MLIS

MLIS stands for Master of Library and Information Science. I am going to obtain one of these degrees and be a librarian. Just though y'all should know.

Word the Day!

Word of the Day: prolix.

1. unduly prolonged or drawn out : too long
2. marked by or using an excess of words

prolixity - noun
prolixly - adverb

I learned this word today while reading some work by Plato. He was talking about Socrates...well, technically Socrates was speaking. The gist of the quote is, 'I'll try to be short but that probably won't happen.'

A Little Bit of Thinking

Lesson of the day: once you start thinking about one deep thought, they just keep coming. The worst part about it is that I don't know how to articulate everything that I am thinking. The downside of that is that I am a writer - or I want to be at least.

So today, I was sitting in class and really wanted to know what time it was. I couldn't check my phone because it was off and would have made too much noise if I turned it on and the clock is in the back of the room. In the back of the room facing the back of our heads. The only one who can see the clock is my professor. That got me thinking about how much of a time driven society we are and how that is all we are ever really thinking about. We are racing time to go somewhere and where is that somewhere? We race the clock but where is the finish line? Is the finish line a "big kid" job with a salary or is it graduating from high school, maybe even college? I also started thinking about how I should have been more focused on learning from my professor than worrying about how rude I'd look if I turned around to look at the time. It's a small class and it would have been pretty noticeable if I turned around and looked at the clock. I should have faith that my professor wouldn't keep us there past the designated time but I just wanted to know how many more minutes were left.

Another thing I thought about today, that was provoked by a discussion in class, is that you could be selfish for doing good for other people. You can never really have altruistic motives when you do good. This is why I hate Oprah but feel like I am a good person when I make a sacrifice for someone else. I guess I am a hypocrite but at least I admit it, right? There is a difference between me and Oprah, I'm not a famous rich person who can put my name on anything and sell it like crazy. Sometimes I wish I was but unfortunately I can only influence people close to me on what to buy and what to read. I wish I could give a few hundred people Magic Bullets or books or cars but I can't. I can't afford it. Does it make me a bad person if I don't give them a car?

I think I am getting a little off topic though.

If you're doing good just so you will be judged positively when you die, then aren't you being selfish because you have ulterior motives?

I really like my History of Rhetoric class. Well, for now anyways because the Greeks are really interesting and have a lot to say about rhetoric and art and justification and etc.

Follow the Money

Lesson of the day: people will do what they have to do to make money.

In class last night, we talked about how people will sell you something, even if it's against the rules, just to make money. The big example we used was guns. Private sellers can sell guns to people without going through a background check. They can also sell guns to people who the gun isn't meant for.

It sucks that people are willing to screw other people over just to make money. I get sick of buying and selling textbooks at school because they are so expensive and students really can't afford that all the time, even if they get financial aid money.

I know that it is way too idealistic to think that one day we'll all follow a standard moral ethic and do things the "right" way but it is never going to happen because lots of people are selfish. This is just something that I've been thinking about since class last night. I really don't have that much more to say about it other than it sucks that people are willing to break moral ethics or laws just to make money.

Driver's Paranoia.

Lesson of the day: breathe.

I am a seriously paranoid driver and sometimes I think my car just might explode while I am driving down the road but it hasn’t happened yet. Today it was raining and I hate driving in the rain. I really, really hate driving in the rain. I prefer to drive in snowy weather than rain.

Today it was raining when I left Menomonie and my car was not cooperating for a while, or at least I didn’t think it was cooperating. What I believe it ended up being was that the road conditions were bad. Not any standing water but potholes and junk. I think the source of most of the noise today was the tires not connecting with flat or smooth road. The tread on my front tires is also a little low but still okay, so that also contributed to the noise.

Like most times when bad things happen, I called Boyfriend and freaked out. I tried to keep my cool and breathe but it just didn’t work out. He told me to drive and pretend that nothing was wrong with my car, which ended up being the case anyways, and I ended up making it home safe and sound.

If I didn’t call Boyfriend, I probably would have gone to some service station and paid for some sort of service or repair that I probably don’t need…or didn’t actually need just to drive back to Duluth.

So, what I’ve learned is, you have to breathe. 

Last First Day.

Lesson of the day: you get older and you just have to deal with it.

I started my senior year of college today and it was so bittersweet. I love going to school and learning. If I could do it for the rest of my life, I would. I'm sure I would change my mind if I actually went to school for a few more years though. I guess I am just not ready to think about what I am going to do after I graduate from college. (If you've been reading my blog over the past six months you can see that I am somewhat indecisive.)

I only had one class today and it is the class that I am most excited about, Children's Literature. I would like to get into publishing someday after I graduate from college and since I love children's literature I figured that would be the best area to go into. After all, there are 30,000 new children's books published each year.

After my one and only class today, I worked for six hours and it sucked because the bookstore/school store are super busy at the beginning of the semester and some people can be so stupid. It's days like these that make me not a people person. It should get better in a week or two though (hopefully).

It's rough to think that in nine months my roommates and I will be going our separate ways and doing new things. Kelsey already has a job lined up and the other two probably will be doing something equally as awesome. I at least know where I will be living after I get done with college, so that's a good thing.

I don't know if I am going to enjoy Wednesday's classes as much though. I have volleyball in the morning and right after that I have American Renaissance. Not sure how the PE class will go and the American Renaissance is my least favorite period for literature. I also work six hours again tomorrow, boo!

You See, the Problem With Freshman Is...

Lesson of the day: be on the lookout for freshman and their parents.

I work at the school store on campus so I get to deal with lots of students at the beginning of the semester and the Fall semester is terrible because all the freshman are moving in and getting situated. They don't know what they are doing and neither do their parents and sometimes what they need to do is painfully obvious but they are clueless.

I had one mom today come in and ask if she could buy textbooks in our store. She was literally five feet away from the multiple shelves of textbooks that we sell. I could not believe it. Another parent asked if there were any other books that we might be required for her son's class that we were hiding in back. The question that really bothers me is the, "Can my son (or daughter) return this stuff if I buy it on my credit card?" Our answer is no unfortunately because it goes against our PCI credit card compliance. If they really wanted to pay for their student's books they should charge them to the student's student account and pay that off because they can make the returns without the parent present. I hate when the parents think we are trying to offend them by not letting them break our rules.

There are plenty of parents who are very kind though and appreciate what we do for them. So, I guess it's not all bad during the first few busy days of the new school year.

I feel like I had it "together" more when I was a freshman than some of the freshman that I've been running into. "Did I ask stupid questions like that?" or, "I hope I didn't look like I tried that hard." Some of the freshman are going to be just fine on their own but their are some freshman who still need someone to hold their hands every time they walk out of their dorm. It's time to grow up, kids. You aren't going to be living at home anymore and you are going to be out off college before you know it so start learning to do things on your own.

I know that I still needed help with some things but I am slowly taking on more and more things that my aunt used to do for me. For instance, I file my own financial aid paperwork and take care of my own health insurance. There actually isn't much that my aunt did for me that I don't do for myself now...other than my taxes. I still have issues with that.

Rush!

There are four "free" days until class starts, and I say "free" because I work the next three days and only have Monday off to recuperate before classes start. I am so excited for class to start! I should have been reading this summer in preparation for class though because I am going to have so much to distract me from homework.

Today the freshman moved in and the craziness started at 8 this morning with all of the upperclassmen drinking in their yards holding up signs saying derogatory things about freshman and freshman girls. Since I work in the bookstore they all came in to buy their textbooks and other things they need for college and dorm life. You would think that they are the same thing but they aren't always the same thing.

Oooh, oohh, oooh! Some good news for the day is that my boyfriend accepted a full-time job today and he starts in January. It's so exciting!