Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Monday, May 9, 2011

Dot Com Fever

My pride and joy of this multimedia class...

30 whole minutes of me discussing and showing some of my favorite viral videos.



Dot Com Fever from kellytalento on Vimeo.

News Story

Donald Trump has clearly got it wrong...


Friday, May 6, 2011

A bit of advice

Part of me absolutely hates the idea of final exams, but the other part absolutely loves it. Having to cram that last week means that it's almost all over, and that it's time to go home for the summer. Nothing feels nicer than laying in your own bed, in your own house, surrounded by only your stuff, without two other girls crowed you at all times of the day.

Let's just go ahead and review some of the more memorable moments in my dorm this semester, and why I will never miss having two room mates...

1. One of my room mate throwing up in her bed, so belligerently, that she fell back in it.

Yes. That happened. Nothing better to walk into after a long night than your half-clothed roomie passed out in spew.

2. My other room mate flipping over her desk, breaking everything on it, and her boyfriend passing out on our floor.

Possibly my favorite night... not. Nothing's better than cleaning up your best friend's things while she combo cries/vomits.

3. Me coming into the room, alone, and then continuing to get sick for the next 10 hours.

Yes, I too am guilty of making a bit of a mess. However I did take care of business and clean it up myself. Proud moment...

So if you've never lived with other people your age before, get ready. You know all those gross little secret things you do? They do them too, and maybe no so secretly. Yes, it's definitely an experience and it can go really well or horribly, but always try to have fun.

Incoming freshmen want some advice? Well lucky you, I've got some tips:

1. Don't limit your group of friends to just your suite mates or room mates.



It may seem like you and your room mates are destined to be BFF from day one, but trust me, it's rarely like that. When you first move in everyone is so eager to make friends, so everyone is nice, polite, fun, and down for anything. Give it about 2-3 weeks, you'll see people's true colors and how they really are once the shock of first being a college kid fades.

2. Don't let anyone borrow anything, and keep track of your stuff.



One of my room mates steals. Don't bother asking her, she'll deny it, but you know it's true when you see her wearing your clothes and see your UNDERWEAR on the top of her hamper. YES, I said underwear. Try not to cringe, it's hard I know. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your stuff yours, and other people's stuff theirs. Don't touch your roomie's stuff, and pray she wont touch yours.

3. Don't be afraid to set rules in your room.



One of the biggest mistakes people make is not setting boundaries and rules in their rooms. You may not want to be the bad guy, and you may not want to seem lame, but it is so important to talk to your room mates about certain key issues. If you don't say that you want people out by a certain time or you don't say that you don't want a bunch of people partying in your room IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. I can promise you that. You're not a bad guy, your room mates are probably thinking of some of their own rules anyway.

4. Bring cleaning supplies, and lots of 'em.



I'm serious. Vomit doesn't clean itself. Either do bathrooms, floors, and laundry. Your rubber gloves will end up being your best friends by the time winter break comes.

I CANNOT wait to leave St. John's. It's really nice to be with your friends all the time, but personal space is just a bit nicer.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Hair Dye

I don't think that anything makes me feel more brand new than changing my hair color. I've pretty much had it all - whether it be red, brown, blonde, and super blonde. My Aunt is a hair dresser and sleepovers at her house meant waking up in the morning with a new hair style. Lately I'd been feeling bored with my locks, and I decided it was time to do something I hadn't done in a long time. Go brunette.

Since junior year I've been the blondest blonde you can be before platinum. I don't quite know how it got to that much of an extreme, but it never bothered me and I enjoyed being a blonde. As a little kid I had the same color, so it just seemed like a repeat of the past. Coming to college made me want to change my hair. I mean hey, new school new hair right? Needless to say thing after thing kept popping up and my hair stayed the same.

Over Easter break I decided to just do it. I made an appointment with my hairdresser, Danielle, at Ntrigue Salon in Port Jefferson, NY. The area it's in is called "down port" by everyone who lives in the area and it's full of bars, restaurants, and little shops. It's the right on the water and the perfect place to spent a summer day.

Port Jefferson, on Main Street


Anyway, getting back to my hair story, I brought in a picture of Drew Barrymore from one of her CoverGirl ads as a reference. Danielle told me it might not come out like that and I responded by simply saying "It's cool, just do whatever and make me look cute." Clearly, I was very stressed about the whole situation.

It hardly came out like this at all...

After FOUR HOURS of never ending processes and washings, I was done. I love the way it came out! Having dark hair again is refreshing and awesome. I love seeing the reactions of people to my new hair and how different it really makes me look. For now, I'll stay a brunette, but who knows what I'll want in a few months.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Rainbow

My favorite part of family gatherings is the epic desert table that forms by the end of the night. Having a family of over 30 people usually means have at least 15 deserts. Everyone always brings something - whether it's cake or cookies. However, my all time favorite holiday staple is the rainbow cookie.

Mmmm...

These bad boys are my weakness. If you have had a deprived life and have never experienced the delight that is rainbow cookies let me attempt to describe it to you...

It's more of a tiny cake than a cookie. Each different color is made up of a soft, moist almond flavored cake. In between each layer is usually raspberry jam, but I've seen them made with apricot jam too. But wait -  it doesn't end there. Did I mention they're completely smothered in chocolate? That's right. Chocolate. This dessert is everything anyone would ever want in a food. Seriously.

To my delight as I scanned the table this year my eyes landed on something even more spectacular than in my rainbow dreams. What I saw was a rainbow cookie cake. Not only did this mean more chocolate, but I no longer had to be ashamed at the mass of cookie I took from the table. I simply took a "ahem" larger piece of cake. 

Our cake wasn't quite this fancy, but the inside looked identical.

Apparently, to my surprise, rainbow cakes are becoming more and more popular. When doing my back-to-dorm-life food shopping at Uncle G's (whom I featured in one of my earlier posts), I noticed that they too sold rainbow cookie cake!

Our cake, however, was from Alpine Bakery. If you dare to go near Alpine on or near any holiday, not only will you dish out big bucks, but you can also except to wait on a line that wraps around the building. The shop is practically famous on the Island.

But what's the best part about having so many desserts? Leftovers. I happily cut another massive piece of cake before I left. Now half of it is gone, but the other half is still resting in my mini-fridge, taunting me.


Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Procrastination

On the subject of procrastination, I'm an expert. However, not as much of an expert as Caroline Trezza, a Roslyn High School senior who just won $35,000 for her research project on why students procrastinate. According to her, procrastination is linked to students' self-confident, motivation, and ability. She mentions the psychological harm that putting tasks off can have.

Original Newsday article: click here

As far as my opinion goes, I agree with Trezza. I don't have to research to support my view, but I know from personal experience that I am more eager and likely to do projects I have an interest in or know I can do without much effort. The work I usually put off the most is the assignments that I have a hard time with, or that I find plain boring.



Procrastination is a horrible habit, and I'm guilty of indulging in it. Just like the 40% of sophomore at Roslyn High School, I often regret it when I put things off. A perfect example is my multimedia class. I have a lot of trouble with computers, thus I try to not think about the projects I have due. This leads to me panicking last minute begging my friends to help me edit, record, and add music to videos.

A day in the life of your typical procrastinator...



It really doesn't help that we are constantly surrounded by so many distractions. Websites like facebook, stumbleupon, and tumblr have all contributed to my delaying work. Almost all of my homework requires me to use my laptop. It's so easy to open up a webpage and find yourself wasting time doing random things on the internet. It seems like there's always something to pull your attention away from your schoolwork.