Month: February 2014

The Perfect Study Spot

The Perfect Study Spot

Recently, I’ve been itching to find a new study spot. I cannot focus in my apartment (I usually turn on the TV and watch a “Friends” marathon) and I can’t focus at the library, either (I  just want to socialize while there).  My apartment in Lakeview is full of a ton of cool coffee shops (Intelligentsia is my recommendation!), but I recently gave up coffee so I was looking for somewhere different.  I found the perfect spot: Barnes and Noble!

Barnes and Noble is located just a few blocks from the downtown campus.  It’s two stories and is located right near State and Rush.  It was perfect for me because it was completely silent; it was all either students studying, or people reading.  There was also free wifi and a big cafe full of coffee drinks, pastries, and cheesecake!! This Barnes and Noble location sells cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory! I got some Oreo chocolate cheesecake, and it was the perfect dessert to get me through my paper and studying!

I will be back to study at Barnes and Noble (and eat mass amounts of cheesecake).  It’s my new favorite study spot, and I whole heartedly recommend it!

Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday

I’ll admit it, I’m not a huge NFL fan.  But, I do understand football (coming from a big family of all football players helped me understand the game) so I was excited to watch a (hopefully) close, competitive game.  So… the game was basically a blow out, but I enjoyed spending time with friends, eating our lives away, and watching the commercials!

My two friends and I went to Standard Market Grill to watch the game.  It’s in the Lincoln Park area, and just a few minutes down the street from my apartment. Standard Market Grill was hosting a Super Bowl party, so we paid 25$ for all you can eat food and desserts alllll night.  It was basically a foodie’s heaven.  They had cheeseburger sliders, thai shrimp rolls, barbeque chicken pizza, sweet potato fries….almost everything you can imagine.  It was sooo good and I’m pretty sure I was full for the next two days following the Super Bowl.

So, about the game.  I began rooting for the Seahawks, as my roommate is from the Pacific Northwest (Portland), but watching the Seahawks demolish the Bronco’s made me root for the underdog.  Unfortunately, they never came back, or even came remotely close to coming back, so we focused the majority of our attention on the commercials.

My two favorite commercials would have to be the Coca-Cola commercial and the Cheerio’s commercial. The Coca-Cola commercial was incredibly moving, and definitely portrayed our “melting pot” America accurately.  The Cheerio’s commercial portrayed an interracial family, which I liked because it cut away from the stereotypical American family, and showed our diverse and advancing society.  I pretty much liked every commercial (The Full House reunion commercial=classic), but those two definitely won, in my book.

It was a great Super Bowl Sunday, regardless of the uneventful football game.  I had a great time in the company of my best friends, and we most definitely enjoyed the all you can eat buffet!

Senior Citizen

Senior Citizen

Oh, the pun. Such an under appreciated form of word play. But why am I talking about puns, you ask?

Well…

1. It should go without saying that I am a senior in college. The off-off campus housing, not-always-so-consistent blogs (*coughsenioritiscough*), constant nostalgia, and very regular crisis-ing about my future career and ability to maintain my college friendships should almost go without saying at this point.

So yes, I am graduating in 91 days! That’s less than 100! That’s absolutely terrifying!

For my final semester as a nursing major, I have my pediatric and nursing leadership classes until spring break, after which I continue taking my leadership class, in addition to CRT. CRT, or Clinical Role Transition, is when I will be shadowing an RN 1:1 for 120 hours to see what it is REALLY like to be a nurse.

A peak into my accumulated textbooks…

Sounds like all fun and games, right? WRONG.

While I’m not in class that much this semester, I still have clinical twice a week until spring break (think 4 am wake up calls), and, in addition to my regular classwork, I need to study for the NCLEX.

The nerves that come with the “one test to decide your whole future” thing has really caused me to buckle down and get to work studying. Luckily, Loyola is here to support me, by offering NCLEX question e-mails every week and a week long NCLEX review within a few weeks of graduation.

That being said, I have also been using this semester to take advantage of student discounts, keep up with friends, and attempt to embrace Chicago winters.

2. In addition to my academic senior status, I am feeling a bit like a senior citizen.

For years, I’ve been carrying around a backpack that’s a littleeeee too heavy for me. (By a littleeeee, I mean that it’s generally wider than my torso and 1/5th of my body weight.) For years, I’ve been told that it was going to hurt me.

And finally, it has.

#crutchlife #steveholt

Two weeks ago, while lifting the aforementioned backpack, I fractured my left foot.

It’s been a bit of a struggle to get around in this weather on crutches and in a boot. However, the Loyola community at large has been amazing at helping me survive outside. Both the student body and the faculty have been so helpful and accommodating, and I could not be more grateful.

I’m hoping to be off the boot within the next three weeks, but in the meantime I know that I will have no problem getting any kind of support I need while at school!

Thankin’ erryone for their help!

On that note, and in the vein of my brilliant senior/senior pun, I’d like to end with this comment (kindly stolen from my nursing calendar):

What kind of blood does a pessimist have? B Negative! (Hahaha.)

Crutches Photo – Attributed to the lovely and daisy-like Anique Aburaad

The Season for Excellence

The Season for Excellence

One of the great traditions here at Loyola is the distribution of Excellence Awards at the end of the school year.  Students and organizations are honored for their hard work in living out the Jesuit ideals espoused by Loyola University of Chicago.

And the season for Excellence Awards in upon us again!  This year will be especially important for me as a graduating senior.  I spent the week considering my options and submitting nominations for students and organizations that have been important in my life at Loyola.  For me, this student input makes the awards even more meaningful.  It isn’t a committee of old men deciding who should be rewarded for their work; it is our fellow students who take the time to make sure the recipients are recognized.

So as nominations come to a close, all that’s left to do is wait until the winners are announced at Damen Ball in the spring.  Best of luck to all the nominees!