Family, life, Brothers, Moms

Day 38

Sept. 29, 2010

I went and visited Matthew in his apartment and he cooked dinner. I love living close to my brother :)

And guess what? My professor loved my video about Bernoulli and is going to show it in front of the entire lecture hall :)

Also, Rose's Mom came and visited us and brought all sorts of interesting Chinese food to try!

And tomorrow Jenny's Mom is coming.

Yay to moms!

Heart you Mom!

Oh- the picture of the day- It doesn't really have great significance... There was just a window and flowers and I thought it was pretty.

What is this wet stuff falling on my head?

Day 37

Sept. 28, 2010

I got rained upon. No rain is the wrong word. Poured upon. No, still not good enough. Torrential downpour? Closer. Pluvial avalanche of misfortune? Alright, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but really! I need to buy an umbrella.

So I had a required financial training in the Quad, which for you non-Harvard folk, is a set of dorms and buildings about 15 minutes from where I live, and there is a shuttle that runs back and forth.

So, being from Seattle, I always think I know about rain, but.. well you'll see.

Anyway, so the shuttle doesn't show up, and after 25 minutes, I am already late, so I decide to walk there. I am already completely soaked. I walk with a few other people in the same situation, and finally we arrive. I walk in dripping water on everything, only to be told, they have JUST shut the doors and are no longer allowing people in, and I will have to come to the make-up training on Friday.

ARRRG!

Picture of the day: So luckily, I didn't have my camera in the rain, or I would no longer have a camera. However, that also means I don't have a picture of me for today. So, instead I thought I'd share my notebooks. I have been decorating my notebooks since elementary school. It used to be glitter and feathers and flowers, and all sorts of craziness, but now that I am in college, I decided to be a little more sophisticated and use photos. The two for my Africa classes are actually photos from Kenya over this summer! E&M 16= Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning 16 (Statistics) AAAS=African and African American Studies, and well, you know the rest.

Kaboom! What happened to the Room?

Day 36

Sept. 27, 2010

So I walk into the room today, and it looked like this,

A combination garbage heap and an endless abyss

"Oh no! What a disaster! Oh no! What a mess!"

"Maybe I should clean," I said in distress.

But there was homework to be done and friends to see,

and that reading to read due ASAP!

So the room just sat.

And it sat

And it sat.

With that strange spot on the wall

Where something went splat.

Then my roommate walked in.

And slipped on the trash

Stepped on a violin

And boom she fell. Crash!

"Oh no! What a disaster! Oh no! What a mess!"

"Maybe I should clean," She said in distress.

But there was homework to be done and friends to see,

and that reading to read due ASAP!

So the room just sat.

And it sat

And it sat.

With that strange spot on the wall

Where something went splat.

And it sat. And it sat. And there it still sits today.

Waiting and waiting in a state of decay

For the time

When the homework is done and the friends are all seen,

When oh at at long last, the room will be clean.

Bernoulli the Blob

Here at Harvard we have many innovative and groundbreaking General Education classes that challenge the traditional ideas of what education is. I am in one of these classes called "Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning 16: Your Chance for Happiness or Misery." The class is divided into sections on topics related to real-life, including modules on love, money, medicine, and even chocolate/wine tasting. In each of these modules we learn about how statistical principles affect everyday decisions, and how ultimately, a better understanding of statistics can lead to a better life.

Following in this idea, instead of a problem set, our first assignment was to make a movie about statistics in order to learn about using i-Movie, as we will be making more movies to describe statistical phenomena. During the semester, we will even have two movie nights to share our statistics movies.

I decided to make a cartoon for my movie, and thus I spent all day taking hundreds of pictures and moving small pieces of paper a centimeter at a time. It is pretty unusual to learn about cinematography in a math class, but then this is no ordinary class. Pretty cool, don't you think?

Watch it!

Meet Bernoulli and follow him on his quest for love!

Its kind of small, so watch it full screen :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YakVJCgo2rQ

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! WEEEEEEEEEEE!

Day 35

Sept. 25, 2010

Kirkland house went to Six Flags, an amusement park! Jealous much! Giant Roller Coasters! Screaming friends! And you are studying, aren't you? Ha. :) Smug little smile.

Cleaning Toilets

Day 34

Sept. 24, 2010

Dorm Crew! No class on Fridays! So, today was my first day doing Dorm Crew! I spent two hours cleaning people's bathrooms, so I think it is time for a toilet joke! Come on! Here it is.

A Harvard man and a Yale man are at the urinal. They finish and zip up. The Harvard man proceeds to the sink to wash his hands, while the Yale man immediately makes for the exit.

The Harvard man says, "At Hah-vahd they teach us to wash our hands after we urinate."

The Yale man replies, "At Yale they teach us not to pee on our hands."

Picture of the day: Me next to my friend the Toilet :)

What color is my hair?

Day 32

Sept. 23, 2010

So, today somebody asked me "what color is your hair?", and I realized this is a big problem in my life. My hair is reddish, brownish, blondish. Thus, the picture of the day tody is actually a collection of three pictures, representing the range of colors my hair can be. The first represents blond, the second red, and the third brown. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but think about the implications! Should I be insulted by blond jokes? Should I wear the color green, traditionally supposed to look good on red-heads? What about state ideas, driver licenses, and all other official forms? They always ask you to fill in your hair color, and what am I to say?? What if I can't be identified in an emergency because I have the wrong hair color???

Its a big problem.

Really.

Another Day

Day 31

Sept. 22, 2010

What to make my picture of the day? You can only have so many pictures of studying outside, and nothing super exciting happened today, so I was in a real pickle!

But then I checked my email! And my friend sent me these pictures of me in Kenya from her camera, so I thought I'd post them. Aww. Daydreaming about summer... You think I could keep a donkey in my dorm room? :)

Random Fun

Day 30

Sept. 21, 2010

Anyway, so I was just walking down the street today, and i was attacked by a GIANT OSTRICH! Well, kind of. Actually, it was more like I ran into a guy into a guy in an ostrich suit doing a promotional for stride gum where they take your picture and post it on their website for you to download. So, here it is! Pretty random, pretty awesome.

I also participated in a psychology study, where we had to solve math puzzles, like finding the three numbers that add up to 10 among 16 in matrices. Nick earned $70 doing it! I earned $17... but that is still pretty good for an hour :)

Flower Power!

Day 28

Sept. 20, 2010

Hello everyone! Ever have a strong desire to cover your entire room in tissue paper flowers? Well, I know I certainly feel like this often!

Last year I made about 100 tissue paper flowers with my roommates and entry-way mates, and we covered my entire dorm-room in them. In many ways, these flowers defined my freshman year.

Anyway, I was invited by Harvard's women's Center to teach a session on how to make them So, I did! The picture of the day is of me and my friends Suzanna and Graham in the Women's center with our flowers :) The other picture is my dormroom last year.

Conquest Into The Insatiable Esotericism of the Academic Underworld

Day 27

Sept. 18, 2010

Picture of the day: One of my many conquests into the insatiable esotericism of the academic underworld, plotting methodologically, systematically and progressively my ascendancy to the pinnacle of humankind, working onwards into the encroaching blackness of night.

In other words: I spent much of the day in the library doing homework.

Fun Fact: Kirkland library is one of the oldest buildings on campus, and during the Revolutionary War, George Washington's troops slept here.

Adventures in Postering

Day 26

Sept. 17, 2010

I got a job today! I am going to be a posterer for Harvard, meaning I get paid to put up posters in all the dorms about upcoming events. I emailed the manager, and she said I could start today, and I would get paid $30 to poster 8 houses, and it was supposed to take 2 or 2.5 hours. Sounded like a good way to get exercise and get some extra money. But... being me, it didn't exactly work as planned. In the process of postering I lost my ID card, and since the job had to be done by 5:00, I had to get a new ID card ASAP. By the end of 4 hours of postering, I was exhausted and thirsty, so I bought a soda.

$30 pay

- $25 for a new ID

- $2 for soda

-------------------

$3 net profit for day or $0.75 an hour. LOL!

Oh well, I'll get better at my job :)

Other highlights:

My boyfriend Nick made my night when he sat down to dinner with me at the dining hall, asked me how I was, and promptly spilled his entire glass of lemonade and grape juice all over my white skirt. I actually thought it was quite amusing, and everyone had a good laugh.

Then tonight I went on a boat cruise for international students. Yes, I know, I'm American, but my roommate Miriam is international, and I had a great time making up a terrible fake accent and having people guess where I was from. People guessed Russian and even Turkish, and I met some awesome people.

I love my Roommates

Day 25

Sept. 16, 2010

This picture of the day is actually from about two weeks ago, but I just got it off of Jenny's camera. I just wanted to write about how awesome my roommates are! We are all so different that there is no way in a million years we would all be living together if it weren't for freshman year, but we all get along really well. Here's a little bit about each (from left to far right and back to middle in the picture).

First, there is Rose. From being a manager at Harvard Student Agencies, to keeping us up to date on fashion and parties, Rose is truly amazing and often my go-to girl for advice on the social scene and on life. (Love you Rose).

Then, there is Jenny, who seems to be involved in everything here on campus. With a billion political and Harvard events a week, I wouldn't go to half the events here without her. (Love you Jenny).

Finally, From being my encyclopedia for the world to being my roomie, I love Miriam. Our random fact is we have the exact same taste in food, and she is always up for trying something spontaneous. From crazy Africa room decorating parties to random acts of fun, Miriam is an amazing girl to live with.

Aww, Rose is sleeping on the window seat as I am writing this and she is so cute. My crazy, busy, incredible, roommates. We had better stay in touch for the rest of our lives, because I can't wait to find out who these incredible people will do with their lives.

Picture Book Post

Day 24

Sept. 15, 2010

Once upon a time there was a girl named Laura who didn't like to to homework. She had a big test coming up, and was upset because she wanted to play with her friends instead. First she thought if she made a really sad face, maybe her teacher would feel so bad for giving them a test that she would cancel it and take them out to ice-cream instead. Unfortunately, the teacher didn't.

So she thought maybe if she ate her homework, she wouldn't have to study. "Rawwr!" She said. But she knew paper tasted gross, and the teacher probably wouldn't accept the excuse "I ate my homework..."

So, she got to work studying. She studied and studied and studied until she couldn't take it anymore. She made one last angry face and...

She did really well on the test! "Yay!" She said. "Now I am done and I can play with my friends!" and off she went.

That's right boys and girls! The moral of this story is you should do your homework instead of eating it.

THE END

(So happy to be done!)

Study Study Bo-Buddy Banana-Fanana Fo Fuddy Mi My Mo Muddy, Study!

Day 23

Sept. 14, 2010

I studied all day today. I have a quiz tomorrow on all Africa's countries, capitals, major cities, and landscape, and I really want to do well! That on top of 10 pages in Swahili to read, and I sat in my closet all day and read.

On another note, I am going to be published! My report I wrote about going to Kenya was selected to be read by selection committees and Harvard students who want to study abroad :)

Also, I got a job cleaning bathrooms! I know, doesn't sound very exciting, BUT I get to meet lots of cool people working in partners, or if I work alone, it is a great time to listen to my Ipod and brush up on my spanish with podcasts. I'm actually pretty excited. I am going to training on how to clean bathrooms tomorrow. Mom and Dad- You better watch out because I might just clean the bathroom when I get home!

Alright, I should stop procrastinating and go study! So, here's the picture of the day! I managed to get outside for just a moment on my way to the dining hall, so here it is!

Sleeping

Day 22

Sept. 13, 2010

This picture epitomizes today. From the sleepy darkness of the low dark rain clouds that blanketed the city, to my sleep-deprived friends whom I ran into today, to my sleepy 9 am class, to my daydreams all day of taking a peaceful nap, only to be interrupted with other more pressing things. I was just about to take a nap, in fact, when I realized I hadn't updated my blog...

I still have to memorize all the capitals and major cities in Africa and then I will fall asleep just like this in my sleepy little closet. *Yawn*

Boston Islands

Day 21

Sept. 12, 2010

You may not be able to tell from this picture of me standing next to apparently normal cement, but this is not normal cement at all, but really old cement, from a fort from the revolutionary era.

Today I spent the whole day with the Harvard Outing Club, visiting the Boston Islands. We saw old forts, and played lots of Frisbee, played Ultimate Apple (Ultimate Frisbee with an apple).

The second picture is of me and two other sophomores, Emily and Katrina on the ferry. As you can tell, it was very windy!

The last picture shows a very sad reality- this was the first tree I have seen which is changing color. It was actually pretty cold today. I am starting to miss the days of humid hot summer already.

Weekendus Productus

Day 20

Sept. 11, 2010

Not that you can tell by my picture of the day of me languidly lying in the hammock in our courtyard, apparently relaxing under the fading sun of early autumn, but I was VERY productive. I applied for three jobs, signed up to tutor Swahili, did my spanish homework, learned all the countries and capitals in Africa, got my bangs trimmed so that I could see again, put away all my clothes, cleaned my dorm-room, scheduled a club meeting, and multitasked much of this by listening to spanish-learning cds. I even had time to hang with my boy after dinner and watch a movie.

What a good day :)

Harvard Carnival

Day 19

Sept. 10, 2010

I love having to classes on Friday! All this week I have been waking up at 7:00 AM, but today I got to sleep in until 10:00! So wonderful. I finished buying all my textbooks, and get this. One of my books is called "A Cartoon Guide to Statistics." It is hilarious and actually a really good textbook. I'm actually really excited for this semester.

Now, you may be wondering- what is this beautiful picture. Well, let me tell you. First of all, this picture is good because I GOT A NEW CAMERA! As you may have noticed, I have gotten behind on my blog because I haven't had a working camera, but get ready everyone, because now I can post a pic daily :) The picture (s) of the day are of the Harvard Carnival- that's right everyone! We get our own carnival. It is part of the attempt to get Harvard students to actually have social interactions with each other, especially now that Harvard has been put on the Princeton review's list of worst party schools. We had giant inflatables, cotton candy, and Miriam and I rode a mechanical bull!!! I actually stayed on for quite a while. I Heart Harvard!

Brought to You by the Letter S

Day 18

Sept. 9, 2010

Today was study card day. That means we have to turn in what we want to study, so here it is! This is my schedule for this semester-brought to you today by the letter S.

Spanish

Swahili

Statistics- Your Chance for Happiness or Misery

African Studies 11- Introduction to African Studies

Oh, also, every Thursday my house has Stein Club (Also brought to you by the letter S), where they serve food and alcohol, and everyone comes to socialize. Today was the first one! The theme was back to school, and so they set up four-square outside, and we ate things like Oreos and string cheese.

And I almost forgot the best part! I have no class on Fridays! So, I can party all I want Thursday, and that's what my picture of the day represents! (It doesn't matter if in reality I stayed in and studied spanish....)

A Busy Day

Day 17

Sept. 8, 2010

Wednesday is a busy day for classes, but it was fun too. I love statistics. We use clickers so that the whole class answers questions and it is very interactive. This unit is about love, and we learned about how to get data for sensitive questions. We had to answer if we had ever cheated in a relationship, and at first hardly anyone said yes, even though it was anonymous. Then, we learned about a better method. We were all told to privately flip a coin, and if we got heads we said yes no matter what, and if we got tails we answered truthfully if we had ever cheated. Using this method, we got a much more accurate responses (after some basic math) because there was no way to tell if you were answering yes because you had cheated or because you had gotten heads. It was great!

Today I also talked less Swahili in Spanish class, and African Studies seems good too. We all had to sign release forms because we are going to be in an educational documentary about the African Studies department. It is a bit scary, though, because if you ask a question the camera points straight at you!

We had a fancy dinner for sophomores and people really dressed up! I had to go back and change because I was underdressed in my beach dress. That's my picture! Note my amazing still- sunburned back... A neat pattern, though!

After dinner I saw Matthew and we watched "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"- a very scary graphic foreign movie. It was interesting and disturbing to say the least!

Mark Zuckerberg Lived in My House!

Day 16

Sept 7, 2010

I had Spanish today, and I am definitely still trying to speak Swahili. I'll say something, and everyone will look at me strangely, and then I'll realize why. Oops.

In Kirkland house, we have upperclassmen Big Siblings to show us around, and tonight we had a scavenger hunt with our Big Sibs. We had to take pictures of ourselves spelling out K-I-R-K-L-A-N-D with our bodies, draw pictures, and know obscure facts. Did you know the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, lived in Kirkland? And even Barack Obama applied and was rejected to be a tutor (an adult advisor who lives in each entryway)... And WE WON!!!, so I got this t-shirt.

You know you need a new camera when:

a. Your picture comes out like this

b. You think to yourself: Wow! That is actually a good picture. I like that effect...

Rockclimbing!

Day 15

Sept. 6, 2010

So, I went rock climbing today with Nick and a few other Harvard Mountaineering club members today in New Hampshire! I have to admit, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I've been climbing indoors before, but... well when I arrived and realized how high these cliffs I was supposed to be climbing were, I was pretty intimidated.

After giving me the quick lesson on what to do, they started me off on on a route they said should be pretty easy. However, I got about five feet up, didn't know where to put my hands, and grasping onto the cliff with all the strength I could I said "Nick, I really don't think this is my sport!! Let me down!" But, then I tried an easier one, and it was actually pretty fun. I am definitely not a natural rock-climber, but I'm really glad I went. We spent the whole day there, but one big problem was my shoes were way too small and it made climbing pretty painful, so I quit early.

After it got dark we all ran down to a little pond, and went swimming in the dark. It was COOOLD, and so we all dipped in and went screaming and laughing back to the car.

The picture of the day is of the first cliff I was going to climb, but couldn't get up. Pretty big, isn't it? There is an actual picture of me climbing, but it is on someone else's camera, so I'll post it when I get it!

Fun in the Sun

Day 14

Sept. 5, 2010

All of the sophomores in Kirkland house went to the beach today to get to know each other. I met a whole group of girls who are really interesed in Africa and social entrepreneurship and we instantly bonded. I was really excited, because it is hard to find people who have similar life ambitions and see the world as I do. We talked of maybe doing a project or business together someday Wouldn't that be fun!

We played games and hung out, and it was a gorgeous day. The only problem with gorgeous days is on gorgeous days there is sun... and of course I forgot to put sunscreen on my back... and of course I was wearing a dress with a criss-cross back, and I think you can see where this is going- yep during the revolutionary war, I would definitely be called a lobster back...

Picture of the day: There were so many good ones, I couldn't choose.

1. All Kirkland sophomores

2. Meeting Tom, my house master

3. Wheel Barrow Race!

Harriette My Love

Day 13

Sept. 4, 2010

I went to Ikea with Matthew. Ikea is something else. It is HUGE and has just about everything. We got Matthew a desk an were about to leave, and then I saw Harriette. She was big. and green. and perfect! The love was instant, and now we have a fifth roommate. She is well behaved, beautiful, and never complains. Maybe I should replace more of my roommates with plants... Just kidding! :)

The picture of the day is pretty exciting! This, everyone, is our put- together room! It is still a work in progress mind you, but after having to put up the paper lanterns about a dozen times after they fell, moving the furniture around 6 or 7 times, and countless trips to bring back another box or item we forgot was in storage, here it is!

Meet the Africa Room!

Day 12

Sept. 3

SEPT. 3- Yay! No class today because I don't have class on Fridays! We were supposed to have a carnival, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Earl, so we had a girls night instead, with fingernails and unpacking. Unpacking has taken FOREVER! Days ago I was talking about carrying boxes, and I still am. What all did we pack in these things???

By the way, Hurricane Earl is such a disappointment. It rained a little, but it it is no even wind out here. These East Coast people don't know about rain! This "hurricane" is like every day in Seattle!

Picture of the Day: The Africa room. So, if you don't know, my roommate Miriam grew up in Ghana, and since I am an African Studies concentrator, we made a Africa room with all things Africa. I hung up fabric from Kenya, and Miriam has tons of figurines, soccer jerseys from the world cup, pictures etc. We even have a zebra beanbag.We are pretty excited about it!

I'm a Ballerina!

Day 11

Sept. 2, 2010

The pod arrived today! I spent the evening carrying boxes for Matthew into his apartment, and then he drove me and all my stuff to my dorm. I didn't bring much in my suitcase. For example I only brought one pair of really uncomfortable shoes, so it will be nice to be all settled in and able to walk around without getting blisters.

I also met with Swahili Class for the first time. I am going to be in a class of only two other people, and we are going to read real novels in Swahili! A bit intimidating but also very cool. Also, my friend Kiana posted the rest of her photos of me as a ballerina. I love having a professional photographer as a friend!