Bear Grylls style.

So, today was a good day. I am taking Natural Resource Measurements this this semester. We are doing an ecological assessment of Raleigh’s urban forests…so our class has 100 1/10 acre plots across Raleigh, which were randomly selected. We have to go to the plots and take a bunch of tree measurements…I won’t bore you with the details. So anyway, today my partner and I went out to our plot, which was in southeast Raleigh near a neighborhood. We knew it was a forested plot, but didn’t really know how forested. We start trekking out to the plot, through a ton of green briar and blackberry…yuck. Then it got adventurous. We had to cross a couple of creeks, one of which was about 15 feet wide. Luckily we found a big old tree that had fallen across the creek, so we shimmied across really carefully…it was exciting. The plot didn’t have too many trees, and they weren’t bad to ID. It was just nice to break up the day with a great adventure!

I should be studying for my environmental economics midterm tomorrow. It’s gonna be a killer one…blah. And I have a one-mile test in my walking class…haha that sounds so lame! Hopefully I’ll do okay on it. Ahh…I want the weekend to get here!

Bye bye resolutions.

All of the new year’s resolutions, which I started off the year keeping so well, are going to the pits! My diet is headed back in the Bojangles direction, and I’m not going to the gym nearly enough, although yoga is still going well. My room is a mess and I’m back to caffeine dependence (as we speak I am munching on some Trader Joe’s chocolate covered espresso beans. Jessica, why’d you have to give me those? ). I’m not drinking enough water. Jessica, I decided we must still be alive because of the preservatives in the Valentine cookie.

Ahh! Spring Break come quick! I don’t have too many plans. It’s actually snuck up on me. We’re going to the zoo and visiting my grandma along the way. I’m going to try to get a lot of plots done for my Natural Resources Measurements class project (I hope to do a more extensive post on this soon!), and then I’m going to good ole Spruce Pine with Jasmine! I can’t wait to visit this infamous town.

NCSU vs. UNC

So, if you don’t have the wonder privilege of attending the NCSU vs. UNC game tomorrow, watch it on ESPN and look for some AWESOME painted faces and derogatory signs at the end behind the band!

Tips for DH Hill Success

I haven’t done many helpful posts in the past, not to say that this one will be of much help to anyone, but I thought I might document some of the skills I have acquired over several years of DH Hill Library use. Say what you will, but DH Hill is most certainly one of my favorite places on campus. After having to use a significantly smaller library on campus when I studied in Australia, I truly began to appreciate how many resources are available at DH Hill. I recently learned that the library spends $10 million a year on books, journals, and databases. Make this worthwhile by taking advantage of all the library has to offer.

So, here are my personal tips for DH Hill Success:

First, I am going with the scenario that you’re writing a research paper on some subject and are trying to find solid, print resources for this paper.

Before you even get to the library, use the website! I cannot stress what a great resource the library website is. Search for the specific book you need by looking using the advanced catalog search tool, or browse by subject. When you find a book that you want to physically find at the library, clearly write down the catalog number AND the title. Many times I’ve sloppily written down the catalog number and mistaken 5’s for S’s and vice versa. Writing down the name of the book can help you better find the book on the shelf and also help you re-search for the book online, if you need to. Remember that the computers located directly in front of the

Use the “browse other items of this shelf” page. Taking note of books that are around the one you need can help you better locate the specific book you need or even help you find a book that is more relevant to your needs.

If your book is not where it is supposed to be in the stacks, it could be a couple of other places. There are several carts of books on each floor in the main stacks, at the very end, with books that have been checked out and not reshelved, I have found several books I needed here. Also check the main reshelve area near the elevators, although there are often too many books to look through here. However, you may find your book with a quick glance.

Save money by checking out your text books. I have two text books checked out from the library this semester. I often use this for overly priced books that will be of no use to me ever again (i.e. PE books, uninteresting GER’s, etc). You can renew up to two times I believe, usually giving you enough time to get what you need out of the book.

Take advantage of your college’s library. I’ve used the Natural Resources library on countless occasions, mostly for a quiet study area. Especially during exam time when DH Hill is completely packed, college specific libraries are typically a quiet, more convenient place to study.

The librarians are extremely helpful. Every time I have asked a question, they are always very thorough and seem to enjoy helping students out. I’ve never experienced a library worker who wasn’t pleasant. You can get their direction for finding books and articles, or just general questions.

If you have to pull an all nighter, do it in the comfy chairs! Second floor, east wing. It’s where the sleepers go! Jasmine knows what it’s like.

Learn about other resources within the library. This semester I used the Digital Media Lab which was fantastic. I printed out a large format poster for one of my classes at a fraction of the Kinko’s cost. If you have a couple hours between classes to kill, go to the DVD/Video stations on the second floor, west wing. You can look up a movie you want to see on the library website, and then go watch it at one of the stations they have set up. In the magazine and journals section, there are lots of mainstream magazines to read like Rolling Stone and People.

I hope this might help you out some…who knows. DH Hill will always be near and dear to my heart, and I hope you enjoy it too!