MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hey there readers!

I guess you're all wondering what I got for Christmas and what I'm experimenting with, right?
Well, keep reading to find out ;)

Wii Fit Plus, Sweaters/Shirt on the left are from Mom/Dad, socks in the middle from Mom/Dad, Sweaters/Shirt on the right from Grandma/Grandpa, Kindle, Tin of Popcorn with an amazing Disney Fairies Tin

Belle (Beauty and the Beast) Snow Globe

Cinderella (Cinderella) Snow Globe

Ariel (The Little Mermaid) Snow Globe

All of the DVDs/Games I got ----- BOOHYAHHH!!! <3

Back to the Future Trilogy Pack, Twilight Saga: Eclipse/Destination Forks Combo Pack, Duck Tales Season 2, Boy Meets World Season 1, Magikano Complete Series, Shrek Forever After/Donkey's Christmas Special Combo Pack, Going the Distance, Rambling Hearts Season 1, Despicable Me/Minion Madness Combo Pack, The Count of Monte Christo Anime Complete Series

Air Complete Series, Kannon Season 1, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit/Chicken Run Combo Pack, Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave, Donkey Kong Country Returns Wii Game, New Super Mario Bros.Wii Wii Game (PINK YOSHIIIII!!!! <3), Sasami Volume 1, Sasami Volume 2

What alcohol I haven't tried yet ;)

Hennessy Cognac, Disaronno, Seagram's Seven Crown American Whiskey, Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Vodka, Hiram Walker Peppermint Schnapps, Bacardi Gold Puerto Rican Rum

Chambord Liqueur Royale, Stolichnaya Stoli White Pomegranik (White Pomegranate flavored Russian Vodka), Baileys Irish Cream, Irish Mist

Woodbridge Pinot Grigio, Canei Mellow White Wine, Dekuyper Peachtree Peach Schnapps, Vincent Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka, Bonny Shot Glass

I tried two of the drinks that were in the experimental gift package, but I hated them XD;
They're shown below ;)

Stolichnaya Vodka (Russian Vodka), Gallo Family Vineyards Merlot

NOTE:: The bottles are empty and washed because I plan on keeping them :) <3

When I tried the Russian Vodka it just tasted bitter and like rubbing alcohol. When I made a Screwdriver out of it, it just made the orange juice taste bitter. It honestly did nothing for me and I don't see what the big deal about Vodka is LOL

The Merlot? Well. That was just the nastiest shit I've ever tasted IN MY LIFE! SO disgusting. Never will I drink Merlot again in my life~ Doesn't mean I won't try other wines, but Merlot is DEFINITELY not my cup of tea LOL

And here's my rating on what I've watched/drank so far ;)
Russian Vodka: 0/10
Merlot: -infinity/10
Despicable Me: 10/10
Minion Movies: 10/10
Shrek Forever After: 10/10
Shrek Christmas Special: 3/10
Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave: 10/10

I'm off to bed now~
I'll keep everyone updated on the experimentations!
And I'll include my little ratings at the end of the blog posts until I'm all done watching everything I got ;)
-Megan

P/S:: In case you're wondering about the Kindle? It's awesome so far ;)
-M.R.

The End of a Vile Semester, the Beginning of a Wonderful Break :) || Part 2

Hey there readers!

Finals are over -- I think I did pretty amazingly on my FYP Final. Psychology, on the other hand?
Well, that was a pretty lousy exam LOL
Ah well -- I'm just glad it's over with!!

For Philosophy, I did a pretty damn good job. I got a perfect score on the entire thing!

Inside The Self
Inspiration: My thoughts changing while reading Descartes and Suzuki, two famous Philosophers
Sketched and Shaded with Grumbacher Soft Vine Charcoal
Shaded with General's Charcoal 4B Soft and 6B Extra Soft
Lined and Shaded with Prismacolor Premier Illustration Markers Black B, Black C, and Sepia B
Colored with Derwent Inktense Watersoluble Ink Pencils Sun Yellow 0200, Bright Blue 1000, Deep Indigo 1100, Sea Blue 1200, Iris Blue 0900, Apple Green 1400, Teal Green 1300, Field Green 1500, Leaf Green 1600, Mustard 1700, Willow 1900, Baked Earth 1800, Bark 2000, Fuchsia 0700, Shiraz 0600, Poppy Red 0400, Chilli Red 0500, Violet 0800, Tangerine 0300, Charcoal Grey 2100, Antique White 2300, and Sherbert Lemon 0100
19x24 100lb Strathmore Bristol Vellum Paper
12/13/10

Below is the Interpretation paper I had to write to accompany the piece.

Inside The Self

What theme(s) are you engaging with for the project?

The Self, Knowledge, and The Good Life

Is the project comparative?

Yes, the project is comparative; it incorporates the Bhagavad-Gita/Confucian Analects, Descartes, and Zen Buddhism and shows parts of their theories.

Bhagavad-Gita/Confucian Analects

• A key theme in the Bhagavad-Gita is the idea of Yoga and the Gunas. Each guna is within every person; the amount of each varies from person to person, however, one being more dominant than the rest. Based on which guna is dominant, you then follow one of the yoga paths. The blackness of the meditating girl is meant to represent that she has not cultivated herself (a key idea in the Confucian Analects, self-cultivation) enough to surpass the gunas and achieve independence of them. The brick road on which she is sitting represents the path in which she is taking to achieve enlightenment. Through self-cultivation and following the yoga path that is right for you, you can find liberation of samsara and attain enlightenment/moksha. Moksha/enlightenment is represented by the mountains in the far distance, and the trees along the path represent the trials and tribulations that you may go through and overcome in order to reach your liberation and enlightenment. The self-cultivation aspect of this idea is a constant thing and is never ending; because of this, it is represented by the waterfall in the painting. The water is constantly flowing, never resting. This is the idea of self-cultivation.

Descartes

• Descartes’ theory is based in the logic of reason, doubt dissipating if it is concrete and proven through reason and the logic used in mathematics and science (clear and distinct perception). The ruler, gears, chemistry flasks, abacus, microscope, book, and protractor all represent the knowledge that is dualistic and gained from reason and concrete evidence/proof, the theory of “either/or”. Reason itself is represented by everything purple – from the purple background up to the purple sky. Purple, to me, just fits as the color of Reason and “either/or”, and by placing it as the background in the Descartes part of the drawing, it is meant to show that everything is backed by reason, making it the most important feature of the theory. The sky, however, is meant to represent that Reason affects everything and has a basis in every philosophical theory. Therefore, everything is encompassed within reason; from the knowledge you gain, to the path you choose in life to, to the Self you attain and realize to be true.

Zen Buddhism

• Suzuki’s theory has a large focus on non-dualism, big mind, small mind, and following the way to enlightenment. The girl meditating is meant to represent the importance of Zazen and the idea of without-thinking (non-dualistic) in the Zen Buddhism culture. The red “aura” around the girl represents small mind. The gold surrounding her and flowing into nature, the sky of reason, and the tree of knowledge, represents big mind. The yellow within the red of the small mind represents that small mind cannot exist without big mind, and vice versa. Both exist in each other, and neither can exist without the other.

• The birds and the deer represent the freedom to choose your own path and your own way; although they may be grounded in reason, they are free to soar to the highest heights of your interpretations and your decisions. Your life is what you make it – you decide where you are going and how you get there, whichever philosophy you decide to follow.

• The birds and deer also have a second meaning to them. In the Confucian Analects, there is a network of embedded relations in the concept of Ren that hold you up as an individual. Your Self is you plus two, meaning the people around you. This is interpreted to mean that every decision you make, affects this network, and therefore you are always connected to them and always think of them when you make decisions. The deer and birds are meant to represent this network of people and the way that every decision on your path affects those around you.

The tree that stretches across the page represents the Tree of Knowledge. It is deeply rooted in Reason, but reaches over everything and incorporates all aspects of the Self and philosophy. It helps guide you to the good life, and helps guide your decision making process. Knowledge is what helps you to understand, to learn, and to grow as a person. Without it, Reason and all of our philosophical interpretations wouldn’t exist.

What was your viewpoint about the themes at the beginning of the course? What is your viewpoint about the themes at the end of the course? How have the ideas in your original entry concerning the themes changed? Why do you think your ideas have changed? How are the themes relevant to “the real world” and/or your life?

The Self

In the beginning, I thought the Self was an individual who made decisions based themselves, without consulting others. After all of the texts that we have read, I have realized that, without even realizing it, everything I have thought was just pretense and conformity to the universal ideas. Through this philosophy course, I have realized that all this time, the decisions I’ve made have always taken my family into consideration. I figured it was a normal thing and that’s what an individual did—but now I see that it’s a completely different view on the Self and the Individual. I guess you could say my views haven’t changed, but the understanding of them has.

Knowledge

The concept of knowledge hasn’t changed much for me. My views in the beginning have stayed with me to the end of the course. Knowledge is embedded in reason and we use this to make decisions. Through deduction and confirmation, you are able to attain knowledge and information that may help you to lead a good life and to realize your Self, as well as the path you are best suited to take in life.

The Good Life

My view on the good life hasn’t changed much either. My views in the beginning are very much like the ending views of that section, as well as of this course. The good life is what you make it—it’s different for every person, but is achieved much the same way. The good life is a life in which the economy is booming, you are happy with your life, you are doing a job you love, and you are sharing your time with the ones you love. By following your path, your ideals, and your morals, you can create a life worthwhile and a life you cherish and love. By sharing it with your family and friends, you create the true good life—because without them, life would be worthless and meaningless, life would be lonely and unfulfilled.

Was there any one (or more) reading, discussion, or other experiences during the course that caused a change in your thinking? What was it? Why and how did it cause a change in your thinking? Use the texts appropriate to the theme.

All of the texts combined had an effect on my judgment and thinking. The Analects of Confucius, the Bhagavad Gita, the teachings of Descartes, and the teachings of Suzuki have all been the great influences. They have taught me a new way of thinking, and I believe that is because it caused me to think in a way that is outside the box. It fed my creative mind and it allowed me to see things from another point of view, and not feel completely loony about the theory. It was a pleasant experience and definitely something in which I am glad to have taken from this course.

So, what do you all think? ;)

I'm very excited for this break. It's definitely a rest that I need. Over the break, I'll be doing many many things! Keep tuned to see just what schemes I do ;)

Starting out the break already I've had a blast. I caught up with some of my amazing friends while playing pool and had one -hell- of a time. It was definitely a great way to start out this vacation :)

My next blog will be about Christmas and some... experimenting ;)
Stay tuned my faithful readers!
-Megan

The End of a Vile Semester, the Beginning of a Wonderful Break :) || Part 1

Hello again my faithful readers~

I hope my next semester of college will be more entertaining and will have more to write about. This semester as just been a hell whole outside of the couple of classes I truly enjoy, the conversations I've had with people I enjoy talking to, and the work that I absolutely love.

This semester, the only art I've been able to do is my Philosophy project, which is an interpretation piece.

WIP of my Interpretation piece comparing Buddhism to Descartes' Philosophy of the Self.

Me working on the art piece while in the library Group Study Room freezing to death.

I love how it's coming out, and am very proud of it, but I still miss drawing. It's honestly my only stress reliever, the only bringer of major happiness (as of right now), and is the only thing that I have any passion for and enjoyment out of. I miss it like there's a piece of myself missing. As if the air I breathe is tainted, and not giving me the real amount I need. It's as if something is gone, and I can't get it back.

This project has taught me that; that I need art like I need air and water and food. It's a part of me, it's in my blood, it's in my nature, and it's the only thing that I truly love, that's outside of family and friends I mean (obviously).

I think next semester, if I can get into the Studio art class I'm striving for, I'll be much happier while at school and will be so much happier in general. Art is my life, what can I say? I'm an artist and I need to work with my hands. I'm quite excited to start drawing again and getting my hands on new materials to work with.

I've signed up for classes since the last time I've written. I've gotten the following::
Constitutional Law and the American Family
Developmental Psychology (unless I can get the Studio Art Course)
Intro to Economics
and
Survey of Art 2 -- an art history course which starts in the Renaissance and ends with Modern Art

I'm not excited for any of these courses, but an art course is better than no art course at all. Besides, I need it for my Fine Arts major ;)
After all, what good is an art teacher if she can't explain where the art came from and how the techniques were developed? Can't very well develop your own if you don't learn the basics :P

It'll be an interesting semester, to say the least. But I have some friends I'm looking forward to seeing again after break, so that in itself just makes it worth it. :)

I'll update the blog again after Finals are over and after I finish the Philosophy Project.
Until then!
Keep a look out ;)
-Megan

Well Isn't This Interesting....

Hey Readers!

As you can see, I'm lucky if I update my blog once a month right now. Guess my life isn't too exciting eh? Ah well, at least it's being updated!

Since my last update, not a lot has happened. However, below are some tidbits that have happened that I would like to share:

The Bad Points
1. I failed my second Psychology exam with a 64%, much to the dismay of both Dr. Sigmundi and myself seeing as how my first exam was around and 86%.

2. I didn't do too well on my FYP paper (getting a mere 2.7 out of 4), much to the dismay of myself, because what I was taught to be a topic sentence in Lisbon, was actually a body paragraph sentence. Not to mention the fact that my transition sentences were actually topic sentences. Let me tell you, this came as HUGE shock because 1. I had received a 3.75 on my Philosophy paper, the very first paper I had ever written in college; 2. I didn't receive a lot of negative feedback on the draft that Cathy went over; and 3. I had great expectations for this paper. It seems Lisbon teaches English just a step off from the actual thing. And Lisbon is supposed to have the best education in the North Country? I don't dare see how horrible the other schools are!!

The Good Points
1. I'm doing extremely well in all of my classes: I have in the high 3's for Psychology and Dr. McCarthy says I'm doing really well in Philosophy and have no cause to worry.

2. I felt EXTREMELY smart in Philosophy the past couple of weeks, especially for this exam. I truly think this is one of the best tests I've had this year. Wish me luck?

3. I recently bought a Wii. Yes, I splurged and bought one. But could you blame me? Roughly $300 for the system, two consoles, 2 motion grip-slips, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort (plus console additives for both Sports and Sports Resort), 2 nun-chucks, and the Just Dance game. Could NOT have asked for a better deal. And let me just say, "Surfin' Bird" is the FUNNEST song to dance to. It's seriously hilarious!

On the note of the Wii and it's games, I just bought another dancing game that's full of Broadway songs like "You Can't Stop The Beat", "Little Shop of Horrors Theme Song", and "I Just Can't Wait To Be King"! I'm SO excited to start playing it.

4. I went to the Mohawk Casino with my parents tonight. I spent and lost $20, but I had a blast and it lasted me a few hours. I won a lot of my money back, but just kept playing with it because I had nothing else to do and wanted to keep playing. It was really fun, but all of the loud noises and smoke gave me a huge headache.

5. After the Casino, we went to the Massena Mall. First, I ate a really yummy dinner from Sabaro's. Then I went into FYE, which is what makes this it's own separate good point. The last time I went to FYE, a cute guy was working and we talked about anime. Tonight, he was working again! We talked a lot about anime tonight to and he really seemed eager to keep our conversation going. It was pretty nice. I think I may have gotten him in trouble with another coworker though ^_^;; The reason I believe this is because when it was just us and another guy who would pop in occasionally to chat (who was also a coworker of the cutie), he kind of stopped his work or shifted so that he was closer to where I was so we could talk while he put movies away on shelves closer to me. However, when a girl coworker came out, who looked like a higher-up person, he got kind of quieter and less talkative - probably because she was looking at him like "You're not working very hard, we're not paying you to chat!". It was funny and really cute - I'm hoping he's there the next time I go :)

6. I should have put this earlier, because it happened late last month, but I just remembered I never mentioned it so I'm putting it now. LOL Anywho, a couple weeks ago I went to Massena (it was after the time I went to FYE though, because I didn't go to FYE in this trip) in search of a heavy winter jacket. However, I didn't find one I liked. BUT! I managed to walk in on a door-buster sale at JC Penny's that saved me over $200! I got so many great deals - some things were 50% off while others were Buy One, Get One For $.88! I got so many nice sweaters and a gorgeous pair of boots. I'm definitely excited to go back there again and get some more sweaters. I didn't get a chance to tonight because certain people weren't being polite and just made me want to go home. But ah well, that's why Mom and I shop alone! LOL


Well, I think that about sums everything up for now!
I couldn't sleep so I figured "Hey, why not update the blog?" - so here it is :)
Good night everyone!
-Megan

P/S:: Did I mention I chopped my hair off? ;)

FYP Cup, Classes, Clubs, Work, and Trips to Walmart PART 2

Dear Readers,

It's been awhile. Is anyone still reading along with me on my journey? ....Anyone?

Well, to finish my previous installment, let me start with clubs.

For clubs, there's really not all that much to say. I originally started attending meetings for Campus Kitchens, a charity club here at St. Lawrence serves free meals for anyone to come and eat. This year, the began implementing a new system where they gave everyone a cold meal to take home with them, giving them a meal they could heat at any time instead of eating it the next night here at St. Lawrence as a second meal. They also do gleeing, where they take produce from the fields that the Farmers don't have time to collect and use them so that they don't just sit in the fields and rot. Campus Kitchens is also now working with farmers at the Farmers' Market: at the end of every market-week, members from Campus Kitchens to go the market and await for the farmers to finish selling for the week. The farmers then give the members from Campus Kitchens the left over fruits and vegetables that they are willing to donate to the charity.

However, due to work and my life getting pretty busy, I wasn't able to attend the meetings for the past month. When finally able to last week, they didn't hold a meeting. Go figure, right? Ah well, hopefully next week! I would have this week, but I covered a shift that a workmate couldn't work due to leaving for home for our mid-semester break.

Speaking of work, have I ever mentioned that I work in ODY Library at St. Lawrence? Well, I do! And hey, if I already mentioned it? You get to hear it again, along with see a ton of pictures ;)
(see facebook album below)

Downstairs is the Periodicals department. Here, we house current journals, old journals (either in binding or in microfilm), microfiche, newspapers (both in print and in microfilm), as well  Government Documents and Canadian Documents. Along with our collection, however, there is also many group study rooms, a Cafe room (with a few computers), a bunch of computers, desks with plugs in them so that you can plug in your laptops, scanners/copiers/printers, couches, and study carrels that people can reserve for their own personal use.

Here, I work the Help Desk. My job is to help patrons research their topics, help them find the journals or documents they are in search of, lend out laptops, put journals away, date-stamp and put away the currents, and simply help in any way that I can.

........

Okay, so that's what I'm SUPPOSED to do. BUT! I barely do anything.

Now, I work anywhere between 10-15hrs a week and get paid around $8.10 an hour. And don't get me wrong, I do actually work.... sometimes. However, not many people come to the desk unless they want a stapler, the hole-punch, etc. I give out laptops sometimes, and help on occasion, but mainly I just get paid to sit around and watch movies. Like tonight for example! The night before mid-semester break and the library is SO DEAD!!! I've been here since 6:30 and have watched a 3 hr movie as well as a 2hr movie.

However, I did have SOME action however! A guy came to the desk and checked out books recently and we had a nice little chat. He was pretty cute too ;)

In all honesty I LOVE my job. It's really the best place to work. My co-workers and bosses are so kind and are really helpful; I honestly couldn't imagine working anywhere else. For as long as I'm at SLU, I'll be working here. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now, the trip to Wal-Mart with Raven and Will was weeks ago. Not much happened, but hey - at least it was fun! Can't remember all of what happened now - but basically we shopped, got Will a broom for Quidditch here are SLU (yes, we have a Quidditch team. Amazing right?? :D), and Raven and I stalked Will in the Electronics section and called out "STANDISH!" randomly from behind shelves, and we called "STANDISH!" when we saw him wayyyy away in the store in order to get his attention so he could find us in the food section once he was done with his shopping. It was pretty fun :)

Until next time Readers!
I'm off for break!
-Megan

P/S:: Because there are too many pictures to place individually within the blog, here is a link to all of the photos I took walking around campus :)
Facebook Album

FYP Cup, Classes, Clubs, Work, and Trips to Walmart PART 1

Dear Readers,

Dang it's been a long time since I've blogged. Sorry for the delay!! It's been one hell of a busy month so far. Let's start with FYP Cup.

FYP Cup is where all of the First Year Programs compete against each other to create the best banner, be the most creative with the Alma Matter, and over all be the best FYP at St. Lawrence. Throughout the year we earn points, compete in sports, etc. The easiest way to think of FYP Cup is in terms of Harry Potter: In the Harry Potter novels the have the House Cup, a competition of earning points between the four houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At St. Lawrence, we've taken that concept and created a First Year Festival to kick off the First Year Cup. However, instead of there only being four houses, there are 15+ Colleges in the First Year - each having a program of their own; mine being Curtin College, which belonged to the Representations of Marriage and Family program.

In preparation for this, each college was given a bed-sheet to create their banner, a College Color, and T-Shirts. My college's color was an off-white so we decided to tie-dye them to make them prettier. I have to say, mine was the absolute best :P

Not bad for the first time ever tie-dying in my life neh?

Gaines College, of course, had the most amazing Alma Matter. They sang it to Feel Good Inc.
Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
In place of the line "Feel Good" - they said "Gainesters"
And, obviously, in place of the Feel Good Inc. lyrics - they sang the Alma Matter. It was very creative, very well rehearsed, and it was nicely done. They even had live instruments!

For our Alma Matter - we came up with it in about 5 minutes and sang to "Bye, Bye, Bye" by N*Sync, with Ben as our lead singer. It wasn't great, it was messy, but it was amazing and hilarious at the same time.
Bye,Bye,Bye - N*Sync

Banner-wise, ours was rather... bland. Other FYPs had painted Uncle Sam, Abraham Lincoln with abs, etc.
Ours was a bunch of paint splatters with silvery black writing on it. I have to say though, our banner was ingenious for coming up with it in about 10 minutes and hardly anybody in our FYP working on it ;)

When the Festival ended, before the FYP members were sent off to their respective games (which they had signed up for earlier in the week), each college was called by Dr. Cathy Crosby-Currie, the Assistant Dean of the First Year Program and also one my FYP's Adviser (the other being Dr. Sarah Gates). When the college is asked if they are present, they are expected to be as loud as they possibly can and make as much noise as possible. For our College, we counted to three and said "We love you Cathy!!" then freaked out like there was no tomorow.

All three aforementioned festival tasks were all judged and gave us FYP Points. We weren't too shabby in our placement, but we weren't in Top 3 unfortunately. But hey, we made Top 10!! Not bad for a college who had no interest in the FYP Cup and who threw it together the night before and morning of, I think.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, FYP Cup over and done with, classes began!

For my very first semester here at St. Lawrence, I started out taking 4.5 units consisting of FYP Plenary, FYP Seminar, Elementary Japanese, Elementary Japanese Lab, Philosophy East and West, Psychology 101, Psychology 101 Lab.

The first week went pretty well - I learned Hirigana in Japanese, realized just how much I hated Philosophy, had an amazing experience with Psychology, and started to really get into my FYP.

The second week? Not so great. Japanese was moving far to fast and was being treated like an Intermediate level course because of all the experience in the class: students with previous knowledge of  the language, Asian students already familiar with Asian languages (just not Japanese), and students who studied a year in Japan in high school through a foreign exchange program.

This, to me, was highly unfair for the few of us who had NO EXPERIENCE with neither the language nor the writing system and it was HIGHLY UNREALISTIC to expect us to learn 100+ Hirigana in 4 days. Not to mention learn a completely new system of writing less than 14 days later.

Sooo - after talking with Cathy about my issues with the course and after thinking about it for a great while, I decided to drop the course. Thankfully this wasn't a problem and Cathy was more than happy to get it arranged for me to do so, fully understanding the circumstances.

With Japanese off my shoulders, I am now able to focus on my other studies and fully give my attention to them, having been unable to prior to dropping the course because it was so much work trying to keep up with the class and catch up.

Caution to all:: When learning a language, if the class starts out fast? IT'S GOING TO STAY FAST!! Make sure you talk with the Professor or find a slower paced course because if you're taking more than that one course, you're going to have a great deal of trouble trying to keep up with all of your courses.

Now that I've had my little tangent about Japanese, let's move on to Philosophy! LOL Philosophy, however, is another tangent of mine. Well, it has been, anyway.

To begin the year, we learned a Buddhist bow. It's not too bad, just a bit strange. However, seeing as how we started the year off with a Buddhist tradition, one would think that we would be learning about some Buddhist Philosopher, right?

WRONG!!

We started learning about a French Philosopher named Rene Descartes. Ugh. Let me just say, he is the worst Philosopher I've ever read, and I've only read a few. Not only does he talk in circles and prove his original statements with that aforementioned original statement (just reworded), but his logic is so twisted and crazy you'd go insane just by reading it!!

SO! Once that horribly written book was over, nearly our entire class jumped for joy! Only problem was, we had a paper to write on his theories :(
I wasn't happy to say the least :P
Buuuut - I made it through! I don't think I did too terribly on it.

Now, from what you've just read, you'd think I absolutely HATED my classes, right?
Well, you'd be 90% right. I love my FYP, but I hate the pace we're going in it. I think I'd enjoy it more if we weren't analyzing our own families / were reading the novels a bit slower. Being assigned 30-40 pages in 1 book while being assigned 10 chapters in another at the exact same time is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. Some nights it's close to 200 pages I have to read. My brain and eyes are NOT thanking them right now. However, I absolutely adore the professors and enjoy the class aside from the aforementioned point.

As for Psychology, words can't describe how much I love the class. Dr. Ronald Sigmundi is the most hilarious guy I've ever met; he honestly reminds me of a mix between my grandfather and Mr. Cooper. Sigmundi is witty; one of those old coots you just love listening to because they say what they want without worrying about what people might think; and he tells these stories that relate to our discussion / answer our questions that are just absolutely hysterical to listen to. The best part is, 99% of these stories are about his wife!!

My Psychology Lab, with Mela Lawson, isn't too bad - but not my favorite either. For the first experiment, it was pretty tame other than the calculations being so confusing on the formula. The second experiment, unfortunately, wanted to make me cry. Not only did we take a tour of the lab-rats' home in the bottom of the science building and see all of the different animals kept there for psychology testing as well, but our experiment consisted of watching 2 lab-mice in a cake container and observing their behaviors. Now, it wasn't bad enough that I'm absolutely PETRIFIED of mice, but to top it off the mice we had in the container learned that if they JUMPED they could almost read the OPENING OF THE CONTAINER!!

All I have to say is thank God we had a tall container or else those mice would be out of the containers and into our laps! As you can imagine, I was about 3 feet away from the container at all times. Plus, once the mice nearly got out and knocked the container over? I went hysterical 'cause it was right at me that it was jumping and the container FINALLY got moved to another desk. I could actually breathe once THAT happened. It was not a happy camper when Ms. Lawson kept the mice in the containers instead of putting them back in their "homes" while she finished her lecture in class.

To be continued........

Moving In and Orientation Week

Good evening followers,

 My name is Megan Royce. I was born in Gouveneur, NY, grew up in Lisbon, NY, and graduated from Lisbon Central School on June 25, 2010.

To celebrate our Graduation, Mrs. Putney baked a train cake as was custom for our every visit to the Putney Farm growing up. Each cake was decorated in candies, pretzels of all sorts, and were adorned with small cards with our names written on them. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to keep our cakes but the entire train as a whole was served to everyone at the reception. None of the seniors were happy about this.


Over the summer, not much happened. However, on August 9th I began work at ODY Library in Periodicals with a salary of $7.45 an hour. After 2 weeks of training, I think I've got the basics down. I'm struggling a little with Gov. Docs. and Can. Docs. because I've only spent a couple days learning about it. I hope to learn more in the coming years at St. Lawrence University and am very much excited to work in a library once again.

When August 22nd came around, it was official moving-in day at St. Lawrence and I could finally live in my dorm room: Rebert Hall South, Room 129. I finished moving in, finished packing, and my room has officially went from drab::

to fab::

outside my door:

Orientation at St. Lawrence University lasts for 3 days. It is intense back to back sessions of ice-breakers, tours, first FYP classes, dinners, meetings, lunches, academic planning meetings with advisers, picking your final classes for the year, and stressing when you can't get into any of the ones you've been dying to get into since you read about them online. Among all of this, you also listen to lectures on Campus Safety, Alcohol Safety, etc. - all in hopes of getting you ready to safely start your term and be responsible adults about your choices here at St. Lawrence.



Day 1. You meet your FYP, your class in general, your CAs (known as RAs in other colleges), and your Orientation Leaders, who are with you throughout Orientation, guide you through your first steps into college, and help you assimilate into the college life and get to know the members of your FYP.



While getting to know your fellow FYP-mates, you do what are called "ice-breakers" - name games that tell about you, where you're from, and fun things about yourself so that the others can get to know you. Among this, is the ice-breaker called "I'm cool and you're cool if....". In this game, you remove one pair of shoes from the circle and everyone takes their shoes off. One person is always in the middle. It's honestly a mix between "Red Rover, Red Rover" and "Duck, Duck, GOOSE!". If you're what the "cool" thing is, then you have to run to another pair of shoes. Now mind you, if you had flip-flops or flats on without socks? YOU RAN IN YOUR BARE FEET. Talk about unsanitary. I sanitized my feet and my shoes afterward when I got back to my room that night. I was completely appalled. I mean, do these people not think of consequences when they create these games? It's not like we were on the grass, we were on an indoor track course. Fungus, Athlete's Foot, and who knows what else could be contracted from the floors. It's unhealthy, unsafe, and completely repulsive. Let's just say I barely moved for that entire game.



In coming to St. Lawrence, I wasn't expecting such a vast change in living. At home, I had my lights, my satellite dish, my large room, and the only noises being the fan in the living room and my brother playing Call of Duty in the next room over. Now, I've heard so much racket my head wants to spin. Let's just say, Night 1 at St. Lawrence was wretched to say the least. The only interesting part about Night 1 was that the Seniors and Juniors streaked across the Quad after we all gathered around it. It was.... Interesting to say the least. Especially since our Orientation Leader Joe was one of the streaking Seniors, backpack on and all.

Day 2. Even more intense than Day 1.


Right off the bat we had our first FYP class of the year to introduce us to our FYP Advisers. It was here I met Cathy Crosby-Currie and Sarah Gates. After, I went to the Academic Advising Panel for Studying Abroad, I free until 4:45pm when I had my Academic Planning Meeting with my Adviser Cathy. Until that point, I took a nap in my dorm instead of participating in the "ice-breaker games" between all of the FYPs due to having work directly after my advising meeting.

After dinner, we went back to our FYP room with our OLs Allysa and Joe, along with our CA Molly, and had conversations about the social life at St. Lawrence; namely alcohol and parties. We were given situations and then talked about possible solutions, possible preventions, and over all the rules, regulations, and policies here at St. Lawrence. It was basic common sense, but it was situations that people at parties face all of the time and never really think about.

After that was over, we could check and see if we got the courses we requested during our advising meetings with our advisers. My hopes were to get Elementary Japanese with Lab and Applied Statistics. The math course is required for my Psychology major and I wanted to get it out of the way asap. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to. Therefore, I put in for Philosophy East and West during the second batch of advising meetings. I wasn't too sure on it, but Cathy said it was pretty easy, made for first year students with the assumption that they have no philosophy experience, and thought it might be a nice alternative course seeing as how I'm studying the Japanese language as well and we study a Japanese philosopher during the philosophy course.

After this, I went home for the night.  Thank goodness I did.

Day 3. Refreshed from my night at home, I'm ready to take on Day 3 at St. Lawrence. I'm well rested, I'm in a happier mood, and I'm trying to feel better about the coming day.

To my happy surprise, Day 3 was the best day of all. I made new friends, I actually had fun, we tie-dyed our FYP shirts, and over all it was one of the best days I've had in a very long time. Over the course of the day, I found out that the previous night people were ringing our SLU Cowbell gifts up and down the halls for all hours of the night. No one told them to stop because I wasn't there and no one other than me stood up I guess. Now, that may not be true, but that's simply what I understand from snippets of conversation I heard while walking from lecture to lecture.

Over the course of the day, I instantly became amazing friends with Raven Wilson. We ran errands together, we had lunch at the cafe in the Student Center together, and we were basically stuck like glue all day and most of the night. She even got me to try new foods!

You know that chocolate-hazelnut spread that's always advertised? Nutella? Well, I always wrote it off because of the hazelnut in it. IT DOESN'T TASTE LIKE HAZELNUT!! IT TASTES ONLY LIKE CHOCOLATE!! It's honestly amazingggg. If you're nervous to try it because of the hazelnut? TRY IT! You'll love it if you love chocolate. :)

Along with the Nutella, she had me try Tofu Miso Soup. Basically tofu chunks and kelp (which is a type of seaweed for those who don't know). It was beyond disgusting. But I tried it at least!! She only told me the green stuff floating around (which I thought was seasoning) was kelp AFTER I ate some of it. EW!!
Holding the bowl is Raven::

Day 3, aside from the amazing parts, was full of lectures on safety in general, health safety, alcohol safety, and fire safety. It was all pretty self explanatory, but Dr. Thacker honestly reminded me of my grandfather as I listened to him talk about things on campus we needed to know to make it through our 4 years safely and proudly. He truly was a mix of my grandfather and perhaps a small liking to my physical science teacher Mr. Cooper at Lisbon Central. He was funny, blunt, honest, and not afraid to speak his mind; all qualities I see in my grandfather, as well as in Mr. Cooper.

After the lectures, we took a small classroom tour where we could head out as soon as we got the buildings we needed to find on the tour.

Later that evening we had a Dessert Reception at President Foxx's house. We had some strawberries, some cookies, some cakes, some punch, etc. and mingled with the other FYP that was there at that time. We shook President Foxx's hand, as well as the hand of his wife, and briefly chatted with President Foxx.

I mainly just stuck with the few people I was hanging with and didn't mingle much with the other FYP. I'm not that much for stranger-socialization and neither was the small group I hung out with.
 

At 7pm, right after the Dessert Reception, we went to Guilick Theater for a comedy called Can I Kiss You?
This was an amazing thing to watch. It was fun, it was informative, it was interactive, and the the man is simply a genius and amazing. I couldn't believe how into it I got. It made sense, it touched a lot of people, and it was just one of those things you never forget. I bought his book and got it signed while I was there. It was by far one of the greatest nights of my college life so far.

After Can I Kiss You?, Orientation Week was FINALLY over. Classes today, but I'll save that for another post.

-Megan