Here are the wonderful classes I'm taking this year!!They have already proven to be very intellectually stimulating :D
Senior Seminar (for criminal justice)
Research Methods and Statistics
Arab Culture
Principles of Nutrition
Cross Cultural Psychology
Argentine Tango (a 1 credit fun course!)
So far, I love the nutrition class, cause I'm a health nut :P
My research and senior seminar mostly revolve around research projects so that will be kind of a lot of work. Arab culture is interesting as well, but we have weekly presentations to give, yippee... -_-
I actually haven't had my dance class yet, cause it's only once a week on Tuesdays so I'll see how that goes!
Has anyone else taken similar courses? Hey, let's take bets on which class will be my favorite/least favorite by the end of the year!
Stephanie, WWT
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Cooking in College
Major accomplishment.
This morning was my first time every cooking on a gas stove. And it was successful!! I made a half a piece of whole wheat bread, buttered and toasted in a pan, with a small piece of gouda cheese, melted, all topped with a yummy, runny, fried egg. Of course... I forgot to take a picture of my masterpiece -_-
Hopefully tomorrow we'll still have power so I can re-do it and upload a wonderful pic for you.
Living in my new apartment with my two fellow roomies is awesome. There's only three of us, in an apartment meant for 4 so the extra space is fully appreciated. We're all seniors too so that makes it fun!
I hope to have regular updates about my last year of college. I can't belive it's gone by so fast!
Best wishes to everyone, and I hope to get my food pics uploaded if I make eggs tomorrow! :)
Stephanie, WWT
This morning was my first time every cooking on a gas stove. And it was successful!! I made a half a piece of whole wheat bread, buttered and toasted in a pan, with a small piece of gouda cheese, melted, all topped with a yummy, runny, fried egg. Of course... I forgot to take a picture of my masterpiece -_-
Hopefully tomorrow we'll still have power so I can re-do it and upload a wonderful pic for you.
Living in my new apartment with my two fellow roomies is awesome. There's only three of us, in an apartment meant for 4 so the extra space is fully appreciated. We're all seniors too so that makes it fun!
I hope to have regular updates about my last year of college. I can't belive it's gone by so fast!
Best wishes to everyone, and I hope to get my food pics uploaded if I make eggs tomorrow! :)
Stephanie, WWT
Irene: Should I be worried?
Well, as most east coasters know now, we are expecting hurricane Irene to strike sometime today or tomorrow. For those of us near the Philly region, the storm is supposed to hit us around 2p.m. on Sunday (tomorrow).
I'm not too sure. First of all, this morning I read on the NY Times that scientists/meteorologists or whoever is in charge of weather reports have downgraded the hurricane from a Category 2 to a Category 1.
Today hasn't been too threatening. So far, we've had some rain that started around noon and that's pretty much it. The storm we experienced on Thursday had more thunder and lightning than this. People are stocking up on food, being advised to stay inside and away from the windows, as well as seeking shelter/being prepared to evacuate if necessary. I don't know about anyone else, but personally, I'm not expecting much. I can't say I've ever been in a hurricane before, coming from California, but all I can anticipate happening is some wind/rain and maybe a power outage.
Just the other day, my roommates and I called maintenance on our campus because our thermostat has been stuck in the 50s for the past week! Yes, we've all been freezing and wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants inside, while it's in the 80s and humid outside. It's been miserable. But anyway, I called maintenance to come and fix our thermostat and they informed me that all of their dispatched workers were busy with the impending storm.... Really? This was yesterday!! It was sunny and hot out all day long!! Ugh! I'm so annoyed at them and everything. Blah. OK, rant finished.
Just, everyone be safe, be smart, and most of all don't do anything stupid. Like run around outside without clothes on in the middle of a hurricane. Please, for everyone's sake.
Stephanie, WWT
I'm not too sure. First of all, this morning I read on the NY Times that scientists/meteorologists or whoever is in charge of weather reports have downgraded the hurricane from a Category 2 to a Category 1.
Today hasn't been too threatening. So far, we've had some rain that started around noon and that's pretty much it. The storm we experienced on Thursday had more thunder and lightning than this. People are stocking up on food, being advised to stay inside and away from the windows, as well as seeking shelter/being prepared to evacuate if necessary. I don't know about anyone else, but personally, I'm not expecting much. I can't say I've ever been in a hurricane before, coming from California, but all I can anticipate happening is some wind/rain and maybe a power outage.
Just the other day, my roommates and I called maintenance on our campus because our thermostat has been stuck in the 50s for the past week! Yes, we've all been freezing and wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants inside, while it's in the 80s and humid outside. It's been miserable. But anyway, I called maintenance to come and fix our thermostat and they informed me that all of their dispatched workers were busy with the impending storm.... Really? This was yesterday!! It was sunny and hot out all day long!! Ugh! I'm so annoyed at them and everything. Blah. OK, rant finished.
Just, everyone be safe, be smart, and most of all don't do anything stupid. Like run around outside without clothes on in the middle of a hurricane. Please, for everyone's sake.
Stephanie, WWT
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Back to Philly...
Well, it is finally that time of year again. School is starting! In fact, this will be my last year of college! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and I'm honestly a little sad :(
BUT... I'm determined to enjoy senior year and make the most of every opportunity that presents itself.
Tomorrow I've got my 7 hr trip from Cali to Philly. I feel like I just got off the plane from Minnesota. It took me a week to settle back into CA time and now I'm leaving again -_-
At least I'm armed with a ton of healthy snacks (a Luna Bar + roasted edamame, wheat thins, apple slices, almonds, walnuts, raisins, Special K flakes, Cinnamon Cheerios, and dark chocolate chips= my own personal trail mix! :P) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I am about 200 pages in, a third of the way finished, and I really like Larsson's style of writing.
And if that's not enough to keep me busy I've got my iPod, sudoku and word search puzzles, plus my laptop so I think I'm covered! You gotta have enough options to keep yourself occupied on a long flight.
I hope the trip goes ok, I heard it's supposed to rain in PA, which combined with hot weather can be super miserable. I'm crossing my fingers for some sunshine. We'll see.
Stephanie, WWT
BUT... I'm determined to enjoy senior year and make the most of every opportunity that presents itself.
Tomorrow I've got my 7 hr trip from Cali to Philly. I feel like I just got off the plane from Minnesota. It took me a week to settle back into CA time and now I'm leaving again -_-
At least I'm armed with a ton of healthy snacks (a Luna Bar + roasted edamame, wheat thins, apple slices, almonds, walnuts, raisins, Special K flakes, Cinnamon Cheerios, and dark chocolate chips= my own personal trail mix! :P) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I am about 200 pages in, a third of the way finished, and I really like Larsson's style of writing.
And if that's not enough to keep me busy I've got my iPod, sudoku and word search puzzles, plus my laptop so I think I'm covered! You gotta have enough options to keep yourself occupied on a long flight.
I hope the trip goes ok, I heard it's supposed to rain in PA, which combined with hot weather can be super miserable. I'm crossing my fingers for some sunshine. We'll see.
Stephanie, WWT
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Book Review: The Postcard Killers
My first book review on my blog! I just finished The Postcard Killers, a collaboration by James Patterson and Liza Marklund, a Swedish author. Now, this was my first time ever reading a book by James Patterson so I didn't really know what to expect. All I can say is, I'm willing to give him another chance, but this wasn't really my cup of tea.
I had seen the book in the front displays of countless stores and figured it might be worth reading. It definitely is an easy summer read since the chapters are all about 1 - 2 pages long and have very large print. I knew it was a thriller/murder mystery book, but I think the publishers might want to rethink the description on the back cover.
Possibly change it to something like, 'erotic, twisted, murder story.' Seriously, there were some components of this story that were just too weird and sadistic for me. Yeah there were a couple of short sex scenes, but they were nothing compared to other tidbits that you find out throughout the story. I don't want to give too much away, but I'll just say this: If you're pretty conservative or traditional, I wouldn't suggest reading this book.
The plot switches back and forth between three major people. The first group are the murderers who we find out more about, as the story progresses. Dessie Larsson, a Swedish reporter/journalist is the next major character who is sent a postcard from the mysterious killers. She teams up with an American NYPD detective Jacob Kanon, who is distraught and hell-bent on revenge for the murder of his daughter and her boyfriend. The two work together and make a somewhat dysfunctional pair as they try to track down the murderers, who seem intent on sending clues to various European newspapers.
The story itself is alright. It wasn't terribly boring, but it wasn't something that I really enjoyed reading either. More of a book to pass the time.
Not only did some of the themes bother me, but the writing seemed a little rushed and not as well thought out as it could have been. I kind of felt like I could have written the book! Anyway, although it was a disappointment, it also didn't take up that much time to read, so I'll just write it off as a dud for me personally.
Anyone else have any opinions? Are there better Patterson books out there that I should have read instead? Share your thoughts :)
Stephanie, WWT
Shopping: Is it better to be impulsive, or frugal?
The Duration of Time Between An Impulse Buy and Talking Yourself Out Of It
Please note that this entire post is meant to be a joke, a satire, and most importantly for fun. Do not take this seriously.
We have all experienced this phenomenon when out shopping. We come across something that just happens to catch our eyes. We know in the deep recesses of our minds that wanting such item is wrong and probably not practical whatsoever, yet... a part of us, the impulsive part of our brain yearns to purchase it.
I'm here to explore the time between the initial impulsive want of an item up until the time when the logical side of our brain takes over and gives us many reasons not to buy said item, in a sense, 'talking ourselves out of it.'
I have a theory that there are various stages in which we develop different thought processes that guide our actions. Let's go through them now:
Stage 1: The Impulsive Want
Stage 2: Reasons We Give Ourselves For Needing to Buy The Item (A.K.A - Justification)
Various questions usually arise when we enter this stage. We have seen the item, it appeals to us, and now we need to explain to ourselves why it would be necessary to own such item. I look at the hoodie and think a couple of things:
Will this make me feel a) pretty b) special c) better than how I am right now? Check!
How will other people view me? Answer: With total envy! They'll wish they had this hoodie!
These are just a few examples of the feelings that might get processed through our brain at this stage. Most of them involve quite conceited thoughts and superficial outcomes and expectations, nevertheless, we are still blinded beyond reason and set upon our goal of purchasing this item.
Interestingly, some people stop at this stage and never make it to the final stage which we'll cover shortly. These people will have taken their purchase to the checkout, happy as a clam. There is also an 86% chance that on their way to the checkout they will find another item that is NECESSARY to their well-being. This may not be entirely true, but to the impulsive buyer, it is.
Stage 3: Emergence of Logic
This is a stage that many of us are familiar with although we may not always pinpoint exactly when it begins in our thought process. At this point, our logical, more practical side starts to take over and considers something called Consequences. Oh no!
We begin to ask ourself meaningful questiong like the following:
Do I really like this?
Will this really make me happy for a long term?
Will I use this?
and the big one... DO I NEED THIS?
Need. This single word can be a gamechanger in the world of shopping. If we didn't consider if we truly needed everything we saw whilst shopping our houses would probably be stocked full of useless junk. The population would be overrun with hoarders!
Stage 4: The Period in Which We Ponder Whether or Not to Purchase the Item
At this point, the majority of us would hang the hoodie back on the rack, possibly after even going so far as to try the item in question on... multiple times. We walk away, looking at other things throughout the store, but really, we're not focused on anything else. In our minds, we are still pondering whether or not to go back and get that hoodie.
If we are shopping with another person, we may use this period to question the other's opinion about the necessity of the item. This puts the fellow shopper in a difficult position. They have the power to sway us either way.
The crucial component that leads to our final purchase may sound something like this:
"Well, you know you won't find it again." OR "They won't have it in your size if you come back"
They also might bring up the issue of the item's price. "Is it worth it?"
Stage 5: The Decision
Here is where we go one of two ways.
1) We purchase the item.
This most likely leads to happiness, but later might bring up feelings of regret. If the feelings of regret exceed the feelings of happiness, we might even return the item.
There are also extra factors that are taken into consideration before purchase like:
2) We put the item back.
This is a sad outcome for most of us to endure. We put the item back on the rack, concluding that our needs do not exceed our want. This usually occurs in the more frugal shoppers, and some might argue, wiser shoppers.
The logical, practical side of our brain has won, yet our heart yearns to possess the item. This will pass, but for quite a while, we might reminisce about the item, possibly bringing it up in casual conversation with others.
The Importance of Understanding Your Shopping Habits:By reading this guide, I hope you will take away some new insight as to shopping according to your needs vs. wants. Many of us are never in the right frame of mind as soon as we set our eyes upon something we desire. For the lucky ones, we have a friend with us that can talk us out of a horrible impulse buy, but for many solo shoppers, this is a recurring problem.
Just remember, think it through, be practical, but don't always talk yourself out of buying things you really want. Everyone can splurge now and then (the key words here being now and then)!
Shop in moderation and you'll be fine.
And especially don't forget to- Ooh, is that on sale??
Stephanie, WWT
Please note that this entire post is meant to be a joke, a satire, and most importantly for fun. Do not take this seriously.
We have all experienced this phenomenon when out shopping. We come across something that just happens to catch our eyes. We know in the deep recesses of our minds that wanting such item is wrong and probably not practical whatsoever, yet... a part of us, the impulsive part of our brain yearns to purchase it.
I'm here to explore the time between the initial impulsive want of an item up until the time when the logical side of our brain takes over and gives us many reasons not to buy said item, in a sense, 'talking ourselves out of it.'
I have a theory that there are various stages in which we develop different thought processes that guide our actions. Let's go through them now:
Stage 1: The Impulsive Want
This is where we first see the item in question that we want, love, and need to have! It could be anything, but for the purposes of this investigation let's say it's a hoodie (yes I'm using my own experience here!). The hoodie in question is from a nice store, has a well known brand name, and even a sports logo on it (ooh!). Right away this becomes attractive, but why?
Are these things truly status symbols that attract our attention to these objects over other, more common and plain clothes? Most of us would like to believe that we aren't conforming brand obsessed members of society, but sadly, it seems that this can sometimes be a factor. I'm pretty immune to brand names and such and don't really care to show off designer labels or anything. However, anyone can fall into this marketing ploy that the media uses to make us feel special.
Will this make me feel a) pretty b) special c) better than how I am right now? Check!
How will other people view me? Answer: With total envy! They'll wish they had this hoodie!
These are just a few examples of the feelings that might get processed through our brain at this stage. Most of them involve quite conceited thoughts and superficial outcomes and expectations, nevertheless, we are still blinded beyond reason and set upon our goal of purchasing this item.
Interestingly, some people stop at this stage and never make it to the final stage which we'll cover shortly. These people will have taken their purchase to the checkout, happy as a clam. There is also an 86% chance that on their way to the checkout they will find another item that is NECESSARY to their well-being. This may not be entirely true, but to the impulsive buyer, it is.
Stage 3: Emergence of Logic
We begin to ask ourself meaningful questiong like the following:
Do I really like this?
Will this really make me happy for a long term?
Will I use this?
and the big one... DO I NEED THIS?
Need. This single word can be a gamechanger in the world of shopping. If we didn't consider if we truly needed everything we saw whilst shopping our houses would probably be stocked full of useless junk. The population would be overrun with hoarders!
Stage 4: The Period in Which We Ponder Whether or Not to Purchase the Item
If we are shopping with another person, we may use this period to question the other's opinion about the necessity of the item. This puts the fellow shopper in a difficult position. They have the power to sway us either way.
The crucial component that leads to our final purchase may sound something like this:
"Well, you know you won't find it again." OR "They won't have it in your size if you come back"
They also might bring up the issue of the item's price. "Is it worth it?"
Stage 5: The Decision
1) We purchase the item.
This most likely leads to happiness, but later might bring up feelings of regret. If the feelings of regret exceed the feelings of happiness, we might even return the item.
There are also extra factors that are taken into consideration before purchase like:
- the proper size of the item and whether or not shrinkage will occur
- if more than one color scheme is available, which one will look the best (this can be dangerous because if we can't make up our minds here, we might purchase two, in different colors!)
- discounts, deals, sales, and coupons
2) We put the item back.
This is a sad outcome for most of us to endure. We put the item back on the rack, concluding that our needs do not exceed our want. This usually occurs in the more frugal shoppers, and some might argue, wiser shoppers.
The logical, practical side of our brain has won, yet our heart yearns to possess the item. This will pass, but for quite a while, we might reminisce about the item, possibly bringing it up in casual conversation with others.
The Importance of Understanding Your Shopping Habits:By reading this guide, I hope you will take away some new insight as to shopping according to your needs vs. wants. Many of us are never in the right frame of mind as soon as we set our eyes upon something we desire. For the lucky ones, we have a friend with us that can talk us out of a horrible impulse buy, but for many solo shoppers, this is a recurring problem.
Just remember, think it through, be practical, but don't always talk yourself out of buying things you really want. Everyone can splurge now and then (the key words here being now and then)!
Shop in moderation and you'll be fine.
And especially don't forget to- Ooh, is that on sale??
Stephanie, WWT
Friday, August 5, 2011
Update: Duluth, MN?
Hello to everyone who reads my blog! (Which isn't many, but oh well!)
I have recently relocated to Duluth Minnesota! Well, not permanently, but until next Tuesday at least. I left with both of my parents to go visit my mom's side of the family including grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins! It's been about 3 years since I've been back and I was really looking forward to it.
So far the weather has been a bit humid, but a little chilly in the mornings and nights. No mosquito bites yet so we're good there!
The flights from California were horrible to say the least. Let's just say that Delta airlines has made Southwest look like a luxury airliner. I had to take 3 flights totalling about a 9 hour trip for what should only be a 4 hour direct flight.
Oakland - LAX (backtracking ugh)
LAX - Minneapolis
Minneapolis - Duluth
The one thing I was surprised to see was Duluth's new airport that is currently being built. Complete with an entire glass front, it adds a little something unlike the old building with only 4 gates. Things have changed.
I'll have some photos when I get back as well as some restaurant reviews! Yay!
Everyone go out and enjoy family and friends sometime if you get a chance. Sometimes it's nice to just sit down, relax, and catch up with good company. :)
Stephanie, WWT
I have recently relocated to Duluth Minnesota! Well, not permanently, but until next Tuesday at least. I left with both of my parents to go visit my mom's side of the family including grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins! It's been about 3 years since I've been back and I was really looking forward to it.
So far the weather has been a bit humid, but a little chilly in the mornings and nights. No mosquito bites yet so we're good there!
The flights from California were horrible to say the least. Let's just say that Delta airlines has made Southwest look like a luxury airliner. I had to take 3 flights totalling about a 9 hour trip for what should only be a 4 hour direct flight.
Oakland - LAX (backtracking ugh)
LAX - Minneapolis
Minneapolis - Duluth
The one thing I was surprised to see was Duluth's new airport that is currently being built. Complete with an entire glass front, it adds a little something unlike the old building with only 4 gates. Things have changed.
I'll have some photos when I get back as well as some restaurant reviews! Yay!
Everyone go out and enjoy family and friends sometime if you get a chance. Sometimes it's nice to just sit down, relax, and catch up with good company. :)
Stephanie, WWT
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