The Rumors Are True...I'm Actually Alive

It's my hundredth post, which I've been putting off for quite a while. I had it in my head that it should be special, reflective, or even thoughtful. 

But then, life happened. 

In this life, I somehow became a real Parkie. 

I guess I became a Parkie technically when I chose the school last year. Maybe it was even first semester, when I dabbled in shows and wrote up some articles. It still didn't feel like I was consumed by the idea. I wasn't totally integrated yet. Then, on Monday, after my sixth hour in Park, I looked at my friend during a t.v meeting and wondered out loud, "Doesn't it feel like you never leave?" 

Suddenly I was a Parkie. 

Then, this morning, I stumbled over to Park at 5:45 in the morning, all the while wondering if the building would be unlocked. I wrote up my newscast with blurry eyes, being serenaded by WICB and read it through a few times. Then, on air, I realized that I should really wake up because some of the grammar I used was absolutely comical.  And I forgot to write down how to sign off. Yesterday's WICB cast was definitely the best I've done. I even said nuclear correctly. My mom called me after my first cast and reminded me that I said it like I had grown up under the George Bush administration. So now, I write it out phonetically. I do the same with Rod Blagojevich.  I've officially caught the radio bug. I guess I'll have to blame my Amma for that one. 

It's funny because I had absolutely no intentions to ever do radio. EVER. I ended up at the rush night this semester because the Ithacan was meeting directly after. Now, I'm doing two newscasts a week and working for a TV show that has a radio counterpart. I honestly couldn't be happier with it. If only everything in the world wasn't on Mondays. Because guess when the Inquirer tapes. Monday nights. 

Someone upstairs thinks this is totally hilarious. 

I must say, if I look at my situation objectively, I am mildly enthused.

And exhausted. 

Thank God it's the weekend!

And God Said, Let Abby Not Sleep Second Semester

After being away from my dorm for 12 hours with two more meetings to attend and a good amount of homework waiting for me at my dorm, I shut myself in the Park basement bathroom just to have a good two minutes to myself. 

Second semester is ridiculous. 

Yesterday was insane. Mondays are going to be like that. I roll out of bed at 5:30 a.m, get out of Boothroyd at 6:15, and work at the dining hall for four hours then go to three classes, and luckily now I'll be able to head back to the dorm for an hour and a half, but yesterday I could not. Then I attend two meetings back to back, and get back to the dorm around 8. I have about an hour for lunch. During that time I was not able to totally finish the 50 pages of reading assigned for Global Studies, or the 30 assigned for Short Story. THAT STORY WAS NOT SHORT. It wasn't even a story. It was De Las Casas' Account of the Destruction of the Indies. WHAT KIND OF CLASS IS THIS?! 

I had an 8 o'clock today, followed by another class, and I'm out by 10:40. For the day. Which would be verifiably awesome, if I took naps. Which I physically cannot do. If I try to lay down on my bed, I think about all the things I should be doing. My only available sleeping days USED to be Wednesdays and Fridays. Now, it's whittled down to a single day. Because today they assigned permanent shifts for radio news. And because of God's decree or something, I got the 6 A.M Friday SHIFT. Meaning, I have to be in the newsroom around 5:40 to write my cast. REALLY. I know the morning shifts are the most heard, based on the numbers they get, but seriously. Friday. That sucks. I'm also casting at the non-crappy time of the four o'clock hour on Thursdays.  I would say I could sleep in on weekends, but that's pretty much false. On weekends I'm always busy with Ithacan games and Inquirer business. It's always a party.

On the bright side, my first cast went well yesterday, even though I felt the ridiculous pressure, printing the cast for WICB a minute before I had to go on, throwing on the ear phones only to find out that they didn't work and I had to be cued awkwardly by the DJ. Writing the cast was harder than I expected, choosing what's newsworthy, and being careful to word things differently than the wires. Chris Wheatly, the radio sponsor, pointed out why radio news is so hard. "The Ithacan has a deadline once a week. We have a deadline every hour." 

The meeting for Now Hear This! was pretty exciting. We have a massive crew because the sheer magnitude and quality of what we're trying to do is daunting. We have an entire studio crew, two field crews, six reporters, and four associate producers, not to mention special entertainment, business, and music segment reporters, and then a whole editing squadron for both television and the radio. See, Now Hear This! is trying to encapsulate the entire multimedia movement for journalism at Ithaca. We'll be running a half-hour long segment show (60 Minutes style) every week, PLUS an hour-long radio show and updating a website constantly with videos, blogs, and community news. Now Hear This! is for the community, not really for the college itself. 

Luckily, the whole crew is a talented group of kids. So hopefully, it'll be awesome. 

And hey, who needs sleep anyway? You're only in college once. 

Saturdays are Gorges

Okay first off, it is so ridiculously cold outside. About -5 degrees. I just came back to Park, and was pretty sure my face was going to fall off. Or shatter. Yesterday there was a high of about 38 degrees and boys were wearing shorts. It felt like SPRING. That's when you realize, it's all relative. 

You are also looking at the newest member of the WICB and VIC radio news staff! I went and got trained today. Basically, I will probably have about two shifts a week, and I do radio news cast on both stations, pretty much the same ones, but with local news and weather on WICB. What I do, is sort through the AP wire, the faxes we get from the county, and police reports and such, and write up a 3 minute newscast with a top story, 2 international stories and 2 domestic stories. On WICB, the local station, I'll add weather and a local story. VIC is a internet only station, so no local stories or weather apply. Sometimes I'll be responsible for putting in sound clips and such. 

My first practice shift, before we settle down on permanent shifts, is on Monday for the five o'clock hour. That means I'll be doing the news at 5:28 on VIC and 5:46 on WICB.  

Want to listen? VIC streams live from vicradio.org, and WICB streams live from WICB.org. Oh yeah, and WICB won the MTV Woodie Award for best college radio station in the country. Check it out. It's pretty awesome. 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Just so y'all know, my Dad is pretty awesome. And it's his birthday. 

My Dad has always had my back. He made it clear that there weren't any limits to what Claire and I could achieve, as cheesy as it sounds. If you wanted to do it, we can find a way to get it done. With the lofty goals Dad also taught me that you have to work hard to get anything worthwhile. You have to practice. You have to climb ladders. He was there the whole way, no matter what. He was there whether it was showing me how to follow through on a jump shot, edit a paragraph, dress appropriately for the weather (okay, I have typically ignored this) or to put yourself out there and take the lead. Even today he offered tips on the resume I'm drafting. 

How many dads are willing to stand on a pool deck meet after meet, year after year, wearing a funny hat and watching small children disqualify themselves in swim competitions? 

How many dads ski double black diamonds, slalom water ski, and bike miles and miles to work?

How many dads learn to play the bass in their free time?

How many dads share their daughters' enthusiasm for Chipotle? (It's a tight bond we three share)

How many dads sit down with their daughter and explain a Cover-Two defensive scheme for football?

MY Dad does all these things. Be jealous. 

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you! 

My Epic Fail

It was time to go to Academic Writing. I packed all my materials, rechecked the schedule for the room number, and puttered all the way over to Smiddy Hall. I filed into class with about 12 other people, and my strange professor (clothed in a floor length, maroon velvet dress and crazy hair) extolled on the virtues of writing and about herself for twenty minutes. Then, she handed out the syllabus. 

On the top of that syllabus, read "Poetry I."

FAIL.

Somehow, I had managed to go to 114 instead of 115. Somehow. 

Luckily, my writing professor found my story hilarious, and e-mailed me a copy of the syllabus that I will actually use. 

On the other hand, I had my first spanish 202 class after 1.5 years off, and felt a little rusty. 

Journalism Research, as Professor Loop announced to the class, is the weed-out class for the major. Some students have published their final projects (edited down from the 20,000 words it requires) in actual magazines. But Professor Loop is pretty awesome. I plan to strategically arrange to have him as a Professor for the rest of my life. Maybe.

Today was also rush for the television station, and I resigned up for the Inquirer, where host Greg looked at my application sheet critically and said, "We shall consider your application, but you know we're very selective." But of course I'm on the crew again. Job description? Not so sure. 

I also signed up to audition for on-screen for several shows. I'm already nervous. My SportsFinal audition is next Thursday, and I have to do this crazy prep work that I will describe at a later date. 

Tomorrow is the Ithacan rush, which I will attend but don't really have to. Because they pretty much own my soul anyway. 

All in all, I am really glad this day is over. 

It was a long one. 

Inauguration

In case you haven't noticed, seeing as the media is so subtle about such things, Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States of America today. George W. Bush is gone to wherever, free to clear as much brush as he desires. 

It was awesome. I watched it all unfold with about 200 people in one of the giant performance rooms, Emerson Suites. Everyone cheered and stayed quiet at the right times. The speech moved me. It said everything that needed to be said. 

Other than that, my soul was crushed today, when I saw that Dean Lynch posted about a internship just for Parkies with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the owner is an alumnus). Why did this upset me? Because this would have been the best internship in the entire world... until my favorite coach of all time, Jon Gruden, was fired by them THIS YEAR.

WHY?! WHYYYYY???? I don't care if they totally collapsed and need a fresh start, I LOVE that man and his facial expressions.

Oh, and today was also the first day of classes for the second semester. I only had my class on Short Stories and Global Studies classes. Short stories looks like it will be a breeze after having taken IB english. I know this stuff. And I've read quite a few of the stories on the syllabus during high school. Global Studies looks great. My professor is Dr. Soyinka-Airewele, which I will avoid trying to pronounce. She is from Africa (I can't recall which country) but obviously learned english in the lovely U.K so she has a strangely mixed accent that can sometimes be challenging to decipher. But so much of the class is discussion and friendly argument, which is something I pretty much love. 

It is so cold here, it's ridiculous. Walking back from dinner I totally had a Calvin and Hobbes moment and exclaimed, classily...

"I THINK MY BOOGERS JUST FROZE!"

College never fails to bring out the best in me. 

I'm Back!

I got into lovely, snowy Ithaca yesterday afternoon. I spent the evening reuniting with friends and putting up new posters all over my walls. I will soon post pictures, because now, if any of you visit, it will actually seem like I have a life when you look at my dorm room. 

I'm madly excited for classes to start again, because I am a huge nerd. I have only two classes tomorrow, going from 8 to 10:40, and then I have the whole day free to bask in the historic nature of the day. 

This morning I rolled out of bed at 5:30, to pitch black darkness and falling snow, (cringes are appropriate) to shower before heading to the dining hall to work for four and a half hours. Normally, it will only be four hours, because I have to go to class at 11, but I stayed longer because they needed me. The bad thing about working the breakfast shift is that I start at 6:30. The good thing is that it's not as rushed as lunch was, and barely anyone comes anyway. So it's a lot of setting up, filling cereals and yogurts, putting ice everywhere. 

Also, Ithaca must have decided I deserved a Christmas present, because they got awesome new coffee machines.  I was absurdly happy about this. 

It is also not THAT cold here. Not nearly as cold as Maryland felt. 

BAHAHAHAHAHA

In case you couldn't tell, that's me laughing maniacally.  

A Little Story About a Chair That's Actually NOT Being Replaced

Yesterday I was accompanying my mom on what I assumed to be a harmless Craigslist pick-up. (Yes, we are those people.)

I inquired as to what the item was, and discovered that was a giant "chair and a half." And where would this chair go?

IN MY SPACE.

I nearly fainted, because I have developed an undying devotion and love to this chair:

It looks like an ordinary lounger. It is not. I expressed my fear of losing my chair, and my heart-felt attachment to it, and my Dad comforted me, "Don't worry, we won't give away the chair, it's going in your first apartment." All I can say is, it better.

And Mom asked, "How can you have an undying love for this chair? We've only had it for like two years."

Which is true. But ever since we lugged it down the street, this chair and I were soul mates. I got ridiculously sick shortly after, and for some reason decided my bed could not compare in comfiness. So I slept on this chair for days. It was about 100 degrees, because it was summer and there is no AC in that room. But that is what I did. 

After that, anyone who tried to occupy it got death stares. The chair is the blanket to my Linus. I sat on it, sulked, and blew my nose a million times while Claire was shaking hands with Barack Obama. I laid on it is stunned disbelief while the Giants won the Super Bowl. I crammed five people on to it during swim team pasta parties. I fought off my Dad and sister on it while they tried to tickle me to death. It has allowed me to flop onto it without shattering beneath me. 

It's my chair, and even though it's kind of broken thanks to my abuse, it's here to stay. Now if only I could fit it in the dorm room.

Oh yeah. And I go back to college tomorrow. 

And I'm procrastinating. 

This worked. 

Winding Down

It's my last week in Maryland, and let me tell you, I am not looking forward to going back to a world that involves work. 

Even though I'm kind of there already, because I have a deadline Sunday. YAY. And, per usual, I had weird dreams about it. Last night I was panicking because I wasn't sure how I could get my interviews done if I went with my friend A on a spur of the moment trip to Australia. Which my Dad was driving us to. 

Obviously my life is incredibly stressful right now...in my dreams. In real life, I am enjoying doing very little. 

I've been busy saying goodbyes as pals return to school at different times. It's no fun, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing my friends at Ithaca again. It's certainly been a while.  

Unfortunately this post can't be salvaged, it's doomed to being pointless and boring. Sorry!  

Otis

I am in Otis right now, basking in all the delights it offers.

Because I am here, I'm not so keen on the interent because I have way better things to do. Like lay on the couch and be amazed as Harlan Coben has made someone who the everyman thought to be dead reappear. And read as Carl Hiaasen kills another villain in a very strange way. Like, speared with a stuffed marlin head. OR, I can even do what I did today, which is sit on a rock and enjoy being in the sun.

Seriously. That is what I did. Thanks to my new puffy jacket supplied by the parents, I am impervious to the elements. That, and it was an amazing day outside.

I'm still on a college sleeping schedule, so at about ten last night I decided to watch the second half on Titanic. No one ever does this. Even on the DVD on the "select a scene" part, they separate the movie into the generally happy half, and the "Doom to the Lower Classes!" half. I have watched the first half ridiculous amounts of times. Ever the contrarian, yesterday I watched the part in which everything is very depressing and wet. It was depressing. But my life looked awesome in comparison.

So I'll finish out the week here, loving doing nothing. Then, Claire heads back on Friday, not to return home until May thanks to crew. I head back to the lovely D.C area to continue doing what I'm doing here and maybe apply to some internships. Such is the life.

OH: College break kick's high school break's butt.

You learn something new every day!

90th Post for 2009

2008 changed my life!

This is to be expected of course, but it's hard to believe that any year after it will be as crazy. In 2008 I completed IB, graduated high school, and started college. In between it all I met so many amazing people and had to say goodbye (and later, "Hello again!") to people that have had my back for my entire life. 

I captained a team, voted in an election, supported a candidate, got soaked at an outdoor concert, danced at prom, relaxed with friends, wrote essays, wrote applications, stalked the mailbox, made a decision, GRADUATED, coached a team, went to Otis, said goodbye, arrived at Ithaca College, and found another awesome home. 

So 2008 turned out to be pretty awesome. 

The events in 2009 aren't as likely to inspire greeting cards and ever-commercialized congratulations for completion of cultural rites-of-passage like those in 2008, but here I go! 

Also, can you believe that this is my 90th post? 

I certainly can't.