Finals Week

It's here.

And I couldn't be more happy.

It's like one long weekend,

just dotted with projects and papers and tests.

But its still relaxing, and not as stressful.

So while I've been working hard on my final assignments,

I've also been watching TONS of movies with my roommates...

Random mix?

Yes.

Embarrassing mix?

Hah. Maybe.

But its been a good time.

I've also gotten a lot more sleep than I have been lately,

which is a miracle.

Oh, and I also found out that I got the internship for spring design intern at the Muncie Star Press!

I am so relieved that I will be able to tackle my credit while near campus and have some sort of income next semester.

However, it does mean that I will be quitting my Old National job, but let's face it...

I'm more than okay with that.

For now, I'm just looking forward to break,

and plowing through these last few days.

End of semester realizations

As I am drowning in stress

and looking for small but brief distractions,

I think of a lot of random stuff.

Here is some of the things I've realized...

I can't remember the last time I drank milk.

(Bad, I know.)

I've just been sucking down the caffeine to keep me going.

I can't remember the last time I took my "daily" multivitamin.

(Bad, again.)

It's what is supposed to be aiding my slightly anemic state, yet I can't remember to take it everyday.

I've been wearing the same pair of jeans for about a week now.

And all my good pairs of jeans now have holes on the inside of the legs.

I haven't made my bed in probably 2 months.

I've bought my monthly supply of magazines every month since August, but have maybe read 2 of them since.

I've also realized that this week is going to be the most difficult of the semester.

I'm almost there.

The end is near

So at this point in my life, I have come to accept the fact that I currently fail as a blogger. Between classes and homework, the newspaper and fighting for time to sleep, I just don't have time or the interesting topics to blog about. However, I'm always full of updates after a long hiatus...

I woke up this morning to snow.

Not just a couple flurries,

but SNOW.

And it still hasn't stopped.

I also just got back from Vegas this past weekend.

I'll have some pictures from my unique

Thanksgiving holiday soon!

As for right now, it's

final papers,

final projects,

and

final exams.

Yay.

I've got a couple websites to design.

And a magazine to create based on Ovid's The Metamorphoses.

Some papers.

Oh, and then there's my final assignment for one of my other journalism classes.

It's about Alexandria, IN.

Random, yes.

I'll post it when it is completed, but here's some pictures to keep you interested:

Should be a good project. ;)

OH.

I have an interview Thursday

about a spring internship at

the Muncie Star Press.

[fingers crossed!]

Just 2 1/2 more weeks...

A Very Happy Humpday Indeed

Today I feel...accomplished.

Extremely accomplished.

This is one of the first days in a long time that all my work for the day was finished the night before.

Such a relief.

I even got to enjoy Glee with my roommates for the first time in a while.

And I loved Gwyneth Paltrow!

She did a great job.

I've also been doing a bit of summer dreaming,

so I've already go a bit of an idea where I hope to end up the next few summers.

Las Vegas - Summer 2011

London - Summer 2012

(Olympic Games)

\

Boston - Summer 2013

(Well, maybe. But I'm looking into New England for sure.)

Exciting times ahead!

Happy Humpday!

Whelmed

It's that time of year. The mid-semester madness is dying down and everything is moving at a steady pace. However, the Holidays are just around the corner.

First, I can't wait for Thanksgiving in Vegas.

Change of climate, change of scenery...

and I miss my long-lost sister and nephew so much!

And there's nothing like a homecooked meal? :)

I can't believe that it is almost December already.

I'm trying to crank out a Christmas list for the family.

I already know it will have lots of kitchen-oriented items on it since I'm living in an apartment next semester.

Other than that though, who knows.

Surprises are always good.

Jumping ahead to next semester...

I just can't wait, simple as that.

Besides my immersive project class with Circle of Blue,

I applied for a spring internship with the Muncie Star Press.

(I hope I get it!)

It's paid so it would be good weekly income for just a few days of work.

And I could knock out my internship credit and not worry about the paperwork with future internships.

Thanks to my sister's recent discovery of a cheaper travel alternative - Spirit Airlines - I'm starting to consider maybe spending my spring break in Vegas. It would be a nice weather change after an Indiana winter.

Lastly, I just found out about an AMAZING opportunity coming my way in Summer 2012.

One of the graphics professors is going to be in charge of a summer program in London...

during the 2012 Summer Olympics!

And he is going to be looking for some of the best students to go!

So I will definitely be working my butt off this next year and half to secure a spot.

The best part -

(which isn't set in stone yet) -

is that he is hoping to partner with a news organization in London to let us make interactive graphics for them during the games!

[insert about a gazillion exclamation points here]

I am beyond excited for the next couple years :D

Goodbye, October - Hello, November!

Ok, so maybe I'm a few days late, but October overflowed into my November just a little bit. 

But now it's done.

Gone.

GOOD RIDDANCE.

So November...

I have officially started getting stuff together for internship applications.

Current prospects:

The Las Vegas Sun

The Seattle Times

The Louisville Courier-Journal

Time, Inc.

(more to come!)

And in just a few weeks I will be heading to Vegas for Thanksgiving with the Gwynns :)

I'm just ready for a BREAK!

Midterm madness

If one picture could describe the end of my October,

it would be this...

Midterms. Suck.

But the end is near!

I'm am just 4 essays and two projects away from bliss.

Well, at least a slow down.

Sometimes I just think about life...

…and I am amazed at how things turn out.

If you talked to me two years ago, I was adamant about my future. I was dead set on going to California for college and never giving these cornfields of Indiana a second thought. I would rather roam the hills and coast of San Francisco, scraping up whatever major I could to meet my interests. It was a long shot, but it’s what I wanted.

I’m not sure I could be anymore happier that this is not my reality now.

I can’t believe I was ever going to throw away the education am I getting now for some half-assed curriculum at just another general state school far away that I knew nothing about.

I can’t believe I was simply going to disregard Ball State’s phenomenal reputation for their Journalism department, especially Graphics and Advertising, and just get a general education elsewhere.

I can’t believe I was so discontent with Indiana that I was going to pass up a quality education with some of the best professionals and professors in the nation, one of the best programs in the nation, full of endless opportunity and excitement and connections, a program that would open so many doors for me in life.

I can’t believe I was ever going to just let that slip between my fingers…
all because I was sick of my hometown.

Well guess what, I’m not sick of Indiana anymore.

Do I still itch to get out and see the world? YES.

Do I still think I’ll begin my life after college elsewhere? YES.

But do I regret staying here? NO.

And I’ve grown to appreciate it so much more.
Not just because of the opportunities I have here, but just because of what it IS.

Indiana is my past, my home, my present.
It’s my childhood memories, my family, and everything that is familiar.
It’s the harsh winters I hate, but the exquisite autumns that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
 It’s everything that has made me into who I am today, right now.
It’s where my dreams began, even if those dreams want to take me somewhere else.

How could I not appreciate that? 

And the future gets a little bit clearer

I'm not sure I could be any more ecstatic for next semester!

Will I be in way over my head?

YES.

Will I be stressed?

MAYBE.

Do I regret my decisions?

NO.

NEVER.

NOT AT ALL.

See, I was one of the students chosen to participate in a special, immersive journalism project for credit.

We will be working with Circle of Blue, which is a nonprofit journalism initiative that is reporting on any and all water news.

It is headed up by some of the top journalists in the world, and Ball State even played a role in the funding of the founding.

And myself, along with some fellow classmates, are getting the chance to be a part of this great project, doing graphics and reporting and what not.

Not only will we be gaining great experience and working with a cutting-edge initiative, but having work that is nationally/internationally published? Hell, that could be a portfolio in itself!

I'm not going to lie, between this special project class and a huge load of other classes, plus designing for the DN and being a part of SND and AAF, and looking for another job...

well, next semester is going to be hectic, stressful, and hard to say the least.

But every moment will be worth it.

Gotta get through this...

Normally, I love Wednesdays.

It doesn't usually take me much to get through.

But today...

BLAHHH!

I'm pretty sure I could drop right now and sleep for days.

But I can't.

I didn't catch Glee last night, but I heard that "Lucky" was the best part.

And while Taylor Swift is overplayed these days, I don't even care.

I can't wait for her new CD to drop this month,

and I've been listening to her new singles in anticipation.

And I'm looking forward to Fall Break

I'm going down to IU to see some friends

heading home to celebrate a friend's birthday

playing some fall softball

and maybe even a late night bonfire.

Ah - so close, but so far away.

Just a week and a half to go...

All plans are out the window

I always thought that I had a general idea about where my life would go...

4 years of college,
internship experience in San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago,
a job in California,
and then life would go on...

But now, I don't even know what I want to do tomorrow, much less in years to come.
How do I know I ultimately want the west coast when I've spent minimal time on the east coast,
have never roamed New England,
and have never even given the south a second thought...

I'm at the point in my life where I can change my mind a thousand times.
I have the time to make decisions and decide what I want the rest of my life to be.

Why would I throw that away trying to conform to a 3-year-old dream?

Hello, October

It's been a long week, and I've still got a long semester ahead.

But now it's OCTOBER, and I can feel fall coming into full swing.

I love the cool temperatures, the leaves, the cider...

ALL OF IT!

Of course, October is also when class papers and projects start piling up.

(sigh)

But, I plan on staying positive.

And productive.

No more all nighters for me...

(or so I hope and pray and cross my fingers!)

Nonetheless, I'm ready for a new season.

Bring it on :)

Mile-High Exhaustion

I am so tired this trip. Which makes no sense, because I'm getting at least 9 hours of sleep each night in some of the most comfortable beds ever. [This hotel is more than legit.]


Still, I am exhausted, and all I do is listen to lectures, then venture out onto the 16th Street Mall for food, people watching, and just experiencing Denver.


In general, I'm really liking it here. It's so cute, and I love the mountain backdrop. And the fall weather? Amazing! At just 16% humidity, today's mid-to-high 70s felt like mid-60s. It's simply blissful.


I'm also feeling a bit nerdy as well. Yes, this is like a mini-vacation from classes, and from Indiana in general, but I'm not doing the normal vacation stuff. Instead, I'm drifting from conference room to conference room for different lectures and other presentations about visual journalism.


And I love it.


Sure, it's sort of like being in my journalism classes at BSU...but it's different. We are hearing from some of the best in the industry, learning their tricks and tips, hearing their advice on our work, and establishing some good networking for the future.

I have never been more interested in this field, and it just helps me feel more in place where I'm at than ever.

2 more days...

until I get out of this place for a little while.

Goodbye cornfields...

...hello, Rocky Mountains!

I am heading out to Denver on Wednesday

for a Society for News Design conference.

$395 for registration alone.

Luckily, thanks to some crappy flight service from Frontier back in June,

I had a flight voucher and ended up only paying

$1.46 for the rest of my flight.

(And no, that is not a typo.)

Anyways, it should be a good time.

Lots of workshops and chances for networking.

I'll be sure to have some pictures when I get back :)

Bad beginning, good ending

This week has been quite the roller coaster.

Monday sucked. 

Tuesday was...okay.

Wednesday sucked worse.

Thursday was good. Great, even.

Friday: AMAZING.

I dominated my to-do list, picked up a couple job applications, actually had a decent amount of sleep, actually ate some breakfast, fixed a glitch in my SND conference registration, and was just generally happy.

Now that's a way to end the week :)

The Humpday without sleep...

...just a nap from about 3 am - 6:30 am.

It will be a miracle to make it through today.

I feel as though i have already

put this post to shame...

What's going to get me through this long humpday...

Mind Right Mondays

So staying up until 4 am doing homework,
and thus only getting 5 hours of sleep,
not getting coffee until lunch,
and being tortured by mother nature all day,
I could really use some hope for the rest of the week.

BRING. IT. ON.

Goals for the Week:

• Don't put off homework until the night before
• Get closer to finding a job
• Get next week planned out (I'm going to Denver!)
• Do something for ME

Grateful for:

• My roommate
• Opportunity
• Music
• Coffee
• Faith

Link up and play along at:

Under construction...again

So I have this thing with change. I'm a restless person in general, so when i comes to certain aspects of life I need a change every so often, of scenery, of atmosphere, whatever.

That said, my page will probably be undergoing waves of change over the next couple weeks until I'm happy with it again.

Already Wednesday?

The long weekend seemed to last forever. And I wish all weekends were the same way!

Then yesterday was so...blah. Not good.

However, I have a good feeling about today. I woke up a little after 8:30 with close to 9 hours of sleep under my belt.

Then I started my morning with some friends drinking some...

Mmm...it's a great way to start the morning. :)

Now I'm just finishing up an episode of Supernatural on TNT, and gearing up for a productive day.

Happy Humpday :)

It's a never-ending battle...

Procrastinate (v) 

to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done

I've seen procrastination at its best and worst.

I fight it every day, and it is usually a losing battle.

(Is it possible to unintentionally procrastinate?)

This is one of my biggest vices in life, and I hope to conquer it soon.

Self-discipline (n)

correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement

I need more of this in my life.

When it comes to homework, working out, and cleaning,

(just to name a few things),

I always find some way to push things to the last minute,

or not do them at all.

And it sucks.

Something needs to change...

Conquering the Humpday Hill

I'm not going to lie, it's been a pretty terrible week so far.

So much stress,

so little sleep,

and too much crappy food.

Here's a sample of the randomness that helps me get over the blah...

As if the original version of this music video isn't tripped-out enough,

this "literal interpretation" is quite hilarious.

I get a kick out of it every time :)

This song is popular in my suite right now.

Its just so catchy.

And who doesn't secretly love some Enrique ;)

Where do babies come from?

My sister posted this the other day.

So funny.

And it makes me miss her and my nephew so much more!

Hope you are making the best of your humpday!

T2T: U.S. Cities

Being a girl craving the city life, I already have an idea of where I want to go.

Still, there are so many choices and it's hard to pick a couple favorites.

San Francisco, CA

Ever since my first visit to this dreamy city on a family vacation, I have been fascinated by it and cannot wait to return. I love the combination of hills, ocean, and sky line, all blanketed with clouds in the morning and graced with pleasant weather all year. And who doesn't love some San Fran clam chowder in a bread bowl? Best meal on the pier. :)

Ocean City, MA

While not a legit city by definition of skyline, I loved Ocean City for the first time I was there. It is very quaint, right on the ocean, and has a great boardwalk. I always envisioned this place as those bubbly tourist bowls during the summer, and then clearing out except for the locals come fall in a "Boys of Summer" lyrical fashion.

Wanna play? Link up here!

Mind Right Mondays

Goals for the Week:

• Get a decent amount of sleep each night
• Mark off some things on my to-do list
• Stay happy and relaxed to avoid headaches
• Keep up the job hunt

Grateful for:

• My roommates
• Family
• Music
• Time
• Good times
• Jamba Juice
• Sushi

Link up and play along at:

Bring on the rabbit food.

One night and day at home and I had enough junk food to last me a month.
I hit up a few of my favorites, taking advantage of non-campus food:

(ok, so we have this on campus.

but it's still a guilty favorite)

coney dogs, mozzarella sticks, peanut butter shakes, and cherry limeades

OH MY.

bdubs has some good fried roasted garlic mushrooms...

dunked in ranch.

chips 'n queso and nachos supremos.

'nuff said.

Oh, and it was my dad's birthday, so we had some peach cobbler.

So my body and wallet both hate me right about now.

It's time to get back to some of these foods...

It's go time.

Longest first week of the semester EVER.

I feel like it should be Christmas Break already.
But, I have made some changes that will make my life easier...

For example, dropping my Econ. class.

But, I'll keep that discounted WSJ subscription ;)

What I will LOVE about this semester:

-living in a suite means i get to see my closest friends even when we all have ridiculously busy schedules.

-I am now a chief designer at the BSU Daily News, so I will be getting paid (very little, but it's something)

-my aerobics instructor is crazy awesome and it should be a good time

-I am going to Denver with Society for News Design next month

-I am in my first official graphics class :)

What I will HATE about this semester:

-still going home once a month to work

-parking on the other side of campus

-expensive laundry

-procrastination

I'll share more new semester fun next week :)

"Sunday mornin' when the paper comes, let's read it front to back and see what's goin' on..."

So right now I prefer to get my news from these types of outlets...

BUT...

I have been trying to become more...worldly...i guess you could say.

So, I occasionally skim stuff like this...

And now, thanks to my Econ class, i will be required to subscribe to this...

I guess it's time to start paying attention to stuff other than the new fall fashions and Hollywood's best and worst...