Merry Christmas (From Tanner)

Well, my faithful blog readers, it's the best time of year again (or should I say "It's the most wonderful time of the year" lol). The season of giving. Christmas. The greatest holiday in the world (sorry Thanksgiving! Please don't be mad at me - I still love you!). And while it's easy to get carried away with Christmas shopping and all the cool presents we might be receiving (Sons of Anarchy season 3 blu-ray - fingers crossed), it's important to remember the real reason for this holiday - the birth of our lord Jesus Christ. In remembrance of JC, it's important to put others before yourself on this very special time of year. Be sure to hug your loved ones and let them know how much they mean to you. Give a gift to a friend or family member that you normally don't give one to. You know those salvation army guys outside of the grocery store? Help em out! There are less fortunate people who can't afford christmas presents. Remember these brave souls during the holiday season.

Without further adieu here are my top six favorite things about the holiday season

6. Egg nog - Nothing tastes like Christmas more than a little bit of this sweet north pole nectar!

5. 24 hours of a Christmas story - If you've never seen this holiday classic, shame on you. It's about a kid named Ralphie, and all he wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder B.B. gun ("you'll shoot your eye out kid" lol). The only problem? No one else thinks it's safe. This masterpiece gets played for 24 consecutive hours from Christmas eve until Christmas day on TBS, so be sure to check it out.

4. Other Christmas movies- Elf, How the Grinch stole Christmas, Home Alone (I'm partial to Lost in NY, but they're both rad), The Santa Claus. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention, JINGLE ALL THE WAY!!! Arnold Schwarzenegger is the greatest dad in the world (next to mine of course. LOL love you dad! Hope you're reading this!) So many Xmas classics, so little time.

3. Family- Family. Is. Everything. Any questions? Nope? Good.

2. Aunt Margaret's House - Every Christmas Eve, my family goes to my Aunt Margaret's for a nice holiday get together. I love getting to see all my little cousins (they're getting so big! Madison is already in the 5th grade!) and hearing my Uncle John's stories. He always has the craziest and funniest stories, like the one time he dressed up as Santa Claus for church on Christmas Eve!

1. Christmas Music - Have a holly jolly christmas, have the best time of the year. Haha I wish I could sing it for all my readers. Who doesn't love Christmas music? Anyone who doesn't is just a big scrooge.

Anyway, gotta go spread the holiday cheer!. Here's my cousin Omar singing to the birthday boy.

12 Days of Christmas- College Style

Hey guys! So I had a fun idea...what if I took the Xmas song "12 Days of Christmas" and made it relevant to college students?  Let's give it a try! (If you want to sing it out loud, go for it!)

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me
A big 30 pack of Natty

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Six unexcused absences
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Seven loud neighbors (it's 4am, turn off the techno!)
Six unexcused absences
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of Pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eight roundsof Modern Warfare
Seven loud neighbors
Six unexcused absences
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Nine crazy cat memes (because cats have 9 lives)
Eight rounds of Modern Warfare
Seven loud neighbors
Six unexcused absences
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Ten Boondock Saints viewings
Nine crazy cat memes
Eight rounds of modern Warfare
Seven loud neighbors
Six unexcused absneces
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eleven boring lectures
Ten Boondock Saints viewings
Nine crazy cat memes
Eight rounds of modern warfare
Seven loud neighbors
Six unexcused absences
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve goals in broomball (okay it was only 11, only because one of them didn't count because I was offsides)
Eleven boring lectures
Ten Boondock Saints viewings
Nine crazy cat memes
Eight rounds of modern warfare
Seven loud neighbors
Six unexcused absences
Five hits of hookah
Four quarters of pigskin
Three sons of Mumford
Two hours of sleep
And a big 30 pack of Natty


Wow, that was fun, huh? I think I might have a future in songwriting lol!

The F-word

So I've been getting TONS of people asking me "Hey Tanner, why haven't you posted in almost a week?  Hey Tanner, what have you been up to?  Hey Tanner, what gives, dude?" Well, I'll tell you what I've been up to.  The F-word.  No, not that F word (not on this blog, anyway).  The F-word I'm referring to is FINALS.

As you saw in my last post, I've been VERY stressed out over finals.  I mean, how could you not be?  4 months of material in a 2 hour test - who do they think I am, Albert Einstein or something?  My parents are going to absolutely FREAK when they see my grades. This should be a really fun winter break considering I won't be allowed to play Gamecube AT ALL, I won't be able to have friends sleepover, I DEFINITELY won't be able to go over to Arjun's house for the Bengals games, and my Christmas list will probably be cut IN HALF.  Maybe I'm being pessimistic.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what my grades are like.

But I'll stop being such a downer.  How could I complain after my first semester in college?  I've had the time of my life, and I can't wait to spend 4 more years there (or 5 lol!).  I've met some truly amazing people, and I just want to take this post to thank them.  Yi, you've been a totally kickbutt roommate. I remember the first day when we both moved in and we couldn't get your T.V. stand up the steps.  You kept falling down on the stairs and mumbling cuss words to your self lmfao.  I couldn't believe it! But then we got everything moved in and you let me have one of your monster energy drinks. I knew we we're gonna be friends right then and there. I hope you have an awesome break in Taiwan. tîeow hâi sà-nùk!

Caleb - You, my friend, rock. I've never heard anyone shred the guitar like you. Sometimes when you sing, I close my eyes and think Dave Matthews is in the room.  You're THAT good. You're earring is really cool (wish I could pull it off. No wonder you have a gf!) and I think it's totally cool how open you are with me about your uncle passing a few years back. I've never heard anyone open up like that. I know it's hard, but you're one of the strongest guys I know, and you're someone who we're going to be seeing on VH1 someday. Oh yeah, and you introduced me to the Mumford and Sons, the best bluegrass band in the world.

Brad- wow.  I don't know how I would have survived my first semester without my awesome R.A. You truly are one of the most radical guys I know. I mean, how many people do you know who ride mountain bikes AND write poetry? Anyone? Anyone? That's right, only Brad. You've shown me so many cool movies (Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Scarface, Juno) and given me so many good pointers about college (ex: Tuesday night is the least crowded time to do laundry.  Grab n' Go gives you more chicken after 10 pm, etc.) Most importantly, you've taught me what it means to be myself. My first couple weeks, I was a nervous wreck.  I didn't have any friends, didn't have anyone to talk to, and didn't even know the best spots in the dining hall (NW corner, Nelson, next to the Deli - always open seats and a really chill environment.) I know that, in you, I've found a lifelong friend.  I'm gonna be bummed out when you graduate in the Spring (If you pass O-Chem....HAHAH lmfao I know you'll pass you're a hard worker).  We'll always stay in touch though.  Even if you are off in the Pacific filming sharks, which I know you will be - good things come to those who wait.  Hmmmm, I wonder where I heard that one.  From you, Brad!

Obviously, I can't sit here all night and write a paragraph on every amazing person I've met this semester, or I'd be up for days! I've made so many amazing friends this semester, and I'm so thankful for all of you.  Max, you're easily the best broomball goalie I've ever played with, Stacy, you're such a cool lab partner (even if you're always 10 minutes LATE hahaha jk), Brock, you're weight-lifting videos are really inspirational, Andre, I know, I just KNOW you're rap album is going to be huge (but only if you give me a guest first... Tanner Bliz-ake in the HIZOUSE!!!), and Professor Moody, you're lectures are redefining what it means to LOL.  

Most importantly, thanks to all my blog readers. I never would have thought in a gajillion years (is that even a real number???) that I would be getting this many blog hits (almost 2,600).  After a few weeks of college, I had a vision to write the most killer blog on the web, and while it might not be quite there yet, I'm still pretty darn proud. I'll be sure to keep everyone up to date with my holiday season (If I don't post on December 25th, it'll be because Santa DIDN'T get me an iPhone, jk I don't believe in Santa) so sayonara suckers!

Be sure to like my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TannersFreshmanYearBlog

And follow me on twitter @TannerBlakeOU

Question of the day: What was the chillest fest this semester?

Finals- I didn't sign up for this!

Hello, Alden Library.  My name's Tanner.  I've been avoiding you all semester, but I just wanted to say hello and that, well, we'll be seeing A LOT of each other over the next week.

So, um okay?  I had nooooo idea finals would be this stressful.  Ugh.  Just to put this in perspective for you guys, On Monday, I have my pbio final.  Sounds easy right?  Wrong.  We have to memorize over 75 terms and write a 400 (repeat: 400) word essay on photosynthesis.  If that wasn't stress-inducing enough, my grade in that class is sitting at a 79.8.....so basically anything below a B will drop my grade to a C, resulting in a winter break consisting of doing chores and not being able to play Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 (thanks for understanding, dad ::sarcasm::).

Tuesday, well I don't even want to talk about Tuesday.  Two finals in one day.  I repeat: two finals in one day.  Athens, we have a problem.  I never agreed to this!  I'm almost caught up on Sons of Anarchy, and now it looks like I'm going to have to wait until Winter break to finish it.  FML.  At least the second final is I-ART 117, which is super easy (Yet completely boring. When am I ever going to use this stuff in the real world???)  I guess it's cool to be cultured about this stuff, though.  Caleb says it's good for me to expand my horizons, that's why he got his earring.  But seriously, I can't take this stress, you guys don't understand.  If anyone has any funny youtube videos they could post under the comments to help take my mind off of my week from H-E-double hockey sticks, I would greatly appreciate it.  At least I have the new Mumford and Sons album to get me through the week (mixed with my old school rap playlist titled thuglyfe.)

And then I don't have another final until Friday, which I guess is nice because I'll need those extra days, seeing as my final is in CALCULUS.  So yeah, Friday is basically judgement day.  Tangents, logarithms, integrals, absolute value...BOGUS!!!  Again, when will I never need to use this stuff in real life (maybe if I become a mathematician.  Let me calculate the odds of THAT happening.......ZERO out of a trillion!) Plus, I haven't been able to understand a thing my professor has said all semester.  He's from another country that I can't even pronounce and he barely speaks English.  WTF??? Sooooooooooo stressed.

I guess I should just stop and realize how lucky I am to be in college in the first place.  I've been afforded the opportunity of a lifetime.  Not a lot of people in the world have the chance to do what I'm doing, so I'm gonna give it everything I've got.  YOLO (you only live once.)  So I apologize to everyone if I'm not on top of my game with my blogging over the next week or so.  Good luck to everyone on finals and if I don't see ya, have a nice holiday (Xmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa...it doesn't matter to me!)

Question of the day: What would you rather do, go through a week of finals or have a wrestling match with the Incredible Hulk?

Tanner- The Working Man

Hey guys, if you didn't notice, I managed to make a twitter account (@tannerblakeOU) and a facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TannersFreshmanYearBlog) Check it out before the cops bust us for partying to hard (world wide web style suckas!)

Guess what?  I got a job!  I’ll be making submarine sandwiches at the Grab and Go marketplace.  Do you want lettuce with that? lol!  I’ve never worked at a deli before, though I was a waiter at an Eat n’ Park back home for a year, and I did pretty well (except for the time I showed up late and my boss made me stay and do dishes. UGH.).  I go in for training next week, and then I’ll be working the morning shift on Monday’s and Wednesdays, as if I wasn't ALREADY sleep deprived! Oh well, at least I’ll have a little extra spending money now for the hookah bar. 

The Pyramids Hookah Bar has been my favorite hangout on weekends as of late.  Caleb took me there after his show the other weekend (I’ll give my review of it in a minute).  Hookah is kind of like smoking weed but you don’t trip, it’s not illegal and it isn't a gateway drug.  You get this big bong thing with a bunch of hoses coming out of it, and you take turns hitting it.  You have to hold in the smoke as long as you can or else you won’t be doing it right.  We like to listen to good music when we hookah.  Caleb plays a lot of indie rock and reggae jam bands like O.A.R and Dave Matthews.  It’s a good time and the people there are really chill.  The one guy who works there spent his summer in Africa helping children.  Pretty neat, huh?

Caleb’s show was, for lack of a better word, AMAZING! He killed John Mayer’s “Your Body is a Wonderland” and his version of “Smells like Team Spirit” was better than the original. A lot of people showed up, including his girlfriend Alyssa, who drove all the way from Akron just to see him play!  Caleb closed with the song he wrote about his uncle who recently passed.  It was very moving and people held up their lighters for it.  I don’t have a lighter, so I used my cell phone lol.

Here's a video I recorded of Caleb's cover of "Smells like Team Spirit."  Enjoy (sorry for the shaky camera I was dancing a little too much lol!)

Question of the Day: Smells like Team Spirit- Caleb's version or Nirvana's???

My Resume

Hey ya'll.  So I'm thinking about applying to an internship this summer, and I was hoping you guys could give me some feedback on my resume! It's a competitive job market out there, my English Comp prof is always telling me, so I wanted to set myself apart from the competition.  I'm going to put in some cool graphics later, but for now, these are my qualifications....(both positive feedback and constructive criticism are welcome and encouraged)

EXPERIENCE

Tanner's Freshman Year Blog (November 2012-Present)

CEO

-I run a popular blog site that helps people understand and adapt to the college lifestyle.  It has been called "hilarious," "insightful" and "laugh-out-loud funny."  One commenter said he "was in stiches from laughing so hard."  Another said he "wouldn't be able to survive freshman year without it.

The Evans Deli (2010-2012)

Dishwasher

-Washed dishes for the Evans Deli and learned about hard work, leadership and communication skills.  Won the March Madness bracket challenge my first year working there.

Blake Brothers Lawn Mowing Service (2009-2011)

President

-Mowed various lawns and did tons of yard work all over Easter Cincinnati with my little brother Casey. Services also included weedwacking and the shoveling of driveways.

The Walsh Family (August 8th- August 22nd, 2008)

House Sitter

-Watched over the Walsh residence on 341 East Grove Street for two whole weeks.  Responsibilities included: ensuring efficient cleanliness of home,  overseeing feeding of pets and animals (including 11 fish, 2 hamsters and a cat), and maintaining a consistent yet cost-effective temperature throughout the household.

Mt. Belton High School German Club (2009-2012)

Treasurer

-Raised funds for German club and threw an end of the year party every single year with lots of food and games.

SPECIAL SKILLS

Speaks German

Microsoft Word

Blogger.com

Can walk on my hands (sort of!)

Checkers

Good communicator

Hard Worker

My email is TannerBlake2@gmail.com.  Please get back to me if you want to hire me.

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What do you guys think?  Any suggestions?

Also, be sure to follow me on twitter @TannerBlakeOU and "like" my facebook page by going here and clicking the "like" button (looks like a thumbs up, which I think is appropriate!)

Question of the day: What is your dream job?

Really???

I just wanted to take this post to respond to a comment on my blog the other day.  The comment has been deleted and I don’t care to reveal the username of the person who posted it, but somebody had the nerve to write a racial slur on my blog toward my roommate Yi.  I am utterly disgusted.  I am in complete shock.  I made this blog for people to learn about the college experience, and I’ve done my best to open up the forum for people to ask me questions, give me feedback and discuss important issues.  When did I ever say it was okay to be prejudiced on my blog?  When did I say it was okay to make fun of someone for the way they look?  Oh wait, I NEVER SAID ANY OF THAT!  In case you guys don’t notice, I put a lot of work into this blog, so it’s really disheartening when people come on here and disrespect one of my friends.  You’re lucky Yi doesn’t know what that word means, or else he’d be pretty upset.  I know I would be (if I were from Taiwan, that is, which I’m not. I’m from Cincy- born and raised. Who Dey nation).  I just don’t get people.  Why can’t we all just respect one another for who we are?

No question of the day….No Cat memes. Hopefully this won’t happen again, or I might have to end “My Freshman Year” blog for good…

NFL Week 13 recap

Yo, Yo, Yo!  Yesterday was a great day for contact sports, with the NFL posting a total of 598 points (What? Couldn't get another safety, Jets? Lol just kidding you guys played hard).  Here are some recaps.  I know there's one more game tonight (Saints at Falcons for bragging rights) but I couldn’t wait any longer and I new my readers are getting ancy to find out the scores from around the league.  So here they are, unfiltered.

Bills - 34

Jaguars - 18

- Tough loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars as both team’s quarterbacks threw interceptions that ended up being turnovers.

Seattle - 23

Chicago - 17

- M. Lynch (Seattle) with 87 yards. Nuff said.

Indianapolis - 35

Detroit - 33 (23 were in the first half)

-P. Manning and the Colts were in for business as usual in this motor city massacre

Minnesota - 14

Packers - 23

-Without sports, Green Bay is just another city in Wisconsin.  With sports, they are Packers, and they’re here to stay.

Carolina - 21

Kansas City - 27

-D. Williams with 12 rushing attempts.

England 2.0 - 23

Miami - 16

-Years after LEbron brings his talents to south beach, the Patriots bring the heat.  W. Welker's numbers were irrational in this one.

Arizona - 6

NY Jets – 7

-The Jets may play football in New Jersey, but they bring the New York attitude and make the Cardinals fly home.

San Fran - 13

Ram - 16

-Crabtree had impressive numbers and S. Bradford is always entertaining to watch on the gridiron. Look out for more 49ers in the coming weekends.

Houston – 24

Tennessee – 10

-Listen. Houston is the best team in the league.  No ifs ands or buts. Tennessee is good, but Houston is the best team in the league. Andre Johnson is stupid, but in a good way. Sorry Denzel, but the Titans won’t be remembered after this game.

Tampa Bay – 23

Broncos – 31

-No facemasks in this one as Terrell Davis ran for a disgusting amount of yardage and put the Broncos in position to clinch a top spot in the preseason polls.

Pittsburgh – 23

Baltimore – 20

-The two nemesises of Who Dey Nation battle it out.  Good sportsmanship all around as C. Batch attempted upwards of 36 passes.

Cleveland – 20

Da Raiders – 17

-Two in a row from the dawg pound, who barked and clawed their way to victory against Oak. D. Jackson had 4 tackles but none were for a loss.

Cincinnati – 20

San Diego – 13

-And you expected a different result?  A Who Dey Nation demonstration of domination. Ajay Green caught more passes than he could count and the scoreboard showed it with the final results.

Philadelphia - 33

Dallas – 38

-Seems like only yesterday Mike Vick was at Virginia Tech and Tony Romo was not a household name.  Football changes but the passion and tackles never do.

Monday Night Football (aka the reason we do this)

The new york football giants

Washington

-Obama is probably rooting for the hometown team but that doesn’t necessarily give them the advantage in a rivalry.

Can’t wait until next week when football starts up again.  Here's a monday night football pic

Vandals and Broomballs

I’m sorry that I have to make a sad post, but something needs to be addressed.  Last night, somebody vandalized the hallway. The cool design that Amy drew on the wall with all our signatures is ruined. Apparently, somebody thought it would be funny to draw a penis on it. Um, okay? I guess that’s funny if you’re STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. I mean, seriously, who does that? Amy worked really hard on that design and now it’s ruined.  Not to mention, Bill the janitor, who is super nice, has to clean it off. If I find out who did it, I’m going right to Brad.  Not even thinking twice about it.  As R.A. (Resident Assistant) he’s the one who handles the disciplining of students, although a lot of the cases get handled by Julie, the R.D. (Resident Director aka the boss). Thoughts and prayers go out to my friends and family.

On the bright side, I’ll be playing my first ever broomball game.  What’s broomball you ask?  I didn’t know what it was either until Brad asked me to join the team.  Broomball is basically ice hockey, but you use brooms instead of hockey sticks and a ball instead of a puck.  O yeah, and I almost forgot, YOU DON’T WEAR ICE SKATES!  So let’s just say I’ll probably have some bruises tomorrow from falling on my butt all night.  I’m a little nervous, because I didn’t play sports in high school, but Brad says I should fine.  Half the people on the team this year have never played broomball either. And we’re all getting pizza after the game. Half off slices tonight- can you say, “boo yah?”  BOO YAH!  Pepperoni time baby! Extra cheese action! Anchovies! Lol just kidding.  Who actually eats those things? 

Football Sunday.  Who Dey? Who Dey? NO MERCY!!!!!!

Question of the day: Favorite Pizza topping?

Oh yeah, and these cats can talk!

Campus confusion- all part of the college experience!

Wow, this campus is confusing.  Brad told me on day one that I shouldn’t walk around looking at a map because everyone will think I’m a freshman, but I can’t help it.  East Green, West Green, South Green- can a guy get a compass? On Tuesdays, I have class at Morton…followed directly by a class at Bentley.  Um, okay?   So how, exactly, am I supposed to get from Morton to Bentley in less than ten minutes?  With my jetpack?  Oh I know, I’ll just teleport there.  Yeah right.  And I tried explaining to my professors, but they just wouldn’t cut me any slack.  Oh, and did I mention, the whole walk is UPHILL.  As if things couldn’t possibly get any worse.

Okay, I’m sorry, I kind of went off there.  Things aren’t so bad, I guess.  Part of being in college is realizing that you’re going to have a lot of ups and downs.  You just need to keep our chin up and move on.  Like Brad always tells me “cheer up.”  I certainly cheered up earlier today when I went over to Caleb’s room.  Caleb got a new Bob Marley poster in his room!  It’s a picture of Bob Marley smoking a marijuana cigarette.  Caleb also bought a “drug rug” which is a really cool sweater made of hemp. 

Caleb says that hemp is good for the environment and the economy.  Turns out he’s right!  Caleb’s playing an open mic night at a coffee shop next week.  He’s going to cover “You’re Body is a Wonderland” by John Mayer, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and play an original that he wrote after his uncle passed.  I told him I’ll be there. (I’m planning on shouting “Free Bird” after his last song.  I bet he’ll get a kick out of that.) 

Question of the day: What’s your favorite player in the NBA?

meow