In my last post I mentioned I went to an interview for a position at Cummins and since then I have decided it wasn't for me and so I turned it down.  I just started a temporary position at Smurfit Stone Container in the accounting department.  This is really strange for me since I just graduated as a marketing major.  But the things they're having me do are pretty easy and just deal with mostly invoices, payroll, and journal entries.  I took this job with the understanding the position would last "two weeks or until further notice."  Until further notice?! Who KNOWS when that could be until!  However, that is okay with me because Columbus really doesn't have much to offer in the way of marketing jobs.  And by taking this temporary position, it allows me to be flexible in leaving when I'm ready to do my internship in Florida for my events management certificate. 

But...how did i get here?! Smurfit Stone is a factory that makes cardboard boxes.  Everyday when I walk in to work, I just think, "man...how did i get here?!"  It's definitely not where I pictured myself right out of college.  But I understand that it is temporary and that soon enough I will be doing what I truly want to do-- which is manage and market big time events at resorts, cruises, or sports events like the Superbowl.  

Lately I have been craving pizza a lot and I think I know why. .  .when I smell the cardboard at Smurfit-Stone, it reminds me of delivery pizza (strange...I know!!!)  So, in addition to working in the accounting department, I am helping do things called "waste management reports" while the person who normally does them is away on sick leave.  The reports aren't hard to do but the thing I like the least is that I have to walk into the factory area to get these report sheets.  I always feel like all the guys in the factory are staring at me while I grab the waste reports as fast as I can.  Oh, wait, no... the thing I hate the MOST about my job is that sometimes I have to page some of the factory managers.  You may not think this is a big deal but I honestly am HORRIBLE at paging people over the loud speakers.  I somehow always manage to really mess up what I say.  I'll give out the wrong extension for them to call me back on (it's the same extension...137...but I always mess it up).  Or I'll end up paging someone who isn't even scheduled to work until another shift.  I know I'm new and I'll catch on soon.  They really need to hire a receptionist to cover the phone lines.  I'll be in the middle of crunching a bunch of numbers on an invoice and I'll get interrupted by the phone ringing or someone at the front desk ringing the bell.  It's really annoying.  I actually don't mind the job that much but I really am glad it's "temporary" (however I'm not sure just how temporary it is).

Wow. I'm an alumni now?! It really just doesn't seem right yet.  I mean, I just graduated in December and it just doesn't feel like I should be done.  I was on the 5.5 year plan and now that it's over--it honestly feels so weird.  I guess it will feel more official when I go to Commencement in May and get my diploma in March.

I'm not what you would call your typical alumni, or at least I don't think I am all that typical.  When most students get out of college, they start applying for jobs and most of them get one within six months of graduating.  Well, I didn't start applying for a "real" job right out of college because I'm also getting a certificate in events management.  I am currently taking two classes online right now--which just so happens to be the last two classes I have to take.  BUT I also have to do an internship in the hospitality industry in order to receive my certificate.  Most people hear the word certificate and don't think it's much work.  Well, it's actually more credit hours than most minors.  I need to do 150 volunteer or 300 paid hours working in some field related to my certificate.  

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to live in Florida.  I have gone there every year since I was a little kid.  We would go to the Sanibel Island/ Ft. Myers area and I LOVED it.  So, I have been looking for internships in that area.  I found one that I think is just right for me.  Some things that I am looking for in an internship are: housing, payment, experience, duration of the program, and what other students and schools say about the program.  Some people have suggested I work for Disney or work on a cruise.  I have looked into both and although they both sound like fun, I just think that working at a resort is for me.  I want to be able to plan corporate events or sell meeting space to corporate customers.  Marketing is closely related to the Events Management field and it actually goes hand-in-hand with  a lot of jobs in the hospitality and event planning industry.

I feel a little overwhelmed right now because I feel like I don't have a tight grip on what I really want to be doing, but I know that I have a lot of options and I need to just go with the one that I feel most led to doing.  Since I am wanting to do an internship soon, I knew that I didn't want to apply for a "real" job just yet.  So, I went through a temp to hire agency and that has been quite an experience.  I just went to an interview with Cummins for a position as an executive administrative assistant to a Vice President.  I know I am quite capable of doing the work that needs to be done, but I just have this feeling that it isn't for me.  It is a LOT of work and responsibility and I just don't feel like I can give that much of myself to a job right now.  It would require me to basically be "on call" when I'm off work because if he needs anything done-- it just HAS to get done!  The thing about it is that I've never worked for Cummins at all so I am a newbie and they need to put someone in that position that knows the ins and outs of that company.  It is just frustrating to go to interviews and come out of it knowing that you don't want the job.  On the other hand, it is a relief that I got all the information about the job before I committed to it.  That is why it is SOOOO important to ask all the right questions during the interview.

Oh my word... i am sooooooo excited! Only 5 more weeks until I'm done with classes... for good! Yeah, that's right... I'll be getting my Bachelor's degree... FINALLY. Yeah, I was on the 5 1/2 year plan.  I changed my major a few times, kinda kept it on the slow path until just recently when I started bookin' it into high gear and took summer classes just to get done.

BUT... do you realize how much I need to get done within the next 5 weeks? Oh... only about 4 group projects, 3 presentations, 2 more tests, and 1 HUGE FINAL.  Seniors are required to take J411 their senior year which is basically an online simulation of how a real business works.  And each week you submit different business decisions and get your results (profits, margins, market share, etc.)   And then at the end of the semester you take two 4 hour long finals online.  Agggh!!!  Anyway, so, you're put into teams (usually 4 to 5 people to a group).  Well, our class was somewhat small to begin with so we were to find a group of 3 people and then one of the groups actually got to have 4 people in their group.  Well, it just so happened that AFTER we picked groups, one of the students decided to drop the class.  Guess whose group he was in? Yeah, that's right... MINE!  So, not only did we have to have small groups to begin with, I wasn't the lucky group that got to have four people to begin with.  So, now... it's just down to two people in my group-- that usually consists of 5 people in a normal class.  YIPES!  Well, really, it hasn't been that bad. My partner is completely awesome and we work as a pretty good team.

Oh both of us are in another class together and we also got stuck not being in a group and are in a group now with just the two of us when the other groups consist of 5 to 6 people.  And to make matters worse, our project  is due on the first day of presentations (Nov. 20)-- so that only gives us like 15 more days to get this done.  Grrrrrrrreat.  This semester turned out to be a strange one as far as group projects go.  I just simply cannot wait until these 5 weeks are over! Yayyyyyy!

 

                 

For some of you this might be your first semester at IUPUI and you may have felt a little out of place and clueless.. which is sometimes a recipe for embarrassing moments to arise. Well, this is my senior year (last semester! Woo!) and I STILL have embarrassing moments believe it or not.

Okay, so it was my first day in my Marketing and Promotions and we were to get into groups. Our assignment was to make some sort of advertising for our class, M415. We were given poster board, markers, things of that nature. And I thought for a brief moment I had been taken back in time to elementary school. When do college kids ever get to play with markers? Never. . . it was just a weird concept to me- that’s all. Okay, so we are given an hour to come up with some sort of slogan, catchy phrase, etc. in order to entice students to take M415. We drew our catchy little phrase on our poster board and our group was done within 20 minutes. We were wondering why it was taking everyone else so long to get it done. So, we get back into class and the first group gets up and does this amazing skit. I mean amazing! My group looked at each other, and then at our dinky little sign, and then right back at each other. We were wondering what on earth we could throw together as we’re sitting there watching everyone else’s skit—knowing we hadn’t prepared a skit at all!

The second, third, and fourth groups had all prepared these amazing skits, too. So, now it was my group’s turn to get up and present our awesome slogan. We got up there and I thought I’d start out and everyone else would follow. Wrong. I said the whole slogan by myself… “We’re causing a commotion in advertising and promotion in M415.” And since no one had said it along with me I added, “And thank you group for saying it with me.” Crickets. Nothing but crickets. No one understood what we were doing. They didn’t quite understand that we were done giving our ‘non skit.’ So, the professor chimes in and said “Oh… so you’d put these signs up all over campus to promote students to take the class?” Exactly. But the worst part was afterwards when the professor tried to relate each group’s skit to what she was going over in the lecture notes. She successfully recalled what each group had done but when it got to the section over what my group had covered she drew a complete blank. She asked what our group had done and so I spoke up and said “we did the slogan.” She didn’t hear me so I said again, “we did the *awesome* slogan.” And then she heard me. It wasn’t awesome… just embarrassing.

So, if you think you had a pretty junky first week of classes… fear not.. someone had a much worse time. This was just ONE of my embarrassing moments. I've had more than my fair share.

Lately I've been having this reoccuring dream.  I'm sure a lot of you have had one like it before.  The one where it's the first day of school and you show up and you've forgotten something--whether it's your books, folders, pencils, or even pants.  (Yeah- I've heard of people having the dream and they've shown up to school without clothes--- kinda hard to forget but whatever).  I believe dreams have hidden meanings and this dream obviously means that I'm truly not ready for school to start up again.  If I had taken the summer off I don't think I'd be ready for school to start up again but at least I would have felt that I had somewhat of a break.  Oh well, I'll survive (as always)... right? 

I tried getting my books at the bookstore but I didn't have very much time and a few of the books hadn't even come in yet so I just ended up leaving without buying any of them!  And it's too late for me to buy them on Amazon like I usually try to.  I've printed out my syllabi so far and glanced through them a little already.  I've printed out everything my professors have posted on Oncourse so far... like the powerpoint slides.  I haven't put everything in binders yet but I'll do that tonight-- woo big plans on a rainy Monday night!

I've grown so used to the calm summer campus atmosphere that I'm not so sure I'm ready for the hectically busy first few days of the fall semester.  Parking is usually nuts-- so I'm going to have to take make sure my defensive driving skills are up to par before Wednesday.  Also, I will have to remember to wear comfortable shoes since I won't be able to have my usual "rockstar parking" (right up front near the Business building).  I'll have to revert back to my usual "get my work out on" parking.  Just joking! It's really not that bad.

See ya around campus!

I'm thinking of making a t-shirt that says "I survived Summer 2007."  My earlier posts mentioned the disastrous events of the summer (taking 12 hours of summer classes and moving twice in one weekend).  Well, as if that wasn't enough--two more dreadful events have happened since those posts.  I broke up with my boyfriend and then my grandpa passed away, which both happened last week.  But, not to dwell on the negative, I successfully finished both summer semesters AND managed to get all A's and B's. 

Summer one was definitely easier than Summer two-- partly because of the classes I took and partly because of the events that happened during summer two.  It was 100 percent completely worth it, though!  I am so glad that I will be able to be finished in December.  I've been taking undergrad classes since 2002 and if I had to go one more semester I think I would go insane.  However, even when I'm done with my undergrad classes in December, I will still be taking some online tourism classes in the spring while I do my event planning internship in sunny Florida! Yay!  I cannot wait to do that internship-- it's the only thing that is keeping me somewhat sane. 

The most important thing that I learned throughout summer school wasn't anything that I learned from a lecture, text book, or any powerpoint slide... it was all about time management.  I learned that you simply cannot "put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today."  There was absolutely no putting off anything in summer school.  As soon as I got an assignment I HAD to do it-- there was no pushing it off to the side for later-- otherwise it would never have gotten done.  I was probably one of the worst procrastinators up until this summer term.  (I still struggle a little bit with time management-- I'm not perfect-- but I have improved.)  I keep saying that I wish I had taken summer courses earlier in my college career but I can't dwell on the past.  Looking to the future, I know that I am better of by my experiences this summer and I will take what I've learned and apply it to daily situations in my life.

Oh my goodness.  If my summer wasn't hectic enough I decided to move while I was taking a full load of summer classes.  Okay so the first time I walked into my new apartment it kind of smelled of cigarette smoke.  I thought it was just from the previous tenant or something.  But the smell started to get stronger and I realized the smell was coming from the downstairs unit.  Also, when I was moving my things in, the next door neighbor's dog was barking ridiculously loud.  It wasn't like a yippy little dog it was a HUGE dog-- I can only imagine the immensely large beast that must have been on the other side of my neighbor's door. 

    Okay so then my parents came up to help me move some more stuff but they said they really couldn't smell the smoke (I think they were just trying to be positive and not get me all worked up).  Well, THEN as I went to wash my hands the water was NOT getting hot.  I asked my dad to look at it and he discovered the breaker switch to the water heater was switched off.  Then my parents decided to tell me that my couch would never fit up the stairs because it was too narrow of a path.  That was the last straw.  I completely broke down at that moment.  "What do you mean my couch won't fit?? Ahhhh!!! I'm gonna be stuck in this stinky, smelly, noisy, and UNFURNISHED apartment for 6 months???"  Now...each of these problems by themselves were not that big of a deal but with the addition of a full load of classes and the fact that i'm EXHAUSTED all four problems turned into a huge fiasco for me. 

   So, my parents tried to reassure me that it didn't smell and that the dog wasn't that loud-- although as they were saying this I had to say "what???" like 3 times just to hear them over the stupid dog. (not really but it would've been a good effect, right?)  Anyway, so they took me out for ice cream and then they went on home an hour away.  I went back to my stinky, lonely, and unorganized apartment only to find the smoke was even worse.  I just sat in the middle of my living room where my beautiful couch was supposed to be... and cried.  I felt like such a baby-- like how I felt on my first day of Kindergarten when my mom said I would have to stay at school ALL DAY without her! I called my sister, who right away put me in my place, and pretty much told me that I was being stupid and that I should go to the leasing office and get it fixed.  She was right. 

    So the next day I got everything resolved.  They let me switch apartments but that meant I had to move AGAIN!!!  So, the only time I had available was after work that day, which meant I had to skip class *HUGE GASP*.  But I got everything moved but to this day things are still in bags and boxes all over my entire apartment.  Maybe I'll just keep it like that since I'm moving again in 6 months.  It'll be easier this way-- less packing! Somehow I am managing to keep my grades up and get my homework turned in on time.  Yay for time management skills!  Oh and I had a really good birthday.  I went out on the lake and got some sun!!! It was so nice to get away from stinky smells and barking dogs!

     In an earlier blog I said that I LOVED summer sessions and that I would update you on my feelings about summer 2.  Well... this session is not so good.   I hate to say it but... i am really regretting this session. Going into it, I knew that I had a lot more going on in the second session than in the first.  Despite my gut feelings-- I went ahead and signed up for summer 2 classes just so that I could still graduate in December.  I have this habit of piling too much on myself and then adding more and more to it.  For example, I work three part-time jobs which equals out to about one full-time job (40 hours).  And then I'm in the middle of moving-- I sign my lease tomorrow (Friday the 13th-- oh no!!).  And then next Tuesday is my birthday.  I really haven't even had time to realize that my birthday is coming up.  I haven't made plans with anyone because I'm too busy writing a paper, studying for a quiz, or submitting weblogs and online quizzes!!! Who has time for a birthday with all of this going on???

     Is anyone else's life as crazy as I make mine out to be?? I'm serious-- I'd really like to know what other people are doing and how they spend their time.  For example, I know some of my classmates have children and I just could NOT imagine taking care of a child with everything that I have going on these days.  (Knowing me I'd most likely lose him and then 3 hours later wonder where he was.  Just kidding-- I'd take good care of him!!)

     I have a motto for my life, "If I'm not busy I'm not happy."  My months feel like weeks, my weeks feel like days, and my days feel like just a few hours!  After I graduate I'm not sure what I'll do with myself when I don't have all this homework to do.  Although, I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time.  I always do.

It seems like just yesterday summer 1 classes started... and starting tomorrow-- it will be my first day of summer 2 classes.  I don't know if I'm ready!!!! Is 4 days of a break really considered a break...? I don't think so.  I need like 2 weeks off to recoop and get ready for summer 2...BUT that's so not gonna happen.  So, I better buckle up 'cuz this might be a bumpy ride. Okay, that was lame but... you know what I mean!!!

I'm sure that there are other people out there that think things are never easy for them.  But, honestly, it seems like I have my share of run-ins with problems... ESPECIALLY when it comes to school.  Okay, so somehow I accidently signed up for J411 before I took the prerequisite, J401. (They don't call me Spacey Casey for nothin'!) And I didn't notice it at all-- or I think somehow I got the impression that because I was able to register for the class-- it didn't matter in what sequence I took them.  Well, anyhow, I get this email that said basically I needed to drop J411 and sign up for J401.  Well, I logged onto Onestart right away because I plan to graduate in December and so I need to take J401during Summer 2 and J411 in the Fall.  You think that'd be easy, right? Well, no-- I was the 8th person on the waitlist. Aaghhh. I almost had a melt down.  I was like, "oh no... I HAVE to get in this class otherwise I won't graduate in time!!!"  But, I was reassured that Kelley was doing everything they could to get me in. 

Long story short-- I got in at the VERY last minute because they increased the class size.  Thank goodness.  I was really freaking out there for a minute.But I was informed that there would be a table in the back of the lecture room since there wouldn't be enough seats for everyone and that the students who were "bumped in" were to sit in those seats unless at the start of class there were other seats available. So, if you are taking J401 during Summer 2--- you may see me.  Yeah, I'll be the one sitting in the VERY back of the room.  Woo hoo!  But, hey, really-- I AM thankful they let me in the class.  REALLY thankful.

Facebook-- ever heard of it? It's this online site where people can join a "network" in order to keep in touch with others within and outside of that network.  I belong to the IUPUI network which is just for students and facutly.  (Although-- I don't think I've EVER seen a faculty member on Facebook.)  It started a few years ago-- it was exclusively for college students--but they recently changed it to allow anyone to join.  In the past, all you could do was write on people's walls-- which is like a message board that everyone can see and there are also fun groups you can join.  A couple groups that I belong to are  "I'm going to be at IUPUI forever because I can't decide what to do with my life" and "I belong on a boat or a beach somewhere."  Basically you can join whatever group that interests you and you can network with people within those groups.

Just recently facebook had a major face lift.  No pun intended.  Actually, yes... pun intended.  Anyway, It's almost way too much.  For a long time facebook was behind the times and you couldn't do the fun things you could do on sites like MySpace.  For example, on MySpace you could add music, videos, fun pictures, and interactive applications.  Facebook was boring. But, honestly, there's all these new "applications" now that you can add to your facebook page.  It's totally on overload.  These applications allow you to add fun things onto your page like your horoscope, favorite music, and fun photo scrapbooks.

But, there's other really weird things to do like... the food fight... you can actually throw food items at people online.  Some of my friends have interactive pets or even little music players that play their favorite songs.  There's a fortune cookie application that shows a different fortune each day.   But I think my all time favorite application is the grafitti option.  You can paint pictures for your friends and leave them on their walls-- it is seriously the coolest!!!

Some people say that Facebook has gone too far and it's just on overload right now.  What do you think-- is it fun or just too much to handle all at once?  What is your favorite part of the new facebook?  Or your least favorite part??? Have you run across problems with some of the new applications???? I sure have!!! My interactive pet was worthless-- he didn't do anything!!!! So I deleted him.  Do you even have a Facebook? If not-- you should totally get one-- it's a lot of fun--but definitely cuts down on my productivitiy with other things. *oops*  Oh well.  If you have one (or plan to get one) you should add me!!!!

This year my fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi-- the Business Fraternity here at IUPUI-- got the chance to do a fundraiser at the Indy 500.  They allow organizations to come in and staff different booths or shops--selling their merchandise.  The organizations get a certain percentage of the profits.  It sounded like a really awesome way to earn a lot of money for our fraternity. 

Ok, so here's the thing. We met up on campus at 4 am... which meant we had to wake up at 3 am... but here's the OTHER thing.. I had a girls sleepover the night before and we didn't get to bed until 2 am... NOT GOOD! Ok, so anyway, we get to the racetrack at 5am... go to our shop-- which is one of the biggest ones they have-- it's air conditioned and has its own bathroom (such a plus for girly girls like myself). I think we had 25 members there to help staff the shop.  We were there for 16 hours!!!!! From 5am until 9pm. I was actually in the group of people that they let leave at 730 but the rest of my brothers were there all 16 hours.  But at the end of the day we sold something like $25,000 worth of merchandise.  So, our fraternity made $1,500.  I did the math and it was the equivalent to paying each person there $4 an hour... I'm so not complaining... I was just curious... and that's okay because it went to our fraternity... so that's good!!

I really felt as though I was a big jerk the entire time. I was so tired.. I mean... I only got an hour of sleep the night before and the night before that I only slept a few hours, too. So not smart on my part. Oh well.  The girls sleepover was so much fun and we made these pretty awesome tie dye shirts. My hands are still red, blue, and pink from the dye.  All in all it was a pretty fun event and we have the chance to come back for the Brickyard.. I can't wait!!! I want to do it again but... I'll definitely get enough sleep this next time around.  I mean, I was pretty much yelling at customers at the end of it... especially the drunk dudes that were wanting the girls' phone numbers. What idiots!!!! Anyway, I took a lot from this event and one thing I have realized is that I really need to watch how I come across to people.  I mean, I really need to think before I say things.  I was tired.. but that is NO excuse... and it should never be excusable to be a jerk or say mean things to people.  I know that my brothers understand who I am and what I'm really all about and hopefully they won't hold my bad-ittude against me.

Oh and we got to watch some of the race, too.  It was my first time at the racetrack with cars actually there driving around the track.  It was sooooo loud...I was within like 10 feet of the cars that were going over 200 mph. It was rainy and cold and the race kept getting delayed in order for them to dry off the track.  Did you know that the way they dry off the track is by attaching a jet engine to the trailer behind a truck and blowing it to the side?? It was so loud... but so neat.  I think that was more exciting than watching the cars drive around the track.  Just kidding... the cars were more exciting!

Classes til 9:15 at night??? That has to be illegal !!!!  That is totally what I said when I was signing up for my summer classes. I think I might be crazy.  I mean, taking 12 credit hours??? What is wrong with me?!  It's like I can finally see the finish line and now I'm totally sprinting for it.  And I'm kind of sad that I haven't been taking summer classes all along. 

This is my first experience with summer classes and I really like it so far.  The class sizes are smaller and the professors are more laid back. I mean, they still make you do all the work, but at least they act a little bit cooler with the classes and everything.  For example, in my class last night, our professor had us put our chairs in a cirlce and go around the room and play a name game.  At first, I was like, "what the heck is this professor doing?!" but at the end of it, I could tell you all of my classmate's names.  I wish that more of my professors did fun things like that because we all got to know each other in a pretty short amount of time.  Oh and another awesome thing about summer classes has definitely got to be the parking situation!!!!  It's a lot better than when I take classes in the fall or spring.

Who knows.  My outlook on summer classes may be completely different by the end of summer sessions 1 and 2 but I'll definitely keep you posted on how they're going.  And if you want to pick up an extra class-- you should definitely consider the class where the professor plays name games.  Get at me and I'll definitely get you the hook up on which class that is.  But after looking at the syllabus, I'm not so sure you'll want to do that since we have 4 projects due in a 6 week class.  This could be a very interesting (and exhausting) summer.  Oh boy!!!!

But...oh my word!!! I'm so excited!!! Only 7 more months of school left. All this talk about commencement has me jealous.  But I'm okay with it becuase I JUST scheduled my Fall classes .. my very last semester of school... ever! Actually, I still have to take some online classes for a Certificate in Event Planning next Spring but at least I'll be done with my undergraduate classes! Woo hoo! Plus, I'll most likely start on my Master's pretty soon!! But I think I deserve a break before all of that.  Maybe I'll temporarily become a beach bum before I start on my Master's....

It all started when I was helping my grandma get rid of some unnecessary items around her house.  We came across a huge wine goblet or brandy sniffer. (Why my grandma had this item is beyond me).  But she asked me if I would like to have it.  I was like--sure!! And took it home with me.  I decided I had two options on what to do with this rather large goblet.  I could a) use it for its actual purpose and put some sort of beverage in it or b) I could put fish in it.  I chose option B.

So, I'm all excited-- and I decide that I just want two goldfish.  I went to the pet store.  Picked the two I wanted and made sure I got everything I needed.  Rocks, scooper upper thing, food, and something the pet store lady suggested-- aquarium salt.  Okay, so I get them home--all safe and sound-- and I get the bowl ready.  I wash it out with hot water and then put the rocks, new water, and aquarium salt in it.  Then I let the water sit for almost 4 hours to get to room temperature.  Then I let the bag sit on top of the water for 15 minutes so they could get used to the temperature.  Then, it was time to set Harry and Lloyd free. (Yes, I named them Harry and Lloyd-- from Dumb and Dumber).

They seemed to be doing fine as soon as I put them in the bowl.  I sprinkled some food on the top of the water but they never tried to even eat it.  So, I left for work and when I came back home... I saw only Lloyd.  He wasn't moving.  Harry was no where to be found.  I thought, "OH MY WORD-- LLOYD ATE HARRY!!!" But then I noticed that Lloyd wasn't moving and at a closer look I then saw that Harry was floating at the top.  THEY WERE DEAD!!! I hadn't even had them for ONE day and they were dead!

After a brief moment of sadness-- I then went to the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet. What else was I to do with them?! How sad.  But, I think there was something to learn here.  The moral of the story is...something can always go wrong even if you think you're completely prepared.  Life is unpredictable--but that's what keeps it interesting!!!

It's that time of year again. Spring, you might think? No-- I'm talking about it being time to register for classes again! AGH! Oh the stress. I don't know what it is but each time I get that dreaded e-mail that says when my appointment is to sign up for classes-- I just get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Here we go again. Wait, didn't I JUST sign up for classes? Man-- I guess time flies when you're having fun.

I'm thinking the reason I have such issues with registering for classes is because I can't just register for classes without going through this whole long process of analyzing my future plans and then obsessing over it for the next 3 weeks. (Wow--that was a really long sentence). But, seriously, I dread the word "registration" for that reason. I don't want to have to think of my future AGAIN... and so soon, too!

The whole process just opens up a bunch of questions... Should I try to graduate earlier and take classes this summer,or try to do an internship, or maybe take a semester off, should I change my major, should I double major or maybe minor in something??? So many questions!

And then there's the whole mess with picking times. Okay--seriously-- I am a freak when it comes to scheduling things. I like for every minute (almost) to be accounted for. So that takes a lot of planning, as well. I think I probably have a much more difficult time with registering for classes than the average student. Oh well--only a few more semesters left... I think???

First off, I just wanted to say that the only reason I got the opportunity to blog was because I was one of the co-winners for the "Name the Blog" contest.  I entered the name, "The Kelley BizBlog" ...and won!!! I won an iPod and got my picture taken with Dean Schmenner.  But then I asked if I could blog and they said yes! This may sound dorky--but I would've been happy with just winning the chance to blog. Anyway--- so I was all anxious about what to write for my first blog... I mean, how stressful. hehe.
    Okay, so I guess what I want to talk about is getting involved on campus.  I've been going here for 4 semesters now and this is the first semester that I've actually gotten involved with anything.  I used to just drive to school. walk to class--not really making eye contact w/ anyone... get to class, right on the dot--not the 15 min. of just waiting in class--but yeah, right at the start of class...not talk to anyone during class-- and then walk to my car (again-- not really talking to anyone) and then drive home.  I don't know-- I think I just figured--what's the point of talking to anyone since most likely they don't live anywhere near me and it's not like we're on a "real" campus and we'll actually get some time to hang out--cuz we all know.. i work. they work. there's really just no time for friends.
    But now-- I'm in my last year of classes--so basically everyone in my classes I see over and over again throughout the week since we're all in the same classes.  And so it's easier to talk to people since I know that I will at least see them again through the week--but it's still the same--we don't really hang out outside of class.
    BUT--- this semester I decided to pledge Delta Sigma Pi.  This is the best thing that has happened to me since I've been here.  I've been pledging since February and I've already made so many good friends.  We are always hanging out throughout the week and on the weekends.  I know that I can call any of these new friends and they would be there for me no matter what.  It's a complete change to be able to walk down the hallways and actually be able to hold a conversation with someone...instead of the just awkward "hey" or "how are you"... it's more of a "hey--how did your interview go this week?" Or... "hey--what do you guys want to do this weekend?"
     Also, I work in the office of the new Executive Vice Chancellor and I know that he has some really awesome plans for the campus too.  He realizes that the students are unhappy with the food, housing, and parking options. So, really-- I'm excited to see what good things are in IUPUI's future!! And I'm excited to see how the new student center turns out, too! I can actually say that I'm proud to go to school and work on the IUPUI campus.
    So, I would encourage anyone who is now in the shoes that I used to be in, where it's a lonely and boring campus, to get involved!!!  It so does NOT have to be lonely.  Just get involved with some sort of group--anything at all-- make a few friends and see how fun going to IUPUI can really be! I know that it really has made a difference in my attitude of school.  I used to go to class or walk down the halls and think, "wow, i only recognize like 3 or 4 people" but now... I can honestly say that I can't walk down the halls or go to a class anymore without knowing someone! It's a great feeling. :)