Friday, August 31, 2007

Welcome to the Big Show!

I can't believe it's September TOMORROW! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at home bored and counting down the days until it was time to return to Ripon, now here I am finished with two weeks of classes and playing in the first volleyball tournament of the season! Today I have classes until noon, then I am going to eat lunch and run to Family Video to pick up some movies for tonight! I am having a Disney movie and back massage night with some volleyball and football players. Since we have a tournament tonight and tomorrow and the football team has their first game tomorrow, we are all just goign to stay in, watching The Little Mermaid and Aladdin and trade-off giving back massages! I am looking forward to it!!


But before Disney and backrubs, I get to play in our first tournament of the season! The Ripon Invitational is this weekend, so we play four matches spread over tonight and tomorrow. We play MSOE and Rockford College this afternoon at 4 p.m. and at 6 p.m., respectively, and then tomorrow we play Clark College at 10 a.m. and St. Mary's (MN) at 2 p.m. I'm really looking forward to tonight, I can't wait to see what we can do! For fun, the team has "Secret Spikers" a spin-off of "Secret Santas"; everyone draws a name of a teammate, and whoever you draw you have to make signs or goodie bags for...just fun little motivational things! So I have to think of what I am going to get for mine. We have to be down at Storzer Center and ready by 3 p.m., so I'll have to make something before that!

The 2007 Red Hawk Volleyball Team (I'm #3!)

Don't worry if you can't make the games, you can watch them online! Just go to http://www.midwestconference.tv and you can watch a webcast of the game! :)

--Christy

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Happy National Toasted Marshmallow Day!

National Marshmallow Day is just another reason to celebrate today, because today also means one more day until the weekend! It's only the second week of classes, but I feel like I've built up two weeks worth of sleep debt!! Hopefully I'll be able to catch up a little this weekend, because I sure won't be able to tonight. After volleyball practice tonight, Coach Witte is having the team over to her house for dinner, and there's also a hypnotist coming to campus tonight, and I want to go to that too, but of course I have homework and studying to do too! So sleep is definitely not a priority tonight! :( But with a good dinner(I think we're having tacos...or maybe spaghetti) in my stomach, and possibly some marshmallows, in honor of National Toasted Marshmallow Day, I should be able to get everything done that I need to...and maybe even a nap!
The hypnotist that is coming tonight is Daniel James, a comedy hypnotist from Las Vegas, who is supposed to be absolutely HILARIOUS! I really hope I can get enough homework done, so I am able to go!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Hump Day!

Thank goodness it's Wednesday! Wednesdays are one of the lighter days in my schedule, I get my morning of to a good start at 8 a.m. with Organic Chemistry, folllowed by an hour in the Admission Office between classes, from 9-10, Spanish from 10:10-11, and then Research Design and Statistics rounds out the academic part of my day from 11:15-12:05. I have an hour off for lunch or a nap, and then I'm back in the Admission Office from 1-3 p.m. I have another hour break and then volleyball practice and weightlifting from 4:15-6:30 p.m. After practice tonight, it's a quick dinner then off to the Student Activities Fair. The Student Activities fair is put on by the Office of Student Activities, and is a great opportunity for students to learn about all of the different organizations on campus and get involved in those they are interested in.

Some of the organizations I am involved in on campus include the Student Media and Activities Committee (SMAC), which organizes and schedules almost all of the events on campus; Chef's Anonymous, a small club for those with an affinity for cooking (or eating! :D); Orientation Committee, which is responsible for helping first-year students make a smooth transition into college; and I also play intramural sports such as inner-tube water polo, volleyball, and softball, and I think I am also going to get involved in the Pre-Med Society this year as well (in my spare time of course!) But I think getting involved on campus is the best thing you can do in college; it's a great way to meet people, and it's fun too. It really allows you to take charge of your college experience and make the most of it and what it has to offer!

--Christy

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

New Year, New Ripon!

When we came back to Ripon this year, there were a lot of people on campus already--consruction workers--who had been busy working throughout the summer to finish the many renovations on campus! Since first coming to Ripon, one year ago, I have seen the new College Apartments Senior Residence hall go up, the mailroom and the Pub rennovations, which are still being completed, the building of a new facility for our Plant Department, the rennovation of the Todd Wehr building, and still coming this year, the remodeling of the Pickard Commons.

The new Senior Apartments, located near Tri-Dorms and the Evans Admissions Center, are beautiful 4-person units, that come completely furnished, with air conditioning, and cable TV... they hardly sound like a dorm! I have spent a lot of time in the apartments so far and cannot wait to live in them my senior year! :)

The mailroom and the Pub are nearing the tail-end of their rennovations; the Pub actually opened for carry-out orders only today. The remodeling of these two spaces will open up a lot of space, and make the area more student-friendly, with more seating, computer terminals with internet access, and also a stage for concerts, comedians, or open-mic nights. I can't wait until the Pub is done; it will be a great place to eat, study, or just hang out with friends!

The Plant Department is in the process of building a new facility down by the Rodman Center for the Arts. Currently, the Plant Department is housed in the basement of the Pickard Commons, but the college is looking to free up that space and make it available for use by student organizations and clubs. The rennovated space in the Commons will have offices for a lot of the organizations on campus, and also serve as another place for students to have meetings, study, or just hang out...Starbucks is so close! :)




Todd Wehr, in 2005 (left) and newly rennovated (August 2007)
Lastly, our main classroom building, Todd Wehr, received quite a face-lift over the summer! Todd Wehr houses the education department, the psychology department, the business and economics departments, and the math and computer science departments. The rennovations over the summer include the addition of an elevator, removal of the window grates, new windows, a new heating system, enclosing the breezeway and the addition of 6 beautiful new classrooms!
--Christy

Monday, August 27, 2007

Another year at Ripon begins!!

It's hard to believe I am starting my sophomore year at Ripon this year! The summer went so fast, but I'm so glad to be back! I was on the Orientation Committee this year, so I returned to campus a week early for Fall Orientation training and also to begin volleyball practices. Fall orientation went well, except for all the rain, and classes began before I had any time to relax! Today will be the fourth day of classes already! I am a psychology major and also thinking pre-medicine, so I have a busy semester ahead of me! I am taking Organic Chemistry from 8-8:50am, followed by Spanish 211 from 10:10-11am, and then the Psychology course, Research Design and Statistics, from 11:15am-12:05pm. I start a little earlier than I would prefer, but that also means I'm done a lot earlier--except for Mondays when I have Chem lab from 1-4pm, or Tuesdays when I have Stats lab from 2-4pm.

Besides classes, I have also been busy with volleyball. During the pre-season, before classes started, we were practicing an average of twice a day, but with classes having begun, we are down to our usual once-a-day practice from 4:15-6pm. We had our first scrimmage this weekend at St. Norbert College, and I think the season looks bright for us! We have 9 returners, 5 of those starters last year, and 4 rookies this year, who will make a great contribution! I am looking forward to the season and to our first tournament this weekend!