Thursday, December 9, 2010

Dr. Harry Leckenby is my hero.

My favorite emails ever are the Starry Nights emails that come once a month or so. Here is an excerpt of a great one:

There will be a total eclipse of the Moon on the morning of December 21st (the morning of the last day of finals). This will be the last total lunar eclispe visible from North America until 2014, but the down side is that maximum eclipse will bas at 2:20 AM.

I will be here, taking images of the eclipse, and (what the heck) pulling an all-night grading session. If anyone else wants to observe the eclipse through telescopes on campus, you are welcome to come as well.


(You don't *need* to come to the observing deck on top of Hoffman Hall to see this; you could just step outside, or like high in the west out your window, but, hey, telescopes.)


Harry Leckenby


Fantastic, sir.

<3 Lolly
 

Friday, November 19, 2010

Tips for scoring a free meal in college

Dear starving college student readers (all three of you),

With confusing meal plans with blocks and flex and the complicated mess of trying to sort out when and how you are going to eat, there should be a better way.  What if you made the majority of your meals FREE? (or very low cost.)  Well...YOU CAN!

Here are some ways I have learned to eat well for "real low cheap."
  • Show up for every Student Activities Committee event.  Most of them revolve around food, and of course it's all free.  Wednesday night movie with pizza? Puh-lease, you can do it, if not to just show up for the first few minutes and walk away with free food.  Pie-eating contest? Do it! You'll feel so sick afterward you won't WANT to eat for a week.
  • The same goes for Campus Ministry events. They're big on fair-trade coffee and root beer floats.  Also, retreats and SOUL trips might have an over-abundance of food and you end up getting to take it home.
  • Join lots of clubs.  You don't have to go to the meetings for all of them, just get on the email list.  Anytime you see they are serving food, jump on it.
  • Academic departments, depending on their involvement with their students, are also really good sources of food.  For example, the Theology department does have, from time to time, pizza, desserts, and other things.
  • Be choosy with work study jobs.  Find out where the best food is. At SMU, Admissions is a great place for food.  They give away pizzas on overnight events, they always have cookies and popcorn in the office, and they LOVE to feed you.  Rumors are that Phone-A-Thon is another good source of food.  Strangely enough, the food service places seem to be one of the worst jobs when it comes to scoring food--they usually charge you and sometimes they have to throw away the food rather than give it to starving students. (Crazy, right?)
  • Hang around the kitchens of your dorm.  Sometimes people will be cooking and won't be able to eat all their food. Lounges are a good source for pizza, too.  If you are like me and can smell Domino's a mile away, follow your nose and see if someone needs help cleaning up the rest of their pizza.  Also, just go snooping around your kitchen and other common areas from time to time--someone may have left some goodies out to share with the neighbors.
See how easy that was? Sure, it's not the healthiest food on the planet, but you're not going to do any better by dumpster-diving, either.  That's why you load up with fruits and veggies on your meal plan and eat for free the rest of the time.  Save money, save gas, and save the PLANET from more food waste!

Here to serve,
Lolly
Song of the week: "Hot Air Balloon" by Owl City
Evil thing of the week: Papers.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Oh. Deer. Hello.

Dear readers,
I will preface this post with a surprising statement. Yes, I'm going to do one of those diary-style what's-going-on-in-my-life blog posts.  Mostly, this is about life at SMU, which all three of you probably know too much about already since you all go here.

So...what IS going on in my life?

I moved in on August 25, 2010.  Yes, I have it down to the day because I was literally counting down about half the summer until this day. (I would have counted down ALL summer, but it would have been way too long that way.)  The first few days of catching up were GREAT. I got to see a lot of friends, do some roller-blading, and organize my room. However, the real fun began on the 28th, when everyone else--including my best friend, Matt--moved in.

 I really love my dorm.  Aside from the fact that it's kind of far from things, but it could be worse, it's in an absolutely beautiful location.  It sits just off the creek and right on the edge of the bluffs, so hikes are just outside my door.  It's close to St. Yon's, which is where Matt lives, and it's only a 2-minute walk away (but uphill both ways. I'm serious here--it literally is uphill both ways).  Kim and I share a suite (a bathroom connecting two rooms) with Lauren, the RA for our wing. She is a lot of fun, and even though we're supposed to maintain "boundaries" because of all the RA rules, we get along really well.  The most entertaining part is leaving her post-it-notes on the bathroom mirror and planting action figures in the shower. 

The first week was actually pretty slow. My classes scared me a little bit--especially Sacraments and Liturgy, when I looked at the syllabus and later this semester I'm reading about 100 pages per class.  I got to spend a lot of time with people I love, though, including Matt.  A week after he moved in, we became "Facebook official " (whatever that means, something along the lines of letting the world know we actually care about each other as more than friends).  Things are going great as far as that is concerned.

Since then, I have gotten significantly busier. The first month was hard, especially the part where I had to re-learn how to tell people NO, a skill I had lost over the summer when I really did have time to do everything I was asked to do.  The wake-up call happened in late September.  I had committed to volunteer parking cars in La Crosse for Oktoberfest (in September?! REALLY?!), but I had way too many things to do and eventually had to tell the woman in charge I couldn't make it because I had too much homework. A lame story, but a true one.  I felt so bad when I could hear her disappointment ringing through the email telling me she found someone who would rearrange his work schedule so I could have it off.  I know that I did the right thing in saying no later, but I shouldn't have committed in the beginning. At least it paid off--I did really well on both my paper and my presentation that I had been working on (A on both!).

My biggest stressor, however, has come in the form of St. Mary's service trips: SOUL. Last year, after my amazing SOUL trip to West Virginia, I applied and became a member of SOUL Council, the group that leads the service trips.  I'm faced with all sorts of new concepts: contacting strangers, figuring out how to feed a large group of people, making budgets, driving a 12-passenger van, keeping a group of 12 busy enough but not too overworked, and always being prepared in case there is an emergency.  Also, as of right now I have to plan a trip that is only 9 days away as well as a trip during March break.  On top of that, I still have school, Outreach Retreat Team, OCM retreat team, a roomful of ladybugs to deal with, a pile of dishes to tackle, work at the Press, and keeping up my prayer life.  Plus I'm trying to make sure I still have a social life somewhat.

The social part of college has completely changed since the beginning of my Freshman year.  It used to be that I couldn't handle being alone--ever.  I always wanted to be around a big group of people, and luckily the second floor lounge in Skemp provided that.  I didn't really spend time with just one or two friends--I had to be in the group.

Now, that my friends don't all basically live in the same building anymore...and now that I have a boyfriend...I'm seeing less and less of some people and more of others.  I'm spending more time one-on-one with people, but right now "hanging out with friends" mostly consists of eating meals together and working them into my regular schedule (clubs, power hour and mass, classes, service work).  And weirdly, I'm okay with that. I would rather have those few close friends than try to be friends with everyone.  It's not that I don't LIKE the people I used to be around all the time. It's that I'm just not as close to them, but I'll still say "hi" when I see them in the halls.

So. In short, there have been a lot of changes.  Some have been good, some have been bad, and some really are neutral.  God keeps throwing a lot of new things at me, but I'm learning to listen more to Him every day.

I'll be writing again, hopefully more often.  I think this is a good place to end here, though.  So farewell readers, and probably will see you around ;)

Sincerely,
Lolly

Song of the day: since today is National Balloon Day, "Hot Air Balloon" by Owl City

Thursday, September 16, 2010

PLUG!

Okay, so for any of you readers who don't know this already...and I know pretty much my only reader DOES know this...I'm a pretty big fan of the band called The Afters.

Yes, I know, big surprise.

However, their new album, Light Up the Sky, was just released into stores two days ago! Thrilled as I am, I checked their fansite and found something interesting: the Light up the Sky project.

This is an interactive map, where people from all over the world can post their stories, about how God has worked in their lives and how He continues to light up the sky for them. It's really neat and I think everyone should check it out.

See for yourself. http://theafters.com/

<3 Lolly

Little Aliens

My family owns a vacation condo in Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri. We've taken summer vacations down there for the past seven years, ever since we bought it freshly built. It's a pretty cozy place, just a two-bedroom two-bathroom with a really nice great room. My favorite parts are the vaulted ceilings and the bathroom I've claimed, which I got to decorate.  Normally, I think animal print is sort of tacky, but my bathroom is all animal print and it's fantastic to say the least.  Anyway, I digress.

The past few years we've put out a hummingbird feeder, just for funsies, since our neighbors had one and they seemed to have plenty of visitors. The first couple of years we had it out, we had a visitor every now and then, which was always fun to watch. I never could believe how small they were, either - about as long as your thumb.  An acquaintance of ours used to always say hummingbirds were really little aliens that zoom in to take your picture and then leave to report to their mothership.  Watch a hummingbird sometime and you'll believe it too - they're pretty nosy and don't seem to mind people too much, although they won't touch you.

This summer, we went to the Ozarks for the hottest week I could ever remember.  Needless to say, it was pretty miserable being outside and we were all thankful for the air conditioner.  The very last day, Hilary (who always goes with us) and I were finished with all our packing and cleaning, so I decided to go outside and soak up the last few rays for the vacation while watching the hummingbirds.

Apparently, this year our feeder was like prime real estate. Before I went outside to watch, I was peeking out the window at the little aliens, and there were four, five, up to seven hummingbirds crowded around it at a time. Once I went outside, though, a few skittish ones left. I sat down and was pretty still, hoping they would come back once they thought I was a piece of patio furniture.  It only took a good minute before we had another taker. This one was smaller than the others, but it had a brilliant orange throat and a shiny emerald back.

As I watched this one, I noticed he was quite territorial. I say "he" because his bright coloring and aggressive behavior made me think so (I'm basing my judgement off of the animal kingdom as a whole, NOT human males). He would sit on one of the feeder's perches and just look around--he wouldn't even eat anything. But as soon as a potential taker would swoop in for a sip, he would chase him away, chirping as if he were chastising them for daring to come that close. Sometimes, he would flit away, but he always was watching from whereever he was, because as soon as another would come, he would come back to chase them. It was really quite amusing.

I watched the hummingbirds for awhile. It may have just been a few minutes, since I could only stand the heat for so long, but all the while it was very entertaining. As I walked away, the aggressive one took a look at me and then darted back into the trees. I'm pretty sure he took my picture to show all his friends just how goofy us American humans look.  Yet we must not be too bad, because they sure appreciate our peace offering of sweet nectar.

~Lolly
Song of the Day: Runaway by The Afters--it's on their new CD which JUST came out two days ago!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Ten reasons why being a counselor is better than being a camper

1. No bedtime!
2. You can have a cell phone and a computer and have connections with the outside world...plus movie nights on your nights off.
3. No one forces you to drink your milk or eat your nasty canned vegetables!
4. Counselors' bathroom stalls never get clogged.
5. When you don't want to do something, you can make your junior counselor do it.
6. When your JC won't do it, you can make a highest honor or some other camper do it.
7. If you don't want to make a tough decision, ask the director.
8. Swim whenever you want, even in the middle of the night!
9. You don't have to clean your quarters for inspection.
10. Free reign over all the food...and being able to eat whenever you want

Bonus one just for Miss Bella...if a girl is "sick" with a stomachache, you can give them a sweet-tart and tell them it's a Tum and they always feel better. Haha. Yes, we're evil.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Patience - Season 2 of my blog

As you can probably see, my blog is now named "Paciencia" because I like change and can't keep a name for longer than a couple of moons. 
The purpose of this post is nothing more than I haven't updated in, how we say in Iowa, "a coon's age." I really have nothing but ranting to post here and apologize right now for sounding pretentious.  This starts what I will call "season 2" of my blog, and hopefully posts will have a theme from here on out.

Anyway, what has happened since my last post exactly three months ago?
  • The academic year at SMU has, sadly, ended. Summer is 1/4 of the way over, and I'm still adjusting to not seeing my friends every day, not having to balance a brazillion things, working from home, and being able to sleep/eat/go to town on my own schedule.  I really miss Saint Mary's, my friends, my classes...yes, and even Winowhere.
  • I managed to get decent final grades. I would've liked to have done better in Theology but am pretty happy, and amazed that I managed to get an A in honors with my dismal final paper. Still, not complaining! 
  • The last week at school was fabulous. I got to spend a lot of time hanging with friends (especially on "study day" playing Mafia with Skempinarians!), and SMU even let me stay an extra week, which, long story short, involved a few potlucks, a bonfire, some diving into pillows, and singing with the seniors in choir one last time.
  • My Spanish has deteriorated to pretty much nothing. I can say things like "Voy a la biblioteca" and "Las sillas tienen emociones tambien" but that's about it. I need to get back into practice....
  • I am now in my new house in Sterling, IL. My days consist of pretty much the same schedule: Get up for Mass, go to Mass, go on a walk by the canal, eat breakfast, practice piano, work, lunch, work more, read, and make dinner.  Sometimes I get to go to the hospital to have lunch with Mom. If you think this sounds like a lame summer, hey, at least I get to kind of relax.  I don't mind it too much but will be excited to be busy again once camp starts and I get to be a senior counselor!
  • I decided to take Sterling's (not the town, the DJ on KLOVE)  Thirty Day Challenge this month, in June, instead of in May like she did. This means no complaining. Today wasn't so good...but tomorrow I'm going to do better! I know it! No complaining!
Well now I think I am going to go. I am getting sleeeepy. Good night readers!
Lolly
Song of the day: "For Those Who Wait" by Fireflight...Okay, fine. I'm obsessed with this song. Goes with the theme of "paciencia", though, right?
Random act of the day: Go fly a kite! It's fun, I promise!
Color of the day: "sunburnt cyclops"...I heard it used to be a shade of Crayola crayon. Who would've thought?

Monday, March 1, 2010

Yearbook

Today my yearbook came in the mail, and I was really excited because finally, this year, I had actually gotten more than just my school picture in it.  (Yes, I realize that most people got their yearbook ages ago, but for some reason no one told me when they came in and I was expected to just go pick it up...uhm, I live in Minnesota and my parents live in Illinois?  How is this all possible?)  As I went through the pictures, I was really surprised to see how much I had forgotten about senior year.

It's weird.  All last year I can remember being so ready for the year to be over, to be done with my last year of high school forever.  Now, as I look back, I have a little nostalgia.  It's not that I miss high school--you could not pay me enough to do it again.  It's more that I can see all those memories and enjoy them.  It used to be that the yearbook would usually upset me at how insignificant I was in high school.  Now, I can see that I had my group of friends and we still managed to have fun together, even if we weren't the most popular ones at my school.  I can see those few pictures of me in the yearbook and enjoy them, and notice that the ones I wasn't in weren't important anyway.

Call me sentimental and touchy-feely, but usually I'm pretty cynical so this is something new.  I guess it shows how much I've grown up since high school.  Now that I'm in college, I can enjoy the fact that even though I didn't have a huge group of friends back home, I have them here.  I can look at the people that I hung out with back home and realize that even though I don't really talk to any of them anymore, it's okay because now I have friends from all over the (state? country? midwest?) Midwest who are the best I could ask for.

Anyway, I cannot come up with a good ending for this now, so I'll leave it at that.  And I PROMISE that I will put my West Virginia journal on here soon!  PROMISE!

<3 Lolly
Song of the day: "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia...an oldie!  (kind of)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Steps to creating a Grab 'n' Go Pile

Greetings!
Since January seems to be a popular month to pull fire alarms, I thought many people would benefit from a public service announcement about proper fire responding techniques. These are tailored to people living in college dormitories but can be applied to most situations.
FIRST THING TO REMEMBER:
Although it is likely not an actual fire, there is that small chance that it actually is.  Just don't lose your head and you'll be okay.

List of objects you would probably like in your emergency kit:
  1. A towel.  Just in case you may be in the shower when the alarm goes off.
  2. A spare set of clothes--in case you were in the shower.  A spare set of clothes always comes in handy, regardless.
  3. Weather-appropriate gear.  If it's in the winter, a blanket, a pair of socks, gloves, a hat, and a scarf are always handy.  Sweatshirts are a plus.  If it's spring or fall, a light jacket and a pair of socks may be beneficial.  If it's summer, what are you doing still in college?
  4. Snacks!  Make sure you pack some extras, though, because other people will most definitely mooch off of you.
Before you walk out the door, you also might want to check to see if you have these things:
  1. Your keys.  How else will you get back in?  (or make sure your roommate has keys)
  2. Portable homework.  For example, if you're reading The Odyssey, bring it with!
  3. Your roommate.  Don't let him/her get engulfed by imaginary flames!  And it will look suspicious for both of you.
  4. Your cell phone.  After all, if it's a real fire, would you want that to get burned?  Plus you can text people.
  5. A roll of duct tape.  Don't ask.  Just do it.
Please, if you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to comment!

<3 Lolly
Song of the week: "Hands" by The Almost (not a huge fan of it, but it's stuck in my head!)
Color of the week: maroon

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

From the Diary of Sue Sylvester

Dear journal,
Feeling listless again today.  It began at dawn, when I tried to make a smoothie out of beef bones, breaking my juicer.  And then at cheerios practice.  Disaster.
It was unmistakeable.  It was like spotting the first spark on the Hindenburg.  A quiver.  That quiver will lose us Nationals.  And without a championship, I'll lose my endorsements.  And without those endorsements, I won't be able to buy my hovercraft. 
GLEE CLUB!
Every time I try to destroy that clutch of scab-eating mouth-breathers it only comes back stronger like some sexually ambiguous horror movie villain.  Here I am, about to turn thirty, and I've sacrificed EVERYTHING, only to be Shanghaied by the bicurious machinations of a kaball of doughy misshapen teens.  Am I missing something, Journal?  Is it ME?  Of course it's not me.  It's WILL SHUSTER!  What is it about him, Journal?  Is it the arrogant smirk?  Is it the store-bought home perm? 
You know, Journal, I noticed something yesterday.  Of course!  It's coming clear to me now.  If I can't destroy the club, I will have to destroy THE MAN!

(Unfortunately, because of copyrights and all that hooplah, I have to cite my sources.  Watch Glee to find this!)
<3 Lolly