One stressor gone. Three million and five left. Today was the day we found out whether or not we were being offered a Resident Adviser job or not. I am glad to report that according to the letter with my name on it as of August I will be an RA on South Campus!! It’s nice to have one thing off my mind so now I can start focusing on what to do with my summer, where to live, things like that. The group interview for the Orientation Aide job was the other day and I think it went pretty well, but with those things you never can really tell so I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed!

This week has gone by so fast I can’t believe it’s Friday tomorrow! Last night Hall Council put on a program involving decorating your own cookies and the ever-popular and ever-addicting video game Guitar Hero, an unusual combination, I know. We actually got a really good turnout, I think people are looking for any reason to step away from their books since midterm season is in full swing lately.

Today I stopped by a Career Fair that was being held in Alumni Arena. There were so many people there to talk to but I didn’t really find anything in terms of social work, or anything along the lines of what I may be interested in. I went to see if I could find some avenues for an internship for the summer but it was a lot of people there for business majors like accounting or marketing. It was still an interesting thing to see all of the professional buisness lined up at tables with all of their information set out. Plus, BONUS, it’s suppose to warm up a little bit here tomorrow, after several days of being bitter cold! Maybe things are starting to look up after all…

Ask any college student what is on their minds towards the end of February and they’ll have two words for you “Spring Break”. With the Father Winter blanketing Buffalo in another sheet of white snowflakes and our academic calender pushing a two month mark without a day off from classes, a lot of us are itching to take a step away from college life for a second. Even if we don’t have plans to go anywhere but home, the seven days will be much appreciated. But as everyone talks about getting ready to go home and visit old high school friends it makes me think about what my high school experience was like.

I come from an extremely large high school ((a graduating class of about 750)). But out of all of those kids that I grew up with I probably only keep in touch with less than a handful of them, and am still close to probably only one, she just so happens to also be my roommate. Don’t get me wrong, I loved high school for what it was. It was a great time to acquire the skills that I would need to meet people in college, and it obviously gave me the basic skills to be successful academically. But I sometimes wonder why so many of my friends at college are still inseparable to some of the people from home, whereas I’m lucky if I see them when I’m not at school, let alone talk to them while I’m away. College was just a different experience for me I guess. I got to college and met two of my best friends and we clicked instantly. There was something about our friendship and our connection that told me that these will be people I will be friends with for the rest of my life; something I never experienced in high school. Now instead of getting excited about renewing old friendships when vacations are approaching, I look forward to seeing my family and spending time with my sisters.

A lot of this may just be my mind wandering and for that I apologize. I guess the point is just to let anyone who feels like most of the relationships that they formed in high school were based on who’s dating who or whether you made the team this season, know that it may not always be like that. Because it took leaving home and meeting new people for me to realize that there are different levels of closeness you can have to a person, to learn what I guess the real meaning of “best friends” is.

I know it doesn’t seem like it but summer is fast approaching. With only two weeks left until spring break, it will be just a short two months before we are once again packing up our rooms and saying goodbye for the long four months apart. Some of us will stay in Buffalo, to work or participate in internships, some of us will go back home to continue that never ending battle over our new-found independence with our parents.

Me, well I’m probably going to end up in a box on the side of the street somewhere. Okay, that’s a lie but not too far from the truth. The other day I found myself in what I have been told is called the “Sophomore Slump”. I had a few moments on Friday that I didn’t know what I was going to do with my summer or for that matter, the rest of my life. I’d like to stay in Buffalo just because I feel like I’m at that point in my life where it’s time to really get out on my own and make something of myself. But that presents the problem of finding a place to live and that fun question that all college students find themselves asking at least once or twice, “how am I going to pay for this?”. I have applied for an Orientation Aide job ((which I just found out I made to the next round of interviews!!)) and have looked into a few different internships in the area so we’ll just have to see where I end up. My Dad gave me some good advice about “not looking at the forest, instead just start chopping down one tree at a time”. It may sound somewhat strange but surprisingly it put everything in perspective. And with a little help from some good friends and a few reassuring words from a calming boyfriend I quickly came back down to Earth. Now, let’s just hope it all works itself out!

Now like I said there’s only two more weeks until Spring Break and the list of things that I need to get done before I can even think of relaxing just keeps getting longer so I’m going to spend the day chipping my way through that, I guess now is as good of time as ever to get started!

Some of this week has been spent getting prepared for this weekend. On Saturday Porter’s Hall Council is going to throw another big program for the residents. It is a five versus five football tournament. For anyone who knows me I’m sure your assumption is that it was my idea, I wish, but our CAD Rep came to the Hall Council with the idea before break and it has taken until now to get all of the details in order. The prize for the winners of the tournament is five Sabers hockey tickets to a game in March versus the Senators. A little ironic, I think, that we are giving away hockey tickets at a football tournament but it has gotten the attention of a lot of people because apparently it is a game where tickets are usually in high demand and hard to get a hold of ((you can tell by my immense knowledge of the Sabers that I’m a huge hockey fan)). So making sure that we’re not breaking any liability rules, and getting everyone together to make sure we have enough people to run the program has been a little bit of a task. Let’s be honest, unless your one of those kids that would have died to be Brett Farve playing in the snow-storm playoff game against the Giants, who wants to be outside throwing around a football in the blanket of cold that has covered Western New York lately? Not me that’s for sure and I’m a die-hard football fan. So in order to get me out there to ref the games they had to promise me a whole lot of hot chocolate, and I’m sure that goes for several of my other Hall Council members.

Other than that trying to stay warm has been at the top of my priority list. It’s gotten quite bitter around here the last couple of days, with the wind not helping that much. I just keep reminding myself that there is only eighteen more days until Spring Break and that means eighteen more days until this icicle is jet-setting off to the Dominican Republic for five days of snuggling on the beach, it’s basically the only thing that gets me out of bed on those cold mornings. That and those amazing sheets that went back on my bed the other day!!

I’m alive that’s all there is to ask. I feel like any college student says that several times a semester, usually it’s not this early but that’s okay. The cold that I was coming down with in the beginning of the week hit about Tuesday into a full fledge black death. I was so sick on Wednesday that I barley crawled my way through my exams. Let’s hope that all the preparation I did before hand paid off. See, it just goes to show why procrastination is not the best idea all of the time and I was reminded first hand this week about that. I’m still not 100% but I’m slowly getting there with the help of my friend Mr. Robitussin. However, I hope everyone had a FABULOUS Valentines Day!!! I was at least functional on Thursday, even though my voice did resemble that of James Earl Jones. So I got to leave my self-imposed solitary confinement and enjoy the day, and now have a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers to spruce up my sometimes dreary room.

Anyways, for a girl who grew up no more than 20 minutes from Saratoga Springs, one of the biggest horse race tracks in the Northeast, it may come as a little bit of a surprise that I have never seen a harness track race. Sure, I’ve seen more flat track races than I could possibly count but never seen a harness race. Well last night was a night of many first experiences. Not only did I see my first harness race (which, actually is as interesting maybe more interesting than a flat track race) but I also went to a racino for the first time ever. Another thing which a lot of Capital Region people will be surprised to hear because since Saratoga Springs has opened it’s racino it has been the thing to do when live in the area and turn 18.

In case your like me who wasn’t even sure what was really IN a racino until last night it is basically just the combination of a raceway and a casino. You can go and bet on the horses and also play the machines. And that’s exactly what I did. I ended up at a machine where you pushed a button and waited to see if you got a certain pattern of objects all relating to cows (a milk jug, a cup of milk, a cow bell…). Well needless to say it was a hysterical time (quite nerve-racking at times) and I even got to go on a “milking race” at one point for more points. Now, I’m not promoting gambling or anything of that nature but like anything else, with moderation it can be quite a good time!

This past Friday night was a blast! After training some of us STARS went downtown for a little ice skating at Buffalo’s Rotary Rink. It was so pretty! The rink sits in the middle of all of these tall office buildings and right next to the metro on Main Street. I haven’t ice skated in years so I’m sure I looked like a new-born colt taking her first steps but eventually I got back in the swing of it and was totally able to stay up on my own! Afterwards we walked to a little coffee shop called Spot Coffee. For all of you out there who like me believe that the makers of Starbucks Coffee should be forever immortalized, Spot Coffee is better, if that’s believable. Overall it was just a chance for us to kind of hang out and catch up with one another, something we don’t necessarily have the time to do as much as we’d like.

This week is not going to be a good time however. Father Winter has taken Buffalo by a strong hold. The temperatures have stayed constant at about 15 degrees. That plus three tests this week and the fact that my best friend so kindly passed on her illness to me, means that each day I get out of bed is going to be a lucky one. I hate weeks like this too. Usually I am all about getting out of bed in the morning. I really enjoy all of the activities that I’m involved in and although sometimes it’s exhausting I love being busy all day. However there is a light at the end of the tunnel, Valentines Day is this Thursday!!! Very apparent by the fact that the movie channels here on campus have been playing the timeless love story of “The Notebook”. I am one who has always been in love this love holiday. Doesn’t matter what your relationship status is, how can anyone not be ecstatic about a day completely devoted to the color pink!! Last year I was that girl that made out a ton of those Barbie Valentines and gave them out, this year I am going to try and get a little bit more creative. Any ideas would be more than welcome!!

I have decided that everyone’s life would be so much better if we all lived in a musical. A bold statement, I know, but true none-the-less. Tonight a few of us went to see a free movie that was running in the Student Union Theater this week, the Disney movie Enchanted. If anyone hasn’t heard of it, it is the movie where, after a spell from a wicked witch, a fairy princess finds herself suddenly banished from her cartoon world and lost, wandering around Times Square in New York, and is magically human! Before you go and judge the fact that four 20 year old girls went to go see a Disney movie based on a fairy princess, I ask every girl out there to remember back when she was 4 or 5 years old and how all that mattered in the world was finding our Prince and wearing a tiara. It was actually a pretty cute movie with some awesome random song breakouts, which in my mind makes a movie. I feel like everyone in the world would be a little bit happier if we could sing what was on our mind. My sisters would argue that no one’s life would be better if I, personally, sang anything but that’s a debate for another day .((I have a tendency to be, how you say…completely tone deaf))

But of course there is still that learning aspect taking place here on campus. I had my first test on Wednesday, have another one tomorrow and three more next week, which would be the reason that a wonderful six hours of my day were spent cuddled up in the library. I’m always quite a sight in the libraries, surrounded by textbooks, notebooks, binders, highlighters and pens of every color. I think sub-consciously my theory is that if I lay everything out in front of me somehow all the information will jump off the page and into my brain. Let’s hope it works…thank gosh it’s almost Friday that’s for sure!

Okay so it is no secret that I was obviously not happy about the outcome of the Super Bowl game last night. Honestly, I had to keep reminding myself (especially during the last two minutes of the game) that it was only a football game and that my life would continue on the next morning. Of course, my phone was ringing off the hook with people I haven’t spoken to in forever just waiting to rub it in my face, like I wasn’t already getting enough of that. I am at least enough of a football fan to admit that the Giants, along with Eli Manning, played a very good game and the Patriots did just not step up to the challenge. It was a great game and I can appreciate that. And as promised I wore my jersey around today ((okay, my pink one but still a Pat’s jersey none-the-less)) with pride knowing that there is always next year. But you know, I was even disappointed with the majority of the commercials, maybe this year was just an off year ((or so I’m going to tell myself to make this loss a little easier to take)).

Even despite the less-than-entertaining loss this weekend, life has picked up quite a bit. My RA/AA group process was Saturday morning, as Raj talked about a little bit. However instead of being the ones judging, as Raj was, I was the one being judged. Once you got use to the whole fish-bowl feeling of being watched the process really wasn’t that bad at all. My AA individual interview was this morning and I think it went really well. The RA interview is tomorrow afternoon so keep your fingers crossed!!

This week starts the first of my “first tests”. This is always a time that your feeling out what the professor expects of you so always put a little bit more effort into the exams because you don’t know what to expect. So on that note, I guess it’s back to the books…:-/