Tomorrow...

I will be teaching an interview committee (of what I believe to be 3 people haha) how to play a Samba (Brazilian dance music). The group I am interviewing for is called Adventure Learning Program and basically functions as a student organization that holds workshops and ropes courses, and facilitates ice-breakers for other organizations/groups/classes - basically anyone who needs to get the creative juices flowing and to help groups of people work better together by leading them throw alternative learning activities. When I first heard about the group it reminded me of my job duties as a former Community Adviser at SCSU... at least the part entailing thinking outside of the box & planning/facilitating activities/meeting new people (which is the part I liked about that job). Today I was browsing in the store Art Gecko & came across some fun instruments... claves, a thunder stick, agogo bells, shakers and something with hallow nut shells that clink together and sound like a waterfall of sorts. Super duper fun! The rhythms I will be teaching come from what I remember of my World Drumming Ensemble last fall at SCSU... here's a little taste of what we did there :)

Traditional First Day of School Picture

My mom has traditionally taken a back-to-school picture at the start of every new school year (as I'm sure yours did, too)... so to hold up the tradition I took a picture of myself before heading off to my first class AS A SENIOR! (disregard the fact that it's not my last year of school, regardless of this status).

So far, I'm very happy with my classes, Chinese is posing an intellectual challenge & the rest of my classes seem interesting enough, with stellar professors (they are either getting crazier with age or I'm just more in-tune with each professor's bizarre/quaint personalities than I ever used to be). Anywho, off to my Abnormal Psychology class!

CHEERS!

Thoughts?

"Happiness and unhappiness are, after all, just the same. You shed tears when you laugh and also when you cry. And, besides, they imply one another: happy now, unhappy later; unhappy now, happy later. The reasonable, prudent, "Wise" man strives not for happiness, but for a tranquil detachment which frees him from this endless oscillation between gratification and frustration."

-Clifford Geertz

I would love to get a discussion going on this! Is striving for happiness in life just setting yourself up for disappointment (since "good" is only good in comparison to "bad")? Is so-called tranquil detachment of a wise man worth being absent from the flow of ups and downs in life? Or does striving for happiness in life hold more meaning than being constantly joyful feeling? (Such as "striving for happiness" meaning not holding yourself back from doing what you want to do, despite the ups and downs that may come along, for example). Thoughts?!?! (Heidi!??!) :)

Truth: I hoard books

And these were only the ones that were due back today, I currently have 17 more library books occupying my bookshelf. I LOVE BOOKS!!! :)

Swagger Wagon

This is too good.

Thanks Daily Cardinal!

I hope my sisters see this!

LOL!!!! This cartoon almost became the sole reason for prematurely reactivating my facebook account before the semester is over - just so I could post it on all their walls! BAHAHAHAHAH Enjoy!

New Find!

BASSHUNTER /(LFO meets techno)

Nothing pumps me up more than listening to great music...

...or finding a remix epic enough to make you want to explode out of your body:

Enjoy this! I know I did (i.e. spontaneous dance party) :P

S.C.S.U. I miss you

Here is the post I promised, a bit more brief than originally planned but regardless! Some little details about St. Cloud that I miss:

• my friends & being able to hang out on only moments notice (i.e. going down a floor to the friend who lived below me)
  
• waking up 15 min before class and still getting there in time
• seeing people I know everywhere, all the time (it was a good thing and a bad thing)
  
• the beautiful library just minutes away (we have 40+ libraries... a nightmare for indecisive people! ;))
  
• caribou coffee
• having a third floor bedroom window (my window now faces the parking lot right on ground level = horrible view & lack of privacy)
• having a bedroom door (currently I have a curtain, which is not a huge complaint but not the greatest noise barrier - surprisingly the heat stays in though!)
• the small orchestra & being first chair (think 24 cellists vs. 5 cellists)
• smaller class sizes & normal scheduling (none of that discussion/section/lab crap, or the fact that if I'm not 10 minutes early to class I will have to sit on the floor in the back because there aren't enough seats in the lecture halls)
• The very nice fitness center & equipment (it's free here.. but that doesn't quite make up for it)
• Group fitness classes (which we have here, but the cycling class is so popular that you have to get a "bike claim ticket" 30 minutes prior to the start of class, and even then you aren't guaranteed to get in! Plus who has that much time to spend going early just to get a ticket (maybe) and then wait around for class to start??)
• Better parking - this may be a surprise to you, because even parking there sucks, but it's even WORSE here.
• Getting gigs - musicals, academic ceremonies, church events, etc
• Private cello lessons
• The ongoing debate about "bubblers" and "pop"
• Unlimited supply of hot water for standing in the shower for an excessive amount of time after a long day
  
• Frequenting the St. Cloud Public Library & Crossroads mall
  
• Knowing exactly what events are going on on campus because you are likely going to walk right through them or past them on the way to class sometime during the day
  
• Walking along & across the Mississippi whenever I felt like it
  

I could keep adding on to the list but as you can see, there is nothing major that I'm totally missing out on (save the missing my friends, of course), St. Cloud will always have a place in my heart as a little home away from home, but as they say: when one door closes, another one opens. And besides, change is healthy and the important thing is making the most of what you have when you have it, and believe me when I say I will be taking advantage of all the new opportunities here! Cheers to optimism & creating your own luck!

NeverShoutNever

I have been in Madison now for approx. 16 days and I absolutely love it. So here are a few things about my life now and about Madison in general:

Coffee shops EVERYWHERE!! Just to name a few: Ancora Coffee Roasters, CoffeeBytes, Starbucks, Steep & Brew, Barriques Coffee Trader, Fair Trade Coffee House, Victor Allen's, Electric Earth, Espresso Royale, Java Cat, Gloria Jean's Coffee, and the lovely Caribou Coffee (although there is only one and it is not exactly convenient for me to get to so I haven't been there yet) & most - if not all - with free wifi :)

(where I spend most of my downtime between classes)

Night life & meeting new people... let's just say everyone is very friendly & welcoming (or at least the people who aren't creepers) and there seems to ALWAYS be something to do, especially on weekends. (Unlike St. Cloud where the campus turned into a ghost town at night and on weekends)

Me & Allie (roomie) with the Bouncer ;)

For the first time ever, I have found the perfect roommate! She is easy to live with, respects my space, is clean, sooooo friendly and non-judgemental, and she is a TALKER! Which works so well with me because I enjoy listening :) Honestly, I have yet to find something about her that I don't like. Her boyfriend lives with us and he is so nice as well, again, no complaints. :)

This is my first apartment & I just paid my first rent yesterday! Which was pretty exciting I have to admit (I don't mind writing out that check because I know I'm getting an extremely good deal with everything here) AND my kitty gets to live with me :) ....I just feel bad for my roomie's man-cat Tazz who is afraid of Lola.

(Boy meets Girl)

And something else I really love: being close to home - 2 weekends ago I was able to attend a wedding reception for one of my friends who just got married, and go to a Ladies Wine Night at my friend's apartment in Milwaukee. And just last weekend I was able to go watch my nephew for a few hours while my brother and his wife went out.

I got into the classes I actually need to take, which means I can apply for my major this semester & be that much closer to graduating!

NO FRIDAY CLASSES! For each class, I have a lecture section (50 min twice a week) accompanied by a 1-2 hour discussion section/lab ... at a really random time/place during the week... which makes it quite difficult to memorize the schedule!

MacBooks! I can check out a MacBook from almost any of our 30+ different libraries on campus, and keep it for 3 days at a time (which is more like 4 days, because if I check it out on Monday, I can keep it until 11pm on Thursday) I just brought it to my lectures today to take notes on (instead of pen & paper) - Do any of you do that? What do you think? It makes taking notes so much faster & getting supplementary information down from what the Prof is saying, but at the same time, I had soooo many typos... But, this form of note-taking is certainly a growing trend and I wouldn't be surprised if taking notes by hand will soon become a thing of the past.

I realize this is getting pretty lengthy of an update so I will wrap it all up for now with a song by a band I just discovered which is reminicent of Jack Johnson/Jason Mraz/Joshua Radin/Eric Hutchinson and be sure to watch for a Part 2 on things I miss about St. Cloud coming later this week! What's on the agenda for tonight, you ask? Going to a group fitness class "Zumba" (latin dancing) with Allie! Cheers!

Word of the Day

triskaidekaphobia

(triss-kye-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh)

fear of the number 13

Anger Management

(GOT THIS IN AN EMAIL)

When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't know.

I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I'd forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed it. A man answered, saying "Hello."

I politely said, "This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robyn Carter?"

Suddenly a manic voice yelled out in my ear "Get the right f......ing number!" and the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude. When I tracked down Robyn's correct number to call her, I found that I had accidentally transposed the last two digits.

After hanging up with her, I decided to call the 'wrong' number again. When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled "You're an asshole!" and hung up. I wrote his number down with the word 'asshole' next to it, and put it in my desk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an asshole!"

It always cheered me up.

When Caller, ID was introduced, I thought my therapeutic 'asshole' calling would have to stop. So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this is John Smith from the telephone company. I'm calling to see if you're familiar with our Caller, ID Program?"

He yelled "NO!" and slammed down the phone.

I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're an asshole!" and hung up.

One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot, but the idiot ignored me. I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his back window, so I wrote down his number

A couple of days later, right after calling the first asshole (I had his number on speed dial), I thought that I'd better call the BMW asshole, too.

I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?" He said, "Yes, it is."

I asked, "Can you tell me where I can see it?"

He said, "Yes, I live at 34 Oaktree Blvd., in Fairfax. It's a yellow Rambler, and the car's parked right out in front."

I asked, "What's your name?" He said, "My name is Don Hansen,"

I asked, "When's a good time to catch you, Don?" He said, "I'm home every evening after five."

I said, "Listen, Don, can I tell you something?" He said, "Yes?"

I said, "Don, you're an asshole!" Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too. Now, when I had a problem, I had two assholes to call.


Then I came up with an idea. I called asshole 1. He said, "Hello."

I said, "You're an asshole!" (But I didn't hang up.) He asked, "Are you still there?"

I said, "Yeah,"

He screamed,"Stop calling me,"

I said, "Make me,"

He asked, "Who are you?"

I said, "My name is Don Hansen."

He said, "Yeah? Where do you live?"

I said, "Asshole, I live at 34 Oaktree Blvd., in Fairfax, it's a yellow rambler and I have a black Beamer parked in front."

He said, "I'm coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers." I said, "Yeah, like I'm really scared, asshole," and hung up.

Then I called Asshole 2.

He said, "Hello?"

I said, "Hello, asshole."

He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are..."

I said, "You'll what?"

He exclaimed, "I'll kick your ass!"

I answered, "Well, asshole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now."

Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 34 Oaktree Blvd., in Fairfax, and that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover.

Then I called Channel 9 News about the gang war going down in Oaktree Blvd. in Fairfax.

I quickly got into my car and headed over to Fairfax. I got there just in time to watch two assholes beating the crap out of each other in front of six cop cars, an overhead news helicopter and surrounded by a news crew.

NOW I feel much better.

Anger management really does work

ME!

Feeling: Indecisive, but calm.

Loving: The sun shining through the window, it always lightens the mood.

Reading: (I'm actually reading something currently!) Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston, it's good so far but I have no idea what it's really about/what's going to happen.

Wanting: To get back to the gym to get rid of the holiday chubbies!

Dreaming: About studying abroad :P

Having: coffee, black.

Waiting: to hear back about a place for me to sublease.

2010!!!!!!!!!!!!

WINTER FUN!