Pancake Breakfast @ 10pm

On a mission to raise money for our spring formal the girls in my sorority hosted a all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. However, we decided the most profitable time to have this event would be a 10pm. I normally dread this type of event. To my surprise, I found myself singing and dancing in the kitchen while placing chocolate chips in smiley patterns on pancakes. It was rather relaxing to laugh and be goofy. As a result of my enjoyment, I have a new study plan for this falls finals: laughter. I'm on a mission to find a way to make all materials entertaining. I've begun by writing little stories and rhymes to help me remember equations and ideas. I used to do this a lot, but recently I haven't been adding my creative touch to my studies. It's time to go back to that.

Additionally, I was able to go to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra's performance recently. It was AMAZING! I love to sit back and have all of my senses taken over by music. I don't even have words to describe the experience. To make it even better, tickets were only $10. In fact, CSO tickets are always $10 with a student id. I'll be really sad the day that I'm no longer a student. This experience furthered my study plan too. I'm going to study with classical music on. This is also something I used to do, and for some reason it faded.

So, I have big plans: laughter and music. Those are going to be my tools for scoring some big grades on my finals. I'm getting kinda excited. I get a rush out of the cramming and taking test experience, and that's what qualifies my as a major nerd. I'm okay with that though, cause its fun.

Study, study, then study more...
But don't let it be a chore.

Waha

I'm the Scrooge.

The holiday season living in Chicago is nothing like anywhere else! I found myself wondering downtown this past weekend, and it happened to be the evening of the lighting of all the holiday lights. I tried to stay off North Michigan Ave. for this reason. It all seems way too excessive for me. I've never been a big fan of the holiday season, as I often find myself buying gifts for people purely out of obligation. I like the break from school, and being with my family, that's all. My grand conclusion and blunt statement: America took Christmas too far. Uff Da! And it didn't matter until New York's foo-foo shop commonly known as Macy's eliminated the Marshall Fields name. That's what pushed me over the edge.

This years Scrooge,

Waha

Nerds can sing?

Midterms are over! (except that one I have to retake tomorrow because I didn't do so well the first time.) And my fish is eating again ;) I need a good name for him now though, I was calling him anorexcia, but now that he eats he needs a new name. Possible names include but are not limited to:

Theodore
The Red Machine (he's red, and we are playing a peice in wind ensamble at VanderCook called "The Red Machine")
The R.A. (recovered anorexic)

Other exciting news...not fish related. We didn't have classes yesterday for the President's Inaugeration!!! The Biomedical Engineering Soceity hosted the annual pumpkin launch after the ceremony. It's always a fun event. And then the volleyball team had a game in the evening; they won! It was the first game I made it to this year, so it was fun to watch friends play. I lack depth perception, so I find people who can play sports involving flying objects to be rather impressive. There was an acapella group that sang the national anthem too...I didn't even know we had an acapella group at IIT!?! And being a music person (I play french horn); I was very impressed.

Peace,

Waha

Photos from Pumpkin Launch:

My anerexic fish...

I bought a fish,
That doesnt eat.
Wont even consume,
A blood worm treat.
Fish food,
Must taste bad.
But anerexic fish,
Make me sad.

The Most Exciting Game of Pool Ever

Me
Elliot
The mini pool table
8 balls
one cue

The battle insued... many were lost on both sides. Numbers accumulated in the high 3's and 4's. The Elliot lost 4 balls; but was only able to steal 3. Therefor, due to the diparate loss of balls, the Waha was the champion. All lost balls were burried in the table...never to be seen again. It has been speculated that certain religious scriptures tell of the "return of the balls" and an all ending pool match...only time and faith with tell.

Put It In Your Pocket,

Sarah
~special contributions made by Elliot

Shh... Its quiet time

So, I had an awesome weekend! My best friend from home came to visit me, and we had fabulous fun walking downtown, shopping, and eating potbelly's (a personal favorite).
This is us under the bean at Millenium Park...


Then I went home for the week! I've been missing my family soo much; Its so nice to be home and see them. I live out of Chicago about 90miles southwest. It seems so quiet here... And everything and everyone is so calm. There is no hurry to get things done or pressure to be productive. Its such a nice pace... I really miss it. I love Chicago, but there's nothing like coming home.

Embrace silence,
Waha

PositivIITy

So, if positivity isn't a word already... it is now! I had a fabulous experience yesterday because someone made an effort to say something nice. I was making my daily walks for work--I deliver things and communicate with people all over campus--and one of the women I work with in the housing office is new. She has had a load of work put on her and not necessarily the proper training for her job. Everyday we sit down together and connect up the offices. Yesterday, she said to me, "I cant tell you what a life saver you've been these past few months." I take my work seriously, but I don't ever think of what I do as having a major impact on anyone specific. When she said this though I started to think about it...I realised not only that I do have an impact, but more importantly how good it felt to have someone tell me something positive. I returned my appreciation for her hard work, and later that day made an effort to share my appreciation for someone else.

My mother has a motto: Tell people if they need to improve, but also tell them when they do are doing well. She carries this concept to the work place, the store, and everywhere she works with people. What she's found is most of the time people are unaware if they are doing something unsatisfactory and are interested in constructive criticism, and they feel great when you tell them you appreciate them. I like this. I think it works, and I make an effort to do so. Yesterday's positivity was an excellent reminder of just how important this is!

Peace out cub scouts,
Waha

ps. spell check as confirmed that positivity is already a word...guess I'm too slow on that word creation. Its funny how some words you can just tack on the "ity" and its a word already, but others...no one ever bothered to make into real words, so we have to do it ourselves.

Hot Water

Ever have one of those morning when you turn the water on and suddenly remember that the hot water was turned off for the day... Yeah, thats what happened this morning. If it were any other day, I'd create a word or phrase for that feeling, but cause its one of those days thats just not possible.
Peace,
Waha

Sox's Transfer Day!!!

The Admissions office did a special day for incoming transfer students....

Time flys--if your having fun or not...

The list of things I wanted to do this summer was quite extensive...however, the reality that none of those things are going to happen is starting to sink in.  At the same time, I've found a great amount of joy in being lazy.  There is something so nice about just laying around in the evenings in no big rush.  Sure, I didnt get anything done this summer, but I've enjoyed it.  I think thats more important than anything.  I've begun preparing for the fall now...looking for text books, organizing my school stuff, and making all those back to school doctors appointments.  And of course my compleate personal analysis of what I can do to improve my study habits and work ethic.  I never really had to study before I got to IIT; so, the process of learning how to study has been an experience all its own.  But I've got some ideas, and I've decided to make myself a box of study aids--really just an excuse to spend money at the container store.  Here is what my box should contain...

1. Notecards--in a variety of colors and sizes.  I like to make flash cards and write down key points.  

2. Lots of Markers and Highlighters--lets face it, color kicks things in the brain.

3. A big sign reminding me to take a 15 min. break and relax.

4. A coloring book--this is what I can do while I'm relaxing for 15 mins.  Maybe some Sudoku puzzels too; I have to do semi-mindless things so my brain can absorb sometimes.  

Thats one sad list that kinda sounds like I spend lots of time doing nothing...which is usually the case.  Focusing is no small task and one that is quite exsausting.  I think I spend more energy thinking about studing than accually doing it.  

Peace out cub scouts,

Waha

Fergie, PINK, and Belmont

Its always hard to come back on Monday morning after a fun weekend!  And I had a fabulous weekend...  went to the Fergie concert hosted by Victoria's Secrete PINK line.  It was a free concert at the Charter One pavilian center--in walking distance.  It was an awesome concert and there was tons of free PINK stuff!  Unfortunatly, I was out pretty late and had to work early the next morning for Open House.  So I was a little tired...  Saturday night my good friend from home came to visit me, he stayed the night and on Sunday we went up to Belmont and went to one of my favorite restaurants, Leona's.  We then walked down to Lincoln Park and visited my sister and her boyfriend.  Matty, my friend from home, bought a book at Urban Outfitters called whats your TV Personality.  It asks you ten questions for each show and tells you what charater your most like; we had quite a bit of fun with this.  Then I came home and slept!  I was at work again this morning at 7:30, so I'm also quite tried today.  The parents are coming in tonight to celebrate my dad's birthday! 

The word for today is Macitize--to make one's computer run as much like a mac as possible.  I love my Mac...so I downloaded as many Mac programs on to my computer at work as I could.  I just can't handle Windows.  So, I decided there needed to be a word for such an action.  

Peace out cub scouts,

Waha

velocIITy

Hi, Hello...

I'm Sarah and I'm a student at Illinois Institute of Technology.  I work in the admissions office and was asked to start a blog.  So, uh... here goes? 

Warning: I'm a very poor speller and my english is random.  I used to speak competitivily, so I just insert commas, dashes, and elipses where I would pause when speaking.  However, this isn't nessisarly always the correct placement...  But I think it is, cause thats where I want my reader to pause--right where I did!  My appoligies to english teachers everywhere.  

Now that we got that out of the way...  I could tell you more about myself:

1. I like list!

2. I'm a biomedical engineering major and a sociology minor.

3. I'm a transfer student.

4. I like to make up words.

5. Issueous is the word I'm currently trying to coin--it means to be filled with issues, to take issue with everything, or to have the potential to take issue with numorous things.  

6. Its a very fun word to say, I recommend make a fool of yourself right now and saying it out loud to oneself three times.  

7. Kudos to those who accually did that!  And double kudos if there were other people in the room who gave you strange looks when you did so.  

Okay, I think thats all for now!

Peace out cub scouts,

Waha