Elephants Galore!

Elephants have always been my favorite animal. Perhaps it stems from my love of Africa, which is something I've never been able to explain. I started collecting elephant figurines in all forms when I was three. I have an extensive collection at home, but here are a few shots of the ones who made the trek to Eugene with me.

A trio of elephant's from the collection of my Aunt Kathy, who passed away before I was born. They were given to me at my high school graduation by my Aunt Peggy, who told me the three figurines reminded her of myself, my sister and my cousin since we've always been extremely close and looked out for one another.
A fun push pin elephant, given to me by a family friend after her trip to India.
A beautiful hand-carved elephant from Africa.
A beautiful iron elephant given to me by my family doctor.
And the elephant that started it all--Elli. My dad gave me this elephant before my sister was born so I would have something to distract me from the new baby, and what do you know? I still sleep with it at night!
Finally, I got to see a real elephant in the wild last summer in Ghana:

Frog

Frog is back. I don’t mean the croaking amphibian that hops gleefully from lily pads and catches flies on an outstretched, cartoon-like tongue. This is our Frog, who instead of croaking only shouts, “Have you seen America’s funniest joke book?” from his post on 13th Street. Frog has been in hibernation, it seems, through the cold weather and long rains that plague Eugene in the wintertime. During these times, his only appearances came when he peddled his bike through the enormous puddles on campus. His plastic trailer full of copies of the “best damn joke book in America” wove unsteadily behind the bike’s sloshing tires.

But as we pull back the heavy drapes of winter and let the sun shine in, Frog has returned and with him, campus has reawakened. Instead of looking at their feet as they pass one another on 13th, students and teachers alike look forward and might even crack a smile. Instead of immediately inserting their ear buds and cranking up the most melancholy Bob Dylan song on their iPod, students talk with each other as they exit the lecture halls across campus. And on the first warm, sunny day of the year, Frog’s joke book is not only the best in America, it’s the best in the world.

Image: http://orbitingfrog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tree_frog.jpg

Interview with Concerned Graduate

My interview with Jamie Trano, a soon-to-be college grad in the worst recession in years.

Real Simple Podcast

Real Simple

This week, I decided to crack open a magazine I have heard a lot about, but have never actually read. Real Simple always looked intriguing, but I never really thought to read it until a friend left her copy on my coffee table. Considering this week’s assignment, I thought it must be fate! The first thing I learned about the magazine is that it’s just as smart and interesting as I thought it would be. The layout is clean and easy to follow, which I love! I learned a lot content-wise in this magazine as well. First, I learned that I’m not as organized as I thought I was. The organizing gurus associated with this publication have ideas for organizing everything from shoes to forks. These expensive methods, though, might not appeal to everyone. I know they don’t appeal to poor college students like myself! One of the most interesting articles in this issue is one about choosing the right cell phone and determining whether or not you need all the bells and whistles. I think this article would be especially helpful for the slightly older generation who are confused about what they do and do not need on their phone and how to get the most out of what they pay for. This article was even interesting to me because I learned about some features on my BlackBerry that I didn’t even know I had. I also enjoyed the food and dining section of the magazine. Unlike some magazines that offer complicated, fancy recipes, Real Simple provided readers of the February issue with easy, inexpensive recipes that looked fancy but were actually easy to make. This was reassuring because, since being in my own house, I’ve had difficulty coming up with new and interesting food to prepare. I also learned that a magazine can be a great teacher. Maybe I’ve only used magazines as an entertainment tool in the past, but I’ve never really learned a lot from them. With this magazine, I felt like I should be taking notes on each article. Overall, the layout and writing style of the magazine stuck to its title: real simple, and real good.

Image: http://dannyseo.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/29/rscvr.jpg

Eavesdropping in the Big Apple- Podcast

Eavesdropping in the Big Apple

Oregonians do NYC:Bird's eye view:

My experience eavesdropping in a New York City coffee shop was extremely interesting. It was about eleven am on a sunny, crisp New York morning on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I figured this was prime eavesdropping time since many people were already partially through their workday and would be wandering in to get some motivation in the form of caffeine. Two very trendy young women walked in, both in their mid to late twenties, and I tilted my ear their direction. After ordering cappuccinos, I knew these girls were for real. They sat at a table near to me, and continued their conversation using the word “obsessive” at least fifteen times in a minute. As it turns out, these girls were actually talking about Facebook, which is the very subject of one of our group’s department stories. The platinum blond girl was telling her strawberry blond friend that a “seriously dope” guy had been “stalking” her on Facebook and he seemed really into it. She leaned closer to her friend to admit to her that she’d been checking him out too, but they’d never met in person. She didn’t even know if he was using his real name on Facebook. After all, “he, like, lives in the Bronx or something.” She hoped to meet up with him during the week, and her friend nodded in agreement but warned, “Just be safe, babe.” This coffee shop conversation made my day since it was both entertaining and informative since the girls were exactly the type of demographic we’re aiming for with our group’s magazine, aside from the fact that they live in New York. After hearing their conversation, I’m assured that our piece will be one 20-somethings can relate to. On the other side of the Upper East Side, I decided to grab a little bite to eat and listen to some more conversation since the morning session had been so informative. This time, though, all I heard was a loud, anxious New Yorker speaking into her cell phone about what time the train came from Long Island into the City. At least I had one interesting, informative eavesdropping session while on my cross-country jaunt!