about me

Practically imperfect in every way. Start with a lot of silliness. Mix in some insecurities and a handful of awkwardness. Add a pound of naivety, innocence, and child-like wonderings. Blend well. Half-bake and top off with a sprinkle of imagination and dollop of dreams. It’s the recipe for me!

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quote of the day

  • "Moral of the story: Do not look at the gap. The gap is the mind-killer. Remember how Wile E. Coyote never fell down until he saw the chasm? It’s just like that." --Taylor "Tei" Lindstrom, Rogue Ink

dumbass quote

  • "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps. And I believe that our education like, such as South Africa, and, the Iraq, everywhere like such as. And I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., or should help South Africa, and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children."

    --Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen 2007

kids say...

  • Jacob: "I need to operate on my frog, but first he needs some amnesia."

copyright

Copyright © 2004-2004 Kerrie Lee. All rights reserved.

Laments of EMU - Part One

September 16, 2004

College is a funny thing, isn’t it? Students tolerate miserable parking, outdated buildings, overpriced textbooks, miles of red tape, neglected sidewalks, poorly planned campuses, and in some cases, incompetent professors. Not only are we expected to tolerate it, we are expected to pay for it. Let me tell you about my current school, Eastern Michigan University. Because I’ve attended a few different schools in Michigan, I feel that I can make certain statements about the conditions of EMU with some degree of objectivity. Also, I feel I must explain that the reason I am at EMU, despite all my complaints about it, is that the professors and teaching staff are among the BEST I have ever encountered. All of my complaints are about administrative yuckiness. Yes, yuckiness. Stop laughing and read on.

Probably one of the worst things about my school is the parking. While EMU offers housing, its students are primarily commuters. We pay for parking passes which currently cost $65 per semester. This allows us to park in “commuter lots” around the campus. The parking was so bad a few years ago that the university allowed students to park at the stadium for free, and allowed us to take a bus from the stadium to the campus. The bus was paid for by the university. Apparently, someone decided that the money being used to bus students from the stadium to the main campus would be better spent building a new parking lot. Such genius! My understanding is that this new lot does indeed exist. Somewhere. I’ve yet to find it.

Now, I know full well that parking on any college campus is frustrating at best, but EMU is by far the worst of my experiences. For example, one school I attended had a parking structure which was accessed only with a prepaid magnetic strip card. When the lot was full, it would admit no more cars. EMU has a parking structure and several lots that, like my old school, require the use of the special card (in this case, the magnetic strip on the back of our parking hang tag) to get inside. But unlike my old school, the gate will still admit cars even when the lot is full. To me, that kind of defeats the purpose of the cards. Maybe someday, the same geniuses who build that new lot will be graced with the good sense to program the gated entrances to count cars and forbid entry when the lot is full.

I learned long ago that the time wasted waiting for a spot in the “close” lots to open up is better spent walking from the “far” lot which I know has a spot for my gas-guzzling beast. I timed the walk to my first class the other day, just for you. If I hadn’t timed it myself, I never would have believed it. Now understand, I’m a fairly brisk walker. I’m not a tiny little petite thing that takes tiny little petite steps. I’m a big horse girl who takes big horse steps. I kid you not, the walk from my car to my first class, at my brisk horse-girl pace was 20 minutes. And I was taking the most direct path possible! I’m already dreading that walk in the snow while I transport large, heavy, ugly pottery from my ceramics class.

If you need further proof of just how bad parking is at EMU, I’m sure Amanda can back me up.

CATEGORY: Uncategorized

6 Responses to “Laments of EMU - Part One”

  1. Chuck Says:
    September 16th, 2004 at 9:38 pm

    I lived on campus for two semesters, and the only way to get a spot was to be there at 6am. Wave hello to Munson Hall for me if you’re walking by Strong.

  2. Oz Says:
    September 17th, 2004 at 9:27 am

    You’ll get no sympathy from me. At least you have parking lots. My school is in the city, which means street parking, which means that you can easily drive around for 30 minutes looking for a place to park and then still have to walk 20 minutes to get to your class.

    One of the teachers at my school routinely parks far away and then rides her bike the rest of the way to school. She’s got a pick-up truck, so she just throws her bike in the back.

  3. The Girl Says:
    September 18th, 2004 at 2:58 am

    i back you up… you’re not exaggerating. if anything, you’re being too nice about it.

    also, i see you’re reading the whitching hour. MY MOST FAVORITE BOOK EVER!

  4. D.T. Says:
    September 18th, 2004 at 1:50 pm

    You really are being too nice about it. If I were you I’d make a complaint/comment/suggestion to whomever is in charge of parking at EMU. And if nothing happens, well, I’ll be praying for you when you have to carry those big pottery pieces.

  5. Janet Says:
    September 19th, 2004 at 6:39 pm

    I lived on campus at a somewhat small college. Still, I somehow found I had to leave a good half hour before class sometimes just to get to class on time. I also noticed that the way some of the buildings were positioned, made for God awful wind tunnels that were awfully cold to walk through in the winter.

    I know this isn’t what your post was all about, but it got me thinking bout the good ol days anyhow.

  6. The Girl Says:
    September 20th, 2004 at 1:18 am

    i have your prize for winning 2nd place in our t-shirt/ photo contest. please e-mail me with an address to send it to. thanks! -amanda
    thegirl_caliblog@yahoo.com

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about this blog

It’s the spark of an idea that hits me unexpectedly. It’s the silly wonderings I have after a whirlwind of thoughts. It’s about creativity, inspiration, and imagination. But sometimes, it’s just about eating noodles.

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