Campus Invasion

So yesterday was the MTVU Campus Invasion tour-- 6 whole hours of music. Bands ranged from Gym Class Heroes to Augustana to Dashboard Confessional. I was quite disappointed when I found out The Shins weren't going to be at the Philly show. Overall, the show was disappointing as a whole. Augustana was the only good live band. Some, like dashboard, should just never leave the studio, because they just make fools of themselves 0n stage. I mean, the guy was freakin tone deaf in the opening song. You do NOT start the show with complicated vocals. That's just ignorance. But yeah, in addition to music there were free giveaways like candy and massages and make-up-- all new products looking for promotion of course.

Although not-so-good music, the show was for a good cause. All proceeds went to Darfur, so it was still worth going and supporting the cause. There are plenty of stops left on the tour, so if you're into the whole dashboard scene (or if the Shins are there!!!!) check it out, support Darfur, and get free stuff : P

Maybe next year the tour will be better. A little bit of The Format and Motion City??? Eh??? Sounds good to me.

Yay for midterms

Oye. What a week. 3 exams = no fun. 2 to go next week. I'm sure all of you are getting down to finals and AP exams in the next few weeks, so I feel your study pains. I remember AP weeks quite well-- last year I had 4 AP exams and was near dead by the end of that second week. College exams aren't as bad as AP's though, well, at least in your first year : P Thank goodness they're shorter too-- no 4 hour chem exams or anything.



But, with exams getting closer, that means the end of your senior year is almost over! With prom, and then of course graduation was so much fun, from the class pictures to the BBQ's to the trips to the lake...I hope you guys end your year with some good memories as well. (Just try to stay safe!)

School spirit anyone?

So, as girlfriend of the DAC Pack's VP next year, I'm pretty much obligated to promote them at least once in my blog : P And there's also a certain Rob Falcone (mister president to you) who seemed to think he was worthy of a shout out. You can be the judge of that in the Fall when you join the DAC Pack. In all seriousness though, the DP is a great student organization you should get involved with starting your freshman year. Essentially, they are the student group at sporting events, particularly basketball, but we ventured into lacrosse this season. I'm sure those of you who keep up with the FB group and who have been on my tours are sick of hearing me promoting the DP, but it really and truly is a TON of fun, a great way to make friends, and hell, you even get a free shirt and food. Not to mention you get to see FRANK THE TANK live and in action. There's no better way to spend a Wednesday night or a Saturday afternoon in Philly. So, when you get here in September, be on the lookout for DP announcements and events!

The kid with the blue hair is (Rob)Bert. Ernie isn't pictured, but he was the Pres this year : P Yes, Bert and Ernie were our leaders. Oh the crap I'm going to get for this....

3/10 of the way there....

So it's the start of the 4th week of the term. 3 down. 7 to go. Spring term is flying by though. I mean, fall term seems to last forever, with new students week, getting the hang of the whole "college life," and getting accustomed to Philly. Now, it's hard to believe summer is almost here! But I won't be going home like most people will for their freshman summer-- I'll be in Philly working for Drexel performing research through the Honors college. And hopefully I'll be in admissions too meeting you guys at orientation! I'm actually really excited to be staying in Philly for the summer-- at first when I heard I would be in class during the summer after my freshman year, I was kind of skeptic about how much I would actually enjoy being here. But now, I'm choosing to be here. What can I say, I love Philly and don't want to leave : ) Although, I am going through the whole "missing mom" phase. At first I was so ready to get out and I really enjoyed the independence of college life. It's taken me two terms to realize that I'll never be living with my parents again-- this is it-- this is life. So my advice to you, as lame as it may be, is to enjoy this last summer with your parents, because unless you plan on moving back in after you graduate from college, this is the last opportunity you have to appreciate them fully. I wish I had realized this last summer, but I suppose we all learn to appreciate our parents at some point.

Ok I swear I'm done with the sad "love your parents" story. So back to Drexel.

I had my first RA staff meeting last night. In case any of you are planning on living in honors housing next fall, I am actually an RA in that building (so let me know who you are!). Race street dorms are ridiculously nice. I mean, they're the newest dorm on campus, so of course they're going to be high tech, but I wasn't expecting it to have it's own gym, reading lounges, SWEET kitchens, and an INCREDIBLE view. Philly is quite nice 11 stories up. Now for those of you not in honors housing, don't be too sad. The other dorms have their perks too. Kelly for instance is currently being gutted and redone, so it will be really really nice for the fall. Kelly also had Kelly Deli, which is basically Drexel's version of 7-11, and you use your meal plan dollars to buy stuff. They have everything from quesadillas to burgers to ben and jerrys to chips and salsa. If you're not a resident of Kelly you can still use the deli, but it's just nice to be living above it : ) Now Meyers is sweet for all you design kids-- Meyers has what is called learning communities, which are groups of people of a specific major living together. These are really nice for study groups, homework, and networking. The people you live with are the people you're going to class with, so you all have the same work. There is also the Business LC in Meyers, but the rest are basically CoMAD students. The top floor is really nice for you music industry majors-- there is a loft above your dressers and door where you can store a piano, drums, or amps, or whatever else you may wish to bring. Moving on, Towers is also a pretty cool dorm. It's the largest freshman dorm on campus, so it's where a lot of your friends will be living. Towers is essentially the dorm for the social butterflies-- everyone leaves their doors open, study in the lounges, pull all nighters together, and just like to have a good time. Honestly, you've got to be able to handle noise to live in Towers-- I'm one of those who have to have complete silence to study efficiently, so I would have done so horrible academically in Towers. However, tons of my friends live there, so when I'm visiting them, I still get to partake in the unique social atmosphere of Towers. There's also Calhoun, which is pretty notorious for it's design. It's shaped like a crescent. Go architects. But Calhoun has a similar atmosphere to Towers, it's just smaller. Lastly there's Van R, which is suite style living for non-honors freshmen. Honestly, Van R's rooms are really small-- you HAVE to loft your bed to get everything in, but you also get a common room, your own bathroom, and a kitchen, so you have to decide what's more important to you-- sleeping space or having the perks of an apartment.

But remember, no matter what dorm you choose, if for some reason you can't stand it or just aren't happy there, the first 2 weeks of every term you can move, no questions asked. I was actually a participant of the room-change during winter term. I wasn't happy with my suite-- personality/ respect differences, so I moved out into another suite. Very easy transition and I'm glad I got the opportunity to move.

SO that's all for now, I'm sure I've said more than enough, but if you guys have any questions about dorms or drexel or anything, IM me or email me!

There's a reason why baseball is a spring/summer sport...

So I had my first Phillies experience this past week. Quite a memorable one-- opening night, college night, dollar dog night, free peanut chews...people getting kicked out left and right, dogs being thrown on the field, a Braves player throwing it back, freezing my butt off!!! (it rained all day and was like 35 degrees that night. April = spring = should not be below 50!)...ohhh what a night : P

The Phillies ended up losing after being up 2 runs til the last inning : (

But the highlight of the night occurred on the train ride home. We started off the broad street line, and every single car was full of college kids. A group of them were from Temple University and they started chanting "lick that pole! lick that pole!" They had the whole car encouraging a guy to lick one of the poles about 2 feet. This kid ended up getting paid $36. Ridiculous. As my friend put it, $36 won't even cover the doctor bills coming his way in the near future : P Go Temple.

The rest of the week finished up pretty well. It was the first week of classes, so nothing too exciting in class. The first week of Spring term is "Welcome Back Week" for upper classmen who were out on co-op the past 6 months, so there were a ton of events around campus. There was free ice cream in the quad, surveys to participate in for gift certificates, free food at Ross Commons, and a concert put on by MadDragon records (our student record label). So, tons of stuff to do, tons of free stuff, and a good way to start off the new term!

Rain Rain go Away

So a rainy day in Philly is never a pleasant one. Especially when classes are alllll the way on the other side of campus. Who votes for an underground walkway system???? Word from the wise, rain boots and rain coats are your best friends in a city. Umbrellas are useless if there's wind and are a pain on sidewalks when you pass people.

And rain can ruin a good Phillies game. There's one scheduled for tonight, so hopefully the rain stops by then; if not, we're still going anyways! : )