Dinner with Sister(s)

For the most part, I'm perfectly content living alone. I don't have to mark whose milk is whose, whose leftovers are whose, or whose bananas are whose (my undergrad roommates and I used to actually mark our initials on the banana peels). I don't have to ask permission before Ian visits, or inform anyone that I need a little peace and quiet for a nap or some "me time." I can watch Breaking Amish or Jersey Shore: Season 6 (guilty pleasure) without worrying that someone somewhere is huffing about not getting to watch her show that's on at the same time. I have all the personal space and the freedom in the world! But, I digress.

 

I have several very close friends in my graduate program, but it's not the same as having the constant companionship or physical closeness as a roommate. One of my closest friends, Kristin, lives with her boyfriend, Travis, just a mile or so down the road. Another close friend, Jennifer, has a roommate of her own. It's super convenient being able to visit with my girls who live so close.

Now, I have even more exciting visits to plan. One of my sorority sisters, Rachel, is now in the same program as I at the same college!

We set up a date earlier in the week to go out to dinner Friday night or to have a few beers on someone's porch to soak up this gorgeous weather. We left things pretty loose, so I was thrilled when she texted Friday morning, asking whether I'd be interested in having dinner in at her place with another of our ADPi sisters, Ashley. I was like, duhh! Mini ADPi reunion! As it turned out, Ashley got off work later than she planned and wasn't able to make it, but I rejoiced that she'll be living with Rachel come February.

 

I was also overly excited because I volunteered to bring the salad, which gave me an opportunity to use the wooden salad bowl set my mom got me last Christmas!

Home decor and kitchenware really shouldn't be as thrilling as they are to me, but hey, I own it. [Secretly, I think Ian also owns my love for "cute" kitchen and home furnishing items because it's less he'll need to worry about when we someday share a home.]

Being the scatterbrain that I am, I forgot the salad dressings I had promised to bring, and Rachel didn't have any. Sooo, we were saladless. No matter; she prepared a delicious on-the-spot sauteed garlic chicken dish and stir-fried garden veggies for us! I even told her how pleasantly surprised I was that we had agreed on a health-conscious dinner choice.

One of my favorite things about the seasons changing is the extended time I can spend on the porch or meandering outside, admiring the leaves changing and absorbing the cooler temps. So that's exactly what we did... for five hours. It's so funny to me how no matter where the conversation takes us, we always end up back at sorority stuff or Longwood. Hey, home is home.

P.S. What were you up to this weekend? I spent Saturday cheering on the Hampden-Sydney Tigers, who unfortunately lost in the last 4 minutes, 21-24, to the Huntingdon Hawks of Alabama. We'll get 'em next time!

A Little Bit Like Forrest

In sixth grade, I was required to Run The Mile for the first time in my life. I remember being absolutely flabbergasted when Mr. Cifarelli announced that I had completed those four GD laps in 8:08. It had felt like an eternity, and yet I don't remember the run being particularly difficult. Just wait, A.K. It gets worse.

 

At my high school, gym class was only required through 10th grade in order to incorporate Driver's Ed., as well as one last attempt at Family Life. I took Advanced P.E. in 11th and 12th grades for a bit of "exercise." I'm going to use that term loosely, because it was mostly my mouth that got exercise. Even then, we were still required to Run The Mile.

 

During the spring of my junior year, my friend Tiffany and I were positively dreading the mile. She smoked like a chimney, and I wasn't in any kind of shape for "distance" running. We agreed to run the straights and walk the curves of the gravel track outlining the football field. We began at the same pace, but Tiffany took off and I was left in her dust. I think I finished in under 15 minutes, but there were only 2 people finishing behind me. My classmates had been standing around for some time, wondering what was next on the agenda. Big whoop, Troy. I pretty much decided then and there that running was NOT for me.

 

At Longwood, undergrads are required to take one Physical Education course. I picked one my first semester (to get it out of the way) called Basic Activities or some crap. We dabbled in tennis, dodgeball, military drills... whatever whimsical notion crossed my teacher's warped mind. We didn't do much running, so I was off the hook again.

 

When I moved into an apartment for my junior and senior years, I decided--after a few months of prodding encouragement by one of my roommates and a gnawing sense of guilt--to check out the fitness facility the complex offered.

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Small is definitely not an understatement, but it basically suited my purposes. I could crank up Saved By the Bell, crank out a few miles power-walking, and examine the weight machines without feeling scrutinized. I did what I thought was running, but I found out how ill-prepared I was for my sorority's annual Miles 4 Smiles 5k event that my dad "ran" with me during the spring of my senior year. I doubt I even jogged half of the damn thing. I was also foolishly allowing my brain to believe that my body was losing weight and that I was taking care of myself... between bites of thin-crust pineapple and onion Papa John's and sips of PBR.

 

Finally, when I moved into my current apartment 13 months ago, I decided to make permanent changes in my fitness, my diet, and my lifestyle. Things have only gone uphill since! I celebrated every new distance milestone and every new pound lifted. I recorded everything meticulously, and I continually set new goals and challenges for myself. I don't know when one can consider herself "A Runner," but I do know that running is a sport that provides me freedom, pride, health, challenge, and spirit.

Maybe that's what a runner's high truly is -- "I just felt like runnin'." Everyone says I'll know it when I experience it, so maybe I'm looking for it too hard. Maybe I'll find my true runner's high when I least expect it.

 

Until then... have an excellent Thursday, blends!



P. Finn: Longwood Legend

Every day, I'm proud to consider myself a Longwood Lancer and a member of the LU Family. Today, I'm especially feeling that pride, as I learned that Longwood's 25th president, Brigadier General Pat Finnegan, is resigning after only two years due to health concerns. I only experienced one of President Finnegan's two years, but his presence on campus and his eagerness to learn about and participate in LU traditions meant the world to my classmates and me. I didn't know that my Lancer pride could grow even more, but it swelled senior year due to P. Finn's enthusiasm, spirit, and support of all things Longwood.

Even before I was a Longwood student, I was reppin' the requisite LU hoodie:

I apologize profusely for the embarrassment that is this post-high school know-it-all...

Freshman year:

Sophomore year:

I seem to be lacking in photos from '08-'09, except for a few MySpace-esque ones...

Junior year:

Nearly all of my '09-'10 photos consist of football games and tailgates. Oops!

Senior year [WARNING -- photo overload]:

And finally, graduation, starring yours truly and the man of the hour (and Joan Finnegan, a.k.a. "J. Finn"):

P. Finn, the Longwood and Farmville communities will surely miss you. You have done wonderful things for the school and community, and the atmosphere surrounding both are forever changed due to your zest and passion.

Some of the greatest memories of my life I made at Longwood University. I could easily write pages about my memories and my incredible experiences, but this post has been long enough. Plus, among all these pictures, they've spoken more than just a thousand words.

Lastly, happy Founders' Day to my beautiful Alpha Delta Pi sisters! One hundred sixty-one years ago, six courageous and unique young women created the first sorority in the world. First, finest, forever, ladies ;)

Endless Summer

This weekend has been pretty different from my usual exploits at Hampden-Sydney. Oh, well, with the exception of my token hangover.

I arrived Friday at 3:45 and hung out with Ian and a steady stream of visitors until Caroline arrived. After running a few errands and grabbing T-Bell for dinner, it was time for the slip-and-slide. Of course, no frattivity such as this is complete without a trip to the hospital for stitches, so that put a bit of a damper on things... for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, the slip-and-slide lubed with dish soap was a wrap, but the camaraderie of Pledge Party was just beginning.

Tom's themed attire was less "endless summer" and more "female volleyball player"

Obviously, my attire wasn't theme-oriented, as I had planned...

This is the infamous professor, Dr. Herbert J. Sipe, Jr.

I don't know about you, but I much prefer bottled beer to canned beer, even though it's twice as expensive. I tried the new Bud Light Platinum, but I was a bit disappointed with how watered down it tasted. Luckily, I had Miller Lite to balance out the flavor.

The entire night was fantastic. Tom and I went 2-0 in beer pong, some of my ADPi sisters wandered in for a bit, I caught up with old friends and new friends, I mixed and mingled all night, and it was an incredible last frat "party" for Ian and me.

This morning, I was up and at 'em at the horrendous hour of 9:00. I needed to shower, get ready, and grab a small breakfast before heading back to school for Kristin's 31 party at 1:00. I wish I'd snapped photos of the delicious libations she prepared -- mini BBQ sandwiches, fresh fruit salad, a fresh veggie tray, cupcakes, sangria, pretzel snacks, tomato and bacon pastries, homemade cookies, and more -- but I was ravenous! I had never been to a 31 party before, but I definitely enjoyed myself. I especially loved her party favors:

A well-deserved nap was on the agenda, and for two glorious hours, I did nothing else. I made myself a late dinner when I finally arose, and I'm currently enjoying a cup of decaf and a movie. Normally, I'd be lonely and bored at my apartment on a Saturday night, but I'm zapped. I decided to call it an early night, watch a little TV, and lounge around here for the evening. I'm perfectly happy with the idea of a quiet evening, sleeping in tomorrow (with no alarm), and grocery shopping and working at my leisure.

I hope your weekend has been wonderful thus far :) What have you been up to? Do you generally prefer quieter or rowdier weekend activities, or a combo?

Lip Syncing My Way Through College

Sorry I've been MIA from the blog scene this week! Things have been more than hectic between grad school, weekend scheduling with Ian, schoolwork obligations and scheduling conflicts, and stress, stress, stress!! I've also been suffering from a bit of writer's block -- the kind where I write half of a post, suddenly lose all interest in my topic, and end up with a list of drafts.

Wednesday night, I was able to blow off a lot of steam by visiting my ADPi sisters at Longwood for Greek Lip Sync Spring 2012. It's always a very adrenaline-fueled affair, and I couldn't have been more thrilled to surprise my sisters and watch them win Best Appearance! Congratulations again, ladies! :)

Who do I think I am, a turtle? Who sticks her neck out that far?

Our beautiful and strong Epsilon Chi chapter <>

Of course, all of the pictures I took brought back (laughable) memories of my own Lip Sync, so very many years ago, in the spring of 2008, while I was yet a freshman...

And also of one of my favorite Lip Syncs of all time, spring 2009 featuring the Alpha class Meant to Be 14:

As I was listening to a few seniors tell me how excited they are to graduate and be done with activities like workshops they've been through a million times, or long chapter meetings when they'd rather be doing something else, my heart and soul longed to be back at Longwood, participating in those same activities. As I listened to my close friends talk about the newest initiated class of sisters, I realized that there were about 15 unfamiliar faces in the sea of ADPis, whose names I didn't know.

I even texted Ian, "Why didn't I do that Victory Lap?"

All those times I thought to myself, I wish we didn't have a recruitment workshop, or Please let this ceremony be over soon, I would take back in a heartbeat. I realized during the last semester of my senior year at Longwood that I had lip synced my way through so much of college. I was going through the motions, but I wasn't always participating wholeheartedly. There was still so much time left for all of that! ...right?

As a lowly freshman, I only wanted to be a sophomore. As a sophomore, I knew junior year had to be greater. But as a junior, I began to dread becoming a senior. Being a senior meant preparing for graduation, and grad school, and Big Girl World. I took for granted so many nights with my incredible sisters. I skipped parties in favor of watching movies, I slept in instead of seizing the day, I ate Taco Bell in place of enjoying the dining hall atmosphere, I complained instead of relishing the rituals and ceremonies, and I missed opportunities I'll never be able to relive.

If you're still an undergrad, I implore you not to take a single moment for granted. There aren't as many as you think there are, and they'll all be used up before you even realize what's happened. Graduation day, when you're sitting on the lawn in your itchy cap and gown, I pray that your thoughts are of excitement and promise. When you've moved on with your life and accepted a job in some city, I pray that you think of your fellow Greek brothers and sisters and wonder what they're up to. When you revisit your old college campus and bring your children to run around (as my parents did with Caroline and me), I pray that your memories are of laughing until you cried, hilariously drunken nights, intensely deep late-night conversations with your roommate, stolen property from some forbidden frat house, and walking the halls of education that molded you into who you are. Yeah, I'm a pretty corny girl, but these are my memories, and I wouldn't trade a single one.

First. Finest. Forever.

<> Alpha Delta Pi <>