reading day/stress free zone

So UMBC has this sweet thing known as “Reading Day”- basically it’s a day between the last day of classes (yesterday) and the first day of exams (tomorrow) where no academic events are scheduled- it’s a day intended to let people study and review for exams for a full day.
It also is a day where people can relax and go to fun events before finals start and everyone starts getting stressed out.

Speaking of stress…something that the SGA does each semester starting reading day and going to the end of finals is the Stress Free Zone. Basically, its a combination of free food, games, puzzles, crafts, and other relaxing things to let people chill out and de-stress during finals week.

I’m really excited about this SFZ because 1) The T Shirts are AWESOME (see pic below) and 2) We have dogs coming to campus at 1pm today that we can play with! We can’t have our own pets on campus (other than fish), so this should be a really fun activity.

Stress Free Zone Free T Shirt!

vp

Sorry I haven’t updated in forever- I was sooo busy it’s not even funny.

But guess what?

I WON! That’s right- I’m the SGA Vice President for the 2009-2010 school year. Not only did my running mate, Yasmin, and I win, we also got the highest number of votes for any candidate ever. The election itself got the highest voter turnout ever, and we are the first female Prez/VP team in SGA history.

Needless to say, I could not be more excited about what’s to come! We get inaugurated May 8, and our term officially starts May 15. We’ve already started planning things for the summer that we want to get done, and will be releasing our application for the executive branch within the next couple of days.

If you want to get involved (yes, freshmen can get involved this early), just let me know!!

campaigning

Sorry I haven’t updated…I’ve been super busy with my campaign. Yes, that’s right, my campaign.

I’m running for Student Government Vice President in this year’s election (april 20-22). My running mate for President is Yasmin Karimian- she’s the current SGA Treasurer. We are running unopposed, which makes it easier to win (haha) but harder to get a high number of votes. We’ve been working really hard to bring people out to vote- the more people who participate in the election, the more legitimacy our SGA has with the administration (we seem more representative of the student body).

 

Anywho, we kicked off our campaign today with an event on Academic Row (where all of the classes are held). We had music, free food, candy, flyers, and really cool t-shirts to give out to people. We had a lot of students stop by, which was really exciting. Now that our kickoff event is over, however, we will be going into full force to get our name out there. We will be flyering, attending student organization meetings, gathering endorsements, handing out flyers/food to commuters in the mornings, doing interviews, and a ton more between now and April 22.

On top of that, I have a paper due tomorrow for a book I havent finished (ahhh) and 3 exams on Tuesday, plus a paper due that Friday.

Busy busy busy.

 

-Jen

 

PS our website is up- check it out!

www.umbcprovote.com

initiation

is tonight! i’m really excited…i’ve worked really hard as the new member educator for this pledge class, and can’t wait until they are sisters!

on a sidenote, the rest of my weekend will be filled with homework, and perhaps sneaking out on sunday to watch nick’s lax game.

long day

Today is going to be so longgggg [[and I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm already tired]].

Here’s my day:

Class 9-950am

Class 10-1050am

Work 11-430pm

Meeting with Paula (an SGA member) 430-5pm

Short break (possibly food?) 5-5:30pm

SGA Senate Meeting 5:30-8pm

Library for Phi Sig Study Hours 8-10pm

Study more for my two exams tomorrow 10-???

BED!

and then wake up at 730 for an exam at 830….followed by another exam at 4.

 

ARGHLKDSFJDSLHEWLKJ.

K i feel better now

race for autism

The Race for Autism is something my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma, does every spring. Our local philanthropy is autism awareness, so we put on this race to collect money for that cause. It was $10 to register for the race, and you could also contribute additional donations if you wanted.

The race itself started at 10am and was a little over 2 miles (it was around what we call “the loop”- which is the main road on campus that happens to be a giant circle). We, as sisters, had to be there at 8am to set up, get stationed, etc. We finished set up pretty quickly, so we hung out & took pictures and chatted until the race was ready to start.

All of the participants were finished in about 45 minutes (you could walk or run). We had about 50 people come out, and made over $600 to donate to a charity in Howard County that deals with autism awareness and fundraising! It was a really good event, and I’m really proud of my sorority for doing such a good job!

weekend recap

This weekend was actually pretty fab.

Thursday night I didn’t go out [[yay me!]] but instead watched grey’s anatomy with my little. We also made crafts for one of my sorority’s new members, Revathi. She was finding out that Julia was her big (and that she is therefore in my lineage!!) on Friday, and my little & I wanted to give her presents

Friday night I also stayed in- I ended up watching a movie with my boyfriend, Nick & going to bed around midnight. (We watched Quarantine, which is probably the worst movie I’ve ever seen).

Because I went to bed so early Friday, I was able to get up earlyish on Saturday (around 10). I was actually really productive- I got completely caught up on reading/studying for one of my classes & was able to work on my research. I still have some schoolwork to catch up on throughout this week, but getting that big chunk of it out of the way made me feel a lot better!

Saturday night, my sorority had a social with the Mama’s Boys (the all-male acapella group on campus). It was actually really fun- there were way more of us then there were of them, but they played great music & serenaded us a few times.

Sunday, I had some new girls over to decorate their pots (they were exchanging them with their bigs that evening at our weekly sorority meeting). They stayed until around 3, then I headed out to hang with Nick for a couple hours before going to meeting at 6. Meeting was long, but productive, and I did some more homework before getting to sleep at around 1am.

1am is a bit late for me, and so I’m quite tired today, but I got a lot accomplished so it’s okay. Today I woke up at 8, headed to class at 9 & 10, and then went to work at 12 (which is where I am right now). I get off at 430, and then am heading to the library until 630 when I have an SGA meeting. I should be out of the meeting between 8 and 9, and then will head back to my place for some Nick time & relaxation.

Getting back to work now!

getting my life together

This has already been a long week. Blah. I’m pretty stressed and quite on edge (sorry to all of my friends who have had to deal with me)! I think it’s because I’m behind on my research/reading for school.

That being said- I’m really excited to go to the library (as lame as that sounds). I’m here at work until 430, and then will be heading to the library until at least 7. I’m finally going to get some time to go to a quiet place & focus on my reading without any interruptions.

Unfortunately, Thursday evening I have to make some stuff for my sorority’s revelation ceremony that I’m in charge of (it’s on Friday- where the new members find out who their bigs are). I planned on going to the library that night as well- but realistically, Grey’s Anatomy is on, and I never miss an episode. And who wants to walk to the library past 10? Not me.

So to make up for my lack of schoolwork that will be done on Thursday, I’ve decided to stay in Friday night & study, study all day Saturday, but let myself go out & hang with my sorority sisters at our social on Saturday. On Sunday, I will work on the sorority/SGA stuff that I need to get ready for the week.

This way, I can get stuff done (Friday night, Saturday, Sunday) so I don’t feel stressed or guilty about not doing work, but I can still have some fun (Saturday night) as to not burn myself out. Yay!

at work

I’m at work and wanted to blog

So I work for the Office of Information Technology (basically our technology center on campus) helping to transition faculty/staff/students into the new campus-wide database.

In basic terms- I edit websites, make training programs, and whatever else they ask me to do. I work here 3 days a week (MWF) from 12-4:30. It’s actually pretty cool- I’m learning a lot about techincal stuff, and the university as a whole. Plus they let me keep my lunch in their fridge (warm yogurt = gross).

Right now I’m supposed to be reformatting the website (umbc.edu/sa) to make it less cluttered…but all I can think about is all the other work I have to do I have a bunch of projects for work, but also have to:

-Read for all 5 of my classes (some of which I have yet to buy the book for…I’m kind of broke right now ahh)

-Generally review my notes, so that I do better in class (doing this also makes you have to study less for exams)

-Create the lesson plans for the new girls in my sorority (I’m the new member educator), as well as fill out forms for the events I’ve held so far this semester

-RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. I really need to crack down on this. Fo reals.

 

And a bunch of other little tasks. Basically I’m pretty overwhelmed right now. I went out this weekend, and didn’t get any work done as I had planned. Going out was fun, but I’m definitely regretting that now. I think that this week & weekend (minus Saturday- my sorority has a social) I’m going to lock myself in my room//the library and catch myself up.

Back to work!

First day of classes!

So yesterday was the first day of classes for this semester. I got up extra early to get to my 9am class on time, and to get a good seat. The professor didn’t, however- he never showed. He later sent an email explaining that he thought the first day was Wednesday. I was kind of upset because I would’ve love to have slept in, but it was kind of funny.

I went to my 10am philosophy class about moral issues (like abortion and capital punishment), and it went fine. The professor for that seems cool- he’s really funny and smart.

After a long break (during which I napped and did some work), i headed to the first SGA meeting of the semester. It went long, but well, and I’m excited for what this semester has to offer.

I’m taking 15 credits (5 classes), plus a 3-credit research independent study. I’ll be working with a professor to study how the deregulation of banks has affected them since 1990. I’ll also be studying how those effects spread to other financial institutions (i.e. credit unions, thrifts, etc). Sound exciting? Not so much, I know…but doing this will be good for my financial economics major, and will also help me discover if I want to pursue economic law…

…which brings me to my most exciting update: I’ve decided to go to law school. I’m not sure what kind of law yet (hence the research), but I’m sure I want to go. I’m taking the LSATs on Feb 7, and I’m actually not too worried about them. I’m most worried about getting into the schools I want to- I want to go to school out of state (probably Boston or Chicago), and will be applying to about 10 schools in the fall/winter including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Boston University, and University of Chicago.

I’m trying to get a 4.0 this semester, over the summer, and in the fall just to ensure that my GPA is high enough to get into the schools (it would be around a 3.7 if I can do all of that).

I’m also the new member educator for my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma. I’m pretty much responsible for teaching the new class all of the information they need to know, and helping them get adjusted and prepared for initation. That, along with working 15 hours a week for OIT, being Assistant Speaker of the Senate for the SGA, playing intramural flag football, and committing 10-20 hours/week for my research definitely means that I will have a super busy semester- and a ton of updates!

-jen