Who? What?

This site belongs to Drina, 20-something psychology nut who loves rats, painting, and Amnesty International.

Talk to me

E-mail me

Sonafidex

Some advice

Favorite Quote

"To announce there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
Teddy Roosevelt

A good book

Buy Gordon's book (for me)

So said God

Be merciful
Luke 6:36

Hint hint...

Christmas gift? Birthday present?
(April 14th, FYI)

Sonafide.com

Seriously annoying unsuspecting surfers since 2001

December 31, 2002

The year in review

New Year's is supposed to be both a time of anticipation for the new year and a time of reflection for the events of the last year. So, I've decided to play along, and write all that crap down. First, this last year:

I finished my first full year at BW, where I was plagued with constant doubts about my future. That part sucked. But I got straight A's for spring semester, and pocketed $250 for winning first place in the annual student art exhibit. Unfortunately, I left the show's opening 15 minutes before the results were announced, but I found out early the next day when I strolled past the gallery with my best friend Sarah.

The summer was a bust, but I started the new school year in a huge double dorm room, sharing it with my friend of eight years, Stephanie. We haven't killed each other yet --that's cause for a celebration.

I started attending a Methodist church for kicks, and met the most awesome Pastor, Valerie Stultz.

The rest of fall semester, though, was not that good to me. I lost two people I cared about, had more of those doubts about the future, and worked harder in school than I ever have in my life. My classes were rough, but I did well. I got an A on my 30 page research methods paper, and brought another grade up from a D to an A (my first test was bad, but I aced the next four). I ended up with a 3.6 (not too bad). That was my year.

For this coming year, I'd like to win the lotto, date Josh Hartnett, and become a size 6. I think after the last year I've had, I deserve that. But, as my luck would have it, those things probably won't happen. So I'll settle on graduating from college (Magna Cum Laude), getting accepted into grad school, and finding a job good enough to keep my parents from nagging me about my career. I don't doubt those things will happen. But there are other things I'm gunning for this year, too.

I'd like to start focusing more on things that matter, and stop worrying about things that don't. I've been doing that on and off this last year, but that new focus needs to be a consistent one.

People matter. My GPA really doesn't. Being an accepting, forgiving, and welcoming person matters. Racking up goodie points doesn't. Being faithful matters. Being religious doesn't. These are the things I need to focus on. People, acceptance, faith... Being the brat that I am, this won't be easy, but if I don't even bother, what's the point of living another year anyway? So those are my New Year's goals. I hope that on December 31st, 2003, I won't be blogging about how bad my year sucked, but about how I made someone else's life better.

But I'd still like to win the lotto. Happy New Year.

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December 30, 2002

Pig intestines? ACK......

Okay, I just found out that the Croatian kobasice that I've been eating since I was a kid is made of raw meat stuffed into pig intestines. Yah. I was unaware that it was raw (can't you get worms that way?) and the intestines part just disgusts me. Don't they make new tubular type things to stuff meat into these days? Why do Croatians have such weird food? As a kid, my parents fed me rabbit, sea snails, who knows what else. I doubt any of my friends could stand the idea of peeling pig intestines and eating raw meat dried out in an attack, or catching hard-shelled snails in shallow Sarasota waters and frying them for dinner. My family really is weird. I knew it all along.

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December 29, 2002

Family gatherings suck

My aunt, uncle, and cousin are over right now. I'm sitting in my sister's room on her computer trying to stay out of the living room. I love my family to death, but I hate the questions my aunt and uncle throw at me when they stop over. So, where's your boyfriend? I hate that. I don't have one at the moment, now stop asking me. They actually say so, ver iz yur boyfrienda? Croatian people, God bless them, always add an a to everything. Boyfrienda, chickena, basementa... everything ends in a. So, I'm hiding out, because I don't want to be asked about my non-existent boyfrienda.

What I should be doing is working out. I promised Sarah that I would visit her at the Y and work out for an hour, but I can't seem to get out of this chair. I'm stuck. It's not arthritis or anything like that. It's apathy. I'm not sure why, but I can't paint, can't work out, can't do much of anything right now. Is it the holiday blues? I don't think so... I'm not depressed or anything. But the only thing I feel like doing is piddling around online and watching movies with Sarah. I'll give it a few days before I give myself psychological counseling. The joys of being a psych major...

I really should go and do something.

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Raising spirits, one e-mail at a time

Thanks Steph, for this e-mail forward. I usually hate this things, but this one was worth opening :)

Things that make you feel good:

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favourite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Finding the sweater you want is on sale for half price.
12. Chocolate milkshakes. (or vanilla!) (or strawberry)
13. A long distance phone call.
14. A bubble bath.
15. Giggling.
16. A good conversation.
17. The beach
18. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
19. Laughing at yourself.
20. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
21. Running through sprinklers.
22. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
23. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
24. Laughing at an inside joke.
25. Friends.
26. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
27. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
28. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
29. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
30. Playing with a new puppy.
31. Having someone play with your hair.
32. Sweet dreams.
33. Hot chocolate.
34. Road trips with friends.
35. Swinging on swings.
36. Wrapping presents under the Christmas tree while eating cookies with milk.
37. Song lyrics printed inside your new CD so you can sing along without feeling stupid.
38. Going to a really good concert.
39. Making eye contact with a cute stranger
40. Winning a really competitive game.
41. Making chocolate chip cookies.
42. Having your friends send you home-made cookies.
43. Spending time with close friends.
44. Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends.
45. Holding hands with someone you care about.
46. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things never change
47. Riding the best roller coasters over and over.
48. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
49. Watching the sunrise.
50. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another

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December 25, 2002

I love Santa

Santa was very good to me this Christmas. Well, not Santa (he doesn't exist, sorry kids... MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) but my family and friends gave me many gifts. From my sister I got a pair of Target. Yes, I definitely got lots of good things this Christmas. But the absolute coolest part was having the familija around, being with my friends, and getting to sit back and enjoy the snowfall. With the cocoa I got as a present. Yiss. This is the life.

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December 24, 2002

Merry Christmas To all

Merry Christmas

To all, from Drina :)

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December 23, 2002

Is this what the "future" was supposed to be?

It is December 23rd. Sort of, anyway. I haven't gone to sleep yet, so I still consider the 23rd to be tomorrow, but whatever. It's the 23rd. The twenty-third of December, two-thousand and two. Almost 2003. Wow. Seriously though, 2003... when I was a llittle kid, I used to think the two-thousands were so far away. I always pictured the world entering into the Jetson's age by now, everyone flying around on airborn automobiles that replaced the old four-wheelers (I'm still waiting for my robo-maid too). The world was supposed to be so advanced by this time. Sure, there's the internet (which I am obviously addicted to), and the UN is threatening to evolve into the new world order that revelationists have warned us about, but where's all the other stuff? We were supposed to have made contact with aliens by now. We were supposed to have achieved world peace by now. I was supposed to have figured out my life's plans by now. But none of that looks like it will be happening anytime soon. No aliens, no peace, no plans.

Actually, with the plans thing, I think I'm starting to go backwards. As a kid, I knew what I wanted to be; I was going to go to college, become a marine biologist, follow sharks around the waters of Australia, earn lots of money, and find true happiness... wham, bam, thank you ma'am. I remember calling some guy from Case Western Reserve University and asking him all sorts of questions about marine biology (and this, before the age of ten). He spent a good 45 minutes with me on the phone, and I was a happy little girl. My goals were all set. But, to me, even though I had figured out my life's plans, all that stuff seemed so far away that I never thought I'd actually ever get there. Either time was going to stay still, or I was going to die or something, because 2003 was never really supposed to be here. And now that it is here, my plans aren't as clear as they were when I was nine.

Earning lots of money and finding true happiness are still on my agenda, but now that I'm faced with the task of achieving those goals, I don't know quite where to start. This stuff was a lot easier when I had pigtails. I never had to think about where to start becoming rich or finding true happiness --I just always figured it would happen. But now I feel like I've just walked into a tornado-tossed bedroom that my mom is making me clean. Where the hell do I begin? With the piles of clothes on the floor that multiply faster than loaves of bread at a Jesus luncheon? Maybe with the random junk stuffed underneath the bed? Where? Whenever I did have to clean my room, I always started with the closet --but what part of life qualifies as the closet? I hope it doesn't involve psychoanalysis.

I wonder if my friends are getting weird like me too.

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December 21, 2002

Nevermind.

Okay, so I lied. More shopping. Tomorrow I have to hit Target for two more picture frames, then a sketchpad for my best friend's little brother. He's a budding artist, so I want to get him something to encourage his artsiness. That, and a case of beer for my dad. I've been teasing him all week that I bought him beer for Christmas, so I'm going to get some. Then, finally, I'll be done. At least, I think I'll be done. My mom is considering buying a different present for my dad, because he might know our family got him a watch. He found my credit card bill that said WATCHES on it, and this comes just two weeks after he loses his darling watch. I know he knows. So we're debating what to do. Give him the damn thing, or buy him something different for Christmas and give him the watch for his birthday? I don't want to disappoint him (if he's expecting a watch), but I want it to be a surprise. ARRRGHH. I dunno. I'll decide tomorrow.

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December 20, 2002

NO MORE SHOPPING.

NO MORE SHOPPING.

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December 19, 2002

Shopping exhaustion

I am absolutely exhausted from shopping. Finding good gifts is hard, damn hard. I hate buying crap. I hate giving crap. I hate getting crap too. I don't want the gifts I give to be something my family and friends feel burdened to keep around, gathering dust. Nobody likes collecting junk like that, so I'm always trying to find something good, something meaningful, something that won't take up space and gather dust. So far, I've only found one gift that even remotely fits that criteria, and it's for my grandmother. I found a photo of her and my grandfather, standing with my mom, my two aunts, and my two uncles (the whole family). The photo was taken about 35 years ago, when they were all still living in Croatia. It's a beautiful black and white photo. I took it to Kodak Picture Maker and got it enlarged to an 8x10 (can I just say how much I love Kodak Picture Maker?). I matted and framed it (in a nice 11x14 oak frame). It's something meaningful, it's not crap, and it doesn't take up much space ('cept on a wall maybe). This is the kinda thing I wish I could find for everyone, but I can't. I've been sucked into looking through sales racks at the mall for everyone's gifts. I want to buy gifts, not stuff. Maybe next time I'll get it right.

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December 13, 2002

Feeling like a zombie

This is the day I've been fantasizing about for the last ten weeks: I'm done with finals, the evil semester is over, and now I'm going home for the holidays. Today I woke up at 1:30 in the afternoon, and tomorrow I'll sleep even later. Ha. I plan on spending this break painting, drawing, etc. just making lots of crappy artwork. I have to take my GRE's for grad school (and I have to apply to grad school, yeesh). I have to shop for presents. I have to annoy my sister. I have to prepare for next semester, which may be almost as evil as this one. But best of all I have to take it easy for a while, and make up for all the sleep I've missed. I'm ready for that.

Oh my God it's going to be 2003 in just a couple weeks.

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December 08, 2002

Procrastinating again

I have finals to study for, but I'm procrastinating right now. My brain is a little too fried to actually think at the moment, so I'm taking lame online quizes that will tell me things I already know about myself. Hmmmph.

flooble said that I am

Not Gay

(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Take the flooble Gay Quiz

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December 07, 2002

Three more days!

Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days! Three more days!

And finals are over. Yay.

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December 05, 2002

Croashia??

By the way, Croashia is the wrong way to spell Croatia. Every day I have some person who finds my website from a search on google for Croashia. A while back I posted a spoof letter from Prezident of Croashia Stipe Mesic riting to saj dat Croashen gaverment and piple ar veri sory to hir vat hapen in United States of Amerika, and now I get all these hits from folks who can't spell the names of foreign countries. Yeesh.

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December 03, 2002

The perils of having a roommate

Last night I dreamt that I was dying of hypothermia. My skin was turning blue and I was shivering to stay alive. When I woke up, I was wrapped tightly in my fuzzy blanket, and I was shivering to stay alive. Well, not really to stay alive, but I was shivering. My roomie, God bless her little soul, had turned off the heater because she was hot. Yah. She didn't turn it down a leeeeetle bit, she turned the damn thing off. The temperature in our room changes more often than my mood. Tonight I am going to prepare like I'm heading off to war in Siberia --warm pj's, hoodie, slipper socks, maybe even some of that thermal stuff. I will not die of hypothermia in my dreams this time.

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Done

I just handed in my methods paper, all 30 pages of it. Angels were singing.

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December 02, 2002

Waiting for the semester to end

Thanksgiving is over, and now I'm back at school. I really needed those five days off to catch up on work (and sleep). I'm now right smack dab in the middle of the end-of-semester frenzy that I've been dreading these last fifteen weeks. I have five exams (four of them finals, two of them cumulative), two papers to finish, and one APA lab to write up. I keep telling myself two more weeks, chick, two more weeks...but I don't think I can maintain my sanity for two more days. Exams suck. Papers suck. Labs suck. I'm ready to win the lottery and do nothing all day long but paint and eat bon-bons.

On a sad note, I finished the last day of work with my rats. They're already five months old (which is pretty ancient in rat time) and they soon will be euthanized. I think I'm actually going to miss those little guys, even though they scratched my hands up with their little claws and tried to escape every five minutes. But, as it is, I must let them go on to rat heaven (is there a rat heaven?) because that's where they belong. Rats.