that class is full?! say it's not so!

That's what I'm deducing from the gasps of horror around me in the computer lab (where I have been for the last four hours, being consumed by the quantative analysis monster! Memo due tomorrow, and a couple of my data point forecasts are wrong. Sigh. My group member to the rescue! She's checking my work right now). It's class registration time at UVa, aka major stress time.

This major stress can come in several ways. 1) You have no idea what you want to major in so choosing classes feels like a herd of fire ants coming your way. 2) You have too many classes you want to take so you feel like a kid in a combined candy, chocolate, toy, and [pick your favorite thing] shop. 3) You don't want to take anything and just want to bum out. Mm, you'll have some trouble finding those classes. Or the most common, 4) The class you REALLY wanted to take is full. Or the type to induce screaming, 5) the class you need to graduate is full. @#%*!#(!!!

1) Pick anything that sounds interesting, that's what I did and how I eventually ended up at the comm school.
2) Hehehehe, I feel that way all the time. That just comes down to a matter of personal choice -- is your favorite subject really worth a three hour evening class on Mondays and Wednesdays? Or would you rather take your second favorite subject with your friends?
3) I'll admit, UVa has its share of easy A classes like any other school. However, none of them exist in the upper hundred levels. Imagine how impressed employers will be when they read you've only take Intro to Basketweaving, Intermediate Basketweaving, and Advanced Basketweaving during your college career.
4) Ah, pity. Unless a spot frees up, you'll have to wait for your chance to do that to someone else next year.
5) This takes a combination of emailing the professor, putting yourself on a waitlist, threatening someone already in it, and bawling your eyes out. Haha no really, only the first two are applicable. Usually if you show up on the first day of class and explain your situation, the professor will let you in unless he's got so many students that they're already hanging from the ceiling.

Alright, as much work and grief the McIntire school of Commerce has given me this year, there is one thing that I do appreciate. I don't have to endure the glares from upperclassmen as I've had before due to my insanely early registration time as an Echols scholar. Fourth years don't like it that first years are registering before them? I wonder why.. hehehe. =P In the comm school you pretty much get to take whatever you need to take, so it's not a huge problem.

a philanthropic weekend

This was a weekend in which it seemed every organization held its annual philanthropy. There was a 5k run on Saturday, the conclusion to Sigma Chi's Derby Days, Beta Theta Pi's tug of war, Phi Sigma Kappa's benefit concert, Relay for Life, and the Multicultural Greek Council cook off. That mean this weekend was absolutely insane, music blasting from every field, people running everywhere. It was also a day with amazing weather, and everyone turned out to catch some rays on various quads and lawns. 

A lot of cultural events also took place this weekend: India Day, Japan Day, and Asian/Pacific Asian Heritage Month opening. Lots of good food, performances, music, and inspirational speakers at all of them. Like me to elaborate on any one of them?

But one of my favorite days was today, good ole Sunday. Usually people try to cram the work that they've been putting off all weekend in, but many people were soaking in the fineee spring weather on the Lawn, listening to a jazz band play. It was Jazz on the Lawn day. This was seriously the perfect day in terms of weather. Warm in the sun, cool breezes in the shade, add a blanket and snacks on the Lawn, some jazz music, and you've pretty much got a perfect day. MmmMM, life is good. =D

woe for SIS...

aka the Student Information System that's replaced our old student system. I've been struggling with it for an hour now and thoroughly dislike it. Listening to all my fellow students, I don't seem to be alone in my dislike. My biggest problem is that it bounces me from login page to home page and back again without ever letting me login to the system. And my class register time is tomorrow, so I *need* to be able to be in the system. Ah great. I'll get up earlier tomorrow to try on Grounds, hopefully that works, if not, I'll be tearing my hair out in the computer lab.

so what have I been up to lately?

Other than marathon six hour long meetings for the club I mentioned two posts ago, spazzing out over the various group projects, homework, papers, and exams I have, nothing much really. ..yet for some reason I seem to find myself busy from day to night. ..weird.

Schoolwork wise, I have a paper due on Friday in which I assess a company's corporate social responsibility efforts. My group chose the overall industry of toys and games, and I chose the wonderful company of Nintendo. Who doesn't love Nintendo? I heartily admit, I loved Pokemon (and maybe do still.. hehe), and the Wii? Brilliant console. I love playing it at my friend's house. As I was doing my research, I was really impressed by some of their social initiatives. They seem to do quite a bit more for their employees than the average global company -- child care leave up to two years? Letting people work two hours a day so they can take care of their child? A "Refresh Leave" system? Pretty amazing. 

I'll stop the discussion of Nintendo's CSR here, because I really should be doing that on my paper! =P But to further the discussion on CSR, what are y'alls views on corporate social responsibility? We had an absolutely amazing two classes today in the comm school, each group presented on a CSR topic of their choosing and held a Q & A session.

We had topics ranging from Conflict Diamonds to Walmart's CSR Auditing to Gender Inequality in the Augusta National Golf Course. I wish I taped the presentations so I could show everyone! (I think my classmates wouldn't be as amused though). They were so professionally done in terms of presentation, Powerpoint slides, and supplemental media. I also thoroughly enjoyed our Q & A discussion section as well. We had debates going on how to best introduce more women into the Augusta club/is it even legal to do so, to the motives behind Walmart's CSR Auditing, and to why conflict diamonds are gaining prominence in a time when they're not such a big issue anymore. Truly amazing class, I looked around today and was quite proud I was in the comm school. This is the type of education you come to UVA for.

i just walked in...

to a guy dressed in a hot pink semi formal dress draping a boa around himself.

That was extremely disturbing...

until I remembered that it's Sigma Chi's Derby Days! Derby days is Sigma Chi's annual philanthropy event that's basically one big contest between all the sororities for a week. It usually takes place in April (and somehow always during a crazy exam filled week, sigh), and there are different competitions everyday. Every sorority competes to get points, and the one with the most points wins at the end of the week. It started yesterday, with the decorating of the fraternity house. The house is open at 10 am and sororities race to find the best corners/balconies to put up their decorations in.

Today's was a lip sync contest -- all sororities get one of Sigma Chi's pledge to teach a lip sync routine to. Usually, this ends up in a contest of how we can embarrass the pledge the most -- when I last checked my email, we were debating between getting him to dance to 'Womanizer', 'Single Ladies', or 'My Lover'. He was actually pretty stoked about it too, or as stoked as a guy could be in a hot pink dress with a boa when I saw him. My sorority actually placed second for lip sync last year, so I'm  excited for this year's results. =)

Other events throughout the week include a blood drive, penny war, bike to Uganda, and Powderpuff Football. I'd like to specifically mention bike to Uganda -- exercise bikes are set up on the portion of the Lawn right in front of Old Cabel hall, and all day long passersby just see people biking on them. It's definitely an interesting sight, and the goal is to bike enough miles to go from UVA to Uganda. Definitely a brilliant fundraiser, whoever thought of it was a genius. This event makes multiple appearances a year, and it's a great hit with UVA's athletic student body.