Talkin' bout Men

Just when I thought things were settling down, life had to become even more confusing. Maybe it's because my guard is down: I have just dropped College Algebra, I have the awesomest friends on campus, and work is going great. Suffice it to say that I am incredibly happy. So I should have been expecting the other proverbial shoe to drop. . .

Of all the friends I have made thus far in my college career, four or five stand out very distinctly. Of these, there is one who has managed to make my life very, how shall I say, complicated? I guess that described it best. You see, this guy, "Juan", is a foreign exchange student. Our friendship began because of my constant teasing. Soon, we were having actual conversations. I told him about my little brother's fear that I would be attacked while in college; "Juan" promised to be my bodyguard, despite the fact that he is my height and probably weighs less than I do. When my brother told me to thank "Juan", "Juan" began calling me his "dear sister". We laughed about discovering our long-lost siblings.

Now things are a bit weird. This afternoon, he told me that he "likes" me. He has refused a scholarship at another school because "I would miss my dear sister". Tonight he told me, "You are very cute. Beautiful, in fact," and that he "loves" talking to me. We have so much in common that we may have been together in a past life! So now I have a dilemma: what, exactly, am I to do about this? "Juan" is one of the sweetest guys I have ever met; I don't want to hurt his feelings. And he knows I'm engaged; he asked me the other night if it was a "love match". I feel guilty encouraging him but don't know how not to without being rude. To make matters worse, I invited him home with me for Thanksgiving! (Before things got crazy.)

My roommate is jealous; she is single and wishes guys would chase her. I never had this problem until I got a boyfriend. Apparently guys really do like a challenge -- even if it is impossible!

Sorority Girls

I attend a private school. As such, we have no fraternities or sororities. This is one of the reasons I came here: to escape the high school mentality I feel the Greek system embodies. So my friends find it ironic that I, of all people, have been pledged to the nearest thing my school has to a sorority -- a group I'll call the "Emilys".

It all started because the "Emilys" held their annual "rush" meeting and offered free root beer floats. My friend Amanda and I thought a float sounded good. Besides, we could have fun mocking the losers who actually belonged to this thing. The next thing we know, we're filling out applications to join (it's rude to take an organization's food without at least trying to join). Now I've been officially "rushed". I'm in. For life. Crazy, huh? And you know what the weirdest part is? I kind of like it.

You Can Sleep When You're Dead. . .

So it's 12:21 pm and I'm still putting off reading Act I of The Tempest, which I need to do before my 1:00 class. No, I'm not afraid I won't understand it -- Shakespeare isn't that difficult to me -- I'm just tired and lazy. You see, I have this theory: everything fun happens at night. Why waste my time sleeping, when I could be talking with random people about equally random topics. Take last night, for instance. I spent 10 pm until 2 am talking with a couple of guys I didn't really know. Now, however, I may know them better than some of my closest friends.

The night before last was spent at some random truck stop because my friends all became hungry at midnight -- the same time everything closes. The guy sweeping the McDonald's parking lot directed us to the truck stop, which we left at approximately 1:30. And so on.

Tonight was going to be my binge-sleeping night (I sleep like a bulimic eats: too much, followed by not enough) until I got a call yesterday. "Could you work for me tomorrow night? I just got tickets to the Keith Urban concert." So now I'm working 8:30 pm through 1 am. Which means I won't get to sleep until 3 again. Which means I will be tired all day, take a nap tomorrow afternoon, and be up all night. And so the cycle continues. . .