Operation: Ravenclaw

In Which a Young Ravenclaw Aims to Learn and Try New Things

[bronzeagle]

Saturday 3/26

Driving back to campus from the grocery store this morning, I saw a trail by the river that wasn’t there when I canoed the river last spring. 

Let’s be clear here that I am not a runner. Yes, I ran track in high school (hurdles) but I don’t really run. I find it kinda pointless. And despite the fact both of my professions require me to be fit, I don’t really run or exercise.

But one of my friends challenged me to do some sort of vigorous activity while she went to the gym since it was really nice weather today. So I decided to follow the trail from campus to the new chunk of river trail. 

It took me a solid hour to walk from my dorm to the start of the trail, jog/run the woodsy trail [I wound up back at the grocery store] and come back to trail head, and walk back to my dorm. The whole trail part was maybe 3 miles? I’m not really sure. The app on my phone that was supposed to track my route didn’t actually track it [woods] so I estimated with Google Maps. 

But hey! I ran today! For the first time in almost a year [the last time I ran was a fitness test last spring, on trails in the same area, which i graciously failed]. Maybe this will become a thing, but it’s definitely something new I tried today :)

I also tried spinach-cheese ravioli for dinner. So two new things in a day?

[bronzeagle]

So I’m a bit behind...

Things happen throughout the day and then I forget to Tumblr afterwards. Woops. 

Going forward I’m going to post daily-isher. and also play catch-up, so dates are going to be a bit weird.

[bronzeagle]

Saturday 2/20

Today I created the budgets for two clubs for the next year. I went to a presentation on how to will out the requests for club funds for the next academic year, learned the forms I’d spent the morning completing were an outdated version, so I re-completed everything a second time. And sent the forms off to other officers in each respective club for feedback before officially submitting them later next week. 

And made a semester calendar for all club meetings/events for the remainder of the semester and what work needs to go into each event. 

[bronzeagle]

Friday 2/19

1. Found out co-presentation with instructor approved to present at the conference in April.  2. Replacement refrigerator arrived today. It’s much larger than I was expecting, thank you Amazon. Had to get help from a classmate, and the nice mail guy who lent us a dolly to transport it from the Package Center to my dorm. 3. Hung out for a couple of hours being social with classmate. I don’t normally do the whole “being social” thing. I go to mandatory events and then return back to my dorm room to hide away. While hanging out, we explored a building on campus that neither of us had ever been in. We met the nice lab coordinator for the Nursing Program who gave us a tour of the Nursing department and the mock-hospital rooms with patient dummies. It was really cool to see the department, and everyone was really nice.  4. Found the perfect Facebook sticker (Monkey holding wine) that is a mix of me and one of my best friends (I’m the Monkey and she’s the wine).  5. Did the math out to find that as of today I am 66% done with my undergraduate career. It both feels so far ans so close. I guess since I’m doing an internship spring semester and wont be on campus at all really it feels like 66% is not enough, with 1.75 semesters left, but dang. It’s been real. 6. Learned that I will have more than half of my classes with two of my friends on campus next fall. And half of the classes aren’t event for our major. 

[bronzeagle]

Thursday 2/18

As a junior in an introductory class for my major, we do a lot of things that I already know how to do. Which itself is nice because it means I don’t have to put a lot of time into the class outside of showing up. In particular it was cool today because we got to use the brand new indoor challenge course in our building. The course is brand new, we’re the first class to use it. 

During finals week in December, some members of the program got trained in how to lead and set up the course. I was one of the lucky ones trained. So while our instructor taught the class the basics of harnesses, helmets, etc. I was tasked with setting up the Cargo Net. Admittedly I did goof and tie single loop figure 8s on a bight, instead of double loop. The regular challenge course I work on only uses one, and I forgot the university uses double -- as this was the first time since the middle of December, and the second time ever, I had set up a course under University LOPs. After the instructor pointed out the mistake, I fixed it. And the class climbed on the Cargo Net.

That class was also the first day one of my friends had been able to make it to class all semester. She enrolled after the first week, and then we had a mix of cancelled classes and snow days that led to today being the first time she got to join the group. Together, with our wrists attached with a velcro webbing, we ascended the Cargo Net all the way to the top. It was a much nicer climb than when I did it during course training in December and everything was changed to try and learn the challenges and variations that could be used with participants. After class, the fight with TurboTax continued. Darn rounding problems. 

In afternoon classes, went over how to use Excel to make a spreadsheet and formulas to use to get it to do math for you based on the data you input. And continued the fight with TurboTax to minimal success. 

This evening, one of my friends convinced me to go to the open climb time/Intro to Rock Climbing class he’s teaching. Well technically I volunteered to belay for the class as long as I would not have to climb. I am quite afraid of heights when it comes to rock climbing, even on an indoor wall. My climbing class last spring was quite the disaster. I was convinced to climb the easy wall once during the evening. I tried to go a second time, but I could not work up the determination and courage to do it again. But I will return while the class is still offered.

[bronzeagle]

Wednesday 2/17

Today:

1. Went to class prepared to facilitate “Human Knot” with my partner. Turns out another group was planning it, so we’re back to the drawing board.  2. Emailed the fire department to schedule ride-along/Probie Training time 3. Emailed a lot of people at the university to learn how room/table reservation works since the reservation system is all new to me, and our club did not have an active account. 4. Made a Google Spreadsheet that allows others to sign up for shifts of tabling. In the process I learned how to edit the formula setting so that only some cells are editable. 5. Determined by fridge has a problem with temperature regulation and it’s apparently actually been an issue the entire year plus I’ve had the fridge. It hasn’t been that the problems were caused by the half freezer shelf on the top. So my fridge is screwed, and I have no arranged for a new one. 6. Joined team leggings as pants. Leggings are amazingly comfortable. Although I still refuse to wear as only bottoms when leaving my dorm floor. In that case I slide a pair of jeans on top, and no one knows the difference.  7. Made it to the second round of RA applications -- the “Group Process”

[bronzeagle]

Tuesday 2/16

SNOW DAY! 

During the night I missed a few off-duty tones, which as an EMS Probie who is not yet licensed to practice or allowed to run on calls, was okay. I’m trying to teach myself 24 hour time and to wake up to tones, to limited success. I get very confused on the time a lot.

A magical cancelling of classes due to some iffy weather conditions. So I spent the day figuring out taxes like any cool kid. More specifically, trying to figure out taxes and fighting with TurboTax. And following all the action of snow crises on Facebook. After being “in the field” for most of the fall for classes, tonight was the first Room Check I managed to actually be in my room for. If there hadn’t been a snow day, I would have missed this one as well. As a result of Room Checks, I did get convinced to actually do all my dishes that have been piling up over the course of the last week. We got a snow day in NH with minimal snowy conditions while my friends at Univ Rochester got feet and very dangerous conditions yet still had classes all day and the University was trying to continue as business as usual. 

Then at night, I was volun-told to go to a hall program, where I got to stack cups and color with Drunk Googles on. It was decently cool. Although honestly, I would have preferred to sleep instead.

[bronzeagle]

Monday 2/15

In order to get money from school to pay for our club’s trip to conference in April, I went to a meeting with the Student Senate Treasurer. As someone with social anxiety who struggles with talking to people, going into the meeting was really difficult to work up the courage to go to.  Internally I knew I needed to be there as I am the student leader organizing the trip, the one who submitted all the forms, and whose all the details about the trip, but at the same time, I would have rather curled under some blankets in my room and ignored that I was supposed to be going to the meeting in general. Thankfully, my friend, another leader for the club also attended so I did not have to feel entirely responsible for the entire thing, and she could save me if I struggle-bussed. 

After the meeting, I fought with CBS All Access for a couple of hours to try and see the Hamilton Grammy performance live, but it didn’t start working until right after the performance. So I lived vicariously through CBS later. I would love to see Hamilton so much. 

[bronzeagle]

Sunday 2/14

With the worst of the weather past, I went and visited my sister. With subs from in town. It was nice to hang out and chat and things. And she gave me stickers which are always the best. 

In the vein of doing/trying new things, I tried a new sub (which I’ve decided is amazing and I love it) and I felt like a real adult driving off to visit family and ordering food from a restaurant. 

[bronzeagle]

Week of 2/7-2/13

Sunday 2/7: Spent the day relaxing and contemplating doing some homework after a busy week. Monday 2/8: I can hold 328 bead necklaces on my neck at one time. I spent the evening making “Beads for Bernie” mardi gras bead sets for voting day. As we untangled the hundreds of individual strings, the easiest method to keep them less tangled was, obviously, to put them around our necks.  Tuesday 2/9: I voted in my first presidential election cycle. As a student at a NH University, I was eligible to become a registered voter in NH. I did the thing. And after my morning class I drove myself and some classmates to the polls. And did a second trip later in the day with other friends. Then at night, got to go to the official Bernie Campaign Results Party in Concord, where I got to meet Vermin Supreme.  Wednesday 2/10: No school day, so homework times. Spent much of the day figuring out management and organization issues for a club I run on campus and how to secure all the funding we need to attend a conference in April. Learned a new arts and crafts thing with melting crayons to make art. And helped a friend make cookies. It was a nice break. Thursday 2/11: Convinced by my current RA, I made the impromptu decision to apply to be a RA for the next year, and spent my day figuring out prompt responses and revising my ePortfolio and written resume. While also trying to figure out/submit mandatory forms to get club funding. Friday 2/12- Sat 2/13: Weekend temperatures hover around -20, colder with windchill. So I don’t leave my building at all really. 

[bronzeagle]

Saturday 2/6 [Part 2]

I am HamTrash. If this wasn’t clear before, it is very much so now. After canvassing for hours, I decided the best way to spend my time was to learn the entirety of “Guns and Ships” from Hamilton. I can proudly say that I can do the entire thing now, without lyrics in front of me. 

I am eternally trash

[bronzeagle]

Saturday 2/6 GOTV by the numbers

8+ hours canvassing and knocking on doors 4 turfs covered 3 partners 340+ doors knocked on individually 100 conversations with voters 6 pledge cards 1 dog bite that thankfully is only a bruise and didn’t break the skin

[bronzeagle]

Friday 2/5 NH Democrat’s McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner As a Bernie Campaign volunteer I managed to earn a VIP ticket to the 100 Club Dinner in Manchester, NH. The night featured speeches from various Democratic Senators and state officials, and both presidential candidates Clinton and Sanders. As a Sanders’ supporter, watching the whole room (both the Clinton and Sanders supporters) cheer throughout Bernie’s speech filled me with delight. It is an honor to count myself among the few able to attend this event. 

Continuing the theme that has been present throughout the entire race for the nomination so far, the event seemed to be staged against Bernie as a pro-Clinton affair, instead of the NH Democrats are all united for change. Nearly every speaker announced their endorsement of Clinton and spent their airtime explaining why women, young voters, etc. should support her instead of Bernie (even after stating that Bernie’s ideas were better).

[bronzeagle]

Friday 2/5 [Part 1]

At 9:04am got an email from Captain at Fire Department saying my paperwork is all set and I can start probationary EMT training! This moment is among the competition for highlight of my week (with the 5am Bernie Rally). So as soon as classes were over for the morning I went up to the station and got a solid packet of things to do/tests to complete in order to earn my pager. 

Today began my memorization of everything in the rigs. It’s location, and it’s use. I think I have one down, but I wont know for super sure until I leave and come back and try to place everything again. 

[bronzeagle]

Thursday 2/4

After multiple days of Bernie Campaign related events, today was pretty mild. In Philosophy and Theory this morning we started covering the history of Adventure Education focusing on Kurt Hahn and Paul Petzoldt by connecting all their contributions to the field in a map. In Risk Management we started learning about how to Manage and Assess Risk from a program perspective. 

But then the evening was the Democratic Debate. The last debate before the NH Primaries. I took the opportunity to watch it live in the campaign field office in town. And tried to summarize the debate to my friends who weren’t watching to my friends via texting.

[bronzeagle]

Wednesday 2/3

1. My tennis skills have moderately improved. I’ve got a cool tennis partner/team/friends to play with. And most of the time I can make it across the net, and sometimes hit the court.  2. Met Eliza Dushku, acted as a host setting up and decorating the room on campus to host her as a Bernie campaign event. Setting up for a campaign event, or even volunteering this much for something related to politics is not what I would have imagined myself doing a few weeks ago. 

[bronzeagle]

Tuesday 2/2, 5:20am. 

Bernie Sanders greeting volunteers in the parking lot of a restaurant in Concord, NH immediately after landing port-Iowa caucuses. 

Today I met some awesome people, and learned that sometimes there are more important things than being on time to class. [I fell asleep and was 45 minutes late to class, woops] The enthusiasm that filled this morning carried NH through the following week as we continually campaigned and knocked on thousands of doors in support of Bernie. 

I was **spreads arms out** this close to the Bernster too.