Category Archives: Uncategorized

Spring Break Was Amazing!

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First of all, I must apologize for how long it has been since I’ve posted here.  Life has been outrageously busy!  All for the good though.  My plans for school and work have changed so many times over the past couple months.  I’ve gone back and forth from graduating in December to staying until May 2011.  I have finally decided that I will be staying in Oswego until next May.  I just can’t let go yet!

I attended a conference in Boston this past weekend for ACPA (American College Personnel Association) and LOVED it!  My dream is to work in student affairs at a college or university and ACPA is an organization for student affairs professionals.  I was able to meet other students who want to work in student affairs.  It was an amazing experience.  I never realized how intense my emotions could get when I meet people who have as much passion as I do about where they want to work.  I was able to meet so many incredible people who have experienced graduate school and the beginning of their careers in student affairs.  They were so inspirational and motivating.  The conference was two days and it was called NextGen for next generation, obviously 🙂  It was preceding the annual ACPA Convention.  Can I just say SO MUCH FUN!  Melissa and Sean were amazing, they were the coordinators of the program and did a wonderful job.  I learned so much and connected to so many people.  I know I have made so many new friends.

I have decided to stay at Oswego for multiple reasons.  1. I want to be a student for one more year.  I love college and everything that is offered to me. 2. I have the opportunity to take part in a fellowship next year in student affairs.  The fellowship will give me the chance to travel and work at other colleges. 3. If I stay the full year and apply to graduate schools for the Fall 2011 semester then I’ll have more opportunities for graduate assistantships.

I have a lot of homework to do, so I must go now.  Don’t worry, I will be posting much more often than I have been.

need for media

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Some people need books, some people need chocolate, I need my camera.

It has been 2 months without my camera being fixed. I am at a loss. I can’t do anything without. My blogs are boring, my videos are not up, my interactive interview tapes are non existent.

Arrrgh, and no not like pirates, like I am a media less junkie.

I am waiting to here back from Enterprise, Target, Sherwin Williams, Enterprise and bunch of no name marketing companies that I applied to in Rochester.

I think I am going to have to have some inventive self marketing to score some points with these guys. Hopefully, I will get my baby back soon…..

Spring Is Finally Here!

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It’s funny to think about how drastically my mood changes when the weather starts to change, when winter starts to become spring. The temperature begins to increase, and more importantly, the snow goes away, and you can start to dress lighter, finally. My Spring Break was great, despite having a lot of work to do. I had so much homework to do for my Lit 396 class, which involved a great deal or reading and writing, I began reading the Sookie Stackhouse series (on which HBO’s True Blood is based) a few weeks ago, and I am still on the first novel, Dead Until Dark, because I have no time to read for pleasure. I was going to bring it home for Spring Break, but I’m glad that I didn’t, because I wouldn’t have had time for it, anyway.
It’s all right, though. Summer is coming really soon, and some of my friends are talking about the possibility of taking online courses, something that I don’t see myself doing. I will most definitely be fully prepared for a three-month break in May when school gets out, and I actually have an exciting plan in motion for July. My boyfriend Ray and I are going out of state (West Virginia, I believe) to go ghost-hunting, and we will be stopping at an old prison that is reported to be haunted in Moundsville, West Virginia. I am really excited and will definitely be blogging about that really soon.
Other exciting news is that on April 1st, my friend Fady from California will be coming to visit and will be staying here for a little over a week. I am really excited about that, because we have been trying to get together for quite a while now, and finally, it’s happening. I can’t wait to show him the lake and take him around the city. He lives not too far from Los Angeles, a suburb of Los Angeles, actually, so he is used to a really busy, chaotic setting, so this will be kind of new to him, as will the weather. It will be sixty to seventy degrees here while we’re outside in shorts and a t-shirt, and he’ll be “freezing” cold since he’s used to really hot temperatures. It will definitely be a really fun and interesting experience, and I can’t wait.
Also on April 1st is the return of my favorite TV show, Fringe. I am really excited about its return; it is returning what looks like an incredible episode titled “Peter.” If you’re someone who doesn’t follow the show, then feel free to tune me out for a few seconds here, but I love the show, and I would even go as far to say that I have an unhealthy obsession with it. I pretty much always love anything that J.J. Abrams does. I loved Alias when it was on and still do. I watch LOST, and Cloverfield is an amazing movie. If there is anyone who is interested, I am starting a Fringe blogsite,
Let’s see, what happened over break? I went to see a school production of Godspell with Ray, which wasn’t bad. I thought that it was really preachy, but the singing and everything was really good. I also got into a musical duo called Nox Arcana. It’s definitely not music for everyone, but there is a lot of piano and organ, which I love, and also a lot of Medieval influence, which I love. It is primarily instrumental music and is very dark and dramatic. I just absolutely love it.
Wednesday, I begin the second day of my Practicum, and unless I am placed into a different classroom, it is primarily going to consist of observing a study hall again, since, as I said in my last Practicum Journal, Corcoran High School used a Block Schedule method, so my Practicum teacher has an English class in the afternoon every other day, which means that every other Wednesday, I observe a study hall. I will most definitely be posting my Journal again, though, so be on the look-out for that, since I will try to post it Wednesday.

HIM – Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, Chapter 1-13

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The band that identifies itself as a “love metal” band follows its 2007 release, Venus Doom, with Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, Chapter 1-13. In its thirteen-year career, HIM has unleashed anthem after anthem, such as “Join Me,” “Buried Alive by Love” and the American success, “Wings of a Butterfly.” The most recent album since Screamworks garnered mild success with “The Kiss of Dawn,” “Bleed Well” and “Passion’s Killing Floor,” featured on the Transformers soundtrack album. Screamworks is, as I believe each of the three albums since and including 2005’s Dark Light have been, a break from the band’s previous work, since it takes on a bit of a more uplifting and happy tone, songs such as “In Venere Veritas,” “Scared to Death” and “Katherine Wheel” acting as examples.

The album opens with the aforementioned “In Venere Vertias,” which opens the album with Ville’s hook, “Let’s fall apart together now.” Venus Doom is an album with which Ville took the opportunity to experiment with his voice, especially on the title track, and he continues to do such on this album, especially on this song, beginning the chorus of the song in a relatively high register with the word “have,” which then rapidly spirals downward into “no fear.” Something that I have always loved about HIM is that it takes risks; it loves to make use of new ideas, and that is exactly why I wholeheartedly disagree with those who have told me in the past that the band is repetitive; no two albums, especially not since and including Dark Light, sound the same.

“In Venere Veritas” works as a great way to begin the album, a lot of energy and a lot of poetic beauty, something that has echoed throughout all thirteen years and seven albums of the band’s career, beginning with 1997’s Greatest Lovesongs, Vol. 666. “Scared to Death” rings with utterly beautiful melodic beauty, while the sheer energy of “Heartkiller” makes it act perfectly as the album’s first single. Other standout tracks include the ballad “Disarm Me (with Your Loneliness),” the desperately seeking “Love, the Hardest Way,” the ridiculously catchy “Ode to Solitude” and “Acoustic Funeral (for Love in Limbo),” which despite the misleadingly dark title, is probably one of HIM’s happiest songs yet. I enjoy, however, every single song on this album. It is the first album in at least a year to which I can’t stop listening, because it is that highly addictive.

The album is definitely one of HIM’s best albums yet, which, to me, says a lot, since the band tends to release masterpiece after masterpiece. This album and 2005’s Dark Light are probably my two favorite albums to date. Something that I love about HIM is that they tend not to repeat ideas and sounds but instead consistently move forward with new and innovative ideas and sounds, and Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, Chapter 1-13 is no exception, departing from Venus Doom, which Ville has described as a cross between Metallica and Bullet for My Valentine and instead creating a sound that he has described as “the first time [that] HIM does acknowledge that there is such a thing called happiness.” It is so different, in fact, that many HIM fans are criticizing it for that very reason, but Ville is a new man, sobered up but still making amazing music. I give the album a well-deserved five stars out of five.

St. Patty’s and Randy Kehler

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I’m sure everyone from Oswego is out on break right now having a great time! I know I am. I’m sitting in the sunny San Diego going to the beach, hanging out with my boyfriend, and getting ready for my first St. Patty’s Day as a 21-year-old! I gave up drinking alcohol for Lent though, so it’s kind of anticlimatic seeing as how I can only drink O’Doulls for the night. But I don’t think that St. Patty’s Day should be all about drinking (although that’s how it’s marketed nowadays).

I remember back in kindergarten when it was St Patty’s in Sacramento, Calif. We went to the cafeteria for lunch and when we came back, our entire classroom was ransacked by “Leprechauns!” There were little green footprints painted on the walkway up to the front door. Once we went inside, we saw that all of the chairs had been overturned and there were more green footprints all over. Our teacher told us that we had to search for the pot of gold the leprechauns left, so we embarked on a treasure hunt all around the room, fearing at the same time that these rambunctious leprechauns were hiding behind the bookshelf watching us try to find their gold.

Now that was fun. I compare that to last year when I went to a party where people had to search for gold coins at the bottom of a vat of jello shots. A little different outcome, I’d say. While in kindergarten we walked away with a bag of chocolate and a stomachache, we now walk away with green jello on our shirts and a hangover in the morning. It doesn’t have to be all about drinking, but drinking does add fun – as long as it’s done responsibly. If you’re laying on the floor in a pool of your own vomit, that’s not too cool, especially if you don’t remember the night before! So.. whether you’re going on a treasure hunt for chocolate or a hangover, take part in modesty!



For those of you coming back to campus next week: come out March 24th to Lanigan 102 at 7:30 p.m. Pro-Peace Council is hosting Randy Kehler, a long-time activist who will be addressing the history and philosophy of nonviolence. For 30 years Kehler has been actively involved in the nonviolence movement that includes the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He will be coming to Oswego to lead the discussion on why nonviolence is important in this present time of war, terrorism, genocide and hate crimes.

The talk is free and there will be refreshments afterward, also for free. If you’ve never attended a speech on nonviolence, now is the time to come out and see how relaxing and uplifting talks like this can be!

Wednesday, March 24th, Lanigan 102, 7:30 p.m.

First Day of Practicum

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I don’t believe that it is required for the class, but I figured that for my EDU 303 (Field Placement) course, I would keep a journal, and since today was my first day, today, I wrote my first entry, and I figured, what could possibly be better to share on the blog? Surely, everyone wants to know what my very first day in the classroom with a position drastically different from that of a student was like, correct? Anyway, the following is the journal entry that I wrote today. In the future, I will simply post the entry without this introduction, but I wanted to do it this time just so that everyone reading is fully aware of what they’re reading.

I was very nervous before starting my Practicum today. I heard a fair number of people tell me that Corcoran High School is “a rough school,” and when I got to the school, I immediately noticed two police cars outside of the school. Nearly the entire population of the school is African-American, and my Practicum teacher, Barb Patapow, says that she has some students that are reading at no higher than a third grade level. She allowed me the opportunity to read some of her students’ work, and many students complained that The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was “to” difficult for them to read and even admitted that English is difficult for them as it is. What especially felt strange but invigorating about this experience is being in a classroom in which I did have some sense of authority and was not a student.

Every other Wednesday, Ms. Patapow doesn’t have any English classes in the afternoon, because Corcoran uses a Block Scheduling method, and I therefore talked with her for a great deal of time and then observed a study hall. There is little order in the study hall or in the school itself for that matter. There was a total of five students in the classroom. One girl walked past the classroom before Study Hall began, and she headed to the bathroom. She told Ms. Patapow that she was going to have a friend braid her hair. When asked if she’d be returning, the girl answered, “Maybe.” Study Hall consisted primarily of students watching the most recent Romeo + Juliet film just for the sake of it, and surprisingly, this quieted everyone, as they actually did pay attention to it. Obviously, I will have a lot more on which to comment when I actually observe an English class.

Mother Earth Week

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MOTHER EARTH WEEK APRIL 18 – 24, 2010

Mother Earth Week (MEW) is Students for Global Change’s spring week-long festival that focuses on sustainability, environmental awareness and ecological education. Filled with workshops, tables, speakers, documentaries and the culminating Oswegostock concert, MEW reflects the importance of sustainability today and the college community’s part in taking care of the earth.
Monday through Friday (not Wednesday due to Quest) there will be presentations during the day and documentaries at night, highlighting the theme of MEW.

Everyone is invited to put together some sort of presentation, be it a workshop during College Hour, a table in the Campus Center, a speaker, a brochure or an artistic display along the lines of the four topics of the week.

We also need help with planning our Oswegostock outdoor concert planned tentatively for Saturday afternoon. We’d like different bands to sign up to perform, as well having recitations of poems and environmentally-geared readings.

– Monday is the social aspect of environmental awareness (i.e. environmental justice, water crises, psychological effects, arts, music, lifestyle, etc.).
– Tuesday is the economic aspect of sustainability (i.e. consumerism, globalization, fair trade, ecotourism, etc.).
– Wednesday is Quest day. There will be a sustainability fair focusing on local businesses and their sustainable practices. Clubs are encouraged to set up tables to represent some aspect of sustainability that pertains to their organization.
– Thursday is the political day for environmental awareness (i.e. environmental policies, legislation, corporate control, grassroots, etc.).
– Friday is the scientific aspect of the week, the meat of sustainability and environmental awareness. The day will focus on climate change, weather disasters, local agriculture, green technology, pollution, etc.
– Sunday and Saturday, the beginning and end of MEW will focus on having fun and enjoying our earth! There will be lake clean-ups along the shores of Lake Ontario, as well as fun in the sun activities. Saturday will host the Oswegostock concert where everyone will be encouraged to hang out in the quad listening to music and enjoying food.

If you’re interested in learning more about the week itself, or if you’re interested in being a part of it (which we strongly encourage), contact me at s4gc.osu@gmail.com for more information.

Just a few pictures from last year:


Speech on the environment on Quest Day
Dave Sargent’s electric car
Air day!

Thoughts on My Last Semester

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Hey everybody!

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged it up and I promise I will have something nice to blog about once my time frees up, but being a senior in your last semester can take a lot out of you.

Lately I’ve been focusing my time on getting my school work done and making sure my fraternity is running smoothly. I’ve been elected president of my fraternity for the Spring 2010 semester so being responsible for 30 or so guy’s everyday proves to be an around-the-clock job. I’m in the process of writing a bunch of papers and abstracts for my Creative Writing: Non-Fiction and Media Law class aside from my informative presentation on Greek life I just presented today for my Public Speaking course. I’m still working at Cooper Dining Hall, but I had to cut down on my hours so I had more time to get my school work done.

For my journalism capstone, I’m partnering up with my friends at Alumni Development to create a newsletter that’ll be focused more towards students who have graduated with a degree in Communications, Media, and the Arts. That’s on top of my 20-page paper that’s due sometime towards the end of the semester.

I’m supposed to be hearing back from graduate schools this month as to whether or not I’ve been accepted into their journalism program. After a hundred dollars in application fees and several weeks of application preparation and interviews, I’m ready to figure out what’s my next move in life.

It’s not all bad and stressful though. I’ve recently picked up a great girlfriend who’s as ridiculously awesome as I am. I also have this great class concerning culture in the media that has us look into the culture of pop in advertisements and the media. We write short papers and discuss certain topics like comedy in advertisements as well as how women are viewed in the media as well as men and why things are marketed the way they are. It’s a fun class, I recommend it.

I don’t mean to put a damper on any aspiring college graduate, but it definitely takes a lot to get to graduation. It’s all worth it in the long run when you walk up to the podium to grab that piece of paper you’ve been waiting all four years to receive.

I’m counting down the days till May.

A Dedication to My New Friend

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His first day home 🙂

 There have been so many great things in store for me and I must say there has never been a dull moment! This semester started off very well with a slice of joy; I have a new friend who has brought me so much joy lately. It all started on a computer, I went on Google, searched, searched and searched, I added some sites as my favorite, and I also made a few phone calls to some ads that seemed promising. I even made a few arrangements, however they didn’t go any further. Believe me when I say everything happens for a reason, so after a thousand phone calls I lost hope and decided that I was going to give up, but with every new day I felt as if there was a calling I did research after research after research. With every new ad I fell in love all over again and the search never ended. One day I went on this new website and that’s when we made our first connection I made an arrangement that seemed so far fetch but I was still willing to follow through. My dream came through on February 6, the day I met my college companion. His name is Scooby and he is a handful of joy, ever since I had him I have to say the days seem brighter and he is truly a companion. I never understood before how people could speak of their pets in such a special way, but now that I am on that boat I could certainly feel the waves. There are so many stories to share about this little man, he has such an attention-grabbing personality, he is making the end of my undergraduate career so much more interesting, and I am loving every bit of it.

Diaspora-Do you know what it means

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Diaspora is the Oswego theme this year.

It means a lot of things to me but check out the official definition. I am a displaced Lithuanian and there are no other Lithuanians that I can find 🙁 However, but when I read about diaspora and I see others going through the same thing, it makes me feel better.

Today I wanted to share what diaspora is with you and maybe you can find someone from your culture 🙂

I am going to this poetry reading next week to learn a bit more about it. If you are American generally you can say at least some part of your family feels dispersed.

Poetry reading and discussion by poet Li-Young Lee
Date: March 2, 2010
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Occurrence: Mar 2, 2010
Location: Auditorium, Campus Center

Description: Li-Young Lee is one of this country’s premiere poets, using his breathtaking, beautiful written and spoken word to tell of home, family, love and the spirit of humanity. Book signing to follow reading. Free. 312-4581.