Home Alone 5: Stuck in Urbana

The title credit goes to Taylor but seriously there was almost no one here this weekend; it was still a solid weekend though!  Friday night, Taylor, Burns, and I went to Kams which was kind of fun but after about half an hour or so we went back to Acacia with Will and TJ and made food (a great decision.)  Once we were all tired, we headed home and while we were waiting for the bus some gentlemen yelled out of his car, "hey you stupid attractive girls sitting together."  Now, we didn't know whether this was a compliment but decided he would have no idea if we were stupid or not so we concentrated only on the fact that he had just called us attractive and we were all in good moods the rest of the night.  Upon returning home, I went upstairs to my roommate-less room (Kath and Emily weren't here this weekend :( -- but happy birthday to Mr. Oliver)  No need to fear, I made a huge fort in Kath's bed, set up the movie Varsity Blues on Emily's computer, and went to sleep.  The next day I did almost nothing.  I ran outside which was not as cold as I thought it was going to be (I just needed some fresh air) and did a couple online things but today already isn't fun due to all my homework!  Last night we went to a pregame at a frat here in Urbana (rare, I know.) and then headed to Joes and then La Rouge (yes, I stepped foot in it.)  We were pretty tired pretty early so Alyssa and I went back to Tri-Delt and went to sleep and she was even kind enough to drive me home this morning!  I then went to church with Courtney where I broke the pew (I guess I should lay off the cookies..)  Now I'm just busy doing homework and daydreaming about Unofficial.  While Unofficial is one of the greatest days of the year I have just one beef with it.  SOOO many people come to visit and expect you to show them a good time.  I obviously love to do it but its hard to please everyone (I feel like I have that problem on regular weekends and Unofficial is like a regular weekend on steroids.)  So, apologies in advance if I don't see everyone or hang out with you for hours on end.  I really do love you all but its just too hard and I don't mean to be selfish, but it's my day too, and I just want to hang out with my friends (and family because I know both Olivia and Dave are making appearances).  Sorry to end on a somewhat depressing note but it's going to be fun regardless so the countdown begins: 5!!!

Mission

I truly was a woman on a mission today, to study and get places as quickly as I could that is.  I took longer strides, took quicker bites, and weaved in and out of people to make the most of every minute I had today (usually I walk at a pretty casual pace.)  I just had my Cardiovasular and Endocrine practical (yay that its over!!)  I better have done well on it because we put in a lot of time last night and in the days before.  Last night I was going to go to the ARC but when I got there I couldn't find my Icard.. have yet to find that but I'm praying it will show up somewhere soon.  Because I couldn't get in, I went over to BIF where I did some of my other homework and waited for my group.  I honestly have never had so much fun studying before.  We took breaks at all the right times and I heard some pretty hilarious stories (too many to tell).  Around 12:30 we (and by we I mean Taylor, Alyssa,Tyler, and I) ordered D.P. Dough.  I had never had it before but it was absolutely delicious.  We all got calzones, cookies, and caffine (3 of the best "c's" in my mind, especially while studying.)  By the time we got it all down it was about 3:45 and Alyssa drove us home where Taylor and I finished the rest of our homework and went to bed, only to wake up mere hours later and get going with our days.  Needless to say, all I want to do is sleep but one class left and I'm free until my quiz tomorrow morning.. it never ends.  Can't wait for the weekend!

Long Time No See

It has been quite a while but yet again, one of those weeks.  I had a practical on Monday which I actually got an A on!  And I have another one on Thursday at noon which will most likely be much harder.  I really don't have much to say except from the fact that all I want to do is sleep.  My roommates, Kath and Emily, love to stay up late!  Last night I came home from BIF around 2 and Kath was still awake and we watched the video we had made on the quad with Moira the day after Unofficial which is just about a week away!!  It was a hilarious video and I almost wish we had more but we plan on making another this year so no worries there.  When I went up to go to sleep I walked in our room and Emily wasn't there (or so I thought.)  I put my stuff down on my dresser when I heard breathing from behind me and I legit jumped two feet in the air.  Emily burst out laughing because I doubt she had been intending to scare me at all but it had a pretty traumatizing effect (or affect-I hate those two words) on me.  Despite the fact that I was so scared, I went right to bed and had the hardest time waking up this morning, I'm looking sooo forward to the weekend when I can sleep.  One awesome surprise of the day was that for lunch we had corn dogs, burgers, grilled onions and chips-no it wasn't very healthy but yes, it tasted absolutely delicious!  I've got to study but I'm starting to brainstorm ideas for my Odyssey article now considering I can never come up with anything so if you have ideas PLEASE don't hesitate to share, I'll even mention you in the article.. have a great day and stay warm!

Birthday Success

My birthday weekend was the biggest success ever, I had an absolute blast!  Thursday, after I came home from my tests, I went to sleep around 9:30 and woke up at 8.. it felt awesome!  Friday morning, I went to Chemistry discussion where my TA sang us his rendition of Heaven by Bryan Adams (nothing better.)  I went to my other two classes and then my mom came to visit me on her birthday!!  We ate at FlatTop and just got to hang out for about two hours and then she had to head back but that was the best birthday present I got.  After that, I did some homework, took a shower, the usual.  Around 8:30-9 we headed over to Max, Ben, and Ken's for a little birthday party.  We listened to awesome music, played awesome games, and I even got to give a speech telling everyone there that I loved them and wouldn't want to ring in my 20th birthday with anyone else, I really do have awesome friends.  Emily got me a cake which of course got smushed on my face but it was so cute and delicious, I loved it.  The next day, we just lounged around, Courtney bought me Panera for lunch, Emily, Molly, Moira, and I sat on the concrete part of Follinger and felt so college.  We even made a new friend who has the same birthday as me but the only thing we never found out was his name.. maybe next time.  Olivia was here (our reunion was so happy) and she and PJ joined all of us at Joe's for half-priced burgers (it really doesn't get much better than that) mine had bacon, cheddar cheese, an onion ring, barbecue sauce, and ranch on it - try it, you will not be disappointed!  When we were done there we went back to the house, got ready and went to Kams.  The line, however, was wayyyy too long so Emily, Maria, and I went to the Delt Senior house but not before stopping at Insomnia cookies (they gave me a free one because it was my b-day) and seeing a girl get a public urination ticket (don't be so stupid next time.)  Upon walking into the Delt senior house, I was hoisted up and given many hugs, nothing like feeling loved.  There we danced and sang and had a ball.  On bus ride home, a poor young man was throwing up all over the bus so Jenna and I got off and ran the rest of the way home (I have the worst gag reflex ever.)  Upon returning home, I was so tired I went straight to bed and didn't even hear Kath, Emily, or their friends come in the room!  I'm telling you, I can sleep through ANYTHING.  Overall, it was an absolutely awesome birthday and I want to thank everyone that made it so special.  I wouldn't be the 20 year old I am today without each and every one of you and you deserve a thanks just because :) have a great Sunday!

Dunzooo!

Finally done!  Tonight I had two tests and it was the death of me.  I first had Molecular and Cellular Biology (yeah I spelled it all the way out to make it look harder.)  It is actually Anatomy and Physiology with a fancy name but it was sooooo hard!  I typically think those tests are really hard but that one was kind of a joke.  I had that one from 5-7 and from 7-9 I had my Chemistry test.  That seemed like a piece of cake compared to Bio but I'm still crossing my fingers!  I'm headed to bed soon because I can barely stay awake any longer and I need to prepare for tomorrow.  Tomorrow both my mom (whose 29th bday is tomorrow as well) and Olivia are making appearances in Champaign!!  I could not be more excited because then my birthday festivities begin and if you don't already know, I love my birthday!  I love birthdays in general but I always look pretty forward to mine.  I'll keep you all posted on plans for that and on my birthday maybe I'll share what some of my favorite parties were..  I had some pretty great ones.  Hope you enjoy your Thursday nights and safe flight to my family flying to CO-they're going skiing and I would be jealous but I don't know if I really have a desire to ski.. guess we'll figure out when the opportunity arises, night!

Hell Week Take 32418niner29783

This week seems to be absolutely awful for most people I know.  Within the past two weeks it seems like everyone has had at least three tests, this first round of exams is always a doozie.  I, however, am halfway done!  My test this morning was more difficult than I thought (I studied some of the wrong stuff.. typical.)  I have my two hardest ones on Thursday night-so say a prayer for me! But that means only three full days of absolute hell and then I will be free! (at least until Monday when I have.. wait for it.. a practical) it just never ends.  But the other day I was talking to Phil and he offered some great insight which I am borrowing and sharing with the rest of you.  Sure, right now, as we take our tests we fret about grades, working, volunteering, etc. all to prepare us for the future.  Don't get me wrong, this stuff is important and I worry a little too much about it most of the time.  But in the long run, as long as I have a husband and kids that love me, friends that trust me, and a family that I can always count on, who really cares if I got a C on my Chemistry or Biology test sophomore year of college.  As long as I can make at least one person a little happier each day, who cares if I don't live in a big, fancy house, or take trips to Mexico, or have trendy clothes.  It's about time all of us start living for right now because the world could end tomorrow if that's what God decides, he is the big man you know.  So my advice for the day (which I probably won't take until after my tests are over anyways) is to not fret about grades but embrace the learning experiences.  The only thing that really counts is love anyways so love as many people as you can with all the love you have because they'll remember that about you, not what grade you got on your last test.  This all probably has to do a lot with the fact that I am stressed and trying to calm myself down but I honestly believe it and I hope you do too!

Heating Up

I'm sorry it has been a while, I've been pretty busy.  This week is absolutely insane for me (I have four tests) but one is over with and I'm pretty sure I got an A!  Last time we heard from Taylor and she did an awesome job so give her a pat on the back next time you see her.  On Friday this weekend I decided to go out to prevent myself from going completely insane.  We went over to Lizzy's friend Neil's and had an absolute blast.  Lizzy and Katie's friends were such nice people, it was hard not to have fun.  After we had been there for a while, my Chemistry T.A. (who happens to be their neighbor) came in a stayed for a little.  We all then headed to Kams (where I stayed for probably 20 minutes-almost as long as we had been in line for.)  Phil and I weren't really feeling it so we headed back to his apartment with Molly and hung out.  Max and Therese joined and we had a great time just sitting there talking to each other.  On Saturday, I studied and then went to Nikki's Filipino Fashion Show.  Jacklyn and I went together and it was actually really cool.  There were some cultural dances, some modern dances, and a fashion show.  I had a great time and it was something different to do.  I then headed back to the library and when I thought my stomach was about to eat itself I was so hungry, I went back home and had dinner only to find that Caroline and Shannon were visiting!  Unfortunately though, I had to head back to the library yet again.  Really living the life I know and it better pay off or I'm going to be mad.  I've pretty much just been studying but I took a break to watch some of the Grammy's and I may or may not have Beiber Fever.. he was just too adorable (I almost want to go see the movie!)  Mumford and Sons was really good too and I know I'm missing some but I'm about to be late for class so if you need to find me this week I will be splitting my time between the main library and BIF so hollerrrrr!

A little bit of this and that.

Hello internet surfers, Taylor here. I will not give out my last name because Maris's mom told her not to. However, you can all try to guess it. FYI, It's not Swift or Lautner :( Today Maris gave me the wonderful honor of guest blogging. She has bestowed this great request and I am just thrilled to be "speaking" to all of you!  As I type this, I am sitting in my MCB class, a class that Maris and I just love to attend. We enjoy it, not because of the professors or the class material, but we get to see the greatest people ever, namely Alyssa, Tyler and somewhat Terry. Today we are learning about blood. Which reminds me of how hot Edward Cullen is. Yum. The idea of turning into a vampire is really exciting, I think it could actually happen. Seriously. I would totally be into that if I got to meet Edward or Jacob or even Emmet. However I do not like the idea of not eating. I just like food too much and Bella and Edward never eat. So Weird. Speaking of food, today I had a calzone for lunch...DELISH. It was filled with pepperoni and cheese. I know, mouthwatering. For those of you who don't know, I will be the first to inform you of this wonderful match. Maris Witry and Justin Bieber are fb official. If you don't believe me, look at his music video.
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/aauF5pN0F7ifq8c2?cmpid=jj_fb_friend_bieber
Well now that I have butchered this blog, I should probably sign off soon due to my embarrassment. If you made it this far past my 1st grader like writing skills, thanks for reading! xoxo, Stay klassy Chambana.

Pay It Forward

Today has just been one of those pay it forward kind of days.  I woke up in somewhat of a bad mood.  Why?  I haven't slept more than five hours each night for the past week and I'm not the kind of person that can run on that little sleep!  But whatever I had to get up and keep studying for the exam that I had this morning.  I had my chemistry discussion before my stats exam (which Emily and I studied for for hours on end) and when I walked into chem, my TA, Ilya, had brought in donughts just because.  He is by far my favorite TA I have ever had (not only because he brought donughts, although it didn't hurt.)  Once that was over, I headed to stats where I honestly think I got a D on my test.  I tend to over react after tests but this was close to impossible and nothing like any of the practice exams.  My teacher is awful and I was just angry upon leaving that class but I'm getting over it because as I was walking out of the building, a girl ran up to me and told me my backpack was open.. very kind of her I thought considering I would probably have a mental breakdown if I ever lost anything in my backpack.  We had make your own stir fry for lunch and that put me in a great mood!  After lunch I headed to class and dropped my chapstick (unbeknownced to me of course) and a different girl ran up to me and gave it back.  After that I felt like I should do something nice for someone else today.. hope the opportunity arises soon!  If someone really wanted to be nice to me, they would do my post-lab and LON-CAPA homework, but I guess that's not really the point.  Today is Dana's birthday!  Yesterday was Colleen's, and tomorrow is Susan's.. there is something special about the month of February because so far this month, I have known (known personally, I know people are born every minute or something close to it) someone born every day this month.  Exactly 10 days until the greatest day of the year!! Other than that, not much to report aside from the fact that I have now missed the past two Glee episodes and have zero time to catch up on them! Almost more than half way through the week..and stay bundled up because it is (literally) freezing!

Superbowl

I would have to say the Superbowl was pretty successful!  Got to eat chips and dip and mini burgers and the food is really all I care about anyways.  I didn't care who won at all so I focused on the commercials and I have to say my top three were the Doritos one where the one guy licked the other one's finger, the Bud Light product placement one, and the NFL one with all the clips from old shows (specifically the part where Marsha Brady got hit in the face with the football, I always loved that episode.)  I went over to Max, Ben, and Ken's for the game and there was quite a crowd.  Unfortunately, I got there a little late and missed Christina Aguilera singing the National Anthem and Lea Michele singing America the Beautiful (basically the only two things I wanted to see.)  Now I'm kind of thankful I didn't see it because Christina Aguilera screwed up the most important song in the world!  She forgot two whole verses and if you ask me that is a disgrace to this great country.  People argue that she has a good voice but she is a performer and was hired to do one of the most honorable things a singer can do, sing the National Anthem at a Superbowl (one of the most watched programs of the entire year) and she still managed to mess up.  I personally don't think she has that great of a voice (she totally botched the last note) but the fact of the matter is, she still messed up.  I don't know how the Armed Forces didn't start looking around at each other wondering what was wrong with this woman but oh well, it's over and her career probably is too.  Max claimed that Lea Michele wasn't any good but I bet she was, I still have to watch that one on YouTube.  After the game, Caitlin gave me a ride over to Michelle's where Alyssa and I did our MCB homework (which was virtually impossible.)  We finished around 12:45 and when we went outside to get Alyssa's car, it was gone.  At first we thought it had been stolen (I actually thought she was just pulling my leg) but sure enough, it had been towed.  I was very impressed with how she kept her cool, we called the company and Michelle agreed to drive over there.  They dropped me off at home because by now it  was 1:15 and I had an 8 AM this morning (still struggling from lack of sleep) but I talked to her this morning and everything worked out $145 later!  So to the rest of you, be careful where you park!  I'm off to class and my Mondays are always bad but I hope the rest of you have a great week and try not to get sick!

Almost the Superbowl

My great life just continues to get better.  I was done with class yesterday by one and I did some homework and went out.  We were women about Champaign last night and got to see so many different people.  We went to Kams (which had the greatest playlist ever.)  Emily and I are actually planning on becoming DJ's and hopefully one day getting to work Thursday night at Kams (look out Milk & Cookies.)  Then we headed over to Kevins which was a blast.  We then went to see our favorite Acacia boys and had a ton of fun there.  Trevor, however, got bored so we all walked the five steps to Phil and Rizzo's.  We were there for probably twenty minutes when I got a text from Max saying that I had been voted worst dancer.  No one makes fun of my dancing.  So, we headed over to Max's to defend my name.  The dance-off will occur some time in the near future and you're all invited to come and judge who the worst dancer really is.  But when I woke up this morning it was snowing like crazy!  I thought this was all over but then it takes us by surprise.  Actually, yesterday, I was shoveling people's cars out because they were stuck and I looked somewhat like a lumberjack because I was wearing a flannel shirt and my riding boots but it was fun.  Now I'm just trying to get motivated to do my homework so I don't have tooooo much to do for the Superbowl!  I'm out until tomorrow!

So Fast

This week has gone so fast!  It didn't hurt that we had a snow day yesterday!  I heard that home got hit much worse than we did here in Champaign but I'm not complaining.  Tuesday night I got invited to the basketball game with Claire.  Despite the bad weather (and by bad weather I mean ice pellets hitting us in the face no matter what direction we turned) we went and had an absolute blast!  U of I beat Penn State (sorry Meg) and it was my first game so I just had a great time regardless.  It was Claire, Abby, Molly, and myself and we were some of the only people in Assembly Hall but it was worth it, especially when the entire crowd started chanting "SNOW DAY!"  I was sitting next to an old woman (the kind that takes stats) but she was funny.  We stayed for the whole game and then hopped on the karaoke bus to get a ride home.  We made a couple new friends on there and ended up not even having to pay.. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly.  The bus dropped us off at Kams and we obviously couldn't just not go in!   We stayed there for the rest of the night and it was really fun because there were so many people there and everyone was so hyped up that there was a snow day the next day.  It was also Jenna's birthday and I think she had an absolute blast!  We stayed all the way to close (the second time I have ever done that) and for the record I wanted to leave before (at 1:30 my internal clock tells me I should most definitely be asleep already) but everyone else didn't and I couldn't very well leave by myself.  I ended up going to my second home over there on Third and Green with Max, Ken, and Phil.  I really love those guys and we always have so much fun when we go back there and hang out but I was obviously exhausted so I went to sleep while they played video games.  I woke up at 11 the next day (it felt awesome) and the rest of the day I did not accomplish nearly as much as I should have but it was so worth it.  Katherine, Emily, and I clocked some roomie time together and that was fun.  I feel like we are never all in the same place at the same time but we made up for it yesterday, watching all our favorite shows.. #1 being Modern Family which wasn't new last night!  We definitely could have had class yesterday but I enjoyed our day off.  Today, walking to class, I almost fell at least 6 times and it was absolutely frigid but I still made it.  My mom told me that Nolan and his friends were sledding off our neighbors roof yesterday.. I want to go home and partake in these fun snow festivities!  I also want to see the 18 foot waves that were apparently seen on Lake Michigan so if you see a video send it to me!  Today is Brad's birthday.. February is a really popular month for birthdays (and its obviously the best month to be born.)  Today I went to my Chemistry office hours for the first time this year and I had so much fun!  My T.A. already knew my name and he was so willing to help me, I ended up in the wrong part of the building which was like the biochemical hazardous lab, but I found the room eventually.  I loved my experience so my advice for the day is go to office hours because I guarantee you will not regret it.  Hope your week has gone just as fast!