I’m not sure exactly what I mean by that. And this is no guarantee that this will happen. On one hand, I’m really good at getting off track and talking about random things, and on the other, I’m not very good at keeping promises to myself anyway.

But here is what I think I mean. I want to let you peek into my joys and triumphs, without getting too technical. I want to express my doubts, questions, and convictions that I feel as I pursue a career as a scientist of sorts. I want to tell you about the fun, the real fun, that I do with my science-y friends. Maybe I think I can help you take a look at one of the commonly-hated areas of science—try to help you develop some understanding as to why I continue to do chemistry. Perhaps that is my motive, after all.

And I also want to talk about my purposeful escapes from chemistry. So there, I guess I won’t talk about school and/or chemistry all the time. I do like other things. I have hobbies. (Granted, not all of my peers do, but I can assure you, most of us do. I swear!)

…So I guess my plans for this blog aren’t really any different than they were before.

Truthfully, the reason that I was motivated to blog again was because I was browsing scholarships online. One website told me about a blogging scholarship for students in post-secondary educational institutions, with a first prize of $10,000! Holy moles, right? Unfortunately, the maintainers of that website have not yet updated their page for 2010, and they don’t have a 2009 winner up, either. Bummer. However, it would be pretty cool if I could participate, since it involves doing something I like to do anyway.

So, here’s the first thing I’ll mention about being a chemistry student: it’s really expensive to attend college in America. My merit-based scholarship from my school only covers half the yearly tuition. I’m trying not to be up to my eyeballs in debt, hence why I’m embarking on a serious external scholarship search. I’m a pretty good student! I think I can earn something if I try!

In two weeks, I will have completed a critical response paper, a reading response paper, a problem set, a lab report, four final exams, three final projects, and a set of final essays. For once in my life, I am trying to manage my time wisely… or at least somewhat wisely. In that, I mean I am not leaving all of these items until 11 PM the night before they’re due.

In two weeks, I will complete my third semester as a university student. That means, if all goes according to the current plan, that four semesters remain for me before I finish my undergraduate career (in which I will have obtained a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, teaching certification for science education, and a minor degree in art history).

In two weeks, I will be home for the break between fall and spring semesters. I will be home for Christmas. I will be in the place and with the people that own my heart.

In two weeks, I will have time.

Two weeks.

In the meantime, I have a lot to do. But in the meantime, if you so please, you can vote for me in Colorful Vibe’s Favorite of the Month contest. Somebody was nice enough or thought enough of me and my website to nominate me, so if you would support me in this poll, that would be amazing!

And in the meantime, take care of yourselves! Be the best that you can be!

Three weeks until move-in. I printed out my early arrival pass yesterday, and I have everything I need except for my twenty-pound bag of rice. It’s so hard to believe that summer is already almost over. I thought three and a half months would be a long time, but I feel like I didn’t even do half of what I wanted to do this summer. Dan’s leaving in less than two weeks, and we really didn’t spend as much time together as we probably would have liked. How does time pass by so quickly? I remember when a year was forever, but as each one passes, they all go by faster. I’m going to be twenty soon. Sometimes I think I’m still sixteen. I wouldn’t mind being sixteen again. Life was simpler.

Wow. I just got an email from my CHE 347 professor about lab. Am I ready for three-hour lab periods again? Not really. As much as I like chemistry, I’m not so into the practical applications of it; I’d rather just learn about theory. I’m going to have some readings to do before classes even meet. There’s one thing that doesn’t excite me: homework. I am not looking forward to having homework again. Oh man. Hopefully, however, the fun outweighs all of the work. I know I had a great time last year with all my new friends, so I imagine the college life will only be more fun since I already have friends. Don’t get me wrong—I’m excited to see everyone again, but seeing the work and stress just makes lazing around like a summer bum so much more appealing.

Anyway, I’ve spent a good part of the past couple weeks working on this new theme. The design is newer (I was originally going for a chocolate brown and pink but didn’t like it), but what was consuming my time as the sidebar. I’ve been meaning to use a dynamic sidebar for ages since the in-page navigation on some of my pages is kind of annoying and impractical (particularly on some of my visitor articles), but I was too lazy to put in the work. I have lots of pages to cover! Now it’s done, so I’m on the prowl for any errors. Some of the pages need editing because their sidebars now contain navigational information, but I’ll get on that. Being redundant is not my first concern. If you see anything that seems funky, please let me know.

Anyway, I probably made that anecdote much longer than it needed to be. What I want to say is, I haven’t really done much so far. Have I taken steps toward productivity? I think so. I purchased two novels at Borders last week. Granted, I have already read them, but they are two of my top favorite books of all time. I figured if anything would get me to read again, rereading two of the greatest works of literature ever (in my mind) would certainly push me to do so. I am currently on chapter 8 of 10 of Slaughterhouse Five, and when I’m done, I’m definitely picking up my other Vonnegut novels and reading them. Now, if only I knew where Cat’s Cradle was!

And then I also made this new layout here. Hopefully it looks less like I pulled it out of my butt in comparison to the previous layout. I tried a little bit. Maybe now I will work on maintaining this site a little better! I feel so out of the loop with all the blogs I used to follow, so I better get back in the swing of things!

Anyway, my busy week is over, and my dashboard countdown is saying 6 days and 17 hours until Spring Break starts. This is incredible. Despite how quickly this semester has gone by, I am in desperate need of a break. I need to slow down for a bit, get some more rest, and enjoy myself with those I love most: Dan and my family. It seems like everyone is so much busier this semester, and with everyone stressed out all the time, I think we all need to chill out and relax for a week. I know I’m excited to relax at home. I have a lot of things planned already, mainly because we’re celebrating my birthday while I’m home, since it’s the week after break ends. Dan wants to do something special for me, but I’d really rather go out to dinner with everyone at once – him and my family. Surprisingly, my parents still haven’t tried the restaurant that Dan and I always go to, so I want them to come. With only a week of break, it’s hard to plan too much, but there is so much I want to do! I guess that’s what the summer is for. Only about… six weeks after break ends until this semester ends. Then I’ll be done with my first year of college! It’s crazy!

In other news, I am officially pledging for Alpha Chi Sigma (ΑΧΣ), the professional chemistry fraternity. It’s kind of a lot of work (well, not really, but there’s like… planning with others involved, and I am not much of a planner) in order to become a brother of the fraternity, but I’m having a lot of fun. I’ve met some really cool people, and I know that I’ll have a lot of fun in the future if I become part of the organization. Plus, my favorite professor is the faculty advisor for ΑΧΣ, which is awesome because he is so awesome. He’s like the nicest man ever, and he’s an awkward chemistry nerd, haha! What could be better than making connections with people with common interests and passions? I’m really excited about all the activities I have to do as a pledge, because I’m having a lot of fun. Have you joined an organization or started doing an activity that really changed your life or experience at school?

I would also like to thank everyone who responded to my survey about blogging. Your responses really helped me write my paper, and you shared some really great thoughts. Thank you for your enthusiastic participation! I really appreciate it.

Recent site updates include 1 new poem in the 2008-09 Writing section, a downloadable WordPress theme, and one article to the Miscellaneous Stuff section.