The Social Network

The Social Network is a movie about Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg. It basically confirmed everything we already knew about Facebook and it's creation. Facebook was launched in 2004 from Zuckerberg's Harvard dorm. The process to create such a social network involved a lot of drama and constant law suits. But, more importantly so began the addiction. The addiction to Facebook that started in one school and eventually spread to take over the world. It is true that Facebook has become an addiction to college students, I myself have lost the battle of homework vs. Facebook. It is the greatest entertainment source for procrastination. This movie has led me to think what's next? Facebook can only last for so long. Who will create our next big thing?

Day 8: Home isn't Where My Heart Is

Sadly we are back home, state side. I keep clicking my heels together hoping that when I open my eyes I will be back in Wales. I didn't think I'd miss Wales as much as I do. I think for the most part being home means back to school, back to work, back to my internship, and basically back to no free time. Wales was a dream come true. I needed this time away to in a way find myself and grow up. I definitely did a lot of that while I was there. I've learned that I don't have to talk to my mom 5 times a day, but my puppy has also taught me that I'm never allowed to leave her again. I'm good on flying for awhile at least long distances. I probably could handle a 2 hour flight, just no more 7 hour flights for awhile. I took sleeping pills before the flight so I slept for a good portion of it, but I didn't have luck sitting next to any friendly people. I at least had Lauren behind me to semi keep me company. We made it to DC and had a two hour layover, which seemed like forever. Everyone was quiet. I'm pretty sure by this point we had bonded enough. We finally boarded our plane only to be evacuated because the plane filled with smoke. Remember how I mentioned I was a worrier? Well I immediately started having an anxiety attack and was refusing to board that plane. After another hour and a half maintenance finally fixed the problem and we were able to re-board and head to OKC. We landed in OKC about 10:15pm, only an hour and a half late. It was nice to sleep in my own bed, but I can't help but dream and wish I were still in Wales. It is my ideal atmosphere to live in, if only it were a little warmer. This was a trip of a lifetime and I know I will never forget it. I'm so glad that I have pictures to remember everything. This trip has helped me realize that if I'm ever offered an opportunity to travel I should take it. Cultures are so different from us and it is good to experience them from time to time. We sometimes get stuck in our own world and never really embrace anything that happens in our lives. Take chances. Take risks. It's worth it in the end.

Day 7: LONDON!

I woke up earlier then anyone I think. I just couldn't stand the excitement of what London had to offer. I got ready and even made it downstairs for some very delicious pancakes. We longed for pancakes when we were in Wales, but the hotel didn't serve pancakes. We loaded up into two taxis and headed towards the subway station. The only other time I had been on a subway was when I traveled to Washington DC, surprisingly enough London's subway was a lot cleaner then I expected. Although I do watch too much crime tv and I kept expecting something bad to happen. I'm too much of a worrier. We made it to London in one piece and from there our group went seperate ways. Our options were take the Big Bus Tour or go shopping. I knew this would probably be the only time I'd ever be in London so I wanted to see everything. Taylor, Nicole, Mark Scott, Nelson, and myself all purchased tickets for the Big Bus Tour. I do not regret my decision at all. I couldn't describe the beauty we saw. It was the greatest experience of my life. We got to see everything, including Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abby, Tower Bridge, and the ORIGINAL Hard Rock Cafe. I wish we would of had more time in London because I know there was a lot that we weren't able to experience. I couldn't pick out one thing that I loved the most. I learned so much about London and I love all of it. We were even able to see a few protests while we were there. It was great seeing all the other tourists. We sat next to a couple from Texas, I didn't feel so out of place. We finished our bus tour and met the rest of the group and headed down to Hard Rock to have our last meal in another country. I must say I had the best Chicken Mac and Cheese of my life. I devoured it, I really don't think I took a breath. London is just as beautiful at night. I truly wish we had more time to spend here, there was so much more I would of loved to do. Unfortunately tomorrow we head back to the States. I'm not looking forward to the long plane ride home, but I know my puppy is missing me.

Day 6: New Hatred for Buses

The day we went to London, wasn't very eventful. We spent most of Friday morning packing and killing time. We had to check out of our rooms by 10:30am and the bus didn't pick us up until 3pm to take us to London. Emily and I woke up early and ventured down to the Uni so I could get a Swansea U hoodie. It didn't take much time at all because we finally got the hang of the public transits, of course on the last day. We then went down to Mumbles to get a few souvenirs and try to meet up with the rest of the group. After doing some shopping we went down to Verdi's Cafe to have lunch, but we had missed our group by probably 30 minutes or so. Because when we finished eating they were walking back from the pier. We had to try Verdi's ice cream to determine if Joe's was better or not. I preferred Joe's only because Verdi's added whip cream to theirs. I should mention whip cream in Europe tastes like sour cream. There is nothing sweet about their whip cream. I was very disappointed. By the time we walked back to the hotel it was almost time to get on the bus. We gathered our luggage and loaded the bus. The majority of us slept and it was probably for the best. European drivers are about as distracted as we are when driving. And our driver said he would drive straight through that he didn't like to stop. That was a lie to say the least we stopped at least twice before we finally made it to London. We arrived at the hotel, got to our rooms and then met down stairs to decide on dinner. Once again, we all ended up at McDonald's across the street from the hotel. Americans and our fast food. Which as a side note I would like to add that the population of obese people in Wales, was very small. I saw maybe 5 overweight people the entire week. I will miss that.

Day 5: The Last Full Day in Wales

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! But not in Wales. We soon discovered that St. Patty's Day isn't a very popular holiday in Wales. It deeply saddened me. Again team SYSHP got to sleep in and not rush to be anywhere. We took our time to get ready and then we all loaded the bus and ventured down to the City Centre where we shot b-roll for our client's video. Eliot, our Swansea U student ambassador, met us there to have lunch and chat with us one last time before we had to leave. After lunch Eliot led us back to our client's headquarters and saved us from having to pay a taxi again. We shot our last interviews of these two girls that have been out of SYSHP for quite some time, but love to come back to visit. SYSHP has helped them get their own loft and they are both in college now working towards degrees. They said if it wasn't for SYSHP they wouldn't of made it where they are today. Meeting with all of these kids was such a rewarding experience. I am so blessed to have met these kids and hear their stories. The stories were heartbreaking, but so touching. We walked back to City Centre and did some window shopping. I find it very difficult to pay 90 pounds for a pair of heels. It was tempting, but I just couldn't do it. We grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel to meet with the rest of our class. We then all ventured down to Mumbles for some Joe's famous ice cream. Blue bell has nothing on them. Tomorrow morning we leave for London and though I'm excited, I'm going to miss Wales. This has been the best experience of my life. 

Day 4: The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round and Round.

Today we saw more then we had planned. Dare I say this was our most miserable day here in the UK, but it didn't start that way. The day started out great. We took a cab from the hotel to our organization's headquarters so there was no way we would get lost. We got to meet more of the kids in SYSHP and were able to see the hostel that they stay in. The broadcast students shot the interviews and Nicole and I took a couple of girls aside to do our own interviews. It was phenomenal experience. These girls have been through so much to be so young. It was heart warming. I just wanted to help them. Afterwards we went to the City Centre to eat lunch. A few of us went to McDonalds. Yes we traveled to the UK so we could eat McDonalds. The surprise was I actually liked their McDonalds, it tasted healthier. I didn't feel as though I was dying with every bite. I still refuse to eat McDonalds in the States though. I got to see my first castle, Swansea Castle, unfortunately it was under construction so we weren't able to go inside. It was still beautiful. I love the buildings here because they are actually old and people actually took time to build it and make it beautiful. It was time to head to our meeting at the Uni so we walked back through the mall to catch our bus. We jumped on the bus we were told we needed to be on and got ready for a ride we would never forget. It took us through places we had never seen before, but we just assumed its a different bus then we are use to so maybe it goes backwards. We kept waiting for the bus to get closer to something we would recognize. So turns out we were told the wrong bus and we actually were an hour and a half from being dropped off  at the University. Did I mention we had already been on the bus for an hour? It is so difficult to get the hang of public transits in the UK. We ended up being on the bus for 2 and a half hours with a screaming child. It was a blast. We ended up missing our meeting so we got on a bus again, to go to our hotel. Frustrated and starving, Taylor, Hunter, and myself walked down to the White Rose to get dinner. And we watched our first English soccer game on tv. Despite the long, undesired field trip, we benefited a lot from the time spent with our clients.

Day 3: Walking, walking, and more walking.

My group got the privilege of relaxing all morning as we are waiting for 2pm to arrive. Taylor, Nicole, Mark, and myself headed into Mumbles to do some exploring and shopping. They have a store called Fat Face which is basically the same thing as the Buckle. Same prices and same clothing. We went back to meet the guys at the hotel so we could get on the bus to meet our clients. We got off the bus on Bryn by the rugby field. We walked about 2 miles to Bryn Rd looking for Bryn House. Turns out Bryn House isn't on Bryn Rd. or anywhere near Bryn Rd. We ended up calling the office and some SYSHP workers came to our rescue. We were 30 minutes late to meet the kids at their cooking class, but we eventually made it. The kids were cooking sausage and gravy (oil, flour, onions, and mushrooms.) They take a cooking class every week. The kids were all shy at first, but they started to open up. We had a lot of fun getting to know the kids and video tape them cooking it up in the kitchen. We then headed back to the University to meet students that are coming to UCO this summer. We have become pro at missing the bus by about 30 seconds every time. We decided it was quicker to walk then wait 10 minutes for the next bus. I'm definitely losing weight by all the walking we have done so far. We finally made it back to the University where we were late to meet with the Swansea U students. I ended up skipping dinner because I was so tired and felt under the weather. I ended up falling asleep by 7pm and sleeping for 14 hours.

Matt cooking it up.

Give Way aka Yield

Police car. 

Castle.

Day 2: Fanny Pack Tourists

We began today on a bus and thanks to Dr. Nelson we got our weekly exercise in finding our way around the University. After giving ourselves our own tour of the campus we found where we were supposed to be. We were given the grand (sort of) tour of Swansea University and after many weeks of Facebook messages we finally met the infamous Eliot Miller. Eliot previously came to UCO as an exchange student a year ago so we turned the tables and came to his stomping grounds. We then went to meet our tour guide of the day, Pat, who took us all over Gower. Our first stop was Gower Beach, which was my favorite part because I have never been to the ocean before. Pat told us many stories about the homes that looked over the ocean, one of which is on the market for 4 million US dollars. We then got back on the small winding roads to venture to our next stop which to me seemed to be a random sheep farm. It had a name, but I don't remember it. Pat explained why some sheep had blue dots on their backs. There are two colors on the sheep one which represents the farmer and the other, either blue or purple represents a sheep that has been "tapped" or is pregnant. We then went to Worm's Head and Three Cliffs Bay. Aside from the freezing cold temperature at this site I enjoyed learning about when the pirates were around. The pirates found Worm's Head and thought it resembled a sea monster, so they claimed it as their territory. We got back on our tour bus and headed to Swansea University where we got to meet our clients that we would be working with during the week. My group worked with a nonprofit called Swansea Young Single Homeless Project or as they call themselves S.Y.S.H.P which took me all week to learn how to pronounce. The other group worked with a Uni project called Discovery. After brainstorming with our clients we headed back to the hotel. A few of us went to an italian restaurant on the pier called Castellamare. Me and Taylor got pizza, which turned out to be quite greasy, but still very delicious. And for dessert we had gelato ice cream, very cold, but much better then the ice cream we have at home. Sorry Braum's, you've got nothing on the ice cream here. Tomorrow we will meet with our clients and begin shooting video.

First time to the ocean

Gower Bay

Tapped sheep

Worm's Head

Day 1: Hellacious Flights

I could barely contain my excitement this morning as I finish packing and getting ready. Last minute of course. We arrived at the airport at 9:45am to check in our luggage and go through security. I am always that person that gets stopped when going through security. It doesn't matter how much I prepare myself so that I don't get stopped, I still get stopped. Going through security they swab the handle of my carry on, I'm assuming to see if there is any bomb residue because I look like that kind of person. We boarded our first plane that would take us from OKC to Washington DC. Hello amateur pilot! This was probably my roughest flight as we were preparing to land in Washington DC we suddenly dropped God knows how many feet, which left everyone's stomach somewhere in mid air. Not to mention we were on a little CRJ-700, I'm terrified of small planes. After a very rough landing we make our way to our next gate, losing some students at various airport restaurants. As we board our next plane I was surprised at how spacious it was compared to the little 700. I had never been on such a big plane, let alone a plane that had tv's in every seat. Before we took off the guy next to me switch with a girl from India. She seemed nice and said she would sleep the whole way there, so I thought to myself "awesome I won't have to talk to anyone on the way there." About 3 hours into our 6 hour flight we hit turbulence over the Atlantic. Okay I've seen every movie that involves a plane crashing so I was already terrified. The girl next to me jumps up in her seat and starts telling me we are all going to die. "If we weren't going to die the pilot wouldn't of made the flight attendants sit down and buckle up." Need less to say my anxiety level at this point was through the roof. She finally calmed down enough to attempt to sleep and I put in my headphones and proceeded to watch Tangled to calm myself. Before I knew it the flight attendants were serving breakfast and we were an hour away from London's airport. We landed in London around 6am, collected our luggage, and went to find our bus. Our bus driver was something else, 30 minutes into our drive to Wales he stops to get himself some breakfast. We all got off the bus and ventured through the rest stop. We got back on and 3 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Swansea Wales. A few went to explore the town, but as for me I chose to sleep the day away after the drama I had on the flight. We woke up and had dinner at the hotel. My options were lamb, chicken, or roast beef. You can never go wrong with chicken, it wasn't half bad. Tomorrow we get to be real tourists and see what Wales has to offer. 

Norton House

Norton House; where we stayed.

Spring Break isn't long enough.

I realize that this is meant to be a blog about music in the OKC area, but it is relatively hard to just discuss the shows I attend. Especially since I just got back from being out of the country. However, bare with me because I will begin to blog about shows again, but first I want to share my experience of my first time leaving the country. I was a part of the Wales/London group that crossed the Atlantic for Spring Break 2011. It was such an amazing experience. So stay tuned as I will blog about my days in a foreign to me country.

A week before Wales, what could go wrong?

EVERYTHING would be a proper answer to that question. I'm not going to rant, just simply explain my week and the fact that I am so behind in preparing myself to leave the country for spring break. I think it is the lack of proper organization at the Brawlers first home game that threw me off because I am a major perfectionist. But for fun we will just leave that story for another time.

Monday morning I woke up with a sore throat and sinus headache, I just assumed it was allergies and it would go away...it didn't. So Tuesday I woke up feeling worse, but knowing that I had so much that needed to be done by Saturday I didn't have time to lay in bed so I went to a TMJ appointment in Norman, came back and started buying stuff for Wales. At lunch after so many people jynxed me about losing my TMJ splint in Wales, I ended up throwing it away..this device costs about 500 dollars to replace so I'm not very happy. All of that stress brought on a stomach ulcer and a fever of 100.1. I ended up at the doctor diagnosed with a stomach ulcer, stomach virus, and sinus infection. What else could go wrong right?

Today I wake up with 3 days left until I board a plane to venture off with Dr. Nelson and the rest of the crew, not very much was accomplished yesterday needless to say. I'm attempting to pack, do laundry, and finish homework before it's too late. I know this is quite the complaining post, but I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm just sharing so for future reference to anyone else about to travel...don't wait till the last minute. Start getting stuff early for your trip incase you do end up getting sick, like I have. I just hope that it will be gone by Saturday. Crossing my fingers. I get to go back to Norman tomorrow to have a TMJ splint made so I can leave without worrying about back tracking on my progress of the last 4 months.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe spring break. :)

E-mit is fantastic.

I know my title is a bit bias due to the fact that I have been friends with the keyboard player of Emit for the last 5 years or so. Last night after a long day of interning I ventured over to Norman to see Emit perform and also Jesse Alan Horn. I've never heard of Jesse, but I was very intrigued by his style of music. His lyrics were phenomenal, some serious and a couple that were meant to be funny. His drummer Julien can be described in one word....amazing. He is definitely one of the best drummers I have heard. 


Emit has been jamming out for the last 6 years. Brian Collins, the lead singer and bass player, has fantastic hair. It can be described best by saying it is simply identical to Carrot Tops fro times two. It is huge. His cousin, Caleb Collins, is the guitarist, phenomenal musicianship. Austin Brimacombe is the bands driven drummer who also has an incredible style that he brings to the band. And last, but not least pardon me while I brag on my friend, Mr. Benjamin Killebrew who has the most incredible keyboarding skills I have ever seen and I've seen a lot in my time of when I played piano and went to contests. Lets put it this way...this is a rock/indie band and he has velcro on the bottom of his keyboard. It was quite the show. Unfortunately there were too many complaints about the lights because they had some awesome lights that would probably cause everyone in the place to have a seizure just by being in the room. 


I didn't want my blog about them to be completely my opinion so I turned to another lover of music to get her opinion. When I asked her what Emit's style reminded her of:
"They have an excellent sound. Very Kings of Leon/30 Seconds to Mars sounding, perhaps even Copeland-ish."


I definitely agree with her, I also thought their sound was very similar to the band Muse. Either way they are phenomenal and I am unsure why they haven't been signed. When I asked band member, Benjamin Killebrew, he stated that they aren't right now and not really sure why, but maybe in a few years they will be. 


So keep an eye out for any upcoming shows if this sounds like a group you might find interesting. They will be playing March 26th at the ACM Performance Lab downtown OKC at 8pm. To learn more about them and experience some of their music check out their website.


emitrock.com

My First Press Conference

Have you ever walked from the Cox Convention Center to the Bricktown Hooters in heels? Well it isn't a very fun experience, especially when it is hot outside and you're in all black. After this journey to Hooters where the plan was to have a Press Conference...it didn't happen. The media wasn't informed in enough time so therefore the players, coaches, dancers, and staff showed up basically for some free wings and went back to work.

So far my week as an intern for the Brawlers has been fun, but very stressful. I have been learning a lot and get to write game notes for our upcoming game on Sunday. Tonight we have a party for our season ticket holders where fans will be able to meet the players, dancers, and staff and enjoy amazing mexican food from Abuelo's. I love feeling included in this company, I'm more then just an intern. :)

Emit

"They hit the streets playing at the hottest and most visible venues at an early age, and now with years of stage presence have given rise to a rock act any audience gravitates towards. Their tight knit synchronization is evinced by their combined efforts in playing and writing their music. Emit has proven to be progressively maturing all along their six year history. Each of the musicians have studied and prepared by being musically trained at the most respectable colleges around today."

The above is taken from the band Emit's website emitrock.com. This is what I have to look forward to on Thursday night as I venture to Norman to watch Emit perform. Notes and pictures are to be expected. Not only is Emit performing, Jesse Alan Horn will also be there. It should be a very exciting night.

UCO Prop 1

So here is a surprise, UCO would like to charge an additional $10.75 per credit hour to our Student Activity Fees. That is fine if you are an athlete or a part of Greek, for the rest of us that are in school to learn and get a degree, less for the social aspect that comes along with college...this is a terrible idea. UCOSA have many files discussing the proposition..there is a file titled "Why the SAF Increase Legislation is Not Amendable." It argues that the proposition can change where particular funds can be distributed, but it also states where the funding will go during this fiscal year.

"My point is, though UCOSA can change in the future how the SAF funds are distributed, it should only be done if there is great need, it should only be done very cautiously and after much research, and, preferably, with the advice and consent of all parties involved (students, Student Affairs, and Athletics)."

From high school to college it never changes, athletics are always the most important. Being a band nerd for 9 years it has always been a pet peeve of mine when all of our funding revolves around athletics. I understand that they are trying to better the college experience with this prop, but many of the students at UCO don't have time to attend the concerts and other events, they shouldn't have to pay more on top of what they already have to pay to get an education.

"For Athletics, better facilities and more scholarships will attract more athletes. The SAF will get more money when we recruit more students to come to UCO whether they are athletes or not. These student athletes will be paying the SAF, so everyone from student organizations to athletics will have more funding. However, having more student athletes mean that Athletics will have to carry health insurance on them. This is a mandatory cost required by the NCAA."

Charge the athletes, charge the sororities and frats, charge those that have come to college for the social experience. Leave the rest of us alone, we are poor enough.