Mooching Media

Not being a big reader, watching movies and tv shows is how I like to unwind. Despite the fact that I neither own a television nor any DVDs, I have managed to use mooching as an alternative means to access them. Here are my top three ways to mooch media when I need to unwind:

1. Friends who have TVs

Although I have no TV, a friend of mine owns three! We like to watch the new tv show "Glee" together at her apartment when it airs on wednesdays. I remember when I lived in the dorm last year, girls without TVs would regularly flock to the girls' rooms who had them.

2. The Collins Library

The Collins Library has a huge variety of DVDs and videos that any student can check out with his or her ID card. Collins Arts Council recently approved funding for a complete new horror movie collection including Dawn of the Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Carrie. Of course, I will never watch these because I would not be able to sleep again, but I still thought you should know.

3. Hulu.com

This web site lets you watch the most recent episodes of several movies and shows; this is where I'll go on Friday because I missed "Glee" tonight, and also where my roommate and I watch the hilarious Tina Fey on "30 Rock"... for free!

The Collins Inferno

Not everyone knows about the quirky, magical nooks of Collins LLC, but I’m pleased to let you in on one of its underground hang-outs: the Cheshire Café. The "Chesh” as we lovingly abbreviate it, has an ambiance that exudes eclectic weird-dom, and it works for us. For some regulars it becomes an alternative living room between the hours of 8 p.m. and midnight, a place to knit or play battleship, complete with cozy furnishings, as well as funky art and party lights. That’s not even the half of it, though. Most Collinsites who take advantage of the The Chesh are there for its delicious, and fairly priced, offerings of hot and cold beverages, baked goods, and gourmet chocolates.

Tonight was a special night at The Chesh. I’ll preface by telling you that this coming Saturday is the night of the annual Collins Halloween Dance, and its theme this year is “Inferno: Seven Paths To Hell.” In other words, it revolves around the seven deadly sins. In full Halloween spirit, there was a showing tonight of the thriller Seven amidst free candy and fun deadly sin-related decorations. Each sign found its place somewhere in the room; for instance, on the couch was a sign for "sloth," on the candy dish “greed”, on the baked goods “gluttony,” and on the barista “lust.” If this is any indication of what effort went into planning the dance, I can’t wait to dance this Saturday until I’m blue in the face.

Books for Rwanda

I recently visited the Village Deli on Kirkwood to hear about a nonprofit program called Books and Beyond that has teamed up with IU's Global Village Living-Learning Center. I had heard of the Global Village but didn't really know much about it or where it was. Since I also live in a Living-Learning Center, I was kind of curious.

Well, Google led me to some enlightening information about the LLC. Like Collins, it is a small community that requires its members to apply, pay a $100 activities fee, and take the Q199 introduction to residence life class. Its members also organize what are called "Village events," not too unlike the event programming that happens at Collins. The main difference, it seems, is that the Global Village is aimed toward people who study international relations or languages, and who are planning to study abroad.

Frankly, I had never heard of Books and Beyond, but I knew it had something to do with volunteering internationally. Having been a part of a volunteer trip in Costa Rica with Collins the past two years, talk of other international programs like these always pique my interest a little bit. So, I Googled that too, and found some helpful information. Students in the Global Village work with high school students at Newark Collegiate Academy, a TEAM charter school in New Jersey. The school's goal, along with other TEAM schools, is to have all of their students, all of whom are either African American or Hispanic, go to college. These two groups work together to produce and publish children's books, which are sent to students in Rwanda as models for them to create their own books. These books are sent back and sold in the United States, and the profits then go back to Rwanda.

All of the collaborative steps involved in this project seems to be geared toward improving kids' lives all across the board. How cool! The people I met at the meeting, including the students from Newark Collegiate Academy, all seemed to be friends, and very enthusiastic about the program.

I apologize for the information overload, but I had to share my findings! For more information about either the Global Village at IU or about Books and Beyond, check out these websites:

rps.indiana.edu/llprograms.cfml

http://www.indiana.edu/~college/global/books.shtml

http://www.indiana.edu/~college/global/

Finding My Inner Pep With IU Sports

Tonight I went to the IU men's soccer game against Butler University! The field is just behind the outdoor pool, across the street from Assembly Hall and the football stadium. I stood in a place called the "cage" on one side of the field, where students can stand and cheer on the sidelines, something that the women's games do not have.

This was only my second soccer game (my first was a women's game last week), and something I'm not well versed in. So, I won't be able to give a proper commentary on tonight's game, but judging from the score at the end of the second half, one to one, we met our match! My friend and I had to leave before overtime, so unfortunately I didn't get to see who won. I'm not someone who gets very invested in sports competition, but for me sports events are still a nice way to get out, be with friends, and get a little peppy.