our house mom's name is jane...she's a bad broad

This past weekend/week has been the longest, most tiring and stressful time of the year: recruitment week. Recruitment is the time when all of the sorority houses on campus "rush" new freshman and some sophomores. This madness started bright and early on Saturday morning at 7 am. First, I could not sleep one minute all night because I was so nervous...my eyes were shut but I do not think that I slept at all. Secondly, everyone in our house was woken up to the lovely sound of our fire alarm!!! All of Kappa Alpha Theta was standing outside in the nippy 50 degree weather. Some girls had to get out of the shower...and were standing outside in their towels and wet hair. After a rockey start, we all got dressed up for "first datebook": dark wash jeans, brown riding boots, and our baby blue CU Recruitment 2009 shirts. Everyone was excited and nervous!! We talked to 977 girls on the first day!!!! You can imagine how long it took for us to vote!! I think I went to bed at 3 am that day. 

The next day was philanthropy day (again another 7 am wake-up call)...we talk about our philanthropy CASA (court appointed special advocates) and we gave house tours. Our theme for the day was Theta Rock the CASA! We wore shirts with the Rolling Stone tongue and everyone had to wear red heels. Word on the street was that we had the most original outfit out of all the houses!! I wasn't surprised... considering that we are "The House Everyone's Talking About!"

The third night was skit night! This is the night that made me want to be in Theta. Our skit really shows the personalities that live in the house. I got the honorable pleasure of playing Jon Gosselin in our skit. I must say that I was the highlight of the night!!! People couldn't believe that I was actually a girl haha. One of the girls told me that she would date me haha! Again...another long night.

The last night was "Preference Night". This is the night where we convince the girls that they should be in Theta...because ultimately we already want them and it is up to them to make their decision. Everyone is dressed in black and we have chocolate fondu and sparkling cider. Again, I was the topic of conversation...people would ask "Who played Jon?!" and I would get called over and people were in shock haha. One girl said that she didn't even know what color hair I had! After the night was over everyone was so relieved because we were done with recruitment! We had been rehearsing and practicing for almost 2 months and everything had paid off!

Bid Day was yesterday! This is the day where the girls find out what house they are in. Unfortunately, I had class...but I got back when everyone was back at the house. All of the new girls were so excited in their Theta shirts with their bid day buddies. We had a dance party at Theta...with subway sandwiches and Rush (which is like frozen yogurt with granola). After the dance party everyone went to this extreme sports team building place. I didnt go because I had a lot of homework to do...but everyone seemed to have fun!...all 81 of our new girls!!!!

Happy Birthday Patrice!

Today is my friend Patrice's birthday! We went to Santa Margarita together and we met in Ms. Blanc's Algebra class freshman year...I told her that I liked her bangs haha. We both go to CU together and she is also in THETA! We have become good friends over the past few years. In the Luke family we have the "What I love about you!" tradition, so...What I love about Patrice is her amazing sense of humor. She can turn any situation into a comedy act. There is never a time when we are together and I am not laughing. I also love how much she cares about her friends. She is there for anyone whenever they need her guidance/support/love. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY!!!!

"how did you hair get so long?" "...i haven't cut it in over a year!"

My hair has gotten soooo long. Considering that I haven't cut it since August, it probably should be long. I was looking at pictures on my photobooth and I couldn't believe that my hair used to be above my shoulders, and I had bangs!! I missed my long hair that entire time that it was short and now I am trying not to get bored of my long hair. I think everyone likes it long...so it will stay that way for the time being.

crazyyyy week

Last week was probably one of the most hectic weeks of my life. I felt like I had so much to do, but no time to actually do anything. I stayed up 2 nights in a row until 3 am!...studying for tests that were in the morning. It's hard to fit time in for studying in between classes because I have classes in the mornings and afternoons and then volleyball practice and then practice for rush. 

I just recently made the CU Woman's Club Volleyball team, which has been really good for me. We do weight training and conditioning as well as practice. We had our first tournament this past weekend and we took 3rd! Unfortunately, we lost to University of Miami in the round before playoffs!

RUSH RUSH RUSH...needs to be over! For over a month now my sorority has been practicing and practicing for recruitment which is this coming weekend. This is the time when we get the new "babies", as we like to call them (more commonly known as pledges). Everyday is a different theme...third datebook (or day 3) is skit day. I got the lucky role of John Goslin (the father of 8 children!)...dont ask me...i didnt think that I looked Korean either. This past weekend we had to perform our skit to the Panhellenic board to make sure that everything was approved. It was a dress rehearsal! I must have extremely male features because a lot of the girl in my house thought that I was actually a boy! Our skit is really funny and totally expresses all of the personalities that live in our enormous house that houses 80 girls!

This weekend was not very exciting in terms of night life. I stayed in every single night!...very unlike me haha. The combination of staying up til 3am two nights in a row, plus volleyball practice, and an all day tournament, I wasn't up for the challenge of getting up and getting ready to hit the town. 

rain drops keep falling on my head.

This weekend was extremely mellow compared to last weekend. I stayed in every night but one (I went out with my friend to meet up with a guy that she liked haha). It was really nice to sit at home (the "ta" as we like the call it) and watch a movie...cuddled up in the quilt that my grandma made me for my graduation :). Today i watched 4 movies!!!...Marley and Me, The Family Stone, PRIME, and Anywhere But Here!!! a lot of countless/pointless hours.

The weather has been extremely bipolar...as usual. Yesterday, it was 45 degrees!!! I dont even have warm winter clothes to wear out haha. Today it was extremely cloudy and there was thunder and lightening all day...the perfect conditions to sit in the library and study. 

Unfortunately, the Buffs lost to Toledo!?...who's Toledo right? i cannot believe that we have already lost 2 games! its not looking too good...but hopefully we get a win on parents weekend!

CU vs. CSU

ROOMIES!

Molly, Annie, me

One of my good friends Jae. She is a junior and she is from Boulder!

Patrice and I went to Santa Margarita together.

Nikki also went to Santa Margarita. She is also a junior.

Patrice, Jae, Lauren, and myself.

We had our first football game of the season on Sunday! Everyone was getting so excited because we were playing our rival CSU at HOME!!! Last year we played them at Invesco Field (where the Broncos play). The city of Boulder is such a fun place to be on game day. Everyone is wearing their black and gold and they all demonstrate such great school spirit, which is one of the many things that I love about this school. Unfortunately we lost :( but we are hoping for a good season! I cant wait for my parents to come out for Parents Weekend when we play KU!!!

...sophomore year begins!

Lindsey Behler and I out on a Friday night!

one of my roommates Annie Weber, who is best friends with my friend that went to St. Edward's (kindergarten-8th grade)

Sorority activities! After a long hard week of recruitment practice (from 8 am - 9 pm everyday) some of the girls in the house got us a bounce house obstacle course and a velcro wall. It was a nice break from all the dancing, singing and stomping around.

I love being back in Boulder. I also love living in my sorority house. It is so weird to have all of your friends in the same house! If you want to go out there is always someone who wants to go with you; if you want to stay in a watch a movie there is someone who wants to do that too! Our house is really big...its 4 stories and houses about 75-80 girls!!! Shower time can get a bit chaotic haaha. The difference between my freshman year and this year is so different. I go out and actually know people and I know where my classes are. Speaking of classes, I have an AMAZING schedule (I DONT HAVE CLASS ON FRIDAYS!!!...three day weekends every week...everyones jealous). Don't worry I taking 6 classes: Christian Traditions, Studio Art, Anthropology, an Anthro LAB, Science of Human Communication, and History of Jazz! All of my classes are really interesting and I love all of my professors. Its looking to be a good semester!

Summer Comes to an End...

This summer was jammed packed full of new experiences and life changing events. My summer started off by moving all of my belongings back to California. By the end of my second semester of freshman year I had decided that I wanted to try and transfer to UCLA. I new that it would be a grueling and intricate process which entailed going to Santa Monica College for the summer and an entire year and then re-applying to different UC's, hoping that I would get in for my junior year. It felt so good to be back in California. I missed the beach, my friends and family. There are so many things that I took advantage of when I was at school; small things like a family meal and going to church every Sunday with my family or just laying out in my back yard poolside with George Bailey. 

Cami Chapus

Carli Chapus

Claire-bear Chapus (aka...child)

Nico Chapus

Christian Chapus

 Elodie Chapus

I didn't settle back into my house in San Clemente too much because I moved up to Los Angeles after too weeks of being back in California. The lovely Chapus family was gracious enough to host me for the summer while I worked and went to summer school. The mother of the clan of six, Victoria, went to grade school with both of my parents, and high school with my mom. I had so much fun with all of the kids and they all hold a special place in my heart. 

I had a job at Nordstrom for the summer, which was a slightly dangerous environment for me to work in, considering my obsession with clothes and shoes haha. It was a great learning experience. Along with my job, I attended Santa Monica College for a summer school course: Algebra for Business...note to self: never take an accelerated math course that is condensed over summer haha. I had to take this course because UCLA would not accept the math credit that I took at CU. 

As the summer was coming to a close my parents decided to have a talk with me to figure out what the year was going to look like. They realized that I was not as happy and that something was not quite right. My dad felt that I would be happier if I went back to Boulder. I had not even thought about going back until he brought it up. He told me to go to the beach, watch the sunset and write a list of pros and cons. My mom and dad always give me the best words of advice, but this task changed my life/future. After writing my list the pros of CU Boulder completely outweighed the pros of UCLA. I came home and my dad asked me "so...what did you decide?". I responded with the biggest smile that I wanted to go back to Boulder. Luckily, I never notified the school that I was not planning on coming back, so I was still considered a student...I just never registered for classes (the registration deadline was in a week...how lucky was that?!). The morning after I decided that I wanted to go back I contacted my sorority house, Kappa Alpha Theta, to see if there was any room for me to live-in. I also registered for classes...of course, getting the IDEAL schedule. Within two hours of emailing Theta I got a response telling me that I was in a triple with two of my really good friends. I couldn't believe how everything was falling into place perfectly...assuring me that I made the right decision. The only thing that I was surprised about was that I had to move into Theta in a week! Within that week I quit my job, finished summer school, pack everything that I could possibly fit into 3 suitcases and fly to Boulder by Saturday!

 

back in Boulder with the besties!

I LOVE being back! I didn't realize how much I missed the view of the Flatirons, my friends, the small college town of Boulder, the beautiful architecture, and the amazing visual surroundings. 

ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED SUPPORT ME!

There were so many amazing things that came out of this event. I have grown so much and learned so much along the way. The first thing that I did when I found out my internship challenge with TOMS Shoes was call my mom. She helped me get a lot of ideas to promote the event. The event was promoted in the paper on Thursday morning (the day of the event)! I had one girl come up to me and ask if I was Devon Luke...she read about the TOMS event in the paper! It was really cool to see the impact that I was making (http://www.coloradodaily.com/news/2009/apr/15/one-day-without-shoes-cu-colorado-toms-boulder/). I was also on the radio! The local Boulder community radio had me come into the studio for the interview (the recording of the interview is below). My Aussi cousin, Margie Warrell, who wrote the book "Find Your Courage!", was nice enough to put the event and my promotion code in her newsletter. Also, my sorority counted the event as a community service opportunity, which was awesome! On Wednesday, two of the TOMS campus reps and I had a table set up telling people about the event, handing out fliers, and selling the shirts that I hand made (the first picture). 

I think the task that I most proud of achieving was getting the event approved. On Thursday (the week prior to the event), I went into the events and scheduling office and talked to the woman in charge of all events. She discouraged me by telling me that I had to get 10 different people's approvals. She also said that it would take THREE WEEKS! The first thing that I told her was, if I want it to happen, it will happen! And it did. I got all 10 approvals in 4 DAYS! When I went into her office the day before the event to get the final approval she looked at me and told me that she was extremely impressed and she has never seen someone get approvals so fast. 

The day of the event was finally here and I was just glad that everything was done and I promoted the event in every way that I thought possible. It was gorgeous and sunny on Wednesday, but of course, the bipolar weather of Boulder decided that it should be 40 degrees and RAINING! Being a dedicated TOMS potential intern...I WENT BAREFOOT...for the majority of the day. Let me tell you, I appreciate my shoes more than anyone I know. The turnout for the walk was not so great. The weather turned down a lot of the confirmed walkers on facebook (96 people were confirmed to join the cause to raise awareness). But, there was nothing that I could do about the weather. There were about 10 people on the walk and we got asked by a lot of people, "Why aren't you wearing shoes!!!!????". So, I guess even though there weren't a lot of people we still did out job of raising awareness. 

My promo code is still open and TOMS is still looking to see how my sales are going. So, if you feel compelled to support the cause, please visit www.tomsshoes.com and enter odwssaP1HR3Z2ES when you are checking out! I still need all of the help that I can get! You can also read more about the cause and the TOMS story on the website above.

My Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!

Roomie! -Saturday night!
Dinner at Ai Sushi
Caitlan Martinez - Santa Margarita alumni who introduced me to Theta and convinced me to join!
My big sis - Jenna Villatoro 
My date to Theta Formal - Kevin Anderson

It was definitely different to not be home for my birthday this year. My friends really made me feel special and we had so much fun! On Thursday night, my friends and I went to a house party and the celebration started at midnight! Friday was pretty mellow, I had two classes and most of my friends had class all day. I had made reservations at a restaurant called Ai Sushi for 7:30. Unfortunately, we had to wait an hour and a half for our chef to come and cook hamachi for us. Being poor college students ahaha, we complained and got a 15% discount, our drinks taken care of, and an AMAZING sushi tower roll! After dinner we walked outside to pouring rain! It NEVER rains in Boulder, so that was odd, and no one would go out in the rain, so Lauren and I went back to our room. We watched a movie and went to bed. I told my mom that I was literally taking a "rain check". Saturday was Theta's Spring Formal. I took my friend Kevin Anderson as my date. He went to the public high school (Tesoro) right next to Santa Margarita. He was a really fun date! We left the dance early, at around 10:00, and I met up with my friends so that we could re-celebrate my birthday. It was a really fun weekend! Thanks to everyone who sent me a birthday wish!

Spring Break

It was soooo nice to come home, even though it was just for a week. I went to 2 of Bennett's St. Edward's volleyball games, and I will say that I was very impressed by the coaching staff (...Joan Luke ;) ).  I also ventured up to my Alma Mater, Santa Margarita to watch Dante's swim meet and Braxton's volleyball game. It was fun to go back and say hi to my coaches and teachers and catch up on all the new things that were happening with the school. Braxton has grown so much!!! It makes me sad that I have to reach up to hug him. It was awesome to see him play volleyball. He has improved soooo much and he is really coming into his own. George Bailey was happy to see me and it made me miss sleeping with him every night. I got to see some of my friends, but most of them had different spring breaks, so not a lot of people were home. One of the highlights of my trip was running with my mom on the beach trail right before the sunset. I was sooo lucky to have amazing weather while I was home. I even went to the beach...which was extremely needed, considering my dad told me that "I had a nice shade of Boulder on me"...aka WHITEEEE. I was lucky enough to celebrate the American citizenship of Tess Jonas! Liz took me out to lunch, at my favorite restaurant Antoines!!! It's always fun to catch up with her; it brought back memories of New York, when she chaperoned Christine and I for half of the trip. Lastly, my family celebrated my birthday early, since I wasn't going to be home. We had the Newton's over and had dinner and cake. It was a great way to end the break. It's crazy to think that I will be FINISHED with my freshman year in a MONTH!!!!!