Hey! Today is officially my last day in California. I wasted most of it playing Halo on X-Box, but finally have gotten to stop. Last night, Paula had a girl's night for her XA girls and we baked potatoes and made a chocolate cake for the occasion. I usually don't like cake, but man! this is good!!
So we all ate and then went swimming and sat around in the hot tub for a couple of hours, and then we watched Kate and Leopold. I didn't know how I'd like it, but it was wonderful! I really enjoyed the movie. So anyways, I may take a bike ride today and schtuff. Otherwise I will simply read and mebbe play more X-Box; Glen got a new game.
I am going to take a train back to Missouri; how crazy is that? I think it will purty sweet. I was wanting to visit my little sissy and see her house in Evansville, but...no go. Oh well. I am therefore planning on going to her place for Thanksgiving this year. I have a million friends who are getting married. My friend Jill just got engaged, and I think another one of my friends did, but I'm not sure yet. He he. I read Logan's blog today and it looks like she got to see Meg--that's so great!!! I can't wait to see you both!!! I really can't wait to see everybody. Hey! If you guys want me to try and email you a picture slideshow of my sister's wedding, let me know! I am not for sure how to do it but I will try. Also, please pray for my back~it's been outta whack for over a week now and I have to help my dad move out and move into an upstairs apartment from an upstairs apartment, and this has significant back-hurting potential. I lay awake at night waiting for it to stop aching until I fall asleep--not cool. Well, this is a boring day and therefore a boring blog. See ya'll in a couple of weeks!

Uh hey guys. I had a really non-productive day yesterday...I took a bike ride at least! I went to get a postcard stamp and drop off Tuck Everlasting (which turned out to be pretty good!). I saw all these crazy-nice posh houses on the way. Housing costs here are insane! Most are in the $250,000-$1,000,000 range. Yeah, still thinkin' about movin' to California folks? He he. I really enjoy reading people's blogs, and when they don't blog (okay, I am having a significant dizzy spell...) ugh............OK, better. I get sad when they don't cause I wanna know what's goin' on. I think I have become a blog junkie this summer. Being away from everyone is what has done it. So when I got back from my ride, I asked Glen if I could play some Halo on the X-Box, even though I don't usually enjoy playing it because I am completely disoriented and I don't like first-person-through-the-eyes games. Well...I started the Campaign game, and although it is the kind of first person game where it's YOU looking through the eyes of the guy, I went for it. In the beginning you are like this super Army soldier guy in a cryo-lab and they are waking you up and checking your vitals and stuff. So through that process they teach you how to use the controller....come to find out my whole problem with that stupid game has been that the "look up/look down" function has been INVERTED every time I've played. So when I press up--to look up in my mind--it would have me look down. So when things got tough, I would panic and not be able to look at or shoot anything. So I fixed that yesterday and ended up playing the game A LOT, shooting aliens. It was fun...kinda twisted isn't it? So my dreams last night were all Matrix-y, and I was in the Matrix and the weird thing was, this same scene happened every day, but we kept trying to perfect our strategy of getting this object in a duffel bag (I don't know what it was) out of the Matrix. OK, I have no idea what that was all about, but I liked especially the sniper bit in the game. I just like the idea of sneakin' around and bein' able to see the enemy but them not see you, and zooming in and out and getting them clean and quiet. It's soooo fun! I think that's why I like paintball so much, but then I always find out how out of shape I am and how I could never do what they do on the movies like Mission Impossible and Last of the Mohicans and Austin Powers...ok, obviously that last one was a joke. Hehe. I'm in a weird mood, can you tell? So today I am going to try to be productive. Not beginning the day very well though, huh? It's like I have this chronic need for communication with the Springfield world. Don't you just wanna be like,"uh, Nic, let go, okay." I think it's cause I am kinda bored. Not much to do. I'm so mad that these two places I applied at for a job called me when I have like, a week left. I got a call last night, and I had to tell him I'd only be here a little longer, and he said that if I wanted to work there next summer, I should call them back. Hey, that's cool. But I'm gonna try to get a real JOB when I graduate!!! Ha, who knows how long it will take for THAT to happen, huh? Anyways, I'm sure that during my internship next Spring I will be blogging significantly less even though I'm gone because, hey, I'll be busy, havin' fun, not stuck inside cause it's too freakin' hot to be hangin' out outside. Even hot here isn't bad at all compared to Spfd though, I'm just a wimp in the heat. I hate it. I feel like the sun is attacking me if I'm outside any time between 11am and 4:30 pm. Is that weird? If I don't have sunscreen on I'm like,"AAAHHHH!!! The sun is going to BOIL MY SKIN!! I'm melting, MELTING!!!" Yup, that's how I feel. Spfd will therefore be extremely unpleasant when I get back for the best month EVER!~August. Ick. Can't wait. It's gonna be sick. Will someone please take me to the lake or their pool, like, everyday? OK, at least 10 times though?

I'm also growing concerned about money...I'm gonna need a lot of it starting school, and I don't know where it's gonna come from. I need to put a down payment on an apt, pay credit card bills, buy books, pay for school, pay other bills, pay utilities, pay for XA leadership stuff and needed t-shirt, buy food for my apt, etc. And right now I have, uh, let's see...OH! yes... .65 in my checking account. .65 cents. Yeah. I haven't been like, spending away either, just payin' bills and buying some food. Oh well. I need to pray about it but I almost forget anymore cause I know God will provide. He always does. Even when I'm homeless (huh Wayne?) He does. It's kinda cool. Actually, it's the coolest. Ok I need to stop rambling and be productive like I said I was gonna do....Moo, get online tonight! I haven't seen ya there for a few days. Mel, write me back, you goon, I need to know if the date's ok or not. The rest of ya!!--have a productive day!!! OH yeah! one more thing...go to the Asylumscotland link I've got there on the side and check out the photos...there's this cool one of me in Skye on this hill lookin' off into the distance and it makes me happy...okay, see ya.

"It's like a test-tube baby, and Hagar's the test-tube!!"~Glen last night during our XA Bible study

BWWAaaaaah!!! I miss you guys. There are two crabs, one alive, and one who is acting like he is dead, in the bath tub. He he. I miss you guys!!! Lovely Springfieldians and those of you who inhabit Springfield during the school year...:( And those of you who inhabit other regions like, St. Louis and like, Buefort, and places like that. I can't wait to see you all and stuff. I have many plans for the new year, including doing a triathlon, a 5k, backpacking with some fools, camping with some other fools, and getting in shape in preparation for my internship, which, for the record, is ALMOST in the bag.

Welp, the other crab woke up and is hangin' out with his friend, and I get to eat him tonight. I feel kinda bad for it, cause we're gonna boil him alive. That's not pretty. Makes me understand why some vegans are vegans. But it will taste good! I feel like I just made a very Andy Phelps-like comment. He he. Oh well.