Winding Down

While the semester is coming to an end, I still have time before I can stop stressing.

I'm ahead on my homework enough that, while there is three weeks of classes still before finals, I only have two weeks of homework left to do. Some of that will get done today, as well.

All that's left:

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My brother, Bobby, was supposed to come out to Western this weekend, but they had a ton of snow, ice, and hail and he was worried about making the drive. So, yesterday I got a ton of homework done before I went to the Drag Show that our LGBT group, Outspoken, puts on every year. That was a lot of fun and I met some cool people from the group, and from WSA that Brandy knows. They invited me to go to the Diversity Lock-in tonight, where they will be doing some team building-esque activities. Brandy planned the event, so she asked me to be a volunteer for her. She didn't have that many people helping out, so I said I would do it. She won me over when she said I get a free t-shirt. :)

Anyway, the Drag Show was so great. It lasted a long time, but that was okay because I wasn't bored of it. It was different than I thought it would be, but I guess I've never been to a Drag Show before, so what I expected doesn't mean that's what it's supposed to be like. They didn't just walk down the runway in their outfits, they did a whole dance number. Some of them really looked like women too! Some of the girls also looked a great deal like men.

Dolly Dion:
GQ Joe:

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Tomorrow is Lindsey's birthday! I'm so excited. I got her the new Footloose DVD. I bet she's going to want to watch it right away. I love that movie just as much as she does, so that's okay.

Speaking of birthdays, Celeste's was this past Wednesday. Linds and I walked into her room and sang her happy birthday, with the cha-cha-cha in between lines and all. :)

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Only 4 weeks before I'm home for 4 months! I'm so excited to come home!

I'm even to start working!

Speaking of work, I have been filling out applications (and learning you have to go to lots of places to get the application) and some of these jobs I really hope I get.

Here's my list of places I plan to apply: (* top picks)

OptimEyes*

Dollar Tree

Victoria's Secret PINK

Hobby Lobby*

Claire's

PacSun

Kohl's

Charlotte Russe

Macy's

Barnes and Noble*

Pet'Smart*****

The reason Pet'Smart is starred so many times is because I applied to be a Pet Care Associate. That means I get to work WITH the animals, instead of around them. I would give them food and water and medicine, clean out their cages, make sure they're healthy--all that good stuff.

I'm not sure I'll get it, since my work experience is minimal, but I sure hope I'm at least considered.

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Mimisu is doing alright. He's weight lift training now: I put washers on the other side of the lever so it takes more muscle to push down. To end the experiment I need him to push down at least 25 washers four times in row. So far, he's stayed in the 14-18 range, which isn't bad, but I still need to get through one more experiment before I do my final one (which I still have no idea what to do for). He's gotten up to 21, but as soon as that happened he stopped performing well and immediately fell down to 13 washers. Lazy rat. :P

Sad news, though: one girl in my class named her rat Agamemnon (like the rat from Flowers for Algernon). I warned her, jokingly, that this was bad luck (for those of you who don't know the story--the rat dies at the end and it's very sad).

When we got back from Spring Break, we got into lab and Kendra says to this girl "I'm so sorry, but you're rat passed away prematurely over break."

Hers is the only one to die so far--there's only 6 labs left. Perhaps I was right about the bad luck in the name, after all.

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Ah, so I went to that thesis seminar.

D:

I'm not any less anxious about it. I might even be more so, now.

I have NO idea what I'm going to write about. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

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Finally, some upcoming events.

Easter Weekend: I'm going homeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! :D

April 12: Shawn's birthday! Not sure what I'm gunna get him yet. Hmmm.

Funny thing about this day, Linds' boyfriend, A.J. also has his birthday. Strangeeeee.

April 13: Bronco Buddies trip! I'm so excited to go down to Illinois and meet Kayla. That's all she can talk about in the letters she sends now. "It's almost April, I'm so excited!" haha. Oh, what a cutie.

April 20: Hairspray with Lindsey and her mom and grandma. It should be super fun. :) And a wonderful de-stressor before finals.

Which bring me to..

April 26: Move out day! I return home. YAAAAAY!

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And with that, I ought to do some work so that I can erase some of that marker off my board. Maybe after Chapter 30, I'll watch Battlestar Galactica for a bit. I'm so close to the finale and I get excited just thinking about it. :D :D :D :D

Hot Hot Hot!

I've been so stressed out about getting all this homework done, that I didn't even realize I was stressed until Shawn and Lindsey pointed out that I needed to calm down and take a break.

Somehow, I stopped being ahead on my homework, but I'm hoping to remedy that this weekend. Lindsey isn't here, so I should be able to accomplish it. Of course, I may be going over to Karlie's. But she works until five thirty tonight so I still have all that time. Plus, she has a project to work on too, so we'll probably just have a homework party. :)

As for the actual work:

I have to study, study, study. I have a Bio test on Tuesday (studying with Kar, probably--I should be okay), a Communication Disorders test of Wednesday (easy peasy lemon squeezy--I know all my note cards), and a History Test on Thursday (going to attempt to study--if the T.A. does the same crap from last time though, I guess I'm out of luck, but my grade wasn't that bad).

My final project for Psych is coming up--the draft for the paper is due next Thursday (the 29th). I've decided to write about the conditioning of women to want huge, extravagant weddings and how even when they act like Bridezillas, they still get what they want (I will be using clips from the show, Bridezillas). I think it's going to be fun. Plus, I get to watch bride shows. Haha. I'm also trying to use My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding and My Fair Wedding. :)

My Fair Wedding will be easy because these women have cheap, "ugly" wedding stuff and this guy comes in and makes everything crazy big and beautiful. Reinforcing? I think so. :D

As for my rat lab project, though. I have no idea what kind of experiment to do, but I better figure it out soon. :/

Fun Stuff:

Linds and I went to Pinz and got $1 games because it was Ladies' Night!

Well, sort of fun stuff:

I'm signing up to be a Junior Counselor at the Leadership Camp I went to the summer between my Junior and Senior year. If I get it, I'll go the Summer of 2013. This is only sort of cool, because I have to write an essay for it and all.

Also only kind of fun is on Wednesday I'm going to a seminar about the Honors Thesis (even though I might get that Psych lab thing). In the last blog I said the seminar was on last Thursday. They had two sessions, which is good because this last one started in the middle of my Psych class. So now, Brandy and I are going together (the fun part) on the 21st.

Weather:

For awhile it was so windy here that I was falling over. Now, it's so hot and I only have one pair of shorts! D:

I'm not complaining about this weather by any means, though. I'll wear jeans if I have to and just be hot; I'd rather that than be freezing!

Well, I've procrastinated from studying enough!

Lawson Lunatic

Since my last blog, I've actually had a life other than homework. Yay!

I've found a way to constantly stay ahead of my homework--it's lovely to know the assignments for the whole semester.

Now, my calendar is full of fun things to do!

Lindsey, Emily, and I decided to go to the hockey game last weekend. The students are called Lawson Lunatics because its Lawson arena and we're crazy fans! Our chants are so funny.

We were versing Alaska, which is kinda weird, I guess. But we played them Friday and Saturday--Friday we kicked butt. Saturday, not so much. :(

But the important thing is that we had a great time!

The Broncos are versing Ohio State this weekend and I want to go, but the only person I have to go with is Karlie and she isn't sure if she can come because she has a lot to do. We'll see how that works out. But it would be pretty lame to go alone. Haha.

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Other fun things coming up in my schedule:

Friday: Bronco Buddies lunch! We're skyping our buddies!

Saturday: Volunteering at the museum. Love that place!

Sunday: Dinner with the Deans. It's a sneak peek into the honors courses that will be offered in the Fall.

Then I go home next weekend! Then I go to Dad's the next weekend to see Rock of Ages!

Then a week later is Spring Break. It's going to be awesome to be home a whole week and not have to worry about homework!

March 13th I register for the fall semester! So excited! Remember that Super A I mentioned? I'm well on my way to getting so many OAPs that that one credit can become 3! I'll be taking a 3 credit course with no lecture or work!

March 15th is a seminar for our Honors Thesis. But if I'm lucky I can be part of the BRSS (Behavioral Research Supervisory System) program. Basically, I'll be an assistant of a grad student and I'll write little weekly reports and papers that will accumulate to become my thesis paper! That way, I don't get overloaded with trying to research and write the whole 30-40 page paper all at once AND I get to do sweet research! AND I could get Departmental Honors!

This will be really great if I decide to minor in Psychology! Plus, it will look awesome on a résumé!

With any luck, my brother, Bobby, might be coming to visit the last weekend of March. I sure hope that works out!

Then April 13th I go to Illinois to meet my Bronco Buddy.

Then two weeks after that I'll be all done with exams and I can come home for the summer!

Then in May, I have Relay (WOO!) and Nicole said I could come job shadow her for a week! This is great because I have to job shadow a Speech Pathologist before I can apply for the Professional Program here at Western and if all things go well I'll be signing up for that next February. And I'm very close to being able to apply for the professional elementary education program too. :D

Everything is going fabulously!!!!

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Mimisu is still doing great. He's on lever pressing now and he's very good at it. I'm hoping to get a video Monday, because it's so funny to watch him quickly go around in a circle. Lever, water, lever water. Teehee.

There he is!

I don't know why, but he doesn't like it when I try to get him out of the Skinner box. He doesn't mind me getting him out of his cage or anything, but he doesn't like me to touch him when he's in the box. He actually leaps out of the box. It's funny to watch and so far I've been able to be where he jumps, so he jumps right into my arms. But I'm worried one day he'll jump some other way and I won't catch him. Sure, it will be his fault when he hits the floor, but I'll still feel bad when he gets hurt. :/ Professor Combs says she's never seen a rat jump out of the box like that.

Go figure I get the unique one, right? :P

He's such a brat. Just like me. :D

Of Rats and Disorders

Classes are going well. I feel pretty confident that my grades are staying high.

Especially in Psychology.

Rat Lab is awesome.

Mimisu, my cute little partner

He's pretty smart. I'll have more pictures later.

I don't know how much I can say about the lab at this point, since we just started our first experiment (although, Mimi is doing so well, I can start recording data on him next lab--YAY!).

My Psych class is pretty cool, too. I mean it's routine

Go over homework. Talk about Chapter. Answer any questions people have. Quiz. Leave.

But it's fun. Sometimes we get into neat discussions.

On Thursday, we talked about the difference in having language communications and having reinforcers that make animals do something. Coco, the gorilla, may not actually be talking--so says Professor Combs--she may have just learned that by making the sign 'banana' (which the people working with her taught her) that she gets a banana. She may not even know that the sign means banana in a type of language.

I'm not sure I agree with this, but I suppose I don't have any evidence for a counterpoint.

I was thinking, maybe I could even minor in Psychology, as well Elementary Education. It would really help with my major, I think, because then I would better understand and even work better with children with disorders.

I'm not sure yet, though. I have to see how much I enjoy Psych at the end of the semester.

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As for my Communication Disorders class, it's still pretty boring. But I don't really care because it's a Speech Path class!

A few interesting things have been associated with this class, though. :)

Stephen Tasko, a Speech Therapist (and a Bronco Alum), came in to talk to us about how to maintain a healthy voice. This has a lot to do with our vocal folds. Our vocal folds are not pretty, so I haven't added a photo in the blog. If you're curious...Google search with caution.

They don't bother me for a few reasons:

1. They're natural

2. I'll have to work with them as a Speech Pathologist, might as well get used to them now

3. They're kind of interesting

Anyhow, Dr. Tasko brought in a camera, just like they use in clinics to check out your Vocal Folds, to show us his. A lot of my classmates were grossed out by the folds (and the fact that you could see way down his trachea!), but like I said, I thought it was really interesting.

Maybe I'm weird.

A couple other cool things (sort of) is that I have two papers to write. Writing the papers is the not-so-cool part. But what they are about is what's neat-o.

So, for the first one we were given a book list from which we had to pick one, read it, and write about the disorder in it (after research), then write about the impact of the disorder on the book's main character's life, as well positive and negative interactions with professionals. After that, all I have to do is say what insights I've gained and how it is similar or different from what we learned in class.

I read the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, yes it is really all lower-case.

It's a fictional tale about a boy named Christopher who has Autism. He finds the dog of a woman who lives across the street, but it has been killed. He decides to write a book (the curious incident of the dog in the night-time) about it--his para-professional tells him to--and all these crazy things happen.

It was a really good read and it really helped me understand what Autism is like. As a Speech Path, I will be working with lots of children with Autism, so I'm glad for that.

Honestly, I think I may read some of the other books on the list, just because.

For the second paper, I have to interview a Speech Pathologist and then write about the interview and how it fits (or doesn't) with what we learned in class, as well as how the experience influenced my interest in the profession.

It's not due until April, but seeing as Nicole, my sister, is a Speech Pathologist (in an Elementary School, no less) it seemed silly not to interview her. Because she is a lucky resource and she's doing exactly what I want to do once I finish Grad School...in my next life. Just kidding.

Anyway, she was so happy to help when I asked if I could interview her some time that she had me call her later that week (which is great, I'm not complaining by any means).

SO, my interview is done and now all I have to do is write the paper.

I haven't yet because, well:

1. I still need to write the paper about the book I read for the same class

2. I have a ton of other homework

3. It's not due until April

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My life is pretty much class, eat, homework, sleep, repeat. But that's alright because Lindsey and I sit together in my room and do homework together. Or I do homework and she watches Gossip Girl. Whichever.

We have lunch together Mondays and Wednesdays, and I have lunch with Emily and Liz (the girls down the hall that we watch Pretty Little Liars with) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

That's nice, but it's about all I can say as far as having a social life. Which is alright with me. To me, College is about my higher education, not about being ridiculous and doing whatever (ahem, other people on my floor). I do admit, without Linds in here a lot of the time, I may have gone crazy (in the sense that I would have lost my mind, not become a stupid college kid). But I have her, so I have nothing to worry about. <3

I'm baaaaack

Christmas Break was great, though it went by way too fast.

I think it was harder to come to Western again after this than to go in the first place.

I miss my family more than I realize when I'm here. I'm so busy that I don't have time to think about it, which is good and bad for obvious reasons.

Anyhow...

This semester seems like it will be a number of things:

1. Challenging

2. Time-consuming

3. Fun

4. Rewarding

because

1. I'm taking 17 credits, with relatively difficult classes

2. the homework takes forever to finish

3. My Psychology class/lab seems really great (see more below)

4. I'm prepared to do all it takes to do the very best and when I get awesome grades I'm gunna super happy.

So, about my Psych class/lab.

My professor seems really cool and she's definitely passionate, which has always helped me learn better.

While the work is the most time-consuming of all, it seems like it will get interesting (once I pass through the Biology portion of it).

The class is 19 people, so I'm hoping to make a new friend.

Plus, we have this things called Optional Activity Points, which we can get from writing out vocab, doing the in-text questions, and working extra labs--things like that. These points can exempt from quizzes, help us get points if we missed a day of class...but the best thing is that if you get at least 500 OAPs and you don't use them (get get an A in the class) you automatically get an A in Psych 3960, without ever taking an actual class for it. Of course, we still have to pay for the credit, but that looks awesome for my GPA and it will good that I took them. AND I can get a Super A (which means instead of getting the normal 3 credits for the class, I get 4) if I do really, really well on quizzes and such.

For the lab, I get a cute little rat--he was born November 15th. I get to watch him learn behaviors by using a Skinner Box to experiment. The experiments aren't cruel in any way. We teach them how to move to a certain place when they hear the dipper click, how to press a lever, when to pull on a chain, etc. Eventually, I get to make my own experiment. :D

I think the class I will dislike the most is Biology, just because I dislike science in general and Bio sounds horrendous. I know my Math class will be difficult as well, because it's not really math--it's teaching number concepts to kids. "Why is a number odd? What is odd? How do you add? If so and so wants to go 153 miles and has already gone 68, how much further does he have to go? Draw a diagram." Yeah.

Anyway,

History is boring, but Linds and Emily (not my roommate, a friend of ours who lives down the hall from us) say the tests are easy because they're based on vocabulary. I can do vocab. :)

My Communication Disorders class is scary AND exciting. It's my first Speech Path class, so I'm happy and I really want to do well, but I know there is lots of information and I want to be good at it. :/

I'll be fine. I am determined to do well. Very well.

So, the only tip I have for now is...

Tip #13: No matter how stressed/freaked out you are or think you will be, don't shut down! Just work hard and don't worry that your social life is limited for the time being. Everything will work out once you get used to the workload or challenge.

One last thing, I'm still all alone in my room. It's no big, I like being by myself a little--well, Lindsey is always in here, but I like that too. :)

So I've taken over and my stuff is everywhere. Haha. Not really. I just spread my clothes out in the closet, L'd the desks for more work space, and brought the second bed down so I don't have to climb up in order to go to sleep. :D

End of the Semester

Well, a whole semester has come and gone and I keep trying to look over my shoulder and figure out where it went.

Around here, especially in my dorm, there are advertisements everywhere for study sessions and tutorials on how to ace your finals. This is all well and good, except that the posters are designed to scare you (not cool).

"Come to the study session to learn how to annihilate your exams without liquefying your brain!!!! College finals are not equal to high school finals."

"You think your finals will be just like your high school finals?"

So I studied really hard. I made hundreds of flash cards. I practiced and practiced my short answers for Gender and Communication. I had two hours for each exam to do my very best.

My studying may have helped me, but I wouldn't say that it helped THAT much. I already knew almost all the terms as I was making the notecards. I just figured: better safe than sorry.

Anyhow, Monday morning came around and....

Gender and Communication: 12 multiple choice, 12 short answer; 30 minutes to finish (I feel I aced it)

Anthropology: 103 multiple choice; 20 minutes to finish (Also feel confident)

Writing and Literature: poetry game (aced--we did it together!)

French: "Easier than Chapter 5 test" <--words of the professor; 30 minutes (ACED!)

The only one I had difficulty with was Precalc. Of course, math has never been easy and THIS math was on the verge of being beyond me and after mid Chapter 5 it WAS beyond me (There are only six chapters). I should be alright, though. There were plenty of things on the test I understood. Except the guy next to me kept making stupid noises and burping and it smelled terrible and he smelled terrible and I was just glad to get out of there!

I'm very confused about how those were more difficult than my high school finals. In actuality, I believe they were easier (with the exception of precalculus, of course--although my math finals in high school weren't easy peasy either).

Still,

Tip # 11: Study hard. There's always the possibility that finals will beat you up. But, relax. There's no need to freak out and get overwhelmed. That will only make it more difficult to retain what you're trying to study.

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On a brighter note:Christmas!

Brandy, Rachel, and I had an ugly sweater dinner and exchanged gifts in Brandy's dorm after we played a few rousing games of Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, Disney Edition." haha.

Last weekend, Emily came down. Linds and I made a fireplace out of paper and bought a tree. It looked so cute. We all got stockings and filled each other's up.

It was a really great time. We opened presents, watched Bridesmaids, went to the Rave Cinema to see New Year's Eve, and then hung out with Lindsey's friend Jeff (a Chip :P) and went to his cousin's apartment (she goes here) for an ugly sweater party! :D

Even after all that fun...I can't wait to go home.

So, last thing until next semester

Tip # 12: Find time to spend with friends and have a good time. Especially during the week before finals (and maybe even the week of), because, I repeat, you need to relax a little bit in between studying.

More fun

Saturday, November 12: I volunteered at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. There were kids everywhere! There isn't much to say about it except that I had fun helping the kids and talking to parents. Everyone was really nice. To me at least...a couple kids got yelled at. What can you do? My station was a MESS after it was over. The kids had thrown streamers and scissors and glue and paper and boxes all over the floor! I was very tired after that.

Sunday and Monday, November 13 and 14: Emily came and visited! It was so awesome to see her! I can't wait until she's back for good in January! We basically just sat around and watched movies. Sunday night we went to go see Footloose (the third time for Lindsey and I), because Em hadn't seen it yet. She liked it and we danced all the way out to the car. :) The only downfall of her visit was that I got next to no sleep for a couple days, but it was so worth it!

Thursday November 17: Lindsey, Brandy, Rachel, and I all went to go see Breaking Dawn at midnight! Brandy and Rachel wanted to get there at 10:30 to wait, but Linds and I were like 'no way' and went at 7:30 to save spots. We were the second people in line and the first for our theater. By 8:45, the line was all the way to the door and Lindsey and I got to say "told you so" (we didn't really, of course). But we got the best seats in the theater, even though Lindsey was so excited when they seated us (at 10:10, ahem Brandy and Rach) that she ran right past the door to our theater. Ahahaha. But anyway, it was a much better movie than I thought it would be and Lindsey and I were super pumped all the way home. Brandy didn't like it very much, but she never said why. I agree there were some things that should have been done differently, but hey-I would probably make mistakes if I was remaking a book into a movie too, you know? Poor Rachel got a migraine a little over half way through the movie, but she didn't want to leave, so she just kind of sat there with her eyes closed. She said she would have to go back to see how it ended. I felt bad that she had just sat there, but she seemed to be okay with it.

I know this is really short, but that's all the exciting stuff that has happened since last blog. So, yeah.

I have a test on Tuesday in Precalc...not excited. I can't wait for this semester to be over so that I can be done with that class. I'll miss French a little (mostly Philip and Mary) and I wish my Writing and Literature class wasn't ending! Other than that, I'm ready for a new semester.

Oh! Something cool: I'm taking Psychology next semester and, as an honors student in the class, I have the opportunity to take a lab where we teach behaviors to rats and research the results. Even though it will not be anything breakthrough, I get to go into the fancy research building that students aren't allowed in unless they're doing research (:D), and it will be really helpful for applying what I learn in class. Plus, how many people can say they've done research with rats?

At first I was like "not mandatory? It's at 11 in the morning, when I don't have any classes until 4? Rats? No, thanks." But then I thought about it and I decided it would be a really neat thing to have done.

So, THAT's it.

Love you guys!