Monday, December 10, 2007

Finals Week!

Finals Week...Ahhhh!

It's hard to believe it's finals week already! I have my Chem final today at 1 p.m., Stats tomorrow at 8 a.m., a Latin test tomorrow at 1 p.m., a paper due for Latin Wednesday at 9 a.m., and then my Spanish final Thursday from 9-11 a.m. So I'm pretty busy all week! But it's easy to study around campus this week. There are extended hours at the library and Great Hall is transformed to an around-the-clock study environment with snacks donated by local churches. And my favorite part about finals week: Late night breakfast! Tomorrow night at 11 p.m. the faculty and staff serve a breakfast for the students in the Commons. It's free and a great study break! Plus, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so there's no way I'm turning down a second breakfast! :)
It's a stressful time, but we are rewarded with a month break...so I think it all evens out!
--Christy

Monday, December 3, 2007

A Dicken's of A Weekend!

What a wonderful weekend! I am ready to begin the last week of classes refreshed, rejoiceful and full of holiday spirit! :) Friday night my girlfriends and I went to Dicken's of a Christmas; it was my first time and I absolutely loved it! We went to an International Gift Market, looked at all the Living Windows, voted in the Gingerbread house contest, and ate lots of cookies! I can't think of a better way to spend a snowy Friday night! Saturday we got 6 more inches of snow, but I didn't mind! I stayed in all day working on my presentation for my study. Sunday was another relaxing day; I watched a little football game as I worked on homework and big snowflakes fell! I love the snow, even though I almost fell a couple times today! It's just so beautiful!

Lindsey, Jess, and me :)

--Christy

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Dicken's of a Christmas!

Ripon's 17th annual "Dicken's of a Christmas" kicks off tonight in Historic Downtown Ripon! The event began 17 years ago when a handful of community members decided to organize a Victorian-themed festival as a tribute to the stunning Victorian architecture and homes throughout Ripon and to thank the community and businesses for their support throughout the year. Over the years, it has grown and become one of Ripon's premiere festivals held every year the first weekend of December. It runs Thursday-Sunday and features Living Windows in downtown businesses on Friday evening, carriage rides through Historic Downtown Ripon, a Tour of Homes on Saturday (including the new Campus Apartments!), Dickens of a Quilt Show, an Enchanted Forest of trees sponsored and decorated by area organizations, an International Gift Market, Victorian Costume Contest, Breakfast with Santa, Gingerbread House Contest, and Victorian Dickens Photos--just to name a few!


I don't think I'll make it downtown tonight because I have a big Chemistry exam tomorrow, but I am definitely heading down for the Living Windows tomorrow night! I might even have to do a little shopping at the International Gift Market! :) Tonight I do want to try and go to the Yoga Class in Great Hall, which is led by the woman that owns Marigold Yoga, located downtown. I think it would be a relaxing and rejuvinating study break! :)

--Christy

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Monday night Jess and I went shopping and decorated our toom for Christmas! We have three strings of lights, two trees, lots of Hoho, Pine boughs, window clings, and hanging ornaments! It is very festive and full of holiday cheer! We've already invited over some of the Admission Counselors and have decided that we're hosting the Secret Santa gift exchange for our living group! :)

Our hanging ornaments and my tree!

My side!

Looking ahead...next week is the last week of classes already and what a week it will be! Monday I have a presentation for my research project, Tuesday my final Chemistry lab is due, and Wednesday I have my Spanish oral interview--to start the week out! Then the week after that is finals! I have my Chem final Monday, Statistics on Tuesday morning and Latin in the afternoon, Wednesday I have a discussion to talk about our research papers for Latin, and then my last final, Spanish, is Thursday morning from 9-11, so I'll be out of here Thursday! But there is much to do before then!

--Christy-mas :)

Monday, November 26, 2007

Back so soon?!

My Thanksgiving break was awesome!! :) Nick and I spent the long weekend at home with my family. He met my dad, my sister, and also my aunt, uncle, little cousins, and some of my friends too. I gave him a little tour of Rochester, we went to the movie "Enchanted" on Friday night with my family, Saturday we worked on homework (sad, I know) and then Saturday night we went up to the cities to the Timberwolves game and then went dancing afterward--it was a blast, but we didn't get home until 3 a.m.! So coming back to Ripon yesterday was a lot harder than usual! I was so exhausted and I had an incredible amount of homework waiting for me. :(
It's hard to believe the semester is winding down! We have two more weeks of classes, then it's finals week! I have two exams this week: a stats exam tomorrow and a chem exam on Friday. Spanish oral finals begin the end of this week as well! I am also finishing up a few long-term projects: my psychology research project, my latin paper, and my final chemistry lab, Identification of an Unknown. When I look at all the things I have to do on paper it's kind of overwhelming, but somehow I always manage to get everything done! Hopefully too much sleep won't be sacrificed in the process...

--Christy

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so excited Thanksgiving is finally here! I have class until noon today, then my dad and my sister are coming to pick up me and Nick. It's weird to think that the semester is winding down; after Thanksgiving we only have a few weeks left! I wish I could relax the entire break, but I have two exams next week, a paper to be working on, and also a research project to clean up a little. But this break is just what I need! I haven't been home since October, so this will be my second time home this semester and I can't wait! Also, Nick hasn't met my dad or my sister, so that'll be good that they can finally meet! :) And my sister can finally see my room! My sister is a freshman in high school and she also plays volleyball, so it's hard to find time to see eachother in the fall because we are both busy with our seasons. She hasn't been to Ripon all semester, so I'm excited to show her my room!
Then it's off to Minnesota for a long weekend of friends, family, and food! :) What an excellent combination!


Happy Thanksgiving to you!

--Christy

Monday, November 19, 2007

Helloooo!

Hi there! It's been a while! Things have been so busy around here lately! Let me catch you up on last week: Jay Black was HILARIOUS. I am so glad I went! Totally worth the sleep I lost doing homework after the show. Thursday was the first day of my Psychology Study, "The Effects of Time of Day on Cognitive Performance." I am looking to see if there is a difference in people's concentration in the morning versus the afternoon, so I tested 10 people over the course of Thursday and Friday, and I found that on average, people do better in the afternoon. Friday night was TOTU (Take Over The Union), sponsored by Residence Life. This year it was an Olympics theme, so everyone was dressed in togas, like famous athletes, or in athletic gear, and we played Olympic games like curling, hocky, frisbee, ring toss, and hot lava. I was there serving mocktails for SMAC. We served Steroid Manufactured Athletic Concoctions :), I thought it was cute! Friday night was also the Shack-a-Thon, where students created homes out of cardboard boxes and spent the night outside to raise money and awareness for the homeless. The rest of my weekend was pretty quiet; I worked on a lot of homework, studied for the tests that I have this week, and started research for a Latin paper due at the end of the semester. The only thing I did this weekend was homework, and I still have more to do. This time of the semester is just crazy for everyone, but we just have to get through these next three days then it's Thanksgiving! I can't wait.

--Christy

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Late nights

I love my roommate. Last night we were both exhausted; I was doing homework until midnight, but we stayed up for another hour just talking after we went to bed. Having a roommate is like having a sleepover--every night. I love it. I have never shared a room with anyone before coming to college, and now it's weird to have my own room when Jess is gone or when I go home. I don't like not having anyone to talk to or to send IM's to from six feet away, it's just not the same! :) So even if I do only get five hours of sleep I don't care because that's not what I'm going to remember. In twenty, thirty years I'm going to remember all the late nights, the laughter, and the girl talk. That's what's important. :)So even though I might look like a zombie today there are many things to do (like usual!). I have class until noon, then I work from 1-3...then I think I might go for a run or hit up the Fitness Center for awhile to get rid of some stress, and drop off my jerseys and bag down at Storzer. Tonight SMAC is bringing comedian Jay Black to the Terrace, so I really want to see him! It'll be a tight fit though...he's at 8 p.m. and I meet with my Chemistry tutor from 9-10 p.m., but I'll make it work! I can always make time to laugh! :)

Jay Black

--Christy




Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Perfect.

Today was such a great day! The weather was beautiful--53° when I went downtown this afternoon!! I wish the weather would just stay like this for the next three months! Today was a very productive day also! I designed the student planner for next year, along with my co-chair, Arielle, as one of our duties as SMAC Student Representatives. So that is a great thing to have taken care of early! If only I could do everything I need to do this far in advance! I have a few long-term papers that I need to get started on because once Thanksgiving has come and gone the rest of the semester will fly by! I think this weekend I will practically live in the library...at least they have that window seat I like so much! :)

--Christy

Monday, November 12, 2007

Another Monday...

This was easily the best weekend I could have asked for. I did nothing but relax and watch football! Friday night I went to the swim meet then watched "We are Marshall" with the girls, then Saturday I watched the Badger game while Nick and some of his roommates made breakfast. Saturday night Nick and I went out to dinner at Dos Gringos and stuffed ourselves, then went to Fred Claus, which was playing at the Campus Cinema. It was such a great movie! And it definitely put me in the mood for Christmas! Except I'm still waiting for Thanksgiving... :)



And it's days like this that I can't wait until Thanksgiving! Today was extremely busy: my first class of the day was Orgo from 8-8:50, but I had some things I had to finish up this morning, so I got up at 6:30 to do that. I am doing a psychology study on the Effects of Time of Day on Concentration, so I had to make a sign-up sheet for my participants. I am also applying to participate in the Peace Studies Maymester in Jamaica this May, so I had to write an essay telling why I wanted to be in the class. I finished up both of those things early this morning (with a little help from Nick :)) Then it was off to Orgo, then work, then recruiting Intro Psych students to sign-up for my study, then Spanish from 10-11, then Stats from 11-12, then lunch, followed by Chem lab from 1-4, then a Marketing Advisory Committee meeting from 4-5. I went to dinner at 5, then I had to run a few errands downtown. Now it's laundry and homework. Fun, right?

--Christy


Friday, November 9, 2007

Dos!

Today is a pretty relaxed day for me: I have classes until noon, then I lunch-host a volleyball recruit, then this afternoon I have to meet with a professor, work on designing the planner for next year, and stop into the Career Development office to discuss possible summer opportunities and internships. After I do all that the weekend is mine.
Tonight there's a home swim meet, the first one in five years or something ridiculous like that, so I think I might try and go to that. Then tomorrow is my two month anniversary with Nick, so we're going to DOS Gringos, a mexican reataurant downtown. I thought Dos would be appropriate for our dos meses! Can you tell I planned that? I love corny stuff like that! :) And I think after dinner we might see what's playing at the Campus Cinema and maybe catch a movie! I think campus will be pretty quiet this weekend; it's the first weekend after all the fall sports are over and a lot of people are going home. But I'm not going to mind at all! I am looking forward to a weekend of quiet and relaxation! And since my homework for Chemistry is not to get sick, I think a weekend like that is just what the doctor ordered! :)


--Christy

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Aerobics again :)

I am so excited for my second EVER aerobics class today. :) I can't believe I never went to these last year! I think it's one of the underappreciated things of Ripon College. In fact, I don't want you to miss out on any of these things while at Ripon College:

*The PRAIRIE
*Sunday morning brunch
*OMELETS
*Breakfast in General
*Sledding on Sadhoff
*Innnertube water polo
*The Mulit-cultural lounge
*Joyce to the World
*Aerobics
*Midnight Breakfast
*Springfest
*Racquetball
*Dirt Cake

That should be a good start. Once you have experienced all those things, you will be loving life at Ripon College. :)

I am loving life today. I have one class. Beautiful. And after that nothing to do. I will probably end up putting my laundry away, doing dishes, cleaning my room, then most likely taking a nap. Then aerobics. Maybe I can even talk Nick into going to aerobics... :)

--Christy

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Snow?!

It's only the second week of November and it's already starting to snow a little?! Sometimes I wonder why I stayed in the midwest. But I figure if it's going to be cold, we might as well have snow, and the 38° right now is pretty darn cold!

After work today, I am going to go downtown with Nick and look for a birthday present for my mom. There are a lot of cute little shops downtown, the only problem is a lot of them close pretty early, so we're going to go now! Then the rest of tonight will be getting my study ready for testing next week and then going to the Panel Discussion featuring President Joyce, Dean Ogle, and Josh DeWar from 8-10 p.m. The discussion is going to be held in Great Hall, but I don't know if there'll be enough room, a LOT of students are going to be there. But I think that's a good thing. We care about our campus and what goes on here.

Stay warm!

--Christy

Monday, November 5, 2007

Off-season begins

This past weekend was our conference tournament at Carroll College, where we lost in the semi-finals. Our first match of the tournament was against Beloit, who we had lost to in five games during the regular season, but improved and were able to beat them in three games: 30-15, 30-28, 30-26. After beating Beloit, we went on to play Carroll, who wanted revenge after we tarnished their 8-0 record in conference. We just couldn't keep up with Carroll, who stepped up thier game from last weekend, and ended up losing in three games: 14-30, 25-30, 27-30.

At this tournament, especially against Beloit, I think we played our best volleyball of the season. After this weekend, I am so excited for next year! We lost three seniors this year, but we have a lot of talent and a lot of experience coming back. I think we will do very well. But I am definitely going to enjoy the extra free time I have now that we don't have practice and tournaments all the time. I have two exams this week, so I will definitely use that time toward studying!

--Christy

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Last practice!

Today is our last practice of the season! It's hard to believe it's almost over; it seems like we were just playing our first conference match of the season, and now we're headed to the conference tournament tomorrow! The top six teams go to the tournament, which will be played at Carroll, since they finished number one in conference. We will open tomorrow night against Beloit at 4 p.m., which will be a very exciting game. We're after some revenge after they came to Ripon two weeks ago and beat us in five close games. But we've done a lot of things since that match, including beating the number one team in conference and giving them their first and only loss. We are fired up to go in there and show what we've got!!

After practice tonight, I am going with Jess to see "Much Ado About Nothing," one of Shakespeare's best-loved romantic comedies. I'm so glad we got tickets! The tickets are free, but you have to reserve them, and they've sold out for some of the performances already! But I've heard nothing but good things about it, so I'm really excited to see it for myself!

--Christy

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloweeeen!


What a beautiful day for my favorite holiday of the year! Today has been a good day so far...and not only because I am wearing orange and black striped tights! I had class this morning, work, and even a Spanish quiz, but I am getting a lot of things done! I have two exams coming up on Monday: Spanish and Chemistry, but I am getting a head-start on studying, so hopefully I will be able to do well on BOTH exams! :)

This is the last week of practice for a lot of the fall sports and some are already done. We have two more practices: today and tomorrow, and then Friday is the conference tournament at Carroll College down in Waukesha. Besides conference this weekend, there are also some costume parties for Halloween, so it will be really nice to get ahead on the studying. But as much as I want to get ahead on the studying, I feel that I can't sacrifice too much sleep because once I fall behind I won't be very productive at all. I just need to find a happy medium!

--Christy

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Almost Halloween!

Today is just beautiful outside! I am always in a better mood when the sun is shining, and is it ever today! I'm also in a good mood because I read ahead in Latin, so the readings I had prepared today we didn't even go over, and I also met my Chemistry tutor for the first time today. We begin meeting tonight! So that takes a lot of pressure off! :)

Today I also have a Research Design and Statistics exam, but after the review session that Dr. Hatcher held last night, I feel ready for it! ...It could have been the review session or the staying up until 1 a.m. studying... :) Either way i'm all set! I reviewed a bit more after my 10 a.m. class was finished, but I felt good about the material and was even able to squeeze in a little nap! How exciting is that?

After my exam, I have practice from 4:15-6, then tutoring from 6:45-7:45, then a SMAC meeting at 8 p.m. I think after that I can finally relax. And by relax I mean sit and study for a Spanish quiz tomorrow, do some chem problems, and the practice test for chem. What a night!

At least it's almost HaLLoWEEEEN!

--Christy

Monday, October 29, 2007

Going through the motions on a Monday...

Another Monday.
The homework and studying continues...
At least the weekend was nice. Friday night I stayed in and worked on homework. Saturday morning we left for our last conference match against Carroll College in Waukesha. Coming in, Carroll was undefeated in conference, but we took it to them and handed them their first loss! We beat them in four: 29-31, 30-21, 30-24, 30-26. My parents came to the game, so that was really nice! Now I won't see them again until Thanksgiving, which can't come soon enough! :)

But as much as I am ready for Thanksgiving break (a week after we get back from Fall Break... ;) ), I absolutely love Halloween! This weekend was the first chance to dress up. I went to a Heaven/Hell party at one of the fraternities with Emily (a volleyball player) and my roommate, Jess. It was a lot of fun; I love to just look at all the costumes! But that's not the only Halloween party I plan on going to! I plan on dressing up two more times! On Halloween, I am going to dress up as a librarian, and on Saturday I am going to dress up as a toothfairy and Nick is going to be a dentist! I can't wait! My mom and his mom are both nurses so he is going to be all decked out in scrubs, goggles, gloves, a mask, and of course carry around a pliers! It should be pretty funny!

...Almost as funny as these Halloween jokes:

Why did the vampire go to the orthodontist?
To improve his bite...

Why do vampires need mouthwash?
They have bat breath...




--Christy

Friday, October 26, 2007

TGIF! :)

Thank goodness it's Friday! But this weekend is going to be a busy one! I have an exam in Stats on Tuesday that I need to study for, and I also want to spend a little time on my project and get things finalized to run it! I need to study and make flashcards for Spanish and Chemistry, and also read some Latin. Good thing my boyfriend and the rest of the football team are out of town! I will have no excuses not to do my homework! :) And hopefully I can be very productive!

We have our last conference match of the season tomorrow against Carroll, the number one team in conference, but I hope to play well and end the season on a good note. After tomorrow it's just the Conference Tournament left, and that's next Saturday, November 3rd. I can't believe how fast the season has flown by...and the semester! We are half done already! I wish I could take time to enjoy it, but it seems I don't have hardly any spare time anymore! It'll be better once volleyball is over, I will have a lot more time to devote to my studies, but I hope to get ahead this weekend so I can cruise through next week!

--Christy

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Just what the doctor ordered!

Today couldn't have come soon enough! I only had one class and work for two hours today, but I've been busy organizing a dinner date for a bunch of friends tonight. We're going out to Roadhouse after practice for a little get-together, so I'm really looking forward to that!

Until then, I have to meet with a few professors and my advisor about scheduling for next semester. I'm not sure what I want to take! I know I want to major in psychology for sure and I'll have a minor in Latin after one more Latin or classics course; but I'm debating whether or not I want to major in Spanish or just minor, or what I want to do after college. I've thought about medical school for a long time, but I don't know if that's what I really want. In high school I tutored refugee students and I found that to be very rewarding. I know I want to have a job where I am helping people and working with people of diferent cultures and backgrounds, but I'm not sure what aspect I will focus on. Everyone says there's plenty of time to figure it out, but I'm not very patient! :)

--Christy

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Rest? What's that?

Today is SUCH a busy day for me. Class from 8-9, work 9-10, class from 10-11 and then 11-12, then I'm lunch hosting a prospective student at noon, working from 1-3 in the Admission Office, and then we depart for St. Norbert's at 4 for our 7 p.m. match in De Pere. I have zero free time until after my game and I can tell you right now that all I'm going to want to do after my game is sleep. Who am I kidding...all I want to do right now is sleep...

I think it's going to be a long day...

And I'm still trying to get over a little virus that I had last week, so sleep would probably be a good idea, but I just have no time for sleep! How sad.

But in other news...our smoothie night went well last night! We had almost 40 people show up! And Nick was there the whole time! What an AWESOME boyfriend. :)

zzzzz,
Christy

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Thinking Pink...

Tonight my Living Group, Think Pink, is hosting a movie night! We'll be watching "What Women Want" and drinking fruit smoothies! Our living group;s goal is to raise awareness about women's health issues and promote healthy living, especially at college. Here is the recipe we'll be using for our smoothies:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
1 banana
4 strawberries
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup apple juice

Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups strawberries, sliced and partially frozen
2 1/4 cups ice chips
My mouth is watering already! I am done with class for the day and my afternoon lab was cancelled, so all I'll just do a little homework, clean up my room, go to practice, then it'll be time for smoothies!! :)

--Christy

Monday, October 22, 2007

Back to Class

It was so hard to get up this morning when my alarm went off at 6:46...fall break is over, no more sleeping in until 11 and lounging around all day. :(

I spent most of my fall break on campus, along with many of the other athletes. We had a tournament at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa the first Friday-Saturday of break, then the team had off of practice Sunday and Monday. So over our days off, I went home with my boyfriend, Nick, a football player, to Germantown (north of Milwaukee, so about an hour from here), which is a lot better than driving 3 hours home to Minnesota! It was great to meet his family and enjoy some home-cooked meals! :) But we both had practice on Tuesday, so we headed back Tuesday afternoon.

From Tuesday on, we had practice everyday until our game against Beloit, which we lost in 5 heart-wrenching games, 15-30, 25-30, 33-31, 30-28, 17-19. Then Saturday I was able to go to Nick's football game at St. Norbert (the first and only game I can make it to this year!). They lost, but it was a beautiful day for the game.


The conclusion of Fall break means that the semester is half over! Hard to believe! Today we got our registration packets for next semester; it's hard to believe it's already time to start thinking about registering for classes again! I am a psychology major, with a Latin minor, and I am considering majoring in Spanish instead of just minoring...but we'll see what happens!


--Christy

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Un día más...

One more day until fall break!
...But that also means only 24 more hours to study for my Chemistry exam! :(
I think I'm going to get together with a few friends tonight to study.


Mañana también tengo un examen en español, pero pienso este examen será más facil que química. Entonces haré bueno en eso examen y estaré feliz.

Lo siento, quiero practicar mi español un poco. :)

So the plan for today is Organic Chemistry discussion 8-9, work 9-10, Latin 10-noon, then go talk to my chemistry professor and have him explain some things for the test tomorrow. I have practice at 4:15, but other than that, my day will be spent studying and finishing up my psychology research proposal.

Cuidate,
Christy

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

48 hours...

It is now officially 48 hours until Fall Break. I'm not at all excited...can you tell?

But I am going to pack so much studying into these 48 hours...I took a look at the Chemistry practice exam that was in the library, and that test is going to be TOUGH! I'm going to have to camp-out in the library with my tutor! :) But I'll surely get hungry, so it's a good thing SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) is grilling out tonight! They are selling brats in the Quads for $1 tonight from 9-midnight! What a deal! Plus my boyfriend is in SIFE...so I'll just have to eat a delicious brat! PLUS today is also Brett Favre's birthday!

Brats + Brett's B-day + my boyfriend = a winning combination! :)
--Christy

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Mid-term Madness

Mid-terms week has begun.

I am in constant shock and amazement at all the things I have to do this week and how I somehow am still managing to sleep and eat too.

Yesterday was a running start to the week: Organic Chemistry 8-8:55 a.m., work 9-10, walk a prospective student to class, Spanish 10:10-11, Research Design and Statistics 11:15-12, lunch host a prospective volleyball player, Andrea, Chemistry Lab 1-4 p.m., Volleyball Practice 4:30-5:45...then dinner and a night of studying. My boyfriend stopped over for a little while after a meeting, but this week is a busy one for him too. It's just good to take a break and see him once and a while, it makes the days go a little easier.

I have two exams this week, both on Friday, and I also have my proposal due for my Psychology Study due Friday. The exams are in Organic Chem and Spanish, but right now O-Chem is more of a foreign language than Spanish.

Today I had Latin from 8-10 a.m., Spanish from 10:10-11, a two hour break, work from 1-2, Stats lab from 2-4, then we are leaving at 5 for our game at Marion College tonight!

How I would love to stop, smell the roses and play in the leaves...but I gotta run! I need Starbucks before class...

--Christy

Friday, October 5, 2007

Lake Forest is cut off in five!

Last night we played Lake Forest College and won...improving to 9-7 overall and 4-1 in the Midwest Conference! It was a great match and I'm really proud of all of my teammates! We came out strong in the first game, winning 30-22, but then lost the second and third games 18-30 and 23-30. But we fought back in the fourth game, wimming 33-31 and took the fifth, 15-10. It was such an exciting, roller-coaster of a match! And I am SO glad we pulled it off! Today we'll just have a light practice and then we travel to Lawrence University in Appleton tomorrow!

Today is a light day of classes for me, but the beginning of a weekend heavy with homework. Next week are mid-terms, so I will be spending a great number of hours with my head in a book this weekend. But since my boyfriend and I each have a game tomorrow, tonight will be a homework party for both of us. The last thing I want to do on a Friday night is homework, but I know if I don't I won't have enough time the rest of the weekend! We might just have to take a break to go to the New Found Flavor reggae concert at 8:30. It's a benefit concert sponsored by Sigma Chi and the Blue Mountain Project to help the hurricane-devastated town of Hagley Gap, Jamaica.

My family is coming for my game tomorrow, so I will probably spend some time with them after the game. Then tomorrow night, Phi Kappi Pi (Merriman) is hosting Toga Party in the Lower Union, so I have to find/make something to wear to that! But I figure Toga Party is just embracing the Roman Culture...afterall, I am a student of Latin! :) But Toga should be fun, I wasn't able to go last year, so I'm really looking forward to it. There's a live band and everything, so it'll be awesome!

--Christy

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday, so I had to dedicate the title to him! :)

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! I swear it felt like 80 degrees outside! I didn't get to spend much time outside, but when I was in the library I sat in the window seat (my favorite spot!) and pretended I was outside! :) I actaually finished my homework before 9 o'clock and was able to get to bed early! I got EIGHT hours of sleep!!! I am just going to be bouncing off the walls today!

But that's a good thing, because we have a game tonight against Lake Forest, so we'll see if we can keep our 3-game winning streak going! Today I only have one class, Latin, from 10-noon, then it's lunch, work, a few hours for homework, and then game time!

--Christy

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Autumn is Falling Upon Us!

I think Fall is here to stay. Yesterday walking to class, the wind was blowing through the trees and the leaves were just dropping off! They are beautiful, and oh so fun to play in! :) But I'm not sure when I'll have time to play in the leaves...
Today I have classes from 8 a.m. until noon, then I am off until practice at 4:15...and by off I mean doing homework and studying like crazy! Next week are mid-terms; I have two exams and my reasearch project proposal due all next Friday, so it will be a long week. At least our game is close to home this weekend; we are at Lawrence University in Appleton, and tomorrow we play host to Lake Forest College.

--Christy

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Catch-up day

Today my Latin class from 8-10 a.m. was cancelled, so I got to sleep in this morning! I also didn't have much homework last night, so I got to bed early too! Early bedtime + sleeping in = catching up on sleep (the perfect beginning to a day!) Last night my friends and I went out to dinner to celebrate one of my friend Peter's birthday. Monday nights are "All You Can Eat Wings" at Pastimes, Downtown. So it's a pretty popular place among college boys, but it's fun because you always know someone when you go there!

After dinner, I worked on some homework and unpacked my things from the weekend while my boyfriend had his night class. When his class was over, around 9:30, we watched the Bachelor and caught a little of the Monday Night Football game.

Today I only had Spanish from 10:10-11 a.m. and then I have a Statisics lab from 2:10-4, followed by practice at 4:15. During my break between class and lab, I swung by the library to get a few last-minute journal articles for my research project and then continued unpacking and cleaning up my room...and I'm still not done! But I'll have time to finish tonight. The only committment I have tonight is a S.M.A.C. meeting at 8 p.m., the rest of the night will be spent cleaning, organizing, and doing homework!

--Christy

Monday, October 1, 2007

The 1000 Mile Weekend!

Over the past weekend I traveled by bus and by car 1000 miles! The voyage began Friday at noon when the volleyball team left Ripon for Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, some 325 miles and 6 hours away. We swept the Pioneers in three games: 30-20, 30-25, 30-18 to win our second conference match. After the game, we had dinner at the restaurant of a one of my teammate's family friends and drove 2 hours to Moline, Illinois. We spent the night there and drove to Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois for our 1 p.m. match on Saturday. The game was a quick one; we won in three games, finishing them off in only an hour: 30-15, 30-12, 30-12. My mom drove down five hours to see that match, so I that meant a lot to me! :)

I went home with my mom after the game because my family was headed to the Packer/Viking game on Sunday. We drove the 300 miles back to Rochester Saturday night, and then Sunday morning it was up to the Metrodome in Minneapolis for the game! What a great game! Brett Favre broke the record for most career touchdown passes and the Packers won! Yes, I am from Minnesota, but I am definitely a Packer fan! :)

After the game, we were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half before we could get out of the cities. We drove home to drop off my sister and my dad, packed up the rest of my things, and headed back to Ripon, 200 miles from Rochester. With the pouring rain and poor visibility, we made the trip in three and a half hours, putting me back at Ripon at almost 10 p.m., but my mom still had to drive home another three hours!

You're probably wondering when I had anytime to do homework. I did some Friday on the bus down to Grinnell, but the rest was done when I got back to campus last night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., so today is going to be even longer than usual since I'm going on only four hours of sleep! One cure: coffee!

--Christy

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Rock and Roll is Here to Stay!

Homecoming week is rolling right along...Todd Carey's concert last night was AMAZING! I bought his CD, "Watching Waiting" and also a t-shirt! My boyfriend really liked him too! He got a t-shirt too! So now we can be matching! :) After the concert I worked on some homework, I'm trying to get ahead because we're on the road to Grinnell and Knox for volleyball this weekend.

Tonight is "School of Rock," which will be playing in Bear Auditorium since it is too cold to show it outside. Since I'm gone all weekend, Damico and I are having a date night: we're going to Roadhouse (the college hotspot for pizza) and then to the movie afterwards! It should be a fun night!
"In the words of AC/DC: We roll tonight... to the guitar bite... and for those about to rock... I salute you."
--Dewey Finn, School of Rock
--Christy

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Homecoming Week for the Red Hawks!

I can't believe it is already Homecoming week! In honor of our Rock and Roll themed Homecoming, S.M.A.C. has planned many events this week! We kicked off the week on Sunday with window painting in the Commons and a brat fry at the soccer game. On Monday, dinner was a picnic on Memorial Lawn (which was delicious!). Today, musician Todd Carey will be performing at the pub at 7 p.m. Tomorrow S.M.A.C. will be showing "School of Rock" on the Union Lawn, then Friday comedian Rob Paravonian will be performing in the Terrace at 8 p.m. followed by FIREWORKS on Sadhoff! Saturday, of course, is the game at 1 p.m., but at noon is the Walk-to-the-Game, where rally towels will be given out!

I am so excited about Todd Carey tonight! I just checked out his music for the first time today and I am so glad I did! I was planning on going shopping in Oshkosh after practice tonight, but I am definitely going to go see Todd Carey tonight!!!


Check out his website: http://www.myspace.com/toddcarey

With all the awesome events going on, this week is sure to rock!

--Christy

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

T is for Tuesday and Two Tests

Hello there!
What a hectic couple of last days it has been! I don't even know where to begin! Let's see...a quick re-cap of the weekend: Friday night we had our conference opener against Monmouth College (we lost 3-1), but Saturday afternoon we had another conference game, against Illinois College (we won that one 3-0!) and afterward we had a potluck/grill-out with all of the parents! It was delicious! Sunday was a day of studying, all day. So was yesterday. Today I have two exams; I already took my Spanish one and I am off to take my Research Design and Statistics one in 15 minutes!

I have come to the conclusion that exams and projects come in cycles, so when I have one exam, chances are I will have another exam or some other big project due the same week. This is one of those weeks! But after today it should be all downhill! We don't have a volleyball game tonight, so I am able to go to the SMAC meeting at 8 p.m. and it's Homecoming Week so we'll have a lot to talk about! Other than the SMAC meeting, tonight I am going to catch up on sleep! No more 4-hours-of-sleep nights! :)

--Christy

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I love Thursdays!

Thursdays are probably my favorite day of the week! I don't have to be anywhere until 9 a.m. and what a treat that extra hour of sleep is! I only have one class on Thursdays: Latin 430, from 10-noon. Other than my one class, I also work in the morning from 9-10 a.m. and then again in the afternoon from 1-2 p.m. My only other committment is volleyball practice from 4:15-6 p.m. So I have a good hour and a half available for a nap!

Tonight is also the Equestrian Club's kick-off event: wagon rides and a BBQ at Cedar Ridge! I really want to go to that (plus my roommate, Jess, is the president and founder of the club!), so I am going to try and talk my boyfriend, Damico, into going after practice! He's usually pretty tired after football practice, but how can you turn down BBQ and a wagon ride? :) I can't wait!

But if we decide not to do the wagon ride and BBQ, there's always the Iron Chef Cooking competition! Sponsored by Residence Life, the 4th Annual Iron Chef Cooking Competition involves whipping up a tasty creation with a secret ingredient in only 30 minutes! I don't know that I could cook, but it would be interesting to see what some of the chefs come up with!

--Christy

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Avast! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Ahoy mateys! Today is September 19th, which means one thing: International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Although no professors celebrated this day, I had some fun with arrrrrrr few friends! Today I only had three classes, and was done by noon...but I had to work in the afternoon, so I wasn't able to enjoy the beautiful weather! I sure hope this weather keeps up! Although I did buy a few scarves when I went shopping on Sunday, I'm not ready to break out the winter gear quite yet!

Tonight the Greek Council is sponsoring "Making Greek Great" with Lori Hart Ebert, who will be speaking on issues concerning Greek Life and informing independents about Greek Life and some of the benefits. On campus, we have five fraternitites and three sororities, but it is important to know that you don't have to be Greek to hang out with them. As an independent, I feel very welcome by all the Greek organizations on campus and they all get along well with eachother.

At Ripon, as a first-year student, you are not able to pledge until second semester. I think this is a great thing; it gives you the opportunity to get to know people and decide if Greek life is right for you, and if so, which organization matches your personality and your beliefs. Greek is great, but so is independent life! To each his/her own! :)


...And if you decide to be a pirate, we support that too! ;)

Take arrrrrrr easy!
--Christy

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

!Un Bonito Martes!

What a beautiful day! The weather sure made it easier to get out of bed this morning! After being up late finishing homework, it was nice to wake up to a beautiful sunny day! I only had two classes today, and I'm on my way to my Stats lab soon, from 2-4 p.m. After Stats, I have a couple hours to work on homework and grab a quick dinner before heading down to Storzer for my volleyball game at 6 p.m. We play Edgewood tonight at 7 p.m., the last of our non-conference play. This weekend marks the beginning of concerence play for us.

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is making Red Hawk Nation fan t-shirts for volleyball and they're supposed to be in tonight, so I can't wait to see them! I ordered one for me, and also for my mom, dad, and sister! I think they are such a great idea and a good way to get fans! :)

So most of my evening will be taken up with my game tonight, but after thatI have some homework to do and then hopefully I can watch a movie, or even go to bed early!

Go Hawks!

--Christy

Monday, September 17, 2007

Here We Go Again...

Another weekend has ended way too fast. My mom came up Friday and Saturday for my volleyball tournament, so that was a big highlight of my weekend! We played two mathces Friday night, losing both to St. Norbert's and UW-Steven's Point. After the matches, my mom and I ran some errands: we got groceries and a few odds and ends for my room from K-Mart, picked up some pictures I had develped from Walgreen's, and then went to the Comfort Inn, where we ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut. It was a very relaxing night and it was sooo good to catch up with my mom! I hadn't seen her in a MONTH!

Saturday I had two more matches, at we lost our 10 a.m. match against UW-River Falls, but won our 2 p.m. match against Martin Luther. Our last match went to five games, so we didn't finish playing until 4:45 p.m. I was bummed I didn't get to play in the frisbee golf tournament, or see any of my boyfriend, Damico's football game, but I made him a sign before the game, so he was pretty happy about that. :) After the tournament, my mom and I went out to dinner at Big Stella's with Damico and his dad. It was fabulous! We also managed to take a few pictures by some of the Septemberfest decorations! After dinner my mom helped me unpack, and then she left for Minnesota. I took a nap, then spent the night with friends.

After brunch on Sunday (my favorite meal of the week!), Jess and I went to the Fox River Mall in Appleton to do a little shopping. The trip was definitely successful! That mall is overwhelming! We stopped at Taco Bell when we got back to Ripon around 6:15 and then Jess had to go to Youth Group while I unpacked and worked on homework. I didn't have very much homework and I was able to get to bed before midnight!! :D

Today should be a busy day, and I have a volleyball game tomorrow night, so I have to work ahead on homework for tomorrow too. I have class until noon, lab from 1-4, practice from 4:30-5:45, and I'm also on a Marketing Advisory Committee, through the office of Marketing and Publications, and we have our first meeting today, but I think I'll have to miss it due to practice. Mondays are just insane!

--Christy

Friday, September 14, 2007

Finally Friday!

What a week it has been! I am so glad today is Friday! I survived my chemistry exam and am ready to cruise into the weekend! Today and tomorrow we host the Ripon Invitational volleyball tournament, so we have matches tonight at 4 p.m. against St. Norbert College and 6 p.m. against UW-Steven's Point. I'm excited because my mom is coming over for the tournament too! Ripon is three hours from Rochester, Minnesota, where I'm from, so she is coming over tonight and then we're going to stay at the Comfort Inn tonight and then she'll come to the games tomorrow and then we're going to go to the football game together!

Thank goodness I had two exams this week and I am able to relax a little this weekend, because there is so much going on! Tonight, SMAC is sponsoring a magician, Peter Boie, but I'll have to miss that because of my tournament. But that's not all! Tomorrow Theta Chi, one of the fraternities on campus, is hosting their James Bond-themed 30th Annual Frisbee Golf tournament for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and also a Thunderball Volleyball Tournament.






Going on Downtown Ripon this weekend is Septemberfest, which will include a custom car show on Watson Street, a dog walk parade through Historic Downtown, a Brat Fry, live music by Dave Sky, Taste of Ripon, Cookie tossing, a lip-sync competition, the New Tuba Dan Band on the Square, and a World Record Breaking Twist Attempt! Ripon will attempt to break the world record for the most people doing the twist at the same time. The previous record was set in 2004 at a high school dance in Yorkshire, England, which is where our sister city, Ripon, England, is located. They had 1,692 people dance the twist for 5 minutes and we're going to break their record!

So as much as I want to relax this weekend...there is so much to do! It is sure to be a fantastic weekend though!
--Christy

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Chemistry Crunch Time!

The countdown begins...less than 24 hours until my chemistry exam, then I can finally relax! Last night I took a break from studying to go to one of the volleyball captain's apartments for rootbeer floats and poster-making, then it was back to chemistry. I attended a review session this morning at 8 a.m. and there is another study group tonight, but I think I'll miss that one due to practice. I just can't wait for this exam to be over with! Then tomorrow night, my mom is coming over for my tournament and we're staying in a hotel for the night! It will be so nice to see her and just talk, relax, watch a movie , sit in the hot tub. :)

Today I only have chemistry and latin, so I'm half-done with my classes for the day! I am done with class at noon, work from 1-2 and then I'll be a hermit for the rest of the day: studying for chem and only taking a break for volleyball practice.

--Christy

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Half-done and Half-asleep!

Wednesday is here, it's all down hill from here, right? My Spanish exam is over with and I did well on it! Now I just have the dark cloud of Organic Chemistry hanging over my head until Friday. But that's not all I have to do! I have been going, going, going, and I am so tired! Last night we had a home volleyball match against Maranatha BAptist Bible College; we won in three games, which was nice! We were supposed to have a girls' night last night and watch a chick flick, eat ice cream, and just catch up, but suprise, suprise, everyone had too much homework! But we will try again soon; with me playing volleyball and all the other girls' committments too, it's hard to find time to get everyone together to just hang out and talk. Hopefully we will have time this weekend! My roommate, Jess, and I are already planning on a shopping trip on Sunday! :)

As for today, though, I already had Chem, from 8-8:50, next I have Spanish from 10:10-11, followed by Research Design and Statistics from 11:15-12, then it's an hour (for napping!) and I work again from 1-3! Volleyball practice at 4:15, dinner, studying, and a volleyball dessert night at one of the captain's apartments! I'm excited, it will be a nice study break! And hopefully I can get to bed at a decent time, and work on this enormous sleep-debt I've accumulated this past week!

--Christy

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Week of the First Exams...

Another Monday is here...that means another week of classes, rain, and first exams. This week I have my first exam in Spanish and also in Organic Chemistry. My Spanish exam is today and O-Chem on Friday. This past weekend we didn't have volleyball at all, so I was able to get ahead in my schoolwork, which will be nice during the week. We have a volleyball game tomorrow night at home against Maranatha Baptist Bible College, so it is nice to be a little ahead!

But the weekend was pretty fun! Friday night Theta Chi hosted a thug party, full of tinfoil grills, fake tatoos, velour, and lots of ice. I got dressed up with some of my girlfriends. It was fun to go around and collect items from the boys! We got jerseys, bandnas, hats, boxers, shorts, pants--everything! We were pretty thuggish! Check it out!

Today is also a blood drive on campus, so I might have to stop by that too! Good thing I only had a fake tatoo! :)

--Christy

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Naked Roommate On the Loose!


Today is a beautiful day, and I only had one class! Granted it was two hours of Latin, but I'm done! I have volleyball practice this afternoon from 4:15-6 p.m., but some of my girlfriends are all going to Green Lake for a picnic, so hopefully I can meet up with them after practice! Then tonight SMAC presents Harlan Cohen, who will be giving advice from his best-selling college student handbook: The Naked Roommate: & 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College. I have read a little of this book...and it's pretty interesting...here is a section Harlan wishes he could have told himself before going to college, from his website: http://www.thenakedroommate.com/

Just relax.
Have fun.
Enjoy it all.
Your job is simple:
Be your personal best,
Meet lots of new people,
Make new friends,
Make smart decisions,
Possibly find a career,
Possibly find love,
And take risk after risk so you can find out what you love and what you don't love. Expect that all risks you take will not always go as planned. Some will, but not all. When it diesn't go as expected, don't go on the attack, don't give up and hide--instead, look inward, look woutward, and then move forward. If you do this, you'll leave college with more than a degree. You'll leave knokwing what it takes for you to be happy. Really, what more could you want.

I think that is great advice! And I can't wait to hear more tonight! Harlan also plays the guitar, and includes a lot of audience participation, along with a unique brand of humor, he is sure to be a hit tonight!


--Christy

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Red Hawk of the Week!

I found out on Monday that I was voted Red Hawk of the Week after my performance in last weekend's Ripon Invitational! As Red Hawk of the week, I get my name up on the Announcement Board at Storzer, and on the website, and I get a free pizza from Roadhouse! I love Roadhouse pizza...I still have left-overs sitting in my fridge from Saturday after the tournament when my dad and I went there! :) This weekend was a lot of fun, here are a few pictures a player's dad took!

Yesterday we had a game at Wisconsin Lutheran Collge, in Milwaukee. We won pretty handily in three games: 30-22, 30-15, 30-23. I finished with 1 kill, 3 aces, 5 digs, and 2 blocks. It was a pretty short night, so we stopped at Wendy's for some dinner before coming back to Ripon. I finished up some homework when we got home, and went to bed, trying to get rid of this little cold I have! We don't have a game until next Tuesday, so hopefully I'll be healthy and caught up on sleep by then! :)

--Christy

You can view the Red Hawk of the Week at: http://www.ripon.edu/athletics/redhawk_pow/2007/2007_Fall_POW.html

Monday, September 3, 2007

Happy Labor Day!

I cannot believe Labor Day has already crept up on us! And for the record, yes, we did have classes today! Crazy, I know. And what a long day it was; I am still tired and sore from the tournament this weekend. We ended up 2-2 on the weekend, beating MSOE and losing to Rockford College on Friday, and beating Clarke College and losing to St. Mary's University on Saturday. I thought we played very well for the first tournament, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us! We have another non-conference game tomorrow night at Wisconsin Lutheran College, in Milwaukee, so hopefully we can take what we learned this weekend and put it to use against WLC!

Today has been tiring so far, and tonight I'm finishing up homework for tomorrow, but also working ahead on my homework for Wednesday. We leave tomorrow afternoon at 3:45, so I will actually have to get out of my Research Design and Statistics Lab 15 minutes early, and will be busy all night, so I must labor hard tonight!

--Christy

Friday, August 31, 2007

Welcome to the Big Show!

I can't believe it's September TOMORROW! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at home bored and counting down the days until it was time to return to Ripon, now here I am finished with two weeks of classes and playing in the first volleyball tournament of the season! Today I have classes until noon, then I am going to eat lunch and run to Family Video to pick up some movies for tonight! I am having a Disney movie and back massage night with some volleyball and football players. Since we have a tournament tonight and tomorrow and the football team has their first game tomorrow, we are all just goign to stay in, watching The Little Mermaid and Aladdin and trade-off giving back massages! I am looking forward to it!!


But before Disney and backrubs, I get to play in our first tournament of the season! The Ripon Invitational is this weekend, so we play four matches spread over tonight and tomorrow. We play MSOE and Rockford College this afternoon at 4 p.m. and at 6 p.m., respectively, and then tomorrow we play Clark College at 10 a.m. and St. Mary's (MN) at 2 p.m. I'm really looking forward to tonight, I can't wait to see what we can do! For fun, the team has "Secret Spikers" a spin-off of "Secret Santas"; everyone draws a name of a teammate, and whoever you draw you have to make signs or goodie bags for...just fun little motivational things! So I have to think of what I am going to get for mine. We have to be down at Storzer Center and ready by 3 p.m., so I'll have to make something before that!

The 2007 Red Hawk Volleyball Team (I'm #3!)

Don't worry if you can't make the games, you can watch them online! Just go to http://www.midwestconference.tv and you can watch a webcast of the game! :)

--Christy