What do you get when you put 300 people in a small once-was-a-church building with famous people?

If you answered : a) famous people ‘borrowing’ clothes ; b) complete organized chaos; c) witness a killer show; or d) chow down on some delicious Portillo’s cake with the famous people after the show

Then you’d be right.

I’m going to take this letter by letter for you. I know, it’s a lot to take in.

a) Famous people ‘borrowing’ clothes

Okay, so here’s the deal, the basement of The Union, during the day is used at a place where people in need can come and get clothing. Before the show, our favorite Famous people of the week (Jon Foreman and Sean Watkins) along with those Famous people’s bands decided it would be HYSTERICAL to try on a few items of clothing to wear during the show. The best part? They actually wore the items while playing…at least a few of them did. It was quite the sight to see!

b) Complete organized chaos

You may remember last Friday, or you may not, if you don’t I’m going to fill you in a little. It was oh, I don’t know, around 0 degrees, not including wind chill. Now we couldn’t have those 300 people waiting outside freezing their bums off, so we crammed them all into that basement I referenced earlier! Fun times right? It was actually quite humorous, seeing 300 people intertwined with clothing racks, all bonding over the experience.

c) Witness a killer show!

I don’t know if there’s anything else to say about that! The show was AMAZING! Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot started this project called Fiction Family, and let me tell you, check out their myspace to see when they are playing next—we were the 3^rd stop on their tour, and it was just…geeze, I’m even speechless now! So great.

d) Chow down on some delicious Potrillo’s cake with Famous people after the show

That’s right. I said it. Myself along with three other people that volunteer at The Union on a weekly basis were up in the green room chowing down on some leftover Portillo’s chocolate cake when none other than Jon Foreman walks in the room. He greets us with a friends “Hey guys!” Now, keep in mind that we are not using plates, but rather digging our forks into this marvelous cake. We decided to timidly offer him a fork, and he JUMPS RIGHT IN! He pried off a GIANT chunk of cake and proceeded to munch on it while scoping out the room for more left over food. Apparently performing makes him hungry! Needless to say, it was one of the coolest experiences ever. Hands down!

So now we get to the lesson:

Always eat your chocolate cake, because you never know when someone famous will want to share it with you. Another good lesson could be…get involved! You never know who you are going to meet once you make the right connections! Not to mention, when you hear that famous people are performing on your campus, GET TICKETS!!!

So this year, I’ve decided to write my blogs as lessons rather than the ramblings of my previous blogs.

To start off the splendid New Year, I thought I’d write about something most Americans face in the first few months– New Years resolutions.  More specifically the resolution to work out more, you know, get into better shape. Wondering where the lesson is? Here it comes:

Working out is  great, magnificent you could even say. It gives you energy, endorphins, speeds up your metabolism, is good for your heart, well, you get the picture, it’s just plain good!

However; walking long distances in below freezing weather while in shorts is a bad idea. It can lead to windburn, frostbite, and potentially the loss of your legs…okay, well it might not be that extreme, but there’s still the chance.  Now I didn’t do this, but my room mate did.

Picture it, blue skys, you notice a slight breeze floating throughout the trees as you get ready in your dorm room for your splendid work out experience. Donning a t-shirt, hoodie, and athletic shorts you make your way out to your friends car, waiting for you in the parking lot. The two of you are headed down to Merner for a quick run.

After you’ve worked up a proper sweat in the 77° weight room, it’s time to go. This is when you realize that you are going to Kaufmann for dinner, and your friend is headed back to the Huntington Apartments, thus eliminating your ride back to…dun dun dunnnnnn North End.

Your ever so gracious friend drops you at K-mann, and proceeds to depart. With a brave face, you enter into the dining hall, eager to eat quickly and speed walk back across campus to your toasty Kimmel room.  Upon completing your ‘trayless’* meal, you take one last look around for anyone you know with a car, brace yourself, and, having not seen any other alternatives, make a break for it.

Immediately you feel the cold rush against your skin. At first it’s not so bad, refreshing in a way. You walk past Rall, cross the street and continue to pass Jefferson Plaza and Pheifer Hall. That’s when the stinging sets in, you begin to run.

By the time you reach your dorm room your poor legs no longer have feeling.  You curl up into a ball underneath your sheets in a desperate attempt to regain any type of sensation in your tingling and throbbing appendages. Silently you curse that blue sky and vow to never set foot outside the dorm in winter without proper leg attire again.

So as you can see, when walking to Merner in winter term, it is better to wear pants, even if you are getting a ride.  You never know when your plans may change, or the wind chill may drop way, way, waaaay below zero.  Such are the joys of living on North End.

*trayless meals refer to North Central’s valiant attempt to become more green, by reducing trays in Kaufmann, the amount of water used by the school is reduced, as well as the amount of food wasted by student.