Tips for Making the Most of Your Space!

So, it is finals week and between studying for exams, many people are packing up to go back home for the summer. While I am one of those people and I have been living on double shot espressos for about a week, I am already planning my decoration for my apartment for fall semester when I move back in. Why? Potentially a combination of lack of sleep, an over-abundance of creativity, and just wanting to have an entire summer to plan and organize where I want to keep things so I am not scrambling around midterms trying to find things that haven’t been moved for an entire half semester. What some call organized chaos is what others call a disaster area.

Are you going to be this guy?

When moving in to your new place, whether a dorm or an apartment, it is important to keep a few things in mind. It takes a lot longer to set your decorations up than it does to tear it all down at the end of the year when you have to move out (unless you are living there over the summer!) In honor of UT Tyler’s new housing option called Eagle’s Landing, I have made a list of helpful tips for redecorating your place while making the most of your space!

What Not to Do During Finals Week

So in a little less than two weeks, it will be summer time! However, the only thing keeping us from enjoying sweet, sweet summer are those dreaded final exams. With a case of spring fever and wanting to jump in the pool, how does one throw study time into the mix?

There's always a few like this in class with you, haha!

Here are some ideas of what not to do while preparing for finals week!

The Mystique of As Seen on TV Products: Can You Resist?

Ah, summer: the time of the year when the days are the long and the nights are awesome, there’s no class schedules to keep up with, and no finals to stress over. Let the Netflix binging begin! While some use the summer as a chance to take their passports and go all over the world, others use summer as a chance to unwind and have a nice “staycation”. Want to know some of the fun from having that staycation? Getting to see some of the hilarious, “how have I lived my entire life without this product” As Seen on TV commercials!!

I’ve compiled a list of some of the best As Seen on TV products that really caught my eye. Many of them are available at a Wal-Mart near you!

When in doubt, go with bacon!

-Perfect Bacon Bowl: because scrambled eggs on a plate is so passé! Cure the gustatory doldrums with a bacon bowl. Delectable bacon is the answer to all of life’s problems. Don’t know what to put with your boring, old macaroni and cheese? The answer is always bacon.

Call me Harry Potter, because this is magic!

-Moo Mixer: you will never have to struggle with having to mix chocolate milk with a spoon again. The struggle doesn’t have to be real anymore, folks! Press the trigger on the cow print handle and watch it automatically stir. No longer will you have to stir chocolate milk like a muggle! 

-Ice Cream Magic: so I know that the intended audience for this product is most likely small children, however I know many college students that would be super excited over this product.  with a variety of options such as chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry available, how can one’s inner child possibly be suppressed? I know mine can’t. I am planning an escapade to Sonic for a milkshake as I type this because I don’t have an Ice Cream Magic yet.

Ice cream is the most amazing thing <3

-Chillow: as anyone in Texas can attest to, it gets super extremely hot in the summer. The chillow is a pillow that you can put in the refrigerator and it will get cold! This is very handy here because it is absolutely unbearable to sleep on a hot pillow when it is hot outside and there is only so much air conditioning can do.  I’m already on my way to trying to develop a Chillow bed. I’m thinking of calling it “The Chill-ed”. Don’t take it from me! It’s as good as patented!

If I can get my hair to look like this, I will be winning. Just add pink!

-Air Curler: this looks really cool! Like honestly. The reviews said it worked pretty decently for both long and short hair. It also seems like it wouldn’t damage hair as badly as my usual morning routine of blow drying and straightening/curling it in the mornings. Instead of doing both, I’m just doing one and it would be on a lower setting! As long as one uses hairspray or mousse, the curls should hold. This one is definitely worth a try. 

 While some most As Seen on TV products are just silly and make the people in the commercials look like they are completely inept at living, there are some that are worth a closer look!

UC Celebration at Patriot Days!

On April 16, there was the UC Celebration for Patriot Days. When I saw the flyer talking about the mini food show and the caricature artist, I got ridiculously excited. Freshman year, we had an artist who would draw people’s backsides! I love the variety of events that UT Tyler brings to our campus. There was so much great energy in the UC.

#no filter #foodie

-I stood in line and got some Ciobani Greek Yogurt, along with some delicious Arizona tea. There was some really neat food, like the potato balls. Those made me so excited, but when I got up there, they were all gone. That means that they must have been absolutely delicious!

Land in a spot and get a discount? Don't mind if I do!

-One of my favorite things was the Bookstore Twister game. I saw brightly colored spots on the ground with different percentages. The point of the game was to throw the eagle and have it land on a discount spot. My aim was so great that I got a 20% discount off any item in the bookstore!

Always say yes to a free smoothie and t-shirt

-There was also a Fitness Expo, where we got a ‘passport’ with different fitness challenges like flexibility and vertical jumps. If you completed all of the fitness checks, you got a stamp in each category. I found out that when you get all the stamps from each station, you could win a free t-shirt! Also, there were free smoothies. I was completely sold. I love smoothies!

Noms for Humanity!

-Humans vs. Zombies registration is up and running! They were having a bake sale in the hallway by the One Stop Shop. With treats like cookie brownies, cheese biscuits, and brain shaped jelly cupcakes, it is clear who the favored winner is. Grab your Nerf gun and get ready to fight for humanity! 

It was so great to see so many people celebrating in one place and being excited to be patriots. Nothing brings people together like free food and loud music (: If you missed it this semester, that's okay! There will be another one next semester and it is going to be fun too!

Tips for Studying Abroad at UT Tyler!

With GATE interviews just around the corner and a new class of GATE students about to be accepted into the program, I have come to realize that my time with GATE is limited. It seems like just yesterday that I was anxiously waiting to apply for the program. I first learned about the group when I was on a tour of the campus and I almost walked into a door with one of their fliers on it. I was immediately curious. The flyer I saw was advertising the opportunity to study abroad and travel! What was this GATE program and how could I be a part of it?

My face upon reading that flyer!

GATE stands for Global Awareness Through Education and it is a two year program for freshman and sophomore students. The classes that GATE students take have a global focus, such as Music of the Americas and World Literature, just to name a couple. Through GATE, I have met some of the best people and I honestly don’t know what I would do if I hadn’t have made those friends. When we were all at the first social getting to know each other, it felt like the Brazil and Argentina trip was so far away. It felt like such a colossal undertaking to get 30 students on the same page in studying abroad! Now that the trip is almost a month away, I have no fingernails anymore because I can’t believe it is finally here.

Here are some tips to make getting ready to go on a study abroad trip less scary:

Rainy Day Fashion Tips!

While the sun seems to be out and shining for good now, given Sunday’s deluge and the unpredictability of Texas weather, it seems to be a pretty good idea to have a variety of options available for what to wear. Everybody loves a good spring cleaning, but it can be quite an unpleasant surprise when the day after taking one’s winter wardrobe into storage, the weather decides to make one last encore performance of Disney’s Frozen.

Much true, Very cliche, so relate-able

Don’t be caught off guard! Here are some fun ideas for rainy day fashion (:

March Madness at UT Tyler!

So this is the end of sweater weather! As of March 22, 2014, it will be the first of spring. With Spring Break a mere few weeks away (it starts on March 8!) and the weather warming up, I think it is safe to say that the cold weather is a thing of the past. Long live the days of rolling the windows down and cruising down the highway to your favorite jams on the radio! Okay, maybe that is just me.

Let's just take a deep breath and say it with me!

Spring Cleaning 101

The birds are chirping outside and one doesn’t have to scrape ice off of their car anymore. What kind of sorcery is this? It feels like spring is in the air! Finally, after a much awaited break from the hot and cold temperature pattern worthy of a Katy Perry song, it feels like spring is here. While for some this may mean “Brace yourself, exams are coming!” and to the others it is more like, “spring BREAK is finally here!” For me, it is a blend of the two. However, the best way to prepare oneself for the fun and excitement that is spring break (or exams…) is to get organized from spring cleaning. While that doesn't sound like a lot of fun, there’s just a certain excitement in being able to decorate your own space however you want it and know where everything is. Time to put those apple cinnamon air fresheners away and pull open your blinds because here comes the sunshine!

Use your mop as a microphone :)

Happy Single's Awareness Day! (For Real!)

You see it everywhere. The hand holding, red roses and pink carnations, ‘just girly things’ referencing The Notebook: Valentine’s Day is about as inescapable as Justin Bieber’s fate as being Lindsay Lohan’s roommate in rehab. Too soon?

You tell them, Christina!

Hypothermia, Meggings, and Flip Flops: Oh My!

So even though Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Epiphany have all passed- it is still cold outside sometimes. Now, I know I already made a post about ideas of what to wear before, but when I was sitting in my apartment and drinking my Caramel Flan Latte, I realized: when explaining the rules of a game to someone, one does not tell them what all they can do, but rather what they shouldn’t do. I mean, seriously- everyone has that memory of being in elementary school gym class and not always sitting out right away when it was time to play dodgeball. And what happened? The coach saw! Best case scenario? You could play it off as being on your way out. Worst case scenario? How about being branded a ‘cheater’ in front of the class and having that incorrigible ‘ooooooh’ sound when your classmates know someone’s about to get it.

A flashback could happen at any moment!

Horrible, awkward gym class memories aside- here is an interesting phenomenon that usually happens every year around when it is just after the winter holidays and just before spring. A few mornings ago, I was outside walking to my 8 am class and it was about 40 degrees outside when I checked my weather app. Needless to say, I was wearing boots, a coat, jeans, and a scarf. In front of me were two people (not one but TWO!) wearing short shorts, tank tops, and flip flops. They were complaining about how cold it was and all I could think of was, “Of course you are going to be cold when you don’t have any clothes on!”

To avoid looking seasonally confused, I have compiled a list of What Not to Wear:

-If there’s a risk for your lips to be turning blue, save your flip flops for another day. Why subject your toes to below freezing temperatures willingly? Blue toenails? Cute! Hypothermia? Not cute.

This captures the essence of a college student perfectly.

-If there’s frost on the car windshield, there’s your sign that you need a jacket, coat, sweater, whatever warming agent you would like to warm yourself with. There’s no shame in walking wrapped up in a blanket either.  

-Want to wear something bold and daring? Go for it. Wait! My neck is exposed! What if a winter loving vampire attacks me! That is okay. Wear a scarf and foil their attack. What scarves are also good for is keeping your neck warm and toasty. Don’t like having the ends dangling in the breeze? Wear an infinity scarf like a necklace. There are some really cool tricks on Pinterest on ways to tie them up too!

-Please, on behalf of all humanity, wear something to cover the lower half of your body. Jeans are a beautiful invention and they come in a wide variety of styles and shades. Yes, I know- tights are a “thing” and so are “meggings” (can we all just join together in a collective shudder of revulsion here?) But honestly if you want warmth, coverage, and durability (how often do jeans snag?)- jeans are the way to go?

Wear to even begin?

This cold weather isn’t going to last very long, but it is okay. Let’s make the most of this beautiful, fleeting time while it lasts!

Sweater Weather? Pssh... Texas Weather!

So what is up with this Texas weather? I know everyone is always saying that Texas weather cannot make up its mind, but honestly- we've been back to school for about a week now for spring semester. By now, people are getting settled into their classes and starting to get a hang of their schedules, class and otherwise.

However, this brings up a sad, sad day. It is almost time to say goodbye to sweater weather. Or is it? All of my classes this semester are really early in the morning and lately whenever I leave my apartment, it is cold and windy like it would normally be on a late January morning. So when I get done with class and start heading back to my apartment, it suddenly feels like spring break weather! It goes from being a brisk, cold morning to a warm, sunny afternoon. While not exactly great for rocking tights and a sweater dress, it is absolutely perfect for riding around with the windows down with your favorite four legged (or two legged!) friend.

Texas n00bz

Happy Doodle Enrollment Services Story at UT Tyler

Sometimes a tough class just doesn't go your way. It is a lot like in the Oh the Places You’ll Go book when it discusses how sometimes you’ll fail at a certain thing. Don’t beat yourself up- you’re not a failure and it is not the end of the world. There are options. As an undergraduate, you get three grade replacements and with your graduate plan, one has two grade replacements. Whether it is a failure of getting the grade you want or getting into the class you want, it is likely we will all encounter failure of some sort in our lives. 

Some mountains are bigger than others

This is what happened to me in the chaos that was last week. Now, let’s have a pause and take a deep cleansing breath. We all survived! So, we all know the importance of checking to make sure you are enrolled in all the desired classes before the first day of school and checking Blackboard for grades, but for some reason or another, it just snuck up on me. It was awful.  Please learn from my mistake. Running around campus trying to get enrolled in a closed class two hours before the 5 o’clock drop deadline, begging for a seat in a closed class is absolutely no fun. It is stressful and chaotic and you realize all the people you need to talk to are either a) out to lunch, b) out of the office but “very interested in your call”, or c) you just missed them and they are unaccounted for.

Pingu believes in you!

Always remember: you are more than your transcript and you are more than your GPA. Remember that this is not to say don’t take your studies seriously and blow off your classes, but don’t let those numbers define your sense of self-worth.

The Broke College Student's Guide to Inexpensive Fun Over the Holidays

With holidays approaching and the end of the semester so close we can almost taste it (I imagine it tasting like bacon. Yummy bacon), everyone is making plans for what they want for Christmas or how they want to spend their break. However, this time of the year can leave a student financially drained and exhausted. So what are we students to do? While the idea of sleeping for a few days sounds totally appealing after finals, the inevitable boredom begins to set in.

Bacon is always there for you

Discreetly Terrified of Being Forever Alone: How to Make Friends Edition

 Do I have my financial aid turned in? Done! Am I moved in to my apartment? Yes! Have I learned the wonders of Tide Pods and Tide to Go? You bet, young grasshopper. I think I’ve got this whole university life thing down pat At least until lunch time comes rolling around and my stomach growls. Begrudgingly, I leave to the Met, terrified for some reason of eating alone. There’s something about being in a new place and wanting to have that companionship to make adjusting easier.

Forever Alone totally looks like a potato with arms!

This is Halloween

As you may know, Halloween is Thursday! :D This is the day I always look forward to because I love costumes and dressing up, but as you probably know- class work  invariably gets the fun fall spirit a little dampened. This year, I was determined to work ahead of schedule to not let this happen so I could preview my cosplay at the Halloween parties before going to A Kon so I could have time to revamp it and improve it. 

"You better work."

Fun Fall Drinks From Across the Pond

One of my favorite things to do is get some friends together and try drinks that are different from our own. Sometimes these quests work out great and other times not so much, but they make for great adventures and for great stories! This is what happened when we went to Asia World Market in scenic Plano, Texas:

Caution: May cause salivation and happiness

Yeo’s White Gourd Drink- country of origin: Malaysia. So my little brother and I like to dare each other to try new things and this happened to be my particular dare. When I first popped the tab, I was terrified that it was going to taste disgusting, but a dare is a dare.  I mean, honestly: white gourd drink? Does that even sound appetizing? When I took the first sip of the drink, I was amazed. It was absolutely DELIGHTFUL. It tasted like hazelnut coffee without that first cautious sip! 

Ooooh, the colors!

Ramune- country of origin: Japan. So I tried original at first, and let me tell you- it made a believer out of me. I was a skeptic because I heard that a marble floated around inside of the drink to prevent against the consumer drinking too fast and causing indigestion. How thoughtful! The original tasted like a less carbonated version of Mountain Dew, and it didn’t set my teeth on edge. It was delicious and a subdued sweet instead of burning all the way down like most lemon lime sodas. I highly recommend this for people who love soda, but want to stay away from that stinging carbonation feeling. 

May cause: warm fuzzy feelings and Flintstones music

Chiao Kuo Papaya Milk Drink- country of origin: Taiwan.This one totally knocked my socks off! When I first saw it, I was expecting it to taste like your average, run of the mill milk tea. Oh no. This was so much more. The second I opened the tab on this one I knew I was in for a treat. I tried it chilled and it tasted exactly like Fruity Pebbles. This drink is delicious Fruity Pebbles in a can, with no soggy cereal to suffer through or dirty dishes to have to deal with, ladies and gentlemen; I have found the Holy Grail of breakfast drinks. The flavor is nostalgic and sweet, but not overbearingly so to where you feel like you are drinking a soda. It lacks the aftertaste and thickness of milk. 

Tempted by the Temptations of the Muses!

Oh my goodness. Tickets went on sale October 14 for The Ahn Trio and Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, and they will here at The University of Texas at Tyler in a little over a month. I am so excited right now I can barely breathe. I think I made little squeaky duck sounds for a few minutes. I can always blame it on Mr. Quackers, the rubber duck assistant that was on my desk since before I started working here. He is my friend now and we are going for soft tacos later. Maybe I will take him to go see the recital with me! He would love it! 

Nothing solidifies a friendship like Mexican cuisine *sniffles*

Memoirs of a Hawk

Twice a year, every year, the hawks move back to their home at The University of Texas at Tyler, close to the trees over by Ornelas Hall. They build their nests high up in the trees and they can become quite testy when there are students getting a little too close for comfort to their nests. These are not the memoirs of a "victim" of a hawk attack or of your lake dwelling duck, but rather the memoirs of a hawk.

Who Runs the World?

October 11 is International Day of the Girl. I first learned about it in my political science class and on Friday I will celebrate this holiday by watching Girl Rising, a movie about the movement to educate the young women around the world. The days of education and opportunity being seen as a boy’s only territory are no more. Humanitarians are advocating and taking a stand for girls to have that chance too! Ladies, how about a round of applause?

Wicked!

Keep Calm and Patriot On

So the last two weeks have been very, very tough. I had my first microbiology exam, followed by a lab exam, with a statistics project and exam due within a week of each other, a music exam, with - last but not least- my political science exam.  It is as though my professors all consulted each other and said, “Let her take ALL the tests!” The wonders of being a nursing major indeed. 

I just know that this is what goes in those emails

The good news is that this upcoming week should be pretty smooth sailing, with only the standard, every day class quizzes. This is why it is important to stay up on your reading! Some classes will do these every day quizzes, and as long as you are staying up on your work, these are easy A points in the grade book. Here are some tips to get you through these “storm” weeks and into a “zen” week, where there’s little pressure. 

I love the little bridge!