Homework is evil. No matter how hard i try, i cannot seem to complete it on my own. The book doesn't have the answers, my notes don't seem to have the answers. neither of them have the information or equations to do them. arg....

I love Tuesdays. i have 4 classes on monday, and it's monday (who loves mondays?). but on tuesdays, i don't start until noon. that's what i love about college. you don't have to start classes until noon if you want. ;-) hehehe

so here i am, not going to class. lovely idea actually.

(yes, that was just an entry about tuesdays...i guess this would be a quirk)

Actually, that post was suupose to happen last night, but something was wrong with the site, and it didn't like me.

I don't know why I am up so late. For some reason, I can not get to sleep, and this is not good. I have an exam tomorrow night that i need to be awake for. Arg.....i think this is because of the nap i took today. I usually don't take naps, but i was falling asleep while i was trying to do some homework, so i thought it would be best if i took a nap. well, it worked. i was refreshed after the nap, and was able to get some homework done (all for physics in pierpont commons!) but now i can't sleep.

well, this brings me to another topic. i am convinced that i do not have any quircks in my life. i am completely normal. other people have quirks, yes, but not me. well, i realized that this is not true. i have quirks, many quirks in fact. one of which is that i'm obsessed with quirks. i like how that word sounds. it's so much fun to say...quirks. try it; it's fun! well, anyway, i have picked up a quirk from a good friend. (yes, they do rub off, it's quite scary) instead of actually pouting when i'm upset, i have to say the word "pout". i don't know why this is, but without saying "pout" i don't believe i can convey that emotion. weird, huh?

*yawn* it's very late. i shall try to sleep. if there is not another post from me tonight, you can assume i got to sleep. goodnight all, and sweet dreams.

One of the first comments that my roommate had when we moved into our room at the University of Michigan a little more than 2 months ago is that we would have to trim the ivy that covered part of our windows. Little did we know that it would be almost impossible to trim the ivy, and it risks a chance of falling out of our third story room. Why did I call my blog "A View of Ivy"? Well, I have one of the most beautiful views of U of M's (Ann Arbor) campus from where I sit at my computer, and this blog is a place where I will express my views to the world. Well, I don't know how many people this will reach, but I do think that I will have a few faithful people (ie. the people who yell at me for not keeping up with the previous attempts at blogs. :-) ) will read this. I thank you all in advance.

Well, I think I should tell you a bit about myself. My name is Rachel, and I'm at sophomore (currently) at the University of Michigan. Since U of M insists on having "concentrations" instead of "majors", my concentration is Material Science in Engineering, which is in the College of Engineering. I love stating what my major (eventhough the university calls it a concentration, the students still say major) is, because catches people off guard. Almost no one knows what material science is, and my explanations don't give the half of it. Every manufacturing company needs material scientists; we figure out what materials to make things out of, and what process is best for making the part, piece, etc. So with that, I already have a dream job figured out; public relations for the engineering department of a toy company. It's ironic really, I'm majoring in engineering, but I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. I don't think I could work in a lab for the rest of my life. (Seriously, engineers can be anti-social) That's where the PR part comes in. What's really funny about this is, when I told my parents, they laughed at me.

School isn't the only thing that I do when I'm at college. Yes, I do study and all, but I have one group that I am very involved in; InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, or just IV. IV is a non-denominational Christian organization at colleges and universities all over the USA. We have both small group Bible studies and our weekly large group. I got involved with IV during my freshman year, and loving it ever since. Currently, I am leading a small group Bible study. I love the girls in my study, and this also stretches my faith. Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, intellectuals can accept the Bible as truth, and accept God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as who They are. I should warn you all, all my views expressed here will be coming from that background. IV has not only provided me as a place to study God's word (in addition to church) but it is a place where I have made (and are making) friends for the rest of my life. And one certain friend came from IV...... ;-)

[please excuse me as I get slightly mushy here] My boyfriend, Derek (:-D), and I met through IV. We were in the same small group last year, and became friends as the year went on. At the end of the year, as we were about to go our separate ways for the summer, I knew I was interested in Derek, and thought he was interested in me. But, we never got to talking before we parted ways. So, I did about the most coward (and brave at the same time) move ever. I emailed Derek about what I was feeling and asked him if he had felt the same things. Well, since we are dating now, I think you know his answer. :-) sigh....

[ok...done with mushiness for the moment] That is about it for now. I will try to update somewhat regularly. Comments to what i write will only motivate me to write more! So, this is Rachel signing off for the night. (the capilization here is not normal for me...please expect most things from now on to be in lower case ;-) )