Why haven't we blogged lately? It's like anything else (especially exercise), once you get out of the routine of doing it, it gets hard to get back into the routine. So, what's happened since the last blog? Well, the Christmas Holiday was fun, relaxing, fueled with good food and treats. I really hated for that season to end and I had a hard time taking down the tree and the decorations. It signalled the end of relaxing, and the beginning of "back to work."
I brought Kayla back to school in early January to begin her 2nd semester of Freshman year. I was not surprised that we saw other students getting out of the car with only a backpack and a duffel bag, but not for Kayla. No, No. We had to borrow a laundry cart to fit everything she brought back to college for her last semester in the cities. Suitcases of clothes, bags of food, a TV, more clothes, boots, laptop, and all of the Christmas presents that would help her make her last semester in the Twin Cities dorm more do-able.
For me, this time of year is my busiest time with my work. I spend the first 8 weeks of my semester trying to just stay caught up with lessons, grading papers, preparing labs, etc. I can't believe that it is March and we haven't blogged. We kept meaning to, it's just hard to get back in the swing of things.
Saddest thing to happen lately...Kayla went to Chicago to meet Taylor and Dakota for the Kesha concert. Unfortunately, the Amtrak train was late and the girls missed the concert. It was one of the few times where Kayla was so sad, yet there was absolutely nothing I could do to "fix it." I guess, "that's the way it is."
When Kayla was 8 and was diagnosed with diabetes, I remember that sad feeling of knowing there's nothing I can do to fix it. I will always remember the day I drove her home from the hospital. It was just me and her in the car, and on the radio came the JoDee Messina song, "That's the way it is." Since that day, that has sort of been "our" song. So, Kayla, I'm sure this song doesn't compare to "We R Who We R" but, just try it. It might make you feel a little better...
Click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReBk36jv35g
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Second Semester is here! In March....
I sincerely apologize to the many groupies who love us so much and have been disappointed by the lack of blog for, well...2 and a half months. I'm sorry! Don't disown me! I'll make up for it in this one. (Meaning, I'll blog as I usually would, you'll read it as you usually would, you'll forgive me, and continue to follow like the devoted fan that you are.) All is well. And, on my behalf, my last blog in December was criticized for being "too long." You know who you are, (insert squinty-eyed smug-faced emoticon here). I'll proceed...
Second semester is well under way, so I'll do a quick run down of my new-to-you classes.
(Oh, and as a disclaimer, I know my schedule rocks and looks easy-no Monday or Friday classes- but even though my actual "class time" is not overwhelming in the least, the following classes PLUS the research thing equals a lot of work. Case and point: I haven't even got to watch Modern Family OR American Idol OR Desperate Housewives in 3 weeks. Sad...)
Evolution and the Biology of Sex Well, it's just as it sounds! I have this on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning, and I thoroughly enjoy lecture (usually) because it involves me sitting in one of the coolest new buildings on campus drinking coffee and listening to my very funny and relatable professor talk about science in the context of sex. The content isn't super hard, it's an intro Bio course so it's a lot of mitosis, genetics, etc., but she also throws in some sexual dimorphism and homosexuality hypotheses. Throughout the course, we are trying to scientifically answer why, evolutionally, sex exists. (As one girl responded in my lecture on the first day, "To get back at somebody!" Okaaayyy...)
Spanish Communication and Composition Sadly, so so sadly, this is not my favorite class. I don't mind the homework and readings, it's basically a literature/writing/history course taught in Spanish, instead of just grammar, which is very different from the past 5 years of Spanish I've taken, but I just don't understand the point of going to class. I wish I could tell you what we do in class that's challenging and beneficial, but I just don't know. On a good note though, my teacher is extremely sweet, from Venezuela, and knows Spanish like none other, which means that her fluent, rapid, and very authentic speech has improved my listening skills even more. Alright sweet, that'll my new point of going class. :)
American Democracy in a Changing World Difficult!! For a Pol 101 class, this class is very deep and intellectual, and being that I didn't even know the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties until this fall (I know, embarrassing. Mom, Dad...talk to the siblings about this subject pronto!), it is definitely my most challenging class. And the most difficult to force myself to go to...considering it's from 6:30 to 9 pm on Tuesdays, so late! I'm learning a lot, but right now, I find myself only wanting to talk about Scott Walker and his psycho dictatorship ways... I best end this here.
College Algebra and Probability Okay so I thought this was going to be easy, I mean it's algebra, right? Wrong. First, this is a correspondence class which means I teach myself, and second, college algebra isn't even on the same field as high school algebra. At least at the U of M it isn't. So this class takes a significant amount of time for assignments, and I really have to be self disciplined. I'm working on it...
Research Long story short, I was 1 out of 50 freshman chosen to assist professors in their research as part of something called "CLA Freshman Awards Program." I'm working, along with a few other girls, with a professor in the Department of Speech-Hearing-Language Sciences on a research experiment. It involves young children and their repetition of non-words. I have weekly lab meetings for this, and the assignments we receive require sufficient time, so since I am getting paid for it, I treat it as my job.
And there you have it. After 8 weeks of these, I am now a mere 9 days from a highly-anticipated Spring Break back home. Spring Break will also mark the last "break" where I will be returning to Minnesota afterwards. For those of you who are unaware, I am transferring to UW- La Crosse next fall, and I'm very very excited. It's actually kinda cool...I get to experience 2 colleges! That's 1 more than most people and 2 more than many other people! My reasons are varied, from me realizing I'm more of a city-visitor, not a city-dweller; missing my home state and the authentic Wisconsin environment; Minnesota not offering a Bachelor's program for education; and finding out the the 2nd biggest college campus in the nation was in fact, not what I prefer. Don't get me wrong, I'll never ever regret my decision to experience a Big 10 School my freshman year, and I'm relishing my last months here as much as I possibly can, (ie: whole-heartedly taking on the persona of, excuse my language, a "club whore.") All I know is that even though I realized this isn't where I'm supposed to be in the future, it's where I'm supposed to be now, because more than anything, I can feel myself maturing and growing as a person more than I ever could have imagined.
And really, what are the chances that someone picks the right college on the first try? There are 2,474 four-year higher-education institutions in the nation...I mean that's only a .04% chance!
Second semester is well under way, so I'll do a quick run down of my new-to-you classes.
(Oh, and as a disclaimer, I know my schedule rocks and looks easy-no Monday or Friday classes- but even though my actual "class time" is not overwhelming in the least, the following classes PLUS the research thing equals a lot of work. Case and point: I haven't even got to watch Modern Family OR American Idol OR Desperate Housewives in 3 weeks. Sad...)
Evolution and the Biology of Sex Well, it's just as it sounds! I have this on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning, and I thoroughly enjoy lecture (usually) because it involves me sitting in one of the coolest new buildings on campus drinking coffee and listening to my very funny and relatable professor talk about science in the context of sex. The content isn't super hard, it's an intro Bio course so it's a lot of mitosis, genetics, etc., but she also throws in some sexual dimorphism and homosexuality hypotheses. Throughout the course, we are trying to scientifically answer why, evolutionally, sex exists. (As one girl responded in my lecture on the first day, "To get back at somebody!" Okaaayyy...)
Spanish Communication and Composition Sadly, so so sadly, this is not my favorite class. I don't mind the homework and readings, it's basically a literature/writing/history course taught in Spanish, instead of just grammar, which is very different from the past 5 years of Spanish I've taken, but I just don't understand the point of going to class. I wish I could tell you what we do in class that's challenging and beneficial, but I just don't know. On a good note though, my teacher is extremely sweet, from Venezuela, and knows Spanish like none other, which means that her fluent, rapid, and very authentic speech has improved my listening skills even more. Alright sweet, that'll my new point of going class. :)
American Democracy in a Changing World Difficult!! For a Pol 101 class, this class is very deep and intellectual, and being that I didn't even know the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties until this fall (I know, embarrassing. Mom, Dad...talk to the siblings about this subject pronto!), it is definitely my most challenging class. And the most difficult to force myself to go to...considering it's from 6:30 to 9 pm on Tuesdays, so late! I'm learning a lot, but right now, I find myself only wanting to talk about Scott Walker and his psycho dictatorship ways... I best end this here.
College Algebra and Probability Okay so I thought this was going to be easy, I mean it's algebra, right? Wrong. First, this is a correspondence class which means I teach myself, and second, college algebra isn't even on the same field as high school algebra. At least at the U of M it isn't. So this class takes a significant amount of time for assignments, and I really have to be self disciplined. I'm working on it...
Research Long story short, I was 1 out of 50 freshman chosen to assist professors in their research as part of something called "CLA Freshman Awards Program." I'm working, along with a few other girls, with a professor in the Department of Speech-Hearing-Language Sciences on a research experiment. It involves young children and their repetition of non-words. I have weekly lab meetings for this, and the assignments we receive require sufficient time, so since I am getting paid for it, I treat it as my job.
And there you have it. After 8 weeks of these, I am now a mere 9 days from a highly-anticipated Spring Break back home. Spring Break will also mark the last "break" where I will be returning to Minnesota afterwards. For those of you who are unaware, I am transferring to UW- La Crosse next fall, and I'm very very excited. It's actually kinda cool...I get to experience 2 colleges! That's 1 more than most people and 2 more than many other people! My reasons are varied, from me realizing I'm more of a city-visitor, not a city-dweller; missing my home state and the authentic Wisconsin environment; Minnesota not offering a Bachelor's program for education; and finding out the the 2nd biggest college campus in the nation was in fact, not what I prefer. Don't get me wrong, I'll never ever regret my decision to experience a Big 10 School my freshman year, and I'm relishing my last months here as much as I possibly can, (ie: whole-heartedly taking on the persona of, excuse my language, a "club whore.") All I know is that even though I realized this isn't where I'm supposed to be in the future, it's where I'm supposed to be now, because more than anything, I can feel myself maturing and growing as a person more than I ever could have imagined.
And really, what are the chances that someone picks the right college on the first try? There are 2,474 four-year higher-education institutions in the nation...I mean that's only a .04% chance!
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