Stress, stress, stress! No time to decompress! My hippocampus is dying...

Last semester went pretty well, I'm proud to say. I deserve a pat on the back. *pats self on back*

My summer class (TV Production) has been a lot of fun, too. I am going to feel so ambivalent when the class is over. On one hand, my classmates and prof are great. We have a lot of laughs in class. On the other hand, the coursework is nerve-wracking and time-consuming. I didn't think I was going to be so busy...

My summer job in the CLASS office is going well. The ladies I work with are super nice. However, there just isn't that banter that I get working at the bookstore. I must admit that it's nice to have a job where I'm allowed to sit. I actually have a little office, my own desk, and a computer with Internet access. The tasks can be a little mundane, though, which is why I'm starting to understand Debra's dissatisfaction with the secretarial job she had last summer.

I'm going to be so busy this fall. I won't be able to keep the office job, and I honestly don't know if I can keep the bookstore job. I love that store, and I love the people I have met while working there. The trouble is, what if all the people I know leave? Is there any point in staying then? And, probably most importantly--can I really make it through another holiday season working at the mall? I have very serious doubts about that. There's a limit to how much I can repress my misanthropic rage. I can already feel the burn.

I mentioned that I would go in more detail about my senior theses, so here we go. For my psychology thesis, I am studying need satisfaction in long-distance relationships as compared to local relationships. I'm wondering about differences and similarities between the two, as well as variables that may be involved in satisfaction (i.e., frequency of seeing partner, type of communication, distance apart, support received from friends and family, etc.). Currently, I'm at the stage where I write up the questionnaire that people have to answer. When I finish that, I will submit it to the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects for approval. My fall semester will be dedicated to collecting and entering data, my winter break to analysis, and my spring semester to writing the thesis and defending it. (The past few months were dedicated to research, bleh.)

For my communications thesis, I am creating a CD-ROM business card. Basically, having a digital portfolio is a fairly new trend, and I'm going to be looking into this new media. I'm going to research traditional business cards, CD-ROM business cards, and critique existing business cards. I might interview people who use or make CD-ROM business cards, if I can manage it. After doing all that, I will create my own CD-ROM business card, featuring printable resumes, projects I've done for past classes, and samples of my writing. The written part of the thesis will include an explanation for why I designed my business card the way I did. I'm doing this thesis with almost no guidance, so it's going to be a little challenging.

If anyone has ideas or thoughts regarding the theses, I definitely welcome comments. Any sort of help you can give would also be appreciated.

I met the Hash Brown Goal long ago and have collected $9.55 in my Hash Brown Fund.

Helen