A Very Lucky Girl

I played hostess over the past two weeks and, let me tell you, I slept like a rock on the first night that my room was empty. Not because they were gone, but because I ran them (and myself) into the ground with a rigid itinerary. I wasn't about to let them come visit me and then us sit around looking at each other wondering what to do. Nope, every single day had a schedule. We may have strayed a time or two, but for the most part we stayed true to the plan. Plans are bliss, y'all. Hannah arrived on Tuesday evening, March 11th. We dragged her suitcase from the bus station back to my flat before heading to Dr. Noodles, a delicious Asian food joint, for some pasta in a box. Then, after scavenging for appropriate Carnival costumes in my closet, I brought her to the flat party of the evening. This particular Tuesday was also the start of the Dundee Hunger Games so I was armed with a blue water gun to match my Kevin Durant Thunder get up. I also lent Vanessa, my flatmate, one of my...

The final day was upon me. I woke up to no alarm and a last breakfast of bacon and sourdough rolls. A stranger in the Windjammer mistook me for a high schooler (typical) and I quickly corrected him. I read some more Bleak House on Deck 12, while Tyler finished Alter Ego by Craig Groeschel. This was my last shot for the perfect tan to prove that I sprung broke (the past tense of Spring Break) to perfection.  We alternated between the cold pool and the boiling hot tub, marveling at the water-ception. We were in a vat of water, in the middle of the ocean. Just let that sink in. I spent several afternoon hours trying to fit all of my clothes back in my suitcase, the hardest game of Tetris I've ever played. It never fails, every vacation I end up with more luggage at the end. I blame it on the shot glasses that I collect from every destination.  I took a nap, collected my bravery, and ordered two entrees at dinner without shame. In the words of Jesus, this was the last supper a...

The thing about inner staterooms on board a ship is that they are extra dark. It could be 3 PM and it's as dark as if it were 3 AM. So on Monday morning I woke up well-rested around 9:30 AM and immediately scouted out a lounge chair in a sunny corner of Deck 11. I regret to inform you that I did not don any sunscreen on this day....which in hindsight was a poor decision, especially considering I spent approximately 5 hours laying out. I do this every year. Foregoing sunscreen for the inaugural tan time, but then religiously applying SPF 4 for the remainder of the trip. During one of those sun soaked hours on deck a busybody chair neighbor pointed out my jewelry: "I notice you have a medical alert bracelet on, what's wrong with you?" Several things actually, sir....Are we talking mentally? Physically? Emotionally? Narrow your nosiness, if you please. I stealthily crept away from the gentleman and continued to furiously read the novel Sharbear supplied me with before m...

Once upon a time (a week ago), in a city fairly close by (Norman) a girl and a boy woke up at the ungodly hour of 3:15 AM to begin the drive to Galveston, Texas in order to embark upon a dream cruise. Tyler and I met the rest of his family across from Riverwind Casino and fought the urge to get caught up in some wake-up slots. I settled into the front passenger seat as Tyler's brothers, Josh and Chris, slid into the back. I attempted to nap in a few unnatural positions, but to no avail and grew increasingly frustrated. My mood is often directly related to the amount of sunshine in the mornings and the pitch black night sky made Tyler's typically endearing air guitar tendencies begin to grate on my nerves. As the McKee brothers began to quote Arrested Development among each other, I jammed on my headphones and jabbed at the volume to wake up Carly Rae Jepsen. Could I get a girl to call me maybe? I knew the exact moment that we hit Houston, not only because of the HEB on ever...

This time last year I was prepping for an excursion to the Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps, THE New York City, with Megan to visit Hannah. And now I'm going to embark on another adventure, this time with Tyler and his wonderful family. I'm taking my bikini collection, several books, and SPF 4 on a cruise to Jamaica, the Grand Caymans, and Cozumel.  It is a long overdue break. When I come home I will only have 8 weeks left of classes this semester. And then I'll (finally) be a junior, with only 3 semesters left at OU and one semester overseas in DUNDEE, SCOTLAND.  I won't be posting during this cruise so it truly was God-ordained that the Bachelor ended on this previous Monday so that I was able to keep my recap commitment. 7 days of rest is just what A Very Lucky Girl needs to tackle the world again. If you need me I'll be on a lounge chair somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean sea. Just look for the Tyler-lobster nearby. 

New York City turned me into the Taylor that never sleeps. And the Taylor that never sleeps is not a pleasant person to be around (Megan and Hannah are angels for putting up with me). I probably got a grand total of 12 hours of sleep from Wednesday night to Saturday morning. When we boarded the plane from Newark to O'hare Saturday morning at 6:45 AM I vaguely remember taking off, jabbing that seat-back button as soon as I was allowed to do so, and drifting off until I was jarred awake by our landing in Chicago. It was a much needed nap, since I was getting to that point of dizziness in my lack of sleep and I needed to be a alert to navigate the three hour layover at O'hare. Believe me, I had an unbelievable time. New York is a true treasure. But it's a treasure that comes at a cost of high stress and exertion. Walking all day long (if I hadn't counteracted all that exercise with endless slices of pizza I could likely fit into my old jeans by now--but I'm not worri...

I have to keep reminding myself that it's not my life. It's not my issues. It's not mine to fix. But there is nothing more frustrating than when your academy award caliber speech of advice is tossed carelessly to the side. I just want to scream until they get it.  "I'VE BEEN WHERE YOU ARE! I KNOW IT DOESN'T WORK. I KNOW YOU WON'T BE HAPPY WITH THAT DECISION! LISTEN TO ME! A 0.34 GPA WON'T GET YOU ANYWHERE IN LIFE!" But yelling typically isn't very effective, and will probably leave me hoarse.  I can't stand it when people don't take responsibility for their actions. I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of people like that right now. And it shouldn't be that way. We are in college, this is the time to test your responsibility skills, to hone them to perfection before the real world is unleashed on us.  Because in the real world you won't always have a classmate to remind you when an assignment is due. In the real wor...