Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ice Cream Changes

I sat in my little cubicle and giggled my way through this video. I'm liking Hank a little more now. Not that I didn't like him before...


Also, I finally saw The Fighter and was seriously happy that this is the role for which Christian Bale got his Oscar. Very well deserved. What a sad story! Although it does end on a happy note, it's such a hard thing to watch. All of the actors did an amazing job. The cinematography was equally amazing. Just a really well-made film.

Another also, I caved in a read The Hunger Games series last week. Just as everyone has said, the first book was the best one of the bunch. However, unlike what everyone said, I really enjoyed the whole series. I like how it ended, though it was pretty rushed (I always wonder if authors just get tired of writing, so they put on a band aid kind of ending and leave it at that). Though the series was depressing and the situation was just awful, the story was great and enthralling. I couldn't put it down, though I was glad to get to the end.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Not Too Bad

We've been in Spring Training for work this week. All full-time and regular part-time staff meet in a conference room where we receive training on some old stuff that we've been neglecting and new stuff that we'll have to implement. It's not as boring as it sounds, and it's exactly as boring as it sounds. I haven't been hating it, actually, which surprises me. Some of the information is too familiar to be interesting, whereas the new stuff gets all of our attention and we're all asking questions and getting involved. And, of course, it's all helpful information to give us the tools we need in order to assist our students and help them be successful.

There are some new things we're gonna be putting into practice that will totally help students (though some of these things are not very fair and will make our jobs a little more... interesting--thank you, Congress). And a few things that will make our jobs easier (yay for automated systems). But there was one thing in particular we learned about and will be implementing coming this Summer semester that will not make our students happy. To be honest, I think it's an extremely fair way of doing the Pell Grants for the Summer, but I know there will be students who will think it's extremely unfair and we'll hear about it, I'm sure. Thank you, Congress, for making our jobs enjoyable.

One plus of Spring Training: a break from the everyday, answering the same questions all day long. Another plus: lunch is provided. Big plus: earning prizes, such as "1/2 Hour Off" coupons, candy, and Food Service Meal Vouchers. Biggest plus: we've been finishing our sessions about an hour and a half early, and so we've been allowed to leave an hour and a half early. (Today, we were off by 11:45!!) Best news from Spring Training: we're gonna try out 10-4's in June and July. Woo Hoo! An extra day a week off. Of course that means working from 7 to 6 four days a week, and coordinating with the other counselors, so possibly not being able to pick which day I get, but I'm OK with that if it means I get an entire day off. Hallelujah.

So, I know this post is boring and I'm sure no one will read it, but now it's done, so deal with it.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

90's Music is Cool

Jana made a new CD mix called "Belt it Out" or something along those lines... Basically it's a mix of songs you can't help but sing along to at the top of your lungs. It was fun to listen (and sing) to this mix on our grocery shopping trip/car cleaning outing today.

It inspired me to make a mix of the songs I loved in high school. Yeah. The rough part was picking just one song by the artists/bands I loved in the days of my youth. Here's a taste:

  • "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
  • "The New Pollution" by Beck
  • "Brick" by Ben Folds Five
  • "All The Small Things" by Blink 182
  • "Oops! I Did It Again" by Britney Spears
  • "Lovefool" by The Cardigans
  • "Tub Thumping" by Chumbawamba
  • "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child
  • "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry
  • "Inside Out" by Eve 6
  • "The Way" by Fastball
  • "The Rockafeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim
  • "Killing Me Softly" by The Fugees
  • "Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls
  • "If Only" by Hanson
  • "Pardon Me" by Incubus
  • "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai
  • "You Were Meant For Me" by Jewel
  • "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit
  • "Ray Of Light" by Madonna
  • "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia
  • "Sunday Morning" by No Doubt
  • "Hypnotize" by Notorious BIG
  • "Pretty Fly" by Offspring
  • "Blurry" by Puddle of Mudd
  • "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin
  • "I Want You" by Savage Garden
  • "Walking on the Sun" by Smash Mouth
  • "Say You'll Be There" by Spice Girls
  • "Fly " by Sugar Ray
  • "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind
  • "No Scrubs" by TLC
  • "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers
  • "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith
  • "All Mixed Up" by 311
I limited myself to picking songs that were released during the years I was in high school (1996-2000). Believe it or not, this really is just a taste. My list is almost 8 hours long. I'm pretty excited about this. Some of these songs I haven't listened to in years, some of them are still favorites I listen to over and over again. Music makes me happy.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

QPR

Life is strangely coincidental at times, is it not?

I just finished reading a book by John Green called Looking For Alaska.

Yesterday, I had a one-on-one session on the Keys to Happiness.

Today, I attended a presentation on suicide prevention.

Hmm... Maybe the universe is telling me something?