It is 3 a.m. on a Tuesday morning at a closed, vacant train station in the middle of Germany. My best friend JD and I sit huddled against a cold brick wall, hugging our backpacks for warmth and hoping the polizei (police) don't kick us out for being vagabonds.
This is what happens when transportation through foreign countries is not intelligently thought out. Take notes, kids.
When we originally planned our over night train escapade from Brussels to Munich we were sitting in our cozy bedrooms in the United States.
We thought to ourselves, "This is perfect. We now have one night's sleeping arrangements settled while traveling to our next location - all on the same dime. Win-win, right?"
Not right.
At some point (maybe the night before we left) we realized that the trains in Europe do not run directly to and from where we want and that "layovers" would be in order.
Three hour layovers at 3 a.m.? No big deal. We'll just grab a bite to eat at the train station in the middle of the night. Midnight snack, right?
I mean if Walmart can do 24 hours, why can't you mr. random, sketch train station? Wrong again. Nothing in Europe is open 24 hours - stupid Americans.
So, two misguided colleges students jumped trains that Tuesday morning (night?), which involved falling asleep, waking up to bells whistling, frantically scrambling to get off the train and stumbling to find a new sleeping headquarters at the nearest platform.
While I enjoy telling stories of my epic failures, this cold, strange night taught me a few things about transportation abroad.
First of all, no matter how young, how brave or how healthy you are if you spend a night jumping trains you will catch a cold.
Secondly, trains are the most expensive form of transportation to cross borders in Europe, but also give you the most opportunities to see the landscape. To some people this is an important aspect of traveling.
Personally, I would rather be in the countryside - not flying by it. That's what painting are for.
The most expensive and confusing transportation medium in Europe is renting a car. Let me break it down for you in simple mathematics: Daily cost of rental car + gas + toll freeways (due to no taxes for roads in France) = pay your way home by way of brothel.
Let's not play pretend anymore - as Americans in Europe we are tourists and we are lost. Just get on a bus and put some head phones in. It makes everyones life easier.
Now for some good news, there is one cheap and fairly painless way to travel across countries in Europe: easyjet and ryanair. These two airlines are no where near luxurious or fancy but they get the job done.
The tragic Tuesday train ticket from Brussels to Munich was $210. Plane ticket on ryanair from Munich to Barcelona - which required no train hopping - was $80.
Although, a few downfalls of cheap airlines are evident they are much less intrusive.
First of all, the airports for these airlines are more than likely about 30 minutes away from the major cities, but they have buses that run to the major cities at the same intervals that flights arrive and depart. So, only half-of-a-downfall there.
Also, flights are less likely to be on time when a ton of money is not invested. So, if for some reason you're in Barcelona on business - take the company's private jet and make your meetings. But for my purposes, I was on vacation - time should not and did not exist for me.
My biggest annoyance with these cheap airlines was the amount of advertisements the plane offered (most likely to make up for the money they lost on the flight.) Sometimes by the end of the flight I genuinely thought I wanted JLo's newest perfume, but I can only really blame myself for that.
Another upside to flights across countries in Europe is that they only last about an hour and there are no stops along the way. It is a guaranteed connection - plane crashes aside.
With a little research and preparation, traveling across Europe can be enjoyable. But if you try it out like me and hope that mommy's "good will" will get you where you need to go you will fail.
Know the cheapest mediums, know your stops and don't just think, "Eh, we'll figure it out when we get there."
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Rebel yell.
Carlos Gonzalez Guitierrez, the consul general of Mexico, spoke at Sacramento State on Monday to share his perspective on the relationship between "Mexico and California: together 200 years" - a topic that any Californian should be interested in.
Before Guitierrez was introduced to the audience, Sheree Meyer, One Book faculty coordinator and English professor, walked up to the podium and made an announcement aimed to all students who were there on "class-obligation." The announcement was this: evidence of your attendance to this lecture can be obtained at the front desk.
Immediately, mumbles and mutters broke out across the University Union Ballroom.
"Oh thank god, I was going to ask about that."
"Ok cool, didn't want to come here for no reason."
Nothing like a warm welcome for our guest speaker.
Let's be honest, I was there on "class-obligation" as well, but I definitely was not trying to make it so obvious.
"Hey Mr. Guitierrez, I only expect to get class credit out of your insights, okay thanks!"
Talk about disrespectful.
Sure, requiring students to attend a specific event can be useful to many classrooms, but looking at this announcement from the Guitierrez's perspective places it in a whole other category of rude.
When Guitierrez begin to speak, his first words addressed how much he had anticipated speaking at Sac State. He said, throughout the week leading up to the speech, he boasted to his Carmichael neighbors about his publicity he had on Sac State's light-up billboard.
After Meyer's announcement his ego might have dropped a bit, but it is kind of hard to take parts out of a speech when reading them verbatim off of a script.
The problem with requiring students to attend an event, like this lecture, is that most students have an innate need and want to rebel.
Furthermore, there is no way any one teacher can keep his or her eye on all the students spread out across the Union Ballroom - So students were simply getting the information they needed from this speech within the first five minutes and then talking and cracking jokes for the remainder. Inhibiting any audience members who were actually there to hear the speaker's sentiments - which seemed to be next to none.
Admittedly, I am not a saint. I was victim of being a stereotypical student with a need to rebel, at this lecture, but at least I passed notes instead of talking way above a whisper.
The problem for me is that I recognized my indifference to Guitierrez's speech.
I turned to my classmates as I walked away from the ballroom and said, "Well, I wish I wasn't such a brat and actually listened to him speak, because any other day - if it wasn't assigned - I would have probably learned a lot from what he had to say."
Before Guitierrez was introduced to the audience, Sheree Meyer, One Book faculty coordinator and English professor, walked up to the podium and made an announcement aimed to all students who were there on "class-obligation." The announcement was this: evidence of your attendance to this lecture can be obtained at the front desk.
Immediately, mumbles and mutters broke out across the University Union Ballroom.
"Oh thank god, I was going to ask about that."
"Ok cool, didn't want to come here for no reason."
Nothing like a warm welcome for our guest speaker.
Let's be honest, I was there on "class-obligation" as well, but I definitely was not trying to make it so obvious.
"Hey Mr. Guitierrez, I only expect to get class credit out of your insights, okay thanks!"
Talk about disrespectful.
Sure, requiring students to attend a specific event can be useful to many classrooms, but looking at this announcement from the Guitierrez's perspective places it in a whole other category of rude.
When Guitierrez begin to speak, his first words addressed how much he had anticipated speaking at Sac State. He said, throughout the week leading up to the speech, he boasted to his Carmichael neighbors about his publicity he had on Sac State's light-up billboard.
After Meyer's announcement his ego might have dropped a bit, but it is kind of hard to take parts out of a speech when reading them verbatim off of a script.
The problem with requiring students to attend an event, like this lecture, is that most students have an innate need and want to rebel.
Anything assigned is immediately less appealing; for example assigned reading.
If a teacher assigns you a book - you automatically dread reading it. Because reading a book for a class means deadlines and gateway assignments. Even if the content is interesting and insightful you will look past it and "skim-read" just to get the information necessary to pass the class.
If a friend recommended that same book during the summer, things would be much different. You would probably read it in one sitting and then rant and rave about it - maybe even decide to write a book review. Just for fun.
The only difference between these two circumstances is that one was assigned and one was recommended but to the reader the differences are worlds apart.
Furthermore, there is no way any one teacher can keep his or her eye on all the students spread out across the Union Ballroom - So students were simply getting the information they needed from this speech within the first five minutes and then talking and cracking jokes for the remainder. Inhibiting any audience members who were actually there to hear the speaker's sentiments - which seemed to be next to none.
Admittedly, I am not a saint. I was victim of being a stereotypical student with a need to rebel, at this lecture, but at least I passed notes instead of talking way above a whisper.
The problem for me is that I recognized my indifference to Guitierrez's speech.
I turned to my classmates as I walked away from the ballroom and said, "Well, I wish I wasn't such a brat and actually listened to him speak, because any other day - if it wasn't assigned - I would have probably learned a lot from what he had to say."
Monday, September 20, 2010
A waste of theme.
There is nothing worse than a unsuccessful themed party, event or gathering.
Why do parties need a theme anyways? The point of a party is to have time off to celebrate and have fun. Not to worry about whether the napkins are going to match the balloons.
Normally, a lack of creativity is not to blame for a failed theme, instead the blame can be pinned on lack of time and money; two things everyone wishes they had an unlimited amount of.
Only the wealthy, which most students are not, have anywhere near unlimited amounts of time and money - and even then, time will eventually stop them.
On the other hand, one recent and more relatable event, hosted by students in the University Union at Sacramento State, was representative of time and money cutting creativity short. This event was Phlagleblast, a celebration to familiarize students with features of the Union, held on Sept. 15.
"We had a brainstorming meeting and the jungle/safari theme came up, so we ran with it," said Zenia LaPorte, UNIQUE programs adviser.
Unfortunately, the Union staff did not run far enough or fast enough to convince the Sac State campus that the Union had been taken over by a jungle, much less a safari.
"If it were a longer day and if we had a bigger budget, maybe we'd do more entertainment - but we were definitely busy enough with what we did have, plus staffing a table and helping out in general," LaPorte said.
The decorations were scarce and the entertainment was confusing. Magicians, caricature artists and balloon artists just do not go together - at least not in my mind.
The efforts of the staff were, I'm sure, well-intentioned but most of these employees are full-time college students: broke and busy. What may once have been a brilliant idea turned into Party City throw up.
With more free-time and funding (a rich man's toiletries) Phlagleblast may have been an A-list event.
Instead, the Union looked like...the Union with a few inflatable monkeys and balloons.
If a party is going to be jungle/safari-themed there needs to be a tiger. Or at the very least a petting zoo.
Why do parties need a theme anyways? The point of a party is to have time off to celebrate and have fun. Not to worry about whether the napkins are going to match the balloons.
Normally, a lack of creativity is not to blame for a failed theme, instead the blame can be pinned on lack of time and money; two things everyone wishes they had an unlimited amount of.
Only the wealthy, which most students are not, have anywhere near unlimited amounts of time and money - and even then, time will eventually stop them.
Just to clarify, by themed parties I do not mean ABC (anything but clothes) parties - get your mind out of that (high school) gutter - I mean real, tasteful themes that go beyond costumes. Themes that uniformly incorporate decorations and entertainment. Themes that only the Playboy Mansion can pull off.
Tasteful parties? The Playboy Mansion? Isn't that an oxymoron? Well yes and no. Naked girls aside, the Playboy Mansion is known to throw extravagant and uniformly-themed parties.
Why are their themed parties always successful? Because they have a fortune and all the time in the world.
On the other hand, one recent and more relatable event, hosted by students in the University Union at Sacramento State, was representative of time and money cutting creativity short. This event was Phlagleblast, a celebration to familiarize students with features of the Union, held on Sept. 15.
"We had a brainstorming meeting and the jungle/safari theme came up, so we ran with it," said Zenia LaPorte, UNIQUE programs adviser.
Unfortunately, the Union staff did not run far enough or fast enough to convince the Sac State campus that the Union had been taken over by a jungle, much less a safari.
Which brings up another point, how are a safari and a jungle related?
The visual that comes to mind with a jungle includes an extensive canopy, monkeys, vines and a half-naked Tarzan. The visual that comes to mind with a safari includes fields of dry grass, zebras, jeeps and "adventurers" in silly outfits.
You can stack the two ideas next to each other, parallel to each other and on top of each other but they just do not blend together in any way.
"If it were a longer day and if we had a bigger budget, maybe we'd do more entertainment - but we were definitely busy enough with what we did have, plus staffing a table and helping out in general," LaPorte said.
The decorations were scarce and the entertainment was confusing. Magicians, caricature artists and balloon artists just do not go together - at least not in my mind.
The efforts of the staff were, I'm sure, well-intentioned but most of these employees are full-time college students: broke and busy. What may once have been a brilliant idea turned into Party City throw up.
Can you blame a group of college students for running out of time and money?
No, give them a break.
But it does pose the question of why people, above the age of 12, who are not rich celebrities, attempt to throw themed parties?
But it does pose the question of why people, above the age of 12, who are not rich celebrities, attempt to throw themed parties?
With more free-time and funding (a rich man's toiletries) Phlagleblast may have been an A-list event.
Instead, the Union looked like...the Union with a few inflatable monkeys and balloons.
If a party is going to be jungle/safari-themed there needs to be a tiger. Or at the very least a petting zoo.
My point is this: a party is a party, and will be successful as long as fun is allowed. So, why waste time and money on any unnecessary favors?
Have a sporadic party and enjoy yourself. The people that matter will come.
Just like those students who wanted to learn about the various functions of the Union would have learned - jungle/safari theme or not.
Have a sporadic party and enjoy yourself. The people that matter will come.
Just like those students who wanted to learn about the various functions of the Union would have learned - jungle/safari theme or not.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Call me young and stupid, hostels rule
Hotels are lame. Let's all just admit it. Number one reason being: noise complaints.
If I'm in a hotel, then I'm more than likely on vacation - which means I want to get rowdy.
Pretty please, fellow hotel residents, let me have a bit of fun? Psh yeah right, I am not 10 years old anymore and this is not an all-girls soccer tournament, so I'd like to do whatever I want.
Number two reason hotels suck: you never know which one of your neighbors will be cooking meth next door to you at the Motel 6.
Thankfully, a solution has been found to these hotel imperfections. The solution is hostels - where debauchery and tom foolery run rampant; two of my very favorite things.
Sure, some hostels claim to "maintain order" past midnight, blah blah blah. For example the hostel I stayed at in Barcelona, Spain wrote on hostelworld.com, "You'll have a nice time here and enjoy the city. In this hostel we won't allow disrespectful people who disturb the rest of the guests. No football supporters are allowed here."
Joke's on you Backpackers BCN Diputacio. Your hired night aid was the one who was up until 5 a.m. rallying together the guests and playing drinking games - and I loved every minute of it.
Before this summer, hostels were an abstract thing to me. I figured anyone who stayed in a hostel ended up with their eyes burned off like in the disturbing, yet popular, film Hostel. Yes, I partook in the idiotic stereotypes of hostels thanks to American pop-culture. Sue me.
The important thing is, I got over it. When my best friend, JD, and I decided to backpack around Europe we knew the cheapest and most logical accommodations were hostels.
"How bad could it be? The worst thing that could happen is we'll get our achilles tendon sliced in half," I chuckled, nervously.
Nerves or not, I was not going to let a silly film stop me from wandering around Europe.
I stayed in five hostels on my month-long trip and each and every hostel impressed me.
It wasn't the quality of each hostel that impressed me, it was the quality of the people who worked and stayed at the hostel that impressed me. And honestly, for approximately $30 a night, I could care less how "classy" my sleeping arrangements were. I was so tired from being a tourist all day, all I cared about was taking a shower, drinking a few beers and having my own bed to fall down on.
The best part of it all, I was surrounded by individuals I actually wanted to drink a few beers with.
My first night at Astor Hyde Park Hostel in London I thought I had met my future husband (and by future husband I mean day long interest). He was foreign, handsome and going to law school. What else could I want? Well, he left the next day.
The next night my 12-person dorm room cleared out and 10 new bachelors entered; once again I thought I had met my future husband. As this continued to happen night after night, I realized these weren't future husbands at all - I was just finally surrounded by people who didn't annoy me. Shocking.
Every person I met at a hostel was there with a common interest - education. Each and every one of us wanted something more out of life, rather than sit in our home town and do the regular nine-to-five, monotonous business. It was refreshing and made me regain my appreciation for humanity.
Not only that, but every person was willing to offer their advice and help. A big change from a hotel front desk aid smacking his or her gum in your face and telling you "I dunno, I'm no tour guide."
For those people who don't like meeting fascinating individuals, gaining quality insight and being a little more exposed than usual - don't stay in a hostel. I understand that it may not be every person's style, but, nonetheless, I think you would be a lot happier person if it was your style. So, maybe just try it anyways.
If I'm in a hotel, then I'm more than likely on vacation - which means I want to get rowdy.
Pretty please, fellow hotel residents, let me have a bit of fun? Psh yeah right, I am not 10 years old anymore and this is not an all-girls soccer tournament, so I'd like to do whatever I want.
Number two reason hotels suck: you never know which one of your neighbors will be cooking meth next door to you at the Motel 6.
Thankfully, a solution has been found to these hotel imperfections. The solution is hostels - where debauchery and tom foolery run rampant; two of my very favorite things.
Sure, some hostels claim to "maintain order" past midnight, blah blah blah. For example the hostel I stayed at in Barcelona, Spain wrote on hostelworld.com, "You'll have a nice time here and enjoy the city. In this hostel we won't allow disrespectful people who disturb the rest of the guests. No football supporters are allowed here."
Joke's on you Backpackers BCN Diputacio. Your hired night aid was the one who was up until 5 a.m. rallying together the guests and playing drinking games - and I loved every minute of it.
Before this summer, hostels were an abstract thing to me. I figured anyone who stayed in a hostel ended up with their eyes burned off like in the disturbing, yet popular, film Hostel. Yes, I partook in the idiotic stereotypes of hostels thanks to American pop-culture. Sue me.
The important thing is, I got over it. When my best friend, JD, and I decided to backpack around Europe we knew the cheapest and most logical accommodations were hostels.
"How bad could it be? The worst thing that could happen is we'll get our achilles tendon sliced in half," I chuckled, nervously.
Nerves or not, I was not going to let a silly film stop me from wandering around Europe.
I stayed in five hostels on my month-long trip and each and every hostel impressed me.
It wasn't the quality of each hostel that impressed me, it was the quality of the people who worked and stayed at the hostel that impressed me. And honestly, for approximately $30 a night, I could care less how "classy" my sleeping arrangements were. I was so tired from being a tourist all day, all I cared about was taking a shower, drinking a few beers and having my own bed to fall down on.
The best part of it all, I was surrounded by individuals I actually wanted to drink a few beers with.
My first night at Astor Hyde Park Hostel in London I thought I had met my future husband (and by future husband I mean day long interest). He was foreign, handsome and going to law school. What else could I want? Well, he left the next day.
The next night my 12-person dorm room cleared out and 10 new bachelors entered; once again I thought I had met my future husband. As this continued to happen night after night, I realized these weren't future husbands at all - I was just finally surrounded by people who didn't annoy me. Shocking.
Every person I met at a hostel was there with a common interest - education. Each and every one of us wanted something more out of life, rather than sit in our home town and do the regular nine-to-five, monotonous business. It was refreshing and made me regain my appreciation for humanity.
Not only that, but every person was willing to offer their advice and help. A big change from a hotel front desk aid smacking his or her gum in your face and telling you "I dunno, I'm no tour guide."
For those people who don't like meeting fascinating individuals, gaining quality insight and being a little more exposed than usual - don't stay in a hostel. I understand that it may not be every person's style, but, nonetheless, I think you would be a lot happier person if it was your style. So, maybe just try it anyways.
Monday, September 13, 2010
What did art fairs ever do to you?
A shooting occurred at 12:13 a.m. on Sunday near J and 18th streets downtown. The shooting killed VIctor Hugo Perez Zavala and injured three others.
Debate has now sprouted between Sacramento community members and authorities as to whether the art fair, Second Saturday, was to blame for the shooting.
Opponents of the art fair argue that what started out as a quirky midtown art exhibition has now grown into a big, fat excuse to get drunk and wander aimlessly.
Apparently, the root of all evil.
The fact of the matter is, Second Saturday ends at 10 p.m. and the shooting occurred at 12:13 a.m.
So maybe Second Saturday has turned into an excuse to drink and look at art, but that does not mean that every person in downtown Sacramento can't handle their liquor.
Second grade teachers don't scold the entire class because one class clown sticks a "kick me" sign to the back of the class nerd. Just like, the city of Sacramento shouldn't scold the entire Sacramento area for one person deciding to be real brave and shoot at a crowd of innocent people.
If you want a more relatable, slightly-offensive, but honest argument: just because one student at a university decides to pull out a gun, doesn't mean the city is going to close down the university forever.
Face it, we live in a world that is not filled with rainbows and butterflies, and I think everyone should recognize that, right now.
Crime is going to ensue if it wants to. The one thing the city can do is heighten their police force and maybe close the art fair down to a smaller area that is easier to maintain.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Mayor Kevin Johnson said in a written statement, "We will not turn our back to violence in the City of Sacramento. We will not hide. We will not run away. We will not dismantle a tremendously successful event enjoyed by tens of thousands of law-abiding residents. Second Saturday must and will continue."
While I don't agree with his phrasing, I do agree with his sentiment.
In the past, fairs, like Second Saturday, have been closed down due to similar events. In 1998, the city closed Thursday Night Market on the K Street Mall after crowds of young adults called prompted repeated police response, according to the Sacramento Bee.
The interesting thing about this is that Thursday Night Markets still occur weekly in downtown Folsom.
So, maybe the the city shouldn't have placed full blame of the weekly markets at the K Street Mall and instead should take a look at why the young adults in Folsom can handle it and we can't. Maybe the answer is more opportunities and education for the youth in our area. Just an idea.
Too often, in order to avoid a sticky situation, officials take extreme measures. For example, shutting down a popular art fair because one person lost it.
Sure, I suppose that's the easy way out. But this time, let's instead take a look at what was really the root of this shooting and go from there.
Debate has now sprouted between Sacramento community members and authorities as to whether the art fair, Second Saturday, was to blame for the shooting.
Opponents of the art fair argue that what started out as a quirky midtown art exhibition has now grown into a big, fat excuse to get drunk and wander aimlessly.
Apparently, the root of all evil.
The fact of the matter is, Second Saturday ends at 10 p.m. and the shooting occurred at 12:13 a.m.
So maybe Second Saturday has turned into an excuse to drink and look at art, but that does not mean that every person in downtown Sacramento can't handle their liquor.
Second grade teachers don't scold the entire class because one class clown sticks a "kick me" sign to the back of the class nerd. Just like, the city of Sacramento shouldn't scold the entire Sacramento area for one person deciding to be real brave and shoot at a crowd of innocent people.
If you want a more relatable, slightly-offensive, but honest argument: just because one student at a university decides to pull out a gun, doesn't mean the city is going to close down the university forever.
Face it, we live in a world that is not filled with rainbows and butterflies, and I think everyone should recognize that, right now.
Crime is going to ensue if it wants to. The one thing the city can do is heighten their police force and maybe close the art fair down to a smaller area that is easier to maintain.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Mayor Kevin Johnson said in a written statement, "We will not turn our back to violence in the City of Sacramento. We will not hide. We will not run away. We will not dismantle a tremendously successful event enjoyed by tens of thousands of law-abiding residents. Second Saturday must and will continue."
While I don't agree with his phrasing, I do agree with his sentiment.
In the past, fairs, like Second Saturday, have been closed down due to similar events. In 1998, the city closed Thursday Night Market on the K Street Mall after crowds of young adults called prompted repeated police response, according to the Sacramento Bee.
The interesting thing about this is that Thursday Night Markets still occur weekly in downtown Folsom.
So, maybe the the city shouldn't have placed full blame of the weekly markets at the K Street Mall and instead should take a look at why the young adults in Folsom can handle it and we can't. Maybe the answer is more opportunities and education for the youth in our area. Just an idea.
Too often, in order to avoid a sticky situation, officials take extreme measures. For example, shutting down a popular art fair because one person lost it.
Sure, I suppose that's the easy way out. But this time, let's instead take a look at what was really the root of this shooting and go from there.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Playing a bit of catch-up
A month meandering around Europe, with only a backpack of clothes, was my remedy to the tough and stressful spring 2010 semester. The only downside was coming home a week before the start of school and realizing that the fall 2011 semester wasn't going to be much easier.
With a 15-unit schedule, an internship, a part-time job and the position of print managing editor at The State Hornet, it hit me - my days of drinking pints in the Haufbrauhaus were over.
Guess I will have to drink in the office instead...
Responsibility? Deadlines? Sleeping? I don't even remember what that is like. A month of doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted had tainted me.
So, I landed in San Francisco International Airport a week before the start of school, but the truth is, I had to go to Sac State the very next day to start training section editors at The Hornet.
I didn't just get thrown into the lion's den - I got thrown in without clothes on.
And speaking of being in public without clothes, that's exactly how I felt in my first week back at Sac State. Sprinting around campus, spreading myself way too thin and forgetting everything along the way...maybe that trip to Amsterdam killed more brain cells than I thought.
The production of our first issue of The Hornet fell on the first day of school and was less than perfect. Technical difficulties mocked us throughout our sleepless Monday night.
Why would InDesign make its CS4 application incompatible with its CS5 application? It just makes no sense to me. The same product and they cannot coexist? Nothing like capitalism to ruin my day.
This incompatibility was the main issue that kept my boss, Leidhra Johnson, and I awake throughout the night. We opened all of the blank templates in CS5 and placed advertisements and then when our editors went to design their pages they couldn't open the document in CS4. And since we only have two computers with CS5, things moved a lot more slowly than usual.
A few other road blocks we encountered included: adobe not opening without a password (a password which doesn't exist), PDFs growing phantom strokes, all adobe applications systematically shutting down without warning, editors forgetting to "apple save" and losing all of their design at 1 a.m., the server shutting down for three hours at 4 a.m. and having no copy editors.
Pish-posh applesauce. We handled it. Sure, the paper wasn't sent to the printers until the last second but our first paper was completed - and that's all that matters.
Paper was finished at 9:57 a.m. and my class was at 10 a.m. So, I ran to Mendocino Hall - powered by no sleep and five red bulls.
Classes continued throughout the day and needless to say, I drooled a little bit on my desk. Good first impression. Not.
After classes I went straight to a budget meeting for the third issue of The Hornet. Literally, I was at Sac State from 10 a.m. on Monday to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
When I finally take a step off of Sac State's campus that Tuesday I remember that it is my best friend's 21st birthday and that I am obligated to go out on her party bus extravaganza. So much for catching up on sleep.
So, I pushed through the first three days of school on four hours of sleep.
The rest of my first week was a lot of going through zombie-like motions and when I got the chance to catch up - I did.
So maybe I'm "running myself into the ground," but when else am I going to have all these opportunities and enough energy to conquer them with? The answer is never. Life's a bitch and then you die. So get used to it people and enjoy every minute of it.
With a 15-unit schedule, an internship, a part-time job and the position of print managing editor at The State Hornet, it hit me - my days of drinking pints in the Haufbrauhaus were over.
Guess I will have to drink in the office instead...
Responsibility? Deadlines? Sleeping? I don't even remember what that is like. A month of doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted had tainted me.
So, I landed in San Francisco International Airport a week before the start of school, but the truth is, I had to go to Sac State the very next day to start training section editors at The Hornet.
I didn't just get thrown into the lion's den - I got thrown in without clothes on.
And speaking of being in public without clothes, that's exactly how I felt in my first week back at Sac State. Sprinting around campus, spreading myself way too thin and forgetting everything along the way...maybe that trip to Amsterdam killed more brain cells than I thought.
The production of our first issue of The Hornet fell on the first day of school and was less than perfect. Technical difficulties mocked us throughout our sleepless Monday night.
Why would InDesign make its CS4 application incompatible with its CS5 application? It just makes no sense to me. The same product and they cannot coexist? Nothing like capitalism to ruin my day.
This incompatibility was the main issue that kept my boss, Leidhra Johnson, and I awake throughout the night. We opened all of the blank templates in CS5 and placed advertisements and then when our editors went to design their pages they couldn't open the document in CS4. And since we only have two computers with CS5, things moved a lot more slowly than usual.
A few other road blocks we encountered included: adobe not opening without a password (a password which doesn't exist), PDFs growing phantom strokes, all adobe applications systematically shutting down without warning, editors forgetting to "apple save" and losing all of their design at 1 a.m., the server shutting down for three hours at 4 a.m. and having no copy editors.
Pish-posh applesauce. We handled it. Sure, the paper wasn't sent to the printers until the last second but our first paper was completed - and that's all that matters.
Paper was finished at 9:57 a.m. and my class was at 10 a.m. So, I ran to Mendocino Hall - powered by no sleep and five red bulls.
Classes continued throughout the day and needless to say, I drooled a little bit on my desk. Good first impression. Not.
After classes I went straight to a budget meeting for the third issue of The Hornet. Literally, I was at Sac State from 10 a.m. on Monday to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
When I finally take a step off of Sac State's campus that Tuesday I remember that it is my best friend's 21st birthday and that I am obligated to go out on her party bus extravaganza. So much for catching up on sleep.
So, I pushed through the first three days of school on four hours of sleep.
The rest of my first week was a lot of going through zombie-like motions and when I got the chance to catch up - I did.
So maybe I'm "running myself into the ground," but when else am I going to have all these opportunities and enough energy to conquer them with? The answer is never. Life's a bitch and then you die. So get used to it people and enjoy every minute of it.
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