Free Spirits to the Rescue??

Dear Free Spirits, oh loves of my life, 

Next Tuesday, I have an interview at the Rochester Post-Bulletin for an internship this summer. (ack!) I recently received an email warning me to prepare for a "short reporter's test". However--despite my best efforts on google--I have no idea what this is. So, if you have ANY idea, please, please, please give me a jingle/comment/email/text/WHATEVER!

I have, however, been heavily preparing for the normal interview part of the process. Not only do I know that the Rochester Post and the Rochester Bulletin combined to (cleverly) form the "Rochester Post Bulletin" in 1925, but I am practicing VERY hard to not call Adrianna Huffington the b-word at any time during the process. (No promises though. Seriously, who completely blows off an interview with a COLLEGE student?!)

<3 from the land of way too many freaking lakes,

ps

48 Minutes and Counting

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."--Douglas Adams. 

Article on the campus restaurant extending it's hours due in 48 minutes. 

Word count needed: 750 

Word count accomplished thus far:  112 

It's times like these that I fail to remember why I'm dedicating my life to this industry...

Facebook, Pizza, and Cocaine

For some reason, on Facebook's addictive (and freakishly unaccurate) "Compare People" application, I have received a record 0 votes on the "Who Would Make a Better Mother" category. This shocked and appalled me. I mean, I work in a daycare (occasionally). I know I'm immature and forgetful sometimes (okay, a lot), but if BRITNEY SPEARS has 2 kids, there's no way in heck I deserved that title. 

But then I remembered my blog. My poor little neglected blog. And suddenly...I agreed with my ranking. So, to all of you out in blog-o-land, I sincerely apologize for my irresponsible and inattentive ways. I promise I'll do better next time. (Although, for the record, I'm also 148th in the "Who Smells Nicer" category sooo...)

In other news...I got in the most ridiculous political argument of my ENTIRE life the other day. And I've been in some ridiculous political arguments. (I'm a polysci major. It's part of the job description.) To really get the full craziness of the situation, close your eyes for a second, and imagine you're me. It's 2:30 the morning of the day before interim finals. You're so tired that you're borderline delirious, you're covered in lint from your Red Sox blanket and mango frutista spillage, and you can't shake the lingering scent of stale pizza and cheap alcohol that comes with living in Hoyme. As you shut down your shiny new MacBook Pro and prepare to finally stumble back from the dorm lounge to your room, the biggest ladies-man in the building/campus sidles up beside you and starts rambling on and on about his many drunken (and mostly illegal) antics. Just as you begin walking away from the guy, he spits out this doozy of a political theory: 

"I think the government should legalize cocaine"

And with that, he tottered away, off to share his bold (read: batcrap crazy) ideas for governmental policies with someone else--and left me, standing alone in the dorm lobby, puzzled, flabbergasted, shocked, and definitely no longer thinking of sleep.

"What the Hill?"

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a surprise for you all: 

"What the Hill?" will now be airing TWICE A WEEK! 

Thursdays at 8:00 pm (CT) and Fridays at 5:00 pm (CT). So be sure to turn in, because you won't want to miss even one action-packed second. 

Remember, you can listen online at 

http://www.stolaf.edu/orgs/ksto 

AND check out our previous shows at whatthehill.wordpress.com

Peace and love, 

Paula K.

(On behalf of myself and my co-hosts, Gus and Dave)

(Insert Clever Title Here)

I miss school. 

Never in my life did I think I would type those three words. But I do miss it. Severely. Funny what college can do to you. 

So my New Year's Resolution is starting a few days early: I'm blogging everyday, biznatches. Even if it's meaningless garbage that should be thought and never actually typed for the entire internet (or as Gus calls it, "the interwebs"), it'll go on here. Sidenote--How many times am I actually going to swear to blog more before I actually DO?!

Christmas was good. Very...Christmas-y. But the truth is, I have never in my life been MORE ready for the season to end. Putting away the tree, sealing up the boxes stuffed with animatronic singing Santas, taking down the mistletoe...for the first time in my life, I was more excited to take everything DOWN than to put it up and enjoy the glory of the "happiest time of year". So what exactly does this mean? That I'm turning into the 21st century's pastier version of the Grinch? Do I need the infamous three spirits of "A Christmas Carol" to visit me in my sleep and remind me that the season lives in our hearts blah blah blah? Is it just a matter of days before my own Clarence the angel ascends from the heavens to set me back on the right path? Or have I simply outgrown my childhood--and Christmas is going the way of Barbie dreamhouses and plastic dinosaurs? Does it have something to do with me now being in college, and having to be so focused on THAT, that the holidays are here and gone before it really has a chance to seek in? And, even more importantly, am I getting too self-inquisitive for my own good? Yikes. 

Excuses, excuses...

In case you didn't year, Barack won the election.

What was I doing in between that time and now?

Reading, sleeping, studying, dancing, breathing, kissing, writing, essaying, shopping, sledding, running, walking, biking, video-gaming, dressing up, dressing down, analyzing Alexis de Toqueville, hating Ben Franklin, being punished, being praised, debating, deciding, giving up, giving in, creating, destroying, target-running, soda-spilling, radio-show-hosting, facebooking, sipping coffee, spilling tea, talking, listening, Um Ya Ya-ing, reconnecting with old friends, disconnecting from others, quoting, joking, laughing, living.

In other words...everything BUT blogging. But, due to pressure from the FREE SPIRIT NETWORK (namely Kelley. =) I have returned. And I will ne'er leave you alone again, dear blog.

But now I am HOME...and it's kind of a weird experience. This entire past week, I have been counting the nano-seconds till I could escape the homework, the stress, the drama, etc., and just chill at home. But now that I'm here...I kinda can't wait to get back. I haven't stopped talking to my friends from school since 15 minutes into the drive back to P-town. Could it be that St. Olaf is my home now? Or maybe I'm addicted to the constant drama, pressure, energy, and amazing-ness of college. Or perhaps I've just been listening to FAR too many "This American Life" episodes, making me far too introspective and reflective for my own good...

In other news, check out the Free Spirit NETWORK! It's almost as amazing as the Free Spirits themselves:
http://www.freespiritnetwork.atzend.com