Oblivious to Everyone!

Photo from JessicaLynnJohnson.com

Sunday was the performance in Knupple Hall. I'd like to describe everything that went on in there from 3-6 but it was one of those things where you had to be there yourself. Just so you're not missing out on anything, I'll try to recap all the craziness.

First off, the turnout for this play was HUGE. I've never seen Knupple Hall's community room that full of people. This was a pretty big event since, well...it's an off-broadway play on OUR campus. And it was free for students! Usually, tickets for these kinds of things are pricey.

The play itself was nothing short of awesome. The whole thing is based on one therapy session with the main character, Carrie. From there, the audience is taken through a channel-flippin' nightmare of an identity crisis. There's tons of funny stereotypes but also tons of issues that come from these stereotypes.

There were giggles and in some cases, there were tears.

For a little preview of the play, click here to check it out. And if you get a chance to see it, GO! It'll probably make you want to chuck your sidekicks, burn anything with a label and cancel your cable.

An Online Store! and More Berkeley Events!

If you've been on Blackboard lately, you've probably noticed something a little different about the Student Store tab. Its been taken off. Why? Well, starting February 25th, the Berkeley Student Bookstore will be online! Now, people won't have to walk around with 5 brand new giant textbooks on the first day of the quarter. Also, this will cut down on how many books will be sold out. You now have the option of buying the brand new textbook either on campus or online. Now you can order and have your book just in time for your first class. Lately, a lot of my classes have had requirements where you had to have a chapter or two read in time for the first day of class. Before, that used to be a problem because I didn't have a way of getting the book before the quarter began and the on-campus student store would open (which is usually around 10am or 10:30am).

The Berkeley store doesn't only sell books, you know. They sells mugs, sweatpants, pullovers and little teddybears with the Berkeley logo. You know how parents and family members love things with school logos on it. Its a good way to show off that you're a college student. :D

Events for Today/Tonight:

Tonight is the Berkeley Fashion show at the The Venetian! (546 River Drive, Garfield, NJ) Last year's fashion show was a huge hit. This one should be just as big. There will be Lord and Taylor Evening Gowns, Spring 2008 Ready to Wear collections and Fabulous Jewelry from The Diamond Exchange!

Ticket Price $35 Students, $45 Non-Students (all proceeds to be donated to Shelter Our Sisters (http://www.shelteroursisters.org/)

There will be a social hour and a dinner. The dress code is semi-formal attire. There will also be a Berkeley Raffle!

For tickets contact: Neddie 201-967-9667 ext. 1736 or Amanda 201-887-8772

Berkeley Events!

This is what Valentine's Day karaoke looked like on Thursday in Garret Mountain. Whoever came up with the idea for karaoke is a genius!




It was so much fun and hilarious. This is just the kind of events that Berkeley students need in order to wind down from some grueling midterms. The stresses from the wacky weather in the beginning of the week and the tons of exams and homework assignments went away for an hour on Activity Day. There were cupcakes and chocolate and tons of free goodies from the Dream Team.

There were flyers for JUNGLE FEVER, being held by the Dream Team on Thursday, February 21st. Its in the Knupple Hall Community room. Entrance is $3 with jungle attire, $5 without. (College ID a must!) The dance runs from 8:00pm to 12:00am. First of all, I love anything themed so I'm kinda amped out this. If I'm off of work on time, I might consider putting on some camo and heading to this event.

Lately, Berkeley's been throwing some amazing events after school.

On Sunday February 24th, Oblivious to Everyone is hitting the Garret Mountain campus.

Image from JessicaLynnJohnson.com

I'm excited. There's flyers around campus announcing it. It has tons of awesome reviews from Fox 5, NY Press, The Village Voice and more. The seats are filling up fast so I sugges that if you plan on going (which I think you SHOULD because its free from students with IDs) you should RSVP some seats. Its a One Performance Only event. Again, its February 24th in the Knupple Hall Community Room at 3pm. Free with ID, $15 for all others. Make your reservations at tf@berkeleycollege.edu .

Stranded in Town

My roads weren't plowed again. Big suprise! I had to miss my accounting class. It stinks because I did really well on my homework and wanted the professor to see that I understand what's going on. Oh well. All that extra time let me work on my Midsummer Night's Dream project for Drama. Its a group effort and every member has a specific part to the ONE HOUR presentation we have to make on the 21st. Im in change of media. So far, Im about half way done. This gives me some free time for Activity Period!

Since tomorrow is a holiday, of course Berkeley's going to have a big event!

Karaoke! Paparazzi! and Chocolate! All in the Student Center during Activity tomorrow. This is the best break to have between classes. Activity Period cuts through my Statistics class. Stats isnt' the easiest subject in the world. The lessons and lectures are quick and full of info. Its nice to take a break from the constant note-taking. By the time activity period is over, I'm ready to get back to work.

I figured out that Statistics is the kind of subject you need to take extra time on. I studied exta hard from my text and ended up getting a 28/30. The two points were taken off because of my less-than-impressive graphs but other than that, all my work and numbers were right! I also did really well on my first Micro exam. I got an A! These grades totally made my week. Things are going well on my quest for that 3.8 GPA..

Maybe a Snow Day??

Its the middle of February and North Jersey is finally experiencing some decent snowfall. Of course, this has to come as the most inconvenient time. The snow began falling as soon as my Microeconomics class. The windowshades were down so no one had a clue about that was going on outside. The sound of cars wizzling by distracted some students. Two girls decided to look out the window and freaked out. There was already and inch and a half of snow on the ground. The professor decided to finish class a little early so people wouldnt be rushing on the roads. Luckily, my mom offered to pick me up. She didnt think the weather was going to be so gnarly. Route 46 was backed up for miles. We took route 80 to go home. It was probably the most terrifying car ride I've ever taken in my life. There were cars whizzing past us one minute, and the next we're passing that very same car while its being taken away by tow truck because of an accident. I saw 4 accidents on the way home. I only live about 10 miles away from campus! It was so scary. As soon as I got home, I started shoveling and putting salt down for the snow.

It doesnt look like its getting any better outside. I hope everyone from campus got home alright. Garret is mosting commuting student with cars. The way things are going, it looks like there's going to be a delay or cancelled class. Either way, getting to school will be quite an adventure tomorrow.

$500 Scholarship and the Economy

If you avidly check your Blackboard (like me), you've noticed that big sign offering a $500 scholarship. That's what my focus will be on today. Its about $400 more than what I need to clear my Spring 2008 schedule but there's no way I can make $100 at the moment. My job hunt hasn't been going very well. I blame the economy. This is my theory with what's going on.

The government wants to keep the unemployed...well...unemployed. You know those uber-hyped rebate checks going on in May and June? Well, as well all have heard on the news, that money is intended to make the public go out to malls and shop 'til they drop to boost up the plummeting economy. If the unemployed get jobs, they will most likely use their wages as spending money and use the rebate to pay off debts and put into savings accounts. This is the complete opposite of the purpose of the rebate.

That's my theory. I've been following the economic reports closely since a big amount of my family and friends have been either laid off or had hours cut. My Microeconomics class taught me how to read, understand, and analyze the market. Its pretty cool to use the things you learn in class in real world scenarios.

A Whole Day of Classes Cancelled.

Usually, at the time on Thursdays, I'm waiting on Market Street for the Berkeley shuttle bus. Well, today, it just so happens that my first class isn't meeting. I took the extra hour of sleep this morning and took my time getting ready. I check my Blackboard email before I leave and see that my second class is also canceled due to illness. My third and last class of the day doesn't meet on Thursdays.

Not having to come in for lecture doesn't mean that I'm taking a break. These professors don't let you off that easy. I have a couple of pages to read and exercises to do for Micro, as well as pages and pages of accounting to do. Since I'm pretty much dressed in my school attire, I'm thinking of just going to campus anyway and doing my work in the library.

Either way, I will be in Garret tonight to attend the performance of Waiting for Godot. Its free with a Berkeley ID.

Oh! Here's a note to all! RENEW YOUR FAFSA! Letters have been mailed out by Student Accounts reminding everyone to renew their applications. The applications can be found in the Financial Aid offices. Mine is already in my trapper and ready to be filled out. I just have to wait for my taxes to be done.

I did finish changing my major and scheduling my classes. I'm officially majoring in Business Administration. I'm pretty excited about it. This major leaves my options open to what I want to get my Master's Degree in. So far, I'm planning on getting my Master's in Marketing.

Monday: A Prequel and an Aftermath

Last night was the Super Bowl. We all know how that resulted. There were fireworks in my town. People were driving up and down the streets honking their horns celebrating New York's victory. All that noise made it hard to do some studying for my accounting test. In the end, I decided to hit the hay and wake up a little earlier to study some more. Thanks to some power problems in my town, my alarm clock reset itself. My cell phone rang at 8:00am thanks to a friend of mine dialing the wrong number. I managed to study on the bus to school. I took the test and got a B+. Its good but it's a drop from my last grade. I got an A- last time. Next time, I will definitely get an A or better. I don't care if a Cloverfield situation is outside my window. I will study!

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday! Time to vote, everybody! I was a little late with registering so I'm doing an absentee ballot. It still counts. So, if you're over 18 and a citizen, vote vote vote! People fought for this right. People lost their lives for this right. The least you can do is get yourself to a voting box and fill out that little paper.

I have to find a way to fit voting between tomorrow's 3 exams and volunteer work. Either way, it will get done!

BerkeleyBlue Card (Trouble) is Back

The refunds went out this week. Thinking that the card would be the easiest way to receive my money, I signed up for the card. Unfortunately, there are so many steps with verification that its taking me longer to activate the card than it would have taken for the check to get to my mailbox. There's all these IDs I have to make copies of and mail, and if I don't do so in 18 days, my money will be held as a penalty. I thought I would be able to switch my preference so I can receive a check rather than the card credit but the change in preference won't come into effect until the next refund. The site says I can verify my ID in Student Accounts on campus. Monday, I'n going to do that. As soon as I get the verifications sorted out, I'm terminating my account. I read up on the FAQs on the website and it says that the account must be at $0 for me to eliminate my account and that there will be a fee. Honestly, I don't care about the fee. I just don't want this card to be bugging me. Its going to be hard enough to verify my ID, so imagine the hassle of maintaining the card? No thanks!

If any of you guys are having an easier time with the card, feel free to write down your positive experience in the comments section of this post. I want the positives and the negatives to be out there for people to read. So, if all is going well with your card, tell everyone about it.