Murphy's Law Gone Right

Wake Up

Well, I am home.  Sadly, I'm not done.  After finishing a 12-15 page paper yesterday, I've moved on (just started) this 10-15 page one do.....Monday!  It's been a rough finals period, but I think all of my hard work is paying off.  Even with all work, I've still managed to have some fun.  In fact, last Saturday I went to a holiday sweater party.  My friends and I went to Value Village, a thrift store nearby, in search of the perfect outfit to wear for the party.  In the end, we all ended up with something that matched our personalities.  One got a knitted vest with the words "Joy" and "Peace" sandwiched between christmas trees and candy canes, another ended up with a black tshirt with colored chirstmas tree light bulbs on it.  Two other friends bought blue sweaters (one whcih was completely sparkly) which they were going to decorate and put menoras on with felt.  I ended up with a Christmas blazer, to which I dolled up with a Christmas tree broach.  The blazer was green with red plaid and a black velvet collar.  I wore it with red tights and a silver shoes.  All decked up.  Sadly, you can't see the full effect of my outfit in this picture below.

 

That's all the time I have for now.  One last paper and then I will be done!

In the meantime, here is a playlist I made up of songs to listen to when stressed and writing.  It's a random grouping, somewhat influenced by the fact that my music is in shambles after my computer decided to take a vacation.

Friday I'm In Love--The Cure
1901--Phoenix
Wake Up--Paolo Nutini (cover of The Arcade Fire song...which will also make this list)
There is a Light That Never Goes Out--The Smiths
Wake Up--The Arcade Fire
Empire State of Mind(feat. Alicia Keys)--Jay-Z
Gimme Some Salt--Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Come As You Are--Nirvana
Zero-- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Bad Romance--Lady Gaga
Don't Let Me Down--The Beatles
My Girls--Animal Collective
Barely Legal--The Strokes
Who Do You Love--The Doors
I've Seen All Good People--Yes
Come Sail Away--Styx
Take a Bow--Muse
Go Out and Love Someone--Pogo
After Hours--The Velvet Underground

This in addition, to my Glee Pandora station as saved me.  Well, I need to get back to writing!  Until next time...

Crimson and Clover

Just wanted to write a short and mini-update since I will probably be living in a cave for the next two weeks.  Fall finals are upon us.   Unfortunately, I am typically blessed with the most horrendous final schedule.  I'm not saying that its worse than anyone elses, but just that out of all the possible combinations of schedules I could have with my exams and papers, I usually get the least desirable one.  So faretheewell, for I may be out of commission for a while.

Essentially, I have over 30 pages in papers to write and 3 exams in 2 days.  One paper is on Monday, Tuesday I have a final from 2-5 and then 6-9, and then the next morning (Wednesday) I have a final from 9-12.  Finally,on Thursday I have another paper due.  The key is to be calm, but still assertive.

I always find finals period to be an interesting and strange time.  In fact, I feel like a lot of bonding goes on during this time.  People are stressed and are all going through similar experiences.  There is a lot of group studying and a lot of fun study breaks.  Every year its different, but despite how much I dislike finals, I know that looking back I will laugh at the times I created crazy videos in the library or the times I went out to a bar to meet friends even though I was supposed to be starting a new paper.  I know I sound crazy and nostalgic, but its true.  There's a pervasive energy that cannot be ignored.  Well, now that I've droned on about the beauty of a fleeting moment, watch this video for a light-hearted end to a stressful day! You can observe some of my productivity by watching this jib jab of my friend Allison (left) and fellow SAABer Jess (right).  Until next time...

Click Here! (to watch the entire dance)

Stillness is the Move

Happy Thanksgiving!  It occurred to me that as I contemplated topics for this blog that I did not ever once write about my classes for the semester.  Well, considering that the semester is almost over and I'm on a mini-break for Thanksgiving, I might as well take advantage of my time off and write benevolent comments about each of my classes.  Just kidding, I actually am really enjoying my semester so much so that I'm taking 6 classes.  Count em'! 

The Social Contract and Its Discontents:
Course Description:"This seminar will engage selected articulations and criticisms of social contract theory in Europe from the mid-17th century to the early Th. It will attend in particular to differences between the three classic expressions of consent theory--Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau--as well as to differences between significant challenges to these earlier notions of a social contract. The latter may include writings by Hume, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Marx and Freud, among others. (PT)"

This counts as a philosophy course for me despite the fact that it is technically a class in the political science department  As you can tell by the authors and texts we have read and will be reading for the remainder of the semester, this class is steeped in philosophy.   Yet, because it is a political science class its taught in a slightly different manor from my usual philosophy seminars.  There is much more focus on practicality and relating the lessons to one's life.  Why are we able to trust the other drivers on the road not to drive down the wrong side of the road? The miracles of everyday life that we barely spend a second thinking about are all reflective of the contracts we have between human beings.  We organize and interact with underlying rules that ultimately form social contracts.  This class uses the works of famous philosophers to elucidate these moments and remind us of the progress that we have made in society.

Policy Disaster
Investigates the causes of large-scale policy disasters, examining the role of ideology, psychology, organization design and political incentives. Examples may be drawn from the Iraq War, Bay of Pigs, Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Financial crisis, Shuttle Challenger disaster. economic development policy, privatization, and the Great Society. (CP / AP) 

This class has a ton of reading and is largely depressing, but I still enjoy it.  Each week we read a book on a different policy disaster.  Last week we read Spying Blind about counter intelligence and more, specifically the role of the FBI and CIA leading up to September 11th.  There are some common trends that emerged in the course of the semester, one of which I will share with you.  For the most part, people tend to blame individuals for a failure.  However, blaming individuals is usually not the right answer and typically an easy solution.  WIth this belief, there is no need for reform.  You can simply say that had there been the right people at the right time, this wouldn't have happened.  Well, in the case of September 11th and the Challenger Launch Decision, it was simply a confluence of events that allowed for the failure.  The structures normalized risk and any one person couldn't have changed things so easily.  Most of the time, a large overhaul is needed for reform.  Depressing, but true solutions are not so easy.  

Spinoza and German Idealism:
In this seminar we would like to study the philosophical dialogue between Spinoza and the German Idealists. They have enough in common to invite such a dialogue, and enough in opposition to make it fascinating. We will be particularly interested in their agreements and conflicts about the following issues: How should a philosophical system begin?; Rationalism and the denial of brute facts; Self-Negation; Teleology; The Nature of Intuitive Knowledge; Necessitarianism and Freedom; Self-Consciousness; ‘Acosmism’; Human Dignity.

This is an extremely challenging and interesting class.  It's different than a majority of the classes I have taken in philosophy because it talks about the dialogue between philosophers.  I've learned about lesser-knowns, but nonetheless equally important and influential philosophers.  I wish I could copy and pay some quotes from this lecture because they are simply mind-blowing.  The class i taught by two professors, Melamed and Forester.  They are both great.  Forester is an expert on Kant and Melamed is an expert on Spinoza.  It's nice to have both professors to provide different perspectives and share their views and interpretations on the arguments we read.

Introduction to Psychology
This course surveys all the major areas of scientific psychology, including the physiological bases of behavior; sensation and perception; learning, memory and cognition; developmental, social, and personality psychology; and psychopathology.

It's a basic intro level class, but its a nice change from my typical courses. We learn about neurons firing, developmental learning theories, and personality theories.  I feel like I have a ton of knowledge and can apply so much of it to my everyday life.  Actually, it must get on my friends nerves since I feel like I'm always saying "I learned in psych that..".  Well, I'm very glad I took this.  I feel like its required of every college student to take a huge lecture on psychology.

Business Law II
An examination of the legal environment in which a business operates as well as basic business law concepts involved in real and personal property. Topics include: bankruptcy, entrepreneurship options, and government regulations of business.

I'll be honest, this class isn't entirely what I expected.  I had taken Business Law I which focused on a variety of topics including torts.  I was encouraged to go to criminal court and civil court and write up a legal brief.  I figured this would be a continuation of that previous class. Instead we've focused on bankruptcy, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, and agency.  I was going over my notes on the train ride home and the man next to me tapped on my shoulder and asked if I was in law school.  He said he immediately noticed that agency notes and felt badly for me.  I suppose its a good example, its not the most thrilling type of law and its not focused so much on cases, but at the same time I am learning quite a bit of information that will help me in the future.

Monuments and Memory
Why do some places, whether manmade or natural, capture and hold our imaginations? Why, and how do we commemorate particular sites? This course will explore the construction or discovery, and the enduring significance, of selected monuments in the West beginning with the Great Pyramid and ending with the World Trade Center. Cross-listed with Programs in Museums & Society.

This is by far my favorite class.  Each day we walk into lecture, grab a sheet of notes at the front and sit down to a 50 minute presentation on the various monuments located around the world.  Now I know that the Washington Monument is 555 ft and that the St. Louis Arch is 630 ft.  I could name the architect of Mt. Rushmore and the Brooklyn Bridge.  Overall, I think this has been the most enlightening class and the most relatively helpful for any future dinner party conversations.  Professor Leslie is also wonderful.  He wears the t-shirt of the monument the day we talk about it and also shows five minutes of a movie featuring the monument.  The t-shirts are great. For the liberty bell, his said "I need more liberty bell".  His Stonehenge t-shirt said, "give me some of that old time religion".  The stories and context is great.  I highly recommend this class to anyone no matter what major.

So its kind of a lot of classes, but its manageable. I really do enjoy each one of them.  I'm so sad this is my second to last semester.  Being in class is a wonderful experience.  It will be sad to finish and I'm sure it will spark some desire to go to graduate school and have someone lecture to me once again.  Okay, well all this Thanksgiving Day eating has tired me out.  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!  Until next time...

Fevered

"I cannot go to school today"
said little Peggy Ann Mckay.
"I have the measles and the mumps
a gash, a rash, and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry.
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox.

And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
It might be instimatic flu."

Or...it might be the swine flu.  I must apologize for the delay in posting.  This Shell Silverstein poem I felt like is an appropriate or rather ironic introduction considering that today was the first day I was finally able to go to school in a week.  Since last Monday night, I have been incapable of functioning.  Monday afternoon, I started feeling terribly and was in bed by 7 p.m.  A full week later, I am feeling fine, but still battling tiredness.  I am a victim, like about 300 other students on campus, of the swine flu.  Onset was fast and recovery somewhat slow, requiring lots of catching up in school and other activities, but its much better than being sick.

To be perfectly honest, being sick in college is not fun.  I would put it at the lowest of the low for  enjoyable activities.  Sure you get to miss classes, but you have to fend for yourself combating thirst and boredom during a time when the prospect of standing up seems like too much of an effort. The morning after I determined I was not well, I unwillingly dragged myself to the Health and Wellness Center under the ill conceived notion that if I had the swine flu and it was within 24 hours of the initial symptoms, I could receive tami flu and combat this annoying virus with the help of medication.  Unfortunately, Hopkins is following the CDC's general principles and not giving tami flu to anyone unless he/she has a preexisting condition that makes him/her susceptible.  I was healthy enough that the doctors had faith I could battle this virus on my own.  So, that's just what I did.  Actually, I did it with the help of the best mother in the world!

On Tuesday, when I was diagnosed with the porcine virus I called my mom on the phone and booked her ticket to Baltimore.  I previously had a terrible experience sophomore year when I suffered from pneumonia during finals.  Not having anyone to take care of me and being too weak to even make tea left a distinct impression.  To prevent a repeat of the past, my mom decided to come and save me from what could have easily been a week of misery.  It was the best and the worst time.  I absolutely hate being sick, but having my mom there made it so much better.  It was also quite lovely because I had a week of home cooked meals and when I finally could sit up and didn't seem like I would be the Typhoid Mary of Hopkins, I invited friends over to join me for an hour-or-so for a home cooked meal. 

Being sick really makes you realize, who will help you when you are down.  Seriously, now I know who I can count on.  My friend Allison brought me ginger ale and movies, my roommate made me soup and tea, and others texted and offered to help.  I truly appreciated the effort and I suppose the happy ending of this unfortunate story is that I feel very loved.  So, now I'm focused on making up all of the work I missed in the past week.  Professors have been largely understanding, but its hard because it really was a full week of work.  I have to keep plugging away one assignment at a time and do it on my new schedule that requires me to be in bed by 11:30 (recovering from illness makes you tired).  Well, better move on to my next assignment.  Until next time...

They say it's your birthday

Well, this will be my fourth and final birthday post.  It's really amazing, I started Hopkins when I was only 17.  This minor fact didn't hit me until my recent birthday festivities began with a cupcake celebration at work.  They mentioned how young I was when I first started.  Wow, time really does fly.  This years birthday was a major accomplishment, I am twenty-one and American laws cannot hold me back any longer (well, to a certain extent)!  After being abroad for nine months, you think it would  lessen the excitement of finally being able to walk into a bar.  Honestly, it didn't.  I was still thrilled to finally be legal.  Now I can explore Baltimore on a whole new level.  My friends were super excited as well, since I'm one of the last people to turn 21 I can finally join in on the party and meet up with friends downtown like a normal adult.  So, with such an important year, I wasn't going to sit around and wait for it to happen.  I'd like to think we celebrated in style.  

To begin with, one of my best friends who attends Boston College flew down and visited me for the big day.  Since my birthday was a Wednesday, we decided to stay local for dinner and stick with tradition, hence our lovely dinner at Gertrude's in the Baltimore Museum of Art.  Before dinner, my roommate insisted we get my first legal drink (in America) at Tapas Teatro, a cute tapas place located next to The Charles
 Theater.  Supposedly, they have the best sangria in Baltimore.  Katie, Danielle, and I took a cab over for this quick little endeavor before cabbing it back, straight to the restaurant for dinner.  It was so much fun, many of my friends showed up.  Not only did I have my friend Katie visiting from out of town, but my other friend Kristen came from D.C. and Julie visited from Loyola (a college slightly farther north of Hopkins).  It was a fantastic dinner.  We toasted with champagne and ate great food; 

what more could a girl want?  There is only one correct answer to that question: cake.  Therefore, after dinner, we resigned to my apartment where Danielle had baked me a fabulous looking cake--double chocolate with nutella.  Everyone sang happy birthday and I was entirely happy to celebrate with so many of my close friends. 

On Thursday, I skipped town with Katie to spend the afternoon in D.C.  My time as an expatriate clearly had an effect, it took me a bit to remember which block my favorite restaurant was on and where exactly the Circulator stopped, but after an hour or two I had it down pat.  It's been
about a year since I've been back, but I did once live in the city.  We had such grand plans to visit museums, but with our time we only ended up grabbing lunch with a friend before heading to Georgetown to do some shopping.  A couple of boutiques and a long stay in Urban Outfitters and we were set.  I had promised another friend we would attend her birthday celebration at a club called, Red Maple, so we had to be back in Baltimore somewhat early.  Luck was on our side, we made the right train, connected on the right shuttles, and quickly had time to stop at my apartment to change before once again running out to grab a shuttle downtown.  I was quite pleased we were able to get out on the town and celebrate with Tapas before heading off to the lauded Brewer's Art.  We left just in time to grab the last shuttle back to Hopkins and went to bed after a long and exhaustive day.

The penultimate part of my celebration was Friday.  After my morning classes, I met up with Katie, Josh, and Lauren to go downtown and show her the Inner Harbor.  We walked around, stopped off at Gallery Place to peruse the shops and then walked by the water to take some pictures with the dragon paddle boats in the background, an entirely necessary  activity for any out of town visitor.  Once again, we had other plans later in the night and needed to come back to campus at a reasonable hour.  The very last element to my birthday was the mini-party I hosted in my apartment before departing and heading downtown to a bar in Federal Hill.  Coincidentally, it was Young Alumni Weekend so we thought it would be a good idea to head to this bar that was sure to be filled with Hopkins people.  I truly had a wonderful time and was so happy to spend the day with my friends.  Not bad for my final birthday in college, not bad at all.  I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out whether it be the people gathered in my apartment for cake, the party, or running into old friends at the bar downtown.  It's just once again a reiteration that everything in college is slowly coming full circle.  I honestly believe my favorite memories at Hopkins were my freshman year birthday and now, my senior one.  Sometimes, things work out perfectly.  Okay, that's all for now.  Until next time...

Talk of the Town

After being away for so long, I feel like I've forgotten how to live.  Everyday norms are a stretch for me.  For instance,  it is now October and I should be wearing a jacket.  I'm not biking anywhere...I don't have to anticipate that biking will make me warm.  I should have a jacket.  It's things like this that are slightly frustrating. I was freezing walking home today, but I suppose it is only of my own doing.  Luckily, in spite of my inability to function as a normal adult, I was invited to attend President Daniel's inauguration. So my roommate and I took the trek over to Shriver on a beautiful sunday afternoon to go see his "installation".  Seriously, that's what they call it as if, rather than announcing his presidency they are molding him into a statue that will stand on the lower quad.  Well, I must say the installation was pretty  nice.  The highlights were speeches made by the  President of the University of Pennsylvania, Amy Gutmann as well as a former colleague at the University of Toronto, Michael J. Trebilcock; and Justice Rosalie Abella, a Supreme Court Justice from Canada.  I couldn't contain my laughter.  Every speaker was extremely engaging, and to top it off they were all wearing hilarious robes.  President Daniels had it the best overall.  He was sitting in a throne like chair that was designed specifically for inaugurations.  It was glorious.  Overall, it was quite an event with celebrities like Ben Carson, Senator Ben Cardin, and Mayor Sheila Dixon.  After wards, we proceeded to the tent outside where they had cheese, champagne, and best of all cake!  The cake was really awesome looking with each layer a text book representing one of the many schools that comprise our university.  I'm very happy I decided to attend.

I have taken part in many other festive events since that day and have a few coming up very soon.  Fellow blogger, Lauren C. had a wonderful birthday party with lots of pink, silver,and white balloons, my friend Megan turned 21 and had a great dinner at XS, and finally my friend Michael had a party in honor of his home state Minnesota.  As you can tell, its been a busy time for me, and this coming week I turn 21!  Yet with my social life rapidly expanding, I've been working hard to keep up with my homework.  Most of my midterms are over and I have one this coming week but overall I've survived the worst.   It's a great feeling.  The sad part is that as I've been so terribly busy I have not been able to relax in my apartment nor learn the art of cooking.  I have become a baker.  Jess K.  
and I made a fabulous cake in the shape of Minnesota in honor of the party.  It was kind of amazing with white chocolate chips representing the 10,000 lakes and then letters written out to spell our friend's hometown--Chaska.  It was fun to make, but I need to start cooking main dishes...or dare I say soups?

So lately, the thing that's been consuming my life is my work for JHU Politik.  For those of you who don't know, JHU Politik is the only weekly, nonpartisan, political newspaper on campus. It is really a wonderful publication for both readers and writers.  You can contribute as much as you want or as little as you want, and typically people are able to write about the topics that interest them most.  I am a managing editor, but the boys who started the paper are all abroad this semester so my fellow managing editor, Morgan, and I are essentially the Acting-Editors-in -Chief.  Although, I must say after watching the documentary The September Issue, I think it would be quite fine to be called the Editor-at-Large like Andre Leon Talley of Vogue. The title entails that you not just edit and direct but also contribute stories.  Since I"m trying to keep up with my articles, its only fitting.  But, I'll probably have to work on getting that one approved.  In the meantime, I'm going to shamelessly plug the paper and link you to the latest issue(here) as well as another issue of our third volume(here) in which I write an opinion piece on the liberal leadership in the House and the Senate.  Anyway, I highly recommend you reading the paper and signing up for our email list by going to jhupolitik.com.  Until next time...

The Circle Game

"I'm Jackie, a senior philosophy major from Connecticut."  I can't tell you how many times I've introduced myself in the past couple of weeks and stumbled across that statement in the past two weeks.  But slowly, I've come to accept it...and dare I say, even take pride in it?  I mean, it's not all fun and games.  I freaked out a few times over the summer and in the past couple of weeks about what I'm going to do come June, but for now I take solace in the fact that everything seems to be coming full circle. 

My first night back at Hopkins I met up with my freshman year roommate; we grabbed sandwiches and ate at our favorite, secret spot on campus.  It was the perfect beginning of what I hope will be, a perfect ending year.  We talked about our futures and the fact that while she knows what she will be doing for the next two years, the fact that I don't is perfectly okay.  Furthermore, I'm not alone.  While many of my friends have jobs some with humongous salaries (not that this is important), many are like me slowly wading into the undetected waters of the future.  While these pressures remain nagging in the back of my head, I don't want them to be the focus of the year. 

My goal is to make my senior year better than my freshman.  And why not better than sophomore or junior you might think?  Well, my former-roommate and I decided that freshman year was pretty perfect.  We achieved the level of ridiculousness that some can only dream of and enjoyed life as college students.  It was about exploring new ideas, trying new things, and above all emerging as confidant individuals.  While I will always deny that my personality has changed in college, I will acknowledge that certain qualities have further developed.  For example, I've become more outgoing.  This example is a testament to the fact that the years you have in college, living on your own, really do affect you.  You have room to breathe and best of all dictate your own life.  As my sister and brother went off to college a few weeks ago, I reiterated one of my favorite Emersonian quotes, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you've imagined". Reflecting upon my time at Hopkins and my freshman, sophomore, and junior years individually, I concluded that they all have uniquely contributed to the life I have made for myself as I strive to confidently in the direction of my dreams.  Freshman year--I became more outgoing adjusting to life on my own, Sophomore year--I tried new things and became a bit more daring and careless, and Junior year--I accepted change in all ways while learning more about society around me.  I am eager to see how senior year will fit into this framework and what, when looking back upon the year I will unofficial theme for the year will be.  For now, I just want to appreciate every little moment I have left.  The other day I was walking home from a meeting on campus and had the urge to text my friend and say, "Our campus is so beautiful".  The quiet solitude of the white marble columns on the breezeway contrasting against the orange Baltimore sky couldn't be more pretty. Until next time...

All the Good People

My Grandma recently reminded me of a story that I find to be largely applicable in light of the freshmen moving-in and the start of a new year.  When I was three years old, my mother enrolled me at pre-school.  Dropped off at a school with fifteen other kids who I didn't know, I was indignant by the time my mom picked me up.  "Mom," I exclaimed, "you left me with a bunch of strangers!".  All my life my family had been telling me, don't talk to strangers and here they just decided to drop me off with a whole lot of them.  I think I may have felt that way my freshman year, but recovered quickly.  I came to Hopkins without knowing anyone at all.  The closest person I knew was my roommate, who I had briefly chattted with online.  So when I arrived at Hopkins with my Mom and my Aunt, needless to say I was a little nervous. In the end, it wasn't that bad.  Sure I was dropped off with a bunch of strangers, but practically everyone was a stranger to each other.  Now, many of those strangers are some of my closest friends.  Actually, all my pictures in this post are evidence to this fact.  They are of my semi-recent trip to Switzerland to visit my freshman year roommate and her family.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to write this early enough and compose a recommended packing list, but I am going to include a seven simple recommendations that I think many will find helpful for starting off the year right.  

1) Go to the Student Activities Fair
- write your name down as many email lists as possible.  You can remove them later, but it's  better to know when groups will be meeting then to be left out of the loop!

2) Spend time at the Fresh Food Cafe
- some of my best memories from freshman year are from the 2 hour dinner conversations I had at the FFC

3) Time Management:
- don't let the anticipation of homework stop you from doing something fun
- In the past, I've stayed in to do homework, but in the end I've ended up procrastinating anyway.  Basically learn your limits and maximize your free time so you can enjoy the good weather and good people.

4) Go to Office Hours/Don't Be Afraid of Professors
- It's important to get to know your professors.  This has been something I've struggled with throughout the years. I get nervous and don't like to ask professors additional questions.  So when it comes time to needing recommendations, I'm not used to talking to them and therefore frightened.  Here's your chance to remedy that now.  Start meeting professors, even as freshmen.

5) Meet your Hallmates
- Go to the floor/hall meetings and get to know your hallmates.  Often times I found that the hallmates who were in my classes would be extremely helpful and encouraging the night before the big test.  We would bond and review information together, especially when finals rolledaround and we were the only ones left--with the very last exam.  

6) Develop Ground Rules With Your Roommate/Suitemates
- Make sure you discuss simple things like cleaning, when to turn off the lights, guests etc.  The time it takes to do this could prevent many problems.

7) Don't Be Afraid to Ask For Help
- This recommendation applies in many senses.  Whatever it may be, there are so many support systems it would be a shame not to use them.  It's definitely worth asking for help whether it be your neighbor who happens to know a lot about technology and can fix your printer to your academic advisor, who can help sort out your scheduling problems.  It never hurts to ask and in the end, it's completely worth it.

Good luck with the initial adjustment.  I will have completely sympathy, as I am readjusting to Hopkins as well after my semester abroad.  

Until next time...

Tomorrow Never Knows

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life.  I must say, thinking of "life" as a static one optioned event is a bad idea.  I used to say, "what do I want to do with my life?" in reference to the next couple of hours; now, when I say it, I mean what do I want to be doing up until the bitter end.  Shouldn't there be a happy medium between the two concepts?  With concerns about my future and searching for my preferred area of interest, I am like the USS Minnow, on a 3 hour tour and BAM lost at sea.  It's true.  I am lost.  The good news is I've realized why: I'm searching for a MacGuffin.  

You might wonder what the heck I'm talking about?  A MacGuffin?  It is a long used and always elusive concept most eloquently employed by Alfred Hitchock.  Most simply, a MacGuffin is a plot element that catches the viewers attention and drives the plot.  It is often ambiguous and left open to interpretation.  For example, the suitcase in Pulp Fiction or the Ark in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  You never know quite what it is and you can futiley speculate, but it is the reason you keep watching.  Hitchock once explained the concept in an interview as a name pulled from a story about two men on a train.    One man says "what's the package up there with the baggage wrack?" and the other responds, "Oh that's a MacGuffin".  When asked what it is he responds, "It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish highlands."  The first man repeats, "but there are no lions in the Scottish highlands".  'Well, then that's no MacGuffin!'"So as Hitchock said, "you see, a MacGuffin is nothing at all."  The plot that formulates my life is driven by this mysterious MacGuffin.  I am constantly driven in search of a clear cut answer, but in reality it does not exist at all.  Whenever I try to narrow down my interest into specific areas and close one door, I immediately become claustrophobic.  Weeding out opportunities and options is too much for me.  I do not like the idea of pinning myself down too quickly.  Why? Because I've been under the impression that there is a perfect fitting future simply awaiting my choice.  I should not be searching for something I cannot find.  I should be taking this one step at a time.  When I apply for jobs I shall think of them as internships.  If I don't like it, I shouldn't feel tied down.  I do not have to worry about each job application or acceptance ensuring the rest of my life is devoted to this one niche, or that I've made my bed and now I have to lie in it.  This long and confusing ramble brings me to my main point.  I am excited for the fall because I am free from the bounds of an unnecessary search.  I can relax and enjoy my senior year with the knowledge that not everything I do is permanent.  I can make a choice and change my mind. I can try something different.  It is okay to change.  

Now, when applying this well-oiled concept to those starting their freshman year of college I must tell you the same thing.  If you think your whole life will center around physics and you happen to take a writing seminars class and love it, then take a deep breath and experiment.  Your time in college is wonderfully forgiveable.  You will try new things and learn from them. As a result, you will grow as an individual. Don't stress yourself out by searching for  the MacGuffin, especially during your first few years.  The future is imminent, but you have time.  I on the other hand... Just kidding, we all have time its just important to find the appropriate distrubution and allocation that's important.  Until next time...

Heart of Glass

I am back in my second home, the Netherlands, where I will reside for the rest of the summer. My boss picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at my new home in Wassenaar.  2 days later, I retrieved my bike in Amsterdam, and I am now back in the swing of things.  It's like I never left.  Of course, I went through a few days of Amsterdam withdrawal (I'm so close, yet so far away) but I have now become accustomed to suburban life.  

Besides the wonderful Embassy family I'm living with, food I'm eating, and beautiful golden retriever I get to pet and feed scraps from the dinner table (it's true, I try to buy her love), the best part of my new life in The Hague is my job.  I thought I would never find something to rival the pure joy I feel when discussing domestic politics, but I guess I was wrong.  I love life in the foreign service, or at the very least, being an intern abroad.  Everyone has been so nice to me and I am clearly lucky with my post.  I have been invited to dinner with different families on multiple occasions, attended 

parties, and met with the Charge d'Affairs. He said, "I know we don't pay you, but what we can do is pay you in access."  By this, he means that if we want to go to a meeting, we should speak up.  I don't even need to do that because I've been included in so many meetings my schedule is ridiculous.  It's a good thing I'm using an outlook calender, I would never remember where I was suppose to be at each and every hour.   I attend meetings, take notes, and then write up cables---basically a press release that goes to the department of state.  Every day, I am more convinced that I should try and join the foreign service.  Former blogger, Esther, is so lucky!  The idea of moving every 2 years to various places throughout the world sounds thrilling. Two of my colleagues' last post was in Pakistan and they said that there time working in Islamabad was very rewarding. They explained that you would be working seven days a week but everything you do would be of high priority.  Our work in the Netherlands, of course ,is a bit different.  Rather than try and build and investigate we are maintaining a relationship.  

I have had many great opportunites.  The other day, I traveled to the island of Texel for a ceremony. We were there to help the wife of a former Veteran present a painting to a museum.   I think the whole event went splendidly and at the end of the day, we were treated to a lovely five-course meal.  Today, at our Embassy's 4th of July reception, I gave everyone flag pins including Prime Minister Balkenende, who by the way looks a lot like Harry Potter.  The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister Verhagen, were the coolest ppl there, in my opinion.  It was a great event to be at and I approved of the menu of mini hotdogs, hamburgers, and even rootbeer floats, so American!  Oh, another great part is that I have my own office.  I love it--with a big desk and extra chairs.  It's great!  My only regret so far is that I have not gotten out and experienced The Hague quite yet.  Hopefully, that time will come, but for now, I am plenty busy waking up early at 7:00 am to get to work around 8 and then returning home at 6 or 6:30.  If I didn't have a 30 minute cycle back from work, I would easily stay later.  I'm quickly becoming a workaholic.  Very ,very strange.  Okay, well I have to wake up for another day of work, so I must get to sleep.  Sorry this is such a brief update, but civic duty calls and I can't afford to fall asleep on the job.  Until next time...Tot ziens!