Random Pics: Food!

So it's been a while since I've posted...

Basically I went into a period of freaking the hell out because of work overwhelming me. I'll talk about the health risks of not drowning yourself in your work later, though. Because right now I'm taking a little break from working on one of my final projects (aka procrastinating) to share some random pics I got off my phone. : )

This post's topic for random pics is... FOOD!

A vital part of every college student's life.

First is lunch at my desk. This is one of the things I typically did for lunch this first semester: run to the school cafe, buy either some sushi or spring rolls (seen here) or whatever, get a soda, and sit at my desk and eat before/during class. That's one of my favorite hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works by the way: Japanese Cherry Blossom!

Some lemon ice I bought a while back when my class went on a field trip. A street vendor was selling them, and since this is back when the weather was warm, I bought one to cool down. I was very disappointed about the lack of flavor though. : (

After another field trip to the city, I went with a few of my classmates to eat some yummy burgers. I honestly forgot exactly what I got, but I remember it was DELICIOUS. Also, that means it was pricey. But it was worth it. It tasted great with the barbeque sauce and spicy ketchup! : )

And for my last food moment, since my classmates had been so kind to me when I got sick, I bought everyone a box of dunkin donuts on a busy studio day. Next to that is some cake that someone else brought. I remember this because it was supposed to be a day off but we were all working anyway... alas, so is the life of an architecture student!

Anyhoo, speaking of architecture, I'd better get back to model building and drafting.

Keep a look out for my next post, which *hopefully* won't be out too long from now!

Motivation

Sorry guys, no time for a sketch. It's 2 am and I want to be asleep in the next ten minutes so...

Anyway, I just wanted to do a quick post about staying focused and motivated. Earlier today I talked to a classmate of mine who was disheartened because the professor didn't like her project at ALL. To the rest of us he seriously looked like he was about to rip her drawing off the wall...

So my classmate was really depressed. I also got a bad review compared to normal. Usually the professor tells me he loves my ambition or something... but this time he told me that it was not enough, he expects more, and during my presentation he interrupted and threw me off and I felt slightly embarrassed because he asked questions I couldn't answer.

But you know what? It's over. That's the past. All I can do is move forward and improve my work using his advice. College is meant to be tough, and there are days with no sleep and days with endless piles of work and no breaks. There are days when the professors will hate your work and that's it.

However, keep motivated and keep at it. That's the advice I gave to my classmate. Her review went worse than mine. She has to redo her project, whereas I only have to expand on mine. But I and a studiomate gave her advice and helped her to understand better, and she's on the right track. I gave her a similar motivational speech to the one above.

Basically, college IS hard. It IS serious effing business. There will be days when you want to give up...

But we're all here because we have a dream. We all have the dream to become architects. And you can't let bad past decisions or misunderstandings or bad days ruin your dream and your motivation. You just need to ask for help, pick yourself up, and once you're pointed in the right direction, just keep going and going.

Because having a dream means never giving up. : ) She's learned her lesson, I've learned mine, so now let's remember what we learned and move forward past this bad point, toward our dream.

Just wanted to get that out there before bed...

By the way, midterms are coming up for me, so wish me luck. : )

Two Types Of Sickness

Hi everyone. I know I've pretty much been DEAD for the past couple weeks. Above I have attached a self portrait of my new appearance.

...okay, well maybe it's not THAT extreme (yet). I don't sleep in the studio... (although, a couple of my classmates do...)

Anyway, onto things that I've learned.

I've learned that there are two major types of sickness I'll have to deal with here:

Homesickness vs. Physical Sickness

Homesickness is mental and emotional, for the most part, while by physical sickness... I mean actually getting sick. I just got over the former and now get the joy of dealing with the later (at the same time I have a ton of projects due this week... great). So here are my tips on each.

HOMESICKNESS
Causes: having loving parents that you miss, lack of close friends being around, getting lost in unfamiliar places, missing the weather/local food/people/etc, loneliness, just plain human emotion
Symptoms: wanting to stay in your room all the time, spending lots of time calling/texting loved ones at home, crying when you can't speak to anyone at home
Remedies:

1. Call less often, but spend more time on the phone when you do. Schedule these times in advance. For example, I call my parents at lunch time and before bed. Sometimes at dinner too. I've found that doing this helps present an "initiative" to get other things done in the mean time. You can't call, so until then you should study or clean or go out. I'll spend about 10 to 30 minutes on the phone with them, talking about my day, and it's nice. : )

2. Find people in similar situations and, if you can, make friends. Being that I'm in New York, far away from my island home, I felt really isolated... but can you imagine my surprise when I met a girl from the same city as me?! I'm also apparently mutual friends with a guy who knows another girl from my home state. Though I'm not close to either of these girls because we're in different classes, it's nice to know they're here and that I'm not the only one in this boat by myself. Mostly we'll just smile and say "hi, how's it?" when we see each other in the hallways, and that's enough to brighten the day. There are also people I've met in my classes who are from different places than me, but we're all from tropical climates, away from our families, and getting used to the new cultures (and weather) here.

3. Talk about it with your parents, friends, classmates, upperclassmen, or a counselor. Trust me, talking with someone will help. You are never alone in your situation. Many college students are going exactly what you are going through. Remember that.

4. Join a club. For me, I go to my dorm meeting every week to help out. I'm also thinking of joining the yoga class on the weekends once some time frees up for me. : ) Adding these to your schedule will help you to meet people and keep you busy, which in turn will help you feel less lonely and find more things you like about college so you don't miss home as much.

5. Put up a combination of photos of you family, friends from home, and new friends at college in your dorm. To me, this helps me to remember home and feel better, but also reminds me there are people HERE who also care about me and vice-versa. : )

PHYSICAL SICKNESS
Causes: changes in weather, stress, lack of sleep, lack of proper nutrition, lack of proper hygeine, coming into contact with another sick classmate or dormmate, homesickness manifesting itself physically (via stress)...
Symptoms: Varies.
Remedies: (also varies, but I'll give some general tips instead~)
Prevention Methods:

1. Buy proper clothing. Obviously, cold weather clothes for cold weather and warm weather clothes for warm weather. You will want to get the online and/or in advance, because most places only keep things in season... and by the time the "season" rolls around it's already a month after you need whatever the item is. Trust me, I don't have any gloves so I have to keep hunting around for them because the stores I've gone to so far won't stock them for another month, and I can't order online because I don't know my size... Don't be stupid like me. On the flipside, if you're in warm weather, make sure you have light clothes so you don't get heatstroke.

2. Sleep. I repeat, sleep. Sleep. SLEEP. FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING GET ENOUGH SLEEP.  Cut down on all nighters. And take naps in your room, not the classroom, not the bench outside the lecture hall, not in the library. Sleep in your bed. As uncomfortable as beds are in college, it's better than sleeping anywhere else on campus. I know that especially in demanding majors *cough*likearchitecture*cough* it's difficult because even if you don't procrastinate, you WILL still need to do all nighters. And that's fine. But the day after and the day before an all nighter rolls around, take a nap. AND NEVER DO THEM FOR MORE THAN A DAY IN A ROW. Trust me, lack of sleep is one of the reasons I'm confined to my dorm with a fever right now.

3. Keep track of your diet. Eat some type of fruit every few days at least, and try to drink fruit juices. Eat a salad every once in a while and if you have to skip a meal, at least have some kind of snack! AND if possible start taking daily vitamin supplements. Along with a proper sleeping pattern, these will help to keep you energetic and awake during the day, which in turn will help your focus, which will help your grades, which will reduce stress... see how this works? I just started taking these things, and I swear, it's WAY more effective than chugging coffee!

4. Shower, wash your face, and brush your teeth daily. I'm serious. Staying clean will help repel germs. Common sense. 'nough said. If need be, carry around hand sanitizer or something too.

5. Splurge on something you like. Then use it as a reward for yourself after you've accomplished something. For me, every time I finish a part of a major project I take one of my favorite pieces of candy and pop it into my mouth for a quick treat. I also got some slightly pricey body scrub to shower with, but it's soooo soothing and relaxing! Great for helping me to unwind after a hard day of work. Another guy I know will play a game on his phone when he finishes something. And another will videochat with his girlfriend every other day. These "rewards" for yourself help to reduce stress and keep you motivated. So splurge, just a little, on something you want that will help reduce stress, because it will help to keep you mentally and emotionally stable. : )

And remember, no matter how sick you are or aren't, visit your school's health service to find out what's exactly wrong so you can get proper treatment.

In conclusion, there are lots of causes and remedies for homesickness and regular sickness. Both are inevitable, though the degrees of each vary depending on the person.

But don't let it get to you. Stay strong. Work hard, play hard, and remember to relax in between.

Now if you excuse me, I should study a bit and head off to sleep so I can get well enough to go to class soon!

On Textbooks and Time Management

So it's been nearly half a week since my last update, I apologize. After classes started I was literally swamped with projects and I went through a period of homesickness (as well as a possible case of real sickness... but I took some medicine and started paying better attention to balancing my diet so I think I'm okay now because all the symptoms are gone). But now I have a bit of time to blog, and then I need to get dinner, call my parents, and get back to work.

And on a slight tangent, but not much, I SURVIVED MY FIRST WEEK OF COLLEGE!!!

Please, go celebrate that on my behalf... because I don't have time to properly do it.

=_="

Anyway...

Today I'm going to talk about two things crucial to the college student's life just as he or she is starting out: textbooks and time management.

Unlike most high schools, you need to buy your own textbooks. This really sucks. My school also rents books, but it would be cheaper just to buy a used one. Sadly, I can't find anyone who has a used one they haven't sold already, and all the stores around either don't seem to carry the book or they just don't have it.

My plan was to order the book through Amazon and meanwhile use the copies the library has... sadly everyone else had the same plan, which is why I'm now sitting in the library without the book, because all three are currently checked out or on hold. So I'll need to call my parents and let them know I'll be using my debit card to pay for the book from the school store... sigh.

Lucky for me I just need one for now. Most of my friends at other schools have already paid 700+ dollars on their books...

Tip: See if any upperclassmen are willing to sell you the books before classes start, OR find out what the books are beforehand and order them to be sent to your school mail box the week you arrive. Don't assume the library will have the book available. (Don't follow my stupid assumption mistake... please)

Trust me. I have an assignment I need that book for due this week and its majorly stressing me out right now because I have to go buy a 100 dollar book... >_<"

Which brings me to my next topic... time management. If you want to survive college, you have to be proficient at this. No exceptions. It's what every upperclassman I've spoken to has told me...

I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I made a rough schedule for myself for each day and every night I'm checking how I'm doing... so far it seems like I've been overestimating the work I can get done and I've figured out its because of a lot of distractions, so I'm going to change some of my study habits to see if that helps. : )

Analyzing your life like that sounds a bit dorky, but hey, if it's what you need to do to get things done and not stress too much, go for it...

Though, stress is still inevitable, despite the time management. But better time management = more sleep = more alertness. And even when you're stressed out, moreso when you're stressed out, in fact, I've learned in these past few days that being alert is extremely important.

Because of my hectic schedule I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I think I'd like to talk a little bit about food and grocery shopping. : )

Wish me luck with surviving my second week!

First Day + Ask For Help!

So yesterday I accomplished most of what I wanted to...

I didn't get to check my schedule until this morning, but I'll get to that later.

I went to my history lecture in the morning, followed by one of my classes. The lecture was pretty interesting and informative. We covered art and architecture history of the paleolithic and neolithic eras, contrasted against some buildings from the gothic era, and I was also presently surprised that many tribal buildings around the world parallel the types of buildings and Hawaiian culture...

...

Yeah, I'm weird and think that sort of thing is fun. (I noticed most others looked like they were about to fall asleep)

During the lecture I sat next to a girl I became friends with, which was also fun. Sadly, we had to part ways and head to our next classes.

My next class, also history, is classroom style, and the teacher just went over guidelines and answered questions and explained how to do homework, which, of course, is good. Afterward I met up with my friend from earlier, along with another guy, and I learned that most of the other teachers had pop quizzes and that sort of thing, so thank goodness I lucked out and got the nice teacher. : )

After that I ate lunch with my new gal pal, we went shopping for school supplies, hung out in her dorm, hung out in my dorm while I folded my laundry ( ^^; ), ate dinner, then hung out a bit more. : )

WE HUNG OUT FOR SIX HOURS. :D

Yaaaay new friend! We click really well and that makes me happy. Unfortunately we only have our lectures together (none of our classes : ( ) but that's alright. My best friend in high school / middle school and I only had a couple of classes together the entire time we knew each other, but it still worked out!

After my friend left I went to dormitory council, which is a lot like a student council, but for the dormitories... I got voted to be an officer, so I'm VERY happy because I really want to get involved during college. : ) Sadly, I don't know if I can keep the position because of the time the afternoon meeting is (it MIGHT overlap with one of my classes...) but hopefully everything will be able to work out in the end. : )

It was very, very eventful for my first day, but I had fun all the same : ) ...

...

And back to what I mentioned earlier about my schedule!

I didn't know where to go for English, so I went to see the office. I was extremely nervous and I didn't want to get yelled at for asking a stupid question. Went I walked in I explained that my online schedule and printed schedule put me in different classes, and that on the list posted outside the office I couldn't find my name...

We (the lady who was working in the academic office and I) were talking about what could be the reason, and eventually found out that the first two schedules were mistakes, because my first semester of English is waved so I don't have to take it!

The whole issue took, at tops, 3 minutes to solve. She did tell me "Well no wonder! *shakes head* Girl, I'm gonna BITE you!" when I mentioned I took AP English in high school. But she said it with a sort of smile and laughed it off before explaining to me how the credit is automatically used for my first year's first semester of English (I wanted to use it later so I was gonna save it, but that doesn't work... oh well!). She gave me some advice to just drop by the class I would've been in to get the syllabus from the teacher. She said that would be helpful because then I can know all of the books/essays/films that all my classmates in my major will be learning about so I can keep up with all of them (sometimes the design professors use the same reading material or have related projects, is why).

I followed her advice, the teacher didn't mind me being there, and I had been worried about getting yelled at for nothing! And on top of it all I got some good advice too!

Yes, it's college. But it's important to note that if you don't know something, just ask. I felt like in high school I couldn't ask because teachers would reprimand me for not paying attention, but it's different here. (That fact that it's the first week also helps, I think ; ) )

I learned today that you should go ahead and ask the question that makes you FEEL stupid, rather than not know what's going on and do something that IS stupid.

TOMORROW!!!

Okay, it's official according to my school's website; I start my first day of college tomorrow!!!

Eeeeee!!! I, I, I SO EXCITED. I SO EXCITED. :D

Today I was really, really bored. I drew some stuff, worked on english homework, ate mac and cheese, played around online, read manga, read a book, ate pizza, talked to my friend on the phone, made a painting, and watched more videos on YouTube.

Yeah... not very productive.

I think when the weather is finally 100% back to normal I'll head to Target or something so I can get more cooking stuff. Pre-cooking meals so I don't blow all my money on the cafeteria food is productive... (right?)

But back to tomorrow. I've decided to plan out my day!!! :D I'm posting my whole plan out here so that tomorrow when I blog about how my day went, I can compare and see how well I sticked to my plan.

My plan is, as follows:
- Get up at 7 a.m.
- Shower.
- Make my breakfast.
- Work on Hall Council speech.
- Check mail box.
- Go to my history lecture.
- Confirm my schedule with the office.
- Eat lunch.
- Relaxing break time!!! :D
- Start on laundry.
- Work on history homework (if I get any, if not, English homework)
- Dinner.
- Finish up laundry, if need be.
- Hall Council meeting @ 8 pm.
- Relax time!!! :D
- Bed.

I might switch around a few things here and there, but hopefully I'll do all of that. Maybe I can also squeeze in a few other things as well...

Oh, and if anyone wonders what Hall Council is, it's basically like student council, but for my dorm. I decided to get involved and I'm running for 3 positions. Floor Rep, Secretary, and Dining Service Rep. I reaaally want to be Floor Rep, but I'm running against four people in that so it'll be tough. Secretary, I've only got one opponent, and same with Dining Service Rep. Hopefully I can be Secretary, because I also really want to be that one! <3 It's taking notes and sending emails, which I can do no problem! ^_^

Well, it's getting late and I don't want to keep my roommate up with the lights/typing noises... plus I have to get an early start tomorrow! So I'll be heading to sleep now.

G'night everyone, and good luck to anyone else who's starting college this week. :)

False First Day / How to Handle A Hurricane by Yourself

First off, hello everyone and welcome to my new blog! This blog is going to be all about my college experiences while I'm studying at a school in New York City for five years. I hope that it'll be able to help those, like me, who are going to very faraway places for college. I will try to give advice here when I can, but keep in mind this is my first time so far away from home for such a long period of time, so any advice I give probably won't be super insightful or indepth.

Anyway, onto the actual post!

So I moved into the dorms roughly a week ago, and I've had a complete blast during the past week! Orientation went somewhat smoothly... but of course, as you know...

Oh hai Irene. =_=

(And right after the earthquake too! All these natural disasters remind me of home...)

So yeah... first day of class is canceled. So much for me blogging about THAT experience today.

But I will NOT let this get me down!!! D:< Instead, I will talk about how to handle a hurricane when you are on your own for the first time. I don't have much any experience with college yet, but being that I'm from an island that gets hurricanes every once in a while, I know how to handle this kind of thing.

First, do not panic, but don't keep calm completely. Be cautious and take the warnings seriously. I've noticed a lot of people here (in particular, students) act like they know everything, and they KNOW that the hurricane won't cause much damage. YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL IT HITS. Maybe the damage will be minimal, maybe it won't. But it's better to prepare just in case. If you think it seems "dorky" to be so cautious, it's not. Just get everything ready quietly and follow the instructions your school gives you.

One of the first things you should do if you know a hurricane/storm/similar disaster is heading your way, is find websites with up to date information on the situation and check them regularly. This includes you college's website if they have up to date alerts. Also, if your college offers weather alert text messages like mine does, sign up for those too. Check these when you get up and before you go to bed, and maybe some times in between there too.

Next, gather your supplies. Find a grocery store in your area, and buy anything you don't have early, just in case the store runs out or the hurricane hits sooner than expected. Some of this stuff is heavy, so maybe go with your roommate and borrow a cart from somewhere.
Here is a list of everything you should have:

• canned food (at least 6 cans, try to pick a mixture of vegetables and meats, and go for the ones that you don't need a can opener to open. I prefer green beans and Chef Boyardee)
• dry food (stuff that you don't have to cook that will keep for a while, like granola bars or crackers or cereal, just so you have some snacks)
• bottled water (1 case of 24 bottles per person, at least)
• flashlight (2 preferably)
• extra batteries (at least 2 sets)
• umbrella and/or rain poncho (rain poncho is the best in case there's high winds because then the umbrella can break)
• mini first aid kit (premade, or make your own by filling a ziploc with antibiotic wipes, anti-itch stick or wipes, some band-aids, and painkillers)
• swiss army knife*
• battery-powered radio*

* = awesome if you can find one, but if not that's okay

I know you think "but what if it's not that bad?!". Then oh no! You've got food and water in your dorm room that you can eat later anyway and batteries that can be used for a variety of electronic devices! Whatever can you do with THOSE? /sarcasm

So now you've got your supplies. Make a "go-bag" if it's anything above tropical storm level and/or either the school or city says that there is a chance you will need to evacuate. Get a duffle bag or backpack and fill it with the stuff you'll need in case you have to evacuate. It should have a change of clothes, one or two pairs of underwear, a rain poncho, a blanket, food (maybe one can of something plus small dry food snacks, like a couple granola bars), a fork and spoon, two bottles of water, any medication you take regularly, your mini first aid kit, a flashlight, one change of batteries, a roll of toilet paper, and your wallet (with money and an ID). If you can manage it, stick a pack of playing cards in too. That should be just about everything the average person would need if they had to evacuate.

Make sure there's somewhere you can lock your valuables if you need to leave suddenly, like a trunk or something.

The day before or a few hours before it's supposed to hit, fill up any empty bottles, pots, or basins you have with tap water. If you lose power, you will also lose water pressure. And even after power comes back on, the water pressure may not come on just yet. This water is for flushing the toilet, should this happen. Leave these in your bathroom if you have a private bathroom that you share. Make sure your roommates know why you did this so they don't pour out the water or use it for something else. If you have a communal bathroom, empty bottles/covered containers will work best for this since you can take them back to your dorm room.

The last thing you need is to call your family. They will most likely be very worried about you. Keep them up-to-date on the situation and call so that they know you're okay. Call, not text or email, so that they can hear your voice and hear that you're alright.

Do all of that and you're set! : ) I know it seems like a lot, but it's better to be prepared, especially when you're on your own for the first time.