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.