The Three F's of September

September is easily my favorite month of the year, and not only because I was born on the 7th of September.  I love what I have termed the Three F's of September, and this year they are making their appearance right on time.

Perhaps you have noticed the weather over the past week?  I certainly have, and I am pleased to report that the first installment of fall weather is upon us.  Technically, we have to wait until September 21st to officially welcome the greatest season of the year into our lives, but I'm going to unapologetically jump the gun this year.  Welcome back, Fall!  We're glad you have returned, old friend.  Right now I am looking out the window of the temporary GA office in Gailhac just imagining the beauty of the trees when the leaves change in a small matter of weeks.  Hopefully you find a moment or two and notice the change with me.

I am in a particularly good mood this week because for the first time in nearly 10 months, my football team won a game.  I was rather ornery last fall during the 10 game losing streak suffered by my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but, for one week at least, it's puppy dogs and rainbows as I walk from Reinsch to Rowley and ride from Main House to Ballston.  Of course, we don't have football here at MU, but that just leaves us all with more time for football in general.  Hopefully your team does well this season, unless they play my team.  Trust me, I'm much easier to get along with when my team wins.

The last of the fabled Three F's is probably my favorite.  It comes every year with the opening of campuses across our nation, and it is what I consider the Holy Grail of each day I spend on this (or any other) campus: free food.  Yes, folks, it's that time of year when every organization is competing for your presence and mine.  And all of them know that the best way to get the cheapskates like you and me in the door is to give away delicious food with questionable nutritional value.  In the past week, I have enjoyed three meals for a little over an hour of time spent listening to or participating with a campus organization.  It's a far cry from my prolific undergrad years when I could sometimes go weeks without paying for food, but, as a poor college student like the rest of you, every little bit helps. 

That's all for this week, gang.  Remember, enjoy fall, football, and free food this September.  

~ Ben 

The Color Run

Since I moved to the DC area I have been saying I'm going to become a runner! DC is a very fit city, you see people running and cycling around town all the time. There are also races every weekend. So a while back my friends and I signed up for the Color Run. I had never actually ran a 5k, so I was pumped, but I was also nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it! Since this was a fun run and not timed it wasn't as intimidating, for a non-runner like me. My boyfriend was doing it with me and he said he would stay with me the whole way which was also reassuring. 

So here are my tips for all the runner-wanna-bes out there: 

1. sign up for a fun run or something you're very passionate about

2. get running buddy

3. do some training before race

4. celebrate at the finish line that you did it! 

5. sign up for next race! 

Well me being new to running races, I did not realize that when I signed up for The Color Run that I would have to get up at 5:30 in the morning on a Sunday... something that I surprisingly do not do often! We got up wore our gear (white shirts!), carpooled with our friends and headed over to National Harbor, which is not technically DC.. We made it over, and boy were we lucky with the weather and traffic! It was the first day that the humidity was gone and it was starting to feel like fall! We were all pumped to be doing this race! We did it and I ran almost the whole thing with a few walking breaks! The color was actually cornstarch that had been dyed all different colors. 

The best part of the run was the energy that was there! EVERYBODY was having a good time, even though we had to get up early and run a 5k it was so much fun and everybody was having a great time and feeling great! When I made the last turn and I could see the end of the race I couldn't give up and just kept going. It was a great feeling finishing something that I had wanted to accomplish for so long! At the end of the Color Run there was a huge party and color throwing! We all had packets of color and had a great time getting colored up! There was a great dance party and it was a blast! If you have the chance, DO IT! 

See you around,

Daisy

Adjusting to the Big City Life

‘Tis the season- -fall semester, football, and everyone’s favorite Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back.  After being transplanted in Arlington, VA after living in Lincoln, NE for my 22 years of life, I finally am feeling more like a resident and less like a tourist.  I have visited every Smithsonian, ran in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler (along with 15,000 other people), experienced Jazz in the Garden, enjoyed 4^th of July on the National Mall, toured many Virginia wineries, and tasted the endless variety of food the District has to offer. 

My greatest adjustment that had to be made was transportation as a whole.  Nebraska doesn’t have the following:  (1) a metro, (2) rush hour, that in tales sitting in heavy traffic, or (3) HOV.  Needless to say, I was the one on the metro who always tried to grab a window seat so I could see each stop- -thus, lessening my chances of missing my stop and having to back track.  I was also the one who had to understand the concept of how long it would really take to drive somewhere that was only 3 miles away.  And the big kicker was figuring out what HOV stands for…still haven’t been ticketed yet…(knock on wood). 

Since I am a true Nebraskan, I do and always will have a loyalty to my Nebraska Cornhusker football team.  With saying that, when I am not studying or writing papers you can find me watching my favorite football team.  On my to-do list this fall is to watch a Nebraska Cornhusker football game at Union Pub.  Union Pub is a bar located in Washington, DC that hosts Nebraska football fans!!  If you are reading this and are one of my near and dear Cornhusker fans please contact me!

Happy Football Season!!

Elizabeth

Blogger's Rookie Year

You’ve already read a little bit about me in my Bio, but just to elaborate a bit…I moved to Arlington in August 2011 to attend Marymount. I came here from a small town in southern Illinois, so this has been, to say the least, quite the change. But, I’m adapting (i.e., I’m slowly but surely becoming a more aggressive driver…a MUST for this area). Shortly after starting classes, I applied for (and got) the open Graduate Assistant position in my department, which has been such a great opportunity.

This past spring and summer, I interned with AT-RISK International, a private security and investigations firm in this area (I’m a licensed P.I. in the Commonwealth of Virginia!). Just a few weeks ago, I started interning with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. Wordy, right? Thankfully, I get to call it START. START’s based at the University of Maryland’s College Park Campus, and they, in short, research terrorism. One of the ways they do this is through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD is a MASSIVE compilation of incidents of terrorism (from 1970-present), with about 120 data variables coded for each incident. Yea, when I said MASSIVE, I meant it. Any who, this is where my internship comes in. I’ll be coding 2012 incidents of terrorism in the GTD, specifically information concerning perpetrators and targets/victims. Sounds fun, right? If you’re a nerd like me, it actually does. And it actually is! I’m really enjoying it so far, and you’ll probably hear a lot about that through this blog.

You’ll also probably hear a lot about the super enjoyable process that is…trying to work for the federal government. Yay!!!!! No? Ok, no. Not that enjoyable. But, I’m assuming that’s what a lot of you forensic-minded folks are interested in. If I’m wrong, let me know.

Actually, just in general, let me know about anything you want me to blog about. Like, if you’ve heard about this awesome new pizza place but you can’t get over there, I’ll take that bullet and try it for you and let you know how it is :)

But, other than that, I’ll probably just talk about how life in the big city works out for this small town girl. I’ll just let this first blog be an introduction to me, and I’ll be sure to cook up some adventures to write about for the next one. And again, if there’s anything you want to know…ask!

~ Katelyn

Meet our bloggers!

Ben

Literature, Language, and Humanities Student

Age: 27

Hometown: Seminole, FL

Status: Married (wife - Georgina)

Current Residence: Alexandria, VA

Jobs: Graduate Assistant for LLH Department, Nutrition Specialist at Unleashed by Petco, and licensed DC tour guide

Daisy 

School Counseling Student 

My name is Daisy I am originally from New Jersey and went to James Madison University for my undergrad. Virginia stole my heart and now I'm ready to explore the DC area one restaurant and adventure at a time! I am obsessed with my dachshund named Charlie, who will be mentioned periodically and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to cook and eat! So far I love this area and have found that there is always a fun time waiting right around the corner! 

Elizabeth 

Health Promotion Management Student

Hometown:  Lincoln, NE
Graduation date: May 2013
Hobbies:  Running, baking, traveling, reading, shopping, trying different types of cuisine

Katelyn 

Forensic Psychology Student

I'm the one on the left and these gals are my sisters!

Hey everyone! My name’s Katelyn, and I’m in my second year in the Master’s in Forensic Psychology Program here at Marymount. I also work as a Graduate Assistant for the program, and I intern at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). I moved out here last August from rural Illinois to go to Marymount, and it’s been one adventure after another! I look forward to talking to you all about the experiences I’ve had so far in D.C., and all the excitement to come as graduation creeps up on me. Happy reading!