KHOP IS HERE!

Are you tired of studying for your finals? Well congratulations, you're one of a very few people who has already started studying. For the rest of you, you should get started. Those books aren't going to read themselves.

Do you get hungry for study snacks? Well, if you do, you're in luck! Kinsolving RHC will be sponsoring KHOP. It's like IHOP but better-- the Kinsolving House of Pancakes is an event held semesterly during "dead week" to kick off finals! We will be serving normal pancakes as well as blue berry. Come top some pancakes with your own quirky toppings and relax. This event will take place on Monday, December 7th from 8-10:30 in the glass room inside of kinsolving's very own dining hall. Please join us. IT'S FREE.

Happy Mid-November!

So, it's that time again-- everyone's favourite time of year. It's the middle of the year. It stinks. Okay, so maybe I'm going through the sophomore slump. Can you blame me? Everyone is getting homesick. Everyone is tired of school. August and September are awesome because it's the beginning of the year. December goes by fast (though not fast enough) because of finals. So, we're in the middle part where everything sucks. We're being bombarded with midterms, projects, term papers, lab write-ups, and what not.

The food in the cafeteria has gotten tiring. We're running somewhat low on Bevo Bucks and we're trying to budget ourselves because we've been spending too much. Or maybe that's not that case with you. If not, then I salute you. But if you're in this boat as well, I think the only thing we can do is rejoice and sing I'm on a Boat with the help of Andy Samberg and T-Pain. Maybe not so much rejoicing, but that's about all we can do at this point.

Let me assure you, you're not alone. I know it's not much of a consolation because it doesn't make the time go by any faster. Here's a couple of things I can suggest. You can take my suggestions into consideration or not. It's completely up to you. Here's a couple of de-stressers. Some of them are kind of silly-sounding, but whatevs.

• Do a pantry swap: if you're tired of the food that's in your closet, on your shelves, or stored in the drawers under your bed, see if any of your other friends are tired of theirs. Maybe they're tired of Mac and Cheese and you're tired of Chicken flavored Maruchan (ramen for those of you who don't live in a dorm room or for those of you who live under a rock). You might be surprised to find some foods that you like. Best of all, you won't dip into your dine in dollars or spend money on groceries.

• Color okay, so this one is kind of lame, but coloring actually helps to relieve stress. This may be complete b/s, but I think that it's so stress relieving because we like to control things in our environment, but as college students, we quickly learn that we can only control so much. So, coloring helps us keep order (staying in the lines, deciding what colors to use, shading, etc.). Okay so maybe that's a little farfetched, but it's fun and it's not really expensive to do. You can find coloring books for a dollar or two and a 64-pack of Crayola crayons (WITH the sharpener) will run you about 2.99 (not that I bought one last time I went to Target or anything).
  

• Movie Night Okay, so we all love movies. Here's a really cheap and fun way to spend an evening or just a few hours if you have time to kill. We have a buttload of movies up front at the desk. They're yours for a day with the swipe of an ID card. It's pretty magical, actually. Here's a spin on a classic movie night that will shake things up. Go to the desk and grab a movie (or if you happen to own a blockbuster on your bookshelf, take one of your favorites). Grab some friends and some headphones or a headphone splitter. if you've got portable speakers, I'd take that. Find a quiet spot on campus. Maybe try the turtle pond, the south mall, or hang out on the steps of the tower. It's better if it's later. Bring your laptop, pop in your movie, and bring some snacks if you wish. If done right, you'll have a pretty good time. It beats watching a movie on 2nd and a half, if you ask me.
  

• Frisbee they're really cheap, but really fun... and if you're not coordinated, then it's really funny to watch and/or attempt to play. Though it's a little intimidating to play on the South Mall in front of the tower, it's worth a shot. If you don't want to make a fool of yourself, you can try one of the parks near campus. There's a park off of whitis avenue kind of by the Villas. It's called Adams Park. It's by no means anything fancy, but it's kind of nice to just relax there. You'll find shirtless guys playing basketball on occasion, you can hear the kids playing on the playground at the school nearby, you can swing on the swingset or just chill with your friends. It's kind of nice on a cool afternoon.

• Sundeck okay, so we have a sundeck. I don't know how many of you have been up there. It's nothing fancy, but it's pretty nice. It's kind of relaxing on colder days. You get a cup of tea or coffee from Kin's Market, head up to the sun deck, have a seat, relax and maybe do some studying. There's patio furniture so you can work on your laptop. There's wi-fi there too. It's also a great spot to do some reading--away from distractions. It's pretty low-traffic and it's a good alternative to that TV room when all of the bookworms invade the study rooms. You know who I'm talkin' about.
  

• Board games we have a bunch up front at the desk. There's Taboo, Candyland, and Monopoly just to name a few. It's really fun to just chill out with your friends. It's less than cheap because it's FREE...and you can play for as little or as long as you'd like. You can play in teams, against a friend, or on your own, we won't judge.

Okay, so those are a few suggestions on what to do if you're low on cash, bored, or running out of groceries. I know I've been pretty bad about updating this thing and I apologize for that because it's my job to update this thing. So, from now on, you will be hearing from me more often. Good luck on your midterms!

Until I post again,
Karynna