February 25, 2014

Mid-Winter Schlump

I feel like it has been a really long time since I posted a blog post and since it is my traditional night shift, I'm gonna write one. I'm not going to guarantee it will be particularly good, but here it is.

The winter always has me feeling like I want out. Out of here. Out of Ohio. I want to get in a car and drive. Anywhere. Some people call it wanderlust, but I just think it's because I get bored to easily. I'm two years into school and I already want something new, but then again maybe I'm nineteen years into life and want something new. I always have this desire to be spontaneous, but being in the Honors college with a bunch of organized homework nerds (sorry guys), it never really happens. Going to movies takes a weeks worth of planning. We have a social network profile to just plan dinner. So anything unplanned is unhappening.

However, we did have a tiny moment of spontaneity this weekend and went the park. Only in Ohio can you play in the park at 5pm and then loose control of your car on the ice of the driveway of someone's house at 2am. It was a really good time though. Swings can make any day a success.






I guess being bored is better than last semester. At this time last semester I was freaking out about everything, but when you're bored you aren't really stressed. I don't know which is better though, stress or apathy. The semester is going by fairly fast, with us being in Week 7 already. This week marks the 3rd full week we have had of school. Two holidays, and three snow days. I'm getting sick of the snow, I want spring!

February always seems to be the month where everyone seems different. Everyone is sad. Maybe it's from lack of Vitamin D, it is winter in Ohio. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a thing. It happened last year too, and in high school. It's nothing new, but every year it's still a let down. It's like were all chugging along just fine and then February hits and everything goes downhill. I think I just get a little disenchanted by everyone. It's sort of like I get used to them all one way, and then in February all of their faults seem to emerge. But that's life, and your friends are your friends, you get them when you like them and when you don't, or else you would be a pretty crappy friend. Sometimes I think about how the people I spent the most time with, I didn't know for the first 18 years of their lives. It's sort of like walking in after a movie has started and trying the figure out the plot. You missed the set up, and now you have to figure out what happened when you weren't there.

In other less metaphoric news, I got two CDs in the mail today. I've been waiting for these albums since November so I was pretty pumped. I've been listening to them all day. So with all my credibility, here is my review.

Run River North, the group consists of Korean Americans from the San Fernando Valley. They're sort of a rock/folk alternative indie type group. They're sort of a Christian band, but I didn't know that until I was about 4 songs in, and I was already hooked. This seems to happen a lot, Sleeping at Last, NeedtoBreathe. As long as the title of the song isn't something like "Enter Jesus" I'm good with the genre. My favorite song on the album is probably Foxbeard. I also really like Growing Up, Monsters Calling Home, Fight to Keep, and Beetle.



The Family Crest, another band I sort of stumbled upon, is an orchestral rock indie band. They have really cool instrumentation in all of their songs. The band itself is about 7 people, but then they have another 100 or so people on the album with them playing everything from the guitar, to organ, to saxophone, along with a bunch of choir members. Favorite song on that album is Love Don't Go, which was already on one of their EPs and is probably the best known song. I also really like There's a Thunder, Howl, and the bass part in The Water's Fine.



Happy listening,
Noelle






February 7, 2014

What's In Your Backpack?

One of my favorite blogs, LifeHacker, does a segment about bags and their carriers. After reading this weeks post, I decided to inventory my friends backpacks. Most of them were pretty ordinary, but people still carry some strange things.

Madison 
Sophomore Biology (Pre-Med) Major
Stress Monkey Extraordinaire
Most Interesting item: 6 coffee cup lids
Most Unique (to the group) Item: TicTac Aleve Bottle
Most Stolen Item: Klean Kanteen Waterbottle
Preferred pencil of choice: knock off mechanicals
  1. Hand sanitizer
  2. Vermints
  3. 6 pilfered coffee cup lids
  4. earphones
  5. tissues
  6. one band-aid
  7. 3 starbucks gift cards
  8. a bottle of Aleve and ibreprofen
  9. flashdrive
  10. umbrella
  11. Pens, pencils
  12. scientific calculator 
  13. kind bar
  14. Lubriderm
  15. Klean Kanteen
  16. Daily planner
  17. notepad

Shirali
Sophomore Biology (Pre-Med) Major
The Loud One
Most Interesting item: This is a pretty boring bag
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Sunglasses
Waterbottle brand of choice: Dasani
  1. TI-84 calculator
  2. Dasani Water Bottle
  3. Sunglasses
  4. Gloves
  5. Pink iPod nano
  6. Earbuds
  7. Pens, pencils, highlighter
  8. ruler
  9. Breathsavers
  10. Wallet
  11. Keys
  12. Flashdrive

Jahnavi
Sophomore Applied Mathematics Major
The Quiet One
Most Interesting item: Lipgloss in the shape of an apple
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Playdoh
Preferred organizer of choice: Old fashioned pen to paper planner
  1. waterbottle
  2. comb
  3. pencils, pens, highlighters, dry erase markers
  4. wallet
  5. daily planner
  6. einstruction clicker
  7. TI-84
  8. lip gloss
  9. pair of earrings
  10. cell phone charger
  11. keys
  12. earbuds
  13. playdoh

Heather
Sophomore Chemical Engineering Major
The One Who Acts Like a Mom
Most Interesting item: Nail clippers
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Nail clippers
Preferred snack of choice: Beef jerky
Most Crap in Bag
  1. Gum
  2. Glasses
  3. Computer charger
  4. Dry erase markers and eraser
  5. scissors
  6. glue stick
  7. colored pens
  8. mints
  9. nail clippers
  10. chapstick
  11. lotion
  12. body spray
  13. tissues
  14. iPhone USB cord
  15. wallet
  16. TI-83
  17. beef jerky, dried fruit, and carrots
  18. hand sanitizer
  19. Flashdrive
  20. mixed meds 

Nick 
Junior Civil Engineering Major
The Old One
Most Interesting item: Playing cards
Most Unique (to the group) Item: A paper copy of schedule
Preferred card brand: Bicycle
  1. TI 83
  2. Copy of schedule
  3. Playing cards
  4. Pencils and Pens
  5. Gum
  6. An Airhead
  7. sticky notes
  8. Lead

Talia 
Sophomore Biochemistry (Pre-Med) Major
That Weird Girl
Most Interesting item: A Full Sized Stapler
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Rosary from Lebanon
  1. Lotion
  2. lipgloss
  3. chapstick
  4. purell
  5. TI-30X II S calculator
  6. Gum
  7. Stapler
  8. Ruler
  9. Brita water bottle
  10. 3x5 cards
  11. pens, pencils, sharpie, and expo marker
  12. Rosary and cedar bracelet

Noelle 
Sophomore Biology Major
Just Me
Most Interesting item: Waldo Hat
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Waldo Hat (Always!)
Wallet of choice: Sheet Music MightyWallet
  1. Waldo hat
  2. Chex mix and Luna Bar
  3. TI 84
  4. eInstruction clicker
  5. Pens, pencils, highlighter
  6. Eraser
  7. Wallet
  8. tissues
  9. hair tie
  10. band aids
  11. lotion
  12. post its
  13. earplugs
  14. flash drive
  15. earbuds

Dakotah 
Sophomore Chemical Engineering Major
The I'm Quiet But I Will Always Have the Best Sarcastic Comments Guy
Most Interesting item: Trapper Keeper
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Protractor
  1. Trapper keeper
  2. Pens, pencils
  3. Lead
  4. umbrella
  5. protractor
  6. 2 flashdrives
  7. prayer card

Aly 
Freshman Nursing Major
The New Girl
Most Interesting item: Lab goggles
Most Unique (to the group) Item: White Out
  1. Whiteout
  2. goggles
  3. TI 84
  4. lotion
  5. tissues
  6. purell
  7. ibreprofen
  8. daily planner
  9. pens and pencils

Dominick 
Sophomore Chemical Engineering
The Derpy One
Most Interesting item: Scissors
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Two calculators
Least Amount of Crap in Bag
  1. TI 84
  2. TI-30X II S calculator
  3. eInstruction clicker
  4. scissors

Isabella
Sophomore Biology (Pre-Med) Major
The One with Feelings
Most Interesting item: A tie between the Harmonica and the Stress Pickle
Most Unique (to the group) Item: Journal
Preferred writing utensil: All of them
Most Unique crap in Bag
  1. TI-30X II S calculator
  2. 2 pairs of scissors
  3. hair tie
  4. computer mouse
  5. journal
  6. eIntstruction clicker
  7. tape
  8. stress pickle
  9. harmonica
  10. stapler
  11. pens, pencils, sharpies, erasers
  12. chapsticks
  13. binder clip
  14. hand sanitizer
  15. gum

Ross
Sophomore Electrical Engineer
The Hermit
Most Interesting item: His Dad's Business card
Most Unique (to the group) Item: contact case
  1. TI-84
  2. tissues
  3. pencils and pens
  4. erasers
  5. contact case

Hope everyone enjoyed my little experiment. I'm probably the only person who actually wonders what's in people's backpacks, but now I know.

Stay classy,

Noelle