Thursday, January 31, 2008

Jueves...

Hello and Happy Thursday!

Yesterday, the birthday celebrations went well...we went to Big Stella's for dinner, where I ate WAY too much pizza and chocolate cake...then Nick opened his presents back at the apartment...then the celebrations were over for me...I had to go back to my room and work on homework. :(

That's what I'm doing today too. More homework. I have to do some probelems for Chemistry, rewrite/revise a Spanish paper, do normal Spanish homework, and study for a Stats quiz tomorrow. Tonight's going to be a busy night too: the volleyball team is going to aerobics from 5-6, then Yoga from 6-7, then doing a little lifting so we can start our off-season lifting program set up. We're using a really neat website called Fitrex; it has sport-specific workouts and exercises, so I'm really excited to get started on that!

I'm also waiting for this weather to warm up!

~Christy

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Happy [freezing] Birthday Nick!!!

Happy 21st Birthday Nick!!


Today is probably one of the coldest if not the coldest day of the year so far. Lots of schools in Wisconsin and around the area have school cancelled for today, but not us! We bundle up and brave the cold...a whopping -11° of cold! But cold mornings call for warm breakfasts! Nick and I went to the Pub after class to get Easy Risers and tater tots :) which hit the spot! Now I have work, two classes, then time to get the last-minute suprises ready for Nick's birthday, then work again, another class, then open gym for volleyball!

Tonight I'm taking Nick to Big Stella's for dinner, then I'm curling up with soome hot cocoa and not outside again until I absolutely have to!!!


Stay warm!!!


Christy

Monday, January 28, 2008

A Balmy 41° in Ripon, WI!

Today is absolutely gorgeous! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I just flew in on my magic carpet. I'm kidding, but it really is 41°! Fabulous. This weekend was a pretty quiet one...Friday night Nick and I stayed in out of the cold and had a dress-up contest: "Who can be the most embarrassing to the other?" It was really fun! :) Then Saturday was the first Scholarship Day for accepted seniors, so I helped with that in the morning, then in the afternoon I went shopping in Appleton with Lauren and Jess.
Sunday was, of course, brunch and then homework. Nick's family came up to take us out to dinner for his birthday, so we went to the Applebee's in Fon du Lac. It was good to see them again, and the food was great! :) Nick's birthday is Wednesday, so I have a few things to get organized before then, but I have the help of my roommate and possibly a few others, so I'll be able to pull everything off! :)

Tomorrow we begin our off-season team workouts and training for volleyball. I am so excited to play again! I miss seeing the girls everyday too, so this gives us a good chance to hang out, catch up, but also to improve for next year.

~Christy

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Today it is a beautiful, sunny day! (But still cold as can be!) The sun always makes it easier to get up...I feel like I'm not the only one getting up early! Today I had Chemistry discussion from 8-8:50, work from 9-10, then Stats lab from 10:10-12:05. A pretty light day! But I need to talk to my advisor and see if I can add an Exercise Science class so I can get my Wellness Requirement taken care of. Because Ripon is a Liberal Arts college, as students we are required to take bredth requirements, which include a fine arts course, a wellness course, a natural sciences course, a behavioral science course, a writing and composition course, and other courses as well. But these requirements lead to well-rounded students and attractive resumes, so bring it on! :)

I'm also excited because tonight is the first class of Intramural Yoga, so I will definitely have to check that out...but other than that I'm staying inside where it's warm!

~Christy

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Wednesday already!

Hi there! This has been a busy week already! Monday was a popular day for prospective students to come visit campus, so I lunch hosted and walked a few people to classes and appointments. Yesterday was my day to sleep in! The only class I had was lab from 1-4 p.m. so I slept in and got some homework done! I am also applying to be a Resident Assistant (RA) next year, so I am working on that application and essay questions in my spare time!


Today is a full day of class, and what makes it even worse is it is so cold outside! I am ready for a heat wave or something! SOON! But I guess there are polenty of things to take my mind off the cold...on campus right now is a week-long celebration of Martin Luther King so we have activities related to that going on everyday: Monday was Celebration Dinner with Soul Food in the Commons over the lunch hour, Yesterday was a Poetry Reading during Golden Hour, today is "Straight Talk," a discussion led by Quay Hanna on this year’s theme, “Race, Gender and Politics,” then tomorrow night in Great Hall is keynote speaker damali ayo, writer/activist, and author of the book How to Rent a Negro, Friday's lunch will feature a Celebration Cake in the Commons, Saturday is a day of Service volunteering with Feed My Starving Children, and the week ends on Sunday with a non-denominational worship service by guest pastor President Joyce.



~Christy

Friday, January 18, 2008

Friday is my Favorite :)

I am so glad this first week was only a four day-er! It turns out I had a lot more homework than I had anticipated yesterday, so it was not entirely a day of rest... I went to the movie CUT, a documentary about teens and self-injury, sponsored by Residence Life at 7:30 with Nick. I thought it would be interesting from a psychological point of view, but it wasn't what I had expected. Then, after the movie, I raced to the Terrace to see Jason LeVasseur who was AMAZING! He was definitely a true performer. He was up on stage dancing, cracking jokes, making fun of people, and singing tunes from the Lion King, Christina Aguliera, Sir Mix-a-lot, Oasis--you name it! And BONUS: he's on itunes! So maybe I'll use my gift card! :)

Today I've had three classes so far...one to go, then it's time for a well-deserved nap. Then it looks like the Basketball games tonight and perhaps a movie tomorrow night since the HIGH tomorrow is a whopping TWO degrees! BRRRRR! But I came back with two new winter hats, so I can brave the Wisconsin Winters! :)

This weekend is also Bid Weekend for all the fraternities and sororities. At Ripon you can't pledge until second semester, which is really nice. It gives you a chance to meet people and get to know more about the various Greek organizations and decide if it is something you are interested in or not.

Happy Friday,
Christy

Thursday, January 17, 2008

My day of rest...well, kind of!

Today I only had one class! A lab for my Research Design and Statistics class. At 10:10 we met in the computer lab to learn how to use some of the Psychology software we have in the Psychology computer lab. So I spent some time graphing on the computer and even out of lab early! So I got to sleep in AND get out of class early! What a deal. Then I work for an hour this afternoon, then it looks like homework until dinner, dinner, then hopefully hanging out until the Jason LeVasseur concert at 9 p.m. in the Terrace!

I'm really excited for the concert! I checked out his music today and it's really good! He's an acoustic/folk artist with a great voice, and I'm really looking forward to his THIRD visit to Ripon tonight!! :)

Jason LeVasseur


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Day 2!

Today was the second day of classes, but I had all new classes today. Many of the classes run on either a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule or a Tuesday-Thursday schedule, so I had all different classes today than I did yesterday. The first day of class is mostly getting familiar with the course, the professor, and the expectations. In Chemistry we went over the class syllabus, my professor, Dr. Katahira, did a demonstration and went over a few basic concepts and terms. I really like him so I don't think 8 a.m. will be that bad! :) Then I worked for an hour between classes. At 10:10 I had Research Design and Statistics, with the newest addition to the psych department, Professor Kovack-Lesh, where we mostly went over the syllabus and did introductions. I had Social Problems after that, where we, again, went over the syllabus! So I am now well-organized for all my classes! :) I had a nice break from noon until 2:30 when I had Spanish until 3:40! My Spanish professor is actually the same one that taught my first semester of Spanish here at Ripon, so that's nice! And that's the way it is as you move further into the departments at a small college like Ripon; you pretty much get to know everyone in the department, which is really nice when it comes to needing letters of recommendation or references in the future.

Well I think last night was my last night of relaxation! :( I have homework to do tonight! It shouldn't be too bad, but I want to work a little ahead so I can go to the Jason Levasseur concert tomorrow night in the Terrace!

Hasta MaƱana,
Christy

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Second Semester!

Second semester has begun! It is great to be back "home!" Here is a picture we took of our Reunion! :)

Today was the first day of classes for the new semester! I got back to campus on Saturday night because we had our volleyball banquet. My family brought me back and I was able to unpack and get settled again before everyone came back on Sunday, so that was really nice. Then we went to my banquet where Coach gave out fun awards from the season. I received awards such as the "Good Sense" kitchen bag award for court awareness, the "Rip It" energy drink award for being second in service aces, the "Sweeper" duster award for being second in digs, the flashing whistle award for calling plays and helping the offense, and the frog award for being quick like a frog! The banquet was a lot of fun and a great way to wrap up the season and thank the seniors and the coaches.

Yesterday was registration. All the professors have a table set up in the Tartan area of Storzer and you are able to meet with them and change classes if you need to. I was lucky, I didn't have to make any changes to my schedule, so I just needed my advisor's signature!

This semester I am continuing to work toward my psychology major, and also working toward filling some of the pre-med requirements to keep medical school as an option in the future. I am taking the second semester of Research Design and Statistics (a Psych course), Spanish 222, Sturcture and Reactivity (Chemistry), and also my first Sociology class, Social Problems, which I am really excited about. If I like Sociology a lot I might consider double majoring! But we'll see what the semester brings! I also want to go abroad a year from now, so I need to start talking to my professors about the programs available and which would be best for my interests and goals. There's always something to do!

Tonight I have a SMAC meeting at 8 p.m. and I am going to go workout after work, and then I'll have the rest of the night to relax--no homework! (yet!)

~Christy