Campus Construction Wrapping Up for the Fall Semester

Summer is coming to a close as the big boy’s Tonka trucks pack up and ship out. The front entrance is looking great, and I’m hoping the big double doors (which will open up right by the bookstore and Campus Hub, technically located on the Sub Level, will be open for business very soon.

The English department is back in Miller Hall! Diane is set up and eager to assist incoming freshman of the English track in finding your adviser and creating a schedule that fits your life. This woman is seriously a wizard when it comes to these matters, I don’t know how she does it, but I’m so grateful to have her. Expect a big CBE very soon English majors!

The hope is that all construction in the Hammond building will be finished before classes start, but its cutting it pretty close. For now, please be advised that the only entrance currently to the building is the front entrance that has been open all summer. From there you can take the elevator to the first floor and beyond, or the stairs to the sublevel. You can also take the elevator down, but it tends to be crowded, so do the stairs if you can.

The quad is going to be a mess with the construction of an Edgerly porch still well under way, and no end in sight as far I’ve heard. If you need to cut across the quad, you can cut through the Conlon buildings to Highland, or go through Condike science, which will exit right by the Anthony building. Highland street is open again, so moving into the townhouses should be slightly less of a headache now.

I hope everyone’s enjoying there last days of summer, and are all set to move in on the 3rd, and begin classes next Wednesday on the 5th!

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Things to Remember When You’re Going Back To College

The time is nye for back to school. Some of us are going back to highschool, others are starting (or returning) to our college curriculum one more life-consuming time. If you’re like me, you might not have remembered all the crapola you are going to need until the last minute. So! Here’s a few things to always remembers when you’re shopping for college, and how to stay on budget.

1.) Check your text books. Odds are by now your professors have already listed them, and I’m sure the prices in the bookstore are enough to make you weep. Ask around on Facebook or text a few friends to see if they have a copy they’d be willing to part with, first and foremost. I always make sure to run my booklist by my good friend and college grad Adam Britt before I even begin text book shopping. After that, get to know the Amazon Used and New section. You’ll save hundreds.

2.) Remember to stay organized! I take a total of six classes every term to keep up with my degrees, so I always buy a cheap acordion folder with enough pockets to hold all my things for classes. You can always buy a few single folders of course, but I find having one thing for all your classes means you’re never grabbing the wrong folder, and thus never have to face the moment of an essay or assignment left at your house five towns over.

3.) Keep notarized. I always make sure to have healthy supply of highlighters and sticky-tabs on hand for making notes for class, and editing assignments. Signed up for a math class? Make sure you have the calculator they require. Buy more pens and pencils than you’ll ever think you need, and that should be enough.

4.) Make sure your laptop is up-to-date with all software and anti-virus tech you’ll need. If you go to Fitchburg State, you will need the E-Nac security check installed on your computer with a green light saying you don’t do illegal activities before you are able to access the net. I reccomend doing this at home before you get to campus, as the system will otherwise be flooded with loads of other incoming students doing exactly the same thing. If you can’t afford Word, get Open Office(its free!). Make sure your laptop meets the requirements for your classes before you get there and are faced with the Professor-glare-of-your-impending-GPA-doom.

5.) If you’re dorming it up, call to see if you can get the measurements for your space. It’ll save a lot of time and headaches for when you’re trying to squeeze your furniture in later. Also ask about rules and regs. You don’t want to be the bane of the room-check on your first month in. Make your list and check it three times, then check it again. I dont know about you, but I’d probably end up forgetting something, and it would be important.

6.) An additional note to Fitchburg State students: the library printing system is going green and will be down to the one Rico printer on the first floor, and it will be printing double-sided only to save paper. This is good for the environment, but we’re also anticipating lots of jams, and the new Pay Printing system (yes, it will NOT be free next semester) is still super-glitchy. So make plans to NOT print at the library. Additional printers (that you will still have to pay for) can be found in Edgerly, just check the rosters on the doors so you dont end up interrupting a class. I reccomend just ponying up the money and getting a cheap printer of your own, especially if you’re an incoming freshmen, its probably going to be cheaper in the long run.

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Realistic Ways To Stay Safe At Night

If there is one thing I find incredibly frustrating as a young woman, and a college student, its being told by campus police to basically stay inside, lock your doors, just don’t go outside at night, ever. But this really isn’t realistic. Eventually, you’re gonna go have to go out after dark, we live in a city, not the Village. Here’s a few things I practice myself on my nightly travels.

1.) Avoid going out alone. If you can, always bring a friend with you. If you can’t, and you’re feeling nervous, call someone. Call, not text. This way if something happens, the person on the other end can call 911. Just pay attention, which leads me to number 2.

2.) Be mindful of your surroundings. No, this doesn’t mean I’m advocating that if you go into a dark alley way you will get mugged. I mean turn off the iPod, take off the head phones, stop texting, and pay attention. Always be aware of who and what is going on around you, especially if you’re crossing busy streets at late hours.

3.) Don’t go out unarmed. People who prey at night are opportunists, they’re looking for an easy target. If you pull out a weapon, you’re not so easy anymore. It is illegal in MA to carry mace or a tazer, but it is not illegal to carry small knives.

4.) Don’t be goaded. I’ve gotten a lot of disgusting cat calls at night, regardless of my attire or whatever the hell have you. Just move along. They’re not worth your time, and clearly anyone enjoying such behavior isn’t going to care about your feminism rant on rape culture and female objectivity. People are assholes, don’ t let them get to you.

5.) You don’t need to be formally trained to take someone down. If you are attacked or approached with intent, use your elbows and knees, and aim for the knees, groin, throat, and eyes.

6.) Bring plenty of water. It may be night time, but its still summer, and its still often hot as hell. Don’t let yourself get dehydrated.

Basically, to sum it up, stay alert, be armed, and be prepared.

Be smart, and be safe.

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Fitchburg State Improvements: Recipe for Disaster

If you live in the area or work on campus this summer, you may have noticed the recent construction projects off campus; the gigantic factory overhaul occuring on Main Street near Summer, and the Day Care center on Day St. The college is remodeling them to turn into off-campus student housing for the Fall 2012 semester. It seems like a great idea at first glance, Aubuchon last term clocked in at over 110% capacity and the college is running out of room to add on to the Mara Village complex. However, the more I think about it, the more I see disaster looming on the horizon.

Campus police works overtime as it is to keep students safe, which, when your college campus is located smack-dab between Bloods and Cryps territory isn’t exactly easy. This along with strict on-campus alcohol policies force students off-campus to have a good time. But off-campus is so close to on-campus that the student’s often forget how to behave in someone else’s home, and the local’s aren’t happy about it either.

One article in the Point, Fitchburg State’s student-run newspaper, suggested that landlords restrict apartments surrounding the campus to restrict renting out to student’s only, making a sort of buffer-zone around the school. What these student’s don’t understand is that landlords are actually very cautious renting out to college students because college student’s trash apartments. They’re not quite adults, as most of the time I’ve seen it to be their parents paying the rent and utility, and thus have no respect for the place they’re living in. Where as the dorms will fine an entire floor for damages occured unless the a culprit is caught or comes forward, most apartments don’t even require a security deposit anymore. I had to fight tooth and nail to convince my landlord that I am a quiet, bookish college student. The fact that I worked for a living sold it, but it wasn’t easy. And I understand why, I’ve seen the damage first hand when our first floor unit was rented out to a frat house. It took my landlord six months to clean up the place to rent out again this month, and I only hope the kids down there right now have more respect for it than the members of Sig Pi, which brings me to domino number one:

Fitchburg State University is allotting such a large portion of its funding on student housing (more kids=more money?) that it isn’t accomadating for the expenses a larger population requires. Such as the camera’s across campus which are supposed to keep everyone safe and deter criminals with the promise of getting caught, over half of them do not function. The on-campus construction projects deter student relaxation areas, such as the strip-down of the quad, and the disaster zone that is the library. This causes two things to happen at once. You’re forcing students off-campus to find enjoyment and relaxation, will simultaneously ensuring that they have no sense of safety or protection in doing so.

Not to mention the over-packed classrooms, the No Red Card policy that negates the ability for students to negotiate their way into classes necessary to graduate. We also have quite a few big-names in faculty leaving for good this semester, and little talk has been had about who, if anyone, will replace them. Less teachers, more students, how can this possibly be a good thing? The whole situation just looks like something from the Sims or Rollercoaster Tycoon; you add and add and add and forget about the simple necessities, like security, safety, and a clean environment.

There is a rift that exists between the Students and the Locals of the area, wherein Students believe the Locals to be entirely criminals, and the Locals think the Students are nothing more than a bunch of binge drinking morons. And now the population boom of the campus, brought on by our economic disaster and these new housing developments, is going to create a third rift of Incoming Freshmen vs. Existing Student Population, likened to that of a high school environment.

I am all for increasing the student population, really, I get it. The school needs to make money, but first, Fitchburg State University should look into making the populace happy, before adding onto it. It doesn’t matter how many students you bring in this Fall if none of them stick around for the Spring.

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Money, Honey

What do you want to do with the rest of you life?

Its a question that comes up all the time. What are your goals? Your dreams? What’s your career-path looking like? I always answer it the same: I am an English Professional Writing Major. I am a writer. I want to be published. I hope to find work as an editor, ghostwriter, literary agent, or public librarian. I will go to grad school for Masters In Library Sciences once I’ve got my BA so that I can become a research/tech/archival/other forms of professional librarian. This is what I want to do: just be involved in books and writing the rest of my life. It is my greatest passion.

And yet, this is not how my most people base these decisions. Too many times I come across students who base the rest of their life around the number of zeros on their paycheck, and how to get there. If that’s what makes you happy, power to you, but I seriously doubt it. Why is money so important to you? Are you striving to take care of a family? Do you have a relative in need of assistance? What’s the point? What’s your endgame?

I don’t write for money. I would like to, really I would. I blogged for a little while until the company literally vanished out from under me a few months ago, but I didn’t enjoy it. I hated it, and the more hoops they forced me to jump through, all for a measly $5 a post, was ridiculous. I am not writing for money, or to be in print. I write to entertain myself and others. I write because it makes me happy, because my characters have a story to tell. I am far happier in the process of writing, developing brilliantly twisted plots and devious devils than I ever have been trying to get published. The first is exhilarating and exciting, the latter is so exhausting I avoid it with little effort at all.

I understand you need a job to get anywhere in life. To pay the bills and have a home and feed your bellies, I get it, truly I do. I work as an assistant librarian at my university, and a samples room clerk at a printing press of a plant. They are both jobs, but only one is a career in the making. Do not confuse the two; your job is not the rest of your life, not if you don’t want it to be.

Money is important, but it is not the end-all-be-all of your existence on this earth. You will never look back fondly when your old and tired and say “Damn, I made a lot of money that year.” You, and others who knew you, will remember the things you did, not the money it took to get you there. Do something great. Do what makes you smile. It doesn’t need to make you a billionaire. I am a just-getting-by college student. I do not eat Ramen. I eat actual food. I pay rent and bills and take care of two cats. Sometimes it requires counting quarters for milk, or rationing litter till payday. I don’t go out often, and my thermostat is duck-taped to not go over 60 degrees. But I get to go home every night and know that I can cuddle up with my boyfriend, snuggle with my adorable feline companions, and write to my hearts content.

It beats silver and gold any day of the week.

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Raised Pessimistic

You tend to hear a lot of people discussing their childhood as “Well, I was brought up Christian.” Or Catholic. Or some other denomination of religion. My parents weren’t overtly religious people. We didn’t go to church, thankfully. Instead, I was brought up pessimistic. I was told, and still am told often, that I might as well not dream because I will never get that because I’m not good enough, yada yada yada. to quote Robin Williams “Life is shit, learn this now!”

Now, I’ve beaten that back to an extent. I have two terms, including the current, left of classes until I will have my BA in Professional Writing, something my mother and father droned into my skull was simply was  not possible. Too stupid. Too poor. No drive. Thanks guys. Anyway, I’ve been doing pretty good with the whole “Bright side” deal. Most of my “doors” in life are still pretty well open, thanks to working my ass off and being stubborn as hell. I could be a public librarian, and editor, a literary agent, ghost writer, journalist, and a few others I probably haven’t yet thought of. Point being, I have options, and I am considering them instead of listening to my inner-retard go “STUPID! YOU WILL NEVER GET THERE! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS AND BACK ON PLANET EARTH WHERE YOU HAVE FUCKED UP ONCE AGAIN, OH BRILLIANT ONE” Despite its volume, consistent writing, support by loved ones aka really good fucking friends whom I owe my livelihood to, have helped me get this better perspective. I thought I had won.

Ha. Ha.

As I am set to graduate in the impending future (of doom!) I am looking to apply for graduate school to get my Masters in Library Sciences, which would allow me to work as a college librarian or research library, etc. It would give me more opportunities in a field of work which I thoroughly enjoy, and is in dire need of new blood to meet the technology boom. So I talked to my advisor Dr. Frank Mabee about it today before I accompanied on his class which I am the writing associate for this term.

 His thoughts? I’m not looking at it big enough. His exact words were “You are too intelligent a person to be dreaming so small.” I was looking to just apply for the University of Southern Connecticut and do their Distance Learning program, which would basically mean I do all my courses online. Thus saving me the hassle of moving, since I have no vehicle and no means of getting one anytime soon, and finding another job. He wants me to apply for schools ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Because apparently I am one smart cookie, so to speak.

I can’t even fathom it. Just leave? What would my boyfriend say? What about my roommate? And my cat? How the hell would I move it all? And find housing out there? How on earth would I even GET there? And then, am I having these hangups because I am realistic and just limited in carlessness and broke-as-fuckness, or am I just giving excuses to cover up the fact that I can’t think outside the box of “this is as good as YOU get here dummy”?

And then it raises all the old suspicions: What if my boyfriend isn’t worth it? What if I’m wasting my life away in my little old-as-fuck apartment in the quaint little sometimes-violent city of Fuckburg? I got out of Barre, and that’s enough for now, right? Right?

I guess I should wrap up my internal dilemma with a point of some kind, so here it is. Ladies and gentleman. Owners of little dwarves also known as children. Please do me a fucking favor. When they tell you they are going to be an astronaut, a physicist, a zoo keeper, a doctor, a lawyer, a writer, a painter, a magician, do not laugh in their faces. Do not reenact the French skit by Robin Williams. You look  that crazed little almost-human thing in the eye and tell it “Of course you are. You can do anything you set your mind to. You just have to work at it.”

 Believe in them, goddess dammit. Believe in them with your very last fucking breath. If you’re going to make them and create them and force them to exist on this crumbling planet, then you at least owe them that. Believe in the little guy or gal, because I can tell you right now, if you don’t give them some sort of support-figure in their life, they will never truly believe in themselves either.

 

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Winter Festivities: Activities That Span the Religions

Despite the religious holidays that are upon and around us this time of year, there are plenty of things one can do to celebrate the winter season, instead of the passing of one’s holiday savior.

Taken from the blog of the amazing and wonderful fuckyeahitchywitch:

Snow Balls ~  20 – 25 should do it per candle depending on the size of your candle and shelter.

candle

waxed paper

How to make:-

Make  snowballs about  5 inches wide. (make sure they are compact)

you may want to add a cone of paper to cover the top of the candle and wick temporarily for the next steps)

Next take a couple of  your snowballs and gently but firmly begin packing them around the candle in a snow layer. ( take care not to get the candle wick wet whilst doing this part )

once you have built up the snowballs around your candle make a base for it to stand on  the ground by pressing more snow onto the base of the candle, make sure it sits straight attached to the ground/snow.

Take the remaining snowballs, place about 8 in a  circle around your candle leaving a small space between each one, then place another 6 on top of them, keep layering them until you have made a form of igloo, remembering to leave a small space between the snowballs you want your candles to get enough air to burn also to allow the light to shine through the small spaces.

Now remove the cover over the wick if you used one and light your candle.

place the last snowball carefully over the space at the top so you complete  your igloo.

Your candle should be in the middle of the igloo and its flame should not touch the top of the igloo in fact you will want about 2-3 inches clearance so as to not melt the snow at once.

 

So there you have it, not everything in the holiday season has to be Christmas or Hanukkah related. I love this winter activity, because unlike sledding and snow angels, it can be done by children and grown-ups, without making you that creepy older man who goes sledding with children. Personally, I will be spending the next week with many bottles of wine, and lots of good friends. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, as I will be on vacation of hiatus. Relax, enjoy, and just do what makes you happy.

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Holiday Dieting: Simple Ways to Lose Weight Over The Holiday Season

The holiday season poses a number of stresses on everyone, from the financial to the social. The last thing any of us want to worry about is gaining weight on top of it all, but it still poses a serious problem in the coming colder months. We all fall victim to the winter blues, and the lethargy that come with them. Combine this with all of the yummy deserts and nog, and you have a dieting disaster waiting to happen. Here’s a few simple things I do to stay ahead.

This mat can be used on the Wii, Gamecube, and PS2 gaming platforms.

Baby, Its Cold Outside
No one wants to get up and go to the gym when there’s a foot of snow and ice on the ground, well, at least I don’t. Sure, I would love to get into winter sports, like snowboarding or iceskating, but all of these require lots and lots of money, which after presents, bills, and students loans, is not in abundance for me. What’s a broke college girl to do? Get moving! There are dozens of free youtube videos by the great ladies of sparkpeople, simple 10 minute cardio workouts to burn fat and build muscle. Need something a little more interesting? Kick it oldschool, break out the PS2 and the DDR mats. The used games average about $5, and the mats are only $20 online. Compared to the cost of an exercise machine, its a serious weight off your finances. Simply hit the workout mode and watch the calories stack up as you get moving to all your favorite songs.

Beware the Nog!
Not only did Bob from the down the hall spike the office party batch with an entire bottle of Bacardi, but the calorie intake on this delicious evil is insane. 2% Milk averages about 130 calories per 8oz serving. The same amount in Hood Gingerbread Eggnog is 360 calories! Add in the rum, which is around 2500 calories a bottle, and you have the Waistline Destroyer. Avoid it at all times possible if you can. If nothing else, limit your portions and keep it out of your house. Bring it to someone else’s party! Then leave it there. I employ the same method with baking delicious deserts. If it doesn’t come home with me, I’m not tempted to splurge on it.

Portion Control, Portion Control, Portion Control.
More veggies and fruits, less meat and starches. When in doubt, consider the FDA food plate:

This shouldn’t be too tricky to remember, so, when making your snack plate or dinner plate, at your house or someone else’s, just try to remember the rule of four: Half veggies/fruits, one quarter protein, one quarter grain. More green less meat.

Don’t Go Cold Turkey
The holidays bring good company, and even better food. Don’t completely abstain from the desert section, simply take smaller portions of each. If there is that one desert you HAVE to have, simply eat better during other parts of the day. Treat your calories like dollars, save them for what matters to you. If that doesn’t work for you, work out as soon as you can afterwards. Don’t wait till the next day, the damage will already be done by the time you wake up. Just do a quick 10 minute cardio video, or if you’ve really misbehaved, try an hour of DDR. Any type of cardio workout will do, just burn the calories off in any way you like.

You don’t need to be the lonely I-eat-only-salads girl just to keep on your diet this holiday season. Just eat right and keep moving. That’s really all there is to it. And if you have a bad day, a really, really bad day, don’t stress it! Just keep trying and keep working at it, its not a race, its only life.

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Keeping Out The Cold: Heating tips and tricks

Though the weather has been unseasonably warm, winter is still fast upon us. For the younger set, it brings excitement and anticipation of the snow to come. For us grown-ups, it brings a whole separate form of anticipation – the dreaded heating bill. Here’s a few ways to make it a little less painful.

1.) Plastic The Windows
If your windows run on ropes and lead weights, this an absolute must. I have 17 windows in my 20’s era apartment, every one of them is as old as the rest of the house, and so everyone is covered in shrink wrap. For about $10 a kit you’ll save hundreds. Break out the hairdryer and a extension cord, and it actually will look like there is nothing there at all. Just make sure you introduce them to your feline, should you have one, else they be greatly confused when the sill is suddenly protected by an invisible force field. We draw doodles on ours with a sharpie just for this reason.

2.) Door Snakes
This tip comes not from me, but my amazing future-mother-in-law. As none of my doors directly face the outdoors, I don’t have this issue. She has one on the basement door to fill the gap between the door and concrete slab of a floor, saving tons on heat as her house is heated via furnace at basement level, making it the warmest room in the house. Only really needed if you have older, or just plain awkward doors, but if you feel a draft, don’t hesitate. Remember that all things act on diffusion, your heat will literally go out your door.

3.) Bundle Up Dude, Its Winter
There is no need to crank up the heat to 70 just so you can wear shorts around the house. I don’t care if you just shaved, and neither does anyone else. It’s winter, and this is New England, dress like it. Get some warm fleece or flannel jammies, good slippers, and appropriate bedding. We have flannel sheets specifically for this for these coming months, as well as an army of fleece throws. I keep fingerless gloves so my digits don’t freeze while I type this. Try putting on a sweater, or a blanket, before you reach for the thermostat.

4.) Set a Temp Limit
It is an absolute nightmare controlling a heat bill with three other roommates. Set a digital max if you can, if not, kick it old school. My thermostat is duck-taped, so it cannot be pushed farther than 65. Don’t like it, you can borrow a sweater. I keep spare hoodies for this reason.

Things I Don’t Recommend:
* Space Heaters: What saves heat will only cost more on the light bill.
*Turning on the Stove: Unless you want to burn your house down, same problem as above.

What about the rest of you? Fellow apartment renters/owners, any other tips or weird tricks to share?

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Finnish Fitchburg

When my grandfather was 8 years old, he was one of thousands of Finnish immigrants to migrate from their homeland to the United States. My last name is his, Lahna, and to this day anyone else I meet with it in the country is actually related to me. In fact, I am the only Suzanne Lahna in the United States, which I think is pretty freaking cool. Safe to say, I didn’t think there were many Finns in the US, let alone New England, as most people I meet as me what the hell it means when I say I’m Finnish. A type of fish? Some new non-meat diet?

I was shocked to find we actually have one of the largest Finnish populations right here in the ‘Burg, which is pretty awesome. The people of Finland migrated to the United States usually during or after the Civil War in 1918. My grandfather came over when he was eight years old, and grew up to fight in World War 2 against the Germans, partly because of the violence they inflicted upon Finland in World War 1. It took many years for the Finnish society and economy to recover, but today they are actually the third most stable country on the planet.

In Fitchburg, the Finnish people tried many times to form a Co-Op that could work and function as an organized unit, in order to build jobs and support eachother in world of new customs and a new language. Though it failed many times, they finally succeeded and from what many of us know and use today: the Workers Credit Union, which in turn became the second largest union in Massachusetts by 1964. Safe to say the Finnish population made quite an impact on the city of Fitchburg.

If you take nothing else away from this, here’s a list of famous Finns: Matt Damon, David Lynch, Jessica Lange, and Mark Hoppus (yes, the guy from Bling-182).

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