Arianna's Blog

I went ice skating today! It was a lot of fun, but it was a really weird feeling to go ice skating in warm weather. At home, I get bundled up in scarves, gloves, and layers upon layers of clothing in the winter. It is a ritual every time you go outside in the winter in the Midwest, and you have to allow yourself an extra ten minutes at least to get ready before leaving the house (excluding time to scrape off your icy windshield)! As much as I do not miss shoveling the driving, scraping my car, or sitting in an icebox when going anywhere, I think people in southern California have no idea what a real winter is like, and it makes me kind of sad. They’ll never know the feeling of a warm cup of hot cocoa after playing out in the snow or the satisfaction of finally shoveling the last patch of the driveway, even though it snowed another two inches in the time it took you to finish. Most importantly, they’ll never know how wonderful spring seems after weeks of below freezing temperatures. I’ll never forget that first day it hit the 50s in March, or April, and everyone wore shorts, shirts, and flip-flops to school. Here, if it ever gets down to 50 60, people freak out and are in winter jackets that I wear in January in Chicago! Now, I don’t claim that I don’t put a sweatshirt or jacket on when it gets in the 60s here, but some people take it too far. Sometimes I just wish I still experienced the magic of the first snowfall as the white intricate snowflakes glide and flutter gracefully from a dark night sky. When you awaken in the morning and lookout the window to see a magical white wonderland. The best is when you wake up to a phone call to find you have a snow day and school is canceled.

My favorite place to ice skate at home is in Chicago at Millennium Park. It is a beautiful place to go after a long day of shopping right at dusk. With the snow falling and Christmas lights on the city looks absolutely beautiful!

Ice skating today made me think about all of this. At home ice skating is just another part of winter. Here, it takes on a different meaning. It was a ton of fun, don’t get me wrong, but it just wasn’t the same as ice skating on a frozen pond in my friend’s backyard or in downtown Chicago.

We’ll see if I’m still happy when I had back home for Thanksgiving on Tuesday! haha

Watching: SNL (first time in a loonnnngggg time!)

Listening to: Christmas music?!?! (not too much yet)

Reading: The Great Gatsby (for the 3rd or more time!)

☮♥ =)  arianna

Yesterday I saw Third Eye Blind, my all-time favorite band, in concert. I have seen them two times before, but I think that this was the best performance yet. They just released their new CD in August, and it was their first CD in six years. This was the first time I saw them after the new CD, Ursa Major came out.

They played a lot of their new songs, but some or their old ones also. The concert was at the Grove of Anaheim. It took about a half hour to get there, but the drive was more than worth it. The venue was great and I had a lot of fun. This was also the most aggressive concert I have ever been too! People were yelling at the openers for being, well a little political, but I thought they (Grand Buffet) were pretty funny. Needless to say, I would not want to meet them in a dark alley.

Here’s a picture from the first concert I went to. These are my two favorite band members, front man Stephan Jenkins and guitaris Tony F. <3. Hopefully I’ll get to meet them both one day. This was a couple of years ago, and now the show is a little bit more theatrical.  I did not take any pictures at this show because I was enjoying it too much. Well that’s all for now.

Watching: The Sixth Sense!!! <–best to watch with someone who has never seen it before!

Listening to: third eye blind on repeat for the next six months (this always happens after a concert)

Reading: books for class…what else is new?

☮♥ =)  arianna

Well, I had a very eventful evening last night. Every year, some boys that I lived with in New/North my freshman year put on a scavenger hunt, and this year was even better than the last.

You get a team of four people together, and run/bike/drive/skateboard/crawl/etc. around USC completing a list of tasks three pages long. The list this year included things such as:

1. Take a four three person jump picture

(after 3 attempts, this is what we got)

2. propose to a stranger <– I did this one…with a ring!

There you have it. I am proposing to someone.

3. Hide behind George Tirebiter and bark at people (extremely funny)

4. Complete 25 somersaults as a team (harder than you may think)

5. Have a pillow fight in public

6. Eat six saltines in 60 seconds (made my neighbor do it…he drank lots of water though!)

7. Call a pizzeria and talk to them about slippers and juice <– I also did this one and it was extremely fun(ny)

8. Serenade the security guard at the desk of Leavy with a love song

Those are just some of the tasks! You have three hours to complete everything, and then you all get back together and add up the points. All the points haven’t been calculated yet, but I’ll keep everyone updated. Hopefully we won! Nonetheless, it was an extremely fun night, and I got to see all of USC multiple times. So much fun!!! (and a great tradition)

Can I just also say, that I took Evan’s cycling class last night, and I have never sweat so much. Also, I loved the music she picked out! touché. Thats’s all for now folks!

Listening to: Silence (for once)

Watching: The Sixth Sense

Reading: hmmm….Perez Hilton

☮♥ =)  arianna

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

This year, I am taking a class called “Ghost Stories.” Yes, there is a class at USC about ghosts. The class fulfills one of my general education requirements (category 5), and is also a lot of fun. My professor is very knowledgeable and the class is very interesting. Because it is Halloween, I feel the need talk a little about what I have learned in class. Thus, I am going to talk a little bit about the history of Halloween.

Halloween takes place on the ancient Celtic New Year, at the end of harvest time. The whole month of November was known as Samhain, thus the last day of October was “Oihe Samhain” or the eve of Samhain. It was thought that during this month, spirits of the dead walked the earth. Ancient burial grounds, like the one in the picture below, opened up (it was thought), and the dead walked the realm of the living. People dressed up and went from house to house, a tradition knowing as mumming, and most likely where we get our current tradition of trick-or-treating from. It was important to leave food out for the hungry spirits. Bonfires were also popular during the traditional Samhain in order to burn the extra “stuff” gathered from harvest and the end of the year.

Stones such as this were known as Megaliths or literally “big stone”. The most famous is probably Stonehenge.

When Pope Gregory took over these ancient peoples, he did not try to rid them of their holidays, but instead he chose to Christianize them. November first was All Saint’s Day, so October 1st was made a holiday as well. The name comes from All Hallows Eve (Hallow means Saint)! The name was subsequently shortened to Halloween. The church looked at the spirit ideas as generally evil, and that is where we get the spooky evil idea of Halloween.

One of the funniest things I learned was the story of the jack-o-lantern, which I had never heard before. Supposedly, a blacksmith named Jack was not allowed into heaven nor was he allowed into hell. He filled a gourd with glowing coals to light his way. Thus, when we carve a face in the pumpkin, it is the face of Jack.

For more info about Samhain, check out: http://www.newgrange.com/samhain.htm

No matter what you do this Halloween, I hope you have fun. I find it interesting to learn about why we do things, such as go trick-or-treating or carve pumpkins. I have never really thought about these things, and this class is not only interesting but also a way for me to get away from all the engineering for a couple of hours a week and learn some things that I would not have had the opportunity to in my engineering classes.

Listening to: Regina Spektor Radio on Pandora

Watching: Even Stevens Halloween Episode

Reading: Rocket Boys

☮♥ =)  arianna

Last night This morning at midnight, I ran in the Nike Human Race. I know Evan S also ran the race {with a bunch of other people from the marathon team =)} . I ran the 10k, and the loop circled around the coliseum, campus, and downtown LA. It was really awesome to be around downtown LA, with the streets closed off at 1 am.

The race is being held all over the country in places such as London, Singapore, and New York. Everyone runs the race on the same day!

The race in LA, benefits A Better LA, a not-for-profit founded by Coach Pete Carroll. The organization supports Los Angeles communities in their goal to reduce gang violence, in part through sports programming. Find more info at www.abetterla.org.

Over 8,000 people ran either the 5k or the 10k. It was a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to going to the Nike tailgate today that they are holding for everyone that ran the race last night! Go USC. Beat the beavers!!!

Listening to: SoCal VoCals, Trojan Men, and Sirens Halloween Concert on Wednesday!!! super excited

Watching: Glee. obsessed.

Reading: Entertainment Weekly (again not sure if magazines count)

☮♥ =)  arianna

My sister arrived on Friday night straight from Chicago. Unlike all of us hard working west coast students, my sister and all of my friends back in the Midwest (and on the east coast) have the magical week off called a fall break. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, fall break is like spring break, only in the fall semester. I think this week off should be implemented at USC. Anyway, I went to pick my sister up at LAX and found her dressed in boots, jeans, a scarf, and a jacket. Needless to say, she was a little overdressed for So Cal weather.

She quickly adjusted to the weather as we found ourselves at the beach the next morning. The weather was beautiful and in the mid-90s. We spent most of the day at the beach, but made if back to my apartment for the the end of the USC Notre Dame game. My brother graduated from Notre Dame last year, and so my mom, dad, and brother were all at the game! It was an exciting game, but I’m glad USC came out on top.

Next, we went to the urth caffe, my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles. We went to the location in West Hollywood. I highly recommend the Mediterranean plate, the tostada, or the quesadillas. They also have great teas and coffees. I highly reccomend urth!

We finished the night at the Griffith Observatory, which is such a cool place, especially for people who like the sky. My favorite movie of all time, Rebel Without a Cause, was filmed at the observatory, and a bust of James Dean can be seen at the observatory. The observatory sits at the top of Griffith Park, and is completely free to get into. The park and the observatory are great places to go during the day for a hike or a look around the museum inside the observatory, but the view of Los Angeles is spectacular at night!

It was a great day, and I think my sister really enjoyed seeing some of the sights in LA. Tomorrow I think we will be going to Melrose, for some vintage shopping. Hopefully, she will get to do a lot this week, and with my parents coming on Thursday, I will have a lot of family time! I’m excited for most of my family to see Los Angeles and USC and I can’t wait for them to all be here!

Listening to: 3 (Britney Spears =)

Watching: ND lose to USC!!!

Reading: My Booky Wook (Russell Brand=funniest man ever!!!)

☮♥ =)  arianna

Growing up, my mom would always read me stories about ‘the monkey lady’ who lived with chimps in Tanzania. I remember watching the television when she came on, and my mom even showing me movies about her. As a child,  I could never understand why someone would want to “live” with chimps her whole life, but my mother instilled in me the admiration I have for Jane Goodall, which is why I was extremely excited to see her speak on Tuesday afternoon.

One of my roommates informed me earlier this semester that Jane Goodall was coming to speak at USC. In fact, she told me that Dr. Jane was actually on staff as a professor with the university. She doesn’t (nor as she ever I don’t think) taught a class hear, but she is on staff here at the University of Southern California. The second I found out she was coming to give a talk, I signed up right away. There was no way I was going to miss one of my child idol’s speak, and USC has some great speakers. (Last year I got to experience a talk from world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking!)

For those of you that don’t know, Jane Goodall is an extremely well-known anthropologist who has studied chimpanzee social and family interactions in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania for nearly fifty years. She also founded the Jane Goodall Institute. It was rare for a girl her age with her education to start in a mostly male dominated field especially in the time in which she grew up. Her story is very inspiring and touching.

Dr. Jane gave a magnificent speech touching on many topics. She even opened with a monkey call and brought a huge “peace dove” (a dove made of 20 feet of white linen) on to the stage later in her speech. Her main message was really about making the world a better place for future generations by not only achieving your own personal goals and dreams  but also by looking out for fellow man and animal alike. For more information about Jane and her foundation check out her website: http://www.janegoodall.org/.

Reading: ehhh not much right now (does Entertainment weekly count?)

Listening to: Pandora (obsessed.)

Watching: Rudy (getting ready for the Notre Dame game =)…don’t hate me for still supporting ND just a little bit)

☮♥ =)  arianna

Today I had my first in-n-out ever!!! Most people are super surprised because I have been in California for a year and never ever had in-in-out ever. I got a “grilled cheese” (because I am a vegetarian) and it was delicious. For those of you that do not know, a hamburger at in-n-out has lettuce, tomato, and “spread” (which is something like thousand island dressing). I also got it with grilled onions. So yummy. We were driving up to my friend’s house in Livermore, CA, about 45 minutes outside of California for the weekender.

To me, the drive was really pretty. Being from Indiana, I have never really been around mountains large hills (as Carolline informed me), and there are lots of windmills right before you get into the San Francisco area. The next person from California that asks me if Indiana is all farmland will definitely get a response from me, seeing as California is ALL farmland. What double standards.

My favortie part of the drive was going through the “grapevine,” a part of the road that twists through the mountains. I thought it was beautiful, but my carmates who had accomplished the drive numerous times in their lives did not agree. Well, the drive was fun and I look to having a great and relaxing time in California away from the craziness of classes, midterms, and papers. Talk to you all soon.

Listening to: San Francisco playlist (aka every song on my ipod for the 5 hour drive)

Reading: Ghosts of Mackinac (partly for my ghost stories class. partly for fun.)

Watching: the view from the passanger’s seat =)

☮♥ =)  arianna

Well it’s been another great but crazy week. I had my first midterm bright and early Thursday morning at 8 a.m. so I had my whole Wednesday open to study…little did i know what would happen. Being the good student that I am, I had of course waited until the day before to begin studying. I had left from 2 on to study the rest of the night! I was going to rock this midterm. Around 3:30 on Wednesday, I got a call from my friend who had been in line since 1:30 (for an 8pm concert!!!) He had an extra FRONT ROW ticket to the Britney Spears concert. Being the huge Britney fan that I am I didn’t want to turn the ticket down, but I also didn’t want to fail my material science midterm. I did what any other indecisive person does. I called my mom. I expected her to scold me and tell me to study study study, but she told me to go to the concert. So I did. It was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. This was actually the second time I saw Britney this year. The seats were amazing and Britney was super close. She is a great singer performer.

Hit me Baby One More Time

Well, the concert was amazing and we went to 7.11 and got slurpies afterwords (= perfection), and then I realized it was time to get down to business…at midnight. Luckily, one of my good friends had two midterms on Thursday, so he hadn’t even begun studying for the material science one. We studied super hard from midnight till about 4 and then I slept napped from about 4 to 6, got up and studied a little more and prepared myself for the exam. By prepared, I mean drank a rockstar and made 4 shots of espresso (never ever drink this much caffeine!!!). How was the midterm you ask? Well, it’s over…and it wasn’t that awful. The concert was definitely worth it, and in 10 years I’ll definitely remember seeing Britney more than taking the exam (well probably more than anything in the class…but…) =). The rest of Thursday was more difficult than the exam. I basically had class from 8 to 6 and ran on caffeine the whole day. Oh the things I do for Britney. I took Friday to recover on sleep, and I am all caught up and ready to do it again this week.

Lesson learned from this experience: “When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.” A.K.A. if you get tickets to go to a concert the night before a midterm…you should probably go. =)

Watching: Da Bears (and the cubs)

Listening to: Battlefield (Jordin Sparks…my roommates and I <3 it haha) Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus)

Reading: my physics book =( [and diff eq...and statics]…oh and ghost stories!

☮♥ =)  arianna

hello everyone!

This morning, my roomate and I cooked with the USC chapter of Food Not Bombs. It was something I had always wanted to do, but never really had the chance to participate in my freshman year. Food Not Bombs is an organization that shares free vegetarian (and as I found out usually vegan) food with hungry people while also protesting war and poverty. According to their website, “the movement has worked to end hunger and has supported actions to stop the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people, end exploitation and the destruction of the earth.” If you want more info, check out their website: http://www.foodnotbombs.net/.

The USC chapter meets at a Co-op house on 28th street. It was a very colorful, cool, and extremely friendly environment. When we arrived, my roomate rachel and I were some of the first people there. I found it interesting that no one is technically in charge of the movement. Everyone that is a volunteer is considered an equal.

Earlier in the week, another volunteer had collected unused food from a farmer’s market, and with the ingriedients, as a group we decide what to make each week. This week all we had to work with was eggplant. We had some rice and bread also, but someone ended up going to the store to buy some potatoes and onion.

We washed and cut the eggplant while some people cooked rice. We ended up making some grilled eggplant and then mixed the rest in with the onions and rice. The potatoes were cooked as a side dish. Rachel and I left to  go for a swim in the pool before the game started, so we didn’t serve today, but hopefully we will next weekend. The group serves the food we cook for lunch at exposition park.

I met a lot of interesting (in a good way) people and had a lot of fun. Can’t wait to go back next week. Looking forward to a busy week?! Midterms starting (ahhh!) Cheers.

Watching: Glee

Listening To: Ursa Major (Third Eye Blind)

Reading: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

☮♥ =)  arianna