The Beginning of the End

Today, Monday, marks the three weeks I have left with my best senior pals. Whenever I think about them not being here next year, my glasses fog, my throat closes up and I lose my footing just a whole lot. This campus will be so different without them. When they graduate, I will once again be a member of the senior class. I do not think I am ready for that kind of responsibility all over again. Carlo and I have big plans to visit some of the spots neither of us has ever gone to. Who better to go on this journey with than Carlo?

Working as an RA next year will be totally different without him sitting right next to me on duty. Who will explore downtown New Haven with me? Will someone else watch Ownage Prank videos with me? Is there anyone else who can come up with 10,000 different reasons for why we could not attend that program last night? (Inside joke...you had to be there.) Carlo and I have planned to start a book club together though. He does not live that far from me and we both have iPhones sooo...skype or facetime or whatever these crazy kids are using today. We are going to start with the Game of Thrones book series I believe. It will be fine. I will get past it and move forward into my senior year of college. I cannot even believe that I am finishing up college next Spring. That just seems crazy to me. 

Finishing college next Spring means that I am done with school...FOREVER! I cannot wait to be done learning in stuffy classrooms, writing boring papers and taking useless notes. I mean, hello! Creative Writing major here! I don't mean to be rude, but I really do not need the notes that I took on Ethics or Sociology. I can't tell which I am more terrified of; entering the real world or living back at home? As much as I love being at home, I do enjoy the convenience of the Yale Shuttle and the close proximities to Downtown New Haven. West Hempstead, NY...not so close to New Haven. 

I will use the next three weeks to send my friends off into the real world and back home, or to London in some cases.

I will miss them, but it's for the best. Everyone has to graduate sometime...you know?

Room Draw...You mean the Hunger Games

Wow! If you are reading this, then that means you survived the Albertus Magnus Room Draw session for the 2014-2015 school year. There were tears, stern words and spilled juice. Room Draw is so intense that every year the same thing happens: we start with group 1 (seniors/super seniors) who takes all the singles in the residence halls and we end with the current freshman who get the scraps of whatever is left. It often reminds me of the trading floor on Wall Street; residents are screaming over one another as they try to make trades for rooms and attempt a negotiation with head game-maker...I mean...Justin Cirisoli, the Director of Residential Life. How is it that after three hours of listening and waiting as people pick rooms people are still left unsatisfied? I am so glad that my room is hand-picked for me. All I can do now is hope and pray that I do not end up as the RA of the 4th floor in Dominican Hall. I just could not do it. If that is where Justin assigns me, I will take the spot proudly, but I would prefer not to be there. 

The last time I had to pick a room in this war-room was my freshman year. I was supposed to room with my friend Kelly. By September, I had a double room all to myself as a single. Sweet deal, right? After that, I slipped my foot through the first rung of the hierarchical ladder: Resident Assistant Status. 

I should know my placement for next year by midday today. I have my fingers crossed that I get something super amazing. As with the Hunger Games tradition, "May the odds be ever in your favor." 

Easter Weekend

This past Saturday, I was in New York City with my family. We went to see the fancy Fabergé eggs that had been hidden all around the five boroughs.  There were 22 dozen eggs scattered and you could go around to their different locations by using the Easter Egg Hunt app to find them. You would scan the barcode and check that egg off your list.
This weekend, a good amount of the eggs were on display in Rockefeller Center. I was definitely glad we did not have to go all over to find them. I was able to get a picture of just about all of the eggs that we saw minus the ones that I was not impressed with. This is a major tourist area in New York so it was so crowded. I felt like I could not breathe in some spots. If you were not careful, you might get knocked down, camera in hand.

It was a fun time, but I probably would not have done it by myself. I would have taken one look at the crowd, turned around and spent the day in the bookstore.

Before we got back on the train to go home, we went to pub called The Shakespeare. Actually, the upper half, which is a fancier restaurant is called The William and the lower pub half is The Shakespeare. They have some traditional, English dishes on the menu and a whole selection of ales and ciders. I did not know what to order and I was not even hungry at that moment.

I went home and had a bowl of delicious pea soup.
It was much better than anything else I ate that day.

Good Friday

"Oh I could write a sonnet, about my easter bonnet...", but I won't because I do not have one. This past weekend, I was at home to celebrate Easter with my family.

It started with the long journey back home. On Good Friday, Carlo and I caught the Yale shuttle at 8am and we were back in New York by 10:30 after a lengthy and over-crowded train ride. We opted to stand because there were no seats together and honestly, someone else in more need of a seat than us was bound to show up.

No one understands how to board a train. They step onto the platform and walk through the first open door they see. It seems that all the passengers were in our car because the conductor joked with us saying that we could walk forward about two cars and there are plenty of empty seats. We turned him down and we stood. It was better that we did because we played table top Monopoly on his iPad. I had not played this game in years and that is simply because I do not actually know how to play. Awkwardly enough, I won.

Our game ended when Carlo ran out of money and we arrived at Grand Central Station.
We parted ways at the Subway and I finished my journey home.

While I was waiting at Penn Station, Rob texted me to find out what I was doing and he said something that I laughed so hard at...out loud! I probably seemed crazier than the man standing next to me that was talking to himself. Oh well,  if you cannot be a little crazy in New York City, then where can you be crazy?

That night we dyed Easter eggs! I think I made the cutest eggs this year, including my "Canada 2014 ?" easter egg.

Spring Time in NYC

Spring has most definitely sprung and the weather has gone from ice cold to boiling hot. It's crazy!
On Saturday April 12, I traveled to NYC with about 20 others. It was a really great day; the sun was out, there was a nice breeze and I spent the day with family. The bus driver dropped us off at Bryant Park, right behind the New York Public Library. My mom met me inside the park, we hopped the D train and met up with Rachel and Warren in the Village at Fiddlesticks for lunch. Fiddlesticks is an Irish Pub that, from the outside, appears to be older than man because its sign is completely scratched away. It is impossible to read the sign from afar.

We enjoyed a delicious brunch that afternoon, complete with a complimentary beverage. I had my first mimosa there. I am 21, and I do like to get the occasional drink, but I feel strange ordering a drink in the presence of friends and family. I am such an old lady that my Drivers Permit, my only state ID, has expired which adds to the whole "not ordering drinks" thing. It would be extremely awkward if the waiter or bartender did not believe my ID was real all because of a little technicality.

So, we walked to Chelsea Pier and explored the Highline, which is an old freight train track that closed years ago. Instead of tearing it down, it became a park that you can explore. It was so incredibly busy up there on Saturday that the hordes of people reminded me of the Ten Commandments movie. You know that scene; when the people are proceeding through the Red Sea, but at an extremely slow pace because it is so crowded, but they march on?

What I discovered, on this walking tour, is that New York City is full of know-nothing know-it-alls. A man called Bryant Park Washington Square Park as confidently as John Travolta introduced Adelle Dazeem. My mom corrected this one guy that was walking behind us on the Highline because he was telling his friends that the tracks were built especially for this purpose and that they were raised off the ground.

Maybe it wasn't exactly that, but the point is that he was giving his friends the wrong information about it.

I had never been up there before Saturday, but it was a nice walk and there was a gorgeous breeze. There would be no struggle in persuading me to go back up there.

After enjoying ice cream sundaes and Starbucks iced coffees, my mom walked me back to Bryant Park and the bus that would bring me back to Albertus.

Stress Test

Just when I did not think that any more stress could come my way I find out just how wrong I can be. Where to begin...from the beginning, I guess.

So the Residential Life staff is hosting their Albertus @ nite event this Saturday: Medieval Times. There will be tons of food, games and prizes and it will definitely be an awesome time. The only thing is that I volunteered to spearhead the event. Luckily, I have the help of my amazing friend and Co-RA, Carlo, to help me run and plan this event. Without him, it would not have been as much fun. There are still so many things to get done in regards to preparations and I have no idea where to begin.

Yesterday, I had written about how my dad was helping me with computer troubles. Well, those problems were pretty serious. My computer was not cooperating. It took from 12am until 6pm yesterday to fix everything that was going on with the computer. I was ready to have a melt down. The worst part of the day was when I found out that the power went out again in three of my residents' rooms...including my own! My refrigerator is constantly being turned on and off because of power issues. It is so stressful to have to worry about the fridge developing a smell because of things like this.

I was ready to just curl into a ball on the floor and sit that way for the next week or so. On top of all this, there is school work that needs to be completed, trip fees that need to be paid and so many other things. I just have to remember that nothing is too much to handle if I just sit back and breathe for a while. I did that by going downtown for some coffee before duty tonight. It always feels so good to just leave campus, even if it is only for an hour.

Now, I will try to sleep because it just might help. Goodnight!

Life Gets in the Way

I was having some technical difficulties with my laptop, so I put in a call to my IT guy back in New York. I figured, what better time to write in my blog than while I am on the phone with my father. He has everything under control anyway. I do not speak computer that well. I know enough to get by.

School is crazy, but someone...please, answer me this. How is it that I just handed in my first paper last Thursday? I have been in school since January 6th and I just wrote a paper. I do not really count the two papers I wrote for my winter session War Films class because that was before the semester started. Last Thursday, I handed in a paper on the relationship between action and desire within T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." I actually think I did really well on that paper because it is one of my favorite poems. It is about this middle-aged man wandering the streets as he contemplates whether or not he should make a move on the woman he is attracted to. It is a very sad, but equally beautiful piece because it speaks so well to the human mentality and our ability to make decisions for ourselves. We spend so much time questioning our actions and whether or not we should make a move or surrender to the game, but it teaches us that we should not be afraid to take risks and put ourselves out there.

As you can see, I have a lot to say on this poem. My paper had to be five pages long. It was five with a couple of lines on the sixth page and the seventh as the works cited. I am pretty proud of the work I did on it.

I am actually thinking of starting to work on all the assignments that I will have due at the end of year now so that I can just kick back, relax and read something fun while all the other students are busy playing the end of the year game.

I cannot believe that the year is just about over. My junior year of college is gone. Senior year is about to go equally as fast. It is very scary to me that next May I will be graduating from Albertus. I won't be back in the fall of 2015.
Before I get too chilly from all this deep thought, I am going to jump into bed. It's about that time. As soon as I get the okay from the IT tech on my phone, it will be lights out for me.

Spring Break is Over

I don't know about any of you, but returning to my higher education after a week of doing absolutely nothing has been and will continue to be a major struggle. There is so much work to complete: tests, poems, Breakwater final copy, events, and essays. I feel like I am drowning in the work pile. Does anyone else feel that way? The only way to alleviate all this stress is to just cut loose and do something relaxing, fun and mindless. Tomorrow, Courtney and I are going to see the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Veronica Roth novel, Divergent. I have been waiting for this since November! I read Divergent, which is the first in the series, and I have to say...I was a little confused at times. It is much longer than Hunger Games by and I was also reading it while I was taking classes so that may have added to my confusion. The movie tomorrow will definitely clarify things for me.

I am mainly excited for tomorrow because I am spending the day with my best friend, Courtney. She and I are nearly inseparable. Spring Break was like hell being away from one another for so long; withdrawal symptoms were already in full swing and the cold sweats were going to begin. That's how much we need each other. 

Right now, I am on duty. Duty means that tons of homework will hopefully get accomplished. So I will try and get back to it. 

21 Means Legal and Legal = St. Patty's Dance Fun

So, last night SGA hosted the St. Patrick's Day Dance here on campus! It was fun...up until the dance floor got so crowded that I was repeatedly stepped on by super tall guys. Ah...the pains of being only 5'3". This was a milestone dance for me because over the break, I turned 21 years old. I can drink in the pub on campus and it is completely legal. I feel like there are millions of new responsibilities sitting on my shoulders. I suppose that that is truly what becoming an adult is all about. It is about being able to do all these things and then testing the waters in our habitats. It is trial and error, really.

My ego was bouncing off the walls of the House of Bollstadt because I was able to walk up to the dance sign in table and receive my yellow bracelet that marks my age for the bartender of the night. Since the most I have really had to drink is a glass of wine with my family, I started off easy last night: Bud Light with Lime. It was super delicious and I felt so self-important drinking it.

DJ Bry was in charge...like normal, except this time I actually enjoyed the music he chose to play. One of my friends requested the "Selfie" song and that was fun to dance to. Of course, everyone in the room took tons of selfies during it. I prefer to listen to the song with the music video because at least that way you can distract yourself by searching for your favorite celebs' #selfie. If you have never heard this song or seen this music video, now is your chance! Believe me...it is sooooooo worth the views!

Selfie by The Chainsmokers

Happy Birthday Part 1

Okay, so let me just start by saying that today was my birthday party, not my actual birthday. I am not officially 21 until 7:11pm on Tuesday March 11. I had an amazing birthday dinner. My mom did an awesome job with all the food and my cake. My cake was adorable! It was vanilla cake with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. Yum!

Dinner was like a traditional Italian dinner, as if we were eating at. King Umberto's or someplace fancy like that. Mommy prepared spaghetti, chicken parmigiana, broccoli, roasted cauliflower and salad with a homemade dressing. The only downside is that my new vegetarian diet does not allow for consumption of left over meat products. Oh well.

I got some really nice gifts tonight too. Rachel and Warren bought me this beautiful green goblet as the special birthday girl glass. I used it during dinner and it is very cool! It reminds me of a goblet you would use at Medieval Times. My cousins got me wine, chocolate and a book about wines. The book has a whole scratch and sniff part that is so cool! My aunt got me this gorgeous birthstone bracelet. It's so sparkly! My uncle bought me season 3 of The Hills. I am very excited to pop that into my DVD player. Last year, I watched that while I did homework, but Netflix removed it. Now, I own it! Lastly, my parents and grandparents bought me a Nexus 7 Tablet. Now, I don't always have to bring my laptop to class if I need to type something or send some emails. My laptop is so heavy some days. This is very convenient for me to have this and it is perfect timing too.

Overall, this was an awesome birthday! It will continue to be awesome when we get to Tuesday. For now, I must sleep because it is 4:30am and I have a 10am dentist appointment.

Happy Birthday...now, go get your mouth cleaned!