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 .