Skipping lunch today, not hungry. I will be in about a half hour, but would rather keep working at this point. We are having blueberry pancakes today, according to Heather. I'm editing my Seeger review again so that I can send it to Casey, the Arts editor ( to be published in next week's paper, stay tuned!). He's really enthusiastic about the section and is letting me have a lot of say, which is really nice. I'm also helping my friend Zach decide what phone to get.
My friend Hunter is E-I-C of another CN paper, The GW Patriot and they have a fairly active blog. His post today was on Michelle Obama wanting the GW seniors to do 100,000 hours of community service and then she'll be their commencement speaker. I posted my comment/ thoughts on the subject, but it certainly is something to think about: is compulsary community service really service to the community?
I'm going to write a brief post on 9/11 for the Forum. I'll always remember I was in my 8th grade English class when my Civics teacher ran in and turned on the t.v. and I saw, for the first time in my life, real evil existed in the world. And it changed my life and perceptions forever. I'll maybe link to it later. I need to read now, which means I'll probably spend half my time scribbling down article ideas.
Also, more proof that my last name will be abused for the rest of my life :) in an endearing way, of course:
Zach: RHYMEALONE!... I think that's your new nickname, since you like English. And it sounds exactly like your last name.
Julie: Except not at all!
Zach: Eggzachly
Busy weekend:
Friday (today) class at 3, then helping serve wine at EX's faculty reception (I was actually really flattered they asked me since I'm friends with a bunch of them, but I'm certainly not a groupie), then KKG's freshmen boys ice cream social from 6-8, 9/11 memorial service on the quad from 8-9 and then a few parties for the rest of the night.
Saturday: the whole chapter is going down to Columbus to the Heritage Museum, KKG's HQ. We're the only fraternity to own the house of a Founder and have our HQ there, so that is very neat. Also, our chapter only goes once every 4 yearss AND my big April works there so I will get to see her!!
Sunday: Open House, start of fall recruitment! Dinner with Kate and Heather, start of CCA I: Lincoln, Toqueville and America.
I know I sound super-fratty, but I really will be getting homework/ reading done this weekend! I have to; I can't afford not to at this point. Too much to do.
On a final note, Dr. Sundahl told me to use my "sweet, Kappa voice" to read poetry aloud in class, which I loved (he's hilarious and one of my favorite professors; very much a character). It was really great and then he asked me to read an epigram which he originally said was Shakespeare, but it's actually Longfellow:
"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time."
Be well, and have a wonderful, sunshine-filled weekend.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
It's like Robinson, only without the 'n' or Robertson, only pronouncing the 'ert' as an 'i'
It was recently brought to my attention that perhaps I should clarify exactly how to pronounce my last name. You see, being a Robison and not a Robinson has had certain disadvantages in my life, namely being that people struggle to properly pronounce my last name. I am here to dispel the myths:
Robison -- ROB-is-sun
*'rob' which rhymes with 'bob' and 'job' and is not pronounced 'robe' or 'row'
Does this help? I hope so. Believe me, it's frustrated me more than it ever will you and you are not the last (sadly) to struggle with its pronunciation. I do think that friends, at the very least, should pronounce each other's names right :)
The day was rainy--my wellies were back on! I'm in my sperrys now. I had my first meeting with my thesis director today and it went relatively well. I'm expecting a package from my mom any day now (things I forgot at home, etc.) and wait for it impatiently. I'm in the middle of writing a letter to my friend Andy, who is stationed over in Afghanistan. He married one of my good friends at school this past summer, but was deployed in August. His wife, my friend Marisa, is still here at school. We've been running a lot together because the Army Wives association has decided they're going to run 175 miles between now and Christmas (when the guys come home for a break) to support them. Let's just say I've been icing my shins more than usually lately.
Talked to the Collegian (official school newspaper) people today about the Book Review section I am starting. I got one e-mail back! One freshman boy is interested! Yeah! By the end of this semester, I am hoping to double that.
Okay, back to the Cato letters and then bed. I really need to be sleeping more. Get excited for 09-09-09!
Robison -- ROB-is-sun
*'rob' which rhymes with 'bob' and 'job' and is not pronounced 'robe' or 'row'
Does this help? I hope so. Believe me, it's frustrated me more than it ever will you and you are not the last (sadly) to struggle with its pronunciation. I do think that friends, at the very least, should pronounce each other's names right :)
The day was rainy--my wellies were back on! I'm in my sperrys now. I had my first meeting with my thesis director today and it went relatively well. I'm expecting a package from my mom any day now (things I forgot at home, etc.) and wait for it impatiently. I'm in the middle of writing a letter to my friend Andy, who is stationed over in Afghanistan. He married one of my good friends at school this past summer, but was deployed in August. His wife, my friend Marisa, is still here at school. We've been running a lot together because the Army Wives association has decided they're going to run 175 miles between now and Christmas (when the guys come home for a break) to support them. Let's just say I've been icing my shins more than usually lately.
Talked to the Collegian (official school newspaper) people today about the Book Review section I am starting. I got one e-mail back! One freshman boy is interested! Yeah! By the end of this semester, I am hoping to double that.
Okay, back to the Cato letters and then bed. I really need to be sleeping more. Get excited for 09-09-09!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Happy Labor Day!
I do not measure my days in coffee spoons, but rather how many times I am bouncing my leg up and down because of the coffee I drank this morning (standard 16 oz. styrofoam, non-recyclable cup found in the Kappa kitchen), which was 1/4 to 1/3 coffee and then filled with skim milk, which not only helps dilute the taste, but also cools it down considerably. I'm bouncing because the coffee gives me more "energy" or whatever; I'm sure I'll run it out of my system tonight.
I am happy to report that because I drank the aforementioned coffee, I was completely alert during my Art History class, which is the litmus test for me as Dr. Bushey dims the lights to show us the slides. I find this a very dangerous practice with college students as 9 o'clock in the morning, but it is a risk she must take. We are currently in the Middle East area (which she is calling the 'Ancient Near East,' comprised of Mesopotamia and Egypt, respectively.
My Frost class was good today; we were discussing his literary influences and ancestry (Classical and American), his interactions with Pound in England (who wanted him to try more free verse, which Frost considered akin to playing tennis with the net down) and how he was a more traditional prosodist during the modernist poetry revival. I was also pleased that Dr. Sundahl brought up E.A. Robinson as a comparison to Frost, as well as his poem "Richard Corey," which I was happy to share aloud with the class since I was the only one who had previous experience with it (or, at least, admitted publicly to have read the poem, which really is a intriguingly dark look at people and interesting analysis in their perception of others).
Last night, while reading Frost, I stumbled upon one of my favorite lines of Frost, which I had found in an old Latin book of mine: "He studied Latin, like the violin,/ Because he liked it" - which I now know is from Frost's poem "The Death of the Hired Man," which is phenomenal. The dialogue between the husband and wife concerning their hired man and the dignity of life really should touch a nerve, especially concerning today's society that lacks an obligation to others and sees people as disposable.
I am eating lunch up the hill today, which will be my first time at Saga all year. I do not miss it, but I am excited to have lunch with the old gang (Marisa, Melissa, Zach and Mikey, respectively). I shall study in the library till 3, when I have Founding and then back to the house for the majority of the evening! We have our first chapter meeting of the semester tonight; quite excited. Mondays are going to be very Kappa-filled since I work crew for dinner, help set-up for the meeting and then have the meeting. I'm sure I'll squeeze more reading in there if necessary.
It is raining in Hillsdale today, so I am wearing my wellies, which Dr. Sommerville commented that he liked from under his umbrella. Dr. Siegel told me I looked happy today, which was probably due to the grin I wear all the time, but also could be attributed to my cornflower blue v-neck matched with kelly green cardigan--not to mention that my wellies are also kelly green and have navy blue seahorses on them :) My skirt is a dark corduroy brown though, so I do not look like a complete Easter egg today.
I hope you are all enjoying the holiday!
I am happy to report that because I drank the aforementioned coffee, I was completely alert during my Art History class, which is the litmus test for me as Dr. Bushey dims the lights to show us the slides. I find this a very dangerous practice with college students as 9 o'clock in the morning, but it is a risk she must take. We are currently in the Middle East area (which she is calling the 'Ancient Near East,' comprised of Mesopotamia and Egypt, respectively.
My Frost class was good today; we were discussing his literary influences and ancestry (Classical and American), his interactions with Pound in England (who wanted him to try more free verse, which Frost considered akin to playing tennis with the net down) and how he was a more traditional prosodist during the modernist poetry revival. I was also pleased that Dr. Sundahl brought up E.A. Robinson as a comparison to Frost, as well as his poem "Richard Corey," which I was happy to share aloud with the class since I was the only one who had previous experience with it (or, at least, admitted publicly to have read the poem, which really is a intriguingly dark look at people and interesting analysis in their perception of others).
Last night, while reading Frost, I stumbled upon one of my favorite lines of Frost, which I had found in an old Latin book of mine: "He studied Latin, like the violin,/ Because he liked it" - which I now know is from Frost's poem "The Death of the Hired Man," which is phenomenal. The dialogue between the husband and wife concerning their hired man and the dignity of life really should touch a nerve, especially concerning today's society that lacks an obligation to others and sees people as disposable.
I am eating lunch up the hill today, which will be my first time at Saga all year. I do not miss it, but I am excited to have lunch with the old gang (Marisa, Melissa, Zach and Mikey, respectively). I shall study in the library till 3, when I have Founding and then back to the house for the majority of the evening! We have our first chapter meeting of the semester tonight; quite excited. Mondays are going to be very Kappa-filled since I work crew for dinner, help set-up for the meeting and then have the meeting. I'm sure I'll squeeze more reading in there if necessary.
It is raining in Hillsdale today, so I am wearing my wellies, which Dr. Sommerville commented that he liked from under his umbrella. Dr. Siegel told me I looked happy today, which was probably due to the grin I wear all the time, but also could be attributed to my cornflower blue v-neck matched with kelly green cardigan--not to mention that my wellies are also kelly green and have navy blue seahorses on them :) My skirt is a dark corduroy brown though, so I do not look like a complete Easter egg today.
I hope you are all enjoying the holiday!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Kicking off first semester of senior year!! ...in the library
Ah, Friday. I just finished listening to "Rebubula" by moe., an awesome jam band who have been around since the early '90s. I went to their concert my senior year of high school. We were easily the youngest people there and came out smelling like weed. It was a great time. Now Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is now on...
Anyways, yay! I finished my first week of college! Now the fun part is seeing if I can survive my first full week...slightly more challenging. I am not particularly liking the whole getting up in the morning, but I got up way earlier in DC so I think I just need to get my sleep schedule back on track.
Tomorrow is the Catholic Society picnic and it's the first big CS event of the year so I have been super-busy organizing that as I am Social Chair of CS. The Sigma Chis are grilling, lots of people turned in their ID numbers to me; now I need to make sure the food gets delivered on time and everyone has a ride to Baw Beese (that's the lake/ park area in Hillsdale)!! It's slightly hectic getting things organized for such a large group of people and even though I enjoy doing it (and am happy to do it!), I will be relieved when it is over. I'm especially happy so many people signed up, Catholics and non-Catholics--it's a great way to get to know people at the beginning of the school year and reconnect.
Right now I am in the library, which I know sound super-nerdy, but I had to print off all these document I'll be reading for my Founding class, as well as a paper I wrote for my Colonial America class last semester for Raney. I wrote in on religious toleration in the colonies, specifically in Maryland and the precedent it set. I'll be dropping it off at Pi Phi for Julia to look over, because she's thinking about doing something with Catholicism and the Founding, which I think may prove difficult since there was only one Catholic signer (Charles Carroll) and the Founding was very much done in the Protestant tradition.
By the way, I need ideas for my Founding research paper. Seriously, I have absolutely no clue what I want to do. Dr. Birzer says we can do it on any thinker/ person, any idea, any event/ battle/ etc., any school of thought, or a comparison of any of the above regarding the foundations of the American republic, c. 1763-1815. I need ideas to bounce off of so that I can come up with my thesis so that I can get my research started ASAP for my annotated bibliography due in a few weeks. Share any and all ideas, please! I cannot think of anything I would like to write on, which bums me out, since I usually have too many ideas I want to do.
The Sigma Chis are having a huge party tonight, but I have not decided whether I am going to go out or not. If I do, it will not be until later, which is fine, because that's when the fun really starts anyways. I'm terribly concerned because I know a lot of my weekends are all ready filling up and not as productive as they should be-- like next weekend, we're all going down to the Heritage Museum in Columbus (Big is going to be helping with our tour, so I'll get to see her!!) and Sunday is Open House. The following weekend is Laurel's wedding and before you know it, we'll be at Homecoming, Fall Break and Parents' weekend! Oh baby, this is going to be a fun semester, regardless of the workload.
Running is going better and the soreness in my thighs from biking has waned. I've been approached several times by guys I play soccer with on the quad to when we're going to play again and that excites me. Playing soccer on the quad is one of my favoritest fall activities. I say fall because it usually never warms up fast enough in the spring to get many games in and, as we mostly play barefoot, the snow often dampens our enthusiasm for the nightly pick-up game. The games go on from any time between 9:30 and midnight and can last as short as 20 minutes or longer than 2 hours, with people coming and going as they please for a study break. The skill range varies, which is good and bad, but always interesting and enjoyable. It's mostly guys, which I think intimidates some girls out of playing, but it shouldn't. We're running over grass and sidewalk, playing around trees, avoiding the underbrush and having a damn good time while freezing in shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, returning to your studies with a huge grin and a few more bruises, only then realizing once you've stopped running that you are completely out of breath.
I was just found in the library and slightly mocked by their incredulous tone of voice that I would be found here on a Friday. I need to retreat somewhere people aren't going to find me. Maybe the Ludwig von Mises library or the study room in the basement of Kappa. I promise I'll be having plenty of fun tonight, which I know was never a doubt in any of your minds.
Mary sent this in an e-mail to the CS exec board and it made me pause and think: "I know God wouldn't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he wouldn't trust me so much." --Mother Teresa
Ah, "Baba O'Riley" by The Who just came on. Glorious! Happy Friday, friends!
Anyways, yay! I finished my first week of college! Now the fun part is seeing if I can survive my first full week...slightly more challenging. I am not particularly liking the whole getting up in the morning, but I got up way earlier in DC so I think I just need to get my sleep schedule back on track.
Tomorrow is the Catholic Society picnic and it's the first big CS event of the year so I have been super-busy organizing that as I am Social Chair of CS. The Sigma Chis are grilling, lots of people turned in their ID numbers to me; now I need to make sure the food gets delivered on time and everyone has a ride to Baw Beese (that's the lake/ park area in Hillsdale)!! It's slightly hectic getting things organized for such a large group of people and even though I enjoy doing it (and am happy to do it!), I will be relieved when it is over. I'm especially happy so many people signed up, Catholics and non-Catholics--it's a great way to get to know people at the beginning of the school year and reconnect.
Right now I am in the library, which I know sound super-nerdy, but I had to print off all these document I'll be reading for my Founding class, as well as a paper I wrote for my Colonial America class last semester for Raney. I wrote in on religious toleration in the colonies, specifically in Maryland and the precedent it set. I'll be dropping it off at Pi Phi for Julia to look over, because she's thinking about doing something with Catholicism and the Founding, which I think may prove difficult since there was only one Catholic signer (Charles Carroll) and the Founding was very much done in the Protestant tradition.
By the way, I need ideas for my Founding research paper. Seriously, I have absolutely no clue what I want to do. Dr. Birzer says we can do it on any thinker/ person, any idea, any event/ battle/ etc., any school of thought, or a comparison of any of the above regarding the foundations of the American republic, c. 1763-1815. I need ideas to bounce off of so that I can come up with my thesis so that I can get my research started ASAP for my annotated bibliography due in a few weeks. Share any and all ideas, please! I cannot think of anything I would like to write on, which bums me out, since I usually have too many ideas I want to do.
The Sigma Chis are having a huge party tonight, but I have not decided whether I am going to go out or not. If I do, it will not be until later, which is fine, because that's when the fun really starts anyways. I'm terribly concerned because I know a lot of my weekends are all ready filling up and not as productive as they should be-- like next weekend, we're all going down to the Heritage Museum in Columbus (Big is going to be helping with our tour, so I'll get to see her!!) and Sunday is Open House. The following weekend is Laurel's wedding and before you know it, we'll be at Homecoming, Fall Break and Parents' weekend! Oh baby, this is going to be a fun semester, regardless of the workload.
Running is going better and the soreness in my thighs from biking has waned. I've been approached several times by guys I play soccer with on the quad to when we're going to play again and that excites me. Playing soccer on the quad is one of my favoritest fall activities. I say fall because it usually never warms up fast enough in the spring to get many games in and, as we mostly play barefoot, the snow often dampens our enthusiasm for the nightly pick-up game. The games go on from any time between 9:30 and midnight and can last as short as 20 minutes or longer than 2 hours, with people coming and going as they please for a study break. The skill range varies, which is good and bad, but always interesting and enjoyable. It's mostly guys, which I think intimidates some girls out of playing, but it shouldn't. We're running over grass and sidewalk, playing around trees, avoiding the underbrush and having a damn good time while freezing in shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, returning to your studies with a huge grin and a few more bruises, only then realizing once you've stopped running that you are completely out of breath.
I was just found in the library and slightly mocked by their incredulous tone of voice that I would be found here on a Friday. I need to retreat somewhere people aren't going to find me. Maybe the Ludwig von Mises library or the study room in the basement of Kappa. I promise I'll be having plenty of fun tonight, which I know was never a doubt in any of your minds.
Mary sent this in an e-mail to the CS exec board and it made me pause and think: "I know God wouldn't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he wouldn't trust me so much." --Mother Teresa
Ah, "Baba O'Riley" by The Who just came on. Glorious! Happy Friday, friends!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
Today is my cousin Tommy's birthday and the day before I start my senior year of college. I moved into the Kappa house on Sunday and am still unpacking due to my socializing around campus. I start school tomorrow and still have much to do, but I wanted to give a little update.
At this point, I am loving being back on campus, loving seeing everyone, loving the beautiful fall weather, loving living in the house. Wait till tomorrow to see how much love is still left in my bones, but I am sure lots will still be there. I need to finish organizing everything before I feel like I can wholly commit myself to the semester. I have SO many books...Heather (my roommate for those unawares) found another two boxes of them. I'll have the final count for y'all soon.
The poem of the day is (obviously) "September 1, 1939" by W.H. Auden. It is darker, but very prevalent. The last line of the second to last stanza was extremely controversial in the day. Auden, later in life, would oftentimes not let the line or the poem be included in anthologies and if it did, the 'or' would be changed to 'and.' You may thank NPR for enlightening me on that subject today! This was also the day Nazi Germany invaded Poland and thus started WWII.
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