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We had an interesting debate the other day in my Comm 424 class. The two groups, uh, discussed heatedly whether or not the ever-growing presence of civic journalism will slowly edge out traditional journalism. And while I'm not going to recount the dozens of excellent points made within that hour by both teams, there was one idea that had made its way to the surface of the debate by the end that has me thinking.....what are the rights of the everyday citizen journalist, the common blogger?
(Ignoring the slight irony of me hashing out this question in a blog....)
In my opinion, ordinary people contributing to the multitude of media is a wonderful thing. True, not every blogger has to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (one must keep this in mind when when getting information from any source other than the primary source, oneself), but blogs, opinion sections, letters to the editor, youtube and other outlets of the sort create a unique place for any individual to express their views of the world around them, complete with their own personal opinions of their day to day experiences.
When reading the writings of an ordinary citizen, you get to see things from a different perspective than that of the on-the-job reporter. A behind-the-scenes look, if you must. And while you have to take such accounts with a grain of salt (actually, I have no clue if that's the right saying.....but it sounds semi-right to me. You know what I mean.) it's almost refreshing to get the un-official look at what's really going on.
And what I think is the greatest thing about citizen journalists: they have the every right to write about their experiences and opinions (steer clear of libel. Opinions are seen as a tenant of freedom of speech, libel is not.), just like the readers have the right to form their own opinions on the subject.
The combination of the weather and the fact that it's midterm time in most classes definitely make these days pretty blah. There's no other way to say it.
The silver lining to this perpetual cloud that hangs over Columbus: I scheduled for my final quarter at Ohio State, and actually was pleasantly surprised by how few classes I have left. My Horticulture advisor pointed out that I had already completed the minor without two classes I was planning to take winter quarter, dropping my total winter quarter class count (how's that for alliteration?) down to three.
So I've completed both my minors (Spanish and horticulture), have one more class for my major (journalism), and two more classes to graduate with honors. Both classes for my honors contract are freshman level classes....which I'm guessing are going to be fairly easy compared to some of these other upper level classes. Not quite sure how that worked out that I'd take my only 100 level classes as a graduating senior...but I'm also not sure it's entirely a bad thing. We'll see.
I'm dropping from 31 credit hours this quarter to 19 next quarter (4 of those are from my hort internship over the summer)--who knows, I might actually have some free time to enjoy....
So I'm undecided on what I think about this quarter so far. I'm taking 31 credit hours, and no, I swear I'm not crazy. I get asked that frequently when I drop the credit hour bomb. Five of those credits, however, are from the journalism internship I did over summer, so really it's only 26 hour of real classes, if that sounds any better.
I must say, though, that I am exhausted. Mentally, that is. My legs (hands, toes, fingers) have been twitching constantly since I've been forced to sit still in classes from 8 to 6:30 daily. Like I've said, I would not do well at a desk job.
My classes, consisting of Geog H410, H&CS 435, Comm 500, Comm 310, and Comm 424, are not quite what I expected. There is definitely way more math involved in both the geography and Comm 500 than I would like (my brain is not mathematically programmed; I would have problems adding if I didn't have my fingers...). And, quite honestly, I'm only taking the other two Comm classes because I had to to graduate. Although I'm sure I'll take away skills to help me in the furture. The hort class is really the only class that is helping me in my current job, and I'm actually pretty excited about it, despite the huge workload involved. By the end of the class any one of you should be able to bring me a stick--any random stick, even without leaves--and I will be able to say "Ah! That's actually a sample from a Celtis occidentalis." Ok, so while it might not be the best bar trick, it will help me immensely at work.
But I'm off for now to find myself something good for dinner, which clearly eliminates my cooking. Every night I've attempted to cook I've mutilated the poor innocent food. Maybe I should be taking a cooking class instead of comm classes...?
So I'm back. In Columbus, I mean. I moved into my new apartment yesterday. Well, actually it's my friends' apartment; since I'm only going to be here a few more months (yay graduation!), I'm living with a few of my friends in their new apartment. I didn't have to sign a lease, so I can just move out when I'm done and not have to worry about the kind of problems I had last year (quicknotes version for those who aren't up-to-date on my problems: 12 month lease, found someone to sublet, housemates decided last minute they did not "approve" of the person for no particular reason, me left with rent to pay).
So far this living arrangement tops last year by a mile--the gals I'm living with haven't yelled at me for my "untasteful" clothes once, no one's preached anything to me yet, I'm allowed to leave and come back whenever I want to, and they actually know how to change the toilet paper rolls (I swear my housemates last year just didn't know how to).
Though I'm in Columbus, Cincinnati hasn't let go of me quite yet--I'm still working for the Nursery, albeit a hundred miles away, already have plans to go back Thursday to celebrate my Mom's birhday and help my brother through his first-ever surgery, am already booked to drive the kids to school several mornings next week when I'm in town, etc., etc., etc.
Our Fall Sale at work is completely over, and I'm still waiting to hear the final figures. We were hoping for a record year. I already know it was record in other ways: several people were injured (compliments the hurricane) and after walking across acres putting plant after plant back after people changed their mind and dumped the merchandise wherever they pleased, my colleague imparted some special wisdom that touched us all: "There's a special place in Hell for people who don't put stuff back where they got it."
If I ever own my own business I'm going to make that into a sign. And in the meantime, remember to put my second-thought items back from whence they came.
It's been a while since I've written---sorry. My laptop has decided it doesn't want to connect to the internet. But you didn't miss much...mostly I've just been in the routine of working all day. A pretty calm and uneventful routine. Today, however, was a slightly different and rather scary interruption.
At the our nursery we're in full swing getting ready for our Fall Sale which starts next week--an event we've been prepping for since last September. It's quite an amazing sight to behold, the solid acres of blooming plants staged before the sale, the thousands and thousands of customers that come piling in, and then the empty acres after just a few days.
Today most of the farm was working to move the final crops and put up signage. As my mom (who is the perennial grower and manager) and I were driving along the main greenhouse in our kubota, I caught sight of a tailgate of a company truck fly off the edge of the hill (it's more like a cliff...) leading to our huge irrigation lake. We jumped out and ran, joining the workers who had been working closeby. As we reached the lake, all I could see was the very top of the cab and the bed of the truck disappearing beneath the surface and one worker we call Smiley trying to fight his way out of the passenger-side window.
Smiley got free as the truck sank completely in the middle of the lake, but started flailing; he can't swim. My mom then jumped into the lake and swam out to him. As soon as she reached him, however, he panicked and grabbed her arms, pulling her down with him.
By this point I had reached them, and was able to grab his arm and get him to calm down enough to let my mom grab his other arm and let us start to tow him to shore.
Now I'm not the best swimmer--I don't think I've really been actually swimming since I was like 15. Our steel-toed boots didn't help, either. But we managed to slowly drag him to shore, though. Smiley sat staring in shock for a while, and I'm pretty sure he hit his head as he went over the cliff, but he's otherwise unharmed.
I realized after the fact how bad everything could have turned out. What if the window hadn't been open? What if he had been knocked out in the crash? There were five other men standing watching, none of which know how to swim. What could they have done if my mom and I hadn't driven by? What if he had taken us under with him? I'm just thankful that the window was open, Smiley was able to get out, my mom and I were able to help him, and we were all able to go home safely.
So last Wednesday my friend Jordan invited me to "bike night." The only information he gave me was to be at his house at 7:15, wear jeans, and bring a sweatshirt (I also deduced all on my own that bike night would indeed also involve his motorcycle...).
Still not really knowing what I was invovled in, I hopped on the back of his bike (with the brand new helmet he bought me for his bike strapped to my head. I might also throw in that it was an extremely complicated helmet and took us about twenty minutes to figure out how to fasten and another twenty to figure out how to get it back off...) and we sped off with a group of his friends.
We got about half way to where we were going (I still didn't know at this point...) when Jordan's friend alerted us to the fact that our plates had fallen off the back of our bike. Not wanting to risk getting pulled over or something like that, Jordan decided to turn around and drive all the way back to his house, take the tags off his old bike, and fasten them on to his new bike we were riding.
We then took off, speeding into the setting sun....only to run out of gas and have to refuel his three gallon tank. And then get back on the road.
We finally got to a restaurant that was absolutely packed with about every make of bike out there. We found his friends, ordered some food, hung out for a bit, and then got right back on the bikes. I'm pretty sure it took about double the time to get there than we actually spent hanging out there.
Jordan's super excited about his bike (I can tell based on the fact that his other two cars have been sitting in his driveway in the same spots for the entire summer...) and, although I still worry for him and his speed racer mentality (I think we hit close to 150 mph on the ride home), I've gotta admit it's a lot of fun and I can't help but be excited myself for the next bike night.
Work has been stressful lately. Not only is the heat intense and the work load increasing with the fast-approaching Fall Sale around the corner, but certain people at work have been spreading rumors (more so than usual), making the work environment just down right frustrating.
Is it not possible for someone to succeed based solely on hard work? According to some of my coworkers, it's not. For me, any praise I've received or success I've had comes not as a result of my efforts, but of the fact that someone "thinks I'm pretty" or one of those other petty excuses.
Personally, I feel as if I've earned everything I've gained.
Some women at work have also been complaining about the dress code, as I've mentioned before. My boss had to have another talk with the company today as a result of gossip the other day--gossip which me and my shorts happened to be the topic of. Apparently a four inch inseam is not long enough. I'm now digging through my brother's closet to find "appropriate" shorts to wear while I'm by myself in the middle of a field. Wouldn't want to offend the trees or anything...
For those who don't know, I work outside. Such a job is a wonderful way to get your daily dose of vitamin D from the sun and a wonderful tan (and some not-so-wonderful tanlines...). Working hard outside in 90+ degree heat (not to mention the recent smog alerts), however, has left some of my coworkers lying in the dust, literally.
The Big People working in the management office (the air conditioned management office), however, have been complaining about the way the workers dress on a daily basis.
Apparantly it is necessary to wear shorts that reach at least to two inches above the knee. (Which leaves me shopping in the boy's department and saying hello to some new weird tanlines...)
They have also voiced the opinion that all shirts should have capped sleeves in order to prevent the womens' bra straps from accidentally becoming visible. Because heaven help us if someone sees a strap. How scandalous.
These shirts should also come up to the wearer's neckline.
I can honestly say that some days it's so hot and the work is so demanding that nothing sounds better than stripping everything off and jumping in the lake. While I know that this would be in no way appropriate (or healthy, seeing how many chemicals and fertilizers are injected into the lake...), I do not see a problem with girls wearing a sleeveless shirt or shorts actually made for a female. I don't think The Big People realize how much more hot that extra foot of cloth makes it, and how much more uncomfortable and dangerous it is for some workers.
They didn't mention anything about not wearing swimsuits to work, though. Maybe Monday I'll show up in a two-piece....
Today most of my day was spent 1) in grief at my new hair cut (which is about two inches shorter than I wanted it to be and makes me look like a cross between a baby doll and a lampshade...) and 2) attempting to negotiate my way through the wonderous world of real estate.
As I'm looking at graduation in a few months with a good job already lined up, I've also been looking for places to live when my life in the "real world" begins.
My mom suggested I look for a house instead of renting an apartment, her logic being that I can spend around the same amount on a mortgage as monthly rent and in the end still have a house to sell and (hopefully) get some of my money back. Sounds like a plan to me.
One of the houses I looked at today was a bit of a disappointment, though. It's really cute from the road, but when you get a closer look, it needs a lot of work. They're also asking $150,000 for a two bedroom, one bath, single level house. I may be somewhat new to this real estate world, but it seems like a lot to me.
So tomorrow the journey continues...
I'm freezing. Unusual statement for 90 degree days in summer, I know, but I'm sitting in a room with the air conditioning full blast wishing I had a sweatshirt.
And I want to wish everyone a happy fourth of July! I know I'm a little late....like more than a week late....but people are still setting off fireworks near my house, so I figure the holiday mood hasn't expired quite yet.
My family drove to Lancaster Pennsylvania for the weekend of a fourth to visit with our big Italian family out there. Every fourth, my mother's cousins host a huge party, and every fourth we drive the nine hours or so in order to attend.
Food is a big part of these parties. It seems like we never actually sit down for a meal, but just are constantly eating all day and night long. And I'm not complaining one bit...although I'm pretty sure I'd gain quite a few pounds if I stayed out there for longer than a weekend...
During our trip we also visited Longwood Gardens, aka a horticulturalist's dream garden. I did take lots of pictures with my mom's camera (due to my lack of one. Mine now rests at the bottom of a lake in Oregon...), and will attempt to upload some pending the finding of the cord needed to download them...
I can't believe it's Sunday night already. My one day off this week---and it's already coming to a close. Sometimes I wonder where all the time goes; it seems to be flying out the window.
Work is definitely one of the major time comsumers. I work at the farm five to six days a week, with most of those days consisting of 9+ sweat-soaked hours. It doesn't leave much free time....but I manage to pull a few hours out of here and there.
But there are some fun (maybe fun's not the right word. Interesting. That works...) there are some interesting things I get to do at work.
I'm learning to monitor the electroconductivity, pH, nitrate level, etc. of the media used by the nursery--which is actually a really important job within the horticulture field, although most people catch a whiff of chemistry and turn their heads the other way. Maybe I can learn this elusive trade and then rent my knowledge out for big bucks in the future....
I'm also in charge of a tagging project--taking pictures of all the blooming and mature plants, doctoring the pictures in the really expensive (and kinda cool, I hafta admit...) editing program, and setting the final drafts up in the data base and barcoder. With millions of plants on the lot, it's kind of a time consuming task, but it's at least a break from the regular day-to-day grunt work I usually encounter at the nursery.
But I've got to go to bed--I've gotta be into work by 6:30 tomorrow. I promise to have updates on the more fun side of life the second I get a second...
As some of you might know, the cicadas have once again awaken and clawed their way to the surface of Cincinnati. As I sit here at least twenty of the hard-shelled insects (their hard shells make them rather painful when they fly into your head. They're no match for a windshield going 45+ mph, however. They get their revenge, though, by having extremely sticky innards that require several hours of hard scrubbing...) are clinging to the window screen, almost as if they're just waiting for me to step foot outside...
Now working outside in fields on most days, I'm used to all manner of insect life finding its way into my hair and up my shorts, and am not really bothered by the cicadas. I was a little upset, however, by the scene I woke up to this morning: outside my screenless window a huge splotchy spider (that probably has a more scientific name than "huge splotchy spider") had built a web that caught a cicada, and had proceded to begin to suck its juices while the cicada struggled and screamed (at least in my half-asleep mind it registered as screaming). I know spiders have to eat and the circle of life blah blah blah, but the side of me that has problems even killing flies felt really bad for the cicada and the torture it was going through, despite the fact that it was too late to save it. It's a bug eat bug world out there.
And, believe it or not, this situation actually reminded me of some trouble I recently went through in my life with my ex-housemates (hey, spending hours on end tagging thousands of bushes alone in a field will lead you some deep thinking and metaphors about everything).
Don't get me wrong, it's not like my housemates (ex-housemates) tied me up and attempted to suck my juices, but it feels like they cornered me and are sucking the life out of my bank account as I watch helplessly.
I knew ever since I signed the 12-month lease that I would be subletting my room for the summer, and my housemates knew as well. Beginning winter quarter, I began looking for someone to rent the room (you may recall some of my previous frustrated blogs about the process...) and really did everything in my power to attract attention to the situation (including hanging illegal flyers and randomly asking people on buses where they were living in the summer). My housemates did nothing except send a facebook message to their younglife groups after I asked them to the twentieth time. So they didn't want to help, no big deal, my room, my problem.
Fast forward a few months. It's move-out time. I'm super excited. And I've had only one offer on the room. No big deal, it only takes one. Except that the week of move-out, my housemates decide that they'd feel uncomfortable with and don't approve of my new person (who I happen to have known for a few years and trust not to be a psycho killer). It's a problem, but no big deal. I understand that they're the one's who will have to live there. But I did my job and found someone--someone who would be saving me a whole lot of money by renting the room. If they were going to put limits on who I could consider, they should have helped a little more to find someone they approved of. So I asked for them, in exchange for me not renting the room to this person, to buy out my room. I don't know, in my mind that seems fair.
After I moved out they sent me an email explaining that they have decided not to pay me any money, and that if I rent out my room to this person they'll pretty much take me to court (they're willing to pay for a lawyer, but not help with my room?). They also graciously decided to use two bills I missed payment on as my payment for my parking pass they were going to buy back. Which is good and fine, except I never missed a payment. So not only have I been working since winter without help to find someone only to have my housemates disagree in the last week, I still have to pay rent on a room I'll never see again, didn't get any compensation for my parking pass, had my name dragged through the mud by them saying I didn't pay bills, and face the threat of them taking me to court if I do anything to try to change it. Vicious. It's definitely a bug eat bug world out there.
The last few weeks I've been a combination of sick and extremely busy--mostly extremely busy because I was sick.
I first noticed my illness when I was actually in Cincinnati working for the weekend. I went to a doctor in Cinci, had doctors misdiagnose me, load me up on a number of different drugs, and then tell me that those drugs meant I couldn't drive. So no going back up to Columbus.
I did get several notes for professors and such explaining why I wasn't in class--that I really was in a hospital a hundred miles away and not just nursing a bad hangover--but I guess that doesn't matter to some professors.
I had a reading guide due in one of my classes the day I was in the hospital. I managed to send a copy up with my dad on a business trip to Columbus and get it to a friend and she delivered it to the professor's office the day after it was due along with a copy of my doctor's note ( I had already emailed all of my professors explaining the situation, the note I guess was just proof). And the professor took ten points off for it being late.
Normally ten points doesn't really matter, but in a class where every point counts towards the difference between an A and a B, I was a little upset. What, I'm wondering, could I have possibly done to not get points taken off? Like I said, it's not like I just didn't feel like coming to class that day--I was in a hospital 100 miles away. What was I supposed to do, have them send it on an aircare flight to the professor's office?
But I'm off now to spend every last penny I have putting gas in my car---tomorrow I move out of my house and back to Cincinnati (!).
So this weekend (meaning since I got home Thursday...) has been pretty great so far.
Mostly it's just been catching up with old friends who have been out of school for a week (the next few weeks can't go by fast enough for me). A few things I love about summer with friends:
free underwear at the panty bar at Victoria's Secret (yeah, they really call it a panty bar)
not getting hit by tornados
chinese buffets
chopsticks from chinese buffets
edible lotion (at VS...)
eating not edible lotion
food court cookies
walking dogs
walking dogs in the rain
getting covered in mud while walking dogs in the rain
showing up on doorsteps unexpected
buying herbs
fiesta brava
geese.
visiting old classes
planning book club meetings---where you don't have to read the book
house shopping
business plans
marjoram
kayaks
and it's only Friday afternoon...can't wait for the rest of the weekend--or for summer, for that matter....
Once the weather warms up a bit and the sun hits the Oval, it's pretty amazing what you can find out there as you walk across campus. Blooming dogwoods, sunbathers, people sword fighting...
I just ventured across the Oval to get my head just about taken off by some guys playing some sport. Cricket maybe? All I know is it involved a rather hard ball flying at me, causing me to fall flat on my face in an effort to avoid getting it smashed in.
I really don't have a problem with people playing games and enjoying the weather out there, but please, hows about we don't go batting hard objects at people walking by?
In the meantime, facebook, craigslist, and some other listing website has failed me. I'm trying to sublet my room this summer, and a lack of responses from my postings is leading me to walk up to random people at the bus stations and ask "so where are you living this summer?" That's not creepy at all.
I don't know what's up with facebook--it's just not showing anything posted after April 9th (including my ad...). Craigslist has got me nothing but some overseas scam. And that other listing website doesn't let you put your phone number, email, or really provide any way for someone to contact you unless you pay some ridiculous amount of money. Yeah, that's helpful. I managed to put my phone number in by writing it out...call five one three etc.....so we'll see if I get any responses before the site figures out what I did and deletes my account.
And I've been putting flyers up around campus....a big no no. Hopefully someone calls before the university fines me for advertising in its buildings.
Still, a fine would still probably be less than paying rent for two houses this summer....
The Cincinnati Flower Show has officially started.
While that statement might not mean a whole hell of a lot to many people, most in the horticulture industry are pretty excited right now.
Thursday I came home to Cincinnati, jumped into an Isuzu with my mom, our coworker, and several carts containing our exhibits, and drove down to Coney Island to begin the million hour-long set-up process.
No one would believe how long it actually takes to set up a container garden exhibit. But it was still fun. It was a gorgeous day--the sun setting on Lake Como with thousands of flowers blooming around it.
Judging was yesterday, and my mom and I got an early start down to the show to add the finishing touches on our exhibit.
It turns out all that time and effort paid off in the end--we got a gold medal. Our coworker also got a gold medal.
And now I'm running out the door to get my brother to his baseball game--out in the middle of nowhere, of course...
It was rather chilly today, and from what I hear, it wouldn't be surprising to see a few snow flurries tomorrow. But the trees are still leafing out and flowers are blooming and hopefully it'll be back up to the 70s and sunny in a few days. Welcome to Ohio.
I'm currently in Cincinnati, meaning this blog is the only thing that's forced me to think about school. Nothing exciting in the school department to report about while I'm on the subject--just papers, projects, busy work. The usual. Maybe after I get the next few story assignments for the Lantern I'll have something a little more interesting to write about.
Things in Cincinnati, however, are busy as always, and slightly more enjoyable than school life. The Cincinnati Flower Show is coming up pretty fast, meaning the finishing touches are needed on our container garden exhibit. It's not the best exhibit that's been done over the years, but considering the number of other things that were going on this winter while we were trying to put it together I'd say it turned out pretty well. We'll see what the judges think.
In the meantime, I'm busy in meetings with my boss setting up both my independent study and internship this summer. Somehow we've got to fit a journalism internship into my interest in horticulture. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole....but nothing's impossible. Although sometimes it's best not to try to force things. Everything has a way of working out in the end. So far it's looking like it'll work out---and maybe be some fun for me. We'll see.
So I'm back in Columbus again, and I have to admit, the spring weather makes everything a little better. Although Cincinnati definitely is little bit ahead of Columbus in the spring category.
Yesterday was great--the weather was beautiful, I had absolutely no school work to do and I was off of work for the day. Great. I ended up heading down to the river (the Little Miami river) to a place I've only ever known as "The Ruins" (because there's a lot of old stone ruins everywhere...not entirely that hard to imagine) with my mom and dad to collect moss. Yes, I did just say we collected moss, but I promise, it's not as crazy as it sounds.
My mom and I are working on a container exhibit for the Cincinnati Flower Show (starting April 19th) and we needed moss to fill in the empty spaces, and instead of ordering moss, why not just grab some off of your nearest collapsed building? So yeah. We collected moss.
And I've only been back for a few hours, but already school life's pretty busy again. I wonder how many countless hours I'm going to spend this quarter chasing down people to interview for articles. Or how many hours of my life I'm going to spend walking to and from ag. campus. Oh well. At least the weather's been more good than bad recently. Have I mentioned recently that I can't wait for summer break?
A real quick update--
Sooo....I'm back in Cincinnati for the weekend for work. And loving the fact that I don't really have anything school related to think about. Except this blog.
Right now I'm debating what to fix the kids for lunch. There's not really any food in the house (memo to self--go grocery shopping) but lunches out with them tend to get kinda expensive (memo to self--go to bank).
Things here in Cinci are looking more spring-like than Columbus. It's about five degrees warmer and things are a little more green. I'd give it a little longer with sun and warm weather for full-on spring.
But my dog is barking at me right now (really, she's just standing there staring at me and barking her head off). I take it it's walk time. Which is always fun after rain. Nothing like a 135lb German Shepherd running around down by the river in the mud (memo to self--grab extra towels)
Today was a good day.
I had the day off, so I got up around 7, cleaned the house a bit, walked the dog, and went grocery shopping with my little sister and brother. We then went to the library to pick up some tax forms (I swear I'll fill it out before the 15th), and went to Sonic for lunch.
Question....when you go to Sonic and pull into the little car port thingy, are you supposed to tip the roller waitress/waiter? Even if you just get your food and drive away? I really have no clue. I've asked myself that question every time I've taken the kids there. Anyone out there know the answer?
Anyways. I then had a meeting with my boss to discuss my internship this summer. I'm attempting to fit a Journalism internship into a Horticulture business. There's some configuration that's going to have to take place, but overall it fits my goals a lot better than an internship at a newpaper would have. I'm pretty excited to get it set up.
In the meantime, I'm attempting to find someone to sublet my room in my house for this summer before my lease ends---my housemates wanted to try to find someone they knew to sublet, which is understandable--they are gonna hafta live with the person. But now time's running out, they haven't found anyone, and I'm looking at an internship in Cincinnati and a house in Columbus. I'm going to go ahead and post an ad, I think. I'll try to find someone they can live with, but really, I'm not going to be as picky as they want me to be. It may seem harsh, but they're not gonna pay my rent if they don't approve of anyone I find--it'll just be me and a couple thousand dollars.
But I'm off to go watch the Sopranos. I bought my Dad the first season for his birthday, and now he's got me hooked.
Ciao.
It's only the first week of classes and already I want summer.
My schedule: media economics, copy editing, biotechnology, spanish culture, and the Lantern practicum. I think that's all.
Right now I'm up and getting my final things ready to head back to Cincinnati tonight after my last class for work.
I think my little "vacations" to Cincinnati this quarter are going to be the only things that keep me semi-sane---this quarter is gonna take some getting used to...there's so much to do.
Being a reporter for the Lantern is going to take the most time, I think. Writing the stories is no big deal, but coming up with contacts and tracking them down and getting them to sit still long enough to answer questions.....ugh. Throw in four other classes and the fact that I'm out of town from Thursday to Monday.....again, ugh.
But it's possible--I'm determined to prove to everyone that it's possible. One councelor went as far as to tell me that it just couldn't be done. One point Ohio State has solidified for me (as cheesy as it sounds) is that if you work hard, anything can be possible. We'll see at the end of the quarter....
But it's off to biotech for me. Woo hoo.
So tomorrow is Easter. Spring break is coming to a close. Monday the plan is to get up bright and early and drive up to Columbus from Cincinnati in time to make my first class (I still have no idea what time it's at...I should probably check my schedule at some point...). It's safe to say I'm not looking forward to it.
There are a few good things about this time, though. It feels like the beginning of beginnings, if that makes any sense at all. Let me explain. While I do have to come back up and start classes again (let me profess again my lack of enthusiasm for coming back to Columbus and school), I will also start to have the added responsibility of driving back to Cincinnati every Thursday through Monday to work (excitement on my part).
It's also the last quarter of the year for me, thus marking the beginning of summer. I am going to do a work study and an internship over the summer, but I will be gaining these credits while I work my normal job (which I love, so far).
It is also the beginning of my final time at OSU, and the beginning of my life after college. I can't even tell you how excited I am about that. Columbus is a wonderful city, and OSU is a good school...but...
Cincinnati is home, for me, and I can't wait to move back permanently. And I can't even begin to tell you how tired I am of homework and tests and wasting time with classes I don't really want to take but have to....I'm sure someone else has these same feelings, too.
So while I'm not really looking forward to putting my nose back to the grindstone, this quarter does feel a bit like the beginning of a number of different beginnings, which leaves me feeling a little bit relieved, and excited for what's to come.
Today is the first day of spring.
Sorry, kind of an obvious statement. But that one statement has pretty much been making my world go round as of late.
Spring break doesn't find me resting on some beach sipping margaritas (virgin or otherwise). Instead I chose to spend my break working--for the money, the gained knowledge, and the simple joy I like other plant geeks get out of playing in the dirt.
My days are spent in Cincinnati at Greenfield Plant Farm (ironically a place my mom worked before me) where I work my feet (back, legs, arms, hands, and pretty much every muscle in my body) off potting annuals and perennials, carrying bags of mulch and top soil, setting up houses of plants, building greenhouses, moving heavy equipment...pretty much anything and everything. It would seem like planting flowers would be a walk in the park, but man, if you just knew how much my knees and legs are killing me....
But I love it. It's really great to be able to come home muddy, bloody, and completely exhausted. The fact that I usually have just enough time to change clothes before I have to jump right back in the car again and drive a kid to baseball practice or a choir concert just makes it all the more worth it when I finally get to sit down later on that night. It might seem like a ridiculous life style to most, but it gets addicting after a while.
Anyways. I'm off to cook dinner. Here's to the first day of spring.
It's 60 degrees outside, I've only got 3 more papers--all within 5 pages-- to write, and we've started the final week of classes. Life is pretty great right now.
I really can't wait until some of these classes are over with. Although I will be kinda sad when my magazine writing class ends. I actually liked that class.
I liked the fact that the professor had the "you're paying for this, you should be mature enough to decide if you should come to class to learn or not" attitude. There weren't any little quizzes or even any exams--just small projects that were pretty easy to ace and two major articles that you got the chance to rewrite for a higher grade. So, really, the main objective of the class was just to learn--something I actually felt like I did in that class.
While I am looking forward to the warm weather of next quarter (not to mention the fact that it's the last quarter before summer...), I'm not really looking forward to any of my classes. I'm taking three comm classes--editing, reporting, and economics--a spanish culture class (which might be kinda fun. We'll see) and a biotechnology class. Ew is all i have to say about that. Biotechnology, while important, doesn't really hold my interest all that well.
But still, here's to the warm weather (while we have it) and spring break
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