News :)

Dear all,
I wanted you all to know that Robbie and I are no longer together.
Yes, I am okay with it and I am very much at peace about it.
It was a very calm, peaceful, and in some ways a sweet ending.
God is really working it all out for the good of everyone involved. :)

So yes, I love you all and can't wait to be seeing you soon!!

Love,
Kera

Faith We Would Not Fade Away by Honest Abe

I'm starting my own tradition: every post will be titled with some type of song lyric. Yay!

Sooooooo I suck. I haven't been on here in FOREVER. Things with school got wayyyyy out of control, I've just had craploads of work to do recently. So to update everyone on my life...

This semester has been fairly decent. Lots of things happened on campus, and it's really made me think about a lot of things. We were at a remembrance ceremony this afternoon for a first year girl who was killed in a car accident on her way home for Thanksgiving. It was heartbreaking to hear about. It just made me think about how short life is and how I really need to live my life the way I want to.

I received some...interesting news this weekend about a certain person. I'm sure most of you know who it (he) is. Surprisingly, I'm not really that torn up about it. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. But I got some sound advice from Eat, Pray, Love: "Send him light and love every time you think of him, and then drop it." Good words to live by.

I realized I'm in love with a language. Spanish. I freaking love it. Yet I'm saddened because next semester will be the last semester I'll have room in my schedule to take it. *tear*

For the past several months I have been utterly OBSESSED with Salman Rushdie. I'm in the middle of reading The Ground Beneath Her Feet and I'm telling you, I'm in love with this guy's writing. Ask Gabby. I've scared her a few times, actually, reading that book, by randomly sobbing or laughing out loud. But you guys know how emotional I get over literature. But anyways...READ IT. SERIOUSLYI'MNOTEVENKIDDINGYOUALLHAVETOREADITSOICANTALKABOUTITTOSOMEONEELSEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Now that the spaz attack is over...I have a song I'd like to dedicate to all of us:
"We Are Okay" by Joshua Radin

Love love love always and forever,
Honest Abe xoxo

Winter Wonderland! by Gabs

So, I started to write a comment on Kera's post, but when I got to the third sentence of my second paragraph, I decided to just write my own post. Woohoo! First order of business: SLEDDING! I am so excited! I can't actually remember the last time that I went sledding. I actually think it might have been before Alex was born, and he will be 5 in a month. Crazy, right? He is getting so big and cute and just awesome! He has this new Spongebob hat that he wore every day this weekend. It was adorable. And he told me that I was his favorite person. Which is funny, because last weekend he told me he loved bacon more than everyone except Andrea. Haha. Okay, that's my tangent about Alex. =]
Second order of business: I AM LOVING THE SNOW! It is making campus look so pretty. Although it is less fun to walk through, even if the quad we live on this year is better salted and shoveled than the walkway in front of my dorm last year. At least for now, I'm trying not to get my hopes up. It was kind of sad at first with just the flurries, because all the snow melted away... Thursday night? Although Wednesday I did get to witness a girl totally wipe out on the ice in the middle of her drunken rendition of "Let It Snow". It was kind of hilarious. Although the effect was sort of lessened when we got back to our dorm and the full ramifications of "Wasted Wednesday" came upon us. Drunk people are so gross- Amber witnessed a girl spitting in the stairwell at one point. Ick! And don't even get me started on the mysterious substance my hand encountered on the stair rail the second week of the semester. I freaked out. Ha!
Anyway, I am not excited about finals, but I am pushing through. Yes! Mostly because I am really excited about next semester and I just want to get to it already. Even if it is going to be SUPER hard- I am going to be in 2 English classes, one of which is a really broad survey course (18th & 19th C British Lit) and another more specific class (Nature and Lit). Plus I'm taking an intro Women's Studies course, so there's 3 classes with a TON of reading. Then I'm going to be in a language class- German 2. That shouldn't be as hard. I just know that I am going to have a ton of papers to write, and lots of reading to do. I mean, we have to read 2 novels in one of my classes, and then a very large chunk of Gulliver's Travels, and then still a whole bunch of other stuff. And there are 4 required books in my Women's Studies class, 3 of which aren't the textbook, just novel-length books. So... woohoo! At least I like reading, and books. I am an English major after all. I guess this is what I get. We'll see how many sleepless nights I end up with....
Oh! So a health update. I don't know if I've told you guys, but I was diagnosed with a heart condition in March/April called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). Basically my heart races when it's not supposed to (I woke up almost every morning with a pulse of 120-not good!) Anyways, I've been on a beta blocker since then to regulate my heart rate. Well recently I've been having issues again- irregular heart rate, etc when it shouldn't be. Even after no caffeine for 3 days and switching up another med I'm on, it's still doing these funky things. So I have to go on a heart monitor for 2 weeks sometime this month- whenever the insurance decides to stop being stupid and just put the darn thing through. My mom got really mad at them- she asked the woman "What if she has a heart attack before the request gets processed? What then?" Needless to say, the woman did not have a response to that question. So, yeah. I'll try to keep you guys updated with that whole thing. Wish me luck!
I can't wait to see you guys!
Love, Gabby

Eggs and the F-Bomb - Kera

I thought since I have some spare time for once in three weeks, I am going to post here :)

As you all know the "f-bomb" has detonated....FLURRIES! I have to say it so beautiful outside especially when it is nice and fluffy and it catches in your hair and tickles your nose. It makes you feel slightly dreamy inside. Maybe it is just me? haha.

Lately I've been really evaluating my educational process....I think what I am going to do is space out my classes more and spend more years total in school. Taking 17-20 credit hours every semester is not a plan for success for me...I have 15 right now and two of my classes are killing me. It took me a while to accept this idea that was presenting itself. I am Class of 2010! Hurrah! But I've come to realize that sure I may say I am that, but if I don't learn what I am supposed to learn cramming it all like I've had to, I won't graduate then anyways. So what seems like a better plan? Exactly. ha. Now you know what is going on on that front.

I just did a "controversial chemistry paper" on birth control. I found it so facinating to read more in depth on the female body. You guys might think I am totally whacko sure, but I really have come to just admire what God has created. Sure, having a period can be annoying / gross at times, but after studying more on how many changes are occuring just so one little egg can dilly dally its way to potentially being fertilized is rather sweet if you think about it. And I wanted to share a little story that made me appreciate a little more "Aunt Flo". A woman in my Bible study told us probably 6 months ago now a little testimony of sorts. She and her husband have two children already and decided that was perfect for them so she had a procedure done that thinned the lining of her uterus so eggs could no longer implant. Yet, she started to have a maternal urge to have another child, but she kept ignoring it. All these women were having babies and she just brushed it off as being that "oh the baby is so cute I want one" syndrome. However, one day the Lord told her that she was going to have another baby. She laughed and was like "God, you know the surgery I had, how is that possible?" However in the course of the last few months she's found she is wanting a "miracle baby". Ironically, a lot of the devotionals that we in the Bible study read have ended up dealing with this awesome man of God saying "if you want a baby, start preparing" etc. Well the other day (and sorry if ahead of time this is gross for you guys), she said that she was on her period and she felt a gush of blood. What most women would typically feel is panic or digust, but instead her heart leapt for joy because that has not happened in the years since she had her surgery! That means her uteral lining is developing on its own! So to the point of the story is that.....I've just been awestruck by these little things I can take for granted or just find as "normal bodily functions" are really a blessing disguise. I had a little moment today where I just thought (of course I am going to say this in a sillier way than it was presented in my mind), "one day...that little egg that usually goes bye-bye will instead meet the sperm of its dreams and develop into a baby, my baby!" Isn't it really just kind of amazing? Anyways, I'll get off that subject for those of you who might be feeling a little queasy, but I hope it insome ways blessed you as it did me (as odd as it may be).

Annnnnd I'd like to say that we MUST go sledding this winter. I haven't been sledding in two, possibly three years and I am dying to go. So, you + me + snow + sled = adventure of a lifetime! Do any of you have sleds? I have a long yellow one that we could use.

I hope you're all doing swell and are chugging through the last parts of the semester (or quarter) and with finals! I know you will all do awesome!

P.S. The peppermint hershey kisses are amazing...I think I've fallen in love again :) Just when I thought hugs were enough....not anymore. ;)

Wet Feet -Gabby

Wow! It's been a while since I've been on here. First, I will explain the title of my post. It's raining out today, and I definitely wore the wrong shoes. Specifically, really absorbant shoes. Yeah. Bet  you've already figured out how that turned out. Basically, I'm sitting in the computer lab right now without my shoes on, trying to get the to dry at least a little bit. And I have plans to go to Walmart right after class! Oh well, Ambi said she'd bring me an extra pair if I reminded her. Innyhoo. On to more important news! Jenny- that stomach flu is going around DU. My Psych professor was actually out on Friday, and her husband, who is also a professor here, caught it too. Yuck. Luckily I don't have it. And I refuse to. BECAUSE HARRY POTTER COMES OUT THIS FRIDAY! AND I AM GOING TO THE MIDNIGHT PREMIERE! Okay, nerd freak out over. At least on here it is- definitely still going on in my head. Haha. Oh! So I got my class schedule for next semester worked out! I am taking 18th and 19th Century British Literature with an AWESOME professor; Nature and Literary Imagination with Amber, Beginning German II, and Issues in Feminism. Unfortunately, this makes makes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays kind of busy for me, but I don't have class on Tuesdays and only on on Thursday! Woohoo! I am so excited! 

Hmmmm what else to tell you... Oh! I've been going to weekly meetings for BreakAway every Monday night. I am getting really excited, and the people in my group are a lot of fun. Last night we played this game that I've never played before called Ninja. It's really weird and kind of hard to explain, but loads of fun. I can totally imaging our group all playing it together. Anyway, the people. There is a really good mix of people. A couple of freshmen, some sophomores, a junior, and a few seniors. One of the senior guys is really nice, and struck up a random conversation with me yesterday when we were waiting for the meeting to start. It's definitely really cool- it sort of feels like we've all know each other for a while and are pretty good friends. I suppose that's us all bonding over our shared status as Denisonians. Plus when we go on the trip we are going to be squished into a bunkhouse that apparently comfortably fits 10 people and the max is 12. Guess how many of us are going? 12. Haha. Oh! And we're staying on a farm. Woooo..... And it's going to be really cold......... Ugh. Less than excited for that part. Oh well. Yay for new friends!

Love you guys! 

Gabs

If You Looked Like Me - Kera

Okay, so I said I'd write to you about what prison was like. Hopefully text can do my experience justice. A couple funny things happened that I hope I remember to tell you. So, the location was Lebanon Prison. It houses felons (therefore sex offenders, murderers....those kind of criminals) It is high security meaning these people are NOT getting out. haha. There were two rows of barbed wire and it was intense!!! haha. It was on the ground and up top. First I should mention that my prof required us to dress up and look respectable, meaning no jeans. So I had to borrow black pants (I for some reason don't have any) and I wore heels. Of course some of my classmates still wore jeans (Grr!) haha They gave us our visitor badges and we went through the metal detector. Once through the one male guard says, "Pull your shirt up hun." I looked at him bewildered like "oh my am I hanging out?" He says (probably in response to my look), "You're fine, they'll just be screaming at you. And they'll like your heels too...*long pause* but if you looked like me, they'd still like you too." BAHA! The first gate opened and only 8 people are allowed in there at once. It shuts and then photo id must be shown and they ask you to show the invisible stamp on your hand (it glows). The next gate opens and you walk into a long corridor full of administration offices. The next 8 of us went through and so on so forth until we were in the hallway together. The tour lady talks about how old it is and what level prisoners they hold and so on so forth. She kept saying, "We have sex offenders" and would make a point to look at me and the girl standing next to me (okay, my prof required it, don't look at me like that! haha) We start walking and somehow the girl and I ended up in the lead and we're like "we really shouldn't be in the lead...." but all the guys were hanging back behind us (baha!). We get to the next gate that leads to where actual prisoners will be walking. There were already some loitering. Now mind you, they aren't chained as they walk around. They have rules such as they have to walk on this side of the hallway and whatnot, but they are allowed to walk without chains and handcuffs. They are required by law to have MP3 players (it keeps their minds occupied - that is one of their biggest agendas is to keep them from thinking so they won't plan an escape or death). So there was a little kiosk where they could buy music. There was a snack line with hygiene products too where they can buy things they need. They do get $9 a week to buy those things which can be reduced if they act up. You know how we get tickets for traffic violations, they get the same write ups if they break rules/cause trouble. There is a Tag Shop where the prisoners (only the best behaved ones) may work. There are only two places in the US that make license plates and Lebanon is one of those. The BMV pays for the inmate's stay so that way taxpayers won't have to. Of course the inmates don't see any of that money. It's really a bargain in the sense that the prison gets the opportunity to make them and keep prisoners occupied and BMV pays them so they don't have to spend money on inmates stay. Kinda neat. They gave us a free license plate at the end that says, "VISIT" haha. Then we went to a block which is a long hallway with 20 cells on the first tier and then two more levels with 20 cells. Prisoners are held two to a cell except for a few who have gained the privilege of their own rooms. Mostly those guys are ones who train dogs to help children with autism. They are basically the cream of the crop inmates who've been good. haha. This specific block was the best behaved block so they could shower when they pleased, microwave food, sit out in the common hallway and visit each other's cells. They opened up two cells for us to look in. Well, of course it is a prison so there's going to be some "scandalous posters/pictures" on the wall. I am not stupid, I know this. haha. (that's my disclaimer). Well she said, "Go ahead, take a look." No one was budging so this guy Oliver and I went in and I was looking around on the ground and I saw how cramped the toilet is and the sink is over top of it so you have to crouch on the toilet beneath the sink. THey had a TV (occupy your mind haha). The room was honestly the same size as my half bath at home if you guys remember what it looks like. They said the most fights they have break out between roommates...no wonder...haha. Roomates in fairly large college dorms fight, so imagine being forced in a room with a fellow inmate haha. So I was scanning the room and it had lots of random papers and whatnot and then I saw a spice rack so I was like hmm interesting, they have spices. Then I turned and right beside me is a GIANNNNT photo of a COMPLETELY nude woman. I go "Whoooa okayyyyy." and turn on my heel and walk out and just as I did, Oliver behind me goes "ooohhhayyy" and runs out on my tail haha. Of course I turn BRIGHT red and the whole class giggles after I say, "Just don't look at the walls." Even my prof was holding back a chuckle. The woman goes, "Oh I'm so sorry." "Oh it's okay." She can't apologize for a prisoner's pornography. haha. Well then we went to their chapel and talked to a couple inmates. That was mostly the prison. It was a neat experience. The inmates were honestly extremely respectable. The tour lady said that there's 2500+ inmates in a prison that has been accommodated from only being able to hold 1200. They only have about 58 staff members every shift. The only reason she says they can run it is because the prisoners respect the staff and most of them don't want to cause trouble. They want to get out as much as the staff doesn't want them to stay. Very interesting. haha. If you have any questions just ask :) On the way back in the van with a bunch of guys and my friend Rachel, I was saying how it bothers me they don't make women's pants with bigger butt pockets. Oliver says, "You know why they do that...?" "Because they think women don't need them...." "No, because men look at their butts." haha Wow....I was enlightened. The thought never crossed my mind. haha. Then my friend Rachel out of the blue says to my friend Eric, "I really like your eyes." Eric (the smart butt that he is....though he was taken off guard with her statement....[he'll put on this "cool" front, not in a bad way, just really chill about everything, so to see him taken off guard for a split second was funny] ) "Oh uh thanks...I massage them twice a day." Oliver says, "(pretending he were Eric while rubbing eyes) Stay awake....stay awake..."  Me: "Well, if that's Eric, it is more than twice a day." It was really funny especially since, who says they massage their eyes. haha. Funny stuff. Alrighty, this is long enough. I'll bid you adieu. <3

Tidbits from Kera

This is mostly in response to Jenny (though I might update a tad bit even though I need to be going to bed....). It hasn't been going around my campus, but I've known a few people to have it. My brother has had gastronitis before same with my good friend Zach. Both very unpleasant experiences and were given prescriptions. I am sorry you had a nasty bout with it, but guess who won. You. Boosh! ;) Glad you're feeling better and more spry (sprye??).

Quick tidbit:
I am going to prison today tehe. We are actually, on a field trip, going to be walking among prisoners and speaking with them. My prof keeps saying, "It is a very sobering experience." I am super excited for this trip. I'll tell you more about it when I return.

I am awaiting our return to home where we can all join together for Christmas :D! I am super excited to see you all and play in the snow with you. And please understand I am not jumping on the Christmas/snow come now bandwagon haha. Believe me, Thanksgiving comes first people! ;) But I do await when I get to see you all. I miss you so much. Life is getting a little intense on the homework front this month. I have to do a research paper on a "controversial chemistry subject". I wish my topic could be the controversy over why this research paper is required of us. Is it really that important? Haha. Student vs. Prof controversy so I say that it is. 8 pages of it....haha. I'd rather sit in calculus thank you!

Lots of love to you my dears :D

The Stomach Plague - aka - The Death ~by jennyMcJenJen

so there's this sucky stomach virus going around campus, and i guess even ohio in general? (idk, have any of you gotten/heard about it?)

its been about 2 weeks since i first heard about it. at first everyone thought that there were just a few cases of food poinoning, and our cafe decided to start serving us our food instead of letting us get it (which is especially annoying because it takes longer to get food now . . . more on that later). however, now it is officially gastroenteritis (or something like that), better known as either the stomach plague or the death. not that it has killed anyone,  but it has caused a few people to travel to the hospital . . .

so here's my personal story about it: the friday before last, yes, Halloween Weekend, sam's roommate, MC got this. at first he thought he was getting a cold, but actually ended up vomitting several times during the night. he slept most of the day friday and felt good enough to go to Cedar Point (to work/fundraise) that evening. he felt better by saturday and so we (those in my hall) figured he was one of the food poisoning victims. well that sunday is when they began serving the food at mac, in order to stop the "virus" we all "knew" was food poisoning. it was really really annoying.

well i went about my life as usual, then last tuesday (nov 2) afternoon i started feeling weird,  but i thought i was just hungry. so sam and i went to nom (the little cafe/diner restaurant thing just off campus) for dinner bc i didn't wanna go to mac. by the time we got there though, i was really tired and didn't feel too hott. i tried to eat, but wasn't really hungry. i texted people to tell them i'd miss my meetings that evening and decided to try to take a nap when i got back to my room and hope it went away. it didn't. i couldn't fall asleep bc i felt so bloated and grody. sam gave me chewable pepto and as soon as i finished that i threw up. it was nasty. really nasty. suddenly, i had the death. and seriously, i felt like i was gonna die that night. i wont bother you with the gory details, bc they're really gross. but anyway, i felt so weak, and tired, and unable to keep anything down. it got to the point that i couldn't keep gatorade or sprite down. only water. sam and my friend dawn put my mattress on the floor bc i was too weak to climb up and down every 10-20 minutes to go to the bathroom. i told my parents what was going on and they nearly came up to take me to urgent care. i told them it wasn't that bad. but it was bad. i ended up sleeping most of wednesday.

so yeah, it was nasty, but the amazing thing is that it doesn't last very long. like one of those out-of-nowhere, sudden thunderstorms that are really violent but last like less than an hour. i went back to classes thursday, but was still having a few issues. so i went to the health center and got a perscription. was pretty much 100% friday (except for side effects of the meds). however, i washed my hands so much that they are still very dry . . . but other than that, i'm all good :) i survived the death. also, amazingly, sam has not caught it. he refuses to. lol.

but i'd say that at least 1/3 of campus has had it at one point or another in the past two weeks, even a couple professors! so yeah . . . i thought i'd post about it and see if it has infected any of your campuses yet . . .
i hope not!

lots of love,
Jenny McJenJen <3

I WAS SO EXCITED ABOIT CLASSES I FORGOT TO TELL YOU GUYS SOMETHING AWESOME

Innyhoo. Yes I am posting again. But it's important. There's this service trip that Denison does called Breakaway, where for the last week of winter break you go somewhere kind of random and do some kind of service. And I got accepted! I'm going on the "Mystery Trip" which is no longer a mystery, they just didn't tell us really anything about wjat we were applyig for in the first place. We're going to Spencer, West Virginia. I looked it up, and the population is as big as the Denison student body. Which is about 2100. Crazy right? Anyway I just wanted to share that fun tidbit of info. Love you! -G

Why YOU Are Amazing! - Kera

I am glad that this is taking off...:)

It's been a little intense over on this playing field (I just thought of all of us on a baseball field playing a game....innyhoo...). I've had a ton of stuff coming at me with my classes. Calculus and analytical chemistry are kicking my bootay. Thankfully my New Testament class is enrapturing and I am acing my tests :D He's a great prof too! My classes for next semester are looking to be: Analytical Chemistry II, Calculus II, Old Testament, Criminal Law, and Criminal Evidence. :)

On a more personal note....(classes are great, but I want to hear more than classes from y'all....;) ) I have grown to be more assertive and bold (so those of you who pestered me to stand up for myself / be more assertive, guess what?! It has happened. haha) It is simply a boldness that comes from being in Christ. My parents and I have found a whole new loving relationship. You guys know how I used to think of my parents and I am so glad I am not prisoned by that anymore. Sure, sometimes I feel frustrated by them, but I have grown to love them no matter what. I even wrote them a very mushy letter :) I have a found a really hilarious friend here on campus that has such an incredible faith and we're both in the same bible study from home so it's just phenomenal. She's hilarious and makes me think of you all at different times. haha. I'll honestly say that I have a lot of great people around me here, but I've been searching for a good female friend in my life at CU and God brought her. I am truly thankful for that. I have to say, since I haven't been around you guys in a while, I am starting to not be so touchy feely hah (Moima started that in me baha!) I mean I'll poke and punch, but hugs aren't as often, though I do pat Zach's knee when I am assuring him after I just teased him. haha Strange isn't it? I have to say I love Robbie more than I used to and I appreciate him a lot more than I used to. I can't believe I've been dating the kid a year and half....it seems just yesterday you all were teasing me because I was "rob"bing the cradle. Baha. So I think what I am saying from all of that is my relationships have really changed a lot. I have grown to love and appreciate you all so much more and just know that even if you don't get a call everyday or a letter once a week from me....I love you guys more than I have before. I am like my dad in that I don't always tell people how I feel about them. So please know that if you don't hear from me often, it doesn't mean I don't care. I think a lot of it comes from the faith and assurance that you are being doted on by your friends there and I know that you are all beautiful and intelligent women with such courage and strength. (P.S. if your friends aren't doting on you, they better be cuz you ladies deserve it!) That is something truly amazing about all of you - no matter where you go, you make a way. I love it about you :) That actually makes me think of my new theme song: Wherever we go, that's where the party's at.

Well, I need to chop chop on some studying and calc. :) God I thank you for each and everyone of these beautiful women you have put in my life. Thank you for their knowledge and humor that they bless me with every time we speak. I pray that every place they walk and every thing they do - that is where the party is at. Give them rest and an abundance of joy. Amen. LOVE YOU GUYS <3

Its me again . . . ~by Jenny

Haha. ok. so i'm sorry if i'm bothering y'all with all my posts . . . but i have soo much to share with you! (and i have these amounts of time in which i can't get anything significant done but its enough time to be bored . . . but mostly i have a lot i want to share ; ] )

so anyway, first, ASL Club.
in case you hadn't known already, i started ASL Club last year, and we became official at the end of the year. so we got a table at Welcome Fest this year and got a bunch of people signed up. like 71 people. well obviously i dont have that many people in my club. but we do have 20 members (about 9 or 10 of which are inactive, but thats ok) and its really exciting :) i'm sooooo happy about the progress of this club. and i keep making things more and more official. for example, i created an attendance list on excel today because we have an attendance policy in our bylaws. and i keep thinking of ways to organize my information in order to pass it on to future facilitators. which is doubly exciting. 1) because i like to organize. lol. and 2) because when i think about people taking over when i'm gone . . . its just really happy :)  so yeah . . . that's mostly it for this topic . . .

second, my schedule:
so since ONU decided to switch to semesters, we as students had to sit down with advisors in both our major and minor fields and figure out what classes we are taking for the remainder of our lives here. lol. i already posted about the frustration part of that. but Gabby posted about all her classes, and they sounded so exciting. . . i felt like sharing my schedule. but its not nearly as exciting. in fact, i can't say i'm actually looking forward to any of my classes. . . i will continue to take french at the same time and place and with the same professor,which is more torture than anything. then i have history of math, which just doesn't sound fun. then there is linear algebra, which i hear is easy, but its just another math class that i have to take but wont really need in my career . . . then i have exceptional learner, which is an ed class about special education students. which doesn't sound terrible or boring, but its tuesday nights and my roommate took it last year and hated it. *sigh* the only class i was particularly excited about was social dance, and thats because 1) i like to dance and 2) i was supposed to take it with sam and a couple other friends. but sam had financial issues and scheduled late and couldn't get into the class. so now i'm kind of afraid i'm gonna have to dance with someone who is disgusting or something . . . so its less exciting. so yeah . . . jenny is somewhat jealous of Gabby in her ability to take fun classes . . . lol. but other than that, my life is good and i am happy :)

i hopeses all of yous are happy too :) and yeah, i'm gonna try to stop posting so much so the rest of you have a chance to share your lives ;) lol.

loveses muchlies,
Jenny McJenJen <3

Hey! Long time, no post. By Gabby

Hello my lovelies! Sorry it has taken me so long to post something new. Things have been extra hectic around Camp Deni-doo. But I'm loving being here, and doing all of the fun things that they have to offer. Eating snagels at The Bandersnatch, and last night the Dating Doctor, David Coleman, spoke. He's really funny. You know the movie Hitch? Yeah, it's based off of him. Kind of epic! Innyhoo. We get to start scheduling classes for next semester in the next couple of weeks. So excited! To show you how excited, I am going to post the descriptions of A BUNCH of classes that I want to take. haha. Here goes. Don't be afraid to give me your opinion!
1) Women in Literature: This course brings together a range of diverse texts that share a common interest—the exploration of women’s experiences. Our priorities here are two-fold. On the one hand, we are studying “Woman” as a monolithic identity—a gendered Body with common gendered experiences. On the other hand, we are examining the heterogeneity of women’s lives across “races,” cultures, nation states, sexualities, beliefs, and so on. As Chandra Talpade Mohanty writes, “The relationship between ‘Woman’—a cultural and ideological composite Other constructed through diverse representational discourses . . . and ‘women’—real, material subjects of their collective histories—is one of the central questions the practice of feminist scholarship seeks to address” (“Under Western Eyes”). Through literature, theory, and visual media, we will explore 1) how women have shaped the world, 2) how the world has shaped women, and 3) what kinds of connections and conclusions we can draw as a result, while necessarily bearing in mind the crucial relationship/disjuncture between “Woman” and “women.” We will also look at the interdisciplinary field known as “women’s studies” and use our knowledge and understanding(s) of this field to read these texts. Ultimately, we will counter historically androcentric discourses through women’s voices, personal narratives, and perspectives.
2) Nature & Literary Imagination: Even though the natural world and what it means to humans was the focus of much ancient lore, it is probable that by the time Columbus landed in America with notions of “discovering” a new environment, that environment seemed simply rich for the taking, ripe for exploiting in the service of human beings. It is doubtful that he and his men thought much more about the environment or nature than how it could serve, or at least not hinder, them and probably not at all about the “right relationship” between humans and nature. Now, 500+ years later—and especially since quantum physics--college courses such as ENGL/ENVS 291 ask students to think a great deal about that relationship. More specifically, ENGL/ENV 291 asks students to expand their scientific perspectives to include views from the literary imagination (mostly American, and mostly somewhat contemporary), to explore the light that literary artists shed on the human-nature relationship. The focus of this course is that exploration, intending to lead each student closer to his or her own studied “truth” about the relationship of human beings to (the rest of) the natural world. Authors studied will include Frost, Oliver, Kooser, Hawthorne, Twain, Hemingway, Silko, Kingsolver. This one is cross-listed as an Environmental Studies course, so if I do decide to take it and can get in, Amber and I may be in it together!
3) Children's Literature: “Children’s literature” is a tricksy little phrase. Does it suggest a story written by a child? A story with particular qualities (usually of plot or vocabulary) that could be read by a child? A story written by an adult but meant to be read by a child? A story that a child actually chooses to read? These and other permutations are where we will begin our semester, and we’ll get to know each other through some good speculation on the relationship between language, image, artist, and audience. We’ll get out in the open the common bias that the study of children’s literature cannot be intellectually rich or nuanced, and will spend some time “studying the study of children’s literature,” positioning it among the disciplines of education, psychology, art, and literary criticism. We’ll share many familiar short works from the second half of the 20th century, including Goodnight Moon, Make Way for Ducklings, Miss Nelson is Missing!, Where the Wild Things Are, Matilda, A Million Fish...More or Less, A Chair for My Mother, and Bedtime for Frances, and some longer books including Andrew Clements’ Frindle, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and Louis Sachar’s Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Shared multimedia texts will include several Disney films, Marlo Thomas’ Free to Be...You and Me, and animated shorts from the good people at Schoolhouse Rock. We’ll visit local public libraries and bookstores, and seek the insights of authors, illustrators, librarians, and teachers in the area. Our investigations may include the relationship between text and image; the process of writing, publishing, selling, and displaying works for children; the representation of teachers and schools in children’s books; awards for writing and illustrating; the determination of reading skill levels; the presence (or perception) of strong political and moral ideologies; the depiction of races, genders, and family structures; and the Disney company as imagineer and merchandiser of texts for children. This is one I'm SUPER excited for, and really hoping that I can take. The professor who will be teaching it is supposed to be really good. Every person that I've met since coming to Denison that has had him has said that I HAVE to take a class with him.
4) Introduction to Photography: Introduction to Photography: The emphasis of this introductory photography course is to give students a strong foundational background in photography, as well as familiarize students with a new way of thinking about creating images, articulating personal artistic vision and participating as an art maker in a studio class dynamic. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of technical and aesthetic concerns involved in making photographs including; film-less photography, principles of darkroom image creation, camera handling, digital file management, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Photoshop CS5, basic digital photo manipulation, composition and development of a photographic vision.
5) Partnership and Politics (QS-101).  A survey of the legal regulation of sexuality and gender in the 19th and 20th centuries and the emergence of modern civil rights movements of sexual minorities. This course will focus on the history, strategies, conflicts, and issues associated with these political and social movements. This is a Queer Studies class, which I think would be really interesting to take.
6) Imagining(beyond)the body: Transformation of bodies happens in a wide variety of ways--some of which are deemed natural, some are socially sanctioned, while others are disciplined, punished, and even pathologized. Thinking about transformation brings up issues of identity, sexual and gender politics, (bio)ethics, human and civil rights, technology, as well as media culture. Moreover, the transformation of individual bodies is inextricably bound up with the (trans) formation of bodies of knowledge, institutional bodies, and social bodies. Indeed, across scholarly disciplines, the very categories of the human, personhood, embodiment are in the process of being redefined (ie: transformed). Using readings, films, and discussions, this course will critically examine the ways in which various forms of bodily transformation are understood, experienced, and practiced in contemporary western culture. This class will engage students in a critical examination of transformation in multiple senses: we will look at the their implications and ramifications (cultural, social, political, and ethical) of bodies out of bounds, deviance, mutations, hybrids, transgressions and transformations and the ways feminist scholars and activists--and popular culture--are addressing these issues.
7) Film Aesthetics and Analysis (CINE-104).  An introductory study of the dominant theatrical medium of the 20th century. Critical analysis of narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental cinema. An introduction to basic scholarly and evaluative approaches to film and video art. Screenings, readings, and critical papers.
Woohoo! And I'm done with the slight spazziness. Although, I do feel as though I may have missed a few. Oh well. Give me your opinion!

Torrential Downpour!

Hey hey! so its been a while, but i feel the need to tell this epic story. lol.
so on tuesdays i only have two hours of class and an hour of work. so i eat lunch at noon with Sam and Beth (my roomie), then we go back to affinity (our dorm) and do whatever it is we need/want to do.

well today there is/was a tornado warning/watch. so we decide to leave mac (the cafe) before it gets really bad. sam and i get our bikes and ride over to beth's which is at the library. its really windy, so i get all excited and go "yeeeeehaaawwwww!" because its fun and we had decided to play "lets see who falls off there bike first!." i notice that its sprinkling and suddenly, more like instantaneously, its a DOWNPOUR! i mean can't see like 5 feet in front of you rain. intense. so we leave our bikes oustide and run in the library. after a minute or two it slows down a little, and beth convinces us that its not gonna get better. so we make sure our bikes are locked down and decide to run to affinity. which is across campus. lol. so first we run from the library back to mac, then from mac to freed (performing arts center), then from freed to affinity east (opposite half of our dorm complex area). but our keys dont get us into that building, so we stand out there for a minute, deciding what to do. luckily someone lets us in and we walk through the building, out onto the porch. then across the open field to our porch and finally inside. it was epic. it was wet. it was fun. i was running along side two former soccer players to get to a safe spot. it was intense.

i really wanted to share the experience with you. plus no one has posted anything for a long time. lol.

LOVE YOU!!!! <3 jenny jen jen jen ;)

Ugh by Jenny

So first off, i'm sorry, but i'm totally addicted to this blog. let me know if i'm posting too much. lol.

so anyway, the topic of this post is my frustration/excitement/worry over our transition to semesters. i was talking to kera online a few minutes ago and it came up. lol.

so yeah, in case you didn't know, ONU is switching from quarters to semesters. which on the one hand is exciting because we'll have a longer Christmas break, but on the other hand is a pain in the ass (pardon my language, but its that frustrating sometimes). we had to meet with our advisors to come up with a conversion plan to turn in to the university. we had to sign it and everything. that doesnt bother me, i love to plan, so that was great. however, it also made me realize how much i have to get done. and since i'll have to spend half a year student teaching instead of just 1/3 of a year, i lose a lot of time. and i have a lot of requirements. so i'm ending up with absolutely no wiggle room in my schedule, but they haven't fully planned out all the courses yet. prime example of a problem: i have to take both stats and french 3 this spring. however, this spring they are only offered at the same time. now, i am lucky in that i know the department chair of math and i told him about my problem and he's gonna talk to the stats prof about changing the time. however, i know that the same problem will occur with other people. the university promised everyone that was coming into the school that their switch to semesters would not prolong any student's stay. i realize that a lot of students would stay more than four years anyway, but that is beside the point. a student that has done everything right and gotten good grades should not have to stay more than four years or take summer classes to complete a bachelors degree. so i'm refusing to take summer classes because the university should waive a gen ed if their scheduling prevents me from taking it.

so yeah, basically we have fewer oppportunities to take classes and the university is going to have a lot of crap to deal with as this conversion occurs. i mean, i have full faith that it will all work out, i just get a little frustrated sometimes. i needed to vent said frustration. thanks for reading. even if you didn't. lol.

love always,
jenny

Authors/Admins

Hey! We can add authors so we could all post on the blog. All you have to do is add your email address and we can send out invites. Do you guys want to do that so then you don't have to remember to log in under this everytime?

Oak Trees and Crispy Rice - Kera

For the record, it is rather confusing for me to have a separate blog and when I try to upload here and be logged in under my name...yeah it doesn't like that too well. haha. So just know that I go through some chaos before every post all because I love you ;)

Yay that Jenny finally posted tehe. And yay for Cassi's funny/awkward moments. I live for those (as you all know haha)

So there's definitely a class here called "Intimate Relationships". How hilariously awesome is that? And at my hall meeting the other night, we read To Give a Mouse a Cookie and colored :) (oh and ate donuts, almost the best part! ha). Oh and I go to see my calc prof and usually he'll see me no matter what he has next, but this time he says, "I'm 45 minutes late to a meeting, you have my number right (it's in our syllabus). Call me tonight." You can imagine my awkwardness as I nodded, said okay, and numbly walked around the corner. WHAT? haha I was feeling so strange to have this professor of mine just chipperly (new word!) say "Call me!" hahaha. And yes, I called him and it was soooo weird, but he was so helpful and dropped whatever he was doing to help. At first part of me thinks "That's what I pay for", but not necessarily. He is such a gracious professor. :) Do you guys have awesome profs like that?

My criminal justice class is making me feel quite patriotic and I am enjoying calculus still. Yay. Analytical chemistry is crazy! The first day of class, "So everything you learned in general chemistry is a lie." Thanks! haha. How awesome is that to walk into a class and be told everything of your entire science career has been a lie...okay, so, not that dramatic, but that's kind of how it felt. haha.

More in response to Cassi but for all to read: The Sermon on the Mount...are you talking about the plank in one's eye? I could be way off on which verse you are refering to.

OH OH! I need to share this amazing revelation I had the other day. Sooo....in Isaiah, he prophecies that when He comes to save all of us, that we shall then be oaks of righteousness (Isa 61). Jesus in Luke quotes (therefore showing how He has fulfilled prophecy) Isaiah and reminds us on how He, the Messiah, has come so we could all be righteous. And and, this part is WAY cool. Still in Luke I believe, Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida (?) and He asks the man, "What do you see?". The once-was-the-blind-man says, "I see people walking around like trees." This man was seeing all the people (Jews and Gentiles, Pharisees and Sadducees, the poor, the weak, the sad, the suffering...all of those people meaning all of us no matter what our past is like), all those people he was seeing, he was seeing as righteous. Therefore, he was seeing how all of us are oaks of righteousness because of Christ coming for us. How awesome is it that we are righteous and we don't have to do anything for it but believe in Him. Now that's a miraculous God. :) I just needed to share that.

I love you guys uber much and I am missing you. I keep seeing people with a sweater like Mo's, and a laugh like Amber's, or the back of the head like Gabby, a friend of mine is just like you Jenny in a lot of ways, a quick little jig that they hoped nobody saw just like Cassi's, and cute outfits like Caitlin's....all these amazing things and it makes me miss you guys and the simplest things about you. Of course I miss ALL of you, but I am even missng those little tiny things! I am sending lots of love to you guys and I pray that you'd all be at peace and have rest. LOVE YOU ALL BUNCHES OF CRUNCHY AND POPPIN' CRISPY RICE ;)

P.S. When I was checking out our pageviews and how many countries and people who have viewed our pages, apparantly we've had three people from Canada view our pages? WHAT? HAHA. Which one of you is illegally transporting to Canada? ;)

OKTOBUR - By Cassi

Oh hey! I have a tiny minute for a tiny post. :D

I am liking everyone's postings! They are lovely and SO FUNNY! It makes me happy. I hope everyone keeps posting their life up here because I love keeping up with you guys.

October is in the air. Halloween is in the air. Our apartment is pimped out, just in case you cared to know. :D There are cobwebs covering the entire living room, with black trash bags to make the ceiling black. BOOYAH! Oh any my roommate has this creepy thing that talks at you whenever you turn the lights on and off. I hate it because I'm a fraidy cat. 

Nothing is new with me! Just school work friends school work school school. :D Yes. I like school though. I really do. I love learning and I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to come to this school. When I was sitting in my New Testament class (*fist bump Kera*), it really hit me how lucky I was! I love learning about religion and so I'm pretty much in heaven (ha ha) here with a mix of secular and religious loveliness. :D This year has been a good one so far. Kera, in New Testament we just read the Sermon on the Mount and I think my favorite part was the verse about casting the mote out of thine own eye. What about you? Jenny? Anyone else who reads the Bible? :)

So I love the random quotes that Kera posted. Those are SO FUNNY! I loved the one about the "wait." :) I have some funny quotes to share as well! About a week ago my friend Taylor slept over; I sleep on the top bunk and she just slept up there too, so my roommate Mary found out later that that had happened, and then Taylor was like, "Yes Mary, I've been sleeping on top of you.... wait...." HA HA HA HA! I thought it was really funny. Another funny thing! I was walking with a friend, and I was trying to explain to her why a ton of guys liked her. I said, "You're really friendly!" And as I said that I tried to give her a side hug but I ended up slapping her butt. HA HA! Ooops! So now we always say, "YOU'RE REALLY FRIENDLY!" And slap each other's butts. I love it. :D Anyway. Tell me what's new guys.

<3 Cassi

:D by Jenjen

okie dokie, so i read most of the other posts, and realized that i was supposed to share my classes . . . lol. i'm taking French (as i'm sure you all know), Great Works (and honors seminar that is discussing relationships as they appear in our books, of which we have 9), Real Analysis (math), Intro to Counseling, Problem Solving (math) and Dance Aerobics.

Here's the low-down on them: French- like the language, hate the class, bc my prof sucks.
Great Works - easy, fun, and interesting, but its a honors, so that's expected. lol.
Real Analysis - interesting and i got a 100 on our first test!!!! (and not to toot my own horn, but i'm the only one that got 100 . . . yay!)
Intro to Counseling - basically is what it sounds like. its for my psych minor and i'm taking it with sam, which is interesting bc we're doing our partner project together. lol.
Problem Solving - stupid 1 credit hour class. we get ridiculously hard problems and have to try to solve them. the point of the class is so that the math dept can find a group of students to take to a competition which i have no interest in. grrr. oh well.
Dance Aerobics - could be a lot more fun if i had someone to talk to . . . but whatevs.

so yeah . . . i have that stuff plus ASL Club, Habitat, Recycling, MAA, Newman Club, Sons Rays, and SES. so yeah, pretty busy, but balanced and loving life in general. lol.

OH OH!!!!!!!! and my big, who transfered, is visiting tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am sooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway, gotta go to class, ttyl LOVE YOU!

ubtyauh! (By Jenny)

hey hey!

first off, i'm sorry that i didn't do this earlier . . . my excuse is that i've been super busy and i'm technologically challenged, but that's not much of an excuse. so i'm sorry.

next, i think this is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

third, i still need to read all the other posts . . . but yeah, i'll get around to it . . . at some point. lol.

so yeah, i've been having a grand ole time readjusting to college life! oh! oh! i have to explain my title. lol. some of you may have read it on fb, but just in case: cassi has this album titled "UbTyAuH" and when i saw it in the news feed i said to myself "oo-bee-tah-ooh? what kind of word is that?" then i realized that the capitalized letters were capitalized for a reason . . . lol. so yeah, i created a new word in my head. i'm not really sure of the definition yet, but it sounds cool ;)

so anyway . . . i'm not really sure what else i'm supposed to be talking about here . . . i'm kind of just rambling  . . . so yeah . . . ummmmmmm???????? lol. 

oh! so i bought skinny jeans when i went back-to-school shopping (my fave kind of shopping) and they're really awesome! i wanted to wear them today, but they have lots of sparklies and stuff so i can't wear them with like a plain tshirt. so i got all dressed up today for fun! woohoo! i'm not really sure where i was going with that story . . . but i LOVE my skinny jeans. i feel sexxy. lol. but yeah . . . umm . . . anything else i feel the need to share with y'all??? idk . . . ummm . . . . ooh! so i'm a tutor for math right? well they bumped pay to $8.05 and hour! woo hoo! lol. ummmm . . . can i say umm any more times? lol. i think yes. lol. um, i think you all knew about how ASL Club became official last year, and now we are waiting for budget appropriations to tell us how much money we're gonna get. and thursday, at our meeting, we are gonna talk about tshirts. and we might end up working with Delta Zeta sorority to do some sort of workshop because their philanthropy is speech and hearing . . . i'm very excited about it all XD

so yeah . . . ummm . . . oh! so i have to take a year of a language for a gen ed because ONU is lame and doesn't have ASL. so since my roomie is a french minor, i'm taking french. and my prof sucks. majorly. Elle est terrible! (kera, that was for you. lol.) so yeah, my roomie has taught me more french than my professor. i love my roomie! 

AAAAAANNNNNNDD . . . that's about it. i think. i'm pretty sure i'm done. i love college. i love life. i love you! yay! :) 

<3 Jenny jen jen jen 

p.s. i apologize for my lack of proper english, but i am lazy, especially with typing. hence the erratic capitalizations and whatnot.

p.p.s. i have been using "whatnot" a lot lately and i have no idea why. lol. but its like my new favorite word. lol.

I Lime You So Tartly

So I am definitely not on the Glee scene....:( But I think it sounds great. You know me, I never watch TV. haha. I am in the groove of PILE ON THE HOMEWORK....haha You all know what I mean. Tests are flying at me and homework is piling (WHOA IT JUST STARTED POURING!!)...innyhoo...yes. It's all very exciting. My criminal justice class is getting me all fired up about historical documents! And I am liking calculus! It's amazing what happens to you when you want to learn!! :) I was wondering what you have all learned about historical documents in your years of learning. Did you ever learn about the Mayflower Compact and what did you learn were the main points of our popular documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, George Washington's Farewell Address, Articles of Conderation). I am rather curious, so if you get a moment, give me a quick little earful :) My New Testament clas is AMAZING! haha My professor actually read us a children's book today. He's a rather adorable man haha. And he'll sing in class and the whole time he is teaching us the Bible. Of course I find it rather fascinating as is, but he makes it really funny! Yes guys, the Bible is meant to be funny too! Get that? God has a sense of humor? WHAT? How could that ever be? ;)

Haha, so today I passed a group of four girls who must have been in a very heated discussion because the one yells exasperatedly, "I was saying I thought you meant (weight, wait...not sure which one until she goes...), you know, W-H-A-I-T..as in STOP WAIT! (I almost died laughing.....haha)

Oh and two other funny overheard things. A guy and girl in the middle of Chuck's (our cafeteria). Guys says to girl: This is the very reason I bought my Backstreet Boys boxers! Tehe

 Second one, guy and girl in Chuck's again....they must have been intensely arguing something because she yells at him, "WE COULD TOO HAVE A BABY!" What could they possibly have been arguing about? haha

This is getting kinda long and I should be studying so...toodaloo! I lime you all so tartly! <3

GLEE! - By Cassi

I'm interrupting my watching of Glee to say how AWESOME this episode of Glee is! Way to open the season! I can't wait to watch the whole season. BOOYAH! Guys, I'm so excited, it's not even funny. Do you guys think the blond guy is cute? I do. And I really like Sunshine so far. Dang man.

What else is new with you guys?

The newest thing with me is that I'm meeting a Wasian like myself on Saturday. He's 24 and his name is Scott. Oh wait, I might not meet him. Well in any case I'll keep you guys updated. I hope you're all doing well. Thinking of you. - Cassi

Take These Words! - Caitlin

Phew!
I know, I know, I didn't tell you guys everything right away!

But I feel like everything has been going by so fast and so much stuff has been crammed into each day! I mean whoa. It's September 12th. How did that happen?! Alright, where to start? Well, first of all I love my apartment. It is beautiful and spacious. I love (most of) the people I live with and I'm surpised at how much we've bonded in the little time we've been here. (Even though it's felt like weeks on end.) We do all kinds of fun and crazy (yet completely sober! yay!) things and I love it because they are so weird, just like you guys so I don't miss home as much. We've had some "family" dinners and they have been awesome. I love being able to cook and bake. It makes me feel a lot more at home. Oh, I think that you guys should tell me your favorite baked good. I have fun baking and it calms me from the stresses of college life! =]

Now on to classes, I'm actually really liking my classes. It makes all he world of difference when you can choose your classes and you don't have those silly freshmen requirements! I'm taking a completely awesome science class, science majors look away as I explain. Everyone says it's fake science. I semi-agree, but I love it. On Mondays we have lecture, on Wednesdays we have lab - in the community garden, where we pull weeds, plant veggies (we haven't gotten there yet, but we will this week I believe) and then on Fridays we go on field trips! This past Friday we went to a local farm and we got to take home some fresh veggies. I got some bell peppers, banana peppers, and a sweet potato! Yummy. I can't wait for the rest of the semester. Oh, and the best part about it is that it's only half a semester!

I also have my Honduras Prep class, which is already interesting. I really like one of the professors going on the trip, she's really funny. Plus the readings that we have are really interesting. And I'm so excited about the work that we will be doing while we're down there.

Then is Educational Psychology, which is not what I anticipated, but that's okay. I thought that it would be mostly a psych class since I'm taking it for my Psychology minor and it's one of the ones I have to take. But apparently it's in the Education field. So I'm basically learning how to teach now guys!

On Tuesday and Thursday I have my Intro to Digital Photography class, which so far has been three hour long lectures about everything I already learned in high school photography. I want to fall asleep everyday. But luckily we've begun our first project so hopefully that will make it bearable. I also have my Human Services class, which is Counseling Individuals and Families, so in addition to learning to be a teacher, I'm also learning how to be a counselor! Yay! It's a little stressful because I feel put on the spot a lot; we do mock counseling sessions and we've already done two five-minute sessions in one class and six five-minutes sessions in another. It's interesting though, because even though I don't want to be a teacher at the level they are teaching us about or a counselor, they are both close to home and should be useful anyways.

Well, that's all I can think of for now, and I'm pretty sure that's a ton of information because I've been rambling for like half an hour. Probably more cause I've been distracted a bunch too. I hope you guys are having fun and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Random Things I've Come Up With - By Cassi

Hey guys! I just HAD to share these golden insights.

Today I was at work and I was walking through the student center, when all of a sudden, I saw none other than Mr. Bennett! I quickly pretended to look the other way, and as he walked past me he pretended to look the other way as well. BUT!... We definitely saw each other. BUT!... We didn't say anything. It was so awkward. SO AWKWARD! I then had quite a trip down the crooked memory lane as the men of my past started to haunt my thoughts. I decided that the result of this uncomfortable encounter and forced blast from the past gave me the AWKWARD HEEBIE JEEBIES. The AHJ can occur when you have been placed in a situation that you would die to get out of, but once you are indeed removed from the situation, you still feel like sticking your tongue out and making gagging noises. Bleh! Bleh! This is what happened to me.

Another interesting phrase I made up today is: "Smile at the janitors in your life - you're a hot mess."

Random. I know. But hey. That's how we do.

You guys are awesome. I hope you had a great week and I hope you remember that I remember to remember you often and think of you fondly. :D

- Cassi

THIS IS CLENNINGTON.

CLENNINGTON HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY A CEILING DEMON.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

<3

WHABAM - by Kera

Holy cow! That is really the best phrase to describe entering back into the Hive (we're the yellow jackets....) Goodness do I miss you guys! However, it has been such an amazing welcoming back to campus. Classes are awesome - New Testament Literature (I am truly EATING it up!!!! So fascinating!), Intro to Criminal Justice, Calculus I, Tennis, and Analytical Chemistry. Criminal Justice is proving to be a possible difficult course (lots of work) buuut, get this, I get to go into local prisons and jailhouses and check 'em out and I'll be going to the Columbus Police Academy here in September. I am super psyched for that. I decided to join the criminal justice org and the pre-health org (to get feelers into other realms than basic sciences). I joined a gospel choir that a couple years ago was "taboo" in a way to the school, but is PHENOMENAL. You want to talk about some powerful worship - WHABAM - this is it! So I am really testing my limits on getting involved, but it sure is exciting :) I always worked better with more on my plate. My roommate Robin started out as reallly quiet, but the more we chat, the funnier she is and the more I can make her laugh! Woot! The one night she randomly hugged me. Totally was not expecting that. Tonight she said, " I think you are good with people" after I said that my brothers stole all the good things to do and I felt I had nothing to offer. ha.


Okay, here I am blabbing away. I feel God is really shaking things up here on campus and something crazy is going to happen! And all around here! It's been kind of weird coming back and feeling like I got the ropes. Do you guys kinda feel that way? Oh oh! And I have kids y'all! In less than week, I had 12 kids. It's about time I told you that you're all aunts :) haha. I led a small group of freshman and oh my goodness, so rewarding and fun! They're so funny and we took some silly photos. I really do feel like their mom. I check up on them and ask how they're doing and make sure they're eating and have someone to sit with. ha. :)


I am so glad to see you guys are embracing being back. College sure does something to you - thirsting after knowledge sure does it :) I love you guys so very much and I am SUPER estastic to see what AMAZING things you are learning and going to do. You are amazing women and you are going to do some life-changing things!

And So I'm Back.....! by Gabby

I can't tell you guys how amazing it feels to be back at Denison. It sort of feels like I was on this extra long crappy vacation, and now I'm finally back home. I settled back into college life a lot easier than I thought I would. Classes are going great, so hopefully this is going to be a good semester. I'm taking Philosophy 101, Psychology 100, Math 102- Statistics, and Sociology/Anthropology 100. I've already got homework and reading to do, but I was expecting that. Frankly, it's nice to have something to do besides sulk and listen to my mother screech at me all day.

This weekend I'm going on a student retreat called Quest. It's supposed to help us explore what we like to do and help us figure out what we want to do with our lives. Only 50-ish sophomores get to go, and I'm one of them! I'm pretty excited, but also kinda nervous. I'm just not really sure what to expect. Oh, well. I'm sure it will be great. I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Anyway, I'm off to do some more work. I miss you guys!

Sending you love from The Hill,
Gabs

Yay for a new semester! -By Amber

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." ~Mark Twain

Who's happy to be back at school? I know I am! Denison has been as fabulous as ever, even though it has been pretty hot recently and our building keeps running out of hot water. It's been good, though. I also think this will be a vast improvement on last year, which was so emotionally draining, I feel lucky that I wasn't comatose all summer from emotion overload. I'm just so fabulously happy to be back with my Denison friends. It feels so good to be back at Camp Denidoo.

Even though it's only been 4 days (WHOA! Feels like longer) since I moved back in, I'm already readjusted to the whole Denison atmosphere and feel so at home. Also, even though today was only the second day of classes, I'm starting to feel the burn of being busy ALL THE TIME with schoolwork. I'm taking General Chemistry I, Introduction to the Science of Biology, Spanish, and Issues in Feminism. Feminism and Chem are good so far, but I'm already in love with Biology and Spanish. My Bio professor talks about himself in the third person, and told us that this semester we're all going on a trip to Biologyland. My Spanish professor is super cool: she's from Spain, so she has that super awesome Spaniard accent, and her voice sounds like the one lady from Holes... You know the one, the old lady who What's-his-face is supposed to carry up the mountain, but he forgets so his family is cursed? Madame Zeroni, that's it! Phew! That took long enough...

We are all going to do great. Just try not to let me and Gabs get to caught up in the Denison bubble...

Love and hugs to everyone! :)

Back in school! - By Cassi

Well, we are all back at school now. How does it feel, everyone? I am hoping that this year will be better in general for everyone. Not that we didn't have a good year last year, but it seems as though there is a lot of room for improvement in this current year. We all have friends to return to, we know our campuses, and most of all, we just know what to expect in general. I speak for myself when I say I am very happy to be back.

I have been enjoying the state of Utah since I have been back. Last week I got to hike Mt. Timpanogos, which is over 11,000 feet tall! It's the second highest peak in Utah. I hiked it with my friend Taylor, who has done the 9 mile trail in 5 hours total, up and down. I however, have never hiked a mountain before, so it took us a little less than 12 hours total. It was a pretty long day. All we brought were four granola bars, four packets of fruit snacks, and a bag of baby carrots. Oh, and a whole ton of water! Anyway, getting to the top of that mountain and being able to see the entire Utah Valley was incredible, and I know I'll never be able to replicate that feeling of accomplishment unless I hike another 11,000 foot tall mountain. That is probably the most exciting thing I've done so far.

Classes so far are good, because I'm swimming in a sea of art, religion, and English. My classes require a lot of reading, but I love it. The classes I'm taking are Honors English 201, LDS Marriage and Family, Sculpture, New Testament 1, and African American Literature. It's awesome! It should be a great year, even though our apartment is a little bit ghetto and small. I hope you guys are having a great time as well. Here's to our awesome blog. :)