Caught in Between

A picture from the summer, at the summit during a hiking trip with
my Dad in the North of England.

So this week was a bit much, all round–hence the thumbs up for simply surviving. I’ve always been a firm believer in leaving things to the last minute, and to be honest, my methods really had yet to fail me. Which is why this week blew my mind when I actually (for once) planned ahead and still felt like I’d been mowed down.

So many to do lists (and a celebration of my roommate’s bday!)

Luckily, the work, meetings, homework, exams, impending doom etc are now done and I feel great. I haven’t had a lot of free time but when my exams finished I went out and bought magazines, relaxed, had a nice dinner, caught up on gossip girl, and basically did everything I’ve been missing out on over the past week. And now it’s almost the weekend!

I’ve  never been a huge fan of Halloween, but this year it’s turning into quite the celebration. My roommates and I have thought up some of the weirdest and best costumes…
1. Thomas the tank engine and a conductor
2. Lumberjacks (it’s looking like a cold weekend)
3. Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and Captain Hook (but who gets to be Tinkerbell?)

Why have we thought up so many costumes, you ask? because Halloween is a week-long event! There’s pre-Halloween, Halloween day, Halloween night, Halloween date parties… etc etc etc. I’m fairly excited because though I may not like Halloween itself, there’s really nothing better than dressing up in a goofy costume. I’ll admit my costume last year was a tad lazy–it’s a real live dress my mom wore in the 80s and it’s amazing but it didn’t involve too much effort on my behalf. But this year will be interesting, and I’m sure I’ll have some funny pictures to share when I next blog.

Another shot of last year in Fell’s Point.

I’ll be doing some serious Goodwill shopping tomorrow–there’s a store a few blocks away,conveniently right next to the grocery store where there I will be making some last minute Halloween food purchases. We’re having a Halloween dinner shindig and are trying to serve orange and black foods.

Two things I’ve realized from this little endeavor–one, the only black foods are candy or foods that have been burnt, and two, making dinner in a dorm room is rough (the only things in our fridge were yogurt and apples). But it’ll be so nice to be able to see all of my friends in their costumes and get everyone together for dinner–it’s midterm season here at Hopkins and it’s been raining quite a bit, two things that make people hibernate. This weekend is sure to be fun though–and allegedly it won’t be raining.

Upcoming exciting Hopkins things include my all time favorite, Parent’s Weekend (next weekend). It’ll be nice to see everyone’s parents again, particularly because we all know each other a bit better than we did this time last year. Fall rush is getting under way which is fun, and I’m desperately trying to schedule a trip to DC in these last few weeks before Thanksgiving break. I can’t believe the semester has gone so quickly! It’s unreal.

Hope everyone has a happy Halloween!

Yep, still going with the Michael Jackson songs for my blog titles…it’s from his last studio album, “Invincible.” Which I totally wasn’t feeling this morning. And “whatever happens” correctly describes how I was feeling then.

See, I was in the library last night, being a good student and working last minute on a paper (sarcasm) that is supposed to be due in 2 hours. I ended up leaving hours before I originally planned (I dare not say what time I planned to leave) because I was having weird abdominal cramps. I didn’t really think twice about them because I figured they’d go away in a few hours, even though I felt like this :

Anywho, I go back to my room and then realize there may be a problem when the pains are still there 5 hours later. As a good Hopkins student, of course the first thing that comes to my mind is “Oh my gosh I won’t be able to finish my paper in time!” instead of “what is wrong with me???”

At 4 am I decided to call my mother and tell her I was going to the ER at the hospital right behind Hopkins–Union Memorial–because of persistent abdominal pains.

Like a good mother she ran out of bed and drove over here to make sure I wasn’t dying. In the meantime, I had my friend walk me over there and wait with me until my mother came, which was awesome.

So to spare you all the gross details of the tests I had to go through, it turns out that I probably had some freakish adverse reaction to a medication that I was taking, so all is well for now, even though my friends and family wanted me to sleep in all day since I didn’t leave the ER until almost 7am, and I had a 9 am class. And my professor was really understanding when I asked for an extension on the paper I was working on–she gave me a day more than I was planning to ask for.

At Hopkins, yes, only the strong survive…but when you don’t feel that way, just think, “whatever happens!”

–Dominique

Last I saw all of you lovely readers I was telling you about my last minute half-marathon prep and overall Hopkins madness. It’s been a nice few weeks here, and I’ll tell you all about it now! First off, I hope you enjoyed my punny title–I really, really love the fall here at Hopkins and it looks like it’s finally getting under way with the weather this week!

So most importantly, the half marathon. It was a nice, but trying experience. I definitely should have trained more for it but I managed to get through it without stopping or losing a limb. My dad and my roommate Laura ran the marathon, and the half-marathon respectively. It was great to be there with them, and I don’t think I could have mentally done it without knowing they were running along there with me–I didn’t actually see either of them too much during the race, they’re both speed demons. Despite the threat of a boiling day in the 80s, it cooled down for perfect running weather and it was great to be out in Baltimore. A shocking number of people decided to run 26 miles that morning–what a mystery. The 9th and 10th miles looped around the Homewood campus and I got to see some friends out cheering–such a boost of energy when my legs felt like lead.

My dad, me and my roommate after the race.
Those weird foil blankets are actually amazingly helpful!

After running the half marathon I went home (again?). I was all but crippled, and it seemed much better to convalesce back in NJ than try to stick it out in the my room. Despite all this complaining, I’ve actually decided to run another half marathon in the spring–really one of those activities that seems better in retrospect.Mentally, it’s awesome to be able to say I’ve run 13.1 miles! It was great to be home though, to see my family again and hang out with my sister. I was able to run a million errands, bring back some winter clothes for the fall weather that’s arrived recently, and I even had time to hit the most amazing mall in the world (Short Hills!) while I was at it.

Another great thing about living close to home–my lovely sister Suzi can visit all the time! She’s already been here once this year and I’m looking forward to seeing her again over Parent’s Weekend.

As much as I do love Hopkins’ proximity to home, I’m making it my goal to not go home again until Thanksgiving. I’ve had such a busy semester thus far that it really does feel like I’m missing out when I miss the weekends–it’s my only time to relax. Though I am a little pressed for time, I’m having a lot of fun nonetheless.

As promised, my class schedule for this semester is….

Biology (meh). The bio program here is actually great, but science and I have a bit of a fraught relationship. I muddle through with lots of reading and note-taking, and while everyone else really enjoys the details of genetics I’m struggling a bit more, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Bio and

Bio Lab are both requirements for Public Health, so those will be a feature in my spring schedule as well.

Harlem Renaissance is my exciting elective class this semester! It’s a really interesting class in the English department that meets once a week in a small seminar-style class of about 15 people. We’ve read a huge range of literature so far, and this week we’re reading Passing (by Nella Larsen) which I’ve really enjoyed. I’m toying with the idea of an English minor–now that I’ve declared Public Health, I’m looking for something else to add to the schedule!–and I’m really enjoying my coursework in the English department thus far.

The Environment and Your Health. Another Public Health requirement–I’m finally getting started on my major, yay–but I’m really enjoying it. I’m already a bit of an environment freak, so it’s a bit unnerving to learn about yet more things I should be worrying about in terms of pollutants, garbage, and every chemical acronym in the book that’s floating around your water, or your water bottle, or your blood. Scary! But good to know.

Global Public Health Since WWII. Still more Public Health, but I chose this one on my own–clearly I picked the right major, because this class is really interesting! I really like the professor, he’s such a good lecturer and he makes even unpleasant things like polio vaccines and smallpox outbreaks  enjoyable to learn about. Through some amazing feat of scheduling, my first class (this one!) starts at 11 am, which makes it even better.

Economics of Health. So many of my classes this semester are related, which is interesting, and as it turns out, really convenient when it comes to studying (unanticipated benefit!). I like being able to link the pure economics I learned last year to the real world and to health-care, both two things I find quite interesting. And obviously so relevant to politics!

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For my first weekend back at Hopkins in a while I had a great time! It was so busy though! It was an Open House for Natural Science and Engineering students, so I worked there during the day and got to speak on a panel for Student Life as well. My roommate’s high school friend visited and we went downtown and all around Baltimore to show her around, stopping by Mezze for a delicious dinner. It poured rain the whole weekend, which put a bit of a damper on things, but it was fun nonetheless. I went to a crazy 80′s party on Friday in enough spandex to open an American Apparel store, and on Saturday night I ran into fellow SAABer! (see below)

It was great to run into one of the fabulous new SAAB freshmen!

Ps thanks for the picture Becca, I totally stole it from your Facebook.

I’m having a great time so far this semester, and I will be sure to update soon with more of the goings on at Hopkins!

Have a great Fall!

Posted by: Jessica K.

So for the past week I have been telling myself that I need to blog, but when I asked myself what I should blog about, I couldn’t come up with an answer. I was told in middle school English class that writer’s block doesn’t exist, to just write down your thoughts and that you’ll get somewhere. I don’t know if I truly believe this..

…but luckily I finally decided (yes, at midnight on a Monday night, even though I promised myself a full night’s sleep) to write about working at Hopkins. It wasn’t until thisyear that I realized how much of an impact being able to work at Hopkins has done for me. You’re always told to seize activities in college, but you are never told to work in college. I don’t think most prospective students when they envision college envision being a part-time worker. However, maybe they should. So, yes, this won’t be the most exciting blog, but I hope that it persuades any prospective student who may be reading this to at least consider working in college.

For anyone who doesn’t know, I currently work as a research assistant at the Center for a Livable Future at the School of Public Health. My freshman year I started working at the AMRII Housing Office. Then over intersession I started working full days at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, where I continued working for the rest of the Spring semester. I started working at the Center for a Livable Future in the fall of my sophomore year where I work ten hours a week.

Why would you want to work in college?

- There are obviously the financial reasons for working in college. I didn’t realize it when I got here, but there is some spending that isn’t covered by Hopkins tuition. Such as printing at the library, eating out, and traveling back home. It also is really nice being able to actually pay on your own for Christmas and birthday presents. In short: it’s really nice to not have to ask your parents for spending money. Please don’t think that the only people that work in college are people that “have” to, this is absolutely not true.

- There is also the time management component of it. Working really allows you to have more structured commitments in your schedule. As someone who was used to long practices after school and morning meetings (and as someone who decided last minute not to do track in college), work really helped me have a more regular schedule.

- Working at the SPH (and doing research for credit there) has really allowed me to take a break from the Homewood campus. I am able to surround myself with adults and get away from the bubble of students that make up Hopkins. I love having a group of adults (this includes professors) who are able to give me advice from people that have already been through the undergraduate years (and of course build connections).

- Work Study – According to Hopkins Financial Aid, approximately one-third of Hopkins students receive FWS funding. Federal Work Study is one way that students can work on or off campus. It’s a form of financial aid for students who demonstrate need. The federal government allocates the funds to the university to pay a portion of a student’s salary. Traditionally 70% percent is split as federal share and 3% as employer funds. The maxium award is $2,500. However, if you go over your employer can decide to continue paying you at 100%. Work study is a great for employers to be attracted to hiring students and although it’s still easy to find an on or off-campus job that is non-work study, employers definitely like hearing that they only have to pay 30% to have a student work for them.

- It’s great experience. Honestly, it’s great being able to see your field of study at work in the real world and  be able to get “work experience.” There are simply somethings that you can’t learn in the classroom.

How do you get a job?
-Student Employment! Honestly, student employment is a great resource. They host a job fair in the fall open to all students that is open to on and off-campus employers. This is how I found my first job at the Housing Office. Throughout the year, Student Employment Services office also maintains a database of available jobs that is accessible on their website. Student Employment also maintains a temporary job e-mail server that will e-mail out any temporary jobs that they hear about (usually something for just a few hours during one week), so that if a student doesn’t feel like committing to a year-long job, they are still able to earn some money during the semester if interested.

For more information on all things student employment, check out the student employment’s Student Handbook: http://semps.ses.hsa.jhu.edu/stujob/student.cfm

Anyway, that’s all for now. I know, not the most exciting blog, but I hope it was helpful for someone out there.

The dino theme of this blog is random, so  I will complement the randomness by using Michael Jackson/Jackson 5/The Jacksons song names to title my blog entries. There.

But they are relevant though. I chose this song because last weekend was my birthday weekend, and I realized how awesome my friends and family are.

For my 18th last year, I didn’t really enjoy myself–I think it was the day after our first college Chem exam and everyone was depressed and talking about how much work they needed to do. So my sunny, warm, Saturday October birthday kind of felt like a waste because I had few people to share it with.

So last year I said that I would NOT deal with that again. On my birthday eve I had some friends come over and chill for a sec, with cake that my lovely sister (who visited for the weekend) and I made. I got a card and some stuff from American Eagle and a tub of ColdStone and an awesome book I need to get started on. My sister called this a “last day of being 18 celebration.” I kinda liked that, so I may be doing that from now on!

On my actual birthday, I was blessed with my 6th-in-a-row lovely sunny day, which always sets the tone for me, even if the actual day’s events suck. I woke up to my dorm door being covered in streamers, forcing me to crawl under the door if I wanted to get in and out.  I found out that 3 of my friends came at 2:30 am and did that while I was sleeping.

It says “Happy Bday Domo,” if you didn’t catch that. Then my sister made me something to eat, because I told her she was SUCH a special guest that she could gladly make anything she wanted for herself, rather than me doing it. :P My mom came shortly after and we went to a movie–”I Can Do Bad All Bad by Myself.” It’s a movie adaptation by one of my favorite people in entertainment, Tyler Perry.

Sooooooooo then we went out to eat at Fridays, where I had my favorite Jack Daniels Chicken Sandwich, and then one of those awkward birthday/cake things the restaurant gives people on their birthdays.

Here, my mom and sis gave me some cute cards with a Visa Gift card, some money, and an iTunes card. I know some people hate gift cards and money because they seem impersonal, but those are awesome gifts in my opinion because I don’t have to worry about hurting someone’s feelings by having to return their gift because it doesn’t fit or it’s just really NOT my style.

After this, I returned to Hopkins and went to a church across the street from campus, for the weekly evening college service. I always enjoy going there because I see so many of my friends and the atmosphere is really encouraging. Definitely is a nice brain break from studying orgo or stats or something.

My friends are great because as we went back to our dorms, I came to mine to see a few of my friends and a delicious chocolate cake with candles waiting for me. I was a teeny bit upset that this was the first bday where I didn’t have a cake to share with my whole family, but my friends took care of that and I did get to enjoy some…plus at my house, we never get chocolate because my stepdad doesn’t eat chocolate, so this was a nice change.

I successfully did no studying (which I paid for dearly for the rest of the week), but hey, you turn your last year of being a ‘teen’ once (plus this is the last weekend bday I will have for about 6 years), so why not celebrate?

The day after, I found out that I won a contest, the prize being a signed poster from Corbin Bleu (High School Musical anyone? catch that Kid?)…now, if you know you me, you know I have been obsessed with this person for yearsssssssssssssss, so I was pretty ecstatic!!

Sorry that this blog seems like it’s on steroids or something with all of these pictures, but I usually never have many pics in mind for these, so I decided to make good use of them. I truly did enjoy myself this time around, so yay!

Until next time!

(I’m in the purple)

My first post on my new blog!

Since I last posted, I’ve done quite a bit (it’s been quite a while since I wrote). I’ve been back at Hopkins for just over a month now, and I’ve finally gotten into the rhythm of sophomore year. I’ve settled into my new major-Public Health-and I’m taking some great classes (more about those later). I’ve decorated my room, gotten a job, been to Washington DC and back home, had visits from my sister and parents, taken my first sophomore midterms, and trained(ish) for a half marathon. It’s been a busy month!

Stopped by DC to say hi to Obama (I wish). But I did get to see the White House!

This delicious bakery magic is in my hometown in NJ!

As exciting as this last month has been, the real reason I’m writing this blog is not to catch you all up on my life, but something quite different.

So I, for one, am a big fan of Baltimore. Maybe not so much when I first got here, but I’ve figured the city out a bit more over the past year, and now I love it. It’s definitely a quirky place, and I won’t deny there are a few grubby spots about, but it’s great nonetheless. One of the most annoying things people ask when I say I go to Hopkins is, “WOW like on the Wire?” NO! Not like on the Wire! Nothing like on The Wire. So imagine my surprise when I was home this weekend and opened the  newspaper to find this…..

36 Hours in Baltimore

(It’s subtitle was “The Baltimore You Won’t See On The Wire.” Too true)

I was quite excited. Baltimore and the New York Times are two of my favorite things, so naturally seeing them come together was pretty great. But even better than that was the fact that the NYTimes decided to feature some of my favorite Baltimore places! Woodberry Kitchen, Carma’s Cafe, the BMA! So thrilling.

Oh Woodberry Kitchen. So delicious. This place is one of my favorite eating spots in Baltimore, so naturally I was pretty excited that the New York Times agreed with me. It’s even more exciting though that finally everyone else is catching on to how cool Baltimore is. Especially now that fall is just around the corner (or apparently not, it was 70 degrees today) the city looks so beautiful. As I mentioned before, I’m busy pseudo-training for the half marathon, that scarily enough is this Saturday. My runs have been taking me up into the beautiful neighborhood of Roland Park, where I’ve been doing some aspirational real estate exploration as I run–gets pretty boring otherwise.

Lovely Baltimore sights!

I think one of the reasons I like Baltimore so much is because it’s a “secret city.” Or as the Times put it, “Baltimore is sometimes the forgotten middle child among attention-getting Eastern cities like Washington and New York.” No one’s stopping you from coming here, but for some reason so many of the great things about this city aren’t well known. Saying you love Baltimore isn’t quite as obvious as saying “I love New York” (nor is it on a ubiquitous tshirt), and it almost always makes people as you “Why?” I’m a fairly chatty individual so I have no problem rattling off my favorite places to eat, favorite neighborhoods, and best Baltimore anecdotes, but it’s nice to have a condensed version of my Baltimore top 10 list in this article.

The Baltimore marathon! This weekend!

And there are, of course, a few more places I’d like to mention while I’m at it. If you ever find yourself in Baltimore on a Saturday morning, your trip would be incomplete without a stop by Miss Shirley’s for brunch. They have scarily caloric things like cheesecake stuffed French toast that really just sounds incredible. Because you’ll be right next door, you may as well stop by the Evergreen Cafe–a great place to study on a Saturday afternoon, and their wraps and salads are well worth the wait. While you’re here you can’t forget a walk down by the harbor or through Hampden, a stop in the Tulip Garden, at the aquarium, and The Ambassador. You shouldn’t miss Fell’s Point (particularly at Halloween), Mount Washington, or Federal Hill, and naturally, no trip to Baltimore is complete without a walk through the Homewood campus–especially in the snow! or in springtime…Apparently, this will be a trip that goes on forever? The best kind! I hope you enjoy Baltimore!

P.S. Other cool thing? This isn’t the first time Baltimore’s been mentioned in the travel section. 2007 saw another “36 Hours In”. Check it out! But I like 2009′s version of Baltimore better….
36 Hours in Baltimore (2007)

P.P.S. The title of this blog? From Hairspray, set in the neighborhood of Hampden, just behind the Homewood campus