Ghost Radar

And here it is, the post that will make you all question my sanity.

I recently downloaded this app on my Android phone called "Ghost Radar Classic".  It was one of the most popular apps on the store, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The app looks like this, courtesy of the app's webpage:

You have a radar on which little spots appear. As you walk around, you'll run into some of these spots, which are apparently areas in which your phone detects "quantum fluctuations" (in other words, GHOSTS according to the app creator).

Then the program will turn these fluctuations into words, which are supposed to be what the ghost is saying. I know, this sounds really fake-y, and I thought so too!

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BUT I've been playing around with the app for a few days and it seems almost legit. At first I thought the spots were just detected motion, such as if someone was walking outside or something. However, I set my phone down with the app running on my kitchen counter as my mom, dad, sister and dog were there. The phone didn't detect anything.

I did the same thing when I was the only one in the house, and the app went crazy. Most of the words don't make any sense, but one time one of the words that showed up was "car" after I asked the ghost where it was. I went into the car and the app went crazy again, detecting several "ghosts" at once.

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Another time I was driving past a hospital. After several minutes of inactivity, tons of things showed up on the screen. The words that flashed were "hurt", "chest" and "operation". CREEPY...all of the words are associated with a hospital.

I know, you're probably still skeptical. Just download the app and decide for yourself what it's all about. I don't know if I believe in it's validity, but the app is a lot of fun to play with. And it might just be making me want to sleep with a light on.

Italy: The Preview, Part 1

A week from today I will be on my way to ROME everybody! I keep feeling like it's not going to happen. The idea of me going over there just seems so unreal. I was the same way about college: I don't think I realized I was going until the night before.

We have a tentative schedule of where the Student Life assistants will be taking us throughout our 5 weeks in Rome. Obviously I'll be exploring the city a ton, but here's a look at where I'm staying and the planned excursions I'll be going on outside of the city.

John Felice Rome Center: arrive May 20th

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This is what the college campus I'll be staying at looks like. Doesn't it look so picturesque? I imagine I'll be out and about most of the time, but when I'm not in the city I'm going to love just sitting outside on the lawn under that huge tree to study.

Monte Mario Neighborhood: tour the afternoon of May 20th

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This is the neighborhood that our campus is located in. Monte Mario is on the highest hill in Rome, giving us great views of the city.

Maccarese Beach: Sunday, May 21st

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I really don't know much about this place, except that we have a beachside orientation here on the 21st. Don't ask me how we're supposed to do orientation things like listen to them talk about safety and all that jazz. The ocean is RIGHT THERE!

Pompeii: Friday, May 25th

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I think we've all heard the story of Pompeii--how the island was covered in ash in only a day, killing almost all of its inhabitants. Remarkably, the ash preserved many of the original structures of the city. I imagine walking through Pompeii will be like walking through a ghost town.

Vatican City: May 30th

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We're going to be part of the pope's papal audience on May 30th, meaning that classes will be cancelled and we can go explore the world's smallest country the rest of the afternoon.

Assisi: June 9th

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Assisi is a medieval town that is the birthplace of St. Francis, who is known for his love of animals and nature. I can't wait not only to see the history of the town but see the environment that inspired St. Francis.

Stay tuned for Part 2, listing all the specific places I'll be traveling within Rome!

The Dalai Lama Meets Chicago

Somehow I forgot to blog about one of the most inspiring experiences of my short 20-year-old life. On Thursday, April 26th, 2012, the Dalai Lama came to my university to speak to all of us.

Getting tickets was a huge hassle. They opened up to students in March and sold out in HOURS. I was lucky enough to snag a ticket, but many people weren't. For the $10 I paid for the ticket, my seat was incredible...I was closer to His Holiness than some of the $100 seats.

Before the Dalai Lama came, I participated in a book club where we read one of his books, A True Kinship of Faiths. The Dalai Lama decided to come to our university because, although we are a Jesuit Catholic university, we have a huge population of Muslim and Jewish students. We're big on diversity. In this book club, a bunch of us with all different faiths discussed how His Holiness preached for more than tolerance of different religions: he preaches for acceptance.

Our school was all decked out with banners welcoming the Dalai Lama. In the words of many of my fellow students, we've never seen Loyola do something this "legit" before.

I was one of the first people in line (though in the picture it doesn't seem like it--you should see the people BEHIND me). I skipped classes to see the Dalai Lama because, let's face it, I'm sure his speech was a lot more inspiring than learning about the extracellular cell matrix or The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

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The Dalai Lama welcoming the president of Loyola and giving him a ceremonial white sash.

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He spoke for around an hour about interfaith and how our generation needs to promote acceptance of others. He's wearing a Loyola visor in the picture, which our university president gave him. Upon receiving it he said "I've gotten a lot of these from a lot of different universities. Someday I should put them [for sale] on the internet...they will make a lot of money!" His laugh is absolutely adorable. 

Via Loyola University Chicago

That's his translator by his side, who helped him when he struggled with a few words. I think he was confused by how big the chair was. At one point he invited our university president, who was standing the whole time, to sit down next to him! 

It was the most inspiring two hours of my life, probably more-so because I read the Dalai Lama's book ahead of time. I think he spoke about something truly important to our generation. With so much diversity in Chicago, he spoke a message that does not apply only to religions and faith, but to cultures as well.

I feel so lucky that I was able to take part in this!

--Becky

Target Beauty Box 2012 and "Two Truths and a Lie" Reveal

When I heard that Target was giving out free makeup samples, I jumped on it and ordered a box right away. I honestly didn't expect that they'd be so generous and send me so many things!

The package it came in was really cute. I love the idea Target is promoting: beauty starts with keeping your skin healthy. Everyone's skin is a little different, so we have to figure out what products work best on us.

 

Everything was inside of this pink and orange makeup bag. I had a friend in high school who thought pink and orange made the perfect color combo, and now I see why. Isn't the case so chic? My makeup bag was breaking anyway, so this is perfect for me.

Up first: Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes. I'm going to be honest: I've never used facial wipes before. I've always just used something like Cetaphil and a washcloth to take my makeup off. I've noticed that my face has become a lot duller in the past year or so, and maybe my face washing habits are the cause of that. The wipes don't sting at all and took my makeup right off when I used them.

 

Up next: Pantene Color Preserve Shine Conditioner. I haven't tried it yet, but since I do color my hair it'll be perfect to use as soon as my conditioner runs out. I might take it to Rome since it's the perfect travel size.

 

I've been complaining that, despite all the lotions I have, I don't have any pocket-sized ones to fit in my backpack or purse. Well, here's my answer. The Nivea Extended Moisture Daily Lotion feels and smells exactly like Jergen's formuala. However, the difference is that the mositure lasts, and not in a sticky, annoying way. Four hours after applying it, my hands feel incredibly soft, something I'm not used to!

 

I'm probably most excited for this product. I don't use primer but this sample might make me. Like I said before, my skin is looking very dull and I want to try some products to lighten it up again. The L'oreal Paris Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer looks like it'll do the trick, according to the results below. I haven't tried it yet, but I am loving the fact that it will work for all skin tones and types--I don't need to buy a special shade just for my skin.

Finally, the Beauty Box came with a little booklet of beauty product-related coupons, most of them for the products I had received samples for. There was a $1 off coupon for Sally Hansen magnetic nailpolish, which I might just use. $1 off doesn't seem like much, but any little bit can help.

Like I said before, the Beauty Box is more than I expected and was a nice treat to receive in the mail. Thank you Target! Do you all shop at Target? Do you have any recommendations for facial cleansers and primers?

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In other news, I'll reveal the answers to the "Two Truths and a Lie" post I made yesterday. Here we go!

1. I had go to the emergency room...because of a bracelet. FALSE...but I DID have to go to the emergency room when I was eleven for another jewelry-related incident. I had just gotten my ears pierced and they got infected. Skin started regrowing over the backs of my earrings. I'll spare you the gory details, but in a nutshell the doctor had to numb my ears and cut the earrings out. Surprisingly, my ears don't show a scar or anything after that.

2. I've never broken a bone in my body or had a cavity. TRUE! I don't know why, I guess I was just lucky. I swung on the monkey bars like every other kid and probably had more sugar than I should've, but I ended up just fine. Weird.

3. I once saved my dog from getting run over by a car. TRUE! When my dog was a puppy she escaped under the fence and ran into the middle of a busy street next to our house. Cars were swerving around her and honking their horns like crazy. I ran out into the road and scooped her up. Yeah, I'm kind of a hero...no biggie.


--Becky

Two Truths and a Lie Link-Up

Two Truths and a Lie

Here we go guys! The two truths and a lie linkup brought to you by Mallory @ Pink Kisses and Wishes and Alana @ Life & Times of the Intelligent Blonde.

The rules: Two of the statements below are true. One is false. Comment below and tell me which statement you think is the lie! I'll give the answers tomorrow.

1. I had go to the emergency room...because of a bracelet

2. I've never broken a bone in my body or had a cavity

3. I once saved my dog from getting run over by a car


There you have it. What do you think? Which do you think are true and which do you think is a lie? Let me know and I'll tell you all the truth tomorrow!

Move-Out Day Chaos

I moved out of my dorm on Saturday...it was pretty much hell. The two worst days of the year are move-in day and move-in out day, no joke. Almost everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong.

Ignore the fact that I look horrible in this picture (people, this is what three hours of sleep and a 2.5 hour calc exam does to you) and instead focus on how there are three grown people crammed into the front of the car. Everything in back of us is boxes. There wasn't any room left for us. 

Needless to say, we miscalculated how much stuff I've obtained during my two years of college and thought it could all fit into the back of our Ford Explorer. About halfway through loading the car we realized in a panic that not everything was going to fit. Much yelling and cursing and blaming each other ensued.

My university has strict policies on leaving items after move-out and coming back for them, so we had to abandon my lamps. No one else would take them. 

Fair thee well, $12 Target lamps. You almost burnt me every time I turned you off, but I'll still miss you.

Amid all the chaos, my sister and/or mom (it CERTAINLY was not me) accidentally packed my keys into some box. We didn't realize it until it was too late, and we weren't going to and unpack everything to look for them (our car was looking like a Tetris screen...we squeezed everything in so tight that we'd never be able to get it back in the same way again).

The nice, wonderful lady at Residence Life informed me that I'd have to pay a $120 charge for not turning in my key. I understand that I should pay some fee, but $120? Seriously? It costs you that much to remake this little guy?

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I found my key while unpacking boxes today and mailed it back to school, so hopefully the fee will be waived or discounted? Cross your fingers.

We were so fed up with everything, but we knew we had to take a picture of our situation. My sister and I took turns sitting in the middle during the three hour car trip. We also stopped at McDonalds halfway through, because when you experience the most frustrating day of your life, you need a 1000-calorie hamburger to cheer you up.

Somewhat for my benefit as for others, here are some tips I SHOULD have followed to make this a successful move out endeavor.

MOVE-OUT DAY TIPS

1. Plan Ahead

It's been so busy at home and at college that none of us really thought about move-out day. It crept up on us. It took me thirty minutes after waking up on Saturday to realize I was moving out that day--that's how crazy things have been. Think about all the items you need to transport, and what vechiles you need to bring. Perhaps you should think about renting a trailer. You won't be the only one: tons of people bring trailers to move out of their dorms.

2.  Bring Enough Boxes

This one's obvious, but make sure you have enough boxes to put everything in! My freshman year I ended up literally throwing everything into garbage bags because we didn't bring enough cardboard boxes. Yeah, obviously we're great at this moving out thing...maybe you shouldn't listen to us!

3. Keep Original packaging

For big items, keep the packaging they came in. This includes TVs, appliances and even your mirror. We forgot to bring anything to wrap the mirror up in, so it made tiny dent in the ceiling of our car.

4. Bring Tools

My dad came a day earlier to try to transport my futon. Sadly, it was too small for his truck by an inch and we didn't bring any tools to break it down. Bring all necessary tools that you think you would need in case you have to take apart any furniture. Even if you don't think you need it, you probably will.

5. Recycle/Organize Ahead of Time

Our garbage shoot and trash room was full when I was moving out, so recycle and throw away trash early before others do.

6. Delegate tasks

I think part of the reason my keys got packed away was because my mom, sister and I just started throwing things in boxes randomly without really caring about what we were packing away. Assign tasks to all the people who are helping you move out, such as telling them to pack away the dishes, or to pack away the bedding. Also, inform others on what NOT to pack, so you can keep track of where you put the things most important to you.

Fare thee well, Fordham Hall. I will miss your beautiful views, but I will not miss the loud basketballers above me or the sound of the El coming every five minutes.

Yes, it was a stressful day, but it's over with at least. I'm sure I'll have to move many times in my life, so this is something I better just get used to. And the best part about moving out? It means that  SUMMER is here!

P.S. I will be participating in Mallory's Two Truths and a Lie linkup tomorrow, and you should all too! It's going to be a lot of fun. All the details are here. Basically you write three facts about yourself (one of them being untrue), and your readers have to guess the lie. I can't wait to see what you all think of mine!

May Favorites

Now that I have a few weeks off, I'm going to spend them relaxing and getting ready for my trip. Here's just a few of the things I'm going to love during the next two weeks!

1. DIY Friendship Bracelets: Ever since I saw this tutorial on Pinterest, I've been obsessed with making a bunch of these colorful bracelets for the summer. They look so easy to make and cheap...embroidery floss is, what, a buck per color? There's also a bunch of projects I can make with the extra floss.

2. Harry Potter marathon: I'm an HP fan, but I haven't seen the movies in forever (even though they're on ABC Family every 3 months or so). I got the 8-disk DVD set for Christmas, so on a rainy day I want to just plop down in front of the couch and spend a day reliving my childhood.

3. Nook Color: I have tons of books loaded onto my Nook, just waiting to be read. No more Victorian Lit for me...the next two weeks are going to be filled with nothing but chick lit, let me tell you!

4. Frappuccino Happy Hour: May 4th-May 13th at 3-5pm, frappuccinos will be half off at Starbucks. I want to try their new Mocha Cookie Crumble.

5. Pinterest: I'm on that site 24/7, but I want to start making a board filled with "Bucket List" items, which I've seen other pinners do. I'll let you all know how it goes.

6. Shopping: These two dresses are from Forever 21 for around $20 a piece. I need a new summer sundress, so they would be good deals. And very in-style too!

What are you loving this May?