"Wicked" the musical has taken the Broadway road by storm! Although this musical has been ready for viewing pleasure for some time, the heart-warming story and catchy tunes continue to captivate audiences.

I have yet to see "Wicked", but I am a tremendous musical fan. I have soundtrack upon soundtrack of countless musicals. I heard a rumor that "Wicked" was going to be touring and coming to the Philadelphia area this spring, but I don't know if there is any truth to that. One can only hope!

I'm sure we have all thoroughly enjoyed choosing our courses for this coming spring semester! If anyone picked up on my sarcasm, props to you!

I am interested in seeing what courses people are taking in the spring.

I am taking 4 credits:

* Introductory Piano-- I am so excited about taking this course because I have always wanted to learn how to play.

* Intensive Spanish again... bien, bien.

Three words: Bryn Mawr basketball!

It has been a over a month since our practices have started. Our games have began, and as of now we are 1-2 (1 win to Hollins, 2 losses to College of Notre Dame of Maryland a.ka. "CONDOM" & Muhlenberg).

We have 12 players on the team this year. The team roster, pictures, and schedule can be found HERE!

Being a freshwoman at Bryn Mawr College means having to take a Wellness class during your first year. Most of the Wellness topics are very interesting and provide insight for bettering our lives physically, mentally, and emotionally.

On the other hand, I firmly believe that the papers that we must submit as part of our "grade" for the class are simply BUSYWORK. We as students attend the lectures and participate in class. We do not need another paper to write! It is my opinion that we sit there, and that is where we obtain the information! I do not receive anything from typing a two-page essay about how I adapted to the Bryn Mawr culture except fulfilling a requirement (a pointless requirement).

Every now and again while attempting to go to sleep I find myself twitching. It sounds awkward, but I am sure that people know what I mean. I have recognized a pattern that I twitch when I make a conscious effort to sleep on a plane or another mode of transportation that is not my own car (God forbid! I cannot imagine falling asleep while driving... I've heard the stories!)

I am in no way a hypochondriac; however, I think everyone questions their health at times when they read symptoms of certain disorders. I think all people question for a second whether they could have a certain disease, sickness, problem, etc. when a magazine or book mentions symptoms that they experience in daily life. Whoever says that they overlook such symptoms is a filthy liar in my book! :)

Does anyone think that Veterans' Day has sadly turned into a forgotten holiday?

It's a shame to say, but I think that only older generations reminisce about the significance of this special day. Older individuals who were either involved in the armed services or had family in such positions celebrate the holiday with parades and dinners (American flags, military uniforms, and all).

As for younger generations, I feel that we have "skipped" over Veterans' Day like it is nothing special. It is very commercialized as almost all stores have awesome Veterans' Day sales. I know that it is customary for past veterans to visit the graves of victims/friends that had died in battle, but no one else really does anything or expresses their appreciation for the courage and endurance that past generations of soldiers have had. We overlook their strife as they fought to keep our country democratic and free of invaders.

Down Syndrome in fetuses can now be detected in the first trimester of pregnancy thanks to new tests!

According to the article by the Bloomberg News, "The first trimester tests detected as many as 87 percent of fetuses with the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome, compared with 81 percent found by tests in the second trimester." Since this disease affects over two million people world-wide, the new tests were conducted immediately after preliminary experimentation.

Is it just me or did many stores in the mall (really anywhere for that matter) start their "Holiday Cheer" expressions WAY too early this year?!

A week before Halloween, I went to Bryn Mawr's "favorite" mall, King of Prussia, to look for a Halloween costume. To my surprise, I found one Halloween store and found the rest of the stores pretty much decked out in Christmas decorations. I thought I had lost my mind upon hearing the song "Santa Baby" in the Gap! Halloween had not even come yet!

In the past (early 1900s), people thought of belly dancers as sketchy and floozy. Times have changed as we now consider them to be "Yodas" for the well being of our physical health!

Belly dancing has been up and running for centuries. Women in ancient times used this wonderful form of expression to celebrate their gender's health and strength. According to Pauline in this ARTICLE, "Belly dancing is for any age group. In the Middle East, children start learning belly dancing when they are three or four or even as soon as they can walk. They start listening to the music and getting a feel and a love for the music and rhythm and start swaying their hips so by the time you know they're teenagers or older they just become really proficient at it and move so freely." To have belly dancing be an everyday activity and fully part of our culture... WOW! I wish that I had learned to belly dance when I was little!

Tonight (Oct. 30) was Lantern Night as all Mawters, professors, and staff know. I'm glad to have my pretty, red lantern now, but I think the "ceremony" of receiving the lanterns was a little spooky(how timely for my word choice, I know!).

Before the ceremony, I pictured hundreds of women in black robes being led into the darkness of the Cloisters. After I had told my friends about this tradition, describing it in much detail, they joked about the night being a time of Freshmen sacrifice. I realized that my description was similiar to that of a cult. The black robes, the silence... and mystical, Greek chants. It is what you see in cult movies (except our BAT robes don't have hoods). I was well aware that we were supposed to be mature women about this tradition, but I couldn't help but flap my wings like a bat while falling single-file into our positions. HAH... the opportunity was there!

Amongst the "Get Slim" rage, everyone has heard the term "organic" when speaking about food.

I am very skeptical about this whole idea of organic food... I like my fat and carbs. I know that other people are just as uncertain about this idea as well. I found an article, however, that might shine a light on the goodness of organic food.

Anyone obsessed with the newest models of cars will appreciate this post. Honda introduced the new Hybrid Honda Civic to Japan in September of this year. This car goes on sale in the United States today! In fact, the new Honda civic is the first car of its kind to be able to move under electric power. Pretty amazing technology!

I have some great blogs from other colleges that have a special class that is designed to teach students how to blog. I was excited to come across these blogs during my weekly search for new and interesting blogs on which to leave a trackback.

First of all, This blog mentions our Bryn Mawr blog in a U. Penn newspaper article on blogging at Penn.

Trendspotters comin' at ya!

CNN.com has listed the newest college trends of the 2005-2006 school year.

According to this article , "the hottest mode of transportation in sunny schools this fall is the designer bicycle. Most popular in bubble-gum pink, powder blue, and lavender, these bikes have taken over the campus like a swarm of candy-colored locusts." I have seen a few men and women with bicycles on campus but not many. They definitely do provide an efficient way of transportation when you are jetting to a far-away class.

This week President Bush signed a proposal from the Food and Drug Administration regarding mad cow disease.

According to the York Dispatch article, the "Bush administration yesterday proposed to eliminate cow brains and spinal cords from feed for all animals, including chickens, pigs and pets." With aspirations of Mad cow prevention, the Food and Drug Administration says that not utilizing cow brains and spinal cords to feed any animal will reduce the risk of contracting the disease by 90 percent. That is a pretty substantial reduction! Despite this new discovery, the stipulation for producing animal feed will not take effect until sometime next year.

Years ago males were not caught wearing pink unless they were openly homosexual. This day and age, many males are "stepping up to the plate" so to speak and experimenting by adding various shades of pink to their wardrobe.

My dad is a substitute teacher for the schools around York, PA where I live. He owns various pink shirts and wears them to work. The students in his classes make fun of him and ask him if he is "gay." His response is always something to the degree of "Why not... I'm confident in my person and sexuality, pink is a nice color!"

I have been noticing over and over again that housekeeping does an AMAZING job of cleaning the dorms(well at least Rock 3rd). I was talking with Miss Carrie today (the cleaning lady in Rock), and I gave her a really nice complement about how much her work is appreciated and what a super job she does. I think it truly made her day. She even let me borrow the vacuum cleaner so I could buzz through my room. [Yes, mom... I take the initiative by myself... :)]

As much as people think we live in a community that "supposedly" does not mess with gender rules anymore, sports fall into the hands of possbily one of the largest gender roles of all-time. Take the WNBA for example: it's exciting, women's basketball... right?? Since my real blog entry about this got lost in the mix of things (which I'm a little bitter about), this is the extremely abridged version of my post.

ATTENTION ALL BLOGGERS!!:

Starting today (Monday, Sept. 26th) every Monday on our blog will now be known as MOTION MONDAY! This is the suggestion box idea that I had before... Hopefully this segment will attract other bloggers from colleges state-wide to make suggestions about their schools, cities, politics,etc. This could even be a place to whine. This should only take place on MONDAYS!

I was just thinking about our Fall Break, and I got really excited!!! I'm actually going to a wedding with my boyfriend and his family in Maryland. I'm psyched because I've never been to a Jewish wedding before!! I can't wait to see everyone... his family is immensely tight-knit (they sort of remind me of my mom's family---- My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding style of course!)
After the wedding, I plan on going home and hanging out with my friends that are on break as well. I will probably do a lot of sleeping to get "ready" for Bryn Mawr Basketball which kicks off on October 15th... pray for me HAH!

I was just thinking of ways to make our blogsite better...
I had mentioned this in class... I think we should put together a "SUGGESTION BOX" for the site.
The suggestions could be about anything... if you wish to complain about how terrible Haverford's food is, here is the place to go. If you believe that something about Bryn College should be altered, post it here to get your feelings out in the open.

Everyone who has met me has easily picked up on the fact that I am into sports. I own many nice clothes, but these days I am too lazy to make myself look amazing. I have no one to impress... so I wear my athletic clothes. They are mucho comfy!! I would rather sleep these days than primp for class at an all girls college. In high school, I would wear make-up everyday. Now, I don't wear make-up during the week; I'll wear it to go out on the weekends, but that is it. I really love that change because I don't feel like I need to impress anyone. I am my own person-- you either like me ... or you don't. COMMENT ON THIS!

Another blog I added to the aggregator is the College Basketball blog... I don't know how many college sports fans there are around here, but I am one. GO SYRACUSE!! WHOOO! I thought it would be nice to have the latest scores and written commentary of the games. I play basketball, and I am playing bball for Bryn Mawr. This winter I'd love to see you guys at our games! You can HOOT! HOOT! as my Coach would say. Check it out! xoxo

So I found a really cool blog site... it's definitely not your typically news blog. The bloggers put their own little spoof on certain things happening in the news (nothing demeaning of course). I chose this blog b/c I personally believe that you cannot everything in the news too seriously. Certain things SHOULD be taken with extreme seriousness though such as natural disasters(Katrina). Other news, politics for example, are sectors of the media that are just waiting for people to add humor to their static world.

Hey guys, so everyone lately is talking about the news as it's wrapped up in all of its controversy. I thought I would blog about something not so hard core.

** As from my name, one may deduct that I have REALLY curly hair. I am thinking about getting it cut though -- my only problem is the prices for a hair cut in Bryn Mawr and especially in Philly are so jacked up. You think the increase in gas prices are bad, try paying $60 for a hair cut!

I've split up the text for my two chapter blogging because I didn't want to overwhelm anybody.
Chapter 29 is very interesting as it talks about blogging being an extended branch of journalism. Many bloggers believe that accessing blogs for fast in-depth news will someday surmount the traditional printed or televised news(which many question the true validity of these days). Many bloggers include useful links to quick bursts of news with links to full stories on their sites. Others make use of webcams to actually capture the details of the action -- this is effective b/c it's coming from a normal viewpoint, unbiased, just raw images. By doing this, bloggers are really taking babysteps towards a form of amateur journalism. HOW COOL IS THAT!?

First of all I'd like to say that reading this book was actually very intersting, and it definitely opened my eyes to the infinite web community. Chapter 19 of the book was basically 3 pages of simple sentences starting with the words "I will". This blog written by Geekman seems to be written in 4 phases: phase 1 is the unsure blogger as he speaks of his rocky start into the world of blogging. Phase 2 is the confident blogger... he has experience and is very optimistic about "owning" a successful blog. This phase also portrays the individual to think outside of the box and to go the extra mile adding masses of creativity to his work. The third phase embodies a "has-been" blogger. He neglects his blog and his visitors. The fourth and final phase is the remembrance blogger. He misses the good things in his life as a Web Log Writer;therefore, he decides to start over and conquer yet another sector of the online abyss.

Hey guys,

So this is my first real entry for CSEM! Can I get a "What What!!!" for the BLOGGING class of 09'!! (PLUS 1 Senior...) I'm going to write about my family for this community assignment. I am an only child... yes that is right no siblings(can be good and bad). It's basically my mommy, daddy, and me. Despite the fact that my parents are divorced, I am still immensely tight-knit with each of them. My mom has a fiance now, and I reFUSE to call him "Dad". He's pretty cool, but he crosses into that "pretending to be my father" role sometimes, which pisses me off extremely! Does anyone feel me regarding that??? As for my dad, Yea right!!! He'll never ever get married again! It's just NOT in the cards!