Sunday, September 27, 2009

229 days, baby!

Hey everyone!

So I promised a new blog full of my ramblings and I have delivered nothing! Wow--what a few weeks it has been though! Know the metaphor: "When it rains, it pours"? Literally my life these past few weeks--like LITERALLY!

I woke up last Tuesday to my ceiling leaking all on my arm. I think the Universe has a weird since of humor because it was approximately 7:37 Tuesday morning when my ceiling started dripping water on me, just in time to wake me up for my 8:50 AM discussion. Though I am still entirely confused and pissed that the ceiling of my fifth floor room in my sixth floor, two-year old building leaked on my arm, I do have to acknowledge the strange ways the Universe works.

Besides the leaking, I have been dealing with random family issues, an intense academic schedule, and working to find a balance between my 18 credits and 3 jobs. I am still working diligently towards the latter, but just give me a little time and I will get it together! :) Additionally, October is Working Class Celebration Month, which is a huge month for the Working Class Student Union [WCSU] (the org I founded two years ago) and this year is the first time we actually have funding to do fabulous programs for the campus! I am pumped, but also super stressed.

On a happier note, I did meet with my Gender & Women's Studies adviser and she informed that I will in fact be able to graduate in May with a GWS degree! HECK YEAH! Now I just have to verify with my Communication Arts adviser and American Indian Studies adviser. Hopefully those meetings go well.... Regardless, I have 229 days until graduation, baby! Who woulda thunk that I would graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison! Let alone do it on-time in four years! It sincerely amazes ME!

Oh and I also forgot to share another fabulous event--I went to my FIRST UW football game EVER! I had the privilege of going to the Madison v. Wofford last Saturday and it was AMAZING! Dean Berquam and Chancellor Martin invited a handful of students to share the event with them in the Chancellor's Box, which is on the ninth level. How cool to enjoy your first game from the ninth level, on the 50 yardl line? Pretty amazing! Here are a few pics:

This one is Chris and I in the box.Chancellor Martin took us down to the sideline in the middle of third quarter! This is what the student section looks like from the sideline!




The left pic is of Dean Berquam tweeting about the game from the sideline. The right pic is of Chancellor Martin talking to one of the assistant coaches (I think) from the sideline.

As you can see, it was an absolutely amazing day! I was so privileged to have the opportunity to attend the game PERIOD, let alone with such company and with so many perks (the buffetS were awesome!)! Thank you to everyone who was there!

With only 229 days left in my fourth and final year of college, I am determined to make every moment count! There are many things I have left to do and experience on this campus before I leave, so be looking for more updates!

Thank you all for reading and have an absolutely beautiful and amazing week!

Chynna :)

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Blog Revamp! Welcome to a New Year!

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to another lovely academic year! I am happy to report that this is my fourth and final year of college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison! YAY! With that being said, I am pumped that fall is just around the corner! Autumn in Wisconsin is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to spend time enjoying it!

So as you have probably gathered, I am taking this blog in a new direction. I originally launched my blog to share information about UW-Madison's student government and the work of the various organizations with which I was involved. I think my blog was helpful and showed many campus leaders the necessity of providing timely updates on their work (just look at how many ASM leaders have Twitters!), but I have decided that I no longer want to write solely on these issues. Of course, I may occassionally still post about campus issues or UW happenings, but it won't be the sole objective of the blog anymore.

So what am I going to write about now? Just about anything! Though most people will only find this new format moderately interesting, those of you who know me or appreciate healthy doses of sarcasm will find it pretty amusing.

After spending the past several months reflecting on my life and the world around me, I am struck by the amount of negativity that exists. As I have said time and time again, I am a certainly a realist who often sees the glass as half empty versus half full, but even I am exhausted by the negativity that we all have come to accept as normal. I think this new direction will allow this blog to include more positive thoughts. Just like life, my blog won't be all gumdrops and sunshine, but it will be real. So do expect humor, sarcasm, reality checks, and awkward moment recaps, just like my real life.

Happy reading!
Chynna