One (or two) of the greatest card games ever!

I just got done playing a card game with my roommate that I was introduced to me during French class in high school. Since then, it has remained one of my favorite card games. Ever.

It's the most fabulous game, involving decapitating nobles (and collecting points according to their importance. Also: Don't worry, it isn't gruesome. The nobles are just cards and are "beheaded" by being taken at the front of a line of cards.) and re-arranging the line-up and sabotaging opponents' attempts to get the most valuable cards. It's pretty simple, and many of the rules are spelled out on the cards. Once they come up, you just follow the instructions on the card.

It's played with between 2-5 players, and consists of three "days" (you'll understand once you read the rules. It's simple enough). My roommate bought it for $15 dollars at the local game store up around 24th in Eugene, but it's well worth the price you pay. It's oddly cartoon-esque for something pertaining to beheading, but I guess that's part of what helps the game remain entertaining and not so morbid. Anywho, I highly recommend this game to play - oh! and another game called "Pass The Pigs".

This next game is a great way to kill time and use up a minimal amount of space. Although I don't recommend this being played in an airplane (the piggies could get lost quite easily). Essentially, the two pigs (both with a dot on one side) serve as dice. You roll them and the various positions they land in equal up to a certain amount of points, depending on the positions. You tabulate the points and keep track as the game goes on. The winner is usually the first person with the point total of 100. It's entertaining, as some of the positions immediately eliminate you from the game (think private, personal piggie time) and if the pigs touch at all, you lose points. This is another great game to play as an alternative to traditional card games (although I'm not dissing on more traditional stuff). This game is roughly between 10-15 dollars, depending on where you buy, but again, SO worth it.

I hope these two games inspired you enough to pick them up. They're great methods of passing time and don't take up much space at all. Enjoy!

French Disaster

Yesterday in French class, we were finishing up our discussion on En Attendant Godot. After that, we were asked to get our books for Dans la Solitude des Champs de Coton. Problem: At least 4 people (out of a class of 17 or so) didn't bring their books. After telling us multiple times in the past, our professor became so angry that he stood up, rambled on (in French, of course) about "Never in my 20 year career....." and "You guys are not serious...." and "Waste of time...." among other choice phrases. He proceeded to gather up his things, and walk out of the classroom, leaving the class to silently stare after him for a moment.

That instantly lead to a guilt trip, although I wasn't a contributor to the problem (I was razzed about being guilty when I didn't really do anything wrong later on that day).

Several students (mostly ones who were prepared) stayed after and tried to make heads or tails of what the first part of the book was about since none of us really had a clear idea. After a time, we decided to all show up at the professor's office hours on Tuesday to ask to discuss the play.

We went to put our names on the sign-up sheet for office hours and he caught us and opened the door. He told us to come in and he apologized for acting so rash. He said it wasn't fair to the people who brought the books and were prepared, but he was just really frustrated. We went back into the classroom and had a discussion and pretty much he just talked to us 7 in a more intimate setting about the stuff he would have talked about in class.

After that, he asked us whether we thought it was fair what he did. He wanted honest answers and several of us (after some hesitation) said that he was right to be mad, but it wasn't fair to leave the kids who WERE prepared out in the cold. A classmate also pointed out that it should be more about who read and contributes than who brings the book to class. He agreed and said what he should have done was kick the people out who didn't have the book. He felt bad because he knows that there are main people who contribute and read and are prepared, and that's who he was thinking about right after he left because he knew that it wasn't fair.


Well, I'm glad that's all over. Personally, in my 20 years of... well.... life, I have never had that happen in a class, although I think he was right to be mad. 


I actually got asked to do a blog about my time as a student in Poitou-Charentes. How cool is that?! Regardless of whether it will be a separate blog, or just documented on this one, I'm pretty excited that I'll provide a view of life in France and people actually want to read it! :)

New People

Is it bad to want to meet people from France before I actually go over there?

I'm already trying to connect with things to do in Poitiers by following organizations and people on twitter. I know it's roughly 3 months away, but you can never prepare too early (okay, well maybe you can, but in this case I don't think it's too bad). So, I guess, does anyone from France want to connect? Comment and let me know!

Thoughts?

So, I'm sitting in Astronomy 121, bored out of my mind because the professor literally reads the notes from Blackboard online in a monotonous tone bad enough to make even the most mild mannered person run screaming from the lecture hall in frustration. I've been (sort of) making plans(ish) regarding France and getting things like new matching luggage (can I get a "heck yeah!"?). One thing that has come to mind is a going away party (hyphen or no?). My mom thinks it would be cool to have one, since I won't see anyone for at least nine months, more if I land an internship next summer. I also think it'd be great to have a get-together like we did for Get, and I could get addresses from people who would like postcards and such.

Although it's a great idea, I'm afraid no one would want to come or be able to come. Wouldn't it be the pits to set up a bitchin' party and a grand total of 0 people show up? Yeah. I'd feel super cool. So I want those who are reading to give their opinion. Should my family throw a going away party? Would you show up if you could? Would you even want to go?

Did I ever mention I miss Europe? France and Denmark in particular. I miss Tivoli and being uber independent and just running around Copenhagen, finding my way with the EXTREMELY limited Danish I know (and with the help of my bestie Victoria). I can't wait to travel.

One of my bestest friends, Victoria and me. Oh, Denmark.

Ughh

As I try to complete my essay on Jupiter, I check my school email. I get an email from my geology professor saying that there wasn't enough interest in the Redwoods trip so it was cancelled. Damnit. Also, my dad's hometown of Joplin, Missouri was hit with a devastating tornado. I called to tell him and now he's trying to get a hold of his cousins who currently live there.

Remy is getting more clumsy and he isn't using his hands to eat treats like he used to. I'm worried he has a pituitary tumor, which is inoperable and will only give him a few weeks to live. I love my Rem-Rem and I don't want anything to happen to him :(. I've been sad and crying all weekend because of it. I know he's just a rat, but he's gotten me through a lot and I love him very much.

I really don't want to go to French today. I haven't even begun to read for today (Dans le Solitude de Champs de Coton - not a fun read).

On the up side, I discovered this really cool artist who has a great song. Check her out:

Summer is fast approaching...

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to summer....

I'm applying several places for a summer job (fingers crossed!), one of them I'm going in to sign up for today at Norris Farms. After that I'll be walking the dogs with my mom, which I thoroughly enjoy. I've realized I have some pretty awesome things lined up for this summer:

1. May 28-29 - Redwoods Trip (with geology club)
2. June 13-16 - San Francisco (for visa)
3. July 26 - Pink Martini (Music on the Half Shell)
4. August 2 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Music on the Half Shell)
5. August 24 - Depart for PDX (We're thinking about a Going Away Party as well)

And that's just what I can think of right now. I know there will probably be more things to add, but I'll wait until I can think of them. :)

But, before then I have a paper to write on Jupiter for Astronomy, a write-up on my field trip to Smith Rock, and a final composition for French. Bleh...

Well, I thought I'd leave with a view from the top of Smith Rock. It's a pretty awesome climb.

Huh?

  I was trying to get some sleep last night, but around 2:30am, I woke up to someone yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs outside my apartment. He was yelling about some girl who wronged him named Sonya. Now, I don't mean he was getting "sort of" loud, I mean he was screaming and yelling and acting so incredibly insane that I got up to make sure my front door was locked. The way he was yelling made me  think he was on some sort of drug and was overdosing. He sounded borderline suicidal and I was worried I'd hear a gun or a car screech with a "thud".
  After this guy got done yelling, I heard a motorcycle try to grab traction as it squealed and sped off. I'm assuming he grew tired of yelling outside my apartment and went to try it somewhere else. From the sounds of it, he was going dangerously fast. I can just tell that this ended badly...

By the way....

Follow me on Twitter.

Yes. I have one.

@samanthastarns

Two Things

Just got back from French class. I've determined that if you're competent enough in French to listen and understand your French professor discussing intricate and thought-provoking aspects of plays and are able to respond, I'd say you're doing pretty well in the language.

Another thing. I just realized that I have two pairs of pants to my name. One is about to get a hole in a very revealing area because I wear them so much. I do not own a pair of shorts, a bathing suit, or a skirt. It's getting pretty sad. I'm pretty tired of sweltering every time I walk to class, especially French, when it's in the middle of the afternoon and in a hot classroom.

Tonight I will be trying to at least get half of a paper written on Jupiter, our Solar System's resident bouncer. :)

I want chocolate.... maybe I'll run to the store and get some. Or raw cookie dough. Yummy.

Smith Rock!

I just got back from hiking Smith Rock in Central Oregon and let me just say, it was quite a work out.

We stopped along the way at numerous spots to examine the rocks and geological features. It was incredibly cold and I was beginning to think I hadn't packed enough layers (Just a t-shirt and a rain jacket). When we arrived at Smith Rock, many were astounded at how huge and vertical it was. I was one of them. About 5 minutes into the climb, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and it began to get warm. Fast. I ended up shedding my rain jacket and hiked the trail. I was one of the last ones up, for the sole reason that I couldn't breathe (I had forgotten my inhaler) and my heart rate was around 190 because of it. Nevertheless, I got up there, took some photos, ate my lunch, and finished my notes. On the way down was another story. I'm much more skilled at navigating down a hill. I have the reflexes and instincts of a mountain goat, I swear to you. I was the first one down and back up to the parking lot by several minutes. Go me! I was pretty proud of myself, haha!

We were supposed to stop at more places on the way back to take notes. We managed one stop that was about 5 minutes away from Smith Rock. It was a 300 foot cliff that was cut into a gigantic lava flow by the Crooked River. Pretty fascinating stuff. There were at least 3 more intended detours on the way back to Eugene, but they never happened. Why, you might ask? Well, a main reason is because I think our professor (Dave Blackwell) felt sorry for us. At some point soon after getting back into the vans, he turned around and every single person in the van was passed out. We were so exhausted. There was, obviously, almost no talking on the way back.  We stopped long enough to get a quick snack, get back in the car, scarf it down, and turn back to unconsciousness. Of course, I was passed out (I was THAT tired that I fell asleep in the car for a tiny bit) and an extremely attracted guy was sitting in the front seat. I bet all he saw when he looked back was me with my mouth wide and gaping, looking like a complete mess. Awesome.

All in all, a good day. I plan on relaxing for a few minutes, then heading to bed. And yes, I know it's only 6:30.

Pre-Departure Orientation today! My French classmate, Lisa, says it's pretty fun so I'm looking forward to it.

It's sort of settling in that I'll be leaving in August, but I'm still not grasping just how long I'll be gone. It still feels like maybe I'll be gone for an awesome 2 week vacation. I keep hearing about people who go over to France and find someone, so I'm pretty excited about that, haha. Can you blame me?

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will be playing at Music on the Half Shell on August 2nd. I'm so incredibly excited! I loved hearing them in Kirkland, WA and have been dying to watch them again.

It's the start of week.... 7 or 8 in school? I'm not sure, all I know is that summer is fast approaching.

Tomorrow I'll be headed to Smith Rock for geology class. I can't wait. It's going to be a good day exercising and exploring some geological formations.

This is my new guide

How to Write a 20 Page Research Paper in Under a Day

So you've procrastinated again. You told yourself you wouldn't do this 2 months ago when your professor assigned you this. But you procrastinated anyway. Shame on you. It's due in a few hours. What are you going to do?

Pick a Topic

• The more "legally-oriented" your topic is, the better. You'll see why.
• It has to be something you feel strongly about. Strong as in it makes you want to open your window and yell and shake your fist about it at joggers passing by. That strong.
• It also has to be something that you already know some stuff about.
• It also needs to have some depth to it. It can't be like "We should have free pizza in lecture every Friday". That's lame. -Unless you're really creative, then that could possibly work if your professor has a sense of humor and you really can write 20 pages about something silly like that.

Make a list

• ...of every possible outcome that this issue could cause in
  
  • ...the near future
  • ...the far future
• ...of every person that this topic affects.
• ...of any instances where this topic has come in the news.
• ...what you would do about this topic if you had the chance/power/enough-sugar
• ...any little detail you can think of

The important thing about this is to think of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, no matter how silly or far-fetched. It'll make your professor go "hmm, didn't think about that one". You can even get your friends to help you with this one. The more the merrier. It's best to do this on a computer, because...

Reorder everything

Put your most obvious argument first.

Then put weird off the wall stuff, regardless of importance.

Put the strongest argument for your case next.

Now list the incidents that will help argue for your point. Don't know of any incidents in the news to help argue your point? That's ok. Make up some, except keep it really really generic. When it comes time to quote the source, remember this: There are over 6 billion people in the world. There are countless newspapers and other sources that document people doing...stuff. If you list incidents that are generic enough and your topic isn't extremely weird, at least one person out there has done something notable/stupid/crazy enough to make it to the news. Also, people have sued each other over everything imaginable. Find a court case database. Your topic has SOMEHOW manifested itself in court at some point in history. I can almost guarantee it. Just make sure that the situations you come up with are physically possible.

Now, list everything that could be construed to be the answer to the question "if elected, what would you do about this issue?"

It's best to keep all this in the form of an outline.

Spaces

Now add several lines of space under each bullet. Keep adding spaces until your text document has reached the goal size of your paper.

Now print it out.

Get the hell away from your computer

• I'm serious.
• No really, get away from the computer.
• Go outside and sit under a tree. If you hate outside, or if it's too cold for humans to survive, or if there's a band of rabid dogs roaming your neighborhood, good. It'll help you write faster.

The reason why you should do this is because everyone magically becomes ADD when they are near a computer. You can check your AIM messages later.

Write

Write a fiery rant in each of the spaces you alloted. Get pumped. Just don't begin every paragraph with "I swear upon my father's grave..." Also try not to repeat yourself too much. Be very specific. Talk to your reader as though they've never heard of your subject before. Write at about the same size that your typed version will be. Don't worry too much if you don't fill in all the spaces. But if you feel strongly enough about your topic, then this really shouldn't be a problem. If you're like me and can't think linearly you can skip around as much as you want.

Go Back Inside

Type everything. You'll also notice more things occur to you as you type. Go ahead and throw them in in the corresponding categories. Don't jump around too much at this point though. Maintain focus and bash out that essay as fast as possible. Although you should do this as fast as possible, be a typo nazi. Those little things really make it evident you did this at the last minute.

Time for that whole "research" part

Believe it or not, nothing you said was original. Remember what I said earlier about 6 billion people? Apply now. Pick each topic/case/scenario/subpoint. Anything you had to say about those has already been said by some scholar or professor or newspaper. Google it up. It won't take long. Take a few key words from your main argument of each section and see what you get. Paraphrase their main argument or quote a few lines. Add the proper citations. Do NOT plagiarize.

Formatting

• Some word processors are capable of non-integer spacing. Try 2.1 or 2.2 spacing.
• There's also the Good ol' Margin trick
• Title page
• Did your professor specify to use MLA citations? She/he didn't? Good. APA citation guidelines are much more friendly with website sources. Check it out.

Print.

Turn in.

Good job. Have a cookie.