Two days until I leave for Winter Break! Oops.. I should probably start packing and, uhm, clean my room. But in case you're wondering, the picture (soon to be posted) is from Midnight Breakfast, which is a huge free food event hosted by the college the day before final exams start--and you better believe I was there! It's not every day that you watch the Dean of the college serve you free food while wearing an apron, asking, "Is that enough? Or do you want more?" That's definitely an opportunity I'm going to take advantage of.
After spending many nights at my study carrel in the library, I have finally emerged from its depths and realize once again that I am alive! Finals always manage to make two days feel like two weeks, and after studying and writing from last Monday to Friday... well, we'll just say I feel like I was lost at sea for months. The library even has special extended hours for study week that keep it open until three in the morning, which is great for studying, although it tends to make you a little crazy when you see the clock finally hit midnight and think to yourself, "Is this place really open for another three hours?" If they think Skinner Hall (the music building) is haunted, I don't even want to know what is lurking around a huge Gothic library in the middle of the night! Whoa... wait, library? Reminds me of Ghostbusters.....
Now that I'm done with finals, I've pretty much just been lounging around in my pajamas, going to the gym, and watching movies for the past couple days. It's been a great way to end the semester, although perhaps I should be a little more productive. But yesterday I did go to the library and found a book to read for fun that WASN'T Harry Potter for the first time in maybe a year. I make not be working on my thesis, but at least I've varified that I can still read, right?
Yesterday, my boyfriend and I drove my housemate back to Albany for Winter Break. Her mother doesn't like to drive, so she tried to convince her to take the train home, but deciding this could be an opportunity for free food, I offered to drive her myself--probably one of the best decisions I had ever made in my life. Not only did my boyfriend and I get a three course Russian meal, but we also got to visit Albany and Saratoga, which was a pretty awesome town. In Saratoga, we visited a bookshop that had about ten rooms full of books on every subject, including a whole section on "Communism in Russia," which my Russian housemate found pretty amusing. I wanted probably every book that I picked up, but restrained myself because I'm supposed to be saving for my trip to Portland. If only I could think of a legal way to make money.....
Before having a car on campus, I only ever visited New York City when I was at school. Not saying that New York isn't interesting or full of culture, but you really miss out on a lot of cool places when that's the only place you can go. Vassar is in a great location because it's easy to get to the city, but it's also close to Woodstock, New Paltz, the Catskills, Albany, and Saratoga, to name a few of the places I've been over the past semester. The best part is that the entertainment in most of these places is either extremely cheap or free, while I could easily spend a hundred dollars or more by going to the city for one day. Hmm. I wonder where I'm going to go now that I have no money....... (In case you're wondering, I think I'm going to go with the free options.)
As much as I tend to get distracted over break (presents!) I'm going to try to stay in touch. (The key word there is "try.") Happy winter break and happy holidays!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
AHHHHHHH!!
Sorry that the picture isn't quite related to the entry this time (Vassar is still not located in the metropolis of Chicago) but I thought it well represented my burning desire to finish the semester and enjoy myself (...and spend time on my thesis) for a few weeks before having to worry about such trivial things as exams and readings and papers once again. Bah, humbug.
I'm in the middle of studying for my "Energy: Sources and Policies" final, which basically means that I'm surfing the Internet (oops). Classes ended last Friday (meaning Thursday for me because I rigged my schedule) and this week is study week. Study week is probably my favorite of the semester because it's the week that I study the least, despite the somewhat suggestive name. Study week is officially the week before final exams begin and allows students a time to prepare for exams without the burden of classwork, and I'm sure those who have final exams appreciate the time off very much. But as a student of the social sciences, my main function is to write papers, meaning that I spend half of study week watching movies and calming my nerves and the other half writing to my hearts delight--except for this semester because my final papers were due prior to finals week. Now all I have are finals for my film and energy classes and two final essays, which I would say is a very light end of the semester load. In this case, I will probably spend 75% of my time chilling out and the rest working and studying. At the same time, one of my housemates is planning on pulling a couple all-nighters this week due to her large amount of work. What can I say? I got lucky.
But don't let me put too much emphasis on the joys of study week without mentioning the best part: Primal Scream. Some people think the Primal Scream is overrated, but honestly, what could an overly stressed-out, sleep-deprived college student ask for other than the chance to scream at the top of their lungs? Maybe a million dollars, but you get the point.
How does this scream function? Well, tradition is that on the last night of study week, all of the students gather in the center of the quad (that being the center between the four quad dorms--Raymond, Davison, Strong, and Lathrop), and at the stroke of midnight everyone screams as loud as they possibly can. Legend has it that the scream is heard for miles due to its intensity, but because I have attended the scream every semester I cannot attest to its validity. But considering how loud the scream is, it's hard to believe that the legend isn't true. I would say most students attend the scream, mostly because my boyfriend goes and he tends to not participate in many of the weird traditional activities on campus. (And yes, that fact is entirely what I base my attendance guess on).
Do I plan on attending this semester? Of course I do-and you better believe I'm bringing my camera. Not only is The Scream a great form of stress relief, it's also a pretty big end of the semester social event.
Aside from my studies, I've also been trying to plan for Winter Break. In the past, I didn't like to look forward to breaks (to be completely honest, Vassar is much more fun than home!), but this break should be pretty exciting. I planned a trip to Portland, Oregon for January and my boyfriend will be spending a week at my house beginning New Years Eve. But before I can go home, I need to prepare for the journey there (hey, eight hours is a long way to drive, especially on artificial energy AKA lots and lots of coffee). First of all, leaving my TA empty and alone for a month is really awkward. I have a tendency to humanize inanimate objects, and my house is one of them. I almost feel like I'm letting it down by leaving for so long. But perhaps more practically speaking, a month really is a long time to leave a refrigerator and an assortment of plants alone. It's important to clean out a refrigerator before a trip because who knows what kind of creepy, slimy gunk would grow in there otherwise. My point exactly. And as far as the plants go... well, leaving them all alone with no water is simply inhumane. That's one torturous death I would not like to endure, and I definitely wouldn't wish it upon my plants. Besides, considering the amount of time I've spent bashing Christmas as a holiday that encourages the killing of perfectly happy pine trees, I should probably find my plants a place before they suffer a similar fate.
Over the past summer, I decided that one of my goals is to watch all of the American Film Institute Top 100 Films at least once, so tonight I'm watching film number 28--"All About Eve." In other words, that means I'm done studying for the night and ready to chill out!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Blueberry Pie
So my friends and I have gotten really into baking lately (after all, my favorite channel is the food network) and now that we live in the TAs, we can bake as much as we want!
After a late night Stop & Shop run on Tuesday, we baked a blueberry pie in honor of our last week of class (and the first day of Hanukkah). Aside from some minor problems we faced due to our need to use frozen blueberries, the pie turned out really well!
And CHECK IT OUT! I added a picture! You better believe that from now on you'll be seeing a lot of food pictures on this site....
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Job Search: Act One!
So I should probably be studying for finals right now, but instead I'm looking for a job. I think this sudden desire to be employed stems from my visit to the Career Development Office earlier in the semester, which stemmed from my utter disenchantment with the current job market these days--you know, doctor, lawyer.... used car salesman. Please. Why can't I do something more tapered to my interests, such as a ukulele playing sociological film critic who specializes in Nazi propaganda, or a professional Scrabble player? It's always on one of these days where I say to myself, "I should seriously just become an academic," then remember that would require writing more than just my current thesis. Sigh.
At least my education and job experience has opened up a few job options. My current plan is to find some cool job that will keep me busy for a couple of years (I thought about applying to the Humane Society until one of my friends mentioned "euthanasia") and then go on to do something extraordinary, like working in an office. (Hmm. Now that I read that over, it didn't have the kind of effect I wanted. Ooops.)
Like the estimated 66% or so of Vassar grads that pursue graduate education, I plan on being one of them. Of course, this would mainly be for the purpose of stalling my need to find a real job--not that I don't have an interest in graduate study, but anything that would help me to avoid finding a career is more than welcome to become a part of my life. But until that point in time, I need to find something to keep me busy until I can figure out what I should go back to school to pursue.
I have a good number of friends who graduated Vassar and decided to pursue graduate study, as well as a few who are trying to get into schools right now. (What can I say, my friends are impressive!) I have a bunch of friends who are in law school, a couple in med. school, a bunch in graduate school (pursuing both Master's and Doctoral degrees), and one who is a rock star. (Actually, that last one was a bit of a stretch, but only a bit.) Of course, discussing my friends' achievements makes me feel a little bit like a loser, but I'll just keep telling myself that I haven't found my passion yet. Unfortunately, I'm starting to get the inkling that--like my parents--my passion will turn out to be some sort of self-started business requiring lots of steel. It runs in the family.
So far, I've applied to work at a few colleges (it's kind of scary that I could go from studying at a college to working at one) and some other non-profits, particularly the "Save The Wild Salmon" (or something along those lines) organization. I'll keep you posted on what happens, but until then I'll let you view the picture I took of my blueberry pie that I baked from scratch in my TA! I'll put it up ASAP. (It's about time I learned how to use the picture function on this contraption....)
At least my education and job experience has opened up a few job options. My current plan is to find some cool job that will keep me busy for a couple of years (I thought about applying to the Humane Society until one of my friends mentioned "euthanasia") and then go on to do something extraordinary, like working in an office. (Hmm. Now that I read that over, it didn't have the kind of effect I wanted. Ooops.)
Like the estimated 66% or so of Vassar grads that pursue graduate education, I plan on being one of them. Of course, this would mainly be for the purpose of stalling my need to find a real job--not that I don't have an interest in graduate study, but anything that would help me to avoid finding a career is more than welcome to become a part of my life. But until that point in time, I need to find something to keep me busy until I can figure out what I should go back to school to pursue.
I have a good number of friends who graduated Vassar and decided to pursue graduate study, as well as a few who are trying to get into schools right now. (What can I say, my friends are impressive!) I have a bunch of friends who are in law school, a couple in med. school, a bunch in graduate school (pursuing both Master's and Doctoral degrees), and one who is a rock star. (Actually, that last one was a bit of a stretch, but only a bit.) Of course, discussing my friends' achievements makes me feel a little bit like a loser, but I'll just keep telling myself that I haven't found my passion yet. Unfortunately, I'm starting to get the inkling that--like my parents--my passion will turn out to be some sort of self-started business requiring lots of steel. It runs in the family.
So far, I've applied to work at a few colleges (it's kind of scary that I could go from studying at a college to working at one) and some other non-profits, particularly the "Save The Wild Salmon" (or something along those lines) organization. I'll keep you posted on what happens, but until then I'll let you view the picture I took of my blueberry pie that I baked from scratch in my TA! I'll put it up ASAP. (It's about time I learned how to use the picture function on this contraption....)
Monday, November 19, 2007
O-H-I-O!
I spent the last few days working on a couple of projects that were due before break-one being the first chapter of my thesis and another my research paper for my German history class. I finished most of what needed to be done over the course of the past week, but still made the same mistake I always do: left editing to the last day. It's pretty amazing how much my concept of writing papers has evolved over the course of nearly four years here. I was always a spell-check kind of girl-I'd skim my papers over maybe once, use spell-check to fix any big problems, and then turned in my papers. While I still got pretty good grades back then, it's amazing what a little extra editing can do. Of course, it wasn't a skill I acquired until Junior year (some people *cough* don't really learn how to do work for college until about the time they leave college; it's kind of sad, really) but at least by the time I graduate I'll have a good idea of how to write a paper on the Perception of Hitler in the Film Triumph of the Will for my future employer, as if they'd care. By this point I'm so burned out on Nazis that I really need a break to get myself out of the 1940's and back into reality.
Thanksgiving Break is coming up, and while I think it's a pretty sketchy holiday, it's still a good excuse to miss class and eat lots of food--two of my favorite activities. Because I'm from Ohio, this trip also entails an eight to ten hour drive in a car that only has a cassette deck with two tapes--both by the Velvet Underground. If you ever plan on going on a drive with me, you'd better like the VU or else it's going to be a pretty miserable trip, because that's all I've got. One weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to go to Minnewaska State Park, which is about a 30-minute drive from campus (being from Ohio, I always measure distance in time). I volunteered to drive, but it didn't take long for my boyfriend to suggest that maybe next time he should drive because I didn't have any other tapes. If that's the case, he's really going to hate this next trip...
Regardless, I'm getting really excited about the aspect of being on the open road. The drive from New York to Ohio is quite beautiful because it's mostly trees without crossing any particularly big cities until you get to Cleveland, and I live close enough to Cleveland that we don't hit any really flat farmland, like the stuff you see in Indiana (don't you just love state rivalries?). Driving across that state was one of the longest days of my life. This will also be the first time I've driven home without my parents, which adds a bit more excitement to the trip. I'm thinking about bringing my laundry with me because that what everyone from the east coast does; I'll drive my entire wardrobe part way across the country to save $3.00 on laundry costs. What has happened to me?! At least that way I'll be making up a little bit of the cost of gas. My housemate mentioned to me that it'll add extra weight to the car, which would in turn bring down our gas mileage, but compared to four people and our luggage, I think the laundry weight is pretty negligible.
Ohio-here I come!
Thanksgiving Break is coming up, and while I think it's a pretty sketchy holiday, it's still a good excuse to miss class and eat lots of food--two of my favorite activities. Because I'm from Ohio, this trip also entails an eight to ten hour drive in a car that only has a cassette deck with two tapes--both by the Velvet Underground. If you ever plan on going on a drive with me, you'd better like the VU or else it's going to be a pretty miserable trip, because that's all I've got. One weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to go to Minnewaska State Park, which is about a 30-minute drive from campus (being from Ohio, I always measure distance in time). I volunteered to drive, but it didn't take long for my boyfriend to suggest that maybe next time he should drive because I didn't have any other tapes. If that's the case, he's really going to hate this next trip...
Regardless, I'm getting really excited about the aspect of being on the open road. The drive from New York to Ohio is quite beautiful because it's mostly trees without crossing any particularly big cities until you get to Cleveland, and I live close enough to Cleveland that we don't hit any really flat farmland, like the stuff you see in Indiana (don't you just love state rivalries?). Driving across that state was one of the longest days of my life. This will also be the first time I've driven home without my parents, which adds a bit more excitement to the trip. I'm thinking about bringing my laundry with me because that what everyone from the east coast does; I'll drive my entire wardrobe part way across the country to save $3.00 on laundry costs. What has happened to me?! At least that way I'll be making up a little bit of the cost of gas. My housemate mentioned to me that it'll add extra weight to the car, which would in turn bring down our gas mileage, but compared to four people and our luggage, I think the laundry weight is pretty negligible.
Ohio-here I come!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
101 Things To Do (in and around Poughkeepsie)
Hey everybody!
I just started on a cool (almost) new project called 101 Things To Do In And Around Poughkeepsie (that capitalization always confuses me) that is basically what it sounds like--except that we do not yet have 101 things. But we're working on it!
Anyways, I'll leave a link so that you can check it out in case the blog is really boring you (it shouldn't be, but of course I may be the only person who thinks so).
Cheers!
http://vsa.vassar.edu/index.php/resources/101-things/
I just started on a cool (almost) new project called 101 Things To Do In And Around Poughkeepsie (that capitalization always confuses me) that is basically what it sounds like--except that we do not yet have 101 things. But we're working on it!
Anyways, I'll leave a link so that you can check it out in case the blog is really boring you (it shouldn't be, but of course I may be the only person who thinks so).
Cheers!
http://vsa.vassar.edu/index.php/resources/101-things/
Friday, November 9, 2007
Denazification vs. Berlin
It's been a pretty crazy week, but at least now I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Most of my thesis chapter done? Check. Spring semester class pre-registration finished? Check. Half done with the Nazi paper? (Yes, you read that right. Nazi paper.) Check.
I started writing this paper on Nazi Germany a couple weeks ago for a class I'm taking called "German History from 1914-1990." Boy, they weren't kidding. If I had any sense when I signed up for the class I would have realized that we would spend most of the semester talking about the Nazis, considering that's pretty much what modern Germany history is; you know, Nazis taking over the government, starting World War II, denazification, now. It also doesn't help that I have blonde hair and blue eyes, which causes my Jewish housemate to interrogate me while I read a book called "The Racial State," or when I curl up on the couch with my popcorn while watching the propaganda film "Triumph of the Will." But I swear I don't do this for fun--I have a term paper! My paper focuses on Weber's definition of charismatic authority and it's representation in the film "Triumph of the Will," which I think is a pretty cool topic. But that also means I've seen the film so many times at this point that I'll catch myself whistling the music out of nowhere--then I have to pretend that I was whistling something else in an effort to make people feel less uncomfortable, especially considering the number of Jewish friends I have on campus.
As much as I need to get away from the Nazis, I have a very tempting offer to take a seminar next semester on the Holocaust. You may be wondering why I'm considering taking a class on such an uplifting subject. Well, the key to this class is that it offers a study trip and study trips are AWESOME! Well, I don't know that for sure because I've never actually taken a class with a study trip, but any class that makes you to travel to another country as homework must be awesome.
Basically, if I take the class, I get to spend Spring Break in BERLIN while getting financial aid to help cover the cost of the trip. And considering the amount of financial aid I'm on... well, we'll just say that for me it'd be a pretty sweet deal. Plus, the professor said that after Spring Break I wouldn't have that much work to do because going on the trip is a such an important part of the course, which would give me time to work on my thesis. And what's holding me back from this exclusive offer? Two things: a thesis and a Sociology seminar.
At this point, the question is: "Do I give in to senioritis and take some easy courses to balance the work of the thesis and a required seminar, or do take something interesting and opportunistic even though it might cause me to scream at random points throughout next semester?"
Decisions, decisions.
Actually, reading over that last big paragraph just talked me into it. I'm signing up for the seminar!
I started writing this paper on Nazi Germany a couple weeks ago for a class I'm taking called "German History from 1914-1990." Boy, they weren't kidding. If I had any sense when I signed up for the class I would have realized that we would spend most of the semester talking about the Nazis, considering that's pretty much what modern Germany history is; you know, Nazis taking over the government, starting World War II, denazification, now. It also doesn't help that I have blonde hair and blue eyes, which causes my Jewish housemate to interrogate me while I read a book called "The Racial State," or when I curl up on the couch with my popcorn while watching the propaganda film "Triumph of the Will." But I swear I don't do this for fun--I have a term paper! My paper focuses on Weber's definition of charismatic authority and it's representation in the film "Triumph of the Will," which I think is a pretty cool topic. But that also means I've seen the film so many times at this point that I'll catch myself whistling the music out of nowhere--then I have to pretend that I was whistling something else in an effort to make people feel less uncomfortable, especially considering the number of Jewish friends I have on campus.
As much as I need to get away from the Nazis, I have a very tempting offer to take a seminar next semester on the Holocaust. You may be wondering why I'm considering taking a class on such an uplifting subject. Well, the key to this class is that it offers a study trip and study trips are AWESOME! Well, I don't know that for sure because I've never actually taken a class with a study trip, but any class that makes you to travel to another country as homework must be awesome.
Basically, if I take the class, I get to spend Spring Break in BERLIN while getting financial aid to help cover the cost of the trip. And considering the amount of financial aid I'm on... well, we'll just say that for me it'd be a pretty sweet deal. Plus, the professor said that after Spring Break I wouldn't have that much work to do because going on the trip is a such an important part of the course, which would give me time to work on my thesis. And what's holding me back from this exclusive offer? Two things: a thesis and a Sociology seminar.
At this point, the question is: "Do I give in to senioritis and take some easy courses to balance the work of the thesis and a required seminar, or do take something interesting and opportunistic even though it might cause me to scream at random points throughout next semester?"
Decisions, decisions.
Actually, reading over that last big paragraph just talked me into it. I'm signing up for the seminar!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
I'll Have History With A Side Of Swimming, But No Dance
......So I've been neglecting the blog. Ooops. But to be completely honest, I don't think I've ever had a busier semester. The classes I am taking are not that much harder than any of the other classes I've taken here (to tell you the truth, they might even be easier), but just as I suspected, writing a senior thesis is draining the life from my body. ....Okay, so that's a bit of a stretch, but only a bit.
I really want to do well on my thesis and so far I'd say it's coming along. But that also means that any free hour I have is spent working on my thesis and I basically have no free time left--weekday or weekend. I took off last Thursday night and Saturday night for hanging out with a friend/the campus Halloween Party (whooo!), but I really haven't had any time to just chill out and watch a movie or just do nothing. I'm like a hamster on a wheel...although much less fuzzy.
And now that I am back from October Break, it's time to start picking classes for next semester. Crazy, I know. FYI: Please don't remind me that this is the last time I get to fill in my little online sheet and constantly change my mind on courses and rearrange the order of the classes that are the most important for me to take--unless you want to make me cry. But on a more optimistic note, I'm pretty excited for my next selection of courses and I think that if everything goes according to plan, I can leave Vassar feeling fully satisfied.
One thing that I do not plan on taking again is dance. For the past three years, I have taken a dance course about every other semester. I took two course from modern dance, and right now I'm working on taking a jazz dance class. Actually, I take that back--I'm working on SURVIVING a jazz dance class. Why? Because I am the world's worst dancer. The title isn't exactly flattering, but trust me--I'd rather have that title than be forced to watch myself dance. When I was taking modern dance, I wasn't exactly good, but at least it wasn't painful to watch. But jazz dance on the other hand.... well, that's another story.
I'm a pretty athletic individual and I swam for six years between middle school and high school. But as soon as I step onto the dance floor, it looks as if I'm just learning how to walk as I stumble into what is supposed to be an arabesque but ends up looking like I tripped over an invisible staircase. I think most of the time the instructor tries to ignore me because if we spent the entire class going over what I did wrong, I don't think we'd get past the first exercise. Instead, she'll instruct those in the group who look like professionals in comparison as I sort of hobble along and make a sad attempt at what is supposed to be a dance move whenever I feel like it's safe to humiliate myself again.
Now, everyone has their on-days and their off-days, and you're all probably thinking that I just had an off-day today. But compared to the average person, my on-days are like off-days and my off-days are, well, extra-off if anything. It doesn't help my case that I had virtually no dance training as a child and my classmates seem like they've at least taken some form of classical dance. I'm pretty certain that the rugby player in my class decided to take it as a joke, but I end up making him look like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. When I walk into Kenyon Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm not walking into my dance class, I’m walking into my own worst nightmare--where all eyes are on me as I trip over myself while trying to doing twirls across the room, saying as if I were Derek Zoolander: "I can't turn left!" What's even more humiliating is that my mom was a dance instructor at a studio in Cleveland when she was about my age, and performed shows at discos back when they were cool. But somehow I was born with two left feet and I have no idea where they came from; a recessive trait, perhaps? I'll never know for sure.
So right now you're probably thinking, "So why do you keep putting yourself through this if you think it's comparable to torture?" Good question. As a Vassar student, I guess I'm kind of masochistic by nature. But as myself... well, you could say I'm probably crazy.
I really want to do well on my thesis and so far I'd say it's coming along. But that also means that any free hour I have is spent working on my thesis and I basically have no free time left--weekday or weekend. I took off last Thursday night and Saturday night for hanging out with a friend/the campus Halloween Party (whooo!), but I really haven't had any time to just chill out and watch a movie or just do nothing. I'm like a hamster on a wheel...although much less fuzzy.
And now that I am back from October Break, it's time to start picking classes for next semester. Crazy, I know. FYI: Please don't remind me that this is the last time I get to fill in my little online sheet and constantly change my mind on courses and rearrange the order of the classes that are the most important for me to take--unless you want to make me cry. But on a more optimistic note, I'm pretty excited for my next selection of courses and I think that if everything goes according to plan, I can leave Vassar feeling fully satisfied.
One thing that I do not plan on taking again is dance. For the past three years, I have taken a dance course about every other semester. I took two course from modern dance, and right now I'm working on taking a jazz dance class. Actually, I take that back--I'm working on SURVIVING a jazz dance class. Why? Because I am the world's worst dancer. The title isn't exactly flattering, but trust me--I'd rather have that title than be forced to watch myself dance. When I was taking modern dance, I wasn't exactly good, but at least it wasn't painful to watch. But jazz dance on the other hand.... well, that's another story.
I'm a pretty athletic individual and I swam for six years between middle school and high school. But as soon as I step onto the dance floor, it looks as if I'm just learning how to walk as I stumble into what is supposed to be an arabesque but ends up looking like I tripped over an invisible staircase. I think most of the time the instructor tries to ignore me because if we spent the entire class going over what I did wrong, I don't think we'd get past the first exercise. Instead, she'll instruct those in the group who look like professionals in comparison as I sort of hobble along and make a sad attempt at what is supposed to be a dance move whenever I feel like it's safe to humiliate myself again.
Now, everyone has their on-days and their off-days, and you're all probably thinking that I just had an off-day today. But compared to the average person, my on-days are like off-days and my off-days are, well, extra-off if anything. It doesn't help my case that I had virtually no dance training as a child and my classmates seem like they've at least taken some form of classical dance. I'm pretty certain that the rugby player in my class decided to take it as a joke, but I end up making him look like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. When I walk into Kenyon Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm not walking into my dance class, I’m walking into my own worst nightmare--where all eyes are on me as I trip over myself while trying to doing twirls across the room, saying as if I were Derek Zoolander: "I can't turn left!" What's even more humiliating is that my mom was a dance instructor at a studio in Cleveland when she was about my age, and performed shows at discos back when they were cool. But somehow I was born with two left feet and I have no idea where they came from; a recessive trait, perhaps? I'll never know for sure.
So right now you're probably thinking, "So why do you keep putting yourself through this if you think it's comparable to torture?" Good question. As a Vassar student, I guess I'm kind of masochistic by nature. But as myself... well, you could say I'm probably crazy.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Speaker In Lieu Of Midterm? Please?
October Break is next week, but you never get off easy around here before a break from classes. Oh no no. Between yesterday and today, I've studied for nearly 14 hours (almost) straight, but I still feel like I'm only going to "pass" my film midterm exam. Earlier in the semester I thought taking film was going to be a complete joke, but at this point my study guide indicates that I haven't really learned much--or paid attention in class, for that matter. After taking mostly classes that focus on theory for the past couple of years, memorizing dates, people, and concepts just isn't my thing anymore. Whoever it was that invented flashcards is my savior.
Thankfully, my exam is scheduled for noon tomorrow, so after that point I won't feel obligated to study--instead, I'll feel obligated to write a 4-5 page paper for my sociology class in lieu of a midterm exam. That really makes me feel special.
But no matter what happens tomorrow, John Amaechi is coming to give a lecture, and I am definitely going. In case you don't know who John Amaechi is, he's a former NBA star best known as a power forward for the Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz. Now, I don't know anything about basketball, but John's story is pretty cool. In February he became the first NBA player to come out as gay, which was pretty groundbreaking. I learned about John Amaechi soon after he made his announcement, and at that time (as well as now) there were a lot of mixed feelings from players and fans about Amaechi's sexual orientation. Personally, I think his decision to come out was very honorable and proved for one--to put it bluntly--that gay men can play basketball. Not that that was the only thing that came out of his announcement, but you know what I mean. Anyways, I'm looking forward to seeing him speak tomorrow (as well as the free refreshments beforehand!).
We've had a lot of cool speakers during my three and some years here--to name a few: Tom Hanks, Tim O' Brien, Jeff Corwin (from Animal Planet!), Terry Gross, Ralph Nader, and Amy Goodman. But the real question is, Who is going to be my graduation speaker? I suggested Vaclav Havel, but I'm pretty certain that I'm the only student on campus who would be giddy about seeing the former president of the Czech Republic up at the podium, as my fellow classmates are sick with the welcome or unwelcome anticipation of receiving their diplomas. But what's more charming than a little Central European-style humor with a few "back in communist times..." stories on such a special day? Much to my disappointment, it seems to be unlikely scenario.
On the same token, it may be my missing the Czech Republic that has caused my recent sick obsession with anything and everything Czech. The other day I spent an hour looking online for anywhere that might sell or offer downloads of songs by the Plastic People of the Universe, only to find a minute and 30 second clip of a song that barely gave me the feel for any of their music. At that point, I think I felt a tear drop out of my right eye. Creepy, I know.
Interestingly enough, Vaclav Havel's favorite band is the Velvet Underground (who were the main influence of the PPU), and one of my bosses was married to a member of the band. When I told her about my obsession with Vaclav Havel, she said she could hook me up with one of his books, which practically had me drooling last week at work. I swear I'm not a stalker......
Thankfully, my exam is scheduled for noon tomorrow, so after that point I won't feel obligated to study--instead, I'll feel obligated to write a 4-5 page paper for my sociology class in lieu of a midterm exam. That really makes me feel special.
But no matter what happens tomorrow, John Amaechi is coming to give a lecture, and I am definitely going. In case you don't know who John Amaechi is, he's a former NBA star best known as a power forward for the Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz. Now, I don't know anything about basketball, but John's story is pretty cool. In February he became the first NBA player to come out as gay, which was pretty groundbreaking. I learned about John Amaechi soon after he made his announcement, and at that time (as well as now) there were a lot of mixed feelings from players and fans about Amaechi's sexual orientation. Personally, I think his decision to come out was very honorable and proved for one--to put it bluntly--that gay men can play basketball. Not that that was the only thing that came out of his announcement, but you know what I mean. Anyways, I'm looking forward to seeing him speak tomorrow (as well as the free refreshments beforehand!).
We've had a lot of cool speakers during my three and some years here--to name a few: Tom Hanks, Tim O' Brien, Jeff Corwin (from Animal Planet!), Terry Gross, Ralph Nader, and Amy Goodman. But the real question is, Who is going to be my graduation speaker? I suggested Vaclav Havel, but I'm pretty certain that I'm the only student on campus who would be giddy about seeing the former president of the Czech Republic up at the podium, as my fellow classmates are sick with the welcome or unwelcome anticipation of receiving their diplomas. But what's more charming than a little Central European-style humor with a few "back in communist times..." stories on such a special day? Much to my disappointment, it seems to be unlikely scenario.
On the same token, it may be my missing the Czech Republic that has caused my recent sick obsession with anything and everything Czech. The other day I spent an hour looking online for anywhere that might sell or offer downloads of songs by the Plastic People of the Universe, only to find a minute and 30 second clip of a song that barely gave me the feel for any of their music. At that point, I think I felt a tear drop out of my right eye. Creepy, I know.
Interestingly enough, Vaclav Havel's favorite band is the Velvet Underground (who were the main influence of the PPU), and one of my bosses was married to a member of the band. When I told her about my obsession with Vaclav Havel, she said she could hook me up with one of his books, which practically had me drooling last week at work. I swear I'm not a stalker......
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sick (Literally) Of Summer
I must be some sort of control freak because whatever I can't control seems to get on my nerves. Take for instance the weather. In case you haven't noticed, I love to complain about the weather. The high for today is going to hover around ninety, and I know already that I'm going to complain about it all day long......and what I also know is that I'm going to be dying for this type of weather near the halfway point of winter. But for now, it's fall, and I wish the weather would behave itself.
But I'm not the only one looking forward to the change of seasons-the three trees in front of my TA honestly started changing colors overnight. [Sorry to disappoint you guys, but it looks like there are going to be at least a few more odd days until the cool weather is here to stay.]
The last day of summer is always kind of bittersweet. As much fun as it is to go swimming outdoors and wear flip-flops all the time (not that people don't mind frostbite on their toes in the winter, of course), you begin to look forward to a change from periods of infinitely many days worth of ninety plus weather. I can definitely say that I greeted fall with open arms this year. On the last night of summer, my friends and I lighted up my mini Weber grill and toasted marshmallows under what would have been the stars, had the night not been so cloudy.
It's crazy how fast senior year is going right now. I turned in a research paper proposal yesterday and my senior thesis proposal on Monday. Next week I have two short (as in five page) papers due, and my professors have already started talking about midterms in class. While I've learned a lot in my classes, I still kind of feel like the semester just started--every day and week seem to be divided up into moments I've spent in the library. Senior year is no joke, although it kind of seemed like it yesterday when I reached into my mailbox to find a couple small boxes of Nerds from the sociology majors committee, congratulating me on turning in my thesis proposal. Maybe by the time I turn in the first draft I'll have worked myself up to the "cupcake level." If I were a third grader that might be inspiring.
Just a couple of weeks left until October Break. I realize it's still early in the semester, but I'm in the mood for a break. Earlier in the week I became deathly ill (okay, I caught a cough and a cold....lame, I know) and I'm working on recovering at this point. Reading about Nazi Germany and racism in America isn't helping me feel any better, but my parents are visiting this weekend and bringing me cough syrup, so that should be good. If only they could bring me a couple more hours per day.... that would be worthwhile.
But I'm not the only one looking forward to the change of seasons-the three trees in front of my TA honestly started changing colors overnight. [Sorry to disappoint you guys, but it looks like there are going to be at least a few more odd days until the cool weather is here to stay.]
The last day of summer is always kind of bittersweet. As much fun as it is to go swimming outdoors and wear flip-flops all the time (not that people don't mind frostbite on their toes in the winter, of course), you begin to look forward to a change from periods of infinitely many days worth of ninety plus weather. I can definitely say that I greeted fall with open arms this year. On the last night of summer, my friends and I lighted up my mini Weber grill and toasted marshmallows under what would have been the stars, had the night not been so cloudy.
It's crazy how fast senior year is going right now. I turned in a research paper proposal yesterday and my senior thesis proposal on Monday. Next week I have two short (as in five page) papers due, and my professors have already started talking about midterms in class. While I've learned a lot in my classes, I still kind of feel like the semester just started--every day and week seem to be divided up into moments I've spent in the library. Senior year is no joke, although it kind of seemed like it yesterday when I reached into my mailbox to find a couple small boxes of Nerds from the sociology majors committee, congratulating me on turning in my thesis proposal. Maybe by the time I turn in the first draft I'll have worked myself up to the "cupcake level." If I were a third grader that might be inspiring.
Just a couple of weeks left until October Break. I realize it's still early in the semester, but I'm in the mood for a break. Earlier in the week I became deathly ill (okay, I caught a cough and a cold....lame, I know) and I'm working on recovering at this point. Reading about Nazi Germany and racism in America isn't helping me feel any better, but my parents are visiting this weekend and bringing me cough syrup, so that should be good. If only they could bring me a couple more hours per day.... that would be worthwhile.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Books Are My Master
Quite miraculously, I think I managed to come up with a senior thesis topic. Even more miraculous? I think the topic might actually be good.
As the story goes, I was probably one of ten people who spent Saturday night in the library. Don't let the aspect of Saturday night in the library scare you-you know I definitely left at ten o' clock for a late night Stop & Shop run which eventually resulted in baking pumpkin pie-but sometimes it's kind of nice to chill out and go on book hunts instead of going completely haywire at some sort of Vassar concert. The best part is that you always feel like you did something productive after you leave, whether you actually did work or not. Don't believe me? Try it:
Cool Friend #1: Hey, where were you Saturday night?
Cool Friend #2: Yeah, seriously. There was a killer concert in Main featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Clash!
Me: Oh, I was in the library sleeping, I mean, SLAVING over books.
Cool Friend #1: Wow! You have so much motivation!
Cool Friend #2: I wish I could be you!
See? That's pretty much exactly how a conversation between my friends and me would go. By the way, The Clash actually did play at Vassar back in the day. No joke.
But Saturday was dedicated to finding a thesis topic. I had an idea of something I wanted to do along the lines of new media (such as the Internet, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) but I wasn't sure exactly what. Then, after leaving the library, I was talking to my friend about what a sociologist might write a thesis about when the words literally came out of my mouth, "Something like, I don't know, activism on the Internet...Wait a second... WHOA."
After researching the topic briefly, I realized that the topic had been researched just enough-not too much or too little for me to write about it. Now all I need is a 1-2 page summary of the topic, a projected outline and annotated bibliography for Monday.
T minus four days until my proposal is due-I'm in the clear.
As the story goes, I was probably one of ten people who spent Saturday night in the library. Don't let the aspect of Saturday night in the library scare you-you know I definitely left at ten o' clock for a late night Stop & Shop run which eventually resulted in baking pumpkin pie-but sometimes it's kind of nice to chill out and go on book hunts instead of going completely haywire at some sort of Vassar concert. The best part is that you always feel like you did something productive after you leave, whether you actually did work or not. Don't believe me? Try it:
Cool Friend #1: Hey, where were you Saturday night?
Cool Friend #2: Yeah, seriously. There was a killer concert in Main featuring the Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Clash!
Me: Oh, I was in the library sleeping, I mean, SLAVING over books.
Cool Friend #1: Wow! You have so much motivation!
Cool Friend #2: I wish I could be you!
See? That's pretty much exactly how a conversation between my friends and me would go. By the way, The Clash actually did play at Vassar back in the day. No joke.
But Saturday was dedicated to finding a thesis topic. I had an idea of something I wanted to do along the lines of new media (such as the Internet, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) but I wasn't sure exactly what. Then, after leaving the library, I was talking to my friend about what a sociologist might write a thesis about when the words literally came out of my mouth, "Something like, I don't know, activism on the Internet...Wait a second... WHOA."
After researching the topic briefly, I realized that the topic had been researched just enough-not too much or too little for me to write about it. Now all I need is a 1-2 page summary of the topic, a projected outline and annotated bibliography for Monday.
T minus four days until my proposal is due-I'm in the clear.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Senior Freak Out...I Mean Thesis
As a senior, it's getting to the point where I have to face my biggest fear: my senior thesis. Contrary to popular belief, being a senior doesn't necessarily mean I can write a thesis, and somehow I'm expected to turn in a research proposal in exactly two weeks from today. Following a brief freak out session last week, I decided to pay a visit to my advisor and see what exactly I need to do for my thesis, and how far along in the process I should be at this point.
A senior thesis is a long paper written by seniors who majored in certain fields, such as sociology. In fact, I believe that a majority of students at Vassar will either write a senior thesis or create a senior project, depending on their major, during senior year. For example, out of my housemates, I am writing a senior thesis, my housemate who is a music major is performing a senior recital, and my housemate who is a media studies major is creating a senior project. Now don't get me wrong-the senior recital and senior project both require a great deal of work like the thesis-but personally I think the senior thesis sounds the scariest. Upon coming to college, I was so intimidated of the aspect of writing a senior thesis that I attempted to major in a field that didn't require one for graduation, such as psychology or political science. But my love for sociology foiled my plans, and I am now sitting here scared out of my mind.
First of all, I have a hard time getting it through my head that a senior thesis is just a really long paper. From what my advisor said, it's generally between 50 and 60 pages for sociology majors, but I should think of it as being more like four twelve page papers, considering the thesis will probably have four chapters. Okay, so maybe it really is just a long paper, but how can I think of it in those terms when it gets a title like, "senior thesis," which provides no indication of just being four papers. For me, that's very intimidating.
Second, how am I supposed to think of a topic that will interest me for an ENTIRE year? Personally, I think I'm a bit of a flake at most things that I do in the sense that I like a lot of things, and sometimes get really into things, but personally I have no real burning life passions that make me want to say, "Wow! I really wish I could spend a whole year writing about this!" No way Jose.
For me, the "SENIOR THESIS" was a BIG deal. But speaking to my advisor informed me that it's pretty much just like taking a class, but something that is sort of self-instructed (as if I have self discipline).
Here's the abbreviated version of our conversation:
Me: So about this senior thesis.... I hear the proposal is due on September 25th, but I have no idea what I'm doing!
My Advisor: That's okay. Most students have no idea what they are doing, and many of them will actually find a focus after they turn in the proposal.
Me: About the proposal.... can I write it up the week before, have you check it, and then fix it and turn it in on the 25th?
My Advisor: Huh... I suppose you could do that.... but I think a lot of times students write it the night before.
Me: Wow... I thought it was a really big deal?
My Advisor: Brooke, it's just a really big paper. Don't worry about it so much. If you're really worried, feel free to check out the sample theses in the Sociology office.
Wow! Sample theses?! I wonder if any of them are old enough that the professors in the sociology department wouldn't remember them being written.... Not that I would ever do that, of course.
But in all seriousness, creating a research project of my very own could be kind of cool-you know, the opportunity to conduct actual research and write up the results and say, "So THIS is what I found. Aren't I soooooo awesome?" Okay, obviously I wouldn't say that, but you get the point.
Now, to find a topic.....
A senior thesis is a long paper written by seniors who majored in certain fields, such as sociology. In fact, I believe that a majority of students at Vassar will either write a senior thesis or create a senior project, depending on their major, during senior year. For example, out of my housemates, I am writing a senior thesis, my housemate who is a music major is performing a senior recital, and my housemate who is a media studies major is creating a senior project. Now don't get me wrong-the senior recital and senior project both require a great deal of work like the thesis-but personally I think the senior thesis sounds the scariest. Upon coming to college, I was so intimidated of the aspect of writing a senior thesis that I attempted to major in a field that didn't require one for graduation, such as psychology or political science. But my love for sociology foiled my plans, and I am now sitting here scared out of my mind.
First of all, I have a hard time getting it through my head that a senior thesis is just a really long paper. From what my advisor said, it's generally between 50 and 60 pages for sociology majors, but I should think of it as being more like four twelve page papers, considering the thesis will probably have four chapters. Okay, so maybe it really is just a long paper, but how can I think of it in those terms when it gets a title like, "senior thesis," which provides no indication of just being four papers. For me, that's very intimidating.
Second, how am I supposed to think of a topic that will interest me for an ENTIRE year? Personally, I think I'm a bit of a flake at most things that I do in the sense that I like a lot of things, and sometimes get really into things, but personally I have no real burning life passions that make me want to say, "Wow! I really wish I could spend a whole year writing about this!" No way Jose.
For me, the "SENIOR THESIS" was a BIG deal. But speaking to my advisor informed me that it's pretty much just like taking a class, but something that is sort of self-instructed (as if I have self discipline).
Here's the abbreviated version of our conversation:
Me: So about this senior thesis.... I hear the proposal is due on September 25th, but I have no idea what I'm doing!
My Advisor: That's okay. Most students have no idea what they are doing, and many of them will actually find a focus after they turn in the proposal.
Me: About the proposal.... can I write it up the week before, have you check it, and then fix it and turn it in on the 25th?
My Advisor: Huh... I suppose you could do that.... but I think a lot of times students write it the night before.
Me: Wow... I thought it was a really big deal?
My Advisor: Brooke, it's just a really big paper. Don't worry about it so much. If you're really worried, feel free to check out the sample theses in the Sociology office.
Wow! Sample theses?! I wonder if any of them are old enough that the professors in the sociology department wouldn't remember them being written.... Not that I would ever do that, of course.
But in all seriousness, creating a research project of my very own could be kind of cool-you know, the opportunity to conduct actual research and write up the results and say, "So THIS is what I found. Aren't I soooooo awesome?" Okay, obviously I wouldn't say that, but you get the point.
Now, to find a topic.....
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Showered With Chocolate
The past weekend featured one of the biggest events of the year--the welcoming of a new Vassar class! And of course, just like every year, I got all nostalgic, teared up a little, and caused my friends to say, "Seriously, what's wrong with you? It's just a new batch of freshmen," which reminds me all over again that I'm graduating. Ugh.
But this being my last year of freshmen move in, I decided to make it a good one and take advantage of my favorite thing about special events on campus--the mountains upon mountains of free food (are we seeing a pattern here?). By videographing the experience for College Relations, I was able to take advantage of even the special access free food with the help of my official College Relations name tag, which further assured my lack of need for dinner that evening. To quote the student photographer I was working with that day, "It's one of the perks of the job."
I showered my campus patrol friends with free chocolate bars and thanked them for keeping the campus safe on move in day, then continued reliving my own freshman move in experience by relaxing in the shade with my video camera as my fellow students sweated beneath the weight of all of their worldly possessions. Ahh, the memories.
I remember moving in myself, although most of it is a blur. Current Vassar students help the freshman move in and find their rooms, as I volunteered to do my sophomore year. From what I remember, my family had barely opened the trunk of our antique, retro yellow station wagon after we pulled into the Cushing parking lot when suddenly all of my prized possessions had vanished. At the time I was kind of freaked out because it had happened so fast, but when I had to move in everything myself the next year, I realized exactly how hard it is to move in yourself, especially when you have no idea where you are. It's nice to have a few extra hands to help out, but unfortunately freshman year was the only time I had the priviledge.
During the tail end of my senior year of high school (at the point when my senioritis could have rivaled the plague), I met another prospective student over the Internet via the Vassar message boards (Facebook didn't exist at the time--which I know is hard to imagine). He thought I was french through my message board name, La Belle Dame Sans Merci (I'm not), but it didn't matter--we kind of hit it off through our mutual sense of humor and love of shredding metal, and I most likely spent all of my free time and most of what should have been my study time talking to him online about how awesome Vassar would be. As my point of departure from home neared, I wasn't sure if my Internet friendship could exist outside of cyberspace, until I found out we would be living six doors away from each other in the same hall. Talk about bizarre.
Together, we managed to form our own group of friends with other student fellow group misfits, nicknaming this group "The Posse." Together, we skipped scheduled orientation events, roamed around campus in disoriented packs, scarfed down copius amounts of food from the campus dining hall and talked smack about other dorms--all while the other new students were going to cool off-campus parties. Yeah, we were lame. As a matter of fact, we still are as we've managed to remain friends to this day.
But this being my last year of freshmen move in, I decided to make it a good one and take advantage of my favorite thing about special events on campus--the mountains upon mountains of free food (are we seeing a pattern here?). By videographing the experience for College Relations, I was able to take advantage of even the special access free food with the help of my official College Relations name tag, which further assured my lack of need for dinner that evening. To quote the student photographer I was working with that day, "It's one of the perks of the job."
I showered my campus patrol friends with free chocolate bars and thanked them for keeping the campus safe on move in day, then continued reliving my own freshman move in experience by relaxing in the shade with my video camera as my fellow students sweated beneath the weight of all of their worldly possessions. Ahh, the memories.
I remember moving in myself, although most of it is a blur. Current Vassar students help the freshman move in and find their rooms, as I volunteered to do my sophomore year. From what I remember, my family had barely opened the trunk of our antique, retro yellow station wagon after we pulled into the Cushing parking lot when suddenly all of my prized possessions had vanished. At the time I was kind of freaked out because it had happened so fast, but when I had to move in everything myself the next year, I realized exactly how hard it is to move in yourself, especially when you have no idea where you are. It's nice to have a few extra hands to help out, but unfortunately freshman year was the only time I had the priviledge.
During the tail end of my senior year of high school (at the point when my senioritis could have rivaled the plague), I met another prospective student over the Internet via the Vassar message boards (Facebook didn't exist at the time--which I know is hard to imagine). He thought I was french through my message board name, La Belle Dame Sans Merci (I'm not), but it didn't matter--we kind of hit it off through our mutual sense of humor and love of shredding metal, and I most likely spent all of my free time and most of what should have been my study time talking to him online about how awesome Vassar would be. As my point of departure from home neared, I wasn't sure if my Internet friendship could exist outside of cyberspace, until I found out we would be living six doors away from each other in the same hall. Talk about bizarre.
Together, we managed to form our own group of friends with other student fellow group misfits, nicknaming this group "The Posse." Together, we skipped scheduled orientation events, roamed around campus in disoriented packs, scarfed down copius amounts of food from the campus dining hall and talked smack about other dorms--all while the other new students were going to cool off-campus parties. Yeah, we were lame. As a matter of fact, we still are as we've managed to remain friends to this day.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Saga Begins
Quite possibly, the question I most frequently ask myself is, "What do I want to do with my life?" For years, I've tried to figure it out myself. When I was in high school, I entered the school's pre-med program thinking that "I'm a smart person. Maybe I should be a doctor." Then I found out that I don't possess a lot of skills that doctors possess, such as people skills. And "looking at blood" skills. Eww. And knowing me, I'd be the doctor with a really twisted sense of humor who accidentally makes a joke about false teeth while roaming around in the geriatric department; needless to say, medicine was ruled out pretty quickly.
Since then I've explored everything from law to scientific research, then somehow landed in College Relations here at Vassar. While I enjoy many aspects of my job here, I've learned that I'm not exactly skilled when it comes to general office tasks. Even with 7 months of work experience, I still can't properly answer a phone and frequently get in fights with the copy machine. And as I frequently repeat at the expense of my fellow student workers, "I wasn't cut out for this life. Sigh."
After summer internships in journalism, television writing, and, finally, blogging, I'm starting to get a sense of what I like, but barely. You'd think that by being myself I'd know myself, but somehow other people tend to know me better than I do--if that makes any sense. By taking the advice of a few alum friends who recommended the Vassar Career Development Office (and also happen to have jobs), last week I finally admitted defeat and decided to give it a shot.
The nice lady who works at the Career Development Office (or CDO) desk set me up for an appointment that actually occurred this week. In order to prepare, I had to fill out a yellow form stating my problem, interests, thoughts about the future, and barriers in my future planning. I wasn't quite sure what the answers to these questions were so I had to ask for help, which kind of made me feel like I was cheating on a test. "Psst, [Inserts friend's name here], what's the answer to number four?" "Only you know that," said my boyfriend in an annoyed voice. Eventually, I came up with a few answers, a couple of my interests being ukulele, the food network, and kayaking-none of which seemed very career related, unless somehow I could make a living as a ukulele-playing kayaker with a cooking show, but I'm pretty sure there's no market for that yet.
As soon as I entered my career counselors office, it was as if I had suddenly developed amnesia. I had no idea why I was there (the same type of confusion I experienced before taking the SAT) or what my questions were, which is exactly what she wanted to know. I spat out a really general answer, something along the lines of, "I don't know where to start," to which she said, "How about with your major?"
To be honest, I don't know what I like about Sociology, which is exactly what I told her. It just seemed right to me, which is the way most things are. I can't define my interests on paper, but I can tell what feels natural.
Like classes, for instance. Trying a different approach to pinpoint my interests, she asks, "Can you name your favorite classes at Vassar?"
I knew this question wouldn't be the answer to my problem, mainly because my favorite classes have all been so different. As far as my top three go, I'd have to say my German Studies freshman course called "Vampires, Lunatics, and Cyborgs," Relativity (a physics course), and Drugs, Culture, and Society (compliments of the Sociology department-> highly recommended!). Liberal Arts school-1; CDO-0.
Now, I don't know if this is true or if she was just trying to make me feel better about myself, but she said my issue was common and most people don't know what they want to do with the rest of their lives when they're in college. (Which maybe explains why my three best friends know exactly what they want to pursue? For the sake of my nerves, I'll assume I have some really odd friends.)
My counselor directed me to a few websites provided by the CDO giving career advice and information. One of them is called "Vault," which is a really helpful website in terms of information about fields and matching careers with personality types. Unfortunately, every time I saw a career that seemed to fit my personality type, I also saw that these careers were not for people with traits such as "disorganized" or "procrastinator," which pretty much rules them out.
Another service offered by the CDO that I'm curious to try is called V-Net. V-Net is a networking tool (hence the name) that students can use to get in touch with Alums who have volunteered to act as career mentors. For example, you can search for someone in a specific place, field, or, who graduated with the same degree that you are pursuing, then find out what they do now and contact them. By contacting them, they will hopefully answer questions about their field and encourage networking with other people in the field that interests you. As my career counselor said, it's not uncommon for students to find a job through V-Net with mentors they find online-that is, if the career interests you.
I'm scheduled to take a personality test next week, which sounds really interesting (if they can give me any answers, I'll assume they use magic), as well as a follow up meeting with a careers counselor, who will be able to give me more information and guidance based on my answers from the personality test.
I haven't made too much progress in my career search yet, but maybe with some luck (and perhaps a bit of fairy dust) I'll be able to name some career relevant interests by the time I graduate.... then all I need to do is find a job.
Since then I've explored everything from law to scientific research, then somehow landed in College Relations here at Vassar. While I enjoy many aspects of my job here, I've learned that I'm not exactly skilled when it comes to general office tasks. Even with 7 months of work experience, I still can't properly answer a phone and frequently get in fights with the copy machine. And as I frequently repeat at the expense of my fellow student workers, "I wasn't cut out for this life. Sigh."
After summer internships in journalism, television writing, and, finally, blogging, I'm starting to get a sense of what I like, but barely. You'd think that by being myself I'd know myself, but somehow other people tend to know me better than I do--if that makes any sense. By taking the advice of a few alum friends who recommended the Vassar Career Development Office (and also happen to have jobs), last week I finally admitted defeat and decided to give it a shot.
The nice lady who works at the Career Development Office (or CDO) desk set me up for an appointment that actually occurred this week. In order to prepare, I had to fill out a yellow form stating my problem, interests, thoughts about the future, and barriers in my future planning. I wasn't quite sure what the answers to these questions were so I had to ask for help, which kind of made me feel like I was cheating on a test. "Psst, [Inserts friend's name here], what's the answer to number four?" "Only you know that," said my boyfriend in an annoyed voice. Eventually, I came up with a few answers, a couple of my interests being ukulele, the food network, and kayaking-none of which seemed very career related, unless somehow I could make a living as a ukulele-playing kayaker with a cooking show, but I'm pretty sure there's no market for that yet.
As soon as I entered my career counselors office, it was as if I had suddenly developed amnesia. I had no idea why I was there (the same type of confusion I experienced before taking the SAT) or what my questions were, which is exactly what she wanted to know. I spat out a really general answer, something along the lines of, "I don't know where to start," to which she said, "How about with your major?"
To be honest, I don't know what I like about Sociology, which is exactly what I told her. It just seemed right to me, which is the way most things are. I can't define my interests on paper, but I can tell what feels natural.
Like classes, for instance. Trying a different approach to pinpoint my interests, she asks, "Can you name your favorite classes at Vassar?"
I knew this question wouldn't be the answer to my problem, mainly because my favorite classes have all been so different. As far as my top three go, I'd have to say my German Studies freshman course called "Vampires, Lunatics, and Cyborgs," Relativity (a physics course), and Drugs, Culture, and Society (compliments of the Sociology department-> highly recommended!). Liberal Arts school-1; CDO-0.
Now, I don't know if this is true or if she was just trying to make me feel better about myself, but she said my issue was common and most people don't know what they want to do with the rest of their lives when they're in college. (Which maybe explains why my three best friends know exactly what they want to pursue? For the sake of my nerves, I'll assume I have some really odd friends.)
My counselor directed me to a few websites provided by the CDO giving career advice and information. One of them is called "Vault," which is a really helpful website in terms of information about fields and matching careers with personality types. Unfortunately, every time I saw a career that seemed to fit my personality type, I also saw that these careers were not for people with traits such as "disorganized" or "procrastinator," which pretty much rules them out.
Another service offered by the CDO that I'm curious to try is called V-Net. V-Net is a networking tool (hence the name) that students can use to get in touch with Alums who have volunteered to act as career mentors. For example, you can search for someone in a specific place, field, or, who graduated with the same degree that you are pursuing, then find out what they do now and contact them. By contacting them, they will hopefully answer questions about their field and encourage networking with other people in the field that interests you. As my career counselor said, it's not uncommon for students to find a job through V-Net with mentors they find online-that is, if the career interests you.
I'm scheduled to take a personality test next week, which sounds really interesting (if they can give me any answers, I'll assume they use magic), as well as a follow up meeting with a careers counselor, who will be able to give me more information and guidance based on my answers from the personality test.
I haven't made too much progress in my career search yet, but maybe with some luck (and perhaps a bit of fairy dust) I'll be able to name some career relevant interests by the time I graduate.... then all I need to do is find a job.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Curtain-Less
What really surprises me is how much of a girl I am when it comes to things such as napkins and shower curtains. In fact, I was actually excited over how well my towels matched the shower curtain rings in my TA when it came time for me to actually break down and decide that “perhaps I don’t want showering to be something I fear due to my lack of skill when it comes to showering curtain-less.” Yes, that's right. I moved--and my house didn't come with a shower curtain. In fact, it didn't come with a lot of things, for example, toilet paper. You'd think they'd at least cut us some slack and say, "We'll give you the first roll, but after that you're on your own." But no, in this case it was more like, "You have to use the bathroom? This should be funny." I'd like to walk around on move in day and see how many rolls are missing from the dorms due to unsuspecting seniors.
After weeks of frantically observing utter destruction (or what others might consider "construction") occur within the boundaries of the TA's (Terrace Apartments), on Friday I was finally able to chill out and move from Main Building to my newly renovated apartment! I've had the area under heavy surveillance for the entire summer, watching every budge of the construction equipment within the area to ensure that the move into senior housing would actually happen. I know there were at least a few times when I called my boyfriend in terror to say "Pat! 'The Claw' is attacking the TA's!" ("The Claw" being the scary looking machine with a clawed arm) to which he would respond, "Don't worry, it's just construction equipment. It won't hurt them." With me on the watch, nothing could foil my plans of moving into senior housing, except perhaps the threat of nuclear war.
When the day I'd spent the entire summer waiting for finally came, I was prepared. I had loaded up my car the night before in an attempt to begin moving as soon as possible. Two of my housemates arrived around noon on the day of to help me with the move because some of the things I had been storing will be mutually shared this year. With the three of us moving, I predicted that we would be done in no time. Unfortunately, no time ended up being 10 hours, after which I was completely beat. Thank god I'm not moving again until May.
Originally, my friend Chel and I had made plans to go to her house in New Jersey for the weekend after relaxing with a couple of post-move enchiladas and Pina Coladas, but by 10:30, it didn't look as if that were going to happen. In fact, to make matters worse, we couldn't even lock the beautiful new door to our TA. Thinking that the ROC (Residential Operations Center) could help, my friend and I stopped there on our way out to see if they could lock the door for us. But as soon as we mentioned to the problem to the ROC worker, a look of horror appeared on her face and she immediately called the Security office. My friend and I looked at each other, shrugging, as if there was anything valuable in our house anyways. We just wanted dinner.
When the ROC worker finished her call, she told us that the trouble-shooter would meet us up at our house in a few minutes to help us with our problem. And it was after he arrived that we found out why she was shocked. Seeing as our door had problems, it was very possible that some or all of the other doors had problems as well, which could cause a lot of fuss on campus. But after checking 4 or 5 of the doors of the houses surrounding mine, the trouble-shooter predicted that our non-locking door was a fluke. Figures.
The trouble-shooter is basically one man who has to fix all of the problems on campus. This head-honcho Mr. Fix-It of the Building and Grounds department wanders day and night looking for trouble, following security's lead to all of the impending problems around campus. And as I found out when I worked Campus Patrol, he even has his own radio line, which pretty much screams "IMPORTANT!"
But of course, the one who figured out the problem wasn't the trouble-shooter, but me. "It's like it's backwards or something...." I stammered, while the trouble-shooter inspected the door handle. While it sounded dumb at the time, it was probably the most intelligent statement within the past half hour. At least now we knew the problem, but the real trouble was fixing it. At that point we were allowed to leave, and the trouble-shooter said he would do his best to come up with a temporary fix, but the door handle wouldn't be reversed until after the weekend.
By the time we were able to leave, it was ridiculously late and we had to get food at the only place that never closes: The Acrop. Of course, their menu is probably the size of every other campus restaurants' combined, but somehow they managed to whip out both a Chicken Marsala and a roast beef and cheddar Panini in what seemed like 10 minutes. But as long as it's good, I won't question their methods.
After weeks of frantically observing utter destruction (or what others might consider "construction") occur within the boundaries of the TA's (Terrace Apartments), on Friday I was finally able to chill out and move from Main Building to my newly renovated apartment! I've had the area under heavy surveillance for the entire summer, watching every budge of the construction equipment within the area to ensure that the move into senior housing would actually happen. I know there were at least a few times when I called my boyfriend in terror to say "Pat! 'The Claw' is attacking the TA's!" ("The Claw" being the scary looking machine with a clawed arm) to which he would respond, "Don't worry, it's just construction equipment. It won't hurt them." With me on the watch, nothing could foil my plans of moving into senior housing, except perhaps the threat of nuclear war.
When the day I'd spent the entire summer waiting for finally came, I was prepared. I had loaded up my car the night before in an attempt to begin moving as soon as possible. Two of my housemates arrived around noon on the day of to help me with the move because some of the things I had been storing will be mutually shared this year. With the three of us moving, I predicted that we would be done in no time. Unfortunately, no time ended up being 10 hours, after which I was completely beat. Thank god I'm not moving again until May.
Originally, my friend Chel and I had made plans to go to her house in New Jersey for the weekend after relaxing with a couple of post-move enchiladas and Pina Coladas, but by 10:30, it didn't look as if that were going to happen. In fact, to make matters worse, we couldn't even lock the beautiful new door to our TA. Thinking that the ROC (Residential Operations Center) could help, my friend and I stopped there on our way out to see if they could lock the door for us. But as soon as we mentioned to the problem to the ROC worker, a look of horror appeared on her face and she immediately called the Security office. My friend and I looked at each other, shrugging, as if there was anything valuable in our house anyways. We just wanted dinner.
When the ROC worker finished her call, she told us that the trouble-shooter would meet us up at our house in a few minutes to help us with our problem. And it was after he arrived that we found out why she was shocked. Seeing as our door had problems, it was very possible that some or all of the other doors had problems as well, which could cause a lot of fuss on campus. But after checking 4 or 5 of the doors of the houses surrounding mine, the trouble-shooter predicted that our non-locking door was a fluke. Figures.
The trouble-shooter is basically one man who has to fix all of the problems on campus. This head-honcho Mr. Fix-It of the Building and Grounds department wanders day and night looking for trouble, following security's lead to all of the impending problems around campus. And as I found out when I worked Campus Patrol, he even has his own radio line, which pretty much screams "IMPORTANT!"
But of course, the one who figured out the problem wasn't the trouble-shooter, but me. "It's like it's backwards or something...." I stammered, while the trouble-shooter inspected the door handle. While it sounded dumb at the time, it was probably the most intelligent statement within the past half hour. At least now we knew the problem, but the real trouble was fixing it. At that point we were allowed to leave, and the trouble-shooter said he would do his best to come up with a temporary fix, but the door handle wouldn't be reversed until after the weekend.
By the time we were able to leave, it was ridiculously late and we had to get food at the only place that never closes: The Acrop. Of course, their menu is probably the size of every other campus restaurants' combined, but somehow they managed to whip out both a Chicken Marsala and a roast beef and cheddar Panini in what seemed like 10 minutes. But as long as it's good, I won't question their methods.
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Main 456 Zoo
Summer is finally coming to a close as there are now only two weeks left until students arrive! Soon, my full time job here in College Relations will be over and I'll be able to do what I love the most--study.
I'd say that my experience here in College Relations has been comparable to Alice in Wonderland: Every morning I wake up, and, after downing a cup of magical liquid labeled "drink me" (coffee, of course), I retreat into a mystical world of the unknown--the 9 to 5 white collar working world--while crying, "I'm late! I'm late!" until I reach the office door at the end of a long, dark staircase. The downside, obviously, is that unlike in Alice in Wonderland, there is no caterpillar smoking a hookah, which makes me die a little on the inside.
In other news, I think I've made a name for myself around Vassar as the "Campus Pet-Sitter," because starting tomorrow, I won't just have a rat under my care; instead, I'll have two geckos, a snake, and a rat. My room has become quite the zoo as of recent--maybe I should start charging admission. (As you know, I'm always on the lookout for some sort of money making scheme. My tuition bill is coming up and so far I haven't thought of anything legal. My best idea thus far was buying stuff from the local pawn shop to sell on eBay but I know nothing about market value. Maybe I should stick to pet-sitting...) These--for lack of a better term--"creatures" are coming from my friend Tarantula Joe, who made a name for himself on campus by having his pet tarantula escape from it's cage last year to be found hiding in his sock drawer. It's kind of a cute story, but apparently the administration didn't think so. As I should have stated in my packing list, poisonous creatures are no longer allowed on campus, thanks to Tarantula Joe. Poor Tarantula Joe had to sell his favorite pets, but replacing the tarantulas will be dart frogs, which I love.
We're starting to close in on Freshman Week right now, and every year at about this time I tend to think back and reflect on my Freshman Week--sappy, I know. (At this point, no one is allowed to remind me that I'm graduating this year, but so far I think the only person that's been reminding me is myself. Ooops.) Of course, this year I move into Senior Housing, which I love to mention, if you haven't figured that out already, but to be honest, I will miss some things about dorm life. For example, house fellows. Now, it sounds scary to be living in (possibly) the same dorm as one of your professors, but it's really not. They could invite you to dinner, and you know I love free food. In Cushing we always had the beginning of the year ice cream social at the house fellows apartment and I'll definitely miss that. Trust me, I'm trying to devise a way to sneak in when it rolls around this year.
Another dorm "authority" with no power is the student fellow, which I suppose is similar to a house fellow except a student. Get it? Everyone has their own student fellow (even I do, although he's graduated) to whom they are assigned as a freshman and this person acts kind of like a guide as opposed to an actual authority figure. So instead of hiding your bad behavior (as if you were being observed by an RA), you are advised against your bad behavior--although I'll go ahead and assume we're all saints around here.
The other students assigned to your student fellow are known as your "student fellow group." Vassar sets up student fellow groups of approximately 12-15 students (that's my best guess) who generally live in the same area close to their student fellow. Sometimes ResLife does a great job of picking these groups; sometimes it looks like something went haywire and all of a sudden you have a group of all guys. Some of my friends made their best friends in college from their student fellow groups and remained friends with some or all of them throughout college, while other groups didn't really mesh so well... if at all. Mine was probably more of the latter. But don't fret-I made some of my best friends by not really meshing with my student fellow group, so it usually works out for everyone some way or another.
Today is the official day that I start packing for my move this coming Friday (I was too lazy to start yesterday), which ultimately means the beginning of "back to school!" Yeah, I know my excitement has no explanation.
I'd say that my experience here in College Relations has been comparable to Alice in Wonderland: Every morning I wake up, and, after downing a cup of magical liquid labeled "drink me" (coffee, of course), I retreat into a mystical world of the unknown--the 9 to 5 white collar working world--while crying, "I'm late! I'm late!" until I reach the office door at the end of a long, dark staircase. The downside, obviously, is that unlike in Alice in Wonderland, there is no caterpillar smoking a hookah, which makes me die a little on the inside.
In other news, I think I've made a name for myself around Vassar as the "Campus Pet-Sitter," because starting tomorrow, I won't just have a rat under my care; instead, I'll have two geckos, a snake, and a rat. My room has become quite the zoo as of recent--maybe I should start charging admission. (As you know, I'm always on the lookout for some sort of money making scheme. My tuition bill is coming up and so far I haven't thought of anything legal. My best idea thus far was buying stuff from the local pawn shop to sell on eBay but I know nothing about market value. Maybe I should stick to pet-sitting...) These--for lack of a better term--"creatures" are coming from my friend Tarantula Joe, who made a name for himself on campus by having his pet tarantula escape from it's cage last year to be found hiding in his sock drawer. It's kind of a cute story, but apparently the administration didn't think so. As I should have stated in my packing list, poisonous creatures are no longer allowed on campus, thanks to Tarantula Joe. Poor Tarantula Joe had to sell his favorite pets, but replacing the tarantulas will be dart frogs, which I love.
We're starting to close in on Freshman Week right now, and every year at about this time I tend to think back and reflect on my Freshman Week--sappy, I know. (At this point, no one is allowed to remind me that I'm graduating this year, but so far I think the only person that's been reminding me is myself. Ooops.) Of course, this year I move into Senior Housing, which I love to mention, if you haven't figured that out already, but to be honest, I will miss some things about dorm life. For example, house fellows. Now, it sounds scary to be living in (possibly) the same dorm as one of your professors, but it's really not. They could invite you to dinner, and you know I love free food. In Cushing we always had the beginning of the year ice cream social at the house fellows apartment and I'll definitely miss that. Trust me, I'm trying to devise a way to sneak in when it rolls around this year.
Another dorm "authority" with no power is the student fellow, which I suppose is similar to a house fellow except a student. Get it? Everyone has their own student fellow (even I do, although he's graduated) to whom they are assigned as a freshman and this person acts kind of like a guide as opposed to an actual authority figure. So instead of hiding your bad behavior (as if you were being observed by an RA), you are advised against your bad behavior--although I'll go ahead and assume we're all saints around here.
The other students assigned to your student fellow are known as your "student fellow group." Vassar sets up student fellow groups of approximately 12-15 students (that's my best guess) who generally live in the same area close to their student fellow. Sometimes ResLife does a great job of picking these groups; sometimes it looks like something went haywire and all of a sudden you have a group of all guys. Some of my friends made their best friends in college from their student fellow groups and remained friends with some or all of them throughout college, while other groups didn't really mesh so well... if at all. Mine was probably more of the latter. But don't fret-I made some of my best friends by not really meshing with my student fellow group, so it usually works out for everyone some way or another.
Today is the official day that I start packing for my move this coming Friday (I was too lazy to start yesterday), which ultimately means the beginning of "back to school!" Yeah, I know my excitement has no explanation.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
A Different Kind of Workday Break...
In case you haven't noticed yet, I have a knack for hurting myself--and usually out of my own carelessness.
To emphasize my point, I wish I had a cool story as to why there is a scar on my foot, but instead it's summed up in this simple two word phrase: I tripped. If I were cleverer, I would probably make up a really cool story as to how it happened. Something like, "I was chasing the bear who stole my picnic basket, and, when I finally caught up to him, I decided to fight him with my own bare hands. Then, in one, swift stroke, he took his front claw and sliced open my foot, forever haunting me with this jagged scar." Hmm. Maybe I'll start telling people that's what happened...
I'm still the only person from my high school to be injured during both an academic challenge tournament and a speech tournament-and each time I left the classroom bleeding. When I asked my instructor at speech camp what she would have done if she'd injured herself during her performance, she said she would have excused herself and left. On the contrary, I had decided to continue performing and left the stage bleeding from an over-dramatic cut that I'd accidentally received while playing the part of a confused Home Depot customer.
So when I broke my toe during my cushy office job last Thursday, it really came as no surprise. For me, it's perfectly natural to trip over the leg of a couch while hearing a loud "CRACK!" come from the direction of my foot during an eight hour shift requiring no physical effort on my part.
Refusing to accept my injury as serious, I tried walking on it (rather unsuccessfully) for a day and a half before deciding that maybe I should get a professional diagnosis instead. Because Baldwin, the school clinic, is closed during the summer, I had to go to a local hospital-type place called Medicus. Medicus is kind of like a doctor's office with no appointment necessary, but for less serious injuries than a hospital; in other words, a good place for a foot injury. My doctor at Medicus was a witty, monotone man that kind of creeped me out, but enjoyed my sense of humor about the whole foot situation. He sent me for x-rays (which was a really cool experience in my opinion), then tested my Vassar education by asking me to identify the injury.
"Looks like nothing's wrong to me," I said after briefly glancing at the x-ray in disbelief.
"Are you sure that your eyeglass's prescription is still good?" The doctor asked me, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "Don't you see the break?!"
Oh, right. And there it was-a solid black line running diagonally across my smallest toe. How could I have missed that?
He explained to me that I had an Oblique Fracture, and having never experienced a broken bone before, I got pretty excited and asked him what restrictions he was giving me. But apparently broken toes don't call for restrictions. Casually explaining that toes are pretty trivial appendages, and, after I questioned him about possible, ridiculous scenarios, he explained that, yes, I could even go running if I wanted to, which kind of broke my heart. If I’m going to break something, it might as well be dramatic, right? Alas, just another boring injury with a sub-par story.
To emphasize my point, I wish I had a cool story as to why there is a scar on my foot, but instead it's summed up in this simple two word phrase: I tripped. If I were cleverer, I would probably make up a really cool story as to how it happened. Something like, "I was chasing the bear who stole my picnic basket, and, when I finally caught up to him, I decided to fight him with my own bare hands. Then, in one, swift stroke, he took his front claw and sliced open my foot, forever haunting me with this jagged scar." Hmm. Maybe I'll start telling people that's what happened...
I'm still the only person from my high school to be injured during both an academic challenge tournament and a speech tournament-and each time I left the classroom bleeding. When I asked my instructor at speech camp what she would have done if she'd injured herself during her performance, she said she would have excused herself and left. On the contrary, I had decided to continue performing and left the stage bleeding from an over-dramatic cut that I'd accidentally received while playing the part of a confused Home Depot customer.
So when I broke my toe during my cushy office job last Thursday, it really came as no surprise. For me, it's perfectly natural to trip over the leg of a couch while hearing a loud "CRACK!" come from the direction of my foot during an eight hour shift requiring no physical effort on my part.
Refusing to accept my injury as serious, I tried walking on it (rather unsuccessfully) for a day and a half before deciding that maybe I should get a professional diagnosis instead. Because Baldwin, the school clinic, is closed during the summer, I had to go to a local hospital-type place called Medicus. Medicus is kind of like a doctor's office with no appointment necessary, but for less serious injuries than a hospital; in other words, a good place for a foot injury. My doctor at Medicus was a witty, monotone man that kind of creeped me out, but enjoyed my sense of humor about the whole foot situation. He sent me for x-rays (which was a really cool experience in my opinion), then tested my Vassar education by asking me to identify the injury.
"Looks like nothing's wrong to me," I said after briefly glancing at the x-ray in disbelief.
"Are you sure that your eyeglass's prescription is still good?" The doctor asked me, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "Don't you see the break?!"
Oh, right. And there it was-a solid black line running diagonally across my smallest toe. How could I have missed that?
He explained to me that I had an Oblique Fracture, and having never experienced a broken bone before, I got pretty excited and asked him what restrictions he was giving me. But apparently broken toes don't call for restrictions. Casually explaining that toes are pretty trivial appendages, and, after I questioned him about possible, ridiculous scenarios, he explained that, yes, I could even go running if I wanted to, which kind of broke my heart. If I’m going to break something, it might as well be dramatic, right? Alas, just another boring injury with a sub-par story.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Packing List
I must admit that I’ve already starting counting down the days until classes begin (24!) due to my sick obsession with things such as homework and learning. Excuse me for being cliché, but it seriously feels like only yesterday that I moved into my second summer housing room, and in a mere eleven days I’m scheduled to take up semi-permanent residence in the Terrace Apartments for the school year.
Whether you’ve already finished packing for school or barely thought about it, tis the season—and here it is: My packing list.
Take It:
Musical Instrument(s)—but please, for the sake of my ears, and everybody else’s for that matter, don’t crank up the volume of your electric guitar to full blast if you don’t know how to play.
Mattress Pad—highly recommended, unless you like to feel like you slept on a plastic board when you wake up in the morning.
Stereo—but personally, I recommend portable computer speakers considering all of my music is on my computer anyways.
Posters—a must. It’s amazing how less sterile the white washed dorm rooms feel with a little color.
Alarm Clock—there is no way I’d make it to class without one.
Hangers
Bathrobe—no, you will not have a private bathroom.
Computer
Printer—I’ve got 99 problems, and four of them are the printers at the library.
Surge Protector—your computer is probably your most important resource. Protect it.
Fan—I have four. What does that tell you?
Coffee Pot—the best way to save money at the dining hall is to brew your own. But make sure to get auto-shutoff!
Athletic Clothes/Equipment—don’t let the freshman 15 catch up to you.
Shelving
Refrigerator—for leftover pizza, of course.
Linens
Lamps—I prefer a room lamp and a desk lamp to the overhead light.
Laundry Supplies
Light bulbs
Toiletries—an extra toothbrush is recommended. Mine was stolen once and rediscovered later with alien toothpaste on it. I threw it away immediately.
Telephone
First Aid Kit
Rug—it adds a little coziness to your room.
Recommended:
Turn Table—to impress all of your friends.
Hot Pot with auto-shutoff—useful for making Ramen noodles and other typical college food.
Video Games—the easiest way to make new friends.
Vacuum Cleaner—I can put up with a mess, but filth is going too far.
Tape Recorder—especially recommended for social science students (I would know!).
Board Games
Bicycle and Lock
Leave It:
Family Heirlooms—aka every picture you’ve taken from the past 10 years; the gold tiara you inherited from Aunt Sally; your grandmothers wedding ring.....
Tiki Torches—major fire=major fine. And you don’t want to mess with Vassar Security. For a list of these items, check out: http://residentiallife.vassar.edu/prohibited.html
Your Officially Licensed Anduril Sword of Aragon—whether your intentions are show or kill, it will most likely scare your roommate and get you kicked out of housing.
Max or Fido—only animals that can be kept in a cage are allowed in housing. Bring your dog or cat and they’ll soon find out what life is like on the streets of Poughkeepsie.
Candelabrum—three candles=three times more trouble.
Your Life Size Cardboard Cut Out Of James Dean
Fireworks/Explosives/Anything Else Questionably Dangerous
Most importantly, use your common sense when packing. Especially if you are a freshman, it’s important to take space, and the type of relationship you’d like to have with your roommate, into consideration. I had a friend who had serious issues with his roommate, and trust me—it didn’t end pretty.
Whether you’ve already finished packing for school or barely thought about it, tis the season—and here it is: My packing list.
Take It:
Musical Instrument(s)—but please, for the sake of my ears, and everybody else’s for that matter, don’t crank up the volume of your electric guitar to full blast if you don’t know how to play.
Mattress Pad—highly recommended, unless you like to feel like you slept on a plastic board when you wake up in the morning.
Stereo—but personally, I recommend portable computer speakers considering all of my music is on my computer anyways.
Posters—a must. It’s amazing how less sterile the white washed dorm rooms feel with a little color.
Alarm Clock—there is no way I’d make it to class without one.
Hangers
Bathrobe—no, you will not have a private bathroom.
Computer
Printer—I’ve got 99 problems, and four of them are the printers at the library.
Surge Protector—your computer is probably your most important resource. Protect it.
Fan—I have four. What does that tell you?
Coffee Pot—the best way to save money at the dining hall is to brew your own. But make sure to get auto-shutoff!
Athletic Clothes/Equipment—don’t let the freshman 15 catch up to you.
Shelving
Refrigerator—for leftover pizza, of course.
Linens
Lamps—I prefer a room lamp and a desk lamp to the overhead light.
Laundry Supplies
Light bulbs
Toiletries—an extra toothbrush is recommended. Mine was stolen once and rediscovered later with alien toothpaste on it. I threw it away immediately.
Telephone
First Aid Kit
Rug—it adds a little coziness to your room.
Recommended:
Turn Table—to impress all of your friends.
Hot Pot with auto-shutoff—useful for making Ramen noodles and other typical college food.
Video Games—the easiest way to make new friends.
Vacuum Cleaner—I can put up with a mess, but filth is going too far.
Tape Recorder—especially recommended for social science students (I would know!).
Board Games
Bicycle and Lock
Leave It:
Family Heirlooms—aka every picture you’ve taken from the past 10 years; the gold tiara you inherited from Aunt Sally; your grandmothers wedding ring.....
Tiki Torches—major fire=major fine. And you don’t want to mess with Vassar Security. For a list of these items, check out: http://residentiallife.vassar.edu/prohibited.html
Your Officially Licensed Anduril Sword of Aragon—whether your intentions are show or kill, it will most likely scare your roommate and get you kicked out of housing.
Max or Fido—only animals that can be kept in a cage are allowed in housing. Bring your dog or cat and they’ll soon find out what life is like on the streets of Poughkeepsie.
Candelabrum—three candles=three times more trouble.
Your Life Size Cardboard Cut Out Of James Dean
Fireworks/Explosives/Anything Else Questionably Dangerous
Most importantly, use your common sense when packing. Especially if you are a freshman, it’s important to take space, and the type of relationship you’d like to have with your roommate, into consideration. I had a friend who had serious issues with his roommate, and trust me—it didn’t end pretty.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Ever since I was kid (or, at least a small kid as opposed to the big kid that I am now), I've had a thing for Scrabble. But I'm not ashamed. In fact, I'll even tell you that a friend of mine and I are training to become competitive Scrabble players. Yep, that's right—part of the Scrabble "elite." The kind of Scrabble players who can lay down a word worth 50 points and say, "Eh, that's about mediocre for my standards. I've done much better with 5 A's and 2 Q's."
I've become so serious in fact that I have even started planning the "awesome" Scrabble parties that will soon be taking place at my apartment this upcoming semester. You know, with salsa and chips, and a few, erm, Shirley Temples. I've been thinking along the lines of hosting a tournament with maybe four games of scrabble going simultaneously. What a beautiful sight. So many letters..... so many words!! But until I reach the level necessary in order to justify holding a Scrabble tournament, I kind of need to brush up my own skills first. I'm working on memorizing all of the two letter words right now, and as soon as I can list them all off of the top of my head, I'll start on the three letter words. I'd say I've improved a lot since the beginning of the summer, but I'm still not up to my top game yet. I've seen a guy snag 50+ points for "PANTIES" on his first turn, and THAT was cheap. I need to get my revenge.
And while I'd say I've gotten pretty obsessive with Scrabble lately, I'd argue that I'm not the worst. Legend has it that a friend of mine wrote an ethnography on Scrabble back in the day for his anthropology class. In fact, I don't really think that my love of Scrabble is that bad after all. Lots of people love Scrabble. It's a good game. I definitely have weirder antics, such as my fear of maps. I just can't help it; maps FREAK ME OUT.
I've become so serious in fact that I have even started planning the "awesome" Scrabble parties that will soon be taking place at my apartment this upcoming semester. You know, with salsa and chips, and a few, erm, Shirley Temples. I've been thinking along the lines of hosting a tournament with maybe four games of scrabble going simultaneously. What a beautiful sight. So many letters..... so many words!! But until I reach the level necessary in order to justify holding a Scrabble tournament, I kind of need to brush up my own skills first. I'm working on memorizing all of the two letter words right now, and as soon as I can list them all off of the top of my head, I'll start on the three letter words. I'd say I've improved a lot since the beginning of the summer, but I'm still not up to my top game yet. I've seen a guy snag 50+ points for "PANTIES" on his first turn, and THAT was cheap. I need to get my revenge.
And while I'd say I've gotten pretty obsessive with Scrabble lately, I'd argue that I'm not the worst. Legend has it that a friend of mine wrote an ethnography on Scrabble back in the day for his anthropology class. In fact, I don't really think that my love of Scrabble is that bad after all. Lots of people love Scrabble. It's a good game. I definitely have weirder antics, such as my fear of maps. I just can't help it; maps FREAK ME OUT.
Monday, July 30, 2007
"No Golf For You!"
I have golfed on several occasions in the past, but I wouldn't consider myself a golfer. However, for the first time ever, I decided that maybe I'd take advantage of the low, $2 student price at the golf course and play nine holes with a friend. So after work Friday afternoon, my friend and I set out for the Vassar Golf Course, expecting to play a casual game and have fun. Well, having fun was poor anticipation on my part. As soon as we walked into the clubhouse to arrange a tee time, I knew that Friday was not my day for golf. "Excuse me?" the club manager retorted in disgust after I said that we were there to play golf. "Well, then you will need to change. I'd prefer that you wear a collared shirt, and no cut-offs," he said, pointing at my khaki shorts, which were quite clearly not cutoffs. I could hardly believe my ears. I've heard of golf courses having dress codes, but for a college course, especially Vassar, it seemed really strict. I definitely didn't see that one coming. Dress codes go against everything Vassar stands for, such as creativity and self-expression. In fact, compared to many of my classmates, I'd say that I dress pretty conservatively; and there was the club manager, staring at me as if I were naked. At that point, I decided that the Vassar Golf Course was no longer worth my time or my $2, and my friend and I left in a huff, certain that mini-golf was a better idea.
Considering my lack of golf skills, I'd consider myself a pretty skilled putter. After being denied a tee-time at the Vassar Golf Course, we went to a pretty large course on Route 9 in Wappinger Falls called "Fun Central," and it was at that point when I realized what normal Poughkeepsie families do on the weekends, and the answer is not "putt-putt." In fact, I think I discovered the key to child obesity when I noticed the huge number of kids inside playing video games as opposed to the few outside playing putt-putt. At one point, a little girl walked outside onto the mini-golf course and indicated to her father that she wanted to play. "No, you don't want to play that," he said, "Come back inside and play video games!" At that moment I felt like an undercover sociologist studying American family dynamics in relation to physical health. Spending a majority of four years of your life reading sociological texts will do that to you.
In order to end the day more successfully than it had started, an evening movie screening seemed like a safe bet. The great thing about Vassar is the ease with which you can hold your own private film screening. My friend and I went to Rockefeller Hall, and, finding Rocky 200 (one of few lecture halls on campus) unoccupied, we closed the shades, turned on the DVD projector, and brought "Some Like It Hot" back to the big-screen. Of course, my description makes it sound a lot easier than it actually was. At one point I was so frustrated that I called my boyfriend and asked him how the projector worked, and he replied, "How do you expect me to help you from 1000 miles away?!" But lo and behold, I eventually figured it out. While I was denied the ability to play golf on the Vassar course, it all seemed to even out after I figured out how to get both the sound and the picture to play at the same time.
As an end note, today marks exactly one month until classes start, three weeks until students come to campus, and two weeks until I get to move into my TA. Hold tight! A packing list is on the way....
Considering my lack of golf skills, I'd consider myself a pretty skilled putter. After being denied a tee-time at the Vassar Golf Course, we went to a pretty large course on Route 9 in Wappinger Falls called "Fun Central," and it was at that point when I realized what normal Poughkeepsie families do on the weekends, and the answer is not "putt-putt." In fact, I think I discovered the key to child obesity when I noticed the huge number of kids inside playing video games as opposed to the few outside playing putt-putt. At one point, a little girl walked outside onto the mini-golf course and indicated to her father that she wanted to play. "No, you don't want to play that," he said, "Come back inside and play video games!" At that moment I felt like an undercover sociologist studying American family dynamics in relation to physical health. Spending a majority of four years of your life reading sociological texts will do that to you.
In order to end the day more successfully than it had started, an evening movie screening seemed like a safe bet. The great thing about Vassar is the ease with which you can hold your own private film screening. My friend and I went to Rockefeller Hall, and, finding Rocky 200 (one of few lecture halls on campus) unoccupied, we closed the shades, turned on the DVD projector, and brought "Some Like It Hot" back to the big-screen. Of course, my description makes it sound a lot easier than it actually was. At one point I was so frustrated that I called my boyfriend and asked him how the projector worked, and he replied, "How do you expect me to help you from 1000 miles away?!" But lo and behold, I eventually figured it out. While I was denied the ability to play golf on the Vassar course, it all seemed to even out after I figured out how to get both the sound and the picture to play at the same time.
As an end note, today marks exactly one month until classes start, three weeks until students come to campus, and two weeks until I get to move into my TA. Hold tight! A packing list is on the way....
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Cruisin For Quarters
Last Thursday I saw my family for the first time since April. Considering my parents and youngest brother live in Ohio, I usually only see them once every few months (just the way I like it). Usually it's not very exciting to see them, but when they offered to take me on a cruise at their expense, how could I say no? 3 days off of work.... food everywhere (and you know I love food).... spas.... unlimited gym and party time.... It was definitely worth my while.
Between Thursday and Monday, I cruised with my parents, youngest brother, aunt, uncle, and my eleven year old cousin from New York City to Saint John, New Brunswick. In theory, the idea of being locked up on a ship with only my family and a bunch of random people I don't know is pretty scary, but after experiencing it, it's not really that bad. You can do pretty much whatever you want. Me? I ate, I sat in the hot tub, I ate, I sat in the hot tub, I ate..... You get the picture. By the time I got back to campus, I was in desperate need to adjust my diet and visit a gym, but four whole days of gluttony and sloth was worth a little too much cholesterol and possibly putting on an extra pound.
Now, I'd been on a cruise before, but this particular cruise was pretty unusual. For one thing, out of the 3500 passengers on the ship, over 700 were Indian. It was really bizarre. Of course I realized it was strange that there were so many Indian passengers, but I just sort of assumed it was just a really big family reunion.... with 700+ attendees. Hey, some people have huge families. It was only when I got back to New York when I found out that the group had come from a special program called Masala Cruises featuring famous Bollywood entertainment on board. If only I would have known....
When I got back from the cruise, I took my car (that's right, my parents finally pulled through and brought me an old Volvo!) and visited the supermarket to fill up my empty refrigerator. I'm assuming you've seen the shopping carts that make you deposit a quarter in order to use it? Well, you know your life is sad when you run around the parking lot collecting stray carts and taking the quarter deposits out of them in order to pay for your groceries. I was actually thinking about going out all day Saturday and making a side job out of it.
While at the supermarket I made sure to get all the deals. I bought a few 30 cent cans of beans on the reduced rack, but wheeled my cart away when I realized that Stop and Shop was trying to sell a half eaten box of cereal for $1.50. Are they serious? How can they think they are going to sell that? Sometimes I think that half the stuff that goes on over there is a joke.
After checking out with my Stop and Shop card, I also got a coupon for 10 cents off each gallon of gas next time I use the Stop and Shop gas pumps. Now that's what I call a deal.
Unfortunately, my latest horoscope mentioned "financial upheavals" and wouldn't you know it, the Vassar Post Office put my paycheck in someone else's P.O. Box and the payroll office still hasn't gotten me direct deposit even though I signed up for it in May. The horoscope also mentioned that things are bound to get worse after the full moon on the 29th, so as far as I know, those happenings are omens. If things over here get any worse, I just might become an Astrology believer.....
Between Thursday and Monday, I cruised with my parents, youngest brother, aunt, uncle, and my eleven year old cousin from New York City to Saint John, New Brunswick. In theory, the idea of being locked up on a ship with only my family and a bunch of random people I don't know is pretty scary, but after experiencing it, it's not really that bad. You can do pretty much whatever you want. Me? I ate, I sat in the hot tub, I ate, I sat in the hot tub, I ate..... You get the picture. By the time I got back to campus, I was in desperate need to adjust my diet and visit a gym, but four whole days of gluttony and sloth was worth a little too much cholesterol and possibly putting on an extra pound.
Now, I'd been on a cruise before, but this particular cruise was pretty unusual. For one thing, out of the 3500 passengers on the ship, over 700 were Indian. It was really bizarre. Of course I realized it was strange that there were so many Indian passengers, but I just sort of assumed it was just a really big family reunion.... with 700+ attendees. Hey, some people have huge families. It was only when I got back to New York when I found out that the group had come from a special program called Masala Cruises featuring famous Bollywood entertainment on board. If only I would have known....
When I got back from the cruise, I took my car (that's right, my parents finally pulled through and brought me an old Volvo!) and visited the supermarket to fill up my empty refrigerator. I'm assuming you've seen the shopping carts that make you deposit a quarter in order to use it? Well, you know your life is sad when you run around the parking lot collecting stray carts and taking the quarter deposits out of them in order to pay for your groceries. I was actually thinking about going out all day Saturday and making a side job out of it.
While at the supermarket I made sure to get all the deals. I bought a few 30 cent cans of beans on the reduced rack, but wheeled my cart away when I realized that Stop and Shop was trying to sell a half eaten box of cereal for $1.50. Are they serious? How can they think they are going to sell that? Sometimes I think that half the stuff that goes on over there is a joke.
After checking out with my Stop and Shop card, I also got a coupon for 10 cents off each gallon of gas next time I use the Stop and Shop gas pumps. Now that's what I call a deal.
Unfortunately, my latest horoscope mentioned "financial upheavals" and wouldn't you know it, the Vassar Post Office put my paycheck in someone else's P.O. Box and the payroll office still hasn't gotten me direct deposit even though I signed up for it in May. The horoscope also mentioned that things are bound to get worse after the full moon on the 29th, so as far as I know, those happenings are omens. If things over here get any worse, I just might become an Astrology believer.....
Monday, July 16, 2007
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part I
One of the things that I decided to do this summer to combat my boredom is to learn an instrument. Earlier this summer I decided it would be really cool to play the Ukulele, then went ahead and purchased one online. Now I'll admit it, sometimes I'm a pretty impulsive buyer, but my decision to get the ukulele was one of the better impulsive purchases I'd ever made. Since receiving the ukulele, I've been playing it nearly everyday in my room, intensely struggling to wrap my fingers around the frets to form notes. And it hasn't been easy, that's for sure. I took piano lessons as a child, so I can read music and understand some music theory, but unlike a lot of students here, I've never played a string instrument before and learning is no picnic, or piece of cake, for that matter. (Mmmm... cake.) But over the past two weeks I've managed to learn six chords and one song, which is definitely better than I had expected.
But of course, my decision to learn an instrument wasn't made completely on a whim. Learning an instrument serves several purposes for me: first of all, it's just fun. I can just pick it up after work and poorly strum away my sorrows (I have a thing for being melodramatic). Second, it gives me a goal. Learning, of course. Third, every time I meet one of my boyfriend's friends or relatives, they ask me which instrument I play. Apparently because I'm going out with a musician who happens to come from a very musically talented family, I must play some sort of instrument myself. Helloooooo, just because he's a musician doesn't mean he has to be dating one! But I still remember the look of disappointment his grandmother had on her face when I said, "Umm, I don't play an instrument. Sorry."
A few of my friends on campus play in a campus band called Molasses Wave Disaster, which is named after the Boston Molasses Disaster that occurred in 1919. They call themselves a mix of Radiohead and The Police and they play shows around campus during the year. Personally, I think they're awesome, but I'm also pretty biased. You can check out their stuff at myspace.com/molasseswavedisaster. My friends Chel, Natalie, and Xanna are all in the group and formed their own side project-a chick band called The Pantyliners and Chel said that if I learn how to play the ukulele, I can join! I always wanted to be in a band, but I suppose learning an instrument helps.....
Sunday I went outside to practice my ukulele-I tried learning the song "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part I" by the Flaming Lips with a headphone in one ear, so that I could strum while listening to the music. For the most part, it was a disaster and I couldn't move my fingers fast enough, and then I got rained out, but I'm sure I looked pretty cool, which is exactly what I was going for. Maybe I'll do that again sometime.
But of course, my decision to learn an instrument wasn't made completely on a whim. Learning an instrument serves several purposes for me: first of all, it's just fun. I can just pick it up after work and poorly strum away my sorrows (I have a thing for being melodramatic). Second, it gives me a goal. Learning, of course. Third, every time I meet one of my boyfriend's friends or relatives, they ask me which instrument I play. Apparently because I'm going out with a musician who happens to come from a very musically talented family, I must play some sort of instrument myself. Helloooooo, just because he's a musician doesn't mean he has to be dating one! But I still remember the look of disappointment his grandmother had on her face when I said, "Umm, I don't play an instrument. Sorry."
A few of my friends on campus play in a campus band called Molasses Wave Disaster, which is named after the Boston Molasses Disaster that occurred in 1919. They call themselves a mix of Radiohead and The Police and they play shows around campus during the year. Personally, I think they're awesome, but I'm also pretty biased. You can check out their stuff at myspace.com/molasseswavedisaster. My friends Chel, Natalie, and Xanna are all in the group and formed their own side project-a chick band called The Pantyliners and Chel said that if I learn how to play the ukulele, I can join! I always wanted to be in a band, but I suppose learning an instrument helps.....
Sunday I went outside to practice my ukulele-I tried learning the song "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part I" by the Flaming Lips with a headphone in one ear, so that I could strum while listening to the music. For the most part, it was a disaster and I couldn't move my fingers fast enough, and then I got rained out, but I'm sure I looked pretty cool, which is exactly what I was going for. Maybe I'll do that again sometime.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
HARRY POTTER V!
So last night I most definitely sacrificed my health and well being (aka sleep) for the opportunity to see the premiere of the movie "Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix." There are less than two weeks left until the seventh book comes out and because I've read all of the books only once, the movies are a good way to reinforce what's going on. Unfortunately some of the things in the movie were slightly altered for the big screen, but I knew that the changes were inevitable. What's more important is that I saw it at the first showing, which makes me either totally cool or even more of a nerd, depending on your perspective. At least I didn't dress up (although I won't pretend I didn't consider it....).
My friends and I got there around 10:00 for the first showing (at midnight, of course) and there was already a pretty good -sized line. We got into the theatre at 10:30 (thank god considering how hot it was! 85 degrees! 85 degrees at 10 at night!) then discussed the best way to set 90's music to a musical about minutemen along the Mexican border. But don't go stealing that idea- you know as well as I that it would be a big money maker (and after getting Vassar degrees we’ll need to pay off a few loans....).
A surprisingly large number of other Vassar summer students made the pilgrimage, but I'm not saying that this was a Vassar packed crowd by any means. While watching a 25-30 year old-heavyweight with a giant tattoo of skulls dancing around his arm stand next to a 12 year old girl in an "I *Heart* Harry" shirt, I had to ask myself, "Who doesn't like Harry Potter?"
While the movie wasn't the most outstanding piece of cinema I'd ever seen, it was still pretty good and made a good attempt to stay true to the book while keeping it under 5 hours long. My personal opinion is that $8.75 is too much to pay for just a movie, but it's a steal for a 12:01am Harry Potter cult fan-fest.
My friends and I got there around 10:00 for the first showing (at midnight, of course) and there was already a pretty good -sized line. We got into the theatre at 10:30 (thank god considering how hot it was! 85 degrees! 85 degrees at 10 at night!) then discussed the best way to set 90's music to a musical about minutemen along the Mexican border. But don't go stealing that idea- you know as well as I that it would be a big money maker (and after getting Vassar degrees we’ll need to pay off a few loans....).
A surprisingly large number of other Vassar summer students made the pilgrimage, but I'm not saying that this was a Vassar packed crowd by any means. While watching a 25-30 year old-heavyweight with a giant tattoo of skulls dancing around his arm stand next to a 12 year old girl in an "I *Heart* Harry" shirt, I had to ask myself, "Who doesn't like Harry Potter?"
While the movie wasn't the most outstanding piece of cinema I'd ever seen, it was still pretty good and made a good attempt to stay true to the book while keeping it under 5 hours long. My personal opinion is that $8.75 is too much to pay for just a movie, but it's a steal for a 12:01am Harry Potter cult fan-fest.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Train-> Bus-> Plane
And within the blink of an eye, I'm back on Vassar campus.
Recently I became obsessively aware of time and ever since it seems like the hours are just speeding by. Maybe I should forget about it. My life was better when four days seemed like an eternity. Actually, finals week still seems to cover an eternity to the point where afterwards I like to refer to it as "the lost days of my life." What was really shocking was afterwards, when my corporate power professor actually called my final paper "good." Hah. It was pretty hard for me to accept such a compliment, much less the B+ I was rewarded for it (you learn not to expect too much around here.... or at least I did when I was a freshman).
Anyways, I spent most of last week in Madison, Wisconsin (between Tuesday night and Saturday evening) visiting my boyfriend and his family, and just so you know, they're all very nice people. Both my boyfriend Patrick '08 and his sister, Beth '05, share with me Vassar as their choice of college. In fact, Beth is the one who first taught me how to get from Vassar to LaGuardia airport in Queens. While I was a freshman the quest seemed really intimidating, but now as a senior I can practically sleep through it. Just break it down into a simple three-step process: 1. train-> 2. bus-> 3. plane.
1. The first thing you do is find a way to get to the Poughkeepsie train station. Manhattan is the most common destination for anyone leaving from Poughkeepsie, so it's really easy to figure out which train to take. Trains leave on the half hour (8:30, 9:30, 10:30, etc.) and arrive at Grand Central station, located on 42nd Street, where you will find……
2. The bus! There are two options for buses to take once you've arrived at Grand Central: the $2.00 city bus or the $12 airport bus. In my opinion, paying the extra $10 for the airport bus is a deal. The buses leave right from Grand Central every half hour and visit the three New York City airports: LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK (always ask the driver which one is going to your destination!). But even though these buses cost more and are filled with other like-minded travelers, don't expect the bus drivers themselves to be completely sane. In fact, the last driver I had was downright nutty. He kept mumbling to himself about how mad he was while checking our tickets and uncontrollably raising and lowering his voice. I felt like I was on candid camera. I was pretty scared of him, but I ended up at LaGuardia alive, which was good. He probably won't last too long at that job.
3. The airport. I'm actually kind of ticked about my trip to LaGuardia last week. Since 9/11-ish, people are being advised to arrive at the airport some ridiculous amount of hours prior to their flight to ensure they have enough time to get through security. That's a lie. Considering it took me less than 2 minutes to get through security at LaGuardia, I have no idea what they are talking about. I kind of wish it had taken me an hour to get through security because I was so bored afterwards I didn't know what to do with myself while I waited to board. Honestly, I wouldn't get there any earlier than an hour and a half before a flight because even if you're running a little late, airport workers will help you get you to your gate in time. Take my word for it-I worked at an airport last summer.
And on the trip back? Just repeat the cycle in reverse. But beware-here are some snags I ran into on the way:
1. Due to the whole liquid ban, every liquid or cream in your carry on must be in a zip-lock bag. But being the environmentally conscious Vassar student I am, it didn't seem necessary for me to put my one tiny tube of wasabi in a plastic bag, thereby wasting a bag on only one small item. But I guess I was wrong; airport security guards cannot tell the difference in size between a sandwich sized zip-lock bag and a two-inch long tube of wasabi unless the wasabi is actually in the plastic bag. Silly me.
2. If you get hit on by a teenager at the airport, lie about your age. Faking 24 years old is a lot easier than watching an 18 year old try to impress you with his Air Jordans.
3. The sketchy cabs at Poughkeepsie Station aren't as sketchy as they seem. And they're surprisingly cheap. If you're still afraid to ride them, talk on your cell phone while in the cab. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to Poughkeepsie Station- you'll find out.)
In total, the trip (both ways) cost me a little over $50-train tickets (both ways) cost $25, the airport bus costs $21 when buying round trip tickets, and the sketchy cab was $6. Here are some money-saving tips:
1. Always buy round trip train tickets and make sure to purchase them at the train station. Tickets always cost more when purchased separately and an additional fee applies if purchased on the train. If you frequent New York City, look into getting a 10 pass. A 10 pass costs $100, but it lets you ride the train for only $10 each way. If you don't go too often, share it with a friend.
2. The same philosophy goes for bus tickets-it would have cost me $12 each way if I had not purchased the round trip tickets for $21. However, bear in mind that bus tickets have a 30 day expiration date unlike train tickets, which makes them worthless if you plan on using your extra ticket after summer break.
3. Most likely under a time constraint while getting to the airport, you might not want to ride the city buses. But if you aren't afraid of them, feel free to take the M60 city bus to Harlem Station on your way home. Harlem Station is on the Poughkeepsie line, which is great because the city bus only costs $2 and still gets you where you need to go.
4. Try to convince a friend to drive you to the train station. It saves you money that would have been spent on either parking or calling a cab. Trust me, you'll want that extra $5 when you get to Grand Central and need lunch....
I should be allowed to teach a course on this; I could use a supplemental income.
Recently I became obsessively aware of time and ever since it seems like the hours are just speeding by. Maybe I should forget about it. My life was better when four days seemed like an eternity. Actually, finals week still seems to cover an eternity to the point where afterwards I like to refer to it as "the lost days of my life." What was really shocking was afterwards, when my corporate power professor actually called my final paper "good." Hah. It was pretty hard for me to accept such a compliment, much less the B+ I was rewarded for it (you learn not to expect too much around here.... or at least I did when I was a freshman).
Anyways, I spent most of last week in Madison, Wisconsin (between Tuesday night and Saturday evening) visiting my boyfriend and his family, and just so you know, they're all very nice people. Both my boyfriend Patrick '08 and his sister, Beth '05, share with me Vassar as their choice of college. In fact, Beth is the one who first taught me how to get from Vassar to LaGuardia airport in Queens. While I was a freshman the quest seemed really intimidating, but now as a senior I can practically sleep through it. Just break it down into a simple three-step process: 1. train-> 2. bus-> 3. plane.
1. The first thing you do is find a way to get to the Poughkeepsie train station. Manhattan is the most common destination for anyone leaving from Poughkeepsie, so it's really easy to figure out which train to take. Trains leave on the half hour (8:30, 9:30, 10:30, etc.) and arrive at Grand Central station, located on 42nd Street, where you will find……
2. The bus! There are two options for buses to take once you've arrived at Grand Central: the $2.00 city bus or the $12 airport bus. In my opinion, paying the extra $10 for the airport bus is a deal. The buses leave right from Grand Central every half hour and visit the three New York City airports: LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK (always ask the driver which one is going to your destination!). But even though these buses cost more and are filled with other like-minded travelers, don't expect the bus drivers themselves to be completely sane. In fact, the last driver I had was downright nutty. He kept mumbling to himself about how mad he was while checking our tickets and uncontrollably raising and lowering his voice. I felt like I was on candid camera. I was pretty scared of him, but I ended up at LaGuardia alive, which was good. He probably won't last too long at that job.
3. The airport. I'm actually kind of ticked about my trip to LaGuardia last week. Since 9/11-ish, people are being advised to arrive at the airport some ridiculous amount of hours prior to their flight to ensure they have enough time to get through security. That's a lie. Considering it took me less than 2 minutes to get through security at LaGuardia, I have no idea what they are talking about. I kind of wish it had taken me an hour to get through security because I was so bored afterwards I didn't know what to do with myself while I waited to board. Honestly, I wouldn't get there any earlier than an hour and a half before a flight because even if you're running a little late, airport workers will help you get you to your gate in time. Take my word for it-I worked at an airport last summer.
And on the trip back? Just repeat the cycle in reverse. But beware-here are some snags I ran into on the way:
1. Due to the whole liquid ban, every liquid or cream in your carry on must be in a zip-lock bag. But being the environmentally conscious Vassar student I am, it didn't seem necessary for me to put my one tiny tube of wasabi in a plastic bag, thereby wasting a bag on only one small item. But I guess I was wrong; airport security guards cannot tell the difference in size between a sandwich sized zip-lock bag and a two-inch long tube of wasabi unless the wasabi is actually in the plastic bag. Silly me.
2. If you get hit on by a teenager at the airport, lie about your age. Faking 24 years old is a lot easier than watching an 18 year old try to impress you with his Air Jordans.
3. The sketchy cabs at Poughkeepsie Station aren't as sketchy as they seem. And they're surprisingly cheap. If you're still afraid to ride them, talk on your cell phone while in the cab. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to Poughkeepsie Station- you'll find out.)
In total, the trip (both ways) cost me a little over $50-train tickets (both ways) cost $25, the airport bus costs $21 when buying round trip tickets, and the sketchy cab was $6. Here are some money-saving tips:
1. Always buy round trip train tickets and make sure to purchase them at the train station. Tickets always cost more when purchased separately and an additional fee applies if purchased on the train. If you frequent New York City, look into getting a 10 pass. A 10 pass costs $100, but it lets you ride the train for only $10 each way. If you don't go too often, share it with a friend.
2. The same philosophy goes for bus tickets-it would have cost me $12 each way if I had not purchased the round trip tickets for $21. However, bear in mind that bus tickets have a 30 day expiration date unlike train tickets, which makes them worthless if you plan on using your extra ticket after summer break.
3. Most likely under a time constraint while getting to the airport, you might not want to ride the city buses. But if you aren't afraid of them, feel free to take the M60 city bus to Harlem Station on your way home. Harlem Station is on the Poughkeepsie line, which is great because the city bus only costs $2 and still gets you where you need to go.
4. Try to convince a friend to drive you to the train station. It saves you money that would have been spent on either parking or calling a cab. Trust me, you'll want that extra $5 when you get to Grand Central and need lunch....
I should be allowed to teach a course on this; I could use a supplemental income.
Monday, July 2, 2007
The Kitchen Is Clean?
Recently, my typical dinner fare has consisted of hummus, wheat bread, and some sort of side dish (and by side dish I mean goldfish, triscuits, or soup). This meal has been effective for two reasons, with the first being that the dorm is now (like always) terribly hot, and second that the kitchen is usually filthy and cooking anything that requires an oven or a burner involves effort. But last Friday it was surprisingly cool in the dorm, which made me reconsider my ban on cooking. After all, rice is easy to make and can be stored and eaten with instant Indian food (which is quickly becoming another staple in my diet) at a later date. So Friday evening I gathered up my storage containers as well as a pot, bag of rice, and curry, and set off on a crusade to make dinner(s) for the weekend.
When I arrived at the kitchen, I expected it to look as if a tornado had hit, mimicking its usual state of disrepair. But somehow, the kitchen was clean. In fact, it was suspiciously clean, to the point where I didn't cringe as I set my black bag of supplies down on the kitchen counter. Still in a state of shock as I washed and prepared my rice for cooking, I suddenly heard a girl shrieking. I knew it had been a trap. If the kitchen was clean, something else had to be wrong. But what turned out to be wrong was that the broken burner on the stove was actually working, which freaked out the shrieking girl. Hey, it would have freaked me out too. That burner had been broken ever since I moved into Main. With this in mind, I gladly took advantage of the clean, recently repaired kitchen and cooked rice to last for the next three days. Why? Because the state of Main kitchen one day is always as unpredictable as the next.
What was also strange about the kitchen on Friday was the ease at which it had been repaired. Construction around here takes months, often, years to complete. Or at least what feels like years (considering I've only been here for three....). For example, there was scaffolding surrounding Swift for so long that common consensus decided it was a permanent addition. I was practically in mourning the day it was taken down because I felt like they were taking away an historical part of the building. But lately it seems like Vassar hasn't been taking it's sweet time with repairs-my TA (Terrace Apartment) for next year went from being in ruin to looking miraculous in only a few days times (suspicious?) and it seems as if the Main kitchen avoided the phase of "under construction" completely.
But, rather than ponder over Vassar's mysterious construction issues, I have a trip to plan. Back in May, I caught my boss on a good day and she gave me Thursday and Friday of this week off so that I could go visit my boyfriend in Madison, Wisconsin. Because Wednesday is a holiday, I'll only miss two days of work.
With this trip in mind, I've been trying to use up the food I purchased the last couple times I went to the grocery store in order to avoid spoilage so that it won't suffer the same fate as the 12 eggs currently in the back of my refrigerator (why would I want to cook eggs if the kitchen is a disaster?). I should throw those out.
Last night I was forced to eat a package of Ramen in order to follow my plan because I had nothing else that could be prepared using only a ceramic bowl and a hot pot. The Ramen I ate was from a half eaten package that was started, most likely, last March. I swear I saw half a shrimp fall out of the "Shrimp Flavor" packet, but it was probably just the hardened remnants of "spices," who knows how old they actually are? I'm sure they're filled with enough preservatives it doesn't matter.
This will be the first time I've left the Hudson Valley since Spring Break, which took place between March 8-25, so quite frankly I need a serious change of scenery. Some people around here have never left New York and I don't understand them. I can proudly say I've crossed the borders of three continents and that Istanbul is probably one of my favorite cities-forget New York.
Should I be expecting hate mail?
When I arrived at the kitchen, I expected it to look as if a tornado had hit, mimicking its usual state of disrepair. But somehow, the kitchen was clean. In fact, it was suspiciously clean, to the point where I didn't cringe as I set my black bag of supplies down on the kitchen counter. Still in a state of shock as I washed and prepared my rice for cooking, I suddenly heard a girl shrieking. I knew it had been a trap. If the kitchen was clean, something else had to be wrong. But what turned out to be wrong was that the broken burner on the stove was actually working, which freaked out the shrieking girl. Hey, it would have freaked me out too. That burner had been broken ever since I moved into Main. With this in mind, I gladly took advantage of the clean, recently repaired kitchen and cooked rice to last for the next three days. Why? Because the state of Main kitchen one day is always as unpredictable as the next.
What was also strange about the kitchen on Friday was the ease at which it had been repaired. Construction around here takes months, often, years to complete. Or at least what feels like years (considering I've only been here for three....). For example, there was scaffolding surrounding Swift for so long that common consensus decided it was a permanent addition. I was practically in mourning the day it was taken down because I felt like they were taking away an historical part of the building. But lately it seems like Vassar hasn't been taking it's sweet time with repairs-my TA (Terrace Apartment) for next year went from being in ruin to looking miraculous in only a few days times (suspicious?) and it seems as if the Main kitchen avoided the phase of "under construction" completely.
But, rather than ponder over Vassar's mysterious construction issues, I have a trip to plan. Back in May, I caught my boss on a good day and she gave me Thursday and Friday of this week off so that I could go visit my boyfriend in Madison, Wisconsin. Because Wednesday is a holiday, I'll only miss two days of work.
With this trip in mind, I've been trying to use up the food I purchased the last couple times I went to the grocery store in order to avoid spoilage so that it won't suffer the same fate as the 12 eggs currently in the back of my refrigerator (why would I want to cook eggs if the kitchen is a disaster?). I should throw those out.
Last night I was forced to eat a package of Ramen in order to follow my plan because I had nothing else that could be prepared using only a ceramic bowl and a hot pot. The Ramen I ate was from a half eaten package that was started, most likely, last March. I swear I saw half a shrimp fall out of the "Shrimp Flavor" packet, but it was probably just the hardened remnants of "spices," who knows how old they actually are? I'm sure they're filled with enough preservatives it doesn't matter.
This will be the first time I've left the Hudson Valley since Spring Break, which took place between March 8-25, so quite frankly I need a serious change of scenery. Some people around here have never left New York and I don't understand them. I can proudly say I've crossed the borders of three continents and that Istanbul is probably one of my favorite cities-forget New York.
Should I be expecting hate mail?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Vassar Sports
The last few days at Vassar have reached the mid 90's, and I think everyone's main concern is keeping cool. I changed rooms over the weekend due to the sweltering conditions of my previous room and now I'm living somewhere cooler. But by cooler, I mean "less ridiculously hot," so, as you can imagine, it's still pretty bad on really hot days. Rowan, the rat I'm taking care of, has been acting a little less rambunctious lately, which is probably due to the heat. Last night I gave him a pep talk, telling him to "hang in there, little dude" so that he doesn't die of heat stroke before my friend comes back to take him off of my hands. Hopefully he'll wait to die until at least soon after the exchange. She gave me three things to take care of over the summer-a rat and two plants-and I already managed to kill her African Violet due to poor treatment. Ooops.
One of my favorite things to do at Vassar during the summer is go to the gym. While the hours aren't exactly regular (during the year the gym closes at 11 and during the summer it closes at 8), it's one of the few things that is still open when I leave work as well as one of the better air-conditioned. This makes it a good place to hide on 90+ days. In my view, while there are many different types of people on the Vassar campus, most people fall into one of three categories: regular gym-goers, reluctant gym-goers, and the exercise apathetic. I would consider myself to be a regular gym-goer, and sure, some of my friends think I'm crazy, but I grew up reading health magazines and I know what's best for my body and mind-primarily, air conditioning, and, coming in a close second, exercise.
When I'm at the gym, I feel like I'm at peace. I can chill out in the air, read a magazine and listen to my iPod while completely zoning out on the bike or the treadmill. It's probably the only part of the semester when I don't think about anything. And the weather conditions of the gym never let me down. During the winter, it's a great place to get some extra light and heat up, but during the summer it's a nice place to hide from direct sunlight and cool down.
It's also a pretty social environment. I like to watch the guys show off as they pump iron (what can I say... it's pretty funny) and roll my eyes in the direction of the free weights. There is one guy I call "arms guy" who I've seen curling 75 pounds on each arm, which is approximately 2/3 of my total body weight. Now come on, that's over kill. Any guy who could easily curl my body weight is a threat to my very existence.
I picked out a senior apartment that was one of the closest to the gym completely conscious of the fact that I have to write a senior thesis this year. That way if I don't feel like writing my thesis, I can easily go work out instead because that's also productive. And although I haven't started my thesis yet, I know that eventually it will get done, as most things around here do. Just very slowly and very painfully, which will most definitely require plenty of gym breaks.
I was a varsity swimmer all throughout high school and when I came to college I was certain that I would be joining the swim team. How could I not? And then I experienced the first practice. It wasn't necessarily hard, but it was time-consuming and I didn't think that my focus on academics would allow me time for two hour practices every day as well as dry-land training. Many Vassar students are able to balance both academics and team sports, but it wasn't for me. In order to have time for both I would have had to make other sacrifices, such as time for friends or campus events. But it's not like I can't swim on my own. I don't really like competitive sports as much as just good old exercise anyways. Although I did find that I was waaaay too competitive for intramural softball.
Intramurals are a good way to get involved with sports without worrying about setting aside time for them. My intramural softball team rarely practiced. We were also terrible (which caused me to have fits on the field, not gonna lie....) but it could have potentially been fun if I had been less competitive. The problem came when I found out I was the only player with any real experience because I had played softball in high school and was disappointed (or, perhaps, disgusted) with the abilities of some of my other teammates. I won't mention any names, they know who they are.
I've also taken ballroom dance lessons here. You don't need a partner, although it's a good idea to have one. And you can't beat the price at $30 for 10 lessons. Rumor has it that the ballroom instructor is forming a ballroom dance club for next year, but I'll get back to you on that one.
But even if you are not into sports, the gym makes a good place to have fun. My friends and I sometimes go and play "HORSE" on the basketball court, while watching everyone else make fantastic lay-ups and give us stares for being so lame. But that doesn't necessarily mean we pay attention. Tennis rackets and cross-country skis are also rentable from the gym, which make a nice change of pace from the treadmill.
One of my favorite things to do at Vassar during the summer is go to the gym. While the hours aren't exactly regular (during the year the gym closes at 11 and during the summer it closes at 8), it's one of the few things that is still open when I leave work as well as one of the better air-conditioned. This makes it a good place to hide on 90+ days. In my view, while there are many different types of people on the Vassar campus, most people fall into one of three categories: regular gym-goers, reluctant gym-goers, and the exercise apathetic. I would consider myself to be a regular gym-goer, and sure, some of my friends think I'm crazy, but I grew up reading health magazines and I know what's best for my body and mind-primarily, air conditioning, and, coming in a close second, exercise.
When I'm at the gym, I feel like I'm at peace. I can chill out in the air, read a magazine and listen to my iPod while completely zoning out on the bike or the treadmill. It's probably the only part of the semester when I don't think about anything. And the weather conditions of the gym never let me down. During the winter, it's a great place to get some extra light and heat up, but during the summer it's a nice place to hide from direct sunlight and cool down.
It's also a pretty social environment. I like to watch the guys show off as they pump iron (what can I say... it's pretty funny) and roll my eyes in the direction of the free weights. There is one guy I call "arms guy" who I've seen curling 75 pounds on each arm, which is approximately 2/3 of my total body weight. Now come on, that's over kill. Any guy who could easily curl my body weight is a threat to my very existence.
I picked out a senior apartment that was one of the closest to the gym completely conscious of the fact that I have to write a senior thesis this year. That way if I don't feel like writing my thesis, I can easily go work out instead because that's also productive. And although I haven't started my thesis yet, I know that eventually it will get done, as most things around here do. Just very slowly and very painfully, which will most definitely require plenty of gym breaks.
I was a varsity swimmer all throughout high school and when I came to college I was certain that I would be joining the swim team. How could I not? And then I experienced the first practice. It wasn't necessarily hard, but it was time-consuming and I didn't think that my focus on academics would allow me time for two hour practices every day as well as dry-land training. Many Vassar students are able to balance both academics and team sports, but it wasn't for me. In order to have time for both I would have had to make other sacrifices, such as time for friends or campus events. But it's not like I can't swim on my own. I don't really like competitive sports as much as just good old exercise anyways. Although I did find that I was waaaay too competitive for intramural softball.
Intramurals are a good way to get involved with sports without worrying about setting aside time for them. My intramural softball team rarely practiced. We were also terrible (which caused me to have fits on the field, not gonna lie....) but it could have potentially been fun if I had been less competitive. The problem came when I found out I was the only player with any real experience because I had played softball in high school and was disappointed (or, perhaps, disgusted) with the abilities of some of my other teammates. I won't mention any names, they know who they are.
I've also taken ballroom dance lessons here. You don't need a partner, although it's a good idea to have one. And you can't beat the price at $30 for 10 lessons. Rumor has it that the ballroom instructor is forming a ballroom dance club for next year, but I'll get back to you on that one.
But even if you are not into sports, the gym makes a good place to have fun. My friends and I sometimes go and play "HORSE" on the basketball court, while watching everyone else make fantastic lay-ups and give us stares for being so lame. But that doesn't necessarily mean we pay attention. Tennis rackets and cross-country skis are also rentable from the gym, which make a nice change of pace from the treadmill.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Lab Rats
Something new that I've been doing this summer is helping out the psychology department. And by helping I don't mean volunteering- I'm not that nice.
Over the summer, a program called URSI invites students to stay over the summer and help conduct research with faculty members in the realms of science and math, which are pretty much foreign to me. Of course, you have to apply for these positions. But whoever is running the research is not really of my concern-what I really care about are the research experiments!
During the year, most experimenters can find students to use as test subjects. Psychology professors have the students in their classes participate in at least two studies for credit. The experiments are always unusual, and some of them involve wearing electrodes on your head. One time I had to wear a cap with electrodes in it while the experiment conductor massaged gel into my hair. Then I watched pictures of my brain on a computer. It was pretty uncomfortable, but it was my friend's experiment and he needed test subjects so how could I say no? I just hope none of my friends will need test subjects this year.....
Summer is a little different because classes aren't in session and there are fewer students on campus, so finding students who are willing to participate requires a bribe. If I'm not going to leave work in the middle of the day to participate in a psychological experiment unless it's worth my time, then why should anyone else? My point exactly. But these experimenters are good, and they know exactly what will get me to leave my office and participate in their studies.
So what do college students need the most? Money. Yeah, that's right. I don't work for free anymore.
So far this summer, I've managed to participate in three studies, and there may be more coming up. They're usually pretty easy. All you do is look at some graphs or pictures, answer some questionnaires, and then pick up your cash. Currently I'm doing a two weeklong experiment that requires me to carry around a PDA and answer a short questionnaire about my emotions five times a day when the PDA beeps. When I went to pick up the PDA, the experimenter told me not to reveal the specifics of the study, and I'll hold true to my word. However, I always feel that whenever I enter my emotions into the PDA they aren't exactly correct because whenever the PDA starts ringing, I either get angry because I'm busy or surprised because it caught me off guard, which seems like it would slant my answers. To be honest, I personally wouldn't trust students doing these experiments. But that's just me, and it's probably because I'm a sociology major. Either way, the experiment itself is worth $75, and it requires little to no effort.
I always thought about being some sort of science major before I finally decided on sociology. I turned to sociology after I decided I would rather be some sort of writer, and one of my professors said that the best writers always came from the sociology, history, and political science departments. Why be an English major when you can get the same writing experience from something cooler, like sociology? Of course, that’s just my biased view, and I would say that major rivalries contribute to that.
Most students on campus think that their own major is the best, and then they'll make assumptions about the other majors on campus. Between some of my friends and I, we think the "slacker majors" are geography and film. Not that any of us has ever taken a geography or film course, but somehow they managed to get those reputations from us and they stuck. On the other hand, I think anyone who is an astronomy or physics major is a genius. I wonder what people think of my major....
Most of the major departments are campus are pretty closely knit, and there is always some sort of "history department dinner" or "Jewish studies department sponsored talk" going on around campus. The sociology majors made tee-shirts, and I'm sure we aren't the only department to proudly display our choice of major on our clothing. But even though these rivalries seem to exist, it's always fun to take a course in another department aside from your major, and the ability to try out all sorts of departments is what makes Vassar such a great place to get an education. There is no core curriculum at Vassar, so instead of taking a regular English or writing course as a freshman like my friends at other colleges, I took "Vampires, Lunatics, and Cyborgs" in the German studies department with Elliot Schrieber and I had a great time. We even took a field trip to New York City at the end of the semester to see The Nutcracker Ballet.
So far, I've taken courses in 18 different departments at Vassar, including German studies, media studies, philosophy, economics, physics, biology, religion, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, dance, political science, French, self-instructional language (Czech), music, English, anthropology and classics. And next semester I'm planning on taking courses in film, history, and science, technology, and society. When I look back, sometimes I wish I would have completed a double major, but it's great to have basic knowledge in a lot of things. Oh, the value of a liberal arts education! And that's my favorite thing about Vassar.
Over the summer, a program called URSI invites students to stay over the summer and help conduct research with faculty members in the realms of science and math, which are pretty much foreign to me. Of course, you have to apply for these positions. But whoever is running the research is not really of my concern-what I really care about are the research experiments!
During the year, most experimenters can find students to use as test subjects. Psychology professors have the students in their classes participate in at least two studies for credit. The experiments are always unusual, and some of them involve wearing electrodes on your head. One time I had to wear a cap with electrodes in it while the experiment conductor massaged gel into my hair. Then I watched pictures of my brain on a computer. It was pretty uncomfortable, but it was my friend's experiment and he needed test subjects so how could I say no? I just hope none of my friends will need test subjects this year.....
Summer is a little different because classes aren't in session and there are fewer students on campus, so finding students who are willing to participate requires a bribe. If I'm not going to leave work in the middle of the day to participate in a psychological experiment unless it's worth my time, then why should anyone else? My point exactly. But these experimenters are good, and they know exactly what will get me to leave my office and participate in their studies.
So what do college students need the most? Money. Yeah, that's right. I don't work for free anymore.
So far this summer, I've managed to participate in three studies, and there may be more coming up. They're usually pretty easy. All you do is look at some graphs or pictures, answer some questionnaires, and then pick up your cash. Currently I'm doing a two weeklong experiment that requires me to carry around a PDA and answer a short questionnaire about my emotions five times a day when the PDA beeps. When I went to pick up the PDA, the experimenter told me not to reveal the specifics of the study, and I'll hold true to my word. However, I always feel that whenever I enter my emotions into the PDA they aren't exactly correct because whenever the PDA starts ringing, I either get angry because I'm busy or surprised because it caught me off guard, which seems like it would slant my answers. To be honest, I personally wouldn't trust students doing these experiments. But that's just me, and it's probably because I'm a sociology major. Either way, the experiment itself is worth $75, and it requires little to no effort.
I always thought about being some sort of science major before I finally decided on sociology. I turned to sociology after I decided I would rather be some sort of writer, and one of my professors said that the best writers always came from the sociology, history, and political science departments. Why be an English major when you can get the same writing experience from something cooler, like sociology? Of course, that’s just my biased view, and I would say that major rivalries contribute to that.
Most students on campus think that their own major is the best, and then they'll make assumptions about the other majors on campus. Between some of my friends and I, we think the "slacker majors" are geography and film. Not that any of us has ever taken a geography or film course, but somehow they managed to get those reputations from us and they stuck. On the other hand, I think anyone who is an astronomy or physics major is a genius. I wonder what people think of my major....
Most of the major departments are campus are pretty closely knit, and there is always some sort of "history department dinner" or "Jewish studies department sponsored talk" going on around campus. The sociology majors made tee-shirts, and I'm sure we aren't the only department to proudly display our choice of major on our clothing. But even though these rivalries seem to exist, it's always fun to take a course in another department aside from your major, and the ability to try out all sorts of departments is what makes Vassar such a great place to get an education. There is no core curriculum at Vassar, so instead of taking a regular English or writing course as a freshman like my friends at other colleges, I took "Vampires, Lunatics, and Cyborgs" in the German studies department with Elliot Schrieber and I had a great time. We even took a field trip to New York City at the end of the semester to see The Nutcracker Ballet.
So far, I've taken courses in 18 different departments at Vassar, including German studies, media studies, philosophy, economics, physics, biology, religion, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, dance, political science, French, self-instructional language (Czech), music, English, anthropology and classics. And next semester I'm planning on taking courses in film, history, and science, technology, and society. When I look back, sometimes I wish I would have completed a double major, but it's great to have basic knowledge in a lot of things. Oh, the value of a liberal arts education! And that's my favorite thing about Vassar.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The Gnat Attack: Just Another Vassar Bug....
Yesterday was a pretty nice day. I went running with a friend on the cross-country trail behind the Vassar golf course for what seemed like an eternity and then collapsed on the sofa in my room until I could stand again. Then, taking my reading outside, I laid under the giant tree on the library lawn for several hours. Later, I browsed through the Loeb Art Center looking for recent acquisitions, and then wrapped a present to send to my parents (that I'd been thinking about sending for at least the past month). But that night, right as I was getting ready for bed, all hell broke loose. I had discovered a giant swarm of gnats living on my ceiling.
There was nothing I could do and no one I could call. My parents were definitely asleep, and it was doubtful they could give me too much advice on gnats. Pat could have at least made me feel better about the situation but he's currently working as a camp counselor and I have no idea whether I'm allowed to call him. Two of my good friends are currently in England and another had spent the whole day moving to Cincinnati and was probably too tired to care about my stupid bug problem. But who knows what those things eat? There were at least a hundred swarming around above my lamps, attracted to the light. I envisioned them as being from an Alfred Hitchcock movie like The Birds, except this time it was The Gnats. Certain that they would attack me in my sleep, it was time for a plan of action. But what?
For once, Wikipedia actually had little to offer on the subject. Three paragraphs on gnats told me nothing other than that they are related to mosquitoes, and all I know about mosquitoes is that they feed on human flesh. At this point I was not too keen on sleeping with hundreds of them.
I left my room immediately, taking my laptop, and camped out in the hallway to think of a plan, thankful that the Vassar campus is now completely wireless (phew). And while talking to a friend online, it hit me. The gnats were attracted to the light, so if I turned off the light, maybe they would leave my room and invade the well-lit hallway instead. It was worth a try. Gathering up my desk lamp while holding my breath and closing my eyes, I took it into the hallway and plugged it in. The lamp better lit the hallway and left my room pitch black, which was exactly the effect I was going for. I took off the lamp shade, hoping that the eye-blinding white light would lead them out of my room and convince them establish a new home in the fifth floor hallway. I got a pair of sunglasses from my room in hopes of watching the action without going blind.
There had never been a sketchier sight. I was sitting alone in the hallway with my computer, next to a ridiculously bright desk lamp without a shade while wearing a giant pair of black sunglasses. And no one else on my floor had any clue as to what the problem was. No one asked questions. I'm sure that by now the entire fifth floor is convinced that I'm a total creepster, but whatever. It's worth it if it means getting rid of bugs.
In my three whole years at Vassar, I've never had a bug problem before. Not that it's exactly common to have bugs in your room, but we are in the Hudson Valley and things do live here. Lots of pretty things live here, like white tail deer, rabbits, wild turkeys and woodchucks (yesterday alone I saw a fawn, goslings, and baby rabbits and baby woodchucks) and because of that I feel happy about choosing a school with lots of wildlife, but I still can't get over the whole bugs thing.
There is one bug on campus that has been dubbed a "Vassar bug" by most students, faculty, and staff, but they're actually called House Centipedes. Luckily, I've never had a personal run-in with a House Centipede. They seem relatively harmless, but they're probably the creepiest looking insects around here. Whatever you do, don't do a google image search-unless you want to experience real fear.
One of my friends was lucky enough to see a so-called "Vassar bug" crawl into his pants right before he was going to put them on. Since then, he shakes out all of his clothes before wearing them. I've started doing it too.
When I woke up in this morning, the remaining gnats had died all over my clean dishes. It was pretty gross, but I suppose it could have been worse if most of them hadn't left my room. I think Vassar's Building and Grounds service will help me take care of my gnat problem, but before I give them a call I think I'll need to clean my room. It's become kind of an embarrassment. The New York Times did say that the most creative thinkers are the ones with the messiest desks, but I think I've gone overboard on pleading creativity.
There was nothing I could do and no one I could call. My parents were definitely asleep, and it was doubtful they could give me too much advice on gnats. Pat could have at least made me feel better about the situation but he's currently working as a camp counselor and I have no idea whether I'm allowed to call him. Two of my good friends are currently in England and another had spent the whole day moving to Cincinnati and was probably too tired to care about my stupid bug problem. But who knows what those things eat? There were at least a hundred swarming around above my lamps, attracted to the light. I envisioned them as being from an Alfred Hitchcock movie like The Birds, except this time it was The Gnats. Certain that they would attack me in my sleep, it was time for a plan of action. But what?
For once, Wikipedia actually had little to offer on the subject. Three paragraphs on gnats told me nothing other than that they are related to mosquitoes, and all I know about mosquitoes is that they feed on human flesh. At this point I was not too keen on sleeping with hundreds of them.
I left my room immediately, taking my laptop, and camped out in the hallway to think of a plan, thankful that the Vassar campus is now completely wireless (phew). And while talking to a friend online, it hit me. The gnats were attracted to the light, so if I turned off the light, maybe they would leave my room and invade the well-lit hallway instead. It was worth a try. Gathering up my desk lamp while holding my breath and closing my eyes, I took it into the hallway and plugged it in. The lamp better lit the hallway and left my room pitch black, which was exactly the effect I was going for. I took off the lamp shade, hoping that the eye-blinding white light would lead them out of my room and convince them establish a new home in the fifth floor hallway. I got a pair of sunglasses from my room in hopes of watching the action without going blind.
There had never been a sketchier sight. I was sitting alone in the hallway with my computer, next to a ridiculously bright desk lamp without a shade while wearing a giant pair of black sunglasses. And no one else on my floor had any clue as to what the problem was. No one asked questions. I'm sure that by now the entire fifth floor is convinced that I'm a total creepster, but whatever. It's worth it if it means getting rid of bugs.
In my three whole years at Vassar, I've never had a bug problem before. Not that it's exactly common to have bugs in your room, but we are in the Hudson Valley and things do live here. Lots of pretty things live here, like white tail deer, rabbits, wild turkeys and woodchucks (yesterday alone I saw a fawn, goslings, and baby rabbits and baby woodchucks) and because of that I feel happy about choosing a school with lots of wildlife, but I still can't get over the whole bugs thing.
There is one bug on campus that has been dubbed a "Vassar bug" by most students, faculty, and staff, but they're actually called House Centipedes. Luckily, I've never had a personal run-in with a House Centipede. They seem relatively harmless, but they're probably the creepiest looking insects around here. Whatever you do, don't do a google image search-unless you want to experience real fear.
One of my friends was lucky enough to see a so-called "Vassar bug" crawl into his pants right before he was going to put them on. Since then, he shakes out all of his clothes before wearing them. I've started doing it too.
When I woke up in this morning, the remaining gnats had died all over my clean dishes. It was pretty gross, but I suppose it could have been worse if most of them hadn't left my room. I think Vassar's Building and Grounds service will help me take care of my gnat problem, but before I give them a call I think I'll need to clean my room. It's become kind of an embarrassment. The New York Times did say that the most creative thinkers are the ones with the messiest desks, but I think I've gone overboard on pleading creativity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)