Sorry that I haven't been able to blog lately guys.  In a somewhat unplanned/planned trip...I all of a sudden found myself here in Indy.  Unplanned/planned because my sister and I have been talking about my other sister, my brother and I coming up to visit her here in Indianapolis but never really making any concrete plans about it... Actually, I'm about to leave to go back to Greenville.  I've been here since Tuesday--mostly to help my sister and her husband pack up their things because they are having to relocate back to Greenville for my sister's job.  This is a great thing for the family because we've sorely missed my sister who's been living in Indianapolis for the past 6 years...

Anyways, the trip has been really cool.  There was a lot of packing that needed to be done, but whenever we got a chance, we also snuck in some sight-seeing and shopping--like taking a tour-lap around the Indy 500 Speedway, shopping around downtown, and eating at my sister's fave restaurants.  It will probably be a while before we ever come back up here since my sister is moving back down.  The coolest part of the trip will probably be going up on a Cessna 172--FLOWN BY MY VERY OWN SISTER!  It has been her childhood dream since I can remember for her to become a pilot, and she's very close to getting her license.  It was quite a treat for my siblings and I that she took us up around the downtown area.  I got to enjoy a nice sunset view of the city...it was pretty sweet!

Anyways...just wanted to catch up with y'all!  Sorry that it's been a while since I last blogged.  Cheer the Gamecocks on as they play in the Liberty Bowl.  Unfortunately, my sister and her husband do not believe in paying for cable so I'm having to watch the game on ESPN.com on Gamecast!  Oh, cross y'alls fingers and pray we get a chance!!! 

Well, it's time to get going...pretty soon we have to head to the airport to catch our flight.  Hope everyone's Christmas celebration went well... New year's right around the corner...HOLY CRAP!  hehehe!

Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Home Sweet Home...sorta!  I didn't quite understand what Anthony, my Maxcy RA, meant when we were having our SSI.  He asked me if I was anxious about going home or was I worried about the whole thing.  I thought it was bizzarro that he said that I'd be worried.  Worried about what?  Of course,  I was very anxious.  I couldn't wait to get home to my family, my friends, to tons of homecooked meals, and taking showers without having to wear flip-flops!  And since I have been home, I have been able to enjoy all such things.  I was welcomed last Friday by my youth group for a little Christmas get-together.  My best friend and I have been going out--adoring downtown, doing some Christmas shopping, and going out for lunches.  My parents and I have been catching up.  There have been lots and lots of great Filipino food filling up my tummy...and yes, the showers have been very great in my very own bathroom!

But I guess, Anthony was kind of right.  Although, I have been enjoying myself a lot...some things are just not the same.  I guess I've just really gotten used to my own routine and being on my own.  No meal plans here.  No late night guests.  No Horseshoe walks.  No roomie to stay up with until 3 AM.  Nope...I'm really home!

I guess living in Columbia has left a mark on me...but hey!  Home will still be home.  It will never really be the same to come back, but my family and friends (and the shower) will always be there for me no matter what!

Christmas is right around the corner. Can y'all believe it's only 4 days away?!?  Hope y'all have done your Christmas shopping and are enjoying the winter break!

Merry Christmasing and catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

… WINTER BREAK!

So it completely felt like one of those moments when all you want to do is just stand and look around, and then everything in the room just moves…except for you… and you think of all that’s happened…all the things that you and your friends have done…all the things that have passed and you realize… YOU ARE SO FREAKING CHEESEY!

Hehehe…So I was packing my stuff Thursday night as my roommate was trying to cram the last few Anthropology tidbits that she could for her exam the next day.  My boyfriend was trying to figure out his Math stuff, while I was trying to figure out what clothes along with which purses and shoes to pack up and bring back home for winter break.  And yea, it finally hit the three of us…the first semester of our college career has finally ended.  Well, for me, it was.  They each still had one final exam to go.  But in all honesty…we just could not believe how fast the time has flown.  We’re already half way through our freshman year, but it seemed as though we had just moved in to our dorms.

On top of the speeches from Rhetoric, the novels from Fiction, the graphs from Economics, the Baroques and Classics from Music, and the experiments from Chemistry…fall semester of freshman year has really taught me a lot.  Living on my own in a new place has definitely been some experience and, although, I’m far from being an expert about college life…I still would like to share with y’all some of the things that I’ve found to be helpful that y’all will probably want to keep in mind when starting your college living…

Freshman Tip #1:  Get (or be) a roommate who is ready for anything.

Be it the TV, the soda, the ibuprofen, the chips and salsa, or the nail polish remover having a roommate (or being the roommate) who is ready with anything makes for a great roomie-relationship.  For together, Megan and I have realized that we make the best roommates for each other, in sickness and in health, ‘til death gets one of us sympathy from the professors and all A’s.

Freshman Tip #2:  Make sure to assign bathroom duties.

This is a definite must-do if you don’t want to spend your weekends cleaning a bathroom shared by four people all by yourself.  It took Megan and I the entire semester to finally get the courage to speak up to our suitemates about cleaning duties because we were the only ones doing it (ewwww!).

Freshman Tip #3:  Get to know your classmates if not your professors and your TA’s.

Time will come when you can’t figure out that homework problem.  Professors and TA’s are usually easy to reach, but forming study groups and doing homework with classmates (especially those who live in the same dorm as you) are definitely helpful!

Freshman Tip #4:  Have adventures with your friends.

Play racquetball late at night at the Strom.  Walk to Beezers for that 2AM hunger.  Climb trees at the Horseshoe during midnight.  Act like a kid in the fake snow at the Riverbanks Zoo Christmas lights.  Don’t just make friends…make memories…and lots of ‘em!

Lastly, but probably most importantly…

Freshman Tip #5:  Have Tylenol, Bengay, and Midol on hand.

Headaches will come; back pains will arise; and even if you are a guy, Midol will be bound to come handy at least once a month.

Posted by Kriska at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm going to start off this blog saying I totally dreaded starting it, but I promise by the time you get to the end, you'll be screaming with me, "Can you say T.G.I.F. or what?!?"

Having to get up for my Chemistry class this morning, especially because the weather forecasted about 30 degree weather or something, was just not the greatest thing to have to do first thing in the morning, but I knew I had to go...Today was supposed to be the day my professor was going to tell us whether we were exempting her exam or not.  So as I froze my fingers off walking down Sumter and Main Street to Jones, all I could think of was that it would suck if I would have to take this Chem exam because in all honesty I was living by the day for that class.  Everything I learned, I learned for the tests... Chemistry is just not my favorite subject. Let me tell you, however, that freezing cold walk was most definitely worth it and was probably the best way I could have started off the day...I'M EXEMPTING THE EXAM!!!

Then after much relaxation because exempting a Chemistry exam is definitely worth partying about...it was time to head to church for Dec. 8's Holy Day of Obligation.  Note: For Catholics, St. Thomas Moore Church is great.  Father Tim is a hoot for a priest!

Then it was time to go to my last day of Fiction with Sibley-Jones.  It was kind of sad for me...hehe!  I mean, I really love the class, and it's that one class that has made all the difference for my freshman year experience.  That class had more than novels and short stories to offer but a wealth of so much more...Cheesey, I know!  But Sibley-Jones is definitely a great professor and his class is double hoot-hoot!

Then I got to spend a little time with my best friend as we headed off to watch a recital at the School of Music.  Some guy was performing the flute, and I needed to watch it for my Music class...It was pretty fun.  Nothing too exciting to rave about, but I did get to hang with my best friend so it was pretty good overall. 

The best part of today, however, that totally merits screaming "T.G.I.F!!!" would have to be the trip to the Riverbanks Zoo for the Christmas lights with my friends.  Although, it was probably down in the 28ish degrees and we were all freezing our extremities off even under layers and layers of jackets and coats...walking around the zoo and looking at the lights and checking out the funky smelling animals among little kids surely was a great way to cap off our first semester as freshmen in college...Eighteen, nineteen, smshteen...HERE'S TO BEING A KID AGAIN!

Hopin' that y'all had the greatest Friday as well...Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week has seriously been a long week.  For starters, here is a little flashback:

Last Tuesday, I woke up thinking that it was Thursday.  Oddly enough, it really really really felt like Thursday...whatever that means.  So, as usual, I struggled to get up for my 9:30 Econ class but even more so that day because I seemed to have picked up some bug from the previous night.  I really couldn't afford the slow stroll because it was already 9:30 when I left my dorm, but I really was not looking forward to another boring lecture about the financial blah, blah, blahs of macroeconomics.  So as I lazily took my time and walked through the Horseshoe to the Business Building, I thought about how I would spend my "Thursday."  Naturally, after Econ I'd make my way to Rhetoric, then grab lunch, then hang out in my room with Megan and Shawn, and then head to Music in the afternoon...Yes, just another typical Thursday.  I don't know where it finally hit me...it probably was when I realized I had a presentation to do for my Rhetoric class or when I bought breakfast and it said that I still had 5 meal plans left that I finally realized... Dang, it's only Tuesday!  I'm not really sure if that was necessarily a good thing or a bad thing that I was "back to Tuesday," but it was as if I just got two days back and had to relive Tuesday and Wednesday all over again...Yea, I'm confused too.

But anyways...now that it is finally really Thursday and my Chem lab has been turned in, my Rhetoric presentation is done, my English rough draft is being proofread, and all my classes are pretty much done... I can finally relax...right?!  NO!!! *sigh*  I have that Economics exam in a week... GRRRR!!!  I've still to get back my English draft to revise for my final grade.  Then a Rhetoric paper that is due in 4 days. (Unfortunately, it is 10 pages long, and I've yet to start it.)  But I think I'm exempting my Chemistry exam *WOOT WOOT!*, then Music exam will be on-line, and lastly there is no English exam.  It really isn't all too bad from now as I'm probably making it out to be.  I'm sure there are other students who have worse exam schedules than I do, but nevertheless there are still lots of work that need to be done...which leads me, once again, to bid y'all Adieu!

Hope everyone's semester is winding down just well...I turned to my fellow bloggers and it seems we're all sounding a lil tad too stressed...Hope that doesn't turn y'all away from USC...hehehe!  Exam week just can get really crazy!

Well, I better get going and cracking on something...a textbook, a pen and paper...anything, something!  Catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Only four more days of classes left guys, and naturally I'd be happy about that idea but I'm more stressed about it than anything. This week and the next are probably going to be the hardest of the entire semester. 

With only four days left, things are really winding down, but there is still so much to do.  I've got a first draft for a 5-page English paper due by Wednesday, which I've yet to start.  I've got a Chemistry lab report due also by Wednesday, which is at least half-way done.  Then there is also this essay paper presentation for my Rhetoric class tomorrow, which I've barely worked on, but it is a pass/fail assignment meaning an A for doing it and an F for not...I'll most likely just wing it.  It really shouldn't be all that bad.  What's got me really worried is that exams are right around the corner--to be specific, they are starting next week.  So far things are looking not too bad though because I might only be taking one actual in-class exam for my Economics class.  My music professor have resorted to an out-of-class exam while my English professor is not giving us one at all.  Rhetoric requires a 10-page essay, which sounds depressing, but at least I don't have to go take an actual test in class.  And there is a slim chance I'm going to be exempt for my Chemistry exam...*cross fingers please!*

*Sigh*

With all this work, you're probably thinking what in the world am I still doing blogging about the load instead of actually picking up a book or two or something and getting on with the work, right?  Well, that makes two of us...hehe!

I'm a freshman with a bad case of senioritis...hehehe!

Well, I guess I better head on out.  Till next!  Catch y'all on the flip side, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So.  Great title, eh?

Not much here really.  Just wanted to make a very last minute reminder...

Today is December 1, guys!  Freshmen applicants...don't forget to send in your applications by tonight to meet the priority deadline!!!

If you can't get your applications in today, as I've said before, don't worry.  They will be looked at by admissions whenever space is available, so just make sure to get them postmarked or submitted online as soon as you can.

Well, that's it for now.  Hope that all's well.  Cheer for the Gamecocks again my comrades for there will be another Carolina-Clemson match up this weekend.  The Gamecocks and the Tigers will meet at the Colonial Center for a basketball game tomorrow.  Hopefully we'll win and have more to add onto the bragging rights of last week's victory! 

Enjoy y'alls weekend and catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks! 

Posted by Kriska at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)