I can't believe it's the end of September already

This is our lovely little kitchen

This is our living room/eating area. We have a futon, loveseat, 2 chairs, and a table with 4 chairs.

This is my half of the room. The artwork/decorations for anyone interested, from left to right: tapestry/scarf from H&M, b&w 8x10s of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Rhett & Scarlett from Gone with the Wind with hanging votives in between. Then above my desk at the top is an assortment of artwork from Greece and Italy. On the bottom is some quotes, prints i like, and project lists of things to get done.

Amanda & my room from the door.

In other news, the GREs went pretty well. I should get my official scores within the next week and a half or so. They give you part of your score when you finish, and I was quite happy with that. Grad school applications are due October 15 (Denver University) and November 15 (University of Pittsburgh) so I won't know where I'm going for quite a while.

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Sara and I relaxed at her house Friday night and watched V for Vendetta, which was a great movie. Saturday, her parents took us to see Godspell at a playhouse near them. That was very enjoyable. Then we hung out with one of her friends from home. Sunday was the big party for her great uncle's 80th birthday party, so I got to meet the rest of her big crazy family. It was a lot of fun. I'm glad I went with her. It was nice to get away from school and work for a weekend. She might have some pictures, but I haven't seen them yet, so they may or may not be forthcoming.

For anyone wondering, I am not dancing this semester. I'm a little upset about that, but it's beyond my control and is probably better anyways since I have so much work and projects to get done. The club got a new advisor this year who apparently decided to cut the show in half. Last year, there were 30+ numbers in the show. Yeah, that makes for a long show, but there are 300+ members in the club. So pretty much what that means is that the dances this semester are intermediate to advanced numbers with tryouts b/c there are 50+ people signed up for most of them and they only take from about 10-20 people. I auditioned for a few, but obviously have no real dance experience and didn't make it.
BUT I decided to try out photography club this semester instead, which I think will also be a great experience. Tonight I'm getting dark room trained. We also have use of cameras, chemicals, developing paper, photo quality color printers, photo programs, etc. It should be a lot of fun. I'm excited!

Hope everyone is doing well!

My Upcoming Tour of Major Central Eastern Cities of the US

Hey everyone, how's it going?
School's going quite well. I'm having a wonderful (albeit very hectic) final semester here in good old Etown.
Classes are interesting (except for History & Systems of Modern Psychology, which is required).
I should be starting research for my senior thesis sometime in the beginning of October, pending approval. My other major project is an advocacy project to raise awareness and/or support for a major social issue. I'm thinking about a benefit concert if I can get started on that soon. (still trying to decide if it will be too much to handle). My Leadership course also has to design and implement a service learning project for freshmen honors students. Thankfully, that one is a larger group effort.
We did a high ropes course for my Leadership course this past Saturday, which was a lot of fun and a great work out. I couldn't lift my arms above my chest Sunday.

Big scary news: Friday at 12 I take the GREs. Wish me luck! (a way to instantly remember high school math would be fantastic also...but don't worry, I have been studying a lot)

Now on to what you've all been waiting for: Mary's current travel plans for the semester.
*Next weekend, I'm going home with one of my roommates, Sara. Her family is having a big picnic/party thing and told her she could bring a friend...me! Anyways, she lives outside NYC so we're going to take the bus in for a day.
*Oct. 8-10, I'm going to a conference in Washington DC. There are a bunch of panels on peacebuilding and crisis in Uganda, as well as sessions on doing advocacy and lobbying. It costs $5 for students to register, some meals are included, and my friend Nate goes to UMD and is close to a metro station to get into the city. He's going to go with me and said I can crash on a couch at his place so I don't have to get a hotel room. Cheap is definately good =)
Check it out here: Northern Uganda Lobby Day
*Over fall break, my former roommate Liz and I are going to take a road trip out to the University of Pittsburgh. We are both interested in attending grad school there and would like to check it out. I'm glad I discovered she is looking there too because I didn't want to go by myself. She also knows someone out there who's place we could potentially stay at.

Well, I think that's the major news in my life right now. Hope everyone is doing well!

important dates as of right now

Percussion Ensemble Concert: Nov 12 @3:00 (?)
Band Concert: Dec 3 @ 3:00
Emotion Dance Show: Dec 8 & 9 @ 7:30

i survived my 1st week

i guess it's been a pretty busy week.
all my classes but one are pretty good. history and systems of psych is going to be awful, but i'm looking forward to everything else. (although the reading for my leadership course is pretty bad, but the class should be good). i think my international social development class is going to be really good. i feel kind of dumb though b/c i'm really new to the whole field and don't know too much yet, but that's what i'm in school for, so i just need to stay focused and stay positive.

i haven't really done anything with my research which i wanted to start within the next week or so. my advisor wants me to do a lot more research, but i did a lot over the summer and just want to get started on the actual research. so we'll see what happens with that.

i started grad school applications and sending out requests for letters of recommendation. i got a letter the other day from the school letting me know all my requirements will be fulfilled by the end of the semester so i can indeed graduate in january. right now i'm applying to the university of pittsburgh and the university of denver. i'm debating applying to columbia and my prof just recommended george washington today, but they're both pretty expensive and application fees are ridiculous, and the cost of living is really expensive, and i don't know if i'd like living in a really big city like new york or dc. i'll probably just stick with pitt and denver.

friday night, mom, dad, and michelle stopped by on their way home from taking mike to penn state so they could see the apartment, and took me and 2 of my roomies to olive garden. that was a lot of fun, and of course, delicious.
i love having an apartment, being able to cook, having a living room to hang out in, etc. it's so nice. maybe i'll post pics one of these days.

here's my one of my roomies...jills and i about to go to the bar for her 21st birthday














and here are my other 2 roomies, sara & amanda