Filed under: College | Tags: basketball, college, concert, coolness, Dancing with the Stars, Fabolous, free, free concert, homecoming weekend, iTunes, music, rapper, This Is My Party, video, Villanova
Last weekend, Villanovans got up to celebrate, celebrate something that is practically religion, yet has absolutely no ties to the Catholic Church. Yes, you guessed it: College Basketball. It marked the annual pep rally/season kick-off event, Hoops Mania.
Five years ago, the event got huge. Not only was the team cherished, and the annual blue and white scrimmage took place, but a rapper was invited to help us celebrate the right way. White people dancing to black music. The artist? Everyone’s favorite: 50 Cent.
While yes, 50′s career was sliding, 50 still held/holds a place among hip hop elite.
One would think that Villanova could keep up with the trend. But c’mon- what kind of cheap Catholic school do you take it for?
After watching the “Dancing with the Stars” themed events (SIDENOTE: Some of those players really can dance. Kudos Woot.), all the students were on the edge of their chairs, riveted with anticipation to see who was performing. We waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally, the MC announced… “Please welcome, Fabolous!”
I would be exaggerating if I said the crowd lost its shit. But people were generally excited. I knew to keep my expectations at a minimum. I could only think of one song of his, and I couldn’t think of the last time I heard it.
Despite some technical difficulties that delayed the start of his performance, I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was still excited to see Fabolous perform, no matter how out of touch with the top 40 countdown he has been lately. I felt a little too white to really dance, especially as the crowd thinned. But once the show ended, I was left flabbergasted: Fabolous never performed one of the only songs of his that I remembered prior to his performance, and quite possibly my favorite song of his period. This is My Party.
I had always thought that this was his greatest hit. So, why didn’t he perform it? It was released in 2003, not long after I was introduced to Fabolous from fourth grade peer, Dana Allen Kelly, in 2001. (These days he actually prefers Mr. Dana Allen Kelley I or so I’ve heard.) One day (please don’t ask me why I remember this; I have a very strange memory and weird seemingly insignificant things have truly stuck with me…) when we were asked to share our favorite musician, Dana said his was “Fabolous.” And not long after, Fabolous hit the top 40, so I was aware of him, and frankly, the dude stuck around for a while.
This is My Party was a hit. I really liked it.
But, apparently, the song has faded in popularity over the years. It is number 146 on his personal iTunes chart. Who would’ve guessed? Not me, at least.
Despite my minor letdown, the night was fun, and Fabolous’s performance was just as mediocre as I expected- so it really was a win. At any rate, I leave you with This is My Party, if for no reason but old times sake.
Filed under: Rants & Ridiculousness, Uncategorized | Tags: Boston, free, happiness, katieism, Somerville Theater, St Augustine, Terrorthon, winning
So, I have taken to blogging during Philosophy class. Why reflect on St. Augustine’s opinions when I can reflect on my own personal philosophies?
Katieism #717: Don’t kid yourself; sometimes it is all about you.
Today I found out that I won tickets to Terrorthon at the Somerville Theater, a week long festival of horror movies. I entered the contest through a Newbury Comics email. What are the chances? So many people get those emails, and of those who entered, they somehow picked me.
They picked me!
This brings my total to four on the “Things I’ve Won in the Past Six Months” list.
- iTunes Giftcard – $15 is better than zero.
- iPad – so badass.
- A new watch from Macy’s – I knew my shopping addiction would come in handy one day.
- Terrorthon Tickets - It pays to stay faithful to your CD store…
I’m flattered and I’m flabbergasted and I’m floored. I am so f*cking lucky.
Often friends ask me, and often I ask myself, how can I possibly be so lucky? How do I win all this stuff? What are habits of lucky people? Well, this is the best list that I could come up with.
- Give everyone your email address. This is really important. Marketers want your email, so give it to them. Telemarketing and direct mail is largely ineffective, but sometimes you will check your email. It is their best outlet to you, their target audience. Maybe contests get you to buy more, or do more business with, a firm, but probably not. Either way, businesses will give away freebies from time to time. So give them a little access to you and you might be rewarded. You never know what will happen.
- Take surveys. Period. People want your opinion. Not everyone enjoys taking surveys, but God knows that it’s a great, mindless distraction and you might have the chance to win. All these alluring prizes are, after all, usually why you take a survey in the first place.
- Keep an open mind. This whole system is a lottery: your chance is no better than someone elses. However, it is still a lottery, so the more you play, the more you win. Keep at it, even if you haven’t won anything yet, because assuming karma exists, I’m sure that you’ll get something eventually. And at the end of the day, when has it ever been a bad idea to keep an open mind?
Filed under: College | Tags: college, free, happiness, newspaper, perks of college, Villanova, writing
There are free newspapers everywhere. The New York Times, USA Today, and the Philadelphia Enquirer are all in the dining hall. The Business School (Bartley Hall) has hundreds of copies of the Wall Street Journal. And because I’m a business school student, I can sign up for a free online version of the journal as well! Incredible.
God, I feel at home with the stacks.
Being the nerd that I am, I was worried I would have to pay for a subscription to a paper. I really enjoy reading the newspaper, even if it is only for twenty minutes. But I can get a paper, for free, whenever I would like.
I. Am. Thrilled.
SIDENOTE: I am joining one or both campus newspapers. One requires you to be selected/recruited/auditioned, if you will. The other one anyone can join. Let’s see how it goes….
Katie
Filed under: Serendipity, Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, awesomeness, free, iPad, Northeastern University, random, survey, winning
This is my first blog post from my brand new iPad. Even I am thinking “what the hell?”
A few days ago after my marathon walmart run with Bridget (an entire carriage full of crap, $175 ish of merchandise just for college!) my dad handed me a fedex box.
“this is for you. Sorry we never brought it to Falmouth, we kept forgetting.”
I was puzzled as to what could be in the package. I didn’t notice a return address, but it had shipped standard overnight mail.
I was even more confused as I opened the box to find the object in a cushioned bag, … Then another bag.
As I slipped off the cover, I realized I was holding the awesome white box. Ipad.
“you’re kidding me!”
It is even cooler than I ever imagined it would be.
I danced around the kitchen like the royal idiot that I am. (Actually, I think I qualify as a lucky bastard now too.)
So why the hell did I win an iPad? Turns out it was because I filled out a survey for Northeastern regarding my college selections/application experience. Who the hell would have guessed?! I was thrilled, and thankful to have spent the time filling out those annoying surveys.
Wanna know what else is cool though? This is not the only thing I’ve won from taking one of those surveys! I also got an iTunes giftcard for $15 from another college back in May…
I dunno what the deal is, but I like being lucky, and I really like winning.
C’mon, who turns down a free iPad??
Filed under: Serendipity, Uncategorized | Tags: babysitting, cupcakes, Falmouth, free, future, generosity, happiness, ice cream, kids, kindness, life, random acts of kindness, RMV, Smitty
“Getting money is not all a man’s business: to cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.” – Samuel Johnson
After a morning of unnecessary bullshit at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, a hammock nap, and some Hot Sauce bonding, I was ready to spend my evening babysitting. Ha, not exactly. Babysitting reminds me of how much I prefer drinking to everything else, but whatever.
We play Clue Jr, June gets angry that I inadvertently won. We make popcorn the old fashioned way, but not without breaking the spinner six times and nearly burning off all my fingertips with hot oil. My former uncle makes creepy phone calls to me and the kids, and the house is hot as fuck.
Although I figured they’d had enough sweets, I reneged and said “Let’s get out of here.”
We went for ice cream.
The kids went nuts.
Now, truth be told, this was the first time I had been to Smitty’s in Eastie all summer. Which, for an ice cream connoisseur like myself, is crazy. I eat ice cream every week, and the fact that I haven’t found time on a day off to make rounds at Smitty’s is weird. They have good stuff. It’s not Ben and Bill’s or Kimball’s, but I haven’t found a cone at Smitty’s that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.
ANYWAY- So of course, I forgot that they only take cash. We’ve stood in line for twenty minutes, Stevie and June are jumping around like puppies on caffeine pills. I tell them not to move a muscle and sprint back to the car to find cash. I dig through my trunk of garbage and find eight bucks. Not enough for three ice creams, but enough for two. Somewhat disappointed that I won’t be able to share in their ice cream euphoria, I walk back to find June, like a 30 year old mother, ordering for herself and Stevie, reminding the scooper girl that Stevie has an allergy and whatnot. As she licks her cone, she is also shouting “Smitty’s is WAY better than Dairy Queen.” Okay, so maybe she is still ten years old after all.
June asks me why I’m not ordering an ice cream. “I forgot they don’t take cards here, June. I don’t have enough money.” Smitty approaches me. “Don’t worry about it- what can I get for you?”
To be honest, it was kind of like meeting a celebrity. I stuttered a bit and felt my heart beating. Lame, maybe, but here was the owner of one of my favorite ice cream places, offering me a free cone. He was insistent. “I’m here all the time, don’t worry about it,” I said. “No, really, it’s not a problem,” he replied. “What can I get you?”
I forked over my measly eight bucks and walked away with a free cone, two happy campers, and June continuing to be ten, profusely thanking the ice cream man and giving her two cents about how awful DQ is.
Suddenly my day didn’t suck anymore. I ate my ice cream on the picnic bench with the kids and was, if only for a moment, just as happy as they were.
My Smitty’s experience also made me think: why the hell do I want to make cupcakes for a living? Why aren’t I planning on making ice cream? Cupcakes are great, but there really is nothing in the world I love more than ice cream. & Time consuming, difficult, and tiresome as it is, the only thing I have ever been convinced I want as a career is to be an entrepreneur. I mean, if I can make someone feel as good as I did last night getting a free ice cream, then there really is no question.
I want to be an ice cream man.
Filed under: Rants & Ridiculousness, Senioritis, Uncategorized | Tags: books, breakfast, failure, free, ice cream, life, Lists, shoes
So my checking account is down to the $16.00 mark.
Yes, that’s one-six, sixteen, as in the age you can drive a car.
It was at $26.00 this morning, but I had to put $10 in my tank. But that’s life I suppose.
Lately, it has been very easy for me to think of reasons TO spend my money, as opposed to reasons why I should NOT spend my money (other than the fact that I DON’T HAVE ANY.) So I thought I would share them with you.
- Breakfast. I have a real weak spot for breakfast, and food in general. I love going out to breakfast, reading the paper, talking with people, chowing down on a nice, steamy omelet. Mmmm. I can taste that buttered toast and home fries now. But breakfast is about $10 every time I go out. Did I mention that mug of coffee is real endearing too?
- Gasoline. It seems like I always have an empty tank. Really, it’s less like news and more like… well, life.
- Shoes. I would love a new pair of summer shoes. I want a modified boat shoe. I think boat shoes are hideous, but I like their slip-on comfort. My madras slides are a little too yippity. I own one pair of Vans. They seem like the next best thing before flats or flip flops. I found a pair I really liked, Tretorn is all out. We’ll see how it all goes down. Hopefully Payless will have something more in my income bracket.
- Beads. For some reason, I have been really craving making a new little bracelet for myself. I really dig this one my girlfriend got me from Italia. I think it could use a friend. Or maybe in an ideal world, this one.
- A gym membership. For obvious reasons. And why the hell not? I enjoy watching other people sweat while I attempt to show off how fast I can run on that elliptical.
- Books. Whenever I go to a bookstore or coffee shop, or even Anthropologie, I always find a book I like or want or need or just can’t seem to put down. And I buy it. And 9 times out of 10, it doesn’t get read until months later. I have accumulated quite a stack of brand new paperback novels that haven’t even been fingered. But I love owning books. It’s really a terrible, terrible habit.
- Ice Cream. What can I say? Kimball Farm is like crack. Actually, it’s better than crack or any other illegal drug. I swear God pees in that ice cream cooker while they are making it. That is why it tastes so good.
- Freedom. Hello, yes, my name is Katie and I would like to buy my freedom. Mind helping me out? Yeah, I have toyed with the idea of renting my own place and moving out and whatnot, and now is the time.. although I don’t know if that will actually happen or not. We’ll see. It would be so very lovely to have some space for a while. It makes me feel bad for all those people trying to get into Arizona. Shit man, I know how you feel.
Katie
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: free, indie, iTunes, music, Temper Trap, video
The best things in life are free. Like 20 free indie spotlight songs from iTunes? Yes, I think that qualifies as one of the best things in life. If only they gave free ice cream cones. Oh wait, Ben and Jerry, I missed that.
So what is my new favorite (and free) song? Fader by The Temper Trap
I was already a fan of the Temper Trap (Sweet Disposition plays in my head all the time.) But this song is wonderful. And check the lyrics? Amazing. Add this to your music library and collection.
I'm in transit Floating stranded on this boat And I pledge my self allegiance To a better night sleep at home And the sweet sweet sun's comin' down hard The sun's comin' down hard It burns the bones So hold a hand for cover Hold a hand for cover Hold a hand for cover from harm Woo, ooh, ooh Talk don't change a thing Oh, it's fading fader Woo, ooh, ooh Words don't sink it swims Oh, it's fading fader Bless this mess We tried our best That's all that we can do While the angels walk With the lonely ones In the cold rain to rescue you And this fable world's comin' down hard The wall's comin' down hard On all our homes So hold a hand for cover Hold a hand for cover Hold a hand for cover from harm Woo, ooh, ooh Talk don't change a thing Oh, it's fading fader Woo, ooh, ooh Words don't sink it swims Oh, it's fading fader
Cheers,
Katie
