Haha, ok so for those of you not up on text slang, FML is a commonly used expression to denote frustration. It stands for fuck my life. WELL we at Brandeis were treated to a rather pointless lecture yesterday about our options for academic advisement. The title of it was BML. Which stands for BRANDEIS my life. HAHAHAHAHA!! So that has become a joke. As has double fisting. Erm. Not going into that.
So in the time since last I wrote, Brandeis has become pretty amazing. We had our Committment to Social Justice orientation thing two days ago, and it was so neat. How many universities dedicate an entire day of orientation to exposing freshmen to different kinds of hate and how to combat them? This is truly an incredible place. Academics and changing the world are the top priorities. How wicked awesome is that? And how perfectly ME? Oh wow.
And I have been making friends. As I mentioned before, the people in my orientation group are pretty awesome. These girls, Emily and Hayley and I have vowed to be friends even after the orientation activities have ended. Which they officailly have. But I have both of their numbers and we live on the same quad, so it should be fairly easy to find them. Hopefully. We have done almost all of the orientation stuff together, and we get along really well. So, that's that.
I just had my first class. Cardio workout. Yay. Haha I had actually considered dropping it, but then I walked in and the teacher/coach was SUPER cute. Haha, so I think I will stick with it. It will be healthy and, well, visually appealing :)It's my earliest class, starting at 9:00. Ick. And because it is a workout class, I will actually need to get up and eat breakfast beforehand. Grrrreat. OH!
We got our refrigerator and microwave yesterday! We bought them from a girl who currently lives in the East Quad (sophomore housing). She is leaving Brandeis, and wanted to be rid of them. So, we trekked all the way to East (REALLY FREAKING FAR, and we encompasses myself, Trishna, and Ilana-the roomies) to look at the stuff, decide we wanted it, and also decide that there was no way in the world that we could carry it all the way from East back to Massell (our quad). Too heavy, too uphill, and too hot. So we told Anna (the girl selling to us) that we would talk to our CA (Community Advisor, remember?) about a way to get it to our building. Trekked back to Massell, and were almost to our room, when we happened to pass one of the rooms on our floor that happened to be filled to the brim with boys. *Zing!* Idea! So we challenged their collective masculinity and then asked them to help us carry a fridge and a microwave for us. Haha many of them did not know how far exactly East was from Massell. SO, we walked from Massell to East AGAIN, showed Anna our group of strapping young lads, and left again. Yet ANOTHER walk from East to Massell, this time accompanied by the guys carrying our appliances. Several huge hills and lots of funny looks ("Why are you carrying a fridge?" "Because I CAN! WHAT NOW?!") later, we got back to Renfield (our building) and set up our appliances successfully! Haha our fridge has a yarmulke. And I want to name it Leonard Bernstein, but I have not proposed it yet.
***So, I have been trying to write this over the course of like 5 hours. Every time I sit down and start typing, someone comes in and wants to go to breakfast, or lunch, or just hang out. So, if it's choppy I apologize. ***
Anyway, the rest of orientation was fun. If you want gory details, text me. If you've been looking at my Facebook statuses and wondering what is going on, also text. It's quite a story.
So, classes started. After Cardio Workout with the cute instructor, I had a break then on to Hebrew. Why did I sign up for that? Everyone in there has been through Hebrew school. And I have not. Hillary=Not Jewish Enough for Brandeis Hebrew Class. And I realized that the language is really only useful in Israel of Hebrew. And neither of those are places where I spend a lot of time. So, I kind of want to drop it. But my only other option os German. Which, again, isonly useful in Germany and I guess other parts of Europe. But Trishna is in the class too, so we could practice together. We'll see. The prohibitor is the cost of the books. I already bought Hebrew books. Meh. Hate Hebrew.
Now I am chilling in the room across the hall from mine with Trishna and Bo Reum (our Korean neighbor). We are listening to music, book shopping, and discussing hall drama (bleh). It's fun :) Talk to you guys later.
PS, if you are reading, comment! Let me know I am not writing this for my health! I am SUCH an actor. I want my audience please.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Umm...
Ok. So I am not yet ready to declare Brandeis a specatcular fail or success. It certainly has its good points. I guess that is what I will first focus on. Umm...good things. Ok.
1. Very diverse campus life. There are people here from all over the world, and it shows in their names, their faces, and their personalities.
2. Everyone is nice. Well, that false orientation nice. Kind of pretentious actually...Only good things! Ok.
3. My roommates are fantastic. We all really get along pretty well. All of them like Harry Potter and the Beatles, so what more do we really need? We spent last night talking for hours getting all the deep personal stuff out of the way. It was good.
4. One of the buildings is aqua. Not sure if that qualifies as good or bad...its neat.
5. Everyone seems to be very intent on being themselves.
6. The one theatre I have seen is nice.
I know there are more things, I just can't think of them right now because I of course am homesick. I had exceptionally amazing friends at home, and everyone here seems to have come with friends...I miss mine...
The bad things are foremost in my mind right now.
1. The Orientation process is very disorganized. Half the time I have no idea what I am supposed to be gaining from the hoops they have us jumping through.
2. The food in Sherman dining hall sucks. Hard core. Half is kosher and half is not which is apparently unique to Brandeis. Just the fact that kosher and nonkosher people can eat side by side without a huge fear of contamination. It drops the segregation which is nice.
3. My OL (Orientation Leader) keeps ditching my group. This is not so bad, as my group is really cohesive and we always find each other.
4. People are mildly pretentious, which I guess I already mentioned.
5. It's hard to make friends. As true as it is that everyone is new, its also a fact that during the first few weeks everyone stays tight with their preexisting friends. Which sucks for me.
6. No AC in the dorm rooms. I was up all night because it was just too hot to sleep. It was really uncomfortable.
I am going to purposely stop while the two are even. I will do my best to positively enumerate the events of the past few days.
Sunday was...hot as hell. Not kidding. Sunday was the day I moved in. Said goodbye to mom, got set up in the dorm, learned exactly how overwhelming the Brandeis campus is, and a ton of other things. My CA (Community Advisor. Not RA, Res Advisor, because at Brandeis we are all COMMUNITY) seems cool. She is very straightforward. Her words at our hall meeting "Don't fuck with me, or I will fuck you right back." That i can work with. She seems nice enough, just not someone who is willing to take shit from anyone. Which I respect immensely. (PS, everyone on campus uses foul language. Everyone.)
Umm...my adventures today were rather boring. I met my OL group for breakfast at Sherman at some ungodly hour of the morning. It was 8. UUUGHH. I don't remember any of what was said at breakfast, which is ok because apparently no one else did either. We did orientation activities all day which ranged from learning about the values of Brandeis to getting our class photo taken (800 hot and sweaty freshmen. yummy.). Oh, I met another theatre person at the ice cream social. She seems pretty cool. We have exchanged numbers, and are meeting up again later tonight to watch the Brandeis screening of the Dead Poet Society. A movie I love. I just got back from a concert...some local band that was just waaaay too loud for my taste. So I am here in my room...ritter ronery...
1. Very diverse campus life. There are people here from all over the world, and it shows in their names, their faces, and their personalities.
2. Everyone is nice. Well, that false orientation nice. Kind of pretentious actually...Only good things! Ok.
3. My roommates are fantastic. We all really get along pretty well. All of them like Harry Potter and the Beatles, so what more do we really need? We spent last night talking for hours getting all the deep personal stuff out of the way. It was good.
4. One of the buildings is aqua. Not sure if that qualifies as good or bad...its neat.
5. Everyone seems to be very intent on being themselves.
6. The one theatre I have seen is nice.
I know there are more things, I just can't think of them right now because I of course am homesick. I had exceptionally amazing friends at home, and everyone here seems to have come with friends...I miss mine...
The bad things are foremost in my mind right now.
1. The Orientation process is very disorganized. Half the time I have no idea what I am supposed to be gaining from the hoops they have us jumping through.
2. The food in Sherman dining hall sucks. Hard core. Half is kosher and half is not which is apparently unique to Brandeis. Just the fact that kosher and nonkosher people can eat side by side without a huge fear of contamination. It drops the segregation which is nice.
3. My OL (Orientation Leader) keeps ditching my group. This is not so bad, as my group is really cohesive and we always find each other.
4. People are mildly pretentious, which I guess I already mentioned.
5. It's hard to make friends. As true as it is that everyone is new, its also a fact that during the first few weeks everyone stays tight with their preexisting friends. Which sucks for me.
6. No AC in the dorm rooms. I was up all night because it was just too hot to sleep. It was really uncomfortable.
I am going to purposely stop while the two are even. I will do my best to positively enumerate the events of the past few days.
Sunday was...hot as hell. Not kidding. Sunday was the day I moved in. Said goodbye to mom, got set up in the dorm, learned exactly how overwhelming the Brandeis campus is, and a ton of other things. My CA (Community Advisor. Not RA, Res Advisor, because at Brandeis we are all COMMUNITY) seems cool. She is very straightforward. Her words at our hall meeting "Don't fuck with me, or I will fuck you right back." That i can work with. She seems nice enough, just not someone who is willing to take shit from anyone. Which I respect immensely. (PS, everyone on campus uses foul language. Everyone.)
Umm...my adventures today were rather boring. I met my OL group for breakfast at Sherman at some ungodly hour of the morning. It was 8. UUUGHH. I don't remember any of what was said at breakfast, which is ok because apparently no one else did either. We did orientation activities all day which ranged from learning about the values of Brandeis to getting our class photo taken (800 hot and sweaty freshmen. yummy.). Oh, I met another theatre person at the ice cream social. She seems pretty cool. We have exchanged numbers, and are meeting up again later tonight to watch the Brandeis screening of the Dead Poet Society. A movie I love. I just got back from a concert...some local band that was just waaaay too loud for my taste. So I am here in my room...ritter ronery...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Two Weeks...
Not as in the All that Remains song. As in, I have less than two weeks left before I board a plane for Boston, Massachusetts and the next chapter of my life.
My classes are as follows: Iranian Revolution, Cardio Workout, Haunted America (a seminar based around Langston Hughes' poem 'A Dream Deferred'), and Beginning Hebrew. Once I get to school, I plan to look into a course titled Criminal Law. It requires permission to be enrolled, so thats why I have to wait. It looks pretty neat.
All this talk of classes is to cover up that I am completely and totally freaked out about the coming change. I do not feel ready...does anyone ever? It's not that I am particularly attached to here, its just that I don't know anything else. That's a lie. I've been to Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, and New Zealand. The last thing I should fear is the unknown. But nevertheless, I am afraid. Of what I can't really define even in my brain. But I am more afraid that excited at this point. Hopefully that will all change.
I mailed my first box off to Boston yesterday...I will follow straight.
My classes are as follows: Iranian Revolution, Cardio Workout, Haunted America (a seminar based around Langston Hughes' poem 'A Dream Deferred'), and Beginning Hebrew. Once I get to school, I plan to look into a course titled Criminal Law. It requires permission to be enrolled, so thats why I have to wait. It looks pretty neat.
All this talk of classes is to cover up that I am completely and totally freaked out about the coming change. I do not feel ready...does anyone ever? It's not that I am particularly attached to here, its just that I don't know anything else. That's a lie. I've been to Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, and New Zealand. The last thing I should fear is the unknown. But nevertheless, I am afraid. Of what I can't really define even in my brain. But I am more afraid that excited at this point. Hopefully that will all change.
I mailed my first box off to Boston yesterday...I will follow straight.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Junot Diaz.
That is the book Brandeis is making its student body read this summer. Honestly, I was not looking forward to it that much. I assumed it would be a very deep, literary, symbolic work that would be borderline painful to read and all the more painful because I would have to pretend to enjoy it. NOT THE CASE! I should have known that Brandeis U would not assign a book that was boring. No, this book has been enjoyable from the first page. The author is witty and uses language that, lets just say, could be offensive to a rather more sheltered reader than myself. :P (another thing to note about me, I am inordinately fond of emoticons. It's probably not healthy...or a good writing habit). Anyway, the characters are captivating and the prose holds my attention which is, admittedly, hard to do this summer. (Side note, I am getting frustrated right now because I am trying to listen to 'Snuff' by the band Slipknot, but Grooveshark.com is failing to play it. It keeps skipping. Grrr.) The book is about a Dominican family. So far, I have figured out that it is from the viewpoint of the sister,that was no easy thing to discover. Well, maybe it was. Maybe it is simply my lack of attention span that made it difficult GOD I CAN'T STAND GROOVESHARK RIGHT NOW!.
Okay. More later. Good book. Read it if you get a chance.
That is the book Brandeis is making its student body read this summer. Honestly, I was not looking forward to it that much. I assumed it would be a very deep, literary, symbolic work that would be borderline painful to read and all the more painful because I would have to pretend to enjoy it. NOT THE CASE! I should have known that Brandeis U would not assign a book that was boring. No, this book has been enjoyable from the first page. The author is witty and uses language that, lets just say, could be offensive to a rather more sheltered reader than myself. :P (another thing to note about me, I am inordinately fond of emoticons. It's probably not healthy...or a good writing habit). Anyway, the characters are captivating and the prose holds my attention which is, admittedly, hard to do this summer. (Side note, I am getting frustrated right now because I am trying to listen to 'Snuff' by the band Slipknot, but Grooveshark.com is failing to play it. It keeps skipping. Grrr.) The book is about a Dominican family. So far, I have figured out that it is from the viewpoint of the sister,that was no easy thing to discover. Well, maybe it was. Maybe it is simply my lack of attention span that made it difficult GOD I CAN'T STAND GROOVESHARK RIGHT NOW!.
Okay. More later. Good book. Read it if you get a chance.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Roomies!!!
So I just got info on my new roommates! Their names are Ilana and Trishna. They both like Across the Universe and the Beatles as well as the Princess Bride! We already have SO much in common!! Haha, just thought I would share that. I have talked to Ilana on Facebook, and I just friended Trishna, so I will talk to her soon.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Life in a Box!
Sort of like jack-in-the-box. Get it? Haha, ok fine then!
I would just like you all to know that there are currently two large brown shipping boxes assembled on my floor in my bedroom. One is mostly filled, the other completely empty. I have been unable to decide what to remove from my old life to take along for my new. Aside from winter clothes that is. And of course the electric blanket. But beyond that...I am not yet ready to pack my life away. I still have a bit more time here. And I am seized by anxiety at even the consideration of packing things like posters and books. What would I do without them?!
Also, I have been informed that my University Writing Seminar will be Shakespeare and the Samurai :) YAY!
I still have very little idea what that will entail, but I am quite pumped.
I would just like you all to know that there are currently two large brown shipping boxes assembled on my floor in my bedroom. One is mostly filled, the other completely empty. I have been unable to decide what to remove from my old life to take along for my new. Aside from winter clothes that is. And of course the electric blanket. But beyond that...I am not yet ready to pack my life away. I still have a bit more time here. And I am seized by anxiety at even the consideration of packing things like posters and books. What would I do without them?!
Also, I have been informed that my University Writing Seminar will be Shakespeare and the Samurai :) YAY!
I still have very little idea what that will entail, but I am quite pumped.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Just so You Know
This will be a blog detailing my college adventures at Brandeis University. As anyone who knows me is already aware, I am SUPER excited. I can't wait for the thriving diversity that is sure to be present in my new home. I am a little nervous, yes, but that is to be expected.
Some of you followed my blog entries during my travels in Viet Nam. If you care to reread those, that blog can also be accessed on this site. Just go to my profile and click on La Vie Boheme. It should be near the bottom. Anyway, welcome back to old friends, welcome aboard to new ones. I look forward to sharing my hopefully exciting adventures with you.
Being that this is to be a college blog, I will not really start posting with any regularity until closer to the end of the summer. I just hate that I directed people to this page and it was blank. So, this is me doing away with the emptiness.
First college news: I signed up for my freshman seminar course. I had to pick my top 5, and I will be placed in one of them. I requested Shakespeare and the Samurai (no one knows what they have in common!), Staging Madness, something to do with deviants throughout history (the words heretic, witch, and fornicator were used somehow in the title), and two others whose names escape me at the moment.
One more thing before I end this, I am an infamously bad typist. Get used to it :)
Some of you followed my blog entries during my travels in Viet Nam. If you care to reread those, that blog can also be accessed on this site. Just go to my profile and click on La Vie Boheme. It should be near the bottom. Anyway, welcome back to old friends, welcome aboard to new ones. I look forward to sharing my hopefully exciting adventures with you.
Being that this is to be a college blog, I will not really start posting with any regularity until closer to the end of the summer. I just hate that I directed people to this page and it was blank. So, this is me doing away with the emptiness.
First college news: I signed up for my freshman seminar course. I had to pick my top 5, and I will be placed in one of them. I requested Shakespeare and the Samurai (no one knows what they have in common!), Staging Madness, something to do with deviants throughout history (the words heretic, witch, and fornicator were used somehow in the title), and two others whose names escape me at the moment.
One more thing before I end this, I am an infamously bad typist. Get used to it :)
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