I have been away from the blogging world for what feels like forever! I have not had a moment to myself since I have been home – It’s been glorious! Spring Break has been everything I hoped it would be, and I still have 6 days left to enjoy more. I have caught up with many friends and family members, and I have done all the things that I love doing when I’m home. I’ve eaten pizza, ice cream cones, taken long runs around town, visited the ocean, and I’ve gone shopping. The weather has been absolutely beautiful, but today the rain has decided to grace us with its presence. I think it’s my reminder to lay low and watch a movie. I’m heading up to New York to see a show on Wednesday, and I’ll be up again on Saturday to celebrate M’s 21st birthday a few days early. I am one happy, lucky Jersey Girl.
My final grades for winter quarter were posted today, and all of my hard work (there were so many nights when I didn’t emerge from my room!) has paid off. I will be able to graduate with honors in June, and for doing it all in three years, I’m quite pleased with myself. It’s moments like these when I’m actually proud of all I’ve accomplished. I work so hard to benefit myself, and I know it is going to pay off in the form of a job in NYC. It’s still hard for me to believe that 12 weeks from this moment, I will be arriving home from Ohio for good. How did time go so fast? I’m enjoying my time at home, but I’m really going to make it a priority to enjoy my time left in Columbus. I want to embrace everything that city has to offer so that I can leave with zero regrets.
Instead of blogging, here’s what I have been doing with all of my free time. TV has been quite entertaining over the past couple of days. I have been watching many of the NCAA Basketball tournament games, and my bracket is not looking good. For those who care, Vanderbilt and Villanova were in my Final Four. Oops. I also have been watching the Health Care Reform debates with the same intensity that some people watch a tied basketball game in overtime with 3 seconds to go. I’m not sure what’s more exciting. Watching Purdue win in overtime yesterday or watching the House of Representatives tear each other apart. Got to love politics. I have also been improving my runs. I’m now running between 4 ½ to 5 miles a day. As soon as I get some cash in my pocket, I will be signing up for a race this summer. If anyone wishes to join me on a 5k run, let’s do it together. Running buddies are so much fun!
One week down of Spring Break, and I’m still having a blast. Dad and I are going to watch an old Humphrey Bogart movie tonight, and I’m going to enjoy every moment of my break before I have to go back to reading four books a week and writing countless papers. At least I can say that one week from right now will be the last first day of class I will have as an undergrad. Unreal.
<3 Peace and Love All <3
Monday, March 22, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
A Night At The Theatre
I could not go to sleep before blogging about what an amazing production of Sweeney Todd my former high school pulled off tonight. Wow. Wow. Wow. Now, most people reading this are thinking, “it’s a high school musical. How great can it be?” Well, I am very proud to say that Point Pleasant Borough High School does not disappoint in the Performing Arts department. We are very lucky. I was very nervous about how they were going to accomplish such a challenging production, but these kids did so much better than great. Sweeney was phenomenal, and the singing and the acting by all were both suburb. My dad couldn’t stop talking about it. He was even picking out his favorite scenes (“When she sang ‘By The Sea’ was the best song in the entire show!”). It was a wonderful night at the theatre. It was dark, moving, and at times quite amusing. I can’t believe I attended high school with some of these students. They truly blew me away – and I can’t wait to see where some of them end up. I swear, Broadway or at least off-Broadway productions are not too far fetching for a few of these performers. It makes me miss theatre. I may have to audition for a few community theatre productions when I’m back in town this summer. There’s no better feeling than being up there. This is why I’m so obsessed with Broadway. No show is ever exactly the same, and anything can happen – it’s so thrilling. If you are in the area, please come down and see this show. You will not regret it. Even M told me she thought it was excellent, and she is a harsh critic.
On another note, my corned beef and potato dinner turned out great! I was very pleased with my meal, and no one has thrown up yet, so I think we’re in the clear. I love this cooking in my spare time thing so much that I’m heading to the grocery store and making a surprise dinner again tomorrow night. When my brother’s show is over, chicken breast in a lemon sauce, green beans, and baked potatoes will be awaiting my family. Perhaps this will inspire me to cook up a storm in my last 10 weeks in Ohio. If anyone has some good recipes to share with me, I would love to hear them! And once again, go see Sweeney Todd – you'll be happy you did!
On another note, my corned beef and potato dinner turned out great! I was very pleased with my meal, and no one has thrown up yet, so I think we’re in the clear. I love this cooking in my spare time thing so much that I’m heading to the grocery store and making a surprise dinner again tomorrow night. When my brother’s show is over, chicken breast in a lemon sauce, green beans, and baked potatoes will be awaiting my family. Perhaps this will inspire me to cook up a storm in my last 10 weeks in Ohio. If anyone has some good recipes to share with me, I would love to hear them! And once again, go see Sweeney Todd – you'll be happy you did!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone! I finally made it home. This is one of my favorite holidays of the year, because so many family traditions are embedded in it. My mom’s side of the family is mostly Irish (there’s a little Polish thrown in there somewhere), so we have been eating traditional Irish foods and attending the parades for many years now. This is the first time I have been home for St. Patty’s day in a while. Usually I have finals, but this year I am home sweet home, and it has not disappointed.
Today, the color green takes over my house. My mom goes all out on March 17th. There is a Leprechaun in every room, and we even have green flowers! We are doing things a little different this year since my little brother’s High School musical is opening tonight. I made a dinner of corned beef and cabbage. It’s amazing. I live at school for nine months out of the year and cannot find the time to make anything more than pasta on the stove, but I’m home 24 hours, and I’m making an Irish dinner. I have many memories from pass St. Patrick’s Days. My grandmother, on more than one occasion, used to also make corned beef and cabbage for all of us little grandkids. It was a reason to get together and celebrate out heritage. My mom also had an Irish festival up on the boardwalk to raise money for the local Pt. Pleasant foundation. We had a live band – comprised of members of our family of course – and lots of little Irish dancers. PS. My child will be an Irish dancer. Just warning you all now. These parties will forever be part of some of my best High School memories. Some say that today is a day for a lot of people to get together and drink until they pass out, and don’t get me wrong – that’s part of it – but it is also a day to celebrate where we come from, and to spend time with those who are closest to us – and eat some really good food! I really hope I don’t screw up dinner.
Since I’m home, you all can assume that my airport fiasco ended yesterday. I finally flew into Newark at 10 am. I was so relieved to finally get home. I kept my hair appointment and paid way too much money for awesome hair. I’m so happy I got it done though. My ends were literally turning into straw - it was embarrassing. I now have healthy hair that is ready to go out on the town. Even though this weekend was a tad stressful, I needed the downtown to do nothing. I knew that the minute I came home I would not stop for two weeks. My intuition has not failed me. I was very busy yesterday, and today I slept in, went running, showered, ate lunch, started dinner, and here I am blogging, waiting for dinner to be ready. These days fly by! I barely have time to eat breakfast before I’m running out the door. By the way, running outside in Point for the first time since last summer was a literal breath of fresh air! My town is perfect for running, and there are not too many hills, so I don’t die ten minutes in either. It’s nice to be active, and I’m so excited to see all the people I’ve missed tonight. The good things about St. Patrick’s Day, the opening night of the High School musical, and my town, is that everyone knows each other, everyone makes it a point to get out and be social, and everyone wears the green. It’s going to be a fun night!
Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!
<3 Peace, Love, and Four-Leaf Clovers to all! <3
Today, the color green takes over my house. My mom goes all out on March 17th. There is a Leprechaun in every room, and we even have green flowers! We are doing things a little different this year since my little brother’s High School musical is opening tonight. I made a dinner of corned beef and cabbage. It’s amazing. I live at school for nine months out of the year and cannot find the time to make anything more than pasta on the stove, but I’m home 24 hours, and I’m making an Irish dinner. I have many memories from pass St. Patrick’s Days. My grandmother, on more than one occasion, used to also make corned beef and cabbage for all of us little grandkids. It was a reason to get together and celebrate out heritage. My mom also had an Irish festival up on the boardwalk to raise money for the local Pt. Pleasant foundation. We had a live band – comprised of members of our family of course – and lots of little Irish dancers. PS. My child will be an Irish dancer. Just warning you all now. These parties will forever be part of some of my best High School memories. Some say that today is a day for a lot of people to get together and drink until they pass out, and don’t get me wrong – that’s part of it – but it is also a day to celebrate where we come from, and to spend time with those who are closest to us – and eat some really good food! I really hope I don’t screw up dinner.
Since I’m home, you all can assume that my airport fiasco ended yesterday. I finally flew into Newark at 10 am. I was so relieved to finally get home. I kept my hair appointment and paid way too much money for awesome hair. I’m so happy I got it done though. My ends were literally turning into straw - it was embarrassing. I now have healthy hair that is ready to go out on the town. Even though this weekend was a tad stressful, I needed the downtown to do nothing. I knew that the minute I came home I would not stop for two weeks. My intuition has not failed me. I was very busy yesterday, and today I slept in, went running, showered, ate lunch, started dinner, and here I am blogging, waiting for dinner to be ready. These days fly by! I barely have time to eat breakfast before I’m running out the door. By the way, running outside in Point for the first time since last summer was a literal breath of fresh air! My town is perfect for running, and there are not too many hills, so I don’t die ten minutes in either. It’s nice to be active, and I’m so excited to see all the people I’ve missed tonight. The good things about St. Patrick’s Day, the opening night of the High School musical, and my town, is that everyone knows each other, everyone makes it a point to get out and be social, and everyone wears the green. It’s going to be a fun night!
Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!
<3 Peace, Love, and Four-Leaf Clovers to all! <3
Monday, March 15, 2010
Travel Woes
There are certain things in life that I look forward to: Christmas morning, my birthday, the first day of summer, and flying home to my bed. When you look forward to these things for weeks and weeks, sometimes the universe enjoys playing sick jokes on you. My flight back to New Jersey – a flight I have been impatiently awaiting for about three weeks now – was cancelled. If that wasn’t bad enough, Continental decided not to inform me of this. I woke up ready to workout, thinking I was leaving at 4:51 today, when my best friend claimed she could not find my flight. I checked myself and saw that it had been cancelled, and no e-mail accompanied this notification. You may ask, how could an airline, especially Continental, cancel your flight and not tell you? They wouldn’t leave you stranded would they? No my friends, they would not. Instead, they book you on the next flight leaving Columbus…and forget to inform you of this as well. Many phone calls on my end were made, attempting to figure out when I could get out of this place, when the automated response informed me I was on the 8pm flight. Continental’s response: “That’s odd. You should have received an e-mail.” You think?
So all is good right? I’m leaving town tonight at 8, and I’m typing this post from the terminal. Think again. My flight tonight is at the moment delayed 2 and ½ hours. My dad called me while I was eating dinner with my family, and told me the frustrating news. After ten minutes of me pleading to get into Newark in the wee hours of the morning and sleep there until it is a safe hour to take the train home, my dad convinced me to get on a flight for tomorrow. So…the story keeps getting better…I call Continental and tell them I cannot arrive in Newark at 2 in the morning. The response: “If you change your flight you will be charged a fee, because you are voluntarily changing your flight.” After a few choice phrases and the word “unacceptable” used about five times, this lovely woman decides to check to see if my flight falls under the “Storm Change” category – that means I can change without any fees. Low and behold it was! Once again…you think? There are towns under water, trees lining streets, zero power for thousands, and wind gusts. Of course my flight is under the “Storm Change” category.
So this Jersey Girl is in Columbus, Oh for one more night. I will be leaving on an 8:30 a.m. flight tomorrow morning and arriving to what they are claiming to be sun and 54 degree weather at 10 am. I even kept my 1:30 hair appointment in hopes that I’ll make it. I’m going with positive thinking all the way from now until I land in Newark. And if positive thinking fails me, at least I’ll be at the airport with 4 flights after mine if I get cancelled. Happy travels all. Hopefully I’ll be reporting from a suburb in New Jersey tomorrow evening.
<3 Peace and Love All <3
So all is good right? I’m leaving town tonight at 8, and I’m typing this post from the terminal. Think again. My flight tonight is at the moment delayed 2 and ½ hours. My dad called me while I was eating dinner with my family, and told me the frustrating news. After ten minutes of me pleading to get into Newark in the wee hours of the morning and sleep there until it is a safe hour to take the train home, my dad convinced me to get on a flight for tomorrow. So…the story keeps getting better…I call Continental and tell them I cannot arrive in Newark at 2 in the morning. The response: “If you change your flight you will be charged a fee, because you are voluntarily changing your flight.” After a few choice phrases and the word “unacceptable” used about five times, this lovely woman decides to check to see if my flight falls under the “Storm Change” category – that means I can change without any fees. Low and behold it was! Once again…you think? There are towns under water, trees lining streets, zero power for thousands, and wind gusts. Of course my flight is under the “Storm Change” category.
So this Jersey Girl is in Columbus, Oh for one more night. I will be leaving on an 8:30 a.m. flight tomorrow morning and arriving to what they are claiming to be sun and 54 degree weather at 10 am. I even kept my 1:30 hair appointment in hopes that I’ll make it. I’m going with positive thinking all the way from now until I land in Newark. And if positive thinking fails me, at least I’ll be at the airport with 4 flights after mine if I get cancelled. Happy travels all. Hopefully I’ll be reporting from a suburb in New Jersey tomorrow evening.
<3 Peace and Love All <3
Saturday, March 13, 2010
"Remember Me" - No Spoilers, I Promise
I normally don’t blog twice in one day, but since I’m on Spring Break and have finished packing (go me!), I decided to post about my hatred of movie reviewers. I realize I’m not Roger Ebert, but I feel like I have good sense when it comes to movies. Gone with the Wind is a great movie. Gigli is not.
With that said, I saw “Remember Me” tonight with my roommate. There were definitely some slow parts, but all in all, I felt it was worth the nine dollars and two hours of my life. I really enjoyed it. I thought Robert Pattinson’s acting in this movie was a million times better than his acting in the Twilight movies. Perhaps it’s a sigh of relief to not have to look at Kristen Stewart’s depressing face all the time. Whatever it is, I had a wonderful movie going experience…even though I knew the ending before hand from Internet leaks, a movie reviewer and a certain best friend who shall be nameless…(cough cough M!).
Movie reviewers have been bashing movies I’ve wanted to see for a while now. I’m not really sure why I give them so much power over my AMC experience, but it always bums be out when the NY Post gives a movie like “Remember Me” 1 out of 4 stars. I thought it at the very least deserved 2. I would give it 3 out of 4, but I realize it is not Oscar worthy or original. At the end of the day, normal people like you and me go out and view these movies, and I feel like movie reviewers do not understand that – they are far too pretentious. I wanted to see a moving love story set in the city I love – and that’s exactly what I got. Throw in a hysterical best friend that I would love to date, and we have a great Saturday night flick. So please movie reviewers, stop the hating, and sit back and watch a flick for the pure entertainment of it – or just to see Robert Pattinson’s beautiful face.
With that said, I saw “Remember Me” tonight with my roommate. There were definitely some slow parts, but all in all, I felt it was worth the nine dollars and two hours of my life. I really enjoyed it. I thought Robert Pattinson’s acting in this movie was a million times better than his acting in the Twilight movies. Perhaps it’s a sigh of relief to not have to look at Kristen Stewart’s depressing face all the time. Whatever it is, I had a wonderful movie going experience…even though I knew the ending before hand from Internet leaks, a movie reviewer and a certain best friend who shall be nameless…(cough cough M!).
Movie reviewers have been bashing movies I’ve wanted to see for a while now. I’m not really sure why I give them so much power over my AMC experience, but it always bums be out when the NY Post gives a movie like “Remember Me” 1 out of 4 stars. I thought it at the very least deserved 2. I would give it 3 out of 4, but I realize it is not Oscar worthy or original. At the end of the day, normal people like you and me go out and view these movies, and I feel like movie reviewers do not understand that – they are far too pretentious. I wanted to see a moving love story set in the city I love – and that’s exactly what I got. Throw in a hysterical best friend that I would love to date, and we have a great Saturday night flick. So please movie reviewers, stop the hating, and sit back and watch a flick for the pure entertainment of it – or just to see Robert Pattinson’s beautiful face.
Two Weeks of Relaxation...Starting Now
I am officially finished with Winter Quarter 2010. My room has been cleaned from top to bottom so, needless to say, I’m feeling very accomplished. My finals that I was required to turn in consisted on four papers (3,8,9, and 10 pages each) and one final project that ended up consisting of thirteen pages of written work. I jumped on my bed when that last paper was turned in at 8:30 last night, and then proceeded to pass out from exhaustion. Now that the quarter is over, this is the time when I look back and decide what I loved and what I hated about my ten winter weeks. This quarter, the good outweighed the bad. I hated the winter weather mostly. At this point, if I never lay eyes on snow again, life will be good. Check back with me next Christmas when I’m praying for a winter wonderland, but for now, flowers, sunshine and more flowers is all I want to see. I really enjoyed my classes. I switched from a political science major at the end of Fall, 2008, and it was such a great decision. Once again, check back with me when I’m an unemployed graduate in June, but for now, I think it was the right choice. English and I click. I analyze everything in great detail, and enjoy writing and reading. My classes did not disappoint. I took an array of classes from modern fiction to narrative theory and learned so much. But, alas, all good things must end, and I’m not shedding any tears over here.
It now feels great to just lay back in bed and blog while watching movies and packing. There is nothing on my to-do list besides dinner and a movie at some point tonight – and I love it that way! I’m really excited to go home and see all my loved ones. Both the weather in Ohio and New Jersey is horrible at the moment, but I’m hearing sunshine in NJ all next week – which makes me even more excited to travel home. Last year it was quite cold during my spring break. This year, I’m hoping for sunshine, bike rides, and a trip to the local ice cream parlor.
Today makes it officially three months until I graduate college. Three short months with ten weeks of actual classes – good God, bring on the panic attack. It is quite surreal. I try to put time frames like this into perspective. Three months ago was my mom’s birthday. We actually went to the city on the 12th of December to celebrate, and that feels like yesterday. Time really does fly when you’re having fun and too busy writing papers to notice anything else. I just hope the next three months keep me as happy and determined as the last three months have. I hope you all are as stress-free as I am at the moment. It feels awesome. ☺
<3 Peace and Love My Friends <3
It now feels great to just lay back in bed and blog while watching movies and packing. There is nothing on my to-do list besides dinner and a movie at some point tonight – and I love it that way! I’m really excited to go home and see all my loved ones. Both the weather in Ohio and New Jersey is horrible at the moment, but I’m hearing sunshine in NJ all next week – which makes me even more excited to travel home. Last year it was quite cold during my spring break. This year, I’m hoping for sunshine, bike rides, and a trip to the local ice cream parlor.
Today makes it officially three months until I graduate college. Three short months with ten weeks of actual classes – good God, bring on the panic attack. It is quite surreal. I try to put time frames like this into perspective. Three months ago was my mom’s birthday. We actually went to the city on the 12th of December to celebrate, and that feels like yesterday. Time really does fly when you’re having fun and too busy writing papers to notice anything else. I just hope the next three months keep me as happy and determined as the last three months have. I hope you all are as stress-free as I am at the moment. It feels awesome. ☺
<3 Peace and Love My Friends <3
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring Break!
Winter quarter has ended. It has yet to hit me that I have ten short weeks of college left as an undergrad. It seriously feels like it all just began. Everyone told me that three years would fly, and they were right! Since I’m not heading home until Monday, this weekend is going to be my “spring cleaning” weekend. I’m organizing my room and placing all things that will not be needed in the spring into boxes I have lying around. Mom and Dad are driving out for Easter, so I figure they can take them back home for me. I get so crazy during the spring quarter, and I won’t have much time to clean out my room, so I’m getting a head start. How insane is this? I’m beginning the moving out process!
It still is not technically Spring Break for me until I submit three assignments online, but it sure feels like Break! I plan on catching up on lots of sleep that I have been missing out on in the last ten weeks. It will be so great not to worry about anything (except job hunting!) for a couple weeks. I know many college students go on crazy Spring Break trips their last year of college, but I'm not too bummed to be heading East instead of South. I'm spending my Spring Break in New Jersey so I can get started on looking for jobs, and for the simple fact that I really enjoy my homeland. College is amazing, but I miss so many things about the East Coast. I miss real pizza, which I will be having Monday night for dinner. I miss the ocean and the sand – I’m so excited to go step foot on the beach again! I miss driving my car around – I know this one seems silly, but I really love driving around town with my music playing loudly. I’m an excellent car singer. And of course, I miss New York. I would much rather spend my Spring Break seeing three shows on Broadway than be spending time anywhere else. And if none of that makes people content with why I’m choosing the city over 80 degree weather…Bubbles (my cat) misses me quite a lot ☺
One thing great about Breaks is they are a chance to catch up with old friends. I only go home for a quick weekend once a quarter. Since I decided to go to school so far away, I have many people that I have to see over break – I have forgotten what some people look like! Lots of dinners, laughing, and reminiscing will be had by all in four short days! I can hardly wait.
Also, I have an update on yesterday's post. Some famous friends on twitter informed me that Pinkberry (Red Mango’s competitor) is much better (and their website has a cute jingle – check out the link!). I’m going to try this when I head to NYC next week, and I’ll let you know which one I like better. New frozen yogurt experiences make me smile. Have a wonderful end of the week everyone!
<3 Peace and Love <3
It still is not technically Spring Break for me until I submit three assignments online, but it sure feels like Break! I plan on catching up on lots of sleep that I have been missing out on in the last ten weeks. It will be so great not to worry about anything (except job hunting!) for a couple weeks. I know many college students go on crazy Spring Break trips their last year of college, but I'm not too bummed to be heading East instead of South. I'm spending my Spring Break in New Jersey so I can get started on looking for jobs, and for the simple fact that I really enjoy my homeland. College is amazing, but I miss so many things about the East Coast. I miss real pizza, which I will be having Monday night for dinner. I miss the ocean and the sand – I’m so excited to go step foot on the beach again! I miss driving my car around – I know this one seems silly, but I really love driving around town with my music playing loudly. I’m an excellent car singer. And of course, I miss New York. I would much rather spend my Spring Break seeing three shows on Broadway than be spending time anywhere else. And if none of that makes people content with why I’m choosing the city over 80 degree weather…Bubbles (my cat) misses me quite a lot ☺
One thing great about Breaks is they are a chance to catch up with old friends. I only go home for a quick weekend once a quarter. Since I decided to go to school so far away, I have many people that I have to see over break – I have forgotten what some people look like! Lots of dinners, laughing, and reminiscing will be had by all in four short days! I can hardly wait.
Also, I have an update on yesterday's post. Some famous friends on twitter informed me that Pinkberry (Red Mango’s competitor) is much better (and their website has a cute jingle – check out the link!). I’m going to try this when I head to NYC next week, and I’ll let you know which one I like better. New frozen yogurt experiences make me smile. Have a wonderful end of the week everyone!
<3 Peace and Love <3
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