Potluck!

I have not blogged since March. What the average personal blog reader doesn't know is that I have about 10 incomplete drafts saved. So this blog is going to be a culmination of those drafts...incoherent and unoriginal, much like the other posts on this blog.

1. The Last Croissant

OK, so this blog never materialized...its blank. I'm also not sure what the story is behind the title. I mean...yeah, I have no idea. Since the time of draft is 2:30 am, I'm just going to assume I was hungry and inebriated (its been known to happen). Maybe one of my roommates ate my last croissant? Maybe I wanted to write a short story about a french baker...I have no idea.

2. Why I love my bangs....

'I have never considered myself a "girly girl". To some, this is a shock...to others, this is not. Let me paint a brief picture--one that resembles a third grader's hand-turkey art project made specifically for the front door of that gleaming Kenmore situated in a grandmother's kitchen.'

I'm not exactly sure where I was going with this, err, creative (?) intro. My guess it that it was going to end up talking about how much I love my bangs. Why I thought anyone cared about this....I don't know. Maybe I was going to use my hair as a jumping off point to discuss my transformation from a t-shirt & punk accessory wearing teenager to a more classically styled (though at times plain and Liz Lemon emulating) fashion philosophy. In middle school I rocked the flannel shirt tied around my waste along with carpenter jeans and doc martens. I looked like a lesbian in training. I am a little upset no one held an intervention....I mean...COME ON! I looked ridiculous.

So anyway...maybe I was going to talk about fashion transformations. Who knows....

3. Dak is Wack!

'In honor of my six month review I've compiled a list of the fabulousness I've learned while working at Daktronics.

1. I'm emotionally involved with my adding machine. If I see unfamiliar numbers on the calculator tape protruding from Nigel (yes, he has a name), I get defensive. I immediately start the interrogation. "Nigel, what were you doing last night?" "How could you! I don't care if it was my boss!"'

Ok.....So I was going to write an insightful blog regarding the corporate culture and my role at Daktronics. Eh....I'm not sure it was wise to start this 'insightful' blog talking about my close relationship with an electronic device. I owe a lot to that adding machine though. I perfected my ten-key technique on him. Of course, by perfected I mean I'm marginally faster than I was before I started working there.

4. Reconciliation

'I swear I am not on a "R" title kick...It has just been fitting to use words with religious connotations.

There are few places in Sioux Falls I have sentimental feelings towards, which for me is saying quite a lot, since I am sentimental about everything. These locations in Sioux Falls are all categorized by memories, as most sentimental connotations are. Falls Park is where my best friends and I decided it would be smart to roll down some hills with a vengance for creating the worst grass stains in history. Its also where we took ridiculous pictures of ourselves (we are afterall, college aged women, taking narcisistic photos is what we do), sat around on rocks contemplating our weekend plans, sang the praises of John Morell and its wonderful smells, and most importantly caught dozens of people making out their respective vehicles after 10 p.m.'

Yeah...not sure where I was going with this blog post. Possible I was going to talk about Jimmy John's. Actually...that is exactly what I was going to blog about. Sunday morning (afternoon usually) is Jimmy John's time. I LOVE JJ's...but not just because of their french bread. I love JJ's because that is where we would gather and reconstruct the events of the previous night--commenting on the flirtations, libations and debauchery of the previous night. Plus, I usually needed someone to come get me and take me to my car, usually at Tinner's...sometimes at Augie...never where it should be. JJ's usually culminated in some kind of apology. When drinking, we don't usually consider other's feelings...and that usually results in 'Doh!' moments that need to be rectified the next day, less you lose a friend....or not really lose a friend, just have to deal with a really pissed friend for the next few days until it blows over. For instance, I get super pushy when I drink a lot...I mean...totally bitchtastic. I usually have to apology for name calling and selfishness and yelling. Who would have thought that alcohol would bring out my Irish demeanor?

5. Bloggin' like a Robin

'I'm not exactly sure what that means...but I also don't really care. I'm feeling listy and bored, so its list time!

10. I really enjoy Geico commercials. Tv, radio, magazines...I don't care! I kind of enjoy quite a bit of advertising. My thoughts are...these things are paying so I can watch hours upon hours of crappy reality tv so I can dig it.

9. I'm moving to Texas. Exciting and all that jazz. Thats pretty much all I have to say about that. Studying econ in the lone star state.....woohoo.

8. My nephew peed on the floor. I don't even know why it was hilarious...but it was. I laughed a lot.

7. I'm an idiot. Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb'

This partial blog was written about four days before I moved to Texas. Eh. I think what I can conclude regarding all these partial blog posts is that I do not have complete thoughts....just a bunch of partial ones.

Spring. Break.

Whoop! It's that fabulous week in March when college students head somewhere warm to drink tequila and take their clothes off.

I'm going north to sit at home and watch a ridiculous amount of cable. I also have a to do list. This list....is going to be the topic of this blog. Hopefully I'll look back on this in the next couple days and actually remember to do this stuff.

1. Send in the rebate for my phone. I got a new phone about a month and half back with the whole fifity dollar rebate thing. I still haven't sent it in. My parents are going to kill me. I have 60 days to send it in before it expires. I can pretty much gaurantee that it will be sent in on day 59. That is just how I operate...why do something now when I can do it later? I think it would be interesting to do a time value study of time instead of money.

2. Send in my signed acceptance of my Baylor stuff. Yikes. I have to send them money, too. Bitches.

3. Fill out the FAFSA. Baylor is giving me a good amount of assistance, but I still have to fill out the FAFSA for living expenses. wtf. Apartments start at $500 and my assistantship is only $2,000 for the semester. Yeah, I'm grateful, of course, but that isn't going to pay my bills.

****Side note, I know I'm getting older becuase I have an audible "Awwww..." reaction when I see babies. I never thought I would have that reaction even when I had kids. I guess the whole maternal thing actually does kick it...it must be genetic.

****Another side note, Jim Gaffigan is actually funny. I don't laugh at tv a lot, but...I've been laughing almost nonstop for the past 20 minutes. Thank you, J-Gaf!

4. Read Dorian Gray. I guess this one is more of a happy to-do. Oscar Wilde is absolutely amazing. I love everything about him, even the fact that he had a thing for young boys. I don't (or at least try not to) judge. I have a feeling he was impeccably charming.

5. Laundry. Once again my laundry has accumulated. Its always fun to unload my hamper because I can see the progression of my outfits. I know when I'm getting to the weekend laundry because it starts smelling more and more like smoke and the clothes get sluttier and sluttier. My push up bras also make an appearance about every seven days of laundry. What would a weekend be without me forcing my breasts into a bra that forces them up and out, preferably into some drunk dude's eyesight.

6. Thank you notes and gifts. I have about five thank you notes that are a good two months overdue. I figure that to distract my profs from the lateness I'll give them something. I was thinking of giving them plants, because that seems kind of creative? I mean, you don't get a houseplant every day. After thinking about it a little more, I thinkn I'm just going to get them free trade chocolate.

7. Homework. Oh school. :) I actually get excited for my econ assignments though, and I adore my int'l econ class. I'm hoping this is indicative of how grad school will be.

8. Email Baylor about housing. I kind of need to figure out where I'm going to live. As stated before, it is, blarg, expensive. Hopefully, Baylor can help with the whole finding a roommate thing. Speakin of roommates, hopefully not everyone at Baylor is super conservative. I'm a little afraid I'm walking into Oral Roberts or something. I'm sure I'll be able to find some underground rebels though that are all like....we drink AND love Jesus!

9. Buy Twilight. Yeah...I'm shameless.

Same Old Innocence

I kind of enjoy computer labs...which is weird because usually I don't really enjoy any place that involves people. However, computer labs are different. Its a place. There are people. Social interaction isn't required. I would say that is my kind of place. I get to creep. I can creep at the people sitting next to me...I can creep at the people sitting in front of me creeping on other people on facebook. Its super great!

So I guess I just like computer labs because I get to creep on people. I guess for that matter I should like dark alleys and shadowy corners also.

I have to draw a sociogram for my sociology class. It needs to include the people who are influencial in my life and my relationships with them. I'm kind of excited because I'm hoping that this sociogram will be the basis for the autobiographical novel I'd like to write someday. You see, my life isn't very exciting, so this novel will have to rely very heavily on character development, so its a good idea that I know who plays what role in my life.

In particular I'm really excited to write about the males in my life---ranging from my dad to the jock that sits across from me in Strategic Management. I feel I have a fairly unique perception of dudes because I try to be fairly realistic...aka not a bitter man hater, but at the same time I have kind of a weird idealist take on men. I'm hoping in can translate it.

One of my favorite songs is "Boogie Monster" by Gnarls Barkley. The only reason I really like it is because the last line is something about giving head and then the dude laughs. Apparently giving head is suppose to save you from the boogie monster/keep you from turning into one.

I guess I'll leave it on that note...

Happy "Americans need an excuse to get tanked" Day!

I felt like my narcissism needed to be fed a little bit, but I couldn't think of anything remotely original to write, so here is one of those surveys. Enjoy learning all about me! I know its your favorite subject. There should be a Konsor 101 class at every university where students are forced to watch my awkward attempt at living. The professors could be like, "Now students, this is how not to interact socially with the male sex."

Do you consider anyone to be your "second mom"?
My dad? My dad puttering around the house and staying up until 3 a.m. doing who knows what? Yeah...that would be my second mom.


Do you and your friends have the same taste in music?
We overlap a lot, but there is definitely some music I detest that they listen to, and there is some music that I listen to that makes them scratch their heads and say, "That's music?"


What would you do if the doctor told you that you were pregnant?
I would be concerned that the Antichrist was currently residing in my uterus.

Do you think you'll be married in 10 years?
I try not to think of such things...ten years is a long ways away.

Are you parents strict?
Appropriately strict...if they didn't reign at the level of strictness they did operate at, I would have probably done quite a few naughty things in high school. I'm doing them in college instead.

What song are you currently listening to?
Florescent lights buzzing...its rather transcendent

Do you own a studded belt from Hot Topic?
Ohhhhhhh....no

Name something you have to do tonight?
Accounting homework!

Do you sleep on your stomach?
Yes, every night.

What's bothering you right now?
My tired eyes and the bottle of water I drank 10 minutes ago

Do you know anyone that's married?
*Delete* I refuse to answer this question on principle. It too stupid to respond to.

What's your favorite number?
16 probably...I like that I can take the fourth root of it...right?

Do you remember your music teacher's name from elementary school?
Mrs. Flaadland...I want to thank her for introducing me to the Halloween Song and to the singing elephant.

How good is your eyesight?
Not that good...I mean...I'm not blind.

Worst part about hugs?
Physical contact

Ditched school to do something more fun?
College...yes....many times.

Is there someone you wish you could fix things with?
Yeah, some friendships have kind of deviated from where I would like them to be.

What's something that can always make you feel better?
Sleep


Are there things you can't live without?
Yep!

Are you going on vacation in the summer?
I've visiting Baylor at the very beginning and then moving to Waco at the beginning of August. I guess Texas is kind of a vacation...

If you were someone else, would you be friends with you?
Probably not...not because I wouldn't like me, but just because I'm not super visible in social circles. I'm kind of like gold...you have to mine to find me. Gold maybe isn't the right comparison...I'm like iron ore.

Have you ever cried from being so mad?
No...I don't usually have anger issues unless I've been imbibing alcohol...then when I get angry I don't cry, I just swear a lot.

What do you do before you sleep?
Check my facebook like all good college students.

Have you ever gone out with a cheerleader?
No...

Last person to make you smile?
Myself. HA!

What were you doing at 12:00 last night?
Begging for sleep...but I think I was on Twitter.

Ever receive a really long apology?
Long? No. More than "I'm sorry."? Yes.

Expecting something to change in the next month?
My age...

Ready for winter to come?
Please no....

If you could move out of the house right now would you?
I'm pretty happy with my living arrangements for the moment. I'd love to live in some kind of industrial loft, but...nah.

Besides sleeping, what else do you do in your room?
"haha. my husband." :: Kim Rich
Classic Kimberly...

How do you make your money?
I move numbers from one place to another and make them look pretty. I'm kind of like a number cosmetologist.


Have you ever been around someone who was high?
Oh yeah....higher than Mt. Everest

Would you get married if you could right now?
Ha! No thank you.

How's your heart lately?
She's doing pretty well. The spring weather is good for her.

How ticklish are you?
Not very if I can help it.

How is your hair?
Pulled back in a clip...kind of...most of it has kind of fallen out though. Or do you mean how is my hair feeling today? Honestly, she was having a pretty rough day, particularly this morning---I kind of hid her under a hat. However, it was for her own good...I mean...she looked like shit.

Do you care if people hate you for no reason?
Very much so

What's on your wish list for your birthday?
Money! I need to start saving for a down payment on a vehicle and/or computer

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Probably more excited...in a few months, I'll definitely be more nervous...

Something you hate more than anything?
Human nature

Do you firmly believe that everything happens for a reason?
Yeah...I'm an idealist...its kind of a requirement.

How many kids do you wanna have?
Bleh...however many my husband wants.

Do you think people talk about you?
Possibly, possibly not. To talk about someone, you have to feel at least somewhat passionately (forget your connotations with this word...I mean friendship/relationship/family) about them, and I feel that I kind of hold a fairly low key position in most people's lives. I'm not saying I don't think they care about me...I'm just saying, I don't really spark any drama or hold a really active position in their lives.

Who was the last person to touch your ass?
Someone at the bar Saturday

What's irritating you right now?
Not something I can write on a blog open to the public. :)

When did you last eat pizza?
Today. My strategic management professor bought the class pizza because we helped him launch a new product in his company. How BA are we?

Do you have any television obsessions?
Not really obsessions...I reserve those for things that matter...like celebrities and book series

When was the last time you cried?
Absolutely no idea. Probably this summer at my uncle's funeral.

What is your favorite sport?to play?
Ha...play? sport? One where I can stand or sit with minimal movement.

Do you enjoy piercings and tattoos?
I enjoy the result, not the process.

What is your middle name?
Joy

Who was the last person who told you they loved you?
Jim aka Dad

What was the last thing you ate?
Mexican food

Who was your last text from?
Laura Van Beek

What is the closest item near you that is blue?
a wire

Which do you wear more: jeans or sweatpants?
Jeans

Would you rather get up early or sleep in?
Sleep in I guess....I like sleep...but I do really like early mornings

When was the last time you had your hair cut?
The day I saw "He's Just Not That Into You"...so the beginning of February?

Does it take a lot to make you cry?
Yeah...death usually

Name one fear you have?
Being alone...I don't mean the whole "boo-hoo I'm a spinster" being alone...but like, everyone moving on without me.

Does the thought of marriage scare you?
Kind of...a lot. I'm not exactly the most decisive person, and I over-analyze bunches...so my poor fiance will get to listen to about a million different reasons why we should and should not get married and blah blah blah...poor sucker.

What were you doing today?
The usual....kegs and eggs, work, school, homework

Do you get bored easily?
Not really

Do you love someone?
I love lots of people! At least I think I love them...I haven't really decided what love is yet.

How old do you look?
Older than I am, I think.

Are you waiting for something?
Time? Idk...I don't really want to spend my whole life waiting for the future...that's how I spent high school and it sucked.

What were you doing at ten last night?
class and tutoring the non-trad from hell

Did you cry today?
Whoever wrote this survey has a thing for crying...

Do you hate the last person you had a conversation with?
Nope

Is there anyone who understands your relationship status?yeah... it's not that hard to understand

What was the last thing you drank?
Water

Who do you most look like in your family?
My dad's mom

Did you have a dream last night?
Every night

How many piercings do you have?
One in each ear and one in ma nose...

Does anyone call you babe?
Sometimes

Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced?
Yes...I did a lot three years ago...and then I did it.

Are you good at giving directions?
Decent?

When was the last time you cried really,really hard?
Again with the crying...

Where were you on July 4th, 2008?
'Boji!

Do you prefer warm or cold weather?
Warm please

What do you currently hear right now?
Buzzing

Could you go out in public looking like you do now?
Yep

On the opposite sex where do you like them to have piercings?
Lip or eyebrow

Oye!

1. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

2. My n key sticks, and I've been sending people random messages on my instant messenger and facebook that involve a random string on "n"s in the middle of a sentence.

3. Jay Leno really isn't that funny.

4. I sometimes forget that not everyone is a fan of profanity. I was working on some accounting problems with a kid from class. They were hard (the problems). I swore...a lot. I got weird looks...lots of them. It kind of just wants to make me swear more. We were also loitering around Perkins the other night, and I was using my liberal language like usual. I actually got kicked under the table by one of my friends. There may or may not have been an eight year old girl sitting like ten feet away who probably shouldn't be assaulted repeatedly by the F word.

5. I really dislike using the phrase "I love you." It actually makes my skin crawl...unless I'm talking to my family. They are the only people in this world who I don't hold to my utility theory of friendship...probably because they are family, and I feel like they have a contractual obligation to love me regardless of how bitchy and selfish I can be. I don't have to be of any benefit to them because my benefit is intrinsic. Now, if I had a healthy view of people in general, I should apply this theory to everyone--benefits are intrinsic. Friends should be useful to you in their existence, not in what they can do for you and vice versa. I think my utility theory shows how I value people and that I obviously don't believe people have intrinsic value. If I don't believe other people have intrinsic value its probably safe to say I don't believe I have intrinsic value. But I know that isn't true because I completely believe people are valuable. However, I think that maybe everyone has the same intrinsic value which puts us all on the same level...therefore utility does become important. I don't know....it doesn't really matter anyway.

6. Jimmy Fallon also isn't funny.

7. My roommates and I are having a conversation about new monasticism. I don't exactly know what that is, but monasticism is a really fabulous word. Some words just make me happy because of their phonetics or my connotations. Like, I hate the word "nibble." I also hate the word "ointment." Bleh...just bad words.

8. Drama sucks...particularly when it involves people you really care about. I hate seeing someone hurting. Its so ingrained in me to please people--partly because of my utility theory of friendship, partly because its just how I am--that I just can't stand someone not being happy. So when my roommates have issues or other friends have issues I give the only gift I know how--comedy. When I think back to some of the really emotional times I've had with friends and family, I usually am the first to crack some joke. I'm not sure if I do this because I think it will actually help the situation, or if its because I don't know how to respond to the situation in any type of mature manner.

9. I am kind of in love with Oscar Wilde. I know he was supposedly gay, but he was also one of the wittiest fellows ever. He was also Irish. Fabulous! Who wouldn't have a crush on a man whose last words were, "Either these drapes go, or I do..."? I've never actually read anything of his...I should change that.

10. I texted through my entire night class, and I feel kind of bad. If I was the professor I would take personal offense to someone texting through my class. I know its nonsense, but I would think, "Wow, I'm so boring they have to text," or "Wow, My lecture is so easy they don't have to pay attention." Then I would probably just become a huge bitch and make everything really hard for everyone because of the one girl texting in the front row. I have a tendency to take out my self esteem issues on others. I don't have confidence in my teaching skills...everyone else gets an extra hour of homework.

Heyo!

Today is the 10th of March. This means a couple things.

1. My credit card bills are due Friday. I hate paying those stupid things. Mostly I just hate having debt. Of course I love the things I got from using my credit cards...like a trip to Chicago, pairs of shoes that I will probably never actually wear (though they are gorgeous, and I love them as much as I will love my first born), and plenty of faboosh clothes--particularly a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans that I wear with boots. Now, many women would balk at having an ass the size of mine and wearing jeans that don't exactly flatter such an overwhelming caboose. I, however, have changed my fashion philosophy quite a bit since my days as a body-hiding, middle-aged-clothing-wearing, fashion-retarded teenager. Frankly, as long as I'm covering everything up that needs to be covered and all things considered grotesque are clothed, I'm going to wear whatever I want...including skinny jeans and boots. SO anyway...credit cards...I hate em.

2. Saint Patrick's day is a mere week away. I'm 21 now...therefore I am pretty pumped for next Tuesday. I am also, for all intents and purposes, Irish. I also have red hair and a clover on my ankle. St. Patty's Day should by all means be my favorite holiday. Considering the large amount of beer I will imbibe a week from today, I think it just may be. I'd like to think of myself as someone who kind of separates herself from the bar scene...like I go to bars, but I'm totally aloof. While people make drunken fools of themselves deciding who they want to go home with and work out their insecurities in meaningless sex, I am contemplating the role of alcohol in society and how I can do economics research on cosmopolitans. Of course this aloof stage lasts for about one hour as I soon join the drunken herd looking for some sort of emotional validation through a miscellaneous sexual encounter or some type of weird heart-to-heart with the girls in the bathroom. I don't think anyone has to guess which activity I get my drunken validation from (hint: it involves no physical contact and it usually involves the phrase "Girl, you are better than that. Don't let him use you.")

3. It's the second week after month end at Daktronics. Usually this is the week I am busting my butt working on getting reports together for all the manufacturing plants. However, my reports have been snatched from me. My boss' boss has handed over my pride and joy to another accountant. I knew the day would come. I am not staying at Dak forever (thank God!). I still feel remorse. Its like someone took away a paper I wrote and published it with their name on it. Its so silly! I made spreadsheets...the product of Excel and lots of time. They are numbers and colors and formulas....completely inanimate. There is nothing about these things that shows my personality or is in anyway reflective of who I am as a person, but I still feel really invested in them. No one else should be able to touch them...so apparently through this process I've discovered I am territorial? I thought that was something only male lions on the Sahara dealt with, but apparently twenty-something redheaded college students with an affinity for plaid and celebrity gossip also have these issues.

4. I'm starting lent a week or so late. Every year (ok....three months) I have some type of mini-breakdown. It can be initiated by a million things---a bad grade, fight with a friend or family member, a book series (cough-Twilight-cough), a conversation, etc. Anything can bring this little force of nature into being. Whatever the impetus is, the result is me making some change in my lifestyle. Last time, it involved getting professional help, this time....it just involves setting a few things straight in my life. It involves figuring out what in the world I want out of these years God has so graciously given me and how I plan on going about making it happen. As stated before, I really have issues with the whole "action" part of life. Anyone close to me can animatedly agree and list off five or six scenarios where I have failed to act because of laziness or apathy. In going through this process I have to get rid of distractions, and that is what Lent will be about for me this year. So, this means...gulp...no more emotional crutches, no deluding myself into thinking something is what it isn't, no more pawning after guy(s) who aren't interested (it's a waste of my time and theirs), no more distractions. Cutting the fat (so to speak--a phrase I detest), is really the only way to get my priorities straight. I have been coasting for way too long, and I have some major changes coming (Baylor!) that require me to get my shit figured out. It is time to do something...anything but sit and think. I think Logic and I are going to give it another go...just because things didn't work out last time doesn't mean they won't now.

5. I think something with basketball happens in March. (I needed a number five...)

How I Spent My Day....

Here is a list of things I did today instead of studying for my International Trade midterm.

1. Sleep. I was tired. Last night was long. I think a three hour nap this afternoon was definitely justified.

2. Facebook. Sometimes I wonder how much more productive I would be if facebook didn't exist. Then I decide that it really wouldn't make that much of a difference because I would find other ways to waste my time.

3. Real Housewives of New York. I love Bravo and most of the tv shows on that channel. I decided to take an hour study break after reading, oh, ten pages? Yeah, I'm really good at rationaliztion. If only it was something I could put on my resume...

4. Writing this blog. Its almost 12:30...I haven't finished reading the last chapter thats on this midterm (the chapter that was covered in the class that I skipped). I have an accounting assignment due tomorrow morning and an econ assignment due tomorrow afternoon. What did I do this weekend instead of my homework? Yeah....about that....


Oh well...we all make stupid decisions. I've had a good couple weeks of them. Its funny how life can be pretty mellow....and then not.

The Glory of Economics!

I recently got accepted into the economics program at Baylor in Waco, TX. Below are my essays, which I would guess didn't so much impress the admissions commitee as made them curious. My guess is they said something along the lines of..."She may not be a genius but at least she might do something interesting." I guess that is all I can really hope for anyway.

"Why study economics?"

The past three and a half years I have been trained as an accountant. The University of Sioux Falls has been preparing me for the life of a C.P.A. Well, last year I found a passion that seemed more pressing and more fitting for me. Economics does not involve just organizing numbers, but interpreting and asking the ever present question, “Why?” As a child, I filled the stereotypical role of being the “Why?” child by pestering my parents to death with questions regarding why everything is and how everything works. This led to many explanations starting and ending with “Because.” As I grew up this ferver never quite subsided, rather it just became less annoying for those around me.

I want to study economics because it tells me why people make the decisions they do. Economics sheds light on the relationships between agents and the factors they use in decision making. I want to study economics because I will not just be studying indifference curves, utility theory and the marginal rate of substitution, but I’ll be studying sociology, philosophy, theology, psychology and various other sciences. Economics truly is an interdisciplinary area of academia. I believe that attending a liberal arts school that is very focused on interdisciplinary attitudes will lay an amazing foundation for success in the economics program at Baylor.

Baylor’s mission statement webpage states, “Within the graduate and the professional programs, the University provides advanced educational opportunities to develop ethical and capable scholars and practitioners who contribute to their academic disciplines, professional fields, and society.” I want to attend Baylor for its holistic view of students. We are not just attending university to gain knowledge of our specific disciplines, but also to be cultivated as an individual—academically, ethically and spiritually. My intentions are to pursue a Ph.D. in economics, but I believe that as I progress in that direction, it is imperative that I have a solid base of academic knowledge and a solid vision of my role as a Christian economist. The social sciences have such a humanist aura that I want to make sure I attend a school that understand God’s role in all disciplines of study. The faculty of the economics program are also conducting research that I find fascinating and will hopefully be able to engage in upon enrollment.

Behavioral economics and economics of religion are my main areas of interest. I would particularly like to study the economics of the movie industry and pop culture. Society has taken a profound fascination with celebrity, and I would like the study what possible factors have led to this obsession. It would also be intriguing to study the pay offs of scandal and how tabloids effect the earnings of gossip rich celebrities. Of course I do also have actual academic economic pursuits as well—my economic interests are not confined to the “E!” channel and Entertainment Weekly. An economics professor once told me to just figure out what I want to study and worry about the “Hows” later.

As an adult, I’m still concerned with the “Whys” and “Hows,” and I believe that my foundation in economics needs to be expanded in order for me to really delve into these questions. I want this expansion to take place at an institution that understands curiosity and methodology. I want this expansion to take place at Baylor.


**So this wasn't the most well written piece...but it served its purpose.

"Economics Influence"

Economics has permeated my reasoning and decision making processes. Before taking my Economics of Religion course, I was not consciously aware of the cost benefit ratio that drives all of my decisions. However, since being enlightened, I see how this ratio is the basis for every decision I make. Knowing this ratio exists helps me to understand the values I place on certain consequences and outcomes. Knowing this ratio helps me know myself.

So, besides my study of economics completely revolutionizing how I approach and view the world, specifically it has changed how I approach relationships. This is a trite example, but I hope it reveals even more fluently the areas of economics I want to study. I recently read He’s Just Not That Into You, which is a self help book for single women who find themselves consistently single and disappointed about it. The author drives home the point that if a man is interested he will call or contact you. What Behrendt, the author, does with this book is try to influence supply and demand in the dating market. He makes the case that many young men are uncaring, selfish and uncommitted because women put up with it. In economic terms, I believe he is revealing that the demand for these men is much higher than it should be. Since the demand for such men is high, they have no incentive to act the way women want them to—like gentlemen. Behrendt is trying to change the market by telling women that if they will not put up with ungentlemanly men, then the market will adjust because men will have an incentive to be gentlemen. It’s an entertaining notion and has given many young women something to contemplate. Behrendt inadvertently used economics to explain why the dating scene is dysfunctional.


***My essay for the influence section will serve as a basis for a possible research paper on the same topic. However, while I will discuss Behrendt's effect on the dating market, I will mostly discuss the cost/benefit ratio behind his theory about how men approach relationships. He provides the notion that men may be into you, just not THAT into you. In other words, what he is saying is that while there would be a benefit from dating someone, the benefits do not outweigh the costs.

Resurrection...

This blog was suppose to showcase the action in my life, rather than contemplating the chronic inaction that usually fills up my days. Well...inaction has definitely been the theme since December. I've done way too much thinking, and contemplation usually brings me back around to what I like to call "the dark place." It's the place we all visit once in a while for various reasons--someone in our family died, we lost a job, we broke up with a significant other, we are just generally masochists...ya know, whatever your reason is, you visit. You stop by, say hello, drink a beer or two and take off. Well, I think I've finished the keg, and they are rolling out another. My mental car broke down in front of this dive, and I have been too emotionally bankrupt to get it fixed...instead I took out a medicinal loan and have been in a constant state of drunkenness (figuratively speaking) for three months.

So, since this blog was an attempt to keep away from posts like the previous paragraph, I am going to revamp her a little bit. Instead of digressing on the inaction of my life, I will most assuredly be writing lists. Why? Because lists rock.

Musical Appetite

I've been mulling over the role music plays in my life. The following selections are songs that matter to me right now for various reasons...

Sing You a Love Song-of Montreal

“Although I can’t sing it now, be still…cause someday baby I will sing you a love you song…” Probably one of my favorite lines pertaining to “love”…Why? I like the fact that it isn’t just “Hey! I love you!!”…its realistic. So many songs are about being in love, enraptured with each other. This guy is like, “Hey, I know I will love you someday, but I can’t say it quite yet.” To me, that is almost as awesome as being told “I love you.” It shows me that he takes it seriously. Silly trite love songs. The song also talks about vodka and probably some hard drugs….that may or may not add to my affinity for this song.

Don’t Feel Like Dancing-Scissor Sisters

Any music video with a dancing redheaded tranny has got to be for one awesometastic song. “Don’t Feel Like Dancing” came to me through a little improv group that Kim, Laura and I religiously worshiped every Tuesday night at 10. I take that back…I religiously worshiped the founder of the group and his Jewish ways. After a year and half of awkward obsession and contemplating converting to Judaism, I at least have a song that makes me want to dance and sing in falsetto.

Hope I Don’t Fall in Love with You-Tom Waits

Oh Tommy....Probably the only guy in this world who has a thought process similar to mine in that he sees an epiphany in every little detail. It's a great song because it showcases his vulnerability, and I like looking at others being vulnerable...it makes me feel so powerful. I am so happy they let me take advantage of their honesty.

Dog Problems-The Format

Just a great song. Peppy, dancy, fab.

Hallelujah-Jeff Buckley

I feel kind of cliché putting this song on the list, because…Who hasn’t had some type of emotional reaction to “Hallelujah”?

Both Sides Now-Joni Mitchell

I first stumbled across this song during my Music of the Movies class. A character in the movie “Love Actually” receives a Joni Mitchell CD from her husband for Christmas only to realize that he is probably cheating on her because it was not the gold necklace she found in his jacket earlier. She goes into her room, plays this song, and has the probably most emotional moment of her life—she is after all a cold English woman.