I'm writing this from collegiate hall. It's 9 o'clock pm. I will not be leaving this seat for at least 5 hours, except to use the bathroom. That's right ladies and gents; it's the week before dead week. That's 2 weeks before finals. Next week is called dead week supposedly because teachers are supposed to take it easy on us students so we can start studying for finals, but it's dead week for me because I may not live to see it. Let's just recap my list of assignments for this week, shall we? MGT- 5 pg book review, STAT project, MKT- presentation, SCI- blog, debate, and journal, ACC- a chapter's worth of questions and a test (that's tomorrow). Plus an ISP scholarship application, and two 8 1/2 hour shifts at Moses Taylor. I'm fearing the day that caffeine will no longer affect me because right now it's my only source of energy. Funny thing is after tomorrow I'm home free with nothing due until finals. :)
Well after all my whining I have some good news: (1) I'm now on the Board for Habitat for Humanity, (2) our final prep meeting for ISP is Sunday which means the trip is around the corner, and (3) well there's two weeks left in school and that is cause for celebration in itself.
Fun fact: Habitat for Humanity won the Club of the Year award! Congrats to Matt Tirella and all the Habitat kids who put in so much work!
Even though I'm stoked for summer, I am really sad about leaving. This is my last two weeks living in a dorm! My roommate and I are living with 3 of our close friends in a really nice apartment off campus, but I'm going to miss living with my quadmates Heather and Grace. I know they will miss me popping in their room all the time to bug them, though! The best part about living in a dorm is that someone is always around to hang out, go for a run, or make a quick stop for Dunkin Donuts ($1 Iced Coffee!!!!) or Dominos (mmm...pasta bowls). I will honestly miss it.
Ok well I still have to study for Accounting!!!!
-Becky
Yes, it is my favorite time of year at Scranton. We came back from Easter break and the week started out with some dreary weather. But that is old news now. Sunbathers, flip flops, and wiffleball have taken over the campus. The only down side is with all this beautiful weather, who wants to study?
Here is some exciting news: Women's Rugby is undefeated!! Yes we are 3-0 and we only have our prom dress tournament at Lehigh this Saturday. I don't know if you guys remember what that tournament is all about but the concept is we get old prom dresses and wear them while playing. Picture this: girls tackling each other in a flurry of tulle, sequins, and mud. The fans can actually hear the dresses tearing from the sidelines. It's hilarious to watch and tons of fun.
Tomorrow I go to get my travel vaccines!! Thankfully I just need one: typhoid, but I'm still nervous for it. At least this means I am one step closer to going to Guyana!
So my tutorial for next year is all set and it could not be better. It's based in the Small Business Development Center. I get to help set up workshops for artists who are looking for some guidance in the business aspect of what they do. Since I love art and I am a Management major I really think this is heaven - sent. Most of you don't know I came to college with the original plan of wanted to run my own art gallery, so the integration of business and art has always been my passion.
Ok well it's off to bed for me!
Goodnight Scranton!
Becky
Have you ever turned a treadmill on and then tried to jump on it running (Don't try it!) Well that's what I felt like coming back from Spring Break.
West Virginia was amazing! Habitat for Humanity is always an incredible experience. WV is definitely not a place I would vacation, though. Whether we were shoveling gravel (fun fact: we moved 200,000 lbs of gravel... with shovels!) or putting down a new floor for a great grandfather of about 20 great grand kids, we all came back feeling like no time was wasted on our spring break. And as always, lasting friendships were formed.
Now ISP fundraise-a-thon is on. It feels never ending and it is difficult, but I feel like when the plane is landing in Georgetown, Guyana I won't mind a second of it.
I did get to see my family this weekend they came up for ISP Family Day. It was a great day and everyone walked away with questions answered and an all around better feeling about the trip. My Mom was a little skeptical of things like safety, housing, and food but she told me she feels a lot better now knowing I will be in good hands. Coming from my Mom, the worrier, that means a lot.
Saturday was also our first rugby game of the season!! We played Albright at home. The first time we played them last year they really beat us. This year the tables turned and we won! It must be from all the fresh and fun rookies that joined. They have really brought new life into the program!
Can you believe Friday is registration already?? The best part is that I get to do a tutorial next semester for Honors. I'm in the process of making one with my Management professor and it will be based around her work in the Small Business Development Center. I'm really excited since her work is so interesting. Just so you know, a tutorial is a one -on- one class that meets once a week for an hour and can be based on anything we want to learn. We have to pick one in our major and then what ever is left we can choose any topic for.
Ok I'm headed for bed!
Goodnight Scranton!
Becky
I have a confession to make: this will be my first Parade Day ever! I didn't go last year since my Habitat for Humanity trip left the morning of. This year we leave at 8:15 the next morning. I am so excited even though I checked the weather for Franklin, West Virginia and it's supposed to rain the wholeeee week! It's even supposed to snow there Thursday! I thought it was supposed to be warmer!! Next trip we are going to FL! It will still be fun though. I'm just whining. I have a list the size of my arm of what I need to pack and haven't started yet. Well, that will be Friday's job since all my classes got cancelled. (Refer back to the title ...I am so lucky. Be jealous!)
This is the month for birthdays. Sunday was my brother's. He turned 15. Today is my mom's. I think she'd rather I left out her age. I think they are starting to know me at the mail room with all I've been mailing out.
So yesterday we had a meeting about honors program tutorials. I'm honestly really excited. They are one on one classes. I get to pick the professor and the topic. We meet once a week for an hour and they count for 3 credits. Sweet deal! I have a few ideas about what I want to do but I won't spoil the surprise for you guys. The topic will definitely be in my major, management, though.
Well, that's about all! I just want to wish everyone a SAFE and fun Parade Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Spring break!!
Toodles!
Becky
The snow is really coming down outside now, but it's not unexpected. We haven't had snow in a little while here so we kind of deserve this. Maybe there won't be class tomorrow!! That would be sweet.
Well rugby started up again this week. We had practice Monday and today and a meeting Tuesday. I'll be honest I was sore after the first practice! Our "coach" Tim really loves making us do sprints. I think he gets a kick out of seeing the looks on our faces, but we do need the fitness. At the meeting there were a ton of new faces. It was really exciting. I feel like women's rugby is really starting to get the respect it deserves, especially since we went to playoffs last season. The school is even allowing us to wear purple now and legitimately be a Scranton team. We will still be a club team, though. There are big things in store for women's rugby, I can feel it!
The shoveling I'm talking about in the title is more metaphorical. I've been shoveling my way through classes! The snow may not be coming down heavily, but the homework sure is! We have these Journals we do in my honors science class. They are not your average "Dear Diary" journal. We need to take a position and defend an argument with research and then take some action to further our position. It is kind of interesting that we get to go into the community and try and make a visible change. I'm doing mine on peanut allergies and bans in schools. I'll let you know how it turns out. I also have a book discussion dinner with Fr. Pilarz as a part of the Honors program. The book is After This by Alice McDermott. So far the book is good. It is about a women's life post-WWII, but that is all I know so far.
As far as an ISP update, we are in full-steam-ahead meeting mode. I have 3 different meetings this week alone. I have one for my fundraising committee, one for the general group, and one with just my Guyana group. It's busy but it's good because I feel like with each meeting we are getting closer to the trip.
Ok well I need to get some food and head to practice!
Toodles!
Becky
Oh how I've missed you, dear blog! It has been far too long.
Well Winter Break was started with a bang and ended with a fizzle. Let's just say I couldn't wait to get back. It was great to see friends from home and spend time with the Fam, but I really needed to get back into the swing of things here. On a fun note I took a bartending class! I can now make 12 drinks in 4:23 minutes! Eventually I would like to work as a bartender, but with all the things on my plate right now it will have to wait.
So what's being back at school like this semester? It's like being scooped up into a tornado of activity. Ya know how I said I was applying to go on an International Service Program trip? Well I got in and I'm going to Guyana!!!!!!!! (It's on the northern coast of South America.) I am going for 10 days in June, and this Friday I get to go on a retreat to meet all the people in the program, and in my group! This is such an exciting process, but I do have to earn my way by putting in time doing fundraising.
But that's not all... the first trip of the semester will actually be the Habitat for Humanity trip over Spring Break to Franklin, West Virginia. It will be most of the people that went last year and a few new faces so it should be a great time.
I started back up at Moses Taylor, but with my class load I'm just filling in. Those 3- 11:30 pm shifts are a little much to handle on a regular basis.
Speaking of class load, boy do I have a heavy one this semester. Accounting, Statistics, Art History: The Age of Rembrandt, Marketing, Management, and hardest of all Science of the Day, it's a writing intensive honors science. Hopefully I can keep my head above water but one thing is for sure: I will be very familiar with the library by May.
TTFN! I must go eat!
Becky
I has been a while but I have a lot to talk about!
Well I'll start at the top. My floor had the pleasure of eating dinner with Father Pilarz the other night! I'll be honest we were all nervous and awkward at first, but soon Father Pilarz was trading crazy stories from when he was a young Jesuit living on a floor of freshman boys at Georgetown, and we were telling him who our favorite professors were. He also told us the big future plans for the U. It was really a great evening!
Well Habitat for Humanity has been working their butts off to fundraise for our trip to Franklin, West Virginia. We did a Gertrude Hawk fundraiser, a Habitat Night at Molly Brannigan's, and sold t-shirts! My Mom's Pre-k class even helped out and sold homemade brownies and donated the money to us! They sold every brownie and made about $82! We were more than thankful for all their help! Applications for the trip just went out and soon the trip will be here before we know it! I can't wait!
Speaking of trips, my Art History class took a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City on Saturday afternoon. It's really incredible to see the actual works of art right in front of you after just seeing them as slides in class. My favorite had to be the reconstructed bedroom (or cubiculum in Latin) from ancient Rome. The frescoes on the walls looked like they were painted last month instead of over 2000 years ago. It's a great way to spend a day. Check it out next time you are in NYC!
Another trip that may be coming up for me is the International Service Project. I find out if I am accepted to go next week! I'm nervous because it's a competitive program and such an amazing opportunity. Believe me I'll let you know when I find out if I can go!
Can you believe I have never been to a football game other than my high school football games? My friend Ted took pity on me and brought me to my first pro football game the other week since he has Giants season tickets. It was Giants/Ravens game, and you should be jealous because the seats were 4 rows up from the Giants bench. Ted is a diehard Giants fan and it was funny to see him in all his glory cheering his team on. I wish I took a picture of him in head to toe Giants apparel. The irony of the day was when Aaron Ross returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter...right after Ted went to the bathroom and missed the whole thing. It was a great day, though, and Ted was just happy Giants won 30 -10.
I am happy to say the holidays are almost here! Thanksgiving is next week and before you can say Black Friday, Christmas will be here! I cannot wait for the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Nov. 30th after Mass. I went last year and it was just beautiful. This year promises to be even more gorgeous thanks to the brand new Dionne Green on which the ceremony will take place. I am very proud of myself, though. I started my Christmas shopping! Let's just say a few of my family members will be decked out in Scranton apparel since the bookstore has had some great sales. I also found a new favorite website of all handmade goods and really fun and unique gift ideas. It's called etsy.com and I really suggest you check it out because you can find some different, inexpensive, and eco-friendly gift ideas there.
If holidays are almost here that means the semester is almost over and a new one is about to begin. I finally have all my classes in order and next semester is going to be a challenge since I have an Honors Science (Yup, I got into the program!), a lot of business classes, and a writing intensive Art History class called The Age of Rembrandt. We'll see how that all goes.
Ok well I'm all out of news!
Have a great Turkey-day Break and enjoy a great Thanksgiving!
Becky
Yes, that was snow the other day. I couldn't believe it either. It seems a lot of crazy things have been happening lately. I mean the Phillies did just win the World Series. And get this- WE ARE IN THE RUGBY PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!! By some grace of God we have made it to playoffs (maybe it also had something to do with two other teams dropping out, but who cares?). We face off against Lafayette in Princeton on Saturday at 11am. This is great because Princeton is about fifteen minutes from my house.
You know when you bite into something and you hear angels sing? That was what happened when I bit into this giant peanut butter cup desert from Uno's today. I went with some of the rugby girls and their friends to support Project Guadalajara. Jackie (aka Troll) and her OT and PT friends are going to Mexico in January to aid children in health services, mainly Cerebral Palsy clinics. Uno's was a great fundraiser.
Speaking of international service I had my ISP (International Service Program) interview the other day and I think it went well even though it was a little nerve racking. I want to go to either Guyana or Jamaica. I can't wait to find out! I hear back from that and from the Honors Program around the same time so mid-Novebmer will either be a happy or sad time for me.
It's also getting close to class scheduling time! This is a time of big decisions for me. I think I'm going to make it official and be a Management and Marketing double major. I'm still debating the Art History minor so I might take another class in it before I decide.
Ok well it's late and I need to finish these notes!
Toodles!
Becky
~Dedicated to John D. Phlug~
~You are loved and missed.~
Ok I know I've been slacking and you are probably going through blog withdrawal...or not, but at least now I have a lot to share. Ok where to begin?
Rugby Update! We won against Muhlenberg but lost to Lafayette. Lafayette was really close, though. It was 17- 20 and they got their last touch in the last 6 minutes of the game, which tied us up, but they also got the 3 point conversion which gave them the win. This Saturday is our last home game and it is against Lehigh, which is a good team, so it should be exciting.
Last weekend was also family weekend. I got to see my family and they got to see the game. We went to The Crossings Outlets and did some seriously needed shopping. Then we went to dinner at Brixx. It was really great to see them.
So now I'm officially a transporter (not like the Jason Statham movie) at Moses Taylor Hospital. I'm in the ER mostly. It's really an interesting job and I like it so far. There are so many different aspects to it. My responsibilities range from moving patients, to getting IV pumps, to signing people (well bodies) out of the morgue, to giving compressions on a code, or cardiac arrest. I have a pretty solid stomach for all that so the hospital environment doesn't bother me. I have seen some crazy things, though.
For lots of reasons, my plans of studying abroad next year fell through. (Did you know it was over $2000 to fly to Australia??) Now I'm focusing on trying to get into the Honors Program and I want to go on an International Service Project trip over the summer. Both of these require thorough applications. I'm done applying for the Honors Program and I'm starting the one for ISP. Wish me luck on both!
Well, I've been going to the Habitat for Humanity meetings and it seems we are off to a good start this year. Membership numbers are through the roof and there are always endless amounts of volunteers. I can't wait to go on trips again!
As usual, things around campus haven't stopped moving. Today was the KSOM Expo. This is where companies come and interview students for jobs and internships. The students dress up in formal business attire and hand out their resumes. This is a great idea and it inspired me to revamp my resume. I am going to wait until the spring expo to go because they take a lot of preparation and I don't have a suit up here. The other night all of Reddington got together and voted on the design for our building t-shirts. We also ate, and ate, and ate. The RA'a got 72 pizzas, wings, wraps, soda, and just a crazy amount of food. Free food is the key to Reddington's heart- I've never seen so many people from my building in one place at the same time! (Not even at the fire drill!)
Election fever has definitely swept the campus. We watched the vice presidential candidate debates tonight in my friends Ted and Sean's room. (Sean is big Palin fan.) I'm proud to say not only am I registered- I am registered to vote here in PA even though I live in NJ. I'm all set to hit the polls...except I'm still not set on who I'm going to vote for. I kind of want to see how this craziness on Wall St. plays out first. But that's enough politics....
I need to try and catch some sleep, so...
Goodnight Scranton!
Becky
3 cases of water, 5 Wal-mart/Target trips, and 1 fake fire alarm into the semester and it feels like I never left. In fact I already started 2 jobs, quit one (good bye Hollister!), and have my first quiz tomorrow! It's not even two weeks in and already I have enough to talk about to fill two blogs!
So let's recap the shenanigans that have been occurring on campus:
This weekend was Labor Day weekend which means Italian Festival!! The smells and sounds managed to seep into my room in Reddington on the top of the Commons and lured me down to the festival on Friday for dinner. I had eggplant rollitini, a chocolate covered conoli, and sugar roasted cashews. My friends had to pretty much roll me back to the dorm, but it was well worth it.
About my jobs, well I started at Moses Taylor Hospital (all of you Bio majors can be jealous!) and between that, rugby, and my new and challenging classes I just couldn't juggle all that. Besides I'm in Habitat for Humanity and I want to participate more in that. I was also toying with the idea of studying abroad, but I need to put more serious thought into that. When it came down to it Hollister just didn't make the cut. I'm honestly not that upset about it... let's just say it's against policy to talk badly about working there. It just wasn't my thing. I am excited to work up at MT, though! (I get scrubs!)
Rugby season has officially begun! First practice of the season was today! We have some veterans return and a bunch of new rookies, too! I do miss Caitlin, who we lost to the soccer team, but Grace, my new quadmate, might join. We have 3 home games so I better see everyone come to at least one game.
Alright well my first quiz is a Stat quiz tomorrow and it's making me nervous so I have to study!!
Ciao bellas!
Becky
|
 |
