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"Being a graduate student is like becoming all of the Seven Dwarves. In the beginning you're Dopey and Bashful. In the middle, you are usually sick (Sneezy), tired (Sleepy), and irritable (Grumpy). But at the end, they call you Doc, and then you're Happy."
~Ronald Azuma
Dec. 31st, 2008 @ 12:14 am Yes, I am addicted to Law & Order
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Current Mood: amused
Yes, I am addicted to Law & Order


Clarification: My LiveJournal is friends-only for everything and anything related to my real life. I do post a lot of quotes, essays, quizzes, etc. that are public and anyone can see those.

Clarificationx2: So, I caved and created a dummy account for my real-life friends that want to read all my friends-only entries without getting an LJ account. The username is [info]aprils_friend, if you want the password, you'll have to email or ask me!
Jun. 10th, 2008 @ 08:56 pm Not being married anymore and no kids yet killed my score
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Current Mood: apathetic

37

As a 1930s wife, I am
Poor

Take the test!

Jun. 4th, 2008 @ 11:55 pm Late late in the day, but...
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Current Mood: bouncy
Happy Birthday Jonathan!!!
May. 23rd, 2008 @ 07:38 pm Thought of the day
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Current Mood: content
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear."
-Ambrose Redmoon
May. 14th, 2008 @ 09:59 pm Editing an article per reviewers comments is a humbling experience
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Current Mood: blah
"The brighter you are, the more you have to learn."
-Don Herold
May. 12th, 2008 @ 10:41 pm Thought of the day
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Current Mood: accomplished
"Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment."
-Baltasar Gracian, The Oracle


Finished the semester...graduation is Saturday. I can't believe how fast time goes by or how quickly we fill our lives with new adventures as soon as one ends. I've got my article to finish my Friday and my thesis to do this summer. I'm moving out of my apartment in a week. August and my move to PA will be here before I know it. Sigh...
May. 11th, 2008 @ 08:24 am Thought of the day: Quote (2)
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Current Mood: busy
"Choose well. Your choice is brief, and yet endless."
Goethe
May. 11th, 2008 @ 07:55 am Thought of the day: Quote
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Current Mood: busy
"You will never find time for anything. If you want time,
you must make it."
Charles Buxton
May. 4th, 2008 @ 08:46 am Thought of the day: Quote
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Current Mood: blah
Of any stopping place in life, it is good to ask whether it will be a good place from which to go on as well as a good place to remain.

-Mary Catherine Bateson
May. 4th, 2008 @ 08:29 am silverjewelryclub.com
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Current Mood: working to death or graduation
I think that somebody on my friends list posted a link to silverjewelryclub.com a while back, but I am too busy right now to go search for it. My main question was if their comment was positive or negative. They had a write up about the free jewelry (you just pay $6 for shipping or something) in one of the magazines I subscribe to and I looked at the site. It looks like nice stuff, but as I don't have a ton of extra money lying about, really wanted to get an opinion from somebody who has bought some of it before I spend anything. Thanks!
Apr. 27th, 2008 @ 07:11 pm Thought of the day
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Current Mood: writing
If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
~William Penn
Apr. 21st, 2008 @ 06:44 pm Daily Thought: Quote borrowed from a friend's journal
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Current Mood: a cold, rainy blah day
APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

--from "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot



And no, I did not pick this because it has my namesake month in it. I picked it because, for once, I think I understand T.S. Eliot a bit.
Apr. 18th, 2008 @ 03:39 pm Thought of the Day: This song made my day!
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Current Mood: bouncy
"Girls Lie Too"

So she can't go out tonight again
Her sister's sick, she's gotta baby-sit
Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good excuse
Now you didn't hear any of this from me
But things aren't always what they seem
Brace yourself, this may come as a shock to you

Girls lie, too
We don't care how much money you make
What you drive or what you weigh
Size don't matter anyway
Girls lie, too
Don't think you're the only ones
Who bend it, break it, stretch it some
We learn from you
Girls lie, too

We can't wait to hear about your round of golf
We love to see deer heads hanging on the wall
And we like Hooter's for their hotwings too
Other guys never cross our minds
We don't wonder what it might be like
How could it be any better than it is with you

[Repeat Chorus]

Yeah, girls lie, too
We always forgive and forget
The cards and flowers you never sent
Will never be brought up again
Girls lie, too
Old gray sweatpants turn us on
We like your friends and we love your mom
And that's the truth
Girls lie, too
Yeah that's the truth
Girls lie, too

No, we don't care how much hair you have
Yeah, that looks good
Comb it over like that
Apr. 17th, 2008 @ 07:08 pm Thought of the Day
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Current Mood: content?
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon--instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

-Dale Carnegie
Apr. 16th, 2008 @ 10:09 am Random facts about me
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Current Mood: creative
So, I am spending more time over at facebook than on LJ these days. I guess because over there I don't feel like I have to open up as much. There is a ton of stuff going on that I want to write about here but just can't get myself to do it. Maybe soon though, I have just been so busy.

Anyway, Facebook has this application called "Random facts about me" that lets you choose 20 facts about yourself, written in the third person, that will pop up on your profile page. Since I figured not all of my friends on here may know all of these, I thought I'd share. :-)

April would pay for a TV station that just played Firefly, Futurama and Law & Order 24/7.

April prefers Dr. Pepper to Coke. (both in diet, please)

April wishes she had more time to read for fun. Suggestions?

April loves quotes.

April loves junk food and eats it too much. Oops!

April’s favorite class in school was debate (as anybody who’s ever disagreed with her could probably guess)!

April has a tattoo (what and where are answered only on request).

April loves sappy country love songs. Sigh…

April is starting her PhD in Crime, Law and Justice at Penn State in the fall. How’s Dr. Woolnough sound?

April has never read any of the Harry Potter books.

April’s favorite candy bar is a lesser-known one called a whatchamacallit.

April believes in fairy tales; she just knows that she’s never going to be the princess.

April has sectoral heterochromia in her right eye.

April is on a mission to get rid of half of the things she has.

April loves doing crosswords and playing Scrabble. She has a way with words.

April never got detention, not even once, in high school.

April wants to have a big family one day (and hopefully all of her kids by 35).

April misses Texas more than she admits, even if DC is really cool (but way too cold.)

April hates that you can’t nominate yourself for superlatives…I have a couple nobody has nominated me for that I totally am!!

April really needs 9-10 hours of sleep a night to be herself in the morning.
Apr. 6th, 2008 @ 09:20 pm Decision Made!!!
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Current Mood: excited
So, I have finally made a decision about grad school. I'm going to go to Penn State!!

In the end, I got in and was offered full funding at all seven schools I applied to. It was a pretty hard decision and it came down to two or three favorites. Then I had my visits. Ultimately, Penn State's funding is most generous (considering low cost of living, summer funding, conference funding and they pay for my health insurance); they also have a top-notch faculty that are really involved in adolescent delinquency and juvenile justice issues. PSU is ranked #7 in the country for my degree (I also got in at #3 University of Cincinnati, #4 UC-Irvine, #11 Florida State, #16 American University, #18 Temple and also UT-Dallas which is unranked because it is a new PhD program). Ultimately, I am really happy with my decision. I think that I am going to do well there. I got along great with the students and faculty and they are interested in and support the work I do-their R1 status also means that there is also work to do and my RA experience should be interesting. The toughest part is going to be getting my quantitative methods and stats skills up to par. PSU has a program nationally known as being super-hard, but it is also the type of school where a PhD from Penn State allows me to be qualified for a job at any top university when I get done.

So, to get from here to there, I still have to get through this semester, I'll be staying in DC for the summer to finish my thesis (damn data collection is taking forever to get my survey responses back), and then I have to be in State College by late August.
Mar. 31st, 2008 @ 05:17 pm Just got back from my Penn State visit, it went really really well!!
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Current Mood: content
The future is not some place we are going, but one we are
creating. The paths to it are not found but made, and the
activity of making them, changes both the maker and the
destination.

John Schaar
Mar. 23rd, 2008 @ 09:57 pm You only turn 25 once, and I am blowing my chance, lol.....
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Current Mood: working on a deadline
50 things that make you smile =) 1. Falling in love. 2. Laughing so hard your face hurts. 3. A hot shower. 4. No lines at the supermarket. 5. A special glance. 6. Getting mail 7. Taking a drive on a pretty road. 8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio. 9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside. 10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer. 11. Finding the sweater you want is on sale for half price. 12. A milkshake of your favorite flavor. 13. A long distance phone call. 14. A bubble bath with lots of candles. 15. Giggling. 16. A good conversation. 17. The beach. 18. Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter. 19. Laughing at yourself. 20. Midnight phone calls that last for hours. 21. Running through sprinklers. 22. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all. 23. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful. 24. Laughing at an inside joke. 25. Friends. 26. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you. 27. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep. 28. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner). 29. Making new friends or spending time with old ones. 30. Playing with a new puppy. 31. Having someone play with your hair. 32. Sweet dreams. 33. Hot chocolate. 34. Road trips with friends. 35. Swinging on swings. 36. Wrapping presents under the Christmas tree while eating cookies. 37. Song lyrics printed inside your new CD so you can sing along without feeling stupid. 38. Going to a really good concert. 39. Making eye contact with a cute stranger. 40. Winning a really competitive game. 41. Making chocolate chip cookies. 42. Having your friends send you home-made cookies. 43. Spending time with close friends. 44. Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends. 45. Holding hands with someone you care about. 46. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change. 47. Riding the best roller coasters over and over. 48. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you. 49. Watching the sunrise. 50. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day...
Mar. 17th, 2008 @ 06:12 pm Daily Thought from my friend Kate
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Current Mood: In need of my migraine meds
Life is what you make it. So take chances. A lot of them. Because, honestly, no matter where you end up, and with who, it always ends up just the way it should be. Your mistakes make you who you are, you learn and you grow with each choice you make. Everything is worth it. Say how you feel. Always. Be you...and be OK with it.
Mar. 8th, 2008 @ 01:24 pm I think I'm either a cynic or just a realist-this is the most romantic song I have heard in a while
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Current Mood: envious
Title: I'll Try
Artist: Alan Jackson


Here we are
Talkin' bout forever
Both know damn well
It's not easy together

We've both felt love
We've both felt pain
I'll take the sunshine
Over the rain

And I'll try
To love only you
And I'll try
My best to be true
Oh darlin', I'll try

So I'm not scared
It's worth a chance to me
Take my hand
Let's face eternity

Well I can't tell you
That I'll never change
But I can swear
That in every way

And I'll try
To love only you
And I'll try
My best to be true
Oh darlin', I'll try

I'm not perfect
Just another man
But I will give you
All that I am

And I'll try
To love only you
And I'll try
My best to be true
Oh darlin', I'll try

I'll try
To be true to you
I'll try
I'll try
To always love you
I'll try