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!