Finished. 05/06/2010
It's official: today is my last day working at the Collegian. After practically living in the newsroom past two semesters, I have turned in my keys and will never call myself a Collegian editor (or copy editor or reporter for that matter) again. Not that I want to get sappy, but I really have learned a lot, especially as an English major pretending to know what I'm doing in the journalism department. And although I will miss many of my co-workers, I'm more than ready to have the option of going to bed at a decent hour and quit pretending I'm OK with following AP's ridiculously strict grammar rules. Welcome back Oxford comma. I've missed you. 1 Comment Hallo Deutschland 05/04/2010
At the end of the month I will be traveling approximately 12 hours away (but only four if you count the time change) via three planes and a car ride to Berlin. And what's probably the most terrifying part is that I will be doing this alone. Sure I have others dropping me off and picking me up, but the finding the right planes, the communicating with non-English speaking people — that's my responsibility. After three years at K-State and avoiding my foreign language requirements, I decided I would rather go to Germany and experience their culture for five weeks than actually learn another language. That's right, instead of spending three more semesters learning language classes, I'll spend a month traveling, sightAnd although I'm getting tired of writing checks, I can't wait. Now I just have to get this whole graduation thing out of the way first. she's crafty 04/27/2010
About a year and a half ago, for reasons I don’t remember, I decided I wanted to learn to knit. I can only assume I was bored due to the winter months, and cold, so naturally I chose knitting — killing two birds with one stone. And because I have a habit out of making things as difficult as possible, I taught myself. I watched a few YouTube videos that featured old women demonstrating patiently how to cast on and administer a proper garter stitch. (I figured the only thing worse than watching these videos was being the person who actually made them.) Three days later I had my very own homemade scarf. Eventually I decided to get more adventurous, adding new stitches and using patters that required counting. And now it's just something to pass the time while watching marathons of "House" or "Friends" — and if nothing else, it's a hobby that is also productive. bad timing 04/23/2010
For some unknown reason, other than bad luck, K-State has decided to hold the College of Arts and Sciences graduation at 8:30 a.m. — yes I said “a.m.” as in “morning.” Not only will actual graduation be held earlier than I’ve been out of bed in months, I will have to be there a good hour in advance, sans cell phone, purse…everything. (And on a Saturday.) Who are they expecting to be up at such an early hour? The only reason for the chosen time slot I would deem acceptable is to weed out those who would only attend the event at a real time (say afternoon or evening), i.e. me. a plan 04/16/2010
After months of avoiding questions directed toward my career path and/or future, I finally have a plan: leaving the country. I decided that instead of trying to find an actual job, I will avoid having to get one all together. Since living in Kansas for close to 23 years now, I have decided it is time for a change of scenery and will head to Toronto this September with my friend, Sara who will be attending grad school there. As for what I’ll be doing in Toronto, that is yet to be decided. And there is the issue of applying for and getting approved for a work visa (that is unless I can find someone who will pay under the table). Moving so far away, I’m sure, will be quite the culture shock. Instead of a frequent view of fields, cows and other stereotypical country landscapes, I’ll be enjoying the perks of free health care, watching hockey games and eating all types of food with mayonnaise on it — a lifestyle I’m sure I will learn to love. (I have heard I’ll never be able to eat American maple syrups like Aunt Jemimah again, a fact I can live with (actually it will be a healthy improvement losing a source of corn starch and artificial sugars).) However, one habit I don’t plan on picking up is the slang — especially the typical Canadian “eh” that is unnecessarily added as a part of their every day speech. awesome awesome 04/11/2010
In less than one month, I will be attending the “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” tour in Starlight Theatre. Chelsea Handler, one of my favorite authors, and who I became a fan of after hearing her personal motto, “I don’t have a nickname for myself other than ‘Amazing,’” is coming to Kansas City, Mo. And after watching “Chelsea Lately” religiously for years, I will finally get to see her live in action. (Hopefully the live show will include her “little nugget” Chuy, Chelsea’s little person sidekick.) My friend Kelsey and I bought our tickets months ago and have been patiently waiting ever since. Due to a scheduling conflict, I will be missing the awards ceremony for my very first writing award, which is unfortunately set for the very same night. (Doesn’t anyone know Saturdays are just as worthy of hosting events as Fridays are?) It’s times like this where I wish I could borrow Hermione’s time turner so that I may attend both. But as that is not an option, I obviously chose to use the non-refundable ticket. Besides, how often will Chelsea and her round table crew be within a three-hour drive? a break from sarcasm 04/09/2010
As the semester progresses, it seems that walking on campus (or off-campus for that matter) is becoming more dangerous, in fact terrifying at times. Each day walking to class is risking putting your life into the hands of angry road-raged drivers, who may or may not be aware of you. Yesterday when walking near City Park, I looked both ways, and then proceeded to cross an intersection after I deemed it to be safe. Cars were at stop signs while waiting on the oncoming traffic, and I had plenty of time to safely make it to the other side of the road. However, a black Toyota decided he would play his chances at luck and speed across the street before the rapidly moving cars, and also in front of me, the pedestrian. I was already a few feet across the street and was honked at and promptly shown the middle finger. Not only did I have to jump out of his way, his yelled obscenities left no question that he believed the encounter to be my fault. Whatever happened to pedestrians getting the right of way? I’ve noticed this to be a common occurrence on campus: pedestrians living their lives while either walking to or from class while cars try their best to ignore that they exist. I know those walking can be an annoyance, but it’s a college campus, people are going to be on foot. Besides it’s not like there are an overwhelming amount of parking options at K-State. You either get up before anyone else to park on the street (and hope you don’t get a ticket since you’re not supposed to park there before 9 a.m.), buy a $80 parking pass and an additional $10 card for the Parking Garage or, walk. And since I am cheap and hate getting up early, I will continue to choose the latter. spring, finally 04/03/2010
It is officially April. The weather is also reaching in the upwards of 80 degrees, a feat that has not been accomplished for a good six months — it is about time Mother Nature. Winter is always a nice break from the heat… for awhile, but there’s only so long wool sweaters and snow boots can be tolerated. Since it has been nice for all of three days now, the amount of traffic on campus had doubled in size, both that of cars and by foot. But by far the biggest increase has been motorcycles: they are everywhere. And where did they all come from? Apparently the majority of Manhattan citizens have some type of hidden motorcycle stash that is only accessible in pleasant weather. And since the bikes have been locked up for so long, the owners usually feel that excessive revving and wheelies are necessary. I as a pedestrian looking out for her own safety, I do not. There are also far more children. Motorcycles are at least understandable as no one wants to ride them in the cold, but it is not as though you can just lock up your children for the winter. The warmer weather allows for questionable clothing to emerge from closets. While there are still some wearing heavy pants and long sleeved shirts, others are wearing clothing that would be considered minimal even for Miley Cyrus. While I am not supporting the inappropriate beachwear, it is definitely too hot for all of those layers. A medium standard should be set for public appearances. Not so much clothes that people are staring and wondering what you are hiding under your cape, but enough that you could still be admitted to a theme park. However, it is Kansas, and inevitably the temperatures will keep getting higher and more than likely the clothing choices won’t improve EMAWing 03/26/2010
So as it turns out, watching basketball sucks much less when your team is good at it. In years past I would boycott TV and radio for the entire weeks that contained March "Madness" - refusing to support a game that never ends. Two minutes in basketball time equals an eternity in actual time, a fact I learned at a young age. When I would whine that I wanted to watch cartoons when my dad was watching basketball games he would answer with "there's only three minutes left." At the time it didn't sound so bad, I would accept his answer without complaint, but then 20 minutes later I was still watching basketball and "Looney Tunes" was almost over. And the brackets: those annoying pieces of paper endorsed with guesses and luck are all people live their life for until the tournament is over. "I can't believe So-and-So lost, my bracket is ruined," is a common statement - Fackebook statuses proclaiming "failure." (It's a game of guessing, after all.) I don't understand why people do the same thing every year and still expect to get different results. It's never going to be predictable. One year I filled out a bracket, after losing a bet that stated I must do so. I paid no attention to rankings and picked teams with school colors and mascots I deemed superior to its opponent. This strategy actually worked out quite well for awhile, but I lost interest and never found out how I finished. I never filled one out again. But, since K-State is doing so well, I have been watching their games. Last night against Xavier, a win that allowed us to advance to the Elite Eight, was the most terrifying game I'd ever seen in my life. Two overtimes that led to a tournament ranking we hadn't held since I was in diapers. However, the team ended up pulling it off - guaranteeing my interest in basketball will last at least through tomorrow. the social robot 03/21/2010
My friend and personality doppenganger, Kelsey runs a Web site I sometimes write for. Go to thesocialrobot.com to see how I feel about the "iPhone." And go here to read about my past technological rants: http://thesocialrobot.com/category/b-sides/ | Archives |
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