Monday, December 7, 2009

Kings Cup

Im sure a lot of you have heard of the drinking game Kings Cup. There are a lot of different versions of rules for the game. In Syracuse where I learned here are the rules I play by:

1/Ace- "Waterfall", whoever picks the card starts chugging, and you cannot stop untill the person before you stops.
2- "You" pick someone to drink
3- "Me", obviously, you drink.
4- "Floor", last person to point to the floor drinks
5- "Guys", guys drink
6- "Chicks," girls drink
7- "Heaven", last person to point to the sky drinks
8- "Date", choose someone to drink with
9- "Rhyme", say a sentence, and the last word of the sentence the next person to go has to rhyme with
10- "Category", Choose a category, like cereals, candy bars, types of beer and so on
Jack- "Never Have I Ever", hold up 3 fingers, someone states something they've never done, if you did it, put a finger down. First person to have all three fingers down drinks
Queen- "Question", you can save the question and ask it to someone later, but they have to remember to answer your question with another question, first person to answer the question on accident drinks
King- You pour however much beer you want into the cup placed in the middle of the table. Whoever draws the last king has to chug the whole cup in the middle.

There are a lot of versions of the game I have heard, but this is what I always played. My favorite are categories and never have I ever. I like categories especially when I pick because you can do something you know a lot of... likeee Nickelodeon shows... ready- Sponge Bob, Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Ah! Real Monsters, All That, Pete and Pete, Amanda Show, Keenan and Kell, Alex Mac, GAS, Are you Afraid of the Dark, Little Bear, Franklin, BLUES CLUES, Gulla Gulla Island, CatDog, Roccos Modern Life, and Angry Beavers... haha.

Picking Your Tree


My last post inspired me to talk about picking your Christmas tree. I have been going with my family every year since I was probably 6 years old. My dad is really good friends with an older man who owns a tree farm outside of Syracuse. He lets us come out every year and pick out a tree.

I have vivid memories of being a kid and riding in the back of the huge tree trailer with my sisters all bundled up in winter wear. I also remember arguing with them on which tree was the best for our house. Three little girls, it was hard to get one tree we all agreed on. I always wanted a really tall one, my younger sister wanted a fat one, and my older sister always seemed to pick the best one. My dad would always make fun of me for not knowing how tall our ceilings were, and that every tree I wanted wouldn't even fit in the house.


Last year I went with our foreign exchange student, my sisters, my dad, and my best friend and her room mate from college. We had so much fun playing in the snow like we were little again. The scenery out on the mountain is beautiful in the winter, covered in snow.

Everyone has their own preference on their Christmas trees, you can never choose a wrong one. Just some advice, get one that has good needle retention or your mom will kill you for picking one with needles that fall all over the floor. Also when you cut it, try to cut the base in a really straight line so it fits in your holder.

I had just recently gotten a really nice camera from my grandparents so I have a lot of good pictures from that day... check em out.

Holiday :)


I know this is a bit second grade, but I love making paper snowflakes. I learned how to make basic ones when I was little but I have figured out how to make some even better ones in my free time at school. My suitemate and I sat down for a whole day experimenting and making different snowflakes. My suitemate made a 3-d snowflake, which uses 6 pieces of paper, with slits and lots of folds, and stapling. Click here to see how to make this snowflake. This one is hanging in our common room, surrounded by simpler six point snowflakes.

I also have a tree in our room that my mom brought to me in the beginning of the year. I brought back lights after Thanksgiving and a few ornaments. I strung up the tree and put up the ornaments and even added candy canes.( To the left is my tree at home from last year and my dog.) I also have a christmas stocking here hanging from the lamp.

This time of year everyone gets antsy and really wants to be home, so I tried to make school look as homey as possible. Our snowflake forrest and our pretty little tree make our common room more cosy. We have been watching christmas movies every night too. Last night was the Grinch and over the weekend was Elf, two of my very favorite movies.

I think in this time of year, when you're stressed about finals and all you want to do is go home, you have to take some time to yourself to relax and enjoy yourself. Even with little things like making a snowflake or laughing to a kids movie, ease the tension, become less stressed.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Sick Away From Home

I think this is one of the hardest things I've had to deal with being at school. Whenever I was sick in highschool, my mom or my grandma would come over and take care of me all day. I was such a princess. They'd give me a little bell to ring if I needed anything. I'd always have hot soup brought up to my room and my friends would bring my homework from school.

College is much different. Especially at this time of year people get sick. Even worse at this time of year all you can think about is being with your family. Ive been pretty sick this week, and laying in bed for basically two days. I called my mom and told her what my symptoms were and made her feel bad for me.

Today I woke up from my nap to the sound of my moms voice. I thought I was dreaming at first, until I rolled over and saw her. She was standing by my bed with a smile and arms full of soup, cold medicine, a thermometer, and candy canes.

Im lucky to live so close and get to have my mom come take care of me, even if its just for a few minutes. She dropped off all the goodies and sat with me for a little. She told me to take my meds, drink a lot of cold fulid, and push through because I'll be home in no time. Moms always know how to make you feel better.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Monster Ball- Lady GaGa

So, I know some of you probably hate her, but I saw Lady Ga Ga live this past weekend. It was the opening show of her Monster Ball tour. I went to Montreal with my two good friends to visit my best friend who goes to school at McGill. It was a long drive, but we blasted GaGa the whole time and leaned all the words for her concert. The concert opened with some band called Semi Automatic Weapon, and the lead singer changed his whole outfit on stage, so basically was naked in front of the whole Bell Center. They weren't that good but have been opening for Lady GaGa for a few years.

The concert was amazing. If you've ever seen her perform on award shows you know how crazy she is. She had a ton of different outfits and crazy head dresses. I think a lot of people dont realise how talented she is. I admit her songs that are popular are really poppy and arent that well written, but she has a olt on her new album which is pretty impressive. Also at the concert she played the piano and sang some of her songs in a different slower version where you could really hear how good of a voice she had.

Kid Cudi was supposed to open for her, but he didnt show up untill the middle of the show. Lady GaGa said, "Cudi, if you ever fucking come late to another one of my shows im going to fucking kill you." Shes crazy.

She also fell a few times, which was kindof funny. But she played them off well. At a break between songs she told us she felt like a "drunk model on a slippery runway.... and it is... AWESOME."

It was one of the craziest experiences of my life, and if you are a fan of her at all I'd suggest you go see her, she puts on a great show. If you aren't a fan, I understand why, and I'm not defending her musical talent and writing skills, I just had a lot of fun listening to her and watching her crazy antics.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Swine Flu

So this whole swine flu thing has been scaring campus and the whole nation for a few months. Granted, I don't think it would be enjoyable to get, but I don't really see why everyone thinks its some sort of pandemic that is going to devastate the country. As far as I know theres only been a few cases where previously healthy individuals have been severley effected.

Im sick, and I don't think its the Swine, but it could be the regular flu. But also, I feel like there is not much difference in symptoms. Each you have fever, coughing, body aches. All of them suck.

And on the topic of shots. I did not get my flu shot, mostly because I am scared of needles. Even just writing the word and thinking about shots gives me a pain in my arm. I have been pretty healthy up unitl now without getting the shot. Another thing is the H1N1 shot. I refuse to get that one. I think it hasn't been around long enough to have reasearch done on its long term effects. After knowing a few people who have gone through swine flu, one girl twice this year, and are okay, I'd take my chances on a flu I can over come instead of getting the shot and years later growing horns out of my head.

Like everyone says, wash your hands often, cover your mouth, be safe like that. Its inevetable that we'll all get somewhat sick, but I think its rediculous when you see people walking around in medical masks.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Wienerschnitzel

Any of you ever had an exchange student? Anyone ever had a German exchange student? Well last fall my family became the host of a German foreign exchange student.

This was the first year my younger sister would be in the house without my sister and I. I guess my parents thought it would be a good idea to fill the void of two girly sisters with an exchange student. His name is David. But we all called him Duvdy for some reason. He was 17 years old. Really pale with badly died long black hair. He spoke almost perfect English, and was very opinionated about everything in America. He talked politics, critisized the Nazi movies that had been coming out last year, and constantly questioned out family. Not in an annoying way or anything, I think he was just curious. Any time i left the house and didnt tell him where I was going, I would come back to him sitting in our living room and as soon as I walked in he would say, "Where have you been?" Every time.

Our family has a party every Thanksgiving. We call it the TurkeyBash. Each kid can have their friends over, and my parents have all of their old highschool friends who are back in town over. Its a long night of sharing food, drinks, and memories. Im not sure how many memories of that night Duvdy had the next day. We all were drinking casually, and watching football. Somehow Duvdy got really drunk. He ended up leaving the party with a few of my cousins friends he had never met, to go to the bar. When he came back he could barley walk. My dad had to take him on a little stroll in the cold air to make him feel better.

He made friends quickly at my highschool. I didnt meet many of them because I was only home on breaks. Over winter break he had his friends over up in his room (which was actually my room, I shared a bed with my sister for 2 months). A few minutes later his friends come loudly parading down the stairs and out into the car. We thought it was weird how they just kindof escaped. Just about 5 mins later our neighbor came over and asked if someone had been parked in the driveway (we share). He said that Duvdys friends had backed out into the corner of his house, and then proceeded to scream and swear at eachother about it. Ohh Duvdy.

He was a really good, guy, smart, funny, and a bit outrageous. Over time he became my brother, even with his crazy antics. We keep in touch. He sends me pictures of his tatoos and his new motorcycle.

Exchange students can be a lot to handle, but I def learned a lot from him, and had fun.

Feed My Fish!

Every time I come to my blog to post I get distracted by the fish I added to my page. Usually I feed them and watch them scamper around trying to get all of my food before I can think of a topic to blog about. But it hit me today, why not blog about what I do to think of my Blog.

I think these fish are highly entertaining. Especially when I am really bored sitting in the library listening to people loudly and obnoxiously talking on their phone. Maybe I could name them. I think I have some duplicates of colors so I'm not sure how easy it would be to name them and then keep track of them.

My fish at home (rip little babies) were named Bret and Jemaine. Not sure if anyone knows the reference but they are named after Flight of the Choncords, a show that is on HBO. They've had 2 seasons I think so far. Also they sometimes are featured on comedy central. This is another one of those shows that you have to have the right sense of humor for. I find it really funny, yet have showed it to some of my best freinds and their response was, "Are you kidding me? This is horrible."

Maybe I'll name the fish for all of the charecters of the show? Any suggestions... If not, its fun just to watch them eat.


The Big GAME

CORTACA '09

I'm sure its all on our minds this week. Its only Monday and I'm finding it hard to concentrate because of the end of the weeks festivities. The annual rival football game between Cortland and Ithaca College is this Saturday, as I'm sure most of you know.

This will be my second Cortaca. My first was pretty interesting. Last year it was the 50th annual game, so it was treated as a bigger deal. I made the classic mistake of going too hard on the Friday before the game. I didnt feel too hot for the game on Saturday. And ofcourse, this being Cortland, the weather was horrible. My friend from home was up for the game, and we sat miserably hungover in the pouring rain while watching Cortland get their butts kicked.

I'm not sure what I am doing this year because the game is in Ithaca. I didnt buy a ticket, cause I dont have a car to get to Ithaca. Im sure things will be just as crazy here as they were last year. Between the 6 girls I live with I think we have about 30 people coming up. I'm hoping that things wont be as strict as they were last year, because the game isn't even here, but thats just wishfull thinking.

YEAAAHHH STATE!!!
**Please drink responsibly**

Monday, November 2, 2009

Next Year

I'm going to be living off campus next year. I was thinking today when I brought some of my friends that live off campus to ice cream, who am I going to make buy me meals next year? I buy meals for a lot of my older friends, because we usually have extra. I figure its a nice thing to do, and really doesn't cost me anything. I cant think of very many freshman friends that I have. I have nothing against them, and don't play the upper classmen card, I mean they're only a year younger than I am. But I still dont have younger friends. I'm going to have to beg the younger girls on the club lax team to buy me food next year. I am not looking forward to grocery shopping. I don't have a car here, nor do I even know how to make a grocery list, or cook anything but Alfredo. I know I have bashed the Cortland food services in a previous blog, but I'm really going to miss pasta bakes from Raquette, paninis from the Veggie Patch, chicken bacon ranch from Subway, and the ultimate hangover cure on the weekend; Dunkin iced tea and a bagel.

If anyone wants to reserve a spot as my designated meal giver for next fall, just drop a comment and we can become fast friends. ;)

Does Everything Really Happen for a Reason?

This past Wednesday at 2 am one of my good friends from high school passed away. Parisa had been battling brain cancer for two years, and her long hard fight ended early that Wednesday morning. She was 18.

I was woken up by my suitemate, who was also a very close friend. Before she even spoke, I knew what was coming. She crawled into bed with me, and we cried together for what seemed like hours. Although Parisa had been sick for two years, there is no way to prepare for someone you love to go.

Parisa was the most positive person I've ever met. Although she was a year behind me, she tought me a lot. I never heard her say a negative thing about anyone, no matter how cruel they were to her. She was always smiling, always. She laughed so loudly and beautifly. She cared with her whole heart for so many people. She participated in almost all of the plays we had in high school, and sang her heart out on that stage. She played soccer as well. She was one of the best teamates I've ever had.

This past weekend I went to her wake. There were so many people there. The line snaked around the funeral home, around stairs, down them, and outside into the parking lot. I stood in that line for almost an hour. I laughed and cried, got to see a lot of faces from high school as we were waiting. Finally I got up to the family, and hugged them, even those I didn't know. Hugging her younger brother and sister was the hardest for me, although they were so strong.

I said my goodbyes to her, and smiled and cried and laughed while standing over her. She had the quilt that our friends made her a year ago draped over her. I just thanked her for being such a good friend to me and teaching me so much, and I told her I would miss her so much, but she'd always be with me.

The next morning the family held a "Celebration of Parisa's Life" in the auditorium of our highschool, where she spent so much of her time. I went with my family, and cried the entire time. A few people from my graduating class spoke and sang. It was really a beautiful ceremony. One of her favorite songs was "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles. At the end of the ceremony, the whole audetorium was asked to sing along to the song as the family walked out. It was so beautiful and emotional to hear so many voices come together in her honor.

I miss her so much, and haven't stopped thinking about her. She inspires me every day and I'm so happy to have met her, but I cant help but ask... what is the reason for this? If everything happens for a reason, please explain to me why the most perfect girl was taken from this world? She was 18, she never went to college, or got married, or done so many of the things we take for granted. I ask what is the reason?

I love you P. Miss you every day.

Moms Just Know.

When I was in second grade, I was sitting on my parents bed watching TV. My dad had his 25 lb dumbells hanging around... so I decided to play with one. I put it on the bed with me and was rolling it around. My mom walked by the room and told me to be careful. I said I would. She walked by again and said, "Seriously be careful, I dont want to take you to the hospital if you drop that on your foot." I was all okay okay mom I'm fine. Literally 2 mins later she runs into the room due to my screaming. Ofcourse, I dropped it on my foot. Mom and dad had to bring me to the emergency room. I broke 2 of my toes, a pretty minor injury. I thought I was so cool cause I got to use crutches at school for a week and a half. Moms always know.

Moms also seem to know where everything you are looking for is. I could be looking for my shoes all around the house for 20 minutes, and ask my mom if she had seen them, and before even getting the whole scentence out she tells me exactly where they are. Of course I'd walked by that spot five times already without seeing them.

When do you think you inherit this ability? Right after you have a child, or after living in a house where you're responsible for others?

Moms just know.

Still confused on blogs..

He'res where two more of my entries are... Not sure how they got on different pages.

http://octoberbreak.blogspot.com/

Monday, October 26, 2009

Blog Confusion...

Apparently I have 3 different pages of blogs going... I'm not sure how that happened. I started out with the one I think I'm typing on right now. The green lay out with all the fishies... but when I went to add more blogs somehow I started a whole new layout.

Im not the most computer savvy person, and blogging sometimes confuses me. Especially when I have no idea what to talk about.... sooo Ill try to fix this problem. If anyone has any suggestions on how to combine all the posts on to this one page let me know. Thanks.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

On Campus Changes

As a sophomore, I've noticed a lot of changes on campus since last year. After a week of school I've been severely frustrated with the changes in food services. I could have completed all of my quizzes for academic writing if I wasn't wasting my time standing in line for food.


Dunkin Donuts now has one register, and a snaking line that takes close to an hour. Subway has grown feet and moved into Dragons Court. My sandwich wrap ladies have been evicted from their station. Subway no longer puts your sandwiches in the long skinny bags. Chicken wraps have been moved from the grill to the Mexican food place. Michael from the Veggie Patch graduated last semester. I went to Neubig over the weekend and had to eat my fruit with a spoon, and there was no waffle mix left.

I understand the hardships that come with working in food service, but last years set up was much more organized and timely. Hopefully as the year goes on those who serve us will get the hang of everything and keep lines moving smoothly.