Howard Dean-Newt Gingrich Debate

Last week was the Howard Dean-Newt Gingrich Debate at GW. Unfortunately I had class and didn't have a chance to attend the debate. It was a free event sponsored by the GW Democrats and GW Republicans student groups held at the Lisner Auditorium on campus. The debate was also streamed live on C-Span and I heard it was a really insightful conversation. Topics included healthcare, the economy, national security, immigration and the 2012 election. More information about the event can be found at the GW Hatchet website: http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/02/dean-gingrich-go-head-to-head-in-cd-cr-debate/ - Serena

GW MBA Panel

While I may have mentioned this before, I am the VP of Career Services for GW School of Business' Undergraduate Business Association. One of the iniatives that I am spearheading this Spring Semester is a monthly speaker series where I invite GW alumns to speak about various topics that are of interest to students who are pursuing a career in business. This week I moderated a panel discussion about getting into a top MBA program. 4 full-time MBA students from the GW School of Business served as panelists and we had a great turnout of approximately 20 people. We ended the evening with a bunch of free baked goods from Corner Bakery. -Serena

Opening Night!

Hello, wide world of GDub! Today was opening night of the 5th Annual Musical Cabaret alla FPP here on the Mount Vernon campus in Pelham theatre. After our hectic hell week doing several runs a night, we were all excited to finally get a full audience. We had, as all student theatre shows do, set up a Pre-Sale table outside the Marvin Center, where you can buy a ticket in advance (normally we allot half of the seats to Pre-Sale). While each show usually gets three days of selling pre-sale, we sold out in the first forty five minutes! Unbelievable.

Tonight, at the theatre, instead of waiting on line to get a ticket, we had to give out numbers because there were just too many people trying to get a seat. I had friends getting numbers as high as 85. We oversold completely, selling even the floor space. The house sat around ninety people.

Backstage, we were thrilled for the success. The Cabaret is always a big money maker, because it has a monstrous cast and no royalty fees to pay. And to be honest, there's no experience quite like doing a show with seventy people. I, let it be known, played a hooker in Skid Row from Little Shop of Horrors. Check out the transformation:

Washington, D.C.

Down on Skid Row

Got an hour this weekend? Come down and see the show! If I play a prostitute, you gotta believe it's pretty entertaining. Friday at 7 and 10; Saturday at 6:30 and 8. Be there at least forty five minutes early and get ready to start pushing ;)

See you around campus,
Gina Michele

A Care Package

Today I picked up a care package put together by my one and only mother! Since Freshman year my mom has been putting together odds and ends things and sending them to me randomly during the semester.  (She even sent one to me in Sydney!!)

She packs everything into a Flat-Rate Shipping box from the post office and it is here pretty quickly.  She mailed it out on Saturday, it was at GW on Monday.  I would have picked it up sooner, but package services never sent me an email :(

If you live in a GW residence hall all of your packages go through Student Package Services.  This means you don't have to be around to sign for a package.  They sign for all of them and then contact the students.  There is some processing time, but it isn't as bad as waiting around your room for the mail man.

My favorite installations of this package were the Trader Joe's gift card of course and the Valentine's themed socks!  I also always appreciate the loads of candy she send me, but she is never forgetting about the effects of the candy on my teeth.  So you can see she included a new tooth brush! (It's the little things in life...haha)

What would you want in a college care package??

Don't forget to email me!

Kim

Freshman Recipe Book: MICROWAVE FUDGE

This is going to be the last installment of the Freshman Recipe Book for a while, so I decided why not end with something overly decadent?  

This is real, folks.  You can make fudge in the microwave.  I can't take complete credit for this idea, my aunt actually gave me the recipe.  It's easy and just simply very good.  Plus your hall will forever love you if you break them off a piece of dat FUDGE.

What you will need:

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup (half a stick) butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

¾ cups chopped walnuts, optional

What you probably already have: 8x8 inch pan, aluminum foil, nonstick cooking spray, microwave-safe bowl.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and butter.  Microwave in one-minute increments until melted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir just to ensure all the chocolate is melted, then add the vanilla and salt.  Add walnuts, and stir until the mixture is smooth and well combined.

Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Place the fudge in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours. Once set, cut into 1-inch squares and serve at room temperature. Store excess fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

As I said before, this will be the last Freshman Recipe Book post for a while--I just don't want to become a one-trick pony!  They'll be back eventually, I promise.  But in the meantime, I'll write a post in a few days that compiles all the recipes so that they're easier to find!  You are most certainly welcome.

And as per usual, I will now beg for you to write me emails.  Please?  No really, write me!

ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Quick Catch-Up

My SINCEREST apologies, GDub Blog, for my unexplained absence. It's already been a really chaotic semester! Let me catch you up on life here at GW.

Getting full swing into the semester, we're all starting to feel the pressure of the workload. I've written my first paper, handed in my first assignments, got my first grades back. But stepping back from the academics, GW Theatre has been alive and kicking the past few weeks! Two weekends ago, we had two phenomenal shows open - William Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, a classic farse about separated twins and mixed identifies, and Dolly West's Kitchen, a drama set during WWII-America about the conflicts abroad coming into the home. In addition to the two phenomenal plays, receSs, the resident improv troupe here on campus, had their welcome back show that Friday night. In the community, we always say that when we have a jam-packed weekend like that, that it's a "great weekend for GW theatre." And that it certainly was.

This past week has been devoted to two things: rehearsing/auditions, and snow. With the opening and therefore closing of shows, there comes the rounds of auditions. The two companies whose shows went up two weekends ago held auditions this week for the new round of productions. But for me, I'm already part of Forbidden Planet Production's (one of the resident companies) 5th Annual Musical Cabaret, which is opening this coming weekend. It's a series of 11 individual numbers, with an over 70-person cast! So I've been spending my nights in rehearsals once again, like last semester, and I could not be happier to be back in the schedule of class-homework-rehearsals.

That being said, I'm sure you've heard of the snow incident we had this past week at GW. Living on the Mount Vernon campus, I had my own unique experience. We had a power outage go almost twenty four hours, that left 200,000 people in the DC area without power. But college students know how to handle stress, so we immediately banded together and began playing hide and seek in the basements here in West Hall. The next morning, the Vernites braved the shuttles to get down to Foggy Bottom, going to whatever classes weren't cancelled or, like me and my friends, holing up in Gelman to charge our electronics (a GW student cannot function without their trusty Blackberry/iPhone/Macbook). But don't worry, it was quickly restored; no harm done.

Now, this week, for me, is about Cabaret. It is hell week, so we have long hours of rehearsals down in the West Hall theatre on the Mount Vernon campus. I apologize for disappearing, followers, and I promise to check in more this week about the show, and of course blog about its opening!

Going to be around? Come check out the show!
Thursday, February 3rd @ 8 PM
Friday, February 4th @ 7 and 10
Saturday, February 5th @ 6:30 and 8

Only $5! Be sure to get here early - it looks like it'll be a full house. Or get your pre-sales outside the Marvin Center to assure yourself a seat.

Alright, enough shameless advertising. ;)

See you around campus,
Gina Michele

Roommate ‘Bucket List’

Since it is already 2nd semester and while at times it will feel as though it lasts forever, it is only a few months, my roommates and I decided to make a ‘bucket list’ for our time together as roommates (even though we all loved living with each other, we are not living together next year). Last semester, we were all so busy (especially me because volleyball was in season) that we did not really spend a great deal of time together outside of the walls of our room. As a result, we decided to change that this semester. This is not a final list, but instead an ever growing list. Here is what we have so far:

1. Spy museum
2. Crime and punishment museum
3. Monument walks
4. Baseball games (Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies play the Nationals in April)
5. Cherry blossom festival
6. Roommate dinner once month (go out)
7. DC walks
8. Sunday brunch once a month
9. 6 flags
10. Finish all 5 seasons of criminal minds (already at the end of the 4th)
11. Awkward roomie photo
12. Watch every movie we have
13. See ‘The Roommate’
14. See ‘Scream 4’
15. Grocery store trips
16. Take more pictures

Does anyone have any suggestions for our list?

-Christie

My Sunday Night

Almost every week I get off of campus and head up to Adam's Morgan.  The neighborhood is what you would call the "hipster" part of town.  There is a falafel, fast food place, coffee shops, hemp stores, and plenty of bars/clubs in between.  You may ask why I choose to go here on a Sunday rather than a Friday/Saturday....

TRIVIA!!  Every Sunday at 8pm my boyfriend, a few of his friends, and I stake our claim at Bedrock Billiards as team Awesome Sauce!  In fact we have won every week in 2011 so far, we are on a roll!  Now there are plenty of places that play trivia in the District.  Tonic, a restaurant right on campus, has trivia Monday nights.  Marshall's, about a 10 minute walk, is Wednesday.  However, Bedrock has the best!  Here's the set up...

There are 5 rounds.  All have different categories.  For example, recent rounds have been sports, food, Pee Wee Herman, local politics, company beginnings...I think you get the picture.  Generally 3 are just spoken questions.  The host asks the question, the team writes the answer, simple enough.  But then there are the other 2 rounds.  One is the visual round.  A sheet of paper is given to every team with pictures on it and you have to write a specific piece of information.  Past categories have been famous dogs, logos, mascots, famous noses (this was by far the hardest one I have seen), and metro maps.  The last type of round, which is usually the hardest, is the music round.  The hosts play a clip of a song and you usually have to give the name, artist, and sometimes year.  These rounds have included songs with the word "last" in the title, animal bands, rock ballads, and sampled songs.

The winner of the night gets $50 off their tab for the night!  It is a great way to take a break from a day full of work and learn a bunch of miscellaneous knowledge!

To my fellow bloggers: what are your weekly traditions??

Remember if you have any questions EMAIL ME!

Until next time,
Kim

NY Times' "The Minimalist"

If you're planning on coming or already attend GW, you need to start reading a good newspaper source. It can be the Washington Post, NY Times, BBC online, etc- as long as you get some headlines daily, you'll be able to chat up a storm with classmates.


I love to read the NY Times and it's the homepage on my computer. The one thing that always catches my eye though is the food columns :) I have one in specific I tend to gravitate towards- Mark Bittman's "The Minimalist." Usually he has videos along with a description of the food, making it easy for you to watch and play along.


Mark's motto is: "I am striving to make cooking accessible, and battling the ascendance of “convenient” processed food and a general decline in quality." I completely agree with his statements and always find his food accessible. My favorite recipes of his include:

• Crustless quiche if you're just hungry for some savory filling
• Sorbet without needing an ice cream maker!
• The easy, made from scratch, pancake
• And many more!!!

I also recommend his article- "So Your Kitchen Is Tiny. So What?" Sounds right to me :) “All you have to do to cook is want to do it. The kitchen is never the problem.”

- Marisa

Freshman Recipe Book: Baked Apple(s)

Here's another yummy dessert recipe, but this one's for when you feel like being a bit healthier.  It's also slightly easier to make!  If you're not familiar with my ongoing series, Freshman Recipe Book, click on my picture below to find all my posts!  For now, here's my take on a classic fall comfort, the Baked Apple.  




What you will need:


1 apple

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon butter

Chopped walnuts, optional

Raisins, optional

What you probably already have: a microwave-safe plate

Partially core the apples in a way that leaves the bottom intact, while still getting the seeds and junk out.  Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and spoon the sugar mixture into the cored apple.  Set a teaspoon (or more to your taste) of butter on top of the apple. Place the apple in your microwaveable bowl, and cover.  Microwave for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, or until tender. Let the apples sit for a couple minutes before serving, and scatter with chopped nuts and raisins.  If you're feeling a little more indulgent, roll the apple in some cinnamon and sugar before microwaving it, or sprinkle some extra sugar over top!

Like it?  I thought so.  Check back for plenty more recipes!  I've got millions and zillions up my sleeve.  And email me so I know these aren't useless.  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

~~~Shireen