Review of the UVM Dance Students Showcase

Before last semester, I didn't really understand all that spiritual crap. I thought that people who “danced through their soul” were just full of it. But then I took Dance 060 with Clare Byrnes (you should all take it if you have any room for a FUN class), and the whole spiritual thing made sense. I mostly took it because I heard it was an easy A, and then I actually started to like it. Clare taught me a lot about dance, and I began to appreciate the art that I thought only girls who don’t shower and hipster kids who cover Bailey Howe with their cigarette smoke as they complain about how hard it is writing their English papers are would like. I really grew to like the class and everyone in it and it was definitely a crazy spiritual experience.

But that’s not what I came here to talk about. I recently saw a showcase put on by UVM students (Clare always makes her students perform for an audience) and I absolutely loved it. One of my good friends Sonia Santvoord is the one who invited me and I’m so glad that I went. I was in a grumpy mood because I’d just got woken up from a nap and I was not tryna get my soul touched. But I did, and I left Southwick Hall with a much better feeling about myself. It was the first time in a long time that I had gone to something extracurricular that I was not getting credit for, and I sat through the entire performance, without having to pretend that I needed a “bathroom break.” The different girls in the class were all so poised, passionate, and talented at dancing and a lot of them were funny and fun to watch! I wish more people went to stuff like this, because I’m sure the students in Clare’s choreography class could have used the extra support, or maybe even the extra pressure. I loveeeedddd watching the various performances and I wish they happened more often. They were really cool to watch and I encourage all my peers to stop by a show some time! They’re usually free and less than an hour long, and they’re just super entertaining. At the end of the night I promise you’ll feel cooler, or if not you’ll at least get a kick out of it because this is not ordinary choreography.. UVM does do everything bigger and better.

10 Reasons Why I Never Want To Leave UVM

10 Reasons Why I Never Want To Leave UVM

1. I will have to look like/act like/be like a real person.

Not looking forward to having to dress up every day, and have my life together (or at least appear to do so). Being in college is great because no one ever judges you for looking like you haven’t showered/slept/eaten a real meal in 2 days.

2. I’m going to have a really boring/embarrassing Facebook page with pictures of my children/pets as my profile picture.

It’s just something all adults are into. When does the transition from funny statuses to complaining about doing our taxes happen? I don’t get it.

3. I will have to work 12 months a year, instead of the measly 8 I work now.

I think school is long enough as it is, I wonder how life is gonna be like once I have to do it all year round..

4. All of my best friends will no longer live 5 minutes away from me.

What keeps me going through the looooong summer breaks is that at the end of the 3 months we will all be reunited with our BFFS!!!!!!!!!!  Except not anymore when all of our friends are spread out across New England.

5. Summers will never mean what they mean now

*insert really corny country song here* 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpFaI0dKAHc

6. I will look forward to the weekends so I can sleep and run errands, not so I can make bad decisions with my friends.

I look forward to Saturdays because that is when I get to lay in bed being a hungover bum all day. I don’t want have to wake up at a decent hour because Saturday is the only day that I have time to do things.

7. I probably will no longer start off St. Patrick’s Day with a couple of beers

The world stops for UVM students on March 17^th.

8. Day drinking will no longer be socially acceptable…………..

Having a couple beers at noon is a little weird when you have to return to work after your lunch break.

9. Buying alcohol is not as fun if you can legally buy it

Having a fake ID is the biggest thrill possible. Even if it is just a poor old senile lady at WalMart that you’ve tricked into believing that you’re 23, not 20, you just walk out with your PBR’s feeling like a badass. Not that I would know or anything but I’m just guessing that’s how it feels

10. I can’t just skip work to go on a hike with my friends

Skipping class to go on a hike or go to North Beach is a given for all UVM students on the first nice day. But you can’t just call out of work every time there’s a nice spring day. 

10 UVM THINGS I have done this semester

(and you should too)

1. Go cliff jumping at Red Rocks - one of the most awesome things I have ever done!

2. Swim in the UVM fountain at midnight

3. Ride the drunk bus

4. Hike up a mountain

5. Take the ferry across Lake Champlain to Port Kent, NY

6. Eat ALL the free samples at Cabot Cheese

7. Jump in a pile of leaves in fall

8. Go to as many hockey games as possible

9. Eat a maple cremee, maple butter, maple candy, maple chocolate...

10. Get kicked out of Rasputin's

11. (extra credit - I have not yet completed this, and am not sure I have the balls to do so) Participate in the naked bike ride

Thanks for an awesome semester everybody!!! I am incredibly sad to be leaving UVM in 2 weeks! :(

Getting out of your comfort zone!

Here is a little nearly-the-end-of-the-year inspiration to get you thinking about getting adventurous (part of my presentation, and my attempt at advertising Australia):

There are so many countries in the world and places to explore and I’ve discovered in my time here that a lot of college students are under the impression that travelling is out of reach for them. And it may be right now.

But the world has never been more at your disposal.

Last night I was texting two of my best girl-friends – one in Australia and one in England, who I met whilst traveling, and we were having a three-way conversation at the same time. Technology is amazing; it has never been easier to experience the world outside your home, and you should take advantage of it.

And whilst travel is expensive, it doesn't mean you can’t have a goal.

I have been fortunate enough to travel to 16 countries in my life across Europe, Asia, America and Australia, and yet I have seen just 10% of the world.

Saint Augustine said “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

The executive vice president for the US Travel Association said the reason people in this country don’t go abroad is because “Americans are comfortable in their own environment.”

So here’s my challenge for you: get out of your environment. Read as much of your world book as you can.

Get out of your comfort zone, try something new, and learn more through experiences than you ever could from school or the internet. Go somewhere you've never been before; even if it’s just a roadtrip to that place you always want to go but never have time.

At the end of your life you'll regret the places you didn't go to. Get out there!

YOLO

I just thought I should put this up here in case any of us are questioning our actions this weekend..

Why YOLO is a Legitimate Motto

How many of us have heard drunk biddies and bros on a Saturday night pulling the YOLO card?

How many of us have been the drunk biddie or bro who’s pulled the YOLO card?

As annoying as it is, YOLO is an essential part of our adolescence. It is necessary and a healthy part of growing up. Assuming everyone in this room is under the age of 25 (besides the man teaching this class) your prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. This is the part of the brain that, after the age of about 25, keeps us from making stupid decisions. It lets us think of the consequences of our actions, and logically weighs the outcomes with how much satisfaction we’ll get out of it.

A huge misconception that people have when they hear someone scream YOLO is that that person is referring to going hard on a school night ~ But YOLO is about doing things you usually wouldn’t do because give me one good reason why you shouldn’t? If your decisions aren’t negatively affecting your life or others then why the hell not? You might regret it a little bit in the morning but that’s fine. That’s how we grow.

How many times have you stayed up all night to finish an assignment you’ve known about since syllabus week? Or how many times have you eaten an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s and regretted it immediately after? Have you ever thought to yourself, hmm, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to text my ex last Friday night… And how many times have you thought with your head in the toilet that okay, well maybe those last four shots were not my best idea.

We are always making bad decisions.

But it’s okay! I’m here to tell you that it’s okay! It’s okay to make mistakes, because that is how we learn and grow.

So what is the line between healthy risk taking and things you do that are life changing you ask? I am not telling you to share needles with strangers, do it without protection, or get extremely intoxicated and drive 90 down the interstate. But small risks here and there really are good for you. They are a healthy part of our maturation.

YOLO for you might mean skydiving, traveling the world, or just pushing your mother to her last nerve, but it could also just be you texting your crush to see what they’re up to this weekend. Or putting down the books to go to McDonald’s at 1 am even though you know you have to wake up for your 8 am class the next day.

Sleep is for the weak, and as youth we should be strong! We need to spend more time doing what we want to do instead of only focusing on what we should do.

FRANKENSTORM.

So it's happening. As Hurricane Sandy tears up the east coast of the US, we're still waiting for some major impact here at UVM. It all seems like a bit of hype right now.
However, the storm has created a huge impact in many places today: I woke up to messages from my friend in Philadelphia saying she was 'terrified to go outside' and subsequent continuing Facebook updates from my friends in New York, Boston and Rhode Island.
Here's some links that may be of interest to you as we wait for the storm, and possibly in the aftermath!

ABC News is reporting live updates about the places affected by the hurricane: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-live-updates/
There have been currently five reported deaths in New York state.

CNN is also covering the Hurricane, with "5 things to know": http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/28/us/sandy-five-things/index.html
1. When's it going to hit?
2. Who's in danger?
3. How should people prepare?
4. What is my state doing?
5. What about transportation?

Weather.com is also doing live coverage, with some videos showing damage in various areas up the east coast, reporting their own "top 5" current storm damage, also stating that Sandy is no longer classified as a hurricane, but is now being named "Superstorm Sandy": http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sandy-top-five-20121028
1. Storm Surge flooding in NYC
2. Winds of 60-80+ mph reported
3. More than 3 million without power
4. Appalachian Blizzard
5. What Next?

Two other interesting sites to check out for more hurricane/superstorm coverage is Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2012/10/29/millions-across-east-coast-brace-for-uperstorm-sandy/
and for some more news focusing on Vermont, NBC News: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49601084/ns/local_news-plattsburgh_ny/#.UI8vuW_BEko

And while we wait in Vermont and hope desperately that classes tomorrow get cancelled --- take a minute to be thankful that a storm that has killed people and done so much horrific damage seems to be dying down.

Be safe people!

We're-over-halfway-there week

So it's week 9 and everyone's feeling it. More students are in the library at night, more people aren't sleeping as much, more people are pulling all-nighters to get work done. We're tired.
At home, we almost always have a mid-semester break after 7 weeks; almost exactly in the middle. So I'm feeling in desperate need of a break right now, and the thought that thanksgiving is still so far away is somewhat depressing.

HOWEVER
There are still lots of things to enjoy about this time of year - and trust me, Americans are so lucky, with so many more holidays to celebrate leading up to Christmas.
Firstly; the word on everyone's lips this week (and perhaps this is not as exciting for you to hear as for me, but I do think this is exciting): Halloween. I've definitely spent more than my fair share of time looking up every possible costume idea!

Secondly; the great Vermont outdoors. I went on my first hike on the weekend and it was ama-aazing. I now completely understand what all the fuss is about. I was feeling very tired and grouchy in the few days before I went on the hike, but coming back completely exhausted on Saturday afternoon, I was also completely refreshed. I can highly recommend it as a stress reliever! Going to get free samples at Cabot Cheese afterwards was a bonus.

Thirdly; on Monday I got a care package from my best friend at home. Filled with delightful Australian goodies like Tim Tams, Cadbury Creations and Vegemite, it made my day!! Never underestimate the power of a gift or a simple gesture. You never know when it will be returned! There's definitely some good karma going her way.

Now, back to my history paper... only three and a half weeks 'til Thanksgiving break!

Procrastination take two: learning how to be more efficient

The Done Manifesto, redesigned as a fun, lighthearted video. Check out The Cult of Done Manifesto

Procrastination (3 blogs to see before you die)

There are a surprising amount of freaking awesome college-related blogs out there! I've linked a couple of my favorite meme/gif blogs previously; this one particularly rings true today (after spending the weekend in Montreal, where the shopping is 100 000 times better than Burlington, but the taxes are cray)

So; after spending a disproportionate amount of time choosing 3 awesome blogs for you guys to read, I settled on the following:

Surviving College Life
http://www.survivingcollegelife.com/
I love this blog! Written by a girl called Jamie, it focuses on things like alternative ideas for spring break, how to manage your finances, splitting things with your roommate, how to find cheap flights and how to become a tourist in your own town over summer break. She writes in an easy-to-read, informative way, and links a number of really useful sites. Great for ideas on how to keep busy and fun things to do!

College Fashion
http://www.collegefashion.net/
An awesome blog for poor clothes-lovers. You can literally spend hours trawling the various clothes, hair and make-up tips, plus advice on how to wear runway looks on a budget and practical clothes for the weather. One post I'm loving right now (leading up to my first ever halloween) is 15 College Halloween Costume Ideas for Girls on a Budget.

Open Culture
http://www.openculture.com/
This is something a little more serious and educational. A super interesting, varied blog on absolutely anything you can think of! This blog includes lots of cool facts and quirky finds that you wouldn't normally know about, and uses a lot of videos in the blogging. This blog also has a bunch of free course guides, movies, language lessons and 'smart' youtube channels. So useful! One post I think is awesome is The Origin of Quantum Mechanics Explained in Four Animated Minutes - mainly because I didn't think anyone could make physics interesting. Super cool stuff.

Lastly, with the weather change we have seen over the last week or two, I'll leave you with an idea for what to do next time it's raining...

Until next time!

Parent's Weekend

Judging from all the trucks dropping off large quantities of beautiful flowers to be quickly planted on campus in the last two days, it must be time for parent's weekend (also known as the biggest economy-boosting weekend of the year for UVM - just take a look at the Christmas presents in the bookstore).

This is a new concept for me, so I've spent time this week asking (and overhearing) what parent's weekend means to YOU.

Three bros: "Dude, mom's bringing me brownies", "My mom's bringing me brownies and a cake", "My mom's bringing me two cakes" ... manly.

"Parent's weekend means I have to hide my girlfriend"
"Parent's weekend means I have to hide my weed"
"Parent's weekend means I have to share my weed"

"My parents aren't coming so they're sending money; score!"

"It's parent's weekend? FUCK."

And for those of us living on campus who's parents are not making the trip up this weekend, one thing is certain: the food at the Grundle is about to improve about 200%. That can only be a good thing.

Kornbread pt. 2

In case you're not really sure who/what I'm talking about...

Kornbread

The law has finally caught up to Kornbread….

UVM Police got a phone call from a student in front of Wills who said he was being harassed by none other than Kevin Martin, a.k.a Kornbread. After interviewing the student, Police Services decided that they should criminally charge Kornbread with disorderly conduct.

About damn time.

Kornbread scares the living crap out of me and I don’t understand how he roams around Burlington acting so recklessly. One of the first years on my floor was literally terrified for his life earlier this year when Kornbread began randomly harassing him. He was standing out behind Mason when he started hollering obscenities at this poor boy. It startled him but he didn’t start worrying until Kornbread started throwing things at his window yelling “I’M COMIN FOR YA!!!!!” Since the first year was clueless (read more here) as to who Kornbread was, he was so confused and thought he did something wrong. He then proceeded to lock his door and hide under his covers for the rest of the night.

Another one of my friends told me about the time they watched him bash in their back shield window because he thought it belonged to someone else. When they corrected him his only reply was “Oh shit my fault” and then he walked away.

The Cynic is the one who reported on this and they interviewed one student who said “Maybe instead of calling campus police in reaction to someone we do not understand, we should just say hello.” Orrrrrrrrrrrrrr we can just not wait to see what he does when he gets angry and call the police. Idk. Your call.

Maybe he is a friendly neighborhood friend, but his track record proves otherwise. Maybe one day I’ll meet him and he’ll change my mind. Maybe one day I’ll meet him and he’ll proceed to shout out vulgar things at me who knows. 

Another Utopia

Grand Technology

Another Utopia

The End of the World: Misdirected

Heroin dealer's plan gets Cracked

THIS JUST IN: UVM is the USA's new drug trafficking hot-spot! I kid you not.

Last week I went down to the Chittenden County District Court to watch some trials on a Tuesday afternoon (I'm cool like that) and there was a guy from New York being tried for two counts of heroin possession and for bringing heroin into the state of Vermont. He was also on trial for cocaine possession, but this was unconfirmed.

The trial was interesting enough and the judge handed out some jail time to this guy, however what really interested me was his testimony about bringing the drugs into Vermont. Firstly, he came on the megabus. And apparently him and his pals do this trip quite often. Then, he hid the heroin UNDER A BUSH on the UVM green for 2 days. And it was still there when he came back for it. And he's done this before. WHAT

Anyway, it seems the guy made a complete hash of this, as the cops soon caught up with him.

So kids, the moral of the story is, if you go rummaging around under bushes around UVM, you're likely to find drugs! No, that's not the moral at all (he got 18 months jail time); I'm not giving you a line to take.

Listen to your Uncle Billy, kids: Don't buy drugs...

Become a pop star and they give them to you for FREE!

...or just dig around the UVM campus. Either one.

BALLIN' at BARS in Burly

I'm going to start by saying: if you're under 21, you're not going to like my post. Freshman, return to your secret stashes of alcohol; this is a post about bars. Sorry.

I have to say, there's one blog at the moment I'm loving - and my teacher's not making me say that. Broke and Ballin' in Burly is a blog written by some classmates of mine for students at UVM about things to do that don't cost a dollar! (or cost less dollars than what you were going to spend)
Not only is it good for finding cheap eats and drinks, I'm actually finding some good recommendations on places to go and things to do in Burlington, something that could be helpful to all UVM students - get out of your dorms and do something fun! (Yes, I'm talking to you, lonely kids in my building who think you have waaaaay too much work. You don't.)

All the posts on this blog are awesome but a big congrats to Amory Yossarian - your posts are awesome and 'Drink your way out of the Mondays' was the perfect post for me yesterday. This post talks about drink specials in downtown Burlington on a Monday night (hello, $2 Switchbacks) at Drink. What a great way to ruin my usual sentiments about this day of the week! I'm trying not to sound too much like an alcoholic right now (but let's face it, it's college); but whoever decided that Monday should be the day to stay in was horribly mistaken. If there's any day most people need a pick-me-up, it's Monday. My history professor yesterday told us it was "only 4 days 'til the weekend!" so I know I'm not alone on this one.

So, continuing on from this, the next furthest day from the weekend is Tuesday. I'm going to add a little recommendation here: $1 pints at Manhattans on Tuesday nights. In Australia the least you pay for a pint of beer would have to be $4 (okay, it's Australia) so $1 is almost inconceivable! I was going to go tonight but due to the weather I'm forced to stay indoors and (gasp!) do some work. Either way, props to the guys writing Broke and Ballin' - I'm loving your stuff! And I promise I'm not an alcoholic, although with hopes of being a lawyer one day, I'm probably not far off. Lucky I've started researching daily drink specials now ~

Lions & Tigers & Bears Oh My!

“At approximately 1:30am on Wednesday morning 9/12/12 a student walking in the area of Davis Road on the south end of Coolidge Hall observed a bear near the dumpster in that area.  The bear was seen headed south toward the soccer fields. UVM Police Responded to the area but were unable to locate.”

A bear. A fucking bear was on campus, giving no shits that he wasn’t supposed to be there. To some people having a bear in your back yard is normal, but to others this is big news.  I don’t understand why this is such a casual thing to the officials of UVM. Small fire in cook results in emails, phone calls, voicemails and text messages saying FIRE FIRE FIRE IN COOK EVERYONE THERE IS A FUCKING FIRE IN COOK. IT IS UNDER CONTROL, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY, YOU KNOW, IN CASE THE FIRE TRUCKS AND PANICKED PEOPLE DON’T ALARM YOU. And then there is a bear, chillin on campus, and we get a casual email about it. Man eating creature literally outside the window, and people are emailed a list of do’s and don’ts.

Please do not charge the bear.

Please do not play with the bear’s baby.

Please do not make fun of the bear.

Thanks for the advice I guess? Anyway, I hope everyone’s weekend is going well. And if you’re going out tonight beware of muggers by the Catholic Center and bears hangin outside by Sputies. #BurlingtonProblems

It's week 3 and I'm coming down with something...

I think they call it 'realization'; and mine's about school work.

As my professors keep reminding me, it's week 3, and that means shits gettin' real. I've already had two pop quizzes and two reports due, and I'm having my first exam next week. I'm starting to feel a whole lot like this (behind after two weeks of school). I'm wondering where last weekend went... I think it's stuck somewhere between  8-9 September, which doesn't help.

Another problem is that, being an exchange student, I have until this point treated this opportunity as a bit of a vacation (AND cultural education), hoping that somehow the university gods would look down on me favorably and let me pass all my subjects with minimal work and mediocre attendance. I think reality has sunk in now...

As you can see, the unavoidable reality of having to do work coupled with my current lack of motivation has led me to coping by looking up amazing blogs (I highly recommend you check out both the ones I linked above, they are absolutely hilarious); and planning various trips around the US and Canada (and trying to work out some convoluted way to get there and back and still have enough time to enjoy myself, whilst not missing any of my classes Monday - Friday. I could write you a report on the impossibilities).

One thing that is different about UVM to my uni at home is the amount of homework (if you ever want to have almost no work for a semester and not have to attend classes, go to Australia). I think however the one thing making me grateful for being in week 3 of classes is that at least I'm not back home, and in week 9 of classes. We still have a month until mid-terms, so... I think I'll go check out Boston! If you're feeling a little ill at the thought of getting into work, watch this video. Guaranteed to make you laugh.

Thursday Night Live @ UVM

What a great night to be at UVM - comedian Seth Meyers, host of Saturday Night Live, paid a visit to the Patrick Gymnasium (and entertained UVM students and Burlington locals while he was at it).

During his segment he covered a wide range of topics, clearly catering for college students: everything from college life and his not-so-fond memories of making out on futon couches; to sex, living abroad, Vegas and of course, the upcoming elections. Some of his most favored jokes involved the candidates in the past year (I'll admit I didn't get most of these, not being American and subjected to constant election excitement for two years); especially jokes at Mitt Romney (which I did get), and talked about his own embarrassing encounters with President Obama.

He also made fun of Vermont's hippy culture, asking 'Do we have any couples in the crowd?'
As most people didn't hear him, everyone was silent, leading Meyers to exclaim, 'What? Are you all too hippy-ish to be in a relationship? Like, we don't believe in one-on-one possession man; everyone's in a communal relationship with each other', which got a lot of laughs from the crowd; although the girl in front of me didn't look too impressed when her boyfriend cheered.

Meyers kept the crowd thoroughly entertained and rarely stepped over the funny/too-far line; excepting one joke about a man having make-up sex with his dog... (which was still funny in a so-not-really funny way).
It was very hot inside Patrick Gym and he referred to this, thanking the crowd for being so great despite the heat. It was hot but I don't think people cared too much; we got our tickets for an awesomely cheap $10 and got to laugh for an hour and watch a great comedian, something which never goes astray in the second week back at school. If you missed out - catch Meyers on SNL - you won't be disappointed.

Meyers gets 10 futons out of 10 for a great night on campus.

FRESH MEAT

Late Friday night downtown I got asked by a stranger if I could point him in the direction of Williston Road. “Are you sure that’s where the party you’re looking for is?” I ask, trying to be helpful to this poor, delusional boy. “Um yeah, I think I can read. It’s down this way bro” he replies, as he continues walking towards Church Street.

Here at UVM, there is only one thing that everyone can agree on. No matter where you’re from, who your favorite band is, or what kind of drugs you’re doing (or not doing) on your Tuesday night, we can all agree that there is nothing more painful than watching UVM first years make their way around what the rest of us know as home. They all awkwardly walk around campus/Burlington/our Res halls not having any sort of idea where they’re going. They all think that they’re fitting in well, but that’s definitely not the case. Not at all. They stick out like sore thumbs and instead of being the responsible, kind upperclassmen we should be, we laugh instead. Because it’s friggin’ funny.

The first day of classes it’s kind of annoying because they’re just in my way but the first weekend here is my faaaaaavorite. They run around like chickens with their heads cut off, traveling in packs, almost always going to hockey house or rugby house, with all 80 of their new best friends. Stopping and asking strangers to directions to streets they’re already standing on and lots of naked sloppy girls grouped up with boys who are hoping to get some by the end of the night. Anyone who was downtown this weekend can attest to this. Now we can only pray that they rid of their ways and adapt to the super chill environment us upperclassmen have established here at UVM ~

We're the Greenest!

Green is my favorite color, something which is especially awesome if you live in Vermont. In case you're living under a rock (which WOULD be very environmentally friendly); you'll know that UVM is BIG on GREEN. Everything on this campus is compostable, recyclable and bio-degradable, even the straws. UVM is forward-thinking, future oriented, and out to save the planet. And that's not all that's green around here!

Vermont has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, the 'Green Mountain State' offering postcard worthy views and deliciously vibrant colors. From the trees to the grass to the trimming on the New England houses; Vermont is the greenest.

But I think the most popular green activity at UVM is the leafy plant which grows in the ground, and everyone's smoking it. My history professor told me that UVM is ranked 23rd on the weed-smoking list of universities in the US, but they used to be 3rd, so there's an improvement. All I can say is (coming from a university in Australia) I've never seen so many people smoking up in my life. Like I said, Vermont is green.

I was walking back to campus from downtown earlier eating chips and a girl leaned out of her car yelling at me something along the lines of... "Don't eat from a packet use the energy from the sun to power you!"

...Now that's all well and good and sure it's environmentally friendly but I don't think I'm a plant, so I'm going to need some real food. Perhaps the longer you stay at UVM the more plant-like you become? Or perhaps she's been smoking too much green stuff. Either way, I'm going to eat my environmentally friendly chips and put the bio-degradable packaging in the recycling, and then go outside and enjoy this wonderful green state.

It's fresher week and we just lost our blog virginity..

Just want to say hey from Andy and Janis!