Reflect

It is the end of another year and I'm taking plenty of time to reflect.

I am now halfway through my junior year at Hunter College. So much time has passed and so much has been accomplished. I've experienced many things in the last two and a half years. 

I think from time to time all of us get a little wrapped up in our "paths." What do we envision ourselves to be working towards, to be doing in our daily lives? Are the futures we may be creating the ones we want for ourselves? Now is the perfect opportunity to question yourself "Am I working towards what I really want?" "Does my life, in all of its facets, reflect who I am on the inside and who I want to become?" "Am I enjoying my life as much right now as I plan to in the near and far future?" Clear goals aren't so necessary sometimes. It is more important to know you are happy than to know you will be a doctor.

All are great things to think about. The journey should be as sustaining and rich as the destination. With all of that, I hope the whole Macaulay Hunter community (and everyone else in the world) will ring in the new year on a good note. 

Michael. 

A reason to drink...lattes

Being on a student board of a club is not only aggravating, but a reason to drink more lattes than one needs. But, who cares? hahahahaha!!

All you coffee-drinking Macaulay-ians out there, find your next latte at Gregory's Coffee =)

Happy Christmas from Westchester!

Just checking in to say Happy Christmas to those of you who celebrate! To those who don't, happy holidays! I'm currently just relaxing in my living room with my family, presents, Christmas tree, and dead fire. It's been a pretty good Christmas, and I'm really glad that the semester was able to end on a high note (back in the dorms, finals went pretty well, finished all my work before leaving for home) followed by such a nice, relaxing few days up until now.

I've gotten two grades back already and I'm really happy with myself. It was actually quite a nice little present to wake up to this morning to my grade for my MHC seminar class. I know everyone's been working really hard this past semester, and I hope it pays off for everyone else as well.

Later this week I'm heading back into the city, to stay at the dorms for a night, and then it's off to Maine for a trip with some of the friends I've made so far at Hunter! I'm so excited for the trip and I know everyone else who is going is too. We're staying with one friend who is from Maine, and going up by Megabus so hopefully the snow won't stop us! We'll be up there for New Years, which is pretty fun because I've never done anything other than stay at home or go to a friend's house for New Years. I'm sure it'll give me lots to talk about too.

Right now, anyway, I'm just looking forward to going to see Les Mis tomorrow with my parents and then going to Maine. These days of relaxation are really needed since I'll have to be going back to school the first week in January for tutoring in Chinese. That won't be too fun, but at least it's only in the mornings so I'll be able to see my friends who are still home from uni before the next semester starts up.

With everything said, I'll leave you with well wishes for the new year and a (pretty bad) picture of my Christmas tree! So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Birthday Lights

Well, this is a bit overdue since my birthday was about a week or two ago but it's one surprise I'd like to share :)

I wasn't planning on having my birthday known to just about the world, or even friends. It's just I don't like to make a big deal about it. Of course, one of my friends would've busted out the secret but I love her anyways. At the end of the day (it was one of my long days), I walked went back to the dorms alone, which I thought strange because I usually travel as a group with friends. I had a feeling something was up.

We had a feast for dinner, everyone pitching in a little something. My friends didn't think they were making it obvious, but it was hard not to tell with a friend just randomly petting my head so I would stay put. They bought me two cakes both very chocolaty. That was "surprise" number 1. After we stuffed our faces with cake, one of my friends asked to see my room key. When she didn't give it back right away and was sort of jingling it under the table, I knew again that they were going to do something to my room. She returned them without my room key.

They insisted on going to my room, even the ones who've never been to my room. When I opened the door a little, I saw a light glow. I was pretty sure I had turned off all the lights. I opened the door all the way and found Christmas lights hanging over my bed! My room was alive now!

No ones ever given me a surprise before because I always insisted on not making my birthday a big thing. This was the first time and I will never forget it.

Wonderful End

The finals are finally over! We can all breathe a sigh of relief once and for all...until spring semester starts. Well for me, I have winter class so one week of vacation yay!

This was a great first semester and there's no better way to end it than walking the Williamsburg Bridge at 10PM with a friend. It was a breathtaking sight, the city skyline and Brooklyn lights. This was a perfect bonding moment; we talked about personal things: love life, family, anything that girls would talk about. We ended up in Green Point, Brooklyn. I've never walked in Brooklyn before so I was a little cautious. But as we walked to the subway, all the small boutiques and cafes melted that feeling away. It was like another mini Manhattan!

Anyways, this was a perfect ending to the year, with a closer friend and a discovering a new place to explore :)

Sunday Mornings, Gossip Girl, Maus

It's a Sunday morning in NYC, and it feels good to just relax and not think about school for a bit.

Sunday mornings always make me think of the song "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5. haha. I think I've expressed my love for Adam Levine on this blog before, but man, he's awesome and that's an awesome song.

So it's officially winter now, and it's cold!! Everyone is finding pretty ways to stay warm and fashionable. The city is filled with people with cute down jackets, wool coats, classic berets, and cashmere gloves. I love walking down the sidewalk and seeing people just be together. Everyone is smiling, carrying a bunch of shopping bags, coffee cups, and of course their cell phones. haha. The city is all shiny and glittery and just beautiful.
Speaking of shiny, glittery things, does anybody else out there watch Gossip Girl? I've been watching it since it first began in 2007 when I was a freshmen in high school. This past Monday was the last episode. I remember when I first started watching the show, I was so enthralled by the Upper East Side world. I wasn't enthralled by the lying, cheating, and jealousy (haha), but by the New York City that the show glamorized. The restaurants, the stores, the expensive apartments. The characters got to shop in all of these cool designer stores, wear beautiful clothing, and go to these exclusive parties and yet they still managed to do well in school. It all seemed a bit unrealistic, but it was fun to watch. It allowed me to see a world that I had never been exposed to. It's interesting that I ended up going to school on the Upper East Side. I got to walk on Park Avenue and imagine what it'd be like to live there. haha. So anyway, the show ended this week, and it was like saying good-bye to a part of my childhood. I'll definitely miss all of the glitz and glamour and the complex lives of Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan, and Nate.
I have a book recommendation for all of you. In my English class this semester, we read an excerpt from the graphic novel Maus. I really liked the excerpt and decided to go out and get the full graphic novel. I went to the library and got myself a copy and fell in love with the story and the characters. I also read Maus II. Both books are really great, but incredibly sad. They're written by Art Spiegelman. The author's father is a Polish Jew who was a prisoner in Auschwitz during WWII. The books chronicle how the author attempts to reconnect with his father by learning about his father's difficult past. They're hard to put down and leave the audience with a lot of of interesting thoughts.

Enjoy the break, everyone!!

Sleep, read, daydream, eat, laugh, and whatever else you like. =)

S.

Quote of the Week:

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
~ Edith Sitwell

G U Y S WE'RE ALMOST FREEEEE

GUYS

GUYS

G U Y S

ITS POST-FINALS-PRE-CHRISTMAS-AKA THE MAGICAL TIME IN BETWEEN TO RELAX AND CATCH UP ON FUN THINGS!!!!!! (For me at least.)

I am currently at my brother's apartment in the Bronx. I just spent a fun (...not even being sarcastic here though, that's what's funny...or sad, depending on how you look at it) coupla hours vacuuming, laundering, folding, bed making, and dish washing! And let me tell you. It was INVIGORATING, people. Invigorating. I got to blast Kelly Clarkson and the bee gees and whatever random upbeat tunes I had in my head and dance like a maniac (said brother is not home currently MWAHAH while basically gives me a permit to dance wildly in the entire apartment). 

Other Things This Week:

-Best times to sing loudly/passionately: 

1. When the train is leaving the station, it's pretty loud, so no one can hear you too well if you sing at a normal level. Everytime I do this (every day..) I do a mini-evil laugh inside at my cleverness. 

2. When you are vacuuming, because the overall noise just makes you sound awesomer than you actually are.

3. When in the shower. Of course. But seriously, the sound in there is amazing. The water practically adds a magical overtune to your voice. Even if you have a terrible, scratchy, loud voice, the shower's *magic powers~~** will make it all go away. In other news, my debut album will be recorded in the shower.

4. Just kidding. I will likely never release a debut album.

5. Anyway, shower, songs, obviously our next topic here should be about what songs are best to sing in the shower. Personally, I like me some power-house diva kind of tunes. "Listen" is a good one...these days I've been singing "Faithfully" and "I dreamed a dream". The latter is very hard to sing...not that I have been practicing faithfully. (Ha-ha. That sentence can be accurately interpreted literally and figuratively. God, this is what my blog is about, my life is sad, ok, moving on)

Once you get over your perhaps initial shock that it's finals week and I'm sitting here calmly discussing my shower-singing, continue reading on!

-Finals Week:

Will people hate me if I say there are parts of finals week I secretly love? When else can you see EVERYONE bedraggled, generally fitting the description of GROSS, and overall hassled, ugly, mean, cold, sleep-deprived...?! Never! Except for finals week!

I don't enjoy that haha, seeing as I am one of dem uglies (if you ever spot me during finals week...just don't talk to me. Or talk to me, but be warned that I'll look hideous, and I'll likely spout random things at you, or yell them), but it brings a sense of..unity..that you don't get elsewhere, because ERRYONES CRAZYYY during finals week.

But back to what I love about it- I just love that everyone is sleep-deprived and acting somewhat crazy. We use caps lock incessantly on facebook statuses (and in this post, it appears), freak out, meltdown, cry, yell, sleep, sob, collapse...and say or do crazy people things. It's hilarious. Every year so far, I've only eaten some random bit of food on the day of all my exams. Last year it was a handful of cheerios, and a clementine. This year it was a bag of cheetos. The adrenaline gets me through the day, I guess? Luckily though, my anatomy finals this year were not cumulative...they were on neurons!! And neurons are awesome!! And supa-interesting!! The rest of my classes weren't bad either. 

And now, I'm making to-do lists, making people CDs, trying to buy things on amazon, wrapping gifts, planning out my shopping, procrastinating on applying for something life changing that I'm going to procrastinate further about by not even discussing what it is (yes...I am sooo mysterious aren't I), making playlists, figuring out what I have to do to travel to India...focusing on everything but important things, basically.

-Random Other Stuff:  (does anyone read this, for that is the question! I think I subconsciously assume that no one does, and therefore feel free to write nonsense as usual)

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8BpcO4K9ao : I hate studying, but I look forward to studying and listening to music!! Of course, during finals week I had to actually buckle down and therefore could not listen to my usual songs, but allowed myself to listen to instrumental/classical music!! ....And then got incredibly distracted due to a disease I like to call Excessive Youtube Syndrome. However, I now have an updated list of movies I'd like to watch (I like to listen to movie soundtracks...and therefore ended up clicking on a lot of movie-related links)!! 

The link is just some soundtracks from a few movies. 

-What do I pack to go to India arghhh. My mother is a little worried about me going...especially since this week I took a bus in the wrong direction and had to walk a good mile and a half to civilization in a dead end area, and took the wrong route (walking) to my dad's workplace that I go to every two weeks...?!?!?!! Is that possible?!!??! How will I survive in a foreign country?!

Alright this post has gone on long enough and the rambling must end. 

Everyone have a great winter break, sleep after finals, and appreciate your loved ones.

Happy Holidays.

Amirah

Mild Mental Exhaustion.

Alright, the honest opinion of a college freshman on her first final exam.

Thank god I only have one.

I took my final exam today - Introduction to Logic, a philosophy course that studies how people are supposed to reason and argue - logically, not based in rhetoric.  But it. Was. ROUGH.

It wasn't "ohmygodI'mgoingtofailanddropoutandlivelikeahippyfortherestofmylife" bad, it was just... Sit on my bed for an hour and stare at the crack in the ceiling bad.

To be quite frank though. I am lucky. My finals are all final "assignments" - papers that have to be submitted electronically. I only had one formal exam; I'm now done going into Hunter for the semester, unless I want to. My friends though, my poor, poor friends, they have papers and finals!

Finals week is rough. But take solace, Hunter does do whatever they can to make this as easy as they can. The other week they had a de-stress zone, with coloring books and crayons and massages and PlayDoh and cookies and tea and a nap-zone. And tonight we had breakfast for dinner provided by Macaulay and the USG and Hunter. So guess who didn't have to worry about feeding herself?

Plus, the really nice Macaulay Building near Lincoln Center is open 24 hours from December 12 to December 21. So, should you actually need to focus, there is a quiet, comfortable space that will let you relax and concentrate.

And, its very cute and festive over there. Which I appreciate, because the closest thing I've had to Christmas is the pine branch that I got whacked in the face with the other night, walking home. Yeah, people in Manhattan are... pushy.

To bridge over to Christmas (My apologies and best wishes to people who celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza or Yule or anything else, I just like Christmas so this is what I'm focusing on.) My parents are coming in on Saturday to pick me up! We're going to do all the cute touristy things that everyone here secretly wants to do but will never admit to it because they're touristy and we're not supposed to behave like tourists.

So, family To-See list:
The Tree in Bryant Park ( Much cuter than Rockefeller Plaza)
Time Square
Ellen's Stardust Diner
Yaffa
St.Mark's Place
Some strange Disney Lightshow on Madison and 61st?
Hunter College! (I'm not certain my little brother has seen it yet)
The miracle that is the Subway (My parents have never used it)
The Shops at Bryant Park
Grand Central (I like the architecture)
And whatever we stumble upon in between.

And then I go home that night! And I get to spend Christmas with my family, and New Years with my high school friends!
I'm actually really excited - they all have so many great adventures to tell me about. (One of my friends got a boyfriend and he might come up to NYC during the break. I've been put in charge of finding cute, not-touristy things for them to do). I have a really tight group of friends from back home, and we're going to spend most of the time we're not working together. Four months is a long time to go without seeing people you're used to seeing every day.

But I live on Long Island - just like many kids who go to Hunter. So it will be nice to be able to still see my college friends - after all, I've been living with them for four months.

That's my life in a nutshell, folks. Finals, papers, friends, food, Christmas, and a vacation that I cannot wait for. And I couldn't ask for more.

FINALS ERMAHGERD

How I feel at the moment:

What I saw that made me regret doing this:

Thank you, condescending Willy Wonka, for reminding me that I am graded on my papers and exams, not my clever blog posts that aren't really that clever.

But I love Gene Wilder so much, I don't really mind him being so condescending. I mean, he was Willy Wonka, Dr. Frankenstein, Leo Bloom, and The Fox. I'm sorry, this man is AMAZING. He deserves to look down upon all of us.

Ugh

Finals, papers, finals,papers....

Still dormless, I finally got emergency housing a few days ago to alleviate my transit time from home. But, with rumors swirling around that the East building might open soon, my time there might be really short lived. But knowing I now have the entire island of Manhattan and its endless libraries and Starbucks and campuses to work on, I am really really happy.

I have two papers and two finals for this week, so I hope they go well. But what's the deal with putting the teacher evals online? The only reason I might fill them out is because I want to win an iPad or a metrocard (or anything for that matter!). But this just makes a normally ignored step of the ending of a semester to a whole new level of disappearance.  Whatever happens, December 21 will be a nice day, because not only is it the first day of winter, but also the last day of my last fall semester ever. Talk about bittersweet.

FINALS WEEK!

Oh my, finals week, how you have beaten me down.
For most pre-med kids, Monday and Tuesday can literally make or break our grades right now. I'm kind of freaking out (my chem grade is literally riding on this final) (and so is my bio grade oh god)

I've been studying so hard, I really hope it works out.

This is such a short post, I'm so sorry :( But my final question: who thought it was a good idea to put a chem final on Monday and a bio final on Tuesday?!

Pre-med drama </3

:)Lauren

Tragedy, O, Winter Plans

Hello everyone.

- I can't believe what happened today in Connecticut. This is insanity. These kinds of shootings have happened too often in the last few years. It's not right. 20 kids died for no reason. My thoughts and prayers are with those families in Connecticut who lost so much today. May they find peace.
- I took my first final this week. It was an in-class essay for English 220. It went well. Now I have four more finals to take. Sigh. This is probably the last English class that I'll take in college. It was a fantastic class, and I highly recommend Professor Brown. On the last day of the class, we watched part of the movie O. It's a modern adaptation of Othello. It's definitely a slightly cheesy movie, but it was nice to just take a break from worrying about finals.
- In exactly one week, I will be done with finals, and I'll be able to have a little break from all of this stress. I'm planning on taking a winter class called "History of Broadcasting". It's going to be my first time taking a media class. I'm looking forward to it. It should be a nice break from all of the science stuff.
- I've also been planning what I'm going to do over winter break. I'm looking forward to going out a bit and enjoying the city. I also can't wait to read books again! haha. I feel like there's never time to read for pleasure during the semester.

Good luck to you all! We can do this.

S.

Quote of the week:
“There is a saying in Tibetan, 'Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.'
No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

the Opera!

Hey everyone, 

Guess where I went this weekend?  to the Opera!

The Met at Night

My Thomas Hunter Seminar next semester is on Don Juan in literature, so the professor recommended we go to the opera.  I didn' t think it would be possible, but I ended up going to see Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera!   And it was amazingggg. The music was beautiful, and the show is not only intriguing, but funny. 

Chandeliers inside the Met

The Met, and Lincoln Center, are just beautiful.  I went there for the first time, ever, for my first Macaulay Seminar.  We went to a few really great events, not only the Opera at the Met, but the Threepenny Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a Fall for Dance production in Midtown, and even a small-scale production in Washington Heights.  They each had their merits; for instance, Fall for Dance made me realize that watching others dance could be interesting (I never really thought of dance as something you could watch); and my professor knew the writer of the small (it was maybe 40 seats!) production in Washington Heights, so she came to our class to talk with us!  

But the operas really had an impact on me.  I had watched an opera, La Bohéme, in my high school music history class, and to be honest, I wasn't crazy about it.  It was a tragic love story, and it wasn't really something I could relate to.  When my class went to the Threepenny Opera, I was expecting more of the same.  I was pleasantly surprised!  The Threepenny Opera is written by Bertholdt Brecht, who made drastic changes to the experience of going to a show.  Up until his time, shows had to completely draw you in and make you forget that they were a show, that they weren't real.  However, Brecht did something different--his characters would make comments to remind you that you were watching a show (if you want an example, look up the Muppets.  I'm not kidding, we even watched some clips in class to understand what this effect is!).  The show was great.  I can't describe the whole show here; I would take forever!  But I encourage you to watch it or, if you ever get the chance, to go see it.  It will change how you look at operas, and shows in general. 

The next opera we went to, Faust, at the Metropolitan Opera, was different.  If you've ever heard of the expression "he/she sold their soul to the devil" ("O Brother, Where Art Thou", anyone?), you've heard of Faust's plot--Faust sells his soul to Mephistopheles in order to gain immortal life.  It's a tragic story with a much more serious and reverent tone than the Threepenny Opera, but its definitely a good one.  It brings up many questions of good and evil, and of humanity trying to conquer things we can't control.  I even wrote my final paper on different interpretations of the Faust story (he was actually a real person). 

Don Giovanni was about a womanizing noble, Don Giovanni (or Don Juan), who is pursuing a young, just married woman, while being chased by a woman he has just deserted.  He is always accompanied by Leporello, who always runs interference for Don Giovanni to distract the young woman's husband or his angry ex-lover.  The play begins with Don Giovanni killing Donna Anna's father in a duel, after which, Donna Anna and her fiancé, Don Ottavio, vow to avenge his death.  I won't give away the end, but I will mention that there is a scene in which hell opens up, and you can feel the flames (even from the furthest ones, in the Family circle, where we were!).  I just can't stop saying this, but it was amazing.  The singing was beautiful, and the characters were engaging.  They weren't just angry or sad, but they were funny and relatable too.  If you do have the opportunity to go, you should (you can even get tickets for $15!).

Oh, and the people sitting behind us were speaking German.  And I could understand them--that made me so happy!!!  Just figured I'd add that, even though it's totally irrelevant.  It just made my night even greater, because all that practice has finally been paying off!  I've always felt like no matter how much I read or practiced, I wouldn't be able to understand a native speaker.  But I did!  Even though I didn't talk to them--still not ready for that.

Anyways, best of luck on your finals!  Just one more week =]

G.

One Down

Finals are upon us! Most of my friends seem to have their English final at some point this week, and I had mine yesterday. It was an in-class essay, on 2 texts (one of our choice, one not of our choice) that had to do with challenging conventional ways of thinking about gender and/or marriage. I'm not quite sure how I did, but I hope that I got my thesis across and that I do well. I've been doing quite well in that class all semester, and it would be a shame to not do as well on the final. It is English 220, and I'm so happy that I placed out of 120 and into this class because it was definitely one of my favourite classes this semester.

However, I still have two finals and one final paper for my other three classes. The two finals are in Econ 100 and Chinese 301, and the paper is for my MHC 100 class. I'm a little nervous about my Econ final since I've mostly been teaching myself in that class, however I did pretty well on the two midterms and on the homework assignments during the semester, so I'm hoping for the best. For Chinese, I just really need to study well and since we're using all the rest of our classes, tutoring, and extra sessions to review I think I'll be alright. For MHC 100 my final 10 page research paper I am writing on the musical Wicked which I am really excited about, I just need to sit down and finish the paper so that I can get the rough draft in this week, and the final paper in on time next week.

I've actually really enjoyed this semester's classes, looking back now. Although each class has had its struggles and negative aspects, in the end, even Econ was not too awful. Now I'm just looking forward to getting through these next two weeks, and then enjoying the December part of winter break. In January I have to attend about 50 hours of Chinese tutoring, so that'll be... fun. I'm also quite looking forward to next semester's schedule which includes MHC Seminar the Peopling of NY, Chinese (oh my gosh, Geography of China taught in all Chinese, I might die), Classical Mythology, Political Science (finally; this semester I wasn't even taking any poli-sci which I should have since that's what I want to second major in), and Spanish. I'm starting a new language next semester, and hope to start Arabic next fall, so wish me good luck!

And best of luck to everyone who has finals and final projects/papers!

Finally!

Wow... I haven't posted here in a longggggg time. I guess I just want to say that I'm really glad to be back at Brookdale again. I've really missed living with my friends and even coming home to no food, being too tired to cook, and too poor to buy food... but that's besides the point. I've grown a new appreciation for this place, and I can put aside any complaints I've had in the past just because I really miss the family that I've made here. 

Unfortunately (or forunately for a lot of people), we came back just in time for finals week and it's no fun at all. I've always read about and heard my older friends complain about how stressful finals week can be, but I didn't think it could be that bad until I actually got to college. It's stressful. Beyond belief. Even when I don't put off my work to the last minute, there's just so much of it to do that it feels like I never get a break anyway. I can't wait for this semester to be over so I can stop doing this every morning. 

On the bright side, I've had some pretty tasty food since we moved back in to Brookdale! (Well before I spent too much money that is....)

Dorm Sweet Dorm

As most of you already know, the dorms are open! I can't wait to see the lounge parties, the late-night dinner feasts, and, of course, the overnight study groups. Let the Macaulay community be reunited!

Even though I'm ecstatic about the opening of the dorms, I am sad to depart from the apartment I shared with a few friends of Macaulay. Yes, I can see them at the dorms, but it's not the same as going home and having people there and maybe even dinner. I miss you guys already.

No Place Like Home for the Holidays?

I'm still pretty sad that the dorms are not back yet for the East Building residents. I'm happy that progress has been made of course for the North and West buildings, but its a huge bummer to be commuting from home during my senior year. And its already so close to finals week I am getting pretty anxious about how my studying will work out at home (which is not especially conducive for learning because of all the distractions).

Anywhoo, scheduled for the last time EVER. Kinda sad and bittersweet, but it was awesome not having any glitches or issues that hindered me from getting my classes. I'll be taking Physics, Ubiquitin/Proteasome ( a 400 level Bio class), Christian Theology, Weather and Climate, and Greek and Latin Roots. Hopefully it will be a great semester!

Lights, Carbon, VS, Presentation

Hi everyone. =)

Some things:
- It's a rainy Friday night in NYC, and I'm just taking some time to enjoy a bit of freedom before finals. (ugh...that word).
- I had an orgo exam today, which as you can all imagine was a ton of fun. I have respect for orgo. The reactions can be really cool, but the tests are tough.
- I had my last bio 200 lab today. I have to do one more lab report and then no more until next semester! yay.
- My friend and I took a walk in the rain today because the 6 train was running with delays. NYC is so pretty at night and especially during this time of the year. Bloomingdale's is covered in lights and there are stars hanging up on lamp posts. I didn't even mind getting a bit wet from the rain. I would actually love to just spend an entire night walking through Manhattan with a friend or a group of friends. I know it sounds insane, but I bet a lot of interesting things go on at night.
- The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was on this week. I know all the guys watch the show just to see chicks in their underwear, but I actually like seeing the really cool designs. haha. The designers are super creative with how they transform underwear into art.
- I have to do a group presentation during the Seminar 3 Common Event on Sunday. Should be interesting. Presentations always make me a bit nervous though. Wish me luck.

Much luck to you all during finals!

S.

Quote of the Week:

“We read to know that we are not alone.” 

~ William Nicholson

we're almost there!

Hey everyone,

So I registered last week and it went pretty well, I registered for all the classes that I wanted.  I'm taking the 4th Macaulay Seminar, a Thomas Hunter Honors Seminar, Advanced German Conversation, Music Theory 2 and Musicianship 2, and Jerusalem in the 20th Century.  I'm so happy about my classes--I don't love how they had to be scheduled, but whatever.  The past three registrations, I've ended up changing most of my classes last minute!

As for my current classes, they're going pretty well also, as we wind down towards finals!  My group gave our presentation, on ecological gap analysis, for our Seminar at the Macaulay building last night.  It was pretty cool!  Presentations can be nerve-wracking, but I love that I'm able to get some practice now.  I'm okay with speaking, but I really want to get comfortable with presenting information, in front of a group.

I also had to visit the Museum of the American Indian for my Tribal Religions class.  The assignment was to find an object and write about its significance, in relation to what we've learned in class.  The Museum is really cool--they have an exhibit right now about American Indians in popular music, from 1920s' jazz to 1960s' rock and folk and today's pop.  You can sit and listen to the music while you read, or watch a video of performances.  They also have their permanent exhibits, which is where I found this drum:

I wrote about how it might effect the player's sense of togetherness and the groups' sense of community and worship.  I also wrote about the significance of the lines and circles.  This may or may not be true, but what matters in the paper is the depth of thinking.  We're supposed to look at the objects, not with our prior knowledge in mind, but with an open mind, so that we can understand what we see, instead of what we know.  It's so difficult to do at first, but I think I've been getting the hang of it!  I'm looking forward to taking another religion class, and to going to another museum, sometime soon. 

Happy St. Nicholas Day everyone!  Keep working hard and preparing for finals; before you know it, we'll be on break!  We're almost there!  Talk to you soon =] 

G. 

Thoughts, Registration, and Schoolwork

Hey, everyone!!

I can't believe it's already the last day of November. Time is just passing by so quickly (and yet not quickly enough because I want finals to be over and done with. haha)
This week, we all had to register for next semester 's classes. That's always a fun process. NOT. It's uber-stressful, but this semester it went pretty well.

I finished reading Othello this week. Such a sad story. I feel like it's still relevant today. Unfortunately, jealousy, insecurity, and accusations of cheating are still parts of many modern-day relationships.
I have a final paper about the play due next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to write something coherent while simultaneously studying for orgo.

I had a nice convo with a friend today and she helped turn my semi-crappy day into a relatively good one. What are we without our friends?

Also, between thinking about organic molecules and jealous men, I've been thinking about life in general. How difficult it all seems sometimes. How the dream seems so far away and impossible. How oftentimes we get in the way of our own success. How we question the very essence of what is right, who is good, and why things happen the way they do.
Sometimes, it's so easy to get lost in the everyday madness of things, but you can't let your dreams die. Life is worth the effort, the bleary eyes, the worry, the confusion. Just for those single moments of clarity.

Peace.

S.

Quote of the week:

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

(More) John Green Novels, Registration, and Christmastime!

Hey guys!

So I literally just finished a book. A novel. A masterpiece by one of my favorite authors: John Green. The book was co-written with another fantastic author, David Levithan, who I'm now going to read more of. Now, I'm an English major. I therefore read all sorts of amazing novels, plays, and poetry. I enjoy Fitzgerald, I idolize Hemmingway, I wish I was Oscar Wilde. Yet there's nothing like sitting down for a good teenage novel like Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Only to discover that maybe it's a bit deeper than you thought?

Now this was the book I would read between classes, on the subway to and from school, before I went to bed. I'm a big book person and I feel the need to read constantly. I'm also a list person. It helps me organize and stop stressing about everything I have to do. Seriously, if you're ever freaking out about work, just write down a list of everything and you'll feel better just looking at it. That piece of paper isn't as bad as the jumble of stuff going on in your head. Anyway, I have lists and lists of books that have yet to be read, from Dante's Divine Comedy to Life of Pi. This was (supposed to be) a lighter read for me.

I should warn you, don't walk into a John Green novel with these expectations that it will be a walk in the park. His novels are funny, adorable, and heart-wrenching. They will break your heart. I had just read (see also: recovered emotionally from) The Fault In Our Stars and I thought I knew this, but I went for it anyway. Now, the story is about this kid named Will Grayson who ends up, through some pretty weird circumstances, to meet another kid named Will Grayson. They swap stories, they're sufficiently weirded out, their lives become entangled in the most absurd ways. And the book is about love; friendship love, romantic love, familial love. All types of love. It's a book about appreciating the people in your life. And it hit me really hard. Coming right after Thanksgiving and right before the holidays, this is just what I needed. I appreciate the people in my life and you should too. Yeah, pretty gooey and sentimental but I teared a bit at the end. Not to give anything away, but it involves one absurdly long car drive, a lot of phonebooks, and a reliance on the kindness of strangers.

I scheduled my classes for the spring yesterday and it was the most exhilarating and terrifying experience of my life. I made about 15 alternate schedules in all my freaking out. I actually ended up with my perfect schedule, so I don't know why I freaked out so much. I'm just happy it's over with and I can live my life in peace for awhile. Or until the next semester's registration appointment (oh god save me now).

My friends and I are doing Secret Santa this year. I'm super excited because I love the mystery of it all. My friend made little slips of paper with all our names on them and folded them so they were ridiculously difficult to open. We're all sworn to secrecy about who we got under a death threat from said friend but I'm just itching to go out and buy my person a gift this weekend!

Lastly, although two out of three of us in my dorm room are Jewish, we all decided to have a Christmas tree for our room. It's fake of course, but we had a lot of fun listening to the Christmas music playlist on Pandora while decorating it with ornaments. I'm really, really starting to love my roommates.

I just love this time of the year. It's so cozy and the lights make the city so much more beautiful despite how cold it is. Christmas music is so happy. I know it'll eventually get on my nerves, but for now it's amazing. Happy (soon-to-be) holidays everyone! Don't get too stressed out about finals week (quickly approaching gahhhh!!!)

Bye!

thanksgiving and registration!

Hey guys,

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  I know I did; some of my family members who usually don't come came for dinner this year!  Andd I made some great dishes.  My mom does an amazing Thanksgiving every year, but since I learned I'm gluten intolerant about two years ago, it's been a little tricky.  You see, I was a vegetarian a few years ago, and it wasn't too difficult.  You either just leave out the turkey (and gravy!) or substitute a Tofurky for it.  But when you can't eat gluten, you can't have the stuffing, gravy, prepared foods with sauce (unless you know for sure it's okay), pies, or cookies.

By now I'm pretty well adjusted though:  I made a cornbread and whole wheat bread gluten-free stuffing, and my mom set aside some gravy thickened with cornstarch.  I also made a pumpkin custard (basically, it's the pumpkin without the crust), and my mom found gluten-free amaretto cookies!  It's still a little awkward, because people sometimes still have questions.  But I was so proud of my grandma--one relative asked why more people can't eat gluten all of a sudden, and my grandma replied "because people didn't know about it before".  She'll still offer me cookies sometimes, but I was so proud that she remembered a part of my often lengthy, probably annoying, explanations of "why I can't eat that". =]

On another note, today is priority registration!  It's an amazing perk of being an Honors student, but it doesn't take all the stress out of registering.  You still have worry about getting into the seminar or honors courses that you want!  I've had pretty good luck in past semesters, even though I always end up making last minute changes.  >_<

I'll let you know how it goes!  Enjoy the rest of your week!

G.

Learning things the hard way.

Don't ever forget your umbrellas kiddies.
Looking like a drowned rat isn't cute.
And rain comes down very suddenly in the city.
Create a nice little nest for your umbrella in your backpack and just let it live there.
Don't take it out, otherwise it will be on your desk at home.
And you'll be soaking wet and cranky in Manhattan.
Soaking wet, cranky, and not cute. Not exactly how you want to look in college.

On top of that, if you don't have an umbrella, your backpack gets wet.
And what do you keep in your backpack?
Your notes from your lecture that are now wet.
Your journal that is now wet.
Your textbook that is now wet.
And your lovely Macbook Pro, which, by some miracle, didn't get wet.
But the case did, so it's too close for comfort.

And when your mommy calls you asking how you are, and you respond
"Alright, but I got soaked!"
You won't be given sympathy.
You'll be told to use your head for something other than a hatrack.
Which is another thing you need to remember, because if you had a hat, at least then your head would be drier than it is.

Bottom line? Check the weather before you leave. If the weatherman says that their might be a single wisp of a cloud, bring your umbrella.

Why Life Began To Crumble

Life began to crumble at approximately 12:26 pm today, on November 27th, 2012, as the lady in the USG office confidently told me that there was, in fact, no hot water for hot chocolate or tea left. Not   even   in   the    back   room. (The magical back room. Where they have an abundance of magical things. Like tea bags, or their endless supply of hot chocolate. And now, their ending supply of hot water.)
Why Life Began To Crumble:
-This Sunday I spent the day outside, walking around Jamaica Estates, and Hillside, for our seminar project (on food accessibility. It is pretty interesting, and we got to make a short video on bananas. Totally not bad at all.) All of this would have been quite fine, except that it was so cold that it felt like death. I felt like death. The cold WAS death. You get the point.
-Today, it was supposed to snow, and it's also cold. And as I miserably left the USG room a blast of freezing wind hit me. It was all very sad.
-One of my best friends just read the first line of this entry and yelled at me saying that I did not have enough of a life for it to crumble yet. She is a very good person and one of the best friends I could ask for. And she was totally right, but I'm going to add this to my list of Why Life Began To Crumble.
-I HAVE TO APPLY FOR THIS STUDENT VISA TO GO TO INDIA AND IT'S FREAKING ME OUT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY ANNOYING TO DO. Ok, it's not THAT difficult, but I've never done it before and I HATE PAPERWORK LIKE THIS YOU HAVE TO MAKE SO MANY COPIES AND FAX SO MANY THINGS AND I HATE FAXING THINGS
-I hope not everyone reading this blog thinks I am a very chirpy, shallow, ungrateful person...maybe just some days. Or maybe just on the days I write this blog.
-I have to do studying and work that I'm stressed about. I suppose that is the underlying reason for my said crumbling life.

On the other hand, reasons Why Life Hasn't Totally Crumbled Yet Today
-I bought 2 bananas for breakfast for 50 cents, and it was the best breakfast I've had all week! And I normally don't even like bananas!
-I am now the proud owner of maroon pants.
-I really like my maroon pants.
-I am **if everything works out cross your fingers** going to study abroad in India during winter break!
-There's a new The Mindy Project episode on hulu.
-Being a drama queen on this blog has helped me de-stress about general work (that I shall neglect to mention, because it would simply be a long drone of a list, and everyone has just as much if not more, because it's post-thanksgiving and the world is going to be a stressed place until the end of finals).
You'd think I'd talk more about study abroad...since it's related to college and all...but all I can say is that I'm really excited to go and so thankful that Macaulay has an opportunities fund!

Amirah
PS Ok. My life is not really crumbling, it's fine, I'm just being dramatic and stressed. Sigh.

GUYS I WENT TO MAMOUN'S!!!

Guys! I went to Mamoun’s!

My friend Sam and I went down there before we went to the dorm’s a few days ago, to pick up more clothes and necessities.

The falafel was different. I was a little heartbroken. It was still the best falafel ever, but it wasn’t the usual Mamoun’s falafel.

Sam’s explanation was the best: “Maybe the flooding made them clean everything, and this is what clean falafel tastes like? Maybe we’ve just never had clean falafel before.”

Gross, but probably very accurate.

This was the first time I’d been back to St. Marks’ after the storm. And my first reaction was: wow, this place is clean!

Once again, Sam has a gift with one-liners: “Well yeah. The streets basically got a powerwashing.”

I don’t think I’ve talked at length about St. Marks yet.  Which is really weird, since the vast majority of the time I spend out and about in the city is done there. So, St. Marks is a lovely little area in the Lower East side. The main attraction is all the crazy stores and all the food. It is a little bit sketchy- but the good kind of sketchy.

Plus, the people watching is really excellent. There are plenty of people panhandling on the streets. Rather than just begging, these guys attempted to convince me that because they’re keeping the neighborhood shady, my rent is lower. Seemed like a good reason to give them a dollar.

The really cool part is the history of St. Marks. It’s almost bittersweet, because there are all these cute little shops – that are in places that even cuter little shops and bars used to be.

Best example is of the St. Mark’s Market. It’s a grocery store in the basement level of the building that spans #19-24. It’s a grocery store, and a Red Mango in the basement, the first floor is a Chipotle, a Chinese food place, and a Supercuts. Above that are apartments. (When I looked up the numbers for the building, I found out the rent of the penthouse apartment – $17,000. A MONTH. For anyone who doesn’t believe me: http://evgrieve.com/2010/01/live-on-st-marks-place-for-only-17000.html)

This building used to have bars in its basement, just like most buildings on St. Marks. But this building is special because it used to hold the Electric Circus. The Electric Circus is famous as the location where the Velvet Underground played. And why is the Velvet Underground famous?? Because ANDY WARHOL MANAGED THEM. He and a friend owned the Electric Circus, and he organized a multimedia show that was based on their music.

My life is amazing. I hang out where Andy Warhol did.

Sleep, Othello, Vacation

Hey everyone!!

- I hope you all had a peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving. Mine was pretty good. We just had a nice family dinner and watched the parade in the morning.

- I've been enjoying sleeping in the past couple of days. This semester has been super intense, and I still have a month of intensity left. Ayyy...Gotta keep the faith. 

- Recently, my mom has been complaining that we haven't had a "girls' day" in the longest time, which is true. I'm looking forward to the time after finals when we can actually hang out and have "mommy and me" time. haha.

- I started reading "Othello" this week. My mom read it when she was in college so I've known about the tragic plot since I was a kid. But it's cool to be able to read it on my own and experience the beauty of the language. The play touches on so many issues that are still relevant today. Ideas of power, language, social class, race, gender... everything is seen in this play.

Sleep, do homework, hang with a friend, laugh, eat, be merry. (not necessarily in that order)

S.

Quote of the Week:

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” 
~ Epicurus

Asian Thanksgiving or American? Why Not Both

I hope everyone's had a wonder Thanksgiving and had their fill of turkey and mashed potato for the year to come (or the next month if it's not the end of the world). I definitely had my fill, from eating at my friend's house to having a family dinner at home.

This was not the normal Thanksgiving for me. It was the first time I had Thanksgiving dinner anywhere else but home. I wouldn't have eaten dinner at her house if it weren't for her parents insisting. This was also the first time I had a fusion of Asian-American Thanksgiving dinner. Even though I'm purely Chinese, my family cooks all Italian and American this time every year. At my friend's house, we had Peking turkey. We ate it exactly how we would eat Peking duck, with the white buns and seafood sauce, except it was a turkey. It was so delicious! It wasn't as bad as I thought because it was their first time making it too.

After that dinner, I rushed home for mine but I was already too late. I thought I would get a scolding but thankfully I was able to shove down a few spoonfuls of eggplant parm to cool my grandma's temper. I literally went into a food coma after that because it was only around 8 when I knocked out. Good thing there's plenty of leftovers for me to eat since I didn't get my to taste most of my family's and my hard work.

Dorm Coming To

The first day RezLife let us back, I made it my #1 priority to go grab my things. When I walked in, I was attacked by a huge wave of odor similar to that of musty water. The auditorium was pitch black, with only the light coming from the open doors. It was the same in the hallways; you could only see the window at the very end of the hallway. 

This was the perfect school-horror movie scene where the crazy psycho killer charges out from the shadows with a knife. But thank the lord that didn't happen.

I went again the weekend they let us clean out out fridges and let me tell you, there is huge progress going on. Construction workers were already on the move renovating the basement. Even though it's going to take some time (probably till mid-December), I'm glad Brookdale put all their resources on getting the dorms back up. I can't wait to see all the life at Brookdale again!

Tonight, Tonight... What comes next?

Hi everyone, it's been awhile and I hope that everyone's lives are slowly starting to normal-out again after the hurricane. I know it's still tough for a lot of people; I don't quite qualify for emergency housing, and even if I did I know there are people much worse off than me, so I've been grinning and bearing it and commuting from Westchester for the past two and a half weeks. Living at home is worse than I remember, so I just hope that the dorms open back up soon. However, not everything in the past few weeks has been awful.
Today, for instance, was pretty good! I stayed overnight in the city with a friend, which made the commute this morning much less difficult. I had my Macaulay Seminar at 10:10 this morning, however it was on the west side in the Macaulay building because we watched West Side Story. The little movie theatre room is really cute, and a good place for a small class screening of a movie. I have seen West Side Story, I don't know how many times, but it was a real eye-opener to rewatch it now. I didn't remember it being so hokey, but it was and it kind of still was amazing. I actually love the music from the show, so me and a friend were singing Tonight for the rest of the day. However, we couldn't remember any other lyrics for a good part of the afternoon (only after some digging in my brain could I remember maybe two full verses). Still, it was an enjoyable day before a four day weekend.
After class, my friends and I had our own "Friendsgiving" lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner. I love this place! I don't remember how I found it, but when I was younger I went with my parent's a bunch of times. Once, I even got serenaded by one of the waiters. That's the greatest part: the waiters and waitresses are all aspiring Broadway actors and so most of the time that you're sitting in there, they're singing. It's great! It's cheesy, and the place is mismatched and decorated not-so beautifully, but it all adds to the place's charm. Just, if you go there, do remember it's just off of Times Square (it's on 51st and Broadway) and so the food is pretty expensive. However, their milkshakes are really good and definitely filling, so if you just want to fill yourself up and listen to some showtunes/top 40 then have a milkshake for lunch (not everyday, of course) and you'll be fine.
None of us got serenaded this time, but the meal was fun and some of us were singing along with every song which was great! Now I've got this four day weekend to look forward to and, trust me, I don't think anyone deserves a break more than those of us living in New York City when Sandy hit. I have quite a bit of work to do, but at least I don't have to attend a single class until Monday and I will get to see all of my friends who have been away.

Happy Thanksgiving!

central park and the macaulay building!

Hey guys!

I hope everyone's almost back to normal after the storm(s) and doing well =]  I hope no one else got caught in that snowstorm like I did!  Freezing cold weather + snow + waiting for buses and trains + delayed service = Numb fingers and toes and a horrible evening.  It freaked me out because all of a sudden, it was winter!  (And I don't really like the snow too much.)  Luckily, the weather's calmed down a bit since then; it's been pretty nice =]

So in the meantime, I've been trying to keep up with my work and I feel I've been doing a pretty good job with it.  I can't believe it's only a month until the end of the semester!  But I feel like I have a pretty good handle on my current assignments and I feel I'm organized so that none of the final papers can sneak up on me!  I've even gone to the Macaulay building twice in the past week to study.

Last year, although I loved the building, I only really went there for the Common Events.  I felt like it was out of the way--I might as well study at home or at Hunter.  But lately, Hunter has been wayyy overcrowded (which means, more crowded than the usual crowded) because all Brookdale classes had to be relocated there.  So one morning, when my first class had been canceled, I decided to try to get some work done there.  And it worked out!  There were some other students there for class, but when they left, the lounge was quiet.  There were a few events going on as well--I don't realize how much they do there sometimes.  Plus, I got to walk through Central Park on my way there!  It was a little after 10, so the Park was quiet, I wasn't in a rush, and it was so beautiful.  I think I fulfilled my obligatory cool air, crunchy leaves, Fall walk =P  I highly recommend it.

I went back to the Macaulay building again today and again, got a nice amount of my work accomplished!  Annnd I found a nice route directly from Hunter to Macaulay, and it only takes 20 minutes.  So hopefully, I will be using that space more often in the future.  I definitely credit it with helping me to get all my work done this week!

Now, if only I could figure out what to do about registration…

but that's for my next post!

The AM had a parade map cover on Monday and I saw the bleachers set up on Central Park West today!  That really put me in a holiday mood…I can't wait!  So with that, I wish you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! =]

G.

I know it's been a while, but these past few weeks have been PACKED. Not only am I living as a permanent guest at the City College Towers, but midterms have finished and projects for finals are starting to kick in. But even more importantly, the Northeastern Quidditch Regionals took place this past weekend on the 17th and 18th!

After the 3 and a half hour car ride on Friday packed in the back of a van with four people, we arrived at our Holiday Inn in Rhode Island only to be promptly kicked out because someone (on a different team) thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarm. We decided to take shelter in a nearby Chili's, then slept early in preparation for the big day ahead.

Waking up at 5:45, we raided the free breakfast and headed out to Fort Adams. It took us embarrassingly long to get there, considering it was only twenty minutes away and on the same island, as we hit three dead ends, went on the wrong island, and crossed a bridge only to immediately turn around and cross it again; all while a car from RIT was following us.

After missing the Referee meeting by 45 minutes, we pitched our tent and started warming up only to be interrupted by a long (and very very cold) opening ceremony that consisted of us walking a circle around a fort then listening to a team (possibly Harvard but I'm not so sure) sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Our first game, as always, didn't fare so well. While we beat Hofstra many times at their own college, they seemed to go all out today. The score was 170 - 40 when our seeker Andre Zagelbaum made an excellent diving snitch grab, but landed on his shoulder bumping the score up to 170 - 70. Our team was immediately on the scene as he was helped up and the medic was brought to the pitch. Fearing a broken collarbone, we has sent to the medic tent where he rested. This was a great loss for our team, as our best seeker was unable to play for our most important tournament to date.

After a few games that I've been reffing in between without break, I was told to warm up then move to the pitch on my left. Our next game against Geneseo, a team known for playing questionably rough, was too close. We were leading 60 - 40 when one of our chaser dropped an F bomb and was given a red card. This rule was new for all of us, especially since we were given no warning when this normally back-to-hoops offense became one capable of a red card. We took the card respectfully however, and Genseo took the advantage to catch the snitch bringing the score up to 70 - 60 in their favor.

Some more games to ref (mostly Harvard) and we're up against the Rhode Island Ridgebacks. While this team is from Rhode Island and probably well rested, we were able to beat them 160 - 0 with no problems.

This easy victory brought us back on track and gave us confidence for our next game against University of Vermont, which also has a reputation of playing dirty. Once again, we were able to beat them without a hitch: having a final score of 140 - 30.

The U of V game was our last of the day, and set out place in the brackets for the next day. Because we won 2/4, we were placed against RIT for the first game the next day. It is this game that determined whether we were going to World Cup VI or not.

We all headed back to the hotel, had a meeting discussing our problems that day and the game ahead, then slept around 10:00 as we were all pooped. We were able to wake up slightly later the next day, then checked out and headed to Fort Adams for the last day of regionals and our determining game.

Because our seeker Andrew was out of commission, Shenuque and him briefed me on techniques and gave me the yellow headband. Our game started, and I ran to the sidelines to meet the opposing seeker. After the seeker floor was over, we were released and started searching for the snitch. We immediately checked the tents, then went around the outside of the fort. Because I was thrust into the seeker position, I didn't know the snitch boundaries. Unfortunately, the RIT seeker didn't either and we ran too far out. We headed back and I could hear my team screaming my name. Unfortunately the other seeker was a long distance runner and wore me out on the way. I quickly subbed with Shenuque and he caught the snitch within 5 minutes. Four whistle blows, the team ran up to him screaming, the score was 80 - 30, we won.

We couldn't relax just yet though, we still had more games ahead of us. We prepared to face one of the toughest teams there is, Boston University. It was a very tough game and I ended up getting my first yellow card for tackling a chaser over some chairs resulting in making a previous injury worse and breaking her knee (but swearing gives you a red card??). We grabbed the snitch bringing us up to 40 against BU's 160. After the game I worked things out with the injured chaser, and we sat back to watch BU fight its way all the way to the finals, claiming the title of best team in the Northeast.

We have a lot of work cut out for us for the World Cup in Florida, but practices will get tougher, we'll train harder, and by the time April rolls around I'm sure we'll be ready to take on the toughest of teams.