Friday, January 18, 2007 (oops, 2008) 
Location: dorm room

Mood: accomplished

What I'm Reading Now: I'm back to textbooks at the moment.  But I have several items on hold at the Moorhead Library that I'll pick up latter today. 

Well, I'm back at MSUM and settled in for my final semester.  I don't normally have much to complain about where MSUM is concerned, but I have to say that I'm disappointed with how short the semester break was.  Sure, we get done by May 9, but my brother finishes a week later at Bemidji State and he got two weeks more vacation than I did.

But enough of that.  I finally figured out how to upload photos from my digital camera onto my laptop (give me a break, I'm not always with the 21st century technologically).  Below you'll find a few pictures taken at a swim meet about a week ago.  These pictures should be catalogued in a museum because this is the second sporting event I've gone to in my 3 1/2 year college career.  I've tried to be interested in sports, but you may as well ask a fish to spend time on dry land.  I usually get bored really easily and can find much more interesting things to do.

Yet, I went to the swim meet because it was part of another monthly event: Dragons After Dark.  Basically, this program is designed to get we college students off the streets and out of the bars and into less incriminating activities.  So, once a month on a Friday night, MSUM hosts this little event from late in the evening until 1 or 2 a.m.  Each month has a different theme: pirates, a state fair, etc.  This month's theme was sports and school spirit.  We received Dragons After Dark T-shirts and could go to three different sporting events (the other two were men and women's basketball).  Then, after the games ended, the people who organize these monthly soirees opened up the snack bar, where hot dogs, nachos, and pickles-on-a-stick was available.  We also got to watch "Finding Nemo" projected on the big wall in the swimming pool--sadly though, we weren't allowed to swim at the same time.

I don't know if these events will continue next year, but if so, they're certainly worth checking out.  So, without further ado, here are my pictures.  I apologize if their quality is a bit grainy.

The swimmers about to take off.On events where multiple laps were required, someone would sit at the opposite end of the pool and hold the signs you see here under the water so the swimmer could know how far they were.  I guess it helps because they then can focus entirely on swimming and not on the distance left.  This picture was taken during the 1 or 2K swim, where the participants swam almost a hundred laps of the pool.  I was just sitting there watching it, but even watching them swim back and forth made me feel exhausted.  Anyone who can do that without passing out has my deepest respect.

I tried to take several pictures of the swimmers moving in the water, but this was the only good one I had.  All the others were too blurry or I missed them entirely.This picture was by far my favorite.  I love how the arch of the swimmers' bodies make them look like dolphins.

Monday, December 31, 2007

Location: at home in the Twin Cities

Mood: nostalgic

What I'm Reading Now: "Scarlet Moon" by Debbie Viguie.  Its a retelling on the Little Red Riding Hood story and so far so good.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to add on to this blog more often.  So in a search for ideas, I found a lot of silly surveys on my friends' blogs.  I won't be putting a survey on here with every entry (some of them are far too long), but I might every once in awhile just to keep a steady flow of entries going.  To start off, here's a small summary of 2007.  Enjoy!

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Not much really.  At least nothing I can think of.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My main resolution was to exercise more.  Fortunately, I held on to this resolution until mid-march.  It pretty much died after that.  Oh well, there's always this year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, my friends Amy and Christina.  Two of my cousins will give birth in 2008.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My great aunt Velma died, but no one really liked her anyway.

5. What countries did you visit?
Does Canada count?  I stayed in Toronto for two days vefore I went to tour potential graduate schools.  Its a nice place, but I'm glad I didn't have to drive there.
6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Less stress and more free time.
7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
On my third attempt at the GRE, I finally got the score I wanted and increased my score 200 points from my first attempt.  My scores still aren't the best nor do I think they'll help much with graduate school, but this improvement still has to count for something.
8. What was your biggest failure?
My first GRE attempt.  Don't ask.
9. What was the best thing you bought?
Right now, this would have to be GRE test fees and an application fees for graduate schools.  Otherwise, my biggest purchase was the downpayment on my London/Paris trip this May.
10. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Anyone who bore the brunt of my GRE or grad school frustration.  Thanks you guys!
11. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
People who always rant about the world's problems.  Its fine if someone needs a shoulder to cry on or some sound advice, but its too much when all I ever hear from someone is negative.  I realized this year that it doesn't help my world outlook at all.  I'm going to try to avoid these people next year.
12. What song will always remind you of 2007?
"It's Not Over" by Daughtry.  This was just the first song I thought of.  Rhiana's "Umbrella" also comes to mind.
13. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercising and studying for the GRE
14. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family, watching DVDs we received and eating turkey.
15. Did you fall in love in 2007?
No, but there's always hope for 2008.  Maybe I'll meet someone in London.
16. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't think I was as annoyed with britney Spears or Paris Hilton this time last year, but we won't get into those two.  Otherwise, no.
17. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21, but I was at a women's leadership conference, so I couldn't go drinking.  My mom and dad did wake me up at midnight that morning to sing "Happy birthday" to me.
18. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
I'm pretty much a low maintenance, jeans-and-a-tshirt kind of girl.  This year, however, I started taking more care with my hair (I even dyed it a few times) and my clothes.  I'm trying to dress more professionally and in a way that complements my body type.
19. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
James McAvoy.  Where has this scottish actor been all my life?
20. What political issue stirred you the most?
The healthcare crisis.  It frustrates me that our country doesn't do more to guaranttee coverage for all Americans.  I could say more, but there isn't enough space or time to do so.
21. Who was the best new person you met?
I met a lot of great people this year.  Don't make me chose.
22. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
What was terrifying and stressful yesterday won't seem so bad tomorrow.

Saturday, December 15, 2007 
Location: in my dorm room

Mood: meh

What I'm Reading Now: "The Story of Lucy Gault" by William Trevor 

Here's the latest stressor in my graduate school application adventure.  I hate always having something to complain about regarding this, but I also hope that my pitfalls will help one of my readers in the future.  The subject of this lesson is personal statements.  Like a resume or curriculum vitae, this is basically where you sell yourself to the graduate admissions counselors.  I've been working on mine almost all semester.  I even took it to numerous professors to read over it and give me some advice.  I've lost track of the number of drafts I've punched out in the process.

I thought that I was ready to submit this statement with all of my applications, but then I decided to show it to one last professor because, unlike a majority of my advisees, she had been to graduate school within the last 5 years. What I got back from her had more red pen marks than there was black print.  What I had been told was professional about my personal statement she said was too formal.  There wasn't enough "me" in the essay, she said.  Basically following all of her suggestions would mean that I'd have to rewrite my entire statement from scratch, and I didn't have time to do it.

So here's what I did do.  First, I tried to find a balance between formal/professional and personal.  I took my paper to the Career Services office, where one of the cousnelors, Sonja, helped me find ways that I could put some of my personality into the essay without coming across as flighty and inexperienced.  She even helped me edit my original introduction (which one professor said was too sophmoric) so that it was shorter and could be used to sell myself more effectively.  Then, last week, I took my rewritten essay to MSUM's graduate studies director, who proofed it and gave a few last minute suggestions.  I hope that this draft has a better reception than the ones before it because I've already submitted it to two schools just this morning.  For the end result, I'll have to wait until March.

In other news, I'll be leaving the country this May to go on an MSUM-led trip to London and Paris.  We'll spend one week in London and one in Paris.  This trip can be taken for credit, but since I'm not going to, I basically get to wander around both cities and do or see whatever I want.  I'll write more about this trip next semester as I learn more details.