One of the hardest things about coming to college is learning to live on your own for the first time. Even if you were a really independent high school student all of a sudden not having Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle or whoever else may have been watching over you, around can be a bit of a culture shock. And you would think after three years of doing it I would have it down by now but no no, even college juniors forget that they need to take care of themselves.

This past week my fuel level finally hit rock bottom.  I didn’t feel well on Monday and ended up needing my best friend to come get me from my internship downtown because I wasn’t able to make it to the metro to get back to South Campus. The only thing that could be pointed to was the fact that I have been eating really unhealthy foods and just spreading myself too thin. And it REALLY started to catch up with me. So I’ve decided with the coming Lent season (for all you Christians out there) instead of giving UP things. I’m going to start DOING things. I really need to keep myself in check so that what happens on Monday doesn’t happen again. It was NOT a fun experience! So anyone getting ready to go out on their own, make sure you ask your Mom for some helpful hints! Otherwise you’ll get the lecture like I did earlier this week.

These past couple of days have been kind of crazy! On Wednesday I had to sort some things out with my residents which resulted in having a building meeting about some issues we were having. And than another RA and I went to see the movie Twilight for free in the Student Union theater! I love having that theater there, it’s awesome not to shovel out $10 every time we want to catch a good movie!

Yesterday I started the trek down the NYS Thruway to not only get some very quick family time in (I only got two hours at home ) but the boys in the Buffalo Chips (the all-male acappella group here on campus) were competing in their Quarterfinals in Troy which is only like 15 minutes away from my house. It was nice, even for a brief moment, to catch up with my parents and get to play with my kittens. The guys didn’t advance like they did last year but they did an amazing job and should be proud of all the work they put into it! The ride back was a blast and I got to know a couple of the guys that just joined the group a few weeks ago so I really enjoyed it!

Tonight I’m doing a program for my residents that involves pancakes and origami pigs! It’s based off of the book “If you give a pig a pancake”, if anyone has ever heard of it. They’re really excited about it which means I should get my butt in the kitchen and start making those pancakes!

Most people categorize Valentines Day as either a forced romantic night out with their significant other or a single’s awareness day. I don’t think of it as either! I love Valentines Day, no matter what your status, it can’t hurt to remind the people in your life that you love them. I had an great Valentines Day this year. On Friday my Dad got to come to Buffalo to have dinner with my sister and I, and showed up with an incredibly special gift from my Mom. Than on Saturday I got to see a bunch of my friends in the Buffalo Chips perform at their annual Valentines Day show, got treated to a great dinner with a great guy and got to spend the night with some good friends. I couldn’t have asked for anything more! I hope everyone had a great day as well!

However, I woke up on Sunday and did not feel to well. I was running a fever and my throat felt like it was closing in on me. I dragged myself to go see a fellow RA in a dance show and spent the rest of the day snuggled in bed watching a movie with a friend. Today was a little bit better because last night my fever broke so at least that wasn’t hanging over my head. My throat is still killing me but I plan on clocking some hardcore sleeping hours tonight so I hope that helps a little bit!

Tonight we had a mandatory ARB Speaker for the entire University Residence Halls department as well as all of the athletes. The speaker was a hilarious comedian with a message about a sober lifestyle and was telling his story of his time in jail and his mistakes to help us realize good and bad choices. He was really good and I entered a lottery for a free copy of his book, I hope I get it!

Alright I should get on that sleeping, this Tylenol PM is starting to kick in!

We have been enjoying a couple of days of NICE weather up here in Buffalo and nothing could make me happier! Today the temperature settled around a lovely 50 degrees and the rest of the week it’s suppose to hover around the high 30’s-low 40’s. I’ll take it! I’m so done with winter this year. Usually I don’t mind the snow and can even tolerate the bitter cold, hey I’m from Albany it’s not that different than here. But this year it’s been almost unbearable and we are all experiencing more severe cases of cabin fever than we usually do.

My new bulletin board and door tags for my residents were due on Sunday and if I do say so myself, they’re adorable! My bulletin board is an informational board about anger management and ways to cope with it (since many of us students are taking our first exams of the semester I thought it would be appropriate-especially if some of us don’t do as well as others). So to keep in theme I made my door tags cute smiley faces with googly eyes! I’m not sure how much my boys liked them but I got a kick out of making them! I have “personal sharing time” at my staff meeting tonight. That’s a time when two of our RA’s during each staff meeting get a few minutes to share something that the rest of the group might not know about them. Tonight I’m going to divulge all about my love for Post Secret since a lot of my staff doesn’t know what it’s all about. It should be fun!

Alright well I should probably attempt to get a little bit more read before the meeting tonight because I vowed to crash asleep as soon as I get back. Let’s hope Punxsutawney Phil was wrong and spring is comin’ early this year! *Fingers crossed*

So this morning I opted to take the UB Stampede today because when I walked out my door it was -4 degrees out. There was no way I was going to walk to my car, warm it up, scrape it off and then proceed to walk from the parking lot to work. I let someone else do the driving this morning. But the reason that I’m babbling about this is because as I was sitting on the bus listening to my Ipod and getting angry that only one of my headphones is working (because I’m too cheap to go buy a new pair) when I realized how much I love my Ipod. When I first moved in as a freshman my 18th birthday was coming up and I remember my parents asking me what I wanted for my birthday and my Mom suggested an Ipod. At the time I was kind of like “whatever” because I wasn’t really that into music and didn’t really see the need to spend the money but sure if that’s what they wanted to get me, go for it.

Now looking back I’m not sure what I would do without it. I drown out everyone else on the Metro or the Stampede with it, it’s the music  I listen to while getting ready in the morning and now I even bop along to it in my car, it’s what puts me in a better mood sometimes. So whether your contemplating an Ipod, a Zune, an MP3 player or a CD player, just remember it’s always nice walking around with your favorite tunes in your ear. So thanks Mom and Dad! =)