Goodbye... for 3 weeks.

I leave for Prague tomorrow morning. I'm hopefully meeting Caitlin and Liz at the airport, however I have been informed that if they aren't there I'm supposed to just go ahead on without them. That could be more of an adventure than I bargained for, but it would definitely give me something to blog about. So far the most challenging part of my trip seems to be the packing. I am somehow supposed to survive for three weeks out of a small rolling suitcase. Let me put this in perspective for you. When I pack for camp, which is six-weeks, I fill up my entire Jetta. The amount of stuff that my suitcase holds could pretty much fit in my dashboard console. Anyway, I just threw in a few items and decided I needed to just go with it and be more granola. So, everyone cross your fingers and wish me luck: Prague, Greece, and Italy HERE I COME!

Becoming Jane.

I have some sort of weird complex and everytime I go to see any sort of chick flick, I leave the theater with a sad sense of depression that my life isn't like these dramatic screen plays. Anyway, Jane Austen herself had quite a tale, or at least Hollywood gave her one. I'd take Mr. Lefroy any day. But reality check. Actually my life has had its own share of drama lately. Today I was informed that I am a "childish" girl that lets things slip from her mouth that shouldn't. So don't mind me. This is probably just another slip.

I'm a Lover Not a Fighter.

I'm very confused. I think me and my Bulgarian neighbor might be in a fight. It's not like a normal full on fight, and it may even be something I fabricated in my mind, however it seems real. I don't even know how it started, but now it has gotten to that awkward point where no one wants to admit that it is actually happening. I guess now we are in the stage where we just avoid each other all together.

Imperial Leather: Shower Gel & Shampoo for Men.

For some reason I just can't grasp this concept of shower gel & shampoo ALL-IN-ONE. Every morning I find myself staring at this "Imperial Leather: Shower gel & Shampoo" bottle that sits in our shower. First of all the name caught my attention. At first I thought it sounded like something you would rub on a horse saddle or something. Upon futher inspection I found that it seemed to be some sort of all purpose cleaner for boys who only want to deal with the hastle of one bottle.

"Feel fresh with this long lasting fragrance and minerals from volcanic lagoons, combines with a rich, creamy lather for an invigorating shower experience."

I mean if Imperial Leather can create this concoction, I wonder why I spend so much money buying separate shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. On the other hand, I enjoy toting my little shower caddy down each morning and neatly arranging my cute colored bottles on the shelf. I bet one day they will make a "Shampoo, shower gel, cologne, shaving gel" for men that just gets everything done in one quick wash. Maybe it will turn into a tablet that you just swallow when you step under the water. I don't know why I think about these things.

I need a designated decision maker.

I cannot make decisions. I cannot make plans for anything more than a week in advance. I have trouble committing to ANYTHING and everything that involves the future. I am in serious need of a life coach. I always wondered if they actually exist as I imagine them. I once saw this commercial where this guy would do something,like buy a soda out of a vending machine, and out of nowhere was this great applause. That is how I envision my life coach, my own personal cheerleader. They would enthusiastically congratulate me on my every move and encourage me when things get rough. I'm now adding decision making to their job descrption. Ok I'm blabbering on about this imaginary person, and I really just need to address the actual problem: THIS SUMMER. I have no idea what to do. I mean I have ideas, just I don't know which path I should go down. I have the obvious UVA obligation of a summer internship, which I currently don't have. I'm still waiting to hear back from one company, but lets face it, my luck is not the best, so I'm kind of ruling that out in my mind until I actually receive word back. Next option, take classes at NYU for the summer. I've already applied for the summer housing in NYC, and the classes sound amazing. I am not one to enjoy even the thought of class in the summer, however, these are not just ANY classes. A little taste of my options: Photography, How to Write Your Own Autobiography, Exploring the Art Museums of NYC, etc. I mean this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to live in NY for the summer... however I'm probably playing out Sex and the City scenarios of glamor and a posh city lifestyle that probably wouldn't translate into the life of Katie Chapin. Ok, and last but not least I have the camp option. Now, many people have told me I need to grow up and move on... but I can't imagine a summer without camp. Actually I can imagine it. Junior year of high school I spent my summer at the University of Richmond govenor's school and had to wear a button with my name on it for the duration of the 4 week program. Gag me. I just spilled all of that out hoping that writing it down would somehow make sense of it all and lead me to a clear decision. NO SUCH LUCK. Input is welcome.

My happy place.

In case you were wondering, Notting Hill has a cupcake store. And they sell a "bling bling" cupcake. That pretty much made my life.

Fine.

"You'll be fine. I'll be fine. We'll all be fine." I actually just said this out loud. You'd think by now, three years into college, I'd have this whole stress management thing under control. However, I have over the years adopted a strategy of avoidence to relieve my worries. Unfortuately this leads to more stress and then more avoidence. On the other hand my procrastination skills have blossomed in ways even I would have never expected. I offically can procrastinate better than anyone else. And by better I mean the most useless time wasting you could ever imagine. I know you are all thinking, "What could be worse than surfing facebook four hours upon end looking at facebook photos of people you haven't seen or talked to since middle school?" Trust me there is worse. For example, yesterday I spent an hour just playing with my camera. I was sitting here in my tiny box of a room just taking pictures. I'll admit most of them were of me. I was playing this game in my head where I would think up a scenario like "I just won an academy award" or my personal favorite "Think of the meaning of life" or "You just failed an exam miserably and no one cares." The best part of this whole excercise was that when I looked at all of these photos my expression was the same in each one. I finally understood how Zoolander felt. I have one look. So, as you can see I am learning and growing from my procrastination efforts, if anyone ever needs any ideas, I'm here to help.