This is my first 7:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Thursday. I think it will be okay, but I still wish that I could have a little time at home during the day in which to relax, and not just two hours before I have to go to bed. It also doesn’t help that I’m never really alone. I mean, I’m in class, there’s people. At the library, there’s people. At the apartment, there’s people, and cats.

Oh, those cats. Flareon will meow at me in the morning as I’m making breakfast in the kitchen. Ninja meows all the time. We have the terrifying suspicion that she might be going into heat, and Flareon isn’t neutered yet, so Jessi has been keeping Ninja in her room. But it doesn’t change the fact that she meows all night and the walls are thin, so we can all hear her anyway. I woke up this morning at 3:30 and she was still going. I like animals, so I normally don’t want to kill them, but because of these past few days, I’ve really wanted to murder Ninja. But I won’t, because I actually do like cats and I couldn’t be cruel to any animal, and also because I don’t want people thinking I’m insane and I don’t want to go to jail or anything like that. Also, if you’ve read “The Cats of Ulthar,” you really, really don’t want to kill a cat.

Overall, though, things are going well. This has been my most productive week yet. I have been: going to class, working, reading, talking with my supervising teacher and setting up a visit to the school, signing up for CPR training, researching the Praxis II, picking up forms for scholarships, getting my criminal background checks, working out, busting out my calligraphy set, knitting a penguin, and – perhaps my favorite – baking a pie.

I got home at 6:00 last night after working out. I did my homework, ate dinner, took a quick shower, and around 7:30 (I think) I started baking Alex’s birthday peach-blueberry pie. It was really simple to put together, but I was still nervous. I’ve only baked one other pie before, and that was last Thanksgiving. That had gone well, but I also had other women to look to for advice. This time, I was totally on my own.

And let me tell you, it went beautifully. I think after I took it out of the oven and let it cool a bit, I was running around the apartment with it, saying, “LOOK AT THIS! OH! IT’S SO PRETTY!” I took pictures. I’ll post them soon, or whenever I can. I can’t wait to try a slice, but I must. Alex is coming up tomorrow and staying all weekend. I also only have one class tomorrow, and I can sleep in. This weekend is going to be so awesome… I just have to get through today first!