It's Friday!!!

Happy Halloween!!! Today is Friday and Halloween! Could you ask for a better combination?! I'm excited for this weekend's events! When I get off work today, I am going to go vote! This will be my first time voting so I'm really excited! I heard the lines were really long and some people have waited as long as two hours in line already! I figured Tuesday would be worse so I am going today.

Tonight, there are a few Halloween parties that I am going to. I'm not sure what my costume will be but I will think of something! I have a nurse costume but I don't really like the way it fits on me so I will probably just wear a leotard and tights and go as a ballerina.

I had a writing conference this morning with my Beat Reporting professor. It went well. We discussed my past articles and assignments and he gave me pointers on what I could improve on. Headlines and knowing where to put commas were my main struggles. I had a Spanish test today. I don't even want to talk about how that went! I forgot all of the vocabulary from the chapter so that made the rest of the test extremely difficult. I have a few photographs to catch up on over the weekend but other than that I don't have much to do. I will probably start studying for the GRE test. I take that the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will go well!

Update

Today seems to be going by extremely slow! It's a good day though. All of my homework was finished and turned in and I get to pick up my Little at 6 for dinner. I'm excited. This is our first official outing. It should be a lot of fun! I'll get a chance to talk to her more and figure out what she likes to do so I can get some ideas for future outings.

On Monday, we had the Songfest. AASA took 1st place in the co-ed division! I had a blast!!! Even intermission was fun. A lot of organizations were dancing in the aisle. I will try to upload pictures but some are a bit dark.

Friday is Halloween and I'm still debating on a costume. I have a nurses outfit but I'm not sure if I want to wear it or not. I might go as something else.

Classes are going well. I raised my Spanish grade one percent so I'm happy about that. I'm behind by a few stories in Beat Reporting but I should be caught up soon. My speaking class is going well and so is Editing for Print, Photojournalism and Law & Responsibility. We'll see in a few weeks how I'm doing as I get ready to take my GRE exam and finals!!

It Was Fun!!!

I had a very good weekend! On Friday night, I went to a new friend's house to watch a movie. Afterward, we talked and laughed a lot.

Saturday, I went to the Tri Delt house to do a story for the newspaper on a fundraiser they were doing. Then, my best friend and I went to a rugby game. It was so exciting! I never knew that game was so brutal. It was KU vs. WSU. Since my best friend and I both transferred from KU and had friends on their rugby team, we wanted to go to the game. It was a girl's game and there were a lot more injuries than at a football game. I know I shouldn't get excited about people getting injured but when I was told one girl was playing with a broken rib and may have a broken wrist, that made me want to watch more!
Later that night, I went to my first Shocker game! It was a volleyball game. I didn't realize there was a basketball scrimmage after the volleyball game or I would have made plans to stay. I had to be home early so I could write my story for the newspaper and turn it in my 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Stories are normally due my 1:00 p.m. on Sunday but I was leaving for Lawrence for the baby shower and didn't want to procrastinate until the morning.

Sunday, I picked up my little sister, my best friend, and the cake from Wal Mart and we hit the highway to Lawrence! We had a blast at the baby shower! We seen all of our old friends and relatives that we had not seen in almost a year. I think I did a good job hosting the baby shower, considering I had never been to one before! Brooke was really excited to see everyone and received a lot of gifts. I bet we took over 150 pictures this weekend. Oh, and my brother showed up at the end of the shower. I was so excited. He's one of my best friends! I won't bombard you with pictures but I will upload a few from this weekend.

Tonight is Songfest! I'm excited but nervous, partly because I still don't know what I'm wearing yet! Any readers who want to come should! It starts at 7 at the CAC Theatre. Be there or be square!!!!!!

Are You Serious?!?

Everyone has a word or phrase that they use regularly. Mine is "are you serious?" I used to think that I used this word too much, but today I noticed how much that phrase is needed.

My Spanish professor canceled class on Monday because her son was sick. That's fine, it happens, and it gives us a chance to breathe a little. She sent the class an e-mail saying that we could not afford to miss classes and gave us a list of homework assignments to turn in and a list of activities to do that would help us on the quiz today (Wednesday). Once again, that's fine. It took be nearly two hours to complete the homework assignment, and guess what, WE DIDN'T TURN IT IN! We didn't even take the quiz! Some people in the class stated that they didn't know we had to do it, they thought it was just for extra practice. Others claimed that they never received an e-mail. Once again, those answers are fine, but what about those who actually spent the time doing the extra assignments? There was no reward for us. No extra credit, no pat on the back, nothing. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I just spent time doing pointless assignments when I could have been focusing on my stories for Beat Reporting. If this were to happen on a different week, I probably would not have been too upset about it but I have a lot to get done this week and those assignments were not originally on my schedule. I put other assignments off to focus on that and it was pointless. Who knows, maybe I'll benefit from it in the end...I hope!

Anyway, I get to meet my "little" from Big Brothers Big Sisters today. I'm excited! I won't get to spend too much time with her today because we have a dress rehearsal for Songfest tonight. Songfest is Monday night at 7:00 in the CAC Theater for all of you who want to see it!

What's Next on the List?

This semester seems to be going fast but slow at the same time. The days seem to go by fast but the semester itself is going incredibly slow! I'm ready for a long break. I've started making preparations for when I graduate. I can see the finish line, I just can't touch it yet. I feel like I'm running a slow, but good, race. Classes are going...okay. Spanish is still rough but I'm making it. Beat Reporting is getting really rough. I think it's because I've had so much going on that I've neglecting my stories a bit. It's stressful right now but I will get back on the right track.

On another note, I'm excited for Songfest. Our practices are fun and I love the singing and dancing. I'm ready for next Monday! I can't wait to see what the other groups have come up with. We haven't figured out what we're wearing yet but I'm sure our performance will over-shine our outfits (at least I hope so anyway). If you readers aren't doing anything next Monday night around 7:00, come to the CAC Theater and watch the Songfest. It'll be fun!!

This past weekend I started focusing more on my friend's baby shower. It's going to be on Sunday. I've ordered the cake and got a few decorations. There's still more to be done but I'm excited for it. I will get to see a lot of my friends that I have not seen in months or maybe even a year! It will be relaxing to get away for a while and a good chance to spend some time with my 17-year-old sister, who is also coming with me. Two of my best friends are also riding with me. I can't wait! I'll be sure to upload pictures of the event!

A New Adventure

Although I'm not a fan of scary things (movies, haunted houses, etc.) I think I am going to go to a haunted house for the first time. I might go tonight or tomorrow but either way, I will let you know how it went. My younger sister, who is 17, went last weekend and loved it. She likes horror films but said the haunted house was a different story. She was really frightened when she came home. I think I need a bit of excitement this weekend. After all, it's Fall Break!

I also want to go to the movies this weekend. I really want to see The Secret Life of the Bee. The preview looked really good. I'm not sure what other movies came out today but I might just make this a relaxing Friday and Saturday and finish studying on Sunday.

This weekend might not be too exciting but it will be better than the previous ones, where I did nothing but study!

I'm Back!!!!

Sorry it took me so long to write another blog. I've been extremely busy this week! We had Communication Week so there were many speakers and events I had to attend. Monday, I had a Spanish test so I could only go to the afternoon events but I went to the networking round-table discussion and met a lot of successful people. It was good to hear what they had to say about the workload for journalists and other related fields.

Tuesday, I met Bryan Monroe. He is the vice-president for Ebony and Jet Magazines. He had two sessions on Tuesday and I went to both of them. I learned a lot about the magazine business and journalism in general. I want to be a writer for a magazine so it was very beneficial to hear him speak. I also liked that he had pictures to back up his stories. I'm more of a visual and hands-on learner so it helped me out to see exactly what he was talking about. Also on Tuesday, I went to a session called "The Write Stuff". This session gave tips of how to be a better writer. I took a lot of notes that I will hopefully be able to utilize in the future. Then there was a pizza party and later I was awarded a scholarship!!! I was very grateful for that!

Wednesday, I was at PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America). Although I'm not an Integrated Marketing major, I wanted to get involved with an organization that was related to my field but not exactly the same. Here, I had a good time networking with professionals and listening to presentations that dealt with what is going on in the world of communication.

Overall, it was a good week. Well, a good three days (ha). I'm looking forward to a much needed fall break, although I won't be doing anything except studying and resting.

Some Advice

Yesterday started out as a fairly normal day, with the small exception of a little stomach pain. I made a doctor's appointment a few days ago and was supposed to meet yesterday at 3:30. That did not happen. In the middle of my first class, around 12:50, the pain started getting worse. I felt like crying. It was awful. I still had two classes left for the day but could not make it. I had a law class after the one I was currently in and it was very important not to miss yesterday out of all days. I was receiving assignments and instructions for a take-home test. I also had to give a presentation on a case study. Not to mention, all of our communications classes are canceled next week so I would not be able to ask questions during that time. But I just couldn't make it. Before rushing to the campus clinic, I went to see the professor for my law class. She understood and gave me my assignments.

When I went to the doctor, I was in so much pain that they got me in two hours before my scheduled appointment. It turns out that I have a severe infection in my stomach which is caused by not drinking enough fluids and can lead to dehydration. I did not get much sleep last night. I'm on a pain killer and antibiotic, which, not to mention, I'm allergic to so I have to go get a different kind of medicine. I'm still in some pain but I feel a lot better! My advice to you.... DRINK AS WATER AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!

I've Been Wondering...

There are a number of things that I have wondered but never really had an answer for. I am going to post 10 questions that a few friends and I came up with. If you have an answer, please let me know.
1.) If sleeping beauty wakes up, is she still called "sleeping beauty"?
2.) Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs when bunnies don't lay eggs?
3.) If Pluto had earthquakes would they be called "plutoquakes"?
4.) Why is Charlie short for Charles when they have the same amount of letters?
5.) Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
6.) Why do we say "heads up" when we actually mean "duck"?
7.) Why is it called a TV set when there's only one?
8.) Why did the chicken REALLY cross the road?
9.) Why does your nose run but your feet sweat?
and finally...
10.) What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

What Day Is It?

Have you ever had one of those days where there is just so much going on that you forget what day it is? That's how today is going for me. I need for there to be 30 hours in the day instead of 24. Maybe I'll have a little more time to get my tasks done, or even better, get some sleep! My day will not be over until about 10:30 p.m., and that's just the time that I can actually go back to my room. Then I'll have to do homework.
Today has been a good day, though. It was very productive. I turned in a scholarship application, registered for COMM Week events and paid my dues for PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America). Although I'm a Print major, one of my professors thought it would be beneficial to join this organization, so I did. I have even started on my final project for my Law and Theory class and I will also have my first meeting with my tutor tonight at 6 p.m. Next week will be busy but fun (I hope). I will be attending sessions for COMM Week. All of the communication classes are canceled due to the events so we are required to go and report on them. I hope it's fun!

On the Right Track

As the school week comes to an end, I notice that I am beginning to achieve one of my main goals I set for this year, becoming more involved. I just signed up for Big Brothers Big Sisters and have already had one meeting. I go to another one on Tuesday. This is really exciting for me. I like helping others, especially children; it makes me happy to see others happy. I can't wait to be done with the paperwork and screening process so I can finally meet my "little".

As far as school goes, everything is right on track. I've filled out my senior forms and have talked with an adviser about Spring semester classes. This is a really exciting and frightening time. I'm ready to graduate but still uncertain about what I'm doing after graduation. Hopefully I will figure it out soon, or maybe over Christmas break.

This weekend should be productive. I've made a schedule out for myself and hope to stick with it. I have many things due next week but I'm glad I'm starting on them now. Also, I've found a Spanish tutor!! We have our first meeting on Wednesday. I really hope he helps. We have a Spanish test every other week so we'll be starting just in time.

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

First, I'm a bit disappointed in myself today. I couldn't figure out what to do for a photo assignment so I put it off until the last minute and didn't get it done. It was due today. Last night I decided that I would get up early this morning to do it but I actually overslept and didn't even make it to class at 8. Then, I remembered that I forgot to turn in my take-home test and 2 assignments in my Beat Reporting class on Monday. Silly me! I mean, they're done, I was in a rush to get to Spanish for my test and I forgot! On top of everything else, I got my Spanish test results back today and my grade was worse than my last one. I have to study a lot harder for the next one.

On a positive note, I have a home-visit with Big Brothers Big Sisters today so I can start volunteering. I'm excited! I love kids and want to be more involved in the community. I'll let you know how it goes.

Last night, after class, I went to my friend's house. It was his son's third birthday and he had a little party for him. I never knew shopping for boys would be so hard. I finally got him a bunch of little cars and he loved them! One of the bigger cars made noise so he was excited about that. It was a fun night being around all of them and listening to the funny things kids say.