Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Summer Livin'

Hey Guys!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been super busy and its only summer vacation! I finished up classes at the beginning of the month which was a huge relief. I did really well this semester which hopefully will carry over to next fall.

I started in admissions two weeks ago, working with some other ambassadors. On the side I'm still working at Nike, so I'm basically working 7 days a week and sometimes at two jobs in one day. Making that money!

This Sunday I'll be heading down to New Jersey to see my friend Alisha before she goes abroad for two months. She's going to Ethiopia, Madrid, and Portugal for school and to see family. With all my friends studying abroad, it makes me wonder what would have happened if I studied abroad. It's definitely something you should look into if you're even mildly thinking about it.

Alright fellow blog readers, until next time...

-CG

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Almost Done!

Hello blog readers! Sorry I have been slacking on the updating. With classes winding down, cramming for finals has been winding up. With five classes, my studying has been mostly staying up late and waking up early. Every semester I always try and get ahead as much as possible. This year I thought I was in a really good position for most of my classes but with finals a week away, it doesn't seem that way anymore. Luckily my International Management class is over as of right now. My Management Information Systems class will be done tomorrow at 11:30 when I present my final project and hand in my essay. For my last three classes, I have a 10 page paper due Wednesday, a speech due Monday, and an exam on Wednesday. It definitely could be worse, but I'm not in the clear just yet.

Things have been winding down in the office, only to pick up again on May 17th. My summer schedule is looking like working in the admissions office 9 AM to 4 PM or 1 PM on the days I work at Nike from 2 PM to 7 PM.

I really can't wait for summer vacation. Obviously every student says that, but this year seems like it's been a long one and summer vacation is going to feel so good. Also I'm excited to take my personal trainer exam in the summer. I'm going to try and get certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) which is one of the best certifications you can get. Unfortunately it's pretty expensive, but I hope it'll be worth it in the end.

Now it's off to the library to finish my final project for Management Information Systems. Happy Hump Day everyone!

-CG

Monday, April 12, 2010

Two Successful Showcases!

Yesterday was our second and final showcase of the semester and it was a huge success! We had anticipated it would be much larger than our previous one a few weeks ago and it definitely was. Even better, we had amazing weather yet again. That's two for two! Unfortunately I didn't speak at this one but I gave three tours to students from all over. I'm pretty sure I met students from every state in New England as well as New York, New Jersey, and California. I even saw a family who was at the admitted student reception in New York last week.

Speaking of that session, it was also a huge success. Two admission counselors, myself and another ambassador traveled down to Tarrytown, New York to speak with admitted students from the area. We had a good turnout and it was definitely a lot of fun.

Thursday I'll be headed to New Jersey for the first time. I've never been to New Jersey except driving through it to get to South Carolina. I'm visiting my friend Alisha who goes to Seton Hall. I'm excited to head down there since I haven't seen her since spring break, I think we have plans to go into New York City on Saturday which will be fun. I'm so used to Boston, it's going to be nice to experience a whole new city.
I'm taking the Bolt Bus which is a really cool company because if you're the first one to buy a ticket for a particular departure or return, it only costs $1. Unfortunately my tickets cost me $10 there and $15 back but oh well, still pretty inexpensive for a round trip to New York City. Supposedly the Bolt Buses are really nice. They offer free Wi-Fi, outlets, and more leg space than any other bus company. Too bad the ride is 4.5 hours long, I'll probably just sleep the entire way.

Time to head to Nike Town and sell some shoes!

-CG

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

April Showers Bring May Flowers...So What Does April Sunshine Bring?

Lately the weather has been amazing here in Boston and everyone has been getting a bit of spring fever. My Easter weekend was pretty casual and very short. I left for Connecticut Saturday night and came back to Boston Sunday afternoon. I think I was actually home for less than 24 hours, but it was nice seeing my family as well.

Tomorrow I leave for New York to speak to admitted students in the area. I'm really excited to go because I've never been to that area of New York. Last year I went to Connecticut to speak to admitted students and I had a blast. I can only imagine how much fun New York will be. Except I'll probably be working on school work on the drive there. Booooo.

I'm sorry to inform all of you, but I won't be participating in the first ever Mr. Suffolk pageant. I know this may come to a surprise and a disappointment to some, but I honestly just don't have the time to prepare for it. I really wish I could commit myself to it, but it doesn't look like that'll be happening. However another ambassador, Mr. John McDonnell is competing in it so you all should still come and support him in his quest for becoming the first ever, Mr. Suffolk.

Opening day was Sunday night and the Red Sox won 9-7 over the New York Yankees. It was a great game for opening day and the city was definitely alive with spirit. The great thing about attending school in Boston is that you don't have to go to every game to feel like a part of the liveliness. Sometimes its even more fun to just watch the game with a bunch of friends.

This Sunday will be our second and last Showcase of the semester. If you didn't get a chance to come to the first one, you most certainly can come to this one. The Showcase includes speakers from admissions, new student orientation and trustee ambassadors, as well as a classroom experience by a professor. Then you are allowed to go on a campus tour, speak with representatives from every academic department, or speak with representatives from student activities such as clubs and organizations here on campus. It's definitely a long day but its full of information and if you're seriously considering Suffolk University, I highly recommend you coming to check it out.

Alright it's time for class and work at my second job. Blog ya later!

-CG

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Back in the Swing of Things

We're back from Spring Break! It's hard to believe we only have five weeks of class left before finals. Where did the semester go? Finishing up the semester also means final projects, papers, and presentations. OYE!

The end of my spring break was very relaxing. I came back to Boston on Wednesday, probably not such a great idea to come back on St. Patrick's day but I made it anyways. Thursday I went up to Beverly to visit a fellow ambassador, Rachel! Beverly is such a beautiful town. Rachel showed me around her town, luckily it was such a beautiful day out we were able to walk around and enjoy the weather! Here's a picture of one of the beaches right near her house...


Friday was the first day my roofdeck was open. I'm so excited to have a roofdeck for the entire summer. The view is amazing, and there's nothing better than sitting up there with friends just relaxing. Here's part of my view of the city from my roofdeck....

My friend Alisha also came up from New Jersey on Friday so she came over with another ambassador, Haley to enjoy the warm weather on my roof! Here's a picture of me and Alisha, clearly she likes to make funny pictures :)


Saturday we traveled to Newport, Rhode Island to see Haley's mom and tour the area. We drove around the cliff and saw the mansions and had lunch outside because it was such a nice day out. I hadn't been back to Newport since high school when I was there for a Junior National Golf Tournament so it was nice to see some familiar sights. After Newport we drove back to Boston and enjoyed another night on the roofdeck. Definitely in the summer swing. Here's a picture of Me, Haley and Alisha at lunch.

Sunday was just a relaxation day, we all went to lunch with our friend Geralyn at Panera Bread and then to dinner at Zuma's which is in Fanueil Hall. Unfortunately school started again on Monday and things just picked up from there. I felt like I was going non-stop all week. Wednesday was by far the worst day where I went straight through from 7 am to 7 pm without any breaks. I had an interview at Nike Town on Newbury Street for a position and I heard back from them the other day saying that I made it to the next round in the interview process. I'm really excited and hope I get the job there.

Tomorrow is our first SHOWCASE event of the year. We are supposed to have a big turnout and I'm speaking in the morning and afternoon session so I'm really excited. I love speaking to students and families. It's going to be a long day, 8 am to 4 pm but I'm ready for it! AND the forecast says its supposed to be 50 and sunny. Now that may not seem like much but everytime we have a Showcase event, it pours. Not just a sprinkle or light rain, it downpours, so having a good forecast is amazing!

Alright its time for me to put the finishing touches on my speech for tomorrow. Hopefully I see some of you there!

-CG

Friday, March 19, 2010

It Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....SUMMER!

Happy Friday blog followers! I'm excited to inform you that I am currently blogging from my roofdeck! It's been over six months since my roofdeck was closed for the winter and today is the first day it is offically open! I'm very excited about this because it means summer is on its way. Speaking of summer, the weather here has been absolutely amazing. After last week when it was practically a hurricane, this week has been full of sun and warm temperatures.

My spring break has been pretty laid back, which feels great! I'm pretty happy I didn't go away and spend thousands of dollars at a resort in Cabo or South Beach. Although the tan would have been nice! I went home for a few days and traveled to Rhode Island to play golf with a friend from my high school golf team. I also had dinner with my friend Geralyn which was a great surprise! I actually was traveling back to Boston on St. Patrick's day so unfortunately I missed out on all the corned beef and cabbage. Oh well! Yesterday I ended up going to Beverly, Mass., which is about 30 minutes north of here. I visited my friend Rachel and spent all day up there. It was so beautiful, Beverly is so scenic with its waterfront and quaint little stores. It was such a nice day out too, Rachel and I walked around the town and one of the local parks. I ended up staying to go out to a place called Tavern in the Square. I got to meet some of Rachel's friends from home and just have a nice relaxing evening. I must say however, I experienced a Nick's roast beef sandwich which is claimed to be one of the best. I'd have to agree, it was AMAZING!

I'm trying to start studying for my personal trainer exam, but it's pretty hard with school work. Luckily I don't take my test until August 7th so I have a lot of time, but there is so much material to cover I feel like I'm getting a degree!

I also haven't made much headway in practicing my routine for the Mr. Suffolk pageant. I know what I'm doing and I actually even wrote down the routine so I can sort of memorize it, but I have yet to start practicing. I should probably get on that ASAP!

Well this is about all the technology I can handle on such a nice day so its time to go back tanning and listening to some tunes.

-CG

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Spring Break!

I didn't even realize that my spring break started at 11:15 this morning when I forgot my class tomorrow was canceled. NOT. Of course I knew I would be on spring break a few days early! Tonight I was able to go out to dinner to Felt in downtown crossing with some Chicago high school counselors, undergraduate admission staff, and other ambassadors. It was really fun and I got to speak with a few counselors about their high schools and students.

So I found something to do during Spring Break, besides relax and get ready for these last few weeks of the semester. I'm going to be competing in Suffolk's first ever, Mr. Suffolk pageant. I'm not sure how I feel about this considering I've never done anything like this before, but I think it will be fun. So during Spring Break I'm going to have to come up with some sort of talent to showcase. Ut oh!

I've also been thinking about jobs and I've decided to become a personal trainer until I find a career-worthy job. Atleast it'll pay the bills for a while and hopefully it will be somewhat fun since I love working out. This summer I plan on getting certified and working in a local gym.

-CG

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Four More Days

You know that feeling you got when you were in middle school and nice days arrived and you only had a few weeks of school left? The feeling of anticipation of summer vacation and being outside as much as possible. Well I have that feeling right now! This weekend in Boston was filled with amazing weather. Saturday it topped off at 55 and today was the same exact thing! Tomorrow its supposed to be in the 50s as well and I'm seriously thinking about wearing shorts to school tomorrow. You know its serious when you can wear shorts to school.

With Spring Break a week away, I'm glad my professors gave midterms last week and not this week. All my friends crammed for tests this weekend while I enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend in the greenway. I wasn't the only one there though, it was filled with people out enjoying the nice weather. I even enjoyed it with a few ambassadors John and Nicole!

Saturday I hosted Students with Students which is our student run information session. It went really well but sadly the turnout was pretty small, especially for such a nice day. Although our first showcase event is this month and I'm excited to see a lot of students and families.

With the warm weather coming, it also means golf season is right around the corner. I got the first email of the season from coach telling us about a potential pre-season tournament the weekend before Easter. Guess that means practice will start soon. Atleast with the moderate weather, practice can start earlier and won't be as harsh in the cold.

Now its off the prepare for the week and get everything ready for my last week of classes before break!

-CG

Sunday, February 28, 2010

What a Getaway

Just got back from a mini getaway to Conway, New Hampshire and it was so much fun! My friend Haley invited me to stay with her and her family up in New Hampshire and go to Shawnee Peak to go snowboarding. We all had so much fun, it was me, Haley, her sister Alyssa and boyfriend Joel, her parents, and our friend Geralyn. The weather was CRAZY. When I drove up to meet them it was snowing just a little bit, but when we got to the mountain, it turned into a blizzard. At one point we were at the top of the mountain and you couldn't see the bottom! It was so much fun being at the mountain with a group of friends. It made me wish my parents were into winter sports. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

I made Geralyn a mini snowman while we were waiting at the bottom of the mountain. She named him Chip haha.

Haley and I riding the chairlift.

Geralyn, me, and Haley at the bottom of the mountain!

Now that the weekend is over, its back to school. This week I get back my two midterms I took last week so that'll be interesting. I'm excited but also a little nervous. I also have my presentation in Educational Psychology this week which will be good. I'm happy my group is getting our presentation done before spring break.

Speaking of spring break, I'm hoping to make it out to Lake Tahoe and go snowboarding for a while. If not, I'll probably just stay around here and go snowboarding up in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Now its time to do some homework for the week :(

-CG

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Weeks Are Just Flying by Here at Suffolk University

I just finished my 6th week of the semester so we're almost halfway done. Two midterms down, one presentation to go and I feel like Spring is getting very close. This past weekend here in Boston the weather was beautiful. It was 50 and it seemed like Spring had finally come. Then the forecast for this week has been miserable. I looked at the weather and for the next TEN days the forecast read, "Snow showers, heavy rain, showers, light rain, snow flurries, light snow, rain, snow, dusting of snow, mist, slush, sleet, freezing rain". I think you get the picture. I was so ready for Spring and everything that goes with it. Shorts, T-shirts, no heavy jackets, frisbee in the greenway, frozen yogurt, roof deck dance parties, you know the usual. BUT the rain has ruined it! I know its only the beginning of March and I'm sure there's going to be a huge storm at some point, but this weekend really got me in the Spring mood.

Suffolk has been putting on some good events for students lately. A few weeks ago we had a trip to Wachusett mountain for $35 for a full day of skiing/snowboarding. This Saturday we have a trip up to Loon, New Hampshire to go to Loon Mountain. The tickets were only $45 and it includes a round trip bus ticket, all day lift ticket, and rentals if needed. A lift ticket at Loon on a Saturday is usually $80 so that's a huge savings right there! We also have been selling Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins tickets lately. Tonight the Celtics play the Cavaliers and we sold tickets for $30. Today we also started selling Bruins-Canadians tickets for $20. This is just a tiny little bit of what you could be doing here on campus. Off campus there is a Black Eyed Peas and LMFAO in Boston on Friday. My roommate's girlfriend is going and she said tickets were really cheap. Another great thing to do here in the city!

My plans for the weekend are to go home tomorrow, probably go to the casino. Saturday I'm going to try and snowboard all day. Not sure where yet, I have a few possibilities. Sunday will definitely be dedicated to doing homework and getting ready for the week.

-CG

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Never Back Down

Hello fellow blog readers! I'm running out of titles for my posts so I'm going to start just using things that I have come across recently. I watched the movie Never Back Down starring Cam Gigandet and Sean Faris last night so sure, that's my blog title.

Today I took my first midterm of the semester and it was BRUTAL. I studied by behind off and prepared as much as possible, but when your professor says, "not many students pass my midterms" it was pretty discouraging. There were 44 multiple choice questions and 3 essays that each had about 5 parts to each question. Luckily we were able to pick 2 out of the 3 essays. Everyone in the class had the same mind set going into the class, "this is going to be hard". And yes it was, it was harder than a concrete block in the middle of an iceberg chillin' in Antarctica. Ok maybe that was an exaggeration. I actually think I did well on the essay part, which is good because it was worth twice as much as the multiple choice section.

I have a group lesson plan due next Tuesday for my Educational Psychology class as well as a midterm in my Operations Management class this Wednesday. Things are definitely starting to pick up on the academic side. Spring break anyone?

-CG

Thursday, February 18, 2010

It's Midterm Time Already??

I feel like the semester just started and I already have midterms!!! AHHHHH. Next week I have a midterm in my Management Information Systems class which is going to be the hardest exam ever. Its only on four chapters but they're really intense and all on information systems and stuff like that. Not my idea of an interesting topic but oh well, what can you do. This weekend will be spent reading and studying, then some more reading and studying.

This week we've had information sessions and they've gone really well so far. I was able to speak at one on Tuesday and got to answer some intriguing questions. There are still some upcoming events here on campus if anyone missed an information session but wants to visit. We have Saturday tours on February 27, April 17, and April 24. There's a student to student information session on Saturday March 6. During April vacation (20-22) we will have another wave of information sessions. We also have specific NESAD (New England School of Art and Design) information sessions on February 26 and April 23. And of course we have daily tours at 10, 11, 1 and 3.

When I was speaking with students and their families last Monday and Tuesday, it made me think about housing deposits and how many students have actually done that. Many students had been accepted back in December and had yet to deposit. When talking about housing, most of them wanted to live on campus. It's really important to deposit as soon as possible because it will help secure a spot in one of our dormitories. If you're not aware of our housing procedure, we DON"T guarantee housing to any of our students. Unfortunately we have a limited number of spaces to house students and we give it out on a first come, first serve basis. The deposit of $600 is fully refundable until May 1st so don't worry if you may think Suffolk may not be for you. However if its your 1,2,3,4, or even 5 school on your list, but you definitely know you want to live on campus, I strongly suggest in sending in your deposit as soon as possible.

For all you accepted students reading my blog, CONGRATULATIONS!

This is an exciting time for you and you should be proud of yourself! Some helpful hints on choosing the college you'll attend for the next four years:

- Make sure to visit a school more than once, even more than twice. You're always going to get a different view and perspective of the school each time you visit.
- See what the school can offer you, ie (athletics, clubs, majors, on and off campus activities)
- You may think you want a super large school or a microscopic school, but think long and hard about that, because you may end up finding you don't want to be a big fish in a small pond, or just a number in a sea of faces.
- Make sure you're making the decision and not your parents, even though your parents may push a certain school or a certain location, make sure you choose a school on your criteria and not your parents, after all you're the one who's going to be there, not your parents.
- If you have no idea what you want to major in, make sure the school you pick allows you to freely choose classes and experiment in different areas of study. This will allow you to see what you may be interested in and what really turns you off.

These next four years of your life are going to be amazing, no matter where you spend your college career. Don't stress out over trying to make a decision, you'll know when you've made the right one.

-CG

Monday, February 15, 2010

My iPod is on Replay

Ever find a song you just can't stop listening to and legit listen to it a thousand times? That would be me as of right now. With a new week starting, I need a new workout playlist, but really just because I've been listening to the same one since November. I came across the song Break Your Heart by Taio Cruz and I haven't stopped listening to it since I've added it to my iTunes!

The long weekend was nice and definitely refreshing. Snowboarded twice, although the 2nd time was cut short because my friend dislocated his shoulder and me and my roommate had to bring him to the emergency room. My friend TJ turned 21 so I took him to Mohegan Sun. I won $100, unfortunately TJ only won $5 haha. Went out dancing with some friends on Valentines Day. It was a singles night, not going to lie, I'm not a fan of Valentines Day. Now I have a three day week before the weekend!

This week is going to be busy in the office however! We have information sessions and early action information sessions all week from 10:00-5:00 basically. So inbetween classes I'll be running back to the admissions office helping out with tours and speaking. All that good stuff! If you haven't signed up for an information session yet but want to come, do it! If you can't sign up online you're allowed to sign up in person. There will be a student panel of Trustee Ambassadors (me!) as well as representatives from Financial Aid, Residence Life and Undergraduate Admissions. There also will be a campus tour and a mock classroom as well!

Today we had a mini information session which went very well. The director of undergraduate admissions (John Hamel) hosted it and it was great to finally be back in the swing of special events. I love special events because it's almost always a huge turnout and I love being able to answer your questions and help you guys with stuff. I really feel like I'm making a difference and helping you make a better decision on college. Trust me, I remember my college search and it was probably the most stressful two and a half years of my life!

Have a great February vacation for all you high schoolers!

-CG

Friday, February 12, 2010

Class, Gym, Snowboarding (CGS)

In the words of Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, GTL! Ok well not GTL in my case because one I can't stand fake tans, and two doing laundry is tedious, so how about CGS, because that's what my life has been about for the past few months.

I've realized that I'm being a terrible blogger and haven't been blogging as much as I should have. And I've also realized that I keep saying this in all my blogs and never do anything about it. So from now on I'm going to dedicate one day a week to blogging.

CGS. What is it you may ask. Class-Gym-Snowboarding. My version of GTL. Gym-Tanning-Laundry for all you who don't watch the Jersey Shore (shame on you!). My classes have been great, with lots of work. I've been working really hard lately and it's paying off in my classes which is really gratifying. Gym. I've been hitting the gym pretty much everyday for the past few months. Now before you go and make assumptions that I'm trying to be a meathead or trying to show off a hot bod, you're wrong. Well maybe the hot bod part is correct, just kidding! After Thanksgiving this year I realized I definitely needed to get back into shape and I've been working extra hard to do that. Its been paying off and hopefully by summer I'll have that Taylor Lautner body. Uhhhhh its a good thing no one reads my blog. Snowboarding. I have been snowboarding probably more this year then ever. It's great because I have a season pass to a local mountain. My roommate and friend also got one this year so we've been going as much as possible. It's definitely nice to be able to get out of the city and hit the mountain every now and then. It's almost like an escape :)

So in the admissions office things are picking up and its easy to see! We have many events coming up that all you prospective students should take a look at and sign up for! This upcoming Saturday (tomorrow) and Monday we have mini information sessions. These are great events if you want to get some extra information about Suffolk. Then for all you lucky high schoolers, next week is a whole week of mini information sessions during your February break! We have some specially designated Early Action information sessions at specific times that will be geared more for the students who were accepted under our Early Action procedure. These will be great if you haven't visited our campus yet or if you just want to see it again. I always tell students on my tours to look at schools they think they might attend atleast two or three times. You're going to get different impressions of a school each time you visit so the more the better! For those of you who are just SO busy on the weekdays, we have Saturday tours almost every Saturday in the next two months. These involve a campus tour by our ambassadors who are truely amazing :). But if you want the full list of events and activities, log onto Suffolk.edu and click the admissions and financial aid link at the top. Then click undergraduate admissions and click visit Suffolk! Under Embark you can see our whole list of events and times/dates. So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

If any of you want to ask a question or just want some extra information, don't hesitate to contact our undergraduate admissions office at admission@suffolk.edu or you can even email me at cmgray@suffolk.edu.

Have a great weekend everyone and stay warm!

-CG

Monday, January 25, 2010

First Blog of the Semester

Alright everyone, I know I've been falling off with blogging lately, but I'm going to get back on track, promise! So the semester started last Tuesday and ever since then, I've definitely been doing a lot of work. I'm currently taking educational psychology, interpersonal effectiveness, international management, management information systems, and operations management. Basically I've had a lot of readings which are just time consuming, I really haven't had much work to do.

So far I'm really enjoying my classes for the most part. I love my educational psychology class and the professor I have is the head of the education department which is pretty nice. It made me wish I was in education from the start, but atleast I'll still be able to take education classes before graduating. And of course my intention is to go to graduate school for higher education or college counseling so there will be plenty of opportunities to take more education classes.

Today was the first day back in the office and there was a flood! How crazy is that? March 6th is the only Students with Students information session this semester, so I highly suggest signing up for it. You can sign up by going to suffolk.edu/admissions and under Embark, find students with students information session. Students with students is special because there are no admissions staff there. Well almost none, Suffolk probably wouldn't let us students run an event entirely by ourselves so there is one admission staff member there, but he/she is never in the room with us when you guys get to ask us questions. You'll get to hear from about 5 students and then there's a huge question and answer session. I think its one of our most popular information sessions, so sign up now!

Time to start some homework, I'll try better to blog more often these coming weeks!

-CG

Sunday, January 3, 2010

First Blog of 2010

Happy new year everyone! Hope you all had a great new years and are enjoying your winter break. I'm not going to lie, this new year has started off a bit rough for me, but its partially my own fault. But first I'll recap the past few weeks!

Christmas day night, yeah does that even make sense? Well the night of Christmas day I went snowboarding with some of my friends from home. It snowed while we were there which was cool and it was the first riding session at night this year! Then I came back to Boston because my friend Alisha came up to visit me from New Jersey. We had a great time even though she was only here for a little while. Saturday night her bus got in late so we went out to dinner at Ned Devine's in Faneuil Hall, then we went to an improv show at the Improv Asylum in the North End. I had never been to an improv show there before but it was so funny! We literally couldn't stop laughing the entire time we were there. We also watched District 9 which was a decent movie, we were a little lost on the story line but it wasn't a bad movie. Sunday we were lazy and watched football but went out to dinner in the North End at Al Dente. It was really good and its one of the more affordable restaurants in the North End so I highly suggest it! We grabbed dessert at Mike's Pastry, a must have when in the North End and then she had to leave to go back to Jersey.

Monday I went down to Mohegan Sun with a few of my high school friends. And then Tuesday I went snowboarding at Wachusset. I was pumped because the mountain got fresh snow Monday night so I was ready to ride all day long. I only made it 5 runs. What I didn't think about was that Sunday it was really warm, almost in the 50s and a lot of the snow melted and then refroze when it snowed Monday. Since we didn't get more than a few inches, the mountain was basically an ice rink. My first few runs I realized that the mountain was really slippery and it wasn't going to be an easy day. On my 5th run of the day, there was a skier in front of me carving back and forth. I went to pass her but she cut back at the last second and I had to try and stop quickly. Unfortunately my board hit an ice patch and I landed straight on my left shoulder. Barely making it down the mountain I figured I busted it pretty bad. I ended up going to Mass. General Hospital and found out I had a seperated shoulder. Awesome. My arm was in a sling for a few days but I stopped wearing it because it was so annoying!

I spent New Year's in Boston, but it wasn't exactly what you would call a great New Year's. My arm being in a sling kind of killed it for me. But I still made it out to Haley and Rachel's and brought in the new year with friends.

I'm getting excited to start spring semester with new classes and get back into the swing of things. I'm taking five classes again while also working in admissions so I'll be busy like usual, but I'm not a teaching assistant this semseter so I'll have a little more free time.

That's all for now, have a great week everyone!

-CG

Thursday, December 24, 2009

It's Christmas?! No Way!!

So about me blogging all the time.... whoops, definitely forgot over these past few weeks! Right now I'm currently home helping my parents get ready for Christmas Dinner at our house tomorrow. A lot has happened in the past few weeks so I'll try and recap it, it'll be the sparknote version since it has been 2 weeks.

Winter ball was AMAZING! I went with a huge group of friends and I couldn't have had a better time. It was on the 35th floor of the State Street building in the Financial District. The views from the ballroom were breathtaking. No lie. You could see all of Boston out the windows and being able to dance right there was great! That Saturday was an "Ugly Sweater Party" at Rachel and Haley's. I wasn't planning on attending because I was supposed to work at night, but that morning my manager called me asking if I could come in early and work. So working early enabled me to go to the party, which was a blast. Everyone had super ugly sweaters which made it really fun.

Then came finals week. Most stressful four days of the semester. Luckily I only had a final on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. I felt I did pretty well on my finals and we just got our grades back this past week and it turns out I did. I'm really happy with my grades because this semester was rough changing majors and all. I'm really looking forward to next semester and taking classes I'm interested in. After finals week, I needed some much needed rest.

So Sunday with the snow storm raging outside my apartment, I sat inside and watched footbal, movies, and tv shows all day. It was nice to do absolutely nothing, but I definitely got bored after a while and realized I would never want to live alone. Although I didn't rest much because Tuesday I went up to Bretton Woods in New Hampshire to snowboard with my friend TJ. It was a 3 hour drive which took a lot out of us, but once we got into the mountains and started seeing all the resorts, we got pumped to be there. We spent all day on the mountain and left when it closed. We didn't get back into the city until 7ish and decided to go out to dinner at TGI Friday's with our friends Haley and Rachel. Then the very next day we decided to hit another mountain for a second full day of snowboarding. We ended up going to Wachusett in Princeton, MA, only an hour and a half away. We definitely didn't feel like driving another 3 hours back to New Hampshire or Vermont.

Today I drove home to go to our family Christmas Eve dinner at my Uncle's house. I decided to leave Boston early so I could get home and relax, but my mom had other ideas for me when I walked in the door. Tomorrow everyone in our family comes to my house, and afterwards I'm going to drive back to Boston, but before getting home, I'm going to stop at Wachusett for some night riding. Yes I'm going to snowboard on Christmas day.

Time to get ready to see the family!

-CG

Monday, December 7, 2009

3 Days of Class Left!

Last week flew by and this week is going to fly by just as fast! Well hopefully! Last week I had my Organizational Behavior presentation. My group killed our presentation, we were one of the best in the class I must say. Today I had a presentation in Data Decision and Analysis. It went smoothly but it was kind of awkward because all of the groups came to a consensus outside of class that we all didn't really know what to present. My group was the first one to present today so I guess that was good and bad. Good in being that there were no expectations, bad in that we couldn't change our presentation if we missed something. I have three more days of class and then this semester is over, THANK GOD! This has been by far the worst semester of my college career. Probably because I was so unmotivated at the beginning and switched my major.

On the sports front, Notre Dame's coach Charlie Weis was let go after finishing the season 6-6. Really disappointing because 1) I had much higher expectations for Weis and Notre Dame and 2) Jimmy Clausen declared for the NFL Draft rather than playing in his senior season. Notre Dame also declined a bowl game this season which I thought was unfortunate. Clausen will be one of the top quarterbacks in this years draft, along with Tim Tebow of Florida, Colt McCoy of Texas, and Sam Bradford of Oklahoma.



My UConn Huskies received a bowl game however against South Carolina in the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. UConn had a strong season ending 7-5 but with multiple close losses. They lost to undefeated Cincinnati by 2, Pittsburgh by 3, West Virginia by 4, and North Carolina by 2. Either way, I'm really excited to watch UConn in a bowl game this January.



UConn basketball is coming along, although I have a feeling its not going to be the season I want it to be. They just played Harvard which should have been a blow out and barely won, 79-73. They play Kentucky next which is going to be a tough game. At 6-1 their only loss is to Duke, but it wasn't even a close game and so far UConn has only played easy opponents, besides Duke. Kentucky will definitely test their defense and scoring might be tough. They lost so many players last year that this season might be a rebuilding season, but in UConn Country, we're always looking for a National Championship.



With winter break almost here, I've been thinking about a second job. I won't be working in the admissions office over break, so it will just be Banana Republic and I'm not getting too many hours there. I've been looking for jobs, but right now everything is seasonal and I really want to find a part time job that won't end in January.

Now I need to find something to wear to Winter Ball on Thursday. A Black Tie affair that I probably won't be wearing black to.

-CG

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Black Friday and College Sports

Hello All!

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey! I've been back in Boston for a few days now, but I got to spend some time at home earlier in the week. I went home Tuesday night and played poker with all my friends like we used to in high school. It was great catching up with all the guys and telling stories. Wednesday I played golf with two of my teammates from high school which was great. Later that night I went to Mohegan Sun with my friend Lindsay which was amazing. Thursday morning I drove back to Boston to have Thanksgiving at my cousin's house with my family. I definitely ate my weight in turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, apple pie, and ice cream. Better start going to the gym again!

Now the craziness starts. At 11 PM I decided to go to the Wrentham Outlets that opened at midnight for some shopping. I went with my friend TJ and it turned into a 5 hour trip. We left Boston at 11:45 and didn't get to the outlets until 2:30. It's usually a 45 minute drive, but the highway was a parking lot and trying to find a parking spot at the outlets took forever. There were so many people there that it was almost impossible to walk. Even though it was crazy, I still got some good deals, I bought new snowboarding pants and a jacket from Oakley that normally would have cost a few hundred dollars but I only paid $130. I didn't get home until about 4:30 and passed out right when I walked in the door. Then Friday I worked 1-8 at Banana Republic. For never working on Black Friday or working retail before, I really had no idea what to expect. I've always worked in the restaurant industry which isn't the same on Black Friday as a retail store. Banana was definitely packed when I came in at 1. It was non-stop, running to the back for more clothes, running to and from the changing rooms with different sizes, talking to multiple customers at once, and trying to keep my part of the store neat. I was exhausted after working, but unfortunately I had to work again Saturday at 8 am. Luckily it wasn't as busy that early in the morning, so I took it easy and when I got home, pretty much watched movies and sports all day.

Friday my UConn Huskies lost to Duke in the NIT Tip Off finals in New York. I was pretty upset with the game because I felt the officiating was definitely one-sided in favor of Duke. I know that's not an excuse by any means, but its tough when calls are blatently going in Duke's favor.

Currently I'm watching the Notre Dame-Stanford game. Unfortunately it looks like this will be Charlie Weis' last game as Notre Dame's head coach. When I first heard Charlie Weis was going to become the coach of Notre Dame 4 years ago, I was stoked! It was just what Notre Dame needed and Weis was successful at first getting them to a few bowl games. However the past few years have been rough and it looks like Notre Dame will be under a new coach next year.

Next Saturday will be the Florida-Alabama game in the SEC title matchup. I really am hoping for the upset but I feel Tim Tebow is just too strong of a player to let that happen. Either way, its going to be a great game that I can't wait for.

That's it for now, I'll blog ya later!

-CG

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

New England - Golf and Snowboarding

Alright so I'm blogging from my apartment, 1) because I'm in the middle of packing all my laundry into trash bags so my Mom can do it for me when I get home, 2) because I'm super excited that my plans have changed slightly, and 3) because I'm going to try and start blogging more often, (I'm secretly an A list celebrity).

So like I said, my plans changed. I'm going home to play golf with two of my high school teammates at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, at their Lake of Isles course.

Then I'm probably going to spend some time at the Casino "catching up" with my friends. We've been playing golf together since we were like 8 so it'll be a good time. Then I believe I will be driving the 20 minutes inbetween Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun to go see some of my other friends that are spending the night at Mohegan. I have to say I'm partial to Mohegan, its definitely a much friendlier, bigger, and more fun casino than Foxwoods.

Then Thursday morning I will be coming back to Boston to have Thanksgiving at my cousin's house in Watertown (those plans didn't change). But Friday I have plans to go to Sunday River in Maine to go snowboarding. I'm pumped because I've had the itch to go to the mountain and I've never been this early in the season. Although leaving at 6 am to get there at 9 is going to be really unfortunate.


This morning was amazing in the fact that I got to sleep in! It was glorious, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I had breakfast with my friend Geralyn, last time I'd see her until after break which was nice. Then I went into the office to say goodbye to some last ambassadors and went home. I also got notice that I have to serve jury duty in January. I've decided that I'm going to postpone it because I don't want to miss class for jury duty, especially if I'm not getting paid. And although serving in a jury during an exciting case might be cool, the chances of me being assigned an exciting case are slim to none. So I rather wait for a time when I don't have class or work to serve my civic duties :).

Alright back to packing and cleaning my apartment before I hit the road for Connecticut.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you all have a great holiday and eat lots of turkey!!

-CG-izzle