Alexandra P

Twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to go ...

Tomorrow night, I will be home for Thanksgiving break, readers!!!

I've got to tell you: I'm pumped. I haven't REALLY been home since Columbus Day weekend, which pretty much feels like a decade ago. I went home for the day this past Friday, though, so I guess that counts for something. It was actually a really fantastic day. As you may know, I am graduating in a few weeks and therefore will be moving permanently back to Boston. Two of my dear friends from Long Island, Meagan and Christina, wanted to spend some time with me before I left (and I felt the same about them) so they came home with me on Friday morning and had breakfast at my house with me and my mum. Then, I took them to my grandma's house and they got the full tour. Her house is from the 1700's and she has about a million antiques. It's a really cool house and kind of has the feel of a museum, albeit a lived-in museum. If you've ever been to the Wayside Inn (a favorite place for Grandma to take us to dinner), her house kind of feels like that. After the tour and a sampling of her homemade applesauce, I drove them into Boston and we walked around Newbury Street and then the North End and Faneuil Hall. They LOVED it! I was so happy that I got to share all of my favorite things about being home with two of my close friends from school. The only downside was the bitter cold wind that decided to blow all day. Other than that, though, it was a success. We even got to stop by Nana and Papa's house on the way back to school that night. The only thing missing from the day was Floyd. :( I was hoping that my mum had him for the day but he was at his dad's house. It's okay, though, because I'll probably get to hang out with him the whole time that I'm home! I'm sure that he's as excited about going for walks and playing with the stuffed hedgehog as I am.

So my Thanksgiving break should be awesome. We're doing dinner at my house, this time around, because my Aunty Pat is going on vacation and she usually does holidays. Therefore, my mom and Jody have taken over cooking duties. I've offered my help, but I don't know if they'll want it judging by my kitchen track record. It's fine. I'll be too busy playing with Floyd the Basset Hound anyway. Also, my dear Carolyn plans on having a big Natick get-together at her apartment on Friday night! It's going to be so wonderful to see everyone in one place. And I'm hoping to see my work friends while I'm home, too. On Saturday night, I'm going to see "Slumdog Millionaire" (which looks like a really great movie) with some friends who are not in my home friends group but whom I really miss, chief among them Teresa. As I said, this break is gong to be great. Minus the homework I have to do.

By the way, I have MAJOR senioritis. Don't let this happen to you! I only have about three weeks left of school, which is really bumming me out, and I think I subconcsiously want to fail my classes so that I have to stay. DEFINITELY don't let this happen to you, haha. I'll make it through, though, guys. Don't you worry about me. The Dean's List? We'll see. But I'll definitely graduate.

In the wise words of Porky Pig, that's all, folks. Have a really wonderful holiday.
<3

Peace on earth.

And in the eternally wise words of John Winston Ono Lennon: "Every day, in every way, it's getting better and better."

Busy, busy bee.

Hello, you.

This semester has been a whirlwind of activity and my life has possibly never been so hectic. Here I sit, in front of my computer on an early Saturday evening, listening to the "Once" soundtrack, thinking about the paper I have yet to start. And thinking about how I should be applying to jobs for when I graduate in December. This has been a rough year, so far. But I'm powering through and I know that I'm going to make it out alive. Sometimes, it's not easy to see that. But I just have to believe it and know that if I just get through one more paper, one more test, one more meeting, I'm that much closer to accomplishing one of the biggest challenges in my life so far: college.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but you all know how it feels to get busy and be under stress and low on energy. That's just how I'm feeling right now. I was in a car accident on Tuesday night. Someone barrelled into my lane, hit me head-on, and drove away. So I've been having a tough time and haven't had my car. But this is just one of those times that I have to be strong, you know? College can be tough because your parents aren't here to put the pieces together when something has gone wrong. My mum has done this anyway, to a large degree, in the wake of my car accident. But she can't be here to give me hugs and whispers of encouragement in my ear right now. I have to give these things to myself ... you know what I mean. I have to be my own strength and encouragement.

It's one of those things that I've learned in college. I'm not a very emotionally strong person, but college has definitely made me stronger than I was before. Forced independence can be scary, but it just helps you to grow. I've grown, a lot. And this stupid car accident business has forced me to grow even more. But I don't regret the fact that I've had to help myself get out of my little rut. It makes me feel powerful to know that I can overcome something as scary as having my car almost totalled with me in it.

So I'm sorry if this entry is not the most chipper, but I feel like a very important thing to learn about going away to school is how strong it will make you.

Peace, always.
Alex

Two very important people: Mom and Stephanie, in Cape Cod this summer.

Take your time but hurry up.

Hello all of you!

Just writing to check in. I actually just wrote a nice, long post and then my internet apparently encountered a problem and needed to close, so I lost it all. Sometimes, technology makes me want to scream so loudly.

Anyway, I had wanted to inform you about Homecoming weekend that's going on this weekend, and my life a.k.a. working in the Spectrum office, and my sister adjusting to her Freshman year at URI. But it all got erased. :( I'll sum it up like so: the Spectrum owns me, but it's okay because I've become such good friends with the people who work on it with me. Additionally, Homecoming weekend has been really fun because I have seen so many alums that I miss! Finally, my sister Stephanie is doing really well at URI and is really happy, even though she started out as a nervous Nellie. It just goes to show that college takes some getting used to, but you WILL get used to it. So try not to fret too much.

Thats all for now, folks, because I have to go shower.
You know how it is.
Peace,
Alex

Some of my lovely lady friends and myself at the Golden Star Cafe, watching a few great bands that have SHU alums in them. :)

Wake me up when September ends ...

Dear all of you,

Can you believe that it's the first day of Autumn? I know that I can't. This is my birth season and the season to which I feel the closest, but it has gotten here WAY too fast. Summer's over. It ended a while ago for me, what with the start of school and all, but it's still strange to know that the calendar days of sun and beach weather are gone until next year. ... Well, global warming will ensure that we get some more dog days, but you know what I mean.

My semester has been BUSY thus far. You may have noticed a severe lack of posts here and that's because I'm scrambling to graduate early and am taking sooo much on as a result of this aspiration. But I haven't failed anything yet! This is quite an accomplishment, if I do say so, myself. And you know what? The Spectrum's A&E section has looked consistently good with the exceptions of a few minor flaws for the past two weeks. It seems that my life hasn't fallen apart just yet, haha.

Speaking of the Spectrum Newspaper here at Sacred Heart, I would just like to urge all of you who are considering going here to JOIN GROUPS AND GET INVOLVED! I don't care if you join the College Republicans and the Biology Club (two groups that are the exact opposite of the kinds of clubs I join, haha), just get out there and do something with your time in college besides sitting in class. I know people who are seniors who look back and wonder why they don't have more ties to people here and why they don't feel like their college years have amounted to much. There are not a lot of these people, but they're out there. And the reason for their emptiness is because they never got involved. They went to class and hung out in their rooms and they didn't meet anyone who didn't live on their floor, freshman year. I'm just saying, but joining clubs and getting involved, you're meeting people with the same interests as you. This will get you some lasting friendships and awesome memories.

In fact, I hang out with the people who are in my English major, or who work on the Pioneer Magazine and Spectrum Newspaper all the time. I've always felt really close to these people and that feeling has solidified as the years have progressed. It went from sitting next to each other and cracking jokes to spending our Friday nights together and chatting on the phone on Sundays while we edit our respective sections for the paper. I really love these kids because they share the same interests as me. It's much easier to be different from them in other respects, because we all share a passion, nerdy as it may be, haha.

Anyway, I've got to go to bed so that I can be ready to greet the day and my Film and Arabic classes. Take care, all, until next time.

Peace,
Alex

Here are some English majors, hangin' out.

Whoa, this picture turned out big!
A couple of my Media Studies friends/editors for the Pioneer and Spectrum. :)

No more pencils, no more books ...

Well, the title of this blog entry is a lie because school has officially started up! Welcome back, faithful readers. I have an exciting story. While out at a restaurant the other night, I was in line for the bathroom and a girl next to me RECOGNIZED me from my picture attached to this blog. Was it one of the best moments of my life? Obviously. I am now a Z-list celebrity. Anyway, Senior year commenceth. I can't believe school is this close to being over. Forever! I will be a broke Nancy and thus unable to attend grad school in good conscience until I at least get out of debt this time around. So it will be straight to the working world for me. Scary! But also cool. I work all summer and I feel like I could pretty easily handle it year-round. Yes, folks, I just might be ready for the grownup life. But we'll see. For now, I am living in an apartment building partially owned by Sacred Heart. It's called Oakwood and it's upperclassmen housing. Some of the people in the four Oakwood buildings are not affiliated with Sacred Heart, but the majority are. I share a second floor apartment with my friend Meghan and we have decorated it to make it look AWESOME. I'm so proud. The fact that the apartment looks good is another thing that makes me feel ready to be a grownup. As for classes, I am cramming my schedule with six of them. One--Latin American History--is fully online, and my Freelance Writing course is partially online, as well. But I have my Arts & Entertainment editor positions for the newspaper AND for the magazine to keep me plenty busy. If my head doesn't explode this semester, congratulate me! Really, though, this is my favorite living situation thus far at Sacred Heart and I'm having a really good fall, as of right now. :) Any questions about anything? Write me a little comment.

Ciao, bellos.
Alex

Here's me and my lady friends Erika, Andrea, and Carolyn at Earthfest this summer.
Good memories!

As the summer slowly winds down

Hey all!

It's been a while, but I am still around and as active as ever. I've been working really hard and even took a vacation with my family and Jody (Floyd went to dog camp instead) to Eastham, on Cape Cod, for a week. It was awesome. I went to the beach five days in a row and slept in a LOT. Which is my favorite thing, ever. I also got a lot of reading done that I'm always too tired to do after work. My dear friend Andrea came to visit for a day and I took her to the beach where we walked out to meet the low tide. Then, for dinner, we went to Provincetown and saw the sights. It was a really great trip, as always (we go every year).

It's been a lot of the same old for me. I have been going to the gym every morning with Rachael, having fun at lunch with her, Eric (who goes to Providence College) and Joanna (JWU), and then hanging out with Carolyn and Kerry and Andrea and Li and whoever's around at night. Carolyn and I do a lot of bargain shopping at Filene's Basement and Marshall's. You would not believe how much great stuff I've found at these places. Even designer names! There's a T.J. Maxx close to Sacred High and I highly recommend it for bargains, as well. I got two Betsey Johnson bags for ten dollars a piece at Marshall's and T.J. Maxx. Yay! I also saw the hands down best movie of the summer: "The Dark Knight." I don't care if Heath Ledger is dead; if he doesn't win the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar I do NOT know what I'll do with myself. (I do care very much that he's dead, I just mean that there is no one this year who will come even close to a performance as gifted and dark and enthralling as his was in that film). I'm seeing "Stepbrothers" tonight with Carolyn and Kerry. I'm sure it'll be another Judd Apatow instant classic, haha.

On the downside of things, I had my wisdom teeth out last Friday and have been languishing in my own pain and self-pity for the past week. This is my first day back at work and I'm definitely still in some pain. Unfortunate for me and for my paycheck. But I'll get by! I've paid off a nice chunk of my loans so far, this summer, and it's not over yet! I'm hoping to even get a new, awesome digital camera before the summer's over. That will be the big purchase of the year. Carolyn came over last night, though, and we watched "21," the movie about the gambling M.I.T. students. Interesting stuff!

I know I bring up Kerry and Carolyn all of the time and I'm happy to say that they found my blog all on their own! They did not even realize it exsisted, since it's really only for you guys who are considering or planning on attending Sacred Heart. Kerry was really bored one day and Googled himself and this blog was one of the first results from his search. He was not overly thrilled that I used his grandmother's special secret nickname for him in my last post. Oopsies!

Good things still to come this summer:
More beach, Samantha's (my little sister) Bat Mitzvah, Andrea's birthday, "The Pineapple Express," first Patriots pre-season game with Carolyn next week!

And here is a special list for all of you guys wondering what to pack for college. I made it for my sister, since she is freaking out about going to U.R.I. and not knowing what she needs to bring. Hopefully this extremely thorough list will put some of you guys at ease. :) (It's for a girl so guys, don't be offended!):

BEDDING

-XL (extra long) sheets: get two sets of sheets

            -fitted sheet

            -loose sheet

            -pillowcase

-comforter/comforter cover (if necessary)

-mattress pad

-a blanket

BATHROOM

-shower sandals (Old Navy ones are cheap and do the trick)

-shower tote

-towels

            -facecloths

            -bath towels

-all of your necessary toiletries/makeup/hair products

-hair dryer/curling iron/hair straightener

-any medicine you might have

-robe: if you want one

BEDROOM

-posters

-pictures of friends/family

            -frames, if you want them

-desk lamp with a light bulb (NOT the halogen bulbs; they’re usually not allowed)

-Christmas lights for decorating: if you’d like

-anything else you can think of that you might want to put up

-small fan (if your dorm isn’t air-conditioned)

-alarm clock

-your iHome

SCHOOL-RELATED

-pens/pencils (#2)/highlighters

-notebooks (I buy one 5 subject, but everyone’s different)

-backpack or big bag for carrying to classes that will fit everything (laptop, too)

-graphing calculator

-Post-its

-a wall calendar

-planner (you can probably get a school one in the S.H.U. bookstore)

CLOTHING/ACCESSORIES/SHOES

-clothes for all seasons (it’ll be getting cold before you have extended time home)

            -nice things for going out and whatnot

            -comfy clothes for class and hanging out

            -lots of p.j.s and socks (you don’t want to go barefoot in the dorm halls)

            -bathing suits

-slippers/sneakers/sandals/heels

-umbrella (for walking to class in the rain)

-all of your jewelry that you actually think you’ll wear

-bags

-big bags for toting stuff around

-small bags for going out

-camera/iPod/all electronics

-CELL PHONE CHARGER and all other chargers

FOOD/DRINKS

-anything from Whole Foods (don’t get too much produce; it could go bad)

-lots of healthy snack foods

            -Target has a lot of good snack foods for cheap, or maybe B.J.’s

-water: make sure you have enough of it or you’ll definitely be kicking yourself

-pastas/frozen foods/etc.

            -anything you can save and cook for dinner when you want to

DECIDE AMONST YOUR ROOMMATES

-floor lamp (if you guys want one)

-throw rug (again, if you want one)

-chair (if there’s room/you want one)

-television

-D.V.D. player

That's all for now, folks! This is too long for pictures but I'll put some in next time.

Peace,
Alex

Where it's at

Hi!

You may have been skeptical about hearing from me again but, don't worry, I have not deserted you at all. I will be writing in this blog until my graduation--that's for sure. Anyway, I've been on a sort of hiatus due to it being summertime and all and me being out of Connecticut and back in sweet, sweet, Boston suburbia. While it has been thus far a relaxing and somewhat uneventful break, I still feel like I have done so much and enjoyed it all immensely. Even work is pretty fun, this time around. I'm still at General Dynamics in Needham, and I've always liked it here (I say here because, yes, I am currently at work ... shh), but I have always been the youngest member of the H.R. team by far. I still am, but I now have some fabulous intern friends thanks to the ever-awesome Mr. Kerry Reef of Bentley College. The first weekend of summer found me at Kerry's Waltham apartment for his birthday, just hanging out and enjoying my time home. I hadn't even officially finished school because I still had a paper that needed to be written on Monday. But that's beside the point. Anyway, My friend Plugis was talking to a girl and started yelling for me to come over. I went, and found out that the reason for his excitement was that the girl--Rachael, who is sure-to-be-referenced many more times--was a finance intern at General Dynamics! Needless to say, we spent our whole evening talking about work. And now she is my best "little buddy," as my boss calls the interns with whom I lunch, here. So Rachael and I both joined the GDIT gym and we used to go every day after work, but we've recently started going in the mornings. I'm a bit loopy when I roll into the parking lot at 6:30 a.m. but it goes fast because I pretty much sleep through my hour workout. And then I am home free in the evenings! There is also Joanna, who goes to JWU, and Eric, who goes to Providence. Rachael's a Bentley girl and that's how she knows my dear Kerr-bear. Who doesn't read this blog or he'd be extremely disappointed in me for sharing his grandmother's nickname for him with the world.

So that's my work life, but I have also been seeing my friends as much as possible. We've gone to the beach in Gloucester (home to the now-famous pregnancy pact among highschoolers under sixteen) and Salisbury. We've gone into Boston near Fenway where Kerry and Pluge are renting an aparment for the summer and stayed over multiple times. Last weekend. Carolyn and I went in and hung out with the boys and another friend of ours, Bobby. We stayed for most of Sunday and just lolled around watching "Die Hard" on t.v. DEFINITELY a boy movie. Although I like the part where Bruce Willis says "Yippee kay-ay, m-----f-----." I shan't be inappropriate, but it's a pretty clutch scene. We've gone out a lot in Faneuil Hall and near Newbury Street and had a lot of fun on the weekends. We all work so hard during the week that we just want to relax in the sun and explore Boston at night. So far, so good.

I've also seen a bunch of movies, but there are SO many more that I need to get out to. My favorite of the summer, so far, that I've seen, was "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." I LOVE Jason Segel. If you've ever seen "Freaks and Geeks," you love him too. I think "The Pineapple Express," "The Dark Kinght," and "Stepbrothers" are going to be the best movies, though, this break. "Sex & The City" was also good, but boys DEFINITELY won't like it. Which is totally fine because it's not meant for them.

And I guess that's it for the summer, so far. Carolyn being back has been absolutely wonderful. I know she misses Florence but I think I missed her more when she was gone so I'm sooo happy that I have my friend back whom I see almost every day and can laugh at absolutely nothing with me and isn't scared off by my most spectacularly abnormal sense of humor. It's nice to be loved for being exactly myself, you know? Oh, and I forgot to mention that I was randomly standing almost RIGHT next to the lovely blogger Christina T. in a sea of thousands of people at Earthfest a month ago! It was awesome. My phone rang and it was her and I looked up and she was literally in front of me. It was a great show; Cake, as always, played a fantastic set and did all of my favorites of theirs. Oh, and if anyone has Pearl Jam/Ted Leo tickets that they are trying to give away, let me know! :) :) :)

Anyway, later, kids. It's been real and I'll be back soon.
Peace and love,
Alex

Rachael, Bre, Kerry, me, Garrett, Dave, and Reb on Kerry's birthday with the LIMO!

Me and Kerry, probably laughing about one of our inside jokes since we quite literally share a brain.

Sister Stephanie and me in the back of Jody's Saab on the way to Jerry Seinfeld (!).

Jody and mum in the North End, walking to dinner before seeing Jerry.

The spectacularly handsome/loveable Floyd the Basset Hound. My mum took this while waiting for Jody during one of his cycling races last year.

School trip!

Hello, brave and friendly readers!

I write to you today whilst taking time out of my BUSY schedule. I just wanted to say hello and let you know that there are only two weeks left in the semester, and then finals! Wow, that blew by, didnt it? This was a SUPER fun weekend for me, by the way (and expensive, but that's beside the point). I drove home on Thursday aftertoon after my Sociology test--and carted off about half of the crap that I have accumulating here. When I got to Mass that night, I stayed up until three a.m. cleaning out my closet and sorting clothes to give to St. Vincent dePaul. I unpacked evvverything and put it all away, too. I also had Thai food and watched "30 Rock" and "The Office" with my Mum. She's finally coming around to these shows which is good since they are the best hour of television on the air, right now, besides "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." ... In my opinion, that is. Then, I slept in on Friday and did lots of bank transactions to transfer money to Mum to pay my car insurance and some of my loans. Always a fun time! Friday night was the big night and reason that I went home so close to finals: A NIGHT IN BOSTON!!! Me, my sister Stephanie, my Mum, and Jody (her boyfriend who we LOVE) dressed up and went to dinner in the North End. Jody has great taste and he got us a reservation at a restaurant called Taranta, which mixes Peruvian and Italian (of course) food. There was even a guitarist at the restaurant just walkin' around and playing. We grabbed gelato and cappucinos after dinner and then drove over to the theatre district for the main event: JERRY SEINFELD!!! My Mum had gotten tickets to see him do standup at the Wang Theatre for our Easter presents. It was HILARIOUS and just really rejuvinating to watch. :) Then, I watched "Juno" before falling asleep. I'm really glad that I bought it and Christina T, you should be glad, too! Honest to blog! Anyway, I slept in on Saturday, again, and visited with my Grandma, Nana and Papa, and my friend Andrea who goes to Bentley. Then I drove back to school and hung out at our townhouse with my roommate Devin's friends who were visiting due to Devin's birthday last week. Today, I woke up super early and went to Six Flags: Great Adventure in New Jersey on a school trip. Because my friend Julie and I went with the school, we only had to pay twenty-five dollars for admission and transportation instead of the massive amount it would regularly be. Pictures and details concerning today to come! And that's me, for now. I highly suggest standup comedy and going on school trips. One will make you feel great and the other will save you lots of money.

'Til next time, friends!
Peace,
Alex

My little brother, James, and my little sister, Samantha!

Samantha and my full sister, Stephanie. :)

My Mum, on a hike with Jody. <3

Jody, on the same hike!

A month, a month, a month

Hello all you folks at home! There is one more month left of school, almost to the day! ... Which means reading one hundred pages a day for ten days in a row and writing a whollle lot of papers and articles. But it will all be worth it when its time for summery summer when it's warm and bright out and not windy and cold. This year has flown by so far, though, as my roommate and I were discussing earlier today. We went to sleep earlier all year than we ever did last year; we are no longer nocturnal. Are we becoming old women? We're not sure, but we sure are busy doing work and having a great time at school. Anyway, though, be on the lookout for the spring edition of the Sacred Heart Pioneer Magazine if you're on campus in the next few weeks! It's going to print soon and my story on political inaction is one of the cover stories! I am verrry excited. So I've got some more fun work to do, but more writing will follow later.

Love and kisses, folks.
Peace,
Alex

Here is a picture of me and a few girls that I met on Saturday.
They are all friends of my friend, Julie!

Happy April, tomorrow

Hey all,

I hope that you're all doing well. I just had a great, relaxing weekend and I wanted to tell you a little bit about it. On Friday, I babysat for three boys in Greenwhich, CT. I work through a service called Nannies as Needed and I pretty much babysit whenever I want. It's great. If you are looking for work when you're at Sacred Heart, I highly recommend it. Then it was siblings weekend and I hung out with one of my apartment mates' twin thirteen year-old brothers who BOTH look like Harry Potter! We played cards and Guitar Hero (highlight of my weekend) and went to the diner in Bridgeport at midnight. That was a real treat for them. :) On Saturday, I hung out and saw "The Other Boleyn Girl" with my friend, Jenna. It was a really great movie and I wasn't expecting much so I was very pleasantly surprised. I hugh out with the twins and my apartment mates again on Saturday night and we watched "Billy Madison" (and quoted the whole thing) on TV even thouh I own it. I got to sleep in every day of the weekend which meant that I was VERY relaxed and happy, because I feel like I always have to get up early for something. Then on Sunday I went to H&M at the Milford Mall with my friend Meagan. We had dinner and then went to church where I lectored. Fun times! Last night, my roomie and I did a "Sex & the City" marathon and watched five or so episodes, then I read. I also wrote an article for the Sacred Heart Spectrum newspaper, last night. Today, I woke up to a "class is cancelled" e-mail from my teacher and went back to bed until eleven-thirty. Then I got Taco Bell for lunch with Marcia and we played some more Guitar Hero. The best part of my whole week comes next! My very close friend, Carolyn, is studying abroad in Florence and was on spring break last week. She just got back yesterday and we Skyped for a long time using our webcams! She even gave me a virtual tour of her apartment and I got to see the view out of her bedroom window.

So, as you can see, I have had a great weekend and Monday.
And I hope that all of you have, as well.

Stay classy 'til next time!
Peace,
Alex

Here's a picture of gorgeous Carolyn and myself at a concert this summer. :)