Quick question

Does anyone on here know how I can change my blog URL (address) without losing my blog? I really want to change it to aubrawhitten.blogspot.com, but I've searched the Google archives and can't figure out if it's possible to do that without losing all my current data. If anyone has an idea, please post! Thanks!

Searching

In approximately two days, I get to go searching...for a new apartment in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Lord willing (assuming I raise at least 85% of my budget by August), I will be moving to work at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University) for RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). I am so excited about this opportunity and can't wait to see what's in store for the next two years.

Having said that, I have absolutely no idea where I'll live, and that's very strange and maybe a little frightening? I'm currently scouring Craigslist (much to my mother's chagrin). I'll be calling a realtor's office shortly to see if they can meet with me Thursday and maybe show me a few places. I'm one of those people who isn't picky about a house or apartment, but I'd like to be close to campus, have a decent kitchen, and have wireless Internet and utilities included. We'll see what I can find...

The whole reason I get to go apartment-looking is because my brother's team made it to the state championship semifinals (held in Murfreesboro on Wednesday). He just graduated high school, so I'm glad he's getting his final chance at a state championship with his team. If they win Wednesday, they'll play Thursday for the state championship.

On Friday, the entire Whitten clan (minus a few, who already had other plans or had conflicting plans) will be traveling to Townsend/Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a family reunion. We're staying in cabins and just hanging out, cooking, eating, hiking, and being together. It'll be great to see everyone. I haven't met my cousin Julianne's husband, Matt, nor have I met my cousin Allison's second baby, Cole. (Secretly, the whole family really just wants to get together to see Jake and Cole...but don't tell anyone!) We'll also be taking my mom's mother to Oak Ridge to visit her sister, which will be fun, but always adds to things. It's hard when you've got someone who can't do much walking or stepping up and down anymore. I know Grandmother is excited about finally getting out and doing something, so I'm looking forward to seeing her happy again.

Alright, enough procrastinating on this apartment thing: the search must continue. Until next time...

Wondering what to drink to stay awake during finals week?

Last semester, I volunteered to try energy drinks and write a column about it for The Reflector. As exam week has rolled around again, I thought I'd shamelessly promote myself ... I mean, provide advice and enlightenment to the masses. To save you the effort of clicking a link, I've reposted my column here (but you can also click here and go read it directly on The Reflector's site).

And, why yes, in case you're wondering, I'm currently drinking Mountain Dew Code Red (Diet) as I study for my Mythology and Writing for the Media exams.

Many energy drinks exist, but not all worth benefits
The Reflector, November 24, 2009

It's exam time, and that means several things: time to stop procrastinating, start looking at grades and get ready to become dependent upon caffeine and sugar-laced beverages instead of sleep.

To help readers in their studious endeavors, I volunteered to try multiple kinds of drinks and report on the taste, effectiveness and side effects.

However, I'm no expert in this, so I used Twitter to ask the Mississippi State community: "What kind of coffee concoctions, caffeinated sodas and energy drinks do you recommend?"

I received simple and complex responses, everything from "gas station black coffee" to "Well, you can't find this in Starkville anymore, but…"

I had every intention of trying all the beverages people suggested I try. I was fine until I started the energy drinks - I was willing to drink them, but apparently my stomach didn't like them.

So, here's my warning: If you haven't consumed energy drinks on a regular basis, please don't start during exam week. Your stomach may hate you, and being sick is the last thing you want to happen during exams.

Having said that, here's the list of drinks I tried, in order of least to most potent. This is how I thought the drinks affected me; it's not a scientifically-based list. See the graphic for those numbers:

1. Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino (bottled): Don't have time to wait for a drink or can't make up your mind? Grab a bottled frappuccino and go. It's really not any source for energy, but it tastes good and hey, drinking something cold helps keep you awake.

2. Diet Coke: Carbonation can help you wake up. For those of you who drink a cup of coffee or a coke a day, the minute amount of caffeine or sugar won't affect you - you might as well skip on down to No. 4 or 5.

3. Cap'n Crunch Latte from Strange Brew Coffeehouse: This wins the award for best coffee drink. There's a good balance of sweetness while maintaining a distinct coffee flavor. It didn't have much caffeine in it (I finished it off around 11 p.m. and was still able to sleep) and kept me in a much better mood as I studied for a test. Plus, Strange Brew gives you a freebie with your drink - a chocolate-covered espresso bean.

4. McDonald's Caramel Iced Coffee: If you like drinking syrup, this is your drink. I could hardly taste any coffee; in fact, it's kind of like melting a bunch of your grandmother's Werther's candy and pouring it over ice. If that's your thing, go for it. I had no sugar crash after drinking it; however, The Reflector assistant news editor April Windham reacted differently. In her words: "I got really hyper, then I got really tired, then I got hyper again! Then I jumped around and stood on top of a chair at the office, and then I got really tired and went to sleep." Yeah. Just know how you react to sugar before drinking this.

5. Mountain Dew Code Red: It's my favorite soft drink: gimme that high fructose corn syrup and that fake cherry flavor. Carbonation always wakes me up and for some reason, my body seems to think the drink's got a lot of caffeine in it. (It doesn't: a 12-ounce can contains 54 milligrams.)

6. Monster Energy Lo-Carb: I'll be honest: I couldn't even finish this one. I think I drank a third of it. I hated the taste and the aftertaste. Maybe the regular Monster is better, but I can't stomach that blue stuff again. I felt like it had the potential to give me lots of energy, but I couldn't drink it all to find out for sure. More power to all my friends who can drink several a day and function normally - more than one would kill me.

7. Starbucks Doubleshot Regular: What makes this tiny beverage so tasty? Espresso and cream. It's definitely strong, tastes like coffee and is slightly sweet. Don't shoot it, though; enjoy sipping on it (or chug half, wait a few minutes and chug the rest). There's also a light version of this drink with half the calories and a third of the total carbohydrates. Both have the same amount of caffeine (130 mg).

8. Chaser 5-hour Energy Shot: This is the only energy drink my mother and nursing student friends have recommended. Why? It doesn't have any sugar in it, is only 4 calories and contains B-vitamins, amino acids, nutrients and 138 milligrams of caffeine. Its Web site says the caffeine amount is equivalent to a normal cup of coffee, but in my opinion, these 5-hour shots work way better than coffee. Who knows, maybe Mom was right by making you take vitamins? Anyway, this is a drink you shoot and it comes in four flavors. There's also a caffeine-free version. Warning: Vitamin-laced shots like these have been known to cause upset stomachs, especially if you're not used to the ingredients. And don't drink more than two in 24 hours.

9. NOS Energy Drink: Good gracious. This was the biggest mistake I've made all semester. Kids, DON'T DRINK THIS. A 16-ounce can contains 54 grams of sugar and 260 milligrams of caffeine. It tasted great and smelled good. It didn't even seem to affect me right after I finished it; however, several hours later, I got a massive headache, my fingers started trembling and my stomach wanted to kill me. I did sleep that night, but I felt worse the next morning. My hands and legs shook the whole time I was in class and I felt nauseous. The massive headache came back and wouldn't go away. The label on the back of the can reads, "CAUTION: POWERFUL." If this is how NOS affects everyone, then that's the understatement of a lifetime.

Again, don't try energy drinks for the first time on exam week. Study hard, don't procrastinate, get some sleep, and remember: please drink responsibly.

Mini review

Scroll down to "April" in this post to see what this photo's all about. (And I'm sorry it's so tiny — Blogger keeps compressing it.)

I shouldn't be updating right now, but I just looked over my blog and realized I haven't posted since January. (YIKES! That's terrible, especially for a journalism student.) It is definitely an indication of how crazy this semester has been for me — I honestly did not anticipate this semester being crazy. I knew I would be busy looking for work and facing graduation, but since I only had four classes, I figured work would be my main time-consumer (and it certainly was, but there were lots of other things...). Here's a quick run-down of my semester, and I promise that more will be coming!

January:
-Started the last semester of my senior year at Mississippi State University with four classes: Elements of Persuasion, Writing for the Media (both of those are upper-level communication courses, which is all I need to graduate), Civil Liberties/Constitutional Law and Classical Mythology (which are two classes to keep me a full-time student). I quickly realize I'm not thrilled about my communication classes, and at least three classes are going to be much harder than I anticipated...so much for an easy last semester.
-Continued as Managing Editor at The Reflector. We had a huge staff changeover in December (our editor in chief resigned, sports and entertainment editors and several senior staff writers graduated). First month wasn't bad at all, once we all got used to new people in the office.
-Prepared to take my second LSAT.
-Turned in my paperwork to be considered for the RUF internship.

February:
-Already feeling a little senioritis...and realizing it's way too early to be feeling that.
-Took my second LSAT, which was much easier than the first LSAT in December. Unfortunately, we had a lot of problems with our proctor (including being shorted on time in one section and being interrupted numerous times). I figured this might affect my score, so I went ahead and filed an irregularity report...which meant that LSAC delayed my score for three extra weeks. Not exactly what I was hoping for since I was already entering the law school game a little late.
-Had my world absolutely ripped from under me when I lost my good friend and coworker Adam. (I plan to devote a whole blog entry to this topic sometime soon, but I need a while to write it so that I do it justice.) Without going into detail, it was an extremely traumatic situation, and I was the one who had to break the news to our newsroom crew. I never want to see the looks that I saw on their faces that day ever again. It was truly one of the darkest days of my life, and just one of those times where no matter how I cried out to the Lord, I didn't know how anything good would come about through this situation. Although I'm still struggling with all of us and still miss Adam terribly, I am thankful for how it brought our newsroom together. I knew I worked with talented, funny, smart people, but when all of this happened, it really bonded us all together and we started to get past the surface with each other. I have the utmost respect for our crew and I'm glad we were all in it together.

March:
-Got my LSAT score back and went up five points, despite the crazy testing circumstances! Finished off my law school applications to UT Knoxville, Ole Miss and University of Memphis.
-Went before the RUF South committee to be interviewed for an RUF intern position. I passed, and waited anxiously for my assignment...
-Had a GREAT roadtrip across my homestate (by myself!) during spring break. Those of you who know me even just a little bit know that I'm terrible with directions. Mom gave me a Garmin unit for Christmas, and that little thing has empowered me! Love it. I won't be scared of getting lost anymore. I visited my sister and Belmont RUF in Nashville for a day, drove to Chattanooga to see dear friends from church (got to see Bryan College and then spent the night at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia), drove to Knoxville to visit the law school and hang out with friends from church and high school for two days.
-Started dating a boy...and yep, that's all I'm telling you for right now. :)
-Heard back from RUF — my internship assignment is MTSU! I don't think I could have been more excited. I wanted to go back to my home state and be close to Nashville, but I never dreamed they would actually place me there.

April:
-School is really in full swing and crazy. Oh boy.
-We had TWO apartment fires in a span of about two weeks, including one at my complex! My building wasn't affected (although it still smells like smoke), but several of my friends lost everything they owned. I just so happened to be on my way to church when I saw a cloud of smoke — like I told another newspaper editor, "I turned right back around, put my Bible down and grabbed my camera." You can read my fire story here and see the Facebook album of fire photos here. What a crazy day. I am so thankful that the Lord spared every life in those two buildings that day!
-I finished my job as Managing Editor at The Reflector. It's been a good four years there, but I am ready for a break from the newsroom. I've been in and out helping the new staff, and I've stayed on as a writer and spot photographer, but no more eidtor position. :)
-I've started raising support for my RUF internship! Be expecting to see a lot more posts about that very soon.
-School's killing me. I'm having a hard time focusing (two papers, one presentation, some reading, four exams and one honors thesis project away from graduating) — I graduate in 9 days! Please pray for perseverance.

Est frigidus!

That's Latin for "It is COLD!" and that pretty much describes how I've felt most of this month. Mississippi has its share of weird weather, so it's also been in the 60s and 70s here and there throughout the month, but it's dipped below freezing many nights here. The wind is simply biting — doesn't make for a fun walk back to the apartment, although it definitely makes me walk faster! We had our first snow/ice day the first week back at school, but haven't had classes canceled since the first week. Mississippi tends to miss out on most of the fun white stuff...

I have been incredibly busy this month, which is good because it keeps me from being lazy and bad because I wish there were more hours in a day. I've been swamped with work (new hires, training new staff, getting readjusted to working five out of seven days again, etc.), new classes, job applications, law school applications, LSAT preparation, and other things. On top of that, I was sick for over a week; thankfully, it was just a really bad cold/cough, because I thought I had strep.

As of today, I have officially applied to be considered for the RUF internship program. I am really excited about this opportunity and would love for y'all to pray for me about it. I am still applying to law schools and looking for jobs, but this is another possibility. For those of you not familiar with the program, if accepted as an intern, I would be working alongside an RUF campus minister for 1-2 years, meeting with students and assisting the campus minister, but also receiving a lot of personal Bible study/mentoring from the campus minister. I would also have to raise a significant amount of support, but if that's where God wants me, I'm confident that He will provide.

I'm enjoying my classes this semester (for the most part), but I'm really ready to move on in life. I feel like I've already got a budding case of senioritis, so please pray that God will remind me to be faithful and studious in all areas!

Work at The Reflector has gone well this semester. We had four new people become editors, so I was initially worried about the transition. Things have gone smoothly and we are all getting along really well. I know that seems like a silly statement, but we all spend so much time together in that tiny room that arguments can begin and tempers can quickly get out of hand. Thankfully, pretty much everyone is laid-back and seems to really be enjoying what they're doing. I am so thankful for each one of them and am privileged to get to work with such a good group of people.

I take the LSAT again a week from today. I'm nervous and not thrilled with the lack of time that I've had to prepare for it again, but again, God is faithful and will show me if this is what I'm supposed to do.

All of this is very exciting and yet stressful. It's exciting to be thinking about graduating, but a little scary not knowing where I'll be once I finish in May. I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type person and would love to have a set plan right now...but this is a good time for growing and trusting in the Lord for all those plans.

The Christmas update

Well, Christmas flew by again this year...but it was great — got to spend lots of time with family and friends. I was initially discouraged about getting laid off at both of my seasonal jobs, but I managed to work a weekend with a caterer (I've worked there since 8th grade and love it - probably the best job I've had) and pulled a couple of babysitting jobs. It's been nice not be so scheduled (even though I love living on a schedule) and to have my nights free to hang out with friends. This year was the first time in four years that I haven't worked on Christmas Eve!

I got my LSAT score back yesterday and did pretty poorly. I didn't have much time to prepare, but this was the lowest I've ever scored (compared to all the practice tests I've taken). I went ahead and signed up for the February test and hope to devote about three hours a day to studying. I've essentially finished my personal statements, resume and essays, but I've got to get my score up to have a decent shot at getting accepted anywhere. I logged on this morning and started reading about how there was a significant curve on the December LSAT (because it was hard) — encouraging and yet very discouraging at the same time. The Lord is faithful and I'm sure He will make His way evident soon...it's just hard because I graduate May 1 and would love to know where He wants me.

My last semester of undergrad begins January 6! That's terribly exciting and scary. I'm happy about being finished with my studies and my job, but I'm nervous about what post-graduation will bring. I'm looking forward to a final semester with only four classes, lots of library/LSAT time, a semi-new staff at the newspaper office, RUF activities and lots more!

MSU students weigh in on "Twilight" craze

The craziest "New Moon" poster I could find on Google Images within 30 seconds.

For the second time in a week, I'm publishing a story that I wrote and basically telling you to read it. Clearly, I have no shame...

This is a my final story for my feature writing class. (It's obviously a feature story, but it had to have some sort of newsworthy angle or trend aspect, so I kind of aimed for a combination of both.) I told a lot of people that I was writing it, and some of y'all wanted to see it, so enjoy. :) This is also the slightly-extended version (I had to cut it down to 835 words to meet my teacher's requirements.)

Thanks to all the friends who gave up a few minutes to do an interview. I couldn't have finished this story without y'all! (And yes, I did get everyone's permission to post this! I did take out first names so that it isn't the first thing that comes up if their names get Googled.)

--
Looking over recent entertainment headlines, Twitter feeds and the magazines at the grocery checkout line, one thing is evident: With the release of “New Moon,” the “Twilight” craze has struck again. At first glance, it appears everyone’s obsessed with the series: E! Online reports middle-aged women have stolen cardboard cutouts of Taylor Lautner (Jacob) and Robert Pattinson (Edward) multiple times from Nordstrom and UK Mail Online says pale makeup sales are up 200 percent over the past month.

The craze has not hit everyone, though. While people across the nation, including college students, lined up for the midnight premiere of “New Moon,” not all were diehard, vampire-clad, Team Edward/Team Jacob screaming preteen girl fans.

J. Thomasson, senior computer science major, and S. Anderson, senior communication major, were two of a handful of males at the Malco Columbus’ premier. Neither one claims to be a “Twilight” fan, but both went to the premier with friends to people watch and try to understand the craze behind the series.

Anderson said he also went to heckle audience members, allowing his cell phone alarm to go off multiple times and faking phone calls during romantic scenes.

“I tried to play the part of the loud obnoxious guy … I’d just react to anything and everything in the movie with my unfiltered thoughts,” he said. “[When] I realized Edward was 109, I said aloud, ‘Does that mean he’s a 109-year-old virgin?’ The lady next to me said, ‘You’re not gonna talk throughout the whole movie, are you?’ I said, ‘This is just how I watch movies’ … Unfortunately, I didn’t piss off the whole bunch [the audience], just the people around me.”

Even though he has not read the books, Thomasson said he went to see the movie simply because he has friends who enjoy the series.

“Eventually, I felt guilty for making fun of something I hadn’t seen, so I went with three of my Twi-hard pals and saw it,” he said.

Thomasson, who said the crowd was at least 80 percent female, said he thinks part of the following behind “Twilight” is just girls who love slow-motion shots of Jacob and Edward shirtless.

“Ugh, it was ridiculous,” he said. “Every five seconds, a collective gasp would go up from the crowd: ‘Oh my gosh!’ The girls sitting down the row from me actually let out loud sexual moans on a number of occasions.”

Junior philosophy major B. Johnson said when she went to watch the film, there was ‘muffled excitement’ throughout the viewing, and the girls in the audience clearly preferred Jacob over Edward.

“There was no swooning when Edward was shirtless, probably because everyone was distracted by the fact that his left nipple was bigger than his right one,” she said with a laugh. “At least that’s what I noticed.”

Johnson, a fan of the books, said she thinks the first movie was not well done, but she was still excited about seeing “New Moon.” She doesn’t consider herself a vampire fan and said the series hasn’t made her more interested in vampire literature.

“[I’m] only interested in continuing to watch the ‘Twilight’ [movie] series unfold,” she said.

Having no intentions of ever seeing “New Moon,” H. Boswell, junior art major, said a friend dragged her into it.

“The whole movie just seems like a joke. I wasn’t entertained, and I’m very easily entertained,” Boswell said. “I just wanted to leave.”

Boswell said she could potentially understand the “Twilight” craze if the series really focused on vampires.

“I can understand that people like vampires, but this isn’t vampires,” she said.

Anderson also said watching the movie did not get him more interested in vampire fiction or movies.

“It’s become an odd frenzy-bandwagon thing,” he said. “I don’t really get it, but I officially know Hollywood can sex up anything and kids will buy it.”

Thomasson said “New Moon” strengthened his belief that decent vampire movies cannot exist.

“I have no fetish for vampires … and ‘New Moon’ just fueled my opinion that a ‘good’ vampire movie will never be made,” he said. “It is impossible.”

Junior operational meteorology major A. Cole said she thinks the attractiveness factor for the male actors is a primary reason for the “Twilight” following. Cole, who said she has watched and enjoyed other vampire movies, said “Twilight” doesn’t focus on the vampire aspect.

“I can definitely see why not only teenage girls but women would read or watch it — it’s a hormone rush,” she said.

During the movie, Cole said she struggled not to laugh out loud or make fun of other audience members.

“I laughed inside when I probably shouldn’t have,” she said. “I understood the risk of laughing [out loud] at the wrong time in a theater full of girls who would rip my head off.”

Friends have encouraged Anderson to read the books to gain a better understanding of the “Twilight” obsession, but he said he’s not sold.

“I’ve been told on several occasions that you have to read the books, that the movies make it cheesier than it should be; you know that kind of ‘can’t knock it till you try it’ mentality,” Anderson said. “There’s no way I'm wasting that kind of time. I mean, I don’t need to see another Keanu Reaves movie to know it’s gonna be crap.”

Boswell said the movie wasn’t worth seeing even if viewers just want to make fun of it, and she doesn’t understand the following behind the series.

“I thought our nation was going under when the Jonas Brothers came out, but this is way worse than that,” she said.

View the E! Online story that I cited here and read the UK Mail Online story here.