[side note: I was just called "a life saver" by a resident who came to the desk to exchange empty toilet paper rolls for new rolls. Awesome? haha]

AAAAAnyway :] I have a fun bunch of classes in store this semester. My Communication classes (Communication Ethics, as well as Advanced Public Speaking) look fun. My advisor is the teacher for advanced public speaking, and he’s just GREAT! Even if I’m scared I’m always going to be subpar at public speaking, I’m looking forward to the class because either I’ll get better with the professor’s help, or I’ll have a lot of fun trying.

Communication Ethics is taught by a nun! and so is my art history class! Ahhh! So cool! (Is it even appropriate to geek out over being taught by Dominican Sisters? Probably not, but I’m excited because they’re both so cute and friendly! :] )

I have an Economics class called “Capitalism and Socialism” and that might not be as fun, but at least it’ll be entertaining listening to him. I’m pretty sure he’s convinced he’s the most phenomenal man to ever walk the planet and that he’s some great anomaly in Economics teaching because he’s studied both Keynesian and Monetary schools of thought (the latter by accident because he believes it to be abhorrent). He’s even of the opinion that MSNBC is too conservative. (Yes, you read correctly. Too conservative.)

BUT! I shall now speak of my FAVORITE CLASS EVERRRR: HARRY POTTER!
It’s an English class and I’ve never been so excited for a class in my LIFE! Even more than I was for Communication 101 or AP/IB Psychology way back in high school.

We did an introductory activity in pairs, where we introduced the other person by name, told which character they most relate to in the series (and why), and told what they would name a Wizard Rock band (genre of music that actually revolves around Harry Potter books/movies. Usually named after a name/phrase/concept from the franchise).

At first I wanted to say I related most to Hermione (because I’ve always been a bossy know-it-all) but then I realized EVERYONE else was saying that (not for the same reasons, but just because the class is 27 girls and 3 guys, and most of them are smart like Hermione and have always related to her). Anyway, because I didn’t want to say the same tired-out thing for about the 10th time, I told my partner to change my answer to Neville. Why? Because “sometimes I feel incompetent, but I know someday I’ll be a BAMF.” He wasn’t supposed to say the BAMF part, not in front of the teacher anyway, but he did and the whole class laughed. People thought it was great, though, so I think I’m starting off well. :] I’m actually getting to know people and having bonding moments over geeky things during the breaks. We picked topics for group projects (mine is already due on February 22, so we have to get working!). That project’s about racism in the series and the cultural impact of that depiction of racism. My final paper will probably be a completely different topic, as I want to do something about how silly it is to sort the kids at Hogwarts based on personality, if you expect them to grow and interact with people unlike themselves. But we’ll see if I change my mind. Going along with the group project’s topic and doing something related for my paper would mean less work, but to be honest, I’d love to do about 5 big papers about Harry Potter, that’s how geeked I am about this class!

Anyway, I’m going to get back to doing some homework before my desk shift is over. Hope you’re having a great week!

Love,
Marah ♥

This week was crazy. Lots of stress, lots of upset me, but I lived and I’m doing well after this weekend. Homework is getting the better of me, sometimes, and the fact that I didn’t get that quad I was trying to pick up had me on meltdown mode on Wednesday evening. Mostly I was just tired all week, which had me getting set off by little things every night. But since I got more sleep this weekend, I’m doing much better.

I had to be CPR trained on Wednesday, too, and that was super high stress because I panicked about not being able to do it (rest assured, I’m actually not bad at it now, I was just unfamiliar/unpracticed at the time and felt WAY too much pressure in front of a room of all the other RAs and our bosses)

Anyway, moving on to the weekend. Halloween means I dressed up. Aaaaand I’m a power ranger! :] The Red Ranger! No girls are ever the red power ranger, and I’ve wanted to be that since I was a wee child watching power rangers with the other neighborhood kids.

This friday was Haunted Hall in St. Joe’s and the other power rangers and I went to it after the staff meeting. Basically, the first two floors (Ian’s being the first floor) set up their halls like a haunted house and tour people through them as a major staple event of Halloween on AQ’s campus. You start from the ground floor, on the back of the building. There’s a wee entryway with a bit of scariness (like three people) that you go upstairs to the main lobby by the desk (not scary) then you go down the first floor hallway.

I was already panicking in the entry thing. Then I made it upstairs to the light and the relative calm and everyone (the other power rangers) kept going toward the hallway. It was DARK. I physically could not make myself go down the hallway. Even when someone was pulling on my arm, I was holding the door and not going after them. Then someone who goes down the hall after each group to scare them from behind with a creepy mask and a squeaky bike horn came up behind me and about gave me a heart attack. Aaaaand that’s when I wussed out and sat in the lounge and painted mini pumpkins and did coloring pages until it was over and Ian and I could hang out. I mean, once the lights turned on he walked me through and told me what went on down the hall (which is apparently how I can handle scary things, hearing a summary) because he was a tour guide for it.

Well, that was an eventful night, but I was glad it was over. And then it was Saturday, which was fun, too. We went to take books back to a library, walked to a Biggby’s (not for coffee, for a nintendo wifi download because AQ’s internet won’t let us do it here), and got jimmy john’s and watched Star Wars and all kinds of other fun stuff. :]

Today I got up and biked to a donut place, but then it was closed so I had to go get it from family fare. Then I played video games with people, and then did homework and such. Now I’m working on art and a bulletin board (they’re due at the beginning of each month) so at least it’s work I WANT to do.

Mmm. and now I can smell the pizza we ordered. I’m gonna go now, so have a good week and I’ll write again next sunday!

in the meantime, here’s a picture of my halloween costume, complete with the other 4 power rangers!

love,
marah

Other classes are going well, too. The 60′s class I interviewed you for has a lot of reading sometimes, but it’s easy enough to keep up. I get to do a paper about Star Trek for it, too! woo! My public speaking class is alright. I did a speech on German Soccer and Miroslav Klose last thursday and it was excellent. At least, compared to my first speech, which was a total train wreck because of how little I’d practiced it. And my theology class is… improving. (Bible as a Story) I actually stay awake for most of the class, now. (oops).

Life is fantastic, too. I need to find some more creative/me time (and yes, more sleep time) but I do manage to find creative outlets in all kinds of other places. Art homework helps, and so do RA tasks that require creative thinking or design skills. (I helped design the newsletter, a big bulletin board in the front of the dorm with all the RA names and info, several sets of door decorations, and a hallway bulletin board already, and that’s not even counting all the posters and such for programs I’ve put on.)

Anyway, I should get back to that essay about Art Prize :] Have a good week! Can’t wait to be home for fall break! See you on Friday!

<3 Marah

portrait made with rubik’s cubes! :]

4 seasons thing in DeVos place. It was made out of thread or something, I think! I liked the colors!

another thing in DeVos place. Huuuuuuge sheets of paper with all kinds of cutouts. I thought it was fascinating. And it reminded me of some of my 2D Design assignments!

aaaaand my favorite art prize exhibit to visit! The toast haikus! People texted in haikus and the artist made toast and painted the best ones on the toast! they were displayed in a window in a business along Fulton street. I guess I wouldn’t vote it to win, but it was the funniest, most resonating art prize exhibit for me.

Life’s pretty great. I got a little bit of homework done yesterday and today I’m just goofing off, playing games, sketching ideas that came up in a dream I had, and eating leftover chinese (which I got last night… mmmm)

I hope your weekend has been good. I think you guys still need the rain, so maybe at least that was good? I’ll be home soon! only two more weeks of school! :]

love,
marah

Despite this, we had to stay focused: Tiff with her Art History studying; Sarah with her spanish homework; and me with my assorted tasks of a Spanish in-class writing, Earth Environments essay/studying, and reading/SparkNoting a book I don't even own (that I'm supposed to have read about 90% of for class tomorrow).
Currently I am quite distracted, although all that I have left is the sparknoting, which will probably be put off yet again in favor of other things, seeing as I supremely do not care for this book or this class.
That said, I would like to go to bed, so I probably will do just that very soon.
love,
marah :]
ps: I really want to either read more or catch Ho-oh in Heart Gold right now, but I’m resisting both of those urges in favor of more productive endeavors.

Anyway, I do hope you’re having a wonderful week!
love,
marah <3

ps: my last eevee finally evolved into espeon! I know you totally don’t care, but I’m excited because now I have the full set :]
pps: glee starts up again next weeeeek! ahhhh!
ppps: I filled out the census today. I felt important!

After Earth Environments lab (which was a fantastic NOVA movie about theories of how large mammals from the ice-age went extinct), I came back to Sarah and Tiff's room and studied last-minute for a spanish vocab quiz. When we all walked to class at 4:30 (we're pretty much all in different classes, but have them at the same time) someone Tiff and I sort-of know walked with us and we discussed pokémon like a bunch of nerds because Tiff happened to have her gameboy out.
Anyway, I aced the heck out of that quiz, left before everyone else, and sat around in wege playing pokémon Heart Gold while waiting for people to come to dinner (it's really not wasting time because if I wasn't there and playing, I'd only be back in my room and playing. This way I don't have to walk back and forth an extra and extraneous time)
After dinner and before a meeting I cranked out what is essentially my only Spanish homework for the week and, just now, I finished my Earth Environments paper about some crazy volcanologists and what my career goals/plans are. You can ask mom or dad for details/actual paper, but since my career plans aren't even all that clear, I thought I'd give my professor an interesting paper and told him all about how I want to be a pokémon master when I grow up.
I actually feel like this will be one of the crowning achievements of my time at college, one of the other pinnacles being the Muffin Tree. :] :] :]

Anyway, I’m going to read some stuff and go to bed. Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
love,
marah <3

^ (biz, tiffany, jake, sarah, alicia, and me)
in the trees near the giant tire swing. (That’s the Calder in the background)

^ (tiffany, jake, biz, sarah, me, alicia)
we’re a pseudo-family!

^(clockwise: alicia, me, biz, tiff, sarah)
making a star with our legs, I guess :]

^(biz, alicia, amy, sarah, tiff, jake)
on the tire swing. I took the picture so I’m not in it.
(Amy went too, she just took the other pictures so she’s not in those)

^(tiff, biz, jake, amy, sarah, me)
tire swiiiiing! [alicia took this one, obviously]

^(tiff, biz, jake, sarah, me, and alicia down in front)
yayyy fambly on the tire swing :]

^ this one felt like a senior picture spot. hahah Alicia was pretty good with the angle, I think. :]

^ jake and I posing in a most epic manner on the posts by the tire swing. I think I’m gonna win ;]

anyway, then I underperformed as always in Spanish by forgetting a notebook that had something I needed for class. It was no biggie, though, so I just made do with what the other people in my group had (It’s not like I didn’t tell the teacher, by the way. It’s hard to not tell her stuff when there’s only 7 total in the class and two were missing on this particular day).

then AFTER dinner, we journeyed on the mystical bus system downtown to visit the giant tire swing. It was fantastic, even if there were hooligans hanging out there at first. We were on a picture spree, though, so we had our little photoshoot and shot them awkward glances once in a while to intimidate them away. It worked after a while and we took some pictures on the tire swing, too :] I think you can look at them on facebook, but I might try to post a few here since I haven’t posted any in a while.

When we got back we hung out and put pictures up on facebook, decided on dates for our girl’s night (next friday), and decided that we were going to have a hair/makeup/getting ready/being awesome party before the spring formal, which I’m actually pretty excited about (and is a week from this saturday). It should be great.

There was a carnival, too, where Alicia, Sarah and I got matching airbrush tattoos. NEVER FEAR, THEY WILL WASH OFF. probably tomorrow if not in the shower, probably when I go swimming (which I’m pumped for. There’s a sort of game/activity night for our college at a YMCA near here. I soooo want to go swimming. :] )

anyway, now to take the Meyer-Briggs test again. Which I’ve taken multiple times. It always comes out INFP. I wish I could just write that down, but my Career and Self-Awareness professor probably won’t be happy with that. Oh well, I like taking personality test, I guess.

love love love,
marah :] <3