Olympics in Green
October 6th, 2009
Happy October! Mackenzie and I have begun hanging out Halloween decorations, and I’ll post a picture when we hang our Halloween lights, but I can tell you that our room is quite festive.
This weekend was the Alpha Olypmics!
These are my building mates this year! They all seem very nice, and we had a lot of fun competing, though I can’t really say we won anything. I was on the co-ed tug of war team, and we came in 2nd place! It would have been fun to win though, because the final tug was against Mike’s team. =)
Biology seems to be turning out to be my hardest class, though we still haven’t had a test. The teacher assumes that we already have a pretty strong background in biology, and frankly I’ve forgotten everything I learned in AP Bio 5 years ago. So I have to do a lot of self teaching for that class. But Organic Chemistry still doesn’t seem too hard!
I’m hoping to go see Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella in San Jose sometime this week. Tickets aren’t too expensive, and it sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m going to have to get that organized soon! Intramural sports also start this week, of which I’m doing badminton and volleyball… so more on that next time!
Arts & Sciences
September 30th, 2009
Today will be my second day of organic lab, and I have to say I’m not quite looking forward to it. Last week we were assigned our lab drawers and mine was full of broken class and dirty beakers, so I spent most of the lab period cleaning out my drawer instead of moving on with the experiment. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up today.
Otherwise, life is good! Today it is sunny and 75 degrees here in Santa Clara. Last night it got a little chilly, probably below 60! But my friends and I were at Hollywood does History, watching “Land of the Pharoahs”. I can’t say that I would reccommend it, but I guess it was kind of fun to watch. At least I can say the costumes were good! Next week we’ll be watching “O Brother, Where Art thou?” which I know many of you have seen, so that will be exciting. Mike and I also went and saw the movie Surrogates the other day, and it was actually quite good. It had a powerful message, as well as some exciting action scenes.
Today I signed up to go with ALPHA to the northern California Renaissance fair, with Professor LaBarge. It should be a lot of fun! I don’t remember why I didn’t go last year, but Nicole and Karen went and they loved it, so I’m really excited. I also purchased an Arts Card for $20, which will let me into all of the events in the performing arts center all year, which should be quite a deal, especially since I have to go to some things for my dance classes.
I found out in one of my classes that of the seven intelligences, my main ones are math/logic, body/kinesthetic, language, and self knowledge. The only ones I was really weak in were nature and music. So that was interesting!
Anyways, I have to head to lab now!
It’s hot here!
September 22, 2009
It looks like this quarter won’t be too difficult… but then again today was only the second day of classes. Yesterday I had organic chemistry and biology. Both of my teachers seem very nice, though they are interestingly on the opposite ends of the experience spectrum. My chemistry teacher is in her second year at SCU just like me! Her class sounds like she will be experimenting on us a little, as all new teachers do. My biology teacher has been teaching for about 30 years, and she made a point of telling us to follow her advice because honestly, she knows what she’s doing. Both seem like they will be good teachers however.
Today I had my Jazz III class, which seems like it will be intense. Everyone in the class has been dancing their whole life basically, though many of them have taken a break in recent years, and the teacher has a reputation for being intense. But for dance, that’s not a bad thing! Just means that I’ll be pushed to improve! We didn’t actually get to dance today, we got out early instead.
I also had my liberal studies class today, and the conclusion I’ve reached is that the class will study educational reform through the lense of the two books we will be reading, which focus on the concept that people learn differently. That however, is a much more succinct answer than anyone was able to get out of our teacher. This is her first time teaching this course, and she seems very determined to include as much as she possibly can in the course. She was definitely hesitant to reduce it to a single statement. But I think it will be a fun class nevertheless. My friends Mitsu and Midori are in that class with me. My roommate Mackenzie is actually in my biology class, and I knew several people in my dance class, so I think this will be a fun quarter. I’ve got my chem lab tomorrow, and one more seminar on Friday, but then I will have been to all of my classes!
Tonight was also the first night of Hollywood Does History with Professor LaBarge here in Graham. We watched Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part I”. It was fun to see Prof. LaBarge again, and our whole group turned out to see it, along with a fair amount of freshmen, so it was quite a crowd. It was a pretty typical Mel Brooks movie (walk this way, etc.) and a fun way to kick off the year.
It’s incredibly hot here, despite the fact that it’s 11:30 at night. I’ve been putting off going to bed hoping that my room would cool down, but I think it’s time to sleep anyways. Goodnight!
2nd Year!
September 20th, 2009
Hello all!
I’m back at Santa Clara and officially a sophomore! Today I moved in, saw all my friends, and went to the club fair dressed in a swing dancing outfit! Life is never dull here. Tomorrow classes start, I’ve got chemistry and biology in the morning, but that’s it! It turns out I actually have a pretty good schedule, finishing pretty early every day, but my earliest class is at 9:15. I love my new room. I’ve got the window side, and we’ve got a corner room which is slightly larger than the other rooms. I already feel cozy and at home.
I had an amazing summer, including a trip to Chicago, backpacking through the Cascades, a cruise through Alaska, and lots of hanging out with friends. It’s always good to be home, but it’s also good to be back here.
I’ll try to keep you all updated this year, but I know I don’t have a great track record of posting frequently. I’ll do my best!
Dead Week
March 11th, 2009
This week is dead week, which means next week is finals week. I’ve got the first half of my jazz dance final tomorrow and my final research paper for english is due on friday. Next tuesday I’ve got the 2nd half of my jazz final. Wednesday is Chemistry, and Thursday I’ve got my drama final and my final paper for Medieval Culture is due. It’s very hectic.
We had the sidewalk sale this week, which is basically a chance to spend all your extra meal points on buying things in bulk, and I didn’t actually have that many extra points this quarter, but I bought a flat of Top Ramen, which is probably what I’ll be eating next week as I study in the basement.
I’m working on my english paper right now, and it’s going fairly well, but I think I’ll get back to it now. Sorry for the lack of posts!
Happy Birthday Aunt Beth!
February 25th, 2009
Happy Birthday Aunt Beth! I’ve been admiring my calendar that Aunt Michelle made me with all the pictures from our trip to France, and today it says it’s your birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day!
Well I turned in my research for my English paper this morning, along with my outline, which wound up being 4 pages! The essay itself only needs to be 8 to 12 pages, so I think I can safely say I’m in good shape. Then I went to chemistry class and I got back my quiz from last week, and I got 17 out of 15!! I’m making up for not doing as well in that class at the begining of the quarter. I think this subject is just easier, it involves a lot more math. One of my friends, Jared, is going to be in my chemistry class next quarter, which will make it more fun. Sylvia is going to try and get in that class too, but I don’t know if it will fit with her schedule.
Tonight I have official salsa practice, which should be lots of fun, but it’s from 9 to 11pm, which kind of eats up a lot of my night. Our first performance is apparently going to be April 12th, or so I’ve heard. Hopefully we’ll be ready by then, things still need a lot of practice right now, particularly the tricks. The tricks are the most fun though, we do dips and flips and lifts and all the cool partner stuff you can imagine! If anyone comes to visit I’ll try and get Bao or Mitsu to help me show you, it’s lots of fun.
My friends got me a daffodil plant when I got sick, and I’m afraid it’s not getting enough sunlight in my room, so today I moved it to the balcony at the end of the hall. I’ll still have to go water it and check up on it, but I think it’ll be a lot happier there. It would probably be even better if I could actually plant it somewhere, but oh well.
This week is Bronco week, which is kind of like a spirit week on campus, so there’s lots of activities going on. Yesterday they had a mechanical bull outside of Benson, which was fun to watch. This friday they’ve even got a dance planned, my friends and I will probably go, because Friday is Mitsu’s birthday and he wants to go. It’s $10 for couples or $7 for singles, so we’re all going to couple up to buy tickets. We’re also thinking of going to a karaoke place for Mitsu’s birthday.
Two updates in two days!!
A week of English
February 24th, 2009
This week is a busy week in my English class. Tomorrow we need to turn in around 100 notecards of research along with the outline for our major research paper for the quarter. Mine is on whether or not America is prepared for another terrorist attack. Friday we also have an essay due in English, along with a quiz on the book we’re supposed to be reading, so it’s a busy week!
Chemistry is picking up. I got 100% on my quiz two weeks ago! Then last week’s quiz I only missed one question, which is really good. I haven’t gotten back our most recent quiz, but I’m pretty sure that it went well. This week in chemistry I have a lab report to do, as well as a problem set for Friday.
I got sick last week, and I wound up missing salsa practice, and then Sunday I went and saw Wicked in San Francisco! (which meant I missed salsa practice on Sunday too). So last night I went to a extra salsa practice that my friends and I just set up. Tonight we’re having another one, which will be a nice break from all my homework.
Wicked was amazing! One of my friends, Rachel, got tickets for her birthday and decided to take me and Karen with her! We sat in the front row!!! It was amazing. I can’t even tell you how cool it was to be able to see every expression on the actors’ faces. The woman who played Elphaba was amazing! Absolutely amazing…
It’s actually been raining here a little bit, but still not very much. It’s pretty funny watching everyone wander around in their rain boots when it’s barely sprinkling. It’s still quite warm though, when it’s not raining I’m outside getting a suntan. When it is raining, I’m outside dancing in the rain. Or playing frisbee. Or soccer.
Last night my friends and I also went to a laser tag event on campus. It was a lot of fun, and I think it’s inspired us to go and do some real laser tag. In this one, it was hard to tell when you hit someone, or when they hit you. But we had glow sticks and we ran around in the dark, so it was lots of fun.
Well, sorry for the short update, but I gotta return to my homework. Lots of love!
Midterm time
January 29th, 2009
So my drama class actually wound up being cancelled on Tuesday, so I didn’t present my scene until today. I decided to play a teacher judging a science fair contest, the winning entry was Schroedinger’s Cat. Which it turned out my teacher had never heard of, but she was fascinated by the idea, so she said she was going to go learn more about it!
I also had my midterm in Jazz today, which meant that Shannon was watching us as we did warm ups and across the floor to see if we’ve improved from the first day. I can tell that I’m getting flexible again! At the beginning of the class I definitely wasn’t as flexible as I’ve been in previous years, but I’m getting there! Then she taught us a combination really quickly and we had to perform it, pretending it was an audition. It was a pretty easy piece, so I think it went well. I’m still definitely loving that class.
Tuesday, Nicole and I led a discussion in our medieval culture class on The Canterbury Tales. The email I got from my professor afterwards said that she thought we had done very well, keeping the energy up throughout the whole class, which is pretty impressive since it’s a 2 hour class! But I enjoy the Canterbury Tales, so it was kind of fun. I’ll have to lead another discussion later in the term, on some New World stories, I hadn’t actually heard of them before.
My friends and I have started having cereal parties on Tuesdays and Thursdays before class. Partially to save money, partially because it’s fun, and it forces everyone to get up and hang out for a little bit before class. Today I had Lucky Charms, which were delicious, though we had some issues with the milk being frozen.
Last weekend we had the Dormal Formal, which felt very reminiscent of a high school dance. Nicole, Karen, and I had a getting ready party in Karen’s room, and Nicole did my hair, which wound up looking pretty good. I totally meant to take pictures but I forgot. The theme for the dance was Old Hollywood, which we hoped meant they would play some good music, but it was all pretty typical rap music. We still had fun though. Plus I got to get all dressed up, which is always fun. =)
Tomorrow I have to turn in my first paper for English, but it’s just a critique of an article, so it’s not too big of a deal. But I also have a quiz in English, and then I have to go straight to a midterm in chemistry. I’ve been studying chemistry all night, even going to a review session that my professor held. I took the practice test and did fairly well, so hopefully it will go well, but it’s definitely going to be a tough morning. Hopefully I’ll go to bed a little early tonight. So goodnight!
Guacamole
January 26th, 2009
Thanks for the ideas for my scene! I’m not sure what exactly I’ll wind up doing, but I’ll let you know after I do my scene tomorrow…
Last night we had our first family dinner since the first night that we came back. It was delicious! I made guacamole, and I definitely filled up on that before we even got to dinner. I also made some gnocchi, because it was on sale. Then there was cornbread, fried chicken, nachos, wedge salad, and hot fudge sundaes for dessert. =)
My friends and I watched the Sixth sense this weekend, and I’d actually never seen it before, and I didn’t know the twist at the end. Pretty much everyone was just watching me at the end to see my reaction, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t dissapoint. It was a good movie! We borrowed it from the public library, along with Wallace and Gromit, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Beauty and the Beast. I’m hoping we watch Beauty and the Beast soon. Oh! And Nicole gave me a Disney sing-along movie for my birthday, which we also haven’t watched yet, but it’s got some Beauty and the Beast songs on it, which is what reminded me.
I’ve already had English and Chemistry today, now I’ve got a break for a few hours (homework time!) and then I’ve got my chemistry lab at 2:15. Today we’re doing our first individual lab, the others have all been done in pairs. But I read the lab procedure, and it looks like it’ll be a pretty short lab.
Here’s me and Rachel in the kitchen, just to include another picture. 
Lord of Misrule
January 23rd, 2009
Wow! I can’t believe how long it has been since I’ve written! I’ve been even busier than last quarter if you can imagine…
First, Graham had the Saturnalia festival, which is an annual competition between the buildings. There are chariot races and other competitions once a day, and then all week is the Lord of Misrule competition. To win that, you must complete a list a tasks that they give you, including high-five all the CF’s, get Zoe to bake you a cake, post signs in all the other dorms explaining why Graham is better, go through Taco Bell’s drive thru in a shopping cart, buy something worth at least $3 in only pennies, and a lot more. It was more ridiculousness. I spent the entire week going around with Mike helping film him doing all these crazy things. Oh! And one of the things was that he had to shave his head, so I shaved it!!! It was kind of stressful, but I was very proud of my handiwork. Plus, Mike won Lord of Misrule, so it was all worth it. That meant that he was in charge of the Saturnalia feast entertainment, so we helped him plan some games. My idea was a game called Hunter/Hunted, where two people close their eyes and then one is trying to tag the other. We had played it in my drama class, and it was a lot of fun! (Definitely the best game of the night!)
Then we had a pirate birthday party for Karen’s 20th, which was an awesome surprise for her!
After that, things died down a little, but I’ve had a never ending flow of homework! Particularly chemistry, that class is tough! Very different from last quarter. We have a quiz every Friday, and no matter how well I’ve understood the material, the quizzes are always really tough. Next week is our midterm, hopefully it goes well!
I’m absolutely loving my jazz dance class. The difficulty is perfect for me, and I think I’m definitely getting in better shape right now than I ever have been before in my life. My teacher’s name is Shannon, and she’s a great dance instructor. Plus I love her choreography, and we’re already learning our second combination. We’re already done with week 3! Can you believe that!!
I go straight from jazz to drama, and that class has been a lot of fun. All we’ve done so far is play drama games (Hunter/Hunted, etc.) but next week we’re going to start doing scenes. The first thing we’re doing is an individual scene, where we aren’t allowed to talk, but we have to enter the room, accomplish a goal, then exit. Anyone have any outlandish ideas of what I could accomplish?
My friends and I are playing intramural soccer this quarter which is a lot of fun. Especially since it started raining a little today, so we got to play in the drizzle. We didn’t win our first game on Wednesday, but things aren’t looking too bad for the next one.
In my Medieval culture class we’ve read some great stuff, including Dante’s Inferno, and now we’re starting the Canterbury Tales. It’s been a lot of fun material. Nicole and I actually get to lead the discussion on the Canterbury Tales, which will be fun since I read it for AP Lit last year. I think we’re reading almost exactly the same tales this year as last year, which is convenient.
Tonight my friends and I are going to walk to the mongolian BBQ place that Dad, David, Grandpa, and I visited when they dropped me off in September. I’m really excited. So I’ve got to go, I’ll write again sooner! I promise!
Life at Santa Clara 