So, with the exception of the fact that I must write this on my netbook. I don't mind writing it on my netbook but it means that my regular laptop is kaput. Why can't I find my install cds? When it go the blue screen in January, I had to wait a few weeks to restart it. But it restarted without the install CD. A few days ago, it got the blue screen, but restarted an hour later. I've been trying for 3 hours tonight. It hasn't been working. I guess I'll try it tomorrow or something. Or later on tonight. I'm impatient.
Otherwise, I guess I'll be taking a trip home soon. Who knows when, but I will!
In any case, I have to go home to have my mom sign a few forms for my trip abroad! Shazaam! I'll be going to Thailand in January. Yay! I'm really excited! I've been wanting to do this since freshman year, but it wasn't offered this year, so I went to south central Europe instead. The nice surprise, though? It's only $3,614! Most trips are around $5,000. I feel privileged.
Also, I feel accomplished. Since December, I've been planning a day for Robyn Ochs (http://robynochs.com) to come to campus and speak. It finally happened yesterday! I did the contacting, the contracting, finding the funding, PR, etc. I know it's poor practice of me, but I didn't really use help from others except for funding from organizations (including the Grose Family Endowment, the Soc/Anthro, Social Work and Family Studies, American Studies and Women's studies departments, the Gender and Sexuality Center, GLOW and the Student Organizations Committee), as well as Prof. Bill Poehlmann, Willa Simmet, Brian Walpole, Pierce Devol and his mom to help with transportation. It was a really great day! We were late to the first class, but the class is 85 minutes long, so it's probably all right. She spoke to two women's studies classes, a human sexuality class, and then did a lecture called Beyond Binaries and a workshop called Choosing the Label. It was a very full day, and also very successful. She spoke to around 110 people total yesterday. Pretty cool.
Anyway, today was also the Day of Silence (http://dayofsilence.org). We had an estimated 85 people participate in that, and GLOW raised $175 from t-shirt sales. Awesome!
Showing posts with label glow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glow. Show all posts
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A Goody Two Shoes Weekend
I guess my weekend wasn't too goody goody, but I was trying to get rid of the cold I've had all week, so not much happened. Friday, I went out to eat at Mandarin Garden in downtown Northfield with Meichen and LaVana from my interim trip. It was good times!
After, I watched 10,000 BC and ate half a box of Thin Mints. The cookies were good! The movie, not so much. It was fun to watch, I guess, as long as you don't mind historical anomalies and a bad plot.
In any case, I fell back into a couple bad habits this weekend: first, eating a ton of girl scout cookies. Yeah, I ate two boxes in 3 days. Awesome. Second, staying up late for no good reason. I stayed up til 2 even though I was just dicking around. Ergo, I slept til noon on Saturday. I guess it did no harm, as I just spent most of Saturday dicking around too.
I also watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, while eating Thank You Berry Munch cookies. Cookies, mediocre and the movie, worse. Not worse than 10000 BC, but worse than the cookies. The movies were equally bad. Both fun, but bad plots and writing and pretty much everything but the adventure. Although, after the movie, I watched a History Channel "documentary" about aliens teaching ancient cultures stuff, and they mentioned a few of the things in the movie.
Anyway, back to the goody goody ness of the weekend. I went to a church today. Not the service, just the building after the service. The UU church in Northfield held a fundraiser for a local GLBT organization, and that organization ended up being GLOW! So a few of us coordinators went there to pick up the check and take a picture with the people giving it to us to go in the Northfield News.
After, I went to the coop for local, responsibly produced, organic groceries, and cooked not only one meal, but my lunches for the next week. How responsible of me... also, I walked. lol. I am so green.
After, I watched 10,000 BC and ate half a box of Thin Mints. The cookies were good! The movie, not so much. It was fun to watch, I guess, as long as you don't mind historical anomalies and a bad plot.
In any case, I fell back into a couple bad habits this weekend: first, eating a ton of girl scout cookies. Yeah, I ate two boxes in 3 days. Awesome. Second, staying up late for no good reason. I stayed up til 2 even though I was just dicking around. Ergo, I slept til noon on Saturday. I guess it did no harm, as I just spent most of Saturday dicking around too.
I also watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, while eating Thank You Berry Munch cookies. Cookies, mediocre and the movie, worse. Not worse than 10000 BC, but worse than the cookies. The movies were equally bad. Both fun, but bad plots and writing and pretty much everything but the adventure. Although, after the movie, I watched a History Channel "documentary" about aliens teaching ancient cultures stuff, and they mentioned a few of the things in the movie.
Anyway, back to the goody goody ness of the weekend. I went to a church today. Not the service, just the building after the service. The UU church in Northfield held a fundraiser for a local GLBT organization, and that organization ended up being GLOW! So a few of us coordinators went there to pick up the check and take a picture with the people giving it to us to go in the Northfield News.
After, I went to the coop for local, responsibly produced, organic groceries, and cooked not only one meal, but my lunches for the next week. How responsible of me... also, I walked. lol. I am so green.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
TDOR
Today at St. Olaf, we celebrated Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The MN GLBTA Campus Alliance came to Olaf to give a workshop called (trans)gender 101.
It was very good. It was one of the better workshops we've had. We learned about gender systems, what makes up identity, about different genders and sexual orientations. Our facilitators were Mike and Anna. Mike is has a really long job title at Augsberg. Anna also has a shorter job title at Metrostate. Both are GLBTQA coordinators at their colleges, basically.
We also had a display throughout the day. We had a tall kiosk. On one side we had information about TDOR, resources to be involved with orgs that work with the trans community, a few stories of some of people who have been murdered in the past year.
On the other side was a list of all 354 people who have died as the result of transphobia. Most were stabbed, shot or strangled. One three year old boy was beaten to death by his father because he wasn't acting tough enough a few years ago. A 19 year old gay man was decapitated, dismembered and then burned in Puerto Rico earlier this year. One person died of AIDS because the hospital wouldn't treat her because she was transgender.
We also had a large pile of shoes to represent all the people who have died. We covered it with chicken wire (mainly for symbolism, but also to prevent shoe theft).
It is so good that we had that pile of shoes. So many more people looked at our kiosk just because they had no idea why the pile of shoes was there.
I normally don't have much patience for making displays like that. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything to make it. I'm not so good with that sort of thing. I'm more of an organizer, not an artist. I put the kiosk together while Matt and Willa put the shoes together.
Very good day, imo. Nothing huge, but it was successful.
The MN GLBTA Campus Alliance came to Olaf to give a workshop called (trans)gender 101.
It was very good. It was one of the better workshops we've had. We learned about gender systems, what makes up identity, about different genders and sexual orientations. Our facilitators were Mike and Anna. Mike is has a really long job title at Augsberg. Anna also has a shorter job title at Metrostate. Both are GLBTQA coordinators at their colleges, basically.
We also had a display throughout the day. We had a tall kiosk. On one side we had information about TDOR, resources to be involved with orgs that work with the trans community, a few stories of some of people who have been murdered in the past year.
On the other side was a list of all 354 people who have died as the result of transphobia. Most were stabbed, shot or strangled. One three year old boy was beaten to death by his father because he wasn't acting tough enough a few years ago. A 19 year old gay man was decapitated, dismembered and then burned in Puerto Rico earlier this year. One person died of AIDS because the hospital wouldn't treat her because she was transgender.
We also had a large pile of shoes to represent all the people who have died. We covered it with chicken wire (mainly for symbolism, but also to prevent shoe theft).
It is so good that we had that pile of shoes. So many more people looked at our kiosk just because they had no idea why the pile of shoes was there.
I normally don't have much patience for making displays like that. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything to make it. I'm not so good with that sort of thing. I'm more of an organizer, not an artist. I put the kiosk together while Matt and Willa put the shoes together.
Very good day, imo. Nothing huge, but it was successful.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Coming Out Week
Last Sunday was National Coming Out Day. At St. Olaf, where nothing but homework or movies happens on Sundays, we celebrated Coming Out Week. Coming Out Day was created to celebrate everyone's identity, and encourage people to be out (as GLBT or an Ally or whatever they felt like) to let others know who may not have the courage to be out, that there are other GLBT people or people who support them in their community.
Anyway, we had a lot of events happening all week because of NCOD. Monday, we had a theologian from St. Paul come and speak with us about the intersection of faith and sexuality, and how coming out is an holy act. It was a good talk, if one needed faith-based support, or if one were a Christian ally. I was a little lost and apathetic.
Tuesday, the QLBT women on campus were invited to have dinner with Ellis, a singer/songwriter gay alumna. Oddly enough, we had tacos (vegan and gluten free, as Ellis has dietary resrictions). Get it, the lesbians eating tacos? haha. Anyway, Ellis is one of my favorite people in the world. She's so funny, and down to earth, and full of great ideas and quotes. For example, her cell phone beeped a few times from her coat pocket in the next room. "That's just my cell phone. There's not a submarine trying to get in the house or anything. If y'all were worried about that." *insert awesome laugh*
After that, she played a concert. It was really good. She's so talented and funny. She's a folk artist who writes her own songs. She performed one she wrote when she was feeling sad one day, and decided it's not really her most of the time, so she's going to try to sell it to someone less stable.
Thursday we had a fun community time celebration. Community time is an hour (or an hour and a half if you don't go to chapel) on Thursdays where nothing is scheduled. No classes, no mandatory meetings (or they're not supposed to be, anyway!), etc. So we made a rainbow balloon arch, 120 cupcakes, and put on some loud gay music in Crossroads. If you took your picture under the rainbow arch, you got a cupcake! It was a fun hour and a half. The table near ours was a boy scout selling popcorn. I felt a little bad for him, so he got the last cupcake. It was also Fall Preview Day aka Prospie Day, a day when all the prospective students of St. Olaf come and see what it's like here with their parents. We had about a dozen prospies take their picture under the rainbow arch too. And the Regents were on campus today too, so all tenured profs had to dress up in full regalia for a ceremony and everything. The Regents don't really support GLBT issues, so I'm glad we could come out in full force that day.
Later that evening, we had one of the first year students give a workshop of queer people of color. He was recently a speaker at the March for Equality in DC, and even gave a speech. That's pretty cool, especially for someone so young. His workshop was a little speedy, and didn't really go in depth as much as I would have liked, I guess. But he has been active in California high schools, not Minnesota colleges. He isn't really sure how much we know or what we have here. For example, he doesn't seem to know that GSAs are nation-wide, not just in California.
Friday, we had a party called the GLOW Underground at the Asian House. We used the Asian House (1) because it's on it's own in the woods far away from everything and (2) we don't have the GLOW house this year. : ( It was called the GLOW Underground because (1) There was a DJ in the basement and (2) it implies that there will be drinking. Which there was.
It was a fun week. : D
Oh, and I got an A on my Women's Studies paper. But I got a B- on my Asian Politics paper...
Anyway, we had a lot of events happening all week because of NCOD. Monday, we had a theologian from St. Paul come and speak with us about the intersection of faith and sexuality, and how coming out is an holy act. It was a good talk, if one needed faith-based support, or if one were a Christian ally. I was a little lost and apathetic.
Tuesday, the QLBT women on campus were invited to have dinner with Ellis, a singer/songwriter gay alumna. Oddly enough, we had tacos (vegan and gluten free, as Ellis has dietary resrictions). Get it, the lesbians eating tacos? haha. Anyway, Ellis is one of my favorite people in the world. She's so funny, and down to earth, and full of great ideas and quotes. For example, her cell phone beeped a few times from her coat pocket in the next room. "That's just my cell phone. There's not a submarine trying to get in the house or anything. If y'all were worried about that." *insert awesome laugh*
After that, she played a concert. It was really good. She's so talented and funny. She's a folk artist who writes her own songs. She performed one she wrote when she was feeling sad one day, and decided it's not really her most of the time, so she's going to try to sell it to someone less stable.
Thursday we had a fun community time celebration. Community time is an hour (or an hour and a half if you don't go to chapel) on Thursdays where nothing is scheduled. No classes, no mandatory meetings (or they're not supposed to be, anyway!), etc. So we made a rainbow balloon arch, 120 cupcakes, and put on some loud gay music in Crossroads. If you took your picture under the rainbow arch, you got a cupcake! It was a fun hour and a half. The table near ours was a boy scout selling popcorn. I felt a little bad for him, so he got the last cupcake. It was also Fall Preview Day aka Prospie Day, a day when all the prospective students of St. Olaf come and see what it's like here with their parents. We had about a dozen prospies take their picture under the rainbow arch too. And the Regents were on campus today too, so all tenured profs had to dress up in full regalia for a ceremony and everything. The Regents don't really support GLBT issues, so I'm glad we could come out in full force that day.
Later that evening, we had one of the first year students give a workshop of queer people of color. He was recently a speaker at the March for Equality in DC, and even gave a speech. That's pretty cool, especially for someone so young. His workshop was a little speedy, and didn't really go in depth as much as I would have liked, I guess. But he has been active in California high schools, not Minnesota colleges. He isn't really sure how much we know or what we have here. For example, he doesn't seem to know that GSAs are nation-wide, not just in California.
Friday, we had a party called the GLOW Underground at the Asian House. We used the Asian House (1) because it's on it's own in the woods far away from everything and (2) we don't have the GLOW house this year. : ( It was called the GLOW Underground because (1) There was a DJ in the basement and (2) it implies that there will be drinking. Which there was.
It was a fun week. : D
Oh, and I got an A on my Women's Studies paper. But I got a B- on my Asian Politics paper...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
More Good News!
1) I got an extension til Monday on my Anthro exam!
2) I got an extension til Wednesday on my Russian Politics paper!
3) I frosted 100+ cupcakes today!
4) I got paid today!
5) My Asian Politics presentation won't be that bad!
Life is busy, yet goin' fine. Tomorrow at 8, I will go up to campus and blow up balloons for a balloon arch, and set up other fun stuff for the community time party from 11-12:35. After clean up, I get to have a lunch break til 2, when I have another meeting. From 3-5 I have office hours at the GSC. At 5 I am meeting with my group for my Asian Politics presentation. At 6 I am attending a Queer People of Color workshop.
After that I am free to finish up details on my presentation and work on my paper proposal with annotated bibliography that's due Sunday night. It's an early night for me! I will get home before 9!
2) I got an extension til Wednesday on my Russian Politics paper!
3) I frosted 100+ cupcakes today!
4) I got paid today!
5) My Asian Politics presentation won't be that bad!
Life is busy, yet goin' fine. Tomorrow at 8, I will go up to campus and blow up balloons for a balloon arch, and set up other fun stuff for the community time party from 11-12:35. After clean up, I get to have a lunch break til 2, when I have another meeting. From 3-5 I have office hours at the GSC. At 5 I am meeting with my group for my Asian Politics presentation. At 6 I am attending a Queer People of Color workshop.
After that I am free to finish up details on my presentation and work on my paper proposal with annotated bibliography that's due Sunday night. It's an early night for me! I will get home before 9!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Busy busy busy
If you have noted the absence of these "daily" posts, I'm sorry. I get very busy, and every minute of potential sleep at night is precious. I suppose I could update from the school computers. I'll try it sometime.
I have been busy, but next week is the Week of Complete Crap. It is Coming Out Week, which means I'll be busy baking and blowing up balloons and decorating hallways and attending events and cooking dinner and tabling and doing all the little things that together equal about 35 hours of unpaid labor in 2 weeks just for Coming Out Week. So far I've put in about 5 hours just for tabling. Tomorrow I spend a couple hours buying stuff, and Sunday I spend a couple hours decorating the hallway. Plus about 5 hours spent planning events prior to this.
Monday I work in the morning, have 4 classes, will spend a couple hours making buttons, then we have our first event, which is a dinner lecture on faith and sexuality by a local theologian.
Tuesday I work in the morning and the afternoon, with tabling for 2 hours, then I go to cook dinner for a QLBT women and females potluck with Ellis that night, then go to make sure Ellis has everything she needs for her concert that night at 8. At some point, we'll also be baking about 200 cupcakes.
Wednesday, I have 4 classes, then an hour later I work for 3 hours. After work I will frost the cupcakes and blow up balloons for a couple hours
Thursday morning I am putting together a balloon arch, which includes finishing blowing up balloons, and getting other stuff ready for the Community Time Celebration, then having the Community Time Celebration and cleaning up after. I have GSC office hours for 2 hours, then tabling for 2 hours after that, then a GSC meeting.
And Friday, I have 4 classes, with 1 paper due, 1 take home exam with 4 short essays and a group project presentation. I also have a research paper proposal due the next Sunday, complete with annotated bibliography. Then we're having a party for Coming Out Week.
In addition, I also have a full reading load every day except Friday, when I only have to read 2 long chapters and 6 short chapters.
And Brigit and I are meeting with the new advisor for our new club.
I would put in a well-deserved (imo) "FML" but I think I'll have fun. I might just ask for an extension on my Russian Politics paper. That'd make it a lot less stressful!
I have been busy, but next week is the Week of Complete Crap. It is Coming Out Week, which means I'll be busy baking and blowing up balloons and decorating hallways and attending events and cooking dinner and tabling and doing all the little things that together equal about 35 hours of unpaid labor in 2 weeks just for Coming Out Week. So far I've put in about 5 hours just for tabling. Tomorrow I spend a couple hours buying stuff, and Sunday I spend a couple hours decorating the hallway. Plus about 5 hours spent planning events prior to this.
Monday I work in the morning, have 4 classes, will spend a couple hours making buttons, then we have our first event, which is a dinner lecture on faith and sexuality by a local theologian.
Tuesday I work in the morning and the afternoon, with tabling for 2 hours, then I go to cook dinner for a QLBT women and females potluck with Ellis that night, then go to make sure Ellis has everything she needs for her concert that night at 8. At some point, we'll also be baking about 200 cupcakes.
Wednesday, I have 4 classes, then an hour later I work for 3 hours. After work I will frost the cupcakes and blow up balloons for a couple hours
Thursday morning I am putting together a balloon arch, which includes finishing blowing up balloons, and getting other stuff ready for the Community Time Celebration, then having the Community Time Celebration and cleaning up after. I have GSC office hours for 2 hours, then tabling for 2 hours after that, then a GSC meeting.
And Friday, I have 4 classes, with 1 paper due, 1 take home exam with 4 short essays and a group project presentation. I also have a research paper proposal due the next Sunday, complete with annotated bibliography. Then we're having a party for Coming Out Week.
In addition, I also have a full reading load every day except Friday, when I only have to read 2 long chapters and 6 short chapters.
And Brigit and I are meeting with the new advisor for our new club.
I would put in a well-deserved (imo) "FML" but I think I'll have fun. I might just ask for an extension on my Russian Politics paper. That'd make it a lot less stressful!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
First Day of Class
Today was our first day of class. I got up at 8am, and packed a lunch and breakfast and headed up the hill. I got my free birthday cookie from the Cage (I wasn't planning on being on campus tomorrow, my birthday, but it turns out I will), and ate breakfast and read the paper. I checked my email and hung out with Katie during Chapel.
After that relaxing morning, I took the plunge and am now in the full swing of school and all the hectic activities that go with it. 10:45 I have Anthropologic Theory, which seems like a fun and interesting class. At 11:50 I have Russian and Eurasian Politics, which also seems like an interesting class. At 12:55 I have Women in Politics in Asia, which I think will be a very different Political Science class than any other I have taken. At 2 I have Intro to Women's Studies, which will be fun and exciting and relaxing.
All of my professors are amazing. Tom Williamson, my Anthro prof, is a favorite of most students of the department. This is my first class with him. He seems really awesome. We listened to a clip of "This American Life" about talking to kids. He is funny and easy to listen to.
John Patrick Dale (MCKA Paddy Dale) is from Liverpool, went to Essex and the University of Moscow and started teaching at St. Olaf with a focus in Soviet Politics in 1988. Bad timing. So he switched his focus to Russian and Russian satelites politics, and have focused on Central Europe as well. He is so entertaining and endearing. He is the prof leading the trip abroad I am doing in January to Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
Nanaho Hanada is the new visiting professor for the political science department. She's from Japan, but she went to college in Montana and Ohio. Her hometown, Osaka, has 8 million people. The colleges in Montana, Ohio and Minnesota do not. She is super cute and peppy. And humble. She laughed at herself endearingly. "I was a gymanast. What happened to me?"
Nancy Thompson is such an endearing weirdo. She giggles at seemingly random moments (she giggled at the spelling of my name, for example). She says really weird things in really weird ways. I like her. She's an art history professor, if that helps explain anything. Her hair is fuzzy and unkempt and her glasses are thick and her clothes seem to just happen to be there, like she doesn't even notice them.
Anyway, after classes, I ran down Thorson hill and home to meet Chris, the guy who installed our internet. Turns out the internet cable got ruined when they replaced the sod and sidewalks, so they've laid a cable for us today and will come back and bury it next week. We are getting my new modem and router (free after rebate!) in the mail soon, so we can return the rental.
Then I ran back up the hill for a GLOW coordinator meeting, and am now waiting for the GSC leaders meeting.
Yay busy school!
After that relaxing morning, I took the plunge and am now in the full swing of school and all the hectic activities that go with it. 10:45 I have Anthropologic Theory, which seems like a fun and interesting class. At 11:50 I have Russian and Eurasian Politics, which also seems like an interesting class. At 12:55 I have Women in Politics in Asia, which I think will be a very different Political Science class than any other I have taken. At 2 I have Intro to Women's Studies, which will be fun and exciting and relaxing.
All of my professors are amazing. Tom Williamson, my Anthro prof, is a favorite of most students of the department. This is my first class with him. He seems really awesome. We listened to a clip of "This American Life" about talking to kids. He is funny and easy to listen to.
John Patrick Dale (MCKA Paddy Dale) is from Liverpool, went to Essex and the University of Moscow and started teaching at St. Olaf with a focus in Soviet Politics in 1988. Bad timing. So he switched his focus to Russian and Russian satelites politics, and have focused on Central Europe as well. He is so entertaining and endearing. He is the prof leading the trip abroad I am doing in January to Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
Nanaho Hanada is the new visiting professor for the political science department. She's from Japan, but she went to college in Montana and Ohio. Her hometown, Osaka, has 8 million people. The colleges in Montana, Ohio and Minnesota do not. She is super cute and peppy. And humble. She laughed at herself endearingly. "I was a gymanast. What happened to me?"
Nancy Thompson is such an endearing weirdo. She giggles at seemingly random moments (she giggled at the spelling of my name, for example). She says really weird things in really weird ways. I like her. She's an art history professor, if that helps explain anything. Her hair is fuzzy and unkempt and her glasses are thick and her clothes seem to just happen to be there, like she doesn't even notice them.
Anyway, after classes, I ran down Thorson hill and home to meet Chris, the guy who installed our internet. Turns out the internet cable got ruined when they replaced the sod and sidewalks, so they've laid a cable for us today and will come back and bury it next week. We are getting my new modem and router (free after rebate!) in the mail soon, so we can return the rental.
Then I ran back up the hill for a GLOW coordinator meeting, and am now waiting for the GSC leaders meeting.
Yay busy school!
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