Being the huge basketball and hockey fan that I am, this is the ideal time of year for me. Not only is it my favorite season (who doesn’t love Hot Vanilla Lattes and jumping in piles of leaves?!!) but it’s also the time of the year when all of my sports are going on at the same time! Unfortunately the NBA is in a stupid lockout and it looks like they aren’t going to have much of season (I am the saddest). But I’m trying to not let it get me down because I still have my beloved Bruins to follow. They are on a mini-winning steak having one the last 3 games in a row. And they are on tonight at 7pm vs The Devils.

In more exciting Bruins news, THE STANLEY CUP IS COMING TO UMASS LOWELL!!!!! Yep that’s right, all of us lucky UMLers will be able to come face to face with the legendary Stanley Cup on December 2nd at the Tsongas Arena. So mark it in your calender, iPhone, agenda, or whatever else you might use. You definitely do not want to miss this amazing opportunity.

Although our UMass Lowell Riverhawks are not in the NHL, they are still a great team to watch. And the games are so much fun to go to. This week we play the other UMass.. UMass Amherst. The game is at 7pm on Saturday, I expect to see you all there wearing your Riverhawk colors to show your UML pride as we cheer on our boys to a victory.

Make sure you head to the UMass Lowell Athletics site to check out all the time and locations of all of the Riverhawk Teams. http://www.goriverhawks.com/

Below I have added some links to all the lastest info and stats on our favorite teams:

NBA Lockout Update
Bruins
Riverhawk Hockey

-Meg

Hello everyone!

I hope that you are having a very pleasant Wednesday.

Are you stressed out? Me too.

Below is perhaps the best article that I have seen on identifying types of stress and how to cope with it.

http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm

Did you read it? That’s okay, I skimmed it too. Well anyway, the article focuses on taking control of your life and coming to the realization that you are calling the shots.

The first recommendation of the article is to identify the sources of stress in your life.

Second, really take a look at the way that you cope with stress. You can either change your situation or your reaction to the situation. This section of the article also gives a pretty vast list of unhealthy methods of coping with stress. (I read them and realized that I am guilty of almost all of them.) You should learn the healthy ways of managing stress. The four main ways are avoiding the stressor, altering the stressor, adapting to the stressor or accepting the stressor.

If you have a couple of minutes, I would highly recommend reading the whole article. It changed my day.

~Alanna

.. For Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, falling leaves, apple crisp, and Thanksgiving break! I know I am very much looking forward to going home over Thanksgiving weekend and seeing my best friends! I’m sure it has been a big adjustment for all of you to be away from your close friends from high school and it may feel like you are drifting apart. But this is the perfect opportunity to get back on good terms with everyone you haven’t talked to in a while. Here are some fun reasons to get back together with your friends and rekindle that amazing friendship:

Friends-giving: Have a mini-Thanksgiving with all your friends! Have everyone make one Thanksgiving dish and bring it over. The rule with my friends: everything home made! No frozen apple pies or mash potatoes from a box. Think your guy friends won’t be up for cooking? Challenge them to a cook off: girls vs. boys. They will definitely be into if there is a competition or a bet going on.

Thanksgiving Day Football: Bundle up, grab some hot coffee or hot chocolate and head to your high schools football game! Chances are you’ll be able to see a ton of people you graduated with or friends you have that are still at the school. And you might get to see your old teachers (which is good or bad depending on how much you liked your teachers).

Black Friday Shopping: Even if you don’t like the big crowds or don’t want to shop, go to Walmart at 4am when it opens to watch how crazy& funny people get when they are pumped about the awesome deal they just got.

Slumber Party! I know it sounds cheesy and wicked clique but nothing is better than brownie sundaes and watching movies all night with your best friends. It gives you plenty of time to share all your college stories and exciting news you might have.
– I plan on doing this with my best friends Liz and Kelly, Liz goes to school in Maine and Kelly is in Chicago so I never get to see them. Our all nighters help us catch up because there is only so much that can be said in a hour phone call once a week.

Any other ideas you can think of?! Share your ideas with us on how you plan to spend time with your best friends. Maybe one of us will even try it!

Enjoy you time with your friends!!
-Meg

So I have recently fallen in love once again with Barbershop music. After watching the classic musical “The Music Man”, and I hear the barbershop quartet singing Lida Rose… something just gets me every time. I’m not a vocalist actually, I am a trumpet player.. but I have been a fan of A Cappella for as long as I can remember. Barbershop is THE HARDEST ENSEMBLE SINGING YOU WILL EVER COME ACROSS. If you are a singer and you have never experienced singing in this kind of group, you need to go do it…. now. And have your mind blown by all of the music theory that is going on all over the place. Seriously… I have never seen so many secondary dominants in my life. Not only is this style difficult, but it is also extremely entertaining. A lot of time and effort gets put into doing a style like this.

I suggest you check out these links if you want to hear some good barbershop!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbBITrZa6Ok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c__XoBjsyN4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWCNiIikbFw

Enjoy your Monday!

~James ( Going to go arrange some Barbershop right now!! )

I was very nervous about a presentation that I had yesterday. I pulled a weak all-nighter and finished it up the best that I could. I went to class ready to present as the third presentation. It was weird that the person scheduled to present first did not show up, but I didn’t think about it too much. I presented and I felt pretty great about it. Overall I think that I grasped the idea that my professor was trying to get across.

It is then time for the rest of the presentations. Come to find out that half of those persons did not come to class. Other names were called to present and voices answered, “I don’t have anything for today.”

What???

Hold on a second …That’s an option? I wasn’t aware that was an option. DON’T LET THIS BE YOU.

If you are having difficulties concentration on an assignment that is due in the next couple of days, try out this anti-procrastinating techniques.

http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2009/02/20/5-quick-and-dirty-anti-procrastination-tips.html

One piece of advice that I can offer is to choose a topic that you are interested about! It sounds silly, but honestly the projects that I have had the most difficult time with have been in either classes that I had no interest in or project topics that I could not relate to whatsoever.

Whether you just hate the number 0 or are having bigger GPA goals, if you utilize good time management you are surely on the road to success.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

~Alanna

Power or no power?! That seems to be the golden question. Well, if you are reading this that means you have power where you are so WAHOO! Cause it would be horrible to be out of power and miss this lovely blog that I am writing. I luckily live on campus where there are generators so I was only withour power for 30 seconds (: Which was just long enough to laugh that the power went out due to a snow storm in October and to get scared of being alone in the dark (I don’t like big storms). And on the bright side, we were not the worst hit area! My sister’s colleg in Conneticut got evacuated for the whole week!! But thankfully all the power is suppose to be back on soon!

It’s that time of the year when all we want to do is wrap up in a blanket, drink hot chocolate with marshmellows, and watch a movie. There is no more motivation to get outside, be active, or eat healthy. But those three things aren’t just good for your mind, body, and health; they can also improve your grades! I bet you never knew that!

High cardio workouts create new brain cells which means studying right after a run will help you retain how to do that Physics homework or that Anatomy reading. Working out has a bad rep saying it tires you out but in reality, working out releases chemicals and hormones that keeps you awake and feeling ready to do anything! Working out is the best in the morning because it wakes you up, gets your body moving, keeps you focused and makes to brain cells to be filled with information in class.

Eating healthy also can have a huge impact on how you do in class. Certain foods can keep you focused in class so your mind isn’t wondering. Try almonds, raisins, tuna or any fish with high omega-3 levels, sunflower seeds, watermelon, peanut butter, and dark chocolate (there are a ton more too!). Try eating a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack so you aren’t thinking about food in class. And eating snacks helps you avoid over eating at other meals. In your main meals of the day try to have a large portion of a vegetable or fruit, a medium size portion of protein, and a small amount of fat or carbs. This balanced meal will keep you feeling full longer. Avoid drinking to much coffee, although it can help you get through that 8am Physics Lecture or an all night study session, when consumed in large amounts it can leave you jittery and unfocused. Another helpful tip is drink lots of water! I know you hear is all the time but not having enough water can lead to dehyrdration, drowsiness, and lack of concentration. Try getting an eco-friendly reusable water bottle and taking it every where so you can refill it everytime you want something to drink.

Have an exam coming up?! Try my Exam Get Ready Routine! The day before hit the gym for 35 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weights. Follow it with a protein packed snack (Balance Bars are my favorite) and a trip to the library. The morning of the exam, eat breakfast! It’s scientificly proven those who eat before an exam do better. I always have an apple with peanut butter before every single exam I take, it’s kind of my good luck charm.

I hope this helps you have successful and health semester!
-Meg