Surprise parties are the best parties

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Annie Brown

Today, I had the opportunity to throw a surprise party for one of my best friends on campus, and things turned out great!

Earlier in the week, my friend’s mom, who lives in Boston, called me to ask me if I could pick up a birthday cake from Starry Night Bakery in Westminster and surprise my friend with it. I knew with the help of some friends that we could totally pull off a surprise party, but we definitely had to plan it as we went along.

Before going to get the cake, another friend and I drove to the dollar store by the Food Lion to pick up some decorations. For under $5, we got plenty of decorations to spruce up the Forlines common room where we held the party. If you’re trying to hold a party on a budget, the dollar store is the first place to go for great deals.

Then we went to the bakery to get the cake. I didn’t realize this until we got there, but Starry Night Bakery won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars in 2011. This was no surprise; as soon as I saw the cupcakes, I nearly cried tears of joy because they looked so delicious. The cupcakes we picked up were chocolate with a coffee flavor and espresso frosting, and they were absolutely delicious.

After picking up the cupcakes and a yellow cake with butter cream icing, my friend and I had to rush to decorate the common room and get our friend assembled before the cake got too warm. (Neither the cake nor the cupcakes would fit into our microfridges.)

Eventually, we got everyone rounded up and we texted one of my friends to bring the birthday girl to us.

My friend was totally surprised to see us waiting for her and even more surprised to see the cake! We pulled off a low-key but very fun party with some great music to boot. Planning and celebrating a surprise party for one of my besties was an awesome way to spend my Saturday!

A trip to Baltimore

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Annie Brown

One of the perks of being in McDaniel’s Honors Program is the chance to go on the annual Honors field trip. This year’s trip was to Baltimore, and for only $5, I had the chance to be whisked away to the Inner Harbor on what turned out to be a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

I spent most of my afternoon at the American Visionary Arts Museum with fellow Honors Program member and e-ambassador Mara. The large mirror mosaics gave us a chance to work on some artistic photography before heading into the museum, where unfortunately, no pictures were allowed. I really enjoyed the exhibits. My favorite exhibit was called “The Art of Storytelling,” which is on display through September 1. The exhibit, which featured several artists, consisted of pieces that had very integral narrative components. I loved the beautiful and intricate fabric pieces done by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, with which the artist told the powerful story of how Nazis came to occupy her small town in Poland and how she and her sister escaped before being sent to a concentration camp.

After we explored the museum inside and out, Mara and I returned to the Inner Harbor for ice cream and some people watching. Mara created a point system to keep track of all the runners we saw; whoever spotted a runner first would get a point. (Mara won.)

We browsed through a few shops before meeting up with the rest of the group at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp and Seafood to have a tasty and fun dinner paid for by the Honors Program.

After dinner, there was a little time before we had to board the bus to return to campus, so a few girls and I went to the newly-opened Marshall’s (which was not that great) and Barnes and Noble before our trip came to a close.

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful Sunday to go to Baltimore and spending time with some of my Honors peers exploring the city was a lot of fun!

Easter on and off the Hill

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Annie Brown

My Easter weekend is quickly coming to a close.(McDaniel does not give students off on Easter Monday.) In just hours, I’ll wake up from what little sleep I end up getting tonight and make the two-and-a-half hour drive back to campus with my mom, who well then drive two-and-a-half hours back to Pennsylvania. All of the time spent commuting will be worth it though, since I had a lovely weekend with my family!

When I go home for the weekend, I usually have one of my parents pick me up on Friday afternoon. However, we did things a little differently this weekend: On Saturday afternoon, my whole family–both my parents and both of my siblings–trekked down to Westminster to see not only me but also Carroll Arts Center’s annual PEEPshow.

The PEEPshow, most fortunately, is not what its name might first imply; Westminster’s PEEPshow is a relatively new tradition in Carroll County where people create sculptures, movies, and other artwork made with Marshmallow Peeps, which are then displayed for about two weeks. I went last year with my uncle and cousin when they came to visit me, and I was so impressed with it that I went a second time that week. This year, I wanted to share the creativity and sheer awesomeness of the Peeps with my immediate family, and they were equally or more impressed by all of the great entries as I was.

The PEEPshow will be at Carroll Arts Center daily through April 7 from 10-7. If you live anywhere near Westminster, I highly suggest that you check it out, particularly if you already happen to be visiting McDaniel. But if you can’t go, fear not! There’s plenty of pictures from this year and years past here!

My fun this weekend did not stop with the PEEPshow, however. I got to go home for Easter, which was exciting since I did not get to go home for it last year (my family dared to take a vacation to California without me since my siblings were on spring break). I love Easter at home because it combines family and food with the added dimension of chocolate. This year’s Easter was extra great too. Some of my cousins, whom I don’t normally see on Easter, came because my oldest cousin, also home for Easter, had to drive back to college and my house is on the way. My extended family and I sat down to a delicious dinner home-cooked by my mother, and my dad even hid eggs around the house for my siblings, cousins, and I to find. (I’ll never be too old for an Easter egg hunt!)

My weekend was fabulous, and it’s kind of crazy that I’m still home. But the extra hours spent home instead of speeding back to campus on the night of Easter Sunday will be worth it because I truly got to enjoy my Easter weekend.

Friday night at Westminster Station

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Annie Brown

I’m not one to go wild and crazy on Friday nights, but I still like to have fun over the weekend. Often time, my friends and I will hang out in my suite’s common room (like we do on most nights), but tonight, I went with a couple of friends to Westminster Station, a local coffee shop.

Westminster Station is nice because it’s in walking distance from McDaniel (though we drove because it was cold and dark out) and because it’s open until 11 or so. They have a variety of drinks including tea, smoothies, and of course, coffee, and they’re quite tasty. They also have a gift shop with some pretty random and entertaining items. The atmosphere is nice–there’s plenty of tables but also plenty of sofas and there are more secluded and areas that are more out in the open. The bathroom is also worth mentioning, as it has a chalkboard wall. A lot of live music takes place here too.

There’s also plenty of books to read and look through. I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of last year’s issue of Contrast, McDaniel’s literary magazine sitting on the coffee table where my friends and I situated ourselves for the evening. (I highly recommend perusing through the 2012 edition of Contrast if you ever get the chance–it’s a beautifully designed book with phenomenal prose, poetry, and artwork.) We spent a lot of our time looking through an astrology book that was also there, learning about our signs, our friends’ signs, and various interpersonal compatibility factors of each sign.

I had a lovely time and the fact that I was with a small group of friends was a nice change of pace for me. I have so many friends on campus who all like to hang out as one big group that I don’t always get to interact with my friends on a more individual basis. There’s nothing like being in a coffeehouse with good fun and good friends, and I would love go out for coffee more often.

A trip to Lancaster

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Annie Brown

It’s been a lovely spring break here at home for me, but when my mom had off from work yesterday, we decided that the day would best be spent taking a day trip together.

We decided to make the not-too-far trek to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, just a little over an hour away from my home and about an hour and a half away from Westminster. Lancaster is well-known for its Pennsylvania Dutch subculture, which includes groups of Anabaptists known as the Amish and the Mennonites.

Our mission in Lancaster was to shop well, eat well, and find a selection of tasty Pennsylvania Dutch desserts to take home, and we succeeded in this mission quite well. We first went to a few of the shops in the Rockvale Outlets before having a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet lunch at Miller’s Smorgasbord, with food so tasty it would make Glar food weep with envy. (Sorry, Glar.)

After eating more food than we should have, my mom and I drove around the towns of Intercourse (yes, that’s the town’s actual name) and Bird-in-Hand to go to some smaller shops and bakeries. My mom loves to explore Lancaster and she actually knows her way around pretty well. My favorite part of this leg of the journey was our stop at the Bird-in-Hand Bakery, where we were greeted by goats and fluffy chickens before we went inside to purchase chocolate shoo-fly pie, apple dumplings, and other Pennsylvania Dutch baked goods.

We finished out our trip by going to the Tanger Outlets, another outlet mall in the area, where we went to a few more stores.

I had a fabulous day! I added a few new pieces to my wardrobe and indefinitely postponed my “diet” yet again, but best of all, I got to spend an entire day hanging out with my mom.

Spring Break: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Robert

One of the best parts of college is, of course, Spring Break. You’ve seen it portrayed in the movies, tv shows, and you’ve probably had a few great spring breaks of your own in high school, but in all honesty nothing can truly compare to the awesomeness of a well planned Spring Break combined with the freedom of college. Most students at McDaniel look for warmth after spending a winter in the chilling Westminster wind, and to experience any noticeable difference in climate, that means Florida. I don’t have any definite number, but I could name at least 20 people I know on campus who are in Florida right now and in the process of thawing out.

My friends and I have pinpointed Cocoa Beach, Florida as our salty-aired, sunsaturated, beach of choice. We’re returning this year for a second time; mostly because it’s dirt cheap and you still get all the warmth of the more expensive destinations, but also because Cocoa Beach is one of the Best beaches on the Eastcoast for surfing and two of my friends are really into that. Plus who could pass up this view:

Anyway what I discovered is that you can actually find hotels that have kitchenettes for really cheap. The Days Inn at Cocoa Beach (the hotel we stayed in last year) offered them at a great low fee, and that meant that we could just buy our food at the Publix right across the street. All that was left to cover was the gas to get there. Three of my friends flew because they could afford it, but if you can find two people who are willing/able to split up the driving and the cost of gas, it can actually end up being pretty cheap and easy to get down and back.

What I’m really getting at is that nothing should stop you in college from having an awesome Spring Break. Save up your money and go south, you won’t regret it. Nothing beats 80 degree, sunny weather after a winter on the hill, and it follows a similar principle to pizza: there’s good pizza and bad pizza, but even bad pizza is still good. Unless warm weather isn’t your thing, in which case I hear Killington still has plenty of snow, in fact I think they just got a fresh powdering with this last system that moved through. Anyway, there’s some food for thought.

What to do when nobody’s around

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Robert

To be honest, the rare occasions where the entire campus clears out for breaks and only a few students who have a reason to stay into the weekend are occupying the dorms are the best! The showers are always empty, it’s quiet, the lines in Glar are short, and you can park really close to your dorm building. If you’re one who gets bored in this type of situation, or just get bored in general, I thought this might be a good time to list

What there is to do in the Westminster are for a college student:

1. The Mall – It’s within walking distance, has most major stores, a decent movie theatre, and is certainly a great way to spent an afternoon where you don’t have much to do.

2. Players Family Amusement Center – I’m only listing this one because I wasn’t even aware of it until this year, but Players is like 5 minutes from campus and has cheap laser tag, batting cages, bumper cars, and lots of other cool stuff. It may seem kind of lame but don’t knock it until you try it, cause I had a blast.

3. Bowling – Taneytown Bowl is 20 minutes away, is fairly inexpensive, and is fun for a group of people who are bored on a Thursday evening or something. I think the bowling class you can take through the Phys Ed Department bowls there also if you’re interested in going bowling on the school’s dime

4. Gettysburg – Definitely here me out on this one: Gettysburg is awesome. The outlets are fun if you’re just looking to window shop or if you’re looking for a cheap pair of fresh shoes from Payless. If you’re a history buff, which I know I am for whatever the reason, you can take part in all the fun historic Gettysburg Civil War stuff. And around Halloween, they get some cool haunted house type stuff going on. They have a website where you can find all of that stuff.

5. Baltimore – If you’re into the club scene, there are plenty of under 21 clubs in Towson and Fells Point. These actually become increasingly popular for those who are of age to drink during the weekends, and campus safety runs free shuttles to these locations for anyone who asks.

So I hope this has given some helpful insight into what there is to do at McDaniel. If none of these suit your interests, Green Terror Productions, is always running fun weekend activities; shows at the Hippodrome Theater skiing at Liberty, I went to Hershey Park last Fall, and plenty others and those usually cost between 5 and 15 dollars. I’ve never seen one that costed more than that. Anyway, food for thought.

Spring is coming!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Annie Brown

Spring break is close, but spring seems even closer! The weather on campus was beautiful this weekend. A small number of students made their way to the quad on both days for some sunbathing and studying and playing catch, and as the weather gets warmer, more students (including me) will join them.

Because the weather was so nice, nine and my friends and I walked to Baugher’s for dinner. This was a lot of fun and the food was delicious (I had a hot turkey sandwich with a chocolate peanut butter sundae for dessert), but next time, I would go with a smaller group or on a different day in order to get seated faster–ten people on a warm Sunday evening is a recipe for a long wait at Baugher’s.

I’m looking forward to the emergence of warmer weather because it means I’ll be able to get off campus by myself more. Though I have friends with cars, I only ride in them when we go on group outings. I don’t have a car on campus, so my only solo means of transportation is walking, and in though there are plenty of things within walking distance from campus, when the weather is freezing, walking off campus usually isn’t worth it for me. (I also don’t like to rely on others to drive me places.) But with spring weather, I’ll be able to allow myself to go on more errands and go get coffee off campus. And with only eight weeks in between spring break and summer, it will be those little things that will give me something to look forward to when spring break is over : )

Fraternity Travels

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Robert

This past weekend I did something that many fraternity members will never do, I attended a leadership conference sponsored by the Alpha Sigma Phi national headquarters. Let me start by saying that if you ever get a chance to attend a leadership conference of any type, you should do it. I learned so much about myself and got so many ideas about what I can brink to my fraternity and to McDaniel. A lot of times we lose focus, getting caught up in our social lives, putting importance on things that truthfully just won’t matter once we graduate, but this conference helped me realize that we can leave a legacy for ourselves if we live everyday being the best men and women that we can be.

Three of my brothers and I flew out to Indianapolis last Friday. It was an early flight. I arrived at BWI at 6am so I would be sure not to miss my flight. The Alpha Sig national headquarters paid for the flight and for the hotel and dinners for three nights. It was a great deal, plus I love flying. We arrived at the hotel, the luxurious Crowne Plaza, only 40 minutes or so before we were supposed to meet down in the lobby so my brothers and I had to quickly get up to our room and change (most of us had traveled in sweats in the name of comfort). Once in the lobby we were quickly filled into a large room with almost 250 brothers from colleges and universities across the country.

There was something cool about being in a room with so many guys who had committed themselves to similar values to your own and been through similar experiences all to find themselves in Indianapolis on this particular weekend. It was nice in making conversation since you already had one major thing in common with every guy in the room. Over the course of the next few days, I met all kinds of guys of different backgrounds and from different states, and together we helped define and strengthen each other’s commitments to our core values as brothers and men.

I know that you’re probably thinking about how cheesy all of this sounds, but it really did make a difference in how I view the world. I’m not saying that if you’re a guy you should come to McDaniel and pledge Alpha Sig, I mean you should come check us out cause we’re awesome, but what I am saying is that you should take advantage of opportunities like these as they arise in college, and they will. Lessons learned: you never stop growing, you never stop learning, there’s always something you can change to make yourself, and the brothers from Murray State know how to have a good time.

An Unexpected Journey to Denny’s

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Annie Brown

What’s one way to reduce some of the insanity that comes along with the week before finals? Drop everything you’re doing and go to Denny’s in the middle of the night!

This evening I found myself feeling cabin-feverish and unmotivated to do even more work. So when some of my friends showed up to my suite saying that they wanted to go to Denny’s, I was all on board for it. I needed to get out of my room and enjoy myself a little, and a lot of the rest of us did too. In the 20 minutes before we left, I banged out 3/4 of a page of the paper I’m currently working on so I could sort of justify such an outing.

Since the epic trek to Denny’s was made by foot, my friend Sam (who’s taking a class called The Hero’s Journey with me) and I decided that it would be our own hero’s journey for tonight. After all, we had to cross a highway in order to get there. (Luckily, at one in the morning, there aren’t many cars, which makes crossing relatively safe if you remain alert and aware of your surroundings.) I also joked that he should do his creative project for The Hero’s Journey on our trip to Denny’s.

I think Sam and I must have been on to something, for when we and the other seven members of our group got to Denny’s we were greeted with The Hobbit-themed menus that said “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” on the front. This made my friends happy, since they’re Lord of the Rings fans and watched a couple of the movies last night in preparation for The Hobbit‘s release in theaters next week.

I ordered some pumpkin pancakes that were special to the Hobbit menu as a part of a Grand Slam, which gave me enough food to heat up and enjoy over the next few days when finals hunger gets the best of me. (Finals hunger is very real, and if not controlled appropriately, can be very fattening.)

Like all heroic journeys, my journey to Denny’s had to end with my return to my home “world” of McDaniel. Though my trek took two hours out of my late-night that would have otherwise been spent doing homework (incidentally for The Hero’s Journey), I’m actually feeling a lot more sane than I had been earlier this evening. Thank goodness for good friends and 24-hour restaurants!

Stories from the Hill

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