I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on the drum all day.

So now that it's been over a week into winter break, what do you do now? You got all your Christmas shopping and parties over with, your room's probably cleaned up a little, and you might have gotten some things done on that To-Do list you've had since the summer. So... what now?

Winter break is actually an excellent time to focus on important matters outside of academics. For instance, applying for summer or semester internships, looking around for a summer job, deciding whether or not you want to take summer classes, and even focusing farther down the road on your career. It is a great opportunity for undergraduate students to apply for internships and research positions for the summer in their respective majors, or at least beginning thinking about them. You might even consider taking summer courses, whether they be on campus, online, or even transferable from another college or university. It may not seem like the most "fun" thing to do over break, but getting a head start on these kind of things puts you way ahead of your competition, and you won't regret it. I have yet to decide if I want to live on campus during the summer to get ahead on my classes, but I know that decision will be made before Spring semester begins in mid-January.

On the topic of internships and potential careers though, MSU provides an abundance of information and offers help to those searching for it. There's still many Career Fairs to attend this semester, three alone that are relatable to Engineering. Even if you're not sure you want to get an internship yet, go out and get the experience of being interviewed! Apply to a bunch of different places, not just the ones you want, just because you'll never know what kind of position you could be offered and where that will lead you later in life. At least, that's my plan for the semester!

But hey, don't work too hard. It is break, after all. ;]

And to all, a good night.

I know this is a little late but..

Merry Christmas, everyone! ^_^

I had a wonderful day with my family, opening presents, cooking delicious hors d'oeuvres, decorating holiday cake pops, and just warming up by the fire in the family room. We also ended the night with a great cinematic experience with my dad's new speaker system!

And guess what? I get to do it all again tomorrow with my extended family! Oh, how I love the holidays.

I hope you all had an excellent and blessed Christmas as well! The only thing that could have made it better would have been a little winter wonderland in the scenery.. oh well, enjoy the holidays!

Celebrate good times, c'mon!

FINALS WEEK IS OVER.

Thank goodness. It's always the longest week of the semester, the most stressful, and I'm pretty sure everyone's least favorite. I didn't have too much to complain about though. Like I mentioned before, I only had three exams, two on Monday and one of Friday, so they were pretty spaced out, and I had a lot of time to study for all of them (doesn't mean that I actually wanted to though...). I also had three scheduled shifts for the Bakery, when I would normally only have two in a week. Now I just have to wait for grades to come in to see if I got in to the College of Engineering!

My favorite part of the week was when my "floor family" did Secret Santa. :] There's eight of us on our floor that go to meals with each other frequently, walk to classes  together, and just hang out in our spare time or when we're doing homework. So we decided it would be a fun idea to do a Secret Santa gift exchange this Christmas season. I drew both of my suitemates (since there were so few of us, we chose two names instead of one) so I was able to spend a little more money on their gifts since I was going to do something for them anyway. I ended up painting glass blocks with some of their favorite things, you know, like the ones you put a string of Christmas lights in? Julia got the old Batman comic logo and Carly had the cover art for Muse's album "Resistance." They loved them, and I had a lot of fun painting the blocks as well. I received some Beauty and the Beast figurines from my friend Rachel, because she knows Belle is my favorite Disney princess, and Carly got me a Detroit Red Wings Al the Octopus Pillowpet. My friends know my so well! :] We also exchanged our general gifts to everyone that night as well. Eric got my suitemates and I a water filter that we can hook up to the sink in our bathroom, Marianne gave me a little stuffed animal sushi, and Teagan made little Christmas bags filled with candy and hot cocoa mix. It was so thoughtful on all of their parts!

Floor family :] <3

Oh I love my floor family, and I'm definitely going to miss them over the next three weeks.

Good luck and goodnight.

I just wanted to wish everyone good luck on their finals tomorrow and throughout the week!

I think I studied for my two exams taking place tomorrow (both of which are my most difficult classes) for about 20 hours the past two days.. I'm very tired of looking at differential equations, eigenvectors, and Mohr's circles!

I also hope that everyone enjoyed the midnight scream, especially the freshman. :]

If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway, that's the best.

I have been doing so much traveling away from campus in the past two weeks! I didn't even realize it until now, but I've been to three different states and four cities in that very short amount of time. I may have mentioned this earlier, but my boyfriend took me to the Straight No Chaser concert in Cleveland, OH for my Christmas present at the end of Thanksgiving break, so that was an entire day trip (five hours there, a two hour concert, and four hours back). It was well worth it though. :] Straight No Chaser is an all male a cappella group out of Indiana University, and they are just incredibly talented and great performers. Very similar to our local Spartan Dischords!

A week later, a group of my friends drove down to Indianapolis, IN for the B1G Championship game of Michigan State vs. Wisconsin. The loss was quite unfortunate, but the rest of the day was packed full of shopping, special events, food, and cheering. I knew I was going to have a wonderful time no matter what the outcome was because I went with a really awesome group of people, and I ended up seeing a ton of my friends around the city as well. It was really fun to scream "Go green!" on the streets and hear all of the "Go white!" responses. I hope we win the Legends division next year, because I will DEFINITELY be going to the championship game again! :D

We were the LAST fans to get a picture with the B1G Championship trophy before it was taken to Lucas Oil Stadium!

My group! <3

Jack and I, section 132, Row 16 :]

And then the closest place I've traveled to recently, but still far enough to call a road trip, was to Ann Arbor for the MSU vs. UMich hockey game this past Friday. I had never been to Yost, their ice arena before, but it definitely made me love Munn that much more. My friends and I were about four of twelve  Spartan fans in the whole city, but we had a great time doing all the cheers and singing the fight song when we scored. Unfortunately, we lost 4-3, even coming back from a 4-1 deficit, but it was overall a great game, and it gave our team the momentum to come back and win on home ice the next day!

Like I said, four Spartans in a sea of maize... 

I just absolutely love road trips! It's a great way to break up the monotony of of school and work, and I always have so much fun!

Holiday Dinner!

Tonight is Holiday Dinner night in every cafeteria on campus! It's from 4-7 in Wilson, so I'm headed there now and I can't wait to eat all of the delicious food they have planned out. I'll come back and blog about it afterward :p

Make sure you grab one of the holiday sugar cookies! That's what I've been doing at work for the past month :p

Enjoy!

----

Okay, so here's what the menu was:

• Tomato Tortellini Soup
• Grilled Ribeye Steak
• Golden Butterfly Shrimp
• Roasted Turkey
• Turkey Gravy
• Pecan Cranberry Wild Rice
• Squash Ravioli
• Baked Potato with Sour Cream and Chives
• Fresh Acorn Squash
• Steamed Broccoli Florets

Mmm mmm good! I had a little bit of the turkey with gravy, ribeye steak, baked potato, and broccoli. Not to mention the appetizers they served on the floor! There were mini wings, spring rolls, crab rangoon, mozzarella sticks, rolls, sauces and whipped butters, and desserts galore. So many types of food, I just HAD to try a little bit of each. :p

 I love theme dinners! So many students and local families come as well, because they know that the cafeterias serve good food for special occasions!

        

Walking in a winter wonderland.

You can't deny it: MSU's campus is probably the most beautiful after the first snowfall of the year. Granted, I love this campus 100% of the time, it's just that there's something about blankets of crystalized water covering trees, buildings, and sidewalks that really gets me. :] And after 48 hours of freezing rain, sleet, and hail, I think we deserved a little beauty.

This is the view from outside my window on the top floor of Wilson Hall. I love the way the snow lays on top of the individual branches of the pine trees in the South Complex courtyard. It makes me want to walk around and take pictures of everything before it melts or turns to slush. Too bad I have class..

Oh! I forgot about these photos too! Remember that random blizzard we got in the middle of November? My suitemate and I were trying to to catch the HUGE snowflakes on our tongues. :]

The snow didn't really stick then...

I got distracted from writing this blog, so I have new pictures to show! This is from my walk from Wilson to the Engineering late this morning. 

That last photo is my favorite from the day. It reminds me of why I love photography so much.

Also, people do some crazy things on the first snowfall.. Several of my friends went outside at night to build snowmen and throw snowballs at each other, but unfortunate me had to do homework and study all night long. :[ I think all of the people that went to play outside felt sorry for all of the others who stayed in, or at least the people featured in this online video blog from an MSU student..

Like I said, we do some crazy things. :p

And I'll keep wonderin', when will my life begin?

There's an upside and a downside to the end of regular season college football, or at least for me.

The downside: no more football. No more tailgating, no more sunburned (or windburned) faces and screaming at the top of our lungs for the Spartans to dominate the field. No more reveling over amazing game-winning and turning-point plays like "The Rocket" and "Little Giant." Football season is honestly one of my favorite times of the year. Ever since going to a Big Ten university where football is a major weekend event of the fall season, I've fallen in love with the sport. I love the atmosphere before, during, and after the games as well as the strategy and skill involved in beating the other teams, especially our rivals down the street (FOUR YEARS IN A ROW!) I've even started watching NFL games just because I've finally learned (almost) all the rules and regulations to the game. :]

The upside: I'M FINALLY DONE WITH MY JOB. I've probably mentioned this before, but another one of my glamourous jobs is working for the Police Department under the Special Events/Traffic division. Every home football game day I've worked from 2am until whenever the game starts allowing certain traffic to pass through my designated intersection and then helping an officer directing pedestrians safely across the street toward the stadium. I love that I get paid for this and the work isn't terribly grueling, but it completely messes up my sleep/homework/social schedule. My shift BEGINS at 2am, so in order to get an adequate amount of sleep I should go to bed before 10pm the night before. This is normally impossible due to my continuous work load and the fact that it is a Friday night on a college campus. Most of my homework is done on the internet or utilizes the computer in some shape or form so I can't do much when I'm sitting in a car in the middle of Wilson Road for ten or more hours with no power. Also, since I'm trying to rest the night before and the working all up until the game, I don't get to spend time with my friends or boyfriend on Friday nights nor do I get to tailgate with them Saturday mornings. And after my work and the game are finished for the weekend, I'm completely exhausted from lack of sleep and then it's time to start on homework for the weekend, so Saturday fun is out of the question as well. So now that the season is over, I can finally enjoy my weekends and maybe actually catch up on all the homework that's behind me..

And speaking of football, did I mention I'm going to the Big Ten Championship in Indy early December? My wonderful boyfriend is taking me there with a few of our friends, and we're in row 16 of the designated MSU student section. I'm so excited! GO GREEN! :D

Now I'm feelin' so fly like it's Quidditch.

This past weekend was, once again, my favorite of the year. Why, you may ask? Because it's the weekend of the QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP in NEW YORK CITY. It was my second year attending this event, and it was just as fantastic as the first.

The Michigan State University Spartan Spitfires traveled via bus with the University of Michigan Quidditch team to Randall's Island, New York to participate in the fifth annual Quidditch World Cup. This year, over 100 high school, collegiate, and community teams signed up. There were even teams out of country, from Canada and Finland! With about 25 people on each roster and local friends, family, and fans, there were well over 3000 people on the island that weekend! This is the most participation the IQA (International Quidditch Association) has seen in it's early age, and the numbers just keep on growing. A representative of Central Michigan University actually recently contacted me about starting a team in Mount Pleasant, so you can see just how popular this sport is becoming. :]

Back to the weekend though, our team was having a blast. We went 3-1 in pool play on Saturday, the first day of games, beating Villanova, Virginia Tech, and Stoneybrook, while losing to the University of Minnesota. There were a few unfortunate mishaps though. One of our best beaters collided head-on with a player on the Villanova team and suffered a grade 3 concussion during the third game, so he missed out on the final games of the weekend. The doctors said that our player sustained the worst injury since about 9 or 10 players had been rushed to the ER throughout the day. He's been doing much better since though, thank goodness. I can't wait to see him back on the Quidditch pitch!


Sunday began the single-game elimination rounds. MSU was seeded 12th overall after the first day's games , which is AWESOME considering it's out of 100 teams! We eat Marquette by a snitch catch then lost our next game to UCLA. Even though we lost, I think that game was my favorite. It was the hardest and most challenging game of the weekend, but I was proud of my team and how well we played despite the loss. Like I said, this is my favorite weekend of the year, because it's a wonderful way to bond with my teammates and become closer as a family. I love them all so much!

After our final game, we headed over to the stadium to watch the final games on the weekend, where the defending champions, Middlebury College, won the cup AGAIN for the fifth straight year in a row. Congratulations to them, but I'm hoping their reign will end sooner rather than later. ;] The only team to beat Middlebury in their entire quidditch career was this year when the University of Michigan quidditch team defeated them on a snitch catch in pool play. I'm so proud of Michigan, considering they're such a new team and this was their first year at the World Cup! I know, I know, you're thinking," WHY IS SHE CHEERING FOR MICHIGAN?!" It's because it's BTQ, or Big Ten Quidditch. Six of the twelve Big Ten universities have quidditch teams, whether as student organizations, or club sports, so we have kind of banded together to support each other when facing teams in the eastern, wester, and southern leagues. The University of Minnesota actually made it all the way to semi-finals, so proud of them, too!

Besides quidditch, our team did get to do a little sight-seeing! Friday night, a couple of us took the train into the city, and had dinner and went shopping in Times Square, and a few people got to go to Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty over the next couple of days as well. It is such a beautiful city, full of life and hustle and bustle. :] I can't wait to go back next year! QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP VI 2013!!!

PS. This last picture is of Alex Benepe, the current commissioner and one of the founders of Muggle Quidditch, and I at the tournament. He is just SO COOL. :D

This, right here, is my swag.

So there's this contest on Facebook to see which college hockey goalie can get the most votes for his mask. It's sponsored by the CCHA fan page, but you can vote on College Hockey, Inc.'s picture. If you go to "Photos" or just scroll down on the wall, comment on the picture that you want Drew Palmisano (Michigan State's starting goalie) to win! He's made it all the way down to quarter finals, but we want Palmisano to go for the win! Here's a description and photo of the two different masks:


"An all-CCHA quarterfinal between Scott Greenham's Alaska mask and Drew Palmisano's MSU mask. Greenham bases his mask on his personal motto, "Believe," and we'll let him take it from there: "I have the Humble Bumble on my right side walking through the mountains, and Yukon Cornelius wandering on the other side looking for the Humble Bumble. ... I then have the Misfit Toys castle from the same carto...on tucked in the upper left hand corner with foot prints from Santa and Rudolph leading away from the castle." Palmisano pays tribute to Sparty and the last MSU goalie to win a national title - Jeff Lerg - on his mask. Let us know in the comments which you prefer - we'll close the polls Tuesday at 2 pm ET and the winner advances to the next round."

So go vote for Palmisano! And tell all of your friends! It doesn't matter if you like hockey or not, it's all for supporting Michigan State University athletics! :D

Just from worrying if the wedding is on or off, a person can develop a cough.

It's that time of year again.. when the wind whips through all of the buildings on campus and the sky is constantly overcast.. in other words, my least favorite time of the year. :/ Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, bonfires, the scent of pine and cookies in the oven, it's just the weather that always gets to me. I thrive in the sun and warm air, and the lack of it during half the year simply sucks.

It's also the easiest time of year to get sick! I feel like I may be developing a little bit of a cold, too. :[ College students just can't afford to get sick! I have a three exams over the next two weeks, two labs, a lot of work shifts, and I'll be traveling to New York next weekend for the Quidditch World Cup. I think I'm going to drink A LOT of orange juice over the next couple of days and make sure that I stay out of the yucky weather..

In case, you do get sick to the point of needing medical attention, Olin Health Center is conveniently RIGHT on campus in East Circle Drive up by Grand River. MSU students are allowed a courtesy prepaid three visit limit for simple services like obtaining a doctor's note and prescribing medicine for illness. They offer a variety of other services including flu and allergy immunization, drug abuse and health clinics, distribution of birth control and sex education, and just general health information. They even have transportation services via courtesy van or cab if the issue is that serious! But if Olin isn't the place you're looking for, there's Lansing Urgent Care and Sparrow Hospital in Lansing as well. You can check out all that information here.

So moral of the story.. don't get sick! Stay safe and health conscious and you won't have to worry about any of this. :] Happy November!

Small town Homecoming Queen.

First of all, THIS IS MY 100TH POST!

So I just wanted to thank my employers/readers/friends for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences from MSU with you all. I have very much enjoyed being able to show everyone all of the cool things that I've seen or been involved with on this campus. It has driven me to be do more and more each day, just so I have the fortune to share my pictures and views with all of you. So once again, thank you!

As most of you may know, it was Michigan State's Homecoming celebration all last week with the inspiring theme of "Glow Green, Go White." I really liked this one considering I'm a huge believer in recycling and power and energy saving equipment. Unfortunately, my schedule was incredibly hectic so I was not able to participate in as many activities as I would have liked to. I DID skip my Calculus class on Friday though to get FREE DAIRY STORE ICE CREAM at the rock. Don't worry, my Graphic Communications professor said it was alright to skip, and it was definitely worth it (and I didn't even miss anything important in class.. win!). :D The MSU Quidditch team, the Spartan Spitfires, were also represented in the annual parade up on Grand River! Once again, I had conflicting events so I was not able to play alongside my team members, but I heard that they had a blast! One of my friends told me that a bunch of the younger kids, about elementary level, were ecstatic to see one of their favorite reading books come alive before their lives. She gave us the idea to host an event called "Kidditch" where a bunch of elementary students learn how to play a much toned-down level of the game, but can still run around with a broom between their legs throwing dodge balls at each other and volleyballs through plastic hula hoops. I just want to see their faces light up once they play. :]

Then there was... the football game. That was, and will probably remain, the greatest sports game I have attended at MSU. I had previously worked 18 hours for my Special Events/Parking job and I was thinking about skipping out on the game considering State was slated to lose, but I decided to stay and sit with my boyfriend and our friends in the top of the blue student section. That was the BEST decision I've made in a while. Luckily for me, I didn't get in to the stadium until after Wisconsin scored those initial, brutal points so I missed everything bad about that game. As soon as we got settled in our seats, MSU went for a safety, made it, and scored a touchdown all on the same play. I could tell that it was going to be a good game. Blocked punts and field goals, fumble recoveries, no penalties, complete passes, and a Hail Mary "Rocket" play at the end? I think everything that COULD happen in a football game, DID happen. The student section just erupted with elation when the refs made that final call with 00:00 left IN THE GAME. It was SO GREAT to be a part of that, MSU pride. :]

Our football team rushing the field to celebrate with the student section - October 22, 2011 :D

Apart from all of the Homecoming festivities this weekend, my friends and I went to the pumpkin patch on Sunday! It was a little but of a drive and we were all very squashed in the car, but it was fun all the same. We had decided to rent out the public kitchen in Holden so we could carve pumpkins and make a home cooked meal. I hadn't picked pumpkins in years, and I had almost forgotten how much I love Cider Mills. I bought an apple cider slushie while I was there, and a .5 peck of honeycrisp apples to take home, since they're my absolute favorite. :] It was wonderful to spend so much time with what I call my "Floor Family" since I hadn't seen most of them in a month and a half due to homework, work, and life. I'm still in the process of carving my pumpkin, but it is going to be AWESOME when I finish it. Also, the home cooked meal was delicious, thank you to Shannon's mother's recipe, and I loved cooking a huge meal with everyone else. :]

Picking apples from the trees.

Floor family and our pumpkins :]

Purchases from the Uncle John's Cider Mill!

Carving pumpkins in the East Holden kitchen.

Home-cooked meal with Floor Family! <3

Dinner was delicious, the weather was gorgeous, I didn't have ANY homework to do; I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Homecoming weekend at MSU. <3

Smash right through that line of blue!

I think one of my favorite Michigan State traditions is Sparty Watch. It happens every year in the week leading up to the MSU vs. UMich football game, no matter if we're home or away. It started out with just the band, but it has expanded to a university wide week-long event. There's even a Facebook event page!

The goal? Guard Sparty. The Spartan, nicknamed "Sparty", is iconic. It's a full circle thing too: freshman take photos with him when they first come to MSU, and graduates snap a picture with him in their caps and gowns when they receive their diplomas. Newlywed, particularly alumni who met at MSU, commonly take  pictures with Sparty if they get married in the Chapel on campus.

So what would the Walmart Wolverines try to do to demoralize us? Ruin our icon. Every year they plan a siege on our beloved statue, but we defend it. We're classy so we don't defend with force, but with strength in numbers. There's also this guy nicknamed Johnny Spirit who guards the statue 24/7. You all know who he is: that crazy guy who bikes around campus painted green with a giant white Spartan "S"on his chest. He brings a cot and everything. It had to be pretty cold at night this past week, I hope he was able to stay warm!

I wasn't able to attend this year due to work and classes, but my friend Jon took this awesome picture!

I hope everyone enjoys the game tomorrow! Remember be safe, make good life decisions, and BLEED GREEN! 

GO GREEN! GO WHITE!

All I do is win, win, win, no matter what.

So you know when you enter those silly contests where you have to "like" a Facebook page and you'll win something totally cool? Well, I did just that, and I won!

The CCHA: Central Collegiate Hockey Association Facebook page decided to hold a contest to get more "likes", so they posted to all their fans to pass the page around to friends and after a couple of weeks, one lucky fan would win a limited edition "Hockey in the D" jersey. One of my friends posted the link on her status, so I decided why not? I AM a fan of the CCHA anyway, considering I love Michigan State hockey. So all I had to do was click on the little "like" button at the top of the page and BAM! I won a sweet new jersey. :]

To be honest, I didn't even know that I had one. One of my other hockey friends posted on my wall wishing me congratulations for winning a jersey, and I had to go to the CCHA fan page to see the official post:

Unless there's another Aerin Klump that exists in the world who is one of 5,008 people who are a fan of CCHA on Facebook, I'm pretty sure that's me. :] This is what the jersey looks like too!

I have never won a contest before, so this is just tooooooo cool! :D I can't wait to see it in person! My goal is to have all of the Detroit Red Wings sign it, too. Great idea, huh? :]

Math is a really cool thing so get off your act, let's do some math!

You need to hear about the debacle that was my first Calculus IV exam of the semester.

First of all, my professor decided a while ago that he wanted to have us take proctored online exams because he thought it would be easier for the students to take, we'd get instant feedback on our grades, and it would save on a TON of paper and time on grading for the TA's. It was to be through a website called WeBWorK, the one many math professors use for their students to acquire and submit the answers to their homework problems for a grade. But that's just what the website it: a problem. It frequently crashes at the worst possible times, especially when students are trying to get their homework done before the due dates. So obviously, this is a sign that one of the three EXAMS, which weigh heavier on your overall grade than homework does, for the class should NOT be taken on a malfunctioning website.

The night of the scheduled exam, all of the students were assigned to different labs across campus since the exam had to be taken on a computer with a proctor overseeing that cheating didn't occur. I was unlucky enough to be in South Kedzie's lab, while some of my other friends from Wilson only had to go to Case Hall, right next door to us.

So I biked over to Kedzie pretty early since I was really prepared for this test, and found the lab in a maze of hallways and offices. I sat down, logged in to WeBWorK, and got ready for the proctor to give us the signal to start. As 5:30pm rolled around, or proctor as well as about ten or twelve others, allowed their students to start the exam, and guess what happens when 400+ students try to log on to a faulty website at one time? It's going to crash, duh. Three students from my section were able to get in and begin the exam, but the rest of us stared at the login screen and the progress bar on the bottom of the browser window. We waited patiently for about 20-30 minutes before our proctor called our professor, who proceeded to tell us to shut down the log in pages because he was going to open up each lab section individually.This seemed like a pretty good idea until about 6:30pm when our exam still wasn't open and the exam would be closed in an hour. So after another phone call, we were told our exams had been canceled and a solution would be devised and we would be notified later in the evening.

Now, I was already pretty upset because I was so well prepared for this exam and then we couldn't take it at our scheduled time. Plus, I had oodles of homework to finish and it just had felt like I completed wasted two hours of life. Let's just say I was rather frustrated for the rest of the day.

The solution our professor came up with made it all better, though. He initially wanted us to take paper exams the following week's recitation (8 days after the scheduled exam!), but I believe many students emailed him expressing their concern for learning a week's worth of new material before being tested on the old stuff. He then proposed to make the exam the following day during recitation, but then assumed that students who wouldn't read their email between then and exam time would not be prepared to take the exam in a shorter amount of time (a 50 minute recitation instead of a 2 hour exam). His final decision was his best, and our favorite, choice. He made the exam available on WeBWorK to be taken, unproctored, any time from late Wednesday night until tonight (Sunday) at 11:59 pm. It would be our responsibilities to follow the MSU Engineering Code Of Conduct and respect the Academic Honesty Policy. I was so amped up for the exam already, that I just decided to get it over with that night. It took me about 30 minutes and I aced it after 3 attempts (we're only allowed 4 grade submissions before that becomes your final grade.)

I was just so happy to be done with that exam that I celebrated by going to bed at a decent hour instead of doing any more homework. :] Hopefully this will not happen again this semester, it was way to stressful to deal with in one night!

Just a day, just an ordinary day.

Well it's been a blah kind of weekend. I did homework the majority of Friday afternoon and night, then watched movies with friends the rest of the night.

Saturday was.. interesting. About 80% of my floor, and the rest of campus, went home this weekend because we didn't have a home football game, so it was really quiet all day long. And then there was.. the football game, or lack there of. I was so psyched for our game against Notre Dame because they lost to Michigan last weekend, and we are expected to beat Michigan when we play them in October, so we should have won, right? Wrong. If you didn't happen to watch the game, Notre Dame scored a touchdown right off the bat, and just stayed ahead of us the whole game. Besides the numerous interceptions and incomplete passes, there were SO many penalties and flags, so it just made for an overall bad game, at least to watch. Ugh. I'm prayin' for a win against Central this weekend. *fingers crossed*

Sunday was filled with, you guessed it, more homework. I was able to take a break for two hours to attend quidditch practice on Dem Field. It was such a great practice too! My legs are STILL sore from running so much. We had about 40 new students show up to this practice where we taught them the general rules and ins and outs of the game. There's so many enthusiastic people that want to join the club as well! I think it's going to be a good year for us. :]

I think this week is pretty busy for everyone though. While the majority of my friends have 2-4 exams this week, I lucked out with one, so I've been studying for that all day. It's only Monday and I'm already counting down toward the weekend.. let's do this! Good luck on exams/papers/projects everyone! :]

This is why (we're) hot.

Our drum line is better than yours. Hands down. And this is why. :]

My friends, Alex and Dominic, are two of the nine snares and my other friend Aaron is a cymbal. I could listen to these guys play alllll day long. :]

Also, I love my camera for taking such a quality video from so far away up in the student section. :D

So we're going to be beat the Fighting Irish this weekend, right? Right.

GO GREEN!

I see you drivin' 'round town.

I know I've blogged about this before but I just want to reiterate this: BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU'RE WALKING/BIKING/DRIVING ON CAMPUS.

I saw a CATA bus accident for the first time ever today. I was a little ways away from the incident, but I heard the scraping of metal on metal above the volume of my iPod as I was walking south on Adams Field. Now what a lot of people don't realize is that the majority of north campus is one-way traffic, so cars going straight have the right-a-way and any cars turning must yield to oncoming traffic. Well at the intersection right above IM Circle, a car turning right did NOT yield to the eastbound, unstopping bus which resulted in the bus scraping up against the driver's side of the little silver car. Thankfully, everyone in the car and the students on the bus were alright; if the impact were made at any higher of a speed, that might have changed.

I know I learned a lesson from this: be cognizant of everyone and everything around you while walking across campus no matter what method of transportation you chose, feet, bike, or vehicle. It keeps you safe, aware, and hey, it may even save your life.

^^I had meant to post this yesterday, Monday September 12, but I fell asleep at my computer while doing homework... thank goodness for draft saves on Blogger! :]

I need somebody Help! Not just anybody.

One thing you DON'T want to do in college: get behind on homework and studying. I'm an engineer so I'll speak in math therms here: once everyone starts getting back into the school groove at the beginning of the semester, the amount of homework exponentially increases as time goes to infinity (or at least until the end of the semester, rather). Getting behind on homework is the worst, because you have to spend so much time finishing up papers and projects the day (or morning!) before they are due.

I find that the best way to study is to spread it throughout my day. I've been unlucky (or lucky, your choice) enough to have all afternoon classes, so I will wake up earlier so I can get a bit of studying done before classes and then continue afterward with a ton of study breaks in between. Like I said, this works best for me, but if procrastination is your way to get things done, go for it. Just do your homework! :p

Now if the reason you're getting behind is because you don't understand something about the course, there are plenty of options to fix this. You could:

- talk to your professor. Maybe arrange a meeting with him/her to help you understand the material in a better way. Most professors give their email address AND phone for contact references.
- alternatively, talk to your TA (if one is available to that class)
- form a study group with other students in your class. Even if you just ask the person sitting next to you, "hey, would you like to go over this material with me sometime?", you'll make new friends and connections, AND you might even learn something!
- go to specific help centers or help hours. My favorites are
       * Math Learning Center
       * Writing Center
       * C1/C2 in Wilson Hall - students are there from 6-10pm Mon-Thur to help
          with certain courses in MTH, CEM, PHY, and EGR. This is great for
          residential engineers like me!

Hopefully you found this information useful! Let me know if there are any other help groups around campus! I would love to post them here so that everyone can know where to go if they need a little extra help. :]

Party like a Rock Star.

IT'S FINALLY FOOTBALL SEASON. This is something that almost every college student yearns for all summer long, and then it's finally here when we all get back to school! Big Ten (or Twelve, which ever we are now) is the BEST football too! We have so many decades of rivalries, especially with UoM, Ohio State , and Notre Dame, so it makes the game just THAT much more fun. Plus, you get to stand for three hours with thousands of your best friends cheering to the fight song and other MSU traditions. Honestly, what could get better than that?

Student Section! The best in the Big Ten!

My little brother at the game with me when my family came to tailgate/visit for my birthday! <3

Best friends at the game. :]

Actually, I do know what could get better than that: having your birthday on a long weekend, it being the first full weekend of the Fall semester. :] I turned 20 on Sunday, and boy, do I feel old! I mean, I’m a junior in college and that makes me feel old enough already, but entering that THIRD decade now? Gosh,  maybe I should just stop growing up so fast. :p

I had a great weekend though. My Quidditch friends semi-hosted a birthday party for me on Saturday night, which was a ton of fun because they sang "Happy Birthday" to be at midnight, outside in the courtyard, when we were playing Ninja. (If you haven't heard of this game, look it up; it's awesome.) Then I went out to dinner to Outback Steakhouse with a ton of my other friends on my actual birthday then hung out with them all night. Even better was the fact that it was Labor Day the next day, so I could sleep in and not worry about going to classes!

My best friend and I at Outback. <3

5East plus some; the dinner party.

My birthday cookie! Thank you, family! :D

But now it’s back to the old grind and time to start thinking about doing my homework earlier than the day before it’s due.. Don’t worry, it always gets done though!

I hope everyone else enjoyed their Labor Weekend whether you were here at school,  up north, or at home! Have a wonderful rest of the week as well! :]

First day of school! First day of school!

Well here it is everyone, the first day of Fall semester 2011! I know this is a little bit late in the day, but I definitely had wanted to wish you all good luck in your MONDAY classes, and I hope that they all went well. :]

Apart from it being a little cloudy and grey, it was a good day. I had three of my four classes: ME 201, MTH 235, and ME 222 (roughly translated: Thermodynamics, Calculus IV, and Mechanics of Deformable Solids). All of them are MWF lectures, but we did start taking notes in all of them! I have to make sure I print out the syllabi and the first couple sections of notes for each class. I'm going to do my best to stay ahead of things this semester to see how differently it affects my studying. I guess it'll be like a personal social experiment. :]

Here's a little Finding Nemo clip for you that's relevant. I just really enjoy Disney-Pixar films. :D

Spartan Spectacular 2011!

Today is the big day, it's the Spartan Spectacular 2011!

This IS my favorite day of "Welcome Week" here at MSU. The event is held on Munn Field at the northwest corner of Chesnut Rd and Shaw Lane from 4-10pm. Here new and returning students are welcomed back to campus with live music, food (with a campus meal plan), RSO information, and a firework show at the end! All residential cafeterias close from 2-8pm since dinner will be served at the field, so the school is really encouraging you guys to attend! :]

There are over 600 RSO's (Registered Student Organizations) attending, and it's a GREAT way to get information on getting involved on campus. There's all different kinds of clubs, greek life, sports, and other student based organizations that set up booths under the tents to promote their group to all students. During my last two years at Sparticipation, I was able to get information on some of the organizations I have personally been involved with including MSU Quidditch, Relay For Life, and other volunteer groups. And it isn't just for students living in the halls either; those living off campus are welcome too!

Today, I will be at the MSU Quidditch booth (though I'm not sure exactly where it will be located) with this awesome board that I made over the summer:

Our awesome logo designed by Julie Rosser! :D

You might even see a couple of seekers flying after a golden snitch today, if you're lucky! Stop by and see me if you can! :]

A whole new world, every turn a surprise with new horizons to pursue.

IT'S FRESHMAN MOVE IN DAY AT MSU! :D :D :D

It's such an exciting day, too, with so many people to meet: your roommate(s), floor, mentors, and anyone else you happen to come across. There's rooms to arrange and books to browse for and last-minute things to buy at the local convenience stores. It's not too chilly and not to warm, and it's NOT supposed to rain (like it did the first day I moved in! :[) So freshman, you're so lucky! Plus, you have all the volunteers and upperclassmen to help you out. Don't be afraid to ask someone if you don't know where a building is or you can't figure out how to set up something in your room. Someone on your floor or in your hall is bound to know the answer or can lead you to the person that does. But most of all, have fun with it! I know this is going to be a difficult couple of weeks for transitional rooms (ie. having more than the designated number of people per room/suite), but just try to stay calm and reasonable. This year's freshman class is the LARGEST Michigan State has ever seen (7800!) so there is some accommodating that needs to be done on each side. But don't worry, MSU has a plan and this will all get sorted out. :]

Oh! Time to start my volunteer shift moving the freshman in to South Complex! Maybe I'll see some of you out there! :D

Guess who's back, back again!

It feels so good to be back on campus!!

First of all, moving in early is SO CONVENIENT. I didn't have to wait in line for elevators, the hallways weren't crowded with other people moving in, and I didn't feel pressured in the 20-minute-timeline they normally give you to move your stuff in. I also have plenty of time to think about how I want my room arranged and what I want on my walls and where I want it. I think that if I tried to move in next Sunday, I would be rushing to get everything done before classes start. So overall, I'm glad to have moved in early. PLUS, I'm working about 50 hours between this week and next week, so a good paycheck is a nice incentive to end my summer a little early as well. :] A ton of my friends have been moving in early too, so it's very nice being able to catch up with them, especially the ones I haven't seen in four months!

You know what's strange though? We only JUST moved in to the dorms, and my friends and I are already planning our living arrangements for next fall! It's so odd to think that contract signing on apartments and houses in the East Lansing area start in October, when dorm room signups aren't until late January. So if you're planning to live off campus next year, chose your roommates wisely! There's a long time between contract signing and when you move in the following year and you never know what's going to happen in the time between! I'm not too worried about that yet, though. I guess I'll just have to see what the rest of my friends are planning on doing once they get settles on campus.

These 4am bakery shifts are killing me though. It's 8:30pm and my body already wants to go to sleep?! Psh, looks like I should listen to it for once. Goodnight! :]

There's something, something about this place.

Here's to my last night in my hometown. It's getting late and I'm almost ready to go to bed, but I figured I should blog one more time before my summer officially ends.

Tomorrow, I will be moving back to MSU! I have mixed feelings about this. Of course, I'm ready to go back to see all of my friends and meet new people, start classes again, interview for internships, work my many glamorous jobs, and just to BE on campus again. Plus, I love the fall season. The weather is perfect, not too hot, not too cold; football and hockey seasons start soon; campus and everything else green is simply gorgeous with autumn colors and I get carried away with photography. But at the same time, I don't want the summer to end. I made some great friends this summer at work and within my hometown, and I don't want to leave them behind. Sometimes I wish I could just pack up my whole life with me and take it everywhere I go. :p

Speaking of packing, that is something I have done much of over the past week in preparation for tomorrow. I have boxes and bins full of my things, and half of it is already packed in the car! Don't worry though, I'm living in a single next year, so I'll have plenty of room. ;] I must say though, out of all my storage containers, I've found that the Really Useful Box brand is the absolute BEST! I would totally recommend them to any college student/anyone who needs their things organized. They come in every size, shape, and color you could imagine and I've found them perfect for using everyday. For instance, I use a regular 3 litre (litres.. I know, right?!) box for the charging cords for my electronics such as my phone, iPod, and computer, while I have the smallest, 0.07 litre, for my bobby pins. Really useful box, huh? :p

Oh gosh. In the midst of blogging, browsing, and packing, the time has slipped away from me. Goodnight for the last time in the Heights! Tomorrow, I'm East Lansing bound. :]

It's the final countdown.

One week.

One week from this moment, I will be sitting in my dorm room in West Wilson (or sleeping considering I will be working at 4am the next morning...). That is just so crazy to me! Now that it's so close to school starting up again, I feel like the summer has just flown past me. There's so many things that I didn't get around to doing. For instance, learning how to drum, make my t-shirt quilt, go to Cedar Point.

But on the other hand, there's just so many things that I DID do. I got to visit my friends from different cities and have them visit me all summer. I went to Disney World for the first time in my life with my best friend and her family. I played summer muggle quidditch with my team and got to see friends from across the Midwest. I went camping with my extended family and went zip lining for the first time. I worked at my high school's band camp and met some really cool people and became closer to others because of it. I went to the Drum Corp International Finals with my family and was awestruck by the talent and passion put in to those performances. And through all of this, I took hundreds of photos to document my summer.

I just don't know if I'm ready to go back to school yet.. Back to working three(ish) jobs, back to doing homework everyday, back to stressing over exams and projects.. I don't have a choice to be ready or not, I just have to do it. What I am ready for though? Friends, football season, fall, hockey season, quidditch, and making new memories at Michigan State University. :]

Back to school shopping!

Well, I guess it's that time of year again..

BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING! Every student from grades K-12 to undergraduate and masters must go through some sort of this process before taking their first class in August/September. There's writing utensils, organizing tools, craft supplies for some students, and then furniture and storage for the college-bound. But even more important for the latter is BOOKS.

Now everyone knows that the price of books has gotten to be.. ridiculous, for lack of a better term. I mean $200 for a Calculus I book that the teacher doesn't even read out of? Not cool. I'm not saying that books are a waste of money, because that is definitely not true. Often times, professors require these books for students as useful tools in addition to the information taught in class. I've found that they're especially helpful in my Chemistry and Physics classes, just because the information is explained in a different way and example problems are spelled out for you.

But when these classes are over in four months what do you do with these books that were only partially used? This is why college students have created the Used Book System within their university book stores as well as online markets. I've been able to save a couple hundred dollars each semester by purchasing or renting my books online or even borrowing them through friends that I know have taken one of my classes previously. (I really lucked out last semester: I was able to borrow four books and lend out three so I payed a total of $0 for a whole semester of classes!)

Here are some of the websites I use when I buy my books:

• www.amazon.com - they also offer a trial version of Amazon Prime to students so they can receive free shipping on books for an entire year!
• www.half.com - sponsored by eBay **I'd say this is the best and cheapest place, but they don't have as wide of a selection as Amazon
• www.alibris.com - sign up with your email address and you will receive coupons for future purposes
• www.abebooks.com

And if you don't want to keep the book after your class is over, just rent them!:

• www.chegg.com - I have never personally used this website, but I've heard from many other students how easy it is to use!

Don't be afraid to buy slightly used books! They're maybe markings and highlighted pages in a few of them from previous students, but that just gives them character (and may even help you when you're studying for your own class!) I bought all three of my books USED and ONLINE for this semester, and it cost me less than $100!

So good luck, students! I hope you find some great deals out there!

I can show you the world.

Wow.

I have never had a more fantastic vacation. Disney World honestly lives up to its reputation as "the happiest place on earth." I don't have a single complaint about it, and everything there is just spectacular. Now this is coming from a twenty-year old girl who has never been farther south then Kentucky and who got to act like a five year old meeting here favorite princesses, princes, and other Disney characters for a week. So you MAY not feel the same way, but that's okay. :p Another bonus was that I got to spend the week with my best friend from home and her family (who are basically my second, adopted family!) because they were the ones who invited me to join them on their vacation! I cannot thank them enough for including me in their family and inviting me down to Disney. <3

And as promised, I took over a thousand pictures, 1120 to be exact. Here's a select "few" that happen to be my favorites:

Entrance to the park. :]

Our room in Kidani Village!

My favorite princess and prince! <3

My favorite Disney movie (next to Hercules :p)!

My second family. <33

Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom. 

Alice & the White Rabbit!

Rapunzel! Probably the cutest and most friendly princess. :]

(Every other princess is amazing though, just saying)

I took an abundance of pictures of the castle.

Jasmine, Paige, me, Aladdin. :]

CASTLE. <3

The castle can turn so many different colors :]

Epcot!

I had SUCH a wonderful time at Disney that I have decided I want to apply for the College Program through MSU so that I can work there next summer. It may not be considered an internship, unless I can work with an Imagineer (which would be WICKED cool!), but it will give me great experience in the job world and an excellent source to put on my resume! Hopefully I will be able to! :D