Cold and Flu Season is Here

I do not like being sick. I guess that's the price to pay when you live in a city where the weather changes every five minutes.

For a couple of weeks now, I've been coughing up a lung, and maybe some other organs I don't know exist.  I did go to the doctor and I am a mess.  I have a lot of chest congestion and I'm on a lot of antibiotics.  I still have a long way for the coughing to end completely.  While I wait, I'm going to keep working on my assignments, learn all I can in school and strive for good grades. I can't allow anything to stop me from achieving my goals. 

I wrote an all-new poem yesterday during a break I gave myself while studying for an upcoming quiz.  It's called "Panic."

Panic

Copyright 2012 All rights reserved.

Oh my god
I can't breathe
Walls are caving in
Am I in a box?
It's too dark
I can't see
What's that noise?
Nose, gone
Hands and feet, stiff
Eyes glued shut
Mouth sewn shut
Head, stiff
Body, cold
Heart's not beating
I can't move
Oh, eternal slumber
Come to me

Midterms and Bedbugs

The Midterm season has passed with a lot of insanity, blow-ups, and freak-outs I experienced in only two days.   I got two Cs, a B and an A in my classes. I’m proud of the fact that I didn’t get a D on my midterms; I want to work the Cs I got up to a B, a B into an A, and keep my A where it is and work to maintain it.  Last semester, I almost received straight A’s and I was proud of that accomplishment.  I know of people who have dropped the classes I’m in. I’ve always wondered why they would do that, I can speculate on that later. The only thing I’m worried about is me and keeping my grades from dropping.

On a more serious note, I saw something move on my bedroom wall as though it belonged there. Grabbing my camera, I got a closer look and saw that it was a bedbug. Immediately, my mind raced to the time in Washington, DC where I experienced bedbugs for the very first time.  I have a fear of all bugs, even those that are seemingly innocent. When I see one of those creatures, I want to run for the hills. I showed the picture to my landlord, and she called an exterminator to come out and kill them.  As an added precaution, I put everything I owned in plastic bags, washed my clothes at the Laundromat, got mattress and pillow protectors, I tossed out my bedding, got new bedding and the room is spotless.  The exterminator came over and put a bedbug bomb in my bedroom. 

Bugs should be eradicated from this planet! Photo by Sharon Pearson

Since the exterminator came, I haven’t seen any bedbugs come out of the walls as of yet.  My landlord has the receipt from the visit. 

I wasn’t feeling well last week when I posted a video.  I’m working on a new video and it’s going to be on something I am involved in at school.  

Film Debut

I fooled around with my webcam and made this little video.  I would like to make more.

All film content is made by me.

It's That Time

Last week, three invitations to open houses came to my home.  The first one was from Northwestern University, the second one came from Loyola University, and the third one came from DePaul University.  As a student who's about to graduate from a community college, I'm interested mostly in their programs for journalism.  I called each school, and accepted their invitations to come and see the schools before I filled out the applications and paid the fees. 

It's the time of year I need to plan out my personal essays and look deeper into schools I intend on transferring to once I graduate from Truman College.  I'm in my second-to-last semester of obtaining an Associate of the Arts degree and I want to be very sure of which school I want to attend next Fall. 

The first of the three schools I'm visiting at the end of the week is Northwestern. I have to get directions to the building on that campus I'm supposed to go to for the open house session.

What's Fun?

I don’t go out and have fun anymore. I work.

The few times I have “fun” is when I watch YouTube  videos by some of my favorite music groups and/or singers that I grew up listening to on the radio, and old skits from Saturday Night Live.  On the occasion that I get a free moment from studying, I would make use of my Facebook and see what some people I know are talking about.  Sometimes, there’s drama, and there’s spoilers of television shows I’ve yet to watch.  I like those in particular, because I don’t really watch television anymore, except for the news.

I used to go to Six Flags Great America all of the time, because I had a season pass and a couple of my friends are roller coaster enthusiasts.   I go along with them and take pictures. I haven’t gone to the theme park in several years, and I miss it.  The last time I went was nearly ten years ago when roller coaster Shock Wave left the theme park.  I got a picture taken with a zombie that same year at Fright Fest and someone from an S&M site asked if I was a submissive. That’s a different story for another day.

My skeletal friend at Fright Fest, 2003. Photo by Sharon Pearson.

The dismantling of Shock Wave, 2003. Photo by Sharon Pearson.

 

 I would like to go out and have fun again. I can wait until the semester's over.

Random Thoughts: Fall Edition

As summer leaves and autumn comes in, the noticeable changes are immediate.  Cooler days have arrived a lot earlier than usual, and I spied a lot of people wearing pea-coats, Ugg boots, and other fall-weather clothing.  There are a few people who refuses to  believe that summer is over and are out wearing flip-flops and tank tops. I'm going to get my warm clothes out of moth balls, wash out the scent, and wear them proudly.  Then again, as a native Chicagoan who grew up in this lovely city, the weather can turn in a second if one's not prepared. Have a lovely fall, everyone!

What a Teacher Instilled in Me

Growing up in Chicago, I went through the education provided by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system.  It has its flaws, and good points as well.  One of the things that sticks out some many years later was grammar lessons in the fifth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Falbe, drilled lessons into us on a daily basis.  At one point of my elementary school career, I recited prepositional phrases, adverbs, and adjectives in my sleep.  I hated doing those exercises, even though I wanted to be a writer when I grew up and became an adult.  I didn't know it then; the idea was to write well for any career in life, where written communication is very important.

Several years later, I decided to major in journalism, taking with me what a CPS taught me those years earlier.  She was a tough lady; she had a reason to be hard on all of us students, even me who hated doing homework and only did enough to avoid flunking the fifth grade.  My grammar still needs some work.  I have a great instructor at Truman College who only wants the best from me, just like Mrs. Falbe did.

CPS teachers work very hard, and aren't appreciated by the students, or the Board of Education.  Layoffs are occurring, unsafe conditions in the schools are up, and all the teachers are asking for is a safe learning environment, pay raises, and respect.  I didn't like my CPS teachers then, but as I reflect on my years in the system, I can honestly say that I wish I had paid more attention and daydreamed less.

I have to find those notebooks from the fifth grade and give myself a refresher course.

Teachers picketing outside of Kellman Community Academy on Sep. 10, 2012.

 

 

Picture taken by Sharon Pearson