Alison

I can't believe it- one week of classes yet that consist of 3 homeworks, one lab report, a senior design project (I'm in serious trouble), a term paper and a rainfall report (luckily due during finals).

After that, I graduate! It's unbelievable. Then on to Cabo!

My dad just recently made me aware of an amazing website- Restaurant.com. It sounds like a gimic at first but it is real, I have actually done it. Honest!

 Okay here is the deal- this website helps promote certain restaurants in the area of your choice (you can choose whatever location you want in any part of the country) by selling gift certificates ($10, $25, $50, $75 and $100 depending on the restaurant) at discounted prices- usually 50% and MORE. For example, My boyfriend and I went to the Bonaventure Brewery in downtown LA with a $25 gift card that I bought for $12.50. All you have to do is present it to your server BEFORE you order and you get a discount. It is amazing. 

 Right now Restaurant.com is having a Sale- I got a $25 gift card to the Aqua Lounge in Beverly Hills for $3!!!! 

You should definitely give it a try!

***Just note- there are some restrictions that are restaurant specific. For example, you need to spend a minimum of $35 and drinks are not include. Some also add 18% gratuity because they are worried you won't tip properly because you are eating for cheaper.

I know crazy right?!?! This Wednesday, the USC chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers is leaving for a competition in HAWAII!! The competition is called the Pacific Southwest Regional Conference and is where we will race the concrete canoe we spent the year building as well as load our steel bridge. I'm super excited- can't you tell?!? 4 days running around Waikiki is going to be absolutely incredible and a fabulous add on to the Spring Break that passed.

In other news, I know it has been a while and apologize for my blogging hiatus. So I'll catch you up on my life real quick-

--The team I was captain of for the Associated General Contractors' competition, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) team, placed 3rd out of 17 teams! It was absolutely incredible because we were in the largest category and had never competed before!! (Again I am excited- mostly because I am leaving for Hawaii soon)

--I had some beastly midterms over the past few weeks, especially my CE 451 (water resources engineering) midterm- my absolute last as a USC undergraduate (tear, I know- I would be sad, but that will have to wait until after Hawaii).

 ******Oh quick advice- make sure you are clear about what open book means. I had a midterm in CE 485- Wastewater Treatment Plant Design, and it had 2 parts- open and closed book/notes. I thought open book/notes meant open book, workbook and all my notes- including homeworks. Turns out it only meant open books, workbook and ONE PAGE OF NOTES- NOT HOMEWORK. I definitely felt a little ill after that one- since all I would have needed was one page of notes to ace it cause I knew what type of problem my professor would be giving. Turns out I did just as well, and better, than my classmates who had their one page of notes. Go figure. 

-- Spring break was pretty uneventful. I went home to PA and hung out with the fam. It was nice and relaxing, unfortunately hardly any work was done. I saw the play my sister did the costume design for (she is a design major at Lehigh University) and it was ADORABLE! If you ever see a sign promoting the Train to Nibroc go see it. It was smart, funny, sweet and beautiful. 

 -- I am currently in the process of finding internships (companies have FINALLY decided they can hire us, we are cheap labor afterall) and I have already received two offers in California with a 3rd pending, which is quite a relief. So as of now I have 5ish options- 1 at the Nuclear power plant that I worked for back home, another one in Princeton, NJ and 3 out here in California. Can't wait to decide where I am going to end up!

--I have finally joined the Twitter craze and I absolutely LOVE it, which is unfortunate. Sign up and follow us USC engineers!!!

Anyway, I guess I'll say ALOHA! and go finish my homework- locked inside on a gorgeous day.. grrrrr!

I'm 2 days from going to Sparks, NV for the Associated Schools of Construction and I couldn't be more excited!! I am captain of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Team and we are in the process of scrambling to get all our stuff together. I'll let you know how it goes- we may be doing a live webcam feed at the competition (probably not because we will most likely get disqualifed).

I'll keep you posted- I've just been super busy with class and this competition. Oh and I found a new blog to read called the Secret Weapon. Check it out!

OH.MY.GOD.

I saw the SNL skit with Beyonce and Justin Timberlake to "All my single ladies". It was AMAZING. So amazing that we recently watched it at my American Society of Civil Engineers officer meeting. 

 I found the skit online- its so funny! Check it out PLEASE!

 I also found this cool little video with "All my Single Ladies" done acoustically. I am actually kind of impressed by it. 

We're the dancers!

 Have a good weekend- GO CARDINALS!!!