Every Day is a New Day

AND I AM DETERMINED TO BLOG THIS SEMESTER!

It might not happen because I have to keep a separate blog for my Web Journalism class (SO EXCITED), but hey, there is always use in trying.

Let's Start from the Beginning

I've been a horrible blogger this past month, actually, pretty much always. I'm gonna try to update all the important stuff that has happened since I've been back at school in the next couple of days.

I got to school a week earlier for Mentor Training.

Basically the EXCEL Mentor program is in Eddy Hall, where the 1st and 3rd floor are reserved for Freshman only. Except for the 12 mentors who live amongst them. Everyone is assigned a mentor, so every mentor has about 7 mentees.

The first week we just went to a lot of workshops and such during the day, and then we did a bunch of team building stuff at night.

Including decorating this board in the lounge.

See the boy blowing the bubble? That was all me! I love him, he is so cute. He has a name tag on that says "Hi My Name Is Eddy".

All of the mentees have their names on the cherries, the mentors are on the ice cream, the RAs are on the milkshake along with our RHD.

Us first floor mentors have this in our hall. Every mentor has a Yoshi and the mentees have eggs. The theme of our building is video games, lol.

They did puzzles on the third floor. They have eight mentors on the third floor, we have four, lol.

This is Liz, Lauren, Me, my roomie Jennifer, RHD Michelle.

And Milo, Lauren, Kim, Sami, Octavia, Lisa, Shakyma, and Mike.

These are my little welcome gifts for my kids, everyone did something different. They are full of tons of fun stuff, including Mac and Cheese.

It was a great week! It felt like being a kindergarten teacher for most of it, except that fact that we watched Maury for an hour every.single.morning.

So far is has been super fun being a mentor! We are going bowling tomorrow night!

More posts are coming soon!

Ah, FIRST.

FIRST Robotics, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, will quite possibly remain one of the most influential aspects of my life. Not only did it provide me with countless amazing memories, skills that I will use forever, or $24,000 in scholarships; it single-handedly made me realize what I want to do with my life.

I was very pleased to find out that Google awarded FIRST $3 million dollars to start new teams as part of there 10^100 Project. They were awarded the biggest sum out of all 5 winners.

Seriously, can that be my job?! I want to give away millions of dollars to a worthy cause! What are those people's job titles. Surely it can't be too far removed from Public Relations or Communications.

Also, I was freaked out when I read that the "creator" of the segway was killed by riding his invention off a cliff. Dean Kamen, the man who started FIRST and who once told me to have an amazing time in Long Island for college because there is no place in the world like New York (city and state), invented the segway!

Turns out it was the man who owned the company who produces the segway that passed away. Which is still so very sad, but less detrimental to the amazing program that FIRST is.

Are you wearing THAT?!

At 7 in the am this morning I got up to go to the gym with my fellow mentor Kim.

We had just woken up and we were both brushing our teeth when Kim said to me (through a mouth full of toothpaste suds) "is that what you're wearing?"

Confused and still half asleep I replied "uh...yeah."

She gave me an odd look and it took me several moments to realize we were wearing the exact same outfits. Our spike-it shirts from Adelphi's volleyball tournament last spring and black shorts.

You guys, this isn't even that funny. It deserved a chuckle at the very most. But to two girls who woke up moments before after 5-6 hours of sleep it was HILARIOUS!

I probably did more muscle toning while laughing and trying to keep the toothpaste in my mouth than I actually achieved at the gym.

Then on the way back from the gym it poured on us.

It was quite lovely to walk slowly in the rain getting soaking wet without a care in the world, since we needed to shower before class anyway.

My Poppy Bedroom

So when we moved I knew I wanted to decorate my new bedroom, even though, at most, I only spend 4 months out of the year there. We were able to use all my old bedroom stuff in the guest room, so since that didn't go to waste, I was allowed to get new stuff!

I of course wanted to paint the room orange because a) very few people have orange bedrooms b) it would look AWESOME and I knew it c) I had a handful of beautiful poppy pictures I took my junior year I could hang up.

So here is my orange, poppy themed room!

My mom has had the bed, the armoire, and the dresser (not pictured) since she was a teenager. I used them for years before my dad and I built my murphy bed in the old house.

Thank you Target for having the PERFECT poppy comforter! That was sheer luck.

The Ikea bookshelf I put together (mostly) all by myself!

The orange wall and my favorite poppy shot.

More pictures of the hallway (yes, hallway) and bathroom to come!

Ali Babba

A couple of nights before I left, when my Granny was visiting, we went to a restaurant in the area called Ali Babba. With rave reviews online and from people we had met in San Diego we had high expectations.

Needless to say, they were met with flying colors.

That was the feast for four, after the five of us had already had one whole plate full each!

Zoo Wahoo!!!!

We went to the ZOO yesterday!!!!!!!

These monkeys were playing, they were so cute!

Eventually the other monkey stole this monkey's reed.

I spared you from the more disgusting pictures of this lion eating.

The keeper said that this elephant has a high metabolism and isn't a very good eater, so in order to get her to eat they reward her by blowing in her trunk.

My favorite!

A Modern Mime

We went to Old Town for dinner tonight, which is a very touristy area of San Diego full of Mexican restaurants and little shops.

After dinner we were sitting on a bench outside of the restaurant while my mom's friend was speaking on the phone. It was then I noticed I young blond boy no older than 10 standing on the sidewalk with a blue fedora on the ground in front of him. He was wearing normal clothes, but was miming a multitude of scenarios. At first I thought he was attempting some odd dance, but I soon realized he was really just pantomiming juggling, balancing a torch on his lip, being stuck in a box, hitting himself in the face with a baseball bat, and other things.

His family was sitting right across from him, we soon realized, so while he was acting like a guard at Buckingham Palace (standing stoically) we dropped a crisp one dollar bill into his hat... which he didn't even notice until a minute later when his mom pointed it out to him.

Target vs. The Love Alliance

Because if you're going to be a billboard, you might as well stand for something worthwhile.

The Cause:

The Love Alliance works to educate people on the many social injustices around the globe. They do this by traveling to schools, conferences, festivals, and many other venues to spread their message. They ask us to remember the thirsty, the poor, the hungry, the sick, the enslaved, the environment, the homeless, the oppressed, and the mentally ill.

But they don't just educate! They take their knowledge and use it to make a difference through different service projects, action groups, and partnerships. They have an action project each month with this August's being gathering school supplies for needy children. This is a great organization for people who simply care-- care about making a difference, about helping others. I find their variety a great way for a large number of people to get involved. Plus, You don't have to do anything special to get involved. Simply use their ideas as inspiration for your own service projects and their resources to make your projects successful. So as always, check out their website for more information and ways to get involved.

The Proceeds:

25% of proceeds go towards addressing specific needs concerning social injustice. Plus if you buy a product, you are helping The Love Alliance stay alive!

The Shirts:

The men's shirt is the 'Educate Yourself, Take Action' v-neck shirt and can be found here. The regular t-shirt (not v-neck) can be found here.

The "women's" shirt (all shirts are unisex and this shirt's image just happened to be of a male model, work with me here) is the 'Purple Logo' shirt and can be found here.

The Extra Perks:

Shirts are NOT made in sweatshops.

The sizes range from XS-XXL.

Glamour: September

I have a confession. I love Glamour Magazine, and only Glamour. I don't read Cosmo or Vogue or anything like that, just Glamour.

I guess I mentioned it to Kellie because while we were in Berkeley she took a quick trip to Walgreens (across the street) and came back with the gigantic September issue.

So I thought I would recap some of the best little tidbits from this months issue (even though they are loving animal print a little too much for my taste).

Aretha Franklin says "Do remember that real friends last forever. It doesn't matter how often you talk, as long as you can pick up where you left off."

Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota (jokingly) asked Supreme Court nominee Elena Kegan what here stance was on the "famous case of Edward vs. Jacob." To which she responded "I wish you wouldn't ask."

Jeez, Twilight is coming up in our government, I feel society declining.

Caitlin Boyle is transforming the way we see ourselves, one post-it note at a time, with her project Operation Beautiful.

Have fun with your nails! Wearing bright colors (anywhere but a job interview) is IN!

It makes sense to start using anti-aging products before you see any signs of aging (but you probably don't need the serious stuff). Look for ingredients in a facial moisturizer like vitamins C and E, pomegranate, acai, apple stem cells, anti-inflammatory agents (mushrooms and aloe), hyaluronic acid, lipids, and/or amino acids (peptides and ceramides).

While your little black dress won't ever go out of style, a little bright dress is in style these days. Like this one from lulus.com.

This vest is only $15 at Walmart.

I'm LOVING lace shirts! Glamour dressed real women in a $38 lace t-shirt from American Apparel, but I found the ones below at CharlotteRusse.com. The middle two are currently 2 for $20 (or $15 each) and the two on the outside are $20 each! Put a blazer or a vest over them, wear a dark tank or long sleeve shirt underneath, or pair it with a fun skirt and accessories.

Daphne Oz, daughter of the famous Dr. Oz, said she was shocked when she went to college and saw people guzzle soda like it was water. Water should always be your drink of choice, she says. Which is inspiring me to drink less of everything else, and more water. Daphne also talks about how you should never blindly trust your doctor, how getting dirty can be good for you, and how your body craves playtime!

12 Things I'd Wished I'd Known About Love When I was 21

1. Never underestimate the importance of being interesting.

2. There is a find line between teasing a guy and criticizing him.

3. Your wants and needs are just as important as his.

4. Knowing how to cook: helpful.

5. Sometimes guys flirt with you because it makes them feel good about themselves.

6. You will probably never fully understand men. So just try to understand yourself.

7. It's shocking how much men will talk about marriage.

8. Don't be cynical.

9. Things chance once your naked.

10. Being worshiped isn't all that.

11. We see what we want to see (and ignore the bad signs).

12. Don't compare yourself with your friends.

The new Suze Orman, 22 year old cutie Zac Bissonnette, has lots of wonderful advice on finances. My favorite is this: Giving money away feels better than buying things. (Backed up by research done at the University of British Columbia, Hey Catherine!)

Hey, it's ok! ...if you've never felt a "runner's high." Unless you mean that high you feel when you stop running.

Karly Rossiter sued her ex for giving her an STD, and won!

I'm adoring the new Perry Ellis scent for women.

My horoscope says: You're jonesing for a major health overhaul. Whether your goal is training for a marathon or finall getting to your healthy weight, the chances of success skyrocket if you start on September 8th.

September 8th, here I come!

But the most interesting article I found in this issue was the one on anxiety. This article (written by Sean Dreisbach) takes up 6 pages and is full of interesting information on these disorders. 40 million Americans (that is more than 1 in 7) suffer from them, women are twice as likely to suffer than men, and five times as many college students are dealing with high anxiety levels today than they were in the 1930s (yeah, during the Great Depression). There are a handful of factors that lead to anxiety, and a lot of ways to help put a stop to it. Exercising three to four times a week and eating better are both great places to start.

Anyway, I hope that gave you a fun little preview of this month's issue. I hope I left you wanting more, because the mag if totally worth the $4 (and no, I don't work for Glamour).