Last weekend was The Book Festival and let me just dance a little jig of remembered delight. If you missed it: What the heck, people? This was good times. There was music. Food. (Wow, the food.) Activities about books, books to buy, author interviews, and Poe was even out greeting the people and reading some of his work.
The highlight, for me, was seeing Lois Lowry. (For those, sadly, not in the know: Lois Lowry is a children's fiction writer. Her books include Number the Stars, The Giver, The Gooney books, and much more awesomeness.) She has a new book, her first picture book, The Crow Call. Listening to her speak, read from her new book, and then answer questions was a goose-bump getting experience. She's smart, she's funny, and I want to be her when I grow up. Now, if I could only back track and spend part of my youth in exotic locales like Honolulu and Tokyo, maybe I could get there.
I also would like to congratulate myself, publicly and in print: I only bought one book. This is a major thing. I had to sell about fifty percent of my books so that I could have a bed in my apartment and not just sleep on paperbacks. While someone else on the blog mentioned she's addicted to social networking sites, mine is books, books, and, again, books. In fact, as a child my mother would often punish me by taking away my books and sending me outside. (This is not an exaggeration.)
Of course, on the other hand, my sister was frequently only given access to books--TV, radio, and phone privileges having been revoked--during a grounding. We lived in strange, parallel worlds, my sister and I. (When they collided, it was bad for me. So bad. One day, I'll tell the story about monsters, bunk beds, and a concussion. When I know you better.)
However, this book is going to change my life. It is going to teach me to Feng Shui, to build bunk beds, to read palms, and to create lamps out of anything! This is not too high an expectation for a book, is it? Nah, probably not.
In other news, there's so much to do and so little, little time: Tonight, the Wasteland at 8p.m.--if I can swing it and, tomorrow, Star Wars at 7:30 p.m.. Of course, I have class till 8, but afterwards I can hang out at the Gordon Center Plaza and geek-out.
Once again, I will leave you with a few true things.
Things I've learned: Cabbie drivers are scary; do not get in their way. If you are from out-of-state, with a similarly un-local checking account, you cannot write a check for over $100 at Safeway until you have 10 checks in their system. (This was a lesson that required an embarrassing amount of removing groceries from my cart in line.) And, finally, people can see in your window during the day. (I'd rather not talk about it.)
Things I still need to know: Which is a good local bank! Stat! Where to buy a cheap, but not-scary-and-has-bohemian-potential couch. And, finally, where to print in color on campus. (I lost a printer cable in my move and have yet to replace it.)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The Environmental Impact of Mid-Terms
This post is unfortunately going to have to be very brief. The law school currently in the full swing of midterms. While so far I have generally been able to keep up with the work, midterms have been a completely new and somewhat overwhelming experience.
I do have a few quick points to make. First of all, UB gives (at least to the law students), 350 free pages of printing each semester. During orientation, I looked at this amount as some absurdly high number that I could never even hope to reach. "Hmm," I thought, "I wonder what else I can print? Maybe I can download and print the complete works of Shakespeare, those would look nice on computer paper bound with staples." Having reached midterms, I realize what a silly and premature thought that was. I decided to print my lecture notes from criminal law yesterday. Even after adjusting the margins, reducing the font, and checking the "save me one more page" option on the computer, my notes came to 94 pages. For one class out of four. For the first half of the course. For those of you with an aversion to math, I'll extrapolate for you, I would need over 800 pages for one semester's worth of lecture notes alone.
Additionally, many professors assign cases that are available online. I think this is awesome because it is one less textbook to buy. Printing them, however, has become a financial impossibility, as this would be an additional fifty pages per week!
On one hand, my undergraduate school allowed free printing. On the other hand, this was three years ago. When I left my job a few months ago (I previously worked at a world leading medical institution in Baltimore), they were pretty much getting ready to charge for printing to keep costs down. So I don't really blame UB for the 350 free page limit. I do not doubt that law students could easily use an entire forests worth of trees in the print lab on a regular basis. Also, this limit has encouraged me to look into other options, like not printing every single case assigned, and doing a first draft reduction of my notes prior to printing. Just like with classic poetry, the artificial restriction has expanded my creativity. I will be interested to see how much UB charges for additional pages, as I will now almost certainly need some. Also, during orientation they mentioned that soon all the print labs will default to double sided printing, I say let's hurry up and get that running.
You know how you always hear that "Piranhas can reduce a cow to a skeleton in 15 minutes" and "Rainforest the size of a baseball field is destroyed every 15 minutes?" at which point you shake your head and wonder who thought up those bizarre analogies? Perhaps a better analogy is "Each future lawyer destroys however many trees is takes to make 1,000 pages of computer paper and 10,000 paper cups of coffee each semester." Makes me cringe just thinking about it. I guess paper is easily recycled at least.
I dedicate my witty closing paragraph in solidarity to all my fellow 1Ls who haven't slept this week in preparation for midterms. Good luck to all of you!
I do have a few quick points to make. First of all, UB gives (at least to the law students), 350 free pages of printing each semester. During orientation, I looked at this amount as some absurdly high number that I could never even hope to reach. "Hmm," I thought, "I wonder what else I can print? Maybe I can download and print the complete works of Shakespeare, those would look nice on computer paper bound with staples." Having reached midterms, I realize what a silly and premature thought that was. I decided to print my lecture notes from criminal law yesterday. Even after adjusting the margins, reducing the font, and checking the "save me one more page" option on the computer, my notes came to 94 pages. For one class out of four. For the first half of the course. For those of you with an aversion to math, I'll extrapolate for you, I would need over 800 pages for one semester's worth of lecture notes alone.
Additionally, many professors assign cases that are available online. I think this is awesome because it is one less textbook to buy. Printing them, however, has become a financial impossibility, as this would be an additional fifty pages per week!
On one hand, my undergraduate school allowed free printing. On the other hand, this was three years ago. When I left my job a few months ago (I previously worked at a world leading medical institution in Baltimore), they were pretty much getting ready to charge for printing to keep costs down. So I don't really blame UB for the 350 free page limit. I do not doubt that law students could easily use an entire forests worth of trees in the print lab on a regular basis. Also, this limit has encouraged me to look into other options, like not printing every single case assigned, and doing a first draft reduction of my notes prior to printing. Just like with classic poetry, the artificial restriction has expanded my creativity. I will be interested to see how much UB charges for additional pages, as I will now almost certainly need some. Also, during orientation they mentioned that soon all the print labs will default to double sided printing, I say let's hurry up and get that running.
You know how you always hear that "Piranhas can reduce a cow to a skeleton in 15 minutes" and "Rainforest the size of a baseball field is destroyed every 15 minutes?" at which point you shake your head and wonder who thought up those bizarre analogies? Perhaps a better analogy is "Each future lawyer destroys however many trees is takes to make 1,000 pages of computer paper and 10,000 paper cups of coffee each semester." Makes me cringe just thinking about it. I guess paper is easily recycled at least.
I dedicate my witty closing paragraph in solidarity to all my fellow 1Ls who haven't slept this week in preparation for midterms. Good luck to all of you!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Art of Motivation
Ever felt like you want to accomplish a goal, but just did not feel like it? If you did, your definitely not alone. Hundreds of college students feel like that every day. Some wake out of it and some do not. This feeling is called being unmotivated. Motivation is the feeling of excitement to accomplish things. From being motivated to cleaning that typical college dorm, to the feeling of wanting to graduate. If you are not motivated, it will be hard to ever complete any thing. But there are ways for you to get out of the unmotivated slumps of failure.
You have to set goals for yourself. Make sure you do not set too many goals though. You have lots of time on your hands, so it is fine to set one or two goals at a time. If you set too many goals at one time, the stress from accomplishing each will be too much and will become unmotivated to complete them.
Get excited about finishing a goal. Find a good reason to finish your goal. There are always good outcomes after completing a goal, whether it's getting on the honor roll or losing ten pounds. Just find a positive and you will build ambition to be motivated.
Now that you have set your few goals, you have to make sure you stay organized. Too much of chaos is going to make you stressed. Another thing to do, is to have some peace time. Make sure you do not allow yourself to be all work and no play. Whether it is playing basketball or going to fix those nails, make sure you have some “me time”.
Lastly make sure you set up everything that you can, that will help you conquer your goal. Set up connects, have the right supplies, and have good support. Setting up connects with professional people or people that already accomplished your goal, makes things easier. You have to have the right tools. You do not come to a classroom without a pen and paper and expect to pass the class. SUPPORT, SUPPORT, SUPPORT!! Having a good supporting foundation is very important. You can go to those people when your are feeling low and they can help you get back on track.
I hope you realize how important it is to be motivated. With out it no goal will be conquered. Motivation is simply a key to success.
You have to set goals for yourself. Make sure you do not set too many goals though. You have lots of time on your hands, so it is fine to set one or two goals at a time. If you set too many goals at one time, the stress from accomplishing each will be too much and will become unmotivated to complete them.
Get excited about finishing a goal. Find a good reason to finish your goal. There are always good outcomes after completing a goal, whether it's getting on the honor roll or losing ten pounds. Just find a positive and you will build ambition to be motivated.
Now that you have set your few goals, you have to make sure you stay organized. Too much of chaos is going to make you stressed. Another thing to do, is to have some peace time. Make sure you do not allow yourself to be all work and no play. Whether it is playing basketball or going to fix those nails, make sure you have some “me time”.
Lastly make sure you set up everything that you can, that will help you conquer your goal. Set up connects, have the right supplies, and have good support. Setting up connects with professional people or people that already accomplished your goal, makes things easier. You have to have the right tools. You do not come to a classroom without a pen and paper and expect to pass the class. SUPPORT, SUPPORT, SUPPORT!! Having a good supporting foundation is very important. You can go to those people when your are feeling low and they can help you get back on track.
I hope you realize how important it is to be motivated. With out it no goal will be conquered. Motivation is simply a key to success.
Chapter 2: Off-Limits and The Controllers
It has been two years since I've worked on the Off-Limits story. However, I haven't started chapter one yet! For those who don't know what Off-Limits is about (mainly all of you don't), Off-Limits is a story series that is based on and portrays my high school experience, but I added some twists and turns such as action, adventure, excitement and thrills. There are five series:
Off-Limits: Genesis - In March 2004, Ned Gonzalez, a high school freshman and his best friend, Matt Anderson joins their class on a field trip to a college university. While the class was enjoying the ride, an unknown stranger appears to block the road, preventing the class any further. Then, the bus driver begins to lose control of the bus as he saw the stranger. In result, the bus crashes off the road and into the woods. The bus driver is dead and the class is left unconscious. After the class recovered, they begin to search for help, but instead of assistance, they encounter the unknown stranger. The stranger begins to chase them down, separating each and every one of them. As for Ned and Matt, they reunite and work together to escape their pursuer. Slightly did they realize; they have to play by the rules.
Off-Limits: Assault - In January 2005, Neil Gonzalez, Ned’s twin brother, is a freshman at Aschfordson High School. A year ago, he began to investigate his twin brother’s whereabouts; however, he failed and gave up on the investigation. Pursuing his freshman year, Neil was summoned by Principal Grover. He tells Neil that he was able to receive information about his twin brother’s whereabouts. After gaining the information he needed, Neil immediately decided to resume his investigation, starting at the Crawford Estate, where Ned and Matt began their adventure. Now, he joins alongside his best friend, Tyrone Davis and a couple of Ned’s friends as they work together to solve the mystery at the Crawford Estate and save his twin brother in time.
Off-Limits: Versus - In April 2006, everything returned to normal as Ned, Neil and their friends continue to pursue their education and live their normal lives; leaving the nightmare from two years ago behind. During the semester, they are introduced to their new technology teacher, Mr. Spektor. Not only they met their new teacher, they meet a new student named Josh Pulley. He began to search for members to form a secret organizational gang called The Underground. Within a week until spring break, Principal Grover decided to host a spring break festival at school during the break. As Ned and friends arrive at the school, they spend their spring break with the return of the nightmare two years ago.
Off-Limits: Reinforcement - In May 2007, the time has come; senior year. Nearly reaching the end of their final year, Ned and his friends prepare themselves before the day of graduation. Before they say their final goodbyes, Ned decides to round up his friends and plans on finally taking Clayton Crawford and The Underground down. In order to take them down, he must unite with old friends, new friends, old enemies and new enemies. They must set aside their differences and work together for their last year at high school and their final battle. Will Ned and his friends finally defeat Clayton Crawford and say goodbye to The Network forever or will they remain in The Network and say goodbye to each other one by one?
Off-Limits: Dead End - In July 2007, it was time for summer vacation. Two months has passed since the incident at Aschfordson High School. After the incident, Ned was sent to prison for the murder of the Crawford family, and the destruction of Aschfordson High School and the Crawford Estate. A week later, he is recruited by a military officer named Jaye Dubious. Meanwhile, Neil and friends spend their summer vacation in their separate ways, but as things seem to return to normal, strange things started to occur in Grand Royal City. They receive an unexpected call from an old familiar friend as they reunite once again. They believe that the nightmare has returned and they are ready to take it down once and for all, but the question is, who is behind all this?
So there you have it! That is what Off-Limits is about. I hoped you enjoyed what you read so far! I just thought I would like to share my imagination to the public and to the world. One of my goals is to finish this in time and get it publish. Do you think I can? I think so!
...One more thing, there will be another new story after the conclusion of the Off-Limits series called The Controllers. That story is still in progress. So stayed tuned!
Off-Limits: Genesis - In March 2004, Ned Gonzalez, a high school freshman and his best friend, Matt Anderson joins their class on a field trip to a college university. While the class was enjoying the ride, an unknown stranger appears to block the road, preventing the class any further. Then, the bus driver begins to lose control of the bus as he saw the stranger. In result, the bus crashes off the road and into the woods. The bus driver is dead and the class is left unconscious. After the class recovered, they begin to search for help, but instead of assistance, they encounter the unknown stranger. The stranger begins to chase them down, separating each and every one of them. As for Ned and Matt, they reunite and work together to escape their pursuer. Slightly did they realize; they have to play by the rules.
Off-Limits: Assault - In January 2005, Neil Gonzalez, Ned’s twin brother, is a freshman at Aschfordson High School. A year ago, he began to investigate his twin brother’s whereabouts; however, he failed and gave up on the investigation. Pursuing his freshman year, Neil was summoned by Principal Grover. He tells Neil that he was able to receive information about his twin brother’s whereabouts. After gaining the information he needed, Neil immediately decided to resume his investigation, starting at the Crawford Estate, where Ned and Matt began their adventure. Now, he joins alongside his best friend, Tyrone Davis and a couple of Ned’s friends as they work together to solve the mystery at the Crawford Estate and save his twin brother in time.
Off-Limits: Versus - In April 2006, everything returned to normal as Ned, Neil and their friends continue to pursue their education and live their normal lives; leaving the nightmare from two years ago behind. During the semester, they are introduced to their new technology teacher, Mr. Spektor. Not only they met their new teacher, they meet a new student named Josh Pulley. He began to search for members to form a secret organizational gang called The Underground. Within a week until spring break, Principal Grover decided to host a spring break festival at school during the break. As Ned and friends arrive at the school, they spend their spring break with the return of the nightmare two years ago.
Off-Limits: Reinforcement - In May 2007, the time has come; senior year. Nearly reaching the end of their final year, Ned and his friends prepare themselves before the day of graduation. Before they say their final goodbyes, Ned decides to round up his friends and plans on finally taking Clayton Crawford and The Underground down. In order to take them down, he must unite with old friends, new friends, old enemies and new enemies. They must set aside their differences and work together for their last year at high school and their final battle. Will Ned and his friends finally defeat Clayton Crawford and say goodbye to The Network forever or will they remain in The Network and say goodbye to each other one by one?
Off-Limits: Dead End - In July 2007, it was time for summer vacation. Two months has passed since the incident at Aschfordson High School. After the incident, Ned was sent to prison for the murder of the Crawford family, and the destruction of Aschfordson High School and the Crawford Estate. A week later, he is recruited by a military officer named Jaye Dubious. Meanwhile, Neil and friends spend their summer vacation in their separate ways, but as things seem to return to normal, strange things started to occur in Grand Royal City. They receive an unexpected call from an old familiar friend as they reunite once again. They believe that the nightmare has returned and they are ready to take it down once and for all, but the question is, who is behind all this?
So there you have it! That is what Off-Limits is about. I hoped you enjoyed what you read so far! I just thought I would like to share my imagination to the public and to the world. One of my goals is to finish this in time and get it publish. Do you think I can? I think so!
...One more thing, there will be another new story after the conclusion of the Off-Limits series called The Controllers. That story is still in progress. So stayed tuned!
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