Spring Break

During spring break, many students traveled to nearby tropical getaways (such as the Bahamas) or stayed in Miami to enjoy the sights and sounds.

For some reason I decided to go home- not sure why, but I've learned my lesson. Being stuck in an empty town with no internet is not how I want to spend my time off next year!
In all seriousness, however, it wasn't too bad- I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep, enjoy the beach, hang out with some old friends, and ignore my homework quite efficiently.

As always, it's great to be back at the U- despite the papers due, projects to complete, and assignments to finish.

To officially end spring break festivities, some friends and I found our way to Miracle Mile for dinner at Benihana's. The cab took forever to pick us up, took us to Merrick Park instead, and we had to wait almost 2 hours for dinner, but it was fun all the same. The food was great and there was tons of it, and the habbachi dining was an awesome experience. The dude even flipped shrimp into his hat- pretty impressive. That being said, I won't be spending that much on dinner again.... at least not for a LONG time.

As promised, I did work on answering the rest of those questions sent to me- the posts will be coming up shortly.

The Unwritten Roommate Agreement

... seems to be that when your roomie is sick,
so shall you be.

When Nicole came back from her regatta in St. Petersburg (she's on the University's sailing team), she seemed to be under the weather. Try as I might, living a couple feet away from a person means that it's nearly impossible not to catch a cold or something else along the same lines. So I missed Purim celebrations (but I did have latkes that day at the dining hall, so....) and have lost my voice, but hopefully I'm feeling better soon, because spring break is just a couple days away. :-)

I'm not letting this cold get the best of me, and have been taking as many vitamins and advil as it takes to get me through classes. And days off from class don't mean I can sleep in, either- today, for example, I have my weekly meetings, work, revision sessions, studying, homework, and the ULecture series to attend (which I'm very excited for). Not to mention the Miami Film Festival- I definitly need to get a movie in before heading back home.

As for Miami in general, the weather has gone back to being absolutely beautiful- no more cold fronts, it seems! I envy those who lounge around at the pool until their next class. Lately it's been inside with the AC for me, but we'll see. Perhaps my pale complexion will start workin' with me and cooperate with the sun?
(It won't, but it's nice to think that someday I'll be tan.)

Just one more day of classes...

Then one week where everyday is a Lazy Sunday.

Yessssssss.

PurimPalooza 2009

I'm no fan of Daylight Savings- especially when it means losing an hour of precious weekend time. As I mentioned in my last post, there were some great concerts (it's taking a lot of self control not to blabber on about the Britney Spears concert...) and events this weekend- one of the many pros of living right outside of a city like Miami.

Tonight marks the beginning of even more celebrating, namely for the Jewish holiday of Purim (although all students are welcome to join the festivities). Much like a carnival, there will be free food, a dunk tank, bounce castle (I'm personally very excited for that), and DJ. Because it is in celebration of Purim, costumes are encouraged and there will be a performance by Chassidic rapper Dr. Laz (known for his community work in Brooklyn after the race riots in '91) Tuesday.

Spring break is at the end of this week (the second Friday the 13th of the year for those of us lucky enough to have classes end on Thursday). This seems to mean that professors feel the need to pile on the workload- many (including myself) have exams (other than midterms) this week, as well as papers and projects due now as well as when we return after break. Everyone is spending more and more time at Club Richter (don't get excited.... it's just the library), and I may find myself amongst the stacks if I can't leave facebook alone long enough to write some rough drafts.

It's 51 degrees outside and I'm freezing...

...weaksauce.

On a different note (although maybe she could explain why it's not as warm as I would like), Christine Todd Whitman (governor of New Jersey from 1994-2001) will be speaking on campus today about environmental issues of the 21st century. As former head of the EPA (from 2001-2003) and current president of The Whitman Strategy Group ("...a consulting firm specializing in energy and environmental issues."), she definitely has the knowledge and experience to shed some perspective on solutions to enivornmental challenges.

I once met her at the Monmouth County Fair- I think I was 8. I was really intrigued by the cotton candy stand.
I'll definitely take the opportunity to learn more this time around.

Speaking of environmental affairs, an Earth Day Fashion show is in the works. It will showcase earth-friendly clothes (made of eco-friendly and/or "up-cycled" material) by local designers (and when Miami is local, that means a lot!).

With only 9 days left until spring break, the University has taken the initiative to circulate knowledge about having a safe and fun vacation. It goes beyond a lot of the most obvious information (such as honoring the buddy system) and offers advice on what to keep in mind when visiting a place such as Cancun (quite the hotspot for college students).

I should also mention that the University presents tremendous volunteer opportunities during spring break. UM Alternative Breaks (UMAB) organizes great chances to help those in need across the country.

This year's work concerns women's & children's issues, disabilities, foster care / child abuse, Native American issues, rebuilding West Virginia & New Orleans, animal rights, education & immigration, the environment, homelessness & children, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, LGBTQ rights, and poverty & immigration.