Hey everyone.  Well, with spring break right around the corner, I have officially booked a one-way ticket to Los Angeles.  Ok, seriously, it's round-trip, but I will be visiting the City of Angels from March 8-13.  I'll be staying with a friend from high school, and she has promised to show me everything while I'm there, so I'll make sure to post some pictures when I get back.  While I won't particularly miss this amazing Cincinnati weather, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on why I do love Cincinnati, and I love to call it home, before I say goodbye for a week.

The sports.  Since I was a child, I have loved the Reds.  I've never had much to cheer for, but now that Bengals and Bearcat football are getting on the map, I have a sport to be proud of.

The 275 loop.  Part of understanding Cincinnati is understanding the loop.  If you can master the loop, it can take you anywhere you want to go.

The riverfront.  While I usually enjoy the riverfront from the Kentucky side, it's still a part of Greater Cincinnati.  Fireworks, riverboats, restaurants, nightlife, boating, the riverfront has it all.  It's not difficult to access either.

Cost of living.  I'm sure I'm going to be feeling this one on my trip out to L.A.  Being a midwestern city, Cincy is pretty reasonable when it comes to cost of living.

Gambling.  Yep, we passed the law, and even if we didn't there are plenty of casinos and horsetracks within a half hour drive.  Also, with Cincinnati's strong Catholic background, there's plenty of festivals in the fall where I can give back to the church.

There you have it.  Cincinnati is where I grew up, and like a lot of people, it's a part of who I am.  That's it for now.  Make sure to check in when I return from spring break.  See ya everyone.

well well well, i'm graduating next semester. this i've known for quite a while. however, it hadn't really occured to me till this weekend that i would no longer have the moun's campus ministry to be a part of as an alum quite the way as a student. so what will i do?? that is what Agape is for. I attended my last college retreat this past weekend and it was more than beneficial. it's about knowing how to spend time with God in the quiet. i talked to my parents tonight about what to plan for/expect once i graduate about where i'm going to be once i'm out of the dorms.

i've decided that if i am able to stay in cincinnati then i'll most likely be in delhi still and therefore can still be active with the Mount's weekly 9pm sunday masses. however, what if i end up back in chicago? i'm not quite as active with my religion when i'm in chicago than i am with the Mount. here comes another challenge! i can't wait!

Hey readers. Well in case any of you missed any news about the Mount today I thought I’d share some information and reflect on the situation.My day started out pretty average, I woke up to do laundry and to get ready for my individual RA interview at 1:00. I was getting ready to pull my clothes out of the dryer around 11:00 when I noticed some sirens in the area but didn't think anything of it. Next thing I know, there is a fire truck and ambulance around the corner of the campus between the Seton center (residence hall) and art building.

My first instinct was another popcorn burning or a bad injury that had been directed to the athletic training rooms. Not quite..... Well I wasn't sure what had happened but I had to continue on with my day. I was in my room, getting ready to take a shower and I hear the fire alarm. Oh great! Popcorn burning.....once again... but not quite. Once I headed downstairs and out the doors by the fountain right in front of the Seton lobby, I hear the words spread like wild-fire alone: fires all over the campus, classes cancelled, early spring break, arson attack, chemistry majors, paint chemicals mixing, garbage cans and bulletin boards, what about my test/paper/class, what about tomorrow....it went on. Well within the time I stood outside and made my lap around the entire campus, i noticed 9 different fire departments that came to the college: Delhi, Colerain, Harrison, Cleves, White Water, Cincinnati Ladder 24, Miami, Green, and Cheviot.

During the timeless wait due to the intense detailed investigations, students had driven off campus for several reasons: rest of their classes cancelled for the day, escaping the tension, moving cars to make more room for the several emergency vehicles, going else-where to study, or simply just hungry. Well that's what a group of my own friends did. 10 of us went to B-Dubs for the pure fact of what good news came out of the day - boneless wing Thursday. Well we weren't the only ones from the Mount to fill our hunger at the fine dining restaurant. Cliff and Beth ((my awesome bosses for this splendid job)) and one of their colleagues showed up there as well as 5 other Mounties. It was a good place for celebration. While we were there, we had the chance to see our school broadcast all over the news and share information with our family and friends outside of the MSJ family of our day and the Mount's hopeful progress. Also while we were there, we were told the only access students could have to their dorms is for medical/emergency purposes. It brought a lot of hype in to our discussion of what would happen next.

We were all hopeful for an early start to spring break! Oh well. We eventually made our way back to the campus and shortly after (around 4:00) we were given permission to re-enter the dorms; all but 5 West, due to extended investigation. Classes were officially declared opened again as of 6:00 for the night classes, which meant musical rehearsal would still be on. The day was continued as an average day.... just a lot more security. Dining hall opened at 5 for dinner. This is when the official news of the campus' status was discussed amongst a great deal of the resident students. There were a total of 5 fires located on the College of Mount St. Joseph campus. Three were within the art building and two were in the Seton building (where the residents live) There were no injuries directly from the fire. However, unfortunately, the Mount community did lose a member of our family today due to a seizure.An e-mail had been sent to everyone within the Mount community by the dean of students in regards to the unfortunate loss:

"As many of you may know, Mount student Daviene --- collapsed on campus this morning. She was then taken by ambulance to the hospital. It is with sadness that I inform you that Daviene died at the hospital this afternoon. Daviene was an adult student majoring in accounting. I ask you to please keep Daviene’s family and friends in your prayers."

There were a couple other e-mails sent out today, in regards to the circumstance. One of them was from our Chief of Police, thanking the Mount community for remaining calm during the long investigation process. The other was from the director of our Wellness Center extending their always welcoming offers to anyone who may be going through hard times due to the recent death of not only Daviene but also another student from earlier in the week, by the name of Julie.

I, personally, did not know either of these students but send my deepest condolences to their families and friends. It was a very trying day for everyone affected but as a family, ourselves, I know we can all pull through.Since the dinner, I had been to the musical rehearsal, which was successful, and then came back up to my room, where I have been for the night, to update my friends and family, as well as check my e-mail repeatedly and www.msj.edu to check for more news.Several police were here on campus still doing some work on the situation till almost 11:00pm. No official information has been shared about suspect(s) but I completely trust that it is being handled with all necessary cautions and that everything is being taken in to consideration.

gasp! i've made it so far! its 12:52pm on march 2nd and i have yet to go on facebook. now some rules have been established since my last post on what no facebook for me means. my account will not be signed in to at all up till Easter Day if not later. I have had a few friends wanting to show me some pictures on facebook - so can i? i have decided that i can simply view the picture as long as it is the only thing visible on the page, therefore - i don't have access to any minifeed/newsfeed/comments/wall posts/etc. I'm sure more rules will come up in the next 33 days. yes, that is how much longer till Easter.

that means 31 days until i see my family again. I haven't been homesince january 12th and won't be until friday of easter weekend. within those 31 days is the Chicago South Side Irish Parade on March 15th. This is my second year in my life to not be in town for the day. If you haven't caught on from my name or any of my previous posts, I have a great pride of being Irish in Chicago. Every year, the sunday before St. Patrick's Day, the South Side of Chicago hosts a parade. Any day of the year, Irish pride is known in chicago, Well on the south side on parade day, everyone is 110% IRISH! this year, I am missing it for the second time because I will be in a car somewhere in Georgia or Alabama driving back to cincinnati from the habitat for humanity (h4h) spring break trip in miami florida. while i will miss seeing my family and friends on this day, I will still be as happy as can be because i will be on my way home from one of the greatest experiences.

I did the h4h trip last year during the spring break trip when 8 select students from the Mount drove out to charleston south carolina. it was definitely something i will never forget. that just makes me this more excited for next weeks trip to florida; a place i have never been! the drive will be long but the trip will definitely be worth while - 19 msj students plus our advisor, all dedicating our spring break to such an amazing service trip! i'm too excited!!! you can expect a LOT of pictures, unfortunately i won't be able to post them on facebook till after easter but it's worth the wait.

plus, with the lack of facebook, i have been able to focus more on paper work, including working on my resume and cover letter. i'm glad i was able to get that done, because i was able to use them for the career fair today. I attend the Kaleidoscope of Careers today in the admin lobby and it was a big success. I got information for two different companies, Cincinnati Recreation Commision and Residential Home Corporation, that both sound like great opportunities. I really am looking forward to the possibilities that are coming with it!

well expect another update soon! and thanks again for reading!

This was the kind of snow I've been waiting for.  One that paralyzes the area, and disrupts the monotonous routine most of us endure.  There is nothing like a tree that has been caked with heavy snow, and then frozen to an icy crisp that shimmers in its glassy bondage.  Truly an artistic beauty.  Speaking of art, today was the anniversary of painter Jackson Pollock.  I learned this as I opened "google" today.  After clicking on the emblem (which was made to look like one of Pollock's works) I found a site where you can create your own Pollock style painting using your computer mouse.  The address is:  www.jacksonpollock.org

I spent 15 minutes or so on the site.  It was amusing.  You can experiment with different colors by left-clicking, and I think there are some other options.  In any case, its a nice way to waste time as you wait for your car to thaw out of its ice cave.  I hope the Mount waits till Friday to re-open.  That would be nice.  Goodbye for now...

One big aspect about my life as being a student at MSJ is the fact that I am from Chicago, born and raised. Many people ask me ?WHY? Cincinnati, why the Mount, why Delhi, why Ohio??

Well my reasoning is this: I wanted to find a small school, far from home, in somewhat of a big city, with an interior design program, marching band, and learning disability. Also my mother had thought I should look in to a Catholic college. Well this is one of few schools I found on google that was applied to each of those entries.

I grew up in a very big family -> just on my mom's side i have 1 aunt and 4 uncles, I am youngest of five, one of 14 grand kids, plus there are 6 grand kids. so I am used to big numbers, also having gone to a grade school with 75 students in my graduating class. i had gone to a small high school and realized, i like small numbers, so I decided i REALLY wanted to go to a small college. I wanted to travel far away because I knew I would go home every weekend otherwise and i didn't want to do that because then i would not truly get the best dorming experience. my brother, conor, had traveled 5 hours away from home as well and it seemed like he got a great experience traveling far from home. i also knew i really wanted to stay in a city! i had looked in to other great colleges that were in smaller towns but they didn't grab me the way city life does. i needed a busy town atmosphere. i love to walk fast (coming from a chicago girl as my friends would know) and so that definitely came in to key! ever since i was a kid i've always loved decorating and organizing and arranging furniture and i was a biiiiiig fan of the interior design shows on TLC so i built up this amazing dream of being an interior designer. unfortunately it didn't work out the way i had planned when i came out here to school but then an even better dream came up as an art therapist. which you will have to check back for another blog about how that is going . for the past 4 years of my life i have fallen in love with colorguard. for any of you who have been to the football games in the last two years you have seen 2 or more girls performing with the band at half time or prepping any tailgaitors. well that was the colorguard. when i first chose the school i knew that even though they were only a marching band that i would somehow get a colorguard in that picture! one year in to my career at the Mount me and my co-captain were able to re-create the colorguard and just one year later were able to duble in size! this again is another focus area that will be blogged about later so keep reading . another big part of my life is the improvement in my ability to work around my learning disability. I have a slight form of dyslexia, reading comprehension issues, as well as a form of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). this improvement is all thanks to Project Excel, which is one of the BIGGEST reasons that i chose this school. each tutor that i have worked with has been more than amazing in helping me with my classes, time management, and well EVERYTHING! its truly been incredible!

 But why would i leave Chicago for that? because while Chicago really is the best city for me, it doesn't have the Mount!!!

 thanks again for reading and keep checking out my page for updates

SOME OF MY PHOTOGRAPHY OF MY TWO FAVORITE CITIES:

Buckingham Fountain - my favorite place in the entire world!

Lake Michigan - The best summer feeling is riding my bike along this lake!

Millenium Park - This is one of the several parts of Millenium Park. I love the architecture!

A couple views of the Ohio River from Eden Park

The most beautiful thing I have ever seen in Cincinnati - Eden Park.

I like Samantha Brown.  I have a crush on Samantha Brown.  I want to travel, dine, converse, with Samantha Brown.  She combines pretty, smart, funny, cool, cultured, and normal in a way that few others do.  She makes me want to get a passport, and use it.  There's not much else I can really add to this.  I'm opening up my feelings to the world.

In other news, the Presidential Debate was held tonight.  Unfortunately I caught the last half of it, which is more than I ever wanted or needed to see.  The worst (or one of the worst) parts of this whole thing is the people who want you to "get involved", "have a voice", or "rock the vote".  They emphasize getting out the vote at all costs.  Nothing matters but the fact that as many people as possible vote.  As if that is the whole point of this or any election.  (By now many have moved onto eating the rest of their Chipotle burrito, or checked up on their fantasy football team. )

Reality has become interlaced with Fiction.  In our society, this has manifested itself in many forms.  For example, Fantasy sports.  Here, there is a co-mingling of real events, and a false use and interpretation of those events.  And it is more popular than ever, perhaps more so than the "real" thing.  We want our entertainmant darnit, but this new frontier of semi-reality has become the choice.  American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, America's Toughest Jobs, America's next Top Model, The Biggest Loser, and on and on and on...

The blurred lines make me wonder, what is reality?  We want the best of both worlds it seems.  The "real" people to identify with, and the captivating made-for-tv storylines and situations that keep us glued to our seats and remotes.  

So along comes Presidential Debate episode II.  Why don't they have a website to poll people after the debate?  Why not just have the loser "voted off"?  The council has spoken.  Get the f out of here.

Dictionary:  "Debate- a discussion as of a public question in an assembly, involving opposing viewpoints."

I'm calling this years "election":  American President

Sarcasm:  Style over substance all the way!!!!!  Just see what kind of things idiots, people respond to.  Talk cleverly, get some laughs, look good, act knowledgeable, be smooth, don't attack, be personable, don't look away, don't look too much, remember the themes, think of the talking points, remember the poles, don't make mistakes...

Gosh, now I know why Simon Cowell is so cynical.  This is a popularity contest.  In all liklihood, Obama will win.  He's a good player in the game.  I have a feeling he'll win the final tribal council.  But ulimately, it is YOU and I that lose.  Our education system has failed us.  I'm certain of this, and I speak as someone who is involved in the education of our young persons.  It goes by different names.  Social Studies, Civics, American History, Citizenship, etc...   We have lost the central ideals that made this country so powerful, so independant, so unique.  Because there's good entertainment and ratings to be had.  We don't know what we believe as a country anymore, because we don't understand our system of government.  Which takes a little bit of effort.  

And now I close with some quotes from one of our greatest founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson.

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned- this is the sum of good government."  -TJ

"History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is."  -TJ

"I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."-TJ

 How about that banking "crisis" eh?  Lets switch to something more appealing.  How about some VP action?

I fish too...

Hey everyone.  So here is what's going on.  One of my professors, who is new to the area, was asking what the deal is with eastsiders and westsiders around here.  This got me thinking a few things.  Where is this mysterious line that divides the Cincinnati area?  Ok, I am going to try to explain it as I learn it.  Pretend Cincinnati is an apple.  We are going to take an apple knife and cut this Cincinnati apple in half.  One side falls towards Cali.  The other side will fall towards Maryland.  Neither piece falls north or south.  So, in summary, we have the creation of the west and east sides of Cincinnati.  The west being composed of places like Cheviot, Delhi, Westwood, and Bridgetown.  The east side has Loveland, Milford, Blue Ash, and Mariemont.  I am actually from the far east.  A place called Owensville which is in the northeast part of Clermont County.

Coming to the Mount, which is on the west side and primarily composed of west siders, I came to realize that they aren't all that bad.  At least they are better than outsiders.  Of course there is the long running fight between the two sides, a kind of Cincinnati Civil War.  Really though, its not much more than a long running joke.  There are a lot of things that each side is known for.  West siders are known as the die hard sports fans, more community driven.  East siders are thought of often as more sophisticated, Starbucks loiterers.  The westies always use their trademark slogan, "west is the best".  The east side just responds by sitting back and checking their stocks.  These are all little stereotypes, some a little true, some not.  I've found that at the Mount, everyone gets along with everyone for the most part.  So, instead of a Civil War, I would have to give Cincinnati the new title of the Melting Pot. 

So sure our schools battle, our residents fued, and tempers boil sometimes.  Deep down we need to ask ourselves, which side is really better?  I would have to say whichever side is closer to Florida, which is neither.  Can't you see that we just need to get along.  The Mount is doing it.  I think that you can too.  See ya everyone.

Hey everyone.  I hope everybody had a great Labor Day weekend and enjoyed their extra day off.  As many of you probably did, I attended the WEBN fireworks on Sunday.  For many of us natives of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky its like an annual gathering which signifies that yes, school has really started.  I feel like I have to go because it seems like its the thing to do, but I wanted to make a little list of some pros and cons of the fireworks.

First of all, the traffic is amazing.  I don't even know what to say about it, except that this is the reason why we have global warming and holes in the atmosphere and all that good stuff.  We literally sat at the edge of the parking lot for an hour trying to get out.  I think that getting down there is a lot easier since everyone comes at different time of the day.  The downside is, you can't really leave early and try to beat traffic because the fireworks are right at the end.  One year I took the metro down and it was by far the best decision of my life.  Those dudes know what is up.  Some other downsides to the fireworks are the usual suspects.  You have the high prices on food, long lines at the bathroom, and then smelly people that bathed in the Ohio River.

Let's look at the positives.  The fireworks are awesome.  If you are at all into that kind of thing then you'll sit in the traffic.  Let's not forget the most important thing for us college kids, its free!!!  Well, besides the full tank of gas you use sitting in your car, so just don't drive.  Other than that, the music is always really good.  WEBN does a good job of not just playing death metal the whole time.  I'm pretty sure they snuck in Circle of Life at one point, you know, the song from the Lion King.

In the end, this is how I would make my decision on whether or not its worth going to the fireworks.  Do you have to drive?  If you answered "yes" here then I would recommend watching them on TV.  However, if you can answer "no" to that question then you could possibly take a nap while your roommate sits in traffic. 

Cincinnati! I love this city. Granted I’ve lived here the past 19 years of my life… which is my… entire… life. Hahaha! LOL And sometimes I still don’t know what to do in this city.     

But one place I went this weekend was Newport on the Levee. Um ya… that’s Kentucky but still- you cross the Big Mac Bridge and you’re in Cincinnati.    

I was down there to go the Newport Aquarium on a field trip with my mom’s class and I got to walk around the levee and then part way across the Purple People Bridge. It’s this awesome PURPLE bridge that is strictly a pedestrian bridge that connects Cincinnati and Newport. It’s an awesome bridge if you think about it. You get to cross over the Ohio River from one state to another, one city to another. It’s a really cool concept.     

But I had so much fun at the Aquarium and I’ve put some choice pictures up below. It was fun seeing the fish and the sharks and the divers hanging out with those sharks. There were also the jelly fish and the penguins and the alligators… LOL J     But it was an awesome little trip and a break away from reality when I only went fifteen minutes from my house and actually it’s only fifteen minutes from the Mount. It was a great little outing in which I got to a break fun my busy and hectic life and just hang out a bit. Newport also has a movie theater and shops and restaurants and fun things to do. It’s a great place to hang out and get away… I recommend hanging at the Newport whenever you get a chance- too much fun. J