Sunday, September 13, 2015

Julia Child Meets Betty Crocker

In my household, I am known, formally, as "The Girl Who Cannot Boil Rice". Although I have not prepared any recipes that involve the boiling of rice, I have proven to be a quite excellent cook and baker. 

Lately, I have been channeling my need to busy myself, into delicious deserts. It started as just chocolate chip cookies, trickled down into brownies, and I have now landed myself in cake and frosting territory.

Food.com is my new best friend. They have so many amazing and really easy meals! Yesterday, I prepared a Mexican Lasagna (recipe found on Food.com). I was super nervous about making, but actually it was really simple. I have attached the link to the bottom of this entry, in case anyone else wants to try it. Kudos to the chef behind this fantastic recipe. I wish it had been me.

The oven is set to 350 degrees; it bakes for about an hour (30 minutes covered with foil, 30 without), and it took only 15 minutes to throw all of the ingredients together. 


Ingredients:

12 ounces, cooked chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (about 3 cups)
 - Sidenote: Boil chicken cutlets in pot of water for 10 minutes, or until chicken is white and appears cooked. This works for already cut chicken or whole cutlets

1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salsa (mild, medium, or hot)
1 (4 ounce) can, chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 flour tortillas, cut in half

Another helpful hint: Do NOT double the layers of taco shells, especially on the bottom. It creates major problems, when trying to divide the slices. Also, it says only one can of green chilies, but next time I am going to add a second because I wish there had been more. I felt like they got lost in the cheese and the sour cream.

Whilst my dinner was baking in the main oven, I began mixing the ingredients together for my cake. Sadly there was not enough time to make a cake from scratch, but my brother and I picked out one of those crazy color cake mixes from Stop & Shop. The blue cake looked awesome underneath my homemade, green frosting. I never knew how easy it is to make frosting. I might start making more things involving it, or as a snack when I am super PMS-y. 

I had fun learning my way through this recipe. This is the first thing I have cooked, from scratch, all on my own. 

It's funny though. I always found baking so simple, but baking is supposed to be harder because when you bake everything has to be measured exactly, otherwise you could screw up your fabulous dessert and end up with mush. 

I plan to start cooking a lot more now that I know how easy it really is. 

Food.com - Mexican Lasagna

Friday, May 8, 2015

It's been a good run

Hello Blogosphere, if that's what I can call the people out there that are reading this. Tonight is my last night sitting serving as the duty night Resident Assistant for Albertus Magnus College. For the next two mornings I have to be on check out duty for the summer, but that is not what I was hired by the school to do. This weekend, I will hang up my keys and hand over the duty binder for the last time. I have to return my RA protocols and procedures binder back to Justin on Monday. That will be the the saddest part.

It is definitely a bittersweet feeling. Some of my favorite jokes and memories are instances of being on duty or talking with fellow RA's. In this way, I will miss this job. I will miss my bosses, Justin and Kim. I am going to miss being important to this campus. I will definitely miss the Princess Room, Sansbury room 10. 

I am trying my hardest to keep my cool and keep myself from crying because I will really miss this place. It just has not hit me yet that I will not be coming back in August. Who knows when it will. New Haven has been a part of the last four years of my life. I remember it like it was just yesterday, the day that I walked into Bree Common to get the keys to Dominican, my freshman year dorm. I never imagined I would become an RA during college. Never...but I did, and no matter how annoyed I was with this job at times, I do not regret taking this chance. 

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

End-of-Semester-Blues

It’s time to say goodbye…

Goodbye to the last four years.
Goodbye to the confines of Albertus Magnus College.
Goodbye to some of my favorite professors, mentors, classmates, and staff members.
Goodbye to long duty hours; endless lists of assignments.
Sayonara to creating monthly bulletin boards, planning & executing monthly floor functions, and hanging flyers.

I have 12 more days as a Resident Assistant and 18 more days left here on campus.

There are twenty-one typed pages and one final exam standing between me and the end of senior year. Today, I handed in my final poetry portfolio to Dr. Cole. She has been one of my educational mentors since freshman year here at Albertus. It is the end of an era!

This Friday is the Spring Formal; it’s my last one, and it will be the only one I actually get to go to. Freshman year my friend got sick and I had to take care of her back at the dorm. Sophomore year I ended up this awful headache as soon as I got there – so I had to go back to the dorm. Junior year I was on duty since I was the only non-senior RA in my building.

Senior year – this year – is my year!

I still have to decide on my dress. I have so many options in my closet here at school.

Alright, I suppose I should return to working on homework. The pub is particularly empty tonight. It’s a great night to write up 12 pages of my own Utopia for Dr. Imholt.


Signing off!

Monday, April 20, 2015

So I met this boy...

I met this boy -- actually, a twenty-seven year old is really considered a man, but it doesn't matter because either way, he is amazing. 
We had the most amazing weekend together!

On Friday, he and I walked all the way down Prospect Street into the downtown area. We walked around and observed all the goings on near Yale. We ate pizza at York Street and strolled through the New Haven Green. Before heading back to campus, we took a long detour and explored the other side of Temple Street, where the movie theater is, because I had never been back there. Apparently there is this enormous arts and humanities high school on the other end of College Street. We saw it on our way back. Once more through the New Haven Green before we began our journey back up Prospect Street.

Longest walk ever.

Saturday morning, and Zack was craving waffles. Luckily, there is a waffle maker in the dining hall. After waffles, we journeyed downtown once again. We were going to see a movie together. We were supposed to see this movie called True Story starring James Franco and Jonah Hill (I think), but the website had the wrong movie time listed. We ended up seeing While We're Young, with Ben Stiller and that guy from that old show Coach. Amanda Seyfried was in it too. It was a really great movie. It was funny and sad; there was drama and romance. What more could you ask for?!

It felt so nice to sit in the movie theater with someone's arm around my shoulder. Occasionally he would hold my hand. He has such soft hands. 

After the movie, we came back to school and had dinner because at 7 we were going to see the Act II production of The Fantastiks. I was super nervous about the play. What if he didn't like it? Luckily, he loved it! His favorite was the character El Gallo. His costume was pretty awesome. 

Zack is a huge Big Lebowski fan! 
Far out, man!
I popped the dvd into the player when we got back and he and I watched the movie, laughed to our favorite parts, recited some of our favorite lines with the movie, and shared little tidbits that we each knew about behind-the-scenes stuff. 

Sunday we slept in a bit. Finally, we rolled ourselves out of bed and walked downtown for coffee. He really wanted Dunkin Donuts. On our way back to school this time, we walked around and explored the open parts of the Yale campus a little bit. Right on the corner of College Street, this is this beautiful building with a gorgeous wooden door, with little metal flourishes in the corner. There is also this beautiful, painted ceiling. I have walked past this building hundreds of times and I never looked inside it. Yesterday, I finally did. 

We have plans for more New Haven adventures next weekend. There is this pathway that leads underneath the Trumbull Street intersection that we want to explore and see where it leads. 
We know where the entrance is, but where is the exit?

This was one of the best weekends I have had in a while. It was so nice to just have someone to spend time with and we really enjoyed each other's company. I hope it continues after Graduation, but if not, then it was just "enchanting to meet him", as Taylor Swift would say.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Yankees v. Red Sox

Yesterday was a New York City adventure day.
I traveled to the Bronx with  a bus full of excited baseball fans from Albertus Magnus. I bought myself a dirt water dog, from one of the carts outside the stadium. 
I also did something I will try never to do again -- buy food inside the stadium. The food in there is ridiculously overpriced for the quality. 

$21.00 for a cheeseburger and a Stella beer. 
At least the burger was delicious.

Our seats were amazing!
We sat by left field right in the fly zone for batting practice. There were a few close calls where rogue baseballs almost came crashing down on me, but luckily people caught them. 
There were at least four very exciting home runs made during the game. I was really excited to be there for the entire game, because if it went on for as long as Friday night's game, the bus driver told us we were leaving at the end of the 9th inning no matter what. Luckily, the game finished up at 11:30. 

The Yankees won.

I started off my senior year with a trip to Boston's Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox play in their home stadium. It is really cool to get to be inside these baseball stadiums that you normally see only through a television screen. It is a fun time and a very colorful atmosphere to say the least. 

Friday, April 3, 2015

Job Hunts

While I was on duty tonight, I was working on polishing my cover letter and resume for this really awesome Editorial Assistant job in New York City. I can only pray that I at least earn an interview because working for Penguin-Random House would be such an amazing opportunity. 

I started out by logging into my new favorite website, saltmoney.org, and checking out their article all about  cover letter writing and where to begin. I just followed the steps because they tell you exactly what you should talk about in each paragraph of your cover letter. I think that I paint a really great picture of my skills and why I am a good candidate for the position, but I am so nervous that I said too much or maybe I said things I should never say. I mean, I talked about the kinds of responsibilities I work on in my various positions that involve some of the skills they are seeking. I am showing them rather than just telling them. 

All I really can hope for is that they like me enough to call me into the office for an interview. That would be an honor all by itself.

During the last few hours of duty, I worked on typing up a budget for myself that I think I can stick to. It is actually not so much a budget more than it is a typed up list of my financial crisis. I really want to try and use this summer as the time to become fiscally responsible. I have a life plan, and if I stick to the plan, then I can do just about anything.

Lifeplan:
Work at Brussels while living at home.
Find job in NYC in major publishing house.
2-3 years, find fabulous NYC apartment
Write part-time/Work full-time
6-8 years, re-locate to somewhere else fabulous
10 years = FIRST BEST SELLING NOVEL! New York Times raves about it!

I have a laundry list of things that need to be accomplished this summer, but I am taking it in "Baby Steps" (Dr. Leo Marvin, What About Bob?" Excellent movie.

I just really want to save my money so I can be financially sound for a while. I am definitely not in the market for a house within the next 10 years, but I want to rent a really nice apartment somewhere. According to the Salt calculator, if I put away $100 a week into savings, in 20 years, I could have 300,000 dollars. That sounds so epic. My plan for myself is to never be in debt. It is just way too stressful.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

When you can't fall asleep...

Things are really getting crazy at school now. I have 46 days left here and a to-do list about ten years long. Tonight, I tried to get at least semi-organized.

Operation Finish Line
Last Day of Classes: May 4, 2015
Graduation May 17, 2015

v  Major Deadlines:
            - April 7th: Paper #2 due for Dr. Imholt
            -April 13th: Paper #2 and eportfolio page due for Dr. Robichaud
                                Breakwater emailed to Dustin
            -April 14th: 6 Literary Journals due for Dr. Cole
            -April 18th: Online CJ final exam
            -April 28th: Term Paper due for Dr. Cole/ Presentation in class/eportfolio                                                page
            -May 4th: Paper #3 and eportfolio page due for Robichaud
                             Paper #3 due for Dr. Imholt
                             Final Portfolio Presentation Due in class

v  Timely Unimportant Deadlines:
            - Function advertisements due April 2 and April 9th
            -May Duty calendar due April 20th
            -May bulletin board due May 1st
            
v  Not Timely, Not Important:
            - Work on Resume and cover letter/apply for jobs
            - Work on manuscript
         
v  Graduation Checklist:
            - Attend grad fair
                        -Reserve spot in line
                        -Purchase cap and gown
                        -check in with career services
                        -Learn about Alumni Association
                        -Get info on free Financial Management Services
                        - Schedule Exit Interview
                        -Receive final account balance/Pay degree completion fee

My Operation Finish Line naming was chosen from my favorite show in the whole world, Gilmore Girls. Paris and Rory were much more organized and ahead of the game than I am. Of course, I have to find a job, but just not right now. I am going to the career services table at the grad fair and I am paying the office a visit sometime next week. Right now, at this moment and with all of the assignments awaiting completion, finding a job is not top priority. Finding myself gainful employment is May 18th's problem, not April 1st. I had to organize and prioritize. My boss, Justin, he told me about this system he has for organizing all the tasks he has to complete. I could only remember two of them. Next Friday, during my one-on-one, I am going to ask him what the other two categories were. 

If anyone has any free time and wants to help out a suffering and over-burdened college senior, please help. 

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Hate Free Zone

Tonight was my last March dorm function in Sansbury. I hosted a "Hate Free Zone" night. My residents were able to get creative and make signs that are now hanging in the halls declaring that their rooms are hate free zones. I felt that this was something that was important to do because of some attitudes I have been witnessing on social media, on campus, and just in casual conversations. Sometimes we do not realize just how powerful words can be when you talk about a particular group or an individual, even if you do not mean it to be destructive. 

Back in February, I read an article in the times that talked about former Director of Communications for IAC and how her series of tweets during a flight had her desk cleared and her name off of her office door before she even landed. She was flying from JFK to Africa and her tweets went from rude to ignorant and un-educated.

This is a snippet from the article, "How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life" in the New York Times

“ ‘Weird German Dude: You’re in First Class. It’s 2014. Get some deodorant.’ — Inner monologue as I inhale BO. Thank God for pharmaceuticals.”Then, during her layover at Heathrow:“Chilly — cucumber sandwiches — bad teeth. Back in London!”And on Dec. 20, before the final leg of her trip to Cape Town:“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

I was honestly appalled when I read this. She really did not understand her position or the fact that on social media, everyone sees you. Even when you are not acting in a professional capacity you should maintain a professional face. My mother is constantly warning me to watch what I tweet, and I completely understand why. No one wants to be the next Justine Sacco.

The girls had so much fun tonight and that made me really excited. It felt good to know that they are comfortable taking this pledge with me. I really think that this is something that Albertus needs in each of the dorms. 

Well, I am going to go back to watching The Hills, doing my nails, and sipping on mint tea. I am heading for home tomorrow. I am so excited!



Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Experiential Learning Day 2015

Today, Wednesday, March 25, 2015 was Experiential Learning Day (ELD) here at Albertus Magnus College. I attended five panels, participated in two Art Therapy Graduate research projects, and had the honor of lunching with Professor Kendrick and Dr. Bourgeois.

The first panel I attended talked about the differences between the education systems in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. My friend, Kirsty, is here in America, from Belfast, studying business. Back home, she is a math major, but here she chose to tackle business. What I learned about their education system, I found extremely fascinating. For example, in the UK, students are expected to know what they want to do by the age of 16. You will either go into College, which is like trade school, or you attend University, which is where you would study in your chosen field: math, in Kirsty’s case. I thought that was crazy! To be expected to know what you want to do in life, by the age of 16, seems insane to me!

The second panel I attended was all about Japan, its population crisis, and how the world forced its way back into Japanese affairs. My friend, Ben, was the speaker. He is a Global Studies major and right now he is writing his thesis paper on Japan and different aspects of it. I really hope that he lets us read the paper before we graduate.

By 10 o’clock, Ben’s panel was finished and my friends and I picked up our belongings and hustled over to Aquinas, room G9, to go and listen to our friend, Matthew, talk about New Haven’s ex-utopian status. At 10:30 AM, we were high-tailing it back over to the Tagliatela Academic Center for Emili’s talk. During the fall semester, Emili had written this amazing research paper discussing the uses of Virtual Reality and its potential downfalls. It really does get you thinking about all the technology we use during the day. Why do we use it? Do we need all of it? How do we feel when we use it? Don’t use it? It is quite the hot topic right now, especially in regards to children, early development stages and the effect that technology has on children.

Have you ever noticed that children are no longer satisfied with just the attention of their parents or with the interactions with toys? How much attention does a child really need? Is it the instant reaction time of a smart-device that they seek?

Does human contact still matter?
I have been asking myself questions like these all day long.

The final panel that I attended for the day was focusing on Punk Rock. Where has the punk rock genre gone to? Is it gone or is it just slowly re-emerging? Who are the key punk bands currently? What issues are they targeting and protesting? My friend Sam is working on an independent film project. Her goal is to define punk for herself and possible on an international level. It brings up awesome questions of feminism/anti-feminism, war promoters/rejecters, and civil rights questions. 

What is right? What is punk? Ah…that is the question.

During the lunch hour, I had the pleasure of discussing the definition of a “young adult” in terms of literature. Professor Kendrick is a sociologist and studying people, behaviors, and classifying them is a big part of it. I was telling her about my dreams of becoming a writer, and when she asked me what kind of writing I do, I replied, “Mostly fiction, short and longer works. I am currently working on a novel.” We got into talking about the use of the phrase “Young Adult (YA) literature”. It really is a fascinating time to be a writer because the genre classifications we know and love could very well change right before our eyes. Students are not on the same reading levels as others simply because of circumstances out of their control. I feel that the YA age bracket could change drastically, based on how kids are educated; but, this is merely my opinion and thoughts I had today. I do not know if they truly fit together, but they are mine and I will continue to work on them.

I almost wish that I had to write a thesis paper for my major.

Oh well…

Monday, March 23, 2015

But who's counting?

There are approximately 55 days left to my time here at Albertus Magnus College, this institution of higher education. My to-do lists are getting longer and the time frame in which I have to complete all of the these tasks is getting shorter.

This past Saturday, the Breakwater committee met and in four hours, we had picked all of the poems, photos, and short prose pieces that will be published in Breakwater this year. 
This is an exciting time for me because this is my chance to really play the role of Editor. My Co-Editor and I make hard and fast decisions about layout, formatting, fonts, font size, and the order in which Breakwater is put together. I am proud to say that this year I have a poem and a short prose piece being published in the magazine. “Just Like Breathing” has also been entered into a writing contest held by the Room of Her Own Foundation’s Short Fiction section. I am still waiting to hear back from them. I can’t help but feel these knots in my stomach every time I think about the contest. 

In fifty-three days, my room will be packed up, and I will walk across a stage after earning my diploma, four years in the making. I am trying my hardest to stay on top of my school work and bask in the glory of being a senior, but sometimes it is difficult to concentrate. Operation Finish Line is about to go into action. In this plan, I organize job prospects (already in the research and organization process); I map out assignment deadlines, final exam dates, and important graduation dates. My criminal justice final is on April 18. Once that class is completed, I will have one less course to stress about. I only have one real final and I think I can handle it. As long as I stay on top of my grades from now until final’s time, I should be fine. 

Right now, I am taking school one day at a time. Tonight, I am taking my senior yearbook photo and I have work in the pub until 11. Tomorrow I will tackle Breakwater stuff.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

On a more serious note...

Lately I have been feeling a lot of pressure on my shoulders. I have all of these impending assignments that are coming due, and I have midterms next week. I am kind of freaking out!

I received good news in my Heaven and Hell class with Dr. Imholt. He gave me an A- on my first paper! That is really amazing because his classes are way outside my comfort zone, but at least I am a good writer, so that helps the cause. This first paper is part of a greater semester project/paper in which we will build our own Utopian society. It won't be perfect, but it's a Utopia...nothing is actually perfect.

Sometimes, with all of my RA duties, my hours in the pub, the time I spend working on Breakwater, and the nights I spend tossing and turning in bed, I start to get overwhelmed. This week has been a little more overwhelming for me, but I just have to remember that there are so many people I can talk to in times like these: friends, family, and co-workers. Then, I got to thinking that maybe some of my fellow students were experiencing the same types of stress...or worse, and that maybe I should provide some helpful resources.

First, the school has a link to Counseling services at Southern Connecticut State University that Albertus students can utilize for free. You can talk to them about anything that is stressing you out and affecting your well-being. All you need to do is call them and one of their representatives will either come to Albertus or you can visit their center at SCSU. 
Then there is Deacon John Hoffman, in Campus Ministry

here at Albertus. He is a confidential resource in case you feel like talking to a stranger is weird or if you feel a family member would not understand or would judge you. Lastly, there is Elizabeth Magenheimer in Health Services. She is another resource here on campus that students can go to if they need to talk or if they need information about other health issues. You can talk to anyone in student services as well. Resident Assistants are also excellent resources, even if you just need someone that will listen to you about  a problem you are having in a class or with a friend. Talk to people. Let them help you.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Day 5: Lent Edition

When I was younger, I never believed in giving up something for Lent. I just did not see the point to it because, why should I sacrifice something that I love? Well, for the second year in a row, I have sacrificed something I love: meat. I have not eaten any meat products at any meal in 5 days now. I am kind of proud of myself because I have been eating so many more vegetables than I was before. Today at dinner, I had a salad made of romaine lettuce, red bell peppers, sliced cucumbers, shredded cheese, and buttermilk ranch dressing. Actually, I have been eating that for the past three days. 

I do not always make it to Breakfast, but I have these protein shakes in my room. Bolthouse makes these delicious shakes. My favorite one is the chocolate shake, of course, but they are super good for you. I also love this one shake that is mostly red fruits...except for the banana component. They are meant to be used as a meal replacement, not as a drink you have with a meal. I have one in my fridge that is made of mostly green vegetables, but I have not been brave enough to try it yet. 

I have also been making a better effort to get to the gym in the mornings. I have a routine, but the snow has really, really messed it up. I try my best to go at 7:30 for at least three mornings a week. Sometimes, it just feels really great to sweat and guzzle water and sweat some more. My arms and legs have been getting stronger lately. I go on the eliptical for 10-15 minutes and then I use the circuit machines for 2 sets each. It has been really hard. School and the RA schedule has been rough. Most mornings my alarm goes off and I just get up and turn it off. Back to sleepy land. People tell me that it takes 21 days to develop a routine, and I am determined to develop mine. When I get back home, my sister and I are going to do Tae Bo in the basement. I am so uncoordinated, but I have a lot of fun just exercising and hanging out with my sister. I can't wait for Spring break!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Falcon for a Day!

Today, I got to do something that I have not done in a very, very long time.

Okay...four years...but who's counting?

I was invited to come and join the potential new freshman class at the Falcon for a Day event hosted by the admissions office. This is the day where the accepted students get to come in, tour the school, and participate in some fun events in order to get acclimated to the school itself. Since I am a pub bartender, I offered up my afternoon to work the pub so that our guests could get sodas and snacks; it was all free, courtesy of admissions!

It was  a lot of fun for me because the last Falcon for a Day event that I was at was my own, back in February of 2011. I remember that day very well. Aunt Mary Anne, Mommy and I all piled into the car for a final look at Albertus Magnus College. I was just a timid, little high school senior, still hiding behind her mommy as we toured the school grounds and asked any final questions I may have had before deciding on my destiny. 

It's funny to think of your next four years in college as a destiny you decide on, but if you really think about it, sometimes it is. I know that I would not have succeeded the way I have in any other college besides Albertus Magnus. I was destined to be here. 

I remember how scared I was after the opening remarks. Mommy and Aunt Mary Anne left me here at school, and I was left to mix and mingle with the other accepted students. We walked along every path on campus, explored a few of the dorms and saw how the then RA's lived in McAuliffe, and then we walked back down to the Pub area to play some trivia. My team won! I was escorted to the bookstore and that's the day I came home with my first piece of Albertus Magnus College attire. We were each allowed to pick one thing from the bookstore, within a certain price limit, and I selected a lovely, royal blue fleece jacket. I wore it constantly that year. It became my good luck charm in a way. That fleece jacket was only the beginning. Now, I have a whole Albertus wardrobe!

I was nervous, my palms were sweating, and I barely spoke two words to anyone because I was afraid they would not like me. It was a lovely day though because I had the chance to sort of get-to-know current students. They were so nice to me; they made me feel so welcome. That's how Albertus feels, welcoming. There are certain spots on this campus that feel like home to me, and no matter how happy I am to be graduating in May, I will always miss this place because for four years, it has been my home. 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Does Everybody Really Love Raymond?

For the last two weeks, I have been using much of my free time to re-watch Everybody Loves Raymond on Netflix. It has been a very revealing experience for me because I pick up on different aspects of Raymond Barone’s character that are just so male-typical. As a child, I would watch this show with my family, and I would laugh at the jokes and at some of the things that the members of the Barone family said and did. Now, I have begun to realize that this show highlights the difficulties of close-knit families, the chauvinistic ideals of married men or men in general, and I discovered how much Everybody Loves Raymond tends to annoy me.

During some flashbacks, you see how exciting the prospect of having Ray’s family so close seemed at the beginning of their marriage. After a few years, it no longer seems ideal because that’s when the lines are crossed and boundaries are invisible. Marie Barone (the mother) constantly barges into Ray and Debra’s home and instructs her on how to handle the kids, clean the house, cook her food, do the laundry, etc. Marie believes she is giving constructive criticisms, but often she just offers criticisms. It goes along with that old saying “Mother knows best”. Sometimes while I am watching it, I wish that Ray would stand up to his mother and tell her off, tell her she is being intrusive; but, he never would because he is the eternal Mama’s Boy. He lived at home until he was 30 years old and getting ready to marry Debra. That should have been a clue for her right there.


*Note: Do not marry a man who is still living with his mommy and daddy at 30 years old. It does not end well.

As a child, I thought it was funny how close he was to his mother and how she honestly believed that he could do no wrong, but now I see how she neglects Robert and just refuses to see that Raymond is actually not the best of the two. 

Something that really gets to me about the show, now that I know better, is the obvious fact that the men in the Barone family view women as their slaves. Women are meant to do two things: cook and clean, and maybe a bit of the unspoken third "obligation". It is disgusting to me now, but as a child, my siblings and I would run around the house repeating some of the demanding, scripted lines of Frank and Raymond. 

"That's what a woman should smell like: lemon pledge and meat sauce" provides the idea to society that women only have two places in this world, but the show offers two women, who are wives in two very different times, but come together and learn from one another. Debra sees that Ray is just taking advantage of her as the new nurturer in his world. His mom is no longer living with him, but she did everything from cook him breakfast to dress him for his wedding day, and he wants that again. Luckily, Debra is a smart, feminist and she sees right through his "I need my mommy" facade. Marie is the matriarch of the family and she lived through a time where women were just housewives who were expected to cook, clean, and care for the children. She is happy to continue doing so, even though Raymond is now a father to his own children. She is happy to baby him and he readily accepts what he was so used to. 

It begs me to ask myself the question: Do I really love this show? Yes, it is comedic at times, but if you really take it apart and look deeper into it, then you realize just how messed up some of the characters truly are. The invasion of privacy, the critical in-laws, the mixed-up family values...
I just pray that one day this does not become my family.
It seems to me that as I mature and age that I will open my eyes a little bit wider to the world.

Mid-Semester Blues

I've got the blues...big time. 

It's that point in the semester where I start to feel drained from my schedule: classes, running Breakwater, doing Res Life stuff, working in the pub, and most importantly -- my lack of sleep.

It's turning me into a mad woman! I feel as if pretty soon, I will have the Mad Hatter and the March Hare singing un-birthday songs to me in a land with disappearing/smiling Chesire Cats and Hookah smoking caterpillars!

Thank goodness Spring Break is right around the corner. I just have to hold on until then. Spring Break means dead battery recharge. Luckily, it also means celebrating my 22nd birthday (ya-hoo) and making a little extra cash back at my internship. I could really use the money and my mom could really use the help, so it all balances out nicely. Really, I want to just sleep, but someone has to increase that very low number in my bank account. 

I am down to my last 88 days of school here at Albertus, and to be honest, I am feeling extremely overwhelmed. Sometimes I sit through my classes and I feel like I don't understand what they are talking about. My brain is shooting blanks. 

I look around to my classmates and try to find the direction I should be going in, but I am just too far behind all of them. I have to work on finding my own path in these classes. 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Help!

I realized something today...well, technically yesterday. There are 101 days left until I graduate and I am terrified. All along I have just been so excited about finally finishing school and having all my hard work pay off. I forgot that I actually have to graduate. I have to wear a huge black robe and a terrible black cap that won't stay on your head without a million bobby pins and I have to shake the President's hand as I wave goodbye to school. I will say goodbye to friends and a place I have come to grow comfortable in. 

People keep asking me, "What are your plans for after graduation?"

I don't know...honestly.

There are so many jobs that I have taken a look at and they are all in so many different locations. Right now, I am looking at entry-level jobs in publishing and in film, particularly, continuity. I think it is so fascinating to watch for mistakes and make sure everything is as it should be in every single take. 

That could mean re-locating though. 

I don't know what I actually want to do; I know what fields I am interested in though. 

I am just going to apply to everything that I think I fit into and every job that sounds good. I just need something to keep the cash flow happening while I write my book. 

I started a new one, actually. I think I like this one much better because I can relate more to my character. We will see where it goes though. 

I am aiming for about 20,000 words, and, at this moment, I have about 998. 

Making progress!

I actually submitted a short story of mine to a contest. I hope I win. It would be an excellent start as a real writer. Otherwise, I will just have to keep submitting until someone says, "I like this. Let's publish it."

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Snowy End of January

This past weekend it snowed...oh boy did it snow. Saturday was the first big gust. The picture to the left was taken on Monday morning as I was leaving Sansbury for the gym. Isn't that such an awesome picture?! The little bird sitting inside the bush just completes its beauty. 

We were snowed into our buildings. Monday, it snowed again, this time resulting in a day and a half off from classes. 

Snow days can be fun.
Snow days mean pajamas all day and never having to leave bed.
It means reading books and drinking tea.
It also means more time to get started on homework assignments that you have been shirking aside and putting off for a week. 

For me, it meant indoor workouts, tea time and finally, finally unpacking from Christmas vacation. I have been here since January 8, and I had not unpacked my bags yet. I have just been so busy with Res Life stuff and classes. It's crazy how fast the pages fly off the calendar. 

My workout regimen this weekend was a very new one this snowy weekend. On Saturday, I did Pilates and I tested out my Julianne Hough's Cardio Ballroom Dancing dvd...I surrendered to exhausted legs and pain-filled thighs. On Monday, I used my kettle bell that my mom got me for Christmas. The lady on the workout dvd is a very tough cookie. She really pushes all your limits. I think that as long as I keep up with it, it will get better over time. My schedule is really crazy this semester so it's getting harder to actually get to the gym during the week. Some days I am just way too tired to go to the gym in between classes, even if the schedule says so. 

The good news for the week is that I got a 96 on my first criminal justice quiz and I survived my first Literary Theory paper, with the help of my good friend Emili, in the Writing Center. It was the toughest paper I have had to write and it was only 1000 words. What gives?!

I am going to stay on top of my work for the rest of the semester. I have so much to look forward to in the coming months. I don't want to ruin it. Tonight, I am working in the pub. I have piles of homework and about a million emails to send out.

Everyone should come down and make a fleece blanket at 8!