Campus Safari!

#7 - the SCSU Fitness Center

Southern's fitness center is a great place to go to work out in your free time. When you get a membership, tons of fun fitness classes like zumba and yoga are included! It is located right in the student center and is open from 7am to 10pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to 8pm on Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm on Saturday and 2pm to 7pm on Sunday. The fees are $60 for one semester or $120 for two semesters, but starting October 17th students can join for $35! The fitness center has every piece of equipment you could possibly need to use. Since I am a commuter, I don't think I would use the gym much, but if I were living at Southern I would definitely consider it!

For more information on the SCSU fitness center, go to http://www.southernct.edu/fitnesscenter/.

How Do You Manage Your Time?

Still on the subject of time management, I wanted to know different ways people manage their time and what they do to fit in all of their school work and still have time to go out and do fun things. I am not the most organized person, and I always have trouble scheduling myself and setting aside time for homework, so I was hoping that I could get some ideas from these people.

Most of the people I asked said that they got all of their homework done ahead of time so they have time to go out on the weekends or hang out with friends. Some other people said that they make a time plan of everything they want to get accomplished during the day and they see how much time they will need for each activity. Some people also say that they wait until the very last minute to do their work, which personally would stress me out way too much, but if that works for them, then I say just keep on doing it.

Time Management

This past week, I have kept track of everything I’ve done for every hour of the day. It really made me realize how much time I lose by getting distracted by watching TV, texting or going on the Internet. It also made me realize how little time I took doing the most important things, like eating and getting ready for school. During the week, I spent about 25 hours doing homework and studying. That surprised me because when we were making our schedule for the week in class, I had a hard time trying to fit even 20 hours in but I guess I really can do that much. I spent most of my time sleeping, of course… I need my beauty sleep! Besides that, I spent a lot of time watching TV. I didn’t realize I watched it that much until I actually started keeping track. I definitely think I need to start limiting how much television and Internet time I use up and start doing more productive things during those hours. I could also spend more time studying, because I usually just do my homework and maybe study for a little while, and then put it away, but I should start to make myself take the time and just re-read my notes and everything I’ve done in class that day.

Excellent Blogs!

I don’t really like this blog assignment because I would love to just say that everyone’s blog deserves an A, but I guess if I were to only choose three, these would be the ones.

The first blog that I think would be considered an "A"/excellent in my opinion is Nina's Blog titled "Nina's Blog" because she has really detailed posts and pictures that relate to all of her topics. I think that she puts a lot of thought into her blog posts and that is a good way to learn a lot about someone. The appearance of her blog is also very nice and it makes you want to keep looking and not just move on to the next blog.

The next blog that I think would be considered an A is Louie’s blog “Louie’s Happy Blog Time”. I love the pictures he posts and his blog is so funny but serious at the same time. I’m glad that his blog is just like him and he doesn’t change the way he writes to make himself sound like something he’s not. He is funny and creative and his blog definitely lets you see that.

The third blog I would give an A is “Me, Myself and the University” because when you first go to the blog, it is very fun to look at. I love the background and color choices and whenever I look at people’s blogs, that is probably the first thing I look for in a good blog. She also is a good writer and made me want to keep reading her posts.

I wish I could give everyone an A and talk about all of your blogs and how much I like them, but I can’t L So keep up the good work everyone! J

Professional Blogs

I thought it would be a lot easier to find professional blogs that I thought looked really interesting, but it was actually kind of difficult. The first professional blog I found that I would actually bother to take the time and read was http://www.shoppingblog.com/. I love shopping so I just typed "shopping blog" on Google and this is what I found. The blog talks mainly about shopping, fashion, beauty and pop culture, which are all things that I find interesting. On this blog you will find news about the recent awards shows, what celebrities have been doing lately and other random information related to these things. I don't know how many guys might find this blog interesting but I definitely know some girls that would. The visual presentation isn't as appealing as it probably could be, but something about it still made me want to read some of the posts. There is also a list of other blogs on the sidebar so if you were not as interested in this one, you could easily find another category that would interest you.

The second blog that I found is definitely my favorite of the two. http://abeachcottage.com/ It is a blog all about the beach, which is one of my favorite places to be. When you go to the page, it’s a beautiful blog. The pictures are so appealing and made me want to read the whole blog. After reading some posts, the blog is actually more about an actual beach cottage than just about the beach, but I can relate to it because my family owns a beach cottage in Madison, CT that we go to every weekend in the summer and is a big part of my life. Again, this blog might not be interesting to the guys and maybe not that many girls either, but for the girls that are interested in things like this, it’s a perfect blog. The pictures are lovely, the writing is inviting and made me want to read the posts, and I just really like this blog and am glad I found it.

Campus Safari Week #2

#6: Listen to the campus radio station and rate it based on how well you liked it and whether or not you'd listen again.

I did not know that Southern even had a radio station, so I was kind of excited when I heard about it. I listened to the campus radio station WSIN 1590 AM this morning from 10-11 and I really liked the songs that they played. I felt that they were very current songs and there were different types of music being played so there was something for everyone to enjoy. I would rate it a 5 out of 5 because overall the music was good and I would definitely listen to the station again and recommend it to other people.

I listened to the station on their website: http://radio.southernct.edu./

My Thoughts on Assigned Readings 2

1. "Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?ref=yourbrainoncomputers

People are always on their cell phones or laptops, even me. If you walk by me while I'm waiting for a class to start, you will most likely see me on my phone. It just gives people something to do to pass the time and sometimes be productive. But scientists are now saying that doing this can lead to people's brains not learning certain things, come up with new ideas or remember information. If we are always on our phones when we're not doing anything else, our brains don't get the downtime they need to go over experiences we have had, solidify them and turn them into permanent memories. This really makes me think about how much better my brain could be and makes me want to try not to just go on my phone every time I have the chance. Maybe tomorrow instead of going on facebook and texting my friends while I'm waiting for class and have nothing else to do, I'll reconsider that and just take the time to let my mind process my experiences.

2. "An Ugly Toll of Technology: Impatience and Forgetfulness"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brainside.html?ref=yourbrainoncomputers

"We do spend a lot of time with our devices, and some studies have suggested that excessive dependence on cellphones and the Internet is akin to an addiction. Web sites like NetAddiction.com offer self-assessment tests to determine if technology has become a drug. Among the questions used to identify those at risk: Do you neglect housework to spend more time online? Are you frequently checking your e-mail? Do you often lose sleep because you log in late at night? If you answered “often” or “always,” technology may be taking a toll on you."

After reading this, I have to admit that I have an internet addiction. Internet has made me somewhat impatient, like when a page won't load fast enough it makes me mad or I just don't even bother waiting for it to finish. I always have been forgetful but I don't think that the internet has caused this or made me even more forgetful.

Reading both of these articles made me want to give up the internet for a while. I know I could probably never do this, but maybe I will decide to just limit how much technology I am exposing myself to every day.