Catching Up

Obviously I have been totally slacking on this "blogging" thing I do. 

A lot of that is because of how much work I have and how many activities I do.  But it's also because since I'm trying to get my application for my double major approved, I've been running around from building to building getting a million signatures and sorting through the bureaucratic process of the registrar's office. 

So while that's totally not fun, I am SO PUMPED for my second major and am almost there with the approvals. I need one more signature, and then I turn it into the Humanities and Sciences Dean and wait. However, Dr. Soyinka-Airewele, my Global Studies professor, agreed to be my advisor. Which is awesome. 

I had a group presentation today in that class (entitled "Going Home to Afghanistan: Displacement and the Politics of Return"), and it went well. The only bad part was I had to stand in front of the class for a whole hour and a half.  It is not fun when you really have to sneeze but can't for approximately 60 of those 90s minutes. I may or may not have looked like a crazy person. 

Oh, and today I got a graduate school pamphlet in the mail from Georgetown. Already. REALLY?

I am so not ready for that process again. Give me a year. Or two.

You Ask, I Oblige.

Some extremely attractive snapshots of Relay for Life! At least we look like sane people in the last one.

I love them all!

Anyway, today was fine. I'm surviving Monday. The only problem is that I just ate my last Thin Mint. This is tragic. 

Somehow I'll make it through. 

It's quite amazing: today I'm only at musical soundtrack stage. Obviously I'm an expert at being in denial. Or maybe I just have confidence that I can handle it all.  I e-mailed my advisor asking how to declare my second major, and he seemed skeptical that I would have time.  But this is because he is unaware of the 35 credits I came in with. They help. 

I just want it all approved so I can get started with my future. As melodramatic as that all sounds, it's true. 

Relaying for Life

Yesterday was a day of absolute insanity. 

I dragged myself out of bed at 8 on a Saturday (this is a crime. A CRIME.) and got ready to head over to the Cayuga Inlet with my roommate Beth.  She rows for the novice women, which is ridiculously convenient.  

When we first got there, I departed from the group of crew girls as they went to start setting up boats and prepping for warm-ups. I explored around the boat house and stuck my nose inside Cornell's, which is 9 billion times nicer and larger. The difference between a top-ranked Division I team and a top ranked Division III team is huge in appearance and performance. Not that that stopped our women's varsity from beating Cornell. Nor did it stop our men's team being crushed by Cornell. 

It was a gorgeous day. Sunny, 60 degrees. It was unbelievable. So I hung around, watching everyone set up and warm-up.  Hobart, Marist, and Cornell teams set up tents and loaded boats off trailers. 

The weirdest part was that Coach Dan Robinson found me because he recognized me from orientation. I kind of got a scolding. "You shouldn't be here, you should be out there."

Which a part of me agreed with. I miss team sports. Maybe I am just obsessed with lakes and the sparkling waters of Cayuga made me subconsciously think of summers in Otis. Who knows. Robinson said a lot of rowers start sophomore year. 

Anyway, so he showed me where they were posting results and tried to explain them to me, because he said very often they are reported incorrectly. Let me just say, it makes no sense at all. I mean, I understand it now--at least, the basics-- but it doesn't make ANY SENSE. 

Then, I sat around and watched many many races with large lulls in between. My editor Cory came down to cover the women's team, and I tried to explain crew to him. But I didn't exactly know what I was talking about, so I think I just made him more confused. 

Then, because I had nothing else better to do, I interviewed 8 different rowers, and Coach Robinson. The required number is three. Whatever. After that, I got a ride back to campus with Cory. 

After that, it was time to get ready for Relay for Life. The theme was 80s, and so my friends and I spent a lot of time applying gross eyeshadow, messing up our hair, cutting up t-shirts, and pulling on brightly colored leggings and leg-warmers. Pure awesomeness. We all carpooled over, and then spent many many hours at Cornell's indoor track, Barton Hall, walked the track, dancing around, listening to acapella, and being crazy.  For a while, future roomie Ashley and I tabled for Active Minds, where we blew up balloons for an hour or so.  The idea was stress relief. At our table people wrote things that stressed them out on balloons, and then popped them.  So, it was totally worth my sleep-deprived delirium today.  

Now, I've got to do some serious writing and get this work done. Time's running out, it's almost April!

Sometimes, It's Not All Bad

It seems that as a whole, this has been a crappy and dreary week for everyone. It definitely felt that way for me. My classes are wearing on me. I'm trying and it's not always working. That's why, when I got my huge mid-term paper on Louis Erdrich's story "The Red Convertible" back from my short story professor, I started to tear up (just a little bit) at the comments. 

Largely because I cry at everything. I am that chick that cries during every movie ever. But I'm going to be a little obnoxious and reprint what my professor wrote:

"Abby, I have read many student-written essays on  'The Red Convertible,' since I teach it every semester.  But your is among the best I've seen, and may actually be the best.  The essay analyzes capitalism's impact on the brothers, capitalism's manifestation in the the car; it identifies and analyzes the story's persistent trope of 'moving without moving' in consistently clear and vigorous writing. The very high level of analysis, synthesis, and writing all unite to make your essay a work of outstanding quality. This is excellent work by any measure, and I read it with extreme pleasure and edification."

Seriously? You can't MAKE this stuff up. It's practically stolen from the ending of a Disney movie. 

As self-indulgent and self-congratulatory this is, sometimes I just need to reaffirm publicly that I have the capability to totally kick ass. 

Oh and I also made a cake for my friend's birthday today, all by myself. No one died. My dorm is still standing. I didn't start to cry half way through reading the recipe.  We've yet to see if it's edible, but I'll chalk it up prematurely as a success. 

The weather's gross up here, but at least it's not cold! 

Now, it's off to the sports section meeting for me!

Let me start off today's blog with a hearty welcome for my friend Laura and her roommate Kate to the blogosphere. They've just started blogging from room 314 at Providence College, and even if they only have one post so far, they're sure pretty to look at, at the very least.

I've been trying to convince all my friends to get blogs for some time now. Some people may find it lame that I sign up for everything: Twitter, blogging, Facebook, the whole nine yards. I just consider them technological manifestations of my awesomeness. And, I always want to be updated on my friends' lives. 

Oh, and I'm a huge nerd.

On another note...

It is WARM today! Like, 50 whole degrees! I also turned in a big academic writing paper this morning. My "persuasive argument" about the anti-feminism of women's magazines turned into kind of a philosophical rant about media conformation to patriarchal norms. 

Which is all sort of hypocritical of me, seeing as I subscribe to Vogue. But then again, I also get Sports Illustrated, so I guess we'll just pretend that I like to look at pretty pictures. At least I don't get Cosmo. Their overwhelming self-congratulations of their supposed feminism really seems obnoxious to me. 

Anyway, rant over THERE.

Yesterday I worked on a phone-a-thon to call accepted students in the Park School. Chatted with some pretty interesting journalism students and parents. The parents ALWAYS asked more questions than the students. The students in general seemed like they just wanted to go to bed already. It's a chronic symptom of senioritis. But it was certainly strange sitting there for an hour and a half calling tons of people I didn't know. Interesting. But strange.

I also did quite a few interviews yesterday, trying to shore up some more sources for an article for a class and getting in contact with the crew coach. It was all kind of exhausting. 

Anyway, I'm off to a Relay for Life meeting. The fun really never ends!

Snapshot of Today

I don't have much time, so let's go through this day with a series of quotes. 

"Jackson presents the idea of cruel tradition as administrated and perpetuated through a hierarchically-constructed society."

"Isn't it depressing when you even view the concept of universal human rights as innately flawed?" 

And my personal favorite...

"And you write for what paper, again?"

Oh, and let me just say, today I found an unopened roll of Thin Mints while I was cleaning out my desk. Jesus obviously loves me. 

I just spent like 20 minutes trying to get that chicken picture to the bottom of the page. I officially hate technology. 

We're at Brad Paisley level, people!

I've found the way to make sport-loving straight guys go to a speaker on homosexuality.  

Invite John Amaechi! 

Ithaca held a conference on sexuality and sport, and Amaechi was our keynote speaker. For the large percentage of my friends who won't know who this is, Amaechi was the first NBA player to come out of the closet, even if he only did so after retirement. He discussed his decision told quite a few stories.  He's now a psychologist, which gave an extremely interesting drive and insight to his stories. He was also hilarious. 

So, in essence, his presence on campus made a lot of guys pay attention to a topic that has such a huge presence on campus--but one with which most are still extremely uncomfortable.

I love it.

Our sport's meeting was pushed back until today because Amaechi spoke during our normally scheduled meeting. My editor pointed out that there's only five issues left in the year. So the panic may just be setting in for me now. Stress-wise, I've hit my country music playlist...at Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney level. In the words of the WonderPets, "This is SEWIOUS!"

You know you need a summer break when the only thing that can calm your nerves is listening to songs like "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."  But in my revisiting of the country music scene, I've found some fascinating insight into the economic crisis. Really. John Rich's "Shutting Detroit Down" touched me. I stopped what I was working on and sat back and thought about the assumptions I make and the perspectives I so often ignore. 

Lately my blogs have become a little introspective, maybe a little too serious for my taste. I'm going to try to fix that...

...with fake chickens.