Cedar Lake Walk

One of the classes I'm taking is Cultural Studies; it is taught by Dr. Bob and it is also known as the Walking Essay class.  We are looking at the culture that surrounds us and other cultures we haven't experienced yet.  This class also gives me the opportunity to explore other areas of Cedar Rapids.  Our first walk was around Coe and we discussed the various expansion plans the college had and it was fascinating to think about how things would have looked if certain plans had followed through.  Our second walk was the Dairy Queen which is only a couple of blocks away.  During that walk I learned a lot about the various types of trees we encountered and it was also interesting to observe the houses that are basically in Coe's backyard (the northeast side of campus).

My third walk was a walk I went on with Haley.  It was to Cedar Lake.  Around the lake there is a walking and biking path.  Haley and I were lucky to have such a beautiful day to complete our walk.  It was easy to get there -- we simply walked northeast on Center Point Road and then took a left at J Avenue.  Once we got there we started on the paved path but eventually ventured off onto a foot path to see the Cedar Lake and to take some pictures.  Haley is a photographer and wanted to do a photo shoot in conjunction with our walk.  The photos turned out great (see some of them below) and one even ended up as my new blog photo!

Our walk ended up being two hours.  It was nice to talk to Haley and I wrote down a lot of great material I hope to use in my essay.  It was nice to see the Cedar Lake and I hope to go back there soon before the weather turns too cold!

2011 Writing Center Retreat

Every year during Labor Day weekend, the Writing Center holds it annual retreat.  Dr. Bob choses a new location every year and for 2011, we went to the Amana Colonies.  I had never been so I was pumped to check out the place this past Sunday.  We arrived around 9:30 AM.  Our meeting location was the Ronneburg Restaurant.  It was a very nice place and lunch (chicken, pickled ham, mashed potatoes, corn, and fresh five-fruit pie) really hit the spot!

The point of the retreat is to get to know and reconnect with our fellow staff members and also to practice our conferencing skills so we are ready for another school year.  There is always a writing exercise which becomes the material we conference on.  The prompt this year was to write on a word dealing with writing and or reading.  I chose the word shelf life and had an interesting time reflecting on that word.  Hopefully I'll be able to post my reflection once I'm done revising it.

It was a beautiful day for the Amana Colonies and I got a little time to do some exploring.  Of course, I didn't see nearly everything the colonies have to offer and I'm planning on making a return visit!  We left Amana in the late afternoon and reconvened at the Writing Center for make-your-own-sandwich dinner and then the annual Writing Center skits.  The skits are always hilarious and a really good consultant bonding exercise.

The retreat then continued today, Labor Day.  We used the Clark Alumni House for today's activities which included another conference and discussion on our writing center handbook called the Enchiridion.  After a hodge podge lunch, our retreat was over.  It was a nice way to spend some quality time outdoors, to see a new area of Iowa I hadn't explored yet, and to continue to get to know other Writing Center consultants.  We have a fantastic staff this year and I'm excited to see what things we will be up to.      

Rainy Saturday Morning at Brewed

Saturday was a pretty quiet day on campus.  It probably didn't help it was raining for most of the day.  I decided to wake up early and get a jump start on my homework.  It is a three day weekend, but I'd rather have some extra time on Monday night to regroup and get ready for week two.  For a little treat I went to Brewed Awakenings, located just across First Avenue from Stuart Hall to do some studying.  I ordered a Orangenilla, which is orange flavoring, club soda, and a splash of half and half.  It tastes just like an orange dreamsicle.  Delicious.  And, I got some good studying done.  Finished reading Beowulf for History of English Literature, read a psychology article, and started on an essay for my Cultural Studies class.  Productive morning.  Glad to know I was able to slip right back in to doing homework and staying on top of all my assignments.

 

Coe Night at the Kernels

So for the second year in a row, I headed to the Perfect Game Field to see the Cedar Rapids Kernels.  They are a minor league baseball team.  If you remember correctly, I went to the game last year and had a great time.  Five bucks got us a ticket and t-shirt and all we had to provide was transportation.  The field is about five minutes from Coe, pretty close and convenient if you ask me.  Haley, Alison W. and I all went and unfortunately, the Kernels didn't win this time.  There was a good crowd of Coe people there and it was more fun this time because I knew many more people.  It was a hot night but luckily, soda was 2 for one so it wasn't hard to stay hydrated!  A really nice way to spend a Friday night after my first week of college!

      

Ah! So Many Exciting Things Going On!

It hasn't even been a full first week of school and I'm already swamped.  Now, I like being busy, trust me, but sometimes I just need to take a step back and breathe.  Take today for instance.  I participated in a discussion on the first part of Beowulf.  I had day two of working in Admissions, which included a tour so I can learn the route and start working on my own unique tour.  I helped my neighbors on my floor decorate their room.  I had another meeting with one of my Writing Fellows and I'm confident she's going to write an awesome revision.  Then after dinner I played beach volleyball for the first time this year.  I LOVED IT.  Sure, I was super sweaty and sandy afterwards, but it was a blast.  There were seven of us and we had probably too much fun.  This was a perfect study break.  I finished my night in the Writing Center doing some homework.

It's hard to believe I've only been here a week, it seems like so much longer.  I've seem to have fallen into the groove of things pretty well.  Since it's Labor Day Weekend, we don't have school on Monday.  I actually have a Writing Center Retreat so get ready for some posts on that.  I'm planning on trying to get ahead on my homework this weekend and also work on adding some more cool content to my blog.  Stay tuned!