This is What I Do When I Should Be Studying...

Well, a little detour never hurt anybody, right?

Now, tell me that doesn't look like me!

ONE

That is, one paper revision and one exam before I've completed one semester of college. Today was our final day of classes, which is a bit of a relief!

At any rate, it's been a while since I last blogged--and for that, I apologize. Here's the newest from Durham:

1. Check out this article on from ESPN.com by Graham Hays about the Duke Women's Basketball Team: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=ncwexperts The season is underway and we're currently 5-1 after last night's victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. We have another home game on Sunday against Michigan. We've encountered some obstacles as two of our point guards (including our starting PG) are currently out with injuries, but the team is relentless and continues to work hard.

2. I made a brief visit home over Thanksgiving and had a really wonderful time. Mostly, it was good to see familar faces--I got to catch up with dear friends, laugh a lot, stay up late a lot, and eat delicious home made food...what could be better?

3. Moments ago I informed my mother that I intended to rush. *Imagine the reaction I got!* At Duke, we have deferred rush so that freshmen can adjust to college life before deciding if they want to be in sorority or not. I'm not sure if I'll end up pledging but I'm keeping my options open and am looking forward to meeting new people.

4. I rang the 5pm church bells at Duke's Chapel. My Renaissance music class visited the chapel to get a tour of the bells and to watch them be played (they are played daily at 5pm).

5. I registered for next semester's classes...but I'll save that for another post!

6. The dorm is infested with holiday spirit--Christmas lights in the hallway, in people's rooms, decorations on doors, cookie making parties...you name it! It's quite a jolly place.

That about covers things for now...if you're in town in December for the holidays I'd love to see you while I'm home so shoot me an email and we'll be in touch.

Blue Stained Faces...They're Normal When You're a Duke Student

It's true.

If you see someone walking on the quad and their face is tinted blue, its obvious what they were up to. No questions necessary. Clearly they were at the night before's basketball game.

Here's a curve ball for ya though: If you see people walking around today with a stained blue face, they probably just auditioned for a coke zero commercial.

And before you ask that question which is on the tip of your tongue, just think about it for a minute. Would I, die-hard-sports-fanatic-and-spirited-loud-cheerer, really pass up an opportunity to be a crazed duke fan on a national commercial (and make $150 for it)?

That's what I thought.

A Student Specimen

College kids are poor. College kids like money. Duke University researchers, well, they research A LOT.

What does all of that have to do with anything?

I have a plan. Probably the greatest "get rich quick" scheme ever and it's perfect for college kids. There are fliers posted everywhere soliciting studies which are in need of participants. If you take the time to read them you'll learn that each participant is compensated for his or her time and it's never any less than $10/hour. It's pretty easy to make some good money here if you take the time to pull the slips with contact information and send out an email to the researcher to learn more about the study and participation. This morning I completed my first study and am already $10 richer! I have 3 more studies scheduled for the next week and managed to grab more slips.

Now, I don't want anyone to worry. I am not volunteering for any medical clinical trials. Most of the studies are some sort of psych or sociology study and at most require a saliva swab!

I am a student specimen.

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful Covergirl!

First, you should know that my creative juices almost titled this post: Extra! Extra! Read All About it... Between the two, you should get the idea that:

I, (insert my full name here*), was on the cover of today's issue of The Chronicle.

The Chronicle is the daily student newspaper. Generally speaking it does a nice job of covering campus events, issues, studies, sports...you name it, along with some big time stories from the rest of the world that is not Duke University.

So, now that we've established the title of the post and some general Duke knowledge:

Tah-Dah! Your's truly!

So what is this all about? This weekend was Duke's homecoming. In light of such, the alumni association and President Broadhead host "The President's Ball". It's kind of like your high school homecoming dance in the gym, but with a live band and a free bar. Well my dancing partner, Eduardo (a friend who lives down the hall and is from Puerto Rico), and I found ourselves on the dance floor getting our funk on and having ourselves a fine time when the student photographer obviously decided that we were photo worthy. The rest is in the picture...as they say, a picture's worth a thousand words!

A picture of the girls from my hall before heading out:
*The astrisk denotes that internet safety precautions stopped me from typing my full name in this post...mainly to humor my mother who is a little concerned about things like this and was opposed to my blogging in the first place for this very reason! (Don't worry, she's recently come around and told me that she actually enjoys reading my blog.)

The Halls are Alive with the Sound of College-kids!

It's been a little quiet around the dorm recently. Duke undergrads were fortunate to have Monday and Tuesday off for Fall Break, giving us a nice four day weekend. Most students who live in the southeast, northeast and midwest ventured home to see family and friends who might still be around. So yeah, you could say it's been quiet. Tonight was a reunion though and it's safe to say that the halls are alive once again. I left the deserted dorm for basketball practice late afternoon and arrived back to a lively one...people in the hall ways, music spilling over through walls and doors, stories being swapped and laughs shared. Though I did not venture out of the dorms it's good to be "home".

All this talk about break probably begs you to ask the question of what the heck was I up to while everyone was away? Well, there were a few other students stranded here with me...mostly international and west coast kids, but hey, we stuck together and life was good. Friday night a bunch of us went to the men's soccer game. We lost to UNC 2-0...it was disappointing. Saturday I went on an adventure with a group of friends. We hit 9th street, which is our pathetic attempt at a college street. Really though, its kind of cute...just very small (2 blocks, maybe). We also came across a small park. Sunday we went in another direction in Durham to a small shopping area called Brightleaf Square. A lot of the shops and eateries were closed due to it being a Sunday, but we got a nice feel for what it had to offer. Other than that it's been a mixture of hanging out and getting some work done.

All in all, it was a nice to have some down time and a chance to explore the area.

The Basketball season officially kicks off Friday, Homecoming is this weekend and parents and family weekend is the weekend after next. So be sure to stay tuned for a lot of exciting happenings here in Bull City!

The Real Duke Experience

There is only one thing which really challenges academics for students' undivided attention at Duke. It is the reason that students camp out from the first day back from winter break (and in some cases, come back early from winter break) until March. The man in charge in this case is more revered and revered by more students than the "man upstairs" himself. Need another clue? It starts with B and ends with asketball. You guessed it...Duke Basketball.

This morning marked the beginning of what is sure to be a stream of memories by the time I graduate. It marked my beginning of what is surely a most memorable experience of any Duke alum. So, at 4:40 am when my alarm went off I grabbed my backpack for the day, donned my best Duke sweatshirt, wiped the sleep from my eyes and joined the ranks of Cameron Crazies. See, this morning tickets went on "sale" for the exhibition game. Yes, you read that correctly. All of this for an exhibition game. A game which will mean nothing to the selection committee come March, to any AP Poll voter, to our ACC standings and which will not garner us bragging rights in the face of any Tar Heel. All of this for tickets to the exhibition game against Virginia Union. Just who is Virginia Union? Don't ask me. I've never heard of them. All I know is that we will be playing them on October 25th and that I will be at the game with my Dad who will be in town for Parent's and Family Weekend.

So, lets recap...what was all of this madness this morning that got me out of bed at 4:40 am and took me across campus to sit in line for two hours?

Duke Basketball.
'Nough said.









Caption: "Is that the basketball team?" you might be asking yourself. Afterall, they're all wearing matching "warm ups". In fact, that is not the basketball team. Those are our line monitors. It is safe to say that basketball ticketing at Duke is a serious serious business. Something we do not take lightly...and yes, my newest Duke dream is to be a line monitor!