If you've talked to me lately, you probably know that I'm not too fond of going to class, reading stuff for class, or doing any kind of work for class. That's kind of bad considering school is basically my job right now. This has been bumming me out lately because time managing, getting things done, and not slacking in general have always been my strong points. I was feeling slightly bummish and kind of like a failure where school is concerned, especially last week. Maybe it had to do with my speculated case of SAD when then weather changed suddenly? Last week kind of started to pick up first at the Quest Office when there was lots of stuff to do and I even went in extra to work - not usually the sign of a slacker and a sign that real Jenna was coming back.
I always try to get stuff done during the week (Mon-Thurs) so I don't have to deal with any school stuff on the weekends (and if I have stuff to do on the weekends I just haven't been doing it - yikes). So Sunday night rolled around (time to start thinking about school again) and I laid out a study schedule for a friend who was having a hard time figuring out how to get things done and I thought, hey, I'm still good at this so I should do it for myself. So, I set up a study/general things to do schedule for Mon-Wed this week. Monday was a little hard to hit the books hard but today was miraculous. I came home from class, made some lunch, and started studying for my Neurology quiz and I studied for about 2 hours without really stopping and made flashcards, too! Stuff at the cellular level confuses me and I don't like it but here I was spending 2 quality hours with axons and dendrites. I decided to set my mind to sticking to this schedule and so far so good. I had time for kickboxing and serving with my small group at Empty Tomb, too.
I was just down in the kitchen talking with some of my roommates and one asked, "aren't you busy with school and stuff?" "Yeah" "You don't look stressed at all." That made me super happy and it's because of effective time management and I'd already gotten a good amount of studying in today so I didn't need to do any later tonight. It feels really good to be motivated again even if it took a dreaded quiz and exam on the same day (Thursday) to get me there. Maybe it was sunny weather? Maybe it was boredom? Maybe it was because I told my small group about lack of motivation and they helped me out and prayed about it? Whatever the reason, I got my groove back.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Little Black Biting Bugs
This weekend I was bitten by these stupid little black biting bugs multiples times. I have 5 bites on my chest, at least 2 on my upper arm, 2 on my hand, and 3 by my knee and all on the left side of my body. The bites are tinier than mosquito bites but they itch just as much. I seriously think one crawled in my shirt and just bit me everywhere because there's 3 bites that are practically on top of each other. I've tried scratching, no-itch gel stuff, and Scotch tape (my usual itch fixer) and neither work. These bugs are merciless. And no insect repellents are supposed to work to prevent them from biting but it's ok because they don't carry diseases just incredible ichiness! I wanted to know what they were so I used Google and searched for 'little black biting bugs' and found that they are either noseeums (yeah it's a real name) or minute pirate bugs with the latter being the more likely. Apparently they come out of the fields in late summer/early fall and just start biting people and no one knows why. Geez bug scientist people, couldn't you figure that out? I can use the internet to identify these stupid bugs in less than 1 minute but you don't know why they want to bite me?! Well rest easy because they're only around biting people for 1-2 weeks so just stay inside... or wear dark clothes from head to toe.
My Fabulous Room
Per Amy Jo's request (and patience) there's finally pictures of my room. After deciding to stay at U of I for grad school and at The 312 House, I thought my room needed some changes. The color was fine when I moved in thinking it would just be for a year but once I knew I'd be here for 2 more years I really needed to make it my own. Here's what it looked like last year:
So kind of an obnoxious blue and nasty, worn out carpet that was seriously duct taped to the floor...ew. The walls were also full of un-spackled holes and the paint was nowhere to be found. Natalie came one weekend and we went room shopping. We went to get paint, carpet, and various other things needed for the house for the fall. It took forever to decide on colors and we had my comforter spread out over the cart at Lowe's and probably spent 2 or 3 hours there. We had to put down the back seats of my Jeep to get all this stuff to fit and then we each took about 4 trips into the house with everything. Here's some funny pictures of all the stuff we brought in:
So kind of an obnoxious blue and nasty, worn out carpet that was seriously duct taped to the floor...ew. The walls were also full of un-spackled holes and the paint was nowhere to be found. Natalie came one weekend and we went room shopping. We went to get paint, carpet, and various other things needed for the house for the fall. It took forever to decide on colors and we had my comforter spread out over the cart at Lowe's and probably spent 2 or 3 hours there. We had to put down the back seats of my Jeep to get all this stuff to fit and then we each took about 4 trips into the house with everything. Here's some funny pictures of all the stuff we brought in:
We spent the entire weekend in my room with paint fumes and rollers. When we first started getting ready to paint, we'd started watching some movie on TV but moving the TV out was the last step so we put my TV on my night stand and moved it right into the doorway so we could still see it and it was still hooked up to cable. We then proceeded to watch about 3 or 4 other movies while we worked; it helped pass the time. Natalie taped off some sweet stripes on the accent wall and painted my brick. She's a lot better at these artsy things than I am. It's a good thing my parents were gone this weekend since I stayed at their house for a few nights while my room was torn apart. And a good thing the room next to mine was empty so I could store all my stuff in it. When all the painting was done, Anne came over and helped me lay down carpet (it's way too expensive to buy new carpet so I got some rugs to cover the nasty old carpet) and move furniture back in. The furniture placement is pretty much the same but I moved some pictures around on the walls and I think it looks less cluttered now. Without further ado, here is a 360 degree tour in pictures of my fabulous newly re-done room:
Here's the wall my door is on with my desk (I traded for one that was in better condition) and there's no more random purple rectangle on the wall behind those shelves.
And back in the corner with the window and closet on the left. There's now carpet back by the radiator, yay!
Here's my super cool sliver of a wall where I panted chalkboard paint on top of magnetic paint. All the pictures and papers are held up with magnets and the writing is just written straight on the wall with chalk markers. I can write stuff on there and then just swivel around in my chair to check - pretty sweet, eh?
The corner with my bed. The paint colors were picked to go with my comforter and I think we did a good job.
Foot of my bed, window with necessary air conditioner, and accent wall with awesome stripes at the top. Also note my new funky lamp in the corner. And all the things on that wall are Bilbao artifacts.
Another pictures so you can see the stripes better (there was a little bit of gold in the comforter and Natalie got really excited about using gold paint, so we got some and it turned out really well). And I also must say that I've had that plant since January and it's still alive, quite the miracle considering how many plants I've killed before.
And back in the corner with the window and closet on the left. There's now carpet back by the radiator, yay!
Here's my super cool sliver of a wall where I panted chalkboard paint on top of magnetic paint. All the pictures and papers are held up with magnets and the writing is just written straight on the wall with chalk markers. I can write stuff on there and then just swivel around in my chair to check - pretty sweet, eh?
The corner with my bed. The paint colors were picked to go with my comforter and I think we did a good job.
Foot of my bed, window with necessary air conditioner, and accent wall with awesome stripes at the top. Also note my new funky lamp in the corner. And all the things on that wall are Bilbao artifacts.
Another pictures so you can see the stripes better (there was a little bit of gold in the comforter and Natalie got really excited about using gold paint, so we got some and it turned out really well). And I also must say that I've had that plant since January and it's still alive, quite the miracle considering how many plants I've killed before.
There you have it, now I bet you all want to come over and see it in person!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A Night of Legends or A Legendary Night?
Saturday night my mom and I went to the Assembly Hall for 'A Night of Legends.' This event brought back many of the best Illini basketball players...ever. If you know how much I love Illini basketball, you know that this was a dream come true. They hung banners for several honored players and they played two 15 minutes halves of basketball and it was amazing. Whoever thought you'd be able to see Kendall Gill and Deron Williams both playing in orange and blue again? The guys were obviously having so much fun playing together and in front of an orange-clad crowd. My one disappointment was the James Augustine wasn't there but events later in the night made up for this.
Ok, a little backstory. My sister went to grade school, middle school, and high school with Nate Mast who was a walk on for the Illini basketball team around '98-'00. They just had their high school reunion and have been in touch through email since then. It had been brought up that they get together when he was in town. Now here's where the greatest plan of all time was made. Talking about the game on Friday night brought up the fact that Nate would be at this event which meant he would be in town which meant that he would know other basketball players and hang out with them which meant that we should hang out with him and therefore all of the other guys, too. So Liza emailed him saying she saw he'd be in town and would probably go out afterwards so they should hang out (and as orchestrator of this plot I was included by default). He said he was sure they'd all go out and to call him after the game.
Liza came over after the game and we were informed that Soma would be the location for the night. We got ready and headed downtown. When we entered the bar, I noticed an attractive tall guy entering after us...it was Kendall Gill. Clearly we were in the right place. We met up with Nate and he escorted us upstairs (past a security guy at a rope) to the VIP area. We sat at the bar for a long time, had some drinks and were chatted up by some interesting fellas. Marcus Liberty entertained us with his dance moves and tried to get Liza to go dance with him. The announcer guy (who was horrible by the way) talked to us for a while and the conversation (after name exchanges) went something like this:
"Baby girl, you married?"
Me "No"
"Whatchoo do then?"
"I'm in grad school."
"Whatchoo study?"
"Speech pathology."
"Oooh baby girl you gonna be makin money! You be teachin ebonics in them speech classes?"
"Uh no, not really."
You can tell how intelligent he was. Anyway, we moved away from this guy to go sit with Nate at the other end of the bar which was a great move. Shortly after sitting down, Dee Brown appeared by my side at the bar. I got a little excited and wanted a picture and after consulting with Nate, asked him for one which he gladly agreed to. The picture is amazing and he definitely put his arm around me and touched my leg (in a non creepy way). Later, Luther Head came to talk to Nate and shook our hands. Deron Williams (who is much more attractive in person) came over, too, and after a picture, sat in Nate's seat which was right next to Liza - yeah, we sat with a gold medal Olympian. Our conversation went something like this:
Deron: Oh I'm not stepping on anyone's feet am I?
Me: No, no, it's ok.
Liza: So, how does it feel to be back in Champaign (a question I came up with so yeah I know it's dorky)?
Deron: good. (he then tried to get Dee's attention by calling him Dee and Daniel and after a few minutes goes to get up)
Me: Oh hey can we get a picture?
Deron: Woudn't be a good idea.
Liza: Oh that's ok.
Deron: People put stuff on Facebook, my wife (something unintelligible).
We were slightly disappointed but we still got him in a picture. He told Nate he was sorry about not taking a picture with his wife (Liza?) but that he only took it with Nate because he's a "playa." Jerrance Howard also came to say hi and said "Hi, I'm Jerrance" when he shook our hands. Please, as if I didn't know who he was! Throughout the night we also saw Kenny Battle, Sergio McClain, Sean Harrington, Stephen Bardo, Frank Williams, and Marcus Griffin (and possibly others but we couldn't identify them). Well, that's where it basically ends because those guys left a little bit later and we stayed around for a while and then decided, hey, it's almost 2 and we need to sleep. Even though James wasn't there and I was super tired, this was a once in a lifetime chance to get to hang out with all these great players in the least groupie-ish way possible. (And yeah, I know they're all pretentious and cocky but I guess if you've got mad hops and are in the NBA and the Olympics you kind of can be) So thank you to Nate Mast, who is basically my hero, for making this night possible. And I saved the best for last, the photographic evidence for this legendary night.
Ok, a little backstory. My sister went to grade school, middle school, and high school with Nate Mast who was a walk on for the Illini basketball team around '98-'00. They just had their high school reunion and have been in touch through email since then. It had been brought up that they get together when he was in town. Now here's where the greatest plan of all time was made. Talking about the game on Friday night brought up the fact that Nate would be at this event which meant he would be in town which meant that he would know other basketball players and hang out with them which meant that we should hang out with him and therefore all of the other guys, too. So Liza emailed him saying she saw he'd be in town and would probably go out afterwards so they should hang out (and as orchestrator of this plot I was included by default). He said he was sure they'd all go out and to call him after the game.
Liza came over after the game and we were informed that Soma would be the location for the night. We got ready and headed downtown. When we entered the bar, I noticed an attractive tall guy entering after us...it was Kendall Gill. Clearly we were in the right place. We met up with Nate and he escorted us upstairs (past a security guy at a rope) to the VIP area. We sat at the bar for a long time, had some drinks and were chatted up by some interesting fellas. Marcus Liberty entertained us with his dance moves and tried to get Liza to go dance with him. The announcer guy (who was horrible by the way) talked to us for a while and the conversation (after name exchanges) went something like this:
"Baby girl, you married?"
Me "No"
"Whatchoo do then?"
"I'm in grad school."
"Whatchoo study?"
"Speech pathology."
"Oooh baby girl you gonna be makin money! You be teachin ebonics in them speech classes?"
"Uh no, not really."
You can tell how intelligent he was. Anyway, we moved away from this guy to go sit with Nate at the other end of the bar which was a great move. Shortly after sitting down, Dee Brown appeared by my side at the bar. I got a little excited and wanted a picture and after consulting with Nate, asked him for one which he gladly agreed to. The picture is amazing and he definitely put his arm around me and touched my leg (in a non creepy way). Later, Luther Head came to talk to Nate and shook our hands. Deron Williams (who is much more attractive in person) came over, too, and after a picture, sat in Nate's seat which was right next to Liza - yeah, we sat with a gold medal Olympian. Our conversation went something like this:
Deron: Oh I'm not stepping on anyone's feet am I?
Me: No, no, it's ok.
Liza: So, how does it feel to be back in Champaign (a question I came up with so yeah I know it's dorky)?
Deron: good. (he then tried to get Dee's attention by calling him Dee and Daniel and after a few minutes goes to get up)
Me: Oh hey can we get a picture?
Deron: Woudn't be a good idea.
Liza: Oh that's ok.
Deron: People put stuff on Facebook, my wife (something unintelligible).
We were slightly disappointed but we still got him in a picture. He told Nate he was sorry about not taking a picture with his wife (Liza?) but that he only took it with Nate because he's a "playa." Jerrance Howard also came to say hi and said "Hi, I'm Jerrance" when he shook our hands. Please, as if I didn't know who he was! Throughout the night we also saw Kenny Battle, Sergio McClain, Sean Harrington, Stephen Bardo, Frank Williams, and Marcus Griffin (and possibly others but we couldn't identify them). Well, that's where it basically ends because those guys left a little bit later and we stayed around for a while and then decided, hey, it's almost 2 and we need to sleep. Even though James wasn't there and I was super tired, this was a once in a lifetime chance to get to hang out with all these great players in the least groupie-ish way possible. (And yeah, I know they're all pretentious and cocky but I guess if you've got mad hops and are in the NBA and the Olympics you kind of can be) So thank you to Nate Mast, who is basically my hero, for making this night possible. And I saved the best for last, the photographic evidence for this legendary night.
Me and Liza with Nate
Nate and Luther
Deron, Nate, and Dee
(see, isn't Deron a hottie? sorry, James, you just weren't there)
Most amazing picture ever: me and Dee
Nate and Luther
Deron, Nate, and Dee
(see, isn't Deron a hottie? sorry, James, you just weren't there)
Most amazing picture ever: me and Dee
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Case of the Missing Memory Card
About a year ago I lost several things, one of which was a 2 Gig memory card for my camera. This memory card had many pictures on it from the end of the summer that I hadn't yet put on my computer at the time of losing it. I hypothesized that it was lost somewhere at home before I moved into 312 and I looked through all my belongings in all the places I thought it could be both here and in my room at my parents'. The most troubling part of losing this was that I hate losing things and it hardly happens so it really frustrates me, especially since I still hadn't found it by May when I'd need a super large memory card for my trip to Europe. So, I ended up buying a new memory card and was resigned to the fact that I'd never see those long lost pictures. The other day I was pulling out a headband and the basket holding all my headbands slipped off the shelf and its contents were scattered all over the floor. But one of those contents was not a headband; it was the memory card! It had somehow gotten placed under the protector in this basket that I'm sure I looked in. I was so ecstatic but also skeptical so I put the card into my computer to make sure it was the lost one and I found these wonderful gems of pictures:
Anne surrounded by her presents at her bachelorette party.
My sister and I cooking a Spanish dinner for Father's Day
(I'd planned to send these pics to my host fam but I couldn't since I'd lost them!)
My dad enjoying his Spanish wine.
Carly showing off her butterbeer at our pre-Harry Potter 5 movie party.
Leslie and her HP style glasses casting a spell with her licorice wand.
Chelsea and Elizabeth enjoying pumpkin pasties.
In the theater anxiously awaiting the movie. We also saw Brian Randle and Calvin Brock there at midnight.
Dave and Kristina eating wings after we tried to go to a Cubs game in Chicago.
Caden strapping himself into his booster chair and not being able to get out.
Anne surrounded by her presents at her bachelorette party.
My sister and I cooking a Spanish dinner for Father's Day
(I'd planned to send these pics to my host fam but I couldn't since I'd lost them!)
My dad enjoying his Spanish wine.
Carly showing off her butterbeer at our pre-Harry Potter 5 movie party.
Leslie and her HP style glasses casting a spell with her licorice wand.
Chelsea and Elizabeth enjoying pumpkin pasties.
In the theater anxiously awaiting the movie. We also saw Brian Randle and Calvin Brock there at midnight.
Dave and Kristina eating wings after we tried to go to a Cubs game in Chicago.
So as you can see, these pictures would have been tragic to lose. Especially the HP ones since I was the only person who took pictures at this party. I am overjoyed that my memory card revealed itself to me which is even better because the newer one is kind of acting up. Now, if I could only find my brown v-neck sweater and Paris hoodie all would be well!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Howbowda Bagel
Today Kristina and I went to Howbowda Bagel for lunch. I've been super excited about this place because I like bagels and I like sandwiches on bagels even more. The store is owned by two U of I graduates who basically built the business from the ground up. After perusing the menu, I decided on the Berry Good Bagel that has turkey, mozzarella cheese, berry inferno cream cheese, and onions on a blueberry bagel. When we went to pay I added chips and a drink and the guy was sure to tell me how much that was (since it wasn't posted) and repeat my order back to me and I love it when places do that; it just ensures that everyone is on the same page. The people making the sandwiches were friendly and happily answered bagel-related questions. Anyway, we sat down and I thoroughly enjoyed my sandwich. This bagel was stuffed with, well, stuff (for lack of a better word). It was kind of messy to eat but we had several napkins handy so it was ok. A downside of this place is that there are 4 chairs and one counter that they are placed at - that's it for seating. So, if you're grabbing something on the go, it's perfect since they wrap your bagel up but if you want to sit you'd better go at an odd time and grab a seat when you can. My sandwich was warm and made without lettuce like I requested and I can't wait to get something different next time I go because everything sounds so delicious and exciting! One of the owners was the one running the register and he even asked us how our sandwiches were which shows he cares (or was just bored because we were the only weirdos sitting in a bagel shop at 2pm). I will be visiting Howbowda Bagel again and it was definitely worth getting very wet in the monsoon rains pouring down during my walk over there. Howbowda Bagel gets 5 stars for deliciousness but 2 stars for atmosphere (mainly because of the seating issue). If anyone wants to go, let me know and I'd be happy to accompany you!
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