— 1 —

I really appreciate nice people. Why am I saying this? Because today I had an adventure: the goal was to get gas cards (which we’re using to reimburse people who drive to the abortion clinic). Who in the world would think this would be hard? Hmmm, not me!

I had to gas up myself, so I popped in to see if that station sold gas cards: nope. Okay, next one: hmmm, only huge dollar amounts. So then I went to Walmart to see if they had something (or maybe something like an American Express card). They were all in too large dollar amounts. Time for CVS! No luck there either. So then I went to another gas station, and they didn’t have them. Yay. BUT they told me their other station in town (who knew Atchison had so many?!?!?!) did. So I went there (after calling a friend because I am not good at following verbal directions and got “lost”), and they had 2 smaller certificates and 3 bigger ones. I needed at least 10 of an in-between amount. So……the nice lady told me that she was sorry and told me that if I wanted I could go outside to where the owner lady was sitting with garage sale items (keepin’ it classy in Atchison).

I went out, and she was the nicest lady ever. They couldn’t print more, but she printed receipts and did something special and hand wrote a dozen gift certificates for me. Turns out she graduated from Benedictine. And when she asked what I was majoring in, she half-kidding offered to sell her business to me. Alrightie then. Moral of the story: don’t give up, people. And be that nice person if you have the opportunity.

— 2 —

That crazy adventure would not have been possible with out my lovely car, which I have dubbed Fernando (after much deliberation). I went and titled/registered him the other day, and so we’ve been joking about how he’s legal now (don’t worry, I had a permit before). The radio is rather enjoyable, I might add.

— 3 —

Our first abortion clinic trip is tomorrow morning! I have no clue how many people there will be, but after our first all-club meeting (which had a great turnout), it should be good.

— 4 —

Classes are plugging along. Quantitative analysis is basically reviewing high school algebra, so it’s not hard. Principles of management is fun and interesting. Developmental psychology is AWESOME, and we’ve been talking about babies (prenatal to newborn) for the last few classes. Macroeconomics is bad. We have a test coming up next week, and I have plans to visit the tutor first. Concert chorale is super fun, and our pops concert (in a few weeks) is going to sound epic. Accounting is not as bad as I thought, and is rather logical. I just have to get the terminology down.

— 5 —

Planning cheap meals can be fun. Last week we made a nice meal for $2.50/person (made of chicken, broccoli, potatoes, and cookies). I can’t wait til it’s colder and we can experiment with crock pot meals!

— 6 —

On the 8th, Benedictine was consecrated to Mary. It was awesome. Other than the fact that it was blazing hot and we all turned into sweaty puddle of grossness during the procession, it was fabulous. And beautiful. I love being at such a passionately Catholic school. Speaking of that, I met with our president, one of our priests, and our faculty advisor for RRL. It is so beautiful to be at a place that is so supportive of life, and I have been so encouraged by these people.

— 7 —

This week was our fire drill! We kept anticipating it, and now it is over. Hurray. It was nowhere near as bad as least year. Last year we had strobe lights and an insanely loud noise kind of like when a huge door in a factory is closing. Does that make any sense? Well, this one is more like a regular alarm in a home. We all got out in a little over 2 1/2 minutes I believe. Anyway, It’s time for bed. We’re getting up early, and going on an adventure in Kansas City after praying at the abortion clinic. The weather has cooled down a bit, so it should be nice. Life is awesome right now, and I’m hoping to get a few things written this week (and continue working on my goals). Stay tuned!

Have a fabulous weekend. For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

P.S. I just saw a note from WordPress saying some readers might see adds on my blog (because I haven’t paid for them not to). If you see adds on here, could you pretty please let me know? I want to make sure that doesn’t interfere with anything 🙂

— 1 —

Did you see my September goals? I’ve already made headway on a couple of them, and it really helps to be able to go back and remind myself. Especially with homework, keeping myself accountable is rather important. So, behold my fancy schmancy homework system:

As I get assignments (or just look them up in my syllabuses), I write them on sticky notes with the class name and due date. That way I don’t have to go look them up. When I’m done, I just tear the note up and laugh maniacally. Well, not really that last part. But you get the point.

— 2 —

In a quiz I had to take this week for one of my classes, I learned that I am predominantly a kinesthetic learner. It wasn’t a surprise to me – I just didn’t know the name of it before. This means I really do best learning when someone physically demonstrates the topic, presents real-life situations, and is interactive. It makes so much sense!

When teachers just stand up there and talk for an hour, it bores me to no end. I have a hard time concentrating for that long if they just talk, and I can easily “listen” without actually hearing what they are saying. It makes a lot of sense to me why I like certain teachers better than others, since their teaching styles are different. The worst? Reading from a power point. The best: interactive teachers who involve the class and give real-life examples. It’s certainly challenging when teaching styles and learning styles clash, so I’d love to see more teachers consider this about their students. It would be neat to have teachers help their students learn by including all the different learning styles!

— 3 —

Speaking of learning things about myself, I don’t remember if I ever talked about personality types on here before. Last year I did a test which determined that my personality (or is it temperament? or both?) is mostly choleric and the rest melancholic (something like 87/13). There are four main temperaments which people describe as:

Choleric – “My way”

Melancholic – “The right way”

Phlegmatic – “Any way”

Sanguine – “The fun way”

Being choleric on top of being extremely stubborn can have it’s pitfalls, but it really helps to recognize this and work to overcome the issues. I have to learn to sometimes bite my tongue (figuratively) when I think I know what is right, which is most certainly a work in progress. And with my stubbornness, I think it’s gotten better over time. I know when enough is enough and I need to give up control on some things. My melancholic side helps me to step back and critically consider things, so I’d say my combination is working out just fine.

— 4 —

Do you like fire drills? Over here they are required to do one every year, which really doesn’t sound too bad, until you realize they are around 5am. Yeah, good morning world! Last year I had a strobe light in my room along with the alarm. So let’s just picture you all snug in your bed, probably dreaming. And then BAM! All of a sudden there’s a strobe light and alarm SO LOUD going off that your eardrums explode and you faint and someone has to drag you out of the building. Okay, well, not really.

Last year (I don’t remember if I got shoes or anything) I just ran out of my room real quick and forgot to make sure my roommate made it out. So I went back to get her (she was on the top bunk, which is much more disorienting to get down from with the strobe light). We made it out, and it was all fine.

Right now we’re anticipating this year’s fire drill, and for the last two nights everyone was sure that was the night. Well…..not. I put out my shoes and keys both nights to remember, and it didn’t happen. SO now we’re just waiting. The upside? Everyone gets doughnuts!

— 5 —

Are you fasting for Syria this weekend? I have to admit that I didn’t really read about or know what was going on until this week (which is pretty bad, I know). Since the Pope called for a day of prayer and fasting, I’m thinkin’ maybe it’s a good thing to do…

— 6 —

Did you know it was Pro-Life Chalk Day yesterday? I got together with some Ravens Respect Life people, and chalked up part of campus. It was rather fun.

— 7 —

Speaking of RRL, this week is our first all-club meeting! I am SUPER excited to get started. It is going to be awesome. ‘Nuh said.

Until next week, folk! For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

I made it to school! My flights to IL were uneventful, and I sat behind babies on both 🙂 It was just fabulous taking a hike through the Chicago O’Hare airport too! No….it wasn’t. I was so sweaty when I finally made it to my gate. But I made it safely! My drive to school was uneventful too, except for when I gassed up and my bank thought my card had been stolen. Haha. It was very nice to have a radio, and I jammed all the way for about 5 hours. Yay. It is lovely having a car.

— 2 —

Speaking of school, it’s going to be an interesting year. Here’s the lowdown on my classes:

Principles of management: I like this one. It’s almost like a psychology class about understanding how to manage and lead people. Do you know what the book’s definition of management is? “The art of getting things done through the efforts of other people.” Haha. I definitely want to keep the book after, because I think it’s going to be very useful.

Quantitative Analysis: This is not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s pretty basic math, which my professor said we know most of already. We started with exponents and polynomials, and I am happy about that because my brain can handle it. For now.

Childhood Development: Love it! I have my same teacher from general psych, and I love how she uses technology. She shows us cases and videos of what she’s talking about, which is awesome, and has those fancy-schmancy iClickers.

Macroeconomics: If any class is going to kill me this year, this one is going to be the culprit. I’ve never really studied the economy. And this class started by throwing these lovely diagrams on the board.

Well, isn’t that just peachy? This is going to be a toughie. And just think, I get another semester of it with microeconomics in the spring!

Accounting: So far, this doesn’t seem too bad. My professor is a character, and has been a CPA for 21 years. And there’s a tutor just for this class! I will probably take advantage of that as time goes on.

Concert Chorale: We have a new director for this, and he seems pretty knowledgeable. We have 7 rehearsals before our performance of some epic Disney mash-ups.

— 3 —

I like living in a suite. The rooms are bigger, and for the first time I can remember, I’m not sleeping in a bunk bed! We have plenty of shelf space, and it’s really nice to have a separate place for chilling. And look at our comfy new couch!

There are plenty of shelves and closet space. We have tons of kitchen supplies, so that’s awesome for cooking. And we’re on the ground floor. Hallelujah! I hung up this lovely vinyl saying my parents got me (which had to go on a poster board because hello cinder block walls that don’t hold anything).

Do you notice how it’s on my bed, not the wall, though? Yes. That is because it fell the other night and I forgot to pick it up and now it is bent. How nice! Now I gotta figure out how to un-bend it.

— 4 —

Last night was the ministry fair where freshman go to sign their lives away to all the awesome programs on campus. And I did my part by being there for Ravens Respect Life! There was a great response (especially from freshman), and I am super excited to have our first meeting. Us officers are going to have fun putting that together 🙂

— 5 —

It’s really hot here. Well, really it’s just humid. As in…I can’t walk 20 feet without looking like I just ran a marathon. Hmmm, that’s probably not 100% true, though, since I’ve never run one and don’t know what I would look like (dead, perhaps?) but I’m just saying…I live at the top of a hill now, and so hello sweat. Good thing I have a shower right here! I guess California must be super dry.

— 6 —

All that put aside, though, it’s good to be back. I love seeing monks and nuns around campus, and seeing everyone again. College is good, despite the challenges. I haven’t gotten into a routine yet, but should be figuring that out more this next week. I know this year is not going to be easy (ha, it already isn’t), but challenging me with something I could fail at is an invitation for me to prove that wrong. Granted, I’ve never failed a class (or come deathly close to it). And I don’t think I could fail at RRL stuff. I’m so excited about it all, and I’m sure you’ll be hearing all about it as the year progresses!

— 7 —

To end this on a light note, have you heard about Duck Dynasty? I’d heard just a little, then read about them recently when this article came out (awesome, right?!?!). When I got to school, some of my friends wanted to watch it, so why not? (At least it’s not Dr. Who) Dude. It’s hilarious! It’s this “reality” show about this redneck family who invented duck calls (right? like what are those?). They’re just a bunch of hillbillies with a crazy uncle. Nothing about it is isappropriate, and they have respectable christian values. They even end each episode by praying together as a family. So go do yourself a favor and watch an episode (doesn’t matter if they’re in order)!

Have a happy weekend! For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary.