A Cappell-ove

Ah, Hawaiian Chicken BBQ pizza....how I love you so. :) And of course there is some left over, which means: cold pizza for breakfast! If I'd done a top 6 of college foods, that would definitely be on there.

But how easily I am distracted. More to the point:

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity of attending the SJACF at DU in NC with the UCF CAC (the SoJam A Cappella Festival at Duke University in North Carolina with the University of Central Florida Contemporary A Capella group. See how much simpler acronyms make everything seem?) It was an extremely enlightening weekend that not only allowed me to bond with my fellow CACers, but also gave me the opportunity to get more acquainted with the amazing a cappella world. Some noteable (tee-hee!) points that I urge you all to check out:

* Mouth Off!

- A weekly podcast that brings you all of the latest from the a capella world. Hosted by Dave Brown and Christopher Diaz (who I was able to take a movement workshop with- amazing!), it is, and I quote: "From news to reviews to personal views, Dave Brown and Christopher Diaz dish it out every week with characteristic sarcasm and wit. Don’t miss a single episode!" They said it all, folks. Get your podcast on.

* The House Jacks

-Oh. My. GOD. These guys are.....beyond amazing. I got to see them in concert- one of the perks of SoJam- and I can say that I did not mind missing out on T-Pain to get to see them instead one bit. The things that these men can do with their voices.....it's ridiculous, and ridiculously good. Please, please, please take the time to check them out. You won't regret it.

* Courtney Jensen

Okay, so she doesn't have a website (as far as I can tell), but that doesn't make her any less awesome. I took two workshops with Courtney: Vocal Percussion and LADY POWER!; that was all it took for me to decide that I basically wanted to be her. This girl....excuse me, woman- has the SICKEST beatboxing skills I have ever heard. She puts many, many men around the same age and experience level to shame. Even though she doesn't know it, her workshops have inspired me to take up beatboxing and add it to my life list. I will practice the hell out of it, mark my words. Look her up on Facebook and check out her super-helpful "percussing" videos. Courtney is a member of Brigham Young University's Noteworthy.

And, of course, here is the SoJam website:

http://www.sojam.net/

Ah. Alas, I'm tired. Seriously, though- check this stuff out! I promise you, it's more awesome than you can imagine.

More on something else later.

UCF: Unforgiving, Callous Foundation?

Okay, the F=Foundation is a stretch. But the only other F word I could think of that is appropriate to the situation is....let's put it this way- not one you'd find on cable TV.

Photo credit: Caitlin Bush, Central Florida Future

I read a story by Renita Frett in the Central Florida Future today that really bothered me. A UCF student by the name of Nick Szepelak has been put on academic probation as a result of....wait for it...... attending his mother's funeral. His mother passed away from Lou Gehrig's disease in the spring semester. While he managed to finish his spring courses, the funeral was planned for July 1st, and he was enrolled in two classes for the Summer C term. He had already passed the withdrawal date for Summer C, and when he let his professors know he was leaving for a week to be with his family, they "instructed him to try and keep up through e-mail." Understandably, it was difficult for him to do so during that time and he fell behind. He applied for late withdrawal, but since he wouldn't receive the decision until after the term was over, he tried to finish the courses and take his final.

His request for late withdrawal was denied, his appeal was denied because there was "no new evidence," and now he is facing academic probation because he had to use his grade forgiveness for the two courses he was not allowed to drop.

To quote from the article: "“No one has talked to me on a personal level about it. It all has been ‘Fill out this form,’” Szepelak said."

It is this kind of lack of compassion or understanding for personal situations that give state universities like UCF the bad reputation of being massive, faceless, and often ineffective bureaucracies. A coordinator for academic support claimed that he never came to ask them for advice- but during the time that this was happening, he was dealing with his mother's death and being shuffled around and told to fill out form after form. I don't exactly fault him for not running all over the place to ask for more advice when the advice he was already receiving from the university kept leading to dead ends.

The approach that the university has taken to this case is ridiculous and completely insensitive. Things don't even work like this in most professional situations: employees, in most (if not all) cases are given time off in the case of the death of a close family member.

Most disturbing to me is the idea that UCF did not want to let him drop the courses possibly because they did not want to refund him the money for those courses, even though the student said that a refund was not necessary.

This is a gross lack of compassion and empathy on the part of UCF's Admission and Standards committee, and I'm just glad to see that the Central Florida Future is using its front page to actually bring light to a legitimate injustice.

Here is a link to the article:

Student went to funeral, put on academic probation

...and a link to a well-written opinion piece on the subject:

Our Stance: Grief warrants grade forgiveness

Nikki Blonsky is one cool chick.

Nikki Blonsky, best known for her role as Tracy Turnblad in the hit movie-musical Hairspray, stopped by the University of Central Florida today to give an inspiring speech and do a meet-and-greet with students.

In the speech, she talked about life before, during, and after Hairspray, including some harrowing family events that many members of the audience were surely shocked to hear. She described her relationship with her late grandmother and uncle, following her passion and getting to play her dream role, and the hectic life of the big screen and beyond. She then had a Q&A with students, and even gave a wonderful impromptu performance of "Good Morning, Baltimore".

"I hope that when you leave here, you think of me as 'my friend Nikki Blonsky,' instead of just 'Nikki Blonsky, that girl from Hairspray!'" expressed the star.

I personally really enjoyed getting to hear from (and ask a question of!) this talented and clearly very strong young woman. She was gracious and funny and gave some really personal insight into her life, which I really appreciated. I wish her the best in her life and future career, and I hope that she has a fantastic 21st birthday (November 9th)! Hopefully the hardworking UCF CAB will continue to book awesome guest speakers like Ms. Blonsky.

I'm looking forward to SoJam in North Carolina this weekend with CAC (Contemporary A Capella) and homecoming next week! Will I participate in the traditional "Spirit Splash" this year with the inevitable pool of diseases it allows for?

Only time and possible illness will tell, folks.

College foods....a first top 5.

Photo Credit: ~ReducedExposure, DeviantArt

I've been at the University of Central Florida for 3 months now, and I'm really starting to get the hang of this college thing. Today, while chowing down on a Lean Pocket, I thought of the various college foods that I consume on a daily basis.

Sure, everyone tells you about Ramen noodles, but one can only ingest so many cheap, egg-based noodles before sickness occurs. I've compiled a list of my top 5 other 'dorm foods'; some well-known, some a little on the creative side, and some that many people I know (including my roommate) find just plain odd and borderline disgusting (yeah, I have weird taste sometimes.) But it's good to try new things, right? Right.

1. Hot Pockets/Lean Pockets

If you live in a dorm and this is not a staple of your diet, you're missing out. Seriously. There is so much variety: spinach artichoke chicken, santa fe breakfast quesdilla, cheeseburger, philly cheesesteak, and even broccoli and cheese and three cheese pizza for you vegetarians. I'm convinced there is a secret line of gourmet hot pockets for the elite; you know, filled with caviar and foie gras and escargot and the like. Plus, they come with those awesome crisper sleeves, which is a godsend for those students like me who don't have regular access to a stove or a toaster. Just make sure that your freezer works well with a low enough temperature, because nobody likes a soggy hot pocket (I am aware that what I just said gives way to a really disgusting 'that's what she said'.)

2. Easy Mac

Come on. It's like the better alternative to Ramen. Water, stir, microwave, enjoy. What more do you need, really? And if you're lazy about washing dishes (like me) then you can buy the ones that come in a prepackaged bowl for easy disposal.

3. Tuna

Everyone knows that tuna is easy and cheap, much like your mother, possibly. But sometimes you want a little more variety than just slapping some mayonnaise, relish, and tuna on sandwich bread. Here's where it gets a little weird. Two words, my friends: Raisin Bran. I know what you're thinking: what drugs are you on, exactly, and where can I get my hands on some? Well, that's a discussion for another blog. As for the Raisin Bran, it makes sense. Think about some chicken salads that are sold at your local deli. They may often be garnished with raisins or grapes or some type of fruit.....and bran is really just like little slices of bread, right? Right. The results are possibly visually disturbing, but delicious. Just make sure and have some consideration- wipe up the sink or whatever after you're finished making the tuna and maybe spray a little Febreze, because nothing is more disgusting than coming home from class and being slapped in the face with the odor of canned fish.

4. Warm Delights

Oh. My. God. I discovered these little beauties about a month ago and I haven't looked back. It is really difficult to get your hands on fresh baked brownies when you have to walk across campus to even come close to finding a stove; this is as close as you're gonna get, and believe me, it is DAMN good. They even come in little 100 calorie sizes for you health/weight conscious people. You just mix in two teaspoons of water, stir, pop it in the microwave, and BAM! Instant chocolate fix. *Note: the microwave brownies do not come in "special" flavor....unfortunately.

5. Spaghetti

I am a pasta freak. I love, love, love spaghetti. I think it goes back to elementary school, where we had Friday Fundays and lunch was always homemade spaghetti, crisp garlic bread, and a little brownie. But I digress. There IS a way to make spaghetti (and rice and steamed vegetables, for that matter) in the microwave. It is this lovely little plastic invention I got from Target called the microwave rice cooker by NordicWare. I'm not sure how accurate a brand name this is for a microwaver rice/pasta cooker. First of all, their little logo is a viking. I'm not sure the vikings had need for a plastic pasta cooker considering that they didn't have microwaves. Hell, they didn't have plastic. Did they even have pasta? But again, I digress. Basically, this invention is awesome, it costs 8 bucks, and it allows you to make actual meals with minimal effort. I used it to make chipotle season chicken, steamed asian medley vegetable, and black beans on basmati rice, and it took me like 20 minutes.

Wow. This was fun! I think I'll continue doing little top 5s of college/dorm advice. I'm learning a lot as a freshman. Next up: 5 ways to cope with freshman year insomnia.

-Angele