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[lauramarple]

day sixty-two: 8/17/11

i spent the entire day at school training for the freshman mentoring program today. i'm excited to make some positive changes around the school & hopefully teach my freshman that high school isn't as bad as everyone says it is. our school is in the middle of a pretty tight-knit community, & since we're a new school, it's been fun to start creating the traditions for future students. i hope the freshmen can see that, instead of just focusing on what the other high school may have over us. i personally would never want to go to the old high school, but i guess my priorities are different than those of some people. & there's nothing wrong with that. i just hope to teach my freshmen to be open-minded, & inspire them to encourage others to do the same. i'm looking forward to my junior year. i'm exhausted. goodnight. --laura

[lauramarple]

day sixty-one: 8/16/11

worked again today, practiced all of the things i'm going to need to know how to do on a daily basis. continued to learn where everything is, learned how to check patients in & schedule their appointments, etc. i'm excited to start working more :) practiced some more for my driving test tonight, boring but necessary. i think i might have perfected backing into a parking spot. took me long enough. i have to wake up early tomorrow, & i don't have much else to write. sorry for all of the short posts lately. --laura

[lauramarple]

day sixty: 8/15/11

today, i woke up early & went to the bank with my mom. i had to close my "kid" savings account & open up two "adult" accounts, which really made me feel old. but, i'm excited for my accounts to hopefully accumulate a little bit more money as i'm working, although i'm sure a lot of it will be used to pay for gas for my car. i still need to take my road test, which i don't want to do. i'm kind of dreading it, actually. i just want to be driving by myself. today was also my first day of work, & i can tell that i'm really going to enjoy my job! it's going to be awesome. i have a lot of responsibilities, but i'm ready to take them on. i feel like it's going to be such a positive experience, so i'm excited to see what the future holds. i think that good things really do come to those who wait, so i hope whatever you're waiting for comes your way. --laura

[lauramarple]

day fifty-nine: 8/14/11

worked on ap bio all day. first day of work tomorrow. that is all, goodnight. --laura

[lauramarple]

[lauramarple]

day fifty-eight: 8/13/11

today, i slept in until 12:00. it was nice... i feel like i haven't said this before on here, but i honestly love to sleep. i could sleep for days straight if i was given the opportunity to, so i've been setting my alarm all summer to hopefully stay on a somewhat normal sleep schedule. my 1:30-9:30 sleep pattern got completely messed up when i went on vacation, seeing as we went to bed & got up a lot earlier, & because the times varied so much each day. finally getting an opportunity to sleep in was nice. i unpacked all of my things from vacation, hung up a bunch of my clean clothes, & cleaned up my bathroom a bit. then, i pretty much bummed around the house until i went out bowling with some of my friends. two of them moved to texas last year, so it was nice getting to see them again while they're in town. we had a ton of fun bowling, even though we all suck at it. we then went to my friend jennifer's house, where we pretty much just played scattergories for a half hour. then, nick & zach left to go back to where they're staying, & katie came & played scattergories with us. i haven't seen jennifer or katie since school got out, so it was nice to hang out. it was a ton of fun; my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. now, i'm home. i'll probably watch youtube videos for a while, & then go to bed. that's typically how i end my day, after writing this of course. hope you guys had a good one! --laura today's music - miniature tigers & u.s. royalty

[lauramarple]

day fifty-seven: 8/12/11

i got the job! i'm so excited to start work on monday. i feel like i'm turning into an adult all of a sudden... i need to get my driver's license, i need to open up a checking account, & i need to get a credit card. plus, school's starting way too soon. i'm not looking forward to ap bio, ap calc, ap macro, spanish four, & physics on top of working... plus nhs and key club, & the mentoring program. i'm enjoying these last few weeks while i can, i know it's going to go by way too fast. today, i went on my interview & then shopping & out to dinner with my mom. we went to the chinese restaurant & i stuffed my face with chicken chop suey. it was delicious. then we watched easy a, which was pretty funny but not as good as i expected. the ending was nice though, and relatively unexpected. tomorrow, i have to unpack all of my stuff, clean my room & bathroom a bit, & then i'm hopefully bowling with two of my friends who moved to texas & are back in town. i haven't seen them forever, so i'm super excited :) that's all for today, hope you had a good one :) --laura

[lauramarple]

days fifty through fifty-six: 8/5/11-8/11/11

i had a lot of fun on vacation with my parents & grandparents, but i'm pretty sure i wouldn't be able to tolerate camping for more than a week. i'm the type of person who really likes having personal space, & i like being able to just listen to music & think about things for an hour or so before i go to bed. in my grandparents' tiny camper, this is nearly impossible. i always felt like i was in the way, & then at night my mom & i shared this tiny, uncomfortable bed in a room that made me feel a little bit on the claustrophobic side. idk. i'm just weird about things like that. plus, i would wake up every single morning with a super stuffy nose, which just automatically put me in a bad mood. that was no fun. other than that, it was fun. we ate a ton of good food & had some fun bonfires. plus, i was spending time with my family, & i always enjoy doing that. also, today was my parents' 27th wedding anniversary. which is pretty awesome. i like knowing that it's possible for two people to be happy together for that long. i love them. tomorrow i have my second job interview, & i hope everything works out. dad's going to be gone at the mopar nationals, so i have a feeling my mom & i are going to get chinese food & watch chick flicks in our pajamas all night. that's usually what we tend to do when he's out of town. hope you've had a lovely week! --laura recent jams: u.s. royalty's "mirrors" album, brighten's "i'll always be around" album, "when i'm gone" by a rocket to the moon, "the calendar" by panic! at the disco, "the re-arranger" by mates of state, etc.

[lauramarple]

days fourty-eight & fourty-nine: 8/3/11-8/4/11

8/3/11 i had yet another wonderful day at the hospital. i met a really nice lady who we talked to for quite a while, who was extremely excited to be going home. we talked about the hospital, our favorite cookies & candy bars, & i of course gave her some well-wishes for the future. i love seeing people leave the hospital in good health, & seeing the expressions on their faces when they know that they're finally out of there. i was in the hospital once, but it was only for one night... & even then i couldn't wait to go home. it was mainly because i wanted to get all of the heart monitor stickers off of myself, but that was definitely not enjoyable. i had all of the tabs from my ekg, stickers from the in-hospital heart monitor, the holter monitor stickers, & tape from my iv. plus i still had goop from the heart ultrasound all over me that i couldn't wait to wash off. not even cool. boo you sinus tachycardia.  anyways, that wasn't even that bad of an experience. it was just exhausting, & it sucks when doctors won't let you eat because they have no idea what's wrong with you & you could need emergency surgery. but i can't imagine what it would be like to be in a hospital for anything longer than a couple of days. it might be different in an actual room, i was in the er all night, so a private room would probably be a little bit less stressful. i also saw another man going home, & i believe he was the man that asked for a new body. he may not have a new body, but someone granted his wish & gave him good health. i was happy to see that his prayers were answered. 8/4/11 camping is a bit less enjoyable for someone who thoroughly enjoys their personal space. that's all i have to say about today, seeing as i'm getting kicked off, because i'm sharing a room with my mom & she wants to sleep. goodnight!

[lauramarple]

day fourty-seven: 8/2/11

didn't do much today, besides go for my job interview. it went really well, & i'm excited to see what the future brings regarding the job :) everyone there was so nice, i look forward to (hopefully) working with them! not much else to say today, hope you had a nice day :) <3, laura ps - spotify playlist i made for today

[lauramarple]

day fourty-six: 8/1/11

shoot, it's already august. where has this summer gone? not even cool. job interview tomorrow, hope it goes well. the highlight of my day was seeing the chaos unfold after jared posted a picture of pat with no hair. i freaking love the maine. keeping this short & sweet today, thanks for reading! much love, laura

[lauramarple]

days fourty-four & fourty-five: 7/30/11-7/31/11

7/30/11: i ran a bunch of errands with my mom immediately after i woke up. we went to nordstrom's to take advantage of their huge sale going on, & i bought a shirt & some boots. i've been waiting for a while to get the boots, they're leather steve madden's that go a little bit above my ankle & lace up the front. they're also super comfortable, & they'll look even cooler when they start to get worn out. i also bought a grey shirt with a wolf on the front & fringe on the bottom. i love it. i kind of tried it on as a joke, but ended up really liking it. later, my parents went to a party so i was stuck at home by myself for the entire night. they bought me chinese food as a consolation prize, though. sweet & sour chicken, fried rice, egg roll, fortune cookies... nom. the chinese restaurant in the town where i live seriously has the best food. after i ate, i worked on my bio projects some more, then watched the dear jack documentary & it's kind of a funny story. it was really weird for me, because i typically don't enjoy movies because i just can't sit still for long enough. i'd already seen it's kind of a funny story, but i love that movie. it's funny, yet it still has a somewhat powerful storyline. dear jack was really good as well, it made me truly admire andrew mcmahon. he's such a strong person, & it's amazing to see how his determination, paired with his passion for music, allowed him to fight leukemia & win. 7/31/11: i didn't do much in the morning, but later on i went to a fundraiser dinner for my friend's uncle, who has been battling non-cancerous tumors along his spine for a really long time. the tumors aren't round masses, like you would guess, but more like spaghetti, so they basically form tangled masses around his spine that are making things increasingly difficult for both him & his doctors. all i really did was go there & eat dinner, but it still feels nice that i helped him & his family. i would help more if i could. i then cleaned out my closet a little bit... i have a bunch of clothes in there that i don't wear anymore, so i figured it was time to donate & sell some of them. i'm hoping to make a little bit of money, but i'd like to donate a lot of my things too. after that, i watched the maine's chat on stickam... i was bummed that the chat was so crazy & that it made the video lag so much. it kinda sucked that it ended where it did, but oh well. there's always next time. they did announce, however, that their next tour will be in october... which i'm already super pumped for. i can't wait to hear the new music! hope the past two days have went well for you :) <3, laura music - the "futures", "clarity", "bleed american", & "chase this light" albums by jimmy eat world. i have yet to find a song that i don't like on any of those albums.

[lauramarple]

day fourty-three: 7/29/11

woke up early this morning to go out to breakfast with my parents. note to self: three potato pancakes is not a good way to start the day. don't try it at home, kids. then, when we came home i helped my mom with some laundry & cleaned my room a bit. i have this drawer full of junk in my dresser (don't we all?) that i had to go through... i found a bunch of stuff that i didn't even know i had haha. there was so much crap in there... my first ipod, my old cell phone, all of the manuals for pretty much every electronic thing i own, five tamagotchis with a crazy lanyard, notes from friends, & random things that don't even belong to me. i feel kind of weird, because half of the people i have notes & things from from in there, i don't even talk to anymore. when i think about it, i realize that i don't talk to a lot of the people who i used to talk to... but it honestly doesn't bother me. life goes on, some people come along for the ride & some decide to leave. sometimes, you just need to let go. & that's what i'm learning to do. i worked on my ap bio projects for what seemed like an eternity, but jimmy eat world made it more bearable. then, i went through all of my stuff from school, which i finally got around to putting away, & tried to think about what i'd need for next year. i'm trying to put some thought into everything now, because august is approaching quickly & i know it's going to be a very busy month for me. after dinner, i went to go pick up my varsity jacket. i finally got all of my stuff sewn on it, & i love how it looks. it's just more complete with everything i've earned playing tennis this year. i'm so proud of it. then, i came home, took a shower, & watched nick & norah's infinite playlist. such a good movie. i would highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. i'd like to read the book sometime... i didn't even know that the movie was based upon a book. whoops. hope you enjoyed your friday! <3, laura today's music - band of horses & jimmy eat world (playlist)

[lauramarple]

day fourty-two: 7/28/11

just when i think things between us could possibly turn around... nothing happens. you just don't get it, do you?

[lauramarple]

day fourty-one: 7/27/11

today was another one of my hospital days. it's funny how i can wake up feeling extremely unmotivated, but leave the hospital feeling like a completely different person. no words can describe how much hope the people there give me. i saw a man today who had clearly been injured terribly, & he still had a smile on his face. i don't even understand how people can do it. i have never seen so much metal (pins, needles, rods, etc.) surrounding one person, yet he was still smiling. whatever happened to him, he looked like he was taking it in stride. i will never forget that image of him, & hearing him genuinely laugh. whenever i'm upset about something stupid, i'll remember that. seeing things like these truly make me appreciate how fortunate i am. i wish other people realized the same thing, & stopped stressing over petty problems & taking everything they have for granted. i understand that we all have our moments, but this man was motivation for anyone to keep going & never give up. later on in the day, we got to have a conversation with a lady who reminded me a lot of a relative of mine who passed away. she was basically my second cousins' grandma... so whatever you would call that. i typically just attached a "mrs." in front of her last name, & went with that. but anyways, she was one of those old people who was completely "with it". she talked with the kids about cell phones & computer & ipods, & she understood it all. she always played games, & she always cheated. it was hilarious. but the lady today had her same mannerisms, which is probably why i liked her so much. she was the epitome of a sweet little old lady. she told us she was getting released, so i wish her the best of luck! we went to our next floor, & one of the nurses decided to buy candy for all of the nurses, housekeeping staff, & patient transporters in the immediate area. it was awesome to see how such a simple gesture brought happiness to all of the people around. he even gave us a tip & told us to use it for someone who didn't have the money to buy a snack from us, which we luckily got to use later in the day. we've never been in that situation before, so it was nice that it all worked out & we didn't have to turn him away... seeing as it's against policy for us volunteers to directly buy items for patients. i loved seeing the look on the man's face when we told him that even though he didn't have enough money, he could still get what he wanted. you could tell that it made him happy. it was awesome. i love knowing that i positively impacted someone's day. later, when we headed down to yet another floor, we shared the elevator with a member of the patient transport team who we had a conversation with. he asked how i was doing today, so i responded with my typical, "i'm doing good, thanks for asking. how about you?" he responded by saying, "i'm doing good, i woke up this morning," & left the elevator. i could not agree more. many people would kill to just have more mornings like these. this reminds me of another man who we talked to, when i asked him if he wanted anything, he said "another body!" jokingly, yet somewhat serious. if i could have helped him, i surely would have. i also wish him the best, & hope he's out of there quick. i'm sure the doctors there can do remarkable things to "fix" the body he was given... i've seen some pretty incredible stuff there. you think i'm out of inspiration for today? wrong. i stumbled upon this blog. go to day one & read it from the beginning. his positive outlook on life is something that we could all learn from... not to mention all of the humor he uses. the basketball story made me laugh so hard, along with the rant about people abusing handicapped parking spots. today was one of those days that really makes you realize how fortunate we all are, & that even though a lot of messed up stuff happens in the world, there are always positives if you look close enough. i appreciate a lot of the little things in life, so i hope that more people can learn to do the same. i hope you had a lovely day, & i hope that this blog changed your outlook somehow. it would be cool to know that you read this, & that it honestly made you think about the world around you. just remember, someone always has it worse than you. always. our time on earth isn't infinite, so make sure you "take advantage of every day you wake up under the sun". stay positive, always! much love, laura

[lauramarple]

day fourty: 7/26/11

i had a pretty productive day today. i woke up at around 9:00, watched ellen, folded towels, emptied the dishwasher, went through my stuff from school & put some of it away, hung up all of my clean clothes, cleaned my bathroom, made myself a fajita for lunch, took a shower, went to the local bike shop with my parents & then to my grandparents' for dinner, & watched teen mom. i also got a call about a potential job, & i really hope it works out. it would honestly be the perfect thing for me, way better than my last offer. beyond perfect. i really want it, so i hope it all works out. this will be the true test as to whether or not good things really come to those who wait. do good things really come to those who wait? this question has been on my mind a lot lately. i don't know. hope you all had a lovely day! --laura today's music - a rocket to the moon

[lauramarple]

days thirty through thirty-nine

the main reason i took a break from this for a while was because i was just in a bad mood on friday, & i didn't want to carry all of that over to this here blog. another reason is because i realized that i haven't been accomplishing too many of the things on my list on here, but honestly, it's summer. i want to be out living my life, not just writing about it every day. not restricting myself. not over-analyzing everything. just going out there, & living. every day. but here's what i've done, short & sweet. saturday - 7/16/11 i'm kind of having a hard time remembering back this far. i wasn't moping around as much as i did on friday, but i was still pretty upset. friday was definitely one of my worst days. i was very disappointed, not just with myself, but a lot of things in general. i was starting to realize that it all just had to be put in the past, & honestly, i'm just trying to act like it never even happened. sunday - 7/17/11 once again, i don't really remember what i did. i do remember, however, that i washed my car & got a pretty bad sunburn, even though i was only outside for an hour and a half. monday - 7/18/11 i went shopping with my mom, & we bought food to cook for the family reunion/mini beach vacation/retirement party up north. almost got killed in the costco parking lot because people are assholes. what can ya do? tuesday - 7/19/11 tennis practice in the morning... it was so hot outside. i have never been so happy to come home & take a cold shower. after, i hung out around the house. friends came over to play board games & watch teen mom, like every other tuesday. we watched the new mtv show, "awkward", & it sucked. rosemary squirted kayla with the hose on the kitchen sink. water went all over the kitchen. thank god my parents weren't downstairs. wednesday - 7/20/11 volunteering day at the hospital! my partner & i were on our own for the first time, & we didn't even get lost. that was a relief. we didn't do too much business though, but it was almost a good thing because we saw a lot of empty rooms. i hope it's because people were well enough to return home & to their lives, not because of, well... ya know. & to the lady crying in the waiting room, i'm sorry that i couldn't think of any better words to say. i'm sorry that you had to hear whatever bad news that you had to hear. thursday - 7/21/11 packed for vacation. hung out with rosemary, watched youtube videos, complained about everything. typically what we do. friday - 7/22/11 drove up north for the family reunion/mini beach vacation/retirement party. it was nice to see my entire family, some who i haven't seen in four years. so much good food, too. saturday - 7/23/11 headed to my cousins' house on lake michigan for an early lunch & some time on the beach. it was one of those days where time completely flew by... everyone started cooking dinner, i thought it was around 4:30 and it was 8:00. we walked on the beach before lunch, & swam for hours after. i got one of the worst sunburns of my life, mainly because the one from when i washed my car was already starting to peel, & it just got burnt ten times worse again... because i wasn't wearing sunscreen. we watched the family kayak races & hotdog eating contest. after, we played a huge game of family feud, which was a ton of fun. we're not competitive or anything. it was a fun weekend. sunday - 7/24/11 we went back to my cousins' house for brunch, before we said our goodbyes & came back home. bummed around on the computer & caught up on what i missed while i was up north. monday - 7/25/11 ran a bunch of errands around town with mom, took care of things i've been meaning to do all summer. really having a strong urge to organize things, so that's probably what i'll do tomorrow. :) hope you've all been well! --laura music i've been listening to lately: brighten's "be human" ep, "all i need" by view from an airplane, capital cities, "stop" & "young at heart" by austin gibbs, the new live version of "everything i ask for" by the maine, death cab for cutie's "codes and keys" album ps - my sarcasm really doesn't translate well in this, hahaha. it sounds like i was in a really bad mood when i wrote this, but i wasn't! i promise :)