Week 11 Cram!

Once again, its week 11 and the Garret Mountain library is super packed with students either finalizing their papers or trying to figure out where to begin! The cafe has an extra pot of coffee in anticipation for caffiene zombies slumping in for a liquid reboot.

My secret weapon is LAST.FM Last.fm is a website where you can type in the name of your favorite artist and listen to a custom made radio station based on the artist or band you typed in. My favorite studying soundtracks are the Vampire Weekend radio station and the MGMT radio station. A good idea is to listen to something chill. Pop songs might be a bit distracting. It's hard to write an in depth paper about the WTO's Doha Round while singing "if you like then you shoulda put a ring on it."

I feel like I lucked out this quarter. My political science final wasn't too bad. It was cumulative but it was one of those "based on your educated opinion" types of papers. It mostly focused on the election and civil rights. I'm pretty confident I'm aceing the course. Thumbs up!

International finance, on the other hand,....ugh. There is so much involved with it that one paper sucked up a week and a half of my life. 12 pages on the World Trade Organization. It was tough but I stuck to it. And yeah, I did hand it in late. I get 10 points off for every day I was late. But then again, I would have rather get an 80 and hand it in late than submit a 65point paper on time. Know what I mean?

My feminism final is this coming Wednesday. This one is actually kinda fun. I get to watch a movie (from a list of about 100) and write about the feminist experience depicted in the film. I haven't pick which film to write about. I've watched most of them. I'm stuck between Ghost World (one of my FAVORITE movies ever!) or Chocolat (another one of my favorites!).

Things looks good from my end, though. I'm going to enjoy the upcoming break. I'm going to sleep and sleep and sleep. Next quarter, I have an 8am course...meaning I have to be out of my house and at the bus stop at 620am. Oh man, winter quarter, gonna be a trip!

Note to commenters!: Thanks for all the emails! I love hearing from you guys! Keep 'em coming and if you get the chance, leave a comment here so we can get some conversations going. :D

World AIDS Day is Tomorrow

" According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done." - Avert.org

Tomorrow marks World AIDS Day. This is serves as a reminder that there's things more important out there than door-buster sales and holiday calorie counting. The world still needs our attention.To commemorate World AIDS day, you can wear red, get yourself a little red ribbon somewhere or donate to charities benefiting AIDS awareness.

If you celebrated national Talk Like A Pirate day, I'm pretty sure you'll have to problem with wearing a ribbon around for a day. Besides...this is college. This is the time where we are suppose to open our eyes to the world and expose ourselves to what is reality. AIDS is real. This is prime time to be reading into causes and helping the world out. With a little effort, we can make change happen. Heck, look at the election! That was just one day! Imagine what we can do for AIDS in a day...or a month...or a year!

Help bring awareness to Berkeley by wearing red. And if it's not in your ensemble plans for tomorrow, just bring it up in conversation. The worst thing we can do is ignore it.

Have a Happy December 1st, Everyone!

Quick Post before the Multicultural Festival

The Multicultural Festival is in about a half hour. I finished all my homework for the day and I didn't eat a thing all day so I can hound on some international goodies. The food festival is a celebration of the diversity we have here at the Berkeley College Garret Mountain campus. We have a little bit of the entire world on one campus. Its great. You know what else is great? International food!

The plate is only $3. Donations are welcome though. All the proceeds will be going to the American Conference on Diversity.

Not only will there be food, but there will also be a fashion show! Music from around the world will be the soundtrack for the night.

There's more info right HERE on the Multicultural Festival's FACEBOOK page. (That's right, we're cool enough to have it as a facebook event.)

See you guys there!

Yes, We Can!

I don't know about you but I feel like my voice was heard yesterday, and I feel that I played a part in history! According to new sources all over, the young vote is what turned this country blue. I'm just glad that there was a young vote to begin with. The line at my local voting polls looked like a high school reunion. There was a huge line outside, and more than half of those in line had to have been 25 or younger.

Our generation was getting a bad reputation, being named "Generation Who Cares?" As of yesterday, that's changed. We are now looked at as proud, young Americans who can really bring change to the world. And it all starts with picking a leader that we felt represented us, President Obama.

So high-fives all around everybody! Whether you voted republican or democrat, we were heard! We made a difference!

I included an MSNBC report on how much of an impact we had on this election.

Surprise! November Midterm Time

This week is a busy time for Garret Mountain. There's flyers all over the place including the library, student center and hallways. I don't have class on that Wednesday but I'm definitely gonna make it to the scholarship seminar. If there's one thing I'll wake up early and commute for 2 hours for, its the opportunity for scholarships. I'm coming up on intership time so I'll be needing all the help I can get with finances!The Accounting / Finance club is perfect for those who have no idea what to do after graduation. I have a very...fuzzy...vague...idea so I'm gonna try to make this meeting also.

But don't forget. Its week 6. Midterm time! I have general overview of my assignments and exams. A few papers here. A test there. Nothing too overwhelming, thanks to the online classes. The whole "study on your own time" lets me finish things early and also gives me extra time to work on things I might need a little study time with. For example, I usually finish my marketing homework early because I find the subject a little easier to understand. International trade, on the other hand, requires 2 or 3 days of studying before I can start the assignments. So I get to take my time on whatever needs more study time.

I'm telling you, take the Online Efficiency exam so you have the "online classes" option open. It's the best decision I made this year at Berkeley.

Get Ready for the New Look

I've been working on a new layout for the good ol' blog here. If you've been to the new Berkeley websites, you've noticed all the cool new links and flash testimonials on the front page. I'm hoping to do the same with this blog. Also, I want to make it more interactive. There's nothing better than getting feedback from you guys. Freshmen, persepective students and current students email me every week with questions and comments. I want to thank all you guys for that and would appreciate it if you kept them coming!

As for school, its been pretty dandy. I'm officially a huge fan of online learning. I feel that I have a much better understanding of the subjects since I'm responsible for all the reading and comprehension.

My Feminist Theory and Political Science are also pretty cool. They're critical thinking courses where you have to read some essays and stats and make your own opinion based on the readings. In feminism, I get to read about women in the past who fought for my right to vote, choose and say what I want. And what better time to take Political Science than September to December. I get to learn about the government during the biggest political event in our young lives! This is my first time voting and I can honestly say that my vote will me an educated choice. :D

Speaking of voting, I'm actually anxious about it. The closer the date comes, the more nervous I get. I'll admit that I'm still undecided. I still have about 2 weeks to make a decision but wowee...I'm still in a tossup.

In not asking who you're voting for, but is anyone else in the same boat? Don't know who to vote for yet? I mean, there so much pressure right now for all of us to choose one of the other. Sometimes, its hard to cut through all the propaganda and make our own decision. It's a lot of pressure, you know?

Leave your opinions in the comments section or send me an email. I know I can't be the only one super excited/freaked out about voting.

Studying Makes a Difference

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not one to study. It's never been " my thing". Usually, I would just listen to what goes on in class and get all my information from there. But lately, that hasn't been working.
Why?
Two words.
ONLINE CLASSES.

These classes are entirely up to you for learning. You are in charge or reading the chapter and you're in charge of making sure you have a grasp on all the materials you'll be tested on.

The first week, I thought I could pull off a good grade by skimming the chapter, getting the key terms and reading the chapter summary. Boy, was I wrong! I got a 55 on my graded (and timed!) assignment. It stunk.

The next week, I stayed in the library after all my classes and got down to actually reading the whole chapter. It only took my an hour. (Remember, I'm not much of a studybug so this short time of reading kinda surprised me.) Then, I did some of the review questions at the end of the chapter to make sure I can all the materials down. The next graded assignment, I didn't even need the book to refer back to! I got an 85 all by myself. And yes, I did give myself a pat on the back.

So, studying made a HUGE difference.

If you're not much of a studybug either, I suggest trying to stick to the Berkeley Library for studying. There's tons of cubicles here in the Garret Mountain campus where you can cut off the rest of the world for an hour and get some work done. It makes a really big difference. Trust me. ;-)

Wake Up and Register!

Alright guys. We have until the 14th of this month to register. If you haven't yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

If you're not too sure on how to register, I'll break it down for you...
-Go here. (www.rockthevote.com)
-fill out the questions
-print it out
-send it through snail mail.
DONE

You don't even HAVE to vote in November but its a pretty good idea to register anyway. If by chance, one day you wake up with the sudden urge to choose our new President, you'll have the option to do so.
Remember,
IF YOU DON'T REGISTER, YOU CAN'T VOTE.

Fall 2008! Hello, Everyone.

It's fall quarter 2008! Welcome back everyone! and Welcome all Freshmen! Hope you all enjoyed the summer weather because the cold has made a comeback this week!

I'm taking a little break from my reading to catch everyone up on what's up with little old me. This is currently my last fall quarter! I'm a hop, skip and a jump away from completing school and graduating with my Bachelors! But first, back to reality. :) I decided to condense my school days into on-campus Tuesdays and Thursdays. This way I can balance work, school and my family with ease. I dedicate the onsite days entirely for school. From the moment I step foot on campus (8:30am) until 7pm, I will be getting all my homework done. I want to take advantage of having all the books and references I need to do my assignments in the library.

Tomorrow, I'll be finishing up my first round of assignments for my new classes. I love my classes this quarter! Here's the line-up. Political Science, Feminist Thought, Consumer Behavior and International Trade. The onsite ones are very interactive. They're primarily forum based so it's professor-to-student and student-to-student talks.

Im looking forward to classes tomorrow! Summer was very slow so Im glad to have a bustling, full campus around.

By the way, has anyone seen the new Berkeley website? Isn't it very Myspace looking? It's so much easier to navigate through. Thumbs up to the web designers!

Nothing Like It

There's nothing like a kick in the butt from a friend to break a bad funk. I'm not gonna lie. I've been seriously slacking off in my studies. Last night, my friend shook the dumb out of me and gave me a whole new drive to do my best. I want to leave my mark here in Berkeley! I took today as the first day of the rest of my senior year.

During the JDRF tie-dye extravaganza outside today, I told Amy that I'm gonna try my best to support the shuttle bus proposal. All we need are signatures of students who NEED this bus to run more often. I want to get some of the signatures down before Fall Quarter. October is when all the new students come in and jam into the tiny shuttle. Most of them catch the second departure. If you've ever ridden the shuttle in the fall, you know how we turn that little van into a clown car. There's students that pile in there by sitting on each other and sitting in the aisle of the van. It's a very uncomfortable ride up but its either 15 minutes of getting punched in the bottom by the van or being 15 minutes late for your morning class. LET'S GET THE BALL ROLLING ON THIS, PEOPLE!

Tomorrow I'm hopping over to the Newark campus for some heavy duty reviewing. Finals are less than two weeks away! I need to catch up in one of my classes. All that slacking has definitely caught up! Thank goodness for that shakedown last night. Otherwise, I don't know WHAT my grades would have ended to be. Jeez!

I'm blaming the summer air for my laziness. Now that fall is in the air, its all about Berkeley. :)

By the way, has anyone seen those Berkeley ads at Garden State Plaza? Imagine how cool I looked when I was wearing the white sleeveless Berkeley College tee while it was on the billboard. Mm-hmm. First, Myspace. Now, the mall. What's next?

The Bald Soprano

CLICK HERE FOR THE FLYER for
THE BALD SOPRANO.

Check that out! The entire cast is comprised of Berkeley students! And there's 7 performances. That means there no excuse for you to miss this show. I'm acutally pretty excited about this one. If you haven't checked out any of the past Berkeley performances at Garret Mountain, you've missed out on a pretty good time. Don't make that mistake again!

Professor Farrington's got me all hyped up for it.

Not only do I get to see my classmates act, I also get a little insight on how talentedhis campus is. We have actors, musicians, dancers, artists, poets, lyricists, everything! Lately, the activity period events have provided outlets for students to relieve their stress by expressing their creative sides.

So come check out "The Bald Soprano". It's free for Berkeley students.

New Berk Alert!

Remember back in the high school days when having your cell phone on you was an absolute no-no? Well, this is college. Cell phones are darn near necessary this day and age. Almost all professors list their cell numbers on a syllabus as a way to contact them in emergency situations. Students can use their cell phone calenders are reminders for exams and quizzes. Now, Berkeley has come up with a way that our small little cells can save our lives.

Last month, Berkeley College introduced us all to Berk Alert. If you're part of the college. chances are you received a voicemail, a text and an email as a tester to see if you can receive alerts.

If you didn't receive all three, I suggest you update your information on Blackboard. This stuff is pretty important. Lets just say there was a natural disaster, a bad situation or an alien attack at one of the campuses. You would be informed right away through email, text and calls.

I have to say this is one of the coolest things Berkeley has cooked up. I feel a lot safer knowing that I'll always be in the know if something were to ever happen on campus.

Now if only other organizations would do the same. (-coughcoughNJTRANSITcoughcough-)

Murphy's Law

"Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way"

I am living proof of Murphy's Law. This past Tuesday, I went to the beach with a couple of friends. We sunbathed, skimboarded and had our fun in the waves. I thought I had water in my ear so I wasn't too worried about that weird pressure in there. Who hasn't had water in their ear? Well, it turned out that it wasn't water in there. Saturday afternoon, I was admitted into the emergency room in Hackensack Medical. My ear went ballistic! It turns out I had half of Long Branch Beach inside my ear. It was horrible. I spent the night there.

That's the worst way part. The worst time part is that I had an assignment due on the 19th! I couldn't submit it! The thing about online assignments on Blackboard that really cinches it is that the assignment submitter is closed after the due date. I have my assignment but the submitter is gone. What I'm going to do is email my assignment and save my little hospital tag as proof that I couldn't submit my work on that day. (Hackensack Medical's computers don't have USB ports. Trust me, I checked.)

My lesson after this? Beware Q-tips and submit homework ASAP because you never know what might happen later on in the day.

First Week of Summer Quarter: Done

Sure, I only have two days of school during the week but my Mondays and Wednesdays are jam-packed! I go from one class to the other to the other. I kinda like it. It keeps me focused. Besides, I'll always get a break on Wednesdays on Activity Period. Summer activity periods are really relaxed so I'll get to go outside for some fresh air and maybe catch a bit of color before heading back to the grind of an International Business class.

If you have the opportunity to come to school in the summer, I suggest you do. If you think about it, 3 months off school is pretty dramatic. You can lose a lot of what you've learned all semester in one summer. It's not like I'm missing out on summer fun by going to class. Half of my friends are still asleep by the time I'm done with all my classes. (You know everyone sleeps in during the summer.) I'm glad I've been coming to school in the summertime. Not only do I get to graduate a year early (think about it, 4 summers equals one year of school), I also get to keep all my classes fresh in my mind. I won't forget important skills and information I've learned from prerequisite classes because of a 3 month intellectual hiatus.

Also, summer quarter is only 11 weeks. So why not?

Right now, I just finished my first set of summer assignments. I will admit that professors are a little more lenient on homework in the summer. We get to work in class though. Most of the work is done in the classroom. The nice, cool, air-conditioned classroom. :-)

Now, I'm off to get my free Slurpee. It's July 11th (get it? Seven Eleven?) and most 7-11's are giving away free slurpees. Don't believe me? Check out this link and run to 7-11!

Tornado in Jersey? No Way.

WAY. (Click this link so check out what happened.)

A tornado hit my town on Tuesday night. It was pretty intense. There were trees and garbage cans flying in the air! Before I knew the severity of the storm, I was making jokes that my house is going to the Land of Oz. Well, that night, it looks more like a disaster zone than Oz. Powerlines fell and there was no electricity anywhere. Trees collapsed on houses and cars. Streets were closed and there were small fire everywhere. There was flooding and electrical wires everywhere. The town told residents to either stay in their homes or evacuate immediately. No one was allowed to drive around. That night was full of sirens from the patrol cars making sure everyone was alright. My mom decided to take my brother, my sister and I to a hotel in Secaucus to be safe.

The next day, we came back home and started helping with cleaning our block. We moved giant branches out of the street and made sure everyone was alright. The town told my block that we wouldn't have power until Friday.

This new freaked me out because reviews are this week! I had no way of getting to school because a powerline fell in the middle of the road where I take my bus. Also, NJ Transit trains were down. I was crossing my fingers that my professor's would understand that I was in a disaster zone.

Yesterday, I took my laptop to the nearest McDonalds I can find that had power. (They have free WiFi and good Sweet Tea for a buck. Its a win-win.) I sat down and sent an email to all my professors about what happened. Luckily, they all responded quickly with emails containing the reviews I missed and "good luck" messages. Also, a couple of classmate knew what town I lived in and heard about the tornado. They were nice enough to send soem additional notes from lecture. I'm so thankful for Berkeley email. Now, I can review! I saved the computer and headed home, relieved that I won't be missing anything for the finals.

It's now Friday afternoon and, although some parts of my town still have trees all over the streets, my power came back. I just wanted to share my little story and show everyone how helpful everyone at Berkeley is. It's such a tight-knit campus in Garret Mountain. If something happens, you know your friends and professors have your back.

I'm so ready for finals now.

Berk Perks!

I finally got my camera to work so expect a bunch of photos to accompany posts.

A Berk Perk that we got was a chance to go see the Yankees play! I was lucky enough to get four tickets. I called a bunch of buddies and we hit the game. I wish my batteries didn't run out as soon as we got there! But it was pretty spectacular...and loud. I've gone to my fair share of music festivials and lemme tell you, the volume at a Chiodos concert is nothing compared to the roar of Yankee Stadium. Thanks to Berkeley for such a great opportunity to visit Yankee Stadium while it's still here.

Yesterday, my finances got packaged. I'm ripped, roaring and ready to go for summer quarter! I got my hands on a couple of scholarships this year so my out-of-pocket came to a a whopping total of...$9.80. That's less than the price of dinner! Now I won't be worrying about summer quarter during our 2 week break.

I'm starting to sell my books now because most of my finals are based on exersices and comprehension more than definitions and memorization. I guess that's a good way to determine whether you grasped the concept of the course. If anyone is taking Graphical Business Presentation, I have both books you'll need if you wanna make a trade or buy them. Chances are I'm just going to sell it at BuyBack. There's a pretty good deal with BuyBack this year. When you sell your book, you automatically get signed up to win a free iPod nano. Lemme tell you...this little thing rules. They hold movies, music videos, games, music, photos, and everything. If you're gonna sell your books online, at least sell one back to Berkeley for your chance at winning one. (There's four that are up for grabs.)

Berkeley College: Faster Than Your Pizza Delivery Guy

For the record, I'm going to try to use a little more discretion on what I write down here. Unfortunately, something was taken out of context from one of my entries and it was what I liked to call "much ado about nothing." To make a long story short, sorry to my professors who were a little freaked out this week but thanks for understanding.

Again, if anyone has any questions or concern about what's up at Berkeley or in this blog, don't hesitate to leave a comment or (if you wanna be more private), send me an email. All the contact info is on the right-hand tabs.

By the way, if you're in any of my classes, our grades are up on Blackboard now.


I was a little freaked out by how quick the school took notice of my opinion. My friends usually complain that their universities don't hear what they have to say. I'm lucky enough to have blogger, which is like a megaphone for my thoughts as well as the thoughts of my peers. Berkeley also have SGA, which have made great strides in the school in a short amount of time. There's so many ways to put your two cents into what goes on around here. I guess that's what so cool about going to a smaller college. Your voice won't get lost in a crowd.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this school is full of incredibly helpful professors and administators. Any problem you might have, they're with you every step in the way.

Did You Memorialize on Memorial Day?

Yesterday was pretty great. Memorial Day is a day to honor the troops, right? Right. I spent most of the day getting a care package ready for my best friend who's stationed in Iraq right now. Its a little bundle with music magazines, an iPod and letter with doodles to keep his spirits up. Sure it won't get there for a couple of weeks but I'm sure when he gets it, I'll get a facebook message full of thank you's and "<3" signs.

Other than that, I spent my weekend at home. I had a break from work (surprisingly) so I spent the whole time with my mom and siblings. We ate pasta and watched National Treasure 2. I'm glad I spent the break home. My skin isn't sunburnt and I don't have a cold from the chilly beach nights.

This holiday didn't really mean much to me until after high school when a good portion of my core friend group joined the armed forces. Some are still around while others are on the other side of the world. I'm pretty sure everyone knows someone in the armed forces. If you didn't take a time out during our 4-day weekend, take some time now to appreciate them. Even if you don't believe in the war, tip your hat for their sacrifices. They miss our birthdays, fun holidays and all days in-between. Appreciate them on Post-Memorial Day.

Happy Siete de Mayo!

Happy Siete de Mayo, everyone. I know it makes no sense but Berkeley decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo a little later in the week for Activity Day. It was like our own little holiday here!

There was tons of food, an art area where you can make and paint your own maracas (mine came out pretty sweet if I don't say so myself), frozen maragaritas and daiquiris, quesadillas, music, dancing, singing, jumping, pinning tails on a donkey, piñatas, candy, etc. It seemed like the whole campus (including professors and some administration) came out for the hour and partied it up.

It was nice to take a break today. Some classes are still testing for midterms so the tension in the hallways are pretty intense. Thankfully, tons of sugar, some music and a little bit of sun got everyone to relax and smile. Honestly, I don't remeber the last time I laughed so hard. The piñata contest was hilarious. There were several photos taken by students so I'm pretty sure they'll turn up on Facebook and on the campus photo collage.

On My Way to Online Course

I'm currently in the process of writing a couple of essays for my online course exam. I'm getting closer and closer to internship time, meaning I'll have to start figuring out how to take a class off-campus. The exam isn't too hard so I'm confident that I will pass. The test is primarily an evaluation on how well you can work Blackboard and how well you can format and write essays using MLA. I'm revising my essays so I can get a high score in wrting. Hopefully, I'll have time to submit it tonight after work. It takes about two days for the test to be graded and the results to show up.

Once I pass, I'll be able to enroll to online courses for the summer. I already have a schedule for summer but its only 12 credits since I'll only be on campus twice a week. I'd prefer having 16 or 18 credits so I don't fall behind once Summer 2009 is here.

It's hard to believe that in exacting one year, I'll have my bachelor's degree. College is going by so fast! I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.

The Calm Before the Midterm Storm!

Next week, all my classes are going to have their midterms. Its Friday night and I just finished my round of studying. I've decided to study a little every night instead of cramming everything in on Sunday night. Its one of those promises I made to myself on the "Stop Procrastination" seminar. So far, its been going well. On Thursday, I stayed in the library for hours and hours getting all my homework done so I'd have the weekend to study. That worked out well also.

A bunch of my friends from other schools have their finals either this week or next week. They're all worried and stressed trying to cram a whole semester's worth of notes into their caffiene-driven brains. Luckily, I'll be learning from their mistakes. I'm studying an hour every night so I can pick up my grades and rock these finals. I'm more determined that ever to shine on my finals.

Just because I study like crazy doesn't mean I've missed out on anything. This past Wednesday was Collage and Karaoke day. The machine was out til 3pm because of all the singing that was going on. It was hilarious and fun! If you're lucky (or unlucky, depends on how you look at it), you caught my rendition of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated". This week is Siete de Mayo! Last year's Cinco de Mayo was hilarious and fun with all the hats and smoothie margaritas and nachos. I can't wait. These Activity Day events are exactly what students need during the summer time. A little sun and a whole lot of fun.

Midterms??! Already?

The weather has been getting really nice outside. The flowers are all blooming and everyone with a convertible is driving with their tops down. You know what that means? Midterms! Usually, I'm cool as a cucumber when it came down to midterms. My classes were relatively simple so the tests would be okay. This time around, I'm driving pounds of coffee to stay up and study. The class material is all brand new to me so I won't be able to get by with mere memorization. I'm actually getting down to understanding and utilizing the material in real world situations. (Pretty much what you're suppose to do with that you learn in college.)

This new and improve motivation to study came from a seminar I attended two weeks ago that was held in the Student Center. It was a self-improvement type of thing. The focus was on breaking the bad cycle that procrastination gets you in. I realized the only thing holding me back from doing any of my work is myself. I learned to put aside distractions and get to what needs to be done. The seminar really did help. At the end of it, everyone had to sign a little contract to themselves. It was a promise to take control of our own lives. I taped it next to my mirror so I would have to look at it every day and remember that.

I was so inpired by the lecture that I decided to try to take an online course. I've heard a lot about how difficult it is with all the reading and self-motivation thats involved in trying to be your own teacher. I'm up for the challenge. Since registration has already begun for summer students, I figured now is as good a time as any to try out an online course. Right now, I'm in the testing phase to see if I'm even qualified for the course. I'm one essay away from submitting the test. I'm just doing a couple of revisions here and there. Hopefully, I'll do well. Less time on campus will mean more time for work and family. Also, I'll save a bunch on transportation costs. With this hike in gasoline prices and repair work on the NJ rails. public transportation has been a nightmare!

Well, I'm gonna stop complaining. At least the rail is still working, right? I'm off for some mooore studying now that Gossip Girl is over. (If its one thing that can disrupt a study session, its the TV show, Gossip Girl.)

Lack of Clubs? / Getting Rickroll'd

I would have taken photos yesterday if I had remebered to charge the batteries on my digital camera. Not so smart.

I noticed that there was a significant decrease in desks this time around for the club convention. I wonder why. Anyway, I joined the accounting/finance club. My professor is one of the advisors so it should be kinda cool. (Yeah, I used cool and professor in one sentence!)

Something that I did manage to take a picture of yesterday via my cell phone.

This is the photo of a massive "Rickroll" my entertainment studies professor pulled on the entire class. It was pretty hilarious. The rest of the day, I was humming "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. If you're not too sure on what a Rickroll is, read the Wikipedia article here and find out. Its pointless but totally funny.

We did go on with the lecture but I thought it was a great way to bring back the attention during a split period. Activity period cuts the class time right down the middle so student usually come back tired or completely off off the classroom mindset.

17 Credits in One Quarter

I thought I was going to have a hard time juggling 5 classes in a week. It turns out that its not that bad! Sure, there's tons of studying involved but most of the work is done inside the classroom. That's something I appreciate about going to school here. The lecture classes have a back and forth format where a professor explains a concept and the students can ask for help on it right after class rather than waiting for an appointment. I've been asking tons of questions in my financial class. (Word to the wise: You might want to take Principles of Finance and Statistics together. They have a lot of the same concepts and financial formulas.) I haven't fallen behind in any of my classes either. 4 out of 5 have assignments that are done online. This is a HUGE convenience for me. My time on campus is more limited than ever thanks to my new job. Any time I have on campus is dedicated for gathering tons of notes and grabbing something to eat before crunching in a 4pm to close job. I'm not complaining about that though. Its helping me develop time management skills.

As for tomorrow, its the first activity day of the Spring Quarter! The weather is supposed to be great so I'm guessing that the Club Convention will be an outside event. These are always fun. The tables are set up outside and everyone on campus gets to see each other and see what's new on the club roster in campus. One club I'm really interesting in is the Finance/Accounting club. Call me a "geek" but I like the sound of it. Also, I might rejoin Music Club. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to more meetings (and get my guitar fixed on time.) I'll try to take a camera with me and snap a few photos here and there.

Can't wait to see everybody there!

By the way, if you see Professor Fabes anywhere, give him a pat on the back. He had a major surgery last week and somehow managed to come to school and teach his class one week later. That's major. Props, Professor Fabes.

Berkeley's Facelift

My first class was on the third floor. I had no idea the entire floor was revamped. When I opened the door from the stairwell, I thought I was in the wrong building! It's so bright and shiny and new! I almost got lost a second time when I was looking for room 013. Since when did we can 0 rooms? I went asking around and it turned out the that D rooms are now 012 and 013. (FYI for anyone who hasn't had a class there yet.)

Also, the new student bulletin board in front of the library. It full of flyers for upcoming events! This week is an "Activity Period-less" week. From what I saw on the calender, this quarter's activity periods are gonna be nuts. There's tie-dying, siete de mayo, and my personal favorite, more KARAOKE! I'll have the dates up soon. (Trust me, you'll want to take a study break and hit up the student center for these events.)

This quarter kicked off pretty amazingly. My first class was like a big high school reunion! After class was dismissed, 2 people yelled out my name. I turned around and its two friends I haven't seen for years! Then I step outside and another friend I haven't seen in years emerged! It turns out that a lot of people from the Paramus campus are now attending Garret Mountain. I went to high school in 3 different schools in Hudson and Bergen county so it was about time I saw a familiar face or two.

Also, the classes are great! I have a feeling that I'm gonna rock this quarter. I didn't make it to my 3.8GPA goal last quarter, but this time I'm definitely gonna reach my goal. I'll be kicking my butt every day to keep my grades up AND hold my new job.

Hope everyone's first week is just are amazing. By the way, Happy April Fools Day!

I Wish I Could Chillax Tomorrow

Tomorrow, for all those with time, head over to the Student Center during Activity Period for some mocktails, painting and ~chillaxing!~

Instead of sipping on a strawberry drink out of a crazy straw, I'll be rehearsing lines from A Midsummer Nights Dream for my drama final next Tuesdsay. I'll be playing Demetrius. We have to make a set, memorize lines, design costumes, make a playbill and perform without the aid of index cards. Now, if you ever read Shakespeare, you know why my group is taking all the time we can get to rehearse this.

Also, I had to miss my Statistics class on Tuesday because I had to catch up on so much work. I forgot to hand-in an assignment so I dedicated yesterday and today to catching up. So far, I'm up to date with everything except Statistics. I'm stuck in this subject. Instead of handing in a blank sheet, I'm handing in a sheet full of work that I think is correct. I'm not too confident about it. This weekend, I'm locking myself in my town's library and studying hard for the final. Its cumulative so I have to make sure I have a firm understanding on every little definition, formula and theory.

Man, this quarter went by pretty fast. I can't believe finals are already next week!

And Spring Quarter starts on the 31st! (I gotta get to work on getting those new textbooks!)

If you need any of the books for these classes, feel free to contact me.
Statistics
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Drama

STATISTICS IS THE TAMING OF RANDOMNESS

The title of this entry from the Gallery of Statistics Jokes. If you've taken the course. you will probably understand some of the joke. If you haven't, I doubt you'll understand any of them!

Im in the ASC center in Garret taking a break from my Statistics homework. Honestly, this is the most difficult course that I've taken so far. Its all probabilities and guesses. Nothing is definite in statistics. Even the answers given for homework and tests aren't definite. They're usually given in ranges. I spent 40 minutes on just one problem! My brain is fried at the moment so I'm taking a break. I have a happy Bright Eyes song playing on my iPod. I should be ready for round two of homework after I'm done with this entry.

Middle States has invaded Garret so all the professors and administation are running around the campus. Some classes had to be postponed or put online because the professors had to attend meetings. The Administation Building is full of unfamiliar faces. At least after today, the whole college will have a giant weight off their shoulders. Everyone has been really uptight about Middle States.

Also, check out Blackboard for a whole list of upcoming events like Berkeley Night at NJPAC (Hip-Hop: Out, Loud, and Proud) and the Breast Cancer Walk/Run in Branch Brook Park (which I'll probably be volunteering in.) I'll have a full list of event and details for you tomorrow.

For now, I gotta get back to work. Wish me luck on Problem two.

Train Turmoil

If you live around Essex and Hudson county, you probably know that the weekend storm left plenty of floods and power outages to make the Monday commute all kinds of fun. Luckily, I didn't have a problem getting to school. I can't say the same for my professor. Poor guy takes the trains from Penn Station. Amtrak and NJ Transit had a bunch of trains completely shut down because of the aftermath from the storm's wind and rain. He was a little late for class but still managed to make it. Snaps for the professor! Good thing too, because we had a big chapter test. I studying my brains out last night and it would have been a shame if that "I'm ready!" feeling wasn't satisfied with the test.

Tomorrow, I'm in Garret and the first thing I'm doing is marching up to Student Accounts and paying my bill for the next quarter. Honestly, I don't know how I forgot that I still owed money! If you haven't paid your bill, you probably get this weird pop-up window on Blackboard too. Good thing it was there. Otherwise, I would have forgotten. Ugh. I can't believe I forgot. Note to all: Check your balance. The last day to pay is in about two weeks. Checking right now will give you enough time to rile up enough money to pay for next quarter.

Adding One More Thing to Juggle

Today marks my third week at a new job. I needed to add the the household income. We're hitting some hard times right now so I felt the need to chip in a little more than usual. My job is all kinds of fun and fits into my crazy schedule. Sure, I have to sacrifice a few weekends here and there but, hey, that's life, right? I'm not a wiley 15 year old anymore.

Another plus is that this new job fits into my schedule for next quarter. How awesome is that?

Of course, with every good thing comes a bad thing. I'm coming up on my 7th quarter and I'm starting to worry about internship time. I don't know how I'm going to juggle classes, a job and an internship. I don't have a car, so night-time and weekend classes are out of the question unless Berkeley coincidentally start a shuttle service for those days. If I don't find a way to get to school and back on those times, I won't know what to do. Taxis like to overcharge students like crazy. I don't think I can do $24 roundtrip every night and weekend.

I'm planning on bringing up the shuttle bus idea to the Garrett Mountain SGA and see what can be done about it.

Man, do you know how many students would benefit from something like that? Dorming students can leave the campus to go shopping (for personal items and other things) and be able to come back the same day rather than waiting for the commuter times. I know a whole bunch of students who ride the commuter bus with me that have the same worries about intership time.

I'm crossing my fingers some could be worked out. Otherwise, I might have to transfer to New York or even out of school! All because I can't make it to campus.

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.

A Little Rest Before a Big Week

I can't wait for Spa Day to be here! Spa Day is a special event going on tomorrow in Garret Mountain for activity period. There's going to be massages, make-up and hairstylists! This is just one of the cool activities that Berkeley has been running during activity period lately. I'm going to take full advantage of Spa Day. Next week's schedule is going to start off really busy.

Monday, I have my second accounting test. I studied really hard for my last one and received a 90. Now, I'm striving for a 95. After that, I'm going for my big job hunt. Of course, we all know that the economy hasn't been so great so companies are cutting hours left and right. My family has started feeling the effects of these cuts so its my turn to jump into what will hopefully be a successful job search. First, I'm going to check out Career Services and see if they have anything available for me. They helped me a bunch with choosing my new major (by the way, I chose Business Administration) so I'm sure they'll be a big help with my job search.

Tuesday, I have a big test in every class I have that day. Starting tonight, I'm going to be studying Hamlet in Drama, re-reading 3 chapters for my Statistics and review about 20 pages of hand-written notes for Microeconomics. I'm really determined to increase GPA from 3.7 to 3.8 . Why? Well, why not? I know I can improve my GPA by trying a little harder in my classes.

Also, I'm planning on attending one of the performances of "Waiting for Godot" being held in Knupple Hall next week. There are flyers all around campus for it. It's free with a Berkeley ID. I've heard a lot of good things about the plays at Berkeley, so I'm sure it'll be great.

Call Me Lucky

This week I had a chance to speak of advisement about changing my major. At first I was concerned because the switch from Management to Marketing could mean losing credits. Well, my advisor started checking off classes that I have already taken and passed to see if they can be transferred to a Marketing major. (Sidenote: Its easier to switch when you're a freshman, but I am half way done with getting my Bachelor's so I was thinking it may have been too late to switch.) So, he was checking things off here and there and I was wishing and crossing my fingers that no credits will be lost. Well, call me lucky! I can a choice of switching to Business Administration or Business Marketing withou losing credits! So, I'm giving myself time to think about this change. I have until January 31st. That way, I hve print out my new Degree Audit in time for daytime scheduling for spring quarter.

Aleksandra (check out her Berkeley Blog here) left me a comment telling me she was in the same position I'm in when she was a sophomore. I'm sure I'm gonna annoy her with all these questions during the one week I gave myself to decide. Haha. I'll make sure to keep the questions to a minimum.

This is the perfect time to mention SGA! The meetings are held on Tuesdays at 3:30pm in the Multimedia Room. You've probably have see the announcements on Blackboard about them. I'm planning on attending as many of those meetings as I can. They keep you involved in school events and let your voice be heard on concerns you might have as a student. Hopefully, I'll be able to find enough people to be nice enough to give me a ride to the trainstation because the meetings start at the same time that the last shuttle bus leaves the campus. I definitely gonna mention something about added shuttle times that include one more after all the afternoon classes are done and maybe one for the nighttime classes. If there isn't a shuttle bus in service for night classes around my 10th quarter, I'm going to have to find myself a gas-powered scooter or something.

Berkeley is Taking Over Your Myspace!

If you have a myspace, chances are that you have seen the new Berkeley College ads in your homepage. See anyone familiar? If you go to one of the Jersey campuses, you probably recognize the young man in the ad. Here's the picture.

The first thing I thought when I saw this was "hmm...why is Berkeley becoming the college of choice?....Because Kris goes here." I said this outloud with my brother next to me. He was suprised when he found out that the guy in the ad really was a student. I explained to him that almost all the faces in the ads are actual students. Another one of my friends, Sabrina, appeared in a Berkeley College commercial.

You know, I'm in the NJ Campus tour video along with fellow students Kris and Aleksandra. We filmed it this passed summer. Its still being editted but as soon as its up on the website, I'll have the link for you guys so you can check out Garret Mountain campus.

There's a Big Change Coming!

Lately, I've been reading tons of "College to Career" books and almost all of them start with the same tip. "Do What You Like." I've been thinking about that tip a lot. I'm a sophomore in Berkeley and have been studying Management the whole time. But...I think I want to change it.

Of all the classes I've been taking in school, my favorites have been my economics classes. I'm good with charts and numbers. I learn pretty quickly in those classes, too. And lately, people have been telling me that I'm pretty good at changing people's minds. Its like that quote in the movie Tommy Boy, I can "sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves." So, I'm thinking of changing my major to Marketing.

Tomorrow, after I'm done with my test in Newark, I'm going down to admissions and talking to my trusty advisors, Kaersten, to get some help on how to go about doing this. When I get all the info I need, I'm going to head over to West Paterson and change everything around. I'd rather go there because I know the advisement department a little better and most of them know how I am about details and step-by-step instuctions.

I know I'm probably gonna have to take a few more credits and pay a little more but it will definitely be worth it.

So, there's my first step in "college to career"! I'm going to major in Marketing! I'm excited!

"Stormwatch" 2008???

My town was pretty jumbled after the lack of snowstorm this morning. There were shovels and salt setup on the streets. I saw people putting them away as I walked to my bus stop. You were either angry or happy that nothing happened.

Today was review day for the first big test in my Accounting class in Newark. I stuck my head my the textbook Sunday night so I can understand what was going on. There's a huge gap between the time I took Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting. I had to refresh my memory on debits and credits and all these accounts. Good thing I kept my notes from the other class. There's a bit of advice! Always keep your notes from past classes! You'll never know when they'll come in handy. So the review went great and I'm completely confident that I'm going to do GREAT on Wednesday, the day of the test.

I also found something out about my Berkeley ID card. I got my card before the Newark campus opened so my card wasn't updated with the security in Newark. I was trying to figure out why the security doors wouldnt open for my card. That's why! I was starting to feel weird about waiting for someone to open the door to get to class. Now, I can get in on my own. Thanks to the security guard lady in the front desk for explaining it to me. I was starting to think that I had to replace my card!

By the way, last week was the club fair. I forgot to mention it. Last week was such a mess that I missed it. My schedule is so tight that I might have to leave Music Club for a bit. The meetings are from 3 -5pm in Garret Mountain to anyone who's interested. They're a great group of musicians with passion an talent. Unfortunately, I dont have very much time this quarter to regularly attend. This is only a hiatus though! I will definitely be back next quarter with (hopefully) a new guitar.


Also, I'm starting to whole "College to Career" thing but I'll tell you more about that in my next entry because its pretty huge and Berkeley College's Career Services Department plays a HUGE role it in. But again, I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

Right now, I have some major statistics homework to finish up.

Meanwhile, Back at Garret Mountain...

Now that I'm back at Garret Mountain, I feel like I'm back at school. Newark is great and everything but Garret is definitely my kind of campus. Its a little more like a big community of students. Most of my buddies are here and I know where I know my way around. I mean, I guess its the same feeling when you go anywhere new. I just feel comfortable where I've been the longest.

Anyway, I'm here in the library borrowing textbooks like mad because none of my books have showed up in the mail yet! That's the downside to ordering things online. The wait is really stressing me out though. All my professors have assignment homework that involve the books. I only have one hour between the time the library opens and the time my first class starts. I kind of gave up finishing my statistics just now because...well, I only have a few minutes before class and the problem I was working on would take me at least 15 or 20 minutes. I'm not saying its okay to give up, but man, some things are just impossible. But at least I did all I could.

My classes are great though. I have Drama with a professor who's PASSION is drama. He already told us that there is a field trip involved so I'm really amped for that! (I didnt have any fieldtrips in high school so I get happy when these things come up.) I also learned a lot on the first day of class. Then, I have statistics. The first hour of class already has me freaked out. I'm terrible with formulas and numbers and guessing. After that is microeconomics. Usually, I tend to lose focus and doodle during business classes. (I have a hard time focusing on something for 2 hours straight.) Luckily, I got an enthusiastic professor for this course. He gets really excited and fully explains every tidbit of information he gives out. Seriously, I took like 5 pages worth of notes on the first class session. I have a good feeling that there will be absolutely no doodles in my notebook this quarter.

Tuesdays are so busy!

"Welcome Back to School, Everyone!"

Today was the first day of class. Yeah, I'm sure you think its kinda weird to start a college class on January 2nd but hey, that's how we do at Berkeley. I like it because if I was out of school for more than a month, I can guarentee you that my brain will erase all memory for previous classes.

Today was also my first day at the Newark campus! Its officially my favorite campus. The bus stop to get there is right down the block from my house. The trip is only 15 minutes and the bus drops me off right at the door of Berkeley! Today was freezing so I really appreciated the 4 seconds it took me to get in the building. The security is really tight also. You have to present your ID as soon as you walk it. I came to school a few minutes early so I can wander a little and check out the building. Its pretty plain and simple. Take the elevator up or down and walk up and down the hall. The first thing I did was head to the library. As soon as I walked in, I was glad that Winston was there! He's a librarian at Garret Mountain. I was so glad to see a familiar face! The first thing I did was borrow an accounting book so I can take notes before going to class. The accounting syllabus said that the classes had to read two chapters by the time classes were in session. I ordered the book online so its going to be a while before it arrives. I didn't want to come in completely unprepared so I did and quick skim and jot.

The note taking was genius. The professor got straight down to business once it was time for class. It already felt like it was the second week with the pace we were going in. Again, I liked it. It kept me awake and alert! I learned a whole bunch in that short 2 hours class. I learned the difference between managerial and financial accounting and the different types of costs and what operation in companies are catagorized under what kind of spending. All this on the first day! I took super sloppy notes but I'll re-write them once my book comes in.

So, after class, I start packing up and saw yet another familiar face. A girl from my middle school had been in my class the whole time! I was in the back so I didn't recognize the back of her head. I didn't get to say hi but I will next class. Its so weird seeing old classmates from years ago in college. And after that, I saw yet ANOTHER familiar face. Kaersten (my favorite counselor/advisor ever!) works in the Newark campus now! Seriously, she is the reason why I was into Berkeley. We had a nice little conversation in the lobby while I waited for my ride home. (The campus is so close to my house, my mother insisted on picking me up since it would only take about 10 minutes in a car.)

I was back home by 10:30am! I still had the whole day ahead of me! I'm thinking this is the perfect schedule to have if I want to look for a small part-time job. I'm going to time everything next week so I can be sure what times I'll be available for work on days I'm in Newark.

Obviously, I'm VERY happy with my experience in Newark. :D

Tomorrow, I'm back in Garret. I'm sure I'll have tons to write about.

Also,
Happy New Year, everybody!