GeekGirlCon last weekend with the WACM(Womens’s Association for Computing Machinery) was FANTASTIC! One of my favorite panels was examining why villainesses and vixens have disappeared from comics overtime and the role they played during the golden age of comics. One of my favorites that the speaker mentioned was a comic series where the villainess mobilized an army of hobos to take over a city. An army of hobos. Is that not one of the best things you have ever heard? I also did a lot of networking. Which meant going to the booths of Amazon(have you seen their smartphone release?) and other companies to ask about internships. And attending an actual networking session where I, admittedly, awkwardly talked to other women in the tech world. It was a good first experience to see how unstructured/open ended networking was done in sessions like the one I was in. And, I got some contacts for internships for the summer. Which is a HUGE relief. I was afraid due to my inexperience that I wouldn’t be able to intern this summer.

I am VERY excited for fall break. It is a glorious time to sleep in, eat delicious pastries, and to catch-up/get ahead/study. So, here is my embarrassingly horrible Ode to Fall Break.

WACM Club members at GeekGirlCon

The seasons are changing and my rain jacket is drying off,

Along with my tear stained pillowcase as a result of mid-terms,

    And then you come Fall Break!

    Four days to do study germs.

        Or do whatever.

     Of course, there is homework.

    But, I could paint all night,

    Or take a hiking trip with OSF,

    Or do an alternative Fall Break,

    Or go to a nearby city to see all the sights,

    Or eat a jar of peanut butter.

       Or call my mother.

            And when Tuesday rolls by,

    then I will panic and wish that I spent the days better

And do all of my homework.

WOW. That was bad. And, no, I am not eating a jar of peanut butter. I attempted that over the summer and it was a mistake. The point of this Ode is that though Fall Break is a great time to use for academic reasons(homework), you should also schedule time to enjoy your days. And, have some fun and indulge in your passions. It’s a lesson I have to keep learning; how to balance my time. Often I have to remind myself at 2 AM that I am a human being and I need sleep. Or even at 9 PM that I am a human and for the sake of my sanity I should try to stop understanding David Harveys’ essay and allow myself to read a book or to wander the North End (I swear that Aziz Ansari’s voice telling me to Treat Yo’ Self will be the death of me one day though). College isn’t just all about learning. There’s also a personal growth and social aspect to it as well. It’s important to make time to enjoy life.

So, I spontaneously decided to take the train to Portland on Sunday! I have never taken the train before so I am very excited! (I will wear my Gryffindor socks and pretend to be going to Hogwarts.) I don’t really have any solid plans other than to wander the city. I have only ever been to Portland for robotics competitions or conventions. So, I never actually experienced the city outside of the venues the competitions/conventions were at. Which I have no excuse for since Portland is pretty close to Tacoma. Tacoma is in a nice place where Vancouver(for clarification: the one in Canada) and Portland are about a two to three hour drive away. So, there are a lot of options for a day trip.

I’ll also be re-writing my research paper proposal during break. After much deliberation on my research topic for my sociology class I have decided on (*drumrolls*):

Education inequality between schools in the Tacoma School District! My question will be looking at how the presence of alternative schools(such as Tacoma School of the Arts) impact these inequalities.

I am very happy to have finally found a topic that I am passionate and curious enough about to write such a huge paper on. And, I actually feel like this is the right topic for me given my passion in education. So, bring it on fifteen-page paper! I feel like choosing a research topic is similar to a protagonist finding her true love in a romantic comedy. She first picks the person that she thinks is The One or considers him/her/it to be. And then things happen and she goes through all these other eligible(or not so) candidates before finally realizing that education inequality was her one true research topic all along.

A person making my delicious crepe.

Tech companies recruiting through giving out free macaroons? I dig it.

Washington State Convention Center

These cosplayers HANDMADE these costumes from Game of Thrones!