Finals are now two weeks away

Finals start exactly two weeks from today.  Which means that I will not have a social life for two weeks.  I remember in high school, my freshman year my mom had all of us study 60 hours a week for two weeks to prepare for finals.  Those were the worst two weeks of my life each year.  Now do not get me wrong I always got A's on my finals so I stopped complaining after my freshman year, but it was hard to stay focused on the exams when that meant that school breaks were close.  I have never study so often in college so I am not exactly worried about these exams, but I am still going to study a ton.  I also suggest to everyone that they do not cram for their finals.  Cramming has been found to actually make you do worse on an exam, so just study for 60 minutes for each class each day and you will be fine.  If you do the numbers, that is 5 hours a day for seven days equals 35 hours a week, for two weeks is 70 hours of studying.  Its not that bad.... okay its bad but it will be so worth it.

Enjoy studying and leave a comment on what study habits have worked for you.

This break went by too fast!

So my Thanksgiving consisted of two thanksgiving dinners, movies, homework, shopping, and a lot of sleeping.
I got home at 10 am on Wednesday morning and got to catch up with my parents and sister.  My dad was in the kitchen making our Thanksgiving dinner as my Grandma and my family friend Nancy were coming over at 3 pm.  We had to have Thanksgiving dinner a day early since my parents were leaving for Vegas at 4 am Thursday morning.  The dinner went very well and it was my first home-cooked meal in a month. 
I got to tell my parents about my job offer from my professor and Vice Chancellor at UWM to do marketing for the university. They would just as excited as I was for how well I am doing at school.  I then celebrated by going shopping on Black Friday.  Now I do not do the whole 2 am in line thing, I go out at about 9 am and just do casual shopping.  I like this so much better than being trampled in a store.  I got to spend a lot of time with my sister, but graciously my neighbors, basically second parents, invited us to their house for dinner on Thanksgiving and tonight. 
I had a very good break, but I found out my opa, that is Dutch for grandpa, is getting worse and he doesn't have much time.  My parents are going to visit him after their flight lands, but neither my sister or I are able to see him.  I just hope that he makes it to winter break and I can go say my goodbyes then.

Sorry for the sad ending, leave a comment about your break!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your holiday is stress-free and your stomachs are full.  I will be attending my neighbor's festivities and cannot wait! I am definitely thankful for my family and the family I have created at UWM.  They make my life so blessed that I do not know how I would survive without them. 

Happy Thanksgiving again and I hope you enjoy the short break because we have finals in 3 weeks.

Thursdays in the Library with Bailey.

My friend Bailey and I always do the same thing on Thursday nights, go to the library to study.  On what typically is Thirsty Thursday, which is the start of the weekend drinking binge for most students you can find Bailey and I in the library doing homework. 

NOTE: She has no idea I am writing about her as she sits across from me working on her Spanish homework.

Now normally we go to the second or third floor because it is a ghost town, but tonight we chose to sit in the booths on the first floor.  We started this traditional about a month into school since we are both so busy and want to free up our lives for the weekend of even more studying.  I look forward to these nights every week since I get so much work done in a few hours since I have nothing distracting me.  I love the library which tells you that I am kind of a nerd.  The seating is so comfy and with the complete silence I feel motivated to be productive.  I have no idea how it will be during finals week, but I think we have found enough secret spots to help us stay focused in a few weeks time. 
This week I do not have as much to do for the weekend, granted I still have about 6 assignments to do, but this is actually a small amount to what I am used too. Bailey and I have tried to convince some of our friends to join us on our Thursday visits, but most decline as they choose to do more social activities tonight over working on homework.  We do not mind because we are pretty sure that we will get better grades on our finals and receive higher GPAs at the end of the semester. 

Thinking about getting two small tattoos....

So I have been thinking about getting a tattoo or two for about two years since my brother got his first one.  Now the first few questions I always get when I tell people this is what would the tattoo be?  and where do you want it to be? I have always thought of getting an anchor with USN and 2012 (the year my brother graduated from basic training).  I really want this tattoo because it honors my brother and keeps him close even if he is half way around the world.  My next decision is the placement.  As a business student, I know that I need to have no tattoos visible for professional purposes, so I want to get it on the inside portion of my left heel.  It cannot be to large as I need it to be covered by my shoes so I could wear business dresses to work if I wish.  I do not want to have to use makeup or Band-Aids to cover them up every day.  The other tattoo would be of an elephant on my other heel.  Now most people's reaction is to ask me why I want an elephant or what significance does an elephant have to me.  If you did not already know that the elephant is actually a symbol of Alzheimer's.  Elephants do not forget anything which is why it is the symbol. With several of my relatives dying of this disease, my mother and everyone on her side know that one day we will be diagnosed most likely with the disease.  With this in mind, I want the elephant to remind me that life is to short not to not do something amazing with my life.  One day I could forget who everyone is around me and possibly who I am so I want to make the most of my life and I think this tattoo would help me remember to live life to the fullest. 

Got a little deep with this post, but comment below about any tattoo that you have ever thought of getting and the meaning behind it.

Thanksgiving Break is coming up fast

So Thanksgiving Break is officially seven days away, and I could not be more happier about that.  I have not gone home in a month so I am very excited for home cooked meals and to see my dog/baby Sparky.  I wish I could see my parents more during the break, but they will be going to visit my brother, Tyler, who is a sailor and is actively stationed in California.  So this holiday break will be mostly spent with my twin sister, Morgan, which is awesome since we have not seen each other in two months.  I wish my brother would come to Illinois to see my parents, but he will be home for Christmas so that will be my motivation to get through finals.  Since my family is so small we do not get together on Thanksgiving, so my sister and I are going to my neighbor's house for dinner.  I love this though because they are my second set of parents so I have no complaints.  Our families actually did Thanksgiving together last year so it will not be awkward at all.  I love learning about others holiday transitions which might be why I am so interested in International Business.  I find it fascinating how every family celebrates the same holiday, but in different ways. 
Before my Great Aunt and Uncle died four years ago, our entire family of twenty would go to their house and celebrate.  My Auntie Jean would make this marshmallow jello dish that she was known for and the whole family would watch the Premiere game of the day and just catch up on each other's life.  Sadly after they both pasted six months apart from one another my family stopped getting together for Thanksgiving.  My parents would make a small dinner that included the five of us, my grandma, and my Uncle David and his family. 
On a happier note, I cannot wait to get a few days to relax and prepare myself for finals.  My sister and I will have to find things to do to preoccupy us, but knowing how we are together I think we will just end up watching all of our favorite movies and meeting up with our friends. 
Another great thing about this break coming up other than the fact that we get a short break to relax and recover before finals is that Black Friday is like another holiday.  I will be spending my Friday with friends from high school since my sister will be working at Bath and Body Works the entire day so I will definitely be stopping in there to get some small gifts.

Please comment below about what Thanksgiving traditions your family does and what makes you excited about it.

So I am offically sick!

On Thursday, November 14th, 2013 I found out that I have Bronchitis.  I have absolutely no idea how I got bronchitis other than the fact that both my English teacher and a student in my English class had bronchitis.  I hate that I keep getting sick, but I will just get a flu shot once I am better.  If that doesn't help I have no idea what I am going to do? 
A happy thought though is that I only have to be in Milwaukee enduring the cafeteria food for two more weeks till I get to go home and have home cooked food.  I think this will strengthen my immunity so I can go back to school refreshed ready for finals. 

Being Sick Away From Home...

So once again I am sick here in Milwaukee.  I cannot fathom why I keep getting sick, but the worse part about being sick at college is my dad is not here to take care of me.  Since my dad works from our house, he would always take care of me when I stayed home sick or left school early because I was sick.  Technically, I know how to take care of myself after years of experience, but nothing is better then having someone else take care of you.  Anyone that says otherwise is lying!!!!! My dad would make me lunch and give me my medicine.  My dad would spend the day with me watching T.V. and trying to make me feel better so I totally miss it here at school. 
I hope to be better by next week, but until then I will be spending as much time in my room resting.

When the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers......

Last Monday night made my entire football season....
           On November 4th, 2013 the Chicago Bears played against the Green Bay Packers and WON!!!!!!! My entire floor in West Tower watched the game together.  The funny thing was that out of twenty people there were three Bears fans.  We told the guys that the largest couch in the lounge area was a Bear Fans Only couch and they were not allowed to spread their Packer germs on it.  The game was so much fun to watch since Rodgers and most of the starters were out on injuries.  I just kept thinking that with all the money that the Packers have to spend on players you would think that they could afford better backups?  Wallace was a joke of a QB and you could tell that he did not trust his pocket whatsoever.  When the game was over, the three of us jumped up off our Bears Couch screaming and just high fiving we were so happy.  The best part of the entire win was that whenever I talk to a Packers fan about this game the only excuse they have is that Rodgers was injured and if he wasn't out then the game would have gone completely differently.  Being a Bears fan in a Packer dominated town is tough, but it just got a whole lot easier since I can officially say that the Bears beat the Packers at Lambeau Field in GREEN BAY, WI!!!!!!!

          

Weird Things Wisconsin People Say: The Bubbler

So I think that I will just start with a little background for everyone.  I am from a suburb of Chicago called Elgin, IL.  Since attending UW-Milwaukee, I have learned several common Wisconsin phrases that I never knew were even words.  So I want to use this blog to discuss my new life at college as well as my life in Wisconsin.


My first blog will be about The Bubbler.  Anyone not from Wisconsin, like myself, has no idea what that means.  The bubbler I found out is a WATER/DRINKING FOUNTAIN.  Apparently in 1889, Kohler Company created a type of water fountain that would bubble water out of the faucet.  This was then named the bubbler because of the bubble affect it had while in operation.  I have never had so many talks about water fountains in my life.  What is really sad is that the Bubbler history I just told was told to me several times by my friends.  I have never heard of a water fountain called this and another scary thing is that all around campus there are actual signs that say bubbler, like in the library in the photo.  I have been told the argument that "people do not say pass me a facial tissue, they say Kleenex" and this is true, but Kleenex still makes facial tissues which was my argument. 

As a Marketing and Accounting major, I can appreciate a consumer's loyalty to a brand, but Kohler no longer sells bubblers as they actually were linked to spreading diseases.  This should automatically mean that anyone that calls the water fountain a bubbler is incorrect in their terminology as Kohler is not the even the maker of the water fountains across campus. 

I know that I will have several other posts about my life in college in Wisconsin, but I cannot wait to have those arguments with my friends because it keeps life interesting.  Now I am going to prepare for the first Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers game of the 2013 Season.