Approximately 200,000 people are expected to be dead after the January 12, 2010 earthquake that struck Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.  As bodies lay in piles across the streets, some even causing roadblocks for trucks that are to find more, people of America are starting to ask: How can we help?

At Iowa Western Community College, this question was asked by Linzi Sharpling years before the 7.0 magnitude quake.  She was at home, when an email came to her inbox asking if there was anybody willing to travel to Haiti to help out at orphanages (http://www.danitaschildren.org).  She quit her job at the coffee shop and left.

Through her efforts at she has:

• Cared for 21 little orphan boys
• Connected US family sponsors with needy children
• Helped facilitate feeding program for 500 school children
• Aided in medical care of the 75 children in the orphanage and the community members
• Spent numerous weeks in the hospital with dying children
• Transported materials across the Dominican Republic and Haitian border

While many college students were busy this winter break playing in the snow, Sharpling used the last of her savings to fly back down to Haiti and continue helping these children.  It has been 3 years since she first fell in love with the people and island.

Only days prior to returning to the United States, Sharpling was proposed to by her long-time boyfriend, Bertico (a Dominican native who found work at the orphanage as well).

The people of Haiti are suffering and while many feel the need to help, they ask themselves how they can.  Sharpling is asking for donations to fly back to the orphanage.  Instructors and faculty at Iowa Western Community College are granting her time off if she can come up with the money.  Students and businesses around town are donating what they can.  She has a degree in social work and is working on being a registered nurse.  If it weren’t for Haiti, she could be in a coffee shop still.  Once again, fate is asking her to leave and help.

If you are interested in helping, email k.elsbury@gmail.com

Thank you!

Did you graduate this winter from what was notoriously dubbed the best years of your life?  Congratulations.  Now is the perfect time, as you are settling in to the holiday routine with family to be quizzed about your future endeavors.
Questions such as:
“Where did you go to college?”
“What made you decide that one?”
“What was your major?”
“What do you intend to do with said major?”
are bound to come up and you better be prepared.  Next, comes their version of how they believe the economy is going in that exact field.  You will probably be encountered with, “Jobs are tough to get.”  Or the stories about how the next door neighbor’s kid graduated top of the class with some impressive degree, only to be running the cash register at Thrift World.  Don’t be alarmed.

This is a message of HOPE!

Here are some great ways to defeat the negative attitude:

1.) Freshen up your resume.  Take a drive down Center Street to the half price book store (same stuff as full price but the saved cash can go back towards student loan bills), and get a shiny new resume book.  It is filled with great formats and can help with ideas on how to word your objectives.
Ray’s hip new idea’s on how to get a job do not accurately portray what you need to do.  However, everybody knows a Ray… 

2.) Buy new and tailored clothing. Do not just show up for an interview wearing last year’s internship suit.  Do yourself (and new boss) a favor by looking impressive.
Or, this outstanding video from Pepsi will be just what you need to ace the job.  Grab those college buddies and hit the boardroom…

3.) Write it down. Mock interviews are just as popular as Nebraska football (you get the point).  Write down questions you think they will ask you.  Have your friends and family do the exact same thing.  Once you have a list compiled, answer them.  Give it a few days, then come up with a better answer.  No boss likes to watch people stutter and stammer in an interview (and you won’t want to be the one they are annoyed with).

By far the best Chinese cuisine in this city can be found under a green roof on 72nd street (or atjadedinners.com/) . Every time my fiance and I have been there, the food was made fresh and served hot.  The hostess was friendly and the owner even took the time to get to know our names.  More food than one can eat, it will feel almost like a gourmet buffet!  After our faces were stuffed came the inevitable fortune cookie time.

I began to really think about these cookies.  Although they are always inspirational, what would happen if they suddenly became cynical and painfully true? I decided the following would be the worst messages to read after a tasty meal of Mala Chicken at Crystal Jade:

1.  I’m sitting behind you.
2.  In a year, you will be 365 days older.
3.  I predict this cookie is a waste of your time.
4.  Made in America.
5.  If eating alone, it means nobody wants to eat with you.
6.  You really don’t need another cookie.
7.  Sorry, no speak English.
8.   Bad luck to read this fortune.  Too late.  Bam.

How to make your very own cynical fortune cookies:

It is officially 2010.  That means, that every person walking around has some insight as to what they believe will happen this year.  After dozens of interviews, these are the Top 10 Predictions for 2010.  The first 5 deal with the economy.  The last 5 deal with the celebrities that graced the magazines in 2009.

1. Two million more citizens will watch the Tim Hawkin’s video, only to realize he is right.  Upset about high taxes, they will get in their vehicles to pay more taxes for registering their car once again.

2.  A space shuttle will probably explode.

3.  The U.S. dollar will plummet, causing other countries to import more U.S. goods.  A very wise man remarked once, “As the dollar continues to sink, people will realize it is cheaper to use a $5 bill as a bookmark rather than buying one.”

4.  Insurance companies will start to deny claims of teenage driving accidents due to texting behind the wheel.  In fact, the Wall Street Journal has an update to the 19 states that currently have this ban.  To read about that and other interesting laws being passed, click on this link —> blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/12/31/coming-very-soon-bans-on-trans-fats-smoking-texting/

5.  This new health care bill will pass.  Those who have read the entire thing (less than 1% of the population) will be enraged over the direction of the country.  Those who haven’t, will be unusually optimistically happy.

The next 5 predictions came from college girls in Dubuque, Iowa.

1.  Nicole Richie will get pregnant.

2.  Linsday Lohan will refuse rehab until Amy Winehouse writes a song for her.

3.  Tom Cruise will announce to the world a very important message while jumping on Jerry Springer’s couch after Oprah’s show has ended.  The news?  He has become a Buddhist.

4.  Tiger’s female fan base will more than triple.  Unfortunately, none of the new groupies will know he use to be a golf star.

5.  Britney Spears will get back into a relationship with Justin Timberlake (JUST KIDDING)!

Recently, a very cocky and cynical individual made the remark, “It’s great that you have good grades, but you do go to just a community college…”

I walked off.  Then, I turned myself around to face that individual.  My heels dug into the ground, I pulled my shoulders back, looked him in the eye and said, “Heck yes I do.  And when your swimming in a mountain of debt with your 3.08 gpa don’t you dare ask me how I made it in life…”

I threw on my confident smirk and walked off again.

Community College Myths

1) It’s the same people you went to HS with.
—–> No.  It is for people of all walks of life.  We are proud to be so diverse here.  I have had women with kids wanting to change their career paths in classes as well as 17 year olds who are taking college level courses in high school.  I have met people from every continent.  Trust me…my highschool class sure didn’t have over 5200 students- I doubt anybody else’s does.

2) Intelligent people go straight to 4 years.
———> I ran out of fingers counting how many friends I made with 4.0’s.  If the idea of intelligence is cramming the night before a test because your class size is too large to speak to the teacher so you don’t absorb the information anyways, I guess a 4 year may be right for you.  I will agree that some classes are easier than others, but let’s be honest here…Not all schools were created equal.  The best way for some is to go to a community college to knock out prereq’s, to win scholarships, that pay for your transferring education.

To be continued….

With the magic of the holidays, a girl sometimes likes to reflect on everything she has learned the past year.  While you are sitting there at your computer, may you find this article rather contemplative. By that I mean, I encourage you to look back through the past year and write down all of your advances, lessons in life, and triumphs.

1.) I learned that sometimes the majority of people are right.  Whether it is about a new hair color, or what my own future holds- sometimes it pays to just go with the flow.

2.) I learned how to put my own ego on a shelf and care about the wellbeing of somebody else.

3.) I learned the best way to become a true friend is to help somebody carry a 400 pound treadmill up 3 flights of stairs and be late for a pedicure.

4.) I learned that a simple “Thank you card” really can go a long way.

5.)  I realized the best cure for any ailment will always be love & coffee.

6.)  A 4.0 isn’t everything, but it sure is most everything (come on, laugh).

7.) I learned I will never be that girl who can walk successfully in heels across a room, or dress exceptionally well.  I can however, rock a hoodie and tennis with amazing style!

8.) I learned that everybody will return a smile.

9.)I learned that the majority of people just want somebody who listens to them- not talks to them.

10.) I learned that all my future possibilities are because I went to a college I didn’t ever expect to go to, and made the most out of it.
Happy Holidays!

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How to Have a Super Hot Finals Week (No Books Required)!

The frigid 34 degrees outside will be considered warm in comparison to the week to come.  Temperatures will dip below freezing just as college students all around the metropolitan area will become stressed out for finals week.  At the Iowa Western campus, some teachers have already begun their rigorous testing.  Buena Vista University is officially starting finals next week.  Across the river, backpack lugging Husker fans are starting to crack open the books at the bars during Monday night football.    Indeed, something needs to be hot and exciting during the next few weeks.  Why not make it be yourself?  The following are the top 3 proven ways to relax (while getting gorgeous), right before cram time.

• Get yourself a pedicure. There’s a great place on Emmett street in Omaha that would do a terrific job of pampering your toes! Treat yourself to a relaxing foot bath, citrus beads, a hot stone massage, and then a polish of your choice.  Pedi’s are not just for females anymore, as more males become interested in relaxing that overworked (and underappreciated) body part.

• Have a hot bath. It’s cliché.  Seriously though, the local grocery stores are having steep discounts on citrus fruits.  Buy yourself a medium sized one and squeeze the juice into the tub.  Then, add some fun fizzies or salts and relax.  It’s a sure way to achieve at least 80 degrees!

• Enjoy a fireplace, cappuccino’s, & bad music. It is true that sometimes, there really is nothing better in life than a latte.  Pick out a new variety and brew it at home while the fireplace is heating up.  Then, turn on some really bad music.  The type that you secretly enjoy when nobody else is around.  The oldies yet always goodies (Spice Girls, 98 degrees, Cher).  Relax for once.

The temptation may be there for college students to stick their heads into textbooks.  However, its almost freezing outside, at least be hot!

I was feeling fat.  I went to the gym.  Upon entering the gym, I checked the mail.

The mailbox had a scratch and win card from the local Chevy dealership.  I guess some lucky individual is about to win a Camaro.  I scratched that card with a fervor of excitement.

I was a winner. That’s right. Me.  A winner.  After torching through my fat calories, I ran home.  ”Trav we won something!”  He then had to call the dealership.  Only they couldn’t tell us what we won unless we agreed to test drive a car and visit.  Sure thing.

We get there.  We read the fine print on the drive.  9997 out of 10,000 was the chance you could win from that scratch card a Butterball turkey.  Your odds of winning a turkey were yes…99.97%.

We won a turkey.  Not the Camaro, the flat screen tv, the blackberry, or anything else.  We won a turkey.

The sales lady went to grab our new pet.  However, they ran out an hour ago.  The odds of winning a lottery ticket if the turkey’s run out- 100%.  We won one.

I scratched that with a fervor similar to that of the first scratch card.  We won $15.  I bought 15 more scratch cards.  Those were scratched with slightly less of a fervor as my penny was now dull and my hand now cramping.

I won $20.  The odds? No friggen clue.  I then went to Hy-Vee and bought a turkey.

Does anybody know how to cook a turkey?!

As many of you know already, last semester I met the most interesting and yet amazing individual.  With her permission, I am going to share a story about a day in an anonymous class.  She does wish to stay anonymous, so for the sake of this tale I am going to call her Katie. 

~ ~ ~

The topic that day when we went into class was dominant and recessive genes and the traits that can be passed down to offspring.  From the comfort of the front row, I took notes just in case there was anything new to learn. 

Little did I know, I would learn something very new that day.  The following 5 minutes changed the life of everybody in the room.

Teacher, “So for example, if both parents are caucasion a child can not be african american.  Another example, if both parents are blue eyed-it is impossible to have a brown eyed offspring.”

Katie laughed. 

“Is there something you would like to share Katie?”

“No offense but thats wrong information.  My eyes are brown and my parents both have blue eyes.” 

Did you spot the problem?!  Thank goodness to Katie’s great personality and bubbling manner the incident was quickly resolved. 

Hello-
Everything has been going alright since my admission to UNMC over a week ago.  I recently had a chipper little visitor who had me rolling in laughter over all the silly things we could do once I left. 

Here is just a tidbit of all of that.  While the semester hasn’t stopped and many of you haven’t had the privilege of getting a break- I have been perfectly relaxed (none of my homework loads on this shummy computer).

Allow me to preface by saying: Some of these are completely obnoxious and originally came from a book in a novelty store 

Enjoy!

1.) Go roller blading

2.) Pour water in hand, make sneeze noise, sneeze on the back of Hannah’s neck (of course this completely gives it away).  —this actually came from Google

3.)Have a “I’m not competitive contest”.  Of course, if you want to lose you are still competing to win and it ill eventually drive you crazy.  Again, taken from that search engine we love called Google.

4.)Share this link with as many lovely people as possible.  http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ecard%7C10001%7C10051%7C682091%7C-2;-102001;11446;-102034;183072%7Cecard%7CPR4S%7Cecards?cardType=premium&template=n&categoryId=183072

5.)Make one of those fleece tie blankets that everybody but me can figure out.

6.)Turn on the radio to something other than country.  Practice singing each song with a country twang.  Instantly hick-a-fying things makes everybody laugh.  General rule: anything rap is instantly hilarious!

7.)  Convince somebody else to sit in a library and hum at an annoying rate until somebody else decides to react.  (I’m sure Dan will, Jk). 

8.) Make one of those old fashioned prank calls that we all remember when we were like…6.

9.) Pretend to go to that Apple Orchard, (I’m sure it’s closed by now).

10.)  When there’s a snowman, take the head off and put it next to it.  Cover the base with ketchup.  (Hilarious)!