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Time to pull out your jackets!

When I began to write this post, the weather is 32 degrees. FREEZING TEMPERATURE! As the cold weather begins to set in, everyone around campus is starting to pull out their winter wear. I started wearing my thermals and now I just have to find my “texting gloves” so I can text without my fingers falling off from the cold.

Texting Gloves! Source: http://www.amazon.com/Agloves-screen-gloves-iPhone-texting/dp/B004A9QMPE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1351865350&sr=8-3&keywords=texting+gloves

So what did I do for Halloween?? Well, I attended the Haunted House event at the UIC Forum. Essentially, they converted the entire banquet hall into a spooktacular haunted house. My RA staff saw all the costumes as well as fellow UIC students. There was one in particular I wanted to get a picture with =)

My personal favorite costume of the evening and new best friend.

I’d say the scariest part of the haunted forum would be at the beginning. We would hear them yell horrifying quotes to build up a fearful atmosphere. After going through it, we attended our FIR (Faculty in Residence) Rob Kemp’s program at TBH titled “Cats, Chats, and Chews.” Which reminds me, at MRH (Marie Robinson Hall) this Saturday beginning at noon our FIR Bill Kohler is hosting “Headlines & Hashbrowns.” H&H as well call it is a program where residents can get breakfast burritos, complete a fun news article crossword puzzle, and network with fellow residents.

So, as registration is around the corner I decided to offer quick tips about “how to go about it.”

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Top 3 Tips for Registering: 

3. Flow Charts- This is especially helpful for transfer students. Create a visual flow chart of classes that you need to take for your major. Example: http://www.uic.edu/depts/cme/undergraduate_program/Prerequisites_Flow_Chart.pdf

2. Register for classes that book fast- If you know that the class is only offered in the spring, register for that first as it may fill up. Once it’s filled, registration closes for that class and that would suck if you have to delay your graduation another year.

1. Registration eligibility- Make sure you are in the “GREEN” for registration. I can’t stress to you how important this is. I’ve had friends and residents schedules mess up because they forget to check their eligibility for registration. No eligibility met means no registration.

Well that’s all I got for you this week! See you next week

-Darren

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TOPIC NEXT WEEK: Can’t think of one right now, I’ll suprise you next week.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Do you think the Chicago Bulls are going to make it to the Finals this year?!

The past two years that I have spent at UIC have really established a strong sense of who I am as a person. It’s been a week or two past the halfway point of the Fall 2012 semester and even though I still have a good chunk of midterms to go through, I don’t dread it as much as I would have before. It’s such a weird feeling, especially since I know myself and describe every moment as a “freaking out” session for something I worry about.

My best friend Alaina and I were working at Student Center West when we saw people carving pumpkins outside of Subway on Halloween! It was a free event by UIC Campus Programs and all you had to do was grab a pumpkin and carve! We just wanted to decorate it on our own so we picked out a pumpkin for ourselves. I grabbed the biggest and roundest one! I had that on top of my heavy backpack. It was really exciting. :D

I still don’t like chemistry but I think I’ve finally let it go (my grudge and deep hatred). I kept thinking about what it’d be like if I were a physician and conducting research to make better therapies for eczema or even creating a skin-care line based off that research. The only thing that came to my mind for what that whole entire process would be like is all related to chemistry. When I tell people about the organic chemistry laboratory and how terrible and a waste of time it is, I am really just being a bitter student who just wants to leave and move on. It’s not right. I mean, after leaving the last lab at 6:10pm on a Tuesday evening, I was replying to my friend’s text message “Sorry! I just got out of lab. It was a long one.” He replied “Oh. What did you do?” And I had to think for two seconds before saying, “We had to synthesize a ketone from an alkyne…”

“Wow that’s kind of cool.”

“Yeah, I guess so…actually it is kind of cool when I think about it!”

Anyway, I have been feeling very elated even though it seems unapparent in my face for some reason! I think it’s because I have a set direction that I want to go, but I just am a little unsure if it’s the right one. For now though, I think it’ll be the best because it has a clear purpose.

Can’t wait to sign up for classes! :D I called Kaplan to try and enroll into a class in the spring semester but they haven’t gotten back to me yet. I think I’ll give them another call sometime. Midterms have been going OK in terms of the studying. It’s all a lot of work, but when you pull out all of your energy to do well in school, it’s really worth it. =)

October is over.  That means it’s getting colder (yuck), the days are getting shorter (yawn) and the holiday season is upon us (believe it or not).  The MOST important thing though is that we only have one more month of school.  HALLELUJAH! This semester has been pretty difficult for me and I’m ready for it to be over.  Once I think that I’m over the hill on projects and papers, another due date pops up, then another and another.  Even my teacher said, “Wow, it’s one thing after another, isn’t it? haha”

Totally not amused.

In class last week, after handing in our 20-page papers, some of my classmates were talking about which issue they were going to write about.  I quickly chimed in asking what IN THE WORLD they were talking about. There is ANOTHER paper due in a week.  WHAT?!?! How did I miss that on the syllabus?  Am I losing my mind?  I am usually on top of things that are written, plain as day, in the syllabus.  And then, I start thinking about what else is due in November…ugh because IT IS NOVEMBER now!!

(Note to self: Quick! Re-read the blog about managing stress!!)

One thing I am worried about is maintaining my 4.0 GPA.  It was my goal to do so every semester.  THIS semester, however, is giving me a run for my money.  I have to admit that I reached the point where I am preparing myself for a B in one of my classes.  I know, that sounds so….perfectionist and nerdy.  But I have worked so hard to get to where I am today, that simply getting a B would echo “You didn’t work hard enough in this class.”

On to other things!  Updates from previous blogs…

Hockey: STILL in lockout…and they aren’t any closer to a deal.  All games are cancelled until November 30th and they are discussing canceling the Winter Classic.  October 25 was the deadline for a regular 82-game season. Total bummer.

Halloweenie: My Halloween costume that won 2nd place! Kids of the 90s would recognize us from the show “Guts” on Nickelodeon.  I even made the aggro crag!! It was a good Halloween!

I carved a pumpkin!! I know. It doesn’t really look right.  The nose and eye kind of became one.  It’s ok! I had fun doing it!

I also went to Reaper’s Realm Haunted House.  I was terrified from the moment I walked in to the moment I got in my car.  In one of the rooms, I’m pretty sure I just stood in the corner facing the wall with my eyes closed the whole time.  NEVER do that.  They sense your fear and then pay even more attention to you.  All in all, one of my top 3 haunted houses.

I saw “Sinister.”  I actually really liked it.  I haven’t seen a scary movie in a while that I was scared 100% of the time.  My scarf doubled as a good blindfold so I could avoid seeing “Mr. Boogie’s” face.

On Halloween, I was on trick-or-treat duty at my house.  Although, we didn’t really get that many trick-or-treaters.  The kids I nanny were a pirate and a spy for their school parade, and a vampire and werewolf for trick-or-treating.  The baby had skeleton pajamas and a mask that stayed on for about 30 seconds.  And yes… I was told to by their mom to raid their candy.  Otherwise, they would be bouncing off the walls for the next couple weeks, which is no fun for me.

Lastly, Tuesday November 6th is Election Day.  Please, please, please…get out there and vote!!!!

Hello UIC (Bain Voice)!!

“It doesn’t matter who we are, what matters is our plan!” The plan for this past week was spent working on curriculum plans for Project SYNCERE. The two projects I’ve been working on for students are Bioremediation and Communication.

Curriculum Development Plan: Communication

Curriculum Development Plan: Bioremediation

These curriculum development plans will be a part of classroom lesson plans to further the students in their personal and academic ambitions in science and mathematics. The “Communication” project will teach students about essential tips in holding a meaningful conversation and how to conquer public speaking. The final project for those students will be a debate over a subject chosen by the instructor.

“Bioremediation” project will introduce students to methods in improving environmental standards or conditions. This final project will involve “how to create compost,” fertilizer, and growing plants. This has been an exciting moment for me in that it will be included in a couple weeks at schools throughout Chicago.

Pics of the week: 

TBH Program: Northern Lights Cafe

Source: http://onlivefans.com/news/2011/09/07/dead-island-for-onlive-is-delayed-until-at-least-october/

On Tuesday, UIC’s Thomas Beckham Hall had its “Northern Lights Cafe” program, which essentially was an Open Mic Night. In the picture above, the woman was playing a saw with her guitarist friend. Together, they played amazing ambient songs.

The second picture is of the game I’m currently playing titled “Dead Island.” It’s a zombie apocalypse environment in which you have to find a way off of the island through completing quest. I LOVE playing cooperatively as it feels like the AMC’s TV show, Walking Dead. As of right now, I’m still in the beginning parts of the game and will get back to it once I complete all of my work =)

Personal Choice:

AMAZING architecture!! (Source: Latest Engineering Technology)

I want to live in a house like this! I found this picture while browsing through “Latest Engineering Technology.” I have a knack for houses and architecture.

I was Professor Oak for Halloween. My friends and I were a Pokémon-themed crew. We had Ash and Pikachu as well. I’ll be posting pics of those next week. See you then!

-Darren

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TOPIC NEXT WEEK: Engineering Tips and Survival Guide

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Who’s your biggest childhood crush?? (Mine was Ellen Page haha)

So now that the schedule of classes for Spring 2013 is up, I can finally do an in-depth analysis of making a beautiful schedule! :D

There are a number of ways to see what is available for classes, but I’ll be showing you the main two that I use:

THROUGH STUDENT SELF-SERVICE:

1. Go to MyUIC and access Student Self-Service under the “Academics” tab.
2. Under the “Registration and Records” tab, click on “Look Up or Select Classes” and click on “I agree to the above statement” at the bottom of the page.
3. Select the term (Spring 2013) and hit “Submit.”
4. From there, you can click on any subject, and after that you can see all of the individual classes and times courses are offered!

THROUGH MyUIC SCHEDULER

1. Under the “Academics” tab of MyUIC Portal, click on the sub-tab labeled “Scheduling” and click on the link that says “Class Scheduler” — this might seem familiar because this is the method they tell you at orientation your freshman or transfer year!
2. Select the term and then another box pops up of all the Subject/Classes. Pick one you are interested in and hit “Add Course.” Do this for all courses you are interested in.
3. Click on “Advanced Options” at the bottom.
4. There is a cool feature in which you can block out days and times that you absolutely cannot have class (convenient for those who work and go to school). If you click on “Additional Options – Block Days/Times” a giant table of checkboxes will appear and fill it out accordingly or don’t use it at all (I usually don’t use this feature).
5. Click on “Submit.”
6. Now you’re at the fun part! This part of the web application lets you see all of the combination of schedules you can do with the classes you’ve selected! You can go through every single one if you really wanted to….xD

So now that we’ve gone over those steps, it’s good to contemplate what schedule you can handle for the next semester. Sometimes the classes you choose now won’t be available so it’s good to have backups!

Here is what I am doing FOR SURE next semester (because I have to):

• Kaplan MCAT course (I got it at the SFP auction last week!) that will be from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays (6 hours a week)
• MCAT intensive studying (3-4 hours a day, ~20 hours a week)
• Health Activism Committee (2-3 hours a week)
• Four Classes so that I am still full-time…although I am having a lot of trouble deciding what classes to take (12-13 hours a week)
• Studying for classes and doing homework (15 hours a week)
• Research (5-10 hours a week)

I’m pretty sad that I won’t be able to fit in all of my jobs next semester. The time I will be spending studying for the MCAT and attending that class will basically be replacing the hours I normally use to work everywhere. I really wanted to work more next semester, especially at the new jobs that I have been offered. Oh well…I am going to have to let all of my employers know that I need to go on hiatus to study for the MCAT and won’t be able to work. Although, knowing me, I will probably offer that I can come in when they really need me. I hate not working. I feel unproductive otherwise…

Anyway, these are the classes that I still need to take if I want to graduate with a biological sciences degree with a minor in nutrition: MAJOR: BIOS 220, 221, 240, a lab, an extra bio course; MINOR: HN 110, 311; UNIV REQ: World Cultures course. In total this amounts to about 24 credit hours. I want to add Polish, but I don’t know how to go about that because almost all of the nutrition courses conflict with Polish. So, basically, I am at a dilemma. To continue Polish for fun, or to fulfill a minor that I have declared since my freshman year? I’m leaning towards the latter, but I really don’t want to give up Polish. I wonder if I take summer school, maybe my professors will be OK with me missing the first few days in the 8 week to go to my cousin’s wedding. Ahhhh.

It’s really good to think ahead when you plan your schedule. Something you do now will definitely affect something that will happen later. I will probably have to do some consulting with an advisor, but I already know the answer they will give me (so maybe not). Anyway, I hope this helps anyone! I can’t give a more detailed way to make a schedule at this point because I can’t even decide what to take!

There a lot of things you should consider and it’s good to calculate how many hours you will spend doing each activity (be sure to subtract 8 hours from 24 total hours to add in sleep…and don’t forget the time it takes to prepare food, do laundry, getting ready for bed…internet surfing…). Good luck to everyone who is planning out their schedules! I hope you all get the classes you want.

It’s funny how a random idea that pops in your head during a shower can turn quickly into a reality.

As I stated before, I am majoring in communication and I am the vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG). I like to apply my major studies into my position.

In August, I was in my personal think space (my shower) and was brainstorming some cool ways to get the word out about USG. Then it hit me – cupcakes! I love Flirty Cupcakes on Taylor Street and I knew that there is a cupcake craze going on in the market. So I thought, hey, why don’t we talk to Flirty Cupcakes, get a custom USG cupcake and give them out to students in a promotional campaign?

I am really excited for Halloween this year! I didn’t end up doing anything last year for Halloween except eat a bunch of the candy that the kids who I nanny collected.  What? It’s not like they were going to eat it all!

Anyway, this year I’m doing it all! Haunted houses, dressing up, carving pumpkins, watching scary movies and maybe I’ll even go trick-or-treating!

Here are the haunted houses I suggest checking out:

Haunted Sanitarium/Theatre on the Lake- Right by Lincoln Park Zoo.  It’s $10 to get in the haunted house.  You can hang out in the haunted cafe where they play scary movies and sell hot chocolate and apple cider while you wait for your turn in the house.  It’s scary.  But the last time I went, I recognized some of the actors working there. Kind of took me out of my spook.  BUT everything else was awesome!

Six Flags Fright Fest (Gurnee)-  I haven’t been there in a few years because it’s pricey, about $40-50 to get in. It is pretty cool, though, if you have the cash and can make the trip out there.

Statesville Haunted Prison- I’ve never been and have been wanting to go SO bad! It’s in Crest Hill, near Joliet. Tickets are $20 for groups and $30 at the ticket window. It’s supposed to be one of the scariest haunted houses out there. It takes about 40-50 minutes to get through.

Fear @ Navy Pier- SCARIEST HAUNTED HOUSE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO! No joke people. I was terrified while just waiting in line! But there is bad news…I guess you’ll have to wait until next year because they aren’t open this year.

I was going to have a list of some movies that scare me into the Halloween mood, but it was becoming a very long list and then I realized that it’s probably because I get scared at pretty much everything.  You name it…ghosts, demons, vampires, zombies, psycho killers, killer dolls, possessed children, sharks, asylums, no hockey season…(you get the point).

So, here is a short list of some classics to catch: The Shining, Halloween (all 50 of them), Poltergeist, The Exorcist, Seven (“What’s in the box?!”), Night of the Living Dead, Shawn of the Dead, Pet Sematary,   28 Days Later, Blair Witch Project, The Omen, The Ring.

And if you’re stuck on trying to figure out what to be this Halloween, I was going through old pictures and found some from previous years…

Fanta girls, Miami Vice, The Joker, Catwoman

Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Mario & Luigi

                                        Whoopie Cushion and Michael Myers

                                                  ARRR…a Pirate and Cop

I’m not going to tell you what I’m going to be this year but I’m REALLY excited and I will post pictures next week.  I will give you a hint: It’s from a show that was on Nickelodeon in the ’90s.

Stay safe and Happy Halloween!!!