Friday: I went to two librairies, Meijer, Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, and Claire's. I watched a movie required for work at Sara's house from 3 to 5. I went out with Paxton from 7 to midnight.
Saturday: I woke up and researched for a 5 page paper until 5 o clock, at which time I showered and went into work at 6 until 1am.
Sunday: I attended a dress rehearsal from 11am to 4pm, and should currently be writing the afore-mentioned 5 page paper.
Monday: I am scheduled to work from 6am to 11, and then have class from 3-430, a meeting for work from 5-6, and then have to be at the Knickerbocker Theatre for hair and makeup styling at 6 before Billy's lecture at 7.
Tuesday: Class from noon-130, work from 130-7, group meeting for a 90 minute presentation on Wednesday, and then an International Studies majors meeting at 830.
Wednesday: Presentation from 3-430.
Thursday: Class from noon-130, work from 130-7. And then I will crash and burn.
On top of this, I've had a fever and cold since Friday night.
On top of that, it was daylight savings time this weekend, so I lost an hour Saturday night.
"I don't wanna grow up; I'm a Toys 'R' Us kid."
Saturday: I woke up and researched for a 5 page paper until 5 o clock, at which time I showered and went into work at 6 until 1am.
Sunday: I attended a dress rehearsal from 11am to 4pm, and should currently be writing the afore-mentioned 5 page paper.
Monday: I am scheduled to work from 6am to 11, and then have class from 3-430, a meeting for work from 5-6, and then have to be at the Knickerbocker Theatre for hair and makeup styling at 6 before Billy's lecture at 7.
Tuesday: Class from noon-130, work from 130-7, group meeting for a 90 minute presentation on Wednesday, and then an International Studies majors meeting at 830.
Wednesday: Presentation from 3-430.
Thursday: Class from noon-130, work from 130-7. And then I will crash and burn.
On top of this, I've had a fever and cold since Friday night.
On top of that, it was daylight savings time this weekend, so I lost an hour Saturday night.
"I don't wanna grow up; I'm a Toys 'R' Us kid."
Emilie just baked mint chocolate chip muffins. And I have to say, they are incredible.
Well, I finally found boots and bindings for my snowboard. I got Burton Stiletto bindings in black, and white DC boots. So Paxton and I went snowboarding yesterday to try them out.
We went to a place called Cannonsburg, kind of NE of Grand Rapids. It wasn't that great of a hill, to be honest. The lift lines were really long, and the tow ropes were downright dangerous, but we only paid $17 so I guess it was okay. It was good to have an easy place, too, because I hadn't snowboarded since high school.
Paxton took me on a black diamond hill for my very first run... they had a tow rope for the hill (which was so stupid to me... tow rope for the steepest hill?) and I didn't read the sign, so I didn't know it was a black diamond until I got to the bottom (all in one piece). I fell like 3 times on the way down, but they were on purpose because I felt like I was losing control a little bit. So basically, I was fine. And then he was like hey, look at the sign over by the tow rope, and I freaked out a little bit, pushed him around some for being so tricksy, but he was right: I was fine, and it gave me a lot of confidence. I wiped out on a blue square hill later in the afternoon, like a major accidental wipeout, not on purpose. I was going kind of fast carving down the hill and caught my front edge, so I fell flat on my face and then -- since I was going so fast -- flipped over my left shoulder and neck. Kind of pivoted right on the place where your shoulder meets your neck. Or that's what Paxton tells me; all I remember is falling, and then at one point seeing my legs in the air and thinking "that's not where they should be", and then laying in the snow for 2 seconds maybe before getting up and finishing the hill so as not to look like a noob.
It was fairly painful; I had to take a little breather at the bottom of the hill. And I'm ridiculously sore today... my calves are sore, which I expected, but both my shoulders and the tops of my arms are really sore too. Since I just pivoted over my left shoulder when I fell, there must have been some other thing going on to make my right shoulder sore as well.
Anyway, it was a ton of fun regardless, and I feel pretty cool even though I'm so sore.
Pictures:
Paxton got hurt, too, on the damn tow rope. It really was dangerous; it stopped at least 3 times when we were on it because people were falling down, and stopping it just made things worse because it would whip you forward when it restarted. So his arm is pretty bruised up. And I took him out a few times when we were getting off the lift... haha. My strategy was to hold onto him and go straight and then fall down to stop, and a few times I took him down with me. I don't think he's hurt too bad from that though.
Yeah, it was generally a good weekend.
Friday night we went over to Jetter and Derek's for their housewarming party, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. We just sat around and played Apples to Apples (which is really fun with like... 12 people). It was a good time; I hope they have another get-together soon.
And Saturday morning I went to the Sierra Club pre-hearing meeting... Today and tomorrow there are hearings hosted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality regarding the proposed expansion and development of several new coal plants in the Holland area. Naturally, the Sierra Club is against this, and so the meeting on Saturday was to prepare people who are planning to attend the hearings with verbal testimony and written comments for the DEQ... basically just making sure everyone is well-informed. I ended up babysitting throughout the meeting, though, which was really unfortunate and a bit irritating. Jan, the woman I work for, and another Sierra Club leader named Lee were giving the presentation Saturday morning, and Lee brought his 4 and 6 year old kids with him. They were being disruptive to the meeting, distracting and loud and running around, and about 20 minutes into it I decided that someone needed to sacrifice for the good of the whole, and since I am the intern and their father was the one giving the presentation, that person should be me. So I took them outside the room and tried to keep track of them in the library (the meeting was in the Holland public library). I still can't decide if this was a good decision or not, but I was the only one present who had the authority and freedom to do anything about it; Jan and Lee were both busy, and everyone else was a guest of the Sierra Club.
So I mean I missed the meeting, and that was upsetting, because it would've been really great for me to hear all of that information, but I... fulfilled my duties as an intern? Even though babysitting probably isn't one of my duties? Oh well. Jan really appreciated it, anyway. She told me I was a "godsend," which is a pretty sweet compliment.
I can't go to either of the hearings today or tomorrow because of my class and work schedule, which is also unfortunate. I would've like to see at least one of them. And there was a press conference today at 4:15 which would have been cool to attend, but I had class until 4:30 and by the time I would've gotten there it would have been over. So. Jan is away at a conference this weekend, but she mentioned that when she gets back we'll be working on more global warming stuff and not just the Holland coal plant stuff, so hopefully I'll have the time to be more involved in that. We shall see!
And then Saturday night I worked with Sara, which is always fun. We talked a lot about the Twilight series (which we're both a bit ashamed to admit liking) and various other things. And then Sunday was homework and snowboarding! And Paxton and I made spaghetti and watched Mamma Mia when we got back, which was a relaxing way to end the day.
I should go find dinner before Sculpture at 6, so I'm off!
PS: A fabulous thing: my roommate Emilie got a cookbook with 100 muffin recipes for Christmas, so we've had fresh, delicious muffins almost every day. Muffins are my favorite food, so it's just really a beautiful thing to live with such an avid muffin maker.
We went to a place called Cannonsburg, kind of NE of Grand Rapids. It wasn't that great of a hill, to be honest. The lift lines were really long, and the tow ropes were downright dangerous, but we only paid $17 so I guess it was okay. It was good to have an easy place, too, because I hadn't snowboarded since high school.
Paxton took me on a black diamond hill for my very first run... they had a tow rope for the hill (which was so stupid to me... tow rope for the steepest hill?) and I didn't read the sign, so I didn't know it was a black diamond until I got to the bottom (all in one piece). I fell like 3 times on the way down, but they were on purpose because I felt like I was losing control a little bit. So basically, I was fine. And then he was like hey, look at the sign over by the tow rope, and I freaked out a little bit, pushed him around some for being so tricksy, but he was right: I was fine, and it gave me a lot of confidence. I wiped out on a blue square hill later in the afternoon, like a major accidental wipeout, not on purpose. I was going kind of fast carving down the hill and caught my front edge, so I fell flat on my face and then -- since I was going so fast -- flipped over my left shoulder and neck. Kind of pivoted right on the place where your shoulder meets your neck. Or that's what Paxton tells me; all I remember is falling, and then at one point seeing my legs in the air and thinking "that's not where they should be", and then laying in the snow for 2 seconds maybe before getting up and finishing the hill so as not to look like a noob.
It was fairly painful; I had to take a little breather at the bottom of the hill. And I'm ridiculously sore today... my calves are sore, which I expected, but both my shoulders and the tops of my arms are really sore too. Since I just pivoted over my left shoulder when I fell, there must have been some other thing going on to make my right shoulder sore as well.
Anyway, it was a ton of fun regardless, and I feel pretty cool even though I'm so sore.
Pictures:
Paxton got hurt, too, on the damn tow rope. It really was dangerous; it stopped at least 3 times when we were on it because people were falling down, and stopping it just made things worse because it would whip you forward when it restarted. So his arm is pretty bruised up. And I took him out a few times when we were getting off the lift... haha. My strategy was to hold onto him and go straight and then fall down to stop, and a few times I took him down with me. I don't think he's hurt too bad from that though.
Yeah, it was generally a good weekend.
Friday night we went over to Jetter and Derek's for their housewarming party, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. We just sat around and played Apples to Apples (which is really fun with like... 12 people). It was a good time; I hope they have another get-together soon.
And Saturday morning I went to the Sierra Club pre-hearing meeting... Today and tomorrow there are hearings hosted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality regarding the proposed expansion and development of several new coal plants in the Holland area. Naturally, the Sierra Club is against this, and so the meeting on Saturday was to prepare people who are planning to attend the hearings with verbal testimony and written comments for the DEQ... basically just making sure everyone is well-informed. I ended up babysitting throughout the meeting, though, which was really unfortunate and a bit irritating. Jan, the woman I work for, and another Sierra Club leader named Lee were giving the presentation Saturday morning, and Lee brought his 4 and 6 year old kids with him. They were being disruptive to the meeting, distracting and loud and running around, and about 20 minutes into it I decided that someone needed to sacrifice for the good of the whole, and since I am the intern and their father was the one giving the presentation, that person should be me. So I took them outside the room and tried to keep track of them in the library (the meeting was in the Holland public library). I still can't decide if this was a good decision or not, but I was the only one present who had the authority and freedom to do anything about it; Jan and Lee were both busy, and everyone else was a guest of the Sierra Club.
So I mean I missed the meeting, and that was upsetting, because it would've been really great for me to hear all of that information, but I... fulfilled my duties as an intern? Even though babysitting probably isn't one of my duties? Oh well. Jan really appreciated it, anyway. She told me I was a "godsend," which is a pretty sweet compliment.
I can't go to either of the hearings today or tomorrow because of my class and work schedule, which is also unfortunate. I would've like to see at least one of them. And there was a press conference today at 4:15 which would have been cool to attend, but I had class until 4:30 and by the time I would've gotten there it would have been over. So. Jan is away at a conference this weekend, but she mentioned that when she gets back we'll be working on more global warming stuff and not just the Holland coal plant stuff, so hopefully I'll have the time to be more involved in that. We shall see!
And then Saturday night I worked with Sara, which is always fun. We talked a lot about the Twilight series (which we're both a bit ashamed to admit liking) and various other things. And then Sunday was homework and snowboarding! And Paxton and I made spaghetti and watched Mamma Mia when we got back, which was a relaxing way to end the day.
I should go find dinner before Sculpture at 6, so I'm off!
PS: A fabulous thing: my roommate Emilie got a cookbook with 100 muffin recipes for Christmas, so we've had fresh, delicious muffins almost every day. Muffins are my favorite food, so it's just really a beautiful thing to live with such an avid muffin maker.
It's true, I'm back at Hope. The semester started yesterday.
My classes seem like they'll be alright this semester. Basic Design, as it turns out, is more like a college version of arts and crafts. Among the required materials for the class are markers, rubber cement, and construction paper. So that should be fun. As the prof described the different types of design and all the ways to apply it, I realized that I've always been interested in design. I mean I rearrange my room about 4 times a year, love interior decorating and furniture shopping and remodeling, wanted to be an architect for a long time and still enjoy getting tours of people's houses just because I like to see how the space is laid out, and am a perfectionist when it comes to how things look. She also talked about how design, in a lot of ways, is about finding a solution to a problem. Whether it's a problem of space or catching someone's attention or whatever, it's very often problem-solving. And then I thought too about how I like to make functional things, how my sculptures last semester almost all had a functional, usable aspect to them, and I was like duh. I should've taken this class earlier. It's my thing. Applied design.
And now I want to go to an Art Institute. Ha. Sigh.
Sculpture II will be more challenging than last semester; Billy is making us do the bronze casting process, which he says will take about a month and is not easy. He keeps saying how we'll be cut and bruised and burned to pieces by the end, but I think he's just trying to be scary. Our first project is... an interesting one. It's a group project, so naturally I'm absolutely thrilled (bleh), and it involves... a huge sphere. It's hard to explain, so I'll describe it later when we're done and I have pictures to assist my explanation.
Macroeconomics will be really easy, I think. The professor is actually a regular from Lemonjello's (small single shot extra dry cappuccino), so it was funny to recognize each other when he walked in the room. He's from Australia and is really friendly, so I think the class will be kind of fun. He'll make it fun, anyway. And the requirements on the syllabus are not difficult at all; it looks too easy.
And my US Foreign Policy class will be... great, I think. The professor ran for Congress last fall (and lost), but nevertheless he is fairly well-experienced in foreign policy issues. Both he and my Macro prof seem like very knowledgeable men, the kinds of people who know a little bit about everything, and I think that's always good to have in a professor. It makes class more interesting, at least. One of my friends took the Foreign Policy class his sophomore year, and he said it was... a turning point in his college career. It was that good. So I'm looking forward to it.
All in all, it shouldn't be too difficult of a semester. Or I'm hoping not. I'm only working 16 hours/week at Lemonjello's, only have two real academic classes, and a lightweight flexible internship. Should be good.
About the internship... I'm not really excited about it, and I feel bad about that. I don't know what happened, but all the sudden I'm just really not looking forward to it and it doesn't really interest me that much anymore. Maybe I'm just being negative, but I feel like all the sudden I realized I'm not cut out for non-profit work; I'm just too cynical. And so suddenly I'd rather have an internship at a newspaper or a design agency or something more interesting and career-oriented and profitable. Sigh. Maybe it's just the grass is greener thing.
I'm also worrying again about post-graduation plans. I should know by now not to ask people what they're doing after graduation because it's just depressing and makes me feel like a loser, haha. Because I'm just staying in Holland. Sure, it's to save money to travel, but that's such a broad goal without a set timeline or anything; there's plenty of room for me to just get bogged down here and never end up leaving the US again. And sure, it's because I have a decent job here so it's silly to move somewhere new and have to find a new job in such a bad economy, but... sigh. I just feel like everyone else is taking a step forward, and I'm not sure what step to take so I'm not going to take one. I'm just going to stay immobile. And that's depressing. I know it's not Paxton's fault, but it's tempting to try to blame him, too. So that complicates things further.
In other news, I've been looking for snowboard boots and bindings. I've had the board forever and have hardly used it, so it's about time, I suppose. Paxton wants to go with me, so... yeah, I've been looking.
I'm also undecided about my laptop. I'm not really sure what to do about it, and don't want to spend money on a new one, so... again, I'm just immobile. When we were moving from Paxton's house to Hope on Monday, he left it on top of the car, and it flew off the roof at about 40 mph. I saw it in the rear view mirror, and I cried. Out of frustration, because I just bought the damn thing in September. It still works, miraculously, but it's no longer perfect and pretty like it used to be, and that's... sad. So anyway I took it to a computer store in Holland, where the tech told me that it'd probably be cheaper just to buy a new computer (even though this one was $1,000 to begin with), and after that I didn't have the heart to call Sony directly and ask what THEIR price would be. I could buy a new one, but it would take all my savings, and as this one is still usable, I'd just feel silly. So I guess I'm going to have to find my duct tape. Sad.
I think that's about all that's happened here lately. Christmas was good (I don't remember if I talked about that or not). It's always so nice to be home; it's a completely stress-free zone. I really just... sat around all Christmas break, and that was super. Paxton did make it down to Ohio for New Year's, which was also nice. Other than that, no major excitements.
And now I should probably get to bed. Goodnight!
My classes seem like they'll be alright this semester. Basic Design, as it turns out, is more like a college version of arts and crafts. Among the required materials for the class are markers, rubber cement, and construction paper. So that should be fun. As the prof described the different types of design and all the ways to apply it, I realized that I've always been interested in design. I mean I rearrange my room about 4 times a year, love interior decorating and furniture shopping and remodeling, wanted to be an architect for a long time and still enjoy getting tours of people's houses just because I like to see how the space is laid out, and am a perfectionist when it comes to how things look. She also talked about how design, in a lot of ways, is about finding a solution to a problem. Whether it's a problem of space or catching someone's attention or whatever, it's very often problem-solving. And then I thought too about how I like to make functional things, how my sculptures last semester almost all had a functional, usable aspect to them, and I was like duh. I should've taken this class earlier. It's my thing. Applied design.
And now I want to go to an Art Institute. Ha. Sigh.
Sculpture II will be more challenging than last semester; Billy is making us do the bronze casting process, which he says will take about a month and is not easy. He keeps saying how we'll be cut and bruised and burned to pieces by the end, but I think he's just trying to be scary. Our first project is... an interesting one. It's a group project, so naturally I'm absolutely thrilled (bleh), and it involves... a huge sphere. It's hard to explain, so I'll describe it later when we're done and I have pictures to assist my explanation.
Macroeconomics will be really easy, I think. The professor is actually a regular from Lemonjello's (small single shot extra dry cappuccino), so it was funny to recognize each other when he walked in the room. He's from Australia and is really friendly, so I think the class will be kind of fun. He'll make it fun, anyway. And the requirements on the syllabus are not difficult at all; it looks too easy.
And my US Foreign Policy class will be... great, I think. The professor ran for Congress last fall (and lost), but nevertheless he is fairly well-experienced in foreign policy issues. Both he and my Macro prof seem like very knowledgeable men, the kinds of people who know a little bit about everything, and I think that's always good to have in a professor. It makes class more interesting, at least. One of my friends took the Foreign Policy class his sophomore year, and he said it was... a turning point in his college career. It was that good. So I'm looking forward to it.
All in all, it shouldn't be too difficult of a semester. Or I'm hoping not. I'm only working 16 hours/week at Lemonjello's, only have two real academic classes, and a lightweight flexible internship. Should be good.
About the internship... I'm not really excited about it, and I feel bad about that. I don't know what happened, but all the sudden I'm just really not looking forward to it and it doesn't really interest me that much anymore. Maybe I'm just being negative, but I feel like all the sudden I realized I'm not cut out for non-profit work; I'm just too cynical. And so suddenly I'd rather have an internship at a newspaper or a design agency or something more interesting and career-oriented and profitable. Sigh. Maybe it's just the grass is greener thing.
I'm also worrying again about post-graduation plans. I should know by now not to ask people what they're doing after graduation because it's just depressing and makes me feel like a loser, haha. Because I'm just staying in Holland. Sure, it's to save money to travel, but that's such a broad goal without a set timeline or anything; there's plenty of room for me to just get bogged down here and never end up leaving the US again. And sure, it's because I have a decent job here so it's silly to move somewhere new and have to find a new job in such a bad economy, but... sigh. I just feel like everyone else is taking a step forward, and I'm not sure what step to take so I'm not going to take one. I'm just going to stay immobile. And that's depressing. I know it's not Paxton's fault, but it's tempting to try to blame him, too. So that complicates things further.
In other news, I've been looking for snowboard boots and bindings. I've had the board forever and have hardly used it, so it's about time, I suppose. Paxton wants to go with me, so... yeah, I've been looking.
I'm also undecided about my laptop. I'm not really sure what to do about it, and don't want to spend money on a new one, so... again, I'm just immobile. When we were moving from Paxton's house to Hope on Monday, he left it on top of the car, and it flew off the roof at about 40 mph. I saw it in the rear view mirror, and I cried. Out of frustration, because I just bought the damn thing in September. It still works, miraculously, but it's no longer perfect and pretty like it used to be, and that's... sad. So anyway I took it to a computer store in Holland, where the tech told me that it'd probably be cheaper just to buy a new computer (even though this one was $1,000 to begin with), and after that I didn't have the heart to call Sony directly and ask what THEIR price would be. I could buy a new one, but it would take all my savings, and as this one is still usable, I'd just feel silly. So I guess I'm going to have to find my duct tape. Sad.
I think that's about all that's happened here lately. Christmas was good (I don't remember if I talked about that or not). It's always so nice to be home; it's a completely stress-free zone. I really just... sat around all Christmas break, and that was super. Paxton did make it down to Ohio for New Year's, which was also nice. Other than that, no major excitements.
And now I should probably get to bed. Goodnight!
I made it home safely! And was glad to have left Michigan when I did; apparently there was another huge snowstorm not long after I left.
Paxton's holiday party was a lot of fun. All the people he works with are very nice, and it was cool to have the party in such a nice hotel downtown.
My favorite picture of the bunch that we took before leaving:
Since I've been home, I haven't done a whole lot, haha. I finished up the "Twilight" series (it was very good) and intend to see the movie sometime soon. I took Jeremy Christmas shopping for the people on his list, and that was... well, hectic. But a fun sibling activity nonetheless. And tonight I'm going to a show in Cleveland with Grace, which should be a good time. Madison East and some other bands are playing.
So overall, it's been a good break so far. Since Mom works on Christmas Day, we're planning to wait until Friday to celebrate Christmas. Dad and I have a yummy dinner planned, and hopefully we'll be able to distract Jeremy enough on Thursday! I'm also hoping that Paxton will decide to visit for New Year's, but he's still not sure. We'll see!
Paxton's holiday party was a lot of fun. All the people he works with are very nice, and it was cool to have the party in such a nice hotel downtown.
My favorite picture of the bunch that we took before leaving:
Since I've been home, I haven't done a whole lot, haha. I finished up the "Twilight" series (it was very good) and intend to see the movie sometime soon. I took Jeremy Christmas shopping for the people on his list, and that was... well, hectic. But a fun sibling activity nonetheless. And tonight I'm going to a show in Cleveland with Grace, which should be a good time. Madison East and some other bands are playing.
So overall, it's been a good break so far. Since Mom works on Christmas Day, we're planning to wait until Friday to celebrate Christmas. Dad and I have a yummy dinner planned, and hopefully we'll be able to distract Jeremy enough on Thursday! I'm also hoping that Paxton will decide to visit for New Year's, but he's still not sure. We'll see!
WELL the last week or so has been a little crazy. I took the rest of my exams -- and did quite well -- moved out of our apartment, moved into Paxton's parents' house, and worked a lot in between. Our LJ's Christmas party was on Sunday, and it was a ton of fun. I just love the Lemonjello's family; I love being a part of such a great group of people. We did a Secret Santa thing, and I got a scarf from my santa! Perfect for me; anyone who knows me knows I love scarves. So that was cool.
Here are pictures of my last sculpture project for the semester. It's a tree (as you'll hopefully be able to see), and there's a fan hidden inside the nest part that makes the leaves and bird blow around when you turn it on. If you turn the fan on high, the entire nest/tree will vibrate and move across whatever surface it's on, which was... an unexpected effect, haha.
It's kind of ugly -- definitely not my best project -- but oh well. I'm taking Sculpture II next semester, so maybe I'll be able to make some cool stuff in there too. I'm also taking Macroeconomics, US Foreign Policy, and Basic Design.
I'm glad to finally be able to relax at Paxton's house... last weekend was just crazy, with work and Christmas party and everything. Yesterday and today we've just sat around a lot, kind of recuperating from the end-of-semester stress. I've become engrossed in the Twilight series in the last two days; I've read the first two books in about 48 hours. I'd like to see the movie soon. I know it's juvenile literature, but it's... absorbing. And as Paxton said, I have to right to read crappy literature because I've already read so much good literature.
Paxton and I went Christmas shopping today -- for his Christmas list, not mine. I'm happy to report that my Christmas shopping was done last Friday. We also had a mini photoshoot, believe it or not, at Lemonjello's. Matt wants to put up some new posters in the store that emphasize the communal aspect of the place, and he wanted to use an actual couple that he knew fairly well, so he asked us to be his models. An actual photographer came in to take the photos though, so it was just kind of exciting. I'm hoping they turn out well.
And coming up this week... I work tomorrow afternoon, and Friday night is a Christmas party at Paxton's work. I bought a holiday dress for that, and new shoes, because I'd like to look nice for it. The shoes might kill my feet, but they look great. I'll probably take some pictures. And then on Saturday I'm driving home!
Edit: I COMPLETELY forgot to update about the Sierra Club. I met with the lady last week, and I'm all set up for an internship next semester. I don't know if I'll be working on things for the Obama campaign, but the projects that she explained to me all sound very interesting, so I'm just happy for the opportunity to be involved in something different. I'm feeling a little daunted right now at the prospect of taking on even more responsibilities for next semester -- this semester was busy enough -- but it's just a few months, and I have slightly less work hours scheduled at Lemonjello's so that might help lessen the load a bit. It should be interesting!
Here are pictures of my last sculpture project for the semester. It's a tree (as you'll hopefully be able to see), and there's a fan hidden inside the nest part that makes the leaves and bird blow around when you turn it on. If you turn the fan on high, the entire nest/tree will vibrate and move across whatever surface it's on, which was... an unexpected effect, haha.
It's kind of ugly -- definitely not my best project -- but oh well. I'm taking Sculpture II next semester, so maybe I'll be able to make some cool stuff in there too. I'm also taking Macroeconomics, US Foreign Policy, and Basic Design.
I'm glad to finally be able to relax at Paxton's house... last weekend was just crazy, with work and Christmas party and everything. Yesterday and today we've just sat around a lot, kind of recuperating from the end-of-semester stress. I've become engrossed in the Twilight series in the last two days; I've read the first two books in about 48 hours. I'd like to see the movie soon. I know it's juvenile literature, but it's... absorbing. And as Paxton said, I have to right to read crappy literature because I've already read so much good literature.
Paxton and I went Christmas shopping today -- for his Christmas list, not mine. I'm happy to report that my Christmas shopping was done last Friday. We also had a mini photoshoot, believe it or not, at Lemonjello's. Matt wants to put up some new posters in the store that emphasize the communal aspect of the place, and he wanted to use an actual couple that he knew fairly well, so he asked us to be his models. An actual photographer came in to take the photos though, so it was just kind of exciting. I'm hoping they turn out well.
And coming up this week... I work tomorrow afternoon, and Friday night is a Christmas party at Paxton's work. I bought a holiday dress for that, and new shoes, because I'd like to look nice for it. The shoes might kill my feet, but they look great. I'll probably take some pictures. And then on Saturday I'm driving home!
Edit: I COMPLETELY forgot to update about the Sierra Club. I met with the lady last week, and I'm all set up for an internship next semester. I don't know if I'll be working on things for the Obama campaign, but the projects that she explained to me all sound very interesting, so I'm just happy for the opportunity to be involved in something different. I'm feeling a little daunted right now at the prospect of taking on even more responsibilities for next semester -- this semester was busy enough -- but it's just a few months, and I have slightly less work hours scheduled at Lemonjello's so that might help lessen the load a bit. It should be interesting!
ZOMGZOMGZOMG
I'm meeting with a lady from the Sierra Club tomorrow to discuss their campaign for NATIONAL LEGISLATION ON GLOBAL WARMING WITH OBAMA'S A
I am so, so excited. Maybe I'll get to go to DC. AND MEET BARACK OBAMA. I'm so excited. I mean I probably won't get to go to DC or meet Obama, but it's still awesome to be involved in something so big. I hope that it works out. I'm just really excited.
In other news, I finished my tree sculpture today. I'll post pictures soon. I don't really like it, but other people do, so yeah. It's a tree inside a nest, instead of a nest inside a tree! Like I said, pictures soon.
Exams are going alright; I'm nervous for African History on Thursday. We'll see. I just want to be done with schooool.
THAT'S IT for the excitement of this week.
I'm meeting with a lady from the Sierra Club tomorrow to discuss their campaign for NATIONAL LEGISLATION ON GLOBAL WARMING WITH OBAMA'S A
I am so, so excited. Maybe I'll get to go to DC. AND MEET BARACK OBAMA. I'm so excited. I mean I probably won't get to go to DC or meet Obama, but it's still awesome to be involved in something so big. I hope that it works out. I'm just really excited.
In other news, I finished my tree sculpture today. I'll post pictures soon. I don't really like it, but other people do, so yeah. It's a tree inside a nest, instead of a nest inside a tree! Like I said, pictures soon.
Exams are going alright; I'm nervous for African History on Thursday. We'll see. I just want to be done with schooool.
THAT'S IT for the excitement of this week.
Well. Someone from the Sierra Club called me this afternoon, essentially to say that they're based in Lansing but a woman in Holland is working on protesting the funds for 8 new coal mines in Michigan or something on behalf of the Sierra Club, and would I be more interested in that because that's closer to me, so I said sure, and she said she'd pass my name and info along to "Jan" and then email me as well with Jan's information. So that's cool.
And then I got another email from the Sierra Club, but from a different lady, who said that most of the work that needs to be done is with membership services, calling people and mailings and such, and would I be interested in that, and if so we can set up a time to meet and fill out paperwork. So that's cool too. But not quite as interesting as coal mine protesting.
And I'm also thinking that there's been some miscommunication somewhere, because two people contacted me about two different things. In any case, I emailed 3 E's Initiative this morning, and I'm stopping by WMEAC tomorrow afternoon. So.
Student Art Show opened tonight! It was very exciting to see my stuff hanging on the wall. I even talked to the Gallery Director or whatever about how and why he chose to hang my stuff in particular places. My shoes were on a pedestal in the main room, my print was in the back room amongst some other small pictures, and my large drawing was all by itself on a horizontal wall in the back room, kind of an intimate space, which was appropriate for the drawing. Pictures!
So there they are, my artworks. The large drawing is quite intimate, I suppose. I'm sorry if it makes any of my readers... worry. They needn't be.
Paxton's dad and his sister Avril came for the opening, which I thought was very nice. Paxton's dad was just thrilled, snapping pictures everywhere. It was a lot of fun.
And then I got another email from the Sierra Club, but from a different lady, who said that most of the work that needs to be done is with membership services, calling people and mailings and such, and would I be interested in that, and if so we can set up a time to meet and fill out paperwork. So that's cool too. But not quite as interesting as coal mine protesting.
And I'm also thinking that there's been some miscommunication somewhere, because two people contacted me about two different things. In any case, I emailed 3 E's Initiative this morning, and I'm stopping by WMEAC tomorrow afternoon. So.
Student Art Show opened tonight! It was very exciting to see my stuff hanging on the wall. I even talked to the Gallery Director or whatever about how and why he chose to hang my stuff in particular places. My shoes were on a pedestal in the main room, my print was in the back room amongst some other small pictures, and my large drawing was all by itself on a horizontal wall in the back room, kind of an intimate space, which was appropriate for the drawing. Pictures!
So there they are, my artworks. The large drawing is quite intimate, I suppose. I'm sorry if it makes any of my readers... worry. They needn't be.
Paxton's dad and his sister Avril came for the opening, which I thought was very nice. Paxton's dad was just thrilled, snapping pictures everywhere. It was a lot of fun.
Mine was a good one. I made homemade mashed potatoes and fresh cranberry sauce, watched some Planet Earth with my little brother, and just generally enjoyed the day with my family.
I was disappointed to hear about the shopping casualties today; I'm sad for American culture, that we've taken it this far.
I've had way too much homework to do this weekend, but tonight I'm feeling better about it. I've gotten a lot done in the last two days, so it feels more manageable tonight.
We're going to get our Christmas tree tomorrow! Should be fun. We're watching European Vacation tonight, and Christmas Vacation tomorrow night.
Woohoo!
I was disappointed to hear about the shopping casualties today; I'm sad for American culture, that we've taken it this far.
I've had way too much homework to do this weekend, but tonight I'm feeling better about it. I've gotten a lot done in the last two days, so it feels more manageable tonight.
We're going to get our Christmas tree tomorrow! Should be fun. We're watching European Vacation tonight, and Christmas Vacation tomorrow night.
Woohoo!
So. We got our Christmas tree. It was awesome.
Last night at 1, dressed all in black and feeling sneaky, we went over to the sculpture studio and picked up some tools.
Thennn we went over to the tree we'd picked out the other day. It turned out to be taller and thinner than we had remembered, haha. But Keri climbed it anyway, which was impressive. Anna has some pictures of her in the tree, but hasn't emailed them yet. So I'll post them soon!
Keri tried to saw it down with a little handsaw, but... she broke the saw, haha. Well, the blade just came off, but either way we were still kind of wondering what to do, laughing and standing around, and then Keri just grabbed the top of the tree and jumped off, pulling it down with her, haha. It was amazing. We got a huge chunk of tree, it just cracked right off, so funny. It was a big jump, too! At least 8 feet or so. But Keri was fine.
So all the sudden Keri was standing on the ground holding this huge chunk of tree, and we all just looked at each other, completely shocked that it had happened, and Keri was like "Everybody get in the car!" so we ran over to my car, laughing like crazy, and somehow they all fit into my backseat with this tree.
So we were sitting there laughing so hard, and then Anna was like wait we need a picture of the tree wihout the top! So we pulled around into the parking lot and got a picture, not even making a good getaway, haha. The whole time we were worried that someone would see us cutting off the top of this tree -- it was right behind an academic building -- but we ended up just not being sneaky at all, haha. Keri ripped it down, so it made a really loud noise, and then we were all laughing really loud, and then we didn't even leave right away, we just drove into the parking lot to take a picture, and THEN we just drove into the next parking lot over because we needed to return the tools.
I went alone into DePree to return the tools. Since Keri had ripped the tree down, the stump was all uneven, so we needed to trim it up a bit more. But the little saw was broken (and wasn't working even when it wasn't broken), so I had to get a bigger saw while I was in there. But I hadn't thought about how to smuggle it out of the building... so I had to hide this huge saw under my jacket, and the handle was sticking out of the top so I had to wrap my scarf around it, haha. Everybody laughed a lot when I tried to get back in the car because I couldn't sit down, I had to lean my head way back because the saw was so long... You can kind of see part of the handle through my scarf in this picture, lol.
Anyway, we got it back to the apartment alright, and then were like, crap we don't have a tree stand. So we had to make one out of... a plant pot and cup from the kitchen and a wire hanger. We got it fixed in the end though! Emilie and I are pro art students.
Annnd we decorated it and took a family picture.
That's kind of a silly one, but Anna's bringing us all Christmas sweaters from her house and we're going to take a better one. I think the tree looks really cool. I made a star last night for it too, which looks good. We're so proud of our little Charlie Brown tree! I love it.
It was fabulous! Such an adventure.
Edit:
Pics of Keri in the tree:
Emilie handing the saw up to Keri ^
She blends right in!
Last night at 1, dressed all in black and feeling sneaky, we went over to the sculpture studio and picked up some tools.
Thennn we went over to the tree we'd picked out the other day. It turned out to be taller and thinner than we had remembered, haha. But Keri climbed it anyway, which was impressive. Anna has some pictures of her in the tree, but hasn't emailed them yet. So I'll post them soon!
Keri tried to saw it down with a little handsaw, but... she broke the saw, haha. Well, the blade just came off, but either way we were still kind of wondering what to do, laughing and standing around, and then Keri just grabbed the top of the tree and jumped off, pulling it down with her, haha. It was amazing. We got a huge chunk of tree, it just cracked right off, so funny. It was a big jump, too! At least 8 feet or so. But Keri was fine.
So all the sudden Keri was standing on the ground holding this huge chunk of tree, and we all just looked at each other, completely shocked that it had happened, and Keri was like "Everybody get in the car!" so we ran over to my car, laughing like crazy, and somehow they all fit into my backseat with this tree.
So we were sitting there laughing so hard, and then Anna was like wait we need a picture of the tree wihout the top! So we pulled around into the parking lot and got a picture, not even making a good getaway, haha. The whole time we were worried that someone would see us cutting off the top of this tree -- it was right behind an academic building -- but we ended up just not being sneaky at all, haha. Keri ripped it down, so it made a really loud noise, and then we were all laughing really loud, and then we didn't even leave right away, we just drove into the parking lot to take a picture, and THEN we just drove into the next parking lot over because we needed to return the tools.
I went alone into DePree to return the tools. Since Keri had ripped the tree down, the stump was all uneven, so we needed to trim it up a bit more. But the little saw was broken (and wasn't working even when it wasn't broken), so I had to get a bigger saw while I was in there. But I hadn't thought about how to smuggle it out of the building... so I had to hide this huge saw under my jacket, and the handle was sticking out of the top so I had to wrap my scarf around it, haha. Everybody laughed a lot when I tried to get back in the car because I couldn't sit down, I had to lean my head way back because the saw was so long... You can kind of see part of the handle through my scarf in this picture, lol.
Anyway, we got it back to the apartment alright, and then were like, crap we don't have a tree stand. So we had to make one out of... a plant pot and cup from the kitchen and a wire hanger. We got it fixed in the end though! Emilie and I are pro art students.
Annnd we decorated it and took a family picture.
That's kind of a silly one, but Anna's bringing us all Christmas sweaters from her house and we're going to take a better one. I think the tree looks really cool. I made a star last night for it too, which looks good. We're so proud of our little Charlie Brown tree! I love it.
It was fabulous! Such an adventure.
Edit:
Pics of Keri in the tree:
Emilie handing the saw up to Keri ^
She blends right in!
ALL of my pieces got in! I'm very excited. I'll definitely be taking some pictures and posting them. I am SO excited.
I'm shocked that my shoes got in, to be honest. I mean they're cool, but definitely not one of my best works. But mine were only like... 1 of 3 pairs to get in, and our whole class had to submit their shoes. So that's really cool.
Oh it's just exciting.
Completely unrelated: I watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 yesterday. I know it's a really girly movie, and I used to make fun of the Sisterhood movies, but I really enjoyed it. Good movie. Comfort-y, perfect for a snowy, lounge-y Sunday.
Other unrelated things, not as fun:
I read an article at work yesterday about the "hipster" phenomenon. Here's a link to it: http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hip
Another depressing thing: we watched a documentary in African History today about... African nationalism, post-colonialism, and various independence movements, and it was just so sad. Africa just... I dunno. Europeans, Americans, the Soviets, just fucked it all up. A beautiful continent, with so much potential, variety of people and wonderful traditions, and we took their wealth, arbitrarily made them into "nations", messed around with who we thought their leaders should be... and now we wonder why almost the entire continent is embroiled in civil war. Sigh. I wanted to cry.
I should talk to Professor M'bayo about helping him with research, if he needs it. I'd like to know more.
BUT anyway. Despite the world's many injustices, my pieces got into the show. I don't want to end on a bad note. YAY for art! ...
I'm shocked that my shoes got in, to be honest. I mean they're cool, but definitely not one of my best works. But mine were only like... 1 of 3 pairs to get in, and our whole class had to submit their shoes. So that's really cool.
Oh it's just exciting.
Completely unrelated: I watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 yesterday. I know it's a really girly movie, and I used to make fun of the Sisterhood movies, but I really enjoyed it. Good movie. Comfort-y, perfect for a snowy, lounge-y Sunday.
Other unrelated things, not as fun:
I read an article at work yesterday about the "hipster" phenomenon. Here's a link to it: http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/79/hip
Another depressing thing: we watched a documentary in African History today about... African nationalism, post-colonialism, and various independence movements, and it was just so sad. Africa just... I dunno. Europeans, Americans, the Soviets, just fucked it all up. A beautiful continent, with so much potential, variety of people and wonderful traditions, and we took their wealth, arbitrarily made them into "nations", messed around with who we thought their leaders should be... and now we wonder why almost the entire continent is embroiled in civil war. Sigh. I wanted to cry.
I should talk to Professor M'bayo about helping him with research, if he needs it. I'd like to know more.
BUT anyway. Despite the world's many injustices, my pieces got into the show. I don't want to end on a bad note. YAY for art! ...
I submitted my pieces for the student show this morning. And I'm really nervous about them! I hadn't anticipated this part of it; I just thought I'd submit them and I'd be done. But no, I'm nervous. There are a ton of pieces, and a lot of really good ones. I just don't know. I'd be sad if none of them got in. I guess we find out by this afternoon; the juror is giving a gallery talk at 3? Or 4:30? I'm not sure. Either way I'll stop by after class and find out. Rahh!
Other exciting news: our apartment Christmas tree. We don't have one yet, but we have one picked out. On Saturday we were going to go Christmas tree shopping, but none of us really wanted to drive anywhere or spend money, so instead we did some recon on Hope's campus. Hope has a ton of pine trees, right? And we just want a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, so we're thinking we can just cut the top off one instead of taking the whole tree. So we did some scouting and took some pictures, and found one that we can cut the top off without it being TOO noticeable. And it'll be a great little tree. I already bought some ornaments and lights for it, haha. It was a fun little excursion, too; it was amusing to be shopping for a Christmas tree in the middle of campus. Instead of being out in a farm somewhere, we were like... next to dorms and parking lots, examining and critiquing different trees.
We were planning to go out after midnight sometime this past weekend to get it -- Keri assured us all that she could definitely climb it -- but our schedules haven't synced up yet. I think we should definitely get it before Thanksgiving though. I'm just really excited about it.
That's about all, I think. Just nervous about the show, and excited for a Christmas tree! Also, Paxton still is not sure if he's coming home with me for Thanksgiving... so... I'm just anxious to hear his decision on that too.
Okay bye!
Other exciting news: our apartment Christmas tree. We don't have one yet, but we have one picked out. On Saturday we were going to go Christmas tree shopping, but none of us really wanted to drive anywhere or spend money, so instead we did some recon on Hope's campus. Hope has a ton of pine trees, right? And we just want a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, so we're thinking we can just cut the top off one instead of taking the whole tree. So we did some scouting and took some pictures, and found one that we can cut the top off without it being TOO noticeable. And it'll be a great little tree. I already bought some ornaments and lights for it, haha. It was a fun little excursion, too; it was amusing to be shopping for a Christmas tree in the middle of campus. Instead of being out in a farm somewhere, we were like... next to dorms and parking lots, examining and critiquing different trees.
We were planning to go out after midnight sometime this past weekend to get it -- Keri assured us all that she could definitely climb it -- but our schedules haven't synced up yet. I think we should definitely get it before Thanksgiving though. I'm just really excited about it.
That's about all, I think. Just nervous about the show, and excited for a Christmas tree! Also, Paxton still is not sure if he's coming home with me for Thanksgiving... so... I'm just anxious to hear his decision on that too.
Okay bye!
I got an email back from the Sierra Club! How exciting. She said she's glad that I'm interested, and will contact me by the end of the week to either set up an interview or discuss internship options. So that's cool; I hope I hear back from her again soon.
I'm entering some things into the Juried Student Art Show, which is also exciting. I've never entered any of my art into a show before, mostly because I never felt like I had anything good enough to enter. But I figured that it's my senior year, and I should do it. And I want to. So I'm entering my favorite print from printmaking, my final drawing from figure drawing, and my shoe project from sculpture. I don't really like the shoes, but Billy is making us all enter. I thought my carboard pig was a lot cooler, but oh well. It'd be way to difficult to enter; I'd have to get it back from Paxton's house and then... fit it through the gallery door, haha. So.
My shoes turned out well, they just... aren't amazing. I should take pictures of them to post here. I mean I like them, but they're not like... incredible, or my favorite thing. We'll see how they do, though.
I decided that one of my favorite things (so far) about entering art into a show is that you get to name your pieces. Naming your stuff for a class critique really isn't necessary, but it's fun to come up with names, because I think it says a lot about the piece. The name of my drawing is "Hide and Seek", my print is called "Glosoli", and my shoes are "Nomis Luap".
When I picked up my drawing from professor Sullivan last night -- she had been holding onto it for me because it's so big -- she said I should definitely enter it, that it's an incredible drawing. So that made me feel good. AND apparently the juror is... a drawer. Like his focus, his art, is all drawings. So if he likes my drawing, that'll really be a compliment, because that's his thing, you know?
I'm just excited.
In other news, I've discovered that I have a ton of stuff to do for the end of the semester. I have a 25-page paper to finish and edit for senior seminar, as well as a short self-evaluation. I have my final sculpture project, which has to involve motion somehow and I so far have... no idea what I'm going to do for it. I have a presentation and paper for Anthropology, and a paper and a book to read for African history. And all of this is in the next two weeks! Crazy. I've been reading and writing a lot, which I guess is what school is, but... yeah. Hopefully Thanksgiving break will be a little relaxing.
I think that's about all that's been going on with me lately. End of study break; back to research!
I'm entering some things into the Juried Student Art Show, which is also exciting. I've never entered any of my art into a show before, mostly because I never felt like I had anything good enough to enter. But I figured that it's my senior year, and I should do it. And I want to. So I'm entering my favorite print from printmaking, my final drawing from figure drawing, and my shoe project from sculpture. I don't really like the shoes, but Billy is making us all enter. I thought my carboard pig was a lot cooler, but oh well. It'd be way to difficult to enter; I'd have to get it back from Paxton's house and then... fit it through the gallery door, haha. So.
My shoes turned out well, they just... aren't amazing. I should take pictures of them to post here. I mean I like them, but they're not like... incredible, or my favorite thing. We'll see how they do, though.
I decided that one of my favorite things (so far) about entering art into a show is that you get to name your pieces. Naming your stuff for a class critique really isn't necessary, but it's fun to come up with names, because I think it says a lot about the piece. The name of my drawing is "Hide and Seek", my print is called "Glosoli", and my shoes are "Nomis Luap".
When I picked up my drawing from professor Sullivan last night -- she had been holding onto it for me because it's so big -- she said I should definitely enter it, that it's an incredible drawing. So that made me feel good. AND apparently the juror is... a drawer. Like his focus, his art, is all drawings. So if he likes my drawing, that'll really be a compliment, because that's his thing, you know?
I'm just excited.
In other news, I've discovered that I have a ton of stuff to do for the end of the semester. I have a 25-page paper to finish and edit for senior seminar, as well as a short self-evaluation. I have my final sculpture project, which has to involve motion somehow and I so far have... no idea what I'm going to do for it. I have a presentation and paper for Anthropology, and a paper and a book to read for African history. And all of this is in the next two weeks! Crazy. I've been reading and writing a lot, which I guess is what school is, but... yeah. Hopefully Thanksgiving break will be a little relaxing.
I think that's about all that's been going on with me lately. End of study break; back to research!
Well I went to class today, and so far feel fine. In my anthro class, the prof asked people to raise their hands if they'd gotten the plague, and out of about 30 students, only 1 guy raised his hand. So that made me feel better, marginally.
In other news, I recently emailed the Sierra Club about an internship with them. I emailed them on Friday, and still haven't received an answer. I'm not quite sure what to do, but I'm a little concerned.
I think that's about all.
In other news, I recently emailed the Sierra Club about an internship with them. I emailed them on Friday, and still haven't received an answer. I'm not quite sure what to do, but I'm a little concerned.
I think that's about all.
It's spread to over 420 people now, and they're planning to open campus tomorrow morning and have classes. Everyone in my apartment and Paxton's apartment is still norovirus-free, but we're nervous about coming into contact with all of those recently-sick people who are probably still contagious tomorrow in our classes. We're thinking (hoping?) that Hope will cancel class Thursday or Friday again, as the Health Department has warned that there will almost certainly be a second round of outbreaks.
Sigh.
I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was worried I'd shit myself in my sleep, and then what would I do?
They have also said that norovirus is one of few viruses that you don't develop an immunity to -- in other words, you could have it Saturday night and get it again on Monday or Tuesday. I find this hard to believe. I know it's not like the chicken pox, where you can only get it once in your lifetime (though that would be awesome), but even with colds (rhinoviruses) you're immune for at least a short period of time, like a week or two. It'd be terrible to have norovirus for like two weeks straight, or even twice in a week. That's the best part about being sick -- knowing afterward that you are immune for a little while. I am never as relaxed as I am the day after I've been ill; I never sleep so well. But damn norovirus, the super virus, doesn't even let you have that silver lining.
Sigh. Again.
Oh well, at least this break has been nice. I would say that it's been relaxing, because we've just watched movies and TV and hung out, but it hasn't really been THAT relaxing, because anxiety about norovirus is just hanging in the air. Kind of paradoxical, surreal, just a weird weird past few days.
I'ma go watch some more Planet Earth.
Sigh.
I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was worried I'd shit myself in my sleep, and then what would I do?
They have also said that norovirus is one of few viruses that you don't develop an immunity to -- in other words, you could have it Saturday night and get it again on Monday or Tuesday. I find this hard to believe. I know it's not like the chicken pox, where you can only get it once in your lifetime (though that would be awesome), but even with colds (rhinoviruses) you're immune for at least a short period of time, like a week or two. It'd be terrible to have norovirus for like two weeks straight, or even twice in a week. That's the best part about being sick -- knowing afterward that you are immune for a little while. I am never as relaxed as I am the day after I've been ill; I never sleep so well. But damn norovirus, the super virus, doesn't even let you have that silver lining.
Sigh. Again.
Oh well, at least this break has been nice. I would say that it's been relaxing, because we've just watched movies and TV and hung out, but it hasn't really been THAT relaxing, because anxiety about norovirus is just hanging in the air. Kind of paradoxical, surreal, just a weird weird past few days.
I'ma go watch some more Planet Earth.
Well. Hope College is currently the source of a plague, a plague called norovirus.
It causes acute gastroenteritis -- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever. Over 200 students have contracted it since Thursday morning, and the campus is closed until Tuesday morning, maybe longer. We've been told not to leave our places of residence, to wash our hands frequently, and to disinfect everything with special disinfectant because normal disinfectant doesn't work for norovirus.
I'm thrilled, just thrilled.
I hate to have the stomach flu or any similar symptoms, as anyone who knows me knows, and am a bit of a hypochondriac as well. This virus is testing my nerves to an extent that I've never experienced before. There's almost no "in the clear" period because symptoms might not show for up to 48 hours after exposure, and there's pretty much a guaranteed chance of exposure because people who have had it are contagious for three days after they feel better. So I'm basically on track to be anxious for the next 14 days, until no one on Hope's campus is sick or has been sick in the last three days.
I worked Thursday afternoon, and then basically hid out in my apartment until tonight, when I had to work again. Working at LJ's is also very, very stressful right now. We're only using disposable cups so we don't have to wash dishes and possibly catch the virus, and we've been told to wash our hands after every customer we serve or item of money we handle. I'm terrified, and my hands are raw.
No one in our apartment is sick (yet), and we've all been trying to be very careful. My two housemates have joined me watching TV for the last few days, hardly leaving the apartment, so we're trying to avoid it as much as possible. Paxton's apartment is also clean, as is my housemate's boyfriend's apartment. The only person I know who has gotten sick is Arin, who also works at LJ's, and that was on Thursday night, but I saw him Thursday afternoon, but it's been 48 hours so I think I'm in the clear from his exposure. Now I just get to worry about all the people I came into contact with tonight at work, and the people I will come into contact with tomorrow night at work. Siiigh.
Like I said, I'm terrified. I have a trash can next to my bed at night, and I'm not sleeping well. The next two weeks could not pass quickly enough.
It causes acute gastroenteritis -- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever. Over 200 students have contracted it since Thursday morning, and the campus is closed until Tuesday morning, maybe longer. We've been told not to leave our places of residence, to wash our hands frequently, and to disinfect everything with special disinfectant because normal disinfectant doesn't work for norovirus.
I'm thrilled, just thrilled.
I hate to have the stomach flu or any similar symptoms, as anyone who knows me knows, and am a bit of a hypochondriac as well. This virus is testing my nerves to an extent that I've never experienced before. There's almost no "in the clear" period because symptoms might not show for up to 48 hours after exposure, and there's pretty much a guaranteed chance of exposure because people who have had it are contagious for three days after they feel better. So I'm basically on track to be anxious for the next 14 days, until no one on Hope's campus is sick or has been sick in the last three days.
I worked Thursday afternoon, and then basically hid out in my apartment until tonight, when I had to work again. Working at LJ's is also very, very stressful right now. We're only using disposable cups so we don't have to wash dishes and possibly catch the virus, and we've been told to wash our hands after every customer we serve or item of money we handle. I'm terrified, and my hands are raw.
No one in our apartment is sick (yet), and we've all been trying to be very careful. My two housemates have joined me watching TV for the last few days, hardly leaving the apartment, so we're trying to avoid it as much as possible. Paxton's apartment is also clean, as is my housemate's boyfriend's apartment. The only person I know who has gotten sick is Arin, who also works at LJ's, and that was on Thursday night, but I saw him Thursday afternoon, but it's been 48 hours so I think I'm in the clear from his exposure. Now I just get to worry about all the people I came into contact with tonight at work, and the people I will come into contact with tomorrow night at work. Siiigh.
Like I said, I'm terrified. I have a trash can next to my bed at night, and I'm not sleeping well. The next two weeks could not pass quickly enough.
has restored my hope for American politics. I don't feel the least bit cynical right now, and I can't wait to see what will happen in the next four years. Right now, I am proud to be American. As I tend to be anti-patriotic, that says a lot. Change is coming!
Oh my. Everything is going just how I want it to!
Proposition 1 in Michigan for medicinal marijuana passed. Who would have thought? It was even a wide margin, like 60% to 40%. Awesome. Way to be liberal, Michigan.
Proposition 2 in Michigan regarding stem cell research also passed. People thought it wouldn't, and it was close, but it did.
Ottawa County's ban on alcohol on Sundays was repealed! We can buy beer and wine on Sundays now, not just hard liquor. Lulz.
AND...
Barack Obama is winning, as of this time. And it's not even really a close race, so I'm thinking he's got it in the bag. Fingers crossed. (And he won Ohio, so I feel good about that.)
Proposition 1 in Michigan for medicinal marijuana passed. Who would have thought? It was even a wide margin, like 60% to 40%. Awesome. Way to be liberal, Michigan.
Proposition 2 in Michigan regarding stem cell research also passed. People thought it wouldn't, and it was close, but it did.
Ottawa County's ban on alcohol on Sundays was repealed! We can buy beer and wine on Sundays now, not just hard liquor. Lulz.
AND...
Barack Obama is winning, as of this time. And it's not even really a close race, so I'm thinking he's got it in the bag. Fingers crossed. (And he won Ohio, so I feel good about that.)
And I'm nervous.
Come on, American people, don't be stupid.
There's a 16 hour House marathon today on USA that I plan to use as distraction, among other things.
Unrelated material: my shoes (latest sculpture project) are looking good. I bought a pair of white heels from Goodwill, cut off the straps, and have been gluing gold beaded ribbon on them. I'm planning to spray paint them gold as well, and glue "diamonds" on the soles; I'm aiming for them to be outrageously opulent, and so far, they're looking really cool. Also, they've been the most cooperative of my projects so far, so that's exciting. Not too much has gone wrong!
That's about all. GO VOTE.
Come on, American people, don't be stupid.
There's a 16 hour House marathon today on USA that I plan to use as distraction, among other things.
Unrelated material: my shoes (latest sculpture project) are looking good. I bought a pair of white heels from Goodwill, cut off the straps, and have been gluing gold beaded ribbon on them. I'm planning to spray paint them gold as well, and glue "diamonds" on the soles; I'm aiming for them to be outrageously opulent, and so far, they're looking really cool. Also, they've been the most cooperative of my projects so far, so that's exciting. Not too much has gone wrong!
That's about all. GO VOTE.
It's been a little while since I've updated, but there hasn't been much to tell!
Last Tuesday was National Chocolate Day, so our apartment had a fondue (and wine) party. We had a few other people over too, and it was a lot of fun. Someone has pictures, but not me. We got a few pictures of the four of us who live in our apartment, too, so we're going to get those printed and hung up in the apt somewhere. I really like the girls I live with.
On Friday I met with Ken Freestone to talk about environmental internship things. It turns out that he's the perfect person to talk to if you need more information on this topic; his job is to be a connection point for as many environmental organizations in West Michigan as he can. He literally just networks all day with people, so he was incredibly helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I was really nervous about the interview beforehand, but it turned out just fine. He's a nice guy, and like I said, he gave me a lot of useful information -- specific organizations that would interest me and the names of people I should talk to at those organizations. And I gave him a copy of my resume. I'm excited about it, but now comes another round of contacting people, so I have to get on that.
Friday night was Halloween, so a few of us from LJ's (plus Paxton) went out downtown. It wasn't anything exciting, just a typical night out, except in costume. I took advantage of my CVCA wardrobe and was a schoolgirl, and Paxton wore a tie. It was cheap! I'll try to post pictures soon; they're on Paxton's camera.
One of my interesting projects this week was to research my family tree. It was for an Anthropology lab exercise, but it turned out to be entirely absorbing. I worked on it for about four hours Wednesday night and managed to get... not much done in terms of the lab exercise. I just kept getting sidetracked with other information that I found about my ancestors. I found the name of the man who first came to America from Yorkshire on my dad's side, and discovered that I'm only a fifth-generation German immigrant on my mother's side, which isn't really that long ago. I also have ancestors from Luxembourg and Scotland. I mean the family tree was really something I've always wanted to look into, and now I have one that goes back pretty far. It was a good project.
I'm a little worried about getting work off Thanksgiving weekend; 4 other people at work requested it off as well, which I guess isn't surprising. Hopefully I'll get a few days off at least.
Also, I feel a bit silly this morning because... I forgot about daylight savings' time, haha. So I'm up an hour early! I really could have used the extra hour of sleep, too; I worked last night until close and then have to work at 9 this morning. Anyway, so I decided to post here with my extra hour of time. It's kind of nice, it actually feels like an extra hour instead of just sleeping through it. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.
Off to finish getting ready for work!
Last Tuesday was National Chocolate Day, so our apartment had a fondue (and wine) party. We had a few other people over too, and it was a lot of fun. Someone has pictures, but not me. We got a few pictures of the four of us who live in our apartment, too, so we're going to get those printed and hung up in the apt somewhere. I really like the girls I live with.
On Friday I met with Ken Freestone to talk about environmental internship things. It turns out that he's the perfect person to talk to if you need more information on this topic; his job is to be a connection point for as many environmental organizations in West Michigan as he can. He literally just networks all day with people, so he was incredibly helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I was really nervous about the interview beforehand, but it turned out just fine. He's a nice guy, and like I said, he gave me a lot of useful information -- specific organizations that would interest me and the names of people I should talk to at those organizations. And I gave him a copy of my resume. I'm excited about it, but now comes another round of contacting people, so I have to get on that.
Friday night was Halloween, so a few of us from LJ's (plus Paxton) went out downtown. It wasn't anything exciting, just a typical night out, except in costume. I took advantage of my CVCA wardrobe and was a schoolgirl, and Paxton wore a tie. It was cheap! I'll try to post pictures soon; they're on Paxton's camera.
One of my interesting projects this week was to research my family tree. It was for an Anthropology lab exercise, but it turned out to be entirely absorbing. I worked on it for about four hours Wednesday night and managed to get... not much done in terms of the lab exercise. I just kept getting sidetracked with other information that I found about my ancestors. I found the name of the man who first came to America from Yorkshire on my dad's side, and discovered that I'm only a fifth-generation German immigrant on my mother's side, which isn't really that long ago. I also have ancestors from Luxembourg and Scotland. I mean the family tree was really something I've always wanted to look into, and now I have one that goes back pretty far. It was a good project.
I'm a little worried about getting work off Thanksgiving weekend; 4 other people at work requested it off as well, which I guess isn't surprising. Hopefully I'll get a few days off at least.
Also, I feel a bit silly this morning because... I forgot about daylight savings' time, haha. So I'm up an hour early! I really could have used the extra hour of sleep, too; I worked last night until close and then have to work at 9 this morning. Anyway, so I decided to post here with my extra hour of time. It's kind of nice, it actually feels like an extra hour instead of just sleeping through it. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.
Off to finish getting ready for work!
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