The dogwoods and azaleas are blooming, the squirrels are back out doing their thing, and the birds are chirping (and attacking...but that's another story for later when I'm no longer traumatized!).  It sure does look great outside but...

Rain, rain come this way.  Spring has sprung, and pollen's....AAAAAAAAAH!!!!  Really, guys.  I'm not kidding!  The pollen is taking over everywhere, and with everything looking pretty green these days, I can't help buh-buhh-buhhh-ACHOOO!

Okay, cheesy, I know.  But it's really just crazy.  I've never been really one to be allergic to pollen before, but it must just be the types of trees and plants here on campus to which I might just be allergic.  My roommate and boyfriend are worse off than I am as their reaction to these allergens are just awful.  They practically have to have have eye medicine in tow everywhere they go!

The past couple of days haven't been quite too bad though, as we have had some overnight showers.  By the time I rolled out of bed in the morning and as I made my way through campus, some of the tortorous pollen have been washed away down the drains and it's just like the clouds have parted and the angels above are singing!

Oh, spring time.  How lovely and pretty and sweet...uh, until the pollen of course!

Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks...Keep the sneezing down!

Posted by Kriska at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Y'all want to know what my best friend has been lately?  (To my bf and roommate, you guys are still number one in my book but...)

WEATHER.COM

For the past couple of days, I have woken up every morning and have looked out my window and have been almost fooled by the great cloudless and sunny sky outside.  As I think about putting on a nice and comfy Tee, some well-worn jeans, and a pair of slack flip-flops, I touch the glass window and find my fingers get frozen in a split second.  I know better than to believe the misleading sunny day.  I make my way through the maze of disk chairs, remote controls, and other what nots on the floor back to my desk (my roommate has later classes than I do and tend to sleep in more than me).  I know that I should get to my computer and have a meeting with my new bestfriend.

Oh, Weather.com tell me what 29225 is experiencing for the day?

With winds constantly blowing, temperatures have been around the 40's and 50's around here in Cola.  I know that that's not too terribly cold, but when the wind hits you as you are walking through shady parts of the campus...it's just not much fun.  In addition, when you are briskly speeding on a power walk to class because you are running a tad bit late, the wind blowing against you is exactly just that--AGAINST YOU!  I had that happen to me this morning as I was rushing to my criminal justice class.  As I was making my way behind Currell Colege, big old trees created this shade that you just knew from afar was a zone you did not want to be caught speed-walking through.  I wish I had some gloves, a scarf, and even some ear muffs.  (Slight exaggeration, of course, for a more dramatic effect!)  But I'm sure y'all get the picture.

Just when I thought that spring is well on its way and that the temps would start to rise, I'm seeing and feeling way differently.  Oh, how I wish that the weather would start changing some time.  Spring break is in a week and a half, and for the first time, my parents are actually letting me enjoy it with friends.  It'll be a shame if my week at the beach will be a cold one.

So, guys...Here's what we're looking at for the next couple of days.  Courtesy of Weather.com

Thu Feb 28 Sunny 52°/33° 0%			52°F
Fri Feb 29 Partly Cloudy 63°/42° 20%			63°F
Sat Mar 1 Mostly Sunny 69°/42° 10%			69°F Car Care Tips
Sun Mar 2 Sunny 70°/47° 20%			70°F

I hope it holds up.  Temps in the higher 60s and maybe even a 70 will be nice.  I'll just make sure to keep a hold of my coat for those 40s I'm seeing for lows.

Stay warm and cozy Carolina!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 10:33 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)

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)

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...errr.  Actually, the weather outside is quite nice and beautiful. 

It's such a crime to be inside here in my room, studying for exams.  Not that I have much of a choice, but well, I couldn't let the day go into a complete waste.  So, for a short break, here are some pictures of how the Horseshoe is looking like around the holidays. 

The President's House is fully decked with wreaths, red bows, and Christmas lights.  The McCutchen House (the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management building) is also looking festive with garland and huge ornament balls!  It's looking a lot like Christmas...well, except for the weather!

It's kind of funny to see people sitting around the Horseshoe, these days.  Usually right before the fall semester and towards the end of the spring semester, seeing students throwing a frisbee, sunbathing, reading, playing football, etc isn't really all that weird.  But winters, even here in the South are usually chilly.  But I guess just not these days!

Well, my break is over!  Time to hit the books again!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, have y'all heard about the rotating restaurant at the top of the Capstone Hall Residence?!?  Yes, you read it right.  At the highest floor of one of the residence halls here at USC, there is a restaurant called the "Top of Carolina" that gives a dining experience a truly new "full-circle" meaning.

Last night was the second time I've had the experience to eat at the restaurant.  The first was during a Carolina Scholar event where we met with our Scholar mentors.  That was quite the experience, and it took me quite some time to get used to the fact that the room was indeed ROTATING!  The Venetian Carnival was quite the dining experience though because it just fit the theme so nicely.  The city lights of the night looked amazing!

To let  y'all in more about last night... Preston, as I've described before, is not only an academic-learning residential college.  Preston is also a very social circle.  We have lots of themed dinners at the Preston Dining Hall, themed "tea parties" at the Principal's Lodge, and many other events.  The Venetian Carnival was this fall semester's big banquet.  The ladies wore prom-worthy dresses.  The men put on their best suits--some with even ties and bows!  Masks donned the faces of everyone, and truly it was quite the event of the semester!

Here are some pictures of the night...

It's hilarious because Megan and I realized after looking at each other in our dresses that these were the ones we wore to our senior prom in high school.  We decided that although we still looked pretty decent that the dresses fit much better a year and a half ago! Oh, that college weight!!!

These were our homemade Venetian Masks!

Megan taking a quick pose right before digging into the awesome dinner!

The sweets were the treat of the night for Megan and I.  T'was both our favorite Italian desserts.  Megan loves cannolis, and I love tiramisu!  For an added bonus, SPARKLING WHITE GRAPE JUICE!  Man, we were rolling in it last night!  Hehe!

Megan had to keep me in check...JUST KIDDING.  Like I said, it was just Welch's sparkling grape juice!

AND OF COURSE!  How can I not have a picture of the grand view of the Top of Carolina!  The picture does it no justice, but the city lights just looked amazing.  It was also quite the experience to be inside that restaurant and being able to see the city in full circle!

Hope y'all get to have the experience of dining at the Top of the Carolina!  It'll surely be something!  Have a great weekend y'all...Thanksgiving is sooooo close!!!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, guys.  This is the post about the past weekend RE: "Moving back in to Carolina."

Excuse the lateness of this blog, but it has definitely been a hectic past couple of days here for me, as I'm sure y'all are probably having some of the busiest days of your life, too.  What with school coming back full circle and having to get back into the swing of things, I'm sure y'all are having some pretty stellar times yourselves.

Pretty much, I've been here in Columbia since Sunday.  My parents and my younger brother made the hour and a half drive with me to Cola in our trusty mini-van packed full of suitcases and boxes and just random junk out the "wazoo!"  It was a pretty exhausting day trying to get everything brought into Preston as it was a rather toasty day, but hey!  Lately, these days, I'm not sure there really is ever much of a part of the day that's not hot and steamy!

Moving in was actually fairly smooth, as well as getting acquainted with fellow Prestonites.  The apartment that my roomie and I got this year is a definite upgrade in size from the small one we had at Maxcy (although I do miss our pink Maxcy Pad!)  This year, my roommate and I decided that we're both sick of pink, as we lived in a big PeptoBismol box last year.  We decided that we would both just go for our own styles. So she has this very royal, silky, and elegant, peacock-inspired theme with her loft.  While I have a true-to-my-Gamecock-blood theme going--the Red, Black, and White!

So far things have been fairly good, like I said.  I'd make this a longer entry and talk about the past days and the things I've been doing besides moving in (i.e. emergency runs to Wal-Mart, hall meetings, an SI training, and a bunch of Scholar gatherings)...but I do have to eat dinner before the Russell House closes.  :)

I hope everyone had a great summer and that y'all are getting on the right foot with this upcoming...err starting school year.  :(

Here's to the fall semester of '07!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, ya'll read it right!  A grand total of a minute and 26 seconds--around the Horseshoe, in the dark (well with the lamp lights), at 11:30 at night.  It's one of my many desperate attempts at getting back into shape.  Obviously, I've got a ways way to get there seeing as I only lasted a full non-stop jog/run for a minute and 26 seconds.  In my defense, however, my shoelace came undone, so I had to stop.  Really, I believe I could have gone on a wee-bit longer.

But it's not only me who's trying to get some work-out time in.  My friends and I have all come to the conclusion that it seems that both gyms--the Strom and Blatt--have been getting more and more frequent visitors these past few weeks.  We think the fact that Spring Break is only two weeks away has really kicked in and settled in everyone's mind, so all of the guys are trying to get all buffed while all of us ladies are trying to have that bikini bod!  Unfortunately, it's not so easy to drag myself several blocks to either of the gyms.  After dealing with exams and lab along with reports and homework and such, the idea of just "lazying it up" in my comfy tee and Sofees on my bed just seems more appealing than looking like a fool trying to understand the diagrams illustrating how to use each strange-looking machine.  Really, seriously, some of those drawings are just so difficult to understand.  Thank God for my boyfriend and my best friend who both know how to manipulate their arms and legs through most of those weird contraptions and weights.  I just always feel so awkward.  It almost always feel like someone is watching and pointing their finger at me because I'm looking like "a lil dumbo".  I think I need a "Working-Out-for-Dummies" book if there is such a thing. 

Oh, my belly!  Oh, my arms!  Oh, my thighs!  Won't y'all depart from me?!?  I just want to get back in shape.  I miss how playing for my high school's tennis and soccer teams regularly every season used to keep me in shape.  Now with Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell so easily accesible, the need for working out has just doubled itself.  Oh, dear me!

Well, guys...here's to good health for one and all.  Keep them muscles growing tight and strong!  Hit the gym, once in a while, and run around kicking a dark blue ball in the dark so you can't see it and you can keep kicking it right into a tree or monument or something.  Stay buff boys and get them bikini bods ladies!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, future Gamecocks.

Posted by Kriska at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ahhhh!  This entry disappeared into the Internet oblivion.  I knew it.  I knew it.  I knew it!  There really is a textbook conspiracy going on.  What you see guys is that I posted this entry about a week ago where I was slightly ranting about the ridiculous situation about textbooks. I admit that it was a slightly dramatic post but it was induced by completely legitimate reasons...Reasons being that for an entire week, I walked back and forth from my dorm to the bookstore everyday to check if my book had made it from an on-line purchase order I had made the week before and guess what...It was always never there.  You could expect the frustration that came over me.  I had homework for the class, and I had no textbook...Lord knows that I barely understood the material from class!  On top of that, books that my other professors requested for me were not on my VIP booklist so I had to look for them myself even though it should have been placed in my box already.  Ahhhh!  So, yes it was slightly lazy on my part to complain about having to walk around the shelves and look for books, but hey!  They claim convenience if I purchase on-line, right?

Anyways...My frustration got the best of me, and I kind of gave the bookstore lady a bit of attitude...to which I still feel really badly about!  So, I finally just went on Amazon and found actually that the book I had been waiting for for so long could be purchased for about 1/4 of the price I was to pay at the school bookstore.  It's a conspiracy I tell you.  It's ridiculous how much textbooks cost!  On top of that, there are some professors who "co-writes" books...I've heard about these situations...and then they make their students buy ridiculous copies of them.  Fortunately, one of my professors did co-write a book, but it was reasonably priced...so hooray!

So anyways...textbook, textbook, textbook.  I recommend that you guys try checking out Amazon when buying your first textbooks...oh and for selling them too.  I don't really want to go into the ranting details about selling books back to bookstore, but here's a little scenario.  You purchase a new book for $130.  You barely use it for the semester.  You sell it in practically mint condition, but you only get $40 back.  They'll probably sell it to some little freshman next semester for $90.  OH!  The conspiracy I tell you!

Anyways, guys, enjoy high school textbooks for free, and catch y'all on the flipside, future Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 01:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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