City Living

I love living in at a college in a city because things like this happen. So I have a test in one of my classes tomorrow, just started studying tonight because it's honors weekend and I'm hosting some kids plus I've been sick, etc. etc. Enough excuses. The point is, I just got an email from my professor saying that the HBO special that he's in is filming tomorrow and it might go over the expected time, so we might not have class.Tell me that's not cool. I know for a fact that something that awesome would be nonexistent in a small town college atmosphere -- at best rare. Here, cool stuff like that is around every corner. My RA is singing with a famous local musician; my professor is in an HBO special; another professor appears regularly on FOX News and CNN as a political analyst. It's really inspiring being in the company of such cool people!

Continuation

I'm still riding on my wonder week high as the school week is coming to a close. Just found out that my Jazz combo will be playing next Thursday at a restaurant on campus with a local jazz singer. I couldn't be more excited, really. The problem is, I'm scared. This lady is a professional and we are students, not even music majors. It should be really interesting and I'm super nervous, so the focus of my coming week will be music and preparing for that gig (and of course attempting to continue the calm relaxation of this week).

But there's a storm brewing on the horizon. Rooming next year! The options are suites of 4, suites of 8, or a single connected to a single. Basically the school randomly assigns each student a lottery number and the higher numbers get a first pick of where they want to live. Also I haven't figured out who I want to room with, friends or acquaintances, should I go random again...it worked out this year, but don't really want to stretch my luck. We shall see my friends...updates soon

Wonder Week!

ITS GOING TO BE AN AWESOME WEEK! I have only one test and literally nothing else to do. Its been so long since I could say that. I'm actually in psychology class right now, but I'm so excited about the fact that I have a free week that I just had to post today!

My plan for the week is basically practice sax, which I've been putting off for about a week because last week was full of academic things and go to all the awesome lectures on campus. Today I'll probably go to a French film showing in the art center, tomorrow the man from TOM's shoes is coming to talk about entrepreneurship and the one-for-one plan. Then the next day there's a speaker on the state of the economy who writes for the economist. There's a festival this weekend downtown then on Sunday there's a Brazilian dance and drum club coming to campus, then that night I'm hosting a couple of prospective students and I get to entertain them for the evening! SO basically I'm planning on cruising this week and it's going to be lovely.

One thing i must do, though, is start on this huge research paper that's due next month. :(   But hey that's a small price to pay for a week nearly devoid of work. Living the dream!

Work and Play

Hey everyone. Just starting up midterm week with a rainy Monday. I had a psych midterm today and a French quiz, Thursday I'll have my big International Relations midterm. I had some friend issues this weekend so I really had trouble focusing on my studies this Sunday. it sucks because i knew I had work to do but my mind kept wandering to a fight I had with my best friend and how we left it unresolved. I also had a lot of other stuff going this past weekend including a canoe trip to a nearby wetland and a Jay-Z concert (both of which were awesome). The point is that I really have to buckle down this week and get through this home stretch of midterms if I want to do well. The problem is I cant put everything aside, I still have jazz combo tunes to work on, radio in an hour, volunteering on Friday and lectures I want to attend in between. College really is all about managing your time and staying sane. It's so much that it makes 24 hours seem like so little. Advice for high schoolers: get involved and get used to juggling things, that's what college is. Because whoever you are there is always something you'll want to do that conflicts with what you need to do. Don't get me wrong it's awesome, but it takes skill.

My roommate's next to me singing the Greek alphabet from alpha to omega. No she's not crazy...she's in a sorority and she has to memorize it for Monday. This week is big/little week in Phi Mu, her sorority. Basically its a sweet deal where her "Big" (an older sorority sister who picked her to be her "little") secretly drops off goodie bags for her in our room and decorates her side with the trappings of Phi Mu. I am reaping some of the benefits such as the extra Tootsie Rolls and bits of the Greek alphabet, but also learning about what being in a sorority entails. I decided not to pledge for a bunch of reasons, but that's not to say that I wouldn't recommend rushing and/or pledging to any of you. It gives you access to a huge network of people similar to you who are interested in your well being. Plus it gives you the opportunity to be a part of a campus organization that is involved in many aspects of campus life, from volunteering and philanthropy to social gatherings and mixers. And of course a Big Sis to shepherd your way though underclassmen life...convenient to say the least!

Paper topics are so difficult sometimes. My teacher wants us to have a paper proposal which includes a tentative timeline for working on the paper, a list of proposed sources, a brief explanation of our goal in research, and a preliminary outline of what the paper will be about. My problem starts with finding a topic. The class is international relations, which means basically the list of possible topics is endless. The Arab-Israeli conflict. Womens rights in Islam. Health Issues globally. The booming Chinese and Indian economies. America's declining prominence. Climate change. The list goes on...anyone have any suggestions........?

Technical Difficulties

Sorry for the delay in posts and now the avalanche of new posts that I'm putting up! I accidentally started a new blog and was posting to that blog instead of this one...oopsie. I only realized how to fix and switch over the posts today. Basically I have no tech skills whatsoever, which should prove interesting tonight at my first DJ apprenticeship 'show'. I got put in the Monday night 6-8 Jazz show. I shadow a DJ for two hours and learn the ropes, I'm excited but I know when I take one look at the soundboard I'm going to want to cry...yeah its that bad. Anyway. Remember how I said I was working for one of the candidates for Mayor of the city? Well, he won! Yep...my guy won the race. It was such an exciting time in the campaign! Now the fact that I worked for his campaign will look so much better because he actually won the race. Plus I met him at headquarters the other night. That was the best job I've ever had. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys politics. It's such a good way to get involved and feel like you've impacted your city at a really basic level. Oh yeah and its fun!

Conflicts

This year I'm trying to get more involved at my school as I've mentioned probably a million times. The problem lies in scheduling. I want to do a volunteer project that involves hanging out with kids at a broken homes shelter in town. Problem! My jazz combo meets on the same nights as we'd be going to play with the kids. I could change combos or just not do the volunteering, but I want to do both. ARGHHHHH! The new year at school has been pretty good though. I feel like I'm busier this semester. More reading, less time. I keep forgetting to do things that I have written down in my 'to do' lists. Or i just dont have time to get to them. They're important things, too. Like going to pick up my financial aid check, or forgetting to go to a Psych department experiment that I get extra credit for participating in! A common misconception: writing things down in my planner doesn't necessarily mean I'll do them. Those things are supposed to help!!!

A Little Overwhelmed

I'm trying to apply for internships for this coming summer so I can get an idea if I want to be a Poli Sci major. At the end of last semester I decided to steer clear of History as a major. I was taking a couple of History classes and I liked them a lot (in themselves) but I couldn't see myself becoming a major. Nothing against history majors, but I couldn't see myself studying the past for four years. Now I have to explore Poli Sci, I like the classes I'm taking this semester, International Relations and Political Theory of the West. So this summer I want to intern at either my state senators office, to get a feel for big government in D.C. or land an internship at a nonprofit somewhere. The problem is the applications are due soon, and I have all kinds of school work I have to do. So I'm crammmmmming everything into these next two weeks when most of the applications are due... also when a lot of my tests are. Wish me luck, actually, wish me endurance!

GO DJ

I'm thinking about becoming a radio DJ apprentice at my college. It's different from a regular station in that the only music that is off limits is that which is played on the other radio stations. It's mostly progressive rock but there are jazz shows and local music shows. I think it would be really fun to be an apprentice first, and then after the apprenticeship it would be cool to have my own show. They give you lots of liberty to play what you like to hear, especially if you have your own show. Lots of my friends did it last semester and now have their own show and love it. The only problem is the hours. One of my friends has a 4-6 a.m. show and that is clearly not a reasonable hour for me. Hopefully I can choose my own times that are conducive with my current schedule; that would be the ideal. We'll see how it goes after the informational meeting! Later....