A Look Back

Well, looks like the semester is drawing to an end. This whole blogging experience has been a bit different for me, but I learned a lot. However, I enjoyed it more than what I had originally anticipated; and, I figured out my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to writing non-fiction.

Book and movie reviews aren’t really my thing. I tend to lean more on the summary side of things, and not so much on my opinion and experience. I do enjoy writing about events and my experiences around the community. Not only do I enjoy this particular form of writing, I find it to be the most helpful to my fellow students. I noticed I received more comments of these types of posts than any of the others.

There were two posts I enjoyed writing the most: the one about learning how to decorate cupcakes and the one about all the local book stores. I had a lot of fun going to a local event and sharing what I learned about sweet treats, not to mention the free cupcake. I had no idea this was something offered in the community, so it was just as informative for me as it was for the audience.

I also had fun running around to all of my favorite book stores and looking at them in a different way. It was nice being able to share these hidden treasures with everyone. I have to be honest though, I was a little apprehensive sharing my secret havens with the world. But, I think a lot of people enjoyed learning about how many options they had for finding used books.

I’m not sure if I will continue to blog, but it’s definitely something I will keep in mind. It will have to depend on how much time I have as well as how exciting my life is.

Graduate Level Mental Meltdown

What do you do when you graduate from college? You got to Grad school of course. The question is what Grad school? For the last two weeks, I’ve been researching and researching trying to figure out what I need to do before I graduate in a year. It turns out going to Graduate school isn’t as easy as it looks.

The first thing you need to do is narrow down your options as to which schools you want to try for. No less than three top picks, no more than five. Three gives you options and back up options; more than five can be overwhelming if you end up getting into too many programs.

After narrowing down the options, start researching. Find out application deadlines, campus visits, offers for assistantships and fellowships and the deadlines for those. Get a general idea of what all will be asked of you in order to apply to the schools of your choice.

Next, try to talk to some alum from the programs you’re going for. This will help weed out any options you weren’t too sure of, as well as let you know if it’s really worth going through the gruesome application process. In my case, it was pretty easy finding alums from all of my choices, which helped a lot in my decision process.

Find out when the GRE is available for you to take. It’s best to take this the fall before you are to start your Grad school program. GRE scores are required upon submission to Graduate school, and most Graduate school applications have to be in by Jan. 1^st if you want to start in the fall semester. If you can, start studying for the GRE as soon as you can. The higher the score the better chance you have of being chosen over someone else with similar experience and GPA.

Make sure you line up your letters of recommendation and ask the people you want to write them for you long before they need to be written. This way, if you get a “no”, which is rare, but it happens, you have plenty of time to find someone else to do it.

Try to plot out a six to ten year life plan. Most applications require a personal statement from you about what your overall goals are. This short term life plan can help keep your statement direct and concise, without going into too much unnecessary detail.

Most important, stay organized and stay focused. Any type of derailment can result in immense panic and a forgotten deadline. This is scary stuff, and I’ve only been going through it for half a month. I have a whole year ahead of me, but I think I’m ready for the challenge.

Getting Down and Dirty With Just Dance 3

With bikini season just around the corner, I, and virtually every other college age female, started a diet this past week. It’s common knowledge that you can’t just lose weight by eating right. If you really want to shed those pounds, you have to sweat a little. So, I asked myself what the best way to start a workout regimen would be that wouldn’t be completely taxing. I could have run to the neighborhood gym and paid an arm, leg, and the blood of my first born child; or, I could get a little creative.

The Nintendo Wii craze has been around for a few years now. Interactive video games are in virtually every household, including mine. I went to the store and asked the salesman what the most active game he had that would help get me in shape and wouldn’t break the bank. I wanted something that had come out more recently, knowing video games only get better with time. He pointed out to me Just Dance 3. Well, needless to say, I snatched it up, took it home, and started to boogie.

When I started it up, it went straight to a main menu, giving me options to “Just Dance” or “Just Sweat”. I wanted to see what this bad boy was all about, so I chose to “Just Dance”. The play list featured songs from Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, and Cee Lo Green. It also had some fun songs like “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters, and “Take On Me” by A-Ha. The variety of music definitely made it more fun to get my jive on, and the playlists were easy to navigate, letting me skip the tracks I wasn’t interested in.

The “Just Sweat” option was just as fun. After creating a profile by simply adding my name, I was ready to go. I got to pick between three different work out levels, equivalent to either 30 minutes of walking, running or swimming. After I finished each dance I was able to see how many sweat points I accumulated, getting me closer to my predetermined daily goal. Also, each song gave me so many stars, one through five, based on my performance. Once I reached a certain amount I would unlock a gift challenge. This kept the game interesting; and kept me working towards something with a more immediate pay off.

This video game definitely out ranks its predecessors. It’s more user friendly in its ease to navigate as well as how well it reads my moves as a player. Compared to both Just Dance and Just Dance 2, Just Dance 3 offers more dance and song varieties and is overall more engrossing for the player. There is less frustration trying to get to the song or menu I wanted. Also, being a dance game, there is a lot of moving around. If I wasn’t directly in front of the screen, I would lose out on points with the previous two games; however, this version let me move around and still obtain a decent score.

The down side, with the Nintendo Wii, the only thing the censor reads is the controller movement. This means, it’s easy to get a high score while cheating and only moving your arms. There really isn’t much to gain physically by this except maybe a stronger dominant arm, and defeats the purpose of the game. However, with the other consoles Just Dance 3 is available on, it reads your whole body, making it more difficult to cheat.

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 The verdict is: if you want a way to get your cardio up, while working out your arms, legs and stomach, and you’re willing to play the game right, spend the money and get Just Dance 3. It’s fun to play and a good work out. Not to mention, it might teach you a few moves you can throw down on the dance floor. Not a bad investment, if I do say so myself.

Price (Wal-Mart)	$29.99
Game Rating	E 10+
Age Group	Ages 10 and up
Consoles	Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 Kinect, PlayStation 3

Book Worm Paradise

Attention Springfield readers! If you’re a book worm like me, and you would rather spend your money on a new book than on something to eat, you may want to read what follows.

In the information age we live in, it seems like it’s getting more and more difficult to find the book you want that isn’t on an e-reader. Don’t get me wrong, e-readers are great if you travel a lot or if you move around and can’t take your books with you. However, I personally prefer the smell and feel of a real book in my hands. Something I can sit down with, take a pen or highlighter, and go to town, or in some cases, a far off land. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed whenever I walk into Barnes and Noble the books I want are nowhere to be found, and their Nook section takes up half the store. So, like many others, I have moved on to the used book stores around town. Luckily, because everyone else is switching to e-readers, there is a much higher selection than there used to be in these stores.

The first store I try to hit is Book Rack. It’s located at 311 W Central Street. There isn’t much organization here. In fact, it’s mostly floor to ceiling books you have to dig through. However, most of the time you can find a real treasure and you’re most likely only going to pay $.50 to $1.50 for it. I try to buy what I can find here, and then move on to other locations. There will be days I leave with close to 15 books and only spend about eight dollars.

Stop number two is usually Hooked on Books at 2756 S Campbell. The books are neatly organized and in much better condition than the previous store, and the prices range anywhere for about $1.50 to $3.00 per book. The best part about this store is their classics section. It takes up almost an entire aisle, and they have almost anything you might be looking for in this genre.

Stop number three is Half Price Books, located at 1950 S Glenstone, behind CD Warehouse. The price may be a little bit higher than the other two, but if none of the other places have what you’re looking for, Half Price can find it for you. Also, Half Price has a much larger selection of contemporary literature. The one thing you must check out why going here is their rare books sections. It’s not uncommon to find 200 year old books one the three or four shelves designated for these treasures. Even if you don’t intend to buy, you should at least look through them.

There are other used book stores in Springfield as well. For instance, ABC books at 2109 N Glenstone. The prices here are a little bit higher; however, they have a large selection of both Christian reads as well as a descent selection of poetry. But, expect to pay for what you’re getting. Also, there is Book Castle at 2252 S Campbell. Once again, the prices are a bit higher, and the selection is not as good as the other places. The books here are in like new condition though. Book Castle also sells T-shirts and posters along with their slight selection of reads.

This is just my system. I recommend checking all these places out and finding which one works for you. The hours of operation vary for each book store, so spend a couple weekends going around to where you want. I do recommend making up a list of books you want to buy though. This way, you don’t get aimlessly lost in all your options. You may end up with multiple copies of the same book. I speak from experience on this one.

WOO HOO Kansas City!

Over spring break this year, some friends of mine and I took a little trip to Kansas City. While we were up there, we stopped by a few different places, including the Kansas City Zoo, as well as the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Both of these places were lots of fun, and I would recommend a trip to either any time you may have a chance.

The Kansas City Zoo is located at 6800 Zoo Drive in Swope Park. It's simple to find, even if you don't know Kansas City that well. The admission prices are a bit steep, but the entertainment is worth it. There is a plethora of animals to be seen, and most of them are willing to get up close and personal. This includes the kangaroos they let roam the land free. Also, there are rides available to patrons at an additional price, such as a boat, train or lift, to take you around (or over) all of the fun exhibits.

Check out their website for all the details!

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is also worth a visit. The museum is located in Overland Park Kansas City; and interestingly enough, it is also located in Johnson County Community College. That's right, in a community college. The best part, admission is free! There were multiple different exhibits to view, including a video room to watch video art. There was a whole floor designated to impressionism, and multiple other exhibits, including sculpture and photography. I'm not about to say I know the first thing about contemporary art, regardless of how interesting I may find it, so it was really nice that there were workers at the museum around every corner to explain how to look at certain pieces or answer any questions you may have. And, when all is said and done, you can stop by the gift shop to take a little art home with you. Who doesn't like that?


Hours and Address along with current exhibits are located on their website.

Bruno's Downtown Italian Restaurant

Bruno’s Restaurant is a little Italian spot in downtown Springfield. However, it’s not like the chain places commonly seen in the Midwest. Between the ambiance and the homemade food, it brings a better Italian dining experience to the tables of Springfield.

Customers are greeted promptly upon entering Bruno’s establishment by the friendly staff. I was lucky enough to dine there during a slow time in the evening, so there was no waiting. We were seated immediately and given water while we decided what we wanted to order. The server was knowledgeable about the array of specials offered, and anything she didn’t know about particular dishes, she found out promptly and relayed the information back to us.

The lighting was nice and the staff was on top of adjusting the window shades so we weren’t blinded by the setting sun. The decorum was simple and not overdone or too commercial. There weren’t a ton of extra menus on the table; and the walls were lined with little twinkle lights to give off a soft glow and make the room look bigger than it really was. There were a lot of tables crowded in close together, so I can imagine if one were to go during busier times, it would feel like it was nothing but wall to wall people, with no sense of intimacy.

Also, everything dish on the menu is written in Italian, so telling the server what you want to order may be a little more difficult. Luckily there are descriptions of each dish under their names, so you can just read off the description if your Italian is a little rusty.

The meals are served with complimentary bread and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture. Although the oil vinegar mixture was a bit tart, it was still full of flavor and not too filling, so plenty of room left for the entrees to come.

Unfortunately, all soups or salads are an extra cost with an entrée, and they aren’t cheap. Patrons are looking at paying an extra four dollars or more for this accompaniment to their meal. I didn’t try any of these, wanting to make sure I had room for dessert later, but I hear the minestrone soup is delicious.

Pasta dishes are the way to go when choosing an entrée. I had the Fettuccine con Pollo alla Romana, which is a dish of fettuccine noodles with chicken in a white wine reduction sauce. There were sweet onions and peppers sautéed and mixed in that added a little zing to ever bite. There are also classic pasta dishes to choose from, including spaghetti and gnocchi.

A little interesting fact about the menu is there are no dessert options. The restaurant changes the options regularly. All the desserts are made from scratch daily, so no worries about getting a piece of cake that tastes like a freezer. All the desserts cost $6, which is a reasonable price for the giant serving you get. I recommend getting the tiramisu, layers of lady fingers soaked in espresso and sweet whipped cream sprinkled with cocoa powder. This is a delicious after dinner treat accompanied with a fresh cup of coffee.

Throughout the meal, we were attended to regularly, except for a small amount of time after we finished our entrees, when our server disappeared. We went without refills on our drinks and had to wait a while to order our desserts. Once she came back though, the service picked back up.

Over all I would say the dining experience was worth it. I recommend this for everything from a nice dinner out to a good place for a business meeting. It’s professional, intimate, and can even be a little romantic when with the right company.

Location…………………………………………	416 South Ave Springfield, MO 65806
Phone……………………………………………	(417) 866-0007
Hours……………………………………………	11a.m.-10p.m. M-Th, 11a.m.-11p.m. F-Sa, Closed Sun
Take Reservations………………………………	Yes
Price-Appetizer ………………………………...	$4-$11
Price-Entrée……………………………………..	$11-$18
Price-Dessert……………………………………	$6

Stumbling across Il Volo

I was killing time and flipping through the channels on TV today, and I came across something that blew me away. PBS was airing a concert that took place at the Detroit Opera House on December seventh of last year. The featured performance was a band named Il Volo.

Il Volo consists of three teenage tenor Italian boys. They have already taken over Europe and they are making their way across the United States. These boys have talent that is very rarely seen, especially being so young.

The members are Piero Barone (17) Ignazio Boschetto (16) and Gianluca Ginoble (16). They were discovered on an Italian television talent show, and have taken off since then. They sing everything from classic operatic to American classics such as “Smile”.

There really are no words to describe the immaculate power of their voices. When collaborative they have an overwhelming power to be able to move their audience emotionally and physically. Their voices are crystal clear, on tone, and they each add individual personality to each piece they sing. Even if you aren’t into Italian music, you can’t help but be floored by the control they have over their voices as well as their disciplined registers.

However, you don’t have to take my word for it. See for yourself.