A Summer with Blake Carbone

Goodbye Summer, Hello College

Honestly, where has the summer gone?  It feels as if it was our first day just a few weeks ago.  This upcoming Tuesday is our last day of the internship and I must admit, although I'm looking forward to the school year beginning, I'm really going to miss walking into our fishbowl every morning and hanging out with Bela, Caitlin, Evan, Josh and Lyndsay.  Not only that, but the counselors often come in and chat with us to see how our weekends went or look at our updated whiteboard entitled, 'Fabulous Silly Moments.'  It displays some of the ridiculous quotes, or should I say blurps, we've accidentally said on tour at the beginning of our internship.  I say beginning because now that the summer has ended we are, of course, tour guide experts!  No, but really, we are.  Ask me anything, do it.
I'm guessing you'd like an example from our whiteboard SO I will give you my favorite one.  So picture this: Caitlin is walking through the Athletic Center and points out the Multi-Purpose room where classes like yoga, spinning, progressive dancing and so on are conducted.  As she's explaining all this she remarks to the prospective student that "you can even take jousting in this room."  Good one Caitlin, I'm sure the horses utilize the space really well, haha.
We've all gotten really close over the summer and I can't wait until Evan and Josh come back from Denmark so we can have an intern reunion.  The picture in the middle is just a little example of what our confrence table has looked like the past ten weeks.  The counselors really know how to put us to work.  Look how busy we've been!

 

We (a majority of the office) all just came back from the Asian Buffet to celebrate the last time the interns will all be together because Evan and Josh are leaving tomorrow to get ready for their flights on Saturday.  Of course they leave when Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are going to be extremely busy.  On Friday we have a Visit Day where we are expecting almost 200 students, yikes!  Sunday night the rest of the tour guides are coming back so we are taking Monday/Tuesday to bring them up to date about things on campus and it gives everyone a chance to get to know one another and talk about their summer.  It should actually be quite fun because the interns get to run a majority of the activities.

Tonight is our last family dinner.  Lyndsay is making us Tree Hugger pizza, well, as long as she doesn't catch anything on fire again.  Afterwards everyone is coming to my house (the Dub) for dessert.  I'm making Apple Crisp with extra crisp; it's only the best part!
So I hate to say it...this is my last blog of the summer, but don't fret just yet...Josh and I will be blogging throughout the school year!  I've really enjoyed being able to share my experiences at St. Lawrence with everyone.  It has not only given me a chance to connect with prospective students but quite a few Alumni as well.  All in all, I couldn't have imagined spending my summer anywhere else.  Carbone out!
Below are just some random pictures from the summer.

 

Picture 1: Adirondack chair.  It rained just about everyday this summer.
Picture 2: We were looking for garage sales one day and came across this large Adirondack chair.
Picture 3: Looking from the townhouses at Gunnison Chapel during a sunset.  How beautiful!

Travelling Abroad with Admissions

This past Wednesday John, Tim M., the other admissions interns and I went to Ottawa, Ontario for a half day.  Only a 45 minute drive, St. Lawrence is actually the closest US university to a foreign capital.
Here we visited Parliament, got caught in quite a few downpours while walking through the market (By Ward Market), walked through the Museum of Civilization and finally sat down to a nice warm meal at an Irish Pub.  I had never been to downtown Ottawa before (I went once my sophomore year to a Senators hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres but never went into the city) and was marveled by its history, culture, and architecture.  Check out John's blog for more!

Tonight is my last night in the townhouses because I move into the WRC tomorrow after work.  I'm really going to miss being able to go back and forth between houses visiting the other interns but most of all I'm really going to miss our family dinners.  Which actually reminds me of the last family dinner we had where it was Bela and Lyndsay's turn to cook and they ended up catching the kitchen partly on fire; flames and everything.  They were trying to make French fries for Poutine (Canadian delicacy) and the pan full of oil ignited.  Everything turned out to be alright even after Lyndsay's failed attempt at putting the top back on by throwing it at the pan.  Poor Bela had to reach around the flame, grab the handle and run the pan outside.  Another thing that Lyndsay recently burned was a coffee pot when we had to work this past Saturday.  Way to go Lynds, you're really tallying it up aren't you?

Last night after dinner Caitlin and I were watching TV when we looked outside during a sun shower and saw this huge rainbow over the townhouses/golf course.  Here take a look...

Taking It Up A Notch

The other day I received an e-mail from my squash coach checking up with everyone to see whether or not we've all begun our training and I'll be honest, I'm out of shape.  Occasionally I'll play squash during my lunch hour with a few of the counselors in Admissions but more often than not, I sleep during my lunch break.  No one ever said working from 9-5 was easy!  Helllooo real world next year!  I usually end up playing with Al, Sara, and B.J. and I must admit they all have given me a run for my money, especially Al because he's not afraid to jump across the court and dive for the ball.

To whip myself back into shape I've been running the trails behind the soccer/intramural fields which is much better than making circles around the track.  The scenery distracts my mind from the torment I put my body through.

Near the trails, we also have the canoe shack that is run by the Outdoor Program.  This past spring my friends and I rented kayaks and made our way down the Little River to the rope swing.  The rope swing is an area where a lot of students have bonfires, grill, and swim (pending good weather of course).  Although the location is on campus, I always feel as if I'm in an untouched environment miles away from civilization.  Below are pictures taken just before you launch your kayak or canoe.  I'm looking forward to paddling in the fall with all the colors the season has to bring.

Oh yooouu knoooww....

At the beginning of the week a few of us went to the Village Diner in Potsdam (10 minutes from Canton) to participate in their Flapjack Pancake Challenge.  If you are able to eat this beast of a pancake you win a t-shirt saying 'I ATE IT ALL!'  Think I did it?  The only way you're going to find the results and the whole story is if you check out Josh Johnson's amazing blog.

So it's 3:10pm on a beautiful Friday afternoon with only an hour and fifty minutes left until THE WEEKEND!  Ever since July 12th we have been working Saturdays and this just so happens to be my first Saturday off. What to do, what to do...?
Well, actually now that you've asked I have decided to treat myself by taking a trip to Montreal so I can see a few friends from school.  Here I will go out to dinner, visit 'Old Montreal' where French can be heard around every corner, possibly play some pick up hockey and of course visit a few dance floors awaiting my American arrival.

Last night we had a send-off bash for my roommate, Chuck who just finished his research project for the summer.  I'm sad because I won't see him until second semester.  Chuck thought it was a brilliant idea to neglect me and travel all the way to Denmark.  I Map Quested it.  It's far!

This picture was taken in the kitchen of our townhouse.  The townhouses are only for seniors. There are 5 people to a house; each with their own single, a bathroom on each floor, and a full kitchen and common area.  See how nice I am, I made midnight breakfast.

Okay, so I guess I'm being a little selfish.  I know he'll have an unbelievable experience traveling abroad meeting interesting people and learning all the different cultures and lifestyles.  I think the biggest regret I have about my time spent here at St. Lawrence is that I didn't take advantage of the abroad opportunities.  In fact, 50% of the student body goes abroad and I am always eager to hear all about the unique travel and academic experiences.

So I like to end my blogs with a random picture taken somewhere around campus.  This picture was taken in the new Johnson Hall of Science of Caitlin Malloy (another Admissions intern) and I.  No one told us it was possible to float in and out of the hallways.  Who knew?