Northern Exposure

I hope that title got at least a few smiles from my Michigan State gals. After my visit to Irvine, I headed back east (are you understanding my travel pattern yet?) to Michigan State. I had visited MSU in the fall for a recruitment visit so I couldn't wait to be back on the M.A.C.

Little refresher... They were my fourth visit ever so I was incredibly impressed with how patient they were with me as I was just beginning to get a grasp of how this job works. I was under the impression that Michigan was always cold but that was definitely not the case in the beginning of September. We were stashed away in the basement with about a bajillion fans blowing hot air around as the Delta Gamma Chapter members (not to be confused with the Delta Gamma sorority) recruited their butts off upstairs. I'm not kidding when I say the first day I walked to the basement, I felt like I was back in the South it was so hot and humid.

Previous President of MSU KKG

P.I.K.E.S.

Fast forward to this semester and I swear when I got off the plane, it was like the wind had been knocked right out of me. Very much like when I went from San Diego to Syracuse, I again was going from So Cal to East Lansing, Michigan. I don't think this needs any explanation but for the record, 30 degrees is not warm and is definitely not a heat wave.

Fleur de Lis PJ's- how cute is she!?

 If it didn't get so gosh darn cold, I think I would truly up and move to Michigan in a heartbeat. The chapter members I have been able to meet and spend time with are so amazing. They're the type of girls you can walk into a room and they instantly have a conversation with you about the most recent episode of the Bachelor or will invite you to their workout class that afternoon just because they're nice girls. They really know how to make a girl feel welcome- must be a Mid-Western thing :)

Birthday Girl!

 

 

Delta Province Meeting

<3

And what better way to spend my Valentines Day than with the MSU Kappas? I think the doorbell may have rang  about every 30 minutes with flower or card deliveries for the girls. Love was definitely all around and it was sweet how cute parents, boyfriends, and the Greek system in general was when celebrating Valentines Day. Too bad it fell right after the start of Lent... seriously though, such a tease. Or at least a tease for those who gave up sweets- I was not one of them so I was happily eating my single gals treat of froyo :)

Swirl with Reeses

 

When I was there in the Fall, the girls were explaining to me how close they were to the Pi Kappa Alpha Chapter. In fact, it's kind of crazy how many brothers/cousins/uncles/twins are in either Kappa or Pike. Naturally, the bus boys are Pike's too and after learning about the Pike firetruck in the Fall, it was one of my goals to get a picture on the firetruck. Within minutes of me expressing interest, Tyler (one of the Kappa/Pike twins) immediately made a quick phone call to one of his brothers and invited me over to the house to get a picture. Let me just say, this thing is OLD. It rarely ever leaves the garage but from what I can gather, one maybe two of the brothers learns how to drive it and passes it down to another brother and so on every year or two. Unfortunately the insurance had JUST expired (go figure) so I couldn't technically go for a ride on the truck but still, they put the siren on for me and I pretended to drive. It was fun but I think I'll leave the whole sexy Firefighter/firetruck thing to the boys.

I also got my butt kicked during my visit. Not physically but in a Bar Method workout class. I like to think of myself as decently athletic. I've been playing some sort of sport for almost my entire life and I played field hockey throughout college on the club team. Don't let the skirts fool you, field hockey is a tough sport. Bar classes though are unlike anything I have ever done. Writing about it now is making my body hurt... It's a class that combines yoga, pilates, isometric training, stretching, dancing and well (excuse my language but really there's no other way to get this across) it's a class that kicks your ass. Or at least that's how you feel afterwards. The classes are expanding all over so if you can, try one out. You may not be able to walk upstairs for a week but hey, pain is gain sometimes? 

Zot Zot!

My goodness, time has definitely gotten away from me and I owe you several posts both about some fun stories and of course, about the amazing chapters I've met or traveled back to along the way. In the spirit of finals and procrastination for all my friends on the quarter system, I will do my best to post each day to entertain you in the depths of the library :)

SEVERAL weeks ago, I visited the anteaters, otherwise known as UC Irvine. I arrived from snowy and freezing Syracuse very very early in the morning. Let me just say, there is nothing better than getting on a plane in the low 20 degrees and getting off in the 70's. After a quick wardrobe change in the parking lot out of my snow boots and into my ever so chic Target sneaks, I headed to the chapter house to meet the lovely ladies of Zeta Eta.

They were so welcoming and gracious even while I was practically falling asleep while talking with them. Between the past 3 nights of recruitment at Syracuse, not sleeping the night before my flight, and the 3 hour time change, I was quite a zombie. After a much needed and extensive nap, I was ready to hit the ground running again. Plus, I was back in one of favorite states so I had to take advantage of the fun in the sun while I was there!

It was a busy week as we showed the campus how great the chapter was. I even got a picture with their mascot, Peter the Anteater. Did you know anteaters say "Zot Zot"?

Anyways, it wasn't all work while at Irvine. I finally had my first Sprinkles cupcake- red velvet for those of you who are curious, and of course had to check out some really great restaurants/bakeries. Who says you can't have your (cup)cake and eat it too?

Sprinkles!!

Yummm

We also went shopping at this unbelievable (and dangerous) outdoor mall. This whole 50 lb. suitcase limit is getting really hard especially as the semester goes on. No matter how cute the clothes you pack are, you can't help but hate your wardrobe by week 4 or 5. I may have done a little damage at Brandy Melville but hey, they were light layers and sometimes an extra smile at the Airline desk stretches an extra pound on the scale.

I had such a blast getting to know the fantastic Zeta Eta's because they are such wonderful and diverse girls. Truly genuine and smart young ladies, they always seemed to put a smile on my face even just minutes after hanging out with them. If you have the chance, take a trip down to meet them- they're worth it :)

Like any traveling consultant though, some familiar faces are always welcome. During my visit, I was able to see not 1 but 4 of my fellow KKG consultants. Naturally, we indulged in some fun and shared stories and I was lucky enough to spend 2 nights with them. Andrea is the chapter consultant at Chapman where we just colonized a chapter, Brianne is currently the consultant at Irvine, and both Charlotte and Brit travel just like me. We had so much fun and it truly was the best night I could've asked for!

Snapchats with Andrea

Char :)

Alright kiddos, time to work on the bajillion other stories I have for you. Some things to look forward to though:

Spending the weekend with E.Bailey and hearing stories about waffle house weddings, getting to ride the PIKE firetruck at MSU, assisting with the installation of the Eta Rho Chapter at Cal Poly, Chi-town, and St. Patty's day in my beloved Boston with Brit to name a few.

For those of you studying your butts off in the libs or finding anything to do except study, good luck. Spring break is right around the corner!