Well this is it! It is now technically Wednesday of exam week for the S109 semester. I am still awake because I have been spending the past couple hours going through old papers from the semester and beginning to set things up for next semester. I fortunately do not have anything to study this week because I have no scheduled exams so this is my way of preparing to finish the term papers that i have to write. this paper work though has been on my mind for weeks and as i've always said, i need organizaion in order to truly finish anything off. so now that i'm physically and mentally prepared i can focuse on doing my best job with finishing the term papers. tonight was the exam jam, so it was able to set me off in that great mood. i spent time with some good friends just relaxing and having fun. I was able to eat some free food which was served by the teachers, get a free AMAZING back massage, attend a session of 'blessing of the brains' from campus ministry in which you could join in meditation through prayer, and also we were given the opportunity to pie some of the RAs in the face. that was definitely amusing! oh and how can i forget the kareoke. i was able to witness some very interesting performances from some of my friends as they attempted to ...i believe sing... is the word several popular songs from the ages. it was definitely a fun night. and come saturday i will be able to travel home, again through the megabus, for just less than a month. i am hoping to work A LOT at home with my lovely ladies at Hallmark and to build closer relationships with my family! i've realized a lot this year how much i really would like to bond with my family more. i don't want to be cheesey, as some might think. but really, i do love my family. of course we fight and bicker and tease each other and oh my gosh do we get on each others nerves sometimes. but i love them. hey, family is the one thing that will always be there anyway! so whether i like them or not. i'm stuck. but i'm glad i'm stuck with this family. a big irish family in the southside of chicago is one of the greatest things ever known. i'm glad i'm a part of such a community!

 oh and i want an ipod and the twilight series for christmas ;)

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! It's been a great semester!!!

Yeah that's right, I turn 19 this week, WOoOo Me!  Anyway this is my last blog and I wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays and have a good break. Anyways I wrote a little something. See you in January!

Driving down a highway
For perhaps the thousandth time
In a past  few years of life
I hear her voice in my mind
Fresh as if I recorded her whisper
From many yesterdays ago

To wonder how long
Such occurrences have consumed me
As sites of lush green hills
And police men with radar guns
Repeat themselves like an old storybook

Parking the car a crow flies overhead
Never grow old of tracing its path
With my eyes wondering if it sees me
As free as I see it

A cold winter air bites through wool cloth
Hugging me like a loving mother
Perhaps not knowing of its effect
Refusing to let go out of fear

Retreating into a classroom
Surrounded by some dozen students
I'll wonder just how many share with me
This bitter sense of monotony
Perhaps I'll meet a pair of wandering eyes
And know my answer

Yet I'm fearful of the future
Letting go of what I've known
Maybe I've yet to realize
Its let go of me

Suppose I am just not yet comfortable
With my sense of everything I've lost
Of love and friendship and simplicity
If I ask you to do your best to help
Will you walk with me farther into confusion
Hoping to find an exit

Clock bells toll as my feet shuttle me
Towards an uncertain structure of time
So I may sit idly not knowing what to do
As my thoughts struggle to catch up

When they finally do
I pick up a pen and paper
Trying my best to recall who I am
But the best I manage
Is to remind myself not to take this so seriously

Tomorrow might see me an old man
Longing for memories of laughter and joy
To replace a failed construction
Of a perfect tale

This semester has shown be a lot about work ethic. I've learned that no matter where life takes you, no matter what job you enquire, no matter what choices you make, no matter what team/company you work with/for, no matter who it is you are trying to impress - as long as YOU do YOUR best there will be good things to happen. I've said it many times before and i will say it many times again: EvErYtHiNg HaPpEnS fOr A rEaSoN!!!!!! there have been stages in my life where i have done a mediocre job and just got away with getting the work completed. and there have been times where i have done the absolute best i can possibly do and it has most definitely shown. and there are other times where i have done everything i need to do with the best of my ability and have completed additional jobs for other people when they cannot do their own - and it doesn't show at all. but no matter what, i have gained from it. i have learned that as long as i know i did my best that i will be okay.

as a part of homelessness awareness week with campus ministry, there was an event in which the leadership team had to prepare for a 'movie that matters' experience. the team got together, worked on getting the event ready, and made sure it was something to learn from. within the time of preparation, we communicated, researched, advertised, plus more, to make sure it would be best we can make it be. i know i did my best work with my job and i helped the very most that i could with my team members to make sure each job could be completed so that the experience would be very enjoyable. within the discussion part of the event, we had conversed about working for your place in the economic ladder. you must work your way to the top to show yourself what you are capable of. you cannot just do your job and expect everything to fall in to place. you have to work for your place and know that work ethic is crucial in surviving in such a world. things will get hard at times but as long as you work your hardest and keep communication with your team and do your research on your job to make sure you are fulfilling its potential, you will have success.

Hey everyone!

Turkey day is rapidly approaching and I have to say it is one of my most favorite holidays.  It might have something to do with the fact that I love to eat and always put my diet on hold during the season to enjoy Thanksgiving as much as possible.  My reasoning for this is that I am extremely thankful for how fortunate I am to be able to stuff my face and spend time with my family. So my weight cutting for wrestling can wait. Sorry Coach.

As I said, I am extremely thankful for all the things I have:  heated house, a great family, warm clothes, food, clean water, great friends, an amazing girlfriend, and a caring church among other things.  Many people are not as fortunate as I am and Thanksgiving usually reminds me of these people more than any other time of year.  This week is Homelessness Awareness Week and the College of Mount St Joseph is hosting a week full of events to share homeless perspectives with the students and the rest of the community. 

The week starts with a representative speaker from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Homeless experiences will be shared, followed by a question/answer session about life on the streets. “Street Vibes”, a newspaper written by the homeless of Cincinnati, will also be available.  Tuesday, the movie “Dark Days” will be shown. This film is biographical documentary about homeless who live in abandoned tunnels in New York. Then Wednesday, the Mount’s Quad will turn into Shantytown.  Students will make shelters out of cardboard in the Quad and participate in a mock soup kitchen.  Then the students will actually spend the night in their cardboard shacks outside in the elements!  The week ends with a candlelight vigil in Shantytown on Thursday night and a reflection on connections between homelessness and our faith and how we are called to help the homeless. 

This whole week will hopefully raise awareness of the seriousness of the homeless situation, not only in Cincinnati, but all over the country, especially when so many jobs are being terminated these days.  I know I’m going to try to make an effort to help out in some way.  I’m not too sure how just yet, I’m involved in a small food drive type event at my church that is gathering items to host a Thanksgiving dinner for needy families, but I’d like to do a little more.  I would like to call on any of you reading this to try to help out a little as well. Any little thing helps.

Let me give you an example of something my cousin, Paige, did a few months ago.  Paige took about forty bucks and bought a handful of gift cards to Arby’s.  She took the gift cards downtown and just walked around.  If she crossed paths with a homeless person, she would ask them if they liked Arby’s and give them a gift card.  Then she would hang out and talk with the people and get to know them a little. She heard some pretty crazy stories along with some real heartbreakers.  Paige has done this a few times now and it has gotten to the point where if she’s downtown, she has people coming up to her and thanking her for the gift cards and the meal they purchased with them. 

I have a lot of respect for my cousin for doing this and I hope that I can find the time and money to do something half as decent as what she did.  I challenge you to do something too!

Have a great week!

>Eric M.

Staying organized in college can be a hard task because there are so many pressures to keep you from doing your homework. I can understand that when you are away from home, some of the pressure to do your work is off. But college is really what decides what you are going to do for the rest of your life. Not to scare you or anything! It is true, though. I have been so lucky to have Project Excel here because they are the people that really keep me on task. They even have a time management time put on your schedule your freshmen year so that you can get some tips and start habits on how to be organized and manage your time wisely. I think that the best thing to have is a planner. You can not only write your homework in one but you can also write down what is happening one weekend or some on-campus events. They are really nice because you can have all your homework written down in one place so that you will not forget to do anything. The one is that you must always remember to write your homework in them. I always forget to write in them and then it is the end of the week and you are trying to see what homework you have and your planner is blank. I mean if you have a really good memory you are in luck but those who do not have that great memory are out of luck. I am sure that you could have some friends in your classes so you can ask them what the homework was. Also I have also thought that having different colored binders for every class to be very beneficial because then you will not get them mixed up. I also would have the same colored folder to match the binder. Haha that is the teacher in me! Some of the professors do plan ahead but some of them do not so you should be ready for any big task that could come up. I have made that mistake! The mistake of waiting until the last minute for an assignment in one class and then having a huge assignment in another that can really stress you out.

In the end, you should really stay organized and on top of all your homework assignments. I really do not mean to scare you but it is life.

Hey guys!

For those of you who don’t know, Cincinnati recognizes daylight savings time.  This means that that a couple weeks ago, we all turned our clocks back an hour to allow for more light in the morning.  It was designed to save on energy for the workplace. But I have a problem with this.

This time of year is obviously wrestling season (my earlier blogs might have clued you in on that) and we have morning and afternoon practice.  Morning practice takes place early enough that I’m still driving in the dark to get to practice and afternoon practice takes place just late enough to be dark once again on my way home. The constant darkness starts to take its toll and get a tad depressing.  And all this on top of the stress of school, wrestling, family obligations, and a combination of all three.  School work is getting tougher, I need to make weight every week now, and the holidays draw a lot of work and time at home. 

But guess what? I have some tips on how I avoid getting stuck in the rut of depression caused by all this stuff.

First and foremost, in regards to wrestling and making weight, I watch what I eat very closely.  I’m nothing close to a doctor, so don’t take my word for anything, but the way I keep my diet helps my energy levels.  I take a B vitamin complex, which helps with the healthy maintenance of the nervous system among other things. I also take my protein shakes that help my muscles recover to keep my body from hurting too much more.  Bodily pain tends to weigh heavy on your mind and keep you from focusing.  I also take ice baths to help my muscles recover quicker as well. 

Along with the supplements, I keep my vegetable and protein intake high and sugar, sodium, and carbohydrate intake low. I don’t know how much this affects my mood, but it helps me make my weight.

In regards to the other factors, I make sure I go to every class (I have yet to skip a class this semester) so that way I don’t get buried in missed work or struggle to find the notes for the missed lectures.  This is hard to do. The last thing I want to do is wake up from a hard practice and get to class. But you gotta make yourself do it.  Speaking of waking up, sleep is vital! I try to get as much sleep as I can, which usually falls between 4 and 5 hours a night, which I know is too low.

Other helpful tips to keep energy levels up that I have found to be successful include a workout routine and chill time.  I’ve found a regular workout routine (as long as it’s not too intensive) increases my energy levels and happiness.  Chill time for me would include napping, watching a movie or two, and talking and hangin out with my girlfriend, Katelyn, and my teammates and friends.  Video games, meditating, listening to music, and other enjoyable activities tend to help as well.

Well I gotta try to increase my sleep time tonight! I hope this might help you cope with the long, cold, sometimes depressing winter months. Just remember, spring is just around the corner!

See ya!

> Eric M.

I was up late last night studying for psychology while eating a nice hearty bowl full of ramen and a spark of interest came into mind and inspired me to write this:

Spread your wings out to fly.
Jump out into the existence.
Sweet misery tastes anything but sweet.
Disaster can only come so many times.
You will learn.
There's a way.
only one.

When you're viewing the world from heights unknown.
Vision suddenly is clear, the big no longer command.
All your mistakes are yours to own.
But make no mistake, they don't end up in your own hand.
Clarity is always one step to the left.
Misery is straight ahead.
Behind you is a world conquered.
Above. that's where it begins.

3 years that will test.
1 for the preparation
1 for the experiment
1 for the conclusion
Knowledge grows. Stupidity follows.
Here's to the finale.
I wish you the best.

The past month has been a bit of a roller coaster for me - emotinally, mentally, physically, academically, all in more than one way. The big thing about this adventure though, is that I am learning something from every bump and curve and turn around because I've been trying my best to look at it from a higher perspective. For being 20 years old, I have been in plenty of the average life situations, including relationships. I do not regret any choice I have ever made about the relationships I have been in because I have been able to gain something from each guy I have been with and would not trade any relationship for anything. It is because of these guys in my life that I am able to understand myself better in what kind of family I would like to have once I am ready. In addition to my emotional life choices, I am trying my absolute hardest in my classes to get the best grades I can possibly get so I can raise my GPA and of course there are road blocks that are difficult to overcome but I am making my way through it. I have been meeting with my teachers outside of scheduled time to make sure I am caught up with everything, and am making sure every day to not over-schedule myself with my activities while classes are my first priority. The phrase, 'when it rains it poors', definitely comes in to play with these aspects of my life right now. While the heavy load is causing head aches here and there, I try my best to not look at it all as stress but as a sign that I am finally working at what I am meant to be doing. Unfortunately with the heavy homework load and such, I am unable to work out as much as I would prefer but I AM working on at least keeping a healthy diet: no pop, less deserts, more fruits and vegetables and of course more water! To add on to the physical, it is getting closer and closer to winter. I am not a person who likes to be cold so you can guess that I love to bundle up in the sheets and hoodies when possible. But I hate shoes. So try to picture me as wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts and a hoodie and a coat with a scarf and flip flops - walking in the snow. I don't like shoes . But anyway.

For the past month, I have been working on a drawing that seems to fit everything in my life right now:

I recently received something from a close friend that was titled 'The Ten Commandments of Friendship'. I have it posted at my desk for a little reminder every day of what friendship truly is and what kind of role my friends play in my life. My friends have always been the most important thing to me in my life, especially within the last few years.

1. Respect yourself and be yourself.

I have learned about life that I must make sure I am happy and healthy before I can focus on others. What is so interestin

g about this is that I tend to do everything to make so many others happy, in order to make myself happy. I love to care for my friends and be there for them in the most important of times. And I know they love me for it.

2. Do not kill time with your friends but make each hour an adventure in living together.

I've definitely learned that hanging out with my friends is more than a load of fun. It is a relaxing time to get away from classes when stress is overwhelming. However, my friends will always understand that, when I'm here at school, my studies must always come first. And therefore I can not use the time to avoid hard work but to take advantage of the time I do have with them by learning about each other and building a stronger relationship.

3. Honor your friend as the shadow of Him after whose image he or she is fashioned.

I look up to each of my friends as people I can count on in any time of need. I know that they will always accept me for every thing that I am and will be there for me forever and always. I cherish my relationship with each and everyone of them because they play a big key in who I am today.

4. Let your friends add the finer touches to the Better Self in you.

Like I have already stated, my friends make me who I am. Each and every one of them has affected me in a way that my life has changed for the better and I would not have learned such amazing life lessons witout them. I make each decision day by day because of their faith in me to being the absolute best I can be. They accept me for everything that I am, and for that I am able to see the best of me.

5. Believe in your friend so that the best and noblest in him or her will serve you.

Every one of my friends know that I will forever and always be there for them in every time of need. We have respect for each other that we can care for each other at any time and will love each other for a lifetime.

6. Discover that unique quality in each person which endears them to God.

Each of my friends has a different aspect about them that makes them unique. They each have a different passion in life that helps to guide me in being the best I can be and helping me to make the right decisions. Through this, I am able to see God in each of their lives.

7. Do not steal the golden thread of trust which may bind your friend to God.

In any situation that I may hurt a friend, I am hurting my relationship with God because of that trust that I am breaking. It is this reason that I will always give my friends reason to trust me and have faith that I will forever keep their hearts in my prayers. I would never want to break the trust of friendship with them, for I would lose my true connection to God.

8. Remember the true friends expect you to be truthful even though truth may cut and burn.

My friends and I are here for each other for better or for worse. Even in the worst time, we have full honesty and trust in each other because that is what makes us the best friends we can be. I look to my friends for guidance because I know they will answer me with the right words even if they are not what I want to hear, because of that honesty and faith we have in each other.

9. Remember that he who falls in love with himself has no rivals.

I must remember that while my friends and I love each other, I must remember to love myself for who I am. In any time of struggle, if I love myself there will be no challenge to be better than any other person other than me. As long as I love myself, I will be the best that I can be in not only my eyes but also the eyes of my friends. And within that, I will be the best in the eyes of God.

10. Choose now the friendship you wish to continue in eternity.

It is the friends that I have now that make me the person that I am today. Who I want to be for the rest of my life will be highly determined by who my friends are. I am who I want to be and I have no intention on changing. I am happy with who I am and this is because of my friends. My friends are my life. And I will never change.

they say pictures are worth a thousand words. well even that isn't enough to say how much my friends mean to me in my life. i love each and every one of you with all my heart!!!

Cars. I hate them so much sometimes. So last year I was a commuter, and not once did I ever have any kind of car trouble. Like, none at all. The worst it ever got was when I took an hour and 15 minutes to get to school on the first major snow of the year and people were sooooo slow getting places on the highway. I got to class half hour later. That's the worst that I can remember... 

But as soon as I move into the dorms! Then that's when the car decides to be a pain in the butt! Ugh... I've never had a real good history of cars so far... I tend to be on the paranoid side of cars and I mistrust them- especially when they make noises I don't understand. The first car my parents "bought" me- I had to pay for a quarter of it (combined with my brother, we bought half of the car)- was a 1997 Ford Taurus and it was a P.O.S. We ended up nicknaming the car "Lurch" for obvious reasons. It was literally lurch when it shifted from first to second gear on acceleration. We ended up having to learn how to take our foot off the gas at the right time, just like a manual car with a shifter, just so we could possibly attempt to have a smooth shift from one gear to the next. It was sooo annoying... We ended up having to sell it and we got another car. A 1998 Chevy Lumina (and later that became my car and my brother got a manual 1991 Honda Civic). 

That is the car I still have. It's a good car since it's 10 years old and it only currently has 60,000 miles on it. I've personally put on 16,000 miles on it since April of 2007. But we were doing good, changing the oil, filling the fluids up, changing blades, etc. and spending obscene amounts on gas. (So happy btw that gas is now $2.29!!! It's a drop of almost $2 in 6 weeks- it peaked at the time of the infamous "storm" and I think we all know what I'm talking about) But now its being stupid!!! Let me explain... 

On Tuesday night this past week, my friend Maria and I went out and on the way back, the car decided to "sputter" and jerk forward and back while I was driving. Kind of reminiscent of Lurch. I was riding on empty on gas so I eventually put in like 4 gallons on the way back but that didn't stop it from doing the lurch 4 or 5 times. Then I called my dad, who is not bad at diagnosing car problems, and he said it might be a dirty fuel filter. I fixed that on Wednesday morning and the entire day I drove the car, it didn't do anything. I thought it was fixed. Then on the way home from school I was driving along and I was turning left from Delhi-Fairbanks onto River Road and in the middle of turn, the car did the lurchy thing again. I freaked out. I decided to go slow- under 35 mph- and was gonna stick to slow roads to my house (there's a route through Downtown and follows the river to the East Side that I chose [River Road, Mehring Way, Eggleston, Pete Rose Way, Eastern, Kellogg). It did the lurching thing FIFTEEN (15) times before I had to pull over. On the turn from Eggleston to Pete Rose, I turned, it lurched and didn't stop lurching. At that point I figured out something wrong with the acceleration part of the car- something with the fuel pump or fuel injector. So I pulled over in a parking lot, called my mother, called my father, called my brother, and called a pick-up truck. My mom I had to call so she wouldn't freak out that I was pulled over to the side of a road; my father so he knew the car was going to the shop so he could pay for it ;) for me (we have a very trusty mechanic in Newtown so it's all good); my brother so he could come get me; and tow-truck for obvious reasons. 

The kicker of all this is the fact that my brother's car broke down two weeks ago. It broke down on a Friday, I picked him up, he was without a car for a week, got it back the next Friday and had it break down the following Tuesday. So he got it back on the Friday that my car broke down so we got to drive his car home after we got mine into the shop. Our cars just aren't doing well are they? 

So I'm without a car this week and I have places to go and places to be and I can't get there... :( I hate being without a car and it's annoying having to depend on others to get some place. I was lucky Tom (fellow blogger and a best friend of mine) went home this weekend so I caught a ride back with him on Sunday night. That's a great thing about living less than a mile from one of your best friends. :) 

After all is said and done, I'm without a car, I still don't trust cars, and I much more prefer the movie over the real thing...