This month, it’s been particularly busy, so I apologize for not updating as frequently as I should be! Between classes, internship, PRSSA and Fit in the Mitten – the campaign I’m directing for the national PRSSA Bateman Competition – my life has been SUPER chaotic, and I haven’t had time to try one new thing every day. I’ve made up for my lack of blogging with a picture-happy post, and will make up for my missed days during spring break!
#34-38: Tried 5 new Lebanese dishes. Last weekend, Ishtar and I went to a Lebanese restaurant called Zooroona and ordered 5 completely unfamiliar dishes, all of which were deeeeeeelicious. Everything about this place was INCREDIBLE, from the food to the atmosphere to the service. My only complaint, as a font snob, is that the entire menu was in Papyrus.
Our view of Zooroona. Such a cute place!
Take a piece of pita, wrap an olive in it, dip in oil, dip in cilantro. AMAZING.
Cucumber minty creamy dip. Tasted so fresh and sweet!
My meal: Tangy fig/apricot with beef. I’m still kinda obsessed with this a week later.
Ishtar’s meal: For the life of me, I can’t remember what this is, but it was great.
Best dessert ever: fried cheese + sugar + probably magic.
Oh yeah, did I mention we got to sit on pillows on the ground?
#39: Cooper’s Glen. Ishtar plays fiddle for an old-timey/folk band called Who Hit John?, and they played at the Kalamazoo Radisson for a huge folk music event called Cooper’s Glen. Although I only stayed for some of it, it was fun seeing a couple different bands perform, and even cooler seeing those bands set up in the lobby and play in a more casual setting. Attendees brought their own instruments and were allowed to play along with the bands, which was seriously awesome.
Older and younger musicians enjoying Who Hit John?
#40: Spicy wings. Growing up, my parents always prepared very tasty but very bland meals, which resulted in me becoming the world’s biggest baby when it comes to spicy foods. I kicked my fear in the face when I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with some friends, and tried a spicy garlic wing. According to the two and a half glasses of ice water that I chugged immediately afterward, I’m still a spicy food pansy.
Me eating my first spicy garlic wing at Bdubs.
#41: Managed a kids’ event. As part of our Fit in the Mitten campaign, which aims to spread awareness about childhood obesity and promote healthier lifestyles, we decided to host a series of kids’ events based around different stations: 1) Healthy food crafts, 2) Aerobics/dance activities, 3) A raffle for various sport-related prizes, 4) A pledge-signing wall, 5) A dance video game arcade, and 6) A free cookbook we made for healthy and inexpensive meals (for parents). We held the event at a community center for about 35 kindergarten and elementary school kids. Although it was completely exhausting (coordinating the stations beforehand + entertaining kids for 2 hours), it was so much fun, and so rewarding to make all of the kids smile! Everyone had a great time!
Gotta love limbo.
Banana man!
The kids definitely got a workout with the dance games!
We raffled off a basketball, 2 frisbees and a $20 Playmaker’s gift card. Also gave out free recipe books!
We reviewed attributes of a healthy lifestyle, and then they signed the pledge to be fit!
#42: Speed interviewed with new companies at PR Links. Although I attended PR Links (MSU PRSSA’s annual career/networking/speed interviewing event) last year, this year had entirely different companies, and I made an entirely different impression. The biggest difference is that I was comfortable and confident. I was comfortable partially because I’m a senior who’s done events like this before, and partially because I was running on 3 hours of sleep after just getting off of a 4-hour shift, so I was probably delirious. I was confident because I’ve gained SO much more experience since last year, and in so many different areas (leadership, awards, social media, graphic design, PR/communications experience, web design, etc). And while I felt silly bringing along a huge art-style portfolio, packed with design work and writing samples, it actually worked WONDERS for me! As soon as I presented visuals, potential employers sat up straight and looked at it with eager eyes. After I was finished, the mood always shifted from awkward/forced to genuinely interested and personal. The more you open yourself up, the more people are willing to open up to you! Thank you to the companies I talked with: Truscott Rossman, Chrysler, M3, Michigan Apple Committee, Red Frog Events, WKAR, Edge Partnerships, Tanner Friedman, and Sterling Corporation!
Me at PR Links with fellow PRSSA E-Boarders, Sassy PR Boi and Alissa!
#43. Visited the new Brody cafeteria. I lived in the MSU Brojects my freshman year, and back then (man, I sound old), there existed a basic and simple cafeteria.
It is now a spaceship.
I’ve heard great things about it, from amazing food stations (including a sushi bar) to brilliant architecture, but have never actually visited it before. Man, was I blown away! It looked like a cross between an airport and a fancy modern Chicagoan restaurant. I don’t think there is one rectangular-shaped room in the entire building. An old graphic design professor of mine definitely would’ve called it “wonderfully wonky.”
