SALE

Major sale at Urban Outfitters going on right now. Look at those savings I just snabbed. Plus enter THINKSPRING for another 20% off, and you've basically got a real deal. Get it while it lasts!

World's top public university...?

UC Berkeley -- nice but not that nice

It's been a while since I've written, to put it mildly. But really, who can blame me, when my spring semester at Berkeley started out like this:

1) I did not find out where I would be living until the THURSDAY before school starts. I had multiple nervous breakdowns, and, in the end, choked up more than necessary amounts of money to secure my single room that is located on a veritable MOUNTAIN. The view is great, but I do not particularly enjoy hiking on a daily basis, with six textbooks in tow.

2) After driving here to move in, I was initially turned away saying they "did not have my key." Hmm how about NO. After multiple phone calls they finally located my key, which had been stuck on the card of someone else with the same last name as me. I then find my door, which has my NAME stuck on it.
3) I did not get into chem, and that is not OK. I was 43rd on the waitlist, but out of 500 available seats, only 240 were enrolled. Which means there were 260 open seats. Which means I should have gotten in. Alas, things are not that simple, and we can't afford to open up more lab sessions. I'm going to go cry now, and shortly thereafter review my dwindling bank account, which is now short $200 of chem books and lab material.

4) Weather. Sucks. Like rain horizontal every day, even worse than Paris. Have only worn one pair of shoes since school started, namely, rainboots. California, hello?

Will post about the good things later.

Roma Roma Maa Ga Ga Ooh La La!

To all the fans of the hit pop star, Lady Gaga, here's a great way you can help Haiti!



On January 24, 2010, Lady Gaga will be performing at her final destination in the US for her Monster Ball Tour. She has also announced that 100% of her proceeds made that day through ticket sales and merchandise sold at the concert will benefit Haiti. Not going to the concert? Well there's a way for you to help too! Just visit www.ladygaga.com and any merchandise purchased there on the 24th will also help the millions of families who are suffering in Haiti. And if that's not enough, there's a new shirt that Lady Gaga has designed just for Haiti and this shirt can be purchased on any day and proceeds will go to Haiti as well. I already got one!



On another note, is this weather legal?! I did NOT sign up for this when I came to San Diego. Yesterday we were issued a tornado warning!! What?! And of course it started POURING right as I left to go take my chemistry midterm. Fabulous. I also happened to think that summer had begun in La Jolla and decided to leave the majority of my winter gear at home and now we have numerous storms. Just great. But on the bright side I do suppose it's better the rain than the ridiculous wildfires that have been spreading through California in the past few years.

Alrighty, I'm off to go eat some yummy sautéed pasta with my friends!

Fashionably Yours,
Nisha

p.s. Song of the Day: One Day - Matisyahu

“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving” ~ Albert Einstein

Thanks to Tenny for such an inspirational and well-said blog post! I immediately donated $20 to the Red Cross :)

Speaking of service, just two days ago my sorority hosted our second annual "Delta Idol" philanthropy to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Our annual philanthropy is a singing competition between various greek organizations and it was a blast this year! It turned out to be a HUGE success and was a sold out show and we raised over $2000!! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us and the children in St. Jude's!!

Because of the show, it's been a CRAZY hectic winter quarter so far but a great quarter nonetheless :)

I went to watch a dance performance tonight for a class and it was really cool. A Brazilian dance group called "Grupo De Rua" performed here at UCSD and the show was SO worth it!! If you ever have a chance to see them check them out! The performance, titled "H3", was designed to explore freedom of movement with others and collisions with their bodies. Eight male dancers fused hip-hop moves with contemporary moves and I thought it was really interesting and different :)




OH and I recently discovered the website www.gojane.com. Not the brightest idea seeing as how they have amazing things on sale for affordable prices, but then I just can't seem to stop ordering. I need to go to shopaholic anonymous or something.

Well that's all I've got for now! Hope you all are enjoying 2010 thus far!!

Love Always,
Nisha

p.s. Song of the Day: Red by Daniel Merriweather

Help is needed in Haiti

It is a new year and new decade! As I defeated myself trying to figure out the correct pronunciation of "2010" -- "twenty-ten" or "two-thousand-ten" -- elsewhere in the world, issues of graver concern emerged. Three days ago, a 7.0 earthquake shook Haiti to its core; it has shaken the entire world too, into action.

I immediately thought of the 2007 earthquake in Szechuan, China, that killed nearly 70,000 people. Well, Haiti is likely in a worse situation: an island nation that was already suffering from extreme poverty, 80% of Haitians have no access to clean water, and 80% are illiterate. The earthquake has only exacerbated an already desperate situation. Thankfully, the global response has been immense and relatively quick. News stations all feature excellent coverage of the disaster response, also broadcasting tear-filled stories of families reunited. There is much hope in trying times.

I have been back home from France for nearly a month now, and I realized how valuable my knowledge of French could be in Haiti. How valuable the tap water you and I let run a little too long every day. How valuable a couple of dollars could be for the Haitians. The earthquake showed the desperation of Haiti to all, but maybe we shouldn't need a natural disaster to remind us of the everyday suffering of some people.

In any case, an easy way to donate $10 to the Haitians through the American Red Cross is to text "HAITI" to 90999. The donation will be charged to your wireless bill.

It's never easy to rebound from a natural disaster, and the earthquake may seem like a devastating start to the shiny New Year. But take this as an opportunity to start the year by reaching out; let service be at the forefront of your resolutions this January; certain things can wait but aid is needed now.