Hello all! So, the past million and a half years has been super busy, as usual. There is a lot that I need to catch up on, and I apologize once again for the disgustingly long hiatus; it’s really becoming a bad trend. I think my goal from here on out is to blog every Wednesday. Mark my words! If I don’t stick to it, feel free to beat me up (but not really, please)! But, onto good ol’ life…

Two weekends ago, I took a little road trip to Syracuse to visit my friend Jen a.k.a. Jenay! And by road trip, I mean a really long bus ride. Fun fact– I hate pubic transportation, so it wasn’t the most pleasant experience in the world. Jen and I met each other my first summer as an Orientation Leader (the summer after my freshman year), and we’ve been biffles ever since. I hadn’t seen her in about 6 months, and it was great to finally hang out with her again. Let me tell you, Jenay and I packed a whole lot of fun into one weekend! My first day there, we hung out around her apartment for a little bit. She is an ARD, which stands for Assistant Resident Director. Basically, she is one of the supervisors of her residence hall. With the job, she is given an apartment within the residence hall that she runs. The apartment was so cute! I was pretty much in love with it. Here it is:

Apartment 1 of 3! I know; the anticipation is killing you!

Apartment 2 of 3! In love with the red accents!

Apartment 3 of 3! RED!

That was just her living area; I figured I would preserve her privacy and not post pictures of her bedroom and bathroom on my blog. So, after catching up in her apartment, we went to the mall, and I met up with one of my friends with whom I interned at Alloy this past summer. I hadn’t seen her since the summer, and it was a lovely reunion! We literally spent 32 hours a week with each other, which sounds obnoxious, but we were pretty much the same person and got along great.

Day Two of my trip, we took an adventure  to the Finger Lakes and went to this really cute farmer’s fair, I think they called it. I invested my money in food, naturally. They had the BEST, and I mean THE BEST kettle corn I have ever had. It was the typical sweet and salty, but it was caramelized, which made it taste like Cracker Jacks, except a million times better. DELISH!

I couldn't wait to open the bag. The plastic didn't taste so good.

Yeahhhhhhh!

Me and Jenay in the middle of farmland! Ignore the road behind us...

That night we went to a Syracuse football game. Now, New Paltz doesn’t have a football team, so our school spirit is very much derived from the residence hall community on campus. Syracuse, however, definitely has that stereotypical “college sports team” pride. Was it different? Yes. Was it insanely awesome and fun? Yes! I had never been to a football game, and it was so much fun! Literally, everyone who was not there for the opposing team (about 5 people) were decked out in blue and orange, the Syracuse school colors (also New Paltz school colors). People were cheering at the top of their lungs and getting so into the game, and I have to say, I was right there with them! Oh, and the best part– SYRACUSE WON! I think I was a good luck charm of sorts.

Me in a football stadium? Who would've thunk it?!

Well, the trip home after the weekend was very interesting, to say the least. I was convinced that my bus back to New Paltz was at 1:30, but I was wrong; it was at 5:45! I ended up staying in Syracuse for an extra 4 hours, which wasn’t bad, but I did miss a lot of quality homework time…oops!

Back in New Paltz this past weekend, we expressed our own school spirit during Spirit Weekend. Now, a lot of bloggers have been talking about it, and here is my chance! Spirit Weekend is a competition among our 13 residence halls to see who has the most school spirit. We compete in field events, banners, scavenger hunts, and (my favorite!) lipsyncs! It is a weekend full of pride and excitement and is definitely, hands down, my favorite weekend out of the school year. And this year, Esopus Hall brought the heat! We won Scavenger Hunt, Lipsync, and…are you ready for it?…MOST SPIRITED! It was such a great feeling to see all of the residents pumped and filled with this contagious pride; all their hard work paid off, and they loved every minute of it. The theme this year was Building Our Future, to play off the construction that’s happening on campus right now. I think it was my favorite theme for Spirit Day since I’ve been at New Paltz; it was optimistic, and I’m all about the positive! The staff and residents were decked out in face paint and caution tape, and I went all out with a big Bobcat paw print on my face (the Esopus Bobcats)! Here are some pics from Spirit Day, and the video of Esopus Hall’s lipsync:

The Esopus Staff!

Gotta love the Bobcat paw print and the caution tape suspenders!

Me and some awesome residents!

411 behind the lipsync: It’s basically the story of New Paltz becoming one community. Everyone is separated and discouraged in the beginning until Bobcat the Builder (me!) comes in to help them get things together. There’s a twist, but you’re gonna have to watch it to see what happens!

Esopus Hall LipSync

I don’t know if you noticed, but there was totally some High School Musical 2 music AND choreography in there! On point.

Now, I failed to mention my incident during Spirit Day. On Sunday before field events, Esopus started up a conga line. I got really into it and was dancing around and such, and I ended up landing on my right foot wrong and hurting it really badly. It immediately began to swell. I couldn’t walk on it for a few minutes, but then it felt fine after I wrapped it and such. The day after, though, there was bruising on my foot and all over my ankle. So, I went to the orthopedist with my supervisor this past Wednesday to get some x-rays. Bottom line– I ended up tearing a ligament in my foot, I have an upper ankle sprain, and the connection between my foot and my ankle is sort of loose. WHOA! Now I am wearing a cam walker (that big black boot) for a month. Go big or go home, right? And why not go all out for my last New Paltz Spirit Weekend?!

Well, I think your eyes are probably bleeding by now from reading this extensive entry. Check back here next Wednesday! If there is no blog, you know the deal.

Strapping on my brand new footwear,

Chris! <3

Yeah. I’m not really sure who he is either because I have been SO busy and totally forgot that I actually exist! A little dramatic, I understand, but sometimes I do feel that way. I don’t think I ever went into detail about how involved I am on campus, so let me fill you in. Chris Levine is, as follows:

1. A Resident Assistant in Esopus Hall,
2. A Student Ambassador,
3. President of the National Residence Hall Honorary (honor society for the top 1% of student leaders on campus),
4. Housing/Web Communication Chair for Mini’s 2010 (a HUGE conference New Paltz is hosting for about 350 college students in the northeast area), and above all
5. A student (but sometimes it’s hard to remember that I am).

For the record, I didn’t put this up so you all could read my resume; it just shows that it’s really easy to get addicted to student leader stuff! And because I am an addict, I forgot to blog sometimes. Sad story.

Well, let me get you up to date in my life. Classes are going really well, which is a plus. There difficult enough to give me a challenge, but I’m not collapsing under a massive workload, either. I’m not gonna lie– I dread going to class sometimes because I would rather catch up on sleep, but then I sit down and inevitably enjoy it. Mayhaps a nerd? If I am, whatevs. To all the nerds out there, stand up and be proud! Holla!

Weekends have been absolutely fantastic lately, which makes up for the hectic weekday life. On September 6th (oh my gosh. It really has been a long time since I’ve blogged…), I went tubing with some fantastic people. It was down the Esopus river, which is about 45 minutes away. The day was crazy! You literally sit in this big, black tube that has a wood bottom and float down the river. It sounds nice and relaxing, but it is not…at all. We took the “advanced” path, and goodness gracious, it was like white water rafting in a tiny tube by yourself. My friend Jessie would not let go of my tube for anything because she was really scared and thought I could be her moral support. Deep down, I was freaked out. Like, sometimes scared for my life (being dramatic again). I’ll put up some pictures! I didn’t take any going down the river because, well, my camera would become waterlogged, but here are some before and afters!

That's where we got our coffins-- edit-- tubes.

Me, Jessie, Kris, and Kelly! We obvs survived!

Jessie and I wore matching Crocs. Loves it!

That same weekend, my staff and I hosted a Jell-o War in my building. That’s right– a Jell-o War! Basically, we went to the backyard of our residence hall and threw Jell-o at each other. You might be thinking, “Wow. That is absolutely disgusting! Why would anyone do that?!” Lo and behold, it is the most disgusting thing you can do on a hot Saturday afternoon. And why would we do it? Because it is SO fun! To let you live vicariously through the Esopus Hall Warriors, here are some great action shots!

Kicking some butt!

My butt being kicked!

But I always come out on top!

..or not.

Yeah. I was a Jell-o magnet.

And this past weekend, I had some good, clean fun at Mohonk! It’s a really beautiful resort about 15 minutes away from campus. It’s not only a resort, but an awesome place to do some hiking, which is one of my favorite pastimes. We got there every year with the First Year Initiative program (the first year program at New Paltz) as a retreat for the students. It’s a fun way for the staff and the students to get to know each other. And hey! Who doesn’t love a free field trip?! Once again, here are some fab pics. I think my blog is going to end up being an online photo album. Kill two birds with one stone!

Some crazy gals! From front to back-- Steph, Hope, and Tiffy!

Me and Chris! Chris Squared! <3

We're really good friends.

Well, I really hope this blog makes up for some lost time! I promise I’ll be more on top of my life (and sharing it with you)! Tomorrow I’m going to Syracuse to visit one of my good friends, so I’ll be sure to take some more pictures and take note of every little detail of the weekend.

Loving you all for being so patient,

Chris! <3

I will admit, I am slightly delayed in posting my cliffhanger blog entry. My apologies go out to those whose butts are hurting from sitting on the edge of their seat for so long!

So, my first week was intense! There were classes and tours and work, oh my! My classes seem to be pretty darn good this semester.  Because I am into the core of my major and minor right now, I really get to embrace the education that I’m getting. My major is pretty fantastic, I won’t lie. Those who tell you that an English degree is pointless, don’t listen! As an English major, my writing has improved tenfold, I have learned to become a more well-versed speaker and communicator, and with all the novels and stories that I’ve read, I learn a little bit about myself and life in general. You can learn so much from the characters you meet and the events you vicariously experience through them and, it sounds cheesy, but you grow so much from that. My classes this semester are going to offer that to me, indefinitely. I am taking Young Adult Literature, and this class is going to be on point! My professor is teaching the class with that philosophy of literature and life in mind. I love it! My other classes inevitably fall under the same teaching style, and it’s fantastic for people who are similar to me and like to share their opinion and thoughts and bounce ideas off of their peers. It’s like one big chat-fest, and let me tell you, talking is a huge past-time of mine!

I also started tours last week. Now, with my love for talking and New Paltz, the Student Ambassador job is pretty much perfect. Being able to share something you are such a fan of with other students is a great experience. People respect and listen to what you have to say, and they truly do take into account everything you say about New Paltz. If I could make a goal for myself every tour, it would be to convince a student or parent or anyone in my tour groups that New Paltz is more than just a college, but a place of experience and awesomeness (I was getting deep; I wanted to lighten it up a bit)! I realized it on tour today– how much I love sharing this campus with people. It’s a greater opportunity than some people might think or understand.

My RA job definitely falls under that “great opportunity” category. I’ve been a Resident Assistant in Esopus Hall since my sophomore year. For the past 3 years, I’ve met so many different types of people– students, staffers, RA’s from other halls…the list is crazy long! It’s such a fun experience in the simple fact that everyday I am having a blast with my staffers or my residents. Here are some pictures of me and my staff! We went out to dinner at Dave & Buster’s at the Palisades Mall. Dave & Buster’s=big kid Chuck ‘e Cheese=the greatest time EVER!

Staff love! From left to right-- Hope, Tiffy, Zuri!

More staff love! That's me, Diana, and Matty Mang!

Can't get enough love! We've got Mike, Kim, Kristen, Lorraine, and Steph!

This year really seems like it’s going to be a fantastic one! There are so many things that I am excited about and so much more I would like to throw into this entry, but I want to keep it a reasonable length. With that said, thank you for coming back for a second round! I promise I will think of something catchier than a Part 3 or something.

Thinking of more entertaining blog titles,

Chris! <3

Heyyy everybody!

As the title says– it begins! My blog, classes, and last (but certainly not least), my senior year. Whoa! Well, before I go into my life, how about I introduce myself? The name is Chris. I’m an English major with a Theatre Arts minor. My life has become fashion-based. I love everything about the industry, and it’s where I hope to end up one day, whether it’s in design, journalism, or the business side of the industry. Some fun facts? I am in love with High School Musical, Taking Back Sunday is by far my favorite band of all time, the semi-colon is my favorite form of punctuation, and I could live off of ice-cream and iced white chocolate mochas.

Now, let me tell you– who I am just begins there, but you have a whole year of getting to know me; I don’t want to give away all the good stuff just yet!

This year definitely came quick, I have to say. The summer flew by in the blink of an eye, but it was probably one of the best summers I’ve had! I was an intern at Alloy Media + Marketing in NYC. It was an amazing experience, and it taught me a lot about social media, marketing, advertising, and business in general. A huge plus for the experience because it gave me an idea of the direction I want to head in for a professional career. Public Relations in the fashion industry, mayhaps? We shall see!

Once the summer ended, I came back to New Paltz (my home away from home!) for RA training. I’m a Resident Assistant in Esopus Hall– only one of the greatest halls ever! As did the summer, training was over with a snap of my fingers, metaphorically speaking; I can’t snap my fingers. It was so nice to have residents in the building! The residents we have this year are so diverse, full of energy, and they all have this positive attitude about them that reminds me why I love this job so much. It is definitely going to be a fantastic year!

Now, I have to say that I started the year off on a very strange step. I ended up getting sick on Saturday (lame), and so many people were quickly introduced to my love for Zac Efron. Storytime! On Sunday, the Residence Hall Student Association (in a nutshell– a student government on campus that works directly with the students in the residence halls) hosted a hypnotist. Two of my friends, Zuri and Diana, and I went to the show with the mission of being hypnotized. Zuri and I had experienced it once before, but Diana was a newbie to the whole thing. Zuri and Diana were called up to the stage immediately, and he just glanced passed me. How rude! But I proved him wrong because I ended up getting hypnotized from the audience (yes– I passed out on my friend’s shoulder). I was ultimately brought up on stage, and long story short, no matter what the hypnotist made us do, the words “Zac Efron” would inevitably roll off my tongue. Welcome to the life of Chris Levine! It was a fantastic time, though, and anyone who doubts hypnosis needs to try it! Hypnosis is the real deal; you just have to be open to it! And if I can find some videos or pictures to post on here from the show, I will make sure to do it!

Well, I think I may call it quits for this entry for now; I don’t want to write a short novel! There will be, however, a Part 2 (hence the Part 1), so keep a look out for it!

Leaving you on the edge of your seat,

Chris! <3

Courtesy of thefilmchair.com