The Wall Street Journal posted an article yesterday about the best and worst jobs in the U.S. based on JobsRated.com’s list of top 200 jobs. Advertising account executive was listed as 79th. The rankings are based on such things as Stress, Work Environment, Physical Demands, Income and Outlook. The way I see it I think that if you have a passion for your job then it will be the best job for you because your life is waht you make it and if you choose to be happy with your job then you will be. However, bragging rights to be ranked in the top 100 best jobs is kinda nice 
As we celebrate Christmas this year, let’s remember all the soldiers serving our country that can’t be with their families this year. Please say a prayer for them. I have included Josh Groban’s version of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” in honor of all those who can’t be with us this holiday.
As part of my grandmother’s christmas present, my friend Alicia took some pictures of me and my brother. It was hard to get my 16 year old brother to cooperate because he has so many other “cooler” things to do, but the pictures turned out great. 
Writing about budget cuts reminds me of story from finals. After about 3 all-nighters in a row for my media class, I had a psychology final. I was sleep deprived and not very happy to have to take this final. We were all sitting in the room waiting for our professor for our 10:15 final. It wasn’t until about 10:14 that our psych prof shows up running and very out of breath. The only thing he could get out was this statement,
“Okay. So you know those budget cuts? They’re real. The Psychology department doesn’t even have a copy machine anymore and so we have to give all of our tests and things to be copied to someone else to do it on a schedule and they got backed up with finals and they just finished running ya’lls final exams.”
This is rediculous! It is sad when departments can’t even have a copy machine to run off tests for their students. Even after tuition increases. This just goes to show that maybe just maybe when times are good like they were a few years ago that the University should just save some money for a rainy day instead of having to spend it.
Earlier this month, UT sent out the following email to its students:
To: All Knoxville-area Students, Faculty and Staff From: Interim UT Knoxville Chancellor Jan F. Simek Faculty Senate President John Nolt Student Government Association President Jeff Wilcox Graduate Student Senate President Julie Lynch Subject: New Energy Conservation Policy Today we are announcing a new energy conservation policy that will affect UT students, faculty and staff across the Knoxville area. This new policy marks a major milestone in our efforts to increase efficiency on our campus in light of both budgetary and environmental concerns. While some of the changes in this new policy -- most notably those related to how we heat and cool our buildings -- will require some adjustments, we believe that this policy is fundamental in our efficiency efforts. Beginning today, we will start the process in all UT Knoxville and Agricultural campus buildings to set the target indoor air temperature to 68 degrees Fahrenheit for heating and 76 degrees Fahrenheit for cooling. This means that some buildings may be cooler during the winter and warmer during the summer than they have been in the past. We understand that for some of you, this change may reduce the level of comfort in your workspace. By making these small adjustments, though, the campus will realize significant reductions in energy costs. Campus-wide energy costs are estimated at $20 million annually, which reflects unprecedented increases in energy costs over the past year. If your actions help us meet the goal for a 10 percent reduction, the campus will save at least $2 million. For every degree that is reduced or increased in campus buildings, overall consumption is reduced by 2 percent during the heating season and by 4 percent in the cooling season. We are confident that these changes will certainly help us achieve our energy goals. We appreciate your support and your patience as we work to adjust the temperatures in our buildings, many of which have aging systems. We will work closely with departments with spaces that require temperatures outside the set range for research or academic reasons. These changes will not impact student residence hall rooms, but common areas will be adjusted.
I must admit that I was a little sad when the heater that used to great me every time I opened the door to my apartment complex suddenly stopped working and a few other places on campus being a bit cooler. But it wasn’t until last night, after my father and I had seen A Christmas Carol at the Clarence Brown Theater (Very good show by the way!) that I was really irritated. We drove down Andy Holt and saw that on a rainy night almost a week after finals were over, that all the tennis courts were lit up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, lights were also full blaze on both the old and new aquatic centers. I understand that places need to be well lit to prevent vandalism and crime, but the way I see it, surely flood lights or another alternative could be a better “energy-saving” solution.
For those that don’t know, I’m allergic to shellfish. Yes, I know, it’s sad. Therefore, I have never tried sushi. This is because everyone I have talked to about sushi always says that the shrimp and crab is the best and I can’t have either one. But, last night, I went out with the girls to Nama on Gay Street and tried some tuna sushi and tasted sake. It was an altogether cultural night for me.
Oh the craziness of finals week at the University of Tennessee
Published December 9, 2008 UT 1 CommentAs we all know, finals can be a crazy time in any students life. The University of Tennessee has screwed its students many times this year by raising tuition, changing the grading scale, closing the library at 3am, making them pay for football tickets and those dang budget cuts have caused us all to sweat in the summer and f-ing freeze here in the winter. The list goes on and on and on… however, the students still find ways to be crazy and add some cheer during finals. Last year, the infamous Hodges Library Streaker made headlines in every student conversation for months after. Tonight, at approximately 10:30 history was made yet once again.
While studying for my BA exam, (mind you I had just gotten in the zone and was finally making some headway on studying for my 8am final in the morning) the fire alarm starts going off. Yes, the fire alarm. When it began going off everyone just looked at each other and went back to studying. When the alarm was still going off 5 mins later people began to evacuate. There were so many students in the library that the stairwells were so incredibly crouded! As assumed, there was no fire and someone had a great time watching over 1,000 students evacuate the building.
Even though this escapade was really rather annoying at the time and has shaved off about an hour of my study time, the pictures and the experience itself was very much worth it. So, whoever you are that pulled that alarm tonight, thank you for giving us all a well deserved break and adding some humor to our weeks from hell.
When the only things you can see in trash cans all around campus are Starbucks cups.
Tonight, I decided, instead of studying like I should have been, that I would put together our Christmas tree! My roommate, Lauren, was studying in the living room while I put up the tree and put lights on the whole thing. So, I really did put up our first Christmas tree all by myself! I feel so grown up and accomplished. Now for the ornaments….
