Feeling the pressure.

This week feels like the calm before the storm! It's been one month of college and I think I've been handling it pretty well. My classes are going well and I've been eating and sleeping regularly. But that's going to change this week and the next. I just had a Chem exam, and I'm preparing for next week's Bio exam, and English and MHC Seminar essays. I'm so stressed from all the upcoming work and I don't know where to begin. Word has it that Bio is one of the hardest classes out there. Only 10 people in the class will receive an A. I'm not sure what to do with that information. On one hand, it's a challenge to do well in the class and be one of the select few to get an A. On the other hand, it is a mental roadblock because there's such a low chance of performing well that I might as well just concentrate on my other classes. So this is my dilemma for the week: study for bio or work on my essays?

All that I want is a Shady Lane

Being a true Maller, I work my ass off and say "no" to nothing, which actually tends to be beneficial except for a lack of sleep.

This week is crazy hectic, and I'm only halfway through. It's interesting that professors all seem to be on the same schedule, and love to make large assignments due in the same week. So on Monday I had a free write, poetry responses, and 2 poems due just for my Poetry Workshop. I have my first African American Narratives paper due on Thursday at midnight. I just finished outlining it - an exploration of the dehumanization of Tea Cake in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Cheery. I'm pretty excited about the paper, though, and tomorrow night will be devoted to quote hunting and drafting. Then I should have all night Thursday to perfect my paper.

I'm finally getting into a rhythm with my German work, though I'm regretfully spending less time on my vocabulary than I need to. I plan on picking up the slack this weekend, in between studying for Economics, as my first midterm should be next week. Maybe the week after, if I'm lucky. It's not too hard, it's just a completely different way of thinking, and I'd like a decent amount of time to prepare.

My boss and her boss weren't at Norton today, which meant today was a reading day. I read and wrote reports for 4 manuscripts. 4. It was tiring, but it was nice to sit and read all day, rather than running all over the place mailing books or working on Excel spreadsheets. If only there were big, leather chairs in which to curl up as one reads manuscripts. When I have an office of my own, someday. (2 or 3 years, fingers crossed!) Till then, I'm paying my dues. No complaints.

In terms of my "never saying no" statement, that was in regard to a JFEW focus group at the Macaulay Building last night. I didn't mind going - it was only an hour, and I got free dinner (and Mike Lamb always orders the best food!) I just have to be careful about how many things like this I commit to, and how I'll budget my time. For example, I'm skipping a reading I really want to go to at Hunter tomorrow night (poet Robert Hass) in order to work on my paper. But going to the focus group was even more pleasurable than expected because I had a lively discussion with Mr. Lamb about Pavement (I went to their reunion concert in Central Park on Friday.) If he didn't know who I was before, he does now! It's always great to make more personal connections with Macaulay and Hunter staff.

Back to writing, now. Tschüss!

Katharine

insomnia

This week is a week of hell. I apologize if I have used that term before, or if you've heard it so many times that it has become annoying or completely ineffective in the terror, workload and sleeplessness it brings. But its true- this is going to be one !@#$%^& week.

It started off with last weekend, when the sophomore Macaulay class went to Black Rock upstate near West Point. I have to say the hike up the mountain was gorgeous and I would love to do it again, but can someone remind me why we went there in the first place? Although we were told time and time again it was to tie in what we are learning in this semester's seminar, " Science and Technology in New York City", the trip was somewhat a failure at doing so. We spent more time hiking and enjoying nature ( which in itself was actually relaxing and enjoyable) than learning about green design and architecture. Which is quite funny- going all the way upstate to learn about green architecture when there are countless examples and attempts going on right here in the city. I have to say that the coolest thing I learned on that trip was not to take pictures on your cellphone- the mountain world will claim it.On a more serious note, the green design bathrooms in the forest lodge were interesting- very little water is used to wash down excretion and waste, and whatever goes down the pipes is actually saved to make human manure in a huge compost machine in the basement. Pretty cool. And guess what? Doesn't really smell near the compost machine, even when you see the dehydrated manure( unless you go at an inopportune time).But the trip to and from the forest was quite reminiscent of field trips in elementary school- riding in our little cheese buses, having barely any leg room, sitting with friends and such.

Essentially though, the trip did not mesh well into the course objectives, and it definitely did not bode well with my study schedule. Having less time to study for my orgo test this past Monday ( yesterday) was not a fun experience. But now that the test is out of the way, I can look forward to not only reading for classes, but also writing up 2 organic chemistry laboratory reports ( by hand woo hoo), a 1,500 word explication paper for English, a response essay for CHC/MHC, and last but not stressfully least, filling out, budgeting and writing a statement for the opportunities fund deadline this Friday. Getting at least 4 hours a day anytime in between will be a sure blessing.

what a weekend

so, sitting on my bed friday afternoon post class/trader joe's with the girls/nap and my boyfriend goes, "can you be online at like 6:30, 7ish? I want to vidchat but I'm at band practice now." naturally I said of course. so I'm napping at like 6:30ish and he calls me and goes "you aren't online" and I (being my incoherent-when-just-woken-up self) grumble "okay okay gimme a second." so, I pull myself out from under the blanket, flip on the light, unlock the door, open my computer and then the door handle jiggles and in bursts dan, the boyfriend, all the way from cornell!

needless to say, all my weekend plans & scheduling flew right out the window. so, dan and I hung out for a little bit before heading downtown for dinner at mexican radio (such yums) and I'm Still Here (the joaquin phoenix mock/documentary-now-turned-movie). good night. such a good night.

saturday was spent seeing his family & getting him a haircut and then heading to queens for dinner with my family. this is a running joke between my family and everyone we know -- we don't live in queens, we just go to eat there. my dad loves the ethnic food in queens. whatevah. and saturday night was pretty uneventful -- watched the new 30 rock (eh) and went for a walk down to union square and got bubble tea.

so today I got to crack down on my work (none of which was pressing) with some pressure alleviated after doing well on my psych test. instead of going to the opera tonight for mhc, we're going to a movie. it's just cold and rainy and I don't really want to shlep (is that too yiddish?) to the guggenheim and there's another opera that we're going to as a class later in the semester so that just makes a lot more sense. that being said, after a day of work (and a nap!), movie time!

It's that time of the year again...

It has been a very, very, very long time since I have last blogged. I regret not having done it not just for the sake of the blog but because sharing your experiences with others is a wonderful thing and very helpful to both the one reading and the one writing. But, alas, I am finally back and there is sooo much to talk about. Thus, I will have to make this post a short one and, after Tuesday, finish my story.

It is indeed that time of the year again. It is late September, almost October, and this is when things seems to get hectic for me. First assignments and papers are due, the weather is changing from summer to fall, and the allergies are horrible. I really wish it was early November already, not only because my 21st birthday is on the 8th but because I am tired of the hot and erratic weather. But I will also be quite satisfied after Tuesday, which is the day my last assignments for about a month (except one) are due. I can't wait to have a little more free time and the ability to do some more volunteering and artwork. I will also have the opportunity to get the Sociology Club off the ground and go through the long process of making it an official club. I can focus on ambassadoring for Macaulay and oh, I need to find another job so I can make more money. Thank God I am only taking four classes this semester because on top of the things I just listed, I also have an internship where I work 15 hours per week. It is paid too! I am an apprentice museum educator at the Rubin Museum of art on West 17th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. So far I love it and I will be sure to describe what I do more in detail later on this week! I will also talk more about my classes.

On to something a little more exciting, I am really looking forward to buying fudge pops to put in my freezer and a beautiful (and really cheap!) pumpkin from Trader Joes on Wednesday after I get off work at 6:30. I am ready to usher in the fall although I know that fudge pops aren't really the best way to do it. I just have this weird custom of eating fudge pops in the fall and not in the summer. They taste better that way. Trust me! =)

I must be off to write a paper now but I will be back on Tuesday or Wednesday!

Sunrise

After getting up in the dark four days in a row, it was nice to actually miss the sunrise today. I purposely left my Fridays class-free and internship-free for exactly this purpose - it's my sleep-in/mental health day after weeks like this one, which just felt overwhelmingly busy.
That being said, I am absolutely LOVING my internship with Council Member Brewer (which I found on the Macaulay maintained internships list). On Tuesday morning, I got up really early so I could be at a school on the Upper West Side (the Council Member's District) and pass out fliers about/try to get signatures in support of the Paid Sick Time legislation CM Brewer is sponsoring. It was pretty successful - we got over 100 signatures - and it felt nice to be truly involved in trying to get a law passed that I personally support. Then I got to attend an event about immigrant workers in NYC on behalf of the Council Member, which was really interesting (and I got free lunch!) Other than that, I've spent most of my time in the Council Member's city hall office - sometimes doing the mundane work that must be done in any office (answering phones, making copies, filing) but more often writing correspondence - thank you letters, letters on behalf of constituents, etc. - which can be really enjoyable.
This internship is pushing me toward declaring a minor in public policy - I attended an Admissions forum about public policy graduate schools on Wednesday at the Roosevelt House (Hunter's brand new Public Policy institute) and that seems like a career path I might really want to pursue.
But for now, I'm enjoying my day off, since I get to wake up early and see the sunrise again tomorrow - the Class of 2013 is taking a field trip to Black rock. Enjoy your weekends!

growl.

apparently I now know how it feels to have my first ever real live college test tomorrow. pass. not fun. there is so much psych floating around in my head that I just hope I projectile information vomit (proj info vom?) on the 60 multiple choice question test. bring your #2 pencils, kiddies. (and I really thought my days of #2 pencils were done. apparently not.)

blog some other time. back to reviewing.

“What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.”

Pearl Bailey, thank you for your timeless quote. And seriously, that is what the world needs.

After attending the Opportunities Fund meeting this afternoon and meeting with Education Abroad and printing out all the forms and applications, I am surprised at how there will actually be trees standing at Black Rock on Saturday.

Don't get me wrong- the meeting was very informative and actually cleared up many questions I had about obtaining money for (hopefully) my study abroad over the Winter semester. And clarifying the trip at the Education Abroad office made applying to the program seem like less of a hassle ( By the way- everyone at the foreign language department and education abroad department at Hunter is truly sweet and kind, and definitely willing to answer your questions, no matter how repetitive and stupid they [the questions] might seem). But as with anything, now I, and everyone else applying for winter study abroad, have to face application after application for both the opportunity fund request deadline and for the program application deadline. Yay. I can just feel the stress piling on.

And they'll continue to welcome us on the last day of finals

They might. I wouldn't put it past this school and this program. Apparently neither would Hunter College President Jennifer Raab as she joked about the October date in her speech this morning at the Roosevelt House for the 2010 Macaulay at Hunter Convocation. We "new freshman" have been here for a whole month now. My navigation skills still border on pathetic, but I'm pretty sure we aren't greenhorns any more.

This being said, I liked what is hopefully the last leg of my orientation. Although I regret missing the gripping analysis of Lady Gaga as a postmodern figure as I did when I left my Intro to Media lecture early to go to Convocation, it was worth it. Getting there was cakey. (I'd like to give a shout-out to Macaulay @ Hunter Coordinator Betsy Elias for encouraging my made-up words.) The event was good, even if not all of my peers were able to get seating. The aforementioned President Raab, along with members of the Hunter faculty and student body made really persuasive arguments for getting involving in the school and various internships and departments. Not that it took much to persuade the the crowd. My classmates are a driven bunch. The refreshments served afterwards were delicious. The Roosevelt House, which I was lucky enough to tour afterwards, is gorgeous. I never really saw myself as a public policy student, but I think their beautiful, historic building would be an ideal place to study.

Study...like I should be doing right now. I get very sidetracked when I attempt to study in my dorm room. As a result, I've been staying in the Hunter Library late to get work done. I'm going to do some history reading now.

-Danielle

Where does the time go?!

Last week I realized all at once that I really need to get my act together this semester, as it's reaching the real take-off point. In part because I've had so many days off for assorted holidays, and in part because I'm just zoning out a bit this year, I can't believe that it's already almost a month since the semester started! But midterms start next week and classes are suddenly much more serious.

Other obligations are piling up as well. Tomorrow I have to meet my advisor about my opportunities fund application, due next week, and meet my mentor from the Hunter Mentoring Program. I'm spending a good 3 or 4 hours in the lab every afternoon, and I realized that that is where my energy should really be going; not to put down classes, but there's so much to get out of the lab and it's entirely proportional to how much I put in. Luckily my classes seem to be going pretty well. My 300 level German class, initially so intimidating, is really quite fun now that I'm getting the hang of it, and listening to German radio plays then discussing them (in German, of course) with classmates have proven to be an excellent way to improving my real world language skills, which was exactly what I wanted. My ethics class has started having short pop-quiz writing assignments, and although I always feel like I bombed them at the time they keep coming back with A's which is very nice, and my professor told me today that my draft of an essay for that class is pretty much fine to submit as it is, which is great news since it was due in between my calculus and statistics midterms next week.

I've now been on campus for over 4 hours already today, the first 1 and a half or so in class and the rest in the library... it's definitely time to go outside and get some air, food, and coffee before my next class!

Celine

take-in dinner nights make my day.

sometimes I get a little jealous that a few of my best friends are taking a gap year and traveling the world (kivunim). they all left today. sigh. won't see them for 8 months. luckily there's video chat!

so, post-anthropology recitation class (not dull at all today) and post-last-lunch-with-my-best-friend and post-last-class-before-psych-test-on-thursday, I went to the gym and then went home to do some lovely homework.

really, not like there was any homework tonight. all of my classes are reading-intensive and I use the word "intensive" lightly. maybe it's just because I love reading.

waking up this morning was a pain. we were up in a friend's room down the hall goofing around until 1am-ish. meh. and then my anthropology professor said she's returning papers (these who-I-am papers we had to write) next week...that I don't want to get back. first college paper, anyone? eh, not so psyched on it.

so tonight was "buckle down and study" night. I just want to make sure that I have chapters 1 & 2 of psych down pat before tomorrow, when I can focus all my energies past 12:30pm (when I end all class-obligated responsibilities, so early, yes!) on chapter 3 of psych. surprisingly, what felt like a lot of material when I started outlining on friday (don't make fun, I'm a studier) is now very ingrained in my head. I like that feeling. and the test is 60 multiple choice questions, no essays, no nothing (phew). since we were all working (or maybe it was just me?) we had a heat-up-food-and-eat-together night. very nice, very inexpensive, still not very "real college" though but I think I'm over the whole dining hall experience. yes, it would be fun, but when I need to do my work, I don't want to leave to eat. that would not be happening for me. dinner was nice, almost 2-hour break. very well needed.

and now, back to psych (almost done with chapter 2, done with chapter 1!) and then watching boardwalk empire from last night. AND....GLEE IS BACK TOMORROW & MODERN FAMILY IS BACK WEDNESDAY. excuse my caps lock, I'm just more than a little excited.

Gettin' It Together

It's been exactly 19 days since my last post on the blog, and I'm starting to get into a real "groove" of getting college-level work done at the high level Macaulay Hunter demands. I kind of got shook out of it over the last two weeks, for myriad reasons: two weeks ago, the school-week barely existed due to the holidays (as elucidated here, here, and here), and last week because I was commuting back and forth from Queens, an especially draining series of trips due to the fact that the reason for my commutes was for viewings and a funeral for my grandfather, who died last Sunday.

The classes continue to be hard work - the readings are long, the assignments just starting to become plentiful - but they're enjoyable. My Expository Writing course is a lot more fun than I thought it would be - I thought it would be just another "How to Write an Essay" course, and largely it is, but Professor Robbins is at least amiable. Arts in New York, the first of the MHC courses (they're not CHC courses anymore!), is a sort of strange course, largely because we've met in a different location each week - one week, it's the Museum of the City of New York, another week it's the World Youth Alliance for a concert, and another week it's back at Hunter - but it's incredibly enjoyable.

My favorite class by far, though, is my course on the Dreyfus Affair. I'm one of only two freshmen in the class (unsurprising, considering it's a 300-level History course), but I think I'm holding my own, in spite of the large amounts of reading and the grade being largely based on a daunting final paper. Professor Schor (who, incidentally, was the founding dean of what was then CUNY Honors College) is an expert in the field of French history, and is extremely approachable.

On the other hand, there's my First Amendment Law course. Professor Cohen likes to hear the sound of his own voice. A lot. It seems as though he's interested in the material - as am I - but I haven't learned very much so far (it doesn't help that it's a one-day-a-week course, in which we've only met three times). Hopefully, I'll pull through.

On my way to being an adult

Last week has been rough for me. I was volunteering when my backpack got stolen. It had everything in there: laptop, phone, wallet, miscellaneous clothing. I had to think about all the phone calls I needed to make. First, I had to report it to the authorities. Then, I had to cancel/reapply for cards. There are so many things to take care of and it was my responsibility to do it all. Now that I'm in college, I'm supposed to a responsible adult and all, but that's not how it went down.

My mom actually came to visit me that night. She brought over some food and talked to me. It was so nice to have her around on a bad day. It made me feel like a kid again. Having my mom pick up the pieces and assure me that everything will turn out alright, even if it doesn't. I guess I still have a few more years until I can call myself an adult.

CAKE and Deutsch

Freaking amazing to sleep until 11 today - I have to be up by 7 or so every day during the week.

This week was actually pretty cool. At my internship, they handed me a German novel that they're possibly interested in translating and said "read it, tell us if it's good." So I'm about 1/3 through it, and it's pretty entertaining, though I'm not sure it's right for an American audience. It's a book written in German that takes place in Venice, so it's quite sexy. And very explicit about said sexiness. But there are really beautiful descriptions of ice cream and first, non-sexual love in it. I like it.

Also, I saw CAKE on Thursday night in Central Park with my friend John (the tickets were his birthday present from me.) Outdoor concerts in the rain are pretty awesome, and they played two amazing sets. They gave away a tree. This is a clip of them playing live, but not at the concert I attended. But everyone needs some CAKE in their lives. On Friday, I'm one of the privelaged who get to see the Pavement reunion concert. YES!

Beautiful weekend, all,

Katharine

Yum Yum

Thursdays are days from hell. I have class from 8:10am-6:50pm. 5 classes.Five.Cinco. I really want to find someone who has a schedule on Thursday's that is way more inconceivable and harsh, so that I have hope that I too can make it through a day of 4 hour orgo lab, and back to back to back mhc, english 220, and organic chem lecture recitation. At least I end the day with Bio 200 with a huge group of friends.

What was funny about this Thursday was how I, and I'm assuming,many other people, missed out on the flash storm that hit the city,and the microbursts and tornadoes that rocked Queens. While my friends and I had to suffer puddles to get dinner at the Kati Roll Company on MacDougal (yumm), my dad and brother and countless others had to tough it up in standstill traffic.

And here I am today- Another three day weekend started off not too well.Absolutely no work done yet, and its already Saturday. Hopefully I'll feel more productive when I head back to the dorms later today.

The Windy City

The stars aligned and there they were – two four-day weekends, separated only by my History of the Middle East to 1800 class on Wednesday mornings. So, my mom and I got on a plane to Chicago early Thursday morning and we spent the long weekend there (the trip was planned; since I spent the whole summer studying abroad and then working, this was my vacation). We spent each day busily running around to every museum and attraction we could fit in to our schedule (a sampling below). Chicago is a beautiful city, and I can’t wait to go back and check out everything I missed this time. But for me, nothing compares to the big NYC. So I’m happy to be home, and (mostly) happy to be back on my normal school schedule. Three days of class a week is A LOT of hard work! But seriously, it is. I’m off to do homework.

We're a few weeks in now and school is starting to really heat up. The first few homework assignments are starting to be handed back, and talk is turning to mid-terms which are just about two weeks away for many classes.

Other aspects of the semester are also getting under way. This Tuesday was the kick-off reception for the Hunter Mentoring Program which I'm in this fall, in which students are paired with a mentor, often a Hunter alum, to help guide and give insight on the professional world. My mentor is a very pleasant clinical psychiatrist, so she's in a rather different field from what I'm interested in but I'm sure I'll be able to learn from her. Today, I'm meeting my own mentee; in the past the Honors College ran a mentor-mentee program in which every Freshman was paired with an upperclassmen to help out and answer questions during that confusing "wait I'm in college now" transition, or at any other time really. That system didn't work so well as many of people on both sides were a bit apathetic about it, so now Freshmen only get mentors if they actually want them - cool concept. I'll be meeting mine today and hopefully imparting semi-useful information now and in the future.

Time to pack up the laptop and head to class.

- Celine

Friday Scheduling "Ahead of Time"

Because of all the three day weekends, yesterday operated on a Friday schedule. My lack of regular Friday classes allowed me to ease even more into the school year.

During the morning, I read for media and English and did a brief history assignment. It was great having the health science library so near by. (I used it for printing) I also did laundry. The laundry room is underground and the area surrounding it borders on creepy, but it is also a great convenience. I was able to relax in my room while clothing got cleaned and dried....just as I would at home.

My day didn't really get exciting until sunset. I attended a special premiere for a documentary called "Ahead of Time" at Cinema 2 on 59th Street with friends from the Hunter Hillel (who's open house I attended the night before) and the Macaulay Honors College. "Ahead of Time" was directed by Robert Richman of "An Inconvenient Truth" and "September Issue" fame and it profiles the life of Ruth Gruber. Both director and his 97-year-old star were in attendance and participated in a question-and-answer session afterward. I was so stoked to be introduced to Ruth Gruber by the event coordinator upon walking in. A Jewish resident of Brooklyn, she was the youngest person to receive a PHD and traveled the world as a diplomat and foreign correspondent. She was among the first to write on the Soviet Artic and Alaska. She welcomed refugees to America in a secret mission during World War 2 and covered the story of refugees on the Exodus 3 years later. Her words changed world politics in a time where few women had public voices. She was as sharp (and hilarious) today as she was then. It was a truly inspirational night.

Falling into Place

Hey guys! So, the last few weeks have been a little bit hectic, but life has settled into a predictable pattern of classes, readings, poor meals, and job-hunting. I'm taking a schedule full of honors classes this term (Marx and Marxism, Lit & Film, and MHC 200) with the odd math class thrown in for laughs. But, in all honesty, it's shaping up to be a pretty relaxing and fun term. Of course, I have to keep on top of the readings and the online math homeworks, but aside from that, it's really all about letting myself get as much out of this term and these classes as possible.

I doubt I'll be this free anytime in the next three years, so I actually have time to apply to jobs (and hopefully, if my interview goes well tomorrow, I'll start making money within the month), hang out with friends, and read a novel every now and then.

Hope everyone is having as much fun in September!

-Kunwal

busy busy busy bee.

immediately after this I am taking a nap. busiest day yet.

woke up at 8:30 to shower and get to modern political theory on time because I love that class and would really hate to be late to anything, but especially to a class with a subject and professor that I love. talked about Hobbes' Leviathan for over an hour and, as always, went over time. not a problem -- not like I have more than 1 class on tuesday anyway so I'm always done at 11am. wonderful.

sat in the lounge for a bit with friends, reading my psych textbook. have an exam on monday (first test of college. anyone? anyone? -- please tell me someone got that ferris bueller reference. maybe that's just something we do in my family?) but don't quite know how that's going to work considering the exam is on chapters 1-3 and, well, erm, we haven't quite yet finished covering chapter 2 in class and the last class before the test is thursday. guess those good old review-session-before-tests is long gone. also worried because I haven't reeeeeeally taken a science test that has "mattered" in quite some time. since junior year I would say? you think I'm kidding but I'm not.

post-study sesh, headed to the met for a seminar 1 assignment with some friends. the met is easily one of the most confusing places ever and the security guards who give remarkably accurate explanations seriously deserve major shoutouts. swear, I asked 3 of them how to find the paintings we needed; asked 1 for the american wing, asked another for the location of the paintings (this woman, upon seeing that we were having major difficulty following her directions, found the paintings for us and called us over...wonderful, I love you), and then asked another for the bathroom (it was a long trip to the met). then the 3 of us trekked downtown to union square (by trekked I really mean took the bus) to take a picture in the spot the artist took the picture in. meh.

hit the gym and when I got home seriously ready for a nap, I saw that they had finally processed my work order for a bed riser, (which I seriously no longer want, I miss my old bed a lot. this sucks. I'm short, I don't want to be 80 ft off the ground and have to jump to get into and out of bed.) so I had to re-make my bed (which I totally made this morning) and reposition some furniture because with the bed riser my bedside table no longer fits (so damn annoying). I just wanted to take a nap and do some work because I'm going to a free documentary screening tonight and I'm tired!

not much I can do though and I'm done complaining & ranting, so...finally time for a nap!

Very Briefly

My day went fine today, until I got caught in the rain on my walk home. The sun was shining until I stepped out of the 28th Street exit, then BOOM - Thunderstorm. And me with no umbrella. Le sigh. It happens more than I'm happy to admit.

That simply meant Ramen Noodles and an hour and a half nap, from which I just woke up, before banging out a few assignments tonight. I wish there was a way to handily tote around an umbrella all the time, just in case.

Now onto my 3rd coffee today and some African American literature: today's author, Charles Chesnutt, one of the first black authors to be published post Emancipation. Read some of his short stories if you get a chance! They really speak to the issue of commoditizing human beings and the longstanding repercussions thereof.

- Katharine

10-Day Vacation the Instant School Starts...

So, most of us have returned, though regretfully, from that 10-day vacation feeling some nostalgia for the dwindling summery sunshine and cool breeze, and I am no exception. :D I have been missing in action on this blog all summer and these initial weeks; quite frankly, shame on me. Nonetheless, its time to get back on the blog roll.

Shout out to the new freshman bloggers! It is a bit exciting to have fresh minds and more contributors on board. Welcome to you all.

Now, unto a look into the new year and my prospective goals - maybe my stars will cross with someone else out there... hmm, so Fridays and Tuesdays off each week have proved to make an amazing schedule, but what ruins the perfect chi balance is when Hunter makes Tuesdays run on a Friday schedule. :O Why?! What I would not give for having a Monday switch to a Friday schedule. :( I have four of my five classes on those dreaded Mondays - I enter Hunter at 1pm and remain locked in the three-building conglomerate of classrooms with extreme temperatures (it is always freezing or burning up in Hunter's classrooms, as many of you can probably attest to). Long story short, Mondays are a hump in my weekly grind, however, having tomorrow off easily smooths that sucker over. Professors, teacher, instructors, the people I am learning from they aren't too terrible this semester around. Albeit, my Comp Sci professors sure have their unique ways of thinking, and you will pretty much be lost in the class if you can't think like them. :-/

To leave off, I will add a perhaps interesting tidbit of my current activities for any fellow Comp Sci or techie readers. And it is that I am nearing completion of a joint development of a Windows Phone 7 application. Be sure to keep your eyes for more about that. But even better is if you purchase a phone that runs the Windows Phone 7 OS this coming holiday, you can download and enjoy the app, while supporting a fellow Macaulay student. :)

I plan on developing more. If anyone is interested or want to learn, shoot me a message, comment, etc.

-Adieu

The Week that Barely Was

Of the seven days that made up this past week, I've only spent two of them in classes. But that didn't make the week seem less complete.

I spent Labor Day resting and doing the classwork that I would otherwise be doing this week. I also attended a Moth Storytelling Slam with about a dozen people from the dorm in the evening. It struck me as both a "New York" and "college-like" experience. It was fun. I would recommend story slams to anyone with an interest in how people live and communicate.

To be honest, things have started really slow in terms of school work. It's all good, though. I like being on top of things and I like my classes as of right now. Taking advantage of the early registration available to Macaulay Honors students was a VERY good idea. Both the timing of my classes and my teachers couldn't be much better.

I went back to LI on Wednesday after attending a freshman group meeting with Adrienne, my adviser. I was pleased with how simple it was taking that train back to where I live. I started the Jewish New Year on a high note with my family and celebrated two birthdays this weekend. Although I was not in New York City, I did reflect about this 9/11 anniversary. I am sure though that the thoughts of millions went out to those who lost their lives or took ill due to the tragedy and their families.

Tomorrow, I will go back to the dorms. It hasn't been my home for long but I can't wait to get back!

shanah tovah, like the good old days

probably one of the biggest perks of going to hunter (in my opinion) is getting off for jewish holidays -- or any religion-affiliated, non-state holiday. having gone to jewish day school for my entire life, it's totally in my comfort zone to have off for holidays. I felt so bad for all my friends at other, private colleges who weren't with their families for the chag (holiday) because they all sounded so miserable. even though I'm not (and most of my friends aren't) particularly religious, there's still something comfortable about going home for jewish holidays and dinners.

on my way up to cornell now, to visit friends and the older brother -- nothing like spreading a shanah tovah u'metukah (happy & sweet new year) to people that I love and couldn't be home. lucky me, I get a whole 10-hours devoted to bus rides where I can get work done (is it weird that I love bus rides for that exact reason? it's as if I have time set aside for myself to do work and have all my other time to play!).

so, to all those readers: shanah tovah u'metukah, hope you're enjoying your chag as much as I am!

Labor day and Rosh Hashanah have combined to give us almost a full week off, and fall has finally fallen - it's a lovely 67 ℉ and overcast in New York City today - so life is pretty good. My break has been filled with a good balance of relaxation, working at the lab, and school work.

Having a full week to finish up the same amount of work that I would normally have to do over one weekend is making me feel pretty spoiled, but I'm also taking the time to really dig in and try to get this semester off to a good start. The last hour or so was devoted to German; after breezing through 4 semesters of German to meet my foreign language requirement, I'm now in a 300 level class on Hörspiele, German radio plays, which is much more challenging. My other main challenge this semester has been trying to remember how to write. I've always done a lot of writing, but my sophomore year was devoted to science classes that pretty much completely excluded that skill, so now that I'm faced with a variety of essays and personal statements looming on the horizon, I've spent a lot of time on my computer just banging out words and remind myself of how to piece them together.

Despite this nice mini-vacation, I already have midterms on my mind - it's just over two weeks until my first statistics and calculus tests and the due date of my first essay for introduction to ethics. Luckily the ethics essay is short and simple and on a topic that we've already finished covering in class, so I already have a rough draft of it (yes, I like to do things early. It's just less stressful that way).

I'm also going to my doctor for the third time in an effort to get the health clearance to get a volunteer ID at the NYU Medical center. Until then I'll continue having to call the lab every time I need to be let in...

And finally, this weekend my mother, brother, boyfriend and I will be heading off to DC to celebrate the 50th birthday of a close family friend, an exciting event which I really thought I would have to pass up, so I'm quite grateful for the good timing of this extended holiday.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Yesterday, after I had come back from class, I thought I would hit the gym at the Brookdale campus. Sadly that didn't happen because there was a party in the kitchen- the most crowded I have ever seen a kitchen ever in my life. I had to end up cooking a floor above me, lugging my huge tray of food and ingredients up and down countless number of times. I was hoping the kitchen crowds would only start maybe sometime in October, but sadly no.

This week has been the most relaxed week thus far since fall term has started. I only had one day of classes yesterday, from 2:10-6:50pm. Today and tomorrow, I'll be interning at the Goddard lab for a few hours, which is always fun and quite relaxing compared to sitting in long lectures.

It seems so weird that Labor Day,Rosh Hashanah, Eid al-Fitr and the 9/11 anniversary all fell within the same week. But I can't argue with the calendar when it has end up giving me a 5 day weekend (yay!) to not only unwind but to catch up on necessary reading.

First Impressions: Dorms

So it has been two weeks almost living at the dorms, and being a freshman hasn't been all that difficult here. I actually really like living in the dorms, always keeping my dorms open and able to drop by to anyone of my friends for a quick trip to the game room (by quick I mean 2 hours of ping pong, ice hockey and pool) or have a quick chat. On our floor (the 9th!) we try to keep our communal kitchen clean since it is the place where all the magic of making your own meal occurs. There is no meal plan here but that doesn't really ruin anything. As a matter of fact, I think it makes it easier for you to meet people. There is no huge cafeteria to feel overwhelmed by and it is much less awkward since everyone is in their pjs making breakfast. Plus if you love cooking like me, you will definitely meet some very interesting people. The dorms are singles so you will always have control over your own privacy, giving you a nice oasis to retreat to if you simply just want some time for yourself.
The dorm rooms themselves aren't very new, because the building itself has been around for sometime. Some of my friends have told me when they first moved in it looked like a prison cell with its layout and some of them told me their rooms were pretty dirty. But after some cleaning, some decorations, and some work orders, it did really feel like a second home for a lot of us. The furniture we were giving were also in pretty good order. The only drawback I see, even though we Macaulay Hunter kids get the dorms for free, is that the dorms lack any sort of air conditioning, which is really really bad for those of us who can't sleep in hot, stuffy weather. For me a tower fan and open windows remedied the situation pretty well, but some of the people I know still had trouble sleeping even after bringing in a fan.
But I still think paying $5000 simply for a newer dorm that includes air conditioning and some bigger windows and better furniture can't really beat the deal and opportunities you get as a Macaulay student.

Oi

So I've already failed at posting once a week, but it seems we've gained a few new bloggers, so it's probably not such a big deal. For a while it was basically me, Celine, and her brother Julian, so it's nice to have someone other than ourselves posting!

I'm glad to have a break, because I'm REALLY FREAKING BUSY! Which I love. I don't like having idle time, because I tend to waste it, rather than doing anything productive. My days at Norton are great, and really make me want to go into publishing post graduation. Though I'm also considering translation between German and English, but that could be a freelance thing. I'm all about supplemental income. I'm in the process of writing some knitting patterns inspired by literature, which I could sell on Etsy or Ravelry, and, if successful, compile into a book and sell (like my knitting idol, Ysolda Teague). I'm trying to get organized, learn a bit about business, and sell cookies on an Etsy site under the store name Süß, which is German for "sweet." And then I could hire out translating services. All of this seems pertinent, especially if I go into publishing, which isn't super well paying at the start. And then, when I have kids someday, it'll be nice to have some extra income set in place.

If that "kids" statement was jarring to anyone, it just goes to show what you start to think about as a Junior in college. I'm about to turn 20, and in 2 years will be finished with college, and the future is daunting. I'm not sure if I want to go to graduate school, but I have to figure that out this year, I guess. And then there's the whole issue of what happens after I no longer have free housing and my parents aren't paying for my food and transportation fees anymore. The future freaks me out, but I'm also totally excited! I fantasize with IKEA and Crate and Barrel catalogs almost as much as some people do over Maxim. Enough said.

Anyway, I have a crap ton of work to do this break, and I spent nearly all of today sleeping. I've been getting a cold, so I figured I'd sleep while I had time - not only a lesser work load than I'll have in about 2 weeks, but nearly an entire week to finish it all. I DID do my Economics work in the 8 hours I was awake today, so that's a plus.

Anyway, happy Labor Day all!

Tschüss,

Katharine

For laughs and giggles

Hey guys! Who knew being a freshman could have so many perks? The freshman mixer yesterday was pretty good. There was free food, okay music, and good company. Everyone on my floor was pretty excited to go. You can tell with the showering and prepping that went in before they stepped onto the elevator, out the door, and in the subway.

The mixer was a good chance to let loose after the first official week of classes. Some really let themselves go and started dancing quite graphically, especially a pair that danced in the competition. On that note, most of the students that participated were from Hunter. It's as if the other schools can't dance...or were too shy to get funky in front of a crowd. That's right. Some of that dancing was downright funky.

Allow me to re-introduce myself...

Hello readers! Anyone who's been following this blog for some time might find the following information repetitive, but for new readers...

My name is Kaitlyn, and I'm a sophomore here at Macaulay Hunter. I'm a double History/Special Honors major - Special Honors is code for the Thomas Hunter Honors program, which essentially requires taking a few interdisciplinary classes of your choice and has some perks (kind of like Macaulay!). I'm still trying to figure out a minor/additional major - the choices are German, Public Policy and the Adolescent Education sequence (which prepares you to be a 7-12 teacher).

I took German for my language requirement here at Hunter, and absolutely loved it (Hunter's German department is amazing) so I spent the month of June studying abroad in Kassel, Germany (for free, of course - thanks to my Opportunities Fund money from Macaulay). It was an absolutely amazing experience.

I spent the rest of my summer working as a camp counselor at Unirondack (a Unitarian summer camp in the Adirondacks), which was so much fun and really inspiring as well.

So basically, if anything my summer just made my decision even harder. My goal is to have made my decision by the end of this semester, so that I can declare it in the Spring (my Spring schedule is mostly set regardless of what I choose).

Speaking of schedules, this is what my schedule looks like this term:
German 301 - Your basic third year German language course.
History 276.5 - History of the Middle East to 1800 - for my major
History 3 - The Early Republic - ditto
MHC 200 - Science and Technology in NY - One of those awesome Macaulay Seminars
Statistics 213 - Basic intro to statistics class, which satisfies a requirement for my Special Honors major and is required for both the Adolescent Education sequence and the Public Policy minor

So now that that boring info is out of the way, A FUNNY STORY ABOUT MY FIRST WEEK BACK AT HUNTER...
Last Tuesday, I headed to Brookdale to check into my new dorms. Low and behold, when I unlocked the door to my room, somebody else had clearly moved in already! It turned out that some Macaulay freshman (whose identity is, as of yet, still unknown to me) had moved into my room. It's still unclear why/how she got moved into my room, but the Residence Life office spent the next couple of days trying to reach her to move out so that I could move in. They were unsuccessful, and when I found that out, I have to say, I was more than a little upset. I was very attached to my dorm room - perfect location (all girls 24 hr quiet floor, near the elevators and bathroom, right across the common room from the kitchen, and the courtyard side of the building). Then I walked into the room I had gotten instead. Not only do I have all the same location perks, I got a BIGGER dorm room. So thank you, unidentified Macaulay freshman. I'll probably have to switch rooms in the Spring (I believe the bigger dorm rooms are usually reserved for handicapped students), but for now, I'm enjoying the extra space.

In the Beginning...

This is my first time ever writing for a blog. I've never really warmed up to the idea of writing daily for a journal, whether it be personal or for class, but I thought might as well, let's give this a shot. Not only would it be an awesome way to chronicle a sliver of time at Hunter, Macaulay and the dorms, but it would also help to be a way to simply reflect and take a time out from such a busy schedule.

A little about me: I'm a Pre- Dental sophomore with a Biology major, currently melting at the dorms. I am looking forward to an packed semester with Bio,Organic, English, learning about environmental sustainability under Professor Alexandratos, and continuing my work at the amazing Goddard lab.

So far, the beginning of the term has been uneventful, with just a simple dinner here and there with friends. Hopefully, Earl won't blow down our doors and I'll be able to volunteer at the Met HD Film Festival and watch Hansel and Gretel later tonight. Don't you just love free events in the city?

first post whadduppp

hey guys, whaddup?!
I'm sarah and I'm a freshman at macaulay at hunter, class of 2014 (oh hey, check out danielle & daniel below me! hi friends!). so a little bit of background: I grew up in the bronx, am a hard-core feminist, hate spelling mistakes unless they're intentional, love music, blogging, observing, taking pictures, reflecting, reading, doing all those fun teenage things, you know? I work at a cute little boutique downtown and am at hunter apparently on my way to studying sociology -- maybe get some journalism up in there too, I really like writing.

I'm also in love with the city, as in I've-been-spending-7-days-a-week-here-for-the-past-many-years-of-my-life-and-I'm-addicted-to-the-city. really. no joke. city is best in the summer -- end of august actually (right now!) when it's not too hot (I take that back, have you stepped outside recently?) and there a gazillion things to do fo' free all over the place. it's also almost fall which means being able to spend days in the park (for future reference, the park is code for central park) just rolling around in the leaves and grass, being happy that it's crisp outside and I'm not sweating out of every pore on my body.

anyway, I'll be keeping you all posted on classes, fun events, life at hunter, macaulay, whatevah so read up kids. check out my other blog if you're into musings and rants and life perspectives and new music and, oh, my weird isms that can get kinda catchy at times. but keeping checking back here for updates!

Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

To be perfectly honest, this isn't really my thing. I haven't delved into the personal-experience genre of blogging. Generally I write about trivia, sports, television and hamburgers on my own blog, along with essays and short stories both on my blog and on my ePortfolio (more on that later). But I'm here, so here goes...

...My name is Daniel Pecoraro, and I'm a member of the Class of 2014 at Hunter, meaning that this is my first full week in a college setting. So it just goes to show that my neophyte-ery is pretty high compared to many of the seasoned writers on this blogging establishment.

But in spite of the neophyte-ery, I'll press on. To put it plainly, so far, I'm loving my time at Hunter and at Macaulay. A brief rundown on why: I can actually accept stepping out of my comfort zone (taking a huge risk in the process, according to the venerable Onion), through stuff like Outward Bound day and my Arts in New York class (where we painted - seriously, we used watercolors to create portraits of our classmates, something I hadn't done since freshman year of high school), the classes are fun and challenging (where I get to learn from the fellow students, along with my professors - but that's another post), and we get Macbook Pros, which is what I'm writing my post on now.

I love history, which is something I'd like to continue studying in college (though my major is as of yet undecided), but I want to jump into other subjects - possibly media studies, possibly film, possibly even astronomy (which I've always held a recreational interest in). But my biggest goal for college is not focusing on history and only history (in fact, the exact opposite - see "stepping out of comfort zone" comment above), or keeping up a 4.0 (though we do have to maintain a 3.5 GPA), but take in all the City has to offer. Much like my partner-in-crime Danielle, I lived in a suburban area (specifically, southeast Queens, as far away from the City while still actually being in the City as is humanly possible), so from the dorms to the Cultural Passport to the New York seminars, I'm just taking in all the City has to offer.

I've got a few posts planned for the future, so stick around - and check out my personal blog!

Keepin' it fresh

Hi, I'm Danielle Gold and I'm a freshman at the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. I also like to state the obvious. And I would like to do so to a larger audience....so I moved from Long Island to the big city and volunteered to do Mac Blog and here goes nothing.

Not that I came here to blog. I plan on hitting the books hard and studying something related to the humanities. (I particularly like English, writing, history, and media.). I also want to eat and visit and learn about my surroundings. You'll know if I commit to something specific and if I see something exciting. By if, I mean when. Because if this past week (my first here) serves as precedent, something is bound to happen, even on a all girls 24-hour-quiet floor! I can't wait!

Fun at lab

This Monday I started working in a neuroscience lab at the NYU Medical Center, which has been great so far. I've been bouncing around from one lab to another for the past year or so looking for somewhere to settle down for good, so to speak, and this one definitely seems to be it. Not only are the facilities great and the work interesting, but the people are amazingly nice. And I'm the only undergraduate there which is always a good thing.

The lab is studying how the brain handles the intricate timing required for song production in finches. I know that sounds a bit abstracted from real life, and yes we scientists definitely stand the risk of spending out lives studying things no one else really cares about, but this actually has some implications. For one thing, we're studying songbirds because they are among the tiny percentage of animals that learn their vocalizations from others, in this case their fathers - and we humans are also in that minority. Speech production continues to be rather mysterious, so this research will eventually have therapeutic

possibilities as well as satisfying our curiosity.

More interesting, in my opinion, is that fact for all neuroscience has done, we still don't really get how the brain perceives time. It's one of those really simple things, seemingly, that is rather miraculous when you start to look at it closely. My long term interest is, roughly, in cognitive neuroscience, in other words taking philosophical and psychological questions about how the mind functions and looking at them from a biological perspective, so this lab is definitely feeding my habit. The final really great thing about it, of course, is all the cool science! If anyone thinking about coming to MHC Hunter is into science, I definitely recommend getting yourself into a lab once you've got a semester or two under your belt (just because it's a lot of work to take on right away). I've worked in a lab here at Hunter, and a couple elsewhere, and the experience is great and really satisfying.