A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR!

Yes, a surge of this crazy, heavy rain just came down over Columbia, and it was quite the cool light show with lightning just lighting up the entire horizon.  Now, let me just tell y'all that I don't quite do well with thunderstorms though.  First of all, I hate getting wet by the rain because I always just feel gross afterwards.  Secondly, I always feel lazy when it looks dark and gloomy outdoors.  All I want to do is cozy up in some old jammies and lay down on my bed!  And finally, I just don't like thunder...and lightning...it's just a tad scary!  Hahaha!  But putting all of that aside, my fellow executive board members of the Fil-Am Student Assoc and I were just way too hungry after our first board meeting of the year to let the remains of tropical thunderstorm Faye get in our way to some good ol' Chinese fast food!

It's that time of the year again; the beginning of the school year.  The syllabi have all been passed out and classes our in session, but it doesn't mean that all students need to go completely into study mode and abandon their hobbies, interests, and most importantly their social life!  Student organizations all over campus have executive board meetings going on practically every night this week, as every group tries to prepare and plan out the fall semester.  It's time to plan out interest meetings, community service projects, social nights, and all the FREE stuff because we all know that when you say "FREE" around a college campus, you're sure to have a hit!

So, yep.  I'm busy, busy, busy again this year.  I wouldn't be Kriska if I weren't.  And with that, off I go now, so that I can actually get some studying done!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Apparently those are questions people ask these days during speed dating sessions.  Not to worry, however,  as I've not fully resorted to that for my love life.  (I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate it if I did anyway.)  This speed dating was actually more just for fun to get to know each other during a First-Year Scholars Retreat that I served as retreat team member on yesterday.  The activity was called 'paper plate dates.'  For those of you who have never played this ridiculously fun icebreaker (because way too many others are just super awkward), everyone gets a paper plate and then writes the number 1 through 12 to make a face of the clock.  Everyone gets about 5 minutes or so to get their dates scheduled by walking around the room and getting 12 different people to write their names next to the numbers.  Once everyone gets their dates scheduled, the announcer calls out what time it is and which date their supposed to be meeting.  It kind of takes a little bit of time to meet up with your date since you haven't formally met yet at that point, so this part was kind of fun with people yelling out names when they were being "stood up."  But eventually, once everyone finds each other and dates get paired up, the announcer throws out a question that you two are supposed to talk about.  It's pretty fun and interesting if good questions are prepared for the game.

But yeah, the First-Years Scholar Retreat was yesterday, and it was quite the long day because we had to meet up at 7:30 in the morning for the bus.  Basically, First-Years Scholars, or FYS for short, is a program for incoming freshmen who have been awarded the Carolina or McNairs Scholarship.  As I'm an upperclassman with the Carolina Scholarship, I have been on the retreat team now for 2 years running.  We just really take a day out of the first week that the scholars get to campus and try to give them a retreat where they can start to really get to know each other, work together, and also for some of the upperclassmen and staff to give them valuable information about campus life whether it'd be academic-related or just Columbia life in general.

Really, being a scholar here at USC, you are well taken care of.  You might be overwhelmed at first as a freshman coming on to such a large campus, but the staff and upperclassmen try to be as welcoming and helpful as possible.  I love that so much about USC.  I've never ever felt lost here because there is always someone that I know I could turn to who could help me figure things out or at least point me to the person or direction that could resolve issues further.  I'm not sure about other colleges and universities, but for Carolina being the huge university that it is, it never ceases to amaze me how close the personal attention given can be.  Isn't that a refreshing thought?

Well, as it is 11:23PM and I have an 8:00AM class tomorrow morning (can't y'all tell that I just love Mondays!), I should probably get going.  But before I do, let me share with you guys my ideal pet.  Everyone that I've talked to about it have said that it's virtually impossible for me to find such a pet to fit my preferred qualities, but maybe y'all can help me out.  My ideal pet would be a medium-sized dog that doesn't shed but is very fuzzy and hairy so that I can call it Chewbacca, or Chewy for short.  Right now, my family has a huge black lab that just will not quit shedding.  It's soooo ridiculous!  Hahaha!  I love him to death, but the hairballs just really get kind of gross.

And, well, on that note...I won't continue on a rant of nasty hairballs.  I'll just bid y'all adieu.  First game of the season is this Thursday...GET PUMPED!!!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Here's a picture of my window.  Interesting I know, BUT as you can tell, it was rather a rainy afternoon/night on the day that I moved in.  It held up enough though so that I could move everything in with the help of my parents, then it just kind of started to go.  Beautifully hung, of course, is a one-of-a-kind stained glass that was personally made for me as a gift.  Isn't it just perfect!

Someone apparently caught me working at my desk already.  Everyone's been kind of ragging on me for already diligently working away and sticking my nose to the computer, but I have my excuses!  I have been trying to look for some cheap textbooks, as I have a fair amount of books that need to be purchased.  Notice the garnet and black sheets, of course!

This is our modest living room.  Complete with the awkwardly placed fire extinguisher (hehe!), the living room is quite a nice little space that we haven't had these past two years as we've been staying in dorms.  We've tried to decorate it a bit and have actually put some stuff on the wall.  Y'all can't see it now but we have the football poster up there...We are so ready for football season!!!

This is the kitchen, right across from the living room.  A kitchen was definitely something that I really wanted having lived in dorms that had community kitchens that were usually not quite up to par with my cooking standards (hehe!)  This is just right, and actually we have already put it to good use.  Just see below!

This is our first "apartment-cooked" meal.  I have been officially dubbed the momma of the group.  I expect to be mainly the one to use the stove, as my roommate's kitchen experience is limited to microwaves and cereal bowls!

And of course, what freezer would be complete without any great ice cream!  CVS on Assembly Street had a buy 1 get 1 free sale on Edy's so we definitely got some of that.  Unfortunately there were neither the birthday cake or rocky road flavor (which are my Edy's faves), but strawberry and chocolate chip cookie dough is pretty up there.  So, it's all good!

Well, that's my mini-tour for y'all of my living quarters this year.  I'm sure I'll have more of these to come later.  I did write a bit about living in Thornwell before my IE got all crazy on me.  Maybe next time I'll blog a separate entry about that.  If y'all have any questions though about living on-campus, don't hesitate to ask.  I've lived in Maxcy and Preston, but I also have friends who have lived in other dorms.  I should be able to give y'all the skinny on other on-campus housing!

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

It's been pretty busy for me lately though.  While others are still trying to sort out furnitures in their dorms and apartments, I have been getting "orientated."  Just like the new incoming USC freshmen of the Class of 2012, my fellow P-1 Pharmacy first year students of the Class of 2012 and I had our orientation these past two days and had our official White Coat Ceremony.

As for y'all avid readers of mine know (and to inform you new readers), I am now entering pharmacy school with 2 years of USC undergraduate studies under my belt.  I have worked hard to get the grades and get the application and interview to Pharmacy school, and now I am really officially a "graduate" student of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy - USC Campus!!!  My friends are making fun of me because with the additional 4 years of pharmacy school, I am just like all of the new incoming freshmen this year.  I will be graduating the same time as them!  I don't mind the extra 2 years that much though, as I will be getting a Pharm.D. by then! 

So, just to get started back up again...Y'all know how much I love taking pictures and sharing them.  So, here are some pictures from my White Coat Ceremony.

This is me with one of my best friends in the Pharmacy school.  Meet Anthony. He and I were being goofy in front of the Koger Center where the ceremony was held.

This is Anthony and I again, but this time with another one of our colleagues.  This is us prior to our white coats!  Meet Jennifer... 

That's me towards the middle during our official USC Campus Class of 2012 group picture.  There is a total of 110 of us students in the USC Campus with an additional 80 students in the MUSC Campus.  Together...do the math and there are 190 of us in the South Carolina College of Pharmacy Class of 2012!!!

This is my friends and I again, but this time with our white coats.  Don't we just look very official now?  We will be your future pharmacists!

Of course, my boyfriend Shawn came for moral support!

And of course, my parents...Don't they just look so proud of me!  I was very excited that they were able to take time out of their work to come see me for the ceremony!

Well, guys!  This will be it for now.  Rest assured, I will be blogging more often.   Look forward to some new posts about my new place, my reunions with friends, and my fresh new start in the College of Pharmacy!  I hope y'all are off to a great start...again Welcome Back to School ladies and gents!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

SYNTHROID                          Carvedilol

AMOXIL                                Levothyroxine Sodium

COUMADIN                           Cephalexin                     

COREG                                 Amoxicillin

MOBIC                                 Amitriptyline

KEFLEX                                 Warfarin

ELAVIL                                 Meloxicam

So, how'd y'all do?  These seven drugs are perhaps some of the most common drugs that we dispense on a daily basis at the pharmacy.  Every time I see this on a prescription (in chicken scratch manner, of course) I am now able to match up the brand names with their generics.  Of course, there are over hundreds and hundreds of other drugs that I have to really memorize.  Good thing about work though is that there is a computer to look up drugs when I am met with something completely unfamiliar.  Like the other day, a patient came in with a prescription with a generic drug name.  I thought that we had had it out of stock because I looked it up on the computer and it matched with a certain brand name.  I looked EVERYWHERE.  Finally, I just gave up to ask one of our Lead Techs only to find out that for some reason or another the drug was kept another brand name!  It was manufactured in TWO BRANDS!  How's that for confusing?!?

I was talking to one of our pharmacists who is a USC-SCCP alumni.  We joke with each other that I am her little sidekick since I am attending her alma mater.  I told her I just couldn't imagine knowing all of those drugs like the palm of my hand.  I mean, it's not even just that!  You have to know what each drug does, how it interacts with anything and everything, how it looks like, and on, and on, and on!  How will I ever know all of these things?!?  She assured me, however, that I shouldn't worry.  Time will come...and well, I'll be taught certain things in school that I will probably never use, too!  Remember those days in Calculus?  When will you ever use finding the tangent of this and finding the derivative of that unless you were going to be an engineer or math genius?!?

Well, here's to learning many new things!  Boy, is summer really coming and going so fast.  It's almost July, and before I know it, I'll be starting my first year as a Pharmacy student.  Oh, but before I get ahead of time and myself, I will definitely have to enjoy this summer first!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

In the good ol' Upstate South Carolina, in one of the most booming cities of the South, what I call as the Red Sox Juniors can be found.  An affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Greenville Drive is housed in the Fluor Daniel, West End Field.  Now, I'm not a big baseball fan as it is and I really didn't know much about the Drive, but I sure got into that ball game.  I mean, the Drive was up 5 runs and in just one inning at the top of the 6, the other team scored 4 runs.  Inning by inning, as we inched towards the end, you could feel the excitement grow more. 

So where exactly is the Greenville Drive from?  Well, they're from Greenville, South Carolina, which has perhaps one of the best downtowns I've seen.  With so many restaurants, stores, and boutiques lining the main street amongst the business offices, Downtown Greenville is quite the bustling city for such the slow-paced Southern living.  The city is also very proud of its very strong cultural mark with several museums offering so many different kinds of galleries and several theaters showcasing so many plays--even some shows from Broadway make their tour down through here!  Several years ago, I actually saw Miss Saigon at Greenville's Peace Center for the Performing Arts.

The Drive's season this year started in April, and they will be playing all the way into the first of September.  With Greenville only being about an hour and a half away from Columbia, a weekend trip to stroll through Downtown to shop and dine and to maybe even catch a Broadway show and a ball game is very much a great possibility.  It could be a great short road trip with your college friends to welcome the start of the school year in August or to celebrate the end of the year in April/May!  (And with gas prices being so high, the short drive won't put too much of a dent in your wallet!)  Oh, what a great idea!

Here are some pictures from the game.  Enjoy!

I think this was about the time when the Hickory Crawdads were catching up to the Drive!

I didn't much understand the technicalities, but my boyfriend was more than happy to explain them to me.  And when the game would come to a slow pace, he was willing to indulge me in posing for some pictures!

We sat right next to the home dugout.  I had to keep reminding myself that there was a net so that I wouldn't scream when the batters hit a foul ball!  I didn't want to be like that girl on the ESPN highlight!

They even had a fireworks show at the end of the ball game (which the Drive won!)  The fireworks was set to a "Movie Night" theme.  Theme songs from Mission Impossible, to Pirates of the Caribbean, to all such other classics played.  The very last song was 2001...I kept trying to look for Cocky!  I thought that he'd come out of his box...hahaha!

I hope y'all explore the city one day...Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Now that I am an official Pharmacy Intern (as I have been accepted to the South Carolina College of Pharmacy), this whole working at CVS has taken on a new meaning for me.  Last year, I worked at the pharmacy for the summer because I was trying to make sure that I was heading to the right major and making the right career path.  I knew of all the great opportunities with the major, but I just had to make sure first that I really wanted it before I got myself completely locked into the program.  Last summer, I learned a lot about retail pharmacy, and I realized that it was definitely the field that I wanted to be in.  Now that I am sure of myself and that I'm finally accepted, I am taking this work experience just a tad bit more seriously.  Its crazy how much in this past month and a half I have actually memorized generics to the brand names of medicines.  I can actually also fix insurance rejects now!  There's just something about internships that can be so great.  (Again, please don't feel sorry for me.  I know I'm probably sounding like a real dork right now.  Hahaha!)

There are still lots of family get-togethers, rendezvous with old high school friends, and definitely a beach trip in store for me for the rest of the summer...so guys, don't y'all worry because I'll be keeping busy at work but also getting lots of down time this summer.  I hope y'all will have just as much fun as also a productive summer as I am having.  I'll try to post more often about what's going on here in my hometown, as well as some of the changes going on in good ol' Carolina.  My on-line subscription to the Daily Gamecock has kept me updated with the happenings in Cola.  Latest news: Our track team goes gold at the NCAA Championships.  To see the article, click here!

Let me know what y'all are up to this summer, and catch y'all alter on the flipside, Gamecocks!

With all of that said, what exactly do I miss about Columbia?  I mean, I was pretty excited about getting out for the summer and going home.  As I said in the last few entries, I was pretty tired of the Russell House "cuisine."  I was also just plain over doing school work after such a grueling week of finals.  You would think that with those complaints that I'd be so happy to be away from Columbia!  But that is simply not the case!!!

Here are my top 3 reasons for missing Columbia, in no particular order of course:

1. The Vista, Harbison, oh the town of Columbia!

My friends and I usually take to the streets and enjoy some great dining in the Vista or some shopping down Harbison Boulevard when it comes to winding down the week.  With so many great restaurants lining the Vista downtown area of Columbia and so many stores all over Harbison, there's a lot to do on a Friday or Saturday night.  We also like to go to the shopping and dining area of Sandhills near Clemson Road (ironic to say Clemson, ain't it?) 

2.  The Horseshoe, the Russell House, oh the campus!

So, I probably don't miss the food of the Russell House, as y'all have read my whining and complaining and missing of my mom's cooking.  I do, however, miss the feeling of being on campus.  As much as I'd love to say that I have my own apartment or my own place, there's just something about the experience of being on campus.  I miss the hustle and bustle of Greene Street.  I miss the free movies and free concerts.  There's lots to miss about the Carolina campus.

3.  Lastly...but most definitely not the least: MY CAROLINA GAMECOCK FRIENDS!

My roommate sent me this bumper sticker from Facebook, and I couldn't agree more about how she felt.  The bumper sticker read: "We left our families to live with strangers, and now we left family to go home.  Miss you!"  It's so weird that my parents catch me referring to Columbia as "my home."  I'm always talking about how school was like this and like that and how I did this and that back "home."  I mean, home is still sweet, but I've just gotten so used to living on my own.  My friends are a great, big part of this home feel!  I'm going to enjoy my summer, but I will sorely be missing my friends as they all also spend their summers in their respective home cities!

And well...that's it for my top three!  What are y'alls top three things that you'll miss about being in school?  I know y'all probably can't wait to get out school, but I'm sure y'all will be missing hanging out with your friends.

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

My answer...Well, let me start with the latter.  I really believe that being on campus is better than staying off-campus, and this is not even just a plug for USC Housing.  I really think it's the better option of the two because on-campus housing is very convenient for multiple reasons. 

One, you only have to pay once in the beginning of the semester while you are paying your tuition fees.  This means that you will not have to worry and fuss over monthly bills for rent and utilities.  No missed payments!  How horrible would it be if you forget because you get too busy with exams, papers, and what nots.  YIKES!

Two, convenience also comes with regards to your schedule.  If you're unlucky and your classes are all spread out with big gaps, if you live on campus you can easily just go back to your dorm and do things like homework, hang out, grab lunch, etc.  If you live off-campus, you are even more unlucky, and you will be forced to find a place in the University to spend your time because going back to your place will require driving time, gas, and parking space.  (I'll talk about the whole driving issue in a sec.)  For most of my off-campus friends, they try to get in touch with me so that they can stay in my dorm while waiting for class because the only places they can really otherwise go to would be the library (who can spend more than a couple of hours there unless you have exams?!), the Russell House (which can be quite loud when there are lots of things going on), or the Horseshoe (if you're luck on a nice day, it's quite nice but what about winter and those rainy spring days?!).  Really, you can go about your daily business much easier when you live on-campus.

Three, a continuation about the whole scheduling issue...It's much easier to join organizations when you live on-campus.  Not that there's a preference to students who are on-campus but more so on the fact that it's much easier to attend meetings, events, and functions that are school-related when you are already here.  Most weekly meetings take place in the Russell House building around 5-7PM.  Generally by that time, most classes are over and students are pretty much ready to just kick it.  If you're living off-campus and you've already gone back to your place after your morning/afternoon classes, it's such a hassle to come back to campus for an hour of meeting.  There are still lots of off-campus students that do join extracurricular activities.  Being off-campus has not stopped anyone from being involved; it is, however, just a little bit more inconvenient.  This is the main reason most universities require freshmen to live on-campus on their first year.  It gets first year students to be more engaged at an earlier stage.  It's been shown that those who begin extracurricular activities early in their college career tend to have better networking skills!

Last but definitely not least: THE DRIVING ISSUE.  Being off-campus means that you definitely need a car (although there are some apartment complexes that provide shuttles).  You'll have to calculate in driving time, which does not only mean getting to campus from your apartment but also possible city traffic AND finding a parking space.  Parking spaces can be tricky on campus since it is right in the middle of the city.  Sometimes students have to park in the Coliseum parking lot which is quite a walk to the center of campus.  If you're already on campus, you won't have to worry about this.  I'm not going to lie, but on some days, I wake up about 10 minutes before a class.  I brush my teeth, comb my hair, and get some clean clothes.  I hope to God that I look decent, and well walk on over to class.  Now, from Preston to PSC, which is a couple of blocks over, I can do all of that getting ready and get to class still on time within those 10 minutes.  Try that for on-campus housing!

There are perks to living off-campus (like your own room, your own visitation hours, a kitchen, etc.), but the perks to living on-campus has made it quite the attractive choice for me.  I've enjoyed living on campus for these two years, and will be doing so again next year (and probably until I graduate!)

NOW...as to the other question...What are dorms like?  Can I make this one into a cliffhanger for now, guys?  I promise to get on this tomorrow or Friday.  I have to get ready for a leadership retreat, which I'll also write about in the next few days.  It's another great community service and leadership opportunity on campus!  I hope this answers some of y'alls concern about deciding to live on or off-campus.

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

With that said, lately I've been really having a great hankering for some good ol' white rice.  Whether that's because I'm just straight up Asian and I'm really just craving a good sticky rice or maybe I'm really just homesick because everyone around me seems to be packing up their dorms and going home, here's my 4-1-1 on great Chinese Fast Food Joint finds around Columbia.  I've got two great options for a quick fix to a good Asian meal!

1.  The Teapot:  Once you get to campus and you start setting up your desk, you'll probably find that there's a folded-up menu on your desk.  Complementary of the restaurant Teapot, an array of Americanized Chinese food awaits you.  If you decide to throw the menu away, don't worry.  When that late night hankering comes, you'll find that there are about a couple more stacks of the menus in your dorm lobby.  The Teapot is very attractive to students on campus because they DELIVER!  A great alternative to pizza night, students can make a call and have Chinese food within 15-20 minutes on a less-than busy night (even quicker than Domino's 30-minute promise.)  The food's not too expensive either, and so when you throw in the delivery charge and the tip, it's not bad.  You'll have quite the spread for your dinner.  My favorite dishes to order from them are Chicken with Garlic Sauce, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, and Ginger Chicken.

2. Bamboo House:  If you can somehow access a car (if you have one on campus or you can find a friend with one), the Bamboo House is another great Chinese Food option.  Of the two, I actually like this one better.  The only drawback is that this place can't deliver, and you'll have to go out into the highway to get to it.  But it's really not that far from campus.  About a 5-10 minute drive, the Bamboo House is off of the Bush River Road exit on I-26.  It's cheaper, and in my opinion, the food tastes even better.  My favorites are crab rangoon, fried baby shrimp, sweet and sour chicken, and egg drop soup!

Even my American boyfriend who used to only enjoy plain food--no onions, no peppers, no sauce, please!--even enjoys eating Chinese food with me.  This is not to rave about great Chinese food as if it were authentic, but hey, it hits the right spot when I'm craving and I can no longer go without my white rice.  I really want to go home soon.  I've already told my mother a list of Filipino food that I would dearly love of her to prepare for me for my first week back home!

Well, catch y'all later on the flipside and enjoy your mom's cooking (and appreciate her because Mothers' day is right around the corner!), Gamecocks!

(A side note to my Anatomy and Physiology classmates and any individuals who may get this:  Thank the Lord that my cortisol levels were pretty good.  I know that my adrenal cortex was putting in some major hours making sure I had those glucocorticoid levels maintained....oooohhh those stress hormones!)

But don't let me get y'all started and worked up about college finals.  Just like the end of the year assessments, Advance Placement, and IB exams that y'all may be taking in the next month and a half...the key to avoiding any and all stress that I obviously got myself into is really just getting organized.  Study early.  No pain, no gain, right?  You really have to have your game on if you want to do well, especially if you are taking classes like Organic Chemistry and Anatomy and Physiology, yikes!  (As y'all may recall from a previous entry, games aren't just played in the courts and the fields.  They're also played in the classrooms, and you always have to have your A-game on if you want to win!  Here's the link, to those who may want to brush up on that!)

I was also always told that you also never really have to study very hard to do great in classes.  You just have to study WELL.  What's the difference?  It's not necessarily going to be the time that you put in to studying, as much as it's the quality of the work you do in that time that you spend.  It's insane because you don't know just how much time you can actually spend doing something that  may seem like a great study technique but results won't show the same.  Find the thing that works for you, and find it quick!  Notecards?  Practice exams?  Re-writing notes?  Re-doing homework?  Whatever it is, find it!

It truly is the finale of finals for me, and I'm sure glad that this is the case.  It is perhaps the first and only finale I have ever truly looked forward to.  (I'm still bitter about "Friends" being over!!!)

Well, good luck on y'alls finals.  Rest assured, I'll be blogging more often again!

Catch y'all on the flipside, gamecocks! 

So, in thinking of what's relevant to all of you prospective students and what I can possibly write about, I got to thinking...Besides "You're not going to graduate" there is perhaps only one other five-word sentence combination that most students would not like to hear from their guidance counsilor, and that is: "You have to take Chemistry."

What is it with Chemistry that threatens most of us and just scares us all to death?  I know that I was freaked out about taking Chemistry because both of my two older sisters used to tell me horrifying stories about their experiences with the class--concepts to boggle your mind, equations that don't make sense, and a mean-spirited teacher who enjoyed failing students.  Going into my first Chemistry class, I was just praying that I would have a really nice teacher.  The subject may be difficult, but I knew that if I had a supporting teacher that I would make it out fine of the course.  Fortunately, good ol' Mr. Vanzura from sophomore year of '03-'04 was my most favorite teacher of my high school years.  He was a great teacher, and I had a blast in my Chemistry class.  For example, we celebrated Mole Day on October 23 of that year to enjoy National Mole Day in honor of the Avogadro's number, 6.022 x 10^23.  He brought in some chips and guacaMOLE and his wife baked the class some MOLE-asses cookies!

Well, looking back on it and where I am right now, I can tell you that definitely is hope for all of you students who are probably just like I was before: a freaked-out-student-because-of-Chemistry!  I proudly now have 2 semesters of General Chemistry and a semester of Organic Chemistry with flying colors of a big great A.  I am currently in the second semester of Orgo, and I remain hopeful to have that final A, so long as I don't bomb the final.  Lastly, as y'all may remember from previous entries, I have been working as a Supplemental Instructor in the Success Center for the General Chemistry courses of CHEM 111 and 112.  There truly is hope for y'all if I can do all of this!

For all of you Pharmacy, Nursing, Scientists, and Pre-Med hopefuls, I suggest  you get right on that Chemistry class.  Best to get exposed now before getting into it in college.  If it weren't for good ol' Mr. Vanzura giving me such a great experience with Chemistry, I probably would have still been freakin' when I started Chem here at Carolina....so long 4.0!  Hehehe!

And well, speaking of Chemistry, I have an Organic Chemistry Lab exam tomorrow.  I will once again have to bid  y'all adieu!  Here's to hoping for another blog entry soon!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Here are the much-awaited answers to yesterday's quiz.  I hope that y'all got to try it out and that now y'all can see how you measure up to other Carolina students.  Make me proud guys!!!  The score to beat is 9 out of 15, so here it goes!

1. The score at last season's first home football game was a win against the LA-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns.  We beat them 28-14.  I remember being at the game, being actually quite worried that we weren't going to come out victorious.  It was an expected easy game that turned out to be a bit more challenging, but nevertheless, the Gamecocks had a win on their first game on home turf!

2.  So how many TV screens are there in the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in the Russell House?  If you've ever visited campus for a tour or just because you were in the neighborhood, chances are you've been inside the Student Union.  Surprisingly, a lot of students missed this question.  I don't know if it was because the choices were so close or those TVs by the magazine racks just look so big and we're generally too distracted by the latest Cosmo for the ladies or Maxim for the gents...but in total, there are 4 TV screens!

3.  Williams-Brice Stadium is probably one of my favorite places on campus!  So, what exactly is its official capacity?  A whopping 80,250.  Although, for the record, the WBS was able to hold about 85,000 during the rivalry game with Clemson back in 2001.  In the same year, we had about a hundred shy of that record for the Florida game at 84,900 spectators.  WBS can get pretty packed for those big games!

4.  Charlie Strong's 3-3-5 was the defensive formation when he became the Defensive Coordinator for USC's team.  Strong is quite a big name in the NCAA.

5. Tricky, tricky, tricky.  After reading the question, those who would know what the name of the Health Center would immediately go blank after they read the answers.  Is it with the "p" or without the "p"?  So, what do you guys think?!?  Dun, dun, DUN!!!  And the answer is:  WITHOUT THE P!!!  It is the Thomson Student Health Center!

6. The ever-unforgettable Carolina-Clemson Brawl.  Tsk, tsk!  See this link to the entry to a Wiki page about the Brawl.  Oh, and the answer is 2004!

7.  And so the question about meal plans!  You guys will get awfully familiar with this system and will probably do your best to work your ways around the times and the values and the Bonus Bucks to get the maximum value of your plan...You guys will figure it all out.  Don't you worry!  So, what's the breakfast retail amount?  A whopping three dollars and eighty-five cents!  Hooray!

8. So, back to that Brawl.  If you still didn't click on the link to find out about the Brawl, all you need to know was that it was bad, and it basically resulted in both the teams declining invitations to the bowl.  Naturally, team players were upset and more things happened...but yeah!  SIGH!

9.  Yet another tricky question.  Most people who have tried to communicate with the Housing Department through AIM would know that it's quite a pretty efficient way to get your questions asked about housing matters, but is it USCHOUSING or is it the one with an extra C?  Naturally, y'all probably wanted to pick the one with no extra C because it would only make sense, but that will leave you waiting for forever because the right answer is USCCHousing.  Why the extra C?  Personally, I don't know.  Maybe I should send a quick IM and find out why!  Hehe!

10.  Steve Spurrier had his days in the NFL, and boy were those some good days.  But 0-14 was probably not the good days I'm talking about.  Spurrier once played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that 0-14 record...OOO-weee!

11.  You know, the result for this question was very intriguing to me.  Only about half of the students who took this trivia challenge knew the correct answer.  I'm not quite sure what it means because personally campaign and elections week was so huge around campus, and quite frankly there was no getting away from the politics of student government.  But for the winner of next school year's Student Body Treasurer....JONATHAN ANTONIO!

12.  Iron wall sounds kind of hard to break down.  Lock n' Load sounds pretty serious business.  Cock n' Fire sounds appropriate as we are Gamecocks and the whole gun-fire picture.  But nope.  None of those three are correct.  FIRE ANTS.  Darn, those fire ants and that's exactly what was the the nickname of our Gamecock defense back in 1984.

13.  So, what about that 2001 that plays to cheer on the entire team by the entire stadium going crazy and Cocky going nuts in his cage?  Thanks to Coach Joe Morrison, 2001 has become a Carolina tradition not just in football games but in other sports and Carolina events where Cocky makes his appearances!

14.  And the Gamecock's All-Time Leading Receiver Award goes to........STERLING SHARPE!

15.  So, this has screwed me up before.  I went to the mail room cutting it close to 5PM and found that I had a yellow slip in my mailbox.  Yellow slips bring joy to my day because this means that I've got a package!  But 5PM-shmishm, the mail room center is closed!  I decided that before I run late to my morning class the next day that I would rush to the basement first and pick up my package and start my day off great but of course I didn't check the time that they would be open.  My class was quite early that day, and so, I was at the basement by 8AM.  Oh, and I was the only one there!  I learned that day that the mail room center...they don't open until 9 in the morning!

So, how did y'all measure up to the test?  I hope you guys did well and enjoyed the lil trivia!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

For an itty-bitty donation of 50 cents, students tested their Carolina Trivia Knowledge and competed to win for the two prizes...Overall, it didn't seem like our students really knew much about football.  Tsk tsk!  There were two guys who tied for first place with a score of 9 out of the 15 questions!!!

I wonder how YOU GUYS will fair my team's trivia quiz.  Check it out and see how much you know about good ol' Carolina.  We gave everyone who took the quiz about 5 minutes, but you know...I can't tell if you take any longer!  If you're brave, you can leave your answers as a comment...but either way.  I'll have the answers up by tomorrow.  I'll give y'all at least 24 hours to try out the Carolina Trivia Quiz! 

Good luck, and catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!