Relay for Life and Antonia's visit

Today and yesterday I have been busy! Last night I participated in Relay for Life, a walk that raises cancer awareness. I have been interested in cancer awareness since my aunt was diagnosed with colon cancer three years ago. Last fall (Sept 2008), my mom lost one of her best friends from high school to breast cancer. In January, I emailed my friends and family asking them for donations. Some of my friends and I were on a team together, and had a goal of raising $1000. Although we did not raise this exact amount, we reached about 75% of our goal. I raised a total of $645, thanks to generous donations of family members and friends. I was especially touched on Friday that my favorite English professor made a donation to the cause.

The event itself lasted from 6PM yesterday to noon today. The ceremonies included prayers, introductions and guest speakers (a professor who is a cancer survivor and a parent of a UP alum who lost her youngest daughter to leukima) We also walked around the track, and teams had different booths with food and goodies to help raise money. Since my friend Antonia is going to Univeristy of Oregon (in Eugene), she and her mom drove there from Berkeley to attend a prospective student day. I invited her to spend the night with me, and we had a fabulous time together. We walked 11 laps, met my friends, ate a pint of Haagen-Daaz chocolate peanut butter ice cream, wrote a letter to our friend Megan (who is an au pair in the Netherlands), and explored campus. As luck would have it, we were walking from my dorm to the Cove (cafe in the student center), when we saw my English professor driving in his convertible. I introduced Antonia to him, and she was excited to finally meet him. I've told her so much about him, the first thing she said was "I've heard a lot about you."

My aunt Wendy (dad's sis) was diagnosed with colon cancer (fall 2005), so I took the picture on the right for her


Darling Daisies plus Antonia (L-R): Antonia,
Me, Dana (team captian), Traci, Kaelyn,
MacKenzie, and Ruth (team captian)


Antonia and I relaxing


We shared a pint of Haagen-Daaz chocolate
peanut butter ice cream. Delicious!


Roomies for life!

On an academic note, I'm getting to the home strech. Tomorrow night officially begins Dead Week, which means longer quiet hours in the dorms and intense studying. I have four more days left of classes. Since my psych prof is going to a conference Thursday, we don't have class. I'm ditching bio that day because we'll be reviewing for the test and I'm writing a paper instead. Plus it would be pointless for me to get up early when I don't have to go to class the next day. I'm coming home May 1st, so I will be in Portland for 12 more days. I'm really sad to leave my friends, but will be happy to have a break from school for four months.

A Fabulous Trip to my 19th State

I have officially been to 19 states. As some of you may know, my goal is to go to all 50 states before I turn 50. Thursday afternoon I flew from Portland to Arizona to spend time with Arielle and her family. I had a fabulous time and I wish was still there. Arielle has the week off for Easter, so she's staying until Saturday.

We got to her grandma's Thursday night, and stayed there every night except Friday. On Friday we stayed with Jordan, one of Ari's camp friends. She and her parents are super nice, and they have a cute Yorkshire terrier named Chester (who cuddled with me when I woke up Saturday morning). Jordan drove us around, and we made a pit stop at Dairy Queen. We don't have Dairy Queen in the Bay, so it's a treat for me when I'm on vacation. We rented Repo, a musical that despite being bloody, was lightened by the catchy songs. Jordan works at a cafe at a fancy health club, so we went with her and swam, worked out, and read. Luckily, Jordan got off work an a hour and a half early, so we went to Applebee's and met up with some of her friends.

After Jordan's parents dropped us of at Ari's grandma's place, we went to lunch at the Nieman Marcus cafe where that had delicious popovers. Popovers are these huge, light and airy rolls that come with delicious strawberry butter (I don't like butter, but this was yummy). Afterwards, we went shopping at Macy's and Nordstroms. At Macy's, Ari bought two prom/graduation dresses, while I bought a few tops for summer. I got a Nordstrom's gift card for graduation in June that I put to good use on two dresses and earrings. That night, Ari's cousin Maddy came over for dinner and hung out with us for a few hours.

Yesterday was Easter, so we spent the day with Ari's aunt and family. In the morning, we woke up to Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies, Peeps, chocolate eggs, and jelly beans.We had an Easter egg hunt, and I found eleven eggs with yummy chocolate. For lunch, Ari, Maddy, Mila (personal assistant), and I went to the Phoenician (fancy hotel) where we ate lunch outside. After an hour of swimming, we went back to her aunt's house where she made a delicious dinner, including a lemon cake with lemon curd for dessert.

On our way to the airport, we stopped at a pet store where we held the cutest puppies. Pet Landing is Ari's favorite pet store, and since you have to be 18 to hold the puppies, she got the pleasure of holding them for the first time. They were so cute, and I fell in love with the cutest golden retriever that I wanted to take home.

Anyways, I've been here for about two hours. Amy and I arrived at the same time, so we rode the Pilot Express (school shuttle) together, and got dinner. I had a fabulous time hanging out with Ari, Jordan, and her family that I wish I could still be there (not to mention the sun). However, I have two weeks of classes and one week of finals, so I'm confident that these last few weeks will go by quickly.

Good News, Registration, and Pre Frosh

I got my stats and bio tests back at the beginning of the week as well as good news: I got a C on my stats test and a C plus on my bio tests. My grades for both classes are C minuses, which means I am a few points shy of being able to pass the class (you have to get at least a C to pass). Both my math and bio professors are pleased with my improvement, and encouraged me to finish out the semester. I did not have to drop either class! Another bonus: My bio professor is letting me write a final paper instead of taking a test, so now I only have four finals instead of five.

This week, Catherine and I have also had the pleasure of hosting two prospective students. On Monday, we hosted Kristina, a senior from Fresno. She is interested in majoring in psych, and so I met her at the admissions office so I could take her to meet with one of the psych professors (who just happened to be my advisor). She came to choir, and enjoyed listening to us rehearse. Today is Weekend on the Bluff, so there were tons of prospective freshman and their parents walking around this afternoon. We volunteered to host a prospective student, and she is here right now. Her name is Lauren, and she's from Chico. Some of our friends also have prospective students staying with them, so we all walked around campus and took them to Pilotpalooza. Pilotpalooza is a big carnival with lots of free food, music, and activities such as fun houses and henna tattoo stations. Student groups, like Relay for Life and Campus Program Board (CPB, which plans campus activities), had posterboards and free goodies. Today was sunny, so Amy and I walked around and played catch outside. Quite rare for Portland weather. (:

On Wendnsday, I took MacKenzie to English with me. Her Bib Trad class is at the same time as my English class, but it got canceled that day. She was excited to go because I've told her so much about how I love that class and my professor. I introduced her to my professor, and she had the pleasure of seeing him act out scenes from Othello, engage my class in interesting discussions, tell stories about himself, and throw in a few swear words every now and then. She thought my professor was awesome, and the class was fun.

Another significant event in the week of most UP students was registration. For those of you not familiar with this process, let me tell you. You register based on your class year (number of credits you have earned) and the first letter of your last name. I'm a freshman and my last name starts with "E", so my group was able to register Wednesday morning. Since I registered on the second to last day of registration, you might be thinking that I was not able to get all of the classes I wanted. However, I was lucky and was able to get the classes, times, and professors I wanted. I'm really excited about my schedule, as I won't have any 8:10's (I've had two-both fall and spring semesters this year). Also, I won't have class until 12:55 Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will be getting three core classes out of the way, in addition to one class each for my major and minor. Next fall I'm taking Ethics, American Nonfiction Lit, Biblical Traditions and Culture (more commonly known as Bib Trad among UP students), Research Methods, and Powerful Ideas in Physical Science (my last science class!).

Despite having to write several papers, I am done with all major tests until finals. On the plus side, I only have 26 more days left of school. I'm sad that I won't be able to see my friends every day, but I'll be happy for a four month break from schoolwork. Next week I only have three days of classes, thanks to Founder's Day and Easter break. I'm excited to go to Arizona with Ari, and it will be nice to have break. Let's see if I can make it through these last 3 weeks of school!

Follow Up to My Crazy Week

Well, as of Friday, I am now an official survivor of test madness week. I had tests in English, stats, and human bio. I studied my butt off for the latter two with my friend Amy. Since Amy understands math more than I do, she did the problems on the board step-by-step. Her roommate and our friend Christina joined us Wed. and Thurs. since she had a test Friday (Amy and I are in the same class, but Christina isn't. All the stats classes use the same text). Surprisingly, when I took these tests, I felt like I really knew the material and am hoping I did better on these tests than I did on the previous ones. I don't want to drop the classes if I don't have to because we only have four more weeks left of classes.

Sadly, my bio professor is still frustrating. As ususal, I went to his office twice this week for help, but he was not very helpful. My friend Mallory who is a senior bio major was helping me study for this test. I showed her the power points, and she recognized many of the diagrams from her anatomy class (a 300-level course) two years ago. She thought it was outrageous that my professor was expecting a 100-level class to know as much as a 300-level class. She suggested I talk to the department chair, which I did on Thursday. Unfortunately, the department chair told me there was not anything she could do. Although she was nice and wasn't trying to be full of herself, I left feeling frustrated because I was not 100% convinced that she couldn't do anything.

Now that I'm done, I can take it easy and have fun. This week, we had three visitors. On Tuesday night, Cady's sister and a friend of hers spent the night and had lunch with us the next day. On Friday night, Cady's best friend spent the night. In honor of Africa Week, my friends and I went to see the documentary Invisible Children Friday night. Invisible Children is about the children in Uganda who are forced to be soldiers. :( Afterwards, we wrote letters to our senators asking them to increase foregin aid. Last night, some of my choir friends and I watched Jesus Christ Superstar, which essentially told the story of Jesus with music.

Remember how I told you last week about my English professor telling me he was pleased with my work in his class and admiring me for working so hard? On Monday, I wrote him an email telling him that what he said made my week. I also told him that as someone struggling in two classes, it meant a lot to me to hear that, and that he gives me hope that I can survive these last few weeks just by my knowing that I have a professor who genuinely cares about me as a student and person and sees what I can do. He wrote me back telling me that I don't have to be angry with myself for not being perfect or reaching every single goal, and that regardless of how I do in these classes, I have what it takes to reach my goals. He also gave me a quote that I have on post-its in my room and in purse: "everyone gets muddy from falling down and the thing to do is just get up, brush off the dirt, and keep at it." Whenever I feel stressed, anxious, or sad, I'd just look at the quote and think "I can do this, and I will get through it."

I will be getting both tests back next week, so let's hope that I did well enough so I don't have to drop the class. Think positive thoughts for me! :D

Tough Week

Unfortunately, I do not have much in the way of interesting blogging material. Classes started Monday, and I have been insanely busy. I have three tests next week, plus a paper due on Monday. I've been extremely stressed that I've been staying up later and waking up early to get work done. I caught up on sleep today, sleeping for 9.5 hours and waking up at 10:20.

Currently, I'm struggling with my stats and bio classes, so I'm studying for those like no other. I now have D+ in stats, thanks to getting an F on my second test. However, I'm hoping, more homework, my project, and recent quiz will pull my grade back up to the C that I maintained for eight weeks. Plus, my math professor is super nice and helpful during office hours.

Human bio has been a struggle, not only because the material is difficult, but that my professor is not very helpful. I've been going to my professor's office hours at least twice a week, but I cannot seem to bring my grade up. Luckily, I did some extra credit which I hope will raise my grade. I've told my professor that science does not come easily to me, and that I need him to explain the material. He's a smart guy and knows that I'm struggling; however, I'm frustrated that he cannot find a way to explain the material clearly and could not recommend a textbook, tutor, or another bio professor who could help. I really don't want to drop the class, but I may have to depending on how I do on my next test. There's only so much I can do, especially when my professor is not meeting me halfway. I don't expect him to be my best friend or even my favorite professor. All I want from him is to be able to explain the material clearly so I can understand it and get a C in the class.

Even though I've been feeling down and stressed out a lot, I had a wonderful experience with my English professor on Wednesday. I had a ton of questions for him about my draft of my poetry paper. Since this week is advising week, he only had five minutes when I came. After we talked about my questions, I said, "I'm sorry I had a lot of questions in such a short amount of time. I didn't think that we would be able to discuss my questions in a short amount of time. I wanted to make sure I got them answered so I can write a good paper." He said, "Don't worry about it. I'm really pleased at how well you're doing in class and how much effort you put into your writing. I admire you for that." I was almost in tears, and just wanted to say, "Do you know how much what you just said made my day? You have no idea how much I needed to hear this." It really meant a lot to me to hear from my professor that he sees how well I do and appreciates my hard work. Just having someone recognize my strengths keeps me going and gives me hope that I will be able to make it through this difficult time.

As my wonderful friend Antonia said, this experience will make me stronger. This is so true, and luckily, I have awesome friends here at UP who I can count on to help me get through this. I believe that I can do anything. I will do anything I can to reach my goal, and am not afraid to get help if I need it. Over these next few weeks, I will try to do as many say: think positive! (:

Back from Break: Can't it be longer?

I am back in Portland after a fabulous but short spring break. My spring break began last Friday afternoon when I spent the night at my friend MacKenzie's place. We ate pizza, watched House, and stayed up late talking. Her family took me to the airport the next day where I flew back to Oakland and spent a few days at home.

Since many schools did not have vacation during the same time I did, I did not get to see all of my friends. However, I did get to see two of my girlfriends over the weekend. Saturday evening Antonia and I got our nails done and had dinner at her house. Sunday evening Arielle and I had a yummy sushi dinner at Sushiya, and walked around Piedmont Ave. I also enjoyed lunches/dinners with family friends (Karen-the lovely mom of my favorite kids, Lynnie-dear family friend/pretend aunty). One of the highlights of my break was on Wednesday afternoon, when I had coffee with Dana Barnett, my awesome high school English teacher. She was one of my favorite teachers, so it was a real treat for me to catch up with her.

After spending a few days in the Bay Area, my mom and I went to Palm Springs to see my grandparents (dad's parents) who live there six months during the year. We hopped on a plane Thursday evening, and were supposed to see a show by Joel Grey that night, but it got canceled due to a "medical emergency." Once we found out that the show was canceled, we were figuring out what to do. Every time we go to Palm Springs, we always have a special tradition: a trip to Dairy Queen. There isn't a Dairy Queen in the Bay Area, and we always stop at one when we go on vacation. Thursday night we did just that, and I enjoyed a yummy vanilla soft serve cone dipped in chocolate. Friday and Saturday we ate at yummy restaurants, went shopping, and swam in the pool. My mom left Saturday evening, so my great aunt and I took her to the airport. My grandparents had a party they had to go to last night, so my great aunt and I went out to dinner and walked around the shopping center. I left Palm Springs early afternoon to return here, and I must say that since I've enjoyed the sun so much, it will take me some time to get used to the rain again!

Classes start tomorrow, which I must say I'm not looking forward to after being on break for a week. However, I think I'll get back into the swing of things. Luckily, I only have seven more weeks left until summer vacation. I'm amazed at how quickly time flies.

Visit with my parents

The highlight of this weekend was my belated birthday celebration and visit with my parents. They came here yesterday afternoon and we went downtown where I got a new purse and phone. I now have a Guess bag from Macy's that's big enough to carry my books yet stylish. My new cell is an LG3 Chocolate in blue. I also got a stylish Dooney and Bourke case (not real, of course).

Last night my parents took me and six of my girlfriends out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. We went to Lucca's, a delicious Italian restaurant about 15 minutes away from school. My parents and I went there with Cady and her parents during orientation weekend. We got some yummy pizzas and appetizers to share. Dessert was the best! I, along with some of my friends got profiteroles with caramel ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauces. There was also chocolate and toffee bark, which was also yummy. The waitress put a candle on my dessert and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me.

This morning my parents and I went to breakfast at Helser's, a restaurant about 15-20 mins away from campus in a little developing artsy district (on NE Alberta). I had a black bean chili scramble which was very filling but delicious. My parents dropped me off on their way to the airport. Even though our visit was short, it was nice to see them. They really enjoyed getting to know my friends and I know my friends enjoyed meeting them. Luckily, I get to see them in a week when I come home for spring break
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All of us at Lucca's: Megan, Kaelyn, MacKenzie, Dana, Cady, Traci, and me









Now that my parents are gone I've catching up on email and uploading pictures. I'm going to try to do catch up on homework. Cady has a concert tonight with her choir which I'm going to go to at 6. Should be fun. (: