Welcome to Miami

So big news, I'm going to MIAMI for 5th semester!!!!!!! (once I get through the hell that is shaping out to be 4th semester). Instead of dealing with the application process and selection nonsense for Michigan and the insecurity of not knowing if you'll even get in, Bela and I (convinced by our friend Jon) will be living together in a super nice townhouse/condo thing. Its called Ludlam Point, and its located in the Coral Gables area. You can check out what they rent out here. We will be staying in "The Beacon" model- 2 bed 2 bath, that will be fully furnished, water and electricity included, with a washer and dryer for $1000 each per month... which is pretty darn cheap unless you wanted to rent a room in somebodies house. They even allow dogs of any sizes! But I will most likely end up just adding to my fish collection because they are soooo much easier.

The next mini is in a week, so its once again crunch time. But the weekend after the mini is jam packed with events- the 4th semester banquet, Splash Bash, and more I'm sure. All I can say currently is that we are all feeling the pressure, and are having to dig deep down inside to muster the will to keep studying. It is BRUTAL! That being said, I am going to continue to study, or at least try to.

~Kristen

Happy Valentines Day- almost

So its been a busy few weeks since my birthday. I lay it out for you here quickly... First I had to Study Study Study, then I took a test, went to the Beach Bash after the test, studied some more, and then went to a surprise for my friend Kieran yesterday, and now its back to study study study. The parties were definitely a blast, but the test- not so much. I did not do as well as I would have hoped, BUT I did do better than I was doing last semester, which is good.

In island news, I'm not sure if you heard, but yesterday pretty much everything was covered in volcanic ash because a cap or dome of some sort on a volcano on a neighboring island collapsed and ash went everywhere. Here's the link they sent us- www.mvo.ms I didnt know this for a while and just kept wondering why everything was so damn dusty. Ha.

I still havent decided what to do for 5th semester yet. Lots of my friends are headed towards Miami, but like I said, I dont know if I want to throw my name in the ring for Michigan. All I do know, is that the countdown is at 68... I made a website for this semester too- COUNTDOWN

OH! I almost forgot the biggest scandal of the week!!!! On Tuesday morning, at approximately 5:15 AM my backpack was stolen from my apartment. How- you may ask??? I was staying at a beach cottage with Bela that night so I wasnt there, but basically the burglars took the screen off my back window and went fishing. Fishing because all of my windows are barred and the door was locked so they couldnt physically get into my apartment, but they did happen to have a 12 ft 2x1 with a nail in the end that they used to hook my backpack. Then they pulled it out of my apartment. Lucky for me my computer was NOT in there... but I sadly realized that the charger to my computer was, basically rendering my laptop useless in 1 hours time. SO I called security and the police (which by the way- the police here STILL havent called me back... I'm supposed to be waiting to hear back from them- I called TUESDAY!!!!!!! so Law Enforcement here is about as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop) and reported it. It turns out that a neighbor called security because she was woken up by the thieves fishing, and security had recovered most of my belongings from the backpack. I.E. the thieves stole my backpack, and instead of just taking it and running, they emptied it outside of my apartment (they didnt want my tampons and chapstick apparently.... but they also didnt want my COMPUTER CHARGER!!!) So happy day I got it back from security! :) But not before I had to fight them for it. They still have a bunch of my stuff but wont let me have it because maybe the Magistrate will want to take these guys to court and they will need it for evidence. I asked how long that would take, and the answer was "I dont know, it could be days, weeks, months, or years..." Ridiculous right. Then I asked if I could just drop the charges, because they dont have my backpack anyways, and his response "so then all of our efforts would have been in vein?" ARE YOU KIDDING!!! The security here is the biggest f*ing cluster f*** I have ever seen. All they do is sit on their arses all day watching students come and go and drive around. I think the robbery at my place was the first in almost a months time... So give me a break here! (sorry for the vent, but I'm fed up with it).

Anyways, here are some pictures from the past few weeks.

<3 ~Kristen