working with “student” budget

Sometimes I find me telling myself that college days would also probably be one of my financially unstable times. But I enjoy being broke or a savvy when it comes to budgeting. I strongly do not believe that money brings happiness, it shouldn’t. It has a lot to do with the feeling involving possession issues but this is another subject we can discuss later.

I have found few ways to not break the bank. I am known for getting things that I want instead of needing them. By time when I really need them, I’d make a panicked videophone call to my parents and beg. Not an exactly good way to sort things out, I know. I am listing all the things I’ve done in order to save extra gravy.

1)  Skin Care: If I had a post-graduate job with a gravy flowin’ income, I’d find myself in the shelves at Sephora and browsing their latest cream. However I have found another way around, and the answer is baking soda. It works fantastic! Me and my high school self didn’t escape my face when I enrolled college for the first time. I was only seventeen and I had bad acne. I tried countless of products labeled with some promising marketing phrases that led me hoping it would tackle my skin problems. It never did. Until two weeks ago, I tried washing it with baking soda. It worked amazingly and my skin is a lot more controlled, the best part? It’s only a dollar or few more. I wash my face every night after wetting it with hot water, then I create a “paste” out of the baking soda with water and scrub then rinse. You’re all good!

2) Body Scrub: When you’re in California or DC, your opportunity to get a nice glow from the sun is great. But you cannot do that if you don’t exfoliate, with that being said– most of scrubs are costly OR packed with unknown chemicals that you cannot pronounce. (usually from cheap products, I’d say.) What I do, I take a bit of maple syrup and mix it with sugar. There! It works very well and not to mention it is delicious! You can use similar products like honey or agave nectar. Here’s a tip– the cafeteria at Gallaudet holds those products! You can easily get a spoonful of honey and sugar to-go then treat yourself to a nice body/face scrub topped off with a steamy shower!

3) Bring your cup: In order for me to survive the semester, I rely on America’s most addictive drug that is perfectly legal (well, sociologically speaking!)…caffeine. I usually like my cup of joe black and bold, but sometimes I’m in for a treat. A soy latte is a bliss for me when I’m at my stressed phases at Gallaudet. I go to the ‘gallybucks’ at the G-AREA in Student Academic Center and bring my mug. You’ll save a couple of cents! It is a small amount of money being saved but your action counts for the mother nature. NOTE: When SBG office hours are being posted, we have an espresso machine and it is for anyone to use! We can whip you up a latte if you wish to!
4) Get a metro card, seriously: You’re in DC and you’re a college student, please do not bring your car. We are blessed with wonderful public transportation. It is not the system that we’re blessed with, the perks comes within. Every Wednesdays at SAC, around 11AM to 3pm– a Metro sales rep will be present at a booth where you can apply for a discounted SmartTrip card. When you’re approved (it only takes ten minutes of your time to fill out an online form and get your picture taken) and you save greatly. You pay $5 for the card and start depositing balances at any Metro location- you ride for half of the price! And yes, again its eco-friendly. You’re saving your carbon footprint and reducing the use of paper.

5) Gettin’ tired of your look? Ask around and look out for some hair-cutting offer flyers posted on campus. I’m very anal with my bangs but I do not go to a salon to get a $15 bang trim. I know some friends of friends’ friend who got some mean cutting skill. I get my bangs trimmed in a manner I exactly wanted for an exchange of a drink or a tip. Most of salons at DC do offer student discounts but I’m not paying $27 if I can get a cheaper cut. You can sometimes find a great deal on groupon.com if you really want to treat yourself.  **A note to those who desire a mini-makeover, talking about beach waves: if you want the beachy waves- do not buy hair products. Just fill a sprayer with water and sea salt (get that from cafeteria!) and spritz all over your hair then blow dry- your prayers will be answered.

6) Craving for a movie night? Rent some from the library, you’d be surprised that they have good flicks on the stock! And it is  entirely free! You can also go to the cafeteria to pack some fun snacks to-go so you can nibble on them while watching the movie. I usually pack goldfishes, ham deli meat stuffed with cream cheese, cucumbers and salsa, and etc. I’ve done this many times when I’m broke and it is very fulfilling.

7) An event coming up: dive in! One of perks with being involved with sbg-sponsored events, you get a free admission. When the opportunity arises, sign up to be part of a committee! For example: Homecoming 2011 is around the corner and they will be asking for students to volunteer with decorations, beer stand, security, and more. You’ll pay in first as a deposit to ensure that you’ll fulfill your duties. After the event, you’ll get your money back only if you fulfill your duties. You may save $25!

I think I want to stop there, I finally finished my summer painting project- meet Lola. And, good night everyone.

Lola and the artist

a cordial facade we stroll…

I am running out of excuses on why I’m not blogging. Yeah, really- this is raw. I’m going to lay it all out on the table and just say this: I’m just busy. Yes, I’m busy. But when you say “I’m busy” to someone- you don’t realize you either: scare them away or cut down the friendly tone in the conversation you’re having with the person. So I typically try to avoid the B word whenever I’m clacking my heels around the campus (usually with flats packed inside my bags because I start limping approximately three hours after the use.) Until tonight, I realized that this is a blog. I’m blogging about my life and it is BUSY. There! Using the B word has never been so liberating as tonight feels. Now what I am about to tell you is considered as a good excuse, probably the best you’ll ever hear.

Lately ever since I left off after my last entry (around Thanksgiving) I’ve been discovering more about my GNU Baby (for those who don’t know, it is a snowboard) and I love it until I injured my tailbone. I am now living with a coccyx injury. I have to stay away from Lomo the long board for a range of 6 months to a year and yes that includes my GNU Baby. I have read so much more books and yes it includes King’s books *ALWAYS! I’ve written a 45 page long story about a LSD trip and the catch is that I have never tried LSD. I became the Anagrapha Grammareus for my sorority in the spring semester. I coordinated Colorfest 2011 Workshops. Arranged several events on behalf of Student Body Government as their Director of Community Relations. I got an internship gig at National Council of Disability. And yes! I got tattooed (much more to come!) I discovered great bands like Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Doctor Squid, and more. I went to Alaska in the summer then made an impulsive decision to stay there for two months. Where I enjoyed a lot of Kaladi Brother Coffee, honey-cinnamon-nutmeg-lavendar infused beer, and good local indie music (talking about the hoons: http://www.facebook.com/Thehoons). And here I am. So, I think this considers a good pass for slacking on this blog lately.

Anyways, one of my objectives for my last year is to blog as frequently as I can. This is because I want to have my own blogging site someday and this is a good start for me. I’ve been browsing around other wonderful sites (for ladies or anyone with kitschy art interests, and yes vintage fashion with a little bit of tattooing culture nicely interwoven into the mix) I fell in love and felt suddenly inspired! Their url(s) are:

http://www.delightfully-tacky.com/

http://entroende.wordpress.com/ (a dear friend of mine!)

http://skunkboycreatures.blogspot.com/

http://thevelvetbird.blogspot.com/

Something to keep you all occupied before your preseason training begins, or any other training that heavily involves workshops (the usual at Gallaudet for Resident Assistants, Campus Activities Workers, Student Body Government *me* officers, Greek Officers *me again*, and more.)

The upcoming academic year of 2011-12 will have to begin and end with a bang for me. It will be my very last year at Gallaudet University before I go off to explore the perks of life out there. Before I can do that- I’ll lead my sorority (I’m the Proedros- check our site out: http://www.phikappazeta.org/) and I’ll be the Chief of Staff for the Hinks and Behm Administration- it will be a great year for Student Body Government. I’m very animated about how I will lead my cabinets, we have a very diverse and wonderful team this year.

I can’t write about the year any further because it is yet to come! If you’re a existing student, a new student, a transfer student, a stalker, or a someone who wishes to give me an insult…rant…death threats.. I welcome them. contact me at my school email address: clara.baldwin@gallaudet.edu

ask me anything, I’m an open book!

p.s. the subject “a cordial facade we stroll” is a portion of lyrics stolen from one of the hoons’ song “a new credo” (a pretty rad tune to listen to) had to credit to them. just felt very fitting.

Football Team’s Community Service

As Spring is in full swing here at Gallaudet, and the weather is beautiful, many people like to do work on campus to make Gallaudet University as beautiful as possible.  With that in mind, the Gallaudet football team is participating in community service by making a garden out in front of the cafeteria.  Coach Chuck Goldstein made a commitment to the cafeteria staff that our team would help make a beautiful garden that would stand out and draw attention.  All the players from the team are required to show up and participate to help build the garden.  The work being done was a three day process which required a lot of time and effort.

To start off, bricks were brought in to help outline and shape the garden.  Players would line the bricks up and the put in dirt to the designated areas.  Also, dirt was also to be packed inside the bricks to keep them from falling over because they were stacked.  Flowers were then planted into the soil to finish off the final masterpiece.  It is a wonderful sight on campus for everyone to walk by it and smile.  The football team worked hard with everyone participating to make the job easy and successful.

Community service is a great opportunity to make yourself a better person.  People look out at you and know they can count on you in the future to do work for them.  It is also a great addition to add to your resume so that employers can look at what experience you have and know that you’re a hard worker no matter what you do.  The community service that i participated in with the football team was a great experience for me as i got to work alongside with other teammates and coaches.

A Little bit about Myself

Hello there. My name is Josh Hanna and I am one of the latest bloggers to join gBlog.  I will tell you a little bit about my background and lifestyle growing up.  But first I want to tell you how much of a great experience Gallaudet University has been for me my first year on campus.  The school itself stands out among all the other Universities in the world. it is the only Liberal Arts college out there for the Deaf and Blind.  Many people of different backgrounds come here to get a high quality education and meet new people just like them.  I got to meet a lot of people that have same characteristic as me. And that is being deaf.  This community here at Gallaudet has my my first year experience on campus a moment in my life to remember forever.

To begin, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself.  I was born hard-of-hearing and grew up with a hearing family.  I went to a mainstream school all the way from when i first started school until when i graduated high school.  It was a tough challenge for me in that it was a big school with many students.  But that did not keep me from getting high grades in all my classes.  My family is rich in athletic participation in which everyone grew up playing sports.  I played five sports growing up, but the sport that stood on top of all the others was football.  I love the sport for what it is and have been playing it since I was five years old.

It wasn’t until almost the end of my senior year that i found out about Gallaudet University.  I planned to go to a bigger college where i would continue to mainstream.  Then out of nowhere, the head football coach of Gallaudet contacted me interested in recruiting me to play football for the Bison.  So from there, i went to visit the campus, and something about it just made me fall in love with the university.  I never met a deaf person in my life, and i also didn’t know sign.  Coaches were eager about me attending the University, and i finally made up my mind.  I decided i wanted to become a member of the Deaf community.  I wanted to have the experience of having people just like me attending the same school which i never had growing up.  This is what has my my first year here at Gallaudet a wonderful experience, and I am sure that you will make the same decision as I did.  It will be a moment that you won’t regret, but will cherish for the rest of your life.

My Life Goals!!

There are many goals that one can have in life. They can be present goals, short term goals, and long term goals. When people go through life they gather up and set plans for everything they set out to do in life. Most goals are health related such as losing 10 pounds or eating healthy. The best time of year to make goals, long or short term, are at the beginning of the year. New Year resolutions are very important to have although most people end up not following through with them. This year I made a list for myself that had some new short term goals as well as long term goals.

There are several goals I have for the short term. The biggest goal I set for myself for this semester is getting all A’s and B’s. To make it simple, I want to end the semester with a 3.0 or better. My freshman year, I came out on top with a 3.3 GPA and got the Fantastic Freshman award. It was the best semester of my life and everything was going great for me. The next three semesters went downhill for me as I fell into peer pressure and started partying and doing things I wasn’t used to growing up. After nearly not being able to come back this year because of financial aid trouble as well as a low accumulative GPA, it opened my eyes to want to be like my old self again. Getting my financials straightened out way ahead of time is something new I want to do as a short term goal. Twice I have filled out my FAFSA past the deadline and ended up having to take out loans for those semesters. My college career could be free if I get my paperwork done early!

After I graduate, my number one goal is to find me a good, rewarding job that will have a steady salary.  Having a wife and kids is a must as well! I’m the oldest of nine kids so I’ve been a part of a very big family growing up. It’s funny because as I grew up I always thought that nine kids was crazy and I told myself that I would never have a lot of kids so I said I would have one kid and that’s it. Looking back on my childhood, I missed all those times we would all go out to Chuck E. Cheese or just have those simple family movies where we would all get together in the living room with our blankets and watch a movie. I never know what I will have one of these days only God knows but I would love to have three boys and one girl. I guess you can say I changed my mind when it comes to kids in the future! Ha!

When I get to be about age 45, hopefully my kids will have graduated high school and have gone off to college to get them a degree. The biggest dream I have growing up is to see my future kids succeed in life and become the way I am. If I have the privilege to live a very long life, those would be my goals I would like to accomplish.

As you can see I have very big dreams ahead of me. I have all the support in the world and I feel like nothing can stop me if I keep my mind to it! With the help and support of my family, girlfriend, friends, coaches, teachers and counselors…. my goals will become a reality!

Peer Pressure!

This is something I promised myself I’d never do while attending Gallaudet… fall into peer pressure. It’s a natural part of life really, people will always try to convince you to do something you’re not used to doing. People give in so they can feel like they fit in the group. This is very unhealthy because people nowadays are willing to do just about anything just to fit in a group and feel respected. I have a ton of amazing friends but last year, sophomore year, I fell into peer pressure when it came to drinking and partying. This is something I grew up not doing growing up so it was very disappointing. I’m a football player so most of the guys that I hang out with are on the football team too. We have guys on the team that are cocky and think they’re bigger and better than most people on campus. Those are the guys that influenced me to finally have my first taste of alchohol. It was weird at first because of course i’m not used to it but also because I was known as the only athlete that was innocent and didn’t do that kind of thing.

After hanging out with those guys more and more, I started drifting away from who I really was and started partying more and drinking. This pulled my gpa down from a 3.3 to a 2.1. I’ve experienced things that i’ve never experienced before! I’m not going to lie, some of it was fun. But when I take a step back and look at the whole picture, I didn’t like who I was. I was falling away from who I was raised to be and I was failing in school. I went from a Fantastic Freshman candidate my first year to a party boy who didn’t do good in school. Last semester was embarrasing for me as my cumulative gpa dropped to a 2.1 gpa. This opened my eyes because I came .2 points away from not being able to participate in spring football for my senior year. After going home for this recent Christmas, I did a lot of hard thinking and planning for what I wanted to do for this spring semester. My new year resolutions this year is to quit drinking completely like my freshman year, workout 5 days a week and look better for spring break and summer, and pull up my cumulative gpa above a 2.5. I’m very determined to making all of my goals and plans in life happen and if they’re going to happen, it will start with this semester! So far i’m on track and doing very good! This semester i’m going back to the old Ryan Mahoney from freshman year! Maybe not sooooo innocent like before but you know what I mean! ha

Valentine’s Day 2011!

SOOO…. i’m finally not spending this day alone! I met the single most amazing girl i’ve ever met my second week on campus after school started back in the recent August 2010. I met this girl named Britny Latham while hanging out in one of my friend’s room playing video games and hanging out after practice one day. Britny is an athlete for the Gallaudet Women’s Basketball team and is a big difference maker for the bison. When I first met her, I was playing UFC Ultimate Fighter with my friend in his dorm room in the Benson Hall dorm when she came in to introduce herself to the guys that she hasn’t met yet. Upon meeting her, I was a little shell-shocked because of her appearance! She came wearing athletic shorts, basketball shoes, a cutoff shirt, she had an ipod in one hand with big headphones wrapping her ears and in the other hand she had a basketball, on top of that she had a thin headband wrapped around her forehead. She was the ultimate baller and when I first saw her I was thinking to myself “Dang she’s pretty but she’s definitely a tom-boy!”

After introducing myself to her and her introducing herself to me, she left the room and I never thought I’d speak with her again. I imagined in my head later that day what it would be like if I dated her. I haven’t really dated anyone serious growing up because I was shy so it was mostly imagining for me. After talking with her more and getting to know her I finally asked her out. I didn’t have a lot of money so I simply asked her if she wanted to go to the SAC building on a movie night one Saturday evening. After texting and flirting all night, she finally told me that she thinks she likes me! I never in my wildest dreams thought this beautiful girl would ever go for me!

We’ve been together for 5 and a half amazing months so far! We spent Valentine’s Day on campus and didn’t do much because again, I didn’t have any money. I still wanted to show her that I loved her so I bought her a card from the Bison Store on campus and cut out about 200 small red hearts using construction paper. I spread the hearts all over the table in my room and put the card laying down in some of the hearts. I bought two very pretty roses and put them together in a cup of water. The best of all, I had a night light that shined right behind the roses so it looked very dim and romantic. After she came into my room blindfolded with my hands, she finally saw what I spent several hours on! Following her seeing that and reading my amazingly touching card, we danced to a slow Kenny Chesney that always brings us to tears. It was one the most amazing nights i’ve spent with Britny.

Most people think that you need to buy a lot of different things for your loved ones but really, it’s the thought that counts. The one thing that matters is what comes from the heart! Me and her did something very simple with a card exchange and a couple roses and a dance. All it takes is a little creativity and you have yourself a romantic Valentine’s Day!

Facebook and College… uh not good!

This is a VERY interesting topic when it comes to college students. Anyone who has a facebook account knows this, when you’re in college and you have a facebook, it just doesn’t help you as a student! Since making myself a facebook my senior year of high school, it’s been very nice to connect with friends and family and interact with people no matter where I am. It’s become my second form of communication other than my phone. YES… it’s even higher up on the list than emails. Facebook has been a very handy tool for keeping in contact with my high school friends and all of my family around the country but when it comes to doing projects, doing homework, or even studying for tests… facebook is my worst enemy!

The average student at Gallaudet spends about 2-3 hours on Facebook. If that time was devoted to friends, their social status and communication skills would be better. If that time was devoted to school, their overall gpa would probably be a whole .5 points higher. I’m very quilty of this when it comes to important school-related things. I generally spend between 2-3 hours on facebook a day and I really wish I could reduce the time. Because most of my classes during the week are done around 1 and 2 in the afternoon, I have so much free time during the afternoon and evening to relax. When i’m not with my beautiful girlfriend I try to do homework but i’m not doing that, it’s always playing NCAA Football 2011 on XBOX with friends or gazing around on facebook.

This is a good time-budget test for any student. A smart student would disable their facebook during important times of the semester such as mid-term and finals week but most don’t! As a result it takes their focus away from the important things. You could simply minimize your time on Facebook! That’s always a good suggestion but it’s hard to resist. I’ve been making an effort to reduce my time on Facebook and focus on academics so I can pull my GPA back up in the 3.0’s. Facebook is a very good thing to have as a form of communication but it’s important to manage your time wisely and go on only when you’ve finished everything first!

Bald Day!!!

A day I honestly wish I didn’t have to experience! Thinking about other universities… I can’t imagine students getting together to shave their head bald. Bald Day for Gallaudet has been a tradition for many years. It all started when a student had cancer and went bald. Friends of the student wanted to show support and make the student feel better by shaving their heads to be the same. This became a big thing and it stuck as a Gallaudet tradition. This tradition has a good story and meaning to it but when you look at the campus during this activity, it becomes a little to crazy and non-respectable. Some students have various reasons for shaving bald but they all claim it’s to show support for that one students many years ago. Some students shave bald for reasons such as the tradition itself, donation of the hair to a cancer facility for cancer patients, a fresh start, or just simply getting drunk and doing something stupid and regretting it the next morning.

Gallaudet students use bald day the wrong way in today’s time. Gallaudet nearly banded it because of the use of alcohol and the affects of drunk students shaving students who didn’t want to shave. One thing that I haven’t fully understood is the reason behind dying the hair months in advance before the official shave day! If this is for a good cause and donation, then dying of the hair ruins the whole meaning behind Bald Day.

I have several very good friends who joined in on Bald Day to do some good and donate their hair for cancer patients. This is where i’m very supportive of this event. My grandma suffered from cancer last year and overcame it and now is healed! When I see or hear of people that are joining Bald Day to do good, it makes me happy and proud.

It’s funny because for men, their hair grows back in 3 weeks. For women, it takes more than 3 months!!! This is where it gets a little interesting because a lot of our women on campus are bald for most of the year! This includes the very pretty girls with very nice and pretty hair!!! I mean after the girls shave, guys are thinking to themselves..”Dang… she looked pretty with that hair and now it’s gone.” It’s a bummer if Bald Day is done for the wrong reason but also a very good cause if it’s done the right way.

Class Schedule Spring 2011!

I am now majorly into my major classes. As a junior there’s really only a few more GSR classes that are required and then you’re finished. As a PE Education major, most of my classes are based on learning about the body, mind, and how to teach and communicate with young students. The classes I have this semester are leaning more on the major side and not the GSR side. One GSR class that’s required that i’m taking is Intro to Psychology. I failed this class as a sophomore (3rd semester) because of the poor teaching of the teacher. The teacher I had was lazy as she sat in her chair during her lecture and didn’t sign very clear. This hurt me because I was a new signer. After confronting her, she didn’t change her style so I ended up failing the class a year and a half ago. It wasn’t just me that failed that year, 13/17 students in that class failed. That’s one thing I learned about picking classes now. Generally I don’t listen to what my friends or peers say about their opinion on teachers and who’s good and bad. After experiencing that semester, I started focusing on the feedback on other students with experience with certain teachers. Sometimes it’s good to listen to your peers to hear what they have to say.

Anyways back on my class schedule!!! I’m taking Sports Safety Training for Coaches class but it also includes CPR so this will give me an opportunity to renew my certification for CPR and First Aid. Classes like these are very enjoyable and hands-on. Another class that’s interesting but tough as well is Kinesieology. This class focuses on the movement of the muscles, joints and also how it’s worked together with the bones. I’m doing ok in this class so far but i’m getting the hang of it. Advanced Discovery is a very good class! This class focusing on teamwork and hands on activities. This class is mostly activities in class that relate to teamwork and communication. This is a great class for bonding and getting to know people. The point of this class is to get comfortable with each other as well. Last but not least I have a class called Fundamentals of Movement, Rhythms and Gymnastics. This class, again, is another hands on class! Actually it’s more of a “feets-on” class! HA! This class focuses on dance and movement of the body and how they coordinate together to form specific movements and rhythmic patterns. This class is very enjoyable!

As you can see my schedule this semester is very active and FUN! This is a great full-time schedule to end my junior year. Just 2 and a half more months before i’m finally heading home to prepare for my senior year! It’s crazy I tell ya!