2009-2010: Kayla Weimert

Just One More Week....

The days are slowly going by and the students are avidly counting down until Semester Break is finally here. Tuesday is the last day of classes, and Thursday is the first day of finals. Once finals are done, everyone gets to go home (and mostly everyone cannot wait for that day to arrive). I, for one, am so excited to be going home for a month; the break is much needed. And it's been so hard spending the holiday season away from family and friends at home, but I've managed to survive.

I'm working on finishing my last assignments for the semester, everything is pretty much due on Tuesday (my last day of classes). And the only final I have outside of class time is my Calculus II final, which is next Sunday. Thinking about it now, I have exactly a week left until my first semester of college is complete....

This past week was a bit hectic, trying to finish things up in studio and other courses. Thursday was the first year final review in studio. We were in the gallery of Chaplin from about 12:00 pm to about 6:00 pm. It was long and exhausting; it took a lot of preparation; and it put all our final work on the spot of criticism. For some groups, it went a lot better than it did for others. But all in all, everyone got some feedback that will help them later on in their years of schooling and their career. I've been getting all my drawings together for my portfolio review for drawing which is tomorrow morning. And I've been working endlessly on history... After Tuesday, I will have four days to study and sleep in preparation for my Calculus II final, which is nice, but kind of annoying, since I'll be waiting around to take my one final. It's how it goes though. Some things you just have to deal with.

The good mood for the week came from the snow that was falling the entire week. It started on Saturday and snowed on and off all week. It was amazing to say the least. I would guess there's about ten inches right now. Despite how beautiful the snow may be though, the cold is not so nice and same with the slick surfaces. That's something you're warned about heavily...there's certain paths and staircases to avoid when it snows. Those are quickly learned though when you become a student here....

Okay, well, that pretty much sums up the week. With finals coming up, I probably won't be writing back until next semester, so....Have a happy holiday and wonderful New Year!

~Kayla

Back to Norwich...

Well, the first week back after Thanksgiving Break has come to a close. Getting back into the routine of things was not that difficult, surprisingly. Of course, I wasn't all too excited to start classes again. This week wasn't too bad with work though; pretty simple.

We got the last assignment for Architecture...documenting the city models we built before break. It involves using charcoal to draw a light and dark drawing of our follies in the model, creating a diagram of our city model and also, drawing a section cut or plan of our models. I'm just about half way done with all the work. All of it is due Thursday, which is when we have our final presentation, basically the "final exam" for our studio. That's the first of my finals; the rest of my finals are not until next week.

I still have a lot of studying and work to do before then though. As long as I manage my time, I will be able to get work finished, get in study time and also some chill time. Everyone needs time to relax before exams just as much as they need time to study, so I'm starting to budget my time now.

On a completely different note, Habitat builds have ended for the season, but we've started planning fundraising ideas for the off season. And once spring comes around, we will back out in the field working...I cannot wait for more builds.

And, last night we had our first decent snow of the season...a couple of inches. Surprisingly that is the first substantial snow since we've been here; most people were rather exciting and couldn't wait to go outside to play in it. There were others though that were wishing it would have stopped. It should be known that coming to Norwich pretty much guarantees snow, so you just got to get used to it.

Hockey games have started. Before I came to Norwich I had not seen a hockey game before in my life. This weekend, though, I went to two Men's Hockey games: one Friday night, the other Saturday afternoon. Both games were shutouts (5-0 Friday, 8-0 Saturday), so needless to say, our hockey team is amazing...

I guess that's about it for now. Time to do history homework...

~Kayla

Thanksgiving Break...

It's finally here: a week long break from classes, from work, from campus food...It's so exciting. I flew home yesterday morning and will be home until Sunday morning, then I get to fly back to school for the last three weeks of the semester...hard to believe.

Break is definitely needed right now. This past week was crazy: I spent so many extra hours in studio, trying to finish the final architecture project; I had to make time to pack; and I had to make sure the dorm room was clean for check out. Not to mention other classwork and work. It just seemed so crazy and hectic, but I managed to make it through the week and now I am home.

The project turned out really well. A couple of groups had some problems getting along and sharing ideas, but our group managed to work well together and decide on a design that we all agreed upon. We spent so much time working on it to make it the best possible. We all are very proud of the work...

It seems like all anyone was focusing on this week was getting home to enjoy a much needed break with family and friends. Everyone has big plans for break, but then again, why wouldn't they. There's not too much work to be completed over break, which is nice.

Other than the project and break, nothing too exciting or interesting happened this week. I'll let you know how break goes and how it is returning to campus after break.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

~Kayla

One last week before Break...

Today is the beginning of the last week before Thanksgiving Break…I fly home Saturday and I’ll be home for a week. It’s so exciting to be able to spend some time at home with family and friends.  It seems, though, that these weeks have gone by so quickly. I still cannot believe that the semester is nearing it’s end…

With the end of the semester approaching, we are now starting our final project in studio. It’s a group project where the basic idea is to design a city to contain each group member’s folly. It’ll be a lot of work and it’ll take a lot of time in studio, but the final project will definitely be worth it (and also, the fun of working with a group will be a definite encouragement). Basically, though, the model of our city has to be done before Thanksgiving Break, unless you plan on working on it over break, which means there is only a week with everyone together to work on it. A nice challenge, but one thing we’ve learned this semester is time management and working with time limitations, so we will be able to get through this challenge.

Beyond the classroom, there’s a lot of excitement on campus this weekend. Yesterday was the Fall Open House and the football conference championship game; and today is the women’s rugby conference championship game. Although the weather was gross (cold and rainy), the football game was amazing: Norwich Cadets are now ECFC Champions with a 49-14 win. Everyone is hoping for women’s rugby to win today…

Well, other classes are pretty usual, nothing too exciting or interesting to mention, except that I have a test in Calculus II tomorrow. With work, I’ve been getting some more hours in the past couple of weeks, but no other news to mention.

This is life now…typical days filled with exciting moments!

~Kayla

 

Such a Nice Day...

So, last week was crazy hectic with registration and studio work...

Registration was, well, everything I was warned it would be...The registrar wasn't supposed to open until 8:00 AM, but since people started lining up early, they started registering people at six. I got there about seven and had to wait thirty-five minutes...My roommate went at nine and had to wait an hour and forty-five minutes. A little word of advice for everyone in the future, get to the registrar's office early...You'll have a shorter wait and you'll be more likely to get the courses you want...I was able to get into most of the classes I wanted, except for literature, but I was able to get into another literature courses, so everything worked out...

Registration was really only one day for me (and most students). Freshmen registration was on Thursday. So, most of the craziness of this week came from studio and trying to finish everything on time. When working on the projects, it's inevitable that you will run into at least one bump or two. Fortunately, though, if it's something you cannot figure out, someone else is usually able to and willing to help you out. Having to spend so much time in studio and with the same people, you learn who is best to get opinions from, who is best to borrow materials from, who is best to go to for a laugh, and so much more...They say by the end of the first year, though, you start to get tired of and annoyed by each other, but if that weren't the case, what would summer be for? I see the higher year architecture majors and they still seem to get along, so I don't have any worries...

Studio was canceled on Friday afternoon since two professors were out of town and one was sick. Without studio, a lot of people were able to catch up on sleep, including me. And without any major project to work on this weekend, a lot of students are spending their time doing nothing and just relaxing. Yesterday, a couple of my friends and I and also, a bunch of staff, faculty, alumni and other students, gathered together to participate in the NU day of service. Since I am a member of Norwich University's Habitat for Humanity group, I was at a Habitat site yesterday. It was so cold, but we had a lot of fun and made a lot of progress on the house. The volunteers at the site had different tasks, so were putting up window trim, others siding... Volunteering is a big thing here at Norwich. And it's so easy to find something that could interest you because of the wide variety of options. If volunteering isn't for you, there is definitely a variety of other clubs and activities to chose from.

Weather here has been, well...interesting to say the least. The past couple of nights, there have been light snow showers. When I would wake up, there would be a thin layer of white over everything, but early afternoon, it was already gone...Today, though, is really nice: temperature is not too bad and the sun is shining brightly...got to love it!

There's nothing too exciting with work. I'm doing the same tasks, but hours have been short these past couple of weeks, since my boss was out of town and so that I had more time to work on homework and projects...

It's hard to believe it's already November. In just two weeks, everyone will be heading off campus for Thanksgiving break. And just a little over two weeks after we return, final exams will be starting (Exactly three weeks after returning from Thanksgiving Break, I will be taking my last final exam and then, leaving for Mid-year Vacation). It's so surprising how fast things went by, it's crazy. But it's definitely been memorable...

~Kayla

 

Important Week Ahead...

Well, earlier today, my roommate and I returned back to campus after spending our mid-semester break at home. My roommate and I have worked out a system, so that I can get a ride to the airport without causing anyone to go too far out of their way...When they say college is for new experiences, they are not just referencing on campus specifically. By going to college so far from home, I have had to experience my first airplane ride. It was definitely a worthwhile experience.

I actually just got done looking at course selections for next semester...This week is registration for classes for the Spring semester. Most of my courses are pretty straight forward, but I do get some options, like a Graphics elective. Registration isn't too bad though. At the beginning of the semester, some upperclassmen were telling me you have to be quick if you want to get into the classes you want. Then again, I haven't actually registered yet; freshmen registration starts on thursday, so I guess I will have to let you know how it goes.

Studio work this weekend was very minimal considering I went home. I am, however, making excellent progress on my wood model; I am basically ready to attach everything...I do still have to finish transferring my diagrams onto mylar with ink. Both are due Wednesday...hopefully I can finish both on time.

It was nice spending time at home and getting to see everyone. When I go home, I am so picky about food. The food from the Wise is not bad (don't get me wrong); it's just that it gets repetitive and you cannot really get good meat, like a good steak. Every time someone talks about going home, they reference getting a steak of some sort at some point of being home...Keeping food in the dorm room helps to add variety, though. I don't eat all three meals in the Wise every day. Generally I will eat either breakfast or lunch in the room each day to add the variety...

When I was home, everyone kept asking if I liked the cold. Surprisingly, though, it has not seemed too cold lately; I'm sure it will start cooling down soon. Now, I'm prepared because when I came back up, I brought up more winter clothes, which are all too necessary at Norwich...

Time to finish up some work for tomorrow...I will write back to fill in the details.

~Kayla

It's becoming normal...

Well, the more time I spend here, the more I become accustomed to living in a dorm room on a college campus with classes within walking distance of where I eat and sleep...

I think I have finally gotten used to my schedule: I learned how to manage my time so that I get my work finished and still have time to hang out with friends. In fact, I have started to incorporate a routine of going to the gym with my roommate...We tend to use each other for the motivation to actually go, but neither of us minds. The roommate situation is seriously like the lottery: you can get a great roommate or a terrible roommate. I've had friends who couldn't get along with their roommate at all and had to switch rooms, but my roommate and I get along so well. We occasionally joke about how good we are for each other...Today, we decided to rearrange our room; we got a little tired of the old set up.

As I am getting more used to things, it seems classes are getting easier to handle. And studio, well, I still haven't had to pull any all-nighters yet; although I have friends that have already had several. In studio, we just finished drawing our most recent cardboard study model of a folly with ink or mylar. And this week, we will spending our time in the wood shop cutting pieces to build this cardboard study model out of wood...It shall be interesting and exciting, especially since we only have a week to finish it and time and space in the wood shop are very limited. When they say the architecture program at Norwich is fast-paced, they definitely aren't kidding...I will keep you updated on how the finished wood model turns out.

The up-coming weekend is actually mid-semester break for us, meaning we don't have classes Friday. A lot of students are using this weekend as an opportunity to go home, including my roommate and I. I am so excited, but it's kind of hard to be excited when there is so much that has to be done before then...like my wood model for architecture, which is due the Monday after break.

It's interesting to see what the RAs will do for the holidays...our Halloween excitement has already started. After our floor meeting on Thursday there was a Halloween party, involving pumpkin carving, ice cream, candy and more. This week there will be little kids coming through the dorms trick or treating and also, a hallway decorating contest. It should be a lot fun and a good break from work.

I will definitely keep you all updated on this week and the many adventures on the Norwich campus...

~Kayla

Studio and Studying...

With midterms this past week, I managed to spend the beginning of the week going to class, working in studio, and studying for tests... The time I spent eating was spent with friends trying to keep me relaxed, which must have worked, since I survived the week and did fairly well on my midterms and tests.

I probably didn’t study as much as I should have, considering I went home last weekend…I flew home Thursday night, so I could be home for all the thrills of my brother’s wedding. Since I flew home after my last class on Thursday, I missed all of my Friday classes. It’s really not the best thing to do: miss classes. Unless specified by the professor, though, you are allotted two or three absences from each class per semester, but it is best to avoid missing any classes because it can really put you behind or confuse you with your classes. Missing studio was probably the hardest, since I missed a desk critique, which is necessary in order to improve my model. As I stated before, though, I cannot be doing too bad if I have made it through this week with all my work complete.

Every time I have some free time, I try to spend some of it just relaxing. Usually, this spare time comes on the weekends. The weekends at Norwich tend to be very slow, in that, not many people are out and about on campus, especially now since it’s starting to get colder. In fact, on Tuesday, we had our first snow…it was only a dusting, that melted before noon, but it was snow. And snow in October is a big shock to me. At home, I wouldn’t usually see snow until after Thanksgiving… 

This week was very exciting, not just because of the snow, but also, because my nephew was born… It was a welcomed distraction on Wednesday night. To be completely honest, hearing the news, kind of made me want to be at home, so I could see him and hold him. Everyone faces their moments of homesickness; the best way to handle it is to talk about it with someone…Surprisingly, some people cannot handle being away from home and still go home every weekend, while some people avoid going home at all. It all depends, but it always works out.

I am actually, really excited this weekend. I went into studio this afternoon and stayed in there until I finished my work which is due on Monday. Now, I don’t have to go into studio at all tomorrow, unless I want to do extra drawings for myself, which I may just work on Monday, so I actually get a day of complete relaxation.  Currently in Studio, we are finishing up with our latest cardboard model; during the coming week we will be drawing this model (first with pencil on trace paper and then with ink on mylar). After we finish drawing, we will be recreating the model in wood: we will be learning about the wood shop and about wood…I am actually really excited to build a wood model (although my model will not be the easiest to construct out of wood, it will definitely not be the hardest) ; I’m kind of tired of cardboard…

Well, time to spend some time sleeping….

~Kayla

Just another week...

Work load has been completely crazy lately...But before I get into details on that, let me explain how Family/Parents' Weekend went...

My parents and my sister arrived that Friday afternoon, just after studio finished. When they actually made it to campus, they met all my new friends and then, they took me out. Since I was spending the night with them, we had the entire night to spend together, so we went into Burlington to do some shopping and get a good meal (not that there's really anything wrong with the school's food, but you kind of get tired of it after a while). Saturday, we came back to campus for an art show and display; all of the first year students had their work up to that point pinned on the walls in the gallery. Certain students explained their projects and the concept of the project for all the parents; following the presentation, the parents toured Chaplin, examining the different projects in the gallery and observing the mess and the works-in-progress in the studio. After some time in Chaplin, I took a walk with my family into the town of Northfield...nothing too major, but we went into the book store and the hardware store. And by the time we made it back to campus, we had just enough time to eat lunch in the Wise Campus Center before the football game against Mt. Ida. Surprisingly, Norwich won. Families were rather entertained, watching the rooks doing their PT beyond the end zones, and the drill team during half time. Families were a bit shocked by the cannon that went off throughout the game...I actually spent Saturday night with my family at the hotel again; I figured I should spend the time with them when I could. And Sunday morning, we went to brunch in the Wise Campus Center and shortly afterward, my family started the eleven hour journey back home...

Now, as I stated before, the work load this past week was crazy. With architecture, once one project is completed and turned in, the next is already started and there is something due for it on the next day of class. There is never any downtime with studio: there's always something you should/could be doing. So I had a lot to do for that class (especially since I had to redo one of my projects). Beyond architecture, though, I had a lot of reading to do for history (especially since I have three books to keep up with reading) and Calculus II homework. All that to be done between classes and work study...No wonder all through high school everyone was stressing the importance of time management in college. Time management (or possibly procrastination) is probably the hardest thing to get a handle on in college: there's no longer specific deadlines for each and every assignment (usually just a final deadline), there's no longer specific assignments on each lesson (in fact, somethings are self-assigned and/or self-taught), there's no longer telling you to get working and motivating/pushing you to finish (it's only you). When in college, you have to realize, things may not be as planned out as they were in high school and things may take more time than initially thought. Procrastination is definitely the worst thing for a college student because work definitely builds up...

Moving past the stress of last week...this past weekend was Alumni/Homecoming Weekend and once again, the football team actually won (42-2). But, yet again, it was another cold and rainy weekend...

Today is Monday; so far, the week has been good and fairly easy, but then again, it is only Monday...However, I am looking forward to the weekend (and not because the weekends are more relaxed and stress-free), because I am flying home to see family and for a wedding and a birth...I'm rather excited...

So, here's to life...Enjoying every moment!

~Kayla

So this is what it's like...

To be an architecture major at Norwich University.

Today, for the first time since I have been on campus (a month), I have truly discovered what it means to be an architecture major at Norwich. On all my visits, I was warned by the current students that there are a lot of late nights (some all-nighters), a lot of work and a lot of studio (to the point that I'd pretty much be living there). Well, I could not seem to figure out why they would say that at first, butlast night I had my latest night in the studio yet. I was there until about 1:10 AM. I got about four and half hours of sleep before I had to get up for my first class. Surprisingly, though, I was better off than some; as there were a couple students that pulled their first all-nighter for the semester. Needless to say, most people in studio were dragging a little today....

Don't assume it's because we put off work either. Between other classes, and homework and assignments for other classes, studio has to be scheduled into the day if you want to get anything accomplished. We had to finish four scale drawings for the beginning of class today, but this was not assigned until the end of class on Monday. So we had no scheduled studio time to work; it all had to be completed on our own time. That is why time management becomes such an important concept in college: your whole day is not planned out for you and professors do not consider your other classes when giving assignments/projects. All you can do is take it as it comes. The best thing to do is to follow the syllabus and keep yourself up to date, even if they're not due for a while; finish assignments as you get them, don't procrastinate...Also, you cannot hesitate to ask questions; in fact, professors love it when students ask questions. It shows that they're actually paying attention...

Everything is finally falling into place and everyone is falling into a routine. It's not as crazy and new as the first couple of weeks were.

Well, this weekend is Parents'/Family Weekend (that's why I am writing a little early this week). I am so excited to see my family; although it's only been about four weeks since I last saw everyone in person, it feels like it's been much longer, especially when you're used to seeing them everyday. I pretty sure that everyone's at least a little excited to see their families, especially the rooks, who finally get a chance to go off campus and just relax...

Homework (mainly history reading) is becoming a normal thing for my roommate and I. We are hoping to be caught up by this weekend, but we'll see how that goes.

Well, time to attempt to read...

~Kayla