Have you ever been reading a book, writing something, or working on your laptop while you are on an airplane? If so, doesn't it always feel like the person next to you is watching your every move? It's like you can't even turn the page without them knowing what the main character said, or enjoy a DVD on your laptop without them watching right along with you. When you are in Point Park computer labs, the computers are so close together, it's exactly the same thing except it is much, much worse. It's like you are forced to look. Every time I'm in the lab I know my neighbor's most recent friend request on Facebook, or what their thesis statement is for their paper that is due next class. It's kind of creepy...just saying. Maybe spread out the monitors a bit so your credit card number or password isn't stolen from a fellow Point Park student. Not saying we are those kind of kids, it's just that we're broke and some enjoy computer hacking...that's all.

Still loading...

If anyone is familiar with the computer labs at Point Park, I'm sure you are familiar with this:



If you go to the computer lab five minutes before class to print out a paper (most of us do), I recommend going 5 minutes earlier for loading purposes. And if you need to staple whatever you are printing out, I'd take ten minutes. We all know the stapler on the 2nd floor computer lab is going to be empty... (see CVS post) Considering half of the people in the computer lab are usually on Facebook, it's kind of inconvenient that social media stalking is what is clogging up Point Park's server...leading to this. It always has a little note that displays, "Applying personal settings..." Now unless you are bedazzling your desktop or personally customizing your operating system, (if you are, you probably shouldn't be going to school at Point Park) then this loading process should only take a minute.

At least we know they are washed...

This is by far one my biggest pet peeves of the 3rd floor cafeteria at Point Park. Everything is soaking wet. The bowls, the plates, the cups. It's like they took everything directly out of the dishwasher, stacked it up and let it sit, which just leaves hot, sticky water for us to put our food on. Nothing like putting soggy food on a wet plate. I wouldn't recommend putting Lucky Charms in one of their bowls before wiping it out...your marshmallows might get soggy before you even put your milk in the cereal. And we allll know that the marshmallows are the best part. I guess this isn't too much of us hassel if we have a paper towel handy, but hey, at least we know they are washed, right?

My 2 cents...

Commuting is rough for Point Park students. Not only do they have to leave extra early from home to get to class on time, they have to find a parking spot. It always seems like when you need change, you can never find it. If parking garage's are full, some students are forced to park at a meter...I'm sure many of you can relate. Point Park was generous enough to put a change machine in the cafe, (located next to the Snapple machine that doesn't work) so you can grab quarters for your meter. The only catch is, it only gives you nickels. Last I checked, the meters surrounding our university only take quarters, so the change machine leaves you with a heavy pocket and a ticket underneath your windshield wiper. Thank you Point Park.

Eavesdropping...

So I was on a heavily packed elevator yesterday in Lawrence Hall and people just kept getting on. I heard someone say, "Jeez, this is the most action I've gotten in awhile..." Awkward, but really funny. Also, there are foreigners everywhere. Babies too. I'm talking about YouTube...

Java gone wrong...

This sign is pretty deceiving. It isn't located outside of Conestoga or Pioneer Suites, not even in the lobby of West Penn. In fact, I'm sure those of you who visit the 2nd floor of Thayer Hall often, are quite aware that this sign hangs right about that weird bar seating that is placed right outside the nurse's office. It's kind of funny because unless the nurse's are undercover coffee brewers, I kind of think this sign is out of place. Point Park does allow flex to be used with the Starbucks next to the suites and across from West Penn, but everyone already knows this--they don't need an out of place sign that says, "We proudly brew Starbucks Coffee." Well, because they're not. Unless they sold it in the Cafe. Which they don't, but I think they should. Don't you agree? Actually, I'm not sure if anyone feels this way about the cappuccinos or lattes sold in the Cafe, but their caramel macchiatos taste like this:



or sometimes this:



and nothing like this:



Although, sometimes the drinks do look delicious, they taste just the opposite. I probably try a different one at least once a month in hope that they will improve. They still have yet to improve, much like time it takes to make a grilled cheese. (15 minutes, I'm sure you know) Anyone else feel this way?

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Here we go again...

This is a first. Someone actually enjoys the food that is in the cafeteria? I mean, I could understand if this was a positive comment on the wings or pizza, because honestly, who could really mess those up? But the Monte Carlo sandwich...that just sounds risky. And I don't know if you have read my previous posts, but I recently blogged about the "Chicken Cordon Bleu" sandwich, which was basically just a chicken patty with fancy sauce. Chances are that the Monte Carlo sandwich is the exact same thing with weirder ingredients. Whoever wrote this probably enjoys the Tofu section as well. Sometimes after reading the comments in the cafeteria, I wonder if they are being sarcastic or completely honest...or just silly. Because honestly, look at this one:



Whoever posted the "fat list" must have something to do with this...Comments anyone?

Full Elevators

If anyone tries to ride the elevator in the middle of the day from the 2nd floor, then you are familiar with this:



or..this:


(Yes, that is Point Park...)


We are all impatient. Especially when you are done classes for the day or you have somewhere to be. It's obviously so frustrating for anyone in Lawrence Hall trying to get anywhere in the middle of the day, and that leads to becoming desperate for an elevator. Point Park kids don't mind squeezing 15 or 20 people on one elevator just to get to their destination, and by now, everyone should be used to it. However, if you are riding the elevator up, then take the elevator up. Please do not hit both buttons, wait for the one that comes first and then clog the elevator. Although it is tempting to jump on a down elevator after waiting 10 minutes to go up a few floors, I'm sure the people on the first floor don't appreciate an elevator showing up with 30 people in it. I mean, they could always ride the elevator down to the basement first, but just think about those in the rec center? They have nowhere to go...except up. And it is going to take them twice as long if everyone from floors 1-4 is in the elevator after their workout. Nobody wants to be shoved in an elevator with sweaty people and 10 other musical theatre majors...that's just no fun for everyone. So if we all just wait two more minutes for the elevator that is going up, we would all be a little less frustrated in a little less smelly elevator.

Valentine's Day...

Not much to really say about this day, each person has their own take on it I guess. I did see a lot of packages on the Lawrence Hall security desk yesterday and today, so some people are getting some lovey-dovey cards and flowers.

Intramurals at Point Park

Point Park holds intramural sports over at the 'Y' on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Apparently we are going to have complete ownership of the gym over there soon, but I guess we will have to wait and see (like we always do). Now, this isn't really a knock on Point Park, more of a joke on the 'Y'. Christmas was almost two months ago now, but they still seem to have decorations up in the gym...in the strangest places. See?




This one doesn't even have a hoop!



I guess it kind of works out because Valentine's Day is on Sunday, but who really looks at the garland on the basketball hoops and says, "Oh, how pretty". Especially because it's not...pretty. And I don't know if you have ever witnessed Point Park Intramurals, but they are almost more intense than actual sports at Point Park. I know that the basketball boys that show up on Tuesday nights definitely don't want garland getting in the way of their game. Considering Valentine's Day is a fake holiday, (sorry for all of you love birds out there) I believe that the garland should be removed. Immediately. No, but seriously, it just looks goofy. Also, I am sorry if I offended anyone in my snow post a couple days back, that storm was...kind of a big deal.

Fruit at Point Park

Okay, so I just noticed this today. Cafeteria fruit is always super under ripe. You can bring one of these apples in your room in the beginning of December and still be able to enjoy it on New Years. But the funny thing is, if you choose to eat it a day after you bring it back to your room, it's just as good. They might be pumping these things with crazy chemicals, so we might wanna contact the FDA immediately. Or someone with nice handwriting please leave a comment in the cafeteria. Another thing I learned today is that apparently, you can't take more than a cookie or a piece of fruit out of the cafeteria. How clownish is that? Especially with the Cafe being closed during this crazy storm (which by the looks of everyone's Facebook status', everyone is thrilled to be attending classes today). I made a sandwich today to bring it back to my room for later, and was told I had to leave the cafeteria immediately--I thought they were going to confiscate my sandwich but luckily there was someone nice near the register to overrule the cranky id-checker-inner. It's funny how much money they charge us for fake food and how strict they keep their hours. You would think for 50 bucks a meal the least they could do is let me snag a turkey sandwich for later. Money doesn't grow on trees. Don't get me wrong, I know Pizza, Subway, and Chinese are delicious, but you can only make that rotation a number of times before your bank account is empty and your stomach is sick of take-out. Also, there are so many "college special" deals out there now, I feel like new places keep opening up just to compete with each other. It's not THE college special if there are 12 other deals just like it. P.S - sorry for the creepy picture. I googled "Point Park fruit" and obviously, nothing came up. So then I googled "weird fruit" and that's what came up.

"Some people just can't handle Vegas"

I guess college isn't for everyone. Poor Michele can't juggle all of her studies this week due the hefty class schedule Point Park has had. Too much class, not enough sleep and now she can't even stay awake to complete her assignments. I guess playing a Varsity sport and school is just too hard for some people. Good thing she dropped her Hip-Hop class or she really wouldn't get her work done. You can't see it in the picture but even with Lil Wayne blasting from her laptop, she still managed to pass out. I guess 'Teen Mom' has been airing a little late on MTV, (I still don't know what channel that is--yes I'm pop culture illiterate) keeping Michele up passed her bedtime. I guess some people just can't handle college, much like, "some people just can't handle Vegas."

I hate snow.

This is pretty typical of Point Park. I understand that the school was closed for snow, but if you are going to close the cafe, then close the cafe. If you are gonna have it open, then have it open for normal hours. Or at least notify us in advance. Then as some of us headed down to the cafe for dinner because we missed the delicious food in the cafeteria, we noticed that they kindly put a 3x5 sign in a hidden corner of the cafe to let us know it would be closing at 6PM that day. It was similar to a scavenger hunt. But hey, I mean, they were nice enough to post these signs multiple times throughout the cafe later on in the night as they also had the gate shut for the night. Pretty self-explanatory that when the gate is up, they are no longer selling food. But Point Park is pretty famous for obvious signs. School is closed again today and many people are still snowed in. More snow on the way which means it will probably be closed again Wednesday. Is this real life?

Snow is like Christmas morning for Point Park kids.

Okay, so it snowed here this weekend. A lot. 22" I think, and due to the fact that there hasn't been snow like this in a realllly long time, you would have thought the world was about to end. Families hauled through the snow to the Smithfield corner store to purchase food to stock up because we were "snowed in". The store reported to be out of chips, all dairy products and Taquitos. Canned goods were also on the verge of being out, but thankfully they had a case of Chef Boyardee in the back room. It wasn't quite like Y2K, but close to it. No, but seriously, all buses and shuttles stopped on Friday night creating a hassle for anyone who wanted to travel out of town to have a good time--but apparently many Point Park students trudged through the snow to the Point where a huge snow ball fight erupted, ending in 3 injuries and one ambulance call. The snowball fight was pretty much the excitement of the weekend at Point Park (which is sad). Anyway as many people tried to make it home from Oakland Friday night, some baseball players continued their spring training and their community service all in one night. 3 baseball players lifted an ambulance out of a ditch with their bare hands, saving 2 cats and 3 small children. Not really. But they did in fact push an ambulance out of a rut, just so that the driver could turn his wheels the wrong way to get himself even more stuck. Everyone reconvened at Saturday brunch, (which turned out to be a picnic) involving much plastic ware, watery eggs and really thick cappuccino. However, props to the dude that made everything happen. Especially because there was no brown lettuce. School is closed today and it reminds me of high school because all 500 kids that go to this school are probably having slumber parties as I write this or possibly extending their weekends. It's kind of deceiving because professors will probably just email us all a ton of crap that is going the be due within the next hour. I recommend checking your email. I also recommend listening to Passion Pit's album - Manners. That's all. Snow is like Christmas morning for Point Park kids.

CVS is 2 blocks away, cmon now.

You may just think this is just a picture of a normal stapler sitting on a normal desk, however, it is much, much more than that. This stapler here, is probably the worst trick in all of Point Park -- other than the renovation of our university (because we all know that won't happen until our grandkids are old enough to attend college). This very stapler sits on the desk of the computer lab in Thayer on the second floor, and although it looks promising and convenient, it is completely the opposite. 95% percent of the people that attend this university go to the computer lab 5 minutes (or less) to class just to print out a paper or an assignment they need for class. For some reason, every professor at this university is very strict about having your paper stapled (yes, grades have been threatened...and lives. Just kidding. But seriously, threatened.) So imagine 95% of the university going to this computer lab before class to print out an assignment that needs to be stapled, and 95% of the time, they are disappointed (or mostly pissed off) because the stapler is out of staples. Now I know as a private university we shell out a whole lot of money for tuition, the least they could do is replenish the stapler every now and then. It's probably because we waste a lot of money on really important things like hand sanitizer machines that hang on every square inch of our university's walls. And I know sharing is kind, but cmon, when you press the button to release the hand sanitizer, you get enough for 6 friends. If our school spent a little less money on hand sanitizer and a little more for staples, (that are actually put into the stapler) many students would be a lot happier and a little less sweatier when they arrive to class. CVS is 2 blocks away, cmon now.

Technology advancements are made, living arrangements downgrade.

Watch this slideshow and just tell me, what is the first word that pops into your head?
(By the way, it's only 4 pictures so don't be lazy. Speaking of lazy, let's try to refrain from riding the elevator from 2nd to 3rd floor in the middle of the day. Thank you.)



Was it penitentiary? Cmon guys, that's rude, this is Lawrence Hall we're looking at. No one gets to live in such luxury. Well, except of course if you live in the Boulevard apartments. Which, by the way, I'm a little disappointed with the hard wood flooring, I expected marble. (But,I bet if a dancer put in a request for it, we would totally get it!) Anyway, when I first moved in during pre-season in August, to this empty 5X5 room, it honestly looked like I was coming into boot camp. Especially with those really innovative bed frames they provide us with. And did you see that stylish "closet" in the slideshow? Yeah, those of you in Thayer, I know you are jealous.That internet cord photo is a representation of what brings us the high speed internet here at Point Park. Which by the way, how many people are sick of this:



The photo of the hole in the ceiling that you see in the slideshow? Yeah...that's right above my bed. I'm praying that I don't feel any drops of water in the middle of the night, and I also hope that someone from the 19th floor doesn't come crashing through the stable paper mache walls above me. The other photo is a rusty vent in the bathroom that keeps us sick in the winter with unidentified dust. No wonder why Swine counts have doubled. Although this is where I live, it's still pretty cozy in Lawrence Hall 1818. And although my room has desks from the stone age, at least they gave us dressers that kind of look like they were in IKEA before they reached Goodwill.

That's all for today. Listen to John Mayer's new album, 'Battle Studies', it's awesome. P.S. - NOW ANYONE CAN COMMENT! YOU DON'T NEED AN ACCOUNT!

There are dancers everywhere. Duh, we go to Point Park. When I transferred here earlier this year, I didn't even know that it was a dancer's school. Not only that, but the second best in the country? That's pretty awesome. (...I have to say that so I don't offend anybody) But seriously, I was thinking today, and I was wondering, when did they all start dancing? Probably before they could barely walk. I mean, I know a lot of us athletes started playing at a young age. Anyway, I know this isn't as humorous (or actually, corny) as my other posts, but check out this video. I would have to say this is a future Musical Theatre major at Point Park...with a minor in Dance of course. (P.s. wait for the 1:15 minute mark--it makes the video.)



...Probably most people's reaction to the "fat list". See, he's getting a head start already. He could possibly even be an acting major.

How to not starve on Sunday nights.

Okay, so the cafe being closed on Sunday sucks. We all know that. If you miss brunch, you are forced to eat in the cafeteria anytime between 4:30 and 6:30, and if not, well then your screwed. And I don't know about you, but sometimes by dinner time on Sundays I don't have any meals left. And if anyone has ever experienced this, you know exactly how this conversation goes with the jerky Residence Hall dining police.

Food Police: Oh, wait, wait, you don't have any meals left for the week.
Starving Point Park Student: Oh, okay...so I guess I can't eat?
Food Police: Well, do you want to use flex?
Starving Point Park Student (thinking to themselves): No, I don't want to use flex, that's $15.00 for a brown lettuce salad and weird tofu..
Starving Point Park Student to FP: No...
Food Police: Sorry you can't eat.
Starving Point Park Student: Can I use a meal from next week?
Food Police: Nope (because we're mean and we just want your money, we know our food sucks)

And then, the cycle just repeats itself the next week. Solution: Open the cafe on Sundays.

You could always catch a bus down to the Southside or shuttle over to Oakland to grab something, but that means just spending more money. Haven't we all spent enough for our meal plans already?

Now I know for those of you that have strict rules not to eat after like 5PM this isn't an issue, but for everyone else--we're definitely sick of Subway. And, considering the fact that downtown shuts itself down before half of us even wake up on Sunday, it's either pizza fiesta, (my personal favorite--yes, the ranch is drinkable) or crappy Chinese.(costing you your last pay check)

Now there are always the vending machines around campus, so you could always snack on pop-tarts and cheez-its for dinner. Actually, I take that back. Half of these machines either steal your money and keep your snack, or only have shortbread cookies and weird candy bars that none have us have ever heard of. I guess it's either Ramen noodles, R&B's, or starvation on Sundays. Or...we could protest? Probably wouldn't work because no matter how many times people write, "NO BAD LETTUCE!" on the comment slips in the cafeteria, somehow it's still brown.

Thank you for the obvious signs Point Park

I guess this sign explains the shot glass-sized drinking cups they kindly provide for us. Someone must have been chucking the normal sized cups out in the trash out of anger for the Zimbabwe burgers and Sesame Seaweed Salads they have been serving. Now I know it wasn't the athletes because these poor kids have to fill up 6 glasses at a time just to hydrate before their next practice. But honestly, that's what the comment slips are for. See?



They ARE listening.. (sounds kind of creepy if you ask me..)

Everyone knows Point Park starts brunch at 11:30 AM on weekends, probably because nobody in their right mind is up before 11:00 AM on Saturday or Sunday. (unless you're a loser like me) Now I know some people may still be a little "groggy" from the night before, but no one is still in that much of a haze that they could mistake the trashcan for the dish conveyor belt, and if so, you should probably lay off the Root Beer and just skip brunch this weekend.