The 411 On College Orientation

Question of the Day: What brand of water do you drink? Do you think the different brands really matter all that much?

Sorry for the lateness! Orientation really wore me out and so I've just been resting the past couple of days. I can't really sum up all the puzzle pieces that make up College Orientation in just one blog post, so I'll briefly go over just a few of the highlights:

1) The first day was all about preparation for the second day (aka Registration for Classes Day).

2) It was literally session after session after session...two hours on alcohol abuse, thirty minutes on meal plans and dining services, one point five hours on campus safety. Don't get me wrong, all that stuff is important and I learned a lot, but honestly, after that fifth session of simply sitting in my seat in the Auditorium and nothing else, my legs were about to start jerking and convulsing at any second.

3) Registration for classes is probably one of the most stressful events I have ever experienced. We were under a timed schedule and only had an hour and a half to pick out all of the classes we were interested in and make a schedule that wasn't too crowded and was evenly balanced between Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Tuesdays and Thursdays and gave us enough time to study, eat, sleep, and breathe.

4) All that stressing out in #3 was 95% probably for nothing because almost all schedules that are created at College Orientation/Registration are changed after the semester begins. Apparently students drop and add classes faster than they swat flies.

5) College is nothing like high school. I mean, I knew that even before I went to Orientation, but I lived it on Monday and Tuesday. Sure, some things never change (like the relationship between male and female) ...but a lot do (like having to live in a cubicle with somebody you've never met before).

6) Sleeping in a dorm room with somebody you don't know is actually very odd. You suddenly are extremely aware and self-conscious of your daily habits and begin to realize that maybe sleeping with your stuffed monkey isn't so cool.

7) College dining halls have much better food than high school cafeterias.

8) Your keys and your ID card become your life. I was only at Orientation for two days and the one thing I did most often (most often = every five minutes) was scramble around in my bag to check that my room key and ID card were still there. It's not like your key and card have legs or anything, but after a while you get so paranoid that you make believe they do.

9) Shower shoes (or even Crocs or flip flops) are a must! The grossest thing you can encounter is several pairs of FEET strutting about on the very same floor that thousands of other students' toesies have. Um, ew?

10) The two things that people want to know about you at Orientation are: (A) Your Name and (B) Your Major.

Overall it was relatively boring and I made few friends, but I definitely learned a lot about what college will be like. And if that wasn't the whole purpose of Orientation, then I dunno what was. :)

In addition, tomorrow I will be graduating from high school!! HHHUUURRRAAAYYYY!!!!... to be honest I'm not that excited. I kind of feel like I've already graduated, probably because school itself ended quite a few weeks ago. I'm most excited about going out to eat and my graduation party on Sunday. Photos of yummy food is to come. :) Still working on that character profile, ehh that should probably get posted sometime next week.

Have a great weekend!

~TRA

The 411 On College Orientation

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Summer 2010 Has Begun! + College Orientation

Question of the Day: What's the best vacation you've ever been on? What made it so awesome?

I haven't updated recently because I've been studying my tush off for the SAT Subject Test: Math Level 2. It's been difficult since AP Exams are over and everybody has been getting ready for the summer...and I've been at school reviewing my flashcards with the volume of a Pyramid and trigonometry identities. But alas--it's over!! After studying and stressing for so long, the end of the test came as quite a shock. I came over and realized...wow, I can finally start reading Self magazine again. I can finish reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot and then begin a new novel. I can play chess again during my spare time. Yay!

It has become clear to me that waiting and anticipating an event that has yet to come seems more exciting and stimulating than when the event actually happens. This is usually because once the event happens, it is nearly over...and the magic of it all dissipates and there is one less event to look forward to.

This is how I feel about Orientation. After months of waiting for Orientation, which is where I'll get to meet my other 2014 classmates and pick out my first semester classes, tomorrow is finally the day! It's like...it's finally occured to me that all that waiting is over, as if those days literally whooshed by. And the future is literally at my doorstep. Now, after all the restless walking back and forth, it is time for me to make decisions that will affect the next four years of my life. Why is it that I am feeling frightened and small rather than liberated and enthusiastic? Half of me is genuinely excited about being able to put my feet forward towards the next journey in life, and the other half of me is rather sad because my childhood is pretty much gone and the magic of anticipation is drawing to a close.

Pardon for this rather personal entry. Wish me luck for the next two days...and I PROMISE there will be a Character Profile up when I get back! (and a Cooking post)

~TRA

Summer 2010 Has Begun! + College Orientation

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Happy Memorial Day! + Frankie's Blog Contest

Question of the Day: What are you doing to celebrate Memorial Day?

For those of you living in America, Happy Memorial Day! Big thanks to those who currently serve or have served our great country. You are our heroes. Unfortunately, I had school because we'd originally taken an extra Snow Day during the winter time, so today was our makeup day. On a brighter note, today was also a half-day, so I am home early! Yay!

A few cool facts about Memorial Day (Source: Yahoo):

• It was originally called "Decoration Day"
• It wasn't considered an official holiday until 1971
• Civil War General John Logan was the one who founded the holiday

In addition, Frankie Writes blog is having a 500 Followers Contest in which she is giving out three pretty awesome books: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green, Looking For Alaska by John Green, and Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski. Basically you just have follow her and comment her, but there are multiple ways in which you can earn brownie points! Check out her blog to see how. Good luck to all entrants. :)

Stay tuned for yet another Cooking post (broccoli and cauliflower casserole!) and a Character Profile. Have a good day!

~TRA

*The photo is a Google image.

Happy Memorial Day! + Frankie's Blog Contest

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A Fulfilled Legacy

Question of the Day: What television show character do you identify with the most and why?

Today, our high school's literary magazine was officially published and printed. 25 brand new copies, trimmed and bounded by our lovely Graphics Department chair. Don't you just love the smell and feel of freshly made books? As editor-in-chief of the publication, I've been swelling up full of pride and joy over this third issue and been reflecting now more than ever about Graduation and what sort of contributions I have made to my high school.

You see, the school's "Lit Mag" had died by the time I was a freshman; it had been at least three or four years since the last issue had been printed and nobody had desired to pick it back up. So I did. Each year since then I've been brought back Lit Mag club and have now published three issues of the new Literary Magazine. And I have to say that this year's is by far the best.

The mag is more well-known around the school now, so we got a lot more submissions than we ever have before...more than 60 ENTRIES! We also had an amazing layout designer who worked everyday in class on the magazine, and some great editors that were a part of the club. It's been a ton of work--one year's amount of effort, in fact--but it's been sooooo worth it. This magazine has been my legacy to the school. There are students who were able to use our magazine to express their feelings and emotions through creative writing and visual artwork...students who often are overlooked, students whom others would never have guessed had an artistic side. And this, knowing that I'm helping my fellow peers get their work out, is the best reward I've gotten from printing this magazine year after year.

I am very proud of the club and of myself and am so glad this was able to be accomplished, especially right before my senior year is over. A great end to a great chapter of my life.

Here is one of the poems that got published in this issue of our literary magazine:

Magnification of Ten

(c) The Red Angel

My booming piece of laughter

and crystallized teardrops

along with the fluttering wings of my heart

Are all magnified by ten.

I've been told before

That my comforting arms are like that of an angel,

That my words cut deep like a knife.

And the sad thing is they are true,

for I can see the angel and feel the knife.

My love is like no other love

My jealousy is poisoning and plastic,

And my hatred is traumatic

Emotions of my being are extraterrestrial.

Dare you touch me?

Do any of you like to write poetry?

Here's a little photo of the day.

~TRA

*The photo and poem are owned by me.

A Fulfilled Legacy

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The Return of the Cooks

Question of the Day: If you could bring just ONE food with you on a deserted island and you could only eat that food for ten days straight, what food would you pick and why?

When we were younger, my sister and I used to cook quite a lot. We'd make tons of goodies--lasagna, dessert pizza, even cakes from scratch. But since we've gotten so busy over the years, we also stopped handling the kitchen and thus our culinary adventures ceased. But now that summer is approaching, an urge to grab a mixer and a pan has taken hold of us once again.

Thus, we have started up our own cooking ritual. Starting last Saturday, my sister and I decided that from now on every weekend we would whip up something tasty for our family. Cook, bake, steam, broil...whatever floats are boat on that day. So on Saturday we had a big Cooking Kick-Off and made two dishes for dinner using recipes we found on our iPhone and Blackberry.

Without further ado...

Baked Spinach

In a nutshell, this is a quiche. We didn't even realize it until the end because the recipe just said "Baked Spinach." The ingredients besides spinach, however, included eggs, cheese, milk, flour, and also bread crums sprinkled on top. We also tossed in some mushrooms just for giggles. AKA we made a quiche. It actually turned out quite delicious, but at the very end it got accidentally burnt from sitting in the oven too long.

Overall Success: 3/5 Stars (not bad for our first time cooking in a very long while)

Broccoli with Lemon Almond Sauce

Okay, if I could name the dishes I make, this one would be called Lady Disaster. It took us about twenty minutes to blanch (peel the skin off of) and sliver the almonds. [[Quick Blanching Process: Let almonds soak in boiling water for one minute, then carefully peel skin off.]] We tossed the almonds in butter and lemon juice and poured it over cooked broccoli. It wasn't that great in my opinion. We could barely taste the lemon and it was basically just distasteful. The only good thing I have to say about Lady Disaster is that the almonds gave the broccoli and very interesting crunch.

Overall Success: 2/5

A small portion of both dishes. We created these two dishes to complement the rest of our dinner, which consisted of ribs and other meaty lovelies. I apologize for my crappy photos...I do not do a good job taking food pictures for some reason. =/

Since I happen to be talking about cooking and dinners and whatnot, I guess I'll just go ahead and tell you what I had for breakfast and lunch as well, hehe. For breakfast, I had one of Marie Callender's Pasta Al Dente selections. Chicken Piccata, of course. Delicious! For lunch, I had my own signature macaroni and cheese. =)

Macaroni and Cheese

I've had a sort of infatuation with macaroni and cheese for about nine years now. I cook my own with Velveeta cheese, a small spoonful of butter, and a drop or two of milk. It's soooo delicious, if I may say so myself. :P I've heard many different ways of cooking macaroni and cheese, including baking, cooked with eggs, etc...how do YOU do it?

I also sprinkle Mac&Cheez with garlic salt and garlic powder. Granted, it makes me stink an awful lot, but there's something about those little grains of salt and powder that make the texture of the macaroni even creamier than before. It's amazingly good! I know it sounds pretty gross, but every person who I have been able to convince to sprinkle a bit on their mac has loved it. So try it. :)

~TRA

The Return of the Cooks

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