Finals Week

I'm going to make this short and sweet. I'll update when I'm on my 8 hour overnight bus ride from Cbus to Chicago. Fun times lay ahead:

It's finals week and it sucks. All my hard finals (chemistry, calculus, and engineering) are within 24 hours of each other starting tomorrow at 3:30. Then I have one more final on Thursday, which happens to be history. That one shouldn't be TOO bad. But hey, I already have my paper for history done, which is due tomorrow as well. It only took me an hour and a half. I'm actually quite impressed with myself.

So I'm at the Thompson, semi-studying with Disha (I was going to link her blog but she's being a butt and not letting me). So I'll give you a picture of her instead. Fair, no?

So much blogging studying

I could really use a giant cup of coffee right now, but no. I decided to give that, ice cream, and swearing up for lent. Right before finals. Why am I so dumb. But seriously, why? I guess I will have to stick to giant cups of tea.

Swear Count: 13.

(Okay, so it seems like a lot considering lent has been going for not even a week. But if you hear me speak, I'm a sailor. So I call this very good for me!)

Here's some Hot Chip.

P.S. Mackenzi switched my Facebook password so I will not be on that black hole of a website until my last final. I don't know if I can do it.

The Fast Paced Lifestyle

Where have the weeks gone? As the 9th week of a 10 week quarter is wrapping up, I cannot seem to grasp where the time has gone. I feel like I just got back to Columbus and I should be preparing for my first set of midterms. But in reality, I took my last midterm the past Friday and now I have finals to study for. Eek! But I can say that I am, for the most part, looking forward to a week with no official plans. No lab reports to write. No textbooks to read. Just... empty time. I will say that is one nice thing about the quarter system; there is no work over spring break. Now granted I do not know exactly how the semester system fully works, but I can only assume that people on the semester system have homework over spring break? Correct me if I am wrong, please. Time flies when you're on quarters.

Speaking of semesters, I got one the regular e-mails from the people involved with the quarter to semester conversion. As I read the e-mail, it dawned on my that I actually like the quarter system, and I am kind of dreading the switch to semesters. Yes, I have funky breaks that do not line up with anyone and yes, what people learn in 15 weeks gets crammed into 10, but I think that the good out-weighs the bad. For instance, if you don't like your class, you will be out of there in no time; you wont have to sit though 15 weeks of drudgery. Instead you're in, you're out, and you're done. Also, the quarter system allows you to take an extra set of classes. If you were on the semester system, you might not have time for one extra fun class because you're trying to fit all the classes you need into your year. But with quarters, that extra set of classes can allow you to space out your year and just have some change in the spring! Plus is makes graduating if four years a little more plausible if you're an engineer. Just saying.

Ah, engineering. You have given me quite the two quarters worth of work. You have given me endless work and allowed me to spend ample time in the library. You have even been so nice to let me have class every day of the week, all day I may add. Oh, and you have also made me dislike math, which I used to love. How can I ever repay you? I have an idea, how about switching majors? I think that's a great idea, and that is exactly what I am doing. As of right now (since it's not technically official), I plan on switching my major from environmental engineering to German and international business (which means I can put my AP Stats credit to use!). Big switch, no? Tomorrow I have a meeting with a business academic adviser (that's if I ever get a confirmation e-mail. Fisher, we are not starting off on the right foot, are we now?) and hopefully I will be on the path to switching majors. I wont switch to German until I have taken a few German classes in the spring, just to make sure I like the German program at Ohio State. But I'm excited! Also, I will not be envious of all the less work the business kids on my floor do. (Thanks for putting the ENR Scholar on the Business Scholar floor, Blackburn!)

While I have been very busy these past few weeks with midterms, labs, and papers, I have somehow managed to find time for myself. Shocking, I know. But the past weekend I participated what is know around here as BuckeyeThon. BuckeyeThon is OSU's 17 hour dance marathon benefiting Nationwide Children's Hospital. This year was BT's 10th anniversary, upping the hours from 14 to 17. And during those 17 hours (from 5pm on Saturday to 10am on Sunday), you could not sit down. Standing for 17 hours is quite the task. I mean, I bitch and moan for having to stand for 6 hours at Regal while getting a 35 minute break somewhere in the time I work. But I had a blast with my team (Teenage Dream/Blue team!)

Teenage Dream plus a random person just chilling

While our group started off large, in the end only Disha, Brittnee, Asumi, Aaron, Will, Andy, and I remained, but it was so worth it. The kids came back in the morning and it was much fun. It turned out that we raised over $222,000 (up from the $100,000 last year)! I don't know if it was a combination of being tired or just how moving the whole event was, but we all burst out in tears. Thank goodness I did not have a lot of homework that weekend because I slept the rest of Sunday (except for when I played soccer... which I amazed that I could actually function has a human). To anyone who goes to Ohio State, definitely do BuckeyeThon at least once before you graduate. You wont regret it.

Other happenings in my life, around OSU, or in Columbus:

• My CoRec intramural soccer team is in quarterfinals and we have a game tonight! I really want to get that free t-shirt when you win...
• The final home basketball game is this Sunday. I cannot wait.
• In the past week I have gone from 20 to 21 down to 16 credit hours for next quarter. Let's see how long that lasts.
• Crazy stuff is happening in Wisconsin, but it's also happening in Ohio as well.
• The Ohio Union now has a cupcake bar!!!!

 So. Good.

• I hate MATLAB. Just saying...
• I am on a electro/house music kick. All week the Deadmau5 mix on YouTube has been playing.
• So Interpol came to town not too long ago. A little disappointing, but still a good show.
• Tuesday was my last chemistry lab!!!! (Insert happy dance here)
• I'll be a first year sophomore next quarter!

Since the last time I have posted I have had approximately 2.5  death weeks, so I apologize for the lack of posts. Hopefully I wont go a month or however long it has been!

Time to go read a chemistry textbook! But first, The National.

Halfway

This week marks the fifth week of the quarter, which means we are halfway through winter quarter which means I am halfway through my first year of college! I feel like just got to Ohio State, but clearly I have been since September. Time flies when you're having fun!

On Tuesday, our awesome basketball team played Purdue. I don't know if you caught that game (whether it be in person or on TV), but it was INSANE! This was one of the most fun games I have been to all year. The Schott was rocking. No words can describe how fun it was. Purdue even had a small rag tag group of fans and eventually they fell silent. I eventually lost my voice but it was so worth it. We played like there was no tomorrow! The Nuthouse was where it was at! May I suggest following the Buckeye Nuthouse on twitter? Yes? Next game is on Thursday against M!ch!g@n.

Luckily for me, I had no midterms this week. Why? I was sick. Very sick. So sick that I wouldn't even roll out of bed for food. Yeah, you know it's serious when I wont even get up for food. This cold hit me on Wednesday as I was writing my paper (more on that later) and I only woke up to take a quiz and turn in that paper. After my two (easy) classes I went back to bed. Thank goodness I was sick on Thursday because my classes go from 10:30-12:18. So I'm still alive, no worries! This ginger will be around for some time to come.

So, yes, this past week I had to write my first paper as a college student, and looking back, I think I wrote a summary of the book instead of actually trying to prove something. I had to write about Harriet Jacobs and her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. You see, the past quarter and a half I've been writing lab reports and lab memos for both engineering and chemistry, and the point of lab write ups are to summarize and not necessarily try to prove a point I may have. So, yeah. I should probably work on that for the next paper (or for my midterm next week!). But hey, I already have 5 points of extra credit and I actually happen to really enjoy my history class. Words cannot express how nice of a change it is to go from classes where you only take notes and there is only one right answer, to a class where you can have discussions and formulate your own thoughts! Thank god I have to take GECs or else I would be buried in physics, chemistry, calculus, and engineering!

This past Sunday I went to the Two Door Cinema Club/Tokyo Police Club (Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin opened for the two) concert with Andy. Let me tell you, Two Door Cinema Club puts on a fantastic live show. Maybe even better than their album, and their album is good. Best part of TDCC? The ginger lead singer. Yep, ginger power. BUT! But, the best part of the show was the encore: both of the bands came on stage and did a cover of The Strokes's Last Night. Oh my god, what an epic collaboration. I went nuts, partially because I freaking love The Strokes (which they are coming out with a new album, btdubs) and also because their version was awesome! Good show all around. I personally perferred Two Door Cinema Club, but hey, I just like them better in general.

#epiccollaberation

It has come to my attention that I have completely neglected to mention one of the highlights of the quarter: SNOWBOARDING ON THE OVAL. Yes, you read that right, snowboard ON The Oval. And yes, for all you people who don't know much about The Oval, it is flat. As flat as the earth was in people's minds in the 1400's. As it turns out, a few people on BK2 and BK3 brought their skis and boards with them to OSU and we decided to celebrate the ending of the first week of winter quarter (and the first snow fall since coming back to school) by having a little fun on a Thursday night.

Sarah pulling me

 O-H-I-O

 Everyone!

 Mirror Lake and stuff

I hope you enjoyed the plethora of pictures from that night. It was oodles of fun, even though half of us had 8:30 classes the next morning :)

Finally, potential spring quarter schedule. Thoughts?

Click on it to make it larger

Math 153 - Calculus 3. Not fun. Required.

Physics 131 - Intro to physics. Essentially AP Physics. Required.

German 367 - My second writing course. Going towards my potential German minor. GEC.

German 299 - A study in the "culture of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany in literature, film, the other arts; the roots of fascism and its echoes in postwar Germany." GEC. (I'm PUMPED for this class. Words cannot describe.)

Alrighty, that's all for now. I'm barely alive after that near upset Northwestern just gave us. Too close for my liking.

How about some Swedish indie rock?

Enjoy the last of your January.

Come on! Feel the Illinoise!

Wow, it has been a LONG time since I've updated. Like, over a month. I'm very sorry about that; I've just been... lazy. So what's new?

What has gone on in my life the past month or so:

• Mackenzi and I signed a lease for an apartment!
• I'm on an intramural soccer team this quarter
• I'm going to my first snowboarding competition this weekend
• I was going to rush... but then I decided not to
• The Yule Ball is tonight!

So the first week if winter break my family and I went to St. Thomas for my cousin Michelle's wedding! It was fun, and just an all around nice break. Plus, it felt like a real vacation. Let me clarify: a Kueller vacation is rarely a relaxing vacation. Example one: skiing. A skiing vacation is work. You need a vacation from that vacation! Example two: camping. Camping is... semi relaxing... once you get everything set up and have enough bug spray on to swim in. Example 3: Europe. Europe was a fantastic vacation, but we lived out of a suitcase for three weeks going on trains here and there. Work, man! Needless to say, the USVI were a nice break, especially just after I took finals. The whole family was there and it was warm, but not humid, and the water was very blue and it was just pretty.

Tom, Michelle, and the rest of the family

The rest of winter break was pretty mellow. It was good to be home for the first time since I left. Even working wasn't that bad! And I was very happy to see Katja for more than just the expected 2.5 days we were supposed to have (thank you freak Europe snowstorms!). Nothing exciting really happened; just a lot of basketball watching and food consuming. So nothing out of the norm.

I miss these girls so much!

I was one of the first people to head back to school (Chungie was the other one... but she's in the Air Force so her breaks are always short) and it felt good to be back in Columbus. Since I flew back on New Years Day, I wasn't allowed back in the dorm so I actually got to spend a day with Alex! It had been a while since we actually hung out (we did see each other for about an hour over Thanksgiving break) and it was good seeing her again. The next day I gave her a personal tour of OSU and we walked around the Short North for a little while and stopped in a really cool music store. But I soon found out that despite being able to back to the dorms on Sunday, none of the campus dining areas were open! What the heck, Ohio State?! I'm a hungry girl and I want my food, but I don't want to use real money. And seeing everyone back in the dorms was fun. It's weird seeing someone day in and day out for 12 straight weeks and then go almost a month without seeing them once. Whatever, life happens!

Ohio State sports have done pretty well the past month and I am loving it, that is for sure! To kick off the quarter, the football team won the Sugar Bowl! It was one of the most exciting games to watch! And to top it off, all five of the suspended juniors are coming back to Ohio State for the senior year. Mad props to Tressel and the players for keeping the promise. Then hockey team had a stellar sweep of Miami (we are HUGE hockey rivals with them!), and on Friday night (the game I went to) Chelsea Dagger played. I went with a fellow Blackhawks fan, Amy, and let's just say we were pretty stoked to hear a little Dagger. Oh, and then there is the basketball team. I don't know if you've heard, but we're pretty good. We have some talented kids... ya know... only earning the #1 ranking. So we're legit. You better watch your back!

The Buckeye Nuthouse!

 

Oh, and the student section is pretty awesome this year. Additional seats were put behind the benches and it is a fun atmosphere. Just the other day I was two rows off the Iowa bench. Games are crazy, loud, and awesome. I can't wait for the exciting Big Ten games. Plus we have sweet pants (which I won a free pair, btdubs).

So as I mentioned earlier, Mackenzi and I finally signed a lease on an apartment for next year! It's this darling apartment on High, and it's painted bright oranges and yellows (plus a green room which Mackenzi just LOVES). So were pretty pumped!

Yule Ball tonight. So ready.

It's finally the weekend.

Michigan's Not Very Good At Lotta Stuff

We beat Michigan. We beat Michigan bad. You know what that means? It's seven years in a row that we've beat Michigan. It was a pretty exciting game to say the least. But if you don't know already, I feel like I should tell you that I got painted up for the game. Yes, it was the coldest (well, the only cold game really) of the year, with a lovely temperature of 30° and I had to be at the stadium by 10 am. So I was standing in the cold with just a sports bra and sweatpants on for 5.5 hours (I GOT ON TV TOO!). That's dedication if you ask me. So at the end of the 37-7 win, a bunch of us in Block O (the student section for those who don't know) decided what the hell, let's rush the field. I mean, we haven't rushed the field all year and we just beat our rivals for the seventh straight year, so why not! The first few rows waited by the gate and as the clock hit about 10 seconds left, me and four others girls ran onto the field, but after me, the security was told don't let anyone onto the field. So basically five girls in sports bras, looking crazy, rushed the field. It was so worth it though! I mean, I even got to sing Carmen Ohio with the football team. The only downer of the game? Nike.

That's my head between 48 and 73!!!

There was also this thing called the Mirror Lake Jump. I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's kinda a big deal around Ohio State. What this jump entails is students (that would be me) and/or fans jumping into a poop filled pond with 15,000 others around midnight to show our school spirit in frigged weather. Because obviously jumping into a pond will clearly make us beat Michigan easier. DUH. But Mackenzi and I jumped twice for about a total of 15 minutes. It was cold but SOOOO worth it. Oh, and I ate four donuts after like it was my job. Hands down one of the most fun things I have done at Mirror Lake so far. Nothing beats jumping up and down in Mirror Lake, singing We Don't Give A Damn/doing the Buckeye Bounce. I love this school!

"Why are you wearing a winter chhh-coat?"

 

Besides the Michigan game, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I enjoyed seeing my family for the first time (except my dad who came for parents weekend) since I left for school! It was so nice to just go 30 minutes off campus for a few nights (we stayed at a family friend's house the holiday). I had an excellent few days filled with fun times, delicious food (Turkey Day was my first home cooked meal since I left), and the Champions League. Plus, after dinner on Thursday we all watched a documentary about The Game. You can't get more Ohio State than that. But then on Friday we all went to the Ohio State/Miami (OH) basketball game. It was a fun last night with the family and I can't wait to see them soon!

 The family at the basketball game!

So, the World Cup bid day was today, and if you follow me on twitter or were in my dorm room at 10:40, you know how I feel about all this. Let's just say that FIFA and Sepp Blatter are very very VERY corrupt and will do anything for a little extra cash. Seriously, Qatar? I'm cool with Russia, and I think that will be a fun World Cup, but Qatar? The country looks down on gays, women, Jews, drinking, and I'm sure a bunch of other things. I mean, homosexuality is illegal and can lead to imprisonment. It is average 110° in the summer, Qatar has very close proximity to unstable, terrorist countries, they don't recognize Israel as a country and Israeli fans will have a hell of a time traveling though Qatar, and all the stadiums (I think) are within 20 miles of each other. Also,  if the same amount of people that traveled to the World Cup last summer (3.18 million) go to Qatar already on top of the approx 1 million inhabitants, there would a person 9 feet from everyone all over the country. Qatar is one small place. Don't even get me started on their team. They are ranked 113th in the world and have never qualified for a World Cup. And then there is this. Oh, and the state of Ohio has bigger stadiums than Qatar and is actually bigger than Qatar, so I think the freaking state of Ohio would host a better World Cup than that country. So hats off to you, FIFA, for putting many in danger come 2022 and the poor players might have a few heat strokes along the way. But hey, you are stuffing your pockets with a bunch of extra money, so who else really matters, right? But how could we have lost? We had Morgan Freeman and Bill Cliton there! #usa2026?

 Morgan. Freeman. Oh FIFA...

The former president was even there!

Glad I got my Qatar rant out of the way. Moving on!

As the quarter is nearing an end, many of us have swipes to get rid of. For those non Ohio State people that could potentially read this blog, swipes (our meal plan) don't carry over quarter to quarter, so we have to use them all before the quarter ends or else it is really money wasted. One easy way to use up swipes is to go to the campus "grocery" (yeah, they have milk, cereal, ice cream, and beef jerky... well, the Burrito's one does at least) store and stock up on non-perishables, such as Powerade. And boy, did Mackenzi and I did just that.

That would be a total of 96 bottle of Powerade and Vitamin Water

The best part? They accidentally gave us the crates of Powerade that stock the fridges, not the smaller ones that they sell for swipes. Plus, they don't give away Vitamin Water... Win? I think so. But carrying that was fun. Luckily some guys from the dorm helped us for part of the way!

 Finals are next week and right about now I wish I learned how to study in high school. Yeah, kinda a problem. So in order to help my procrastinating, I decided to actually read a book on my own this week (partially because I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and partially because I have been really unmotivated this week). So all week long I have been reading Soccernomics and it's great. No joke, I'm almost done. I feel like such a geek reading it, but if you love soccer as much as I do then I highly recommend it. It's that great. But yeah, two days of finals next week and then I fly home on Friday. I cannot wait!!!

I think that's all for this week.

White Lies remix.