What's my age again??

August 27th, 2009

So today is currently my 18th birthday. To tell you the truth, I couldn’t wait for this day for because most people are older than me and completely take for granted what they can do without being questioned whether or not a guardian is present. I get sick of having to call my parents at doctor’s appointments to get permission or have them come and sign something relevant to my care, having to borrow my grandma’s Hastings card to rent a movie or piercing my tragus. These all require you to be 18, which today I am!
The funny thing is that most people would probably bet you money that I either am 18 or older. My mom says they think that I am older than I am because I am more mature and tend to speak and/or act older than I actually am. In fact, my mom and I constantly get asked if we are sisters everywhere we go and when one of us decides to tell the person that we aren’t they usually high five my Mom and tell her she looks great. I guess my Mom looks likes she is 18? Or 20? It confuses me but society confuses me so life goes on.
I had my first day of classes today. Besides the fact that I feel that Central completely didn’t prepare me for college except for maybe Holland and Perret, I started class scared that maybe I would have a hard time trying to compete at the same level as some of the students here that had better preparation. I was pleasantly surprised when I went into my first class, Freshman Seminar Globalization, and we just went over the syllabus and talked about each of our families roots and how each one of us is a part of some sort of globalization ourselves. Cake, right? Yes!!!! I don’t think that my Freshman Seminar should be too hard because it focuses on public speaking and writing, which I both feel fairly comfortable with. We also only have two “text” books which are both soft back reading books. The first is Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney W. Mintz and the second is The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power and Politics of World Trade by Pietra Rivoli Ph.D.
The second class that I attended today was quite a whole different experience than anything I have ever seen or been a part of. The class is Introduction to Philosophy which I chose because I thought that it would be a helpful stepping stone for law and maybe could possibly be a minor for me (although I am definitely considering Latin as a minor). There are a few reasons that this class was unlike any class that I have ever been present in, ever. First, before I even went to class and went to the bookstore to pick up my books for the class I discovered that there was seven books for the semester. SEVEN BOOKS?? Granted none of them are huge but I can guess that they are dense works that contain words that make you think and consider situations, etc. The books for this class include Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, Plato’s Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Rene’ Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, and finally David Hume’s An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. That was a quite daunting before I even stepped into class. The second thing that I have never experienced was the class size, the class had close to forty students and therefore was the biggest class that I have been in. The Professor then proceeded to tell us that we can refer to him as David, Professor, or Professor Osipovich but we better not mess up his last name. The weirdest part of this class is that even though there were close to forty kids in the class, he said that before we started anything that he was going to learn each and every one of our names. This took a good thirty minutes but even though I didn’t think that it was going to be possible he did it. After he was done memorizing each and every person’s name in the entire class, he then told us that he taught for nine years but never at Allegheny and that he actually hasn’t taught in six years because he decided to go to law school. He then took the Pennsylvania Bar and has six months before he starts practicing law, so he decided to teach. He also commutes from Pittsburgh to teach here which is about an hour and a half drive or more depending on traffic. He is interesting and eccentric and therefore isn’t afraid to swear or take strong positions on arguments to make his students get involved. He told the class today this class wasn’t going to be easy, which somewhat scares me because usually teachers that are new to schools are hit or miss. This means his class will be (a) really easy in comparison to the other classes or (b) really hard because he hasn’t taught in a while. I will keep you posted.

Top Ten things that made my birthday EXTRA Special

1. My roomate decorated our door and my side of the room with Happy Birthday Danielle signs to remind people to wish me a Happy Birthday. She also made a list of things that I CAN do legally :)
2. Even though this is probably going to make my Mom not very happy at me, I had creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. It kinda really hurt the Crumb's Disease but I am about at my wit's end with the Crumb's. It was MUY DELISH!
3. My grandma sent me Banana Bread which is delicious!!!
4. Holy Crap!!! Not only did both my Mom and Dad reach me at Midnight (my time) last night, they also did it at the same time. Mom via text, Dad via telephone. The rest of you have been calling, leaving messages, facebooking, texting, etc. non-stop. Which makes me feel loved and missed by the way :]
5. My tie-dye tapestry came in the mail from Dad and Dero. I am trying to figure out how I am going to hang it. I will.
6. Along with the tapestry, I recieved my pillow from my Dad's house. It smells like Butte and my room which is nice! I love it!!!
7. Dad and Dero sent me some candy as well, which gave me a stomach ache but was freaking delicious!!!!!
8. The weather wasn't very hot today so I was able to wear and sweatshirt and not have to worry about sweating or dying in this humidity (Don't get me wrong I like humidity but compiled with hot weather doesn't make anyone want to look at this hot mess). ha ha
9. Just chillin' with Erin, we get along really well so it was nice that she was able to be here for me on my birthday.
10. My Mom got me two tickets to the Pirate vs. Cubs in Septemeber :] FREAKING EXCITED!!!

*Shout Outs

• I miss you all still!

Why no WI-FI?

August 24, 2009

I was quickly reminded on the 22nd of my obsession, more like a security blanket, that the internet provides for me. After I was partially settled into my dorm room, the first thing that I did, just like at home was turn on my computer and get on the internet to check facebook, email and other things depending on my mood. I sat on my bed, and began a treacherous set up of the wireless connection which just took me a really long time to even begin to try and understand, around one hour later I was still confused when the wireless continued not to work even though I followed all instructions to set it up. So I walked over to my RA’s room to ask her why the WI-FI connection wasn’t working because I set it up. She told me that this dorm doesn’t have WI-FI. Maybe I am just being a snot but if you are paying $42,000 a year for college, don’t you think that your dorm should have WI-FI? I think it should be provided.
So I went to go buy an Ethernet cord from the bookstore so that I don’t have to borrow my roommate’s, Erin, every time that I need to go on the internet, which is a lot. The one thing that I don’t really like to live my life without, internet, is now being deprived because the bookstore is out of Ethernet cords.
Besides that, yesterday I had the opportunity of not only meeting my advisor/teacher for the next year and a half, but also meeting my peer leader. They helped me look at classes and put together a schedule with backups for this semester. I guess I will find out if I get my ideal schedule tomorrow morning.

Ten things that suprise me about Allegheny College

1. No WI-FI, please? (in my dorm)
2. The food, it is suprisingly good! They have this "special corner" in Brooks where there is usually something delicious that they prepare for you as you watch instead of buffet style, which is nice because buffet style grosses me out.
3. Nobody wakes up before 8, I love it but it is really funny mostly because Matt, peer leader, and I were talking about it when we were walking to drop off my class schedule this morning at 8:20 a.m.. I actualyl think that we were the only ones on campus walking around, except for maybe one or two people.
4. The fact that they believe that seven girls will be able to share one toilet and one shower, every day and every week. ha ha! I am actually suprised we haven't had any problems yet!
5. How well they matched my roomate, Erin, and I. Let's just say this, I am chill and she is chill and we decided that we are willing to share everything except underwear with each other.
6. The second set of stairs on the way to Ravine, they are suprisingly large and require you you to think whether or not to take two steps in between each or to take longer strides.
7. NO WI-FI???????
8. It seems that every group whether it be dorm or even Freshman Seminar group likes to meet and go to places in groups, I feel like we are in a cult!
9. They passed out condoms yesterday because last year they ran out of Plan B. (Don't freak out Dad)
10. WI-FI?

Adventures with Wonder Woman!

August 21st, 2009 11:43 p.m.
Adventures with Wonder Woman

So…here is the thing, if you have ever traveled with my mom, Leigh-Ann, then you understand what a real vacation is. In fact, I am going to refer to her in the rest of this blog post as Wonder Woman. After making sure that we made it to Meadville from Pittsburgh, and even making sure that we found a restaurant on the way to Meadville that was DELICIOUS, by the way! (It was called The Elephant and Castle, location unknown) We got settled in and were ready to conquer not only Meadville but Pittsburgh. The next morning, we got ready; then proceeded to go to the campus, because Wonder Woman hadn’t seen it yet. I showed her the majority of the buildings and were I will be living next year, Ravine! It wasn’t long before she was ready to take me to my doctor’s appointment. Just in case she reads this I would like to point out that she was right and being there around an hour early was a good idea because they had to copy all my records along with filling out some general information about myself and what is wrong with me.
The thing is my mom has always been very direct with doctors and make sure that the treatment that I am given is the best that is available. She also isn’t scared to ask questions and be completely blunt and direct with everything considering my health. Just trust me, this doctor’s appointment was no different than the others, I actually think she was even more on top of her game this time because she knows how much pain I have been in for the past few months. Even though the doctor was very sharp and almost condescending with both of us, I believe that he will help us sooooo much because he does know what he is talking about, and your doctor should be someone you want to tell you like it is and not your friend, right?
Wonder Woman and I then went and got pedicures which just makes everything better. Even though the Asian who ended up doing my mom’s toes told her to hold still and even almost coped an attitude until she gave him his tip. We picked up my new prescription at this grocery type store and my mom and I asked the lady at the pharmacy where she thought would be a good restaurant for dinner. She told us to eat at Valenza. Side note: the food in Meadville is not even comparable with Butte at all, just thought I would let you know that. It was just like any Old Italian restaurant, nothing particularly special about it at all.
I would just like to point out that things just happen for Wonder Woman all the time. My Grandpa Gail says that she has the magic and that things just happen when she is around. Looking back on my life and the situations that both of us have been involved in I believe it, there is something about her that makes things just work out for her and the people that are around her, maybe it is just because she has so much faith in God and Karma that things just work out there order for her. Well, the first one of these instances happened today when we ended up screwing up our booking for this trip and didn’t have a room for tonight, but magically she called up Marriot and she had enough points for a free room in downtown Pittsburgh for free. Things just work out for her, most of the time.
So that takes me to today, Wonder Woman and I took off to Pittsburgh. Side note: Pittsburgh gets a bad rap, by the way. I think it isn’t really dirty, trees are everywhere and it doesn’t smell, doing all of these things while being a big metropolitan area. Wonder Woman took on Pittsburgh with full force and we were able to not only find almost every single thing for my dorm today but also managed to buy school clothes for Johna, Annie and Mederios. Wonder Woman also found some Steelers “things” for those of you back home who are die-hards.
We decided that at the end of the day that we were going to go see a Pirate game because neither I nor Wonder Woman had visited PNC Park to see the Pirates. If you know Wonder Woman, you know that she shares a deep passion for baseball along with the majority of her family. She usually shows up to games two hours early to buy her score card and watch batting practice and probably use her magic to get another autograph to add to her collection. Well, today was a really busy day because we didn’t even make it to Pittsburgh until eleven, so we had a lot of things to do. We ended up getting to the game at the end of the first inning, which my mom said didn’t bug her but her score card wasn’t complete. Side Note: She keeps all the score cards from all the games she has been to. We were able to walk up to the ticket booth and get GREAT seats after the game had started for $27.00 which is a steal!!! We watched a great game and I even enjoyed a hot dog that was only $1.00, how crazy is that for a ball park? As the game progressed, Wonder Woman made a friendship with this little girl in front of us, who reminded me of my little sister goo-goo gallus (Annie), she would smile at the both of us on and off every few minutes. After the seventh inning stretch, I asked Wonder Woman, “I wonder who through the first pitch because they usually have someone famous at most ballparks?” She didn’t know and looked confused as if she didn’t understand why that was such an important aspect of the game for me. And then it happened, her magic again, like always. It just so happened the guy that sat in front of us at the game through the first pitch. His daughter was the cutie that kept smiling at us, and his family was there to support him because he was the guy who through the first pitch. Sometimes I can’t believe that things like that happen to Wonder Woman and I and then I remember what my Grandpa said, “She has the magic!”

10 freaking sweet things I got for my dorm!
1. A red microwave that is quite possibly the coolest microwave I have ever seen in my life.
2. The biggest coffee cups/bowls that have ever been made, they serve two purposes!
3. The MOST comfortable pillow ever from Macy’s that was on super sale and from this company that has been making pillows for like 150 years, so I trust them.
4. Barack Obama poster, not explanation needed.
5. A beautiful painting that Wonder Woman got me for my dorm, even though I got it back in Butte it still makes the list.
6. Bedding set that is going to be super comfortable; it is blue, green and white and reminds me of something that Kelly and Kaitlyn might have in their room.
7. A wax pot and all the essentials so that I can make sure that my eye brows look great even without Wonder Woman.
8. Every essential needed ever for your room! Ever!
9. A little kid’s pink and purple pop up hamper, it is sweet!
10. A teal and dark blue plate that are really nice and that I love a lot.

Shout outs
*Amber thanks for sending me picture updates every hour.
*I miss my little sisters so I send out my love to you.
*Dad don’t forget to send out my Tie-dye shirt and tapestry please!

Goodbye

8:47 Wednesday August 19th, 2009 (Time of Writing, you had to pay for airport internet so I just wrote to be posted later)

This morning was surprisingly easier than I thought it was going to be. Mostly because I think that I had adequate time to prepare myself mentally that I was leaving. I wasn’t prepared the other night when Kelly started crying at my house and therefore I thought that last night was going to be really hard for me to try to leave but…it wasn’t. So…here is the thing: I am ready to leave my house, I am ready to start my life, and I am ready to start making my own decisions. Even though saying goodbye to my sisters (Johna and Annie) and My Aunt Tracy was hard last night, it was necessary. For my sisters it was important that I can set an example for them and let them know that there is a world that exists outside of Butte, Montana and if this whole experience helps them understand that, then it was well worth the initiative. If you two little girls are reading this I want you to know that I love you and miss you already! Many people tend to say that my Aunt Tracy and I share many similar qualities, and guess what? I LOOOOOOVE that! My Aunt Tracy is one of the strongest women that I know in my life J and when people tell me that I am just like her I smile because I am glad that I could be compared to someone like her!
After the party was over last night, I was happy that Kelly, Kaitlyn and Riann had the opportunity to stay later and take time to spend time with me before I left. Kelly has been one of the reasons that I was actually considering possibly going to U of M before I realized that the title of “Paul Babb’s Daughter” would follow me there. I absolutely LOVE this girl. She is one of the funnies people that I have ever met in my life, and she even laughs at my jokes. I will never forget the times that we have spent in the past two years. Watching Parental Control, while scripted still is the best when I can watch it will you and make fun of the people on it. Who would go on that show anyway? Kaitlyn, just like her mom, is a VERY important person to me. She is the nicest and most caring person that I have ever met in my life. Even though I will miss so many people while embark on this journey to college, I know that hands down that she will be one of the people that I miss the most. The thing is that every time that Riann comes over to my house she seems to convince me that she just wants those one pair of shoes because they are really cute and she would really like them. As Kelly knows, I melt when anyone tries on something of mine and I think they look good or better than me in it, then I usually break and say just take it. Well, last night Riann took in the gold mine of shoes, movies and books (the last two which she promised me that she would return). She was able to take things that Mederios was probably going to just throw in a box somewhere and maybe just maybe I would find when I come back for Christmas. Saying goodbye to Riann was quite a bit easier than I thought and maybe it was because I still felt as if going to college was still surreal and she gave me her favorite sunglasses which definitely made it easier. In fact, the fact that she stayed at my house until one thirty really was a fun was too spend my last night in Butte.
This morning still didn’t seem as real as I thought it would. I just feel like I am going on extended vacation, which kind of is what I am expecting my journey for the first semester to be. Maybe I am wrong but I feel as though I will be coming home before anyone has even forgot what it is like to have me home, which at times I believe too hard for some people in my life, but that’s me, hard to deal with at times. I think the hardest part of this morning happened in two different parts. First, seeing my sister, Mederios cry a lot which was really hard for me to try to process because I didn’t want to leave her or see her in pain because of me. Here is thing…even though Mederios and I seem to nitpick at each other every other minute she is a sweetie and I don’t believe I would have changed anything about our relationship. I love her and hope to see her soon. My Grandma was also someone that was very hard to leave because she is the person that I go to when the rest of my family pisses me off, which is often. She has been there for me for the past 17 (almost 18) years of my life. I love her dearly, and can’t wait to come home for some good cookin’ for Christmas. That is another thing that is going to kill me. Not having my Gram’s treats that she randomly brings over. Going over to house if like going to a bakery, what did she make today, but Gram if you are reading this some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies sound amazing! The last and final person that I had to say goodbye to this morning was Dad, Pbabbs. I had the opportunity of coming out to Allegheny for the first time with him and deciding if this was really the place that I wanted to spend my next four years. The thing is…we really did. Saying goodbye to him wasn’t hard because I know that he knows that I am going somewhere that he believes to be a place to foster my dreams and maybe be able to escape from this façade that was created being his daughter. I love him and hopefully and can meet him in D.C. one of the times that he is there during this upcoming year.
I would like to thank everyone that came to my party last night, it really meant a lot to me and provided some closure for me. Tie-dyeing is one of my favorite things to do. So I was happy that I had the opportunity to do it with you and you and you. Hope that they turned out and that you will remember me every time that you wear them.

Furthermore…the top ten things that I will miss most about Butte

1. Good ole’ Butte food. Even though it could give you a stomach ache (and trust me it does) for a week it tastes so good and is worth every bite. Nancy’s Pasties, Pork Chop John’s, The Uptown, Christina’s Cocina, Asia Gardens, Truzzalino’s Tamale’s (sp?), Lydia’s, The Derby, Arctic Circle (renamed Royce’s but everyone still refers to it as Arctic Circle), Matt’s, Four Seasons, Pekin, El Taco, Metals, and Vu Pizza (I don’t think I missed any).
2. Having the outdoors at my fingertips. In the past year, I have really been getting into hiking, especially the Maude S Trailhead. Being that the East Ridge is about two seconds driving distance from my dad’s house, makes it easy access. I will also miss the Lake, Skiing and whatever I decide to do on whim.
3. The dry, dry, dry, air. Even though I don’t mind humidity, it kind of makes my hair go crazy. It will be interesting to see how I acclimate to the humidity. It makes summer hotter and winter colder, so I am interested to see how that works out. I will keep you posted, maybe even pictures.
4. The Drive In. I love going to the Drive in and this summer I had the opportunity of going to see movies out there almost weekly. I love how cheap it is and the fact that we have access to it all summer long. I saw quite a few movies there this summer and even though it will be closing soon I know that I will miss it.
5. Sophie. I absolutely love my car that I got two years ago, and I think it may because I paid for the majority of it and therefore feel as if it was one of major purchases that I made before I hit 18. Sophie was and is most well known as the “Obama-mobile” because I covered her in Obama pins, bumper stickers, an air freshener, a plush doll replica and even a bobble head (Thanks Karson). Who knew that a Sante Fe could house so much Obama lovin’? I will miss my car quite a bit because no matter what the situation (even though I ran out of gas twice, my fault not Sophie’s) she always made it through, and was all-wheel drive which made driving through Butte really easy even when there was freshly fallen snow. I will miss you Sophie, see you in December!
6. The Accent. Even though many natives would be the first to tell you that we do not have an accent, we do! I find it quite hilarious! Even though you might not call it an accent most of my friends and family will refer to Con-tin-nen-tal Drive as something like this Connntannenntal Drive. It is phrases and interpretations of language like this that I will miss making fun of.
7. My bed/s. Even though I have two different bedrooms at two different houses. I can say hands down that one of the things that I will miss the most will be my bed/s. I love my bed at my dad’s house because it is located in the basement which just makes everything darker and better for sleeping long hours into the day and the down feather bed and comforter doesn’t hurt either. At my mom’s house it is a different story, literally, mostly because my room is on the second floor. That bed is also one that I could just relax and sleep in for hours. What can I say I love my beds?
8. The Blue Luna. This has become one of my greatest obsessions in Butte mostly because they cater to my every need. If I can’t have milk then they have rice milk (a great alternative by the way). They always have new things to try and the coffee and drinks really do make my day. I love the fresh squeezed lemonade, rice chai and/or life juice (non-coffee drinks obsession). There coffee is also reallllly good but I haven’t it in quite a while.
9. HT Confessions. Whenever the treo has time to get together and spill about what has been partaken in each one of our lives, we do. Both Kelly and I have hot tubs and therefore during both the winter (really cold) and summer (still pretty cold) we get together and spill about everything. I will miss these talks mostly because they require Kelly telling us to be quite because her Mom is listening in or Amber going into the fetal position because she is scared someone is hiding in the bushes. I love the laughter, the tears and most of all the juice that all of us have shared in HT Confessions.
10. Friends and Family. It is going to be a huge transition for me to move on and go to college mostly because I have lived in the same town for 17 (almost 18) years. I also have five siblings which are all younger than me and look up to me for money, tropical sno and some good advice. My mom, dad, aunts, cousins, etc. will be something that I think about on a daily basis. I love you all.

SHOUT-OUTS
*I also will miss Tropical Sno (fuzzy navel and vanilla with cream! YUM)
*My Nurses at Pediatric hold a special place in my heart and I will never forget there compassion for me throughout the past few months. I can honestly say that they will be some of the people that I miss the most. Love you Angie and Shawna.