Hey guys!

Guess what? This is my last blog as an undergraduate for the College of Mount St. Joseph. Now I know you all are choking back tears and all that stuff, but I just wanted to say a few final comments before I walk across the stage on Saturday. First off, I want to thank my bosses Cliff and Betheny for allowing me to get on the website and type about random stuff every week. I have had a great time sharing my experiences with all of you out there and I hope that I have completed my job in giving you all insight to life as a student at the College of Mount St. Joseph. 

It’s weird; I always looked forward to graduation and getting the diploma, but now that its here, I’m really not all that excited. I guess all the work that’s gone into it, it’ll just be a relief having accomplished the goal. I’ve never been one to get excited about reaching my goals, because by the time it comes to fruition, I have higher goals in place and the original goal becomes merely a stepping stone to the next step. Right now, my next step is getting hired at a high school somewhere (I have my school I want to work with in my head, but I won’t post it here).

The thing I forgot about when thinking of graduation was the fact that many of the people I’ve surrounded myself with over the past four years will be returning to their hometowns and other places of interest.  I guess so many of my friends that were from out of town that attended the Mount stayed in Cincinnati after graduation and it never occurred to me that people actually leave the Westside of Cincinnati. Until the other day when I received like a bazillion going away party invitations on Facebook. Oh wait. Everyone ISN’T trapped by the Westside vortex and they actually DO go back home sometimes. I’m thankful for the friends I have made and the experiences I’ve had with them and I’ll be sad to see them all go. It’s like high school all over again, seeing everyone go off in their own directions.

But I still have a few days of activities planned and few more chances for memories before goodbyes (First off will be the Iron Man 1 viewing and Iron Man 2 midnight showing on Thursday night over at Newport on the Levee!). 

As my last paragraph I write on here, let me say that the Mount has been a perfect fit for me. I have countless exceptional experiences and can’t think of any serious issues over the past four years. I guess that qualifies as an overall positive experience, huh? I’m grateful for all of my professors, advisors, coaches, support staff, and bosses that have helped me out and provided me with amazing opportunities that would have been unmatched elsewhere. I am walking away from this institution with absolutely no regrets as to if I made the right college choice.

Thanks for everything, do well in everything you do, and…

See ya!

>Eric M.

Once again I find myself on campus before my friends have eventhought of getting out of their warm beds...

I came early this morning to see if I could catch Dr. Millerbefore her 9:00 class so that I could talk to her about possibly getting andalternate individual assignment to take the place of the group assignment we'vebeen working on because I haven't been able to work with my group lately. I emailed a group member earlier this week, but she did not email meback, so I have no idea where we are with our project is at the moment. Well, it turns out that Dr. Miller not only has a 9:00 class and a 10:00class, but she also has an 8:00 class... so I hope I can catch her in betweenone of three classes.

I have parked myself in the lobby (once again) and I'm enjoyingthe quiet peace of a campus that is waking up around me.  It looks to meas if three papers are being written, a science test is being studied for andFacebook is making money.  Yep, other than professors arriving for theirclasses on this Friday morning, that's pretty much all that's going on. What do I plan to do??  Well, while I wait for Dr. Miller I plan ongetting some work done.  I need to print out my application for summeremployment here at the Mount, I need to do my WebCT reflections for my servicelearning in Santoro's class, I need to organize my thoughts and research for myresearch paper on gifted education, I need to brainstorm an idea for my unitplan for AED and I need to finish my Praxis Summaries for chapters 14, 15 and16 in SED.  Oh boy!

I'll keep pushing until it's all done, I've been through worse, I can do this, but not just by telling myself I can do it... I'm going to have to talk the talk AND walk the walk in order for anything to happen!  Wish me luck... 

Alright. Last night was really THAT good. After watching the bucket list i've officially decided to make my own bucket list. I've got a very unpredictable road in front of me as i'm going in to my first summer as a college graduate. So what can i do with this spare time other than look for a job that will hopefully fulfill my career goals? I need to have some kind of a plan! So here it is. I'm making myself a list to keep myself productive and active.

 Host a prom reunion (i love playing hostess and i would really like to relive prom with some of my favorites)

 Find my life's passion

 Learn how to swim (yea i can barely doggy paddle)

Swim with a dolphin (they're my favorite animal)

Learn how to surf (my boyfriend keeps nagging me)

 Live out Dr. Seuss’ 'oh the places you'll go' (well why wouldn't I?)

Write a song (i've secrety been trying to write my own song since the 7th grade)

Learn to dance (i have ZERO rhyth)

Understand politics (i know what i know but its not much at all)

Write a children’s book

Keep my orchids alive (it's my favorite flower and i've had three. i've kept one alive so far)

Get married at old St. Pat’s in Chicago (it is GORGEOUS)

Attend TED (www.ted.com      see for yourself - its more than worth it!)

Heal my past

Have a fondue meal

Start a journal and actually write in it every day (i've started many but haven't got far in any)

Do something every day to be proud of (for my Grandpa)

Do something every day for someone else

Start my book making business (stay in tune to a future blog to learn more of this one)

[[maybe it won't all happen this summer. i'll be adding more as it comes ]]

What’s up my MSJ fans? This is your main man Najeeb signing in to drop another intriguing blog. If you don’t know already I am from Chicago, a city that literally breeds phenomenal basketball players. The reason is because growing up all we do is hoop and for some individuals in the inner city of Chicago, basketball is the only way out of the “hood”. I’ve seen some amazing talent in Chicago so to say that Michael Romes, a Kentucky baller, has really impressed me like no other is really a bold statement. For those of you who don’t know who Michael Romes is, well let me just say he is the greatest player to step foot on the courts of the Harrington Center.

Romes is from Villa Hills, Kentucky and is Beechwood high schools finest. Michael is an Athletic Training student like myself and he has aspirations of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. That’s just a little background information to show what kind of focus this guy has. What many people don’t know is that despite playing at a D3 school he has offers to play basketball professionally overseas and after a whole season of practicing with him and watching him abuse other teams during the season, I think he should continue his basketball career and pursue a professional career overseas in Europe. Michael is a 6’4 215+ SG whose game is extremely crafty. His jump shot is pure and his work ethic shows that he is the hungriest player to win every game bar none. So if you see Michael Romes tell him he should go overseas to hoop and if you have a facebook page join my fan page for Michael Romes. That’s all for now folks until next time peace.

I guess I've never really figured this out, but I just recently did. I'm addicted. I'm addicted to the internet, to my computer, to my cell phone, to technology. I guess I've never noticed it until it's was pointed out in class the other day.

I am taking two Reading classes and on Thursday, in RDG 331 with Dr. Miller, and we were discussing a project that will be due at the end of the semester. It is either a thematic unit, centered around resource materials, or a content folder, centered around a single expository picture book. And we could pick which project we wanted to to and that's what would be due at the end. Well, we were confused about the thematic unit and what we were supposed to do for that project. 

Dr. Miller said that the thematic unit was supposed to be a unit of activities, hunts, and projects that required the use of resource materials, such as the dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, encyclopedia, etc.. Then she asked us how many of use knew what an almanac was. Only one person raised their hand and that was one of the adult students. She explained that is was a book of, more or less, minutia. If you looked up this date in history 100 years ago, it would tell you everything that happened that day, along with the weather, temperature, etc.. I was surprised. I thought an almanac was a bit like the Guinness World Book of Records, full of foolish things that didn't mean much. But I guess it was a bit more than that.

Then we talked about how kids don't know how to use text and books and libraries, etc.. It was just an eye opening experience that we all take for granted. We all know how to use the internet, but we also know how to use books, we like to read (for the most part), we can use technology for our advantage BECAUSE we know how to use print and text. But kids these days don't. 

For example, my cousin just turned 9 today. My aunt, her grandmother, bought her a $400 laptop for her birthday. A 9-year-old. She got a laptop. What the...? My other cousin, she's, what? 10? And she has a cell phone. How these kids manage to live in a world full of technology and can still manage the same things we can now is ridiculous and probably unrealistic and probable. The birthday party today was also Spongebob themed- a TV show. I'm not sure I would want my 9-year-old (if and when they get to that age) to have a birthday party that is themed after a TV show instead of something else, like soccer. I'm not saying that TV is a bad thing, but when I look at my cousin, it is.

And I think back to my childhood when my mom didn't even know what a cell phone was when I was in high school. And how I loved to read- and still do. I devour books in a day or two- I'm not kidding (I'm reading an 8 book series and I'm book 5 and I've only been reading for about a week and a half now). I love reading. I love the written word. But kids these days, they don't care. 

 I just realized how much we're all addicted to technology and it scares me. What will happen to education in the future and how will my role in it be shaped by advances and things out of my control? It worries me and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm not sure I want to know. And on the other hand, we have to be up to date with the newest technologies if we want to be considered knowledgeable and modern. It's a vicious circle that I don't want to be in but can't avoid. I just hope that it doesn't ruin our future generations because of it...

Wow. That blog was a bit more philosophical than I wanted it to be. On the other hand, the Bengals beat the Steelers, 18-12. I was excited. lol :P

Weeellllll, let's see, the day is barely half over and it has already tried to knock me off my feet more than once...

Traffic was amazingly (and suprisingly) slow moving this morning.  Due to the fact that everyone decided they wanted to be synchronized turtles on the highway this morning I was late for work, late even though I had left in plenty of time to be there [fail #1]. 

When I got to work I copied 300 2-page packets about Swine Flu because we have an "anonymous" student out with it at the moment.  After I copied the packet 300 times I then had to highlight one solitary line on each and every one of the 300 hundred copies with a bright yellow highlighter.  From there the copies (that were now highlighted) went to the secretary to be counted and distributed accordinly into teachers' mailboxes [fail #2].

A nice change of pace put me here on campus in plenty of time for my 11:00 class, but that extra cushion of time couldn't do anything to help me not bomb my freewrite on Uncle Tom's Cabin, so I totally blew it, like not even a chance in the world that there was anything legitimate on the entire sheet that I handed in [fail#3]. 

I left my class and walked across the quad to the dining hall where I met and had a lovely lunch with Neil, Sam, and Maria (the entire time thinking that my phone was nestled safely in my bookbag).  From lunch I went to the science building to have Dr. Meg sign my drop form for Biology and explain the her why I was dropping her class (still thinking my phone was in my bookbag, mind you).  On my way out of the science building I stopped to use the restroom, I went to get my phone (out of my bookbag) to call my Mom and let her know that we were still on for dinner tonight and... IT WASN'T THERE!! [fail #4]

Anyone who knows me knows that my phone is like another part of my body, so immediately the panic started...

I've retraced my steps, checked with security, checked in Student Administrative Services, called my phone, asked Kristi in the classroom building... nothing, now its left up to good old St. Anthony!! 

Dear St. Anthony, something's lost and can't be found, please look around for MY CELL PHONE!!! 

Let's hope that St. Anthony is not fail #5 this afternoon...

my gosh do i have a lot to share. well to begin. the one hour of facebook per day - not so successful. i've been on facebook a lot for the past couple weeks but i still have not been late with anything so there is still a great sense of progress in my procrastination post lent.

this past friday was the spring fest in which i got to meet made avail. which is a band from my hometown. the lead singer actually is friends with some of the st. rita alumni. which is where i did colorguard for 2 years. that was a lot of fun!

i spent a lot of time with my dear friend and fellow blogger, andi, at the spring fest too.

 the spring fest overall was a great success in addition to the week beforehand with a great spring formal ticket when i got to pet a penguin and sharks!

he was so frickin cute!!!!!!!!!!!

i was the only one in that group reaching down for a while. i just kept sticking my arm down there to pet them!

Saturday then was the leadership retreat in which i was able to hear presentations about fundraising, ethical leadership, and publicity and promotion. all by some of my favorite people

Dr. Aretz has some great ideas about our college's future leadership plans and Betheny Herr (one of my wonderful bosses for this blog) is always so enthused about her job!!!

in addition to all of this excitement. i also attended the habitat for humanity reunion type dinner for all of the spring break trip members. as a whole, we gave our advisor, Dr. Reed, a framed picture of the team overall from the trip.

The weekend was definitely a great way to start my last week of classes as a junior in college.

And the week started off great as well!

On Monday I had received the Merit Scholarship through Project EXCEL at their graduation gala. Myself and two other girls, Clare Zilly (fellow blogger) and Kaitlin Bode, from the EXCEL program had earned these scholarships due to our success not only through the program but through the Mount as students and examples of the Mission Statement. It truly is an honor!!!

And today the excitement continued! This morning, I had a meeting at the Bayley Place across the street for a position through the summer employment grant and I got the position! Of course a requirement for it was to get a TB shot.... (((I DON'T LIKE NEEDLES))) but everything else has been so good that I honestly didn't even notice that portion of it.

Things are going so well for me right now that I can't help but to smile about everything!

I'm excited, also, for the DVD to come out of our play for the semester. Joseph came out so well, and I wouldn't have had so much fun without my friends being in it with me and great support from additional friends, as well as family.

(((Another thank you to my habitat board for a great year!!!)))

within the first 12 hours of being back on facebook i received over 100 notifications in reference to my return and my missing pictures. one comment was from a friend mentioning that facebook has nearly 3000 pictures of me. that was shortly after i posted 6 albums alone from just one week.

so with that, i'm officially back on the book. this morning is when the first challenge arised with my post-lenten goal. i woke up and first checked my e-mail. and then went to facebook. i will be honest. i spent an hour and half on facebook this morning when i first woke up. however. for the next three hours once i logged off i was able to stay off of facebook while i worked on e-mails, papers, and more. so while this addiction still exists, i can finally say no to facebook without any struggle!

these next three weeks (YES THREE WEEKS) left of school are crucial on time! i have due dates and events as well as several meetings to attain to and i will not let facebook tear me away. my strain from facebook for the last couple months has truly helped this semester in means of my procrastination. these next few weeks will NOT go well if i let facebook get in the way so i am setting a rule for myself. i will not allow more than one hour of facebook per day. while i'd prefer to stay to no more than 30 minutes a day after going for 2 months without.... i still am catching up with a lot of things on facebook and i tend to lose track of time while on it (like this morning).

there could still possibly be days where i don't go on facebook at all. it's a challenge that i will have to take on day by day. wish me luck!

thanks again for reading!!!

its 2:30 on Sunday April 12, 2009 so that means HAPPY EASTER to all you readers and your families.

 that also means i'm back on facebook. it's already been interesting just from signing on because i couldn't even remember my password! but i got it reset and i'm back on.

 i signed on to see several new requests messages notifications etc.

27 messages
34 notifications
13 friend requests
7 event invitations
33 other requests
and 1 new update

so i made it! i have successfully reached my goal of no access to facebook from february 25th to april 12th. i am very proud! however. this will be difficult to adjust to. i am not liking the new face of this addictive book. we'll see what happens.

i'll update with more details on what will happen next after i actually go through each message notification etc.....

today, the Joseph performance made MSJ musical history! 525 tickets sold for today's matinee and around 1900 members of the audience over all for 6 consistent nights of perfomances. i am proud to say that this was definitely a rewarding time in my life!

however, the best part of the entire day (weekend, really!) was my mother coming in to see me. last week when she told me that she would be driving out to cincinnati on april 5th to see a show i started crying! i hadn't seen my mother or anyone from chicago since january 12th when i left after xmas break so you could say they were definitely HAPPY tears! 

but within the musical intself, it was an incredible show. I've loved this play since 2001 and have known that order of colors on joseph's coat since day one of chicago children's choir so it was definitely fun to be able to perform such an amazing play with so many close friends. I was even able to make some new friends within the play so i'm ecstatic that it all happened.

((( it's a process to look as great as we did))) ((these joseph girls are hot to go)))

i'm anxious to see what happens for next year's show. i'd love to perform again so i hope the opportunity arises again next year for another amazing performance by the music department.

more pictures will have to wait till after easter once i'm back on facebook :)