I have three big things left and I'm donezo. Number one is my crazy research paper, which is still only 20 pages, so I have to pull another 10 out of *somewhere*, but my advisor sent me an article he thinks will help, so hopefully with some recent developments I'll be able to add information to what I already have.
Number two is my SWOT Analysis. For you non-business savvies, that's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a company. My group is doing Bank of America, and I am focusing on the weaknesses. With some recent developments in my research (i.e. an interview with an insider!!! very hush hush) I think it's gonna be a good paper, at least on my part.
Number three is my final exam on December 7th, but we're so not there yet.
My family will be here in one week!! I'm planning an epic itinerary for the weekend of sightseeing and touristy stuff, following by delicious (real! non-cafeteria!) food. Food that is not sandwiches. I seriously cannot wait. I don't think any of you understand - I've been literally LIVING OFF SANDWICHES. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. I EAT ONE ALMOST EVERY DAY.
Anyhow, it'll be fun with Shawna staying in the dorm with me. I honestly think I might die of excitement when I see my family.
Three weeks from today, I will be in Germany! Five weeks from Saturday I will be in Sea Ranch!
It's still not sinking in that I might not see these people for...ever? My good friend from class who lives in Germany got an internship for next year, January through April, in...SHANGHAI! That's just so crazy to me.
Back to Thanksgiving, (sorry my thoughts tend to drift around) I was a little bummed that I might not get traditional fare. I actually had a nightmare a few nights ago that it was Thanksgiving and all I had on my plate was cranberry sauce and some mashed potatoes and I woke up crying because there was no stuffing to be found. ANYWAY, last night the cafe served a delicious T-giving feast! The green beans were oddly seasoned and pretty gross, but everything else (the mashed potatoes? gravy? STUFFING???) was delicious! Even the turkey was good! My friend Erin and I did a "dark meat" dance when we were serving ourselves. The caf was also showing a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which was awesome. Childhood!
I applied for two summer internships so far, and I'm researching more. I figure I need to do this now, because if I don't, time from the end of the semester until like the end of March is absolutely nuts. December is obviously packed (Germany until the 21st, then Xmas, then Sea Ranch 26th-January 2nd). In January, I have a bunch of stuff to get done (dentist, haircut, surgery???) then I'm back in Claremont on the 17th. I'll have to settle into my new classes and everything, then before I know it it'll be parents weekend and my 21st birthday! After that is midterm season, then spring break (aka VEGAS!) then suddenly it's the end of March and I'll only have a month and a half until summer. TOO LATE TO APPLY THEN. Ergo, I am doing so now.
Finalmente, I am a genius. Instead of shipping all my stuff home, then packing it in my tiny car and driving to Claremont, I'm going to ship one box of stuff (bedding, summer clothes, etc.) to Rachel and have her hang on to it at Scripps until I get back. This way, I have one less huge box to put in my car, which will already be packed with my trombone, fridge, and far too many clothes. We all know me and packing light - it doesn't happen.
No pictures this time, kids, sorry! Nothing notable has been going on. Actually, nothing at all has really been going on, honestly. But I'll post some after Thanksgiving! Get excited!!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
One thing that even study abroad can't change
This happens every semester you guys. Sometime between the end of midterms and the beginning of finals, usually about a month before the semester ends (aka now) I start burning out. I get completely unmotivated, don't want to do anything, don't want to really talk to anyone, and especially don't want to do work or study. It's probably a good thing that my professor assigned a group project for the end of the semester because we'd all feel way guiltier if we slacked off because we'd be screwing the grades of three other people. I had a meeting with my group this afternoon and we've all started already - and this paper isn't due until the 30th. Thing is, I started, and now I've lost all momentum and don't want to do any more. I have some research, but I don't even have an outline yet and I need this paper done before Thanksgiving because I do NOT want this hanging over my head when the fam-bam is here.
So, yes. Basically, even though I'm in a new exciting place with new exciting people and studying abroad and amazing opportunities blah blah blah, I'm bored. I'm done. I want to go home now.
DON'T GET MAD AT ME I KNOW I'M SUPER LUCKY TO BE HERE AND EVERYTHING but I'm also super HOMESICK, y'all! This is the longest I've been away from home by FAR and I still have another month+ til I'm back in California and DC weather sucks. Probably why I don't want to leave my room, so thank goodness most of my friends live on my floor or upstairs.
I need to push through this. I need to do some research and start writing. Goal for the weekend: get a SOLID outline done plus all sources read and cited. LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN. I can crash in a few weeks when everyone gets here. I really cannot wait for Thanksgiving. I'm just worried that when they leave on the 29th I'm gonna get super depressio, but luckily after that I have literally one week of classes left and my final. Ten days after the family leaves, I'll be on a plane to Germany. I'm starting to realize that this semester is ending, but somehow I still don't care, even though I know I may not see some of these people again.
Okay, confession: I've already started packing. Mom and Dad are taking a suitcase or two of my stuff home so I don't have to ship a million boxes back at the end of the semester, which is nice, but packing away my sundresses made me really sad because I HATE THE WEATHER HERE. One of my friends was like "Oh, California's not that warm anyway, it's been 60-65, I've had to wear jeans and a jacket." I responded "yeah, the high in DC is 45. I'M FREEZING." No wonder I keep getting sick.
ANYWAY sorry for all the boo-hoo talk. Seriously. Sorry. I'm homesick - so sue me. I'm gonna try to do something on Sunday, like go to Arlington, because it's gonna be nice-ish out (68 degrees! glory!) and because I've been holed up in my room since Halloween. Okay? Bye.
So, yes. Basically, even though I'm in a new exciting place with new exciting people and studying abroad and amazing opportunities blah blah blah, I'm bored. I'm done. I want to go home now.
DON'T GET MAD AT ME I KNOW I'M SUPER LUCKY TO BE HERE AND EVERYTHING but I'm also super HOMESICK, y'all! This is the longest I've been away from home by FAR and I still have another month+ til I'm back in California and DC weather sucks. Probably why I don't want to leave my room, so thank goodness most of my friends live on my floor or upstairs.
I need to push through this. I need to do some research and start writing. Goal for the weekend: get a SOLID outline done plus all sources read and cited. LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN. I can crash in a few weeks when everyone gets here. I really cannot wait for Thanksgiving. I'm just worried that when they leave on the 29th I'm gonna get super depressio, but luckily after that I have literally one week of classes left and my final. Ten days after the family leaves, I'll be on a plane to Germany. I'm starting to realize that this semester is ending, but somehow I still don't care, even though I know I may not see some of these people again.
Okay, confession: I've already started packing. Mom and Dad are taking a suitcase or two of my stuff home so I don't have to ship a million boxes back at the end of the semester, which is nice, but packing away my sundresses made me really sad because I HATE THE WEATHER HERE. One of my friends was like "Oh, California's not that warm anyway, it's been 60-65, I've had to wear jeans and a jacket." I responded "yeah, the high in DC is 45. I'M FREEZING." No wonder I keep getting sick.
ANYWAY sorry for all the boo-hoo talk. Seriously. Sorry. I'm homesick - so sue me. I'm gonna try to do something on Sunday, like go to Arlington, because it's gonna be nice-ish out (68 degrees! glory!) and because I've been holed up in my room since Halloween. Okay? Bye.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Quick Halloween update
Crazy night. Went to a concert with a group of friends, which ended around 12:15 then made our way to Union Station for a party at off-campus housing. Some of the guys I was with knew the girl who was throwing it. Ended up taking the metro home around 2:15 and going to bed by 3:30, which was actually 2:30...DST.
Anyhow, some quick pics of the costume for you all.
I was a cat. I wanted something easy, cheap, and comfortable for the concert. The ears and tail were $7 total, then I wore a black tank top, black skinny jeans, and black converse. It was clear what I was, but I was still comfortable jumping around at the show, unlike some people who wore masks / ridiculous shoes/ skirts / etc.
Did my own french manicure for it! The whiskers, by the way, are done with a 99 cent eyeliner pencil and are perfectly straight because I googled "how to draw whiskers on your own face" (no jokes) and read that it helps to use a credit card or something to make them straight. GENIUS.
This is the end of the night, just so you could see the tail, because I didn't have any other full shots of the costume.
Ummm...yeah.
The end! (For now.)
Anyhow, some quick pics of the costume for you all.
I was a cat. I wanted something easy, cheap, and comfortable for the concert. The ears and tail were $7 total, then I wore a black tank top, black skinny jeans, and black converse. It was clear what I was, but I was still comfortable jumping around at the show, unlike some people who wore masks / ridiculous shoes/ skirts / etc.
Did my own french manicure for it! The whiskers, by the way, are done with a 99 cent eyeliner pencil and are perfectly straight because I googled "how to draw whiskers on your own face" (no jokes) and read that it helps to use a credit card or something to make them straight. GENIUS.
This is the end of the night, just so you could see the tail, because I didn't have any other full shots of the costume.
Ummm...yeah.The end! (For now.)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
New York adventures
I've been a horrible updater, I know. I have a semi-legit excuse though. All my photos are stored on my external harddrive and I'm usually in my bed with my laptop - sans speakers, bluetooth mouse, or external harddrive. Soo whenever I feel like updating, it's either without pictures or it doesn't happen. I just made a point of bringing my laptop back to my desk and plugging it all in so I can show you pictures of my New York weekend!
First of all though, I did go to that Scripps event two weeks ago and it was AWESOME - what I saw of it anyway. I made the mistake of wearing jeans without knowing that it was at a swanky club with a strict dress code so I literally ran back to the metro then to campus to change and then all the way back downtown - all of which took 45 minutes, so I missed half the talk, but the new president is AWESOME. I cannot wait to see her again back on campus.
Okay so last week on Wednesday our class took a bus to New York, stayed in a hotel that night, and spent Thursday trawling the city. We got to see the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, visit the Fed (including the gold vaults, where I got serious claustrophobia), and go on a ferry ride to Staten Island and back.
Wall Street!
NYSE floor - not much action happening.
Lady Liberty herself.
Thursday night I had a subway adventure getting to Bob and Linda's, but I *did* make it. I spent the weekend in bliss, getting a manicure and massage, swimming in the lap pool, having my first sauna experience (the dry one was nice, but the steam room made me super claustrophobic too because I literally could not see one foot in front of me), and generally relaxing. I even baked brownies! Double dark chocolate Ghiradelli, to be specific. Linda naturally sent those back with me and, surprise, they're already gone. I just send the word out to three or four people and if they didn't come immediately, they dibsed one or two right away.
Anyhow, on Sunday we went for a walk in the park (not Central park) because though it was a bit windy, it was sunny and beautiful. View!
Autumn leaves on the East Coast are too gorgeous.
The lake
More leaves
The building - we were on the 28th floor
View out one window of the living room
View out the other window of the living room
Dining room
Lincoln's room - where I stayed for the weekend
Linda and Dolley - I ADORE that dog. She is so sweet. She enjoys nuzzling, which looks like she's wiping something from her eye or nose on my pants, but it's adorable. And she loves having her behind scratched, so even though it looks like she's facing away from you or ignoring you, it means she wants you to pet her. Makes me miss my Solo.
Speaking of which, now that I'm more than halfway though, I'm starting to get really seriously homesick. This coming Tuesday I will have been away from my parents and my home longer than I ever have - and I still have another nearly two months til I'll be home again. I'll see the fam again for Thanksgiving, but that's still another month away. I know that in about five weeks I'm gonna start freaking out about how fast this semester has gone and about how much I'm going to miss my German friends and everyone I've met here who I probably won't see for a long time - if at all again. But as for now...I'm homesick. I miss California. I miss my house. I miss CLAREMONT, darnit! And I miss all my friends. And I REALLY miss my family. I would kill to be back at home again on the windowseat with a cup of tea, an almond cookie from the farmer's market, and no plans. But that won't come til almost Christmas.
I know, I know, I need to enjoy and appreciate the time I have here. I am. I'm super grateful for this experience, but I'm allowed to have my mopey moments. Give me that!
It probably doesn't help that I've been sick for the past few days. Sometime in my New York weekend, I started feeling congested. By the time I got home on Sunday night, I was a sneezy wreck. I didn't go to work on Monday or yesterday, and went to the health center. They told me it's NOT pneumonia (thank goodness, because I was afraid it was) and my lungs sound find. It's also not flu (I could have told you that - I have no flu symptoms). It's just a prolonged bad cold. They gave me a stronger decongestant than what I've been using and told me if I'm not better in a few days - not just better, but like 100% better - to come back because then it's more serious. Honestly, I'm feeling much better today, but still not 100%, so I skipped class this afternoon, even though I went in the morning. I had a headache the whole time and just wanted my bed, so that's my next destination, as soon as I finish my laundry.
Hope this was a satisfactory update for everyone! Apologies apologies for not updating more. Again, blame the harddrive and the extreme comfiness that is my bed. It looks like this when it is perfectly made:
You have my permission to be impressed. (Just ignore the mess under and around it.)
First of all though, I did go to that Scripps event two weeks ago and it was AWESOME - what I saw of it anyway. I made the mistake of wearing jeans without knowing that it was at a swanky club with a strict dress code so I literally ran back to the metro then to campus to change and then all the way back downtown - all of which took 45 minutes, so I missed half the talk, but the new president is AWESOME. I cannot wait to see her again back on campus.
Okay so last week on Wednesday our class took a bus to New York, stayed in a hotel that night, and spent Thursday trawling the city. We got to see the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, visit the Fed (including the gold vaults, where I got serious claustrophobia), and go on a ferry ride to Staten Island and back.
Wall Street!
NYSE floor - not much action happening.
Lady Liberty herself.
Thursday night I had a subway adventure getting to Bob and Linda's, but I *did* make it. I spent the weekend in bliss, getting a manicure and massage, swimming in the lap pool, having my first sauna experience (the dry one was nice, but the steam room made me super claustrophobic too because I literally could not see one foot in front of me), and generally relaxing. I even baked brownies! Double dark chocolate Ghiradelli, to be specific. Linda naturally sent those back with me and, surprise, they're already gone. I just send the word out to three or four people and if they didn't come immediately, they dibsed one or two right away.
Anyhow, on Sunday we went for a walk in the park (not Central park) because though it was a bit windy, it was sunny and beautiful. View!
Autumn leaves on the East Coast are too gorgeous.
The lake
More leaves
The building - we were on the 28th floor
View out one window of the living room
View out the other window of the living room
Dining room
Lincoln's room - where I stayed for the weekend
Linda and Dolley - I ADORE that dog. She is so sweet. She enjoys nuzzling, which looks like she's wiping something from her eye or nose on my pants, but it's adorable. And she loves having her behind scratched, so even though it looks like she's facing away from you or ignoring you, it means she wants you to pet her. Makes me miss my Solo.Speaking of which, now that I'm more than halfway though, I'm starting to get really seriously homesick. This coming Tuesday I will have been away from my parents and my home longer than I ever have - and I still have another nearly two months til I'll be home again. I'll see the fam again for Thanksgiving, but that's still another month away. I know that in about five weeks I'm gonna start freaking out about how fast this semester has gone and about how much I'm going to miss my German friends and everyone I've met here who I probably won't see for a long time - if at all again. But as for now...I'm homesick. I miss California. I miss my house. I miss CLAREMONT, darnit! And I miss all my friends. And I REALLY miss my family. I would kill to be back at home again on the windowseat with a cup of tea, an almond cookie from the farmer's market, and no plans. But that won't come til almost Christmas.
I know, I know, I need to enjoy and appreciate the time I have here. I am. I'm super grateful for this experience, but I'm allowed to have my mopey moments. Give me that!
It probably doesn't help that I've been sick for the past few days. Sometime in my New York weekend, I started feeling congested. By the time I got home on Sunday night, I was a sneezy wreck. I didn't go to work on Monday or yesterday, and went to the health center. They told me it's NOT pneumonia (thank goodness, because I was afraid it was) and my lungs sound find. It's also not flu (I could have told you that - I have no flu symptoms). It's just a prolonged bad cold. They gave me a stronger decongestant than what I've been using and told me if I'm not better in a few days - not just better, but like 100% better - to come back because then it's more serious. Honestly, I'm feeling much better today, but still not 100%, so I skipped class this afternoon, even though I went in the morning. I had a headache the whole time and just wanted my bed, so that's my next destination, as soon as I finish my laundry.
Hope this was a satisfactory update for everyone! Apologies apologies for not updating more. Again, blame the harddrive and the extreme comfiness that is my bed. It looks like this when it is perfectly made:
You have my permission to be impressed. (Just ignore the mess under and around it.)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Halfway already???
WHAT THE HECK Y'ALL! My midterm is on Thursday. Mom was like "wow, that's early" and I realized that it's not actually - this is a sixteen week program and we're entering week eight. I'll be on a flight to Germany in just over 8 weeks. I can't even start to think that far ahead though. This midterm is killing me slowly, plus I have a draft of my 30-40 page research paper due on the 26th, and oh hey, I haven't started writing. But I do have a pretty detailed outline and I've done pretty much all my research. I'll just hole myself up with my laptop and Mark Knopfler and write that mess out. It's just a first draft, so it doesn't have to be perfect. After that, November will be GLORY. Just two short papers for my seminar (4-5 pages each) and a reflection paper for my internship class.
In other news, the Dalai Lama spoke at AU yesterday but tickets sold out in about two seconds. Plus I was studying all day anyhow. It would have been amazing to see him speak, or even be in the same room, but for now I'll have to settle for same town.
There's a Scripps event soon! I just found out that the new President is touring the country meeting alums and she'll be in DC on Tuesday. Now, that's an internship day for me, but I mapped out the place and it's about 6 blocks from my office. I am SO there.
I was in New York last weekend, which is weird, because that seems like ages ago already. I took one picture. Sorry sorry! I'll be back in two weeks and I promise more pictures then. I'll spend Thursday the 22nd wandering Wall Street with my class - we get to go on the FLOOR of the NYSE (stock exchange) and tour the New York Fed too. That will be an adventure for sure. After we split, I'll take the subway or a cab or something to Bob and Linda's again.
Anyhow, my trip to New York was awesome. I got in pretty late on Friday night (thanks, Baltimore traffic!) but spent Saturday afternoon trawling Macy's for sales. I got a coat for over $100 less than it was priced (sales+coupons+Macy's card = glory), a cute metallic wristlet, and a great black cinching belt for my sweater dress. Linda is the best shopping buddy. I also bought a pair of boots that I fell in love with online. They should be here tomorrow or Tuesday. WANT!
I've fallen into a pretty nice routine here. I'm glad about that, because I was worried about having class at a different time every day. I need routine in order to stay sane. I work Mondays and Tuesdays, I work out Wednesday and Friday mornings, and I have class Wed-Fri. It's a nice set-up and it works for me.
Back to work! I seriously cannot believe I'm basically halfway through my semester here. I haven't done enough exploring yet!
In other news, the Dalai Lama spoke at AU yesterday but tickets sold out in about two seconds. Plus I was studying all day anyhow. It would have been amazing to see him speak, or even be in the same room, but for now I'll have to settle for same town.
There's a Scripps event soon! I just found out that the new President is touring the country meeting alums and she'll be in DC on Tuesday. Now, that's an internship day for me, but I mapped out the place and it's about 6 blocks from my office. I am SO there.
I was in New York last weekend, which is weird, because that seems like ages ago already. I took one picture. Sorry sorry! I'll be back in two weeks and I promise more pictures then. I'll spend Thursday the 22nd wandering Wall Street with my class - we get to go on the FLOOR of the NYSE (stock exchange) and tour the New York Fed too. That will be an adventure for sure. After we split, I'll take the subway or a cab or something to Bob and Linda's again.
Anyhow, my trip to New York was awesome. I got in pretty late on Friday night (thanks, Baltimore traffic!) but spent Saturday afternoon trawling Macy's for sales. I got a coat for over $100 less than it was priced (sales+coupons+Macy's card = glory), a cute metallic wristlet, and a great black cinching belt for my sweater dress. Linda is the best shopping buddy. I also bought a pair of boots that I fell in love with online. They should be here tomorrow or Tuesday. WANT!
I've fallen into a pretty nice routine here. I'm glad about that, because I was worried about having class at a different time every day. I need routine in order to stay sane. I work Mondays and Tuesdays, I work out Wednesday and Friday mornings, and I have class Wed-Fri. It's a nice set-up and it works for me.
Back to work! I seriously cannot believe I'm basically halfway through my semester here. I haven't done enough exploring yet!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
She's going rogue!!
No pictures today, and I'm "going rogue" because I'm updating from work. Sssh...
Just a few new pieces of info. Numero uno: I'm teaching myself to write with my left hand. My friend Jason could not believe I did not know how to use a lighter (not even a zippo or anything, like your basic BIC) so he tried to teach me and I just could not make it happen. He bought me a lighter so I could practice and after my right thumb got sore, I switched hands and boom. It worked every time. Sometimes I forget I'm left-hand dominant. I was supposed to be left-handed, but my dear sister always took the pen/crayon/whatever out of my left hand and put it in my right when I first started picking them up. But my piano playing was always off because my left hand would naturally be louder than my right, and I still sometimes reach for things with my left hand. So I figured it only makes sense to teach myself left-handed writing. I'm seriously tempted to go buy one of those books for 5 year olds that teach you how to write by tracing letters and stuff, but do it with my left hand. Should I?
Nexttt...I went to an Oktoberfest party with my German friends last Thursday night, but that turned out to be a total bust. The only thing Oktoberfest-y about it was the giant glass mugs. There were no huge tables, no German music, no German decorations, and the beer wasn't even that good. It was more of a networking event for business people. Seriously, people were passing out business cards and shaking hands and whatever.We felt awkward being there as students, so we didn't stay long. But it was fun to just go out with my friends. It's kind of funny that I'm here in DC but studying with a lot of international kids (at least eleven Germans in my class, almost as many French, a Danish girl, a Chinese girl, three kids from South Korea, three girls from Colombia, two girls from Africa, three U.S. kids, and I think I might be forgetting some) but some of my friends from Scripps/home who are studying abroad are there with a bunch of American kids. Who's getting the real international experience? Maybe none of us.
Another fun thing is that I reconnected with the Forans last week (yay!) and I'm going to New York this weekend to spend a few nights with them (YAY!!!) I'm really excited about that, except for the small fact that it's supposed to rain all weekend. Oh well, I can happily experience New York from their apartment, honestly. And Penn Station.
The other night, I had a dream I was eating pumpkin pizza. I think it's time for fall.
I'm getting tired of wearing business casual clothes almost every day. I'm such a jeans, sweatshirt, and flip-flops kind of girl. I should get my black jeans up here, then life would be easier. I'm also kind of sick of all my tops. I didn't bring a whole lot, seeing as I had to ship everything, but my office is dangerously located next door to an Ann Taylor and a Gap. Every time I walk by I want to try on everything in the window. I smell a post-work shopping excursion in my future - but next month, after this month's ridiculous credit card statement has gone through. Daily metro rides and eating out almost every day is killing me...and my bank account.
I've been swimming on Wednesday and Friday mornings. I wake up at 6am and eat a banana or granola bar, then walk ten minutes to main campus (last week it was raining, so that was fun) before the sun even comes up to swim for about an hour. The bus starts running at 7 so I can bus back and shower before class. It's glory. The pool has retarded hours here - 6-8am on Wed/Fri mornings, and then various times in the afternoon/evening the rest of the week. I've heard that it's normally PACKED; one of my friends had to share a lane with five other people once. When I go at 7am, I get a lane to myself. I live for that. I sometimes forget why I ever stop swimming, and I still kick myself for not swimming every day this summer. Next summer, assuming I'm home, I'm gonna try to go daily again. It just changes my whole day, it wakes me up.
On the other hand, I've been taking afternoon naps almost every day I don't work (aka Wed-Sun) Just one short hour in the afternoon does wonders. It doesn't help, though, that I've been sniffly and sneezy because pollen counts are ridiculously high. Stupid allergies.
No other news for now, but I'll probably post something when I'm back from New York. This will be my first time back in almost five years. I cannot wait!
Just a few new pieces of info. Numero uno: I'm teaching myself to write with my left hand. My friend Jason could not believe I did not know how to use a lighter (not even a zippo or anything, like your basic BIC) so he tried to teach me and I just could not make it happen. He bought me a lighter so I could practice and after my right thumb got sore, I switched hands and boom. It worked every time. Sometimes I forget I'm left-hand dominant. I was supposed to be left-handed, but my dear sister always took the pen/crayon/whatever out of my left hand and put it in my right when I first started picking them up. But my piano playing was always off because my left hand would naturally be louder than my right, and I still sometimes reach for things with my left hand. So I figured it only makes sense to teach myself left-handed writing. I'm seriously tempted to go buy one of those books for 5 year olds that teach you how to write by tracing letters and stuff, but do it with my left hand. Should I?
Nexttt...I went to an Oktoberfest party with my German friends last Thursday night, but that turned out to be a total bust. The only thing Oktoberfest-y about it was the giant glass mugs. There were no huge tables, no German music, no German decorations, and the beer wasn't even that good. It was more of a networking event for business people. Seriously, people were passing out business cards and shaking hands and whatever.We felt awkward being there as students, so we didn't stay long. But it was fun to just go out with my friends. It's kind of funny that I'm here in DC but studying with a lot of international kids (at least eleven Germans in my class, almost as many French, a Danish girl, a Chinese girl, three kids from South Korea, three girls from Colombia, two girls from Africa, three U.S. kids, and I think I might be forgetting some) but some of my friends from Scripps/home who are studying abroad are there with a bunch of American kids. Who's getting the real international experience? Maybe none of us.
Another fun thing is that I reconnected with the Forans last week (yay!) and I'm going to New York this weekend to spend a few nights with them (YAY!!!) I'm really excited about that, except for the small fact that it's supposed to rain all weekend. Oh well, I can happily experience New York from their apartment, honestly. And Penn Station.
The other night, I had a dream I was eating pumpkin pizza. I think it's time for fall.
I'm getting tired of wearing business casual clothes almost every day. I'm such a jeans, sweatshirt, and flip-flops kind of girl. I should get my black jeans up here, then life would be easier. I'm also kind of sick of all my tops. I didn't bring a whole lot, seeing as I had to ship everything, but my office is dangerously located next door to an Ann Taylor and a Gap. Every time I walk by I want to try on everything in the window. I smell a post-work shopping excursion in my future - but next month, after this month's ridiculous credit card statement has gone through. Daily metro rides and eating out almost every day is killing me...and my bank account.
I've been swimming on Wednesday and Friday mornings. I wake up at 6am and eat a banana or granola bar, then walk ten minutes to main campus (last week it was raining, so that was fun) before the sun even comes up to swim for about an hour. The bus starts running at 7 so I can bus back and shower before class. It's glory. The pool has retarded hours here - 6-8am on Wed/Fri mornings, and then various times in the afternoon/evening the rest of the week. I've heard that it's normally PACKED; one of my friends had to share a lane with five other people once. When I go at 7am, I get a lane to myself. I live for that. I sometimes forget why I ever stop swimming, and I still kick myself for not swimming every day this summer. Next summer, assuming I'm home, I'm gonna try to go daily again. It just changes my whole day, it wakes me up.
On the other hand, I've been taking afternoon naps almost every day I don't work (aka Wed-Sun) Just one short hour in the afternoon does wonders. It doesn't help, though, that I've been sniffly and sneezy because pollen counts are ridiculously high. Stupid allergies.
No other news for now, but I'll probably post something when I'm back from New York. This will be my first time back in almost five years. I cannot wait!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sorry about the delay
Blogger was being weird and not letting me log in for some reason...but it's all good now! And I have many many updates.
okay so last time I was talking about internship stuff, so I'll let you all know that I'm working at the American Iron and Steel Institute as the Communications Intern. I've already been in three times and I love it! My first day was pretty clerical, but that's because I didn't have a computer, so what else was I supposed to do? Last week I audited the website (omfg thank you Core III!!!) and fixed a number of broken links. Our website won an award. I like to think I was a part of that. I also wrote a survey for Hill staffers about where they get online info and what they think of our website. We want to win the award again next year, so we're revamping it to make it as user-friendly as possible, and catering it towards the people who matter, obviously. I also wrote fact sheets on steel sustainability, the transportation crisis, and other stuff. Those are gonna be up on the website soon! Check it out.
So I have a few weekends to catch up on too. On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend there was a free symphony concert on the Capitol lawn, so we went to that. It got rained out after the first set, but I got some gorgeous pics of el Cap at sundown.
The stage as we got to the lawn
A few hours later
Gorgeous!
That was pretty much the highlight of the weekend. My friend Quinn has a house in Friendship Heights, about a 15 minute walk from campus, and he threw a party that Saturday. Last weekend I went to a march for Health Care. I'm sure most of you have heard about it in the news and stuff, but if you haven't, there were two rallies. Saturday was the Tea Bagger march and they had thousands of people. On Sunday was ours - we were only a couple of hundred strong, but it was still really exciting, and very DC. I even made a "honk for health care" sign and stood on a street corner for about half an hour. We got a couple of rude people, but most people who walked by were super supportive, and we got a good number of honks. I've ALWAYS wanted to do that! My friend Lauren has pictures of that, so I'll post them when I get them from her.
Then this past Thursday was pretty much the most exciting thing ever. I got to see OBAMA speak! [I don't have pictures, but I'm going to get some from my friends who brought cameras.] My professor canceled classes when we told him about it. 16 of us woke up at 3:30 in the morning to take three cabs at 4:15 to the University of Maryland (the metro didn't start running until 5:30 - too late for us!). We got there just after 5am, which is when we were allowed to start making a line. The doors opened a bit before 9, but not until after we all got rained on. We finally got inside and got seats, but we all got split up. There was also virtually no food there, which was awful because I had a granola bar and yogurt when I woke up, but some of us hadn't eaten at all. There were some speakers at 11, right on time, but Obama didn't come out until almost noon, by which time we were all almost dead, but I was so excited I almost cried. He rallied for health care and catered to his audience (primarily college students) beautifully. And he was hilarious!!! We eventually made it back to Tenleytown close to 3pm, at which point we all devoured McDonald's. How appropriate after a health care rally.
okay so last time I was talking about internship stuff, so I'll let you all know that I'm working at the American Iron and Steel Institute as the Communications Intern. I've already been in three times and I love it! My first day was pretty clerical, but that's because I didn't have a computer, so what else was I supposed to do? Last week I audited the website (omfg thank you Core III!!!) and fixed a number of broken links. Our website won an award. I like to think I was a part of that. I also wrote a survey for Hill staffers about where they get online info and what they think of our website. We want to win the award again next year, so we're revamping it to make it as user-friendly as possible, and catering it towards the people who matter, obviously. I also wrote fact sheets on steel sustainability, the transportation crisis, and other stuff. Those are gonna be up on the website soon! Check it out.
So I have a few weekends to catch up on too. On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend there was a free symphony concert on the Capitol lawn, so we went to that. It got rained out after the first set, but I got some gorgeous pics of el Cap at sundown.
The stage as we got to the lawn
A few hours later
Gorgeous!That was pretty much the highlight of the weekend. My friend Quinn has a house in Friendship Heights, about a 15 minute walk from campus, and he threw a party that Saturday. Last weekend I went to a march for Health Care. I'm sure most of you have heard about it in the news and stuff, but if you haven't, there were two rallies. Saturday was the Tea Bagger march and they had thousands of people. On Sunday was ours - we were only a couple of hundred strong, but it was still really exciting, and very DC. I even made a "honk for health care" sign and stood on a street corner for about half an hour. We got a couple of rude people, but most people who walked by were super supportive, and we got a good number of honks. I've ALWAYS wanted to do that! My friend Lauren has pictures of that, so I'll post them when I get them from her.
Then this past Thursday was pretty much the most exciting thing ever. I got to see OBAMA speak! [I don't have pictures, but I'm going to get some from my friends who brought cameras.] My professor canceled classes when we told him about it. 16 of us woke up at 3:30 in the morning to take three cabs at 4:15 to the University of Maryland (the metro didn't start running until 5:30 - too late for us!). We got there just after 5am, which is when we were allowed to start making a line. The doors opened a bit before 9, but not until after we all got rained on. We finally got inside and got seats, but we all got split up. There was also virtually no food there, which was awful because I had a granola bar and yogurt when I woke up, but some of us hadn't eaten at all. There were some speakers at 11, right on time, but Obama didn't come out until almost noon, by which time we were all almost dead, but I was so excited I almost cried. He rallied for health care and catered to his audience (primarily college students) beautifully. And he was hilarious!!! We eventually made it back to Tenleytown close to 3pm, at which point we all devoured McDonald's. How appropriate after a health care rally.
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