Putting the Semester into Words
I could not possibly examine everything that has happened this semester nor could I even begin to describe everything I've experienced. So, I'm going to just toss out words and phrases that sum up the past few (whirlwind) months of my life...
Excitement. Sisterhood. Rush. Strength. Sickness. Samauri. Recovery. Rejuvenation. Work. Frustration. Anger. Bored. Retail. Therapy. Cleanliness. Change. Independent. Music. Parties. Late. Nights. Whimsy. FOC. Homecoming. Content. Malcontent. Irritated. Longing. Conference. Business. Cards. Resumes. Networking. Road. Trips. Understanding. Friendship. Beer. More. Beer. Late. Nights. Anticipation. Bonding. Rocky. Horror. Picture. Show. Dessert. Wishful. Angst. Confusion. Freedom. Solitute. Support. Frustration. Misunderstanding. Explosions. Compassion. Relief. Detox. Family. Amusement. Interest. Papers. More. Papers. Presentations. Social. Active. Brave. Musical. Performances. Chocolate. Feminine. Bonds. More. Beer. Fighter. Lover. Examinations. Pandering. Meeting. and. Greeting. Alcohol. Buried. Treasure. Graduate. Assitantship. Resignation. Breaking. Free. Video. Games. Hopefulness. Coffee. Faith.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Friday, December 10, 2004
Anatomy of an 11th Hour Research Paper
Six pages. A topic of your choosing as long as it relates to Air Contaminants and Industrial Ventilation. Sounds simple enough, right? Let's break this down by the hour...
Midnight. (T-minus 13.5 hours)
I Google my topic and open Academic Search Premiere through the MSU Library website. I begin reading articles and making notes. I'm really making progress and this paper will be knocked out in no time! I open a Word document and begin typing a bibliography for my paper, Water Utilities and Homeland Security Compliance.
1:00 AM
My progress is slowing a bit, as I've been stuck on my first three sentences for about 15 minutes. I begin absent mindedly doodling on a piece of paper hoping that perhaps the words will start to fall out of my brain and on to my Word document. I'm a bit worried because I'm not quite sure where I want this paper to go. However, I work to "power through" the slump and continue reading on my topic.
2:00 AM
I'm now two pages into the paper. It's slow going, but I'm doing okay. I've got a chat window open and I'm talking gun control, movie trailers, and procrastination induced fatigue with Patrick. My doodles have now taken over an entire sheet of paper.
3:00 AM
I'm four pages in and suddenly I realize I don't know what I'm talking about any more. I paint my fingernails red (Essie Scarlett O'Hara) and drink some cappucino (thanks Allison!) to fortify myself for the long night ahead of me. My doodles are now on a second and third sheet of paper. I don't know what else to say in this paper.
4:00 AM
I take off in a different direction on the paper. It looks like my paper may actually run a bit longer than the eight page limit. I'm disgusted with myself that it's taking me this long to write a paper. I can't focus and I'm starting to get hungry. Suddenly I am aware that in an hour, it will be 5 in the morning and I could go get a McDonald's Breakfast Burrito, one of my favorite things in the world (this week, anyway). I have a new goal: finish the paper and go get some breakfast.
5:00 AM
Everything is complete except for some citation and a conclusion to the paper...which I declare a total hack job. I don't like my topic, I don't like what I've written. However, this is what I'll hand in 8 hours from now. I hop in my car and head across town for breakfast burrito goodness...only to find the golden arches are dark. So, I head toward Burger King hoping to get a good (though slightly inferior) Crossan'wich (where does the appostrophe go anyway?). Much to my chagrin, I realize Burger King is still closed as well. My only two choices are Arby's and Hardee's. I choose Hardees, the breakfast solutioln of my high school years. The menu frightens me-everything looks like "soul cooking" between two biscuits. These days they even have pork chop biscuits and fried chicken tenderloin biscuits. Looking at the low-carb breakfast bowl gave me chest pains, so I opted for a Frisco Breakfast sandwich, reasoning that I like Frisco burgers, so I'll probably like this too. In my youth, I wouldn't eat egg on sandwiches...even when older, I wouldn't do it. This summer, however, I discovered that I could and would one early morning when given a breakfast sandwich (with egg!) upon returning from a 5 am out of town air sampling job. I've been eating breakfast sandwiches with egg ever since-go figure. As soon as I returned home, a strange thought hit me: though we touched on Safe Drinking Water Act briefly, the paper topic was suppose to cover an Air Contaminant Issue. I loudly say an expletive (the 'mother' of all explatives) as I realized that I've written a paper on the wrong topic. It's almost 6 am and I have to start over. Motherfucker indeed!
6:00 AM
Write what you know. Write what you know. I begin typing a paper on Air Sampling Strategies. Hey, it's what I did all summer, I should know how it works. I grab a reference book on the topic of Air Sampling and get to work. The words just ooze out of me. I think the grease from the breakfast sandwich is helping.
7:00 AM
I'm nearly finished with this paper. I have a page and a half to go. I'm referencing like a madwoman. I am very awake, which I'm attributing to adrenaline. My back is starting to burn and I attribute it to my chair and desk layout.
8:00 AM
I've hit 6 pages. And they are 6 strong, quality pages. This paper blows my first one out of the water. Three to four more paragraphs to completion.
8:50 AM
9 pages total. 9 quality pages. 9 pages that I won't be sheepishly handing in. I think I shall take this up to school, turn it in, come home, and pass out.
In conclusion...guess you could say it has been a productive evening. I've completed not one but 2 research papers. Who knows-perhaps the water security one could be used for a later class or article submission of some sort. To accentuate the positive, I'll go with it being a good thing that I can't follow directions-it may have saved my grade.
Six pages. A topic of your choosing as long as it relates to Air Contaminants and Industrial Ventilation. Sounds simple enough, right? Let's break this down by the hour...
Midnight. (T-minus 13.5 hours)
I Google my topic and open Academic Search Premiere through the MSU Library website. I begin reading articles and making notes. I'm really making progress and this paper will be knocked out in no time! I open a Word document and begin typing a bibliography for my paper, Water Utilities and Homeland Security Compliance.
1:00 AM
My progress is slowing a bit, as I've been stuck on my first three sentences for about 15 minutes. I begin absent mindedly doodling on a piece of paper hoping that perhaps the words will start to fall out of my brain and on to my Word document. I'm a bit worried because I'm not quite sure where I want this paper to go. However, I work to "power through" the slump and continue reading on my topic.
2:00 AM
I'm now two pages into the paper. It's slow going, but I'm doing okay. I've got a chat window open and I'm talking gun control, movie trailers, and procrastination induced fatigue with Patrick. My doodles have now taken over an entire sheet of paper.
3:00 AM
I'm four pages in and suddenly I realize I don't know what I'm talking about any more. I paint my fingernails red (Essie Scarlett O'Hara) and drink some cappucino (thanks Allison!) to fortify myself for the long night ahead of me. My doodles are now on a second and third sheet of paper. I don't know what else to say in this paper.
4:00 AM
I take off in a different direction on the paper. It looks like my paper may actually run a bit longer than the eight page limit. I'm disgusted with myself that it's taking me this long to write a paper. I can't focus and I'm starting to get hungry. Suddenly I am aware that in an hour, it will be 5 in the morning and I could go get a McDonald's Breakfast Burrito, one of my favorite things in the world (this week, anyway). I have a new goal: finish the paper and go get some breakfast.
5:00 AM
Everything is complete except for some citation and a conclusion to the paper...which I declare a total hack job. I don't like my topic, I don't like what I've written. However, this is what I'll hand in 8 hours from now. I hop in my car and head across town for breakfast burrito goodness...only to find the golden arches are dark. So, I head toward Burger King hoping to get a good (though slightly inferior) Crossan'wich (where does the appostrophe go anyway?). Much to my chagrin, I realize Burger King is still closed as well. My only two choices are Arby's and Hardee's. I choose Hardees, the breakfast solutioln of my high school years. The menu frightens me-everything looks like "soul cooking" between two biscuits. These days they even have pork chop biscuits and fried chicken tenderloin biscuits. Looking at the low-carb breakfast bowl gave me chest pains, so I opted for a Frisco Breakfast sandwich, reasoning that I like Frisco burgers, so I'll probably like this too. In my youth, I wouldn't eat egg on sandwiches...even when older, I wouldn't do it. This summer, however, I discovered that I could and would one early morning when given a breakfast sandwich (with egg!) upon returning from a 5 am out of town air sampling job. I've been eating breakfast sandwiches with egg ever since-go figure. As soon as I returned home, a strange thought hit me: though we touched on Safe Drinking Water Act briefly, the paper topic was suppose to cover an Air Contaminant Issue. I loudly say an expletive (the 'mother' of all explatives) as I realized that I've written a paper on the wrong topic. It's almost 6 am and I have to start over. Motherfucker indeed!
6:00 AM
Write what you know. Write what you know. I begin typing a paper on Air Sampling Strategies. Hey, it's what I did all summer, I should know how it works. I grab a reference book on the topic of Air Sampling and get to work. The words just ooze out of me. I think the grease from the breakfast sandwich is helping.
7:00 AM
I'm nearly finished with this paper. I have a page and a half to go. I'm referencing like a madwoman. I am very awake, which I'm attributing to adrenaline. My back is starting to burn and I attribute it to my chair and desk layout.
8:00 AM
I've hit 6 pages. And they are 6 strong, quality pages. This paper blows my first one out of the water. Three to four more paragraphs to completion.
8:50 AM
9 pages total. 9 quality pages. 9 pages that I won't be sheepishly handing in. I think I shall take this up to school, turn it in, come home, and pass out.
In conclusion...guess you could say it has been a productive evening. I've completed not one but 2 research papers. Who knows-perhaps the water security one could be used for a later class or article submission of some sort. To accentuate the positive, I'll go with it being a good thing that I can't follow directions-it may have saved my grade.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Panic!
It's the week before finals! Everyone freak out! Oh the terror! Oh the horror! Oh the crabby, tired, worried people. I actually almost hit a girl with my car the other day....three times...and believe it or not, it wasn't on purpose. She kept wandering off the sidewalk and on to the road out side Sparks Hall. Actually, at one point, she was walking down the road in front of my car, oblivious to me being behind her...in car...though I was honking and revving my engine at her. Just when I thought to myself "Forget it!" and was going to run her down to get her attention, I heard a car horn behind me in the form of Ashley Ireland, who I suppose was the angel on my shoulder for that day. By the time I was finished waving like a happy toddler out the back window, the road-wandering girl had returned to the sidewalk. I guess she'll be allowed to live another day...
How NOT to Order a Cake at Wal-Mart
This past weekend was Gibson's birthday, so Amy and I decided that this occasion called for a cake. But it couldn't be just any cake...it had to be the best cake ever. So, after some deliberation, it was decided that the only cake suitable for such an occasion would have to feature two things that Gibson loves: Indiana Jones and Zombies. We decided that Indiana Jones whipping a zombie would be the perfect picture to adorn said cake and that we'd obtain this cake from the Wal-Mart bakery. Well, let me be the first to tell you that asking for a picture of "Indiana Jones whipping a zombie" will get you a frightened look from the cake lady followed by a bewildered response of "We can't do that here. You'll need a specialty cake shop." And I don't know if it was the way I made this request of what the deal was, but she responded with 'specialty cake shop' in a way that made me think of the Al Roker with hershey nipples cake referenced on...what was it? The Family Guy? Anyway, we ended decorating the cake with GI Joe figurines-Duke, Cobra Commander, and the Baroness in a stand off. I also decided that in a lot of ways, college birthday parties are a lot like the parties we had as children, only with alcohol. Then again, I grew up in a German-Catholic community, so it's all the same to me.
The Incredibles
Went to check out this film with Mac, Chase, Shea, and Ole Dude tonight. It was a very entertaining film and the animation was impressive. The premise was very cool, but I didn't like the films message that the B'hai Faith would solve all problems (oh wait, that was when there was a malfunction and commercials started showing in place of movie). The people at the Cheri were quite cool in that they gave us passes to see another movie. Good job with the customer service!
It's the week before finals! Everyone freak out! Oh the terror! Oh the horror! Oh the crabby, tired, worried people. I actually almost hit a girl with my car the other day....three times...and believe it or not, it wasn't on purpose. She kept wandering off the sidewalk and on to the road out side Sparks Hall. Actually, at one point, she was walking down the road in front of my car, oblivious to me being behind her...in car...though I was honking and revving my engine at her. Just when I thought to myself "Forget it!" and was going to run her down to get her attention, I heard a car horn behind me in the form of Ashley Ireland, who I suppose was the angel on my shoulder for that day. By the time I was finished waving like a happy toddler out the back window, the road-wandering girl had returned to the sidewalk. I guess she'll be allowed to live another day...
How NOT to Order a Cake at Wal-Mart
This past weekend was Gibson's birthday, so Amy and I decided that this occasion called for a cake. But it couldn't be just any cake...it had to be the best cake ever. So, after some deliberation, it was decided that the only cake suitable for such an occasion would have to feature two things that Gibson loves: Indiana Jones and Zombies. We decided that Indiana Jones whipping a zombie would be the perfect picture to adorn said cake and that we'd obtain this cake from the Wal-Mart bakery. Well, let me be the first to tell you that asking for a picture of "Indiana Jones whipping a zombie" will get you a frightened look from the cake lady followed by a bewildered response of "We can't do that here. You'll need a specialty cake shop." And I don't know if it was the way I made this request of what the deal was, but she responded with 'specialty cake shop' in a way that made me think of the Al Roker with hershey nipples cake referenced on...what was it? The Family Guy? Anyway, we ended decorating the cake with GI Joe figurines-Duke, Cobra Commander, and the Baroness in a stand off. I also decided that in a lot of ways, college birthday parties are a lot like the parties we had as children, only with alcohol. Then again, I grew up in a German-Catholic community, so it's all the same to me.
The Incredibles
Went to check out this film with Mac, Chase, Shea, and Ole Dude tonight. It was a very entertaining film and the animation was impressive. The premise was very cool, but I didn't like the films message that the B'hai Faith would solve all problems (oh wait, that was when there was a malfunction and commercials started showing in place of movie). The people at the Cheri were quite cool in that they gave us passes to see another movie. Good job with the customer service!
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