Mona's Blog

Wednesday, March 29, 2006


So, I'm the project manager for this project that I developed at work. We are surveying all the faculty on campus on how they use technology for teaching purposes. After interviewing deans of all the colleges, putting together a group of faculty and staff to help develop questions, and pilot-testing the survey, we FINALLY have it out for faculty to take. Now the important thing to do is MARKET, MARKET, MARKET......I used this picture on the Butler website to get faculty to click on the link to take the survey. I was going for cheesy. Did it work?

Friday, March 24, 2006

I read a quote in this book I'm reading, "Short Term Job-Adventures." I was able to relate to it...

“Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do in order to have what you want.” – Margaret Young

Who I really am is not mainstream-America at all. For a long time my need to be accepted and feel as though I belong outweighed my desire (and my courage) to do what felt right to me, and I will be changing that fairly soon. YAY!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

It snowed about 6 inches here in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday it got into the mid-40's with bright sunshine, melting all the snow instantly. Well, yesterday as I left work to go home, I took my usual route and noticed that there were lots of puddles in the road due to the enormous amounts of snow melting. I then came across a portion of the road that was COMPLETELY submerged under water. Not just some water, but a wide expanse of water that would almost come up to one's knees if wading in it that went on for about half a block. An SUV turned around in someone's driveway to take another route and avoid the water-logged route. I sat for a second and thought about it......my car is very low to the ground, as most of you know. It's also 15 years old....do I want to chance it? And then I thought.....my car is almost 15 years old! Who the hell cares!! So, I went for it!! I got scared there for a second in the middle part, as that was the deepest part and my car seemed sluggish getting through it. I made it though!!! And I was laughing my ass off the whole time. The Geo totally rocks!!

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

OK, so I have a new "thing" that I'm thinking about doing for the next phase in my life. I've recently renewed my quest to figure out what the hell to do after I quit since it's getting closer to summer. I had originally planned to quit my job in May, but I've pushed that back to June or July. It's getting close to go-time, so I've been researching out the wazoo. Is that how you spell "wazoo," by the way?

Anyway, I looked back at all the same old stuff...Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Teaching English as a Foriegn Language in Costa Rica, etc. Nothing was sitting too well with me. There were gaps, or things were too expensive, or programs were too long (the Peace Corps is a two-year committment. Damn). I recently found a program in Spain...Cursos Internacional at the Universidad de Salamanca. It's reasonable with it's pricing, includes accommodations AND medical insurance, and I get all the benefits that students attending the University get (I can use all the facilities, etc). It sounds SO cool. I totally didn't expect to end up in Spain, but it just feels like it fits. I did a little happy dance (really....I did) when I finished reading up on everything. So, I emailed them to ask a few questions, emailed a lady living there from the United States to ask questions and will await responses before making the next move.

Friday, March 03, 2006

James and I went to go see George Bush Sr. speak at Butler University last night. It was pretty decent. He was funny and kept things fairly light and impartial throughout his talk. He also kept things pretty short, about 30 minutes, which I was happy about. At Clinton's speach, we had to wait 45 minutes in our uncomfortable seats before anyone came out to start talking. After the 20 minutes of introductions, Clinton came out and spoke to us for about an hour. So, I was really glad this one didn't last that long. Clinton, unlike Bush Sr., really talked up how he would be doing things differently.....all points he made I agreed with. Of course, Bush Sr. wouldn't talk about things like that since it's his son who is in office, but he did at one point say: "When Clinton got into office, I told him that I wouldn't bad-mouth him. He had a tough job to do and I was going to let him do it without criticism. And I kept my promise, which is something that I'm also trying very hard to do with the current president." It was funny....I laughed.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006



This weekend a group of friends went out Saturday night. Prior to going out, we played ping pong. I've never played ping pong before this year and recently found that I enjoy it. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's still fun. It helps that I don't mind losing. My friend Lydia and I posed for these pictures. In mine, I'm supposed to be crushed that I missed my shot. How'd I do?? It was hard for me to not laugh while making the stupid face.