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!!!

Hey Guys!

The end of the semester is here! Just one more week of exams and I’m home free. And man, lookin back, it FLEW! I can’t believe its December already and I have to take my exams. And wrestling season is already down to the last two and a half months! But the fact that this semester has gone so quick is a good thing, because as I sit here typing this taking a break from my studying, I am having very little trouble recalling information about philosophers and events that I learned about at the beginning of the semester. Believe it or not, something actually stuck in my head!

I’ll take this time to tell you all about how the end of the semester works. The first and most important thing: I get paid for various things that I’ve done for the school this semester. Second thing: exams. Sometimes they suck, sometimes they aren’t too bad. This semester for me isn’t too bad, except for the fact that I have two exams and a final paper all due within 19 hours of each other. Other than that, my exam schedule is cake.

For those of you who don’t know, the week of finals is different from the rest of the year. Classes don’t meet at their regular times and only once for each class. For example my Monday Wednesday Friday class that usually meets at 10 to 10:50 will now meet Tuesday at 8:30 to 10:30 to take the exam. At 10:31 a.m. on Tuesday, I’m done with American History! (Nothing personal Dr. Lynch. I like ya, but that’s just one more step closer to my degree!) And then at the end of the week, we are done with school till the second week of January or so. I realllllllly need this month off!

Well I gotta get back to studying!

See ya!

>Eric M.

So Thanksgiving break went by in the blink of an eye. Before I knew, I was sleeping in my bed at the dorms and I was preparing for the torturous Monday that I just encountered. 

But my break wasn’t all that bad, but I’m certain I’ve had better. I went home Tuesday night after my ASL class and slept at home that night. Then Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM, my mom and I made the 4 ½ hour drive to Pigeon Forge, TN, to meet up with some of her friends to hang out for a bit. We shopped, went out, and just had some good general girl fun (say that ten times fast lol). They ended up going home on Wednesday night but Mom and I spent the night in Tennessee. Then on Thursday morning, Thanksgiving, we went up through Gatlinburg, surprised there were people out and shops were open, but we went up into the mountains to Cade’s Cove and drove around on the path up there observing the natural scenery. It took three hours to drive the 25 miles up the mountains, the 11 mile trail, and the 25 miles back into Gatlinburg. It was excruciatingly slow but my mom and I had fun in the car making fun of all the other holiday drivers. ;) We ended up leaving for home at 2:30 PM and got to my aunt’s house at 7 PM. We were tired, I was hungry, and I was exhausted from driving in the car for almost 8 hours (Cade’s Cove trip + the drive home). The Thanksgiving meal at my aunt’s was good and we had fun hanging out and just being goofy. For example, my uncle had my two younger cousins, Lexie who is 8 and Jake who is 4, put on a circus and do acrobatic tricks for us in the middle of the living room. Of course, my other cousin, Sean who is 1, wanted to join in and he tried doing his own flips, unsuccessfully might I add.  

Friday was Black Friday and my mom and I went out again and shopped till my feet just about fell off my legs. It was fun though and I got some gifts for people crossed off my list so it was productive to say the least. Then on Saturday my brother and I spent 4 hours raking leaves for my mom (she’s showing up a lot in this isn’t she? Wow… lol). Of course, on Sunday we were looking out into the expansive backyard and my mom said, “Wow… it looks…” and I said, “Desolate.” And she said, “No. I was gonna say pristine.” Lol But later she did say it looked a bit desolate so ha! She agreed with me! Lol I like the leaves on the ground, just as much as I like snow on the ground. I just don’t like to clean either of them up, but again, who does? J 

Sunday I spent the day watching the Bengals lose again, but what else is new? I also watched the Steelers-Patriots game so that was fun. I like both teams so I didn’t care who’d win (I’ll prolly get flack for that later but oh well). Then I came back to school for school this week and the exams are next week so… 

Only four more full school days left and four exam days and then break! I’m going on vacation with three of my girl friends from Friday, Dec. 12^th-Sunday, Dec. 14^th, so I am really looking forward to that! But it’s getting down to the wire and I am stressed beyond belief but I really don’t have that much to do. I just need to calm down and breathe and I’ll be fine. That is some good advice for everyone though. J Until next time, breathe evenly and deep and all will be fine… J Now, if I can just remember that for myself… ;)

College can be stressful at times and people need to just relax and enjoy their college experience and go out and do things they love to do. When work gets hard you vent on what you love most. There are plenty of things to do around the Campus and Delhi.

Some of the things I do around the campus usually does the trick of rehabilitating myself. I love to go up to the sixth floor of the Seton building and get out on the roof just to look at view. You get this amazing glance at the entire Cincinnati area. You see the airport, Newport on the Levee and I'm pretty sure even Price Hill. When I'm out on the roof, it's easy to recollect myself. The other thing that can bring me to my spirits is playing the piano. I love hearing myself play and it just calms me down anytime I'm aggrivated with life. The last thing is I love to lift in the Harrington Center. When I'm really angry I like to cool down by keeping fit.

ScallyWag Tag is fun place to go to relive those childhood memories. It's a lot of fun and cheap. On certain nights you can get lucky and pay $15.99 for three games. I discovered this new place the other day BuyBacks. They sell used movies, games, and cd's as low as $.99. My friends and I love to watch movies on my 32 inch HDTV in my room and that store is the perfect place to get good movies at a convienent price. One place I love to eat and clog up my arteries happens to be the closest fast food place to the college and that would be White Castle aka Sliders. I get the cravings from time and time and I'm lucky enough to live a mile away from one.

Well those are the things I enjoy doing while living on campus here at the Mount.

            So CAB had an event on Tuesday night in which we invited Nick Motil, an acoustic musician, to come play at the Mount! It was a really awesome mini-concert! We had a meet-and-greet as part of the CAB executive board (I'm the publicity chair) and I got there late. I had class at 6 and supposedly it was supposed to go until 8:30 but we got out at 7 so I went with Nicole (the treasurer) to the meet-and-greet for an hour and then we stayed for the concert at 8. It lasted until 9:30ish and it was some really great music. He plays acoustically and it's like indie rock/folk rock so it's really good. He played songs off his three albums, One of These Days (2005), Live from the Black Box (2007), and Everything's Alright (2008). He is well-known for often playing without wearing any shoes and his song, "One of These Days," is one of his most popular and recognizable songs.

            He played for an hour and a half for about 35 people in the Corona Room and he infused comedy into his set list which was quite a treat most were not expecting. With stupid stories (in his opinion), such as about a fan while he was on tour who requested “Free Bird” while being drunk or how free brownies make an awesome day-maker, and his other silly anecdotes, such as how he met his best friend and  his fiancée, the show was quite a success.             He was also here last year and was a success then so he was brought back again this year for a repeat performance. Hopefully he’ll be back again next year and more people will be able to enjoy his music.

            Music by Nick Motil is available for listening on iTunes, Rhapsody, MySpace, and his home page, http://www.nickmotil.com/. “No managers, no labels, no shoes…no problem!”

So Stress has been my best friend lately. I have so much to do and so little time to do it, it seems like! Ugh... its annoying! I had a presentation to do on Monday night in my CED class and I have to present again on Tuesday during my IDS class as a PL. Then I also have a research paper due at the end of the semester that I've yet to start along with two papers that serve as exams in my ENG and PHI classes and a paper in my ASL class. Along with my hectic schedules, it's getting to be a pain. This is my Tuesday this week: get up at 6:30 AM, baby-sit 7:30-8:30, class 10-11:15, my CAB meeting 11:30-12:30, class 12:45-2, class again 2:15-3:30, break, then class again 6-8:30... It's a non-stop day that I'm not sure if I'll have to breathe during but oh well... I thrive on fast pace days sometimes, but other times I don't... 

I went bowling last week which was a good stress reliever, though. On Thursday night, CAB and Lions for Life (our pro-life club) sponsored an event at Western Bowl and I bowled two games for free so that was awesome to smash some pins! lol :) Then on Saturday I went to the Bridge Bowl! It's the Mount versus Thomas More and this year it was played on their campus (last year it was here). We lost 19-0 but it was fun, I guess. It was raining but my mom and I had fun. Then we went shopping and I blew $100 on clothes so that was fun! lol :) Time to get in the winter season! Today is snowed most of the day even though none of it really stuck so that was no fun but at least it was the first snow of the year! I love snow! It is definitely my favorite time of the year!!! :D 

This coming weekend, my boyfriend comes home from school so I'll get to see him for a week so I'm happy about that! And next week we have two days of school and then we're out for Thanksgiving break! We get Wednesday-Friday off so I'm excited about getting some time off! I need a break... I also need time to get things done. Time is like money: we spend it, we save it, and we invest it, but once it's gone, we never get it back.

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.

Hey guys!

It is officially wrestling season!  The team kicked off the season this past weekend at the Eastern Michigan University Open Tournament up in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  We took about 30 guys up to EMU on Saturday to compete with some very tough teams. Most teams in attendance were NCAA Division I teams.  As some of you know, the Mount is a NCAA Division III team, so competing against Div. I is pretty exciting.  Not many Div. III teams get to see that kind of competition. 

The day started off early, with weigh ins around 7 a.m. and wrestling beginning around 9. The tournament was broken into two divisions, the freshman sophomore division (comprised of freshman and sophomores), and the open division (everyone else).  Being a junior, I competed against the upper classmen, facing four Division I opponents, three of which were starters for their team.  I ended the day with two wins, taking out the Cleveland State starter and his backup. As a team, we faired pretty well considering the competition level we were facing. We ended the day with about 25 wins total, which is pretty good in my book! We had two champs in the freshman sophomore division, Dave Harris at 149 and Corey McGrady at 184.  Congrats to these two!

The day ended around 6 p.m. and we had a 4 hour bus ride back home. I am pretty happy with the trip.  It’s always nice to compete against some of the best athletes in the sport and know you can hang with them, that’s how well head coach Casey Stouffer trains us here at the Mount. 

If you’re interested in the stats of the tournament and how the season progresses from here, you can check out our info on the Mount’s website under athletics and I thank you for your support!

>Eric M.

So, unfortunately, I have nothing new to really report. I'll give you an overview of my past week and what's potentially coming up this coming week, but I'm sad to say, I live a semi-boring life right now. 

Last week: Well I already told you my car broke down but the update on that is nothing. I still haven't gotten it back yet! It's frustrating! I feel cut off from the entire world because I have no car and no way to go anywhere. It's a sad reality when we feel lonely because we don't have a car... Wow... hopefully my dad can hurry the mechanic up so I can get my car back early this coming week. I'm still doing my service learning hours at St. William's Homework Helpers Program. I don't know if I ever mentioned that or not? See, I need hours to get a service learning credit for one of my classes- it's required- and I need 30 hours and I have to do a tutoring program 3 hours a week so hopefully, that combined with other odd service jobs, I can get my silly lil credit by the end of the semester or I get a stupid incomplete for my class. Go figure. I had a meeting with my advisor about my classes. It lasted 10 minutes. I already knew what classes I'm taking, I've already taken my Praxis test, and I'm already accepted into the Education Department so there wasn't anything to talk about. He cleared me to register and on Wednesday morning, I'll get up at 6:30 AM to register for my second semester of my sophomore year of college. Wow... time flies... Halloween was Friday but I didn't do anything. It's the first Halloween that I've really missed. No car equals no parties and no trick-or-treating so one of my friends came over and she and I ate candy, made puppy chow!, and watched movies. Exciting right? Not... On Saturday, I took a computer proficiency test so that I can waive a computer class that I'd have to take for my degree if I didn't pass this test. I don't know how I scored yet but I'll prolly find out some time this coming week. I eventually had my parents come get me and I spent Saturday night and Sunday at home. I came back to the Mount, worked on a project with my partner for my Human Exceptionalities class, interviewed my mom and recorded it for our project, and now I'm here. Boring... :( I like variety and this is certainly not it. 

This Coming Week: Since I still don't have a car, my dad is coming to get me some time on Monday so that he can take me home so I can vote on Tuesday. Yes, finally, Election Day is this week and I can FINALLY stop seeing political commercials on TV and stop hearing them on the radio. I'm so sick and tired of politics! I honestly hate politics but whatever... So Tuesday is Election Day. Wednesday is the day sophomores register for our classes- yay! I like getting my schedule ready and knowing what I'm taking next semester so that's exciting. Thursday, my project is due. And Friday is a special day! Friday, November 7th is my birthday! I'll be leaving the world of teenagers behind and becoming a true young adult in some kind of sense. I'll be 20 and I'm so excited! That day, I'll be going to Kenwood to have dinner with my family and hang out and then that night I have to go to a "Silent Dinner" at Kenwood Mall. It's a Deaf community event in which my classmates and I have to go to participate in a conversation  with a deaf person for an assignment for class using our newly acquired sign language skills. It's going to nerve-wrecking and I'll be so nervous to do it. I'm not that confident of my signing skills so I'm not sure what'll happen. Then I'll go back to my house to celebrate some more with my parents and my twin! lol :) Saturday will be boring but that night I'm having a party with my friends at Newport so that'll be good. It's a joint birthday party because my friend Alex is turning 20 on Sunday so she and I are having a mid-way party- my birthday Friday, our party Saturday, her birthday Sunday. It'll be fun!!! :)  

And that's my life. It's boring... Awesome ain't it? I'm sure after the election, registering, and my birthday, I'll have much more to talk about next time :) Until then... bon voyage!