Back to School Blues: accepting the inevitable in 5 steps

With fall semester right around the corner (literally in three days...), I figured it's time to write a post on how I am preparing for the upcoming term. My summer of springs, coffee, and bbq is ending, and a new era of my life is beginning. Thus brings me to my five steps to start off a semester right:

1. Denial Class? What is class? What is this school thing everyone is talking about? I completely ignore the fact that my main purpose in Gainesville is getting my education, and instead think about all the adventures that await me when I don't go to class. Dropping out is obviously a viable option, because my student loan debt does not exist.

2. Anger How dare the University of Florida interrupt my relaxing summer with a new semester? I never asked for class to start and quite frankly, I am extremely offended that no one consulted me on this decision. I will proceed to send administration passive-aggressive letters until they postpone fall semester for at least two weeks.

3. Bargaining OK, if the semester MUST begin, at the very least, I should get some sort of financial pay-off. I have to spend the next four months exercising my brain and listening to professors drone on and on about subjects I only half care about? Fine. That'll be $1000.

4. Depression Reality sets in that despite what I want, fall semester is starting in three days and there is nothing I can do about it. Tears stream down my cheeks as I think about all of the papers I will have to write. All hope is lost and I don't believe the situation can get much worse. Until it does.

5. Acceptance Finally, I accept my fate and attempt to greet the semester with an open mind. Although last spring was rough for me in many ways (I coined the term Meltdown Monday), I'm optimistic that I can move beyond that and have a positive experience. I'm actually excited for the classes that I am taking, and I'm eager to start learning (also eager to start using the cute notebooks I bought). Soon I'll be reunited with my friends and my fraternity brothers. Just because the summer is ending, doesn't mean the adventures have to end as well.

This post is mostly a joke, but I'm not lying when I say I'm nervous for the new term. Last semester brought on a load of stress that I was unprepared for, and I can't be blamed for being less than enthused to bring that on again. However, I am hoping for a good experience and I'm determined to make it one. To anyone also starting a new semester, I wish you the best of luck. We got this.

Coffee Tour de Gainesville: Volta Coffee Cupping

Volta is, as far as I know, one of the best known coffee shops in Gainesville. As far as fancy coffee goes, Volta is one of Gainesville's prime. My coworkers spoke of it as if it were some mythical store selling award-winning coffee and quite frankly, I was a bit too intimidated to go at first. I had this weird mental image of the suave young professionals of Gainesville sipping their unsweetened cappuccinos while discussing social justice issues, and I wasn't sure if I was mentally prepared to experience it.

Thankfully that was not the case. At least not completely. My first time going, I spotted some brothers from my fraternity studying in the corner, evading the cool kids. I knew that if they could study at Volta, I could hang out comfortably too. Plus, I realized, why should I care about the suave young professionals? They don't care about me. It made my experience much more pleasant.

Volta hosts a coffee cupping every Saturday - essentially a wine tasting but for coffee enthusiasts. They pass around the grinds, you smell them. They pour water on the grinds, you smell them. Then break them. Then taste them. Pretty simple, but I swear the day that I am able to recognize an aroma of cranberries in a coffee blend will be a happy one (it may never happen). I remained silent during the discussion at the end, figuring my description of "coffee-y" for all 3 blends would not be of much use...

After the cupping I ordered an iced cafe au lait, sans sucre (that's without sugar, for any non-french speakers). Slowly learning to distinguish tastes means taking out those flavors that mask the true taste of the coffee, for me at least. I have found sugar to be an easy elimination. Milk, not so much.

Overall, it was a morning well spent. Finally, weeks later, I'm starting to find myself distinguishing aromas. Maybe in a couple years, after strenuous study, I will have some useful coffee knowledge. Shout out to my coworker/friend Keely for telling me about the cupping!

Descent into The Devil's Millhopper

Two days after I visited Rainbow Springs, I went on a second solo journey. My destination: the San Felasco trails. A coworker, Marsha, told me all about them, and how there are two trails that are about 5 miles round-trip. I woke up that Friday excited for adventure. My body ached for the satisfaction that comes with being outside, unplugged, away from the bustle of my daily life.

I borrowed a backpack suit for day hikes from my roommate Jordanne and set off. I had pretty vague directions from Marsha (off of Millhopper Road), but I was pretty confident that I would be able to find it.

Except I couldn't. After driving up and down Millhopper Road about six times, and my GPS timing out on me because it couldn't locate any signal in the middle of nowhere, I decided to just turn back and call it a day. My bladder was full and I needed relief, not to mention the fact that I was wasting gas driving around for 30 minutes looking for a destination that I was obviously not meant to reach.

As I approached 441, however, I found the Devil's Millhopper. I've heard interesting things about it from friends who had already visited, and I decided to settle for the next best thing.

Upon arrival, I immediately emptied my bladder and began my descent into the sinkhole. So. Many. Steps. I witnessed several people climb up and down the stairs multiple times, exercising. Crazy, I thought.

When I finally reached the bottom, I took a few pictures, observed a mother cooing over her baby, and proceeded back up the stairs. Again, so. many. steps.

At the top of the path, I followed a path titled "nature trail" and hiked the 0.84 mile trail. It didn't take me long, maybe 15 minutes, but I did stop halfway through to eat lunch. I enjoyed my pb&j and tortilla chips on a bench beneath the sun and thought about how grateful I was that it wasn't raining, like the weather forecast said it would. Most memorable part of my hike: a three year old girl complaining about how bored she was, and her father scolding her that nature isn't boring at all.

My Summer Must-Haves

I saw a summer "must-haves" post by Teen Vogue a few months ago, featuring some very pricey items that, honestly, I do not need at all for the summer. A $150 bag that I probably wouldn't even want to touch the ground? Probably not a good idea for the beach. Anyway, I decided to do my own summer "must-haves" post, with things that I have actually been using all summer long.

1. High-Waisted Shorts

2. Birkenstocks (although my Chacos hold a close second)

3. Moleskine Notebook

4. Eno Hammock

5. My Road Bike (no link, sorry!)

6. Cold Brew Coffee (made in my french press!)

I think these items pretty much reflect my summer - adventuring, bike riding, and the blazing Gainesville heat. One more item that I didn't include: sunscreen. What are some of your must-haves for the summer?

Sunday Afternoon

After a week of craziness (being home, my mom's birthday, work, and 5 hours of driving on the turnpike), it was time for a day to just... relax. No alarms, no urgency, just pure existence.

I started my day by planning out my month in my bullet journal. I love the bullet journal because, like an agenda, it reminds me of deadlines and tasks, but it doesn't have any strict guidelines. It's pretty much whatever I want it to be, and crossing things off my daily "to-do" list is always satisfying.

Every meal is my favorite meal of the day, but I always try and make sure I have a great breakfast. This one: red peppers, yellow onions, tomatoes, spinach, and ham all diced, sauteed in my (new to me) cast iron skillet, and combined in an egg scramble. Add blueberry green tea and water with sliced lemons and I was pretty much in breakfast heaven.

My day continued with an hour of brewery yoga at First Magnitude, followed by chimichangas at La Tienda with some friends. Good laughs and good chats ensued.

And finally, after tidying my room and burning incense, I ended my day by finishing one of the books that I've been reading on this summer. This Sunday was definitely a needed break from stress and worry. It put me in such a blissful mood that I didn't even mind waking up at 6 this morning to work in the bakery (that and my homemade cold brew...).