ARF

This weekend I volunteered at ARF for the first time. I really enjoyed it - it is a great feeling to know that you are doing something to help out others. The job they had the volunteers doing was painting the cat house. I have painted walls before, but not in the middle of 70 cats. They got paint everywhere. However, it was still fun and we got the job done. I liked it there and I think that I will back again to help out. I love animals and I love volunteering, so it is the perfect combination.

Something Crazy

Yesterday my friend's parents showed up and took us out to dinner. They said they woke up and felt like doing something crazy. Though going to dinner with your daughter isn't usually considered crazy, driving 4 and a half hours on a whim might. I personally thought it was really neat. My friend doesn't go home that often because of the distance and it was nice for her to see her family. Though I love my family, they don't really do anything crazy. I really enjoyed the visit - though it wasn't mostly for me - and loved the lack of thought behind it. I guess it just struck something inside me.

Pool

The dorm I live in has a couple of pool tables and a ping-pong table in one of the lounges. I had never used any of them, but the other day someone asked if I would play pool with them. This is a game I have played very seldomly and with very little skill, but as I learned the game I started to enjoy it. Though I still am not very good at it, I am a lot better. It was so fun that I have played several time since then. It's amazing that I have been living a few minutes from that lounge all year, and only now discovered it.

Something New

So my dad really likes to play Words with Friends on Facebook, but I never want to play anymore because I have gotten tired of the game. He came up with a new idea to get me to play. Instead of playing for points, we tell a story with the words. You explain how the word you play continues the storyline in the chat box. We have been doing for a while now and it is really fun. It's a new twist on the game.

Zoo

Lately I have had the desire to go to the zoo. My friend went a few weeks ago, and I realized that I haven't been to one in years. When we were younger, my family went to the zoo all the time. It was one of my favorite things to do. I think it will be interesting to see how it seems to and older me. Plus, it has probably changed a lot since I last went. Hopefully I wil be able to make the trip before I lose intrest again.

Easter

I spent the whole weekend at various family easter events, and while I am usually glad to get this kind of thing over with, I find myself wishing the weekend were a little longer. It is nice to spend time with everyone, especially because I don't get to see them as often as I used to. Anyway, it was a beautiful day - if a little windy, and I had a lot of fun. A day full of food. family, and little children. 

Thank You for Smoking

So I just finished watching Thank You for Smoking, and I really liked it. I can easily see how it relates to this class, the main character has to convince people to use his product, despite the media selling him as a villan and cigarettes as bad for peoples' health. The moral dilema is also interesting, he has to make people become addicted to something that can kill them. It really shows you how powerful the right words can be and how you can make people agree with you.

Too Short

I'm sure everyone has heard someone complain about being short at one time or another, but the other day I was thinking about how nice it would be to be just a few inches taller. I was trying on what were supposed to be capri pants, but they ended right above my ankle. Later that day I was trying to get a water bottle at Woodworth, but they were all on the top shelf and pushed to the back. I was trying to reach one when some tall guy walked up and grabbed one for himself, but not me. I shouldn't expect people to just give me things, but it seemed a little rude. I had to go without a water bottle that meal. I may not be the shortest person in the world, but that day my height just seemed too short. 

Reading

I have always been someone who loves to read. As soon as I ended a book I would start a new one, but once college started I slowly started to read less and less. At first it was cause I didn't have the same access to books, but also I have to do a lot of mandatory reading. The other day I realized that I hadn't read a book for fun in months - which is an incredibly long time for me. I picked up one I had been meaning to read and finished it in a few days and am almost done with another. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss something until you try it again.

A game of euchre

The other day my friends and I wanted to play euchre, but we needed a fourth person. Our dorm has a Facebook page, so we posted that we needed another person. I almost never check the page, so was surprised when someone responded within a few minutes. We met up and played several games. He was nice and everyone had a lot of fun. I just think it is interesting how easy it is just to find someone that you have never met like that. Maybe it is something I should take advantage of more often. 

A Beautiful Day

I think that I forget how much I love warm weather over the winter. The last few days have been gorgeous, and a relief from all the cold of winter. It is not just the heat, but being able to walk out the door without a coat and layers. Another thing that I am enjoying is all the people that are outside. It makes me glad to be alive and to see other people enjoying what I am. Winter may be fun, and snow is beautiful, but I think warm weather just makes me feel better. I know it won't be this exciting for long, so I am enjoying it as much as I can.

Movie

I saw a new movie this week called This Means War. It has Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine in it, and it was a cute love story. It is about two best friends and CIA agents who find out they are dating the same girl, and use their spy resources to win her over. It, like most movies in this genre, did not have too deep of a plot, but it had a lot of funny moments and a good ending. I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would. I recommend it to anyone looking to watch a light romantic comedy. 

Home

I have gone home for spring break, and though it is good to be here, sometimes it feels odd to be home. First off, it is not quite the same as I remember it, and I am also looking at it from a slightly different perspective. But I think the weirdest thing is knowing that things have been happening while I was not here to see them. Suddenly there are new restaurants and repaved roads. Dad got a new car and the towels in the bathroom are new. Even though it feels good to be here, these little things make me feel like sort of a stranger. But then I see the little things that make it so familiar. No place like home I guess.

Vampire for President

I recently saw a preview for the new movie coming out about Abe Lincoln as a vampire hunter. I really don't get it. I understand that vampires are popular right now, but it seems very odd to be turning one of America's most famous presidents into one. It is not that there is something inherently wrong with that, but it just doesn't sound appealing to me. What do you think? What is up with this movie?

Stress

The closer we get to spring break, the more stressed I am becoming. Some of it is due to the homework and studying I am doing for midterms, but there are other factors. On top of suddenly being aware of my grades in all my classes, there are a lot of things that I need to do next week, but I don't know when I will find the time. I also am trying to start getting ready for break - planning, packing, etc. I feel like I am missing sleep and starting to forget things. I hope I can get through everything and just relax over break.

A cool idea

Today I discovered an interesting way to do my nails. My friend was trying it out, and I came over to watch because I love doing artsy things. First she painted her nails with a plain base color and put tape on her fingers so that the only part showing was the nail. Then she put drops of fingernail polish into a cup of water and swirled them around. The colors didn't mix, but made a cool pattern. Then she dipped her fingers into the water and the pattern was transferred to her nails. The final product was really cool. I think that  I might try it next time I do my nails.

Annotated Bibliography

I have really enjoyed reading everyones' annotated bibs for the intensive reviews. It is interesting to see what people are passionate about and the cool idas they come up with. It is easy to hear the writer's voice than in the National Gaze essays. I also enjoy these more than the National Gaze papers because these topics are more relevant to me. Also, because these topics are more personal, they are easier and more enjoyable to research.

Crayon Art

This weekend my friends and I decided to try melted crayon art. We had all seen it on the internet, and wanted to try it out. First we took the wrappers off crayons and hot glued them to canvas. Then we heated them with a blow dryer until they melted. It is easy and cheap - but it is also messy and takes up a lot of time. The final product looks really cool, and each person's looks a little different. If you wan't to try it, I have a few pieces of advice : do it is old clothes in a place where it is ok to have wax flying everywhere, and three blowdryers going at once causes the power to short out.

A Scary Drive

After class on Friday my friend and I left to drive to Detroit. It was supposed to take around four hours and we were going to take turns driving. However, it started snowing, and we had to drive slowly. Around 7 we were near Marshall, Michigan and the snow was really bad. My friend was driving and we could barely see out the window. The car in font of us slowed down and she hit the brakes, causing us to start fish-tailing. Unfortunately, there was a semi truck next to us that we hit. The truck kept driving, making the car spin all over the road. We spun almost two times then the car fell off the road into a huge ditch. The back of the car hit the bottom of the ditch and the front hit a mile marker. It was really scary, but I am glad that no one got hurt. 

Volleyball

This Thursday I went to a Ball State volleyball game for the first time. I had been to a couple of games in high school, but volleyball was never something that I loved watching. However, this volleyball game was at a much higher level and was a men's game. The game was very exciting and much more athletic than I remember volleyball being. It was fun to watch, and has helped me appreciate the game more. It makes me wonder what other things that I thought I didn't like I would end up liking now. I am always learning new things about myself.

A movie not to watch.

So this weekend I watched an animated movie called Igor. My friend had rented it, and usually animated movies are cute, so I watched it with her. The premise of the movie wasn't that bad - the little hunchback assistant wanted to be an evil scientist - but there were a lot of things that were just wrong about the movie. There was a little rabbit that kept trying to kill itself that was very disturbing. Also there was a lot of references to blind orphans and in the end they made them sing the son "I can see clearly now." Even without those things, the movie just wasn't very entertaining. I wouldn't watch it and I would not let my children watch it. If anyone gets a chance to watch it - I would pass it by.

Busy Day

Some days are very lazy, but other days I wake up with a purpose. Today, I decided I would get done everything I have been putting off. I rearranged and cleaned my room and washed my sheets this morning. Then I went into town and exchanged some stuff and bought new toothpaste. Then I went to the library and worked on a project. Though I have been busy, I am really glad. It is nice to know that I have things done. It is relieving not to have these little things hanging over my head.

Orchid Gardin

Today I visited a place on campus that I didn't even know existed. It was the Wheeler Orchid Collection in Christy Woods. It was in a little greenhouse with an orchid on the door that said OPEN. The lady working there was very excited to have guests, and had us sign her book. Then we (my friend and I) were free to roam around. There were so many plants put into a little space, that it was like being in a maze. Every corner had new plants and things to see. There were also aquariums with frogs from rain forests and little fountains of water. It is a good place to escape from the winter for a little bit.  

Blokus

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of or played the game Blokus, but I have just now discovered it.  My friend Elizabeth brought it back from Christmas, and finally got four people to sit down and play it. At first I was really bad at it, but then I began to learn the strategy of the game. I have a bit of a competitive side, so I got really into it. I always forget how fun it can be to play a board game. My family used to always have game night - I guess I missed it. It gives people a chance to sit around and talk. If anyone gets a chance to try out this game, I think it's fun.

Research Paper

When we were first assigned the research paper, I was a little worried. Eight pages seems like a lot for me, and I wasn't sure I would have enough time to do it. However, no one else seemed too worried about it. I did a lot of research, but a whole country is a lot of information to cover. And I picked Guatemala - a country I didn't realize until too late that is dangerous to travel to. I didn't know what quality my paper would be. Now that the rough draft is done and I have looked at some other people's papers, I feel a lot better about everything. I guess it is possible to do that much work in such a short amount of time.

Endangered Words

   For Christmas my aunt, who is a librarian, got me a book called Endangered Words. It is sort of dictionary full of words that are almost never used in the English language anymore. I usually enjoy reading, but even I was not excited at the prospect of a book full of complicated words. However, I am finding that it is one of my favorite presents. The words are kind of cool and I could, conceivably, use them myself. For example, the word afterwit is in the book. It means wisdom after the event, that comes too late. It is a feeling I have had before, but never had a word for. I would encourage everyone to discover a new word or two.

Log

Tuesday, January 10 was our first day of class. Everyone introduced themselves to the class and we went over the syllabus. Because it was the first day we mostly listened to Professor McArdle talk about what we would be doing over the course of the semester. We also learned how to use the website and that we were to create a blog. We briefly talked about the short story Harrison Bergeron that we read before class.

On Thursday, January 12 we continued to learn about what we are going to be doing this semester and had the opportunity to ask any questions. We also found out about an upcoming project concerning the National Gaze and third world countries. I think it sounds interesting.