Haircut at The Paul Mitchell School

So today I got a haircut! This is a big thing for me, because I haven't gotten my hair cut for at least a year and a half; usually I'm not too concerned with my hair, which is why it has been such a long time.

Today I got my hair cut because my long-time friend, Sam Bate, is attending The Paul Mitchell School - Danbury. Sam is in a year-long program from which, when she is done, she will graduate as a certified hair dresser, which is pretty cool! I make the hour-long trek to Sam's chair because Sam and I met back in 6th grade, and have been pretty good friends ever since! It's nice to have an excuse to go visit with her and catch up with all the going-on's in our lives. 

Another cool perk of having Sam cut my hair is that it is super cheap. For a hair cut and blow out today, I paid only $12! The reason the cuts are so cheap is because you are getting your hair cut by a student... so you have to take this into consideration. I wasn't too worried because a) I trust Sam and know she's fairly decent at doing hair (she's been doing my hair for dances since 6th grade!), and b) if there was ever a point where she wasn't sure, there was a teacher available able to either walk her through the steps, or do the cut themselves. For example: I wanted side bangs, which is something Sam wasn't comfortable doing just yet, so her teacher (a Paul Mitchell certified professional) came over and did them for me!

It was a really great experience and I will definitely be going back next time I need a trim. I know that Danbury is too far for most people in the New Haven area, but there is a Paul Mitchell School in North Haven, so if you're interested in getting your hair done for cheap, while helping a student practice... feel free to check out their website and schedule an appointment! If you're willing to make the journey all the way up to Danbury, I would definitely suggest booking an appointment with Sam - she's awesome!

Nemo Clean Up

Though it has been a week since Nemo struck, New Haven is still coping with the aftermath. There is so much snow that there is really nowhere to put it! Even when the city plowed the streets, the snow from the streets got pushed to the sidewalk, which in a city is just not acceptable. Main streets are completely clogged up, for example: one main road near Albertus, Dixwell Ave, is completely overloaded with traffic because the normally two-lane road has been reduced to one lane. This is super inconvenient and I wasn't really sure what the city was going to do about it.

I wasn't sure... up until tonight! Tonight when I was doing my homework I heard a ruckus outside, so my boyfriend and I went to the porch to see what it was. Turns out, the city has some SERIOUS snow plows that have been working overtime to clear the roads and collect all the snow to dump in areas that wont be effected, like empty fields.

It was so cool to see the snow plow because it was literally the largest vehicle I have ever seen. In the picture it is hard to grasp the size, partly because I am standing on a porch that is elevated, but as you can see, it is about half the size of the 3-story house behind it!

The plow was accompanied by cops who blocked off our roadway so that the big plow could work fast and efficiently without having to worry about hitting cars. We had to park our cars in our neighbor's driveway so that the plow would be able to get the snow that was around our cars.

Now our road is very clean and we can go back to parking on the side of the street without having to worry about getting stuck in the snow. All is good on Spring Street!

Aftermath of Nemo

I spy with my little eye... two cars!

So as you should know by now if you live in New England or have been paying attention to the news, we just weathered a huge blizzard, Nemo.

Nemo was a beast! My boyfriend, dog, and I were snowed in from Friday the 8th until today, so we're definitely ready to get out of the house! It was quite an experience, and honestly it was really good for me. Nemo put my life on pause for a good 5 days, which enabled me to catch up on my assignments and just take a much-needed breath. Albertus just opened up today for faculty and staff on an abbreviated schedule - classes are STILL canceled, which means in total so far, Nemo has canceled 4 days of classes.

My boyfriend working on digging out the cars

As you can tell from the pictures, we really got slammed. The snow covered our cars and after the plows passed, the snow piled up on our cars even more to create what seemed like a 10 ft mountain of snow! Digging out our cars was quite an ordeal that took a good 5 hours, with the help of our neighbors. 

Happy Birthday, Zairis!

Though history will recognize tonight as the night Nemo the Blizzard pummeled New England, it's also the night my boyfriend turns 24!

We had originally planned to go out for a nice dinner for his birthday, but with Nemo hitting tonight, and already logging some serious inches of snow, we decided it was best to stay in. I'm sure he was a little bummed that he had to be in the house for his birthday, but I did my best to try to make it as special as possible.

I made him his favorite dinner (lasagna) and we watched a bunch of movies we have been meaning to see online. I also got him a yummy cake from Stop & Shop and some birthday presents.

All in all, it was probably not the birthday he was hoping for, but we made the best of it :)

That's how I spent the night when Nemo came to town, what were you doing?!

Blizzard on the Horizon!

So as you probably know, we are expecting a blizzard here in the Northeast! I am really nervous... but also sort of excited!

Because there has been so much buzz about this storm, I have really taken a lot of thought of how I'm going to prepare for it. So far, I've filled up my gas tank (in case the gas stations lose power like they did during the last major snow storm), made sure all of our flashlights have batteries, picked up a few bottles of wine, and grabbed some snacks so that we wont go hungry! My boyfriend also purchased some tarps so that he could cover up our cars (I have a hole in the roof of my convertible... so the last thing I need is a few feet of snow resting on top of it!). So far, everything seems to be smooth sailing, all that we have left to do is some batch cooking (because you know how much I love to do that! If you don't already know, you should learn by reading what I batch cooked before Hurricane Sandy!), and wait for the storm to hit!

Email Alert from Albertus Emergency Alert System

I am really glad that Albertus has already announced that they will be closing for the storm. Earlier today, Albertus' Emergency Alert System sent out a message saying that the school would be closed tomorrow (Friday) and the next day (Saturday). Because I work at the school, this means I not only get the day off from classes.. but also from one of my jobs! Albertus is really good about letting students and faculty know when there is a cancellation. When you register for the alert system you can get a text message, phone call AND an email! In addition, when you log onto your online portal (called "myAlbertus") it announces in big red letters across the top of the screen; if you're paying any attention at all, you will always know if the school is closed!

I am really nervous for the actual storm, but I'm even more relieved for the opportunity to catch up on my life! I have got a ton of homework that I need to do, I need to apply for jobs for after I graduate, and my house needs some serious cleaning! I will definitely be taking this opportunity to catch up on my work... and maybe even jump ahead in a few classes! 

Are you going to be around for the blizzard? If so, what will you be doing with your long weekend? Are you excited to be snowed in, or would you rather be going to school or work? What do you usually do to prepare for huge storms like this one?

Stay Confident

Thinking about the future and making the next step, whether its graduating from college and entering the "real world" or graduating high school and deciding what your next step will be,  can definitely cause a whole melting pot of emotions; one minute I am so excited I wish May would hurry and get here, and the next I'm so nervous and full of anxiety that I want to curl up in bed and hope that May never comes!

I think (and hope!) that this is a normal mixture of emotions. This weekend, what with visiting my sisters in Washington, DC and seeing yet another path I could take after graduation, I have been feeling a new emotion: self-doubt. Being surrounded by such a supportive community at Albertus has really boosted my confidence and made me feel somewhat like a big fish in a little pond; so to come to the nation's capitol, which is where the best of the best come to start their careers... it's definitely easy to start feeling like you're inadequate and may not have the right kind of stuff in order to make it in such a happening place.

So, instead of getting down on myself, I have decided I am going to surround myself with positive things, improve my life as best as I can, and start trying to truly believe that I've got what it takes to be whatever the heck I want to be! I started with changing the background of my laptop from the generic blank screen to a collage of motivational pictures. It's not only already making me feel better, but every time I open my computer it reminds me that I am going places and to stay focused on that goal (so I don't go on Facebook instead of writing my homework posts on eLearning!). Here are the pictures I selected for my collage:

So if you're looking for colleges or starting to apply for jobs and are beginning to doubt your ability, I suggest starting with a small step like this! I found these pictures simply by Google-ing "motivational picture quotes", there are hundreds so I just picked the ones that best applied to my life. One thing to remember is that when you surround yourself with positivity, you are bound to be more confident... and nothing is more appealing then confidence!

What about you, do you have any tips on staying confident and positive? What types of motivational and/or uplifting tools do you use?

Study Tip: Get a Partner!

Going into the 3rd week of the semester, I already have a good sense about which classes I will do very well in and which classes I may struggle with. This last semester of my undergraduate degree is looking to be smooth sailing - except for one of my classes: Money & Banking. This is an online course that is taught through Aplia and it is perhaps one of the hardest courses I have taken throughout my college career. 

Usually I love online courses; however when the material is hard, I find that the class being online makes it that much more difficult because the teacher is not readily there to answer your questions. Of course, the teacher is available to help during their office hours, but with my busy schedule I am not always available during their office hours.

Two heads are better than one!

So here's my tip: find someone else in your class that is also a motivated student and have regular study sessions were you complete the homework and help each other learn the material. We've all heard the old saying "two heads are better than one" and sometimes (even if you're both clueless about the material) it can just be beneficial to have someone there to bounce ideas off of, and because you both have a vested interest in doing well, it should motivate you to stay on time with the assignments and focused on doing well in the class, instead of giving up when it get's too hard (which is what I tend to do!).

So, for Money & Banking, I have teamed up with Gina! She is one of my friends from campus and is actually another Student Blogger, you can check her blog out here.

How do you get through the more challenging classes? Do you have a study partner or do you go it alone? Do you have any tips for me?