Weather update!

I forgot to report on the weather!

Despite today (which was mildly brisk... sweatershirt and jeans weather), it has been so warm here. I wore shorts yesterday... in Decemeber. How can you compete with that?! And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather channel is accurate, because it said that Sunday is supposed to be almost 80 degrees!!! I love it.

One Eighth of the Way Done with Collge?!? OH DEAR!

Why hello readers!! As I began to edit my final paper for Writing, it hit me! This semester is almost over. My last day of classes is tomorrow. I cannot believe it. Some of my friends have even started taking their finals! My first semester flew by with a blink of the eye, and now I only have 7 semesters left. I have to tell you, I don't think that's enough time here! Anyway, things have finally died down since my return from Thanksgiving Break. I don't have any more lacrosse paractices or USG meetings until next semester, so I've luckily had a lot of time to focus on my studies and get those last assignments in before finals. It was a little stressful, but I breathing a little more easily now, as I just pressed print on my final paper... phew. I only have three finals: Calculus, Spanish, and Religion and Politics. I'm not too worried, because I have plenty of time to prepare. My finals are spread out, which is really nice.

In other news, this past weekend was really fun.. one of the best. On friday, I had some serious bonding sesh's with people on my floor... it was good to catch up. Then I went to take pictures of my friends before they went to their respective semi-formals. A couple of my friends were going to the Business Fraternity semi (shout out to my friends who just became brothers), and some of my friends were going to a fraternity semi. They all looked so glamorous. I put on my "mommiest" outfit and took lots of pictures like a crazed, yet proud, mom. Afterall, somebody needed to document my friends' hotness. Haha.

Then I went out to dinner with my friend Tyler and our Writing professor and her husband. We went to Fresco's, a place a couple blocks away from campus. They have pizzas, salads, sandwhiches... all delicious. We ended up talking for over two hours and, even though Tyler and I had a party to go to, we could have easily continued talking even longer. It was such a refreshing dinner. And my professor is so much fun. Afterward, I went to a sin city fraternity party. It was such a cool set-up! Right up there with Saturate as one of the coolest parties I have ever been to. They had a huge Vegas sign outside with those big spotlights. And the inside was decorated so well. All the fraternity guys were decked out in costumes. And some of the girls that were there to help out were wearing playboy bunny costumes. It was a riot. I loved it!

Then we went to another party at The Boot: Cowboy Christmas. EVERYBODY was either wearing cowboy/girl apparel, or ugly christmas sweaters and accessories. I felt totally unworthy of being there because I definitely wasn't hardcore enough. Luckily my girlfriends were in the same clueless boat as I, so it was ok! But that was soooo fun too! There was a live band and everything. They played Holiday songs and 80's/90's music.. basically all of my jams! To say the least I rocked the night away.

Saturday was glorious! I slept in until 11... I guess I really needed sleep. Then I watched Blue Crush and Notting Hill on TV. What classics?! Then I just hung out with my friends until an early bird special Bruff dinner around 4:30. Then I went back to my room, napped, and woke up in time to watch Sex and the City with the girls and order Dough Bowl Pizza. I was way too tired to go out by this point, so I ended up going to bed a little after 12. It was the most relaxing, non-stressful day I have had in weeks. It was incredibly needed. Unfortunately it left me with oodles of work on Sunday, but it was worth it.

I'll keep y'all posted about finals!

Happy Holidays.

And thanks, Mom, for all of the awesome decorations for the room... Katherine and I are looking festive as well!

Reporting to you live from the Jerz

Thanksgivnig break has finally arrived... and after 3 months of being away from home, and about 4 days of being away from school, I'm already missing Tulane!! Especially the warmer weather... IT'S SO COLD HERE!! Still, it's really nice to be with family and old friends. It's been soooo hectic since I returned from NOLA. I landed around 12:30 Monday night. My mom and I had one of those cliche movie embraces at baggage claim (very emotional for about 5 seconds) and then we came home and stayed up talking in my kitchen until 3 a.m. I guess you could say it was nice to reunite!! It didn't feel weird coming home at all. I thought I was going to feel so foreign in my own home, but it was just like coming back from vacation. I took my suitcase upstairs and crawled into my cozy bed! The next day my twin came home. Now THAT was emotional. I have not seen my twin since I left for NOLA, so seeing her was quite a treat. On Wednesday I got to see all of my friends from highschool at the 2nd Annual Mountain Lakes High School Graduate and Senior Luncheon. It was so fun to see everyone back in the cafeteria where we had spent so much time as seniors. There was a lot of delicious food, and I got to rep Tulane and recruit a bunch of fellow Lakers. I also got to see a bunch of my teachers, many of whom I wanted to thank for preparing me so well for Tulane.


And then yesterday was Thanksgiving. I always spend it with my family (Mere, my mom, and me in the photo on the left), and our family friends (shout out to the Kennedy's for always hosting the craziest, most delicious Thanksgiving ever!). Otherwise... there's not much else to report. I am, however, looking forward to the Kennedy's daughter's wedding on Saturday! It's gonna be a party.

In other news:

The Tulane woman's Club Lacrosse team did very well this past weekend at Emory's Play Day Tournament. I believe we only lost one or two games out of five. Our team is so much fun!! We had to drive to Emory, which is about 7 hours, but the girls made the ride go by so quickly. And we met some pretty cool teams once we got to Emory as well. We set up a lot of games for next semester, as well as recruited some more teams to come to the New Orleans Mardi Gras tournament. I'm really psyched for that. But for any of you guys interested in lacrosse, Tulane has an awesome club program. Our mens and womens teams practice and travel year round. The good news, though, is that the commitment is what you make of it. We just want as many people to come out and play as possible.

That's it for now! But I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Officially Saturated

This past weekend was so much fun!! For the very first time since August, I saw a fellow Laker (person from Mountain Lakes)! And, even better... I saw her in NOLA!! She is one of a handful of prospective students from my area who came to check out Tulane. Ali came into town on Wednesday... and it was so exciting when she finally called me and said she was on campus, and in awe of it! Her enthusiasm resonated through the phone and, hearing her, I felt like I was a prospective student again, curious and enticed by the unknown. I remember that my first steps onto campus were ones of possibility, were steps into a world of what could be, or rather, what should absolutely be. I think so many prospectives get that same feeling when they first see the campus. The next day was a little crazy. Ali and her dad went to the French Quarter. I went to my classes, worked out, gave a tour, and then finally met up with my Laker Prospie and her dad! We walked around campus for awhile and then they took me out to dinner. I, of course, recommened Jacques-Imos (see ealier post for restaurant detail). On friday I invited Ali to join me for my last class... Religion and Politics. It's a pretty small discussion based class... so I think she got a really good feel for a normal class at Tulane.

After class we went back to Monroe (my residence hall), where Ali got to meet a lot of my friends and other students at Tulane. She was so wrapped up in conversation with everyone that I went to go do my laundry and hair while she learned more about Tulane. We both got ready together and then we went to the Boot for her to meet more people. Everyone embrassed her so warmly! It was so nice to see her so comfortable with students. Afterward Ali came with me and my friends to Fresco's, a restaurant within walking distance from campus. We went back to the Boot afterward... and then to a couple fraternity parties. We made it an early night, though, as Tulane's Campus Preview Day started in the morning and was an all-day event. Tulane's Campus Preview Days are hosted by Green Wave Ambassadors, and are days for prospective students to learn all about the school. On CPD's, we have lunches, tours, and panels. I love, love, love mingling with all of the prospective students and parents!! It's so much fun. Everyone is really eager to learn about the school... just as the GWA's are eager to inform people about the school and NOLA.

My last tour didn't end until 5:45. I was so tired. But I had to get energized because there were two huge parties at night. The first party I went to was a party called Saturate. It is an annual fraternity party that is actually ranked nationally as one of the best college parties of the year. It was by far the most unreal event I have ever seen. As a registered party, there was a lot of security. But once I got inside, it was like a whole different world. Every single room was painted and decorated to a tee. The themes were Hook, Casino, 007, cocktail, Beerfest, Studio 54, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Willy Wonka. And all the fraternity brothers were dressed up for their assigned room. For Hook, one of the guys actually dressed up as Tinker Bell. It was hilarious!! Then we went to another fraternity party down the street. They had a huge stage with an band that played old 80's cover songs. It was so cool and I descirbed to my sister as the exact scene from Animal House when the band is playing in the basement and EVERYONE is dancing/singing to the music. That's the only way I can described the second party. It was so much fun. Not to mention that it was a gorgeous saturday night... not a cloud in the sky and the perfect temperature for a short sleeve dress... in NOVEMBER. I love Tulane!!!

Riding the Homecoming Tidal Wave...

A lot has happened at Tulane since my last post! Last saturday concluded our week long Homecoming celebration... and it was amazing. Tulane knows how to celebrate, so, unlike many other schools, Tulane doesn't just squeeze all of the excitement of Homecoming into one day... we have an entire week of events sponsered by USG and the Homecoming Tidal Wave Committee.

It all started on October 21st with a lighting ceromony and an introduction of the Homecoming Court. We also got to see step show performances (just like in Stomp the Yard). The rest of the week consisted of lots of free food and entertainment. I of course was eating it up (no pun intended)! Thursday there was a Tidal Wave Homecoming Music Festival: Hullabalooza. Groovesect, Sister Hazel, and Sugarcult each played for an hour or so... right on the LBC (Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life) Quad. It was unreal. On Friday we had a huge parade with the marching band, cheerleaders, and Homecoming Court. They all marched down McAlister Drive (it's like Tulane's Boulevard... dorms and Bruff and the LBC are all along McAlister). The Court members were throwing out Tulane Mardi Gras beads to all the students in the crowd. Then there was a pep rally and fire works. It got me so pumped for the Homecoming game the next day!

The game started at 2, but, like I said, Tulane knows how to celebrate, and students and parents and faculty and alumni started to arrive to the Superdome around 11 for the Tailgate. There were so many organizations with tents that Tulane actuaully took up two whole parking lot levels for the tailgate. Like always there was a live band (they play such good music... ie oldies, the Tulane fight song, Louisisana line dances, the Cupid's shuffle). The live music and the free food really amp everybody up for the game. So after eating some more free food... we all went into the Dome. It was such a good game! We played Memphis and were doing really well in the first half. Unfortunately, we lost by one; however, it did make for an exiciting game!! At half time the Court was presented and the queen and king were crowned. I was really excited because the President and Vice President of GWA were announced the 2007 Homecoming king and queen... yay for Green Wave Ambassadors!! So the game concluded our long week of Homecoming. It was so fun. And the gorgeous weather made it all the more enjoyable (it was 75 and sunny on saturday, after an atypical week of low 60's!).

Homecoming week was also special/so chaotic because my mom and grandma came to visit for Parent's Weekend. We had such a blast!! I hadn't seen either of them since August, so it was such a thrill to be able to reunite in my all time favorite city, New Orleans. We went to such good restaurants (Jacques-Imos, Cafe Amelie, Brennan's, LA Pizza Kitchen), and we went shopping downtown and on Magazine Street... i got some really cute clothes!! My mom and grandma also got to meet a lot of my friends! My mom even tailgated/went to the game with us. It was the perfect weekend.

Quite the Ruckus

I went to eat dinner at Bruff with my friends and then we headed over to McAlister Auditorium to hear Ann Coulter, a conservative columnist, commentator, and author. She is very controversial in her views, which is why I think so many people attened her speech tonight. I'm pretty sure there were more people there to hear Anne Coulter than there were for Lil Wayne. Ann Coulter came to speak at Tulane on behalf of the College Republicans and a couple other campus organizations. Regardless of one's political views, everyone was curious as to what she was going to say. And it's a pretty big deal to have someone as well known as Ann Coulter come to our school. I don't think she received the warmest welcome, however, as her polarizing and ultra-conservative views offended many students and community members. Nonetheless, it was quite an experience. And it was awesome to see how involved the TU students were with current issues and politics.

Long Time No Chat

I am so sorry I left y'all hanging for soooo long! I've been so bogged down with school and midterms and extra-curriculars. Luckily I have some time now to catch you up on everything that has been happening in my life and at Tulane. First of all... just a little weather forecast update: It has been raining all day long... but finally starting to clear up a little bit! I swear it wasn't just raining cats and dogs; It was raining elephants grizley bears as well. I've never seen such a downpour. The bright side to all of that is that you can wear really cute rainboots and accessorize with a cute umbrella. Sometimes it rains so hard that people don't even bother and and slosh through the rain in their flip flops and without an umbrella... subsequently becoming drenched from head to toe. It's a pretty funny sight when everyone is running to and from their classes.

Anyway... so much has been going on here. Two weeks ago I started my GWA (Green Wave Ambassadors) training. The people of GWA are the people who y'all will get to interact with the most when you come and visit. We work in admissions, give tours, and talk to y'all about how amazing Tulane really is. It's such a fun job because now not only do I get to write about Tulane, I get to show people Tulane! So I had my training two weeks ago, and since then I have been participating in Preview Days. Preview Days occur throughout the months of October and Novemeber and allow students to look at the school really early on in the college application process. It's a lot of fun and they also have some realllly good food. This past weekend I flew solo on my first campus tour. It was sooo much! I saw so many of my friends along the tour, which made it entertaining... they yelled out to the people in my group "COME TO TULANE," "ROLL GREEN WAVE," OR "LAUREN IS THE BEST TOURGUIDE EVER." It was pretty hilarious... they added some life to the tour. But I loved my group and I think that a lot of the prospective students got really excited about the idea of attening Tulane. Y'all should definitely come for a tour. The best way to get a feel for any campus is to visit.

Two weeks ago was also really exciting for me because I got to meet up with my family friend Will and go out to dinner. As much as I LOVE Bruff (the main dining hall on campus), it is nice to get out on the weekend and have a slightly more upscale experience. So my family friend, all the way from Ohio, is in the Public Health and Tropical Medicine graduate program, which has its school located in downtown New Orleans. He came uptown to pick me up and we went to a place not too far off campus: Jacques-Imos. Seriously, y'all, if you like Louisiana cuisine, this is the restaurant for you. It's a little off the beaten path... which adds so much character to it. They've always got oldies music playing... like the Beatles and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and the ambiance is chaotic, but not too loud or crowded. The food is literally TO DIE FOR! They have things like jamalaya and shrimp creole... and something really crazy on the menu: aligator cheesecake. This place is a must-go-to! Jacques-Imos is well known for the pick-up truck that sits in front of the restuantant. It has a table for two in the back of the truck... and guess who got to eat there. ME! Such a hilarious experience. Everyone in line who was waiting for a table was talking to us. A little awkward, but an unforgetable experience.

This past saturday, one of the fraternities on campus hosted "party buses" at night. Basically there were five buses that took students to a few venues throughout New Orleans. It's kind of like a big caravanning extravaganza. We started off at The Boot, where my friends and I got some food and waited for the buses. The Boot has a pizza place attached to it called the Dough Bowl. For anyone from New York or New Jersey, your pizza standards are probably pretty high. I know I miss that thin, crispy crusted New York/New Jersey pizza. But the Dough Bowl is the closest thing to it. And, let me tell you, it delicious. And the slices are HUGE. Definitely satisfies my craving. Then we (freshman, fraternity brothers, sorority sisters) hopped on the buses that lined the street and we went to the next venue, Tucker's. Tucker's was so much fun. They have a courtyard in the back that is filled with sand for a beach volleyball court. It is so cool!! And almost no one judged me when I tried to show off my skill and served the volleyball into the back of one of my teammate's heads. Ooops. I'll definitely be picked last for teams next time. Haha. Then we went to another place called the Frat House. Then the buses took us all home. It was a really fun night. And definitely nice to mix it up and go to different places, rather than the same old, same old. That is why I love New Orleans. There are always new places to go, new people to meet, new things to do!

I'll write back soon, as Ann Coulter is coming to speak on campus tonight... should be interesting.