Wonderful Wednesdays!

Term III here on campus is starting to wind down. Today is the last Wednesday of freedom as next week at this time, classes will be ending and moving out for the summer will commence. It has been great having Wednesdays off. I’m going to miss the nice break in the middle of the week. Aside from the sun bathing, fountain swimming, kan jam, and softball games, campus still remains busy with activities. Last week Wednesday was the Poster Research Session where people from the social and behavioral sciences joined forces with the science department to showcase the research completed by students. My group from Experimental Psychology presented our findings from our class last term. We did an experiment on whether colors like blue and pink affect how people perceive faces as either aggressive or sensitive. While we didn’t find that color had an affect on perception, overall people rated male photos as more aggressive and female photos as more sensitive. It was a lot of fun to see the other research findings as a lot of students participate in these experiments.

Today was a beautiful day on campus with the sun shining and temperatures nearing 80 degrees. For those that were not outside or wanted to take a quick break, Tompkins Dorm Council hosted an all day movie marathon. Currently we are watching the Ugly Truth while Valentine’s Day and Letters to Juliet aired earlier. All of the movie junk food was served, including octagon shaped cookies :)

While I will miss the Wednesday fun of Term III, it will be nice to have summer arrive!

The Weekend Zeus Got Loose!

This past weekend was a nice break from classes and work as it was my first May Days celebration! This year’s theme was the Weekend Zeus Got Loose. For the dance on Friday night, togas prevailed which was interesting to try to make a toga and to see what toga creations others came up with, especially the guys. Some girls really went all out and bought fabric to cut and make their togas. Others just used their bed sheets (no worries, I didn't see any dirty, unwashed sheets used). My roommate and I ran out to Hobby Lobby and made some stylish head pieces from fake leaves and flowers. I must say they turned out pretty nice. Zeus would be proud : ) After the dance we ran around campus and took tons of silly pictures. What better time is there to get those memorable photos with Mark Twain!

The next day was the carnival! There were a lot of activities and events like inflatable’s, carnival games like ball toss, prizes, Iron Chef showdown, airbrush tattoos, photo booth, water balloon fight, a D.J., yummy carnival foods like burgers, cotton candy, snow cones, fried dough, and more. I enjoyed being outside and meet up with friends, even though it was a cloudy day. It was a great day, especially since I won a purple crown : )

Thanks to Natasha Wagner'14 & Christian Bruce'14 for their awesome photography skills!

New Season, New Term

Today was a very exciting day as it was the start of the much-anticipated Term III. I have been looking forward to this, as it will be my first one on campus.

The relaxed atmosphere is a nice change of pace as just two weeks of go, the stresses of finals week was everywhere. It was a little hard to get back in the swing of things today, as last week was break. Having the week off was nice to relax and spend the holidays with my friends and family. When my alarm went off this morning though, I was a bit confused but quickly realized that it was time to get ready for class.

My term started out on a fun and challenging note this morning with Creative Advertising. We viewed a variety of different ads and started to break down what is occurring within them. I am excited to learn more about what is behind and advertisement, how to develop an ad campaign, and develop my creative skills further.

After I got out of work, the clouds parted and sun began to shine down on campus. People were out playing frisbee and softball on Carnegie Lawn already while others started on their reading outside. To celebrate the start of a new term, our RA got us some Fun Dip candy and Rita’s Italian Ice.

It is shaping up to be a good term : )

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give

Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." This weekend best exhibits what he means by this as many gave their support to a worthy cause and later were honored for their hard work.

Saturday marked the start of Relay for Life here on campus. This event is one that many hold close to their hearts, as it is hard to find someone that has not been affected by cancer. 40 teams with over 350 people worked to raise money for the American Cancer Society. It is always amazing to see events like this that bring the college community close together. The night was packed with great performances by the EC Naturals, Tap Ensemble, and people cutting off their hair and shaving their heads to show their support for this amazing cause. While it was an exhausting time, it was worth it as over $15,000 was raised.

Sunday brought another rewarding day, as it was the Psi Chi inductions. There were 17 new members that were inducted into the International Psychology Honor Society. We gathered in Hamilton Hall for a nice ceremony and brunch with our families. It was a nice morning getting to chat with professors out of class and meet the family of my friends. Now time to get ready for another exhausting week! I am definitely ready for Term III to get here so the weather does not keep bouncing back and forth between sunny and warm to snowy and cold. At least it is officially spring : )

It's a Bug's Life

Tonight, my roommate and I had an extremely traumatic experience. We had a close encounter with a bug in our room. The episode felt something like this Mentos commercial.

Copyright MentosUS

My roommate and I were talking and all of a sudden she started to freak out and look above my head. I ran over to her side of the room and did not see anything at first, however, the bug made an appearance on the ceiling causing us to scream. This was no ordinary bug; this was a monster that was probably a good 2 inches in size with a few too many legs.

We ran down to the hall to our friends to see if they could kill it but they were not home. Then we ran back to call our friend from upstairs to come down and kill it. Unfortunately for us, she hates bugs too and starting freaking out. She then ran down the hall to a friend who is a bug killer extraordinaire. Once we moved our furniture (so there would be no chance of the bug in the bed) and as the bug came out of hiding our brave friend managed to kill it in EC style with our purple flyswatter.

I am not saying that there are a lot of bugs here so please do not be afraid! It was a very unexpected visitor, only our 2^nd bug all year. For all of the future college students, please be aware of this possible incident wherever you go. Make sure to pack a fly swatter as a precautionary tool. Also, be aware of the fact that if you live in an all girls dorm, there are a lot less people to help you kill a bug and panic will shortly ensue.

A Sibling-less Siblings Weekend

What an exciting week back from break! I am ready to tackle the rest of the Term and get ready to enjoy my first Term III on campus. It was a bit weird to come back to a Cowles Hall without an octagon! I thought I had come back to the wrong college. While I know it is for the construction and will be worlds better in the end, it still gives me a funny feeling to look at.

The first week back was busy with a Marketing project but ended on a good note with the start of Sibling’s Weekend. While I do not personally have a sibling, I still had a good time meeting the brothers, sisters, and cousins of my friends. It was nice to see families again that I have not seen since Parents Weekend. Mackenzie’s was busy on Friday Night with stations to create your own wax hands and grow your own bamboo plants. My friends and I went to go see Tangled, which was absolutely adorable.

Saturday, I make a quick trip home to get ahead on my Encore Performances. I went to see Ann Hampton Callaway with the Binghamton Philharmonic. The performance was absolutely amazing. They performed hits from the Great American Songbook. Now I have two more Encore Performances left and then I am done forever!

For now, it is time to get ready for another week!

Fiesta de Elmira!

Hola mis amigos y amigas! Tonight was the much-anticipated Dining Services Theme Dinner! This term’s theme was a Mexican Fiesta. I have never seen the dining hall so colorful with minimal amounts of purple before. Everyone was in the fiesta spirit with ponchos, sombreros, maracas, and a few fake mustaches. There were cacti everywhere, even with ice sculptures. The food was great featuring enchiladas, guacamole, bean dip, corn salsa, mango salsa chicken, corn bread, jalapeño poppers, and more. The extravagant cake this term was a giant sombrero! To top it all off, there was a mariachi band, which was a fun treat. It was nice to see so many students, faculty, administrators, and their families enjoying their evening together.

This celebration came just in time before the craziness of midterms sets in. Next week is going to be rough with three midterms, one quiz, a ten-page research proposal, encore, and group work due. It will all be over soon enough with break around the corner! I cannot believe it is halfway through the term already. Not that I don’t enjoy how beautiful campus is in the snow and the purple rock salt, but it would be nice for some warmer weather and Term III to arrive. Off to the library to start working ahead!