Titles are an unnecessary luxury for which I have no time.

It was a fun semester, I cannot lie. I love college and I can't wait to go back to school. Although, at the same time, I'm really happy to have a break. Non-stop school is tiring. I wish my professors would send me lists of the books I will need next semester. I'd like to get my book buying out of the way so I can stop worrying about it. However I guess I'll just have to wait, because there is nothing I can do about it.

I wish I could have a bit more time off. I would like to be able to see all of my friends without having to rush through everything. It's hardly relaxing when I have to wake up early just so I can see my friends before I go back to school in 2 weeks. Alas, what can be done? Nothing I fear, unless I wish to not see my friends for another 4 months or so.

Lately, people have been making fun of the way I speak. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I've started to speak how I write, in educated proper English. I must admit, I do speak in very educated tones. However, I felt that I did that before, instead of it being a recent alteration in my speaking habits. In addition to the fun making at my speech, I've also been recently made fun of my my uncle, in regards to the way I write text messages. Apparently proper grammar and spelling is frowned upon in the texting community. Mind you, this is the uncle who is also a teacher. A teacher who gets papers saying things like, "George Washington wnt 2 Vally Forge..." So you would think that he would be against the "texting lingo" as it were. Nope, once again, I'm behind on the times, but I tell you, this is one thing I will not budge to. I refuse to change my ways in order to reduce the characters in my text. If a person is too lazy to read through it, they probably aren't a friend who I would want to converse with anyway.

And not that my rant is over, I shall bid thee adieu, for I am in need of that wonderful Norwegian snack, a lefse.

Chestnuts roasting over an open fire....

I can't wait for Christmas. It is by far my favorite holiday. I like seeing my cousins, and eating good food, and cold weather. This Christmas break is going to be even better, because I will get to see friends I rarely see other times. Like those from high school. I can't wait to see my friends from high school. For a lot of them, it's been since graduation on June 4 since I've seen them. I want to catch up with them. See how college is going for them. Find out what their new friends are like. There is so much to do, I don't even know if I'll have the time for it all.

As I'm looking towards Christmas, I'm also looking at what I will do this summer to make money. I don't think working at camp again can be an option, I just won't be making enough. Retail is probably also out of the question, because again, I won't be making enough. I need a lot of money for spending money when I go to Ireland next fall semester. And if the exchange rate stays where it is, I'll end up having about 4 euros to every 5 dollars, which is not a terrible exchange rate, but is certainly not a good one either. Last summer my friend worked at a day camp sponsored by the the Park Service, and he made some pretty decent money. I'll have to check that out, because it might be a good option, especially because we could probably car pool, and end up paying only half the money for gas, thus saving ourselves each a fair amount of money.

I came to college, knowing what I wanted to do with my life. In a few short months, I have no idea anymore. Things have changed and I don't like it. I don't want to be a lawyer anymore. I still want to major in history, and at least minor in political science, but beyond that, I have no idea. I thank God that I have another 3.5 years to decide what I want to do, because I think I'll need it. That is another thing. I feel like I've gotten more in touch with my faith since I've come here. Seeing the copious amounts of Catholics, and talking with them about faith, have re-enforced my belief in the Lutheran dogma. I find it hard to understand how otherwise intelligent people can just take what one man says as the word of God. The Pope is still just a man. I keep getting told of Papal Infallibility, and I think, well, unless there is Cardinal Infallibility, and Bishop Infallibility and Priest Infallibility, then Papal Infallibility is in essence fallible. There are too many Catholics here who refuse to question their faith, and just blindly accept it without really understanding what it means. It saddens me, because these people could probably be stronger Christians if they would question their faith. That's what I have done. You can't learn or grow without questioning what is being taught.

WIZARD!

I Am A: Lawful Neutral Human Wizard (3rd Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-13

Dexterity-14

Constitution-14

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-14

Charisma-14


Alignment:
Lawful Neutral A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs him. Order and organization are paramount to him. He may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or he may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot. However, lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

General complaining...

It's only been a few weeks since fall break was over, and I already need another one. I have 2 weeks to go however. I can't wait though, Thanksgiving is always a fun holiday. I'm going to be going down to my grandparent's house in Pinehurst, North Carolina for most of the duration of Thanksgiving break. It may be boring at times, but I cherish every moment I get to spend with my grandparents, because I don't get to see them as often as I would like.

I've been really tired lately. The funny thing is, I've been getting more sleep than normal, but I'm still tired all the time. I'm not quite sure what's up. It might just be because I need a break, I don't know. The real problem I think is that the weekends are too short. I'm looking forward to studying in Ireland fall semester next year, they have 3 day weekends, because there are no classes on Fridays. Weekends that long would really help, plus it allows for more time to explore the country.

I miss my high school friends so much. The worst part is, I won't be able to even see them again until semester break, because I will have no time at home during Thanksgiving break, and no one else would have free time during Thanksgiving break either. There is some good to it though, I will have plenty of time to see them and hang out with them during semester break, but as these things normally do, it will be too short, and I will end up regretting not spending more time with them. I'll just have to do my best, that's all I can do.

What an amazing weekend...

My weekend was excellent, one of the best since I've been here at college. There wasn't even one specific event that made it great, it was just all around awesome. On Friday, we played a great game of Apples to Apples. Some great moments were had by all. You know you're in a great group of friends when everyone laughs at the same things.

Saturday didn't really see much goings on. At one point we went to the Cold Stone Creamery on Monocacy Boulevard. That was fun, Cold Stone has great ice cream. While we were there, I saw one of my friends who is still at high school, and we got to talk for a bit and I was able to learn what is new at my high school this year, which was fun. Then, at around midnight, we were bored, but not yet tired, so we decided to go to Wal*Mart. We were in Wal*Mart until around 1:45, then we finally decided to head back to school and go to sleep. There is nothing funnier than the things that they sell at Wal*Mart when you are awake past midnight. I've come to this conclusion, because I returned to Wal*Mart Sunday afternoon, and nothing was even close to as funny as it was the night before.

Sunday was a great day. We went into downtown Gettysburg, and looked at a few shops. We went to the Hat and Leather shop, where I purchased a red artilleryman's kepi, which I now wear around as often as possible. A kepi looks like this. After that, we went into another shop that sold Civil War recreations for re-enactors. We were in there for a while, just looking at all the cool stuff, when a group of obnoxious kids came in. They were about our age, if I had to guess, I'd say they were either from the local high school, or Gettysburg College. They were loud, and interrupted one of our group who was talking to the store owner. They left making rude comments in general. When we were walking back to my car, we saw them loitering around the shop where my car was parked. Knowing full well that they would be obnoxious as soon as we got close, I decided to mess with them a bit. So I pressed the panic button on my car remote. They got all freaked out, and started to leave in a hurry, lest they get in trouble. It was quite funny.

Today the week started, and life has become slightly more dull.

I had a great fall break

My break was excellent. It was greatly needed too. A full week to relax was a tremendous help. I didn't get to do as much as I wanted, but I got to sleep as much as I wanted, so that made up for things. This past weekend, before break was over, i went down to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. I ended up driving, because with gas prices going down, the train just cost too much money. I got to hang out with my friend Barrett, and laugh at all the drunk people at a Frat Party. I didn't get to spend much time with my friend Meg. It was a little depressing, but she lives closer to me, so I'll be able to spend time with her over semester break.

William & Mary is a very lovely school. I would seriously consider transferring there if tuition wasn't free here. The campus is 10 times larger than MSM, I was really surprised, but the student body is about that much bigger than here as well, so in retrospect, it isn't that surprising. I really liked all the old buildings, they were quite interesting. It was so cool to think that I was walking where Thomas Jefferson walked, and where he went to school. That's one of the reasons I love Colonial Williamsburg, and other historical cities. Being where such great men have been really gives you a great feeling.

I got my ticket for WHS Homecoming in the mail the other day. I haven't decided if I'm going or not. The only reason I would go in the first place is to see all of my old friends again, it's certainly not because of the dance. I hate school dances. So if no one who I want to see is going, or if only a couple of the people I want to see are going, I'll just save the gas and stay here. After all, I'll see them over semester break anyway. I'll just wait and see what comes up.

I feel that...

...I'm a little behind on my posts here. I'll have to be sure to stay more on top of this blog.

This was a great weekend. I had a lot of fun. I got to sleep in both Saturday and Sunday, and just have a lot of fun. On Saturday night, I got to do the ghost hunt thing with John Zaffis. That was really cool. First he gave a talk to everyone at the Knott Auditorium and told us about what he has done. Then he took the group of us that had signed up to the place behind IC Chapel where he took out this device that could apparently detect answers from spirits. We started asking questions, but we didn't get any answers. Then we moved over in between the IC Chapel and the Terrace, and asked more questions. There we got a lot of activity. We started asking questions, and we gathered that the spirit we were talking to was a Nun who had known Father DuBois, and that there were orphans and soldiers. We don't know exactly who it was, but it was cool none the less. We asked if she was looking over us, and she said yes, that that was really cool.

Sunday I did my laundry because it had to be done. Then later in the afternoon we went into Frederick to go to Brainstorm Comics. We got some dice for our Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Don't worry, we aren't' obsessed, it's just a fun thing to do with our free time, after we do our homework. Then we went to Taco Bell and got some dinner. We finally drove back to campus and we stopped at Patriot to get our meal plan dinner, and get them in to-go boxes so that we could eat them later, because we weren't hungry (due to Taco Bell).

I'm looking forward to next week. I'm really in need of fall break. A week free of school will do my mind good. On Saturday I'm going to the Renaissance Festival with my family. It just so happens that so is Dan from my hall. So I'll get to hang out with him instead of my family, because as much as I love my family, they aren't as fun to hang out with at the Renaissance Festival than friends are. The next weekend, the 17-19th of October, I'm going down to Williamsburg to see my friends who go to William & Mary College. Other than that, I have nothing planned, and I'm OK with that.

HE CONNECTS, IT'S GOING, IT'S GOING, IT'S GONE!!!!!!!!!

I just got back from watching the Presidential debate at Purcell Hall. It was great. I think John McCain did a great job. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he'd spent the past 3 days preparing for it. McCain was on the offensive all night, and Obama couldn't do anything except for be on the defensive. McCain really knew his stuff, and Obama was still skating around the questions. Unfortunately, most of the young vote is uneducated in politics, and is going to vote for Obama because he isn't a Republican, not because they actually know he will do well. I'll probably be venting my frustrations on this topic. Barack Obama wouldn't have come even close to getting the Democratic nomination if he'd been white. Now, I'm not racist, but let's be honest, a white person with Barack Obama's experience wouldn't have done as well as Joe Biden in the primaries. I'll get off this topic now before I really start offending people by becoming completely politically incorrect.

I'm so glad that it's the weekend. I really need to get some time to sleep in. It will really do me good. I've got to go to my job at the Phonathon on Sunday though. I was trying to give someone my shift, because I have a Venture Crew (co-ed 14-20 yr old section of the BSA) meeting to go to. I guess I'll just have to show up late. They won't mind, the actual meeting won't start until I get there, they'll be having a cookout/pool party before. I'm still sad though, because I'd really like to just hang out with them, instead of being the guy who just shows up for the business part.

I can't attend the first Honors Discussion dinner, again, because of work. It sounds really interesting, it's about the problem of evil in recent films. Focusing on The Dark Knight and No Country For Old Men. It's so disappointing that I have to miss it. It would be extremely interesting to get the takes of other Honors students on this topic. I also really loved The Dark Knight, so a discussion about it would really be enjoyable. I guess I'll just have to settle with watching it over the Halloween weekend. I'll probably watch it at least 3 times. It is such an excellent movie.

MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY!!!!

As Mondays go, this one hasn't been so bad. It's been long, that's for sure, but it certainly hasn't been boring or difficult at all. It wasn't that hard to wake up this morning. And I didn't even come close to falling asleep in any of my classes. I really enjoyed Origins of the West today, we started learning about the Romans, which is one of my favorite points in history. At 4 I had Mock Trail practice, we were learning about evidence and what should and should not be allowed. We learned about the rules to cite when the opposing council is using evidence it shouldn't. Then I rushed to dinner so I could make it on time to the College Republicans meeting. I'm pretty excited about it actually. I like being politically active, and this will certainly help.

I got a job on campus calling people for the Phonathon. Basically we call alumni and ask them for donations to the Annual Fund. I start tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not really sure why, but it will be earning me money, so I can't really complain. Money is certainly one of the necessities to a college student, considering the amount of things that require money. Like food and gasoline.

Speaking of gasoline, I'm going down to The College of William & Mary at the end of Autumn break. I'll be visiting a couple of my friends who go there. I'm really excited. I love Williamsburg. It is one of my favorite places to go. I'm not sure if I'll be driving, or if I'll take a train. It really all depends on how much it costs. I think it might be less to take a train, but I'm not sure. I've been doing some calculations, and it will cost about $90 for round trip train tickets. But I'll probably have to fill my gas tank twice to get down there. Once to fill it up initially, then again on my return trip. This will cost close to $120 if I completely fill my tank. I'll have about a half tank left, so that would bring the cost of the actual trip to $90. Making it even with the train. It really all depends on if my grandmother takes me out to lunch/dinner one day before I go, and fills up my gas tank. This would then mean I would only have to spend $60 of my own money. I guess it all depends on what happens. Although, I must say, I love taking the train.

I JUST LOST A PINT OF BLOOD!!!

I donated blood for the first time, yesterday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm glad I did it too. It's a good thing to do, it is a very rewarding experience. I know it's cliche, but it really does save lives. I was relieved that I didn't pass out or have any problems. I was really worried about that. I think that I'll continue to donate blood for as long as I can.

I think I'm going to watch a movie tonight. I'm not sure what to watch though. I might just watch episodes of Scrubs. I have all 6 seasons on DVD. It's such a funny show. Probably one of my favorites. Although I might watch The Matrix. I've been wanting to watch that movie for a while. It's a very good movie. The use of Computer Generated Images (CGI) is incredible. The Wachowski Brothers are such pioneers in that field. The Matrix movies are their most famous works, however they recently were the creators of Speed Racer. Although on campus tonight they're showing Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so I might go and watch that instead. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe I'll watch both movies, and a few episodes of Scrubs.

I didn't do very well on a German quiz today. I should really buckle down and study for German. I'm not very good with languages. I was able to get by when I took Spanish in high school because we went pretty slow in comparison, and we spent a lot of time on the vocabulary so I was able to learn it without doing any other studying besides what we did in class and for homework. I guess that's just study lesson number one for college. You have to do work on your own or else you won't succeed in everything.

I'm still alive!

I bought the new Metallica album on Friday when it came out. It's called Death Magnetic. It's really quite good. It's kind of a mixture of the best qualities of their music from the 80s and 90s put together making for an incredible album. I'm very happy with my purchase, especially since Wal-Mart had it for less than iTunes, which usually doesn't happen. I was pleasantly surprised because the price tag said that it was $13.88, which isn't bad for a CD, but is still more expensive than downloading it from iTunes. Then when I checked out, it came to $9.35. I'd saved a good 4 dollars. It was spectacular.

I didn't get much sleep Saturday night. I had to stay up and read part of Barack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, for my Presidential election class because I wouldn't have time to do so on Sunday because I went to the VA Scottish Games and Festival with my Mom, sister, aunt, uncle and cousin. It was a lot of fun. It was really hot out, but there was plenty of shade, and a pretty steady breeze, so it didn't get that bad. There were some really cool vendors. One was selling high quality kilts made in Scotland, one in the USA tartan and another in an ambiguous tartan that had the Rampant Lion incorporated in the pleats in the back. It was really cool, but also $425, just a little out of my price range. Too bad, I would have loved to buy it.

I'm starting to feel a bit homesick. I think I know why too. I live close enough to go home quite often, so I take advantage of that (not often, but I have been home for at least a couple hours every weekend since I started). It's making me stronger though, I know that. Because I'll have to live completely independent of my parents eventually, and so it's good to, for lack of a better term, ween myself off of independence from them now. I'm getting a campus job, so that will help with my independence as well. Hopefully I'll stop regretting living on campus every time I leave my house. Although I have to say it's hard when my sister says, "No, you can't leave, I miss you too much." I think she's having a harder time with the adjustment than I am. I pray that God will help us get through this difficult time, and make it easier. I know he will answer my prayer.

What is my passion?

I don't know. I went to the "Passions and Professions" talk with Johnny Hi-Fi this evening. They told us that you should pursue your passions, but make sure you have a profession that allows you to do so comfortably. That made sense to me, but then I started thinking. Do I have a passion? I don't really know. Sure, I love history, and I love to read, but would I really mind so much if I couldn't do those things again? Would it hurt to not be able to practice those things? I don't think so. They described the difference between a "hobby" and a "passion" and basically what the difference is, is that a hobby is something you do, but it isn't something that would be hard to give up, and a passion is something that you love to do, and if you couldn't do it, it would cause you to suffer, emotionally or physically. Like I said before, I don't think I have a passion. I might, I just haven't discovered that it is a passion yet. I'll have to keep searching.

I'm not going to the Renaissance Festival tomorrow. Not enough people could go, so everyone decided that we'd try to go another weekend. I hope it happens. If it doesn't, I'll go to the RennFest with my family at some point. So because I'm not going to RennFest tomorrow I'm going to go to the VA Highland Games on Sunday with my mom and sister. Tomorrow I'm going to do all of my homework, and then in the evening I'm going to go to the comedian that is coming to campus. I love stand up comedy. It can be so creative. In fact, I'm watching Friday Night Stand Up on Comedy Central right now. Chris Rock is such a great comedian.

I watched The Godfather the other day. What a great movie. Francis Ford Coppola is such a great director. Not to mention the great acting from Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert Duvall. I think I'm going to watch The Godfather, Part II tomorrow, or maybe even tonight if I can stay up late enough. I love Francis Ford Coppola. Not only is he the mastermind behind The Godfather Trilogy, but he also directed Apocalypse Now. That is a great movie. It also has Marlon Brando in it. Brando plays a fictional Army Colonel, Walter Kurtz, during the Vietnam War who goes crazy and thinks he is a messiah, and he is able to convert his regiment and some locals to his new "religion". The main character Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, is sent to find and kill Kurtz. I won't go into more detail than this, but let's just say this is the movie where the famous line, "The horror.....the horror" comes from.

Why am I so tired every morning?

I have no idea, it's somewhat annoying actually. If I don't take a shower, it's impossible for me to become alert, but I'm so tired, I don't want to get up to take a shower. It's a lose-lose situation. Especially because I don't want to get addicted to caffeine drinks (coffee or energy drinks). I guess I'll just have to keep prying myself up in the morning to go take a shower. Otherwise I'll start falling asleep in my first class of the day. Which would not be good.

I'm going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival this Saturday with a friend of mine from camp. We were trying to get more people, but with everyone away at college, it's harder to get together and do things. I love the RennFest. It's so much fun. I like watching all the strange people who dress up in historically inaccurate costumes. Why can't people realize that there WERE NOT pirates during the Renaissance? Or at least not Jack Sparrow-esqe pirates. The creative anachronism is quite funny. This weekend is Scottish weekend. It's going to be so much fun. Albannach will be there. They are a really cool Scottish band that plays the bagpipes and drums. They are able to take traditional instruments and fuse traditional sounds with their own unique sound. I'm so pumped, I've never seen them in person, but my mom and my sister did, and they bought me a CD, and I've wanted to see them ever since.

I went to the first History Club meeting today. It is going to be a lot of fun. I was able to input some good suggestions for trips and for movies we'll watch as a club, then discuss. I suggested Williamsburg and Harpers Ferry for trips. I love those places, they are so much fun to visit. I also suggested The Seven Samurai and The Kingdom of Heaven for movies to watch. Both are extremely good. I hope we get to watch The Seven Samurai though. I really enjoyed it when I watched it last year in Film Studies, and I know I'll understand it more when I see it again. It is a movie made in the 1950s in Japan about a hodge-podge group of Samurai going to help out a village that was being attacked by a group of bandits. It's a compelling story, and after a while, you don't even notice that you are reading subtitles.

What can you do?

What can you do when a friend has something that is bothering them, but they refuse to tell anyone what it is? I can't tell him that everything will be alright, because I don't know what is wrong in the first place. I can't sympathize with him. I can't console him. I can't do anything except worry. He hasn't even really admitted that something is wrong, but I know that something is wrong. I know him too well to overlook this type of behavior from him. It's starting to worry me. I feel so useless not being able to help. I guess all I can do is wait for him to finally admit what is wrong. I don't want to press him too hard on the subject, because I don't want him to keep it bottled up longer, and that's just what will happen if I try to pry it out of him.

I'll just wait and see. And pray for the best.

Learning Curve

I'm writing now, because I have nothing else to do. I don't know what I want to write about, so I'll just keep writing. I've never really liked writing. I'm not sure why. It's never been something that amused me. I never really hated it either, it just wasn't something that I would do for fun. Now I'm starting to like just writing whatever is on my mind, whatever it happens to be. It's relaxing, and is a good outlet, because I don't really like to verbally talk to people about what bothers me. I'm not really sure why. I think it's because my mind goes faster than my mouth, but I'm able to slow it down for my fingers when I'm typing, or I can just type faster than I can talk. Either way, I'm able to convey what I mean more when I write/type than when I actually speak. I'm a horrible public speaker, I'm bad when it comes to speaking in class, too. At least I feel that way. I feel that I'm not able to always vocalize what is on my mind. I'm joining the Mock Trial Team here at Mount St. Mary's to hopefully help me with my oratory skills. I'll need them if I really plan on becoming a lawyer, and possibly a politician. I'm also planning on joining the Philosophy Society, they sponsor many debates, so hopefully that will also help.

Speaking of all these clubs, I went to the Student Activity Fair this afternoon. In addition to joining the Mock Trial Team and the Philosophy Society, I also joined the Irish Club or Ireland Club, whatever it's called. Either way, it's a group that takes interest in Ireland, it's people and it's culture, and many of it's members will be studying abroad in Ireland in the Fall 2009 semester. Hopefully I'll be able to do this as well. I'd love to go to Ireland for a full semester. I love Ireland, although I've never been there. I love what I know about Ireland, and I love being Irish. I love Ireland's rich history, and I love Ireland's food. I really hope I get to go on this semester abroad. It would really make my college experience complete.

I also signed up for the History Club. I love history (European history the most). It's so interesting. It surprises me how people can't be interested in it. However, people who love math and science are probably surprised how little I am interested in those subjects. Back to history. It's such a fun thing to study. What small things influenced the big things that everyone knows about? What is inaccurate about the latest history movie that Hollywood just had to take artistic license on? I love these things. Learning, and then sharing what I learned. It's very rewarding, although I still don't think I'd like to be a teacher. Sure it's fun to impart knowledge on to others, but I don't think I could do it all day, every day like teachers do. It would get frustrating after awhile. Especially if I got stuck with the dumb kids, like what happens to most new teachers. I would go crazy trying to teach the kids who just don't want to learn. How they expect to make anything of themselves when they are older is beyond me. Without knowledge you have nothing. And with nothing, you can go no where. Just "hanging out" all the time, and not trying to learn is the biggest waste of your own time, not to mention your teacher's time. One good thing about college is, everyone (ok, most everyone, some people are here because their parents are making them, let's face it) wants to be here, because they like learning.

Interesting...

I was told yesterday that two good friends of mine are now dating. Normally, I would be really excited about this. But, I'm not. I know how it's going to turn out. And it won't be good. Both people are nice, and smart, but I don't think that their personalities mesh. I'm worried that when (not if) they break up that I'll have to choose which one I'll want to remain friends with. And I don't like the thought of that at all. But if I try to tell them that I think that they are bad for each other, I'll probably lose both friends, which is even more unbearable. Fortunately, they are from different friend circles, so I probably won't have to really lose either one as a friend. I really don't know what to do. I guess I'll just have to wait it out and see what happens. Hopefully I'll be wrong and if the break up at all, it'll be because it they knew that they were better as friends.

I was told by my Freshmen Seminar teacher that I shouldn't go home or visit my family at all for the first 3 weeks of college. Although it does seem like good advice for most people, I don't think it is the same for me. I already know how to get along without my family for an extended period of time. Going off to work at summer camp for the past 4 years has prepared me for the real world, or at least the college world. The reason I bring this up, is because I'm going "camping" with my family this weekend. We are going to Goshen Family Camp, I'll be working on staff, and my parents will be cooking for the staff. I'm really excited, because I love going down to Goshen, no matter when it is. It always seems much more special when I go down during the offseason though. I'm not sure why.

Before I leave for family camp though, I'm going to go back and visit some of my teachers from high school. After my German class today, I'm leaving right away so I can get there before everyone has left, in hopes of seeing some of my high school friends too. I'm also going to be introducing my sister (a freshmen) to the academic team advisor so she can get involved, and because it's good to know more than just the teachers that you have, because it's always good to have someone in your corner looking out for you. I think my sister will do good in high school. She was nervous the weeks leading up to it, not only because she'd be going to high school, but also because I wouldn't be there to help her out if she needed it. It'll be good for her to know that I'm not that far away if she ever really needs me.

Well, I think I'm going to wrap this up, because I'm getting hungry, and I want to go to lunch.

As I sit here, watching the DNC...

...I can't help but muse at all of the speakers reliance on talking about "George W. Bush" or "The Republican party" instead of on the person that should really matter, John McCain. Oh, sure, it sounds great. But how confident can a person like Bill Clinton be in Barack Obama if he has to rely on cheap tricks like that. He should really talk about how bad John McCain is, not George W. Bush. I'm pretty sure that we know how people feel about him, and why. But why should we vote for Obama? We can't vote for GWB. Why shouldn't we vote for John McCain? Now Bill Clinton is talking about "cronyism". HAHA! That really makes me laugh. How hypocritical can you be? Good gracious. I can't keep watching. *click*

Well, that's about it. Sorry if you're reading this, I know you probably think I'm a nutcase.

College is fun!

I'm 2/3 of the way through with my classes today. I have German at 12:10 today instead of 1 because of convocation. I'm excited for German. I've always wanted to take German, but my high school didn't offer it. German is such an interesting language. German culture is also extremely interesting. Not to mention Germany's history. Good gracious, what a history. From being many small nations that all spoke the same language, to being united by Germany, to starting 2 world wars. I love German food, especially bratwurst. It's the best of the wurst. Oh wow, what a bad pun. I'm kind of rambling now. I'm just typing what's on my mind. I'm really excited for this presidential election. It's turning into quite an interesting race. I'm taking a class called The Presidential Election of 2008. We took a poll today of who we would vote for if the election was held today. To my surprise, John McCain won. Isn't that interesting? I guess it's because of the nature of this school. We're a small, Catholic school. There are probably a lot of conservatives on campus. Although I bet they don't speak their mind as much because of the public opinion of all Republicans, just because of George W. Bush. It's really a shame that people will just assume that all Republicans are just like George W. Bush. What makes them think that? George W. Bush is an individual, just like everyone else. He isn't exactly like anyone else. Not all Republicans act like GWB. I don't think he was a bad president. I think that his policies would have been just fine if the liberal media hadn't been so aggitated when he won the Supreme Court case, Bush v. Gore. If he'd won outright, no one would have tried to make him look like he stole the election. Oh well. You can't have everything that you want.

In case you didn't know, I work at a Cub Scout camp in the summer. Beautiful Camp PMI on the Goshen Scout Reservation. I don't like to say it, because it sounds like I'm being self-aggrandizing, but Camp PMI is the best on the Reservation. But don't just ask me, ask Al Lambert, the Scout Executive for our council (he's the top guy in charge). At a camp directors meeting, he told our CD, in front of all the others, that Camp PMI had the best staff. At Camp PMI, we have a Motto, "Pride, Style, Dedication" That is the definition of Camp PMI. We are proud of our work, we do our work with style, and we are dedicated not only to our camp, but to the reservation, and to the scouts that we help. My friend CJ, who also works at PMI, is having sweatshirts made with the PMI logo on the front with the word "Staff" underneath (kind of like our staff shirts, but without a year number), and with our Motto on the back. A lot of people are getting them, along with myself. But not only is current staff getting them, but Alumni are getting them too. Camp PMI stays with you forever, no matter what. I like that.

I think it's kind of like college. The people you meet at Camp will be your friends forever. I've been told that college is like this as well. It makes sense really. With camp, you live in tents with these people for 2 months out of the year, with college, you live in dorms with these people for 8 months out of the year. You also get to choose your college, just like you get to choose the camp you work at, giving you a sense of pride in that place right off the bat.

Oh dang, no catchy/origional/cool title....

I've been getting ready to go to college for the past couple of weeks. I'm starting to get excited. I'm glad I decided to go with living on campus, because I'd hate to have to commute. It just wouldn't be the same. I've talked to my roommate, he seems like he's a pretty cool guy. He's an Eagle Scout, and he loves the outdoors. We'll probably get along great. I hope we do. What I am most excited for is getting my laptop. At the Mount, they have this laptop ownership program where they buy a bajillion (yes, that is a real number) computers from Dell, then sell them to us at a greatly discounted price. We also get printers with the deal. But because this is how I got my computer, I have to wait until I move in to actually receive my laptop. So until Sunday, I must continue to share a computer with my sister. Oh well, it's only a few more days. Look, over there. Yeah, right there, on the left of your screen, that's what my laptop looks like. I has a built in webcam. That's one of the things I'm really looking forward to. Talking to my friends, face to face, from a bajillion miles away.

I am really liking this new bloging website. It makes things much easier. Xanga was a little annoying if I do say so myself. Which I do. So, HA!

I had a really good day today. I went to lunch at Panera with a few of my really good friends from church; Pat, Katherine, and JP. I haven't gotten to see them since June, so it was really great catching up one last time before Pat and I left for college. We reminisced about the Mission Trip we went on last summer, and about how Katherine would be all by her lonesome with the new upcoming freshmen (scary thought, my sister is one). That's one thing that I'll miss. Going to Youth Group on Sunday mornings. We always had so much fun. I'll try to make it to Youth Group every now and then, but I know for sure I won't be able to do it every Sunday. It would just eat up too much gas (not to mention sleep time).

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'm going to go down to Montgomery County, and hang out with some of my friends from Camp PMI one last time before we all leave for college. It's really cool that there are so many of us from that age group, we get to experience the same types of things at the same general time. I'll be sure to tell you of our adventures tomorrow evening when I get the chance to blog once more.

Good night all. I'd write more, but seeing as I share a computer (my sister is kicking me off), I don't have the privelege of writing a really long blog.

-The Kilted Scholar

Well, THAT is a bummer....

I lost my cell phone today at Six Flags. I won't get a new one until Monday. It's quite sad. Although I guess a cell phone isn't as necessary now that I have daily access to a computer, but still, it will be interesting seeing how well I get along with out my cell phone. I think the worst part is. I've now lost all of my contacts, so I'll have to slowly acquire them once more. At least with the invention of things like Facebook, I can more quickly gather cell phone numbers of most of my friends. Unfortuneatly a lot of my friends still don't have Facebooks. Ah well, such is life.

GOSH DANGIT!

Well, this thing looks simpler than Xanga. Let's see how I like it.