Blog 70

Dear Future Students,

Welcome to English 110 here at The Ohio State University. Don’t assume English here is going to be the same as your high school course, because it most likely won’t be. Most of the time you will be revising your paper and your classmates’ papers. You’ll end up writing two papers, the ARP and the CP, but some of you will be writing more than that. What I mean is that your paper might not be strong enough or it isn’t structured properly, and you’ll have to rewrite chunks of it.

English is definitely not my strong point. I probably learned more about grammar in one class from Ohio State’s English department than my whole life back home. I also learned how to balance writing my papers and going to The Writing Center for help while studying for all of my other classes.

I advise you to make sure you go to The Writing Center for help because you will most likely need all the help you can get. The helpers are very easy to talk to and love helping students. Also, some teachers, like Chambers, gives extra points for it, so there’s no reason why you should not take advantage of that. I also advise you to make sure you work diligently on your papers. Teachers are masters at their subjects, especially English teachers. They’ve seen this material multiple times, so they for sure know what to pick out and mark off for.

Good luck with your writing,

Catherine

Blog 69

SO. Another time-consuming website has invaded my life: Stumbleupon. I’m pretty sure most of you are already addicted to it, but I just recently became a member. I put my interests in, of course some being photography, music, philosophy, animals, nature, dance, and relationships…and sure enough they keep bombarding me with recommended sites. I’m about to uncheck relationships cause it’s just a bunch of mushy bullshit quotes like “I don’t know how I would live without waking up next to your face” and stuff like that. The rest is pretty awesome though. They find the most beautiful nature pictures…it makes me want to travel the world right now (as I’m sitting in the library studying for chemistry).

One of my favorite dances I’ve found so far:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2PzpCc/www.dailyviral.com/2011-5-8/Street_Dance_in_Paris

Another site I just found is DailyViral…another addicting site that posts a new video every day. Not all are winners, but I still enjoy a good laugh from a 1:30 short.

Here’s a Camel “laughing”…?

http://www.dailyviral.com/2011-5-5/Camel_Laughing

Yeah. This is my life. I love being on my computer more than anything. Very rarely do I actually spend on it here on campus. At home, it’s what takes up my late night hours. Although these websites are time-consuming, I enjoy them to the fullest. Maybe I just haven’t matured yet ha ha. I still like the dumb comedies, like Workaholics and South Park (even though South Park is rather clever). It seems like it’s more of a guy thing, in my family at least. My brother, my dad, and I watch these shows together, but my mom and sister absolutely can’t stand them. Well, I’ve always liked hanging out with guys better anyway.

Blog 68

Once again I’m looking out the window and I see people standing on the short pillars that stop cars from driving the path. Interesting. I love when people do things that spark my interest. Usually, you would have to do something pretty weird to grab my attention. Not weird like people doing something obnoxious like a random drunk running through campus naked, but weird as in something different that sparks my intellect.

I like when a random person comes up to talk to me. It shows me that not everyone is putting a wall up. Not small talk though. I kind of hate small talk. It’s an interaction that’s only there to take up a short amount of time to release the sense of awkwardness. What I like is when someone, maybe an older man (like 70) or someone that just looks like a character, strikes up a conversation out of thin air. I was going around campus posting up scavenger hunt hints for my boyfriend’s birthday present, and a guy (looked like a hippie/hipster) asked me what I was advertising. I explained what I was doing, and we ended up talking for a good ten minutes. We saluted each other and then I went on my way. Those kind of things stick with me. Hey, maybe you’ll see me on one of my “Incense on the Oval” days and come join my meditation time. (: Go do something different today. It’s the weekend and prime time for some good ole socialization.

Blog 67

Do you ever think of really improbable situations, but in your head, they seem like those situations could happen any minute? Okay, so you may find this kind of psychotic, but the majority of times I cross the street, I picture a car running into me. Yeah, freaky right? Well, to add to my weirdness, as I am here sitting in my cubicle on the tenth floor of Thompson library, I’m looking out the window imagining an airplane flying towards me, about to crash into me. Some people may think this imagination needs to be put into an asylum …but I consider myself to be an abstract thinker.

It’s not like I’m always thinking of death. Quite the opposite, actually. I like to think that I breathe life. In high school, I put it my spiritual mind that I wanted the student body to see that I was shining a certain light through my actions and personality. When I say this, I don’t mean that I was preaching to others, but I just wanted to show an optimism to influence others to do the same. You know, when someone genuinely smiles at you, you can’t help but feel good inside. It does for me at least. I love observing the beauty of life. Most the time, I don’t look at life’s beauty in social interaction, but rather in what I observe and analyze around me, especially when I’m alone. I try to make sure I set some time out of my day to be by myself and just think. It keeps me at peace.

Blog 66

Today is all about LIGHTS. My friend posted a video blog about her last night, and it reminded me how much of a womance I have with her. LIGHTS, born Valerie Anne Poxleitner, is a Canadian singer that is the most beautiful person ever. She grew up with missionary parents, so she traveled around the world at a young age. She, in her own words, has the style of “intergalactic-electro” music. One thing about her is that most of her music is acoustic. You’d think electro music would show that the artist has a bad voice and is trying to cover it with synthesizers and auto-tune, but LIGHTS is the opposite. I think her voice sounds better without all the equipment. She has such a pure, naked sound.

Other than her music, I’ve got to say the best thing about LIGHTS is that she’s such a luminous soul. Whenever she smiles, she LIGHTS the room up. Ha ha sorry…there’s another thing. She’s just like me. We both make awkward jokes and do weird things, but that’s just who we are. I like quirky souls. They keep things interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7r5N9NLENo

LIGHTS is an rounded artist. Not just with music, she draws, paints, whatever. If you go to her website, you’ll see multiple animated pictures of her that she drew. I think that’s so fun because people tend to have a negative outlook on girls who game or like anime.

She is a girl with plastic toy guns hung on her walls. She has a combover. She has a pet tarantula, named Lance. She makes “sounds that seem like they could have been plucked from Saturn's rings or a meteor belt”. She is her own singer, songwriter, producer, stylist, and assistant. And she’s my favorite(:

Easiest blog ever.

Blog 65

Primary versus Secondary Relationships

A primary relationship is one that includes your family , your close friends, your loved ones, and your significant others. A secondary relationship is one that would include peers, teachers, and bosses. Who do you consider to be your primary relationships? You can look back to elementary school days, where girls call every one their “BBF” or best friend forever. How many “best” friends could someone have? I’d like to consider my whole friend group as my best friends, because if I compare them to the rest of the people I am constantly surrounded by, they are my best friends.

I made a lot of best friends (in my interpretation) this year. You can tell if they are really good friends if you can see yourself talking to them years from now. I have multiple friends that have moved away a few years ago that I will randomly talk to. One of them even came down for a weekend to stay. The best thing is when you haven’t talked to them for ever, but when they come visit, you pick up right where the friendship left off. Just like they hadn’t left.

Also, I am weird about my relationships with teachers. Yeah, that sounds really wrong, but I try to put in my mind that they’re a primary relationship because it helps me get attached to the class…which makes me work harder. I have always tried to do this. Like last quarter, I was completely obsessed [not in an affair way] with my Chem lecturer, Dr. Zellmer. Because I introduced myself the first day and sat in the front row each time, I managed to get a pretty good grade. It works for me.

Blog 64

Week of Chaos

What is this week before finals that freaks me out more than anything? Maybe it’s the fact that the grade of the final test could make or break my grade. How can you work so hard throughout the whole quarter, but if you bomb this test, your grade can be shoved down to the letter below. It sucks.

This weekend I’m going home to see my first baby niece, Ava. It’s such a tease to be able to see my niece for the first time for one day, then have to go straight back to school. I cannot wait to see that beautiful little girl. It’s going to be so weird seeing my sister with a baby. I wonder how much her and her husband have changed.

My friends are trying to be the little devil on my shoulder. They’ve been trying to convince me that going out on Thursday is a wonderful idea. Thursday before finals? Horrible idea. Sadly, there’s no angel on my other shoulder to help me out. I’m about to shut off my phone and Facebook account until Friday…or maybe until the end of finals week.  Sounds like the best idea for me.

I also have to pack up half my dorm to send my stuff back Friday. It’s going to feel so weird taking everything out, but I cannot wait to be in my own room this summer. I am done with this whole four person to a room thing. Next year, thankfully, I will only be living with one other girl…probably the most I could take.