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Just finished week 6 of the quarter. We're passed the half-way mark.

Tick-Tock.

I am waiting to hear back from my interview if I made it to the final 2. I feel as if I am on American Idol or something, waiting for a call-back. It's not as nerve-racking as I thought it was going to be. I was really focused on my midterm this week so it gave me something else to think about. I also just realized this is the first time that I don't really know what's ahead of me. I knew I was coming to DePaul December of my senior year. I've always had everything planned out: what classes I'm taking, what jobs I'm working, etc. When I look ahead in the calendar, all I see is a dark abyss of unknown. Maybe that will do me some good. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, I just have never experienced that feeling of not know what is next. It is kind of exciting. A little scary, but I'm not going to worry about it yet.

I also got an "almost alumni" fair e-mail the other day. Things are getting real now.

Posted via email from Becoming an Adult in the City

When is it time to grow up?

On the train I saw a woman a few years older than me with a care bare back pack. I rolled my eyes until I realized I was holding a Hello Kitty coffee mug.
I'll be the first to admit that I probably like Hello Kitty more than I should. As a little girl I wasn't full on obsessed. In fact, I rarely bought (or asked for) Hello Kitty accessories. People knew I liked it and gave me things. They still do and I don't have a problem with it.

But should I? Should I phase that part of my childhood out of my life? Should I grow up? Will people not take me seriously if I show up with a Hello Kitty notebook? I shouldn't have judged care bare backpack lady because someone probably had the same reaction to my coffee mug.

I'm 21 years old. Does that make me an adult? I sure as hell don't feel like one; mainly because I'm still in college. I go to class and see people with Disney Princess notebooks and pink glitter pens. Maybe it's a girl thing; maybe we're still clinging to our childhood

Posted via email from Becoming an Adult in the City

Live & Learn: Cooking Edition

Today I decided to try cooking with chicken thighs. Chicken is chicken right? I love chicken.

Well, I learned that I don't like thighs. There's just something different about them in their texture. They're also really fatty. I hate fat on my meat. It's a texture thing*.
BUT, I did learn why it's called 'dark meat': Because it turns dark when you cook it, whereas chicken breast turns more white when you cook it. I never knew the difference!

*"Texture thing" also applies to why I don't like cheese or crackers on my salad.

The Mindset List

You may have heard on the news/read in the paper about the “mindset list” for this year’s  incoming college freshmen. I decided to look up the list for the Class of 2013 & add comments in italics

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2013

   Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991. I was born in 1990

1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.
2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables. I know who the Green Giant is, even though I have always hated vegetables
4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book. You have when you went to Catholic Grade School
5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.
6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup. Really? I did not know this
7. Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.
9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.
10. Rap music has always been main stream.
11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.
13. The KGB has never officially existed.
14. Text has always been hyper.
15. They never saw the “Scud Stud” (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.)
16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
17. They have never had to “shake down” an oral thermometer.
18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.
20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.
21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.
22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods. If I remember anything from 6^th Grade English, it’s that you NEVER use periods w/ state abbreviations
23. The European Union has always existed.
24. McDonald's has always been serving Happy Meals in China.
25. Condoms have always been advertised on television. True, but I rarely see any
26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.
27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.
29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.
31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
32. The nation’s key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.
34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.
36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.
38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.
39. It's always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.
40. Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented.
41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.
42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.
43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.
44. There have always been flat screen televisions.
45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix. SO GOOD, but so hard to find!
46. Disney’s Fantasia has always been available on video, and It’s a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.
47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.
49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations. What are you talking about? I remember hearing Britney on the pop stations
52. They have never been Saved by the Bell I’ve seen a few re-runs
53. Someone has always been asking: “Was Iraq worth a war?”
54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.
55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.
57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.
58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood. I’ve never been to one though
59. For one reason or another, California’s future has always been in doubt.
60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.
61. “Womyn” and “waitperson” have always been in the dictionary.
62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.
63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.
65. Avon has always been “calling” in a catalog.
66. NATO has always been looking for a role.
67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.
68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.
69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.
70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.
72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
73. Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.
75. There has always been blue Jell-O. A personal favorite

 You can check out the Class of 2015 here:

Posted via email from Becoming an Adult in the City

Monumental Moment

Today I feel like I reached an important milestone in my life. I bought my first snow shovel. I've been telling everyone you would have thought I had a baby or something. I'm so proud of it. A shovel is an important thing to have though.

I returned from sunny Florida on Friday and was welcomed back with cold, wind, and snow on Sunday. Because I don't want to slip and fall on my steps to my apartment I ventured to Home Depot today and bought it. As i was walking I chuckled (I'm 20 years old, I don't chuckle) laughed because if we got this much snow back at home everyone would be freaking out and school would close. Here, no big deal. It's snow. Happens every year. When I was in Florida (Orlando to be exact), Christmas music was playing at various places and it just didn't seem right to be amidst palm trees in 60* weather and hear "Walking in a Winter Wonderland." I like seasons. Yes warmth is nice, but I don't hate the cold. I feel I would get bored with the weather if I lived in Florida or California. Change is good.

On a different note, I set up Google Analytics today for my sites. I feel all fancy now :-)

Posted via email from Carrie Emge