Category Archives: Uncategorized

Summer Life: BBQ Edition

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This is DEF not a picture of MY bbq, mine was more charred and ugly

 

 

It may be a little bit presumptuous on my behalf to start looking back on the summer already but I must say this summer has been pretty good. In all honesty this is not what I had in mind months ago when I was looking forward to summer. I thought I would take a quick 3 week summer course, hop on the greyhound to NYC, grab myself a nice little internship and just make play dates underneath the city lights.

Instead, I find myself in Oswego, NY, in my second summer course, no internship and oh yeah I haven’t been home since April…April 17th to be exact. You won’t find many complaints from me though. I accomplished a lot so far this summer, not in the way I had in mind; but as you already know and I am learning life has it’s own plans for how things go sometimes, despite what you had in mind.

If you were to visit, Oswego anytime between the months of late October – June. Then you might ask as I frequently did , why anyone on earth would decide to live here. Not because the town or people are bad(they’re not), but because the weather and vibe can be downright miserable. At least for a city kid such as myself.

However summer in Oswego reveals it all. This place is beautiful. I have a newfound love of Oswego. So far this summer I have attended quite a few bbq’s, had a makeshift one of my own , sat by the lake countless times, watched the sunset at Breitbeck Park, missed the 30 minute (felt like 5 minute) July 4th fireworks, been to Rudy’s thrice, Bev’s twice, (btw both were nice) and simply enjoyed the hot weather that is mellowed by a constant breeze off the lake.

As far as accomplishments go there have been a few but…let’s talk about that later. For now , there is still some summer in Oz left for me to soak up.

Gemma’s Room

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Directly across from the doorway, is a wall with space which I’ve designated for images,  quotes, thoughts and a few articles to tack up. When I first unpacked I put these items, partially as reference points. However the items I choose were near to me. For example the one tiny article you see is my first published piece(ever) , a cut out that says ” enjoy the ride” because I often need the reminder to not be so tense, and a picture of my dog .I have become a big believer in the energy that you allow into your life and space as well as how it affects your mood. The other day I walked into my room , as I had done countless other times, but this time I stopped in the doorway. “Somethings missing” I muttered . Looking around, the incomplete feeling was palpable. Suddenly I saw it… “it” being what was missing. My favorite picture of Gemma my first and only niece. Just the thought of her alone, could bring me to a great place. She represented all that was important to me , love,family , “the joy”. So now front and center in my room , across the doorway sits the picture to my sanity, a brief mental escape and most of all the biggest reminder of the love near to me.Now my room is complete.

A briefing for future entries

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Now that I’m officially a graduate of SUNY Oswego, I have started to immerse myself into the next chapter of my life.  As a soon-to-be graduate student in the Mental Health Counseling program, I realize how critical the next few years of my life are.  I’ve also realized how quickly time can go by without even noticing.  I really need to do all that I can over the next two to three years, because who know’s when I’ll have the chance to do it all in the future.

Last month when I graduated, I planned on taking some classes this summer to get ahead in my program and eliminate the worry that I wouldn’t graduate with my master’s degree in two years.  Now that the summer has started and I realize what it feels like to have somewhat of a break, I am postponing classes until the fall semester and enjoying as much as I can while on break from school.  I’ve begun working more (which is counterproductive to having a break, but enjoyable – I’ll get to that later), exploring new avenues of involvement (now that I’m no longer actively engaged with Student Association), begun making plans for new adventures (something I’ll be talking about a lot over the next few months), and reflecting on my life in general (which is something I’ve always done, but now piecing things together).  The next few months will include many emotional, physical, and mental challenges, but I know that I will be more than capable of keeping up with them, and with myself.

In the past, my blog entries have consisted of my views of somewhat political and social issues.  Although I know that is not what you all want to read (since you can easily read blogs on MSNBC.com, Fox.com, etc.), there may be times when something is very close to my heart, or would have a direct effect on my life (and possibly yours).  If I do feel the need to post about a current event or political, social, or financial situation, I will mark those entries as such, that way you will know before diving in that it’s not an entry about me.  These entries will include my viewpoint, and will be connected to my life in some way, so they will not be summaries of what is happening, but more reflections and explanations of the impact they will have for me.  The way I see it, I’m about to turn 23 years-old, it’s about time I pay attention to what is happening around me and figure out what I can do to turn a negative into a positive, or at least understand why I can’t do anything about it (I’ve always had the attitude that I can change anything I want; five years of college has definitely fixed that mindset).  From now on, most of my entries will be directly related to my life and what I’m doing.  I already have a lot planned for this coming semester, so I know there will be plenty to write about and plenty for you to read (I guarantee that I’ll keep up with my entries at least bi-weekly (most likely, weekly)).

My next entry will consist of a new introduction of myself, for those of you who have not read in the past, as well as my plans for the summer (and a brief look into my fall semester).  I welcome comments and will respond to them as I receive them.  I think this could easily become a two-way conversation and I’d love to hear what you have to say.  For now, I must begin my day and move onto the next task.  It’s time for a few hours of work and then a couple of meetings.  Enjoy this summer solstice (use as much of the daylight as you possibly can).

Don’t Worry, It All Works Out

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… those were the final last words from one Steve Granelli as I left Lanigan Hall in a frazzled, worried mess. Would I be able to continue on the fast track to a December graduation? In the name of all that is holy in internship land, how would I be able to stretch my internship to earn me the 6 credits I oh-so-desperately needed?

To bring you up to speed, I did land an internship for the summer, and I am BEYOND thrilled about what I’m doing. I’m a Long Island girl, born and raised (though I will contend that I am a displaced country girl at heart), and when I saw a posting on LakerLeads that looked perfect for me, I had to apply.

And now, I am a proud intern at not one, but TWO of Long Island’s biggest and most popular radio stations!

Okay, Long Islanders, you’ve probably listened to either one of these two stations in your lifetime. I grew up on both of them, listening to WBLI every morning as I got ready for school, and blasting WBAB in the car with my dad. I think that’s what I’m so excited to be a part of something that has been there for me for years upon years – I can identify with both stations since I am a listener myself. Just to give you an idea, I distinctly remember listening to WBLI after 9/11, and I was only 11 years old on that fateful day. Who knows how long I was listening to WBLI/WBAB before that?!

Anyway, I just wrapped up my second full day with WBLI. I work Wednesdays from 6am-9am, then again from 11am-2pm, and sometimes later than that, depending on whether or not I have an event to work later. I also work other promotional events throughout the week, depending on what we have planned and what events I have chosen to work.

More to come on the ins and outs of my internship in upcoming posts – I don’t wanna give away all the details just yet! For now, I will leave you with a picture of my two intern t-shirts I wear when I go on events. Yeah, I was kinda excited after orientation and took a picture. Teeheehee 🙂

Another Summer In Oswego

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So I’m a couple weeks into my second summer in Oswego and I love it just as much as last year. Everyone complains about the Oswego cold, but if most students were here in the summer they would be astonished at the amazing weather.
Summer in Oswego slows everything down. There are no 12 hour days that consist of class to class to meeting to class. There are no 5 day forecasts of snow, just you, the sun and the atmosphere. It actually gives you the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful campus we have.

Another summer in Oswego also means another set of orientation sessions. Last year, I found it interesting to observe the parents and freshman. I surprisingly went through orientation 3 years ago and it feels like just yesterday I got lost trying to find Hart hall while standing right in front of the campus center.
Although this will be my last summer in Oswego, I will never forget the beauty that lies within this season.

Debit Cards

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I have a suggestion for the future if anyone who has the power to make the change is reading this. I know that as someone who rarely ever has cash on him, I would really appreciate it if stores on campus would accept debit cards as a method of payment. No stores do, not Freshens, not Snygg Snacks, not the store in Lanigan, not the store in Rich, not the store in Penfield, etc. The only stores on campus that do are the stores in Hewitt such as Artville, and even then, I have been told that the cost needs to be at least $5 in order for you to use a debit card. It is very inconvenient, because as I said, I don’t like having cash on me, and even if I did, the ATMs don’t always work, anyway. Just a few days ago, one of them took $50 out of my boyfriend’s bank account even though it didn’t give him the $50, so now, he has to submit a request for an investigation in hopes to get his $50 back.

Every now and then, I like picking up a small snack or a beverage from a store on campus to enjoy before or during class, or maybe at the library while I get some work done, and I can pretty much only do that for as long as I have money on my Plus-Plan, which goes quickly. When I was a freshman here two years ago, students only received $50 per semester. Now, they receive $70, which is a lot better, but it still doesn’t last all that long, especially since Freshens is so expensive. I just wish that this could be changed, because I can recall back to when I first discovered that stores on campus only accepted cash and Plus-Plan as methods of payment; I was very, very surprised.

After all, this is 2011, and this should pretty much be a method of payment everywhere, especially on a college campus. It is especially ridiculous when the idea of the Oswego Debit Card is put into consideration. Yes, they can be used off campus and at Hewitt, but the majority of stores on campus do not accept them because obviously, they are debit cards, so is there really any practical benefit to issuing them? Don’t get me wrong; if debit cards were allowed as a method of payment, then I’d be more encouraged to spend money, since it would be more accessible to me, but I trust that I could teach myself to be reasonable; I need to save money more than ever right now, and I’m well aware of that. I would just appreciate the chance to not be so limited.

It’s Finals Week, It’s about time I speak

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Ok, so at first I intended to take a mini vacation. Just a little time to clear my mind, and sit with my own thoughts. That actually came after my bday (4/24) So during that week I was obviously quite. Then I took my mini break. Then the last week of school came and things got hectic and I essentially got evicted.Not like homeless style, but we lost our lease she gave it away to the friends of our neighbors, plus I suspect they didn’t want us back whatever. So between that and the last week of school things were hectic. So I finally , FINALLY come to write something and you know what happens? I get sinusitis and I’m out of commission for a good amount of time , got taken care of making a great comeback prepared to blog on a great number of things and then I got badly injured on some broken glass. I ended up at the hospital needing stitches. So now it’s incredibly hard to type or write. However, when Finals week ends (I get stitches removed this week too) I have a plethora of thoughts to share.

Until then everyone please study hard, don’t over stress (it wont help the situation) and do well.  I wish you all the best of luck. I shall return soon!

We Must Remember

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We must remember…
In the midst of tough times and many obstacles we often question why these things are happening?, why is everything not working out or simply causes stress? In reality we must realize that these things are suppose to happen, you are suppose to experience these obstacles in order to grow as an individual. With this said, Please keep in mind by focusing on getting these questions answered you are wasting powerful energy that can be used on your journey to success. Keeping this is mind, As I finish the last week of my undergrad degree <3 its time to re-focus and re-direct the positive energy into reaching the finish line… HERE WE GOOOOOOO!
~WS

Kick It! Kickball Tournament

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This past Saturday, I competed in a kickball tournament that was put on by Active Minds. To play, two requirements needed to be met. Firstly, you had to put a team together of eight to nine members, and secondly, you had to pay a $100 fee – not for each member but for the whole team, so it came down to about $10 a person. It is rather pricey, in my opinion, but firstly, you get a t-shirt, and secondly, proceeds went toward a good cause – mental health awareness.

It was a lot of fun, for the most part, but sports aren’t really my cup of tea, as I am, by no means, an athlete. We did, however, win a match, which was pretty awesome. We are really proud of that, and we lasted three matches. We lost the first match, won the second, and then lost the third, which is when we were eliminated. The team that we beat had great sportsmanship, though. Because Ray (my boyfriend) was our captain, he named our team the Stingrays, and the team that lost to us said afterwards that they had been stung by the Stingrays, which was funny.

The third match was next to impossible, which is why we lost. The kickers on the opposing team were excellent kickers, and they kicked the ball so far out that it was next to impossible to get the ball before anyone in the field could get it in time to get them out. Plus, I had a difficult time catching the ball because it was a sunny day, and I therefore couldn’t see where the ball was headed.

Overall, it was a really great experience, especially since we won a match, and it was a lot of fun being on a team and having to work together. Everyone, for the most part, was a really great sport, and it’s awesome that this is going to be a good experience to include on a resume. Not only did we work on teams and therefore have to demonstrate leadership, the money that was paid went toward mental health awareness in schools, so it will be helpful for Ray and I to include this on our resumes, since we will be teachers. I want to close by saying that Wednesday, I have an interview with the Sheldon Hall Director for a Desk Attendant position next year; it’s my birthday that day, as well, so hopefully, that will bring me some good luck!