With exactly five weeks to go before the presidential election, it seems like campus has become prime stomping ground for get-out-the vote campaigns. Obama has an office on High Street (which, incidentally, is in the former storefront we wanted to get as Chi Alpha's office last year) and various tables set up around campus to register voters. McCain was in Columbus yesterday at Capital University (Lantern article, Dispatch article). USG itself put out an e-mail reminding students to register and apply for absentee ballots before the deadline next Monday. Personally I haven't had time to research the candidates, and I am honestly a little jaded about the American political process in general, but I do feel it is my civic duty and privilege to vote (this being my first presidential election), so I will do the best I can to vote conscientiously.
Apartment: Love love love it. It is quiet and supremely conveniently located (though I will not divulge where that is, as I am not a fan of stalking!) Lots of space and well worth the extra $120 in rent. Pics here.
Classes: So far, so good. 3:1 male to female professor ratio, at least until Dr. Park takes over my Mol Gen 607 class, which looks to be my hardest class.
Red Tape: Update from this disgruntled post...I've got my money back and should not have any trouble graduating on time. Now if they give me any more trouble...wanna fight?!
Chi Alpha: I am leading the international student ministry team, with exactly no idea what I'm supposed to be doing, but it will be fun anyway. We're hoping to pull together an event for next Monday at Jones Tower, but I have yet to hear back from the hall director about reserving the lounge. (See above: RED TAPE)
There is a strange odor lingering around the east end of the South Oval, and I think it may be some sort of glue or chemical used in constructing the new Ohio Union. For a building that is seeking LEED certification, this does not bode particularly well. (I mean, how green can noxious chemical fumes be?) I also heard from a fairly reliable source that while demolishing the old Union, the crews had to take out a mature tree, which leads me to wonder about the project planning. All the "green" features of the new Union will take years to make up the carbon sequestration that could have been done by that tree, if it ever catches up at all. Not to sound like an angry hippie or anything, but it's hard to believe these green promises when the smell of glue is wafting across campus and addling my brains.
1. You will not need your meal plan at all for the first week. Free food is practically falling out of the trees. (Vegetarians and others on restricted diets excepted.)
2. You also do not need to buy or bring any writing utensils whatsoever. All will be amply supplied at the Involvement Fair, along with backpacks, water bottles, letter openers, magnets, and, at least this year, salt shakers.
3. Don't bother trying to remember anyone's name. Wait until you decide whom you actually want to hang out with, and work from there.
4. Send yourself a letter before you leave home. (Better yet, have Mom mail some cookies and your favorite shampoo!) It's nice having something waiting for you in the mailbox at school.
5. ...you still have class on Wednesday. (Plan accordingly.)
It is still mildly frustrating that I have moved every single stinking year of college, but this could be the best place yet. It reminds me a little of Neilwood Gables, where I lived sophomore year, but for one striking difference: It is all mine!!
I also got yelled at from two cars today, but it's okay, because they were from friends. This is prime people-watching and random-run-in season. Gotta love it!
Yesterday we had a ridiculous windstorm caused, purportedly, by Hurricane Ike down in the Gulf. I didn't manage to get video footage, but this person did, and his video also conveniently explains how 300,000 people lost power.
We had a tree uprooted in the backyard and lost the upper half of a tree in the front, and a great many branches and leaves blown into our yard.
The power went out around 5:00 pm yesterday afternoon and we didn't get it restored until almost noon today. In the meantime I played cards with my family, sewed, scrapbooked, (finally) started reading Pride and Prejudice after (FINALLY!) finishing The Brothers Karamazov, and generally did not miss technology (except electric lighting) very much at all. I have therefore decided not to spring for Internet access at my new apartment this year. For starters, the Younkin Success Center is literally next door so I can go there any time I really need to use the Web, and this will force me to consider whether I actually need to use the Net, since I will have to actually look semi-presentable when I venture out.
The power loss and the three weeks I spent in Taiwan with very sparse Internet access showed me just how much time I waste on-line. As a case in point, I turned on my computer to print something out for my Taiwan scrapbook, only now, an hour later, I have checked 3 out of 11 e-mail messages, written on 3 Facebook walls, watched 3 videos on YouTube, looked up the hours and services of Younkin, and not even opened the file I was originally seeking. Dangit.
(Yes, I am fully aware of the irony of my writing this blog entry as part of my attention-deficit, and it kind of makes me want to scream.)
I spent the last three weeks in Taiwan teaching English summer camps and visiting relatives. Now that I'm back I never want to hear anyone in the U.S. (or at least Ohio) complain about heat. We taught at two elementary schools, which did not have air-conditioning, when the outside temperatures exceeded ninety degrees F and the humidity was nearly 100%. When it finally cooled off for one day, it was because a typhoon was coming! So unless those conditions are found in Ohio, I don't want to hear any complaints about heat!
I also don't want to hear any complaints about American dorms being too small. This photo was taken at my cousin John's new school, which is similar to a trade school. The space pictured is about six feet square and intended to sleep two boys. The loft is built over two teeny little desks and closets:
Oh yes, and there are four of these units in one room. Which equals eight boys. I can only imagine how that place smells in the summer!
Just something to keep in mind before the hullaballoo of move-in starts next week!
Last night I went with some friends to see Disney's The Lion King at the Ohio Theatre. Now, the Lion King is my favorite Disney movie to begin with, so it's pretty much impossible to screw up in my book, but I still think it was a really good show. The puppeteers in particular did a great job of incorporating their own bodies into their animals' personalities and physical presence, and the dancing was fantastic, representing many genres from hip-hop to ballet. And with mezzanine seats coming in at $31 a pop, it really is affordable to see Broadway shows in Columbus and I don't think the quality suffers at all. For those who are curious, here is the 2008-2009 season.
