Do y'all ever get tired of the three to five mainstream local radio stations that you may have that play the same 10 songs, seeming as if they have chosen those same 10 "hits" and have put them on loop for all day long?!?  And see, as much as you hate those annoying songs, they are just so catchy that not only are they playing over and over again on the radio but they are also just stuck in your head! 

For a poor college student that I am who cannot afford a fancy XM radio, Yahoo! music and YouTube are my on-line go-to's when my local radio stations have failed to entertain me.  When I'm stuck underneath my cave-a-loft with my books towering over me as they await to be read, music helps me get through the day and helps me get most of my work done.  I'm a girl that pretty much enjoys anything and everything--from Indy rock to hip hop, from the oldies to some rap, and some select (VERY SELECT) country to good ol' acoustics!  And well, speaking of acoustics...as I was in the Student Government Offices in the Russell House putting in my office hours for Carolina Service Council, I couldn't have had a better music station than this guy out in the Russell House lobby putting on a lunchtime show.  It was some pretty darn good acoustic mini-concert.  He played and sang musical renditions of some of John Legend's hits (who is one of my absolute favorites!)  He transitioned form Rihanna's "Umbrella" to a good ol' classic, "Killing Me Softly."  Oh, and he also amusingly played an acoustic version of the Electric Slide! 

R&B and Soul Artist, Rudy Currence is the first of a series of musical performances that Carolina Productions have put together for some select Mondays of the spring semester.  The series is called the "Multicultural Music Middays."  The performances are bound to really live up to the series' name as a diverse group has been carefully selected by CP.  Performances are set at about noon, and the performers booked for the semester range from jazz to soul to traditional folk and Gospel.

Events like this mini-concert help us students get through the daily grind.  We all know how school work can get so stressful sometimes.  These events are especially stress-relieving as they are very light on the budget--THEY ARE MOSTLY FREE!

Well, until the next beat comes by my way...I hope y'alls week has gotten off to a good start!  Happy Monday and catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Having studied for Organic Chemistry for some time now, a late night craving hit me.  And I thought to myself, what better way to quench the craving than by downing a good cup o'joe.  That late night caffeine fix was definitely needed, so I decided to drag Shawn in the cold to Starbucks.  But much to my dismay, I found myself outside the door to Starbucks in the Russell House with some fifteen other students.  It seemed like a huge crowd was inside the cafe already, and I found myself a bit confused.  It isn't quite exam time yet, and so I didn't see why so many college students were out at Starbucks, especially on a Thursday night!  There were also several cop cars parked out on Greene Street, which made me wonder what really was going on.  Well, lo and behold, as Shawn and I made our way across the front of the cafe glass windows, there were secret service all around and BILL CLINTON at the very front and center of the crowd!!!  Oh, the primary is really in the air!

Now, I'm not a naturalized citizen of the United States of America yet, so I'm unfortunately not going to be able to vote this year.  But that doesn't mean that I've not had my fill of all the buzz about candidates and elections.  My friends and I have been doing our civic duty to the nation and have kept up with debates and CNN updates on TV and on-line.  Also, this entire week, Obama supporters were handing out flyers all over campus.  Senator Obama is going to be at the Koger Center this Friday for a gathering of supporters that they're calling, "Stand for Change Rally."  Perhaps this rally is why former President Clinton is hanging around the campus this late at night.

See, I'm all for campaigning and encouraging young adults to vote.  (Rock the vote, right?)  I am a little disappointed though, but I guess I'll just have to forego a caramel macchiato for the night so Bill can keep on doing his thing for his wife.

Well, I hope y'all are being good American citizens and are registered to vote (if y'all are of voting age) or at least keeping up with current events like I am.  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While most of the nation went on a day off in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., over 500 USC students came out today to volunteer and had a "day on."  As I like to always say about volunteer events here at USC, we Gamecocks truly have not just the garnet blood flowing through our veins, we also have hearts of gold!

This was the school's 11th Annual MLK, Jr. Day of Service, and as in previous years, hundreds of students came out to volunteer.  We had several local non-profits from the community that enlisted for the service day, ranging from Habitat for Humanity, to Homeworks, to Hope Worldwide, and many others.  I was the site leader for one of the groups since I am a part of the Carolina Service Council, and my group and I went to St. Lawrence's Place.

Here are some pictures of the day.  I thought y'all might enjoy 'em.  I certainly had a great time!

Jo was telling us what St. Lawrence Place was all about.  It's a local transitional home for the homeless, some broken families, and those who are in need of financial help.  We were freezing, just standing out there, but we were ready to get working.

Braving the cold weather, here are some people raking leaves. 

Some of the cottages needed some cleaning up so that new residents can occupy them.  We put some of the volunteers to work in there...scrub-a-dub-dub!

After all of the cleaning we did, it was time to play with the kids of the community.  They were so adorable!

Here's a volunteer finding time to strike a pose with one of the children.

Beverly, Shawn, and I strike a pose to represent the Filipino-American Student Association. 

This little girl just fell in love with one of our volunteers.  The little girl wouldn't leave her side! 

We played several rounds of Heads Up, Seven Up with the kids.  They got so excited so easily.  It was quite amusing!

The kids await the command...Heads Down!!!

The sisters of Delta Sigma Theta, some members of FASA, and some members of CSC...Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In keeping with being a kid again, since one can never be too old to be a kid, Shawn decided that he would take me to the circus that has come into town.  See, I have vague recollections of some sketchy traveling circus from my wee-little years of childhood when I try to remember if I've ever gone to a circus, but I'm not really sure if they are real memories or some I've managed to concoct from movies, shows, or some other stories I may have seen when I was younger.  Things from ages ago manage to escape my memory...hahaha!  (As if I were already that old!)

So, anyways, why am I blogging about going to the circus?  Not that it was just ANY circus.  (Shawn and I were "Bello-brating" with the Ringling Bros. Circus, and it was quite the blast actually.)  What I am really wanting to talk about is one of Carolina's pride and joy--the Colonial Center at USC.

The Colonial Center is the largest arena in South Carolina.  It's the home of the men and women's Gamecock Basketball teams, but it has also served many other different events.  The Colonial Center at USC has hosted some of today's most famous entertainers, from R. Kelly to Kenny Chesney to Billy Joel to John Mayer (who I actually went to see during last spring semester).  They have also had several productions come through, like Disney on Ice, Sesame Street, and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus!  It truly is one of Carolina's pride and joy, as it is able to provide great entertainment to students and faculty on campus as well as the community at large.  And the Colonial Center welcomes everyone--there were definitely several Clemson fans last night at the circus!

USC's face is getting a big lift these days as well.  With the development of several new buildings around campus to add to our already awesome architecture, it's almost hard to imagine what the cityscape will be like in the next five years.  It sure will look great.  But until then, I'll be here, and I'll be blogging all about it!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ugg boots. Check.  Long-sleeve sweater.  Check.  Scarf and gloves.  Check.  Coat.  Check.

Oh, and class schedule.  Check.

It's great to be back in Cola, but man has it been cold.  Walking across the brick pathways from building to building between classes hasn't been much fun these past couple of days with the cold weather.  But I won't complain too much because last night we had quite the buzz around here on campus....IT SNOWED!!!

Yes, guys it snowed.  It didn't quite stick on the ground so we still had classes this morning, and that was pretty disappointing.  But last night, we had such a racket out on Preston Green that that bit of snow we got was still pretty darn awesome.  It was quite hilarious running around like little kids, and while most of my "northerner" friends on Facebook laugh at my status about the joy that the snow last night brought, those snowflakes were pretty darn big!  Haha!  I would probably classify last night as light snow fall but definitely not just snow flurries, okay?  Hehe!

But back unto classes, as I haven't given y'all an update about that.  My schedule this semester is no less busier than last semester, but I feel pretty good about it.  Except for my Anatomy and Physiology course with close to about 200 students, all of my other classes are not so large.  My other classes are no bigger than 50 students, which is good because I feel like there are more things that get done in those smaller classes.  There is generally more student-teacher interaction and dialogue in the smaller-sized classes, and I feel like I get more out of them.  But most teachers here in USC are pretty great, so even if the classes are big, they will still go out of their way to keep their office hours and offer their e-mail addresses to students who may have questions and need extra help.  No worries about being in a big university.  Around here, we like to feel like we are one big family!

I've still got lots of back-to-school business to take care off these next few days, but rest assured I'll be fitting in more time to catching you guys up about the happenings here in Cola.  It's been pretty hectic since I moved back in, so I apologize for not having blogged already!  But to make up for my lack of blogging, I will leave y'all with my snowfall party pictures...ENJOY!

And for some funnies...

Here's my pants post-football in the "snow."

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I'm sure from my lack of blog entries that y'all have correctly assumed that I have been in far too many family and friends gatherings during this winter break.  The annual holiday festivities have kept me pretty much busy and FULL!  Y'all know how big the table spread gets on those Christmas feasts!

But now that the holidays are over and the year 2008 has been rung in, it's time to look forward to the days ahead and G-A-S-P!  Yes, guys, GASP!  Spring semester of 2008 is just right around the corner.

The courses have been chosen.  Scholarship checks have been sent.  Tuition needs to get paid...and school will be on its way again.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm really excited about going back to Carolina.  I'm just not ready to face homework, quizzes, tests, essays, et cetera, et cetera...blah, blah, blah.  I guess that I'm just having those first-day-back-to-school jitters.  Oh, boo-hoo, right?

Anyways, I hope y'all are settling back to school much better than I am.  I know that the high schools around here in my hometown are having their exams this week since they didn't take them before the break.  I'd have to say that they they there was not much fun for them towards the end of their break as they had to get cracking on those textbooks quickly!  My brother has been staying up late this past couple of nights trying to get on top of his AP classes.  Poor him!

Well, nice catching up with y'all again.  Can't wait to face the spring '08 in full Gamecock Spirit!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)