The First of the Last ( also known as "aren't my friends beautiful?")

Live from the red carpet: it's the **th annual Sing Alliance formal!

Q: "Tell us Jennifer, what would you like to say about your dress this evening."

A: "Well, the first thing you should know is I got it for a steal. I love a good deal. This would be the dress I wear to go clubbing in if I ever went clubbing. At first, I was going to pair it with black patent pumps but at the last moment, I made a dramatic wardrobe change-- which meant I had to paint my toenails with breakneck speed. I kept the hair and jewelry simple to let the dress shine.... and I really want World Peace!"



Q: "And what about you, Valori. Tell us about your ensemble this evening."


A: " Um.... I spent more for it than I really wanted to. I left all my jewelry in Houston so creativity had to be used in the construction of the outfit. I found the earrings in my purse. Lindsay think they worked well with the dress. In fact she said I was very "artistic French." I was going for a classic look in all."

Q:" Lindsay, please elaborate on your look this evening."

A:" Well, I was going for 50s/60s vintage, complete with the slightly bufont hair- which took a bumpit, 20 hairpins, and half a can of hairspray to complete. I found this wonderful little number on a clearance rack at Dillard's, according to the label I am wearing,"Made in Vietnam." My shoes (unavailable in the picture) are ones I picked up in Austria, adding a slightly European flair to the look. After an hour, I'm proud to announce that my feet were in fact completely numb, and I managed to dance the night away without much difficulty."


Can you tell we had fun with this post? Really though, last night was the Sing Alliance formal, and it was so much fun! Chocolate Fountains, fresh fruit, pastries, cupcakes, cookies.... and dancing. What more could a girls ask for? The Macarena... and we had that too. It was good to see all of my friends -most of which are seniors like me- and to hear about their plans. Last night was just the beginning of the end, however. Last Sing engagement. This coming week I have three banquets: Two Honors College, One Phi Beta Kappa, and a History dinner. It's busy, but exciting. And I have plenty of dresses to carry me through.

Thesis Days

I look terrible today. Really it was just one of those mornings: it was raining when I woke up to go to the gym. It's a little cold outside. And its a thesis day. Therefore I had little incentive to take a blow drying to my hair and try to make it do something. Same goes for the clothes. I'm currently sporting a pair of Baylor sweatpants and a fleece. I'll likely wear it to band this afternoon. If you were to see me on a regular basis you would know I'm not the pajamas to class kind of girl.
Oh well.
Today's a Thesis Day.
Since the beginning of the semester I've been using the four hours between History and band to work diligently on my thesis. That's nothing special, but as of two weeks ago Wednesday I was done, done, DONE! As far actually writing at least. Now it all has to be edited. Chapters need to be woven together and holy cow if you could see my rough draft- they're unorganized messes of information just waiting for me to put them in an order that actually makes sense and conveys a meaning. Good news though, I've nearly finished drafts of the Intro and Chapter 1 (pending the ok from the Big Editors: Mom and Dad) and am starting Chapter 2 as we speak. If all goes as planned I'll have a polished draft to my adviser by this weekend, which means a week to prepare the draft with her for the rest of the committee before my defense. Haha, three more weeks and if all goes well I'll be done by Easter.
Easter needs to get here soon.
But not too soon.
I could easily be loosing mind in the midst of everything that has to get done. Should prove for some interesting posts in the future.

Oh, and in case your interested. My thesis abstract (read: summary):

“All the Attributes that Distinguish such a Life:” Family and Society in the Antebellum South

The Family unit is perhaps the single most important structure in Southern culture, particularly within the paternalistic world of the nineteenth century planter class. Not only did the concept of family provide the groundwork for a popular argument in favor of slavery, but also supported the cultural foundation of public honor as well as enforced the genderization of southern youth. This thesis examines the relationships southern men and women shared within their family first as children, then as young adults seeking to start families of their own, highlighting how men and women identified themselves within their families and, by default, larger society differently. Finally, it looks at how the American Civil War threatened to shake the traditional views of southerners and drive the family into a more modern institution.

One more for the road...

There were so many things I could write about when I talk about All University Sing. I think I've pretty much considered them all. The original plan was to post a video of our act so you can see why I've been practicing nine to fourteen hours a week for the past two months. (Someone in our group did the math, we practice two hours for every one minute of performance... if that isn't commitment I don't know what is). Unfortunately, a video may not be forthcoming this year.

I thought about writing a review of all the acts, but that might make my post as long as the actual four hour performance itself. I'm sure you'll all stop reading before you even get to the end. And... well, I suppose while I might be "mean" enough to criticize acts in person, I'm not so sure about posting them up on the internet.

Instead, I thought I might give you the next best thing to a video (as many pictures as I could find) and just tell you about what Sing has meant to me these past three years. I promise, I'll try to spare the cheese and keep everything low fat.



Four years ago I moved to Baylor. I had had no connection to Baylor, never made a premier visit, and didn't attend line camp. Oh how little I knew! That year at homecoming I didn't drag my parents to see Pigskin... or after Dark for that Matter, and I certainly had no idea what my roommate was doing when she went at sat in line for four hours to become a member of Sing Alliance. All I knew is that she was gone that semester... a lot and when she came back it was usually with some random object: a pair of lyrical shoes, some feathers, a dress with wood glued on it, and, finally a spear. Seeing as how she spent so much time with this group, I wanted to know what this Sing thing was for myself. One of the girls on my hallway was rushing a sorority and scored me a ticket for club night. Sing Alliance was the first act I ever saw. But it wasn't until the homecoming, my sophomore year after I drug my parents to Pigskin ("Holy Cow, you've got to see this!" I told them) that I walked away saying, "I've got to do that!" That November I sat in line for five hours in order to get a spot. I was the eighth person on the list.



I don't think I would be incorrect to say that the decision was completely out of character for me, at least that's how I've always thought of it. I decided to join Sing Alliance at a time when I was non committal about everything, which I chose to be because I was too committed in high school, I think. Sing Alliance practices full
time Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. Two hours every night except for Thursday when we practiced for three. Big Commitment. Also, I went to bed every night at 10:00 like a little old lady (and I'm perfectly fine with that. I like sleep). Sing Practices at the earliest 8-10 and the latest 10-12. Some nights I didn't get home or relaxed until closer to 1 am. Hello Naps. I had to seriously adjust the way I did things.

I've never regretted it. Well, ok. Sometimes. Sing Season is strenuous. It gets long and tiring, especially toward the end when your just cleaning and cleaning, and remembering about all of the test and thesis chapters due tomorrow. There are moments you sort of hate your life. "Holy Cow, why did I decide to do this again?" But that goes away. You see, Sing kept me from being too serious. It let me get up and jump around... act like I was seven again, and sing Disney songs with people who know every single word. It was my opportunity to leave my mark on a Baylor tradition so to speak. And when Homecoming comes around I'll look forward to seeing all the Pigskin acts, and take my kids to see them. I'll tell them my stories ( and show them my costumes). Because Sing has been a large, and very memorable, part of my Baylor career, and when it ends tonight, it's smooth sailing to graduation.

Let's go, Sing Alliance.

I'm Baaaacccckkkk!

Really, I'm surprised that it took me this long to start a new blog. Oh wait, no I'm not. Last semester was more than a little crazy. I barely had time to breathe much less ramble endlessly on the internet to a few unnamed face. Still, if you were with me for my last blog, it should be no surprise to you that I very much enjoyed working on it and have been thinking of starting a new one for a long time now. Well, there's no time like the present.

Unlike my blog last summer however, there is no great adventure going on in my life. Well, there is but it is not in the form of a foreign country or new culture. 2011 is going to be a pretty big year for me. This year I graduate college (certainly), get into graduate school (hopefully), and move into the next step of my life: adulthood (not really a choice here). Whether you're going to be in my shoes one day, have already walked the path and want to join me for a little reminiscing, or simply want to point an laugh at my pain [ I am posting this on the internet which, I believe, by default gives you permission if you please] I want this blog to be a real representation of my life as it is now. That means I want to be candid about everything (ok, not everything.... we do deserve a little privacy, don't we) from my panic attacks over signing away another 7 years of my life to the elation of my first (solo) apartment. And, while the big changes of life may not require a post everyday senior year antics, books, movies, and random thoughts from all of my fascinating classes, certainly will give me a bit to write about.

It's good to be back!