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