Wu Shock added me on Facebook.

When I saw the request I was overwhelmed with the intense feelings of WSU pride commonly referred to as WuShockism (or Shockaholism, if that’s your preference). I even bragged about it to my boss. I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about starting another year of classes, but my new friend has made me more excited than ever for school to start.

Subject: 5 Minutes to Help Barack Obama in Kansas

Dear Friends,

Sen. Barack Obama and the Kansas Democratic Party need to build a strong base of support during the next month to prepare for a tough election season ahead. I’m asking you to help Sen. Obama online by engaging your network of friends and supply them with ways they can join the movement in Kansas.

Here are some quick easy tasks you can do to help build the movement:

1. Forward this message on to your friends
2. Share the volunteer sign-up link with your friends and post it to your profile: http://www.ksdp.org/volunteer
3. Write a note asking your friends to sign up to volunteer
4. Join the Kansas Democratic Party Group on Facebook
5. Invite your friends to join the group!

Thanks for taking the time to spread the word and help us create the kind of support we are going to need to bring about change and make Kansas a blue-state in November!

Larry Gates
Kansas Democratic Party Chair

Not a Democrat? Volunteer to help run our local elections and make $10 bucks an hour instead:

WSU students have an opportunity to participate in democracy and serve the country as an Election Day poll worker in November.

Those who work the full day from 4:45 a.m.-8:15 p.m., receive $120. Those who work a half day, from 4:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. or 12:15-8:15 p.m., receive $60.

Anyone interested in serving as a poll worker should call 660-7100 or go to http://www.sedgwickcounty.org/elections for an online application.

The Election Commissioner is asking workers to sign up before Sept. 15 in order to have time to attend a training session. Workers must be US citizens and eligible to vote.

This is certainly the most exciting election cycle of my lifetime, and I can’t imagine missing out on the history currently in the making. So, those of you with time to volunteer, should–before the opportunity is lost forever.

Below, Betts (in blue) is greeted by citizens as he walks towards the event on the far left. Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer arrived moments earlier, seen on the far right.

Tables were set up to collect donor information, register new voters and also provide candidate merchandise. I was stationed at a voter registration/merchandise table:

The event was set on the beautiful landscape of the Michaud Ranch in Derby, though my photographs don’t quite capture the whole scene.

There are many seats up for grabs in this election cycle.

Nationally, the U.S. House seat held by Republican Tiahrt and the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Pat Roberts are both at stake. (And President, of course.)

Locally, we have eight State Senate seats, 22 State Representative seats, 18 seats for Judges in the 18th Judicial District, the 18th Judicial District Attorney, two State Board of Education seats, two Sedgwick County Commissioner seats, Sedgwick County Clerk, Sedgwick County Register of Deeds, Sedgwick County Treasurer and finally, Sedgwick County Sheriff.

The Sedgwick County Democrats maintain a list of all the 2008 Democratic candidates online. You can also find out more information and a list of all candidates from both parties at the Sedgwick County Election Office.

Not sure which district you’re in? Use this online tool developed by KU to find your legislators. And just a reminder, Kansas has two U.S. Senators without district assignments (of which one seat is at stake), and the 18th Judicial District is Sedgwick County.

The primary election to nominate individual candidates from each party takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 5th. It is too late to register new voters to vote in the primary, but be sure to get yourself registered before November.

As a collector of game show knowledge, (you know, the stuff you would only ever need to recall during a Ken Jennings-esque Jeopardy stint), I welcome any and all opportunities that add facts to my mental data bank. How else am I supposed to consistently win at Cranium?

So when my mom offered to take me and two friends as tag-alongs to her annual NEA national conference trip, I agreed. What can I say? She made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

During our nine days of vacation time, we were able to cover most of the traditional D.C. sightseeing fare: the Smithsonian museums, presidential and war memorials, the Library of Congress and the Capitol Building. I enjoyed all of these, but my favorite pit stop was the Newseum.

No self-respecting communication major can plan a decent D.C. trip that doesn’t include spending some time at the Newseum. As a news junkie, I had to visit this mecca for journalism geeks everywhere. I would’ve loved to prove the Newseum’s claim of “world’s most interactive museum,” had I, say, three entire days to spend there. Nevertheless, my afternoon there was the best one of the trip. Pictured above is the giant marble First Amendment tablet located on the outside of the Newseum.

Pictured here is a map outlining the three levels of press freedom all over the world. I’ve seen these before, but it’s always an eye-opener, considering how often I take America’s free press for granted.

One of the exhibits I found most interesting was the Newseum’s 9/11 Gallery. The gallery showcases the Sept. 12 front pages from all over the United States and several from other countries. It was fascinating to see how different newspapers tackled the difficult challenge of covering a tragedy.

Planning your own nerd excursion to D.C. anytime soon? My advice to you is to not feel too overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of things to do and see. Pick a couple that interest you the most and then take it from there!

1. I wear my seatbelt. OK, so this one is obvious. It’s like I woke up one day and said: “Self, there is no rational cause for you to not wear this seatbelt,” and started wearing it from that day forward.

2. I read the paper every day. This habit was inspired by a political science professor, and now I consider it to be invaluable. Reading the New York Times every day has not only sharply increased my reading speed, but its long and thoughtful articles have helped me develop a keener understanding of the world.

3. I don’t watch as much television. This sort of goes along with #2, because television began to lose its hold over me when I started taking an interest in current events. Watching fictional people do fictional things on a TV screen was no longer as entertaining as it used to be; I want to hear about real things happening to real people.

I could launch into a tirade about how television fosters a closed-minded opposition to knowledge among many individuals of my generation, but that’s probably a discussion best left for another blog.

4. I use sunscreen. After having spent my adolescence under the impression that my fair skin was undesirable (thanks mainstream media), now I know I have added years of youth to my skin by not tanning regularly. To further preserve my youth, I apply sunscreen every time I’m in the sun, even if only for a short while.

5. I drive 55. This goes along with adulthood inasmuch that being on my own requires paying for my own gas, and that extra 5-10 m.p.h. is simply not worth the $3.85/gal. Yet most older adults I know appear to be just as oblivious to the magic number as do my peers.

Bottom line: 55 is the speed at which most automobiles achieve their maximum fuel consumption efficiency level. Go ask Jimmy Carter.

6. I go to the library. A recent entry from FailBlog uploaded a screenshot of a particularly amusing question once posted on a message board:

Subj: book rental service?

was just thinking. my sister does -alot- of reading, and spends like $1000 a year on just books alone. most of them she reads once then never looks at again. is there any kind of like…video rental store but for books? would make things alot cheaper, plus once one person had read one the next person can get enjoyment from it etc

The rolls-in-grave joke possibilities are endless.

And finally,

7. I try to stay organized. My memory is easily defeated by a Post-It, but I spent much of my life convincing myself otherwise. Now I no longer rely solely on my brain to streamline the millions of pieces of information I try to cram in it on any given day.

Instead, I print out a Google Calendar every month and write things down in an accessible and orderly fashion. I pen all notes and ideas on paper when it’s in reach (though I’m still working on carrying the same with me everywhere.)

There’s still lots of things I aspire to do or become better at, like recycling, gardening, and being punctual all the time. It’s interesting to assess the different ways I have found myself changing since being an adolescent, though.

Although my emphasis within the Elliott School of Communication is Integrated Marketing Communication, Print Journalism classes are an interest of mine that I’m working on cultivating. So I enrolled in Comm 660Q: Greensburg Rebirth, a project headed up by Elliott Associate Professor Les Anderson.

The class focused on Greensburg, a small Kansas town two hours west of Wichita. If you aren’t up on your semi-current Kansas events, 95 percent of the town was destroyed when an EF-5 tornado hit on May 4, 2007. Since then, Greensburg has garnered national attention of all kinds ranging from media outlets to volunteer groups as residents work to rebuild.

Above: View of Greensburg’s brand spankin’ new water tower from Big Well Park. Because most of the old park was destroyed, CBS News’ “The Early Show” dedicated a new, eco-friendly playground to the children of Greensburg.

Les was a great resource, editor and cook throughout the trip. Besides fulfilling the role of fearless leader, he also kept up his own blog on the Wichita Eagle’s Web site.

For two weeks, I worked with 14 other communication students as we covered Greensburg one year after the storm through print, photo, video and audio. We also used Blogspot, Twitter and Flickr to document our trip.

Above: A brightly-colored wooden star adorns an abandoned lot. These stars were part of the Stars of Hope project taken on by FDNY Firefighters to show support for Greensburg. These were everywhere. Seriously. You couldn’t fling a cat without hitting one. Not saying I tried that or anything…

After the class was finished, I had the opportunity to visit with Frank Dudgeon, one of the friendly folks at KMUW, about my audio piece and my overall Greensburg experience. The rave reviews I received from my mom give me the feeling that my brief foray into public radio was successful.

The lawn’s a little weedy, but we’ve got more shrubbery than we can deal with.

Inside: this is the first half of our living room. Chateau Goodwill.

And this is the second half of the living room, which includes my roommate’s desk and various musical instruments and equipment belonging to household members:

Another shot of the roommate’s desk:

While we’re at it, here’s a shot of my desk setup, located in the dining room:

The dining room is also where I house a parrot and shelve my books in a china hutch. Who needs to eat at a table anyway?

The paper taped to his cage is a sign instructing my roommate not to kill him. His name is Q. He’s a genius.

And this is my boring bedroom consisting of mismatched, albeit well-fitting, furniture:

Well, the kitchen and bathroom aren’t so much to look at, so I’ll skip those this time. Here’s a kitty instead:

Until next time.

So how do you manage?

As you’ve likely heard, if you’re an independent taxpayer who made more than $3,000 last year Uncle Sam will be sending some skrilla your way. Vital to warding off a recession, these payments sent out to taxpayers will provide an extra boost to consumer spending and the economy.

Still not sure if you qualify?

If you …

• Have a valid social security number

• Made more than $3,000 in 2007, but less than $75,000

• Filed a 2007 tax return

• Can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return

… then you qualify for a stimulus payment ranging from a minimum of $300 to a maximum of $600. Individuals whose income exceeded $75,000 (or married couples filing jointly who made more than $150,000 combined) may qualify for smaller payments, but $75,000 is the point where the payments are intended to phase out.

To receive your payment, you do nothing. You’ll automatically receive a check in the mail or a direct deposit in your bank account, depending on how you received your tax return. See: The Economic Stimulus Payments Information Center at the IRS website for more information. 

 Well, let’s say you know your stimulus payment is on the way. How do you use it wisely?

Spending Cash. Firstly, get thyself to SlickDeals before making any major purchases.

The front page displays a list of currently well-known deals, but the forums are the real hotbed of information. A wise place to research your next HDTV purchase for big savings.

Earning Cash. Next, consider Craigslist to offload unwanted goods to other people in your area and beef up your dwindling savings.It’s free to post a listing and there’s plenty of local activity. Just exercise the same caution you would when selling to any stranger on the Internet–and make sure the person you’re dealing with is genuinely local.

Saving Cash. Here’s an easy one everyone should know by now: WichitaGasPrices.com. Though the prices in every area aren’t always up-to-date, it sure beats nothing.Lesser known are the Pinching Your Pennies forums for the Kansas area, which track grocery store sales and coupons.

Want to really master your grocery bill? Make a list of the items you use all the time (like those $1.79 Soups-At-Hand you always have for lunch) and splurge when the best deal comes along. You’d be surprised how much you can save. 

Free! Finally, nothing’s easier on your bank account than stuff that doesn’t cost money. FreeCycle is a Yahoo Group for the Wichita area where individuals can offer things they would like to give away for free. Plenty of families do have clutter they need to clean up, from appliance upgrades to cross-country moves, and FreeCycle provides a place to get rid of it. Just don’t expect any plasma screens. And don’t forget, the Wichita Craigslist also has an active Free section for the same purpose.

Secondly, it was sad to see our WSU men’s basketball team not make it to the NCAA tournament this year, but our neighbors and fellow Kansans the Jayhawks are going to kick butt in a big way this Saturday — I can feel it.

Everywhere in Wichita, shows signs of growth. It’s a is a city on the rise. I took a little driving tour today and hit a couple spots.

Right now it’s just an unidentifiable mess os cranes and and metal, but it should be nice when it’s done.

Just past all the construction you can see the downtown area.

Next on the Wichita tour is the WaterWalk, which is also under construction. From what it looks like its going to be one huge building that is condos, shopping and parking garage all in one. I don’t know too much about this one but I hope it’s cool when it’s done.

Another large project about to begin is the Parkstone retail and brownstone residences that will be going in at Douglas and Rutan in College Hill.

Ground breaking was today so there’s nothing to see yet. All of these are large scale projects that will dramatically change the face of urban Wichita. We are a city that seems to be moving into a new era. Of course I also study real estate so of course I think it’s exciting.

Now, I’ve got to get back to studying finance or I’ll never get done. Finance is not playing around. Finance doesn’t call you up and be like, “Oh hey, wanna kick it for a while?” No, finance is like an attention starved friend who is constantly blowing my cell.

One of Brandon’s pieces, in progress.

Brandon Smith work, left and top; Spike Hemans, right.

Although my friend (who makes collage paintings and ceramics) regularly shows in galleries around town, he wanted one night a week where he could make art with his friends that aren’t ’serious’ artists. And so, with a few swift strokes of baby-girl pink spray paint, Art Club was established.

Last week, Art Club made its first collaborative piece. Check out a time-lapse video here:

Heading home from a loss

Senior night last Tuesday was an emotional game for me. My journey to center court for Senior recognition has certainly been one filled with many obstacles and struggle, but it was all worth it. I made it, mostly intact and certainly better for it. Now if the tendon I injured during the game would get better, I can finish this season off the right way.

Senior night

Beyond basketball I feel like the ‘Cowboy in the Jungle’. Jimmy Buffett (I’m attending his concert on April 26) had it right all the way when he said you’ve just got to roll with the punches and make the best of whatever comes your way.

Graduation nears and change is certainly not far behind. I find the closing of this chapter in my life and the opening a new one scary, but also very exciting. I’m sure wherever the road takes me it will give me stories to fill my tank and passion to pass the time.

In the end, “some of it’s magic, and some of it tragic.” - Jimmy Buffett

I listened to a Democratic presidential candidate speak in Kansas. And I snapped grainy photos of him with my cell phone.

Thousands of people gathered for the event. Miles of cars were wrapped around Haverhill Road in the queue to the Butler Community College gymnasium. People of all walks braved the blowing snow and frigid temperatures to gain entrance to an extraordinary event taking place in this red state.

Even the overflow room–for everyone who couldn’t fit into the gym–reached capacity. But Barack Obama made time to stop in and greet the booming crowd.

In the Super Tuesday that followed, the resources put into Kansas by the Obama campaign became evident. Barack Obama carried the state with over 70 percent of the vote. Some 37,000 Democrats turned out for those Super Tuesday caucuses, whereas only 20,000 Republicans made it out to their equivalents in Kansas.

That’s nearly a 2:1 ratio. Still seeing red?

My caucus site, among others across the state, was woefully equipped to handle the unexpected Democratic turnout.

Overwhelmed by demand, volunteer staff were frantically xeroxing registration forms after initial stores were rapidly depleted. The arrangement of tables in a hallway as caucus registration points became swarmed and impassable by the large crowds attempting to squeeze past each other in search of their assigned table.

Soon enough, it was apparent that the auditorium of my caucus site could not accommodate both Obama’s and Clinton’s supporters. One volunteer told me that they had only anticipated 100-200 arriving, but the count had gone past 800.

Eventually, the Obama group was relocated to a gymnasium down the hall from the auditorium, where after hours of re-counting, it was finally announced that the Obama supporters had triumphed as the larger group. As far as caucus experiences go, this one will be most memorable. I only pity my silly friends who chose to skip the excitement.

Fortunately for them, they still have one last opportunity in November. They can still choose to stay home and excuse themselves as victims of a red state.

But they’ll be all the more sillier if a critical election took place this year that changed the political trajectory of Kansas and they lost the chance to take pride in the recognition of having made that change possible.

Wouldn’t you hate to be the one blue who had no hand in re-coloring the state?

The only thing keeping me sane is Guitar Hero III. My little sister is better than me — my excuse is that I’m tired.

I am so addicted to this game right now its crazy. I’ve never really been one for video games before but I can’t get enough GH3. I hear that on Wednesday nights, Fox & Hound holds Guitar Hero tournaments. I might go just to see some nerds tear it up.

I’m really proud of myself because today I learned and conquered the art of driving a stick shift. Okay, I’m definitely not a master, but I can totally get myself around now if I had to. You know … if there was by some chance a dire emergency and all cars were disabled except sticks and I had to go drive around. I wish my life were more like Smokey and the Bandit.

Anyway, tests this week. Yay! Cheers to the advancement of my personal quest for academic achievement. I rule.

Rock Band.

If you’re out of the video game loop, this game is the latest take on the hit franchise Guitar Hero, which originally launched on the PS2 with a single guitar controller. This time, the makers of Guitar Hero teamed up with MTV to incorporate two additional instruments into a brand new game, namely, vocals and percussion. Now fans of the franchise can sing and drum along with the tracks, in addition to rocking out with the guitar controller traditional to the game.

Despite the $180 Special Edition price tag, Rock Band has been flying off store shelves since late November. Copies sold on eBay during the holidays caught quite a profit over retail price to desperate shoppers trapped in areas of very high demand.

Included with the Special Edition bundle: Microphone, Fender Stratocaster controller, and Drum Kit. (Game disc and case not pictured.)

You can play by yourself, or rally your friends to form your Rock Band and play together. There’s even a mic stand accessory available, so if you’re really into it you can play and sing at the same time.

Learning the game is really quite simple. This is how to rock out:

Video by YouTube user azuritereaction

And this is how NOT to rock out:

Video by YouTube user camlutz

Truly the greatest multiplayer entertainment game ever made.

I also decided to take a presession class to fill up the extra time during the break. In presession classes, students attend class Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. to noon for two weeks. The class I enrolled in was called “Relationship Problems,” a sociology class. This class took a look at the different types of relationship problems people can have within ,arriages, co-worker relations, parent-child relations and dating relations. The class was taught by Dr. Ron Matson, one of the most popular professors on our campus. His classes usually fill up within the first few days of enrollment.

I am now entering into my senior year! I am so excited. After all the hard work it is finally coming to an end. I am ready for it, I will be looking for an internship and hopefully land the job of a lifetime.

In three months and 21 days, to be exact.

I like school and have especially relished my time at Wichita State. For the most part, I’ve had positive experiences in my classes, even required ones. Some classes — and professors — stand out more than others. A well-planned and interesting curriculum combined with an inviting, intriguing professor can be a savior in an otherwise drab semester. Reflecting on this, I decided to compose my Must-Take Courses from my last four years at WSU.

Speaking in Business and the Professions
Communication 325 - Nancy Fisher (No longer at WSU, unfortunately)

I know what you’re thinking. Why take another public speaking when the required course had you whimpering like a 5-year-old on the first day of kindergarten? This class focuses on speaking and presentations in the business world. In other words, stuff you’ll likely have to do at some point in your career. You can’t get too much practice speaking in front of people. Plus, because of the nature of the class, you get to know the other students so much more than in a lecture class.

Themes in American Literature - The Self, Controlled
English 232 - Professor Jeanine Hathaway

This is a general education course that changes themes regularly. In the class I took, the theme was The Self, Controlled. We read several memoirs from recent-day authors, then wrote papers about the books. My favorites from the class were The Color of Water by James McBride (it’s actually one of my favorite books ever) and Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy. Professor Jenine Hathaway made the difference in this discussion-heavy class.

Psychology of Personality
Psychology 324 - Professor Darwin Dorr

I took psych 111 online, so I didn’t get much out of it. This small, intimate class (I’m talking 10 students), is just another reason I love WSU. Everything we learned — personality theories, factors that influence personality — was applied directly to our lives. We took informal personality assessments of ourselves to gain a better understanding of the concepts we were learning (who doesn’t love taking those things?). Professor Dorr’s experience is rich and his stories of practicing made coming to class easy.

Biological Anthropology
Anthropology 101 - Professor Peer Moore-Jansen

I am not a science kinda gal. I began the semester with reluctance but was pleasantly surprised with this class. We learned about the biological evolution of humans, beginning with early primates. Drawing cute little tree shrews and lemurs is just too fun. The class moved at a fairly rapid pace but the supplemental instruction program, student-led study sessions, made it easy to stay on top of the course.

Training for the 10K River Run
Kinesiology 106M - Clark Ensz

I like a challenge and this class brought it. I’m actually enrolled in it again after first taking it last spring. It’s simple, really: go to class. Listen to a brief lecture about how to run in the cold (or the heat), proper shoes to run in or technique. Then get your butt outside and run. The final is completion of the 10K (that’s 6.2 miles) Bank of America River Run. Best of all, this class isn’t about speed. People who had never run before to seasoned runners were in the class.

Editing for Print
Communication 510 - Professor Les Anderson

Best. Class. Ever. And I’m not the only one who feels that way. Unless you’re a communication major, you’re unlikely to take this class, but I had to include it. Not only did we write and edit news stories and headlines, layout news pages and photographs, we were exposed to an array of professional guest speakers in different areas of journalism and communication. From advertising agency account coordinators to online news editors, this class gave me an inside peek at careers I never would have considered otherwise. I can’t say enough about this class or professor. I’ll shut up now, though.

So there you have it. My picks for best classes. Enjoy!

I’m bummed about out basketball season but I’m hyped for classes to start. Break was great but I need the regularity of school to make my life truly rewarding. I guess I’m just ready to get back into the grit…

IT’S MY 21st BIRTHDAY!

I celebrated by renting a Party Bus — I invited forty of my closest friends to join me and I had a blast. We started the night with dinner for all forty of us at El Rodeo, a fantastic mexican restaurant. Then we loaded back on the bus to really get the party started. The bus I chose came with, what I like to call, an entertainer’s pole.

In my classes, now that I am getting into my specific degree classes, it is getting a little harder. My professors are helping me tremendously, though. They are staying after class with me, coming in early and answering all of my e-mails. This was also a time for me to catch up with my friends and family.

Some other fun news: I got a job! I now work at SPECS Eyewear. SPECS is located in the Waterfront and the upper level of Towne East Mall, across from Lids. So, if anyone reading this needs a new pair of RX or fashion glasses, Oakley, Maui Jims, SPY and any other type of eyewear, come and see me!

Here’s my Shocker bowling picture — check out my SPECS glasses!

This is myself with the lead singer from Knifewound, David.

This year I didn’t actually do anything on Halloween because there was so much going on the weekend before. That was fine with me – I was exhausted and needed some couch time.

School is tracking right along. I’ve got some extra studying to do to make sure I’m ready for the end of the semester. One thing I have come to learn from my years in college is that you DO NOT PUT OFF LEARNING THE INFO UNTIL THE END OF THE SEMESTER. Too many times have I screwed myself at the end of a semester by putting off work at the beginning. I’ll be doing a lot of studying in the near future.

My birthday was last Saturday. I went bowling at Northrock Lanes with my family and girlfriend and then went to a house party one of my friends was having. Inside Northrock Lanes is A.J. Sports Grill, which has some of the greatest pizza in town. I definitely ate some of that while watching KU beat OSU in football.

Other than that I have been hanging out around town. I stopped in to Rewound Sounds, a local record store, and bought some primo vinyl.

This is my friend Jonathan and the owner Chris.

If you like records at all you have to check this place out — located at Douglas and Pattie, right behind the sewing and vaccuum store.

Time for class.

This is Chico’s Candela, a local Cumbia band that played Nov. 12 at the Rhatigan Student Center.

Accordingly, I’ve put a fair amount of time and dinero researching the trends currently flying off of the shelves. And today, I’ll share with you the best of the bunch and where to have them at prices fit for a student.

First off, a few basics.

Cropped vests

Cropped vests are appearing all over fashion retail outlets, but Wet Seal has the best assortment of patterns and prices of them all. The three vests featured above can be found at Wet Seal’s website; prices range from $16.50-$19.50.

Lace camisoles

Lace is extremely popular right now, and camisoles are increasingly found adorned with this elegant touch. Lace polka dot cami, lace butterfly cami, and lace ribbed cami are all available online at Papaya Clothing. Prices on these tops run $6.99-$9.99.

Next, fall footwear is essential, and ballet flats have been a huge hit this season.

Belted ballet flats

The belted flat is a new take on the ballet flat trend, and they’re pretty versatile. Sharp enough to wear to the office, and comfortable enough to wear at home. You can find these name brand flats at much higher prices in fine department stores, or you can get them for $14 or less at Cutesygirl.com. Never mind the cutesy name, their shoes are serious business.

Next, no fall wardrobe is complete without a pair of leggings (and legwarmers, for the winter months).

Footless capri leggings

Paired with a tunic or dress, capri leggings are the hottest way to go pantsless. Run a cursory search through Google to see this style flirted with by celebrities.

There’s a number of different places to find these leggings, but the cheapest start would be eBay or online fashion retailers like Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe. Prices usually fall under $10.

Lastly, I just dig boleros.

Boleros

I have found Wave Fashion to be the best place to find boleros. Prices fall $14.80-$16.80, and their selection is nice–just search for bolero.

If that wasn’t enough for you, I also love to shop at Body Central and The 15 Dollar Store. And when I don’t have the cash to shop, I spend my time browsing for inspiration at Wardrobe Remix.

Hopefully, my efforts bring inspiration into your wardrobe as well.

This is what two-a-days will do to you!

Have you seen the Dog the Bounty Hunter Halloween costume? it is just too good! I, however, will not be dressing up like this or anything else. Between practice and school I am afforded little time for play. I did get one chance to partake in some Halloween fun last Friday at Margarita’s. This was only the second time I have been to Margarita’s, but each time I had a blast. Lotus, the live band that plays every Friday night, gets the energy going and the bodies shakin’ (the lead singer isn’t bad to look at, either).

Live band, Lotus, at Margarita’s.

For some on-campus fun I attended WSU’s production of Dead Man Walking at the Wilner Auditorium. The intimate setting of the play gave the audience an up close and personal view of the skill and effort required for such a performance. I have a newfound respect for theatre and the time it must take to prepare for such a show.

We initially began contacting schools, businesses and other organizations we thought might be able to help. But once the press started covering our story (we’ve been on the radio twice and each of the four television stations at least once), the community started to contact us. That’s more than we could have hoped for.

Not only are we helping the environment by recycling, but we’re rebuilding communities while building our resume and adding to our portfolios. This campaign has turned out to be such a success, our officers are going to make a book with our strategy and results. It’s going to make an impressive portfolio piece and it’s possible because our involvement in the student organization.

Now, that being said, I am ready for this drive to conclude. My friends and I joke we’re never going to wear jeans again after this drive! Between classes and working, the drive is like a part time job. I’m so glad Wichita State was able to participate, though. We succeeded in showing other universities and Cotton Incorporated, who is conducting the drive, what Shockers can do.

The sunsets have been really amazing lately.

However, before I can get to the Halloween parties, I have to get through this week. And this week involves working 40 hours, having a mid-term in my law class as well as working with my group on a business plan in my entrepreneurship class. I’m also pretty much completely broke and mostly running of caffeine and Lunchables. Life is great. Student life is great, because if I wasn’t a student and working 40 hours while being broke then something might be wrong with me. But being a student gives me a great reason to be broke and loving it.

If I manage to survive the week, then I have the weekend to look forward to and this weekend should be a blast. On Friday night, not only is it Final Friday, but its also the Knifewound Halloween show. Knifewound is a local metal band whose lead screamer (haha) is a friend of mine. It’s a costume show at the Eagle’s Lodge. I went last year and it was a blast and this year is even cooler because Knifewound is releasing their recently completed CD.

Now about this law mid-term: so far in this class we’ve covered about half the book and haven’t had a single test or assignment. I basically cannot screw up this test. So maybe instead of blogging I should be studying…

I work on the third floor of an Emprise building downtown, which is actually leased by several attorneys working in different areas of the law.

However, I only answer to one gal here, a family law practitioner and a fabulous boss to boot. We’re all stuffed back in the offices, though the interior foyer of the building is rather green.

This shot is taken through a window on the third floor.

Back to work, I actually have my own computer and phone! My “desk” is in the corner of the floor’s law library, but I am pleased with having my first office-workspace.

Some of my time is spent here, creating new files for clients, typing up documents, and entering data into our billing system.

This is a view from my desk, facing the door of the law library. Posted on the wall are a list of judges and departments of the courthouse, for my convenience. Down the hall, an attorney confers with a client in a conference room.

I also run errands for my attorney, make hand deliveries to other attorneys, and file documents at the Sedgwick County Courthouse. Most workdays produce files that requiring filing at the courthouse, so stopping in is part of my regular routine.

Parking is sometimes found at a meter a few blocks away. Rain or shine, I’m usually hoofing it up here with a messenger bag full of stuff to be filed.

I do very much enjoy my job, though mostly because I’m a nerd for legalese. Errand-running gives me plenty of opportunity to escape from office tedium, but I still get all the perks of having an air-conditioned office with high-speed Internet. I even receive academic credit for working here through Cooperative Experience. Not to mention no work on federal holidays!

And finally, I think the third floor is the only one with one of these:

Excuse me, I’m off for a catnap.

Our public relations student organization, PRSSA, is involved in the Cotton. From Blue to Green denim drive for Cotton Incorporated this semester. We were approached by Cotton’s marketing agency this summer and we just recently got the drive underway.

So, we’ve been collecting as much denim – jeans, hats, skirts, pink denim, black denim, holey pieces and grease-stained pieces – any denim. The denim collected will be turned into environmentally-friendly, all natural home insulation. The insulation will be donated to Habitat For Humanity to help rebuild communities in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Biloxi.

Our drive is off to a wonderful start. Last week, our count was 600 pairs of denim. How do we know? We had to bag them all up in groups of 10. THAT was fun.

Only 11 universities in the country were chosen to participate in the drive this semester. Our organization is really committed to beating the record set by Iowa State University last spring. ISU collected 2,100 pieces of denim. Campuses are asked to collect just 500. Our goal is 2,500 pieces. We’ve got a great group of students and a diligent adviser, Les Anderson. Not to mention the Wichita community, who has been very responsive so far to the drive.

Near the end of our drive, the Cotton Dirty Laundry Tour will visit our campus. There will be prizes, giveaways, games and more. We’ll get to personalize cotton backpacks, shirts and other items in an airbrush station. It’s going to be a nice reward after all the work we’ve done. The event is open to everyone on campus, so make sure to come out Oct. 17 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the RSC Courtyard.

Update: We are now up to 1,450 pieces of denim. The drive will continue until Nov. 1.

THE BAG LADIES: Here we are at the 1000 mark.

500 TO MAKE A HOUSE: The denim we collect will be

turned into environmentally-friendly home insulation.

It takes about 500 pieces to insulate one home.

I’m back…I know its been a while since you heard from me, but I’m here now.

My life has been a roller coaster. I made it out of bowling tryouts, which have been going on for the past three weeks. The most stressful three weeks of my life, but I am really happy that I am enjoying my classes and the professors are working with me and my schedule.

Being a student-athlete is hard, but it helps when professors understand. Right now, I’m taking 17 credit hours in communication and a few of my general education classes.

I am also applying for summer internships, so I can get some experience hands on in my field. So, I am working with the Co-op center on campus and they have been a big help in getting me connected with the right people.

Well, that’s all for me now. I will be checkin back with you in a few…wish me luck my coaches are posting this years roster for the new members of the shocker bowling team Oct. 2. If you wanna check it out visit www.wichita.edu/bowling and click on the current season link.

Talk to ya soon!

I really like my real estate law class that I’m taking. The teacher is one of the best professors I’ve had in any class. He has an interesting technique, he will put you on the spot right in front of the and make you be accountable for the information in the class. This keeps you on your toes, paying attention, and makes sure that you really get all the info that is being presented. You get a little nervous sitting there knowing that at any moment you could be called on and put to the test, but it feels good when you succeed and he lets you know it. If you ever get the opportunity to take a class from Jeff Emerson, take it, this guy knows what he’s doing.

My other classes are going well too, next semester I think I will take a heavier load though, I want that diploma!

Not too much else going on right now but thats okay, school is my focus anyways. I did however get a promotion at work, so now I get to eat almost everyday of the week! YAY!

I went to another metal show, saw Poison the Well, and Still Remains. Good show, camera was out of juice so I only got one picture of the guitarist for Poison The Well.

On Saturday night I went out to my friend’s cabin again and went swimming and rode on gas-powered skateboards.

That’s Joe, he’s been a buddy of mine forever. He’s the lead singer of the band CENSURA. They just finished recording their second album and should be touring pretty soon.

The difficulty in writing a blog like this is not finding a story to write about it is in finding the best story. Easy enough you might say, but when your life is a cross between the Comedy Central channel, ESPN and the Discovery Channel this is not so simple…let me explain:

Comedy Central/ESPN - I am surrounded everyday by a group of people that love to laugh. There is no doubt that on a daily basis I will find myself hunched over in laughter. My team is a conglomeration of personalities, ethnicities, and jokesters. It doesn’t matter if we are in the middle of a 6 a.m. conditioning session or out at a team dinner (which we have five nights a week), we find something to laugh about. It is going to be pleasure to compete and win with these men!

Discovery Channel - Great professors are what makes the college experience worthwhile. Mr. Jeff Emerson my real estate law professor is one of these great professors. He is demanding, charismatic, and engaging: all qualities that make it a pleasure to spend three hours on a Thursday night on campus.

Wichita’s Hidden Gems:

Restaurants
Brint’s Diner
The Artichoke

For Fun:

Recommended Reading
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

Recommended Music
Paolo Nutini
Marc Broussard

Must See Places
Yad Vashem, Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem. Yad Vashem has been entrusted with documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period, preserving the memory and story of each of the six million victims, and imparting the legacy of the Holocaust for generations to come through its archives, library, school, museums and recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations.

Unlike some internships, our primary duties weren’t to make copies and coffee, although I believe we consumed our fair share of caffeine. Each of us worked on real projects for real clients. I was a “Creative Intern,” copywriting for the Boy Scouts of America - Quivira Council, Universal Lubricants, Westar Energy and Cargill, among others.

SHS works in integrated teams. I was on The Bandit, which, while I was there, merged with The Sky Pirates and became The Foundry.  This is The Bandit’s living room.

The first floor of SHS. Note the sheep on the wall below the exit sign.

4:30 p.m. on Fridays is beer-thirty at SHS.

For SHS’s Sheep Hating Summer Event, the agency held a good ol’ fashioned company picnic at Sedgwick County Park. At the end, there was a huge kickball game. It was so popular, the next week, a group organized another game after work.

On my last day, we played Faceball. It was sweet. This is Alex, one of my fellow interns,  getting slammed.