Loving the life I live!

Wasting away the summer days..

2010-06-02T15:02:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summers, the end of their finals, and all the other good times that come around at this point of the year.

Needless to say (as proven by the lack of updates) I have been surprisingly busy since I have come home from London, which is not what I expected at all. My first few days home consisted of lots of sleep, unpacking, and spending time with family and friends that I had not seen in over 4 months! After a week of self-control, I convinced my mom that I was OK to run off to spend some time at Lehigh before all my friends started in with their finals. I had sooo much fun catching up with the girls and all my other friends, and in a sense it felt as though I had never really left Lehigh, but through all the stories (both my friends and mine) I realized that it was great to get out there and try something new.

After I stopped distracting my friends from their studies, I got busy looking for a place to live in Philly for the upcoming summer months as I prepared to begin my internship with KPMG. Ever since I arrived back home, I have felt like this start date was so far away, but now there's only 8 days left and I am more than ready to hit the ground running! I am excited to try living in another new city, trying new tasks in an accouning setting, and getting to know my fellow interns. Updates will follow after I start!

Other than that, I have been planning some fun trips for the summer season. After only 2 weeks at home, my mom, sister, aunt, cousin and I travelled down to Disneyworld for our first "girl's" vacation. I'll control the little kid in me by saying simply...IT WAS AWESOME! Although I have been to Disneyworld when I was much younger, I did not remember hardly any of the rides/attractions/scenery, so it was almost as if this was my first trip. We rode all the rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Aerosmith's Rocking Roller Coaster, and the Buzz Light Year Adventure rides were just a few of my favorites), managed to snag a picture with both Alice in Wonderland and Snow White, and dine at a few of the "countries" in Epcot's World Showcase. Needless to say, it's taking a lot of self-control to not already be planning an immediate return trip. Also on tap for the summer: dave matthews band concerts, trips to the shore, Iron Pigs and Phillies baseball games, and more! I'm open to suggestions, so any ideas for fun trips and travels, send them my way!

Have a great start to summer 2010 everyone! I'll post again soon!

It's the end of the world as we know it..

2010-04-17T15:37:00.002-04:00

So many developments over the last week and few days!

This past week was the last few days of my internship, but it unfortunately got off to a bit of a rocky start. Spent Sunday-Tuesday in bed with "hayfever" and pink eye..only I would catch infamous American dorm-diseases while in London!Fortunately, I was able to get back to work for Wednesday and Thursday and spent the last 2 days at a new engagement site. I was able to complete my given tasks in the short time frame, and after a quick stop into the main office, I dropped off my laptop and said my farewells! A part of me is glad that I am work-free, but now I have a lottt of spare time to fill in my day. For as much as the days wore me out, I am glad I had the work experience while here.

I've also completed by architecture class and I must say that I'm a little sad about that one. Last week, we went to Greenwich, which is where the prime meridian is located- our class got a picture with half of us in one time zone, and the other half in the other! We also took a riverboat cruise down the Thames, which was awesome due to gorgeous weather. This week, we had our last class tour and did another beautiful walk along the Thames..I wish there was a more scenic river like it near Lehigh!

Speaking of weather, it has been glorious around here- about 65 degrees (which sounds cold, but when it's been 30ish for the majority of the semester, this feels like a heat wave!) The only bad thing, and for those who follow the news, you know what's coming..there has been an ancient volcano exploding in Iceland that is covering sooo much of Europe in ash, and it's shutdown air flight like no other. I was supposed to fly to Prague for a lovely 4-day weekend with some friends Friday night, but no flights in or out of the UK since about Thursday morning. Also scary- there seems to be no end in sight for the volcano to stop! It's totally premature, but my friends and I are nervous about making our flights home/throughout Europe for our after-program travels next week. Definitely will be sending updates about that!

Lastly, I believe I have some overdue pictures to share- most are from Paris, but the last 2 are from sights around London!

Only 3 more weeks left?!

2010-04-06T09:38:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, panic has set in! After a busy busy busy but AWESOME past 2 weeks, I have realized that I have less than 3 weeks left in Londontown! So much to do, so little time- it scares me! But to fill you in on what's kept me on the move (And away from this blog!) for the past few days..

Internship: I have been more than busy with my accounting internship. I have been working consistently at a client in Richmond, which is about a 25 minute Tube (underground/subway) ride away, and the commute is enjoyable as I either listen to my iPod, take a little nap, or read a book. The work has been varied- but I'm doing legitimate auditing- examining the company's (and more often, one of its subsidiary's) cash, fixed assets, debtors, creditors..the whole 9 yards. I am getting a solid grip on how everything works, but there are often some items that just go way over my head. Regardless of my occasional complaints and tiredness after a long days work and commute, I am glad I am having this work experience during this point in my academic career.

Fun-wise: With the time crunch on, my friends and I have stepped up our game in regards to taking London by storm. We meet up most days after work for at places all throughout the city, and are taking as many weekend day trips as possible to see the sights..I got the most sight-seeing in this past 10 days when I had company in town!

Visits: Andrew came to London for a 10-day visit, and it was by far one of the best weeks I've had here! It was pretty cool to play host to him, and show him how comfortable I have become navigating a whole new town. We did a day tour to see the Roman Baths, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle which were AMAZING! and we also saw some sights in London, such as climbing the 517 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral for an amazing view all around London! We also took a 3 day trip in Paris, and I have confirmed my love for the Eiffel Tower. I don't have one of the 1 million pics I took on hand,but I will post so you can see it's beauty (But definitely go at one point in your life and see it firsthand!) We hit every major sight that we could cram into 3 days, and I'll let you know that that amount of time is certainly not enough to take in the whole city. All in all, it was a great visit with Andrew, and it'll only be 3 more short weeks until I get to hang out with him, my friends and my family again back at home!

In the meantime, I am back to work, finishing up my class, and making the most of what's left! Updates will be soon!

Catching up..

2010-03-18T07:55:00.002-04:00

I apologize, I typed up a nice long report of my week at the end of this past weekend but apparently my post did not go through! Naturally, I really can't remember everything I have been up to lately, so bear with me..

Work-wise: Last week, I was finishing up my time at my other client. By the end of the week, the pressure was growing to get everything in on time, and fortunately I believe we finished very close to our targets. This week I have been doing a variety of things. I reported to the main office where I worked on several small tasks for various clients, and today I am on location at the original site I first visited. I like the variety of the job- I'm in different places, with different people, working on a multitude of tasks. Despite all the constant changes, there is a bit of familiarity and routine to the week, and it's a great combination.

Last weekend entertainment: As my friends and I have begun to panic that we only have about 6 more weeks in London, we have made an agreement to jam pack every day, night and weekend with everything we want to see before we go home. Despite being tired from work, having class/homework, and household chores to take care of, we have been working steadily to our goals. The highlight of last weekend was when my friend and I stumbled upon this glorious market. It was a brilliant mix of food vendors, retro boutiques, handmade crafts, cheesey souveniors, and everything in between. We had to show some self-control to not spend our entire life-savings, and it's safe to say I will be making a return trip to the Stables Markets in the future.

This week entertainment: I celebrated St. Patty's day as best I could in London, but I must say, I was greatly missing my friends and holiday routine back at Lehigh. Regardless, I had a good time and am looking forward to another busy weekend with my friends. Unfortunately, one of my closest mates here (we also agreed to incorporate British slang into our vocabulary..don't judge!) is going out of town for the weekend, and another has family coming to visit, so I might be fending for myself for a bit. It's OK, I do have plenty of shops and mueseums that are sometimes easier to visit by yourself, plus 2 papers to work that are due at the end of next week. Other good news..9 days countdown until my boyfriend comes to visit! With so much going on, I'm sure those days will pass right on by!

Friday's are my favorite..

2010-03-05T14:06:00.003-05:00

Sooo I was on a roll for a bit there...but now I'll get us back on track!

To pick it up from last time, fashion week was sooo cool! I haven't uploaded my pics yet, but I'll just tell you that its definitely something you should experience once in your life! I relaxed the rest of the weekend as I had a busy week of work ahead of me..

This past week, my internship has allowed me to visit two of our client sites with an engagment team. Monday and Tuesday I took an overground train out to Surrey, and Wednesday and Thursday I was on site near Gatwick airport. I was nervous about finding my way with taking the trains for the first time, but luckily they were easy to figure out..I'm exhausted from the commutes though! I wake up at 6:15 to shower and eat breakfast, then I'm out the door by 7:15 to take the undergound to the train station and catch the 8:02 train. I work from 9-5:45/6, and am home by 7:15..it's definitely a long day (much longer than I anticipated this internship set up to be) but I am doing legitimate work for the team and am glad I am getting this experience.

This weekend has already started off on a good note. Last night my friends and I went to a club where the princes (yes, prince william and prince harry) have been known to hang out. Although they weren't there, we managed to have a great time without them. During my architecture class today we took a walk around Covent Garden, and although I've visited there before, my professor shed a whole new light on the area- I definitely want to go back again before I leave! I also did some shopping this afternoon, and I'm cleaning up my messy messy room so I have some clean space for this weekend. On the agenda for the next few days: EVERYTHING LONDON! I'll let you know!

Fashion weekend!!!

2010-02-27T04:27:00.002-05:00

Hey everybody! Happy weekend!

To recap from my last post..Wednesday I was working at my internship for the last day this week. Normally I will be working Monday-Thursday at E&Y, but as my class also started this week, I had a double class session on Thursday. I can't go into too many details about the exact projects I have at work due to confidentiality, but I can say that I am becoming more and more familiar with how to do some of the basics each day, which is always a good thing!

Thursday I had my first session of my class- London Architecture and Urbanism, and it's awesome! My professor, Caroline, is a ball of energy, and the way she delivers what could potentially be considered "boring" information makes the history of the London Underground seem purely fascinating. We also get to go on a fieldtrip every single class session which is awesome. Between Thursday and Friday's sessions, I've been to 2 different London neighborhood's that I probably never would have wandered into on my own, and she has pointed out some must-see-sights that I haven't found in my London guidebooks. I'm liking this!

As for social activities, Wednesday night some of my friends and I met up at the nearby college's student union to catch up. Now that we are working and taking classes, none of us have the same schedule, so it's a little more difficult to stay up on the gossip, but we're working on it. Thursday after class I was a bit of a bum, and after a lengthy nap, met up with another group of friends again. Unforunately, yesterday I was not feeling too well, and spent all day Friday in bed, hoping my fever and stomach ache disappear because today is...FASHION SHOW DAY!

I'm so excited to go to the London Fashion Week show this afternoon..my friends and I found some amazing tickets that get us backstage for a few hours, seats at a cat walk show, and also the designer's gift bag giveway..yesss! Now the only issue...I don't know what to wear..I guess I should go get on that, I'll let you know how it goes!

Barcelona, bring me backkk!

2010-02-23T16:19:00.006-05:00

Ahhh..that's the sound of relaxation, which is exactly what my spring break trip to Barcelona was. OK, scratch that. It was actually a jam-packed, busy, fun and amazing 5-day break from the reality of classes and internships, but either way you look at it- it was a GREAT time

We flew out from London Luton airport straight into Barcelona on Wednesday morning..it was a close call for 2 of the 4 of us travellers because some people didn't check in online (not to name names...but they know who they are! ;) As soon as we landed in Barca, we hit the ground running. We must have walked at least 4 or 5 miles the first day, just exploring all the gorgeous neighborhoods, architecture, parks and plazas around our area. It's sooo gorgeous, words can't even describe how unique every single building was!

The second day we bought tickets for one of those "cheesey" tourist busses, but let me tell you- it was worth every cent. It took us to so many places we wouldn't have known about otherwise, let alone been able to find and get to by ourselves. We explored Park Guell, la Sagrada Familia, and saw some more of Antio Gaudi's famous works. If you don't know what they are, look them up on Wiki- by far some of the coolest structures you will see! Below is a picture of the view from the top one of the peaks in Park Guell- 360s of the entire city!

The third day was day-2 of the bus tour experience, and we saw some more waterfront areas, parks, and the like. On the last full day, we did some shop shop shoppinggg! Our group was 3 girls and 1 guy, so he was definitely outnumbered when we hit the flea markets, fruit markets, regular stores, and souvenir shops (but he was a great friend and stuck it out with us, as he was our translator). Everything was such a good deal (thank you, Euros!) and the fruit markets were by far my favorite. I got 10 fresh kiwis for 1 Euro! (And I'm still eating them, 4 days later!)

Now that I'm sadly back in London, I have already re-lived the trip through my pictures, and am getting my nose to the grind at my internship. I've already been given a few small assignments, and I'm taking them seriously to prove my worth to the firm. It's so different doing legitimate accounting work in an international environment, so hopefully they can see my efforts and it will come more easily over time! More updates to follow, because on tap for the next few days is my new architecture class, my visit to London Fashion Week, and other weekend festivities!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T16:02:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends too!

I had a great weekend around London. On Friday, I had my last theatre class and have been spending a few hours here and there this weekend writing my final paper for the class. Friday night my program organized an event called "Clubbing with the Brits" at this place called "fabric." It was definitely an interesting experience- never been to a club that big, but my friends and I had a great time.

After a few hours sleep, I met up with 2 friends from class and we spent Saturday in Oxford! One thing I didn't know is that Oxford University isn't actually one university with one campus- all of the colleges within the town are collectively called Oxford University, and there were MANY beautiful campuses to check out! Naturally, we headed directly for all the spots where parts of Harry Potter were filmed. Here's the staircase that's seen in the first movie when all the students are lining up for their grand entrance into Hogwarts! We saw several other churches, towers, the Oxford Castle, and naturally ate lots of delicious foods and did some souvenir shopping as well :-) Those last two parts are some of my activities that I do best over here!

Today (Sunday) I spent some more time studying for my management final in the morning, and for an afternoon study break, my roommate and I saw our first football (American soccer) game! I was fortunate to be given two AMAZING seats at the Fulham Football Club, and although I admit I'm not a huge soccer fan (I actually know absolutely nothing about the game) it was a really cool event to watch- such emotion from the fans! Below is a pic of the view from our seats- couldn't have asked for anything better! Now it's just some more studying, and I keep reminding myself that once I take this final and hand in my paper, I'm done with the majority of my classes, and I'll be off to BARCELONA! for spring break on Wednesday...can't wait!

TGI..Thursday

2010-02-11T18:47:00.002-05:00

Ah, yes..another week of classes has passed by deceptively fast..I love it! Now for the weekend finally! But first off, a bit about my week..

As I was still nursing my lovely busted ankle, I was taking it easy as much as possible this week. On Monday, my theatre class visited the Tate Modern and saw 2-3 of their exhibitions which were all unique and intriguing. I would have preferred to explore the gallery without the instructions of a looming assignment in mind, so I definitely plan on going back at a later point in the semester to explore on my own terms. During the theatre class on Tuesday, we presented our group projects called "Theatre Capital: Performance in the City." This was an assignment that encouraged us to go capture images all throughout the city, and present them to the class with a creative spin. My group focused our project on "Mixed Messages and Contradicitions" throughout the city, and sued pictures such as a tanning salon promoting healthy skin treatments, a man-made park, and other fun sites throughtout London.

I had a bit of a hectic day on Wednesday- I ran some errands in the morning, had class in the afternoon, dashed across town to pick up some football (aka American soccer) tickets from my cousin, and had a brief meeting about preparing for my internship phase of the program. The best part of the day (and probably the whole week!): CIRQUE DE SOLEIL! This was, by far, the best purchase I have made since being in London- the physical stunts, flexibility, and endurance of the performers is UNREAL- I can't even begin to imagine how you learn and practice the routines. Simply amazing- if it is ever performing in an area near you- GO SEE IT!

Today I had my interview for my internship, and am pleased to be spending the next 9-10 weeks in the audit apartment of Ernst & Young. I will be working on a team concentrated in their retail products division, and am super excited to meet the fellow E&Y staff and the clients! It's strange to think that this will be my first full taste of the types jobs I will be likely working on after I graduate! I also just got home from seeing a play called "Off the Endz" which made its debut tonight- it was impressive! It was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed the outcome and the entire performance a lot- it definitely had my classs, and the rest of audience, on the edge of our seats.

What's in store for the weekend..tomorrow I have my last class for my theatre course, and then I've got a full line-up for the weekend. After class, I'm hitting up the Victoria & Albert Museum, which is accross the street from my flat- a beautiful view from the window! At night, we're heading to a well known club called "Fabric" and then waking up early Saturday morning to go to the famous Portobello Market. There are hundreds of independent retailers selling everything from clothes and accessories, to fresh veg and fuits, to vintage records, and everything in between. At some point I'll need to settle down and write my final paper and prep for my one final exam..but come on...it's London-town...there's just too much to do!

Boredom at it's finest..

2010-02-07T19:06:00.002-05:00

Just to clarify: rolling your ankle on the first night of a weekend you had planned to explore the city, hang out with friends, and run some errands is NOT a fun thing to put yourself too, so watch out for those curbs..they can be lethal.

You would think that since I've been in bed for pretty much the past 48 straight hours that I would be well-rested, all caught up on readings and homework, and have compulsively tagged and captioned every picture on my facebook...but surprisingly, I'm not. Being in bed for this long can really take it out of you. I at least finished my one theatre project, and have a fierce outline going for my international management paper, but I haven't conquered my photo plans and I am (somehow) still tired. I guess Rome wasn't built in a day..

On the agenda for the upcoming week: I have a visit to the Tate Modern and a nighttime theatre show for my one class, my initial placement interview with Ernst & Young (where I will be interning for 9 weeks as part of the internship component of my program), and tickets to see Cirque de Soleil! I'm really excited to go to the Tate and the Cirque de Soleil show- I've looked up both online and they seem pretty awesome. My only issue is I will be rocking an ever so attractive ankle brace and cane...seriously, watch out for those curbs, people..you don't want to spend any of your abroad experience doing what I'm doing! I'll let you know how I handle my first Tube (underground) outing under the new condition soon!

Greetings from LONDON!

2010-02-06T08:47:00.005-05:00

OK, I won't even say that this post is long, long overdue, but hey- better late than never, so here goes! This is the first message coming live from LONDON! I've been settled into my program for about 3 weeks now, so I'll give a little summary of some of the things I've experienced so far.

WEEK 1:

After 1 cancelled flight/bonus night in a random hotel at the Newark Airport, I arrived 1/2 day late to my program, but got caught right up into the swing of things. After depositing my bags and getting a feel for my apartment/flat (see right) I went on an "academic boat tour" which was a nice 3-hour ferry boat ride up and down the River Thames, led by one of our professors. We learned a lot about the history of the city, its geography, and were several of the major landmarks are. The rest of Week 1 was pretty similar- lots of lectures about what is expected of the students, different academic topics, how to survive and prosper in our new hometown, and how to make the most out of our time in this amazing city.

Throughout the first week, I also started to meet some of the other people on the program who lived in my building (which is called Sorbonne House!). At first I was nervous, because I am on a Boston University-led program, and the majority of students ARE from BU. Many of them came with entire sets of friends, and at first I was scared that I would be the odd-man out, but I was definitely wrong. I've found a group of really nice, friendly students, some of who go to BU and some of who go elsewhere. We're getting along great, and enjoying our new lives together!

Week 2:

After the week of orientation finished, we were launched right into the swing of things. Our classes officially started, and my two courses are in International Management and Theatre. The Theatre class is AWESOME- we watch all sorts of film/video clips, and have seen 3 live theatre performances so far, with more to come as the semester progresses! The Int'l Management class is interesting as well, and we've taken a recent field trip to Shell to learn about the difficulties in leading a Multinational Corporation.

Also, week 2 featured an amazing weekend trip to Dublin, Ireland with two of my friends, Deidre and Matt. We had an incredible time- we took tours of the city, some tours of the breathtaking countryside (see below), and did many things in between. The nightlife was also fun- lots of live musical performances at all the restaurants and clubs, and the locals were incredibly friendly. I survived my first official stay in a "hostel", which are semi-hotels designed for those student travellers on tight budgets. All in all, it was an amazing trip, which set us up for Week 3...

Week 3:

Another week of classes, and I have really been starting to get into the swing of things. I admit, I was definitely a little homesick at the start of this program, and I was missing the conveniences of home. However, it was during Week 3 that I really started to stand on my own two feet and get into the routine. While in London, we are in charge of all of our needs- from food, to laundry, to cleaning, to everything. Although I started off a little slow in the cooking department, I have progressed from frozen dinner meals to now making my own chicken, pasta, meatballs, rice, potatoes, sauteed veggies, and more. I'm actually excited that I am slowly learning to cook, especially since next year (my senior year) at Lehigh, I will be living off-campus and will again be providing my own food. As for laundry, I have mastered the art of hand washing the majority of my clothes, and will occasionally be hitting the laundromat when I need to wash my bigger items. I've also started to master the Tube, which is London's underground transportation network. My primary form of transportation is walking, but the Tube is great for getting around to some further away locations. Every time I get off at a new Tube station, it's like stepping out into a whole new town- there's just so much to see here!

For my 3rd weekend abroad, my friends and I took another adventure to a new city/country...Edinburgh, Scotland! Again, it was stunning! The first morning, we hiked Arthur's Seat, which is the dormant volcano that engulfs the town, and then we also did a walking tour through the main section of the city. Since we were super sore the next day, we did a bus tour of the Highlands, which is Scotland's scenic countryside..unbelievably beautiful! I've pretty much officially decided that I must live somewhere as beautiful as these places at some point in my life- I'd be missing out if I didn't give it a try! All of these weekend trips have gotten me beyond excited for more travelling, and I currently have a 5-day spring break trip to Barcelona booked, as well as a 3-day visit to Paris in early April! We're looking to book Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam and more!

Present:

I have survived another week of classes, lectures, field trips, outing to the grocery store and of course, a little shopping for fun (come on...everyone needs some souvenirs!) Unfortunately, I had the luck of mis-stepping off the curb onto the street last night, and have a swollen, rolled ankle to show for it. (I was going out to get some late-night Chinese food with some friends..not even a good story behind it!) So sadly, I am bed-bound for the weekend with lots of Rest Ice Compression and Elevation as I'm hoping I'll be back in working order for Monday, since walking IS my main form of transportation around town. More updates will follow, as well as more pictures of my time abroad in London! I hope all is well back in the States- to any East Coast readers, enjoy that snow!

There's no place like (the library) for the holidays

2009-12-10T08:59:00.003-05:00

Ahh...it's that time of year again...finals, woohooooo!

Since the last time I've posted I had my last official week of classes of fall semester, junior year..I can't tell if I'm happy or sad that they are over...realistically, I'm pretty happy, but I'd honestly rather still be in the classes than just studying for their finals.

This week has consisted of preparing for my 5 finals. This is the first time in 5 semesters at Lehigh that I am actually taking 5 finals, 2 of which are cumulative. I took the first one for my psych class two days ago, and I'm glad I did it, because if all goes well, I will have bumped my A- into an A in the class! That will definitely give my GPA a little extra help!

I am NOT looking forward to the next 3 days of exams. I have my cumulative intermediate accounting on Friday, my law exam Saturday, and my cumulative cost accounting exam on Sunday. It seems like a lot, and I am a little stressed and overwhelmed, but since there are no classes this week, I literally have ALL DAY to spend studying for the various tests at my own pace. I'm working hard and hoping for the best, and will be super relieved when I take my final final (ha) on Tuesday.

As usual, I've somehow managed to accumulate more stuff than even imaginable in my room throughout the course of the semester. As it did take me two car loads to move in, I'm expecting it to take me 3 carloads to move out, so I've already packed up a lot of clothes and other misc. items and taken one load home. Since I'm going abroad next semester (and NINE other girls from my sorority are going abroad too!), everyone is switching rooms within the house and therefore I have to take everything home (down to my curtains and posters and everything else..). It's definitely sad to see my room slowly disassemble, and even more sad to think that I won't ever live in the sorority house again (I have a lease for an off-campus house for senior year). This is the last few days that I have living with my roommate Steph, and we're both unhappy with the thought of being apart next semester that we don't even like to talk about it :(

Whenever I get sad about leaving, I just remind myself of what I'm getting myself into next semester...the experience of a lifetime! Good things fall apart so better things can fall together, and I know I'm going to have the time of my life next semester. Sure, I'm definitely going to miss my friends and my family and my boyfriend while I'm gone, but that's what Skype and letters are for! Maybe if they're lucky I'll bring home a few souvenirs..just maybe ;-)

But less I digress, I must get going..I want to be down in the library studying all morning and afternoon so I am free to watch The Office (best show ever!) on TV tonight. Good luck with all your senior year classes and finals, and Happy (early) Holidays!

1 week left?

2009-11-29T20:43:00.002-05:00

Many apologies on the lack of blogging this semester..I can't believe its been over a month since my last post! Here's a little bit on what's kept me so busy and away from my computer at times..

Classes: my classes are in full swing. In fact, its the Sunday night after Thanksgiving break, and I'm glad I got lost of rest over the holiday because there is only ONE WEEK left of classes! I can't even begin to believe that thought. Once classes end this week, there are two reading days next week and its time for finals to begin. I have 4 finals (out of 5 classes)- two of which are cumulative, two of which are not, so I'm going to be on my A-game studying and preparing for those. I'll take my last final on Dec. 15th and then will be done for the fall semester!

Activities: the clubs and organizations have also been on a roll this semester too. I gave my last tour of the semester Monday before break, and I also sadly realized that will be my last tour of the year (since I'll be abroad next semester). We're having our end-of-the-semester holiday party tomorrow evening with a little secret-santa present exchange, so I'm excited to see how everyones' breaks went!

Friends: A few weeks ago was my 21st birthday, so I've been enjoying celebrating with my other friends who are turing 21 as well. Last week was the 145th matchup between Lehigh and our arch-rival Lafayette as part of the longest most continuously played college football rivalry in the country and guess what the results were....SUCCESS! Lehigh won in an amazing overtime and needless to say, the crowds went wild. Lehigh-Laf is definitely one of my faborite times of the year, I can't believe I only have one left to enjoy :(

Next semester: With the end of this semester in sight, I'm already thinking about next semester. I am beyond excited to head off to my study abroad in London in January, and I recently signed up for my classes and for several social events for when I'm there. I'm pumped for my London Architecture and Urbanism class, and I'm also taking British Drama and Theatre, during which I'll get to see several live plays on British stages. I bought tickets to a rugby match, Cirque de Soleil, and an ice skating social at the Museum of Natural History, which will be fun events to get to know the other students on the program. Another huge focus of my current semester was lining up a summer internship for when I returned, and I am greatly appreciative of the offers I have received from two reputable accounting firms. I have 2 more weeks to make a decision about which firm I will join for an internship, but it's a major relief knowing I have an exciting job in Philadelphia to come home to in the spring.

That's about all I have for now..in my true Sunday night fashion, I have all the homework to complete that I've been putting off all weekend (and all break..but you can't blame- I HAD to go shopping to get some of those Black Friday sales!). I promise to be back sometime before finals, and I'll leave it with a wish for Happy Holidays to all the readers!

On a roll!

2009-10-12T22:14:00.002-04:00

Ahhh..do you know that feeling when you have a massive, long to-do list but you're checking off a ton of the items on it? It's such a good feeling, and I am eating that up right now!

I have to admit that I think I'm developing a new attitude to school this semester. I know most students constantly feel like they are behind on work, or that one week is overloaded while another is easy...and trust me, I am just as guilty of thinking these thoughts (reference some of my past posts if you need proof!) However, I am starting to realize that when you legitimately DO stay on top of your tasks, things aren't quite as bad as they seem!

I logged some serious hours studying for my cost accounting and supply chain management exams last week, but my hard work paid off- I'm pleased with my scores and now have the strategies and the motivation to continue to do well in those classes. I'm using this belief to prepare for a few other tests I have in the upcoming weeks, and am forcing myself to begin to study plenty early so I don't get behind on it.

I have officially my received my acceptance to my study abroad program for next semester!!!! I am powering through the paperwork (again, it seems like a lot, but I have to recognize I AM leaving the country for 4 months..it needs some heavy documentation!) and am blown away by the fact that at this exact moment 3 months from now I will be moving into my new residence in a foreign country. AHHHHHH!!!!!!!! There will definitely be more updates as I prepare for this journey and begin my life abroad in January!

All in all, I am pretty content with the way things are going :-) This upcoming weekend in Young Alumni Reunion, so I am excited to see some of my friends who graduated this past May and will be back on campus. Next Monday I am going on an accounting club trip into NYC to visit a few accounting firms which will also be a nice change of pace from the regular work week.

Yay for the fall (but boo to the cold weather)! And most importantly...KEEP IT UP PHILLIES! NCLS Here We Come! Is this a 2009 World Championship in the making?! WOOOHOOO!

So slacking!

2009-09-29T04:48:00.002-04:00

OK...I'm busted..I definitely haven't posted in wayyy too long of a time. It's just a sign of how crazy busy this semester has been!

I feel like I've been doing a little of this, a little of that, and everything in between. Where to start..

Classes are definitely keeping me on my toes this semester. Cost accounting is currently my biggest priority (I have a major test on Thursday) and another test in Supply Chain Management on Wednesday (talk about bad timing..). Except for the constant work I have between cost and Intermediate Accounting II, my classes are reasonably enjoyable, especially my elective Adulthood and Aging class. But enough about school work..

My clubs/organizations are in full swing for the semester. I've given a tour or two since I've been back, and I just finished leading my last evoLUtion seminar for the freshmen orientation. After the initial 4-day orientation weekend in August, all first-year students have a weekly meeting (for the first 4 weeks of school) with their group to continue discussing important topics. I think my group enjoyed the program (or at least they let me think they did!) and I know they are well on their well to making the best of their Lehigh experiences too. My sorority is gearing up for a year's worth of events too, so there's definitely never a dull moment in my schedule..

I'm still waiting to hear back on my application for my Study Abroad program (I'm getting impatient!!!) and I keep thinking of places to go and things to do next semester while in London. I'm also attempting to secure an internship for the summer when I return. It's a little stressful balancing school work, clubs, internship applications and a social life, but I think I'm staying on top of it all. I've had a lot of fun at our first two home football games, went to Philly for the weekend to see back-to-back Dave Matthews Band concerts (sooo good!!) and staying on top of the new season of Gossip Girl.

All-in-all, it's been busy and fun, and I canNOT believe that it's already September 29- how does time always go by this fast?! More updates soon!

Guess who's back..

2009-08-25T10:56:00.002-04:00

Yay yay yay- it's back to school time!

This is something I definitely NEVER said back in my high school days, but now that I am at Lehigh I have a back-to-school count down that starts the first day I'm home for summer vacation. I am soo happy and excited to be back, and can't believe it's already been over a week since I returned to campus.

I moved back to Lehigh on Sat. 8/15 to begin Orientation Leader training which was a lot of fun. We have a staff of about 60 students who volunteer their time and talents to help guide the new class of 2013 to the start of their new college experience. Our training had some long days, and lots of material to cover about facilitation, resources on campus, how to handle the different type of students who will be in our groups, but it all paid off- I met 23 awesome new first-year students that I had in my group (GROUP 58 SHOUTOUT!) and I think they had a great first-weekend on campus. We did everything from group dinners, a text-message scavenger hunt of the Southside Bethlehem, a CultureFest trivia night, and then some..I think everyone benefitted from the 2009 Orientation Experience!

Despite my somewhat hectic schedule of Orientation group and staff meetings, I moved into my new room in my sorority house, and if I say so myself, it looks pretty good! My roommate and I lucked out and got one of the largest rooms in the house, and we're loving our new space. It's been fun to come home to my house full of friends and visitors, and it feels like a dream that I am back in the routine of doing this every day for the next 4 months!

Today was my second day of classes, and I have a tough academic semester ahead of me. I'm taking 5 courses (Cost Accounting, Intermediate Accoutning 2, Business Law, Supply Chain Management, and a psych course called Adulthood and Aging). In addition to my classes, I'm helping as an "Apprentice Teacher" for the Business 001 class, so I will be able to help a group of first-year students on their Nike case study project. I'm also finalizing my plans (and by finalizing I mean just getting around to filling out all my applications..) for going abroad to London next spring semester, and will begin on campus interviewing for an internship so that is all lined up for next summer when I get home from Europe. It sounds like a lot (and I know it is) but its all worth it and will make the following semesters a lot less crazy. Besides, I definitely work best with a busy schedule anyway..

That being said, I'm off to grab a quick lunch and get a few things done before my next 2 classes. My 2009 school year solution: don't slack- stay on top of it all! And this year..I'm actually sticking to that. I'll let you know how it goes!

As always, feel free to comment or e-mail me at mkb211@lehigh.edu with any questions! Enjoy your last weeks of summer/ the beginning of classes!

Life is a highway

2009-07-13T15:46:00.002-04:00

To any dedicated readers out there, I apologize for my one-month mental breakdown in which I totally forgot I had a blog. Summertime has been flying by- I've been busy but loving every minute of it and can't belive that it is already mid-July. Why do the good times always pass by so fast?!

Since I last posted in late May, I've been working away at the Alumni Association on several events that I'm planning. I've recently been in touch with a lot of the incoming class of 2013 about their upcoming student sendoffs that we're hosting all throughout the country. They're a lot of fun and a great chance to meet other incoming students, current students and alumni from your own area. Good times! Besides for work, I have been plugging away on my two summer courses. Last week I finished my accounting course through Lehigh and am half-way through my online course at another institution.

Besides for the business parts of life, I've been all over the place. For the 4th of July I went to New York City for a day of exploring and fireworks, and then travelled to Coney Island the next day for the AVP Pro Volleyball Tour. We had gorgeous weather, saw some impressive volleyball skills, and now I may or may not have NYC fever because I'm already anxious to go back. This weekend I travelled to Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore too..who knows what next weekend will bring!? I love going out and exploring new places, and fill my weekdays with bike rides, shopping, catching up with friends, and occasionally a night of just relaxing on the couch.

As for my return to Lehigh slowly approaching (August 15th because I'm an Orientation Leader..yikes!), I'm getting more and more excited to catch up with my friends from school. I've been picking up some things for my room when I'm out shopping, hearing stories about the adventures my friends are having elsewhere, and am attempting to coordinate with 3 of my bestriends for a trip to Martha's Vineyard before we move back. I hope it works out because I miss them terribly- it's crazy how close you become with people during just two years at school.

I hope everyone else is loving summer, having safe travels, maybe making some money and just generally loving life. I promise I;ll be back to blog again!

Summertime and the living's easy..

2009-05-29T13:43:00.002-04:00

I can't make up my mind if I think the first few weeks of summer are going by fast or slow..a little bit of both I think, but that's probably for the best!

Since I've been home I've fallen into a pretty consistent routine. My first weekend home was traditional reunion weekend at Lehigh and I had such a good time working. The other student workers were so much fun to hang out with and I have to say that this year's parade of classes (when all the classes line up and parade down memorial walkway) was quite impressive. It involved floats, choreographed singing and dancing, extreme outfits and I think it brought a smile to everyone's face. Although I was tired from the long weekend, I went to graduation the next day to see some of my friends receive their hard-earned diplomas. It's hard to see them go knowing they won't be in the crowd of people moving back in for the fall, but I'm sure I'll see them around and will be definitely keeping in touch.

Other than that, my other work has been mostly the same old same old, just working on various projects. I've been catching up with lots of friends and am glad that finally the whole group is home together. We went to our first "Wing Night" of the summer at a local restaurant that we went to almost every Monday night for most of high school because of the delicious (and half-priced) wings. We've just been watching movies (I confess..I convinced someone to watch the Hannah Montana movie with me..and we both kind of liked it) and jamming to the new Dave Matthews cd (I KNOW someone out there is as excited about it as I have been!)

For Memorial Day weekend, I went down to Bethany Beach, DE with my family for a nice 4-day weekend. I got a killer tan and spent some quality time with the cousins (who i'm going to call out, they read this blog and quote it back to me..punks) , and it's been a hard week back to reality with work and..summer school..I can't believe my one summer class at Lehigh has already started, but so far I have nothing but good things to say about it. I'm taking Acct 315 (Intermediate Accounting 1) and the professor makes the 1 hr 35 min class fly by. Come June 8 my second online course starts, but I'm trying to think about that too much.

And that's pretty much about it. It's going on 3 on a Friday afternoon so I'm beginning the countdown to 5 PM when I'll leave the office and the weekend will officially begin..let's hope I find something good to do! Enjoy the weather and congratulations on graduation to all you seniors!

In the summertime when the weather is fine..

2009-05-11T15:53:00.002-04:00

I'm busted..I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm blaming that solely on the fact that it is...SUMMER! The last three weeks have been such a whirlwind and I feel like I've finally just settled down into my summer routine.

My finals and last few days living at Lehigh went well, and were bittersweet in so many ways. I honestly don't think I've ever prepared so hard for two tests as I did my accounting and my micro finals, and as stressed and tired as I was from my efforts, I didn't know what to do with myself after they were done. And although it doesn't seem like it'd be too bad, packing up my room (aka my life) was almost just as hard as the tests. It's amazing how much stuff I accumulated throughout the year, and it was so hard to motivate to get that all packed away, but thankfully it only took me two trips to get everything home.

Just as it was at the end of last year, and even as it is when it's time to go home for winter breaks, it was sad to say goodbye to all my friends. Even though I'll definitely be visiting lots of them throughout the summer, and tons of people visit Lehigh or are here to take summer courses/work, I know it'll only be about two weeks into summer until I count up the number of days until we all move back in in August. I think this year's goodbyes were a little more difficult because I'm friends with a few seniors who are graduating and have a couple of friends going abroad in the fall..but as the saying goes, "and though we wish it could have stayed, we were so lucky to have seen it."

I think by this point it might sound as if I'm really all sappy and sad, but I'm actually not- I'm soo happy to be home, spending some time with my family and catching up with all my friends from home. On my second night home we had a girls' night of dinner and shopping, and last night I battled some of my boys in an intense catchphrase tournament (which I won and I will gloat about to them for the entire summer). We have so many plans for beach trips, dave matthews band concerts, phillies baseball games, Musikfest and a million other things we're going to squeeze in, so I certainly have a lot to look forward to.

As usual, I am unable to sit still and be bored for more than a day, so I started my full time summer job today at Lehigh's alumni association. I'm pumped to be back working at LUAA for the second summer in a row, and already have had a full days worth of tasks to work on. Today I mostly helped prepare some things for the upcoming Traditional Reunion, which is this weekend. Reunion weekend is a time when 800+ alumni, plus their families and guests, return to campus for countless different activities, from parades, to class lunches, to guest speakers and Reunionfest. I'm also working the entire weekend as a transportation driver, so I'll get to help the alumni get to all their activities throughout the campus and hang out with all the other workers as well. I'm looking forward to a great weekend, a fun summer, and I'll be checking in later to let you know how it goesss!

It's the final countdown

2009-04-28T20:26:00.003-04:00

This one's a live update from Fairmart library. My friends all know what that me actually being in Fairmart means- I mean business...It's that lovely time of the years where finals suck the last bit of fun out of the school year, and I've been hibernating at the same desk since 11 AM this morning (it's now 8:30, and I still don't plan on leaving anytime soon..). I've found a nice little desk tucked away where I can get my work done without any distractions. I just want it to be 8 AM tomorrow morning so I can take my Accounting 152 final and have it be done with!

The past two weeks have been a total whirlwind- the last week of classes, the last weekend to hang, and the good (not) times of finals week. To make the temptation to not study even stronger, it's been abnormally gorgeous weather for late April- the past 3 days its been about 90 degrees and sunny. I incorporated laying out in the sun into my study breaks all weekend, and once this test is done tomorrow you can guess where I'll be!

These 2-3 weeks are my least favorite weeks of the year...there's so much going on, so little time, tests to study for, and worst, everyone's packing up to go home. It's weird to know the people I've lived, studied and hung out with everyday for the past 9 months aren't going to be around for the next 3. I'm pretty luck being from the area, especially since lots of my friends are staying at Lehigh for the summer, but it still won't be the same. If only we could be at school year round (but with that awesome time off of work..). I know, I know, wishful thinking, but hey, this IS my studybreak...

Best of luck to everyone on their upcoming finals! Wish me luck too!

April showers bring May flowers...and summer!

2009-04-14T21:04:00.003-04:00

Here's an update live from Linderman Library-and I'm sorry that this is longgg overdue!

As I feel like I start almost every post, it's been a busy past few weeks- but this time I'm taking that to a whole new level. I don't even know where to begin what all has been going on..To start, at the current moment I have approximately 23 days until I move home for summer break! That's beyond a scary thought- this week is the 2nd to last of week of classes, and next week we meet regularly for the first 3 days, and the last 2 days are reading/consultation days where we can go meet with our professors/advisors for any last minute concerns before finals begin.

I'm taking 3 finals at the end of this semester- the least amount of finals I've ever had to take to date, which is very good news for me! Two of my classes this semester have optional finals- I can take it if I think it will help raise my final grade in the class. I'm planning on taking my optional Finance exam because I feel I can definitely improve my grade from where it is now, but I'm not taking my psychology final because I am very content with my average grade now. But nonetheless, I'm already beginning to bust my hump getting ready for those 3 tests so I can just take them by storm and begin my summer vacation!

As I mentioned, I'm sitting a a fairly-crowded Linderman Library at 9:30. At the moment, I'm tired from reviewing finance problems, but I'm also really excited because this week is Greek Week- A week where all the different Greek chapters get together and compete in different fun competitions, from a dance competition, to both male and female pageants, gladiator and sumo-wrestling, dodgeball, bull-riding and lots of different things. Yesterday was opening ceremony and it was awesome to watch all the new pledge classes donning creative togas and banners representing their houses, and I know when I show my pictures to my friends from other schools, they won't believe their eyes at the sight. This is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year, and I can't wait to be done with tests and homeworks so I can enjoy it to it's full extent!

I've also been busy with wrapping up my final weeks at the philanthropy coordinator for my house- we had our final ice cream party/end of the year celebration with the Girl Scouts, and I've pretty happily handed over the reins to incoming philanthropy chair so she can begin to develop her plan of attack for next year. We also had house room picks for next year and I'm pumped that my roomie and I have upgraded to one of the largest rooms with (just wait..)...a walk-in closet! We'll both be in closet-space-heaven for the few weeks next year!

I've also been working to finalize my work plans for the upcoming summer. Talk about no rest for the wicked..I take my last final on Wed. the 6th, and I'm going right to work full-time starting Mon. the 11th. I'm sooo excited to be returning to my job as an intern in Lehigh's Alumni Association. I'll be working on planning events like Lehigh Under the Stars and the First-Year Student/Alumni Rally, as well as a whole bunch of other projects for LUAA. I'm glad to be working from the get-go..I obviously don't like to be bored for too long, and plus it'll be nice to start to save up some cash to pay for some summer fieldtrips...I forsee lots of Phillies baseball games, Dave Matthews concerts and late-night ice-cream runs with my friends from home...I can't wait!

But before I get all carried away thinking of the rest and relaxation that's almost here, I should probably get back to the exciting topics of cost of capital and super-growth financial models (yes, it really is as exciting as it sounds)...I hope everyone is enjoying their spring so far!

Happy (almost) April Fools!

2009-03-29T23:18:00.002-04:00

It's 11:20, do you know where you're children are? Although I'm not sure that my mom would believe it, but I'm still in the lib getting ready for the upcoming week. I have three tests coming up in microeconomics, marketing, and psychology, so I'm defnitely trying to stay on top of my game this week and not fall behind in my preparation..I'm also glad that I have two tests behind me from last week, so I'm sure this week will go fast and another weekend will be here.

This past weekend was awesome- it started off Friday night with my sorority's formal, and I had an awesome time. I lovee getting dressed up and I think my date and I hardly left the dance floor all night. The only bad part of formal was waking up the next morning at 8 am to start to get ready for a charity softball tournament, but that actually turned out being almost just as fun..I was quite impressed with everyone's secret softball skills and even hit a single myself..I think everyone enjoyed themselves, and the best part was it all went to a good cause..

I've also been trying to figure out my schedule for next semester..I'm planning on going abroad second semester of my junior year, so I'm working with my advisor to see how to plan my core and major courses around this. My advisor's been real helpful, and with the possibility of taking a summer class or two this summer, I'm glad I'll be able to take the incredible chance of going abroad for a full semester, and still be right on track with graduation and credit hours. I can't wait!

Happy (Belated) St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-19T17:34:00.002-04:00

So I definitely had a mental block and forgot that I had a blog to update for the past two weeks..apologies, apologies! I hope everyone's past few days have gone well!

It's been a little hectic on the Lehigh front for me since I've been back- I was definitely still in vacation mind-frame for the first couple of days...but it was definitely worth it to put my work aside and hear some stories about the breaks and travel experiences of my friends. Why do holidays and weekends just fly on by..

Other than that, it's been the same old same old. My Leadership Lehigh group executed our project, which was an experience in and of itself, and we received lots of interesting feedback while attempting to educate our peers about sexual health in college. I've been busy with work for my sorority, and have prepared two girl scout outtings since we've been back. Although I like working with them, I'm always a little disenheartened by the number of GS who come to the meetings..hopefully tonight's attendance will be better! LU Greek life is also preparing for Greek Week in April (which is a week of fun and games...I'll elaborate once it gets closer!) and accredidation. Accredidation is definitely NOT a week of fun and games, but it's important nonetheless. This is when the school reviews every aspect of our chapter's performance throughout the year, so I've been busy preparing write-ups describing the philanthropy events we've produced and collecting the various service project information our sister's have participated in. It's quite the impressive list!

Tuesday was one of my favoriteee holidays of the year- St. Patty's day! Being Irish (red curly hair and green eyes..yeah...) I enjoy the holiday probably a bit more than the average joe. Although I must say, I did get lots of complements on my silly leprechaun hat and various green necklaces throughout the day... I'm a little sad that it's all said and done, so I'll be keeping my green decorations up in my room for a few more days of st. patrick's day cheer!

Other than that, not too much excitement going on..looking forward to my spring formal in two weeks and our charity softball tournament we have planned..not looking forward to the next round of tests I have coming up, but I've started plugging away at studying so I don't get behind the ball..oh the productivity!

more spring break please!

2009-03-07T10:39:00.002-05:00

I am writing from the comforts of my own home after my amazing spring break trip down to Jamaica with three of my closet girls. To summarize, we had fun and then some more.

We arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica at about 3 in the afternoon, and as soon as we checked into our resort and started exploring, we knew it was going to be a great trip. The hotel was gorgeous- huge, all open-air, and we have a gorgeous oceanfront view from our room and balcony. There were lots of places to relax, get some food and some drinks, and we basically roasted ourselves on the beach for about 8 hours a day.

Despite some sunburn on the first day, we managed to play through the pain and check out all the resorts amenities..we played volleyball, paddle-boated, got massages, went on a Catamaran ride around the island, did some shopping, and made some crazy friends from all over the place who were also staying at the resort. There were also a lot of night-time activities as well so we never went bored once the sun went down.

Over all, the trip was nothing short of great. Minus a small case of food poisoning that I managed to get, there was nothing I would regret from the trip. Now that I'm back home at my house with my parents, I have only a day left till I go back to campus. I'm kind of anxous to get back and catch up with my friends who went to other SB destinations and here all about their trips, but that brings the terrible thought of actually having to start to do WORK again...not quite sure if I'm ready for that..

I'm leaving on a jet planeee!

2009-02-26T13:23:00.002-05:00

So today is FINALLYYY the day I feel like I've been waiting for all semester! I'm putting my books away, packing my bags, and heading to Philadelphia tonight so I'm all prepared for my morning flight to JAMAICA!!!! I cannot wait to hit the beach, get a tan and actually read a book..for fun.

I've spent the past weekend and start of this week wrapping up some homeworks and taking my last test (whew!) and now I'm 100% in the vacation mode! I'm even giving myself a few days off from thinking about what I have due when I get back, my team project for leadership lehigh...and I need not continue, because I don't have to for once!

I hope everyone enjoys their spring break and some rest and relaxtion!

I survived!

2009-02-21T11:20:00.002-05:00

I don't think I ever looked forward to the weekend as much as I did this past week. I was pretty stressed out with my three tests three days in a row situation, but overall I think I did pretty well on them. By the time I finished the last test, my accounting 4 o'clock on Wednesday, I immediately started the best 14-straight hours of sleep of my life. I also had dinner with my parents and older sister who was in town for the night before hand, which was pretty cool.

I spent Thursday just catching up on things I'd been putting off all week, AKA my e-mail inbox which looked like I hadn't answered my mail in months, even though it had only been three days. I'm up (kind of) early on this Saturday morning because our new pledge class will be initiated in a few hours! I can't believe that means 6 weeks off the semester have already past, but nonetheless I am excited for them to be full-sisters now. We also have a huge traditional dinner called the "feast of roses" tonight where all the girls parents come and see the house for the first time too...so I guess that means I should probably clean sometime soon..

Tomorrow I'll be getting some work done to prepare for the next week, but I'm also excited because we have our orientation leaders' training retreat tomorrow afternoon. I had so much fun during the retreat last year, it'll be great to do it with our new group of OLs. Although I'm having lots of fun this semester, the lots of work has had me a little tense..so I just keep reminding myself..spring break in 6 days! Wooohoooo!

I wish life had a pause button..

2009-02-15T19:59:00.002-05:00

I think I always go to start every post with something along the lines of how fast time is going, but its sadly true..another week has flown by and another one is about to start.

This past week has been a blur of studying, homework and other random things. I think I did well on my marketing 4 o'clock on Thursday and then had a great time working with the girl scout troops with my sorority. We worked on a math, maps and more badge which sounds just like more school work but we had a lot of fun with it. I also got to participate in my first psych experiment, which was interesting to say the least. For my psych one class, we have the option of either writing a paper or participating in student-conducted experiments, and obviously chose to do the experiments. I had to test my reaction skills on a computer, and I'm pretty certain I have horribly slow reaction time..

I had a lot of fun over the weekend to make up for my busy week..valentines day with my friends was a great, up until they made me watch "a walk to remember" for the first time, and that's when I started to remember why I dislike the holiday..

I worked a volleyball tournament all day today so I'm pretty tired, but now my fun really starts as I have three major tests three days in a row..you don't even want to get me started on that, but all I can say is I cannot WAIT for Wednesday afternoon to be over! I'll let you all know how they go..wish me luck!

Library on a Saturday?!

2009-02-07T18:01:00.002-05:00

Once again, this past week has kept me on my toes..

My classes are all in full-gear, and I've already taken my first psychology test of the semester (which was a success, wahoo! I'm hoping to dominate all four of the in-class tests this semester, because if you are satisfied with you grade after those four tests, the final is optional!) I've finished up the first part of my marketing project with no problems, but the 5 page paper is a little more challenging that I initially expected. I feel like I'm being repetitive, so I'm trying to come up with some more creative spins.

I've been hanging out in the library a lot this week, because some lovely distractions (including, but not limited to, my bed, my friends, my facebook, my TV and anything that's not finance) have been slowing down my progress when at my house.

I've had lots of meetings that keep me bustling over all campus. Besides for my routine ASA and Leadership Lehigh meetings, I was pumped to go to the first Greek Week chair meeting. I'm one of the sophomores in my house that will be helping our new pledge class prepare for the fun week in late April, where all the houses go all out and compete in some crazy competitions, like both male and female "beauty pageants", a dance competition, obstacle courses, gladiator battles..and that's only the start. A lot of my favorite memories and pictures from freshman year come from that week!

We had another Girl Scout meeting this week, and I was a little disheartned when only four Girl Scouts showed up to their own meeting. It was disappointing because myself and the girls from my sorority that came with me had taken time to prepare our activities for the night and cleared our schedule for the meeting. I hope they have better attendance next week when we see them again!

On a much much more exciting note, three friends and I have made the ridiculously impromptu decision that in 3 weeks for spring break, we will be going to...JAMAICA! I'm beyond exciting and can't wait to lay out on a beach and soak in some sun. I can already imagine how difficult it will be to come back to schoolwork after that..

But less I disgress, I must get back to work..I'm totally being a bum tonight and getting my work done and relaxing with a movie. Mmmm, Saturday night..

So it's February now?

2009-02-02T09:31:00.002-05:00

Once again, apologies for somewhat slacking on updating this. This past week/weekend was crazy, hectic, and a million other adjectives along those lines.

To start, all my classes are going full-steam ahead. I already have my first marketing project due tomorrow and a psych test on Wednesday! My finance and accounting classes have kept my fingers inches from my calculators, but I'm beginning to enjoy the work more now because I'm better understanding what I am attempting to do with the homework. I also had several meetings last week- one of which was a Leadership Lehigh workshop where we practiced "group/team efficiency" through a series of boat-building simulations with tinker toys. Sounds simple, but it was fun, challenging, and became an intense competetion between the groups. I also gave a tour to a group of boys from an all-boys school in California, and also got to have dinner with them and here about their experiences and thoughts on the college-admissions process. As hectic as it sound, I managed to stay on task the entire week and know I had spent my time well, and that even included getting together with friends from freshmen year to relax one afternoon.

This weekend was not one of my most enjoyable ones. I travelled home (which isn't far- it's only a whopping 20 minutes away) to be the tournament director for two volleyball tournaments. I work for the old Junior Olympic Club team I used to play for, and this weekend was responsible for overseeing 38 teams. They kept me on my toes for both of my 12-hour work day, and I had the most sound sleep of my life after those two days, but I don't mind the work because I still love the game of volleyball, and it's simply nice to earn some money to cover my expenses I always manage to rack up.

I was glad to come back to Lehigh last night and be back on the Hill (where all the fraternities and sororities are) in time for the Superbowl game. Unfortunately, I fell asleep about a half hour into the game. Would it be bad to admit that at this time I still don't even know who won? (I lost interest in the games since my beloved Eagles blew it, and I'll leave it at that..)

Now I'm about to head off to my psych class in a few minutes, which is great because we'll review for our test on Wednesday, and then I'll have an fternoon of putting the finishing touches on my marketing case study. Maybe if I'm motivated still, I'll hit the gym tonight..but that's a big maybe. But I'm off, I don't want to be too late to class- hope everyone elses' weekends went well!

It's Sunday..what?

2009-01-25T12:57:00.002-05:00

OK, to start, apologies for seriously slacking on the blog this week. I've had so much going on I feel like I was rarely at my computer.

My classes have all been going so well. I'm really interested in my marketing class, and on Thursday morning we did a fun in-class activity where we went through newspapers and magazines to look at advertisements and see what concepts we've been talking about and how they actually do exist and work. I've spent some serious quality time with my new financial calculator to help me work out problems for my finance and microeconomics class.

As for outside the classroom and the lib, I had lots of extra-curriculars going on. I met with my Leadership Lehigh group project team to discuss our upcoming event involving student awareness of sexual health. I also had an interview for being an Orientation Leader again next year- I hope it went well! Also, and this was my favorite part of this week, my sorority and I had a first meeting with a local Girl Scout troop. 7 of us went over to their meeting site and helped them do activities, group discussions, and play some games, and the best part is that by the end of the night, we helped them earn their leadership badge! They were a lot of fun and had so many questions about attending college, greek life, and pretty much anything else you can think of. I'm pumped that we're meeting up with them again next week to help them earn their women's health badge.

And then finalllyyy, it was the weekend and I had an awesome one :) My friend from high school came to visit on Friday, and he had an awesome time going out with me and my friends. Last night, my sorority had our semesterly date party and we had a BLAST getting all dressed up with our dates and dancing the night away at a banquet hall nearby. I was stubborn and kept my heels on the entire night, and now I'm paying for that this morning- my feet are killing me!

I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon cleaning my room (I swear, I don't know how it gets so messy every day..) doing some homework and then relaxing with a good movie. Whyyy do the weekends go so fast?!

Baby Its Cold Outside..

2009-01-20T13:38:00.002-05:00

Brrrrrr! The past few days have reminded me how much I hate the winter and lovee the summer. It snowed a few inches over the weekend, but two impromptu snowball fights and one speedy sled-ride made up for the low temperature. Over the weekend I spent more than enough time lounging in bed and watching movies, and also spent a lot of time with my friends, doing some shopping and I even cleaned my room. The only thing I did NOT do was make much progress on my daunting to-do list, which I then had to hustle through Sunday and Monday night. Eventually I'll learn to stay on top of those things..

Have you ever had that really happy, confident feeling you get when you know you've been purposeful and accomplished during the day? I'm not sure if I can put that to words any better, but it's the feeling I've had all day Monday and so far today. I've been wide-awake for all of my classes, did well on my homework assignments, got back on track with my reading, and signed up for a tutor for my finance class. The icing on the cake is I finally got off my lazy butt and made it to the gym TWO DAYS IN A ROW (yes, this really is that monumentous of an occassion.) I'm signed up for group exercise for the classes, and have since been suffering at the hands of my core stability and pilates instructors. It feels good to know I'm making the most out of my day, but explains why I was soundly asleep by 11 last night. The early bird catches the worm, right? I guess I'll see if that holds true tomorrow when I try to get up at 8 am..

TGIF

2009-01-16T13:37:00.002-05:00

Woooooohoooooo! One week of class down...sixteen left (i think?)! Regardless, I'm so glad it's the weekend and I have some time off to just hang out, get some serious sleep and (maybe) get ahead on my work for the next week..

Today was a rough start though..didn't get the memo that it's 16 degrees out (not even joking about that) and I think I almost froze my toes off walking down to class. I was supposed to go snow-tubing at one of the mountains not far from here tonight, but we decided to reschedule since it's way too chilly to be outside. I'm thinking about going to see that new 3D horror movie that comes out tonight at the Promenade Shops nearby..I've already warned my friends that I don't do scary movies very well, but I really want to see a movie in 3D.

And I almost forgot to mention before that I promised an update on the accounting homework- it took me awhile to get into the groove, but once I got going I finished the problem set in about two hours. When we went over the problems in class the next day, I only had a few small errors..great success! Then I kind of started to daydream and realized how much I miss my dog (I have a little white Havanese named Zoe) and had my mom picture-message me a picture of her later that night...Note to all: don't teach your parents how to text- you'll never escape!

But that's all for now, it's time to start to enjoy my weekend! Have a good one everyone =]

Anddd we're back!

2009-01-14T13:47:00.002-05:00

It feels sooo good to be getting back into the swing of things at school. I know I just had a month off, but it feels like I didn't miss a beat from last semester.

I came back a little after New Years to start to get ready for formal sorority recruitment. Although it was great seeing my friends from home over the winter break, I was beyond excited to get back to my house and see what my sisters have been up to for the past month. Sorority recruitment is a one-week long process before classes start in the spring semester. Any female wishing to rush can come back to participate in the process (the earliest you can rush is between 1st n 2nd semester freshman year). All the rushees go to all eight sororities to meet the sisters, watch skits, do a philanthropic project, and eventually decide where they'd like to become a member. My house has 28 lovely ladies in our new pledge class and I'm so excited to get to know them better!

Then I did have a little reality check when classes started Monday morning. I'm taking 5 classes (16 credits), most of which are business related. I'm a morning person, so I have classes scheduled for bright and early, but its great that all my professors seem really energetic, so that'll help keep me awake too. I unfortunately already have homework in some classes, and lots of reading as well, but you gotta do what you gotta do...

I have a busy afternoon today with meetings for some of the clubs I am in but I think I'm going to schedule in some time to take a nap before getting to that homework :) I'll give updates on how my first Accounting 152 problem set goes, but wish me luck!

Where has fall semester gone?!

2009-01-06T23:10:00.000-05:00

I don’t want start off my first blog with a cliché, but I truly can’t help it- time flies fast when you’re having fun, and now that I’m at the end of my first semester of sophomore year, I can’t help but wonder where the time has gone.

This semester has been a whirlwind of activity and I’ve loved every minute of it- the ups, the downs, and all the things in between. I started the semester by serving as an Orientation Leader for the incoming Class of 2012, and it was INCREDIBLE to be on the front-line of the Lehigh welcome committee. Between the icebreaker games, the campus tours, and the discussions of anything and everything that’s Lehigh, I feel that the new class of freshmen is starting their year off on the right foot, and it was great to be a part of that experience.

Once classes kicked in, the things started to get a little hectic- I took 17 credits (5 courses) that included three business classes, a social science course, and an advanced language class. Some classes came more easily to me than others, and despite being as stubborn as I am about asking for help, I got a tutor for my stat class and visited my Spanish professor’s office hours at least once a week. It paid off- I’m happy with the grades I received this semester and have set a goal to make Dean’s List next semester.

One of the highlights of the first semester was having an unbelievable Lehigh-Lafayette week. As the longest continuously played college football rivalry in the country, it’s needless to say that the 144th matchup was an epic event. To start the week, my friends and I formed a team in the Annual Bed Race competition and gave it our all pushing a bed on wheels down Library Drive. Although we went 1-1 overall, it was a blast to see the creative costumes and efforts of all the teams involved. The Thursday before the game was the first-ever Lehigh-Laf-A-Palooza, a giant pep rally involving our band, cheerleaders, our newly named Mountain Hawk mascot (Clutch!) and a headliner performance by State Radio! All this (and more) had the entire campus fired up for the big game on Saturday, and despite the freezing temperatures, the crowds stayed the entire game to cheer on our team to our 31-15 victory! I have countless pictures from this week to add to my scrapbook..

I was also able to work in some community service this semester, and organized the 4th Annual Strykes for Tykes Bowling tournament. Various organizations from campus sent teams, and all proceeds benefited a research center for Juvenile Diabetes. Eventually, I want to find the time to go a SERVE trip, which is an opportunity to travel to an area in need of help during a school break.

To wrap up my semester, I worked with Lehigh’s Career Services and landed three business externships. An externship is a one-day or multiple-day event with a company where you enter the work field, interact with professionals, and get some hands-on experience in the areas of your interest. I travelled into Roseland, NJ and NYC, NY to mix and mingle with some of the most prominent firms in the accounting industry. Although I was at first nervous to meet such accomplished individuals (lots of whom were Lehigh alumni!), I realized they were just as excited to meet current Lehigh students and shared their knowledge of their firms and the accounting industry as a whole. I’m planning to use some of the connections I have made this winter break to work on obtaining an internship at an accounting firm this summer.

Overall, this semester has been busy yet enjoyable, challenging yet manageable, exciting yet relaxing, and so many other positive things. As a sophomore, I still have my fair share of time left at Lehigh, and as odd as my parents may find it, I can’t WAIT to get back and begin my spring semester!