You are now looking at...errr...reading the blog of 2007-2008 USC's Carolina Service Council's Director of Monthly Programs!

Yep!  I interviewed yesterday after my Chemistry class at the Russell House Student Organization Office.  There were about four current executive board officers doing the interviews for the upcoming year's new executive board.  They were really nice, and the interview went fantastic!  It was pretty general.  Then, they called me later on in the day yesterday to let me know that I did get a position on the board for next year.  I'm totally excited!

I love getting involved with anything and everything, and even better, I love getting into volunteering and service!  I was actually kind of nervous about applying for the executive board because I knew I had leadership positions down like anything else from high school, but besides being a part of the Maxcy College Government, I haven't really held any other leadership position here at USC.  I was worried that you would need to have pretty good background experience of service on campus, but that was not the case at all.  Everyone had equal opportunities, straight up!  I love that about USC and its organizations.  Everyone is fair game.  I think that's one of the main points I shared with prospective scholars last week.  Whether you're experienced, fully qualified, or not at all, there will always, most certainly be a club, a team, or an organization that will take you in.  USC's the perfect place to continue to hone your skills and develop old hobbies you've already had in past years as well as the perfect place to start something new.  It's the place to find out what exactly you are capable of doing, and not just in the realm you already know and love but in places and things you would never quite expect!

Well, dear future Gamecocks, it's a Saturday morning.  It's looking like it's going to be quite a fair day.  So, I'm going to end this blog on this fair note.  I perhaps might go outside and enjoy the day myself.  So y'all go out and enjoy yourselves, too.  The weekend's only here for a little while...as Monday's always right around the corner (but we shall not worry about that thought for now!) 

Catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

'Tis better late than never!  I know that Scholars' Day was last Saturday, but this week had just been so busy and hectic that I never got around to updating about it.  Overall, I had a pretty good time at Strom at the Scholars' Showcase despite the fact that I had to get up pretty early for it.  It was actually quite nice meeting ad chatting it up with prospective students of next year.  There were many interesting students and parents from all different parts of the country.  Some were from Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and even a family who drove all the way, all night long from New Jersey!  It was just cool getting to know them and sharing with everyone my college experience thus far.

We had to make a board for the showcase, and I really enjoyed that too.  It's been a while since I had to make a posterboard, but I still haven't lost my touch.  Everyone loved my board, especially the title--"a small but MIGHTY gamecock."  For all of you who may have not made it here to Carolina for the showcase, here is my board!

I numbered the sections of the board so that I can also share with y'all what I shared with everyone at Strom.

1)  That's a picture of my parents and I on my first day at Carolina.  Next to that are the Convocation papers that were given to us during that day too.  Dr. Sorensen, the provost, and Tommy Preston among other "important people" of Carolina were there to give us, incoming freshman Class of 2010, the first of many welcome speeches!

2) That's the list of "Tips for Freshmen" that I wrote back before Winter Break started.  To refer back to the article, click this link!

3)  That's the "Sports Section" on my board.  I had a couple pictures of my roommate, my boyfriend, and I at some of the games we went to.  I really enjoyed several football and basketball games over this past year!

4)  That's a picture of Shawn and I at Finlay Park.  I told students that not only are there a lot of things to do on campus but also several places to see and visit off campus that aren't too far.  Advenures off campus are pretty fun!

5)  That's my picture at the Convocation Reception.  It's funny because somehow whoever took the picture managed to keep me about focused and centered in the picture and everyone else in the background is sort of blurred--me, the small but MIGHTY gamecock!

6)  BEEZERS MENU!  I couldn't make a board without advertising the infamous Beezers.  Many late night cravings have been satisfied by this awesome deli place--and I don't even like subs!  There's just something about that Beezers!

7)  Pictures of the Thanksgiving Dinner at MaxcyPad!  Yes, we had one...no turkey but rotisserie chicken was good enough!  Good times, good times--friends making the college experience!

8)  WORLD NIGHT PICTURES!  Me and the FASA Crew had a ton of fun dancing La Jota Manilena for the International Students' Association's Annual World Night--just one of Carolina's highly anticipated events of the year.

9)  A plug about RFL!!!  Man, I'm so excited about Relay for Life.  Only about two more weeks left.  Fab Five and Co. is doing really well in raising funds!

Anyways, I really enjoyed sharing my experience with all of the scholars and their parents at Scholars' Day, but even more...I'm "superdy-dooperdy" enjoying sharing my experience with y'all!  There's so much to talk about here in Carolina, sometimes I don't even know what to write about anymore!  (Note: But if there's anything you guys want me to specifically talk about, then just leave me one and let me know.  I'll be glad to address any of your questions or concerns.)

I'm glad that the weekend is just right around the corner.  I had a pretty traumatic week due to a horrible Chemistry exam.  I'm really looking forward to relaxing over the weekend.  Hope y'all are doing just great an leave me one!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guys, I'm sorry for this whole MIA thing that I'm doing.  Things have just been so crazy and hectic here.  Since my professors didn't give my exams before Spring Break, I am having back to back ones right now.  There are some things that I'd like to post about soon.  Once I get through Thursday, I will have finished my last exam for this go-around and a lab will also be turned in.  I'll be able to breathe again and talk to y'all!  (Yay!)

I'd like to probably post about the Scholars' Day from last Saturday--it was really lots of fun meeting all different kinds of prospective students from all different parts of the country.  I'll probably also post about learning how to "frisbee" at the Horseshoe because I totally suck!  I can also talk about advisement--I finally had mine from my pre-pharmacy advisor this afternoon.  Maybe I'll slip in an entry about tomorrow's Carolina Scholars Dinner with our donors--I'm totally excited about meeting my donor!!!  Or maybe I'll just write about anything you guys would like me to write about.  I'm open for any suggestions, any topics, any questions--just anything--y'all would like me to talk about.  Well, practically anything you'd like as long as the topic is appropriate, of course...hehe!  Just comment me on what you'd like to be reading!

Anyways, I have to go because there is a Chemistry book awaiting me.  You'd think that after a semester and a half of this class that I'd have figured out a technique to ace her exams, but I've still yet to figure that one out.  Thank God for extra credit getting me through first semester (and an exemption on the final!)  Let's just hope the extra credit will do it for me again in case this exam turns out to be a flop!

Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks--and get 'em idearrs crackin!  I want to hear from y'all what you'd like to actually learn more about here from Carolina!

Posted by Kriska at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh my gosh!  Can I say, BIG PHEW!!!

What a way to come back to school from Spring break.  As much rest and goodness that entire week was for me, it completely knocked me off my "school groove."  Adjusting back to my regular Cola routine took quite some time lag, and so things were slightly whacked for a little bit.  On top of that, three exams and a lab report in the span of two days (Wednesday and Thursday) was a complete disaster!  Talk about some really late nights and desperate calls for help.  I'm just so glad that it's all over now.  A weekend has never looked so great until now...

So, what have I got for this weekend...hmmm.  Pretty much, there are no really big plans.  I just know i'm going to be doing some lots of resting and recharging.  Like I said, I think I burnt myself out over this past week.  (Sorry for the lack of posts!)  Tomorrow is Scholars Day, however, and I will be attending to speak with Class of '11 prospective scholars.  I'm pretty excited!  I can't wait to see everyone who comes out.  I hope that if you've been invited that you would come out.  Admissions have a really awesome schedule for the day.  I'll actually be at the showcase with a board, which I have to actually work on right now!  ^_^  I'd love it if y'all would stop by for a quick chat (or a long one if you'd like).  It'd be very interesting to meet y'all face to face and speak with you personally!

As for now, I'll just be here at Maxcy.  I'll be trying to catch my breath from this past week's whirlwind.  I'll probably get to working on my board for the showcase in a little bit.  I really hope y'all would stop by and say hi!  I'll be the short, little Gamecock in a yellow EVENT STAFF shirt.  (Yea, I know there'll be lots of those bright yellow shirts, but just look for the shortest Asian girl and it'll probably be me! ^_^)

Well, 'tis all for now folks!  Hope y'all are doing great and catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Feels like it was only yesterday when I got back home and was all excited about getting my Spring break started, and here I am now only a couple of days away from having to go back to Cola.  Yep, back to school again.  Not that I really don't want to go back, it's just I'm liking this whole bumming around and such.  I'm not really just laying around the house doing nothing, per se.  Actually I've been doing some errands, spending some time with my cousin who has been needing some help, and just having some good quality time with the family.  It's just that I like not having to worry about doing any school work.  Not having to worry about Chemistry nor Physics even just for a week has been really quite nice.  Whoever invented school had too much time on their hands!

But I won't let the fact that school is right around the corner ruin the last few days of my break.  Tonight, I'll be hanging out with some of my friends from my youth group one more time before I leave again.  Some of the girls might be sleeping over, too, so that should be a lot of fun.  Tomorrow, I'll probably just be with the family at the house.  My mom will most likely take me to good ol' Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping so that I can replenish the dorm room--get all stocked up for the final 7 weeks of the semester.  I'm going to need lots of snacks and caffeinated drinks to get me through the late nights up ahead.  On Sunday, I'll probably just be going to church in the morning with the family and then head back.  The dorms aren't supposed to be open until around noontime I think.  I'll probably just get there some time around the afternoon.

Anyways, I hope everyone's doing well.  I know I've been blogging about different busy events that all the seniors are going through now...If any of you have any questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask or just comment!  Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, guys.  Y'all read it right.  I encountered today some "Scary Double-D's,"  the doctor and the dentist!

I'm seriously frightened of the two because I just hate needles and drills, blood and saliva, and medicines and all those types of things.  I usually like to just let nature take its course and just deal with the pain myself, but things have just gotten pretty bad lately that my mom said I just had to go see the doctor and the dentist now while I'm at home for Spring break.  I was even more scared today than usual because I had to go by myself, but fortunately, it wasn't so bad afterall.  Except for the nurse having to take some blood sample, which did hurt a teensy bit, and the dentist having to pull the drill out to smooth a molar...the doctor and the dentist were really nice and were very helpful.

After my visits to the double-d's, I decided that I would go and visit my old high school since I was around the area already.  I didn't stay quite too long during this visit though and just visited a couple of the faculty.  I talked to some of my old friends, too.  Things are pretty much still the same around the place...Southside is still getting 'krunked.'  I talked with several of the seniors, and they seem fairly excited about gearing for the end of the year.  Except for the horrible AP/IB exams that they're going to have to take in a matter of weeks, all of the college acceptance letters, preparations for their prom night, and planning for possible senior trips have really gotten them just ready to get towards the end of their senior year.  I can remember back to my senior year and feeling the same way.  Getting accepted to USC and especially getting that call from President Sorensen to congratulate me about being a Carolina Scholar was a pretty eventful time for the family and me.  Prom night was very nice and very special for all of my friends and myself.  Also, making final preparations for my trip back home to the Philippines to see my relatives and childhood friends was definitely exciting.  This time a year ago was really just a great time.  I sure hope that everyone's senior year is just as exciting for all of you seniors now.

Well 'tis all for now folks!  I'm going to get myself some lunch and bum around some more.  Maybe I'll get myself motivated enough to look at some books and do some homework, but that's a highly variable option on today's agenda!  Hehehe!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yup, Spring break is here guys, and while some are dancing away in Daytona, kicking it in Cancun, or partying it up in Panama, I'm here at home in the good ol' town of Greenville to spend the week for some much needed rest and quality time with the family.

As soon as Chemistry ended last Friday, I headed back to Maxcy to finalize packing up my bags and such and waited for Shawn to come get me.  He was going to spend a couple of days of his Spring break with me here in town and to also visit his grandparents here in the Upstate.  Apparently, it has been a while since he has visited his grandparents, and it's quite the five hour drive from the beach where he lives.  So we decided that since he was going to be up here in the area anyways that we would go ahead and make the side trips.  It was a lot of fun visiting both sides of his grandparents.  They were very nice people, and it was nice seeing that side of Shawn, too.  Unfortunately and very much sadly, it made me sorely miss my "Nanay."  I love that old, sweet woman so much, and it's been so long since I last saw her.  The last time was when I went back home to the Philippines over last summer.  Man, how I really miss her dearly!

Pretty much besides the trips to Ware Shoals and Clemson, we've just been here in Greenville with my family.  My sister was very nice in getting Shawn and I tickets to a play in one of the theaters in Downtown Greenville, so Shawn and I were able to enjoy "Romeo and Juliet" over Saturday night.  The rest of the weekend has just been a lot of sitting around the dining table over homecooked meals, which translates to a lot of corny jokes from my dad, bad but funny table manners between my brother and I, and my mom's side remarks.  I think Shawn thinks I have a pretty crazy family, but hey, who doesn't!

Shawn left this morning already though, so I'm have me some "me-time."  Bumming it here in my favorite couch and (once again) the boy shorts, I'm just watching a marathon of Filipino soap operas that my parents have been keeping on TiVo for me!  Yes, it's quite the cheesy and FOBy thing to do, but I quite enjoy it so...yea!

Tis all for now folks.  I hope everyone had a grand weekend.  I know it's quite the busy time for most seniors these days what with final exams, AP/IB stuff, and of course the PROM right around the corner.  I hope y'all are enjoying your last few months of your high school year...pretty soon y'all will be filling the same shoes I've been wearing.  College will hit y'all so fast that y'all will be thinking back to these days.  I can't believe myself that my first year of college is almost over.  I'm only spending seven weeks in Cola when I go back!  Yikes!

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

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

During my last year of high school, one of the biggest highlights of the year was participating in the Relay for Life in Greenville. My classmates and I raised money for the American Cancer Society, and our group actually ranked as one of the groups who raised the most money. We were also the most "krunked" participants there representing our ghettolicious, Southside High School! It was much great fun!  12 hours of line dancing, football, soccer, and raising lots of money for such a great cause!

*Me and my two high school best friends.  Group picture with some of the Southsiders, and yes, our German exchange student dressed as a drag queen to walk around the track and raise funds--there were about 6 "drag queens" at the relay!*

I loved the experience so much that I wanted to continue on this year and make it a tradition for myself. This will be my second year joining Relay for Life only this time it will be here at USC in Columbia and not only will I be a team member but I get to be a team captain.  Team Fab Five & Co. are at it again, and this time we're doing good for the community!!!

It was unfortunate that my friends and I didn't hear about USC hosting their own RFL until about a couple of days ago, which means we only have one month left to raise funds. But nevertheless we are hopeful in raising a lot of money and helping out with our best foot forward!  In only a matter of three days, we have already raised $200.  We're about 29% our way to our goal of $700.  Personally, I've had to increase my own personal goal because my friends have been so generous, and I reached my $100-goal in only two days!!!  In the online ranking of teams, we have made it to number 5 in just three days!!!  We're very much excited and cannot wait to go home for Spring break to ask our families and friends to help us get to our goal sooner.

I looooove Relay For Life so much.  With so many people affected by cancer, it's awesome to have such a great event support such a great cause.  I only hope that more and more people would find out about events such as this and join and support them.  If you'd like to visit my donation page and help my group, click on the link: http://www.acsevents.org/usc/krissyka

It's a part of Gamecock life here ya know...being helpful and giving.  Service is a big deal here at Carolina, and I'm so glad to be a part of something like it.  Hope y'all are enjoying your week...the weekend is rolling by pretty quickly!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So today was officially the first day that I bummed it out in class.  I mean, I'm always rolling out of bed reluctantly for my morning classes, don't get me wrong.  But usually I can still manage to pick out some clean jeans and find a nice top and jacket to match.  But see, today was just not another one of those days.  Just a tad bit too much work for a morning consisting of a RIDICULOUSLY PAINFUL GROWING WISDOM TOOTH!!

Seriously, my gums were killing me (and still are!)  The pain feels as though it is at that threshold of pain where it will soon just be numb because it is just so painful, but it's just not quite there yet.  Uggggghh!  It's just killing me.  Killing me softly!  The sinus thing is also getting a bit worse, and man do I just want to get rid of this soon.  I don't want to spend my entire Spring break being sick and WHINEY!!!

So anyways, in my oversized pants and Gamecock hoodie, I dragged my lead-weighing self to my 9:05 Physics class.  I didn't quite make it on time, but I would have to say that making it to class nonetheless was quite the amazing feat.  It was very difficult to pay attention to Dr. Jones's lecture, but I tried my best to fight the urge to leave class.  Half the time I stayed awake only by concentrating on a cup of ice cream from either Marble Slab or Zia's that I said I'd reward myself soon as I made it out of my morning classes--I just had to make it out of Physics and another hour of Chemistry.  My gums were in dire need of ice cream!!!

When I did finally make it out of my two early science classes, I finally made it to the Russell House and got myself a Strawberry Microblast...oh sweet ice cold treat!  I was almost in heaven until I realized that I still had another class and that I had to meet a friend to do some Physics homework...oh but I sucked it up!  I spoke with my professor about being sick, and she said that it would be okay if I had to excuse myself in the middle of class if I felt the need to.  Fortunately enough, I did make it through the entire class, however with enough energy to once again drag my lead weighing self around campus to the library to get my Physics done.

Pretty much this is another reason why I love college.  For the most part, professors are pretty understanding about situations like this one.  It's not like high school where you need a doctor's note and your parent's signature to say you're sick and such.  In college, you're an adult who will have to make your own decisions, including deciding on going to class or not.  There will be professors who will not take attendance and not care if you show up to class or not, but don't take that as a sign not to attend lectures.  It just means that they are too busy to worry about every single student to make it to class and that you are an adult who will have to make that decision yourself and will have to deal with the consequences of such a decision.  Often, students will miss class and then when their grades are failing they begin to point their fingers at their professor (see RateMyProfessor.com for this).  Not to say that there aren't bad teachers around, but it is pretty crucial to go to classes.  A lot of stuff can't be learned on your own, which is why you shell out thousands of dollars a semester for that help from professors.  If you're going to pay that much for something, you might as well use it!  Painful, growing wisdom tooth or not, I made it to all my classes today and got my learning groove on!

Anyways...I was really excited about this week.  Like I said, Spring break up ahead.  I wish the week could have started on a much better note, but nonetheless, I'm just glad I'm another day closer to vacation time!

Well, hope y'alls Mondays weren't so bad like mine.  If it was, go ahead and rant with me.  If it wasn't and your day went well, good to hear someone enjoyed their Monday!  Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a terrible feeling!  My monthly visitor was a pest, my wisdom tooth is growing, and I think I have some sinus infection! 

That was me, Saturday  morning.  Not exactly the greatest feelings to wake up to at 9:30 AM.  Shawn and I were planning to go to the Colonial Center to watch the series of basketball State championship games for high schools, but MY state of emergency had us on a Russell House Bookstore run for some soup instead.  Talk about a bummer...There goes my Saturday, I thought.

BUT THANK GOD I THOUGHT WRONG!

The day started picking up as Shawn decided to just come over and bum it out with me--think boy basketball shorts and a white tank all morning long.  Flipping through the T.V. channels, bumming it out and such was definitely a lot better of an alternative than the 10-15 minute walk down to the Colonial Center to hundreds of screaming high school kids!  Then, my best friend who seems to have disappeared into thin air (mind you, when she was in Greenville last semester we talked on the phone practically everyday, but now that she's here in Cola we seem to be talking a lot less?!?) called me wanting a late lunch date.  So off it was around 2 in the afternoon to Five Points.  There is this little cafe style Italian restaurant that serves meals only until 4 in the afternoon and for the rest of the day sticks to serving its customers only coffee and gelato!  It was quite a lovely place for a little rendezvous with my "BFF!"

Afterwards, I immediately had to join the rest of my FASA crew at the Russell House to prepare for the night's festivities--WORLD NIGHT!  The girls and I were frantically making last minute adjustments to our costumes while trying to jump in on the crazy last minute rehearsals.  It was almost chaotic but still pretty fun--all a part of the crazy behind-the-scenes-stage kind of stuff!  Shawn actually got suckered into doing some behind-the-scenes-stuff as well being the innocent bystander that he was, but at least that got him into the event for free!

The last minute practices, hair and make-up, and dress alterations were all a part of the pre-performance rush...and let me tell you, it was pretty crazy in the dressing room.  Toss in about 15 Koreans, several Americans, 5 Filipinos, 10 Chinese guys, and I don't know what more in one room, and of course, you're bound to have some good ol' fun!

I danced La Jota Manilena and clicked for the Tinikling, and I loved it!  I've been dancing Filipino dances for such a long time now, and when I moved here for college I was afraid that I would have to stop dancing.  But luckily, there's FASA, and I can still keep on dancing!

Here is the group pre-performance striking a pose for the camera.  From the back, it's Phillip, Byron, and AJ.  In the front, it's Brenda, me, and Beverly!

Here is us, while actually performing.  Something tells me from this picture, that we're all off! Hehe!

 The night was so much fun...but it didn't end there.  Unofficial after-parties were going on all around town off-campus, and Brenda wouldn't have it about me not going.  I'm glad though.  My best friend, roommate, Shawn, and I followed Brenda and AJ, and off we went to...SALSA CABANA!  It was soooooo much fun!  I love dancing, and on top of that I got to see my best friend salsa for the first time, my roommate let lose, and my boyfriend dance the night away with me!  Whoddathunkit, him and his white boy self salsaing and such!  Hehehe!  His mother and I are still giving him a hard time!  The night was already ending perfectly, but as we left the club ourtummies got the best of us and a Beezers trip was definitely much needed.  The perfect night cap to what seemed to have started off as a bad day but turned out to be such a great afternoon/night after all!  My late night Sicilian definitely hit the right spot!

Anyways, I hope all of your Saturdays turned out just as grand as mine, although, hopefully you guys were spared the nasty morning wake-up call!  Here's to a new week up ahead of all of us.  Only one more week and it's Spring break for me...so I'm definitely excited!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 04:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In an attempt to relieve our boredness and find something to do in a college campus on a Friday night that did not involve either partying or drinking, Shawn, Matthews, and I found ourselves off into a little adventure off-campus.  Off in Shawn's Mobile, the Sebring, we were on I-26 for the 15-minute drive to what is known to Lexington County-ers as the bustling retail center of Columbia--Harbison Boulevard.  Pretty much everything from the Columbiana Center (an 800,000-sq. ft. mall) to stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Old Navy, Best Buy, A.C. Moore, and such can be found in this area along with restaurants like Monterrey's, Olive Garden, Chili's, and Bonefish Grill (where Shawn took me last week for our first official "dinner date" ever! Ki-yoot!)

For the night's little trip, we landed ourselves at good ol' Barnes and Nobles and the ever-faithful-and-always-loyal-that-it-never-lets-me-down WAL-MART!

See, Barnes and Nobles is pretty much Matthew's haven next to an actual library.  The man is inspiring when it comes to his passion for reading.  He puts all of us to shame when he flashes through a thick book (and remembers pretty much all the details of the story and not just the plot), while we struggle through a single E.B. White essay.  He reads The State, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and such daily.  I, on the other hand, struggle through actually reading the entire Daily Gamecock.  So, anyways, Barnes and Nobles it was, and the three of us roamed around the place for an hour and a half or so.  Matthews was pretty much in his own world and strolled about for the perfect book purchase--he never leaves any bookstore he steps into empty-handed.  Shawn went through his typical fave topic aisles and then found himself staring off into the ginormously thick CPA Exam Prep books--talk about a very daunting idea to think about on a Friday night.  As for me, I picked up some random book, and well was zoned out the entire time in it.  I loooove B&N because you can just sit there all day long, if you wish, and just read.  I used to feel bad about this because in any bookstore back home in the Philippines, you simply touch a magazine or a newspaper and browse through it, it better mean that you are buying it!  Signs that read, "You flip through it, you pay for it," were usually found staring you in the face at every aisle, but not at B&N.  The complementary Starbucks is also there for everyone's pleasure, and I didn't skimp on that either--a grande caramel macchiato.  I figured I wasn't exactly purchasing the book, but I still had to somehow compensate for the pleasure I got out of reading it so why not buy into the corporate world of coffee, which I know somehow its profits are to benefit B&N down the line.  It was a pretty nice time until the boys found a little pocketsize book of good ol' Kama Sutra that sent us all laughing out the door.  Seriously, who reads those books?  (Disclaimer: None of us actually did any reading of the book.  Curiosity got the best of the boys, and a peek at the first page practically had us going that there was no need to go through the rest of it!)

As for Wal-Mart, there was no real agenda or shopping list to check off.  We really just needed something to do to kill time.  From one aisle to the next, the three of us looked at gadgets, pressed little thumbs to activate toys, opened musical greeting cards, and well...found me some basketball shorts from the little boys' section.  At the end of our roaming about, each of us had something in tow, but lines were so ridiculously long and the patience of the boys were just not there...so it was just me who stood in line to pay for my size L, red, BOYS' shorts!  You would think that since I only had one thing in my hand that some of the people in front of me who had 20 billion things in their carts would let me get in front of them...but of course, who am I kidding?  The boys simply waited for me in the little arcade where, as I was told, the air hockey puck was chewed off.  Talk about sketchy!  Anyways, when I finally made it out of the line...back to the Sebring it was.

Then, Matthews was PRETTY RAVENOUS, and a little side trip to Wendy's was much needed.  A disappointing "Biggie Size" didn't quite satisfy him, but we did finally make it back to Maxcy where we capped off the long night with an hour and a half nap, which has now left me up...at 3AM...by myself...in the dark!  Nothing like a well-spent Friday night with great friends on a random trip to anywhere and nowhere.

So, here's to yet another Friday night...looking forward to the rest of this weekend.  World Night is here tomorrow night, and I am performing with the Fil-Am Student Association.  If for some chance you are in town near campus, come check the night's program out.  There will be lots of international food, dances, fashion shows, and such, and it's only $5 for USC students and $6 for others.  I've heard lots of great raves from past shows...so I'm sure tonight will be just as great if not better!

Well, guys, I'm going to try and force myself some shut-eye for I know tomorrow will be a pretty long day...I'll catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 02:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, y'all, the brain scans are IN!  For all who did not believe that I have a brain...y'all have now been proven wrong!  To the left, y'all can see a cross section image of my brain as viewed from the top.  The 'L' on the left of the image indicates the left side of my brain, so pretty much looking at that image is like slicing the top of my head open and looking at it straight down if you were standing right behind me... slightly Hannibal-like but still TOTALLY COOOOOOL!!! I've become more involved with research this semester, and it all started with this fMRI scan as I mentioned in an earlier Blog entry.  I was actually worried about the time commitment that the research program was asking of me, but I was able to talk it out with the head professor of the research and we were able to work it out that I will only have to come in once a week for about 2-4 hours.  At first, I just did the minimal stuff around the lab.  I did practice runs of the experiments and searched for possible grammatical errors in sentences included in research that would then need to be edited.  Another undergrad research student usually showed me around the lab and would also do a demo of each experiment so that I would have at least a basic understanding of how each of them are performed.  I've been coming in for only about 3 weeks, I think, but last Tuesday they actually trusted me to RUN EXPERIMENTS ON MY OWN!!! 

Yes, I got to actually run the experiments by myself.  It was pretty routine-ly type of stuff.  I would sit the participant down in the lab and hand him/her some consent forms and give a brief overview of the experiment.  I'd have to press a couple of buttons here and there on the computer to get the test up and ready for running, and then, simply tell the participant to begin!  When he/she would finish with the experiment, I'd have to make copies of the data they have generated and get them all stored in appropriate file folders on the server.  Nothing too profound or anything, but it feels pretty cool and good to be a part of something pretty big...a research...whoooo!

Posted by Kriska at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)