First update in a long while.

I've been home about a month and a half now. Finished up junior year nicely with a 3.58 GPA. Unfortunately a C+ in Media Law pulled down my major GPA from a 3.89 to a 3.49. Grr...

Looking for a job has been pretty fruitless. Macy's interviewed me but they needed someone for a year or more, which I can't do because I have to go back to school in August. But I guess since this is my last summer vacation ever it's kind of nice not to have anything major going on.

Toy Story 3 is amazing. Go see it. Cry your eyes out like I did.

I've been watching Burn Notice all summer and I've been loving it. I'm about halfway through the third season and they just started the fourth a few weeks ago, so I'm not that far behind! I'm going to start Fringe after I finish Burn Notice. I've seen a few episodes and I really like it. Also, Spike TV plays CSI marathons from like 11 to 5, which makes my day. Especially the old ones with Grissom who is the best TV character ever.

I've been trying to go to the gym at least three times a week, if I can. So far it's been going alright. I think my tummy is getting flatter, which makes me happy, but I need to ask one of my friends who doesn't see me every day what they think before I start totally celebrating. Because I'm such a bad runner I think I'm going to do the Couch-to-5K work out. It seems like it's a really realistic and easy workout plan, plus I'll finish it just in time for when I go back to school at the end of August.

Since I don't have a whole lot to do I'm trying to write a lot. So far nothing major, just drabbles. But I'm hoping maybe I'll come up with a project that can consume me soon so I feel more productive.

Since I've been neglecting this thing lately here's a fun survey thing, similar to the 7 days one I did at the beginning of the year.

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Day 1 - Your favorite song
This is rather difficult for me, because there's so much music out there that I adore. I have 3275+ songs to prove that. There are certain songs that I will always love. Hey Jude, Born to Run, etc. However, if I had to pick my favorit song today, I'd have to go with Tim McGraw by Taylor Swift because I'm feeling rather nostalgic at the moment.

Most people who know me know I love Taylor to almost obsessive levels. This was the very first song I heard by her. It came out right after Andrew and I broke up and I swore it was about us. It captures the melancholy, but sweetness of remembering past loves.

1. I made it through the weekend without a breakdown. I was pretty sure I was going to call Andrew or my mother in tears at one point this weekend because what I had to get done. It wasn’t a great number of things, but the things I did have to do were very involved. THON was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went. I successfully submitted my second article to The Daily Collegian, though it didn’t run in the paper due to space constraints. However, it still counts towards the four stories I have to write by the end of the semester, so that’s all that matters. I also managed to write my four page memoir. I’m not completely happy with it, it’s going to need extensive rewrites before I turn it in next Thursday. But at least I completed it.

2. Writing Workshop. I had a writing workshop for aforementioned memoir today with my professor and three of my classmates. While they were fairly critical, most of it will help me in the long run so I don’t mind. But what really made me happy was that they said I have a very strong voice, which is a very nice compliment.

3. Lost was on tonight. Have I mentioned I’m obsessed with this show? I absolutely adore it. I’m sad that this is the last season, but every episode thus far has been amazing and I can’t wait to get all my questions answered. On a related TV note: I am so glad Heroes is over, I really don’t think I’ll be watching it next season. Dear Zach Quinto, please leave the show ASAP and find somewhere else to use your CMU drama talents so they don’t go to waste. Love, Hannah.

4. Spring break is in 8 days! I am so excited to go home and see my mom and my kitty cat and sleep in my bed (my bed at home is so much better than my bed here at school, I actually miss it quite a bit when I come back from breaks). For once some exciting things are actually going to happen over my break. First of all I’m finally going to upgrade my cell phone from the Shine I’ve had for the past year and a half to the iPhone, something I’ve wanted for quite a bit. And second…

5. Andrew is coming to visit me! He’s going to Las Vegas with his friends for the first part of break, but decided to come stay with me and my mom for the second half so he doesn’t have to be in Pittsburgh alone, doing nothing. It’s pretty exciting because he hasn’t seen my new house yet, nor has he seen my mom in almost two years. It’ll be nice to have him around, at least for a few days. I’m interested to see how he reacts to Indy, since he isn’t a cat fan.

A lot has happened since I last wrote.

Classes are busy, but going well thus far. I have my first two exams of the semester on Thursday so I'm slightly nervous.

I became a candidate member for the Daily Collegian, something I'm very proud of. When I was trying out I promised myself I didn't really want it so I wouldn't be crushed like last semester. Turns out that works, since I got the position. I'm on the Arts staff and my first story (it was about an Indian dance competition) was published today! I'm quite proud because I was the very first Arts candidate to write a story. I'm trying to be humble about it, but a part of me thinks my editor chose me out of the candidate class for a reason.

Andrew came on Friday to see me this weekend. As with all the time I spend with him, it was entirely too short but wonderful. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful best friend in my life. I hadn't seen him since last April when I went to Pittsburgh. 10 months apart was way too long. We hung out with my friends a bit, but mostly enjoyed the blizzard that hit PA from the comfort and warmth of my room. He attended my first event as a Collegian reporter with me, which helped put me at ease since I was rather nervous. I was quite sad to see him go on Sunday, but I'll be seeing him in two months for Carnival so I'm looking forward to that.

We're supposed to get even more snow on top of the 14" that hit this weekend. I'm hoping for a snow day on Wednesday because I have two exams on Thursday and it would be nice to have a whole day to study.

Other than that I'm just working at my internship writing weekly articles about international events that relate to Penn State, spending about four hours a week in the Collegian office, and doing homework. This is the busiest semester I've ever had, but I'm enjoying it a lot. I don't mind it.

This week has been busy.

My classes are going to be keeping me busy this semester. But if I can make it through this, I'm pretty sure I can make it through anything.

I really like that I don't have to speak German this semester. I like it a lot.

Back at school. Miss my mom. Miss my cat. Miss having someone to pay for my food. Miss my bed. Sigh.

Bought some of my books today, came to $139 and I don't even have all of them yet. The ones I bought look interesting though. And a lady in the book store gave me a $10 money card to American Eagle, which is my favorite store ever, so now I have to go online and buy something.

Survey I stole from girly_evil:
Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or musical artists.
Wow. I like so many. I'll limit myself to five for each to spare your eyes.
Books: The Last Lecture, Eat Pray Love, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, Franny and Zooey
Authors: Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Kurt Vonnegut, Sarah Dessen
Films: Wall-E, 500 Days of Summer, Beauty and the Beast, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dead Poets Society
Musical Artists: Taylor Swift, John Mayer, Bruce Springsteen, Colbie Caillat, Brad Paisley

What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy?
Newspapers: The New York Times and The Daily Collegian (Penn State's newspaper)
Magazines: Rolling Stone
Websites: Facebook, Questionable Content, XKCD, Wordnik, LJ

How did you spend your last two summers?
Last summer I didn't do much. I spent a lot of time with my family. I also tried to write a novel, it didn't work out. The summer before that I visited home (not where I live with my mom, but Massachusetts, where I went to high school, that's home for me), went to see Claire in Wisconsin and saw John Mayer, and had a Hershey Park day with my college friends.

What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, sporting events, etc.) this past year?
My mom took me to see Taylor Swift for my birthday in August. I know she's not the best singer in the world, but I love her songs and she was a wonderful performer.

What five words best describe you?
Practical, thoughtful, selfish, smart, sweet (so I'm told).

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?
Man landing on the moon. But I'm quite happy that I witnessed the first African American president being elected.

I went shopping with my mother yesterday at the Towson mall, which is about an hour away from our house. It's four stories, the stores are large, and it has a Cheesecake Factory. It is easily my favorite place to shop.

I got my first suit. It's navy blue, with silver threads so it has a shimmery quality. Just for a moment while I was wearing it I pretended I was older, getting ready for work. I have no place to wear it yet, though. My internship this semester is really informal, but in about a year I'll be applying for real jobs and I'll need something nice to wear.

I saw Julia and Julie tonight at my aunt's house. It was a cute feel-good movie. I love Meryl Streep, so much. She seems to do a great job in whatever role she takes on. My uncle thinks I should start a blog that will get published like Julie did in the movie. That would be pretty awesome, but I highly doubt people would be interested in something like this. But maybe someday...

When they wrote an article about Julie in The New York Times she picked up about twenty copies and watched people as they read it. If I had anything published I would probably do the exact same thing. Haha.

For one week, recommend / share:
Day 1: a song
Day 2: a picture
Day 3: a book
Day 4: a site
Day 5: a youtube clip
Day 6: a quote
Day 7: whatever tickles your fancy



Recommendations:
1. Google Chrome for Mac users. I just downloaded it yesterday and I already love it more than Firefox and Safari. I'm not sure if it is PC compatible, but it definitely works with Macs.

2. Ingrid Michaelson. Her song "Maybe" (off her latest album, Everything) is currently stuck in my head. I used my iTunes giftcard to download her debut album, Boys and Girls. She has great lyrics, which is a big selling point for me.

For one week, recommend / share:
Day 1: a song
Day 2: a picture
Day 3: a book
Day 4: a site
Day 5: a youtube clip
Day 6: a quote
Day 7: whatever tickles your fancy



'Computers crash, people die, relationships fall apart. The best we can do is breathe and reboot."- Sex and the City

Confession: I love Sex and the City. I know it's cheesy, the television equivalent to chick-lit, but I can't help it. I love the clothes, the stories, and most of all Carrie Bradshaw, who's job I envy (not that I want to have a sex column. But having a column of some sort would be a dream come true). I love the quotes from Carrie's stories that come at the end of the episode. This is one of my favorites. It's something I've had to come to terms with over the course of three years.