Another eventful week

The start of "Halloweek" (a term describing Halloween week in a college atmosphere) has been ultra-busy and eventful! It started off with sleeping in after an exhausting Homecoming weekend, and if anything, has been a week of a lot of journalism, business and ethics realizations.

Wednesday afternoon, I received a text message to go to the New Student Center. A coke vending machine was crowded with probably 50 students, and I couldn't tell what they were staring at. Coke was doing a promotional event for happiness at this one machine where there was a man in the vending machine. You inserted $1, chose which Coke-brand soda you wanted, and it fell out of the machine per usual. But then, a surprise came after. Some of these surprises were cookies, candy, free t-shirts and Mizzou and Coke merchandise, a two-liter bottle of a Coke product, a Polaroid image of your face as you received the second gift, and Kansas State football game tickets!

I obviously was incredibly excited and went to the machine twice. I got Sprite both times, with candy as my first surprise gift and a two-liter Sprite as my second. But as happens with State Farm Insurance promotions earlier this semester and more, why is Coke spending their money branding us when they already have business? What was their goal while instigating happiness? As much as I hate to say it, no business just wants to throw away a ton of money getting some University of Missouri students who were in the right place at the right time to favor their brand. It bugs me that I could not discover their intent. It would have been cool if the dollars (since mine was given back the first time) were donated to a cause to promote happiness, or if the gifts were donated, but I realized by asking and that was not the case. So if you happen to be a business owner or large company reading this or campaigning on a college campus, inform students of your mission so it actually comes across!

I sat in the Student Center for a few more hours studying and chatting with Kate and Sherman, when I got a call (which ended up being a rumor, but) four people were shot in Mizzou's Virginia Avenue Parking Structure. The University Hospital was on lockdown, which is on campus, and people began to freak out. There was no alert sent by the university but MU Alert and the Columbia Daily Tribune, as well as KOMU News (our NBC affiliate TV station) began to post live updates by the minute. No other campus buildings went on lockdown, but this was the first news event where I followed the entire story on Twitter. The term "University Hospital" became a popular trend on Twitter, with Mizzou and its plethora of news outlets and journalism students on Twitter taking over the world with both this and Mizzou College Gameday becoming a trend last week. That's pretty cool that we have so many people informing the world that we're being trended!

It was a great way to follow the updates and it was discovered that what really happened was a gunman shot four people in Callaway County, who were sent to University Hospital in mid-Missouri. The gunman was on the loose and since only three of the four had died, rumor had it he was around to "finish off the job." The parking garage came nowhere into this besides its proximity to the hospital, but KOMU and some other news outlets refuted this by serving their duty to the news and driving through the garage and around the locked down hospital to discover and share the truth. That evening, my journalism news class had our tour of the KOMU news station where we watch the live 6 p.m. broadcast and see all the equipment, and it was a great night to attend because of all the breaking news. It was an awesome experience to see the studio and part of me made me wish I worked there, although I am glad with my choice of going the strategic communication sequence.

The next morning, for the same journalism class, I had to attend one of Missouri's Master Honor Medal speakers. This is an award given to exemplary publications, editors and more, each of whom gave a presentation about their career of publication. I attended ZETA Weekly News Magazine's presentation, which is a magazine published in Tijuana, where Adela Navarro, one of its directors, discussed drug-trafficking. ZETA is known for giving in-depth coverage and does not have many competitors due to fear of covering such topics in Baja California, Mexico, but has a strong presence both there and in southern California.

Her presentation was actually given in Spanish, so I understood most of it, but a translator was present with a thick British accent, making it almost equally difficult to understand him. She discussed the ramifications of covering the truth in such a dangerous area, and said that 44 journalists have been killed on the job in the past four years. Wow. Imagine following your passion so much that murder is a prevalent daily consequence. I was interested in working for ZETA while I was at Project Mexico (this was the ideal life situation for summer 2011), but feel that my parents would never let me pursue this risk even if I could. I interviewed Adela after her presentation and asked her a few questions in Spanish. Since I feel I'm invincible, I asked if they offered internships, but that would only be possible if I enrolled at one of Mexico's universities. Their passion and in-depth reporting still amazes me, and with a vote on the legalization of marijuana next Tuesday in California, the future of drug trafficking has a lot to hold. After attending this event, I will be following the story and interested in its outcome!

With two exams in marketing and accounting this week, time to go study!

Perfection

Here's an interesting and applicable article I found in Glamour magazine's health section (Credit: Sarah Jio)!

It is inspirational because although I wouldn't label myself a perfectionist, I feel that some of these qualities fit me and a lot of my friends. And here comes the news telling us we have a 51 percent increased risk of death. Read it and tell me what you think!

The Best Health News We've Heard All Year:

Are you a perfectionist?

Many women are, but we might want to rethink our demanding ways. Researchers recently found that self-described perfectionists--those who placed the highest expectations on themselves--had a 51 percent increased risk of premature death compared with their more chill peers. "People who are motivated by perfectionism carry around more anxiety as a result of being too hard on themselves," says the study's lead researcher, Prem S. Fry, Ph.D., Western University in Langley, British Columbia. "That anxiety makes the body more susceptible to physiological stress and even physical ailments, and the result can be a health disaster." How can you silence your inner perfectionist?

FIND YOUR FOCUS.

"Instead of trying to do everything exactly right, prioritize the areas of your life where you really want to excel," suggests Fry. That might mean accepting that you'll never be a tech wiz--or even giving up some activities altogether.

LEARN TO MOVE ON.

Case in point: Many artists, architects and Olympic champions strive to be flawless, but they can do it in a Zen-like way--working to perfect their art or craft, yet having the critically important ability to move on after a bad race or an uninspired painting. "The key isn't whether or not you're perfect, but whether you berate yourself internally about it, says Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and author of It Ends With You: Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction.

DO SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU.

Ever tried salsa dancing? Public speaking? If it freaks you out, do it, says Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., a psychologist in Wexford, Pennsylvania and author of A Happy You: our Ultimate Prescription for Happiness. "Perfectionists tend not to try new endeavors for fear of failure," she says. But here's the thing: "Doing something out of your comfort zone lets you give yourself permission not to be perfect, and you'll be healthier for doing it," she says. "Getting out of a rut can boost your physical health, research shows, not to mention your happiness."

The 99th Annual Mizzou Homecoming

Last week definitely falls under one of the most eventful and exciting weeks of my college career. Not only can one appreciate the time and effort put into Homecoming, but living in a Greek chapter while doing so allows for constant energy. Like last entry's explanation breakdown, here is a photo breakdown of the week so you can see how much fun Mizzou Homecoming is and attend the Centennial Homecoming Celebration next year from Oct. 13-15, 2011!

Here are a group of Phi Mu girls before announcements. We were nominated for multiple superlative categories and had the best actress as a chess pawn, and won third place in skit!

Me, Kathryn and Sherman at "Fling Finals," or the final skit presentations held in Jesse Hall.
Shelley and I with Truman after the Midnight Breakfast on Thursday evening, where we spend all night putting up the House Decorations to show on Friday!
The House Decorations scene being completed!

The skit in front of the house decs and them all lit up in the evening

BEAT T-SHIRTS

As a member of True Tiger, students have many networking opportunities as well as freebie giveaways. One of the most popular ones is "Beat t-shirts," where free shirts are distributed to the first x amount of people in line. Some of us (a-hem) bring homework to the line and chill there for a few hours picking up these shirts. Oh, what college students will do for free shirts. I used my arm strength to carry over 200 40-page-Maneater newspapers to the line and distribute them! Here's a picture of the line--2,000 free shirts worth of people.

Amy and I by the ESPN bus picking up some free lanyards Friday afternoon!

Andrew's mom was nice and sent a cake for 48 people for his birthday! But if it was sent to a fraternity, it would be gone before he even saw it. So we had a surprise birthday cake break in the middle of our house-decs roaming.
Beetle Bailey, a comic strip created by a Mizzou alum, is a mascot now and here we are at the New Student Center Dedication!
ESPN College Gameday

ESPN College Gameday came to our campus after our success against Texas A&M! Basically, they do a pre-game show and predict who will win, along with getting a ton of fans and signs in the background of the sports reporters. I got there around 8:30 a.m. for the 8 to 11 a.m. show, the perfect time to watch the reporters, scout out the funniest signs and pick up some free things from ESPN-U. Here's the aerial view of the quad!

Photo credit- Columbia Missourian

Laura, Amy and I!

I got this 'tramp stamp' in exchange for a free t-shirt and koozie! Washable and Mizzou-spirited...what can I say?!

What the show looks like on live television/the big screen where we could watch it from! Kind of cool to see US in the background.

Shelley and I with the banners outside the house!
Parade

My ability to group together a massive group of people in less than three seconds since my position as PR has improved! Us by the float the parade!
All the people Laura love- Mrs. Davison, Kathryn, Amy, Maria, Clara, me and Alex at the Davison family tailgate.

My view on tailgating has definitely been altered since last year. Freshman year, I felt like tailgating was a huge waste of time. Why would you sit outside before a game, nonetheless...five hours before it starts, and eat to get more fat when you could be sleeping? Great question. The answer is...for fun and fellowship. Once your good friends are the one hosting the tailgates...you just have to go! Who cares how little sleep you have gotten or how much you have already eaten, you have to go see everyone!

"You" meaning that is my philosophy. I tried taking a 20 minute power nap and hopped out of bed because four hours was not enough to start tailgating. I hit up five tailgates before the game and socialized with everyone I wanted to. Success.

After Mizzou killed Oklahoma 36-27, Passini and I kissed the 50-yard line (a Mizzou tradition) while rushing the field!
Final scoreboard
What the field rush looked like from the student section
Andrew, Sherman and I after the game in our matching Beat Oklahoma t-shirts

M-I-Z-Z-O-U!!

It's a great weekend to be a Tiger

When I explain the upcoming events of this weekend, I myself am overwhelmed. It's the 99th Anniversary of Mizzou Homecoming, and living in Greektown, it's been quite the celebration!!

Below is a list of some my Homecoming weekend's highlights (before they even happen!) so you can understand why it is so exciting to be at the University of Missouri for Homecoming!

• Homecoming is a campus-wide competition, for residence halls, student organizations, and especially the Greek system. Each sorority is paired with one or two fraternities, so 14 pairings compete in multiple categories by earning participation points and more points for basically...being the best at something. Some of these include the Blood drive, purchasing merchandise (Homecoming t-shirts), service events, Decorate the District (like GBN's Paint-the-Town, decorating a certain restaurant downtown *Phi Mu has Bambino's*), a talent competition (a skit and dance performed at Jesse Hall), and lastly, house decorations. House decorations is where each pairing creates a scene incorporating their theme (ours is chess) and other attributes. So first and foremost, all of this is going on this week! Click here for more official information!
• ESPN College Game Day has been on campus all week in preparation for Saturday's football game against Oklahoma! They filmed on the quad this morning and are filming live from 8 to 11 a.m. tomorrow. The doors open at 3:30 am, I wish I had the motivation to camp out but just need the sleep this week. Look for me on tv on the later part of the show though! I got my free Beat Oklahoma shirt after waiting on the quad for three hours (yes, what college students do for free t-shirts...) but passed out the Maneater's Homecoming issue while doing so!
• Phi Mu made skit finals for the talent portion of the Homecoming competition for the first time in four years! We were nominated for superlatives in six of eight categories, which was more nominations than any other of the 14 greek chapters! Our house decorations looked really good (photos to come later) and it's just been fun to be really involved in our pairing with Lambda Chi Alpha and Phi Kappa Psi!
• The MU Student Center was being constructed and remodeled last year after being torn down, and planned to be completed summer of 2011. Somehow, construction in Missouri goes quickly (?) and the student center is basically almost complete...NOW. The dedication ceremony outside was at 3 p.m. today, Friday afternoon, in the midst of Homecoming, ESPN and everything. I was invited through Mizzou Student Foundation and got to hear the chancellor and vice chancellors speak, as well as seeing Andrew dressed up as Beetle Bailey on his birthday!
• Homecoming is sort of like a mini-Christmas. When you walk around to see the house decorations, it's like you're seeing the most intense Christmas decorations you've ever seen, plus a skit on top of that in front of the boards, and like you're at an amusement park with hot dogs, popcorn and funnel cakes sold on the streets of Greektown.

So this is why I've been so busy this week (month) and what I've actually been doing and preparing for! Look forward to all the photos from this weekend :)

Distracted in class

Laptops really can be distracting in class. I'm writing this from my TAM class right now, so I'm feeding into the statement, but that's okay. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

But where I truly learned this lesson was Monday in my marketing class. The boy in front of me in class was playing a popular game on MiniClip called "Red Beard," which I would compare to watching a Super Mario Bros. type game. The kid playing had to be on the same level where he jumped up numerous logs and would finally be at the top of the hill, and would just fall back down. I was dying. Thankfully, his computer battery died in the middle of class. And he didn't pass the level. Darn! Then, if the distracting game was not enough, he didn't have anything to take notes on so he took photos of the Powerpoint slides on the screen with his iPhone. Wow...the world we live in. Sherman and I approached him at the end and made sarcastic comments about how much it took off of our focus, better than saying nothing.

Then I wondered, should I have felt weird approaching him and saying something? During J1100 last year, a girl sitting behind me asked if I was a member of Phi Mu. When I replied yes, she said, "Yeah...I've seen you updating its website during class! It's so cool!" Did I take this as a compliment or as creepy? A little of both. But what I learned to realize is that when you're doing something in public, it becomes other people's business. If you're Facebook stalking someone....people see it. If you're checking My Greek Gossip, people see it, and if you're reading e-mails...people see them.

Is that fair? No. My J2000 class has come to the conclusion that nothing is fair. So we must get over it and realize that people are nosy. Because I am usually with my friends who are journalism majors, we feed into this stereotype. Journalists are nosy, but on the other hand, it's natural to observe your surroundings.

So the lesson learned here? Observe surroundings....and if they seem distracting, then move yourself to avoid it. It's not fair, but it must be done. And if it's not...I might be googling Red Beard and furthermore, wasting my time. Thanks curiosity.

Marathon Weekend

Mar*a*thon week*end

[mar-uh-thon week-end]

--noun

1. A weekend in Mizzou's Greek system devoted entirely to completing house decorations for the Friday night before Homecoming.

2. Includes a float, scaffolding for the decorations themselves, finishing the skit and dance and most of all, pomping about 10-16 wooden boards.

3. Typically requires sorority women to spend the entire weekend with their partner fraternity finishing up the work, and a fraternity's pledges not even being able to leave the vicinity until all pomping is done.

4. The assumption that you have no social life because every Greek chapter is finishing up Homecoming 'pomp boards'

Miz*zou Home*com*ing

--noun

1. The craziest and most time consuming series of events a University of Missouri college student, especially one involved in a Greek chapter, will experience.

2. A wide series of traditions, events and more celebrated by Mizzou students

3. Founded in 1911

4. Events include the blood drive, Fling skit performances, various service events, barbecues, Decorate the District, late-night breakfast, house decorations Friday evening, the parade....oh, and the football game itself.

5. SO big of a deal that the Fling skits are being broadcasted LIVE here each night, Monday through Thursday. Check it out! I'm absolutely fascinated that each evening, over 700 people are watching from their computers. Technology is amazing.

Pom*ping

--noun

1. Wrapping squares of tissue paper around a pencil or a marker to create a cylindrical shape, dipping the tissue paper in glue or a flour/water mixture and sticking it down to a wooden board.

2. Usually, each Greek chapter requires more than five hours per week of it six weeks before Homecoming

3. A huge waste of time, energy and spit.

Mar*riage par*ty

--noun

1. Where the partner Homecoming chapters of the pairing join to 'get married' and have a party together with a theme

2. This year, our marriage party was at Galactic Fun zone. With lazer tag, dancing and more!

Well...there was a quick introduction to Mizzou Homecoming! It's been an insane week and weekend, but probably up there for one of the most fun weekends of college. Everyone in the pairing starts to feel a sense of unity working together to reach the common goal of winning for house decorations.

Although I had an absolutely empty schedule on my planner Friday and Saturday (this is a big deal), I WANTED to be pomping and helping out at Lambda Chi the entire time...so I pomped for over 17 hours! It's a fun atmosphere to hang around, watch whichever game is on and get to know the people around you. And be somewhat productive while doing so.

Saturday night mid-pomping, I went over to Gregg’s apartment for an Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Movie night! We watched a Russian movie pronounced “Ostrov,” about a Russian monastery and monk that serves people who approach him for help on an island. For someone who doesn’t watch movies very often, I was very attentive and it was interesting to follow through the subtitles, understand some subtle humor and watch miracles happen through the power of God.

Here is a photo of some of us at the end of the movie night that was taken for the OCF blog! It was a great night to begin Christian fellowship-type evenings and I look forward to more in the future!

Sunday, I unfortunately could not go pomp all day because I had meetings for essentially...every organization I'm involved in. I spent between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. in group and project meetings, and now feel the spirit of the start of Homecoming Week!

It was great to receive the news that ESPN College GameDay will be coming to Mizzou for the first time EVER on Saturday for Homecoming!!! We are ranked #11 and Oklahoma is #1 for football, so it will be a very good game! ESPN will be recording Friday afternoon from 12-2 and Saturday morning from 8-12 on the quad, so keep an eye out for me! The parade was moved to Saturday at noon to accommodate for oh...just this national coverage, because we'll be on ABC too!

M-I-Z-Z-O-U!

If this isn't enough spirit for Homecoming Week, the New Student Center will be dedicated this Friday afternoon and I was invited to attend through Mizzou Student Foundation (MSF)! It will be a very exciting week!

Saints Peter & Paul's 50th Anniversary

On Oct. 10, 2010 (10-10-2010...conveniently adding up to 50), Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, Ill., my home parish since 2001, celebrates its 50th Anniversary!

Obviously, I drove home for the gala that has been planned for almost as long as I've been attending church there. The committee planned a wonderful dinner dance celebration with live music from the Chris Sarlas orchestra, Greek dancing, filet mignon, fellowship and more!

One of the unique aspects of the evening and celebration in itself is that the church planned the event so all speakers and other recognitions were done before, so the actual dance was focused on celebration. This was an exciting attribute and a great way to plan a successful event. Commemorative speakers presented the week before, and an event was held each season in honor of SSPP's 50th year--such as bowling at Pinstripes and more. DVDs of each era of the church along with a photo slideshow were distributed as favors and my family had a great time watching it together!

For me, SSPP's 50th Anniversary was a combination of prom and what Maria, Eleni and I's weddings could only hope to be. About one thousand people were in attendance (!!) at the Westin Hotel's main ballroom in Wheeling, which was beautifully decorated. Not only were we spoiled with updos in our hair, but the hotel gave us a suite upstairs on the 16th floor! You could even see the Chicago skyline and the unappreciated beauty of Wheeling, Ill.!

Maria, Eleni and I started off the night by roaming during appetizers and taking photos with our favorite parishioners. It was nice to see everyone all dressed up and in a setting outside of church! There were some quick speakers, where I realized it really was fascinating for families to get together to create our church. People do this with organizations all the time, but to start a Greek Orthodox church....wow. It's already been a challenge to start organizations at school, but to start a part of a jurisdiction that is joining a diocese, finding people to worship, and following through for fifty years...it must have been awesome for the founders to see the success. SSPP basically has 1000 families are stewards, I'd say it was a success! And not all churches in the Chicago area can say that! Thus, it was great to be home to spend time with family, and not just go to this awesome celebration....but realize its significance.

Essentially all of my friends were in attendance, and at the same table or close enough. So after some ushering, catching up and a wonderful meal....we headed to Greek dance! My legs were sore for five days; I even fell down a couple of stairs at school because my ankles were so weak from the hours of dancing. It is truly a blessing to have such a great network of Greek Orthodox friends, especially coming home to them, and knowing that they all care just as much to come home for the event as well. The entire church could see how unified we were even watching us on the dance floor, and if the 50th was like this...what will our weddings be like?!?

Below is a photo recap of the evening but for now, Happy 50th Anniversary Sts. Peter & Paul! Thank you for all you have given me!

Maria, Eleni and I with our updos

Family photoshoot- we're funny!
Loving Yiayia Sophie
Taking photos with some of our favorite parishioners...the Gouletas'!

Arriving at the beautiful banquet hall, this is only half of it! I want my wedding here!

We all came home from college for this!
With all of the grandparents

Our table :)- Joy, Danielle, Marina, Pam, Amy, Maria, Alexander, Nick, Dean, Anastasia, Christina and I
Let the Greek dancing begin!
The group on the dance floor
We got Angelo and Patricia on the dance floor too!! Family photo to Don't Stop Believin'

The lovely suite the hotel gave us, hanging out with the Poteres clan after the event