It seems just like yesterday that school ended back in May... Then in just a few short months, it's August again, and we've started school! It's amazing how fast the time went by. I remember getting out in May, and thinking, "Yes! Summer!" Then by the end of May, beginning of June, I wanted to go back to school because I was SO bored! And I wanted the time to fly by, and I got my wish. School just started! But now I wish it didn't go by so quickly, that I had more time to hang with my friends, and spend more time hanging with my family before beginning the adventure known as dorming. Yet, I'm glad that school has started back up again. I get to see all my friends that I didn't get to see over the summer and reconnect to those that I've missed the most. And I have things to do! I'm no longer bored! At least I hope that'll be the case soon...

As far as school goes, I have 18 credit hours plus a service learning credit for a total of 19 (but I only have to pay for 18 since the service credit is free at the Mount). I am taking Contemp. Perspectives with Dr. Shannon- love his classes!, Educational Assessment with Mr. Santoro, along with Human Exceptionalities with Mr. Santoro, Philosophy with Dr. Sontag, American Sign Language with Mrs. Ison, and Applied Peer Leadership Seminar with Ms. Mills (it also goes along with the IDS 100 course with Mr. Jenkins, in which I help facilitate a go between with the freshmen students and Mr. Jenkins in the class). They all seem pretty good so far but I may just fall asleep in Philosophy since that's not my cup of tea persay... :)

But this year I am also dorming! So that is super exciting! My roommate is Maria. She's a friend I made from last year so she and I are getting along really well and starting to set ourselves up into some kind of discernable routine and schedule... I'm sure it'll work out perfectly. :D Most of my friends are back and living in the dorms- Tom, Jimmie, Sam, and Anne. Along with my other friends still commuting- Alex and Nicole, along with others.

In addition to all my school work, I have a ton of extracirricular activities I'm participating in. I already  mentioned the peer leading in the IDS 100 course for freshmen, but I'm also the publicity chair for CAB (Campus Activities Board) so I get to make posters and flyers for all the events that will be happening around campus for the next year (and there's an event EVERY week...); I am the Associate Editor of Dateline (the school newspaper) so I get to find student life stories and put together articles and assign articles, etc., for that kind of thing; and then, of course, I'm also blogging! So I have my work cut out for me this year but it should be very exciting!

This year looks to be great and I can't wait to really get it going! Below is some pictures of my dorm and how I've got it set up to begin my dorming adventure! So until next time, think about this, "If you fall in a forest, will a tree hear you?"

Hey y’all! (I’m from the South today, just kidding lol) So I thought I would just drop by and say hey! Hoping your summer is going well J Mine’s doing okay so far… nothing too much out of the ordinary… just chilling, working, hanging… the normal teenager/collegiate student type stuff…    

Some of the highlights have been: at the end of May, I visited my friends Sam and Maria up North in Piqua- that was a blast. J Then um… in the beginning of June I went with my mom to Nashville, Brown County, Indiana, for our annual mother-daughter get-away. I had a TON of fun there… Then I started my baby-sitting job when I got back from that vacation/long weekend (it was only four days which ironically was during the worst rain and flooding in Indiana’s history- ugh). That’s kept me occupied for about four days a week. I haven’t really been working at my other job lately, just ‘cuz it’s slow going there and they really don’t need my help right now. Um… for the Fourth of July, I went up to Anna, Ohio, to go Maria’s family’s party on July 3^rd. That was awesome! There were 300+ people there!!! I stayed the night and then went to a family party on the Fourth.    

As for upcoming events, I am helping out at the July orientation for the incoming freshmen at the Mount on July 18^th. I helped out at the June orientation too so that’s why I’m doing this again. I’m sitting at the CAB (Campus Activity Board) table during the lunch on the first day if you wanna come visit me or find out about the CAB. Last time we gave away free t-shirts to those people who took a quick survey. So I’m looking forward to that. Also, my cousin’s wedding is next weekend, July 19^th, in Indianapolis so that’ll be exciting to go to- I love this side of the family’s weddings! At one wedding, they actually got the bride to roll around on the ground to one of the songs, and for another, my dad and my uncles “kidnapped” the groom and took him out on the town- of course, their sister (my aunt), freaked out and to this day does not forgive them for doing that but it’s all good.    

What else… Oh! At the end of July, we’re having a family weekend/vacation together. My parents, my brother, and I will be doing a weekend of all things Cincinnati. It’s just like any other life in any other big city. You live here all your life and you never go to the tourist attractions. So we’ll be doing that… Then school starts August 25^th and since I’m dorming, hopefully, I’ll be moving in the week before school starts and before all the out-of-towners decide to move in. So that’s exciting- of course, I still need to buy and arrange and pack all the things I need for dorming… J    

Well, here’s a funny and ironic story for ya: so I was shopping the other day with on my best friends, Alex, and while in Icing, the clerk asked if she and I were sisters. We said no, obviously, but the more we thought about it, it almost seems like were sisters separated at birth. Here it is though: I have a twin brother, who is ironically named Alex. I was born at Good Samaritan Hospital on November 7^th and my friend Alex was born at Good Sam on November 9^th. This means, that, she and I were “nursery mates,” (as my mom puts it) while we were there! In the end, this means, that I’ve had a best friend since, literally, birth! I thought that was an awesome story that I had to share with ya… But maybe it’s only funny to me or one of those “you had to be there” or “you had to be them” kind of stories… but still, I thought it was cool… J    

But, any who, summer is moving pretty quickly, not to mention the year 2008. It’s all so very exciting but very sad considering how fast time really is moving… So I hope all is going well and summer’s going good for you… Let me know what you’ve been up to- I’d love to know what fun things go on for others. Story-telling and sharing is one of my favorite things to do, as you already know. ;) So, until next time, see ya later alligator! (This is where you say, “After a while, crocodile!”)

I know that people have been talking about stress and relaxation and exams but I had something fun to talk about for that.  

But first, I wanna tell you that I don’t stress out easily. I usually just wait until the weekend to do homework or projects and just do it all in two days. That’s how I do things and I seem to do well with it. All my homework is done from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening and then it’s done for the week. 

I can only assume that Damon, in the pool (there was no water), and Steven were just having too much fun hanging out in the Quad. (Notice how freaking green the grass is! Wow… I love spring!!!) I thought it was just really cool that they found a way to relax and just hang out. So a shout out to them! But what were you guys really doing? (If either of you read this, leave a comment at the bottom if you want) J    

So some people have some really interesting ways of relaxing and getting ready for summer. Only three days of school left and four days of exams. I have three days of school, only two exams, and one project left so I am sooo excited to finish and have an awesome time during the summer!    

So keep up with your studies, relax, take a deep breath, and have fun!!! J

P.S. Alpha Phi Omega ended up raising $515 for MS :) Congrats guys!!!

Cincinnati! I love this city. Granted I’ve lived here the past 19 years of my life… which is my… entire… life. Hahaha! LOL And sometimes I still don’t know what to do in this city.     

But one place I went this weekend was Newport on the Levee. Um ya… that’s Kentucky but still- you cross the Big Mac Bridge and you’re in Cincinnati.    

I was down there to go the Newport Aquarium on a field trip with my mom’s class and I got to walk around the levee and then part way across the Purple People Bridge. It’s this awesome PURPLE bridge that is strictly a pedestrian bridge that connects Cincinnati and Newport. It’s an awesome bridge if you think about it. You get to cross over the Ohio River from one state to another, one city to another. It’s a really cool concept.     

But I had so much fun at the Aquarium and I’ve put some choice pictures up below. It was fun seeing the fish and the sharks and the divers hanging out with those sharks. There were also the jelly fish and the penguins and the alligators… LOL J     But it was an awesome little trip and a break away from reality when I only went fifteen minutes from my house and actually it’s only fifteen minutes from the Mount. It was a great little outing in which I got to a break fun my busy and hectic life and just hang out a bit. Newport also has a movie theater and shops and restaurants and fun things to do. It’s a great place to hang out and get away… I recommend hanging at the Newport whenever you get a chance- too much fun. J

Ok… so I took my Praxis I test this weekend at the University of Cincinnati! But it was a freaking fiasco! LOL Let me explain…    

First, on Friday night, my mom calls me up at about 5:30 or 6 PM asking me to come join her and my dad for dinner. So we go up to Salem Gardens for dinner (corner of Beacon and Salem in Mt. Washington/Anderson area of the East Side of Cincinnati)- great food there. And then my mom suggested we go over to UC to check out where I’d be taking my Praxis test in the morning so I knew where I was going at 7:30 AM the next day. Well, we get there. We check out Dyer Hall and the Teacher’s College buildings- that’s where my mom took her Praxis test (granted, it was like 2 years ago)- but we couldn’t find the testing center for the test. So we went to the Edwards Building- where the Testing Services’ offices are. But they were closed and that was to be expected at 8 PM at night. So we went to the university’s campus security/police station. And they spent about half an hour with us trying to find this place- nice people. But they couldn’t find it either. So I said, well, the ets.org website says the Testing Services are in the University Pavilion building- but of course that was locked too- but I said I would try checking that out in the morning (risky considering I had to be there at 7:30 AM and I wouldn’t get there until about 7:15 which would give me 15 minutes to find this place).     

Anyway, come Saturday morning, I head up to UC, get there, park (stupid meters still run on Saturdays so I parked at Hughes High School for free- across the street), and go to University Pavilion. I try the first door, well that’s the third floor! Go figure! So I go down the steps on the outside- the steps inside where closed off- so weird. I get down there, and that’s the second floor but it’s all ground level. So strange… So I see more steps inside going down and get down there, go to the end of the office, and there! There’s the Testing Services! At least I thought it was. The lady there asks me, “Are you here for the GRE?” And my heart drops. I told her no that I was there for the Praxis. And she’s like oh that’s here too! And I was so relieved! I had found the right place! Ahhh! So excited was I! (Now I sound like Yoda)    

Anywho… I started the test before 8 AM and was out of there by 11 AM. I took the computerized test so I got my reading scores and math scores right away- 181 and 183 respectively which are both passing for the Mount’s standards! (174 for each) I find out my writing scores in about 2-3 weeks- so just right before I get out of school I should know how I did! But what an ordeal! Geez… J    

The other interesting tid bit of news was the Cincinnati Flower Show is going on down at Coney Island! It started on Saturday, April 19^th, and goes through Sunday, April 27^th. It looks quite interesting actually. I’ve been watching them set up for about 2 weeks now- that’s how long it takes to set up for a week long event apparently. But the weird thing was I saw a camper all set up down there and looks like there was a family settling in for the week or something- just to see flowers! It was interesting to say the least… But I included the website for the show if you wanna check it out and head over there. It’s about 25 minutes away from the Mount. Basically, if you wanna go, you take Delhi down to River Road and head East on River Road. Follow that onto the Sixth Street Viaduct, follow the signs for 50 East. Cross through Ft. Washington Way. Follow the signs for 471 South/Kentucky/Newport. Get onto 471 South. Follow the signs for 275 North/East and once you merge onto 275, you cross over the Ohio River, take the first exit on your right- Kellogg Avenue- and Coney Island is on your right. It doesn’t take long and it looks like quite a show! I may just have to go with my mom- she has a green thumb, I have a pale one. J    

That’s all the news I have so far on my life at the Mount but I’ll let you know what else is around the corner. “Until then, keep your eggs- sunny side up!” (Princess Diaries II: The Royal Engagement) 

http://www.cincyflowershow.com/

It’s Friday!!! It’s the weekend! Woot!!! I didn’t do much this week. I went to the talk by Jonathan Mooney on Monday night and that was… interesting to say the least… It was my friend Sam’s birthday on Thursday so that was fun. I’ve put a picture on the bottom of what our friends did to her room! So hilarious! We’re going to lunch today for her birthday so that’ll be fun too!   

As for this weekend, I don’t have much planned that’s fun anyway… LOL    

I’m scheduled to take the Praxis I test tomorrow. It’s the first test of three that helps you get your license for being a teacher. The Praxis I has three sections: Math, Reading, and Writing (which also includes an essay part) and the passing scores are about 174 I believe. I have to take it at the Psychology department on the University of Cincinnati’s campus (I think it’s next to the Teacher’s College). But I don’t know where this is so I’ll have to find it at 7:30 AM tomorrow morning. My test starts at 8 AM and ends about 12:30 PM so this’ll be like taking the SAT or ACT again… Haha!   

Other than that… I’m going to McNick’s musical on Saturday night at 7:30 PM (it’s also showing on Friday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM) of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” It looks really good and I have a lot of friends participating so I’m excited about it!!!   

As for things at the Mount, I haven’t been doing much here… Getting my schedule really straightened out at this point for the fall semester. I’m still debating on whether or not if I want to apply to be a PL- a Peer Leader. It’s a position, basically being a TA (Teacher’s Assistant), in an IDS class for freshman so you can be a link between the teacher and the students so as to make it easier for the incoming freshmen. I don’t know yet…   

This is sad but I’m sitting in my sociology class writing this because I’m so bored in class… Haha! Oh well! I hope you have a good weekend and I’m still counting down the days- 10 class days left and 1 day of exams!!! So exciting!!!

So… the musical “Oklahoma” is over and now it’s time to move on with a regular life… YEAH RIGHT! LOL… Now that I’m done with my extracurricular activity for the year, I just now realized how much I have left to do. I calculated that I have 15 days left of school- just about three weeks. And I miraculously only have one day of exams- granted that’s two exams and one project to do in one day.   

The work I have to do? Too much… Um… I have an education lesson/project due next Friday; an education paper due on Monday; a 4-page history paper due next Friday; a math project due on my exam day that I have yet to update (it’s a continuous project over the course of the semester that needs to be turned in on the last day to be returned so we can use it for future teaching); a math lesson to teach not on Monday but the next Monday… and… um… something else that I’m sure I’m forgetting and will regret here as soon as I remember it… J  

 What else is new you ask? Well, I just finished registering for classes next semester so that’s exciting- actually the whole process was a bit stressful. I had the registration time of 6:30 AM but the system is about 8 minutes slow so I didn’t get on until about 6:38 AM (I love how precise I am in this haha).    I was able to register for four classes fairly quickly: EDU 172 Contemporary Perspectives with Drew Shannon (I have a class with him semester and I absolutely love his class! So I recommend taking one of his classes), EDU 205 Educational Assessment with Dr. Rick Sparks (teaching you how to make tests for your students- also ironically the HARDEST class you will ever take at the Mount for education because Dr. Sparks is a really hard teacher… oh joy right? No, he’s my advisor so I really like him), SED 305 American Sign Language with somebody? (there’s no teacher assigned yet but I am SOOOOO excited about that class! I love sign language and all I know so far is the alphabet), and PHI 200 Perspectives on Human Nature with Dr. Sontag (again I have no idea what this class is about).    

The class I had trouble with was SED 215 Human Exceptionalities with Dr. Santoro (don’t know who that is sorry and nor do I know what the class is other than I need 30 observation hours for it) but it’s all good now and then today I registered for PSY 310 Cognition and Memory with Dr. Jim Bodle (I had his psych class last semester and he’s an awesome teacher also so I would highly recommend taking a class with him too).   

So that’s that… I’m listening to “Free Bird” by Lynard Skynard right now… My thoughts are all over the place but now you know what it’s like to be inside my head sometimes… LOL J   I already told you “Oklahoma” is over but I put a picture of the cast and crew at the bottom so you can see who was all involved… O and my friend Alex is happy that she can talk to me again (*Alex* (8:35:21 PM): and u should write about how i get to see u again...lol) That’s the IM she sent me about the show and how much free time I now have in my life… Oh and a shout out to Maria- my future roommate next year… She’s gonna read this so “Hi!” to her as well…   

Um what else… O! I’m thinking of applying for a position on the Dateline staff for next year. Dateline is the school’s monthly newspaper run by Buffy Barkley and a team of students. It sounds interesting and I’ve never done journalism but sounds fun enough. J 

  I think that’s all that’s new right now… O wait! Get Acquainted Day is on Saturday, April 12^th, from some time to some time… No, it’s from 9:30 AM to about 3 PM or so… I’m participating on the Student Panel so I have no idea what I’ll be doing but it’s something about future students asking me what life at the Mount is like so that’ll be fun I hope… J   

Now I’m done… I think… so have a good day and a good weekend! See you on the other side! Shout out to the birthday boy too (Joe)!

Hey everyone.  I just want to say that I am super pumped about this spell of warm weather we are having.  It's so much nicer walking outside to go to class in the morning knowing you don't have to bundle up for a 3 minute walk.  As you all know, warm weather means we can get back outside and have fun.  I personally can't wait until I can get a few rounds of golf in.  Usually when school is out and all my high school buddies return home, we all go out and play a round and drink a few carbonated beverages.  My dad usually gets mad at me because I spend a lot of money on golf instead of other things, so I usually sneak out with my clubs at wee hours of the morning before he can see me.

This summer a few of my friends and myself were also planning on taking a road trip down to Alabama to play some of the courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which I included a picture of at the bottom.  It's like we want to get away from our wives, except were not married yet.  So hopefully we will be able to squeeze that in, of course if we can raise the funds.

Right now we've all got a little over a month more of school, which means another month of baseball.  I don't mind that, but usually as long as I am still in baseball, I won't play golf because it tends to mess up my golf swing.

Another fun activity that my friends and I like to do in the summer months is join a softball league.  We are the group of 20 year old guys playing against the 40 and 50 year old guys, and we get it handed to us.  These old guys are unbelievable softball players.  It's kind of embarassing, but it's just fun to get the old gang back together.

Hope you had a Happy Easter!

And with Easter comes spring break for most schools. I am actually just returning back to class from the College of Mount St. Joseph’s spring break.  A bunch of people around campus had big plans to head down to Florida on one of those little road trips I was tellin ya about earlier.  A few people went on cruises. Man, do I wish I were them!  I’ve never been on a cruise and I think it would be a blast.

So, while all these people had big plans, I was left in good ol’ Cincinnati because I was out of cash and had gotten swamped with school work. Luckily for me though, most people didn’t leave until after St. Patrick’s Day.  This allowed for at least a little chill time. 

The rest of the week, however, was spent dodging the Great Flood we had in the Cincinnati Area and tryin to get some of my work done.  The flood was pretty exciting, there’s a river (The Little Miami River) right down the hill from my house that rose 10 feet above flood stage and did a lot of damage. Thankfully, there was no damage to my family’s property because of our location on top of a big hill. 

Other than the flood, there really was no big excitement around here. This actually turned out to be for the best.  I spent some much needed time with my girlfriend, Jordan, and hung out with my family.  I also ran across some old friends from middle school, which was pretty cool.

And then of course Easter rolled around to finish off the break.  The weekend flew, as do most holiday weekends do, and was packed with family events from Jordan’s family and my own. 

Overall, I really don’t regret not having any big trips planned for spring break. It would have been cool to get away, don’t get me wrong, but the time I spent with my family and girlfriend was very relaxing and recharged me to take on the rest of the semester.

If you had your spring break already, I hope it was fun and relaxing. And if you are currently on spring break or it’s still on the horizon, make good use of your time!

>Eric M.