Rambling :)

"Forget all the reasons why it won't work and believe the one reason why it will"

--unknown

I really should have paid more attention to this quote before I left for the weekend, because it totally applies--- against all expectations, the weekend actually ended up being SUPER fun. The girls were all random, not floofy sorority girls and really pretty nice (PLUS, since we didn't really know anyone, considering we were independently invited by our dates, we all sort of had to bond) and I forgot how many of the guys in the frat I actually knew. The first night was kind of crazy, but we showed up pretty late, so we didn't really do much. The next day (Saturday) we went sledding!!! It was pretty lame, aka 2 foot tall "hill" but I had fun, and got some adorable pictures!

Probably shouldn't have been so scared, considering the actual height, but I was going fast!

Silly boys :)

Then, that night was the semi-formal, with tons of dancing and shenanigans, which I LOVED. All in all, muuuuch better than expected and pretty much just a GREAT weekend. :)

I didn't take these pics (obvi) but I couldn't help myself.. we all look so fancy! ...too bad they aren't great quality...

The Girls :)

Pat, his 2 dates, and our newfound friend!

However, I am feeling like a rhinoceros stepped on my throat and took out my vocal chords and then a small child tackled me from behind knocking me unconscious. I realize that made absolutely no sense, but I DON'T CARE BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE CRAP. I'm not very good at being sick, lemme tell you. whine whine whine, complain complain. It's gotten to the point where I haven't danced in over a week, and since I have missed the last 2 IM soccer games because of work or whatever, I haven't worked out really at all, which just adds to the general feelings of yuckyness. Pretty much I sit around watching The Big Bang Theory (AWEEEESOME SHOW) and reading. Oh and, also coughing. That's a big activity in my life currently.

However, I keep stumbling upon these awesome life-changing quotes and tips for leading a better life. Some of them seem so obvious, and yet I still don't manage to do them. Like work out regularly, or eat well. It's like, duh, I waaant to do these things, but life gets in the way.... Except that exercising and eating ARE parts of life, and shouldn't those things have a little more priority? Wish I knew.

The quote above really stuck with me for some reason. I mean, it is essentially the same old "glass half full" thing, but it just makes so much sense. It's like, why dwell on all the things that could go wrong, when there is SOME reason why we're doing what we are? Those small things should be more important, they should motivate us (or, me) to do things I want to do! Right? Sorry, this is getting heavy, but being sick makes me feel like I'm just sitting around, wasting my life away, and I have to start trying to inspire myself, in order to feel less gross. [edit: OK, that paragraph made noooo sense, but I am too lazy to change it, so whatever. DEAL. -L]

That's enough for now, but hopefully I will get out of this funk and actually start following through with some stuff. Not sure what yet, but I'll make a post about it.

Also, would really like to do some sort of weekly themed post... like... Taco Tuesday, only about something that I would want to blog about (what, you mean you don't want to read an ENTIRE post per week about tacos? Party poopers...) It will probably end up being Fashion Fridays or something equally lame and predictable but we'll see. Regardless, I am going to start making this blog more of a collection of interesting things/ideas, photos, and cool quotes and findings, and less of my rants, complaints, and musings about random crap (although, yes, I realize "musings" is in the title. Sue me.)

Funsies!!

"Buying a Nikon doesn't make you a photographer. It makes you a Nikon owner. "

--Author Unknown

...Don't I know it!

Soooo nothing new to report, really. Life has been crazy busy! My AMIGOS retreat went super well on Saturday-- we did some of the community development activities and I think my volunteers are starting to get it!!

I think I have basically decided on the Panasonic camera, but yesterday I thought I had decided on the canon, so we'll see. I FOUND A STORE near my house where they actually sell both cameras (each for about $100 more than online) so I am going to stop by on Wednesday and compare the two in person.

Meanwhile, I have been taking lame pictures on my phone and computer, and wishing for a better camera. Hopefully, though, I will get a camera before this weekend.

Why? Because this weekend I am going to the mountains with a frat as someone's date for their Semi-formal!!! Sounds super lame, huh. Basically, 2 of my roommates are in a sorority, and their sorority has a "best friend" frat. This frat is going on a weekend trip to the snow for their semi-formal, and a couple of them still needed dates. Soooo me and my OTHER roommate are going, along with one of the sorority girl roommates and her boytoy, who is in this same frat.

Also, one of the guys we are going with is adorable, buuttttttt there are a loooott of reasons why nothing will probably happen that I'm not about to get into right now, sooo yeah.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, but also nervous!! Staying in cabins whith a whole ton of frat and sorority girls is not really my thing, you know? The boys would be one thing, but that many girls.... let's just say that I plan on being under the influence of SOMETHIN to make this bearable. Maybe I'm just awkward, hell, DEFINITELY I'm awkward, but does this not sound like a SOMEWHAT painful experience?? (if you say "no," then you probably shouldn't be reading this blog....)

Other than the potential awkwardness/cattiness/ bitchyness/ awkwardness that this weekend presents, I am actually looking forward to it. It will be nice to take a break from my busy life, have some good ol' fashioned fun, and be judged every minute, down to my PJs. No really though, I want to go. REALLY.

Hmmm other news? My 365proj is going well; at least, I haven't forgotten to update yet!! Roomie and I went to the local park and creeped on some kids, taking pictures for both of our blogs/ projects. Since I can only post one on 365, here they are!! (YES, I realize that I said I wouldn't post a gazillion pictures all the time, but I can't resist, since I got to use my roomie's camera instead of my shitty phone camera (JK-- I LOVE YOU PHONE!!) and they turned out pretty freakin cute, soooo.... suck it.)

Here we are (a lot of them are duplicate images, but edited differently.. feel free to tell me your favs!!):

feel like this whole going to random places and taking pictures together is going to become a regular occurrence.... :)

365 Project

I've started my 365Project!! Here it is: 365project/loni526

I can't decide what picture to put up today, I just took a few, and they are all terrible quality (iphone camera= bad photos) so I kind of over-edited them in an attempt to make them cooler. Also, a few of them were taken with the hipstamatic app, so that's why they're kind of.... hipster..

Here we go.

1. I don't really like the top half, and it didn't have the same effect that I wanted, but oh well. Won't be this one.

2. Much better than the first, and had the effect I wanted, but kind of boring. I like how it actually shows my day, though... ballet= first half, studying=second..

3. Ohhhh, hipstamatic.... Too grainy, but I like the B&W

4. Don't even ask. I was playing around with the orange, and I liked the contrast between the blue and orange. Didn't show as much as I would like in the final pic..

5. Haha, I actually like this one. Basically, I should have eaten some healthy food (like an orange) and studied that stupid book, but instead I finished a batch of brownie mix. Yum!

6. Soooo all I've actually done today is dance for a few hours, and now take pictures. The main reason I don't really like this one is because my STUPID HIP IS OPEN TOO FAR... I know that's a ballet thing and not a photography thing, but this will forever bother me... All I hear everyday in dance is "LONI! Hip down!! Hips belong to standing leg!!" ...also, the standing leg needs to be more effing turned out!

..Besides the ballet stuff, it's an okay picture. I like the line of the mirror...

7. I think the only reason I like this one is because it kind of looks like I'm wearing pointe shoes...

8. So, I kind of love this one, and it will probably be the one I post for today. I just love the idea of the foot under a spot light on a pedestal.. it's so true for my two sports.. ballet and soccer. I'm hopefully going to do another one similar of my foot in a cleat and shin-guards, and try to find a cool way to edit them together, kind of a juxtaposition of the reasons why my feet will forever have bloody blisters and hate me...

God, most of those were truly terrible pictures!! What can I say, it's hard to take pictures on an iphone, without a self-timer, zoom, tripod, flash, or ANYTHING for that matter.... Oh well. More important to take a pic a day and try my best.

I promise I won't post a gazillion pictures everyday for this damn 365 proj. Generally, I'll just post the one, and not even really talk about it. Probably. No promises, though :)

When life gets busy the busy get a life...

....aka how loni loves to procrastinate (by "getting a life").

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the

end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."

--Mary Anne Radmacher

I feel like I have a million things to say and no idea how to say all of them, or even if I should, since that would be one biiiiiiig post.... which is a result of the coffee and the ADD.

It's midterms season again and my week is looking like this:

MON: class from 10-12, studying from 2-7, meeting from 7-9, studying from 9-midnight, sleep.

TUES: review session from 8:30-9:30, class from 9:30-11, studying from 11-1, class from 1-3, in-class presentation from 3-4 (worth 30% of grade), study from 4-5, midterm from 5-6, study from 6-midnight, sleep.

WED: class from 10-12, study from 12-5, class from 5-8, study from 8-??, sleep.

THURS: midterm from 9:30-11, SLEEP from 11-3, work from 4-9, sleep.

FRI: work from 11-4, meeting from 4:30-7, Party from 10-2?, sleep.

SAT: AMIGOS workshop from 8-2:30.....FREE TIME! FINALLY!!! ....sleep.

Wow. Writing it all out like that definitely makes it seem worse and yet better than it actually is... that totally made sense, right? Just gotta have courage to get through it all... see what I did there? I totally referred back to my original quote... eh? Clever, huh? Thought so.

Nowwww on to the camera. I STILL CAN'T DECIDE! (transitions aren't my strong point. Again, ADD.)

Again, I'm trying to decide between the Canon Powershot s 95 and the Panasonic Lumix LX5. The canon is definitely more compact, which would be nice for traveling, and it is available in stores around here, so I could get some customer service/ help, as well as buy it on my student account... plus I like the manual control ring on the front, the look/compactness of the lens (it doesn't stick out quite as much), and I could buy it THIS WEEK!!! Here is the canon:

Then, there's the Panasonic Lumix LX5.... It has a better/ more durable lens (leica!!), supposed better image quality (it's been debated), a few more functions/ perks, but is definitely more bulky and I would probably have to buy it online... and in a few weeks, once I save up enough money. Overall, it's a more impressive and durable camera, and has a few higher numbers as far as ISO, HD video, etc. If I don't smash it to pieces trying to travel around with it, it will probably last longer too. Also, I had a not-so-good last experience with a canon powershot, but Im going to attribute that to the $90 price tag, and not the brand itself. Here is the beautiful Lumix, although to a different scale than the canon, so I guess the pics don't help THAT much...

[Note: I am not being paid nor have I been endorsed by either company to give a review on either camera, I am just interested in buying one of the two and am expressing my opinions here likewise.]

Basically, what it comes down to is, do I want to buy my camera now, learn how to use it before I leave for Panama, (and be able to take awesome pictures NOW), or do I want to suck it up and wait until I can afford the Panasonic??? On one hand, I have all these shallow (but legit) reasons for wanting the canon, and all these deeper (but not necessarily THAT important for what I will actually be using the camera for) reasons for wanting the panasonic. What a problem! I wish there was an easy answer, so I just keep stalling on buying either camera. I could always go buy the canon, shoot around with it for a couple of days, and if I'm not IN LOVE with it, return it (within like 10 days). But the problem with that is that I can't really do the same thing with the panasonic, so it's not like I'm even comparing it to anything other than my old (kodak) camera, which isn't exactly comparable. AND to top it off, I haven't been able to find any places in the area that sell both cameras so that I can compare both and hear from a salesperson who isn't just trying to get me to buy the one they actually sell. Online reviews have been helpful, but have only gotten me as far as I am now...

whine whine whine, complain complain.... :(

I should probably study now, but I have LITERALLY about 300 pages to read, if not even more, and it just seems ridiculous after all of the studying I've been doing the past couple of days. Not to mention being on campus today for over TEN HOURS (about 7 of which were spent in class). Fun!!

Good thing I have 8tracks to keep me occupied... ahem, I mean focused.