Pictures of the House

As promised, here are the pictures of my new house :)


Welcome sign


View from Sheridan's (one of my housemates) room


Ping pong table in the basement


View from the living room


My room


Kitchen--let's just say that I am very excited to trade Common's food for home-cooked meals

Three Years Down, One to Go!

Hello faithful readers! I apologize for the late update. As y'all can imagine, I have been incredibly busy writing papers and packing to move my stuff both to storage AND home. Because I am living in a house next year, I cannot leave it in the house in order for UP to do summer maintenance. I rented a Zipcar for the past three days to move my stuff to the local storage center, which was not easy, but I got the job done! Luckily, Sheridan and Maya (my housemates-to-be) were angels and helped me bring my stuff to the storage center yesterday. The three of us then made our way over to our new house and talked to the girls who currently live there about stuff that they would sell or give to us, as well as an opportunity for me to see the house, as I had not seen it previously. It's amazing, and I will post pictures once I have time to upload my photos. Despite all the recent busyness, I was able to have fun over Easter weekend with Antonia, one of my best friends. She took the bus from Eugene to Portland, and we spent a lovely weekend having fantastic conversations, making pudding shots with my friend Cat, going to church, and having lunch at a local Thai restaurant with my friend Moon. We have known each other for about four years, but since we have opposite schedules, we unfortunately only see each other a few times a year--but we still talk regularly thanks to Skype, Facebook, texts, and phone. She comes home from U. of Oregon in mid-June, so we will overlap for a month before I head off to Salzburg.

After three papers, a take-home exam, packing/moving, I am sitting at the Portland Airport waiting to board my flight home to Oakland. Going home is exciting, yet surreal. Does this really mean I'll be a SENIOR next year?? Dang, where did time go? My brother decided a few days ago to attend Washington University in St. Louis, and it seems so weird to me that he will be starting college when I'll be finishing up college. Well, I think my flight is about to board in a few minutes so I think I will end here. More soon!

Return from Break and Registration

Hey all! Sorry I have not written for a while. I have been really busy since I got back last week from spring break. Between seeing friends and old teachers, eating home cooked meals and at my favorite restaurants, tutoring at my old high school, and sleeping in my own bed with my kitty, going back to school was not easy. Though the first week back felt like the longest week of my life, I am glad to say that I am now back into school mode. The first week back was stressful, but the stress practically disappeared on Tuesday when I finished my final philosophy test. I won't know how I did until Thursday, and though I doubt I aced it, I think I did much better than I did on the first two. Luckily, philosophy is all smooth sailing here on out with a few small reflection papers and a comprehensive reflection paper due the Tuesday of finals week. I usually do better on papers than tests, so I am not too worried about what lies ahead of me for the rest of the class.

Wednesday night I registered for classes for the fall semester of my senior year. Pretty crazy, huh? It seems like just yesterday my parents and I came to UP a week early so I could go on the Service Plunge a few days before Orientation. Next semester I am taking 12 credits in order to focus on my thesis, tutor at a local high school, and work on applying to teaching credential programs. The classes I am taking are American Lit before 1865, Life Span Development, Foundations of Education, and Dance. My senior thesis is worth one credit hour as well. I am very excited about my schedule because I am taking 100% major/minor/elective classes (my final gen ed class is theology, which I am taking in Salzburg) and I know all of the professors who teach my classes--and I like them all! However, the icing on the cake is that I do not have class Mondays and Fridays.

Tonight Moon and I went to Mio for sushi, and tomorrow Traci and I are going to Saturday Market, as we have finally been experiencing nice weather (not summer-like weather, but a lot warmer compared to typical Portland weather).

Happy April Fools Day!

Two Successes in One Weekend!

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day at NUCL (Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature) and it was a nice break from a stressful week. I presented my paper during the second session (mid-morning), and despite feeling a little nervous beforehand, the presentation went well. About 10 people attended, and we had a lively discussion. One of the three students who was supposed to present was absent, so we had more time to talk. After presenting, we made our way down to the Terrace room (private room below the Commons reserved for events) for a delicious lunch. I sat at a table with the two respondents and the other presenter in my panel, as well as a few students from another panel. We had a very fun discussion about literature, including our guilty pleasures--children's books is my guilty pleasure, in case you are wondering. After lunch, we listened to one of the English professors read a keynote address by the speaker who was supposed to come but had to cancel at the last minute. Then we had another session, which I was a respondent. There are two respondents on each panel, and though my partner and I read through the papers and came up with questions in advance, we did not need to ask ours because everyone asked each other questions. I was tired after a long day, but happy to have presented and responded.

After two months of figuring housing options with various people, I anxiously attended housing selection day. I originally was in a group with two other girls, which would have made separating difficult if we did not get a house or apartment. My two friends wanted to go back to Fields if these options did not work out, but after living in a dorm for three years, I decided that I was ready for a change. However, I found three very nice nursing students who were looking for one more person to join their house. I invited them to join my three friends and I, even though our housing priorities were different. Despite housing day being hell last year, today at least ten times better! We all showed up a half hour before our appointed time (technically, my appointed time, as I had the highest point total of all the girls). By the time my number was called, most of the apartments in Haggerty/Tyson were filled. Luckily, my next plan was to get a UP owned house with the lovely ladies I met recently. Thanks to the housing powers that be, I am living in a house near behind my current dorm with four nursing students (one who is currently studying abroad in Australia). I am beyond thrilled that housing day was not a replay of last year, and that I have more independence than I do in the dorms. All of us have our own rooms, and I am very excited to trade in the Commons cuisine for the ability to cook my own food.

NUCL and housing aside, I am happy that spring break is on the horizon. Five days, I think I can make it!

Grown Up Activities and Exciting News

On Saturday I did the first "grown up activity" I have done for a while. You see, when one is a college student in a dorm, one does not have the same kinds of responsibilities that students off campus or non-college students have. The activity I took part in was looking at open houses. Sure, I went to open houses with my parents as a young one, but Saturday was the first time I took an active role in looking at houses. Two of my friends and I are considering living in Haggerty/Tyson (on campus apartments) or an off campus house owned by UP. Residence Life sponsored an open house event where students can visit available houses for next year and talk with residents who currently live in these houses. A house is a house, but the difference between a UP owned and a non-UP owned house is that one does not have to pay rent. UP house renters still have to pay utilities (except garbage), but renters told me that utilities alone are not that much. On Sunday, my two friends (Talia and Sara) and I will find out where we are living. Sara will not be at housing selection day with us because she is having her own fun in Rome; one of her friends will come with us as her proxy and sign Sara's contract. None of us know what apartments or houses will be available until Sunday, so cross your fingers and hope one of these options will work!

Transitioning from housing to news on the English front, I have some very exciting news to share. I know have mentioned my senior thesis several times throughout my blog, most recently being that I submitted a proposal to the English department in February. Each student has to submit three possible topics, and I just found out this morning that I got my first choice topic! Not only did I get the topic I wanted, but I got the professor I wanted as my thesis advisor. I plan on writing about how both Catcher in the Rye is popular among high school students and how students can (or cannot) relate to Holden Caulfield, the novel's protagonist. The icing on the cake is that I get to write my thesis in the fall, which is perfect for me, as I will be taking my last English class. My thesis is not associated with a particular class, but that's ok since my major writing assignments will be for my final class and my thesis. I have to meet with my thesis advisor before the end of the semester, and I hopefully try to get some research done during the two months I am home this summer. I know writing my thesis will be a challenge, but having written several 10 page papers (my thesis has to be 20-30 pages in length), I am up for the challenge and thrilled to write about a topic about which I am passionate.

Junior Parent's Weekend

Hey all! I am just coming off of a busy but fun weekend with my parents. Every year, UP sponsors a Junior Parents Weekend. The school plans various events, but given that my parents have already been to campus several times (including Orientation two years ago), we did not go to any of the events that the school sponsored. We mostly ate delicious food and explored the Alberta district, a small artsy area about ten minutes away from UP. On Friday night, my friend Moon joined us at Mio Sushi, my favorite sushi restaurant in Portland. Both Moon and my dad had been there with me previously, but Saturday morning the three of us met up with my friend Trever and his dad--both of whom my parents enjoyed meeting. We spent a few hours relaxing in my room yesterday, and my friend Traci stopped by with her family to say hi. Even though we did not explore downtown as much as I had hoped we would, I still enjoyed spending time with my parents and of course, eating delicious meals off campus.

Delicious sushi at Mio

Moon and I

My parents and I at an excellent Vietnamese restaurant

As we know, all good things must come to an end, which means I must get back into academic mode. I have a philosophy test on Thursday and a term paper due on Friday for my film class. However, two pieces of exciting English news are on my horizon. Some of you may know this already, but I will be presenting my Catcher in the Rye paper at NUCL (Northwest Undergraduate Literary Conference) in two weeks! Also, I submitted my thesis proposal for next year earlier this week. I am hoping to expand on the Catcher paper I am presenting, but I had to put down two other choices as well. If I get to expand on that paper, I would write about how the novel influences teenagers and why they like (or don't like) it. I won't know for another few weeks what I'll be writing about, but cross your fingers that I get to write about my favorite book!

My 21st Birthday!

As many of you know, last Saturday was my 21st birthday. During the day I did NOT do any homework. Instead, I simply relaxed and arranged my dresser with all the wonderful flowers and cards I received. I also got lovely presents from friends and family, including gift cards that I want to put to good use on a shopping date with one of my girlfriends here in Portland. Anyways, here are some pictures from dinner Saturday night.


Love my margarita!

Moon and Sonja

Caitlin and I

Megan and Traci

Fun note cards and earrings, courtesy of Kelly

Spring Semester Classes

Hey all! Sorry for the delayed update. I was sick last weekend and have been busy getting back in school mode. I had a relaxing break and was not looking forward to going back to school after a month of no classes or related responsibilities Classes are going well and I like all of them so far. Speaking of classes, here are the highs and lows are my classes

Brit Lit after 1945 (ENG 447): I have a lot of papers and reading, so I think this will be the class in which I have the most to do. We finished reading Graham Greene's The End of the Affair, which I don't hate, but don't love. One of our assignments is to watch a film adaptation of one of the books we read and I watched the movie version of The End of the Affair, which was on par with the book. Now we are reading Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners, which is about several men who immigrate from Trinidad to London and look for work. I like multicultural lit, so it is interesting to learn how they adapt to life in London during the 1950's. We have good discussion in class, and my professor is genuinely interested in what we have to say.

Teachers in Film and Fiction (ENG 491): I love this class, and have a pretty good feeling it will be end up being one of my favorite English classes. All of the books we read and the films we are about different kinds of teachers (hence the subject of the course title). So far we have read Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and are starting John Updike's The Centaur. We watched The Browning Version, which is about a teacher at a prep school that is trying to shift its academic focus from a "classical" to "modern" education. Sadly, I was sick the second day we saw the film in class so I may rent it again to see what I missed. My professor is awesome--he is retiring after this semester so he is really laid back and likes to tell us stories.

Personality (PSY 370): My only complaint about the class is that it is three hours Monday nights from 7-10. Otherwise, I love the subject and professor. Personality was one of my favorite topics in my high school psych class, so I am thrilled to be able to take a class on it in college. On the first day of class, our prof told us that he is not "like our other professors." He did not give us the syllabus on the first day because he thought it would influence our personalities too early in the course. The work load is not bad at all--two tests, a group presentation, a psychobiography, and in class activities, such as coloring and meditation. Now that's my kind of class :)

Self and Identity (PHL 335): S&I is a philosophy class, and is my second to last general ed class. Philosophy is not my choice of subject to study, but as a student in the College of Arts and Sciences at UP, I am required to take an upper division philosophy class to graduate. The title sounded interesting, and I am happy to say that I have not been bored to tears yet. My professor is great because she is really enthusiastic about the subject and knows how to make the material accessible to non-philosophy majors who are taking the class simply to graduate. She told us on the first day that she designs this class assuming no philosophy majors are in it, which I like because I hate when professors who teach core classes expect students to know (and care) about the material as much as they do. I have already turned in two reflection papers (graded "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory") and have an essay exam on Descartes on Thursday.

Jazz Dance (DNC 214): Fun. Easy A. Enough said :)

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday, which deserves its own entry. More soon, and thanks for reading!