Well, for the second semester in a row, I got a 4.0! This is exciting! I guess this explains the Magna Cum Laude! I'm feeling pretty good... I guess all of my professors liked my final papers and projects. Sweet!

Today, in my "office," my dad set up some small shelves which hold my printer and extra paper. It is nice because now I have a better situation as you come into the room... there is more floor space and things look a lot neater!

I applied for a job as a cataloger in the Museum of Television and Radio. (A job, not an internship!) I found a couple more entry-level positions, including one for the Alexander Calder Foundation (as a research assistant), and one for a performing arts agency administrative assistant. This "office" of mine makes productivity FUN!

This afternoon, I went out to lunch with Jessica at the Fort Lee News Bar... we had a great time and the most delicious lunch! I had a really great chicken salad. I will be painting a mural on the floor of her kitchen at her mom's request. That should be exciting! Of course, first I must learn how to paint murals on people's floors...

Tomorrow I must do some major league cleaning and unpacking. Stacey will be visiting this weekend, and she has never seen the house. I don't want my room to look unsightly! Right now, it looks as though a bomb hit it!

Well, here I am! Home at last! It is a nice feeling to be back... things were way hectic towards the end. And I am sad that so many of my friends will be scattered across the country, rather than right around the corner as they were when we were in school. I guess this will give me more incentive to become a better driver!!

Graduation was awesome! I did not fall down or even trip when I walked across the stage during the VPA (College of Visual and Performing Arts--for those non-S.U.'ers reading this) Convocation. I got to sit with Stacey for both the Convocation and the big graduation ceremony. Both were held in the Carrier Dome, and it was very hot under the robe and the square hat! Bill Clinton was our keynote speaker, which was awesome! I thought his speech was very good. When we were exiting the Dome, I passed by him and was about 10 feet away from him. I attempted to skake his hand but it was such a mob scene. Still, he was very friendly, shaking hands and greeting everyone.

Saturday night, we ate dinner at The Mission, which is the cutest little Mexican restaurant located in an old church. The decor inside is so cute, and the food was very good. The service was so prompt that we were not yet done with our appetizer when the main course arrived. My mom and I drank delicious margaritas! A very fun place to go!

Right after the graduation ceremony on Sunday, we packed up the car and left. At that point, I felt ready to get the heck out! Still, I am left with that feeling that it will never be as easy to see those friends I've made while in Syracuse. Still, I am going to be the best correspondent I can be!

Upon returning home, I set up what I now call my "office." I have basically converted my desk into a cubicle of sorts. (The only real change is, for the first time ever, I have set up my computer in my bedroom!) I reorganized the content of my desk so that it only contains office-like stuff. I have things like pens, Post-It notes, a paperweight, computer paper, stationary, etc. My mom laughs at me because I also consider Sesame Street coloring books to be office-like stuff! My dad must have been quite impressed by my "office" because right away he got my computer hooked up to the Internet. So here I am, writing from my "office." It's pretty sweet.

To explain the past few days.... Absolute Mayhem! I have been attempting to pack and organize in preparation for moving out. I've been also trying to squeeze in as many social events as I can. Last night's Senior Celebration was super fun!

My parents arrived today. They gave me my graduation present--an 18-inch strand of pearls! I have been wanting pearls all my life. They are huge and a rose tint, rather than the gray tint ones. I have had them on since I got them, and I feel like a Queen! They are just heavy enough to notice that I have them on. They are the second highest grade of pearls in the world, apparently! They are flawless! I must be very careful now. This is definitely the most expensive item I've ever worn--EVER. They will look amazing with my graduation garb (which is why I got them early). I had them on with the silliest outfit today when we went to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que... but I didn't care!

My mom said she would have settled on a cheaper set, but my dad kept researching and upgrading to better and better pearls, until he settled on this strand, 4 digits later..... He says I'm worth it!! I have tears in my eyes! My dad is the cutest, ever! My parents never cease to amaze me.

This graduation thing sure is crazy. I have such mixed emotions! On the one hand, I am so ready to be done! On the other hand, I will miss my friends so much! Tomorrow at 3 is my Convocation for the School of Visual and Performing Arts. We don't have to sit in any order, so Stacey and I will sit together! I think I am one of two Art History majors graduating... we'll see tomorrow! I will definitely have the best necklace in the whole Dome!

That's right, I handed in my final paper and project for Historic Backgrounds, and now I am OFFICIALLY DONE. This is exciting!!

Tonight I am having dinner with Stacey, and tomorrow I have a date with 5 out of 6 of my Littles for a Cosmo's THB (Toasted Honey Bun). (Yolanda left but will be coming back for graduation.)

I can't believe it's almost over! Time flies when you're having fun.

On Friday night, Teresa and I rode up to Rochester to go to Muther's (http://www.clubmuthers.com) one last time to see drag. First of all, Teresa made the most hilarious CD for us to listen to in the car. Honestly, I don't know where some of these songs came from, but they were SO funny!!

When we got to Rochester, we picked up Teresa's friend Sarah from U of R. Jessica met us at Muther's. It was so much fun!! The drag was excellent. It was Pandora Boxx's birthday--good times all around! There were two Queens from Buffalo, and it seems the Queens up there get a lot of plastic surgery... I don't enjoy them as much as I enjoy the Rochester girls. It seems like plastic surgery would be "cheating" or something. I mean, if they have implants, then they must live like women 24/7. Yet other Queens are men for their day jobs, and women for the show.

Either way, the drag was awesome! It was Pandora Boxx's birthday, and she was so wonderful... she did an awesome Madonna medley, and for the second time I saw her perform "All That Jazz" from Chicago. Beautiful! Unfortunately, Aggy Dune wasn't there this time around. I should mention that Muther's got a makeover! There are now beautiful red curtains and lamps, and shining silver drapes! So classy!

I slept over at Jess's house... always a good time! (Teresa stayed with Sarah.) In the morning, Teresa came to pick me up and head back to Syracuse for Senior Sendoff. We decided to swing by Krispy Kreme and CVS (I had just run out of cough syrup) before heading back to Syracuse. Upon entering CVS, there was a big divet in the road near the curb that made a really loud noise when we went by.

We got the stuff we needed and headed towards the Krispy Kreme. All of a sudden, I started to smell a really foul odor. It seemed to be coming from the car. I asked Teresa if she could smell it. "I don't have a sense of smell!" said Teresa. I was like, "This is really strong!!"

She turned off the air conditioner, thinking that was the problem. As soon as she did that, smoke started pouring out of the vent! I was freaking out! Teresa pulled into a mall parking lot which was the first thing we saw. She turned the car off and we got out... then, teresa said, "My car's leaking!!"

I looked, and "leaking" was not the work for it... liquid, the color of Mountain Dew, was literally flowing from the bottom of the car like a faucet. We had parked near a Land's End store, and so we went inside to use their courtesy phone. Fortunately, they were very nice about allowing us to use it as often as we wanted. Teresa called AAA. She also called Adam's cell phone to let him know what happeded, and why we'd be late.

In the mean time, Teresa was really concerned about me missing Senior Sendoff. (Well, I was, too! It was my big day. I had anticipated it for a while.) I know Teresa felt bad, but I assured her it wasn't her fault. We wondered if hitting that curb at CVS could have caused the problem. After a while, I called Adam to get talia's celll phone number. I called her to see if she or anyone would be willing to make a drive up from Syracuse to come and get me. She said she would ask around, and I should call her in 15 minutes.

15 minutes later, I called and Talia announced that Dan was already on the way. I was AMAZED. I had a real feeling that I would be stranded in Rochester, and would miss my Sendoff. Also, I was so moved and impressed that Dan (who is one of the NIBs- "Newly Initiated brothers") would drive all that way to come get me when he doesn't really know me that well.

The tow truck took a while to get there, and so we gave Dan directions to the Land's End store, where he could pick me up. Teresa would stay with her car and her sister (who lives in Rochester). Teresa's mom was also going to come to drive her back to Syracuse. I felt bad leaving Teresa, but I was glad her family was around!

Dan came right on time! I gave him the biggest hug when I saw him. He is awesome. He kept saying, "It's no problem!" He should get an award or something, because yesterday, he was my hero! He drove me back, and we had great luck until we were right near Green Lakes State Park (our destination). They had the most misleading signs I have ever seen. We drove all the way around the lake before we found the enterance to the park. Insane! By the time we got there, Sendoff was under way, but everyone was excited that I made it!

Poor Dan couldn't even stay because he had to go to work! Agqain, I was amazed that he rescued me from Rochester to go to an event he couldn't even attend.

The Sendoff was so nice!! Anna made my scrapbook, and it is awesome! People took turns and wrote in it. Sooo nice! People said such nice things about me. Talia got me a gift: a set of note cards so I can keep in touch! It was a great day! I took many pictures, and exchanged lots of hugs. I had missed the barbecue but the time I got there, though.

I returned home and Sam was there. She hadn't gone to Sendoff because of her Senior Thesis presentation. She said their group did a better presentation than the other group... only one would "win" and get an A. And it was her group!! Yay for her! She invited me to dinner at the Little Thai House with 2 girls from her group. That was really nice.

Then, I was going out with a most random group to Armory Square! It was Chip, Chuck, Matt A., and Adam. We went to five bars, which was fun. I was mad that I am still under the weather... still, whiskey shots felt awesome on my sore throat! I didn't really drink that much but it was a good time!

I have lots to report! First thing that was exciting... On Tuesday, I was online talking to Jeffy K. who is a DJ on Z89. He was at the station at the time of IMing me, and he was about to give away a Really Cool Prize... an Iron Chef cooler containing 2 Iron Chef t-shirts, 4 Iron Chef glasses, and a magnet. Jeff told me the phone number and I wrote it down. He said if I was the fastest caller, I could win. And I did!! It was great!! It definitely made my day.

Then I had a dinner at Ruby Tuesday's with Alicia and the other members of the Relay For Life Planning Committee. Alicia announced that we are now over $48,000 in donations! Amazing! This keeps getting better and better!

Yesterday morning I met with Dave to put the final touches on our Collaboation Across Differences project. We put all of our "stolen" items in baggies and labled them. We had labled Polaroid pictures of each person in the class' house, and a candid shot of that person. We also had signatures from everyone.

After that, we had the SMOOTHEST APO elections I'd ever seen! Last time's were painful. We only got through 5 and it took HOURS, including re-votes, etc. This week we had 7 to get through and I was expecting the worst. I thought a lot of people would run. Instead, many elections were uncontested. It went so smoothly. Crazy! We had Senior Pass-The-Gavel. It was really nice, and I was so sure that I could "keep my cool" and not get teary or cry. Of course I was crying before I even got the gavel after hearing what everyone else had to say. It is really hard to look at the faces of SO MANY of my friends and say goodbye all at once. It was emotional, but very nice at the same time. I am writing cards and notes to my best pals in APO instead of saying individual things about them, because it would have taken forever!

After chapter, I went with a group to Faegan's to have dinner and a drink. That was really nice to do. Me, Kate, Adam, Katie, Devon, Courtney, Allison E., and Andrew all were there. It was a great time!

Then, I went directly to see the first Collaborative Project of the evening. It was a very cool display of three paintings in an attic setting. After that, Dave and I began our set-up in Shaffer Art Building. It took longer than we thought it would, so we were glad that we had allowed ourselves enough time to set up. The room we chose was perfect for our display, and we had a giant screen on which to project our "hidden camera" video. Dave and I dressed in all black, and stood at either end of the screen so that we could watch the class' reactions "security guard"-style. We displayed all the objects on the wall except for 3 larger ones. The objects wrapped around 3 walls (the 4th wall being the video). We had enough light so the walls were well-lit, but not so much that you couldn't see the video.

When the class came in there was such an amazing reaction. People gasped when they saw the objects on the wall. There was also a lot of laughter as people looked at their own objects and the objects of others. After they were done looking, they sat down and we invited them to speak before we made any statements. The discussion lasted over an hour! They touched on all of the major points we hoped they would gain from our project (surveillance, the aesthetic of our photos, how small objects are significant, watching and being watched, etc). I was thrilled, and so was Dave.

When we joined in the discussion, it went till after 10 (we started presenting at 8:30). It was incredible. Everyone was SO into it. I got tons of complements. "I'm so glad you guys did this!" "That was amazing!" Someone said it was refreshing to see something so different. It was also described (by one of the professors) as "executed perfectly--perfect." Dave and I stayed after to discuss things with the professors until about 11:30!

AMAZING to see it all come together with such a resounding response!

Yikes! I am a senior... I am not supposed to be working this hard! (Ah, just kidding... I never wanted it to be an "easy" semester!)

I have so much work to do. On the 30th, my Collaboration Across Differences project is due. I have 2 more tests, an exam, and a final proect (the Japanese influence on Frank Lloyd Wright) for Historic Backgrounds in Design. I have a presentation due this Thursday on the book and the musical, "Flower Drum Song," as well as a final exam sometime in the near future. I also have a final paper on the film "The Misfits" for Art in America. Egads!

On top of that, I am applying to 3 more internships, at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and the Guggenheim Museum. Plus, I have APO Initiations this coming Saturday, AND APO Elections on Sunday! Insanity!

Ah well. Soon enough, I will be DONE with all the work! And then, FUN! (Hopefully...!)

Wooooo! For the first time in my four years of college, I was able to come home for Easter. It was so great, I even got to dye eggs! I had a lot of fun with my parents. On Easter Sunday, Aunt Linda and T.J. came to visit, which was great. I won't be seeing T.J. for a while since he'll be interning in Georgia for a while. It was my last chance to see him!

I gave the dog a bath and everything. I went to the Easter Vigil mass on Saturday night... all two hours of it! I am excited to graduate and be at home for good! But there is also a part of me that does not want to leave! (This is the part of me who loves my friends and wants to remain close to them for EVER.) Unfortunately, I know this is not going to be the case.

Ah, well. Things are crazy... I have a whole lot of end-of-semester work to do! I thought as a senior, I would be "taking it easy." Oh well! I am doing the opposite! I have so much work and so little time. I even missed a late-night trip to Doc's Little Gem Diner... because I was out late working on a project! Insanity. On May 6, I *should* be able to relax.

After Relay I slept for several hours... after that, I contacted Jordyn about the Rochester fellowship/Krispy Kreme donut sale. APO was going to Rochester Saturday night, to go see drag queens at Muther's and then to sleep over at Alison R's... then to get up at the CRACK of dawn to pick up 900 dozen donuts at Krispy Kreme. After that we'd head back to Syracuse and sell the donuts. That was the plan.

I had called Jessica, who goes to school at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. I wanted very badly to meet up with her at some point, so I invited her to come to Muther's with us. As a result, Jess invited me to stay with her overnight. I accepted, excitedly!! We decided, logistically, it was hard for me to get from Jess' place to meet with the other people for the donut sale. Alison said it wasn't entirely necessary for me to come, so I decided to stay and have a visit with Jess. It turned out to be so much fun for both of us!

The next morning, Jess got up early for a rehearsal, then returned to the apartment to pick me up. We went to church, so I could see her play a gig there. She was awesome! She even had a beautiful solo! I was so proud!After that, we changed into jeans and headed out to eat lunch.

We went to Charlie's Frog Pond, which was an awesome little restaurant. I had the most amazing breakfast there, Sauteed Banana Pancakes. The atmosphere was so colorful and fun! Someday maybe I'll go again. I loved Rochester's overall atmosphere.

I stopped at an Eckerd to get One Hour Photo Developing of one roll of Relay pictures. Then we walked around to some cool stores and shopped a bit. After that I picked up the photos... there are some AMAZING ones of my sweet little "Miss Relay" drag queen, Rick ("Electra")! So handsome before, so beautiful afterwards!

We tool a ride over to the Mt. Hope Cemetary so I could take a photo of Frederick Douglass' grave for Jordyn. It was an extra credit assignment. I saved her a lot of trouble by doing it. Plus I felt I had at least helped her out in return for her ride to Rochester. It was the most BEAUTIFUL day... sunny, blue sky, perfect temperature for walking around. I had a wonderful time with my friend. (I should mention that Jess and I have been great friends since we were both 6 years old!) Between Relay For Life and this visit with Jessica, this was a great weekend for the soul.

First of all... I can't believe it's over! Last night was the most amazing thing I've ever done. To think, it all started last October, when a woman from the American Cancer Society, Alicia Kinder, contacted APO. She was going to hold an informational meeting about starting up a Relay For Life on the S.U. campus. Gina announced the meeting at chapter, and I agreed to go with her. There were about four of us who came to the meeting, all in all.

Alicia showed us a video about Relay, and I was hooked. By the next meeting, our Relay planning committee had grown! People signed up to do different tasks. I wanted to do Team Recruitment. At that time, we set a goal for ourselves. We hoped to have 30 teams, and raise $30,000 for the American Cancer Society. It seemed to be a very far stretch.

We encountered problems along the way: the University made it very difficult to locate a space for the event, and to reserve the space, equipment, etc. There were interest meetings we held, and barely anyone came to them. There were committee members not pulling their weight. It was a struggle, but we were committed to the cause.

Then, after a rigorous week in which I held meetings in different residence halls every day, we had a team Captain's meeting. The room we had reserved was too small to hold the amount of people who came that day. Over forty people! I knew then that this event would be a success.

Every day I watched the Syracuse University Relay webpage, as teams registered and raised money. We got closer and closer to our 30 teams-$30,000 goal. And now... my The-Night-Of commentary!

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Thursday night I spent 8 hours cutting out felt pieces, gluing them together, painting them and writing on them. It was 4 AM and I had finished my part of making the banner for our team, the Krusty Krab Kancer Krusaders. There were felt cut-out letters that I had freehanded: Krusty Krab Kancer Krusaders ... Jellyfishing for a Cure! There was also a Spongebob with a net, 4 jellyfish (labled advocacy, research, education, and service), and bubbles bearing the team members names. After sleeping for 4 or 5 hours that night, I passed the felt pieces over to Kate who glued them on our blue fabric.

Sam and I ran lots of errands, getting a tiara for the Miss Relay drag contest winner, purchasing bottled water for the participants, all kinds of last-minute things. Then we headed over to Manley Field House to set up. We spent a lot of time putting up Luminaria--they are usually candles, but since we were indoors, we used Christmas lights. They are white bags that people can purchase for $5, and each bag bears the name of a cancer survivor or someone who has passed away. We spent a lot of time cutting slits in bags, threading the lights into the bags, and taping down wires.

I ran home to change and when I returned, there were teams already setting up their campsites. Alicia and I began setting ours up. It looked cool, with a small pup tent, a Spongebob plastic tablecloth, a very small kiddie pool with water and floating toys, two chairs, and lots of pillows and sleeping bags. We had random Spongebob type things around, too. Best of all, Alicia's 4-year-old daughter, Hannah, came in a Spongebob costume as our "mascot!"

The first award to be given out was the "best banner" award. I was very excited that we won first place! Our hard work paid off.

The Luminaria Ceremony, organized by Anna and Becky, was amazing. It was so beautiful. They took all the lights down, and only the Christmas lights were glowing. All of the names were read aloud, of the survivors, then of those who passed away. Many of us, myself included, started to cry when we saw our loved ones' names lit up, or heard their names read aloud. It was so emotional, but an incredible sight to see. it closed with a ballet rendition of "Amazing Grace." So beautiful.

After that, there were bands, comedy acts, and the Miss Relay contest to liven things up. At 11:30 PM, my teammate Rick and I began getting ready for Miss Relay. He was incredible... so into it! Many people on the team contributed to his outfit. He wore a little black dress with a zebra-print miniskirt underneath, so just a little of it showed. He had Mardi Gras style beads as necklaces and bracelets, and an electric-blue wig... which lead t us giving him the name "Electra." I did his nails and his makeup, and he looked so beautiful! Plus he was a ham the whole time, such a doll. When they all lined up, I was so proud of him, he stood out from all the rest, both the way he looked and the way he acted. He made it to the final four contestants, who then participated in a dance-off. The contest was decided by applause. Rick should have won, because the crowd went WILD for him, but it was given to Chip (another APO brother) since we had JUST won the banner award... they were tring to be fair. Also Chip was awesome, he was SO funny. The competition was tight. Rick came in second. It was great to have the top two Miss Relays as APO people!

I took a nap on and off and don't know if I was actually asleep, or just glad to be not moving for a little while. Early on it was stressful because I had a lot of questions to field, people to help, etc. After a while I was able to just enjoy myself!

I entered a raffle to win a basketball signed by the whole team--our National Champions! Too bad I didn't win! I also entered to win other S.U. stuff from the bookstore. Didn't win that either. Oh well! Our team made $13.50 on-site, selling Spongebob chocolates I had made.

Towards the end I was SO tired, but we all kept going by getting really silly. Then, the awards ceremony rolled around... We had over 40 teams and raised over $43,000! Incredible! I can't believe it! Thanks to everyone who supported me throughout, when I've been stressed and crazy. This is the best thing I have ever done. Don't worry, I took lots of pictures! I will be "high" off of this excitement for quite a while!

Finally, a shout out to my team mates: Gina, Kate, Jeff, Ian, Anna, Talia, Andrew, Erica, Rick, and Bridgette... and especially Alicia--she brought Relay to our campus, joined our team above other Relays she is involved in, and became a great friend of mine. An all-around amazing individual. She has proved to me that together, we WILL find a cure for cancer! Thanks everyone!

I am up early to begin the madness that will be the Relay For Life. I will be sighing a sigh of relief at 6PM when the event begins and this pre-planning stuff is over! We have 42 teams participating, when last I heard, and we are only $400 shy of our goal of raising $30,000 for the American Cancer Society!

You may not hear from me for a while, so I'm posting this quickly now. Wish me luck!

That's right... SYRACUSE won the National Championship! GO ORANGE!

I went to the Dome wearing my BRAND NEW Syracuse t-shirt and sweatshirt! Can you believe it? It was so jam-packed full, that I ended up on the third tier! I was with four friends: Stacey, Claire, Sam, and Kristin. We were screaming the whole time. The game was close, but we were winning almost the whole time! But then, towards the end, things got close as Kansas caught up with us. Very scary. Stacey and I were experiencing major stress as a result of the game's final 3 minutes!

After that, CHAOS! We rode around honking the horn, waving orange signs, and cheering at any passers by. We parked and walked over to Marshall Street to experience it first hand. It was literally just like Bourbon Street in New Orleans! Wild partying, people riding on other people's shoulders, kids up high swaying in spindly trees, things getting set on fire, fireworks going off... you name it! After we had our fill of Marshall Street, we went to Doc's for a calmer celebration of diner breakfast food. (Mmm!)

I am so excited, still! I'll go over to the Dome on Thursday to see the parade/party for the basketball team, upon their return home to Syracuse! GO ORANGE! What an awesome way to cap off my Senior Year!

Last night, I went to the Dome to see the basketball game on giant TV screens. I went with Sam and her friend Kristin. We met up wioth some other friends, Andrew, Linda, and Jess... so we ended up all sitting together. We played against Texas, and we WON!!! Now we are going on to the Championships anainst Kansas! Keep your fingers crossed for Syracuse!!

After the game, I rode around with Sam and Kristin, honking the horn at any and all Syracuse fans, waving our "Let's go Orange" signs and yelling. It was a roddy scene, and just beginning to snow. Still, I saw a number of shirtless boys celebrating. It was WILD! I have never felt so much school spirit!

Today, Sam and I went to buy some S.U. paraphenalia, including Final Four t-shirts and a new sweatshirt for me! It is so cute, it is super-feminine. The sweatshirt is a lavender color, and there are sewn-on "SYRACUSE" letters which are pink. I think I will wear it tomorrow. Fun!

GO ORANGE!

Wow, I sure have been lazy with my LiveJournal these days... Let me attempt to fill stuff in.

Syracuse made it to the Final Four! Wooo! So cool! The game is down in New Orleans, but for $3, you could see it on hue TVs in the Carrier Dome. Sam and I went with her friend Kristin. While we were there we ran into Andrew, and we also ran into Linda and some of her friends. So we all sat together, and it was WAY fun. It was especially fun because we WON! The Championship game is on Monday. While it conflicts with a very important Relay meeting, I will go to see the rest of it after the meeting. (I won't miss too much!)

After the game, Sam and I and Kristen went riding around Marshall Street (where everyone was migrating to the bars to celebrate), honking the hon and screaming, and holding up our "Go Orange!" sign. We were quite well-received by other S.U. fans. It was WAY fun.

Also yesterday, I went with my American Orientalism class to Friderick Church's Olana. It was his home which he designed and decorated in an Oriental style. (Now it is a Historical Landmark.) He also brought back a number of pieces (furniture, china, decorations, etc.) from different Middle Eastern countries from his travels. it was very cool, but it was too bad the weather was nasty, because we stayed inside for the most part. Apparently in nice weather, it is very fun to walk around his grounds.

On Friday, we went to Alicia's place of work (the American Cancer Society office) for a Pizza Party and pre-Relay planning. It was very fun and productive. We grouped t-shirts for all of the teams that have registered, so that they can pick them up on the Monday night meeting. I have a lot, lot, lot of work to do for Relay in the upcoming days. I am SO excited, though!!

My parents are in Italy right now with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Paula. Before Italy, they spent a few days in London. My dad e-mailed me from a London Cafe. He said that they were having fun, and they rode on the huge ferris wheel, the London Eye. Very exciting! They will be home in about a week.

So I've applied to the Brooklyn Museum, it is sent out!

I have found even MORE internships while searching online. I think I will apply to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum. The MoMA sounds like it has an AWESOME program, where I could possibly be involved in Exhibit Design!

This whole internship idea is really cool to me. I think this is the way to go. It will give me a lot of time to consider and research graduate schools and stuff.

Holy excitement, Batman! I may have a future after all!!

This weekend was SO fabulous!

FRIDAY: In a feat of productivity, I went out with Jordyn to get sweatshirts for my Littles. (I have neglected to explain that "Littles" are actually my "Little Brothers" in APO. I've been a Big Brother every semester, and it is so rewarding. It is confusing because APO is a co-ed fraternity, and all my Littles are girls. Which is why I just say Littles rather than Little Brothers.) Jordyn and I drove out to Mattydale to get sweatshirts at the Champion Outlet. We also went to have a nice lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. Then we went to get decorations at Party City for the APO banquet. After all that, we dropped off our sweatshirts at Shirt World to have the Greek Letters sewn on.
Then... I hurried home to change into nice clothes, and met Stacey and Claire. We went to the dinner Sam was putting on for her Senior Thesis. It was very fun, and she did a good job!
After her dinner, I again booked it home to change my clothes. Teresa came over and we drove up to Rochester to see a Drag Show at Muther's (the bar where the Queens we saw at the S.U. show came from)! It was SO AWESOME! The place is small enough that you can meet the Drag Queens. Teresa and I had a blast! We were up front, close to the stage. They gave us a few shout-outs because we told them we drove up (1.5 hours) to see them! We met and took pictures with Aggy Dune and Pandora Boxx. (You may have seen them on the VH1 Special, "Boys Will Be Girls.") Kooki Crisp, another Queen, pretended to go down on me in a song called "Show Me Your Pu$$y." Good times all around, I will definitely be going back to that club.

SATURDAY: As soon as I was back in town, I helped Stacey put up her show in the ComArt building. She does these amazing pieces she calls Pulp Paintings. Basically, she buys fabric, turns it into pulp of all different colors, and presses it into paper. Each color in a painting is made with a different color pulp. (A drawing, beneath a piece of plexiglass, serves as a guide.) One piece was a huge tiled picture, measuring something like 8 feet by 12 feet. Amazing. The subjects are mostly children in Stacey's family.
After helping out, I came back to get ready for the APO Banquet. I wore this awesome green dress--two layers, the underneath was solid green, and looked like a slip. The top layer was a green, patterned gauze. It had tiny beads sewn on it, and a cowl neck. I got many complements. It was rainy and nasty. I curled my hair, and I was sure it was going to fall as soon as I went outside. Miraculously it stayed! The banquet was a good time! I came home late...
...and then changed and went to Doc's (Syracuse's ONLY real 24-hour Diner) with Sam, Stacey, and Claire. That was fun, too... we were in the mood to reminisce about people we knew Freshman Year. good times, good times...

SUNDAY: 10 AM I was supposed to be at the Relay For Life Yard Sale. I woke up and looked out the window to find the ground covered under a blanket of snow! I was pretty mad. We still went to the yard sale, and we made about $60, surprisingly. We would have done awesome if the weather had been nice.We had a productive team meeting... all of this was at Alicia's house. It was fun, and I got to meet her husband and daughter. Fun times!
Afterwards, Kate and I went to Wal-Mart, Michael's and Friendly's to run errands for Relay and other stuff. Then, we ran to our APO chapter meeting, and then we continued running errands. We got presents for Gina (who was sick with allergies) and Andrew (who broke his collarbone) and dropped them off to them.
Kate and I ended up stayng for a while at Andrew's apartment (we watched "The Jungle Book"! So cute! I had never seen it before!

So that was my official weekend. Hope you enjoyed it!

So I am a master procreator in the realm od all things Alpha Phi Omega. I have been a Big Brother every semester that I've been around, twice I had Twins. All girls! I was just reflecting on the coolness that is my six littles.

FALL 2001
TALIA: Talia was the first little I knew about. I had met her at a bunch of rush activities prior to Inductions. I was SO excited to have her because she was so gung-ho, I KNEW she was going to go through with pledging. Talia and I have always enjoyed each other's company, so muuch so that we were once the only two people to sign up for a mini-golf fellowship, we played each other one-on-one. (She kicked my butt!!)

YOLANDA: The day before Inductions, I got a call around midnight. "Can you take another little?" I said, "Sure!" This was Yolanda. I hadn't met her or anything. As pledging began, I discovered one of the most caring, genuine, FUN!!, amazing people I have ever met. To this day, when I see her, my response is always the same: "Yolanda! I love you!!"" and a big hug.

SPRING 2002
ALISON: I met Alison at the Ice Cream social. I discovered she and I had more in common than our first name... we lived in the same residence hall. We talked for a while, and I took a liking to her. I told the pledgemaster tha I hoped to get Alison. They came through for me. Whenever I see Alison, she always makes me laugh. There is no one better to share a Cosmo's T.H.B. (Toasted Honey Bun) with.

FALL 2002
HEATHER: I met Heather when we were both acting in "The Vagina Monologues." It was cool because she and I both sort of knew each other. We were big fans of the "secret shopper" program at Goldstein... Mmm. Heather is awesome because she is committed to making a difference--she sees a problem, and she makes change.

SPRING 2003
ERIN: Erin is one of my Twins this semester. She is awesome, and so much fun! She is pledging with her boyfriend Scott--so cute! We always talk about our boys. Erin has a quiet sweetness about her. Unlike with Talia and Yolanda, I was told I had Twins right away. As a result, I could plan accordingly. Erin's pledge book is Wonder Woman...

KRISTEN: ...and Kristen's is Catwoman! So cute! Kristen amazes me. She does so many things! She is a DJ on the radio, and she's pre-med, and she is doing APO, having a boyfriend, AND a social life! Craziness. Kristen and I always talk about our boys, too. She is so super nice, I smile whenever I see her.

...So there you have it. My littles. I hope they all know how amazing they are. If I could spread just a little bit of my APO-love to each of them, I will have succeeded. They are all very active and involved, and I will have left behind quite a legacy when I graduate. A legacy of six awesome, committed lady brothers of Phi Chapter.

So... Last night I went to 24-hour Wal-Mart with Sam... We also went to Cracker Barrel--my FAVE! After that we went to Barnes and Noble (since it is open late)... I got myself a new HOBBY! I got a Tarot Card set... it was with the bargain books (only $10!) and it comes with a book about reading Tarot Cards, the set of cards, and a piece of silk to lay the cards out on. Super cool. Now I am in the stages where I am "bonding" with the cards! I look at them, look up their meanings, and only I am supposed to touch them. For the first seven days I am supposed to sleep with them under my pillow so they can get used to their "new home." Crazy, huh?

Even crazier, I actually am doing it!!

In other news, I am applying for an AWESOME Internship at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It's from September until June. All of the paperwork (resume, letter of interest, and two letters of recommendation) is due on the 31st, so I want to mail it out on Thursday. I really hope to get this! It would SO solve my post-graduation problem... I could work at the hardware store for the summer with my dad, then do the Internship come September. In that time, I'll be able to research grad schools, or see if I really NEED grad school. In other words, it will be a year of museum experience, and time to do my homework!

Hold positive thoughts for me, friends. I really want this!!

Just because I've posted in LJ a few times today, doesn't mean I haven't been productive!
Today i completed a take-home test for my Historic Backgrounds in Design class. Then I had my meeting with Dave from 2-3:30. Then I went to the library to research Jackson Pollock and the influence Psychoanalysis had on his work. (I have an essay test on this subject on Tuesday in Art in America.)
I feel good, I feel productive! And, to reward all my hard work (well not really, but I see it that way!)... Sam is taking me to Wal-Mart AND Cracker Barrel! (Does this day get any better!?)

Which dog breed are you?

this quiz was made by Erin

...I think they mean "Golden Retriever," because that's clearly what dog it is in the picture! Yay, Madison!

Today I went to Cosmo's with Dave, to discuss our Collaboration Across Differences project... I have a really strong, positive feeling about working with him, because I think we have a lot of common ideas/opinions. We are both interested in performing - we were involved in similar (but different) activities in high school (Dave with public speaking, me with drama and theatre). We are supposed to meet today, then "sleep on it" and meet once more before class on Wednesday. Already, from our discussion today, my head is spinning with little fragments and embryonic ideas... I am eager to let them steep and to share them with Dave on Monday. Dave's primary interest/media is film, and I am willing to use anything at this point, I'm staying open to everything. I am excited about possibly working on a film, though, as it reminds me of my days in high school, making films with Doris!

I don't know why, but I'm really excited about this project, although it's barely even begun! I think maybe a little of me really misses all the studios I used to take before my change of majors. Either way, I'm eager to jump in, head first.

AN UNRELATED BONUS... Make sure the sound's on, and head over to http://www.homestarrunner.com and check out Strong Bad answering his e-mail. (Look under "Toons.")