Blog.

So I lied. Last blog is actually right here. Right now. I don’t have much to write so I’m going to just going to blab about blogging? Well we got an email a while ago from Julia asking us to give her feedback about the blogging assignments. If anyone noticed, my blog was one of the examples and it happened to be the other blog that I wrote about blogging. Julia has asked us to tell her how the assignment went as a whole and what we would do to make it even better. I’ll be honest, I like the idea of doing blogs for assignments, but the way we did it just didn’t work out. I think that the blogs that we were required to write should have based of one topic. I feel like each week there should have been a new topic that everyone talked about at the same time. And they shouldn’t be stupid topics either; they should be about our lives, and how certain events affect our lives. They obviously have to be events that we can write a lot about. I also don’t think that we should have to write 1000 words. I like the sound of 500 words, but if you wanted to you could write more. 1000 words was somewhat easy in the beginning, but after we had to write three or four blogs, it just because too much. We ran out of things to talk about, and it just wasn’t enjoyable anymore. I like most of the topics we talk about in class, so those could be used as examples. We need topics that people are going to actually want to read about also. I know when I write a blog, it is really random and I honestly don't think that anyone reads it. I would actually like to read what other people think about a certain topic; one that i have strong feelings about as well. We could talk about celebrities, they are always fun to talk about. we could also talk about our favorite shows, and what happened recently on our shows. Well these are my ideas. For the most part I enjoyed writing these blogs, but I think having to do them every week and and at 1000 words each it gets overwhelming.

last blogggg

Thanksgiving! I think I’m going to explode with food. I ate so much over break that I am never eating ever, ever again. I went to Florida and I stayed with my grandparents. The trip took forever but luckily we have a DVD player in the car, so that took some of the time away from the trip. The weather down there was not good at all. The first two days that we were there it poured rain! And then the days where it wasn’t raining, it was freezing! I have never been cold in Florida but last week I was. I actually had to wear long pants and I sweat shirt. One night, it got to 40 degrees! I feel like it was warmer in Blacksburg. For actual thanksgiving we went to my aunt’s house which is in Tampa, Florida. The food was great, as always! The turkey wasn’t very big, only a 15 pounder so they also cooked a ham. I have never heard of people doing that, so I just stuck with the turkey of course. My family is very close and we all know everything there is to know about each other. It’s funny because you may not even know what people know about you, and then they want to talk about it and you’re like “how did you know that?” That is just our family, and you have to get used to it. There was a lot of drama over the week because of the cousins having plans and then the parents wanted to do something else. We don’t get to see our cousins a lot, so when we are in the same place at the same time, we want to see each other. That really put a sour taste on our whole trip. It’s nice to get out of school, and to hang out with family; I really needed a break. Back to school tomorrow, and I’m excited but I’m not about going back to the dorms. It was great sleeping in my own bed with twice as much room as the dorm.
So I took a break from writing, and it is now Tuesday. I cannot believe that it is already December!! November went by so fast; I don’t know where it went. I am so worried about exams too. I know I’m going to pass all my classes, but I’m not too happy with the grades that I have been getting on my tests. I really have to buck up for exams and study my ass off. For next semester, I am so excited because I will actually be taking classes that I want to take. No more chemistry!!! I’m really excited because I’m taking geology and I think I’m going to minor in it. I am also thinking about minoring in green engineering as well. Also, no more English! Ha. I’m just sick of taking classes that are required. I like choosing the things I want to learn instead of people telling me what to learn; like chemistry.
Well that’s all folks. See you next semester, maybe…
Melissa

Blog. Well, here we are celebrating the last few weeks before the first semester is over! Plus, Thanksgiving break is next week! I am so excited for a break, because I’m going to Florida and I can’t wait to eat actual food! After break are exams! That is so crazy that we are already through first semester, I feel so old. My sister is also turning 21 this weekend, which is scary because we used to make fun of our other sister when she turned 21; we used to call her old. Life goes by way too fast; it needs to stop going so fast. I want to enjoy it, but sometimes I feel like I’m not. Like what have I really done with my life in the past 18 years? I have no idea. I have gone to school and that’s about it. I go to school, work all summer and then do it all over again. I’m going to do the same thing this summer because all my new friends are going back home. What are you supposed to do if all your friends leave, where does that leave me? Does this sound selfish? I don’t know how I did it for the past 5 years of my life. I need to find a group of people that won’t leave me in the end. I never have felt like someone truly likes me for me, I always feel like I’m the odd ball. People change, and I hate that. I used to have great friends and then we all changed into different people and it makes me angry. I used to have the best guy friend that I could have, he was great. Once he got into drugs and alcohol, and I went the other way and we never talked ever again. I want to still be best friends with him, but it’s too late now. I can’t be his friends because I don’t like the person he has turned into.
On another note, I have officially made my Christmas list. It took me forever to write down what I would like. I go through the whole year pointing out things that I would like to have and then when Christmas time comes around I totally forget. But I am fairly confident in my list right now, and it’s not like I asked for a lot. I love Christmas time because everyone is always so happy and it’s the season for giving which is the best season of all! I am also excited for going home and spending the time with my family. It’s going to be weird living at home again because I’m so used to the dorms now, but I also miss showering in my own shower. Why are the dorm showers so gross? They need new curtains because the ones on our floor are not big enough for the stall, and they have holes in them! Gross!
So I went to go look at apartments today and I think we have found the perfect place. It’s so hard to look for a place to live especially when you have to look a year ahead of time. I don’t know what I want a year from now, how am I supposed to decide that now? It was so hard to actually find someone to live with because it’s not like I know a lot of people. It’s hard to meet someone for a month and then decide that they are the right person for you to live with. Lauren’s parents decided that they didn’t want her to live off campus, so that’s a bummer. Stupid drunk girl!!! Gah! Well, it’s okay. We are okay with living in a two bedroom; more room for the both of us! I was just looking at two different places and now I can’t decide where to live. The one place is more expensive but it’s new and has a pool and a gym. The other place doesn’t have anything and it’s not as expensive. What am I supposed to do!?
Well study time for chemistry, wish me luck. I hope I don’t fail this last test. I hate chemistry.
Until next time,
Melissa

I have to write another blog, already?! Well my week has been pretty boring and I’m just as mad as Lauren is about that stupid drunk girl. The thing is that type of thing can happen anywhere, and it was just poor timing. Ugh! Another interesting fact: I am $60 over my meal plan, meaning that I need to spend $60 to be where I’m supposed to be. Unlike everyone else, I need to spend money and others need to stop spending it. So I have started to buy more things, and it’s making me feel really fat because I think I’m eating more that I should be. I know I need to spend more money, but how do I do that without being a fatty and buying out the whole cafeteria?! Well if anyone needs me to buy them lunch or something, I’m your girl. I’m at ABP right now and I just had some cheese and crackers, grapes, a fruit cup and soy milk; how much more healthier can you get? I think I have been going out too much to eat, like off campus because I’m sick of campus food. So I spend my money elsewhere, but I have basically free money here, there just isn’t anything good anymore. Now that I have fallen in love with ABP that’s the only place I have been going. But it just feels like I’m going out to a restaurant every night which I don’t like doing. I like going home every weekend to have a home cooked meal, it’s great. I also feel like I shouldn’t be going home all the time because this is my time to be independent which is what I have wanted for a long time. I feel like I use my parents a lot still, and that’s why I feel like I still live at home still because I basically do. I need to change this because I don’t want to be dependent on them anymore and I feel like if I get into that habit it’s going to end badly because I’ll never grow out of it. I went into work today and I was planning on taking the bus back to campus bit it was rainy and I forgot my rain jacket so I asked my dad to come get me, when I know I shouldn’t have, but I did. It’s just so easy to ask them for something and I’m trying to stop relying on them so much. I also need to stop relying on other people, not just my parents. I have noticed that I’m not that independent yet, and that bothers me.
Does rain ever make you guys happy? Like today, I wasn’t in a good mood at work because my boss was being a total D bag, but then when it started to rain, I became suddenly happy. I just love the rain, especially the smell of rain; it’s wonderful. I keep getting distracted by the rain outside because APB has the glass walls so I just keep look outside and not writing this blog! Also, has anyone notices the corps running around with flags? Does anyone know what that is about? I also don’t understand how people can ride bikes in the rain! They are going like 100 miles an hour and it doesn’t bother them that rain is hitting their faces and the rest of their body? AND whats up with girls wearing white sofee shorts when it’s raining, with boots!? Eww. What is this world coming to? It’s cold outside, put some real pants on and then you can wear the boots. No pants, no boots! There goes another biker. Seriously, how do they do that?
Crazies I tell you. That movie looks weird too. Google it.
Until next time,
Melissa

blogging?

So here I am once again, thinking about what I can write about for my ninth blog of the year. I honestly can’t find anything interesting to write about, and it’s basically impossible to write 1000 words about something that no one is going to read anyways. I know this is supposed to expand our writing skills and our minds, but can I be honest; it doesn’t. Sorry to offend anyone who enjoys writing blogs and telling the world what you think about it, but I don’t think we should be forced to write these “blogs” for everyone to read if we have nothing important to say. I know I’m not the only one that feels this way too. I spend at least an hour or two writing these blogs that don’t even get read, nor do they actually go toward my grade for this class to even matter. I think these blogs should be optional, and if you do them you should get credit for them, but if you don’t you shouldn’t get punished because they really don’t help. I don’t know about anyone else, but writing blogs does let me tell people what I did, and what I think; this doesn’t mean that people want to listen to what I have to say. Another thing that shouldn’t be required is for us to comment on our groups blogs; granted there are only three of them, but what does that accomplish? Yes, we should be reading something every week to keep learning and keep our minds at work, but reading blogs about things that I don’t necessarily care about is torture. I understand that we should read our groups blogs, but commenting on them isn’t important. Half of the time I have nothing to say about the blog because I’m not interested in it. Yeah, it is a way that you can see if we read each other’s blog, but we don’t have to read the blog in order to comment on it. Most of us, believe it or not, read a random sentence in the blog and then just comment on that part of the blog because we don’t read anything else. I’m not saying everyone does this, but it is safe to say that most of us do. We want to get a passing grade in this class, but we do the minimum, or do cheat the system. I’m not saying that everyone hates blogging and everyone hates reading other people blogs, but I know from experience that at least some of us feel that way.
So back in middle school, when blogs became the cool thing, I got one. Yes, I was a “blogger” but I really wasn’t because I never talked about anything interesting, I was in middle school. I didn’t have anything to talk about except for how I broke up with my boyfriend of the week, or how I got back together with my boyfriend of the week. I never talked about the world, or the news. I know blogging is supposed to be informative and interesting, but mine were not. I don’t even know if people read my blog, not that it mattered. On the other hand, it let me let out my feelings without saying them to someone’s face. I’m not sure if anyone read my blog when I was talking about them, which would have been bad.
On a different subject, Halloween was last weekend. I had a blast! Brian and I went to some rich guys’ house, and I was so jealous of it. It was really modern with high ceilings and really tall “industrial” doors. I was in love with it. After we went to that guys’ house, we went to our friends apartments and watched a really stupid “scary” movie, you know what I’m talking about. It was great, we also made cookies and they were delicious!
Well I honestly can’t write anymore. I guess I just have a boring life, but I don’t care.
Until next time,
Melissa

Wedding. and chemistry?

So, week eight of blogging: I’m not going to lie; it’s starting to get a little boring writing these things. One thousand words is a lot of words to write about basically nothing. I do have something to write about this time, but I’m not entirely sure if it will take up one thousand words, but I will try. So this weekend, I went to a wedding, and it was the greatest night that I have had in a long time. Brian and I drove up to Akron, Ohio to see our friends get married and it was gorgeous. The drive took about five to six hours, but it went by so fast. On the way we almost ran into a couch that had fallen off or out of someone’s car in the middle of the road! It was so scary, because it blended in with the rest of the scenery and it was so random. I was looking into the horizon, and I was like, “what is that? It s a freaking couch, Brian!” Luckily I was looking because Brian said that he didn’t even see it. How do you miss a couch in the middle of the road; I don’t know. We got there around four and we had to be at the wedding at 5:15. I was freaking out because that is not enough time for me to get ready, but we made it there just on time with no problems. The ceremony was great, they had bad pipes playing instead of the classic piano playing “here comes the bride.” It was scary at first because we didn’t expect that to happen, and it was loud. The wedding was small, and I felt very privileged to be there because Brian and I were the only non-family members that were at the wedding. After the ceremony we all went to the country club and it was amazing. The bride’s parents are very well off, so everything was very well decorated and it was very high class. The food there was great too; salmon, asparagus, potatoes and steak. After dinner, there was the dancing. I love going to weddings and dancing and just having a good time. Everyone there had at least some type of alcohol in them, and it was entertaining to watch them parade around the dance floor. There were these two girls that had obviously drank too much, and they were really fun to watch and dance along with them. I love dancing and having a good time and I loved that part of the wedding. Brian and I never got to go to our senior prom so it kind of felt like it was the prom we never got to have. Well, I had a blast and it really made me happy that I got to go to this wedding in the first place. The ride back wasn’t as fun, but we made it and there were no couches. We did shop a little while we were up there because they had an H&M, which is the best store ever and they don’t have a men’s store anywhere near us here, so Brian was excited about that too. I surprisingly didn’t buy anything, because somehow $600 has disappeared from my bank account. I don’t know what I would have spent it on, but it’s gone. Isn’t it weird how money just disappears and it takes forever to get it back? I also haven’t been getting any hours where I work and it’s really annoying because I really need money. My boss isn’t the smartest person ever and I don’t think he understand how if you hire too many people, they are going to get made that they aren’t getting any hours and if you don’t hire enough people then people are going to get mad because they are getting too many hours. He did go to college for a year on a swimming scholarship but then he injured himself and lost his scholarship and then he dropped out. I just don’t think he makes the best decisions. He doesn’t know how to run a business and no one is telling him how to. I guess he’s trying to learn, but he has the attitude like he’s the best and everyone should bow down to him, which I don’t necessarily agree with. But I did just read his status on Facebook and supposedly some people stole his phone and tossed it in a dumpster. Ha.
So my classes are going semi well. I’m not doing as well as I would like to be doing, but I’m still getting used to this whole college thing. I’m a little worried about my Chemistry class because I’m not really learning anything in class, so I have to basically teach myself everything. I went through high school without doing much work, and I’m paying for it now. I got through high school chemistry with no problem, I got an A; I really think I need to start studying, and/or learn how to study. What we are doing now isn’t too hard, but when the test comes I’m going to forget all of it. I just need to kick it into gear so I can actually pass this class. Another thing is that this class is so long it’s hard to concentrate for an hour and a half on something that I don’t necessarily care about. I know I should care, but chemistry is not interesting. I’m not interested in how atoms are put together and how they stay together; and I don’t really want to know how they react, I just like what happens when they do react. Well at least I know that I never want to become a chemical engineer. I like chemicals, and making them explode, but I don’t like the science behind the curtain.
Well that’s it for today. I hope everyone enjoyed my wedding story and me blabbing on about chemistry.
Until next time,
Melissa

ImSorryI'mSoRandom

For this blog I’m going to do what I always do, blab on and on because that’s what I’m good at. I’m at work right now and it’s freezing outside so one is coming in to get ice cream. This is okay with because it gives me time to do my homework. So I decided that next year I’m going to be living off campus in an apartment. I have met two people that are interested one being Lauren, and the other being a girl from my engineering class. I’m really excited about it because I’ll actually be living on my own, and I won’t have to go home every weekend. I think I will feel more like I’m at college because I won’t be going home often, only for occasional dinners. I like being able to go home, but I don’t like going there a lot just because I don’t feel very independent, and I kind of still feel like I’m living there. I’m really excited about this, but it is also kind of scary. I’m actually going to be on my own, like everyone else is really. Like, everyone that is in college went away from home, so they are on their own, but I don’t feel like that. Story of my life.
So I have been trying to make some friends, and it has been getting better and better. I can see myself starting to open up to people and I’m actually making an effort now. I also feel like other people are in the same boat as me. I’m shy when it comes to meeting new people, and once I open up to them, my true self comes out and it’s wonderful. I still don’t feel like I have met a lot of people though. I mean, it’s 8 weeks into school and I have a lot of people but I haven’t pursued any relationships. It’s harder in big classes because you sit next to someone different every day and you don’t want to keep being awkward and introducing yourself, I feel like it’s too late to do that now.
I also just want to say that Farmville / Facebook is taking over my life. I need to stop this madness. Whenever I’m bored, or I don’t want to do homework anymore I’m on there and it’s getting annoying. I’m getting annoyed with myself about it. I’m just going to say Farmville is really dumb, but it is so addicting. I can’t stop! It gives me a reason to get on Facebook, which I never used to do in the past. I’ve heard of older people playing Farmville and it’s kind of embarrassing to hear that. I can understand middle school, maybe high school, and college but parents and older people; that’s weird. And I’m slightly embarrassed of myself for playing this game. It’s isn’t even fun. I just don’t understand how they got everyone hooked on this silly game.
So my chemistry class is really hard, and I don’t like it. We have had two tests in there, and I got a D on one and I didn’t any better on the second one. I’m not happy with my grade in that class because I feel like I know all the material, but when the test comes I’m dumb and forget everything. I am getting A’s on the homework and that doesn’t make any sense when translating it into my test grades. How can I get A’s on homework and D’s on tests? I know part of it is because I haven’t really studied, partly because I don’t know how. I never had to study in high school. If I got a bad grade on a test, the homework grade was there to keep my grade at a B or an A. So that is a hard class. All my other classes are fine. I’m doing as well as I want to be doing except for vector geometry which is quite challenging. This class is surprisingly hard due to the fact that geometry was easy for me in high school, but that was expected. I have always been into my maths and sciences. I really miss my science classes. I took an environmental science class in high school and I loved it, which is why I wanted to go into environmental engineering; it has the science factor but it still has its problem solving parts, which I’m good at.
Next subject, what’s up with people wearing dresses and shorts while its 40 degrees outside!? I see these really skinny girls walking around in Soffe shorts and then Uggs. I understand that Uggs are really warm, but that doesn’t account for the fact that your legs are exposed to the freezing cold! People are just crazy sometimes. Also, Uggs with shorts isn’t very good looking. If you’re going to wear shorts, go all out and wear some flip flops. Anyways, why don’t guys like Uggs? They don’t understand that they are just like the nasty old shoes that they wear because they are comfortable. Girls wear Uggs because they are cute, and they are warm, and comfy. Also, guys get some color in your wardrobe; when you wear just black and grey, it isn’t attractive. Girls like colors and change, so do it. You need to break out of habit and put your big girl panties on. If you want to look good, you have to try. And if you think you only look good in black and grey, you’re wrong! Yes, black is very mysterious and hot, but colors are good for a change. Make your own style and do things you have never done before; impress people. Just to let all the guys know, Uggs will never leave; they will always be comfy and warm for the perfect winter shoe.
I’m listening to Lady Gaga right now, and I just want to say she’s amazing. And whoever thinks that she has a dick, you’re wrong. You’re just mad that you can’t get with a girl like her. This is directed towards Dan. :P
Until next time,
Melissa

Absolut perfect.
My first advertisement I chose is about Absolut Vodka. In this poster they are showing a girl that ordered a male and you can make him whatever you want. I really like this advertisement because they are saying that if you drink Absolut Vodka, you can make anything happen. “In an Absolut world,” you can make anything be what you want it to be. This advertisement is mostly trying to persuade girls because the picture has a girl in it putting a man together and reading directions. I think this advertisement really works because it makes me want to go out and get some Absolut Vodka to see if I can get any man I want. Another way to look at it is that when you drink their vodka, people will think you’re cool, so every type of man will want you and you will have decide which one you want. All of the Absolut Vodka ads are really interesting and intriguing; you guys should check other ones out. Another thing that they do in their ads is add sexual things to make it seem like drinking their vodka will let you have a good time. This is probably true, because when you drink alcohol that usually happens; you lose all your judgment and that allows you to have a good time.

Smoking kills: Fact.
For my second advertisement I decided to do a backwards one and say that smoking is bad, instead of trying to make it seem cool. If I don’t have enough words after this one then I will use an advertisement that wants people to smoke. I really like this advertisement because it’s really artistic. One of the things about it is that you don’t even have to read the poster; by looking at it you can tell what is trying to say. A lot of people may be offended by this ad because they smoke and they don’t want to be responsible for other peoples’ deaths because of their bad habit. Disturbing as it is, that is a fact. This poster makes the problem seem much worse that it really it, but they are just trying to prove a point. I’m really against smoking cigarettes because they seem silly to smoke because they are only temporary and when you use them it really hurts you and other people around you. I hate it when people smoke outside of the dorms because you have your fan blowing in all the smoke that they are exhaling and it makes your room smell really bad. Especially when people are smoking cigars because those really make your room smell. Anyway, this ad really speaks to me because it is really on target, and it really makes you think about what you’re doing. You’re not only killing yourself, but others around you.



Since I have nothing else to write about, and I need to have 1000 words, I’m going to look at an ad that wants you to smoke and buy their cigarettes. So here is an ad for Tipalet cigarettes. I thought this ad was pretty funny just because it is totally not true at all. They are trying to make it seem like their product make you really cool, and you can get any girl you want by blowing the smoke in their face. If a guy did that to me, I would hit him, hard. This is kind of a backwards look at the first ad I had because it was about a girl getting a guy and this one is about a guy getting any girl. I can’t get over that fact of how funny this ad is because I think it’s from a magazine before cigarette ads were banned and when smoking was new and cool. I think smoking has died down some, and a lot more people don’t think it is that cool, which makes this ad hilarious.

still random

This is starting to get ridiculous. I’m on the fifth blog and I have nothing write about. I did just realize though that I can’t spell fifth. I really had to think about it. That’s’ scary. Speaking of scary, what is everyone going to be for Halloween!? I have no idea, I asked my mom because I wanted to do like a couple outfit thing with Brian, and she said we should do drag… I was a little scared. But then Brian said that we should be cheerleaders. Like we would both be girls. But I realized that girls dressed like a guy is not nearly as fun as guys dressed like a girl. So with that in mind, I have no idea what to do! On another note, I went pumpkin shopping on Sunday, and it was amazing fun. Pictures are on Facebook if you are interested. I got a medium size pumpkin, a small one and then two gourds. They look awesome! I’m going to paint them some time soon. I don’t want a moldy pumpkin that I cut open in my dorm room. Not good. The farm we went to was in Riner, if any of you know where that is. It’s deep into the south. There were many locals at the pumpkin farm, it was weird seeing families because I’m used to going out and seeing them, but I had been a while since I’ve been out in the country. I wouldn’t consider myself a local as much as these other people I see around. Since I haven’t lived in Blacksburg all my life, I am definitely not a southern girl.
So, this weekend I am celebrated my boyfriends’ birthday by going to Roanoke to see an illusionist. I am so excited for this. My boyfriend and I do a lot of things like going to shows and doing things that we never got to do as kids. Like during the summer we went to the circus, which was amazing! It would have been better if I was 12, but still good times. Like instead of going to prom our senior year, we went to Williamsburg and went to Busch Gardens. That was the best trip I have ever had. Yeah, I missed my senior prom, but nothing can compare to going to Williamsburg by yourself with someone that you have been with for two years. It was almost unreal because who knew that our parents would actually let us go on this trip. We went on a Friday and came back Sunday night, so we were gone for a while. It was so great; I can’t wait to do it again. Next summer we will probably go to the beach though, I haven’t been in maybe three or four years? I miss the beach. My family and I used to go every year, but not since my sister started college, or even the year before that.
Also, on the 24th of October my bf and I are going to a wedding! I am so excited because weddings are so much fun. Everyone gets drunk and since I can’t drink but I get to watch everyone and remember it all. Plus there is mad dancing at weddings, and everyone is having a good time. I have been to three weddings before and as I got older they have gotten more fun because I actually could stay up late and be not be tired at ten at night. I’m really excited about this wedding because there are going to be a lot of younger people there like 20’s and mid 30’s, and they know how to have fun. Also, the food at weddings is always great. Oh my, and the cake! I love looking at wedding cakes because they are always so pretty. And I do cakes where I work so I like to see what I could potentially do, but not really. Wedding cakes are always amazing and delicious. Also, the wedding is in Ohio, so we are going to go shopping up there and my favorite store: H&M. They have the best clothes there, and it isn’t that expensive! I love shopping. The only thing I don’t like about shopping is finding things that don’t fit you, or that don’t look good on you. Or when you find something that you love, but it’s $100. I do have a job, but that much for one piece of clothing is not on my priority list.
So every Tuesday, I go to Panera and eat lunch and do homework. After about 2 or 3 o’clock it gets really dead and it’s a great place to study and do homework. They have free wi-fi (internet) too so it’s really easy to just sit in here for hours. I have no classes on Tuesdays so I’m in Panera for long periods of time. It’s a great place to be during the day instead of being cooped up in my dorm room. Also, the food here is amazing! And it isn’t that expensive. It’s six dollars for a meal, and it’s well worth it. I encourage you guys to take a day to come out here and enjoy the atmosphere. I seem to get more done in Panera than I do in my dorm room too.
One last thing before I go. Do you ever go to a place and think that everyone is staring at you. Well that is happening right now. I’m actually in Panera right now, and I’m looking around and everyone is looking at me! I want to know what they are thinking, like she’s weird for doing homework here, or I can’t believe she is in engineering (because of my tablet). This whole thing is about judgment, I don’t like it. I’m not going to lie, I used to be very judgmental but since I’ve been in college I have gotten over the fact and have been trying to meet people without judging them at first glance.
Until next time,
Melissa

random

So here is my fourth blog, and I have nothing write about. I have already told you guys’ my life story, and you know basically everything about me. All my classes are going well and I am enjoying most of them. The only class that is giving me a hard time is chemistry lecture. I didn’t do too well on my first exam, but luckily he drops one of the grades. I never really enjoyed chemistry, but I somehow got an A in that class in high school. My engineering class isn’t hard at all. We just finished doing sketching, and that reminded me of my sophomore year drafting class; I loved it. I took three years of drafting while in high school, along with an engineering class call the “principles of engineering.” I loved all these classes and I miss my teacher so much. He was the greatest teacher ever. Well, while I was in these classes we had a chance to become certified mechanical drafters. We had to take a test that was two hours long, and had more than 300 questions on it. When I took it, I was so nervous; I actually passed with a grade of 84. In order to pass the test you had to get a 75 or higher. The grading scale was much stricter than it is here at Tech. So I am a certified mechanical drafter. I had the chance to become a certified architectural drafter, but I fail by two points. It didn’t really bother me that much just because I don’t want to become an architect, so I wasn’t too bummed.
I’m assuming most of you went to the football game last weekend; the one with the all the rain? I am so sorry that you guys’ had to sit through that. I didn’t get to go because I had to work, but it’s not a big deal. I’m not too mad that I didn’t get a ticket; I would have probably gotten sick. And if any of you are sick, don’t come to class! Well, I got to watch the game at work, and it was the greatest game ever. No one thought that we were going to win, but then we pulled it off, and took it! I went home that weekend too, and ate dinner with the fam. It was good, I love going home to homemade meals. Tech has good food, but nothing beats a home cooked meal. I’m sorry that you guys can’t go home to eat with your families like I can. I guess that’s one of the good things about living near home. Once I get my own apartment though, I doubt that I will be going home every weekend like I do now. I have been trying not to go home so often, but it’s really hard not to. I have a puppy there that I miss so much, and when I come home, she gets so excited and I’m excited; she’s so cute!
So, I’m wondering; where do you all go to study? One of my favorite places is in the Torgersen Bridge. It’s always really quiet in there, and you can look out the windows to see things to distract you. Or I usually just sit in my room and do homework if my roommate isn’t in there. I also go to the coffee store by the math emporium. They play really chill music there, and it’s nice to sit in the comfy chairs and cuddle up doing homework. When I lived here in high school, I used to go there all the time and pretend I was a college student because that’s a cool place to hang out if you know your way around town. I felt really cool, but I really wasn’t. Oh well. But now that I am a college student, I am cool, or I like to think so. Do you ever wonder if people think you’re a college student or not? Sometimes I feel like people look at me and think I’m still in high school. People always used to tell me that I look younger than I am, so when I got to high school people thought I was on the wrong bus, or I got off the bus too early. I think it’s because I’m so short. But I have grown up a lot since then, so I hope people don’t think that I’m a lame high school student hanging out on campus.
Do any of you read the website Reddit? If not, you probably should because it is an amazing site. People post things on the website and then other people comment on them. I know this doesn’t sound too interesting, but it is especially when people write about funny things. People also post pictures on the site that are usually animals that are doing silly things, or people doing silly things. They are really appealing. You just have to watch out for the tag NSFW, which stands for “Not safe for work.” These articles or pictures usually are talking about sexual things, or showing nudity. Other than that, the site is safe. I really like it because you find new things on there, and they are posted to make you laugh so it’s funny. So instead of wasting time on Facebook, you guys can read Reddit and actually have a good time reading interesting articles. And when I say articles I mean posts. These are not news articles, so they are fun. They get on the site by people looking at them and then the vote it Reddit worthy or the vote it not Reddit worthy. So the top posts are never disappointing. One the first page I just found a link to a picture that shows how to open a padlock without knowing the combination. This would be really useful if you forgot your combinations. You can print out the page and there are spots for you to write down all the steps. Pure genius.
Until next time,
Melissa

Man, I love College.

So it’s been four weeks since we have started college and it has been going great! I love not having rules and doing things on my own time without parents in the way. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family but my mom was way too into my life and it’s great to finally have that separation. Now that I don’t actually have to live with my parents, my relationship with them has changed a lot. I do go home every weekend because I have to do laundry and I work right near my house so I usually stop by just to say hi. I have been trying to go every two weeks, but it’s hard when they live right next to Lane Stadium! Anyways, my relationship with my mom was never that great, we would always argue a lot about stupid things, I think it was our strong personalities. Like I said, now that we don’t live together we get a long so much better. We don’t argue and she has finally let me go and lets me do what I want to do. My dad has always been chill and I love him to death. He is the main reason I want to become an engineer. He has become so successful and I strive to be just like him when I grow up. He has always been harder on my sister; I think it’s because she is more like him and I’m more like my mother.So I work at Maggie Moos, which is a marble slab ice cream shop. I love working here because I get to work with people my own age and I get a log with everyone there. I have been working here since
October of last year. I don’t make a lot of money there, but it’s a job and I enjoy it. I also work at CMI which is a branch of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. CMI stands for Conservation Management Institute and they work a lot with the environment. This job is ideal for me because I am interested in Environmental Engineering and this job really got me involved in the things I might be doing later. The job I had was really tedious, but I was actually learning things while I was working which I liked a lot. My job consisted of looking at aerial photos and mapping out wetlands on the photos. The program we were using is kind of like AutoCad, which I already know how to use so I didn’t need that much training to do the job. I was such a quick learner too, that I got a raise my second week! I was really happy when that happened because it didn’t seem like they did that a lot.
So do you guys know anything about this “Farm Ville” on Facebook? I have just started it to see what it was and it’s so addicting! I don’t even know why it is so addicting, it just is. For those of you who haven’t heard about Farm Ville, it’s like you have your own farm and you grow stuff and then sell the things you grow for money. I know it doesn’t sound that great, but it really is. The thing that got me going is how you have to harvest your crops before they wither and die. Last night there was a power outage in Lee and O’ Shag, so I couldn’t get on the internet! I was freaking out because my strawberries had to be harvested. Sadly I didn’t get to them on time, and they died. The internet still isn’t working for some reason, but I’m connected to wireless, so I can take care of my plants. There is also this other game on Facebook call YoVille which is where you live in a city and you bake stuff at the local bakery. Right now I’m baking pies and cookies, and I think I’ve got some cupcakes. It’s just like Farm Ville, but you bake stuff and if you don’t get to it on time, they will over cook. I just checked my cookies, they are at 75%. Phew! But I have really got to stop playing these games. They aren’t really that fun either, they are just addicting! Another fun game to play is called “Filler,” it’s on Kongregate games, just Google it and you will find it. I just want to say that it is fun and you actually have to think about what you’re doing. It’s also extra fun on the tablet because you can actually move faster than you can with a mouse. Same thing with Crayon Physics; you draw awesome shapes and try to get a ball into a certain spot. It’s really hard to think about too, it takes a lot of mind power. I love games that are challenging because when I win them, it feels great. Anyway, you all should play these games, because they are amazing!
Since I live in Blacksburg, I thought I would tell you guys about all the places downtown that you should know about. The first place is called PK’s. Best pizza ever! And if you go on Thursdays they do this thing if you get a 16” pizza when you are ready to pay the bouncer will come over and toss a coin and if you guess the right side that it will land on you get the pizza for free. It’s a great thing because us college students don’t have a lot of money, and it’s really fun. Another place you guys should know about is Macados. Though it isn’t downtown, it is right across from the math emporium, so it’s not hard to get to. The great thing about this place is the food is great and it isn’t expensive at all! The environment is also really nice; it’s a bar at night and a family place during the day. It’s a really good place to go for a first date too.

until next time,
Melissa

Lacrosse playing engineer

So when I left your guys last time I had told you my life story. To be honest, I’m not too sure why I wrote all that stuff, it’s not like I need you guys to know everything about me and feel sorry for me. I really don’t want that. I’m not the best at making a good impression on people. I asked one of my teachers to write a recommendation letter for me once and I decided that I wanted to read it and she had said that she thought I was really stuck up when she first met me. I was so mad that a teacher would put that in a recommendation letter! But really, that’s not me. I don’t try to be stuck up, I want to be peoples’ friends, but I’m really shy when it comes to meeting new people. Once I meet people and I feel comfortable around them that’s when I start being myself and I get out of my shell.

So I think I’ll continue my story with the day I found out I was going to Virginia Tech to be an engineer. So since I lived in Blacksburg before I went to Tech our school had a special day where only people from Montgomery County could apply to Tech for early decision; they called it on-site early decision. I was so sure that I wanted to go to Tech that I didn’t apply to any other schools. I didn’t know what I was going to do if I didn’t get in. So on decision day, they brought in a bunch of people from Tech that went through all of our schools applicants and picked only the finest of students. We would find out if we got in by the end of the day. But my boyfriend, that many of you know about already was doing co-op so he got to leave school early. So we both went to the guidance department to see if he could get his letter before he left to go to work. Since I was there with him, our guidance counselor got both of our letters and he told us that we both got into engineering at Tech. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. Not only did we find out that we got into one of the top engineering schools, but we found out before everyone else! So for the rest of the day I had to pretend I didn’t know that I got in because it would be unfair and people would complain if they found out that we got to know early. So all during lunch I was “freaking out” but I really wasn’t. I was so happy in the back of my mind.
Now that everyone knows everything about me I don’t know what else to talk about. I’m not very interested in sports, only Tech football. I did go to the Marshall game and we beat their asses, excuse my French. Maybe people are interested in why I didn’t want to move away to a different school. Well here’s the thing: I haven’t lived here my whole life so it’s not like I’m staying in the same place. Also, living in Blacksburg as a high school student is way different than living in Blacksburg as a college student. I just want to say that Virginia Tech is its own town; it is just surrounded by another town. And I love Blacksburg. It is the greatest place on Earth just because everything downtown is so close and there is so much variety.

So something that wasn’t mentioned in my profile that I think needed to be said was that I used to play lacrosse. I had been playing since 6^th grade until my senior year in high school. We didn’t have a high school team but I played on a club team when I moved down to Blacksburg. Lacrosse was a northern thing, and it didn’t come down to the south until maybe four or five years ago. So while I was on that team I would say that I became one of the key players of the team just because I had the most experience. During my junior year, I have a record of seven goals during one game. And during my senior year my record jumped to nine. Though we never won any games I had a blast playing on that team. Everyone was there to have a good time, and that’s what I like most about sports is meeting new people that share the same interests. I hope to go back this year to go coach for them, but I’m not sure how much time I will have. I would love to help them out; one of my teammates that will be on the team next year said that I come back then they may actually win some games. I laughed because it’s true; our coaches from the past have never been that good. Last year we had a mom as a coach because no one else wanted to do it. It was one of the worst seasons for the team. Also, she hated me for some reason, so I never became captain; not even co-captain. That made me so furious. Everyone agreed to have me as captain, but the coach decided to over-rule and made someone that didn’t want to play be captain. I just didn’t understand what I did wrong. Now, I was the goof-off of the team just because I was trying to make everyone happy and make them want to come to practice. This may have had an impact on the coaches thought of me, but what I was doing wasn’t bad. I wasn’t wasting time or distracting. I was just simply trying to have a good time.

Well its bed time, and I have almost gone over my minimum of 1000 words so I better stop before I go over.

Until next time,

Melissa

DeeperLook

I’m going to take time to write about my background, where I came from, my high school and why I am so glad to finally be in college. So, most of you already know that I moved down to Blacksburg after 6th grade. My dad got a new job, and we had to move because of it. I used to live in Honeoye Falls, New York. I’m going to be honest, I loved it up there. Thought the weather wasn’t always amazing, and I didn’t have many friends, I still loved it. But when that one summer day did come, it was like Christmas morning (but without the snow). In school, I was never the popular one, I would always sit either in the back or middle so I wouldn’t get noticed. I was also the nerdy girl that people tried to avoid, it wasn’t very fun. When you’re younger I don’t think you realize how your actions can hurt the people around you. In a way, I felt invisible. I wasn’t the most confident person when I was younger because I was really short, fat, and had acne. I wasn’t happy with the way I looked, and I think people noticed that. I was telling my friend a couple days ago that I was fat as a child because my parents always told me to eat everything on my plate at the dinner table. When I was younger, I didn’t know portion control, so I would grab a lot of food, in turn I would have to eat it all. I’m not sure if that’s how I became fat, but that’s what I like to think.
So when I moved down to Blacksburg I was really excited because I could start my life over again. I could get some real friends, and actually be “popular,” whatever that means. So here I am, little short, semi-fat (I was starting to thin out), Melissa. I felt really confident when I moved because people didn’t know me and I could basically become anyone I wanted to be. So first day of school, I was still quiet, I was waiting for people to talk to me because I was really shy. I met some really good friends, but still no one that really seemed to be “best friend” material. So finally in 7th grade, this girl named Claire moved down to Blacksburg and we had a few classes together. We started talking and getting in trouble together, so we became best friends. We had slumber parties every weekend and things were going great. I really liked who I had become, I was known in the school, and it seemed that people wanted to be friends with me. Well turns out, I was only known because I was the loud, obnoxious girl that everyone secretly hated. Since I had been attention deprived from my past, I really liked all the attention that I was getting, even though it was good attention. I finally grew out of that stage once high school started, and I was so happy. Now that I think about it, I really didn’t like who I was. I don’t want to be the person who wants attention and will do anything to get it.
So, I was in high school now and I have become semi-loud but only with the people that I was good friends with. As the years went by, I simmered down to the person I really was. I realized that I am a girl who wants to have a good time, but finds it hard to make friends. I used to be really social because I was confident. I still am confident, but something has changed and I don’t know what it is. Since high school started, I started to lose friends. They were getting interested in drinking and smoking and I was left behind. I didn’t want to do any of that, therefore I lost all my friends. Luckily there was this one person that never left my side. His name is Brian, and he is my best friend. Through all the hard times, he was there. He never left me for drugs and alcohol. We were perfect together, and still are. Brian is my boyfriend of two years, and I have known him for four years. But there is one downside to having someone this close to you. He is always there, so while I’m trying to meet new people, he is there, and personally, I would rather be with him because he is my security blanket. I don’t want to be like this anymore. I want to meet new people, get new friends because all my old ones found new friends. I have tried for so long to get them back, and try to understand where they are coming from, but I just don’t understand, and I’m ready to meet people that are just like me. Unfortunately I haven’t found new friends yet, even though I am in college. There are so many people to choose from, but I still can’t find that one person to be my best friend. I still talk to Claire, but it’s not the same as it was. She has changed into someone that I didn’t become friends with at first. Although I still like her as a person, she has lost the best friend gene that I liked in the beginning.
So here I am in college, ready to become an engineer, and I have no girlfriends. I listen to this radio show called “Love Line,” though they don’t air anymore, I listen via internet. This show is great; it’s hosted by Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew and they basically answer calls and help people with their relationships and love life. So there was this one episode where a girl was having boyfriend problems and said that she didn’t have any girlfriends. Dr. Drew stated that girls should have a group of other girls that they hang out with. I think that this is true and I need to start looking.

Until next time,
Melissa

WANTED: Alexandra Egert

WANTED:

Young girl known for being too friendly

Goes by: Alexandra Egert, or Ali (for short)

Appearance: Shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, approximately 5’ 6”, perfect white teeth, 18 years of age.

Persona: Always smiling, easily approachable, a lot of school spirit

May be found at: Local thrift store doing community service, zoo, playing volleyball, church, Hypatia dorm, watching Army Wives, playing violin

Alexandra was found last week being too friendly to strangers in her first week of her college career. She was found talking to people she didn’t even know. This is typical, because she did win her high school senior superlative as being the friendliest. Back in her home town, Chesapeake, Virginia, she was also known for this, but she fled to Blacksburg before they could catch her. She went to Blacksburg because she wants to become and engineer. Alexandra wants to become an engineer because she enjoys math and sciences. Virginia Tech is known for its engineering school, and Alexandra likes to sense of community here, and the school spirit.

When Alexandra isn’t talking to strangers she also enjoys going to the beach every year to Ocean City with her family. She has been spotted there every summer since 1995. When she isn’t at the beach, Alexandra is doing community service. Sometime in the past, we heard, she was spotted at a “Toys for Tots” convention helping out. She says that helping people makes her feel good, and it gets her in the Christmas spirit.

Alexandra listens to all types of music, so the chances of you finding her in FYE are slim to none. She likes most of the top 20 songs that play on the radio, but she also likes everything else, especially classic rock. She doesn’t enjoy country music as much as a cowgirl would, but she says she likes a select few. Alexandra says that she doesn’t watch a lot of television, but we found out otherwise. We heard from some of her close friends that she actually watches a lot of television shows. She likes to watch Gossip Girls, Greys Anatomy, and Housewives. She also used to enjoy watching Gilmore Girls with her mom, but since that show is no longer on air, she now watches Army Wives with her mom. This gives them time to connect and have some mother daughter time.

Last weekend Alexandra was found last week eat crab legs and Oreos, at the same time! These, come to find out, happen to be her two favorite foods. Someone also spotted her walking to class eating a Nature Valley granola bar, which she seems to enjoy very much. Alexandra was has also been seen surfing the web a lot lately, mostly Facebook; but who hasn’t? When she isn’t eating crab legs or surfing the web, Alexandra likes to play violin. She has been playing since she was in 6^th grade, and has played in some very important places like The Carnegie Hall in Manhattan.

URGENT:

We recently caught up with one of Alexandra’s good friends, Lauren, and she gave us some good information about Alexandra. Lauren is the same age as Alexandra and says that they hangout all the time. Lauren knows Alexandra really well, so we thought we should catch up with her to get some more information. Lauren says that when they hangout they don’t usually go anywhere, but instead play board games and watch movies. Lauren met Alexandra when they five and starting dance together. They did tap and ballet together and they switched over to pointe. She had told us that Alexandra needed to quit dance so she could devote more of her time to volleyball. Lauren also said that she and Alexandra played in an orchestra together. They were in the Western Branch High School Bruin Sinfonia Orchestra, and performed on two of the post prestigious stages in the country, which included the Kennedy Center. Other than playing violin, Alexandra watches a lot of movies. Lauren told us that Alexandra prefers to watch chick-flick movies, but she is content with anything. Though she doesn’t enjoy suspense or horror movies, but she will watch them if forced.

Here are some other little facts about Alexandra that may be helpful to us finding her. Lauren told us that Alexandra loves to take a lot of photographs. She likes to capture memories in photos and then place them in scrap books so they last forever. Alexandra also likes the color pink, but what girl doesn’t? We heard that her favorite shape is a dodecagon, which is a 12 sided shape for those of you that aren’t math majors. And surprisingly her favorite subject is math, if you didn’t already guess from the dodecagon fact. So that’s all the information that we got out of Lauren. We are almost positive that she is going to go to Alexandra now and tell her to flee the country because she is a wanted criminal.

Case and Point:

Alexandra is a very outgoing person. Though she may seem a little nerdy on the outside, she really does know how to have a good time. Alexandra is overly friendly, but we all can see that she is harmless, and she just wants to be your friend. If you happen to run into her, don’t panic, (She doesn’t bite) just carefully tell her your name, and be friends with her. She is a really great person and everyone should want to meet her and be her best friend. From taking ballet and playing violin, we don’t think she is very harmful, so we are closing this case. Though she could kick you really hard with her ballet spins, or hit you with her violin bow, but she wouldn’t even harm a fly.

Alexandra:

You are free to go as the friendliest person in the world. So go ahead and be yourself, do what you do best. Go on and be an engineer and show the world how amazing you really are.

Live long and prosper.