First Year Blog

I am terrified of needles. Sharp, pointy objects that inject things into your bloodstream make my insides writhe with terror and disgust. I had gone home this past weekend to get my flu shot with my younger brothers at our doctor’s office, where I technically am not allowed to look afraid. Seeing small children terrified of getting their flu shot somehow pushes me into the direction of confidence where I give them an “it’s going to be okay” smile in passing. Unfortunately, the flu clinic was canceled, thus I had to go get my flu shot here, where trying to be reassuring to freshmen isn’t quite the same as being reassuring to a five year old.

The wait was long, but probably shorter for me than others, because I got there ten minutes early. For the thirty-two excruciating minutesI stood in line, I panicked about the shot. I ran into Heidi on the stairs on my way to Hogan, and she tried to persuade me against getting the shot at all. I considered the thought for a good second or so, then in a Star Wars like fashion, the voices of my parents echoed in my head and the brilliant idea of not getting jabbed was lost forever.

When it was my turn to get the shot the nurse looked at me and told me I looked unhappy and nervous. I told her that I usually did. Her response was “Around needles, or in general?”

Suffice it to say, I didn’t understand her question at first, so while I answered that I was only nervous and awkward around needles, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the proper answer would have been “all the time.”

But beyond this, my public service announcement is: get vaccinated, wash your hands (Health Services actually sent out an email awhile back linking to a YouTube video on how to properly wash your hands, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI0dn–vv0w), cover your mouth when coughing, and for goodness’ sake, try and stay healthy!

See you next time!

I am terrified of needles. Sharp, pointy objects that inject things into your bloodstream make my insides writhe with terror and disgust. I had gone home this past weekend to get my flu shot with my younger brothers at our doctor’s office, where I technically am not allowed to look afraid. Seeing small children terrified of getting their flu shot somehow pushes me into the direction of confidence where I give them an “it’s going to be okay” smile in passing. Unfortunately, the flu clinic was canceled, thus I had to go get my flu shot here, where trying to be reassuring to freshmen isn’t quite the same as being reassuring to a five year old.

The wait was long, but probably shorter for me than others, because I got there ten minutes early. For the thirty-two excruciating minutesI stood in line, I panicked about the shot. I ran into Heidi on the stairs on my way to Hogan, and she tried to persuade me against getting the shot at all. I considered the thought for a good second or so, then in a Star Wars like fashion, the voices of my parents echoed in my head and the brilliant idea of not getting jabbed was lost forever.

When it was my turn to get the shot the nurse looked at me and told me I looked unhappy and nervous. I told her that I usually did. Her response was “Around needles, or in general?”

Suffice it to say, I didn’t understand her question at first, so while I answered that I was only nervous and awkward around needles, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the proper answer would have been “all the time.”

But beyond this, my public service announcement is: get vaccinated, wash your hands (Health Services actually sent out an email awhile back linking to a YouTube video on how to properly wash your hands, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI0dn–vv0w), cover your mouth when coughing, and for goodness’ sake, try and stay healthy!

See you next time!

I’m sitting in the computer lab in Stein right now, with an hour left before my first Latin exam. I feel as if I know what I’m doing, but terrified that once I see the test, I’m going to forget it all. Normally I would be sitting downstairs at one of the little round tables next to Cool Beans 2, but all of them were taken when I got here, so now I find myself in this computer lab that is the only non Pepto-Bismol colored room I’ve seen in the entire building. Go figure.

Before I resume my last minute studying, I’d like to make note of the event of the week. On Wednesday, Greg Mortenson, co-author and protagonist of the book Three Cups of Tea came to give the 2YO keynote speech in St. Joseph’s Chapel. For those of you who don’t know (nor I, until last summer when I realized we had summer reading…again) the 2YO program is a series of events Holy Cross provides to its sophomores to help them find direction in their studies. Earlier this year, we had an “academic extravaganza” where we could all learn more about different majors and research opportunities.

But back to Greg Mortenson.

The first thing I’d like to say about him is that he was just as tall and bashful as his book described him to be. I find being bashful and interesting trait for someone who has taken such great strides to go from selling nearly everything he owned to build a school in Pakistan, to becoming someone who has risen so high that his book is now required reading for head military forces in the Pakistan/Afghanistan area. I suppose he never let being bashful get in the way of anything. For all of this, he was a lovely speaker. He threw in jokes here and there (I can’t help but think of Fr. McFarland as our ‘tribal chief’ now) and gave us all a more in depth version of how he went about building his schools and what we could do to help. When it came around to getting my book signed, his assistant took my book first, so when he held out his hands, I assumed he wanted my book, which I didn’t have. Awkwardly, I put my hands in front of me, which he took for a handshake. I was horribly confused and flustered, and ended up scurrying away quickly when the ordeal was done.

In terms of shyness, I reckon I’m far worse than he is.

Oh well, off to pass my Latin exam!

p.s.- This post was written Friday…and then I didn’t get around to posting until today, Sunday…oh well…

p.p. s.- More information about Three Cups of Tea and Greg Mortenson can be found at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ You should definitely check it out.

I’m sitting in the computer lab in Stein right now, with an hour left before my first Latin exam. I feel as if I know what I’m doing, but terrified that once I see the test, I’m going to forget it all. Normally I would be sitting downstairs at one of the little round tables next to Cool Beans 2, but all of them were taken when I got here, so now I find myself in this computer lab that is the only non Pepto-Bismol colored room I’ve seen in the entire building. Go figure.

Before I resume my last minute studying, I’d like to make note of the event of the week. On Wednesday, Greg Mortenson, co-author and protagonist of the book Three Cups of Tea came to give the 2YO keynote speech in St. Joseph’s Chapel. For those of you who don’t know (nor I, until last summer when I realized we had summer reading…again) the 2YO program is a series of events Holy Cross provides to its sophomores to help them find direction in their studies. Earlier this year, we had an “academic extravaganza” where we could all learn more about different majors and research opportunities.

But back to Greg Mortenson.

The first thing I’d like to say about him is that he was just as tall and bashful as his book described him to be. I find being bashful and interesting trait for someone who has taken such great strides to go from selling nearly everything he owned to build a school in Pakistan, to becoming someone who has risen so high that his book is now required reading for head military forces in the Pakistan/Afghanistan area. I suppose he never let being bashful get in the way of anything. For all of this, he was a lovely speaker. He threw in jokes here and there (I can’t help but think of Fr. McFarland as our ‘tribal chief’ now) and gave us all a more in depth version of how he went about building his schools and what we could do to help. When it came around to getting my book signed, his assistant took my book first, so when he held out his hands, I assumed he wanted my book, which I didn’t have. Awkwardly, I put my hands in front of me, which he took for a handshake. I was horribly confused and flustered, and ended up scurrying away quickly when the ordeal was done.

In terms of shyness, I reckon I’m far worse than he is.

Oh well, off to pass my Latin exam!

p.s.- This post was written Friday…and then I didn’t get around to posting until today, Sunday…oh well…

p.p. s.- More information about Three Cups of Tea and Greg Mortenson can be found at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ You should definitely check it out.

Salvete, all!

Today has been such a strange day so far that I figured I might as well share it with you. This morning, Jill’s alarm went off at around 6:45, and since I didn’t have to get up until 8, I just rolled back over and kept sleeping. Well, apparently my alarm didn’t go off, and hers never went off again either, so that at 8:50 I woke up disoriented and realized in a panic that I had ten minutes to get to my 9 a.m. Sociology class…clear-cut across campus. Jill scrambled out of bed as well, late for work. To top it all off, I walked in late to class only to find that they were in the middle of a pop quiz about this weekend’s readings. Needless to say, I walked out of there needing an iced tea and a hug. But just for good measure, when I came back and ran to get a shower so that I could work on my Greek translation, I broke my little mirror with which I do my makeup. By the time 11 rolled around, I was ready to call it a day.

However, this beautifully sunny Monday has taken a turn for the better after a bit of a rough start. My Latin class for tomorrow was just cancelled, which gives me time to study for our exam Thursday and to catch up on some other reading. We also got our first Greek quiz back and, thankfully, it went just fine despite my nerves. Also, I’m excited about a few new activities that I’m going to be involved in over the semester, including a Constitution drafting committee for Eta Sigma Phi, the Classics Honor Society. We’re trying to become a recognized student organization, but need to draft a Constitution before we can be an official RSO. I’m looking forward to being a part of this mostly because it is my class and the classes to come who will enjoy the privileges gained by an RSO status, such as fund-raising.

A shout out to fellow blogger, Kimball captain, future Oxford student, and dear friend, Colleen Curran! This weekend, Colleen came to Holy Cross for the last time in a year to say goodbye to all of her friends and Holy Cross professors. We took the shuttle to Providence on Friday night (on a whim!) and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, where we stayed and talked for a good three hours. I’ll miss her very much and obviously wish her all the best at Oxford! She’ll be blogging while she’s over there, so definitely check out what she’s up to in jolly old England.

I have a mound of reading to accomplish…sorry for the novel! Take care and Xairete!

Salvete, all!

Today has been such a strange day so far that I figured I might as well share it with you. This morning, Jill’s alarm went off at around 6:45, and since I didn’t have to get up until 8, I just rolled back over and kept sleeping. Well, apparently my alarm didn’t go off, and hers never went off again either, so that at 8:50 I woke up disoriented and realized in a panic that I had ten minutes to get to my 9 a.m. Sociology class…clear-cut across campus. Jill scrambled out of bed as well, late for work. To top it all off, I walked in late to class only to find that they were in the middle of a pop quiz about this weekend’s readings. Needless to say, I walked out of there needing an iced tea and a hug. But just for good measure, when I came back and ran to get a shower so that I could work on my Greek translation, I broke my little mirror with which I do my makeup. By the time 11 rolled around, I was ready to call it a day.

However, this beautifully sunny Monday has taken a turn for the better after a bit of a rough start. My Latin class for tomorrow was just cancelled, which gives me time to study for our exam Thursday and to catch up on some other reading. We also got our first Greek quiz back and, thankfully, it went just fine despite my nerves. Also, I’m excited about a few new activities that I’m going to be involved in over the semester, including a Constitution drafting committee for Eta Sigma Phi, the Classics Honor Society. We’re trying to become a recognized student organization, but need to draft a Constitution before we can be an official RSO. I’m looking forward to being a part of this mostly because it is my class and the classes to come who will enjoy the privileges gained by an RSO status, such as fund-raising.

A shout out to fellow blogger, Kimball captain, future Oxford student, and dear friend, Colleen Curran! This weekend, Colleen came to Holy Cross for the last time in a year to say goodbye to all of her friends and Holy Cross professors. We took the shuttle to Providence on Friday night (on a whim!) and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, where we stayed and talked for a good three hours. I’ll miss her very much and obviously wish her all the best at Oxford! She’ll be blogging while she’s over there, so definitely check out what she’s up to in jolly old England.

I have a mound of reading to accomplish…sorry for the novel! Take care and Xairete!

The substituted benzene rings are drawn so that it looks as if a long column of hexagonal eyes are staring straight at me, wondering why I can’t “provide a good laboratory synthesis for each compound”. I will learn—fast—how these compounds are created. My first organic chemistry test of the semester is on Friday. If last year taught me anything, it was to not wait ‘til the day before to start studying for exams. So far, I’ve made some good headway into the review packet, but now I’m stuck on how to attach Iodine to a benzene ring. It feels as if this should be more simple than I’m making it out to be, and I’m sure I’ll slap myself on the forehead when I realize how easy it is to attach one little halide to the ring.

In the meantime, I’ll distract myself from chemistry and ramble, as per usual.

As I’ve mentioned before, my SPUD this year is Salvation Army Tutoring, and on Tuesday my entire SPUD group crammed itself into a SPUD van and a student car and drove to the center for SPUD site orientation. We got to see the kids and say hello, and they were wicked excited to see us, just about as much as I was to see them! I can’t wait for next Tuesday to meet some of them more personally. My only concern is that Major Babbit (the woman in charge) mentioned that they were going to try to teach the kids music on Tuesdays. My musical talent is near to nothing, short of high school chorus in senior year where I learned I had abominable singing skills. My computer skills are decent though, so maybe that’ll be more helpful…

On Friday, I went to see Angels and Demons with some friends of mine at Seelos Theater. The theater itself is fairly new, having opened last year right next to the Kimball administrative offices. I really liked the movie, and I’m sure my friend Tom liked it even more, as every time something mildly unexpected happened, he’d exclaim “What?!”. Ashamedly never having read any of Dan Brown’s novels, I can’t say I have any complaints about the movie. Furthermore, it had Ewan McGregor in it—of whom I am a shameless fangirl.

After the movie, I went up to the CAB sponsored magic show put on by Derek Hughes, a magician with a sense of humor to boot. It was fascinating. Never in my life have I seen a man (or anyone) magically make a deck of cards disappear, only to have them pull the deck out of their pants a few minutes later.

Today was Brickfest for Loyola Hall. Basically, we ate doughnuts and bagels while painting bricks to hold the doors to our rooms open. My room door doesn’t need a brick for it to stay open—my roommate and I keep the door open whenever either of us is in the room—but the novelty of having a brick was too much for me. I’ve been looking forward to Brickfest all week, and when I finally got to paint my brick…I misjudged the size of my letters and failed to paint my entire name. Instead, I am now the owner of a Bran brick. My roommate made a brick as well, and then the two of us painted one side each of a third brick. My side of the brick has a sparkly pi; her side has white flowers.

It’s now occurred to me that it is past midnight, hence my version of “today” is in fact “yesterday”. Ah well, and goodnight!

Or rather, good morning.

The substituted benzene rings are drawn so that it looks as if a long column of hexagonal eyes are staring straight at me, wondering why I can’t “provide a good laboratory synthesis for each compound”. I will learn—fast—how these compounds are created. My first organic chemistry test of the semester is on Friday. If last year taught me anything, it was to not wait ‘til the day before to start studying for exams. So far, I’ve made some good headway into the review packet, but now I’m stuck on how to attach Iodine to a benzene ring. It feels as if this should be more simple than I’m making it out to be, and I’m sure I’ll slap myself on the forehead when I realize how easy it is to attach one little halide to the ring.

In the meantime, I’ll distract myself from chemistry and ramble, as per usual.

As I’ve mentioned before, my SPUD this year is Salvation Army Tutoring, and on Tuesday my entire SPUD group crammed itself into a SPUD van and a student car and drove to the center for SPUD site orientation. We got to see the kids and say hello, and they were wicked excited to see us, just about as much as I was to see them! I can’t wait for next Tuesday to meet some of them more personally. My only concern is that Major Babbit (the woman in charge) mentioned that they were going to try to teach the kids music on Tuesdays. My musical talent is near to nothing, short of high school chorus in senior year where I learned I had abominable singing skills. My computer skills are decent though, so maybe that’ll be more helpful…

On Friday, I went to see Angels and Demons with some friends of mine at Seelos Theater. The theater itself is fairly new, having opened last year right next to the Kimball administrative offices. I really liked the movie, and I’m sure my friend Tom liked it even more, as every time something mildly unexpected happened, he’d exclaim “What?!”. Ashamedly never having read any of Dan Brown’s novels, I can’t say I have any complaints about the movie. Furthermore, it had Ewan McGregor in it—of whom I am a shameless fangirl.

After the movie, I went up to the CAB sponsored magic show put on by Derek Hughes, a magician with a sense of humor to boot. It was fascinating. Never in my life have I seen a man (or anyone) magically make a deck of cards disappear, only to have them pull the deck out of their pants a few minutes later.

Today was Brickfest for Loyola Hall. Basically, we ate doughnuts and bagels while painting bricks to hold the doors to our rooms open. My room door doesn’t need a brick for it to stay open—my roommate and I keep the door open whenever either of us is in the room—but the novelty of having a brick was too much for me. I’ve been looking forward to Brickfest all week, and when I finally got to paint my brick…I misjudged the size of my letters and failed to paint my entire name. Instead, I am now the owner of a Bran brick. My roommate made a brick as well, and then the two of us painted one side each of a third brick. My side of the brick has a sparkly pi; her side has white flowers.

It’s now occurred to me that it is past midnight, hence my version of “today” is in fact “yesterday”. Ah well, and goodnight!

Or rather, good morning.

Xairete!

When I say that this week has been insane, I truly mean it. Last weekend, I worked a grand total of approximately 13 hours at Kimball. I practically lived there from Friday-Sunday. Despite this, however, Friday was my friend Katie’s birthday, and my friends Allie and Jen made a special dinner for her in Clark kitchen, which included delicious pasta and salad, along with the traditional Funfetti cake. We all completely overtook the kitchen space and had a great time eating together. Even though the weather outside was dreary, we were cozy enough in Clark to barely notice it!

Also taking place this week was the first of the Study Abroad meetings. It’s hard to fathom the fact that in a year, I could be living in a completely new country and not actually attending Holy Cross! I still have a lot to figure out about which program I want to do, where I want to go, etc., but I do have my choices narrowed down to either a semester in Rome, or a year in England. The next few months will entail much deliberation on my part, applications, and heart-to-hearts with some professors to figure out what I really want the rest of my Holy Cross experience to be like. I’ve spoken with upperclassmen friends who have done both programs I am considering and I am seeing that the process of figuring out where I want to go isn’t going to be as easy as I had hoped it would be. I’ll just have to keep my options open!

In academic news, I just took my first Greek quiz this afternoon (hope it went well!). As I’m taking two translating classes, my workload has become absolutely insane. Both Latin and Greek are taking over my life—as if I would have it any other way! With the support of my family, friends, and professors, I’m getting through the work and figuring out why it is that I want to study this field. Especially now, after having gone over almost 200 lines of Greek for a day and a half, I can see that the satisfaction I get from studying Classics is so worth all of the late nights in Dinand. (But seriously, I live there.)

Valete, all! Have a wonderful weekend!

Xairete!

When I say that this week has been insane, I truly mean it. Last weekend, I worked a grand total of approximately 13 hours at Kimball. I practically lived there from Friday-Sunday. Despite this, however, Friday was my friend Katie’s birthday, and my friends Allie and Jen made a special dinner for her in Clark kitchen, which included delicious pasta and salad, along with the traditional Funfetti cake. We all completely overtook the kitchen space and had a great time eating together. Even though the weather outside was dreary, we were cozy enough in Clark to barely notice it!

Also taking place this week was the first of the Study Abroad meetings. It’s hard to fathom the fact that in a year, I could be living in a completely new country and not actually attending Holy Cross! I still have a lot to figure out about which program I want to do, where I want to go, etc., but I do have my choices narrowed down to either a semester in Rome, or a year in England. The next few months will entail much deliberation on my part, applications, and heart-to-hearts with some professors to figure out what I really want the rest of my Holy Cross experience to be like. I’ve spoken with upperclassmen friends who have done both programs I am considering and I am seeing that the process of figuring out where I want to go isn’t going to be as easy as I had hoped it would be. I’ll just have to keep my options open!

In academic news, I just took my first Greek quiz this afternoon (hope it went well!). As I’m taking two translating classes, my workload has become absolutely insane. Both Latin and Greek are taking over my life—as if I would have it any other way! With the support of my family, friends, and professors, I’m getting through the work and figuring out why it is that I want to study this field. Especially now, after having gone over almost 200 lines of Greek for a day and a half, I can see that the satisfaction I get from studying Classics is so worth all of the late nights in Dinand. (But seriously, I live there.)

Valete, all! Have a wonderful weekend!