Living the Suite Life

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

If you’re under 25 years old, don’t tell me you don’t remember The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

I still make references to that show in my daily conversations.

Anyway, the point of that reference is that I’m all moved into my dorm suite!

Madre and I left our house at 7AM and drove up about 4 hours to Boston yesterday. Any travel day of mine requires overnight oats if at all possible. Luckily (scarily) for me, I was polishing off yet another jar of peanut butter— perfect for overnight oats.

brought four large, Costco-sized jars of pb to college, and that might be cutting it close

Once we arrived in Boston, we were hungry for lunch, so we stopped by our favorite cheap Vietnamese eatery for chicken vermicelli platters and egg rolls.

fueled and fired up for moving in

Move-in went quite smoothly, thankfully! Madre was superwoman as always and helped me unpack and situate my belongings while I helped move Rachel from her summer apartment to the suite.

my home for a while

The suite is set up as a double connected to another double, so Jordan (same roomie as last year!) + I are in one room together, and Rachel + Sheila are in the other.

The space in the room and this view is quite remarkable. It’s quite an upgrade from our little box last year.

My only qualm is that the bathroom is in Rachel + Sheila’s side of the room. I tend to drink a lot of water, so I feel bad about walking through their room every time I need to empty my tiny tank.

Like last night at 2 AM. I woke up needing to pee, and I think I panicked for a good three minutes wondering whether I should try going to the bathroom in our suite or just going downstairs to the lobby to use the bathrooms there.

“It’s the first night, and I’m already going to piss off my roommates. Almost literally.”

“Should I just not flush? No, ew.”

“The guard in the lobby will think I’m a freak.”

The lobby idea won, and I learned my lesson to not chug half a water bottle before going to sleep.

Moving on…

The dining halls don’t open until Saturday night, so we’re doing our best with snacks and our MicroFridges.

Jordan and Sheila cooked Rachel and me dinner last night though! A dorm-cooked meal, how lovely ♥

They were able to cook this the night before in our dorm’s communal kitchen, which is BEAUTIFUL.

We’re allowed to use it after 7pm on weekdays and anytime on the weekends. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, the sight of shiny kitchen appliances.

Jordan also brought us lunch from her work today. Cool roommate, that one.

While most of my friends are working, I’ve been cleaning up the dorm rooms and doing other housekeeping things. I even got to go back to the beloved Esplanade to do some stretching and exercise. Goodness gracious, I’ve missed Boston.

recycled picture from April when trees were still naked

Thankful.

So tell me:

Did you ever have to work out bathroom schedules/issues with roommates?

What is your favorite dorm food? peanutbuttersorrynotsorry.

Were you a fan of The Suite Life?

The Great and Small Things I Learned {Freshman Semester II}

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

First semester of my freshman year in college came and went…

…second semester came and went…

…and that’s it. But what the heck!? How?

When I was leaving my dorm room for the last time on Friday, I ran into a guy who was in my group from FYSOP— the outreach program I did for my very first week at Boston University. We would say hi to each other on the streets or in the halls throughout the year whenever we saw each other, but this time, we were saying bye because we’re done with freshman year. I felt like we just met at FYSOP.

I guess that anecdote just sums up how weird it feels to be done with freshman year. But just as I learned a lot from my first semester, I learned plenty of great and small things from my second semester.

The Great and Small Things I Learned This Semester II

1. I am the slowest paper writer ever. It takes me an hour per page, at least.

2. People will judge me for my eating choices, but “you do you, I do me, we be civil.” (<— quoting my friend Charli)Like when I whip out my jar of pb and bring an overly brown banana to the dining hall

3. This.

[source]

4. So many women and men who are close to you struggle with eating disorders. Be kind and gentle, and make resources known.

5. Anatomy and organic chemistry (as basic as those classes were in the grand scheme of things) taught me that the human body is ridiculously beautiful. God is quite the Architect.

6. That being said, anatomy and chem lab suck the life out of me.

7. How to ask other people to go on {friendly} lunch/dinner dates, as opposed to waiting to be asked.

8. Boston doesn’t play around when it comes to winter (*cough* 109 inches of snow).

9. Sometimes it’s worth hanging out with your friends for just a leeeeetle bit longer before digging into the books.

10. There is always time for prayer.

11. Just when I thought I couldn’t have a better roommate, she proves me wrong.

12. I often need to remind myself to step out of my comfort zone.

13. When finals come around and I need to be the most focused, I don’t want to do ANYTHING AT ALL and then motivating myself to study is like climbing Mt. Everest.

14. A little extra friendliness with the faculty and staff will truly make the campus a better place.

15. A little extra friendliness with anyone will truly make the world a better place.

16. Always check your meal plan balance— you never know when you’ll find an extra $185 of dining points in your account.

17. Music is a big part of my stress relief.

18. I miss dance and yoga.

19. I actually do like bacon.

20. How to be kinder and gentler, thanks to my very kind and gentle friends.

21. I have discovered the fun and motivation of a workout buddy.

22. Boston University food is better than Northeastern University food. Confirmed by the bro.

24. I’ll run, but only when I really feel like it.

25. Rachel and I can live for a week+ together without getting totally annoyed with each other 😉

26. The Boston Marathon energy is unreal and so inspiring!

27. Make sure to check footwear before walking out the door.

28. It’s okay to miss more workouts than usual.

29. I am not as punctual as I thought I was. #whoops

30. I curse more than I used to. #OhSh—Crap

31. How to take myself less seriously.

32. How to constantly strive for improvement with God’s help.

33. I have a family away from home, and it’s still growing!

34. I’m a better person coming out of my freshman year of college, thanks to said family.

35. Bitter goodbyes will just make for the sweetest hellos.

A special thank you goes out to my real family (Madre, Pop, and Ben) for being supportive and loving throughout my whole college experience. I literally could not do this without you!

I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday!

So tell me:

Three things you’ve learned in 2015 so far (or from college this year).

One thing you can continue to improve in yourself.

The Great and Small Things I Learned {College Semester I}

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Beautiful friends of the earth, HELLO!

I’m done with my first semester of college and my mind is blown. I am typing up this post from my cozy home in New York, and I could not be happier to be on winter break for a month(!) spending time with family and friends. I am, however, going to dearly miss my friends from BU!

Finals are over, and I have concluded three things: I still despise statistics, I love psychology, and a good breakfast that involves peanut butter and banana makes any morning of a final exam better.

Post-chemistry-final distress selfie

Mom picked up brother Ben and me from Boston yesterday, and I’m happy to report that our drive home was much swifter than our drive back home for Thanksgiving break. I drove most of the way home, and we were cruisin’ right along. Thank God!

My last Boston meal for the semester was grilled lemongrass chicken with rice and veggies from a delicious Vietnamese takeout place. Hit the spot.

The Great and Small Things I Learned This Semester

Needless to say, college teaches you things. Of course you obtain your book smarts and knowledge of this awesome universe in which we live, but some of the most valuable things are learned by just living life away from home and getting out of that sweet comfort zone. So without further ado, here are some of the great and small things I’m taking away from my first semester at Boston University!

(P.S. I’m typing this list while listening to OneRepublic’s song, I Lived. It’s awesome inspiration music.)

Holding doors for other people and having the door held for you is an easy way to make you smile.
It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have plans on a Friday or Saturday night. In fact, it’s often preferable.
The fruit crisps are the best desserts in the dining halls (a la mode, of course).
The communal bathrooms will get gross, but you live through it.
I still don’t know the names of all the guys on my floor (is that a good thing?).
I have the best roommate!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alison Yeung, PT, DPT (@alison_grooves)
Dorm workouts can make you as sweaty as a gym workout.
But nothing beats an outdoor workout by the river.
And running is oooooookayyyy…I guess. 😉
10 AM classes are ideal. Not too early, not too late.
Always snag bananas from the dining hall. You can never have too many bananas.
“Room keys, ID card, room keys, ID card, room keys, ID card, PHONE!” <— an important thing that needs to run through my mind whenever I leave the room.
It is possible to make best friends in just three months.
I’m the “mom” of the group.
Hugging gets you through the day/week/life.
Statistics is poopy.
So many of my problems in the past were a result of a negative outlook and a “woe is me” attitude. Mentality is incredibly powerful.
You will observe weird people, and you will also be the observed weird person.
I am a messy, klutzy person. Exhibit A // Exhibit B.
Pedestrians RULE Boston. Sorry, drivers.
The dorm walls are thinner than you think. Beware.
How to cook steak…sort of.
You will probably eat more sugar than you should, but life goes on and things will balance.
There will always be cookies. Everywhere.
Lunch and dinner dates are a thing and I kind of love them.
You will end up wasting more time than you wanted, but if you have the drive, you will find the time to get work done.
Sleep is uhhhhhmaaaazinggggg.
You walk so much in college. To go to class, to go to the gym, to get to a study place, to get your food…
The funk in my dorm hallway slowly but surely gets worse every day (it’s honestly only the boys’ side). It was getting to near toxic levels when I left.
Selfies are a way of life (see huge collage under #13).
My blogger friends and readers are so wonderful and supportive.
Speaking of wonderful…It’s good to say words such as wonderful, beautiful, and awesome to people, especially when you genuinely mean it.
Humans are resilient like WHOA. We go through a lot.
This semester has been one of the happiest times in my life.
My faith has grown more this semester than it has in my entire life.

There are at least fifty other things I learned in addition to these, and I’ll probably think of them as soon as I hit publish, but here’s what I have for now!

It’s been so fun. There’s literally nothing I can say or do except to thank God for His abundant blessings. I pray that I can be fruitful with His gifts by spreading joy and service to others.