The New Meat

This weekend has been VERY busy. On top of all the meetings and errands I ran Friday and Saturday, it was also Academic Bowl weekend. For those who are clueless or never heard of it: Academic Bowl is a thing that Gallaudet offers every year for high school students. Generally, I would consider it a bit of a trivia thing with three rounds. Each school (who participates) sends a team (of 3 to 5 students) to the Regional competition. The top two teams from each regional (five in total) will go to Nationals to compete for National Championship.

[From the academic bowl webpage’s gallery]

I was on one such team (Orange and Brown, dear Hersey), and ever since I graduated, I spent each year volunteering for Nationals. Usually, nationals seem to be held at the same time as Open House, so Friday, I saw a bunch of future Gallaudetians wandering around campus. It made me remember how it was like when I first arrived to Gallaudet as a High School senior, very unsure and awkward about everything. Now two years later, I am one of those confident students marching around campus as if I own it and intimidating those future Gallaudetians.

My point is that it’s so hard to believe so much have changed within two years; when I work at the matches at Academic Bowl, I remember how I felt so sick in the mornings with nerves that I never ate breakfast at the risk of throwing up, I remember how sweaty my hands got and how much they shook as I gripped the buzzer. I remembered the feeling of hot blood rushing through my veins as my answer got one of those Green Yeses. I miss playing Academic Bowl – it was such a huge part of my life in High School and my first exposure to Gallaudet (if I had never joined Academic Bowl, I doubt that I would even consider coming here).

Sometimes, I would like to rewind time and replay these things.

Sisterhood in Review ’07- ’08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosie’s Ramblings… Again

I have tons tons tons of things on my mind! So, if I seem disorganized in this blog, you know why! I notice that when I am stressed, my mind starts to wander every minute and I think up of totally weird stuff that’s not relevant to what I need to do! One minute, I would be thinking about my parents, other minute, I would be thinking about skin cancer (a lot of magazines are talking about it!) then other minute, I would think about how do journalists maintain families while working on a job that requires them to travel all time. Weird, I know.

Today, I decided to stay at my office all day and attempt to finish all homework that’s due tomorrow and tuesday, including homework I didn’t finish for last week. I have 2 red bulls (I know, bad for me) and some snack ready in case I have the urge to fump it and go home! Which probably will happen around dinner time though I am tryin to stay here until 1am when Jimmy comes back from work.

I got Leonard M. Elstad award from Phi Kappa Zeta sorority couple weeks ago. It’s so nice to get an award from them and I am definitely surprised! I never expected to get anything during my last semester because really, I am such a mediocre student and I’ve contributed a lot during my early years at Gallaudet but not so much during my last year. So, it’s a nice surprise! 🙂

I “defended” my seminar paper last week in front of faculty from Gallaudet and CUA. It was a pure hell if you ask me. I didn’t do BAD but it was intimidating to have bunch of professors asking me questions or arguing with me about my paper! I THINK I did well but I’ll know for sure when I meet with the teacher on Wednesday. This experience definitely made me think hard about getting my PHD – that won’t be happening until I’m suffering from midlife crisis and maybe an empty nest syndrome. I definitely want a lot of life experience to back me up the next time I “defend” my research.

So, 3 weeks to go. 1 week of classes, then 1 week of exams then 1 week of packing, graduating then moving! It’s going to be a big change and I do look forward to it but I don’t deny being nervous! I think the reason why I am feeling so nervous about the move is because it is “permanent”. Of course, we can always move somewhere else if we’re not happy but the point is, I’m moving back home, looking for a job and saving up for a house. A family of our own is in near future (no, I’m not pregnant YET!) and we are making no plans to settle elsewhere. So, it does feel permanent and I’m constantly wondering if I’ll be happy, what choices will I make, what will my life look like away from turbo-stimulation at Gallaudet and what would it be like being a wife, a mom, a employee, etc… So yeah, I’m thinkin’ too much and givin’ myself unnecessary stress! 🙂 But thats how I work!

Romeo is doing a lot better today. He gave us a scare last night! He was urinating everywhere and was obviously miserable — so we thought that maybe he had an allergy reaction to shots. This morning, he was walking around and actin’ 75% like his ol’ self! WHEW! I guess he urinated on floors because he was upset and pissed that he’s sick… Or he doesn’t want to get out of the bedroom and go to the litter box where other 2 cats are at since he’s not strong enough to defend himself if necessary. I don’t know — I’m not a cat.

I’ll ramble more later.

A Day with the Cherry Blossoms

During the Cherry Blossom Festival, I decided to walk along the Tidal Basin and enjoy the infamous blossoms for which DC is so well-known. They were incredibly gorgeous and nothing I can say and no pictures I have taken can match their beauty. A friend put it this way, and I could not have said it better than she, “I think this is what heaven will look like.” I think she is right. I have never experienced anything so beautiful as walking beneath the canvas of those intwined and bowing branches covered in perfect pink and white blossoms. Some of the petals fell like rain around me, adding to the beauty of the experience.

Here are some of the blossoms up close!

I did a little photo shop work on this picture, but I thought the cherry blossoms looked incredible in black and white.

I walked all the way around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial and FDR Memorial, enjoying the flowers.

Here, the cherry blossoms gleam in the afternoon sunshine.

This is me and the cherry blossoms with the Jefforson Memorial peeking out of the corner of the picture.

Now, imagine this: the beauty of those cherry blossoms framing the Washington Monument, completely surrounding a surreal lake. It was breathtaking!

This is what I walked under around the entire Tidal Basin.

There were throngs of people (tourists) at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Here, many of them sat on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial to rest and enjoy a little musical entertainment.

Here is the man himself–Thomas Jefferson. 

The FDR memorial was quite interesting. There were many statues, fountains, and engraved quotes on vine-covered walls. I liked this statue of FDR and his dog. Isn’t the dog cute? At any rate, I spent the whole afternoon at the Tidal Basin and then enjoyed a fireworks display with friends that night. It was spectacular! I hope all of you come to see the cherry blossoms next spring! I guarantee that you will not be disapointed!

Touring DC

Jimmy and I will be moving to Canada this summer, so we decided to visit as many places in DC as we can before we go! We made a list of places we haven’t seen, including the new museum called “Newseum”. It was a FUN weekend but we were definitely tired after walking miles, miles and miles around Washington, DC! Below are some highlights of us playing tourist last weekend!

Saturday, April 19

First day of our “tour! We decided that we will go to couple of museums and enjoy the national mall. It was a GORGEOUS day and we couldn’t resist spending more time outside than inside!

There’s a GORGEOUS garde just outside of the Smithsonian castle and I have this hobby where I take pictures of any castles I see. I have over 20 pictures from my trip to Europe few years ago and few from Canada – I absolutely love castles!

Our first stop – African Art Museum. I absolutely loved this museum! It was my favorite for that day. Below are three of my favorite art from the museum!

Gorgeous mask. This mask has 4 faces and is based on a myth about a man with 3 wives. It’s beautiful and it has a lot of details that definitely takes a lot of skill to make.

A cool “bowl” sculptured in Africa. Every side of this sculpture has new person, face or animal – so you have to circle around the sculpture to see everything!

I love this one. Mother and child sculpture that is taller than I am. It is a gorgeous piece of art.

Jimmy attempting to jump on this tree. No idea why. He is weird in that way.

I love this tree! The flowers smells nice but it’s STRONG!

Jimmy observing police blocking roads and preparing themselves for a protest. A group of people are protesting against a group of people who are Nazis and want to do an anti-immigrants march in DC. It was pretty dramatic and I admit I was a bit nervous because this group doesn’t like anybody who isn’t white! And obviously, Jimmy isn’t white. Luckily, the protest was under control and nothing bad happened, that I know of.

Police on their bicycles.

Police on their motorcycles.

National Gallery of Arts – West Building.

Little girl in a blue armchair by Mary Cassatt in 1878.

Painting and Sculpture by Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert in 1774.

Matched Lovers by Quentin Massys in 1520. I absolutely love this painting! I love that the woman is attractive but the man doesn’t look too nice. The contrast between lovers and how engrossed they are with each other.

Us at the fountain inside the museum.

Entrance to National Gallery of Arts: East Building (Modern Art). I absolutely love modern art but I was disappointed because the museum changes their themes every season and this time, it was forest. I didn’t particulary enjoy looking at thousands thousands and thousands of paintings of trees. I wished that there were more variety and that they offered something for those who don’t enjoy that type of art. Below are only two paintings that I liked in this museum.

Football Players by Albert Gleizes in 1912

Jack-In-The-Pulpit NO. V by Georgia O’Keeffe in 1930

At end of the day, we decided to just lay down on the mall and chat our evening away. It was such a beautiful day and a perfect day for people-watching!

Sunday, April 20

We went on the DC Duck tour. It was FUN!!! We toured around the city on road and in the potomac river! The piece of machine functions as a bus and a boat. An amphibian!

Us in our rain gear!

White House.

Getting into the Potomac River!

 

Pentagon.

They gave us a ducky whistle! Cute!

Jefferson Memorial.

Monument.

Capitol.

Union Station.

Entrance of Newseum. A news helicopter was suspended in air.

Absolutely love this quote! In this gallery, there were a lot of photos up on the wall that won the Pulitzer Prize. A lot of them made me cry! I have so much more respect for journalists now than ever.

Us before we went into the 4-D theater. It was AWESOME!!! We felt mouses crawling on our feet, bullets whizzing by, rain, etc… but it was all illusion! Amazing how far technology has gone!

A statue of Russian leader destroyed during the revolution.

A piece of Berlin Wall.

A guard tower from Germany during the time of communism.

A memorial for all photographers/journalists who died at line of duty.

A piece of antenna from one of WTC buildings destroyed in 9/11 attacks.

A journalist knew too much and somebody planted a bomb on his car. This is the result and the journalist died.

Us at end of the day! We were SO exhausted but definitely glad that we decided to tour even if it rained. Newseum is now my favorite museum in DC! (So far!)

We plan on seeing the wax museum and Arlington Cemetery before we go. So that might happen in the next couple weeks. Keep your eyes out for more pictures!

Poor Kitty-Kids

Jimmy and I took our cats to the vet yesterday to get rabies shot, distemper shot and a full check up. I also asked for health certificates to allow our cats across the border when we move in 3 weeks. Needless to say, our kitty-kids did not enjoy the visit! We have a WONDERFUL vet, Dr. Spencer and they like him but not this time!

Oscar handled it like a pro. He was totally chill about it and actually asked Dr. Spencer for some lovin’. When it came to time for shots, he just stayed still, didn’t make any noise or attempted to run. He was pretty easy to handle.

Toby, Toby. He didn’t like it at all and was growling every time Dr. Spencer touched him but there was no biting or anything like that. He stayed as low to the table as possible and when it was time for shots, all he did was growl.

Poor Romeo. He had it the hardest. He was crying, trying to climb onto me, holding onto my shirt and when it was time for shots, he gave a soft meeooowwww and cried. Poor guy!

Dr. Spencer said that cats may be a bit lethargic for a day or two because of the shots. Oscar and Toby are behavin’ like their ol’ selves but poor Romeo, he has a bad reaction! He’s totalllly lethargic, grumpy, anti-social and this morning, he vomited. I feel bad for him! I hope it goes away in few hours rather than another day! He’s obviously miserable.

On brighter note, we have all information already for cats’ journey to the true north!

Hello World! *waves*

Like a little chicken popping out of the egg (not the best analogy, I know!!) I am popping out the despairing world known as Winter and entering Spring/Summer. I recently had to write an autobiography for my English class (filling up twenty pages about yourself, not as easy as it seems) and now to sum up myself in a few choice sentences that tell someone EVERYTHING ABOUT ME.

Who am I, you might ask?

Wilson, Kelly Wilson. (James Bond reference, pathetic, I know). I live in the dreadfully plain town known as Des Plaines, a few hops and jumps from Chicago. A little tidbit for you all – especially those Academic Bowl nuts – Des Plaines is the original home of one of the most infamous fast food restaurant. We even have a Museum where the original one was on Lee St. (incidentally across the newer version of it). Yes, it’s McDonald’s. I fear I’m getting off-topic here!

I went to a mainstream high school known as Hersey before deciding to come to Gallaudet two years ago. I’m sure most of you will recognize me (if you had met me at one time or another) since I was very involved in high school: Academic Bowl (Nationals three-times) Jr. NAD, etc etc. After a long process (say about three months!!) I am now an Education major – elementary, m’ dear – with a (hopeful) minor in Psychology. I’m currently in the process of declaring a minor right now.

It is now one more week of classes before the dreaded finals. All those homework and projects I put off at the beginning of the semester – Oh, I had another four months to do them! *returns to playing Nintendo*-are biting me in the butt. They’re all due within the next week or so!! Thus, I’m swamped with homework. Paper for so-and-so due blank date and so on. It makes you LONG for summer just so this is all done with, and then… I realize, oh, summer means that I won’t be able to see most of my friends here at Gallaudet for four months. *inserts sad face*

Oh! I do believe my paper is moaning my name from under the pile – it calls to me and tells me, “I need words; feeed me!”. Off to do a million and one homework assignments. ❤

The Semester Draws to a Close

I keep meaning to post here but I’ve been so busy! I think I finally have everything under control – that is, at least I know what I have left to do. That would be two presentations (on the same day) and a paper…and other than that and final exams I am done. I am really looking forward to the semester, but I am kind of wondering what it will be like to go back to the 9-5 grind for a few months. I was pretty busy during January, so I didn’t spend more than a couple of days at a stretch at work. I’m nervous about having to sit in VRS all summer, so I’m planning to do the screening with GIS so I can do some different jobs. Now that I have my hearing aids this shouldn’t be a problem, though I am going to ask the audiologist to tweak them…I keep having to turn up the volume to hear properly. Just last night my wife suggested maybe they weren’t turned on because I kept not hearing her.

I wish I had a cool vacation planned for the summer, but I guess I already took vacations earlier this year. And of course with the economy what it is, I can’t afford to go anywhere anyway. Oh wait, I do have a trip planned, I’m going to New Orleans for the NAD convention! Okay, so that’s good. There is that at least!

United we stand, divided we still stand

These are my boys for life, Together we stand, divided we still will stand

me and my boy Mo

you just find yourself on campus with your close friends chilling with staff. Rapping about future endeavors. Just simple times in your college years you have to cherish