Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and I can't believe that it's just right around the corner!!!  My roommate and I have been decking the MaxcyPad since we got back from Thanksgiving break, and it's just looking very much like the Macy's Parade up in here!  Christmas trees, lights, stockings, garland, candy canes, and so much more...Oh, the festivity begins.  Everytime I'm in my room, I feel like I hear Perry Como singing, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."  

It's nice to have the room all decked out.  It makes me feel a little less homesick.  I mean, I'm pretty used to being here in Columbia, but the holidays just make me want to be home and be with my family.  I'm glad that the Christmas spirit lives on here at MaxcyPad!

Well, let the countdown begin to the 25 Days of Christmas, and catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey guys!  I know things are probably getting hectic on your side of the world too what with the semester coming to a close.  I'm piled with final exams and papers and essays.  I'm sure that your teachers are probably doing the same and are piling on projects, tests, quizzes, and stuff for you guys so that they can just get in those grades.  As if all of that weren't bad enough, I know that the whole applying for college thing is also probably stressing y'all out too...so just a quick reminder because I know that sometimes it's just easy to forget deadlines and such because things sometimes just begin to run together: The priority deadline is coming up...like in a couple days!

Don't worry.. DON'T PANIC!  USC will still look at your applications even if you don't get them in by December 1st, but those who do get their applications in before then will be prioritized.  Try to just fill up the on-line application as soon as you can, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 

Well, hope y'all are doing great.   I know how stressful filling out those college applications can get, so just "holler" and I'll do my best to help you (or at least direct you to someone who can).

Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 02:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I remember that back in middle school, I was such a bookworm that I was in the school library every morning returning a book and borrowing a new one to read for the day.  I participated in the Accelerated Reader Program in seventh and eighth grade, and in both years, I had accumulated the highest points for the school year.  But that was about four and a half years ago, and in all honesty, I have felt that I have “outgrown” reading books.  In high school, I barely read any books.  I read more Pinkmonkeys and Sparknotes more than I ever read any of the required reading books.  I just felt that between soccer, tennis, Red Cross, Student Council, French newspaper, Honor Society--yadah, yadah, yadah...you name the club, and I was in it--that I had no time to pick up any book.  But lo and behold, suprising even myself, I have found that my English 282 Fiction class has to be my favorite class for this semester.

It is a pretty demanding course.  I have to read ten books for the semester, and the books aren’t jokes.  The list includes Faulkner, Rushdie, Conrad, and Kundera.  Besides Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the books have been pretty hard reads—I’m not even going to go into how difficult Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! was.  But hard as the books have been, I’ve actually found myself reading them.  YES, I’M BACK TO READING BOOKS AND LOVING IT!  Mrs. Chandler, my senior year English teacher, would be so proud to hear me say that.

I’d have to give credit where it is due, however, because this sudden urge to read is definitely not my own doing especially when the books are so complex.  He is witty and clever, he is funny and interesting, and best of all, he is my professor.  Professor Mark Sibley-Jones makes running to Flinn Hall every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1:22 (the class starts at 1:25 but Flinn is just right next door to Maxcy) worth it.  A lot of the time, I don’t understand the books we are reading, but I know that every time I go to class somehow it will all make sense.  I think it would be a good assumption to say that he knows his “stuff” pretty well, and if not, he sure does know how to make it all look good.  Also, there are only eighteen of us in the class so discussions go very well.  The discussions are good, and in that way, my classmates also help me out in learning the material.  These are two reasons of many why I like being in the Honors College—I get to enjoy small classes and great professors.  The idea of sitting in an auditorium filled with 299 other students and a professor running through PowerPoint slideshows just does not appeal to me, even if it does mean that I can sleep in class or even skip it and my professor would probably never even know.

So yea, just when I thought I was done with books and that Pinkmonkeys are the best animals in this world, here I am delving into another book and actually enjoying it.  I encourage you to apply for the Honors College.  Not only will it be a great looking diploma after four years but you will be able to engage in your classes even better.  I encourage you to also read books—Pinkmonkeys are awesome but you just don’t get out as much from it as you actually do when you read a book.  Lastly, I recommend taking a class with Sibley-Jones when you get here.  It’ll be time and tuition money well spent.

Catch y’all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I always thought that the Carolina-Clemson Rivalry was retarded and just plain and simple, straight up EXXAGGERATED until I found myself screaming at every single key play, striking my fists at every unfortunate interception, and running around the living room barely missing the big screen tv as I screamed for our defense to tackle those Clemson runners who scored their 76-,82-,and 86-yd touchdowns...My gosh, it was an exciting game, and it kept me on my toes the entire time.  I feared that we were going to lose yet another Gamecock-Tiger showdown, and I just almost lost it...until the Tiger Kicker missed that field goal and I DID END UP losing it...Losing it because YES, I AM A GAMECOCK and dang proud to be one because we just won!

This entire weekend, it seemed that everywhere I went I was outnumbered by Clemson fans.  Being up here in the Upstate, the trend is a 20-to-1 ratio of Clemson to Carolina fans.  Donning their orange and purple, I stuck out like a sore thumb in my garnet red...but after this afternoon's win, I can't wait to go out and proudly strut my Carolina apparel...even if it means just a quick trip to the Wal-Mart!  A win...a win...a win!  I've already called up my die-hard Tiger fans.  Not that any of them picked up their phones, but as if that was going to stop me from rubbing in the victory.  I made sure to leave them, "Dun, dun, dun, DUN...U-S-C...Goooo COCKS! (repeat)."  Man...I've been sucked into the crazy hole of rivalry...hahaha!

Well...I best get going because I still have homework to do.  Like usual, whenever I go home, it seems I never get any work done...

So, well...Enjoy the rest of the weekend and catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 06:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who of y'all actually got up at the break of dawn 4AM to go line up at Best Buy, Circuit City, Kohls, Wal-Mart and such to shop for the early bird specials?!?  (Scratch out "break of dawn"  I don't think I actually saw the sun until 7 or something!) 

Man, I'd have to plead guilty... BLACK FRIDAY!  Man!  Well, I didn't get up exactly at 4 in the morning.  It was more like 4:25...hehe!  By 4:40, my brother, my best friend, and I were out the door and on our way to Kohls.  With the urging of my two passengers, I made a usual 20-25 minute trip to the busiest road of Greenville, South Carolina--Woodruff--in just 15 minutes!  This is a pretty crazy feat, and people who know me would definitely agree because I'm a pretty moderate driver--not slow but not fast either.  I'm a cop magnet, so I can't afford to drive fast... yea!  So anyways... It's pretty ridiculous actually that when we got to Kohls, as early as we were, there was a long line that wrapped around the store... which makes me just think... MY GOSH!  AMERICA, WE ARE SHOPAHOLICS!

Well, I hope y'all have had your fill of turkey and all that great stuff last night...and well that y'all had some great deals today!  Just wanted to drop a quick line and well... HEY!

Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s Thanksgiving, and it’s time to be thankful!  Gosh, there’s just so much to be thankful for—family, friends, and all the things that I have.  It’d take me forever to write about all of them…it’s just I feel like I’ve just been very blessed.  For one, being a Carolina Scholar has been a definite ginormous blessing.  As a Carolina Scholar, I am very thankful to so many people.  First of all, I have to thank the entire Admissions crew who reviewed my application and gave me the time of day.  Lord knows how huge the application pool was for the class of 2010.  Reports even show that my class has broken records with SAT and such.  Secondly, I’d have to thank the people who interviewed me because they made the process so smooth and not stressful at all!  I remember being worried and scared about the interview, but they were very casual and nice.  Still serious but not at all intimidating!  Thirdly, many thanks to Jan Smoak, Novella Beskid, and Ali Cook who continue to keep us updated and are just here for anything and everything.  The three of them work in the Fellowships & Scholarship Office, and they are a huge help when it comes to getting things done and figured out around the program.  Last but most definitely and certainly not by any means least, thanks go to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, the donors of my scholarship.  People like them let kiddos like me go to college and not have to worry about how in the world we’re going to pay for the thousands of bills and such of a college education!!!  Being a Carolina Scholar also has a lot of perks—from cultural events, to mentors, to advisors, and most definitely some great receptions (food is always great—the caterers are always two thumbs up!).  It’s definitely nice to be a Carolina Scholar!!!

Oh, Thanksgiving!  On a side note…I know many of y’all have been looking at the application and such.  I’m not sure if the deadline for the Honors and the Carolina/McNair Scholarships have passed already, but if not… I encourage y’all to fill ‘em out!  If unfortunately the time for that has passed, don’t forget that the priority deadline is December 1^st.  With so many students applying daily…it’ll be to y’alls advantage to get those applications in soon!!!

Catch y’all on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey guys! Can y'all believe that Thanksgiving is in two days?!?  Well, my roommate and I decided that we needed to host a Thanksgiving get-together dinner for our little group of friends here at USC because just as much as we've been looking forward to the break and going home to spend time with our respective families, we just shouldn't go without a Thanksgiving with our USC family!!!  So, we talked to the guys, and it was settled.  We got all our friends who could come--a couple were sick and another was swamped with a Spanish project--and off we went to the Food Lion on Harden Street to buy food and such.  Of course, Megan and I were in pain from Saturday's trek, but we really wanted a "bird" for the dinner spread so we made the 1/2-mile trip.  We dragged a couple of the guys so that we wouldn't have to carry the stuff back though...yea, the guys are pretty useful for that kind of stuff.  

As college kids, it's not like we really had a lot of cash to just spend so we ended up getting a chicken rotisserie from the deli...who said that the table centerpiece for Thanksgiving had to be a turkey anyway?!?  When we got back on campus, we decided to go to the Russell House.  We couldn't let our meal plans go to waste, so we all bought food to share at the dinner table--$0.59 dinner rolls and $0.69 cookies from the bakery, $1.99 cinnamon sticks from Pandini's, $5.70-worth of vegetables from the Grand Marketplace, 4-pints of milk from Chic-Fil-A, and a California roll from the downstairs sushi bar--Talk about a Thanksgiving Spread--COLLEGE STYLE! 

Oh, and I got to "carve" the lil chicken!  It was funny because I didn't know what I was doing.  It was just so much fun and SO MUCH FOOD!  I really don't know how much I ate, but I could barely move myself after it all.  The aftermath left on the table made us all feel bad to look at just because we couldn't believe how much of it all we actually ate!!!  After the dinner, we all watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special...Yea, yea, it was slightly cheesy, and Megan and I actually had to force the guys to watch it...but I'm sure they liked it.

It was loads of fun "gathering around" our little card table... This time of the year, it's just nice to get together with lots of good ol' friends and such... Well, not that we're not always all together anyways... hehe!

My last class was about an hour ago... so Thanksgiving break has officially started for me. My best friend and I are going home together... I hope the weather clears up somewhat before then.  Who'd have thought that I'd have to walk to class this morning with sleet and SNOWFLAKES blowing all up in my face?!?  Talk about a morning wake-up call!!!

Well.. here's to hoping that we all have a great Thanksgiving break.  For those going out of town, safe travels!  Watch the Thanksgiving parade, enjoy the football game, and eat lots and lots and lots of TURKEY!!!

Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thank God Middle Tennessee won (a slight understatement, I know, we slaughtered Mid Tenn at 52-7) because the story that I'm about to tell you about today's happenings would totally not be worth it had we lost the game!

So, I had to get up early today because there was a meeting for us, bloggers.  The meeting was at 10:30  at the Thomas Cooper Library, but before then, I did some homework first and grabbed breakfast.  I met up with the other bloggers and Morgan, and we talked about how we should be blogging on this thing.  Anyways, the meeting ended around 11:50, which meant that the kick-off was in 40 minutes and I was about 234,580,935 miles away from the William Brice Stadium.  I ran as fast as I could back to Maxcy to drop off some things and get my roommate, Megan.  Finally, at about 12:05, Megan and I were en route to the game...

We didn't really know how to get to the stadium because we have taken the bus the past two other games we've been to, but we didn't make it this time.  There is usually a shuttle bus that takes students to the game about an hour prior to kick-off.  We checked a map before we left the dorm and figured that we would take Sumter Street all the way down until it got to this area that is all gray on the map (gray because it is no longer part of the USC campus).  We just thought that once we got to that gray area that we would just cut through buildings and such.

In case you didn't know, the USC area is not really flat... NOT REALLY FLAT!  So, off my roommate and I were, trying to make the game.  We made it to Blatt in 10 minutes, which usually would take about 15-17 minutes.  (Yes, the minutes do make the difference.)  We were jogging down Sumter Street, which doesn't sound too bad until we realized that a hill was up ahead.  We tried to jog up the hill, but that was not a great idea at all.  (We should have stretched before the trip... my calves were killing me!!!)  We thought it was bad--running down and up the hills--then we reached the end of Sumter Street.  We soon found ourselves in this sketchy part of town.  One of the houses had signs all over the garden that read, "NO TRESSPASSING. BEWARE."  Megan and I could only think of jogging faster to get out of the area... we really wanted to get to the game.. ALIVE!  Eventually, we made it to an area with buildings and found Habitat for Humanity.  We figured that we were in a better part of town until we made a turn around the building and found ourselves in tall grass.  We thought, "What the heck!"  We've already made it through the sketchy neighborhood that walking through grass and weeds should be a piece of cake.  So, we made the turn through the grass and then another surprise!  We were startled by this old guy on a lawn chair with a bottle of Bud in hand and a case sitting next to him.  Megan and I got scared and decided to walk... jog.. yes, JOG!  We jogged away from the scary old man and then found ourselves stuck in this thing because a fence wrapped around the entire area.  We had to backtrack and FINALLY found William Brice... It only took us 40 minutes to get there... had to be some record though.

So, we're finally at the game, and we're trying to find some seats.  On our way up to the bleachers, this guy pushes his friend, and just guess who was there to "catch" the guy?!?  As a poor bystander, I found myself flat on my butt on a bleacher with a guy twice my size on me.  The excitement just does not end...

Finally... FINALLY, we're settled and such.  I'd go over the amazing plays we had during the game and all, but I'm not really football-lingo-savvy.  I'll just say... THANK GOD WE FINALLY WON... and THANK GOD FOR 52-7 VICTORY!

The game ended about 3:30, and Megan and I decided that we would try to make it to Bates for lunch by 4.  I'll explain this more later, but to enjoy your "lunch meal plan" you have to redeem it within the time frame of 11AM and 4PM.  We didn't want to waste our meal plan, and the closest place was Bates.  Too bad that "closest" did not mean close at all!  We soon found ourselves on another trek--I felt like G.I. Jane.  Dodging cars as we crossed streets and running up hills through Bull Street, we finally made it to Bates at 3:58... two minutes to spare to get to the diner... DOORS CLOSED!  Bates closes on Saturdays after 1PM and does not open until 5PM.  There went a meal plan and 28 minutes of running and jogging and power-walking.

Finally, Megan and I regrouped and got ourselves together.  To cap out today's strenuous adventure, we decided that we needed to treat ourselves to some great comfort sweets. We went across the street from Bates and headed to this Italian restaurant DiPrato's for some awesome canolis, great tiramisus, and CUTE servers.

The last leg of our trek back to Maxcy was still 25 more minutes, but with canolis and tiramisu in tow and the vision of the dreamy server in our minds... we knew that we would be just fine, and we would make it alive back to our dorm.

Yes, today was very TIRESOME.. but it would definitely have to go down in the books as one of 'em great crazy adventures!

Here's to more crazy fun.. Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Excitement #1:  My rhetoric class, which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 to 12:15, has been cancelled all week due to some seminar that my professor is currently attending.  I've found that very interesting about college.  Professors can just cancel classes based on their own discretion, just as they would wish.  There goes a couple hundred dollars of my tuition going down the drain.. hehe!  Just kidding! It's all good.  She's a pretty good professor, and she always finds ways of making up for lost time in class.

Excitement #2:  My music teacher ended class early the other day because he was a part of a concert.  (See above for excitement reason.)

Excitement #3:  I attended this USC Renaissance Singers Concert the other night.  Talk about interesting and fun! They did a madrigal-sounding rendition of a Beatles Classic: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.  It's one of the great "perks" about going to USC.  There are lots of great performances going on.  Music recitals, plays, and such.. you name it, USC will probably have it.  And have I mentioned the concerts are FREE!  Engage in the culture of great performances without having to drop a cent... yes! 

Excitement #4:  I got my first English paper back from the amazing Sibley-Jones, and I got an A-.  Definitely something to celebrate!  (Note:  If you have the opportunity to take a class under this man, YOU SHOULD!  I'm currently taking Fiction 282, which honestly requires a lot of reading, but it is totally worth it.  He is an excellent professor.  I'm actually reading the books and avoiding Pinkmonkey notes.)

Excitement #5: It's finally Thursday!  Only one more day until I can scream TGIF!

Excitement #6: It's a week from Turkeyfest...but only FIVE MORE DAYS until I go home for the break.  I'm ready to take a break and to definitely get some relaxation time!

Excitement LUCKY #7:  I FINALLY GOT MY SCHEDULE FOR NEXT SEMESTER RIGHT!  I think...hehe!  It took a lot of thinking and tweaking and such, but I think I'm pretty satisfied .hehe!

Well, I hope your week has also been filled with lots of excitement!  Hope the weekend will bring in MORE excitement. And, well, as Thanksgiving is right around the corner.. I'm sure things will only get better!

Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So about every month, my roommate and I get just restless about our room, and we do a complete room overhaul.  We've rearranged our room about the third time now.  I think we just got unlucky about room assignments and got one of the smallest rooms here at Maxcy.  Don't get me wrong.  We love our "Maxcy Pad," and the Super7 have definitely had great hanging out moments here.  It's just, it would definitely be nicer if we had about a couple more square feet of space.  The problem is that the recycling bin/trash room is cutting into our room.  Instead of having four walls, our room is this weird hexagonal shape.

Anyways, we finally finished moving our furniture around.  It only took about 2 hours of deciding how we'd rearrange the furniture and about another 2 and a half hours of actually moving the things around.  Looks like everytime we decide to change the room layout, though, we gain a couple more square feet of floor space, so that's pretty good.  For now, the setup will be having to bunk our beds.   It'll be interesting the next couple of days getting used to having a bed above me.  I'm not really all that tall, but I've already hit my head on my roommate's bed.  Likewise, she's having her own troubles... she can't figure out how to get up and down her bed!

Well, pray we both get good night's sleep with our new setup.  I'm not really sure how much both she and I move around in our sleep... eek!

Till next!  Catch y'all on the flip side, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"So no one told you life was gonna be this way... Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A... It's like you're always stuck in second gear... And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year... but... I'll be there for you......" 

Yes, you might as well start playing the Rembrants in the background.  That is just how tight my friends and I are.  We started out with the Fab5--Yes, it does sound kind of gay, but it's far from being that.  Several kids from my high school are also here at USC with me, and four of them I guess haven't had enough of me from four years of high school and have decided to become my college buds too.  Meenal is my high school best friend.  Then, there's Megan who is my amazing roomie.  Then, there are the two guys, Eric and Andy, who if all else fails will be sure to make the day fun by cracking some odd jokes.  The fun doesn't ever stop with these guys, and we've actually drawn a couple others in our circle--the enhanced Super7.  Gayer?  Not!  Shawn's my best friend from ages ago who has decided to make a blast from the past, and Aaron lives down the hall from me.

Man the adventures with these guys.. the Late night Beezer runs--they have awesome subs for that 2 AM hunger strike... the movies at the Russell House--free from Carolina Productions... the old school TV reruns of Fresh Prince, Friends, and Boy Meets World--USC Cable TV pretty much rocks... the "hikes" out to Harden Street--Food Lion's pretty good for stocking up on some snacks... and well, my dorm room we've dubbed "MaxcyPad" for just chilling and hanging out!  

Well, thought I'd introduce to y'all my buds.  Y'all will probably be reading a lot about them as well, and yea, pretty much y'all will see me around campus with one of these awesome guys.

Catch y'all on the flip side future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey!  I'm sure y'all will agree with me that the typical "Hello, my name is" routine is just way too cliche-ic and can just get too old.  So, let me just get to the highlights and let's skip all the boring autobiographical mumbo jumbos! 

They call me Kriska, and currently, I am here in Gamecock Country, Columbia as a freshman in the Honors College as a Carolina Scholar.  I have a fairly broad range of interests, which usually gets me in trouble with being involved with far too many things.  At the moment, I'm already involved in a couple of clubs here, but will probably get into a couple more later.  I guess I can be categorized as that typical "honors" kid--an ultimate overachiever.  But I like it because keeping busy makes life interesting.  I'm living on campus here at Maxcy College, and I have to say that it's been an exciting change living on my own.  My neighbors are pretty cool, and my roomie is awesome!  I'm a declared pre-pharmacy major, but things may change... There is always something new everyday here at USC so we'll just have to see how things go...

Well, that's enough about me for now.  Guess I'll just wrap up with saying that the USC experience these past couple of months have been just great, and I'm certain it can only get better.  It doesn't even feel like I've been here for about three months!  It's so crazy just how fast time flies!  I'll make sure to catch you guys up on the first half of the fall semester and definitely let y'all in on my future adventures.  I hope y'all enjoy getting to know me as you follow me along here in Columbia.  Catch y'all on the flip side and hope to see y'all soon, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)