Summerrrr

Weeelll, I do exist!
Things I have done the past month:

• WENT TO IRELAND!!! YEEAAAAHHH~!! <3 <3
• There will be pictures coming.
•  Finished my senior paper! YEAH! Topic: Emathy through Narrative, with a focus on the treatment of mental disorders (in a literary sense) in To Kill A Mockingbird and Jane Eyre.
• Graduated! Woo! I now have a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts!
• As well as minors in Creative Writing, Philosophy, and Family & Child Development.
• Moved into a new apartment that's shared living with some other girls! I've also got a roommate for now. Unanticipated, but that's life for ya. At least the room is large enough, mostly.
• Applied for a whole bunch of jobs, both online freelancing writing/editing, as well as some local jobs so I can pay rent. <w<
• Haven't heard from any of them yet. One I am getting an interview in June because that's when they get openings. The others... I haven't the slightest.
• WRITING. SO MUCH. IT'S BEAUTIFUL~ <3
• With at least two fantastical people on two different and amazing stories.
• I will be working on my own stories in the next month or two, as well.

Aaand here are some pictures from Ireland! 8D Namely Dublin. On the first morning. As in on the bus to our hostel at like 4 AM.

 Sasha enjoyed the double-decker bus. :3

Dublin! After the sun rose~ 

 

I think this was at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

 Garden of Remembrance! It's a statue of the Children of Lir, in memory of those who died in the 1916 Uprising.

Cliffs of Moher! Goodness, it's gorgeous out there~ <3

Tara! Where the High Kings of Ireland once held court.

Blarney castle~

Aaaand I'll get more later! <3

FUNDED! And Schoolness.

I AM FULLY FUNDED FOR IRELAAAAND!!! *dances*
Thank you all, so very, very much!!! It would never have been possible without you, I know that. And this will be an amazingtastical opportunity to explore. And have fun. And learn. And... just so very much!

Ok, here's a tentative schedule of where we're going/what we're doing:

Friday, March 6th: Fly to Dublin

Saturday, March 7th:  Arrive in Dublin around 5:30 AM, go to our hostel (Kinlay Hostel), drop off our luggage, take a nap in the common room or start your wanderings around town arriving back at Kinlay to have breakfast and then depart for Trinity College, visit The Book of Kells, visit the National Archaeology Museum of Ireland, free afternoon

Sunday, March 8^th:  Church at the LDS Findlay Building, Evensong service at either Christchurch Cathedral or St. Patrick’s Cathedral (TBD), free time until evening meeting (approx. 8pm)

Monday, March 9^th: Day trip to Blarney Castle, the Rock of Cashel, and Cork arriving back in Dublin around 6-7pm, free evening

Tuesday, March 10^th: Kilmainham Jail, the General Post Office, free afternoon.  You are welcome to join us for the ghost tour we will be taking that evening.  It starts at 7pm.  It should be around $30 per person.

Wednesday, March 11^th: Day trip to Limerick and the Cliffs of Moher.  We should arrive back around 6-7pm, free evening.

Thursday, March 12^th: Free day.  You are welcome to join us for the Boyne Valley day trip. The trip should be around $40 per person (like the ghost tour, we may get a discount depending on the number of people that would like to go). We should arrive back in Dublin at 6pm.

Friday, March 13^th: A full Irish breakfast at O’Neills Pub then off to the airport to fly back home.

Tentative, as always. I plan on joining on the Boyne Valley day trip; it goes through a number of important and awesome locations regarding ancient Ireland, such as Teamhair, the seat of the high king of Ireland.
I've also been reading a book called 'Of Gods and FIghting Men' by Lady Gregory. (via the gutenberg project) Getting a better idea about the old legends of Ireland~
I'll be looking into more recent history soon. But still along the subject of legends, there's going to be an exhibit at the Trinity College library while we're there that I'm REALLY excited about: It's called "Upon the Wild Waves: A Journey through Myth in Children's Books." Yes. This exists. This existssssssss.

I know that I won't ever be able to read through all the things of Ireland in the weeks I have left before we leave. But I will try to get some things in there that will just make it even more exciting. >W<
Plus, you know, school work. <w<'


SPEAKING OF.
Thank heavens I was keeping track of my credits throughout my years. I don't have to go to classes on Fridays, and I have pretty open afternoons otherwise. Which is good, because I'm doing both Senior Paper writing and working on a novel for Advanced Creative Writing. Good news: I'm making progress on both! The novel has... Hm. I don't rightly know. 20-30 pages written in the past month, mostly edited once. Still need to put them through another round or two of editing. And then, once that is more together, there's rearranging everything because of course the first draft is going to be all over the place and go too far into things that take too long, and not get to more important points until people no longer expect anything that exciting. BUT IT WILL BE. Because pirates. Dang it these are horrible pirates but really, they add a lot to a plotline. And by horrible I do not mean comedic. Unfortunately. Thank heavens I have a wonderful friend writing with me. We work on the details, characterizations, oh goodness I don't even know how many pages of interviews we've done so far, and then I go through and make it like a novel. Because it kind-of reads like a screenplay otherwise. Which is exciting, for us, but not the same. Maybe performed- NO. No. This would be entertaining in some parts to portray on stage, but problematic in others. Gosh. Anyway.

I am progressing in things! I'm taking a History class (Western Civilization I) because apparently that slipped through the cracks wen I was looking at things I needed to take earlier. But I'm also taking Parenting, which is entertaining and informative, as well as taking Intermediate Ballet again! Add in Snr Paper and Adv. Creative Writing, and that's my schedule! Sort-of. Still working with the clubs on campus. But I'm not the only head anymore. Still kind-of leading the effort getting things started again, but this time I will hand things off to other people. Because I honestly don't have the time or focus to go after all these things together at once, and I'm graduating after this semester! Wow! That's really soon! Gosh!
Agh. I need a job.
Looking in publishing industries.
So many places wants you to do unpaid internships first. *sigh* And then most are also in New York. *drums fingers*
But I am continuing to search. And go to job fairs. And look online.

Talk to you all laterrr!

Ireland!

So, this is my senior year as an undergraduate at college. There is a wonderful Travel Study program that my school offers, that goes fantastical places, within the US as well as internationally. I've thought about going on a few of them, but the most I have ever done was a day trip to D.C. for the Cherry Festival. I got to visit some of the Smithsonians and explore with friends, and had lots of fun! That was about two years ago, I believe.

As expected, though, the Travel Study opportunities cost money. The day-trip was probably about $50. Those are obscure enough that I haven't found them advertised on the main website, only on our special student-portals. And they are usually during school days, so I have not done more than the one.

But then there are the big trips: Ireland, England, New York City, Costa Rica, Italy... These are the trips that last from a few days to a few weeks. They offer the chance to explore a new culture, participate in a new tradition, see the beauty of a new world. And I plan on finally taking advantage of this chance.

There is a Travel Study trip to Dublin, Ireland during Spring Break 2015, lasting a total of about a week. (Two of those days will actually be plane travel, though, so more like 5 days; but that's still pretty awesome!) It is a chance I have to explore the wonders of Dublin with trusted friends, and see Ireland for myself. Plus, it is a chance to finally get to Europe! The only time I have left the continental U.S. was for the Puerto Rico Spanish trip at the end of high school. That was a fantastical experience, and I'd love to take the chance to do it again.

In Ireland, we will be traveling to a number of different locations: Trinity College (and seeing the Book of Kells), Blarney Castle & Cork, the Cliffs of Moher, Kilkenny Castle, and the Rock of Cashel. We'll also have some free time after the trips to explore around Dublin. There are so many things that I will be able to participate in while there!

Because I have at least 56 credit hours at SVU, I have a Travel Study voucher for $400. I have put that towards the $1850 this Ireland trip costs. However, I still have to come up with the other $1450.

Being a student, that is a bit difficult. So I am reaching out and asking for some help. I have started an online fundraiser at YouCaring.com for my trip here. I know that not everyone has the current ability to donate, but spreading the word is another way to help out. Please share this campaign with those around you, and encourage them to share as well! If it reaches enough people, I'm sure that the goal can be reached. Even a small donation would be truly, greatly appreciated!

Thank you~

November

Halloween! It happened! And I dressed up as Anna from Frozen~ Twas fun!

 

I also had fun helping with makeup for my friend Bev, but you can see those pics on my Facebook. :3
Yay for Goodwill's supplies! And family who also find things for me~
(gosh my hair is getting so long... glad I can braid more effectively now!)

In the meantime, life has been... um... hectic? I say that questionably because I am generally unsure where I am at the moment, so it's just safe to assume I have a number of things due that I've not had time to work on... Crud, I'm remembering them now. There's a test in Statistics on Friday, as well as a project for the class. Not to mention a project/paper due in Family Process. Good news about that latter one: a portion of it is already pretty much done; he's based it off of previous assignments and built it off of them. However, the unfortunate part of that is that he hasn't gotten all of those previous assignments back to us yet... I think I have enough to do the essay portion, but it would be nice to have the rest of it. We'll probably get it on Wednesday, our next class period. Guess I know what I'll be doing Thursday.

But The Review is holding together~ The lit mag's deadline date has passed, so now we get on to the more fun part of actually rating the submissions! Now, just to do it when we can all actually get together... *sigh*

Also, Bev is getting married/sealed on Dec. 16th. O_o It's coming up quick! I won't be able to stay for the actual thing, unfortunately, as school is ending the previous week and dorms close up (and airline tickets are expensive). But I'll be at the reception in January when we return~

For the next bit of news, I'll be updating shortly. It's rather exciting, actually~

Stay tuned!
<3

October. It's here.

Wow. That was quick. And October is actually over half-over. DB Graaaahh.
Good news: I have a costume idea! A few, actually. But, because of time constraints, and money, I'll be attempting to create an Anna costume from Frozen! Because it's easy enough, and I've got the hair for it. (and temporary hair-color-spray) :3 I'll take pictures when I actually have more things together for it, but I've got some pieces that I think will work so far~

With school... I am really doing a lot. I am attempting to streamline some things so that next semester won't be so hectic, but for this semester, some times it's calmer than others. But I'm seriously enjoying it. Except for math. But that's mostly because we're moving at breakneck speed in Statistics. I like the application ideas, and the experiment incorporation, but I barely have time to sort-of grasp the ideas before we're learning something new. Again. *sigh*
But writing is fantastic! As is editing/sharing! I'm actually doing more editing than just for my class, as friends  are working on stories as well. But it's really so much fun, I love helping out so much.
And clubs are making progress. Not as much as anticipated, but progress period is good. Lovely. Hopeful.
And Institute is wonderfully helpful. I'm taking Teachings of the Living Prophets, where we go over the most recent General Conference addresses (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints keeps the website updated very nicely!). Before the most recent conference, we used talks from last Fall. Pretty much all of them have been helpful and timed really well, but then again, I suppose that I should expect that if I actually put effort into my studies. XD Especially spiritually-related.
And thank heavens for that. Because college life certainly isn't conducive to me getting the sleep I should need to appropriately deal with life. :D But I'm working with it! And ballet is helping me keep a reality check going.
As is job hunting. Er, rather, job/internship hunting is an additional task that I'm working with, and ballet and stuff are helping me not feel overwhelmed about it. Because I'm looking in the publishing industry, but I've not got the slightest how to get a foot in the door. *sigh* Thankfully, there's a wonderful site called bookjobs.com where there are lists/profiles of different publishers and such. And I've located a number of very intriguing-sounding companies, including one called Paper Lantern Lit. So I've been doing much research there. I'm thinking I perhaps ought to also get more work done on my senior paper, too... But I'm just a bit paranoid.
On the good side, I finally have some books for my paper analysis: To Kill a Mockingbird & Jane Eyre.
I look forward to getting to compare them, in terms of the portrayal of mental illness~ (now if only I could make the time...)
And interestingly enough, I feel like I have more time out of classes this semester, or at least not as spread all over the place, but when combined with homework and meetings and research, I probably have about the same amount of time as usual. I think. I've not had time to analyze that. <w<'

*sigh* Yep. Lots of prayer this semester. And faith.
But now, sleep. Because I don't get enough of that anyway.

Talk to ya later~

Fall Semester Starts

Fall 2014. My last fall semester as an undergrad. Craziness I say.
But! I've not got the time to think about that! Because I've got three clubs to keep going as well as my classload to uphold. Yaaaaay~

Random point of interest: I have my first smart phone. Received about a month or so ago. Still learning ins and outs, and it will by no means replace my laptop. But even within the first week of school, I am appreciating its versatility and usefulness. Like a calendar! And alarms! And a slew of sticky-notes! (I used to paste them all over my computer. Now I have an app for that. XD) And email access!! I can get into my school email and send emails to professors and staff and people while not at my laptop! Like between classes! It's fantastic. (now if only you could log/sign off on Android... But once you're on, you're on unless you take the entire account off the device. XP)

Good news: there are tons of incoming freshman who seem to be enthusiastic about a number of things! Here's hoping that extracurriculars are some of them!
I know that the Doctor Who Club has gotten a great influx of members, our last meeting with the president of the club was proof enough of that. (being the premiere of the new season probably helped) Alas, our president is heading to China for the semester, so I'll be looking out for all that, but there are plenty of people actually interested in positions, so there will be delegation occurring! 8D Hoorah!
The Underground, creative writing club, hasn't met yet, but first week of school is a bit hectic for that. We'll be getting together the following Saturday afternoon, though. Hopefully there's a good turnout there too.
And finally The Review! Literary magazine! I'm editor-in-chief again this year~ Buuut most of our staff has graduated/travel studied/left. So here's hoping for a good turnout there too! We're having interest meetings this and next Thursday, for general interest and staff. *crosses fingers for much staff too*
The Paladin, the school newspaper, needs recruits too. I'm trying to send people their way too, because over half their staff graduated or left. :/ And they publish every two weeks or so.

As such, I have already mad quite a few posters and ads of different sorts. :3 Such is the extracurricular route. Get to learn with Photoshop again.

(maybe we'll have enough people to have an actual specified PR person do this kind of thing... not that I don't enjoy it! But... I have a lot of other things to get done too. -w-' )

And let's hear it for actual classes too!
I'm taking about 6 classes: Intermediate Ballet, Writing Popular Fiction, Contemporary Issues, Statistics, Senior Paper Research, and Family Process. Also an Institute course: Teachings of the Living Prophets, where we go over the most recent General Conference talks (or at least some of them). So far, they are all interesting! I was most intimidated by Statistics, and although I'm still going to be wary because of online components and such, I think that I'll be able to grasp everything readily enough. Family Process is actually likely to be the one more challenging this year. It's with the same teacher I had Marriage & Family with last year, and while it was a fun course, it was definitely a challenging one.
My senior paper research class may end up being a mix of research and actual writing, for a number of reasons. For one, I generally like writing and researching simultaneously, although of course there's always re-writes an edits, etc. But also, I believe I already have a topic picked out. Our first class meeting and I seemed to get it approved; but now I feel like I need a deeper thesis... (or even a thesis period)
My intended topic is the portrayal of mental illness in To Kill A Mockingbird vs. Jane Eyre. Without even starting to write, I can list of nuuumerous qualities and points of interest and such. I've even got a little area for notes in my phone on the ideas. But... I don't feel like simply close analysis is going to be good enough. Sure, I can do the 20 page paper simply on comparing and contrasting the two portrayals, pointing out how they differ and what that conveys. But... Why is that important? Yes, it's intriguing and fun and speaks volumes about the popular/general view of mental illness in society at the time... but I want to make it applicable today. Somehow. *sigh* That's what this 'research' period is for, I suppose.

In other news, I got approval from my Contemporary Issues professor to use psychiactrictimes.com as a source! 8D He asked us to find a reputable news-type site for information regarding issues today. I've been a part of PsychiactricTimes for at least a year or so now, and they always have tons of interesting articles. I'm sure that it'll be a great resource for this semester. >3 *excited*

And! Friends all over are getting mission calls! And my roomie/friend just got engaged! And stories are making progress, for myself and for many others I know!

That reminds me: the Writing Popular Fiction course is just once a week, for a three hour block. But it will totally be worth it. And it's with Orson Scott Card. So yes, I'm looking forward to learning how to write better, and to help others as well. It seems like it's going to be like a workshop type class, so this will definitely be interesting. And fun. Because writing is always exciting. CB (yes, even those papers that I procrastinate and feel I could do without.)

So! I'm going to go off and do some homework, possibly. Or just read an awesome essay on fairies/fairy stories by Tolkien a friend pointed out to me. Or maybe I should finish cleaning around my desk... Hm. Well, the TARDISes there will be staying until the club meeting tomorrow night at the earliest...
Ah well. I'll figure it out.

Talk to ya again!

SO Soon

And yet again, I am off to Virginia for school! However, this is my last year of school as an undergraduate. O_o Wow. Three years has gone by super-fast! Gah!
Not sure if I'm ready for this... But it will work out. I hope. Mrah.

I did an online course over the summer, entitled "Personal and Family Finance." I finally finished the last exam the other day, and now I have to wait for it to get graded, but it's done now. GAH. Overall, the course was fine, and I learned a lot of great information. But the last chapter had to be on investing. Stocks and bonds, retirement... I am so barking paranoid now about getting a Roth IRA, but I don't even have a steady job yet, so I am holding off. Anxiously. XP But other than paranoia, the most annoying thing has been the delivering method of the exams. It's an online course, self-paced, and the quizzes and practice tests were online/downloadable. I was asked to go to the nearest test facility to take exams, which I understand and didn't mind accommodating, despite it being about 45 minutes' drive away. (I've been making the trip fairly frequently this summer anyway, explained later) But the tests have to be physically mailed. From Utah. So after I complete the necessary requirements and such, I order the test online, and have to wait around a week for the test to come in. Sure, gives me plenty of study time, but I wanted to get this class over before the summer was done! And there was a lot of work to be done! So I usually ended up moving on after a few days of taking the practice tests... This last test. I wasn't sure if it would get here in time before I left for school. But hallelujah that it did! I've done it, done the best I can, logically guessed on what I was unsure about, and it's sent off. *throws hands in the air*

Speaking of going to Alpine frequently, I was able to find a wonderful dance studio to work out with during the summer! Cynthia's been a great teacher, and really helping me improve (and not lose whatever I had before XD). The other ladies in the classes were always lots of fun, too. It was fantastic to see them still working on keeping in shape, even though most of them are retired or close thereto. I enjoyed having class with all of them, and look forward to seeing them again at some point~ (possibly when I come back for Christmas?)
Also got to see a few friends in town after class. The Currys are a wonderful family, and it's been fun to hang out with them for a few hours twice a week. Yes, we would have liked a bit more time... But I had classwork, and some of them had jobs. So it worked out. Had lots of fun with the time we did have, though! One of the girls was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, but they're all catching on pretty quick what that means and will entail. So I'm glad that they have support for that, and that it's getting taken care of now rather than discovered later. Yay medicine! (and advice, and magazines, and recipes, and seminars, and...)


Oh, and if anyone is interested, here is a link to my Princess Tutu fanfiction! I've been posting the chapters, and I'm up to 40. Just 5 more to go, and the whole thing will be up! I'll probably finish posting next week, though, as this one I'll be traveling/moving. :/ But that will give you some time to catch up to the rest of it, if you want. XD
And I also started an analysis blog called TuTuTV, wherein I post an analyze Princess Tutu music videos, because there are so many wonderful ones, and I just can't go too long without analyzing something. :D It's quite fun.

Well I best get back to packing! I'll try to update again once I'm at school. Give a rundown of my classes and such. It's my last year... <w< SO there's a senior paper to be writing. (got to get it approved first)