Proof of Fall Colors: Halloween Weekend

I've never not been a fan of Halloween. I just don't really think about my costume much more than a week in advance. Last year, one of my friends dressed up as the Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park, and he carried around the most adorable dinosaur ever...

Which now lives with me.

So Serendipity (so named after a pink dinosaur from my childhood) needed to accompany me this Halloween. So I had to find a costume that would be appropriate with a dinosaur.

 With some suspension of disbelief, I did a cavewoman. Alex and I spent five hours shopping Saturday to pick out the pieces to our costumes. Then we did at least two hours of tailoring to get my thrift store (and pet store... where else are you going to get a bone?) finds to turn into a costume.


While out that day, I made sure to capture some of my (possibly) last fall in Pittsburgh, at least at CMU. It was a gorgeous, though brisk, day.


This building is the house on campus that I live in. It is much prettier than I ever think of it as, mostly because it is hidden behind other buildings, so it seems ashamed of its appearance. But it is nice and cosy for me on the inside.


After all the work on the costumes, it was good that we had somewhere to go! After making Rosie dress up and dragging her along, we stopped by the Lutheran University Center. I skinned my knee playing "Grog" (which sadly has nothing to do with the drink) and we still lost (valiantly!)


All in all, a successful Halloween for the minimal fore-thought and maximal day-of preparations. (Can you guess what everyone in the picture is?)

Fall Colors: Midsemester Break and Job Search Update

I think being in Qatar made me more aware of the seasons changing. Though I've always liked weather. I bathed (or boiled) in the sun in Qatar, I was thrilled by the thunderstorms recently (and those over there), I lean into the wind, and I jump through puddles in my rainboots.

That's not to say that weather doesn't affect me. It just doesn't affect me negatively. Cold? A bit melancholy (but that's not necessarily a negative emotion). Cloudy? A dash of reminiscence. Drizzly? Thankful that I don't need to worry about an umbrella.

Basically, all that is to say that I've been happy with weather in general.

Besides the season changing, I've also been caught up with planning for the future. I dropped over a dozen resumes at the career fair about a month ago, which resulted in four interviews (and two that I turned down), two follow-ups, and now, two off-site, final round interviews! Both next week...

First, I'm getting flown out to Omaha, Nebraska, to interview with Union Pacific Railroad. My grandpa will be happy about that. I'm headed to DC (which my other grandparents are happy about) to look at a company called APT. Both are next week, both are a bit scary, and both have interesting opportunities. (Want details? Give me a buzz.)

All in all, this job search thing is pretty nice at CMU. Software engineers, especially, get courted, and, though that is not something I'm sure I want to go into, it lets me know there are options out there.

I have a few more leads to follow up on, and a few more people to hear back from, but I am on my way to being an employed graduate!

Got a position you think I might like? Here's my resume and you are welcome to add me as a connection on LinkedIn.

It is Deeper so More Good Things Fit In It: A Pirates Game and The Waffle Shop

I realized sometime this semester that I haven't been very good at taking pictures. (Notice the pictures that Andy took on the post before this. Also, Maria's camera has a good number from her time here that I need.)

So I decided to bring my camera to a pretty interesting evening at a ball game (and other stuff).

I learned a bit about baseball today. They possibly have the most losses in history (though they are a pretty old team. And in looking up stats, they are somewhere in the vincinity of 9,500 in franchise history, versus the Phillies that have over 10,000.) So, in other words, "citation needed."

I also learned about dirty balls (like, the rubbed-in-dirt baseball kind) and what buccaneers really means (something about jerky... like beef jerky).

Anyway, so lots of fun with LUC folk while watching a win from the Pirates! You always feel like they gave you a special treat when they do that. When your expectations are of them losing, a win feels like a gift.

I will say, I'm am still amazed and saddened by the cost of food and drink in stadiums. It is over $7 for a beer, and over $6 for any sort of burger. Redonkulous.

After a day (evening) at the ballgame, Rosie, Frank, Alex, and I went to the Waffle Shop. There is a live streaming talk show that happens every night, and I, being me, wanted to go on it. So I talked about HCI ("a mix of psychology, design, computers, with a little bit of crazy mixed in"), the Pirates ("its always like a little gift when they win because you never expect it"), and, of course, waffles. There was a comparison between the thinner waffles and Belgian waffles. My description? "I like the thinner waffles because they are crispier*, but sometimes Belgian waffles are good. The holes are deeper so more good things fit in it."


...Aaaand, that's what she said.

*There is a word made up by the lovely Courtney that explains exactly what I love about waffles: cruffy. Fluffy plus crunchy equals delicious.

Labor Day: My Twenty-Second Birthday and My Sister's Visit

My sister left early in the morning Tuesday the 7th, so I got to sleep in my bed again. However, I was so excited to sleep, that I took a nap before all my work was done, then had to get up at 1am to finish it.

My weekend with my older sister was busy, like many other weekends. But part of me really enjoys showing her how different my life is from hers, and that was a bit exhausting for her, I think. She came in on Saturday morning, and I, being the awful sister I am, didn't wake up to my alarm and go to the airport to get her. Three missed calls and two text messages later, I finally wake up, feeling awful (mostly really, really guilty that I didn't meet her at the airport like I said I would.) So she gets on the 28X, and I meet her (after a shower and quick clean of the room) at the bus stop, apologizing profusely. Brunch and seven hours of hanging out and shopping and games at church and "Princess Bride" at midnight end one exhausting day for her.

Sunday was church (she hasn't been to a Lutheran service in a while, and we have a very traditional service, so I think she enjoyed the chants and hymns.) Then a bit of lunch. Then a bridal shower. We finally made it to game night, and I finally felt like it was my birthday (because it was). So we played games, socialized with a completely new group of people.

So after staying up until 3am, I made her waffles on Monday (Labor Day) and we headed to go see the Cathedral of Learning then downtown. We bought Pirates tickets from a scalper, then went to eat ribs at Heinz Field, then didn't get to see the incline (sadly, one of the things she wanted to do) before I had to be back for a meeting. She basically napped, read, and chatted with her boyfriend while I did meetings until we had a half-price dinner with a totally different group of friends.

So, that was four or more groups of friends we hung out with in the course of three days, and, while social, she is not the crazy social planner that I am, so it makes sense she was exhausted.

Tuesday was catch-up, and Wednesday was... blissfully back to normal.

(Pictures taken by Andy but are on Pat's photostream)

Fended Them Off with Axes and Teamwork: My Dream Journal

For the past week, I've been required to write down my dreams for my Intro to Psych class (you know, the class I'm not attending lectures for right now because my ultimate frisbee class conflicts).

Well, since I have to type them up anyway (and none of them are particularly embarrassing), thought I'd share:

8/26 - I was looking for my nightstand* on a planet that looked like Avatar* where we sometimes needed to wear masks. The girl I though might have the nightstand, her dad owned a moving/furniture company. After I asked her where it might be, there was an image of her dad saying "no" (they didn't have it) and in the background was a garage full of only large pieces of wood furniture. Then my friend told him that yes, they probably had it, and he relented and the background changed to the garage full of large furniture surrounded by other small odds-and-ends, including my nightstand.

Then, I was walking down a hallway that looked like a cross between Baker Hall and my old middle school* and ran into two friends I met last year who are in Heinz. (One, we'll call him "Larry", I had just seen in real life the day before I dreamt this.) Larry went down one staircase, and "Barry" and I went down the other. Barry (who is blonde in real life) had this awful shaggy reddish mohawk and really unhealthy skin. Larry asked, as he walked down the other staircase, if Barry was doing ok, but Barry said he was doing worse. I asked what "worse" was as Barry and I walked down the stairs and he played it off like a joke, saying his life was "getting more gay" since now he was sharing a bed with Larry.*

When we got to the bottom of the steps, both of them left and I was called into a psychology class by a friend. Larry and Barry had been trying to convince me to go into a evolution* class. The class had a project that was due on Oct. or Nov., and someone in the class who was in H&SS asked if she could start looking for a job right now* because it would get crazy for her during that project in Oct./Nov. A smart aleck said that that would be tough for her, getting a job in her major*. The class was about five, racially-diverse people in a yellow-y lit classroom that looked like one of the long skinny classrooms in Baker*. All the chairs were jumbled and a homemade table-desk was in the room.

nightstand - I am trying to remember who I gave a wooden nightstand to to store last year.
Avatar - I watched Avatar the evening before I dreamt this.
middle school - my middle school was an old stone building, so pretty easy to merge the two buildings
friends in Heinz - I ran into one of them the day before I dreamt this.
gay - neither Larry nor Barry are gay in real life
evolution - I have been reading "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature"
looking for a job - I'm a senior, so clearly on my mind
Baker rooms - I think it is 230-something, on the side of the building close to the Mall.

(I had to write the previous one up for others to read in class. From this point on, I'll be faithfully to my early morning grammar and just give editor's notes.) 

8/27 (a)- I was in charge of a dorm with ~5 RAs. One was a redhead and lived by "no regrets." Another also had connections to ABTech, storage, and other clubs. Most people, except for the person on duty, were headed somewhere (party?).

(b) - Cruise ship, following a group around (I was a disembodied third-person for most of this dream). All women wearing thongs on bottom, leered at in bathrooms. Go to a giant performance hall with a pool as the stage. People get ready for "The Slippery Watermelon" but all of the actors decided to screw in up in some way. The 2 singers tart, 1 guy 1 woman in a gorgeous dress. The first people are just on stage, then a diver jumps in a one of the singers pulls out a wiggly watermelon patterned straw and phallically (that's right, I wrote phallically within five minutes of waking up) sticks it in front of the camera. Another person dumps a watermelon in that is different from the original one. Eventually, jumper jumps in but disappears. A few other actors screw it up, but then they all come together and trade their coats for chances at getting the watermelon. One had brandname "Whitesides", one had leather (one actor was woman from Myth Busters (Kari Byron; I had just watched a clip about her new show earlier)). Everyone ends up with dif. jackets and there isn't much of a crowd left, but at the same time, the whole ship loved it (the show). The show is going to be re-put on by "JHC", which are three girls' names (Julia?) and also is the Joy House Club, or something. I/someone looks them up on Facebook. The cut is them presenting their idea, with 1 singer, 2 divers.

8/28 - I was at a store like Staples working. We started by trying to print some fliers but we ran out of the right size of paper. (It was too small to get printed on?) We were also using notepad or some rtf (rich text format... again, I'm such a geek for writing these words within minutes of waking up) to print with. The documents had two sign-up forms and a contract on them. The in got busy and lost of people asked for art supplies. Someone asked for a guide ruler for a straight edge cutter. I didn't know where it was, but attempted to check someone out (male, I think) (as in check-out at a store, people... don't get your mind in the gutter), but the register wouldn't log in. I was also very bad at the register, and tried returning the stuff first. He had a bulky item, and an axe (which he told me he was buying) and a bag of foam paint brushes that didn't have price tags. (That's right, my sub-conscious self was more worried about paint brushes that a MAN buying an AXE!)

8/29 - First, a snowstorm locked me and some friends inside a log cabin (I've had this dream a couple times before.) (I remember waking up and thinking after having the dream that I've had this dream before, but I don't remember actually having it before. I remember while I was dreaming I knew I was dreaming that this specific dream had ended differently before, thus, I must have dreamt it before.) Then, it switched so the humans and some other mystical creatures were fighting against another group. I went out (well, first there was a ball with a gorgeous dress, but I couldn't find my contacts) with a group of humans to fight these humanoids (ogre-like)? We ran into two groups (one by a bridge) and fended them off with teamwork and axes. (Again with the axes! Also, I remember when writing this that I thought it was a very good line for a book.) Then we prepared for the large group with the leader. He came and we defeated him! Then there was an epic journey.

8/30 - I was taken to a "classroom" during school (actually improv practice in the evening) and we were basically locked up and led through rooms. It was a nightmare. (My first nightmare in my dream journal!) They allowed us to scrounge for clothing. (We were wearing clothing too, but I guess this was extra to pack along?) We got a "muzzle" ball put into our bags. (Maybe for shoving into mouths?) The facility was by Seattle Center. We were led outside and while crossing the street I managed to sneak behind a door/building and go to a highrise. Once there, I was getting repeated calls from a number as well as Jynn Jin. I called 911 on the old couples phone but my mom answered sobbing. I told her the facility was at (Highway) 101 and Devonshire. Then I realized I had called 911, not my mom and the line went dead. (To flesh out the previous part where I said "the old couple", this is how I found them:) I had been walking on the highrises balcony to find someone. The woman said "Are you a prankster or a ____?" (Something I couldn't remember.) They were very old. (Also, recalling other details:) In the facility, we had to watch this tranquil clip of Lindsy (misspelled, I know) Lohan by the ocean. The old couples condos had candles.

8/31 - I was a head RA and had to balance schedules. (Short and sweet... I pressed snooze a couple too many times, so didn't remember parts of my disjointed dreams, except for that)

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little dive into my subconscious. Feel free to interpret any and all dreams as you see fit.

Bang-a-rang!: My Start as a WHaBaM CA

One of my favorite Red Team cheers starts with a single person yelling "Bang-a-rang!" Those around respond with:

Bang-a-rang!
Ruffio! Red Team Go! Red Team Go-ooooh...Ooh-Oooooooh
Red Team Go!

It is one of my favorite because a simple word-phrase-nonsense can turn into a group uniting around a cheer. And because, as the catalyst, you get to say "bang-a-rang", and who wouldn't like yelling something like that?

After my week of CA (community advisor) training, I began working with my ten RAs in the four buildings of which I am in charge.

How did you become the CA of four buildings, Corinne?

Glad you asked. I was originally hired for three buildings: McGill (the 72-person all-women's building), Welch (the 56-person quiet-living building), and Henderson (the 60-person health-and-wellness building). After getting my list of RAs in the spring while I was in Qatar, I began e-mailing them to see how summer and spring training was going. I had a lot of enthusiasm, but only knew one of the six from working with her previously. The rest - strangers.

Then there were many long, complicated (but correct) rearrangements of the department of Student Life, which eventually led to me gaining another house (Boss House, a 72-person house focused on global studies, leadership, and civic engagement), another RA (Welch needed one), and an arrangement with two housefellows instead of one.

The addition of Boss House came out of a need for a system for cohesiveness on the Hill (where all of my buildings are, also known as the Red Team) and support for the RAs. The additional RA came because staff didn't know how many first-years we had coming in and thus how many RAs might be needed overall. The two housefellows came out of a need to supervise both upperclass and first-year buildings differently.

But back to my wonderful houses that make up WHaBaM (Welch, Henderson, and Boss and McGill).

Boss is a first-year building, and McGill has 40 first-years of its 72 women. One housefellow is focused on those two buildings.

Henderson has 19 first-years and 41 upperclass students. Welch is more skewed, with 11 of the 56 as first-years. One housefellow is focused on these two buildings, in addition to supervising the other upperclass and Greek housefellows.

So really, how did I get this position? Someone had enough faith in me to say, if anyone can do it, Corinne can. I'm not yet pulling my hair out, I only hide from my e-mails every so often, and I can recognize (probably an optimistic estimate of) 75% of the students living in my buildings.

Would you have signed up for this job originally? Are you crazy? Do you think I'm crazy?

Would you trade it in now? No way. There is no part of WHaBaM of which I don't enjoy being a part. I can easily spend two hours going through all 12 floors plus 4 ground floors of all the buildings, chatting with residents who recognize me (and I recognize them!)

I feel honored that Student Life was confident enough (or desperate enough) to give me four buildings. I get to have at least nine meetings a week to work with this job, talk with my RAs, and get support from my housefellows.

I guess the reason I'm writing this post is to brag a bit. My RAs are great. My residents are great. And my year, if it continues in the direction we started it, should be great. I'm just hoping I can continue rising to the challenges of splitting my energy and time across so many divides and coming up with a satisfactory place for people to live and grow.

Bang-a-rang!

Bored in the 'Burgh? You Must Be Crazy: The Last Weeks of Summer

With CA training and my internship ending, I had a few crazy weeks there at the end of summer. By "crazy weeks", I mean I was working maybe 50 hours a week and socializing the rest of it. I like jobs that work like that.

Jim and I spent a day wandering up to Squirrel Hill and back, then ending up at the Vintage Grand Prix. Schenley was bustling with people looking at pretty cars and listening to the roaring of outdated engines. However, in true Pittsburgh style, the last lap of every race was spent waving to the drivers as they waved back.

Corinne (my summer roommate) and I (also named Corinne... cute, huh?) and Jim had a last hurrah going up the Duquesne Incline. Pittsburgh continues to make happy. Working downtown this summer gave me a better feel for a place I don't venture to very often, but overlooking the city, I really felt like I knew the place.


Of course, summer had to end, and CA ("Community Advisor", it's like a head RA) training started. We had a really awesome week of learning theories of community, presenting our own take on aspects of the CA role, and just in general bouncing ideas off each other, role-playing, and making grand plans for the school year. It is a group of leaders I'm proud to know now.