"The Game"

I have briefly blogged about it before, but I felt that the annual game against Michigan deserved a post. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is an intense college football rivalry, frequently called one of the greatest football rivalries of all time. Traditionally, the game is played as the last regular season game for both teams and the site that the game is played is alternated every year between the two schools.

At Ohio State, Beat Michigan week (the week leading up to "The Game") doesn't just include the football game. Among many other activities and getting psyched up for Saturday, a big tradition is to jump into Mirror Lake the Thursday before the game. Mirror Lake is a small lake, which could probably be called a pond, that sits on the west end of the south oval on campus. Thousands upon thousands of students sprint from their dorms or apartments to Mirror Lake and jump into the (literally) freezing cold water. Since the Michigan game is always towards the end of November, it is generally very cold out and the water feels like a million little needles piercing your skin. I know it sounds crazy and it's hard to imagine why anyone would do such a thing, but once you have experience it for yourself, it is so amazing. Here's a YouTube video that I found that might help you get an idea of what it's like (this is just part of the lake):





The past three years that I have been a student at Ohio State, I haven't jumped into Mirror Lake. My freshman year I had just had surgery beforehand, my sophomore year I was really sick, and last year it was snowing and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Since this is my senior year and my last chance, I just had to do it. We strapped the duct tape to our shoes so they wouldn't fall off in the almost guaranteed mudslide, and we were off! Even though this was my first year jumping in, I have been down to the lake before and seen the chaos, so I pretty much knew what to expect. It exceeded my expectations, and more.





The actual game was in Michigan this year, so I just watched it at a friend's house. I am proud to say that Ohio State beat Michigan for all four years I have attended Ohio State and for the fifth consecutive year. The game wasn't as exciting as most but, then again, what could top the 2006 game in which #1 Ohio State beat #2 Michigan by 3 points?

I can truly say that I am so proud to be a Buckeye. The intense school pride is an awesome thing to be a part of and I'm sure it will always be a part of me, something that I will carry for the rest of my life.

Rose Bowl, Here We Come!

This past weekend was absolutely amazing and it went by way too fast! This past Saturday was Ohio State's last home game and the played Iowa. Since my little sister Amanda goes to Iowa, my dad decided to fly her out for the game. This was decided at the very beginning of the football season, before anyone could predict how big of a game this would be, so I was able to get Amanda's ticket for a very very good price.

Amanda flew in late Thursday night, so she spent the night at my dad and step-mom's house and then spent the day with my dad on Friday. Friday night we all (my dad, step-mom Laurel, step-sisters Callie and Andrea, Amanda, and I) went out to dinner and then Amanda came back down to campus with Callie, Andrea, and I. We showed Amanda Ohio State's weekend nightlife and we all had a good time =).

Everyone (minus my dad, who was taking the picture) out to dinner

Callie, Amanda, and I on Friday night

Amanda and I on Friday night

On Saturday, we started getting ready to tailgate as soon as we woke up. We made the long, long walk to the complete opposite side of campus (OSU's campus is huge, the buses weren't running that day, and driving through game day traffic would have taken longer). In all fairness, it wasn't too bad. My dad and Laurel along with some of their good friends woke up really early Saturday to get a good tailgating spot. We grilled hot dogs, played cornhole, and had a good time getting pumped up for the game.

Sisters! (we're missing Liz)

The actual game was a-maze-ing. I couldn't have asked for a more exciting game or a better last football game as a student. Ohio State and Iowa were tied as #1 in the Big 10, so this game determined who would go to the Rose Bowl. I knew it would be close, but I didn't know it would be as close of a game as it was. At the end of the 4th quarter, they were tied 24 to 24. Ohio State won in overtime with a fieldgoal and the stadium went nuts. The only time that I have ever experienced anything like that was when Ohio State beat Michigan at home my freshman year, but I'm pretty sure this game still tops that. Everyone rushed the field, including us. In all the commotion of getting onto the field, we lost Amanda. Everything turned out alright in the end and we were all reunited, but it was a stressful experience because nobody's phone was working due to all the calls and texts trying to be made. After the game, we came home and rested and then went back out to celebrate.

Script Ohio before the game

Rushing the field after the big win

Our football group on the field doing the O-H-I-O with an added exclamation point.We don't know who the people in the exclamation point are, they just randomly decided they wanted to join and we let them.

On Sunday, the whole family went out to brunch and then it was time to take Amanda to the airport. Like I said, the weekend went by way too fast, but I had so much fun. I'm glad Amanda was able to come out for the game and that, even though Iowa lost, she still had fun.

Now it's time to get back into school mode. I had two midterms earlier this week and two more in the next two days. Plus a presentation next week and another one the follow week! Yuck! But the good thing is that I only have 10 more days of classes, a week of finals, and then it's winter break. I can't wait!

P.S. Sorry, I don't know what's up with the spacing, alignment, and font size on this post. I'm at the library and this computer doesn't seem to like Blogger very much.

Pictures of Cooper at (Almost) 13 Weeks

Here are some pictures of Cooper that I took the other day. I don't know why they are so grainy. I know it's a problem with my camera settings because they looked grainy on my camera too. Maybe it's just because I don't have a very good camera, but my pictures don't normally look this fuzzy.

This morning I took Cooper for more vaccinations, which he wasn't too happy about. He weighed exactly 3 pounds...he's getting so big! Just for comparison, he weighed a little less than 1 pound when we got him (at 6 1/2 weeks), he weighed 1 pound 13 ounces at 8 1/2 weeks, and 2 pounds 4 ounces at almost 11 weeks. He just has to go back one more time in 3-4 weeks for a booster shot and to get neutered and then he doesn't have to go back for a year.

You may have noticed in some pictures that he is now wearing a collar. I bought this collar the day that I got Cooper and it was way too big on him. Since then, I have tried it on him periodically and it just now finally fits. It's still a little loose, so for now I am only keeping it on him when I am home. The first time I put it on him, he went a little crazy because he really wanted to play with the little bell, but couldn't get it. Since then, he's gotten more used to it but every time I put it on him he still tried to get the bell for a few minutes. Today he got his rabies shot, so they gave him a rabies tag and you should see this thing on his collar. It's absolutely huge!

Other than that, he's just being a typical kitten and getting into everything. I have to constantly watch him because he will try to climb on the kitchen table, the coffee table, my desk, etc. Normally, he's just trying to get something to play with (pens and pencils are his favorite, but small bottles or canisters are a close second). He has plenty of toys, he's just a curious little kitten! We have these food shelves next to our refridgerator in our kitchen and the other day I caught him trying to scale those. He wasn't trying to get the food, just wanted to swat at the plastic bags. Plastic bags are another one of his favorites, but for safety reasons I try to keep those where he couldn't possibly get them. My roommate's cat, Oliver, is Cooper's buddy. They play all day long. He sure does get into everything, but he's learning and continues to make us laugh everyday!

Have You Seen These?

Nike Womens Prima Eclipse in Dust/Berry

Since I have to wear closed-toed shoes to both work and volunteering, I have been on the lookout for comfortable sneaker-type shoes that aren't exactly athletic shoes (does that make sense?). I saw someone wearing these shoes a few weeks ago and I can't find them anywhere...not even online. Every place online points back to Famous Footwear's website and they are either not carrying them anymore or are out of stock. So I'm asking you all (all 3 of you), if you have seen these in a store somewhere or online somewhere, please let me know. Thanks!

Bronchitis

When I wrote my last post, I thought I was getting better. I did feel better for a few days, but then things started going downhill again. I put off going back to the doctor because if it was a virus, like she told me, then it probably just needed to run its course. I developed a horrible, barking cough along with congestion. Last Thursday, it had been two weeks since I was seen at the doctor and I was still not better, so I went back again. She looked at me, heard me cough, looked down my throat and told me I had bronchitis. Friday night I was planning on going out with my friends but I was the sickest that I have been in a long time. I can remember only two other times in my life when I have had a fever (my normal body temp is 97.8 degrees) and on Friday night it was pretty high. I slept for over 14 hours and felt much better on Saturday and was able to celebrate Halloween with my friends that night. I just finished the last of my antibiotics on Monday and am slowly feeling back to normal.

Trisha as Tinkerbell, Ida as a Greek goddess,
Callie as Alice in Wonderland, and me as a hippie

Things have been crazy with school lately, even more so than they normally are. Last week, I had a midterm in each class, plus another quiz, a lap report, and other assignments due. I was at the library every night last week and I think the earliest I left was 2:15am. The stress and severe lack of sleep were probably contributors to the reason why I have been sick so long and maybe why I got sick in the first place. Some good news is that I scheduled my last classes! Next quarter will be my last quarter and I scheduled those classes about a week ago. I will be taking four Psychology classes and I have a pretty nice schedule time-wise. No classes on Fridays, and I will either be done with classes by 1:15 or won't start until 12:00 Monday through Thursday. It is weird to think that I only have one more quarter and then I will be a college graduate...but exciting! I met with my Psychology advisor last week, where she signed off on all my major classes. On Monday I met with my Arts & Sciences advisor and I filled out some paperwork to be all set to graduate in March. She just needs to check with my other advisor on one small thing and then it will be official...I will be graduating in March!

What else? Cooper. Oh, Cooper. He's such a kitten...getting into everything. He will climb anything and everything and is so outgoing. When I got him (at 6 weeks), he weighed less than a pound. Since then, he has been to the vet twice. At 8 weeks, he weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces and at 11 weeks, he weighed 2 pounds, 4 ounces. I take him back to the vet this Friday to get his last round of vaccinations (I think?). It will be interesting to see what he weighs now at almost 13 weeks. Sorry I don't have any more pictures of him...he is hard to get any good pictures of! I'll try to get some and post some soon.

Wow, October Already?!?

Note: I started this post on Tuesday of last week and then I got busy...surprise, surprise haha!

Wow, where to start? I feel like I always start my posts off by saying that I have been so busy and I haven't had time to post...but it's true! I have a ton of things going on and, unfortunately, the blog is usually the first thing put on the back burner (which is why I haven't updated my blog layout in the past year, even though it desperately needs a face lift).

In my last post, I think I forgot to mention that I got a job. Well, I didn't forget but I just wasn't sure if I was getting it yet so I didn't want to mention it until I was sure. I got a part time job at a childcare facility affiliated with my school. It is a great job because I am working with children and the center hires a lot of students so they are very understanding that we have a lot of schoolwork and they follow the university's school schedule too. Originally, they wanted to give me a lot more hours than I could work with the heavy duty classes I am taking so right now I am only working about 8 hours a week the with potential to request for more hours next quarter. I have only worked two days for far, but I think I am really going to enjoy this job.

Next up: Cooper. Oh man, I just love this little guy so much! I have only had him for about 2 1/2 weeks, but he has already grown a lot! He is still a small little guy, but seems so big compared to when we first picked him up. I took him to the vet this past Friday for some of his vaccinations and he was 1 pound, 13 ounces....which is probably about a pound more than when we got him. Before I told the vet what his real age was and that he was the runt of the litter, the vet thought he was only 6 1/2 weeks but he was really 8 1/2 weeks at the time. The vet is still skeptical that he is really as old as I think he is, but I saw the rest of the littler and I know that he was much smaller than the other kittens (but obviously the same age). I just love his little personality and his spunkiness. He is either going, going, going or asleep.

As mentioned at the top of this post, I started this update about four days ago. What has been keeping me from finishing this post? Well, I've been sick of course! Just when I thought things were settling down for a little bit (hence why I found the time to blog), I go and get sick. When I got home from work on Wednesday, I didn't feel good at all. By Thursday morning, I was miserable. I saw the doctor, but of course I had taken ibuprofen before my appointment so my throat wasn't swollen at all and I didn't have a fever (my two main symptoms) when she saw me, so she told me it was "just a virus" and to drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest. Easy for her to say! It is now Saturday night and I am not feeling 100%, but I am feeling better than I have been the past few days.

Other than those things, there's not much to report. School and work has kept me pretty busy and hasn't left time for much else, except on the weekends. The weeks are flying by and I can't believe it's almost the holiday season already. By the way, where did fall go? It seemed to show it's face for two days and immediately went to winter weather.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their October!

The Past Two Weeks

Wow. Has it really only been two weeks? It feels like I haven't really posted in forever but I looked on my blog and it really has just been a little over two weeks. I guess time flies when you're busy, busy, busy! Here's what I have been up to lately (warning: this will be a long post!):

About two weeks ago, my mom and I went down to Champaign to visit with Liz and her boyfriend and to celebrate Liz's birthday. Liz and Jason just moved in together in a new apartment, so we got to see their new place. We also went to a nearby garden/park owned by the University of Illinois. I think it was called Albertson's? Not quite sure. Anyway, we walked around the grounds for a little while and enjoyed the scenery. Afterward, we went back and grilled and celebrated Liz's birthday with cake and presents. My mom left later on and I stayed overnight to continue onto Columbus the next day. Here's a slideshow of some pictures from the day at Liz's.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The next day, I made the five hour drive by myself to my dad and Laurel's house near Columbus. I had never driven that long by myself before, so it was quite an experience. Actually, it was pretty uneventful. I only stopped once and it was a Monday during the day so there was basically no traffic and I made pretty good time.

That Tuesday, I went out to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse with my dad, Laurel, Callie, and Andrea to celebrate my birthday. We then went back to Callie and Andrea's new apartment and I opened up a few presents and we had cake. Pretty low-key but it was nice and relaxing. I wasn't the one taking pictures that night, so I don't have any to post.

On Thursday, Ida and I moved into our new apartment! I went to the rental office a few minutes after they opened to get the keys and I started the big process of moving in. The entire day (and the several days following) we were moving things in, putting together furniture, and making shopping trips for various essentials. We had decided to have a few people over that Saturday night to celebrate both of our birthdays (Ida's is two days before mine), so we had to really work to get the place in order before then but it was good motivation to get things semi-organized and looking presentable. I haven't taken any pictures of the apartment yet, but when I do, I will post them.

Ida and I on Saturday night

The following Tuesday was my dad's 50th birthday (yes, there are a LOT of September birthdays between my family and friends). He really did not want to make a big deal out of his birthday and he had already had a big celebration with friends, so Laurel just made his favorite dinner (potroast) and we had a family dinner at home. Again, no pictures.

Wednesday, school started. Usually, I am bored by the end of the summer and ready for classes to start back up. Not this time. I think that it had something to do with the fact that I took summer classes and really only had a break for a few weeks, instead of a few months. I'm taking two Psychology classes, a Chemistry class, and my last Spanish class. I think I'll have the hardest time with Chemistry and Spanish. I'll need to really work hard at those two classes in order to do well. I just keep telling myself that I only have six more months and then I am done with school! Or at least until I start a Nursing program.

This past Thursday, I got a kitten. It was something that I had been thinking about for awhile, but was really contemplating until recently. I made up my mind I wanted to get a kitten a week or so ago and started looking. I knew that I wanted to adopt one or get a rescue cat and I knew I wanted a kitten. I saw a post on Craigslist from someone who rescued a stray cat and her litter of kittens. The litter was larger than normal, so the mother was having trouble taking care of all the kittens. The family took the kittens in and cared for them until they were old enough to be adopted. I met with the guy on Thursday afternoon and took home little Cooper! Cooper is the runt of the litter, so even though he is about 7 weeks old, he is smaller than that. He's very tiny, but a feisty little guy! He's very playful and loves to cuddle. I have to be careful when I'm walking around the house, because he loves to follow me and he's very fast. Right now, he's eating thickened kitten formula mixed with wet kitten food and he eats about four times a day. In the five days since I have had him, I can already notice a difference in the weight he has gained. I'll be taking him to the vet sometime this week to get checked out and start getting his shots.

Saturday was the first home game that I (and most of the other students) had tickets to. We played Illinois, which is Liz's alma mater, and we absolutely crushed them. It poured the entire game, so that was a big bummer. We decided to leave at halftime and watch the rest of the game on our couch. This week we play Indiana. Let's go bucks!

O-H-I-O

The view from our seats

Whew, that was a lot! I'm sure I left a few things out along the way, but hopefully you get the gist of why I have been so busy lately. Hope you all had a good weekend!