Darling readers, what do you think I've been up to in the last 9 days that I've been home?

If you guessed "redesigned the blog and then re-redesigned it for Christmas," you'd be right.  If you guessed "sleeping until noon, working on study abroad applications, cooking myself into insanity, and so much reading/Netflix viewing that my brain is leaking out my ears at this point," you would also be right.  Props to you.

I love Christmas.  Even though it usually means dodging balled-up wrapping paper that my brother has thrown at my head and consuming more calories than my waistline is willing to forgive me for.  Stand between me and the cookies, and you may lose a limb.

To all of my darling readers, though:

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Wonderful New Year!

On Things You Shouldn't Do in Public

Darling readers, if you're friends with me on Facebook or, god forbid, follow me on Twitter (in which case, I'm sorry), you know that I have a really low tolerance for people who can't seem to understand simple rules about what is and is not acceptable in public places.

Today, I was on the bus, which is a place that I find myself a few times a year as I travel back and forth between my home outside of Philly and my home-away-from-home in Richmond.  I could rant for days about the stupid things people do on the bus, but I think I'll cut it down to a few things that I really think should never happen on public transportation.

1. If there are children or old people on the bus, I don't want to hear you cursing somebody out or dropping the F-bomb every other word.  It's just not classy and, in addition, is offensive to old people and probably scarring to little kids.
2. Headphones have a purpose.  Their purpose is to allow you to hear your music/movie/video game without making everyone else have to hear it too.  Use them.  Also, if you are using them and I can still hear your music, you're using them wrong.  And probably causing serious aural damage while you're at it.  Good job.
3. There are things that I'm pretty sure you should just NEVER do in public.  Watching porn comes to mind.  Or, if you're the man behind me on the bus, consider that the bus is probably not the best place to conduct what only could have been a drug deal and a booty call.  Not smart, not classy.

I mean, I can't be the only person in the world who doesn't expect to be offended for an entire six hour bus ride.

Stay Classy, Public Transit,
Rachel Leigh

On The Art

Darling readers,

As my last post may have indicated, it's Exam Week.  Or, rather, it is currently the study period between last week's exams and the remaining two days of exams.  And I may have exams during both of those days.  As it were, I am currently dealing with my concern over those exams by...ignoring them completely.  I did some practice problems for my exam, but realistically, my mechanism for coping with stress often involves pretending it doesn't exist.

Thus, I have come to master, slightly, the art of procrastination.  I call it an art because in order to keep your mind off of the things you should be doing, it often helps to have a long list of things that you are doing which can easily keep you distracted.  Currently, I've found the following methods helpful:

1. Find an Addiction:  I've developed a tradition over the last three semesters -- go on Netflix, pick a show.  Begin watching.  As of about episode 4 of whatever series, you may find it hard to turn the computer off.  First semester -- Firefly.  Second semester -- That 70s Show.  This semester -- Burn Notice.
2. Study Breaks:  Nothing quite puts forth the image that you've been working hard quite like a run to Starbucks or a game of Mario Kart with a few friends to blow off steam.  No one needs to know that the steam you need to blow off was built up by getting angry at stupid videos on the internet (especially videos about people being Strong).
3. The Internet:  Obvious answer.  Cracked. CTL. FML. TFLN. Reddit. Twitter. YouTube.  Come on, this is amateur stuff.
4. Be Productive:  Seems kind of counter-intuitive, but the thing that most easily distracts me from working is being productive...on something else.  Clean your room, do some laundry or dishes, write for your blog, read a textbook...for another class.  As long as you're being productive somehow, it's a lot easier to ignore your lack of productivity in one specific area.

Master the art, young grasshopper, and you too can stay sane during exams.

Procrastinating With the Best of Them,
Rachel Leigh

I wish you a merry finals
I wish you a merry finals
I wish you a merry finals
And a full Netflix queue.

So, it's that time of semester again, and as you can tell, I have been incredibly productive.  I'd like to say that I haven't blogging because I've been studying, but let's be serious.  Burn Notice, the Wonder Years, Cupcake Wars, handmade Christmas cards, Horrible Bosses, laughing at Rick Perry, the first debate of the VA Senate race, The College Town Life, Facebook stalking the entirety of creation, library parties, and about a million other things have also been distracting me.

Did I mention that I made Homemade Christmas Cards?  Seriously, look at how freakishly adorable they are.

Don't worry, there was some paper-writing and study-guide making thrown in there too...and this weekend shall include lots of studying for my remaining two exams.

But I just wanted to update my darling readers, wish you a happy exam week (bahaha, I can't say that with a straight face), and spread a bit of holiday cheer.

Expect to find me on Sunday curled up in a ball, double-fisting my Triple-Shot Black & White Mocha in one hand and an energy drink in the other, convulsing, and crying about how I don't understand Economics.

It's the Most/Least Wonderful Time of the Year,
Rachel Leigh