Magic Vs. 76ers Game

     Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to a basketball game, my first ever! The Magic were playing against the 76ers in Orlando, score 120-106. Here are some pictures :)

Today's words: In the end, everything will be alright. If it's not alright, then it's not the end.

October 22

   So guess what? We finally got new suitemates! Luckily, we were able to have our friends from across the hall move in :) 413 now consists of me, Caitlin, Emily, and Marchellaaaaaa.

   Oh yeah, last weekend was my second weekend in a row visiting the aquarium. That kinda makes me feel like I have no life, but it was awesome because we got to play with penguins for half an hour! Only one penguin (Pebbles) was brought out to us to play with on the floor and in a kiddie pool, but there were 6 others that we could go right up to and touch also. So are you ready for some cool penguin facts?

• gender can only be determined by a blood test
• the smallest penguins in the world are called (little) blue or fairy penguins
• the penguins at the FL aquarium (Black Footed South Africans) are the 2nd smallest variety
• they like to nibble toes and shiny things
• if you scratch their neck, they'll preen you (or fluff your "feathers")
• they typically keep the same mate for their entire lives
• they make a funny noise something similar to a donkey (this I was told, but we weren't fortunate enough to hear it)
• you'll hear them making sneeze-like sounds, which is actually the way they release salt from the food they eat

Today's words of advice: "Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain

Midnight Madness

     Honestly, I'm really not the kind of person to stand up infront of a large group of people and feel completely comfortable. I've always been really shy and normally would never make a fool of myself in public. But Wednesday night was an exception :) I walked into the sports center with a few of my friends where there was a table to sign up for "musical chairs." Herb went ahead and signed up, but no one else wanted to join him. So I figured, why not? I didn't have anything to lose, so I signed up also. 

     When it started, they had us go to the middle of the court and sit in the chairs that were arranged in a circle. But next? They gave us basketballs... Um, what? One of the girls was like "remember, this IS a basketball event." Oh great, now I get it. We just got punk'd. 

     So they told us that we had to dribble our basketball to the hoop, shoot a basket, and run back to hopefully get a seat. If you didn't make a basket the first time, you had to keep shooting until your ball made it through, but it definitely lowered your chances of getting a seat. 

     Okay so all was good, but like the 3rd time around, my basketball got stuck in the hoop. How lucky of me? Keep in mind, I'm 4'11'' and ridiculously far away from the hoop. But what could I do about it? Not much, so I just waved my hands above my head to get the point across that I couldn't reach the ball. Luckily, someone saved me from looking even more ridiculous, and smacked the ball out of the hoop. 

     Needless to say, I did not find a seat. But it was all in good fun, and I enjoyed stepping out of my boundaries :) 

Today's words of advice: Just be yourself.

Aquarium!

          Yesterday, I went to the Florida Aquarium with a few of my favorite people (Ben, Tyler, and Audrey).

   I'm completely nutzo about animals, fish, and turtles, so the day was basically an excuse for me to act like a little kid again :) I could go on and on and on about how much fun it was, but it'll be easier to just highlight some of the best points:

• crazy duckies
• otters!
• baby seahorses
• glowing jellyfish
• petting stingrays and sharks (loveee)
• the gift shop = a lot of fun if you're silly
• poison dart froggies

        There's a little bit that we didn't get to do, but I will in a few weeks when I go back. Next time I'll get to play with penguins! And by play, I only mean touch, but it's pretty much the same thing right?

Thanks to my obsession, I couldn't help myself and had no option but to leave with a baby turtle :)

  *  Side note: My suitemates moved out this weekend. I really wish that someone could tell me who my new suitemates are going to be/when they're moving in. I keep asking around, but noone seems to have a clue. So if you live in the HoJo right now, you should probably say goodbye to two more people pretty soon! And if you find out that you're moving into my room, pleaseeee let me know! :)

Today's words of advice: Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Just Tampa (pics)

Just a few pictures I've taken since arriving at this lovely place I call home :)

Today's words: "Courage is the force that creates history."

October 1

     This week has consisted of me dreading Thursday (which I'm so happy is almost over) because it's busy, but it wasn't ALL bad. The weather for the past 2 days has been absolutely wonderful, and yesterday was by far the best day ever! 

1. The morning started off at a nice, chilly 70-something degrees (and stayed that way)
2. Most beautiful sunset...ever (sad story behind that, but some people will understand.)
3. Brick party? Yes, please! ...my brick gives me a headache. 
4. Animal impersonations--this is what Caitlin and Tyler have to put up with when I'm bored :)

     I had classes today from 10-3 (which really isn't too bad), but I don't like getting out of class in PH 40 minutes early, having to go back to my room for like 20 minutes, to then walk straight back to PH. It gets old very fast, but that's okay :). 

     My day started off with psychology, where I reconfirmed that (based off the NEO Personality Inventory) I'm ridiculously conscientious. Next on the list was criminology, where we learned that "No means no!" It's probably the class I look forward to most of all because I'm genuinely interested in everything we have discussed thus far. 

     The class I look forward to least, though no doubt the easiest so far, is intro to computers. I had to take the word exam today (that I was freaking out over), but it's cool cause I passed and that's all that matters. 

     Tomorrrrrrow is the Global Village Simulation, but I really have no clue what it is. Right now I see it as free food from different countries, and that's about all I know. But free (and hopefully tasty) food is good, so I'm excited :) ...especially since I'm already getting tired of the food on campus (not to mention the moldy bun on my Chick-Fil-A sandwich). Overall, I'm looking forward to this week being over! But then again, who isn't?

Today's words of advice: Take time to put yourself first.

P.S. - I need a photography buddy. The end!