Street Painting

I am packing for my upcoming trip and the break and I just found a pair splatter- painted sweat pants and I just realized that I got them Homecoming Week at street painting. As Diversity Vice President of the student body, my council and I decided to paint our logo along with the rest of the clubs on campus. Because we have so many organizations painting at the same time, the entire street is blocked off at nine and hundreds of students come out and get a little paint on them as they paint their hearts away to with best Homecoming logo. There was food, loud music, a dance going on at the same time across the street and tons of Aggies showing off their school spirit and club pride. The Native American Student Council won this year; the theme was “here there and everywhere,” and they painted a beautiful feather fluttering around campus. My council had a little extra hand as the painting got out of hand and we began a paint fight!

Talent Show After Show

I live on campus, there are always activities going on, for example I just came across some fantastic pictures of Chase, some of our friends and I lip-syncing at a talent show that we hosted not too long ago. The talent show was for everyone Living Learning Community. We called it LLC’s Got Talent! Our top winners included a guitar and singing piece, a trumpet, and my favorite was a Scottish dance. Chase and I waited until everyone left to sing our hearts out! Ken, the sound technician was laughing at us from the light booth without us knowing because we were singing to Disney’s “A whole new world.” Hey Ken, it’s the only song we both knew!

Krista's Helicopter Ride

Okay so it really wasn’t off the ground but I did it! I rode in a helicopter. Sure was on the back of a truck during the homecoming parade but it was still pretty exhilarating! I and other ASUSU officers rode on Student government float for the Homecoming parade this September. It was so fun because we got both sides of the street to out compete each other in a Utah State cheer. One side of the street would yell UTAH! As loud as they could and the other side would yell twice as loud STATE! We kept this up for about three quarters of the parade but by the time we were done with the parade my voice was gone. What I love about this place is that it’s not just the college that has aggie spirit, the whole town turns out to our events and the parade had so many people with aggie gear that it looked like a sea of blue.

Cram and Flush

It’s approximately three thirty on this fine snowy morning. I am currently finishing up the last of my papers due for the week so I can focus on studying for Global Issues and Latin American politics and government and get ready to go to Egypt. Yes! I leave Friday and I am super excited to get this finals week over so I can sleep on the entire fifteen hour plane ride.

You have to love the college life: no sleep, poor diet, and stress that will make your hair fall out! Haha, okay that’s my case right now but it’s not the same for everyone. One piece of advice, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Things come up very unexpectedly and it’s better to be ready than scrambling at the last minute. For now I am using what someone told me today is the “cram and flush” method way of studying (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BUT AT THIS POINT IT’S URGENTLY NEEDED). The strategy is simple, cram all the information you possibly can into your brain the night or two nights before the test and after the two hour long final with a swift “woosh” the information is gone from your brain, never to be seen again! It’s like magic, even though it will not get you a good grade. I guess I better get back to studying because this method is not effective if there is nothing in my brain to begin with. Good luck with whatever tests are coming up for you and please wish me luck because I am going to need it tomorrow!

Diwali

So I’m in the Taggart Student Center, it’s Saturday afternoon and I’m catching up on homework before the night hits so I can go hang out with my roommates. We are supposed to go to Diwali, a dinner and performance event that the Indian Student Association puts on every year. I’m always ready to try new food and I hear from my friends in catering that this year the food is delicious! I have been watching performers all day as they practice and put the final touches on their traditional dances for tonight. The traditional Indian costumes so cool; they are colorful as they dancers twirl. I better go though, I need to study for my History of Mexican Americans mid-term on Monday if I want to do anything fun tonight.

Fun on Old Main Hill

Okay, So I was assured this isn't illegal so I decided to share what I was up to around midnight on Friday, and no it was not at the True Aggie Night like so many other students; although that would have probably been fun too, I was having a blast on the opposite side of old main- ice blocking!

Ice blocking consists of buying a block of ice from any local grocery store or gas station, folding an old towel on top of it, and then sitting on it and holding on for dear life. For those poor souls who have never been ice blocking is, don't worry, I had never gone until last week. Your bum gets slightly wet, your courage level goes up, and if you have life insurance, they might up your rate but overall it's so worth it!

Week of Welcome Was Awesome!

Fall semester 2009 is well under way! I got into all the classes I wanted and I'm especially excited about my Middle Eastern Government and Politics class. This past week I helped out with the traditional Week of Welcome or WOW. Everyday there was a fun activity for students. Monday was the start of the Blood Battle, we have a competition every year against the Univeristy of Utah for the most blood donated by a student body and I think we beat them! Later that night I went to the Aggie Stampede and the Sequence Concert. It was so cool to see that everyone was cheering and in Aggie Gear to begin the year off right.

This year’s theme for the week was Get Connected so I got a cool tetras T-shirt for volunteering. Tuesday we showed a free movie in the TSC Ballroom and Wednesday there was a foam dance on the HPER Field. Thursday was one of my favorite nights, I went to help out at High Stakes Bingo where we were giving prizes from I-Pods to $400 bicycles! Friday was awesome too, the traditional 80’s dance had more people than I have ever seen.
On the downside, because I was so busy last week, I need to get caught up on homework for my 10:30 Latin American Government class. Until next time, enjoy your week!

Salsabration

USU is always buzzing with activity; I can't even count the number of times I have passed by the Taggart Student Center (TSC) ballroom or international lounge and there is a dinner, showcase, dance, or a combination of the three.
My favorite event of the fall is Salsabration-yes it's spelled right, it's like a celebration plus a bit of salsa flavor; the result us a night full of Latin culture, food, and fun. The Latino Student Union puts in a lot of effort to make this night in October one to remember. During dinner, which showcases a dish from various Latin American countries, students perform dances and other talents. This year, at the end of the night, my partner and I performed last and initiated the dance that lasted well into the night with more than a hundred people on the dance floor.

Election Party

I am a political science major, and one of my favorite things to do is having political conversations with people of various political orientations. I don’t consider myself part of any political party but I like to think that it's alright becuase I tend to see things from various perspectives. One of my favorite things on campus during the election process was the election party we had in November. People from all the parties showed up at the TSC to see the results come in. We had guitar hero, treats, ping-pong, and I loved the reactions when a new state was announced, there were cheers as well as boos regardless of the candidate who had won. I really liked this bi-partisan event; I met a couple new people that are now my really good friends.

True Aggie Nights

Yes, I am a True Aggie. I became one on Homecoming with my boyfriend as Utah State attempted to break the world record for most people kissing at one time. We were couple 496 to kiss if I remember correctly. We didn’t get on the A platform as tradition requires but I guess that will have to be for some other time before graduating. My friends and I have gone to several just to be among the crowd and make fun of our guy friends as they get rejected by a pretty girl when they ask her to become a True Aggie with them. But, it’s all in good fun; they eventually find a girl to kiss or just beg us to help out which induces the taunting once again.

Homecoming

There are a certain traditions that we have at Utah State that somewhat mimic those that we have all experienced at a high school level. One of those is Homecoming put on by the Traditions branch of ASUSU which stands for the Associated Students of Utah State University; they are like the student government. However, unlike high school, at least in my case, I didn’t care about a huge date or amazingly fancy dress. I went with my residents and roommates. We went to a nice restaurant and had a blast afterward at the dance, True Aggie Night, and at our building after as we talked, watched a movie, played pool, and ate ice cream until after three in the morning!

Resident Assistants Rock!

I am an RA and many times if you haven't lived on campus people may not know what an RA is or does. RA is short for Resident Assistant; it's an on-campus job that entails living in the residence halls along with everyone lives there while building community and enforcing the rules. It's a lot of work, sometimes I can look like I'm the bad one but other than that I love it and I absolutely love my residents. We're always doing fun crazy things; we are basically the coolest building ever! I recommend everyone to live on campus at least their freshman year. I might even be your RA! If I am your RA, please don't get paint all over like my fellas from upstairs did the night of the paint dance. Shhhh! Don't tell my boss!

In the Wee Hours of the Morning

Okay, so everyone goes to buy groceries right? Not everyone goes at two or three in the morning…unless of course you are in college. I recently had a “WILD!” time at Wal-Mart while my friends and I stocked up on the basics, chips, salsa, candy, and cereal among other things. I’m not the type to have cart races down the aisles but when you’re with friends at Wal-Mart at three in the morning it’s very tempting. I suppose we could have gone to get groceries at a decent hour but what’s the fun in that? Besides, when you’re in college and in Walmart at three in the morning, you are more likely to see people from campus anyway.

Spanish Club Trip Coming Up

Like I keep saying, there is snow on the ground, you can see winter on the red noses of students walking from class to class, and to top it off, I am not a cold-loving person. Spring break is just around the corner, I remember last year was a blast; I accompanied the Spanish Club, a service oriented club on campus, to Sonora Mexico to volunteer at an orphanage. It was one of the best, most rewarding, things I have ever done. I met some of the nicest people, both students from Utah State and children from Mexico. We volunteered for the week and for the last two days of the trip we even got to go to the beach and just hang out. Regardless of your language capability, it’s an experience you should have before graduating.

Escape to the Canyon

So it’s a nice sunny day with a touch of snow just to add some shimmer. It’s a nice day to go up to the canyon and just walk around second dam and enjoy the outdoors. That’s exactly what my friends Alana, Nori, and I did a while back. I wouldn’t recommend crossing the river though; it is freezing to the point of pain. When you come to Utah State just remember that the canyon is less than a mile away, it’s a nice escape from a stressful homework-filled day. Note: make sure you are prepared to walk in the canyon, it is not a good idea to take your best pair of heels. From here on out I keep a pair of tennis shoes in the trunk of my car for spur of the moment adventures such as this one.