May 21, 2009

School is finally over! I moved out of my apartment yesterday. It’s very strange being home again. This year ended so quickly..

Anyway, I suppose this will be my last post. I’ve had a lot of fun blogging about UMBC life; it’s been great being able to share my experiences as a student. I’ll keep this short and sweet–I hope all you prospective students out there end up choosing to come to UMBC, it’s a decision I’m sure you won’t regret.  I’ve grown so much as a student, and a young adult, in the last two years alone, and it’s all thanks to the people at this school.

I hope you all have a fun and safe summer break, and that you do well wherever you end up in the fall!

Best,
Nicole Vaquerano

May 15, 2009

Whew! I feel like I’ve been studying non-stop this past week. I have three finals, all next week. Kinda hard to break up when to study for what since they’re all basically right after each other. I was up until 2am studying for biology, and I feel good about how much I went over, but I’m worried that all my french and physics studying this weekend will wipe out my bio knowledge!! Not only do I have to study, but I have to start packing! It’s crazy how much gets accumulated over a year. I may just wait until after my exams, and just speed-pack. Andddd I don’t know whether to unpack when I get home or not, because I leave for summer camp in less than a month! Guess I should just live out of boxes until it’s time for me to leave lol. Who knows! I suppose I should just focus on my exams right now, and think about everything else later!

Weekenddddd May 9, 2009

I’m very much enjoying this weekend. I had a volleyball picnic with Back On My Feet down at the harbor. It was really hot, and the courts were slushy from last night’s rain, but that didn’t stop anyone from playing hard! I came back to campus with so much sand I could have made my own sandbox. Now I’m just relaxing, cleaning and getting ready to go to Rockville. My family and I are going to Dave and Buster’s tonight for my brother’s birthday (which is actually tomorrow–what a Mother’s Day gift!), which I’m really excited for because I’ve never been. Whenever I get back from that, I’ll be going to my friend’s birthday party. Tomorrow I’ll be spending more time with my family, for obvious reasons lol. My family is less than 30 minutes from campus, but I always seem to have so much to do, that I don’t get to visit much. But I love weekends like this where I have the chance to go over!

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! =)

May 3, 2009

I cleaned my whole apartment this weekend. I started with the trash, and noticed that the floor needed to be vacuumed. After I started vacuuming, I noticed there was stuff under the couch I couldn’t reach, so I started moving furniture around.  I figured if I was going to move the couch, I might as well do a thorough job and move everything. I finally finished vacuuming when I noticed how much recycling had been piling up by the door over the past semester. I organized all of it, which took an hour, and threw it all out. I found myself on a huge cleaning streak and took advantage of it. I cleaned the entire kitchen, moved on to the bathroom, and ended with my room. I was so exhausted, but glad I got so much done. Thennn I realized that I didn’t get any of the studying I was planning on doing, done. My happy moment of achievement was short lived lol. I spent almost all of today studying to catch up on what I didn’t do yesterday. Hopefully I get everything done that I can because I have three exams this week! And that doesn’t include finals! I have a lot to do in these next couple weeks…. at least I can do it in a clean aparment! =)

Swine April 30, 2009

The swine flu seems to be a lot more serious than I initially imagined it. Today I looked up some info on it.. Here’s the most important stuff!

Symptoms:

• fever, which is usually high
• cough
• runny nose or stuffy nose
• sore throat
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue or tiredness, which can be extreme
• diarrhea and vomiting (sometimes)

Signs of a more serious swine flu infection might include pneumonia and respiratory failure.

How to prevent it:

• Staying away from other people who might be infected and can include avoiding large gatherings, spreading out a little at work, or perhaps staying home and lying low if an infection is spreading in a community
• frequent washing of hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially after being out in public

Be safe out there!

April 26, 2009

HLSU’s Jamie C. Heard Soccer Tournament was yesterday, and it went GREAT! We had about 50 people there, and the field we were able to get off campus was perfect. I was really excited to see people playing not just for fun but in memory of Jamie. Even people I know personally that can get pretty competitive just let loose and had lots of fun.

After the tournament, my soccer team and a couple other friends came to my apartment and we had a huge dinner and played Cranium. It was crazy and we were all so exhausted when the day was over. It was such a relaxing and refreshing day overall.

I’m just here, finishing my homework, and looking forward to the 60 degree weather that’s coming this week. These 80’s are getting to me! =)

April 23, 2009

We had elections today, for the new Hispanic Latino Student Union executive board. I decided not to run for anything this year, but I’m really glad to see some really good students join the board.  I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with HLSU next year.

French has been killing the me the last few weeks! It’s definitely a lot of work. But I’m loving what I’m learning, and I especially love using it to talk with my French friends. Physics has also been quite challenging. I’ve found myself studying even more than I ever thought I would! But getting good grades makes it all worth it =).

NHL playoffs have been keeping me distracted lately! Especially the Rangers and Capitals games. The Rangers are winning the series 3-1, which is bittersweet because I like the Capitals as well. Anyway, I hope this rut of extra studying is over soon so I can watch my team go to finals!!

Quadmania April 21, 2009

This weekend was UMBC’s annual Quadmania carnival. I actually went this year, and it was so much fun! I was there for 4 hours, and definitely got some sunburn. There was live music, and free giveaways which are always great! HLSU also had a table, where we sold Hispanic drinks, popsicles, and Chick-fil-a wraps. After Quadmania, we went to the volleyball courts and played until it was dark. I’ve never had so much fun playing volleyball! It’s fun to play in the sand because you can dive and just make a fool of yourself and it doesn’t hurt lol.

The morning before we went to Quadmania, a group of friends and I went to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk-a-thon in Baltimore. We were walking for our friend Jamie, a UMBC student that passed away last April. It was really good being able to just walk and talk about Jamie and all our memories with him. HLSU is having a soccer tournament dedicated to him, this coming Saturday. I can’t wait to spend even more time reminiscing with friends about how amazing he was.

April 12, 2009

Ever have one of those days where everything is going wrong, and you just want to go to sleep?! I should be doing some homework now, but I’m exhausted. I can hold off the homework for a couple hours.. I just need a time-out lol.

One good thing happened today! A former hockey teammate invited me to play on her team in a tournament in Laurel May 15-17. Hope I can scrounge up enough money to play! It’s been 3 weeks since my season ended, and I’m dying to play again.

My friend Marcia is coming to spend the night tonight. She’s on her second spring break (I know right?? Her school is awesome.) so she’s going to come hang out. I have to get up at 4:15 tomorrow morning though, so I hope she doesn’t keep me up too late! Although it’ll probably end up happening. I haven’t talked to her in a long time.. she’s been really busy with school, as have I. When we do get together, we talk forever. We have 16 years of memories to keep us talking lol.

Well, I should probably go get my laundry. I’m off to my grandma’s in Rockville soon, for easter dinner!

What a Week! April 10, 2009

This week has been one of the busiest weeks I’ve had all year. It’s funny how fast deadlines arrive when you dwell on them! Those inevitable arrivals.. of no escape! I think I nailed all my exams though, and I did well on a speech I did last night at a UMBC reception.. which was a challenge to say the least. The last time I did any kind of speech,  it was for my high school graduation project, in front of two teachers I had known for years.  So I was obviously lacking in the experience department. I had a lot of help though, from Admissions faculty. They definitely showed support and made me feel a lot less nervous. I’m SO glad it’s over, but I really appreciate that they trusted me enough to give me the opportunity.

With all these school things going on this week, I was still able to run with Back On My Feet twice this week. Getting up at 4:15 isn’t so bad anymore! And the group is so energetic, it’s contagious! Even in the still-sleeping streets of downtown Baltimore. I’m so glad I started volunteering for BOMF, it’s such a satisfying experience. Can’t wait to run again Monday!

I’m definitely looking forward to relaxing once school is over, but I truly will miss this school year. It’s gone by so fast. This year has been filled with a lot of challenges, and I’ve learned a lot, in and out of the classroom.

For now, I’m just looking forward to relaxing this weekend.. volunteering tonight at KKI, which is actually very soothing lol.. Super Walmart grocery shopping tomorrow morning, because I’ve been living off applesauce and canned peaches for a week! And just spending time with my family.

Happy Easter/Pesach! =)