Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Ah, to be young and in love...


As I had previously said, my sister is engaged! This past Sunday, she and Warren made dinner for us at her apartment. Through the rain and odd smells, we made the car ride to Manhattan for a mouth-watering dinner. She made us breaded chicken...or maybe they were canaries? I don't know for sure because the chicken pieces she bought for us at Trader Joe’s were big so it was like we each had our own bird. They were delicious and I was super happy when I saw she made extra. One word came to mind; seconds! She also made eggplant parmesan. Rachel is a really excellent cook. This was not the case when she was in high school. Back then, I was the potentially good cook. The roles have completely reversed and now...I can barely make rice. It is sad...but true. I will learn again though. We provided this dinner party with dessert. My mom made a chocolate tree shaped cake with a new frosting recipe. So good! We brought our Christmas cookie spread along with us.

 While we were there, we took some photos of Rachel and Warren and the ring! I love her ring to death. It's purple topaz. Topaz is her birthstone. It has two small diamonds on the side, but the ring suits my sister. She is the least materialistic person I know. Diamonds are not a priority for her. They aren't really a priority for me either, but I will never turn them down. If my future husband is out there and reading this, then wipe the sweat off your brow because I will be happy as long as the ring is real.





I am just glad that my sister is happy. It is weird for me because she isn't just dating this guy anymore. This is the man she is going to be with for the rest of her life. When she leaves her house (apartment), he will be there. When she comes home, he will be there. He will be there every day, all day. It just feels unreal that my sister is getting married. They are looking at September 2016 as their wedding range. I think that sounds good to me...not that my opinion actually has any impact, but I'm just saying. It is good because then there will only be one person in school. I graduate in 2015. Gabrielle and Jonathan graduate 2016; her from Manhattanville and he graduates from Chaminade. Rachel will be graduating with her Master’s degree that same year. I think a wedding that year will be exciting! I was joking with my grandmother that she better start saving her pennies for gifts that year. A wedding and a high school graduation and he needs a laptop for school? My Nonna has bought us all of our laptops. When someone heads to college, she supplies that person with a laptop. We always get to choose the one we want, reasonably priced, of course.

2014 is going to be so much fun because these two will start making wedding plans. Since it is my sister and we are sort of close I guess, I will have a front row seat to what planning a wedding looks like. I have my shield and sword ready in case I meet any dragons along the way. It’s always the sweet, non-materialistic ones…if you know what I mean. 

My Christmas Story

Things have been so crazy here in West Hempstead between long work hours, Christmas preparations, and Engagements; it’s like a fun house. I came home from school only two weeks ago and I have not really had a whole day for just myself. That Wednesday, I wrapped gifts and went on a last minute shopping trip. Thursday and Friday of that week were long works days for me. I was back at my internship with Brussels Airlines and I felt like I had never left. I was doing mostly the same tasks as I had over the summer: debit memos, ARC reconciliation spreadsheets, and sending FedEx’s. On that Thursday, everyone was in the office: John, Margareta, Olivier and even Dave for a short time. It was nice that I got to have coffee with them before the holidays. My mom and I left so late from work that night that we stopped and had Subway for dinner. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Subway and I could eat it every day, but my mom is not the biggest fan and I felt bad that that’s what our dinner was. She seemed to enjoy her sandwich though. See, the thing about going to Subway is that when you have a teenage brother that is always hungry and he happens to love Subway, you cannot just go there and get nothing for him. So even he had Subway for dinner that night.

Even though it was night the night before Christmas Eve, as we closed up the office on Friday evening for Christmas vacation, I played “One More Sleep Till Christmas” from Muppet’s Christmas Carol. That is one of my family’s favorite holiday movies. The days until Christmas Eve counted down as we worked as hard as we possibly could to have everything ready. On Saturday we put up the tree. It was quite the family affair. We played our Christmas music, had our normal spats occur around the project and ended the night with a delicious dinner of Chinese food; one of my personal favorites. It was a long day that Saturday. As soon as that tree was up and decorated and the floor was vacuumed, I took a shower and got into bed. Zzzzzzz…

Sunday night we wrapped Christmas gifts as we watched our classic FHE holiday films: Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Santa Clause is Coming to Town. Monday night was the home stretch. We had one more thing to do in preparation for Christmas Eve; baking cookies. We made three kinds: Hot Chocolate Snow balls, Spritz cookies, and cut-out cookies. The cut-out cookies are a tradition long before my time in the Fidis house. Every year, my mom makes the dough and we all make a tray of our very own personally decorated cut-out Christmas cookies. We have so many different cookie cutters from over the years: trees, stockings, teddy bears, stars, wreaths, trains, lighthouses, candle sticks, snowflakes and so many more.

Well, this year, cookie day was a day of celebration as well. My older sister, Rachel, came home for
Christmas break. Later that night I had taken a shower and put on my pajamas, my mom says that Warren (her boyfriend) is coming over for dinner. I thought that it was weird he was coming to our house for dinner rather than home to his family since it was kind of late. We have dinner, Boston Market, and Rachel tells us not to scurry off because she has news. She pulls out a black ring box and tells us that Warren asked her to marry him and SHE SAID YES!!!!! I always knew this day would come soon. I had a sneaking suspicion it was coming because for that entire week, I was hooked on one song out of all the songs on my ipod; “Marry Me” by Jason Derulo. Perhaps, it was a sign of the coming news. I am really happy for them. Warren has been a part of the family since that very first Memorial Day BBQ he attended two years ago. Maybe I started seeing him as family when Rachel brought him to the Patent Pending concert we attended together. Either way, I am really glad it is Warren that she is marrying. Although, he is like the older brother I never wanted (just kidding…but really though), I love him all the same.
Christmas Eve, finally! The day starts with our traditional struffoli baking or should I say frying at my Aunt Mary Anne’s house. We do this every year and I am pretty sure it has been that way since the dawn of mankind. It is an event filled with laughter, dough balls and heckling. See, the thing about Struffoli day is that my Uncle Michael is the fryer and quality control manager of our little struffoli making “business”. He tells us when we are cutting them too small or too large. This year, we had some interesting sizes. We had Frito and popcorn chicken sized pieces which obviously would not work. All hands were on deck this year. Normally, we have some people on stand-by because work is not their forte. This actually really helped to speed up the process and for that, I am sure, my mother is grateful.

Struffoli. Check. After that, we head back home and put the finishing touches on the house and start cooking. In Italian tradition, on Christmas Eve, you eat seven different types of fish in representation of the seven sacraments. We have fried eel, salmon, calamari, squid salad, baccala, shrimp cocktail and linguini with clam sauce. I am not a fish eater so my cocktail was carrots and celery with ranch dressing. My linguini with clam sauce was buttered spaghetti with cheese covering it like the snow on Mount Everest. Coffee, desserts and an hour later and we are getting our coats on for church. Midnight Mass is my favorite mass to go to. Why, because it is short and sweet at St. Thomas the Apostle. The priest gives us what my family and I like to call the bum’s rush. It’s like he is desperate to get to bed. This year we clocked the mass at 45 minutes. I was home, in pajamas and teeth brushed by 1:45 in the morning.

Christmas day, I got everything I wanted and some things that I did not exactly deserve. I will go more into detail about that later, but I just want to say that Christmas was amazing for me this year. It treated me better than I treated it because I know that I have lost the meaning of Christmas over the years. I just hope that one day I can find it again. Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

3.4 and Rising!

Let me just preface this with my testament that this past semester was the most difficult and challenging one out of all of my Albertus years. I was so nervous about what my grades would look like. I have to admit that I did not do my best work and I missed some classes here or there. When my grades were posted online, I was nervous. I finally bit the bullet and took a moment to look at my grades for the fall semester of my junior year and you will never believe what I saw! Somehow, some way, I managed to pull nothing lower than a “B” for the 5th semester in a row and I am pretty sure I will be on the Dean’s list once again!

Can I just pat myself on the back? Well…I did. I hope that many other people had smiles the size of mine when they looked at their report cards. Yes, I do still call it a report card because that is essentially what it is, but it is online and not mailed to your house. Well, regardless of how my grades arrive, it will always be the best early Christmas gift I will ever get.

Now, I can just focus on relaxing for the next two weeks before I head back to campus for my winter class; The War Films with Professor Ron Waite. It should be fun because there are some war films I am interested in, and all of my friends are taking the class with me; the perk of being an RA!

Over the break, I anticipate lots of reading time, maybe some movies, hopefully (fingers crossed) playing some more Uncharted on my new PS3 that I hope to get for Christmas…maybe, and definitely lots of family time. My brother wants me to play Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag with him. It is the newest game in the series and he is convinced that since I am such a HUGE Uncharted fan that I will enjoy Assassin’s Creed because they are similar. I will have to update on how that goes. I have a feeling I blew my chance for a PS3 for Christmas because of two problems; I beat games 1 & 3 of Uncharted with my friend Ricky and my family does not really have that much money so it is kind of crazy to ask them for such an expensive gift. My back-up plan is to save up and buy it for myself; games and all! I asked for it because I have had the same game system since the 7th grade. My siblings and I share a PS2, but two Christmases ago, my little brother received an XBOX 360 which essentially costs the same thing…except we had a little more money back then. Not much…but a little more money.

Whatever I get for Christmas, I know, that I will love it just the same as I would have a PlayStation 3. My family always manages to get me really nice stuff and I have always ended up more than happy.

Merry Christmas to all who read my blog! I wish you and your families all the best. Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas Time is Here


Here we are; first day of my vacation and I have been put to work. Don't get me wrong; this is my favorite job to perform all year; wrapping Christmas presents! 

This never used to be my job. Until I was about 13, this was my older sister’s gig. She would come over for a night of wrapping and Christmas tunes with my Nonna. When I found out that she was cooked my favorite meal (breaded chicken and soup) as part of the wrapping party, I jumped onto that train. Nonna and Rachel taught me everything I know about gift-wrapping. Now, I am the go to wrapper for every occasion. She taught me the precision in sizing and cutting the paper, decorating it with ribbons and bows and placing the label in a nice spot. My grandma taught the method that uses practically the whole role of tape on one box, but it gets the job done. Now, I can be considered the pro-wrapper. I come home from school and help her every year and I would not have it any other way.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

That's a Wrap!

It's finally happened! That time of the year is finally upon me! I have completed all of my finals. The papers are all written, tests have been taken and eportfolio pages have been submitted. Today, I will celebrate the end of my final exams by sleeping, drinking tea, reading and watching the snow fall. I never thought that I would see the end of this semester because it has been the longest and most painful semester ever. There were so many papers for me to write. There were days where I felt like my homework was going to take me hostage and hold me for a ransom. It was a little dicey for a while.

With the end of finals, comes the waiting period. I have to wait a whole week for my grades to come out on the portal. That's tomorrow's problem though. Let's not worry about that for now.

I just have to write about this because it was a monumental moment for me and my college experiences here at Albertus. On December 6th, 2013, I attended my very first Winter Wonder formal here at school. It was so pretty! This year's theme was Great Gatsby. The halls were lined with banners that had quotes from the Great Gatsby on them. There was a fully decorated tree with presents underneath it. At the check in table, you were given either a pink or orange ticket. The pink was for everyone under 21 years old. Those people, including me, were given a glass of sparkling apple cider in place of the champagne. Next year, I will get a 21 years and older ticket!  (I'm getting so old.) The actual dance was inside the BCR in the campus center. They had trees lining the whole room. There were tables with little lights on it that you could sit and leave your belongings at. The music was pretty good. DJ Bryan had some good mash-up songs from popular artists. It made me want to get up and dance...but I didn't.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Where to Begin?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am excited that I only have fourteen days left to this semester! Can you believe it? This break is going to be so amazing for me. Today, I hand in the first of my five finals; my creative writing portfolio. I am pretty pleased with the work I have done for this class. Creative Writing seminar with Dr. Cole is a blast and I recommend that you all take it. She has helped me to improve and work on my writing even when I feel my worst about a piece. I definitely want to take it again if I can. 

This is my last week of real school work and I don't know about the rest of you, but I plan to use these last days wisely. Tomorrow is Ethics day! That final is to answer three questions in essay format. It's so easy! Besides that, I have two papers, one open book exam and a portfolio of poetry that I handed in earlier today. Cross that off the list I suppose! Tonight, I will actually get to go to bed early! I am so excited! That means more time to read before I go to sleep and start the process all over again tomorrow. 

TTFN...ta ta for now!

Friday, November 29, 2013

Thanksgiving Vacation

How was everyone else's Thanksgiving? Mine was amazing! We started the morning out like we always do. My mom sticks the turkey into the oven and we turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Personally, I love the parade. Traditions are my thing and this was the 87th parade this year. Speaking of traditions; dinner was at my house. It pretty typically is except for the year we were re-doing the house and the year my mom went on strike from cooking. Everything was delicious...despite some technical difficulties. We have two ovens in the house; one in the basement and one on the main floor. The basement one decided to act up right when we needed it. It learned this funny trick of turning off the second it heats up to the temperature you need it at. My mom's awesome turkey gravy was giving her trouble as well. It refused to thicken. The turkey...he decided not tell her the right temperature, leading us to believe he was under-cooked. Funny, right? There were four kinds of potatoes: scalloped, mashed, twice baked and sweet potatoes. My grandmother prepared her infamous stuffed mushrooms and acorn squash. Yum! My mom's applesauce was more amazing than ever before and her stuffing was to die for!

Dessert is another story. There was apple pie, cherry pie, pecan pie and birthday cake for all the birthday people. A good portion of my family members celebrate birthdays in the fall. My father, my older sister and my uncle all have Thanksgiving time birthdays so every year, Thanksgiving is also a three-way birthday party. My brother's birthday is December 5th, so this year we threw him into the holiday birthday crowd. He turns 16 this year, which in my opinion is a pretty big birthday! He's growing up so fast. Pretty soon, he will be heading to college. That thought scares me, but I digress.
So, that was my Thanksgiving. Tomorrow, I am going to tell the tale of decorating my house for Christmas. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Cliff Notes Version

It's finally here! In a few short hours I will be heading to Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie. Well...actually, I'm going to my house in West Hempstead, NY, but there will most definitely be homemade pumpkin pie available. My trip back to Long Island will not be as bad today as it normally is. Normally making my way home to Long Island is a journey and a half. Let's talk train rides. Normally it involves one metro north ride, two subway cars from Grand Central Station to 34th street and one or two (depending on the station) Long Island Railroad trains. Sometimes, I even have to switch at Jamaica station. Phew! Just writing all of that was an expedition. Thankfully, today, my aunt is meeting me at Stamford which is half of the ride. It's like a cliff notes version to getting home. Actually, she picks me up quite often and I am so thankful for that. I am not a fan of the long commute somewhere. Once I meet her at Stamford it's only one more hour of travel and then I am home. With all those trains, you start to feel like you have been travelling all day.

So, on Wednesday, we get to have family day. I really hope we get to watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tomorrow night because what is a holiday without a Charlie Brown movie? 

Then Thursday is the ultimate family day; Thanksgiving! It will be a day of mass quantities of food, beverages, birthday gifts, birthday cake, pies, bread, loud Italians, card games and football. What would a holiday be without football? There will probably be some yelling and then some laughter, but we all know, at the end of the day, that we love one another.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is finally revisiting the deliciousness that are my mom's scalloped potatoes. It's three different kinds of potatoes covered in heavy cream and then baked! What is better than that? I can't think of anything! Normally, we make just one tray of them, but this year all the hungry men will be there so I am praying for a second tray. 

Well, I'm going to finish packing and preparing to head home. I will update again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

'Twas Four Nights Before Thanksgiving

'Twas four nights before Thanksgiving,
and all through the house,
not a student was stirring,
not even a...

Okay, so it seems that only Clement Clarke Moore can write a great poem in that form. I mean, how many things really rhyme with house and have anything to do with residence hall life. Hmm...I might have to ponder that for a while. I am sure I can come up with something.

Basically, it's the Sunday before Thanksgiving. My vacation begins as of 1:10 pm on Tuesday afternoon. I cannot wait to get home! For now, I am celebrating the end of a very windy, long and semi-boring weekend by watching the Gilmore Girls and doing my laundry. I actually had a very productive Sunday though. I read 3 students' papers that are W requirements for class. I always glad to help out my friends with their assignments. It's great to be a Writing Associate! One of the papers was about the internship that my friend Sharinna is currently in the middle of. It's so cool! She's working with the City of New Haven's Finance Department with the internal auditors and the controller. I cannot wait to work on my first big internship. It's basically like working for that company full-time. She is sitting  in on big meetings, helping with company decisions, gathering paper work from company presidents, etc. Well, any way, I was just really glad to be the Writing Associate who got to read her paper.

Well, that's the dryer. Time to go fold some laundry.

Until next time!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Writer Hard at Work

Well, you might be wondering where I ran off to for past week or so. Honestly, I have been working long hours and late nights on a short story. I started it during my freshman year of college for creative writing class with Professor Wallman. It started out on a small, yellow napkin from a birthday dinner in Canada. Now, it is seven small paragraphs long. It's something that I am hoping will turn into a short novel or novelette. What's the difference, you ask? A novel has 40,000 words and up and a novelette is only about 7,500 - 17,500 words, according to the Science Fiction Writers of America.

I want to share a small excerpt from my story with all of you. I like hearing opinions and suggestions. What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? Please do not be afraid to send me comments! As a writer, I am used to criticism.

Here we go! Here is section number 6. I have dropped you into the middle of my story. It is right after my main characters have collided with one another.

The ride down all seventeen stories of the office building was completely silent, except for the speedy clicking of the blackberry keyboard. She stands there, afraid to move and contemplating starting a conversation with him, but has no idea what to say to him. He clearly is not interested in speaking, so she forgets about it. The ground floor icon lights up and they part ways. She raises her arm and hails a cab to head on home. He is now imprinted in her mind and there is nothing she can do to forget about him.

So? What did you think? Send me constructive criticisms please! I appreciate any help I can get with this! 

Sunday, November 10, 2013

I Was Raised by a Television

In my 20 years of existence, there have been two constants; a television set and a series to watch on it. It is a part of everything I do and in a lot of instances, it ends up dictating how I schedule my extracurricular activities and my social life. When I was in the 4th grade, my homework had to be done by 9pm so I could watch Angel with my older sister. Angel (1999-2004) was a spinoff of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer(1996-2003) and my first obsession. Angel is a vampire with a soul, living in Los Angeles and saves innocents from evil people as a way of redeeming a lifetime of bad deeds. Well, anyway, Angel came on on Monday nights. Monday's at 9 from 1999 until 2005, I was not to be disturbed. That show ended only to be replaced by two more: Bones (2005) and Supernatural (2005) on Tuesday nights at 8 and 9pm. Both of these shows are still a major part of my life, but they are not my obsession as much as they used to be. Now, my life is all about The Vampire Diaries and Once Upon a Time.

I started 6th grade and suddenly my Tuesday nights were packed with action on the television screen. Supernatural and Bones both started up and both continue to be amazing shows as they roll through their 9th seasons this year! Bones, for those who may never have seen any of it, is about Temperance Brennan, a Cultural Anthropologist and Special FBI Agent Seeley Booth and their adventures. It's funny every week and the action is definitely a plus, but the draw for me is the romantic aspect between Booth and Brennan. It's amazing and I highly recommend it. I have to be honest. The only reason I started watching originally was because David Boreanaz (Angel) was going to be in the show. Now, I just love it! Supernatural is all about the lives of two brothers and their journey across America at least ten times over now as they fight against the paranormal. We have gone from fighting ghosts and urban legends to fighting against Lucifer, the king of Hell and angels. It is all pretty intense and after nine seasons, it has not lost its spunk!


The Vampire Diaries (2009 - ) is the story of a young girl named Elena Gilbert who meets the handsome vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore. She falls in love with Stefan, but has a crush on Damon. Basically, the whole series is about the love triangle and how Elena looks exactly like the brothers' ex-girlfriend Katherine. She is the dreaded "D" word...Doppelganger! I mostly watch the show because all of the actors are these gorgeous, amazing human beings. They are beautiful on the outside, yes, but beautiful on the inside as well. I think that the producers could not have found better people to pose as these characters week after week. It's one of the millions of reasons the show is so successful. We are seven episodes into our 5th season and this past weekend the cast celebrated the end of filming their 100th episode! I am so proud of them!


Last year, I started watching the show Once Upon a Time (2011- ). It is truly amazing! First and foremost, Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White is perfect. Her real life and on screen Prince Charming aka James aka David is also perfect. Picture this; a small town called Storybrooke that is home to all of your favorite fairy tale characters. Be warned though; these are not the sweet Disney story book characters. No, these are made of the true stories, the Hans Christian Andersen and Grimms Brothers stories. We are currently in season 3 have been trapped in Neverland with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys since episode 1 of this season. Neverland is definitely nowhere that anyone wants to be. It is a pretty terrifying place to be if you ask me. Captain Hook aka Killian Jones, is my favorite character because he is actually not evil. He really is very good, but has been hurt and is confused as to his role in the grand scheme of things. The evil villains throughout this series so far have been: the Evil Queen, Rumpelstiltskin and now Peter Pan.

So, you are probably wondering why I just gave you a walk-through of all my television shows, right? I have a good reason. That reason is because I am trying to make the point that we all have those go to shows. We all have that show that we have to watch each week otherwise our week is just shot. It's so crazy to think back to my first show and how inaccessible television used to be. Now, if we miss an episode of anything, you can find it online or in the i-tunes store if you feel like paying. We have DVR's and Tivo and whatever else people use to record shows. Most networks have the episodes available on their websites within 24 hours of it airing. That's pretty amazing if you ask me. Things like Netflix and Hulu make it possible for television addicts like myself to re watch their favorite moments over and over again, on numerous different devices, no matter where we are, for just a small fee. If I had Netflix as a kid, I never would have seen the sun.


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Open House; Open Memories.

Today, November 9th, was the college's annual Fall Open House. I am always excited to be a part of it.
It is a day to show off all the amazing clubs, gorgeous mansion residence halls, the beautiful Rosary Hall and we get the see all the brilliant students that could potentially become future Albertus students; future Falcons!
I love meeting the perspective students because it brings me back to days not that far back in my life. I have experienced all the emotions you could possibly feel when you are in high school and looking at colleges. Everywhere I look during open house, I see my mom and I as we walked around the campus for the first time four years ago. Wow...has it truly been that long?

Picture this if you can; four years ago, a high school sophomore, shy and nervous, silently hiding behind her mother and her younger sister. She slowly and carefully takes a peek around the campus all while making sure not to stray too far from her two buffers. Her mom holds the Q&A sessions and gathers flyers of information at every table they moved to. Her younger sister takes part in the raffles going on and nudges her older sister to play the game; win a prize. English club table, the Writing Center, English majors table, Residential Life, etc; it was all too much to take in, but wonderful all at the same time.

Ah, memories. That was the very first time I came to see what Albertus Magnus College was all about. I mean, who would not like it here? The campus is gorgeous, especially in the fall; when all the leaves turn colors. Well, I wore two hats during the Student Activities portion of open house today; Student Alumni Association and representing Breakwater, the literary magazine that I am a co-president of with Annemarie Tompsen. SUBMIT TO BREAKWATER NOW through FEBRUARY 14TH! EMAIL US AT breakwater.amc@gmail.com.



Friday, November 8, 2013

Been A Long Week

So, you are probably wondering where I wandered off to. Well, let me tell you that things at school have been so crazy. The last two weeks have been like one giant, annoying flash mob. By definition, a flash mob is a small gathering of people that come to one specific place at a specific time and perform an action and then disappear. “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” as they say. Where should I begin?
My Halloween was quite mellow. I was on duty in McAuliffe Hall that night, but I did have a lovely floor function. There was pumpkin painting and tons of candy and cookies to be had. It was delicious. Between the chocolate bars and Vampire Diaries, my night was exactly what I asked for. 
On Saturday night, last week, I helped to co-chair the Falcon League event with some of my co- RA's. It was a little discombobulated at the start, but once we got the games started, the night ran smoothly.


Falcon League was a night of obstacles; some hard and some easier, but the name of the game was to overcome the tougher challenges and become a legend. We had three rounds with three stages in each round. The first stage of the first round was to place a cookie on your forehead and try to eat it without using your hands. Next, the contestants had to build a pyramid out of cups and then un-stack it. The final stage for that round was to answer 3 out of 5 trivia questions. The trivia questions were all about the residential life staff. Some people definitely need to brush up on who is a part of the residential staff. It was all fun and games anyway, so, no big deal. Some of the other rounds included: push-ups, jumping jacks (while reciting the alphabet), dizzy bat, paddle balancing, and card matching. 

Our three winners; Falcon Legend, Falcon Warrior and Falcon Survivor were awarded with cash prizes and three gorgeous blue sashes created by myself and RA Mimi. It was definitely a successful night and I was glad to be a part of it!

The morning after...Sunday, I hopped on a Metro-North train to Stamford where my aunt picked me up and we drove an hour back to Long Island. Why would I go home for less than 24 hours? Well, we were celebrating my sister's 19th birthday and my grandmother's 72nd birthday. It was one of the best Sundays I have had in a while. I am so glad I made the decision to go home for the day. 

Now, I am back at school and the work is just being tossed at me from every direction. I have two tests this coming Monday and a paper due sometime this week. Crazy stuff. The semester is definitely winding down though. I can feel it. Until next time!


Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Long Trip Back

As a Creative Writing concentrator, I am currently taking a Creative Writing seminar with one of my absolute favorite professors; Dr. Susan Cole. She is amazing and can make even the trickiest of writing tasks seem possible. The other day, our assignment was to write a poem based on a task that we would complete that seems un-poetic. I am very proud with the way I made my trip back home to Long Island seem so poetic. I would like to share my original piece here with everyone.

The Long Trip Back
Start with the Blue and catch a Red.
Fifteen fifty for a one way ticket.
Down to Track 14; it never changes.
Find a secluded seat; no babies please.
Headphones in and my nose enters a book.
Half way there at Stamford and straight on to Harlem 125th,
and then on to Grand Central.
Hop on the S, switch to the 2; Penn Station!

That’s half the battle.
Eleven twenty-five and two more trains.
Penn Station, switch at Jamaica and away to Merillon Avenue we go.
I sprint to my mom’s camry.
Esta una sorpressa!

I’m home.


Snaps for the poet. Never Applause. 

Thank you!

Uncharted: The Best Series Ever!

Who here has a Playstation 3 or a PSPvita ? Anyone? My pal Ricky does and he was kind enough to let me start playing this awesome game called Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. These games are mainlt available through Sony products and sadly, I only possess a Playstation 2. In case you have never heard of these games and might be intrigued by my blog, I have posted a trailer for the third game; Uncharted 3:Drake's Deception. I started the third game in the series because I honestly had not noticed which number I picked up. We played that game together for two consecutive nights and straight on until six in the morning. 

The games revolves an Indiana Jones type of treasure hunter, named Nathan Drake and his mentor Victor Sullivan; treasure hunting thieves by trade. He is on a mission to prove that an explorer, Francis Drake, was sent on an expedition in search of the East Indies for Spain, did not really find the East Indies, but they found a city lost in time. He goes on this extremely dangerous adventure that takes him through a burning French castle, a Syrian palace on the verge of collapse, a dessert in the middle of Yemen and a ghost town in the far Middle East. There are 22 chapters in these games. In two days, Ricky and I worked our way through 20 of those chapters. I have yet to go back and complete the game. Those were the best two days of my life.

The best part about these games being so popular is that people have filmed themselves playing the game and post it onto youtube in such a fashion that you can watch them like movies. I know this because I have been watching all three every night for the past two weeks. Am I the only one that is attracted to Nathan Drake? If I am now, I am sure that I won't be by the time you see these games. I highly recommend them because you are in for some laughs.






Friday, October 11, 2013

Happy Long Weekend!!!!

Finally! It's Friday! I never thought I would see this day! Friday means Lacrosse practice and then the Slenderman Albertus @ Nite event! I will be hiding in the pub because it sounds terrifying, but my best friend and Co-RA Carlo is running it, so you should check it out. 

Friday also means that there is only one day standing in the way of me and Long Island. I have not been home since August. I miss my house, my family, me bed; but mostly I just miss my mom. She makes me laugh so hard. Even though we fight and I can get so annoyed with her, I love her more than anyone in the world. This weekend will also involve more of my grandmother's delicious meat sauce. Yum! It is a pretty good tie between my grandmother's and my mom's meat sauce. 

My sisters are both going to be home this weekend and I am excited to see at least one of them. (I won't say which I am excited to see).


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Day the TV Died

This is not a happy post, but I was on Facebook and I felt like this needed to be shared with the world. Every Gleek on the face of the Earth has been waiting for tonight's episode. No, it's definitely not a happy episode and it is never one that I want to see repeated. My heart will break as I watch, but as of July 13th, 2013, the world expected this. Today is the day the world will attend the memorial for Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), We will get to say goodbye and cry with the whole cast as they truly grieve for their fallen friend and loved one Cory. 

I was on youtube and I found the full version of Lea Michele's Glee cover of "Make You Feel My Love". This song will be featured in tonight's episode of Glee. I think it is better to sort of mentally prepare oneself for a sad event by listening to sad music. It seems almost therapeutic in a way. It definitely helps me a lot. I am by no means a Gleek. If I am lucky, I have seen maybe three episodes of this show. My heart still exploded into a billion pieces when I heard Cory died, but not for the reason people think. Most people are just distraught that Cory is gone, but I am destroyed by the fact that the love of Lea Michele's life is gone. That has to be the hardest thing to go through. She is so strong though. My eyes well up when I just see her face. I hope I have enough strength tonight to get through the whole episode. 

Give the song a listen. Hug the ones you love. Be grateful for everything in life.

Wicked Wednesday


 Wow, can you believe we are almost into the middle of October? Time sure does fly when you are having fun with crazy work schedules, mass amounts of homework, RA duties, and other exciting things. I know this was last Wednesday, but I have to share with you all that I have now seen Wicked three times on Broadway. Yes, that's right; three. The very first time was in the 8th grade with my best friend Erin. She had tickets for her birthday. The second time was my freshman year of college and I went with my older sister Rachel because she had been dying to see it for years. Those tickets are expensive so my mom never got the chance to take all of us to see the show.
So this time around, last week, I took my mommy to see Wicked. She had so much fun at the show and that made me really happy. Broadway is always changing the way the run their musicals. The costumes are more extravagant and the lines are run much differently. What I like about Broadway is that there is one constant during each performance; the music. The orchestra does not change. Yes, the instrumental parts when people are speaking have to match the lines, but the actual music that the show is built on is exactly the same. I just find that kind of enchanting. When I watch any kind of play, movie or television show, I immediately scope out the cute guys. Well, it is safe to say that the Fiero I saw in this last performance of Wicked was the cutest of all three. I definitely recommend this play to anyone who is interested in musicals. It is just amazing.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Inner Bullies: The Worst Kind


Last night, I attended an Anti-Bullying Seminar on campus. I walked into the event thinking that it was about how to handle bullying in today's world, but it actually focused on the most interestingly complex bully; the Inner Bully.

Sharon from Z-Force came and taught us the ways in which we can try and prevent self-bullying. She shared her personal struggles with self-bullying when she was fighting against bulimia and anorexia as a child. We are our biggest critics and sometimes we take it way too far and end up being our own bully. This really got me thinking that I do need to take it a bit easier on myself. Never being satisfied with our bodies and appearances is natural. She offered us a lot of tips that can help us fight off and recovery from years of bullying ourselves.


It's okay to have to ask for help from others. It's okay if you need to speak with a therapist about what's going on in your life. As long as this person helps you get through this rough patch and get you on the road to recovery, then go for it. You need to develop some kind of support system for when you have those rough days. If you don't feel like talking out your problems, then try journaling, drawing, painting, singing, etc. The point is to find something that will help you release all that tension that you build up during the day. It just needs to be something positive that can help and destroy the all the negativity in your life. Surround yourself with positive people. It's just like that mantra that Ed Gerety has taught all of us: Positive people, positive things!

Beach House

Hi Everyone!

I hope that summer was an amazing, rejuvenating experience for everyone else as much as it was for me. Yes, we have been back in school for 3 whole weeks already, but technically fall does not start until Sunday September 22, so it is still summer!

On Sunday, September 15 the Student Alumni Association had an amazing Welcome Back BBQ at Carolyn Behan-Kraus's family's gorgeous beach house in Branford, CT! It was beautifully sunny and a kind of warm-cool day. Now, for anyone who knows me really well, know that I am not a majorly outdoorsy kind of girl, but I do in fact enjoy many outdoor activities. Carolyn has kayaks at her house and she let us use them for the day. I love kayaking and I was able to get on the water and kayak with my friends. As a Girl Scout, I had achieved the boating badge which included kayaking. I was able to make good use of my badge by helping my friends figure out some of the kayaking basics. I feel so empowered when I am able to teach my friends a skill of mine. It also showed me that I have amazing upper body strength because, yes, it does take strength to build up speed in some kayaks.

Carolyn and her husband Marty prepared a mouth-watering meal for us: grilled chicken, flank steaks, beans, salad and her mom's delicious cheesy potato recipe. I enjoyed devouring second helpings of steak and potatoes. I could not get enough of them they were that good! Marty baked us this delicious blueberry crumble for dessert. I do not normally eat desserts with fruit baked into them, but I figured I would give it a try and I was SO glad that I did. It was one of the most heavenly things I have ever put into my mouth. The hot blueberry crumble matched with cold French vanilla ice cream was perfection. The only downside to this is that I accidentally let this slip to my relatives that I ate a dessert with fruit in it, so now I have to eat theirs.


Let the apple crumble consumption commence! It was the best Sunday I have experienced since being back at school. It was a day filled with good friends, good food and the simple pleasures of just being. If I could have more days like that, I would be so happy. 

If anyone is craving a day for kayaking, please take me with you!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Always Keep Wishing!

People always say that wishing for something hard enough will make it happen, especially with a little patience in the mix. I never believed that, until this year. I remember the exact hour and minute that my life changed as if it was my wedding day. Monday July 8th 2013 at 3:26 pm. If I had not checked my tweets I would not be writing this entry right now. The exact moment in question is the moment I found out that I won two coveted gold pass tickets for that weekend's Vampire Diaries convention in Parsippany, NJ. For anyone who knows me, you know that I am the biggest Vampire Diaries fan ever and a Team Damon girl at all times. As you could imagine I freaked out. I could not breathe or stand or talk really. Two gold tickets to this convention would have cost $700 ($350 each) and they do not even include photo-ops with the actors; autographs only, but that's okay.


It took me an entire day before I realized the best part about winning these tickets. I would be meeting Ian Somerhalder. For those who do not know, he plays Damon Salvatore on the Vampire Diaries, he was Boone Carlyle on Lost and was in The Rules of Attraction a long time ago. He is an actor/ philanthropic environmentalist. He started his own foundation, Ian Somerhalder Foundation, back in 2010 in response to the destruction of his home, Louisiana, after the BP Oil spill. Now, he is working as hard as he can to kick vampire butt on television and save the world. How cool is that? It also does not hurt that he is gorgeous, just saying. I mean, just look at him. His eyes could compel to do just about anything to save the world.

The first thing I did was try to find a friend to come with me, but no one could go. I felt really bummed that I had to go alone, but I would rather go alone than not go at all. My younger sister is working at camp this summer and I was really sad she could not come with me. We are TVD buddies and love Ian equally.

Saturday morning came and my mom, brother and I took off for what would become a 3 hour drive to Parsippany, NJ all because of construction and traffic on the route to the George Washington Bridge. Once we got onto the bridge it was smooth sailing straight to Jersey.


My mom and brother dropped me off at the Hilton Parsippany and my convention weekend began. I went into the vendors’ room to check out all the merchandise and let me tell you…they had tons of stuff waiting to be bought. So I bought stuff. I bought a candle from the Somerhalders’ and one of their reusable bags; a life size Ian for my room, a banner with Damon sitting in the grill for everyone to sign and some little pictures to get signed. I have now met Dena and Bob Somerhalder and they are super awesome! Bob is Ian Somerhalder's older brother and they have a company called B.O.B (Built of Barnwood). They take old pieces of wood and other objects that have been thrown away and recycle them and make beautiful wall art, candles, jewelry, and many other things. They go to just about every convention that their brother is attending. I unfortunately did not get a picture with them, but maybe I will get to meet them again one day. If you are ever in the Bay of St. Louis, Mississippi I insist that you go and check them out.





As for all the talented people I met, we started the weekend with Robert Ri’chard (Jamie from season 3) and Charlie Bewley (Vaughn). Then I saw Nate Buzolic (Kol) and he was such a super sweet guy. He has one of the most tragic back stories though…no, really. His grandfather was killed in Croatia before he was born and his mom fled as a refugee to Australia. Then right when he was born his father bolted and he and his mom were dirt poor. When he was really little, he said he made a promise to take her on a proper European vacation once he became a big actor. Everyone thought he was crazy for wanting to act and up until a week before he got hired to play Kol he had only 20 dollars to his name and was about to call it quits on the acting plan. Then he got a call from the Executive Producer, Julie Plec and he became our Kol Mikaelson, and just last month he returned from his European vacation with his mom.


(Left to right: Nathaniel Buzolic, Charlie Bewley, Robert Ri'chard)

I also met Devon Haas at the convention. She and her mom are integral parts of the ISF family. They go wherever there is a call for ISF volunteers. This past weekend they were there in an ISF capacity as well, talking about all things green and planet friendly. Devon is a child actress, model and an ISF Kids Army member. She is very opinionated for such a young girl and I love that about her. She has taught me so many things about our current environmental conditions and what we can do to help save our home. This past school semester was very stressful for me so as a therapeutic relaxer I started making bracelets. I asked Devon to tell me her favorite colors because I wanted to make a bracelet. I did, but I kept forgetting to mail it to her, but I gave it to her at the convention. She was so excited when she saw it and she knew exactly who I was because later that night she tweeted me, "Thanks @stephano93 for the bracelet. I love it!" That was one of the best parts of the whole weekend.

In the afternoon, there was an auction for some TVD merchandise and it was crazy the amounts of money people spent on some of this stuff.  After that, I went to panels for Zach Roerig (Matt), Michael Trevino (Tyler) and Kat Graham (Bonnie). Then I waited 2 ½ hours to get autographs from Michael, Robert and Nate. Robert Ri'chard gave me his cell number on my banner. I never plan on using it, but it was a nice gesture. He was impressed with my banner that I bought.

Sunday; the biggest day of my life. Thank goodness my older sister Rachel came to hang out with me because I was a nervous wreck from the moment I woke up that day. I literally could not eat because I was nervous and felt like I needed to throw up. I bought some awesome gifts while there because how could I not.

So, as gold pass holders Rachel and I got to hear Ian and Paul speak twice that day. There was a special ½ hour panel with them at 10 and that was a blast. Ian is hysterical and he kept impersonating Cartman from South Park all day. It was cute. The guys talked about some their most embarrassing moments. Paul's was one time he thought a group wanted to take a picture with him so he said sure and jumped in when really they wanted him to take a picture of them. Ian's was a little better. He told us about a time last season where he was not feeling so wonderful, but they had filming to get done so he could not go home. He was afraid he looked awful on the camera so he asked the Directory of Photography (DP) if they could use one of the camera filter disks to soften his features to hide the tired eyes. The DP decided to play a cruel joke on him. He said they are for the girls only because each time you use them the set has to pay a royalty. Ian being Ian fell for it and so he was making phone call upon phone call, trying to find out what someone could do for him. The DP and the rest of the crew were all hysterical laughing at him as they watched Ian run around set like a crazy man. He said to us that he "Had a major diva hour that morning." That's hilarious.
 

Rachel and I took a lunch break after all the morning panels were done and we had from 1-3 until Ian and Paul came back again. Unfortunately, my tickets were only good for autographs. No photos. Next time, if there is a next time. Lunch was very unsettling for me because I was so freaking nervous. I was so scared that meeting Ian wasn't going to be what I thought it would be. I was dreaming about it for 4 years and now it’s here. I think it was because you were not with me. It felt wrong in a way. So, we go to their second panel at 3 and it goes for forever. They like to talk these guys. At around 4:15 we start getting on line for autographs. They stick everyone onto Paul’s line first and then on Ian’s. Want to know why? Because Ian likes to chat and his line moves very slowly but Paul is really quiet and signs really fast so that way at least someone would finish.  We didn't stand on Ian’s line very long, but it certainly took a lot longer than Paul’s. Ian was so sweet to me though. I get up to him and hand him my banner for him to sign …here comes a little dialogue…all true! I swear!

Ian: Hi Sweetness!
Me: Hi Ian.
Ian: Sorry I’m in such a rush today
Me: Oh it’s alright Ian, I’m just so glad I finally got to meet you
Ian: No I’m glad I finally got to meet you
(I take my banner when he slides it to me)
Me: Thanks Ian. Have a really nice weekend!
Ian: Thanks Babe, you too!
I WAS DYING!!!!! Yes, I realize he probably said something like that to every female that was there…and there sure were plenty, but for those 30 seconds I felt special. So let me have that.

Well, meeting Ian was everything I thought it would be and that’s the worst part. After we got his autograph, Rachel and I headed for home and I was just…bummed. I think that’s the word. The excitement was over, the dream came true and now I had to go back to reality. He is such a sweetie and he wants to talk to everyone and know everything, but there just isn't time. He is too popular. His photo op tickets were sold out from January. I will also say, Ian and Paul are extremely tiny men. Like, you could warp your hands around their waists.

So that was my amazing life changing weekend. This summer has been one of the most amazing! My next adventure will be in New Orleans! Another wish of mine that is coming true!