Earthworms, Tech Fair, and Seminar 2

How's everyone doing on this sunny Monday afternoon?
I'm currently sitting in the Hunter library waiting to go to my Macaulay Seminar class. I like the class a lot, and I think Professor Friedlander is an incredibly intelligent woman. We have the great privilege of having class at Roosevelt House, which is actually Franklin D. Roosevelt's old house. It's kind of mind-boggling that I get to have class where one of the most respected presidents used to live. Thank you, Macaulay Hunter!!! haha.

Last week, I got to dissect an earthworm in biology lab. It was definitely an interesting experience. I've had this crazy fear of worms since I was a little kid, so I was definitely not looking forward to having to touch one. But it wasn't too bad and I think having to be in such close proximity with a worm helped me get over my fear a bit. But they definitely still freak me out. :p

This past Saturday, I attended the Tech Fair at the Macaulay building. This is a required event for all second semester Macaulay freshman. I think it was helpful because we have to build a website in our Seminar 2 classes, and the Tech Fair made me think about what kinds of things I'd want to put on the website we'll be creating in my class. It was also great to meet other Macaulay freshman from other campuses.

Did anybody watch the Oscars? I'm happy for "The Artist". French people are awesome. haha.

Quote of the week:

"Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one."

~Oscar Wilde

S.

The Other Side of Hell

I guess hell is made hellish by what a person perceives of as a scarring, uncomfortable experience. Such as a concentrated span of seven days where just everything seems to have deadlines. Next week is my first true hell week, where I have multiple reports, the opportunity fund application, a genetics quiz, and DAT studying coming up. Compared to last semester, where I once had a nightmarish 5 full midterms(Orgo 2,Biochem, Music, Marine Geology, Orgo Lab) in the span of 8 days ( and to other individuals who are taking heavier classes and loads,while juggling other schedules), this is not hell, its just a challenge. And that's how I am going to approach this- a challenge that might seem hard to overcome, but in the end, will prove to be a breeze. Hopefully the grades of course will translate to a challenge successfully overcome.

Anywhoo, I just realized that more and more of my coursework is now online or on the computer in comparison to my previous courses, which were more paper based. With all my DAT studying and test on the computer, essentially all my textbooks( saved $!!), my notes for all my classes ( I have finally really begun to type faster than I write), and work for lab now on the computer, I really hope my eyes don't bug out anytime soon like they did to Grampa Simpson when Lisa gave him that weird extract to make him less grumpy. Especially after yesterday, when I had to sit in front of a computer for 6 hours to process oyster data. Yum.

Whitney, Valentine's Day, and Practical

Hello, everyone. =)
It's a quiet Saturday afternoon, and I'm at home doing homework.
Whitney Houston's funeral was in Newark, NJ today. I remember listening to her music as a kid. She truly had a fantastic voice that gave me chills. Music is the ultimate medicine, and I hope today's celebration of her life will help her loved ones cope with her passing. RIP Whitney <3
Her death reminds me that every moment that we have with our loved ones should be cherished and appreciated.

How was everyone's Valentine's Day? It was great to see all the couples looking all lovey-dovey. haha. For me, Valentine's Day is not about flowers and chocolate. It's about how love, if we allow it to come in, impacts all of our lives. It's about taking a chance on someone.

This past Wednesday, I took my first Biology Lab Practical. It was on the anatomy of plants. Many people consider this part of biology to be boring and useless, but I actually find it interesting. Plants are central to human life. Without them, we couldn't survive. Learning about their complex biology gives me an even greater appreciation for them.

This is our second three-day weekend in a a row. I'm definitely grateful for the time to catch up on work and just relax for a bit.
 
Quote of the week:

"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. "

~Khalil Gibran

S.

*Gasp* Say What?

I was just reading the New York Times online, while waiting in the cafeteria for my Genetics lab. I came across an article about the New York Public Library, in particular, the location on 5th Avenue near Bryant Park and the Mid Manhattan Location. For those who use this location many times, this must be pretty old news, but for me, a Biology Major with few happy memories of researching in the Rose Room, it was a big jolt.

I obviously started to read the article, because I remember how in freshman year, for my Peopling of New York seminar with Professor Salzman, I went to the library at least a dozen times to access the non-circulating stacks in the Rose Room, and to peruse the maps in the Map Room to better research my topic of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village. Since I'm not a history major where I have to always write up research papers, having the opportunity to write such a research paper for the seminar was a great experience, as it allowed me to truly appreciate the great many resources we have at our disposal in the city, especially within the NYPL system. This semester, I have my Jerusalem in the 20th Century seminar, an already great history course with Professor Schor which requires a huge paper at the end,and therefore, frequent trips to this beautiful library.

When I read how the Bryant Park location would soon be turned into a circulating branch, I was a bit hesitant and distrustful of the whole notion. The library already does tend to get crowded, and knowing that many of the non-circulating stacks would be moved to storage in NJ to accommodate the circulating stacks at Bryant Park, I knew this would be a great impediment to serious scholars. Many sources would only be available within a 24 hour period by scanning or delivery, rather than the often instantaneous results in my prior (yet limited) experience.

Whatever does happen, I really hope this is a public project that has results in a timely fashion that everyone can enjoy.

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/books/new-york-public-library-revives-its-overhaul-plan.html?_r=1

All seminarred out

I don't know why I thought I could handle ancient Greek, Latin, and German all in one semester!!! I may have bitten off more than I could chew. I have been almost as busy in the first two weeks of this semester than I was last semester during finals week!

I am taking my first seminar and my first presentation is in one week - I have to speak to my class for 45 minutes about a 12th century cemetery on Naxos, Greece. I don't know how I'll manage, to be honest. I am way too shy and I will probably fumble a lot. But - it DOES look great to have taken a seminar as an undergraduate.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a quick update. Junior year is kicking my butt.

xoxo

The Psychology of Human Sexuality

I absolutely must rave about my new class, the psychology of human sexuality. It is an honors course section taught by Professor Demarco. He's new to Hunter, but apart from teaching, he is also a sexologist and therapist. This means that not only does he know about the subject, he also has first hand experience with patients. The classes are completely unlike any other class I've ever been. He doesn't want to lecture us too much, instead preferring class discussions. The amount of stories and cases that he's encountered are more than enough to keep the entire class transfixed. For example, last class he discussed one of his patients that had a weird fetish. Apparently the man like armpits and balloons among some other equally strange ones. So far, we've watched two documentaries. One was on the origins of contraceptives and how many "modern day" inventions like the condom, really have been available since Roman times (back then known as the sheepskin condom). The second documentary was on the language of the sexes. Its incredible to see how the sexes both female and male do their best to exaggerate certain body parts to emphasize their femininity or masculinity. Western society has plastic surgery. Other eastern societies have other more interesting methods. An African tribe has a lip plate implanted into girls lips through a small incision made in the lower lip. The plate is continuously changed for a bigger one until the lips are immense. Other cultures use skin bleachers to keep pale skin while others, like us, use tanning machines to conserve color. Beauty is relative to one's culture but no matter where the person is located, people always seem interested in these gender cues.

Hola

Well I hope everyone is doing well.

I am well into the new semester, which probably means I shouldn't call it the "new" semester.

So I am well into the semester and I have to say I am glad to be back. It has been nice to see friends and to have a sense of independence again. Apparently washing dishes and folding laundry makes a lasting impact on my psyche.

This is going to be one of those semesters where I can't let anything slip by. If I don't read chapters and do homework by the due date, and keep up with class, I will probably drown in my workload. But that's alright! Because I'm pretty determined to keep up. If I can wash my own dishes and do my own laundry, I can balance a full time job, a part time job, and a full course load at an honors college. See the way that works?

Michael.

Immigration, LoVe, and Three-Day Weekends

Hello everyone. =)

It seems like every time Thursday comes around all I can think about is that the weekend is almost here, and I've managed to survive another week. haha
This weekend will be especially nice because it's a three-day weekend. Yay!! Thank you, Abraham Lincoln! You're a cool dude. =p
In other news:
--> My Macaulay seminar class is getting interesting. My class is studying Jews and Mexicans and their immigration to the United States in different periods. Immigration is a huge part of American history and I think it's important to study it. These immigrants struggled to get here and to assimilate to this culture. We need to keep their memory alive by talking about them and about what they went through.
--> I also watched two great movies--El Norte and Hester Street. I had to watch them for my seminar class. Both movies are about immigration and are incredibly moving.
--> I've been trying to hang out with my friends on a regular basis this semester. Hunter has a huge student population and it can be difficult to make friends at first. Both last semester and this semester I've been trying to make an effort to keep in contact with everyone and meet people. You never know what person will end up impacting your life in ways you never expected.
--> I have lab three times a week this semester and I actually enjoy them. I like that lab requires group work. It forces you to meet new people and work with a variety of people.
--> I've recently started playing this Facebook game called "Wetopia". The game allows you to create your own little village/city and as you build it, you score "joy". This joy then goes to helping real people in the U.S. and other countries. It's pretty cool.

In honor of Valentine's Day:

"What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the words I have read in my life."

~Walt Whitman

<3,

S.

Welcome to the rest of your life...sort of

It's really great to be writing again for the blog. A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. Not only have I recently become an RA at the dorms, but I also am really getting into the swing of applying to and preparing for dental school. Its really mind boggling and intimidating almost to know that I'm up to the year and point in my life where many events and realizations are finally crystallizing. Hopefully, these goals will become reached and fulfilled- I really hope applications and the process for dental school goes smoothly!!

Thus far, this is my "easiest" semester, with only 4 classes and 2 full days off. My course load is essentially all science classes, with the usual genetics course, along with endocrinology and independent research, and a little bit more unusual of my biogeography class, offered by the geography department. My most interesting and refreshing class is my Jerusalem in the 20th century seminar, as it serves to remind me that not everything is about science, and that there is a whole world out there. I hope to get a lot of studying for the DAT done on my days off, as well as volunteering at the marine biology lab at Baruch as I have done since last summer.

Having become an RA was a great and interesting process. I've met already a lot of new people at the Brookdale community that I never thought I would have met. Although its only been about the second week into the semester, I feel like I've already met and seen a whole new side to the campus. I have great expectations for this experience!

Until next time...

A Perfect Semester Isn't Perfect w.o. Dissections and Chemical Explosions

Well its actually really nice to be back in college. I needed something to do and this semester is sure proving to be one of the most exciting ones yet (granted its only the second....but still). Chem lab will be challenging but only because of the danger that surrounds it. When compared with biology, there will be way more broken beakers in chem. On the other hand, biology lab this semester is all about dissecting everything from an earthworm to a pig. It reminds me of my anatomy & physiology class in high school where we dissected everything from an eyeball to a pregnant female cat. The lab component for both science classes has the potential to be the highlight of my semester. The last time I was in a chemistry lab, I was a freshmen in high school. I remember how cool it was to light the Bunsen burner (and did I mention we now have to light it with a match instead of a striker?) and perform all sorts of chemical tests (most memorable: exploding gummy bear fireworks).

Long walks, Musings, and New Beginnings

Hi everyone. =)

I hope everyone's semester has started off on a good point. I can already tell that mine will be a busy and challenging one. haha. But nothing worth having is ever achieved with ease.
Today is my early day so I was able to take some time to myself. Since it was such a gorgeous day, I decided to take a walk. I ended up walking from Hunter to 40th Street. There's something about being in the middle of all of NYC's chaos that makes me so incredibly at peace and hopeful. We all know that this world and our lives are not perfect, but seeing people out there doing what they can to enjoy this life and make the most of it is fantastic.
The work is already piling up for my classes, but it keeps me busy and in a way, it feels good to be busy. This doesn't mean that I enjoy having 8:00 A.M. classes three days week (haha), but I came to college to better myself and I think I'm doing that.
Something that I've been thinking about this week: It's very difficult, but not impossible, to change yourself and your lifestyle. I think it's important for all of us to really "face" ourselves and look at our flaws and imperfections. It's impossible to be perfect, but it's perfectly possible to make small changes in how you interact with others and with the world in order to be a better person. People should never be stagnant. Stagnation makes life boring. Change, although difficult, is what makes life interesting and wonderful.

Quote of the week:

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."
~ George Bernard Shaw 


S.