i go to suny fucking albany. JUDGE ME

ok, so i hate the saying "suny fucking albany."  it's trashy, but it just works with the title and the blog and sometimes it's fun to say.


so i kinda have this love-hate thing with albany, but i'm tired of other people putting down my school.  this is my attempt at defending my school.  my albany babies, this is for you.


so, the usual reactions i get from people when i tell them that i go to suny albany is something like "nice! how are the parties? SICK RIGHT?!" or "suny FUCKIN albany!?" or, my personal favorite, something of a chagrin, an "oh", from those i'm-so-cool-and-so-smart-i-go-to-fordham-in-the-bronx people.  i hate to break it to you guys, but fordham's no georgetown.


first, i'd like to clear some things .. sometimes i hate albany, but that's just because i'm moody.  95% of the time, i love it for many, many reasons (which one day i will list in another blog).  
secondly - yes, there are many parties at albany, but just as much as every other college across the united states?  and i could confidently say that when going out on a weekend night, the goal of the population is definitely to get drunk and have fun.  and yes, at some point, albany was definitely the #1 party school, but that was in 1998.  it has been ranked in the top 10 party schools about 9 times.  something i'm proud of?  i don't know.  it's just a good topic of conversation with strangers...


and all of you, i-go-to-a-private-school-so-i'm-better-than-you people (you know who you are): you're wrong and dumb.  suny's standards are being risen.  suny albany has increasingly been becoming more and more competitive to get into.  many don't get into albany anymore, whereas a few years ago, anyone could get in.  more and more intelligent people are choosing albany, where they could choose any of the state schools around new york and in their neighborhoods.

as far as the partying and studying goes, people do study and party.  i know, hard to believe being all we do is party here.  24-7.  we never go to class, always party.  the teacher's aren't good either because it's a state school.  false.  i've had more brilliant teachers than bad ones in the past year and a half.  there is a good balance.  students study and party.  they should probably study more than they do but at least it's something!

all in all, you know why i love albany.  it's cool.  it's definitely #1 in my book's top 10 coolest universities.  so yeah, go ahead, judge me for going to suny fucking albany, but your judgement is wrong.

on edge

i hate when i just have these urges to do things i know i shouldn't.  like texting.  i had to give in.  i just had to do it.  had to text that person at that moment because it was bothering me all day.  i'm on edge now because since i acted impulsively, i want an impulsive response.

wired and I'm tired.

think I'll sleep in my clothes on the floor

baby this mattress will spin on it's axis

and find me on yours

summer

summer officially feels as though it is out of my reach until next year. so, i can't help but get nostalgic and romantic and think about all the wonderful things about summer.  i have to write a blog. so here it is.  this is dedicated to all of my summer lovers out there.


what is it about summer that makes it feel so fleeting but also as though it is full of endless possibilities?  i found this quote a few years ago in a small article in the new york times.
"...because you can always want more from summer. Is there a more beloved season? And is there any other three-month period that puts so much pressure on the competitive to have as many perfect moments as possible?"


for whatever reason, this summer felt like it was never going to end.  it was an endless summer (for me at least).  maybe i'm just crazy lol.. until next year
i'm just going to dedicate this post to summer with pictures

Mardi Gras

so, for whatever reason, this summer i became more obsessed with roxbury than i already was, which i didn't think was possible.  but this little phenomenon of a weekend sealed the deal and i am inevitably obsessed and in love with roxbury forever.  Thank you baumann for helping me out a little with this blog lol


Every year on Labor Day weekend, a little party called Mardi Gras happens.  But, isn't Mardi Gras like 7 months from now in New Orleans for that Christian-Catholic Lent-Easter thing?  Yeah, but this is kinda different.
The typical Mardi Gras is the celebration of indulging the last night before the fasting season of Lent.  During this celebration people wear masks and costumes, dance, listen to music, and have parades.  Crazy things.  This is similar to the Roxbury Mardi Gras, except it is an end of the summer celebration.  The Roxbury Mardi Gras very much so has parades, costumes, music, dancing, and singing.  It's a time to indulge before the season starts to change and the lifeguards put their stands away.  One last party without the stress of school work.  One last time, to finish any unfinished business. There's something about summer being so fleeting, and Mardi Gras is the time to appreciate that it happened and to accept that it's over.


On the surface, Mardi Gras is a 3 day drinking festival, everyone wears costumes, dances, sings/screams, and loses their voices.  I don't know what other combination can be more blissful than that.  Mardi Gras is bliss.  
Every house is decorated with mardi gras paraphernalia.  Lights, streamers, signs, flags, masks, you name it!  

Platforms (aka tents that house DJs and bands and kegs or bud light trucks, whatever your preference) are scattered throughout the little town.  Some are on the beach, some on basketball courts, some on sand, some just in the middle of houses.  
Throughout the nights, we "ramble."  We wander around from platform to platform dancing with our drunk parents, our friends' drunk parents, and our drunk siblings and their friends, who are mostly under 17.  
Costumes are necessary.  Every night.  Otherwise, if you are without a costume, you will look like a fool.  Anything outrageous is usually what you're looking for.
Then.. there are the parades - the children parade and the adult parade, equipped with floats, bands, bagpipes, and costumes.. just because it's mardi gras!  

There are then judging.. actual judges for the best costumes, funniest, and prettiest groups.  The children's parade is funny, but nothing like the adult parade.  And that's when the drinking starts.... (in total, 96 kegs were consumed this past weekend, just sayin)


As exciting as this idea sounds, realistically, it's exhausting.  It's nonstop for 3 days/nights! But, for whatever reason, on mardi gras, there is an unlimited amount of energy. The amount of energy is phenomenal and actually limitless on this weekend.  It's all about having a good time.  If you don't lose your voice by Monday morning, you have failed to have a good time.

I think what was really special about mardi gras this year is that those who haven't been to mardi gras in years, returned.  We all returned from our colleges... from Florida, to Alabama, from Buffalo, to Conneticut, from Pennsylvania and to Boston to come together for the celebrations.  Many, who hadn't even been in Roxbury for the majority of summer, still show up for the end of summer celebration and for the remembrance of past experiences.  The thing about Mardi Gras (and roxbury in general) is that we all love each other.  Nothing will ever happen to us while anyone's around.  We're the best of friends.  No one gets hurt.  

There is really no explanation needed for mardi gras, even if you've experience one day of it, you'd get it.  But, whenever possible, i suggest everyone should dip their lives in a cup of Mardi Gras every once in a while.