no work no work

I don't feel like reading, because my eyes are burning. We have an annotated bibliography due tomorrow. How will I ever get 6 sources done now? NOoooooo. Emily's torso is dancing. She is scaring me.

Emily says: "maybe if jenn stopped blogging, she would have time to finish her annotated bibliography...the work of the devil..."

Jenn says: "shut up and stop dancing!"

My project is going to be on Pico dellas Mirandola, the great rhetorician of the Renaissance. Emily wants you to know that hers is about sex in the Renaissance. She is enjoying doing research for it. Ha ha.

Cal U

We are at Cal U right now. Emily and I are having fun. We met lots of cool people. Yesterday we went to visit the Carnegie Musuem and the Frick Musuem in Pittsburgh. Write later.

Mirable Inventu

I am leaving for Europe very soon!!! Along with 2 students from every state school in Pennsylvania, Emily and I are participating in the SSHE Summer Study Abroad Program from Shippensburg. I can hardly stand it, I'm so excited. I have been obsessively thinking about how much I wanted to go on this trip since my freshman year of college when I heard students give presentations about their experiences. I'm glad I finally get the opportunity!

We are going to soooo many places all over Europe. First we are going to spend a week at California University (which is near Pittsburgh and not at all in the state of Cali). Our topic is Mirable Inventu: European Renaissance and Reformation. Yay.

I will post if I get a chance (but there are no guarantees)

Poor McDonald's

Ok, so this is about the best website ever. I just wrote an entire 15 paper paper on the branding strategies of McDonald's (actually not condemning them, but praising them for their igenuity). But anyway, you HAVE to play this McDonald's Video Game. It is soooo funny. And sad.

Go here. And even more funny that it is structured like McDonald's corporate website. I think zapping the sick cows is my favorite part.

The Motorcycle Diaries

So after seeing this image plastered everywhere in the more liberal sectors of Europe, I did research to figure out who on earth this guy was. He is the revolutionary "Che" Guevara who was really famous in South America.

When I got a free movie rental at a picnic I was at awhile ago, I used the coupon to check out The Motorcycle Diaries. I am adding it to my list of favorite movies. The film follows Che from Argentina to Venezuela and allows you to see how he formed his ideologies along the way.

While I don't really think armed revolutions and communisim is the answer to world poverty and suffering, I must applaud him for being a compassionate, well-intentioned man.

As far as the movie goes, A+ for artistry, Gael Garcia Bernal (he he), and keeping the original Spanish.

GRE woes

Ha. So I have to take the GRE tomorrow. Stupid me, I didn't realize how busy this past semester was going to be when I registered to take perhaps one of the most important tests of my life. Smart Jenn, smart.

The first line in my practice book that I just cracked open on Friday: Prepare 4 months to study for the GRE. Ummm, well, how about 4 days?

Do you realize my entire life could be based on how I do on this exam? If I mess up I can flush a good grad school down the toilet.

I am having math and vocab nightmares; big words and forgotten algebra are chasing me down dark corridors wielding axes.

Ceramics

My ceramics class this semester was so much fun. We got to make all kinds of cool stuff, and at one point I felt like I lived in that studio. Too bad a lot of my glazes went crazy and turned nice pieces into kinda ugly ones. That's the thing; you spend so much time loving your artwork, and then one detail goes wrong to destroy it. Plus you can't help thinking, gee, I could buy a teapot for a lot less than it took to buy the supplies, design it, build it, fire it, and glaze it.

Oh well, art is all about the love.

Glutinous Balls

When I stayed with my sister in Dallas last summer, they took me to Boba Latte where they serve drinks with glutinous balls in them. What are glutinous balls you ask? Well, that is a good question. They are basically Taiwainese inspired lumps of tapioca or chewy shells with gooey insides that are also known as bobas, bubbles, and pearls. I got a cheesecake smoothie with them in it. When you suck up the drink in the (extra wide) staw, these giant things come up with it and about choke you because they get lodged in your throat. They are so weird and cool at the same time. Definitely something you must try before you die. Be warned though, you've NEVER had anything like them before.

A little secret, shhhh

One of my guilty pleasures is to wake up really early in the morning (or stay up late) and go for a run on the road behind my house. I love the fresh air and the exercise. My favorite part though, is lapping the old ladies. They are the only other living beings awake at 6:00 in the morning, and somehow it feels good to pass the 80 year old women in jogging suits.
Picture: The bush in front of my house that I took after leaving those old ladies in the dust. ha ha

The Amber Bug

I took a picture of some weird bug in a tree. He was surround by this amber colored gel that looks like it was glowing. I couldn't help but thinking, "hey, this looks like that mosquito from Jurassic Park that was preserved in amber and filled with dinosaur blood." Maybe this little guy can start a whole new ancient world species...

Love Smell List

Yesterday, my post got me thinking about smells. So here are a few of my personal favorites.

I love the Victoria's Secret Love Spell scent.
I love the smell of baking bread in the oven.
I love the smell of freshly cut grass.
I love the smell of soap (all varieties)
I love the smell of cotton candy
I love the smell of Clinique Happy
I love the smell of Blackberry candles
I love the smell of grilling food
I love the smell of hot apple cider
I love the smell of minty breath
I love the smell of lemon Jolly Ranchers
I love the smell of licorice
I love the smell of java coffee
I love the smell of Flex shampoo
I love the smell of vanilla musk
I love the smell of sheets just out of the wash
I love the smell of orange furniture spray
I love the smell of the ride at Hershey's Chocolate World

I recommend you make your own love smell list. It is a refreshing exercise for the well-being of your mind.

Lilac Love

My pappy sent over some lilac branches to sit on our kitchen table. Let me tell you, they smell soooooooo good. Any time I get within a 10 foot radius of the table my nostrils sigh in nostril heaven. The smell of the fresh lilacs is absolutely my favorite smell in the whole world, and besides that, could they be a better color? Awwww, look how pretty they are. Too bad blogs can't transmit smells. I will take an extra whiff just for you.

Zeedonk

Wow, I never knew such strange animals existed. Apparently some twisted scientists out there are cross breeding all kinds of various species. My favorite, for the sake of its name, is the zeedonk--also known as the zebrass, zebronkey, zonkey, zebadonk, zenkey, zebrinny, or deebra (thanks to Wikipedia). It's striped legs look so funny on it's donkey body.


But we also have the tigon and the ginormous liger. We have the zorse, the leopon, the cama, the beefalo, and the wholphin. Here is the link to where my list of crazy not-so-barnyard animals came from, which is actually the Exotic Pet Owners Site.

Luckily for all of us, many of hybrid animals are sterile so they can't repopulate the world and conquer the human race.

I'm Published!

I am now officially a published writer! My essay, "Made in the USA," was published in the Spring 2007 issue of the Abroad View Magazine, a national publication specializing in international education. I wrote about my experiences in Spain and what effect they had on me as an American. I got a full 2 page spread and 3 color photos. The check wasn't enough to 'quit my day job' as they say, but hopefully this will just be the beginning of my writing career. Yay!