So the question is of course going to arrive: Why are the three of us awake at three in the morning?

Answer: Freshman registration is tomorrow. Well, for every freshman not in the honors program (I'll talk more about that later.) That means come seven o'clock today (that's in about four hours), we will be competing with around five hundred some-odd other freshmen for the courses that we want. As freshmen, right now we're picking from whatever the upperclassmen (and the honors' students) have left behind.

 Thankfully for me, my first class tomorrow is at noon so I'll at least be able to get some sleep in. And we're nothing if not productive - Margee is working on an essay for Microeconomics and I'm reading The Gift for Liberal Arts Seminar. Periodically, we're all checking and re-checking our schedules in an almost obsessive manner to make sure that the schedules fit together, we have enough back-ups, and of course — that we have at least a ghost's chance of getting into our chosen classes given the number of seats open.

 Now, about the honors program here at Bryant University. I'm not too schooled up on it, mostly because I was not one of the lucky ones who made it in, but if you have the opportunity then definitely take it! If you're in the honors program, you register before before registration officially begins. My first registration experience means staying up until 3 am to be awake at 7 to register to get your first choice of classes, listening to acoustic blaring from three different laptops at once, going just the slightest bit loopy from lack of sleep and yet still trying to finish your homework.

But all-in-all, I must admit, I'm happy I have my friends to do this with.

Again, it's a Sunday night and I still can't believe how the Friday's "Yay! It's 6:00 p.m.! The weekend starts after I get out of my internship in couple of minutes!" moment became Sunday night's "Huh, it's 10:00 p.m. already ?" Well, that's college for ya! However, last week passed freakishly fast, too! Maybe it has to do with being in my senior year!

 This past week and weekend I spent a  good amount of time on finance, banking and investing websites (Motley Fool, YoungMoney etc.) And, you might say "Well, what's wrong with that ? You're a business major!"True. But, I'm a Marketing major and I used to hate Finance [hopefully the Finance department's secret agents won't kill me for saying that! :)] I'm good at math  but I wasn't big into calculating complicated return-on-investment stuff or interest formulas. And, why on earth a Marketing student who hated Finance would spend his weekend browsing through Finance/Investing websites ? It's due to a professor who completely changed my perception of Finance as a whole. Frankly, this is kind of my second time taking this class, because I had to withdraw from it couple of semesters ago in order to not let it affect my GPA. And, I'm very glad I did, because my current professor for FIN 201 used to be a Vice President at Citi Private Bank managing ultra-high net worth customers! I don't know about you, but to me, it's amazing being taught by a professor who had that kind of a real-world experience and yet teaching students without the "Sweetheart, I managed billions of $$" attitude! And, she is also a Bryant Alumni by the way! So, yes, a professor can change A LOT! I would have never imagined actually enjoying going to a Finance class! I'm not even exaggerating or sugar-coating my enthusiasm! Big kudos to whoever arranged her to work at her alma mater!

 So, what's happening at Bryant this week ? Despite my hectic schedule (group meetings, papers, career center workshops), I'd really like to go and see the second Annual Bryant Bulldog Film Festival which will feature short films made by college students from New England! As  I did my very first internship at the RI International Film Festival, I have a very special connection to independent films. Don't get me wrong, I love a "Friday night dinner & movie at the mall," but sometimes I crave a more amateur point of view. It's on November 17 at 7:00 pm! I'm really looking forward to that!

 A quick anecdote from my RIIFF internship; As you may know, there are many subcategories at film festivals (student films, foreign films, local films etc.) And the programming people assign films to different venues. So, anyways, one day during the internship, I was checking the programming the films from China, which were listed under the title "Golden Jasmine Chinese Film Festival", and when I looked at the venue it said "Bryant University U.S.-China Institute." That was a big shock to me! First, I seriously felt ashamed for not knowing about it and secondly very proud seeing my school's name at an Academy-Award affiliated film festival's program.

 I better start putting together our PowerPoint presentation on South Korea! It's getting late! Don't worry, I'll enjoy a cup of freshly brewed Starbucks coffee and a blueberry muffin on campus before going to class!

 You have a great week yourselves! Again, don't forget to enjoy your time with friends in high school!

    Well I got my grades back for the exams I was telling you about last week. I got a 93 on my second CIS exam, an 89 on my accounting exam, and an  86 on my marketing exam, the same grade I got on my first one! I'm really happy with how I did. Last weekend I went on a road trip with Brittany, which was a lot of fun. On Friday night my suitemates and I all went to an Improv night in Providence that was run by the Student Arts and Speaker Series. They did all different skits; it was pretty funny! On Saturday morning we went to Britt's house for a couple of hours, so it was nice to meet her family. Then we headed to Jersey and met my parents for lunch at one of my favorite spots in town before heading into the city. First we went to see the Titanic exhibit. It was really cool. You were given a boarding pass of a passenger and then at the end you found out if they survived or not. There were also china from the first, second, and third class accomodations, and champagne bottles with champage still in it. They rebuilt the grand staircase, and there was even an iceberg you could touch. After that we walked over 2 miles to Serendipity, but unfortunately there was over a 2 hour wait for dinner, so we didn't get to eat there. We ate dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen instead, so it worked out. We even took a taxi cab back to port authority, which was the first time either of us had been in a cab! After that we took a bus back to my town and fell asleep quickly- it was a long day!

Fueling up before leaving!

I'm not used to pumping gas- it's done for us in Jersey!

At least we got to see the outside of Serendipity....

On Sunday I woke up and immediately didn't feel well. I went out for breakfast to my favorite diner, the Pompton Queen, with my family & Brittany. After that Britt, me, and my mom went to visit my grandma- it was great to see her! After that it was time to head back to campus, but I really wasn't feeling well, so Britt was very brave and drove the whole way home! By that night Ash was sick, I was sick, Britt was sick, and Katie was home sick. This past week was basically spent drinking children's grape medicine and sleeping. I'm finally feeling better though!

Grandma & I

  I also wanted to post some pictures my friend Cole took after the Yankees won the world series! There's a pond on campus that it's tradition to jump in when something great happens. Tons of people jumped in when the Red Sox won, but a good amount jumped in when the Yanks pulled it out, too! It was so fun to go out there at midnight after the win and watch people jump in!

   Well, that's all for now, guys. I hope you all have a great week!

         Karen

Me and Danni in the bus/diner.

Danni and the Havens Bros. hours.

We ended up going to the mall and wandering around for a few hours and catching the very last bus back - which was kind of a disaster in itself because we were waiting at the wrong bus stop for about half an hour then we chased after the bus we thought it was, then we found out the real bus was still waiting and we had basically made fools of ourselves in front of a bunch of people we go to school with who were sitting on the bus watching... but it was fun.

Me on the stairs next to the river.

A statue. One of the many things I thought only existed in Europe before I came to the East Coast.

In other news, has anyone seen this panda?

He was last seen in Hall 15 but we haven't been able to find him since. He's perfectly harmless.

      This week has been very busy with 4 tests and a Consumer Behavior project. Sometimes I swear all my professors meet and purposely plan to give tests all on the same week.  I have been studying so much and I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break that much more.  On a brighter note, my application for New Zealand is completed and was sent in this week! I will hear back in 1-3 weeks whether or not I have been accepted into my program. The application process was relatively easy and the study abroad office helped me with any concerns I had. I had to get passport photos taken and make sure my transcript from Merrimack College sent, other than that it was simply filling out routine forms.  I'm now in the process of looking up classes I'm interested in taking while working with a Bryant Advisor to make sure those class credits will transfer back here towards my requirements. I have yet to hear of any other Bryant Student going/applying to any New Zealand Universities, which makes me a little nervous.  I was hoping I would be able to know at least one familiar face when traveling all the way around the world. I'm going to be 17-hours ahead! My mom told me that a rule of hers is that I can't fall in love there because New Zealand is too far for her. 

Last Wednesday the Bryant Marketing Association held guest speaker Patricia Enright, the Executive Vice President of Talent from the worldwide advertising agency Publicis. She gave a wonderful presentation about interviewing and resumes in the marketing and advertising field. It was great to see how different concentrations look at different aspects while reviewing candidates.  It also opened my eyes to how competitive the marketing and advertising field can be. It was a reality check and I walked out of the room thinking I needed to go join every possible organization on campus.

            I'm sitting here and I really haven't done anything out of the normal this past week. This week in particular has been straining and rough for a number of reasons, but we all have those. I found out I made a terrible grade on a midterm which was utterly devastating because as you can tell from my writing, I'm very concerned with my grades as well as studious young lady! Aside from classes and clubs this semester has been as eventful as in the past. Taking 6 classes has narrowed how much time I allocate for other activities. I've also made it a point to spend a lot of time with my Bryant friends this semester because I won't see them next semester when I'm abroad in Austria, I go home to Texas during the summer, and I'll possibly be in Washington, D.C. for an internship so that's an entire year away! That's also eaten up a lot of my excess free time. SIFE has been good, we're making way on the binder we were making of career opportunities for the community. Forms have been very demanding these past weeks - which unfortunately is what I have to go tend to right now!

The best part about the program is that you receive a decision from Bryant pretty quickly - letters for this year will be sent by December 16th! I really enjoyed getting accepted early. I will say that it was nice to look at my acceptance letter over Christmas break while many of my friends were still in a frenzy, filling out more applications. Another perk of knowing where I was going was that I was able to meet future college friends very early. For example, I began talking with fellow blogger Karen Cascone right after I got my letter!

Ah, the memories! With my Early Decision acceptance letter (December 2007)

When I've talked to some prospective students, the main concern about Early Decision is that it's binding - if Bryant accepts you, you're going to Bryant!  That can be a bit daunting to some, and very understandably so. Therefore, I'd only recommend Early Decision I to those who have thoroughly researched all of the schools they are interested in, and have concluded that Bryant is "the one."

Fortunately, if you think applying in November is a bit too early, or you don't like how Early Decision is binding, Bryant has more options for you! Early Decision II is just like Early Decision I, except applications are due by January 4th - and decisions will be sent out by February 6th.

Bryant has also recently introduced Early Action, which is like Early Decision as one receives  notification early (mid-January), but it's not binding. Applications for that are due December 1st, and you can find more details here.

If you want to learn more about Early Decision at Bryant, you can head on over to this page.

I'd highly encourage applying early, and if I can be of help, feel free to e-mail me: dwebb@bryant.edu.

To add to the stress of the exam, about fifteen minutes before I was due to take it, I went to go brush my teeth (I had set my alarm for seven in the morning... then woke up at eight thirty. My serial procrastination issues continue to plague me even while I'm sleeping.) and accidentally locked myself out of my room without any school supplies whatsoever. After wandering around the floor like a lost puppy who was about to fail Math of Finance, I was pulled into the room next door to mine by my neighbor Emily who outfitted me with two pencils, a sweatshirt and her graphing calculator, took my toothbrush away and sent me on to take the test. I got there only about ten minutes late and managed to finish all that I could finish on the test. Needless to say, Emily is going to be getting a thank-you card. <3

After that excitement, I'm glad that tomorrow promises to be a slightly slower day. Aside from my classes, I'm meeting with my academic adviser to talk about my classes next semester and the possibility of me withdrawing from my Spanish class (sad, but probably needed if I'm going to keep my GPA up) and later going to the LEARN Institute - a seven-week long leadership program that I enrolled in a few weeks ago. I also get the results back on that test. Wish me luck!

So on Monday morning I woke up at 6:50.  This is clearly not by any choice of mine.  [My current class schedule makes it so I suffer through a total of 5 hours worth of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but get to blissfully enjoy sleeping as late as I want on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because the only class I have on those three days is a Wednesday night class.  I know. You're jealous.] I was actually registering for classes.  A funny thing happened when I met with my advisor last week; I found out I'm a semester ahead due to AP credits.  Right now, I'm technically a second semester sophomore.  Since the real world is way less fun than college, there is no way I want to graduate early.  I, instead, decided to take on a Literary and Cultural Studies concentration in addition to my major of Communication.  So, with all this in mind, I plugged into the internet and waited in hopes of getting my perfectly planned out schedule for Spring 2010.  I was quite lucky and was back in bed by 7:05. 

Anyways, it was a relaxing weekend and the weather was amazing on Sunday. Even though there are so many things due before the upcoming weekend, I want everyone to know that most professors at Bryant give you enough time and flexibility for any amount of work. The only exception to that is my Literary Cultural Studies professor who assigns long, but very actual/unique readings. For example, the book we were reading about East Germany coincided with the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And, while I was watching the news, I was like "Huh, why does this sound so familiar to the subject of my upcoming LCS paper based on the reading we had to do this past weekend ?" And, today the professor said arranged the reading schedule on purpose so that what we learn in class will coincide with what's actually happening in Germany. I'm glad we're done with that book though!

                           - Fall of the Berlin Wall -   Copyright  RAY NOTHSTINE ©

And, I'm really glad we have the ACE (Academic Center of Excellence) on campus. It's like a department that basically helps you get better grades and understand class work more. If you're struggling with a particular class (which I did with Accounting and Stats), the people who work there help you a lot. There is walk-in or appointment-based help available. The reason I mentioned ACE right now is because I have a nasty habit called "procrastination." I don't think I'm the only one as our library that looks like NASA's HQ is (comfortably) packed right before big exam/project weeks. It's actually kind of motivating to see people writing papers, summarizing chapters at 1:00 a.m. in the morning, but I like my sleepy time, too! So, I've been working with a counselor at ACE and he has been really helping me out. I used to be opposed to the idea in the beginning, because I thought he was going to be bossy and judgmental, and basically prepare me study guides with ridiculous and outdated stuff like "study for Finance for 2 hours everday, then take a 15 min. break and study for 2 hours for Accounting". BUT, it was the exact opposite. He basically told me to come up with my own schedule and helped me tailor it to achieve better grades.

 As I like simple and to-the-point things, I'm going to keep the rest of what I'd like to tell for the next post! Just to give you the scoop; our Annual Bulldog Film Festival is in its 2nd year and it's coming up next week! I'll tell you about it! And, also how I started loving Finance, due to my professor who is (or was) the Vice President at Citi Private Bank (sounds really cool! Doesn't it ?)

 Have a great rest of the week!!