chic noise

Every college student struggles with studying.  With so many distractions and constant overstimulation it can make it extremely difficult to study for that big exam.

Next time you cannot focus, try Simply Noise.  Many have heard of white noise, this is commonly known as the sound of static or television without a signal.  There are many types of white noise and many are believed to be beneficial for our brains, especially for focus.  Noise can be helpful for - sleep aid, privacy, block distractions, soothe migraines, increase focus, reduce stress and mask tinnitus.

Simply Noise is a free online color noise generator, that generates not only white, but brown and pink noise. Brown and pink noise are similar/forms of white noise, but known to be more calming and relaxing.

This may all sound silly, but I really recommend using brown noise for studying, I have not used pink noise enough to really comment on it.  Brown noise has worked really well for me and many of my friends, however, I would recommend using headphones.  I have noticed when I take my earphones out from using brown noise, you have a temporary high/very productive/focused period that lasts a few minutes.  It's a great feeling especially if you have to walk back from the library late at night or early in the morning before a big exam.  

Maximum length: two sentences

Check out this op-ed in the NYT about the need for shorter writing assignments. I totally agree.

And short isn’t necessarily a shortcut. When you have only a sentence or two, there’s nowhere to hide. I’m not suggesting that colleges eliminate long writing projects from English courses, but maybe we should save them for the second semester. Rewarding concision first will encourage students to be economical and innovative with language. Who knows, we might even start to leave behind text messages and comment threads that our civilization can be proud of.

Practice pithiness...

Waffle House? F&*@(#$!

Feeling discouraged about college? No worries, your degree won't be in vain...

Not long ago, I had a conversation with a regional manager of waffle houses who told me he was looking for new restaurant managers and the only requirement was a college degree in any field. I respect people who run small businesses and I like waffles, but I can’t think of anything my colleagues or I profess that will teach someone to manage a waffle house better than an intelligent, industrious high school graduate.

See original article here.

Harvard Dreams Dashed in Pre-School

A NYC mom is suing her daughter's nursery school because...

Nicole Imprescia is suing the $19,000-a-year York Avenue Preschool, saying her daughter, Lucia, was forced to spend too much time with lesser-minded 2- and 3-year-olds when she should have been focusing on test preparation to get into an elite elementary school.

Woah.  Check out the article here.  I think my mom was happy with my pre-school if my juice boxes were 100% juice and not juice drink!

Prezi, not Powerpoint

For my last group presentation projects, one group used Prezi.  Prezi replaces linear-based powerpoint with a more map-like zoomable presentation.  Prezi takes the emphasis off text boxes and rectangular slides – instead, the presenter can move around a large map of presentation with many more interactive elements. Check it out, can't wait to use this for my class presentation! Wheee.

Academy: 10 ways to say it with prezi on Prezi

Sometimes spontaneity succeeds?

...Would you want to get kicked out of BYU??

"An Aptitude for Aptitude"

Ever feel like college is pointless? Like you're regurgitating a bunch of useless stuff and not actually developing any higher brainpower. Or that students are given the wrong incentives and the social culture can overshadow the academic culture?

Read "Lost in the Meritocracy" in The Atlantic and you'll feel the same way.  You'll just wish that you're as good as the author is at taking standardized tests.

Good thing spring break is almost here.

You WILL die an immediate, painful death PIZZA STEALER.

Too aggressive? Maybe I should go the passive route: Dear person who ate my pizza, I'm glad you ate my pizza. I didn't actually want the leftovers - that's why I put them in the fridge. So you could eat a whole pizza (minus two slices) between the hours of 5am and 10am. Who's even up that early? Actually, I was saving it for my roommate. And you ate it. Now she's dead from starvation. How's that on your conscience? Xoxo, Domino's Whore

I actually  was planning on giving the pizza to my roommate. I was surprised that someone would take food from a communal fridge, especially with such a short opportunity to strike...Maybe after eating 8/10 of the pizza, the thief (or theives!) decided to leave two small pieces? Crazier things have happened between the hours of 5am and 10am.

Speaking of aggressive notes – and better yet, the passive aggressive ones – check out Passive Aggressive Notes. Upgrade from TFLN!

Salve omnes!

I'm not a language person. I only liked French class when we got king cake. And I wasn't a Latin person for the 3 years I took Latin...maybe my passive aggressive teacher accusing me of cheating on my homework (one of the times I actually turned in Latin homework...) tampered my enthusiasm for declensions and conjugations. Maybe I didn't feel the need to take a language class to get 10 more points on a standardized test. Maybe the fact there is no such thing as Latin food is a huge turn-off...why learn a language if you can't order food in that language?!

This article from The Spectator made me rethink my seriously unwavering attitude towards Latin:

So keen is [Mark Zuckerburg] on [Latin], he once quoted lines from the Aeneid during a Facebook product conference and now regards Latin as one of the keys to his success.

Julius Caesar said "Veni, vidi, vici" not "Veni, dico, vici." Shakespeare play > The Social Network...Caesar wins!

Another gem:

“If I’m on an EasyJet flight with a group of European nationals, none of whom speak English, I find we can communicate if we speak to each other in Latin,” says Grace Moody-Stuart, a Classics teacher in West London. “Forget about Esperanto. Latin is the real universal language of Europeans.”

Who wants to talk to Europeans when you're in Europe? I much prefer Espearnto. Maybe my ignorance of the language causes my fear of Latin (Timendi causa est nescire).

If it's good enough for Mark Zuckerburg (and Grace Moody-Stuart), then it's definitely not good enough for me!

Carpe diem.

Blackboard Breakdown

Droooiiiddddd. I may be obsessed with my phone, but I don't use the obnoxious name-dropping ringtone.

Unfortunately, blackboard is cramping my new phone efficiency methods with its lackluster app. First, the reviews say it generally blows. Secondly, it has to be available for your school (it's not).

Boo blackboard.

When my peanut butter jar...

...is this low so early in the semester, I'm thinking I need a new late night snack.  Celery sans peanut butter, anyone?

Droid > Texas Instruments

I've lost multiple scientific calculators and after my last one I couldn't justify buying another calculator to lose.  For my econ final and all my lab reports, I used my cell phone.  On my old phone, I couldn't do more complex functions...but DROID conquers all!  I recently tested CalcBuddy, Kreac Calculator and RealCalc.  Kreac Calculator is my favorite because it has the simplest design and I can easily enter exponents.  One less thing to carry around, one less thing to lose and one less thing to buy (again!).

The best thing about psych is the popcorn, which I brought, freshly popped

I was that girl in the lecture hall causing of the smell of delic Newman's Own popcorn to waft through the 300-person classroom.

I was also the girl with the enviable popcorn who fell asleep.

From my notes:

3. people generally are in REM Sleep 4 to 5 times a night
4. all other nor=================================== REM
5. body temp , harder to wake up from rem sleep
3. dream in REM
1. pariinpartg of deep ls-during slo]
4. 1st REM short, but as you cycle into the ngith, your REM get slonger and longer’

What does it mean?! It means don't go to class when sleepy.  This semester I strive not to make the choice between taking a nap in my room or taking a nap in class. Cheers to smarter studying habits and better sleeping habits...Happy second semester!

We Speak No Americano.

The final essay for my International Politics class is supposed to include multiple case studies and so the professor is letting us incorporate other groups' case study projects into our paper...

He had called this class a "freshman class" and now I believe it.  Some of the memorable "words" or phrases from the intellectual jackpot:

• "...conventionally and nuclearly." If nuclearly is an adjective, it sure describes how I feel after reading these papers....Like how Kim Jong-Il goes nuclearly about America, right?
• "The disagreements, regarding self-identification, amongst the people of Kashmir speaks to yet another level of conflict analysis." The disagreements must have been so animated that they could overcome basic grammatical conventions.
• "Power is relative because it can only be understood by comparing haves and have-nots." I have not an idea what this means.
• "The story of Pakistan and India is a complex tapestry of interrelated theories and events." I would like to see the rich cultural fibers of that tapestry. Can I buy it at World Market?

Happy writing of the papers with agreeing subjects and verbs!

Major in happiness, minor in fabulosity!

I enjoyed this article in the WM newspaper, The Flat Hat, about choosing a major.  Basic message: Chill out!  Keep calm and choose a major...Keep calm and carry on.

My Major

Very very very undecided.

Would you pay 2k for a paper?

I'm often dubious about how some students at my college (or any college) slip 'n slide through their 4 years of undergrad. Sure, some of the kids here wrote papers in high school...but that wasn't when one of their hands was permanently conjoined to a bong, and the other usually carrying a case of Natty. And of course, I remember the kids in my high school who didn't write papers, who questionably wrote papers, who jumbled some thoughts into some sentences and a few run-ons, or who couldn't even compose a coherent paragraph.  While I haven't run into any students from the latter category yet, I know they're out there because those kids from my high school went to college.

My distaste for the early hours and regimented nature of high school was tempered by the promise of the educational community ahead, with its free exchange of ideas and access to great minds. How dispiriting to find out that college was just another place where grades were grubbed, competition overshadowed personal growth, and the threat of failure was used to encourage learning.

Although maybe cynical at a younger age (don't ask me how I feel about the UN),  I too thought College would be a sort-of paradise of thought exchange. Ha. Although at this public ivy I haven't found horrendous writers, I've found fairly bad to crappy writers.

Go read "The Shadow Scholar" from The Chronicle of Higher Education about the wide-spread incompetence of our Ed System -- at all levels and all types of institutions.  The article is written by a writer who works for a custom-essay company.

So part of my job is to be whatever my clients want me to be. I say yes when I am asked if I have a Ph.D. in sociology. I say yes when I am asked if I have professional training in industrial/organizational psychology. I say yes when asked if I have ever designed a perpetual-motion-powered time machine and documented my efforts in a peer-reviewed journal.

 The author doesn't write papers for Biology or Chemistry students. Once again this makes me re-think my decision not to major in a hard science.  This leaves me hoping that when it matters, I will not simply be measured by my diploma, but by my experiences, thoughts, communication skills and Bottega bag dangling off my arm...bought with the 2 grand I "saved" from writing my own essays.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Applying for an internship can be frustrating.  Especially when potential employers don't respond to queries ASAP.  How unprofessional!  As a future filer and phone answerer, I deserve their utmost attention and cannot be delayed in my quest for a career-determining internship!  Don't companies realize I'm a precious commodity..geez, I probably shouldn't even waste my time applying!

Hilarious example of how not to get an internship.

Please hold, while your paper is graded.

At some colleges, professors who teach large classes are outsourcing paper grading to Asia.  I mean, who wants to read An Analysis of the Congressional Committee System or The Ethics of Business Law 500 times?!

See the article here.

Hmmmm, why are we here?

More and more college grads are faced with unemployment due to the economy and declining worth of an undergrad degree.  So what are our other options?


Check out The Guardian's article "High-achieving students sailing through life without a degree."

Get me outta here!