a lot more time than you would think (or than they tell you in movies) and trying to keep
those grades up for vet school became more important to me (sadly) than web design or blogging.
I really have missed it though, and hope that maybe this summer will allow me to sit down, sort out my
life, make a few awesome layouts, get going again, and maybe have somewhere to blog every once in a while
in between microbiology midterms and organic chemistry finals. I really regret letting my old website
everlasting-echo.net (RIP) go down the drain without much of a goodbye, but there wasn't much to do.
Now I'm a little wiser and still feel the urge to blog, so there must be SOMETHING there. I know it'll be
hard to get back on my feet, especially in terms of finding someone who will actually READ this - but its
something that I used to love to do and miss! Now that the school year is winding down and we have a few
weeks off before finals start, I decided it would be a good time to branch out and try it. It was hard to get
away from the name everlasting-echo, since that was my e-identity for forever. I tried to think
of things that define me these days: wanting to be a vet, being in love, having really close female
friends for a long time, loving language, etc... and I thought, hm. Why not make it something
french? Since Freshman year I've been obsessed with learning it and it has been my steadily interesting
class which helps my brain rest after all of the science. Okay, and the fact that I'm usually in love
(with friends, boyfriends, etc) and the fact that usually I disregard things or generally act crazy
when I am. Crazy love! L'amour fou. And there it was. Hopefully there will be more than one
blog entry for this little attempt to reaquaint myself with the e-world. Until the next entry...
A bientot, xoxo,
Echo
