Friday, January 31, 2014

Cop the Best Spot!

You laugh together and fight with each other. You study together and probably help each other procrastinate. Who am I talking about? Your roommate or the friends you live with in the residence halls! And after half a year of living together, it's time to start thinking about who you're going to live with next!

One great option you have access to for next year is to come back and live in the residence halls again! But this time there's a catch; you get absolute priority. Priority on what you ask? Everything. You get to come in to pick exactly which residence hall, the floor, the suite, and the specific room you'd like to live in. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! As a returner you will get to select your roommates AND your suitemates! 

This is your FIRST CHANCE to make sure that you get the BEST rooms in all of housing. Especially if you didn't get the placement you wanted this year, self assignment is FOR YOU! If you choose not to participate in self assignment there is a much smaller chance you will get the room you want. The process will take place in early March! Start watching for posters, emails and don't forget to check your campus mailbox for details on the RETURNER SELF ASSIGNMENT!

Start thinking about this and I'll check back in with more details soon!!

Eric

Friday, January 17, 2014

Cool New Phone! How's it Work?

Not surprisingly, androids and iPhones were among the best selling items over the holiday season. For some students this will be the first semester with a phone capable of virtually anything, for others this is the next upgrade in a long line of technological disappointments. Regardless of your scenario, there are a few ways you can make the most out of your phone to try to make this semester even better than the last! Next I'll outline a few different apps that I have found to be a huge help staying on top of everything from day to day.


One of the best apps around if you're interested in taking notes digitally. Featuring cloud storage, superior organization, and an incredibly easy user interface, Evernote is every college student's best friend. Notes are easy to create and edit, but my favorite part is the notebooks to sort notes, pictures, and other files. Simple organization is a seemingly minuscule feature a lot of other note-taking apps I've used in the past lacked. Cloud storage allows for access to your files anywhere, so you're no longer stuck to one device!
Dropbox and Google Drive are a couple alternatives also worth mentioning!

Ever feel like you're on a social media Ferris wheel with all of the different sites you use? Buffer brings it all together in one app so you can spend more time catching up or staying current and waste less time switching between every account. Buffer will work with just about any other app and even has to option to schedule your tweet updates and posts so you can stay active without even being on your phone!


In my opinion, the biggest contender to Pandora for streaming music. Instead of listening to just a genre or station based off of certain artists, with Spotify you are able to create a library, playlists to share with others, access your music from multiple devices, and play specific songs you're looking for. My favorite part about Spotify is that streaming music from your mobile device is now free! A recent change that has kept my headphones rockin'. Whether from your phone or computer, Spotify is a great way to get in the zone with whatever music you desire.

If you're reading this first sentence to decide whether or not to keep reading or skip the boring finance part, do yourself a favor and keep reading. Even to an accounting and finance major like myself personal finance isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. However, it is an extremely important lesson that is better learned while we're young! Toshl Finance combines animation and practicality to start forming the right habits to ensure financial well-being later on in life!

The technology available is our ticket to an endless supply of resources to make our lives better. Instead of using your new phone as the fuel to your Candy Crush addiction (...not that I would know anything about that), try something new to help yourself out. Maybe you'll even be able to keep your new year's resolution!


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Room Contest!!!

Welcome back residents!!
 I am really excited to announce that staring this week we will begin a room decorating contest! Residents will have the option to show off their rooms while competing for the first self assignment appointment for the 2014-2015 academic year!! All UWM housing residents are encouraged to participate but all roommates must agree to enter the contest if applicable. All rooms must comply with University Housing rules and regulations. Categories for entry include: Cambridge Commons, RiverView Residence Hall, Purin Hall, North Tower, East Tower, West Tower and South Tower. Only digital images will be accepted and all entries must be submitted by February 6th, 2014 by 5pm via email to uhmktg@uwm.edu. Starting February 7th, photos will be uploaded to the University Housing Facebook page and winners will be selected based upon the number of "likes" their photos receive. Online polling via Facebook "likes" will close February 12th and the winners of each category will be announced February 14th! Winners are able to participate in returner self assignment during the first self assignment appointment! This gives the winners a better chance of getting their dream room, floor and building for the 2014-2015 academic year!







Can't wait to see your submission!!
Haley 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Happy Winter!!

Winter is my favorite season of the year because it's always so magical and breathtaking. I  just love sitting by a fire with a cup of hot coco and watching movies as the snow falls in the background. Milwaukee has amazing winter activities around the city to put you in the winter spirit and keep you busy during the remaining week of winter break! I have compiled a list of my top three winter activities in Milwaukee and I hope you all enjoy them as well!


1. Ice skating downtown! There is just something about ice skating in the heart of downtown Milwaukee that makes me so happy. Red Arrow Park is the perfect place to ice skate and they even have a Starbucks located right beside the ice rink! If you bring your own skates, it is completely free or for 8$ you can rent skates!



2. Cross-country skiing at Whitnall Park is an awesome way to get out and enjoy the snow! It's a nice little work out and you can rent all the equipment on site! 



Click the link below for more information on Whitnall Park and Cross-country skiing in Milwaukee!

http://county.milwaukee.gov/CrosscountrySkiing12361.htm



3. If you really hate the winter and need an escape from the cold, think about visiting the Mitchell Park Conservatory!! The domes is a great way to warm up during the winter months and surround yourself in a true desert like enviornment!! 




Click the link below for more information on admission and events! 

http://county.milwaukee.gov/MitchellParkConserva10116.htm



Enjoy the last week of break,
Haley