What I've Been Up To: March 2013 Edition

So... It's been a while. I've posted short little snippets here and there but nothing about what I've done since March. Whoops! My bad. Can I use the argument that I've been super busy? Well, I have but even to me that's a lame excuse. One of my New Year Resolutions is to be better at posting stuff on my blog.
So to make up for my slacking, I'm going to recap the major things that have happened since March.
March was a busy month with midterms, research, and spring break. It was probably my busiest month of the semester but I got to do a lot of awesome things outside of school!
For Spring Break, I went to New York with Nella and Faith. I wanted to visit the city one more time before I moved in the summer and it just so happen that all three of us could fit it in while I was off for break. It was so much fun!
We stayed in a hostel not too far from Central Park! We didn't get to do everything we had planned but we did a lot! The first thing you do when you get off an early morning bus ride at noon is get food and what better food to get than New York style pizza!

New York Style pepperoni pizza!

Does this even need a caption? Okay. It was delicious!

After we ate, we went and saw the Harry Potter exhibit at the Discovery Center. It was super cool but we couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit. Which is really unfortunate because it would have been awesome to commemorate the moment I got to sit in Hagrid's chair and looked like a little kid. We did get one picture at the exhibit.

Photographic proof that I saw it.

After that, we checked into the hostel where we stayed the night. Mostly we just slept there but Nella and Faith immortalized our stay by putting our names on one of the giant Jenga pieces. I was dead asleep when they did this.

I should mention that before we went to check in, we went and stood in line at the Broadway discount ticket booth. Guess what we got tickets for?

Yeah! We got super cheap tickets to Phantom! I was able to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway during its 25th anniversary! It was amazing! It was everything I had hoped it would be and more! If you ask Faith and Nella, they'd tell you that I was a ball of barely suppressed excitement. I bet you're thinking with discount tickets that we didn't have good seats. Would you like to place money on that?

This is what heaven looks like.

Bam! Look how close we were! Fourth row, baby! It was amazing! Okay, I'm done gushing now.
After the show, we went and got cheesecake at Juniors and hit up Times Square.

Obligatory tourist photo in Times Square.

When we were there, we watched this guy make this awesome picture using spray paint and a couple tools. Nella bought it.

See? Look how cool that is.

 And you can't go to Times Square without going to the M&M's store. Okay, I can't go without going to the M&M's store.

Look at all the M&M's! It's paradise!

We also stopped at what would be the first of five toy stores we visited while we were there. We stopped by the Disney store where I proved that I can indeed act like a lady and perform a curtsy without falling over.

See? I can do it.

The next day I got to walk through Central Park for the first time! And by walk through Central Park, I mean we walked the whole length of the park! My pedometer tracked the mileage and we walked about six miles that day. Most of it was in the park. Good thing it is a really lovely place!

View of Manhattan from the top of the Castle in Central Park.

An actual picture of the Castle.

Proof that I was really there! It was a little windy up there!

My traveling companions: Nella and Faith!

So weird tangent. Have you ever seen the animated movie, Balto? I loved this movie when I was a kid and I told myself that one day I would go to New York and see the Balto statue. Guess what? I found it! With a lot of trouble and a considerable amount of help from a Central Park app on my phone.

Balto!

Faith and I on the rocks just above the ice skating rink in Central Park. It was a great pic of part of the skyline!

After Central Park, we hit up a bunch of toy stores! The first one is just outside the park and was the infamous F.A.O. Schwarz.

 You can't see it but the doormen for the store dress up as toy soldiers! How cool is that? I got a picture with one but I can't seem to find it.
Have you ever seen the movie Big with Tom Hanks? Remember the huge piano he got to play by walking on it? I totally got to do that! The Big Piano resides in F.A.O. Schwarz and they let your group spend 15 minutes playing it. One of the best days ever!

Another item on my bucket list checked off!

It was fun playing on that piano!

Giant pianos aren't the only think we found there.

Well, hello giant Lego Batman. I know this is presumptuous, but would you like to go home with me?
The next stores we went to were the Nintendo store and the Lego store. The Lego store was kind of disappointing. F.A.O. Schwarz totally had better Lego statues.
The last toy store we hit was the Toys 'R' Us in Times Square. It has a giant Ferris wheel inside the store! It's awesome!

The Ferris wheel is three stories high!

This car seems oddly appropriate.

Yet again, this store had better Lego statues than the Lego store.

Aw! Does the Hulk need a hug?

They had things besides Lego statues too. Like Optimus Prime and Jurassic Park!

Why hello you giant robot, you?

Please don't eat me, Mr. T-Rex!

Why is it that every time I see a T-Rex that I need to quote Meet the Robinsons? Sigh. I have a big head and little arms! Okay. I'm good now.

I found my people! And they were awfully tasty!
New York was super fun and was the biggest thing that happened in March. But the week after I got to do something equally amazing!
I went to the Holi celebration just outside of DC. For those who don't know, Holi is a Hindu festival also known as the Festival of Colors. It occurs in the spring and celebrates new beginnings and life. You also get to throw colorful powdered dye at each other. It was awesome and free! I went with my friend, Lauren, from school. It was a great stress relief after our last set of midterms.

Lauren and I. I'm the one with the derpy face. This was after our first color throw.

We changed colors by the end of the day.

This is what is left after you shake yourself off as good as you can.

I went through half a bottle of shampoo getting all the powder out of my hair. My bathtub was purple for a few days.

I stripped on the stairs so I didn't get any powder on the carpet. I should have taken a picture of all the powder that was on the stairs after I put my clothes in the washer.

I highly recommend going to Holi at least once if you're able. Just be prepared to spend 30-45 minutes in the shower getting clean afterwards. I had light blue and purple streaks in my hair for a few days after even after using copious amounts of shampoo.
March was a memorable month to be sure! I was able to cross off like six things off of my bucket list. I'll call that a win!

The Trip In Which I Rekindled My Love For Maple Bars

The first part of April I traveled to Pullman, WA for a visit to look at the chemistry program at Washington State University. Or as my roommate puts it, the visit in which I shamelessly used WSU for a trip to see my old roommate, Bethany. Or as I like to look at it, the trip where I got to eat maple bars and see Beth because WSU wouldn't take no for an answer. I had accepted the offer to go to College Park before this visit but as the WSU chemistry department recruiter pointed out I could potentially decide not to go to College Park and go to their school instead. I figured what the heck, I could go see Beth. What I didn't anticipate was the 15 hours of traveling it took to get to Spokane. I had to be at the airport at around 3 AM because my flight left at 5:15 AM with three different layovers. Whoever scheduled that flight should be shot and then drawn and quartered. After I had finally arrived, I did something I've never done before. I rented a car. Well, WSU paid for it. But let me tell you, when WSU chemistry is trying to entice you to join their program, they pull out all the stops. Look at the car they rented me!!!

Isn't it pretty?!?

And so shiny!!!

It was pretty and super fast! Good thing there was no cops on the freeway to Beth's house or I would have been pulled over before I could have said dang it! Driving this car made me want a new car, because let's face it my current car, Herb, is an old man with no get up and go. It's okay, Herb, I won't cheat on you again.
Beth lives in Coeur d'Alene, ID which is only about 40 minutes away from Spokane. I had never been to Northern Idaho before so it was a new experience for me. The thing that hit me most though was that after living in Maryland, Idaho does not have very many trees. Oh well, it is still very beautiful.

Look there is still snow on the mountains! So pretty!

Oh Mountains! How I miss you!

Northern Idaho has a bunch of lakes which are lovely even in the early spring.

I met Beth at her grandparents house and was promptly invited to dinner which was some awesomely delicious waffles. While we were waiting for the rest of her family to arrive, Beth and I went on a quick tour of her hometown. The tour included Beth's school, a donut shop she later took me to, and Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Lake Coeur d'Alene

It was very pretty and a lot bigger than I had always imagined it.

Look at the Mountains!!!

This is Beth not wanting her picture taken.

Although she was all too happy to be the one behind the camera.

Couer d'Alene is a resort town as you can see by the large hotel behind me

Beth and some of the other locals call the guy who owns that resort Voldemort because he owns a lot of the town and apparently he is taking over. I kind of thought it was a funny reference. So after her family fed me, Beth and I headed for Pullman. It's only 45 minutes from Coeur d'Alene. Beth stayed with me in my hotel room since there were two beds. By the time we had gotten settled in we both were hungry again, so we indulged in one of the traditions that we had perfected in the year that we were roommates.

I'll give you two guesses to whose pizza was the one on the bed.

We each ordered a large pizza and ate the whole thing ourselves!!! I think that it is one of our more awesome rituals when we're together. Although I'm sure the start of this ritual was heavily influenced by the boys of Apartment 15 and our inability to share a Little Caesar's pizza without fighting. We stayed up late catching up and harassing our favorite person in the world via text message and phone. Thanks Ryan for being a good sport about said harassment! I'm pretty sure the evening ended on the high note of me speaking sweet nothings to my bed. It's a little fuzzy and by that point I had been up for a full 24 hours.
The next day was the visit. I was wined and dined and WSU made a great impression. I almost regretted accepting University of Maryland's offer since everyone I met was so nice and the research was pretty cool. Not to mention that it was closer to home than College Park. But alas, it didn't feel right.
Beth and I also made the pilgrimage to the creamery on WSU's campus. They sell their creamery products at a place called Ferdinand's and it had some really delicious ice cream! The butter pecan was divine! Sorry! No pictures because I left my camera at the hotel. Later, we ended up making a trip to Wal-Mart because my computer was acting up when I tried to do some homework. I needed a small screwdriver to get to the hard drive. Unfortunately, this is when the hard drive committed Hari Kari. I'm still upset about that.
The next day we headed back to Coeur d'Alene since Beth had to go to work and I had to catch my flight home. But we did make an important stop. We stopped at the Donut House by Beth's house for breakfast. I was able to get a maple bar! For those of you that know me, know that maple bars are one of my weaknesses. They are right up there with Otter Pops. But alas, the East Coast doesn't know about the delicious mapley goodness that is a maple bar. So I got one for the road to tide me over until my next trip to the West Coast. It made it to the Spokane airport. I regret nothing except maybe not buying a few more. Oh, they were amazing! And that is not the withdrawals talking!

Oh man! I want one just looking at the picture!!!

It was a nice little trip! It was so great to see Beth! Who knows when we'll be able to see each other again. Thanks WSU for being a good sport and making it possible!

Excitingness!!!

This week is going to be so exciting! I picked up a good friend up from the airport and we have an exciting week planned! Tomorrow we're going to the beach (which will be my third trip this month) and later this week we're going hiking in the Adirondacks. And if we have time we'll make a trip to DC.
Stay tuned for pictures. Hopefully I don't leave my camera in the car like I did when I went to Shenandoah.