The Ten Point Curve

A weekly look inside college living and college life.

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Is this thing on?

Now, I’m going to be real with you guys, I’m writing this while in class, because I’ve found that if you look like you’re taking notes and are paying more attention than the guy next to you that is halfway asleep, then you can get away with a lot of things.

I known I’ve been MIA for a month and for that I am so very, very sorry. I’ve been having a hard time getting my bearings for the entire year, and the month after Spring Break was the hardest re-adjustment. Therefore the whole taking the leap from high school to college is the topic of this post and my subsequent return to blogging.

In my case and in many others, moving from high school to college wasn’t necessarily scary, but full of anxiety. Yeah, there was some nervousness, but, and I promise you’ll feel this to, there’s some sort of adrenaline at the beginning of the year. There’s so much going on, and there are so many opportunities out there, that you’re going to get dizzy with the possibilities, that is s if you’re open to the idea of meeting new people and doing new things. If you just want to go to class and go home every day, not willing try anything, then you’re going to get really bored really fast.

So, “Rebecca’s Life Lesson #1” (I’ll make that it a trademark one of these days) is to put yourself out there. Go forth and do. My first two months here, I met more people through meetings and organizations than I currently know. Did I keep in touch with them? No. Did I stay with those organizations? No. I may not have fit with some of the organization, but because I “tried them on for size” I was more willing to meet people and find the organizations I meshed with the most.

Now that brings me to Life Lesson #2: don’t overwhelm yourself. I was the type that tried to do everything and then some in high school, and I’ve found that that method of living doesn’t mesh well in college. By all means go out and make memories and learn who you are, but don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. Remember that you’re here to get an education and that should be your biggest priority.

And that leaves me with Life Lesson #3: take it from me, and stick with your commitments. Whether it’s making a study session you planned with classmates or posting to a blog on a regular basis, learn to keep your promises. It’ll save you from a world of trouble down the road.

And that’s it for this week.

Because we’re down to the wire with only a couple weeks left, I’m going to start doing two posts a week, one cooking and one learning/Life Lesson one.

Next up – Pizza or Quesadilla? 

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I wrote this about a week ago for the paper, and thought some of you guys might be interested. Hope this can help some of you incoming students!

(Thanks to my friends Jade, Adrianna, and Lorenzo for helping me brainstorm.)

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Is it possible that you post more things about the dorms and maybe daily stuff you do? Like what it's like at the RR cafe and such. Nothing too personal, of course, if that's uncomfortable for you. I think the blog can become a useful guide to incoming freshmen and high school seniors to get a glimpse at UTSA and college life.

Never fear dear reader, I haven't forgotten you! I've talked to the powers that be (a.k.a. my editor) and they think that would be a cool thing to try! I have to warn you though, some of the daily stuff I do has turned into a bit of a routine, but I'll try my best to keep it from sounding too boring.

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Something I've noticed: A Rose by Any Other Name – What is Art on Campus?

If you live in the dorms, whether that’s Chap, Chisholm, Laurel, or even University Oaks, you have to make a bit of a trek to class and back depending on your schedule.

Last semester, I walked different paths to and from my dorm just to be able to say I had walked them all. The path I take now travels along the San Saba dorms. If you’ve walked the path, you probably have seen the hidden corner for the AC unit of the dorms and the storage area of construction supplies, but what is intriguing is the open space behind the AC. A person – man or woman, I don’t think we will ever know – started drawing on the walls with chalk last semester. Some of the drawings were curse words and just scribbles, but most of them were playful and quirky – one time they even played a game of Hangman. Though this mysterious artist hasn’t done any more this semester (probably due to the weather), the imaginative characters have stuck with me.

If you try to do anything like this on campus, for any sort of event or organization, you’ll get in trouble and be forced to clean it up and possibly pay a fine, since it is against school rules. Now I get the principles behind it – the cleanup that you and/or your organization may not provide is tedious for the people that work for the UC, and what happens if people start tagging buildings with vulgar words and images? But there is something to be said about what this says to students.

We have the statues in front of the UC and the MS that aren’t, shall we say, very popular among the student body, the eclectic posters that line the meeting rooms, and the minimalist paintings that are found in the most random of corners. When you walk the campus, and come across any of these pieces, you’ll find yourself confused. If this art is meant to identify with the students, than what image is that portraying? Are we outdated or out of place? Or are we just lost?

If anything, I identify with the special “designated” areas for art and the undesignated chalk drawings next to San Saba that so many others must also walk by.

- See more at: http://www.paisano-online.com/a-rose-by-any-other-name-what-is-art-on-campus/#sthash.GaLJneB4.dpuf

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Break out the sugar and mugs! Let's try this baking thing!

I have seen the concept of cooking and baking in a mug everywhere, from Pinterest to Twitter, but I was never able or courageous enough to try it.

Fast forward to this year, wherein I’ve come to two realizations: one, sometimes I don’t want to change out of pajamas or sweats to head to the Roadrunner café; and two, if I don’t want to even put on suitable pants, I really don’t want to get out all of the things needed to actually cook something. This leads to me eating a lot of microwavable soups and meals.

So here’s where the mugs come in. Why not finally try and prepare a meal in a mug, because college=new experiences, right?

For this experiment, I decided to try three basic recipes: 1) macaroni and cheese, 2) French toast, and 3) cake (more specifically Nutella cake).

First up, mac’ and cheese from this online recipe.

The concept seems simple enough; “boil” the noodles, then add cheese and milk. Easy.

But wow was I wrong.

I got this weird ball of cheese that looks way too similar to a wad of chewed up gum.

Tasting it wasn’t too great either. The cheese lost its flavor and the noodles were chewy.

My roommate, Jimie Glee, thought that Velveeta cheese or a product like it, might work better, and my other roommate, Alex, suggested that maybe using less water would work.

It’s safe to say that for now I’ll leave the science of microwavable macaroni to Kraft and to their pre-packaged ones with powder cheese.

Leaving that mess behind, onto the French toast adapted from this online recipe.

Now I’m going to be real, I’m not very fond of French toast. I’m more of a pancakes kind of girl, but I can appreciate the taste, and don’t mind it from time to time.

Again the prep was pretty basic: cut the break, make a mixture of egg and cinnamon, and pour over the bread.

My one main concern was that the egg would collect at the bottom and not cook throughout the bread cubes. And I was right. I tried spreading the egg throughout by adding a few bread cubes, pouring some egg mixture, adding a few more cubes, pouring some more egg, and so on, but that didn’t help.

The pieces at the top were decent when syrup was added, but where the eggs gathered at the bottom was just too unappealing. Jimie Glee, suggested that maybe using a flat bowl where the egg would be able to properly soak the bread in a broader range would best.

And last but not least, the Nutella Cake from this online recipe.

At this point, I had very low expectations. The mac was a bust, the French toast was okay, so I didn’t expect the cake to come out much better.

This recipe called for the most ingredients, but I figured that the Nutella – a love of most students – would make it worthwhile.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that the cake would rise because, hello, I did use self-rising flour, but when it was “baking” I pulled it out when it started to rise, what I considered to be, too much.

The cake ended up being really good. I would totally make this again, maybe using half or even a quarter of the recipe, because the whole recipe was almost too much for my three roommates and myself. I also suggest cooking it a bit longer as the very bottom didn’t quite cook completely, and whether or not it was batter or some of the Nutella sinking to bottom, I will have to try the recipe again and see.

Side thoughts:

All of these recipes were written about in a positive way, so I really wonder what I did wrong. It might be the microwaves, or maybe the brands used or it might just be a toss-up that these recipes – and others like it – will work for anyone.

Buying all of these ingredients did cost upwards of $30 but it would be worth it if the recipes could be utilized and multiple meals can be made from the simple ingredients.

A special thanks to my roommates, Jimie Glee, Andrea, and Alex for not only helping me make the dishes, but also being my taste-tester, and my friend Adrianna for helping me find recipes.

Next up: Who determines what is defined as art on campus?

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Introductions are in order!

First off, hello! My name is Rebecca Conejo and I’m a freshman at UTSA. I’m an English and political science double major - though the poli-sci aspect is subject to change - and between going to school, I juggle a part-time job as a student assistant at the University Center here on campus and I’m a staff writer for the student newspaper, The Paisano.

The premise of this blog is to explore the college experience through dorm living and the everyday occurrences for a college student. Every other week I plan to find out what exactly can be cooked or baked in a dorm kitchenette like the ones found in our on campus dorms, Chaparral or Laurel Village. In between the weeks when I am not making a mess of my countertop, I hope to closely look at what it means to be a student and what it means to take part in college life.

Now at this point, you are probably wondering why the name, “The Ten Point Curve?” Basically, if the different chapters of our life were a test - one that you did not cram for the night before - then our learning experiences are like a curve, wherein we have some “wiggle” room to go back and review the more important aspects of ourselves and try again next time. So college and the time we spend here, is like a trial run for what is to come afterwards. College is the ten-point curve on life, and I plan to take full advantage of it.

On a final note for today, to the people that I hope are reading this, who are y’all? Are you fellow freshman, or have you been around the metaphorical block a few times over your years here at UTSA? What do you like to do? Or care to share any memorable experiences you’ve had? And most importantly, what would you guys want to see on this blog?

Let’s talk!

Next up: What can you exactly make in a mug?