I want you to know that I am neglecting studying for my soc midterm to write this blog!

You guys seem rather interested in how my weekend went which I really do appreciate, it is nice to know that someone cares. So without further ado, here are the details.

I left for Spokane at about 230 or so Friday afternoon. It just so happened that Warren's mom was going over there to visit him last weekend, so she offered me a ride. It was nice to not have to pay for gas, and the drive was not awkward at all. Warren's mom has been the band booster at Roosevelt ever since Warren was a freshman in high school, so she is very fun to talk to about marching band. And as you guys all know, I am willing to talk about marching band for extended periods of time. We got there about 730 or so and went to dinner at this little mom-and-pop type diner. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO good! I had a Philly cheese steak hamburger and some onion rings. Yah, terribly good for me, I know. Then Warren took us to Studio and showed us what he had been working on lately. The campus is close to the river, so we took a walk by the river and walked over this cable suspension bridge that goes right over Spokane Falls. (That may not be the correct name, but I don't live there so you can't blame me!) It was incredible! Apparently it is the second biggest waterfall in an urban environment in the world, or something like that. They were so powerful and being on the bridge, you are very close to them, which makes them even more awesome. I am aware that I keep using "they" and "them". But that's because it was more like a series of waterfalls, although I am not the expert on this. Anyhow, by this time it was like 10 so we went back to Warren's apartment and they watched The Muppet Show while I promptly fell asleep. Yes, I am a party pooper. And yes, The Muppet Show was a recurring theme throughout the weekend. Over the course of watching like 10 episodes, I came to the realization that the show wasn't made for kids. Hmmm... no wonder I never liked them when I was a kid!

Okay, so Saturday started bright and early with Warren knocking on my door at 8 so that we could go jogging. Jogging is always a nice start to the day, but 8 on a Saturday? Come on Warren! He doesn't like to waste any daylight, which is a commendable trait. Then we came back, showered, had some breakfast, did homework, watched TV, Warren packed up some of his stuff to send back with his mom, and just sorta chilled until my interview at 145. I got ready and we left around 1 cause I didn't want to be late. I didn't realize how "far" it would be from Warren's apartment, so it was probably good that we left at that time. I got there at 130 (when I was supposed to be there) and I just chilled for 15 minutes or so. They had a little group of chairs set up where they wanted all of the interviewees to sit and hang out together, which was a nice touch. They also had some nursing students there to answer our questions. Every time someone new would be added to the group, they asked them what school they were coming from (this is a normal question for this situation, but I won't get into the details now). Anyhow, I had to tell them that I was a Husky. That went over well... or not. They gave me a pretty good, albeit good natured, ribbing over that. Then it was time for my interview.

There was a panel of three people and me. They told me to pull out an envelope (which contained my questions for the interview), they opened it up, and we went from there. I think I was asked 6 questions total. They were along the lines of, "Why do you want to be a nurse?" "How would you deal with a situation where someone wasn't pulling their own weight?" "What do you do to relieve your stress?" (My answer? Go running! Which was part of the reason I had gone that morning) and so on. Then they asked me if there was anything else I wanted to mention, so decided to go ahead and tell them why I had decided to major in Psychology first, in case they were wondering about my not-so-direct path to nursing school. And then it was all over. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes.

*** Oh my goodness! I am going to interrupt myself here! I am listening to musicovery.com and Spice Girls' "Wannabe" just came on. Can we say 6th grade anyone?!?***

Okay, so I have to finish this up since I do still need to do some studying tonight. Warren and I went to Arctic Circle for lunch, which rocked my socks. It was good. We went shopping after that cause apparently that is what happens whenever Warren's mom comes to visit =). You know how it goes when those parents with all the money come to visit their poor college students. Warren really wanted to buy a new shirt and tie, so we went and did that and he was super excited about it. He actually bought two new ties. This makes me happy because I think that too many guys under appreciate how cool it is to be able to pick out awesome ties, so whenever a guy comes to this realization, it makes me happy. Hmmm... after that we went to the grocery store, which consisted of Warren and I tagging after his mom while she bought him groceries. Goodness, you'd think that he hadn't lived on his own for 4 years or something, he was so content to just let her do it all. And then cause my birthday is this Friday, they decided that I needed a birthday cake. So Warren and I went off on a search for Funfetti cake with the appropriate Funfetti frosting. Let's see, Saturday night I actually did some homework, which is good cause I'm not sure when I would have done it if I hadn't done it then. Then Warren and I went and rented/watched The Prestige. We both made it through the first 3/4 of the movie alright, but I'm not sure how much either of us remember about the last 1/4 seeing as how by then it was like 1 in the morning. I should probably watch it again sometime soon.

And then Sunday I came home. So that was my weekend. Overall, I would say that the interview went rather well. I was able to answer all of their questions promptly without hesitating, yet still come up with a solid answer/argument. Thinking back about it, there are probably a couple of things that I could have said a little better, but part of the interview process is showing that you are capable of thinking on your feet, which I feel that I did fairly well. So now I wait. Again. I know the Lord knows what I am supposed to be doing next year. But I will let you guys in on a little secret... I am excited about the possibility of moving to Spokane. I am ready for a new adventure just to see what I am made of and whether or not I could hack things on my own. But a small part of me doesn't want to admit this cause I feel like I will jinx it or something. Which is totally silly cause I know that things don't work that way. We will just have to see what the Lord has planned!

Anyhow, I have a midterm and a quiz tomorrow and will probably be at school from 8 to 8 and will be in classes for most of that time. Then I get to come home, do laundry, pack, and study for another midterm. Friday morning I have a stats midterm bright and early and then I leave for Portland and Lisa's wedding around 12 or so. From there it is just a giant blur of fitting in all of the wedding things that need to be done. And making sure that Warren is occupied, as he is coming to the wedding. As an after thought, my birthday is Friday. Woohoo. I think that my birthday is probably going to pretty much be a non-event this year, which is sad, but I guess I can deal with it. But I really do have to get to studying and this has gotten really long. If you have gotten this far, I commend your achievements!

It's happening again...

I think I may have found something else to be addicted to. This is the most awesome Internet radio streamer that I have EVER come across. You guys should check it out!

www.musicovery.com

And in case you want the directions, here ya go:

"It's an online radio that is amazing! You can click and unclick all the genres you are in the mood for, click on the tempo spectrum to get songs that are only a certain tempo, click on dance mode for only dance songs, decide whether you're in the mood for hits or non-hits or new discovery songs, click on the mood spectrum if you only want songs that are engeretic, clam, dark or positive and you can restrict your songs by year (so if you only want to hear songs from 1985-1999). As you restrict your songs, there's a roadmap that will show you what songs are up next and you can skip songs or move thru your roadmap until you see a song you want to hear.You can also stop any song to buy them on iTunes and the best part is that there are NO COMMERCIALS!"

A door? THE door?

Some of you know about the decisions that I am trying to make for next year. I've also posted enough here that if you are a smart, consistent reader of my blog, you have probably picked up on what is going on. But to get everyone on the same page, here is a quick recap:

Originally, I applied for a master's program which would have allowed me to get my MSN after getting my BA in psychology. (At UW, it's called the MEPN program. Other schools call it by different yet similar names.) Anyhow, I applied two places and didn't get accepted to either one. Okay, I dealt with that. Maybe I'm not meant to be in the MEPN program, but I still really want to do nursing. I then decided to apply to some BSN programs. Out of three, I was denied outright at one, put as #28 on a waiting list at the second, and now I have an interview at the third. On a side note here, all of this rejection is starting to get rather infuriating. I have good grades. I have good extracurriculars. I have good experience what with my volunteering and work experience. I am able to write a decent essay/statement of intent. What gives?

Anyhow, back to the subject at hand... the catch in all of this? The school I have the interview at just happens to be WSU, our very own cross-state rival. Not to mention the fact that it requires a move from Seattle, where I am very active in my church, to a city where there is not even a church of my particular denomination. This isn't to say that I am not willing to do all of this, I am just rather confused at how the Lord is going to work all of this out and what His plans are for me. Anyway, I have the interview in Spokane Saturday, so we will see how that goes. I'm not in for sure, but I am one step closer. I am trying to tell myself that being a Cougar would not be the end of the world, but I'm not sure if I am believing it yet. Apparently this UW/WSU switch happens more often than I thought, though, evidenced by this picture that Warren took for me in the school parking lot:

Whoa boy...

For my Psychology of Music class, I just made an online survey to use as a part of my research project (I would love to have you guys take it if you want to, but I'll need to get you the link). Anyway, UW has this very cool, super user-friendly online publication software that I used to make my survey. While I was signed into my account, though, I ran across this:

http://portfolio.washington.edu/melinw/my-university-community-portfolio-original/index.html

It is an online portfolio that I had to put together my first year of college in my Freshman Interest class. Whoa boy. I'm sorta scared by what I found in there. My writing has improved a LOT, I am over brooding about my move to Seattle, and I am no longer dating Matthew. Honestly, I'm not really sure why he made it in there in the first place. Oh well. I guess it just goes to show that once something is on the Internet, it is always on the Internet. It also makes me sorta fearful about what I will think when I read my old blog postings in say, 10 years.

Anyway, y'all are free to peruse it as you see fit. And if you do, have fun and bear in mind that that was SOOOOOOOO fours years ago! =)

A little too close to home

If you guys haven't heard the news about Virginia Tech yet, then I'm not quite sure where you have been all day. But here is a link in case you want more details: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-main17apr17,0,1599658,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines.

When I heard about this shooting, apparently the worst ever in the history of the US, it hit me really hard. I'm not sure why exactly, I think partly because of the shooting that happened two weeks ago at UW. When that one happened, it got me thinking about how devastating it would be if somebody had just opened fire on the campus, as opposed to the murder-suicide they later determined it to be. I thought about all the people I would worry about and how I wouldn't even feel safe enough to go back to school. And then here, 2 weeks to the day since the shooting at UW, this horrific shooting happens at Virginia Tech. What was even more scary to me was that when this guy first struck, only two people were killed so they assumed it was a domestic violence sort of thing. It wasn't until 2 hours later that he entered the other building and killed and injured so many people. What would have happened if the shooting at UW hadn't been the isolated domestic violence event and the guy had later opened fire in the middle of Red Square once everyone thought the coast was clear? I shutter to think any of these thoughts and, like I said, I think that is why this shooting unnerved me so.

My heart goes out to all of those involved and they are in my prayers.

Aren't we all in college now?

Thus far this quarter I have managed to refrain from saying too much about my classes because I fear that it starts to bore you all after awhile. Suffice it to say, I have been extremely busy with classes, even though it is only the third week of the quarter. For better or for worse, my professors seem to have front-loaded almost all of my classes. Which means that come May when I will REALLY not want to be in school anymore, I won't have as much work. But for right now, I have a lot of work.

For my Psychology of Music class, we have to peer review each other's papers. I was appalled, flabbergasted, and aghast at the quality of the two papers that I reviewed this week. So, for your enjoyment, I have included some of the more interesting (read: hard to understand because the sentences don't even make sense) parts of these two papers. Let me know what you guys think! I am amazed that these people made it to a 400 level college class with writing abilities like this.

Person 1:
Furthermore, if we find a difference between the population of British young adults and American ones, a follow up question will be, "Is the type of musical genre preference as coping strategies among adolescents then dictated by the geographical and cultural popularity of a genre?"

In addition to the fMRI method, an extended survey with the students' parents and guardians shall be conducted to get more information on the family background of the student and possibly other important factors contributing to the subject's musical preference and coping methods.

Person 2:
As a society music is heard from the time one rises with the soothing sounds of an alarm clock, to when one walks down the street with their i-pod, to the background music played in almost every store, cafe, and even office. This analogy of course only holds if we assume that music is that which is defined in a Western cultural sense, but for the purposes of this paper, this is how music will be defined.

There could be many interesting approaches to such a topic, one being that an original full length film be created and have music paired with the sympathetic scenes that would not be of the usual content.

Nevermind the poor sentence structure, what about the lack of basic grammar?!? I know that I have a very distinct writing style and an important part of being able to review is being able to offer advice without trying to completely convert the piece to your style, but Hello?!?! What happens if you can't even understand what has been written. *Frustrations!* I think they thought that if they just threw in a bunch of big words and made their sentences long and complicated, it would make them sound scholarly. Hmmm... I think not.

Look what I found!

Tonight I did a lot of research for my psychology of music class. Since I was sort of in the researching mood, I decided to Google my name... and look what I found!

Apparently there is a hotel with my name on the small Greek island of Santorini! Isn't it pretty?

And then there is the private beach resort in Malaysia that also shares my name! Again, isn't it pretty?

How cool is this room that you can stay in?

Long story short... I think I just determined the two places that I would go on my dream vacation. Yay for having a slightly exotic name!

This is just too good to not post...

*OLD VERSION*: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

******************************
*UPDATED VERSION*: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green." Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. Eventually the grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote!

My day...

The highlights (or not) of my day:

- I didn't get shot
- My coworker had another seizure
- It was payday (translation: pure craziness)
- I got paid

Woohoo... and now I am going to bed. I know that I haven't been posting very often, but honestly, I think that you guys probably would prefer it this way. I have been so stressed out about nursing school/post graduation plans that my posts would be a random jumble of the worries in my head, and since I don't even like what is going on in there, I figure I will spare you guys the misery. I'll post again soon though, I promise. Just bare with me... please.