Thanks to some helpful comments, I was inspired to write an entry about my personal housing experiences living both on and off-campus. Prior to my freshman year, I had heard positive rumors and rumblings about a one-year-old dorm called "New House". Without knowing a lot of information about New House (except that the building had a gym), I listed it as my top choice for housing. And good thing I did. My experience in New House was great. I bonded very quickly with my hall-mates in the all-freshman dorm during orientation week and these friends would be the ones I kept throughout my Carnegie Mellon career. I bought a fish named "Billie Jean" with my roommate and enjoyed frequent late-night chats with our RA.  I woke up 20 minutes before my classes began and still made it on time. And I could walk just next door to Morewood Gardens for a meal at the Underground during the Pittsburgh winter.

After my wonderful year in New House I decided to stay in campus housing and move in with my friend Bevin. Since we couldn't stay in New House (the all first-year dorm), we entered the room draw process and ended up choosing a double in Donner Hall for our sophomore year digs. However, shortly thereafter one of our older friends approached us and a few of our other friends with information about openings in an off-campus house. The house was owned by one of our friend's family and was exactly 8 minutes from campus on Neville Street in Oakland. The 3-story "Neville house" offered each of us our own large bedroom, new kitchen, and huge living room (with cable and a pool table!) for cheap. After finally convincing my parents to let me move-in (they were not thrilled about the fact that 2 of our 6 roommates were guys), I geared up to live off-campus. The only thing missing were the MTV cameras in this Real World-esque living sitch. I can very clearly remember how excited we were to buy Ikea beds and paint our rooms. I felt like a real grown-up! And I was still so close to campus I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. I elected to not continue my campus meal plan since we had the new kitchen, and I started making regular trips to Whole Foods and Giant Eagle. Again like with my New House experience, I was very lucky. I had so much fun getting to know my roommates and this was probably my favorite year at Carnegie Mellon. I also now had the added freedom of having a car since our house had room for parking.

In the fall of my junior year I studied abroad, so I moved out of Neville and stored my furniture at my Mom's house. In late November I made plans with a friend who was studying abroad as well to find housing for spring semester back in Pittsburgh. We teamed-up with a 3rd friend from the University of Pittsburgh and found a house in Squirrel Hill. A bit farther from campus, our house was right by the 67F bus stop but on most days we walked the 15 minutes to campus. We were right across the street from a CVS; something we took FULL advantage of. Complete with a piano, I loved this house too and stayed there until I graduated.

I feel that my transition to off-campus housing progressed very naturally - moving first just minutes from campus then a bit farther away. Again, I definitely would have stayed on-campus for another year had fate not intervened, but living off-campus was such a big part of my experience as a student, I would not change anything!

One of my favorite places to hang in Pittsburgh is the city's "South Side" district. First of all, it's where I go to shop. Clustered together at the South Side Works complex is an H&M, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, BCBG and Puma store. Further down East Caron Street you'll find a Goodwill, a designer jeans store and a number of other small and hip boutiques. Although there are several Pittsburgh malls less than a 30 minute drive from campus, shopping on the South Side is better than any mall for miles. And it's extremely close! To get to the South Side, students can take a 10-minute ride on the 54C bus.

And after an exhausting afternoon of shopping, there are dozens of stellar restaurants for relaxing and refueling nearby. Located at the South Side Works is The Cheesecake Factory, an Irish pub, and a Tapaps bar/restaurant. I highly reccommend "Mallorca", the incredible (but pricey) Spanish restaurant right across from the Birmingham bridge. And if you are obsessed with Japanese food like I am, one of Pittsburgh's Hibachi restaurants "Nakama" is also located on East Carson Street.

Oh, and if you're not looking to blow your paycheck from your campus job, there are other cheaper ways to find entertainment on the South Side, too. In addition to the great international cuisine, cafes like the kitschy "Beehive Coffeehouse" can be an excuse to visit the South Side even when you have a paper due. The City Theatre has really original and entertaining shows and there are about a dozen art galleries to browse. Ahh I'm forgetting the live music at Club Cafe where there's usually no cover.

And lastly, for the 21+ year-old upperclassmen, the South Side is without a doubt one of the hot night-life spots for young people (the other most popular locales being Shadyside and the Strip district). Hookah enthusiasts will enjoy the chill vibe at the HKAN, but club rats (a term I use affectionately) may prefer to spend Friday nights at Diesel or Elixir. I could make a list of the numerous bars on the South Side, but suffice it to say there are more than forty of them and there is something for everyone.

For me, the South Side nightlife is a "bonus" where the main attraction is definitely the shopping/dining. And for what it's worth, one of my friends and fellow graduates who is looking to stay in Pittsburgh would most like to live on the South Side. So check out East Carson Street and give yourself all day :)

Read more about the South Side at: http://www.southsidepgh.com/index_new.htm

"Is that real bacon?"

This question might not make much sense in your average cupcake bakery, but Dozen cupcake shop in Squirrel Hill is anything but your average cupcake bakery.

Oh and the answer to the bacon question is "yes". On Wednesday afternoons the "Pancakes & Syrup" cupcake is featured alongside the "Strawberry Chocolate" and "Root Beer Float" flavored ones. With a different menu of adventurous flavors for every day of the week, I have yet to sample all that Dozen's has to offer. Close to campus on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill, Dozen's shop is small but it's popularity will continue to grow. This past semester, a friend and I made a habit of visiting Dozen's weekly to split two cupcakes (it's too difficult to choose just one flavor) with a carton of milk. Since I can't pick a favorite, I have very much enjoyed "Cherry Pop", "Strawberry Lemonade" and "Thai Iced Tea". Dozen cupcake bakers use organic and all-natural ingredients, too :)

To see the menu as well as some delicious cupcake photos, visit http://www.dozencupcakes.com/

So I graduated from Carnegie Mellon this weekend and I'm still smiling about how wonderful the whole experience was! Packed with receptions, parties, and ceremonies, I expected graduation weekend to be fun, but I couldn't have anticipated how sentimental and moved I would become.

Kicking off the celebrations Friday afternoon I attended a reception for graduates from the International Relations program with my roommate and our mothers. I was glad for the opportunity to thank my advisors and professors and to introduce my mom to the people she's heard so much about. I realized this weekend how exciting graduation is, not only for the graduates but really for their families as well. After seeing camera flash after flash shining on proud parents and smiling diploma-bearing children, I realized that graduation has a real "feel-good" spirit and that it was hard for anyone not to smile all weekend.

Saturday morning I attended the H&SS Honors ceremony where students with university and college honors were recognized by the Dean. Later that day some friends and I with our families visited the Regina Gouger Miller Art Gallery in Purnell Center for a jazz reception. There was great food and greater music and the gallery was packed with graduates, parents, children, and umbrellas (sadly, the rainy weather over the weekend was not so "feel-good").

Though many of my friends had their individual department ceremonies during the day Saturday, my Modern Language ceremony was scheduled for 8:30am on Sunday - right before the official commencement ceremony. It is at the department ceremonies where each student is individually recognized and walks on stage to receive his or her diploma and pose for pictures while shaking hands. It was great to hear several of my fellow language majors speak about their personal experiences and give their thanks and words of encouragement. After the ceremony, everyone attended a reception in Skibo Coffee Lounge and said goodbye to their professors one last time!

At 11am on Sunday, the graduates began the procession to Gesling Stadium for Commencement 2008. By a stroke of incredible luck, the rain relented just before the start of the ceremony. After hearing from President Jared Cohon and Mellon College of Science undergrad Betty Mbom, keynote speaker Al Gore addressed the graduates. Vice President Gore spoke of the need for a solution for climate change and of his confidence in Carnegie Mellon students to make positive change in the world. His charming and uplifting speech was followed by words from Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, the author of "Last Lecture". Pausch spoke of his love for Carnegie Mellon and encouraged us to be motivated by passion and not money. Everyone in the audience appeared captivated and the sun seemed brightest at this point in the ceremony.

After my status as a graduate was official, I went to dinner on Mount Washington with my family and reflected on how despite the miserable weather, the weekend was very beautiful.

So this is it! My last week of Finals ever...as an undergrad, that is. Although movies and pop culture have always made finals week out to be some horrific event, I usually don't mind it. Well, mind it too much. I actually enjoy not having class but instead having the whole day to get things accomplished and pace my studying. As a student in the Humanities and Social Sciences college, many of my classes require final papers or projects instead of a cumulative final scheduled on the University's official exam calendar. Carnegie Mellon's finals week runs for one Monday-Friday (with Wednesday as a "reading day") and continues on the next Monday and Tuesday.

This year I had two papers due on Wednesday of finals week and one exam scheduled for this coming Monday. To prepare for this exam for my Chinese Religions class, five or six students and myself organized a study group. We've been meeting every other day during the week reviewing our class notes and discussing the course readings assignments. Study groups like this one definitely take the edge off of preparing for a big exam like this one. Everyone contributes by commenting on a specific part of the reading that they read especially carefully or a point in the lecture that interested them in particular.

For my remaining two classes, one of my professors administered an in-class final during our last week of class and the other professor posted our final grades a week early and let the students decide whether or not they wanted to take the final exam. Since I had a 90.2% average, I decided to skip on that test! Woo!!

As much as I am excited to be done with exams, I still feel like there's a lot to be done to prepare for graduation. Plus, I shouldn't start celebrating the end of finals forever, since there's always grad school...

This past Friday I visited the 709 Penn Gallery in downtown Pittsburgh to see the art exhibit “Celebrations of Life and Death in West Africa” featuring photography by Colter Harper. As it was the last night for the exhibit, there was a small reception in the gallery featuring a live band playing West African music. Colter Harper, the exhibit photographer, played guitar in the band that included local musicians including a bass player and an African drummer from Ghana. The featured instrument in the band was a large wooden xylophone with visible gourds of varying size placed strategically underneath the instrument to produce different tones. The music filled the small, one-room gallery and visitors lined the walls and swayed to the melody. The exhibit featured 18 photos in black & white and three color photos. The majority of the photos were taken in different parts of Ghana including Savelugu and Accra. Two of the photos displayed a shrine located in Osogbo, Nigeria. Funeral sites and funeral celebrations were prominent. However another theme throughout the work was music and the role it played in these celebrations. As I walked around the gallery viewing the photos, I realized the extent to which the live music enhanced the experience. The same type of xylophone the visitors heard during the reception was captured in many of the photos. This gyil or “Lobi funeral xylophone” is usually played in a courtyard where community members can congregate to pay their respects to the deceased. The gyil player or “master” is greeted by all at the funeral and is sometimes joined by dancers, drummers and musicians playing gonjes – one-string violins. Funerals such as the funeral for the chief of Savelugu, captured in photo, are often attended by thousands from around the region. The importance of music at such funerals indicates how the dead are not only mourned, but their lives truly celebrated. This tradition reminded me of the funeral parades common in New Orleans. This type of celebration stresses how ceremonies for the dead need not only include somber words, but positive and uplifting memories. I was really glad I took the bus downtown to catch the exhibit and I'd like to head back to 709 Penn Gallery in the near future..