hApPy HallOwEeN!!!!!

Ahh I love Halloween! It’s the one time in the year that it is totally okay to get up in the morning and not worry about the fact that your clothes might not match. Me, I’m letting my inner football fan go today, gracing the halls of UB as none other than the infamous Tom Brady, who happens to also be the love of my life! I have a tour today so I hope that they don’t see me walking towards them and think “sweet we got the crazy tour guide” because once I open my mouth I will probably prove their suspicions right but I usually like to wait till I at least have you on the tour to do that! *totally kidding* The dorm room is totally decked out in Halloween gear, thanks to a fabulous Halloween package that got here yesterday from my Mom! You can always count on my family to buy out the Christmas Tree Shop of decorations for every holiday. You know those things you see in the stores, the decorations you pick up and ask each other, who really buys these? Yep that’s my family and I love it! Once again the strangeness that is Buffalo weather is upon us, with today’s meteorologists predicting the temperature to be almost 68 today with nothing but sun in the sky. The day is still young so we shall wait and see.

I haven’t known what to do without myself lately. Classes have been pretty slow for once! It’s funny how when your back is up against the wall you finding yourself full of motivation yet when you have the most time to get things done, you just can’t seem to rationalize reading that Civ book when you don’t have a test for another week. But alas I have been trying to muster up the push to continue plugging along at my work and studying. I can’t BELIEVE how fast the semester has flown by, we have what, 5 weeks left I think? Yeah, that sounds about right. Gosh. Where the heck did the time go!? It feels like it was just yesterday that I was elbowing my way through the isles of the UB Bookstore to grab that last used copy of my stats book (I apologize to the girl I took out for that by the way–*again totally kidding*). And it’s funny I hate to sound like your grandfather for a second but it really is true what they say, these times fly by. Seriously I can still clearly remember the day my Mom and Dad dropped me off on the third floor of Goodyear on South Campus and after a few tears my roommate and I got to settling in together. Hm, weird.

And for all of those who haven’t heard, congratulations to the members of Red Sox Nation, the official World Series Champions of 2007. For the second time in four years! Ah it was a good night Sunday night! Now our sights are set on the huge match up of the Patriots vs. the Colts this coming Sunday night.

I hope today brings you all sorts of creepy events and of course, tons of good candy because really, are you ever to old for that? Obviously not!

This week has been quite a busy one! But it’s been the enjoyable kind of busy, not that I don’t love my classes and everything but this busy has been the kind that takes you away from those statistical equations and lets you take a step back from your life for a few minutes. Plus thats one of the huge things I love about college, there is SO much to do.

So Thursday night I ventured out of my little cubicle in the library and went to Wegmans with some friends for dinner. For those of you that don’t know what Wegmans is, I feel sorry for you. Wegmans is a sanctuary to anyone who goes to college in Western New York. It houses huge supermarkets along with an actual eatery that has everything from a chicken wing bar to a salad bar and a deli. That night we had some stuff from the pasta bar, it was DELICIOUS! After dinner we headed back to the Student for a free movie preview of the new Steve Carrell movie, Dan in Real Life. It was hysterical! But I love Steve Carrell so I might be a little biased. Then there was a showing of a movie that has been out for a week or so called Wristcutters, A love story. I’m sure I know exactly what some of you guys are thinking, “a movie called wristcutters is a love story!?!” But surprisingly it was one of the best and most thought provoking movies I have seen in a while. I won’t give anything away but it takes place in this world that is where everyone goes after they commit suicide, not heaven and hell, kind of a purgatory thing (for you Catholics) but not really because it is strictly people who have committed suicide. The weird thing is it’s not what one would imagine an afterlife would be like, it’s just like the real world except everyone is dead. The characters shop at grocery stores, go out to bars and have jobs. And then there is a whole story line as well but it really is cool, a bit confusing at times but overall a decent movie, I would definitely recommend it.

And then last night I went to a performance at the Center for the Arts with my friend Katie. Katie had to go as a requirement for one of her dance classes so when she asked I decided I would tag along. It was a dance performance and a little bit of a shock to me who thought I was going to go see the ballet. It was a very old-European themed performance with a lot of the costumes looking like they were from such places as Russia or the Ukraine, with such things as fur boots and the thick dresses. The performance was actually pretty good with some cool stunt things like jumping up a good few feet in the air, spinning and landing on their knees (Katie and I winced when they first did this before we quickly realized that they were wearing knee pads). It was something different to do and I’m definitely going to look into going to more performances at the CFA. I can’t dance AT ALL so I totally respect people who can!

24 days until Thanksgiving break…but more importantly a visit home, I’m long overdue and starting to feel the with-drawl.

Okay so college is by far going to be the best part of my life. Yeah, I’m sure having kids will be great but eh. Obviously I’m just kidding BUT last night was one of the most interesting and inspirational nights of my college career thus far (and it had nothing to do with the Red Sox killing the Rockies in Game 1 of the World Series, as some of you might be guessing).

Last night marked the second speaker in the 2007-2008 Distinguished Speaker Series. The speaker was a man by the name of Ishmael Beah. For those of you who have not read his book, “A Long Way Gone”, or who have never heard of him (as I hadn’t before this year), Ishmael found himself recruited into the Sierra Leon army at the age of twelve and with that added him as one of the hundreds of thousands of children used as soldiers throughout the world. He was drugged, trained to become a ruthless killer and feel no pain or remorse. In his book he speaks of the war, being in the army and the rehabilitation process. Seeing this man stand before you that has seen and been a part of the worst possible things you can imagine and he had the courage to make a powerful statement, the same statement Anne Frank made while locked away in an attic during the Holocaust, “I still believe people are good”. That’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve had. He was inspirational and a role model for us all. In a world like today that all we hear about is how many times Britney Spears loses custodity of her kids (not that I’m not a HUGE Perez Hilton reader, don’t get me wrong), it was just nice to be able to hear stories of hope and I was so impressed. And now I’m an even bigger fan!!

Today I have a presentation in my Intro to Health and Human Services class and I’m totally pumped for it. First off getting up in front of people and talking doesn’t bother me in the least, I actually kind of enjoy it! I know I’m weird, my friends will attest to that fact. But what the great thing is isn’t that I get to have the spotlight on me for fifteen minutes it’s more what the presentation is on. In this class we are required to make a site visit to anywhere of our choice as long as it is an organization that helps the community in some way. I went to the Erie County Department of Social Services and interviewed the nicest woman on the planet (besides my Mom, of course!). It was just a completely eye opening experience to all of the positions out there that I could possibly be involved in when I get out of school. I definitely want to get my Masters in Social Work but I have almost no idea what I want to do with it! The woman that I interviewed was a Alcohol and Substance Abuse counselor and I’m pretty sure that’s that the path I want to go down, but for right now, who knows!? Certainly not me!

In other news Buffalo’s weather was amazing yesterday, 78 degrees it got to be! At the end of October! I’m sorry it’s just nuts! Too bad I was stuck in a cubicle on the fifth floor of Lockwood all day long studying for a World Civ test I just took (which went pretty well, thank you for asking). And then today is rainy and only suppose to get up to like 60 degrees. I wish the weather would just pick a season, that would be nice.

    VS.   

Tonight is also the second speaker in our Distinguished Speaker Series for this year. I am soooo excited! His name is Ishmael Beah and he is the author of “Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier”. A book I fell in love with! It should be so interesting so I’ll let you know how it goes!

Alright well time to go finish some last minute presentation details, today should be a good day, I have a new playlist on my Ipod, that always makes the day seem a little bit better! *Go RED SOX*-Game 1 of the World Series is also tonight, just to keep you updated! =)

Open House was crrazzzyyytoday!!! But I wouldn’t have had it any other way!! The day started bright and early at 7:30 AM and I didn’t stop moving until around 1 PM. But it was so cool to see SO many prospective students come see what life is like on campus here at UB. Plus, it’s always nice because I’m SO happy here it’s cool to try and give people an insight into that. I didn’t get to talk to that many people because I was doing tours right in a row but the people on my tours were so great and it seemed like everyone was really feeling the atmosphere that was all around campus. Plus, our t-shirts as volunteers were really nice this year so that’s always a bonus!!

Tonight a few of my best friends and I ventured out of our comfort box here in Buffalo and took a mini-road trip up to Canada! It was a great time and it’s always nice to step away from campus every once and a while especailly to a place outside the country, it’s just a different vibe up there. We had some GREAT Italian food. Yummm! *yay for good food*

You know those weeks where you feel like you don’t have enough time to eat, breath or sleep let alone get all your work done and cram those last few definitions into your memory bank. I am having one of those weeks but it’s okay, we all have them and all get through them.

Just a quick update on things going on here:

-The fam came on Saturday, and I was right, they put my state of mind right back where it needed to be. There was something about those 8 short hours we spent together laughing and making stupid low blows at each other, the kind only family can make, that was almost like a refuel for me. My grandparents from Boston got to see UB for the first time which was cool because this place makes me so happy it’s nice to be able to give them an insight into how well my life is going out here. Although we didn’t get to participate in any of the Family Weekend activity due to the short period of time they were here, I heard everyone had a blast! And we did listen to the radio as we travelled to and from our traditional Wegman’s lunch as the UB Bulls once again took home the “W” over Toledo 43-33 making them 3-1 in the MAC conference. Surprising, I know, but hey credit should be given where credit is deserved and those guys have been working hard.

-The 19th birthday was a normal day, as most birthdays are that fall on a weekday. But I have probably hands down the best friends a girl could have and came back to my dorm door decorated in obnoxiously colored wrapping paper (as the picture shows). I also got e-mails and calls from friends and family who were letting me know they were thinking about me even if they weren’t able to be in Buffalo. I’ve gotten two Starbucks cards already and I’m SO excited, Frappachino’s here I come! And we are celebrating my birthday as it should be celebrated this weekend…..with Molten Lava Cake of course! (If you don’t understand the reference to Molten Lava Cake you need to get yourself over to the nearest Chilli’s restaurant and pull out the dessert menu, IMMEDIATELY!!!-I owe my addiction to my baby sister Kelsey)

-Open House is this weekend, SO excited for that! It’s an early 7:30 AM morning but it’s always a great sight to see so many prospective students getting a feeling for what life is really like at UB and I encourage anyone who has the chance to stop by campus on Saturday. There are so many things to do and see, I’m not sure how you choose!

-The Red Sox lost again last night. =( I’m sure a lot of you don’t care but it plays a vital piece in my mood for the day. However, the Patriots win over Dallas on Sunday was good enough to hold me over for a few days.

Okay three midterms done…one more test tonight and then I have full intentions on being in bed at like 8 o’clock tonight to try and make up for the lost sleep these last few nights so my roommate better be ready for the lights off but I have a feeling I’m so tired I could lay in the middle of the marching band practicing and still get a great night’s sleep.

One midterm down. Two more to go. Sleep has been limited these past few days and there have been a couple of minor mental breakdowns but we took a nap today so there was some much needed re-fueling that was done.

The weather in Buffalo has been so weird lately. The other day it was 85 degrees and it was one of those days that it was so sticky that no one was comfortable no matter what they were wearing. And then today was so cold that people were pulling out scarves and jackets. Welcome to the Northeast.

I don’t care how many nights I have to go without sleep in order to get everything done because it will all be worth it this weekend. My family (minus one of my sisters) are coming up along with my grandparents and I couldn’t be looking forward to it more. There’s something about even just a little piece of home that can put your mental state right back where it’s suppose to be and mine lately has been far from where it should. For some reason this year has been especially hard. I think because as you get older you get closer to your siblings, as you begin to have more in common and understand each other a little better. That happened for the Barbour clan this summer, as my brother is still a little young (at 13), my two sisters (17 and 15) have become, hands down, my two best friends. I never thought we would have this relationship and it makes it a little bit harder to hang up the phone or to wave goodbye through the rear view mirror. But even my parents are hard to not have around. All of our relationships have changed, each and every one I treasure differently. It’s funny that idea of growing up, relationships change as well, but something that seems so scary, is in reality, one of the best things. I’m not sure why I’m stuck of this idea of growing up lately but I’ll roll with it.

Anyways it’s time for my weekly meeting with McDreamy and the rest of the Grey’s Anatomy crew!

Ugh. Anyone who follows football I’m sure not only heard about the game but joins me in sending their disappointment to the people of Western New York. Buffalo waits thirteen years for a Monday night football game to come back to the Ralph Wilson Stadium and they loose the game in the last two seconds after the Cowboys kicker completed a 53 yard field goal, not once but twice. I, like I’m sure most people who did not get lucky enough to get a ticket to that game, was standing on top of my chair pounding on the ceiling while my roommate, who doesn’t even understand most of what she’s watching when there’s a game on the tv, was on the edge of her bed rooting for our boys in blue and red. It was a disappointing ending but one thing I’ve learned about Buffalo fans in my two short years living here is they stand by their teams, through the good and the bad. So, as I’m sure we all would if it were our team, they will pull out their coolers and pickup trucks for the tailgating next week as the season continues on.

In silimarity to football season, the semester continues to move forward. I have one midterm this week and two next week. Tonight I have an Ellicott wide social for all the Hall Councils in the Ellicott complex. It should be fun to get us all in one spot and I’m looking forward to working together to create some great programs for the residents.

Now I should be getting back to the flashcard making but this was a nice little break I must admit!

P.S. The countdown is on: 6 days and counting until the 19th birthday!!!!! (in case you couldn’t tell my favorite day in the ENTIRE year is my birthday)

What a weekend it has been!! For all of you who I know were sitting on the edge of your seat wondering how the Bulls ended up doing in the Homecoming game, let’s just say Saturday was a good day for UB Athletics. Those big Buffalo football players walked away dripping wet (due to a mid-game rain shower) with the big “W“, the final score: UB 31, Ohio 10. And a good time was had by all.

So the weekend started off with a bang on Thursday night, and for all you parents out there that are worried about where this entry is going with the first sentence being “the weekend started off with a good Thursday” don’t worry it’s not what your worried about. I visited my friend Amanda’s room Thursday afternoon and fell in love with the setup of her furniture. I then ran back to my room to wait for my roommate Sam, who agreed to the switch-around. So at 9 o’clock, with Grey’s Anatomy on the television and fans circulating the muggy air through the room, we began to push the beds and desks around. A few bruises, lots of laughs and two hours later, the room looks as the pictures now show you. It’s a whole lot more space but little did we know it was going to take so long. I’m not sure what was going through Sammy’s mind but I know the entire time I was thinking “we don’t need the boys help, we’re independent girls”. But as those minutes turned into hours that thought was harder and harder to believe.

{my side is on the left, Sam’s is the right, told you we love pink!}

Another cool thing about college is that everyone is forced to grow up so much from high school. I don’t know whether it’s the being away from home and suddenly not having Mom and Dad making every decision or if it’s learning to balance your life on your own or if it’s a combination of a lot of things but the bottom line is that from the minute that Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, whoever, drives away, you are on your own and suddenly expected to act like and are treated like an adult. And with that comes more adult friendships. Friday night I had a sleepover (ironic talking about being an adult and then telling you I had a sleepover) with my friend Jess and a night that was suppose to be an early night due to the fact that we both had early morning tours the next day turned into a 4 AM night with one of the most thought-provoking conversations I’ve ever had. It’s funny how conversations quickly turn from “he’s dating her!?!” when your younger to “how weird is it that we exist the way we do?” as you get older. The night finally ended because both of our brain’s were just too tired to think anymore.

Well I should get to all the work I’ve chosen to ignore all day. But hey, you have to keep your sanity somehow; I choose to spend the day at Buffalo Wild Wings (a local sport restaurant/bar) with my friend Denise, watching both the Patriots and the Red Sox take home wins! That’s another thing about me, I’m such a boy when it comes to sports, but hey it keeps me happy! =)

TGIF! Ah no words in the English language make me happier than “Thank God it’s Friday”. One more week down, only eight more weeks until finals, ten more until the cars packed and I’m heading back on the yellow brick road aka the NYS Thruway to spend a month at home. But who’s counting?

Yesterday officially capped off the end of all of my first tests. If you understand what that means, congrats! You have insight into the puzzle that is my mind, if not don’t stress about it, few have that gift. What it just means is that I have taken a test in every single one of my classes. There is a never-ending debate between college students about which test is the hardest to take all semester. The obvious answer being the final. Of course right, I mean the thought an all-encompassing final is daunting. A collection of fifteen weeks worth of information compressed into a two hour exam filled with true & falses, multiple-choices, short answer and the worst of the worst, essays. However, it is in my nature to go against the grain and this is issue is no different. I would vote hands down that the hardest test of the semester is the first exam given by the professor. It is for this test that you feverishly slave away for days on end preparing for every little detail that could possibly rear it’s ugly head on the paper. You dream at night about possible questions all the meanwhile the professor sleeps with a smile knowing that the test that he or she created is never as hard as you anticipated. This first test is the “break-in” of all the students, where not only do you get a feel for what the professor expects of you but he or she gets a sense of where you fall in terms of “excellence”. Overall these first tests often parallel being set up on a blind date. It’s all about making awkward conversation and feeling each other out. Okay, you maybe aren’t making awkward conversation with your professors but you get where I’m going with it.

This weekend should be filled with all sorts of excitement! The events of Spirit Week here at UB have been filling the Student Union with more white & blue then is normally there, all leading up to the much anticipated homecoming football game on Saturday afternoon versus Ohio. The traditional smashed up car painted with Ohio’s school colors was parked out in front of the Union the other day and since then the students of UB have come out to let their frustrations from mid-terms out on the car that now resembles an isle in Wal-Mart’s auto part section. It’s always fun to give tours to prospective UB students around this time because the eyes of the parents are never wider.

{Giving creds to Andrew for the picture}

So in closing, keep your eyes peeled to ESPN at around 3 in the morning, since that seems to be the allotted time space to discuss UB Football, and find out how we did. Win or not it should be a great time! And it’ll give the football players in my Civ class something to talk about other than the Bills win last weekend. GO BULLS!