Just Dance is the most beautiful game I have ever played

I feel happy. Because it's break, I have no work, and I have oodles of time to eat, sleep, read, and occasionally daydream. And play Just Dance on the Wii, which has just become a relatively big phenomenon in my family. It's like we never knew exercise could be fun or something. And for someone that will freely admit to being...erm, not the best dancer, shall we say...I win a lot!
You might be wondering how my finals went, seeing as I kept trying to repress their existence. Well, my finals were the 22nd, and I had a paper due the 21st[1] I had a full week of considerably less stress than a lot of students with earlier exams. So, of course, I did the logical thing, which was to go home and read the second book of a series that just came out. And then I fell into a slight depression after I finished it and read the cliffhanger and sobbed over the very intricate love triangle [2] and could wasted more time rereading said book, and throwing myself on the bed to properly sob about the lives of my fictional characters. [3]And basically I found myself, two days before my finals, completely unprepared. Cramming became my only option, and I learned that a) the library is a nice place, except when you’re bored you notice a lot of things. Like people’s shoes. And you can’t go on youtube to watch trailers take breaks.[4] But I ended up getting 4 hours of sleep before my finals, and then learned that when stressed, I am capable of running on a few handfuls of Honey Bunches of Oats, and 2 clementines.[5]

And now, thankfully, that episode[6] of my life is over! So I’m making lists of Things Amirah Must Accomplish Over Break, which includes watching movies (Sherlock Holmes!), reading books, and being a super bum. Needless to say, I’m very excited about this.

Anyway, have a good break everyone!

---

[1] For which we had to use footnotes/endnotes. And I really love them. They’re so cool. So I decided to commemorate the coolness of endnotes/footnotes and use them in this blog. Original, I know.

[2] Which I still can’t figure out to to resolve…one of them is going to get hurt. Or someone has to die. Why do people have to die?! Why?! I think I’m still emotionally traumatized by this book. Which, in case you were wondering, is Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.

[3] That I realize I am overly invested in…but still. Why can’t characters who love each other be together?! WHY?!

[4] Which I suppose, is the point of going to the library, but still. It’s sad.

[5] Have I ever mentioned the depth of my love for clementines? I could write poems about that fruit. In fact, I probably have already.

[6] Speaking of episodes, I’m also going to watch so many shows OMG. I know I mention said shows in almost every blog post…so I’m finally gonna watch them!

Done with the First Semester!!

Hello. =)

This will be my final blog entry for this semester. It's been a great semester filled with lots of laughter, studying, frustration, and excitement. I'm so grateful for the chance to be a part of the Macaulay program. I know the next four years are going to be a great ride. =)
I've also really enjoyed writing for this blog. It's like a diary in which I can write my weekly experiences with school and life in general. In four years, I'll probably look back at all of the stuff I wrote and laugh at my 18 year-old self. haha.
Enjoy the break, everyone! Make sure you spend lots of time with family and friends. Also, spend a little time doing something interesting/cool for yourself. We've all worked hard and deserve to relax a bit.

Happy Holidays!!

Much Love,

S.

Goodbye, Fall 2011

Is this semester over? Where has Fall 2011 gone?

Its 2 am, two nights before Christmas, and I am finally home from the dorms. I am finally home!!! Nothing feels as good as my queen sized bed, giant TV and my moms fresh apple pie, especially after this week. My finals were pretty rough this semester. I spent the last week in pajamas ever single day, eating peanut butter and jelly for breakfast,  lunch and dinner. And I slept a total of maybe 20 hours the whole week. But, its all over (well, after I finish the essay that I'm supposed to be writing for my honors history class, which is due tomorrow.)

Hunter was incredibly crowded. The library was constantly packed, so I found a better place to study: the Classics Department library on the 13th floor. My classmates requested the keys from the secretary of the Classics Department and we had the whole room to ourselves. Very peaceful change from the bustling library.

I also was busy the week before because I had to write two research papers. The books I needed for the papers were in the Watson Library, the research library at the Met. (Not the Nolen Library, which is the education library at the Met - I think.) Its a really great place to study and it has TONS of books. So, if anyone is interested in art, history, art history (haha), or archaeology, this is the place to be!! Chances are, if you take a class related to one of these fields, you will need to write plenty of papers, and the Watson has tons of information.

Anyway, I'm off to get some sleep so I can wake up early and finish this assignment before Christmas!! Happy Holidays.

xoxo

Christmas, part 2

It wouldnt let me upload what I think is the best part of all hehe

Holly Jolly Christmas!

To brighten everyone's spirits, here are pictures, as promised!!

Breaking Down

In the few moments that I have to myself while the internet at the Brookdale dorms is characteristically being slow, I write to find peace. No really, this is actually pretty therapeutic. Just taking this one little minute before I have to study for 4 finals is actually a great time to pause my brain. I have to study for biochem and orgo (on the same day, aye!), marine geology and music. Not too bad, I won't overly complain. But with a research paper, an interview, a recital that I'm a part of, and a lab report ( I think I'm missing something, and if I am, God have mercy on my soul so that I remember it on time) for the next 6 days, I really dont know how I'm going to do this without a little push from above , concentration, hard work, endurance, and my momma's cooking. Suggestion: dont take heavy duty sciences with 2 labs, and pile on your credits. Its doable, until midterms week and finals week dawn upon you.

But really, if we are to succeed in studying for these tests and doing our work in a sane manner, the dorms definitely need a bigger, quieter and less smellier place to study than the cafeteria-turned "study" lounge. Especially considering that the Brookdale library closes at 11pm on weekdays, even during finals week. Rather than having to trek to the Baruch library, which gets crowded fast all the time, and has the strictest security and no food policies around, the health professions library should be open longer during finals week, and/or a second lounge should be opened for quiet study 24/7. Just walking past the crowded (literally every table was taken!) cafeteria was a study bummer in it of itself.

Enough about classes and finals though, you must have heard that all on Facebook. Despite having not the best of places to study, a laundry room that almost burnt my clothes ( the dryer was so overheated it smelled like smoke and looked like it was on fire- rumor has it they're fixing it soon), and an extremely hot dorm room, I don't want to sound like I'm completely bashing on and highlighting Hunter's faults. Today, I had the best sandwich/panini ever! And, it was from Hunter! It was heated to perfection, with cheese melting, smoked turkey, crisp applewood bacon, warm whole wheat bread, and pretty fresh lettuce. Of course, it was overpriced, but for my lunch (and dinner), it was the best meal I had for a while.

I really hope my groggy and impatient finals week alter ego makes her last stand soon, because I would really love to enjoy the city before Christmas! I wish all of you good luck!:)


PS- Next time I post, I promise to show a picture of my decorated room:D

Richard, "The Cow That Couldn't Moo", and Sparkly Trees

This past week was the last full week of classes of this semester.
Reflections from this semester:
I can't believe my first semester of college is almost over. It all seems so surreal. I graduated from high school less than 6 months ago, but it feels like ages ago. College makes the future more real. It's all in front of me right now. As kids, we would ask each other, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There's more pressure than ever to have an answer to that question. We're all supposed to figure out what we want out of our lives,  and I think people's biggest fear is never figuring out what role we play in this world. But even for people who've known what they've wanted to do since they were 10, college takes everything they thought they knew and turns it upside down and inside out. It makes you question everything and really look deep and figure out what you REALLY WANT out of life. What are you willing to work for? What are you willing to commit to? What makes you tick?

Enough of the serious stuff. =p
Some stuff from this week:

1. My Arts in NYC class performed our musical on Wednesday in Hunter College's Lang Recital Hall. We worked on it all semester and it turned out great! I had some really talented people in my class who really put in a lot of work to make the musical a success. Professor Graff also really made that class fun for all of us. Prospective students: If you find yourself at Macaulay Hunter, take his seminar class. You won't regret it. He's a great professor.
2. Thursday was a really cold day in the city.  I decided to take a short walk down Park Avenue just to get some air. That short walk turned into walking 14 blocks down to East 54th Street and then 14 blocks back up (because I didn't feel like taking the train during rush hour)! It was a really beautiful night and there were trees coverd in lights all down Park Avenue. I really felt that holiday season magic with all the pretty lights, beautiful store displays, and people shopping and just walking. If I could capture all of that energy in a jar and inhale it during finals week, I wouldn't have to sleep all week. =p
3. I did some holiday shopping with my mom this weekend. We actually bought a present for ourselves--a giant bear that my mom named Richard. So Richard has a new home this holiday season. =)

Good luck with finals, everyone! (And wish me luck on my bio and chem finals!!)

 Happy Holidays!!

 S.

Finals, finals, and more finals.

Finals are coming up soon, and before those I have two tests. Can you even believe it? Two tests before my finals! So as you can imagine, I have been studying pretty hard. But even with so much to do, it's important to remember that you are actually a human, and everyone deserves a break! I just spent a few hours making breakfast in the kitchen with some friends, and it was so great to get my mind off of all the stress, if only for a few hours! That's what's awesome about living in the dorm -- you can always find somebody to help you with something, or to do something with. I have to admit, sometimes I feel a bit lonely being away from home, but the friends you make while living away at college are pretty special!

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming break. Now that I understand everything that college demands from me a little bit better, I definitely will not be taking advantage of this time! I'm going to spend it relaxing at home with my family, snuggling with my cat, and spending a lot of time with my boyfriend (who will be home all month from Boston!). But I can't neglect my applications for summer research positions! As busy as I always am, it's so rewarding to be so productive! I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Peppermint Mochas, Green Tea, Michael Scott & Llamas

This week in Amirah's Exciting Life, Peppermint Mochas are in. They don't seem too appealing at first (I mean, peppermint? Plus mocha? I would question it), but are actually a very nice and soothing combination.

Also in this week's breaking news: I have come to the conclusion that The Office is a show about trolling. Jim and Pam are outright trolls. To me, the show is basically Michael Scott saying something dumb, and everyone else making faces at the camera. A face I have particularly come to admire is Kevin's evil little smile that he does all the time when no one's looking. I know I'm several years late on this show, but better late than never! (It's become clear to me that my winter break...will be spent watching this show. Among others. I wish I had more of a life, but I hear that as the years progress I'll get increasingly busy, so...)

And speaking of winter break... So last year when I was but an imaginative senior who was sick of doing AP Bio packets over winter break, I used to dream about having a month's break from school in winter, and I imagined all of these activities I'd do as a cool college kid- mainly, bumming in front of the TV, watching old movies, catching up on shows, reading books, living at barnes and noble, going back to work at McDonalds (don't hate- a job is a job, okay, and it pays just fine!), and seeing friends. However, I have 4 GERs left to fulfill, and there was a spot in the German Fairytales class...so I'm now signed up to attend school 4 days a week, 3 hours a day. Is this the picturesque break I had so dreamed up from last year? No. But maybe winter in the city with a small workload will be nice. I'll go shopping and explore the city more thoroughly. Although, I doubt they'll be playing holiday music in the stores anymore...and I can't tell you how much I love holiday music. I play that stuff all day erryday! When you hear those magical sounding tunes, and you're with your friends, all bundled up with hats and scarves from forever 21, and you've got a peppermint mocha in your hand...there's nothing else like it. Dean Martin crooning "Let it Snow" gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.

To randomly switch topics for the fourth time in this blog, you may have noticed that contrary to most everyone else's posts, I have yet to mention anything about finals. I myself don't know why, but perhaps it's because I'm repressing the idea of their existence so well that I've begun to forget about them. Instead I choose to dwell other, more important things, like how much I love the green tea in the Hunter USG lounge, which security guards at Brookdale are nice to me and which ones aren't, or how much fun debit cards are. Speaking of them, I went shopping for real for the first time last week...and I now realize why it was good that I haven't gone very often. I was like Isla Fisher in Confessions of A Shopaholic. I was swiping that card left and right! Swipe here, get shirts, swipe there, get pants...so nice! Who knew!

Anyway, by writing this blog I've been procrastinating on reading several chapters of textbooks. I'll probably now go on favorite websites of mine to distract myself some more...if you're a senior reading this, you should definitely check out sparklife or this new llama website I heard about where you can write in llama characters! Is it dumb? Yes! BUT SO MUCH FUN!
I'll end on that happy note about llamas...and now I want to go watch The Emperor's New Groove.

4474

That is the number of words I have done for my 6000 word history paper (that's about 25 pages). And it's due...oh yes, tomorrow (AHHHH). But I'm fairly confident I'll get it done. I always manage to pull such things off.

After that, I just have one final (Germany history, same as this paper) one paper (Political Philosophy - more AHHHH) and one movie (well, a short zombie film, my creative project for Imagining the End of the World) and then I'm done! I'm SO excited for winter break. AND for next semester! Check out my schedule.


Now, some people think this is crazy, but my 9:45 class is actually only going to meet 4 times out of the whole semester (the rest is online) and this means that, including the one day I work every weekend, I have FOUR FULL DAYS OFF. I'm actually trying really hard to resist the temptation to fill one or two of those days with an internship or (another) job because I think taking a semester to just focus on my studies might be nice - I haven't really done that since Freshman year, and I miss being able to put myself that fully into my academic work. Not that I won't be doing other things, of course, but I just don't want to overburden myself. Plus, I'm trying to sort out what I'm doing to be doing my senior year and what kind of opportunities I'm going to look into after graduation, so having the time to think these things through and prepare will be really useful.

Hope you're all as excited for the holidays as I am!

ttfn

Kaitlyn (kt.ohagan@gmail.com)

Winter Break

Well, it's that time of the year again. The city is decorated with holiday cheer. Classes are coming to a close. Finals are on everyone's mind. Everyone is getting their Christmas and/or Hannukah and/or other holiday list's ready.

I, for one, am looking forward to the end of this semester. My last 3 classes meet on Tuesday.

I'm happy with my Spring 2012 schedule and I'm glad that I'm really diving into my major next semester. I've also worked out a new work schedule that will help to give me more time off and more time to study.

Looking back on this semester I have learned a few valuable lessons and come to several realizations: Do your work as soon as it is assigned to you or else it will just pile up and you will fall victim to your own procrastination. Grocery shopping is much cheaper than eating every meal from the outside world. I need to meditate more. Relationships at this age are usually a joke and you might as well have fun until you're in your mid 20s. Mustangs appreciate being left in a garage for 3 months. I need an iPhone. Astor Place haircuts is the best place to get a haircut in this city. Bamboo plants won't die no matter how much they are neglected. There is no good Mexican food in this city. The only good Cuban food is in the West Village.

This winter break I am looking forward to spending some time at home with my family, as well as getting my laundry done for me and having food handed to me for free. I'm also looking forward to spending some time on my own here in the city, living at the dorm and being able to enjoy the city more now that I don't have class or homework.

Bye.

-Michael

Registration, Shades of Gray, Snapshot

Sunday night in NYC...
I had a good week, but Wednesday was definitely stressful. All of us Macaulay freshman had to register for classes for next semester. We were all fighting for the same good Macaulay seminar professors. =p
We all had different registration times. I was scheduled to register at 1:10, which was one of the later registration times. I had three schedules set up just in case I wouldn't get the seminar I wanted.
OMG. By the time 1:10 came, I was having heart palpitations. =p Everything turned out fine, but I had to run to the Macaulay office because of some biology registration issues. I don't have a perfect schedule for next semester, but I think I'll be fine. (I hope!)
I had to hand in my bio lab report on Thursday. I was glad to be done with it. Let me just say that graphing can get very tedious.
I just finished reading a great book. It's called "Between Shades of Gray" and it's by Ruta Sepetys. Check it out here: http://www.betweenshadesofgray.com/ 
It is an amazing book!!! Impossible to put down and so incredibly moving. I was reading it on the train, and I had to stop myself from crying. There are some very sad moments, but there's also this amazing courage and will to survive that is so central to the book.
Today was the Snapshot Day Photo Exhibition for all Macaulay freshman. All of us were assigned to take photos on October 11. Today we were given a chance to see how the student curators arranged the photos. It was cool to see everyone's work. We had to also work in small groups and create a video, under a particular theme, of some of the photos we saw. It was fun to learn more about iMovie. =)

Have a great week!!

S.

Strange Incidents on the Last Train Car

In general, NYC is great place to be in. The diversity of cultures, food, and events is one of the best things about the city. However, there are the occasionally not so pretty incidents where it certainly feels awkward. Everyone at some point witnesses panhandling on the train system. You see homeless people, who come and perform, or tell their story to the city's straphangers(some of them outwardly state that they need money for alcohol). There are even young kids, who sell candy, or do an amazing juggling act while the train is in motion. These are fairly common on the trains and one gets accustomed to it. What isn't seen everyday is the extreme; an incident involving a knife, pepper spray, and yelling. (Don't worry though, nothing really happened)

Last Wednesday, I was coming home on the E (or was it M?) train. I usually transfer at 53rd and Lexington from the 6 train. I also have everything planned out, so that I minimize walking and traveling time. This means that I tend to get on the last few cars of either train. Also, normally, I get off at the first stop after I board the E/M train, or the first stop in Queens. I was already facing the train door, waiting for the train to cross the river, when out of nowhere a guy starting talking really loudly. I'm going to try and state the facts, because it became really hard to judge either one of the guys involved. The man, who was in his late 50's, began talking about how everyone on the train has a right to defend his/her self. He continued stating how he is a veteran and perfectly capable of defending anyone on the train. At first it seemed as though the man was odd; until I realized he was directing his words to another man in front of him. Then it all made sense as the dialogue continued. The man sitting down was claiming that the man standing up had a knife hidden. That's when the man sitting down pulled out a pepper spray and continued his claims that if the other man tried to assault anyone, there were tons of witnesses. This is when the standing man decide to talk; he claimed that the other guy was crazy and had no clue what he was talking about. Their yelling and insults continued and I was extremely glad my stop arrived. Throughout the whole time, I was freaking out. It was impossible to tell which man was lying, the man standing up also got defensive and began verbally abusing the older man. It was even more strange how everyone on the train averts their eyes and the silence only increases the tension. It was certainly one of the scariest experiences of my life.

Is it the most wonderful time of the year?

An awesomely impromptu tryptophan Thanksgiving only a memory now, I armed myself for an upcoming month of finals, lab reports and inevitable end of semester mishaps by decorating my room for Christmas. I don't have a picture of my room as of yet, but just knowing Christmas is around the corner helps make the month just a bit more doable. The festive mood that my room emanates obviously paradoxically makes it even more difficult for me to work in my room. Hence I "library hopped" over the past few days between Baruch's Library, Hunter's Brookdale Library and the 68th street main campus library, which has proven to be marginally successfully in producing productive work moments.

Immediately coming back from the Thanksgiving Break (what an awful tease- 4 days of comatose bliss only to be followed by about 13 days of classes and then a full on month of break), registration was for the first time in my life, error free! Not once did I have to wait on line to get an override, permission, or have to deal with any bureaucratic office of any sort. Some departments can be extremely nice and helpful, even on stressful registration days, others, not so much. And I registered for all my classes in the comfort of my dorm, still in my pjs. I can't wait for my Jerusalem in the 20th century class, along with, for the first time ever, two days off! Of course, I have to devote time to DAT studying (ahh, its really happening now!)


Until next time, when I surely will put up christmas pictures!!