Mohner

Crunch Week

2010-05-13T21:03:00.004-04:00

Three classes, two take-home finals, two in-class exams and one final to go. If all goes as planned, my in-class exams should be done by 3:15 p.m. on Monday, and I should be at home no later than 9:30 p.m. or 10:00 p.m., depending on when I'm being picked up. Crunch Week is here yet again, and I'm almost a junior.

Yesterday I interviewed for one of the positions as editor of The Albrightian. I'm quite content with the way the interview went, and I'm very excited about the newspaper's potential for next year. While I very much hope I am hired for the position, I will nevertheless continue to be active.

T-8 Classes

2010-05-04T20:50:00.003-04:00

The running has been going well. Today, Jack and I jogged a mile in 10.23 minutes and then did seven laps in 6.30 minutes.

My tutee failed to show up today.

I learned, on Friday, that ENG283 (War Correspondence), the class that I really, really, reeeeally was excited about, has been cancelled due to low registration. Guess how many students registered. Two. Including me. I was absolutely devastated and frustrated beyond words on Friday -- after a great deal of being devastated and frustrated, I ran to Dr. Schad's office (fortunately, he was in for office hours), and he suggested that I might still be able to take the course as an independent study. I contacted my English advisor, Dr. Lehman, who in turn contacted the ENG283 professor. Unfortunately, there's no chance of ENG283 being offered even as an independent study, so I'm just going to ask the professor if she can give me the list of materials she intended on using. In its stead, I've registered for REL143 -- New Testament.

Thanks, Albright

2010-04-30T14:55:00.003-04:00

I just received an e-mail stating that War Correspondence "has been cancelled due to low enrollment."

Needless to say, I'm rather upset. I was most looking forward to this course, especially as I hope to become a war correspondent. Apparently, Albright didn't feel the need to take that into consideration. It's lovely that the students here pay ~$40,000 (according to collegeboard.com -- I have a scholarship and therefore pay less, fortunately) and then are unable to take the courses they want.

Tutoring & The Albrightian

2010-04-29T18:09:00.005-04:00

Good news: I was hired as an Academic Learning Center tutor for next year (and the final two weeks of classes this semester). A student needed help in Islamic History, and Dr. Schad recommended me. I assumed I would only be tutoring Islamic History, but when I arrived at the interview, I learned that a tutor can assist in any class in which they've earned a B+ or higher, and my minimum grade for any class thus far has been a B+. So, starting next semester, I will be able to tutor Islamic History, Women in the Middle East, Contemporary Middle East, International Politics, Mass Communications & Society, Chinese 101, Chinese 102 and Chinese 201. I still need recommendations for the last five courses, since I only expected to need a recommendation for Dr. Schad's class. Nevertheless, I'm very excited and I pray I'll be successful.

Bad news: My second article was published in The Albrightian. It was a feature on the front page, about which I was excited. What I was not excited about were the two AP style errors that had been added when the editor reviewed the article. Also, it's obvious that there are two very different writing styles in the same article -- but no attribution -- so I can't add this to my portfolio.

In other news, Jack and I have begun a running regimen. Neither of us have gone running in at least a month, we both have shin splints, and Jack has some sort of tendon issue. I, on the other hand, once pulled my kneecaps out of the sockets because I ran too much and didn't strengthen all of my muscles.

525,600 Minutes (or Somewhere Thereabout)

2010-04-21T23:58:00.013-04:00

I basically skipped the entirety of my Sophomore year as far as blogging is concerned. Most likely due to the fact that I actually had some semblance of a life this past year. Actually, not really. I also forgot my password, closed my Hotmail account after it was hacked (and forgot that I used Hotmail to sign on Blogger) and then my hard drive crashed prior to finals week, so I lost my old laptop and with it, all of the passwords I had saved (although, apparently Blogger wasn't one of them).

In July, I started working for Vector Marketing. And then that was pretty much my summer.

In August, classes started again. I finished my third semester of a foreign language (unfortunately, it was also the last Mandarin class I was able to take, as 201 is the highest level at Albright), took an insane journalism course with Dr. Bekken (it was difficult, but I learned a lot and highly recommend him). I also completed my artsy requirement (I have no idea what the actual term is) by taking a digital media course. I learned how to create a Flash video and use Photoshop. And I rounded off the semester with Obama's Foreign Policy. Let's not go there.

In October, I started my own business as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. As of now, there's a "Senior" in front of "Independent." I really enjoy my work and the fact that it fits into my Albright schedule. Last night, I conducted a party with Sigma Kappa. Me + my Independent Sales Director + 40+ women. It was slightly insane, but it was a lot of fun.

The highlight of December was my laptop crashing.

And most of January was spent being lazy, since we have Interim at Albright and I didn't sign up for a class. Classes resumed at the end of January. I'm taking Changing Face of Human Disease (BIO125) with Dr. Kreider, Media History (ENG321) with Dr. Lehman, Honors Psychology (PSY100) with Dr. Heberle and The Contemporary Middle East (HIS283) with Dr. Schad. More on that later.

I actually spent Valentine's Day with someone in February. And I turned 20 in March, meaning I can no longer use the excuse of being a stupid teenager whenever I do something less-than-brilliant. Meaning that now my only excuse is sheer stupidity. On the upside, I wasn't ponded, and my birthday coincided with the last day of classes before Spring Break.

Somewhere along the way, I was elected Secretary for Model UN and was inducted into Sigma Tau Delta. I also signed up for an apartment in the Woods next year, along with some friends, so my banner is going to have to change at some point. Albright also stepped out of the Stone Age and installed wireless in Mohn (we're the pilot building -- next semester, the other residence halls will also have access). In other news, I also changed my major to History and Journalism -- apparently I was straight Poli Sci all along. My new advisors are Dr. Schad and Dr. Bekken.

April has been insane, mainly because I realized how close to May April happens to be (so close that it happens to be the month directly prior). I also scheduled my classes for next semester. I have: ENG283 (War Correspondence) with Dr. Strauss, ENG319 (Feature Writing) with Dr. Lehman, HIS151 (US 1585-1800) with Dr. Pankratz and PHI120 (Truth & Beauty) with Dr. Bellantoni. I'm psyched for War Correspondence, though I have no idea what to expect from Dr. Strauss. Feature Writing should be interesting. I can't believe I have to take a 100-level course in history, although I've never really studied that particular time period in depth, so hopefully it will be interesting. And I'm not a huge fan of philosophy, but Dr. Schad mentioned that beauty pertains to my job with Mary Kay, and I do need a philosophy course for my Humanities requirement, anyway (it was either that or New Testament, and I assumed I'd just be arguing with the professor, anyway, unless s/he happens to teach the New Testament like Dr. Schad teaches Islamic History).

Speaking of Dr. Schad, I just want to say that he is the primary reason I've stuck around Albright for as long as I have. He is the only professor (with the new exception of Dr. Bekken) who has ever met or exceeded my standards for a college professor.

My high school sophomore biology class was more difficult than my college sophomore biology class. And don't even get me started on a comparison to AP Chem.

Summer is less than a month away. The fam and I are spending a week in Bermuda in June and then four days at Walt Disney World with close-enough-to-be-family in August. The remainder of my summer will be spent babysitting and Mary Kay-ing.
In spite of the fact that I create my own English, I've been published in The Albrightian. Promise.

ISP!!!

2009-05-11T15:26:00.003-04:00

The past few weeks of my life have been a major blur and a ton of work. I can't believe I'll have finished my first year of college in two short weeks. It's crunch time, and unfortunately, I won't be studying at all this upcoming weekend. One of my friends is getting married, so I'm going home!
You know how you hear stories of people in their thirties (or maybe late twenties?), working and single, while all of their friends get married? It's happening. Except I'm nineteen and about twelve of my friends will be married by the end of this month.
Last Thursday and Friday was the Stand Up for Love demonstration, inspired by Judy Shepard's lecture and the premiere showing of Laramie Project. Despite my original involvement, I was not present either day.
I spoke with Dr. Schad yesterday about becoming my adviser for History, which I've decided to officially take on as a co-concentration (along with Political Science). Today, I spoke with Dr. Langran, whom I asked to become my adviser for Political Science. She suggested that I instead create an ISP (Individualized Study Program), which will also allow me to study Communications. I need five courses each in Poli. Sci. and History, and four in Comm. (I elected to take Comm. as my minor since Albright doesn't have a straight Journalism program). I definitely think I'm on the right track so far -- these are the classes I have either taken or will take next semester:
History (3): HIS211 (African History); HIS283 (Women in the Middle East); HIS255 (Islamic History)
Political Science (2): POS202 (International Politics); POS283 (Obama's Foreign Policy)
Communications (3): ENG102 (Writing About Literature, Honors); ENG250 (Mass Comm. & Society); ENG222 (Writing for the Mass Media)
I'm still contemplating adding Modern Middle East to next semester's schedule. I already have four classes scheduled, and I want to make sure that I am doing my absolute best in all of my classes (if my GPA ever drops below a 3.8 it'll be the end of the world). Actually, it'd probably be the end of the world if it dropped to a 3.8, considering how upset I was over last semester's 3.918. . . .

Pandemic Level 5!

2009-04-29T16:23:00.004-04:00

I woke up today with stiff joints and major body aches, and I bet it's not because I went to the gym for only the second time this whole semester. I probably have the flu. And not just any flu. Swine flu. And I've also been slightly nauseous and my throat's been a bit sore. It's probably not from drainage due to allergies. It's probably swine flu.

The WHO vamped up the alert level to five, "meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent" (MSNBC). And, "'all countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans,' [WHO Director General Margaret] Chan told reporters in Geneva. 'It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic.'" In a press conference, Chan said that "'it is important to take this very seriously' . . . but for the average person, the term 'pandemic' doesn't mean they're suddenly at greater risk.'"

Just how seriously have people been taking this swine flu? "Britain closed a school after a 12-year-old girl was found to have the disease. Egypt slaughtered all its pigs and the central African nation of Gabon became the latest nation to ban pork imports. . . . Cuba [is blocking] flights coming in from Mexico. And Asian nations greeted returning airport travelers with teams of medical workers and carts of disinfectants."
On a more personal level, this afternoon Dean Crance sent an e-mail regarding precautionary measures and what not, and there's information about hand washing at each table in the caf. And to think that my friends and I have been joking about this all along. I do understand the need to be concerned since so many are dying and the disease has spread, but no one seems to mention the fact that many of the people who have been diagnosed are getting better. It's not as though thousands of people die from the flu every year, after all.

It's a Perfect Day

2009-04-28T18:08:00.003-04:00

The past two weeks have been incredibly hectic. It all started when a friend posted a link to the Westboro Baptist Church's schedule as her Facebook status. Lo and behold, the WBC has decided to grace Albright with its presence. On April 30th, Judy Shepard is coming to speak as part of the Diversity Week program. May 1st is the opening night of the Laramie Project. Within a matter of minutes, a Facebook event was formed and within a matter of days, the "People Attending" list grew to over 300. The dean was consulted, Public Safety became aware, organization began to spread throughout the chaos.
The event, Stand Up For Love, has since been limited to Albright students and a few guests (including groups from Kutztown University, Millersville University, and Hamburg Area High School). Silent Witness has agreed to attend, and the Reading Police will also be there to ensure that things don't get out of hand. Thankfully, the WBC has been limited to a street corner off-campus, which is on the opposite side of the property from the theatre where the Laramie Project will be performed -- that should eliminate issues Friday night. On Thursday night, however, we will be in the same vicinity, but they won't be within our line of vision. I don't think that will matter anyway, as we've been policing ourselves pretty efficiently. The main cause for concern will be passersby . . . but we'll leave them to the police.

Last night I took advantage of the pool for only the second time since I arrived at Albright. On my way back to my dorm after the Albright AM meeting, I passed my friend Aubrey. She said she was going to the pool, so, naturally I decided to ditch my homework for another hour and went swimming with her and two other friends. Afterwards, Tyler came over and we started watching "The Bank Job" so that we could write a response paper on it for Mass Communications & Society (due Thursday, no less).

Today was an epically wonderful day. The temperature was in the high 80s - low 90s, and my only class (Mass Communications & Society) was over by 10:50. I spent most of the afternoon lounging behind Mohn, doing homework and getting more than my daily dose of melanin and vitamin K. Afterwards, I went to the gym and ran for a bit. I really need to do that more often. I think I've gotten more exercise in the last twenty-four hours than I have all semester. Last semester I was so disciplined in going to the gym in the mornings before class. . . .

Super-long weekends, here I come!

2009-04-14T14:52:00.005-04:00

I just finished scheduling with my adviser whom I love. Not only is she awesome, but she's also a military fiancee and a politics professor! Sweet.

CHI201: Chinese.
ART265: Computer Graphics and Art Design.
ENG222: Writing/Mass Media.
POS283: Obama's Foreign Policy.

First of all, I'm totally psyched about Chinese, which I love with a passion. And I'm excited about improving my skills in graphic design (although I've always used PSP8 and haven't even touched PS). Writing/Mass Media seems like it will be a really good class for me, considering that it's all about broadcast media and journalism. And I'm interested to see what I'll learn in POS283. Foreign Policy definitely interests me, and I know that it will be especially helpful for me to learn more about the current administration.

I can be on my way home for the weekend as early as 8:50 (though I promise I'd never be so cruel as to make my parents leave the house around 7:00 just to pick me up), which is nice. The only thing that annoys me (aside from having to be in class by 8:00 four out of five days of the week!), is the huge amount of time between classes on Monday and Wednesday, and the fact that I'm not going to have a chance to actually sit down and eat lunch with friends on Tuesday and Thursday. I'm going to be living on Grab 'n' Go. Yummm.

Five Weeks to Finals!

2009-04-13T21:44:00.002-04:00

Today I received an e-mail with the schedule for final exams.

M: Chinese (1-3)
T: None . . . of course.
W: Women in the Middle East (1-3)
TH: Mass Communications & Society (8-10)
F: Islamic History (1-3)

I wish Friday would have been my off-day . . . but then again, exam weeks are always hectic and stressful and I never see my friends anyway, because we're all up to our eyeballs in work and hiding in either the library, common rooms or our dorms.
And I'll never forget the fun I had the morning of my Chinese final last semester. I set my alarm for 7:15PM instead of AM and woke up around 7:50 for an 8:00 exam. I sprinted the whole way to Masters Hall, made the class just ahead of my teacher, and spent the first fifteen minutes trying to calm down and catch my breath while simultaneously working on the 25-page exam. Well, at least I made Dean's List.

Take Back the Night

2009-04-09T08:54:00.004-04:00

Last night I attended a Take Back the Night rally. Take Back the Night was originally started in 1978 in San Francisco after an anti-pornography conference (though some claim the first rally was almost a hundred years earlier). Women spoke out about their experiences of being adversely affected by pornography. Today, Take Back the Night rallies raise awareness for rape, human trafficking, violence against children, and domestic violence, among many other crimes.
Last night's rally was hosted by SHADOW (Students Helping Abate Destruction Of Women), and consisted of a candlelit vigil and walk from Mohn to Kachel Chapel in Teel Hall. Afterwards, several speakers discussed such topics as human trafficking, child sexual abuse, prevention of sexual violence and personal stories.
It was an incredibly emotional night for many of the people in attendance, and left a great impact on all (and I generalize because if it didn't leave an impact . . . well, I don't see how it couldn't).

Today is the long-anticipated day-before-Easter-Break. I decided to be a good student and not skip Chinese in favor of seeing my dogs (oh, and my parents and sister), although Thursdays are language lab days and we spend them watching Chinese films. This afternoon, we're finishing up "Joy Luck Club," of which I've only ever seen clips. And this morning, I need to remember to speak with Dr. Lehman about journalism.

I also need to e-mail Dr. King . . . yesterday I approached Dr. Schad with a question about some contradicting passages of shari'a law. He was perplexed, so I'm to ask Dr. King (who teaches Islam). I also e-mailed some of my friends . . . but the passages are in Arabic, and they're Persian. That's almost as fun as me asking Dr. Schad (who is fluent in Arabic) to translate some war propaganda . . . and then realizing that it was in Farsi.

Just kidding!

2009-04-08T10:16:00.002-04:00

I walked into Chinese this morning, and Josh immediately asked if Chinese was messing with my schedule, as apparently it's messing with everyone else's ("everyone else" being Chieko, Jess and Josh) schedule, as well. So, Josh asked Xiaomei if we could change the time for Chinese. And she said she will. So now, instead of having Chinese from 10:00 - 10:50 MWTHF, I have it from 8:00 - 8:50 MWTHF. Oh. My. Just kidding, I'll stick with the 10:00 class and I swear I won't complain.

The sad part is that less than a year ago I was dragging myself out of bed at 6:30 every morning. And this morning in particular I felt that 7:45 was entirely too early to be shutting off my alarm. Just when I was getting used to not having an eight o'clock class. . . . So, it seems that next semester, I'll be waking up at 7:15 every morning (at the absolute latest).

And, now that Chinese has been straightened out, I think this is my tentative schedule:

Chinese (CHI201)
Forensic Science (CHE103) *or* Honors Reproduction and Genetics (BIO190)
Forensic Science Lab (CHE103L) *or* Honors Reproduction and Genetics (BIO190L)
Feature Writing (ENG319) *or* Writing/Mass Media (ENG222)

If I skip science for next semester (which I would love to do, but I fear the longer I wait, the more I forget), I could also consider Free Expression (ENG320). I should also probably throw in a Political Science or History course . . . considering my major. I wouldn't mind taking Dr. Schad's Modern Middle East (HIS256), since I'd planned on taking that first semester and was unable to after my American Politics credit was transferred from Bucknell.
Also, I think I should take a science course because both of the ones I'm considering are level 100 (not that means anything to my science-challenged brain). The rest of my classes will be either 200 or 300 level.

Chinese is interfering with my scheduling plans.

2009-04-07T20:59:00.005-04:00

After class today I went to the gym for an hour. Instead of giving me a boost of energy, I've been tired all day. That would happen.

I signed up for an advising session with Dr. Freund, so I know what classes to schedule for next semester. I don't really even know what classes I need, but I made a list of classes I wouldn't mind/need to take. I think have six or seven starred; I can't take a few of them because they conflict with Chinese (which I love). I only need a minimum of four, but thankfully I won't be impeded by that rule anymore.
At least, that's what I'm thinking now.

Earlier, I e-mailed Dr. Lehman (my professor for Mass Communication & Society), and it was basically an epic flail for help in regards to journalism. I'm meeting with her after class on Thursday for a crash course in not failing, and she offered to review my article! I just need to calm down and stop stressing about this. This is my first real attempt at journalism, and I'm just a student. Besides, writing is what I love! Although I will feel absolutely horrible if this flops.

Crosswalk Concerns

2009-04-07T18:22:00.004-04:00

I sent the following e-mail to Mr. Gerken on Monday. The original was sent on Thursday.

Mr. Gerken,

In light of the recent accident at 13th & Union, I was wondering whether you'd received my e-mail. I've attached it below in case it failed to arrive in your Inbox.

Mr. Gerken,

This evening I was walking to the Campus Center, and as I approached the four-way intersection near Mohn Hall, I noticed a van approaching towards me from the Quad. As we reached the intersection, he slowed to a stop, so I stepped out onto the crosswalk. I was perhaps halfway to the other side of the road when he began to turn towards me. Once I was directly in front of the van, I was startled when the driver honked his horn and yelled, "Get out of the way!"
I would like you to know that I was very upset and angered by this incident, particularly since state law states that vehicles must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. However, this is not the first time this sort of occurrence has happened.
The day we had icy weather but no cancellations, I was honked at by a woman at the intersection near Public Safety. Although I was in the crosswalk, I must admit I was paying more attention to not falling down the dip in the sidewalk to cross the road than I was to whether or not cars were nearby.
Earlier in the year, also at the Mohn intersection, I was a few feet into the crosswalk when a woman driving down Richmond towards N. 13th St. stopped at the intersection. However, instead of waiting for me to cross, she turned onto Linden St. towards Mohn and I was forced to retreat onto the curb to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, several of my friends can also relate similar incidents.
I am writing because I am concerned for my safety (and that of my friends). I no longer feel safe crossing the streets on campus, and I feel that I should be concerned with more important things (like maintaining a high GPA). However, I realize that this is, in part, our responsibility to be alert and cautious.
I would like to know if anything could be done to deter people from running stop signs or not yielding at crosswalks. Would it be possible, perhaps, to have local police drive around campus once in a while? I feel that cop cars always immediately make people rethink their driving habits.

Thank you,
Betsy Gordon

--
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

This was his reply, sent today:

Hi Betsy,
Thank you for your email and your concern. I, too, am very concerned about peoples attitudes and actions regarding our students. As you have seen over the past few months, we were able to obtain pedestrian crosswalk signs. After Public Safety put those in the streets, we began receiving complaints from some of our neighbors which eventually wound up in the office of both the Mayor and local State Senator. I then was visited by a member of the City Police Department and the City Engineer who informed me that I had to present a plan for approval, prior to installing the signs. No one at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation where we obtained the signs ever told us that we needed any approval. Just today, we put together a plan and will be presenting it to the City. I have also requested that the City re-paint the lines on the crosswalks. I am going to make contact with the Police Department and request that their Officers spend more time in our area, specifically in the area of the crosswalks.
Again, thank you for your concerns and for taking the time to contact me. If you have any other suggestions or requests in the future, please don't hesitate to stop in and see me.

Mr. Gerken

I like the quote at the end of your email.

The neighbors were complaining? Most likely because it's the neighbors who drive irresponsibly and speed through intersections entirely too fast. If I were as poor of a driver as some of them are, I suppose I would hate to have glaring reminders that I'm breaking state law, too.
This is a complete outrage. Just Friday evening the friend of an Albright student was hospitalized following a hit-and-run at a crosswalk just off-campus.

Persistence

2009-04-07T11:51:00.006-04:00

After not receiving a phone call from the Daily Item for a week, I decided to take the initiative to call back and ask if they'd considered allowing me to cover an upcoming newsworthy (in my opinion) story. However, I was told that "if we wanted to cover that type of story, we'd probably just send one of our own [reporters]". As I am only a college freshman with no experience in journalism, I was hardly surprised by the editor's response. I was, however, surprised that the Daily Item is clearly not even considering covering this story. I then made a call to the Standard-Journal and was told to e-mail the editor. So, I'm still waiting to hear back from him. Even if he declines, I really hope that the Standard-Journal will at least send someone to cover the story.

[EDIT 6:30 PM]
The editor from the Standard-Journal e-mailed me back; I'm going to both cover the protest and play photographer! I'm both excited and nervous, having no journalistic experience . . . but that's what this is for, right? :]

That's Democracy.

2009-04-07T08:58:00.005-04:00

I failed to mention yesterday that, despite the fact that I won an uncontested election against myself, one of my good friends lost the election for President . . . to a girl who has hardly attended any meetings, but trails the current E-Board like a lost puppy. I was so shocked and upset that my friend lost that I didn't even say anything to her, and she left the meeting about twenty minutes afterward. I wish I would have said something to her. I find it ridiculous that, of the eleven members present at last night's meeting, quite a few of them were Seniors and shouldn't have voted in the first place. I had so been looking forward to having the best E-Board ever with my roommate and my other friend (and a guy that none of us really know).

On a lighter note, I think I've finally figured out the gist of what I'm going to write in my thesis. Also, yesterday before class, some of the other students and I were "negotiating" the terms of our thesis, and then approached Dr. Schad about it. Seven pages is now the approximate length, as opposed to ten. Let's hope I can write ten pages. . . .

Anime Society Secretary

2009-04-06T19:19:00.005-04:00

I decided to run for Secretary of the Anime Society. I ran against myself and now have the position. Did I mention that I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to anime? Thankfully, my everything-Japanese-loving roommate also ran against herself and is now the Treasurer.

Mid-Term Crisis

2009-04-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to wonder if Politics and Middle-Eastern Studies (aka History) is really my calling. While I have an A in Chinese (CHI102) and an A in Mass Communication and Society (ENG250), I have an A- in Islamic History (HIS255) and a B in Women in the Middle East (HIS283). I realize that my history classes are nearing the 300 level and I'm a freshman, but even last semester, my lowest letter grade was an A- (and that was in International Politics!) and my GPA was a 3.918. Am I simply being too unrelenting? I'm still above average. But my thesis in HIS283 is really causing me grief. On the other hand, I'd probably be just as upset if I thought the classes were super-easy.

And when it comes to Journalism, I called a local newspaper and requested to cover an upcoming story (a story which, before I called, they had no idea about). I called last week and have yet to hear back, so I'll call again tomorrow. If they reject me, I'll call the other local newspaper. I did, however, pray that if both newspapers reject me, I'm to consider that a sign from God that journalism is also not my calling (which, I later realized, was a bit hasty considering this is my first year of college). But if Political Science, History and Journalism are not my callings, then God help this Political Science/History/Journalism major!

It's Spring.

2009-04-03T23:03:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, we had some really insane weather. I always seem to be the last person to know, too, and I usually find out from my roommate either via text or Facebook (usually because she's letting me know she's spending the night at home instead of venturing out in the bad weather). No sooner had I received my roommate's message about bad weather than I looked out the window and noticed it was dark. Really dark. Scary dark. And then came the tornado warning, interrupting my regularly scheduled FOX News, and then the wind. Lots of wind. Strong wind. And then the hail, which I at first thought was rain. I ended up closing my blinds for fear that the hail would break the window. The sky was almost constantly lit up with lightning, and if I were at home, I probably would have thought it was cool. Funny how one's perspective changes all of a sudden when one is all alone. In the end, all was well, aside from a small tornado on campus. Thankfully, it was on a field, so there was no damage.

This is Albright Lake after the storm. Sometimes it gets bigger. Today I could have taken a photo of Albright River. My friend once lost one of her flip flops (and a pack of cigarettes) to Albright River.

Albright Thanks the Troops

2009-03-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

Albright College to Provide Tuition-Free Education for Veterans

This really impressed me. I am proud of Albright for giving back to the military community.

Thanks, Albright!

2009-03-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

In light of the blustery winds and major snow that came with today's nor'easter, Albright decided that we would still be "operating under normal conditions." The sidewalks weren't even plowed until sometime after one in the afternoon, which didn't help me at all since I had Chinese at nine and my last two classes are in the same building, and the first one starts at one.
When I walked into Masters Hall, I was greeted by the sight of many signs on the wall informing students that many classes had been cancelled. It was just my luck that none of mine were on the wall.

Walking outside was horrible, and I almost got hit (in the crosswalk, no less) because I was more interested in not getting slapped in the face with snowflakes and wind than I was concerned with whether or not vehicles would abide by Pennsylvania State Law. Apparently, they don't really care.

Dining With the Ambassador of Zimbabwe

2009-02-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, I had the honor and privilege of being selected to dine with Ambassador Machivenyika Mapuranga of Zimbabwe. His Excellency and his wife joined two representatives of the Reading World Affairs Council, three professors, a representative of President Lex McMillan and two other students. Although conversation revolved around fairly "safe" issues (such as history, even though that can be a bit touchy), it was an enlightening and enjoyable experience. Not to mention that the food was actually palatable (though the chicken cordon bleu was a bit dry).

Afterwards, Amb. Mapuranga gave a talk on the history of Zimbabwe, and then opened the floor for questions. Though I'd researched Zimbabwe for the previous two days and had quite a few questions, I was afraid of offending him and didn't ask. One of the other students, however, did ask a couple of questions about corruption and President Mugabe -- though neither of her questions was really answered. . . .

I would not have survived segregation.

2009-02-17T16:48:00.000-05:00

Today was an awareness day for Black history. I went to the caf for lunch and noticed signs at either entrance door. As I approached, I noticed that one said "COLORED" and the other said "WHITES ONLY." So, I paused. Just which door was the door I was supposed to use?
And then I realized that the two representatives of the African-American Students Association were handing out pamphlets to create awareness about the fact that, because of change, things aren't like that today. Which is why I could use either door I wanted to.
Seriously. Don't confuse me like that.

Also, at lunch a friend told me a story about her friend, whose grandfather was Japanese-American. A businessman, he once flew to Atlanta but decided to take the train home. He was stuck at the train station for three days because neither the Whites Only line nor the Colored Only line would sell him a ticket.

Dessert

2009-02-12T20:42:00.000-05:00

This was my oh-so-healthy dessert this evening. Beneath the Twix and Snickers, there's yogurt. I swear. And surprisingly, I haven't gained the Freshman 15. But if you saw what I ate before dessert, I'm sure you'd see why.

Twenty-Four Pages and Snow

2009-02-03T21:57:00.000-05:00

And this would be how I manage to remember all of my tasks for the week. Ripping each Post-It off of my desk and throwing it away gives me a huge amount of satisfaction, and I prefer to clicking the little checkmarks on Remember the Milk.
There's no color coding system, I simply ran out of green Post-Its (which stinks, because the pretty pink ones keep falling down).

This packet, the bane of my existence, has just recently been completed. As you can see, it's rather large. Twenty-four pages, to be exact (excluding the cover page). This was the infamous Chinese Final. I finished thirteen pages in the one hour and fifty (or maybe twenty) minutes that the exam lasted. It took me no less than four hours to finish the last eleven! And the funny part is that the last few pages were translations like, "I am American," while the ones on the first page were translations like, "Teacher Li likes noodles but only on Wednesdays when he's riding his bike and he's a very strict teacher and there are three people in his family but he doesn't have any sons." :P

Fortunately, the pretty snow diverted me most of the four hours (although not having studied Chinese for six weeks definitely didn't help matters any). Unfortunately, the flakes are small and wet, so they're not laying. Seriously. I want blizzard conditions or nothing at all.
Speaking of laying, today I learned another term: sticking. Some of my friends have never heard of snow "laying" on the ground. It "sticks." And, according to Kat, it "adheres" . . . but that's Kat.

Background Noise

2009-02-01T23:49:00.000-05:00

I realized that, when I'm alone in my dorm room, I have to have an almost constant stream of background noise. So whether I'm listening to music on YouTube, singing to myself (which I do rather frequently), or watching a movie, there's almost always some sort of noise bouncing around the room. Take this weekend for example:

Saturday
Spirited Away (DVD)
Howl's Moving Castle (DVD)
V for Vendetta (DVD)
Home of the Brave (DVD)
An American Carol (DVD)

Sunday
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours (YouTube)
Lady Gaga - Just Dance (YouTube)
I don't remember - The Final Countdown (YouTube)
Spirited Away (DVD)
Howl's Moving Castle (DVD)
The Patriot (DVD)
An American Carol (DVD)

Typically, when I have a lot of studying to do, I watch The Fountain, because it has an amazing soundtrack. Maybe next weekend.

Going Greek

2009-01-31T16:33:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been contemplating going Greek. If I did, I'd pledge Phi Mu, but I'm not sure if I will or not. I don't think I will this year, at least (especially considering that today is the last day to sign up for recruitment). If there was a Delta Phi Lambda charter here, I probably would definitely pledge ΔΦΛ.

中文

2009-01-30T22:08:00.000-05:00

Jie stopped by this evening about three and a half hours ago to deliver some duck tongue her mother had sent her (oddly enough, I am obsessed with duck tongue). She also brought a few other things . . . don't ask me what they are.

The item on the far right looks like some sort of rice cake. According to the label, the two bars are "Eggs Roll Cream biscuit." Sweet.

We spent three and a half hours trying to download a program that would enable me to type in pinyin (English characters), which would be translated to Chinese characters. We managed to find the Windows program, but couldn't download the program from Sogou, which is the Chinese equivalent of Google. And Sogou is pretty.

Snow Day!

2009-01-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

I love the fact that we're college students, and yet when I checked Facebook this morning, all of my friends' statuses said something like, "OMG SNOW DAY!!!" I remember how excited we'd get over early dismissals. . . . Little things make us happy.

After mass confusion regarding status discrepancies (the Albright website said the college was closed, the signs on the dorm bathrooms said we had a two-hour delay, the local weather station wrote us off as closed, and an e-mail stated that we had a two-hour delay), a final e-mail finally established that we were indeed closed. I only ventured out to the caf for lunch (in fact, whether or not the caf would be open today was the first thing I texted to Shannon), and then to Jake's Place for dinner. I'm not a huge fan of cold weather. Or snow.

Round Two

2009-01-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

I have officially finished the first day of classes! Although I was a bit reluctant to come back, I must admit that once I started unpacking, I was glad to be back in my prison-cell-sized dorm.
The good thing (and the bad thing) about Albright's size is that you get to know everyone. At the beginning of the year, I saw a student with a shirt that said "Where everyone knows your ~~name~~ business." True story.

Thankfully, this semester Emily doesn't have class until nine MWF (I'm not sure about TTH), so we both set our alarms for 7:45, which is nice. Last night I realized that I'd forgotten a lot of toiletries at home, so I slept with my contact lenses in and planned to go to Weis after classes were finished. Well, this morning I opened my dresser drawer and found three unopened bottles of Opti-Free Express setting happily among my jewelry and other toiletries.

Chinese (CHI102) is in a completely different room this semester (although it's about three times larger, which is nice because the last classroom was possibly not even the size of my dorm). I was the first one in the room, and as everyone else trickled in I asked if they had studied. Nope, none of us had (are you kidding?), and we all thoroughly expected a lovely test bright and early at nine. We instead reviewed everything we'd learned (which I suprisingly remembered). For Wednesday, I have to review a lesson and write the characters ten times, and by next Wednesday, I have to finish the packet that was our final exam.
Funny story about that final. She told us that the sections would be graded with the best receiving an A and the worst an F, and she'd average everything together. Today when she handed out our exams, she told us that she graded us on the amount of pages we'd finished (there were about 25 and I think I finished 13 or 15). Either way, I received an A in that class last semester.

I'm psyched about Women in the Middle East (HIS283) and Islamic History (HIS255). Not only is Sarah (RAD) also taking HIS283, but there are only ten students! And Jeremy from ENG102 last semester is also taking HIS255.

Me: I have so much free time!
Matt: No, what you got is nap time.

Jeremy: You're my lifeline for this class. Remember that.

Sarah: Have you come to defend the class from rapists?

Back at the 'Bright

2009-01-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

Carrying my life up three flights of stairs is murder. But my parents made it a bit easier. ^_^ It seemed to me that a lot more was added than was removed. . . .

Yes, that's a McCain/Palin sign to the left, but if I remove it, then that wall will be asymmetrical and I'll have to remove the one on the other side of the window. And if I do that, I'm going to have a hideous bare wall. The Chinese characters behind the new DVD rack say "Korean" and "American." The Octonauts poster above the desk was a Christmas gift. And I have some new photos!
Emily and I are currently watching Mamma Mia! and I'm trying to study Chinese for class tomorrow. I've already purchased my books for Islamic History and Women/Middle East, but I'll have to stop by the bookstore tomorrow morning for my Mass Communications/Society textbooks.

ONE DAY

2008-12-09T01:59:00.000-05:00

This dish has been setting on the counter since 11/30 -- at least! The cup is new, and there's also a sponge and a bottle of detergent, but no one's bothered to clean this disgusting bowl. I do believe we're college students now -- a bit of responsibility would be nice.

Funny Story

2008-12-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

Last night at 11:30 and I was bemoaning the fact that I had to get up at 7:00 because my Honors English exam is from 8:00 - 10:00. Also, I really wasn't tired because I'd locked myself in my dorm all weekend (except for a trip to the caf for dinner last night, and a trip to Jake's Saturday morning). This morning I was totally prepared (and I must admit, excited) about the exam.
A few minutes before 8:00, I walked into my classroom . . . and it's dark and devoid of any life signs. So, automatically, I checked the clock, and it really did say 7:57. If the exam is at eight, then obviously everyone should be in class, right? I then realized that the exam was probably being held in a different room, and I obviously hadn't been paying attention when Dr. Androne mentioned that. So I called Rebecca. And she didn't answer. And I called Jeremy. And he didn't answer. And I realized that they were all testing, and I wasn't -- but wouldn't someone notice my absence? After all, they called me out on being a minute late to class, and pretended the sky was falling whenever I hadn't read ahead (or finished the book). Surely, someone would call me and tell me where the exam was.
I ran around Masters Hall searching for Dr. Androne, and then I ran to the Registrar to see if they had a copy of the exam schedule, but no one was in the office. I raced back to Masters and ran into (not literally) Dr. Pankratz. At this point I was ready to cry, or have a panic attack, or maybe both, which would have been lots of fun. He smiled cheerfully with a "Hello, Elizabeth," but midway through the greeting I blurted, "Dr.Pankratz! Doyouhaveacopyoftheexamschedule?!" And he replied that yes, he did have one, and actually there was one posted on the wall. In front of me.
So we stood in front of the schedule and he asked if I needed to know when our (HIS211) exam was. And I said no (I definitely knew when that exam was), I needed Writing About Literature (Honors), ENG102 B. With Dr. Androne? Yes, with Dr. Androne. Well, here's the class time, and the date. So, it's at 10? No, that's the regular class time. And then he kindly pointed out that the scheduled exam time was from 10:00 - 12:00. The whole way back to my dorm I was praising God for not letting me miss my exam. I seriously might have just curled up and died of grief.

Crosswalk Signs

2008-12-06T00:29:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I was walking to the Schumo Center when I noticed the most amazing improvement ever: crosswalk signs with the words "STATE LAW" on them!!! Well, actually they also say something like, "Yield for Pedestrians in Crosswalk" or something, but the important part is that the fact that yielding is a state law is now brightly displayed (you have no idea how many times people have not slowed down and I've almost been hit). This makes me feel so much safer now that both the drivers and I know that I have the right of way. A few weeks ago, I was walking to class from Mohn and at the intersection near the Gable Health Center, I had just stepped out onto the street when a car pulled up to the stop sign. The driver hardly stopped, then proceeded to turn right (in my direction). I had to step back onto the sidewalk to avoid being hit.

Some Glad Morning When This Life is Over . . .

2008-11-21T19:09:00.000-05:00

An Albright student passed away this morning. Although I never knew her intimately, I recognized her on campus and in the building.

Last Thursday one of my cousins passed away.

Last Wednesday my eighteen-year-old neighbor and friend went to be with the Lord.

Thirty-five days ago my remaining grandfather died.

The Lovely Heater

2008-10-28T11:18:00.000-04:00

For the past two nights, the heater in my dorm has been making an extremely high-pitched noise (as though something's loose inside). It's started both nights around one, and it's been keeping my roommate and me awake (her more so than me). It's incredibly annoying, and we'd put in a work request except for the fact that work requests seem to take forever (and have only occasionally been filled on time). So I'm going to housing after lunch today to see if our problem can be fixed before this evening.

Downgraded

2008-10-21T17:56:00.000-04:00

I returned from African History this afternoon to find that my desk chair (with a rather old, sunken cushion) was replaced with another (but very similar) model made entirely of wood. What?!?! How am I supposed to sit in my chair comfortably and actually do work? I'll bet inmates have better chairs. And they don't even pay for their food.

Dinner Called on Account of Rain

2008-09-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

It's been pouring for the vast majority of the day. I've been stuck in dorm ever since International Politics ended at 12:50, and I've been working on homework ever since I arrived back at lovely Mohn. And I thought high school was depressing. . . .

Since it's been raining my roomie and I decided to stay in for the evening, and made an adventure (seriously) out of making noodles of the Maruchan instant lunch variety.

There are seven Post-It notes currently plastered to my desk, attesting to the fact that I need to stop blogging, never waste my life eating again, and shift back into my studious mode . . . whatever that may be.

Wal-Mart Wednesday

2008-09-11T00:48:00.000-04:00

Today was my first trip off-campus (aside from walks to Giant and Weis), and I've never been so happy to see Wal-Mart. It was actually quite pathetic. I'm completely psyched for Target Tuesdays. The only problem is that I have a club meeting on Tuesday nights, which I don't want to miss.