Long Overdue Update

Man, I haven't been on here since my summer in Texas. I see that I need to change the theme before I do amjor update. So I'll do that first. Other than that, live is good, enjoying my new job as a 4th grade teacher (details to come) and my new apartment. Will catch yall up later on the past months.

Later days...

Yee HAW!

I went to my first rodeo! An AUTHENTIC rodeo, to say the least, the only reason why is because it was in Texas, ha ha. I was bored one evening, and one of the OL Execs contacted me and asked me if I wanted to go. Of course my answer was yes, since I've never been to one. This was definitely a new experience for me. I learned a lot about roping, and how technical the sport can be. There was also some hilarious moments with this random Rodeo Clown crackin' jokes and doing crazy things in the arena. Here are some photos below:

That's a BIG piece of beef! (I have more pictures, but they are on the OL Exec's camera). Out of all the events, I would have to say that the roping events and the actual bull riding were my favorites. In the video below, you'll see one of the bull riders who happens to be the OL Exec's fiance'. He did a pretty good job:

At the end, I went and grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the room. There's more coming soon. Until then...

Wear GREEN and Gig 'em!

The Final Stretch

Sup everyone. It has been a long time since the last post but not that orientation is done, I finally have some free time to catch up on things and complete a post that is probably going to take me a while to complete....LOL.

So far all is well in College Station and I'm starting to see the light to the Carolinas at the end of the tunnel. I'm ready to get back to the tastiness of Bojangles, Cook-Out milkshakes, and some GOOD Carolina BBQ and soul food. Did I mention sweet tea? Even though I did find a place here that has amazing sweet tea, nothing can compare to what the Carolinas bring. As like every other post, I have an abundant amount of photos and the stories that go along with them. Let's begin, shall we?

So for the 4th of July, I went to the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area to visit a fellow NUFP homie of mine who was completing an internship at TCU. Now I knew Charlotte had a nice campus, but TCU is off the HOOK! These photos are just of the residence halls, and the plaza:

This campus was amazing. But it also cost a pretty penny to attend since its private. The first night I got there we chilled out on campus and went to a place called:

Very cool atmosphere and some bangin' wings and located right across the street from TCU. I had a couple of drinks and my homie Long told me about their wings. Off. The. Chain. Those were some of the best Cajun flavored wings I've ever had. They had the right amount of kick and they filled you up quick. That night, we crashed early, knowing that we planned to spend the whole day in Dallas.

(Photos are from Downtown Dallas)We got to Dallas around 1, and went straight to the Galleria Dallas. A very nice mall with a feel of South Park and Concord Mills. I wanted a pair of shoes so I went to Foot Locker, found the pair I wanted, and walked out the store with them on my feet, ahaha! I felt like I was the shizznit! Next we hit up center city, expecting downtown to be jumpin' since it was the weekend of the 4th. Boy were we wrong! Downtown Dallas SUCKS. There was literally no one outside AT ALL. It wasn't hot at that day; it was a nice cool day outside. The only person we saw was a guy walking his dog. We were both pissed. We decided to leave and head back to TCU but on the way we passed some pretty cool sites:

Good ol' Cowboy Stadium....BOOO!!! I can't stand the Cowboys, but their new stadium is off the chain. That thing is massive! We thought about taking a tour of it, but tix for that were like 25 a pop. Across the street was the Texas Ranger Stadium, which was also very nice. We thought about going to the game that night, but ended up changing our minds.

We then passed Six Flags over Texas. Nothing like Carowinds or Six Flags in Atlanta. This one was much smaller and didn't look quite as fun. Down the street from it was the water park, which looked packed as hell but also fun.

I ate my first Whataburger. It was aight; I definitely thought it was going to be different but it was very similar to a BK. We got back to TCU and crashed out and decided to hit up downtown Ft. Worth later that night.

Ft. Worth is pretty awesome. It has a small town atmosphere but has like the uptown nighlife of Charlotte. There were mad crazy bars and restaurants, people walking around dancing to the music, everything. We decided to hit up this place called 8.0. Its a bar that had this outdoor patio with a live band playin' some of the big hits from the 80s and 90s. I'm talkin' old school Michael Jackson, EWF, Queen, etc. People were jumpin' out there!

I'm going to stop for now. I'm leaving for Houston this afternoon, but still have part 2 of this blog to type up. I'll do that at the hotel. Until then...

Wear GREEN, and Gig 'em!

Happy July...

Dang I haven't updated in a long time. Reason--Orientation. I've been moving with orientation non-stop, week after week, day after day. I haven't really done anything exciting over the past couple of weeks. I was able to take some pictures, which is what mostly this post is going to be about.

So, if you're familiar with the Food Network TV Show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri, I actually went to one of the places he visited in Texas. Check out the episode here. I actually tried the fries smothered in gravy and man are they bangin'! I had this gigantic turkey sandwich with fries that I could not finish in one sitting. While sitting at the table with some of the co-workers, I looked up and there was a picture of Guy.

This is Kyle Field, home of TAMU Football. Pretty big ain't it? The first photo is the view from the Zone, the Club level area inside the stadium. This is where we do check-in for orientation. The other photo is the Student Section. Most of the Corps of Cadets members sit in the lower area along with the band. All of the other students fill in the rest and its packed during a football game.

The first picture- I was in a place called the Underground, very similar to UNCC's Prospector. Just a dining area with seating. As I was leaving, I looked up and saw this mural. I looked closely then I saw that it was done by my fraternity! Shout out to Alpha Phi Omega- XI Delta Chapter!

The next one was located out front of Kyle Field. This is the final resting place for Reville, TAMU's famous American Collie mascot. Right now, TAMU is on Reville VII, who is a gorgeous dog. She holds the highest ranking of any person in the Corps of Cadets.

Yo....this dude was MAD TALL! I've seen some tall people before, but when my 6'3 stood next to him, I felt as small as the two girls in the photo! The guy is a Yell Leader, TAMUs version of cheerleaders. There are 5 guys who are YLs and they are all members of the Corps of Cadets. To understand more , check the link here.

The Pooch- so this lady walked into Rudder Tower where I was working the Help Desk and she had the cutest Bichon Frize chillin' in the purse. We started talking about dogs, the I took a picture of him.

So one of the OLs made cookies and she made a Burger Cookie! I thought it was the coolest lookin' cookie sandwich. The "buns" are 2 sugar cookies. The "meat" is a York Peppermint attie. The Lettuce was green tinted shaved coconut and the coniments were just icing. I didn't eat one, but someone said they were very good. The other photo, THAT I DID EAT! I cooked a dinner that would make you wanna slap yo mama! BBQ Chicken wings, mac and cheese, green beans and potatoes...Lawd I hurt myself eatin' all that. That meal lasted me the whole week.

Getting out of the car, and I saw this. Once I saw it, iDied. One of the OLs Birthday was this past weekend and they Sticky Noted his truck. it was absolutely perfect. I laughed all the way into the building.

The last two pics are random. Inside TAMU's Alumni Center was this massive television. I thought it was cool, so I took a picture of it. The other one was done by my co-worker Xiodan. She teaches me something new about the Chinese culture everyday. This lesson was on chinese writing and symbols. then she Wrote my name in Chinese! I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I did go to a wine and steak festival in Bryan, Texas called Texas Reds. Those photos are on my little digital camera. I'm heading out to Dallas later today! I'm so ready to see some city life! Will have photos of that coming soon!

Until then,

Wear GREEN, and GIG 'EM!

Freshman Conference #1- CHECK!

I know I'm crazy late with this post, anyway HOWDY! I can't believe how many times I've said this since I've been here. It's becoming second nature and I don't know if I like it or not....haha just kidding. I'm still getting accustomed to all thing TAMU.

As the title says, I have experienced my first freshman orientation conference at TAMU. A very unique program and VERY different than UNC Charlotte's. It all started on Wednesday at 1:30 with the pre- conference check-in (very similar to Early Arrival) We had about 100+ students and their parents check in on this day. Later that evening, the AOLP Execs hosted a social at the Association of Former Students (The Alumni Center). This place was amazing and full of A&M history! I need to go back there on a day off and take pictures. At the back of the building, there is a gigantic size replica of the TAMU Class Ring. Once a student accumulates 90 hours (junior level) they are able to purchase their class ring. The ring looks the same for everyone, the only difference is that the year on the top changes. Here's a picture that I found online:

This is one of the coolest monuments and traditions that I have ever heard of. Almost makes me want to come to A&M for grad school just so I can get a ring...LOL. Throughout the building on the second floor, there are these portals where you can step in and learn more about the University and A&M traditions. There is also a live timeline of the evolution of the class ring, going back to 1890 all the way to 2010. Come to find out, each ring was donated to the archive by family members of a deceased Aggie. I noticed all the rings were gold, but I'm not a gold person. So I wondered if you could get it in silver. I asked the one of the directors who was working at the Association, in which she replied, "I'll show you." I got a personal tour of the 'behind the scenes' area of where they keep all of the rings that students have ordered as well as the models that they use.

The next day was the conference check in, which started at 7:30 in the morning. Which made this moring suck because it was raining the WHOLE time. We were expecting over 740 students, not including their parents/ family members. After check in, I returned to the office to finish up some work then went to work the Help Desk. In a couple of short words-- I basically didn't do anything.

After lunch, I went back to the office, from like 1:30 til 4, waiting on the next session that I had to attend on my schedule-- Dinner at Duncan Dining. During the dinner, the students went to once side of the dining hall while the parents went to the other. this way,t ehs tudents were able to split up into their color groups and meet other students in their major. After dinner, the students went into their insight groups (Small group meetings) with an OL. After the insight meetings, the students went out on the plaza to play the game An Aggie's Life for Me (similar to the game A Pirate's Life for Me, with an A&M twist). The students all went in for a program called SCI Aggieland-- a skit put on by the OLs that discussed campus issues and safety.

Then came Yell Practice....YES, YELL PRACTICE! This was by far the COOLEST THING I have ever witnessed/been apart of! Its hard to explain, therfore at the next conference, I will post a video!

On Friday, I started my workday at Howdy lunch/ Resource Fair. I must say, A&M dining is a WHOLE lot better than Chartwells! Not to disrespect good ol' Chartwells in any way, but Sbisa Dining hall got some bangin' food (but Crown Commons does have the best pizza...).

The weekend was another boring one. I hope to get out and do some shopping at the outlet mall next weekend. That's all for now....Remember...

Wear GREEN and GIG 'EM!

Yay! 3 Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day to all! Especially to those serving or who have served our great country (including my Grandpa...RIP). This past week has been an eventful one, and Sunday has been a relaxing one. I also have taken several pictures of my adventures this week. 

I finally got the chance to experience Northgate. Northgate is very similar to College Ave. in Charlotte. Its full of restaurants and bars specifically for college students. Very cool place with bars for just about every type of student. The one I went to was Called the Corner Bar. 3-story bar with the roof being an open area. I went with some co-workers just to chill out and watch the Magic/ Celtics game. I also had the chance to try my first Texas-made beers!

Both of them were pretty tasty. If I had to choose one, it would be the Shiner Bock. There is one more that I have to try and I also want to bring some back to the Carolinas. After we left there, we went to a Saki Bomb bar. I've never tried Saki nor had a bomb, therefore the friends wanted to bust my Saki Bomb cherry...LOL. The first bomb I had was a sunrise. It was made with some energy drink and a shot of Saki. One of the guys I was with wanted me to try a regular Saki shot. Why not?! I didn't see anything wrong with it, besides that Saki is served warm instead of cold. It tasted like a flat tequila shot and really watery. I then took another Saki bomb...lol.

We left there and went to a place called The Dry Bean. Seriously, this place is the width of a Highrise room and its long. When they say a shot bar, that's all they serve- SHOTS! The only thing that would have been perfect is if they were playing the song Shots! by LMFAO. They had an extensive shot and shooter list (see below).

They had some that I knew, and some that I've never heard of. The shot I had was the Road Head Shot....

It looks nasty and sickening, but it was delicious. Tasted like Fruity Pebbles cereal. Honestly, it tasted like I had just gotten the best road head ever....bahahaha...After that night, I went back to the room and chilled out.

Saturday I took a trip to the Rec Center to get my workout on. TAMU has the SICKEST Rec Center I've ever seen! When Charlotte gets their new one, it should be very similar to this one or even better...

Their Rock climbing wall was in the middle of the building! You see it right when you walk in.Their courts were amazing as well. They had one side that was just open area for badmitton, volleyball , and basketball. The other side there were two rinks! Made for indoor hockey, soccer, and  whatever else you want to play in there!Their weight room had some of the most top notch machines and it was HUGE! The cardio machines were located throughout the building and most of them had a television attached to it. I was definitely doing two miles on the elliptical while watching Fighting Temptations. I have NEVER seen such an amazing facility! Then I went outside...

ITS A FREAKIN' A RESORT! Their basketball and beach volleyball courts were amazing and their outdoor pool area was built for laps and to have fun! I also found out that their facility was also home to the swim team...

Can we say sick!?! The dive tank for the diving team was sweet. Then above my head was the seating area to actually watch the events. 

Today (Sunday) I went to church with a colleague. A good ol' southern "Bible Belt" baptist church. A HUGE church...

This looked like one of the churches you see broadcasted on television. The sermon was interesting, but the tribute they did for those that were in the Armed Forces was amazing and really heartfelt. I saw several individuals tear up, including myself. After church, I went with some colleagues to McAllister's (love their sweet tea)  for lunch and finally ended back up in my room. 

I plan on hittin' the gym again later this evening before it closes at 8. Until then...

Wear GREEN and GIG'EM!

First Weekend

I had my first weekend in College Station. It wasn't anything special, but I did get the chance to eat some great food. One place I visited was Naked Fish--a sushi bar very similar to Sushi 101 back in the Queen City. I had a Tokyo Toll spicy tuna style. It was spicy tuns, rice and some Japanese bread crumbs in a lettuce leaf. Talk about simple, yet amazing! I've never had anything like that before! It was perfect and I'll definitely have to go back. I also had a rice bowl called Ten Don. It consisted of shrimp tempura over rice. When they brought it out, I didn't want to eat it because the presentation was crazy cool!

And delicious as well! I definitely didn't finish this at the table, but did finish it for lunch the next day.

I also made it to the mall. I thought I was going to do a little shopping, but the mall reminded up the Greenwood Mall. They had some of the popular stores, but not anything I was interested in. I plan on going back because I need to go buy new shorts for the summer. I also took some random pictures in the mall.

So, there's a puppy place in the mall with some of the cutest dogs. Then I saw this girl who apparently thought you can touch the cages. clearly you can't because of the 2 inch thick window pane. She didn't see the window pane and ran into the class. It would have been cute if it was a little child but this was a grown female. She got to do better.

I came all the way to Texas hoping to see nothin but Texas and A&M gear. Looks like you can never leave North Carolina behind.

Saw this shirt in a random store and thought it was hilarious.My work shirts! Snazzy I know...

That's all for now. I hope to have more pictures of campus up soon. Until then...

Wear GREEN and GIG'EM!