Today, I've been a veritable productivity machine. Well, maybe not according to the standards of some; after all, I didn't awaken until nearly noon. Throw in a leisurely brunch and shower, and I didn't really get going until about 1 pm. Here's how my "to-do" list really worked out for me:

Start stats paper -- absolutely nothing done

SIT app -- in English, that's "start application to study away program". I filled in all the easy to do stuff, most notable putting my name on every form. Progress is progress, right?

Social psych app -- this is a 3-5 page assignment for my (you guessed it) social psychology class, for which I managed to do about an hours worth of tedious research. The library here, I've discovered, is the perfect antidote to insomnia: it's decorated in subdued beige and blue tones, deafeningly quiet, and just a little bit warmer than it should be. Since I have a single, I rarely study there, but I needed to analyze the advertising in five different magazines, and I was not of mind to spend the money to actually buy the magazines. I could almost feel the glares in the back of my head: because part of the assignment entailed counting how many advertisements there were in each publication, I flipped rapidly through the pages, which, by library standards, made an incredible amount of noise.

READ CHAPTERS!!! -- I was two behind in social psych, now I'm all caught up and highlighted, to boot. Miraculously, this was done after dinner on a Saturday night, one of the absolute worst times to attempt to do homework.

program eval/planners -- boring paperwork that goes hand in hand with the life of a Resident Assistant- basically, planning future floor programs and evaluating a recent one.

Though not on my list, I also cleaned my room, washed my dishes, and, most impressively, balanced my sadly neglected checkbook, which I had hardly taken a second look at for three months. Once my finances were in order, I also wrote checks for and mailed a few bills, which is really quite astounding considering that I generally write checks for things, intending to mail them right away, and then let them sit on my desk for week. Not the best way to manage my money, I know, but better than some: I mentioned my checkbook-balancing marathon to some friends of mine, and one commented that in the four years since she's had a checking account she has never balanced it.

'Getting my life in order' seems to be a continuing theme for me this past week, as plans for this summer and next school year have started to fall into place. Macalester's study away committee approved my proposal, which makes actually being accepted to the program the only missing piece in my study away plans. I've heard that SIT accepts virtually every Macalester student who applies, with the logic that anyone who can get into Mac is a good enough student for their program, so I'm not terribly worried.

Friday brought unexpected news: I had submitted a letter of intent to Res Life for employment next year, with the expectation that I would be placed on a reserve list. Were that the case, I would be offered any open position when I returned from study away. As it turned out, they actually offered me a position for second semester!

Unfortunately, the offer threw a wrench in my plans. I've been trying to work out a house-sharing plan with Patrick, Victoria, J, Ginnie, and some other friends of ours, some of whom are studying away first semester and some second semester. I had intended the Res Life thing to be a kind of back up- should the off-campus housing thing fall through, I'd be able to come back to a room and a job. Since I've actually been offered a position, however, I have to make a decision by this coming Friday.

Really, I've already made the decision. Living off campus is the far better option for me right now- I'm sick of dorm life, living in a single 7' by 14' room is far more expensive than one-fifth of a shared house, and cooking for myself will be much healthier, cheaper, and most assuredly better tasting than dining hall food. I told Victoria, who has been wonderful enough to organize the house search, on Friday night that I am definitely 'in'.

As an added bonus, the lease on the house starts at the end of this school year, so I now have a place to live for the summer, as well. That's really a load off of my shoulders- I hadn't even begun to look at summer housing, and now it's been taken care of by a simple phone call. Aside from, well, getting through the rest of the semester, all that is left for me to do is find a summer job...

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