An exciting upcoming weekend!

Hey there guys! It's Nell again! :) Long time no see!

As you might know, quite an exciting weekend is coming up soon! You see, this Friday, you better go to the Commons Ball, from 9:00 pm to midnight. Every year, the Commons completely changes its appearance into something extravagant and fun and amazing. You get to dress up and enjoy wonderful food and little stations and take silly pictures with your friends such as this one:

My freshman year, it was themed around the world, and last year was a Vegas night! This year, we get to enjoy a cruiseliner appearance at the Commons Odyssey!
So, Commons, Friday, February 1 at 9 pm. Be there.  That's certainly where we'll be!

Also, Saturday is going to be a SUPER exciting and busy day! You see, Russian, East European, and Central Asian Club will be having this super exciting thing called a PIEROGI PARTY! What is it? Whoever comes will learn how to make delicious East European pierogi (basically dumplings) with various fillings, like meat, cheese and potatoes, and fruit! Trust me. It'll be fun. And delicious. And free.
Look at the cute little lady to your left! So, Saturday, February 2 starting at 1 pm, in McTyeire Hall. Come grab some free food and learn about other cultures that you might not know to much about! Free. Food. Enough said.



This weekend there will be another great Vandy tradition going on! Vanderbilt's Dance Marathon! It's such a great fundraiser. It really is. All of the proceeds go to the Children's Hospital on campus, there are a ton of acts and activities, and if you can, you should go. And it's an ALL DAY EVENT. Meaning. You can find the time! It starts at 9:00 am and ends at 11:30 pm. Trust me. You can find the time to go enjoy yourself . It's in the Student Life Center. So go be a good person and have a wonderful weekend!

Because those are three wonderful and big events, I'll leave it there. So go have a blast of a weekend, and good luck to everyone with school work! I know it's getting tough, but we can all make it! :) Signing out!

Charades and other wonderful things!

It was Rachael's activity night last Friday and she chose Charades!
Best idea ever!

I wish you were there! It was fun watching people act out 'belly-dancing', 'juggling chainsaws', 'Mario mushroom', 'giant marshmallow' and 'gravity'.

Moreover, it's lovely to feel in-sync with your friends, like you are on the same wavelength, parallel, connected or something.

this is us

I also learned who Zoidburg, Kida and Mushu are! Right, I have not seen Futurama, Atlantis or Mulan. But hey! I googled Zoidburg and he reminds me of Cthulhu! Lovecraft?

Is it Friday yet?

Hello, you wonderful person, you. This is Rachael, in my very first post on the Defying Gravity blog! It’s an honor, guys.

If you check out my info page at the top of the site, you’ll see that the reason I’m only just now joining in on the fun is because I was in France last semester. And on that note, something is coming up that is of the utmost importance: study abroad applications. Seriously, I can testify that going abroad is a great experience and you should do it if it’s even remotely possible for you. Application deadlines are coming up, and since those applications involve professor recommendations and essays, you really need to get on it!

Here are the deadlines:

For Maymester: January 31

For Summer session: February 4

For Fall semester: February 28

For more information and to start your application, check out the GEO website! JUST DO IT. https://webapp.mis.vanderbilt.edu/studioabroad/

You could be on a beach in Southern France RIGHT NOW.

In other news, here are some things you can do this weekend that are fun!

Blair is having a student showcase this Friday the 25^th, in Ingram Hall, from 8pm-9:30pm. Come support the incredibly talented students in our music school!

Also on Friday, 4^th Fridays at Sarratt will be featuring Vanderbilt Spoken Word! It starts at 8pm in the New Rand Lounge. (If you’re like me and you are completely confused by all this new terminology that comes with the Rand remodel, this is next to Pie and Leaf. Seriously though, New Rand, Old Rand, Upside-down Rand… it’s all New Rand to me.)

On Saturday (the 26^th) is an event that everyone (or at least I) have been eagerly awaiting ever since it happened for the first time last year… the Yule Ball! It goes from 7pm-10:30pm in the SLC Ballroom. Tickets are on sale at the Sarratt box office for $8, or they are $10 at the door. And of course I should note that all proceeds from this event go to Books from Birth of Middle Tennessee. And, you know, there will be food there. And the Archive Nights, Tongue n Cheek, The Melodores, and Momentum Dance Company. GET SO EXCITED! Here is the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/544310782264831/?ref=ts&fref=ts

If you aren’t too tired from how awesome the Yule Ball is, on Saturday night the International Film Lens Series is showing La Vie En Rose, a French film that will be shown with English subtitles. It starts at 10pm in the Commons Mulipurpose Room.

And if you want to hang out with us in Mayfield 2 (Please hang out with us!): On Friday night, we will be eating dinner at Chuy’s at 5:30pm, then heading back to the Mayf to play Charades, or maybe Apples to Apples, or BS, or something. It'll be great!

Have a lovely end of your week!

And here is a picture of my cat. It'll help you make it to Friday.

Mid-week update (at the end of the week!)

Hey everyone!

Jacob here!  It was my job to bring you all the Wednesday post for this week.  I say "was" because, as you can probably tell, this is not being written on a Wednesday!  But hey, that's how college works some times, even this early in the semester.

On a far more awesome note, part of why I was late is because we've just started the bulk of the work on JUGGLEVILLE VIII!  The Vandy Juggling and Physical Arts Club here on campus puts on a annual production in April, and it's one of the craziest shows around! 

As you can see, we love our puns.

It's made up of about ten student-choreographed routines, and a few guest acts, and the whole thing is structured around a gripping and intriguing plot.  Well, at least as much of those things as you can manage when you have to pantomime everything!  This year's theme is a spy-vs-spy adventure!

I'm sure it'll be all I talk about the closer it gets to showtime, so be sure to stay tuned for more details!

-Jacob

...

Hi! This is Luke Miksanek, and I'm supposed to share my weekend stories with you, Mr. Random Stranger on the Internet.



This is you.

This being a three-day weekend, Mayfield 2 has been pretty quiet during the last couple of days. I spent some of my time watching two movies: the modern classic Pulp Fiction (1994) and The Rocketeer (1991), a film that I went out of my way to see due to its inclusion on the Nostalgia Critic's list of Top 11 Underrated Nostalgia Classics. You should watch both of these movies.

Or else.

And...that's it. Seriously. Bye now!

Catan, Catan, and Warm Weather

Hello Vanderbilt community! Lindsey Franklyn here!

I hope we're all having an exciting (and warm???) weekend back at Vanderbilt University. And I hope your first weekend has started off to a bang because ours certainly has! Samantha Cubbage, our fellow blogger, talked about our Mayfield playing Catan on last Friday, which we did.

Results?
The (New) Soviets: Rachael & Patrick
Sheepland: Lindsey and Samantha
Oregon: Nell & Linda.
Portland: Luke & John.
                                                                               
As expected, there were some casualties. Sheepland was blocked in by the iron curtain of the New Soviets. Portland had no choice but to retreat to its ports. Oregon had too much Ore. Even more devastating, Sheepland had a recession of sheep; Sheepland had to trade in order to repopulate its sheep population! (And, because the game lasted almost three hours, we were all left exhausted when it ended).

Remember the days when the weather was beautiful?

Special shout-out to the wonderfully warm weather that occurred this weekend! Looking for something to do if we're lucky enough to get some more warm weather again? Interested in making some spring plans several weeks in advance? Don't fear, Our Mayfield has some suggestions for some warm weather'd fun!

• Ice-Skating
• Going to the Zoo
• Rock Climbing @ Climb Nashville
• Cliff Diving @ Percy Priest

This is how cold Vanderbilt feels when I walk to class.

And if Vanderbilt looks like this....? You can

• Go ice-skating (Again!)
• Make hot chocolate!
• Watch OUAT (Once Upon a Time)
• Lock yourself in your room and bundle up (Don't skip class, though)
• Read a good book.
• Stock up on milk, eggs, and bread.
• Make snowshoes.
• Wear cute hats!

Cute hats like these!

Or this hat!

The weather's been crazy this weekend! Stay warm (or cool?) Vanderbilt, can't wait for my next blog post. Hopefully, it'll be full of hot chocolate, bundling up, and cute hats!

- Lindsey Franklyn

Fuzzy Hats, Catan, and Hot Chocolate

Greetings, dear readers! Samantha, here!

My personal hat of magical furry warmth.

Happy January! It’s my favorite month at Vanderbilt. Finals are distant, classes are new, and there’s still hope for snow. It’s the month of warm, fuzzy wintergear, hot chocolate, and no huge assignments to distract me from joy I take in those two things.  

For any of you new to campus, I recommend the hot chocolate at Commons with blackberry flavoring and fuzzy floppy hats as essentials in surviving the long walks in low temperatures! If you like your personal thermos better than the cardboard cups at Vandy dining locations, they're willing to fill your thermos instead. 


And where should you be walking in your stylish hat this weekend? Well...

1: Mayfield 2! On Friday night we’ll be playing CATAN! It’s sure to be a lot of fun, so come on over! We’re not sure exactly when we’ll start, but if you need to know, just post on our Facebook page and we’ll tell you. :)

2: Saratt Cinema! After or before you come and hang out with us, you can see a free showing, snacks included, of Looper at Saratt Cinema. Showtimes are 7 and 10, and this event is sponsored by VSG.

3: Greek Row! You know me, I could care less about the parties. There seems to be a suspicious lack of hot chocolate and furry hats there. But starting at 7pm on Friday, there will be food trucks! And while we’re talking about food, remember that PF Chang’s is on the card, now!

4: The Internet! 
All weekend, and actually, right now, you don’t even have to put on a fuzzy hat or warm your hands with hot chocolate in order to sign up for the MLK Weekend of Service! It may seem small, but it’s a great way to honor a paragon of American service, intellect, and leadership. Go ahead and check out your options here.
Plus, our group released another "And I'm A Vandy Student!" video this week, which you can watch below, or here!

 
I hope that your week is wonderful, full of intriguing classes and enlightening professors! Hope to see you around at these events this weekend! 

Samantha