My ASU Bucket List.

So I made a bucket list of things I want to do in my last semester of college. Ew, I hate saying that. Can college last forever and ever? It's Monday I'm reliving my amazing weekend I just had and I never want it to end. I know I can still have fun after graduation, and don't get me wrong, I'm extremely excited for the adventure that awaits me after this semester, but I know it'll be different. I have all kinds of friends, school friends, work friends on-campus, work friends off-campus, club friends, frisbee friends. I'm surrounded by so many amazing people and get to spend my time surrounded by them, doing great things and I'll soon be moving to a city where I will know approximately one person.

My last first day of school outfit! Looking back, I probably should have chosen something a little more .. remarkable. It could have been worse, but I definitely have better outfits. Here's to a semester of fun events and good exciting outfits!

I've got 4 more months to take advantage of this wonderful thing, so I made myself a bucket list. Here are some of the things on my list:

• Play Frolf on campus (frisbee golf)
• Hike 'A' Mountain at sunrise or sunset
• Sing karaoke in front of strangers
• Take a pedal boat out on Tempe Town Lake; I've worked there for more than 2 years and have seen so many people praise how fun it is, whine about how hard it is, and everything in between. I'm ashamed to say though I've been in a pedal boat more times than I can count, I want the whole experience of going around the lake, even if my co-workers will make fun of me.
• Go to an ASU football game, basketball game, and baseball game at least once; I've done the first two, but want to go to a baseball game and hopefully another basketball game and enjoy being a Sun Devil fan!
• Go to a play or musical at Gammage Auditorium (ASU's amazing theater venue)
• Get a drink between or before class at The Vine; because that's just too college 
• Join or create a game of sand volleyball on the SRC fields
• Take a picture on the horse in front of the Business building
• Drive through Jerry's Drive-Thru liquor; it's practically an ASU landmark and I want to say I have
• Take a road-trip and hike the Grand Canyon; now that I'm old enough to really appreciate it, and while I live so close to this wonder of the world, I really want to re-visit it
• Go to the green house on top of the Life Sciences building
• Have a picnic in the Secret Garden on campus
• Take a dip/splash in the MU fountain

That's the majority of if, and I'm doing my best to mark my calendar to make these things actually happen! I'll tell you soon about some of the awesome events I have planned with my friends. 

Happy MLK Jr. Day! Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Alexv

Hope

I'm back! Ah, it feels great! Actually cooking my own meals, eating Mexican food, DRIVING (on the right side of the road!) and being with my family in the warm... okay maybe scorching, weather. I've been running in the mornings because my internal clock now has my waking up at 6:30am, but I love mornings so I'm okay with it. This morning I used my EA Active for the Wii that I bought myself for my birthday. It was actually a really good work out, and kind of kicked my butt. I'm excited to use it more and keep track of my progress. So my last weekend in Scotland went well. The last night we went out and found a pub that was open late and they just so happened to turn on the Glastonbury festival and Mumford & Sons was playing. Just the cherry on top of a wonderful night. After 12 hours in the air and a few movies later I made it back to Phoenix, and have been soaking in the joys of being home the past few days. Being away has definitely taught me an appreciation for not just America, but Arizona and Phoenix. I have always loved where I am from, and coming back after the trip I especially appreciate the sunshine, open spaces, and amazing people Phoenix manages to encompass. Ah, all I can say is it is fantastic to be home, and it feels almost surreal that I have more than a month of being here until school starts again! I'm hesitant to start work again, but a few days a week will keep me satisfied I suppose.
I can't believe it is over, but every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end as they say. So here's to another chapter, after my mind has been opened even further to more cultures and the people around me. I have learned more about myself; how I am when I don't get enough sleep, when I have too much caffeine, when I'm angry, and when I cannot stop laughing and how the people that stick by me through all of that I can really consider friends. So thanks to the girls that I hope to continue to watch movies all night and make up accents with - my trip would not have been the same with out you.
Here is the letter our professors wrote us and read to us the last night of the trip and pretty much sums up my fantastic time abroad.

Each year I pick a theme for the group that I think captures some essence of this group. This year I've picked the word 'hope'. Primarily because a number of you had conversations with me during the year, hoping that you'd find the money to make the trip; hoping that someone would help out; hoping that you'd have the time; and hoping that it would fit into your schedule.
So, Drs. Tracy, Brouwer and Edson put together some thoughts for you--
What we hope you've learned by coming on this trip--
that money is better spent on adventures and experiences like this versus consuming things you think you need to own.
we hope that you've learned to trust in yourself
that anything worth doing well is worth doing badly in the beginning for example:
remember going the wrong way on the tube?
learning to ride the bus, where to buy the tickets for the bus; how to buy the tickets, and just what was it that the bus driver said?
learning to walk places because you can (OK, so its not 110 outside)
we hope you've learned that: a good Guinness is always pulled twice;
that there is a bell curve to drinking--one glass of wine or beer maybe better than a whole bottle or two of wine
we hoped that you've learned (back to walking) that walking is a form of transportation and isn't that bad.
how to live without your car, your cell phone, your text messages, and that you can choose to be disconnected;
we hope you've learned being outside of America--that you get to see how America and Americans are seen by others and how that may differ from how we see ourselves;
we hope that you've learned that you needn't go the bathroom immediately, you can wait, especially when we are at the theatre;
We hope you've learned that practical shoes work best on cobblestone streets;
how to travel how to get places, what to do when you arrive in a city or place you don't know
That beauty sometimes comes without lots of make-up and alterations;
that maps are a good thing
that you need not have a computer lab, or a traditional classroom to learn
that extraordinary learning can take place between and outside of the classroom;
we hope that you learned some history about:

Ireland
England
Great Britain
and Scotland
so that you understand just a wee amount about the people who live in these places.

We hope that you've learned that families come in weird and wonderful configurations and that this family (although about to split up) has provided you with wonderful new friends; challenging people and situations that you've learned from; and in general a sense of just how wonderful and different people are!

And finally, we hope that you've learned that professors not only care about course work, but that we also care about you as whole people and we hope that you've learned that memories--in the end--are all that we are left with. So we, Sarah, Dan, and Belle--thank you for being part of our memories. And we hope that others here will be a part of your memories in the coming years.

Dr. Edson, Dr. Brouwer, Dr. Tracy


Went Downtown and had some iced coffee and took photobooth pictures with the awesome big sis this morning, I'll share some of that later!
Have a happy Fourth of July weekend!
Alex

See Ya Later

So my apartment is once again empty, just me and a room full of balloons and confetti. My Penn State friends have all left and now here I sit looking over the dozens of pictures we took over the week they were here. From one of the most amazing New Years ever, to exploring the Arizonan desert with some east coasters, to singing, dancing and laughing hysterically, the time they spent here was absolutely great.
Two out of three of them are in a sorority, and I'm always jealous when their 'big sister' decorates their room with streamers, candy and little gifts. I've told them countless time I want to join a sorority for the sole purpose of getting my room decorated all cool. Well, I guess they got the memo and while I was at work all day New Years day they spent the majority of the day doing this:



As for New Years, we didn't go to the huge Tempe Block party, or go to a huge party and pick up guys. We went to a family friend's house where my whole family was. We went over there and lit sparklers, played the Wii, danced, popped streamers and did a toast at midnight. It was everything I would have hoped for and more. All of my favorite people in one place, I couldn't have been happier. It was a great way to start off the new year and decade! I got to wear my awesome new heels and even though my gold nail polish didn't quite go, after about 15 outfit changes, I still rocked it.



We spent another day out in the desert, shooting cans , eating lunch, standing around a fire, and taking pictures, lots of pictures. It was weird having them be so excited to see a cactus and some of the simplest things that I don't even give a second glance. It really made me appreciate where I live, and all the beautiful things I'm surrounded by everyday.



We spent the rest of our time eating Mexican food, shopping[maybe a little too much], swimming, and just hanging out. I can't get sad that they're gone, although I am definitely going to miss them, I am just so incredibly happy to have friends like them. Even if I do only get to see them a few times a year. It's not good bye, it's see ya later.
It was a great way to begin the decade. The start of a new age.
Hope everyone is enjoying the New Year!
Alex

PS: I need a good resolution for the new year! What's yours?

Fresh Start & (Semi) New Beginnings

So here I am, sitting alone in my new apartment thinking about my new start. It is so weird to be so close to home now, taking the light rail to see my mom, staying the night at my grandma's. I can't believe I'm going to school within this close proximity to everyone I love, it's such a change, and something I'm definitely going to have to get used to. I'm so ready to get into the swing of things. I'm still getting used to sleeping in my new bed, walking to classes on a new campus, and not having the same college friends. This apartment still seems foreign to me, and I still feel homeless, not in the sense that I have no place to sleep, but in that I have no place to totally unwind drop all my bags and unwind. I'm still wondering if my roommate will come home tonight, or be gone again, what that noise is coming from the windows. I'm missing the comfort I felt from a solid place to call mine, from certainty. I still feel like I'm living out of a bag, but maybe another week or so I will finally settle in. Once I begin making new friends, getting my schedule down, get a TV in here! All I need is time, and right now it's ticking by slowly, minute by minute as I'm waiting for this new home to feel familiar.Missing my Penn State life, especially the great friends I made there, but that's what you deal with when transferring. I'm in Arizona now, the valley of the sun, with my best friends- my family. Once I get the hang of living here again and get situated, maybe then I can start the real purpose of this blog. Clothes, recipes, and more, yay! I'll try and start that soon!
Thanks for listening to my rambling,
Alex.