Summer is just around the corner, and if you’re like me that means one thing . . . pool parties at my MSU student apartment. I’m already excited thinking about the music, fun, and sun. But there is one thing that puts a damper on all that fun, the fact that for the past six months I’ve avoided the inside of the gym like the plague. Maybe it’s the cold weather or the fact that baggy sweatshirts and Uggs cover almost anything but I haven’t laced up my running shoes since the first snow fell this year. That means one thing this time of year . . . a mad dash to get into bathing suit shape.
This year, I gave in; I watched the infomercials and heard everyone talking about all these great work outs. I figured with only weeks to go, I had to go big. And by big, I mean insane . . . I started doing P90X. Yes, I realize this may have been a crazy mistake and that my whole body is probably going to hate me for the next ninety days but with merely weeks until I bathing suit season, I had to go for broke.
For the uninitiated, P90X is a workout program that combines weight training; cardio and stretching to (supposedly) have you end up with the perfect beach body. Every day of the week you follow a video to work a different part of your body. It involves pull-ups, pushups, extreme ab work and weights. The workouts last between 45 and 90 minutes and each work pushes you to your limits. It is extreme and definitely not for the faint of heart.
That being said, I’m on day 6 and it works. I’ve found out I have muscles I didn’t even know existed (actually meaning I hurt in places I didn’t think could hurt). The X in P90X stands for extreme and the workouts are just that. But with a group a friends and a big enough space (think the gym in your East Lansing student apartment) you can get going.
This work out is best done with a group so that you have someone to motivate you. So grab your roommates, your neighbors, and your friends and kick it into gear. And by the time that first pool party rolls around, you too can be showing off your new physique.
Have you noticed that Pavlov Media (which is our Internet and Cable provider at Chandler Crossings) has recently updated our internet connection speed? A few weeks ago, the internet here was temporarily suspended for a few hours while Pavlov was making the upgrades, to your MSU apartment internet. They opened more bandwidths to accommodate the high amount of traffic value. You should notice a change in the internet speed in your East Lansing apartment as far as downloading and loading goes on the broadband network. Now we would like to here what you have to say! Have you noticed the change in your internet speed?
Each community at Chandler Crossings had a fantastic March Basketball Madness special this past month, with one lucky future resident per community winning FREE RENT for a year! Now THAT’s the way to live in an MSU apartment!
Are you the owner of an iPhone or iPod touch? Do you use your Apple mobile device to surf the Internet? If you answered yes to both of those questions, there is a new application that you need to download!
On April 13, it was announced that Opera Mini, a mobile web browser, will be available for free via the iTunes App Store. Owners of the iPhone and iPod touch can start downloading the application immediately.
What makes the introduction of this application so special? It’s just another web browser right? Wrong. The developers of Opera Mini claim that their software (which has been available in the Blackberry AppWorld for at least a year) enables faster mobile web browsing. Because the software compresses the internet data by as much as 90 percent, the software enables Apple mobile devices to browse the Internet up to six times faster than Safari. The people at Opera, on their website, also say that mobile phone users will save money because the data compression will lead to lower roaming charges while web browsing.
I have been using Opera Mini on my Blackberry for about 10 months now and am very pleased with the application. It’s free and you will notice faster Internet speeds than using the standard Blackberry browser. (You can go to m.opera.com on your browser to download it for free if your phone has Internet access). Last night in my MSU apartment I downloaded Opera Mini for my iPod touch and I did in fact notice a difference in speed. You can also add 9 “favorite” websites to the homepage enabling you to simply click on sites you most frequent. I think this App is going to be a hit! If you don’t have iTunes on your computer or mobile Apple device, you can download it at www.itunes.com/appstore/.
Did you download it yet? Would this be something that you would use? What do you think if it?
Been to the movies lately? Seen any great movies? Well NCG Cinemas is your local theather that caters to families and students. It seems like every week, I leave my Chandler Crossings apartment and head over to NCG to catch quick flick. I’ve seen some good ones and some bad ones as well. On Tuesdays they have a special for students, where all day you can see a movie for only $5 bucks, saving you $2.50 from the normal price. I normally go on a Tuesday Here’s what NCG is offering right now:
Clash of The Titans
How to Train Your Dragon
Alice In Wonderland
Bounty Hunter
Crazies
Crazy Heart
Diary of A Wimpy Kid
Ghost Writer
Green Zone
Greenberg
Hot Tub Time Machine
Last Song
Our Family Wedding
Remember Me
Repo men
She’s Out of My League
Shutter Island
Stolen
Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?
If you get the chance, students I urge you to leave your Chandlers Crossings apartments and head over to NCG for a couple hours of entertainment. Let me know what movie you went to see…
Congratulations to the following semi-final winners for week two of Chandler Crossings FREE RENT GIVE-A-WAY! The following people are entered to win A YEAR OF FREE RENT! Stay tuned to next week’s semi-final winners! And, don’t forget to check back on April 5th to see which 3 lucky ladies or gentleman will live at Chandler Crossings for FREE for 12 unforgettable months!
The Landings Semi-Final Winners:
Farzad Sabzikar
Paula Chen
Miranda Herrick
Jane Dixon
Li Lin
Miao He
Karie Sweers
Brittney Melse
Megan Murray
The Club Semi-Final Winners:
David Foote
Benjamin Fraser
Kenneth Swanson
Andrew Krause
Dominique Booker
Samantha Goniea
Jasmine Singh
Scott Dickson
Christopher Skory
Matthew Grunewald
The Village Semi-Final Winners:
Lulu Shi
bryan Grisdale
David Charboneau
Andrew Smith
Alyssa Hamlin
Brian Krupnik
Matthew Terbush
Spencer Raymond
Trish Hubbard
Austin Ashley
Need to refresh your ‘do? Well East Lansing, you are in luck! Our neighborhood Cosmetology School, Protege Academy is providing FREE HAIRCUTS for the entire month of March! I know from experience that they do a great job, and it is at super convenient location for MSU students and Chandler Crossings residents. You can take a quick walk out of your MSU apartment right to your FREE haircut! If you are coming back from Spring Break a little short on cash, don’t let your style fade! Call ahead to make an appointment because they are pretty booked! They also offer other great services such as mani’s and pedi’s colors, perms, and much more! Get a awesome look for FREE!
We have finally made it to March! March is one of my favorite months because March Madness is here. That means that a lot of you will be filling out NCAA tournament brackets with your friend, family, and co-workers.
If you have never filled out a bracket before, or if you haven’t done so well in the past; use the following NCAA tournament tips to improve your score.
Here is some background information on the tournament that you can use to help. There are 64 teams in the tournament. Those teams are then divided into 4 regions ( East, South, Midwest, and West). Then in the regions, the teams are seeded from top to bottom. The #1 seed plays the #16 seed, the #2 plays the #15 seed, and so on. There are then 7 rounds of games to determine the National Champion. This format of 64 teams had been used since 1985.
Now that you have some background information, grab some friends, get comfortable on the couch in your MSU apartment, and fill out your bracket using the following tips:
1. Do not pick a #16 seed to beat a #1 seed. It has not happened in 25 years of competition.
2. Do not pick a #15 seed to beat a #2 seed. It has only happened four times.
3. When looking for an upset in the first round, look at seeds 9-12.
4. With the #8and #9 match-up, the #9 seed wins more times than not.
5. Pick one #12 seed and one #13 seed to win at least one game. #4 and #5 seeds have been upset in most years of the tournament.
6. Keep in mind, that teams lower than a #12 seed rarely pull off more than one upset.
7. Pick 3 of your #1 seeds to make the round of 8.
8. Pick 2 #2 seed to make it to the round of 8.
9. Pick 1 of your #3 seeds to make it to the round of 8.
10. Pick 1 of your #4 or #5 seed to make it to the round of 8.
11. Do not pick a #7 seed to make the Final Four. It has never happened before.
12. Pick at least one #1 seed to make the Final Four. A #1 seed has made it every year except 2006.
13. The sum of the seed of your Final Four picks should not exceed 11.
14. Two number one seeds in the National Championship game rarely happens, but it has happened the last tree out of four years.
I hope this helps, now get ready to watch some great basketball action in the comfort of your East Lansing apartment. Go STATE!!
It’s that time of the year again! Tournament Madness! The Michigan State Spartans are getting geared up for this years NCAA basketball tournament. After winning a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship, the Spartans set their eyes on winning the Big Ten Tournament. I’m extremely excited! The #11 Spartans face the Minnesota Golden Golphers tonight at 8:55 p.m. The Spartans have beat them twice this year, but each game has been extremely close. I’d probably watch the game tonight in my Chandler Crossings apartment, with my friends, in front of a flat screen, eating an extra large pizza. ummm! When it’s tournament time, a buzz is created around MSU campus and the tournament is a huge East Lansing event. I’m geeked and I’m confident that the Spartans will go deep in this years tourney. I got the Spartans going all the way, who you got?
Sometimes, it is hard to get a full night of sleep in your own bed, in your own room, in your MSU apartment, as a college student. Like many college kids, I am trying to balance work, and school, and still want to have time to hang out with my friends… so sometimes, it is just necessary for me to sleep in class.
And professors don’t seem to get it.
I’m sure you’ve all been in a 500-person lecture class where you’re so bored, and there is still a half hour left to go. You’ve been texting, doodling, or shamelessly creeping on Facebook, and you look around the room, and there’s this kid who’s out cold! And it totally keeps you interested for another minute or two. And he’s snoring, or drooling, and the professor will often call him out just to embarrass him.
So, as the class drooler, let me just say: it is never funny when the class laughs at you for sleeping. After a few scarring moments like these, I have learned my lesson. I now look for other places to sleep on campus.
I was doing well before winter. I used to love spreading out on the grass, the benches, the garden by the library, or even the sidewalk for a nice outdoor snooze. But now, all the snow and salt and slush is kind of ruining that experience for me. Plus, frostbite is never fun.
I have begun the search for places indoor to sleep… “in class” and “the library” are always great options… but a little cliché. I tried to MSU women’s lounge in the Union yesterday, but the door is so creaky and all these girls kept coming in and out to go to the bathroom. Plus, it is not even an option for males. There are all those lounges in most of the dorms with couches… also kind of lame. I’m looking for something bold here!
Please post your suggestions. Until then, I’m making it my mission to try out different nap spots. I’ll be writing again soon to tell you how it goes.
Here’s what NCG is offering right now:
