Bell Tower Climb

Today was the day of the senior Bell Tower climb, a tradition for soon-to-be Carolina graduates in the last few weeks of school. The Bell Tower is one of the historic landmarks on campus, most importantly relied on by hurried students trying to make it to class just in time. The bells chime in fifteen minute increments, with songs randomly played throughout the day. One of the first things I noticed when I came to UNC was the fact that the chime is exactly the same as the wall clock at home on the Outer Banks, so instantly I felt comforted by this hometown reminder. On certain occasions, the clock will glow different colors: pink on Valentine's Day, blue on game nights, orange (with a Jack-O-Lantern face in the middle) during Halloween, and the songs change according to the events on campus as well. On the night we beat Duke this year, the Bell Tower chimed our fight song and alma mater for at least an hour.

So, needless to say, being able to climb the Bell Tower was such an exciting event. Knowing the line was bound to be incredibly long, I got there at 8:45am (the climb started at 9:00am) with the Daily Tarheel newspaper in one hand and breakfast in the other. There were about 75 people in line waiting when I got there (less than I expected), so I wasn't worried about having to wait too long. The day was absolutely beautiful, though, so I would have sat out there all day if I needed to. At 9:00am they started lining us up and I made friends with the people around me as we waited in line (big surprise!)

At 10:00 (yes, an hour and fifteen minutes later), we were finally at the steps of the tower! It reminded me so much of climbing the lighthouses at home, with the spiral staircases and wrought iron railings. I found one of my friends from high school (the guy in the middle) and we decided to climb up together. They gave us a liability waver to sign before going in, stating that the six-story climb could be "physically taxing" and cause "shortness of breath and exhaustion". Whoever wrote that liability waver must not have lived on south campus their freshman year, because I would be willing to bet that the almost 2-mile walk to campus each morning was much more physically taxing than a six-story climb!

We climbed to the first balcony and looked out on the campus (and the growing line we had once been standing in!) Inside, there were wooden signs with members of the Order of the Bell Tower dating back to the 1950s and music sheets of the songs the bell tower plays. Also, on the opposite wall of the one shown here, there was a really long panoramic view of campus from the very top balcony (one which we wouldn't be able to climb up to). There were three different levels to stop on after the balcony, each boasting brick walls packed with the signatures of students who have since graduated and moved on to the real world and little square windows looking out on the campus.

I found a brick on the last staircase to write my name and year (the first photo of this blog) and then decided that, since Tyler never got to leave his legacy as a senior in the Bell Tower, I'd include him in the claim to fame. I also found one more little brick to represent those of us on the coast...

We reluctantly climbed back down, taking pictures all the way, and were handed "I'm a Senior..who the Heel are you?!" stickers to proudly wear around campus.

I was surprised at how sentimental I felt at having the opportunity to leave my mark on this campus, especially since it has definitely left its mark on me in the last four years. There's just something about being part of such a large community of people who are all bonded by their experiences here that leaves me humbled, educated, and grateful for the things I've been so fortunate to partake in and the incredible people I've met here. There's an excitement in knowing that, at any point in the day, I can walk to the Pit and watch student groups perform, contests being hosted, or tour groups being directed through. Or that I can walk in the hallway of my dorm and have a conversation with 28 completely different people from completely different backgrounds with completely different outlooks on life. Or that I can pick up the school newspaper every day and expect to find articles about my peers doing amazing things with their lives. Or that I can forever say I am a Tarheel, that I am part of the student body that has built UNC into one of the most prestigious institutions in the country.

Senior year has been so full of reflections on who I am now in comparison to who I was when I came to UNC, but it's also full of anticipation for the future. I can't wait to start pharmacy school or to go back home to the Outer Banks--a place that will always be home, no matter where I am. I am thankful for the experiences I've had here, but I'm even more thankful for the ones to come.

Happy Tuesday!

Nicole

Olde Dirty Bash 2011

Spring is officially here in Chapel Hill and the weather has been beautiful (with the exception of the random spurt of tornados that whirled through the area this past weekend). One of the springtime traditions here in Olde Campus Lower Quad, the housing community in which I have lived and been an RA for three years, is called Olde Dirty Bash. Started as a tribute to rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004, it has escalated into a community-wide cook out each year, complete with live music, grilling, inflatable jousting and slides, snacks, free community t-shirts, and volleyball. This year, we had residents provide the music and were serenaded by an all-boy band named the Screaming Crayons, an acapella group entitled the Tarpeggios, and a few other duos and trios.

Dominos sponsored free pizza, and OCLQ resident advisors manned the grill, where we prepared turkey burgers, veggie burgers, beef burgers (for those who haven't been brainwashed by Chapel Hill's organic/healthy eating habits. I, admittedly, am one of them) and hot dogs. We also had an assortment of dining hall cookies, bags of chips, a variety of Pepsi products, cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones and candy. (I say WE grilled these things as if I were actually involved in the cooking process. For the safety of all residents eating and for the safety of those cooking, I was placed far from the grill, handing out t-shirts instead.) Since this event was advertised throughout campus, the line for food extended for what seemed like miles and managed to never get any shorter throughout the night. The inflatables proved to be the most popular of all events though, and after participating in jousting and an obstacle course, I can definitely see why.

Later in the night, one of the most exciting things to happen in my career at UNC occurred and I could finally cross it off my senior bucket list: I got a picture with not one, but TWO Carolina basketball players! Knowing there was free food available, John Henson and Kendall Marshall made their way over to OCLQ to partake in jousting and the slide. If you've never seen a 6'10" college guy joust (and dominate) another 6'3" college guy (which I am assuming the majority of people have not), it is undeniably priceless. Below are two photos that I will treasure for the rest of my life:

The first picture was taken by John Henson, and if you look down at the table behind us, you can catch a glimpse of the view from almost 7 feet off the ground. In the second picture, I tried to stand on my tippy toes to at least compare in height to Henson. Before the picture was taken, he pressed my head down, pushing my feet back on the ground and said, "Nah, it's funnier this way."

Like I mentioned, I was assigned to work the t-shirt station. We had a community roster with everyone's name on it, and they had to show their student ID in order to receive their t-shirt to prevent migratory students from south campus from getting their hands on our shirts. (Free shirts are almost as popular as free food on a college campus) Due to the overly-strict (in my opinion) rules on shirt distribution, one would assume that Henson and Marshall were not eligible for a shirt, being that they don't live in OCLQ. I made the executive decision to give them each one in exchange for the above photos. They were more than happy to oblige.

This week is SENIOR WEEK, filled with exciting events just for UNC seniors. Be on the lookout for a blog post with pictures from the Bell Tower climb and Senior Send-Off!

Happy Spring!

Nicole

Baseball Hats and High Heels

Angela's senior prom was this past weekend! Between her excitement about prom and my excitement about being home, Mom could barely stand all the energy we were terrible at containing.

When I got home on Friday (and before Mom and Dad had come home from work), Angela and I, both fascinated by the fact that we are GRADUATING at the same time, decided to partake in a little graduation photoshoot. (Photo credit to Christopher!) Mom laughed when she came home from the grocery store and found us both in our graduation gowns.

Before the prom preparations could ensue, we went to the baseball field to cheer Christopher on for his fifth little league game! He played catcher and I was so impressed at how much his skills have improved since joining the middle school team. It was like watching a major leaguer out there as the Oakland A's (coached by none other than Jimmy Watts) quickly took the lead. Angela and I tried hard to embarrass Christopher from the sideline with whistles and shouts, but he completely tuned us out and stayed focused on the game. When I asked him to smile for the camera as he was getting ready to bat, this is the expression I got:

...So I choose a more behind-the-scenes approach.

We even convinced Tyler to come out to the field, even though baseball isn't really his thing.

Though the Athletics were winning up to the last inning, the Rangers came back and tied the game. The umpire called time and everyone thought the game was over, but it turned out that they still had time left to play another inning, so the Athletics were up to bat with the score tied at 10. Dad was an absolute nervous wreck.

The first few batters for the Athletics hit the ball one after the other, stealing bases and scoring runs. The score continued to climb as we went through our entire batting line-up, with almost every team member getting on base! Once the Athletics had three outs, the score was an unbelievable 10-21, and the Rangers were unable to catch back up. The Athletics celebrated their win and went home with huge smiles on their faces.

After the game, it was time to get ready for the pre-prom party at our house. Mom set out snacks and refreshments and then Angela, Mom and I went upstairs to start getting her makeup and hair done as family began to arrive. Mom got started on her make up as I scrambled around the room taking pictures, alternating between visiting family and friends downstairs and helping Mom and Angela upstairs. Angela was patient with all my picture-taking, though at times I'm sure she was irritated with my uncontrollable enthusiasm. Here are some of the pictures I got from upstairs:

I got some really cute pictures of her date (and boyfriend of over a year) getting ready too!

Then, it was time for Angela to make her grand appearance to the 24 anxious people waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Getting ready for prom in Mom's room and then coming down the staircase has been a prom tradition in our home (and I like to think it's one of the reasons Dad spent so much time perfecting the staircase when he was building our house!) and I couldn't wait to get pictures of Angela coming down the stairs. In typical Angela style, however, she was down the stairs faster than my camera could focus, but I got her to stop at the bottom for a picture.

She looked absolutely stunning. She was breathtaking. I've never seen her look so happy. Everyone "ooh"ed and "aww"ed while she showed off her dress. She (aka Dad) put on Tyler's (her boyfriend is named Tyler too!) boutonniere and he put her corsage on her wrist, and then the pictures began.

Although Angela and I may look alike (or so we've been told), you would be hard-pressed to find sisters more different than we are. Prom was a perfect example of those differences. I went to prom in a classic gold Thunderbird convertible, Angela loved her pick-up truck chariot. I wanted every picture to look perfect, Angela found Tyler's trucker hat and insisted on taking pictures, her style...

(I would never admit it to her, but these are my favorite pictures of the whole night!)

After an amazing weekend at home, I was broken-hearted to have to leave for school again. I told the family goodbye and pulled out of the driveway on Monday morning, expecting to be in Chapel Hill in four long hours.

That didn't happen.

For those of you who don't know, I am every car's worst nightmare. I was given a beautiful white Jeep Grand Cherokee Larado for Christmas right before my 16th birthday. Unbeknownst to that poor vehicle, it would soon be destined for more visits to mechanics than I can count, and now it sits at home, unused and banished to the back of the driveway.

First came the shakes. In high school, I would constantly tell Dad that the car shook and decreased speed on its own randomly. Coincidentally, this only happened when I drove it. Eventually we replaced the fuel pump. Then the oxygen sensor. Then the alternator. Finally the shakes stopped and I continued driving the doomed Jeep.

Second came the engine. I thought Dad was just kidding when he told me to check the oil before coming home from Chapel Hill my freshman year of college. Turns out oil is an important part of a car's maintenance. I found this out when three friends and I were stranded on the side of the road in Knightdale, NC with three pistons blown through the engine. Dad was less than thrilled when we arrived three hours later in a tow truck. From Raleigh. The engine was replaced.

Next, the muffler fell off. Then, I went through a spell of locking all three sets of keys in my car. Multiple times. Then the car got broken into in Chapel Hill. Next, the engine started cutting off when I hit the brakes. We changed the PCM board, battery, crank sensor, ignition coil, and the car is still struggling.

Now I have Dad's Jeep. That car has run perfectly since the day Dad bought it. In the four months I've had it, I've gotten a flat tire, run the brake pads down to the rotors and overheated the engine. So you can imagine how tolerant Dad was when I called him from the side of the road in Rocky Mount with this:

That would be the front passenger tire. I had to call the Rocky Mount Police Department for assistance, and while waiting for them, a really nice man helped me change the tire. Because Jeeps come with a smaller spare tire, the officer was nervous about me driving all the way to Chapel Hill on it. He escorted me to the nearest tire shop where I got it replaced. Just another car mishap!

Hope you enjoyed the update!

Nicole

A Field Trip to the Durham Museum of Life and Science

Aadit is on Spring break this week, so we decided to take a few field trips to spend time together outside of the monotony of schoolwork that we've become so accustom to this semester. Today's field trip destination: The Museum of Life and Science in Durham. Aadit, being the animal expert that he is, has a membership to said museum and was so excited to show me around. So after a quick lunch, we were on the way.

Aadit already has me all figured out--he knew I'd want to take pictures of our day so he explained all the opportunities for great pictures we'd have throughout the museum, and this picture was an Aadit original and our first stop.

Our first exhibit was the Farm Animals exhibit, where Aadit laughed at my disapproval of the smell. His favorite animals in this part were the sheep and cow.
Next we walked through the butterfly conservatory and Aadit jumped back every time a butterfly floated by too close for comfort. Then, I reluctantly followed him through the insect exhibit and he laughed as I screamed at each creepy, crawling beetle, cockroach, and spider in the (too thin, in my opinion) glass cages. This is when Aadit decided he wanted to take the rest of the animal pictures, and he filled my camera with pictures of bugs for me to "always remember". (He is quite sarcastic for a 9-year-old) For the mental health of everyone reading this (and myself), those bug pictures will not be posted. He did, however, capture a great frog image that he said looks like they are in their natural habitat.Aadit practically dragged me to the next exhibit--his favorite in the entire museum: Explore the Wild. He was so excited about seeing the American Black Bear that he skipped in front of me the entire way, though I was able to get him to stop for one picture together before venturing on.

He slung my camera around his neck and took pictures of the bears for the next 45 minutes, playing with and laughing at the zoom feature and trying to capture each movement of the five bears we saw. Although I loved watching this little photographer at work, he continually turned around every few pictures and said, "Now I will take just a few more."

Of all the pictures he took, his favorite was one in which he called "the crazy zoom picture," where only the bear's fur is visible. He laughed about that picture the entire day. After seeing the bears, we walked down to the wolf and lemur exhibit, though it was too chilly for either species to be out and about. With one more visit to the bears, and after waving to the cameras which allowed visitors to zoom in on the bears in the exhibit (one of my silly ideas he thought was so funny), we were on our way home.

Next up this week is a bike ride through their community park and trip to the UNC Morehead Planetarium! I'll keep you posted!

Happy Monday,

Nicole