Accepted to SMU

Today I got a huge red envelope from SMU with the wonderful news that I had gotten into the school.


Before I go any further let me give you this disclaimer: I get extremely angry when people proclaim what colleges they got into on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I think it is blatant bragging and it really pisses me off so I have vowed that I am not going to do it. That said I want to gloat somewhere on the internet so I am sorry if anyone reading this is getting upset.


Now onto the good news. The second I tore open the envelope I was relived and excited. I AM GOING TO COLLEGE! It really hit me that I would be leaving San Diego in less than a year. The best news came in a small white card wrapped in a blue ribbon. The letter informed me that I had received a $60,000 scholarship. I had expected to get some money but $15,000 a year in front of my face blew my mind.


All of my hard work in High school has paid of both figuratively and literally. I am proud of this acceptance letter and scholarship even though it is not one of my top schools. Thanks for putting up with my bragging.


If anyone reading this is an alumni or is attending SMU let me know what you think about the school!

Put This On

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the blog Put This On and it enthralled me. I spent easily an hour reading about men's fashion. It never occurred to me that fashion could be so interesting but it was. I didn't agree with every thing that he wrote but most of it rang true. How we dress is the way we present ourselves to the world. First impressions are a big deal and our clothes play a huge role in what people think of us.

Every time I spend more than 30 minutes at a time on the site I have to remind myself that fashion is just a shred of a complete person so I go read a book to be well rounded.

Here is the site:

http://putthison.com/

How to climb Half Dome

A friend recently asked me for advice on climbing Half Dome. Here are some of my tips if anyone out there is considering the strenuous hike.

ALISON!

You guys will kill it.

Here are some things you need (I am assuming you are doing it all in one day)

-camelbacks

-*water filter*

-first aide kit

-lots of snacks (don't even really need a full meal)

-*gloves for the cables (try to get wool ones with rubber on the hands and fingers at ACE hardware)* 

-flashlights

Leave as early in the morning as you can because you will get farther without heat. Also there will be less people on the cables the earlier you go. We left at 3 in the morning the second time and it was awesome.

Once you get to the top of Nevada falls there are no water sources other than the river. You need to fill up every chance you get and have back up water because the trail leaves the river after a while and there is no water for about 4 miles. 

Difficulty wise the hike isn't that bad. Its super steep until you get to the top of Nevada falls then it is pretty flat until you get to the actual dome. 

Right before the cables there is a 'bump' that is steep and super tiring that takes about 30 min once you get to the top of that all you have left is the cables.

For me the cables were some scary motherfuckers but I just looked at the step in front of me and took it one at a time. If you aren't scared of heights they aren't too bad. Coming down I went backwards which was the most comfortable for me but you will figure out what you want to do. The sketchiest part is when people have to pass you going up or down. 

I don't even remember how long it takes on the cables because you are so focused on just getting to the top.

Once you make it it is the best feeling ever!!!