Lauren in Rhode Island

The Cafeteria

2008-11-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make my title similar to the title of Goosebumps novel, but I am not mart enough.

My cafeteria is required to have a vegetarian option ever meal (not like it always does.) In an attempt to do so, it serves pasta primavera like 5 times a week. I can usually find something better to eat that this, because try to just shove all the pasta/ veggies they can think of into it. Today there's only one type of pasta (tri colored spirals) but often there's more than one. A combo like bowtie & penne. Today they REALLY just put in whatever vegetable they felt like though. 1) broccoli, okay that's delicious. 2) baby carrots AND sliced carrots. Way to just throw in all the extra carrots. 3) green beans, both green & yellow kind ALSO PEAPODS. Who eats green beans & peapods in the same dish. PLUS, that's all. Sometimes it's all peppers & I don't eat it.

I Think This Is Plenty

2008-10-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

The time is 7:00AM, my friends! It's also totally 30 degrees outside.

Today I am going to:

a) finish my English reading,

b) eat breakfast,

c) straighten my room,

d) go to English from 12-1:50pm,

e) finish my earth science homework (which is due on Tuesday, trying to get ahead!)

f) buy coat, gloves & socks,

h) turn in FOUR job applications,

i) trying to get lunch & dinner in there somewhere, too.

I'm also going to try to get this done on one bus transfer.

NOT ONE GOOD THING HAPPENED TODAY

2008-10-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

Slept was too late because Brandon was here.

Went to the gym, & it was closed.

Decided to walk around Providence instead, got lost for over two hours.

Lunch was over by the time I made it back to campus.

When I got back to my room, I found out this pizza place over charged me & WaMu gave me these crazy charges, right before then went under, & my account is overdrawn.

My curtains fell down.

My bangs were really uneven & upon trying to fix then I ruined them really badly.

Waited around the rest of the day for the plans I had to happen, got stood up.

Found out my dorm is closing three days for thanksgiving. WHERE WILL I GO?

I was finally about to fall asleep, until the phone just wouldn't stop ringing, then I finally got up to answer it, kind of worried, it was a prank caller who called back when I hung up. Eventually I cried on the phone. Since, I had already spent more of my night crying.

Honestly, I'm just going to try to get lost walking around Providence tomorrow, but for even longer. Who cares if I don't get to eat again? Who needs to eat?

Plus, all my suite mates def think I'm crazy because I was crying so loudly all night.

HONESSTLY,

2008-09-28T14:31:00.001-07:00

like where else could I have moved besides here?

Why move if I'm not moving to the northeast?
I couldn't live outside of a major city.
All the decent schools in New York & Boston are way too expensive.
I knew a few people here already, including my current boyfriend.
There's a cheap college here with a good program in the degree I plan to achieve.

I MEAN IS THERE ANY OTHER REASON TO MOVE SOMEWHERE?
WAS THERE ANYWHERE BETTER?

BLOG POLL

2008-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

I have a $600 that I bought a little over two years ago. It is broken & the repairs will cost $200-250.

My options are:

A) Spend the $200-250. Get the repairs.

B) Buy a new $600 PC Laptop that would be way nicer than my original, but still kind of crappy.

C) Buy a Refurbished Mac for $900, & have to buy it on credit. But be really happy, but IN DEBT.

D) Not have a laptop in my room, meaning I have to go to the computer lab to get online & not have music.

I'M NOT SCARED OF NOTHING. I'LL GO POUND FOR POUND.

2008-09-24T17:17:00.001-07:00

Today I

woke up at 1:45pm, then hurried to a cafeteria to get lunch before it closed at 2:00. I ate half of my black bean wrap & like two bites of my mixed field greens that were really gross because they obvs put the dressing on them at like 10:00am. I was TOTALLY going to go to the gym next, but then Scarlett called me and asked if I wanted to go to Border's with her & that there was a bus leaving in ten minutes. I all like "Fuck Yeah!" then half-ran to make the bus in time. We got iced coffees and read books that we did not intend to buy for like two hours. I Spy books are not fun when you are twenty, by the way. I did get "Wreck This Journal" though. I think it's pretty "typical" of me. Oh well. I got some white snake skin shoes at Charlotte Russe, too. Then at 6:14pm, we realized we had to leave immediately to even have a chance of making it back to the cafeteria before it closed at 7:00pm. So we had to take this bus that dropped us over a mile a away from our school, because the one that takes us directed to it takes too long. After a lot of speed walking/ running, WE MADE IT. I got soup & a sandwich. Sassy.

Yesterday I

slept through my first class because I had been up really late fighting with Brandon on the phone. (Not sure why I'm admitting that here.) Then I missed my second class due to a FIRE in my dormitory. Apparently some girl on the sixth floor put Styrofoam in the microwave and walked away, having no idea it would explode into flames. Then I did my assigned reading for the Lit class I had just missed. Around 4 or 5pm Brandon came over. I think we just CHILLED & did homework together. We ate dinner in the cafeteria, but two people eating one meal is never super filling. Then we got my mail together & my EX-BOYFRIEND sent me a 30GB iPod with a letter through the mail. Maybe he mentioned something along the lines of thinking about me everyday in the letter, but he also said I shouldn't call him, because it makes him depressed for an entire week afterwards any time we speak. I guess I'll send him a thank you email. After more homework and a walk, Brandon & I decided he would just spend the night and take the bus home in the morning before school. We walked to the grocery store that's a little less than a mile away from my dorm. It's a place comparable to like a Minyard's in Texas, but their vegetarian section was Whole Foodsesque. We got a giant Macintosh apple, yummy vegetarian treats, pre-made twice baked potatoes & a giant bottle of sparkling blood orange juice. We heated them in non-Styrofoam containers, to prevent a second fire that day,then feasted while watching Ugly Betty on Brandon's laptop. Ugly Betty is our show, alright?

Monday I

did my homework most of the day, with food breaks. Had my Western History class from 4:00 to 7:50pm. What a Ball Breaker. If a college hour is 50 minutes, shouldn't this 4 hours class be from 4:00 to 7:20pm. Makes No Sense. Afterwards my suite mates & spend several hours making posters to decorate our suite. Yeah, I'm engaging in lots of lame "college girl" stuff with them.

Last weekend I

woke up really to catch a bus to NEW YORK CITY. I made my sister take a lot of pictures & videos which I hope to get soon. Brandon spent the night Thursday night, so he waited with me in the cold until my greyhound came to take me away. The bus ride was a little over five hours long, but pretty cool. This girl from JWU & I sprawled out over the three seats in a row in the back. Lots of sleeping & reading. When I got there my sister met me in Manhattan, then we went to the MoMA. Later Travis & Brianna met us there & we went back to my sister's loft in Brooklyn for a few beers. We tried to go to the Mount Eerie show, but poor planning led to us getting there too late & it being sold out. So we just went my to my sister's place for more beer & then we went to this party in this way rad loft like five blocks away. Next we all got obscenely drunk, my first time in over a month. The party got really crazy & there was a punk band playing with a huge mosh pit in front of it. I couldn't be inside it because there was too much beer flying everywhere & I didn't want to get soaked. Someone got a little crazy & got one of those huge canisters of dry instant oatmeal & started throwing it around like confetti. The canister was full so that lasting for a really long time. Then someone just got really out of control & started spraying a fire fire extinguisher over the entire crowd (Thank God I was on the second floor looking over everybody.) Obvs no one could breathe after this and we all had to move up to the floor. There was some pretty sweet chilling there for about an hour, until some COPS had to show up. Somehow we could just not stop partying. We met up with some guys on the street & chilled with them for like an hour. Then my sister kept calling me worried so I had to go home.

Saturday and Sunday I

Walked. Walked. Walked. Pizza. Falafel. Corn patties. China town. Statue of Liberty from afar. Union Square. Three glasses of red wine. Apples to Apples with (lame)strangers. Subway. American Folk Art Museum. Henry Darger. Henry Darger. Henry Darger.

A Few Facts About My New Love, Providence.

2008-09-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

Walkscore.com is a website that calculates the walkability of a city. Highly walkable cities like New York, San Fransisco and Boston have scores like 83, 86 and 79 out of a 100, respectably. My campus is a little too far from the action to have a good walk score. It's 28, but my last place a residency was in the teens, however. The 2nd best place I ever lived was Oak Cliff, TX which has a walk score of 68 out of 100.

The beauty of Providence, Rhode Island is, it's easy to take a 15-20 minute bus to areas with walk scores of 95 out of 100:

The vegetarian scene is booming, especially compared to Texas. There's Nice Slice on Thayer St which has amazing vegan, vegetarian & meat pizzas. I hate paying $17 for a pizza, but it's enough for 4 or 3 really hungry people. THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE I'VE EATEN SO FAR, but here's some great places I've found:

East Side Pocket: A really popular middle eastern restaurant, that is cheap and half of their menu is veggie.
Taste of India: An Indian buffet that is cheaper, looks way tastier and has more veggie options than the Star India so many DFdubbers has been forced to settle for.
Since Providence is such a college town (over 5 major universities) one of our two Whole Foods has a college night every week.

DAY EIGHT

2008-09-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Best morning ever.
Woke up around 7:30am, without aid of alarm. It was really chilly outside, and in my room due to the opened window, but very warm underneath my comforter.
I got dressed in a long skirt & way-too-warm mini-boots that I had to be changed later.
Checked my mail box (still no mail.)
When the the cafeteria: half a grapefruit, black coffee, grapes, Wheaties with soy milk & a water for later.
Sat there finishing up my reading for my noon Lit class while drinking coffee.
Internetted from 9 to 9:30.
When back to my dorm to get my school stuff together. I also calculated my graduation date. If I take an average of 17 hours per semester, I have four semesters after this one to graduate. If I take a lighter course load it's five. I think with a combo of summer school classes, the four semesters is very doable.

After an hour & a half of taking science notes, I ended up here; waiting for my Lit class to begin in half an hour.

I've taken millions of pictures, but I'm waiting on a package from my gramparents to come before I can upload the

Publish Post

m.

Probs the best morning ever. Probs the best life ever.
(I WONDER IF I'LL THINK THAT ONCE I START WORKING.)

DAY FIVE

2008-09-05T11:15:00.001-07:00

I can't tell if it seems like I've been here longer or shorter, but five days doesn't feel right.

I've been to three of my four classes. I guess I forgot to mention my classes are completely different after I got my schedule changed. I'm taking Western Literature, Western History, Gender & Society, and Earth Science. Two of those are the same, but different times.

My classes are very challenging. I'm really going to have to work hard this semester. In My Lit class we have to read six books. Yikes!

Today I plan part two of my bus adventures. I'm going to go to the Salvation Army & try to get a television. I'm also going to try to turn my laptop in to be fixed somewhere. BUT WHERE?

I Have an Address

2008-09-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Lauren McGough
Unit# 816
600 Mt. Pleasant Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island 02908

PLEASE SEND ME STUFF, but not stuff that will take up lots of space. I am making a promise here & now, ANYONE who sends me something will get a response.

In other news my attempt make friends hasn't been that great. Leaving my door opened so everyone who walks past will be forced to talk to me has kind of failed, but I hate how my room gets stuffy when it's closed, so no regrets. I'm going to do lame student events. I already missed a trip to this giant mall, so I'm marking my calenders for the next ones.

Game-O-Rama

Friday, September 5, 2008
7pm---FREE
Student Union Ballroom
Laser tag, guitar hero, video games, and more! Lots of great prizes, including an iPod shuffle.

This seems SO lame, but it's on campus & I like guitar hero & prizes?

RIC TRIP: Roger Williams Park Zoo

Monday, September 7, 2008
9am-3pm---FREE

Zoos are against my ethics & I have a class at 4pm on Monday. I'm still probably going to go.

RIC TRIP: Boston

Sunday, September 6, 2008
10am-7pm---FREE

FREE TRIP TO BOSTON? Yeah, it'll suck, but like I have anything else to do on Sunday.

Second Day

2008-09-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here's the first time I ever missed Texas:

john: well ive got to go

me: WHAT ARE YOU & BRANDON DOING

john: i have no idea

me: this is the first time i wanted to be at home

me: don't go ot a strip club

john: :(

me: tell brandon i'm mad at him

john: i dont think he willl be able to hear me

me: why not?

john: with all those titties in his face

Today was really awesome. The only class I went to was Biology. I'M TOTALLY signed up for the wrong class. There's four bio classes & I'm in the hardest of the four. Most of the people are Bio majors. I only understood 1/3 of the material & I had a very gut-wrenching 3 hours of lecture & lab. I can't do that twice a week!

Tomorrow I have the whole day off, so I'm finally going ride the bus around. Today I tried to, but failed pretty miserably. I used Google to find my route, but didn't realize the front of my school is a mile away from where my dorm is located in the back. 0.9 according to Google, but I didn't know this at the time, & I got to the stop just in time for my bus to fly by, then I waited for the next bus to come, which was supposed to be about 45 minutes, but it never did, so I left after an hour.

It's not super hot here, but the sun has been constantly shining, so it adds a heat. I'm going to wear a shirt tomorrow. I wore jeans, flats & a tank top, to be ready for any weather.

I'M IN RHODE ISLAND

2008-09-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

everything happened so fast I had no time to update. I decided I was going less than a week ago. I became severly depressed about spending the next semester at my local community college & I went into doubletime to ensure that I could attend RIC in the fall.

I flew in Monday night, without ever being to New England, or the East in my entire life. I HAVE NEXT SEEN SO MANY TREES IN MY LIFE. When the plane was landing, I saw the ground & it is 2/3 trees & the rest is houses & stuff. In Dallas it's 90s houses & pavement.

Everyone thinks I'm really exotic. RIC has a lot of out-of-state people, but that doesn't really mean much for RIC. There's people from all over New England & Mid-Atlantic States.

I geuss I'll post my class schedule. It's Horrible, but I signed up so last minute. All the offices I keep going to keep scolding me for not having my shit together yet! BUT I'M GETTING THERE.

Not a lot of time to write, sorry on pictures. I plan to go to Boston in a few weeks, THEN NEW YORK.

MONDAY:
Western Literature 4:00-7:50pm

TUESDAY:
Earth's Physical Environments 10:00-11:20am
Gender & Society 12:30-1:50pm
Introduction to Biology 5:30-6:50pm
Lab 7:00pm-7:50pm

WEDNESDAY:
no class

THURSDAY:
Earth's Physical Environments 10:00-11:20am
Introduction to Biology 5:30-6:50pm
Lab 7:00pm-7:50pm

FRIDAY:
Gender & Society 12:30-1:50pm

So far

2008-07-01T03:08:00.000-07:00

I've been really lazy with my college stuffz lately. I'm about to make a giant list of things I need to do, but not post them because it's too embarrassing.

I decided this blog should take a different turn (one that will lead to updating!) A a history of HOW MUCH I LOVE TEXAS.

others agree:

me: i think providence is a great place to live for like 2 years

then move onto new york or something

3:13 AM i couldn't live there forever

honestly dallas is pretty tight

i'm glad i grew up here

3:14 AM shaneitalian: me too

3:15 AM lots of culture even though people will argue it doesnt

in california people thought dallas was some white bred place that didnt allow any culture

3:16 AM me: ugh is that what we seem like the the rest of the country?

shaneitalian: pretty much

people dont realize we had a huge hispanic community

EXPLORING NEW POSSIBLE ROUTES FOR LEAVING TEXAS

2008-06-13T01:47:00.001-07:00

attaching myself onto someone who doesn't live here.

Jona Bechtolt
(i wanna tour the world with you & dance around to yr macbook & make videos & be vegan)

Conor Oberst
(plz get back on drugs & wander around new york too high to function with me & let me sing backing vocals in yr songs)

Khaela Maricich
(let's make art all day & you can help me with my poetry & we can kiss & hold hands so sweetly)

Wes Anderson
(we can have the weirdest talks & do the most random, spur-of-the-moment things)

Michael Cera
(we can be really awkward in public together & i will go to all your band's shows & post a link to your internet tv show on my myspace)

Brandon Woodward
(i will take pix of you at your bball game when you turn strangely purple, then post them on the internet)

pathetic post #1

2008-05-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

My plan on leaving was forming. I had it narrowed down to two options. Brooklyn College in NYC or Rhode Island College in Providence, RI.

NYC:
+NEW YORK CITY!!!
+cheaper
+has the majors i'm interested in
-worry i'd get too caught up in the city & not focus on my school

RI:
+really fell in love with the college, has great span of majors
+i honestly really want to live in ri, it's the the kind of place i feel like i belong
-the price is a little more than i wanted to pay
+feel like a degree from here would be more highly valued
-/+my boyfriend is going to a school 10 minutes away

I kind of just decided that one day I will rule New York City & that settling down for a couple years & pumping out a bachelor's is a really good idea.

I applied. I was accepted. I started filling out endless financial aid forms, that still have no end in sight. Boyfriend & I kept talking about how happy we are, but really really scared if like this is the right decision/ "what will everybody think?" Though not entirely ready to leave next September, I was emotionally ready.

I've never really had something to look forward to before. I feel like my life has been characterized mostly by a series of disappointments & I've just been waiting for something good to happen to me for so long. As soon as things were coming together boyfriend got too scared & said he didn't want me to go. This was the day before yesterday & I've had time to think about it. I've gone to every extreme, but decided on a medium.

I'm going. Spring 2009.

FALL 2008

2008-05-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure if I was going to try to go away for my final two years of college this fall or in spring. All my decisions were based on how I did not meet the priority deadlines for the fall, but I just realized there are no spring priority deadlines, because they don't reserve any extra money for students applying in spring. So, now all I'm doing is waiting for some acceptance letters to come in. Uhhh I only applied to two schools!

first post

2008-05-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hey! So my sister has lived back & forth between Detroit & Dallas for the last few years & as of last week, she has moved to Alaska for 4 months. Guess where I've been? Chilling in Texas! Always unhappy. Well maybe she's been unhappy, too, but at least she gets scenery changes. I've never seen mountains!

BUT THAT'S OKAY, FOLKS! I'm gettin' outta here! preferable by the fall of 2008, but for sure by the spring of 2008.

OH. Here's my address:

3722 Bluegrass Dr
Grand Prairie, TX
75052

If you're reading this, you can probz just stop by.

OHx2: here's a better blog:
http://aubreyinalaska.blogspot.com/