A good laugh never killed anyone, right?!

One of my favorite things about college are the random fun times that I have with my friends. As the semester literally ZOOMS by, I am starting to realize just how much I am going to miss all those fun times that we have together. Last night was one of those times. We had our weekly ritual of watching MTV's "The Hills" and then we just hung out being silly for another 2 hours, when we probably should have been doing homework. We must have been in a really silly mood that night, because we spent about a half an hour entertaining ourselves with a silly pair of eye glasses that we kept passing around, taking pictures, and laughing about. Someone must have put something in our drinking water because I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at something so stupid! Good times! I have a busy night ahead of me tonight, full of meetings and homework, but I think I'll make sometime to catch up on episodes of "Greys Anatomy," one of my many favorite T.V. shows. I have a meeting tonight with a consulting company called Accenture, for a possible job interview, so I'm interested to see how that will go because who knows, if it goes well, I could be working for them one day! Have a great Tuesday!

Leila.

Where oh where did my fall break go?!

Wow, its been forever since I lost work an entry and boy has a lot happened since then! I'm just getting back to school after a wonderful week long (and much needed) fall break in Texas with my best friend. It was awesome to have a little break and get some much needed Zzz's after a busy first semester. This was the first time since I've been at Ripon that I've not gone home for fall break, so it will be interesting to not see my family until winter break (tear :-{). Trish and I departed for Texas on Saturday and spent a wonderful week with her family shopping, eating good Texan cooking, and visiting Dallas and other surrounding cities. I did some damage to my bank account as well because I did a little to much shopping. I love getting the chance to travel around the U.S. and see the differences between each state. For example, there are not basements in houses, and most Texan homes are made out of brick as opposed to our wooden Midwest homes. Over the break, we also had the opportunity to meet with one of our sorority sisters that now lives in the Dallas area. It was such a great to get to see her, and for her to show us around her neighborhood. I also got to see two great movies over break. The first was "Across the Universe." If I could recommend one movie that everyone has to see, it would be this movie. It was absolutely the best movie ever. It is a musical that is based on 30 Beatles songs that the new cast members sang (amazingly). The movie is set in the sixties, and the Beatles songs they choose fit every situation well. Not to mention that the remakes of the songs are spellbinding. I can't recommend this movie enough, I've been listening to the soundtrack non stop! The next movie we saw was "Hairspray" which I thought was equally enjoyable. Coming back to Ripon after a week was great, I love my campus bed, and it was great to stop living out of a suitcase as well. What can I say, I just hate being away from Ripon to long, I start to go through withdrawals! But, I wouldn't have minded break for a couple days longer, because I got no homework done in between all the shopping I did and had a big paper revision waiting for me! Coming back after a week, it was great to see the changing weather and to see the amazing fall foliage. I love fall and I'm not looking forward to winter! I hope everyone stays warm, wherever you may be, and have a wonderful Monday!

Leila

P.S. I have a lot of pictures to catch up on showing ya'll (brought a little Texas twang back!).

The first picture to the left is of my Crush Party date Danny and I. The second to the right is of Patti and I at Toga. And the center Photo is of my best girl friends from Northfield who came to Toga.

Mhh Mhh Culvers!!!

Today in my Organizational and Business Communication class I had to do a mock interview in front of my whole class. It was a really nerve wrecking experience because I had to do it in front of everyone, all dressed up, pretending that I was interviewing from my dream job. Even though it was only 5 minutes or so, it felt like an eternity. I think I did very well, so I guess I'm not to nervous to see what grade I got out of it. The job I interviewed for was an entry level consulting job with Accenture a fortune 500 company that does consulting all over the world. It was a very real experience doing this interview today because I know that in a few months I really will be going out and doing interviews. Last night was the Sigma Chi/Alpha Chi Omega date auction, an event that both of our houses organized as a fundraiser. It turned out to be a really fun event. From each house, we auctioned of 10 people and we had some people go for as much as $100! I couldn't believe it! It was pretty crazy to see different boys and girls fighting over one person, and the prices just rising each time. We did it in the new student union, and I was very pleased to see how well it accommodated students, with comfortable seating and a stage. That was one of the many activities that I have going on for the rest of the week. Tonight, my sorority sisters and I will be working at Culvers to raise money for out 5k Walk/Run for Victims of Domestic Violence. Working from 4-9 at Culvers, we will receive 10% of all profits of the night, so we are really looking forward to making money for out event this Saturday. I'm hoping that its a super nice day so that we get some great turn out! Also this weekend my best friends from home are coming to visit me! I'm so excited to see them! They're coming for Toga, an event that is being hosted by the Merriman house in our Union. I think that this will be a super weekend! I'll keep you posted!

Leila

P.S. Come by for some Culvers tonight!

I once was sick but now I'm better!

The past couple days have been rough for me. I seem to have picked up the sickness that is creeping its way through the Ripon campus. The one the were you start with a cough and then next thing you know you can't get out of bed. Well that was last week and this is now, and I feel much better. This past weekend was Homecoming which was really fun. We did not win our football game which was a real bummer, but our team worked hard and that's all that really matters. At our homecoming, my classmates from my Applied Communication class and I, hosted a dunk tank, raising money for Huntington's Disease Society of America. We had all sorts of people involved in this event, ranging from our Residence Life Director, Josh DeWar, to my best friend and sorority president Patti Ann Mazur. Our goal was to get a wide variety of students and staff involved in the event, which we did achieve. One funny thing that we didn't plan on was the color of the water that came out of the pipes when filling the dunk tank. We had the fire department come and fill it up, and when they did, a brown rust color came pouring out of the hose. We were so nervous that no one would want to get in the cold rust colored water, but everyone proved to be a great sport and hopped right in! Saturday night was also a really fun night because it was Merriman House formal. I got to hang out with some of my closest friends, but a little fancier dressed. It was a great night and all my friends looked lovely in there suits, ties and dresses. Sunday night I spent many hours working on my 14 page Rhetorical Criticism paper that was due today! It was a killer to say the least, but I finished it!!! Oh man, let me tell you, it was such a wonderful relief to hand that paper in! I did a Neo-Classical critic of JFK's "Arms Quarantine of Cuba" address...sound confusing to you? Try writing 14 pages about it! Tonight I am going to Oshkosh to hear the Prime Minister of Sudan speak about the situation in Darfur. I am really looking forward to this once in a lifetime opportunity and hopefully very educational. I'm hoping to pop in a movie tonight and relax to after a week of being sick, dunk tanks, formals, and 14 page papers! Hopefully you all have a relaxing week too! Ciao!

Leila

P.S. The picture is of Patti and I at Merriman formal from this weekend!