Tuesday, June 11, 2013

We're up all night 'til the sun, we're up all night to get lucky.

Today I did something that every person with a driver's license must do at least some point in their life: showed up in court for JURY DUTY. I know it's my civic duty as a U.S. citizen and all that, but it came at a slightly inconvenient time. Fortunately, the day went rather smoothly!

So I received my summons the DAY that I returned home from college (ironic, eh?) and was not looking forward to this day since it falls in the middle of my time-dependent internship. I mean, I've heard horror stories of people getting assigned to week or even month long trials, and I just couldn't afford that with the projects that I have going on at work. Needless to say, it made me a little nervous and edgy as I was driving to the courthouse today. When I got through security and signing in, I sat in a room full of rows of chairs and a few tables with a few hundred people already occupying most of them. I pulled out my book, not knowing what to expect next since this was my first time getting called to the circuit court. About an hour later, a man came out from the offices and started explaining the processes involved with jury duty. It was actually rather interesting; he started off with a brief historic overview of how "jury duty" came to be and why it is important that citizens are trying their fellow citizens for various cases. The one thing I appreciated the most is that he consistently thanked us for being there, for taking the time out of our busy schedules to fulfill our duties as American citizens. It was rather uplifting and made me feel better about the situation as a whole.

So after his little spiel, I went back to my book waiting for my number to get called, but I actually ended up having an interesting conversation with the woman sitting next to me. She talked to me about her kids, I told her about school and work, and a couple other random things. It really made the time fly by. Before I knew it, numbers were being called again. But this time, it was for dismissals. Apparently, none of the cases that were argued at court today were going to require juries, so we were all free to go home! I feel so lucky for avoiding jury duty altogether, but I'm a little bummed out I wasn't able to go through the interview process with the lawyers and whatnot, just for the sake of HAVING that experience. I shouldn't complain though, it's bound to happen at another point in my life I guess. :P

I guess the lesson I learned from all of this is not to go into a situation with a bad attitude, despite what everyone else around you says. You never know when you're going to get lucky :)

Sunday, May 19, 2013

We are wild, we are like young volcanoes.

I think this blog is slowly morphing into a "what is Aerin going to cook next?" edition. I feel like all I've done since coming home for the summer is cook and bake (not like that's a bad thing!)

Speaking of summer, I'll give you the lowdown on my tentative plans: I'm interning with Ford Motor Company in their Sustainability Department and I'm really excited! Once again, I'm the only intern in my department (shocker), but that's okay. A few of my friends will be working at HQ down the street so I can always meet them for lunch and happy hour :). My first day is tomorrow, but it's just orientation. I except it to be very similar to the way orientation was run with the company I worked for last summer, Eaton, but it'll be cool to meet some new people.

I also have plans to visit my boyfriend in Texas! He's working for Shell Oil Company so he's lucky and got to travel out of state! His disadvantage is that he chose to drive there, so he put about 2100 miles on his car just driving one way... good thing he owns a reliable car!  Anyway, I'm visiting him for half a week in July and then going straight to California for Phi Sigma Rho and Triangle Fraternity Convention. We even get to go to Disneyland! Seriously, it's going to be the best summer vacation (and partially work-related conference) ever :D

I'm not going to lie, I really do miss Portland. A year ago, I was on a plane traveling all the way across the country to a whole knew lifestyle, time zone, workplace, and I didn't know a single person in the tri-state area. I had no idea at that time how that summer was going to change my life in so many personal and professional ways. I hope that I can go back there someday soon.

Oh, I forgot to mention what I'm cooking! Currently, I have steak and potatoes on the grill, and homemade granola in the oven. It's the first time I've ever made granola at home, so I'm really excited to try the maple syrup and honey combination!

Well it's off to backing a getting ready for my first day of work tomorrow. Happy beginning of summer (and reality)!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Who put the 'glad' in 'gladiator'?

Here's a little Friday pick-me-up courtesy of Disney! :)

15 MORE REMINDERS THAT YOU’RE GREAT TODAY

We know we’ve told you that we think you’re stellar. We still think so. In fact, we imagine that they probably do this fireworks show every night just in case you’re around. You’re also great for other reasons and in totally other ways. See below.

Mr. Incredible named himself after you.



You look so awesome that the Fairy Godmother wouldn’t need a magic wand.



You’re colossal and stupendous! We bet you could fly.



The only word to describe you would be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (and we mean that in a good way).



Scar was surrounded by idiots. You clearly weren’t there.



You’re the leader. Everyone else is following.



There are no glitches in your game!



You’re more on target than Merida’s arrow.



You’re the coolest cat around.



You look great in either pink OR blue.



Owl would never interrupt your story.



You give even better hugs than Lotso.



The Emperor is jealous of YOUR groove.



You’re more charming than Captain Jack Sparrow.



You put the glad in gladiator.



[1] 15 MORE Reminders That You're Great Today

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Warm my heart tonight and hold my head up high and help me to survive.

I think that the fact that I DIDN'T go somewhere for my senior year spring break (and my last spring break EVER :/) was somewhat of a benefit in my opinion...

One, I WAS FRONT ROW AND CENTER FOR THE MUSE CONCERT. Very possibly one of the best nights of my life. So Muse is my favorite musical group (that is still touring), and they have been for quite a long time now. When I first started getting into their music and thought about trying to get a group of people together to go to a concert, I WAS TOO LATE. Literally, Muse had been in Detroit three days before, and it was one of the best tours to date. After that, I was determined not to miss their next concert in my area. But unfortunately, Muse is a British band, so they only tour in the United States every so often. Once I found out about their most recent CD, The 2nd Law, I was adamant about checking for tour dates and ticket sale dates. Luckily, the frequent searches helped and I landed decently priced General Admission tickets for my boyfriend, one of our friends who is a HUGE Muse fan, and I. I had been waiting for spring break ever since I got the tickets back in October of last year, and it finally came! We left around noon for a 7:30pm concert at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The wind was harsh and the temperature was bitter cold, and we were kind of unprepared for that. After about five hours and some minor frost bite, the ushers scanned our tickets and we raced to the front. And it was SO WORTH IT. The intro band was pretty decent and I could definitely see why Muse picked them as their opener (Dead Sara), so I think I might start listening to them too. Also, Muse played EVERY song that I wanted them to from all five of their albums since the early 2000s! And the best part: Muse doesn't goof around and talk to their fans and tell stories throughout the concert like a lot of other artists do. They get down to business and play the music you want to hear. I'm pretty sure they played a total of 15-17 songs over a two hour period which is one of the longest concerts I have ever been to. Money well spent! Here's some of my favorite photos from the concert and you can just SEE how close we were to Matt Bellamy and Chris Wolstenholme! :D









They aren't the BEST quality photos because I didn't want to bring my good camera since we were in GA, but they're still good enough for me! :)

Second reason its better that I didn't go anywhere for spring break: I have two papers to write... but I'm actively trying to avoid thinking about it for now!

I hope everyone else is having a SMART and SAFE spring break!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Pin-spiring!

I found this awesome post on Pinterest yesterday! (But really, when do I NOT find something awesome on there?!)

It's a list of recipes for break, lunch, dinner, and snacks that can all be made in a mug! All of the ingredients can be found in the cafeterias or at the local grocery stores (like Quality Dairy or Meijer). And they aren't just your boring 'chocolate cake' or 'oatmeal' recipes in there, either. There's some really intricate ones like quiche, french toast, and even coffee cake! Here's where to find them: 18 Microwave Snacks You Can Cook In A Mug!

I tried to make the banana bread one! It was okay - definitely not one of my favorites though. I am much more eager to try the french toast for breakfast. It seems so simple, and all I need is the egg and the cinnamon.


This is the other one I want to try soon. Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cake. It would be a cute Valentine's Day date, wouldn't it? ;)


Speaking of which, Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you get the chance to spend the day honoring the relationships you have with the people you care about, whether it's family, friends, a significant other, or just a stranger on the street.  Remember though, it's just another Thursday. It's not the only day of the year you're encouraged to tell someone what they mean to you!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Time goes by (so slowly).

But really, it doesn't. It's been two weeks since my last post? My goodness, does time just fly by. I guess I just never realized how busy I've been because I've constantly been doing things! Let's just start at the beginning of the semester:

The first week wasn't bad. Being in senior level classes now, "syllabus week" doesn't really exist, so I've had homework assigned since day one. This semester I'm taking two design intensive classes, Mechanical Design II and Design of Alternative Energy, as well as Heat Transfer and Vibrations. Heat Transfer is my favorite so far, mostly because it's taught by the favorite professor in the engineering department, but I also enjoy the subject matter. I think this semester is going to be a tough one, though, due to the design courses and arranging time to meet with my groups. But that's what engineering all comes down to in the real world, arranging schedules to work with people and get things done!

We are also in the middle of Spring Rush for Phi Rho currently. Unfortunately, a few of the events are at the same time I'm scheduled to work, so I won't get to interact with the rushees very much. But I will get to see them for the rest of the semester! I am the senior Member Educator this semester, so I get to teach them about the sorority, our chapter, and everything else that comes along with Greek Life. Our rush theme is Disney this semester, so I'm planning on incorporating that into some fun educational activities as well :)

Despite my interesting schedule with work, school, and Phi Rho, it should definitely be an interesting semester!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Welcome back, Spartans!

Hello fellow Spartans and welcome back to the beauty of East Lansing! I honestly can't complain since the weather has been quite favorable for the beginning of January. I have even been able to run almost every day this week! A pretty good start to my New Year's goals if I do say so myself. Speaking of which, here's something awesome that MSU Live On is offering that will help me with those goals this upcoming semester! There's a new Neighborhood Health and Wellness Group Exercise Program called "Live On & Be Fit" run by students like you and me. The benefit is, you don't even have to leave campus to do this! There's everything from yoga to Zumba to aquatic activities held in each neighborhood or at an IM building. Personally, I'm most interested in the beginning ballet class in South Neighborhood. I haven't taken a dance class since I was about three, but something about plies and a bunch of French words just really sparks my interest.

Having trouble motivating yourself to just get up and do it? Make a pact with your roommate that you'll do it together. Working out is always more fun in a group, and sooner or later, it won't even feel like working out. It's a great way to learn something new and be healthy at the same time!

For a full list of events, go to this website: Live On & Be Fit!. Don't see something there that should be! Suggest a class or event to Live On and see if they'll start one up! Maybe you will even be able to run it. Now how great would that look on a resume? :)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year.

It's 2013! I guess the Mayans were wrong about the end of the world thing..

Well that means we can all start our New Year's resolutions now! But let me rephrase - New Year's GOALS. According to Google, the word 'resolution' means 'a firm decision to do or not to do something.' On the other hand, the definition of a 'goal' is 'the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.' To me, that word sounds so much more encouraging and actually makes me WANT to accomplish what I intend to do. This year, my goals are pretty simple:

  1. Be stronger and healthier. I feel like I've already started this by beginning running, choosing to eat well, and encouraging my friends and family to do the same, but I know that you can always improve when it comes to this lifestyle. I just organized my schedule for the upcoming semester, and I already feel a little overwhelmed by the shear amount of color splashed across my Google Calendar. I will DEFINITELY need to find some time to work out/run in there in order to ease my mind while building some muscle.
  2. Be less judgmental. This is one thing that I've found people are very afraid to admit about themselves because it is normally not a desired quality. I KNOW that I can easily jump to conclusions, and I've come to realize I can easily form an opinion about someone or something based on something that someone else has said or heard. I want to keep more of an open mind, especially since I will be graduating and entering the real world soon, and I'll need that to further succeed. 
  3. Run a half marathon. I know this is on the same terms as my first goal, but I wanted to be a little more specific. I'm not sure if it will be this year or next year, but I would LOVE to run in the Disney Half Marathon down in Orlando. :)
  4. Set aside some 'me' time every week. It isn't very often that I am able to take the time to relax during the week, as my boyfriend frequently reminds me, so all of that stress builds up in unhealthy ways. I plan to bring my flute and piccolo up to campus with me this semester, because playing music has always been able to force me to relax even when I don't think I'm capable of it at the time.
Of course I have plenty of other things I want to accomplish over the year as well. I want to bake and cook more from my endless list of Pinterest recipes and cookbooks,  I want to scrapbook more especially when it comes to documenting events from my sorority, and I definitely need to start thinking more seriously about a full time job for next Spring.. It's a long and stressful list but I'm confident that I will be able to get he majority of items accomplished this year. :)

2013: You WILL be a fantastic year, whether you like it or not!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Happy Christmakwanzakah!

And that is honestly because I've missed the beginning of every winter holiday so far! Sorry everyone!

Merry belated Christmas, happy belated Hanukkah , and joyous belated Kwanza!

Sorry again that it's so late. I've just been so productive over the first half of my winter break that I haven't been able to blog!

Let's see what I've done so far:
  • gone running
  • finished my book
  • made and wrapped everyone's Christmas gifts
  • scrapbooked for Phi Rho
  • baked Christmas cookies
  • bought next semester's school books
  • and color with my new crayons!
Haha, this is what I call productive, or at  least "winter break productive". I still have quite a long list of less enjoyable things to accomplish, but I'll worry more about those later.

I cannot believe how much snow the southeast part of Michigan got yesterday and this morning! I went outside to measure it because I didn't actually believe the weather reports, and low and behold, we got 8 inches! I think that's more than the last two years combined. My plan was to go outside and build a snowman, but I couldn't convince my sixteen year old brother to come with me so... yeah that didn't happen. Maybe on tomorrow's agenda?

Oh, I do want to mention something that I got for Christmas this year. My brother.. my goodness, he just knows me so well. His gift was probably one of my favorites that I received. Little known fact, one of my favorite YouTube videos is this one:


Because, otters. They are just too cute and the fact that they hold hands so as not to drift away from each other when they're sleeping may be the most adorable thing ever. So my brother, knowing all of this, got me this poster:






Seriously, how awesome is that?! That video never fails to make me smile, even when I'm really stressed out with school and work, and now I have a picture to hang up in my room that has the same effect. Perfect :)

Other than adorable otters, my Christmas Day went very well! We made a yummy breakfast and opened presents in the morning, lounged around in the afternoon, I went running with my new thermal gear and running watch (thank goodness it was before the blizzard hit), then made surf and turf dinner followed by board game night with my family. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful people in my life :)

I hope everyone else is enjoying the holidays just as much as me!


Monday, December 10, 2012

All that counts is here and now.

Alright, so about these finals... I've got a bone to pick with you all about it. The only thing I've heard people talk about or seen on social media (aka. Facebook and Twitter) is people complaining about how unprepared they are, how little hours of sleep they are going to get because they're studying all night, or how poor their grades are going to be after these finals are over.

Well you know what, I have no sympathy for you people. You are the ones who are wasting time on these websites trying to get attention and solace from anyone you're connected with, when you could be STUDYING AND PREPARING FOR YOUR EXAMS. Guess what. Everyone is in the same boat as you! All of us our studying or writing papers or making presentations for our classes, so we aren't going to feel bad for you if we're in the exact same position. It doesn't matter if you have five finals and I only have two. That's the way it happened to work this semester. I might be swamped with projects and exams next semester, and you might just have a couple of exams that aren't even cummulative. Everything will balance out in the end.

Also, if there's anything that I've learned from my last three years of secondary education, it's how to effectively prepare, or at least do so to the best of my ability. I'm not going to lie: I worked my butt of all (or most) of the semester, so I don't have to cram all the information I was taught over the past four months into a week's worth of studying. To be honest, I haven't studied more than three hours or so for each of my exams this week, and I've mostly been catching up on television shows, reading my books, or running errands...

Granted, there are the people that can cram, cram, cram all of their classes into one or two all-nighters and ace their finals. Kudos to you, but that's not how it works for me, let alone in the real world.

Basically, the point of this rant is that you all just need to relax. Think about it this way: this one class that you're having difficulty with, whether it may be one, three, or more credits, it is a small fraction of the 128 (or more) you will be graduating with when you get your diploma leave MSU. All you need to do is put everything into perspective.

With that, good luck to everyone this week! It's not the end of the world, you're going to be fine, and it's almost over. Plus, there's the Holidays, snow, and a New Year to look forward to :)