Dana G.

Last night my class attended the Focus the Nation forum at the Washington Center in downtown Olympia. The forum was about how to prevent climate change in Washington State and around the nation. There were several speakers, including mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels, and Senator Dan Swecker.

To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to going to Focus the Nation, mainly because I wanted to work more on my writing and I didn’t understand why a Writer’s Workshop should attend a forum on the environment. But after listening to all of the speakers I began to get excited about helping the environment, and I even went home and explained some things we could change in our house to my roommates. It was an interesting night, and for the most part I was glad that I went. Plus, at the end of the night I got to walk away with a free grocery bag and an energy saver light bulb!

My favorite speaker of the evening was Patty Glick, a global warming specialist. She talked for eight minutes about the rapid loss of salmon in the Pacific Northwest. It worries me about how fast these species are falling off the planet. To think that salmon are a type of species that dates back further than most species and now they are being wiped out is quite mind blowing.

If anyone would like to learn more about Focus the Nation feel free to check out the attached link.

http://focusthenation.evergreen.edu/

Posted by Dana at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah, the weekend. It’s so nice to have a moment to myself and not have to worry about any schoolwork. I plan to work more on homework tomorrow, but right now it’s just me and a good book.

Last night I went downtown in Olympia to watch my boyfriend play his guitar at a local bar. He works at a music store and his buddies that also work there all got together and decided to put on a small show. I was very impressed with all the talent these boys had to offer! When my boyfriend got on stage he had intended to fly solo and just play/sing some of his new stuff. But two of his other co-workers hopped onstage and accompanied him with drums and bass. I was so impressed how the others could just pick up where my boyfriend was going and play along with him. I am fascinated with music, but I don’t understand the half of it.

Posted by Dana at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Phew! What an intense week it has been for me, homework wise! I can’t believe how much work I had, and it’s only week three. I love taking Evening and Weekend classes, but the one poor thing about taking multiple ones is that sometimes you get bogged down with homework from both teachers at the same time. That was definitely the case for me this week. I had three major projects due all on the same day!

Over the weekend I wrote a 20-page fiction piece for my Writer’s Workshop. I wish I had started earlier on it, because by the last night of working on it I was really struggling to finish it. Every five minutes I was taking breaks from the computer to stretch, surf the web, or watch a bit of television. Finally I sat myself down and pumped out the last eight pages, but it was killer. Next time I will have to start working much sooner! Okay, lesson learned.

My other two assignments were from my biology class. I had to turn in a lab and study for a quiz (yes, tests and quizzes do exist at Evergreen, they just aren’t that prevalent). This wasn’t as tough as what I had to turn in the following day. My teacher wants us to find science articles that pertain to some of the subjects covered in class, and write up a summary, as well as find citations for every person or institution mentioned in the article. Easier than it sounds when you only give yourself two days to do any research. I found myself scrambling to find citations, and I was having absolutely no luck with some of the people. So I learned my lesson one more time; make more time to do you homework!

Fortunately I was able to turn everything in on time. I got my quiz back yesterday: 100%! Yeah, I felt pretty good about that one, so I just had to brag to y’all.

Posted by Dana at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ballet bug has bitten me. It’s true. I have never been a big dancer type. I took jazz and tap when I was younger, but I never felt the passion and enthusiasm that dancers talk about. But the last year I have been taking a 2-credit ballet class at Evergreen that meets once a week for a couple of hours. Our instructor, Jehrin, is a wonderful teacher who explains ballet technique and movement with joy and fun. She has given the confidence in this form of dance that I never knew I could possible have.

Ballet is hard. Seriously, it’s not as easy as it looks. I mean, I’ve seen a few ballet productions in my day and I always thought, “So the girl can leap in the air, but what’s the big deal?” But now I understand all the hard work that ballerina has gone though to get her leg up in the air in that exact position. It’s tough stuff, she has her foot turned in an exact angle to her inside of her foot is facing out, and she keeps them pointed at a certain angle as to not create a sickle foot look. Then there are her arms; she must have them in fourth position that frame her face without making them look too boxy or too round. She must tuck in her butt and puff out her chest. And she must do all these things seamlessly in a span of five seconds. It’s intense.

I have discovered over the year of my ballet training that I have become more aware of my body presence. My instructor made a good point during one class that we as humans move our bodies with our heads. We are thinking when we walk or stand, but rarely do we pay attention to how we are walking or standing. After her lecture of body presence I began to notice that I also moved with my head and did not pay attention to the rest of my body. Since this talk I have stood up more straight, watched how I walked and corrected my slump. Through all of this I’ve noticed that my body has felt healthier and I feel more confident in my body appearance.

This is a class that I highly recommend to any Greeners. I think there is so much we can learn about movement and dance that Jehrin is willing to teach. Plus it’s a great way of getting a few extra performing arts credits. Go ahead; sign yourself up, I know you won’t regret it!

Posted by Dana at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, Evergreen is back in full swing after almost a whole month off for winter break. I am always surprised how long of a break Evergreen gives their students, considering it’s a public school. Private schools are notorious for having long winter breaks, but it seems like the Evergreen breaks are almost just as long. I love it!

So far we have one week down. I’ve decided to keep my same schedule of Evening and Weekend classes for the winter quarter. So here’s what I’ve got:

Tuesday: Principles of Biology 6-9pm
Wednesday: Beginning Ballet 12-2pm, Writer’s Workshop 5-9pm (plus it meets every other Saturday from 9am-4pm)
Thursday: Principles of Biology 6-9pm

This is a pretty sweet schedule considering I am enrolled for 20 credits and I only have class three days a week. Of course, those three days can be quite grueling. I really learned last quarter how to prioritize. It’s something I have always been okay in, but since this schedule I have really perfected the art of prioritizing. I have also come to understand the beauty of planners. Now, I’ve always been a “planner girl” since middle school, but this is the year where I have begun to utilize this school calendar as more of a tool and less as a decorative notebook. In middle school and high school the schools always provided planners, and I had my fun using gel pens to create elaborate pages of artwork, but hardly did they display anything academic. Now, my planner is quite dull, when you open it up all you see are the lists of homework and meetings and work times.

After that very long winter break I can actually say that I am glad to be back at school. I’ve rested and now I’m ready for another quarter (albeit a rainy one).

Posted by Dana at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)