Brandi Ramos ’12

See, I knew sleeping past my alarm would come in handy one day. Well…no, but I can pretend, can’t I? I’ve gotten into the nasty habit of hitting the snooze button in my sleep when my alarm rings at 8:30, and not actually getting up ‘til at least 9:00. Those of you still in high school probably think I’m weak for being unable to wake up by the time you’re sitting halfway through first period class, but—actually, there is no excuse; I am weak. It’s especially hard when you were having such a good dream beforehand. There was one time where I had this dream about an epic battle between dinosaurs and I just had to go back to sleep to continue it…but that’s a blog post for another time (or rather, never).

Anyways, on Friday I got out of bed at nine-something and went through my usual routine: bathroom, clothing, and hair-brushing while turning on my laptop to check my email and facebook (I am insanely addicted). I saw an email (which I would never have read if I woke up on time) about a prospective student who needed a host because her original one had canceled last minute. I mulled over hosting for a minute, looked at the time, and figured I might as well. My first time alone at Holy Cross had been for an overnight weekend program, and I had come late because I had an AP practice exam that day. Because I came in the afternoon, there hadn’t been anyone to pick me up, so I spent an hour or so by myself in Hogan reading. It was a nervous hour.

Clearly, there was no reason for anyone else to repeat it.

Aly the prospective was awesome. I really hope she comes here! I felt badly that she ended up sitting through my science classes when she wants to major in something humanities related, but I tried my best. I had never hosted before, and she was incredibly patient with me as I scrambled to figure out what aspects of HC would be most important for her to see. In the end, Clara, Cynthia, and I took her adventuring to all the most important places regular tours don’t show you at HC—the best bathroom on campus (located down the hall from Admissions), Fenwick Theater, O’Kane computer lab (I never learned where it was ‘til a good month into my first semester), Public Safety, various elevators, and out to eat in Kimball, to name some of the less obvious ones. I like to think I introduced her to nice people as well, like Goebel the Kimball captain and Debbie the Classics major.

Of course, introducing anyone to Debbie is generally a good life decision.

In the end, she had to go to her interview with admissions, but I wish her and everyone else applying the best of luck!

I can’t wait to host again!

I am terrified of needles. Sharp, pointy objects that inject things into your bloodstream make my insides writhe with terror and disgust. I had gone home this past weekend to get my flu shot with my younger brothers at our doctor’s office, where I technically am not allowed to look afraid. Seeing small children terrified of getting their flu shot somehow pushes me into the direction of confidence where I give them an “it’s going to be okay” smile in passing. Unfortunately, the flu clinic was canceled, thus I had to go get my flu shot here, where trying to be reassuring to freshmen isn’t quite the same as being reassuring to a five year old.

The wait was long, but probably shorter for me than others, because I got there ten minutes early. For the thirty-two excruciating minutesI stood in line, I panicked about the shot. I ran into Heidi on the stairs on my way to Hogan, and she tried to persuade me against getting the shot at all. I considered the thought for a good second or so, then in a Star Wars like fashion, the voices of my parents echoed in my head and the brilliant idea of not getting jabbed was lost forever.

When it was my turn to get the shot the nurse looked at me and told me I looked unhappy and nervous. I told her that I usually did. Her response was “Around needles, or in general?”

Suffice it to say, I didn’t understand her question at first, so while I answered that I was only nervous and awkward around needles, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the proper answer would have been “all the time.”

But beyond this, my public service announcement is: get vaccinated, wash your hands (Health Services actually sent out an email awhile back linking to a YouTube video on how to properly wash your hands, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI0dn–vv0w), cover your mouth when coughing, and for goodness’ sake, try and stay healthy!

See you next time!

I’m sitting in the computer lab in Stein right now, with an hour left before my first Latin exam. I feel as if I know what I’m doing, but terrified that once I see the test, I’m going to forget it all. Normally I would be sitting downstairs at one of the little round tables next to Cool Beans 2, but all of them were taken when I got here, so now I find myself in this computer lab that is the only non Pepto-Bismol colored room I’ve seen in the entire building. Go figure.

Before I resume my last minute studying, I’d like to make note of the event of the week. On Wednesday, Greg Mortenson, co-author and protagonist of the book Three Cups of Tea came to give the 2YO keynote speech in St. Joseph’s Chapel. For those of you who don’t know (nor I, until last summer when I realized we had summer reading…again) the 2YO program is a series of events Holy Cross provides to its sophomores to help them find direction in their studies. Earlier this year, we had an “academic extravaganza” where we could all learn more about different majors and research opportunities.

But back to Greg Mortenson.

The first thing I’d like to say about him is that he was just as tall and bashful as his book described him to be. I find being bashful and interesting trait for someone who has taken such great strides to go from selling nearly everything he owned to build a school in Pakistan, to becoming someone who has risen so high that his book is now required reading for head military forces in the Pakistan/Afghanistan area. I suppose he never let being bashful get in the way of anything. For all of this, he was a lovely speaker. He threw in jokes here and there (I can’t help but think of Fr. McFarland as our ‘tribal chief’ now) and gave us all a more in depth version of how he went about building his schools and what we could do to help. When it came around to getting my book signed, his assistant took my book first, so when he held out his hands, I assumed he wanted my book, which I didn’t have. Awkwardly, I put my hands in front of me, which he took for a handshake. I was horribly confused and flustered, and ended up scurrying away quickly when the ordeal was done.

In terms of shyness, I reckon I’m far worse than he is.

Oh well, off to pass my Latin exam!

p.s.- This post was written Friday…and then I didn’t get around to posting until today, Sunday…oh well…

p.p. s.- More information about Three Cups of Tea and Greg Mortenson can be found at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ You should definitely check it out.