The end is near...

It's been a looooonnnngggg time! But, there has been a lot going on! A final lab report and an analysis of a biologically related news article, last touches on the last history paper, reading Virgil's Aeneid so that we could finish it in 4 classes, an open hall Christmas party which concluded with spontaneous caroling outside in the quad (I played my violin), a surprise birthday party, a Latin recetation which my roommates were in (I was one of a select group of freshmen who were given new text books as a gift for our good work this semester and probably as a ploy to get us to keep taking Latin ;), and of course FINALS!!!!!!!!

We've all been studying REALLY HARD!!!!! Especially for the history final which was on Monday. That was a scary test! It consisted of two essays and 12 identifications which are like mini essays! My Latin test was on monday, and Literature was on Teusday. Today is my last test-biology. It's going to be DIFFICULT because it's an applied knowledge type exam. At least it's open book so that I don't have to get hung up on the details.

It's almost time for Christmas break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!! I'M SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

Aaah! But first I must study for my exam tonight at 7 p.m. On to DNA Replication!

Happy Thanksgiving!

How Good is the Good God!

To whom it may concern...

To that individual who left the comment concerning a certain basket ball game:

Yes, I know who you are.

In response I say it is your loss if you don't like certain people (i.e. me) because they are from certain places.

P.S. This is meant to be read in good natured sarcastic humor. Though I'm not entirely sure how good natured one can be if one is sarcastic since sarcastic comes from a word which means "to tear flesh"...

P.P.S. To those of you who are confused by this exchange, it's just teasing between friends, I just don't like to give names online.

Midnight Babble

I'm all excited about Thanksgiving break! I'm trying to get my work done so that I can enjoy it. Thus far, things aren't really going as I'd like, but I am learning humility and am being allowed to experience my own limitations.

Last night my friend and I went to see the Rainmaker. It was a student organized play, and, while you had to sift through the secular morals of the play, it was well done. Did I mention that it was outside, under the stars, on a lawn like area? It was very scenic!

It's getting chilly here! Ya'know, mid 50's in the morning. O.k., it's not that cold, but when you've been living in the land of perpetual summer for three months anything below 60 is COLD! The weirdest thing though is how dark it gets. After 6:30 or so it's quite dark! But because we're out in the middle o' no where you can see a lot of stars! Soooo pretty!

Gotta sleep,tomorrow is monday!

Random movie night

Today I went on the WalMart run, and ran around WalMart. I was quite lost for the most part. I thought it was strange that the brownie mix should be on one side of the building, and the disposable foil pans would be on the other side. Any way...I bought everything I had intended to buy with the addition of Ghirardelli brownie mix and a disposable foil pan, and some items for the Thanksgiving food drive. There's actually a competition among the residence halls to see which one can collect the most food. They say the boys always win, usually by questionable means...like counting how much the competition has and going out the night before the deadline and buying just enough to win by one item!

This evening, I didn't really get any homework done. Some of my friends and I went to watch a movie a fellow student had made. It was "The Fall of Gondolin", one of the episodes described in J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Silmilrilion (sorry I can't spell it!) It was approximately 2.5 hours long! While it was still a home made movie, I enjoyed it.

I think I'll go to 10 a.m. Mass tomorrow...

UpDate

Long time no blog! So....

I cooked dinner on Sunday. I made cook-up (i.e. rice, pigeon pea, and chicken "stew") for my roommates and I. It was good! One of my roommates also made bread. Yum!

All Saints' Day we didn't have classes. I got a package from home...chocolate! ;)

All Souls' Day the AMU choir had it's first concert. It was beautiful!

Saturday I went to a student organized and written musical production that is known as Cabaret: An American Salute. It was quite good. :)

This week is pre-registration week. So I met with my accademic advisor today and registered for classes next semester. I'm going to be very busy Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; Classes don't end until 4:20 p.m. But on Teusday I only have Latin and Lab, and Thursday I only have Latin!

People are already wispering about finals...

The weather is cooling off. It's around 60 degrees farenheit in the mornings. The high was around 80 today. I love this weather! Though I do miss real autumn. There aren't a lot of trees around here and the few that are around haven't really changed color.

I'm excited about Thanksgiving break! I'm just going to leave all school behind! But I will have a paper due the Monday after Thanksgiving, possibly two papers. And I'll have to perform a self-directed lab that Teusday. Oh, and I need to start working on an oral presentation for Dec. 4 (Biology). I need to get on it! It's soooo hard not to be lazy and procrastinate!

I've got to study Latin and read the lab procedure for tomorrow. Apparently, we're going to be isolating DNA from the skin cells inside our mouths, and then replicating it. And for Latin we have a quiz on a few irregular verbs. It's confusing because "est" can mean "he/she/it is" or "he/she/it eats".

Nolo studere. (I don't want to study). Volo ludere. (I want to play). Possum vincere. (I can conquer). Orate pro me! (You all pray for me!)

Fall Break!!!!

I had my last midterm today: literature. I believe I did very well on the short answer section. I did what I could for the essay questions. And now it's done! I proceeded to return to the dorm and clean the bathroom because I couldn't stand it! Now everything is nice and clean! I also helped my roommate make chocolate, peanut butter chip cookies. YUM! I went to 5:15 p.m. Mass. I had expected to meet my family there, but they had called and said that they were caught in traffic. My friends and I prayed, and they made it! Then my family went out to dinner. Deep dish pizza! My sister is spending the night with me at the dorm. We're going to stay up late...

Ways to Study for History Midterm

Inaugural Ball

The Inaugural Ball! I love getting dressed up!

Our Lady of Fatima

Saturday was the 90th Anniversary of the Miracle at Fatima. One of my roommates organized the Rosary procession.

MIDTERMS!!!!

Midterms are next week!!!! It's so hard to believe that the semester is already half over! My history midterm is really making me nervous! Not only are there a ton of facts to memorize, but it's also comprehensive, so I have explain the historical significance of why things happened. And of course, biology has a vast quantity of things to remember as well. I could potentially have some wild dreams all about history dates and the Krebs cycle! (from 461-429 B.C. Pericles was oxidized into alpha-ketoglutarate!)
Literature, I'm not worried, but I should be because I'm seriously behind in the reading. I speculate that I'm in denial. I am thankful, however, that I don't have a Latin midterm because I was present (and did well) on all the weekly quizes!
My friends and I would appreciate prayers for the upcoming week and this weekend that we might be able to study efficiently, and effectively and that we could all do our absolute best!
It doesn't really help matters that the Inagural Ball is tomorrow (Sat.) If I'm dillegent all day, I won't deny myself some celebrating.

Holy Mary, pray for us!

Spirit Week: Decade Day (Freshman Decade: 0-10 A.D.)

Don't worry, I don't really know these two guys!
10/4/07 A.D.

Spirit Week: Nerd Day~

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Spirit Week: Crazy Hair Day!

Monday 10/1

There and Back Again...Story of a Hungry student

I've got a lot to do this weekend. I have a lab report to write, a literature paper due on Thursday, and a history paper due on Oct.8. But I feel pretty good. I don't feel as stressed as I probably should! ;)

Tonight they had swing dance lessons taught by two of the students. We learned some Charlston, and some New England swing. It was pretty fun!

Here's an funny story...
Tonight my roommates and I left the dorm at 6:30p.m. to go to dinner. I relized I hadn't brought my I.D. but I didn't think too much of it. When we reached the dinning hall, it dawned on me: I needed my I.D. so that I could eat! I began to walk back to the dorm, and realized I needed a key! So I turned around and borrowed one of my roommates keys. Now, this all wouldn't have been such a big deal, except for the fact that they stop serving dinner at 7 p.m! Praise God I made it back in time to eat. And that is pretty much the most ridiculous thing that has happened this Friday.

Psalm 4

When I call, answer me, O God of justice;
from anguish you released me; have mercy and hear me!

O men, how long will your hearts be closed,
will you love what is futile and seek what is false?

It is the Lord who grants favors to those whom he loves;
the Lord hears me whenever I call him.

Fear him; do not sin: ponder on your bed and be still.
Make justice your sacrifice and trust in the Lord.

"What can bring us happiness?" many say.
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.

You have put into my heart a greater joy
than they have from abundance of corn and new wine

I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Update & A look into a freshman's mind...

Yea, it's been a long time. I'll just take a break from yet another lab report (this one is easier) to bring you up to date.

Last Thursday I went to the ballroom dancing class. Dancing is very fun! Unfortunately, the women outnumbered the men. My friend and I said a Rosary on the way back from dancing since we'd missed the Rosary walk.

Firday, I don't remember clearly at this time.

Saturday I participated in a "photo shoot". One of the students was taking pictures for the website (at least I think that's what it was) and he needed people to pose in the pictures.

Sunday I went to Mass at 10:00 a.m. because I wanted to sleep. Later that afternoon, some of my roomates and two others went to one of the music rooms in the library and played around with music. I need to find and Irish session...

This week, I've been trying hard to get all of my homework done because I'm going on a silent retreat this weekend. It will be good to rest, reprioritize, and reconnect. I don't want a lot of homework to worry about.

Some rambles to keep you entertained:

I find the third declension of Latin confusing. We're also starting to use the ablative case, and imperative plural.
My Latin teacher knows more than he betrays. He knows Latin, Greek, English, Polish (his first language), and French. He can understand Italian, and can read Spanish.

The league of Western Civilization I teachers thinks that we have nothing better to do than read history and write summaries and papers on history.

In literature, we finished reading the Iliad. It was very sad! "Such was the burial of Hektor, breaker of horses." Now we have to study for a quiz over books 9-16(or maybe only 15).

An audiologist spoke on Monday for the biology seminar the weekly biology seminar. She was very nice and sent me links to sites about audiology. One more career to consider. (It doesn't hurt that annual compensation is about $60,000 annually!)

I've started helping a family whose toddler has down's syndrom. Essentially, he just needs someone to play with. His mom is teaching me alot about down's syndrom.

I get to sleep in tommorrow till 7:30! Since Mass at the retreat will be at 8 p.m., I don't have to get up early to go to 7:50 a.m. Mass.

The nights have been beautiful. The mosquitoes, not so much so...

I haven't received any mail all week, though I've finally remembered which mail box is mine!

I have to study for a biology test on Wednesday. Pray for me!

Pray for my friends too! We're all in this together! Hmm...sounds like a song...

Goodnight!

Mad Scientist

I don't think this type of thinking is appropriate after 11p.m. I must be crazy...

In a solution of nonelectrolyte, hemolysis will occur only at very low osmolaritites. In a solution of electrolyte, a higher osmolarity is necessary for hemolysis to occur (due to the ionization of the electrolyte). Neither of the hypothesis formulated was supported...

On the contrary, the were contradicted and kept me up late! ;)

BEACH!!!!!!!!

We went to the beach today!!! Need I say more?

P.S. We built an Oratory out of sand!

Happy Birthday!

One of my roommates celebrated her 18th birthday yesterday! The rest of us had been planning on surprising her for about a week! Two girls were the shoppers, I was part of the decorating crew (who stayed up late the night before to hang streamers and blow up balloons while the birthday girl was asleep ;), and then there was a cooking committie who found creative ways to sneak out of the dorm room and bake cookies, and an apple pie!

She was surprised! That evening she opened her cards and gift, and we had semi-homemade apple pie. YUM! It was so much fun!

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words...

So I guess that's 8000 words about life at Ave!

First Saturday

Went to Mass at 9:00 a.m.

Ate brunch

Cleaned dorm. One of the first things we did as roommates was to decide what kind of chores needed to be done and how we could best divide the work. So after a discussion, one of my roommates made a chore schedule. Today my job is to clean the bathroom sink and mirror, and sweep the common room. I also had the option of mopping the common room either this week or next week. I decided to do it this week. The dorm is so nice and clean! I'm so thankful that I'm living with tidy girls! :)

Then I went to a just-for-fun kickball game between the seniors and the freshmen. I was part of the fan support. ;) We lost, but I heard that the freshmen beat the sophomores in the game before!

Ate chocolate cake. It was from wal-mart or something and it had been left over from the party on Wednesday. Since it hadn't been opened it was still good. YUM! Because we didn't want to waste it, we took it down to the loby of our residence hall and shared it. The last piece was taken over to Xavier (the men's residence hall) along with an unopened bag of potatoe chips from the same party.

Studied history. Read The Epic of Gilgamesh; it was a bit depressing. Began writing short summary of Gilgamesh.

Ate dinner.

Watched fellow students trying to ride the mechanical bull. (It was western night.)

Left as square dancing started, and returned to finish summary.

Went on Rosary walk.

Talked to my family on the bedroom phone, since cell phones only get service outside due to the hurrican proof buildings and our rather remote location.

Fiddled a little.

Checked e-mail.

Wrote blog.

*Sigh of Relief*

*Whew* the first week is officially over (class wise that is). I didn't have any classes until after lunch so I read the two chapters of the Iliad I was assigned for Literature. It's really violent. Think about The Patriot. I also reviewed biology.

Today I used my digital vioce recorder for the first time in an academic setting. I recorded my history lecture. History and literature are the two classes that I really need to record because the teacher brings insights that aren't necessarily in the book. Biology on the other hand is pretty straight forward in terms of material that must be learned.

This evening two of my roommates and I set up my laptop with some computer speakers and watched part of The Sting. It's a really good, suspensful movie! It's complicated enough to keep you interested, but if you pay attention, you won't get too lost. ;)

Oh yea! We finally got our I.D. cards! I just have to go to the registrar sometime soon to get my picture taken for the I.D.

Well, I'm really tired. I'm so happy Mass is at 9 a.m. instead of 7:50 a.m! :)

The second day

Today I went to morning Mass at 7:50, and was surprised to find that it was in Latin. Luckily, the readings, the homily, and the opening prayer, and the closing prayer were in English. Thank goodness! The only major problem I had was that I had a class at 8:50 (Elementary Latin, go figure!) and the Mass was a bit longer that the usual half-hour. At least I couldn't be late to class because my teacher was concelebrating the Mass!

After that I had Literary Traditions I. The Professor seems nice, and other students recommend him. I just don't like literature; I don't have that "muse" as the Greeks called it. Any way, the first book we're reading is it Iliad. I think it would be a good Monty Python skit(a clean version of course)...

Lab was from 1-4. It was an introductory Lab, so it was very easy. Unfortunately, I still have to write a lab report. :( Fortunately, I have really light class loads on Thursdays and Fridays, so I'll have time to write the report.

This evening there was a Eucharistic procession with the Rosary walk. Afterwards, the priest brought the Blessed Sacrament to each floor of each dorm. It was pretty cool!

Well, I think I'll try and get to bed at a reasonable hour! Good Night!

The First Day

Today was the first day of classes! It began with a quick continental breakfast and a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the campus. There were news cameras all around, so watch for me on the news! ;)

Then I had Elementary Latin. The teacher is a Polish priest. He has an accent, but I don't have any reall trouble understanding him. He really loves what he teaches. Thus far I like Latin. :[)

Opening Mass was at noon (the Masses here really help to lift my mind to God), followed by a quick sack lunch, after which I was on my way to Western Civilization I. Nothing really interesting there except I found out that the teachers had collectively decided to change one of the text books. So I had to return the one I had, and must buy a different one.

Then came Biology 211...*scary music plays*...I was overwhelmed by all the projects that were necessary. Lab reports, an oral presentation, and a self-designed lab! Of course they're not due all at once. The last two aren't due until December and November respectively. I also discovered that I had the wrong books for this class also (or quoque as I learned in Latin) so I had to return those and pre-order the correct ones.

Well, I'm going to read about the lab I have tomorrow! I also have a literature class. (Yuck!) at least I'm being taught by the renowned Joseph Pearce.

T'was the Night Before Classes...

And all through the school...Don't worry, I can't write it all. That and one of my roommates just discovered that her cell phone gets service inside the dorm. (This is unusual since all the buildings are hurricane proof i.e. they're steel and concrete!) She let out a shriek of joy!

Anyway, tomorrow is the first day of classes. Breakfast starts at 7:30, and the ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the university is at 8:00. Then I have a Latin class, then the opening Mass at noon. Followed almost immediately by Western Civilization I, and Molecular Biology.

I'm very nervous! All the university "officials", if you will, keep talking about how important it is to go to class and study. Like I didn't know that already! I mean, why else would you go to college! I just have to remember that I'll be just fine. I have the drive, and the support of all of you! And my roommates are all good students as well so I will have positive peer pressure.

I just have to remember the most important things: daily Mass, and prayer. I love being here at an authentically Catholic school! I mean, I can just turn to my friends and say, "Let's pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet," and they'll be like "Alright!" We're all on the same page; we share an important value. PRAISE GOD!

A Ramble

There really isn't much to say about the party on Wednesday. Five of my seven roommates and their families all came over for a pot luck. We talked and laughed, and interogated and shared. The parents all chatted, and some of the siblings swam in the pool. All in all it went better than anyone could have hoped. (Except for God Who made it all happen!)

Not all of my roomates are pictured on this blog. One didn't fly down till Thursday and this picture was taken of Wednesday. My last roomate was a complete surprise! None of us knew anything about her! But she's great, just like the rest. :)

I actually went to Target with her and other freshmen today. I only needed one thing, but since she also flew she needed some really important stuff. So we ran around Target brainstorming items worthy of purchase!

If you are seriously interested in the details of orientation, you will have to check out www.avemaria.edu and click on students, then orientation schedule (I'm pretty sure that's where you'll find it.) But it's impossibly for me to sum up an experience like this on a blog. In a book, maybe...but I won't have time to write a book any time soon. :)

This afternoon, I discovered that several of my roommates love Irish music too! I'm hoping we'll be able to play music together (i.e. session) some time tomorrow!
Tonight we had some praise and worship, and heard a funny, but inspiring talk by Chris Padgett.

Well, I'm planning on going on the Rosary walk at 11 p.m. (it's only this late because of all the orientation events). Tommorrow I plan to attend 10 o'clock Mass (Yea! Sleep!) I hope it's not in Latin...I'm pretty sure it's not.

Busy

It's been a while! There will be more detailed posts coming soon. But just so you know what's been happening: the pre-orientation roommate (and their families) party went great. Everyone was so happy we hosted it at a house instead of a restaurant. All of my roommates are wonderful!

Orientation has been going on since Thursday! Moving in, programs, games, discussions, and I only got internet access today! Hopefully I'll have some time later on to elaborate! WOW!

An unexpected party

Guess what? Today, as we were strolling an outdoor shopping mall, mom received a voice mail from some friends saying that they were in Naples too! Their oldest son was looking at AMU and they had brought the whole family along on a Florida vacation. Some phone conversations later, we were all getting together at our house for pizza! It was a great surprise! Anna especially enjoyed having some friends closer to her age to play in the pool.

Tomorrow is the big gathering of the roommates, and I still have to buy some last minute things at Target. It's almost time for school!

Supplies 2

Sorry! When I changed the template color the purple font could not be read. So here it is again, only clearer. (I like this template better because there's a lot of blue and the star in the corner reminds me of a sand dollar!)

Today we went shopping for school supplies at Office Depot. Crazy! Paper, notebooks, binders, post-it-notes, pens (which is harder than it looks when you're in a store that has a whole section devoted to pens!), a desk calendar, a day planner, stapler, pencil sharpener, etc. I won't take pencils for granted anymore. :)

Supplies

Today we went shopping for school supplies at Office Depot. Crazy! Paper, notebooks, binders, post-it-notes, pens (which is harder than it looks when you're in a store that has a whole section devoted to pens!), a desk calendar, a day planner, stapler, pencil sharpener, etc. I won't take pencils for granted anymore. :)

In Naples

Here we are in Naples! The house we're staying in is great! It's really big; it has two master bed rooms. I got one! :) It also has a pool out back.

Today, after Mass, we drove to Ave Maria town. It was soooo cool! Of course, there's a lot left to do and a lot of room to grow, but I'm so glad I can be a part of it all. It's kind of like being a pioneer. We also checked out some of the new houses. They are really close together, but I'm pretty sure that's a Florida thing. Andrew was ready to move in right then and there! We all had a good time.

Except Anna. She wanted to get back to the house and swim. So after looking at about 7 houses, Mom and Dad dropped us off at the house and went grocery shopping. Emma taught me how to stroke (free style, and breast stroke) properly. ;)

I'll close now; my leg fell asleep and it's killing me!

Color...

Yes, I realize the blog color is green and my school colors are blue and white. Give me a break; I learned how to do this in under 15 minutes at about 11 p.m. ;)

The night before...

O.K. technically it is the morning of departure for Naples, Fl as it is 12:05 A.M. However, I will still consider this the night before since the sun has not yet risen.

We will leave some time between noon and 1 p.m. tomorrow (literally today). I'm essentially packed. I just have a few last minute things to gather up; specifically pillows, toothbrush, and retainer (*blah*). Other than that I'm ready. I plan to re-read Leisure: The Basis of Culture on the way down, so that I'll have it fresh in my memory for the discussion/ice breaker that will be held either Friday or Saturday. I'm both excited and nervous about this discussion, but thus far the thought of university is nothing but an unusual mixture of excitement and nervousness!

I'm glad my last night at home was so fun! It was Ms. Linda's Birthday and she and Mr. Jeff came over for dinner, cake, and a movie. :) We also had our pick of five kinds of ice cream! Needless to say, I had the chocolate fudge!

I have no clue when I will "blog" again. Hopefully soon enough to share the craziness of my first week or so. Misery and joy both love company! But if I don't hello and good-bye at the same time! Also, check out http://www.avemaria.edu/ and http://www.avemaria.com/ for info about the university and surrounding town respectively.

Good night!