Restaurant Review- Chipotle

Chipotle is one of my favorite restuarants to eat at here in San Marcos. It's so convenient because of how close it is to campus and the food is really good. I go there all the time and usually get three soft tacos filled with steak, rice, salsa, cheese, and sour cream. Chipotle is known for there huge burritos which are also very delicious but I usually dont get them because I would never be able to finish one. The prices vary depending on what you decide to get but it averages out to about seven dollars for a meal and a drink, so i recommend that everyone try it!

Hide and Seek with Jackson

In Jackson Hall, about two weeks ago, the Hall Council held a Hide and Seek night. It was down in the quad, and more than 20 people showed up! It was a lot of fun getting to act like a kid again, especially right before Thanksgiving break, and finals! Even though we are in college, we do not have to completely grow up, or at least not right away! Below are pictures of Roman Arispe and I (the President and Vice President of Jackson's Hall Council), the whole group of hide-and-seeker's and a few other fun pics!

FOOTBALL!

Here at Texas State, sports are huge. We support baseball, rugby, volleyball, basketball, track and field, and a million other sports. One that we love the most though is football! This year our Bobcats made it all the way to the Southland Conference and won! This is huge to me, as a freshman, and an out-of-stater. In Colorado, football is big, but not near like it is in Texas. This was the last home game of the season and we slaughtered them!! It was so much fun, and I'm glad that we are able to experience this and many other traditions here at Texas State, like the hand symbols we have of the the bobcat claw and the TX symbol seen in a picture below! My friend Roman took these pictures as I stood right next to him!































There I am in the hat!!!! :)

Homecoming Game

Here is a picture of my friend Lauren and I on October 18th at the homecoming game. Texas State played Central Arkansas and although we lost 24-31 it was still a great game. I like going to the football games because it's a chance to get to hang out with all my friends. We usually tailgate before and go to all the frats tents and get a lot of free stuff! I've been to all the football games but homecoming was the most fun because of all the school spirit everyone had and it was the game that the most people went to!

The Glorious Old Main Building

Old Main seems to be the landmark for Texas State considering it is the very first building at this University. Although it now houses the College of Fine Arts and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Old Main once served as the administrative building. I find it exciting that I'll be completing a handful of (including my University Seminar) class in this building because Old Main is what signifies this campus in my opinion. I'll be the first to admit that the building's location is quite aways for most students. Living in Blanco Hall, I dread walking, what seems miles, to go to class. However when I finally make it to Old Main I gain a feeling of satisfaction because it's "castle-like" roof and beautiful architecture is outstanding to be in the presence of.

Texas State's radio station, KTSW, is located inside Old Main which I find neat because not only is music a passion of mine, it's a place I hope to be seeing a lot of in my next coming semesters. Also, if you're into scary stories, Old Main apparently had a suicide happening in it's early years, and now the spirt of the girl laid to rest, roams the halls with her books in hand.

Election Night at George's

The Presidential Election of 2008 will go down in history, and I was lucky enough to be a part of that history. On November 4, 2008 my friend and I went to George's in LBJ to anxiously await the results of the election. It was very exciting. The restaurant was packed with people playing pool, ping pong, and chattering about the election. KTSW ran coverage the entire night, and CNN was broadcast on the big screen. Every time a candidate won a state, the crowd burst into cheers. My friend and I took to cheering for everything, simply because we were so excited to have voted in this election. It was definitely an exciting night that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Dead Presidents' Club

The Dead Presidents' Club is a comedy written by Larry King. Texas State hosted this play for two weeks as a Common Experience event, free to all freshmen enrolled in a University Seminar class. The play is about four past U.S. Presidents: Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry S. Truman. It begins with the death of Nixon, who doesn't realize that he is dead until LBJ reveals to him that they are all stuck in Purgatory. Each of the president's personalities were exaggerated for comedic effect, and it worked. Nixon is seen as an uptight little man, while LBJ is a laid-back Texas farm boy. The play centers around these two characters as they devise a plan to get out of Purgatory and into Heaven.

The play ends with the trials of all four men in front of God, who happens to be a black woman. (The actress who played God played the role of Effie in Dream Girls on Broadway, which shows you how professional this production was.)

Though certainly not the most entertaining play I've ever seen, this production was put on very well, and each of the actors portrayed their character well. I enjoyed the jokes about the presidents' mistakes in office, such as Watergate for Nixon, Truman and the atomic bomb, and Coolidge for doing absolutely nothing while in office.

The Dead Presidents' Club

Larry King's production of "The Dead Presidents' Club" was nothing short of hilarious. The play was circled around four gentlemen with the names of Coolidge, Truman, Johnson and Nixon. Each one of these prior Presidents were in at least one debacle during their term in office and were not favored amongst the public. They managed to get an interview with God, whose image is surprising to most, and plead their case to depart from this "Presidents' Club" and migrate to Heaven. After tricking the men for laughs, He/She grants them what they want and all is well.

The actors did a phenomenal job portraying their roles as prior Presidents. I must say, however, that Lyndon B. Johnson, Mark Fickert's character, entertained me most. With the help from a Professor in the same row as me, weezing before every outburst of laughter, made the play most rememberable.

Welcome Back Concert

On September 20th, I attended Texas State's Welcome Back Concert at The Cotton Gin in Maxwell. The concert was headlined by Secondhand Serenade, a band that I've been following for over three years now in it's rise to fame.

Secondhand Serenade began with one man, John Vesely, plucking out love songs on his guitar for his wife. As he began to gain fame through Myspace, John chose the name Secondhand Serenade for his band because that's what the audience would hear--secondhand love songs written for and about his wife.

John's first album stuck to layered tracks and acoustic guitars, but with the release of Twist in My Story, his newest album, Secondhand Serenade branched out into the rock genre, with electric guitars and drums being more involved.

The concert was amazing. John is incredibly talented, and The Cotton Gin was a great location with a cool backyard atmosphere.

Here is a video from the concert of John singing my favorite song, "Vulnerable."

Andrew Young

I had the pleasure of seeing Andrew Young, American civil rights activist, speak at the LBJ center this past week. The turnout was rather large so I figured I was in for one inspirational speech. Andrew Young has witnessed what the world has to offer and then some. He was a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson. I mostly just want to put the spotlight on Johnson, who Young spoke very highly about. Before and after Johnson became President, Young stated that he "found a common ground of humanity" with those around him. He knew that Johnson had the same views as most people, and felt that those in need were suffering because people who were privileged never cared to share. Johnson was able to relate those who were struggling because he was in their position not so long ago when he had to take on school and multiple jobs at the same time. I can certainly agree with Andrew Young's daughter when she considered "common man" Johnson to be a "get down brotha."

Coffee Pot

This past weekend I went out to the Coffee Pot on the Square with a couple of my friends. I had been once before to just grab a drink and go, but this weekend I actually got to sit down and enjoy the atmosphere of the coffee house. The Coffee Pot has many different details that make it a fantastic coffee house. First off the atmosphere is fantastic. It was quiet but not too quiet to where one would want to fall asleep while sitting down. It has different rooms and areas full of couches and tables that make it seem home like and comfortable. The colors are relaxing. There are games that one can play or books that they could read. In the picture my friends are actually playing a game of chess. Many students go here to study because of the relaxation. I was there to read over some chapters and notes for one of my classes. There is actually certain nights that there is live music and open mike that are always fun to go listen to. I loved how the place has lots of windows. I'm able to see outside into the middle of the square. Now for the food and Coffee, the Coffee I would not be able to judge totally myself, except for the fact that there are many options to choose from. I had a Coconut Italian Cream Soda while I was there; therefore, I cannot critique the coffee. The Soda though was fantastic, it probably could have used a little bit more flavor, but it was good otherwise. They have tons of different types of drinks that one could get. The food that they serve is like cakes, muffins, cheesecakes, and other sweets to go with coffee. I had a bite of a chocolate cheesecake that was to die for. It was impeccable. I love that there is so many options and I could be in the mood for any type of flavor of a drink and they more than likely would have it. The baristas were very helpful and fantastic waiters. They would get us anything we needed and still seem to be happy about what they were doing. Overall I think the Coffee Pot is one of the best Coffee Houses I have been to, and will be going back in the future!

Restaurant Review- Alvin Ords Sandwhich

Two days ago on November 7 I had the most delicious sandwich. It was on a round shaped bun a little bit bigger then a hamburger bun and it came with mustard, american cheese, ham, and lettuce. The perfect combination :). It was also toasted to perfection without one part burnt or harder then another part. The bread tasted amazing and I am still not sure what exact kind of bread this sandwich was made out of but it was delightful! And a medium sandwhich with a drink was only seven dollars and ninety three cents. For a filling meal I find that a good deal.

Here is the receipt and like I said not a bad price for a good meal. Since you can get the sandwich without mayo and with veggies this is the ideal lunch for someone not wanting to eat something extremely fatty. This sandwich filled me up to the extent of not needing those afternoon snacks before it is dinner time. It is a wonderful lunch so treat yourself to that little bit of heaven when you get sick of campus food. I would give Alvin Ords Sandwich shop a double thumbs up with no doubt in my mind! Now go try it out! It is in the parking lot next to Subway off University Drive.

Student Convocation

When we as a freshman class first chose Texas State as our future college we were told about a program that we were to attend besides orientation. As any freshman student would we all groaned just wanted to get to the fun parts of college. This common experience that we all had to attend was a blessing in disguise though.

Not only did the Paws Preview, as it was named, teach you information about your soon to be attended school, it taught you how to utilize your freshman year to best benefit you. Each group was assigned a PAL and that PAL could answer any question that you had or needed to know about Texas State. Not only did we find out where everything was on campus, some of us even got to see the lecture rooms where our future classes were to be held. No, it was not the best time when we had to sit through a class or lectures that were not wanted, but in the long run it was going to help us be in the loop as new students in a huge university. We had no idea how lost we would have been as a whole freshman class without this opportunity. At the time when I was actually in Paws Preview I did not enjoy it, but now I can see that it helped our class as a whole. 

The one part of Paws Preview that stood out to me though was the Convocation. This is the one and only time our entire freshman class was to be in one room as a whole, and that to me was a moment to be proud of. It was a moment that none of us would ever see again. We were all brought in group by group and sectioned in the colosseum squirming as we waited and waited for our speakers to begin. I happened to have a prime seat on the floor up close to the stage where I could see everything that was going on at that time. It was fun as the cheerleaders performed and the deans were introduced over the microphone. The arena seemed in awe as everything went on and it was pretty quiet with respect through out. Looking around you could see every face that made up our freshman class as a whole.

Then the speaker of the night was a relative of Lyndon B Johnson himself which was a an amazing experience as well. We were freshman just starting our journey at this amazing school and here is the blood relative of our famous alumnae that makes our school proud being the only United States President to come from a college in Texas. We all sat and listened to the wise words spoken and some people were probably not obtaining this information. I did not catch all of what was said but I know that Lyndon Nugent was proud of Texas State just like his grandfather was. At that moment I was proud to be at a school that meant so much to so many people. It was a school that had school pride and had that pride of knowing a president graduated from there. 

After the presentation we all celebrated the day at Sewell park with food and fun activities going on all around us at the river. There were multiple generations of Texas State students at attendance of this making the gathering even more to remember. There is nothing more exciting then starting off your college experience knowing that you made the right decision. I represent Texas State class 2012!

Homecoming Activities

The week of October 13th was homecoming week here at Texas State. I went to many of the homecoming events just for the fun of it. I attended the actual homecoming game and tailgating and the infamous Soap Box Derby.  

In the picture above we are at tailgating. There are hundreds of tents it seems set up all over the parking lot with food and drinks galore. Almost every organization you can think of has something set up out there and it is just amazing. There are so many people everywhere and here is the deal breaker for all the college kids that are broke, MOST OF IT IS FREE. There is samples of ice cream, organizations giving out free water and sometimes they even have free t-shirts. Besides just getting free stuff they have a concert in the afternoon before the stadium opens that are always fun to listen to as well. There are many people all enjoying food and music before cheering our team to their victory.

This picture is all my lovely ladies at the actual game. Apparently I was missing the sunglasses memo ;). It was hot and sunny but a large portion of the student body was there to support their bobcats to victory. We actually did not win our homecoming football game but we played a decent game and the fun of it is watching our athletes do their best. This was the amazing ending to homecoming week and it was tremendous fun sharing it with all of my sisters.

And this was the Alpha Xi Delta and Pi Kappa Psi car at the Soap Box Derby. We had the amazingly huge truck that was definitely the best car there. We defeated the first car we were up again and then were knocked out of the bracket in the second round although we should have won. I think it was our huge flag that is the cause of the seconds delay. Either way watching the Soap Box Derby was exciting and something all Texas State Students should do at one point or another. 

This is me and my sister Maddi and we were having fun watching the Soap Box Derby. It was an adventure and something that we look forward to next year. There were all sorts of cars such as the Lanana Bannana and the engineering students made a pretty realistic coffin that was outdoing us all. It was a lot of fun watching all the cars race in front of commons so think about participating next year. Thats all for now. :)

Xi Ball Tournament

About a month ago I attended the Xi Ball tournament which is a sand volleyball tournament that my sorority put on in Sewell Park. The reason I am writing about this is because I never had much faith in college students to want to help out for causes. Alpha Xi Delta decided to put on this event to get a water well in an African Village. They had no clean water to drink and if we reached out goal of three thousand dollars we would be able to give this to them. Not only did a ton of organizations around campus want to participate, all of my sisters showed up to support the cause as well. There was a fee for each team that entered and a prize for the winner. There were quiet a bit of girl and guy teams out there which made me smile. With all the teams money and the on the side donations that we collected we had earned a tad under three thousand dollars. My sisters were not about to give up, so even after the tournament took place many people went getting more on the side donations and we reached our goal. The day that we raised over three thousand dollars for that village in Africa I was proud to be an Alpha Xi Delta and I was very proud to represent Texas State University. Sometimes adults don't realize that college kids have just as much potential to help out those around us in need as full grown adults. Representing Texas State I am proud to say that we are not the only sorority helping out those in need, each one has its special touch in helping out that one special person. Our philanthropy is choose children and as part of our philanthropy in a couple of weeks we can adopt children for Christmas. We adopt them and get them the toys on their Christmas list and be their Santa Clause cause they are not fortunate enough to get that every year. So I will be posting again once that amazing experiences happens and trying to encourage everyone to do something good for someone or even a family just because thats the Christmas spirit.