Late night, anyone?

It's amazing how much random stuff one can find to do while putting off writing a paper. It will most definately be a late night, followed by an early morning. At 7:00 I am going to a breakfast as a sort of thank you to our Buildings and Grounds staff. It's always fun and there's good food (steak and eggs), but man that's gonna be early. I guess that's what I get for having such a good time this weekend. Allow me to explain.

On Friday, as I always do, I spent a lot of quality time with Mary. Friday afternoons are normally the highlight of my week for this reason. Then, later on that night, one of the groups on campus held a rootbeer keg party in Bob's Place. It was so much fun to just hang out with a lot of my friends and act goofy doing crazy dance moves and whatnot. But the best part of the night was when I won a brand new iPod Nano! There was a drawing and my name was called, and myself and another guy were quizzed on the dangers of alcohol. I was the first to correctly answer one of the questions, so I won. I've never owned an iPod before so I was pretty excited.

Saturday was a lot of fun as well. As is usual, I watched Notre Dame get beat. But then, I was able to spend some time with two of my favorite people in the world- Annie and Carrie. They are twins and I got to know them during the fall semester of my sophomore year when we were in Northern Ireland. We became very close during the 3 and a 1/2 months we were there and we were able to help each other get through some of the tougher parts of the experience. Anyway, the three of us went to Common Grounds (a local coffee shop) and just talked for an hour or so. It's always good to catch up.

Then on Saturday night Mary and I went out for dinner and a movie. It was awesome. First of all, the Red Pig Inn in Findlay is one of my new favorite restaurants (I'd never been there before but if you're in the area, you need to go there- I suggest trying the ribs). Secondly, the movie 3:10 to Yuma is one of my new favorite movies. So good. In-between dinner and the movie (we had a lot of time between), as well as after the movie, we just had a lot of fun talking about a variety of topics. I honestly don't know how we get on some of the topics we do, but it's always a good time.

Today I went to Sunday Morning Worship here on campus, which was good. The subject this week was about building our relationship with God. Always a good thing to talk about. I don't think we should ever stop in that pursuit, so it's good to be encouraged in that direction.

In the afternoon I started out strong reading for this paper that I'm currently putting off. I read a couple chapters and then took a short break, or so I thought. Of course once I checked football scores, I thought that it wouldn't hurt to watch for a couple minutes longer. And then tonight we had what is called Fall Festival in preparation for Spiritual Life Week this coming week. Many of the clubs on campus have a booth where students can come and do all sorts of fun fall-themed activities. For Student Senate, we had a cookie decorating booth. Several girls baked close to 300 cookies yesterday and then made icing today for people to decorate with. The end result was a lot of fun for the students who stopped by.

So this is where I am now. I did end up setting up my fish tank tonight while I was procrastinating, which is nice to get out of the way. But along with my paper, I've got some odds and ends that need finished for tomorrow, so I'm prepping myself for an all-nighter that may very well happen.

I hope you get more sleep than I do.

Until next time,

Scott

P.S. The girl in the top picture is my friend Carrie, decorating a cookie at the Student Senate booth at the Fall Festival.

Fires and blood drives and Scrubs- oh my!

It's definately been a different week than I'm used to. In a good way though.

Tuesday night was a good time (see picture to the left) as Corey, Slurpy, Phill, and I went with Wade to his parent's house just a few minutes from campus and had a fire and some solid bonding time. The theme was "It Ends Tonight" as it was the official end of summer and the start of Autumn. Well, it just so happened that we decided to do this on that night I think. I really don't know, they just invited me and I thought what the heck. We did the whole cooking hot dogs over the fire thing and talked about our summers. Dispite it raining a bit and getting bit up by mosquitoes, it was a pleasant experience.

Then Wednesday was slow as usual, but my weekly visit with Phill to the Bradfield Community Center in Lima was definately more lively than our first time last week. The kids were just really wound up and had so much energy. It was a lot of fun just getting to play bingo and kickball with them for a couple hours. While I was kind of nervous and didn't know what to expect before we started going, I'm starting to really enjoy my time there.

Today was one of those days where I just didn't want to get up. I tend to be up too late for no good reason (case in point- it is currently just before 3 a.m. as I am writing this!) and I have an 8:00 a.m. class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But I got through it and I can sleep in the next couple days. But today was no ordinary day. It was pretty cool because Shaun Groves was here today for Chapel and then he played a couple concerts tonight as well. If you've never had a chace to hear him speak or sing, I strongly encourage you to check him out. He definately had a powerful message during Chapel and I am upset I couldn't go to the concerts tonight (more on that below). Also today was one of the year's blood drives (Bluffton has a couple every year) and that's always a good day. I always look forward to these days because it's a simple way for college students to help other people out. Plus, I am like the world's fastest blood donor. Or at least I like to think so.

Tonight was fun, despite missing the concerts. Since I was on duty and still had to complete another floor activity for the month of September, I decided to combine the two and had a Scrubs marathon in the main lobby. There was a pretty decent turnout (20+ that came and went) so that made for a good time. It's a good thing that that many showed up too, because I bought a lot of snacks that I wouldn't have known what to do with otherwise. We ended up watching Scrubs for about 5 hours, which was definately long enough for me. I mean, I love that show, but I was the only person there the whole time, and 5 hours is just a long time for anything.

So now all that stands between me and the weekend is... well nothing. I love not having classes on Fridays. But I do have a project for the weekend- getting my fish tank up and running. I'll keep you posted.

Here you can see what I have to work with. I'll be glad once it's up and going and filled with fish.

Hope you have a great weekend! Until next time,

Scott

Why do weekends have to end?

Tomorrow is my first exam of the year for my Money and Banking class and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm not overly worried, but I just feel like I'm not prepared. It's probably just the fact that I am still adjusting back into class/study/exam mode to be honest. Since it's hard for me to feel motivated late at night, I am going to get up early and go to breakfast and study a bit before my exam. The only downside is that my exam is at 8:00, so I'm gonna have to go pretty early. Oh well, I'll catch up on sleep later I suppose.

So this weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night I didn't do a whole lot, but it was relaxing. I watched several episodes of Scrubs, which just happens to be the best show ever created. Seriously. And then Mary came over and we had a nice chat and we went on a walk. It was just nice.

Saturday was good too. Mary had let me know that she was planning a surprise date over lunch for me, which turned out to be my favorite meal (sloppy joes and mac & cheese in case you're curious, mmmboy) and games. It was a lot of fun, and kudos to Mary because she even e-mailed my sister to find out how my mom makes sloppy joes (because that's my favorite). And then I proceeded to dominate in Yahtzee. I mean, it was ugly. After that, Mary watched the first half of the Notre Dame game with me for the first time. It was actually quite brave of her because I can get somewhat violent during Irish games. (My remote has never been the same since the first game of the season.) But I did really well this game, and it was neat to watch it with her. I like to be able to explain football to people who aren't as familiar with it.

That night I didn't do too much because I was on duty so I couldn't leave the building. Mary came over later and we got ambitious and rearranged my room. I think I like it this way. And I got inspired to get my fish tank up and running again. I had it up last year, but I just never set it up yet this year. I'll keep you posted on my fish endeavors. (I'm not entirely certain I spelled that correctly. I'm over it.)

Sunday was solid as well. Lots of football with some Mary time sprinkled in (I spend a lot of time with Mary, huh?) makes for a great day. Most of my friends were gone for random things, so I didn't get to see them this weekend, which was a bit of a bummer. But all in all, it was a good day. Except for Sunday night event night, which didn't happen due to lack of participation. Although it pains me to say it, I feel as if Sunday night even night is dying. Or dead already.

Today was another pretty good day. On Mondays, the only class I have is at 6:30 at night. This gives me a lot of time to work with, which is nice, but it is a challenge to make the most of it. Usually what ends up happening is I work on the agenda for the Student Senate meeting (meetings are every Monday night at 9:30) and just figure out what we're gonna talk about there. I always say I'm gonna do homework too, but that usually gets pushed back to a late night/early morning time later on. But Senate went well tonight and we had some good discussion, so that's always exciting.

So now that I basically gave you the play-by-play of my life for the past couple days, I'm gonna stop writing. But if you made it through all that, God bless you. And as promised, I took pictures tonight! (see above)

The picture on the left is of Slurp and Corey making a collage for one of their classes. Well, it kind of is. Slurp is apparently cutting Corey's hair, and Corey is terrified or something.

The other picture is my study-buddy Beth. She is a fellow Business major who I have spent countless hours studying with over the years. She is also in Money and Banking so we studied tonight for our exam.

That's all I got for you fine folks tonight.

Until next time,

Scott

The weekend is almost here!

Hey there folks.

As I'm writing this, I can't help but notice how hot it is in my room. I just thought you might like to know.

Today for the most part was a pretty good day. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my busy days with classes (I have three both days) but they all went well. In my last class, Corporate Strategy, I had to give a presentation with another person. I really enjoy doing that kind of stuff actually. This class is the highest level Business class for Bluffton Business majors so even though it's somewhat challenging, it's a lot of fun. While most of the general education classes might have 30 or so people in a class, once you get to your upper level major classes there are less people which makes for better discussion.

I also found out that I'm on Homecoming Court this week, which was neat. My girlfriend, Mary, is also on it which is super cool. The whole group of people on the court is a fun group so it should make for a fun couple of days next month.

Tonight hasn't been overly excited as I've been in my room all night. I might have gone to Open Mic Night down in Bob's Place, but Thursday nights are my night on duty. As an RA (resident advisor) I am responsible for one night a week and every 5th weekend to just be around the hall and make sure everything is in order. It's not bad, it's just sometimes a bit boring if there's other things going on somewhere else on campus. But some of my friends have stopped by throughout the night to keep me company, which has been nice.

I'm looking forward to this weekend (as I do all weekends) for sure. I'm excited because as always, football is on all day Saturday and Sunday! That's just a given every weekend, but I'm also excited because Mary is planning some sort of Saturday afternoon date, which is some sort of surprise apparently (but she promises that I'll be back in time for the 3:30 kickoff between Notre Dame and Michigan State). So, that's exciting to me.

I also might be going to Fort Wayne Saturday night, but that's still up in the air. And then Sunday is always the best night of the week with Sunday Night Event Night, or SNEN. (Actually, to be honest that was the first time I've ever used that acronym. You should feel special that you were there for the first time.)

I feel like this is getting out of control and that I should stop for the night.

Until next time,

Scott

P.S. I promised to take pictures this week, but there just haven't been any good opportunities to. But in order to not leave you empty-handed for the third straight post, here's a picture of me with my best friend Eric (who I will no doubt refer to many times over the course of my blogging) last spring. We really should have planned to both be smiling or both be game-faced, but we roll with it anyway.

Crazy Week

Do you just ever have one of those weeks where it just seems like everything needs to be done yesterday?

It's been a pretty good year so far, but this week just seems to not offer a whole lot of free time. Part of this is my fault, part of this is just the way things happen. For example, I have a lot of homework/projects/reading to get done for this week. But, I also wasn't very productive with my weekend. It was relaxing though. I'm still working out this whole budgeting my time concept.

I am kind of excited about a couple of things coming up this week though. Tomorrow a group from my high school in Indiana is coming for a visit and tour of campus, and I get to be involved. I'm pretty excited about that, since I'll probably know several of the people. Most of them will probably be 4 or 5 years younger than me, but I'm from a small town and so I'm sure I'll at least know who they are. It's fun to show people from home around where I've spent most of my time these past few years.

Also, I'm starting to work with the local movie theatre in town for my Advanced Public Relations class this week. I'm going to be doing some PR projects for the theatre, which is kind of a cool thought. I'm excited with who I'm working with too, because the owner is a business professor here at Bluffton with whom I am currently taking two class. He's definately one of my favorite profs since coming to Bluffton so it's just neat that I'll get to spend more time with him outside of class working on this project.

Other that though, I'm just waiting it out until the weekend. With all the homework and meetings and whatnot I have until Friday afternoon, time for friends is hard to come by. But come Friday afternoon, I just intend to sit back and relax and maybe take a nap. Yeah, that sounds good.

Until next time,

Scott

P.S. Sorry to be so lame and not have pictures again. I promise I'll take some this week.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

This past week I definately been noticing all my responsibilities start to creep up on me. The conference I went to last weekend got me behind a bit on my reading and I'm still trying to play catch-up. Add in Senate, RA stuff, making time for friends and Mary, and a lack of sleep and this has been a long week. Not bad, just long. I told myself I was going to get to bed at a respectable time tonight so I can rest up for a weekend full of football. That is, until, we decided to pull an all-nighter.

Why, you might ask, would we decide to do this? Well, first of all, "we" is myself, Corey, Jake, and Slurp. There were a couple other people, but we lasted the longest. Apparently Slurp and Corey have a paper due for their 11:00 class, so Jake and I just decided to stay up with them. I am actually getting ready to get to bed, and it's just before 5 a.m., so technically I didn't pull an all-nighter.

This weekend should be fun though. One of my favorite things to do is wake up on Saturdays in the fall and watch college football all afternoon. Notre Dame is playing Michigan, which even during a rough year like this (for both teams) is a huge rivalry game. I'm somewhat optimistic, but every time I get my hopes up lately I end up getting crushed.

Then on Sunday Mary and I are driving to her house in Fort Wayne to spend some time with her niece and nephew (I'm sure I'll watch some NFL as well). I'm excited because I haven't met them yet, but it should be a good day.

And then, the second weekly Sunday night event night will be going on as well. This week will be the gallon challenge with milk. I'm a little nervous because I've done it and thrown up in the past. But it's all about making memories, right? I'm sure I'll have pictures when it's all said and done, so stayed tuned for those. (I promise to not actually show anyone puking)

I'm not sure how coherent this is sounding by this point, since it is 4:54 in the morning, so I'm heading off to bed. Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Scott

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I just got back from a walk with an amazing girl and now I'm watching Monday Night Football. Those are two of my favorite things in the world to do. :)

This weekened was solid as well. I got back from the conference at Ball State around 6:00 Saturday night, just in time to see my beloved Notre Dame Fightin' Irish get beat by Penn State. This was the low point of the weekend. You see, I'm a huge Notre Dame fan (it's gotten to the point where I can't decide if I'm just a dork or have an unhealthy obsession) and so when they lose, I hurt. But enough of that. There was a high point to the game however, as one of my close friends, Dan, was visiting this weekend, stopped in and watched it with me. Sure, he let me know how bad my boys in blue and gold were doing (he's an Ohio State fan), but it was good to see him regardless. We talked a lot and caught each other up on our lives the rest of the night. It was awesome because I hadn't seen him since graduation at the beginning of May.

Sunday was a lot of fun as well. Mary and I went to church at St. John's in Pandora, a small town just a couple minutes away. I have really grown to love this church over time, and it's nice to be back after being gone for the summer. And then after church, Mary and I spent the afternoon having one of those great conversations that I'll never forget. I'm a lucky man.

And then, Sunday night, it just got crazy. Well, not crazy so much as just random. Last weekend my best friend, Eric (who I'll probably refer to as Slurp from now on) and I decided that Sunday nights from now on will be known as event nights. What this means will change every week, but this week the challenge for anyone brave enough to accept it was to drink as much water in 15 minutes as you could, or first to a gallon (whichever came first). I ended up winning quite soundly. I had most of the gallon done at the 15 minute mark, but I gave in to peer pressure and finished the whole thing in under 20 just for kicks and giggles. Below is a play-by-play of the action...

Pre-start: The three other contestants are looking obviously scared out of their minds that they have to face me in this challenge. Who can blame them?

13 seconds in: I have a commanding lead, probably consuming about 1/2 a gallon (give or take) by now.

22 seconds: I take a break and allow the others to think they have a chance.

1 minute, 56 seconds: I begin planning out my victory speech.

3 minutes, 42 seconds: The other contestants, still ashamed at how they are performing compared to yours truly, start to feel a little sick.

5 minutes: Satch is disqualified because she just can't keep the water down (I'll let your imagination do the work on that one and spare you the details).

7 minutes, 3 seconds: Ok really, I'm the man at this.

7 minutes, 7 seconds: Yep, still the man.

11 minutes, 33 seconds: LeeAnne and Carol are not looking too good, and everyone begins to wander how long they'll keep it all down.

12 minutes, 8 seconds: Did I mention how good I am at the gallon challenge?

15 minutes: I am officially crowned the winner.

18 minutes(ish): I give in to peer pressure and just finish the whole thing.

So there you have it, my crazy Sunday night. I don't know what else to say about that.

Well folks, it off to bed for me. Money and Banking at 8:00 in the morning tomorrow is gonna be here in around 6 hours. Dang.

Until next time,

Scott

Practicing what we preach

I'm exhausted.  Right now I'm writing from Lee's Inn in Muncie, Indiana where myself, along with fellow Bluffton students Andy Lehman and Kristen Shelly and Dr. Cynthia Bandish are attending a conference entitled "Greening the Campus" at Ball State University.  We've heard a lot of really great information all day, but it's definately nice to have a break back at the hotel.  It's somewhat of an information overload after sitting and listening to lectures from 8:30 until 5:00.

On a sidenote, I forgot my power cord for my laptop and my battery died, so now I'm using Kristen's computer.  This is alright, except for the fact that I had some homework I was supposed to get done on my computer so now I'm going to have to wait until I get back this weekend to do it.  Bummer.

But nonetheless we have been getting some good ideas about sustainability to bring back to share with the rest campus community.  Since our campus-wide civic engagement theme this year is "Environmental Stewardship", this type of conference fits right in with what we're talking about.  It's through this type of experience that Bluffton is able to practice what we preach and not just talk about being responsible citizens.  I'm excited to see how the campus community responds this year to the new theme!  

Other than being here though, the school year has been going pretty well.  It's been nice to get back into the swing of things at school and see all my friends after being going for the summer.  I'm anticipating a great senior year, and I'll be sure to keep busy with Student Senate, being an RA for my floor, homework, and making time for my friends.

That's probably about it for tonight.  I'll probably have a little lengthier post next time, but my brain is a bit fried and I need to give it a break.

Until next time,

Scott