Sometimes, stereotypes are extremely accurate.

Let's put this out there right now: I am completely for abolishing the Student Organization Seating at the University of Alabama. It provides privileged seating to an undeserving group of people who feel entitled and who do not respect the privilege they are receiving. I understand that there are some groups and some people who sit there that do not fall into this category, but it is such a widespread problem that getting rid of the distinction between SOS and regular student seating is necessary.

Because today's game was not really a huge deal, and we knew it wouldn't be completely full, Annie and I decided to sit in the Honors College Assembly's section in the Student Organization Seating. I had heard mixed reviews of sitting there, but we figured we had not tried it yet, so why not? When we arrived, the student section was sad and empty. The frat sections were full of shakers presumably set there to save seats for the guys and gals who will show up 15 minutes before the game starts. We sat in the last row of the HCA section (this was a terrible decision. I repeat: TERRIBLE. DECISION.) and all the sections started filling up. At about 10 minutes before the game started, the row behind us was still empty. After 5 minutes into the game, some loud, very intoxicated boys showed up. Soon after, their loud, very, very intoxicated female counterparts decided to join them.

Now, I understand that there are a large number of students who like to enjoy the games while heavily intoxicated. Maybe it makes things more fun? I don't know. But that's fine. Just don't get messy drunk. And these boys and girls were VERY messy. And STILL drinking. At one point, the messy queen reached into her sports bra and pulled out a mini bottle of whiskey. CLASS-Y. After this, she decided to stand up on the seat next to Annie, shove her elbow into Annie's side, and yell something about her drink being empty. At about the same time, the boy and girl behind me decided the game was the perfect time for a heavy make out session.

Oh wait, let me back up here. During the National Anthem, I was amazed at how many people talked through it. It's extremely disrespectful, and you're just not supposed to do it.

But anyway.

At this point, Annie and I were pretty disgusted. Between the party going on between the seats, the knocking into our backs, and the slurred yelling, I had really had enough. But apparently, the lovely boys and girls (I will NOT call them men and women) behind us were not done with us. After the first quarter, at lease half of the Student Organization Seating cleared out. This included a portion of the HCA section. Please realize I'm not all DOWN WITH THE GREEKS in this. I recognize that some of the people in our section were not great either. But they weren't being sloppy, disrespectful drunks. About halfway through the second quarter, the boys behind us decided to light up some cigarettes. Annie is allergic to smoke, and I find it absolutely disgusting, AND you know, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SMOKE IN THE STADIUM. After a minute or two, I turned around and politely said, "Could y'all please put that out or move somewhere else?" And I got a dead look and a "I'm about to." And by "I'm about to" he really meant "I'm about to finish smoking this then throw the bit of butt left on the ground." Which is what happened. Next, he decided it would be an excellent idea to spill his drinks all over the ground. I guess HE didn't decide that...his messy drunk girlfriend decided to kick it over. My purse thanks you for that. The smell of whiskey is quite intoxicating. Haha punny.

Now, I have had drinks spilled on me at games. Several times, actually. Sloppy drunks exist everywhere in the stadium. The problem in the SOS, though, is that these kids feel entitled. After asking the guys to put out the cigarette, I got a lovely "F**king bitch" and they proceeded to state they were going to file a complaint against the honors college. Real nice. Towards the end of the second quarter, the guys thought they would get revenge for our wanting to enjoy the game by hitting us in the head with their shakers. Annie had had about enough, so she turned around and told them to stop. The guy responded by yelling in her face, "IT'S A CRIMSON TIDE GAME, BABY!" I'm still not really sure how that was a response.

At halftime, the student section CLEARED OUT. Literally. After watching the bands play, we didn't even have to stand back up. There was NO ONE in front of us. About halfway through the third quarter, we decided it was too cold, so we went for some dinner. Yes, I know. You can call us fairweather fans. But really. That was some COLD weather when you're wearing a dress.

So anyway. Back to the point. Why SOS seating should be abolished. In dealing with sloppy drunks in the regular student section, I got genuine apologies for their acts of stupidity. They really were sorry, and that makes a difference. In dealing with the frat boys behind me (yes, I will call them frat boys. yes, I will feed in to the stereotype.) I realized they were not the least bit sorry. They were appalled that we had infiltrated their Greek Section (because yes, that's still largely what it is.) and they were not the least bit sorry that they were affecting our experience at the game. They were more concerned with getting more drunk and making out than with watching the game. Which really begs the question, WHY do you come? I know Georgia State isn't exactly a threat, and yes, the game was pretty one sided, but you could easily get drunk, make out, and do whatever you want in the privacy of your own frat castle.

So there you go, friends. An entirely too long winded explanation of why I will never sit in the Student Organization Seating again. It was a terrible experience, and really reinforced the reason I don't associate myself with most of the people who sit there.

My new life goal is to be a car booter

Life's been throwing some punches lately. I've had a lot to do, and a lot of people needing a lot from me. This week has been terrible, and it's only Wednesday. Up until 5 o clock today, I had not been home for more than 20 minutes in over 3 days. Literally. The past two nights I didn't even sleep here. I had my history of costume exam today, which was fine, and I got my muslin done for my coat, which is exciting. But I've been getting pulled in a lot of different directions and I need some time to breathe.

In other life news, I slept 3 hours on Abigail's couch last night after studying all night, took Erin to the doctor at 8 am, took my test, made my muslin, worked, and then finally made it home. I planned to come home today and just sleep. Instead, Matthew came over and we cooked dinner, then Kevin came over, then I picked Dan Gerber up from the airport. We stopped for some food on the way back and nearly died at a gas station. Great times. Then, I was home about 5 minutes when I get a call from Annie that her car got booted and she needs cash to pay the guys to remove it. Oh boy. So I drive up there, get some money from the ATM, and we get her car unbooted, which took all of 15 seconds.

Okay, seriously. Being a car booter/unbooter is the sweetest gig. You drive around town throwing giant paperweights on the tires of cars who have been parked too long, then get $50 CASH MONEY to unclip it. And you get to boot like 50 cars at once. Hellooooo easy money. The guys weren't very friendly though.

Aaaaaaaaaanywho. Now I might finally get some sleep. But I still don't have gas, because they just finally fixed the leak, and Alagasco can't come this week. EXCELLENT.

Good grief I'm exhausted.

LET'S PLAY RANDOM PICTURES FROM THERESA'S COMPUTER TIME!!!!

The lovely Passaic train station.

Yaaay cousins and sister!

I learned to both love and hate NJTransit.

Awwww Freshman year!

I was so cool. I made this. Yaaaay.

I looked SO weird without glasses. Or bangs.

Apparently, jumping off these cliffs is frowned upon. Who knew? It was SO fun, though.

The origins of bear face.

BOB.

Awww I miss you Meagan!!

hahaahahah Freshman year!

Creativity makes such a difference

How much fun is this ad campaign? I LOVE it!

Check out Patrizia Pepe . It is fabulous!!

Why you no longer need to drive to Birmingham for a decent outfit

Everyone here knows I have a special place in my heart for Macy's. It's where I've interned, it's where I'm going to intern this summer, and where I really hope to get a job when I graduate. I've long been a huge cheerleader of the store itself, mostly because of it's impressive plus size selection. Macy's has always sold better quality and more youthful looking plus size options than any of its competitors.

That is, if you go to the right Macy's.

And friends, the Birmingham Macy's is no longer the right Macy's.

If you are a straight sized gal (sorry guys..I don't know how their husky man selection is. But PLEASE do shop there. I'd love to see you all in Calvin, Polo, and Alfani. Specifically, Alfani Red. Mm.) you can shop pretty much anywhere, and find your clothing at whatever price point you can afford. That's because of the HUGE amount of competition in the apparel industry when it comes to straight sized clothing. It's a whole lot easier to make a top look good on a size 0 than a size 20. Let me rephrase that; it takes a lot less effort. You don't have to worry about curves, bumps, lumps, and whatever else a larger woman's body entails. But when it comes to plus size clothing, you have to really think. You have to make clothing that is going to look good on the vast majority of plus size women, and that is a tough thing to do. The problem, though, is that there really isn't much of an excuse anymore as to why we can't make fabulous clothes for fabulous, full-figured women.

Anyway. Let me get off my plus size soap box. I plan to revolutionize the plus size apparel industry in a few years, so we'll handle that then. ;)

So now you might ask, why isn't the Birmingham Macy's right anymore? Well, in the past few months, they have apparently remodeled, or rearranged their floor, and cut out over two-thirds of the plus size collections. Baby Phat (which I'm not honestly a huge fan of, but was pretty popular) is gone, most of the Alfani collection is gone, and the entire junior plus selection has been wiped out. What's left are Alfred Dunner, some Charter Club, and a few stragglers on the clearance rack from past seasons.

What's wrong with this picture? Why has the plus size woman been cut out of the Macy's market in Birmingham? (Sorry, for those of you who don't know, this particular Macy's is the one in the Galleria, technically in Hoover I guess.) In speaking with the saleswomen on previous shopping trips, I found that the plus size section was fairing very well. Granted, it wasn't as impressive as other Macy's stores I've been to (ex: Herald Square) but it had what I needed for interviews, presentations, and when I just needed a new outfit. My parents knew I frequented Macy's, and would often send me gift cards for there for birthdays and other holidays.

My go to stores tend to be Macy's, Ross, Old Navy, and when I'm absolutely desperate, Lane Bryant. (We will have to discuss my utter loathing towards Lane Bryant at another time.) Unfortunately, only Old Navy is actually in Tuscaloosa, and I tend to mostly buy sweaters and shirts from there. So usually, I ended up trekking up to Birmingham, only to come home extremely frustrated. After some time at Macy's, I would leave empty handed, and end up at Ross. Yes, you can find some nice designer stuff at Ross, but most of the time it's crappy knock offs that are done after a few washes. I've been looking for substantial clothing; pieces I can actually build a wardrobe around.

Well, friends, let me tell you that Belk can now be put at the top of the list for where to get high quality plus size clothing at a reasonable price.

The Tuscaloosa Belk has been completely remodeled, and today was my first time in there since then. I walked in through the jewelry department, noticing that they now carried a lot of Fossil, and as I made my way through the handbags, I noticed a beautiful shiny new Coach shop. Huzzah! They've really classed up the joint. As I made my way to the plus size section, I realized it wasn't just a section anymore; it was actually a DEPARTMENT. Called "Today's Woman" (which I will let slide, even though it's just a silly name), it includes a lot of the brands Macy's used to carry, including Rafaella and Ralph Lauren. I had four full floor sections of plus size clothing to choose from, including a junior plus section, which has largely been erased by most department stores. I thought I was in heaven.

I was in Belk desperately looking for a suit to wear to the Golden Key Induction this evening. I was frustrated, having been to several other stores, only to find awful options (I'm looking at you, $90 Lane Bryant awful man suit jacket.). After trying on probably 10 different suit options (and not finding a single one I absolutely hated) I came away with a full outfit, including a jacket, skirt, and top. I was then whisked away to an open cash register, and received an apology for my wait, which was literally less than 2 minutes. The girl was friends, sociable, and genuinely interested in my horror story of shopping for suits, and losing my one suit option. She signed me up for a Belk credit card, so I could get 15% off, put my things in a garment bag, and sent me on my way.

As I left, I was actually smiling. I have not left a store smiling in a while. I usually leave frustrated, then cry to my mom a bit before getting angry at myself, as well as my limited options. Just because I am plus sized, does not mean I don't deserve fabulous clothing at a fair price. No, Lane Bryant, I will not pay $90 for an ill-fitting suit jacket just because you are the only plus size store in town. (Yes, CJ Banks, I know you're there too, but I can't even count you because, well...you're just sad.)

So you see, my plus sized, fabulous fashionistas, you no longer need to drive to Birmingham, only to be disappointed by our once beloved Macy's. You can now go to our sad excuse for a mall, University Mall, and get what you need, what you want, and some things you don't need or what, but really must have.

How is your shredded cheese made?

It's been a pretty rough week.

I had my econ test Tuesday. I got a 96.8, which is AWESOME, and I should be super excited, but...I got a 110 on the last one, so I'm kind of like well dang, I could have done better. Which is DUMB and I need to stop that.

Also on Tuesday, it was POURING. I took my ipod out of my bag and left it on my desk in Mrs. Batson's office to dry out. Wednesday I came back in, and it was gone. UGH. So I spent this whole week looking for it, and no luck. So Friday I filed a police report. I have NO idea what happened to it. The cop who came to file the report was super nice, so that helped. As he was leaving, Dr. Sharpe walked into the office and his eyes got HUGE. He was like what is going on?!!? I was like oh dear, nothing!!! and I explained about my ipod. Crisis averted. haha.

Last night, Heather came over and we watched Supernatural and Harper's Island. It was a lot of fun. Today, Gerb, Dan, Jess, and Erin came over to watch the game. It sucked. haha we had a good time, but the game sucked. Afterwards, Erin and I went to see Due Date. It was meh. Now, Autumn and I are trying to figure out life things. Yaaay life things. ha.

An Apple A Day...

We left the cabin around 11 Sunday. I had looked up orchards on our route home and found the Fruit and Berry Patch . It was only a few minutes out of the way, so we decided to go for it. We didn't get any apples at the Apple Barn, so we needed some good local apples. Garmin successfully got us to the farm, and it was adorable. As we pulled up, a cute little old man pulled up on a golf cart. He told us about the apples, then left us to pick whatever we wanted. We ended up getting an entire bushel. haha. The guy was SO nice. We told him we were just visiting, and he had assumed we were locals. Yessss. So we chatted a while, then he insisted on giving us a free pie, a taste of his homemade bbq sauce, and some caramel apple blossoms. He was adorable. We bought a ton of stuff from him, then headed out on our way back to Tuscaloosa. We stopped in Birmingham for a little shopping, then came back to my apartment to clean and study. Woo. It was so nice to have my mom there. =]

This morning I took her back to the airport at 7:30. Too earlyyyy. Dropped her off, grabbed breakfast, stopped by the office, then class.

Good news: I'm almost done with my pattern for my coat for flat pattern! I'm so excited. Tomorrow I need to get muslin and my fabric before the sale ends.

Other good news: I've decided on my theme for Tee Time. Huzzah!

Also, the 448 test got moved to Friday. Huzzah x2!

Now, to study for the econ test tomorrow. Blargh.