Spring Week

One more week of regular classes left, finals, and then...summer holiday? Is that even possible?

Only one more paper left for me (and I already have if halfway done)? Is THAT even possible?

Looks like that is my reality at the moment, and I must admit that I was not expecting it. It seems so abstract to think about the fact that summer starts in only two weeks, in less than a month I will be in Thailand, and in less than a year I will be in Northern Ireland. After waiting for so long for something, when it finally comes...sometimes, it feels like it snuck up on me. And this is one of those times.

Anyway, as for the research paper thing? I'm definitely relieved about that. I got a good mark on my final paper for my class studying the Apostle Paul, and I am extremely relieved (upper level religion classes are HARD, I am not going to try to hide that one) and that just leaves me with my Irish Republican Army paper to finish. And it is certainly...interesting, to say the least. I never realized how complicated of an issue the IRA was in Ireland, but I am glad that I am doing my paper on that topic, especially considering I might be seeing the effects of it during my semester in Belfast.

Oh, but as promised last week, this week has been spring week on campus! It was the driving factor for me getting most of my work out of the way so that I could be free in the evenings to do the spring week activities. This year, the theme was holidays, and each day of the week was a different holiday from the year - Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, and tomorrow is Mardi Gras.

We had an outdoor barbecue planned for the 4th of July day - but wouldn't you know, it rained. However, we did still get to have cook-out food, just inside the cafeteria. Though it was not as fun as it would have been to be eating outside, it was better than having everyday cafeteria food for one evening. That night, however, turned out to be even more fun. A few friends and I attended the Second Annual 'Mr. Waynesburg' competition, which is basically a beauty pageant for guys on campus - and it was hilarious! Instead of the typical talents one thinks of when one thinks of a beauty pageant, like singing, there was a lot of stand-up comedy, and one guy that was bending spoons. I think I preferred this kind of beauty pageant to the stereotypical kind.

After the contest was over, the theatre fraternity here on campus hosted an improv night titled 'WU's Line is it Anyway?' and if you have ever watched late night television, I am sure you can guess what that was based on. Before the show started, various students were asking for contributions to two different games - random short scenes that would be performed, and random phrases that would be used in a different game. Of course, my friends and I all filled out several for both games, crossing our fingers that one of them would be used in the show.

And I was quite proud, because out of everything that we contributed - it was one of MY phrases that actually got used in the show. I was quite proud, to say the least, and we all had a good laugh. The show was done really well, and I hope they do it again next year.

I mentioned that it rained on the day of our barbecue, but we have been having some really nice days as well (finally!). The weather cannot seem to make up its mind, considering when I drove to the campus this morning there were bolts of lightning, and now about an hour and a half later the sun is brightly shining, but when the weather has been nice, we have definitely been taking advantage of it. Yesterday, a few of us drove to a part of the Monongahela River (one of the three rivers in Pittsburgh) that is only about fifteen minutes away from campus, and just had a good time relaxing out in the sun and celebrating the fact that summer was almost here. See the sunny sky in the photograph? Definitely puts a smile on my face.

I guess I am doing this rather un-chronologically (I think I made that word up, too, but you get the idea) but last weekend, again taking advantage of a sunny day, my friend Christopher and I went to Laurel Caverns, which is a cave system in the neighboring county and part of the Appalachian Mountains. Considering he is from Northern Ireland, as I believe I have mentioned before, I thought it would be a good idea to show him our relatively local cave system before he went back to Europe at the end of the semester. After a tour of several different tunnels, seeing two hibernating bats, and a round of cave mini-golf, we definitely had a great Saturday afternoon.

Let's see - of course, considering tonight is Friday, I have exciting plans as well (or at least I am excited about them). Besides campus-sponsored events on campus, friends are constantly hosting parties and such of one kind or another, and we actually have two tonight! One of my friends is hosting a 'Super-Hero Movie Night,' so I will certainly be stopping by there to watch a movie or two with everyone else, and then another friend's band Graceful Oblivion will be having their first-ever performance right on campus, so of course I will be going to support them as well. We even have a surprise planned there, but I cannot say anything more about that until next week - it is a surprise, after all.

It certainly has been a busy week - both for end of the semester rushed work by procrastinators like me, and for extra-curricular activities with friends. I guess wandering around at the river or strolling through Waynesburg on sunny days is better than laying around a dorm room watching the fifth episode of FullMetal Alchemist in a row - not that its not an amazing show, but I do enjoy the sun over trying to hide from the cold weather and rain. Or at any rate, taking walks is a lot healthier! But wow, I got a bit off track from what I was originally saying, my apologies, the sun also has the effect on my brain of making it go even more scattered than normal (scary thought, I know), so anyway, there is always a lot to do around here, even if we have to make our own fun sometimes. We always manage to do so.

And tomorrow is the grand finale of spring week - the annual formal dance, with a Mardi Gras theme to follow through with the holiday theme of the week this year. I am incredibly excited to go with all of my friends and just spend the evening dancing the night away and just having one last big celebration with everyone before we have to bid each other goodbye so very soon from now for another four months of separation. It has the potential to be one of the best nights of the year, that's for certain.

But that will all be next week's post! So until then...



PS :: In case you're curious about what phrase I gave for WU's Line is it Anyway?, it was "You really are quite useless in the rain, sir." Just...in case anyone was going to be kept up at night wondering what I had contributed.

WU Goes Japanese!

Hehe. Okay, I will admit that is a terribly cheesy title, but I wasn't sure what else to call this, and at the same time that just seemed extremely appropriate.


The Tekko Crew on High Street - the main road in Waynesburg

Well, the day finally came that I had been waiting for for what felt like forever, but really was just under a year - Tekkoshocon VII in Pittsburgh! And believe me, I feel that we represented Waynesburg University there quite well, considering there were at least five of us there...four with me, and another person that approached us near the end of the day and asked if we were from WU, because we looked familiar, which I found amusing. Apparently he saw right through our costumes.

Anyway, Tekko (as we came to calling it) was an amazing way to spend a Saturday! There were hundreds of people from all around the Pittsburgh area in attendence at the David L Lawrence Convention Center and Westin Hotel, neither of which I had ever been in before - and they were huge! Not to mention the hotel was absolutely beautiful. There were concerts, panels and discussions, games, a dance, and a lot of vendors selling everything Japanese one could possibly ever want - not to mention one booth with free Pocky (a chocolate covered biscuit snack, in case you have never had the pleasure of tasting it. I definitely recommend it).

And my costume was a complete success. I had people approaching me all day asking to take my picture, or if they could give me a hug - or my personal favorite, if they could have their picture WITH me, which made me feel like a character at Disney World. But it was a good feeling. And I loved being called by my character's name all day - I think 'Roxas' is a suiting name for me, and it is pretty cool.

All in all, it was probably my favorite Saturday of my entire sophomore year here, and having my friends I met here at college with me just made it that much better - and Nick (the one with red hair in the pictures) even won a big sword fighting competition! So we were definitely glad he came along, because that made the day that much more memorable.

Aside from all of that excitement (however nerdy it sounds, as my mother keeps reminding me) I have been spending most of my free time working on one research paper or presentation or another. I am happy to say that my paper about the Irish Republican Army for International Relations is more than halfway done thanks to WU's online database of information (it really makes research papers less stressful), my presentation on Hispanic Americans for Minority Relations IS done, and I have a week to work on my paper about the reflection of Greek culture in Acts and the Pauline letters for my Paul class.

Overall, I am starting to feel a little bit less stressed about the end of the semester now that things are coming together. It may only be a little bit - but by the time I am writing this next week, most of my papers will have been turned in and my presenations completed, so I should be feeling a LOT better, and ready to start devoting my time to studying for finals.

It feels so strange that summer holiday is only about three weeks away, and every time I make a move towards preparing something for summer, it feels so strange. Only a few months ago, it felt like summer was a lifetime away, but now it feels so...sudden, like I was not ready for it (which I probably wasn't) and with that impending thought comes mixed emotions. Of course, I will be glad to not be worrying about research papers and exams for four months - but at the same time, its hard to say goodbye to all of my amazing friends that live far away for four months.

However relaxing summer may be with its lack of homework and studying - if its anything like last summer was, I will be counting down the days until September when everything starts up again!

Oh - and I cannot believe its only a little over a month until I leave for Thailand, another thing that felt like it was more than a lifetime away. However, if you have been watching the news recently, then you'll understand how much I would appreciate prayer for us and the trip - and for the entire country of Thailand. So if you think about it, please send up a little prayer for our group, and for our trip.

Speaking of international experiences (and that counts as one) I recieved my course listing of what classes I can take at Queens University next spring, and have already been making a possible schedule! My semester will be different, though, not starting until February, which will be a bit strange - but that's okay, because I don't think I could be more excited.

Well. When my permanent schedule and housing stuff comes, I might be more excited, so I guess that was a bit of a lie. Looks like I will just have to wait and see! Anyway, I'm planning on taking three classes in International Studies and Politics (right now, I'm looking into Irish Politics, Negotiations and Conflict Resolution, and perhaps Comtemporary Europe) and I am also hoping to take an elective language class from the large variety that Queens offers - no kidding, I think I counted seventeen different ones.

Right now, I'm leaning towards Turkish. In case you were curious.

Anyway (I use that word too much, don't I?), I have a lot of stuff next week to look forward to BESIDES all of my papers being basically out of the way, because next week is Spring Week here on campus! However, I am going to leave you in suspense about that until next Friday, when its mostly all over and I can talk about the activities - hopefully I will get to go to some between doing work!

What I will say now is that next Saturday is WU's formal dance, and I just got my dress for it yesterday, so I am really excited about that - and I am saying nothing more.

Until next week...one final look at my alter-ego!


Roxas and the Kingdom Key (from Kingdom Hearts II by Disney and Square Enix)

One Down, Three to Go!

Well, I have one of my major papers for the semester done, turned in, and even graded already for my Ministry and Literature of Paul class - and believe me, its a huge relief. Every time I turn in a paper, I just feel this sense of peace come over me, and I can take a deep breath and think, Wow. I never have to worry about that paper again. Its all done and over with - I have some free time now.

And that is an unbelievably good feeling.

However, I am not out of the forest yet! Oh no, far from it...any non-science/math major always feels the pressure of essays due near the end of the semester, and I can feel mine beginning to pile up on me. And it doesn't help that I have not looked at the syllabus in most of my classes since the first day, so I am always shocked in classes when professors make statements like, "Okay, don't forget your paper is due a week from today!" Which...happened to me yesterday, but no worries. It is my own fault.

So I am going to add this piece of advice to my earlier 'Bring winter boots to WU with you' advice - actually look at your syllabus more than just on the first day. Then you might not be so surprised when research papers are suddenly due.

Anyway, there is one relief that I feel in all my classes now that we are close to the end of the semester - the only exam I have left in all classes but...two, I believe is the final. Only one more exam to study for in each class EVER. And that, my friends, is definitely a good feeling.

Let's see - this week at WU is one of my favorites every semester - its the week of the play here on campus! I really miss my theater days in high school, so it is always a good time to get to see the Waynesburg University Players doing their production each semester. In the fall they do a regular play, but in the spring, they do a musical! And this year's production was 'Li'l Abner.' I was definitely in my reserved seat on opening night Wednesday, and laughed myself silly with three of my friends watching our other more talented friends performing on the stage.

As always, they did an amazing job, and I have spent the rest of the week telling people that they needed to go and see it. Hey - I'm like free advertising or something. How exciting!

Speaking of exciting, tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for since last year...Tekkoshocon in Pittsburgh! That means tomorrow morning I sacrifice my typical Saturday morning sleep-in (which usually lasts at least until eleven) to wake up at 5.30 AM, drive up here to WU to get a couple of my friends, spend a couple of hours getting our costumes and hair ready, and then the rest of the day in Pittsburgh!! But more about that next week...all I can say now is that I have an evening full of painting my prop tonight, and I am looking forward to that. As if I couldn't wait until any closer to the event to do this - yet again, I might be guilty of serious procrastination on just about everything in my life. But at least I can admit it.

On a more random note - there is a strange new craze spreading throughout the males here on campus. And that craze is...mo-hawks. It all started when one senior got this ridiculous hair cut to fulfill a promise he had made to a local youth group, and then it began to slowly spread, mostly through Thayer, one of the male dorms. And now walking around campus is much more amusing than it used to be as you see at least four if not more people sticking out of the crowd with their new hair. It definitely makes things more interesting - sometimes, campus needs shaken up a little bit, I guess, and that is definitely one way to achieve that.

As for my opinion on the mo-hawks? Well. They certainly are amusing, interesting, and entertaining, and it was all a good laugh when it happened. But I think I am ready for my friends to go back to their normal hair to be totally honest. It's hard to take someone seriously when they have something strange sticking out of the top of their head. But that's just my opinion.

Boys will be boys, I suppose. As long as I'm not next in line...

Anyway, I think I am really ready for spring here on campus again. It has finally been getting warm (although it's pouring down rain as I write this) all week, and I certainly have a much more pleasant experience walking from building to building for class when the sun is shining and I'm not wearing eighteen layers of clothing just trying to not freeze. Yes...the warm weather is definitely welcomed by yours truly. And besides, I love that the grass is getting green again - everything is finally starting to look cheery on campus again! Well, if it would stop raining that is.

I guess I have to get used to rainy days, though - I've been informed by more than one person that Northern Ireland is far from sunny skies every day...

Until next week!