Norse Notes: Marcie

I Love College

2009-05-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm watching Law and Order: Criminal Intent... trying to do my religion paper and have something for my Paideia paper. There's, again, not much to say. I slept through my speech class, so... that went badly, but it doesn't even faze me.

That's something that's changed since I was in college. Before, if anything went wrong, my whole day was ruined up until the next day when maybe something good would happen. Honestly, there have been many times this week where I wanted to pull my hair out or just scream, but those moments never ruin my day (even if they come in unnecessary amounts).

I would not call it maturity--everyone who's ever had any sort of conversation with me knows that I'll never be mature--but it's... something that grew. I'm not sure how to word it.

On a much less serious note: here are some of the amazing things you learn at Luther/college.

1. "About" is an amazing way to mock Minnesotans and Northern Wisconsiners.

2. You learn the art of "walmarting" it.

3. When you say "you'll pace yourself" you won't.

4. How to maximize every single second of sleep by way of shortcut or sacrifice

5. "Working better under pressure" is complete crap.

AND SO MUCH MORE. That was a bit of advertisement. ;)

This Is How We Do

2009-05-04T08:07:00.001-07:00

On Friday, May Day, I was coerced into going to Relay for Life. Relay for Life is a fundraising program that takes place in schools everywhere--my high school had done Relay for Life--and it pretty much consumed my friend, who was organizing it. I meant to participate, but... life got in the way and I didn't pay my registration fee (or register, but that's a minor detail) so I was left to write my papers and read my paideia books and work while there were fundraisers and meetings.

On Friday, the day of the event, I went to support our team, which was our hall floor. Because that was the same night as the Aurora and Norsemen concert, there weren't too many people there when I was there. The concert probably ended around nine and I was only there at 7-8:45 because I had to go to work. But it was fun to be there. We played cards and ate the free food. There were many pictures taken, especially with the people from our floor walking around with the giant inflatable pineapple. I had no idea what its purpose was, but it was interesting to watch.

One downer on the whole spiel was that it was inside. It was spacious inside and temperature controlled for sure... but it was still inside. The weather is getting so much better now and everyone is outside reading, doing homework, or just hanging out... outside, but Relay was inside. That was one thing that bugged me, but inside also meant stereo equipment and I was definitely not complaining about that.

After work, I went straight back to my room instead of the Relay, so I slept (I had to work early the next day). Relay for Life went from 6pm to 6am.... which meant I didn't see my friends until about four in the afternoon. I was subbing for a friend at work Saturday morning and one of the girls there had been at relay. Her shift started before mine and the girl had not slept at all. It was kind of funny to watch, just because she was so out of it. My friends that stayed were all sore and amazed at how late they slept or absolutely exhausted. I was cruel and laughed at them. I know, I'm mean.

There's not really too much to do this week. Things are kind of winding down and winding up as we get closer and closer to the end of the year. There's less to do, but those things that you do have to do are super important. I'm writing my last paideia paper of the year and hopefully for the rest of eternity. I'm doing my last religion reflection for the rest of my life. The constitutional convention is done. No more choir. I have my last speech to do (which I should probably be worried about since it's on Thursday). All is pretty good.

I guess everything is getting better along with the weather. When it was stormy and gloomy... so was I. But it's sunny and warm today and I'm pretty content with life. Can't complain.

The Great Escape

2009-04-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

I had an amazing, unschool-related weekend. I went to my roommate's house with my other roommate and two friends last weekend. We rode horses and we went to prom... again. Let me tell you about it...

It takes seven hours to get there. We left at 4:30 (because Laurie had to wash her feet) and we took a half an hour or so (+30 minutes) to eat at Tomah, WI and then also had to pull over because of the hail. It took us 8 hours to get there. It was great fun. We were ahead of the storm most of the time, except when we got hailed on and rained on. It turned out to be pretty fun--I saw my first cranberry bog--but as soon as the storm hit, I went to sleep. I hate storms and that's really the only way I can get through them intact. But I woke up for the hail. And the gas station... and then didn't go back to sleep.

We got there and then went to Jessica's (my roomie) best friend's house and hung out there until three. I was dead to the world, mentally. I was so ready to sleep. I slept with Emily (other roomie) on the pull out in the basement. It was... not at all like my bed at Luther, but not bad either.

I woke up at the crack of noon with my roommate and we had breakfast. Yum. I love home food. It's so much better than caf food. After that, the terror began. We went out to see the doggie. I ran through some chickens. I saw my first sheep and pet it. Then everyone came out and it was time to catch horses. I caught one--or tried--and just managed to get really dirty. I'm short, so all my pants are long and track through... everything. I was also wearing my converse, so those turned brown. It was pretty dirty. We groomed, then we started riding.

Oh boy.

Let's just say, I'm still feeling the consequences.

Then it was prom! It was very different from my prom, that's for sure. Not bad either. It was fun and we danced and laughing and took pictures. I'm fairly certain all of them are on facebook. After prom we had a bonfire with Jess' sister's friends and her sisters and brother. I was a lame-o and I went to bed after a while because I was just so tired. I was extremely tired, especially after getting physically beat up by horseback riding.

The next day was another AMAZING breakfast. And then we left. Twas a sad day. But we made it here in like... 6 hours. It was amazing (until we heard the tornado watch for the county were were driving through). I read the paideia on the way and had Subway... other than that, I was not the most comfortable because I was sore all over and sitting in one position. I'm pretty sure that's why I'm still hurting now.

And then it was back to school.

The Boogie That Be.

2009-04-19T22:03:00.001-07:00

I ended that last entry on a... it wasn't the best note, that was for sure. But everything is fine now. the failed exam is behind me, paideia... well... yeah, I finished the paper, at least. Religion is turning into a manageable force, speech is... it's getting there and all the other classes are fine. All is pretty much well with the world.

And it's registration time too! I register on Wednesday and I have all my classes lined up with SOME scheduling conflicts, but nothing I can't handle. I have had two semesters of 8am classes everyday... next semester that most likely will not be an issue. :DDDD. Yes. I am excited. My advisor is pretty cool and I like her. She's been to Chicago. XD.

Honestly, I feel like nothing can take me down. I have my paideia paper done. It's like walking on AIR. I've actually had it done for about a week, but that's beside the point. I still feel like I'm walking on AIR, especially since other people are still scrambling around doing their papers.

I have a roommate for next year... AND SHE'S PRETTY MUCH THE (expletive I can't say that starts with an 's'). She's like... 6 feet... I'm 5'2".... but we make it work. We always go to wal-mart together and have the most 'affectionate' nicknames. It's great. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll probably never see her though... because she's music major and their residence is actually Jensen, the music building... they just keep their things in the dorm room. I'm not sure it that's a good thing or bad thing yet. I mean... I like having the room to myself... but one really is the loneliest number.

THINGS TO EXPLORE AND THINK ABOUT UNTIL MY NEXT POST:

1. Check out Safari internet. It's AWESOME.

2. Youtube "Scarlet takes a tumble" (LOL)

3. Eat Lay's Kettle Cooked Jalepeno chips.

Also, The Boogie That Be is the song that my dance class was going to do our hip-hop dance to. It was great. But we weren't allowed to do it because it had violence and... suggestive language. I liked that one so much better than what we actually did.

Girls a Straight Up Hustler

2009-04-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

So... I just got back from a. the most stressful weekend. ever, b. the most important test ever that I probably didn't do too well on, and c. the worst paideia class ever... maybe I'm being dramatic, but it sure seems like it.

Stressful weekend? I realized on Monday that I had one week to read everything we were assigned to do in my American Politics class. It wouldn't (and shouldn't) have been a problem... if I'd read anything at all. It was really my fault. Really. And paideia. Paideia always gets in the way of my major/life/happiness. So I spend the whole weekend freaking out and reading even though I had a migraine so bad I was actually feeling sick and feeling all this pain in my shoulders... that's how much I freaked out. And I don't freak out. Not normally at least. So, yes. Not a great weekend. At least not until I took that painkiller and then eased away my pain and passed out. It was nice.

I am not encouraging painkiller intake though. I had a migraine. I had reason.

Most important test I probably failed? Yeah. Stressful weekend = not very useful when it came down to the actual exam. I'm not the best writer. I know this. I'm not the best reader, I know this too--and it's only because I get so distracted. Sometime between the painkiller and walking into class, half the information I knew flew out the window. It was a great experience. Really.

Of course, before this happened, paideia happened. Paideia... murderer of everything good in life. I'm not doing the reading, mostly because I was too busy studying for more important things (much like my future). My teacher found this out. Bad things. I only added to that by completely walking out of the class before the teacher was done. In my defense, I totally thought she was done. She was like "Okay, if anyone hasn't done a conferences with me..." and I was like, "Yes! Now I have to buy a blue book and suffer!" I was on a time constraint so I hauled butt out of that room.

She wasn't done. Realized that when no one else came out. Like... NO ONE. I looked in the window and half the people were still sitting. That felt nice. Realized even later (after failed test when I was contemplating my worth in life, which wasn't much at the time) that not only had I left early, not read much (I'm on pg. 57 at least), and stayed absolutely silent in more than a few classes, but... I forgot to turn in the mini-paper for that day. She collects them at the end of class. Good times.

But at least I only have one class tomorrow. Then I sleep the rest of the day. There is a silver lining. But not today. Today is Monday.

Shooting Star

2009-03-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I like about college... it's the internet. My mom has that 'internet wherever you are' thing... yeah, the program won't load on my computer, therefore, I have been cut off from the world unless I take those long trips to Panera.

Obviously, I survived midterms week... barely, but I did it. Tragedy struck about... 25, 000 times but that's okay. I came out alive in the end. I turned in the rough draft of my paideia research paper (*dies*) and did my super awesome speech for Public Address on the Merengue. I'm actually very proud of the speech. I finished my american politics paper on the continuity of government... religion... yeah... it's done at least. I'm not too anxious to see THAT grade.

Spring break was amazing and definitely needed after having all that stress the week before. There are many things I like about going home besides seeing my friends, mother, and doggies. For example, I'm quite fond of my air mattress and my couch. I'm quite fond of Chipotle and Panera and Starbucks. I'm very fond of driving my car and a Taco Bell that is open until 4am, as well as listening to the radio while I'm driving n the car and chilling with the homies a.k.a acting like losers. I also like that whole "no class and lots of sleep" thing. That's pretty nice. ;)

I went shopping while I was home and gave my mom my money from work-study for tuition... that was fun and painful. But I took a lot of clothes home because I knew I wasn't going to wear them and it was going to be a pain to pack up all the clothes at the end of the year... so I have new clothes and about half my closet. It's slightly pathetic considering how full my roommates' closets are. But there's not much I can do. I have a lot of stuff on my desk.

Alright, as lame as it sounds... it's bedtime. :B. I'm trying to maximize all the sleep I can. I've already showered and unpacked and I've decided to save my homework for an undetermined late and I plan on skipping paideia lecture. Hooray for terrible bad habits. XD.

I'm kidding. I would never skip paideia lecture.

Never.

Burn It to the Ground

2009-03-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is midterm week. Last semester, that didn't really mean that much to me... but I'm definitely feeling it now. Actually, I'm feeling it now for last semester and this semester. I only had one midtern last semester and that was in the ever constant pain, paideia. It is totally kicking my butt. Along with religion. This is not a very good semester for me. T_T

Here's what's going down in Marcie World, and it's quite terrifying. Today has passed, and that was when I had to go into a panic (which is rare) because I had forgotten to do my application for the Diversity Center and it was due by 4:00. Instead of doing it like I had planned between American Politics and religion, I had taken a nap instead (great nap, in case you were wondering). So, that was completely my fault. Tomorrow, is Paideia Tuesday, as usual. I'll be slaving over that homework and pulling a very late night so that I can get a good grade. My goal for today is to finish transcribing all my interviews. I have the first one done and am starting the second one. The third one isn't very long, so I don't think it'll be a problem.

Wednesday is going to be a hard day. Not only is the paper due that day, but there's also a common quiz. I honestly think that paideia is out to get all the students.

Thursday, I have to give a speech in Public Address. For some reason, I thought we would do less speeching in speech, so I signed on for a course load I wasn't completely prepared for. I want to quit that class, but... compared to the others, it's fairly easy. You only worry about it on speech day.

Friday, I have my American Politics paper due... I'm very much in trouble for that because I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do with it. I don't know if it's an opinion paper or a research one... because I haven't started and I haven't asked... because my bed always starts calling to me around 10:00... yeah. I'll probably shoot him an email and ask what exactly I'm supposed to do for the paper. Also, on Friday, I have my religion midterm and paideia midterm. They're both out to get me, I swear. Cool teachers... worst subjects EVER.

I have no idea if I'm in trouble, but... I think I have it. I think. I hope. Most likely... I have to get it sometime.

Long Hallway With a Broken Light

2009-03-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

Before anyone worries too much about me, I'm ok. I had to cancel my interview, but we did it on Saturday and I'm still on track. However, it was a track of giant, mountain sized speed bumps and blood, sweat and tears. This is all paideia. I hate paideia, in case no one could tell.

I have a terrible transcribing story. Yesterday/this morning was the worst yesterday/this morning of my life. This is going to be hard to believe. But it happened. I have the tears and multiple bawling phone calls to prove it. I had over half of my first interview done and it was around 13 pages, so I figured I could just print that out quickly in case I didn't get around to it later on. When I was clicking out of Word, it asked me if I wanted to save it. I figured that I could work more and actually finish the whole first interview... so I clicked "no"... and now it's gone forever. I tried to recover it, but it's never coming back.

Yeah. I was stupid. I don't save though, I'm not a saver. And this isn't even the first time that's happened, it's just the first time I had spent seven hours and gotten that many pages doing it. Of course the library, the one really really quiet place on campus closes at midnight, so I spent a half an hour trying to find someplace else that was equally as quiet.

I didn't, by the way, but I borrowed someone else's headphones since half the reason I couldn't hear the interviewee was because my headphones are permanently broken (it seems selfish, but I kind of really want my mother to buy me new headphones... like replacement iPod headphones instead of the regular ones... and those are cheap... so I'd rather she bought it... I'm a jerk. Yes.) I think that might have cancelled everything out.

It really wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been in the library for SEVEN HOURS when I am personally not a big fan of quiet places that are sometimes scenes in horror movies. And places where I actually have to shut my mouth and/or shut up in general. I'm not too good at that.

Yeah, and today isn't looking any better. I've been awake for two hours and I've almost died five times, my coffee is really gross (don't know why) and I pulled some stupids a few times already. I'm fully incompetent at work and religion so that should be a fun time.

So I Thought

2009-03-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

I am overwhelmed. So what else is new, I guess. But this time, I genuinely have no idea what I'm going to do and how I should do it. I have a paideia research paper, which would normally take the backseat to everything else because... it's paideia and I hate it, but this time I can't do that. Because what I once said was cool... IS NOW TOTALLY UNCOOL. I have to do three interviews, all of which have to be two hours long. Then I have to transcribe and do research.

Yeah. I get wiped out thinking about it. But I'm not done.

I'm in Public Address, cool class. Absolutely hard. I have to write an informational speech and I've been completely unable to come up with a topic. I have to have it done by Thursday. I have my next interview on Wednesday. I'm scared that I'm going to ahve to cancel that interview because I have to work on my speech. I very much don't want to do that because I'm on a time constraint and it takes about 12 hours to transcribe 6 hours of interview time.

I'm in such trouble. Help?

I Can Do Better.

2009-02-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little upset today, quite honestly. Today was the silent processional/prayer vigil for the illegal immigrants affected by the Postville Raid. I was asked to be a part of it and I procrastinated so much in the response that I ended up not answering at all.

Why had such a lowly freshman (not really) like me been asked to be a part of it?

I had been a campaign manager for Paideia for Postville, which was just a small fundraiser that was held in December when the churches were in need of help for all the immigrants they were hosting. We managed to raise a little more than 1,000 dollars (most likely much more, but I'm not completely sure) and sent it all to help with food and clothes, I believe. It was a really good effort put forth in the last few weeks of first semester. We did fairly well and there was a class representative and everything who harrassed everyone into donating.

And I was responsible for forwarding emails and all that jazz. I didn't do my job very well because I wasn't completely sure about what I was doing, but I was not alone in my endeavors. There was another girl working with me about it.

So for the vigil, we were asked to participate and share some words of prayer... Let me tell you, I am not that religious at all. In fact, defining myself as any religion is kind of frightening to me. Little to say, I'm not that big (or good) at praying. I can write a thesis better than I can pray and the thought of trying to do all that in front of people who want some deep, heartfelt words about the whole experience terrified me to the umpteenth level.

So I didn't go. And I regret that. I wanted to be a part of it badly. Sure, I didn't do much, but I have deep sympathy for the immigrants since I am one myself, although legal, and have friends that are illegal aliens. To me, it was definitely something to fight for, but I couldn't muster the courage to share some words.

Epic fail?

I think so.

Spaceman

2009-02-16T00:38:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened this week, I'll be brutally honest. People are getting slapped with the reality that second semester is no joke. And trust me... it's no joke. Paideia is still a killer, but we already have a paper due that is apparently so important that I have to stay up until... now (2:48) to finish writing it. It's really just a response paper.

Religion kicked my butt on Friday. Let's talk about my Friday. It was a good day. All I had was paideia in the morning and then choir in the afternoon because two of my other classes were cancelled. It was a good day. I went back to my dorm and read the bible homework that I hadn't done and took a short nap. I planned to wake up at 11:00 so that I could have the response in by 11:30. We had a write at least 500 words on the prompt. Not hard right?

I turned in 200 words. That's not even half of what we needed. It was my first grade in the class and it was an epic fail. Of course, maybe it would have helped if I read any of the homework at all, but the question was not based on any of the other readings we had to do! I was ashamed. It wasn't even that I said all that could be said. I had no idea what to say--actually, I ended up confusing myself to the point where it went beyond just drowning.

Little to say... I hate religion right now. It shouldn't be as hard as it is. I went to church. I sometimes listened! I was confirmed and "read" the bible for confirmation.

Alright, I just fell asleep there for five minutes, so I'm going to turn in. Write more later.

The Art of Losing (your mind to work-study)

2009-02-09T00:13:00.000-08:00

Work-study. The ever constant thorn in my side. Sure, I have interesting stories to tell about my experiences, but that doesn't take away the fact that it sucks. Intensely. It pretty much sucks all the blood, life, and essence out of your life.

I'm not kidding.

This week was the first week of school. I was super happy because I no longer had hours in the caf and all of them were at Marty's. Trust me, it's infinitely more cooler. ;). I had all my hours planned and I was dealing with the fact that I would have to get up at 8am even on Saturdays. Horrible, I know, but it gave me a chance to have a weekend, at least. I had all ten hours, which was nice, considering how I had nine last semester, and I was prepared for lift-off.

And then I was crashed/emergency landed. My friend that I thought I was working my 3-hour Saturday shift with said that she didn't see me on the schedule for that particular shift. I shimmied on over to Marty's and assessed the situation. And it was bad. Apparently, there had been a miscommunication and that shift was taken away from me and given to someone else. I had to find three hours or suffer the consequences of super-poverty.

It put a damper on my day, that was for sure. I found out I was three hours in the hole an hour before I had to go into work as a cleaner. I hate cleaning. I really do, but that's what I signed on for. It was an unhappy day indeed. I was terrified I was going to have to go to the caf to get hours, which would very much break my soul.

Luckily, one of the workers was canceling one of her shifts and it was on a day that I wasn't working.

You are now reading the blog of someone who has 9 hours (again! ><) and works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I don't advise doing that. I'm certain my sleep will suffer. But the things I do for money...

Better in Time

2009-02-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

It's the first week of second semester and I have formally given up my biology major. There's hope yet (I haven't sold the book) but at this point, I would rather take Paideia all four years than take another semester of biology (I probably wouldn't, but it's to establish a point). I am taking Paideia, American Politics, Intro to New Testament, Public Address, and Wellness. I'm not sure how I feel about taking all those right now for many different reasons.

Paideia... there's really no choice. I tried, but my advisor sent me an email telling me that I needed to take a Paideia next semester. It's not that bad, really. I have the professor that I had last semester... even though it's a 8AM... yeah. Luckily, to make up for it being at such an ungodly time in the morning and for having to trek that hill between Larsen and Olson (don't underestimate it's power at 8 in the morning), instead of doing the intense research paper that has to be 10-15 pages, our "research paper" is on oral history. I don't know much about it, but I'm pretty excited for it. She's having the Luther archivist come in and talk about retelling oral stories and then we have to choose someone from a different culture and at a certain age to tell their story. Other than that, I still hate it. Nothing make me want to cry more than trying to write a 5-6 page paper on a book I didn't finish reading.

Right after Paideia is my American Politics class. I was terrified on the first day. There's no homework. There's four books. There's a 7-10 page paper due in March on a change we'd make or something we would keep the same on the Constitution and then we get to take the identity of a politician and hold a Constitutional Convention. Then there's those dreaded participation grades... I'm not a good participant--not before 11 in the morning. I mean, I opened my mouth once today and it did not come out in English and I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the question either. Yeah, it was embarrassing... but I was so exhausted, I hardly noticed. However, I'm still pretty excited about it. Because I'm a proud nerd. :)

*insert naptime from 10:15 - 12:15*

Then I have Intro to New Testament... yeah. There's not much I can say about that class, but our professor is pretty cool from what I can tell of the first two days. I would probably have more to say if I... actually did the homework. Oops... yeah, I fell asleep somewhere between reading my American Politics and bleeding out of the eyes for Paideia. But hopefully, I'll have more to say next time.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays... ANOTHER 8AM! I have to say... I think I enjoy torture. My 8am is Public Address. I didn't think it would be that bad because I was super-nerd in high school and I was on speech team. I totally sucked, but I was ON it, which is more than some people can say. Then she said the bad word: Extemporaneous. I wanted to drop that class. It just means that instead of having it laid out in front of you word by word, it's notes that you refer to. That was sucking specialty. I was a much better memorizer/impromptu person than extemp. speaker. I'm interested to see my score in that class.

*insert naptime from 9:30 - 11:00*

Wellness? It's not your average gym class. One day is in lecture and the other is actually doing activity. It's pretty laid back and a bunch load of my friends have it at the same time. Whether they are in my class or not is up in the air. I have no idea who my teacher is (I should probably look that up). We have to read... which isn't that great, but compared to the rest of the reading I have to do, it's nothing.

That, plus work-study, is my life. I'm not sure how I feel about it still. We'll have to see how I feel next week.

It's A Disaster

2009-01-26T11:31:00.001-08:00

Lateness, the story of my life. Sometimes it's a conscious choice, other times... not so much. And I'm honestly not sure at all how to fix it. I can set two alarms and still sleep through my 8 o'clock classes, waking up sometime around 11 (Luckily, that was a Thursday, so I didn't have my other class until 1:30).

Saturday night, I made a choice, probably not the best choice, but I did make it and enjoyed it. That resulted in me going to bed around five in the morning, which was why it wasn't the best choice. I had work at 10:15 on Sunday. That is usually a hard shift for me to do, since on Sundays I don't wake up until three on a good day--without staying up so late the night before.

I heard my alarm, but I had set my alarm early so that even if I didn't hear it the first time, I would be okay. I heard it once. Then I woke up. And I was already five minutes late, that alone meant that I couldn't eat breakfast and I was probably going to have a stroke trying to run there in the cold weather right when I woke up.

Sunday was the worst day ever. Until 1:45 when I got off work. People in the caf on Sundays are like vultures. There is no moderation! Everyone got so excited for the mac and cheese and the eggs and sausage and there was no stopping them. I could only watch as they demolished all the food and had to force me to go back and forth between the kitchens and the line. I burned my hands a lot. Do not underestimate the power to steam. It's pretty lethal.

On top of that, I was still super tired. I actually fell asleep for five minutes just leaning against the counter. In my defense, I had minimal sleep and I was sick.

I have a secret. For the last two weeks that I'd been working that shift in the caf, I had escaped cleaning tables and the such. In fact, last week, I had gotten out fifteen minutes before I was supposed to. It was a good day, that day. But this week, I wasn't so lucky. I finished cleaning up my area and went to the clockroom. I told the person I was done. She asked if I had asked a manager. I'm a liar, and I lied. She said that was the same thing I'd done last week and sent me back out.

Bad Day.

So I had to clean tables. Again, people are vultures. Messy, messy vultures.

Children of the Revolution

2009-01-18T20:26:00.001-08:00

Let's be honest, I'm not exactly the most outgoing person. I talk. A lot. And loudly, but... that doesn't always mean I have a plethora (did I spell that right?) of friends all over the place. I have close friends in my dorm and I love them dearly, but that's quite seriously about it.

There are rumors that went around my group of friends who had older brothers or sisters in college and they said that in the first two weeks of school was where you make your friends and you have to go crazy insane making those friends or else it's going to be hard otherwise.

They're so full of crap, let me tell you that.

It's J-Term now and I find myself making new friends still. You sit next to a person, you ask them a stupid question (like one that states quite clearly the answer on the syllabus) and then it's best friends forever (not really). Then you sit down and watch a movie in one of the dorm rooms with a bunch of "strangers" after being locked out of the room you were supposed to watch the movie in. Then it's bonding, where everyone throws in their own comments and pays little attention to the movie (I don't recommend that).

But after a while, you have friends. So never think you'll never get friends, because there are plenty of opportunities!

Sweet Misery

2009-01-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

So, the first week of J-Term is complete and I already have a test. It really isn't that bad. I'm learning some new things every day.

I'm taking Intro to Chinese Cinema, which I took mostly because it was easier to schedule work hours then and because it sounded like an easy class. I wasn't into the whole effort idea while all my friends were still at break. I actually like my class though. Sure, there are times when I get a little homesick for the Japanese class, which was basically the same thing, but it'll give me something to tell my teacher when I go back to visit her between breaks.

Meanwhile, there is forever drama in my life. Last semester, I worked in the cafeteria for one shift and that shift was the dishroom. Everyone loves working there. It's my worst enemy. All the steam and the hot plates and the wetness--I hate wetness. I always ended up smelling like a garbage can and my skin all oily and gross when I got back to the dorm. So, I hate the dishroom, and when I was scheduling for my j-term hours, I avoided it at all costs. I even took a lunch shift on Friday when I already had a closing shift at Marty's to avoid the dishroom.

So imagine my surprise (and intense misery) at walking into the clockroom Friday morning and finding out that I had to work dishroom.

Little to say, I did not bring clothes to change into because I didn't think I was working the dishroom and went straight to class right after. It was the worst. I smelled like a garbage can. My hair went limp (which is a tragedy within itself) and I was wet. Ew...

So, I officially am not a big fan of the Fridays. Luckily, I only have two more Fridays.

Keep on Singin' My Song

2008-12-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

I now have a new favorite Christmas tradition. Christmas at Luther.

I really wasn't big on the choir because of all the time that was put into just practicing when I could be doing something more productive... like facebooking. But after this week, I saw just what happened because of the all the practicing and it made me smile, just a little bit.

On Sunday, it was the worst rehearsal ever because it lasted forever and we had to come back from break early, but every other rehearsal after turned less and less into a hassle. We had a dress rehearsal on Wednesday and we wore our robes and make-up and went through all the individual choir songs and I felt kind of giddy. The lights were in full view and there was even a little audience. Sure, we had to go back and forth a few times, but it felt almost like the real thing with the running up the stairs to the balcony and the coming down and running into Aurora.

We had our first performance on Thursday and that was where all my friends and my roommate were (my other roommate was in choir). Overall, it went very well for having messed up a few times in the dress rehearsal. I was definitely feeling the spirit because of the song selection. I was pretty much on a high the entire time because not only was it a really good Christmas performance, but it was the first time I was on a stage like that in years. So afterwards, at the dorm, I had a dance party with my friends (even though we probably should have been studying for the biology quiz) and we popped, locked, and dropped it until we were sore.

Not a good idea.

On Friday, there were two performances and I was still aching sore from the dancing the night before. It was the most unpleasant, hardest, painful-est recital to go through. Standing the on the risers did nothing to curb the pain in my legs. I was fairly certain that all people saw on my face was clear agony and pain. However, it was still a better performance than the one on Thursday (in my opinion). That was just the first concert. The second one was a little worse for me, so I might have gotten a little overenthusiastic when we were singing the last song (which I was already enthusiastic about because it's my favorite) and raged out of there to change into my jeans and warm boots and then proceed to collapse in my bed. We didn't get out until eleven that night, but it was totally worth it.

Saturday was, what I thought, the best performance. Everything went perfectly and I wasn't in as much pain as I was the night before. It was great. I wished it could have been Sunday that was the best performance because that was when my mother was going to be there, but alas, it wasn't. Sunday was one of the top because of the candle-lighting, which is my second favorite part of the concert.

Because the concerts were being recorded by public television people, we couldn't have the stage completely dark during the lighting, so the effect wasn't as powerful. But on Sunday, we had the lights off and I quickly scanned the room looking at all the choirs (even though I probably wasn't supposed to) and got kinda happy. I'm a sentimental person--it gets me every single time.

Really, that was the best experience ever. I probably wouldn't repeat it right now and I'm kind of happy it's over, but I would do it again next year in a heartbeat. I was happy to be a part of it, no matter how painful, time consuming, paper failing, test failing, hot, and crowded it may be.

(Yes, I did fail my paideia paper that was due on Wednesday [I think] and it was partly the reason I failed my quiz) -- but it was totally worth it. And I just suck at time managment.

Marcie

That's Not My Name

2008-11-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

So, Thanksgiving break has come and gone. Unfortunately, it is gone and there's school tomorrow. I'm not sure what's more depressing; the fact that for the rest of this week, there will be no rest, that I won't get to see my friends forever, that I didn't get into the class I wanted for J-Term, or that I have class tomorrow. I think they're all pretty equal.

It's Christmas at Luther week. The dreaded week is here. Today we had a six hour rehearsal (five hours plus an hour long break for some) and my voice is dying. I had to leave home, my warm, amazing, awesome home at seven in the morning. Not only that, but it took double the time to get here because of the weather. Then I'm here for an hour and I have to go to choir. Me? I'm not a big choir person. I like to sing and I like the songs, but I have extremely mixed feelings about choir. It's just always been an 'I hate choir, but when I'm there it's ok' kind of thing.

Let me tell you, there was none of that today. This break, I was meaning to catch up on all the things I had fallen behind in other classes and start the paideia paper that I thought was due on Monday (it's due Wednesday). Didn't happen. I did get caught up, but only in one class. Bad times, but they were oh-so enjoyable (seriously, biology or dinner party with friends you haven't seen since July? I think we all know the answer). So, since I didn't do diddly squat during my break I was freaking out the entire five hours to the point where I made myself sick. It was the worst choir rehearsal/day/life experience ever. I was seconds from crying.

Kids, I am not a good role model, I'll say that right now. I'm stuck in high school where I never studied for tests and never actually read the material (can someone say sparknotes?), but I'm learning. And everyone is going on a learning experience with me. I had learned before, but then I got lazy, which happens a lot. But I need to remember that I am 18,000 dollars in debt so that I can study. So I should study and get off facebook. I'm getting there. Slowly, but surely. And next semester is going to be so much better.

Marcie

And all the titles lately have been titles of songs that I listen to while I write these SPECTACULAR AMAZING blogs, in case anyone was wondering. Look them up. They're pretty good.

An Honest Mistake

2008-11-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

Alright, it's officially the week of Thanksgiving Break. That's three days of no classes, no work-study, no cafeteria food, no choir rehearsal, no Rigoberta Menchu, or common quizzes. However, break starts Tuesday and I still have Monday and my 8:00 class on Tuesday. My heart, however, doesn't know that.

I have a paideia rough draft due tomorrow.
It's three in the morning.
I haven't. even. started.
In fact, I'm watching 2Fast 2Furious.

See my problem?

And I honestly don't know when I'll get it done! I only have an hour and a half between calculus and bio and I have a really big topic! I'll be one of the shame-faced losers that walks into class and hopes they don't get the one girl that would turn them in to the teacher. I mean, I'm not a big fan of the misspellings, but that does not mean that I shouldn't write the paper! *panics*. Oh boy. It's not like I can write it during biology either. That would be WRONG (I'm sure it wouldn't matter if I had read the chapter last night, but I didn't).

Now, I am not a hypocrite. I DO learn from my mistakes... but this is a new one. I'm in break before break actually happens. But no worries, I'll manage.

Now... I'm going to write my paper on the Guatemalan Civil War in regards to Rigoberta Menchu and the speaker we had come into class (I would probably write about that, except that we signed a form that said we couldn't repeat what he said in class outside of class, since he's testifying in court).

That's all for today. I'm going to make an outline of my paper.

Marcie

Under the Gun

2008-11-17T09:02:00.001-08:00

Again, another busy week ahead of me. Not as busy as the last two, but who knows what unexpected things will happen.

I facilitated last week in my Honors class. I sucked. Everyone said it wasn't that bad. Everyone is a liar.

Last night was the first Christmas at Luther rehearsal and it was amazing. All the choirs were together and it was just really awesome to hear. I'm in Cantorei--I'm not going to say anything negative about it, but we were just a little unprepared for the mass rehearsal. There were two songs where everyone just looked at each other, smiled, and faked it. I almost died because I tried to hit the notes. It didn't work out so well.

My godmother, she works here at Luther, tried to scare me about Christmas at Luther. She said that I'd have to start getting ahead because I'd for sure fall behind because of all of the rehearsals. I'm going to have to call her out on that. The mass rehearsals are on Sundays, which isn't a problem for me, until the week of Christmas at Luther in which case the rehearsals are when I'm usually doing my work-study, so it's not like I'm doing homework then anyway.

But Christmas at Luther is probably going to be the most amazing Christmas event ever [besides going back home and seeing my friends and going to the Kris Kindl Market] and I seriously can't wait until the performances. There are going to be candles and we get to be broadcasted on national television, which is always a plus. I can't wait.

And now, it's time for Bio. T_T

Die Another Day... Cause Imma busy!

2008-11-10T16:48:00.001-08:00

Oh my goodness. It has been a crazy week. Let me tell you. With the paideia paper, the bio exam, my birthday, the elections, and all the events that I had to go to for my political science class, I don't think I've had time to even sleep, let alone feel homesick!

It's crazy and half the time I have no idea what takes priority. It leads to stress, but then you're always relieved the next week when there's nothing to worry about. That's clearly not the case this week because my weekend was stress-filled as well, but I'm sure I'll feel a whole lot better next week.

Obviously, I got through the last week and I have no idea how. Not only was the Bio exam a slap in the face [even though I knew about it two weeks earlier], but my paideia paper was much harder than I remembered it being the first time I read the prompt. It was as if college came full speed in all my classes all at the same time -- I was getting run over from every direction. Even calculus was getting hard!

Normally I'd write a list of how I got through it all, but I have no idea how it happened. At all. I stayed up until two writing that paideia paper that I did not understand how to do, studied for the biology exam for 45 minutes before the class [not a good strategy if you want to get anything higher than a C, but I have to say I only passed because I went to lecture], stayed up until two writing all the one-page responses for my political science class and managed to find people to cover two of my shifts so that I could go to the events I needed to go to and so that I could spend time with my family during my birthday. It was hectic. I can't even keep track of it when I write it down, as I'm sure no one else can either.

On the plate for this week is.... On Tuesday, I have to facilitate a class, big deal. I'm freaking out mostly because I don't know how to be a teacher, I never even wanted to be a teacher. It should be interesting and I hope it all goes well, but we'll have to see. The final draft of the paideia paper is due on Wednesday [oh crap] and that's a big event within itself. Usually my whole Tuesday nights are dedicated to that after I finish my calculus and biology, but I have a lab group meeting on Tuesday because we have to give an oral presentation on Thursday in lab. What is it with all the public speaking? It's a crazy week!

Anyways, I hope everyone else has a nice calm week.

Marcie

Different Air

2008-11-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't homesick. I am terribly so. Decorah itself is so different from Elgin (where I'm from) in population dynamics and mentality. I'm used to walking down the street and receiving glares for being in the way or the awkward look away, but here everyone smiles or says hello. I'm getting used to it, but there are those days when I really miss the cold nastiness. It makes me feel like a better person sometimes.

I miss my house. I used to live in my basement and it was my Lair of Darkness, as my friends and I coined it, and I'd have my air mattress right in the middle and my couch right next to it. Sure, there were bugs, but there are always going to be bugs. I could turn off the light whenever I wanted and do whatever I wanted. With two roommates, it gets really hard. There's always someone there, which can be nice, but it can also drive me crazy. Everyone has their individual mess and everyone touches things [like my outlet where they "kindly" unplug things] and there's just no escaping the cramped-ness of the room. In my room particularly, I cannot turn on the lights, not even a desk light, after one of my roommates go to sleep. It's REALLY hard. I went from absolutely independent in my basement to sharing with two people.

Of course, I miss my friends. No one drives up five hours to see me, which is alright. I haven't seen a good lot of them in over three months, but hopefully that will change over Thanksgiving. I miss having them around me. The people here are amazing, but it's four years vs. a few months. It's just a lot of turmoil.

I'm not condemning roommates or college, for that matter. I love my roommates to death and I enjoy college, really, but everyone has their days and the more homesick I get, the more I have them. Part of college, probably, is overcoming it and finding your strength. Prioritizing and focusing on what you need to get what you want. Homesickness is going to come along, but it'll also pass.

On that depressing note, I will announce something happy. As in, Happy Birthday to me... on Friday. Woot! 19!

Do it to it

2008-10-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

It snowed yesterday. Kind of random considering it's not even Halloween. This is a little more north than I've been, but come on? Winter in October? You have got to be kidding me. I did not appreciate that little gift. I don't start to appreciate it until after Thanksgiving. But that's okay. It kept me inside so I could "do my homework."

That was a random look into my mind about how I feel about the temperature and early winter in Decorah, IA.

So I came back from fall break and had to work, which was... terribly painful for my psyche, but I got paid for it, so I wasn't going to complain. After that, I beached. I met up with the friends and didn't do anything. It was amazing, I'm not going to lie. Thursday was the same and I loved it. I just slept all day and then watched TV and got on the ever deadly facebook.

Then midnight rolled around and Friday slapped me in the face. Last time, I mentioned something about laziness and getting destroyed--it still applies during and after break. Had I done ANY of my homework prior to Thursday, I might not have gone to bed a three in the morning, still not done with it. It was a headache to deal with.

After that tragic Friday, I had a tragic Sunday [I clearly don't learn from my lessons] and then it was Monday. I managed to barely scrape by, but after a long talk with my god-mother, who works on campus, I decided that none of that was going to happen. So! With new found determination and responsibility I went to the Diversity Office and had a talk with one of the people that had asked me to come in on Friday [oops! (and it's okay to do that, as long as you COME IN)] and got my shots so that I could register for classes next semester and sat down to do my homework.

... sort of. There might have been a trip to the cemetary sometime during the 'doing homework'. Bu no worries. It's getting done as we speak. One page is this blog, another is the website I'm getting my information off of, and then there's aim. Hooray for multitasking! The iTunes is on too. Can't forget that.

Hey, everyone has their own study habits--mine might just be a little distracting. But at least I'm doing it.

In college, the professors may not collect the homework or the meetings may not be necessary or can be done later, but one day, that professor might suddenly ask for that assignment attached to your paideia paper [true story] and those meetings might be extra credit and later turns into late. So, just do the work and all of it is gonna come back A+ [or at least with credit].

Out Tonight

2008-10-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

It's fall break. I've probably been looking forward to this break since August [I moved to Iowa at the beginning of August] because I got to go home and see some of my friends and drive my car and feel one with the people when I go fifteen over the speed limit. It's definitely refreshing to be in a nice open space and room than in a cramped dorm room with one window and other people's stuff everywhere.

On Friday, my friend and I climbed into her car [two hours later than planned and with over five hundred pounds worth of dirty laundry/shoes we don't need/clothes we don't need/technology we "can't live without"/homework] and headed to her house in Cedar Rapids, where my mother would then pick me up. There was one problem with that: we had no idea how to get there. Conveniently, my mother and my godmother were unable to pick up any sort of phone. But, no worries, we did get directions and we set off towards Cedar Rapids.

Halfway there, we realized it might have been a good idea to get dinner from the caf because we were both starving. We had just gotten out of Independence, which, apparently, is the last place of civilization before 380 where there is no food. Once we figured that out, Chelsea and I reversed back to the Wal-mart we passed and decided to take our allotted ten-minute pit stop.

We were there for a half an hour [it's the Walmart pull, I swear]. We bought orange soda and these surprisingly good tasting sandwiches that came in plastic containers and a giant bag of chips. It was so unhealthy. It was so road trip food. But we were back on our way and we finally got on 380. We got to her house [which was pretty much awesome] and I switched over to my mother who was "in a hurry to go" but ended up talking to Chelsea's parents for about a half an hour. Fun times. After that, it was a four hour drive home.

I had planned on the bonding time between me and my mom to be during the drives to and from Elgin and then the ride to Cedar Rapids or whatever. Because I already had plans in Elgin that I wasn't too eagar to change.

There was never a prettier sight than when I reached Elgin. The familiar highways and signs and stores and the 24-hour Jewel. The orange skies because of the street lamps and Starbucks and all the construction that was still going on on McLean Blvd [though it was refreshing to see it on the other side of the street]. I stayed with my friends, since our house was being rented out and we spent a good part of the night talking and catching up... and risking our lives by walking to the 24-hour Jewel at two in the morning to get groceries. It was totally scary because we took the short, dark, unpopulated way to the store, instead of going around the school and taking the lit, heavily populated place.

I slept on a real bed, not that the dorms don't have real beds, but I don't have a mattress pad, and it's catching up with me. So I slept extremely well that night. I visited my bank and deposited my work-study money and then hung out with my two friends before they had to go to work. I had to wait for my mom to drop off the car and then I was on my way to check my email and spend some quality time in Panera, where I spent a lot of quality time over the summer.

That night, my super bestest friend ever was going to visit me. We had plans to go to the dance club, but... there were no funds for that. So we watched a movie, but then decided that it was too boring and too mundane for my only weekend in Elgin for a long time. So we made an impulse decision to go to Chicago... at midnight. Crazy? It was. That was why we changed our minds. Then we were back to the club idea, but my best friend knew how to get in for free. We stopped at her dorm and got ready to go. Then my other friend's [there were four of us] car died in the fifteen minute parking. It was probably around one in the morning.

No problems, her dad just had to wake up and travel a few minutes to jump start the car. Then we went back to Chris' house to switch cars, because Amelia had to take her car back home, since everyone was scared it wasn't going to start in the morning. By that time, it was around two, so there was no point in going to the club, since it closed at three.

So we went to Taco Bell and drove out to Genoa... to cornfields. We were totally going to be rebels and get lost in them, but when we were standing on the edge, me and Amelia heard something in the fields. I'm not even kidding. There was some sort of creature in the cornfield that was going to eat us--I saw the stalks move. So we ran back to the car dramatically, screaming and such. My friend climbed in and since her car wasn't an automatic unlocker, she had to manually open all four door from the inside. If there was an animal that was going to eat us, it definitely would have gotten us. Especially if it was the "Jeepers Creepers guy that was going to massacre us."

From there, there was another pit stop at Jewel, after a successful run of the Chinese Firedrill, and we went back to the house. By that time, it was four in the morning and we were done. There were problems with the sleeping arrangements, but I managed to get the bed. That was all I cared about.

Sunday, the day I was leaving, I, by chance, managed to see a friend that went to University of Illinois... about an hour after church ended [slept through it], so that was pretty nice. My mom and I went to the usual haunts we hadn't been to in so long and then headed west... back to Iowa. I got to stop by at my other friend's college, because she was on the way, and spent some time with her. Then we left.

Now I'm here, in Muscatine. I believe I'm going back to Cedar Rapids, to spend the night at Chelsea's house, tomorrow. Then on Wednesday, we're leaving to go back to school at noon. I have my work study at five-thirty and then it's back to the same old.

And that was my super Fall Break in a very, very long blog entry. ^^

Proceed with Caution

2008-10-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

(Just a nice group picture, ^^)
(Dinner before Homecoming Dance)

Alright, it has been a while since I last updated, but I assure you, nothing extraordinary happened.

Except the terrible, excruciating loss of my precious iPod.

I'm going to make an analogy out of this experience and see it in a positive light, because if I concentrate on the fact that it is in destroyed shambles on my desk in my dorm, then I will probably cry, as I cried when I found it in the dryer that fateful Thursday.

iPod:washer::Grades:laziness

Just like the washer destroyed my ipod, laziness will destroy your grades--and I mean laziness in a general term. I have learned a lot in the last two weeks about how three-hour naps kill and how going to bed at three in the morning because you started your homework late at night sucks.

For example, Biology, my hardest, most demanding, and brain-melting class was in the pits a few weeks ago. I took the midterm, bombed the midterm, and stuggled to get my grade up. Clearly, I wasn't struggling enough because it just kept on dropping.

How did I get there? Not doing the reading, not printing the syllabus, and falling asleep in class because, apparently, the hour long nap between calc and bio doesn't suffice. Basically, I got lazy. The book was too heavy to carry into the study lounge or I was sleeping/eating dinner/doing other homework/social needs. I started my homework about the crack of midnight, which, when I think back on it, is seriously not a good idea. At all. Then I found out that if you get a 70% or lower you don't get credit for the class. So I panicked and freaked out [which, again, seriously DOES NOT help] and tried to organize a plan to get back on track.

Plans, for someone like me, totally don't work. So, I never actually increased my grade, but it didn't drop... at least.

From the failure of my plan, I realized that the only way to get better was just to jump in. Jump in and hope you don't accidentally hit the bottom of the pool and die [probably a bit dark, so we'll say unconscious]. That was exactly what I did and like magic, I swear it was like magic, I could suddenly get credit for my class.

I prevented what happened to my ipod because I was careless and unobservant to happen to my bio grade.

How am I going to prevent it more? I'm getting a tutor after fall break to help me organize... to be honest, I'm not sure what she'll do, but I'll take whatever I can get. The resources at the college are there for you and are there to help you, so why not take advantage of them and not fail?

I guess that's all for now.

Marcie's Homecoming Week

2008-10-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hello dilligent readers [as I'm sure you are],

I have a story with a lesson and a moral, so listen and learn.

Sunday, shortly after I posted, I came down with a terrible, terrible sickness. I didn't notice it until I woke up the next day feeling terrible and disgusting and unable to breathe and move. Not fun. I blamed it all on staying up so late to write the Paideia paper that I had spent so much time procrastinating on. As well as the work-study hours that I deemed 'appropriate' for myself.

So I went to classes and promptly crashed on my roommate's carpet at every available opportunity. That was fun. I went to classes up until Wednesday where I almost made it. I couldn't go to choir because I knew that there was no way I could last through work study afterward. I sent an email to the director [always a good idea, especially if you're sending it AFTER you missed the rehearsal] and then slept for three hours until I had to go to work.

Then I dropped about twenty cups, almost broke six plates, and almost died walking down a hallway about five times. Gotta love the dish room.

Around Thursday I felt better. I could walk without a swagger and I knew where I was 90% of the time. The urge to sleep in the first available corner had alleviated a little bit. I was still highly toxic and my roommates kicked me out of the room because we ran out of tissues and I was coughing everywhere. That was fun. I saw Moulin Rouge that day though, so it wasn't so bad.

Lesson[s]: Go to Health Services. They give you decongestants. And get sleep. Lots of it. Wash your hands all the time. Don't let your roommates breathe on you, because that's how I got sick. Use medicine--stock up!

I gradually got better--just in time for homecoming! We won our game against Central, which is always a good time. My high school had been so bad at football that it was a bit strange to be on the side of a winning team, but I'm not complaining. I only caught the last quarter of the game because there was an ongoing biology lab going on at the same time -- so no one rely on me to give a play by play.

Afterward, there was the dance. I have naturally curly hair, even though right now and in my picture I have straight hair. It's so curly it takes me two hours to straighten it. Fun times. I originally wasn't going to do much, but when I realized my hair was two different length [slept on one side when it was wet], I realized that it had to change. So I straightened it. Then it took me forever to find something dance-like to wear, since all my dresses are at home.

After the primping and getting ready, me and five others went to Mabe's--my favorite pizza place here. Here's an additional lesson, folks. One large pizza is not nearly enough for six people -- and order a pitcher. We learned that the hard way when no one walked away from the restaurant full since we had all skipped lunch to do our hair and get dressed.

The dance itself was like any other... with swing dancing! It was awesome. I actually got to swing dance with someone--who knew those lessons in sixth grade would actually pay off? I sure didn't. I was surprised to see all the other people who knew how to swing dance. In Chicago, swing dancing is not typical knowledge... or even knowledge. It was a new experience, for sure, but one I'm going to remember.

I guess... that's about it for now.

Marcie.

Wal-mart Wisdom

2008-09-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

Most people are probably talking about the fantastically amazing OkGO concert that happened on Friday night. Am I right? I think I am. Instead of writing about that, I think I'll entertain everyone with a different story. Mostly because it's something fresh and even more mostly because I had work-study that Friday. Fun times.

I bet everyone's wondering how they will live in Decorah, IA. There's no mall, there's no Starbucks (which I have suffered for tremendously), there's no Target or super expensive designer stores. It's sad coming from a city where we had about three of all of those things. However, there is salvation. Wal-mart.

On Saturday, everyone woke up around the crack of noon and sauntered over to lunch. We decided then and there that it was going to be a Wal-mart day. My third and other people's second. I had a fresh wad of money burning a hole in my drawers and an empty refrigerator, so I was definitely tagging along. I mostly prefer running to Wal-mart at ten o'clock at night, but four in the afternoon was just as good and a little less dangerous.

I won't go too much into detail because, for the most part, Wal-mart can get a little boring and tiring when there's no Halloween section or people going missing for an hour and the projectile flying of certain objects, but it was the light at the end of my tunnel. The week hadn't been so hot, mostly because of my paideia paper and then the depressing bio grades. I relished in the freedom of buying what I wanted and running up and down a store wherever I wanted with my friends in tow. It was great.

Anyway, I guess I'll have some words of the wise for those who plan to go on Wal-mart excursions in the future:

-Leave about two hours to actually go to Wal-mart. There was a time when we went in just to grab some food and we stayed there for an hour and a half. Fun times, though.

-Go with a purpose. I went to Wal-mart three--four [I went today instead of doing homework] times and the second time was completely unnecessary. I ended up spending money I actually needed for something else and on something that I would never use.

-Resist the DVDs. There will be zero time to see them, unless you're my roommate and have the uncanny ability to do math, read Martin Luther, and do chemistry while watching a movie. But honestly, like most people, I have not watched a single one of the DVDs I brought from home. It's not smart spending to spend money on something you're not going to use.

-Smart spend. You really do not need the triple fudge brownie that is extremely on sale, but still very expensive. Really. You don't.

-Take a list. I went to Wal-mart yesterday and today because I had no list. I bought things I didn't need yesterday and didn't get much of what I actually needed so I had to go back today to get necessities, which made me lose precious bio time. I'm not complaining, because every trip to Walmart is a nice walk in the park, but bio is not my strongest subject. I could have definitely used the time.

That's my wisdom.

We Are Family!

2008-09-21T21:48:00.001-07:00

So, this weekend was family weekend. But was my mother here? Only in spirit!

Let's do a recap. I woke up on Saturday morning at the crack of noon to strange voices in my room. I knew it wasn't Jessica's parents because they weren't going to be there until dinnertime, so that meant that it could only be Emily's parents and little brother. I must say, I looked beautiful--my hair smelled like fryer grease from work-study and I had dirt and pizza sauce [ew] caked on my face. It was a hard night at Marty's.

So, after they poked fun at me for a few minutes, I escaped to the bathroom where I conveniently ran into a friend who also didn't have parents there. We made plans to go to Marty's for lunch. Fun times. We loitered there for about two hours, trying to escape all the family events that we didn't have family for. Afterward, they were rearranging their dorm and my roommates escaped the clutches of their much-loved parents. We had a dance party and scared all the parents that came up through the stairs. Apparently, we could be heard down the hall, which is quite an accomplishment seeing as how our sound span is usually just next door. It was a fun time--a complete unwinding of all the stress from the week [which we had a lot of, but I don't think it would be appropriate to post it on this blog. ;)]

Later on that night was the concert. Half of the girls on my floor are in Aurora, so they were decked out in their black dresses with the puff sleeves and the itchy fabric. Since I was in Cantorei, I got to wear a skirt and black shoes. I lucked out. There was nothing better than seeing everyone walking across campus in tuxedos [Norsemen] and the black dresses. It was like I was at Hogwarts! So, while they all went to warm up, I went to dinner with some floor mates because our call time was later than theirs.

Honestly, I was never all that excited to be in Cantorei. I didn't know anyone there, all my friends were in Aurora, and I was just never a big fan of choirs. I guess I'm a bit of a diva, in that sense. I like singing alone. But when we were warming up and putting on the robes, I just got very excited. It had been about two years since I was singing on a stage and I'd never sung with a band before. I was nervous and I was excited. I couldn't wait for the show to get started.

That excitement was short-lived, however. We performed and did a very good job, but then I had to zip down the tunnels to work-study. My freshly washed hair smelled of freshly made french fries and I almost died slipping on grease that had fallen on the ground. I got burned by hot oil and I was extremely wet when I walked back to the dorm. On the upside, I make fantastic smoothies and learned how to use the flat... hamburger maker thing. I'm sure there's a name for that.

On Sunday, I woke up early because I thought my dearest mother was going to be picking me up and we would spend a day together for family weekend. Yeah. Right. She slept for about five hours [but I don't blame her--she came into Ossian around four in the morning and woke up at seven] and I played Scattegories and tried to do the Paideia homework, which didn't work out so well. But, eventually, we did get our time together. At Walmart, where every college kid takes their parents when they visit. I didn't have much for her to buy for me [floss, pens, and shoes], but it was fun meandering around the store pretending I wanted something.

That wonderful family moment was short-lived as well. I, the master procrastinator, didn't even touch my homework on Friday or Saturday and completely do not follow the rules I posted last week. So, I scrambled to do my Calculus, which was hard. We had to recruit the magic guy downstairs to help us, even though his brain was as melted as ours. The Paideia... I was planning on doing that after this blog was posted, seeing as when I came back in my room to do it, my lovely, amazing, fantastic roommates were watching and singing along with the Lion King. I couldn't resist!

So, I'm here. Finishing this blog. It's a little past midnight. I should be sleeping. But I can't because I made some wrong choices. Hopefully, I'll be able to do better tomorrow.

How To

2008-09-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

How To Prevent Your Brain From Turning To Goo Over All Your Homework:
(Verson 1.1)

1. Do your homework early. Seriously. I'm talking like the day you get it.

2. Give yourself some time to relax and mentally escape.

3. I suggest about eight to ten hours of sleep, that always helps clear the mind. Not seven. You
need the full eight, at least.

4. Wake up before lunch. A little later than breakfast. Sometime around nine, it's not that early.

5. DO NOT study with your friends unless you are studying the same thing. They are extremely
distracting and tiring.

6. Stay away from movie parties that go well into the night.

7. Stay away from tremendous amounts of caffeine at obscure hours in the morning.

8. Having Facebook open on a tab next to the KATIE site is not studying. You know you're on
that instead of the homework 75% of the time.

9. Don't look for distractions. You might find one that you won't be able to handle and then you'll
just forget about your homework.

10. Avoid places where attractive males may inhabit. That's the death of any math problem.

Because We Can

2008-09-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

My first week of college in a nutshell: there's never a dull moment. Between auditions, figuring out schedules, and making friends, I hardly have time to do homework, which is terrible, but that just the first week craze--and thankfully, there's not a lot of homework.

My roommates are amazing. It was all very awkward the first day, we hardly talked. But little by little, we all became one big happy family. There's Emily, the crazy social butterfly, Jessica, the quiet one that always makes sure we're not lonely in the dorm, and they both love making fun of me. We have a good time when we're all together. There's a lot of midnight jokes that make you want to lock Emily out of the room, but it adds flavor. After a week of being together, it's like living with family. The floormates are pretty nice as well. In our corner of the dorm, we're having a movie night so our brains can come down from studying for the Biology test or reading the Paideia book. There's a whole lot of unity in the dorms, no doubt. Everyone is so nice and will let you borrow their textbooks because you ordered all the wrong editions off of amazon. com [On the upside, I now have my biology book].

This week, I had a very hard time with my schedule. I had tried out for choir and the slot I had open was for Aurora. Imagine my surprise when I made Cantorei and was suddenly slapped with a conflict. It was the same time as my Paideia. After a few hours of panicking [which really DOES NOT help, let me tell you], I emailed my advisor and set up a meeting. It took a lot of legwork to get everything organized and a lot of convincing to switch my Paideia, not to mention the sacrifices of my late classes on Tuesday and Thursday, but I managed to work it all out. I got my cake and ate it too, so to speak.

This week wore me out. It's been so busy and different that my mind is ready to take a nice twelve hour nap. I'm definitely hoping that next week will give me a chance to start a routine so that I can relax and take the time to use my amazing highlighters on my biology book [I am strangely excited about that]. So, we'll have to see how the next weeks pans out. ^^

Marcie Sanchez