The white walls feel like they’re closing in around me, the furniture appears so clear I feel as though I can see every atom moving on its own.  The dining room chairs seem closer, the table is at least two feet closer to my desk than it was a minute ago, and the bar is going to slam into my chair soon if I don’t move.  Why is this happening to me again?
It wasn’t always like this.  I remember a time when I’d go entire months without a migraine, but now, now they’re more frequent, now they’re more painful.  I used to only get them when my stress level kicked into overdrive.  They’d hit before tests, before big games, before holidays.  Now they come weekly, sometimes daily.  Has my stress level gone into high gear permanently?
I blame school.  I blame work.  I blame everyone close to me.  In high school this happened too, for about a month.  That month was hell.  I’d go to school, stuff my headphones in my ears, and just stare at the clock until the final bell rang.  Then I’d go home, lock myself in my room, crawl into bed, and sleep until my mom got home.  She still doesn’t know how bad the migraines are.  If I told her, she’d send me to the doctor, I hate doctors.  They’re like the devil reincarnated into multiple bodies.  I never go unless I’m forced.
Sitting here is making me nauseous, again.  I didn’t expect to hit the second stage so quickly, now I’m stuck here.  If I move, I’m going to be sick, it’s a proven fact.  Back in high school I usually left when I felt the second stage coming, and if I couldn’t, I’d practically run to the nurse to lie down.  The stomachache is worse than the headache sometimes.  At least with the headache I can somewhat function, I get nothing done but I can make appearances places.  With the stomachache, all I can do is lie there, or in this case, sit.  I need to try and make it to the couch; I can’t stay in this spinning chair any longer.
One foot down, two feet down, I push myself up gently, grasping the desk to gain my balance.  The walls don’t appear to like my getting up; they rush at me, planning to meet in the middle with me in between them.  I begin to hyperventilate: stage three.  I struggle for air as I begin my flight for the couch.  One breath manages to enter my lungs.  I hold it in, and bound for the couch across the room.  I land on it, curl into a ball, and bury my face into the cushion.
My body does not move from this position for minutes, maybe hours.  If I stay still long enough the walls may recede, the furniture may slide back into place, my stomach may unknot.  At the very least my lungs can refill with oxygen if I stay like this.  I fall asleep at some point.  My body, finally regaining consciousness of itself lengthens out so my muscles can stretch.  The stomachache slowly becomes a dull throb in the pit of my stomach.  I wake up to Him kneeling on the floor next to me, gently rubbing my back.  I roll onto my side and run my hand through my hair.  I’m coated in sweat; it takes me a moment to remember what happened earlier.
“It’s ok, you’re alright now,” He says as his hand runs across my cheek, “I’ll go get you some water.”  I remain motionless on the couch, listening to the sounds of the faucet creaking and glass clanking from the kitchen.  Slowly, I look around the room.  The walls are back in place and the furniture is back in order.  The migraine is gone, at least for today.

Author’s note: In this piece I took writing prompt eight from Lab 1 and prompt two from Lab 2.  Evenson’s story about the man losing his mind made me think of how some people react to illness.  So my plan was to create a sort of mental breakdown for the character due to stress induced migraines.  I wanted the setting to only be relevant in regards to the character’s loss of mental facilities in the comfort of her own home.  I didn’t want the setting to place the event in a specific place, but rather help heighten the emotions felt by the character as she basically loses her mind.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The reason why Christopher Hitchens, the great Anglo-American critic, commentator, and polemicist, decided to write his memoir relatively prematurely in the life-game is because of – you guessed it – literature.
In 2008, Hitchens was thumbing through an art magazine when he stumbled upon an exaggerated (to borrow a phrase from Mark Twain) proclamation of his death. The 60 year-old “Vanity Fair” columnist had a revelation of the frugality of life and decided to pen his memoirs before his very last drink. The result, ambitiously titled “Hitch-22,” tries to rectify his public persona as a gargantuan gadfly: the hard-drinking, hard-writing, God-hating bibliophile who seems to have read everything and to have insulted everyone.If there is any purpose to the memoir, it is Hitchens’s attempt to explain why he is a fire-breathing dogmatist for what’s right. Hitchens, a Leftist-turned-Neo-Conservative-Marxist, writes at least twice about his belief that if the Left cannot cure the ails of society, then it will inevitably fall to the Right. His falling out with the Left, a position he has readily adhered to for most of his life, has much to do with his training as a spirited freethinker. He is a man that is not afraid to criticize anyone when he feels that person has failed to do the right thing.
“Hitch-22,” like all of his other works, is written with gusto. His unabashed, intellectual wit and sense of irony is forced upon the reader like a surprise springboard. Yet his cool, graceful prose makes it sensible. His narrative comes alive, especially when he writes about his upbringing and his various relationships. The whole thing is like a Churchillian cigar: potent, suave, and meant to be absorbed over a long period of time.
As someone who does not agree with everything he thinks, particularly his view on religion, I can forgive his rash and sometimes hideous (often frequent) attacks against people and ideas he thinks are wrong. With Hitchens, you are not wrong; you are totally wrong. For someone who does not believe in God, he seems to have a Kantian view of morality. That is, there is a right and a wrong and never the twain shall meet. If you get on his good side, he seems nice enough, and he does not automatically shut anyone down if that person thinks differently. Civil disagreement, among friends or at least acquaintances, is possible with him. Yet when it comes to big issues, such as the war in Iraq and the belief in God, his opinions become tainted with outrage. How can you think this way? Are you that stupid/cynical/sadistic?
His use of hyperbole is outstanding. He proceeds, for example, to harass and insult every single American president since Kennedy (Kennedy was a “high-risk narcissist,” Johnson “thuggish-looking,” Carter a “creep,” Reagan “lizard-like,” and Clinton “loathsome”; I will leave it to your imagination to what he thought of Nixon). However, he explains his descriptions of these men with great clarity. He feels passionate that Kennedy got us into a near nuclear-fallout and that Carter made the wrong choice in supporting Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. And even when he defames someone, he is willing to admit that they may have done some good things at some points.
To me, it seems that his harsh rhetoric is the product of an elitist, world-traveler mentality that he has acquired through his extensive coverage of truly evil men, such as Argentinean dictator General Jorge Videla and Saddam Hussein. And rightfully so. You need to be smart and clever to be that mean, and Hitchens is certainly that. It is like how Dorothy Parker was famous for sarcasm, or more colloquially, it is like how a cantankerous old man is cranky. You just more or less expect it.
Still, there are some parts where he becomes plain annoying. For example, he describes a waiter as “pimply” and “stringy-haired” and “of appallingly dank demeanor.” His crime? Pointing out that Hitchens’s dinner-mate William Styron, according to his credit card, shared the same name with William Styron. Hitchens’s hatred of stupidity knows no bounds. If you watch him in debates, he feels fully comfortable calling his opponent an idiot (or other insults) whenever he or she slips up. I can only imagine how he would describe me if I ever were to enter his crosshairs: “A pudgy Jew with oily, red-peppered skin and of only lame talent, if any.”
The main problem – indeed the only real problem I found with his memoir – is that he is somewhat inconsistent with his modus operandi. He claims that he gives everyone a fair shake, and someone as sensible as him should know that one could be a good person and still make bad decisions. (He says this much about writer Jorge Luis Borges, who mildly supported the murderous Videla and Pinochet regimes.) Yet, as critic Ian Buruma points out, every person is either a heroic, virtuous savant or a dastardly, malicious tramp. The middleman, or at least people of importance in political or artistic affairs, does not exist. He cannot imagine someone of moderate virtue or of mild vices. He describes most people in extremes. Even Dick Cheney, a man he does not even attempt to criticize, is portrayed as having “shark-like jaws.” (Note: Do not bother reading this book if you want to find out his opinions on Bush. For someone who drastically and decisively changed American policy for the past eight years, Bush is seldom mentioned.) The point is that Hitchens makes a living writing in radical terms, and although he methodically supports his views for the most part, it gets tiresome. Similar to a John Irving novel, except that Hitchens’s writing is bearable.
The most emotional and gripping parts of the book are his memories of his education and his ode to Lt. Mark Daily, a young soldier killed in Iraq. Regarding his education, Hitchens writes about British boarding school with an amused veteran terror, like a prisoner-of-war reminiscing about his experiences. He quotes W.H. Auden’s poem “September 1, 1939” to describe what it was like. He was not exactly a troublemaker but he did spew views – later socialist views – that conflicted with his teachers’. He does not do “The Catcher in the Rye”-like cynicism about school (he is, after all, a very learned man and owes a lot of that to his education) but he is contemptuous of the limitations imposed on him by his teachers, not to mention the frequent bullying, if not done on him, then on others, that existed in the schools. He writes with great honesty and insight about adolescence that few people can convincingly do. Perhaps his most shocking revelation in this chapter of his life is a just-below-sexual relationship with another male student. He writes that it was only natural and because of that experience he sympathizes with gays and lesbians who can only find love with the same sex. His boarding school experience, as well as his education at Oxford, made him an even more independent and boisterous individual who became the polemic that he is.
Towards the end of the book, after the passage in which he vigorously defends the war in Iraq, he writes about Lt. Daily. Daily was a great American: smart, courageous, thoughtful, and loving. He joined the Army out of faith for his country. Hitchens writes about him because Daily was influenced by his writings. He felt compelled to help Iraq after reading Hitchens’s articles that laid out a moral case for war, and at some point wanted to contact him as a pseudo-frontline reporter. (Regarding Iraq, Hitchens underscores the brutality of Saddam as the sole rationale for war. He makes a compelling case for the drawn-out and unpopular conflict, and even if you do not agree with him – as most Americans and the rest of the world do not – you have to admit he makes some good points. He argues that Saddam was so bellicose, so fascist, and so genocidal that if the United States did not stop him he would have driven his country to oblivion and would have dragged the world with it.
He also writes that the “anti-war” movement was driven by misconception, moral relativism, and a tacit approval of Saddam’s regime. Say want you want about Bush; you cannot justify Saddam. That, and small but largely ignored cases Hitchens cites of Saddam’s WMD program, is enough for him.) Hitchens becomes emotional when writing about Daily. You can sense his anguish about losing a reader who took his loyalty to the next level. He made efforts to connect to his family and peers and they reciprocated with overwhelming support. The passage struck me for being unusually sensitive. This is a man who made meanness cool. For someone like him to be so open about his emotions is rare, and touching at that. Hitchens makes a stride to show that he is human and that despite his notoriety as a prick, he is a prick with heart. If you are to skim the book, at least read these ten pages or so, as they are definitely worth your time and moneyAs for the rest of the book, it is up to you.
People of the Noam Chomsky/Leftist tent would definitely not like it, for two reasons: Hitchens’s very hawkish and unapologetic views since 9/11, and his withering attack against his former colleague on “The Nation,” a man who, as he points out, said immediately after the terrorist attack that the moral balance between Al Qaeda and the United States was slightly favorable toward the former. Yet if there is one thing about the Hitch, it is that he is non-partisan. This is a man who vehemently opposed the Vietnam War (he called the Vietcong and North Vietnamese attack on Tet “valiant”) and the CIA’s backing of anti-communist regimes, but supported the War in Iraq. This is a man who supports the plight of the Palestinians yet criticized the recent activists who tried to give supplies to the PLO. This is a man who says that the people he despises most are Osama bin Laden and Henry Kissinger. This is a man who has traveled to almost every hotspot on the planet, including Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. Hitchens may not be exactly relatable or even likable, yet his indomitable spirit and his thirst for the truth makes “Hitch-22” a sharp and visceral account of what a pamphleteer is and what he should be.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Katy Perry splashed onto the music scene with her scandal tinged hit single “I kissed a girl” last year. Truth be told there is nothing remotely scandalous about girl on girl action these days, but what raised a few eyebrows was this seemingly church-going girl singing about doing such naughty things.  It was destined to be a hit.
Miss Perry continues the provocative trend in her latest album “Teenage Dreams”. Forgoing all proper nuances, Perry commands “I want to see your Peacock ” to repetitious effect. It’s downright racy and nuns in every corner weep for their fallen daughter.
The album is a rehash of every pop song you’ve heard before, no originality here. That not to say it’s bad, rather it’s the candy flavor of the month. Summer smash hit, “California Gurls” is surprisingly good in a coy and flirtatious way that skirts between cute and indecent. It’s every pervert’s dream; “cute blue eyed blond girl” singing about “Warm, wet and wild, places”.  As if the album couldn’t induce cardiac arrest in the nearest grandmother already, Perry launches into an expletive ridden tirade against her ex, who we can guess is Travis McCoy, in “Circle the Drain”. Lawlessness and reckless abandon prevails in “Last Friday Night” a cautionary tale to teens I hope but sadly might be misconstrued as an anthem.
Though she has ditched her gospel singing background, it’s not to say Perry is incapable of a little introspection. There are a few ballads in the mix including the closing track “Not like the Movies”. It’s cheesy of course and that’s alright, because this album is not to be taken seriously. It is very enjoyable for what it is, light and fluffy pop music geared at teens.  Forget about whether she can actually sing as she sounds down right robotic sometimes intentionally, often times not. What the album does succeed on 100% is cementing Katy Perry’s image as an object of desire for hormonal teens everywhere.

Related posts:

1. Album Review: Usher – “Raymond vs. Raymond” By Jason Davis It’s been two years, a marriage, two...
2. Windows Phone 7 Review By Seon McDonald After the resounding success of Windows 7...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

By Seon McDonald

Unique, visionary, audacious, trendsetter, retro, and futuristic are just few of the words being spoken about Janelle Monáe.  In fact, it is almost contradictory using both retro and futuristic to describe the high energy, funk- infused music that has garnered Monáe a surprise Grammy nomination.
Not content with just recording songs, Monáe managed to weave an entire mythology of android robots and galactic chases into her music that metaphorically comments on today’s social and political issues. It’s an epic musical space-chasing odyssey that takes the listener on a wild ride into a fictional wonderland.
Discovery
After Sean “Diddy” Combs quickly signed Monáe to his label “Bad Boy Records” in what he described as one of his most important signings as a producer, two CD’s were released between 2008 and 2010.
Suite I
The first CD “Suite I: The Chase” begins the story of the android Cyborg and Monáe’s alter ego also known as “Cindy Mayweather” who falls in love desperately with a human name Anthony Greenberg. This is of course banned in the fictional society of Metropolis, and she is scheduled for immediate disassembly. Cindy goes on the run and in the first track “Violet Stars Happy Hunting”, a foot thumping, body moving track, she sings on the hook “And I think to myself, it’s impossible, wait its possible they’re gunning for me, and now they’re after you for loving too”. The track recalls the sounds of Andre 3000 of Outkast “Hey ya.” Monáe is often described as the male Andre 3000, with the same brassy, swing inspired sound and quirky retro fashion statement.
The highlight of the first suite is “Many Moons,” a funk-tastic and energetic cry for freedom from the tragedy of an oppressed society. A high concept video for the song was released that featured the cyborg Cindy and robotic copies of herself being auctioned off to the highest bidder. The song ends in a mournful lullaby that urges you to “Change your life”, an introspection of Monáe that rises to a melancholy high in “Sincerely Jane”. “All of their dreams go down the drain now, Are we really living or just walking dead” she croons on a tune that would make James Brown proud.
Suite II and III
Suite II and III on the disc “Archandroid”  open with a stunning orchestral arrangement reminiscent of a Bond film, then flows directly into the first track “Dance or Die” featuring a rapping Monáe, or rather her cyborg self, Cindy, who has now realized that she is a sort of “Messiah” to the oppressed androids.  Dance as a tool of liberation. Music as a means of education. The themes are heavy here. Dancing is a must, because almost all the tracks float on drum heavy,  rhythmic , synth-funk beats that just get you in the mood. Dancing aside, it’s the lyrics that shine, from the surprising  love song “Faster,” where  she muses “Watch my powers die, you kryptonite my life,” or in the lead single “Tight Rope,” where she urges you “Whether you’re high or low, you gotta tip on the tightrope,” a metaphor for remaining  balanced in the ups and downs of life.
Visionary is an excellent word to describe the music, but exactly what genre can it be categorized under? It is not exactly R&B, and certainly not pop or rock. Instead of trying to box the artistic visions of Monáe into one neat category, one can appreciate the psychedelic, progressive and retro-infused musical stylings as a unique expression of an artist with a story to tell. In her own words she describes it as “a self-empowerment manifesto couched inside a futuristic “emotion-picture” about an android’s battle to overcome oppression”.
Monáe plans to release a graphic novel that fleshes out the mythology and trials of the cyborg Cindy Mayweather. Give the album a spin, close your eyes and emerge yourself into a world much like ours, where the fight for the right to love whoever one please still wages on, and the discrimination is law.  Most of all, dance and be free, or die.

Related posts:

1. The Ups and Downsizing of Punk By Jason Davis  The Swellers want you to listen and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

After the resounding success of Windows 7 (150 million licenses sold and counting!), Microsoft is ready to get back in the smartphone game and throw down with Apple’s massively popular iPhone 4 and Google’s quickly growing Android platform.  They released the Kin, the “not so smart” phones aimed at teens, which flopped like a fish out of water only a few weeks after its debut. With its lion share of the smartphone market seriously eroded, Microsoft needed nothing short of a fresh start to be competitive once again. The old Windows Mobile OS and its legacy apps had been set ablaze, and out of the ashes, a brand new platform emerged aptly named “Windows Phone 7”. Perhaps “7” is the key to their success, because Microsoft might have a winner on their hands. They might even have the mythical and elusive “iPhone killer”.

Hardware: Minimum Specs
Being mainly in the software licenses business, no actual phones will come from Microsoft, but from a plethora of companies like Samsung, HTC, LG, Dell and Asus. In order to guarantee a consistent experience across Windows phones, Microsoft has laid down a set of hardware specifications manufacturers must implement to run the OS. These include:

•Large capacitive multi-touch 800×400 touchscreen
•Three specific hardware buttons on front of the device for start, back and search, and two others for camera and power
•Powerful mobile processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon with DirectX9 graphics      support
•256MB of RAM or more and at least 8GB of internal storage
•At least a 5-megapixel camera
•FM Radio

So what is different in Windows Phone 7, compared to the older versions? Everything. I mean really everything.  It’s nothing like any phone platform you’ve seen before.  Building off the Zune HD’s fantastic typographic user interface, Windows Phone 7 is easily the most distinct looking platform coming to the market. Featuring the Metro UI, text takes center stage, zooming in and out of view, encouraging the user to swipe left or right for more information.  Navigation is intuitive and the touch controls are fluid.
The Homescreen
Apps are organized into hubs according to similar functions, with tiles that show live updates instead of the typical rows of icons. The live tiles display current information such as missed calls, new messages, weather and upcoming calendar events.  In short, the live tiles almost make the phone “come alive” with glance-able information useful to the user.
The idea of the hubs reduces the need to jump from app to app, as hubs are extensible. For example, Pandora and Last.fm would be located in the Zune hub, and Flickr would integrate into the Pictures hub.
When it comes to integration, Windows Phone 7 takes the cake. The “People” hub deeply meshes with your Facebook account, pulling in all your friends, their updates and latest photos and combining them with your contacts. You can update your Facebook status or write directly to a friend’s wall, all from within the hub.  Social networking is essentially baked into the OS.
All Windows Phone 7 devices will feature Microsoft’s prominent hubs that would be difficult to find on other platforms. These include the Office hub. You can edit your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the go. OneNote syncs your notes to the cloud available online and on your desktop.
The music hub is the Zune player. It’s the exact interface lifted from the Zune HD, complete with an FM tuner and a music store for easy one-click downloading. If you subscribe to the Zune Pass, you can download or stream unlimited music and keep 10 tracks per month. Videos are baked into this hub too, and services like Netflix and Hulu are expected to release apps for on demand streaming.
Most exciting though is the one hub that really sets Windows Phone apart; the Xbox Live hub. What’s unique about this hub is its tie-in to Microsoft’s popular gaming service, Xbox Live. Besides the standard gaming options like single-user game play, users with the Xbox can start playing at home, pause, and resume playing on their phones on the go! There will be collaborative play, though not full on multiplayer at launch. Games on the Windows phones can be used as a companion piece, to unlock achievements, view and edit your avatar, browse gamer profiles and try new titles. A quickly expanding list of launch title games for the platform has already been announced including Crackdown, Star Wars, Asphalt 5, Halo Waypoint, Bejeweled, Guitar Hero and more.

Microsoft is serious about its intentions in gaining traction in the market. It is evident they put a lot of thought and work into building an OS that’s unique, innovative and useful.  However there are still some gaping holes like the lack of multi-tasking for 3rd party apps, and no copy-and-paste at launch. Shortcomings aside, there is a lot of promise here, from the tight cloud services where all your photos, contacts and notes seamlessly back up to Windows Live, graphic intensive games that tie into the Xbox, and a clean, intuitive and panoramic interface that makes the competition seem “prehistoric” in comparison.  Here’s to hoping hardware manufactures put forth decent hardware with a design that matches the standards set by the iPhone 4. Most of all, its comforting to see that tough competition forces innovation, which only benefit the consumer in the end.

Related posts:

1. Tech of the Decade By Paige Melin The last decade has seen phenomenal jumps...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s that time of year again.  The time when college students take over the city and Buffalo once again becomes a college town.  The end of summer is full of chaos and the excitement of moving back into student housing, at least for some students.  For some of us, the start of the school year means changing work availability, buying textbooks, and nothing more.  For commuter students, especially those of us who have grown up in Buffalo, not much changes come that last week in August.
So how is a commuter supposed to get back into the swing of things on campus?  Sure it takes a little effort, but follow these few tips and it won’t be torture:

Do take the time to walk around campus before classes start.  As a commuter you spend less time on campus so chances are, you don’t know where every building is.  As summer winds down, grab a friend and locate all of your classrooms to make those first few days less hectic.

Do make an effort to attend on campus events such as UB Welcome and Homecoming.  It’s very easy to miss out on typical college experiences when living off campus.  So be sure to plan ahead so you can attend major school events.
Do join an on campus group or organization, and be an active member.  When commuting, it takes more effort to make friends on campus.  Joining a club or sports team allows you to meet people who share similar interests.

Do put Campus Cash or Dining Dollars on your UB card at the beginning of the semester.  As convenient as credit cards are, the Union doesn’t accept them.  So when you’re craving caffeine or a snack, it’s either cash or UB card.

Don’t head straight home to nap in front of the TV or go right to work after you’re done with school for the day.  Instead, venture over to the student Union.  Not only do you never know who you’ll run into while there, it is also a good place to see what different on campus organizations are doing and to get involved.

Don’t let the temptation to skip an afternoon class so you can work take over.  We can all use the extra money, but that extra eight bucks isn’t worth falling behind in your classes.

Don’t be a hermit.  Instead of popping those headphones in the moment you step outside the classroom, keep the iPod in your bag and let the sounds of campus entertain you.  By skipping the headphones, you make yourself more approachable by fellow classmates who may want to chat.

Related posts:

1. One Year In By Jordan Brown Along with a few thousand other students,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The media may be complaining that there are still no jobs available, but the reality is that things are beginning to look up. According to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate for June 2010 was the lowest it’s been since July 2009, coming in at 9.5%.

Though that number is still high, it’s a small step in the right direction for a better job market. In total, there were 39 states, and Washington D.C., that reported a decline in unemployment rates for June as well.

But to some people, national averages really don’t mean anything. All students are really concerned with is how they will be personally affected in their local market. We decided to look to the source to see how things really are.
After getting a chance to talk to some recent UB graduates, the message is clear; being over-prepared will land you a job. According to Nick Baxter, a recent graduate with a bachelor’s in economics, it’s never too early to start your search.

“You [seniors] should have started looking last year. Figure out when everyone else is looking for job, and start 6 months before…Pay no mind to people that tell you it’s too early. They’ll be the ones serving french fries next summer.”
Currently, Baxter is working as a financial advisor for the firm Alliance Advisory Group, covering the Rochester, Buffalo, and Finger Lakes areas. Planning ahead, he was no stranger to the company when he graduated this past May.
“I originally interned here last summer, I began with the end in mind and wasn’t leaving without a job offer going into my senior year.”

Bryan Engelmann, a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, agrees that planning ahead is important, but has had a different experience post-grad.
“I think that I probably should have done more to network during the school year, especially with people who have connections”, he said. “I was a bit nervous to start looking for work because I didn’t really want to grow up, but now that I’m out of school and still without a job, I can see that I should have done more.”

Engelmann is currently unemployed but still optimistic when offering advice to others in similar situations.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t find anything for awhile.  Lots of people are out of work, and lots of companies just aren’t hiring.  It’s not your fault”, he said. “I read an article on Yahoo saying that something like 85% of people find their jobs through other people, not online.  So if you’re sitting on your computer being antisocial all day, it’s time to take your hand off the mouse and start socializing.”

While some recent graduates are learning the hiring process as they go along, here at UB we have a priceless resource that too few students are taking advantage of.
Career Services, located at 259 Capen Hall, offers many different tools and services that can help students explore options for majors and careers. From resume reviews to practice interviews, there is no reason why students should not stop in their office a few times a year.

Arlene F. Kaukas, Director of Career Services, is confident that students can be successful in their prospective job hunting.

“While the economy continues to have its challenges, hiring is occurring; especially for people with college degrees”, Kaukas revealed.
“A recent survey of top employers conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that employers were planning on hiring about 5% more college graduates in 2009-2010 than they did in 2008-2009.  This positive hiring trend was the first such indication since the fall of 2008 when the economic indicators began to slip.”

There is still hope! Although you may not be able to land your dream job right out of school, there are other options available. Stephanie Brescia is a May 2010 graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a concentration in photography.
While contemplating what she could have done to improve her chances at landing a great job, Brescia realized that getting the best experience is not always financially feasible.

“I did have a paid internship that was wonderful for two summers, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to do in the long run. I needed to make money through the summer because I pay for most of my expenses while at school”, she said.
“When you need to support yourself financially it’s very difficult to commit to something not paid, no matter how badly you want it.”

Brescia is currently working as a part time specialist at the Apple store near her home, and as a full time junior recruiter for creative positions at a staffing agency in White Plains, NY.
Another recurring realization from most of the recent graduates we spoke to was the importance of internships. Stephen Marth, who graduated this past May with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communication, English and psychology is a prime example.

“If you don’t do one [an internship] prior to your senior year or too late into it or not even at all, you are way back in the race. This is a perfect opportunity to get your foot in the door”, he said.
Marth is currently an Assignment Editor for YNN Buffalo. “At this station alone, myself and two UB graduates were offered jobs after graduation… Get your face known, make your presence known, and show them why you are the best.”
Focusing on your studies, applying for internships, and re-vamping your resume are all great ways to improve your chances at landing a job once you graduate. Some have been lucky enough to land a dream job and others are still waiting for that promising offer. But keeping a goal of where you want to end up can help.

“There are too many miserable people out there because they hate the path they’ve chosen because it was easier”, says Lauren Skompinski a recent graduate with a bachelor’s in international studies and political science.
“Go for what makes you happy as much as you can, even if that means you need to work harder for it.”

There is no doubt that you will face stiff competition when entering the workforce. Thousands of graduates every year are leaving school with the same goal in mind; to land a great job.
“You are attending college for many reasons, and one of them is to pursue a profession or some type of post-graduate experience that is fulfilling”, Kaukas says.
“Engaging in your career development will provide you with an opportunity to integrate what you are learning with your passion and strengths to determine where you might best practice that upon graduation.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

by Catherine Prendergast

Emily sits comfortably in a lime green bean bag chair as she is asked the same questions she hears on a daily basis. Anyone who is not from New York City is curious as to why she left a hometown where many people only dream to visit and traveled seven hours across the state to study at none other than the University at Buffalo. Why leave the city, and for that matter, why Buffalo? Well, believe it or not, there are many reasons.

Emily grew up in Greenpoint, a mostly polish neighborhood in Brooklyn. Like most city children, she learned early how to navigate the streets by walking endlessly each day. Eventually when she was thirteen she hit one of the most significant turning points for a city kid’s freedom – she could take the subway by herself. For all you suburban kids, think learning how to drive, only substitute the car for public transportation.

“I had gone to public school my entire life,” Emily relates, “but junior year of high school, I started thinking about Brown.” Cornell was second on her list, and the rest included a planned mix of CUNY’s and SUNY’s. “I applied to Buffalo, Binghamton, and Stony Brook.” With her stellar grade point average and in depth extra-curricular activities, Emily was waitlisted at her first choice, and accepted into her second. Emily now receives a whole new set of questions: Why Buffalo, why not the city, wait, why not Cornell?

“To be perfectly blunt, a lot of it was money. I did not receive any financial aid from them, and unfortunately, while my parents are helping me out with many of the expenses, spending fifty thousand a year would have been too much.”

Emily came to the decision that the University at Buffalo was the best way to go. “UB had two things that were very important. The first is that it is one of the main research facilities in the SUNY system. Secondly, UB has my major, pharmacology and toxicology.” Emily pauses, and remembers something else with a smile. “I could also afford Buffalo.”

With Buffalo’s top courses and reasonable tuition, Emily seems to have made the perfect decision. However, the questions still linger, does not New York have many leading colleges? Is New York not the place that is full of opportunity? And disregard school, how could you leave New York’s cultural and social sphere?

“I needed a change,” Emily responds, directly and casually. “I think I speak for the majority of city kids when I say that I had lived in the city my entire life, and I wanted to experience something new.” Emily also addresses the fact that there are many great colleges throughout the five boroughs. “Manhattan alone has Columbia and NYU, as well as several top art schools. Brooklyn and Queens also have amazing schools. To be perfectly honest, the city is crowded with talent. UB stands out.”

Emily is happy she can study at a place that is the best in the area, as opposed to having enormous competition a block away. She is also content with Buffalo’s social and cultural offerings. “Buffalo has a great music scene. There are incredible art galleries and events. You just have to look. You can always find something fun and exciting to do, it is just not put directly in front of your face.”

Emily also addresses a fact that many people who do not live in the city do not even realize. “City kids are spoiled in a way. Everything is accessible. Buffalo has really made me appreciate my hometown, as well as a different life style.”

The University at Buffalo has offered Emily the chance to study a very specific major that very few colleges even have. The tuition is decent, and Buffalo itself has proved to be a fun place to live, even for us spoiled, jaded New Yorkers. Emily plans on moving back to the city after school, all the more reason she chose to live somewhere different for once. “How can you possibly live in the same place your entire life?” Being from Manhattan myself, I could not agree more.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

10. Hit the tables or slot machines at one of the casinos in Niagara Falls to hit it big. They take campus cash right?

9. Try selling your roommate’s new ipad online & act surprised when they notice it’s missing.

8. Turn your apartment into a bookstore that rips off students by selling them overpriced textbooks. Oh wait, we already have one of those.

7. Get ahead, and start scalping UB Football tickets from all the sold out games this year…

6. Pursue a hip hop career and get booked for next semester’s Spring Fest. Can you say young money?

5. Collect cans & bottles from the first couple weeks of parties. The frat guys are too hung over to turn them in anyways.

4. Rent your car to stranded freshmen looking to hit up the mall this weekend. Zipcar anyone?

3. Sign up to get paid for participating in weird medical studies. We have a Med-school here. There are endless possibilities.

2. Become a teacher assistant.

See if any professors are interested in paying you to write a good review for them on ratemyprofessor.com. It’s not a bribe, just a guarantee to fill their spring semester classes.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

By Josh Q. Newman

Going to Ireland is a happy accident. I never, decisively at least, considered studying abroad until I turned in my applications to do so. It was a back up plan for previous engagements – engagements that up until a few months ago I was dead certain of following. And yet here I am writing this, on the verge of living in Dublin for the next four months, anxiously awaiting what I have been working and yearning for since February. So to understand why I’m doing this, you need to learn about my tenure at UB: the serendipitous turn of events and the staggering disappointments that have confined me to a wonderful, exhilarating alternative.

Before I go on, a few details. I left Buffalo on August 25th and arrived in Dublin the following day. I’m a student at Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious academic institution. I start classes in September and will stay for the full fall semester. My return, though not yet determined, will most likely be in January. Trinity is modeled after sister colleges in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Oriel and St. John’s, respectively) and indeed is a testament to English sovereignty. Queen Elizabeth I founded Trinity under letters patent in 1592 in an attempt to, among other things, consolidate England’s then imperial stranglehold on the island. It is a Protestant school and had a history of accepting predominantly Protestants in an infamously Catholic nation (of course, I’m sure it will warmly embrace a nice Jewish boy as well.) Older than Harvard, Trinity College is located in the heart of the city and has bred such noble men such as Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and a plethora of Irish poets, leaders, and nationalists. I intend on studying philosophy and English to bolster my English major and philosophy minor credentials. But more importantly, I intend on absorbing as much as I can – cultural, historical, alcoholic, and otherwise – in my relatively brief stay in Ireland.

For a long time, studying abroad was not a lavishly attractive option. Studying abroad seemed too exotic, a lavish expenditure of time and money. I can understand a Spanish major learning the language in Spain or an anthropology major exploring Germanic roots in Finland, but I’m English major. How is my reading of Cooper or Pynchon or any other English-language writer for that matter going to differ over there as opposed to over here? It seemed to me that a book was a book. UB has a wonderful English department with great, erudite professors, so it was easy for me to buckle down in dear Buffalo. Besides, as someone who wanted to pursue a PhD in English, I was going to devote my whole life reading and studying books. One semester abroad didn’t appear to matter much.

I have spent my whole life in Buffalo and I wasn’t about ready to leave, either. Although I can’t say that I never left the country (I have been to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Canada), I haven’t left Buffalo for more than two weeks at a time. I went to elementary school, middle school, high school, and college here. It’s my home. As someone who once wept over the possibility of merely dorming at UB, the thought of moving out of the country was terrifying. My mother, herself an immigrant, always wanted to me to study abroad, and it became an apprehensive issue. I always told her that it was something that didn’t interest me, that it served no higher purpose and wouldn’t change me at all.

After all, isn’t that why students go abroad, to change as a person? To find yourself? To get that one shot at effervescent happiness that would lead to an epiphany of the soul? Hmm. It may sound like I’m exaggerating but in my mind, that’s what I kept hearing. Almost all commentary on the subject, from my counselor to friends that have studied abroad, has said the same thing: studying abroad will change your life. Look no farther than “Eat, Pray, Love,” the 2006 travel memoir of a lonely divorcee that traveled the world and coincidently found herself in the process. It stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for at least 158 weeks. For fuck’s sake, Julia Roberts! The entire country seemed to buy into the “travel the world and you will find happiness” bit.

But I found the notion a bit quixotic. I mean, do you really need to go abroad to be comfortable with yourself? Is continent-hopping on a scale that would make Salman Rushdie blush the cure for what ails you? Come on. What about the people that can’t study abroad; are they damned to eternal ignorance and misery? If there is one thing that I don’t like, it’s doing what Oprah thinks you should do. Studying abroad, like all the other extravagant options for people with money, was a boxed, patented pat-on-the-back that ignores what you already have. I had it so good in the United States, a life that most people in the world would die for. It was self-righteous and a cliché. My plans for the past two years allowed no room for studying abroad or other so-called “life-changing experiences” that seemed so narcissistic and out-of-touch with my intents and purposes.

Of course, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this and have since changed my mind. This is just what I thought, in bare terms, at the time. And even in this mindset I had great respect for people that decided to study abroad. But it just wasn’t for me. I suppose my cynicism came from a reactionary mechanism that further entrenched my attachment to Buffalo. But that would all change quite abruptly.

Last fall, in the beginning of my sophomore year, I wanted to go to graduate school. Barely out of my first year in college and already I wanted to enter a prestigious PhD program in some Ivy League school. I had the credits to do it. Thanks to thirteen AP exams I took in high school I entered UB with 56 credits. That allowed me to jump directly into English and complete the major within two years. What followed, logically, was to become a starving, literature-craven PhD candidate at the age of twenty. What drove me to make the plunge so early was brazen ambition. But, really, it was my ego. I wanted to be the first person in history to graduate college in two years. (Think what it would say ten years from now on my Wikipedia page!) I wholeheartedly convinced myself, despite the reservations from my counselor, my mother, and my professors (including one of whom that wrote a recommendation letter for me), that graduating in two years would propel me to greatness. So I indiscriminately applied to sixteen graduate schools, among them Harvard, Yale, and UCLA, and awaited their reply, banking on the amazed reaction the admission officer would have that I excelled so quickly. That, and only that given the intense competitiveness of these schools and indeed of any PhD program, was my meal ticket.

Then one day in January, when all my applications were filed, I happened to talk to a former English professor of mine. As we were chatting I managed ever so intentionally to blurt out that I was graduating in May and that I wanted to earn a PhD. She looked at me. PhDs take time, she said. Colleges and universities care about the quality of the work and not the brevity of time in which it was created. Two years of undergraduate may seem insignificant, but growth requires all the time you can get. I’ve seen your work: you are not fucking ready. Okay, she didn’t say that last part, although I have a suspicion that her sardonic gaze implied exactly that. Either way, she urged me to stay as an undergraduate. Do more writing. Take more classes. Join more clubs. Do something cool, perhaps like study abroad.

Our conversation lasted for about an hour. The experience had my stomach turning. Though didn’t want to admit it, what she said made sense. Perhaps graduating in two years was too presumptuous. Maybe it would be best to stay on for at least another year or two and do something different. My chances of actually getting accepted by any of these places (nil) were starting to sink in. I started to freak out about what would happen in May if I had a degree but nothing else. So I was determined to find a back-up plan. I wasn’t excited about the extra applications but it is better, always better, than to get totally screwed.

What led me to chose to study abroad in Ireland was right in front of my eyes: my James Joyce class. It was an honors course exclusively dedicated to James Joyce. We immediately delved into his works, which of course, dealt intrinsically with his native Ireland. Joyce was quintessentially Irish, a Dubliner who would never truly leave the city despite his brazen self-imposed exile that lasted thirty years. The greatest author in the English language, perhaps second only to Shakespeare and Milton in my opinion, wrote about Ireland with such tenacity and lugubrious, paradoxical insight that the country became alive. I don’t mean to sound sentimental; Joyce was very critical of Ireland and at times wrote harshly about his own people. Yet the man who lost his faith but never his Irish accent had a spell on me. Within a month I was enticed with the figure of Joyce and the country he was from. It came to a point where it wasn’t enough to read about it. I had to see it for myself.

So that is how I came to study abroad. I rushed to complete my applications (despite the fact that most people only apply to one school, I had to outdo myself and apply to two) to Trinity and University College, Dublin. I was accepted by both and decided to go with Trinity. It was the more expensive of the two, but it was closer to Dublin and, from what I have heard, offered the best education available.

As you may have guessed, in April I was rejected by all but one of the graduate schools I applied to, but by then I didn’t care. I was doing something totally new and exciting. My fears about going away from home evaporated (I found myself getting bored with the place, anyway) and my cynicism about studying abroad was replaced by a genial optimism about new things and places. For someone who never truly left his comfort zone, I was ready to embark for the New World. I seemed to placate everyone with the move, including myself. Even the professor I had talked to was pleased. She told me to take a lot of pictures. And I will.

So there you have it. I intend on writing more about my experiences abroad when, of course, I get there. “The Four-Leaf Journal” is the product of a total change of heart, a maturation I couldn’t nor anyone else could have imagined. Dublin is the best thing I could have asked for, and up until recently I didn’t even ask for it.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Whenever I would tell people that I worked at Quality Markets, I was always pretty certain of the reaction that I would get. People would usually just say “Oh, that’s nice,” or something that was a polite way of saying “that place is a shithole.” However, the best reaction that I ever received was when I was signing up for a checking account at KeyBank and she asked where I work. As soon as I had told her, she immediately said “Why does it smell in there?” Needless to say, I don’t think that the majority of the community was that upset when the Penn Traffic company went under. The patrons of Quality typically ranged from irate elderly women, to irate morbidly obese people. This story will cover the latter.

It was a typical day in the summer of 2008, and I was front ending. When someone front ends, it’s more or less a glorified cashier who has to help the other cashiers. So I was just standing minding my business, when this girl Jessica called me over because she needed help. When I asked her what she needed, she just pointed to the customer in her line with a confused and disturbed look on her face. Let me try to paint a picture of just what this gentleman looked like. He was a very large man, weighing in at around a staggering 400-500lbs. The man was also in a rascal. For those of you who don’t know what a rascal is, it is basically a motorized cart for people who have no other disability other than the fact that they are severely overweight and want to avoid walking at any cost. So I asked the man “How can I help you” and he replied quickly by saying “Oh, yeah hi. You see, my wheelchair ran out of batteries. I need you to push me out of the store.” At first, I really didn’t know how to react. I was completely taken aback, how does someone have the audacity ask that you push their massive ass out of a grocery store? I also really didn’t like how he thought it was a common request, and that he wasn’t out of line in the least. Seeing that I had no other options, I got behind him and I tried to give him a push. Initially, there was absolutely no movement, so he turned to me and said “Oh I forgot, you have to pull the break release otherwise I won’t move. It’s located near my lower back.” So at this point in time, I’m searching through a man’s back fat to find a lever that at this point I’m not even sure exists. Luckily(?) I found the lever and we were on our way. It was a pretty slow moving trip, but at least he was on his way out. At this point, I had noticed that everyone in the store, employees and customers alike, were watching. Some even had phones out. Were any helping? Of course not. So I finally got the man out of the door, and I just left him in our parking lot. Now you may think that’s terrible, but honestly was I supposed to wheel this fat man home? Just another day at Quality I suppose.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’m a freshman this year and came to UB knowing nobody. I’m a math major and lack the necessary social skills to make friends without being weird. You guys have any advice?

KP: Meeting new people can be tough, especially if you are coming here on your own. Try joining a couple clubs in the things you are interested in. Even Lindsay Lohan was a member of “Math-letes” at one point in her career, and look how great she turned out! Embrace your inner-nerd. Those Glee kids are on to something.

DH:  Socially-awkward math major. I think I’ve heard this one before.  The best advice I can give you is just to NOT BE YOURSELF.  I know everyone tells you to be yourself and go for what you believe in, but screw that shit. Who wants to be a math major that sucks at talking to people? Why don’t you pretend that you are a confident pre-med student who has a lot going for him?  Money turns women on, and sometimes you get more than a friend, if you know what I mean (you probably don’t.) You can also pretend that you are from Britain.  There are some great YouTube tutorials on how to get that flattering British accent.  Who doesn’t want to be friends with a Brit.  As I like to say, fake it till you make it.

My girlfriend needs to lose some serious weight. She used to be smoking hot, now there is too much to love. How do I help her out without hurting her feelings?

KP: Weight can be a pretty touchy subject with women. See if she’s interested in working out with you at the gym for a fitness date. Otherwise, Student Wellness Services offers a couple cool yoga classes a week. If she can’t lose it, at least she can tone it up.

DH: There is absolutely NO WAY to do this without hurting her feelings.  Women are programmed to exaggerate their disapproval whenever you mention something about weight. Obviously, “girl, get your fat ass on the treadmill,” would be in the inappropriate way of approaching the issue.  Therefore, you must do something silently.  But how do you make someone stop eating without telling them? One way is to simply knock all her fatty foods off the table and onto the ground.  Sure, she’ll think you’re a little clumsy, and kind of annoying that you keep smacking a burger out of her hands, but that’s nothing compared to being an asshole who told his girlfriend she was fat.

I’m obsessed with prime-time television and spent the entire summer watching

re-runs of all my favorite shows. Now, school is starting and I think it might affect my grades eventually. How can I control myself? I literally can’t go a day without my Hugh Laurie fix.

KP: Trust me. I’m a huge Hugh Laurie fan myself, but I think its time to turn off the tube. If you spent your whole summer watching overdone soap operas instead of taking advantage of the good weather, I’m afraid for what’s in store for you this winter. Tape a House M.D. picture on the inside of your planner and call it a day.

DH: TV is the shit.  Never give up TV.  It will keep you alive. From what I can establish, you have deeply thought about what will affect your grades this year.  This means that you’re probably living in Gover-nerds.  Nerd. This also means that you probably spend all your time inside, since your social life is non-existent.  Correct? OK, good.  Yes, TV might take up a little time from your day, but more importantly, it will keep you from committing suicide. It’s a far stretch, but trust me on this one.

I’m a realy good writer and wanna make ur magazine the bomb. Hire me? i want my name in print yo!

KP: Well we are always looking for writers to submit new content or articles, so feel free to stop by our office with your ideas. Although might I suggest taking ENG 101 to help with your lack of grammar skills? Otherwise we have some pretty kick-ass editors who can clean up your stuff.

DH: OK, guess imma have to speak in ur languauage for this one.  For you, ENG 101 would be the best gateway to writing for Generation.  But for the rest of the UB population, which I hope has decent grammar skills and also something to say, you can go to ubgeneration.com and click the SUBMIT tab.  Easy, right? Attach ur shit n we gon get in touch wit yo ass about whatevz u wrote. Ya kno wat I mean?

Are parties down by South Campus safe? All I heard last year was how cool they are and now that I’m here, everyone says I’m going to get shot. What’s the deal?

KP: When it comes to safety, south campus certainly has a reputation for being a little sketchy. But that doesn’t mean you should stay locked up in Amherst all year long. There are plenty of cool things to do in the area that don’t involve frat parties that get broken up by the cops before midnight. Where ever you partake your after hour festivities, just be smart & don’t go anywhere alone.

DH: Hell yeah, son.  South Campus is as safe as it gets around Buffalo.  Every weekend, there are countless patrols circling through the heights, keeping you safe and sober.  North Campus is boring. It’s surrounded by old upper-class people.  Nothing beats the thrill of walking into a sketchy and steamy basement of an 18th century disaster-waiting-to-happen.  I think we can all agree that the best memories happen next to the furnaces.   Actually, I can recall a couple next to a boiler as well. A washer-dryer combo too! Wow.  Either way, if you decide to go, don’t go alone.  And if you’re a dumbass and do go alone, understand that there’s a slight chance of your ass getting raped.

Related posts:

1. Agenda – September 7, 2010 MOVIE | RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE | SEPTEMBER 10 Alice, played...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.