I wanna dance with somebody!

Yes, I am listening to Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody

I feel it is somewhat pertinent to my situation since I am completely done with my undergraduate career! I have achieved at least one life goal: a bachelor's degree in anthropology. My dad would be so proud of me.

I remember us sitting at the dinner table during my mid-middle school/early high school years discussing how I urgently wanted to be an archaeologist, and that in order to do this, I needed to get a degree in anthropology. Although I no longer wish to be an archaeologist (a museum curator nowadays), we would be still discussing the ethics of archaeology and arguing whether the Nazca Lines were created by aliens because he knew it drove me nuts. Here you go, Da. Your little anthropologist is a reality. I wish it could have been your profession as well. You would have loved every second of it.


I am fully moved back to the old house with Mama. Being a graduated girl (as of this Saturday) also means that I need to find a job to get me on my feet. I just currently applied to a temporary job as a bank teller in Daphne. I am applying for every museum job I am qualified for as well as internships. I am desperate to be in a museum once more, hear museum jargon, help curate artifacts, and tell their story to the world.

That is what I want to do. So many cultures are lost in translation when it comes to museum exhibits because I feel while they do present a good view of history past, I want people to experience a culture, to know their history and their life-ways, and inspire people to remember these cultures through their artifacts, art, etc.

I am excited to see Amy once again this summer. It's nice to have her presence around again.

I am wondering where I'll end up, and though I have had some trying times this year, I know God has a great, great plan for me. He has never failed me or ever stopped loving me. I can appreciate that there is brilliance in His name.

How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By Him

I came home two weekends ago to get grad photos taken and my eyebrows waxed. What I came home to was a life-changing event.

What can I say, I absolutely love that I am engaged to the love of my life. Joseph and I have grown so much together over the past 2 1/2 years (March 20th is the exact date). It makes me happy to know I will be spending the rest of my life with him.

I am very happy for Lydia too. I am so glad to see her have a man in her life that loves her dearly.

All through it all, I know my father was watching from heaven, smiling, knowing that his girls were going to be taken care of.

-Ellen

So here's an idea...

A little over a month till spring break. So I am thinking....yoga every am (except saturday because i have to do manual labor that day anyways) and a workout every afternoon. Yoga would help me get limber!!


I think I am going to try it.

Quick break to write a thought

School is pretty demanding once again. OK, it's not so much school as it is that I have classes, then a job, then homework, and that I am a little lazy. Sorry about that.

I finished all my applications to the schools that have fitting graduate programs for museum studies. These include IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis), University of Kansas, University of Denver, University of Florida, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro. As I told my family, I could be a jaguar (again), a jayhawk, a pioneer, a gator, or a spartan.

Although it was very hectic (and very money consuming) to get everything little thing together for the applications including the transcripts, the GRE scores sent, the letters of recommendation, etc. etc., the worst part is the wait!! I won't know where I am going until late March or early April. As Joe said, it's good that it's off my mind for a while, but I want to know who wants me and who doesn't!

I keep thinking of how I have to be a "big" girl next year and pay my own utilities, bills, etc. It's exciting, but extremely daunting, seeing as the economy still is and that anthropology isn't exactly the world's most wanted major. I'm working on a back-up plan as we speak just if things don't go my way. I'm hoping to work in a museum either way.

I'm starting to learn to budget properly (thanks Emily and Gus) with the money that I make. A little here, a little there makes the world go round, I suppose. Anyways, on a lighter note, I am reading some books on Native American culture and religion that are fascinating to me. I am reading them for a directed studies where I plan to do a paper on cross-cultural differences in native american mythology (hopefully).

I'm ready for mardi gras holiday in two weeks. I am ready for spring break also. I am just ready to be done with undergraduate all together. Oh, the plight of a senior!

I will let you know how it is going with the grad school situation. Hopefully, someone will find me fit enough to give me money and let me be in their program!

Love,
Ellen

P.S. Amanda, always believe in your miracles!

Hello 2010, will you be a year of fortune?

We have been released from the bonds of 2009, a tumultuous but hope-bringing year in my book.

I pray that 2010 will bring more good news and, with it, good changes that will teach me new things.

2009 was a year I will both hate and love. It was the year my father was taken from me. I hate that I see new movies that he would want to see and I can't tell him things. I will hate 2009 for that fact. Yet, 2009 was a year of new beginnings with the birth of my nephew, Will. I love him with all my heart and a reminder that for every story's end, there is a beginning just around the corner.

2010 brings my graduation from college, a feat I have masterfully worked towards over the span of four years, promising myself that though many take college for granted, it was a time to learn and grow, not a time to endlessly party. 4 years was my planned time span and I have made it.

It also means applying and hopefully getting into a grad school somewhere in the country for museum studies. A new beginning for me because I must move out of Alabama into a new state and new city to thoroughly begin my life as an adult.

However, through everything that has happened in 2009, and all that will happen in 2010, I will always remember the love that is with me for a lifetime. I have the love of a supportive family who always wants to see me shine, the love of dear boyfriend who inspires me to be better than I am, the love of friends who are always rooting me on and making me laugh, and the remembered love of my father that always makes me proud.

Christmas Time is Money Time?

I've been working to raise my funds the past few days at my job and have been reminded how tiring retail can be! However, I have pushed through and am now enjoying some days off with my mother. I turned in my two weeks yesterday.


I can't manage to work at the store during the Spring Semester with classes six days a week. I will be working at school and doing grad school stuff. The major time for everything that is coming up and I need to be prepared.


Anyways, I have actually felt like I've had a Christmas this year, rather than a week and a day like last year. I love seeing the lights on my house at night I put up and the tree in the living room. I like sitting there with family in the dark look at the bright lights, even if my house is cold, because it reminds me of good times and future times that will be wonderful in my life.

Owls are the best, don't you think?

I will admit it. I think owls are one of the coolest animals/birds on this planet, despite the fact they are considered witches by some cultures (bet you didn't know that, did ya?!). The owl to the right, the Barn Owl, is also known as the monkey-faced owl. Not only is that a cool name, but owls in general are pretty bad-ass.

Ok, now why I am on this random rant about my love of these feathery creatures? I've been on a recent remembrance of all my geek fandoms over the years, good or bad. As my family can attest to, I have had several obsessions over the years that have consumed my life. I've kept some with me and I've left some behind. However, I have found it nice to remember that even if some of these things have been neglected by me, I still have a fondness for them in my heart.

For example,
Geek fandom that has stayed with Ellen:
My love for my all-time favorite movies, The Last of the Mohicans and Aliens

I was raised on Aliens and only discovered The Last of the Mohicans in high school, despite the fact my father attempted to gain my interest in it at a younger age. Aliens has always fascinated me with the badassery of Ellen Ripley and the fact that she can take on a Queen Alien. She has been a heroine of my life, inspiring me to be stronger and more determined in everything I do. The Last of the Mohicans was fascinating to me as I discovered the beauty of its background and the wonder of its soundtrack (i recommend it to anyone; it's truly lovely). I love the story even if it has nothing to do with the book. It inspired to research the pre-revolutionary era and search into the lives of colonials and british. It has also inspired my love of native cultures.

Geek Fandom(s) that have left Ellen, but she will always be fond of:
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Oh, how this consumed my life for three years. I absolutely loved everything about it, especially the elves. I still know a lot about the trilogy and stories...which is a bit sad. Although I don't celebrate LOTR with such fervor anymore, I will always love it. It reminded me of good times with my father and of my youth in general. I was a weird kid, but having something you could hold onto in a place like middle school made it better for me in the long run.


Oh, I've been obsessed with much more, but that's for a later date.
What were your obsessions when you were younger?