A Very Gold Weekend!

What an exciting weekend on campus. Between Athletics Alumni Weekend and the Super Bowl, there has been gold everywhere! To start my sports filled weekend, my roommate and our friends headed up to the Domes to cheer on our Men’s Hockey team as they took on SUNY Cortland. The Domes were especially festive as it was decorated for all of the alumni back for a visit, even with the usual purple and gold zamboni. The game was pretty intense as the score was tied for most of the game. In the end our guys came through as we won 6-4!

Tonight as I’m sure all of you know is the Super Bowl. I’m currently enjoying the game at my dorm’s party. Our lounge is so festive, divided into a black and yellow side and green and yellow side. We are a bunch of dedicated fans, blowing air horns for each score. We even have sponges and mini footballs to throw at the screen when bad calls occur, although we have thrown more at each other : ) The ads have been a lot of fun to watch too, especially since I am taking marketing this term. I can’t wait to see who wins, and for the new glee afterwards!

One Circus of a Weekend

Happy end of January everyone! This term has been charging forward, filled with a lot of work and events. This weekend was the perfect way to end the month with the EC Tap Ensemble show. The theme of our show was “Tap is a Circus.” Our show featured dances from all experience levels that we have been working on since September. It is amazing to see how talented the advanced dancers are and how far others have grown, especially those who have never put tap shoes on before.

I never realized all of the possibilities that could be done with tap. Kudos to our officers for being so creative with the dances! There were more “traditional” dances to songs like “Somewhere Beyond the Sea,” a kick-line style to a Cascada hit, a jump rope number to “Jump Around,” popular numbers like “Take It Off,” and so much more. Here is a video and some photos that I took from back stage of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga.

While I will miss tapping, it will be nice to have some more free time. Time to get back to work!

One Historical Night

Tonight was a very eventful night on campus. I got to experience the best of two worlds, athletics and music. My friends and I helped to make EC history as we attended the first ever home game for men’s volleyball. It was so much fun! The stands were packed with purple and gold. The team took on Nazareth College whose colors also happen to be purple and gold (we had more spirit though!). Both teams brought intensity to the game. There were some points where we thought we were going to get hit by the ball; luckily no fans were harmed : )

A bit before 8 we headed out to catch the first Encore performance of the term. We quickly switched gears from making history to learning about some music history. Tonight was musical excerpts from La Traviata presented by Tri Cities Opera. It was one amazing performance. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at first as the performance started out with only two pianists. After the first number, the audience was shocked as two performers came out in costume and started to bring their powerful voices into the mix. They performed with a lot of emotion which brought the Italian and back story to life.

I cannot wait to see what other great performances and sporting events the rest of the term will bring!

New Year, New Term, New Students!

Happy 2011 all! I hope everyone had a joyous holiday and break! It feels good to be all settled in again and ready for Term II. It was nice to have some time off, especially without any work to do, but it was pretty lonely without my roommate at home and without seeing my EC friends all of the time.

This term started a little earlier for some, as it was January Orientation. About fifteen others and myself arrived on Saturday to make folders and handle other preparations. It was weird to have campus extremely quiet for the day but all of that changed on Sunday as we welcomed over 30 transfer students and later on the returning student body. Showing students around campus, helping people meet their advisors, moving some students in, and getting to know these new faces were all a lot of fun.

Today was even more exciting as it was the first day of classes. My schedule is great so far! Experimental Psychology, Language Development, and Principles of Marketing are all shaping up to be challenging and interesting courses. I was a little nervous having a completely new set of professors but they were all extremely nice. It should be a good term getting to them better and working with my classmates.

I cannot wait to see what Individualism & Community in American Life brings me tomorrow!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?!

Term I is winding down here on campus. I cannot believe how quickly time flies! My roommate and I are all ready for the holiday season with our lovely purple and gold tree : )

This past weekend was full of traditions with Holiday Banquet and Holiday Ball. The banquet was a lot of fun this year. My friends and I sat with Nina Skinner, the executive secretary to the treasurer. When it came time to carve the turkey, our table had a good laugh watching other professors and administrators attempting to carve. Nina was the smart one and brought an electric knife : ) It was nice to have a second Thanksgiving meal with my friends. Singing holiday songs were a nice change from the normal EC ones as well. The Arabian Nights themed Ball transformed the upstairs dining hall. It was nice to get dressed up, dance with friends, and take tons of silly pictures.

The fun of the weekend has worn off as it is now the last week of classes. Some of my finals are on Friday and the rest are next week. Luckily, they are spread out pretty well so it shouldn’t be too crazy (let’s hope!). It feels as if I was just starting my classes. I like them all so it will be sad to say goodbye but nice to have a break with no homework or projects. Time to get back to work!

Dreidel I Shall Play!

This week marks the start of the Jewish Holiday Hanukkah! To celebrate, Hillel hosted a Dreidel Social. It was a lot of fun! Our club and friends got together for the first night to light the menorah, eat some traditional foods like latkes and sufganiyot (potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts), and play Dreidel! It was a nice break before the craziness of the last week of classes and finals. Here are some pictures!

The excitement of the week will continue this weekend with the much anticipated Holiday Banquet and Holiday Ball! More to come soon : )

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have so much to be thankful for, especially great family and friends.

This morning I woke up to my Thanksgiving Day tradition; turkey toast. Every year for Thanksgiving my mom would take a turkey cookie cutter, toast the newly shaped bread, spread it with peanut butter, put my favorite cereal for the feathers, and a piece of something sweet for the eye and gobbler. I highly recommend it : )

After watching a bit of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it was time to start getting the house and food ready. Our house smelled wonderful with the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, broccoli casserole, carrot and sweet potato crumble, corn casserole, rolls, and baked pineapple. Our neighbors stopped by for some munchies and before we knew it our guests arrived. My boyfriend and his family, my grandmother, and a family friend all came to enjoy our feast. We were so stuffed but all managed to make room for dessert which included red velvet cupcakes, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, cookies, apple pie, and ice cream.

It was a nice way to start the end of a relaxing break. Despite having the usual doctor appointments, it has been a good break filled with shopping and a little work. At the start of break I went back into my high school for EC Ambassadors. My friend Anna, a member of the phenomenal class of 2014, and I met with a student who was just accepted. We answered many of his questions and hopefully convinced him that purple is his new color : ) It has been great being home and seeing my friends from high school but I do miss my roommate and EC friends. I can’t wait to have a second Thanksgiving meal with my EC family for Holiday Banquet!