Friday, March 13, 2009

Estoy Enferma


The week before spring break is always a busy time for students. Professors want to get exams and projects in before all the students leave. I know that this week I had an exam, an essay, an interview, and a major project. While this seems like a lot of work, it wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't sick all week.

I'm pretty sure that I got this sickness Sunday from all that rain we got. Sunday morning I was perfectly fine, but as the afternoon and evening came, I just got worse. I couldn't tell my mom that I was sick because that was one of her big worries when I left. She kept asking who would be there to take care of me. I knew that if she found out, I would be seeing her before long.

I am really thankful for the friends I have here to look after me. I was talking to a friend on Monday and told her that I wasn't feeling well. She knew that since I am a freshman in the dorms, I probably didn't have access to any medication, so she offered to get me some. I said no and thanked her for the offer, but she just insisted more that she would get me something. I just told her not to worry about it since she had three exams on Wednesday to study for. I would be home on Friday, and I could get something then.

I should have known that she couldn't take no for an answer. She text me later that evening asking me to come outside. Immediately I knew what she had done, but I still questioned her about it. She went on to say how she had gone to Wal-mart and gotten me some cough drops. While I was a little upset with her for wasting her study time to take care of me, I was also grateful for her kindness.

Another friend of mine kept telling me to drink plenty of water and orange juice and go to bed early. I'm used to getting about six hours of sleep a night, so the nine hours I got last night was wonderful. I just had so much to worry about this past week that I couldn't really go to bed too early. Hopefully I can catch up on this sleep this coming week.

I am really thankful for these people that care so much about me. I love them to death and know that my life would be totally different without them. I will miss seeing them over spring break but can't wait to give them that giant hug as soon as I feel better and don't have to worry about passing my germs on to them.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

I'm a VIP


Everyone wants to feel important. When you go to a concert, it is great to have backstage passes. You feel like your status increases when you get invited to a VIP party. Well, here at Purdue, I am a VIP. You can be one to. How can you do this? VIP is the all sports pass here at Purdue. With this pass, you get ticket vouchers to all the football, volleyball, and basketball games. You can get in to some sporting events by just showing your card. Other sports are just free to the public.

Starting next year, there will no longer be reserved seating for the football games. The whole student sections will now be general admission. This gives all students access to the lower part of the stadium. This would happen as soon as I was eligible to get these seats. The people in charge of the seating were tired of students with reserved seats not showing up until right before the game began. The lower section would be empty, while the people with general admission tickets got there early to get good seats. They wanted to give the students who got to the game early the opportunity to get close seats, so they can cheer on their Boilers. This would get the energy going in the stadium before the game even starts.

The idea of getting rid of the reserved seating came from watching the Paint Crew. They saw how committed this group was to getting their seats. People, including my friends and me, would camp out before the games to get the best view possible. I wonder if camping will be an option for the football games too. There really is no good spot up at Ross Ade to do this. We would have to worry about the larger amount of students and also the student/tailgater interactions. It just doesn't seem as safe of an atmosphere to me.

While the camping was fun for basketball, I know I was really looking forward to getting reserved seats next year. I wanted to be able to show up late and still have my seat there. I would also be able to leave freely at halftime. With basketball camping, we got to go inside to enjoy the game. While the first football games won't be cold, the weather will change by the end of the season. I don't want to have to wait outside for a few hours to get seats, and then stand in the cold another three hours during the game. It's just asking for people to get sick, but I know I will still do it. My friends and I are dedicated to our Boilers, and we want to be there to support them in their victories and losses.

Tickets aren't all you get for being a VIP. There are also some other great benefits. You can earn points by having your card scanned at each event you go to. These points then add up to get you prizes. I have already gotten the free shirt for 8 points and am almost to the 24 point level. Here I get a $25 gift card to Arby's. Now doesn't that make you think? You also get prizes at 48, 60, and 85 points, but I don't think that I'll get that high. I can always try for it next year.

You can start purchasing your VIP passes for the 2009-2010 school year starting March 23 at purduesports.com. Only 5,000 passes are available, so get one while you can. The cost is $225 which I think is a great deal for all you are getting. You are only in college for so long, so why not get the most out of your experience? I think that being able to support our great Big 10 teams here at Purdue is a wonderful opportunity. The memories that you make at these events will last you a lifetime.