October 24, 2008
Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems as though, whatever you do, you can’t get ahead? Well, this week has been one of those weeks for me. This week and the next two weeks have seen all of my classes combine to create a perfect storm of projects, assignments, and tests. I, being the crazily organized person that I am, created a calendar for the rest of the year with what assignments are due each day. This way, I can see what’s coming up for me. It is so fun to put a giant “X” through each day when it’s complete. Events that have a specific color coding represent a class that has a paper, test, speech, etc… that will be due that day.
 
My Assignment Calendar
As you can see by the calendar, the current period at the top is basically a rainbow. Due this week were a media ad for a presidential campaign, a quiz in Leadership Studies, and a major test in Accounting. I survived, but all I can see on the horizon is a Software Tools midterm on Monday, an 8-10 minute deliberative speech due Tuesday, a 5-7 page State Prediction paper for Friday, and a Rhetoric quiz. If I can only survive the following week’s deliberative speech in-class and a 5-7 page paper on Race and Education for Leadership Studies, I will be home free for the semester…. I think. So, if I seem frazzled through this week and the next few, just bear with me for a while. I promise I’m not the average student when it comes to this. I’m just involved in lots of other things that consume my time besides academics. I did see this stretch coming a long time ago and I did my best to prepare. I have already written the State Prediction paper, but it has a ton of editing left.
My low point of the week was on Wednesday. A quiz was assigned for Tuesday, but our teacher postponed it to Thursday. This threw my schedule into chaos because I planned to move onto my next project after the quiz. That was not meant to be. That day, I also got an e-mail stating that my Rhetoric teacher moved up 120 pages of reading and they were now due Friday for Rhetoric. That was not a pleasant surprise. The teacher soon responded that it was a mistake on her part and the syllabus was correct. Still, my blood pressure was sky-high for a short period. My high point of the week was presenting my media ad. I spent a ton of time on this ad–roughly 20 hours I would say. It was a lot more work than I anticipated, but I enjoy this sort of thing. It allows me to be creative and create my own “master piece” if you will. It was a contrast ad regarding the economy and it favors John McCain. Check it out below:
The campaign ad that my friend and I created
If I were to describe this week on campus in two words, I would say that it was political and spirited. Politics have always been active here, but this week was insanely active. We hosted the Richmond mayoral debate, had Joe Trippi (campaign manager for Howard Dean and John Edwards) speak on-campus, and also brought in famed political analyst Rhodes Cook to speak. Rhodes Cook actually came into my Campaign 2008 class and was our instructor. It was pretty cool to have so many well-known people visit and share their knowledge. I’ve been amazed by the visitors we’ve been able to have thus far. To top all of that off, Senator Obama held a rally in Richmond on Wednesday. Many of the students in my Campaigns class went, but I had other obligations. Because of the visit, our class was postponed for the day…. until 10:00 PM that evening. Some students wandered into our classroom that is located in our residence hall and wanted to know what was going on. It was fun to see their reaction when we said we were in class and it was 11:00 PM.
I also say that this week is spirited because it is HOMECOMING!!! Our football team is still going strong and we’re excited for the game against Georgetown. Because it’s Homecoming Week, we had a Tailgate Dinner in our D-Hall with popcorn and soft pretzels and sno-cones and funnel cakes. In addition there was graffiti painting in the Forum, a Formal downtown, and lots of other events. I wasn’t able to attend too many due to my schedule, but I’ll definitely be at the game.
Graffiti painting in the Forum
Tailgate Dinner in D-Hall
Because so many alumni return for Homecoming, our Alumni Center and Career Development Center put together an event for Sophomores to teach them about the basics of networking. Alumni served on a panel and shared their knowledge on the subject as well as bits of advice. Since I’m President of the Sophomore class, I was asked to serve as moderator. The appetizers served were fantastic (which was good because they served as my dinner for the night) and it was a pleasant evening.
I had my typical week of service work at the local middle school’s ESL program, a Relay for Life Team Captain’s meeting, Collegiate Disaster Relief Team presentation… and meeting… and fundraising. I generally do work with the Admissions Office but this week saw a rarity. All of the files of students who were rejected or declined the offer to attend needed to be moved from the first floor to the basement. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Well, there were about 6,000 of them. So, I spent roughly four hours pushing around carts stock full of manila folders and college applications. It went smoothly…. except for the time I broke the elevator and it was stuck in place for two days. Whoops. It’s all done now. Finally, I traveled to Virginia Beach on Sunday to participate in an Admissions Panel for prospective students. It lasted 10 hours, which was one of the main reasons I was a bit behind in my work this week. Still, it was a fun trip and I hope that it was helpful for those who attended.
To add some relaxation and fun, I did go to watch Subject to Change, our student improv comedy group, perform last Friday night. It was a good show and it provided a much needed laugh. To relax this evening, my friend, who is obsessed with the Saw movies, dragged me to go watch Saw V in the theaters. I could have used a break, so I didn’t complain. It wasn’t as great as I had hoped, but it was still a break. That’s all for my life now. Take care and I’ll be back next week.
Quote of the Week: “Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow; Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead; Walk beside me, and just be my friend.” -Albert Camus
Thought to Ponder: Did you know that a full-grown pumpkin has about 15 miles of roots?
Shout Outs: Ken Corbett
Video of the Week:
Impressive Bike Skills
