Forgot to mention one thing

I also went to the March for Life a couple of weeks ago. I went with Franciscan. We had seven bus loads, plus others that drove to Washington DC. We had left Franciscan on the night of the 21st. The bus I was on had mostly Pre-The's on it. And one of my bus captains is a Pre-The. And Fr Dan Patee also rode on the bus with us. We rode overnight to Washington. We then went to Mass at the National Shrine. Later on was the rally on the Mall. There were so many people there. I couldn't believe it. I spent a lot of the march with the girls from Stella, who had drove down to DC on their own. It was good to be able to spend some time with them at the march. By the time the March was finished, my feet were tired. At one point, I spent some time with the CFRs because I got separated from the rest of Franciscan. I got worried at one point because I was afraid they would leave DC without me. But I eventually found them. Once we got back on the buses, we traveled for a while before dinner. While we were on the bus, we watched the movie "The Pacifier" with Vin Diesel. That movie was hilarious! It looked like it was made several years ago. But it was funny. Anyway, we eventually made it to a mini mall that had plenty of fast food restaurants. Some went to Taco Bell, and the majority of people went to Wendy's. Imagine this Wendy's stuffed to the gills with Franciscan students. God bless the workers for putting up with all of us. After dinner, we got back on the bus and headed back to Steubenville. We got back to Steubenville around 1:30am on the 23rd. It was a long and tiring day. But it was worth it. Especially the fact that there were practically no pro abortion protesters in DC (I only saw one, and it was a guy).

Back at Steubenville

So I've been back at school for a few weeks now. Here is what has been happening.

Orientation: I got back to school early to do Spring orientation. If only I knew that I would be coming back to snow. Once I hit western PA, the snow started flying. I was hitting my windshield washer fluid about every few minutes from the salt piling up. Anyway, we had orientation leader training first. All of our meals were free (courtesy of the caf, of course), which meant that I didn't have to worry about buying food. Whenever we ate in the caf, it was so empty (mostly because none of the other students had come back from break yet). I had never seen it so empty and quiet. Training lasted a few days, and we got our orange orientation shirts. When the first day of orientation came, a snow storm came with it. The weather was so bad that I went home early that night. My car was sliding down the hill at the entrance by the St. Joseph Center. The rest of orientation went off with out a hitch. It's smaller than Fall orientation. But I really enjoyed it, and enjoyed meeting the new students. I was an Orientation leader for the Grad Non Trad group.

Start of classes: What a difference one less class will make. I'm taking 12 credits this semester, and I feel like I have time to complete all of my assignments this semester. Plus all of my classes start after 12pm. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I usually go to the 6:30am mass. So after breakfast, I have about four hours of free time before my first class. It's great. I can get work done during that time. And I actually have free time this semester! So far I'm doing pretty good in all of my classes. So I am really happy about that, and pray that it continues (especially in Sr Johanna's class!).

Household: I have found out just how huge Stella really is. All of the girls who were in Austria last semester are now back, and there are now 50 girls on campus. If I hadn't have gone to Rutgers, that number would have scared me. Instead, I just tell myself that it is just a number, and that the size is bound to go down. Originally I had a date set to intent Stella, but it had to be pushed back indefinitely. They have one intent (they call them twinkles) that came back from Austria. So right now they have a twinkle class of one. Hopefully that number will go up soon, I just don't know when.

Life in general: Overall, I've been spending most of my time on campus. On the weekdays (when I'm not going to the 6:30am mass), I usually have breakfast in the caf before working in "Tommy" (mostly so I don't have to eat by myself in my apartment). And I don't usually leave campus until after dark (although it's been getting dark later). But I have no complaints, and I'm happy. Oh, I tried out for the music ministry again...and again wasn't chosen. I know I can sing, so maybe they just don't need many people. I tried.

It's almost time to go back to Steubenville

As you can see from the title, it's almost time to go back to Steubenville for the spring semester. I'm planning to head back on Monday. The break has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I left for NJ for the break. Now it's almost time to go back. But it's been a good break.

Books: I ordered textbooks for my classes last week. It wasn't as expensive as it was last semester. But I made sure I ordered my books early so I could get used books. I will pick them up once I get back to Steubenville.

Orientation: I will be helping with spring orientation this time around. That is one reason why I'm going back so early. I'm looking forward to helping the new students, especially since people helped me when I was a new student last semester.

There's not much to update on right now. I spent Christmas with my family and my cats. It's nice to be back in Carteret. It's especially nice that I don't have to pump gas. Come Monday, I'll have to go back to pumping my own gas again. But it'll be good to see everyone at Franciscan again.

Grades are in, and I'm home for Christmas

As you can see from the title, I am back in NJ for break and I got my grades from the fall semester.

As for grades:
Intro to Catechetics, C+ (not bad considering the power outage the night before)
Intermediate French I, C+
Philosophy of the Human Person, B-
Foundations of Catholicism, D+ (failing the midterm really did me in)
PBS I, B-
So overall, I passed all of my classes, got at least a C+ in Intro to Catechetics, and don't have to retake PBS I. I'm hoping that next semester will be much better. The only D's I want to see are in my name.

Back in NJ: As you can see, I am back in NJ for the break. I left Ohio on Friday morning. It was 13 degrees that morning. I had breakfast in Bob Evans, since the caf was closed for break. And I saw a lot of Franciscan students there (some of whom are my friends and classmates). So it was nice not being surrounded by strangers. I made sure I brought home a couple of orders of biscuits since my mom loves their biscuits. But anyway, it took me about eight hours to get back to Carteret. The weather was pretty good going out, though it was cold. My hands froze while I was pumping the gas (Ohio and Pennsylvania need full serve gas). There wasn't much traffic on the road, even on the NJ Turnpike (which surprised me). But I will be in NJ until January 4th, when I will head back to Steubenville for orientation for Spring 2010. I will be an orientation leader, probably with the Grad/Non Trad group (since I'm a Non Trad).

So I am enjoying the time off. I am so glad I will not be taking 15 credits again next semester. I think that next semester will not be as busy as this semester was. So if I don't write another entry until after Christmas, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you all next semester!

Fall semester is now done

As you can read from the title, the fall semester has come to an end. I have been really busy the last few weeks. Here is an update as to what has been happening.

Thanksgiving: I got to go home for Thanksgiving break. It was good to go home and see everyone. And it was nice not having to pump my own gas. But anyway, it was a good holiday. I spent the majority of the time doing homework, especially for PBS. I went back to Ohio the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was a short break, but a good one.

Finals: Just a lot of studying. But at least they were more spread out, unlike my midterms. So I was able to devote more time towards studying for finals. And I think I did much better than I did during midterms. I took my last final today...I don't know how I did. I'll find out soon.

Power outage in Steubenville: Yesterday there was a massive power outage in Steubenville. No one had power, or heat. At my apartment, the lights had come on just long enough for me to get ready to type a paper for my intro to catechetics class. The lights went out at around 7pm and stayed out all night. Plus there was no heat. And it was freezing cold outside, in the teens or twenties. It was also extremely windy. I pretty much spent the night freezing in my apartment. I even wore two sets of PJ's. At around 5:30am, I said enough is enough. I got dressed, and drove over to Christ the King for the 6:30am mass. I figured that they would at least have heat, and they did. I was at the point that if the power did not come back on in my apartment by the time I got back home, then I would spend the night in the Holiday Inn on University Blvd. But the power did come back on, so I didn't have to check into a hotel. I just hope it does not happen again.

So tomorrow I head back to NJ for winter break. It's supposed to be in the twenties tomorrow in Steubenville. Too cold for me! I'll see you all in NJ.

Scratch the video

Well, after several attempts to add the video of Stella's lip synch, I eventually gave up. But those of you who are friends with me on Facebook can see the video there. Sorry I couldn't get the video up here.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm going to the winter formal. It's this Friday in Pittsburgh. I'm going with a bunch of girls from Stella. So that should be fun.

Update once again

So as you can tell, Lip Sinc took place last night. Stella Mariae household won first place.

Other things that have been happening...

Registration for Spring 2010: I registered for the spring 2010 semester. I'm taking 12 credits. I think I mentioned this the last time I posted. But anyway, I'm taking PBS II with Bergsma, Christian moral Principles with Gentile, Catechetics with Sr Johanna, and intermediate French II. It seems like a really good semester. So I hope I will do better.

Household: As you can tell from the video, I've been spending a lot of time with Stella. And as the semester draws closer to a close, the closer I come to being able to intent Stella. I am pretty sure I am going to intent Stella. I just don't know what day. All of the girls pretty much know that I'm going to intent, but they don't know the day. I have an idea when I'm going to intent. I'm just trying to work out how I'm going to do it. Certainly I will be their oldest intent, since I'm older than their founding sisters (not by much though). I'll have winter break to work out the details.

My car: This week, I brought my car in to Team Ford on Bradly Ave to get my car fixed. So I had a rental this week. I had a 2010 Chevy Impala. It had the new car smell and everything. The headlights even came on automatically. I had to get a temporary parking permit though. There's one thing I learned from this: it is very easy to get a parking ticket if you don't have a parking permit. I had been away from the car for less than five minutes, and already the lady was writing a parking ticket. They don't waste any time, don't they? Anyway, I had this car for the week. And my car was finished on Friday. So in between my foundations class and my French class, I went to get my car. I dropped the rental off at enterprise, and then went over to Team Ford to pick up my car. And my car is now good as new. Now in about two weeks I get to drive it back to NJ for Thanksgiving. I just hope I-70 and I-76 aren't covered in snow and ice. I don't want to get into another accident in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and I retook my PBS midterm. I did much better, and passed with flying colors. Now I just have to do just as good for the final...because I won't get a second chance for that.