Stevens Admissions: Abby's Blog

Celebrating Easter with Rock & Roll!!

This weekend I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar, the rock opera  at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. By car (from Stevens campus) the ride was only about 20 minutes and literally one straight road -- no room for getting lost. My generous boyfriend got us tickets online at a reasonable price (~$70), which unfortunately did not include parking ($12). Later I looked online and there is actually a cheaper way to get there by public transportation, and you can leave from the Hoboken Path Station! Also, there is a HUUUUGGGEE student discount option that we happened to overlook -- It is called the Student Rush Program and all you have to do is fax a copy of your Stevens ID, and you can get seats for $13!! Seriously, you can't beat that..
Well this was my first time at NJPAC, and I was really impressed by the area, and the nearby buildings.

When I finally got inside -- I knew they wouldn't dissapoint with the design of the theater!

For any of you who have seen the hit movie from many many moons ago (1973), you should know that Ted Neeley was amazing as Jesus Christ in the movie.

 He was in his late 30s I believe when he did the movie, and actually came back to star in this production at NJPAC, at 65 years old! I must admit, I was worried...could he rock it out like he did so many years ago? Of course! He had such a stage presence, and he really made the show a memorable one for me. I may have been annoying my neighbors as I sang along to every.single.song.  : )

I won't give away the highlights of the show, incase you plan on watching the movie, but they actually ended the show with Jesus rising to heaven after his crucifixion.....and I swear, there was no harness in sight...Greaattt job!!!

This show put me a good Easter spirit!

The only problem is.... I'm having trouble accepting that Ted Neeley actually isn't really Jesus. :)

We are pleased to inform you......JUST KIDDING!!

Now I am not usually the one to criticize, but seriously......The prestigious UC San Diego gets my award for "Most Negligent University Staff". NBC posted an interesting news article today reporting a hugggeee oops! by UCSD staff.

"On Tuesday, the school's communications office said an e-mail was sent Monday afternoon to all 46,377 students who applied for admission -- including the 29,000 rejects -- welcoming them to the campus. A half-hour later, school officials said, they realized their mistake. Almost two hours after the first note went out, a second e-mail was sent, apologizing to 28,889 freshmen applicants for the mistake."

Okay, first thing -- since when do colleges send acceptance emails. Haha. That is how you know the economy is realllly bad. They can't even send you a letter to reject you!

And honestly, if I got a rejection email, I would totally reply "Why not?" to whoever sent it to me! Did they think of that? LOL

But the worst thing about this article is how NBC commented on the "emotional roller coaster" this major error may have caused.

People! this is your chance! Sue UCSD for that emotional distress.!!! I'm kidding! But seriously, somebody needs to be fired in the next hour or so -- and NBC should write another article about this! Don't worry, I'll update you if they do. : )

Thank you Stevens for showing your love to the accepted and the rejected with paper letters. : )

BSU presents: Express Yourself!

The Black Student Union (BSU) hosted one of my favorite events, ***Express Yourself***, last week. It reminded me of one of those old jazzy cafe's where everybody ::::snaps:::: instead of clapping after each poet concludes their performance. I was really hoping for some coffee, some scat singing, and some underground jazz musician from new york city to be there. BSU gave us snaps after each performance to give the "cafe" feel....and so much more -- delicious chicken wings, dim lights, and wannabe rap stars!

Jacobus was a great location to host this event on campus -- and many different talented poets/singers came out to perform for us.

Performers are a dime a dozen here at Stevens -- so :::snaps::: to all the superstars who were not afraid to share some of their most private poems/songs with the audience!

My favorite of the night was Peter Aquino -- I did not get a picture of him, the camera died before I could -- but here is the only picture I could find of him with his mouth closed haha

The undiscovered superstar, Pete, has agreed to allow me to post an excerpt from his inspirational poem -- you won't get the same effect since you didn't hear him read it, and you weren't in Jacobus with mood lighting lol, but still! It's a very vivid expression of feelings.

I have yet to see a poet refer to a woman as the haiku itself --- they usually write beautiful haiku's about the girl of their dreams --but here, peter makes the haiku, the most beautiful thing in the world, an adjective to describe his perfect girl.

"your amazing eyes an alliteration of epic poetry.
your body a beautifully balanced ballad beating perfectly.
your chest a caesura, your hair a haiku
God,if only you knew.

your fine fingers form a flawless epithelium
your face an elegant, endless, eternal sea of chrysanthemums
your mouth a metaphor, your arms an impromptu.
God,if only you knew.

your flowing features a faultless free verse in meter and prose
your proportions a personification, your smile a sweet simile composed
your neck a narrative, your lips sweet as honey dew.
God, if only you knew.

your smooth style, a sweet stanza of a poet.
your legs a luscious lay, your scent a hypnotizing shakespearean sonnet
your skin a sondee, if only you knew.
that God was rhyming when He was making you.

if only you knew."

-Peter Aquino

Wow! I tear up each time I read this! To be quite honest with you, I think Pete may have been thinking of me when he wrote this. =) haha

Thank you BSU!

"Tommy, can you hear me?"

Last Weekend I saw the ammaazzinng rock opera/musical/concert hosted by Debaun. I went to the showing on Saturday, February 28th and it was well worth my $5... Yes kids, Stevens only charges us $5 to see some great shows! Click the link below to see the Debaun schedule for the rest of the season: http://www.debaun.org/TheTheaterCompany.html

Wellll to be honest, I didn't know anything about the Who's.... or Tommy but I am a devoted musical lover -- and I read about the musical a bit before I went.

Hmmm...what can I tell you without ruining it completely: Ok! The musical is basically about a boy who becomes deaf, blind and mute after he witnesses a  tragic accident. And throughout the rock opera, you see him find ways to deal with the many obstacles being handicapped can bring.

The show is no longer playing at Debaun, but if you ever get a chance to watch the movie -- I hear its just as good. I also hope to watch it sometime. Based on what I saw at the musical, some of the scenes were pretty intense -- so be prepared!

I bought the soundtrack this weekend for the rock musical and i LOVE it! The Who's are officially my new favorite band. Clearly, "Tommy, can you hear me" is my favoritttee song!

It truly was like a rock concert -- although at some points I was a bit distracted by Tommy, the main character, because he had this really cute sparkling glitter belt on that I also happen to own. =)
 

<109 days to graduation!!!

OK I confess! I am not graduating....and I went to the annual "109 Days to Graduation" event hosted by the SGA.


Stevens really puts on great events for the seniors -- so I thought it would  be fun to celebrate with all my friends who are leaving me this year! The official countdown to graduation  party began at Willie McBrides on Grand Street.


Very nice choice Stevens!! : )

We got there a bit late (fashionably late) -- but there was still plenty of goodies left for us when we arrived.

They had amazing hors d'oeuvres like chicken fingers, potato skins and mozzarella sticks yummm.

But I must say, my favorite part was dancing all night long with some of my favorite people at Stevens!! Hey Kristina and Cammie! (below)



The entire class of 09' came together for that night -- and really made it a night to remember...or not remember =)

Let's all give a big thanks to some of the masterminds in SGA behind it all -- Mr. Mike Manzella and Mary Kelly.
(Special thanks to Ami Shah and the rest of SGA for their efforts!)



They look like they had a blast too!

Next year, I will be celebrating the countdown to graduation - for real!

 

Reduce...Reuse...Recycle!

I've spent many many years being wasteful and lazy...and not recycling. So this week, after an inspiring presentation at an RA meeting by a Senior Design group here at Stevens, I'm going to do my best and spread the word to not only my residents, but to all my friends and family who read this blog!

Considering how important it is to recycle, it is such a great idea to have some sort of recycling system here. Are you one of those people who throws garbage in both the black and blue. It's okay, be honest -- I'm with ya! I really had this crazy idea that somebody was sifting through my trash and magically separating it for me...but sadly that is not how it works.

We all have to work to maintain our environment -- and here's how you can begin:

Put all paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum into those pretty blue recycling bins -- that look a little something like this -->

Stevens is going to assist in this process by more clearly distinguishing between trash containers and recycling bins.

Recycling bins = blue with clear plastic bags inside
Trash bins = black with black plastic bags inside.

Remember that little phrase we all learned in like first grade??
Now we actually have the power to apply it!

.REDUCE. -- reduce the amount of trash you use
.REUSE. -- reuse any containers you can
.RECYCLE. -- containers in their


And the best part is -- you will save some money in the process!

Contact Rebecca Ryca rryba@stevens.edu or Nicole Rizzuto nrizzuto@stevens.edu for more information on the Senior Design Project!

Make it a Day On... Not a Day Off!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!!




This holiday probably means something different to all of us.

When I was in High School, it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day = Sleep in, watch TV, Eat Popcorn.

Actually, I think it still means the same to me even in college,  but today I am remembering MLK for real!

I think today is a day that reminds us that there are peaceful means of preaching to the world.

It is also important to remember that so many people dedicate their lives to making the world a better place, and we should honor them for that -- even if we don't 100% agree with them.

We all know that MLK risked everything....

So today, we should all join the creators of http://www.mlkday.gov/ and making it a day on -- in honor of MLK, and do something positive, instead of sleeping in and enjoying the day off!

I'm going to donate a bunch of my clothes to the Salvation Army this afternoon, that's my positive project for today! =)

How will you make it a day on?

Five Guys Burgers and Fries -- It Rhymes!!

Soooo..... everybody and their mom has been talking about this new burger joint in Hoboken called

and I kid you not -- this place really lives up to its reputation. I urge you to go check it out!
Tonight, I decided to check it out, and my experience was definitely good enough for me to tell the world about! We walked in, and the girl behind the register was sooo sweet -- she just smiled so big and  welcomed us. I'm sure she could tell we were rookies. So I ordered a "little cheeseburger" which just means you only have one patty on there instead of two. And after I placed my order, I reminded her that I wanted my burger cooked well done (We african's don't eat anything less than burnt to a crisp), and she replied, "Always well done and juicy" -- funny, right? ha.

Well we didn't wait long at all for our "always well done and juicy" burgers. The burger was like melting in my mouth as I ate it, seriously. So all you meat lovers, you should really check out this place -- they don't take duck bills, but they are not too pricey.


And I think they call it five guys because they have only five people behind the counter working at once -- that's my theory!!

319 Washington St
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 683-3273

Yummmm....

The Ten Commandments of Halloween

Hello all!

I am sure you are sooo excited for Halloween this year...I AM!!

If you must know, Halloween at Stevens is a bit different then what may think.
So I have decided to give you my very own commandments for a successful, inexpensive and FUN halloween experience!!

Follow them at your own risk.... = )

10. Thou shall not wear anything "Halloweenish" until October 31, 2008. That includes (pumpkins on your sweatshirts, witch hats etc)

9. Thou shall check Pierce everyday -- to see if they have any cool Halloween treats. (And eat as many as you can, they go fast!)

8. Thou shall only go to frat Halloween parties if you a) are not a freshman and b) do not mind punch being spilled on your costume : )

7. Thou shall finish all of your homework before the weekend....avoid any distractions

6. Thou shall buy your friends candy grams on sale in front of Pierce from 12 - 2 and 5 - 7 all week -- only $1!!

5. Thou shall be creative and make a cool costume, and try not to buy one that you can only wear once.

4. Thou shall not actually have a scary costume, we don't actually want to be scared on Halloween.

3. Thou shall not wear your costume to class, even on Halloween day -- sooo utterly distracting.

2. Thou shall attend FRIGHT NIGHT for lots of FREE CANDY and FREE FOOD!!



1. Thou shall enjoy Halloween 2008!!

***Happy Halloween***

Chopsticks for Dummies.

Yea, officially...I am writing that book. It truly is an important skill to have -- like riding a bike, knowing how to swim, drive a car, stuff like that. So we went to Benihana the other day....BENIHANA people! the best asian food hibachi place on the planet.

I've been there so many times that the little tricks they do with the food do not amuse me anymore. I always give the guy this "alright, alright, now shutup and give me my food look" Is there a smiley to represent that? Let's see

:-<        or   :[     ----- um never mind. heheh

I did get a picture of our chef person, but I will not post it -- to protect his identity. Let's call him......."Bob".

Well what was interesting this time was that "Bob" was super nervous!! He really kept looking around the room at the other chefs and trying to do all the tricks they would do. Poor bob : (
Finally, I realized, I could not give him the look...instead I would have to pretend to enjoy the onion volcano. Piece of cake! but then, Bob tried to do the flip all the food scraps into his hat trick, and could not get one...single...piece... in his hat. Booooooo!!  After that, I stopped clapping for him, and focused on my sushi.

Btw I don't like sushi, but I like Benihana sushi. So try it!! Finger lickin good (Beware! If one speckle of Wasabi gets on your tongue, you will die.)

Ummm where was I......Ohh ok. sushi.

Many time that I have been to Benihana, I have eaten the delicious sushi with my hands. who cares, right? If you look cute, you can eat sloppy. That's my rule. But that day, I felt like I should impress my friends and use the pretty little chopsticks they give to us.

So I pick them up, and start trying to eat the sushi with them. My friend turns to me and says, "Abby, you have to break them apart first"

I'm like, "no you definitely dont -- these are a special kind"  (wow abby)

Ok so i lied, but I was trying to make a point here! After 5 minutes of not being able to pick up anything but death wasabi, I finally decided to ask for help.

It actually turned out to be a chopsticks for dummies party...It seems not alot of people know how to use them, not just me!

But, since I love helping people look cool, I will give you a crash course on how to use chopsticks, that will be published as "Chopsticks for Dummies" in the near future.

Well, acutally, I won't. But this website will! http://www.robsworld.org/chopsticks.html

Enjoyyyy.  :)