[Part II] - [eh?]

What was on my mind? Oh right - Incompetence. Well, I really have nothing else to say (write) on this matter, as I'm pretty sure that 1) you get the idea, 2) you're tired of hearing me complain, and 3) blogging about my incompetence is a lot less effective than doing something about/changing my habits of the incompetent persuasion. So we move on now to Individuality:

Shoot, I have no treatise on individuality for you all today. My blogging style is not on that level right now. It's really more of a random-info sort of day -
by the by, did you know that ancient African social organization was based entirely on the family, and that each type of family (ruling, crowning, electing, and land) had a specific role to play?
Maybe you did.
Regardless, this is the sort of thought currently circulating my brain cells.
A lot to do this week, folks, a lot to do. More later.
Stay tuned.

Impatience, Incompetence, and Individuality - or, Learning From One's Mistakes [Part I]

I turned on the computer this morning because I felt as though I should be productive. There was a lot of homework I could do, but really didn't have to, so I thought I'd postpone until the afternoon (note to all: never postpone). This, though, is beside the point.
After checking my UCLA application account once more and still seeing no progress, I stared at the screen for a solid five minutes. That's right. I did nothing for five minutes. In retrospect, I should have been sleeping. However, I realized that it has been an absurd amount of time since I have last blogged about HSP, life, the universe, and everything (favorite saying inserted: check). So here I am complaining to you all about how much time I spend not doing my work. (Profs, please disregard that last statement - it was only for comedic effect. Funny, right? Right??)
I feel like my title needs explanation (side note: I've been using that phrase "I feel like" much too often. I am attempting to quit. Bear with me, and my apologies for riddling your ears and eyes with this repetition problem of mine). First, let us tackle impatience:
My application was sent to UC (San Diego and Los Angeles campuses) on November 26th, 2010. Today is April 18th, 2011. That's nearly FIVE MONTHS of waiting. Granted, I was informed at the time of my application that such would be the case (they have until April 30th to accept/reject), and UCSD has accepted my application, so life really is good. The problem lies in my impatience. I would really like to hear from UCLA. I am applying to many time-consuming scholarships that are UCLA-specific. The deadline is less than two weeks from today. Whine whine whine. Every day that passes brings me one step closer to the edge (Switchfoot reference, anyone?), one day closer to KNOWING. Then I get to make my mind up: which school can I take? (Thanks, Rebecca Black and Conan O'Brien - you've made this wait even more painful/entertaining.)
Here's the thing: I have nothing about which to really, sincerely, justifiably complain. I'm in pretty darn good shape when it comes to future plan options. I just don't know exactly what they are yet, and I like exact. Whine whine whine.
Enough.
I've said my piece.
Let us move on now to incompetence:
No blog posts for nearly two months. Does anyone else consider this a total fail? There really is no good excuse. Theatre really isn't so grueling such that I couldn't spend five minutes to talk with y'all about life w/ HSP at MiraCosta. Classes are pretty tame. Family life is manageable. So I really should be doing more with my life and time, and for this I apologize - to you, reader, and to you, voice inside my head, and to you, Savior, and to you, teh interwebs. (Totally silly side note: kitteh speek is sew mutch funz and I tink we can haz mor funz widdit, kthxbai.)
This blog post is the small small step towards my beating the evil fiend Incompetence, and will be continued on a much more regular basis...

[Get ready for Part II!]

Week Four: Quarter-Term Quagmires and Quick Turnarounds (also, Q-tips)

We are now in the thicket of the Spring semester here at MiraCosta, and boy are things crazy! Here's what's happening in my life - see if you share any of the same experiences/sentiments:

- Classes are manageable with fair amounts of reading. Good news: I like reading. Bad news: reading takes time. How to reconcile something I like with something for which I don't entirely have enough said time? I am pondering. One option includes waiting until the end of the semester for sleep. <--This is a bad option. Better option --> manage time more effectively so that less time is spent on the freeway and more is spent with my nose (or at least eyes) in a good book. :-)

- H.S.P. is up and running this semester with lots of schtuff going on for students. Honors classes are thriving, events are successfully taking place with more in the works, the BlackBoard page is awesome, the Lounge is hoppin'... what's not to love?

- Student clubs are time-consuming (another problem for classes and reading scheduling). However, the learning and doing that is happening through these organizations is so valuable that I find my wait-for-sleep option slightly more appealing given the amount of joy/relaxation I attain from participation in clubbage (not a word, sorry). Clubs I'm shamelessly plugging? Amnesty International (Int'l Human Rights), Backstage Players (Theatre), Dance Club, For Our Friends (Animal Rights), Gay Straight Alliance, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Math Club, Performance Writers Club, Phi Theta Kappa (Alpha Chi Lambda - Honors Society), and of course Rotaract (Community/Int'l Service and professional growth), of which many H.S.P. members are a part. Fun times, folks!

- She Loves Me = fantastic. This is the spring musical here on campus, and it is the most unsentimental, simply sweet (without being too feminine) piece of musical theatre I've seen in a while - so thrilled to be a part! Come see it with the Honors community on Thursday, March 10th at 7:30pm after UCI Pep & Prep Night. She Loves Me plays March 3rd to March 13th.

- Show Choir and the dance/music departments in general are awesome. We are performing (spoiler alert!) O Fortuna Redux, a Journey medley, Michael Jackson, and Bill Withers, among others. It will be fun times, and you should come with HSP folk on April 1st at 7:30pm. :-)

- Outside life is altogether marvelous. Church life is wonderful. Family life is a whirlwind. Anything/Everything else? Essentially, life is a crazy/wonderful/stressful/exhilerating/worth it/beautiful thing. I, for one, have chosen to love it.

Enough girly-bloggyness. More important stuff = coming soon. More frequent posts = also coming soon.

Aaaaaaand I'm signing off. That's all, folks.

Hit the Ground Running

Hey folks,

Greetings on this the first day of the spring semester! If you're new to the Honors program, welcome. If you're continuing/returning, welcome back. This semester is jam-packed with spectacular events and superb courses designed with you in mind (thank you for that, Ziploc). If you're on the Oceanside campus today, stop by the Honors Lounge in the Student Activities building and say hi! There will be Navigators present on both the Oceanside and San Elijo campuses this semester, and we are attempting to get more programming and involvement rolling down at the San Elijo campus. So, for you students down there, despair not! More info on what's happening on that campus is forthcoming.

Meanwhile, THIS FRIDAY is our Welcome Back Honors Luncheon and Information Seminar. This will be a great opportunity to get into (or back into) the swing of things at MiraCosta and with the Honors program. The event will be held in the Oceanside campus cafeteria from 11am-1:30pm. I'll be there with bells on (figuratively), and hope to see all of you there as well!

For those of you in ADM 100H, ANTH 101H, ENG 201H, GEOL 101H, OCEA 101H, and/or SOC 101H, have a great first day of class [same goes for the rest of you, actually]. Let's make this one fantastic semester!!

With excitement,
Ariana

New Year, New Semester, New Blog!

Hey all,

After evaluating life, the universe, and everything over break (I know, I was busy =P), I decided that this blog-thing should really be taken more seriously if it is to be of any service to you, the HSP community. As such, I have pledged to post here at least once a week from this time forth, so long as I remain a student here at MCC (which really isn't that long - I should be looking for a replacement... talk to me if you're interested).

Anyway, feel free to poke around and suggest additions/subtractions/multiplications/divisions to this site, ask questions, chat, what have you. This is a student space!

Classes start in a mere two days, so let's gear up and hit the ground running. This spring semester is going to be utterly fantastic! Stay tuned.

UCLA TAP Conference - Debrief

Last Friday (Nov 19) approximately 40 HSP students took the bus up to UCLA for their annual TAP (Transfer Alliance Program) Conference for community-college honors students. We attended workshops, presentations, tours, and information sessions designed to help students prepare to transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles. What a day we had! There was much shared and learned, and students had a real blast. A more detailed report and pictures to come soon!

Fun Times at UCSD and Birch!!

Hey All,

For those of you who were able to join us, we had a great time last Friday, October 22nd as we traveled down to the UCSD Transfer Day. Lots of vauable information was gleaned from this experience, as well as a good measure of fun! The campus is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the day was beautiful... What more could one want?

After our exploration of UCSD, we made our way over to the Birch Aquarium to swim with the seahorses and jell with the jellyfish. Oh, and we were almost eaten by a giant shark, but worry not - it was only plastic. :-)

Don't miss our upcoming events! Next up is Intramurals Softball on Friday, November 5th at 11am. Sign up in the Honors Lounge or by commenting accordingly on this post!

Cheers,

Ariana