How To Spot a College Student

Photo by Robert S. Donovan

You’re sitting in a hospital emergency room, waiting to see a doctor about that furry lump growing on your foot. You’ve already read all the magazines (twice) and there’s no TV. You look around at the other patients around you. Your first thought, besides “Is the ’sleeping’ man beside me actually dead?”, is obviously “I wonder if there are any college students here.” Here are some tips for picking a college student out of a crowd.

1. The college hoodie. Look around for a college emblem. That’s usually the first give-away. This hoodie will also likely be stained because most college students own no clothing besides their college hoodie. They sleep in it. They go to class in it. They drink in it. They puke in (on) it.
2. Sweatpants. If there are no college hoodies in sight, look for a college-age person in sweat pants. They would probably be wearing jeans but the food at the cafeteria is so good and “I’m paying a lot of money for it anyway so I might as well eat all I want!” and now their jeans have all shrunk. (Stupid magical shrinking jeans!)
3. Catching some Z’s. If the clothes aren’t a dead giveaway, the droopy eyelids should be. This is sometimes accompanied by earphones on the head of the aforementioned snoozer.
4. Socks. Of course they’re wearing sneakers. This is an obvious one. Mismatched socks give you five points. Ten points if the kid isn’t wearing any socks. (Doing laundry is uber-lame.)
5. Did you say “free”?! Nobody loves free food more than a starving, broke student. I once saw a freshman wrestling with a homeless guy for a package of Mr. Noodles. (***) Go to the nearest vending machine, purchase a chocolate bar and then ask if anybody wants it. Before the words are even out of your mouth, that person you thought might be a college student will be shoving that Snickers down their gullet.

And there you have it. Tips for spotting a college student. Have fun! Feel free to comment and add your own tips for this ever-amusing game!

(*** OK. Didn’t actually see a freshman wrestling with a homeless guy. But I think it would have been a little funny to see a homeless guy giving a freshman an unexpected elbow-drop to the face. Yes, no?)

Internship Diary: Prologue

Photo by moriza.

Well, all my stuff is unpacked, finally. I feel like the last two days have been nothing but packing my life into boxes and then unpacking those boxes and putting my life into other, slightly smaller boxes.

I just want to take a nap. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, really.

But if I take a nap now (now being 7:30 pm), I’ll never get to sleep. I’m setting my alarm for 6:30 am and putting the alarm on my desk so I’ll actually have to get out of bed to turn the thing off (rather than hitting the snooze button in my sleep). I’ll start setting it to 7 am or even 7:30 am starting Tuesday- depends on the new schedule and routine.

The bed & breakfast I’m staying at offers a breakfast dealio, too, so I’m doing that around 8 am. I don’t usually eat breakfast but I’m paying for it so I might as well take advantage of it. I don’t think I could handle a big ol’ pile o’ flapjacks (Five points to anyone who knows what I just referenced there!) first thing in the morning without vomiting all over the breakfast table. And I’m eating with the couple who owns this place. And their 5-year-old. And their dog. So yeah. Awkward.

Photo by moriza.

(Stupid WordPress. Added the header photo to my gallery. Woops. Just ignore that last one, k?)

But the bed & breakfast is gorgeous. (Above are some photos from my private area of the B&B. I also have my own bathroom) And it’s only about half a block from the newsroom. I have a dozen (or so) friends who still live here in Town X so I’m pretty stoked about seeing them all and catching up on all the news. Feels weird to be back here though.

So, yeah. Tomorrow is The Big Day. Wish me luck! (DO IT.)

What does your desk say about you?

In my dorm room, my desk is a mess. Like, it’s bad. It’s got a pencil jar, a Wizard of Oz music box, an assortment of CDs and blank DVDs, some cash, a photo of Claire and I, random receipts and my Dwight Scrute bobble head. And, of course, Cherry Bomb (my red laptop).

At school, my desk is a little more neat. Well. Kinda. Just don’t look in either of the drawers.

My school desk top.

I believe that a person’s desk says a lot about them. I took this photo this morning and it’s a pretty good example of what I’m talking about.

1. My screen is showing my Facebook profile page, which I think shows a lot for my work ethic and ability for concentration in class.
2. Beside my monitor is my pink mp3 player. (I desperately need a new mp3 player. I’ve had that one for ages. Plus, y’know… it’s pink.) I like my music close at hand at all times. (Wanna hear some new music? Check out the new feature, Music = Life.)
3. Stuck to my monitor is a Post It that says “Right” which is from an inside joke from someone in my class.
4. The pink-haired droll is named Edward the Cross-Dressing Troll. Jaclyn came into class one day with a bag of trolls and gave each of her pals one. Why? Well… you’d just have to know her.
5. I also have several toys from Wizard of Oz that McDonald’s was offering with Kid’s Meals for a while. I also got these from Jaclyn. I guess they were just hiding in the back of her closet for a long time and she knew I was an Oz fan so she gave them to me. And now they keep me company as I’m procrastinating working in class. I think this shows that I’m not a particularly serious person… but Jaclyn found the figures super creepy and passed them off to me. So, I’m not sure what that says about me but whatever…

So, readers. What does your desk (home/school/office/other) say about you?

You know you had a good evening when you wake up with “Paid” on your wrist.

My new baby!

No, kids. Don’t worry. I don’t have a kid, nor do I plan to have any until I adopt at the age of 35+. I’m talking about my new tattoo. But like a new mom, I plan to show off my new baby. The following photos were taken by my friend Jenn- bow down before her and her beautiful camera.

Maybe when the new addition to my collection is good and healed, I’ll get Jenn to take a few more and I’ll post them on here.

Speaking of Jenn, I have a wonderful announcement to make: I’m going to New York City! We’re heading down by bus on December 28th, spending a couple days in the city, going to Times Square for New Year’s Eve and heading back to City X on January 2nd. I’m so excited!! I’ve never been to NYC, nor did I ever think I would ever get to go there. Come to think of it, I’ve gotten the opportunity to see some amazing places in my life- but NYC was missing from that list, so it’s only right that I get to go there too.

Feel free to post messages of your jealousy.

College Photos: Dorm kitchen & sneaky sign

I guess my roommate had some friends over while I was seeing a band play at a bar. I couldn’t fit the huge-ass pizza box into the photo, but this is what my kitchen counter looked like this morning.

Oh my.

This photo isn’t really related to the above one, but I found it amusing. I took this one the other day while getting photos for Journalism class. I love that the church is “Anglican”- like it’s not really Anglican but they’re pretending it is. I dunno, I found it funny.

Sneaky, sneaky.

Motivational speakers are stupid.

♪ Jakalope – Pretty Life ♪

Or, at least some are. I even wonder if they believe half of the crap they spew.

The only motivational speaker I’ve ever been a fan of was Joy Nash. And that’s because she’s both inspirational and realistic. And not cheesy like the douche bag we College X students were just forced to listen to.

I went to class for about 20 minutes before being herded down a long hall like cattle. Then, we were handed a t-shirt with the College X logo on the back. My t-shirt is a bright (i.e. ugly) neon orange color. Truly heinous. Than this motivational speaker has us do jumping jacks to get ourselves “feeling good”.

Motivational Speaker: “So, how is everyone feeling now??”
Me (quietly and to the side so only my friend could hear): “Stupid.”

This is a very, very ugly t-shirt.

They discussed sports and student government and stuff like that. They mentioned needing editors and photographers for the college yearbook. I’m definitely getting involved in that. Sports aren’t really my thing but I do want to get involved in something. This school also gives the students a chance to start a club on their own. Ellen and I briefly talked about starting a Drama Club but she said that this Journalism program keeps you pretty busy. So, maybe I’ll think about it for next year.

There’s a BBQ this afternoon for students but I’m not going. And then there’s a scavenger hunt throughout this city but I don’t know anybody who is going to that. I’m probably going to Movie Night tonight and then maybe the dodgeball tournament tomorrow. There is a student social tomorrow night and I think I’ll go to that. Amanda and Gen are meeting some other Paramedicine students at a pub and they want me to go with them… but I really have to meet some more friends. Seriously. I can’t always be depending on them. Besides, they’ve got all these friends from their class that I don’t know and… gah.

Why must I always be so anti-social?

As for the people in my Journalism class… there’s a couple cool people. The only person I’ve spent any time talking to is Jenn. She’s the only other first year Journalism student in Residence X so we walk to class together, walk back at lunch together, sit together, etc. We don’t really hang out together in the res though. Maybe we will more when it comes to do assignments and studying and whatnot.

Other than that, I’ve talked to a couple other classmates but nothing in-depth. There are a couple potentially cool people… but the guy-girl ratio is a little alarming. (In a class of 16, there are maybe 5 guys; one of which is an exchange student and will be leaving around Christmas.) As for the girls, there seems to be quite a few skinny prep types in my class. I was expecting maybe a few more artsy-fartsy types…

All and all, my college experience is feeling a little bit too high school for my taste. I’m too old for that crap. I just want to start my program, do some writing, learn some stuff and make myself look like the most impressive person in my class. (High school is for “looking cool”. College is for preparing for your future, making connections in the business and being professional. And that’s what I plan to do.)

Live From Jill’s Dorm Room

♪ The Smiths – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out ♪

Well, I’m here. I have yet to meet my roomie- her stuff is here but she isn’t.

So far, I’ve done the pulling-things-out-of-boxes-and-then-piling-it-on-my-bed thing and then the started-crying-when-I-saw-my-mom-crying thing. We’re really close. Anyway, I needed something to make me less sad so I took some photos of my dorm and am posting them now. (I’ll post more photos when I get things cleaned up. But this is what I’ve got so far.)

This is my closet.

This is my desk and laptop.

This is my TV, dresser and DVDs.

And, worst of all, my bed.

College Photos: Summer Memories

I took these two photos at an end-of-summer party last night. (Want to submit a college photo? See the guidelines for submitting photos.)

Photos from College!

College Countdown: 21 days

I love photography. Like, I love it. I like taking photos and I like looking at photos that other people have taken. Since college is starting soon, I thought it would be neat to start showing off some photos. If you have any photos you’ve taken at college, you can send me a link or the actual photo by email or you can leave me the link in a comment. No big deal. And I never direct-link, so don’t you worry about me stealing your bandwidth or anything.

Photo by meteparozzi.

Below are the categories of photo that I’m looking for.

• Dorm rooms. I hope this will really catch on because I love looking at dorm rooms that have been transformed from “blah” to “BLAMO!”
• Your campus. If you want to protect your identity, I would avoid this category- or at least photos of a building with a name on it. (You can choose to remain anonymous, if you wish.)
• Fun times. This means pranks (the legal, harmless kind, of course) and laughing with friends on the campus green, not puking (or peeing) into a sink. (Party photos are permitted- but keep it classy, people.)
• Anything else, really. Just ask and I’ll likely approve it.

Below are the categories of photos not to send in.

• Nudity of any kind- obviously.
• Photos of you and your friends drinking.
• Photos that are in no way related to college (“This is me at Disneyland when I was 9!!!!!!!!!”)

With any photos you send me, I will:

• Give you credit, link back to your site/blog, Flickr account, whatever you want or keep it anonymous- whatever you prefer.
• Upload the image to my blog. I do not direct link.
• Watermark the photo or pixelate faces, if you request it.

Before submitting your photo, please read these basic guidelines:

1. Please include your name, email, site/blog address and the URL of the image you want posted if you are commenting.
2. If you are emailing me the photo, please do not send me more than 3 images in one email. Also, images should be in .JPG format.
3. No matter which way you are send me photos/photo links, please make sure to tell me if you want me to keep your name, website, etc. private.
4. Feel free to add a caption or explanation to your photo submission(s).

I am accepting submissions now. I know it’s early still, but how about a “packing up” shot?