Roamin' with Romagni

Hello!

First of all, I would like to say congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law, as they are going to have a second child!

Nothing brings a family closer together than the addition of a new baby, especially in our case. Before Mario (my soon-to-be three-year-old godson) came, my brother and I were not the closest of siblings – something I would like to blame on a four-year age gap. Now, I couldn’t be happier with our family relationship and I find myself more and more eager to spend time with my brother, sister and Mario, even if it means lending my able-body for some weekend project (such as the playground set we assembled on Sunday).

Male children run pretty dominant in the Romagni family but I would really love having a niece. My mom and I often joke that I will end up with all the female children in our extended family, as I have been known by my family for having some rather interesting relationships over the years. If I had some practice taking care of a niece, maybe I wouldn’t tear my hair out with daughters of my own!

Many of my summer weekends, including this past weekend, have been spent in my hometown hanging out with my friends or family and it has been great! However, this being the last summer of my college experience, (undergrad at least) I really want to cross some things off my evolving travel list. Here are the two trips I would like to make before this summer is over:

1. Deals Gap AKA The Dragon

Running from North Carolina to Tennessee, The Dragon is considered to be one of the world’s best roads for motorcycling and sports cars. With 318 curves in 11 miles, this stretch of road attracts thousands of car/motorcycle enthusiasts each year. In August, my friend and I plan on hauling our motorcycles down for a weekend of amazing riding on The Dragon. Also, The dragon has been the location of numerous car commercials and even includes the Cheoah Dam; where a scene in the 1993 movie The Fugitive was filmed.

The Gap!

2. Chicago Fun!

I just found out that my cousin is going to be living in Chicago for half of the summer. Since he goes to school at Penn State University, I don’t get to see him as much as I would like. After I find out what his work schedule will be, I plan on making the 4+ hour trip to Chi-Town for some much needed relaxation. Although this will be mostly a vacation for me, I may do some light research on the job market, as Chicago is one of the cities I would like to live in after graduation! If anyone is looking for an adventure, I am looking for some companions on the trip!

That’s all for my Tuesday daydream!

Enjoy your week!

Well, hello again!

One of my favorite things about being an intern for UT’s Office of Marketing and Communications is the fact that I am constantly surrounded by current events, relevant to both the university and the community.

For example, each month the university offers the campus community the opportunity to ask questions or vice concerns about current and future events. These interactive town hall meetings are broadcast live via the Web and can also be viewed at anytime after the meeting at UT Views. If you attend the meetings, your questions can be answered face-to-face or you can submit your questions to Townhallquestions@utoledo.edu. I am actually watching today’s town hall as I write this blog!

Students will have another opportunity to share their opinion about the restructuring of the Division of Student Affairs tomorrow, June 24 at 11 a.m. in the Memorial Field House Room 2100. The university understands that there are still concerns about the restructuring of OSI’s duties, so come and share your view/suggestions! Visit the Students Speak Facebook page here.

Another great thing about UT is the amount of internships that it provides for students. Several of my friends have internships at UT, on both Main Campus and the Health Science Campus. For instance, my roommate, Harrison serves an undergraduate research assistant and studies glucocorticoid receptors, a specific type of nuclear receptor, which is implicated in type 2 diabetes, obesity and other related conditions.

Two of my other friends, Tony and Ben, also intern at UTMC. Tony works with the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, a program created to increase patient care while also reducing health care costs. Ben also works on lowering health care costs at UTMC through the reporting of adverse drug reactions. Legendary work my friends!

At the end of the day, it’s interesting to hear the stories that Harrison, Ben and Tony have about their experiences compared to mine. Even though we all intern for the same university, our experiences are so different. To me, having friends with different occupations or interests is a great way to make you a well-rounded and interesting individual.

Speaking of well-rounded, I am now more than a week into my new nutrition/fitness plan and things are going great! Thanks to all of you who have been encouraging me!

Enjoy your week!

Greetings!

I can’t believe we are already halfway through June! I hope you all are enjoying your summer.

I was sitting in my living room the other night, eating a bag of potato chips and for some strange reason I had a flashback from high school. Let me tell you, high school isn’t something that often pops into my thoughts. However, for whatever reason it was, I thought of something my 9th grade biology teacher had said in class. He said the great thing about the human body is that every 90 days it does a complete overhaul, giving you a chance to improve your health. After thinking about this for a few minutes, I put down the chips and decided to do some planning.

I figured summer would be the perfect time to improve my health, even if it means some pretty large sacrifices. Here are some of the plans I am going to follow for the next 90 days:

- No fast food

- No soda

- A six-day workout routine

- A three-phase nutrition plan

- No eating three hours before bed

- Last but certainly not least, NO ALCOHOL! – As a 21-year-old college student, I understand that most of my peers spend a few nights a week tippin’ the bottle at a house party or out at a local bar. I guess this means I will need to sacrifice a few nights out with my friends to avoid ruining a weeks worth of work. On the bright side, I can also help my friends out by volunteering as the designated driver!

Today marks the second day in my new fitness/diet routine and besides the three hours I spent in the grocery store shopping for healthy (and rather unfamiliar) foods last week, things are going well.

Wish me luck with remaining 88 days of my endeavor!

Well, hello again!

First off, I’d like to wish everyone a happy summer. Although June 21 officially marks the beginning of summer (and Father’s Day), the first of June is good enough for me, as I feel my summer routine has already been established. The great thing about my internship with UT is that I have weekends off, giving me the chance to spend more time with my family in the Cleveland area. Although I do love going back to my hometown for weddings, birthdays, graduations and other things, it can me a bit monotonous (and costly) making the 2+ hour drive back and forth every weekend. The only thing that keeps me sane during these trips is my summer playlist. If you are wondering what that is exactly, I will tell you:

A summer playlist is more than just a grouping of songs you like on your iPod; it is a chance to relive great memories from that particular summer each time you hear a song from that playlist in the future. Every great summer playlist gathers new songs as the summer progresses.

Some of the songs on my 2009 summer playlist include:

-Life’s Been Good -- Joe Walsh

-A-Punk -- Vampire Weekend

-Gimme Three Steps -- Lynyrd Skynyrd

-The Hound -- Coheed & Cambria

-Do You Realize?? -- The Flaming Lips (Recently named Oklahoma’s official state rock song)

-Little Lover’s So Polite -- Silversun Pickups

-Campus -- Vampire Weekend

-In the City -- The Eagles

-Dance or Die -- Family Force 5

I’m always looking for new additions so if you have a suggestion, let me know!

If you haven’t started your summer playlist or the great memories to go with it, get out and do so this weekend. Summer will be over before you know it!