Illinois College of Optometry's Official Blog

Navigation Menu

Behind the Scenes: “Thrift Opt”

Behind the Scenes: “Thrift Opt”

Posted by on Apr 26, 2013 in Blogs | 0 comments

For years, health professional students have been creating music video parodies. And for all those years of hard work and creative lyrics, the only award was the collective laugh of the very few people who understood the jokes laced within the healthcare jargon. Not anymore. This year, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine accepted submissions for the first annual Medical Emmy Awards (or Memmys)!

Why do I bring this up?  Because I was able to participate in my classmate Jonathan Dong’s video submission of “Thrift Opt”–a parody of the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis hit “Thrift Shop.” With more than 50,000 views on YouTube in under a month, it’s certifiably viral. If you haven’t seen it, check it out:

Now if you look closely, you can find me, along with many fellow first years, dancing away in the back of numerous scenes. These scenes were shot in many locations including the RC, the IEI clinic, and a secret spot in the depths of Chinatown. It was a blast being able to participate in such a fun idea, not to mention a great way to get my mind off schoolwork for a few hours. I’m excited as ever to find out how this video stacks up to the competition, but I don’t know when the winners are announced. Submissions were due several weeks ago, so hopefully we’ll get some positive feedback soon! In the meantime, keeping liking the video on YouTube to increase ICO’s chances of bringing home first place and giving optometry a good showing to the healthcare community.

Here’s a few behind-the-scenes pictures of the filming process:

Read More

Eyeball: A Guy’s Perspective

Eyeball: A Guy’s Perspective

Posted by on Apr 3, 2013 in Blogs | 2 comments

If you’ve been keeping up with the recent blog posts, you’ve read about how Jenn and Fatima were preparing for Eye Ball. For the women out there, those posts were full of helpful hints and lovely pictures of dresses and accessories. For the guys out there, it was an unprecedented look into the female mind showing just how much effort goes into looking fabulous. Now how about an examination of the event from a guy’s perspective?

We all knew about the event for months, we’d selected our dinner entrees weeks in advance, and people have been buzzing about outfits since I found out I was accepted. So what did that mean for my close group of guy friends? The week of the event, it was go time. We’d waited until the last possible moment, something I have a knack for, and had to throw something together that actually looked presentable. One proactive roommate bought a polka dot shirt online a week or two before and another friend bought a new suit the morning of the event (apparently his old one was sporting a few holes), but for the most part it was time to raid the closet.

Read More

B-I-N-G-O

B-I-N-G-O

Posted by on Mar 8, 2013 in Blogs | 0 comments

Trying not to eat my M&M chips during a serious match of border Bingo!

Trying not to eat my M&M chips during a serious match of border Bingo!

This last Wednesday, the RC held a bingo competition with some pretty sweet prizes. Quite a few fellow students and I showed up at the Lecture Center ready to go, with our game faces on and bingo chips at the ready. You may be asking yourself, what would motivate grad students to congregate back in a classroom to play such a game? The prizes, of course! This was brown bag bingo, meaning the winners each received a grocery bag packed full of the snacks and treats we crave while studying. Oreos, candy bars, Starbucks energy drinks, M&M’s and two-pound bags of Twizzlers were but a few of the fabulous contents. Making things even better, as the last bag was claimed, organizers announced that $10 Target gift cards would be the next round of prizes!

Read More

The Luxuries of Home

Posted by on Feb 22, 2013 in Blogs | 5 comments

View out my front door at Lake Chataqua... ice-covered of course.

View out my front door at Lake Chataqua… ice-covered of course.

Another quarter over and alas, we get our ever-so-coveted break week. The one week where the only thing that matters is getting 15 hours of sleep per day, and trying in vain to re-grow all the hair that was accidentally pulled out while studying for finals. After a few days of well-needed rest I have successfully replenished my sleep… the hair not so much.

This break I decided to head back and visit my parents for a little R&R back at the homestead. Home for me is now Bemus Point, N.Y., which is in the Empire State’s very southwestern tip. This area is known as the Southern Tier by anyone living within 200 miles and is absolutely nowhere near New York City, a common mistake made by those living on the opposite side of our incredibly large nation. In fact, we are relatively close to the city of Buffalo and Lake Erie, and as such receive huge amounts of snow. These frequent whiteouts can be a perfect excuse to stay indoors and relax; however, a perfectly timed snowstorm after my arrival turned that plan into incessant shoveling in the bitter cold. Though truthfully, I really don’t mind shoveling, it brings back memories of growing up and can honestly be therapeutic in itself.

Read More

Exploring the Little Things

Posted by on Feb 8, 2013 in Blogs | 3 comments

Sushi- BlogYou would think that with finals right around the corner and the last two weeks being the busiest we’ve had so far, I would be stuck inside 24/7, and honestly, most of the time I was.  But somehow I was also able to explore the city and try out a few new things. And not the really touristy stuff that everyone tells you to do right away, like see the Bean and walk the Magnificent Mile. I finally got to see a bit of local Chicago.

First up was going out for sushi. Now I’ve eaten sushi before and enjoy it as much as the average person would, but by no means would I consider myself a connoisseur. Along with around 10 friends, I headed to a joint in Lincoln Park called Sushi Para II where I was about to be shocked and amazed. The food was incredible!  It was all-you-can-eat, where you ordered whichever rolls or sushi your party desired and they brought them out in fantastic arrays and designs. The only thing you have to be careful about is over-ordering, because if your eyes are larger than your stomach they charge you for the leftovers. It was hands-down the best sushi I’ve ever had. Now I can’t say I eat sushi often, so there may not be much to compare it to, but hey, I’d definitely go back. It also didn’t hurt that the place was BYOB with no corking fee!

Read More