SUMMER '11

LAST POST.

In excitement for SUMMER, I have decided to make a bucket list for myself.  Things are of coarse not going to go as planned and who knows what the summer will be, but I am super excited regardless and just wanted to set up a list for myself :)

- GO TO GERMANY/AUSTRIA.
- train to be a waitress at Bdubs - OR - get the internship in CHICAGO!!
- buy a car?? mazda3 pleeeeease!
- run AT LEAST every other day. distance is tbd.
- spend EVERY wednesday night with the girls (a tradition started last summer)
- go to the beach more than last year - it's always funner than it sounds
- don't lose tubing on the 4th of july
- wolf lake on the 4th :)
- get bible study group going again
- SAVE money.
- don't buy stuff for the apartment. wait 'til move in
- COLORADO to visit the Ali?!
- California?! with Molly??
- DO GOOD IN ONLINE EC 201.
- above all, have a good summer and DO NOT get sucked into the small town drama.

Here's to SUMMER '11:) can't waaaaait!

- miner moments.

Easy as Weebly

Preparing for the final and thinking about my presentation I had no idea what I would chose.  I considered making a website but never thought I would find something so easy and helpful to create with!  I was able to make a home page as well as add tabs so easily.  I could choose what I wanted to background to be, as well as my theme throughout the site making it very easy to follow a pattern and help to not make the site cluttered.  I was able to up load documents, and although not how I would have put them, am still happy that I was able to set them up like they were.  I was even more impressed with the ability to add a slide show.  I simply re-saved my slide show as pictures and was able to upload them "piece-of-cake" to one of my tabs within the site.  It amazes me the things the internet and technology can do!!

Check out my site: http://minermoments.weebly.com/
:)

-miner moments.

What If??

As part of the online session this week, we were asked to discus changes we would make to the WRA 110 course.  I really did enjoy this course and learned about myself, my strengths, and my time management - possibly not what the goal was however I'm satisfied.  I really enjoyed the fact that it was part online and part in class.  I was able to do work at my pace but still receive weekly help.  I have never taken a course completely online so can't compare it to all courses, but will definitely look for similar courses in the future.
As far as the work goes, it was most defiantly manageable - at times difficult and overwhelming, but what class isn't?  I enjoyed the cover letter project the most as it was something completely new to me and something I see myself getting a lot of use out of in the future with looking for a job or internship.  I really did not enjoy the research paper and my grade was reflected.  I found that assignment most difficult and had a very hard time putting my thoughts into words and onto paper.  Overall, each assignment was something to learn from and I felt useful.

- miner moments.

Chocolate Bunny!!

Easter Weekend!!

Headed home this weekend and am pretty excited.  I feel like I did just see my family - although it was a few weeks ago, compared to how much I've seen them this semester, this feels crazy that I already get to see them again! 
I've begun moving my things out of the dorm and goodness I over packed when moving in.  I am finding stuff that I remember thinking was so important to bring but have not used at all.  Average girl I suppose.... Moving has gotten me sad though.  I didn't realize how much I liked living here and being on my own.  This summer is about to be weird as it's back to curfews and asking permission on everything - who knows maybe things will change?! I am super excited to move home just to be close to friends and family again but I am so going to miss EL and am already super excited for next semester and moving back. 
It's also hard to believe that I am already scheduling for next semester! Things are happening far to quickly as I am used to figuring out classes in the fall.  I already have my apartment, classes and job figured out for the fall! Oh how things seem to fall in place :)

Life is good and the big man upstairs is really taking care of me!

- miner moments.

Prezi :0

"The Zooming Presentation Editor"

I have heard about this all semester as an option to create something with but never actually seen one.  They are AWESOME. I am now considering learning to do this and using it for my final as it appears to be something easy to navigate and a place where you can include visual as well as graphics.  While we were looking at each others re/mixed projects, one that I looked at was a Prezi, and I was blown away.  How much fun!! This gave me a little hope about my final/ portfolio so I will now see what happens with my brainstorming. 
Also on my mind is the re-write option.  As my research was well under what I would have liked, it was to be expected.  I really did not enjoy that project as my grade reflects it.  I find research papers very difficult because I quickly become far overwhelmed by them.  I was very interested in the topic and believe that I am now very well educated on it, however I could not for the life of me put my thoughts onto paper and come out with a strong paper.  Writing it was difficult for me, and that was before I even tried to start the APA correct citations.  Beginning the research to this paper, I knew absolutely nothing, so is it then correct to cite everything as everything I learned ultimately came from somewhere? Yes, I am still lost and confused with research papers, I don't see them as something that will ever be my "cup of tea".

So hard to believe that we have one class left as well! This has been the quickest second semester ever.  Love College :)

portfolio

I have come to the realization that high school was lazy college courses.  The material is what you make it and in high school it was easy as you did not have to do the homework and could still understand what was happening.  In college, the material can be easy as long as the homework, reading and attendance is kept up on.  So I shouldn't be surprised when we are assigned a "portfolio" as our final and it is nothing like what a portfolio in high school was like.
I was quick to think "sweet, just put my assignments in a binder, give a small presentation and done!" oh how high school was again, so lazy.  As a part of our online work, we looked at other peoples "portfolios" which were in fact super cool web sites, and I quickly came overwhelmed and stressed for our final.  I took my CSE class already so am supposed to know how to construct a website but am still going to be completely out of my element and not know what I am doing to be honest.  We are supposed to have a common theme with our portfolio's as well as address our audience, however after looking over my work, it does not relate other than the fact that each of the topics I addressed I had an interest in, but that's not saying anyone else will care about getting a summer internship, stopping teens from texting while driving and wonder what happened in the 1927 school bombing in Bath, Mi.
This generates a pretty large problem, and I have a LOT of brainstorming ahead of me.

- miner moments.

practice practice practice!

As a part of greek week, there are two dance performances - MTV night, and songfest.  I am a part of songfest this year and it is quite a change from my dance team in high school.  I feel like we have been practicing FOREVER and some people still don't know the dance :( It's frustrating to say the least.  However, last night we had a very long (and productive!) practice and I left feeling better than I ever have about the piece. 
I was honestly embarrassed to be in it and nervous to perform, but with it coming together, I truly believe that we will make less fools of ourselves and it could be fun! So now I'm pretty excited :-)
This weekend consists of Greek Week things for the most part - which is why I cannot go home to see my sister all dressed up for prom.  Super sad about that! I have a four day weekend yet will be so occupied with the practices before the performance on sunday I'm sure it will not feel like it. 

ONLY 2 WEEKS OF CLASS LEFT!!! then it's off to Germany and Austria with my Mom! SO excited :)

- miner moments.

remix

For class today we mainly worked on peer reviewing each others Re/mix projects/rough drafts - something that is way helpful! It's so nice being able to look at other peoples work to help generate ideas for your own project.  The only down side to this is I am still currently sitting in class staring out of the window of this beautiful sunny day :(
Many people are either using powerpoint or a video to create their visual.  I have never used the iVideo on my mac before, but when I started it was SUPER easy so that made me excited.  I have found pictures as well as the song that I wanted to use in the video however cannot seem to find pictures that hold the same common theme.  I want the video to hold some realistic things and I think that if the video is all of different people and shots it's going to be very tough to come across as believable.  I also am struggling with pulling a video offline and using it in my video.  I will continue to work on it however throughout the weekend and am really hoping this turns our great because it was something i was for sure excited for!

- miner moments.

yup!

For the online session we were in charge of taking a previous journal entry and in charge of recreating it into something pleaseing to the eye.  Did I accomplish that?? I'm honestly not sure.  I did not completely understand the assignment so I think I did a good job, but will have to wait and see on my grade! I chose to recreate the entry "the best is yet to come" and feel like it was a great choice to do so.  I was able to incorporate pictures of all the things included in my journal entry as each of them took place after making the journal entry.  It brought back fun memories and made me SO excited for this summer :)
I used elements from the C.R.A.P guide to not only give the journal a visual, but also (hopefully) allow the entry, title and pictures to contrast correctly.  Overall, I was pleased with my assignment and had fun doing it.  It was such a nice reliever from the other homework I am very tired of doing. 

Hope you enjoyed :)

- miner moments.

overwhelmed.

I have come down with a bad cold and on top of that am overwhelmed largly.  I suppose with summer coming up so quick my focus abilities have continued to decrease and it has become tough for me to focus and study which then leads to cramming - not something I am proud of, or good at.  To add to this focus issue, I have recently caught a cold, and I cannot remember the last time I had a cold but sure don't like it.  On top of the cold is the beautiful weather, one of the better parts of my weekend.  It was wonderfully warm and I was wonderfully stuck inside trying to focus and not get my roommates sick.  Overall, a very not productive weekend to say the least. 
Greek week is also being held this weekend and was where I was all night friday night - literally.  I'm sure it didn't help with the cold, but as a part of being in the greek system, we are required to attend the greek week events, and relay for life kicked it off friday night.  Being my first time, it was a learning experience to say the least.  I learned it is much more fun when more people are there, when I am awake, and when I keep myself busy with something.  My night was dull as all I wanted to do was sleep my cold off, but the few times I did get involved, things seemed to go better. 
Overall this week should go by pretty quick because I am super busy, but it's also going to be a stressful one.  Here goes!

- miner moments.

editorials.

For class today we were in charge of looking at 3 different uses of advertisment pamplets and take a close look in seeing the different ways the uses of C.R.A.P were used and if they were or were not successful.  Together, they all seemed to follow a simular pattern, so were much more effective than others however.  Using a black and white theme may be a tad boring, however the final product looked much more professional than the group who had the busy background with the 2 bold shades of blue.  It was very different to look at the 2 pamphlets and then look at the space programs slides for the presentation (I am not completely sure what they were supposed to be used for).  The space program's work was my favorite.  It had color as well as information and although too many words, it was done very professionally so made the excess reading slightly better.  Overall it was a great learning experience and was benificial to myself to see although each of them look okay as a quick overview, when looking closely each of them had flaws. 

- miner moments.

bubble gum.

As part of the online session today we were in charge of creating an advertisement and completely failing at it - I believe... and am hoping I did correct! Part of the new material is learning what is appealing and not appealing to the audience eye as well as what works and what doesn't.  With this, we learned the helpful word of "CRAP".

Contrast: create visual attraction
Repetition: repeat visual elements to achieve the unity
Alignment: make visual connections
Proximity: group related items closer together

Although slightly confusing, I believe I was successful in creating an advertisement which did not succeed in any of these areas and was therefore able to see how much each of these elements work.  A little bit of reverse psychology if you ask me :) This is making me excited to see what else we learn within this session and what kind of projects we will hopefully do!!

- miner moments.

Jayden :)

As I mentioned last week, my family got a new edition.  We welcomed a siberian husky into our small family, and being a quite large dog, he certainly does look out of place.  I am able to go home for the night so this afternoon my mom is coming to pick me up and I am SO excited :)

I'm pretty close to my family and have not seen them in so long, things have just been crazy this semester and I feel like I've had a commitment every weekend so I have been unable to get home and see them as much as I would have liked.  I guess that's part of growing up though - right? Anyway. I get to go see them tonight and am EXCITED. I want to meet my new dog, and I want my mom and I to start planning our tour around Germany and Austria - have I mentioned I'm going to Europe with my Mom at the start of the summer?! Well I am and I am SO EXCITED!!!!

For February being such a terrible month, March has really pulled through and I am currently loving life. 

- miner moments.

bittersweet.

Welcome Back!! Although I really did enjoy having class in my dorm room, it was fun to be back in the classroom.  I was sad at first, but it really is benifical to be there and learning from you verses me teaching myself in my dorm.  Reading other peoples rough drafts today was a HUGE wake up call as I have seen how I am so not prepared to turn this paper in - I mean lets be honest. It's nothing I didn't know, I just didn't realize it to this extent.  Reading other peoples work really helped to give me ideas though on different angels I can write about in my paper.  Although I really didn't want to come to class, it was so very benificial :)

On top of learning so much in class, we also got the dead line EXTENDED! Yes, you read that right.  It is truely wonderful news, however to hopefully save myself, I am still thinking the paper is due friday so I don't procrastinate all weekend and am going crazy sunday allday trying to write a paper. 
Wish me luck. I so very need it.

- miner moments.

abstract.

For today's online session we were in charge of giving input about an abstract part of a paper.  What is an abstract part of a paper? Good question. You and I are both completely lost now.

As part of the final research paper we must turn in an abstract paper along with a title page, and the paper.  I however, have never heard of an abstract page so am thoroughly lost.  I know the abstract page is supposed to give the reader exactly what the paper is going to be about - so like a summary right? no. The abstract must be what the paper will cover, without covering it, and without coming across as a summary.  The following is I believe some very helpful guidelines in writing a first abstract. 

1. THESIS!!!! This starts the abstract off and details HOW this topic will be discussed, not just what the

topic is, and states the quantity of categories that will be discussed.

2. States what the first category types is.

3. Defines this category – leaves specifics and examples for the actual body of the paper to reveal.

4. States what the second category types is.

5. Defines this category – leaves specifics and examples for the actual body of the paper to reveal.

6. States what the third category types is.

7. Defines this category – leaves specifics and examples for the actual body of the paper to reveal.

8. States what the last category types is.

9. Defines this category – leaves specifics and examples for the actual body of the paper to reveal.

I completely understand in how this would help while writing a research paper about something scientific, however I wrote mine on the history of something.  It leaves me with a challenge and hope that I make the connections well enough to write a great paper and abstract!!

- miner moments.

the best is yet to come

I am so unbelievably excited for this weekend. 

Friday night I am traveling to Dearborn, MI for my fraternity's formal night.  I feel like it's homecoming in high school all over again - which make me excited.  It was always so fun playing dress up and seeing everyone all dressed up as well :)
Saturday my besties are coming up to MSU to see me!! My friend plays on the club volleyball team at Central Michigan and will be here for the volleyball tournament! This also just so happened to be the time of my other friends spring break, so what better than come up at the same time right?!  I am so unbelievably excited to see them both as I miss them dearly. 

Oh! and have I mentioned my family got a dog?! totally random as we were ALWAYS the family who was "never going to get a dog".  I guess things have changed at the house since I've been gone - still trying to find a time when I can go home to see and meet this new member!

- miner moments.

"Plus - 1"

Google recently introduced a new technology on their search engines.  With the major hit of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, and things becoming so social, google has decided to go social as well.  When typing into the search engine, google originally would bring up the computers results of what it found was most compatible with what the user was searching with and what they typed in.  Now, google "plus 1" will not only give the user the computers results, but also human responses as to which site was the most helpful.
Google hopes to one day have "friends" and be able to "share" responses on the site based off of what people have searched. 
I have not used the new technology but am interested in how it will work.  I think it could be very useful once it is understood by everyone because I for one and sick of sites being brought up that are not help to me while I am searching. 
Simply put, ttechnology is something that continues to amaze me.

- miner moments.

here is the link to learn more :
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/google/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229400648&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

Paint me a Picture.

For our online session, we were in charge of giving a visual as to what we would write.  I have never - before this class - had to do visuals related to what I was going to write about, but have really enjoyed it.  It not only gives me a reassurance of what I am writing, but also gives my reader (the professor) a little sneak peak as to what to expect.  It's awesome.  When beginning my research project I did not expect to find near as many things about the school bombing in Bath, Michigan than I have.  Also, HUGE eye opener, but who know Bath, Michigan was about 5-10 miles north of Lansing? Sad but true.
While putting all of the visuals together for my slide show I realized how big of a deal this school bombing was.  I also really started to question why people are no longer aware of this.  Three explosions went off the morning of May 18, 1927 and 45 people - mostly children - were killed.  The statistics are crazy, but the pictures are what hit home.  After seeing the school before the bombing and then after, it is a slight bit impressive only that number died - although over 50 were left severally injured.  Also, the photos of Kehoe's home, all that was left was the chimney, really just jaw dropping photos, and to think it happened so long ago.
This school crisis happened before the time of cell phones, and instant communication.  To be there at that time had to be unreal.  Not knowing what was going on at all times - like we so much do today.  Although at times it may be annoying having everyone on their phones at ALL times, I am thankful for the instant communication abilities for things like communicating with people far away. :)

- miner moments.

Water for Elephants

Spring break is by far over, however I could not completely accept it finished until I finished the book I started over break.  Laying by the pool/on the beach and reading a great book is by far one of my favorite things to do when looking for relaxation.  Over spring break I did just that :)  I continued to read a book from a murder series I absolutely love by James Patterson.  The book was amazing and I had serious issues putting it down.  I don't think my grandparents knew that about me, and in a way I became less social because was always reading :S
After finishing that book in about 2 days, I started to read Water for Elephants.  I was at first drawn to the book because I had seen a commercial for the movie coming out soon and got really excited because it looked good.  The book was really different than the books that I usually read - the ones with the big murder scene and at times leaves me scared - it was quite the opposite.  It was a slow start and was something that was tough to focus on.  About half way through the book I got drawn in and was stuck on reading it.  Unfortunately, it was the end of the week, and time to come back for class.
I got back and couldn't focus.  I spent a few late nights, and finished the book :) I love love loved it! I am so super excited for the movie to come out! I would most definitely recommend this book to friends and you!

- miner moments.  

it's new although i'm certain i've heard it before.

To capitalize on what was said earlier this week, citations were again reviewed as a part of our "in class" but not really portion.  The "key pieces"  - author, date of publication, page/paragraph number - were again mentioned as an important thing to remember.  I also learned about the in-text citation which is so easy to mix up.  Generally an in-text citation would appear (last name(s), year of publication).  The page/paragraph number will only be used when using direct quotes or data/statistics.
I also learned about the rule while placing an entire paragraph into a paper.  When doing so, the entire paragraph should be indented. 
As part of our homework for the week, we were in charge of reading the different paragraphs and listing which citation was incorrect.  After beginning my own work, I started to realize and catch on to the rules and little things that were otherwise looked past.  How ironic right? Hopefully that grade will be okay as I now understand the work much better!

- miner moments.

repeat.

Although I feel like I have blogged about this, for me to continue to think and talk about it helps the most.  Citations are something I really struggle with and love that we are continuing to learn about them every week.  This week is we focused on what and where citations could be found.  Places like indexes, books, journals, and websites are great places to find useful information.  So long as the website is not wikipedia - although a great place to BEGIN research and get a general idea of the topic - it is not reliable and not acceptable.  Things to look for and what most citations contain are the author, title, place of publication, publisher, and the date of the publication - I like to think of them as the "key parts" of the citation.
I was also again reminded of the importance of plagiarism, and how to avoid it.  I must provide citations when summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting an article but do NOT need to provide citations when listing common knowledge.  What is common knowledge? good question and to be honest, i still don't know.  They said it was "information published in many places and known by many people".  That to me is still arguable.  It is completely off of the situation I feel as well as the audience.  People have such different interests that something I many know so much about and feel is "common knowledge," is unknown by someone else and I would therefore not have cited the correct source and been accused of plagiarism.   There is a fine line between the 2, and I have yet to learn it.

- miner moments.

Where Dreams Come True :)

I am officially in Florida writing this blog! I flew by myself, which was surprisingly relaxing and something I was totally comfortable with.  Today we were supposed to go to Disney's Magic Kingdom, but after waking up to a complete storm, thing quickly changed.  Today became a day for homework, and tomorrow will be the day to go see my man Mickey Mouse.  I am very excited to say the least.
I am staying with my Grandparents all week which has been really fun.  I got to tour around on monday and see a project they were working on for about 3-4 winters a few winters ago, so that was really neat to finally understand what their stories meant.  Other than that I have been spending my time in the sun which was a much needed thing.  I have however gotten a VERY uneven tan.  One of my favorite things to do on  vacation is just relax with a really good book out in the sun.  I did just that and ended up with the strangest lines ever.  Literally half of my neck is beat red - as it seems I forgot I had a neck and did not lotion the half that was so exposed to the sun with the way I was laying.  Also, it would appear I forgot I had hands and feet.  I now feel like I have small paws because both my feet and hands are beat red and burnt to a little crisp.  Oh well, it brought a good laugh and learning lesson - although I'm sure it will happen again at some point in my life.
Tomorrow is Disney and then I intend to spend the rest of the weekend at the pool and hope to finish my 2nd book, because when I get back to EL, reality will quickly slap me in the face and I will no longer have time for enjoyable reading.

- miner moments.

unexpected.

Please do not take this the wrong way, but getting out of class so early today was one of the highlights of my week.  I should really learn to make time before class to eat lunch, that way I can focus better during class.

Anyway.  Class today completely caught me off guard. For starters, I am from the Grand Rapids area and have an aunt that works in a court system there - I wonder if you're working with or near her with this case!   Also, kind of scares me, because I am aware of a murder that recently took place and this just capitalizes on the phrase "small world".  Hope all is going well with the jury duty and if you're in the area and looking for some good mexican food, I would really recommend Little Mexico - it's awesome!
The work for class today seemed simple enough, but not completely meeting for class in a way worries me.  In high school, research papers are what I struggled most with.  I am really hoping that I am able to learn and write a quality paper this semester and fully intend to use my - new learned - resources in doing so.
Some of my initial worries are that although I am so interested in the topic (school bombing, Bath, MI) because it is so old, it will be very hard for me to find articles, especially popular, for the research and I really hope I will not have to change topics.

- miner moments.

how far is too far?

In excitement for spring break, it seems I begin to hear more and more about this "full-body scanner".  It is somewhat new, however people are not catching on like they had hoped.  The scanner is aimed to make security in airports not only faster, but also more safe.  By simply going through the scanner however, security is able to see a persons body - entirely. "Entirely" is the key word and is where people become so uncomfortable with the security check.
If a person is so uncomfortable with it, they are able to opt out of the check and have a good old-fashioned "pat-down".  However, in hopes to raise the amount of people willing to go through the scanner, the "pat-down" is becoming a lot more physical and uncomfortable for people to go through as security is getting a lot more hands on.
In my opinion, although I am not comfortable with people seeing my body like that, I am willing to go a little extra to ensure safety.  With this new technology, I hope people begin to see that so many people travel on a plane, and in the long run, safety far outweighs any slight uncomfortableness that will shortly be forgotten.

- miner moments.

GNO

Girls Night Out!!!!

This weekend was the first weekend of the year - VERY SAD - that all four of my roommates were home (in our dorm).  It is so so so weird but so very exciting.  We each have such different lives and hectic lives that it has never worked out, but this weekend it did!  Two of my roommates (the 2 I'm living with next year) were friends coming into this, so it has been very difficult to get myself into their friendship with all of us always being on opposite schedules, but this was great! I have had my doubts for next year, but this really does give me hope that everything will be good.  They're two awesome girls and it simply takes time to get to know each other - although half way into 2nd semester does seem to be pushing it...

Less than 1 week until spring break!! Sooooooo excited to go down to florida and stay with my grandparents! Something relaxing, cheap and warm.  All of the necessities I need.

:D
- miner moments.

APA, MLA, OMG, WTH.

APA, MLA, oh my goodness. what the heck.

Today in class we had a presentation with the writing center, and class over all just blew my mind.  Works Cited - now called "References" - is something I have always struggled with.  I completely understand the reasoning for having a "references" page, because I for sure would not want to be accused of anything along the lines of plagiarizing, however I am completely confused as to why it is done like it is.  Why can we not simply list the website, or book/magazine/newspaper we found it from? Why must we list the organization it is from, the author, the year, etc.  If we supply the general information, why is it not something that if really interested, the author can look it up?
That pretty much sums up my rant for class.

Class was really informational today though.  I did learn everything that was needed in general with regards to citing in APA format.  It was a huge relief when they told us there were so many rules, there was no way we could memorize them - as I am a horrible memorizer to begin with.

Off to finish up my project two and prepare to turn it in - so excited!

-miner moments.

What reflection?

I have never writen a "reflection" article after writing two informational articles.  This is very new to me.  Reading the new article was a complete mind opener for me as well.  If I had not done this weeks online homework, I would have recieved a much lower grade on my reflection article.  I did not realize the amount of information I would be able to put into a paper based off of a paper I had already done.  For me, it has always been write a paper, and then never see it again, so this is something I think that could be really cool, and hope to succeed at it and get a good grade :) (I suppose not much different than anything else we've been doing).  Although I am not a huge fan of homework - not a big surprise there - I really did enjoy this weeks, as I was able to pull so much out of it and learn from it. 
Due date for the articles I feel like I have been spending so much time with is finally this friday which is approching very fast.  I suppose it's time for me to stop procrastinating the part of the work I like least and finish my articles up so they are ready to turn in by the deadline!

-miner moments.

CHI-town :)

This weekend is the annual PBLI (professional business leadership institute), for the business frat I am a part of, Alpha Kappa Psi.  I am so so so excited for it! It's in Chicago, my favorite city I have ever been to, and it's with some of my favorite people in the group.  I am signed up for the sessions, which are held all day saturday, and are there to teach us about becoming not only a better leader in the business world as well as school, but also becoming a better brother.  To add onto that, the rest of the time is "free-time", which means shopping :) It is so fun to just walk down michigan ave and no only people watch, but also window shop. 
Every summer my grandma, sister and myself take the train to chicago and spend the day just walking around - mostly shopping - but also just taking in all of the different ways people live.  Its so incredible the differences from Lansing, to Chicago and then to my hometown, Holland.  It's for sure an eye opener, but I love it any way and would love to someday work and live in Chicago. 

- miner moments.

editer.

Today in class we spent most of the time editng eachothers second articles.  I was for the most part happy with the class day because I enjoy reading other peoples work.  I think it is important to learn from others writting and is a great way to do both by editing eachothers work.  It is so easy to tell what works and what doesn't work by reading someone else's paper, which then helps to write an even stronger paper.  I enjoyed class today.  I felt it was relaxing and useful.  I was a nice spin off of the previous classes where everything seemed to be almost crazy with all of the group project stuff.  This was something I could do on my own, and hold myself accountable for, just the way I like it.  I have also been revising my draft edited by the highschooler, which I have really enjoyed.  I liked that she gave me a little insight into herself and described how my story helped her.  She explained that she had signed over an agreement not to text and drive which is something I find pretty neat. 
No worries, after this week we will have a new project and I will be done going on my rants (sp?) about texting and driving.

-miner moments.

I mean business.

I chose to write my 2 articles about Texting and Driving.  I feel it is important to inform not only teens but also their parents on the seriousness of texting and driving.  After completing the online portion of class and gathering all of my pictures I am again reminded of this serious problem.   I am fortunate not to have anyone close to me effected from a texting and driving accident and plan/hope to keep it that way.  In my house if we are caught texting and driving we get the car taken away for 6 months.  Well that was in high school, but I plan to continue this rule for myself and future family.  It is amazing to see the statistics on texting and driving - where on average, to read a text, for ever 6 seconds you are reading, your eyes are off the road for about 4.8 of those seconds.  Depending on the speeds and area you are in 4.8 seconds is a ridiculous amount of time to have eyes off the road.  I am hoping that with my articles I can get my audience to see that this isn't something to wait and learn from.  This is far more serious and should be treated that way. 

- miner moments. 

Homie Home Home

I finally went home! After going home very often 1st semester, this has been a huge break for me! I love my family and really do miss being home with them everyday.  I often times find myself jealous of my sister for doing stuff with them.  Guess I didn't realize what I had before it was gone.  Either way I still love being at school, I guess I'm just trying to say I realize how much family means to me :)
This weekend is winterfest for my sister so it was really fun seeing her all dressed up! That was one of my favorite parts of high school and look forward to the formal dances my fraternity will have.  My family has also completely redone our family room which is wild! We have lived in this house for 10-15 years and now it is completely different, so it's just something that I can't stop thinking about and is in a way just fun to look at because it feels so different. 
Tonight I'm going out with the boy for valentines dinner :) I think we're going to grand haven for the night so that should be fun - usually is as I'm a very lucky girl :D

- miner moments.

Practice makes Perfect?

Although I believe this statement, I feel that this is not always true.  Sure I practiced my part of the groups presentation, our group met and went over the presentation, and overall, it was going to run nothing less then smooth.  Maybe we should have put 20 people our age that I did not know at all though.  It's a lot different from high school was the main thing I learned on Wednesday.  Peers or not, in high school I still knew everyone and was comfortable because it was normal.  These were the people I saw everyday in the halls so getting up and talking in front of them was not a big deal.  At the end of the day, they'd still be in the hall so it wasn't something I put much time into being nervous for.  College is a lot larger and that was very clear when I stood in front of the people thinking to my self; "I have no idea who anyone is.  No one knows me, and I therefore have no idea how to relate to this audience like I used to." 
I learned a valuable lesson this Wednesday.  Although my project was not up to par, I realized high school was done.  No longer will I be presenting to people I am comfortable in front of, no longer will I present to people I know anything about.  Practicing did not make perfect for me this week but taught me what I did not know.  Although this grade will most likely less than what I hoped, I hope that with this lesson I can bring that grade up in the future and be able to prepare for speeches a lot better

-miner moments.

Ready, Set...

After 5 weeks of class, we are presenting our group projects tomorrow.  I feel as though this has been the longest project ever.  I am really excited however as I believe my group is very prepared.  We ran over our presentation earlier tonight and things seemed to go well.  Although things never seem to go as rehersed, I feel as though we are each strong enough people that we won't break down to peer pressue - or at least I hope :).  Our topic is BlackBerry vs. iPhone which I think students will find interesting, it is technological and used every day by many students.  I have the role of giving the BlackBerry flaws, which was much harder than sounds.  I could easily find information on a flaw in peoples blogs, tweets, or facebook statuses, however had the hardest time finding information from a reliable source.  I sure hope my articles are enough!

Wish us luck on this presentation!

- miner moments.

Olin. AKA My new Job

Work started this week! I mean, i have been training for a little over two weeks, so was very excited when I finally finished and was able to start.  Although it's not the most exciting stuff, its good enough and gives me a check at the end of the week.
I do paperwork, copies, and filing for people that work in the office, and with a little more experience, will be trained to be a receptionist.  Not to shabby for a job during college I feel.

This weekend is Lil' Sibs weekend, so once again my sister is coming up which I am super excited for! Love that girl, she's like my best friend and miss her like crazy :) I love my close family:D

Thats really all.  This week has been crazy and the snow day was amazing however I did not do the work I should have knowing the deadlines coming up :\

-miner moments.

PROCRASTINATION. :(

This week was full of the awful "P" word in which I will not say.  It's friday and I have just finished my article #1, I have been working on it all week but have really been struggling with putting my thoughts onto paper.  I have so much information to share, but just could not figure out an appropriate way to share it - hopefully what I choose was good!
I went with telling a story about a girl who was texting and driving and it ended very badly, I feel as though that is more appropriate for high schooler and the message will be better delivered, where as an informational letter is more appropriate for adults, which will be my article #2.

Still in the process of finishing my group assignments, I guess this is what overwhelmed feels like!
Ready for the WEEKEND :D

-miner moments.

Pre-SNOWDAY

Class is cancelled tomorrow!! SNOW DAY:D - just had to quick share my excitement :P

Just completed the online portion and am getting a little worried.  I really hope that my group gets there stuff together and we can give a great presentation.  I have procrastinated far to much and need to start my article, but am excited about it none the less.  We chose a topic that interests me and I don't know why it has been such a struggle to complete this stuff.  Hopefully my snow day will be productive tomorrow and I can get some much needed time to finish my work.
As far as my article #1 goes, I am also excited for that.  Although I am not completely certain as to what I am writing, it will be about texting and driving, something that I feel very strongly about and want others to  know and share with me.

Other than that, my week has been busy... gotta go :)

-miner moments.

Friends :)

My old best friend Taylor came up to visit me yesterday and it was awesome! Although she was running late, and I had somewhere to be, it was great to catch up and get some dinner.  I was so nice to have that comfort and just be myself with someone I have known for so long.  I truly miss that since being at college, and cannot wait to get into the "grove" of things where I can find that again.  Missing all my girl friends lead to spending my morning watching the greatest TV series ever, Friends.  LOVE that show.  At home I have all 10 seasons, and in our dorm, we currently have 4, we're working up.  

So excited for this weekend as my boyfriend is coming up:) and we're going to the MSU vs. Indiana game on sunday - our first basketball game - SO EXCITED! 

-miner moments. 

Groups. Groups. Groups.

We had a lot of time today to work in groups.  At first I loved my group, loved our topic, and was overall excited.  I am beginning to worry now.  We are very organized and will do fine as a group, I am just more worried about my personal grade and work.  I have not been able to find many articles that would be much of a help to me other than short ones and feel like I have looked possibly everywhere.  I will continue my research though and hope to find more! :) We are meeting as a group later this afternoon, which I just remembered so I guess I better get to work!!

- miner moments.

Verizon.

I am a new (and proud) owner of Verizon's blackberry phone.  For our class assignment we are researching the differences in blackberry and iphone after Verizon's announcement that they would be carrying both at the beginning of february.  I own an itouch, and although not the same as an iphone, i understand the concept and about how an iphone would work.  Both phones are unrealistic to me - as this is my first "data package" phone - to have so much access to virtually anything at all times.  It will be interesting to see the reviews from customers when the iphone is released because based on the current reviews, iphone has far more flaws, with many loyal costumers that look past them.

-miner moments.

LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.

It's so close, yet so far away.
My sister is coming up for the weekend and I am super excited. We had a rough weekend last night, as I hurried home to find that my kitty needed to be put down because of her breathing issues.  She either had leukemia, or a cyst on her heart that was causing breathing problems and both were virtually untreatable.  My house has just not been the place for pets if you want them long term :(
Anyway. She is coming and I am pumped.  I have a ton of work to get done before she gets here so I can have fun with her, but it will be worth it!
I am a new user of Pandora, but LOVE it! I have it on all of my things now and am always listening to music :) Yay for technology - and free too!!

- miner moments.

The heavy load.

I am overwhelmed to say the least. I went to catch a bus for class and two - yes that's correct - left full and cut me off. Both of which I was in the front of the line and people just pushed there way by.  I shoved my way onto the third bus like no other. 
I get to class right on time, but already my mind is in a million places because of the bus incident.  We begin talking about everything due, and I had completely missed about having my Cover Letter rough draft ready.  I'm the person who gets really stressed out about these things, so although we were not doing anything with them in class, I am silently freaking out and again, it's only been like 3 minutes.  Luckily we really didn't do anything with the cover letters, we simply went over how to write stronger ones, so that relaxed me a small amount, but still, it's not comforting sitting in class knowing it's the 2nd week and already you're behind. 


- miner moments.

an HR's worst nightmare.

I enjoyed the work online that I just finished.  I enjoyed reading over the sample cover letters as they were - for the most part - a good example of what not to do.  In some ways it was funny, but also sad.  Is that what people are really sending in? Or did our teacher do a good job of making a few up? Sadly, I believe we know the answer to that question.  To top of this enjoyable homework assignment, it asked us to create a powerpoint! Although I am not used to answering questions in a power point kind of response, it is fun to do and something I could definitely get used to!
Although I at first could not find all of this online work, with the help of a classmate I was able to find and complete the assignment successfully! A major check of the list on my to-do's tonight after a fabulous weekend of procrastination :S

Happy Martin Luther King Day, I hope you all enjoyed your day off as I did mine  :)

- miner moments.

Lost & Found.

It's truly amazing the wonderful things the big man upstairs can do.  I left my wallet - yes, my keys, license, ID, credit cards, and bus pass - in a cab recently and was called this afternoon that they had been returned to the east lansing police department.  After giving up all hope this afternoon with ever finding them again it was by far the best news when I got a call saying it was Deputy ______  from the police department - how ironic right? best news coming from the police! I am now happily reunited with all the things in my wallet including my keys and therefore will not owe the $75 to get it all replaced - my roomies were happy as well!
I am still without my camera but in this case, am happier with what is found than what is still lost.  This has been a great end to my week of many mixed emotions and am excited for this long weekend to rest, relax, and yes, already catch up on homework.

RIP purple camera, you were loved and will be missed.

-miner moments.

First Impressions.

The first time meeting people is always the hardest - in a class with all freshman however, really takes the stress off.  Class was enjoyable today and the teacher was really down to earth and made it a fun environment :)  I am super excited for my group! We all seem to get along and agreed upon everything so this semester is already showing great promise!  We will be researching the differences (pro's and con's) or an Iphone verses a Blackberry - which will be helpful as Verizon has just announced its release of the iphone 4.  All in all today was a good day and really makes me excited to get this semester going! 

- miner moments.

Day 01.

Although this is a few days late, this is intended to come before class on wednesday.  I have not had a writing class in awhile, but in high school I really enjoyed it so hope to keep that feeling towards this class as well :) I am super excited for this semester to get started and in full swing as well! I found the video that we watched on how writing was changing along with technology so neat.  Something that I had never really thought of, but when I do think about it, it makes perfect sense!  So far this class seems like it will be really neat and I am excited to learn more about technologies this semester!

-miner moments.