I am taking one journalism class this semester. It is titled Cross Cultural Journalism. So far we have focused mainly on race and how to avoid making assumptions when reporting. It's almost like sensitivity training, but for reporting on "hot topic" issues. Race, gender, class, etc. The professor encourages us to speak up and voice our opinions, but I've never found a reason to. Until today.
There was a story in what looked to be a more modern style college newspaper that he posted on the screen. The headline said something about immigrants struggling to go to college. The deck (or secondary headline or the other words before the story or whatever makes sense to you) was two parts The first: cost - some immigrants send money back to their families find it difficult to afford college. Then the other: financial aid - illegals are not eligible for scholarships.
Of course, none of this is verbatim, so please don't think that it was quite as un-PC as I was, but it was pretty darn close. Anyway, what really got the class talking was the large photo beneath both of those. A Mexican student (he identified himself as Mexican in the caption below the photo) taking notes in a Geometry class. That's it. That's all it was. But the class went on a field day.
Since the photo was so close to the two words immigrants and illegals, the assumption that will be made (worst case scenario, of course) is that this student is an illegal immigrant. The students started going off on how the photographer should have taken a photo of something else. Then I realized something.
Just change the layout. Move the two decks to below the photo and split them up so they hover over their own story. Put a small graphic in the middle (perhaps some statistics) so there is a solid division. It's very common in "180" reports or in sports stories where one simply reports on the most recent game and the other is some sort of interest story about the team.
That layout would work perfectly here. It would break up the word "immigration" and "illegals" perfectly. They would no longer be associated with each other. The intent of both articles would still be intact and everyone could shut up about it being the photographers fault. The photo is just a student taking notes. Holy crap, scandalous! But my classmates just went on and on about the quality of the caption and the intent of picture and despite my raised hand, I never got called on. I am very tempted to email the class and spam their inboxes being like, "Look. It's the stupid page editor's fault. The editor didn't see those two words as an issue. If she just did (insert what I said above) everything would be fine. Stop yelling at the photog. They usually aren't to blame. 'Go take a picture of this student.' The result? A decent photo of the student where you can see his eyes and most of his face and goes along with the story. It's not our fault there's a headline up there. 'Go to this rally.' The result? Shots of people worked up about something, most likely with signs. It's not our fault the signs aren't PC. It's a rally. You want drama, you want polarizing statements."
Rawr rawr rawr. I really just wanted to say that because I know a few photographers in the room were thinking it (god, our professor singled us out so much today). It just seems unfair. Photos are what grab people's attention. Why don't we get more respect?
9.22.2009
9.21.2009
Racing Worlds
On Mondays and Wednesdays my class ends at 3:15. If I am one of the last to leave class and walk slowly I make it to the bus stop at 3:20. The bus pulls up mere seconds before I arrive. I get on, find a seat and wait for ten minutes before it pulls away and takes me back to the apartment complex. During these ten minutes I watch people from behind my polarized sunglasses.
I am usually entertained by sorority girls outside the window. They gather by the bus in a group of five or more, talking animatedly. I don't know what they're saying so I usually make up stories in my head so long as they correspond with their hand gestures. Sometimes I'll see some odd sights. Like one time a girl tried to get on to the bus but the doors were closed. She was so embarrassed she waited for a later bus, I think. Or some guys tossing a football back and forth on their way to the field by our rec center. One didn't aim too well and someone not in their group caught it. And then started running. So the group ran after him. That was a bit strange.
Today my interest was piqued by someone who got on my bus. I didn't pay too much attention to him, simply shifted my bag so it wasn't in his way as he walked down the aisle. He had a faded light blue shirt on with an equally as faded decal on the left where a pocket would be. In yellow to large letters. GT. In black type. American. In italicized red cursive. Simply Fast! It was only a glimpse, so I wasn't too sure about the American and Simply Fast!, but I saw the GT and enough similar letters to have an inkling I was right. I turned around to see the back of his shirt. Had he been wearing his backpack like a normal person, I wouldn't have seen the confirmation I needed, but his backpack was slung from his right shoulder exposing the same, albeit larger, decal on the back.
The same chassis I used to race! In quarter midgets my family was very close to the then owners of GT American. I wondered how he came to have this shirt and what it meant to him. I wondered what his story was. How much we would have in common. Here's the thing though. I couldn't reach out to him.
Racing is touchy. For some people, once they leave the sport, they never look back. What if this kid didn't like racing anymore and was only wearing the shirt because he liked the color and it was laundry day? What if he was a different person now and didn't want to be reminded of when he raced? Sometimes kids only race because their parents want them to. Sometimes they are forced out of it because their parents want something else for them.
I know half of you are going, "What? You were just scared. Next time talk to him." But that's the thing. If he were still in racing, wouldn't he have worn other racing shirts? And since I take this same bus every Monday and Wednesday, wouldn't I have seen him wear a racing shirt before? I recognized his face, once I looked. Wouldn't I have caught a glimpse of him in a different racing shirt on one of the other buses I take? There's a reason we stop wearing racing shirts. Once you leave that world, it's really hard to go back. Especially when someone you don't know comes up to you and starts tearing into that world. You have your friends in school, your friends in your neighborhood, your friends in racing. When you try and mix them...it's like oil and water. And then imagine a stranger coming in and trying to find out about that world. It's not something you can just go up to someone and ask, especially if they seem like they're trying to hide it.
I usually only wear racing shirts at the race track or to sleep in, but come winter I pull out my Tulsa Shootout hoodie and wear it like a second skin. It makes me wonder what will happen the first chill. Since I'm displaying it a little louder, will he notice and approach me? Or will I have my sunglasses on, pretending to be in my own little world, pushing him away?
I am usually entertained by sorority girls outside the window. They gather by the bus in a group of five or more, talking animatedly. I don't know what they're saying so I usually make up stories in my head so long as they correspond with their hand gestures. Sometimes I'll see some odd sights. Like one time a girl tried to get on to the bus but the doors were closed. She was so embarrassed she waited for a later bus, I think. Or some guys tossing a football back and forth on their way to the field by our rec center. One didn't aim too well and someone not in their group caught it. And then started running. So the group ran after him. That was a bit strange.
Today my interest was piqued by someone who got on my bus. I didn't pay too much attention to him, simply shifted my bag so it wasn't in his way as he walked down the aisle. He had a faded light blue shirt on with an equally as faded decal on the left where a pocket would be. In yellow to large letters. GT. In black type. American. In italicized red cursive. Simply Fast! It was only a glimpse, so I wasn't too sure about the American and Simply Fast!, but I saw the GT and enough similar letters to have an inkling I was right. I turned around to see the back of his shirt. Had he been wearing his backpack like a normal person, I wouldn't have seen the confirmation I needed, but his backpack was slung from his right shoulder exposing the same, albeit larger, decal on the back.
The same chassis I used to race! In quarter midgets my family was very close to the then owners of GT American. I wondered how he came to have this shirt and what it meant to him. I wondered what his story was. How much we would have in common. Here's the thing though. I couldn't reach out to him.
Racing is touchy. For some people, once they leave the sport, they never look back. What if this kid didn't like racing anymore and was only wearing the shirt because he liked the color and it was laundry day? What if he was a different person now and didn't want to be reminded of when he raced? Sometimes kids only race because their parents want them to. Sometimes they are forced out of it because their parents want something else for them.
I know half of you are going, "What? You were just scared. Next time talk to him." But that's the thing. If he were still in racing, wouldn't he have worn other racing shirts? And since I take this same bus every Monday and Wednesday, wouldn't I have seen him wear a racing shirt before? I recognized his face, once I looked. Wouldn't I have caught a glimpse of him in a different racing shirt on one of the other buses I take? There's a reason we stop wearing racing shirts. Once you leave that world, it's really hard to go back. Especially when someone you don't know comes up to you and starts tearing into that world. You have your friends in school, your friends in your neighborhood, your friends in racing. When you try and mix them...it's like oil and water. And then imagine a stranger coming in and trying to find out about that world. It's not something you can just go up to someone and ask, especially if they seem like they're trying to hide it.
I usually only wear racing shirts at the race track or to sleep in, but come winter I pull out my Tulsa Shootout hoodie and wear it like a second skin. It makes me wonder what will happen the first chill. Since I'm displaying it a little louder, will he notice and approach me? Or will I have my sunglasses on, pretending to be in my own little world, pushing him away?
9.19.2009
Relationships in College: Part 2
I don't understand the draw of the friends with benefits. Well, ok, I do, but I don't see why anyone would want that. To me it seems like it would just lead into a big bad mess and you lose someone who was a friend or someone you could have had an actual relationship with.
But it seems that being friends with benefits is the name of the game these days. A and J, who used to date claim they are just friends now, but they are always all snuggley and holding hands. (update on that situation: A and J had a fight apparently over the friends with benefits situation. They are no longer friends.) R found a nice boy named P and almost started dating him until she figured out all he wanted was sex. So they stopped seeing each other...for all of a week. He's over right now. They're locked in her room. K recently broke up with her boyfriend and has been going on a lot of dates, but seems to like this one boy that she knew before...
What is the appeal of that? Just having someone familiar? Why not just causally date then? It's not a bad thing to be boyfriend and girlfriend, especially if that's what you want (in R's case, and in K's case too). You don't have to get all formal and serious about a relationship. It'll last a month or so and you can move on to the next one. Just for propriety's sake...say you're in a relationship! It's not that bad I promise! Well...no, let's not go there, my relationship issues have nothing to do with turning a friends with benefits situation into a casual relationship.
I dunno...it just kind of bugs me, I guess. I can see these girls, even if they aren't my friends, getting hurt. They put themselves in these situations and I can see how it's wrong or it's not what they want, but they do it anyway. I want to help but I don't know how to. Any advice? Should I just butt out?
But it seems that being friends with benefits is the name of the game these days. A and J, who used to date claim they are just friends now, but they are always all snuggley and holding hands. (update on that situation: A and J had a fight apparently over the friends with benefits situation. They are no longer friends.) R found a nice boy named P and almost started dating him until she figured out all he wanted was sex. So they stopped seeing each other...for all of a week. He's over right now. They're locked in her room. K recently broke up with her boyfriend and has been going on a lot of dates, but seems to like this one boy that she knew before...
What is the appeal of that? Just having someone familiar? Why not just causally date then? It's not a bad thing to be boyfriend and girlfriend, especially if that's what you want (in R's case, and in K's case too). You don't have to get all formal and serious about a relationship. It'll last a month or so and you can move on to the next one. Just for propriety's sake...say you're in a relationship! It's not that bad I promise! Well...no, let's not go there, my relationship issues have nothing to do with turning a friends with benefits situation into a casual relationship.
I dunno...it just kind of bugs me, I guess. I can see these girls, even if they aren't my friends, getting hurt. They put themselves in these situations and I can see how it's wrong or it's not what they want, but they do it anyway. I want to help but I don't know how to. Any advice? Should I just butt out?
9.17.2009
Apartment Advice
This year instead of living on campus I thought it would be a brilliant idea to live off campus to save money.
I started off working with E and her friend. We looked all over for 3 bedroom apartments that fit all the meticulous requirements E laid out for us. One week before we are supposed to go visit our short list of options, E says that she has talked it over with her parents and decided she shouldn't live off campus. That leaves me with her friend who I don't know and wasn't that into it to begin with...so we abandon that attempt.
I talk to my old roommate, A, to see what her plans are. She's been working with B. They didn't have a set plan yet, but figured they would get a house instead of an apartment. So I join the group, as do R and N. N later drops out because he has joined a frat. Since there are now 4 of us, we look at 4 bedroom apartments. Again they must meet a list of requirements. We find a good variety of apartments. However, due to A's inability to pay for anything more than 300/month, we end up at Campus View. We sign the leases without even taking a tour.
Summer starts. I try and get a hold of B to wish him happy birthday. I call back a few times over the next week, but he never answers. Finally, B calls me back. He has been kicked out of the university because his grades last semester were terrible (for various reasons: a death in the family, a two week illness and him slacking off after that). He can't live in the apartment anymore. We contact N who's been searching for a place to live. He agrees to take the place. This is where the trouble begins.
N parties and smokes. He also wanted to have a dog and a 5th person live with us. All these things violate the lease. After much drama (read: me putting my foot down) N decides to move out, along with R. Well, R doesn't move out...which causes the apartment to turn it into an all girls apartment.
Looking back, it didn't turn out that bad. R doesn't hate me anymore and K is really cool (the other girl they placed with us). A is actually the problem now since she has a cat and a lizard and two fish. Well R is a bit of a problem b/c she doesn't clean up after herself too much, but I cut her some slack b/c she works almost full time and is taking 15 credit hours.
I had a point with all this somewhere. Oh yeah. Don't try and find an apartment with people you don't know too much about. And even if you think you know them pretty well, they will mess something up. Guaranteed. I think if I live off campus next year that I will get a studio. I don't mind paying almost double the rent if it means I get to live the way I want. Tentatively I am hoping to live with L and K and a different E, but a lot of that is hinged on if K gets into law school at our university and if E is able to transfer. So we'll see. I'm keeping living alone off campus as my main choice.
I started off working with E and her friend. We looked all over for 3 bedroom apartments that fit all the meticulous requirements E laid out for us. One week before we are supposed to go visit our short list of options, E says that she has talked it over with her parents and decided she shouldn't live off campus. That leaves me with her friend who I don't know and wasn't that into it to begin with...so we abandon that attempt.
I talk to my old roommate, A, to see what her plans are. She's been working with B. They didn't have a set plan yet, but figured they would get a house instead of an apartment. So I join the group, as do R and N. N later drops out because he has joined a frat. Since there are now 4 of us, we look at 4 bedroom apartments. Again they must meet a list of requirements. We find a good variety of apartments. However, due to A's inability to pay for anything more than 300/month, we end up at Campus View. We sign the leases without even taking a tour.
Summer starts. I try and get a hold of B to wish him happy birthday. I call back a few times over the next week, but he never answers. Finally, B calls me back. He has been kicked out of the university because his grades last semester were terrible (for various reasons: a death in the family, a two week illness and him slacking off after that). He can't live in the apartment anymore. We contact N who's been searching for a place to live. He agrees to take the place. This is where the trouble begins.
N parties and smokes. He also wanted to have a dog and a 5th person live with us. All these things violate the lease. After much drama (read: me putting my foot down) N decides to move out, along with R. Well, R doesn't move out...which causes the apartment to turn it into an all girls apartment.
Looking back, it didn't turn out that bad. R doesn't hate me anymore and K is really cool (the other girl they placed with us). A is actually the problem now since she has a cat and a lizard and two fish. Well R is a bit of a problem b/c she doesn't clean up after herself too much, but I cut her some slack b/c she works almost full time and is taking 15 credit hours.
I had a point with all this somewhere. Oh yeah. Don't try and find an apartment with people you don't know too much about. And even if you think you know them pretty well, they will mess something up. Guaranteed. I think if I live off campus next year that I will get a studio. I don't mind paying almost double the rent if it means I get to live the way I want. Tentatively I am hoping to live with L and K and a different E, but a lot of that is hinged on if K gets into law school at our university and if E is able to transfer. So we'll see. I'm keeping living alone off campus as my main choice.
Rugby 2
Here's how I'm going to be doing this. Obviously, rugby will be very important to me from now on since I've decided to join the team and all. If you want regular posts, I'll still do those, but rugby has the potential to be my main topic from now on. I'll keep the titles as Rugby followed by a number. If it's a game, I'll follow that by a dash and "Mizzou v ___" or "___ v. Mizzou" depending on who is home.
Summary of Saturday's clinic: We did drills for an hour and a half before finally taking a water break. I think about half the people there got dehydrated - I know I did. I also got a minor concussion and took a few balls to the stomach (some people have bad aim...or I ran faster than they were expecting) and have a few bruises on my right arm. Oh, and I'm still pretty red and my face is peeling and I look lovely. Especially right now since I haven't put lotion on in a few hours. Nice. I didn't scrimmage b/c I felt like crap. I got the concussion, sat out for a couple of minutes, got back up, got in the drill and took a ball to the stomach. Excellent. We do a few more drills then go to lunch. I decide I'm fine to keep playing, and a few other veterans are like "ehhh....ok...." (one's majoring in physical therapy...she said I was fine but recommended that I sit out). Not long after we get back we start these weird running drills where we're just constantly running. It's 1pm and it's hot. We do that for about 30 minutes, non-stop. We get water. We go back and we start doing one-on-one tackling drills. That's when the headache hit and I just backed off after that. Drank 2 liters of water, didn't pee (yeah, that's called dehydration). Still had a headache. Got up, walked around, tried a few drills, still had a headache. Then they decide it's time to scrimmage. I sit out. By now one of our coaches(/player? not too sure yet) has called it quits too so she and I walk up and down the sidelines, following the play and she explains anything I have questions on. A good day for rookies, a boring day for veterans.
Tuesday's practice was ok until we decided to do a skeleton scrimmage. A skeleton scrimmage is where the bare minimum of players is on the field. Usually about 15, which is really the size of only one team in an actual game. In practice (so far) we play two hand touch or if you hear a whistle, you have been tackled. So at first I was on defense. On defense you need to stay in a flat line so there are no gaps created so a runner can't get through. We couldn't do that. When we switched to offense, I was outside center. (Need a visual? Hit up wiki - just google "rugby positions") I was the third person to get the ball. The second person is the inside center and the first person is the flyhalf. The centers rotate around the flyhalf who directs the plays. There are two wings who stay on their sides. We ended up being to the left of the flyhalf most of the time. The flyhalf and the wing on the left side were veterans and but the rest of us were rookies. I was the only rookie who attended the clinic on the line so the others kind of had no idea what they were doing. This was very evident when the inside center decided to play more where the outside center should. When the wing would tell her to move, she would get so close and so flat that the flyhalf would complain and she would move back so she was almost next to me. I'm not sure what she thinks she was doing, but she made me so frustrated. We could not move the ball forward at all b/c she would be so close to the flyhalf that we would have a forward pass which is illegal or she would be so far away the flyhalf could barely get the ball to her (or she was terrible at catching). I ended up taking the ball at one point and the wing and I kept tossing the ball back and forth to help move it forward. Wings don't do that. They're supposed to be given the ball when the defense has been drawn away from them. Wings just get the ball and sprint up the field. That's it. They catch, they aren't supposed to throw. But we did and it was the most our team moved the ball. Grah, it was so frustrating, I can't explain. And if I tried to take her spot b/c she would be where I was supposed to be she would yell at me, "You're supposed to be on the other side of me." "You're supposed to more over here, get here and I'll move back there."
Ok, I'm done ranting. It was a crappy practice, but now I know who I can't work with. It's unfortunate b/c when she's not in "game," that girl is good at catching and throwing and working on a team and moving around, adjusting to the situation. She's just not good there. Tomorrow will be better. We're supposed to start actually tackling each other in game now.
Summary of Saturday's clinic: We did drills for an hour and a half before finally taking a water break. I think about half the people there got dehydrated - I know I did. I also got a minor concussion and took a few balls to the stomach (some people have bad aim...or I ran faster than they were expecting) and have a few bruises on my right arm. Oh, and I'm still pretty red and my face is peeling and I look lovely. Especially right now since I haven't put lotion on in a few hours. Nice. I didn't scrimmage b/c I felt like crap. I got the concussion, sat out for a couple of minutes, got back up, got in the drill and took a ball to the stomach. Excellent. We do a few more drills then go to lunch. I decide I'm fine to keep playing, and a few other veterans are like "ehhh....ok...." (one's majoring in physical therapy...she said I was fine but recommended that I sit out). Not long after we get back we start these weird running drills where we're just constantly running. It's 1pm and it's hot. We do that for about 30 minutes, non-stop. We get water. We go back and we start doing one-on-one tackling drills. That's when the headache hit and I just backed off after that. Drank 2 liters of water, didn't pee (yeah, that's called dehydration). Still had a headache. Got up, walked around, tried a few drills, still had a headache. Then they decide it's time to scrimmage. I sit out. By now one of our coaches(/player? not too sure yet) has called it quits too so she and I walk up and down the sidelines, following the play and she explains anything I have questions on. A good day for rookies, a boring day for veterans.
Tuesday's practice was ok until we decided to do a skeleton scrimmage. A skeleton scrimmage is where the bare minimum of players is on the field. Usually about 15, which is really the size of only one team in an actual game. In practice (so far) we play two hand touch or if you hear a whistle, you have been tackled. So at first I was on defense. On defense you need to stay in a flat line so there are no gaps created so a runner can't get through. We couldn't do that. When we switched to offense, I was outside center. (Need a visual? Hit up wiki - just google "rugby positions") I was the third person to get the ball. The second person is the inside center and the first person is the flyhalf. The centers rotate around the flyhalf who directs the plays. There are two wings who stay on their sides. We ended up being to the left of the flyhalf most of the time. The flyhalf and the wing on the left side were veterans and but the rest of us were rookies. I was the only rookie who attended the clinic on the line so the others kind of had no idea what they were doing. This was very evident when the inside center decided to play more where the outside center should. When the wing would tell her to move, she would get so close and so flat that the flyhalf would complain and she would move back so she was almost next to me. I'm not sure what she thinks she was doing, but she made me so frustrated. We could not move the ball forward at all b/c she would be so close to the flyhalf that we would have a forward pass which is illegal or she would be so far away the flyhalf could barely get the ball to her (or she was terrible at catching). I ended up taking the ball at one point and the wing and I kept tossing the ball back and forth to help move it forward. Wings don't do that. They're supposed to be given the ball when the defense has been drawn away from them. Wings just get the ball and sprint up the field. That's it. They catch, they aren't supposed to throw. But we did and it was the most our team moved the ball. Grah, it was so frustrating, I can't explain. And if I tried to take her spot b/c she would be where I was supposed to be she would yell at me, "You're supposed to be on the other side of me." "You're supposed to more over here, get here and I'll move back there."
Ok, I'm done ranting. It was a crappy practice, but now I know who I can't work with. It's unfortunate b/c when she's not in "game," that girl is good at catching and throwing and working on a team and moving around, adjusting to the situation. She's just not good there. Tomorrow will be better. We're supposed to start actually tackling each other in game now.
9.16.2009
Ed-jew-ma-cation
It really pisses me off when people pronounce education like that. I mean really pisses me off. It's not like anyone really says it that way. You aren't making fun of anyone by saying it that way, you just sound like a douche. Anyway, I just wanted to have a good title. Onto my real topic.
I decided to double major on a whim. I had my major and three minors, but wanted something that wouldn't make anyone who read my resume be like, "What was she thinking, taking three minors? They certainly don't make her look appealing for this job - she can't make up her mind! I bet she still has no clue what she wants and only picked this major because she thinks it's easy to take photographs. NEXT!" And yes, I have pictured people thinking that when I show up for an interview.
So I decided to turn Japanese into a major. I got that all organized. I met with my new adviser for International Studies. Then I decided I was going to graduate in 3.5 years, not 4. That was kind of insane. But even now, I still could do it. I could still make it work. It would be difficult and what not, but hey, it can be done!
But it won't. I'm going to double major in 4 years and maybe get a minor. Not sure. Or I could just stay a few more years, get a major in teaching. Pff, might as well go to Ball State for that. I'm diverting from where I thought this post would go, but that's ok. It makes for a better post anyway.
I'm finding that I'm not entirely certain in my major. Well, no. I love journalism. I want to take photos. We got that part down. My Japanese major is just convenient, but I have this lingering desire to teach at the high school level. Preferably 9th or 10th grade (honors) English or some sort of photography or journalism. But I need a totally different major for that. And I can't get a teaching major with my other majors b/c they don't allow that here. So I'm kind of considering transferring to Ball State in Indiana...? I considered going there my senior year. They have Japanese and are strong for journalism and have a really good teaching program as far as Indiana goes. And overall they're a cool school. More liberal artsy than Mizzou, still decent sports teams (where did they come from last year in football man? daaaang) and I absolutely love their campus. I'd be closer to home and closer to friends. I know some people from HiLite (younger than me) who decided to go there, and even one who is double majoring in journalism and Japanese. I could be happy and finally shut up this little voice in the back of my head. And I would be totally set for life job wise. Hey local newspaper, need a photographer? Sure! Hey local high school, need an English/Photography/Journalism teacher? Sure! Hey random business company, need a Japanese translator? Hell yes!
But then there's the flip side. I think I only want this because my mom's mom was a teacher and my mom was a teaching major but she only taught for a few years before realizing her mom forced her into that. I don't have the forcing into that, yet I still have the desire. But I'm a lot like my mom and I don't think I would have the patience for teaching. And what the hell would I do in college for 6 years? Yeah, I think that's what it would take to graduate with all that. Maybe 5.5. I don't know. And transferring universities? What if I regret it? What if I get there, start my teaching courses, and then figure out I hate teaching?
I probably won't change majors anymore. If I still have a strong desire to teach after I graduate, I'll figure out a way to make it happen. Let's work with what I have now though. Photojournalism, Japanese, English/Art minor. Sounds good. Seems fun, right? I think I might take an Art class next semester just to do ceramics. I've always thought that would be relaxing. We'll see. Too far off to really know.
I decided to double major on a whim. I had my major and three minors, but wanted something that wouldn't make anyone who read my resume be like, "What was she thinking, taking three minors? They certainly don't make her look appealing for this job - she can't make up her mind! I bet she still has no clue what she wants and only picked this major because she thinks it's easy to take photographs. NEXT!" And yes, I have pictured people thinking that when I show up for an interview.
So I decided to turn Japanese into a major. I got that all organized. I met with my new adviser for International Studies. Then I decided I was going to graduate in 3.5 years, not 4. That was kind of insane. But even now, I still could do it. I could still make it work. It would be difficult and what not, but hey, it can be done!
But it won't. I'm going to double major in 4 years and maybe get a minor. Not sure. Or I could just stay a few more years, get a major in teaching. Pff, might as well go to Ball State for that. I'm diverting from where I thought this post would go, but that's ok. It makes for a better post anyway.
I'm finding that I'm not entirely certain in my major. Well, no. I love journalism. I want to take photos. We got that part down. My Japanese major is just convenient, but I have this lingering desire to teach at the high school level. Preferably 9th or 10th grade (honors) English or some sort of photography or journalism. But I need a totally different major for that. And I can't get a teaching major with my other majors b/c they don't allow that here. So I'm kind of considering transferring to Ball State in Indiana...? I considered going there my senior year. They have Japanese and are strong for journalism and have a really good teaching program as far as Indiana goes. And overall they're a cool school. More liberal artsy than Mizzou, still decent sports teams (where did they come from last year in football man? daaaang) and I absolutely love their campus. I'd be closer to home and closer to friends. I know some people from HiLite (younger than me) who decided to go there, and even one who is double majoring in journalism and Japanese. I could be happy and finally shut up this little voice in the back of my head. And I would be totally set for life job wise. Hey local newspaper, need a photographer? Sure! Hey local high school, need an English/Photography/Journalism teacher? Sure! Hey random business company, need a Japanese translator? Hell yes!
But then there's the flip side. I think I only want this because my mom's mom was a teacher and my mom was a teaching major but she only taught for a few years before realizing her mom forced her into that. I don't have the forcing into that, yet I still have the desire. But I'm a lot like my mom and I don't think I would have the patience for teaching. And what the hell would I do in college for 6 years? Yeah, I think that's what it would take to graduate with all that. Maybe 5.5. I don't know. And transferring universities? What if I regret it? What if I get there, start my teaching courses, and then figure out I hate teaching?
I probably won't change majors anymore. If I still have a strong desire to teach after I graduate, I'll figure out a way to make it happen. Let's work with what I have now though. Photojournalism, Japanese, English/Art minor. Sounds good. Seems fun, right? I think I might take an Art class next semester just to do ceramics. I've always thought that would be relaxing. We'll see. Too far off to really know.
9.11.2009
Rugby
I am far too tired to think of a decent title or edit this before posting. So, without further ado, I bring you rugby. Women's rugby to be exact. Of the Mizzou variety.
Don't ask me what I'm doing. I have no clue.
It all started at the beginning of the school year. I work for the student newspaper and every year we have a new photo editor b/c they move on to other publications (aka, ones that the Journalism school forces you into by requiring you to take a certain class). For unknown reasons, the editor and I are not "chums" making it rather difficult to enjoy taking pictures of the few assignments I have received. So I started looking for other activities to fill my time. A few friends and I were going to take a hip hop class, but opted for Zumba instead. That was fun the first time. Then we never went back. Granted, school keeps me pretty busy, but I did want something to get me out of the apartment. Fallout 3 helps keep me entertained, but I come off as an anti-social just keeping myself in my room all the time.
So that led me to the student activities fair on Wednesday, two days ago. It's just a whole bunch of tables set up in one of our open areas (we call it Lowry Mall. A quick google search revales there is a building named Lowry Hall right next to Lowry Mall. Who'd've known?). All the clubs and non-live-in sororities/fraternities and other activities on campus have a table or booth. And a few food places give out free food if you wait in a line. They run out too quickly for it to be worth it though. Anyway, I was just passing through and I happened to see rugby. "Oh, Dad played rugby in college," I thought as I walked on by. Then I realized it said women's rugby. And the girls sitting behind the table weren't the "I'm going to kill you b/c I'm so tough" kind of rugby players. So I turned around. The girl sitting there was like, "Wait, you just walked by." "Yeah, and I turned around. How intense are you guys?" "Oh, not at all. Like, we're competitive, of course, but you don't have to know anything before you play." "Nothing at all?" "Nope, we'll teach you. It's easy once you kinda understand it." "Okay." So I put my name and email down, picked up a flyer for an ice-cream meeting that afternoon.
Trust me, I am just as surprised as you are.
I went to the meeting at 5pm. I left at 6pm. That left me a day to decide if I should go to their practice. I needed to go to Walmart. If I decided to go, I would pick up a mouth guard while I was there. I knew at practice they would be running a mile to start off. I didn't know anything beyond that. I didn't know what position to expect to be put on, if there were cuts, if I would get any time on the field even if there weren't cuts. Against my better judgment, I picked up a mouth guard.
Let me tell you one thing about mouth guards. Molding them is a pain in the ass. And don't believe the bullshit "it won't burn," because it does. You boil water, take it off the heat for 30 seconds, drop your guard in for 30 more seconds, take the guard out (with a spoon? I used a fork), shake excess water off (impossible w/o getting the guard stuck to other parts of it) and stick it in your mouth to mold it for a minute. About 25 seconds in you're in pain. Both times I took mine out at 30. Then you put the guard in cold running water. I dunno...it seemed to work. I wish the fit were a bit tighter, but I'm used to retainers and the like so I expected this to kind of be like putting your teeth in the gel the orthodontist uses to make molds and it would like shooooop to your teeth (that's my suction cup sound there guys, shooooop). You braces kiddos know what I mean. It's not like that. I can't describe how it is, it's just not that.
Practice is like 2 minutes away from my apartment. We started off by doing a few stretches and tossing the ball around, introducing ourselves. About a third of the people there were rookies which was pretty cool. I think everyone but me brought water. Oops. Actually, I was surprised that I even brought my running shoes to school. And a couple of workout t-shirts. I do need to go out and get a water bottle and a few sports bras though. By tomorrow. But I'll talk more about that later.
So we run the mile. I haven't run a mile since sophomore year. I didn't take any physical education junior or senior year. I went speed walking around the indoor track a few times and swimming once. I went to a Zumba class once this year. I sweat like a pig and was sore for 3 days. I ran the mile in 8:04. That's about as fast as I was 20 pounds ago (maybe more, but I don't think I've grown more than a few inches since then so I think this is about right). And like I said, I had no water and it was hot. I didn't push myself at the end b/c I simply couldn't but I am really really proud of myself. And it's not like we ran on a track, we were on gravel. Yeah go me. One of the fastest rookies and most of them were all, "Yeah, I played soccer/softball/basketball/cheerleading (wtf? now rugby? really, who am I to judge? ice skating to racing after all)/cross country/some combination of those." I kick ass. I am so proud of myself. I don't know how better to express it.
After that it was mainly passing drills until we divided into forward and backs. I just kind of sat there with a couple other rookies until one of the coaches sized us up and told us which ones to go for. Contrary to what you might think, the backs handle the ball the most. We move it up the field and pass it to each other and score. Yeah, we're cool. I expected to be a forward since I consider myself pretty tough and like, "rawr, I'm strong, I will intimidate you, rawr rawr," but I rather like being what most people would consider offense. We don't really have offensive and defensive teams like football...rugby is more like soccer in that aspect. Oh, and you can't throw the ball forward, you have to throw it backwards. You can kick forward though. Anyway, I'm getting off topic (it seems the sugar is finally kicking in). I'm a back. I want to be inside-center or outside-center. They don't call the plays but they move around the most and make sure the play is happening like it's supposed to.
I'm going to a rugby crash course clinic in Kansas City tomorrow to learn the basics of rugby. It's from 8am to 6pm. I'm looking forward to it, but I think I'm going to die about noon. We kind of scrimmaged toward the end of practice and once it got to be 7pm, my body shut off. I was playing wing so I wasn't really needed, but it was like I just forgot to be part of the team and just stood there, kind of following after the ball, but never moving closer to it. Ok, time for homework before going to sleep early. Maybe I'll play some Fallout 3 to wind down too. I'll also try to update this more, I know I've been really bad about that. I have 3 half written drafts that I should just finish and publish, but I'm so tired right now. Maybe Sunday...
Don't ask me what I'm doing. I have no clue.
It all started at the beginning of the school year. I work for the student newspaper and every year we have a new photo editor b/c they move on to other publications (aka, ones that the Journalism school forces you into by requiring you to take a certain class). For unknown reasons, the editor and I are not "chums" making it rather difficult to enjoy taking pictures of the few assignments I have received. So I started looking for other activities to fill my time. A few friends and I were going to take a hip hop class, but opted for Zumba instead. That was fun the first time. Then we never went back. Granted, school keeps me pretty busy, but I did want something to get me out of the apartment. Fallout 3 helps keep me entertained, but I come off as an anti-social just keeping myself in my room all the time.
So that led me to the student activities fair on Wednesday, two days ago. It's just a whole bunch of tables set up in one of our open areas (we call it Lowry Mall. A quick google search revales there is a building named Lowry Hall right next to Lowry Mall. Who'd've known?). All the clubs and non-live-in sororities/fraternities and other activities on campus have a table or booth. And a few food places give out free food if you wait in a line. They run out too quickly for it to be worth it though. Anyway, I was just passing through and I happened to see rugby. "Oh, Dad played rugby in college," I thought as I walked on by. Then I realized it said women's rugby. And the girls sitting behind the table weren't the "I'm going to kill you b/c I'm so tough" kind of rugby players. So I turned around. The girl sitting there was like, "Wait, you just walked by." "Yeah, and I turned around. How intense are you guys?" "Oh, not at all. Like, we're competitive, of course, but you don't have to know anything before you play." "Nothing at all?" "Nope, we'll teach you. It's easy once you kinda understand it." "Okay." So I put my name and email down, picked up a flyer for an ice-cream meeting that afternoon.
Trust me, I am just as surprised as you are.
I went to the meeting at 5pm. I left at 6pm. That left me a day to decide if I should go to their practice. I needed to go to Walmart. If I decided to go, I would pick up a mouth guard while I was there. I knew at practice they would be running a mile to start off. I didn't know anything beyond that. I didn't know what position to expect to be put on, if there were cuts, if I would get any time on the field even if there weren't cuts. Against my better judgment, I picked up a mouth guard.
Let me tell you one thing about mouth guards. Molding them is a pain in the ass. And don't believe the bullshit "it won't burn," because it does. You boil water, take it off the heat for 30 seconds, drop your guard in for 30 more seconds, take the guard out (with a spoon? I used a fork), shake excess water off (impossible w/o getting the guard stuck to other parts of it) and stick it in your mouth to mold it for a minute. About 25 seconds in you're in pain. Both times I took mine out at 30. Then you put the guard in cold running water. I dunno...it seemed to work. I wish the fit were a bit tighter, but I'm used to retainers and the like so I expected this to kind of be like putting your teeth in the gel the orthodontist uses to make molds and it would like shooooop to your teeth (that's my suction cup sound there guys, shooooop). You braces kiddos know what I mean. It's not like that. I can't describe how it is, it's just not that.
Practice is like 2 minutes away from my apartment. We started off by doing a few stretches and tossing the ball around, introducing ourselves. About a third of the people there were rookies which was pretty cool. I think everyone but me brought water. Oops. Actually, I was surprised that I even brought my running shoes to school. And a couple of workout t-shirts. I do need to go out and get a water bottle and a few sports bras though. By tomorrow. But I'll talk more about that later.
So we run the mile. I haven't run a mile since sophomore year. I didn't take any physical education junior or senior year. I went speed walking around the indoor track a few times and swimming once. I went to a Zumba class once this year. I sweat like a pig and was sore for 3 days. I ran the mile in 8:04. That's about as fast as I was 20 pounds ago (maybe more, but I don't think I've grown more than a few inches since then so I think this is about right). And like I said, I had no water and it was hot. I didn't push myself at the end b/c I simply couldn't but I am really really proud of myself. And it's not like we ran on a track, we were on gravel. Yeah go me. One of the fastest rookies and most of them were all, "Yeah, I played soccer/softball/basketball/cheerleading (wtf? now rugby? really, who am I to judge? ice skating to racing after all)/cross country/some combination of those." I kick ass. I am so proud of myself. I don't know how better to express it.
After that it was mainly passing drills until we divided into forward and backs. I just kind of sat there with a couple other rookies until one of the coaches sized us up and told us which ones to go for. Contrary to what you might think, the backs handle the ball the most. We move it up the field and pass it to each other and score. Yeah, we're cool. I expected to be a forward since I consider myself pretty tough and like, "rawr, I'm strong, I will intimidate you, rawr rawr," but I rather like being what most people would consider offense. We don't really have offensive and defensive teams like football...rugby is more like soccer in that aspect. Oh, and you can't throw the ball forward, you have to throw it backwards. You can kick forward though. Anyway, I'm getting off topic (it seems the sugar is finally kicking in). I'm a back. I want to be inside-center or outside-center. They don't call the plays but they move around the most and make sure the play is happening like it's supposed to.
I'm going to a rugby crash course clinic in Kansas City tomorrow to learn the basics of rugby. It's from 8am to 6pm. I'm looking forward to it, but I think I'm going to die about noon. We kind of scrimmaged toward the end of practice and once it got to be 7pm, my body shut off. I was playing wing so I wasn't really needed, but it was like I just forgot to be part of the team and just stood there, kind of following after the ball, but never moving closer to it. Ok, time for homework before going to sleep early. Maybe I'll play some Fallout 3 to wind down too. I'll also try to update this more, I know I've been really bad about that. I have 3 half written drafts that I should just finish and publish, but I'm so tired right now. Maybe Sunday...
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