Simply Serendipitous

40: pages to be written by Friday

5: weeks until I take the LSAT

5: days left of this semester’s classes

4: final exams

2: final papers

1: semester left as an undergrad

0: definite plans for this summer

13: days until I’m completely done with the semester (and have to have all of that done!)

As you can see, I have a slightly busy agenda these next two weeks, and, unfortunately, real life doesn’t get put on hold just because I get busy.  Wanting to spend as much time as possible with friends who are graduating or going all over the country for summer jobs makes it even more difficult to have to study.  Regardless of the school, this is the toughest time to be a college student.  But the end is in sight!  And once I’m done, there are so many exciting things ahead that I really do have a light at the end of the tunnel.

I won’t ramble on too much about everything that needs to get done, both for your sake and for mine.  With that, I really should get to all of the things that I should be doing instead of writing this…

I promise (again, for your sake and for mine) more interesting blogs as soon as I’ve crossed some things off of my to-do lists.

P.S. Thanks to Jess for the title!

When it feels like my life is consumed by little more than thoughts of midterms and where to get my next cup of coffee, I saw the obvious blog topic for this week.  My coffee habits.

I think someone once said that a person’s coffee-drinking is an insight into their entire personality.  Okay, I might’ve just completely made it up.  But if the person is anything like me and they’re a very serious coffee drinker, you’ll be able to pick up on several cues that’ll alert you to their current state of mind, including stress level, sleep deprivation, overall contentment with the world, and will help you determine whether or not you’re risking life and limb by potentially interacting with this person.

First things first.  The brand of drink.  For me, there’s a definite brand hierarchy.  If you see me drinking Pura Vida, located in Levering Hall, for instance, it’s not a good sign and you can only assume desperation.  A cup from Carma’s Café (or pretty much anywhere off-campus), can be assumed as very good, as having time to go off-campus and actually purchase the coffee is impressive.  Café Q (the library’s in-house coffee place) is pretty much a wild card.  While I love their coffee (and their chai!), it can mean that I’ve been in the library (never a good sign for me) or that I actually had time to stop by there while on campus.  So, tread with caution when you see the signature weird/abstractish Café Q cups.  Einstein’s (located in Charles Street Market, right next to my apartment building) is usually another sign of desperation, except when they have their seasonal fall and winter blends.  I hardly ever drink Starbucks (taste preference), so I can’t even create a rule here.

Presence of straw.  If I’m drinking coffee from a disposable cup and you see a straw jammed into the little sippy part, it’s an extraordinarily bad sign.  Either avoid me entirely or, if you’re in a particularly Good Samaritan-like mood, consider a mini-intervention.  Every now and then when I’m extremely sleep deprived and have been living off of little other than caffeinated drinks, I build up such a tolerance that the temperature no longer phases me and I’m not interested in the taste – enter, straw – and my only goal is more caffeine intake.  Luckily it’s been a few months since I’ve gotten to such a state.  But I can genuinely say that I turn into a crazy person entirely incapable of normal interactions with people.

Container. If it’s a disposable cup, it’s pretty much a wildcard, and you should refer to the brand to further determine my state of being.  If it’s a thermos, it could actually be a good sign, as it means I’ve been home at some point in the recent past and have been able to operate a coffee machine.  However, the best case scenario is an actual mug.  I’ve started waking up early enough in the mornings that I’m able to sit down with a cup of coffee and drink it before class.  No thermos or purchasing of anyone’s potentially-subpar coffee required.  It’s a very pleasant way to start the day, and if you see me at a 9AM class without some kind of coffee, it’s likely that I’ve already had it.  Impressive, huh?  (Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that there are many days in which it is less of a morning coffee-sipping and more of an outright chugging as I rush out the door).

So there, my friends, are my basic coffee habits and how you can interpret them to assess my craziness at any given point.  Do note that I’m not actually as dependent on coffee as I’ve made it seem and that my life isn’t so bad as to require ridiculously excessive caffeine intake…it’s really a personal lifestyle choice more than anything. Baltimore’s got great coffee (Zeke’s is my personal favorite and is sold at Eddie’s Market just down the street and at the Waverly Farmer’s Market every Saturday!), which really just encourages my habit more than anything.  Until next time (in which I’ll be substantially less caffeine-dependent), happy coffee-drinking!

my friends decided to decorate my hair with streamers for my birthday

So, it’s only been a couple of weeks since my last entry, but it’s amazing how much can happen in that time.  For one thing, I turned 21, which is, in the words of my always-eloquent brother, “the last birthday you’ll ever look forward to.”  So uplifting, big bro. But it was a wonderful occasion and the only birthday that has actually left me feeling different.  It’s been fun.

Of course, my birthday happened to coincide with the first day of the spring semester.  I had spent more time preparing for celebrations than for classes, making it entirely too difficult to get back to work that first (and second) week.  The weather seemed to feel my pain and sent me not one but TWO blizzards to give me  (and the rest of Hopkins) a nice little week off during what should have been our third week of classes.  While any normal, self-respecting overachieving Hopkins student would have gotten ahead (or, as they case may have been, caught up), I didn’t do much of anything for an entire week.  Unless, of course, you count trips to the beach to see what the snow looks like, watching a ridiculous number of movies, and sleeping an unhealthy amount.  While the idea of walking to class was an outrage, I managed to walk all over Charles Village to meet up with friends and enjoy more snow than I’d ever imagined.

Then (well, now), they sent us back to school.  And I’m currently writing this from a cozy chair on Q-Level at the library, where I can see the still-snow covered Gilman Quad, where I still have to wear rain boots (which, might I add, are getting very annoying) and I still haven’t fully adjusted to being a student again.  (It probably doesn’t help that it’s flurrying again).

Nevertheless, I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things, thanks to lots of coffee and a few too many naps.  I’m taking a relatively interesting mix of classes this semester and finishing off my requirements for the Homewood portion of my Public Health major (as in, all I’ll have left is a few classes at the School of Public Health next fall).  I’ve just registered for an LSAT prep course and I’m in the midst of applying for internships for the summer.  I’m doing my best to stay on top of everything, but you know, it’s a little difficult when there’s so much snow and fun to be had.  While all indications point to me moving forward, I’m still a little stuck on the snow week.  I’ll be back soon, I promise.  I’m easing back into things.  Like, do a little work, watch a movie.  Today, I’ve set the lofty goal of getting through my work without any naps.  So far, so good, but then again, it’s not even 5:00.  I’ll be back to normal very soon, I promise.

So I’m leaving for the airport in about 45 minutes and am only about half-packed.  Of course, this seems to be a habit of mine. Not the point.  Anyway, up until very recently, I wouldn’t have had an answer if you asked, “Mandy, what do you think about the health care reform currently under debate?” (because this is, of course, how you’d ask me).  I really didn’t know what to think.  In fact, I think I was over-thinking, partly because I’m a public health major and am taking two policy classes.  (whew! that’s a lot of thinking!)

In a couple of days, I’m hoping to post my opinion on the entire health care debate.  I don’t expect it to be uncontroversial, as I tend to think of things in a weird way and I’m approaching it from my academic background, as well.

As a preview for what’s to come, check out this part of CBS News’ Face the Nation, featuring Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Kyl (R-AZ).  I watched this in my Politics of Health Policy class today.  If you’d like to see the entire discussion, click here.  But seriously in the YouTube clip, go to ~5:53, when Bob Schieffer (the host) asks if the plan will raise taxes.  The immediate response is kind of funny.

This is how I operate:  I have these periods of hyper-productivity, where I’m pretty much amazingly unstoppable.  It’s great.  But a lot of the time, I’m on the other end of the spectrum, where I’m entirely incapable of being a functioning member of society.  I go to the library, and try as I may, it just doesn’t happen.  In those times, I might try a little bit harder, and if I can’t force myself into productivity mode, I leave.  You see, I’d rather be at home, relaxed and not productive than at the library, sitting in a cubicle, and not productive.  The second I catch myself wandering onto Facebook while I’m at the library, it’s time to go, at least if I’m studying by myself.

It’s a system with obvious flaws.  And it’s not usually the kind of thing that works well on its own–I have to force myself to try to get into productivity mode, and only after serious (failed) effort do I give up.  So don’t think I’m a crazy slacker or anything.  Because that’s only sometimes.

Anyway, while I’m sure you’re fascinated by my work habits, I thought I’d tell you about what I do when I’m in one of my off-periods and am entirely useless as it pertains to schoolwork.  Here’s the general breakdown:

1. Bake.  Seriously, it’s become somewhat of a problem.  So far, I’ve gone through 15 pounds of flour this semester, and opened up a new bag last week when I started baking muffins late Sunday evening before heading off to the library.  Then of course, Tuesday night was cupcake night, but this was for a friend’s birthday, so I like to think that was a little bit more reasonable.  Chocolate chip cookies are another favorite.  All of this is from scratch, of course, as I’ve decided my new fallback plan is to open a pastry or truffle shop–I need my practice.

2. Watch movies.  I watched “Up” twice the whole way through this week, and I watched several bits of it during many of my quick/at-home meals.  Fabulous movie, highly recommended if you’ve not yet seen it!  Other times I’ll watch tv shows, etc.  But being able to stare blankly at the screen and not think about anything is a very nice break.

3. Sleep.  Sometimes, I just decide to go to bed really, really early.  Like 11:00.  I’m not sure if I even went to bed that early in high school.  It’s good though, unless I end up getting too much sleep and being groggy in the morning.

4. Cook. This is different from baking, but obviously you know that.  Every now and then, I’ll feel inspired to make something really elaborate or different.  Not that it was elaborate, but as far as different goes, on Saturday during my non-productivity phase, I decided to try to make a butternut squash soup with all sorts of weird variations.  I’d tell you more, but it was kind of gross and I don’t want you to judge me based on my failed experimentation.

I think that’s the majority of my non-work activities.  I hesitate to call them forms of procrastination, because I know very well what I’m doing and at the time, I have no intention of moving on to work until significantly later.  Like I said, I’ve embraced my ridiculous work habits and as long as my hyper-productivity continues to come often enough, I’ll continue perfecting my chocolate chip cookies, following along with ridiculous tv plots, and becoming a master chef.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, blogging falls kind of in-between.  Sometimes it’s on my to-do list, other times I do it for fun, other times it’d fit on the above list.  Tonight it’s a transition.  I was super-productive at the library (for five hours, nonetheless), and came home to take a nice long break, and will shortly be resuming my work.  I have a feeling I’ll be highly motivated these next few weeks…finals are JUST around the corner!

Happy November!  I can hardly believe it’s already November (and we’re more than halfway through the semester), but October was a crazy month and I’m kind of glad to have it behind me in some ways.

Just to demonstrate, here’s my October calendar, fresh off the wall.  The highlighted items are exams.

But this isn’t a blog about how busy I’ve been, because that’s all behind me.  Today, I woke up, cleaned and organized my entire apartment, and will soon venture out to Eddie’s Market with my grocery list.  You see, I’m trying to get back into being a productive, orderly, healthy person.  I kind of let all of those priorities fall aside when I got busy, and I’m definitely feeling it now.  So I’m giving myself one day to catch up, clean up, wake up, etc., and then I’m going to get back into doing homework the day before it’s due (instead of the early hours the morning of), eating actual meals (instead of snack food and coffee) and other things that I think normal people do.

Until then, I’m enjoying the extra hour of sleep (which couldn’t have come at a a better time), am taking the day to lull around, and will leave you with one picture from my Halloween celebrations.  I was a pop-punk something-or-other, inspired by Avril Lavigne. I promise to get back to my usual blogging very soon, just as soon as I get back to my usual life.

I’m sitting here, early into Sunday afternoon, almost ready to get serious, but not quite.

You see, this weekend I decided to give myself my own fall break.  I’ve already mentioned that I don’t have classes on Friday, but this doesn’t automatically mean a three-day weekend.  Most Fridays I try to get up at the same time I do Monday-Thursday, have a bit of a leisurely breakfast, and then get to work.  But not this Friday.  I woke up late (does 10:00 count?) and somehow managed to do nothing productive with my day, at which point I decided I was on fall break.

My fall break coincided with fall fest and young alumni weekend, meaning there was a TON of stuff going on, with both on-campus events and off-campus parties. Of course, as any break should, mine included plenty of laziness.  I spent the majority of Saturday watching movies and re-watching Thursday’s episode of The Office (3 times, so far).  Aside from that, I saw a screening of The Hangover on the beach, and stopped by a couple of other events and parties as well.  The closing event of my fall break was a trip with friends to Pete’s Grill and The Book Thing this morning.  Pete’s Grill is an awesome place a few blocks away that’s garnered fame for being Michael Phelps’ favorite breakfast place, and this morning I understood why.  Delish.  And The Book Thing is Baltimore’s free book warehouse.  Walk in, browse, pick up anything that appeals to you, and leave.  It’s so great and a short walk from Pete’s Grill, making for a perfect morning.  I left today with six books on criminal law, American politics, interest groups, and the like.  My friends picked up entirely different things (of course) and it was kind of funny to look at what we all got and compare.

So I realized that sometimes, once in a while, on occasion, it’s okay to completely disregard real life and focus on having fun.  It’s good and perhaps even necessary for maintaining sanity.  And even Hopkins students do it!  Of course, now it’s time to buckle down, go back to being a normal person and do my biostats homework (I can’t even tell you how much I’m dreading all of that), but it was a fantastic break that hopefully prepared me to get back to reality.

From the very beginning of high school, I remember hearing the horror stories about the junior year.  Between the first APs, the college search (at least for students at my high school), taking on leadership roles in extracurriculars, and still keeping grades up, it was sure to be a year of hell.  But it actually turned out to be my favorite year of high school.  We got to park in the upper school lot, we felt hardcore with our ridiculously long study guides for AP US History, and we got to plan the prom.   With great responsibility comes great reward, or something like that.  (right: the admin building of my high school).

I’m starting to think that junior year of college might be similar, though on a larger scale and for more undefined reasons.  But maybe it’s just that I’m slightly lagging behind my classmates in taking things on, which is a definite possibility.

So what is it that’s making my junior year so different from my first two years?

*a job: I work in the Admissions Office this year and I’m definitely excited about the responsibility and opportunity.  It does, however, mean a more structured routine during the week.  My classes start at 12 or 1:30 (depending on whether it’s M/W or T/Th) and in the past, that would’ve meant I’d stay up really late and then sleep in really late all week.  But nowadays, I’m working in the mornings before class, keeping me on a normal schedule.

*an apartment: I have my own apartment, as I mentioned in an early post, which is a really nice place to go back to at the end of the day.  It also means remembering to pay rent and other bills, and if there are any problems, being annoying until it gets fixed (as opposed to dorms where a phone call fixes any problem you could ever have).  I’m also absolutely terrified of bedbugs. (They’re actually a serious problem–look it up if you don’t believe me.  Thankfully I’m still in the clear).

*no meal plan: It’s surprising how much of an adjustment it is when you start doing your own grocery shopping and feeding yourself.  I’ve already gotten into the habit of making huge portions of things that keep well (last week was chili) for the nights that I’m too lazy to cook.  There’s also the whole budgeting thing that goes along with this.

*active involvement:  The past two years, being a member of the Student Admissions Advisory Board has been my main involvement, but I’m trying to branch out this year while still staying hugely involved with SAAB.    I’m the Presiding Official of the Academic Ethics Board this year, though, so that will certainly keep me busy as well.

*classes: Somehow I ended up in three, 300-level polisci classes this semester.  I feel like I’m getting such great exposure to different things, but I have SO much reading.  More on classes in a future post.

*routine: The biggest change, mostly the sum of all of these components, is that I have a pretty rigid routine.  This past week, I was busy from approximately 9-6 with work and classes, and then some days later if I had evening meetings.  In the past, I’d have a lot of free time during the day (which, admittedly, I didn’t always use very wisely, but it was always there), so it’s been a big adjustment to have a full day and then come home and realize I still had all of my assignments to do (sounds like high school, actually!).

Despite the busy-ness and all the changes, I am fully confident that, like high school, my junior year at Hopkins will be my best yet.  And, sadly, it’s my last full year at Hopkins, too, since I’m graduating early and will be spending most of my senior fall semester at the School of Public Health to finish up my major.  But stay tuned to see how the story plays out.

As I sit here with a giant cup of coffee and a daunting stack of readings, I can only come to one conclusion: it’s time to get down to business.  School’s back in session and there’s no more escaping it.  I’ve been trying to pretend that I wasn’t going to have to do work this soon, but here it is, staring me in the face.  No matter how many times I reorganize the pile, make to-do lists, make sure my planner is in order, tidy up my apartment, consider my next baking project, etc., the fact remains: it’s time to do my school work.  The longer I put it off, the bigger the stack is going to get, the larger my cup of coffee will need to be and the worse I’ll feel about how much work I already have.  But, really.  It’s only Labor Day and my college clock just isn’t used to being productive yet.

So instead I think I’ll print out some more of my readings and continue to not do them.  I think my apartment could use another round of tidying, and it might even be laundry time.  In fact, tonight seems like the perfect night for a dinner party, so I’d better start on the rolls now and give them time to rise.  And while I’m at it, I could even try the chocolate souffle that I’ve been dying to make.  Or maybe chocolate truffles would be better?

I may be back in school and starting classes, but, honestly, my brain is just not ready for this yet.  I’m still having entirely too much fun and can’t even think of trying to manage my time yet.  The time between when everyone gets on campus until classes pick up (a.k.a. freshman orientation) is one of the most fun times all semester, regardless of your year.  So I’ll just ease myself into the whole ‘productivity’ thing…fair enough?  And once I manage that, I promise to come back and write a real blog entry about what I’m actually doing with my life, and hopefully I’ll have something on that topic to write about.

Just as many of the incoming freshmen are getting antsy and anxious about the upcoming weeks, I am too.  As a rising junior, you’d think I’d pretty much be a seasoned pro when it comes to moving back and forth from Baltimore, but the persistent butterflies in my stomach tell me that’s not the case.

I’m moving into my very first apartment in exactly ten days.

And it’s my own, too–I’ll be living completely by myself.  Yet, so far, I’ve packed just one box.  This is a drastic improvement though.  Because at this time yesterday, when I should’ve been packing, I was watching a movie while my pastry dough chilled.  In fact, I spent the entire day making a chocolate Danish braid when I should’ve been packing.  Before that, when I should’ve been packing, I went through my books from old classes to sell online.  And before that, when I should’ve been packing, I caught up on tv shows I’d heard so much about but never had the time to watch.

Apparently, one of my favorite coping mechanisms is avoidance.  I’m nervous about moving into my own apartment, so I don’t pack.  Instead I watch movies and bake ridiculous pastries.  Seems like an easy enough conclusion to come to.  Except for the fact that it’s absolutely STUPID.  Like it or not, ready or not, packed or not, in ten days’ time, I’ll be in that little apartment that’s going to be home for the rest of my undergraduate years.

I think that’s what’s getting me.  I’m about to move into something that I can make into a real home.  For the past two years, I lived in on-campus housing, which is certainly nice, but the 9-month contract, by it’s very nature, makes the residence a temporary situation.  It became a home away from  home, but it wasn’t a real home itself.   Comfortable, fun, and personalized, but still a dorm.

And now I’m moving into my own apartment–for the rest of my time as an undergrad (granted, it’s only a year and a half for me–but let’s not kill the drama).  I’m buying cookbooks and baking sheets and I’m going to have my own furniture.  In my own apartment.  This is so weird to me.

So, dear freshmen, if you’re reading this and feeling anxious, you’re certainly not alone.  All of your fellow freshmen are feeling it, and at least one overwhelmed upperclassman is, too.  My best advice would be to enjoy your time at home and NOT to avoid packing.  As for me, I think a trip to the grocery store might be in order–I’m all out of flour and yeast and thinking it’s about time to try making chocolate croissants.  (…and maybe I’ll pack another box tonight, but only if I can pretend I have more than ten days left before I have to start playing grown-up.  And clearly, based on this blog entry, I’m going to be SO great at that).  Bear with me, I’ll get there.