So I'm sitting here watching the Goonies with my brand new computer and I'm realizing how far behind I am once again at keeping up to date. This time though its not really my fault. My computer died and I had to buy a new one. So here it is, the first posting from my brand spanking new computer! Its been a busy month for me so I'll try to remember it all.
September 12
Kyle took me to the West Virginia University football game for my birthday! I drove down Saturday morning through the drizzling rain. Not a very good day for a football game. But just as I reached his dorm, the rain stopped! The city was PACKED with fans! Being an alumni of good ole' Mercyhurst, I've never seen that many people in one place all dressed the same and so excited about football! We went and had lunch at Chick fil a and then headed over to the game. We got their early enough to find out seats pretty easily under the scoreboard.
It was a great game! WVU had some fantastic plays and the fans were all excited to be there. I even learneda few new cheers! It was so cool to see 60,000 people all chanting LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!!! We won the game to make it even better! A great birthday present!
September 15
I turned 22!! My favorite day of the year was a Tuesday this year. Even though I had to go to work, it was still a great day. The guys in my office took me out to lunch and the whole family go together to have dinner with me.
September 18-20
Homecoming at the Hurst! My roommates and I from college all decided to get together and celebrate homecoming in Erie. It was the first time we all got together since graduation. So we booked a room at the Tally-Ho Tel for the weekend near campus and headed down to school! We spent Friday night at the Cornerstone hanging out with all the alumni. It felt like we'd never left, there were so many alumni there! The only difference was now we were all legal! Catching up was fun, the gang was all there, all my roommates, and lots of friends. Some people have jobs, some going to grad school, and some are still figuring themselves out.
The next day we went to the Homecoming football game against IUP. We won the game and a friend of mine won homecoming queen! We checked out the petting zoo and I got close to a mini donkey before we took a tour of all the new buildings on campus. There's a new freshman dorm that looks more like a 5 star hotel than a college dorm. It's crazy! We went back to the hotel for a few hours and watched Lifetime movies and eat pizza before we headed downtown to the Cellblock for another night of seeing all our friends! It was a great night of talking and laughing and dancing and I know I was really sad when the weekend was over.
October 7-12
I took a vacation to Seattle to visit my grandparents out there. After a 7 hour journey with a layover in Minneapolis my Aunt and her family picked me up at the airport and we headed up to the islands. I love my grandparents house. They live in Annacortes, WA right on the water. When you walk outside their back door you are less than 10 yards from the beach covered in smooth rocks and massive logs. And out across the bay is Mt. Baker rising through the mist covered with snow. The next day we took my 5 year old cousins to the Seattle aquarium. We then took a walk through Pike's Place Market to see all there was to see. My little cousins wanted to buy everything in site, and especially loved the fish market! As we passed them by the fish seller asked little Kate if she wanted to catch a fish. She said no, but Aly jumped at the chance and quickly suited up in a heavy apron. The man grabbed a fish off the ice pack and went around behind the counter to clean if off. Aly kinda freaked out when the guy lobbed a fish over the counter at her and dropped it, only to discover it was just a stuffed fish! We kept wandering down the street until we found the Pike Brewery where we had dinner. My Uncle Bob loves all different kinds of beers and loved sampling the different kinds at the microbrewery. After our long day we headed back to Anacortes.
The next day we took the morning ferry over to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The ferry takes about an hour and it was the little girls' first ride on the ferry so it was a lot of fun watching them get so excited to see all the islands and smaller boats passing us by. When we got off the boat we stopped first at the Whale museum to learn about the local killer whale pods. There are 3 pods of killer whales that stay around the islands during the summer. The K,J, and L pods are very visible during the summer months up there. Next we stopped at Lime Kiln park along the coast to see if we could see any whales. Unfortunately, the whales had already moved on for the season, but we did see a seal following us along the coast! After that we took the family up to this little churchyard on the side of a hill where my great grandparents and two great aunts are buried. I'd never really heard about them until this trip so it was interesting to hear some stories about them from my grandma. Then we wandered the graveyard for a while looking at all the cool graves and the stories they told. The girls loved trying to figure out how old people were and the funny names people used to have. After dinner at The Bait Shop we took the ferry back to Anacortes and hung out for the night. Kate, Aly, and I played hide and seek, told jokes, and watched Madeline movies before bed. We headed back to the airport the next morning for my 7 hour trip home again.
October 12
I got full time job offer at CMU! So it looks like I'll be staying in Pittsburgh for a while!!!!
And that's most of what I've been doing lately. Man, I have been busy! I think there's been more but I'm running out of steam tonight. More tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Do You Remember, Dancing in September?
Well it's officially September. Can't you just hear that Earth, Wind, and Fire song playing? Labor Day is here and school has begun for kids of all ages. It's still kind of weird not to be one of them. There are college kids crawling all over Oakland, heading too and from class. But not me. There's not class for me this semester. We'll see about the next one still.
Saturday night, the Friends of the Park held a concert at Zelie Park. The Clarks, or should I say the Infamous Dicks, played a free concert on one of the ball fields to raise money for the park. The name change is due to the fact that the drummer was not part of the ensemble. They played Clarks songs and some great covers. Rawah and I had such a great time! I even knew most of the words!
It was such a great atmosphere, just sitting out on the baseball field with about 800 other Zelieites and enjoying a great concert. There were kids running around everywhere doing cartwheels and playing tag. It's definitly not something you'd find quite the same in the city.
Sunday Kurt and I took advantage of the georgeous weather and went bike riding at Moraine. Every time it gets pretty I say to myself I'm going to get my bike out and ride but there always seems to be something else to do. But I put my foot down yesterday and we loaded up the bikes, got air in my tires (yes it's been that long!) and set out. We only got lost once on the way there! There was a detour marked that we had to take, but instead of dropping us off at the North Shore like the original road was supposed to, we got turned around and ended up at the South Shore. Eventually we made it to the head of the trails and set out.
Now the bike trail at Moraine is 7 miels long if you do the whole thing, and it's not a loop. That means you could potentially take a 14 mile bike ride. Ha ha ha ha... no possible way. At least not for a while! So Kurt and I rode 3 miles out and 3 miles back in for a total of a 6 mile ride. Just about right. I wasn't completely exhausted and he wasn't completely fresh! The trail was very nice though, winding all through the woods with lots of little hills and some flat parts where you could see the lake. We'll have to do it again soon!
Tomorrow it's back to work after the long weekend, but at least there are things to look forward to on the horizon! Let's see, we've got:
Sept. 12: WVU Football Game
Sept. 15: My Birthday!!!!
Sept. 18-20: Mercyhurst Homecoming
Sept. 24-25: G20 in Pittsburgh
Oct. 7-10: Seattle to visit the relatives
Looks like I've got some interesting posts coming up on the horizon! 22 seems so old, but in 8 more days it'll be official. I don't know how to celebrate 22 though. Maybe I should make up for my dud of a 21st birthday (I was soo sick with a cold!) and do something exciting! Any thoughts?
Saturday night, the Friends of the Park held a concert at Zelie Park. The Clarks, or should I say the Infamous Dicks, played a free concert on one of the ball fields to raise money for the park. The name change is due to the fact that the drummer was not part of the ensemble. They played Clarks songs and some great covers. Rawah and I had such a great time! I even knew most of the words!
It was such a great atmosphere, just sitting out on the baseball field with about 800 other Zelieites and enjoying a great concert. There were kids running around everywhere doing cartwheels and playing tag. It's definitly not something you'd find quite the same in the city.
Sunday Kurt and I took advantage of the georgeous weather and went bike riding at Moraine. Every time it gets pretty I say to myself I'm going to get my bike out and ride but there always seems to be something else to do. But I put my foot down yesterday and we loaded up the bikes, got air in my tires (yes it's been that long!) and set out. We only got lost once on the way there! There was a detour marked that we had to take, but instead of dropping us off at the North Shore like the original road was supposed to, we got turned around and ended up at the South Shore. Eventually we made it to the head of the trails and set out.
Now the bike trail at Moraine is 7 miels long if you do the whole thing, and it's not a loop. That means you could potentially take a 14 mile bike ride. Ha ha ha ha... no possible way. At least not for a while! So Kurt and I rode 3 miles out and 3 miles back in for a total of a 6 mile ride. Just about right. I wasn't completely exhausted and he wasn't completely fresh! The trail was very nice though, winding all through the woods with lots of little hills and some flat parts where you could see the lake. We'll have to do it again soon!
Tomorrow it's back to work after the long weekend, but at least there are things to look forward to on the horizon! Let's see, we've got:
Sept. 12: WVU Football Game
Sept. 15: My Birthday!!!!
Sept. 18-20: Mercyhurst Homecoming
Sept. 24-25: G20 in Pittsburgh
Oct. 7-10: Seattle to visit the relatives
Looks like I've got some interesting posts coming up on the horizon! 22 seems so old, but in 8 more days it'll be official. I don't know how to celebrate 22 though. Maybe I should make up for my dud of a 21st birthday (I was soo sick with a cold!) and do something exciting! Any thoughts?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Making Use of My Unusual Talents
Ever since I was a freshman in high school, I've been really interested in working on the stage. Not in front of the lights and the crowd, but behind the scenes making all the magic happen. I spent 4 years of high school doing Living Stations at St. Ferdinand's church working on lighting and 10th-12th grade running crew for the Seneca musicals. I loved the energy and the action! The little things that brought it all together for the audience and made it a real experience.
When I got to college I was lucky enough to get a work study job at the Performing Arts Center on campus. Whenever I wasn't studying or in class, I was at the theater putting up lights, mopping floors, hanging curtains, or running sound for a show. I spend most of my weekends and many of my weeknights backstage or behind a booth listening to speakers or rehersing lighting cues with the wind ensemble.
I was worried that once I graduated college I'd lose this important part of my life, because how many opportunities are out there for amateur stage hands who can't commit full time to a theater? Luckily for me, I found the perfect place!
The Strand Theater in Zelie just opened this summer, after more than 20 years of being closed and falling into disrepair. With a lot of hard work and love, it's been restored into a beautiful theater that we've been using every weekend since it opened last month! We've had live bands, classic films, and Debbie Reynolds! This past weekend, a local guitar school put on two concerts, each featuring 10 bands, all under the age of 18! They were great, and the theater was just about sold out!
I've been running projection and lighting for some of the larger shows, as well as taking my turn at the concessions booth during movies and other events.
I love working at a small theater like this because they appreciate all they help they can get, so my small contributions of time are welcomed whenever I can give them. There aren't many people my age who know the difference between sound and light cables, or how to focus a stage light without burning your hands. I guess college taught me something after all!
I needed something to get involved in now that college with all it's built in activities are over and this has been a great way to stay busy and see a lot of great movies and performances. I love that I can help out in my own community and still doing something I really enjoy! I wish all little towns could have a theater like this!
This weekend we're showing Casablanca! "Round up the usual suspects" and come out and see the Strand!
Hopefully I'll get back to this soon with all the rest of my happenings in the real world. It's amazing though how much time work takes up when you've got a full time job. Weekends just never seem long enough any more!
When I got to college I was lucky enough to get a work study job at the Performing Arts Center on campus. Whenever I wasn't studying or in class, I was at the theater putting up lights, mopping floors, hanging curtains, or running sound for a show. I spend most of my weekends and many of my weeknights backstage or behind a booth listening to speakers or rehersing lighting cues with the wind ensemble.
I was worried that once I graduated college I'd lose this important part of my life, because how many opportunities are out there for amateur stage hands who can't commit full time to a theater? Luckily for me, I found the perfect place!
The Strand Theater in Zelie just opened this summer, after more than 20 years of being closed and falling into disrepair. With a lot of hard work and love, it's been restored into a beautiful theater that we've been using every weekend since it opened last month! We've had live bands, classic films, and Debbie Reynolds! This past weekend, a local guitar school put on two concerts, each featuring 10 bands, all under the age of 18! They were great, and the theater was just about sold out!
I've been running projection and lighting for some of the larger shows, as well as taking my turn at the concessions booth during movies and other events.
I love working at a small theater like this because they appreciate all they help they can get, so my small contributions of time are welcomed whenever I can give them. There aren't many people my age who know the difference between sound and light cables, or how to focus a stage light without burning your hands. I guess college taught me something after all!
I needed something to get involved in now that college with all it's built in activities are over and this has been a great way to stay busy and see a lot of great movies and performances. I love that I can help out in my own community and still doing something I really enjoy! I wish all little towns could have a theater like this!
This weekend we're showing Casablanca! "Round up the usual suspects" and come out and see the Strand!
Hopefully I'll get back to this soon with all the rest of my happenings in the real world. It's amazing though how much time work takes up when you've got a full time job. Weekends just never seem long enough any more!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Catching up on all the happenings
Well I am now 3 weeks into my job down at CMU and it's great! Everyone I work with is so nice, and I feel like I have a lot to do. Working in Oakland is interesting, and I'm sure it will be even more so once school starts up again for the colleges in the area. But for now it's fairly quiet. Summer classes are in session, and the weather is wonderful. The only thing I could hope to be better is the parking situation. It's a crime how much parking garages charge. Thank goodness I just got paid on Friday, otherwise I'd be broke very soon!
Speaking of getting paid, I am now finding out what it means to be a real adult. I may have a paycheck coming in, but a lot of it is going right back out the door. Student loan repayments starts in October, so I need to start saving up some money for that. I've got gas and parking expenses for getting to work every day, plus I'm signing up for health insurance this week so that's another hundred dollars. Car payments every month are $350 and then there's auto insurance around $85 a month. Anything left over is going straight to savings right now so I have something to build on when I think about moving out.
DId I mention I bought a car????? It's BEAUTIFUL, my silver bullet! Last week I bought a
2009 Toyota Corolla down in North Hills, the last they had on the lot. Actually, the salesman said it's probably the last 2009 in Pittsburgh, there were good deals on them so they were gone! My car is the sports model, so it's got all the fun stuff like a SUNROOF, power locks, ipod hookup, leather steering wheel, spoiler, everything! Give me a call sometime and we'll go for a drive!
I've decided its really nice working down in Pittsburgh. There's a lot to do in the area if you want to stay down there after work. Friday night, Aunt Patti, April, and I went to the YWEP Summer Concert at Shenley Plaza. They had some good bands there, out favorite was The Duchs from Canada. They had a real mix of songs to sing and had the audience up dancing a lot. I was not a fan of Dar Williams though. Her songs were good but the explanations behind each one took longer than the song! But it was a beautiful night to be out on the lawn. I hope there will be more concerts like that soon!
Thursday night the Friends of the Park here in Zelie had a concert which featured Acoustic Jammage and Spin Cycle. Both bands were really good and I wish the weather had been better so more people would have come. Our park is great for stuff like that and there should be more of it.
The next big event in town is the Fourth of July! Look for me at the Dessert booth, I hope to see you all there!
Speaking of getting paid, I am now finding out what it means to be a real adult. I may have a paycheck coming in, but a lot of it is going right back out the door. Student loan repayments starts in October, so I need to start saving up some money for that. I've got gas and parking expenses for getting to work every day, plus I'm signing up for health insurance this week so that's another hundred dollars. Car payments every month are $350 and then there's auto insurance around $85 a month. Anything left over is going straight to savings right now so I have something to build on when I think about moving out.
DId I mention I bought a car????? It's BEAUTIFUL, my silver bullet! Last week I bought a
2009 Toyota Corolla down in North Hills, the last they had on the lot. Actually, the salesman said it's probably the last 2009 in Pittsburgh, there were good deals on them so they were gone! My car is the sports model, so it's got all the fun stuff like a SUNROOF, power locks, ipod hookup, leather steering wheel, spoiler, everything! Give me a call sometime and we'll go for a drive!I've decided its really nice working down in Pittsburgh. There's a lot to do in the area if you want to stay down there after work. Friday night, Aunt Patti, April, and I went to the YWEP Summer Concert at Shenley Plaza. They had some good bands there, out favorite was The Duchs from Canada. They had a real mix of songs to sing and had the audience up dancing a lot. I was not a fan of Dar Williams though. Her songs were good but the explanations behind each one took longer than the song! But it was a beautiful night to be out on the lawn. I hope there will be more concerts like that soon!
Thursday night the Friends of the Park here in Zelie had a concert which featured Acoustic Jammage and Spin Cycle. Both bands were really good and I wish the weather had been better so more people would have come. Our park is great for stuff like that and there should be more of it.
The next big event in town is the Fourth of July! Look for me at the Dessert booth, I hope to see you all there!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye
I am officially done with college. I took my last finals Wednesday and got my final grades yesterday. I officially graduate on Sunday, but it really isn't sinking in yet. 
Here I am sitting in my half packed up room with my goldfish and I just can't picture not coming back here next fall. Sure I'm glad to be done, I've got a job all lined up ( news flash: I got a job in Pittsburgh now, so I'll be at home at least through the summer!) and I'm so happy with my grades and I'm getting a car, everything's working out just the way I hoped. It's just not real yet.
I'm really going to miss Mercyhurst. Especially on days like it's been this week, warm, green, and blue skies all day with the lake shimmering off in the distance. I'm not going to miss trudging through the snow to get to class every day for six months, but watching the snow fall in giant heaps on the weekends while sipping hot chocolate are memories I will take with me. I'm going to miss taking walks through campus just becau
se it's so pretty out and I want to see the flowers on the trees. I'm going to miss working crazy hours at the PAC, coming in at 8am and leaving at 1am without ever seeing the sun. I'll miss watching amazing shows from the wings and hanging out with snobby lighting directors, crazy musicians, and crazy flexible dancers. It'll be weird going to work at normal and steady hours after this job. I wonder if my skills as a lighting technician will be of use somewhere else?
I'm going to miss baja subs at the Laker and breadsticks at 10pm on a Friday night. I'm even going to miss listening to people get off the bus in front of my house every night at 2:30 am and stumble home. I'm going to miss falling asleep to Sex and the City every night with my
roommate Jenna and watching movies with all the roommates on a Tuesday rather than write that paper. I'm going to miss discussing the context of Machiavelli's writing and why understanding the history of a nation's political institutions is important for it's future with other people as interested as I am. I'm going to miss dinner at 5 with the boys almost every night for the past 4 years; my break from stress and work and crazy drama. I'm going to miss listening sports conversation that I barely understand and being excited over hot pizza and chocolate ice cream.
Most of all, I'm going to miss the family I've created here. Everyone I've met at Mercyhurst has had an impact on my life and how I now lead it and I'm so excited to be going on to new opportunities. But I won't forget all the wonderful memories I've made here and the people I've come to love. I hope we all stay in touch for years to come.
I think it's starting to sink in now.
Here I am sitting in my half packed up room with my goldfish and I just can't picture not coming back here next fall. Sure I'm glad to be done, I've got a job all lined up ( news flash: I got a job in Pittsburgh now, so I'll be at home at least through the summer!) and I'm so happy with my grades and I'm getting a car, everything's working out just the way I hoped. It's just not real yet.I'm really going to miss Mercyhurst. Especially on days like it's been this week, warm, green, and blue skies all day with the lake shimmering off in the distance. I'm not going to miss trudging through the snow to get to class every day for six months, but watching the snow fall in giant heaps on the weekends while sipping hot chocolate are memories I will take with me. I'm going to miss taking walks through campus just becau
se it's so pretty out and I want to see the flowers on the trees. I'm going to miss working crazy hours at the PAC, coming in at 8am and leaving at 1am without ever seeing the sun. I'll miss watching amazing shows from the wings and hanging out with snobby lighting directors, crazy musicians, and crazy flexible dancers. It'll be weird going to work at normal and steady hours after this job. I wonder if my skills as a lighting technician will be of use somewhere else?I'm going to miss baja subs at the Laker and breadsticks at 10pm on a Friday night. I'm even going to miss listening to people get off the bus in front of my house every night at 2:30 am and stumble home. I'm going to miss falling asleep to Sex and the City every night with my
roommate Jenna and watching movies with all the roommates on a Tuesday rather than write that paper. I'm going to miss discussing the context of Machiavelli's writing and why understanding the history of a nation's political institutions is important for it's future with other people as interested as I am. I'm going to miss dinner at 5 with the boys almost every night for the past 4 years; my break from stress and work and crazy drama. I'm going to miss listening sports conversation that I barely understand and being excited over hot pizza and chocolate ice cream.
Most of all, I'm going to miss the family I've created here. Everyone I've met at Mercyhurst has had an impact on my life and how I now lead it and I'm so excited to be going on to new opportunities. But I won't forget all the wonderful memories I've made here and the people I've come to love. I hope we all stay in touch for years to come.
I think it's starting to sink in now.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
New Set of Wheels
So I have a job for the summer here in Erie. I'm pretty excited, I'll be working for the Intel dept. here on campus doing research. Living on campus should be quiet compared to normal but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than renting a place!
My super exciting news is that I'm getting a car! A real one! With doors and wheels and that drives me back and forth to the grocery store and from Zelie to Erie, even to the beach!
I never realized before what work has to be put into getting a car. This whole going from dealership to dealership, talking to the salesmen about features and deals and test driving different cars on streets you don't know has been exhausting. Luckily I've had some good salesmen to deal with and the deals on the cars are really good right now with the economy in the tank. The dealerships are pretty desperate to get rid of cars before the new ones come in, lucky me! I think I might even be able to afford a new car!
At the moment I'm torn between the Nissan Sentra and the Honda Civic. They're both really good cars with
good gas milage, a smooth ride, ipod jack, and lots of safety features. The good gas milage and music system were my requirements, the safety features are my parents. I'm so impressed with the features and safety of the medium range models of these cars. I'm not getting the bottom of the line, those are all manual transmissions and we all know I can't drive that. But to get a good safety system and air conditioning I don't have to go more than the 2nd level of either model! I can
see myself in both of them, probably either a blue or silver. All that's left now is to figure out which one will be the better deal ! I'll keep you all posted on the decision.
Otherwise it's a sunny day in Erie. The weather is beautiful and people are out wandering all over campus. Girls are selling tickets to the senior bar crawl outside my house and there's a volley ball game going on down the street. There's finally leaves on the trees and everything is a beautiful color of green. I've been running errands around campus all day, getting myself caught up after the past few hectic weeks. Time to get back to studying, the political writings of Burke and Rousseau are calling me.
My super exciting news is that I'm getting a car! A real one! With doors and wheels and that drives me back and forth to the grocery store and from Zelie to Erie, even to the beach!
I never realized before what work has to be put into getting a car. This whole going from dealership to dealership, talking to the salesmen about features and deals and test driving different cars on streets you don't know has been exhausting. Luckily I've had some good salesmen to deal with and the deals on the cars are really good right now with the economy in the tank. The dealerships are pretty desperate to get rid of cars before the new ones come in, lucky me! I think I might even be able to afford a new car!
At the moment I'm torn between the Nissan Sentra and the Honda Civic. They're both really good cars with
good gas milage, a smooth ride, ipod jack, and lots of safety features. The good gas milage and music system were my requirements, the safety features are my parents. I'm so impressed with the features and safety of the medium range models of these cars. I'm not getting the bottom of the line, those are all manual transmissions and we all know I can't drive that. But to get a good safety system and air conditioning I don't have to go more than the 2nd level of either model! I can
see myself in both of them, probably either a blue or silver. All that's left now is to figure out which one will be the better deal ! I'll keep you all posted on the decision.Otherwise it's a sunny day in Erie. The weather is beautiful and people are out wandering all over campus. Girls are selling tickets to the senior bar crawl outside my house and there's a volley ball game going on down the street. There's finally leaves on the trees and everything is a beautiful color of green. I've been running errands around campus all day, getting myself caught up after the past few hectic weeks. Time to get back to studying, the political writings of Burke and Rousseau are calling me.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Researching John Locke
So here I am supposedly writing my political theory paper on John Locke, but I can't seem to
focus yet again. It's not that I'm not interested in the topic, because I am. Locke's theory of consent of the governed is radically different from his closest predecessors and became one of the most prominent philosophical voices behind the American Revolution. His ideas are what founded our own government. It's just that there must be a more interesting way to show a professor that you understand the material other than a research paper. What professor would honestly want to read 30 10page research papers and grade them all critically? Is there really something out there that we might write about that hasn't already been written about a hundred times? The philosophers that we're studying have been around for centuries!
Perhaps I should takes Locke's advice and rebel against a system that no longer suits my needs. I gave my consent to my professor to rule over me when I signed up to take the class, but Locke says I retained my rights to leave the class if I want to. I could dissolve my social contract with this professor and instead start my own theory class which doesn't assign research papers, I'll even put that in the constitution I'll call a syllabus. Then we will discuss the great theorists in lively debate, pitting their theories against each other to see how they measure up, rather than just writing what we think might happen.
But alas, this will never happen. I need this class to graduate, and leaving the class would surely give me an incomplete rather than demonstrate my knowledge of political theory. Besides, Locke believes that one wrong is not enough to break the social contract for all time. So I will write my paper and complain no more. Locke might say I have as much opportunity as the next student to get an A if I only try hard enough.
focus yet again. It's not that I'm not interested in the topic, because I am. Locke's theory of consent of the governed is radically different from his closest predecessors and became one of the most prominent philosophical voices behind the American Revolution. His ideas are what founded our own government. It's just that there must be a more interesting way to show a professor that you understand the material other than a research paper. What professor would honestly want to read 30 10page research papers and grade them all critically? Is there really something out there that we might write about that hasn't already been written about a hundred times? The philosophers that we're studying have been around for centuries!Perhaps I should takes Locke's advice and rebel against a system that no longer suits my needs. I gave my consent to my professor to rule over me when I signed up to take the class, but Locke says I retained my rights to leave the class if I want to. I could dissolve my social contract with this professor and instead start my own theory class which doesn't assign research papers, I'll even put that in the constitution I'll call a syllabus. Then we will discuss the great theorists in lively debate, pitting their theories against each other to see how they measure up, rather than just writing what we think might happen.
But alas, this will never happen. I need this class to graduate, and leaving the class would surely give me an incomplete rather than demonstrate my knowledge of political theory. Besides, Locke believes that one wrong is not enough to break the social contract for all time. So I will write my paper and complain no more. Locke might say I have as much opportunity as the next student to get an A if I only try hard enough.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Starting up the ole' blog
So after a year and a half of not writing a single word on this blog, I've decided to start it up again. When I was younger, I used to journal all the time, but fell out of the habit when I started spending most of my time on computers, mostly for school. SAS was a great experience for me, notably because it got me back into writing. I think that writing down your experiences and thoughts allows them to form outside your head and become more solid, more real. Its something that I need going into the next phase of my life, AFTER college.
I decided to keep the same blog, because the basic feel of the blog was still the same idea I wanted to keep. Although I'm not circling the globe again (there's always hope!) I will be leaving what I know to face the world in a new way. Perhaps here is a place where I can share my exeperiences, be they funny, happy, frightening, sad, or exciting. I plan to just write about whatever comes to mind, this is my blog after all!
Graduation is less than a month away, and there's still so much to do! I don't think I'm ready, but I know that there's so much for me to do after all the caps are in the air. I can't wait!
I decided to keep the same blog, because the basic feel of the blog was still the same idea I wanted to keep. Although I'm not circling the globe again (there's always hope!) I will be leaving what I know to face the world in a new way. Perhaps here is a place where I can share my exeperiences, be they funny, happy, frightening, sad, or exciting. I plan to just write about whatever comes to mind, this is my blog after all!
Graduation is less than a month away, and there's still so much to do! I don't think I'm ready, but I know that there's so much for me to do after all the caps are in the air. I can't wait!
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