i dare you!

so, the past week is what's known as dead week, which is the last week before finals. one of the traditions here is what is known as the secret snowflake.

no, it's not a hidden snowflake that we must find. this is something completely different. it's an in-dorm thing where people anonymously send someone a set of three dares which the student must perform, one on consecutive nights from wednesday to friday. most students accept and perform the dares, laugh and move on with life. the only rule is that there are no rules to each dare -- anything goes.

i was the recipient of a set of dares.

1. flag football with a twist

my dormmate and i were each sent three dares, one of them being one to perform together. we were challenged to a game of football against two girls from the floor below us. the game was set as a two-on-two, and the first team to score two touchdowns, wins. oh, and one more thing: all four of us players' uniforms were to consist of lingerie.

Julie and i were "dressed" in black and our opponents in white as we took the field. each team had a coach and there was one referee.

the third floor girls had the ball first and scored.

Julie and i, who comprised the fourth floor team, completed a couple passes then our coach came out and talked about some plays. he mentioned that he had a play to the right, a double screen option as he called it. the only catch is that we needed a left-handed pass. he was a bit surprised when i told him to draw up the play for us. see, i'm left-handed! we lined up, started the play and Julie tossed me the ball. i started to run a little forward and to the right. both defenders came at me. i threw behind me and on the run to my dormmate who caught it and sprinted for the touchdown. there were cheers from the sideline.

our opponents had the ball next. they completed one pass and threw two incompletions. taking two completions to make a first down, they went for it on fourth. i counted aloud ... one cardinal, two cardinal, three cardinal ... and rushed the quarterback. she threw the ball, but it was short and right into Julie's arms. she stopped for a second. i heard our spectators yell, "RUN!" and Julie sprinted down the field and into the end zone for our second touchdown!

we won!

sure, there were a lot of guys watching, but instead of leering at us in our "uniforms," they lined up with hands up. the four of us slapped their hands as we were congratulated on a good game from each of them. we even hung around for a few minutes with a group and chatted for a bit.

2. a little minor fund-raising

on the second night, i was given a dare in which i might make a little money. my objective was to knock on each dormroom door on my floor and ask each person i encountered for a penny.

this seemed a little corny, but kind of cute. so, at about 11 p.m., i proceeded to go from door to door.

i got a lot of laughs ... and i also got 38 cents!

3. a little dip

on the third and final night, 18 of the girls in the dorm were dared the same thing. this dare was a tad more intense and personally challenging. it had nothing to do with any major physical or mental exertion. it was something i had to dig deep to accept. as it turns out, i was one of only four who accepted this dare.

there are fountains all over campus, and one near my dorm. on this night i was to skinny dip into this fountain for exactly 60 seconds. only two caveats were applied to this: the group would shield the fountain in a circle preventing viewing from the outside, and the RA's would police the area to prevent anyone from using their phones to take pictures.

as it turned out, i was the third of the four to go. i came down in my robe with Julie and our RA, Gary, flanking me. i felt like a boxer going into a championship bout!

i watched two other girls take their turns, get out and shiver. my name was then called. i took a deep breath, gave my robe to Julie and entered the fountain. i walked around, splashed a few people (and, i supposed, flashed as well!), and dipped my head under the spout to soak my hair and shoulders. after what seemed like a chilly eternity, the timekeeper called time.

i made my way out of the fountain where Julie wrapped me in my robe and Gary put the towel on my head. ever the sportsman, i stayed as the last girl went her turn (the first two girls had gone inside).

pride

yes, they were some strange dares and i've even heard a couple people criticize the first and third as being immoral and/or inappropriate, but you know something: i'm proud to have participated in this. while there were the aforementioned criticisms, there were many who have commended me (and others) who completed all three dares.

i have made it a point to immerse myself in this culture. i very much don't want to look back and say i wish i'd done that. i can proudly say "hey, it was no big deal, and i'm glad i did it!"

~ Kassandra

thriving

the past month has been that of getting adjusted, thriving and downright enjoying life. a lot of things have happened, so i'm going to touch on the highlights.

first of though, i should probably start off by saying; please disregard the comments in the final section of the previous blog. Adam turned out to be nothing i would want to be around. why 'o why do i seem to attract those types of guys ... well not always, i guess.

family

i've had many, many opportunities to keep in touch with my family back in oregon (not to mention my brother in the bay area).

i try to talk to my parents at least twice a week (usually about three times to each of them), and my siblings one- to two-times a week. we chat via webcam, instant message, e-mail and numerous times on the telephone. this has been wonderful. i believe my family knows how hard it is for me to be separated from them.

i've been able to keep up with all the latest with each of them and have been able to tell them of each and every little thing going on with me.

two trips have been made to my brother and his fiance's apartment in san francisco. if you remember, i have my own room in their three-bedroom apartment. those trips have been a great diversion from campus life; a very nice break as i've used the time primarily to study and complete some papers.

school

i go into every semester with a semester-long plan to study and review on a daily basis. i also make sure that once i am assigned a paper or project that i complete it as soon as possible. this is what i call my study plan. not to sound conceited, but i think it's working very well. i have four mid-term papers completed, and i'm prepared for the other three mid-term exams. mid-terms begin tomorrow and i really feel as if i'm taking advantage of this opportunity.

Julie and i continue to get to know each other and we're getting along very well. we seem to have the same priorities and styles as we approach life here at school. we also share ethical and moral standards which make things so much easier and, therefore, more fun.

i've gotten to know the resident assistants (RAs) pretty well. one in particular, Gary, has been very helpful and supportive. if i must say, i think i'm his favorite resident on the floor. being aware that the males in my family are very athletic and active, he's dubbed himself as my "gay older brother and protector."

football and basketball

i absolutely love the atmosphere here surrounding the cardinal football team. i don't know if this is because it's new to me, because we're doing so well or because of both. i'm guessing both. i've been to two games at the stadium (didn't go to the southern cal game because i had the flu). for the away games, a group of us get together in the dorm's rec room to watch the game. we've had about 30-35 residents in there for both games and it's been a really nice way to get to know people. i've met some very fun friends there. we've got five games left -- two at home and three away. i'll be at the stadium for the home games, and in the rec room for at least two of them. there is talk that we should be able to get tickets to the "big game" against cal at berkeley. i really want to be there!

my hometown portland trail blazers open up their season in just two days from this writing. still with some injuries to a couple of our players, i'm confident in the team we're going to put on the court this season. we have steady veterans, an more-than-solid core group and some very exciting rookies. on paper, we should be very strong. i'm not saying we'll win the championship this season, but it is the year we should be able to take the next step.

personal

i'm really just getting into the social life here. watching football in the rec room has been a lot of fun and there have been a few fun parties. i've met a lot of people.

there is a whole different selection of guys than i've seen before. in a way, that makes me feel like a little school girl. i haven't planned on any relationships, but perhaps the occasional fling might be fun. i had a great night during alumni weekend with a sophomore named Chase. he seems sweet. i may just want to hang out with him again.

i'm going to leave that at that.

~ Kassandra

changes abound

it's been just over a week since my last blog, but life has drastically and expectedly changed for me, in more ways than one.

saying goodbye

on monday the 13th, early in the morning, i said an emotional heart-felt goodbye to my younger brothers and sisters (sans Monika). it's hard to go into, and relate how emotional this was to me. in particular, i did not want to let go of Jessica or Angela during our hugs. finally, i cleared my eyes got into my car, smiled at Monika in the back seat, and followed my parents as we headed toward san francisco.

we made pit stops in roseburg, medford and redding before making it to my brother's apartment by about 6:30 at night. i got to drive Monika down during the first and last legs of the trip, and we had a really great time talking and singing along with some cd's. i also got a chance to talk with my dad (second leg) and mom (third leg). that was a really special time for me. it meant so much to have that one-on-one time with each of them.

we stayed the night at Brian’s, though i couldn't sleep. my mom got up in the middle of the night to find me sipping coco on the deck. i was too excited with anticipation and too deep in thought of the future. my mom joined me for a couple hours. but we didn't speak of what will be. we spoke of what has been. we exchanged stories. stories about a little brown-haired girl asking her mother a million questions about everything; stories about a wide-eyed little girl trying to keep up with her two older brothers; stories about a little girl with a smile so bright as she cuddled next to her father so they could spend time watching sunday football together. it was just what i needed that night. it put a lot into perspective for me. it's just as if, as always, she knew just what i needed.

we arrived just before noon. i checked into my dorm and picked up my parking permit. my dormmate, Julie, arrived about 45 minutes after we did.. it was wonderful to me, like a beginning. on the other hand, it was extremely difficult to say goodbye to my parents and youngest sister. i watched as they drove away and turned the corner, almost expecting them to turn around and realize they forgot to take me with them. of course, i knew better. i really don't know exactly when i stopped waving goodbye.

arriving and beginning school

Julie and i spend most of that day unpacking and getting settling in. we have everything for which we can hope! small fridge (small, mind you, not mini!), microwave, hotplate, tv and … well, anything else two girls might need (except maybe our own bathrooms!). we've connected amazingly well. neither of us seems to worry about the little things.

we toured the campus together, then took an official tour of the campus with our dorm's resident assistants. it was very informative. we also spent part of the day at the beach on saturday (i'm so glad i have my car with me!). we also got tickets to stanford's game against wake forest saturday night. the latter was made even more fun when we clobbered wake! go cardinal.

classes started on the twentieth and my first impression is one of optimism. from what i can tell of the first two days, this atmosphere is catered to my style of learning; reading, listening, reviewing and testing. i can sooo totally do this!

a little something extra

i don't know if extra is the correct word, but i'm going to use it anyway! so thursday we were walking around and decided to sit down outside the quad. Julie kept nudging me and i'm like, “what?” she kept smiling and finally, on the other side of me, i heard this voice. it was asking if we were getting settled, if we were finding out where things were around campus, and if we had our tickets for the football game two days hence.

i turned and smiled. the voice was extremely cute! we started talking and i told him – Adam – that we hadn't planned on going to this particular game because it was only non-conference and didn't count toward our goal to win the pac-10 title, even though we still had to go through oregon, oregon state, usc and arizona to get there.

Adam’s eyes got wide.

he said after hearing my response, he just had to ask me to the game. i said sure (did i mention he's cute?!). he and his friend would take me and Julie to the game under one condition. i had to have lunch with him on friday so we could get to know each other.

we spent most of friday afternoon together and all of us met up for a bagel and went to the the game saturday evening. i had specifically planned not to become involved with someone the first half of this year.

i'm seeing him again thursday night. maybe i'll let you know how it goes!

~ Kassandra