Power is Back On

The power is back on. It is most exciting and actually ahead of schedule. Derek and I ran to Ben's house last night to get a toilet, a TV, and some internet. And some heat! And then we came back. I'm now cuddled under like seven blankets with a big fire roaring beside me. 'Tis glorious.

Party in the Dark

The electricity went out...so we just hosted a paintball and surprise birthday party without light, toilets, heat in the house, etc. 'Twas grand fun!

Oh dear

Derek caught the garter at the wedding they all went to...
If you don't know who I'm talking about, don't worry about it.

Shopping with the Girls

Went shopping with some friends today. I believe it's the girliest I've been in at least two and a half years, since we went clothes shopping and to Bath & Body Works. I don't know that I can handle anymore! I came home and changed into guys jeans...lol. And washed dishes. Fun, fun.

Battle Creek Visit

I'm now visiting Battle Creek...get a huge paintball war on Sunday. 'Twill be grand. And lots of movies. And lots of books. And some paperwork. Yay!

Great Weekend

I had a fantastic weekend! Got to see my Mount Pleasant friends, saw some movies, ate some good food. Life was simply lovely.

Coolest Present Ever!

Daddy ordered me "The Lion King" and "Atlantis" from Syria with Arabic dubbing. They are SWEET! "Circle of Life" in Arabic. Amazingness! Happy Becca.
And Bubba got me Kristin Chenoweth's Christmas album. Fun fun!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, one and all! I've completely failed at keeping you all up-to-date. A report on the last few days will be coming soon.
Love to all!

Day Off

Thursday we sent the kids off to school and Barb and Todd took a day off. Barb and I worked on editing a movie in the morning. Then we went to eat sushi. Very, very good sushi.
We got the kids to bed decently early, and then had a fireplace and stayed up later than usual. We were planning on a snow day, so bedtime was not as necessary.
Grown-up discussion is wonderful every once in a while, lovely though three-year-olds are.

Snow Day

Like most of the rest of the world, Chicago schools and the surrounding districts are in a snow day. So I have munchkins and parents home with me today. We've snow blown the driveway, watched movies, packed for Grandma and Grampa's house, and worked on Christmas presents. This afternoon's agenda includes making Christmas cookies.

Sleepover!

The kids and I had a Christmas dance party last night. And then I decided the best way to solve the "two kids want to cuddle before going to sleep but need to go to bed now" problem was to have a massive sleepover in my bed. So we did.

MSU Squirrel

There really aren't any words...except that you should know this was taken by a friend of mine without any big photography experience or aspirations. I really, really like the shot.

Babies all to Myself

Barb and Todd have a concert tonight...so I get my babies all to myself! Bedtime should be fun. I have the feeling big brother is going to end up staying up longer than usual...

3.88

If anyone cares. There she is. Silly chemistry.

Snow Blowing

I did my first ever snow blowing today. Todd and Barb's driveway is beautiful. It's really quite fun...is mowing this fun? I should try. But obviously not today. Because the grass isn't really all that accessible...

Yay!

All grades are in but philosophy...I've officially four-pointed econ and Arabic. And I'm not worried at all about philosophy. So life is good.

Train Adventure

I had a 7:43 am train Sunday morning. I woke up at 5:30 am on Sunday - and then went back to sleep. I was supposed to have another alarm at 6 am, but technical issues arose...
So I woke up just before 7:30. And sprinted for the train. Oops. Ah, well. Such is life. I made it! And now I'm happily in Chicago.

Hmm...

Well, this is exciting. I definitely should have a 3.0 in Chemistry. But my StuInfo grade report has a 3.5. So I don't know if Morrissey changed the grading scale but didn't change it on CemScores, just gave me a 3.5, or a mistake was made. But I'm not complaining...

Amy and Kim's

I'm staying at what is affectionately known as "The Brown House." Dorms closed tonight, but my train for Chicago doesn't take off till Sunday morning. "The Brown House" is the property of the Wesley Foundation (or the church...I'm not actually sure). Kim's the Wesley Ministry Intern; Amy's a Peer Minister. The house is right next to the Church, which is very close to the Amtrak station. So I get to chill with Amy and Kim for a while before heading out for Chicago.

I'm Exhausted

The problem with having a lot less to do than usual: When one suddenly has to do actual work, one becomes exhausted.
I met a friend at 9 am for breakfast.
I had a 10 am meeting with the Chautauqua folks about MLK Day and next semester.
I babysat Kamden again for several hours.
I had a 4:30 meeting with my undergrad research project on peace and justice groups in the area.
I had a 5:30 meeting with Amplifx (alternative magazine and peace group) and Steve Sharra to discuss how Amplifx can get more linked in to campus.
I came home.
I ate dinner.
I took a bath.
I sorted some paperwork.
I washed dishes.
And I'm exhausted.
And that's absurd.

Sleeping Children

Are the most wonderful thing ever! They're just so warm and cuddly. Kamden slept/lounged in my arms happily for a solid four-plus hours today. Life was grand.

Christmas Break Plans

Chicago December 14-20 to see my babies! (Referring to family friends, the kids of whom are just full of adorableness. See below.)

I'll be taking the train to Chicago this Sunday morning, and then Barb and I are driving up with the kids to her parents' house in Lansing on Saturday.
Sunday I'll sing with the choir at Music Sunday at University United Methodist Church in East Lansing.
That afternoon, Gregory will have to come see the babies at the Ellises' to pick me up...poor boy.
Some time in Mount Pleasant (yes, I'm actually going home for Christmas, shock of shocks).
And maybe some time in Battle Creek somewhere at some point? Still working on actual arrangements there...
December 29-31 I have a church meeting in Alma. Mum, Dad, and Gregory will be going to Florida for a week or so. I'll stay with the dog for much of it, go to my church meeting for some of it while finding a friend to take care of Reilly, and maybe appear in Battle Creek sometime. But I'm not sure how it's all going to work...Ah, well, we shall see.

Baby-sitting

The good news: I get to see Kamden. The bad news: I get to see Kamden because Kamden is sick and Kennetha needs to get into the office. Poor baby. :(

All Done!

Just had my Economics exam...so we are done with academic work for the Fall Semester of 2008. I have some meetings tomorrow evening and won't actually be leaving campus until Sunday morning, but no more deadlines for a while. I'll be doing some philosophy research and quite a bit of cleaning over the next few days.

"Stranger than Fiction"

Highly recommend! SO good! That's all I'm going to say, because I don't want to ruin anything. But I think you should see it.

Left-Brained?

Eric was bugging me about being left-brained today...it's kind of true. As in, very slightly. I took a bunch of online quizzes...very slightly left on some of them, exactly in the middle on one. But such is life. I just thought I'd let everyone know...don't know why I'm bothering...but the joy of a blog: when I have nothing to do, you all are privy to every random thought. lol.
(The "not having anything to do" thing is a lie. I should be doing philosophy research. Ah, well. We'll get there.)

Oops

Oops...it's not a 3.5. It's a 3.0. Unless the professor does a crazy curve, which I'm not really expecting. So there you go, folks. Becca didn't just not 4.0, she seriously blew it. Tee hee. Might as well do it in style.

Sims News

Update on life in Sim world: Chris, Bailey, Kelsey, and Lena are either already or well on their way to being engaged. Lena recently got a hot tub as a gift from her fiance. The college mascot and my stalker professor (that's what the rest of the group calls him, I think he's just my professor friend, seeing as how we play football) were hanging out together in our hot tub. We've all passed midterms and are now in our senior years of college (time goes rather quickly...). And I think that's about it.

Well, Humbug

Granna and Mum will be pleased. I'm fairly certain I just didn't four-point chemistry. If only I could take points from the chem lab class and put them in the actual chem class...but alas. I cannot.
Oh, well. Such is life. I hope you all enjoy living as the friend/relative of a chem failure.

There are People in Here!!!

The cafeteria has never seen so much 7 am traffic. It's pretty crazy. Good for them for eating before exams, though.
Anyways, here we go...CHEMISTRY at 7:45! Yeehaw!

Good Morning

Happy seventh of December, everybody. What a beautiful day it is. Yesterday was a beautiful day too...I got some work done, lazed around a lot, and generally enjoyed the fact that I was alive. 'Twas joyous. And now I get to go sing a pretty song in church! Yay! Hope you have a good day as well. Lots of love!

"Winter Solstice"

Sad/happy movie I watched today. Allison Janney! It's really good. But only watch it if you're in the mood for a cry. Which I needed. Very healthy "flush" of emotional system.

"Tropic Thunder"

I watched it! Kelsey told me to cover my eyes at the beginning a bit, but it wasn't anything too bad. And I LOVED it. Though I was sad about Tug's "baby" at the end...

Sims

Oh, no. We've found another geek activity in which to engage. The group has now created Sims of all of us. For those of you who don't know what Sims are, they're simulated people in a computer game who walk around. You can make them interact with each other; they have goals and aspirations. So Chris, Bailey, Kelsey, Lena, and I all live together and are interacting. And it's terrifying how realistic they are. (We custom built bodies to look like us and were able to custom decide their aspirations to be similar to ours.)
Last night, my sim was playing football with its professor. I wonder if I should take this as an indication of a possible problem?

There are other people like me!!!

There's a huge group of girls watching "White Christmas" next door right now. I can't tell you how happy this is making me...

More on Drugs

So...the saddest part of this whole thing...I sent a check with John James to pay for drugs. And it was only $1.81. Oops. Probably could have handled $2 cash. Oh, well. Such is life.

The Drug Saga

The doctor prescribed a combination of anti-inflammatory (to make the lungs calm down) and antihistamine/decongestant. I biked back to the dorm. Biking hurts the lungs like heck, as does walking, because of the cold, harsh air. So I get in my room and ask my roommates if anyone is going to Meijer's. "Why not CVS?" they ask. I didn't know if it was a full pharmacy or not. And then they tell me there's a pharmacy in Olin. This I did not know. So I very sadly biked back to Olin. I ask for my drugs. They ask for my drivers' license. I don't have one. They can't give me my antihistamines without a government-issued photo ID. I almost cry. Not really, but it was sad. I bike home, very depressed and very pained. Luckily, John James loves me and went to get my drugs. So now I have them. Yay!

Here's the fun news, though: The reason I couldn't just get drugs was because what I'm taking is a precursor to crystal meth! Yay!

Doctor's Appointment

I finally caved in...and went to the doctor. Diagnosis: VIRUS! Yay.

Arabic Final

The test was today...it went decently well. I spent more time sleeping and less studying than was initially planned, but it didn't hurt me too much.
But now...Arabic is done. For an entire month-plus! And Arabic with Miled is done FOREVER. Oh, the finality of finals. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.

Oh, the things that we do.

So my friends are a bit crazy...

Jelly Belly Lab

This Wednesday's lab work was really difficult...we had to analyze the flavorings in Jelly Bellys. Talk about stressful.
And the lab report was essentially a fill-in-the-blank. Dr. Severin clearly loves us quite a lot...

I'm Officially Sick

The time has finally come for me to admit that I am, in fact, sick. I was fighting it for a long time...but can no longer do so. But I'm fine. Don't worry about me.
Though Bailey and Chris claim that I'm dying and have already divided my possessions amongst them. Mum, Dad - Bai is threatening to burn Fred. So please rescue him at least. The rest of the stuff can be dished out the way they'd like it to be.

(Can electronic transmissions needing a password in order to be performed count as legal wills?)

Boiling Water is Hot

I discovered this when I dumped the contents of the water boiler all over my thumb right before chemistry. It was amazingly talented. And warm. As in, hot. Just thought I'd let you all know.

Class Scheduling

Ah ha! I finally found an open spot in the MC 241 (Politics and Markets) class. And I grabbed it! I've been trying for like three months, so this is very happy news.

Tardy!

I was late for my first class today. Thought you all might be proud of me. lol. I think it's literally the first time in my life I've ever been unexecusedly late to class...

Tea!

Lena has a small water boiler. I stole it. And am now using it in class. Yay, tea!

Train Friend

Well, really, it was the bus back from Battle Creek. I sat next to this guy. And we started chatting. He was in Chicago visiting his brother. He'd just graduated from MSU and is still in the East Lansing area. It became clear that we were both interested in peace and justice studies...and then we came to find out that we had several friends in common. (Us peace folks...we like to connect with each other. lol.) So we had a very fun time chatting the whole way. Given that the bus ride was at 11 pm, I'm sure everyone around us wished that we were silent like everyone else on the bus...but oh well. We weren't that loud or obnoxious, I don't think. And it was fun.

Thanksgiving

was spent mostly in Battle Creek. Saw most of my really close friends and got some one-on-one time with all of them. Life was good. And now, back to the dorms...and back to work.

CEM 186H and TAXOL!!!!

YAY! For CEM 186H (second semester honors chem lab), students are required to prioritize projects. They are put in a research team headed up by a prof and work in that lab on that project for the semester.
And beautiful, beautiful world. I got my first choice.
Re-engineering Taxol...an anti-cancer drug. YAY! Becca's favorite!
I'm so excited!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey all...I'm in Battle Creek visiting friends for the weekend. I have rather limited internet access. So have a wonderful Thanksgiving, focus on your family instead of your computers and my blog, and I'll talk to you all on Sunday!
Love love love!

"Batman" TV Series!!

Bailey found the first fifteen episodes of "Batman" on the internet!!! And we watched two tonight. And they were SO wonderful!!
Best Qualities of Series:
1. EVERY Tool and Button is Labeled (Bat Radar Scan, US and Canada Crime Computer, Air Vent)
2. During fight scenes, words such as "Kabam," "Pow," "Ouch!," and "Biff" were actually shown on screen in front of the live-action pushes.
And it's WONDERFUL!

New Experience!

Well, that was fun. I just had my first experience getting rid of a friend's drunker suitor. Poor Elena caught the attention of an upperclassmen who lives in the building. He's a really fun guy...but he likes to drink. And doesn't seem to think it's a bad idea to come to her room at 12:30 am on a Monday. You'd hate to get through a full semester of college without dealing with at least one drunk, though, so there it is.

Oops...

I have had my first major "Oops" moment...I skipped a meeting last night. It was an irregularly planned meeting, but it was definitely written down on the schedule and I shouldn't have missed it. Oh, well. Life goes on.

Kamden's Sick

Everybody pray/send good wishes/whatever to Kamden (my pastor's baby whom I love to pieces). He's been throwing up rather incessantly for the past 24-plus hours. They were supposed to celebrate his dad's birthday today...there went that idea!

Condo Visit

A group of folks went to see the condo today...Bailey's pretty much set on staying on campus though. She just really doesn't like having to travel the distance. And the rest of the group is all waiting to hear what everyone else decides...this could be a long process, figuring everything out.

Spartan Dischords Christmas Concert

I know, I know. A Christmas concert before Thanksgiving. But in order to have a Christmas concert, they kinda had to do it before Thanksgiving. We come back from that break, have a week, and then have finals. So it's a bit nuts.
Anyways, the concert was really good. They did about half and half for Christmas/holiday songs and "regular" hits. A particularly enjoyable act was "Christmas Soup"...random bits and pieces of favorite carols and songs all mashed together into an absurd collection. Very fun.

TDOR

Yesterday was Transgender Day of Remembrance. We had a vigil in front of the Hannah Administration Building. Needless to say, the candles did not stay lit well...

Hello Again

I'm terribly sorry...I totally forgot about the whole blog-thing for a day apparently. But I'm here. Happy "week till Thanksgiving" day!
Yesterday was crazy...long chem lab, choir practice, the Traveling Chautauqua's "Do the Right Thing" screening, and a harder problem set than usual. But it was all fun and I got through it.

Running in the Snow

I haven't run in a while...but it snowed. And i ran. And I'll definitely be continuing so long as it snows...because snow+run=fun for Becca. It's just so pretty...and the temperature is perfect...love it.

Exploding Pringles Cans

Put methane in one can with a hole on both ends of the can, hydrogen in another. Light the top whole to burn the gas. Hydrogen flies into the air and hits the ceiling. Methane blows the lid of the container off. It's rather spectacular.

Today in safety with Dave Morrissey, open flame burning methane was left unattended while he left the room to fill up the hydrogen can...

Case Competition

Act for Justice was going to do the Case Competition with Clayborne Carson as our nominee for the Multicultural Heroes Hall of Fame. Turns out that we have to choose from a list of nominees and present on that individual. I'm kind of bummed...we were going to do a lot of research on Clay and present at the Undergraduate Research Forum as well. So now we have to decide whether or not we're going to do the Case Competition anyways...

Baby-Sitting

I got to baby-sit yesterday! Kennetha (pastor) and Kee's anniversary is Wednesday. Kamden fell asleep in the car on the way home, so the first hour or so was spent holding a sleeping infant on the couch while Keeton showed me his rock collection. When Kamden woke up, we played a little bit and threw toys around for him while Keeton and I played "Sorry." It was absolutely wonderful...

Nash Equilibrium

We've been working in Econ on game theory and Nash equilibriums...we had a very fun discussion today going through the scene from "A Beautiful Mind" where Nash 'discovers' his equilibrium idea. (The one where the boys are all in a bar and there are four brunettes and one gorgeous blond and he realizes each of the boys should go for a brunette and forget the blond.) We got into economics and sexism like crazy...lots and lots of fun.

"Hamlet 2"

Don't roll your eyes...yes, I seriously went to see it. And here's the thing...most of the actual movie is just random stupidity that some folks find entertaining and some don't. And that's fine and all. So most of you would probably hate the majority of the movie. But the part that's actually the play...oh my goodness. It was phenomenal. "Rock Me, Sexy Jesus" was one of the funniest moments of my life. It was glorious. Fantastic. Superb. Dad's reaction to "The Song That Goes Like This" has NOTHING on my response to this scene. Oh my word. I'm going to stop typing now...for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, please feel free to totally disregard the last thirty seconds or so of your lives.

Let it Snow!

It's snowing big, fat, white, glorious, beautiful snowflakes this morning!!! I'm in the cafeteria right now about to leave for church...it's going to be wonderful! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! I get to baby-sit for Kennetha's boys today after church, so maybe we'll get some snow to play in! Ooh...maybe I should go get some real shoes...

iBook G4

I'm currently using my father's iBook G4...that is to say, not Fred. Fred is with Papa being fixed. He, Mum, Megan (friend), and Granna came into town yesterday for the Spartan Spectacular, a big music fest put on by the School of Music each year with the focus being the marching band. It's something we've done for years and I love so very much. It was awesome to attend my first as an actual Spartan! The "Alma Mater" is actually MY "Alma Mater" now. 'Twas glorious.
And I'll see the parents again next weekend for Chris' (cousin) birthday party. So hopefully I won't have this ridiculous iBook for more than a week. Lovely as it is, it just isn't my Fred...But thank you to Papa for loaning me this one and working on my baby!

Friday

Yesterday was a lovely day...did some PA research, worked a bit around the house, had an LBGT Panel with the Faculty Learning Inclusiveness (or something like that). This was the first panel where we weren't the only ones...they brought in several "underrepresented" student groups. Several folks here with a program that helps migrant workers and their children get their GEDs and a Muslim Students Association representative were also there. It was nice to hear their stories, and I chimed in a bit with the MSA rep. Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up; PRISM, RHA, and TransAction brought in the mother of a transwoman who was brutally murdered in California to speak. Sylvia is a strong Christian; it was interesting to hear her take on trans issues as a Christian and a mother. Let's just say I cried a lot.

I've Got a Crush

On Immanuel Kant. Don't get excited, Dad. We're talking about him in PHL 353 today. And I think I like the dude, for the most part.

Arabic

Arabic is getting truly fun. I can say stuff! My vocabulary is building. It's glorious; simply glorious.
Have a beautiful day, all my loves!

Chem Lab Today

I was naughty in chem lab today...I skipped a rather important step of separating out some product before using the rest in another reaction. Oops...so there went part of my experiment. And it wasn't possible to just steal someone else's, because we're synthesizing aspirin and were supposed to be comparing our own crude vs. pure. (I used all the crude and was supposed to keep some.) Oh, well. Silly Becca, crude is for testing! lol.

Lies

Fred is not well. Humph. Depression. Runs beautifully in safe mode though...

Update on Friend's Bike

A comment from my mother reminded me I haven't given the rest of the bike story. Turns out the bike I broke the key in was, in fact, the correct tha bike. I'm just that skillful. The good news there, however, is that he had an extra key. So it wasn't really much of an issue. Other than the fact that Becca just had an epic fail day. lol.

Haha

Dick (my PHL 353: Peace and Justice Studies professor) just referred to George Bush as a "closet socialist." I found it funny.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today has been a very glorious day. I got my bike back from the Bike Store, and she runs BEAUTIFULLY.
Fred has been "purged" and is now running happily. He's not perfect yet, as there are still some programs that need to be run and he's not as customized as he was. So we'll have to continue playing, but it looks like it's something I can take care of instead of having to do massive re-computerization. Yay!!

Going "Offline"

Fred is going into the shop in just an hour or so...So I will be "offline" for the most part. It may be a few days until I blog again...but hopefully, when I do, it will be with Fred back and healthy.
Love to all!

Everything I Touch...

Seems to break.
My bike was in the shop. Good news! It's ready. So I can get it tomorrow.
My computer is running only in safe mode. It needs to go into the shop.
I had what was supposedly a 4 o'clock meeting. I have chem lab until 3:50. So I asked a friend to borrow his bike. No problem. He gives me the key. It's the red one closest to the building. I get out there. There are, of course, in the vicinity of 10 red bikes right next to the building. I try the key in ones that look most like my memories of Sean's. I insert the key into one. It fits. I turn. It breaks.
And that's just the way the cookie crumbles...Not to mention, the meeting was delayed until 4:30. And no one told us. So I left chem lecture early and broke my friend's bike key for no reason.

More on Fred

So I can start Fred in Safe Mode with Networking and get online and to the files I need. But he's not Fred. And I can't access all of my programs. I've tried System Repair and whatnot to no avail. So tomorrow, I guess it's off to the MSU Computer Store. I just hope they can help...but mostly, I can't understand what on earth could be wrong with him...

Fred

Fred is my computer. Fred is currently broken in some unknown way. So Fred will be visiting the MSU Computer Store tomorrow. But don't expect much blogging for the next few days...

Detroit

Today I shall be in Detroit beginnig preliminary research on the history of the Black Church in Detroit. Got up and had a great run this morning, so life is good!

Lots of Studying

I would tell you about my day, but I don't know that you'd find it all that exciting. One meeting regarding the Peace and Justice Specialization - we're recruiting at the College of Arts and Letters Open House next Wednesday - and lots of homework. The chemistry lab write-up involves actual thought rather than simply plug and chug this week. FUN!

Arabic:Visiting Professor

Milad couldn't be at Arabic today, but he sent in a sub: A visiting professor from Egypt. The guy was really fun, very energetic. Threw chalk at one of the native speakers who's in the class for an easy "A." It was rather entertaining.

El Azteco

Bailey's mom was in town visiting and she wanted to take us all out to eat. I suggested El Azteco...and they had "buy one get one free" fajitas! 'Twas a glorious day. So we ate lots of fajitas really cheap. And life was good.

Today has been

a glorious day. Mostly because I'm still riding a wave of ecstasy...

Election Results in General

So, something other than Obama (HECK YES!) happened yesterday.

In Michigan: stem cell research AND medical marijuana. Was not expecting both of thsoe to come through.

In California: close, very close, but same-sex marriage is down the tubes again. Florida, Arizon, and Arkansas had similar legislation, including a "no-adoption" line. So that's fairly depressing.

One of my friends is hopeful for federal civil unions, but we shall see.

But don't get too depressed, no matter what happens...cause BARACK OBAMA IS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT!!!

He did it!

He didn't just do it, he REALLY did it!!!!! He "thumped" McCain. Thank you, CNN.

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEHEHEEEEE!!!!

YAY!!!

And that's all I have to say about that. Mostly because I'm trying not to gloat.

I'm Here

Sorry I haven't written much, yesterday and this morning have been fairly boring. I'm terrified about the election...

Sunday

'Twas a day. Church, "Almost, Maine," Act for Justice, Students for Peace and Justice.
Kamden (the baby) has an ear infection, so I missed my weekly baby fix : (
But "Almost, Maine" was an amazing show I really, really enjoyed. Highly recommend it if you ever get the show. About an "almost-town" in Maine. One night where everyone has a romantic encounter of varying degrees. Happy, sad, touching. I cried like five times. But they were wonderful tears. Loved it so much. Very well played. Great happiness!

Hair, Anyone?

Thought I'd show you the "glory" that was my hair last night.

Hall Halloween Party

The hall sponsored a Halloween party in the basement...I went with hopes of costume contest. Chris won "Most Topical" with his Evil Alternate Universe Carl Levin (the kid's a poly sci freak, what can I say). We danced a little (I did so very badly) and then watching "Rocky Horror Picture Show." It has Tim Curry in it. The first time I watched it, I had no idea who Tim Curry was...

"Runaway Bride"

Fantastic movie. I bawled like a baby. But seriously, I gave myself a chick flick today. Decided I deserved one. And it was wonderful.

Hermione

I am finally making good on my threat of many years...Hermione it is this Halloween. We actually get trick-or-treaters in the dorm. This should be fun.
Borrowed a white blouse and gray sweater from a friend, making some Hogwarts decorations to pin on it, bought a nice gray schoolgirl skirt with Diane and Hannah last weekend that can be used for things as well.
This is especially appropriate, seeing as how I levitated something in chem lab on Wednesday.
Wingardium Leviosa!

Halloween Harry and Fluffy

This is just classic...love it.

Chemistry Test!!!

I just took the most AMAZING chemistry test of my LIFE. It was really fun. I know that's sick and wrong, but I can't help it. It was a great test. And I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. Let's all hope the final is just as magnificent...

Leo the Lion

Okay...here's a question for my space-loving friends. Should I have seen Leo the Lion this morning while I was running? Because I think I did...but I couldn't find anything real quick online telling me whether or not that was possible.

Econ Quiz

We have an economics quiz every Wednesday...today's was good. It's sick that I enjoy these things, I know it is. But I do.

YallaVOTE

"Yalla" means "go" in Arabic. There's a campaign to get Arab Americans to vote...and they have the sweetest t-shirts ever. I can't wait to wear it to Arabic tomorrow!!!

Arabic Midterm

I knew I liked that test...got them back today. Did much better without the dictation included.

Chem Lecture

We have a test on Thursday. Prof is in Israel for a conference, so Zach (TA) has been teaching this week. This morning was just a review for the exam, which was nice to have. He used a yellow chalk that was so bright it looked radioactive. We had fun.

No Chem Lab Lecture

We usually have a lecture on our chem lab Monday afternoon, but we're doing a double lab this week and Kathy's out of town, so no lecture! Time for me! With which I will do lots of homework and PA research. We also don't have a formal lab due this week because of the double lab, so I'm rolling in time. So instead of talking about how much time I have, I'm going to go do something useful with it...lol.

Arabic

I got called on a lot in Arabic today. But I knew it all! And toward the end of class, Milad realized he'd been calling on me constantly, so he promised I get tomorrow "off." Milad also got a haircut. I don't know how that's relevant, but we did discuss it in class...lol.

LBGT Panelist Training

I was trained in how to answer difficult questions yesterday. Just in case I didn't know. lol. I went to Panelist Training through the LBGT Resource Center, who does 2-3 panels a week in classes and for groups around campus who request Q&A sessions with LBGTA students. 'Twas fun. Looking forward to actually doing a panel...

Church

We sang "Set Me as a Seal" in the choir with a student French horn player accompanying us. Gorgeous song. Pretty horn!
And then I got my baby fix. Kamden came today; we hadn't seen each other in nearly a month. I took him for longer than usual; Dad took big brother Keaton off and Kennetha met with some folks. I fed him a bottle, and he fell asleep in my arms. Happiest feeling ever, that is.

The Weekend

Friday: PA Research, Eat Dinner in Dorm with Parents, Grandparents, and friend Hannah
8 pm: Concert at Wharton with Mum and Hannah (Franc d'Ambrosio, the longest-running Phantom on Broadway)
After Concert: Church to help at a youth lock-in

Saturday: Church in the morning
Chemistry Day at Impression 5 Science Museum (made liquid nitrogen for lots of children)
Dinner and Shopping with Hannah and her mom
PA Research

Life is crazy, folks. But it was all grand fun.

Sex is Apparently Responsible for Terrorism

Or the lack thereof, I should say. I'm exploring religious violence in my research this week. So here's a fun one:
“‘In Palestine, for example, where the unemployment rate among young men in their late teens and early twenties has hovered around 50 percent, economic frustration has led to sexual frustration. Without jobs, which is usually a prerequisite to searching for a wife in traditional societies, they cannot marry. Without marriage, in strict religious cultures such as that of Palestinian Arabs, they cannot have sex.’ Violence endorsed by religious authority, Juergensmeyer argues, provides the sense of empowerment that these marginal young men lack.”
And there you have it. Love really can prevent hate. lol.

That was fun!

MC 241: Politics and Markets, my core class for my Political Economy Class, is currently full. But I was playing around on MSU's schedule page...and the MC 391 (special topics class) for next semester is "Religions and Politics," focusing on Christianty and Islam. I wasn't sure that WebEnroll would let me enroll in the class, as I'm not a James Mad student. But it did. So I'm in it. I'd rather have MC 241, so I'll keep an eye on it and drop MC 391 if 241 opens up or I get a bump card, but I'll be happier with MC 391 than HST 364 (South Africa and its Neighbors). Not to mention HST 364 has 50 students, MS 391 has 30. Ha! Take that, WebEnroll! lol.

Oh, Men

Let's all give a big cheer for random hitting on women. Yeehaw. lol. It was mostly just funny...I was standing in the hall waiting for Arabic to start and a boy came out of one of the classrooms. "I just wanted to tell you that our teacher has been gone for a long time and John - you see that boy? Sitting right there - he really wishes you were our sub." Thank you, Y-chromosome.
It was rather entertaining and totally harmless, never fear.

AFJ's Debut

I almost forgot to tell you! Act for Justice had its public debut yesterday at the Traveling Chautauqua in the presence of President Simon. It went really, really well. Some folks liked the exercises, some didn't...but discussion was provoked and that was the whole point of the thing! So life was good. YAY!

There is something incredibly wrong

(or perhaps impossibly right) with the way an individual was raised if, when given the choice between Lucky Charms and Blueberry Morning "old lady" cereals, they choose the latter. But hey, whoever claimed I was sane?

Honors Humanities to be cancelled

Well, this is incredibly depressing. My favorite class at MPHS, Honors Humanities, is likely going to be cancelled due to a lack of funds. That was the only class at MPHS in which I felt like I actually learned something. I loved that time of day. It's actually, in part, a huge reason for why I got the full ride from MSU. The humanities were a huge part of the scholarship exam. But more than that, I LOVED IT! So I'm massively saddened. We're organizing a letter drive, asking MPHS alumni to write and talk about how much they enjoyed that class and how important it's been for their education. If anyone has other ideas as to how we can make the cancellation not happen, please share them.

Photoshop

and other picture-editing programs are getting way too good. And someone has way too much time on his or her hands. Seriously. This picture is terrifyingly convincing.

But here is the question of the day: Which one looks less likely? lol.

Facebook Status

The new Facebook has a thing where you can comment on people's statuses...and mine got quite a bit of attention this morning. It read "Rebecca loves running in the cold." I was mocked via status comment. And then compared to drill sergeants and squirrels. The three of us (drill sergeants, squirrels, and I) are apparently the only folks who enjoy getting up before dawn to run. Though Rachel has added herself. And I'm sure many other folks would as well...just not the people who felt inspired to comment...

Chem Lab

The chem lab was finished last night! This is a glorious feeling; I usually start them but don't actually get them finished until Tuesday night. Great feeling yesterday. The goal is to get the other two major assignments of the week completed tonight so I may devote myself to Arabic studying for the rest of the week. I may just make it, you never know.

Happy 150th!

This is my one hundred fiftieth post. And today's been good, but I've had a full morning of classes with nothing amazingly entertaining to report.
Oh, no, wait. Arabic today. We're discussing Arabic names. Given name=first name. The name that follows on official documents is the father's name. Last comes the family name. With family names, people can trace genealogy back a ways. So princes claim to be sons of the prophet. And Milad was quite entertaining as he talks about money and oil and how the kings and princes can claim whatever they want to. And if you protest, it's off to jail and you never come out. The actual issues involved are, of course, not in any way funny. But Milad's perspective was extremely mirth-provoking.

Economics Homework

Economics homework is good this week. As in quick and easy. Which is good, because I have an Arabic midterm on Thursday. And a philosophy written take home exam due Thursday. So this week is more crazy than usual.

Sunday Afternoon

I closed my eyes for a while Sunday afternoon when I got home from Church...but not for too long. I had an Act for Justice meeting and a Students for Peace and Justice meeting. Both were pretty good - great attendance at AFJ and we covered a lot of ground. SPJ also had good attendance. We're currently looking at a "don't shower in the dorms" day. It will be interesting to see how that goes over.

Preaching in Ionia

I preached today in Ionia for their UMW Sunday. First service was mostly older folks and a traditional service. I think they all enjoyed hearing me preach mostly because I was young. Second service, though, was a fantastically contemporary service. I preached on the floor from a music stand and totally engaged with the congregation (I almost typed "audience" right there). It felt really good.

Accatoberfest

Lots of a cappela groups singing in a concert. Fun life! I knew all of like three of the songs that were performed...but it was still fun. lol.

Today was also the ADS/UDS dinner. We ate at the official President's house and schmoozed with people. Saw I guy I'd met at ADS weekend; recruited him to AFJ. Turns out he actually lives like two doors down from one of the guys in AFJ. That worked well! lol.

Act for Justice Update

Exciting stuff in the justice theater group...we'll be performing next Wednesday in the Traveling Chautauqua as a dialogue-starter. It will be in front of President Simon (MSU's President). Talk about a debut!
We'll then move to researching Clayborne Carson, an MLK researcher at Standford. He was a student activist in his undergrad years, so his life is incredibly rich. We've been in dialogue with him - he's been very responsive! Very geeked about life.

YAY!!!!

I am extremely excited. I have just managed to switch my Arabic class time and get into macroeconomics. This was this huge thing I was worried about happening or not...so life is good. Life is very good. Now all I have to do is get into the full politics and markets class...but it will happen, I think. Yay!

I love my Honors College

I took this for granted at first, but then realized just how cool it is and how few places actually offer this...
The Honors College is looking to hire a new academic advisor. Emails were sent to HC students with interview times and we were asked to come in, speak with the candidates, and provide our input. That's pretty sweet. I love my school. It's a good place to be.

Thank you, Chinese TAs

While I am learning words like "church" and "university," Lena (who lives across the hall) is learning phrases from her TAs. Such phrases include (I do not know the Chinese for these phrases, I only know that Lena can say them):
"That is a really sexy girl."
"I want to drink beer really bad right now."
"You're not my type."
Thank you, teaching assistants. May I just say, not only is Arabic a better language (by which I mean I like it more), I'm learning better and more useful (at least for my life) things in the class.

I can write real sentences!!!!

Ooh ooh ooh!!!
I can say things!
About stuff that actually means something!
والدتي تعمل في بيت My mother works at home
والدي يعمل في الجامعة My father works at the university.
And it's true! Yay!!!! Today was a good day.

My Ten Names

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Becca

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle.)
Becizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal)
Blue Dolphin

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on/or
neighborhood if it's a number)
Leanne Garrison

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2
letters of your first name)
Farre

6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite
drink)
Green Water

7. YOUR FANTASY FICTION "OTHERWORLD" NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms
maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first
name, and last letter of your moms first name).
Erfoagl.

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names).
Jean Donald

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets).
Black Princess

10. Your hood name:....first 3 of your first name and add -iqua....
Beciqua

My Record Remains

I have not yet missed a class, even though I slept today until 8:08 and had a 8:30...I would like to say that I set my computer alarm for 7, one for 7:30, and one for 8...and none of them went off. Or woke me up. Or something. And that's the fun story. Alrighty...time for lecture!

Well That Sucks

I apologize for being partisan (again), but this is a fairly established fact.
There have been tons of student groups getting people to register to vote. One of these groups, however, gathered around two hundred registrations claiming to be pro-Obama. The paperwork was then "lost," and people who registered with them didn't find out about it until the deadline had passed. And I'm sorry, but that's disgusting. It would be disgusting if it were the other way around too.

Tuesday

'Twas a Tuesday. Like most Tuesdays. Ooh, ooh, ooh! Happy news! We are now in the new book for Arabic! YAY!!!
I've finished my chem lab (yay!).
Life is good.
Also, I'm running again (as you saw in previous post). No more hurt toe! Yay!

Today is apparent yay! day.

Thank you, Michigan

for that lovely bout of weather.
5:30 am: Becca goes running down a beautiful fall trail. Temperature: Heavenly. Not too hot, not too cold. Precipitation: Not a chance for like a week. Wind: Nonexistent.
7:30 am: Becca, after showering, collapsed back into bed for an hour before class (that makes sense, doesn't it? Get up early, run and shower, and then sleep more. Whatever. I'm weird; I don't deny it.). Temperature: Flippin' cold. As in hot cocoa is now necessity of basic existence. Precipitation: Wet. Lots. Wind: Gale forces. Shrieking. Absurd.
12:30 pm: Becca has had lovely productive morning and is going to Arabic. Temperature: around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Precipitation: Not a chance for like a week. Wind: Nonexistent.
And that, my beloveds, is why I live in Michigan. Cause why not? Who wouldn't want this?

Formal Labs

are fun to write. My friends all think I'm insane. Am I? Oh well. I'll just have to accept the consequences.

Lack of Economics

Prof Woodbury has no voice...so we have no class. Which means I have an extra two hours today, during which I will be meeting with the dean of the College of Arts and Letters to discuss my new research job. Yeehaw.

"Flushed Away"

I watched "Flushed Away" with Lena, Kelsey, and Chris last night. It's very cute. And Hugh Jackman is the lead voice (always a plus). Highly recommended - lots of "crude humor" as the PG-rating states, but it's lots of fun and the kids just won't pick up on most of the "dirty" stuff, so go ahead and watch it with them.

CAL URI

I've been given another research job - this one through peace and justice studies. I'll be researching peace and justice groups in the area and writing up history on them. Life shall be grand - I'm really looking forward to it.

Good Morning

Hey All - Happy Morning. It's bright and beautiful in Chicago. We're essentially going to church and heading home...everyone's fairly burned out. Which is just as well; I'll get stuff done. It means I didn't need to cancel my five o'clock meeting...but oh well. Hopefully I'll get some stuff done! But it's more likely I'll just hang out with my floormates...oh well. I will be productive in the car at least.

St. Augustine

Was quite a jerk for the most part, by the way. I've been reading sermons and "The City of God" for my research job, and he just doesn't say some nice things. Though he is a remarkable feminist for his time. Every once in a while, that is.

Cluster Bombs

These things are terrible, by the way. See http://www.fcnl.org/weapons/clusters/ for information about them. The things are awful - they're used by our military but kill more civilians than combatants and kill more of our own troops than combatant troops. Awful things. There's a mother bomb that holds many bomblets. The bomblets don't all explode right away, though, so some bomblets are left around in parks and fields. They look like toys, so kids pick them up...it's terrible.
Students for Peace and Justice worked with the Greater Lansing Network Against War and Injustice to bring the National Campaign to Ban Cluster Bombs' Cluster Bomb Survivors tour into campus. We heard from a 17-year old Afghani boy who lost both legs to a cluster bomb, the father of a five-year-old boy killed by these weapons in south Lebanon, and the mother of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq while cleaning up U.S. dropped cluster bomblets. Completely and totally awful. So please go email Senator Levin (who's chair of the Armed Services Committee) and tell him you hope he'll support the treaty in Congress that will ban US use of these bombs. And typing about them is incredibly depressing...but please do check out the website and do all you can to help.

Act for Justice...Clayborne Carson

Clayborne Carson, professor of history at Stanford. Student activist during his undergrad and now an MLK biographer. We will be researching his life during Act for Justice and portraying portions of it. I emailed him personally on behalf of the group and got an awesome response - I am part of an online Gandhi-King community for peace and justice dialogue and have "Clay's" cell phone number. Kid you not. It's pretty blasted exciting, all in all.

Okey Dokey

Online. Meetings done. Most of economics homework taken care of. Time for blogging!

Wireless Issue

Hey Folks - Sorry, we couldn't hack into the church's wireless for all of last night. But we're online now and are in an official meeting "internet break." Kind of like a smoke break for adult workers, but a Facebook break for young people. I need to go back to meeting, but I'll be able to talk tonight.

I Haven't Deserted!

I'm sorry; life's been crazy lately. This means I have tons to tell you but no time to type it! I'm about to get in the car to go to Chicago...I'll blog a lot tonight; I promise.

Chem Lab Party Results

It was grand fun. Lots of work got done and everyone sprawled out in my room. Lots of people came through, though we never actually had more than six people at once. Anyways, it was a really, really good lab. Several people had trouble with it before I started, so I was a wee bit aprehensive. But I had a blast and life was grand.

Chem Lab Party!!

If anyone would like to join us, a group of us will be having a lovely chem lab party in my room tonight. Just thought I'd let you know. (It's break during chem lecture, so here I am. I don't dare start working on something, because then I'll keep working on it when lecture starts again, and I'd like to pay attention.)

Chemistry

is fun. But a chemistry professor who hates math is somewhat annoying. He won't let us do all the fun pretty calcular involved with Schrodinger's Equation...and it makes me sad.
On a good note, we have a very involved lab due tomorrow I'm having fun with.

Bruschetta!!!!

Just in case I wasn't already sold on MSU...today there was bruschetta at dinner. And my life is, if it weren't already, completely sold and in love.

Queen Latifah!

was on Saturday Night Live yesterday moderating the VP debate. It was great...you should check it out if you haven't seen it yet. Tina Fey was, of course, Sarah. Latifah got one of the best lines:
“Due to the historically low expectations for Gov. Palin, were she simply to do an adequate job tonight, at no point cry, faint, run out of the building or vomit, you should consider the debate a tie.”

"Airplane"

The movie of choice last night was "Airplane." I stayed on the floor (aka, off Bailey's bed) and worked on Arabic vocabulary since I'd already seen it. Chris, Lena, and Kelsey had all seen it. Bailey, on the other hand, was so very, very confused. She enjoyed it, but we had to remind her several times to just "not question it." Mum, I'm sorry, but the drinking problem story was told.

I do not recommend

breaking one's toe. It hurts quite a bit. Not only did I break my toe, but I did it in the most ridiculously embarassing manner. I got out of bed. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's what it takes Rebecca Farnum to break her toe: getting out of bed. I slammed my foot on the shelf by my bed beautifully hard and broke it. It was glorious colors and shapes for several days.
I didn't run for a few days. But this morning the toe felt pretty good, so I went running. Another thing I don't recommend. It hurt. So now it's pretty colors again.
Note to Granna and others likely to get upset my this news: My toe is fine; no permanent damage has been done! I will buddy wrap it again this morning and all will be well.

Drumheads Chemically

We just had fun...I now know why one hits a drumhead off-center in terms of chemistry. It's not really chemistry, of course. It's the physics needed to understand chemistry. But my chem prof lectured about it today. And it was fun.

Absentee Voting!!!

That felt fantastic. Ladies and gentlemen, the envelope is sealed. And I have just voted for a certain young man for the next President of these United States. And I'm really bloody happy about it.

Obama vs. Palin Lines

This is funny...I know many people's views differ from mine, so forgive me on that. But it's entertaining nonetheless.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

.....If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
....Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

....If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
....Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

....Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
....Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

....If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the First black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration Drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor,
spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the State Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people, while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
...If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

....If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
....If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

....If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
....If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

....If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
....If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now .

Serenading by Sparty

I went to listen to the "Spartan Dischords," the male a cappela group on campus. Sparty (our mascot) was, of course, there. He saw my laptop and came over to check out my progress on my chemistry lab report. The boys in that moment broke into a love song. So I have now had the glorious experience of being serenaded by Sparty. What could be more wonderful? A picture will be coming when my friend loads it off his phone. Sparty also wore my cute white hat. It didn't fit him all that well, but watching him insist he wanted to wear it was funny.

PUNishment

Courtesy of Aunt Catherine:
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a-head.'
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it.
19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium, at large.
20. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
21. A backward poet writes in-verse.
22. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

Schrodinger's Equation

We have reached wave functions in chemistry. It's really fun, because this is what we looked at in my mathematical physics class at Central Michigan University last year. But my chem prof likes to gloss over math...
But I am happy knowing that I know. Math is pretty!

Dare I say

That I'm glad the House turned down the bailout plan? This is likely to be controversial, even among members of the same party. So come on, folks, give me your thoughts.

Arabic Today

Was cancelled....it was sad. So I have a lot of time now, but I don't get to go to Arabic. Tragedy. I suppose I shall go write my formal lab and then do some extra Arabic to take care of my deficiency.

Maximus of Tyre vs. the Bush Doctrine

“if doing wrong is bad, then so too is doing wrong in return...What limit will there then be to the harm done? If the victims of wrongdoing take their revenge, the harm will for ever be transferred from one to the other and perpetuate itself, and one act of wrongdoing will follow another. The same justification by which you allow the victim to take his revenge is equally effective in allowing the right of retaliation to pass back from him to the original offender; the justification is open to both of them equally. For God’s sake, look at what you have brought about! Justice compounded of wrongs! How far will the mischief go? Where will it come to rest? Don’t you realize that this is an inexhaustible source of wickedness that you are opening up, that you are laying down a law that will lead the whole earth into harm? It was just this principle that brought men the great misfortunes of days gone by, armed expeditions of foreigners and Greeks crossing to attack each other, robbing and warring and plundering, and making the preceding wrong their excuse for each new one. The Phoenicians kidnap a royal princess fro Argos; the Greeks kidnap a foreign girl from Colchis; then the Phrygians strike again, taking a Spartan woman from the Peloponnese. It is obvious how ill succeeds ill, how pretexts for war arise, how wrongs multiply. This same process brought Greece into destructive conflict with herself too – self-styled victims of wrongs attacking their neighbours, in inexhaustible rage and undying anger and lust for revenge and moral ignorance.”

MSU Gardens

For those of you who have never been on MSU's campus, its beauty was a major reason for choosing it. It's gorgeous here. There are beautiful gardens everywhere. It's simply a very pretty campus. The Children's Garden has been there forever and I have many fond memories of it. Several years ago, parking there was free, so we would park in the garden before shows at the Wharton, walk around in the garden for a bit, and then stroll over to the theater. There are huge chimes on the ground that you make sound by jumping on top of them, ponds with frogs and fish, things to climb on, water fountains to squirt...it's a glorious place to be a kid. Or a grown-up who wishes he or she was a kid. They added a lot of bricking at one point, and people were able to purchase bricks. We have one for Granna from the grandkids. We can never remember where it is in the garden, though, so we have to hunt everytime.

Gondola, Anyone?

This weekend was the first outdoor Wesley@CMU event...we went canoeing on the Chippewa River and stayed the night outside in a tent! It was very exciting. This morning, canoeing back into town, I discovered that I was capable of canoeing while standing up. And the idea was apparently contagious...

"Batman and Robin"

Fantastic movie. George Clooney!! We thoroughly enjoyed mocking this one...Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger with some incredibly awful lines. ("It's like witty banter...without the wit!") Then we all went to the cafeteria late at night and laughed a lot. Life is good.

"Harry Potter" and Economics

We were all very zoned-out in economics; it's exam week. We were talking about manufacturing and production. The professor had a comment on the board about how nice it would be if we could pull a "Harry Potter" and conjure a car rather than creating one. And then, adorable idiot that he is, he accused us of not liking "Harry Potter" any more. And we all woke up, very suddenly. We then spent a good amount of time all having individual conversations about the books, who has and hasn't read the seventh one, why the movie release date was pushed back (that even has something to do with economics). Then we had to educate the professor about the rules and laws of magic. "It's a transformational magic, not a creational magic." I liked that explanation; it made me feel technical.

Paying Bills

This morning I biked over to the Lansing Board of Water and Light and then to Comcast to pay bills. Got them both done in time for a 9:30 meeting, so all was well. This is the end of biking for bills; everything else should go through online now.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a good day. Chem lecture mostly involved reviewing for the exam and we got out early; we're learning more and more letters in Arabic every day. We're nearly done with the alphabet, scarily enough. (I'm scared because who knows what happens once we're expected to actually know something...)
Philosophy went as usual...we talked (shocking, I know).
I biked to the condo to pick up bills and the printer...that was a joy. Printers are heavy.
Homework and bed!
And tada...'twas Tuesday.

My First Exam

I have just had my first exam. It went very well...I think. Any panic moments of "I don't know this" were taken care of before I turned in the exam. I wouldn't say everything was perfect, but we're looking at a good grade at least. This was an economics exam...fun!
Coming up on Thursday is my first chem exam; I think I also have an Arabic quiz Thursday. But, as we have seen previously, Arabic quizzes make me extremely happy.

I'm Very Proud of Myself

I have been artistic/creative-ish...
The justice theater group for the Honors College needed a name. And I was struck by creativity. This doesn't happen very often. "Act for Justice." Oh yeah. And then, when we have a show..."The students of 'Act for Justice' present an act of justice." Oh yeah. So then we needed a logo. Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your viewing pleasure...the one and only visual triumph of my life.

Church Today

Got to sing in choir! It was fun. I sit on the upper edge, so I had to lead in and then lead the choral recession out...fun. I am transferring membership next week, so I attended the "Inquirers" Sunday school to chat about UUMC and Methodism. The others in the class were previous Methodists as well, so we didn't do any absurd "what is the Church" stuff. But we chatted a lot about the make-up of UUMC and John Ross made me talk about General Conference.
Next week I'm on nursery duty but will have to sneak down after the sermon to be received into the Church. I'll be in Church service the week after that, then gone for two weeks for other Church meetings. Oh well; I'm there when I can.
Also had a meeting with Chris, the youth director. Chris Heffner (friend from dorm) helped with the middle school youth group and is looking to continue that; UUMC is just starting to have separate groups, so Chris came on at the right time. It's going to be very confusing having two young male Chrises in leadership, though.

Oh, Good GLORY!

Apparently, tailgating is a big deal. I had my first experience today with actual tailgating, as I had to bike to the church to meet Tim for the West Michigan Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry meeting. On the way, I had to stop by Wilson Hall to get something from Katie. Campus is INSANE on a Saturday morning of a football game. You can't move. People drive down the sidewalks. I got to Wilson safely...to find out that you can't enter without a valid resident ID on game days. Haha. So Katie was supposed to come sign me in, but I had no idea of her phone number and could barely remember her room number. I eventually got in, I just had to leave my bag. Since I was up there for all of five minutes, I didn't mind. Just another fun adventure...anyways, I wouldn't suggest "downtown" campus on game days. And thank God I chose to live in Snyder-Phillips...

Arabic Test

I shouldn't announce this on my blog, because my father becomes overjoyed and begins telling the entire world (for example, Jana Lynn Almeida) that I've made mistakes. Seriously, I was at the bishop's reception and Jana Lynn sees me. "Apparently you're screwing up on the board in class." WHAT?!? You are so busted, Pop.
But we got our Arabic tests back. And I put a hamza where there was not one...so my Arabic test was not perfect. There ya go, Daddy.

"Batman Forever"

My floormates and I have officially become "Batman" freaks. To be more accurate, we're "make fun of 'Batman' movies" freaks. "Batman Forever" introduces Robin, who's quite fantastic. Jim Carrey is in it as one of the villains; he was hysterical. Because even though he was all painted up, you're like, "Oh look. It's Jim Carrey being Jim Carrey." Nicole Kidman was our sexy blond this time, and without an 80s hairdo.
We particularly enjoyed making fun of Val Kilmer's complete lack of acting...we redelivered most of the lines in a deadpan robot voice.
Best moments of show: Val Kilmer does this TERRIFYING smile after Nicole Kidman tells Batman that she doesn't want him anymore because she's in love with someone else. That someone else is, of course, Bruce Wayne. So Val Kilmer turns away and then shows the only emotion he shows in the entire film...in the form of a completely freakish smile. We had to rewatch it on my computer the next day, the smile was so scary.
And the line that takes the cake..."Holy rusted metal, Batman!" Fantastic.

Yay, Drugs!

I have this huge thing with ear infections. They're like my body's favorite thing to do. So I got to experience one of my three pre-paid visits to Olin Health Center at MSU today to have somebody look at my ear. They irrigated it (yes, you can irrigate ears); that felt heavenly. Then the doc looked at it again and said there was still some swelling. So...yay Amoxicillin!!! (Penicillin.) Even more yay! is Meijer's free distribution of said drug. What's the only thing better than drugs? Free drugs. Most definitely. Good heavens, I sound like a junkie.

Catch-Up

I've been slowing down quite a bit on blog posting lately...life got crazy all of the sudden. Hopefully I'll be able to give some details on the weekend. Bear with me, though, if there are times when things don't go up so quickly.

Laundry

I've just had my first college laundry experience...just thought everyone would like to know. All is well thus far. Nothing has blown up. (This is more of a concern than you would think.)

Happy Dinner

Today's dinner was themed to our "One Book, One Community" project, so we had Sudanese food. Very yummy split corn and other wonderful entrees. Mango ice cream, which was okay. And the winner is...FLAN! Ha! Yummy, yummy, VERY yummy flan.

Wall-E and the Church

The ministry intern at Wesley preached today for the first time...she used "Wall-E" as the basis for her message; claiming the movie as an allegory for the "old" and "new" church. The sermon was very good, and I thought Granna might enjoy hearing about the many ways that "Wall-E" is such a fantastic movie.

HA!

I ran nearly four miles today. And I feel GOOD. The Red Cedar flooded for the first time since I've been here...and I usually run on the path by it. But the path had a good two to four inches of standing water sitting on it (yes, I know I just said that standing water was sitting), and I absolutely hate wet tennis shoes. So I decided to run on the road. And I was heading in the direction of the church...and just kinda kept going. I guess I've hit the threshold where I can just go for as long as I feel like. And furthermore, I did it in a good forty minutes or thereabouts. So I'm doing ten-minutes relaxing miles. Ha! I'm going to be so annoying in chemistry lecture because I feel SO good.

I'm Feeling very Green and White...

I just went into the Wharton Center for something and it suddenly dawned on me that this was no longer the place I came with my grandmother for shows...this was my HOME! And I was filled with a rush of happy Spartan-y feelings.
It's a very happy child currently on campus, ladies and gents.

Chautauqua

We have at MSU a Traveling Chautauqua...a group of people who gather to dialogue and learn about issues of the day. This semester's topic is equality and justice. I am a part of the Chautauqua, though I am late each week because of Chem Lab. The Honors College has decided to create a Chautauqua Theater Group...and I have the joy of being the student leader. I'm really not sure how that happened...lol. The risk of responding to emails...it will get you every time. We had our first meeting yesterday; I'm really very excited about where it could go.

Nursery Duty

I've been drafted...happily so. I'll be volunteering in the Church nursery every once in a while when the paid folks are unable to do so. We've got a young lady coming on board who's from near Thailand and has been here for two and a half years. She loves children but hasn't had a lot of experience with infants, so I'm helping to train her. But yesterday we didn't have any babies...sadness.
I did, however, go to the Welcome Back Reception for Bishop Keaton, and Kennetha brought the baby. So I got to hold Kamden for a solid hour and he fell asleep in my arms. Happy Becca!

"Dinner" with Whitney

Whitney (friend from church in Mount Pleasant) and I are planning to eat dinner one day. I had to move it from Thursday because there were four other meetings I was supposed to be at...so then we decided we'd do it Friday. But Mom invited me to go the Bohls', so we switched it again, even though I didn't actually go with Mum and Dad. And tonight...I went to eat with my friends, got back in time for Whitney to get me (cause I'd totally forgotten...oops. But it wasn't an actual problem.) And then Whitney didn't have her ID. So we didn't eat. We sat in the lounge and chatted for an hour plus, but we have yet to actually eat dinner. Some day, though...some day.

Life is Fantastic

It's Saturdays. Saturdays are good days. I always have tons of homework I get to do but I don't have to go anywhere. So I lounge in bed and read philosophical works and answer economics questions and translate Arabic and draw Lewis structures. And it's good. End of random happy thoughts...

That Felt REALLY Good

I've been reading a philosophical work on justice in Plato's "Republic" for many hours. And I love the work I do, but there are moments when you need to stop. So I went running. Late at night. And it felt WONDERFUL! Pardon my capitals and exclamation marks, but endorphins are very happy things...

What a Sweetheart

I have this awful habit of unlocking my door and then not taking the key out of the lock...someone just knocked on the door to let me know. Yay random acts of kindness! It made me happy.

She's Got it Bad, Folks

Just had an Arabic test. I'm currently on top of the moon. Seriously, I'm in love. Madly, deeply, passionately. This is bad. Really bad.

Church Fun

Went to church yesterday to steal candles for the Peace Vigil Students for Peace and Justice are hosting today at "the Rock." Also had a meeting with the children's ministry supervisor, choir practice, and Wesley worship.
So they need a new pair childcare worker for Sunday mornings. I would love to do it, but also love church...someone else has expressed interest but has virtually no experience with infants. So I'm going to be with her the rest of September in the nursery to help her learn to work with them.
Went to choir practice, though I won't be able to sing until October.
Wesley worship was good. Saw some new people there, always a plus.

Sleeping in feels good...

I slept today; I didn't get home until 9:30 from church last night and needed to do some homework. So then I didn't get up and run...and it felt good. Running probably would have felt good too, but I'm now happily awake and without exhaustion headache in chem lecture.

That was nearly disastrous...

I apparently don't do chemical calculations well under pressure. Had our first actual lab today...and I was amazingly bad at it. The actual lab went really well, but I hadn't bothered to figure out ahead of time exactly how we'd need to do the equations. Clearly should have. So we got out of class late and it still wasn't correct...
Good news: The second I got home and started working on it, I saw exactly what needed to happen. So all is now well.
Lesson Learned: Prep all equations and calculations in prelab.

Econ

Economics quiz was bad today because I didn't memorize things well so spent too much time figuring things out instead of spitting out answers.
The lecture was very good today...we're into individual consumer demand and dealing with cardinal utility...MATH AND CALCULUS! YAY!

Congressional Call Numbers

I've been spending some time in the library finding books for my PA...so today I finally decided that it would make sense to understand the Library of Congress' Call System. I have now explored much of it...they're pretty specific.
For example:
B Philosophy (General)
69-99..........General works
108-5802.......By period (including individual philosophers and schools of philosophy)
108-708.......Ancient
720-765.......Medieval
770-785.......Renaissance
790-5802......Modern
808-849........Special topics and schools of philosophy
850-5739......By region or country
5800-5802....By religion

Too many numbers and letters on each...but when you're dealing with that many books, I suppose you must. Good bye, Dewey Decimal System.

Calculus

Yay! My roommate's elder sister, who's working on her master's in engineering, needed some help with her calculus...so I got to do calc this morning. I miss it. Doing some was fantastic.

Ooh...almost forgot

Have to tell you...fun lecture in chemistry today. The prof did a demonstration that involved poisonous gas, fire, and a stepstool. Things went "boom" and flared very impressively. Then he used balloons to show atomic geometry in the VSEPR model...it was quite fantastic.

That was fast

I got very busy very quickly...I didn't have all that much homework over the weekend, because there wasn't much I could do until certain things happened in class. And now they've all happened...and I have a lot of work to do. So forgive me if I'm a bit AWOL for a while.

Best Facebook Status Ever

Devin Mauney, one of my buddies from big Church work who's into legislation and whatnot, currently has a fantastic status on Facebook. "Devin says, 'Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a Governor.'"
Fantastic. I stole it.

Magnificent Monday

Sensing a theme? Classes today...busy but fantastic. Got quite a lot of homework done but also had fun with friends over all three meals! The salad today with a cherry walnut with chicken...fantastic.
We did a scavenger hunt with RING (student group) around our complex that showed me where a few things are I didn't know about.
It rained very hard...got a bit damp, but I didn't mind.
A special note to Mum and Granna...I haven't taken drugs in at least five days; ran today; felt great all day and had no problems. Yay!!

Super Sunday

Today was just fantastic. Church in the morning - I was liturgist. The passage was Romans 13:8-14, so I got to say "debauchery" and "licentiousness" from the lecturn on my third Sunday at a new church. Fun...
There was a brunch after Church; had several wonderful conversations. Turns out a friend I met on the Boys' Honors Floor has started singing with the UUMC Choir. Guess I'm getting to know him better in the future...
Home to my philosophy research.
Went to dinner with the gang, then went to my Students for Peace and Justice meeting.
And now I'm watching "Dogma" with my floormates. Fantastic movie.

Ugandan Malaria and HIV

Went to a lunchtime presentation yesterday about a Fulbright scholar's research in Uganda with victims of cerebral malaria and HIV. He and his team tested victims and non-victims for memory and motor skills to see how the diseases affected life up to two years after the illness. They then brought in computers and did training sessions (learning games) to see how much they helped. The presentation was very interesting, though not as focused on the actual malaria, etc. as I had hoped. What it mostly did was make me want to go to med school really badly again...

The No-Bake Saga

I was asked to make some no-bakes for a friend...no problem. Do it all the time. Asked Mom to email me the reciple just to make sure I remembered everything. So I biked over to the grocery store right next to church, went shopping, and headed to the church kitchen. And started my no-bake making. And here's the thing...when you make peanut butter krispies, you use a cup of peanut butter. When you make no-bakes, you use half a cup. I was making a double batch...so I put in two cups from memory instead of reading recipe very carefully. The only solution was to make another batch of non-peanut butter goo and combine them. It worked. The no-bakes turned out just fine. But I ended up with enough to feed the entire population of New York...

That was absolutely fantastic!

I have just completed my first completely insane college student experience. A bunch of friends and I dressed up in totally crazy hippy clothes and went to "Mamma Mia." We then went shopping...and a 50-year-old woman in a car honked at us and called out the window: "I just wanted to let you know how awesome you guys were. I was sitting behind you and I was so inspired I'm going to get a group of friends together and do that same thing next week." It was fantastic.
We were incorrect about what time the bus left on the way back, so we spent too much time shopping and then had to wait for a while. But this turned out to be a very good thing. One the bus back, we met a PhD student from Togo. We were chatting quite a bit; we tried to help him back to his apartment. But we had the wrong apartment complex in our heads. So we had to walk him back and get him on another bus...turns out he's a Fulbright scholar! Great conversation...he got one of our phone numbers, so hopefully we'll be able to show him around campus a bit more. He's only been in the US for a month and is having trouble mostly with finding the right kinds of food to eat that he'll like. He got orange drink instead of orange juice...
Anyways, the evening was quite wonderful. Love to all!

IVAC

The International Volunteer Action Corps! They sponsor trips and whatnot, but it's also a great place to hang out at MSU with international students and other folks interested in globalization and cross-cultural connection. Met a very cool grad student from India and we chatted for quite a while. It was a longer meeting than I'd anticipated, but the time was filled with games and ice breakers and whatnot, so I enjoyed it very much.
Today: Mostly work. Going to see "Mamma Mia"...yes, I'm seeing it again. But this time my friends will actually be there. Have to make some no-bake cookies for a friend (why do I do these things? I'm busy enough!). There's a presentation at noon about some research on malaria and HIV in Ugandan children; it's mostly about the psychological effects and mapping those with computer software, but I might go to that. And now I shall get to work! Have a lovely day!

More Arabic Mistakes

I had a rough day in Arabic today. I enjoyed myself thoroughly, but I screwed up both words I was called on to say outloud. Did my writing on the board perfectly though. You win some, you lose some. Fair enough. Looking forward to completing Unit 3 this weekend!

Go Spartan Bookstore!

I'm really rough on headphones...this might have something to do with the fact that I use them constantly. So I needed new headphones and a lab notebook with carbons. I checked headphones at MSU's Computer Store...they had only one brand whose shape I didn't like much and were fairly expensive. Then I visit the handy dandy Spartan Bookstore to get my labbook and figure I'll check headphone prices for a comparison. And I got a 2-pack for $15. With a carrying case. Looky there. Quick, easy, and not very expensive. They may not be the fanciest headgear in existence (i.e., they'd drive my brother crazy because they're not sophisticated enough), but they do the job I need them to do beautifully. And they're Spartan-decorated! So now I will feel loving of my school whenever I run.

Wesley Worship

Had worship for the first time at Wesley. Enjoyed myself thoroughly...good service, good music (with just the right blend of music that I knew and didn't know). Saw the church choir practicing immediately before that; I need to make sure I talk to the music director this Sunday and check out exact times and commitments. Met a lot of knew people, always a plus. One in particular was fun to meet..."I just figured out who you were. I had suspicions about who you were, but I wasn't sure...Well, I know you're not Charlie. So I won't treat you like you are. But I like Charlie a lot...you're taller than I expected." Entertaining. But I look forward to getting to know him better.

More Wednesday

Life is still good...and there's still nothing immensely entertaining to share. I managed to eat all three meals with friends, which doesn't happen very much, due to scheduling. There was "Buckeye Bliss" ice cream - essentially moose tracks, but with more goodies and better ice cream. Fantastic. "Death by Chocolate" too. Must be careful of ice cream...And I finally got my doughnut! (This sounds like I'm eating nothing but junk - not true. Had salad for both main meals today.)
I'm off to worship at MSU's Wesley for the first time! Meanwhile, worship at Dad's Wesley at CMU should be starting in about twenty minutes...

Wednesday

Today is a happy day. There's nothing too extraordinary to talk about...so forgive my lack of entertainment...

Study Buddy

I have a study buddy, everyone! An honors junior in my economics class borrowed my book this weekend to do her homework, and then wanted to go over the problems. So I went to her room (she's an RA in my building on the ASL floor!) and we talked through our economics homework. It was very fun. We made it through all the problems, but we definitely chatted a lot about other stuff. She's the lead in the first play of this year and is a huge theater geek. She has Broadway posters all over her room, so we talked about that. She knows Sutton Foster...is a FRIEND of Sutton Foster. She's on the ASL floor. (That's American Sign Language, by the way.) She's a reformed Jew who plans on becoming a rabbi. It was really fun...look forward to getting to know her better.

Well, that's fun

Apparently MSU's Payroll Office codes PAs as grad students...so I'm apparently a grad student at Michigan State University. That's fun.

Red Cedar Running

I can run again! Life is fantastic. I don't go too hard yet, I have to take tylenol immediately afterwards, and I have to bike a lot or the knee starts to hurt again, but for the most part, life is good! I've missed it a lot...it's good to be back.

"Mamma Mia"

We were all going to go to "Mamma Mia" today. I wanted to bike; the rest of the gang was going to ride the bus. So they took off for the bus station and I took off on my bike. I got there...and no friends. I watched the movie...and still no friends. Turns out the bus service doesn't run on Labor Day. So they never made. So I saw "Mamma Mia" again while wishing my friends were there to dance with...

This is AWESOME!

I have been captured into the world of philosophy and justice studies. I'm researching the causes/nature of violence for my professor...and getting to write about my own opinion in the process. I got totally geeked about it just now. So here's a sample of the annotated bibliography I get to turn into him...

Nichols, James H. Nichols Jr., trans. “Gorgias” by Plato. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1998. The “Gorgias” itself is one of the greatest sources of our knowledge about Gorgias’ views on justice and violence and also includes some views of Callicles. Socrates is a character in the dialogue, so we lose a bit of the “pre-Socratic” side of Gorgias; nonetheless, we have decided to include it in this portion of research.
pp. 42; 460b. “So then according to this argument, is also the one who has learned the just things just?” This follows a discussion about how one who learns music is musical, one who learns carpentry is a carpenter, etc. This is Socrates’ response to Gorgias’ statement that the teacher is not responsible if a student of rhetoric uses it unjustly. Gorgias has claimed to teach his students not only rhetoric, but also justice. Socrates corners Gorgias into admitting that one who has been taught justice is necessarily just. At this point, Socrates doesn’t push much farther. But we want to: If one who has been taught justice is just, and Gorgias has taught his students justice, why then have some of them used rhetoric for unjust means? This leads us to one of two possible conclusions: either Gorgias did not teach justice properly or justice can be unlearned. If we extend this argument to violence: Isn’t one who has been taught non-violence, by necessity, non-violent? Why then, have children who have grown up hearing of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. not non-violent? We find a simple explanation: Society (and Gorgias) may teach students non-violence and justice. But society also teaches violence and injustice. And mustn’t he who has been taught violence be violent? So now we have a student who has been taught both violence and non-violence and is therefore both violent and non-violent. Circumstances will influence which of these characteristics wins out. But from this argument, if we can find a way to teach only non-violence to a child, won’t that child be only non-violent? Socrates and Gorgias are implying rather heavily that justice can be taught. Can virtue? Can non-violence? Is violence human nature or are we taught it? The answer to this question will greatly influence how today’s philosophers are able to look at the concept of peace and justice.

This is absurd

The fire alarm went off. AGAIN! Oh well. We were all dressed this time, shock of shocks.
And now, I am actually going to do something USEFUL and do my Professorial Assistantship philosophical research.

The Gallery is AWESOME

The Gallery is the cafeteria in my dorm...today for lunch they served a STRAWBERRY CHICKEN SALAD!!! It was flipping FANTASTIC! I have just had the most wonderful lunch ever to be had in a dorm cafeteria.

Yay Fire Alarms!

Yesterday we had a fire alarm...and they're not supposed to happen on Sundays. So that was fine. We all left; it wasn't much of a problem. It was "early" for a Sunday, so a lot of people were in pajamas, but Chris and I had just gotten back from church and hadn't really settled down in studying yet, so it wasn't much of a problem.
But then today at 7:30, the alarm went off. And that time it was a problem. Because while I usually would be awake, it's Labor Day. And I decided yesterday that I woulld let myself sleep in, so I stayed up late watching "Batman." And there I was at 7:30, forced out of bed. I woke up at 7, but was going for the "laze around in bed" technique. So much for that. I had this huge headache, though, due to being abruptlyn forced to full conciousness. So I had to get more sleep. And then at 9:35...again! Yay! Not. So out we went one more time. We were let back into the building, but the fire alarm is still going off. It's designed to force lazy college students out of bed...so it's seriously painful and obnoxious. And I still feel like I've had no sleep...
Thank you, fire system. The dorm is now trained to ignore fire warnings. Real fire=death to us all. And I'm going to be much more unproductive today, now, because I am in complete "bleh" mode now.

Michael Keaton as Batman...

After doing a lot of work today, I decided to spoil myself with a movie...so I grabbed "Batman" off Bailey's shelf and she, Chris, and I watched it. It was amazing. We made fun of it...a lot. One of those movies that's good and bad at the same time and you love it for it...
So then we had to watch "Batman Returns." I didn't know the story of "Catwoman" at all, so I was totally lost. That one was creepier...so now it will be a question of what my dreams are like tonight.

Yay!

Arabic is happy! I get the short vowels now! I have done all of unit 2 and found it mostly "easy." Or at least I didn't feel completely lost. I've found that if I do more than an hour and a half at a time or so, it starts to make no sense. So I simply focus on another subject or eat a meal or something, then I come back to it and it immediately makes sense. I love it! Beautiful language.

Yep, We're Freaks

So we're sitting in here being freaks...I'm on my bed, Bailey's at her desk, and Chris is at my desk...and we're all doing language homework. So we're all plugged into our computers listening to music and to random language dictation. Every once in a while, someone will ask a dorky question about linguistics...it's kinda sad. Like, majorly sad. Yep. Back to Arabic!

My Friends

It occurred to me that I've been using a lot of names that you might not know. So here we go:
1. Bailey. My roommate. ADS winner. From North Carolina. Loves "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings."
2. Elena. Across the hall. Loves Chinese (the language, though the food is good too...)
3. Kelsey. Elena's roommate. Loves Japanese (again, the language).
4. Chris. Honors boy from Phillips, the dorm connected to Snyder. ADS winner. Poli-Sci, linguistics, and psychology. A United Methodist from Minnesota...he gets Sally Dyck as his bishop! Jealousy is oozing.
5. Christine. Honors student in Snyder but not on Honors Floor because she's in a wheelchair. Very smart and very fun to talk with. She's a Baptist but hasn't found a church yet.
There you have the main folks...I'll try and remember to introduce you to others as they come up.