So thanks for making me a fighter.

I owe this blog quite a long post.. Sorry that I haven't written anything recently! Despite the fact that we just got over with Thanksgiving break, I didn't really have a "break" per say. But you know what? That's alright. I got a lot of things done that I needed to, so I feel a lot better going into the LAST THREE WEEKS of the semester! Wow, has the semester gone by that fast already? It feels like it was just syllabus day..

Anyway, I've been pretty busy with school, internship hunting, and preparing for Christmas! Also, this week is I-Week (stands for Inspiration Week), so it's packed full of events that I'm supposed to do with my sorority. Talk about great timing, eh? Oh well, spending time with my sisters is always a great way to wind down from stressing so much about school and adulthood. So! Here's what I've been doing with my life over the past few weeks:

Last week was Thanksgiving, and since my labs and Wednesday classes were cancelled due to travel, I was able to go home MONDAY night and surprise my family! My mother actually didn't believe that I walked through the door at first, it was pretty funny :P. I was so happy to spend more than just the holiday and travel days with my family, too. I so desperately needed a break from school and work and engineering, so it was so great to hang out with my brother and parents and be prodctive at home! But here's the bad part - I never got to sleep in and make up for the lack of sleep I get at school! Every morning I had something going on whether it was Thanksgiving related, runnings errands, and attending my brother's percussion events. My favorite part of break was not actually eating tons and food and spending the holiday with family (though that was DEFINITELY still a fantastic part), but running the Turkey Trot with my brother! It was an absolutely beautiful day for a run despite the fact that the race began at 7 in the morning, and a 10k is not officially the farthest I've ran since I started in May! My goal is to be able to run the Hawk Island loop from campus (about 10 miles!) by the end of next Spring semester. I think if I can do that, I will sign up for a half marathon next fall. :) It will be my New Year's Resolution! 

Other than the Turkey Trot, I was able to get everything I needed for upcoming events like Initiation, Big/Little Reveal, christmas gifts, and I was even able to get some new thermal gear from Black Friday sales! I love Black Friday shopping, but I'm not one of those crazy people that get up SUPER early the day after Thanksgiving or even go ON the holiday. I just think that's silly and unnecessary.

Now, here's my future plan for the rest of the semester!: Not much is going around on around campus since football season is over and it's now so close to finals. I feel like I should be studying every day for the next two weeks since all of my finals are cummulative, but I just can't bring myself to start! Some of the best motivation to get me to study is to listen to movies scores, espeically action movies that have epic themes. I can't even begin to list all of my favorites but some are Star Wars, Superman, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter, X-Men, and Batman. The best way to do it is to use Pandora, or another type of internet radio. My current stations is John Williams Radio, and it's awesome. I'm listening to it as I write this blog! :)

It's getting late though, and I should probably get sleep before my Fluid Dynamics quiz tomorrow, yikes! I'll update later with pictures from I-Week and the Turkey Trot! :)

Spartan teams are NEVER beaten, all through the game they fight!

So.. this weekend is the last home football game of the season, and that makes me really sad. :( With the NHL lockout and all, I will have no sporting events to look forward to watching on TV or possibly making a trip down to Detroit for... I mean, I know I have MSU college hockey to look forward to for the next 6 months, but it's just not the same as professional hockey. But anyway, back to the current sport conundrum.

Ever since I've attended a Big Ten university, I've grown to fall in love with college football. I've probably talked about it multiple times throughout this blog, but I just can't help but keep saying how much I truly enjoy it! The atmosphere in the stadium is INCREDIBLE: 75,000+ people that are all there to support a group of over a hundred Spartans as they play their hearts out every game of the season. I love the "Go Green! Go White!" chant that envelops the entire stadium, singing our Fight Song EVERY time the marching band plays it, and all of the little traditions we have as a student section like our first down chant and shaking our keys on the opponents 3rd down. I definitely can do without the vulgarities and negative chants that our section starts, but I think the enthusiasm and positive cheers can make up for it.

I think it's kind of funny that I love football so much now that I'm in college. I was in marching band all four years of high school, but I never payed attention to our Friday night games, let alone knew the rules of how it worked. Now I feel like I can hold a conversation about it, including stats about other schools in other leagues. One of my friends even told me that I'm the most sports-inclined girl he knows. :P My boyfriend loves football too, and I've found that it makes the game that much better when you're standing in the stadium with people that enjoy it just as much.

So now that you know what my plans are for the weekend, I encourage you (if you have student section tickets) to attend the last game of the season! Yes, it might be chilly, and yes, we may lose again, but that shouldn't stop you from cheering for the overall BEST team in the Big Ten in our beautiful Spartan Stadium!

Here's a little pump up video! :)

Go Green!

Go White!

BEAT THE WILDCATS!

Every heart beats true for the red, white, and blue.

Hey you! Yeah, you!

IT'S VOTING DAY!

And I'm not just talking about for the presidential election. I'm talking about all of the proposals that will IMMEDIATELY affect YOU before the president passes something that actually will. That's why it's especially important that you voice your opinions by voting at the polls today.

Unfortunately, I did not apply for an absentee ballot, and I can't go home and vote due to classes, but I still encourage everyone who HAS the opportunity, to take it.

And don't forget, your opinions are yours and yours alone. Don't let your friends, family, or political ads try to influence you on how you should vote. Based on all of the information you know about a particular candidate or proposal, you have the right to make your own decisions.

Now, go out there and vote. :)

And my monster mash is the hit of the land! For you, the living, this mash was meant, too.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Because Halloween is MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY, I wanted to share some of my favorite Halloween traditions with you!

1. Ever since Pandora came out, all I listen to on October 31 is the "Halloween Party Radio" Station. I've been listening to it since 7:30am, and all of my favorite songs have already come up :)
2. Another thing I always do at (the very) least once, is watch the Simpson's Treehouse of Horrors. Edgar Allen Poe has always been one of my favorite poets, and The Simpson's rendition of 'The Raven' is pretty entertaining. I'll try to read some of his other works throughout the day, since he's such a dark poet, but I don't think I'll have that much time today in my busy schedule...

3. When it comes to costumes, I am the queen of Halloween costume ideas. Or at least I like to think so. I've made all of my own costumes since senior year of high school (with the exception of last year), and I always gt some pretty nice compliments. This year, I'm going as Quorra from Tron. It's not as elaborate as I'd like it to be, but that's what happens when you're a senior on a budget :p

4. The final thing that I LOVE to do around this time is watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I just love the music, the storyline, the artwork. Even if I do not get to watch it the day of Halloween, I'll always watch it (multiple times) between now and Christmas. It's so perfect because it's a combination of the two holidays!

I'll post pictures of my costumes when I get the chance! :D I hope everyone else has a fantastic Halloween full of monster mashes, time warps, and much more! 

The Perfect Storm.

So I hadn't heard about Hurricane Sandy until this morning when it was like, you know, SLEETING outside on my way to class. I don't know HOW I didn't know this, but I seriously had NO IDEA that a massive tropical storm was approaching the East Coast until it was just about to strike. Many of my friends have been talking about it on Facebook whether they're wishing their family, friends, and acquaintances safety, posting pictures or news articles about the storm's intensity and damage done already, or they're LIVING on the East Coast and are informing their friends and family through social media that they're still safe and well. I honestly don't even remember the last time a storm this bad blew threw the area..

The one bad thing about social media and this storm is that everyone is posting and re-posting INCORRECT information, data, or photos from the storm. I saw this picture and thought it was wicked cool for the photographer to capture it at the exact moment, but at further inspection I realized it was photoshopped.

That's pretty darn cool, isn't it? Too bad the Statue of Liberty and the surrounding New York area was just photoshopped on to another image which I'm pretty sure came straight out of a movie. Here's a link to some other phony photos that you've probably seen thrown around the internet: Hurricane Sandy Strikes! (Except not really)

Despite all the craziness going on with what is and isn't true, it does remind me how important it is to be prepared. Even though we Michiganders live far from the coast, we can still feel the effects of the storms hundreds of miles away. Not to mention some of the crazy winter storms we can get that can knock out power for days. My mom told me the best way to deal with the storm is to be prepared both mentally and physically. Keep nonperishable food on stock, a first-aid kid, extra and fully charged batteries, an abundance of blankets and pillows in case the power and heat are to go out, a radio, phone chargers that don't require an outlet (if you can), and anything else that can keep you occupied if you're stuck inside for a long time. Even though, I've never experienced a storm as bad as Sandy, it's always important to be prepared for the worst!

Touch-a-touch-a-touch-a me, creature of the night.

Okay, I've got a bone to pick with touch screen technology innovation. Are electronics getting bigger after the revolution of making them smaller?! Being a '90s child, I remember when cell phones were gigantic bricks and being able to touch the display screen for regular use wasn't even prototyped. With the revolutionary technology to make the core processors and control systems smaller, we were able to create smaller electronics without compromising performance, processing speed, or memory.

Then we discovered touch screen technology. Initially, it was a fantastic idea because it eliminated the use of having multiple buttons and keys that could only perform specific tasks. Touch screens became quite popular with cellphones as we with successful corporations like Apple, Samsung, and Google.

Next came the tablets and touch pads. I remember when the commercials for advertisements for the first iPad were released. It was SO COOL to see all the tasks performed on a cell phone could be performed on a larger screen, in addition to gaming, wi-fi, and a better way to watch videos and movies. Plus, it was one of the first MOBILE electronics to be able to do anything like that!

So here's the scoop, Intel recently released a demonstration of the largest touch pad so far: a 27" that truly doubles as a computer and a television monitor. Here's a description of what it contains:

"The display of Intel's new prototype has 1080p HD resolution, is about 2.5 inches thick, and contains a processor and all the components a PC needs, as well as two large, flat batteries. For desktop use, it can be set on a dock that charges the computer, connects to a keyboard and mouse, and contains a DVD drive, ports, and a graphics processor to allow high-performance gaming. The touch interface can be used both when the display is docked and when it isn't."

Please tell me, what is so darn attractive about this?! A mobile phone? Great. A 13" mobile computer? Even better. But a mobile television monitor?! I personally would not want to lug a 2.5 in thick FRAGILE electronic around my house for recreational use. I mean, I thought people using touch pads to take notes in class was a little excessive (cool, not definitely not necessary), but this is just a little over the top for me.

To read the full article on Intel's new technology, click here.

But really, would YOU consider buying something like this for your home/apartment? I'm just curious how other people feel about this too.

You've arrived at Panic Station.

Well everybody, it's officially halfway through Fall semester 2012! And you know what that means?!

It's midterms week.

Of everyone I talked to though, I think I've gotten the worst of it. A lot of my friends have had there exams and projects and presentations between the beginning of last week and the end of next week. Me? I get 4 exams in a 72 hour span. I haven't decided if that's a good thing, or a bad thing yet. It's kind of like finals week, so I'm used to the constant studying, but having classes, work, and Phi Rho in-between all of it is making it pretty difficult. But I really do like the fact that I can get everything done and over with in one week... Hmm, I guess my grades will just have to show me how well I like these kind of weeks!

I hope that everyone else is having a better week, at least academically. Everything else is going well this week for me! My boyfriend and I are celebrating our one year anniversary, planning for Initiation and Installation for Phi Sigma Rho are going smoothly so far, and I get to go to Cedar Point on Saturday! I think it'll be a great wrap up to a crazy, dedicated-to-studying week.

Oh! I forgot to update about my experiences at the Career Fair! I talked to about 10-12 companies that day including, Ford, Chrysler, GM, Eli Lilly, Whirlpool, Belden, General Electric and Marathon. (I really went for the big companies this year, didn't I?) Out of that four hours, I received interviews with Chrysler (x2), Whirlpool, and Belden, and I'm still waiting to hear back from Ford this week! I had also had interviews with Shell Oil and GE Aviation earlier in the day, so that brings my total interview count up to 6 now! Now I just have to cross my fingers and wait to see if a company offers me an internship because I've done all that I can do :)

Good luck to you all on midterms, projects, presentations, and everything else going on this week! And let's hope for a HUGE Spartan victory at the school down the road this weekend!

GO GREEN! :D

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

I don't think my body could have chosen a worse time to get sick. But then again, EVERYONE is sick. Have you noticed that? This is the first hay fever season that I've actually noticed that the majority of my friends (aka. everyone who lives in the engineering building like me) has some sort of cough, head cold, or aching body. Unfortunately, I feel all three. And it doesn't get better because everyone else is constantly sick too. But that makes sense though: we all share the same computer labs in the Engineering, we all eat while we sit there and do our homework for hours on end, and if we're all sick... well, that just means we have to learn to keep clean!

My suggestion?
     1.) Carry a travel sized bottle of hand sanitizer on you whenever you're out of your dorm room or apartment. You never know when you're going to need it, especially because you won't always have the opportunity to wash your hands, especially before you eat.
     2.) If you're going to be studying in a public place for a while like the library, International Center, or Student Union, bring a little bag of cleansing wipes to wipe off the surface of your study area. Being cooped up in a small, germy space for a long time makes it easier for you to catch a bug.
     3.) Always wash your hands! I know your mother has probably been telling you to do this since you were three years old, but this is one of the most important and easiests ways to stop the spread of germs on campus.

I just hope that I can get over this cold really quickly! I have four interviews this week, and midterms are next week... it's going to be rough, but I'm positive I can get through it! The answer is: sleep. Lots of sleep, and tons of daily naps :)

Ohhh 1, 2, 3, 4 fires in your eyes, and this chaos, it defies imagination.

Aaaaaaand guess what day it is again?

It's Career Gallery at the Breslin Center!

And I already have two interviews! I'm really excited for this year, because now that I have an internship under my belt, I feel a lot more qualified to work for and contribute to other companies. I am also looking at several different companies this year than I did last year. Last year, my mind was set on getting an internship anywhere with any company, no matter what I was doing engineering related. This year, I'm a little more focused on who I want to work for and what I want to do for them. I have a list of all the companies I'm going to talk to and a little spiel about why I would be a good candidate for their programs.

I feel much more confident this year as well, and I think that's one of the MAJOR things that helps you talk to employers. You can have all the experience and knowledge and technical skills you want, but if you can't communicate or present your opinions well enough, a company won't want to hire you first.

I'm off to my first interview now, but good luck to everyone who will be attending the Career Galleries over the next two days! If you want more information on the times for each day (Science & Technology is Wednesday, and Business is on Thursday) then go to www.myspartancareer.com to check it all out!

:)

I wanna see it painted, painted, painted black.

Since I am a senior this year, I have decided that I am making a Michigan State University Student Bucket List. I know I'm a little late in the game and there's probably plenty of things that I've missed out on already, but I want to bleed as much green as I can before I go alumni status! 

I did happen to cross one item off my list the other day: participate in painting the Rock! September 24 is Phi Sigma Rho's Founder's Day, and I wanted to do something special with our colony, considering we are so new, so I came up with the idea to recognize it on campus by painting the Rock! Many of the sisters had never done it before either, so it was a fantastic new experience for all of us! 

Now the rules for painting the rock are simple: get their early, guard it, paint it after the sun sets. Since we were guarding it on a weekend, we had to get there extra early on Sunday afternoon to stake our claim. And luckily we did because no more than half an hour after I got there did another group show up in hopes to paint the Rock as well! They were pretty disappointed, but at the same time they were happy to learn that they'll need to get there earlier for the next time they try! 

It was pretty cold while we were waiting to paint, so a couple of girls brought blankets and hot chocolate to keep us warm. :) When the sun finally set, we sprayed the whole rock with a base coat, let it dry, and then wrote the following:

It works because our colors are Wine Red and Silver :)

It was so exciting to see our finished product! All of the girls who spent the night guarding it (I mean, we had scheduled shifts until 6am!) ended up initialing the bottom position, and we put an alpha and beta in the center to signify our two classes. I am so happy with how it turned out, and I'm really happy to say that I finally painted the Rock on Michigan State University's campus :D

Here's more pictures!