Barrister's Ball

The Barrister's Ball, also known as Law School Prom, was last Friday at the Hyatt Regency. It is a formal event for all law students to relax and celebrate with classmates, dates, and the occasional professor. Being a 1L, I had no idea what to expect, but it turns out nothing could have fully prepared me for what actually occurred.

Books and Looks in the Third Dimension

With midterms still carrying over in the past week and a midterm essay due today. I'm happy to say my load of midterms are finally OVER!! its so exciting to feel like I can breath again. the weight on my chest feels like it was finally lifted. Well i thought i would share some pictures of my midterm project for my 3d modeling course. I'm going to include a couple of angles of the room.

24 Hours of Booty

It's a bike event--with a memorable name. 24 Hours of Booty, Inc. is the official 24-hour ride of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which brings cyclists of all abilities together to raise money for cancer research. The event unites people who are passionate about fighting cancer and ready to push themselves physically. Last year, 24 Hours of Booty events hosted 1,500 riders from 25 different states. And we're lucky enough to have one of only three rides this year right in our backyard: Columbia, MD.

Why cycle for 24-hours? There's the fund-raising part, of course. There are the bragging rights. But from what I understand, the actual event itself, with the camaraderie of fellow participants and the sharing of personal stories is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I have a friend who did the 500+ mile AIDS ride nine years ago. It was a transformative experience for her. Not just in terms of fitness - she did drop two dress sizes - but meeting people who'd lost others or knew people struggling with the disease was incredibly moving for her. She made friends she's still in touch with. My best friend Debbie did the breast cancer 3-day 60-mile walk last year in honor of her mother whose birthday would have been the first day of the race, but she'd passed away five years ago from breast cancer. Debbie's team raised over $12,000, and she still talks about the experience.

Maryland's 24 Hours of Booty ride day is August 28th. Which means if we start training today (training tips) we'll have 5 months to prepare. Notice I said we? I think I'm ready to make a commitment to do something physically challenging that will make a difference for others. And I don't know about you, but I'm certain the reward for that five months of pain will be well worth it.

learning on my off day

then again, when it comes to learning, is there ever really an "off" day?

i recently joined a blogging community designed to support each other's health conscious endeavors. for some it's about losing weight, others focus on healthy eating and there are also aspiring fitness enthusiasts. i was reminded by one particular person that you can pick up copies of workout videos from anywhere, including a college library. i had completely forgotten this extremely cost effective option for broadening a workout routine. as a gym hater, this is right up my alley. so i popped over to langsdale's page to check out their selection of videos

Back to Basics

It is always a pleasure when the youth and young adult are doing good things. Today (Sunday), I went to Wilson Park Christian Community Church on York Road to see my friend Elder Shawn Pendergrass preach. Shawn started out as my supervisor five years ago and soon became my office mom (strange since she's only a few years older than me!) and now just a good ole friend!!! I love Shawn. She's a woman of God. She's a special young lady and the youth of her church know it too and asked her to give them a word.

Happy Fat

Happy Fat (ha-pē phat) - noun

Origin - Only in America and some parts of Eastern Europe

Definition - what happens after several years of a relationship

Usage - "Bob was very surprised when he saw the pictures from his 4th wedding anniversary. There were pockets of happy fat all around his body."

I Will Not Have Starbucks Today, I Will Not Have Starbucks Today

As a person who's trying to transition into the PR field, I had the opportunity to pick my professor's brain yesterday. By the way, her name is Cameron Barry and she teaches PR Writing. She's funny, straightforward, and very knowledgeable about the PR industry. She is also extremely serious about class attendance and handing in assignments timely. I know that may seem obvious but I don't think the students always observe her line of thinking. If you have to take PR Writing, I highly recommend her class.

Where do UBalt students go?

For the first time at UB, I attempted to check out the local bar scene after finishing my exam and hitting up the gym. The facilities are very nice by the way in case you haven't checked it out, I recommend you go. I found my way to Turp's Sports Bar which is probably the only place that I've heard who supports the University. It's your average sports bar except slightly smaller with a decent variety of food. The place was decently crowded for it being a Thursday night, but not so crowded that you couldn't get a drink.

So my question remains where do the UB students go at night? Nightlife should be prominent in an urban environment like UB so where are the local college hangouts? If you go to any other University in Maryland you have distinct college areas where the food might not be great, but the beer and good times are plenty.

Where do you go out to after class? Share your thoughts on UB nightlife and what you think could be done to improve it?

Spring/Summer time = Love?!

So the other day when a bunch of my friends came back from spring break, I realized something about all of them. Everyone came back with a relationship! I don't know why, after spring break so many people feel like they have found "love."

I guess its the amazing weather where the sun blinds your eyes because you can't see the person your falling for. (A lot of my friends who have new relationships showed me their man's picture, and thats the only reason I see as to why she would be with him, that she was literally blinded) I don't mean to be negative about all of these spring - summer flings, but at the same time, I feel left-out :( I feel like I am the only one who was sick all spring break with strep throat! Some spring break...

Buzzing Around

The typical Wednesday for me consists of meetings, e-mails, and everything that is not related to classwork or homework. Since I have no classes, it's my day to catch up on everything. Today I spent a lot of time hanging up our Block Party fliers - we've been working with University Relations and using some teasers for the fliers. The reason I bring this up? The Bee!! It's coming!! And the countdown is at less then a month now! :) On the official Beelieve website there has been a sighting! Have you been keeping track? Maybe you'll see a few more tracks left by the bee.

Time--I Mean Energy--Management

I read an article in the Harvard Business Review last week on time management that was apropos to me, and I'm guessing to many of us at this time in the semester. It approaches time management from a different perspective of "energy management", positing personal energy is a renewable resource, whereas time is finite. But first the backstory.

At the start of Spring break last week, I relished the oodles of time I had to complete two projects due this week for classes. I intended to do extra research for one of classes, the topic was so interesting. I took a few days break, did other things, went out of town, etc. Before I knew it, time had nearly run out and I was saying "there's not enough time in the day."

Classroom Tech at UB Law

Based on a few recent posts and comments, it seems as though a post about technology on campus at UB is in order. In this post I am going to talk a little bit about laptops in the classroom, the kind of technology available at UB, and how various professors are implementing that technology. Also at least one hilarious story included, so read on.

1) Laptops
In the law school, almost everyone brings a laptop to class. This is well established. The pros are the ability to keep your notes neatly organized, in one space. Also, the latest versions of Microsoft Word (especially Word for Mac), Powerpoint, and Open Office make this a breeze. Word for Mac has the amazing notebook mode that supports outlining fluidly, as well as subject tabs. Additionally, I know of one student who has figured out a way to take notes on the Powerpoint slides, so at the end of the class, he has exactly what the professor said while talking about each slide.

Persian New Year!!

Hope everyone had an amazing spring break. Mine was pretty awesome. I didnt do much mostly did homework, work, and hung out with my family. Saturday was the Persian New Year, which we call Norooz. A lot of you probably dont know this but I'm Iranian, well my parents are. And yes there is a slight difference between Persian and Iranian. Persian people consist of the people that were once part of the Persian Empire, most of these people are the only ones that celebrate the new year. 

 Anyways so little tidbits about the new year. For most Persians Norooz is more of  a cultural Christmas. Norooz per se a religious holiday because it is celebrated by many religions, but some chose to intertwine their beliefs into the holiday. Norooz like every other holiday is just an excuse to spend time with family and friends, as well as, eat. Eat lots and lots of Persian food. Everyone wears new clothes and goes to one another's homes. Everyone enters homes by saying Salaam (hello) and Norooz Mobarak (Happy New Year) and when leaving the elders give the younger children money and/or gifts.

distractions around town

last year was my big birthday extravaganza to celebrate the 2-5 (eep quarter century). about 8 friends and i went out to dinner downtown since the big day was on a friday. the rest of the weekend was spent with my girls in the city, enjoying the awesomeness of baltimore. one can safely assume that we spent a great deal of time in the harbor area. as current/recent grad students, we spent as little as possible while maximizing the fun. and the girls loved the trip

this year, i'll be hosting at least two fabulous visits. my boyfriend came down before spring break, and a close friend is coming to town for a few days in april. i'm all about being a good hostess again so i've been re-researching fun things to do around town

Census 2010 - Moving On.

To Continue Or Not To Continue, That Is The Question

This time last year, I began taking three of the 15 classes I needed to complete my bachelor's degree. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I knew that I would be on a roll once I had made my mind up about completing my degree. I'm almost done. After this semester, I only need two classes. I can't believe that I returned to college at this point in my life but it was the best decision I've made in a long time and the best time for me to do it.

So now that I'm getting down to the wire, when I'm almost ready to graduate, what happens? UB starts sending me graduate school information. When I returned to college, I was so happy to finally close that chapter of my life. Now the graduate admissions office wants to open a new chapter. I have been considering pursuing a master's degree lately. That's something that was so far from my mind this time last year.

I know that continuing at UB is the best choice if I am pursuing any communications related degree. A friend of mine told me that it looks better to go to a different college for graduate studies. I think that is absolutely ridiculous. Especially when the college I attend has the best communications programs (as far as I'm concerned) in the area.

For me, choosing UB is a no-brainer. My problem is that I keep asking my self, "Do you really want to be in college for another 2 years?" Deciding to go to graduate school is a question that I never really gave much thought to before, but now I can't stop thinking about it. To help me decide, I am going to attend the graduate open house at UB next week. Hopefully, I can get some information about my desired program and this time next year, I'll be in my first graduate classes.

Hold that Elevator

I work in a wing of a building that has 10 floors and using the elevator is taken for granted. While the signs on the wall above the arrow buttons says "Walk up one, or down two", I usually quietly laugh at it while I press the up arrow to go one floor.

VANS WARPED TOUR!

Vans warped tour is starting soon, and I mean like a few weeks soon! For those who have never been to one of these amazing events, its a bunch of bands, one parking lot, and a hella lotta people! The link to the title is the link to the band line up for warped tour.

This is going to be my first time going to warped tour and I am UBER excited to see Four Year Strong, Haste the Day, and We the kings! They are all my ultimate fave!

Last year I wasn't able to see We The Kings but I had a friend videotape them, and I have to admit that they sound amazingly close to their soundtrack on the cd's! A super plus for anyone who wants to see them. At Warp Tour its all about the massive partying and just having a great time, though the price is a little bit expensive for many at $50, its well worth it. There are about 50 bands in one lot and so its like paying a dollar for a mini concert by all of them; very economical to me.

As far as other bands I've seen live, I absolutely loved Candlebox and Small Town Sleeper, they were amazing at The Recher last October. Candlebox mades its great comeback with a new tour and for all of those who have not listened, I recommend the song Into the sun by Candlebox, its so amazing.

Well, thats all I can really think of now, just dropping by a few points so that people can come out to warped tour and have an amazing time like I will! Hope to see you guys there!!!!

It's Saint Patrick's Day!

Of course, you all know that it's Saint Patrick's day! By this point you've known it for a few days now, you've looked at the calendar today, or you've read Carol's post. I decided to put my own list together, but more of a list of factoids about Saint Patrick's Day! Did you know...

1. ...that the very first St. Patrick's day parade took place in the U.S., not Ireland? (Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through NYC on March 17th, 1762. The parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, and fellow Irishmen, with the music & celebration.

2. ...that St. Patrick's day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the U.S., Canada, and Australia? North America is home to the largest productions, but St. Patrick's day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland like Japan, Singapore, and Russia.

3. ...that corned beef and cabbage is the traditional dish served? In 2007, roughly 41.5 billion pounds of beef and 2.6 billion pounds of cabbage were sold.

4. ...that there are 36.5 million U.S. residents with Irish roots, which is actually 9 times the population of Ireland itself?! Irish is the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry, ranking behind German.

5. ...that the shamrock was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland symbolizing the rebirth of spring? The shamrock is also called the "seamroy". In the 17th century the shamrock had become a symbol of Irish nationalism. The English were beginning to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language, and the practice of Catholicism. So, the Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage.

6. ...that the Leprechaun's original Irish name was "lobaircin", which means "small-bodied fellow"? The belief in leprechauns more than likely stems from the Celtic belief in fairies. In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending the shoes of the other fairies. They were known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their much-fabled treasure - the pot of gold. Originally, the Leprechaun had nothing to do with St. Patrick's day, but then in 1959, Walt Disney released a film called Darby O'Gill & the Little People introducing America to a different side of the Leprechaun. The cheerful, friendly leprechaun is just a product of American invention, and has quickly evolved into a recognizable symbol for St. Patrick's day & Ireland.

I just thought these were some interesting little facts about Saint Patty's day. I hope you thought so too!! Enjoy your St. Patrick's day, and the rest of your spring break everyone!!

Happy Green Day!

Today is Saint Patrick's Day, and whether or not you know (or care) that Saint Patrick lived in the 5th century A.D. and is regarded as the most famous patron Saint of Ireland, you'll undoubtedly notice a lot of green today. It's inspired me to put together a personal top ten green list - here goes:

10. Green public "art": Chicago River on St. Patick's Day. Yes, the Chicago Irish contingent actually does dye the River green for today.

9. Green restaurant: Nora, in Washington, DC. Restaurant Nora was America's first certified organic restaurant, given that distinction in 1999 before it was so hip.

8. Green drink: Dr. Oz's Green Drink. Never did I think I'd utter this ubiquitous doc's name, yet alone quote him in a blog, but his green smoothie is both good for you and tastes SO good you won't even want that doughnut in the conference room.

What I Learned in Law School: Spring Break Edition

Well, since it is Spring Break, and since the last few weeks I have been pretty serious with my posts, let's have this post be a whole bunch of humorous snippets. Read on to learn what student's buy during class, why some legal research will earn you a ton of dirty looks, and how General Tso's Kitten (I kid! Its Chicken!) influenced the framers of the Constitution.

Financial Fast?

Financial Fast? Now I'm no skinny chick so fasting where it requires food would be very difficult enough but now you talking about my money !! What's this all about?

Well my mom came to visit last weekend and left a newspaper article (like she normally does). It was from the Business section of the Washington Post titled "Sink your teeth into a fast". The author was Michelle Singletary. She's a nationally syndicated personal finance columnist. She also founded a ministry at her church in which volunteers mentor others seeking financial freedom or change.

What was I going to write?

So in case you did not know, I had a milestone birthday last year. While the surprise party, well, surprised me, I was able to celebrate this great (?) occasion with family and friends. Now that I am approaching a year after that party, it has really settled in that I am indeed getting older.

The More I Learn, The Less I Know

When I decided to return to college a couple of years ago, I thought that I had a plan. I had already decided that I wanted to transition into the public relations field. I already worked in my job's communications department so I figured I just needed to update my skills. My plan was to enroll at UB, get my bachelor's degree, and land that cushy public relations job.

I decided that UBs CorpComm program was the perfect platform for me to jump start my public relations career. However, now I find that with each class I take, I begin to question what it really is that I want to do. It's like the more I learn, the less I am sure of my plan. When people use to ask me what I wanted to do when I graduated, the answer would roll off my tongue. Lately, not so much.

I've worked for the government for almost 14 years. Most of the jobs I've had don't translate well into the private sector. Being at UB has opened my eyes to so many new possibilities. There are jobs out there that I didn't even know existed or that I would never have considered. I'm so excited about my possibilities. I haven't given up on public relations dream but now I know my opportunities are endless.

I've dabbled with owning my own business before but the project management classes I've taken have really pushed my mind to seriously consider opening my own business--for real. So now I'm thinking about broadening my career opportunities. I've stopped thinking about working for others, making money for them. Now, I'm thinking about me. Show me the money! Perhaps I could open a full-service communications firm? Firm sound so upscale, doesn't it?

State of the Ravens Pre-Draft

If you're a Baltimore football fan you have every reason in the world to be excited. For the casual fan out there I will be covering the changes to the roster over the past couple of weeks and other things going on around the league. There have been big changes with many people around the city already booking their plane tickets to Dallas for the Superbowl 2011. But, before I get ahead of myself (I'm already looking for tickets) let me explain what has got Charm City so excited.

1. The signing of Anquan Boldin. Boldin brings confidence, swagger, and respect to the pathetic wide receiving core that was here in Baltimore. He averages over a thousand yards a season and was the 11th top receiver last year playing 2nd to Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin's an iron warrior who after getting screws into his head played just two weeks later. Kurt Warner says he brings the Ray Lewis mentality to the offense. I can't even begin to say how excited I am to have him on the team. Two things to ponder are that Boldin comes from the NFC the AFC teams we play aren't used to his routes and having a "true threat" will open up the Ray Rice show even more. Also... he hates the Steelers.



More after the jump

Pi Day, All Things UB Related, and....Sex Columns?!

Okay, first let me start off by letting everyone know that this Sunday is Pi Day: 3.14! It is the one holiday celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world. Experts have calculated over 1 trillion numbers that follow the decimal in Pi, but I can only remember 3.1415....and that's all I need. In high school I had a teacher who loved pi day, and he made a contest for his students: Who can memorize the first 100 digits of pi? Apparently, that was me. I was the only student to memorize all 100 digits that followed 3. -> So, I won a shirt that has a giant pi symbol, with cow print and utters (cow pie!) and a huge apple pie. Of course, now I can't remember any of it. haha.

Retro Rolling

I went to a women's roller derby match in DC on Saturday--good, clean, campy fun. When my fellow spectators heard I was from Baltimore, they were envious: Baltimore, it turns out, claims one of the more notable roller derby leagues in the country, the Charm City Roller Girls.

Remember roller derby? If not, you were probably born in the '80s or later. The sport was actually invented in the 1920s, but reached its heyday in the late '60s/early '70s, when women's banked track bouts were televised weekend afternoons. I don't know anyone who dreamed of growing up to be a roller derby star, but it was great tough-girl entertainment in pre-cable/Tivo times.

Salary Guide: Newsworthy Controversy or Talk Show Tantrum?

Our school newspaper, the UB Post, punblished in the February 2010 issue the "Salary Guide" which lists the salary of all "Faculty, Staff and Contingent II workforce as of January 2, 2010." I am not positive, but I believe this encompasses most of the employees at our school. Additonally,the guide from October 2008 was provided as reference.

I generally pick up the Post every month, enjoying keeping up on school news as well as reading the announcement bulletins. I was a little surprised when I saw the article, and glanced through it, noting the positions represented. They do cover pretty much everything from Dean to Professor to Administrative Assistant to Housekeeping. The guide lists the job title, first and last name, and what I presume to be "base salary" of each employee.

In the February 2010 issue, the editor writes that publishing the salary guide is accomplished through the freedom of information act, and that he fully understands that the decision to publish the guide will not be popular, but quoting President Obama, "I wouldn't just do what was popular." Mr. Flanagan also encouraged letters from readers expressing their own thoughts.

I took our editor up on his offer, and wrote a letter by email. He acknolwedged receipt (he apparently works on snow days!) and I was glad to see it printed in the March 2010 issue, which is currently available around the campus. It also contains a letter from Ms. Kristen Day, and Mr. Flanagan's response to both of our letters. Ms. Day expressed a very similar sentiment as myself. Since you can read both in the current issue, I am not going to go in depth here.

The first point I made, and the main thrust of Ms. Day's argument, is that few people actually care about these salaries, outside of the voyeuristic pleasure of knowing how much your math professor makes.

Midterms on my mind

Finally the weather is starting to get warm. The past few days the weather has been amazing. Although I haven't really had the time to enjoy it though because midterms are starting up. And you know what that means?! Now the projects and exams are being overloaded. I had my first exam yesterday. I dont know if I mentioned that I'm taking psychology with UMBC through the core share. Well I'm taking Psychological Assessments; it's a really interesting class and incorporates a lot of math, which I love.

Anyways so I'm also taking 3d modeling and I thought I would post up my last homework assignment. We were supposed to make a pawn. I'm not the best modeler but I'm definitely working on it.



I'll post up more pictures of projects and such for my next entry.


Is anyone doing anything interesting during spring break? I haven't had the chance to make any official plans yet but hopefully I will soon or I'll end up studying like I probably should be :-P

happy belated national grammar day

yea, it's a real day :p don't believe me? check it out :) it was technically last week, but i still wanted to share. we're creeping up to paper writing season, and you may find some of these useful (or just amusing). so, in honor of one of my favorite aspects of grade school english, here are links to my favorite grammatical things courtesy of the internets [please note that my love does not extend to all punctuation, and i don't necessarily use super awesome grammar when blogging. they're my posts in my "voice" so neener :p]

Stuff White People Like - Grammar: "it is impossible for a white person to turn down the opportunity to proofread" (lol i may secretly be a white person)

William Strunk's The Elements of Style: "aims to lighten the task of instructor and student by concentrating attention ... on a few essentials"

and everyone's favorite... the oatmeal! motherf'in semicolon; apostrophe and misspelled words with a test

there's lots of fun to be had over at the national grammar day site, but i will fight you on some of this list: Top Ten Grammar Myths
#8 i'm disappointed in Merriam-Webster for allowing this to be added to the dictionary. people, i will red ink this when i proofread your papers (because of course you would ask me to proofread; reference item one above)
#2 is still extremely awkward to me. however (yea, #9!), i've noticed that i'm splitting more in my assignments. i HATE it so that's another red ink
#1 red ink! the point of a paper is to sound pretentious. pretentious snoots don't end sentences with prepositions :p
i realize the list is referring to regular conversations, but some fools like to apply the above to academic work. please don't do it; you just look ridiculous

this ends your grammar lesson of the day. i hope you had as much fun as i did :)

My Week At A Glance

WOW....has this been a week for me. This week I have truly felt like a student though. A busy student, mom and full-time employee. Being off myself four days last week for a minor infection, having a coughing and feverish toddler who was also sick over the weekend too and going back to work on the 1st was truly hard.

First, in my position, one day off can seem like two....two can seem like four....three can seem like six...you get the point, right? Don't take time off !!! Government/licensing affairs wait for no one. Throw on top of that, the fact that only one other person can probably do my job as well as me and she's out too, and you know I had a mess on my hands. It pretty much took all week to clean up everything. I am thankful though that with my good organizational skills, I put things in lovely piles based on priority and what it required....a call, letter, email, approval and by 4:45PM today, I was walking out with only 3 pieces of paper on the desk !!!

Then after work on last Monday, I had class. We have a group presentation to prepare. We brainstormed as a class throwing out topics that might have some ethical issues related to them. Lots of interesting topics. Groups are formed and my group wants to do privacy issues. Privacy? How broad of a subject is that? So they narrowed it down to workplace privacy. In my opinion, that's non-existent. You dictate what, if any, workplace privacy you get based on the employer you decide to work with. But enough of that. I'll see how far we'll get with this topic today. Would I be wrong for asking to join a group that's doing something more interesting to me like transgender issues ?

So if you read your UB Daily Digest, like I do, you'll know March 1-6 was Ethics Week. The Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics offered a series of workshops this week. Two of them fit into my schedule. Attendance, followed by a 2-3 page reaction paper equaled a possible 6 points of extra credit for my Ethics class.

March 2-"Ethical Climates in Organizations"

5:30-7p.m., Room 003 Business Center

Dr. Ed Gibson and Dr. Heather Wyatt-Nichol, School of Public Affairs

Now for me, this started off a little dry, stats, lingo and researchers I didn't understand or know. The information seemed more interesting to public policy, public relations students. I struggled to find the Ethics relationship. Halfway through though, I was able to make some notes and should be able to write a fairly decent reaction paper. Now Wednesday's presentation....truly enjoyable !!

March 3-"Thurgood is Coming: A Living History Presentation

5:30-7p.m., Room 003 Business Center

Dr. Lenneal Henderson, Professor, School of Public Affairs & HCPE Senior Fellow

Dr. Lenneal Henderson....what a man. I took a class with Dr. Henderson last semester. If you don't know who he is, look him up and take a class with him!! This man is a walking encyclopedia of public policy !! Ask him anything and he knows it, right down to telling me how to dispute my property taxes THE RIGHT WAY. But to his presentation. There's the Thurgood Marshall you learned about in school and then there's Thurgood By Lenneal !! Dr. Henderson transformed himself and gave us a look at another side of the Supreme Court Justice no one would possibly have known; the personal and private Thurgood. It was truly a spirit invoking presentation. He captured us and kept us. And he was given a well-deserved standing ovation. Dr. Henderson is an eloquent speaker.

So Thursday approaches...my graphics class !!!! So we're done with InDesign and introducing Illustrator. Now this one looks like it could fun !!! Class was a lot more interesting. This program seems to be a lot more interesting too. We practiced using the tools in class. Our assignment? Draw a chicken !! Yes a chicken. Needless to say my poor little chicken had a run in with Tyson Company and so he doesn't exist anymore !!!! That was a terrible looking bird but I tried and that's all that count. My teacher actually tried to make me feel better and say it looked pretty nice She need classes cause he looked pretty sad to me !! Our homework assignment design a logo. This should be fun and I can't wait to start working on it. Now that I type this, I just realized we didn't get our group grade back. Damn !! I was so for another 'A' !!

Friday...easy sailing now. Not a bad day at all. Pretty smooth really. I guess I'm settled down and getting ready for my REAL special day which is Sunday (yesterday since my blog appears on Monday !!!)

Sunday March 7, 2010, a very special event took place for me and 5 others of Gospel Tabernacle Baptist Church. We was baptised !!! There is nothing on Earth that can explain this feeling of starting a new life. I wonder if this is how people in jail feel. They walk out those doors of being locked down and locked up and proclaim "I'm free". Wow...standing there waiting to be taken into the water. I can't even explain all the things I was feeling. It was so amazing. I had a great group of friends and family there to support and celebrate with me. Later, my mom, a family friend, my best friend and her son came back to my house. My mom and her friend had to leave to get back to DC but I had a nice dinner and conversation with my best friend. It was truly, truly a great day.

I thought this week had me but I had to focus, think about what needs to be done now and get it together. I can't let myself get behind cause I'll never get caught back up. That's the mentality I'm taking. I signed up for school and homework is part of the job. But I got to remember I got other jobs too....mommy, wife, supervisor. Just prioritize, focus and prayer don't hurt either. Do these things and you can make it....in life and school.

Have a blessed week everyone.

The Oscars: Its like Election night, except completely unimportant.

Well, the Oscars are here again. I know alot of people get very excited about the Oscars and, for me, this year is no different than any other...I still dont care.

Actually, thats not true. This year IS different because this past year I saw NONE of the movies that came out. Not ONE. So, with that in mind why dont I give you my completely unbiased and uneducated Oscar predictions!

Everybody else is guessing, so why can't I...??

Best Picture:

AVATAR will likely win this category. It was the big talk all winter about the technology and that it took so long to make the movie, and who wouldnt vote for giant blue cat people in 3D? I don't know how much more amazing the merging of live action and CGI could possibly get, but apparently this movie does it. Plus it gives science fiction nerds yet another alien species that they're never going to have sex with.

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

GEORGE CLOONEY for the George-Clooney-is-on-an-airplane movie. What the heck was this? I can only go by the trailers, but did someone just follow George Clooney around to a bunch of airports and release it as a film? Either way, he's another Oscar, Mr. Clooney. Question: If you've seen Inglorious Basterds, wouldn't this have been a good film to add Clooney to? It just looks like it might be...>insert your own "Oh, Nazi's Where Art Thou?" joke here<

*Jeff Bridges should get this, though. He is MUCH cooler, after all he is The Dude.


Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Is this like the runner-up category? Regardless, I hope they dont give it to Damon or Harrelson....lame!

Actress in a Leading Role:

SANDRA BULLOCK is supposed to be the shue in for this award for the movie The Blind Side. From what I have heard, she was impressive in a dramatic role....and considering her other movie this year was All About Steve, people are shocked and awed.

Actress in a Supporting Role:

I'm guessing that everyone thinks PENELOPE CRUZ is going to win this for being in he underwear in NINE...right? That is actually all I know about the movie NINE...it's Penelope Cruz in her underwear. I guess the academy will just go down the list of nominees and see if anyone else looked as good in their underwear and go from there.

Animated Feature Film:

OK, we've come this far together...I have to tell you....I lied. I have seen ONE of the films from this past year that is up for an award. That film is UP. My kids watch this movie constantly.....and I mean 2-or-3-times-a-day-on-weekends kind of contantly. I will admit, it's a good film, great for the kiddies....but I cant take it anymore. Even so, I hope UP wins. Especially since that creepy Fantastic Fox movie is up for this too...those trailers freaked me out. Also, it would mean another win for Clooney...and we shouldn't be pumping that ego any more than we do already.

Art Direction:

I didnt realize the categories dropped off this quickly. Actors, Actresses, Cartoons and then right to the "I dont give a s**t" categories? Hmmm. I just thoght there was more....this will go to AVATAR.

Cinematography:

Probably AVATAR.

Costume Design:

Well, the blue cats are all naked in Avatar, so I dont see how you could win this one. I'll say the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It looked really trippy and had Heath Ledger in it.....two reason that they will feel they NEED to give it an award.

Directing:

Probably James Cameron because everyone is so Avatarded over his movie.

Documentary:

Documentary Short:

Film Editing:

Foreign Language Film:

Make Up:

Score:

I see where this is going and it's all just Avatar. The documentary making of Avatar, Avatar: the Short Documentary, Avatar in French, Avatar the lunchbox, Avatar cereal.....Its all AVATAR! So there we go, AVATAR will be winning everything.

Suddenly I dont feel so bad about not seeing any (most)of these movies...

NIH Administrative Fellows Program

As I mentioned in my intro post, one of the things I like to do for my fellow alum, is to network about jobs and to pass on opportunities for employment. Well, do I have a good one for you...

Here at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we have a great program called the Administrative Fellows Program (AFP). It is great because I was the founder of the program (along with many, many people who helped me build it to where we are today - over 100 current or former fellows). Now that is not the only reason it is great...it helps that it is a really good program filled with training, many opportunities, camaraderie, and you get to work at the best place in the US Government...the NIH.

This link above gives you lots of information about the AFP, what types of positions we are recruiting for this year, some handy-dandy information about how to federalize your resume, and a whole lot more.

If you attended our recruiting event that was held in the Business School Auditorium (held on February 25), I, with my colleagues, presented the AFP and answered tons of questions from lots of interested students. We met some very high caliber men and women (and why wouldn't we have, right?) In talking to those who came to hear us talk about the program, I became more and more excited about the level of graduates coming from UB and how much they will add to the NIH through this program. It made me proud to have my co-workers who were there see the quality UB students...just goes to show the great programs UB has to offer.

Just some quick tidbits about the NIH AFP:

• The job announcement opened on March 1 and will close April 2.


• You will need to send your resume to be screened to adminfellows@mail.nih.gov. If you are qualified, you will be sent a code that will be used when you apply for the positions.


• If selected into the program (it is no cake walk --- there is a grueling panel interview day, and most likely other interviews in the days to follow), you will enter as a GS-9 fellow, be eligible for the GS-11 after the first year, and then at the completion of the second year, be eligible to be converted to a GS-12. Not too shabby, huh?


• We are looking for up to 30 individuals who are interested in such careers as ethics specialist, administrative officer, grants management specialist, management analyst, communications specialist and budget analyst.


• You can actually see a graduate of the AFP's first class and hear him talk a little bit about being at the NIH. Even though he is not a UB grad, he gives some great information about what he does and what it is like working at the NIH.

I hope you would consider applying for the program, and please make sure you read all about the program at the links I gave above.

Til next time...

Out and About Around Town

If you read my bio, you know that I belong to a wine club. The club is composed of a web of friends of different ages and from different backgrounds who come together for their love of wine. When I was a wine rookie, all I ever enjoyed were sweet wines or the old favorite that everyone tastes first, White Zinfandel. Ugh! Please, someone smack me if they ever see me drink that again. Since I became a member of the wine club, my eyes have been opened to so many different types of wines, their grapes, regions, and food pairings.

To escape my crazy life of family, work, and school, I meet with my friends once a month. During the cold, winter months, we either visit each other's homes for our meetings or we do field trips. Snowmageddon, as Aula called it once, had us locked down since December. Needless to say, the natives were restless. We were eager to finally be able to venture out last Saturday to the 13.5% Wine Bar in Hampden and it was awesome!

The wine bar bills itself as "Hip in Hampden" and it certainly lives up to its name. The place was standing room only, filled with lots of lovely, young professionals drinking everything from pino grigio to pinotage. It's certainly a nice, upbeat place for a hardworking student to unwind after a weeks worth of grueling classes. Okay, who really needs to use grueling classes as an excuse. The food wasn't bad either. The bread plate which includes warmed focaccia served with an EVOO, balsamic reduction, grated cheese blend was de-lic-ious.

Another field trip involved us making our own wine at Carafe Wine Makers in Old Town Alexandria. And no, we didn't stomp the grapes like Lucy and Ethel. Am I dating myself?? Anyway, you get to decide what type of wine to make and you can even create your own label. You can host a party there or you can even create and bottle your own wine to use as a gift.

All of those things are fun but what we're really waiting for is the month of May. When most people are thinking of warm weather, summer break, and GRADUATION, we're thinking of the start of wine festival season. Okay, I know it's only March but when you're in a wine club, it's never too soon to start planning. Maryland's wine festival season is just a little over 2 months away but who's really counting. It's an opportunity for all the vino lovers to gather and sample wines from around the state paired with the best seafood in the region.

The premier festival is The Maryland Wine Festival in Carroll County. Each September, vineyards from around the state gather to give you a little taste of heaven. And believe me, it's really a little taste unless you buy a whole bottle. Everyone's walking around with their wine glasses in little holders around their necks so they can have two hands free to eat. People bring their lawn chairs and hang out with family and friends. It's really a great experience. If you love wine, live in Maryland and haven't been to the Maryland Wine Festival, shame on you!

So when all of you hardworking students need a break or want to wind down, check these places out and let me know. I also hope that I can win all of you other whatever-you-drink people over too. Until next time...

Does UB need Athletics?

As a former Terrapin you can bet that I was posted up last night watching Greivis Vasquez tear apart the Duke Blue Devils. It's something to get excited about and that you look forward to all week. Athletics are the reason you hear about the UBalt law student willing to trade future legal council for a ticket to the game and hear about the NCAA tournament on the radio.

Does University of Baltimore need Athletics to be a successful 4 year school? I'd have to say yes. While the program would take a long time to develop the University needs some sort of spirit and pride. I would applaud the Universities recent attempts to stir up spirit by the creation of "Beelieve," but whoever created that mascot must not use the right side of their brain.

Athletics bring money, media coverage, strengthen ties to alumni, and build strength within the community. A lot of these things are missing from the "college experience" here at UBalt. The biggest issue here is building strength within the community. If you read my last article you would know how strongly I feel that Baltimore supports its own. A real Baltimore sports team (not that exclusive elitist private school stuff) would earn the support from local area would be astounding.

What sport do we play? While it would certainly be great to be a football powerhouse like Florida or basketball like Maryland, it's impossible. Without the funding, recruiting, or facilities it would take a hundred years before UBalt was competitive. What I suggest is that we start a wrestling or lacrosse team and slowly become competitive. What are your thoughts? Does UB need athletics? What sports should we have?

Misshapen Roti!

Okay, so for those who do not know, I'm Pakistani. And well its pretty much the same as Indian with a few minor changes. So since the countries both share a border, we pretty much share the same type of food as well. And so my mom is the typical traditional women, "SABA learn how to make roti because one day your going to get married and your husband won't have anything to eat!" I hear about this 2 times a day every day. Roti is a type of flat bread that is pretty much essential to the living of Pakistanis.

So since my mom thinks I am becoming old, (I'm only 18) she decided to teach me how to make Roti on Monday night. My mom's Rotis are truly amazing; perfectly round and perfectly thin as paper. So I went started out by making a ball of dough, pressing it back and forth and throwing it on the "thava" or more commonly known as some type of fry pan I guess. Its not really a fry pan but it looks like it. I was excited until my roti didn't come off of the pan and there was a huge hole in it. I was trying to go for this:

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/roti_chapati.jpg

but ended up with something like this:

http://outofthegarden.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/blob.jpg

yeah talk about the differences. I don't know how long it will take me to get that shape, I guess my husband will always starve mom ;)

Too Late to be a "New Years" Resolution...

Normally, New Years resolutions are just that: the New. Years. resolution. Since it's March, and not December 31st, I think I'm a little late in the game. So, I have come up with a "to do" list, of resolution proportions:

1. I was accepted into the UB FIT: Biggest Loser Challenge being run by the Wellness Center. I am determined to be a biggest loser, even if it's not the biggest loser. I would like to think I am off to an amazing start. I have been drinking nothing but water for three straight days now, and I think I'm having caffeine withdrawals. I have been eating salads and if I ever have a sandwich it's 9 grain wheat bread. The biggest change to my lifestyle is actually taking the time to eat breakfast, even if it is just a bowl of cereal. Normally, I sleep until the last second, and then I rush out the door, sometimes not eating until 6 or 7 at night. Baaad! So, I'm changing my habits, and hopefully I will be a biggest loser :) Friday will be our first "team workout", so I'm curious and nervous to see how hard they'll work us!

2. It's redecorating time! I've spent the last few days covered in gray/green paint, and tonight I will proceed to paint another room a bright yellow. It's just time for an all around change. I'm going to move furniture around, and have fun with the redecorating!

3. I am going to make sure that I keep my grades up, all the while involving myself in activities like: SEB Coffee house (which is tomorrow by the way), Townhall Meetings (Now named Courtside Chat), SEB's Movie night (which is Sherlock Holmes!) and plays put on by Spotlight UB.

4. When this semester is over, and the craziness has died down, I think I'm going to muster up the courage to take the LSAT. I keep bouncing back and forth between grad school, and law school, and I can't help but gravitate towards criminal law. Hmm.

They're my main four resolutions, or goals I guess. Now, I think that I will put on an old sweatshirt (because it's FREEZING!) and go paint!!

Inspiration, in Five Minutes or Less

I'm tired of winter, tired of talking about being tired of winter, tired of even looking out the window at the gray, dark world. Which is why tonight's Ignite! Baltimore at the Walters Art Museum sounded like such a bright spot in a dark month.

According to a friend in Seattle, Ignite! is a super-creative event at which 15 or so presenters get five minutes each to spew entertainingly, intelligently and always uniquely about a specific topic. Presentations at tonight's Ignite range from quirky ("Why I Don't Want Children, or, How My Uterus Became a Shriveled Walnut), to the scholarly (The Malthusian Tower) to downright marketing-savvy (Business is Theatre). All were submitted by proposal and selected for tonight by Ignite Baltimore's review committee. Presenters often skew toward the tech-savvy, but presentations span the subject matter gamut.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 as a way of smart, tech-savvy folks to meet, network, and share inspiration in a unique format. PowerPoint is the means, but the method--speakers' twenty slides advance automatically to fit the five-minute length--is anything but dull. "Enlighten us, but make it quick" is Ignite's slogan. Ignite events are taking place in over sixty cities on six continents this week.

The event took the Baltimore City Paper's Best Nerd's Night Out last year, and from what I hear, no one ever walks away disappointed. With cocktails, and $5 for free appetizers, concise ideas and networking in a classy venue, it takes about five seconds to realize that's just smart.

Bee Sightings on Campus

First of all, if you are not familiar with Courtney's post, please click here and get yourself up to speed.

The most dedicated of readers may remember that WAY back on October 7, 2009, I had written P.S. I heard a rumor that UB's mascot is the "Super Bee." Can anyone confirm or deny this? to which Laura noted she "didn't know" and Charlene summed up nicely with, "We have a mascot !!!!" (The entire post is here, if you would like to review in full.)

So, as Courtney has answered all of our collective prayers, I have been beside myself with excitement and looking everywhere for a Bee. Here are my findings, field guide style.

2/24/2010, 12:30PM, Law School Computer Lab:

Read Courtney's post about bee/mascot. Scream out loud in amazement. Receive dirty looks from stressed out law students.

2/25/2010, 11:30PM:

Receive UB Daily Digest on iPhone. See headline about Bee mascot. Try desperately to read article on tiny phone screen, realize that it is a teaser and has no further information. Continue ignoring Con Law professor.

2/25/2010, 6:00PM:

Have now searched all five floors of law school building, can confirm that there are NO bees. Countless Ravens spotted. Classmates no longer amused by my questions about possible mascots. One classmate angrily informs me Poe is our mascot.

2/26/2010. 9:00AM:

Confirmed, Poe is law school mascot. Statute out front, 95% of building is named after him, he is dark and depressing, much like law school.

2/27/2010, 9:30AM:

Remember I am in law school, go to library early Saturday morning. Drove car instead of light rail, still, no Bees spotted.

2/27/2010, 1:00PM:

Walk all over building next to law school, you know the one with admissions, bursar's office, the gym? Still no bees spotted.

2/27/2010, 1:13PM:
Follow up on tip received back in October 2009 that "there is some bee thing in the gym." Thank you, Clay Gorton, for your shallow and obvious attempt to get me to work out with you.

2/27/2010, 1:15PM:

EUREKA! There is, in fact, a bee in the gym! This Bee is painted on the wall of the basketball court. He is about as tall as I am, although he is pretty high up on the wall. He doesn't really look like a bee at all, and none of the colors are the university colors (which I understand to be some combination of blue, gold, and slate). Also, his funky shirt is circa 1950, so I think this may be an example of the outgoing bee.

3/1/2010, 12:26PM:

Three more bees found, interestingly, all in the gym.



This specimen was located on a display in one of the hallways in the gym. He is stepping on a cigarette. A good message, definitely. He also resembles a bee. The tough face and well defined muscles make this guy a good mascot, plus he is clearly wearing a UB shirt.




This specimen was also located on the wall in the gym. He is on a banner, way up high on the basketball court. Unfortunately, all I had was my iPhone, and this was a sighting I did not want to miss. Plus, some guys were playing basketball, and I was trying to stay out of the way. This bee is really similar to the above one.



This specimen was located in another gym hallway. He is advertising intramural sports. In an effort to be more anatomically correct, this guy has several sets of arms/legs. Although he looks MUCH more like a bee than my first sighting, he also sort of looks like a Hindu god. Also, not only does he have some well developed arms (all 4 of them!) but he has been doing some sit ups and pilates. I don't know how I feel about his superhero gloves, they look a little outdated to me.

SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS:
1) There are several bees on campus.
2) The red bee on the gym is pretty surely an old one. He has that sort of "Steamboat Willy" charm to him, but I think is probably not a new design.
3) The 2nd and 3rd bees are for sure UB bees, but I am wondering if they are so generic because they were thought up for a stop-smoking campaign, and not a UB design.
4) The fourth bee is on one hand, sort of outdated and all over the place, but on the other hand a pretty decent sports mascot.

Now I leave it to you. Which design do you like best? Have you found any other bees on campus? Do you think any of these designs predict what the new mascot will be? After the last block party being so much fun, how excited are you for the next one? Leave some comments!

WHAT I LEARNED IN LAW SCHOOL
"Maybe the only special interest group that no one hates is the League of Women Voters. Well, probably not even them." American Legal History Professor.
Turns out, Madison wrote about special interest groups (he called them factions) back when the Constitution was still just a twinkle in his eye. His argument: The bigger the country, the more special interest groups represented, the less likely it is one can take over and subjugate all the others.

Sick Bug

Unfortunately I spent the most of this past week sick. Im still recovering from what I think is a cold or it could possibly be the early signs of the flu, I really hope not. The most unfortunate part of this cold is that I didnt get to go snowboarding last Wednesday as planned; instead i spent my night curled up in bed coughing and sneezing the night away. I spent most of my week jumping from class to class and rushing back home to rest. This is why I disappeared and dont have pictures this week. :-( But throughout this week I kept remembering the days when I was back in middle school and being sick was appealing because even having the slightest cough or sniffle meant you got to miss a day of school. Well now missing a day of class doesnt seem as convenient or appealing as it used too. So I managed to make my way to all of my classes and not really miss lecture time but I really feel like I missed the going above and beyond in my homework and out side of school area.

On a more interesting note: last Thursday in my Game, Simulation, and Society class we spent the a good portion of our 2 and half hour class debating where the line is drawn in cyberspace. More particularly trolling/griefing in online games, what I found interesting was that almost everyone in my class believed that it was a valid and completely understandable thing to do while playing a game. But that the same rules that apply in a game would never apply in person. The social etiquette differs during a real life interation than a virtual one. Some people argued, that as a gamer you have the right to enter an environment with the complete security of people being courteous, the same respect that they would recieve in person. I'm not sure if the majority of the opinions in the class were bias because theres only 2 other girls in the class besides myself. I don't know if I'm stereotyping them but all I know is never use a headset while playing Call of Duty or Halo if youre a girl. Thats one big lesson Ive taken out from my courses.

I was hoping to hear some of your opinions on this topic is. But I guess we could broaden the scope of this question a little more; does social etiquette differ in cyberspace? (i.e. emails, ims, forums and etc.) and how so?

Echoing Marni / Opening Up

I have to echo Marni with this blog. I had all intentions to write again about my Publishing class that I struggled with. I too am a Corp Comm :) major. As an adult returning to school after so many years, it was hard to know what I wanted to major in. I knew what I liked to and that is design tickets, flyers, birthday and even wedding invitations. I don't do those things anymore for various reasons but I still enjoy figuring out new stuff to create. I agree with Marni that I liked the idea of the broadness of the major. After meeting Mr. Daniel Page and talking to him, I decided on this major.

Like Marni, I too was VERY intimidated by the computer classes involved. I mean I had left school the first time because I struggled so much in my computer science major and the limited number of teachers at my previous school were not helpful. If one person understood, everyone should understand and they kept teaching.

As I wrote last week, I struggled with my teacher "jumping right in" and me not having the other end of the rope. But I caught an end !! With my books from the campus library, my new MAC, some telephone tutoring from a friend (a two-time graduate of University of Baltimore), a couple of hours in the school lab asking the lab assistants questions and hours of just playing around, I did it. I finished my first assignment in InDesign !!! See my pic !

I had some issues with spacing but I tried. I think I got the grade I got because I must have sent a million emails to my teacher and she knew I didn't have a MAC computer to start and the school was closed for a week so I couldn't get to the lab on campus. She tried many times to meet me and go over things but mother nature had other plans and each day we were to meet, it either snowed that day or the days before. Maybe mother nature was trying to tell me trust myself ! As my Bishop says sometimes doors are closed so that others may open. Perhaps the doors of the school closed so that I could open the doors of my mind and TRUST and BELIEVE.

I'm also happy to say I felt very comfortable in our in-class group assignment. My first thought was oh geez, I'm just going to be sitting there. However, I really contributed and was shocked I could answer a question or two and provide input. I am confident my group will get a good grade. I am anxiously waiting for Thursday just to see what grade we got as a group. We also get an individual grade. I have never anxiously waited for a grade before!! I waited last week and I was totally shocked to see the grade I got for the first assignment !!

Doesn't it look wonderful ! I'm hoping for a few more of those before the semester is over.

This is just my second semester here and I won't lie, I am still very scared that things will get hard and I will give up. But I try to keep reminding myself, I'm paying for this. There are no scholarships, no grants, no reimbursement from the job so I need put my all and all into it. I also need to get over the fact I'm not a people person (imagine that when I'm a supervisor !) and understand I WILL have to work with people and there may be somebody out there that can help me.

I've never really been a person to just "chat" with people but interesting that while standing in line at Giants a couple of days ago, the lady in front of me started talking to me. Somehow, I mentioned school and working and she mentioned how she worked from home and the benefits/disadvantages of it and surprisingly she majored in Communications. It was nice to hear what she was doing with such a degree. Gave me a thought for what I might could use my degree for.

Another day I was in Barnes & Noble looking for the book the teacher recommended. First the sales associate had no clue what I was talking about. A customer had actually heard me and showed me where the books for that subject would be located. At the same time, the sales associate just walked away. She never came back to see if I found what I needed. She didn't offer me any other listings. But it was okay. The customer helped me !! We had a nice chat about school, how she had taught herself Dreamweaver and which book and publisher she liked the best. She was learning on a PC and me on MAC so she asked about the computer and I was happy to tell her what I had learned ! She asked questions and I was actually able to answer them ! I felt proud.

Now what? I've come to realize I need to not just talk to people but actually start networking and exchanging phone numbers or email addresses cause clearly I am meeting people that may be able to help or tutor me or who knows, maybe one day offer me a job. I say it's still early and I don't know what I want to do with this degree yet. Luckily for now, I am gainfully employed and hopefully won't have to think about finding a new job until I finish school. Right now, I just want to get good grades, finish school and dance across the stage because this has been a long time coming.

Until next week, stay blessed everyone.

wag of the finger

sometimes i want to punch people right in the face. two of my closest friends from undergrad had their homes burglarized

in both cases, the event occurred in the middle of the day, in a residential neighborhood. one was in northern baltimore last july 3rd (yea, happy independence day) ; one was last week in arizona. electronics, jewelry and other miscellaneous valuables were taken. both of my friends were/are working on major research papers, stored entirely on their stolen laptops. my baltimore friend was able to recover enough data from previous drafts to finish months of work in a few weeks. my arizona friend has been straining to recall all the research articles and updates she had from the week prior to the robbery using her saved emails. punch in the face to the jackasses that caused them grief

the difference in the two scenarios: only one friend had homeowner's/renter's insurance. i was completely shocked by this bit of information, as it seems that every apartment i've had requires some level of renter's coverage. financially, it's not the worst thing for my friend, but still it's useful so you don't have to pay out of pocket. to offset some of the cost of replacing her laptop, the one friend is selling some of her prints on etsy

i have not done the research, but i always thought renter's/homeowner's insurance was required for renting/purchasing a home. perhaps i've just been at fancy shmancy places that don't want to be liable for accidents and what not. regardless, wherever i live, i would never consider not having insurance. in my opinion you can never be too safe. so for anyone who is on the fence or doesn't think it's worth the expense, i wag my finger at you. it's 100% absolutely worth it, especially if you have a lot of valuable items. or are prone to setting your kitchen on fire when baking cookies. or have carpet on your staircase that constantly trips your visitors. or things of that nature... you can get a large amount of personal liability and possessions coverage for around $10 a month. plus you can get discounts if you have multiple insurance plans with one insurer. for anyone who's moving into your first apartment, make sure this is on your list of things to purchase. also on that list should be an external storage device, whether it's a 2 gigabyte thumb drive or a 3 terabyte external hard drive, you should keep electronic backups of all your important files. you never know when your laptop will crash, get a virus or go missing. and make sure you keep your backup storage in a safe place

as an aside: if anyone's looking at apartments in baltimore/anne arundel (or wants information about an area), check out apartment ratings and police statistics data (typically, reported online by each county). i've found both to be quite useful in my searches. i'll step down from my box now :) hope your weeks are fabulous