Coffee, Converse, and Life After College
Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog, enjoy!
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Showing posts tagged SMC
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Hello from a Saint Mary’s College of California Alumna!
St. Mary’s Class of 2012 has graduated!
Also? My blog has been renamed! (same url)
Welcome to Coffee, Converse, and Life After College!
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DONEDONEDONEDONEDONE
DOOOOOOOOOOOOONE.
DONEDONEDONEDONEDONE.
I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH ALL OF MY UNDERGRADUATE ACADEMIC WORK!
Okay, I’ll stop yelling now.
Tomorrow I will…
-turn in my take home final
-return all rented textbooks
-turn in my forward-mail form and return my PO Box key
-pick up my Honors Program stole
-buy myself a celebratory whatever-the-heck-I-feel-like-calories-do-not-exist-beverage at Starbucks
-clean my tornado-went-through-while-I-was-studying room
-have dinner with my wonderful friend Kristine (spaghetti squash. it’s a tradition. and we’re both in love with it)
-do nothing and hang out (not really, I’ll actually be packing because I’m moving out on Friday)
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I love my major.
This evening I was given a lovely chance to talk to those at SMC who are also Environmental Studies or Science majors, about what we’re doing, where we’re going, and how we’re going to change the world. Environmental majors are a fun group of people. There are eight of us graduating (4 science and 4 studies), and we’re all doing quite varied things after graduation. Some are going to law school, some are taking a year off and doing odd jobs, some are working for environmental companies, but really we’re all figuring things out, one step at a time.
Going to dinner tonight was a chance to reflect on our four years; the good teachers, the bad teachers, the hard classes, and the classes that have changed our lives. It was a chance to reflect on our loss as a department; Sophomore year we lost our biology, marine science, and symbiotic universe professor. Earlier this year we lost our geology, watershed, and geographic mapping systems professor as well. Talking to the others it was so apparent that, to us, they had been so much more than professors. They were people that supported us, taught us, joked with us, and united us. I know that I owe Professor Capriulo everything for seeing potential in me and realizing where my interests might be able to lead me. It’s thanks to him that I’m even majoring in Environmental and for that I am immensely grateful. I have NEVER regretted my major and if I went back and did it all again, I would choose EES because, regardless of uncertainty about future jobs, schooling, etc, I am 110% positive that I am passionate about and will forever care about our Environment and utilize what I have spent the past four years studying. Talking with the other seniors tonight made me so ridiculously happy. It reminded me of the moment I realized what a blessing my time with School for Fields was, because how often do you get to be surrounded by people who all studied and are all passionate about the same things you are. We are excited by certain plants, ocean waves, and recycled paper. We chose a gift for the head of our department (Carla) and it was a native plant, and a card on fully recycled unbleached paper that featured a photo of flowers we had identified in a previous course with her. We had discussions about swamps, clay, spiders, and sustainability. We talked about how we are going to change the world. That is what I want to do “when I grow up”. And that is what I will do. And I have faith in those I studied with, and ate with this evening. They too are capable of great things and I have no doubt they will also change the world. After all, we’re gonna need a lot of help.
So here’s to incredible majors, good food, friends, and a uniting passion. I hope it guides us for years to come.
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GAELS ARE WCC Regular Season Title Winners aka CHAMPIONS!
GOTTA LOVE MY SMC MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM, SO PROUD <3
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My college basketball teams had an amazing night!
Duke [vs. St John], University of Memphis [vs. Marshall], and St. Mary’s [vs. BYU] all WON!
I had the pleasure of attending the University of Memphis game at the FedEx Forum tonight and can I just say, the stadium and game absolutely blew me away! It was like attending the Southern Regionals all over again. The huge crowd, the intense cheers, the fun music courtesy of the sports band, the good pom-pom/cheerleader people, etc. It was AMAZING! I didn’t bring my big camera (because I’ve heard security there is strict on that) but I did bring my Canon point-and-shoot, and my iPhone, so between the two of them I have some decent shots and videos of what turned out to be a very suspenseful and engaging game! It was so much fun to see another team’s strategy and style of playing and compare that to Saint Mary’s (or CBU, a division II school, for that matter) and I enjoyed cheering them on!
They narrowly beat Marshall (GO TIGERS!) while I also “watched” SMC beat BYU (a bit suspenseful toward the end with all the fouls, and debris being thrown on the court…) via Twitter (thank goodness for twitter).
All in all, it was a fabulous night for my college basketball teams!
[I also went to dinner before hand with Stokes, Mary Kate, and their two friends, at this amazing Italian restaurant downtown and it was sooooo delish! Seriously amazing food and drink!]
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DO YOU HAVE ESPN2 ON????
SMC Gaels vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs @SMC (McKeon Pavillion)
We NEED TO WIN (and most of the time the commentators need to shut the heck up).
Best competition on the West Coast. Both teams are undefeated in conference games this season. SMC is super awesome and way cooler than Gonzaga.
Let live blogging start:
BYU needs to go home and commentators need to shut up about it.
My ESPN2 feed is 30 seconds ahead of Dorothy’s (and other people on SMC’s campus).
We have beautiful australian boys and I love them very much.
Omar is visiting for the game! The Beast!
I’m sorry Gonzaga dude, do you always fall over like that, cause that sucks for you.
Gonzaga shooting 3s makes me so mad. Sacre annoys me.
We just missed a shot we should have made. Gaels you can NOT afford to be sloppy!
Ugh. Way to miss that Rob, you’ve been playing well, don’t let me down!
Oh Dellavedova, you make me so happy.
You can bet I’m rocking out to “Gael’s Gone Wild” during commercial breaks.
WHAT KIND OF CALL WAS THAT REF?!?!?! THERE WAS NO CONTACT! NONE! UGHHHH.
Halftime Report - SMC is up by 8! :)
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Recap of yesterday. This post is really just because. It’s boring.
Went to…
-Starbucks
yummmmm. I’m in love with Starbucks, forever and always. I’ve been to Starbucks in 5 different countries, and I never order a drink over 170 Calories. I also rarely (I think once in the last four years) order something with sugar-free/Calorie-free syrup. I still get the best drinks possible and enjoy the heck out of them.
-SMC
Saw a bunch of good friends for really short amounts of time. Saw my friend Lauren (haven’t seen her in ages) and am excited that her little sister is coming to SMC in the fall! Visited a lot of awesome professors/advisors and am looking forward to some new projects this coming semester (building another water weir?)…
-Dinner with Becca
My wifey took me to a lovely dinner at Original Joe’s in San Jose. Food was delish and I ended up shooting a bunch of photos for them because some magazine had asked them for photos and I happened to have brought my DSLR and two lenses with me lol.
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Battle for NCAA Tournament bid.
Your TV better be on at 9pm EST and tuned into ESPN. I’m in the Caribbean on a remote island with only rainwater as our fresh water and I’ll be watching.
2011 West Coast Conference Championship game between the St. Mary’s Gaels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE G.
The top two seeds in the WCC tournament split their season series with a pair of tightly contested games that were not decided until the closing moments of each game. Tonight’s rubber match has Gonzaga as a slight 1 1/2 point favorite, which is a spread befitting a game that should be filled with high drama.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels are led by WCC Player of the Year Mickey McConnell and his 16.5 points and 6.1 assists per game. However, on any given night they have several players that can step up and lead the team. Rob Jones and Matthew Dellavedova are averaging 13.6 and 13.2 points per game, while Mitchell Young is dropping in 10.4. Jones is the Gaels primary inside man as he averages 7.5 rebounds per game, while Young brings down 5.1 board per game.
For more on tonight’s game, click HERE.
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HEY
DONT YOU JUST HATE THOSE MOMENTS WHERE YOU THINK YOUR TEAM IS GONNA WIN AT THE LAST SECONDS OF THE GAME AND THEN THEY DONT BUT THEY GO INTO OVERTIME AND THEN THEY LOSE
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Gaels better go wild next week. end of story.
- Amanda: it's a christmas miracle. go USD!!!
- Me: "USD pulls a stunning upset over Saint Mary’s. San Diego entered last night’s game against the Gaels with all of five wins on the season. The Toreros cashed in on eight of their twelve attempted three pointers to take down SMC by a score of 74-66. Gonzaga now controls their own destiny in terms of a regular season title. Win their next four, and they at least earn a oo-WCC title. ~Slipper Still Fits [a Gonzaga site]" SOOOOOO SAD :(
- Andrew: SO SAD??? SO SAD?? Billy Grier did a solid for his boys in Spokane, as did Mat Dorr. SO SAD?? USD just won! St Mary's winning the conference is a much worse thing than Gonzaga keeping up the status quo!
- Andrew: Oops, just discovered you were from St Mary's. I guess it is a little bit sad... :-)
- Me: haha thanks. Saint Mary's winning the conference would be a much BETTER thing than Gonzaga keeping the status quo...yea it is a little bit sad but you know what, it's ok, we can bounce back from one game, all good.
- Andrew: Well here is to a hell of a showdown in Moraga next week. Roll Zags roll. I'm ready for a fight.
- Me: :)
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THIS SUCKS. majorly. how depressing.
USD pulls a stunning upset over Saint Mary’s
San Diego entered last night’s game against the Gaels with all of five wins on the season. The Toreros cashed in on eight of their twelve attempted three pointers to take down SMC by a score of 74-66. Gonzaga now controls their own destiny in terms of a regular season title. Win their next four, and they at least earn a oo-WCC title. ~Slipper Still Fits [a Gonzaga site]Dear SMC Gaels,
I am on a tiny island with 2 people from San Diego and 2 from Gonzaga. I would like to wear my SMC apparel soon. I still love you, just step it up. Because games like last night are just not cool.
Sincerely,
LM
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Misc. blogging…
Feb 4th - First rash. Cause? Probably fire sponge, fire coral or those small jellies (thimble jellies?)…I’m not alone, almost everyone here has a small rash or two. Thankfully nothing bad and nothing that needs monitoring, I just slathered some Benadryl gel on it and went on my way…
Feb 5th - I just saved a hermit crab. They need to learn to be more careful, that’s the third one I’ve almost stepped on. Speaking of animals and almost stepping on them, I almost stepped on a crab when I was snorkeling yesterday. After I got over that, I have to admit, it did look pretty cool…Now I’m just chilling in my room trying to upload photos so that when I get wifi next week I don’t have to sort through my photos, I can just start uploading them…Went out to the “hang out places” tonight with the group, to celebrate our one night of late curfew and Brady and Dani’s 21st birthdays, there are like two “bars” (not really) and a “club” (not really) and that’s about it for weekend entertainment. Ended up being really fun because I got to meet some more locals and talk to the lady who did my hair. Her adorable 1 yr old daughter Angelelli (spelling?) was there and I played peek-a-boo with her for a while…also tried my hand at dominos, the national game here…fun times!
Feb 6th - I am so tired. Today is Sunday, my one day off and one day I can sleep in past 6:50am and I woke up at 8am anyway. Laid in bed for a while just relaxing and finally got up in time for brunch. Our cooks have Sunday off , so every week a different group of students cook brunch and dinner. This first group was amazing and we had a great brunch that included (all homemade and fresh) Pumpkin Muffins, Quiche/Frittatas, bagels, hummus and pita. There were also blueberry smoothies and a lovely selection of fresh fruit. All in all, a delish brunch for sure! Today is an UBER warm day. More than anything, it’s uber humid. When I woke up this morning I went outside because it was sprinkling and I wanted to get some fresh water on my hair. Unfortunately it wasn’t more than a 2 minute sprinkle but definitely enough to guarantee that even if it doesn’t rain again today, the humidity will be off the charts. My plan is to stay in my room or the computer room all day and work on homework, since I got too much sun yesterday. There will, however, be an exception made for the Super Bowl, where most of us will be bussed over to the hotel on the island (it’s apparently tiny and I think the only one open on this island…who uses it? I have no idea because there’s still not tourism on South Caicos) to watch the Steelers vs. Green Bay (GO STEELERS)… oh and the Black Eyed Peas at half-time. We’re even having dinner at 5pm instead of 6:30pm today to allow us time to get there and watch the game J…Ok so looks like Packers won, 31 vs 25 (Steelers)…sad times…Oh well, all in all an ok day, now to finish some homework and go to bed…
Also, my mosquito net fell down again :( but Mike, the fix-it guy here, is going to drill some holes and hooks into my wall tomorrow so I can finally put it up and have it stay up…
ooh and in other OH-SO-IMPORTANT news, SMC GAELS beat Pepperdine and LMU, next stop? Santa Clara…You can do this guys, beat Santa Clara!
