New Blog!

Hello family and friends and other people that might happen to care about what I do,

I started a new blog! Like yesterday. Its JUST mine, so its going to be a lot more bad drawings and teenagery drama things and less thoughtful well worded dissertations, since it will lack Amy.

Anyway, here is the link. the URL is outhousekraken and I give all the credit to Amy. She came up with it to pay tribute to the last drawing that I made on this blog.

I shall hopefully be posting more drawings of my totally incredible life, soon.

-Michelle

By Michelle

I went back and read some of the posts that we wrote before, and I realized that I never even told about this semester at school.

I only have three classes, but one of them is biology with a lab.

But, on the upside, it's "Biology for non-majors" so, in other words, we don't have to remember anything we learn after this class, and she doesn't expect us to. She's a really amazing teacher, and recently we've been learning about genetics and I've gotten a lot out of it.

I also have math with a Taiwanese teacher who is really invested in my grades getting better, and a comp 1 teacher who is....a comp 1 teacher.

I find it hard for comp 1 teachers to be incredible because comp 1 is such a low level class. It saddens me that it's required. Or more, it saddens me that it NEEDS to be required.

More on that later, because my lap top is about to die

On a last note,

The head of the Global English Institute emailed me back after another one of the lower professors in the Institute that I emailed replied saying they would forward it to the, excuse me, stupid-head of the department.

he emailed me back shortly after and said, "If you're interested in participating in the Conversation Partner program, let me know."

....

-Michelle

Oh... hay.. Michelle Here

Hello blogsphere.

Family, friends, passersby. Its been quite some time.

I feel the need to update you all because since the last time I posted a lot has gone on and changed. As I probably said I'm going to a Community College now, and its really great. I tell you, going to a college that is TOTALLY LOADED is definitely one of the perks of my life.

The campus is really pretty and they seem to work very efficiently to get necessary things done. Recently we had two big snow storms in quick succession and the area is not the best with snow, since it is somewhat of a rarity now.

The school is huge but they very effectively informed all the students appropriately before hand when school would be cancelled; taking into account that many of the students are not from close by.

By the time there was school again, (two days later) the campus was beyond clean. Apparently the grounds crew had worked all night to make sure that there was zero ice on any one of the roads or sidewalks. The top level of the parking garage had been roped off as it was not safe, and had not been plowed.

The snow had been quite heavy, so it weighed down a lot of trees. I realized that in the courtyard one of the trees was gone. It must have broken from the weight of snow and they just took it out.

I was very impressed by it, and it made me really appreciate how lucky I am to go to such a good school that cares so much about the welfare of their students.

BUT ON ANOTHER NOTE.

Recently I have become more involved with the international students at my school. I signed up for their "Conversation Partner" program (a program where one american student and one international student are paired together to help the conversational English of the International student) and got myself a convo partner.

Its really a great program but the awareness for it is at like a 0.2%.

So I went to the Global English Institute(GEI) who were the people I gave my convo partner application to.
I told him of my concerns and interests in maybe a slightly accusatory tone. It was a long email that had lots of thoughts, and he just said,
"Maybe you should contact the International Education Office"

I emailed the Internation Education Office and they said "Gosh we're so happy that you care, but we don't deal with them please contact the International and Immigration Student Office"

And by this time I was quite the mad. I sent a long email to them as well, but by this time I was almost sure they couldn't help me. All of a sudden something that wasn't a big deal in the beginning had become a big deal to me. Obviously, no one really knew who was in charge of this.

They emailed me back and said, "thats interesting darling why don't you go play with the children your age." JUST KIDDING, but thats close enough. They said, "talk to So and So, she's in charge of the International Club, which is what you're looking for."

Well, I'd heard of the international club. I knew about this club. My conversation partner said it was "totally not his style" well, knowing that he his sometimes a little stuck-up, I emailed her.

She apologized for me getting the run around and invited me to their club meeting, which was the next day.

I went to the meeting and was not surprised to see that it was not exactly what I was looking for. It was inviting and fun, but it wasn't so much an international club as a "Hispanic and African club" which excludes all of the less-outgoing Asian and Middle-Eastern students.

I realized that, though it was a fun deal, it was not at all what I was looking for. I'm glad my school has at least SOMETHING for international students, but it wasn't quite enough.

All of the students there had very good English, so they interacted well with one another. What about the students with English that is not as good? Who want to learn in a less-stressful environment? Who have class during the club meeting times, or who aren't outgoing enough to even try going there? Or who get turned off because they are the only one from their country showing up?

Conversation partners are an incredible program, and the school already has it so all they need to do is advertise a little!

So I realized, at the club, that the people who probably really knew what was going on were the first people I emailed. The GEI. The people who set me up with my conversation partner. I emailed the head of the department again, this time pinning the blame on him. I said that I knew his department was the one in charge of the conversation partner program, and that I had been gone all over the place because he had told me that he was not that.

Two weeks later, and he hasn't emailed me back. I go onto the school website and get the faculty list. I emailed one of the other professors in charge of the program. Almost a week later and they still didn't respond.

So I went through, alphabetical order, and emailed half of the department, saying that their department head was not responding and I was very cross with him. I explained my predicament and told how I wanted to help.

Three days later, I get one response. "Hello, I'm sorry to hear what this school has put you through. I'm happy you care about the international students. However...."

There it is. There's that word. "You seem like a caring student, but..." "I'm glad you take an interest, but..."

I continued to read. "However, I am not the person in charge. I forwarded your email to the person I believe can help" CHA-CHING" and they should send you an email soon. If they do not, contact me soon and I will see what I can do. I'm happy to help you in any way that I can."

The most courteous, and promising thing that I've heard so far. So I shall wait patiently and, in the meantime, go to the international club again. I know its not exactly what I was looking for but its fun, haha.


In other news.


I started Alice and Wonderland at my studio, and I got the Queen of Hearts. Only part I auditioned for and I got it!!! So happy!

halla, peace!

-Michelle

Library

I didn't discover libraries until this year.

It's really bad, I know. Truthfully, I always had kind of a mindset against libraries, because I am the type of person who thinks one thing for some reason and then won't unthink it until the world ends or I reach a revelation.

I even worked in a library for a year without once taking advantage of it.

Eventually, though, my revelation was that the library is more than a place to get books to read. And the reason I went there was because I absolutely had to, for class, and I had a really bad attitude about it. But honestly, isn't it the coolest idea ever that there is a place where I can check out any book I want for any length of time? Also there are rolling bookshelves and laptops you can rent for free and incredibly snazzy armchairs and an Einstein Bros. There are international students who practically live here. Since I am currently in a state commonly known as "strapped for cash", I have almost completely gotten over my "I don't want to read it unless it's mine" mentality. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome to have a book that's unquestionably mine, and I can read it at any pace I want and however many times I want, and I can put it in my bookshelf with a sense of pride, but being able to borrow books for free opens up a whole new vista of possibility. The other day I checked out Watchmen, a book I would never buy but which is so far awesome and eye-opening (I don't have a lot of experience with graphic novels).

I came here today to work on a paper I have to write that was absolutely not getting done in my room. I can't really get homework done in my room because my own space is a productivity black hole. I can't work if the space is messy, and cleaning up leads to all sorts of other distractions, all of which are a futile attempt to escape the fact that I have imminent deadlines to meet. Today I was so intent on distracting myself that I cut my hair. It's all right though. It wasn't completely rash, I mean I'd been thinking about it for a while, so I have no immediate regrets. I came to the library to do my work, because the feeling of being just one panicked student in a building filled with panicked students somehow helps me focus.

The rolling bookshelves did kind of freak me out though.

NaNoWriMo and Movember: no-gos.

We went all of October without writing a single blog post.

Any this is supposed to the blogging season for us! I guess that's just a testament to all the other stuff we have going on in our lives these days. Being busy is lame sometimes. You know what's even lamer? Being so busy that I don't have time to think, eat, or sleep. That is what my Spring 2013 is looking like right now. I enrolled for classes yesterday and I'm already starting to freak out a little bit. I had to decide on the spot that I'm dropping my French minor because if I don't, I won't be able to graduate in 2014, and honestly I can't imagine many things more depressing than that. I am not even that much of a fan of French - at this point it is both boring me and stressing me out, and I don't want that. When I want is to be able to meet a language on my own terms, and since French is only serving to intensify my school-elated stress, I'm not very sad to see it go.

That said, I don't for one second intend to abandon it. But right now my priority is to graduate so I can get on with my life already.

Yesterday my roommate put up a Wallflower, and within an hour our room smelled like Christmas. After I made coffee this morning, it smelled like the inside of a Starbucks. I would bet real money that when I go to my French test tomorrow, the girl who sits next to me will say, "Now you even smell like a hipster" (though it could be argued that hipsters, depending on your definition, are more likely to smell of patchouli and body odor). The other day she proposed that we go to Westport and "do whatever you hipsters do." There was never a more telling testament to the atmosphere at UCM than that people here see me  as a hipster. I've since gotten over it. I should try discussing my obscure yet trendy music taste with anyone who will listen, and see what happens.

The next step is pairing garters with shorts. It's the final fashion frontier.



Suit jacket underneath overalls? Professional-meets-earthy-farmboy. Risky, yet with a dash of untouchable class.

Michelle The Diplomat

Yes, thats what they call me.

no, they don't call me that, but I call me that and thats all that really matters here. This will was a series or really horrible and really great things. I actually like those weeks because I think they test my ability to be level headed and steady through anything.

I think I did pretty well, as far as level headedness goes.

This week I got a really horrible (and I mean really horrible) grade for a take home essay test that I worked really hard on, and then I got some other people mad about it and that gave me the confidence to go to the dean. Tomorrow I'm gonna go back to my teacher and see what he has to say for himself!

A lot of other things happened including me finding out that there IS a conversation partner program at my school, and I'm gonna go check that out tomorrow. Super stoked!

The whole eventfulness and interestingness of the week inspired me to do a video auto-biography. I'm scared of dying, and I'm scared of growing up, but most of all I'm scared of forgetting meaningful/funny/life changing things just because I didn't document them. And I WILL forget things if I don't document them. I mean, I'm a Sullivan! We're not exactly known for our great memory!

In other news, I've recently spent a lot of time on Taereams birthday present, and it is going to be 109% awesome!

Amy, I think awesome pens are really important. Or an awesome medium of some sort. i don't like writing in pencil, and I too am one to pay attention while doodling, so good pens are even MORE important.

But i'm irked by the fact that Taeream got in on the 'birthday package' but I didn't. I mean, mom said, 'You can send it in the package' and then she sent the package without telling me! Blasphemy! or something...

Anyway, if you're coming tomorrow, I'll give you your present. I'll even wrap it!

-Michelle:)

I Get Parental Anxiety

Feeding Bach has become such a routine lately that a lot of days the drudgery of the activity leads me to forget whether or not I've actually fed him yet that day. It's one of my greatest fears that I will overfeed him and come home to find him floating belly up because of my negligence. Is this what it's like to be a mother?? If so, it is too stressful for me.

I'm a little stressed out about my Writing Fiction for Publication class because it has become clear that everyone there took Creative Writing together and therefore are adhering to unspoken rules that I am unaware of. Like, for instance, last class they all got out critical responses they'd written up to give to the person who had handed out their short story the week before, and when I asked if that was a requirement, they all looked at me like I hadn't listened to anything that had gone on in class thus far when I know for a fact that no one mentioned writing response letters at any time during the class, least of all the teacher.

Another thing that makes me unsure about that class is that so far every short story I have read is about some who is crazy or is going crazy. I wrote my short story about a twelve-year-old boy. Next week when we go over it I'm afraid they're going to tear it apart for being too boring. I'm ridiculously nervous. I love reading other people's stories but I am not sure about other people reading my stuff. I still have the feeling that my writing is a part of my private self that I never show to anyone. It seems indecent to put it in the light. In fact, the more I think about the story that I handed out, the more uneasy I get. Maybe its because I'm afraid that since I so rarely share my writing that my thoughts won't be transferable at all.

Or it could just be that I have this bad habit of selectively remembering only the negative parts of a given memory (maybe that's why I can never recommend dramas/movies to you because I'm remember everything I didn't like about them and nothing I did like).

Speaking of movies I didn't like, though, the other day I went to see Seeking a Friend for the End of the World because it was playing for free in the Union and it looked interesting. Well it wasn't interesting. It was stupid and everything that happened was predictable and sad. Steve Carrell and Keira Knightly actually made for a pretty cool couple, even though their roles were very specific cliches, but the screenplay was written in such an awkward way that I couldn't even like them.

After I did that, I needed a pick-me-up so I went and checked out a small pot to make an unnamed dish involving the Basmati rice Mom sent me for my birthday, carrots, and a potato. It was around midnight when I finished it, but that made it no less delicious.

I also had crackers and gouda cheese, also courtesy of Mom. Thanks. :D

I was reading Elise's blog today and she mentioned having new pens and it being awesome. The problem with pens is that there is never enough ink in them. I take all my notes in pen and I doodle a lot in the margins and in my journal, so basically I run through a good pen about one every month. And good pens aren't always easy to come by. Taeream gave me a set that I loved so much that I've used one up already doing things like drawing octopi,

 

or the logos of whoever I happen to be listening to at the time:

You know, important things.

-Amy

No Problem

Today. Lots happened.

It started with me waking up at 6:20 in mom and dads bed. They're out of town, so of course I took their bed. Its like the heaven bed.

Here's what its like when I lay on my bed,

And here's what its like when I lay on mom and dads bed.

Just so you can get a mental picture of how awesome it is.

Anyway, so Tae Ream is sick so I don't have to take her to school, so I take my time getting ready, but I have nothing to do so I just go to school. I have this playlist called "strut/conquer the world" that pretty much makes me feel like a winner.

So I walk up to the school and the weather is perfect and the music is perfect, and the school museum window cleaners are speaking spanish and singing "work hard, play hard" as I pass, and then its just a perfect time to sit down and watch some Korean drama.

And then its still not time for class so its a perfect time to watch all my youtubes. Then its time to walk to class so I turn on the Crayon music video and watch that as I walk and I sit down and my teacher walks behind and was probably thinking, "the crazy things kids watch these days I just don't understand" or "omg wut.".
Then yadadadaddaaa learn about the government in class and then its another break and I turn on my playlist and strut some more,

walkin' down the halls like

Then I came home and I was so tired, but that didn't stop me from crafting like crazy! i made a nerd-hoodie for myself, and though it was hard and took way too long, it got me inspired to do more "wearable art", so next chance (money) I get, I'm going straight to hobby lobby and spending as much time as possible in their wearable art section buying all the things necessary for me to rock my wardrobe.

Ahhh, I love crafting when it involves clothes.

You know what else I love? Winter. IT'S COMING. wore a hoodie today and i'm ready to wear a hoodie for the rest of my life.

-Michelle

Sushi + Bellydancing

"Please out homies"? That's a new one.

Today I have been running around with my hair on fire, as I am often prone to doing. Even though I've been in college for quite some time, and I have also had the experience of being in college and having a job at the same time, I still freak out when a day comes where I have something going on from the early morning until the evening with only tiny breaks every now and again. I have this weird fear of being that busy, like in the midst of all the stress I will suddenly lose myself in frantic routine and no longer be capable of deep thought. 

Not that I was ever really capable of deep thought.

Today, I tried sushi for the first time since Kristin made it in her apartment in Leavenworth. I have to say that my experience with sushi has not been all good. I would say that today, while not particularly enjoyable, could be counted as a victory.

They are tuna, salmon, and shrimp. I unconsciously avoided the shrimp ones, though, and by the time the others were gone I was way too full to eat them. There was also the small problem of the food court not having any water so after I had a small accident involving wasabi I pretty much lost my appetite.

However incompletely, though, the sushi was conquered.

I went to the UCM Dance Club today because they have open dance lessons on Thursdays. It is $5 for the entire semester so I am pretty much all over it. However, this was my first day going and there was a guest teacher teaching us how to bellydance. Not only was it super freaking awesome, it was super freaking HARD. I am beginning to understand why Angela has expressed the sentiment in the past that people who are stick skinny shouldn't be hip swinging and booty dancing all over the place. What it does is accentuates our total lack of assets in ways we really can't afford (and looks pretty lame as well). So, while I thought the bellydancing lessons were super fantastic and fun, the actual result of me bellydancing in an individual sense was vaguely pitiful. I don't own a full-length mirror, so standing in front of the studio mirrors was a bit jarring to begin with, even when I wasn't sadly trying to move like an Egyptian gypsy goddess.

I can't even express how excited I am for it to be the weekend. Even though I am working some, I am absolutely determined to get some sleep starting tomorrow night and not stopping until Monday. The number of hours I slept this week is in the low teens so I am super incredibly stoked to improve the shining hours by snoring through them.

I will leave you with what I had for lunch the other day. It's been months since I had Taco Bell, and honestly I've missed horribly even though by all accounts Taco Bell is disgusting and perhaps even unethical. It's my birthday gift to me.

-Amy

I Should Probably Be Doing Homework

So Tuesday was one of those days where I was like, "So this is what having relatively hard school with deadlines is like,...hmm...it sucks."

I had to write a paper for history and a paper for government and study short essay answers for history and find and study long essay answers for history and do math homework. So I was super stressed and sad and finally I just kind of gave up and watch some Secret Garden with TaeReam which actually helped, even though most of the time I was thinking about what a un-smart loser I am.

So then the middle of the night rolls around and I get up to go to the bathroom and then I'm totally 100% awake, thinking about all the things I have to do in an hour or so when I get up.

Then I fell into fits of restless sleep where I had a dream that went like this,

We were going to california and I didn't realize it and I said, "I can't go to california, I have an 81 in math I can't miss a single question!"
just as the plane was starting up, so mom said, "What did you say? You aced every one in math? You didn't miss a single question?"

And then I woke up and I'm pretty sure I was crying or something, you know how it is in the middle of the night when dreams that are not so bad seem like 1000 times worse.

And then it get light outside and you think back and you're like, "I think I visited insanity last night."

Anyway, there were little good things that happened, like I got in the car and the tank was full (YESS) and then I got to the school and I had to buy three test books which only came out to $1.14 (YESS)

So then I went straight to the math lab and some girl helped me and pretty much made me feel like a math goddess. So I was struttin' it up till I actually got to math class where we learned some new stuff that i didn't understand either.

Thats the thing about math. You can't just, 'get it' you have to KEEP getting it.

And then I went to history class and we talked about how Booker T Washington was reasonable and Intelligent and Debois was 'wack' and 'lame'.

So thats all for today. I have to start and finish this history paper before TaeReam gets home. Please out homies.

I Get Philosophical When It Storms

They say that one of the primary influences on the longevity of the retired and elderly is having a reason to stay alive. And one of the primary reasons to stay alive is a feeling that in some way you are in control of some aspect of your life.

As a college student, my iota of control is granted by these two bad boys.

Last year my sedum came to death's door directly due to my negligence. However, having witnessed its miraculous recovery this summer, and also having received another plant from Dad, I am determined to do right by my houseplants because, really, if I don't, what am I really good for? I've come to a place where I see the houseplants as a greater metaphor, as a test to determine whether or not I'm ready for the real world. Maintaining a plant is like maintaining a job or a friendship or a relationship (in my own morbid way, I see all of these things as jobs). And if you can't keep your plant alive, what, in a broader sense, can you really do at all?

Being sleep-deprived turns me into an absolute monster. As such I have been a monster all week, and especially today after a truly horrible bout of insomnia. But eventually I got a hot drink into my system (Tea. Earl Grey. Hot) and by the time French rolled around I had caught my fifteenth wind and could even ignore the fact that I learned how to say what I did in high school back when I was still technically in high school (Quand j'avais 15 ans, je n'avais pas d'amis). This class does seem a little redundant, according to my distant memory of my other French classes.

One more thing contributing to my goodwill today:

This delicious bubbling concoction started out as Southwestern style canned soup, but when I put it in my makeshift crockpot, I added rice, more carrots, salt, and garlic flakes. What ended up happening was it was asgfhjklasdl delicious. You might have noticed that I have this thing about food. I love it, especially when I have been craving it all day long.

However, that was a couple of hours ago, and now I am craving Korean food because tonight I am going to feast on a veritable smorgasbord of that sort of thing. I can't wait.

Amy

Never Again

I ate this a little while ago. It is "chicken fajita" Rice-A-Roni. I couldn't finish it because it was so disgusting. Two hours later I still feel like throwing up. When can I go to bed??

Three-Day Weekend?

It's my conclusion that three-day weekends are a construct of the rich, not only to create a day in which they could gloat that they're rich enough to not need to work today, but also in an attempt to create for the less fortunate a day to in which to pretend to not need to work today.

Of course, the bottom of the totem pole is needed on all days, even weekends and holidays. I could take pride in being at the bottom of the totem pole, considering it is the foundation and without it the rest of the totem pole would be eating dirt, but I am too busy being resentful.

Besides the residence hall front desks, everything is closed today, even the dining halls. I'll take this as a sign to become even more creative than ever with my food choices!

That's a lie. I am not becoming much more creative. My innovation this week in the food department is that I am now adding potatoes to my diet.

That is a potato that was grown at home. I brought a bag of them with me when I moved, but until yesterday they were sitting forgotten in a plastic bag underneath my desk (there is an odd shelf there where I keep my rice cooker). However, besides work yesterday was delightfully uneventful so I decided to use my suitemates' microwave to cook up this bad boy. When it was done I put some pringles on it (potatoception) and also broke out my minced garlic, salt, and some ranch. It looks like the potato is just sitting on the wood of my desk in the picture, but in reality it is in a glass bowl.

However, I came to a dilemma soon after cooking the potato. I do not own a fork. The demographics of my utensil population are as follows: one dull serrated knife, four spoons, and two pairs of chopsticks. Does a can opener count as a utensil? If it does, it must be the king of utensils. At the time all my spoons were dirty and my potato was quickly cooling, so I just ate some of the inside with chopsticks and then picked up the rest of the potato and ate it from my hands. It was delicious and I plan to eat more in the near future. But I will use a spoon next time.

I eat this business all the time. Of course, I eat it with a spoon. I do not always have doritos, and they are a treat so I don't always put them in even if I do have them, but last night was special because my roommate wasn't there so there was no possibility of feeling like she was judging me for putting sriracha on doritos (not that she is the judging type, but I sometimes get insecure about my weird food habits).

When Michelle and Taeream came to visit me this weekend we went grocery shopping. I don't exactly know why, but grocery shopping is incredibly exciting when I'm just buying food for myself. One thing I noticed though is that they don't sell those awesome bags of mixed fruit at Parker's like they do at Wal-Mart so I got the next best thing and bought a big bag of carrots. Carrots are even more versatile a snack than fruit is. Here is what I do with carrots:

According to some, sriracha and ranch is not a combination made in heaven, but I definitely ship it.

The happs

As opposed to Amy, food is something that I think about rarely.

I don't think I really get hungry like most people. I do like food, but its something I do when I'm bored or about to faint, not something I do because I love the thing itself. Now, there are exceptions to that. There are some foods I really love (Orange chicken, guacamole, dokbokki, and ramen) which I will eat whenever, wherever, however. But other than that, food is like ehh.

When I haven't eaten for a long time, I don't really get hungry and I don't crave food. My stomach starts to hurt and growl and honestly, that feeling itself makes me lose my appetite even more. Often I will become 'hungry' about 3 hours after I've eaten for about half an hour and then it will pass into a kind of empty grumpy feeling and I won't end up eating very much food, if any at all. So I have to get my food before I pass the hungry stage, or I won't eat at all. Tsk tsk michelle so fickle.

Anyway, In other news. College is getting pretty serious, I suppose. I mean, not THAT serious, considering I spent all my free periods watching shows today instead of doing homework because, guess what, I DON'T HAVE ANY!!!

I've had this idea ever since I was a kid that the longer the break the more homework you get, and thats why the two semesters idea was so awesome, because its like a month of no school, but turns out, this is a three day weekend and I don't have any homework....at ALL. What?

What is this madness? I haven't been this free during the school year since I was five and the local school had a snow day so mom said I was off school too. I haven't had this much time during the school year since I finished a weeks worth of first grade in one day cause I loved it and it was all coloring.

I don't know about real college, but community college seems to be like the best idea since sliced bread.

I'm like, making friends, and spending half of my classes thinking about what I would do if half of the students in the school turned out to be a mofia and held up the school. (yeah pretty sure I imagined every single scenario, so I'm set. If anything bad happens, I'm prepared to be the heroine)

In other news, its raining buckets outside and I get to see Amy this weekend YAY PARTYYYYYYY

-Michelle

Arbitary College Updates and the Truth About Introverts

At first I felt a little gypped because even though I got a job, it is of course only a minimum wage job and I don't get as many hours as I'd like. But after having worked here for a few shifts, I'm starting to reconsider.

To be honest, I can't really believe I'm even getting paid for this. Every ten or twenty minutes or so someone does come by to ask me to do something, but other than that I can sit in here doing homework for three hours straight with, in total, much less actual distraction than if I was sitting in my room with food and a laptop at my fingertips. I'm not making much, true, but I am making something, and something is more than nothing, especially when I'm basically being paid to do my homework while intermittently meeting a lot of cool people and bringing beleaguered freshmen joy by informing them that they've received a package from home.

Note: someone just walked by the front desk wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up and a fedora on over that. It's the little things.

My other topic I was thinking of writing on was the college experience. I attended UCM all last year feeling like I was missing out on some great thing because I wasn't getting the College Experience. I mean, I didn't particularly want to have the college experience at the time, but I knew that in years to come I would probably regret not taking advantage of these years by having crazy good times and being a kid while I still could.

This year, I am much more optimistic. Basically what I decided to do was not be lazy and not be a whiner about things because I kind of did a lot of that last year and I ended up not knowing anyone and having pity parties about my unsociability alone in my room.

So far it seems to be going swimmingly.

Another interesting thing is that I realized that not only are there people in the world who are less outgoing than me (crazy, I know), there are a lot of them and I didn't realize how many until I decided to not be so introverted. And I can let you in on a little secret about introverted people; it is incredibly, dauntingly difficult for us to make friends with anyone unless the other person actively pursues a relationship with us.

Sometimes it is not even a matter of being too shy to go meet people. A lot of introverted people, myself included, often feel like friendships that begin on a surface level won't be worth the effort in the long run, so why bother making friends in the first place? You might ask, well don't basically all friendships begin on the surface level? Well you would be right. But the introvert, being one to actively use statistics in favor of their own apathy, will assume that the majority of the friendships they make will not progress past that initial shallowness or last more than a few months or a schoolyear. So what's the point of starting?

What that variety of introvert needs, generally, is a person/people who will restore their faith in humanity enough that they actually want to take a risk (not that friendship is all that risky - again, many introverts are very irrational). So I decided to be the sort of person who can actively pursue friendships. Easier said than done of course, especially for someone like me, but I've made a start at least.

Now you know more about introverts than you ever wanted to know! After this, when you meet one you'll know what to do.

Here is what I had for dinner last night. I don't like going to the dining hall very often because it is loud and dirty from accommodating the unwashed masses of freshmen, but I do love the sandwiches they make there so it brings me back.

They do have romaine lettuce in the salad bar but usually there are leaves with slimy/rotting edges sprinkled throughout so I avoid it. You can't tell what's in the sub because of my love for bbq potato chips, but basically it is ham and cheese and banana peppers with extra mayonnaise. If there is mayonnaise to be had, I always go the extra mile.

Amy

Food

I think about food a lot. In fact, whenever I am not eating food, I am thinking about food. Even if I am not consciously thinking about food, my mouth is thinking about food. It doesn't matter if I'm full or not, I am always thinking about food.

In my special education class, we leaned about a genetic disorder that causes you to think about eating/food constantly to such an extent that you will never not be thinking about food and you'll try to devour anything remotely resembling food (chalk, paper, leather, coal). I was like, that much be what I have only a little milder. Because I think about food so much, and I think maybe I should keep track of what I eat in the interest of health or longevity or something, I have decided to take a picture of what I'm eating whenever I eat something new (I eat the same thing a lot, so this will be incentive for me to branch out). For instance, I took a picture of my first dinner on Tuesday to give you a taste of what I often eat when I am absolutely voracious:

That is two cups of cooked rice, half a can of black beans, salt, garlic powder, sriracha, and doritos. I cannot stress to you enough how delicious this is.  I said it was my first dinner because after my night class I came home and had exactly the same thing sans doritos plus a granny smith apple because those things are amazing. I wish I had taken a picture of my fruit bowl before I devoured it, because it was awesome. I got this gift card from Dad for Parker's and among other things I bought a really big bag of mixed fruit. I was kind of afraid that the fruit wouldn't keep when I was just keeping it on a bowl on my desk, but so far it's been almost three weeks and every apple/orange I have eaten in that time has been just as crispy/juicy delicious as it was on the day I bought it, so that's awesome. I only have one orange left and I'm saving it for this weekend when I'm horribly alone (it is going to be awesome, everyone is leaving for Labor Day).

Anyway. Another thing I eat often is ramen. I know that stuff is pretty junky so I don't have it every day, or even every other day. But when I do eat it I am in transports of joy, because that stuff is so. good.

And there isn't much of it in a serving so it's not too bad. I have it with siracha, because I have everything with sriracha. I bought a few different flavors for the sake of variety, but so far the only good kinds have been the chicken flavors. Beef and Oriental are quite frankly disgusting.

Also, I found this at Parker's:

They have a British Foods section! Well, perhaps it was more like a "teatime, wot" section, because most of it was tea or biscuits and spreads. They even had Jaffa Cakes. And marmite. I have no idea what marmite really is but according to some it is some kind of spreadable, edible tar. Apparently it is an acquired taste. I bought the Rich Tea biscuits on the right because they weren't ridiculously expensive and they make me feel sophisticated if I drink them with tea. They taste like animal crackers.

Next I have to take a picture of the soup I make with rice. I can't believe I forgot to today. It was Southwestern style and tasted like heaven because I put in extra garlic. :3

I am putting off going to the actual kitchen because it is kind of gross and there's no microwave. But I would like to fry up some potatoes because that sounds so good I can't even think about it right now.

To the dining hall! The sandwiches there are from another world (only because they have banana peppers on).

Amy

P.S. I'm pretty sure this post was of interest to only one person in the world (hint: it's me). But I sure had fun writing it, so you'll just have to deal.

Not Having to Hate School

The Burden of the Student

How could a student ever like school?
Think as you will, but a student's no fool.
Rise before sun has shown,
and its rays through the sky have sewn.
Follow the ant-like movement
To wherever the teacher has sent.

How could a student ever like school?
Think as you will, but a student's no fool.
Think of dreams broken on sight.
Of doing, without a single fight.
Think of a childhood, wasting away,
Think of the sorrow at the end of the day.

How could a student ever like school?
Think as you will, but a student's no fool.
A stigma couldn't help but be born,
from a child whose life to school be sworn.



I contemplated making pictures for this blog and then I decided that 1. Would take too much time and 2. I can probably communicate my feels better through words this time.

If you can't get the "deeper meaning" as they say, of that poem, what I'm trying to say is that pretty much my entire life I've hated school, and it wasn't really by choice. Hating school was just as much a choice as doing school.

And I know people who like school and my mom are going to be like, "Oh michelle such a pessimist!" or "Oh michelle hate is such a strong word!"

I know hate is a really strong word but in all honesty my entire life there was nothing that I wanted to do LESS than school, and you know what I've been doing my entire life? School.

Its not because mom was a bad teacher or she did everything wrong or anything, its just that it was something that I had to do, and I also felt as though I had to spend a lot of time and energy disliking it. I think that adults sometimes forget that kids/young adults don't know/remember what its like to not do school during the "school year".

Someone is also probably thinking, "wow school would have been so much easier for her if she'd just embraced it and accepted the fact that she had to do it."

Yeah well when was the time in your not totally-mature and wise-adult life that you embraced something you hated and were like, "wow! I'm genuinely surprised! This isn't half bad!"

So when I knew that I was starting at a Junior College, I was excited but mostly I was sulky and annoyed and sad that the easiest days of school were behind me (being that that isn't saying much).

But then it started and I was like,
"What is this madness?"

Its literally like a constant party. Not like a crazy all-night-college-party, but its like, I get to got to school three days a week and see my friends every single time I got there. I get to play games in between class and nap in comphy chairs and meet new people and write two page double space papers and bring my own lunches.

Like, is this just college or is this what all school is like? Is this the real life....or is this a fantasy?

I get to be with people...ALL THE TIME. I have Teachers that specialize in what they're teaching me. I run by the clock and pack my own bag.

I make plans to meet with friends like every hour and in between, I'm making new friends.

Its ridiculous. And probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to me.

I feel like its still summer, but not the kind of summer that you quickly learn to hate, the kind of summer that is full of scheduled activities that you love to do.

So the main point here is, I'm able to spend a lot less time dreading school and doing school and hating school.

So a lot more time to enjoy being a teenager and having like .2 responsibilities.

-Michelle

College

At first I thought this semester was going to be pretty hectic but then I thought back to last semester and decided that I'm better off. For a sample of my feelings on least semester, let's take a trip down memory lane by reading a choice excerpt from my journal in the first few days of classes:

Almost every class I have this semester is so full of work that I'm already starting to hyperventilate a little [...] I am completely, one hundred percent screwed. I'm going to look back on this semester as the Era of All-Nighters, I can just feel it.

I only pulled one all-nighter that semester, but still. It was bad. So this semester's going to be better, even though I'm not taking any Happy Fun Times classes like choir (was supposed to be Happy Fun Times, but wasn't actually).

The problem with French is going to be my speaking. I have fine comprehension, certainly better than many people in my class, but my speaking is horrible. It's interesting to realize how my different methods of learning Korean and French are affecting my aptitude - colloquial Korean isn't too hard for me to navigate and I can speak it fine for my level of study, but reading and writing it is a real struggle. But I don't even know what colloquial French is. I don't even know what words are okay to leave out if I want to abbreviate a sentence.

Gosh language is hard. But I love it to death. I'm going to have fun in this French class if it kills me. Even though the teacher is teaching the class in French, he talks pretty slowly and clearly so I didn't have any major embarrassing moments of uncomprehension. And I'll be darned if I'm outdone by the only guy in the class.

Freshmen are everywhere these days. I heard there are more freshman than ever this year because the president is trying to make up for lost state funding by increasing enrollment (read: accepting students the college would not normally have accepted and making them pay higher tuition), so I guess that would account for the dining halls being overrun by a den of thieves and scoundrels. I have been brainwashed into bemoaning the existence of freshmen, because that is what everyone does (but really, they can be pretty clueless sometimes). But it turns out that upperclassmen aren't all that great themselves. So far I've heard an inordinate number of people badmouthing our C.A. in the hallway, which is dumb because she's super sweet and only means well.

Basically college is the same rat race as ever. It is not really a rat race but it can seem pretty arbitrary a lot of the time. Last night at Campus Christian House I met the first person I have ever encountered who said all he wants is to get out of college and become a functioning, useful member of society. We high-fived over our common goals and went our separate ways to conquer the world. Strangely enough I have not met anyone else who has admitted to feeling the same way. I guess everyone else is taking advantage of their last years of low responsibility.

Amy

P.S. Korean phrases! Here is one that I was reminded of while sitting in Government class today:

이젠 위인들이 무섭지

We're afraid of greater men now 

College

Ah, well.

I have made a video so that I don't have to explain and explain and explain. Also so that when I'm 90 I can look back and be like,
"Ah, so thats what happened."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xzc16YTblU&feature=youtu.be

-Michelle

Sisters, Sisters

Caring, sharing, every little thing we're wearing.

Well, I'll tell you we don't do much sharing. Neither of us can really stand it. Though we often give things to each other, sharing isn't really something we can tolerate.

But anyway, as you may not know, Amy went to school on Wednesday.

Since Thursday morning we have exchanged about 300 texts. In three days.

Today dad saw an old picture of us together and said, "You girls used to be inseparable"

Just because we watch the same show in different rooms or are both on tumblr in different rooms  in the same house and talking through text and facebook doesn't mean we're not inseparable.

I think the ability to communicate just as well via text as in person with someone is a really unusual skill. At least, I don't have it with many people. (I'm sorry, Angela. Talking via text is really hard with you. Don't worry, we'll skype while you're in Korea.)

And that's all I have to say.

Even though we both have phone this semester, you can still expect quite a few interesting horrible-drawing and stream-of-conscienceness posts.

-Michelle