Famous Last Words for Week 11

So, this week has been pretty awesome but also pretty stressful.

On Tuesday my laptop crashed. Since I—like everyone else in college—have my entire life stored on my laptop, plus I have so much schoolwork that I have to do on my computer—you know, like this class—I freaked out big time. I took it to IT on Wednesday and prayed they could fix it, specifically in one day. Sadly, they definitely could not. But why I need it in such a short time?

On Thursday morning I flew to Portland, Oregon, which is where I am right now.  Specifically, I am on the BEAUTIFUL Lewis and Clark College campus. Everywhere in Portland is gorgeous. EVERYWHERE.

I am here for a national speech and debate tournament, so I promise it’s not just for pleasure. However, on Friday before the tournament started my coach took us on a surprise trip to the beach. I am such a big water lover that I almost cried with excitement. And it, like Portland was gorgeous! The town was called Seaside and was filled with little tourist shops.

We have also eaten a ton of awesome food here. Though we have not yet gotten to eat any fresh seafood, hopefully we will be doing that tonight after our rounds are over for the day.

The sad part is that it’s my speech coach’s last tournament this weekend. Our team is run by doctoral students, and this is his last semester. He has been my coach all three years so far, so I am not looking forward to having my last year without him. But, we are trying to have enough fun to send him out with a bang!

I am slowly doing my homework for the weekend as I have time. Luckily I only have Japanese homework, and of course the homework for this class. All I have left for this class this week is my Storybook assignment, but I will be doing that tomorrow—hopefully. Today I have one more round, but I want to explore this beautiful campus some more before that! I may post a ton of pictures later as well.

Here are a few photos from our beach trip!

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015.

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015.

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015.

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015.




Here is an example of how beautiful Lewis and Clark is.

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015. 

This beautiful park is right outside of our hotel window

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015.

Oh, and there is also an entire block of food trucks in the middle of the city.

Image Information: Personal Photo from April 2015.

Famous Last Words for Week 10

This week was pretty busy for me. On Monday I worked all morning, and then went home and did homework and studied for an exam.

On Tuesday I had an exam in Japanese, which I rocked. Which was funny, because I thought I did really bad on it. I then came home and did homework practically all night.

On Wednesday I had homework and a quiz to study for. Which, of course got interrupted by the severe weather we had. So, my roommates and I went to the National Weather Center to hang out until it was over. I got a really pretty picture of a storm cloud, though.

On Thursday I had a really big quiz that I rocked, and then all evening I worked on a group project until about midnight. We still have so much to do on it that it makes me dizzy just thinking about it. Ugh. I meant to do my classwork for this class that night as well, but I ran out of time and had to cram it all into today.

I worked all day Friday and Saturday, which is an exhausting thing to do. Waiting tables for twelve hours a day is not a fun task in the slightest.

Today (Sunday) I went to the Medieval Faire with some friends. It was so much fun, and the weather was more than perfect for it. I am pretty sure that I got a small sunburn, though. Oops. I ate a giant turkey leg, and got some of their fabulous cream soda. I also bought a flower crown to bring out my inner flower child.

This week is going to be nauseatingly busy for me. I have nationals for speech next weekend in Portland, Oregon. I leave Thursday morning, so I have to make sure to do all of my homework in advance by Wednesday night. I have about six days of classwork that I have to do in four days. So, wish me luck on that part.

Personal Photo of a storm cloud; taken March 2015.

Famous Last Words for Week 8

So, this week was pretty awesome.

On Monday I had a Japanese exam, which I completely rocked. I got an ‘A’ on it, even though I felt pretty nervous walking into the exam.

On Tuesday one of my classes got canceled, so I had extra time for homework. And by homework, I actually mean a nap.

On Wednesday school was canceled. So, my friends and I went out for a group lunch that afternoon and then we all spent practically the entire day together.

Thursday was the downer day, in which I did not feel well so I stayed home and slept all day.

On Friday I rocked a Japanese quiz, and then traveled to Tyler, Texas for a speech tournament. The drive was kind of long, but we had fun along the way and we kept each other busy.

Then, on Saturday we competed at the district tournament in speech. I made it to finals in two of my events—my favorite ones, actually—and even qualified them for nationals. I am so incredibly happy that I was able to qualify, because I have been hoping to go to this national tournament this year. Because this year, it will be held in Portland, Oregon. Our coach even said that we could fly down a day early so that we can drive to Seattle for the day. I have less than a month to prepare, but I am super excited!

Today (Sunday) we drove back, and I took about a three-hour nap. The time change on top of performing all day yesterday completely wore me out. But, this week and especially this weekend was a lot of fun.

So about this class, it was nice having the review week this week. I really enjoyed looking back and writing about my experiences and what works best for me. I am also still enjoying my Storybook as I work on it. It’s a lot of fun to write!

Here is a picture of me and my team throwing up our D3 hand signs on the way to Texas. D3 is the district that comprises of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas. 

Image Information: Personal Team Photo from March 2015.

Famous Last Words for Week 7

This week wasn’t as busy for me as most weeks. I didn’t have a speech tournament this weekend, because we have the weekend off. So, that meant that I didn’t have to prepare for one throughout the week, and I could just focus on my homework. However, I did work on Friday and Saturday, which was my first weekend to work since the week before Valentine’s Day. It is weird to go to work and wait tables after being gone for two weeks or more at a time. Sadly, because of the weather I didn’t make much money, but I will be fine!

In Japanese this week we had two quizzes. One of them I didn’t do very well on, but I nailed the second one! We have an exam in the class tomorrow, so I will be spending my entire day doing homework and studying for that exam. I need to get a 95% on it to be happy with my grade in the class. Here’s to hoping that I achieve that.

In intercultural communication, my professor was gone all week, so we conducted class through podcasts online. Which was kind of cool because the chapter we covered was over nonverbal communication. And, it meant that I could come home and nap during my actual class time. And I love naps.

In this class, I was really happy with my Storytelling assignment. I was really able to get into the mind of the character and write a diary for her. I had a lot of fun writing it. I am also starting to think up my next entry for my Storybook, so that will also be fun for me to write.

Next weekend I have yet another tournament. This one has the potential to allow me to go to nationals in Portland, Oregon. I want to go to the West Coast so bad, especially Portland, so I will be working my butt off on my pieces all week. But for today, I have homework, studying, and I will be sadly watching the snow melt.

And here is a picture of the sunset on Tuesday taken from my screened in balcony. 

Image Information: Personal Photo of Sunset; Taken February 2015.

Famous Last Words for Week 6

This week was an exhausting week. I had an exam on Tuesday morning after I had been on campus for three days straight from running a speech tournament. However, it is Friday and I have made it through, so far. It was nice to be able to get some extra sleep on Monday too, because my only class is at 9:30, so I didn’t have to go in thanks to the ice.

In this class, I enjoyed writing my Storytelling post for the week. I didn’t write one last week because I got too busy, and I felt like I had missed out. I still need to write my Storybook story for the week, but I do have plenty of great ideas in my head about it, so I am confident it will go well.

In Japanese, I had an exam on Tuesday (it was supposed to have been Monday), which went pretty well. However, since we are a day behind now we have to really rush through the material for the class, which is kind of hard. And in Intercultural communication we chose our topics for a big group project. My group is doing traditional funerals in Japan. So I get to do a lot with Asian countries this semester!

Last weekend at my speech tournament, I did pretty well. I went toe to toe with national competitors, and one of the most respected coaches in the country told me that I had a lot of talent. I was so nervous when I learned that he was judging that round. I have another tournament this weekend, which is the state tournament. I am hoping to do well, especially because if I do then I can qualify to go to a very exclusive national tournament. I went to this tournament last year and ranked among the top forty in the nation, so I am hoping to do even better this time if I get to go!

I love cooking, so look at this awesome chicken marsala that I made this week!

Image Information: Personal Photo of My Cooking; Taken: February 2015.

Famous Last Words for Week 5

This week I am exhausted. Speech season is always a time when I am running everywhere all of the time for the sake of tournaments. I have one nearly every weekend. This weekend, we are luckily here at OU, though. Hosting the tournament is just as exhausting as participating in one because I have to run around doing everything my coach or our co-hosting coach needs of me.

My classes were okay this week. I was so tired on Wednesday that I went to bed without doing any homework. For me, that is something that NEVER happens. I am so intent on always doing my homework and turning it in on time, so for me to not do it… I felt horrible the entire day next day for it. But, I am motivated to get all A’s this semester, so I cannot let it happen again.

For this class, I did not do my storytelling assignment, so I don’t have much to base my writing off of. However, Laura really liked my intro for my Storybook so I did not have to do many revisions for it at all. That was pretty nice. I am proud of my Storybook so far. In Japanese, I am doing pretty well. We had two quizzes this week, both of which I did pretty well on and I am spending this weekend studying for an exam in the class on Monday—when I am not busy with speech, that is.

This weekend will be very busy for me due to speech, but I am hoping that it won’t be too hard. I am also hoping that I can do really well tomorrow when I actually get to compete. Next weekend will be just as busy for me, as well. I am used to having so many speech tournaments in the semester, so I will definitely power through!

Today at the tournament I am running the ballot table and carrying a selfie-stick around to take pictures of the contestants. 

Personal Photo at Speech Tournament from February 2015