The Insane Life of a College Student

Yoinked from Kristen

2009-01-11T18:00:22Z

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of.

Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you.

While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life.

You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

New Year...

2009-01-09T02:56:16Z

So, this has been an interesting week thus far. I got lucky with my return flight-got in half an hour early, no one sitting next to me, luggage came out fast. Then, I get up yesterday morning to discover that a water meter in the floor above me cracked and water leaked into my bedroom. We had to have the heat off yesterday in my room (since it goes through the ceiling) and put holes in the ceiling so it could run out and stop leaking. I spent the night on the couch in the living room and now my roommate/landlord is putting in drywall and repairing the holes in the walls. Fun... Then, I get two e-mails today from students in my class who are going to DC with Suffolk for the inauguration (lucky bastards)... and they address it to "Professor Jorgensen." Weird and cool feeling at the same time. Hopefully I'll enjoy this and can get used to it after I get my PhD...

Random

2008-12-08T03:09:42Z

If you haven't seen Franz Ferdinand in concert but want to....definitely go. They are amazing live!! Best concert I've ever been to. In other news, I am busy working on PhD applications, trying to get a job teaching a class next semester on International Law (keep my fingers crossed), and getting ready to go home on the 17th. That's about all. Kris-know of any Yule rituals going on in the Springfield area? I've been a bad pagan this year and should try to make at least one ritual...

Random

2008-10-27T02:48:18Z

Yo Kristen and Sarah, my lovely artists: I am thinking of getting a tatoo, specifically a pair of blue butterflies. Any chance one (or both) of you could design something cool for me? I am now working at MIT, doing basic tech support; I am working on PhD applications for 11 schools-and pray I get in somewhere-and cannot wait to go home in December for 2 weeks and play with my cats. That is my life right now, in a nutshell. Can it be Halloween already?

WTF?

2008-08-07T20:36:42Z

I have got to get out of this apartment complex. Yesterday I heard a couple having a loud fight with the woman crying and the man insisting he didn't have to tell her everything. Lovely. Now, someone is listening to Christmas music. That's right, Christmas music. I cannot wait to move away from this insanity.

Quick Update....

2008-08-04T23:54:46Z

Been a while since I posted, so here's an update. I successfully defended my Thesis on July 7th, and am now officially done with my Masters. I have been job hunting, and just got hired for a part-time position at MIT helping professors with basic technology such as online grade books. I need to find a second job, so I'm hoping to hear back soon on a part-time job tutoring hospitalized students. If not, Starbucks, here I come. I am putting together materials for the 10 (count them 10) PhD applications I plan to do before the end of November. I need to re-take the GRE, get letters of recommendation, and seriously hope I get in somewhere this time. My top choice is still Harvard, but we'll have to see what happens, although I've already decided if I get into Harvard, I'm finding the nearest Hindu temple and bringing a giant offering of fruit, flowers, and incense to the statue of Ganesh, whom I'm hoping will take pity on me and help me get in. Here's hoping.....

Oh, Great....

2008-07-17T21:00:06Z

What is our idiot government doing now? God-damn, people, quit trying to mess with my rights. I am an independent woman who will decide if she wants children-not the government. Considering the Bush administration considers itself Conservative and anti-government interference, this reeks of government interference into an individual's private life. Please stop trying to tell women how to control their bodies. My body, my choice-not yours. How hard is that to understand? I do not want children. That is my right. I would never tell a woman to have kids or not have them, and I do not appreciate this lame-ass president's attempts to do so. Back off, people.

Which Goddess lurks in your soul?

2008-07-02T22:31:49Z

Which Goddess lurks in your soul?

Athena

You are a wise one, my dear! Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, disciplined war, philosophy and knowledge. She is a selective Goddess, as she only inhabits those of your high intelligence and keenness to learn great things. You’re usually not seen without a book in your hand or your eyes glued to the internet (which is, after all, the great information highway!). This should not suggest that you don’t enjoy people, as your cleverness and sharp wit are usually in full force when in a social situation, to everyone’s delight.

Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Random Crankiness

2008-07-01T01:41:30Z

I have decided that I get to post a cranky post because I am tired and hot and watching House. So, here is my snarky rant: I hate these new Wal-Mart commercials with the happy moms describing how they got little Johnny or Susie ice cream and toys cheaper at Wal-Mart-isn't it great? How about a commercial that says, "I bought little Johnny a Transformer toy at Wal-Mart, and supported their sweat shops and slave labor around the world!" Let's just call it what it is: subsidized slave wages and sweat shops around the world from a company that doesn't give a damn about anything other than their profits. Okay, rant over.

Am I Done Yet?

2008-06-22T23:19:39Z

I am so sick of reviewing and revising my Thesis it's not even funny. I just want to be done. I saw my advisor on campus today, and he was like, "are you getting close on the revisions?" and I wanted to say "no, I'm here on a Sunday for the fun of it." Considering he's the one who decided I had to change the Thesis 3 months after originally approving it, he can bite me. My mom told me I need a vacation, and it took me two minutes to stop laughing. I just want to be done and then get a job from a temp agency that doesn't require much brain skills, considering my brain hurts on a daily basis now. Can it be July 7th already?

Heat Waves and Full Moons....

2008-06-09T01:55:57Z

... both bring out the worst-and oddest- behaviors in my fellow Bostonians and weird days for me. This psycho lady on the T actually asked me to move from her, despite the fact that the T was crowded and I had nowhere to go, then yelled at a girl who "took her seat." Psychopath. Then, on the plus side, I met an Arsenal football fan and got to talk to him and prove to the Brits that some Americans know soccer. Then I found out a classmate of mine who's becomming a friend is actually somewhat of a chef. Damn good thing he lives on the Cape, or I could be in trouble. This heat is making us all crazy, because it almost never gets this hot here, and thus no a/c in most apartment buildings, thus leading to sweaty grossness and crabiness. Thank god it's not a full moon as well, or I swear people would become werewolves....

Random...

2008-06-07T22:24:49Z

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Utilitarianism

Your life is guided by the principles of Utilitarianism: You seek the greatest good for the greatest number.

“The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
--Jeremy Bentham

“Whenever the general disposition of the people is such, that each individual regards those only of his interests which are selfish, and does not dwell on, or concern himself for, his share of the general interest, in such a state of things, good government is impossible.”
--John Stuart Mill

More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Utilitarianism

95%

Existentialism

75%

Divine Command

55%

Justice (Fairness)

50%

Hedonism

50%

Kantianism

30%

Strong Egoism

25%

Apathy

15%

Nihilism

WTF?

2008-05-26T04:16:11Z

Courtesy of MSNBC:

A 12-year-old girl basketball player who is too good to play with the boys? It's happening in Beaverton, Ore., according to a report in The Oregonian newspaper. Jaime Nared is nearly 6-foot-1, can nail 3-pointers with ease and has scored 30 points against boys in the past. And that is why she has been banned from playing in a boys youth league in the Portland suburb, her coach told the newspaper. Nared's coach, Michael Abraham, said Nared has played on his team for years, but was just recently banned as officials cited a rule prohibiting mixed-gender teams."I never saw the rule," Abraham told the Oregonian."If I'd known about it, I wouldn't have put any of my teams in the league. Besides, she's been playing on this team since second grade, and she plays on our team when we travel around the region. There's never been any problem in any event, not one word of complaint." Apparently, parents had complained about Nared, but officials said it had more to do with her being a girl than her showing up their sons on the court. "They said the problem was the boys were playing differently against her because she was a girl," said Neal Franzen, the director of the league. "They'd been taught to not push a girl, so they weren't fouling her hard, and the focus had shifted from playing basketball to noticing a girl was on the floor with them."But Abraham told the Oregonian that "I think the complaints come from parents who don't like seeing a girl that good playing against their sons." According to the report, Nared prefers the boys game because of the speed."I think the boys on a specific team don't like me," she said. "It doesn't seem fair." Nared's mom, Reiko Williams, told the newspaper that it was one particular game that caused the problems. "She scored 30 points," Williams said. "I remember one play. She stole the ball, dribbled up court and made a behind-the-back pass to a teammate. He missed the lay-in, and she grabbed the rebound and put it in. I think it was just too much for some of those parents. "The next day, she came home and said they wouldn't let her play with the boys anymore."Abraham told the newspaper that Nared is far too good to play with only girls."We beat one team 90-7," Abraham said of an instance of her playing in a girls league. "At her level, it's like having Shaq on a high school team."
Okay, parents, seriously: get over it!!! I'm sorry she's better than the boys, but suck it up and deal. I would rather have a really good girl on my team than a bad one with all boys or all girls. This girl is good, and stuck in an unfair situation: she's too good for the girls' teams and no one wants her to play with the boys. Society needs to stop pulling this crap with good female athletes who prove themseleves as good as the male athletes.

Random

2008-05-22T02:36:27Z

Yoinked from Sarah and Kristen:
The thing women have got to learn is that nobody gives you power. You just take it.
Roseanne Barr

A diplomat... is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
Caskie Stinnett, Out of the Red (1960)

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.
Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791
3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)

You must be the change you want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

Oh Shit

2008-05-21T03:56:14Z

Shit shit shit shit shit!!! I may be screwed: I just realized that one of the members of my Thesis committee is leaving the country in three days, (while Dominguez is in Colombia) and will not be back until July 4th, at which point my primary adviser goes to Spain. Fuck. I'm not sure if there's any way we can do this before the end of July/beginning of August, and I do not want to wait that long. I only hope we can work this all out...please god....

Funny...

2008-05-17T01:38:07Z

see more politics and fun!

see more politics and fun!

see more politics and fun!

see more politics and fun!

Grandmother

2008-05-11T23:22:34Z

Rest in Peace, Ruth Kelly.

Darfur News

2008-05-10T22:40:47Z

So according to MSNBC,Darfur rebels attacked Khartoum, and this is "concerning" to Bush. I am torn: on the one hand, it would be bad if the civil war spread to the North, or if the government uses the attack as a pretext to attack more civilians. On the other hand, if the rebels manage to overthrow the government, that would be a good thing. After all, the RPF overthrew the genocidal regime in Rwanda, when no one intervened, and Darfur is in the same situation. If the international community can't end the conflict, maybe the rebels should. Let's just wait and see what happens, I guess...

Random Post

2008-05-07T00:49:15Z

So I was on the T, and to distract me from dealing with my sadness over my grandma, and due to a skeezy looking guy on the T, I came up with a list of what is sexy and not in men on the T and in Boston:
1. Man wearing ugly shirt with giant skulls-not sexy. Man with button on back that says "I support BU women"-sexy.
2. Men with low-rise jeans that show off boxers-not sexy (can that go out of style already?!). Men wearing perfect fitting jeans, dress shirt, and jacket-sexy.
3. Men with IPods up so loud you can hear it over your own music-not sexy. Men with music high enough for them to enjoy but not so loud you can hear it-sexy.
4. Men who offer their seats to older women or women with loads of stuff-sexy. Men who pretend these women don't exist-not sexy.
5. Men reading porn or trashy magazines-not sexy. Men reading serious books or good fiction-sexy.
6. Men who stare at women and try to rub up against them-not sexy. Men who stand far enough away and simply smile or make brief eye contact-sexy.
7. Men who sit with legs wide open and take up your space to indicate that they do indeed have a penis-not sexy. Men who are aware of their genitalia, yet do not take up extra space-sexy.
That is all for now. Leave a comment with more sexy, not sexy if you wish.

Got Religion?

2008-05-02T00:55:37Z

Ah, Boston does love its irony: I was coming back from CVS on the T, and there were two Mormons in the same area, on their mission. They began talking to a woman who had crutches, and when they said "we're from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", she went "I'm Jewish." I had to keep myself from laughing. Then, while getting dessert at the 7-11, I hear a radio ad for Jesus Christ Superstar, which is coming to Boston in 2 weeks. Religion, Boston-style.

Random.....

2008-04-25T03:41:23Z

I knew there was a reason I love this woman:

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has joined fellow children's writers in calling for greater protection for children living in war-torn Darfur.

An open letter signed by 14 authors, including best-selling US writer Judy Blume and Michael Morpugo, declares: "It is time to change the narrative."

"The world needs to wake up. For too long it has let these children suffer. Our politicians need to act on Darfur."

The conflict in Darfur, a region of Sudan, is now in its fifth year.

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003, according to the UN. Two million have fled their homes.

'Caught in crossfire'

Sunday marks Global Day for Darfur, with protesters around the world calling on the international community to take further action to end the crisis.

"The children of Darfur didn't ask for this war, but are living their days caught in the crossfire of reverberating bullets," the open letter continues.

"They must be allowed to be children again. Despite the daily terror they face, they still have hopes and dreams.

"The world needs to act now to give the children of Darfur a future."

Darfuri children have drawn powerful images of the war around them

Germany's Cornelia Funke and RL Stine, the American author of the Goosebumps series, are among the writers taking part. Their plea includes calls for an immediate ceasefire and the full deployment of a UN peacekeeping force.

Human rights groups estimate that more than a million Sudanese children have been caught up in the bloodshed, displacement and killing in the region.

Hollywood stars Matt Damon, Thandie Newton and George Clooney are also taking part in Sunday's global protest.

"Days like this matter because they keep what is happening in the eyes of the international community," said Clooney, a UN "messenger of peace".

"If we all raise our voices the international community will have to listen and respond."

Somewhat Disturbed by This....

2008-04-18T00:49:52Z

Got this from a friend of mine today about a student from Yale:
Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement.

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts' project, students on both ends of the abortion debate have expressed shock — saying the project does everything from violate moral code to trivialize abortion.

But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value."

"I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone."

The "fabricators," or donors, of the sperm were not paid for their services, but Shvarts required them to periodically take tests for sexually transmitted diseases. She said she was not concerned about any medical effects the forced miscarriages may have had on her body. The abortifacient drugs she took were legal and herbal, she said, and she did not feel the need to consult a doctor about her repeated miscarriages.

Shvarts declined to specify the number of sperm donors she used, as well as the number of times she inseminated herself.

Art major Juan Castillo '08 said that although he was intrigued by the creativity and beauty of her senior project, not everyone was as thrilled as he was by the concept and the means by which she attained the result.

"I really loved the idea of this project, but a lot other people didn't," Castillo said. "I think that most people were very resistant to thinking about what the project was really about. [The senior-art-project forum] stopped being a conversation on the work itself."

Although Shvarts said she does not remember the class being quite as hostile as Castillo described, she said she believes it is the nature of her piece to "provoke inquiry."

"I believe strongly that art should be a medium for politics and ideologies, not just a commodity," Shvarts said. "I think that I'm creating a project that lives up to the standard of what art is supposed to be."

The display of Schvarts' project will feature a large cube suspended from the ceiling of a room in the gallery of Green Hall. Schvarts will wrap hundreds of feet of plastic sheeting around this cube; lined between layers of the sheeting will be the blood from Schvarts' self-induced miscarriages mixed with Vaseline in order to prevent the blood from drying and to extend the blood throughout the plastic sheeting.

Schvarts will then project recorded videos onto the four sides of the cube. These videos, captured on a VHS camcorder, will show her experiencing miscarriages in her bathrooom tub, she said. Similar videos will be projected onto the walls of the room.

School of Art lecturer Pia Lindman, Schvarts' senior-project advisor, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Few people outside of Yale's undergraduate art department have heard about Shvarts' exhibition. Members of two campus abortion-activist groups — Choose Life at Yale, a pro-life group, and the Reproductive Rights Action League of Yale, a pro-choice group — said they were not previously aware of Schvarts' project.

Alice Buttrick '10, an officer of RALY, said the group was in no way involved with the art exhibition and had no official opinion on the matter.

Sara Rahman '09 said, in her opinion, Shvarts is abusing her constitutional right to do what she chooses with her body.

"[Shvarts' exhibit] turns what is a serious decision for women into an absurdism," Rahman said. "It discounts the gravity of the situation that is abortion."

CLAY member Jonathan Serrato '09 said he does not think CLAY has an official response to Schvarts' exhibition. But personally, Serrato said he found the concept of the senior art project "surprising" and unethical.

"I feel that she's manipulating life for the benefit of her art, and I definitely don't support it," Serrato said. "I think it's morally wrong."

Shvarts emphasized that she is not ashamed of her exhibition, and she has become increasingly comfortable discussing her miscarriage experiences with her peers.

"It was a private and personal endeavor, but also a transparent one for the most part," Shvarts said. "This isn't something I've been hiding."

The official reception for the Undergraduate Senior Art Show will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25. The exhibition will be on public display from April 22 to May 1. The art exhibition is set to premiere alongside the projects of other art seniors this Tuesday, April 22 at the gallery of Holcombe T. Green Jr. Hall on Chapel Street

My biggest issue with this is the damage this woman either did or could have done to her body-that is seriously dangerous. How could her adviser allow her to do this, without thinking about the risks? I'm all in favor of artistic creativity and license, but this crosses the line for me...any thoughts?

Well, this sucks....

2008-03-17T21:44:06Z

So I've officially been rejected from 4 out of the 5 Ph.D. schools I've applied to, and think I won't get into the fifth. I am now looking for jobs in Boston, and then trying to come up with a new list of schools to apply with. Let's see what happens....

Yoinked from Kristen....

2008-03-08T03:28:36Z

- September 5 -
You are very clever and knowledgeable. You are very calm and cool in social situations. You are kind and sympathetic to people, although you like to choose your friends carefully.
Positive Traits: cooperative, versatile, curious, clever, analytical
Negative Traits: flippancy, sarcastic, restless, irresponsibility, passive-aggressive
'What does your Birthdate mean?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Stolen from Sarah....

2008-02-22T19:54:29Z

A Day in the Life of this Graduate Student:
8:30-get up, wrestle with cell phone alarm. stumble into shower
9:00-call cab company to see if anyone turned in cell phone professor I work for lost. No luck so far.
9:30-get on T to meet with prof. to make up 2 quizzes
10:30-waiting to meet with prof, who's apparently running over with a student and forgot I'm there.
10:45-finally meet with prof, who only makes me take 1 quiz, and not the other. sweet.
11:30-leave man's office, after he talks my ear off for about 25 minutes after I finish the quiz. Nice guy, but didn't realize he could talk this much. Find out 1:00 class is cancelled due to snow.
11:35-go upstairs for 12:00 class, eat a quick banana before class.
12-12:50-have class, and fun mocking of Senator McCarthy, that prick.
1:00-go to department to check e-mail and grab a dvd to return for the prof. I work for, which will have to wait until tomorrow since campus is now closed. Find out my Thesis committee will finally be meeting to approve Proposal, Monday at 4. Both relieved and nervous.
1:40-head to T to go home.
2:30-post this, prepare to go to lecture on Spanish democracy at Harvard. Wouldn't go, but the prof. for my class this afternoon is going, so maybe potential extra credit. That, and brownie points, which can't hurt since the man is one of those brilliant scholars who come off as intimidating sometimes. (Though he is a Notre Dame fan, so points for him...)
4-6: will be at Harvard lecture, then have to stop at grocery store on way back. Turns out having food in the apartment is a good idea.
Later, everyone.