Education Job Fair- April 21, 2010

The soon-to-be UCF education graduates gathered their resumes and headed in anticipation to the education career fair on campus.

Booths from many local counties were set up and ready to communicate with eager future teachers. Flyers, brochures, pens, pencils, and pamphlets were handed out to every passerby as they glanced over the tables. Some students were ready to be interviewed for a job then and there and some seemed to wander around confused as to what they should be doing.

It is such a difficult time in any field to find a job right now, and all of these students seemed more determined than ever. It's hard to hear people straight up tell you "we're on a hiring freeze right now" because it makes you feel as if there is no chance to find a job. I'm keeping my chin up and will be doing the best I can to find a job that's right for me. We'll see what happens!

The career fair was followed by brunch with one of my favorites, Jaimie. We went to a new breakfast-all-day restaurant that was quite delicious. Now that college is about to be over, it'll be nice to have time to see my friends again! We have all been so busy this semester that we all rarely see each other. This is soon to change!

Ad jingles- April 20, 2010

It's always a low moment when I catch myself singing along to advertisement jingles on the radio or t.v. and it seems to happen quite frequently.

Some jingles are more catchy than others and some are definitely more addicting. The recent McDonald's filet-o-fish radio ads seem to play on constant repeat in my head. Between all of the radio ads, my family singing it around the house, and playing in my head, the advertisements apparently worked. (Although I will never buy one!) I've even recently found "Freddie the Fish" being sold in CVS. The song that haunts me is everywhere!

Maybe blogging about about this fish will get it out of my head once and for all...but I highly doubt it.

Starbucks knows me!- April 19, 2010

The people at Starbucks know my name, mission accomplished!

I've always wanted to be someone that comes in to Starbucks and are greeted with a "Hello, Catie! Are you having the usual?" I don't know why, but that is truly a desire I've had for many years now. Unfortunately, my daily routes change, my drink of the day changes, and I usually don't even allow enough time to stop at Starbucks in the mornings.

Recently, however, this has changed. I've now narrowed my favorite drinks down to two, an iced vanilla latte or an iced caramel macchiato. I drive to the same place every morning, and I've started leaving the house at an earilier time. Thus, the people at Starbucks know my name!

This has been the year of getting my goals accomplished. Maybe my goals aren't as high as some peoples, but accomplishing small goals is something everyone should do. Don't set such high goals that aren't attainable because it just results in feeling unsuccessful or let down. Baby steps, people. I've found that life is much happier when you take time to appreciate the small things. And this definitely brought a smile to my face today.

The Drive Back- April 18, 2010

I love going home, but not so much the drives.

After a lovely weekend back home, I began my journey back to school. It's not the longest trip, only 2 hours max, but when all you pass are trees for an hour, it gets rather boring. There are a few things that road trips are good for though. I give myself singing lessons by constantly belting out my favorite tunes, always fun to do in a car by myself.

Both a positive and negative aspect of driving, you have plenty of time to ponder about life. Being the week before graduation, this thinking time is more stressful than it usually is. What are my plans for next year? Have I done everything I need to before I graduate? Am I really about to start the real world? What am I going to do? Yes, it's now that point in my life.

However, I'm trying to stay positive and optimistic about my future. I try to replace those thoughts with others such as these: Wow, I'm almost done with school forever! Congratulations to me, I'm about to graduate! I can do whatever I want now, my possibilities are endless! Thinking glass half full these days is definitely the better route to take, otherwise I'll be a walking mess of panic.

Lucky in Love- April 17, 2010

Caitlyn and Aaron are getting married!

Saturday was the "Lucky in Love" engagement party for one of my best friends Caitlyn and her fiance Aaron. Getting closer to the big day next month had all of us anxious to celebrate with the two of them.

The Vegas-themed night was filled with casino card games, bingo, auctions, horse races, Pina Coladas, Margaritas, delicious food, and friends. The entire night was planned perfectly and turned into such a fun event. Although Lauren and I went in to games with the attitude of obvious winners, we weren't quite as good as predicted. But hey, it's just all about luck, right? Everyone clearly enjoyed themselves and the chance to visit with the happy couple. The wedding day is approaching soon and this engagement party was the perfect event to bring everyone together before the big day!

Caitlyn and Aaron are such a perfect couple and I wish them the very best happily every after!

Silly Bandz- April 16, 2010

Silly Bandz, the latest craze.

When I was in elementary school, the "it" items were Beanie Babies. Everyone rushed to the stores the day new beanies were released and tried to find the newest and most rare beanies to collect. This craze lasted quite a while, but I don't think it had such a quick rise to fame like the current "Silly Bandz" bracelets.

These new colorful rubber bands appear as bracelets on your wrist, but shape into various animals, words, letters, or designs once taken off. Just in the past week, these have become so popular. Children trade them with one another and try to have the largest and most unique collection. My younger brothers decided to jump on the bandwagon and ask for some, so we spent our Friday night in search of some Silly Bandz.

Assuming this would be an easy task, we drove to CVS expecting to buy some and drive home. When they were sold out, we tried a gas station near our house. None. Publix? Nope. Tourist beach shops? Sold out. Now this Silly Bandz hunt was becoming a true mission of the night. Being true adventure-seekers, we wouldn't stop until we succeeded. 13 phone calls and destinations later, we finally found some at a local Walgreens. Although we felt so accomplished, later we realized they were only knock-offs and broke after barely wearing them.

So have you fallen into the Silly Bandz trend or noticed youngsters wearing them on their wrists?

Culture Projects- April 15, 2010

你好 [nǐ hǎo]

Hello from China!

For the past few weeks, my students have been working on their multicultural projects on China. Today was the day they were all due and I was so surprised by how incredible they all turned out. Some students even dressed in Chinese attire, and most girls wore chopsticks in their hair. My students created projects such as the Great Wall of China, the Great Wheel of China which actually was a moving ferris wheel, pagodas, and a Chinese town filled with a dragon dance along the street. My students always go above and beyond and their hard work definitely pays off!

We got to walk around and see all of the other classes' projects as well, and some of them were really creative! I've had so many great memories at this school and I'll be sad to say goodbye next week. I couldn't have asked for a better internship experience and I will never forget it!