College Life Thus Far.

I moved in to the dorms here at UWM on August 27th, 2011. It was a very different experience. The longest I've ever spent away from home is 2 weeks. That wasn't the part I wasn't prepared for, though. It's a very weird feeling to not have your same group of friends around you, and the people you meet won't all necessarily have your best interests in mind. I learned some really hard lessons in my first month here. I won't really go into detail, because it's petty, stupid, ridiculous..etc. So long story short I am now living in a single bedroom! My dorm room is great. To be honest, I almost prefer it to my room at home now. It's not too small for me, and everything has its place. I was provided with all the furniture I needed, and it actually all works pretty well in here. I love how I've decorated, too :).
Classes have been challenging, but I'm liking it so far. Here is my schedule.

My math 105 class is basically Advanced Algebra. My professor is Lawrence Schultz and I highly recommend him! I believe he also teaches Calculus (math 211) so I will try to get him next time, too. Econ 103 is Microeconomics. It has been okay, I guess, but not my favorite. The class is a huge lecture in the biggest lecture hall on campus, and I believe that the original number of students is somewhere around 400 or 500. Business Administration 230 is Information Systems Management. It's the most boring class I've ever taken. I hate it. I don't go to the lectures anymore because he literally uses the powerpoint that comes with the text book, and doesn't really add anything I didn't know myself. English 192 is actually my favorite class. I wouldn't consider a normal English class because it's a seminar, so we don't have lectures. The subtitle is "Multicultural Milwaukee." I have learned so much about the city and different groups that have lived here since the 1800s! I am so glad I'm taking it because I've gotten the history of the city, and the set up of the class allows me to hear opinions from other students who have grown up here. It's been a great experience. Then my Communications class is basically preparing you for any public speaking role you might have in the world of business. I'm not really a fan because in general I don't like public speaking, but I definitely recommend night classes, especially for traditional students/freshman. It's great to get a different perspective from adult students, and having the class one night a week really freed up my schedule in the mornings so I could take all the classes I needed to. Ed Psy 101 is a class that's been helping me find out what my major should be. It's titled "Foundations of Academic Success." It has been somewhat helpful in showing us ways to research careers and majors, but it is pretty redundant and a lot of the activities have been really stupid and not relevant to me. Overall, OK experience. I just want to get away from the required classes and into something fun. I will be pursuing the BBA in Human Resources Management, with a certificate in Cultures & Communities. Luckily for me, I am taking most of my C&C classes next semester, so they will be more interesting. I've also thought about doing Psychology as a minor. But, I'm not sure. We'll see how it goes. My grades are around B's, with one high A and one C. I'm a little worried about some of my classes because attendance has been an issue, but hopefully I will pass with C's in everything so I don't have to retake any classes. 

Food here has been a little interesting for me. I am a really picky eater, and along with that I don't eat any red meat. I'm also really picky about my fish as well. This really limits my choices. But let's be honest, how many people are comfortable eating "meat" from a cafeteria? I will admit that UWM does try pretty hard to have good choices, including organic, local, or vegan choices. The pastas are pretty good except that they're drowning in oil/butter all the time, and THEN they put on a sauce. I know that they have to do it that way to keep them from sticking together in the larger serving thing, but it's gross to see a pool of fatty liquid on my plate. I also really like the "grill" section. The chicken sandwich isn't a patty! It's really a chicken breast, and the bacon they use on the sandwich is amazing, so much better than what they serve for breakfast! They also have a pretty decent veggie burger. I used to be in love with the mozzarella sticks, too, but they got old after the first month. I have tried to eat at the cafeteria less & less. The neighborhood has some great options for food, so I've been trying to eat out more & also grocery shop at the local places. I never had a Sendik's market in neighborhood before, and now I have two! It's great.

Riverfest 2011

If you aren't from Watertown or the surrounding area, you have probably never heard of this. It is a weekend festival here that happens at Riverside Park. There are midway rides & games, sampling of Watertown's finest food, C list music performances, and a craft fair. It's definitely not as great as Summerfest, by any means, but it is more similar to a county fair, minus the animals. By far the highlight of the festival is the fireworks show. This year, they will be held on Saturday night at 10pm. Because I live only a few shorts blocks away, I will be visiting the fest a few times this weekend & will let you know how it went!

Okay, so Riverfest was terrible. As usual, it was just like a big high school reunion for everyone who is still here. It was also an excuse to get disgustingly drunk. The food was okay, but if you live in town it's really nothing special as you can get it anytime. Funnel cake was good!

My first tat!

It was recently my 18th birthday (which was awesome), so of course I got my first tattoo!

It says "Let it be" I did get the quote from the infamous Beatles song, but it also is a reminder to me to be calm & go with the flow, which is something I sometimes forget to do. It cost $50 at Evolution Ink & Piercing in Watertown, WI. It was done by Aaron, who is awesome! He made everything super easy & is also really funny. I love it!

Warped Tour 2011

Sorry that it took so long to post! Last week, Tuesday July 19th, was Vans Warped Tour in Milwaukee. It was so hot! I slept over night at a friend's house in West Allis, and got to the Summerfest grounds at about 10 am. We hung out by the front gates for about an hour until they opened. For those who have never been to Warped, there are so many guys out there selling their CDs. They know that people get there early, so they walk around with headphones & CD's and ask you to listen to their band & buy a Cd, usually for only 5 or ten dollars. I tried not to give in, because seriously you can't make a decision on a band by listening to one tiny part of a song! But I did end up buying a $10 Ken Pratten Cd because it came with unlimited ice water refills at their tent. The music is okay...like I said, one song does not prepare you for a whole album. I don't want to trash the guy, it's just not my cup of tea. We hung around the Teggart mainstage all day, because Paramore played there at 8 pm. The bands that we kind of listened to there were Attack Attack, August Burns Red, Asking Alexandria, Less Than Jake, 3OH3!, The Devil Wears Prada, A Day to Remember, & Pepper! It was pretty awesome, although I have never been to a hardcore show & was a little scared by all the fans! Some people are just crazy. My friend & I got really hurt during some of the shows, especially Asking Alexandria. We were in the front trying to save ourselves a good spot for Paramore & the real fans of that band were just so rude to us. They were pushing and because we were against the fence, we got really hurt! My friend had to go to the medical tent & get oxygen. So we tried to stay out of there after that. I got a purple Paramore tank top at the merch tent. I also got a pipe for only $10 and a lot of free crap from people. All in all it was a pretty good day, just super hot. It was the week of a major heat wave in southern Wisconsin. Less than Jake was pretty good. They brought a kid up on stage & gave him a mohawk! it was hilarious. He was just some nerdy kid & then they brought up some random girl and made them kiss on stage! haha. Pepper was good too. They are so hot! and they did a lot with the crowd, too. Then, PARAMORE<3. They opened with "that's what you get" and Hayley was so cute! she was wearing pants by Tripp NYC that are one leg white & one black, with dark cherry doc martens & a Ramones shirt. They played a short show, but it was great: After That's what you get, they played "for a pessimist i'm pretty optimistic," "careful," "looking up," "here we go again," "pressure," "ignorance," "monster," and "misery business." I thought it was a great sample of all their best songs, although i would have loved to hear playing god & misguided ghosts & crushcrushcrush, too. for anyone who was there, i was right in the 2nd row, in front of jeremy, stage right. the girl in front of me was the one who Hayley picked to come up on stage & sing misery business with her!!! that's how close i was. the girl next to me was really fucking annoying. i think she was like 13, and had a touchy boyfriend and she wouldn't shut the fuck up about how excited she was. It's like, yes, Paramore is awesome, but you are not, so please stop talking. she was like screaming and shit. ughhh. and then she made us help her hold up a sign that spelled out paramore & had pics of the band filling it in. i should have kept my letter!! i wish i hadnt given it back. I don't have the pictures yet, because they're on my friends camera, but i did take this short video of the opening on my phone. see it here. I will try to put up pics as soon as I can!

Summerfest 2011

The last week or so was Summerfest here in WI. I attended only 3 days this year. First, I went to Wiz Khalifa on Tuesday, July 5th. We got to the grounds at about 1 p.m. and got our seats in the 7th row, not bad. The crowd was mostly kids, I would say the average age was 17. It was a long day! I got terrible sunburn. We had to sit through the shows of Rev Raven & the Chain Smoking Altar Boys (eh), Growing Nation (eh), Que B.I.L.L.A.H. (ok, but not my style), Prophetic (ok), and then finally Kid Cut Up & DJ Madhatter. They were by far the best of the night before Wiz. They remix popular songs with different beats & drops. Basically every song they had would make a great soundtrack to a party, no matter what your tastes are.

Then Wiz finally came on at 10! I thought he was a pretty good performer, after hearing a lot of negative reviews about his live habits. The other fans, however, were terrible. People were really rude and pushy, and some one even stole $100 out of my friend's wallet, which was inside her purse, right under our bleacher. Seriously, Milwaukee??? Ugh. I hate that people weren't concentrating on the great show and had to steal instead, it's so pathetic. Other than that, the show was pretty awesome and I'm glad I went. Oh, and I got in for free!

Wednesday, July 6th was my day at Marcus Amphitheater! I saw Cage the Elephant, Florence + the Machine, and the Black Keys! My tickets were about $40 and I sat in the bleachers, but basically center. We missed the majority of Cage's set because I was buying a tour T shirt outside. The line was ridiculous! But we saw 2 songs, one of which was Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, so I was happy. Then we saw Florence. She is just amazing! Watch my homemade video here. Her voice is just so powerful and amazing. And we just loved the show, too. The videography was amazing. They were so creative. and Florence's outfit was great, too. It was a flowy chiffon (??) dress in a maroon color. It had a slit and showed her bare legs. She was following the sheer maxi-dress trend that has been popular this summer and shown here on Mary-Kate Olsen. Then finally, the Black Keys! They are just so awesome. We didn't stay for the whole show because my friend didn't know many songs and I could tell she was bored, but we did see the majority of the show. It was definitely worth the price. Plus I got this awesome T shirt before the show.

Last Sunday was the final day of Summerfest. I went to see 311 at the Miller Lite Oasis. I got there at about 12:30 and got a front row seat! I had four friends with me, so we laid down a sheet over our seats and took turns guarding it, while the others walked around the festival. There were also a lot of people from my hometown at the concert. I think there was at least 30 of us, or 30 that I knew anyway. The bands before 311 were Blue Moon Swamp, Mt. Olive, Brantley Gilbert, and Dot Dot Dot. Out of all of them, I think Dot Dot Dot was the best. They have a great look and are from Chicago, so kind of local. 311 was just great. I cannot say that enough! They put on amazing shows. They are so positive and energetic, and you can tell they just love to perform. P-nut was simply awesome! My seat was basically right in front of him! If you've never listened to 311, you need to get on that. Check out their new single, Sunset in July.

So, total scores at Summerfest were the following:

"Milwaukee" blue & pink tank top from Brew City

"Slam Me, Ryan!" blue tank top from Brew City

2 bracelets

The Black Keys t-shirt

102.1fm bumper sticker

102.1 fm Emerging Artists series CD

"Mil-fucking-waukee" t shirt from Brew City

311 2011 Unity Tour black t-shirt

and countless good food... I think I had lasagna sticks on tuesday, nothing on wednesday, and a quesadilla from La Perla & cheese curds from the Miller Lite Oasis place. Great food!!

Can't wait for next year :)

First!

Hello, Internet!
This is my first ever blog post. I hope you enjoy my blog. I am just getting started, so bear with me on this. I know it may not be the most attractive right now, but I'm getting there. My name is Rylee and I am starting this blog to talk about my fashion, college life, relationships, music, and any other important events or ideas that I want to share. I hope that you will find it interesting and insightful.