Conflicting Loyalties

So far, I've been a graduate student at Marquette University for about 2 months. I haven't even registered for classes yet (slacking already). However, I have been surprised and delighted at my experience so far. I feel a bit like a traitor for thinking that Marquette could possible be a more quality experience than my alma mater, THE University of Wisconsin. So here how each one stacks up:

WISCONSIN

• BIG student body.
  
• Lots of opportunities for involvement in every cause you could imagine, from gay rights to republican rights. And it's the Republican groups that get lynched.
  
• A large offering of courses to choose from and muddle through in the process of earning a degree.
  
• I wonder who my adviser was?
• A great city to live in, lots of fun events and nightlife.
• World renowned player in many fields
• Competitive admission
• classes that fill an hour after registration
  
• Financial aid??

MARQUETTE

• Much smaller student body
• Catholic university, so probably fewer opportunities
  
• Not too many courses to select from, but since it's a master's program, I would expect that.
  
• Advising staff who recognize me name, and spend an hour on the phone with me discussing all of my various options
• 1/2 of my tuition paid for.
  

Overall, I'm pleased with how much I feel taken care of. Kudos to all of who who are employed by Marquette, for all you do to keep the system running smoothly.

Recommendation

I just had a blissful experience buying running shoes last night. In the past, I've gone to a very small, local running store, where I'm ignored and condescended to, until a local track star enters the store, and then I'm all but shoved out the back door. Not much knowledge, or at least none to share with me, a lowly female runner.

So, needing to trade in my faithful Brooks Adrenaline GTS for a pair exactly like them, I headed to Fleet Feet Sports in Brookfield. There, I had my gait analyzed over and over in an attempt to perfectly correct my over-pronation. There was only one girl working in the store that day,and there happened to be another customer in before me. The clerk (Shoe specialist?) repeatedly apologized for offering me less than one on one service, as she explained the mechanics of my shoe and orthotics.

I can't wait to run today in my new, ultra stability shoes. And I can't wait until he 300-500 mile mark when i have the privelege of giving this store my money again.

Also, they have running club.

My Reaction to The Internet

I recently stumbled upon "Greg Rutter's Definitive List of The 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced On The Internet Unless You're a Loser or Old or Something." Apparently I'm a loser or old or something, because I had only ever seen or heard of about 10 of the items. So I made it my mission to sit down and actually watch/ read every single item on the list that I've been missing.

My Thoughts:

1. 1. Can't believe that was televised.
2. 2. Kids make great videos.
3. 3. Lame
4. 4. Seen it
5. 5. Seen it
6. 6. Did someone slip me acid? This video is the trippiest thing I've ever seen in my life. And I watched Smurfs growing up.
7. 7. Neat
8. 8. Fat guys lip syncing also make great videos.
9. 9. Seen it
10. 10. Lame
11. 11. Good for my self esteem, but crashed my browser.
12. 12. Wtf?
13. 13. Shrug.
14. 14. Shrug.
15. 15. Cute parody.
16. 16. Looked more like a hamster.
17. 17. Seen it
18. 18. Not much for the f word, never got into GI Joe.
19. 19. Reminded me of the Darwin awards.
20. 20. Awesome. I wish I a) owned a bulldog, and b) could teach him to board like that. I'd be popular.
21. 21. Seen it
22. 22. Again with overuse of the f word. Why is this funny?
23. 23. Literally shaking with laughter. Second most trippy thing Ive seen. Rest of the site sucks, though.
24. 24. So that's what lol cats are.
    
25. 25. Shrug
26. 26. Shrug
27. 27. Kind of liked it, actually. It's bookmarked for when I have a bad day.
28. 28. I've been Rickrolled many a time.
29. 29. Shrug
30. 30. Drunk kids make for funny videos. Child protection, anyone?
31. 31. Shrug. F word. But I did like the bit about 400 babies.
32. 32. Heard of this one. Did what it was supposed to. Laughing and crying at the same time.
33. 33. Shrug
34. 34. Wtf?
35. 35. Really?
36. 36. This reminded me of a cross between the video they show before Nexus, and my buddy Brandon's push up pictures. Got boring at the end, but generally neat.
37. 37. Seen it. Awkward.
38. 38. More child exploitation. Too long.
39. 39. Shrug.
40. 40. See #8. 2.7 million people like to see big women falling.
41. 41. Shrug.
42. 42. News anchors being dumb make good videos.
43. 43. Why did 6 million people watch that? Oh, right, because it's on the Internet.
44. 44. This is why i don't have guest speakers in my classroom.
45. 45. Nerds make for funny videos. And we all know that big guys make for funny videos (see #8, #40). Combine the two, gave me a chuckle.
46. 46. Well.
    
47. 47. Reminded me of the falling over/ laughing baby. See #2.
48. 48. F word. And more.
49. 49. Gave me a chuckle. Only because I like accents.
50. 50. Omg. Pop up videos on crack.
    

This will be a good place to pause, maybe take a nap, maybe find a snack. I think I'm starting to get a wee bit cynical. More this afternoon.

Ouch.

So it turns out the combination of lemons, sugar, and just a wee bit of vodka can cause a nasty canker sore.

Ouch.

Scrubs Season 8

I love Scrubs. It's just good TV. So when I found out that ABC would be airing all new episodes, I got so excited i might have wet myself a little (false).

Unfortunately, I have a regular commitment on Tuesday nights, so I'm forced to wait for Mike's DVR to tape episodes for me. Until... I discovered Hulu yesterday. Now I can catch up whenever I want to curl up on the couch with a bottle of cheap wine and a bag of chips.

So far, not bad. Courtney Cox as the new Chief of Medicine is a little awkward, but the character interaction is all that I hoped for and more. Laughs that made stuff come out of my nose, punctuated by some nice, quiet, contemplating-death moments.

I feel warm on the inside.