Smoothies

I'm sitting here, in the courtyard caf, sipping a most delicious smoothie. It is strawberry banana. The best flavored smoothie I've had was the blackberry mango. mmmMMMMmmhhhhmm! So good! I highly recommend smoothies to everyone. They use real fruit in their smoothies. I watched crabby coffee lady drop a whole banana in the blender. I'm getting my potassium. It's such a small glass, it's hard to believe there's an entire banana in there. But it did. I saw it.

Drink smoothies! They're tasty!

Happy November

Happy November, everybody!

The Weight Room

So, for my work study I work with the athletic department, part of that entails surpervising in the weight room. When it's not busy it's pretty awesome because I can sit and do my homework while getting paid. I just wanted to share some of the daily occurrences of the weight room when I work.
First, there is very loud music playing. It's supposed to be like pump up music for the lifters. Sometimes a slow song comes on and there is always someone who feels the need to comment on the pump-up-ness of the song. "Well, this is some real pump up music". Lifters like to sing along very loudly to some of the songs.
Second, the "words of encouragement" Sometimes it really is encouraging like "come on man! come on man! Do it! You got it!" other times they yell more negative things to still motivate the lifter but in a different way such as "Come on b**ch!" or "Let's f***ing go, do it!" Most of them don't sweat in fact they're not supposed to in order to keep a clean weight room.
Third, the lifters finding energy within themselves to do a particular task by groaning and/or yelling. I will be sitting here when suddenly an "ERAUHHH!" pierces through the room, this is a VERY common thing. I glance over to make sure no one is injured, they are not. They are just motivating themselves by yelling in order to lift the weights. People almost always lift in groups. This is especially important for spotting each other.
Fourth, many lifters feel the need to test their capacity of what amount is too heavy for them to lift, so often times they lift gianormous weights only to drop the wieghts and a large clang to ring throughout the room. When they drop them they aren't dropping them from standing height, they are setting them down loudly.
If you've ever seen any fight movies where the characters have to train in a gym it is kind of like that, the lifters even breath out intentionally on certain counts.
The amazing thing is that despite how loud it gets in the weight room I am able to block out most of the noises while doing my homework.
Why did I randomly decide to write about my work experience in the weight room? I am currently working right now of course. . always interesting,..
"Do it, man! Come on!"

Riding In Cars With ...People

I originally typed this on September 10, but didn’t post it until now…

So. I learned something about myself this summer. What I discovered is that I can only fall asleep in cars if I really trust the person who is driving. Now, I know this sounds silly, but when I think about it, it makes sense! It makes sense because when riding in a car which you are not driving, you are basically stating that you trust the person driving enough to give them control over your life. You are giving them control over destination, thus you must trust them to get you there safely without crashing. Therefore, I trust the person driving with my life to get me to my destination. Now, when I do not trust a driver, I tend to stay more alert in the car and not pay attention to the road/driving conditions around the car because I trust that they are doing an adequate job of this. Thusly, I may, if I so choose, fall asleep. So if I fall asleep in the car while you are driving, take it as a good sign that I have trust in you and not me insinuating that you’re boring and I don’t want to socialize or whatever so I fall asleep.

Think deeply.

Life on the Farm

Life on the farm sucks. The End.
Only kidding :)
Did you know there is a board game called life on the farm? There is. You go around the board hoping to land on cattle auction and avoid the farm expense cards. Every now and then you'll land on lightning strikes loose one cow, or cows get out pay each neighbor 10$ per cow, or sell machinery shake one die and collect 100$ x ____. As long as you don't land on taxes you're usually okay.
Life on the REAL farm is a tad bit different. Cows do get out. I remember as a kid always having to chase the cows back into the pasture or running and sitting on a pile of dirt with a tree growing out of it in our yard for safety so you wouldn't get trampled by the cows. If you want a cow to go somewhere it will most definitely go in the opposite direction. I've never heard of a cow being struck by lightning but my aunt's apartment and car were. If the cows get out and trample onto one of the neighbors land it's a good idea to give the neighbor a couple packages of meat (either deer meat or steer/cow meat). Cows can be butchered for meat. Some city boy tried telling me once that only steers were butchered for meat. That is false. Typically you butcher steers for meat, because that's what they're solely raised for. But it is also very common to butcher cows. Particularly if the cow has a hurt leg and is limping a lot or if it's really old. A completely random side fact: farmer's file their taxes at a different time of the year than everyone else. Out on the farm in the country, animals are everywhere. It is not uncommon to see a skunk or a raccoon wandering around, bats flying overhead, or hear coyotes and baby raccoons making racket in the night. In the summer my family plays baseball in the hayfield, that way we have more room. If you ever want to go hiking, there are woods everywhere. My family usually takes a fall walk in the woods when all of the trees change color and we go walking all afternoon so we take a bag lunch with us. People can have parties deep in the woods at a clearing so no uninvited person (or police officers trying to break up parties) can get there (easily or by road). (I don't do this, nor does my family, but one of my neighbors used to all the time). Summers are always filled with field work: picking rock out of the fields, chopping thistles and baling hay. Camping in the woods is very cool. On the farm you can name all of the baby calves! One summer we named each calf a name starting with each letter of the alphabet. Often times a couple calves will be born with birth defects in a breeding year. Youngstock get their horns burned off. When I was younger, the farmer who lived down the road would always move his cattle to a different pasture in the spring and so he and a bunch of other people would ride on horses and herd the cattle to the other pasture. They had to run right past our house and sometime cattle would come in the yard. It was always very exciting and scary. When working out on the farm one must have barn clothes, clothes to wear to the barn, and anywhere else outside, where it will not matter if they rip or get covered in poop, muddy water or dirt. Now you know about the farm.
Why am I sharing all of this frivolous information about my life on the farm? I have absolutley no idea. Maybe it will come in handy one day, probably not though.

What if's and Fate

We all know the 'what if' scenarios. What if this happened? What if that happened? My mother and I today were using the 'what if' concept and applying it to fate. What if our lives really were mapped out for us and we had no escape of our fate? What if when it was your time to go, it meant you really had to go.
What brought on these questions was a terrible accident. A boy that was going to be a senior in my high school this year was swimming in a gravel pit. He dove into the water and hit his head and broke his neck. Everyone who knew him and even those who don't are saying prayers for him and his family. He currently is not showing any brain activity. All we can do is hope for a miracle in the next 24 to 36 hours before they have to call it. One thing that seemed to send a shiver down one's spine, just minutes before he left to go swimming he posted a status on facebook saying "I hate how one day you feel like your on top of the world and one thing goes wrong and you couldn't go any lower..." One thing goes wrong and suddenly you've crossed a line in which there is no return. One thing like a swimming accident, like being sidetracked for a second to keep you from realizing how shallow the water might be, one thing that can have so many results. I cannot possibly imagine what his mother is going through right now. Another girl I knew, she was 3 years older than me, when she was a junior in high school she was in a car accident and was killed. Just before she left her house she left a note on the table for her parents the last part said: I should be back around (a certain time, I don't what what it was), Love you always, Nikki. Should was underlined several times. It just really struck a person, the way it was worded. Why should the word should be underlined? What made it important enough to draw attention to? Why shouldn't she be home at that time? And why on this note did she put "love you always"? However you can analyze words to get any meaning you want out of it. My mother then told me how there was a man down the road, and there was an explosion in his house. He barely made it out and really shouldn't have lived. The next day he was killed in a car accident. He barely survived only to be killed the next day. Why? There was another individual who was standing on a bridge, a car drove by and one of the wheels flew off the vehicle and killed them. It is the only time I have ever heard of an incident like it. It makes one wonder...it's as if it was those individual's time to go.. I'm not saying all of this to depress anyone, I just think that it's something to think about (hypothetically). It's really beautiful to know how people come together to show support whenever someone's in trouble or something goes wrong.

People & Grass

So, no one has posted in a while… and I had one, all typed up and ready for posting in mid-June, but I didn’t post it due to what is probably just whiney-ness & laziness. It kind of complained about some stuff, without actually suggesting any remedies or witty insights about anything. So I decided not to waste my time posting it, as well as your time reading it.

Instead, you can read my thoughts about people and grass!

Last week I was taking a lunch break from lab on the campus of the U. I was sitting at a picnic table in front of the student union—an area frequented by many pedestrians. I strategically placed myself at the table so I could easily people watch. And this is what I saw…

The majority of people would walk completely around a house-sized area of well-groomed grass, choosing to stay on the sidewalk, instead of cutting across the grass, which would clearly be a shorter path. Why? Are they afraid they’re going to hurt the grass? Because, I can assure you, grass will survive if you step on it. Do they not want to disturb the “well-groomed” foliage because an old geezer might come out and tell them to get off his lawn? Because that will not happen—it is a school campus. Do they just want to use the sidewalk for the supposed reason it was put there? Maybe. Do they think others (or themselves) find it more respectful to walk “appropriately”? Maybe. Did it never occur to them to walk on something other than what they were told? Maybe. Are any of these proposed explanations correct? Probably not.

Well, I thought that this was an interesting observation. Maybe you will, too?

Someone should probably take this guy for a walk.

"When I was your age...."

Parents, grandparents, and older people in general often complain at how easy we 'young folk' have it and how when they were young they had to walk to school in the snow up hill both ways carrying their younger sibling on their back etcera, etcetera. I'm sure many of them exaggerate their situations, but I really don't know because all I know is from what I have experienced, seen, and read in a book. This last January my last living grandparent passed away. It occurred to me that I really didn't know anything about my grandparents' lives save for what I knew from my personal experience interacting with them. But I became extremely curious, wondering who they were before they became grandparents, before they became parents, and before they got married and so forth. And that wondering led me to wondering about my parents lives. So I sat down by my Dad one night and began asking him questions about his parents' lives and anything he knew about his parents' parents, and so forth after three hours of listening to him talk I was ready to ask him about my mother's parents and also his life (for some reason my mother isn't as talkative about her past- she sometimes answers a question but won't tell me anything beyond that question, whereas my dad will answer the question and tell a story with it or add extra random information). The next night I began my questioning of his life and my mother's (I have yet to further question my mother :) I learned some really interesting things though. There never used to be women's sports (in my little hick town) when my father started high school, but at some point when my dad was 8-10th grade they got women's sports, but not all of the ones there are now just like volleyball and basketball, and he wasn't sure about softball. He also remembers watching Neil Armstrong land on the moon on the TV. The point of everything I've said is : ask all the questions while you can. My dad was able to answer a lot of it, but there were still things he wasn't sure of and I don't think there's anyone alive who knows some of those answers. I wish I would've asked my grandparents about their lives while I had the chance, so for now I'm left with asking my aunts, uncles, and parents everything that they know. The results: a little peek into the past of what life was like.

My Misconceptions about Tape

So this is all about how my views about tape have changed and become more correct over the years. What I used to believe:
1. I used to believe that duct tape was called duck tape.
2. I used to believe that duct tape was impossible to rip.
3. I used to believe that masking tape was called scotch tape.
4. I used to believe that scotch tape was called clear tape.
5. I used to believe that athletic tape was called packing tape.
6. I used to believe that athletic tape didn't exist.
7. Then I thought it was just cloth.
8. I used to believe that duct tape would last and stick forever.
9. I used to believe that electrical tape was called rubber tape.
10. I used to believe that tape could be used to hold anything and everything together.
I went through some pretty revolutionary days realizing the truths about tape. The worst was when I realized the truth about duct tape- since I thought it was basically invincible. But it was necessary that I found out the truth and will no longer live in ignorance about tape.
Educate yourself about tape. You won't regret it.
(This is a lame post).

Well, here's some nonsense.

So. Nobody has blogged for almost a month now. Almost. This is most likely due to the newness of the whole blogging thing wearing off, or the end of the school year coming up in about 2 weeks. But I'm gonna go with the end of school theory.

We are all busy. Busy studying. Busy catching up on reading for classes. Busy with extra cirriculars. Busy procrastinating. Busy keeping up. Keeping up with schoolwork. Keeping up with the world ourside of campus. Keeping up with the world inside of campus. Why did it not seem this stressful before these last couple weeks? I don't know. But it's almost over.

What?? It's almost over?? Holy crap! This year has gone SO FAST. We're getting old... We're in college. We are maturing. How did this happen? Dang.

So, on that note, and having no real point to this blog post, other than to post something new, I will say this: If anyone ever needs someone to act like a 7 year old with, I'm definately here for you!

<3

Smile: It will make you happier =)

I learned in my psychology class, that smiling actually makes you happier! It was tested in several different ways, many times. One study had people hold a pen in their mouth with their teeth, this activated their 'smile muscles' . The other group held the pen in their mouth with their lips without the pen touching their lips. By doing this it inhibited their smiling muscles. Then a third group just held the pen in their hands. All three groups then were asked to rate the funniness of some farside cartoons. The group that had their smiling muscles activated found the cartoons significantly funnier than the other two groups. They did more research and made the conclusion that if you smile it will improve your mood and make you happier!
Smile =)

Questions 6-8

6. What causes people to procrastinate?
7. Are humans the only animals that don't procrastinate? (Or, for lack of a better example, do birds ever think (if birds can think...?), "Screw it, I'm not building a nest now! I'm going to go fly around for a bit!"?)
8. Why do so few people wear wind pants anymore? You know, those ones that swish when you walk? I feel that they would be very practical given my current location and the weather often associated with it.

Being Nice to a Point?

So, we all know it's good to be nice. Parents always tell children to be nice and kind to other people. However what if being nice to some one else takes away from your own happiness. For example someone asks you for a ride to a place that you're already going, the way you were raised might make you feel obligated to be nice and give them a ride. What if you don't really care for that person (you don't hate them but they're not your favorite person) and riding with them would make that trip rather unhappy, now lets say it's sort of a big event, for example prom and someone asks to ride with you and your date. It's kind of a long drive, you don't really care to have that person there, but you all are going to the same place. Should you still "be nice" and give that person a ride even though it might make you unhappy at kind of an important event at the time? I used to think, yeah you definitely should give that person a ride because how unhappy is it honestly going to make you, and part of being a good person is making a little self-sacrifice for others. Isn't that what many of us strive to be, Good people?However, someone told me a while ago, why should you do something for someone else if it takes away from your own happiness? I honestly don't know, while it is always good to help people, you don't want to make yourself unhappy. We can apply this to almost any situation when we are asked to do something or feel obligated to do something for someone else. For many situations it really may not be a big deal or bother you to do something nice for someone else. And who knows they may really have needed that extra act of kindness. I guess you have to look at the pros and cons of each situation and determine for yourself, how the level of unhappiness of an action affects the amount of kindness that would come from that action and how it affects yourself. Then again maybe you should just be kind for the sake of being a good person? Think about it.

It's that time again...

Has anyone ever noticed how much this post-spring break time sucks?
Today is the Monday after spring break and it is less than awesome for most people I have heard from. Not only does waking up early and going to class suck, but it's not exactly very springy today. The weather up here would be lovely if not for the wind, which makes it freezing and hazardous to walk outside. If you were hoping to come back from break rocking a cute new hairstyle, sucks for you. My hair is going into a ponytail before I step outside again.
Anyway, don't you just hate this awkward time of transition? As we transition back to school, the weather is slowly transitioning to spring and summer temperatures. I love summer weather, so this gets me very excited and ready to break out the shorts, dresses, skirts, flip-flops... but then a day like today comes along and it's windy and cold and you have to put your winter coat back on, despite the fact that it is actually April. Which is honestly very depressing, especially when you just bought a super cute new spring coat.
Am I just being whiny, or does transition weather get you down too?
- Darcy

A Dangerous Activity

I would like to spend some time chatting about something very close to me. I spend a lot of time doing it and it has become an integral and necessary part of my everyday life: procrastination. Procrastination has been a part of my life for about as long as I can remember, but never so much as since I've been in college. Holy Crap, I procrastinate like none other! Today I had to pee and I actually procrastinated it for two hours! Currently, I am procrastinating studying for a test (tomorrow) and doing a project (due tomorrow). Anyway, generally when I have procrastinated in the past it has included the old standbys of procrastination: Facebook, Stumble Upon, My Life is Average, FML, Watching old episodes of Glee, and maybe the occasional game of The Sims for iPhone. But recently, my procrastination has developed a new avenue: online shopping.

Being on campus and having no car has lead to an extreme decline in the amount of shopping I participate in in the real world. First semester, this didn't really lead to much online shopping because I had no money at all. However, this semester I have a little remaining cash from J-term, when I worked full time. SO, I have been spending a ridiculous amount of time online at Macy's, Delia's, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Alloy, Dillards, and Modcloth. I will note that this is also a seasonal shift, as I love to shop in the springtime, when it is becoming cute clothing weather. The thing is that even though I have some money, I was going to try and save some of it. So not only am I wasting my time, but I really shouldn't be buying anything. Last week I got two skirts, a shirt, a pair of shoes, a hair pin and two pairs of earrings. Damn!

My new pastime is insanely fun and entertaining. I love daydreaming about outfits. I love finding new things that are insanely cute. I LOVE finding deals and getting free shipping. But, this is a dangerous activity. I can get lost for hours in the pages of dresses at Macy's. And I can certainly stare at ModCloth's Jewelry for days. So I have decided to use my online shopping addiction to my advantage. I set up a chart, and for every accomplishment on the chart (an A on my History Paper, for example), I get something I found online (elephant necklace!!). If I get straight A's, I get a Coach bag. I love how smart I am. And making that chart didn't waste any time at all. :)

What are your procrastination-addictions?

-Darcy

Personal Thoughts on Respect and Hate

I want this post to focus on respect. Respecting your family, your friends, your neighbors, those you don’t get along with, those you dislike, your professors, that random person you pass on the sidewalk, those of higher authority and those of lower social standing then you consider yourself to be. Respecting everyone. And I want you to think about how you develop that respect (or perhaps even other feelings) for them.

I think that the social configuration of this campus, as well of current society in general, is ridiculously complicated. I think there is a lot of “hate” being passed around, and some people think it’s cool to “hate on” others. For example, let’s say, hypothetically, that you told me “I hate Justin Bieber.” What are you actually saying? Are you saying that you disapprove of his lifestyle? Or maybe you don’t appreciate his vocal or dancing skills? Is it an insinuation that you want me to think you’ve actually MET Justin Bieber, and have thus come to the conclusion that he is a bad person? Take your pick, because I honestly don’t know the answer. In all likelihood, you have probably not actually met The Biebster. You do not know him personally; all you know about him is what the media has told you. Is this really the best way to judge someone?

While I think it is completely right and acceptable to have opinions about people, I think they should be based on true fact and personal experience. These confines DO NOT include crap the media mentions. (When I speak of media, I do not mean legitimate news sources such as CNN, NPR, etc.) The thoughts and opinions you formulate should be (almost) completely of your own deduction (I say almost because you will, without a doubt, be influenced by others’ opinions, whether you think you are or not.). Unfortunately, it is not the good thoughts and feelings about people I am talking about today; it is the negative ones.

You know there are people you don’t especially like or don’t get along with. Please do not say that you hate them. Hate is such a strong word, and has too many connotations that go along with it. (Without elaborating excessively on the topic of connotations that go along with the word ‘hate,’ I will just say it creates a type of ambiguity when it comes to defining its meaning.) Which brings me back to the Justin Bieber idea. Do you really “hate” him? Or do you just dislike his singing? Because if you just dislike his singing, I completely respect that opinion. You have based it off of something legitimate which you have personally judged. The logic makes sense. This legitimate “dislike of Justin Bieber’s singing” that you harbor does not mean that you hate him. This is good; hate is the last thing anybody needs directed toward them. Instead, everyone should get respect directed toward them.

Yes, R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to you. It is my personal belief that even if you dislike a person, their lifestyle, or their actions, that you should still have respect for them as fellow Homo sapiens. Respect includes, but is by no means limited to: not badmouthing (aka making fun of, saying bad things about, spreading rumors, etc.) them behind their back, not badmouthing them to their face (however, respectful discourse is permitted and even encouraged in these cases), listening to their thoughts and logic, not abusing them or their belongings in a malicious manner, and a large assortment of other disrespectful actions. You ARE entitled to your opinion about everything and everyone (as long as it is logical…), but please do not include disrespect or outright hate in your opinions unless it stems from an ordered and consistent source. If you’re going to think something bad about a person, then think it! Please don’t feel the need to share your hurtful thoughts with others—in most cases, doing so would help no one (except for if you are psychologically imbalanced—like a murderer or something, in which case you probably have much larger problems to take care of and you SHOULD go talk to someone about your feelings). I believe the old adage holds true; “If you’re not going to say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Again, I want to clarify that this does not hold true for debates and things of the like, because without disagreement, the world would be a boring place. If you are going to disagree with someone, please do it respectfully. If you dislike someone, please do it respectfully.

[On a side note, I would like to mention that disliking a person’s actions and disliking a person are two entirely different concepts. I would also like to acknowledge that sometimes, loss of respect for and genuine hate of a person are completely okay (take the majority of people’s feelings towards Hitler, or other mass murderers, for example).]

I encourage you to think about how your opinions are formed, and for what reasons they stand. And please, don’t lose your respect for people too easily.

Who dat?

When lying in the bed at night, I have a perfect view of the sidewalk leading off-campus, out in the “backyard” of my dorm. Multiple sets of fresh footprints in the newly fallen snow follow the path as it guides them away. Whose footprints are they? Do they belong to a couple aimlessly meandering about, enjoying each other’s company? Or a person and their dog who decided to stroll through campus for a little exercise after dark? Perhaps some students going into town, or to their residence off-campus? Or maybe one set of footprints belongs to a 5’ 10’’ white man with medium build wearing a sweater? It will forever be a mystery.

Last night, the footprints were not all I could see from my cozy cocoon. There were more cars than usual trafficking the intersection which is visible, yet slightly obscured by pine trees, from the window. Police cars as well as regular cars, and campus safety vehicles were out and about.
After two assaults (one on a far end and one in a very central place) on campus in one weekend, needless to say everyone is pretty upset. The suspect is (as of the information they have given out so far) still at large. And to make things worse, it is an averagely built white man, of average height, wearing a sweater. Because this person, that could potentially be half the humans in the entire state of Minnesota, would definitely not be able to change his clothes… Has someone compromising discovered our tiny community, up here on this hill?

I’m not going to lie; one of the reasons I chose this college is because of the feeling of community. Everyone is super friendly, and willing to get to know and help you. And most importantly, the campus feels safe. I think the feeling of community contributes greatly to the sense of security. I always feel safe walking around campus by myself in the late hours of the night, or even wee hours of the morn. Doors left unlocked rarely disturbed. Things lost are almost always returned. Maybe not so much anymore.

In the beginning of the school year, the administration, peer assistants, and practically every authority figure on campus encouraged the school’s “Be a Buddy” motto—saying that when going places after dark to always bring someone else with you in case you encounter trouble, and that if someone asked you to be their buddy to always say yes because the risk of having the other person go alone was not worth it. Of course, this worked in the beginning of the year, but as the days wore on people stopped going places together and started braving the elements, walking to the library, music building, and other places by themselves. Emergency whistles were also distributed, which my friends and I jokingly played around with, thinking they would never actually be needed. I now realize how important buddies and whistles are, and will be taking them more seriously.

I also remember one night near the beginning of the year when my friends and I were out goofing around after dark. It was probably near 10 or 11 pm, and we were basically wandering around, looking for “the end of the earth”. We had never been there before, and it was supposed to be really cool because when you go there it looks like you’re literally at the end of the earth. Anyway, we were near where the first assault allegedly occurred (which happens to be near an arboretum with lots of trees and vegetation), looking around. Right when we were about to give up, a figure emerged from the woods. Personally, I was a little freaked out at this. One of my friends wanted to confront the figure, find out who it was, and ask them if they knew where “the end of the earth” was. The rest of this didn’t really think this was a good idea, but that did not keep her from yelling at and approaching the mystery person, inquiring about the whereabouts of this fun place. I distinctly remember someone telling her, “No, don’t! What if it’s a rapist?” As it turns out, this person was someone we knew, but did not recognize in the dark shadows. He came with us, and we found “the end of the earth”. It ended up being a good night.
Looking back on this, I wonder what would have happened if the mystery person was not friendly. What would we have done? Would I/we still be fortunate enough to be sitting here, blogging about it?

Now is the time when the community and strength of this college will be tested. Be a buddy to your friends. Be a buddy to your neighbors. Be a buddy to the people you don’t get along with. Be a buddy. Keep your eyes peeled.

Now, when I go places at night or see strangers in the woods, I will ask myself, “Who dat?” And I'll also be on the lookout for average man wearing sweaters.

Think about things.

Have you ever thought about where you would be and what you would be doing at this point in your life if continuing your education was not an option?
Have you ever thought about how your life would be different if you had made one decision differently than you did? For instance, saying “no” to something instead of “yes,” not getting that coffee after class when you actually did, or flooring it to make it through the yellow light instead of slowing down and stopping for it.
Have you ever thought about the number of people you impact daily without even knowing it? Like the person behind you in line at the store or the person after you that you hold the door open for.
Have you ever thought about how what you read for leisure affects your future choices and being, or how it doesn’t?
Have you ever thought about how the people you socialize with affect your personality and the way you socially relate to other people?

Think.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here!" -Albus Dumbledore

I have been fortunate lately to be able to experience a great deal of music in my life. Just after we got back to school for spring semester, we attended the Gustavus Wind Orchestra Home Concert as well as the Gustavus Choir Home Concert and more recently we went to a Cantus concert. All of them were spectacular. We also received our CDs from our holiday concert, and have been listening to them nonstop and I got a CD of Cantus' music (which I am, in fact, listening to right now). I am also back at school and therefore back in Choir and Voice Lessons.
I love music, and I think that this is something that many people feel. I think that music must be something divine or magical. Someone told me that singing is the way in which they feel closer to God. Whatever religion you are, I think music is something that effects everyone.
I was at an event recently and we broke up into small groups and had to make "self portraits" of ourselves and things that were important to us. Almost everyone in our group said something about music, and I think that that is pretty standard for most of the population. Whether it's feeling the beat in your chest in a crowded club, attending a classical vocal concert, playing in a band, singing in a choir, watching GLEE, attending an opera or musical, dancing ballet or singing in church, I think almost everyone in the world appreciates music. It is a universal language of love and beauty, a touch of the heavens here on earth.

-Darcy

A few words about raisins

Grape >>>>>>>>>>Raisin

Just a few words about raisins and my own personal experience with them. First off on the right is a picture of Brendan just before he eats a homemade raisin. Thanks Brendan, you're a champ. About two months ago I placed a grape on a giant vent thing in our section of the dorms. It was really dusty up there. We successfully made a raisin. I checked periodically, occasionally taking a picture. Then I forgot about it for a while and when I remembered about it, it was a raisin! It had shriveled down from its original grape form to a wrinkly raisin. Brendan told us that it did in fact taste like a raisin (hooray!), although it was a little fermenty tasting.

May many more homemade raisins be made, whether on a vent, a library bookshelf, or any other place (I do not recommend bathrooms- the custodians will see them and dispose of them).

-Ashley

My classes are getting in the way of my extracurricular activities.

Hi there everyone! Sorry it's been a while- I've been pretty busy this week. I had a retreat, a PLEDGE council meeting, an article due for the newspaper, work, a Study Buddies Meeting, Voice Lessons, Choir, Quiz Bowl meeting, Sang in Chapel, Hosted a prospective student overnight, Swing Club, attended a debate, went to a concert and had 2 applications due this week (so far). And, oh yeah, homework.

I don't know if this is just a Gustavus phenomenon, but it seems like everyone is always running from one extracurricular activity to the next. Is it just me, or is it starting to seem like classes are becoming overshadowed by our Extracurricular Activities? I know everyone always says "school comes first", but does it really? How many times this week have you not done your homework because you were too busy the night before, running from meeting to dinner to debate to meeting? I know I have. Or maybe you are the type of person who just sacrifices sleep in order to fit everything in. I find that basically everyone in class ends up either exhausted or they didn't do the homework. Sometimes both. Healthy.

Maybe it's just the stress of the new semester, but I'm starting to feel like I'm drowning here. And there's no way I can give anything up. What will my grad school/job application look like if it doesn't include enough volunteer time? or arts credits? or leadership roles? or writing experience?

Is it just me, or are our Extracurricular Activities taking over our lives?
-Darcy

“Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.” – Benjamin Franklin

Hello all.
For those of you who live under a rock and haven't been out lately, it's snowing like a banshee out there! Windy, fresh, deep snow.

Inevitably, along with the weather, comes those who approve of it and those who don't. Now, I'm not going to make this a complaining session about how bad the weather is, because I love snow! I truly love living in the great state of Minnesota and everything that comes with that-both the good and the bad. But some people out there do not appreciate the definite seasons that come with living in the state of lakes. I'm not going to say that those people should move, or that they should not ever complain about it, because that would be completely ridiculous. Part of being human is being able to complain; mind you, that is nowhere near the basic defining characteristics of humanity, but it is one of the innumerable.

I respect you and your ability to complain. That being said, I may not want to sit there and actually listen to your sob stories about how you had to walk 600 meters in snow piled halfway up your shin because to be completely honest, I think it's pathetic that it's something you feel compelled to complain about. There isn't anything you can do to change the weather, but if complaining about it makes you feel better, I do hope you can find somebody to listen to your complaints. Maybe your stuffed animal? Significant other? Parents? (I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!) Now, if you’ve got a story about how you were trekking miles and miles back from somewhere and encountered a bear that was so hungry it decided to chase you up a tree and you had to stay there for a couple hours before it finally let you down, only to follow your tracks/scent and thus sneak up on you while cautiously moving across the icy patches of sidewalk, and start an insanely hilarious (yet sad) story about your escape from the bear’s grasp, I would love to hear it. Honestly, I would. Or you can tell me a less interesting story, and I may pretend to pity you while staring blankly off into space.

I also will not pity you if (while living in MN) you lack the supplies needed to adequately survive a Minnesota winter, and fail to wear most or all of the necessary items for your outing. These include, but are NOT limited to:
-hat
-mittens (waterproof is nice)
-heavy parka (also preferably wind and water-proof; thick, puffy, huge-not necessarily small and form fitting for style, because usually they aren’t sufficient, however if you are able to find one that encompasses all warmth/other needs AND is stylish, more power to you!)
-warm boots, landing well above the ankle (again, don’t worry about style here, either)
-snowpants (again again, the style thing…everyone looks like a numpty when wearing snowpants so don’t even worry about it.)
-more mittens (for when the other ones get soggy)
-long underwear
-scarf/neck/face warmer (optional)
-hood (I personally this is a much-too-often overlooked piece of gear, they are quite useful for many weather types!)
-warm, thick socks (wool sometimes preferred; multiple pairs most likely necessary for multiple days)

So wear what's right. And if you're not sure about what's will be good for the day, bring extra stuff! If you fail to wear the appropriate items, I will, again, not take pity on you. Sorry. You should have looked out the window. Or checked the temperature on the crazy amount of technology we have constantly available to us. But it’s up to you.

So. Moral of the story is: Wear your coats, hats, mittens, and boots. Or don’t. But if you decide not to, don’t complain.

And please don’t plead ignorance.

Practice Makes Perfect

I thought that Anna brought up a really good point in one of her questions posts. Are people born good at something or is it practice that makes them good at it?
I think that practice really does make perfect. Have you ever noticed that people are really good at things they like? Well, if you like doing something you are going to practice it more and get better at it, right? So that would indicate to me that practice is really the thing that makes talent. Obviously, there are some instances where talent is obvious from a young age. And some people are born tone-deaf or have no rhythm. BUT then that makes me think that maybe those people who are tone-deaf were told that they were tone-deaf from a young age, and therefore decided not to practice very much. Maybe if they were born tone-deaf but had encouragement and the right voice instructors, they would be able to develop into a great singers. But we will never know, will we?

My relevant story involves my turbulent relationship with math. When I was in 2nd and 3rd grade, time tests were a really big deal in math class. And I sucked at time tests. (If you don't know what a time test is, its a whole bunch of math problems on a sheet of paper, and you have like 60 seconds to finish as many as you can.) I could figure out the answers if I had time to do so, but for some reason my brain just couldn't work quickly enough to please my teachers. So I was put in 'special' math classes, where they would specifically work with me on my quick math skills. Even that didn't help, though. It just didn't fit the way I learned. I was basically told I was bad at math from a young age. But I wasn't, and I'm still not bad at Math. I just learned differently, and according to elementary school Math teachers, that was wrong.
Now, let's talk about English. From the 1st grade, I have been in enriched/advanced/gifted&talented English classes. I have always been a great reader, and I started at a young age. I've been told many times that I am a great writer, and I have never really had trouble with English classes.

Consider this: I fulfilled the minimum math requirements in High School and immediately quit math. But I took 5 English classes my senior year of High School, way more than were required. In fact, over the course of my 4 years of High School, I took every English class my school had to offer except two. I am in College now, and I am going to be an English Major.
Do you think if I had been told I was really great at Math my life would be completely different? I don't know.

What do you think? Is talent something you're born with, or is it encouragement and practice that causes you to excel at things?

Darcy

Questions 3 - 5

3. How does one become a saint? And also, how does one nominate someone for sainthood?
I know it has somehting to do with miracles and being dead, but I'm not completely sure.

4. What is it in people's brains that makes them more "naturally inclined" towards certain areas of acadamia (ex. the arts, numerical subjects, etc.)? Is it solely practice in that area or does it also involve a certain part of the brain that makes you "better" at it?
I realize that while it is possible to become quite good at something one was not especially brilliant at to begin with, one still may not particularly enjoy that subject. (We tend to most enjoy the things we are good at.) Which leads me to my next question.

5. What determines what a person likes and dislikes (in broad terms)? Nature? Nurture? Hormones? Culture? Religion? Brain size? I don't know, you tell me.

Keep your brain questioning,
-Anna

Forever - is composed of Nows - (Emily Dickinson)

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in 'forever' that we forget about the 'now'. (And sometimes, vice versa.) As a college student who needs to declare a major next year, I find myself thinking more and more about the future. Nowadays, you basically NEED to have your life planned out by the age of five, because most occupations are so specialized. You can't just major in underwater basket-weaving and then after college decide that you want to weave baskets ABOVE water... you'd need a different degree for that.

Here is a quote for enjoyment and thought-provoking purposes:

"Did you know that for pretty much the entire history of the human species, the average life span was less than thirty years? You could count on ten years or so of real adulthood, right? There was no planning for retirement, There was no planning for a career. There was no planning. No time for planning. No time for a future. But then the life spans started getting longer, and people started having more and more future. And now life has become the future. Every moment of your life is lived for the future—you go to high school so you can go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so you can afford to send your kids to college so they can get a good job so they can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college."
— John Green (excerpt from the book Paper Towns)

Maybe I'll double major: Underwater basket weaving and Terrestrial basket weaving. That should cover it.
-Emily

Homemade is Best

What is it about homemade food that makes it so much better than boughten, highly processed food? Does it really taste better or is it just what we grew up learning?
I just ate my last homemade chocolate chip and M&M cookie that I had in my room. Despite its slightly dry and crustiness, it was absolutely delicious and far better than any boughten cookie. There's something super appealing about homemade food. Sometimes I get sick of caf food because it just doesn't taste like my parents' homemade cooking. I think, growing up eating a large portion of homemade food has affected my taste buds and mentality about food in such away that I regard homemade food as healthier, and better tasting than other foods. It probably is in most cases. When I can taste the ingredients in food and know that it's not just artificially flavored, it makes the food so much more enjoyable.
Furthermore I think being able to cook is a skill that everyone should have. "Anyone can cook", but not everyone can cook well. If you're not a skilled chef and your passion isn't cooking, that's okay. I do however recommend that you know how to make a few good homemade things. It's a useful thing to know.
Licking my lips after a delicious homemade cookie,
Ashley

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Anne Frank

I've been really charitable lately. I spent part of my J-term organizing a Silent Auction to benefit Children's Miracle Network (cmn.org) and bought something at that auction; I recently bought two pairs of Toms shoes, therefore donating two pairs of shoes to children who need them (toms.com); I also got a red thread, which helps victims of sex trafficking (redthreadmovement.org); I adopted a soldier with my roommate, Zoe (Adoptaussoldier.org); bought mittens to benefit Habitat for Humanity; Created a Kiva account so I can lend money to people who need it around the world (Kiva.org); and spent my Saturday working at a Feed My Starving Children food packing event here at school (at which I bought this really cute bracelet that provided some 37 meals to starving children).

Most of this is just coincidentally happening at about the same time, but I think it also helps that I worked full time all through J-term, so I have a bunch of money. It's so much easier to be charitable when you have money.

All of these good actions got me thinking about how easy it is to be charitable in the world now. Feed My Starving Children came to us, and I just had to walk across a parking lot to get there. People table for the Red Thread Movement outside the Caf, so I can be charitable on my way to lunch. People make facebook events inviting us to send them money through the POs and we will get some mittens! How convenient! Maybe it's just the environment at a small liberal arts college that we want to help people, but I don't think it's exactly hard to help the world outside of Gustavus either. I mean, I ordered my Toms online and so could anyone else.

And then that made me think about why people do good things for the world. And I thought about all the things I've gotten for my charitableness. A bracelet, a red thread, 2 pairs of shoes, a 8x10 print... I got paid for the organizational things I did for the silent auction, and my boss offered to pay my for working at the Feed My Starving Children event too. When you loan someone money through Kiva, you eventually get paid back. Not to mention that I got to feel really good about myself. So... do people buy Toms because they want a pair of shoes or because they want to help people who need shoes? Maybe both.

I recently read a book which talked about the religious tradition of tithing. The point of tithing 10% of your income (or whatever percent) is that you are supposed to feel the loss but recognize that it is OK and it is helping people. It helps make you less selfish. Nowadays, when you do something charitable, do you feel the loss? Do people really care about helping the world or do they need to get something out of it for it to be worth their time and money?

-Darcy

You Can't Frolic Through A Forest of Baby Trees.

I was eating breakfast with a few friends (has anyone ever made the observation of how similar Reese's Puffs look to dog food?) and we were talking about someone's Adolescent Lit class. They're reading "Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret", which is essentially a preteen bemoaning the late coming of adolescence. Someone at the table mentioned how all of the guys in the class must feel embarrassed to read this book, and I was thinking.... why?

What makes a book an exclusively "girls'" book or exclusively "guys'" book? True, the aforementioned book does discuss many feminine issues, but there's no reason that males can’t get something out of it or enjoy reading it. There seems to be a weird standard or expectation when it comes to things like books (and movies, clothes, and many others). I mean, it appears to be perfectly "acceptable" for girls to enjoy and/or be obsessed with Lord of the Rings, James Bond books/films, etc, whereas if you reverse the gender roles, it’s thought of as uncomfortable or odd.

This is in no way a blanket statement though. I know that some men are manly enough to proclaim, “Yes! I do enjoy a romantic comedy every now and then!”. This stereotype is being reversed even as I type. However, it still exists.

On a side note, I enjoy frolicking in forests, especially in the winter time while it is snowing. Imagine though, if your school decides to grow a new deciduous forest on campus. How would you frolic through baby trees?

One cannot.

-Emily

Is Bigger Better?

I was reading a book for one of my classes, it was about the post-American World, how all of the other countries are experiencing a rapid growth while the United State just kind of sits here. At one point the author tells the readers to look around us. The tallest building is in Tapai but a taller one is being built in Dubai, the richest man is Mexican, the biggest plane was built in Russia and Ukraine, the largest factories are in China, and the list goes on and on. The author's point being The United States just 10 years ago used to be at the top of many of these different categories. I can't help but think, is that such a bad thing? Does it really matter which country has the largest building? Or where the richest man lives? Or where the largest factories are? I don't think it matters. We should be concentrating on efficiency rather than size. Is it really that important to have large building or planes? We shouldn't be competing with other countries for titles such as these, but instead seeking to achieve unity and an effeciency in technological things to preserve the world. This may sound really cheesey and all "save the environment", but I really do believe it's not about who has the largest factories, rather it's about how well we can work together to make achievements globally.
But that's just my two cents.
-Ashley

This person has walked THEIR goat today. Have you?

I must give the credit of finding this excellent photo to my dear friend, Katie (@ University of Nebraska, Lincoln).  She thought it fit our blog, and it does!  So I am posting it.    Everything about this picture is great.  The boots, the facial expression of the goat-walker, the (what I believe to be) cheese balls in the ziplock bag, and the leash with a poop bag holder thingy on it, just to name a few awesome things. 
Thank you, Katie!  :)
Your Very Own Champion Time-Killer,
Anna

Question 2.

Who was the first person to eat an egg?

Seriously, though.  Who was the first Homo sapien to look at a chicken that just layed an egg and think, "Hey!  Look what just came out of that chicken!  I wonder if it tastes good..."

Disclaimer:  I have nothing at all against eggs or chickens.  They are nutritious and quite delicious when cooked properly.  This question is meant to be asked in all innocence. 
I'm sure that many animals have been eating eggs for almost all of history, but who was the first current human to think that eating an egg would be a good idea?  And how did they think to cook it (or not)? 

Innocently wondering,
Anna

"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

             I’ve always regarded blogging as an art form of sorts, one that I have neither an aptitude for, nor the least bit of experience in.  But here I am…writing on a blog- so bear with me.  Well, here goes:

Upon trudging out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:30 this morning, the first seemingly coherent thought I had- after cursing the world for having the conception that morning was EVER a good idea- was a quote by Oscar Wilde. "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast” (He seems to have the right idea).  But unfortunately, class starts at 8:30. So although I have the support of a notable playwright on my assertions, it seems that academia and society once again have the upper hand.  With this, day two of second semester (I refuse to call it “Spring Semester”…have you been outside recently?!?) commenced.  Surprisingly, with the exception of bitter cold and the inevitable morning, the day seemed to go rather well.  Classes are interesting, heavily laden with homework, but intriguing nonetheless.  I’m also happy to inform you all that my Anthropology prof knows the word yes (more updates on this to come). 

            Upon reading over what I’ve written thus far, I’ve noticed that I seem to complain- a lot.  Certainly, I’m not the only one who is sick of the weather and finding it difficult to get back into the swing of studying, but this really isn’t an excuse.  Because even more than the fact that it was cold today, even though I woke up far earlier than I would have liked, and even though the mass of my backpack could contend with that of an overweight toddler- life is filled with beauty.  Yes, this is cheesy- but it’s true.  So often it comes in the most unexpected ways.  Such as the patch of sunshine I encountered while walking to practice in the music building (which resulted in a fleeting, but glowing warmth), or the way the snow sparkles, or something as simple as the laughter of friends.  Or maybe- just maybe- true beauty lies in the salad bar on the days when feta cheese is served.  I think that I’ve rambled enough for one day, so I’ll leave you with this: It may be dark, cold, and too early, but life is too short to spend it complaining.  Take time to find beauty in the little things in life- you might be surprised at what you’ll find.

Until Next Time,

Zoë 

Rice Cakes

Hello there world. For those of you who don't know, I am currently on the tail end of a Metabolic Detoxification. On Thursday I will be able to eat real food, but for now I can eat: Fruits and Veggies, Fruit Juice (with no added anything), water, "medical food" (this shake thing that smells like spicy oatmeal) and.... rice! (Added back to my diet today!) So I am currently sitting here drinking a Juicy Juice and snacking on... a rice cake. And not the good kind with caramel or sugar or even just salt. Nope. I am eating a Gluten Free, Vegan, Whole Grain Brown Rice Rice Cake. (Special thanks to the good people at Lundberg, whatever that is...)
And the thing about these rice cakes (I'm on my 2nd at this point) is that they literally taste like nothing. I swear, they are the least flavorful thing ever invented. Which leads me to the question: Why the hell were rice cakes invented?!?
Perhaps travelers on the Oregon trial were desperate for an easy-to-transport flavorless snack. Or maybe they were invented to fill the stomachs of starving, flavor-hating Irishmen during the potato famine. Or perhaps they were invented by the people inventing Metabolic Detoxifications so they could turn a profit on the smallest flavor-investment possible! I sense a conspiracy!
In any case, whoever thought that this would be a good idea was crazy. I have literally no idea who would want to consume 70 flavorless calories unless of course they were starving to death (much like I am now). These are probably the hardest things in the world to market. Which I guess is why you don't really see commercials for "New Extra-Bland Flavor Rice Cakes". You do see commercials for rice cakes covered in sugar. Which sounds really good right now. Anyway, the point of my little rant is that if you were planning on investing in a bag of Lundberg's Gluten Free, Vegan, Whole Grain Brown Rice Rice Cakes... I would suggest that you not.
Instead, you should invest in these delightful Rice Chips I found, also thanks to the good people at Lundberg. The rice chips are covered in sea salt and are incredibly similar to potato chips. They are wheat free, gluten free and AWESOME. Seriously, I will probably keep eating them even after Thursday. The Rice Cakes will not be so fortunate.
Enjoy something bland today. In honor of all of those starving, flavor-hating Irishmen. 
Darcy