Bring On the Calvary!!!

RA training has been non stop!! I've met such amazing people holding the same position as me and it's been a blast ;D Tammy Bowen is doing an amazing job putting on this entire RA orientation *stands up and applauds*
I am so exhausted though, whew, lots of work ahead of me. :P I've got some programming out of the way, a ROTC meet and greet set up, and my life planned out for the next 6 weeks, get ready Bukoff residents, it's gonna be a wild ride!!! :D

hmmmm.... what else.... OH! Comic Con in Chicago, aka Nerd Fest :P haha It was a BLAST!!! My costume dudes, turned out amazing!! I was babydoll from sucker punch the movie. You probably don't know who that is... just google it :P It seriously was an under rated movie, but it was so AWESOME!!! Best movie I've ever seen dudes!! But yeah, Comic Con was dah shiz ;D I totally cried when I had to leave. I mean, it was 4 days of stardom. Paparazzi were all over taking pictures from when we 1st arrived to when we left that night, it was awesome. I was disappointed in returning back to the "normal" world, but halloween will be around soon enough ;D

Alrighty, well imma catch some shut eye, but I'll check back in soon. The madness will soon begin :O
Peace Out

~Annie

Ready or not.... RA I Become!!!

Yep so today was the first day of RA training. From sun up to sun down, it's been all about learning my responsibilities, the expectation, and just gathering the ropes to what it takes to be an RA. and dude, I'm super excited for this position :D Tammy has been awesome by welcoming all of us newbies with open arms and even inviting us over to her house to help prepare lunch and dinner and playing a game of woofleball with the other soon-to-be RAs :) It's been exciting, and I'm sorry I have to make this one short, but I'm totally whipped from today and gotta hit the hay. But I just wanted to let you guys know, so far so good ;) It's weird living on campus and being the only person in the building haha
*yawn* goodness I'm pooped, but before I go, just to let everyone know, there is now a bridge on campus that connects the University Center (known better as the UC) to the Stadium. Yep, pretty crazy, but it looks cool :D
Alrighty, I'm peacing out, chat with ya later ;)

~Annie

3... 2... 1... wha????

Wow, this is my last free weekend of summer vacation :( the countdown is just zooming on by and I'm having a hard time playing catch up. On the agenda these coming weeks are:

31st-4th    =   Work nonstop on the costume and get my hair dyed platinum blonde!!!
5th-8th      =   Move-in and RA training
9th&10th   =   Finish anything that isn't done with the costume
11th-14th   =   CHICAGO COMIC CON!!!!!!!

and after that it's more RA training, xc practices and finally school starting.... i guess somewhere in there I should have "order books" listed, but that may have to wait since comic con is getting perdy expensive erg!

Besides, it's actually not a bad idea to wait to order your books a week after school starts so that you can see which professors recommend earlier editions or maybe say they probably won't need the book at all (slim chance but hey! could save ya 50 bucks) I actually didn't buy a single book the fall semester of my sophomore year. I had friends that had either taken the class before and had a book, or they were taking the class at a different time, so I just borrowed books all semester. And, in the chance that I couldn't get a book, like for exam week, I simply asked the professor if I could borrow one of his text books to use to study for the final and he told me I shoulda asked him from the beginning of the semester! The school just gives him the books for free and he doesn't use the older editions so he happily loaned me one of his :) See? You get creative when you're broke ;P haha

A big thing besides finishing up my costume is.... PACKING!!!
That's gonna take a few days haha I had a futon my freshmen and sophomore year and I really want it again this year, but our family van is broken so there's no way we can haul it down there this year :( So I gotta think of an alternative, a CHEAP alternative fast.... hmmmm..... ah well, I'll hopefully come up with something... I just hate using my desk for doing homework or working on my laptop. I find it more comfortable and relaxing lounging on my futon with all my stuff just right on my lap. That's how it works for me. but now.... what to do :/ hmmmmm. suíbiàn  níyǎ!!! haha I'm not even sure if that's the right pinyin for it, but it's supposed to mean "whatever" in chinese :P so yeah, whatever i'll figure something out.... hopefully 
besides that, just got a lot of clothes, bedding, comic merch, captain america awesomeness, ummmm... tv, uniforms, did I mention captain america awesomeness??? haha and oh! my vibram fivefingers! can't forget them ;) I hope my roomie is ready for this haha I think my packing list just about describes me in a nutshell :P

What else... OH! I just got an email from our new Cross-Country and Men's Head Track&Field Coach! His name is Coach Massi, he's coming from Tiffin Ohio and he emailed all of us interested athletes his philosophy and it's made me truly excited for this season! He really emphasizes teamwork and strengthening not just physically but even more-so mentally which is what I totally, TOTALLY am all about when it comes to running: Team and Mind. That's all you need, if you don't have that, then you lose out physically. so yup, looks like it's gonna be a good year dudes!

Gah!!! I have so many plans and ideas for this year! I wanna start a group on campus: Empowering Women Globally (EWG) My sister started the group at her school at Florida State Univ. a couple years ago and I think it'd be really cool to the expand the group to Trine. Since Trine's specialty is engineering, college is the time to go out and use your mind for cool projects around the world and I think it'll be a great way to get engineering students out there to do just that. And keep in mind, EWG isn't just for women, men are highly HIGHLY recommended and encouraged to join! So yep, that's one thing I have in mind. I have a lot of things in store for the ROTC program, I simply couldn't write them all out right now, I'm still formulating some thoughts haha Then of course, I'm RA-ing this year so that'll keep me busy, on top of cross-country and my 18 credit hours so yeah... cross your fingers I don't lose my mind! haha :P

Alrighty, well I've taken enough of a break, I need to get back to cutting, pinning, thinking, more cutting, sewing, throwing away, re-cutting, and the cycle goes on and on :P  Later dudes
-Peace-

~Annie 

Ka-BOOM!

I'm baaaaack!!! haha Sorry dudes for not posting in a while. I've been working nonstop on my costume for Chicago Comic Con, working with new freshmen ROTC cadets to get them all scheduled and cleared, and SOAR week wore me out!! haha It was good though. I could only make it to 2 of the 4 days of SOAR, but I was able to nab like 4 new incoming cadets. 3 are dudes, and one chic!!! I am ecstatic!!! it's gonna be a fun year, I have a lot of goodie in store ;)

And updates on my fractured arm! I just saw my orthopedist today and he.... cleared me for physical training!!! woot woot!!! CELEBRATE!! so i'm all good to go this next year at ROTC. cross your fingers I don't break something again :O steeple chase is out unfortunately :'((((( I really loved that race, but I can't put everything at stake again like that, so I'm sorry dear steeple chase, but it looks like I'll be enjoying you from the stands, dry! haha

What else.... oh! I'm doing cross-country this year! I did it freshmen year and just really missed the team feeling I had my senior year in cross-country so I decided to take a break from it my sophomore year and well, my coach has talked me back into joining. and i'm totally psyched! I got these awesome new shoes! look at these:
 
Cool right?? haha they're AMAZING!!! Seriously. Okay so here's my marketing side coming out (I've actually talked in numerous people into getting these and they are all surprised at how well they work!)  These Vibram FiveFingers (This is the KSO model) force you to run how you naturally should run, on your toes. This way it takes the pressure off your knees and hips and strengthens your feet, ankles and calves (not to mention the quads!) more so than a regular tennis shoe would. You see, tennis shoes make you do a heel strike run, whereas these keep you on your toes for a smoother, more enjoyable run :) I love them. I run on trails, through water, on roads, paved sidewalks, rocky graveled trails, and never once have a rolled my ankle! They're amazing and I can feel myself getting in much better shape from them. They've made me look forward to running everyday! So dudes, get these! Yeah... they're a bit pricey, but for starters I'd go for these, the KSO model. They're the cheapest and the original model they started with. I'm eventually gonna buy the Bikilas:


Even cooler right? haha these are more expensive, but I think they'll be great for the Disney Marathon I plan to run in January 2012 :D
But till then, I'm working these KSO right into the ground and they're AWESOME!! highly highly recommended ;) maybe I can talk in my whole team into getting a pair haha

Alrighty, dinner is about ready and I'm hungry!! :P I'll chat with you guys soon ;) RA training starts next month!! get ready!! :D
-Peace Out-

Annie

Get ready to SOAR!

Yo dudes, so SOAR week at Trine Univeristy is gonna start in T-minus 2 days!! Woohoo!! I will be attending, to talk about the AFROTC program and all that good stuff ;) hehe. Unfortunately, I won't be able to drive there everyday for it this year, only for Tuesday and potentially Friday. I LOVE, and I mean whole-heartedly LOVE talking to anyone about the ROTC program, goodness, I could talk your ear right off! But I have a job to go to, and gas isn't the cheapest for a starving college student, but i'll try to make it to 2 of the days this upcoming week! :)
SOAR week is just a time when the new freshmen come to Trine, meet their coaches, sign up for classes, say hi to their new roommates, it's just a big WELCOME! And it's always a blast to see. I'm thinking of wear my ABU's (camofluagh) one of the days, that uniform is a lot easier than the others to put on :P I just hope no one gets intimidated... then I have absolutely no one to talk to the entire day about the program. Those are the worst. But, who am I kidding? Just me wearing a military uniform kinda makes people refuse to make eye contact with me, is it because they think I'll ambush them and try to convince their son or daughter to fight for their country?? hahahahaha yeah right :P How I would love to get everyone to join, I'm not out their to recruit every individual. The first step that potential cadets have to take is to come up to me first. Not the other way around. The military isn't cut out for everyone, heck! out of all my relatives and family, I'm only the 3rd person in the military! So I know that everyone doesn't get this butterfly feeling in their heart whenever the National Anthem is played. That's why I wish people understood that making eye contact with me doesn't mean that I think they want to join, it makes me feel human! and not invisible to world. ;)
Well I'm totally excited for the week ahead and will keep you informed on any new updates with the ROTC program at Trine ;)

In other news, Insanity Workout is kicking my booty yet again. We had the Fit Test for the 2nd time yesterday and I improved on every exercise! yayayaya! We still have to measure and weigh ourselves, but I'm just taking in the fulfillment of beating my last numbers and that I am getting stronger! :DDDD
I just received news that our distance coach at Trine has retired :( Coach Doyle was an awesome coach and I wish him all the best! He was able to strengthen the mind and the body in all his runners and he wasn't too bad himself at running ;) So Doyle, all I have left to say is, Peace Out!

~Annie

Day of Rest

Ahhhhh,.... so I've been at Insanity Workout for a week now, and dudes, this thing is AMAZING! Though one of my bros dropped out of the program (he couldn't handle it I guess) and my mom just had shoulder surgery today so she won't be back in it for some time, this program really tests you every single day as to how bad do you want it.
We did (meaning my lil bro and I now) the Plyometric Cardio Circuit again yesterday and I remember the 1st time I did it, just 5 days before. I sucked the bag and my legs killed, I kept having to stop and wipe freaken sweat off of me haha but this time I was really holding my own. I was going faster, kept better form, and I didn't sweat as much!! woo hooo!!! In just 5 days I'm kicking booty! Well, I still had to stop a few times, but physically and mentally I feel stronger and healthier. Now, I know everyone is wondering, with these kind of workouts, how do I look now? Am I seeing any progress yet?? Is this workout really doing it for me?? It's hard to say, because ya know, I've always been active and have an athletic physic... somewhat. :P So, weight loss is not what I'm going for (though I have lost some already). Moreover, I'm trying to GAIN weight, not because I'm under (i'm actually in the right weight class for my height) but so that I can gain more muscle. I wanna be ripped :P hehe And since that bad fall I had a month or so back during the steeple chase, I've been really wanting to get back in shape. And I'm seeing some improvements with just a week of Insanity Workout under my belt! My arms are more defined now, my calves are chiseled and my neck and shoulders just look stronger :) The best part is..... I'm not sore!!!!!!! So after 4 or 5 days, the major soreness in my quads and calves went away, thank god :P haha
So today, every Thursday actually, in Insanity Workout you are given one day of rest. So, what do I do? Sit on my butt, eat junk food and watch TV? Nope. I ran 4 and 1/2 miles with my dog :D yep awesome right? I felt so good and my dog held strong. I just wanted to keep going, I really had a runner's high. It was fantastic. I hope to run 3 miles at least everyday or every other day, but we'll see. The temperature finally dropped to a cool 70F so I didn't come home soaked in sweat or my dog dieing of dehydration (he still has quite a fur coat on...) We did on Tuesday though :P I believe when I went on for a run with my dog then it was around 11:30AM and the heat index, I was told after, was around 100F. Yeah. it sucked. I had to pick up my dog and race to the nearest lake to throw him to so that he could cool down and get a good drink (he liked it a lot) I won't dive into much detail as to how I looked, let's just say, not pretty :P So yesterday, Wednesday. all I did was watch reality TV on like VH1 or MTV. Like, Basketball Wives and all that crazy stuff, it was horrible! my brain was decomposing every second. I did do Insanity afterwards and felt better. But today I made a vow that I would never do that again. and so, I went on a run :) and it was worth all the sweat.

Peace
~Annie

Insanity Workout or Bust

So, yesterday I started Insanity Workout. It's a full-out 60 days of intense workout. Kinda like P90X, only with Insanity Workout you don't have to worry about buying all the equipment that you would need for P90X (and it's cheaper) So yep, just started and boy am I in P-A-I-N. :P My knees ache, my back is killing me, and my abs... they're crying out. So yeah! I'm excited! Sweat so much today with the Plyometric Cardio Circuit, that there were puddles on the floor of my sweat haha. I'm making my mom and two bros (tried to get my dad to do it, but I guess he's trying this Atkins Diet thingy, whatev...) do this with me and they're holding up! I'm already started to see a result, just from 2 days! My appetite has slowed finally! It could be 2 o'clock in the morning and I'd want to eat a whole meal! But thankfully that has slowed a bit and I'm getting into a better eating habit. Even though I ache all over and am sore, I just know it'll all pay off in the end. I think I'm gonna take my dog on a run tomorrow, just to try to shake out some of the soreness, and come on, I LOVE running :P
So yep, that's me with Insanity. I'll try to update more frequently throughout my experience just in case any of you guys out there are interested in doing it. I think this coming fall semester, I want to host a Insanity Workout thing for campus, get a whole group together to do this, I think that would be awesome! We'll see how that goes. Anywho, I'll chat with you guys later ;)

Peace
~Annie