WHAT AN AWESOME THURSDAY!!

Well it’s a little after midnight, and I’m sitting here, content, eating a couple of cinnamon graham crackers. (Three whole crackers equals 130 calories, which is a nice, filling snack!) Anyway, I just want to spurt out all the cool stuff that happened today! Well I woke up mad early for my 8am class, which wasn’t fun (true, true.) This isn’t because the material was boring (we were discussing Hamlet in my Western Drama class, which I find really interesting.) It was rough because, let’s face it, who wants to get up that early? Now, if you are not a present college student, you are unacquainted with the fact that 8am classes=DEATH! Well, it’s not that dramatic, but really, 8am classes try to be avoided at all costs because here in college that’s an ungodly hour. Now, if you’re still in high school, I’m sure you all have to get up at 6am to look like your fine and fresh selves. Then you have classes starting at 7:15 or so. However, when it comes to 8am classes, college students would be lucky to get up at that time. You catch my drift?

Anyway, after my 2 early bird classes, I had to give a tour. I always amaze myself how quickly I clean my room. Let me just lay it out for ya: I get out of my Dance and Movement class at 10:40am and then I have until 11:05 to make my room spic and span and tidy myself up in acceptable Student Ambassador attire before I have to be at the Admissions Building at 11:15. So it doesn’t give me much time to make my bed, sweep the floor, organize my desk, hide the dirty laundry…(I don’t do that ALL the time). Somehow I manage to clean it all up and make it purdy. I think it helps that I rock out to some tunes that get me PUMPED, and therefore I clean Speedy-Gonzalez style!

So the tour I gave today was so nice! It went a little longer than expected, mainly because we had one girl on crutches, but I can’t complain because she was SUCH A TROOPER! All smiles, even when I led her to a massive amount of stairs (which I tried to avoid as much as possible!) I believe her name was Vanessa and she was a lifeguard. She broke her toe and she should be getting her cast off in mid-November! Best of luck Vanessa! People like her make my job easy as pie! Besides, it was nice to go slowly through campus. Everyone understood. After my tour, I did some work, took a power nap, gymed it, showered, yadda yadda. But the cool part was at 6pm.

Renee Levine, Marni Strump, my roommate Samantha Lynn, and I all met up to go eat out at Rock da’Pasta on Main Street in town. It was going to be our little get together dinner before our big adventure=HEADLESS HORSEMAN HAYRIDE AND HAUNTED HOUSES.

I took this picture of the sign, but as soon as I did, a cop approached me and told me that cameras weren’t allowed inside the attraction. So I had to mosey my way back to the car and lock it up. Bummer.

Anyway, back to the restaurant, it’s rad to say the least. As quoted by the Oracle last February, “A step into Rock Da Pasta is like delving oneself into the aura of rock. There are tall bar stools with guitars as the backs.

Renee Levine sitting in one of those guitar-backed stools!

There are also pictures of rock legends like Janis Joplin and musical paraphernalia such as old vinyl records hanging from the walls, which are painted a glimmering rock ’n’ roll gold. Even the menu’s dishes are rock-inspired, featuring entrées such as Spaghetti with Grateful Red Sauce, David Bow-Tie Seafood Alfredo, Joplin’s Penne Rose and Stevie Ray-Violi.” So it’s an awesome atmosphere. I remember Sam ordered the Spaghetti and Grateful Red Sauce (haha get it? Grateful Dead?)

Samantha Lynn eating her “Grate” Red Sauce pasta.

Mine wasn’t as memorable, but it was still yummy! It had a lot of veggies. I even ordered wheat pasta which was a measly dollar extra!

Marni and Renee deciding what to eat.

You can actually see the steam rising from Marni’s “Stairway to Heaven” pasta!

Well I had an embarrassing moment where I misplaced my wallet, so I had to high tale out of the restaurant, check my car for it with no avail, and therefore trekked back to my residence hall where I finally located it on my bed. Now what was it doing there? Luckily, I drove back, paid my dues, and all was supah fine. Now, us four gals were off to Headless Horseman in Ulster Park. It was about 28 minutes away or so, but the time flew by! We all wished we had some Michael Jackson Thriller or Monster Mash we could listen to, but we just gabbed about how excited we were.

It was so easy to find this place! It was literally 2 turns and we were there! Thank the lord, since I’m not gifted with the instinct of directions. Jamie Michelson assured me it was an easy find, and she sure was right! Since we left early, in case we did lose our way, we arrived about a half hour early. My dad would be proud. So we began to take silly pictures of how ready we were to be scared out of our minds!!

Marni is pumped.

I’d like to say I’m pumped in this picture too, but I just look darn creepy. I’m sure the mom will be proud of this picture…with my gum hanging out and such.

We didn’t waste time to jump in line for the hay ride! Renee just kept bouncing up and down with energy. I was excited too, but I don’t get scared too easily…so I was curious to see how this night was going to go. I’m not afraid of clowns or ghosts, or the dark…or I try not to. However, I was put to the test and was freaked several times!

Here’s the website for the Headless Horseman Hayride and Haunted Houses!

oh and check out the Headless Horseman on YOUTUBE!! SCARY!

The Hay ride consisted all about Grim’s fairy tales gone a-wrong. It was really nicely themed, and I was spooked more than a few times. After that we walked through the first haunted house, which wasn’t too bad (as in, it wasn’t that scary.) Then there was the Corn Maze, which concerned a few of us as to this being an actual guided corn maze or just a walk-aimlessly-corn-maze. The guard reassured us it was well guided with spooky creatures and what not- sure was! After the corn maze there was the SCARIEST HOUSE OF ALL in all four of our opinions. I explain a little bit of it in my video…but that house threw me for a loop. The house was called Flesh Eaters. Nice name, ey? I definitely RAN out of that house, throwing myself into walls, looking like a lunatic. To be honest though, once I ran out of the house I was doubled over with laughter! My stomach was aching because I was laughing so hard! I haven’t had one of those moments in a long time: a giggle fest!

Well here’s a video of the four of us gals talking about our favorite parts of the Headless Horseman (since we weren’t allowed to bring cameras or video cameras in the actual attraction.) BOOO. So I just thought it would be nice to hear from us first hand…ya know? Ok! Enjoy!

Headless Horseman post commentary from the 4 of us on YouTube!

Then we drove on home, talked some more about our favorite parts and quotes of the night. Sam reminded me how in the really scary haunted house, Marni kept saying, “Let’s wait for the families,” who were behind us. However, at one point the four of us completely stopped in our tracks. waiting for this unknown family, when all of a sudden this scary, blood soaked dude, popped out at us and scared the be-jesus out of me. That’s when I screamed, “Do you see what happens when we wait for families!?” It’s not like that guy wouldn’t have popped out and scared us if we decided not to wait…which made my exclamation all the more comical, in Sam’s opinion. Thanks Sam! Haha, lordy. Another time, we were walking through the corn maze which was infested with clowns. However, Sam was really terrified of clowns, which she didn’t let us know until after the fact so none of them would mess with her further. She said she kept trying to picture them as fluffy bunnies! One quote that Sam said, which really had me laughing was, “There were way too many heads for one clown.”

To sum it all up, the night was good! We went to Dunkin Donuts for one final hurrah and then everyone went home. We wanted to watch a little Hocus Pocus, but we were kinda tired and had some homework to do before tomorrow’s classes.

Sooo that was our scary evening!! I cannot wait until tomorrow where everyone will be in costumes and enjoying the festivities!

Sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite…BWA HAHAHA!

Wow I’m a dork. Happy Halloween all!!!

Well tomorrow is Halloween and for the first time in my life I think I’m actually NOT that excited. It’s weird. I always loved Halloween, getting crazily dressed up, getting free candy, eating a whole bunch of free candy, etc. I don’t know what it is but I guess I’m just not really into the whole Halloween spirit thing this year. Normally by the beginning of October I know what I want to be and I already start working on my costume, but none of that happened this year and I don’t think I’m going to dress up. Last year my girlfriend and I went as the Riddler and Poison Ivy from Batman. The year before that I was Peter Pan but this year I’m just not feeling it. Maybe I’m getting old??? Who knew?

This was me and Tarah last Halloween!

This year to replace my old Halloween festivities I’m going to go to the Headless Horseman instead, which is a fun haunted spook walk/hayride about 15-20 minutes away from New Paltz. I went last year and it was a lot of fun, so I’m going to go this year with my girlfriend, Tarah. I’m hoping it’s extra scary since we’re going on Halloween but one can only hope.

Last week I went to another Haunted “ESQUE” kind of attraction with my fellow staff members from Scudder Hall. That’s where I live and where I’m an RA, or a resident assistant. It was pretty fun, not as big as the Headless Horseman, but it was pretty scary, I can’t lie. Afterwards we went to Outback Steakhouse which was such a good choice because the entire time I was at the spook walk I was sending out subliminal messages that I wanted Outback so it worked out to my convenience.

This is the crew! We got Rob, Christina, Mabel, Meghan, Abbey, Me, Cody, Liz, Mimi, and Alan

Of course it was delicious! I had Alice Springs Chicken which is what I usually always get whenever I go there. So good! Oh, I also had Creamy Onion Soup. Also SO GOOD! We were the last people there so I felt kind of bad but it was so much fun because we hadn’t had a staff bonding experience in ages. The servers there must of thought we were nuts though because the entire time we were playing “Never Have I Ever” or the “Celebrity Post it Game”. We were basically 11 years old. Then we sang happy birthday to the infamous RD Rob because it was his fake birthday and finally we peaced out for the night so that we could rest up because OPEN HOUSE WAS THE NEXT DAY!

As a Student Ambassador I had to be up by 6:30 in the morning so I could get ready for a long day of work. If any of my students from Orientation remember, I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON so this was not cool. However, it turned out to be a great day with a nice turnout. I was in charge of parking with my fellow staff member, Cheyanne. We kicked butt, basically! It was really nice meeting all of the families and letting them know why I chose New Paltz and why I love it so much. I hope all those that I met and talked to decide that New Paltz is the place for them, as well as everyone else I did not speak to personally!

Finally, after a long day of work I changed out of my business attire and hopped in my car to go home and visit my brand new nephew who was a day short of being 2 weeks old. He was mad cute and so tiny, I forgot how small babies are when they are first born. Kind of scary but it’s all good because I didn’t break him or anything.

As Jessie mentioned in one of her previous blogs, I really love New Paltz for its distance and location. All of this stuff is so close to New Paltz and I was able to go home for a night to visit my family and then go back to school without a 7 hour drive or anything like that. That’s my favorite!

Alright, keep it real!

Uncle Kevin

We’ve all heard that this winter is going to be especially bad because of the caterpillar with the stripes on his back.  Just a little aside, how reliable is that source?  We’re trusting a CATERPILLAR with the forecast for the next season?  What’s that about?

Anyway, no matter how they got their information, I think “the-powers-that-be” are right.  For those of you who were awake at 11:10 AM today saw that the proof was in the precipitation: IT WAS SNOWING!!! Snowing, in October -CRAZY.  AND, it was sunny blue skies a moment later!  Also, let it be known that NP Blogger Jesse tweeted that it was snowing just a few minutes before I did -so propps to her for that.

More on snowing -I love it.  There is something about the forces of gravity and wind acting upon tiny clusters of partially frozen water that just make me, well, warm.  So much nostalgia and that stuff-that-makes-up-smiles overwhelms me when it begins to snow, especially the first snow.  And although I have to laundry every waking moment to have new, dry clothes to wear, and my back aches from shoveling I still get upset when I hear such ill repute about such a wonderful form of delight.  And it costs nothing -truly the best things in life are free.

On another topic entirely, I have grown insanely famished in the last, oh, three or four lines.  My sister Catherine and I both tend to get INSTANTLY and intensely hungry.

No warning, and no appeasing the hunger in any way but eating a whole lot.  So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be off to the SUB for some choice grub!

The Beatles, “Fixing A Hole”

The Beatles, “Golden Slumbers”

Josh Groban, “Remember When It Rained”

Peace-out-Cub-Scouts!

Matt Stracq

: D

How’s everyone doing? It’s a little windy out there, now ain’t it? Is everyone excited for Halloween!? OH I’M ECSTATIC! I can’t wait! A lot of my friends are having get-togethers and I can’t wait to go full-out with a costume and everything! Ya-hoo! My friends and I have been going trick-or-treating here at New Paltz since we were freshman and so we’ll probably go again this year. Well hopefully we can! I think it’s safe to say that my friends and I can sometimes be kids at heart. We just enjoy the simple things in life, such as being goofy with each other, dressing up, and dancing the night away. AH, Friday cannot come soon enough!

Well, besides the excitement of Halloween, I have some videos to share with you guys! I took some footage, if you will, of me meeting with my nutritionist here at SUNY New Paltz. (Please disregard my loud commentary. Because I’m behind the camera, even the smallest giggle sounds like GIANT-laughter.) Anyway, the nutritionist/dietrition is named Evelyn Gezo, and you can make an appointment with her…FOR FREE! I meet with her weekly (or at least try my best to do so.) She’s so sweet and knowledgeable! The first video is of her explaining her plan and OHH the 2^nd video is a tour of Hazzy Hazz (or Hasbrouck Dining Hall). So let me show you these videos, ey?

Now I just want to add some tips on preventing that ever so scary FRESHMAN 15. Even though it’s not the very beginning of the year anymore, and even though you may not be a first year student, that doesn’t diminish the fact that the “Freshman fifteen” can still be frightful. We all face these lifestyle adjustments every year. It’s the time of year where everything changes. The days shorten, it cools off, we get really busy, and the holidays are looming around the corner. As opposed to those frivolous days of summer, your schedule is probably now booked! Also, I know that Hasbrouck is a buffet style, which can be overwhelming, as well as making it hard to discipline one self. However, YOU CAN DO IT! (This is basically similar to what Evelyn said above. However, if you’re visual like me, seeing the plan in step order can help!) Here’s how…

1. Schedule your exercise

One of the difficult adjustments to make during the fall is getting used to less daylight. as the days shorten, it seems as though you have fewer hours to schedule activities around. Also, there’s the cold factor. Even if you work out indoors, it’s so much easier to get back under your warm covers and bundle up. Just remember that exercising makes you warm. It also keeps you fit and healthy and is the best thing you can do with cold and flu season right around the bend. So no matter what exercise you do, schedule it like it’s your job, and stick to it!

2. Schedule your sleep.

As things get busy, we tend to push projects later and later into the evening. To fuel those longer hours we eat…and eat. This is one major cause of the Freshman 15- a result of the infamous all-nighter. So plan your sleep just like you plan everything else.

3. Plan your Meals

Plan your meals weekly so you don’t resort to convenience foods. If your schedule is INSANE during the week, try taking an hour or two on Sunday to shop and strategize. Print out healthy meals, put healthy snack options in your car, your bag, or anywhere you’re likely to find yourself hungry. Believe me, the energy you get as a result of this planning will far exceed the time it takes to plan, especially when you consider how you’ll feel if your diet is fueled by fast food.

4. Carry water everywhere

When we’re busy, we forget to drink water. Then, in a dehydrated state, we often confuse thirst for hunger and we eat. Avoid this by ensuring that there’s water everywhere you go. I carry a Nalgene water bottle around me all the time.

5. Begin a morning ritual

One of the easiest ways to live a healthy lifestyle is to begin each day by doing something positive. With long warm days to look forward to, there always seems to be time to do something energetic. Asthe days shorten, this takes more discipline. Beginning each day with something healthy, even as little as a five-minute ritual, can give you a whole new outlook.

6. Find a nighttime ritual

Many of us undo an entire day’s worth of productivity in the last few hours before bed. This is particularly true when we’re busy and/or stressed because we want to unwind, which often means desserts in front of the Telly. If you can find yourself a healthier way to unwind, you’ll do yourself a WORLD of good! And if you can’t get away from vegging out in front of the TV, add something in like doing sit ups during commercials (like Evelyn said!), or stretching. Then maybe after the movie, you can drink some herbal tea and read, to end the night with a calming, positive attitude.

7. Make a New Year’s resolution

Instead of waiting till New Year’s, make a resolution to there, starting today, with gained fitness and health. Just think about how much better your goals can be for next year if you finish this one on a positive note! Consider that most of us make New Year’s resolutions to pretty much undo the damage that we do to ourselves each fall. Why put yourself through that? Instead set ourself up, beginning right now, to have a banner year in 2009.

8. Cut yourself some slack

You can’t be perfect, and frankly, who wants to be? You’ve got to live! By planning ahead with goals in mind, you’ll be far more able to relax about the holiday season and enjoy it too! So make a plan and do your best to stick with it. However, don’t forget to have “fun” be part of that plan!

On that note…

I have some healthy recipes you can follow!! For more recipes check out www.balancemindbodysoul.com and click recipes!

Afternoon Apple Snacks RECIPIE!

2 red delicious apples (or any apple you like! Why not?)

½ cup chunky peanut butter

Lemon juice

2 tbsp honey

½ tsp cinnamon

6 whole graham crackers

- Core apples and cut each in half; cut each half into 3 wedges to make a total of 12 wedges. Dig wedges in lemon juice to prevent browning and place in a single layer on microwave safe plate or baking dish. Cover loosely with waxed paper and microwave on high (100 percent) 3 ½ – 4 minutes or until apples are tender and hold their shape. (Rotate ½ way through cooking.) Drain apples on paper towels.

- I n a small bowl, combine peanut butter, honey and cinnamon. Snap graham crackers in half to make 12 square crackers. Spread a lyer of peanut butter mixture on each of the six crackers; top with 2 apple wedges. Top with remaining graham cracker to sandwich snacks.

Makes 6 servings:

1 serving=2 graham cracker halves

Nutrition Information for 1 Serving= Calories 210; Fat:12 g; Saturated Fat: 2.5g, Sodium: 160mg; Cholesterol: 0g; Carbohydrates: 24g; Fiber: 3g

Low-fat pumpkin cookies

And since fall is coming, think about making cookies with some of the seasonal ingredients coming around the bend, like this recipe for low-fat pumpkin cookies:

1/2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. ginger
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup raisins or dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, blend together first five ingredients. Mix in spices, oats, and baking powder; then fold in flour, raisins or dates, and nuts. Drop cookie dough by tablespoons onto a nonstick cookie sheet, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Yields 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes

Nutritional Information: (per serving)
Calories: 67 Protein: 2 g Fiber: 1 g
Carbs: 12 g Fat Total: 2 g Saturated Fat: < 0.5 g

****Alright guys! Sorry this post is so long, but I had so much to share with you all!! Have a nice Wednesday and don’t let the cold get ya down! Stay active and do what ya love!****

<3 Kristen

So Saturday, October 25^th, was Open House here at SUNY New Paltz.

It was a great experience for all involved! We had SO many prospective students with their families come and visit the campus. Since I’m a Student Ambassador I was required to work it. Oh let me explain what a Student Ambassador’s job entails, in case you are caught unawares! A Student Ambassador is someone who gives tours around campus as well as working in the Admissions building. So I’m not going to sugarcoat this…we had to get to the Admissions building at 7:15 AM and I was not thrilled. The only reason I wasn’t too ecstatic was because it was so darn early. Besides, it was just a tough weekend with the musical going on every night and what not. I was drained! However, the day went quickly and it was quite rewarding. As I said in my title, everyone was so smiley and informative, so it was easy to catch the energy bug and help out where ever I was needed. Plus, the rain held out until later that evening, which was nice! It wasn’t the best weather ever, but at least it wasn’t a torrential downpour!

First of all, Meagan Olsen, Nichole Saldana, and I were assigned to go to the Student Union Building, fill approximately 26 balloons with helium, and then walk along route 32 to tie balloons to signs/ telephone poles. That way, the families could have an aesthetically pleasing blue and orange tour route to arrive at the parking lots. I know it was always confusing when my family and I looked at colleges! We seemed to have a difficult time finding where we had park. So I hope the old follow-the-balloons-trick worked! After that, the three of us had to rush back (since the balloon task took such a long time) and grab something free from the continental breakfast. There were bagels, muffins, fruit, cinnamon rolls, coffee, juice, etc. The three of us missed the group picture, which is a bummer, but ah well. Instead we had all those families driving safely in the right direction, so we did the right thing! Haha

Meagan Olsen and Nichole Saldana holding all our balloons.

My job for the day was to be stationed in the Athletic and Wellness Center with Erin Kowalsky, another fellow Student Ambassador.

Erin Kowalsky, here, radio-ing it up!

Well our job was to advise the volunteers for Open House as well as mingle with families and ask if they had any questions or concerns. We had SO many volunteers who signed up with C.R.E.W. This idea of C.R.E.W was created by Paul Kohler and Marlea Liguori, where they collaborated their ideas and made it happen. I bet your wondering what the heck I’m talking about when I say C.R.E.W, so I’ll post the website for your viewing pleasure. However, I’ll just copy and paste the information from the Facebook group that Paul and Marlea made, since they summed it up very nicely!

“We’re looking for enthusiastic students who want to share in their love for New Paltz with prospective students and their families. As part of the admissions C.R.E.W, you will share your experiences at SUNY New Paltz with high school students trying to figure out if New Paltz is the school for them! Responsibilities include: giving campus tours, welcoming visitors, passing out information, hosting a students for a day, and assisting admission advisors with the general operations of our large scale events!
Benefits: Volunteer hours for each event worked, free New Paltz gear such as shirts and cool backpacks, and great experience if you’re interested in becoming an ambassador, and sharing your love for New Paltz!!”

Here’s the link to the website: http://www.newpaltz.edu/admissions/crew.html

Here’s a group picture! All the students in orange shirts are the volunteers and the beige jackets/blue polos are student ambassadors.

Through out the day, there were ALL types of events. Let me break it down fo’ ya. There were Admission Information Sessions in the Lecture Center that covered the admission process from application to decision. They went from 9:45 to 1:45. Also in the Lecture Center they had workshops, tours, and information fairs. The workshops were based on the Educational Opportunity Program and the Scholar’s Mentorship Program. Then there were campus tours as well as residence life tours that took place from 9 to 2pm. (My job through out the day was pretty much showing people on the map where the Lecutre Center was so people could get to these tours. ) In the Athletic and Wellness Center, where I was stationed, there were Academic Department tables set up from 10am until 2pm, where one could go and get pamphlets/ask questions to faculty members pertaining to their major of interest. So as you can see, we needed a lot of assistance and the Student Ambassadors as well as C.R.E.W. members put in so much work! But let me tell you, I was DOG TIRED once Open House was over. And then I had to shlep on over to McKenna Theatre to do a show of Company, but it all worked out! The energy some how magically appeared when I needed it. It just goes to show you: you can always do more than you think you can!

OOOOOOO pictures galore! Here ya go!

Stephanie Samuel, a student ambassador, posing with a Crew Member.

Paul Kohler being all manly with that staple gun.

A faculty member showing an example over at the science tables.

Jamie Michelman (Student Ambassador) and Laura Waterbury (a volunteer).

Sarah Doran and Lisa Zingone, both Student Ambassadors.

Chris Lavin, Emily Kurland and Alex Johnson helping out at the Theatre table.

Shari Griswold, a theatre major, helping out at our teched out Theatre table in the Academic Departments fair.

Matt Vitale and Chris Levine smiling in the Athletic and Wellness Center.

Me…uh…praying? haha With my high-tech radio.

They brought this jacket out since the Costume Shop made it! It was on display at the Theatre Department. And ya know what’s cool about it? I wore it for the musical last year as Ruth in Pirates of Penzance!

Michelle Temme, Mark Fredrickson, and Cheyenne Garcia= all student ambassadors. Suprise.

Alright , I hope you liked the blog and such. Open House was a great success, and we have another one on November 8th!! So sweet dreams all!

Costumes! Candy! Face paint! Balloons! Pin the stem on the Pumpkin! Woo:) All these were activities that occurred today at “Halloween in the Halls!” “Halloween in the Halls,” an annual program co-sponsored by RHSA and Residence Life, takes place the Sunday before Halloween, and is a time when residence halls open up for children in the New Paltz community to trick-or-treat and play games. Main lounges were decked out in haunted mazes, balloon pits, cooking decorating, and other fun activities. The children also had the opportunity to trick-or-treat throughout the halls. The costumes were fabulous and the weather was PERFECT!

The RHSA Executive Board!

Sarah Palin!

Kris, Abbey, and Jordie!

Making masks!

A Transformer!

Coloring spooky pictures!

Jeanne!  The RHSA Rep from Crispell Hall!

Janine!  A washing machine!! Woo!

Here come the kiddies!

Awesome butcher block tagging!

Haunted maze!

Oh Hey, Esopus!

Fear Factor saving Christina!

BALLOON PIT!!!!!!!!!

Me and Alli!

Emily decorated an RHSA cookie!

More cute little kiddies!

Deviled Egg!

Velma!

Yoav Kaddar, a professor for the theatre department!

Rob!

And.. Santa Clause is coming to town!

I hope you had a nice weekend and have a great week!  PEACE OUT, PUMPKINS!! Enjoy! -Jessie

Hi, All! I hope some of you AWESOME prospective students that I met today are checking out this entry.. if so, leave a shout-out!

While we wait for my FROST VALLEY post, I thought that I would write about my weekend, thus far!

It all started on Friday, at 4:45 PM in Esopus Hall. The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) met up to give Up ‘Til Dawn an award for going Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD). NRHH is an organization that is dedicated to recognizing individuals on this campus for doing amazing things. Up ‘Til Dawn is truly an outstanding organization. They work sooooooooo hard to raise money to support the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The effort and passion that members put into this organization is incredible and I am so proud of all that they have done. I HIGHLY recommend that you check out their All-Team Meeting on November 11th in the Multi-Purpose Room.. more details to come, but it is going to be a lot of fun, with performances from many on-campus groups, raffles, free pizza, and a chance to help raise money for the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital by filling out letters for people that you know. It is a great cause and it is sure to be great fun!

After the ABCD, I went to see the Open Studio for the Art Department. This is an event that occurs each semester in which all of the art students open up their studios so that you can see their art in progress! IT WAS WONDERFUL! I was so impressed! I have to say, you can not graduate New Paltz without stopping by! I went originally to see my suite mate Dana’s work, which was fantastic! She is a Photo BFA major, and her work is so unique. I was glad to see her stuff displayed I also saw Vikki’s photos, which were reallllllly great!! They were so interesting to look at:) Those two are so talented! I also had the opportunity to check out Katie’s studio, which was super! It was sooo nice to see her, so if you read this Katie, SHOUT-OUT TO YOU! The Art Department provided food and music, and the art that was displayed was brilliant!

Then, RHSA held a program entitled “Come Get Buzzed with Board Games.” It was EXCELLENT! We had a great turn out and it was soooooo much fun! We started the evening by having mock-tails! We had some pizza from Fat Bob’s and spent the night laughing and playing games. We had a monster game of Apples to Apples and a pretty large Taboo game, too! It was wonderful! (My apologies for the blurriness of these pictures, but here is the gist of the night!)

So today was Open House! It was so exciting to see so many new face interested in the #1 Hot State School in America.. SUNY NEW PALTZ I really enjoyed meeting families as they walked throughout Deyo, checking out suite-style living. I had a lot of fun hanging out with the RA’s and Hall Gov’t, and hope you enjoyed your visit to New Paltz!!! Major props to SHANA!! and the Student Ambassadors for their MAGNIFICENT job today:)

Today was also Make-A-Difference Day, which is a national day of community service that New Paltz participates in! This year, the New Paltz community focused on celebrating senior citizens. We raised money and collected non-perishable food items for Meals on Wheels in order to prepare lunch boxes for senior citizens to store throughout the winter in case the trucks can not get to them with the snow and ice. I am excited to hear the results, and I am so proud of everyone who participated. Tonight, we are having a concert for the senior citizens in the community to attend, where some on-campus musical groups will perform. Check out all of these lunch boxes!

Tomorrow is Halloween in the Halls, so I will be sure to update you about that, and then… FROST VALLEY VIDEO Stay dry! Enjoy! -Jessie

Just to clarify, for your viewing pleasure I have October’s Video Blog AND a video that includes a fellow NP Blogger, Holly Gooden, and the left arm of OL Ely Fry.

As for the video with Holly, It takes place lest night (10/24/08) on one exciting Friday night at Oscar’s with Holly, Eli and myself.  The three of us were talking about politics and various states when Holly said this…

Oh, and:

“Honey Pie” by The Beatles

Matt

: D

Hello second Weekend of Company!!

So last night was our last Thursday performance of the musical Company. Thursday nights are full of “the peers.” This is because 1.) its 9 bucks only on Thursdays if you go have a New Paltz ID and 2.) all the theatre classes have to see the main stage productions as part of their class requirements (so Thursdays are the cheapest!) Therefore, the house was packed! I can’t believe Company is in it’s stages of “lasts…” It’s a little sad. I’m going to miss this show. Well- I can’t talk like that now! There are still shows to do!

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you a homemade trailer that was created by our very own Michelle Hines. Michelle plays the major role of Joanne in Company.

Her trailer is hilarious and well perceived by all involved! Check it out!

Enjoy the video and enjoy your Friday!!! OH and tomorrow is one of TWO Open Houses here at SUNY New Paltz. It’s gonna be craaaazy!

My, oh my! It has been quite some time since I have written! Mid-semester is always a hectic time of the year! However, I do have to say, there is nothing like the feeling you get after you hand your midterm to your professor and leave the classroom after you have practically LIVED in the basement of the library for a week.. it is amazing! So, with that being said, midterms are mostly over! Of course, I have a few big tests and papers coming up, but they are relatively spread out! Coming soon, FROST VALLEY VIDEO and Blog.. super exciting!

Hope all is well, friends! Enjoy! -Jessie