The University of Blog

I actually have time to read now… for fun. This is crazy. I wanted to make a point to have time to read last semester but time fell away as things started to pile up. And they inevitably piled up and reading fell to the wayside. Now I am making a concentrated effort to read good books. So far my reading journey has taken me to read 1984 (I think that I was the only one who had not read this in high school). I read Ishmael which posed a lot of good questions. On my trip I read On the Road by Jack Kerouac– it gave me such wanderlust. Now I am  reading The Namesake which was recently made into a movie. I need book recommendations as well so if you have them, please post.

I had a simply fabulous birthday. Much better than the previous year where I had to wait two hours for dinner. First off, we had a dance party at our house and we had a great time. I danced. A lot. Any party with dancing is a good party. Mission successful.

The rents came Saturday and we ate breakfast at Café Berlin. It serves ethnic breakfast like eggs with tomatoes, feta cheese, olives and deliciousness. We ate there and then I was off to work on my birthday eve. No worries, my parents were able to see where I work when they came into Sycamore.

My parents then took me to the Le Bourgeois Winery in Rocheport. Last year we did the same thing and it was quite delightful. My parents asked them to bring out a CostCo cake (this serves 50 and contains 2 lbs of chocolate mouse frosting.) Needless to say, it took up half the table and the server had to put it on a platter.

Then we went to Macaroni Grill with the roomies and had a delightful evening. They brought out a cake- another chocolate cake (with candles). Then back to eat some more cake and open gifts. I am proponent of birthdays- especially birthdays filled with attention. Thus, birthday wish fulfilled.

Living off campus has a wonderful plethora of advantages. Not sharing a small rectangle living quarter with another person is a cause for celebration. Luckily, I did get along with my roommate last year; enough that we are living together again. However, there is nothing like having a space that is all your own. The aspects that make living off campus wonderful include more space, personality through adding decorations and the freedom to dance in the middle of the night to what others deem as “euro-trash” music.

Our apartment is an old east campus house divided into two apartments. The selling factor was the Van Gogh mural in the livingroom. However, we have to deal with everything on our own including utilities, laundry and cleaning. In the dorms, a friendly knock at the door meant a clean mirror and sink, but here a knock at the door could mean anything. Today it meant a man equipped with a net would have to get out the bird that was flapping around in our chimney. A chimney is not the most delightful place for a creature intended to fly. We’ve had a squirrel (we’ve named Franklin) in our attic before. This only became a problem when he wanted to get out and couldn’t figure out how. Otherwise, it was nice to think that we had a pet for a few days.

Laundry is an issue, but only a small issue. There is a coin washer outside and downstairs (only annoying with weather). Recently, the Columbia Appliance delivery truck was a cause for celebration. This would mean no more walks downstairs only to find clothes seeped in half a load of blue water. The only disadvantage is that our new washer does not like to stay in one place. Instead, it wants to be free and proceeds to dance all around making it impossible to open the door to the laundry room. Once we harnessed the strong powers of the machine with a cinderblock to keep it in place, we were set.

These are small issues that of course we can deal with because, after all, we have a space of our own. Which, besides the occasional animal that visits, it is quite a happy house.

Goodness, what a busy day!

It began with my News Writing lab course. We started with a classmate interview and our story is due on Thursday. It will be a lot of hands-on work, but that is the best way to learn. That is the definition of the “Missouri Method.” Then, I had my Fundamentals of TV, Radio and Photojournalism class. I will begin researching three story ideas that I will spend a majority of the class exploring. Then I had my Introduction to Film Analysis class and we discussed Mise en scene (everything that goes on in the film) in The Graduate.

Also, I filled out my paperwork for my new job at Sycamore, a contemporary American restaurant. I will begin as a busser and go from there. I will be there every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. This means that I will need to record Grey’s Anatomy and be an avid multitasker (which I am anyway).

I went with my family to Estes Park, Colorado on the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a beautiful area to visit. If you like outdoors, this is the place to be. We were able to horseback ride (2 hours), whitewater raft on the Poudre River (low water, got stuck on a lot of rocks), and fly-fish.

I had never fly-fished before and we went on a half-day trip with a guide on the Big Thompson River. It was wonderful. I caught two rainbow trout and one brown trout. Unfortunately, my parents weren’t so lucky. I had no idea how much skill that fly-fishing takes. We wore waders and got right into the river, and used our flies to emulate the bugs in the river. And it worked!

Estes Park is very touristy, but once we got up into the Rockies, the crowd disappeared. It was pure nature. When we got up 13,000 feet near Rock Cut in the Tundra, we saw a family of elk. We also saw elk crossing the street lower in Estes Park. They were huge!! Completely unbelievable. With all of the great food and adventure, it turned out to be one excellent family vacation.

I rushed last year. This included moving in a week early and going through the rush process. I originally decided to rush because I wanted to meet people. At the end, I decided that Greek life wasn’t for me, but I am incredibly glad that I decided to rush.
house decorations for homecoming decorated by a frat/sorority team

It is a recruitment/ mutual acceptance process. The first day we went to every house and talked to a girl there and learn about each house. Then the next day we received a list of which houses invited us back. We go to fewer and fewer houses until the end when we are invited to up to three houses where there is a preference ceremony and then we numbered the houses that we wanted.

We finally found out what houses that we were selected for during a ceremony at the quad. Each house sang their respective chant and we opened up all of the envelopes at the same time and ran to our houses. From there we ate in a relaxed atmosphere, got gifts and had a chance to meet all of the girls.

The rush experience was a ton of fun and I’m very glad that I rushed. In the end, once I was selected for house, I decided that I didn’t have enough time to dedicate to my sorority and that I had met a ton of great people already. Mission accomplished.

I know the college-deciding process can be daunting. If you have made your decision already, congratulations. If you are still deciding what college to go to, don’t worry, you still have some time. If you have any questions at all, you can post them or email me. OR you have the option of chatting with me online at firegirl720. Whatever college you decide to go to, good luck and I’d love to meet you. I’m honest (look at picture below).
As I am finishing up my last two weeks, I am looking forward to the summer, but It has given me time to reflect about my freshman year. And what a whirlwind it has been! I’d love to talk to you about it online and through several reflective posts. I’ll be honest. I promise.

Back from Spring Break with site difficulties, but now we are back up. Also, I feel refreshed to tackle the last few projects and tests of the semester. Five weeks left! I know that I am counting down.

I traveled to Seattle to visit my brother. The first day while he was working, I navigated the bus system to go to Pike’s Place public market. Here, you can buy flowers, fresh fish, vegetables and fruit, and baked goods. I picked up an art print and a poster. Then, I saw some live fish at the Seattle Aquarium. After lunch, I ventured to the Experience Music Project, which is an interactive music museum. Definitely a must see for the music buffs. It was so much fun, although it was hard for me to learn the drums or the guitar. Becoming a musician is not my calling.


The next day my brother and I drove to Vancouver, B.C., and took a ferry to Victoria. How beautiful! The trip to get there took awhile (around 7.5 hours), but it was so worth it. We went out to eat at an Irish pub and stayed at a hostel (Ocean Island Backpackers Inn). For $22 a night, you sleep on a dorm bed with others from all over the world. I met a guy that went to Oxford, one from Belgium and another from France. That night we went out to a dance club (legal age is 19 in Canada), and we met some really nice people.

Canada would not be my first thought for a Spring Break destination, but it was so worth it. Even though it was a very short trip, I was able to see the Parliament Building and the Breakwater in Victoria and explore a new part of the country. And the weather was beautiful! Seattle decided to be warm and sunny for my visit making me very happy. And the break will certainly help me get through the last few weeks here.

Everyone needs Spring Break right now. Studying constantly, I have two midterms and one test this week. I know that many of my friends are deep in studying mode. However, I cannot wait until spring break where I will not have to read, look at equations or memorize lists and will visit my brother in Seattle, WA. However, I am not quite sure what we will do. If any readers have suggestions, please enlighten me.

If your Spring Break Plans are somewhat close to home, or maybe even home (my roommate is going to “JoMo” (Joplin, MO)), there are still things to do to make a Spring Break fun.

Catch up on the cult classics like The Big Lebowski and Pulp Fiction to be able to catch the allusions to the movies that people throw around all the time.

Eat and cook homemade food, even though it’s just brownies. You never know how lucky you are to have a kitchen right there until it is five floors downstairs.

Sit in your couch at home and do nothing for one day. Do not look at any books. Just relax and do not worry about classes.

And even though Mizzou’s Spring Break is later than most, still find time to meet with your friends, even if they might have classes. This is a great feel refreshed for the part of school after Spring Break that feels endless.

For Kristin’s birthday, a few friend and I blew up 144 balloons. For those who have never blown up 144 balloons, it is quite a feat and I felt very lightheaded afterward. Then while Kristin and I were out, our friends put them all our room to completely take over our little space in Mark Twain. It was a fun surprise for her to walk into a room completely packed with balloons.

For dinner, we went out to eat at Sophia’s off of Providence past Stadium wearing funky dresses. The food was excellent. Very upscale, but not too pricey. There are entrees that are around $20, but the pasta dishes are more affordable (around $12). The paintings representing various scenes of Columbia create a nice ambiance. Also, Kristin got a free dessert. The chocolate mouse cake so good that I would go back just for the dessert. I highly recommend trying it.

The whole birthday was very much fun. Celebrating a birthday away from home can take getting used to, so it’s great to have friends to eat and party with. And if you had ever thought about having an ice cream cake in the dorm, it can be done. We got the key to the community kitchen to keep a DQ cake cold. Then we kept the key until the cake was gone (which took no time at all).

Below: Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Chicken with portobello mushrooms, red onions, romas, artichokes, and kalamata olives. Tossed with penne pasta in a pesto asiago sauce