Sorority Hang Over

After over 12 hours of sleep last night… plus a 4 hour nap this afternoon, I feel like I am finally returning back to my normal state of mind. 14 days with roughly 110 women can really take it out of even the strongest person. Today is the first time in 14 days that I didn’t wake up between 5 and 7 am to shower and primp. No worrying about a time schedule or missing a roll call. I was able to choose my own fate today, which ended up being a much-needed Lazy Sunday. Sorry this post is long, but know that I only included the important parts… It couldn’t be condensed anymore than this!

House Tour and Philanthropy day was my baby. I have been in charge of it for the last 3 years, and this year it was the epitome of greatness. House Tour day is ALWAYS the worst day… But sh! Don’t tell my sisters that because I talk it up like it’s the best. The major problem with the day is the technical aspect of it. It is very difficult to carry on a normal and flowing conversation when so much is crammed in. We are giving a house tour, doing a philanthropy project, listening to a musical snack, watching a philanthropy video, listening to a house mom, and of course hearing crazy songs. Between the many facts, talking points and interruptions, it is no wonder that the members freak out on my day. We made many changes to the schedule of the day and how it operates. Those changes were especially helpful to creating a smoother day; however, I can look back on one part during the day that would either make me laugh or make me cringe… Our new House Mom’s welcome speech. We had originally given her 60 seconds on the schedule, but told her 45 seconds. Sometimes Mom gets a little chatty, and time is of essence on this day. The first few speeches she gave were short and sweet… My fears of the crazy house mom coming out in her were completely dismissed; HOWEVER, about halfway through the day mom got a little too comfortable with talking.

Top 5 list of things I never want to hear come out of a House Mom’s mouth during House Tour Day:

5. “We renovated our 3rd Floor and it is absolutely great!" (All we did was clean the furniture, get new carpet, and repaint… I wouldn’t really call it a renovation. Sets the bar too high. Its more like “maintenance”).
4. “Our house cooks are awesome! We have to make them cut back on the sweets between Christmas break and Spring break so the girls can fit into their little bikinis.”
3. “We have a new rule… No cell phones at the dinner table!”
2. “We updated our kitchen because it wasn’t up to health code standards. Don’t worry though, it is perfect now!”
1. “After a night out, the girls sure do eat their way through the kitchenette! Its like a hurricane came through.”

Seriously, these were all mentioned in one speech or another. I could have sworn the last speech was like 3 minutes long. I was SO mortified, but I don’t think the PNM’s were even put off by the comments. If anything, everyone just played it off like, “Oh mom… She is so funny! Bahaha…”

After a long day with house tour, it was time for my debut! Irene’s time to shine was upon me, and I was ready to blow the crowd away! Those emotions came to a halt, though, when I discovered my wrinkly face had to talk to a PNM. After the skit, I had to go talk to a girl…. IN COMPLETE MAKEUP AND COSTUME. Skit day is fairly serious in conversation. The thought of trying to talk serious with a girl while looking like my Grandma Wylda seemed nearly impossible; nevertheless, it was still my job. It turned out that only one PNM couldn’t get past the wrinkles. Every other girl was fine, and acted normal. The best part of skit day was the improvisation happening between grandmas… Mainly between Candice and Ashley, but still… It was getting CRAZY funny by the final parties.

A PNM had asked me if I did shows, and I had a good laugh. I explained that I hadn’t even tried out for a show since my freshmen year due to a traumatic follies try-out experience. (I’ll share that story in a later blog!) This comment got me thinking though… The only reason I had tried out for grandma was because my pledge class sister said we should do it together. I had no experience dancing and little practice with singing, and our skit is known for oozing talent. These facts still hadn’t stopped me from borrowing a walker from an old lady at my church, and raiding my grandma’s belongings the weekend before try-outs. I am so glad that I hadn’t limited myself, and I am even gladder that Candice had encouraged me to try-out with her. I would have NEVER guessed 3 years ago that I would have been in the Recruitment skit my senior year. This memory will stick with me forever, and I am sure I’ll bring it up every chance I can at reunions.

Pref day was pref day… Lots of emotions and crying. The usual stealing a bite of leftover cake, and of course the usual slow walk down the formal staircase. I was given the great opportunity to read a senior letter this year, which was a cherry on top of the best recruitment. After a long night, I was so ready for bid day!

BID DAY 2010!!!

Senior recruitment has been the first of lasts. The last time the list of new freshmen is read, the last time bid day buddies are picked, the last time my pledge class would wear a bid day shirt, the last time we would welcome babies into our sisterhood. Seniors always meet in the Ballroom at the Student Union to welcome the babies and watch the Gamma Chi reveal. For some reason, it was taking an abnormally long time for the freshmen to arrive at the ballroom. This extra time led to 20 uncomfortable minutes. Usually when many different women from several greek houses get together, its nothing too bad… However, you get 11 chapter’s seniors in the same shirts, in one room, after 2 weeks of working on getting the best pledge class… It gets kinda nuts. Houses were chanting, screaming, shaking noise makers and clappers, blowing air horns, acting like they were about to play in the Big 12 Championship Football game, running around, and did I mention rollerblading around in fanny packs!? It was hilarious to watch when one sorority would do their chant, and the rest of the houses would kind of roll their eyes or give them the look down… It was one big room of catty, judging, craziness. I almost thought that we had fast forwarded to spring and it was actually greek week, OR that we hadn’t already had recruitment, but instead were trying to build a pledge class by being the loudest and most extreme. By the time the babies had gotten there and the Gamma Chi’s had revealed themselves, I was sweating like a whore in church and beyond ready to go home. As we herded up our babies, I thought of the coveted event that was about to occur: The Running of the Girls.

At OSU, Bid Day is kind of a big deal. Like, police blocking off University road, fraternities playing Chariots of Fire, families awaiting their little girls at their new houses, tons of frat boys lining the streets as if it were a parade… I had apparently blocked this whole ordeal out my freshman year, because it was still shocking to see what an event it actually was. By the time we (me and a few seniors) had WALKED back to the house, I thought I was going to heat stroke. I was SO ready to take our group pictures and GET OUT of there. I was over it all, which was a tell tale sign I am a senior. Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy we had an amazing pledge class, but I was also ready for the past 2 weeks to end! I needed a break. Some time to myself. A few minutes to dedicate to my blog! I refused to wait any longer.

Now that recruitment is over, I am anticipating watching the freshmen class bond and develop. I can’t WAIT to start homecoming. Classes can’t get here quick enough. And I am so ready to live it up my last semester in a sorority house!