10/4

Today was the last day of GHC, sad!  It was so much fun!  Ashley and I did the most amazing things.  We got to talk to so many great women!  I'm currently working on my desktop.  It's exciting.  Sorry this is short and boring.  I opened Windows Live Writer and didn't want to close it without doing something.

9/23/08

I think I've come to conclusion that I'm not actually a very good student.  I've decided this because I could be a lot better.  I suppose I'll try to pay attention in class more and maybe that will help!  After that I just have to get all my schedule figured out with when I'm supposed to study and do homework.  I don't like homework taking over my life, makes me angry.  Hold on, I'm really hungry and need to go eat breakfast...

...Later that evening...

Since this is my blog, I get to bitch on it all I want.  That's nice because I'm pretty sure my friends get tired of it.  I am exhausted.  I am also unsure of how I am going to get through the day tomorrow.  I suppose I could make a quick list of everything I have to do/worry about.

To Do/Worry

• Compilers project 2
• Spanish Reading & Grammar composition
• Spanish Reading & Grammar homework
• Spanish Conversation & Phonetics homework
• Car insurance/lawyer/medical bills
• Lockheed Martin (call back)
• Resume (update)
• Fix printer network
• Make packing list
• Prepare for Graphics test
• Prepare for Compilers test
• Prepare for Spanish Reading & Grammar test

AAAAHHHHHH!!!

If anyone has any survival tips, they are more than welcome!

9/18/08

I haven't been very good about blogging lately, which is probably ok since I currently live with most of my loyal readers.  Either way, let's take a look at how my life is going, shall we?

Academics
This semester I'm taking 4.5 credits.  I'm in Graphics, Compilers, Spanish Reading & Grammar, Spanish Conversation & Phonetics, Aerobic Conditioning Super Circuit, and French horn lessons.  Whew, talk about a full course load.  Everything seems to be going reasonably well so far.  That's pretty exciting for me.

When I say going well, I mean I'm not failing anything yet.  I feel like I don't understand a lot of what I'm supposed to be learning, which is very frustrating.  I skipped my PE class this morning because I was just too tired.  I started write this post two days ago and I was in a much better mood then.

Activities
Per my usual self, I'm way too involved in things and probably doing way too much!  I have WiCS/ITAP, ACM, DG, Rugby, WGRE, and the CS House which is an activity just trying to cook dinner!  I'm always exhausted (and now bruised, thanks to rugby).

Really Cool Stuff
I'm not exactly attached to DePauw as a school.  I'm much more attached to the parts of DePauw I believe in, like the CS Dept., WiCS, and ITAP (even though ITAP is a catastrophic program right now, it has amazing potential).  I don't plan on going to my graduation because I'm hoping to be going on a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon.  Let's talk about incredible for a moment, shall we?  Yeah.

Plans
I think over the next couple days I'm going to focus on writing down what I want.  I have a general idea of what I want in life and what I want to be.  But that's all it is, an idea.  When I think of it, it is just a feeling I get.  Sometimes there's a nice video playing of what I'm doing on a random Tuesday and sometimes there's a choice word that describes that one instant.  But I'm not sure how to express it in words and full sentences.  I need to write it out in a manner that I can make mini goals or at least figure out what can be done now to move along to the future goals.  Then I get to figure out how much money that costs.  That should be lots of fun!

That was a fun update and I hope that I can remember to continue blogging since I like to keep a record of my life so I can go back, read it later, and wonder what on earth I was thinking.

9/2/08

I attempted to buy a planner today; that failed miserably.  I know exactly what I want out of a planner and how I'd like it laid out.  In fact, I even found the perfect one, but it was for 2009 and not 2008.  I don't understand why planners for 2009 are being sold with 4 months left in 2008.  I'd like the Moleskine Weekly Planner (horizontal).  I don't like the one that's combined with a notebook because the entire week is only one page with lines on the other side.  One page is not enough space for me to plan my week.  I'd really like to have a soft cover planner, but I think the one I want only comes in a hard cover.  I'm most certainly willing to give on this point for the correct lay out (and year)!  I'm thinking I could get a Moleskine for 2009 and until then use a small pocket calendar.  The problem with this is that I make lists.  Lots of lists.  On post-it notes.  The post-it notes go in the planner where I look everyday.  This means the planner has to be bigger and a couple of post-it notes.

I just don't want to use the planner I had last year.  For one, I'd like a slimmer planner.  For another, there are some sketchy memories associated with that planner and I don't want them to surface every time I check my schedule.  Plus, Bryan's number is still in the back of the planner and I don't want to be toting that around with me.  I'm afraid I would be tempted to call it.  I almost called him twice this summer.  That would have been horrid.  I did email him a funny youtube video I thought he would like.  It was of Frank Caliendo, we used to watch him a lot.  He wrote back a short "Thank you" email.  His signature said M.S.  I can't remember what topic.  This weird feeling of rage boiled up inside of me, so I think it would be best to put the planner away.  I'm not as angry as I was, but sometimes I get real touchy about it.  I still can't listen to the Finger 11 song.  And I actually liked that song too.  There's this hot, boiling feeling in my chest when I think about it.  It truly feels like the temperature rises in my chest.  Not very comfortable.  Oh well.  At least I don't get these angry feelings about Nick.  Thankfully he proved that he is too stupid to waste any sort of feeling on other than pure pity for such foolishness.  Haha.  Laughing out loud (really).

I'm going to go make a to-do list on some post-its for tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll get half of the stuff done.  Hopefully.

8/31/08

So, I'm back at school which is really great.  I'm living in this awesome house with people I like and actually want to be around.  It's kind of new for me.  We still have to set up our study/lounge room.  I'm hoping to do that tomorrow night or at least in the near future.  We have to fix the futon and then I think things will come together much better.  Hopefully we'll be in the basement soon so I can do laundry because I feel like I'm running out of clothes.  Although I'm not, I just don't have my favorite t-shirts to wear.

OK, onto Spanish homework!

Using the Power of Scent

My previous post speaks to the power of scent.  Even though we can try to fight it, the memories that are associated with a certain scent are so engrained into our subconscious that it is truly difficult to fight them.  I'm waiting for technology to come out that will decide what memory comes flowing back to you.  Maybe the technology already exists and it's not available to the general public.  Either way, I'm just waiting for it to be released with some perfume.  Somehow embedded in the perfume will be trigger that will tell you brain what memory to experience.  The memory will be pre-planned and it will put you in the memory as the main character, since after all, it's your memory.

I think that would be awesome!  It would be like hypnosis (I just finished watching Alias) except that deep hidden memory doesn't actually have to be something you have previously experienced!

Of course this technology could be used for good or evil.  It can be used for good in situations like perfume or to trigger a certain emotion (like a scented pick-me-up).  It could, unfortunately, be used for evil in the situation like Batman Beyond; suddenly everyone starts seeing terrible visions and mass panic spreads through the world.  That would be bad.

Still, cool technology that I want to use someday.

The Power of Scent

Continuing this odd and likely short patten of giving my posts topics, I have another post with a topic!  Today's topic is scent-themed anecdotes.  Emotions are extremely powerful and the ability to recall certain emotions, I would imagine, would be quite useful.

Please understand, I'm writing this from my apartment (using Windows Live Writer, I definitely recommend it), which doesn't have internet, since I was unwilling to pay the exorbitant cost per month.  This means I can't cross check any of my theories with any scientific studies that might give this post some credibility.  Also understand that I am not a scientist, psychologist, or any other -gist.  So, everything I'm saying has no real clout and it's just from my personal experience.  That was a fun disclaimer.

Scent is the most powerful sense for memory recall.  I say this because I have a favorite scent of lotion from Bath and Body Works.  Last year I bought 5 containers of it at the Bath and Body Works' sale.  Last January I was on campus for Winter Term; I stayed in one of my friend's rooms so I wouldn't have to pay room and board at my sorority house.  I used that lotion every night and every morning.  Now I have some of that lotion at the apartment and I used the other day.  Immediately I was transported back to January in Shlea's dorm room putting on lotion in between the bed and the tv/fridge.

I have these two scented stuffed animals.  They are covered in scented soy wax.  Either way, I got them around Thanksgiving, an unfortunate time when I happened to be in the hospital.  The reason I bought them was so that my hospital room wouldn't smell like a hospital room.  I was wildly successful and every person who walked into my room mentioned how it smelled of Holiday Festivities, including but not limited to cookies.  And now, every time my dad smells either of my scented stuffed animals, he thinks of my hospital room.  He told me that the he tries not to think of the hospital room, but usually fails.

Lots of scents have the capabilities to transport you to a different time and place.  From the scent of food to the scent of perfume.  Because I've already written a considerable amount, I'm going to save the rest of the post for later.  *This is so exciting, a two-part post!!*