Everyone Else Is Doing It!

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:	Carrie Day Ferguson
Birthday:	April 11, 1986: a day in history
Birthplace:	The wonderful Alexander City, AL
Current Location:	The Ham
Eye Color:	Gorgeous Blue!
Hair Color:	Brown with lingering hints of summer highlights (No, this does not mean I have roots!)
Height:	5'3 or so
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Right
Your Heritage:	Ancestors came over on the Mayflower
The Shoes You Wore Today:	Brown Sauconys
Your Weakness:	Chocolate and boys that promise me the world
Your Fears:	Gaining weight, not making A's, being alone
Your Perfect Pizza:	Domino's Deluxe with Leighann at 4:00 in the morning!
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	I would like another 4.0 for my second semester, to be certified for group fitness, and to sing rap songs to Matt without him laughing.
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	yeah :), omg, how are you
Thoughts First Waking Up:	Oh god
Your Best Physical Feature:	The hair, maybe my tight little butt (yeah right)
Your Bedtime:	3:00 AM on nights before tests, 11:00 PM on regular nights, and 10:00 on nights before my 8:00 class.
Your Most Missed Memory:	Maybe I've missed out on a lot of memories that I could've made. Hmmm. Isn't that something to think about.
Pepsi or Coke:	Neither: I'm a Dr. Pepper and Red Mountain Dew girl
MacDonalds or Burger King:	Both, yum!
Single or Group Dates:	Important to have a balance of both
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Milo's and my grandmother's tea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	CHOCOLATE
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Mmm... coffee
Do you Smoke:	Yuck
Do you Swear:	Occasionally
Do you Sing:	Every second of the day.
Do you Shower Daily:	When I remember.
Have you Been in Love:	Definitely
Do you want to go to College:	Maybe one day.
Do you want to get Married:	Most definitely.
Do you belive in yourself:	Yes, until I have a bad day.
Do you get Motion Sickness:	No, I am not a wimp.
Do you think you are Attractive:	When I am surrounded by people who find me attractive.
Are you a Health Freak:	100% yes, and EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD BE TOO!
Do you get along with your Parents:	Beautifully now that I don't live with them.
Do you like Thunderstorms:	If I have someone to snuggle with
Do you play an Instrument:	Violin and Trumpet (But I don't know if you would call it playing!)
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	Maybe
In the past month have you Smoked:	Definitely not
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	Hmmm... define drugs
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	Every day! :)
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	No, and I need to too! Anyone want to go to the mall with me?
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	Eeuuww, oreos are nasty.
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	Most definitely
In the past month have you been on Stage:	Unfortunately no.
In the past month have you been Dumped:	No :)
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	No, but just give me two months :)
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	Hmmm... maybe the spotlight, but nothing tangible.
Ever been Drunk:	Maybe
Ever been called a Tease:	By many a man. Watch out. ;)
Ever been Beaten up:	No, but I've always wondered what it would be like.
Ever Shoplifted:	One time, I stole one peppermint patty from the containers in Wal-Mart that are open, and I was definitely old enough to know better.
How do you want to Die:	Suddenly and unexpectedly
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	A rock star!
What country would you most like to Visit:	Somewhere tropical. (A shirtless man fanning me and feeding me grapes is required)
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:	Green. I also like long eyelashes.
Favourite Hair Color:	Typically brown, but for the moment RED is incredibly sexy.
Short or Long Hair:	Not too short, not too long.
Height:	Taller than me.
Weight:	In shape, whatever weight that may be.
Best Clothing Style:	Whatever the guy feels most comfortable in.
Number of Drugs I have taken:	Define drugs.
Number of CDs I own:	Maybe about 15
Number of Piercings:	Only one in my ears, but I would have gotten a belly button ring a long time ago if I wasn't threatened with being disowned and cut off financially by the parents.
Number of Tattoos:	Unfortunately none.
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	Too many to count.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

HELP!

Let me tell you a story of a technologically ignorant young girl named Carrie:

Carrie sat at her computer today checking her email, her blog, and thefacebook (three rituals that take place daily), when she noticed that her good friend Zach sent her an instant message on MSN. It was a file that needed to be opened. Now, her friend Zach said not a word when sending this message, and he had never sent anything to be opened before. Then there was that one time that he sent her an email with something that needed to be opened, and the only reason that she didn't is because her computer caught the virus and wouldn't let her. There are also the countless lectures that she receives from her father about checking for problems, getting rid of spyware, and being careful about opening anything.

So, Carrie opened the file.

I HAVE A BIG STINKING VIRUS or something that messing up my computer right now, and I don't know what to do!!! I know that I have sent it to everyone on my msn list probably about three times today accidently. I have tried to perform searches for problems on this Spybot thing that my Dad showed me and on the Ad-aware thing that Denise told me about, AND THEY DON'T WORK!!! My computer keeps freezing up, and both of them will find the problems, but won't get rid of them.

I am so frustrated right now. I don't know ANYTHING about computers at all. I am here in Birmingham surrounded by people who also don't know anything about computers. I just want my computer to make me happy by working right for once. And maybe one of these days I will learn not to do stupid things to it.

Now, all I can do is ask for help.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! Anyone who knows anything about computers, help me fix this! I am asking from the bottom of my impatient and frustrated heart. Thank you.

P.S. I am sorry to everyone on my list who I sent the virus to.

And I Said Hey! What's Going On?

Yesterday's festivities included a lovely trip to Tuscaloosa to chill with my girl, Leighann. Prior to my departure, I mustered up enough self-discipline to force myself to hibernate in the library for almost five hours to work on my infamous twenty page paper. Having successfully completed a large portion of my original goals for the day, I exited the library and faced a quiet night of relaxing and watching Legally Blonde on TBS.

However, upon entering my desolate dorm room, the silence and loneliness crept over me. The boyfriend's new job requires many long weekend hours, therefore leaving me to my own devices quite often. So impulse kicked in and I called Leighann.

"HEY, what are you doing?" I ask.
"Nothing, just getting ready to go out."
"Ohmygosh, I am so bored and lonely!"
"Well, get in the car and get down here!"
*Carrie thinks about her twenty page paper, her boyfriend who is working and unaware of her plans to leave town, and the responsibity she has to both to be mature in her decisions.
"Okay! I'm so excited. I'll see you in an hour."

Well, I am not quite grown up yet, okay? So, I impulsively executed a last-minute trip to T-town. The night was filled with meeting new people, relaxing with my girls, and an incredibly fun cover band complete with 80's wigs that stuck straight up in the air. Fun times.

This entry is dedicated to Leighann. You help me to stress less and enjoy the little things more. We have SO much fun together! I love you!

Last Four! Three! Two! And One! Okay, March it Out Ladies. Nice Job!

It is official: I am scheduled to take the ACE group fitness certification test on April 15 in Tuscaloosa. I will not touch on what this will mean if I do not pass, seeing as I have spent an ungodly amount of money on the test and books with the clinging hope that I will be reimbursed somewhat shortly with a sixteen dollar an hour paycheck.

Let us, instead, focus on what this test will mean assuming that I do pass. I will be every aerobics' class worst nightmare. Yes, that is right. I have every intention of embodying every feature of the stereotypical aerobics teacher. I will bounce, I will smile, and I will yell numbers in a chipper and piercing voice. I will ask you if you are having a good time when you have that "I-just-got-up-from-a-nap-and-this-is-the-last-place-I-want-to-be-and-I-have-two-tests-to-study-for-and-a-research-paper-to-write-so-what-do-you-think-no-I-am-not-having-a-good-time" look on your face. Do not ever assume yourself to be safe from my overzealous exercise frenzy. If you look like you are only halfway participating, I will draw you in with maddeningly quick-like hyperactive intensity. I scoff to think that you should consider yourself safe when occupying the same proximity that I will when I become a truly certified aerobics teacher. This is only a warning.

Now, the only thing better than a two hour a week, sixteen dollar an hour job consisting of pure exercise is the job that I happen to currently be employed in. This dream job holds the title group exercise assistant and consists entirely of me attending one step class. With the exception of helping to lead for two days when my teacher became sick, this has probably been the easiest job on the face of the earth. I go to class, and then I get paid thirteen dollars and hour. Wow, somebody is getting fooled here, and it is not me.

Unfortunately, a new rule surfaced from the midst of a land called nowhere not too long ago stating that all group exercise assistants must be certified within a year. Ever heard the statement, "too good to be true?" Wouldn't life be lovely if we could all get paid for attending aerobics? Maybe it would help trim the obesity problem that America faces?

Nevertheless, I am truely excited. I was born to teach aerobics. So now I face an entire summer of perfecting my skills, watching videos, and practicing. The new rec center opens in the fall just in time for me to have my first class. They say that the classes can hold up to one hundred people.

But I show no fear. Bring it on.

To Stress or Not to Stress...

Recent events include trying to get registered to take the ACE group fitness certification in April, trying to plan a trip to San Antonio in May, trying desparately to save enough money to accomplish both of these, trying to find the time to begin a twenty page Western Civ paper that is due in less than three weeks, trying to think about what I want to do for my fabulous nineteenth birthday, and constantly trying to find the time to study for everyday tests and quizzes that continually occupy my everyday life.

I have a lot to do.

Sometimes, thinking about everything that I have to do encompasses a greater majority of my time than actually doing them. Often, I think about my stress level and wonder if it is worth the satisfaction I receive from being so gosh-darn perfect. So I have composed a list of positive and negative results from my obsessive compulsive tendencies to keep life in perfect order.

Positives:

• I adore the praise that I receive for my accomplishments. I am not sure that I would be
  motivated to accomplish much unless I was sure to be positively reinforced for it.
  
• My accomplishments alone are positives: scholarships, President's List, group fitness assitant
  ( future instructor), each and every single A that I have sweated for/cried for.
  
• Even the process of learning to live on my own, partially supporting myself, and learning to conserve ( conserve money, food, socializing, etc...) is a positive.
  

Negatives:

• Perhaps I have a tendency to drive people away with my perpetual need for a cheering
  section. The boyfriend explained, "You know that I am proud of you, honey. It is just that
  sometimes I feel inadequate next to you." This forces me to think about my past and the
  demands I placed on family, friends, and boyfriends to support me in all that I do.
  I think about the negative feelings that must have innately resulted in each of them from
  continually having to force the expected smile and expression of congrats.
  
• I also stress to the point of appearing whiny and unattractive. Many a time I have heard the expression, "Chill out." Not many people want to befriend someone who resides in a habitual state of anxiety and distress.
  
• I spoil good moods that could have contributed to good times. Oftentimes, I immediately
  inform the boyfriend of the problems of my latest endeavors before he has had a chance to breathe around me. Perhaps this puts a damper on his mood as well.
  

A message to those who wholeheartedly support me and do not concur with my list of negatives: I genuinely appreciate the encouragement. However, even though there are some that fall into this category, I believe there are many others that are thinking, "Yes, Carrie, you have hit it right on the nose." Maybe the first step to solving a problem is realizing that you have one. Maybe some people realize that they have a problem and never discover the means to solve it. Perhaps my ability to talk in circles like this is the cause of my stress problem to begin with.

Now I have confused myself, and I do believe that I am going to need some input before I can determine whether or not I possess a normal stress level. So weigh the good and the bad, and leave me some comments!

An Update

I saw Cowboy Mouth in concert at Workplay last Thursday. It was an excellent show. There was plenty of fun to be had that night. Workplay is a neat place to those who haven't had the opportunity of an experience. I would highly recommend it. I have been to see many a band there.

Late night concert going resulted in extreme sleepiness on Friday, but I pulled myself together and headed off to camp for Fun Fish Weekend. Let me tell you, it was not as fun as it sounds! We had to get up at 5:30 every day and spent two four-hour shifts out on the lake fishing. That's definitely a new experience for me. The first half of Saturday I got pretty good campers. I also got to hang out with and catch up with another counselor from last summer. I had the pleasure of fishing off of a pontoon. It was warm and nice. After lunch, I was paired with a male camper who hates females. So that was interesting. We had the extreme luck to score a real fishing boat this time. Then the sun disappeared, the wind began to howl, and the water churned white caps. But Fun Fish Weekend ONLY HAPPENS ONCE! So, we sucked it up and headed out. My camper, Doug, generally ignored me and rolled his eyes at any attempt I made to establish some sort of communication between us. He slipped up after two hours, however, when I mentioned that I did not like broccoli.

"Just because the former President Bush of the United States, the dad of the President Bush now, doesn't like broccoli doesn't mean you shouldn't."

Yeah, who knew you could get a girl-hating camper to talk about broccoli. After that, we a had a good time. Doug likes baseball and football, but not soccer or basketball. He doesn't have any females in his family.

"But, Doug, didn't you say you lived with your Mom and Dad?"
"Yeah."
"Your Mom's a female."
*Eyes roll* "You know what I mean."

The rest of the weekend was spent sniffling and coughing. I am a sick girl. Today I began to blow wads of blood. It looks like the doctor's office will be blessed with my presence tomorrow.

I left camp early this morning to get inducted into an honor's society. It was nice to be recognized for all of this hard work I am doing here. It felt like high school again. You know, when you get recognized for even coming to school. The parents + brother+ boyfriend were all in attendence. It was a nice little ceremony with a speaker and certificates and even candles. Maybe it would have been better if I had not slept through the speaker though. Hmmm....

Then the parents took me out to eat. Very nice nowadays to be taken out to eat. I really am in shock at how much I have managed to spend here. My savings are shrinking at a faster rate than I had ever planned.

I am feeling very optimistic and good right now. I have a good family who supports me. I had a nice weekend outdoors in fresh air. For once, I did not have to breathe car fumes and had no trouble carrying a conversation due to the lack of blaring horns/sirens. Though I am, without a doubt, sicker for it, I enjoyed my weekend outdoors. I got to see some old campers again that I remember from Dadeville camp. My favorite, Lera Bell, provided much needed entertainment for me for most of the weekend. I also got some well deserved recognition for my accomplishments. Now, I have had a lot of fun here during my first year of college. I would say that I have managed to squeeze in just about as much fun as any other freshman. And it most certainly is an accomplishment to keep those grades up while having that much fun, I must say. Anyone who can make A's after having to deal with all of the crazy adjustments I have, I applaud.

I am feeling nice and safe and carefree for the moment. It has been a good weekend.