The Stapler and The Tape Dispenser

Every college student needs a good stapler. It’s essential for surviving college. If you don’t have a stapler, how are you supposed to hang things on your bulletin board? How are you supposed to keep your papers together? How are you supposed to do arts and crafts projects? Fix your clothes? Clean your teeth?

I have a stapler. He is a good friend of mine. I have decided that I shall call my stapler Moby. He looks like a Moby too. He’s a little lime green stapler and he enjoys traveling in my backpack every once in a while.

Moby’s a good friend of mine. He sits contently on my desk smiling at me as I do my work, knowing sooner or later that he will get to do his job and fasten my papers together. And, if I do say so myself, Moby does an excellent job. He hasn’t failed me yet.

The other day, Moby and I were having an interesting heart to heart about an issue he’s been having. You see, Moby and my tape dispenser, Henry, don’t get along very well. Henry just seems to irritate Moby in every possible way that he can. Henry gets hair caught in his tape, which disgusts Moby to the point where he will have to retreat to the desk drawer.

Moby also feels extremely threatened by the fact that Henry has sharp teeth that he constantly has barred. Moby told me the other day, “It just seems as if Henry’s always ready to bite me or something!”

I’m not too thrilled that the two of them can’t seem to get along, but what am I supposed to do?

This post has been dedicated to my creative writing teacher from senior year, Mrs. K, who is no longer with us..... 

Us being my stapler, my tape dispenser, and I..... 

Rainfall

I love the scent of rain. The way it permeates everything and the way it leaves a clean smell that you can only get from nature. It surrounds you every time you step outsides and clings to you when you come inside. The smell of rain is like the scent of God to me.

I love the sound of rain. It ebbs and flows. Gradually becomes louder, while still remaining calm and peaceful. It reminds me of a song. Something that is constantly making music, but is unable to be expressed through any form of music known to us. It's God's song.

There's a romantic aspect to rain that you don't get from anywhere else. It's like when you're standing in the rain, you're exposed. Everything seems to melt away and you're seen for what you really are. But, the One that is the Great Romantic, the God of the Universe only loves you more when everything is stripped away. I feel so close to God when I'm in the rain, and nothing can seem to distract me from His love when I'm standing there.

And now.... I'm going to venture back out into the rain.....

A New Church?

I think I've made my decision on the church that I want to start going to on a regular basis. It's called Mosaic and it meets at MCC every week.

I went last week for the first time, and thought I liked it, so I decided to go again today. I liked the service again, but what really seems to draw me back is the fact that people there made me feel welcome. I ended up talking with a group of girls who were really nice and I'm thinking about joining the young adults group there. It seemed like a really great group of people. I think it's nice that it's a smaller church too. I almost felt like I fell between the cracks in some of the bigger churches that I ventured to and I enjoyed the fact that at Mosaic the pastor noticed I was new and introduced himself. It was nice. Another kicker for me is that they need someone to play bass every once and a while. I love playing bass on worship teams. I'm definitely going to be praying about all of this, but for now, I'm pretty happy with this new church!

Update on Life

I know it's been a while since I've posted. The whole idea of college life seems to get in the way sometimes. Homework is overrunning my life. I spend anywhere between 2 and 8 hours a day working on homework. Whether it be reading a textbook, doing problems for my statistics class or writing an essay of some sort, it all keeps me busy for a relatively long amount of time. I guess the good thing is that I truly am enjoying myself. I seem to thrive in this thing called college. I find myself more able to balance my school work and my social life than I was ever able to do in high school and I like the feeling of accomplishment that I get here. It's like by making the tiny steps in education that I'm making now, I'm moving closer and closer to my ultimate goal of a doctorate.
One of the things that I find interesting is the fact that my First Year Seminar professor is a lady by the name of Dr. Grimm. Now, first of all, if you don't know what First Year Seminar is, it is a class that helps freshman get through the shock of being thrown into a college environment and deal with all the stresses that come with it. Your First Year professor is basically your guide through your first year of college. The interesting thing about Dr. Grimm is the fact that she's the head of the psychology department and has her doctorate in psychology. Oh, yes. I have ultimate access to the head of the psychology department because of being placed in her First Year class. What I really love about this is how she encourages me in little ways. For every class we have to have a journal entry of some sort that she can grade and when we get them back, they always have little notes on them of some sort. Some of my favourite comments have been:
"Good for you! I absolutely will be cheering for you from the sidelines! Glad you're a psych major!"
"Aha! Your psychologist instincts are already kicking in!"
I love having a person like Dr. Grimm in my life, and I'm sure I'll appreciate her more and more as my years at Roberts increase.

Pins, Needles and Piercings

Last time I wrote about how I had been taking Benadryl, and I think it's time to explain. You see, I normally don't take Benadryl unless it seems completely necessary. Benadryl is some potent stuff. Knocks you for a loop like nobody else's business. I don't like that. So, I normally limit my Benadryl consumption to when I get stung by a bee or something along that line.

Benadryl..... The evil little pink pill......

So, I realized recently that I hadn't gotten some shots that I needed for college. On Wednesday my mom picked me up after my classes and we headed down to my doctor's office in Honeoye Falls. I got three shots that night, and wasn't too happy with it, but I survived. The next day it seemed as if one of the injection sites was a little bit itchy, almost like a mosquito bite, but I didn't think too much of it until my roommate saw it and freaked out. It was bright red around the injection site and looked like I had gotten attacked by a horsefly. Since it was late, there was nothing I could really do about it until the next day. So, Friday I headed down to the health and wellness center to see the nurse practitioner that they have on duty here and she gave me a bunch of Benadryl for it. Needless to say, I spent the next 24 hours in the constant state of drowsy delirium and confusion that Benadryl brings on. In retrospect though, my arm is all better!
After that experience this week, you would think that I would have had enough of pins and needles for a while, but apparently it was just the week to do it all! This weekend has been a very strange weekend in my dorm to say the least. It seems as if no one is actually here. I think there were maybe 10 girls on my flat all weekend, so, for the most part, we all went to lunch and dinner together. On Saturday we were all at lunch together when one of the girls suggested that we all do something together. When questioned what she thought we should do, she commented, "Let's go get tattoos!" and laughed. This started a conversation on tattoos and piercings. Well, wouldn't you know it, that little comment she made became the igniter for what we would spend the rest of the day doing. We ran back to our dorm after lunch and researched different tattoo and piercing parlors in Rochester, and decided on one on West Henrietta Road, The Ultimate, who's piercer had been a nurse for over 20 years before going into the piercing business..... and they give discounts to college students. We got directions to the place and piled into two cars.
The result:

Good news is, it really doesn't hurt at all. That is, unless someone decides to hit you in the ear. Then it really hurts. But! I like it a lot. I'm quite pleased with the result!

Discovering America

Alright, so maybe I didn't "discover America", but I did discover Rochester! ..... Maybe not..... But! I did go on an adventure tonight to downtown Rochester. Four other girls and I decided to pile into a car tonight and venture downtown in search of a movie theater that one of the girls had heard about.

Needless to say, our directions got us so mixed up and turned around that we ended up at the WRONG movie theater, which didn't have the movie we were planning on seeing.

I guess in a way it was better that we didn't end up seeing a movie because we ended up having some great bonding time instead. We walked to The Spot instead and each got a cup of coffee and a snack.

We got to sit and talk, get to know each other a little bit better than we did before, and we all in all had a good time. Plus, I think if we had ended up in a movie theater, I would have ended up sleeping through the majority of the movie. I normally do not sleep through movies, but I had taken Benadryl for my arm before we had left. You might be wondering to yourself, Paige, why did you take Benadryl before going to a movie? That is a very good question, but, it won't be answered till another time! Goodnight and good luck.

Laundry Day!

I have been cursed with my grandmother's evil gene of spilling food on me constantly. Inevitably I will spill something on myself almost every day, usually on my unsuspecting jeans. I go through pants faster than just about anything else here. Even though I washed my clothes when I made a quick stop home this weekend, I am already out of pants! You may be thinking to yourself, how does this happen? Let me tell you, it's easier than you would think. Spilled coffee, dripping ice cream, and eggs are all very good possibilities. I guess the good thing is that I really don't mind doing laundry here all that much.

Therein lies my joy of laundry day......

Wegmans - The Most Wonderful Place on the Earth

If you've never made the journey to your local Wegmans.... shame on you. Wegmans is the most amazing grocery store on the face of the earth. I love Wegmans.

Tonight we took our first trip of the semester to Wegmans. I was so excited. And, to make it even better, I got a pint of some amazing ice cream. Starbucks Java Chip ice cream. MMMMMmmmmm....... 

 

This is certainly a lovely treat for me that I know will last me a very long time. This ice cream is heaven in the form of ice cream and it needs to be savored as such. Wonderful coffee flavored ice cream with chunks of chocolate in it, but it's got that wonderful flavor to it that only Starbucks can produce. It's creamy and amazing and I promise you that if anyone steals any of it, they will surely die. It's like the fruit from the tree of Good and Evil. If anyone eats the forbidden fruit, they will surely die. Only in this case, I'm not God, and it's not fruit. It's Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino ice cream. And it's amazing.

We Were a Little Board

Before you go off and start ranting about my bad spelling, let me tell you about how we were board. Better yet, let me show you.

This is the white (or in my case, green) board that is on my door. As you can clearly observe, it is a picture of a shark breaching out of the ocean and eating a person. There is a jellyfish in the water, a bird flying above the shark and a flower falling from the sky. I have a fetish with drawing sharks. They're so much fun to draw coming out of the water, especially when you draw them eating people. As you can see, some of the girls took the liberty of labeling my lovely picture. The shark has been labeled "Paige (the savage blue shark)" and in my mouth the person has been labeled "Laurie". As it happens, "Laurie" is my RA. Yes. I ate my RA. As I am consuming my RA, I just happen to be saying, "People so much fun to eat! I wish more would come in the ocean!"
And Laurie is saying, "I knew I shouldn't have gone in the ocean!"
This is what happens to the white boards in the dorm.

Now, this white board is located on the side of my closet that faces the door. I think this board takes a little bit more explaining. That duck that is flying was originally a turkey, you know, the kind that everyone makes in kindergarten where you trace your hand and then add some legs, a wing, a gobbler and a beak. Yeah. Those. But, the turkey looked, well, bad. So, the girl that drew it decided to turn the turkey into a duck, erasing everything except the head of the turkey. Again, girls in the dorm decided to take liberty and wrote "Freedom from sharks!" in a thought bubble above the du-rkey. The second part that I think needs explaining about this board is the note on the bottom. I have to keep my coffee maker in the dorm kitchen because if you keep your coffee maker in your room, it's apparently a fire hazard. Oh, well. So, the first couple days I would have my coffee automatically make itself and I would forget about it. I would make it all the way to Garlock dining commons for breakfast before I would remember that I had coffee all ready for me in the kitchen. My roommate decided to take matters into her own hands and wrote me a note on the white board to remind me to get my coffee every morning. It's worked.
So, there's your tour of our "board"om.... ;)

A Bagel a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

I bought a bagel today.

And I ate it.

Emergency Starbucks Trip

Today was a Starbucks kind of day. I love Starbucks with everything in me. Coffee alone is amazing, but Starbucks... mmm... Now that's a treat! So, me and a couple friends loaded up and headed off to the nearest Starbucks for a nice little coffee treat. For me that coffee treat happened to be their seasonal pumpkin spice latte. If you've never had a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, you have never lived.

While sipping my wondrous pumpkin spice latte, (I actually got a frappuccino since it was warm out) I was reminded of my first pumpkin spice of the season.
September first was a day like any other day, that was until I checked my email. I love Starbucks so much that I get Starbucks updates on my email. So, that day when I checked my email, I received a Starbucks update. I opened it as always to see if anything was new or exciting at Starbucks or if they had even sent me a coupon. They never do, but a girl can always dream. Well, this email was extra special. It was the notifications of the start of pumpkin spice season!!!

I was so excited. I jumped for joy. I cried out in happiness. I screamed from my room. No, literally, I screamed. I even remember my exact words. "JULIA!!!!" I cried to my friend who has a car. My friend who was sitting in her room. Her room is all the way on the other side of the dorm room. "JULIA!!!! WE'RE GOING TO STARBUCKS!!!"
Julia, knowing my obsession, did not question my need for Starbucks. I ran through the bathroom, since that is after all the quickest way to Julia's room from mine, and stuck my head in her door. "Okay," she said, knowing that no matter what she said, we were going to Starbucks.
"PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE IS BACK AT STARBUCKS!!!" I cried out.
And we went to Starbucks.
And we got pumpkin spice lattes.
And I was happy.

Spastic Squirrels

There are a lot of squirrels on campus. A LOT of squirrels. I'm not used to this many squirrels! None of the trees around my house are the kind of trees that squirrels like. I don't see squirrels at home at all. No squirrels. But, now I've been thrown into this world where the squirrels reign as king. That's right, you heard me, squirrels are the ultimate power on this campus.

Everywhere you go on campus, you run into a squirrel, and they know they have the ultimate power. They'll sit and stare at you with the most intimidating glare that a squirrel can muster. It's quite nerve racking to be stared down by a small furry rat that has more authority than you.

One of the first days I was here, I was sitting under a tree with a group of people, talking and laughing, the whole college experience. It was a great time, that was until the squirrel decided to attack. Suddenly he came bounding out of the tree we were under, it's cheeks stuffed with ammunition. Acorns. A human's worst fear. He took off leaving us with the fear of another attack, knowing that it had only been a warning.

The other day, I was innocently walking to my next class when all of the sudden I came across the enemy, a squirrel. This squirrel was obviously a mighty warrior in the squirrel army. He only had one eye and he had in his mouth an acorn grenade. He glared at me and dared me to step on his precious grass. I made no such move and headed down the paved path in relative safety, barely escaping the encounter alive.

With that, I leave you with one word of advice, when you see a squirrel, flee as fast as possible. These creatures are armed and dangerous and ultimately control the world.

New Church Adventure

Today I ventured out to find a church to begin going to while at Roberts. A friend and I went over to a church near here called The Father's House for their service. It was definitely an interesting service. Today was their annual service about nothing. Definitely an interesting concept. The whole service was a worship service, focusing on the movement of the Spirit and what God wants us to hear. The music was more along the lines of the kind of music that I like, but it was definitely anointed. The pastor seemed like he was a great guy and was a great speaker. (That is what little I heard him speak since the service was primarily a worship service.) Over all, it truly was a powerful service.
I guess you could say that there was only one problem that I had with the church. They didn't really make new people feel all that welcome. They had new people fill out a little information sheet so that they could get in touch with them, but then when I went to give guest services the sheet, they basically just took the sheet and did nothing more to make me feel welcome. No one really approached me to see if I enjoyed the service, no one asked me where I was from or what made me come to Father's House that Sunday, no one seemed to care if I came back or not. I can honestly say that that would not fly at my home church.
Next Sunday I'll probably be trying out a different church again. Hopefully this next one will welcome guests a little bit better.

Strange Occurrences at Midnight

I was in the library last night for a long time reading my psychology book. A LONG time. By the time I left, the actual library part had closed and only the 24 hour cafe area was still open and it was well into the morning hours. I blame my RA Laurie for planning a floor activity that lasted until close to 10. (Just kidding Laurie!)
As I exited the library, tired and weary from my psych studies, I came across something strange in the middle of the campus.

It appeared to be some sort of game that they were all playing. Standing in a circle, they would take turns making a singular move and then freezing. The look of it was quite strange. I didn't understand it!

The resulting look of all the movements and such was comical to say the least, but I still don't understand. If they are out there again tonight, I might be joining them if for no other reason except to figure out this strange occurrence at midnight.

Spending Time in the Library

I've been spending a lot of time in the library lately. I find that I get more work done in the library than in my dorm. In my dorm, I get distracted by things on my desk like crayons or by the girls in the hall. So, I go to study in the library.

I love the library. 

I love studying in the library.

I love discovering all the different features of my webcam while in the library.

Especially all of those special filters that distort your face.

I love finding the best possible way to distort yourself.

I love doing this with a friend.

I call this one the transvestite picture......

I'm loving college and everything I've been learning here... along with the good times that come with it. :)