Summer Vacation Begins with a BANG!

Finished, friends! My third year of University is now complete.

I never know when to consider myself belonging to another year of studies. Certainly by September, I shall be "FOURTH YEAR". But for now, what am I? Third Year still? Entering Fourth Year? Just straight up Fourth Year? These are the questions.

So I'm back in Ottawa and headed down to Tobago on Tuesday. Hurrah! I'm excited to see what the future of this summer will bring, and I'm extra-excited to share it with you, internet. It's gonna be a great one, I can feel it!

So not too much has happened. Apart from moving out of Guelph and moving into Ottawa (which I'm still not entirely finished doing...) Easter is really the only thing that happened. It was a lot of fun! I'm happy that Easter was so late this year, because I got to spend it with my family, I think for the first time since I started uni. Dad wasn't here, but everyone else was. Big dinner, big stomach aches... big happiness.

At one point Colin started shooting me with a Nerf gun and I may have taken it and gotten carried away. It was actually super fun and my aim was pretty good. I decided to make things a little more Terminator and brought out the aviators. Clearly, we look pretty badass. And I have no selfie shame, unfortunately. Future Ronnie, please, develop some selfie shame.

So now I think I had better get back to that "moving back in" thing. The clothes are taken care of, but I still have a suitcase full of crap to find a place for...

On that note, I really wish that I could live with fewer things. That modern minimalist lifestyle, y'know? Clean cut, with everything fitting into one bag. Magic. In saying that, Mom and I went to a few thrift stores today and had the best time ever. I just love digging through piles of clothing. I love it so much. I found so many wonderful things! Today's theme was apparently loud tropical print shirts and slightly worn 90s GOLD. Not literal gold. Not even gold-colored fabric. Just golden finds. Golden finds.

And now I have to pack. And also finish un-packing.

Privileged Girl Rants About Stuff and Possibly Sounds Insensitive (and Slightly Flighty).

Guys, the summer is coming and I want to go shopping.

Once this week of final essays and exams is over, I only have four days in Ottawa before I'm hitting up the Caribbean. I never buy anything down there. Maybe because Tobago doesn't have a ton of clothing stores, maybe because I'm cheap, and mostly because I really, really don't like sequins/gems on my clothing. Truth.

So I have four days in which to find the time to get a pair of high-waisted denim shorts. It's a stable that I do not have. Must fix. I was actually thinking that I might head on down to the thrift store and maybe just cut a pair of high-waisted jeans, but typically frayed ends drive me mad, so I'm not sure I could handle it. But we'll see how much the real stores want for them.

In that four days I also have plans to go see the new Captain America movie with my brother, renew my German passport, and organize/store all of my stuff that I'm bringing up from Guelph. Plus packing. I'm not sure how long we'll be in Tobago before coming back to Ottawa so I'll just have to pack wisely. Ooooh maybe I'll do a blog post about that!

Side note: apparently some people, perhaps even most people (not quite sure), don't always have a valid passport? As in, if they aren't planning to travel at all they just let them expire. This is extremely weird to me, obviously because of my family's vagabond-esque style of living but also because it seems crazy to let your passport expire and take away your ability to leave a country. Most of the time travelling trips are planned well in advance but what about spontaneity? The freedom to know that at any time you could hit the road (or the airport) when the opportunity strikes is huge! This is sounding slightly fugitive-like, but there are plenty of reasons to travel unexpectedly apart from avoiding the Fuzz. What about a family emergency that calls you yonder? The only reason I could possibly see for letting your passport expire is if you can't afford the extra expense. I get that. I hate how much passports cost to keep updated. The ability to travel shouldn't be restricted by how much cash you've got in your pocket. It's like there's a monopoly on adventure and personal growth. But if you have the money, keep your damn passport up to date!

And another thing- if you have the ability to get dual citizenship- then do so! That paperwork takes time and effort, don't leave it until you actually need it! Part of my life's philosophy is to be ready for anything. What if you get a sudden job offer in Budapest for the summer? Wouldn't you like to go? Then make it so, number one! Don't twaddle with visas if you don't have to. We live in an incredibly inter-connected world, don't leave yourself out of it.

Another thing I have to do in Ottawa is organize my Dad's socks. He specifically asked me to do this because he says he can tell that they're different, but his eyesight isn't good enough to match them up properly. Apparently he would have asked Mom to help, but she wouldn't have cared. Evidently, he assumed that I would be sympathetic to his non-matching sock plight. I am. No one should have to live with two different socks on their feet. No one. I'm coming to help you, Dad!