reasons why i love my life at tulane

SAINTS WIN (oh, and a little bit of Digital Arts stuff)

2010-02-22T15:12:00.002-06:00

So, first off:

WHO DAT.

It's now been two weeks since the Saints won SUPER BOWL 44! HECK YES. As a result, New Orleans basically shut down until after Mardi Gras. The Saints parade (although I did not attend - I watched from my warm dorm room doing homework while everyone else froze their butts off downtown) had 850,000 attendees - that's DOUBLE the population of the entire city crammed into downtown New Orleans. Insane.
While I normally would be all about standing on the side of a road, jumping up and down, screaming, and having a bountiful supply of shiny things given to you (and who isn't a fan of that?), I flew back home during Mardi Gras this year and spent some time with my family and friends back in good old Wheaton, Illinois. Since my family got a puppy right before winter break ended, I needed to bond with it. Haha.

Additionally, if you recall the wager I had with my parentals and the outcome of the Super Bowl, it's safe to assume I collected on that wager when I got home. Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. Om nom nom.

Now, onto what I've been up to for this semester!

I'm currently taking Digital Arts II this semester, which is basically a class about web design and interactivity. So far, we've had two projects - one was a website documenting some sort of collection, and the other was an interactive Flash animation inspired by the concept of infinity.
Tough stuff, a lot of computer mumbo jumbo that I'm still not sure I completely get, but I managed to come up with some projects I'm pretty proud about!

Project #1 - I was inspired by information design and graphs to create a page documenting the different way people wished me Happy Birthday on my last birthday. Definitely inspired by clean typography (most specifically Helvetica)

Project #2 - I was inspired by the concept of reincarnation and the idea that "the eyes are the window to the soul" to create a gallery documenting the lives and deaths of 9 individuals (both fictional and real) to show that everyone's life is significant in some way or another. This one turned out to be kind of morbid/depressing compared to what I normally do, but I do like the illustrations!

Okay, artsy-mumbo-jumbo over. Take a look! Click here to see the projects so far!

YouTubin'

2010-01-26T23:50:00.001-06:00

In the meantime before my next post...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugV6gcXGPwk

Check it.

WHO DAT?

2010-01-24T23:02:00.004-06:00

I just have to scream this from the mountaintops.

THE SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited for these next two weeks. I never was a big football fan before this year - I grew up with the Bears as my home team and a family full of Colts fans...but this season has officially made me a part of the WHO DAT NATION.

Tonight's game was awesome. Even though I had homework to do, I grabbed some nom noms from Felipe's and spent most of my "homework time" watching the game...oops? There were some times I had my doubts, but I definitely did a little dance with the last field goal.

However, seeing that my parents are siding with the Colts, we have a friendly wager going for the Super Bowl. If my Saints win, my parents are sending me a frozen Lou Malnati's Chicago deep dish pizza. If the Colts win, I have to treat my parents to dinner when they move me out in May...let's do this, Saints!

RECAP from October until now.

2010-01-14T16:26:00.015-06:00

Oh. Hey. I bet you missed me, blog world.

Since last October (New Year's Resolution - keep up with this WAY better), I have done the following things:

STAR WARS IN CONCERT. October 27th. New Orleans Arena.
So, basically, here's what went down (in stream of consciousness form):

4:00 PM - Arrive at the New Orleans Arena. Get escorted to our deluxe hospitality suite complete with free pop and bottled water and two private bathrooms. Get nifty backstage access tags. Start to feel a bit like a rock star.
5:00 - Rehearse with the orchestra. Walk out and see a HUGE empty arena. Almost pee my pants. Get chatted up by friendly percussionists in front of us. Run through the two (short) songs we have for the concert. Get the seal of approval from the conductor. Feel even more like a rock star.
6:00 - Walk by extravagant food table. Learn that I cannot eat said food because it's reserved for the orchestra. Almost turn Christian Bale on the event staff, but quickly learned that we'd be getting pizza. So that's cool. Om nom nom on said delivery pizza. A short, jolly British man walks in the room while we're om nom nomming. Soon learn that IT'S ANTHONY DANIELS. THE DUDE WHO PLAYED C3PO. He talks to us for a while about the whole concert experience and tells us that we're one of the best choirs they've had on the tour. Definitely feel like a rock star by this point.
7:00 - Concert starts. We walk out on to the stage. There are a LOT of people. Wow. Anthony Daniels chats us up some more before narrating the whole shebang. The crowd goes WILD when the orchestra begins the theme song. We sing. Then sit and look pretty. Then sing some more. There are some crazy lights going on. End of Act 1. Walk off stage, and lo and behold, Anthony "C3PO" Daniels is waiting for us outside to thank us. Shake C3PO's hand. Forget all snide comments I've ever said about "Star Wars."

Officially feel like a rock star.

FINISHED SOME ART STUFF

Here's a drawing I did at the beginning of the semester!

So, for my final project in my drawing class, we had to create something that involved what we hope to become as we grow older and what we fear we will become as we grow older. Deep stuffz.

Oh, and it had to be interactive. So, you had to have some component that people could manipulate to create meaning.

This is what I did.

Basically, the gist of the project is that I'm scared of becoming a boring adult who has a desk job and a practical life, and that I want to keep "child-like" qualities as I grow older, like enthusiasm, a sense of wonder, and a wild imagination.

I made a set of alphabet blocks that, when arranged in a specific way, spelled out "Adult" and in another way, spelled out "Child." The other sides had drawn images that were either the "Adult" images, with items associated with boring adulthood and a set caption, or the "Child" images, with items clearly and not-so-clearly associated with childhood and a strip of chalkboard paint to write in your own caption. Then I carved. And bled a couple times, but carved, because I'm tough. AHHHHHH. Basically, this took up the entire last week I had at school, and I still periodically find woodchips on the floor, but, all in all, I felt very very accomplished. BAM.

THEM CONCERT

We had our final concert of the semester, and had one of the biggest crowds we've ever had for a concert! As you'll see in our videos, we like to have some fun while performing, as evidenced by our "festive" attire. However, as much fun as we had with this concert, we've already got our sights set for bigger and better things this semester! We're starting 5 or 6 new songs, including another one arranged by me!

Check us out here: http://www.youtube.com/user/THEMandCompany

FALL BREAK

2009-10-20T00:38:00.004-05:00

For the first year since I've been here, Tulane had a FALL BREAK! If you've been reading my blog, you've probably noticed the lacking frequency in my posts/the amount of stuff I've been doing. So, in my book, I needed a break.

Does this look break-y enough to you?

I spent my fall break in lovely Fort Lauderdale, Florida with the parental units! I started it out speaking at a reception in downtown Miami last Wednesday night for prospective Tulane students and their parents, basically talking to them about why Tulane rocks and stuff. It's kind of an easy gig for me, (cue semi-cheesy, but ultimately true, sentiment) since I absolutely love going to school here and had a lot of material from which I could draw. I met some cool students who hopefully will be joining me here next year!

After speaking, the trip varied between the following activities:

Sleeping
The Beach
Sleeping at the Beach
Eating Delicious Food (and reuniting with Jamba Juice...so good...)
Catching up on my TV Shows (The Office, Parks and Recreation, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, 30 Rock)
Exploring South Beach
Taking Photos of the Crazies on the Beach for Photo Class

Needless to say, it was a wonderful weekend. It was great to see my parents for the first time since August, and was sad to say goodbye, but I know that I'll see them in another month for Turkey Day.

A couple more random thangs:

While I was in Florida, I got an e-mail from Dr. Raybon, the choir director at Tulane, telling us that the Tulane-Newcomb Choir (the big choir at Tulane) would be singing at STAR WARS IN CONCERT on October 27th in the New Orleans Arena! AWESOME! Basically, it's this big concert event that has various clips from the six Star Wars movies with a live orchestra and choir performing the score, with Anthony Daniels (the dude who played C-3PO) narrating. We had our first rehearsal for the music tonight, and I'm pumped for next Tuesday. More to come on that!
I got a job! I'm going to be a Secret Agent for kgb (not the Russian spy force), that text message service that involves people texting pressing/random questions for which they need an answer. My job is to answer their questions (AKA ultimate trivia extraordinaire). Super pumped for that.

See y'all later!

The Last Month in 5 Minutes or Less

2009-10-03T01:44:00.006-05:00

Regrettably, I haven't posted in a while. And I was doing so well at the beginning of the semester!

Inevitably, life has gotten busy. Ridiculously busy. However, being the generally calm, cool, and collected person that I am, I'm not letting any of it get out of hand. Here's just a taste of what I've been doing in the last month - stories upon which I will elaborate in posts to come (I promise).

Without further ado:
BEN'S SEPTEMBER and first two days of October In 5 minutes or less:

PS - I know I need to shave. Getting on that in the morning...
SINGING. A lot of it.
As my avid blog followers may know (and I know I have them...hey Uncle Dave...), I'm a member of THEM a cappella, one of the two (soon to be possibly three or four? several new ones are in the works...) a cappella groups on campus. We're actually entering our 10th year in existence, and our 10th Anniversary Reunion Concert will be coming up in November!
This has been my first "start of a school year" in THEM (I joined this past January), and we've definitely made some great strides. We took three AMAZING new members (Anna, Jenn, and Matt - we love you), welcomed back a member from her semester abroad (yay for Nisrine!), had our retreat (esentially 9 straight hours of singing, give or take a 2 hour lunch break complete with a performance for the waitstaff and other diners at Okinawa Sushi and Hibachi Steakhouse), and have been digging deep into our vaults to bring back some old songs the group used to sing about the same time I was in my awkward middle school phase. We're also going to premiere some new stuff too, and I actually started arranging songs on my computer for the group over the summer! I mean, schoolwork is great and all, but, in all honesty, being a THEMber has become one of my favorite parts about going to Tulane. To be more general, a word of advice for prospective students, whether you end up at Tulane or at some other school (even if it breaks my heart...please come to Tulane!), I URGE you to get involved in something! You'll meet a group who generally has the same interests as you, who may become some of your best friends for life.
Biffles.
Cute.

Okay, maybe this is a little longer than 5 minutes, but it's quality over (lack of) quantity, right?

DRAWING. A lot of it.
Duh. I'm an Art Major. What else did you expect?

I'm taking the Drawing 106 this semester, which is the continuation of the drawing class I took last semester. Basically, we've graduated from drawing whatever our teacher tells us to draw to picking out what we get to draw! However, to quote a splendid film (OK, it's kinda mediocre, but doesn't the phrase "a splendid film" sound so dignified and borderline pretentious? I love it), "with great power comes great responsibility." My professor gives us obstructions/general guidelines for each drawing (the last project we had was supposed to be based on two found images, laid out on a grid, interchanging three [or more] boxes between the two) This semester in drawing (so far) has strengthened my abilities significantly. There's definitely a quicker turn-around time on drawings than I had last year, so I've had to learn to work with the same amount of care in half the time. Basically, I'm turning into a drawing beast and I love it.

Even if I did stay up until 4:30 AM on Wednesday night/Thursday morning to finish my latest creation. Which, if I do say so myself, turned out to be pretty ballin'.

FILMMAKING. Learning how to do it.
For those of you not in the loop, I added a second major at the end of last semester - Digital Media Production. Basically, it's a major which gives students the opportunity to learn about the technical side of filmmaking/today's media. And, for a movie buff who's hoping to go into Animation/something artsy within the film industry, I'm loving it so far. I'm taking Video Production 1 right now as my first course within the major, and, less than one month into the school year, I'm getting legit experience in how to properly film a movie. You know, so it doesn't all turn out like "The Blair Witch Project"/that video that awkward kid in your high school French class made for a project, complete with horrible sound and references to his morbidly obese cat, Simba (if you didn't catch the drift, I was that awkward kid I'm talking about). And, it's not just any random script - I actually wrote the script we're filming right now, and I'm directing our class' first film. We're working in conjunction with an acting class, and after spending my high school years on the stage, it's cool to control a performance from a completely different angle. Directing is a lot of work, but it rocks.

K, so I have to go to bed now. I'm giving a tour in the morning, so I might have seen/met some of you who are reading this by the time you are currently reading this?

One final note, RIP Chicago 2016 Olympics...that was a Debbie Downer this morning...and a Debbie Downer to this post. Sorry. I had to include something about it since I'm angry about it. Kpeaceout. Bye.

SCHOOL SPIRIT

2009-09-06T11:57:00.003-05:00

One thing that I haven't talked a lot about on my blog so far is athletics...oops? Tulane's a D-1 school, so when we do sports, we do sports BIG.

Try this big.

Yup, we don't play our football games in just any standard college stadium. We play them in the 72,000-seat, NFL-capacity Louisiana Superdome.

The same Superdome that houses games for the New Orleans Saints!

Needless to say, football games at Tulane are a LOT of fun. I went to a couple last year, and I was super excited for this year's season to start. So, I got really excited when I found out that our season opener against Tulsa would be aired on ESPN!

Well, that game was this past Friday, we lost 37-13 on national television, but that's beside the point! I had a blast going back to the Superdome for the game, and we packed the student section full for the game.

In terms of other sports, baseball season is also pretty spirit-inducing. Our baseball stadium is right on campus, so it's really easy to catch a game for a study break during the spring.
In full disclosure, we're not the best school in terms of our sports winning records...but for a kid who didn't really care about sports for most of his life, I have to admit that it's really easy to become an avid Green Wave sports fan!

Full Swing!

2009-08-29T13:18:00.003-05:00

Officially back at school.

This is me being happy about being back at school.

I'm officially back in NOLA! It's great to be back in the swing of things, but I'm ridiculously busy now! It's a weird sensation from going from the summer (basically no commitments) to a full-on school schedule (basically infinite commitments for me...haha), but I'm glad to be back to being productive.

Right now, I'm sitting in my room in Leadership Village (AKA the closest thing to an on-campus apartment without living in the on-campus apartments). Even though I loved my room in Wall last year, this room has got Wall beat. The first floor (oh yeah, my room has two stories) is our study/lounge space - desks, a futon, a chair, TV - pictures are coming later (since I'm still progressively tidying up the room...oops?), and a spiral staircase up to the second floor. My roommate and I basically have our own bedrooms on the second floor (the staircase is in the middle of the room, and it divides it in two), and there's a balcony off the front. Basically, it's legit.

In terms of classes for the semester, I'm taking a Drawing course (with Aaron, basically the coolest professor at Tulane...in my opinion), an Intro to Photography course (just bought my photo supplies yesterday!), a Video Production course (basic filmmaking class - by the end of the semester, we'll have made several short movies), Fundamentals of Music Theory, and Introductory Psych. I'm REALLY excited about this semester in terms of classes and such, and will post some photos/drawings that I do throughout the semester!

Finally, things are starting to get in gear for my a cappella group! I'm the public relations manager this year for THEM, and I'm definitely excited for what this semester/year has in store for us. Actually, we're having auditions at 5 PM today, and I'm super excited to be on the other side of auditioning for a group for once!

With all that's been going on, I've barely had any time to actually get off campus and explore New Orleans! But, thankfully, yesterday, I had a little bit more free time - a friend and I checked out a camera shop on Maple Street (one of the neighborhoods/areas frequented by Tulane students), and had gelato at La Divina on the way back (mmmmmm). Last night, after I got done with stuff from the Activities Expo (THEM a cappella represent...what what?), I went with some friends from my dorm last year to Camellia Grill, one of my FAVORITE places to eat in New Orleans. It's on Carrollton Ave., and I HIGHLY recommend any visiting people to go eat there - it's cheap, it's delicious, and the waiters are HILARIOUS. After last night, I can confidently say that I feel like I'm finally back in New Orleans.

Peace out, y'all!
--BEN

Back to School Time!

2009-08-19T15:35:00.004-05:00

So, three(ish) months went by in a flash. Wow. I can't believe it, but summer is over (as I know it), and it's time to go BACK TO TULANE!

Yessssssssssssss.

After a summer apart, I'm finally going back to New Orleans tomorrow! As I write this, I'm sitting in my uncle's house on beautiful Lake Martin, Alabama. My family decided to take a short vacation before dropping me back off at school, and it definitely has been a nice final way to catch my breath before jumping back into school mode.

I went tubing yesterday and today - however, yesterday, I made the stupid mistake of not wearing sunscreen...oops. Long story short: WEAR SUNSCREEN, KIDS. Or you transform into a lobster.

Additionally, in an act of solidarity with this year's incoming freshmen, I've been reading Tulane's Summer Reading Project book - The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. It's a phenomenal book - very complex, but I'm digging it. Almost done, and will post my full thoughts later.

However, I can't stress enough that I'm SO EXCITED TO MOVE BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW! I will post another blog once I'm all settled in with plenty of photographic documentation of my ballin' dorm room. But, for now, Tulane, I can't wait to see you!

Mid-Summer Update!

2009-07-08T23:47:00.004-05:00

SUMMER.
Just had to get that out there.

I hope you're reading this in a place that has better weather - it's been cold and rainy for the last two days here (grrrrrr). Chicago weather needs to make up it's mind - it was cold for the first month I was home, and then, it turned unbearably hot. Mood swingy, much?

I hope all y'all are having a great summer so far! Mine has been pretty uneventful - I've been working a lot. I guess people really like ice cream? I've also been hanging out a lot with my friends from home. And riding my bike. A lot. We've got great bike trails in my county (the Prairie Path - it's pretty legit), and I never really appreciated them until this summer. I guess I'll be biking a lot more when I get back to school, too...Audubon Park, here I come!

Oh, wait - there have been two kind of significant things so far this summer.

My cousin Robyn got married on July 3rd! We got to stay at my uncle's lake house in Culver, Indiana, for the four days we were gone - which meant lots of tubing and lots of sun. It was great to see everyone all together, and, if I do say so myself, I was pretty much a dancing fiend at the reception. (brushes imaginary dirt from shoulder)
Not so fun - I have tendonitis. Yay. I started running before I left school, but let's just say I'm not from "runner" stock. So, these whole orthopedic shenanigans = lamesauce. OH, and I have to get new retainers! Grrr...orthopedia AND orthodontia all in one summer. Lots of ortho.

Even though I'm loving summer/Chicago/the perks of living in my house, I do miss Tulane/NOLA. I miss not being able to walk to the front of campus to hear the clanging of the streetcar bell as it passes Gibson Hall. I miss Café du Monde and beignets. I miss my Tulane friends. Grr.

BUT, I'm pumped to come back in the fall! I'm excited to meet all y'all new Freshies! If you see me walking around campus (you can't miss me - I have a bright orange messenger bag and I probably will be tripping over myself while talking loudly to someone on the other end of the quad), tell me you read my blog! I enjoy hearing from my readers! And to all you kids just now starting the application/college search process, come visit! I'll say hi and (potentially) give you a high-five.

A Year in Review

2009-05-12T00:02:00.002-05:00

Right now, I'm sitting in my basement in good old Wheaton, IL. The rest of my family has gone to bed, and the only sound I can hear is the dryer running in the next room. I'm wearing jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a pair of thick socks. The weather outside? 52 degrees.

Judging by the last two sentences, it's hard for me to believe the following statement: summer has arrived.

It is FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZING here. I spent the day in Chicago and had to actually sort of bundle up. It's MAY.

Coming home from college is always a strange experience. Usually, I feel like I've never left - the house hasn't really changed, Mom and Dad are still the same, my cats (Simba, a living version of Garfield, and Cassie, the cat who is afraid of anything and anyone) are still sprawled out all over the couch. But, I get the same feeling going back to school. Flying into Louis Armstrong International Airport, seeing Lake Pontchartrain and the Superdome for the first time, I get so anxious to get back to campus and start up my life. I lived in two distinct circles, but felt at home in both.

Now, after a week of finals, a bunch of packing, and a two-day car trip, I'm back living in my home circle for an extended stay. Yes, I love home, and I'm glad that I'm away from the stresses of homework and classes and that stuff for the next couple of months. But, I don't think I'll really be a whole person during those months. You see, the second circle, although a relatively recent development in my life, has impacted me irrevocably.

The second circle challenges me to work, to achieve. The second circle has some of the strangest, and yet most lovable, people I've ever met. The second circle makes me feel like I'm living abroad, since it's so distinctly different from the first circle. The second circle has beignets, Jazz, the streetcar, Mardi Gras, Crawfest, Granny Cart Lady, St. Charles Avenue, live oak trees, and some of the weirdest street names known to mankind (Tchoupitoulas? What were the French thinking...).

And, yes, the second circle is A LOT WARMER.

My freshman year at Tulane was probably one of the greatest of my life so far. I grew so much, learned so much (in and out of the classroom, about myself, about others...), ate so much (did I mention beignets?), sang so much (THEM a cappella rocks my socks), worked so much, relaxed so much. I was constantly changing.

So, for now, I return home with all of my dorm stuff, memories of freshman year in hand. I'll stay in Wheaton for the summer, scooping ice cream at Tate's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop (stop by and holler at me if you're in the area!), and reuniting with my friends from my high school years.

But, throughout my summer, I'll keep Tulane and New Orleans in my heart. It's given me so much for the last 9 or so months of my life, and for that I am thankful. For that, I'm insanely proud to call New Orleans my home-away-from-home.

So, bye bye, Tulane! It's been fun. See you in three months! And, as always, laissez les bon temps rouler!

Oh, and I'll be updating this periodically throughout the summer. Just so y'all can creep. Peace out!

April Showers? More like sunshine.

2009-04-17T11:28:00.003-05:00

So, the month of April has brought BEAUTIFUL weather to New Orleans. It definitely made going home for Easter that much harder - I've definitely gotten spoiled weather wise, and felt super whiney about pretty average Chicago spring temperatures when I was home! But, I've been keeping VERY busy this month so far.

As you can see by the big banner at the top of this post, Crawfest was a couple weeks ago! If you don't know what Crawfest is, it's a HUGE day where Tulane hosts an outdoor concert festival/crawfish boil. 7,000 students + 16,000 pounds of crawfish = MASS FEASTING. Om nom nom. I actually ate my first crawfish there that day, and I have to say, as someone who wasn't a fan of seafood before coming to New Orleans, crawfish are DELICIOUS. There's live music/free food from 11 AM until 8 PM AKA a college student's dream.

I've been very very busy with all of my classes lately. As much as I love it here, I would love to just take the next three weeks off and spend the rest of the school year exploring NOLA! It's hard to believe that I'm almost done with my first year of college. It's gone by in a blur.

Also, we passed the one year anniversary of my first visit to Tulane! I was actually coming to visit to make sure I wanted to go to another school, and I wasn't going to miss out on anything awesome in the Big Easy. Boy, was I in for a surprise! I visited over the Spring Break of my senior year, and absolutely loved it. If y'all are on the fence about coming to Tulane, try and book a plane ticket or plan a road trip between now and May 1st, because visiting here makes ALL the difference. I didn't realize how amazing this place actually is until I visited.

Peace out, homeskillets!

UPDATE - Spring Break!

2009-03-29T23:32:00.002-05:00

I will write this post as a retrospective love letter for the week that was Spring Break.

Alas, it has come and gone, but there still is hope left in the world, as I am back in New Orleans.

I spent the last week in Perdido Key, Florida (practically Alabama, but just over the border) with my parents and older brother, Sam. We had beautiful weather for half the week, which basically consisted of sitting out by the pool at our condo complex, listening to tuneskis (recommendation - Adele's iTunes Live at Soho album. Excellent. Plus, a good deal of random British interjections [i.e. "It's so hot, I wish I hadn't've worn this jumpahhh," "Oops, got a bit nervous, had a bit of a cramp in mah leg." and other random quips]), and soaking up the sweet Florida Panhandle sun. We even went mini-golfing and go-karting for a day trip. However, weather/conditions took a turn for the worse when we had the following:

Dangerous Tide Warnings on the Beach
Hazardous Marine Life Warnings on the Beach (AKA hundreds of Portuguese Man-of-Wars being swept up onto the beach)
Thunderstorms
Tornado Watches

It looked as if all hope was lost. But, we managed to turn our crappy situation happy by spending a day shopping in Destin, and the rest of our time playing Scrabble and Taboo in our condo. An excellent week, indeed.

Now, after the drive back, I'm sitting in my dorm lounge happily back on campus. April now begins, which means most of you prospective students will be making your decisions soon! We'll be having Destination Tulane practically every day in April, which means I'll be giving 1,002,365,429,733,829,345,200.314 tours. Just kidding. Hyperbole. But, I'm excited to show y'all campus if you come here!

I'm ready to get back to work with classes, but I'm holding on vigorously to my relaxation - I'm watching "Little Miss Sunshine" as I'm writing this, and will be going to bed soon. But, classes start up again tomorrow!

Countdowns:

1 week from Honors Weekend Take Dos! I'll be hosting/tour guiding/parading around campus in Tulane gear!
1 week and 4 days away from Easter Break! We get a four-day weekend for Easter, and I'll be flying home to see family and friends, look for gainful employment for the summer, and play timpani for my church's Easter service.
A little over a month until move out! It's so weird to think that I'm almost 1/4 done with my college career...wow. Crazy stuff. This year has gone by in a flash!

To all you fledgling Tulanians (and it sounds like there's going to be a lot of you - 40,000 students applied to Tulane this year - a record number!), welcome to the Green Wave!

VLOG #2 - MARDI GRAS!

2009-03-03T15:41:00.003-06:00

Voila! I'm going to now attempt to post one of these things every week.

Any of y'all coming for Honors Weekend? You'll probably see me giving a tour or on a student panel if you're here. If you are visiting on March 13th, Tulane's Got Talent (our first annual talent show) is happening, with appearances by THEM a cappella (featuring yours truly) and Kaba Modern from America's Best Dance Crew!

Hello, blog...it's been a while...

2009-02-11T23:24:00.002-06:00

...and I have LOTS of stuff to talk about!

1. Sorry about the VLOG getting cut off at the end. Never record videos intended for publishing on Photo Booth.

2. I'm planning a Virtual Tour of Tulane for my next VLOG - I've filmed all the footage, and I'm in the process of editing it. Since most of y'all reading my blog are prospective students, you'll probably want to know a little bit more about our campus here! I highly encourage you to visit - we have a B-E-A-UTIFUL campus in an amazing city, so why not take the time to experience both? But, for those of you who don't have the time to do a visit, hopefully I can capture the essence of one of our tours.

3. I have done TONS since my last post.

Like, probably enough for 4.53235600022232 posts. (Yes, that number was figured out scientifically)

So, I will be as organized as possible with all that I've done since the last post:

I auditioned and made one of the a cappella groups here on campus - THEM! I've been busy practicing with them on Sundays and Thursdays, and we have our first show of the semester on Friday! (If you're in town/on campus on Friday...12 noon in the Lavin-Bernick Center, I've got a solo! I'll post vids...) There are plenty of opportunities for performing on campus, including two a cappella groups, choir, band, orchestra, theatrical productions, Musical Theatre Workshop, Newcomb Dance Company...the list goes on and on! Anyone (regardless of major) can try out for these groups, and I know plenty of kids who balance an active performing arts life with academics.
I've been kicking my Art classes into high gear. This semester, I'm taking Beginning Drawing, Digital Media 1, and Art Survey 1. All of these classes have been awesome! Beginning Drawing has definitely helped me become a better drawer in the last couple of weeks, helping the connection between my eye and hand as a rendering tool. Digital Media 1 ROCKS - we just finished our first project of creating an imaginary space by compiling and editing photographs in Photoshop, and we're starting a new project involving creating a logo and poster for an imaginary TV channel. In Art Survey 1, we started out learning about Stone Age cave paintings, and we've worked our way up to ancient Greek art - it's a really interesting experience seeing how much art has changed between the beginning of time up to this point.
MARDI GRAS SEASON IS UPON US. I went to my first Mardi Gras parade last weekend - Krewe du Vieux - in the French Quarter! It was AMAZING. It was definitely an "unorthodox" roast of the current economic crisis, with plenty of lively performers, bunches of brass bands, and more beads than you could shake a stick at (I love old people phrases). I came in not really knowing what to expect, but left with plenty of beads and a new holiday to add to my Top 3 favorites. Even though the "official" Mardi Gras isn't for another couple of weeks, I am waiting with bated breath!

So, that's kind of a brief look at what's gone on in my life for the past couple of weeks away from the blog...I'll have more coming soon (including pictures and videos!)

VLOG #1 - Yay for technology!

2009-01-20T00:04:00.003-06:00

A quick re-cap of my first week back from winter break! I promise I'll get a little bit more creative with these - I've got my little video camera that can be my "roving reporter" cam. Oh, and I have iMovie. Vlog editing - here I come.

Reason #4 - Getting a fresh start at the beginning of the semester!

2009-01-09T12:26:00.001-06:00

I'm still in Wheaton, Illinois, right now. Temperature? 28 degrees.

New Orleans temperature? 70 degrees.

I. need. sunshine. and. warmth.
The snow came back, though! YAY!

I think my whole educational set-up is great, in terms of weather. I go off to school during late summer, have an "extended summer" in New Orleans, have a month of snow and fun in Chicago, and then go back to relative warmth for the rest of the year. I get just the right amount of snow and cold - one month.

Even though I've loved my time back home, New Orleans is calling my name. I WANT TO BE BACK.

I'm really excited to start this next semester - I have great classes, and I can't wait to start my Art studio classes! I can't wait to see all my friends back at Tulane, too...
Since we have started a new year, and I hadn't made any New Year's Resolutions yet...I think I'll make some "New Semester's Resolutions":
--Use my time more wisely - I have a bad habit of time-wasting. I think I can do better, time-management-wise, than last semester.
--Read more - I got a BUNCH of books for Christmas - some old favorites, some new ones I'm dying to read.
--Get in shape - I just bought myself a Wii Fit for my dorm room!
--Explore New Orleans a little bit deeper - even though I did my share of exploring last semester, I generally went to the same neighborhoods. I need to see more of this awesome city!

Hopefully all you prospective students are starting to relax a little bit with your second semester of Senior year! Hopefully,

Special Post: I miss Tulane...

2009-01-01T12:29:00.002-06:00

So, I've been chilling (figuratively and literally...brrrrr) in Chicago for the past two and a half weeks. It's been really great catching up with my family and friends, celebrating both Christmas AND my birthday (which was yesterday, December 31st - I turned 19, which, after 17 and 18 and the privileges that accompany them, is one of the most boring birthdays conceptually...), and playing around in the snow (which decided to go bye bye earlier this week). Wow, that last sentence was depressing...I promise I've been having fun! As much as the time off has been great, I'm starting to miss my peeps at Tulane. I get "Tulane-sick" every time I turn on the Weather Channel and there's a good 50-degree difference in temperature between here and New Orleans. I get "Tulane-sick" every time I get a Facebook wall video from my Tulane friends. I get "Tulane-sick" just looking at my blog! Conclusion: I love Chicago, but I miss Tulane.

Just a little bit more fun stuff from my break:

I went to one of my high school's Speech Team tournaments (speechies represent!), and our Christmas Extravaganza concert!
I played bongos along with the choir at my church - I felt exotic.
The week before Christmas, thanks to an ice storm which knocked the power out in central Indiana, my grandma (and her dog and two cats) came and stayed with us!
I had a streak of three days straight of going to the Apple Store to get my MacBook fixed (Brandon G., manager at the Oakbrook Center Apple Store, is my new best friend)
For Christmas, I got a stovetop popcorn popper to bring back to Tulane - no more microwave popcorn for this popcorn snob!
I also got a mini-camcorder from my Uncle - video-blogs (vlogs?) coming soon.
My birthday/New Year's Eve = awesome. My family had lunch at Maggiano's (mmmmmm...delicious), my mom and I saw "Slumdog Millionaire," and I had some friends over for Bacci Pizza (a 26" behemoth - the Jumbo), intense games of Taboo and Apples to Apples, and, of course, we watched the ball drop an hour before the New Year! (and then made fun of the seriously lame hour of Chicago television preceding our New Year's countdown)
Movie Recommendations (seeing that I've been on a movie-going FRENZY lately): "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (phenomenal movie + New Orleans references = my new favorite movie. Seriously brilliant), "Marley and Me" (I never cry at movies...except for this one...but, shhhh, don't tell anyone...), and "Slumdog Millionaire" (SO GOOD. Beautifully filmed, great screenplay, a little violent, but necessarily so. Please go see it - it's breathtaking)

OK, it's almost 1:00 in the afternoon and I haven't gotten out of my pajamas...oops! Probably should work on that...so, peace out!

Reason #3 - Finals Week

2008-12-11T23:31:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the lack of new posts lately...I've been pretty busy with wrapping up the semester and what not...haha.

So, I came back from Thanksgiving Break with a busy week ahead of me - I had to finish my final project for architecture studio, a couple papers to write, and a good deal of other work to do. Needless to say, I was feeling a little stressed. However, once I got here, I felt myself go into OVERDRIVE. I felt like some sort of character in "Star Wars," thrust into hyperdrive, with the stars blurring by. Except, I don't have a lightsaber...too bad, so sad, I live in the real world.

While I didn't have a lot of free time that week, I really felt accomplished once the week was through. I had done so much work that would have taken me EONS longer to complete if this was the first week of college. And, I feel like that week really made me realize that, although college is a lot more work than anything I'd ever done before, I am fully capable of it. Yay for self-affirmation!

Now, welcome to FINALS WEEK! I had my French and Theatre finals on Monday - which went very well for being my first ever college finals. I had pretty much the week off, until tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 12) when I take my Intro to Architecture final, pack my things, and leave on my shuttle for the airport by 1:00 PM. This week was the perfect mix of high-stress work and utter relaxation - I definitely enjoyed it. But, it feels weird that my first semester of college is ending tomorrow! It seems like just yesterday when I moved in, stayed for a week, flew home for a week, and then came back for the rest of my first semester.

I DID IT! And so can you! Haha.

Oh, and here's some pictures from my Thanksgiving break "Day in Chicago"/Christmas shopping in New Orleans on Tuesday (coming later)...

Reason #2 - New Orleans

2008-11-22T12:46:00.009-06:00

Let me preface this post with a little disclaimer: Coming from (the suburbs of) Chicago, I have pretty high expectations when it comes to visiting cities. I grew up visiting the Field Museum, going to the top of the Sears Tower, shopping along Michigan Avenue ("the Magnificent Mile"), riding the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier, ice skating at Millennium Park, seeing comedy shows at Second City, going to Lincoln Park Zoo, the list kind of goes on forever...so a city has to be pretty kick-butt in terms of activities and culture for me to appreciate it.

NEW ORLEANS IS AMAZING.

I visited Tulane for the first time last March for Honors Weekend. Coincidentally, it was the first time I had visited New Orleans. Most of my college visits up to this point were focused on solely seeing the campus, and then getting the heck out of dodge to get back home as quickly as possible. However, I visited over my spring break, so we killed two birds with one stone - college visit AND vacation? Way to be efficient, Haist family!

I'm not sure it was before or after I committed to Tulane I finally realized I would be going to college in a place where people actually choose to spend their vacations, with the weather to accompany it (except, I think I missed the memo that New Orleans ever got "cold"...and by "cold," I mean 58 degrees, as compared to the 30 degrees back home in Chicago right now, haha). And, I now see why people vacation here.

First off, coming from one of the world's pickiest eaters, the food here rocks. I mean, sure, we all love Bruff and its funky-fresh beats (Sirius Channel 51 - Heart and Soul. Check it out - it will become an integral part of your life if you come here), but, every once in a while, we need a break. Thankfully, we're in a city where even the most sketchy restaurants serve up amazing food. Personal recommendations for when you visit (from me AND my wonderful friends):

Jacques-Imo's (8324 Oak St.) - AMAZING Creole/Cajun food, get reservations for when you come visit - it's in high demand (recommended by Lauren)
Nacho Mama's (3242 Magazine St.) - Excellent Mexican food in a fun environment (recommended by Melissa)
Ralph and Kacoo's (519 Toulouse St., in the French Quarter) - Great Cajun seafood, right off of Decatur St. in the Quarter - try the thin cut fried catfish with buttered Hush puppies (recommended by me)
YouGurt (7636 Maple St., close to campus!) - DIY soft-serve frozen yogurt, with plenty of fixins - cheap, fun, and within walking distance (recommended by Kaitlin)
Camellia Grill (626 S. Carrollton Ave., close to campus!) - Delicious diner-type food, try the omelettes and the milkshakes, but not together...(recommended by Marshall)
Felipe's (various locations around New Orleans, closest one to campus is at 6215 S. Miro St., right off of Claiborne) - Quick, inexpensive taqueria serving up deliciousness on a college-student budget (recommended by Mickey)
Commander's Palace (1403 Washington Ave.) - The quintessential New Orleans restaurant, with flawless service and gourmet Creole cuisine - make sure you dress up, since it has a dress code...(recommended by Matt)

Another cool thing about New Orleans is the live music scene. Although I wasn't able to go this year, Voodoo Fest is a huge, three-day music festival featuring such bands as Lil' Wayne, Dashboard Confessional, Stone Temple Pilots, Joss Stone, DeVotchKa, Mars Volta, Panic! at the Disco, and plenty of local acts you'll come to know and love (including Marc Broussard - one of the BEST singers I have ever heard in my life, and I am waiting patiently for his next concert in New Orleans to finally see him live). The House of Blues also gets an amazing line up - we've already had Three 6 Mafia, Sara Bareilles, Matisyahu, and plenty of other bands. Local bars and clubs also host lots of sweet acts, too - Marshall, my roommate, always seems to find some sort of concert every weekend.

Finally, I would like to write a love letter to two of my favorite New Orleans things - the streetcar and Cafe du Monde. If it was legal to marry an inanimate object, I probably wouldn't marry them, but I might entertain the idea for a while, then return to humans...haha. The streetcar is my main mode of transportation, and at $1.25 per ride, it's cheap enough to go downtown pretty frequently. Plus, there's just a certain type of charm in knowing that you're utilizing the same form of transportation that people back 100 years used, too. Then, after taking the streetcar downtown, you better walk down Canal, to Decatur, and follow it until you start seeing powdered sugar covering the sidewalk. You'll know at that point that you're near my second love - Cafe du Monde. Beignets = fried pillows of heaven. Seriously, seeing all of the wonderfully quirky people and places in the French Quarter, beignets at 2 AM make perfect sense.

One of the slogans here at Tulane is "Only at Tulane, only in New Orleans" - nothing defines my experience here better. My classes have all had practical applications in the learning environment that is New Orleans, learning about its strengths, and seeing how what we do could ultimately fix its weaknesses. Field trips are a plus, too - where else would I be able to take a field trip to the French Quarter to learn about architecture, city planning, and how both affect how people live? Or to the lower 9th Ward, to see one effort that an organization is making to rebuild one of the hardest-hit areas of New Orleans, and how it ties in to the issue of sustainability and environmental friendliness in today's society? Sure, New Orleans might have a lot of social problems, both pre- and post-Katrina. One of the greatest things about Tulane for me is the fact that I not only have an opportunity to learn, but an opportunity to better the world around me through my service.

Reason #1 - The Time I've Already Spent Here

2008-11-12T19:39:00.012-06:00

Hello, blog world! It's my first post!

Freshman year so far at Tulane has been awesome. I've met so many new friends, taken some great classes, and started to explore the great city of New Orleans in the (almost) three months I've been here. Let's have a quick re-cap, shall we?

After a summer full of dorm shopping, scooping ice cream at work, and saying goodbye to my life in Chicago, the fam and I packed up the car and headed off for Tulane. I can't say that I was entirely excited - I was nervous to start my life away from my family, friends, and out of my comfort zone. Most of my friends had chosen colleges that were closer to home, and I was the only person from my high school going to Tulane. Obviously, I liked Tulane since I had chosen it, but I still had my reservations about college in general.

2 days, 2 hotel stays, and 6 fast food meals later, we arrived at Tulane for MOVE-IN DAY! As we drove up to campus, I felt all of my reservations start to melt away. I saw so many other kids in the same situation - starting the next chapter of their lives, independent, strong, a little scared, but, overall, optimistic for what the future would bring. I know that some of you are a little scared about leaving the life you've lived for the past 18 years. However, 75% of all Tulane undergrads come from at least 500 miles away. My group of close friends here include kids from New Jersey, Missouri, New Mexico, Florida, and California, and plenty of other states - we all are going through the same thing, in that none of us have any friends from home here with us, and we all look out for each other. This represents how welcoming and warm the Tulane student body is as a whole, too. We all are basically one big family - each of us with our own little quirks.

Here's a picture of my dorm room - mind you, it's gotten a little messier since then...haha...
I met my roommate on Facebook (Tulane really gives you a lot of resources about choosing your own roommate, we have RoommateClick, which allows you to look through profiles of potential roommates online, comparing everything from lifestyle habits to their taste in music...not that that should be your biggest factor in choosing a roommate) - he's from Memphis, Tennessee, and we get along great! We live in Wall Residential College, which is the newest dorm on campus. It's also Tulane's first residential college, which means it's basically all about community involvement and self-governance. Everyone is required to be on a committee in Wall, and there are TONS of opportunities to get involved, whether you're a member of a committee (like myself), or you decide to run for an executive board position or a committee chair election. There's a separate application process to live in Wall, including a couple fun essay questions. If this sounds remotely interesting to you, I highly recommend that you apply. It's already been one of the best choices I've made in terms of involvement and socialization. (Plus, the rooms are really nice - suite style, which means you share a bathroom with only your roommate and another double...)

Fast forward a week, and you would find me sitting at a gate at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, waiting for a flight home. Less than a week after move-in, Hurricane Gustav forced Tulane to shut down and evacuate all students. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the university has become very proactive in its approach to hurricane safety. So, I had a week-long "hurrication" back home in Chicago, and was able to return to Tulane the next Sunday. I found even more comfort in my choice to be a Tulane student through talking to my friends about how excited we were to come back to school after the storm.

Since then, my life has been a whirlwind. Between studio projects for Architecture, choir practice, field trips for my TIDES class (Tulane Interdisciplinary Experience Seminars...every first year student has to take one, mine was called "Cities and the Urban Environment" - it was amazing), and the hustle and bustle of starting college life, I've never found myself at a lack of things to do!

One of the cool things my friends and I have all noticed is that we've never really felt all that homesick. We all keep saying the same thing:

I've never really missed my friends. I just wish they were here to experience Tulane with me!

Here are some pictures from my life so far: