Marta Diehm's Blog

Greetings Blog Readers!

It’s time for the 08-09 school year! Where did this summer go? For the class of 2009, where did the last three years go? I’ve had this little blog corner of capital.edu since my Freshman year, and it is hard to believe that I now a SENIOR! It is absolutely crazy to me. I’m sure my fellow Cappers of 2009 can attest to the disbelief of our incoming situation.

For those of you about to embark on moving in and Orientation, have a blast! It is a week to remember, and I look back on August of 2005 with fond memories. Go to all the activities, get to know your roommate, don’t stress about classes and KEEP YOUR DOOR OPEN! That is the best advice I can give anyone. Find other people in your building who have their doors open and don’t hesitate to walk in and introduce yourself. You’d be surprised who you can meet. Once you get used to this openness and your comfort zone is expanded, you’ll find there are MANY others who are feeling what you’re feeling and who are looking to make friends as well!

I am really looking forward to being back on campus! Its been a great week at home, but there is only so much of my time that can be filled with Olympic coverage. Boy have I watched a lot! My cousin is getting married this weekend, but I’m excited to drive to Columbus on Sunday and move into the Capital Commons- My first year not in a residence hall! I have always been over involved and overscheduled at Capital- and this year is no different! I am this year’s Executive Director of University Programming and one of two Senior Interns in the Admissions Office….on top of classes, my involvement with Pi Phi Epsilon and all the other fun stuff I find myself experiencing at Capital!

Leave me comments on my blog--- I love to know who’s reading! If you read this and then recognize me on campus- Don’t feel bad telling me “I know you from your blog.” I get a kick out of it. Please, no autographs, though. Haha.

To everyone involved in Capital 2008-2009….get PUMPED!

Best Wishes, Marta Phelps.... I mean...Marta Diehm (haha)

Hello everyone!

This post is extremely overdue. It is almost unrealistic for me to report that I am already 5 weeks into my 3rd to last semester here at Capital. Coming off of my experience studying abroad in Australia, it has been quite a whirlwind month of readjusting to my college life here in Columbus. I left feeling like an underclassmen and I return to campus an upperclassmen who feels rather old. The winter of my senior year doesn’t seem that long ago- when I was reading Capital First Year blogs and dreaming of the day it was time to move on from High School. How the time flies by!

With the spring of your junior year most likely comes a course load that, to use an overused Marta term, “isn’t messing around.” I can truly say that I really enjoy all of my courses and the fine folks who teach them. As of yesterday, I am officially a Communication/Religion double major. You can find me most likely analyzing, researching, or critically thinking about subject matter in the areas of communication and religion, cultural communication, gender roles, Hinduism, Christian ethics, and film theory.

Outside of the classroom, I have jumped right back in to the extracurricular activities that continue to shape my 4 years at Capital. University Programming successfully hosted our annual Kids and Sibs weekend last week. Any opportunity for me to let my camp counselor-extraordinaire shine through is always fun.

My sorority, Pi Phi Epsilon, is nearing the end of our final week of recruitment. Tomorrow evening at approximately 7pm we will welcome into the green realms of Pi Phi the fabulous ladies who will make up the 2008 New Member Class! Greek Life has been such an important and exciting part of my Cap experience. I look forward to sharing our sisterhood with a new batch of ladies I know will do great things for our organization. Here is a picture of some Pi Phis on a recent outing to Steak and Shake!

Best wishes to all my faithful (and new) blog readers as you face your February. If you are feeling a hint of cabin fever cooped up inside away from the cold, feel free to visit me! I can show you a good time analyzing theories, planning events, critiquing films, staying up too late, or wasting time on YouTube.

That’s it and that’s all,
Marta

G'Day from a hot and humid Australian December! It is hard to believe that I am finishing up my semester abroad here in Australia. My 7 month long summer will come to an end this Sunday as I fly home to wintery Pittsburgh. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was finalize my travel plans and heading down south for this new adventure. I have had an amazing 4 months of fun, learning, discovery and experiences. I can speak only very highly on this amazing oppotunity I've had to study abroad. I am so pleased that Capital's International Education office was able to set me up with such a life-changing semester abroad.

While in Bexley, I am very involved on Capital's campus. I got involved early on in my freshman year and and by the end of sophomore year, my calendar and commitments kept me one busy gal. I have really enjoyed this semester of "me time". I've been able to relax, rejuvinate and really live the laid-back Aussie style. I have made some amazing friends and seen some amazing sights. The International Education office encourages that college is one of the best times to travel. Boy were they right! I recommend a similar experience for any college aged student who really wants to try stepping out of their comfort shell of their life and "have a go" with something new for a while.

With that being said, I am really looking forward to January on campus! The other day I saw two friends on campus reuniting with a big scream across campus and then and even bigger hug. I look forward to the squeals, excitement, and endless catching up that I know will happen when I come back into the happy and welcoming arms of my Capital family. Until then, I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. If you have any questions about study abroad opportunites at Cap from a gal who knows, please feel free to email me! -Marta mdiehm@capital.edu

Greetings Capital University! I hope November finds campus happy and healthy! I have had an amazing semester here in Gold Coast, Australia. I can't wait to get back to Capital in January and tell everyone about my awesome study abroad experience! If you are looking into it, I most definately recommend it! I've decided to share with you a little story from my week. Some of my best memories here have come from random evenings such as this!

Wednesday was the 7th of November. Here in Australia, they write their dates out with the date first-- so 7-11-2007. Thats right- It was 7-11 day! And that constitutes free slurpies at 7-11 convienence stores if you declare "Happy 7-11 Day!" to the poor guy who is behind the counter. Led by my 3 Australian friends (and their two cars), a group of us participated in what can only be described as a "Slurpie Crawl". In a matter of about an hour, we visited 6 different 7-11 stores throughout the Gold Coast. Talk about a brain freeze!! It would have been a 6 for 6 night if it hadn't been for a grump at store number 2. He refused to accept that it was 7-11 day. I tend to believe he was just getting sick of passing out free slurpies. He had the little complimentary cups out and everything! He will forever be known as the Grinch Who Stole 7-11 Day. Nonetheless, we counted the night as a successful one. Many flavor combinations were tried, many throats were numbed, and many laughs were had. We even passed on the good news to a USA sports team we found along the way! (I think they were ice skaters..?) Happy 7-11 Day!!

And Happy November to Central Ohio! Best wishes on the conclusion of the semester. I look forward to a cold yet amazing January back at Cap!

G'day from Down Under! That's right. I'm coming to you from Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia. For those of you who are new to Capital this fall or are new to the Capital website, I'm Marta Diehm. I'm a junior communication major from Pittsburgh, PA. I've blogged on capital.edu for the past 2 years- and I've been asked to give you a little something from my semester abroad here. I came here through a program called Australearn. They can connect you with practically any school in Australia, New Zealand or even Fiji! My school is on trimesters, so I have a September-December semester. All other schools in the southern hemisphere start school around the end of July. It is spring right now and quickly moving into November's start of summer! Australia has been great to me so far. I've walked through rainforests, held a koala, pet a kangaroo, thrown boomerangs with Aborignal tribesmen, surfed and scuba dived- and I haven't even been here a month! I am currently taking 2 classes at Bond University as well as having an internship on campus. I work 10 hours a week in the marketing office of the Business school. My mix of class and work have been a great way to witness a few different angles of the Australian higher education experience. I've met some great people so far and am looking forward to the next couple of months as I become more settled and accustomed to my new home. Believe it or not, Australia is more different than the States as some may think. Hints of culture shock come in and out- mainly when missing the comforts of home. If anyone wants to send me Reeses, I would love it, and so would many many Australians who would pay me for those amazing cups. Seriously. I'll give you my mailing address. Let me know. :) I would say you could also send me Frostys and fries- but that might be a difficult shipment. I will be here until the 16th of December and then I'm home for Christmas. It'll be nice to be home on Capital's campus in January. I miss you all a lot. I miss socializing in the MDR, UP and Wicked Wednesday, my friends in admissions, church on Sunday on the Kerns, Pi Phi E, lovely fall days and of course, those lovely 9ams on a Monday morning. If you have any questions about Studying Abroad, particularly studying abroad through Capital's International Education Office, I'd be glad to answer them! Drop me a line- mdiehm@capital.edu Have a great fall, Capital! Best wishes, Marta Diehm

There are many things I am not proud of.  I am not proud of some of the embarrassing things I have done on home video, and I am not proud of the years when I had such a bad speech impediment that I couldn’t even say my own name.  However, I am mostly not proud of my poor lack of blogging this semester.  I am shameful and regretful. 

 

Many of you- which by many of you I mostly mean my mom- have been casually reminding me in conversation for weeks that I should post a blog entry.  I talk to her nearly every day, so she should understand my busy schedule that just hasn’t been conducive to frequent blogging.

 

This semester has been probably one of my busiest.  I’ve worked my bottom off in my classes and I’ve had a lot of fun in between.  I am excited to report that come Friday, I will not be on Capital’s campus nor in Columbus until January of 2008.  Yes, mates, Marta is off to Australia to study abroad!  I’m not sure Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia is ready for me, but I’m coming to them starting in September.  Get pumped, Bond!!  I have never been out of North America and with a brand new passport in hand, I’m really ready for this once in a lifetime experience. 

 

That’s not to say that it isn’t completely bittersweet to leave Cap.  It is probably the best situation to label “bittersweet”.  I can’t imagine what its going to be like to my life and everyone here.  I’m getting emotional just hearing my friends across the hall laughing as I type.

 

Just because I have a secret desire to be a recording artist, I am going to use this time to compile a thank-you list.  I could never name everyone and everything.  You probably won’t understand most of this. Hopefully it will serve as a visual representation of hoq Capital and who you can meet here can be life changing.

 

In no particular order…

 

   Thank you, my two roommates, for being at the forefront of the Marta experience. Love 
    you K and A!

   Thank you, third floor, for being a constant reason for me to get a morsel of exercise in.

   Thank you, computer lab printer, for being there for me (or sometimes backing out) at 
    3am when I couldn’t be more excited to use your ink and paper.

   Thank you, Pi Phi E, for love, support, and giving me something to be darn proud of

    Remember what it felt like to throw that “hail mary”!  Continue to make me proud!
    Thank you, MDR cottage cheese & applesauce.  You always are the perfect side dish.

    Thank you, 3^rd floor hallway, for putting up with my hallway shenanigans and my
     in-the-way brushing of my teeth in the sink that is away from all the other sinks.

   Thank you, cell phone ringtones, for being my second alarm every morning.

   Thank you, UP Board, for the planning and the fun. You make me smile!

   Thank you, 602, for your fun, your themes, your hugs, and the coffee table.
   Thank you, people who have given me rides.  You have made a wheel-less girl happy

   Thank you, Admission Office and everyone in it for adding to my Capital experience, 
    even though I am a fully applied, accepted, and registered student.

  Thank you, tourees, for hearing my schpeal at Capital and not completely laughing in 
   my face when I make funny quips throughout the tour.  C.U in the Fall (hopefully..)

  Thank you, projects, papers, and presentations.  You have challenged me academically 
   and also given me opportunities to go where no procrastinator has gone before.

 Thank you, ladies in the bookstore. I appreciate your smiling faces and a shout-out list in 
   my blog would not be complete without my Capital campus supporters!

 Thank you, room desk, for being “where Marta goes”.  The futon has nothing on you! 
  You are my living space, my working space, my countertop and my friend!

 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK EVERYONE who has made these past two years memorable for me.  I am a people person.  I thrive on my relationships with others.  Without all of you, I would just be a pitiful girl who would talking too much to no one.

  

Best Wishes to all who are about to start their Capital journey in the fall.  Take good care of campus while I’m gone!  C.U ALL in Spring 2008! 

 

With love,

Marta

Sorry Meredith.

You need them- admit it.

Nothing beats getting mail. Nothing. I know in my last post I uncovered some of the best walks on campus...now I would like to highlight some of the best mailings on campus.

you know you wanna walk with me on these trips too.

This shall be a fairly quick post- I thought I'd give a little Homecoming Week hello to all the fabulous Cap Alumni out there..along with all my faithful blog readers. (And cause I want to see my new blog picture!)

Stress Relief, Marta-Style

get the western showdown music cued up, folks

As a sit in my nearly empty room 362, it's hard to believe the school year is over. My computer and TV are my only entertainment and company as most everyone else moved out yesterday.

who doesn't love pictures and Top 10 lists?

presents. gifts. incentives. It's all good

Choices, Choices, Choices.....How much in life is "your choice"? Burger King suggests that with their menu, you can have it your way. For those of us that grew up with the Nickelodeon game show "Legends of the Hidden Temple", we were reminded every episode by the large talking stone head Olmec that "the choices are yours and yours alone...." Frank Sinatra famously crooned that he did it "my way."

...with the Sex and the City ladies, perhaps?

You're all mine, Microsoft Word.

No one is here to tell you when to go to the potty.

Don't worry- This post is not all about football.

Second Semester. It's go-time.

1. Go to bed at 3am- Wake up at noon

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go. It's that time of year again.... Candy and desserts are being consumed left and right, people are packed into malls and shopping centers like sardines, students are decorating their dorms with twinkling lights, radio stations are playing holiday music non-stop and I'm...I'm trying to get through finals!

      This is quite the new experience since I lasted posted before break.  First off, welcome to Capital's new website! I know the creators of this website worked very hard to put it all together- and for that they should be applauded.  With the new website comes a new format for our blogs. It took me about 2 hours, an email to our webmaster followed by another try to log in to this thing to post.  An even lengthier process these past few days assembled what I am sitting under as I write. 

      Thanksgiving Break was very relaxing and enjoyable.  I was in the car roughly 12 hours of it, but thats what you get when you move to a new state and all your relatives stay in Ohio.  My mom and I made the trek from Pittsburgh to Columbus on Sunday afternoon with quite the load.  We loaded up our small Subaru with the pieces and beams of wood used to create a loft.  This loft dates back to the days in elementary school when I shared a room with my brother.  It didn't occur to us until AFTER we moved everything to my room in August that it would be a perfect dorm room furnishing.  With the idea, a trip to Lowes, perseverence, trips up 3 flights of stairs, people staring at us, and two hard-working ladies- "Extreme Dorm Makeover" swept through Capital- and after about four hours of moving, rearranging, climbing and constructing, that baby was up.....minus Ty Pennington and the cameras, of course.  Who needs the emotional stories and cute host.

      So I come to you now from under my bed.  My desk fits perfectly underneath as my head grazes the bottom of  strips of plywood.  It really does open up the room and gives us a lot of space.  Lofting your bed IS legal in Capital residence halls- if you have a handy dad who can build one from scratch (I don't)- you'll owe him one! If you have a mom who excels at buying a loft through a newspaper ad in the early 90's and has a knack for construction, tools and design- even better!

      Alright- I must end this little vignette. ( definition: a short literary scene or story)  I'm really pulling out the 8th grade vocabulary words today.  Unfortunately, I am no longer in 8th grade- and there's COLLEGE work to be done-- particularly studying for exams and writing final papers!

If the point of this post seems rather ambigious (again with the vocab)- my apologies.  Sometimes I just start writing and I can't be accountable for my crazy ideas or literary purposes.

I usually don't post without having somewhat of a storyline or interesting event to share.

I know what happens when the topic of food is mixed with education.

Sorry to those of you who have been anxiously waiting for a post.

I want to start off this post by describing arguably one of the best moments in any Capital student's day.

Story number two isn't really a story, but more of a warning.