ALL MOVED IN! :)

I know, I know...it's been like 56 fortnights since I posted. My summer was filled with work, that is it. I worked all day, slept all night, and then did it all over again. Not a whole lot to report in the last 2 months. BUT today, however, marked an exciting day; I moved into my new apartment! My good friend, Jesse, has lived here for 2 years and her past roommate, Craig, moved out this summer and so I moved in! :) She and I have been friends for a couple years now so I am very excited to live with her. I thought ya'll might like a few pictures of my new pad, so here you go:

Living Room shot #1


Living Room shot #2
The door you see is the door to get outside.


Living Room shot #3


Kitchen shot #1


Kitchen shot #2
The little eating nook :)


Kitchen shot #3


My Bedroom shot #1
*note: the HUGE windows with shutters on them..I love them!


My Bedroom shot #2
BIG walk in closet


My Bedroom shot #3
Another one of of the windows!


My Bedroom #4
The door is to the hallway in the house--this apartment is in a very old house and the door leads to what the owners once used as a staircase and whatnot.


So, there you have it! I didn't take any pictures of Jesse's room or of the bathroom, but they're both very nice too. Jesse's room even has an old fireplace in it! It doesn't work anymore, but looks great just the same!

Anywho...I start work with NSP on Monday and I am excited! More soon...PINKY PROMISE!

Later, gators!!! :)

Student Ambassadors 2009

Well, it's certainly been awhile since I've written in my blog. I go through droughts. Right now, however, I am in that last hours of my 2 days off and have time to collect my thoughts and inform you all of this amazing experience I've had being a student ambassador at UMaine. This adventure is not over and it's been a tiring adventure at that, but I have enjoyed every second of it.

We arrived on June 3rd, fresh faced and eager, ready to take on the challenges of running such an extravagant event as orientation. We hit the ground running as soon as we got there. Every day was filled with campus info sessions, meetings with the deans, event assignments, and campus luncheons. Somewhere in there we met our French interns, Solenn and Adele. They are college students from France interning for New Student Programs this summer, they are both wonderful and I notice their English getting better and better every day. Here is Solenn, holding a lobster, with Adele in the background:

This picture brings me back to what I was about to mention: our retreat at the Darling Marine Center. The Darling Marine Center is a portion of UMaine located in Walpole where marine biology students can do a "semester at sea". We did an overnight retreat there on June 8th and 9th. It was so much fun and the facility is amazing. We got to go on a boat ride and catch all kinds of creatures in a big net. When the net was brought back in we spent a half hour just pawing through all the sea junk and finding lots of cool stuff--little lobsters, eels, crabs, and my personal favorite, the sea cucumber. That night we had a campfire and heard the many ghost stories at UMaine, which REALLY freaked a lot of people out, but not me...I actually think they're pretty cool stories. The next morning I got up earlier than I needed to and had some time to kill so I went and sat outside by the water and read my book, which was a really nice way to relax and start the morning. Once we got back to campus it was business as usual as the first orientation was approaching fast! On Friday June 12th the day arrived! The 3 sessions this past weekend went very smoothly, I met a lot of really awesome first-year students and had a ton of fun. I have, however, really enjoyed these past 2 days which we had off. Tomrrow we set-up and Friday we start all over again with 3 more sessions. Monday after orientation I head home and start work at child care on Tuesday morning. I'll be tired, but that's alright.

Anywho, here's some more pictures--

Some of us at the Darling Marine Center:


Me & Alex and our "big buddy", Ryan:


Some ladies at banquet:


Student Ambassadors doing the "Call on Me" dance for first-year students at one of the orientation bonfires:


Okay, until next time....later, gators!

SPA Ball 2009!

Last night was the annual School of Performing Arts Ball. It was a blast! :) This year it was held at the PAV, which is the Pavillion Theater located behind the library. My date was my old roomie, Cory. It was wonderful to see him. Here are some pictures from the night:





All in all it was a wonderful evening spent with the fantastic people I call my friends. :)
More soon. Later, gators.

Singers Tour 2009!

Hi!! This past week was fantastic. I had an absolute blast on tour. My voice is shot and I'm exhausted, but it is well worth the fun that ensued while traveling with 75 of my best friends. I'll post some pictures below, but first I just want to give you guys a short run-down of my week.

Monday, March 9th--I arrived on campus at 6am, we loaded up, and headed out. Had a concert at Lee Academy in the morning, Wiscasset High School in the afternoon, and Windham High School at night. Liz and I had a wonderful host home in Windham. They had 2 pugs..and as you all know I have a pug OBSESSION.

Tuesday, March 10th--We did a morning assembly at Windham, an afternoon show at Noble High School and then an evening show at St. Christopher's Catholic Church in York. Again, we had a fantastic host home family. The father was actually from Augusta and knew who my dad was, so that was pretty interesting! Small world!

Wednesday, March 11th--Morning assembly at York Middle School, and then some travel time and a night show at Winnisquam Regional High School in Tilton, NH. Another great host home family.

Thursday, March 12th-- Morning assembly at Winnisquam Regional High School and then we were off to Vermont The only day I rode in one of the vans instead of the bus! It was a great day to ride in the van, too. Craig drove, Stephen was in the front seat and then Kristen and I both had our own big seats to stretch out and sleep on. Not to mention that Kristen is a Vermonter so it was fun to get a little tour of Vermont as we were arriving. We got to Vergennes High School and had retreat, which is a bonding time, of sorts. We reflect about what singers means to us and all of that stuff. It was a really emotional and special time. Then we had an evening concert at the high school. After that a group of 6 of us girls stayed at our friend, Olivia's house. She is a Singer and is from Vergennes, so that was really fun!

Friday, March 13th--Afternoon concert at Champlain Valley HS in Hinesburg, VT and then we headed off to Burlington. We got to the hotel, grabbed some dinner, and then got ready for our final concert of tour at the Unitarian Universalist Church. (yay suz!) It was a very small, but appreciative crowd. After that a few of us walked around Burlington and had ice cream. It's a wonderful little city and I would definetely love to go back!

Saturday, March 14th--MONTREAL! We arrived in Montreal around noon and had the whole day and night free. It was so much fun. We had wonderful food, good drinks, and hilarious moments that will turn into great memories. It's a trip I will certainly never forget. :)

Sunday, March 15th--An 8-hour drive back to Maine. It was good to roll onto campus. Not as much fun, however, to wake up for class this morning!

All in all tour was something unforgettable and I can't wait until the tour next year. It may seem in my description to just be stop-to-stop, but it's so much more than that. Whether it be side-splitting laughter during "Morning Mad-Libs" on the bus, or rocking out during the Homme and Femme Du Jour dances, or bonding with people that will be my friends for life, it's just a truly undescribable experience. I am so happy to be a part of such a wonderful group of talented people.

Anywho, here are a handful of pictures, I will post more soon!






Later, gators!

Some exciting news!

I got an e-mail last night informing me that I have been chosen as a UMaine student ambassador for 2009-2010! I interviewed for the position last month and was really looking forward to hearing back--so I was definitely VERY excited about the outcome! The picture is Tour Guides and Student Ambassadors from a couple years ago. For those that don't know, I'll explain a little bit about what being a student ambassador means. At UMaine we have a very active New Student Programs office, which runs programs throughout the entire year that focus on recruitement and then welcoming future students. As many of you know, I have been a telecounselor for New Student Programs all year and have really enjoyed my job there, which is one of the main reasons I decided to apply for the Student Ambassador position. Student Ambassadors run new student orientations in the summer and then they also run fall welcome weekend. So, for three weeks this summer I'll be very busy doing training and then 2 weeks of orientations. Orientations are two days long and we have a number of them throughout those 2 weeks, which are divided up by colleges. The SA's plan and then execute everything for those orientations. Here's an idea of the itinerary for an orientation at UMaine:

12:00 - 3:30 p.m.	ORIENTATION CHECK IN, INFO FAIR & MEETINGS Check-in at registration desk Check into residence hall Get your MaineCard student ID picture taken Register your keys with Public Safety Textbook reservation form Parking decal application Campus Tours Meeting for Honors College Students & Parents Meeting for Student Athletes & Parents Meeting for Transfer Students Meeting for New Commuter Students
3:30 p.m.	ORIENTATION OPENING SESSIONS Hearty Maine Hello, Money Matters, Agenda Review, Team Maine
4:30 p.m.	Breaking the Ice
5:45 p.m.	Planet UMaine
6:15 p.m.	Bear Fare Cookout
7:30 p.m.	Computers on Campus
8:00 p.m.	Making College Count
9:15 p.m.	Reality U!
10:30 p.m.	Bonfire/Res Hall Activities
DAY 2
7:00 a.m.	Check-out of Residence Hall
7:45 a.m.	Breakfast
9:00 a.m.	Class Scheduling & Advising
10:00 a.m.	The Finish Line

I remember my orientation fondly and it really does help with the nerves that come along with starting college. I am VERY excited and look forward to welcoming the class of 2013 (wow) to the University of Maine!

Later, gators!

Gearing up for tour...

Hi! I am home for spring break right now. Yesterday was the last day of classes, and I only had one, so I left campus around 1 to head home. I'll be home for this first week of the 2-week break and then the second week will be spent touring with the University Singers. I'm really, really excited. It's a week of performing with a bunch of people I love! :) It's a pretty heavy load of performing, actually. We average 3 concerts a day and then the last day (Saturday) is spent as a free day and night in Montreal! WOO!
Here's what the schedule looks like for that week:

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009
9:00AM – Lee Academy, Lee, ME
1:00PM – Wiscasset High School, Wiscasset, ME
7:00PM – Windham High School, Windham, ME

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009
9:00AM – Windham High School, Windham, ME
1:00PM – Noble High School, Berwick, ME
7:00PM – St. Christopher’s Catholic Church, York, ME

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2009
9:00AM – York Middle School, York, ME
7:00PM – Winnisquam Regional High School, Tilton, NH

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009
9:00AM – Winnisquam Regional High School, Tilton, NH
1:00PM – Retreat, Vergennes, VT
7:00PM – Vergennes High School, Vergennes, VT

FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
1:00PM – Champlain Valley Union High School, Hinesburg, VT
7:00PM – Unitarian Universal Church, Burlington, VT

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2009
9:00AM – Leave For Montreal
12:00PM – Arrive at Hotel in Montreal
1:00pm – FREE TIME

SUNDAY MARCH 15, 2009
9:00AM – Leave For Maine
4:00PM – Arrive at UMAINE!!!!

So, as seen--it's a pretty intense schedule! We stay in host homes, except for the last 2 nights--we have hotels in Burlington and Montreal, but the rest of the nights are spent in host homes. My tour-buddy (the person who stays with me in the host homes) is my friend, Liz, so it should be a really good time! I am very excited and I'll be sure to post lots of pictures when I get back! Woo! :)

Later, gators!

The worst pies in London come to UMaine!

Today was a really exciting day! "Sweeney Todd" the touring Broadway production is going to be at the CCA tonight and I have tickets! On top of that, though, the lead (Sweeney Todd) is a man named David Janes..shown in the picture below:

and he is a graduate of UMaine as well as an alumni of the University Singers!! So, today he came into Singers and chatted with us! He's absolutely hilarious and it was so much fun being able to meet him and hear his perspective on the performing world and he came from right where I am now! It's a refreshing feeling! :) So, that was really exciting. I have really awesome seats (which is amazing because I just got my tickets today and other people have had theirs for months!) But I got rush tickets for $5 and I am sitting in the 8th row center. Woo! I'm really excited, I'll let ya'll know how the show is!

Gotta get going! :) Later, gators!