Tales from a Franciscan University Student

A new semester has begun!

2012-02-10T21:02:00.002-05:00

So as the title says, a new semester has begun! So let me update on what has been happening:

School: So I probably already mentioned that I was planning on taking seven credits for my last semester at Franciscan. I am taking Epistemology with Dr Harold, St Bonaventure with Fr Dan Patee, and the Theology Seminar with Fr Don Frinsko. I've never had Fr Don before (tried to avoid him as much as I could). It seems to be a good course load. I'm not as busy as I was last semester, and feel like I have enough time to get the work done. Epistemology meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; St Bonaventure meets Tuesdays and Thursdays; and my Theology Seminar meets every Monday, right after my Epistemology class. My St Bonaventure class has two papers, my Epistemology class has one paper, and my Theology Seminar has just a presentation. I will be giving my presentation the Monday after spring break on March 19 (the feast of St Joseph) on contraception. It seems to be a relevant topic with what has been happening with the HHS mandate. I've already begun to gather sources for my presentation, and will continue to get sources for my presentation next week. It'll be nice being able to work on my presentation during spring break. It'll give me plenty of time to put on the finishing touches. So I feel really good about this semester, and hope that it is a drastic improvement from last semester.

Household: All of the stars that were in Austria last semester are now back on campus. It's so good to have them back! It has benefited household a great deal having the younger stars on campus and at commitments. And I am really happy to be able to get to know the stars that got into household the semester I was in Austria. It's been about a month, and I can see that they are such a benefit to household, and I'm proud to be their sister! They're awesome! We are definitely not having trouble getting twinkles this semester. We already have five twinkles. And the majority have been coming to commitments since last semester. So I feel good about where household is going this semester. I love my household sisters!

And just to sum up everything else, the winter in Steubenville has been pretty mild this semester. I didn't have to start wearing my winter coat until early December. And we really didn't start to get snow until just within the last week. We haven't been getting much snow, and has been fairly warm. This winter reminds me of how the winter was when I was in Austria a year ago (hard to believe). It's a lot different than the last Steubenville winter I went through two years ago. That winter was brutal! It seemed like we'd always get more snow! Plus I was always afraid of losing power in my apartment on Sunset Blvd. One time I even spent the night in one of the dorms because I didn't want to get stuck in a cold apartment. So I am really glad this winter has been so mild!. With just 39 days left to the first day of spring, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'll be able to relax once the nicer weather comes around.

Tomorrow night is the FOP (Festival of Praise). Hopefully there will be a good number of people that will go. And where there's a FOP, there's also a coffee house (presented by Regina Angelorum).

Forgot to mention one thing...and grades are in

2011-12-19T16:04:00.002-05:00

When I wrote my last post, I forgot to mention that Stella Mariae has two new stars. One of them, Kelsey, went to Austria with me last semester. It seemed like she was a twinkle forever. Our other new star is Abby, who's sister got into household the semester before I did. It was nice being able to see them go through the intenting process. That's something that I missed last semester. We are very happy to have them in household.

Also, all of my grades are in. Unfortunately they are not as good as I would have liked. I already mentioned about the bad grade in history (albeit not failing, but almost), and the C+ in Francis and Clare. I got the other two grades in. I got a C+ in Reading Franciscan Mystics, and a C in Renaissance Lit (which is what I usually get in English anyway). So my GPA took a serious hit, but not nearly bad enough to put me on probation. I'm really disappointed in my results from the semester...especially coming off such a good semester in Austria. So I am hoping that next semester is much better. I am glad I didn't take the seminar this semester. Knowing just how busy I was this semester, it probably wouldn't have gone well either. It seems that I tend to do better in the spring semester at Franciscan anyway. So just pray that next semester will go much better. I want to end my time at Franciscan on a positive note.

Been a long time since I've updated

2011-12-14T19:50:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I updated (been really busy). So now that the semester is done, I'd update on what has been happening.

School: I was really busy with school this semester. It always seems that classes are busier in the fall than in the spring. But anyway, it seemed like I was always writing papers for my classes. I was doing good in all of my classes except my history class. There is a reason for that...I accidentally studied the wrong information for the midterm. I had studied information on WWII, and it was on WWI. So I failed the midterm. I was originally going to drop the class, but didn't want to have to get my adviser's signature and my professor's signature in order to drop the class. So I decided to stick with it. I did fairly well on my research paper, and felt that I had done really well on the final (I followed the study guide to a tee this time). Overall, I got a poor grade...but it wasn't failing. I'm still waiting for the rest of my grades. I got a C+ in Francis and Clare. And I was doing well in Renaissance Lit and Reading Franciscan Mystics. So hopefully my GPA won't take a serious hit. Speaking of school, I will be taking 7 credits next semester. I will be taking a Theology Seminar. Plus I will be taking St Bonaventure with Fr Dan Patee (I was born on his feast day) and Epistemology with Dr Harold. I'm going to school part time because my financial aid is running out, and I would have owed an additional $4500had I had gone full time next semester. So this was my only option. I just need the seminar to graduate anyway. It's a good thing I had dropped the catechetics major because I wouldn't have been able to finish on time, and wouldn't have graduated. I probably would have had to quit school after spring 2012.

Household: Household seemed different this semester than how household was when I had left in December to get ready for Austria. There's a part of me that feels like I came back to a dead household, because it was so different than it was the previous fall semester. We had almost all seniors on campus this semester, plus two juniors. And the majority of our visitors were freshmen. Plus we had 15 stars in Austria...including nine new stars. All of our sophomores were there, along with the majority of the juniors. Through a large part of the semester, we had just one twinkle...who had been a twinkle since the end of fall 2010 because she went to Austria with us. After getting so used to getting lots of twinkles, it was hard going from commitment to commitment, and not getting twinkles. I'd see other households like TTM and the Angels getting intents and wonder why the same thing wasn't happening to us. I just hope and pray that with the Austria stars coming back to campus next semester, that it will bring life back into household. Stella will have no stars in Austria next semester...which will be the first time in a very long time.

Housing: I'm really liking the apartment on Ridge Ave. I like that it's a safe neighborhood. Plus a lot of the professors live in the area. And the street that I live on is well lit, which is something that I cannot say about the other streets in the Labelle area...they are almost pitch black at some parts. I keep a flashlight with me in my bag just in case. But anyway, I live close to just about everything. It takes me just five minutes to get to campus, and Kroger is close by as well. I just have to make sure that I bring a microwave oven back with me when I go back in January so that I can start making more food besides just sandwiches. I don't want to have to keep eating in the caf and pub for almost every meal.

update on the semester

2011-09-26T20:41:00.002-04:00

I figured it was time for me to update on what has been happening. So here you go!

Housing: I moved into my apartment on Ridge Ave shortly before we started training for orientation. It's really nice. I like it a lot better than my apartment on Sunset Blvd. It's exactly as the landlord showed in the pictures. It's a good size for one person. I really like it. Plus my commute to campus is much shorter than before. It now takes me about five minutes to drive to campus. Plus there are so many cats in the neighborhood...which makes me happy because I love cats. Don't worry, I don't feed them. They're perfectly capable of finding their own food. But anyway, the apartment is slowly beginning to feel like home. I'm slowly adding some more supplies to the apartment. So it's a work in progress. But I love it here. Plus I'm not in the ghetto...I'm in a good area, and about a block and a half away from a school.

School: Classes have been getting busy. About a week and a half after classes started, I noticed that I still needed a literature class to fill the humanities core for my major. Speaking of major, I officially dropped the catechetics major, making me just a theology major. Anyway, I added Renaissance Lit. Since I added that, I decided to audit Youth Ministry, since I felt that if I carried 15 credits, it would have been too much for me. So it's been busy, but not as busy as it could have been. I like my classes. Plus I like that the classes don't last 1 1/2 hours like they did in Austria.

Household: So I'm back to going to commitments on campus. It's so good to be reunited with household, especially with those who went to Austria last fall. And it's good to be able to go to Lord's Day in person rather than by Skype. This semester we have 15 stars in Austria. I was really surprised by the number. About more than half of the girls in Austria this semester just got into household. So now that I'm back on campus, they're not here. So I have to wait until next semester to get to know them. I just wish I could get to know them now rather than having to wait even longer. I wasn't on campus when they intented, and I never got a chance to get to know them. I don't want to be a stranger to them when they get back in January. I want them to get to know me, and for me to get to know them. Concerning twinkles, we only have one twinkle so far: Kelsey Bowers, who has been a twinkle since late November (she went to Austria with us last semester). Hopefully we'll get more twinkles soon so she won't be the only twinkle in Stella so far.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now. We have morning mass tomorrow, so I have to get up early.

Summer update

2011-07-22T17:19:00.002-04:00

The summer is quickly going by, and pretty soon it will be time to head back to campus. Even though I'm getting ready to begin my senior year at Franciscan, there's a possibility that I may have a job after graduation. A friend of mine from my church choir back at home might be able to get me a job at the diocesan center in my home diocese. It would be part time at first, but still it's a job. So please pray that I will be able to get some kind of job after graduation so that I can begin to pay off my student loans from Franciscan and Rutgers. I would love to be able to work in my home diocese!

On a side note, there are so many of my household sisters that are going to Austria next semester. A lot of them just got into household. Since I was in Austria last semester, I really didn't have much of a chance to get to know them really well. So now that I will be back on campus, they won't be there. I really wish that I could get to know them better.

Pictures of apartment on Ridge Ave

2011-06-28T19:56:00.003-04:00

Update on housing

2011-06-28T19:42:00.002-04:00

Even before I was able to register for classes, I was looking at housing for next year. I originally wanted to get into Assisi Heights, but it didn't work out. I was put on the waiting list. But I knew that if I didn't look for other housing options, that I may have ended up with no housing if I didn't get into Assisi Heights. So I've been looking at apartments that are close to campus. I've found one on Ridge Ave. It's a one bedroom apartment. The rent would be $375 a month, is completely furnished, and includes all utilities. So I have to send $50 to secure the apartment, and that would go to the $375 deposit. So it looks like this place may be as good as mine. I'll have a place to live, and that it's just a mile from campus. It's much nicer than the other apartment on Sunset Blvd. Pictures are to come!

Good News: I've registered for classes for Fall 2011!

2011-06-22T17:42:00.002-04:00

As you can see from the title, the hold has been lifted and I have registered for classes. Since I'm dropping the Catechetics major, I have a lot of room for free electives. So as of right now, this is my schedule:

CAT 311 A Youth MinistryI 3.00 Beaulieu, John Kevin
HST 329 A 20th Cen Europe 3.00 Beshoner, Seraphim T.O.R.
THE 312 A Rdng Frncscn My 3.00 Harkins, Conrad
THE 410 A Francis/Clare 3.00 Martignetti, Richard S O.F.M.
THE 435 A Seminar 1.00 Pattee, Daniel J. T.O.R.

I'm taking Youth Ministry I because I want to go into Youth Ministry, and feel that this would give a good start into going in that direction. I'm taking the seminar this semester because I can fit it better in my schedule this semester than in the spring. And the other classes looked really interesting. I want to do well this semester so that I will be in better shape in getting into grad school. So hopefully it will be a good semester, although I'll miss taking classes at the Kartause.

Group photos from Austria

2011-06-17T19:02:00.000-04:00

Update on what is happening

2011-06-14T17:20:00.002-04:00

I figured that it was time for an update, so here it is.

School and housing for next year: Right now, I have been looking for a place to live for next year. I was originally hoping to get into Assisi Heights, but did not get a spot. Right now I'm on the waiting list. But in the meantime, I had to look at other places to live. One place that I will not go back to is my old apartment. I want to be closer to campus and the other students. So right now I am hoping to get a one bedroom apartment on Ridge Ave. It looks like a nice apartment. and the rent is at a good price too. So just keep your fingers crossed that I'll get that apartment for next year.

Concerning classes, I have yet to register for classes. I should have registered almost three months ago, but haven't because I have a hold on my transcript for pay balance. Since I had to pay for all of the additional expenses such as housing and meal plan, the spring semester was more expensive than the fall. My monthly payment plan was made before I decided to go to Austria. So we've been paying the bill off little by little. I'm hoping that I will be able to register before the start of July. Since I have a hold on my registration, I've had to rearrange my schedule a few times.

During this time, I've decided to drop the Catechetics major. There's a few reasons for this. First of all, my GPA is a few tenths below a 2.5, and wouldn't be accepted into the program at this point. Second, I really do not want to have to stay around an extra semester as an undergrad. Third, I want to go into youth ministry, and want to go on to grad school in Theology at Franciscan. I want to have the best possible GPA so I'll have a better chance of being admitted. I feel that if I stay in the Catechetics major, it will not improve my GPA but make it worse...since I got C's in Intro to Catechetics and Catechetics. I do plan on taking some courses in youth ministry. But my focus for the coming year is to finish my undergrad, improve my GPA, and prepare for grad school. It feels like it's the right decision, and I'm at peace about it. I got to work with high school kids during 10 day in Romania, and really liked it. So I think youth ministry would be the right direction for me. So just pray that everything works out for the best.

Photo and video from the Easter Ball

2011-05-24T12:51:00.003-04:00

The end of the semester in Austria

2011-05-13T21:08:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that my semester in Austria is over. A lot has happened since I last updated. So here goes:

Revisiting Salzburg, Vienna, and Munich: I decided to go back to these cities, since I had originally gone to these cities during the winter. I wanted to see what these cities looked like when the weather was warmer. I was also trying to use up my Eurail days. First was Salzburg. I went there rather than go to Mariazell because I'm not one for hiking, and really wanted to go back to Salzburg. So I took the train to Salzburg, and was there for a few hours. I got to see the fountains and the flowers around town, especially around the university. I got to see the trellis that was used in The Sound of Music, along with the fountain featured in the movie. Next was Vienna. I went there on Holy Thursday, and got to walk around town. I also got to visit the different shops, found a really good kebap place, and found gelato that rivaled Rome. Finally was Munich. This was by far the longest trip, and was in Munich for only 3 hours. I used that time to walk around Marienplatz, and got another look at the glockenspiel. Since I went on Easter Monday, all of the shops were closed. I didn't realize that the shops were closed on this day. The only shop that was open was the one in the train station. Anyway, I'm really glad I got to go back to these cities because it gave me a chance to see what these cities look like when it is not snowy outside. Plus I got an idea of what these cities are like when the fall classes go in September. It's too bad I couldn't do that with Poland either...just didn't have the time.

Holy week at the Kartause: It is really interesting the different traditions that Austria uses for Holy Week. On Passion Sunday, we are given Pussy Willows rather than Palms. That was so interesting, and I really liked it. On Holy Thursday, the alter servers would clack wooden sticks together during the consecration rather than ring bells. On Good Friday, they would bring the corpus of Jesus into the church at the end of the service, and we would each lay daffodils onto the body as we would at a funeral. Then at the Easter Vigil, people would ring bells during the Gloria. It was so awesome to see these traditions, and really puts Holy Week into a completely different perspective.

Finals/trip to Rome for JP II's beatification: Normally during the days leading up to finals, people would stay back to study for finals. But we had the opportunity to see the beatification of JP II. So I had Christian Spirituality right before we left for Rome. Then we rode on the bus overnight to Rome. Once we got to Rome, we were able to take part in the mass. Some people stood closer to the main altar, and was able to see the beatification first hand. I stood further away, mostly so that I wouldn't get crushed by the crowd. I could still hear the mass, and it was amazing to see so many people. There were so many Polish flags waving about that day. The mass went on for over two and a half hours, which is standard for a Papal mass. After the mass, some were able to go and venerate the relics of JP II. Some of us went walking around the city, looking in the different shops. Plus I got to have gelato. Once we all got back on the bus, we drove through the night back to Gaming. We then had a recovery day before resuming finals. I then had Christian Marriage that Tuesday, and Surveys of Physical Science and Theology of the Church on Wednesday.

Book Mountain and Creek Jump: Once I finished all of my finals, I finally climbed Book Mountain. I climbed to the lookout point. The view from that point is just fabulous. It was really beautiful. Later on, we had the creek jump. This is where we raised money for Mary's Meals, and get the professors to jump in the creek. We finally got Dr Asci to agree to jump in the creek. I heard that he had refused to jump for the thirteen years he's been here. We were able to raise 3000 euro. So Dr Asci jumped, along with Prof Cassidy, Tom Wolter and Maria Siefert-Wolter, Fr Brad, Mark Kalpagian, and Tony Ertl the RD. Once they all jumped, then other people jumped in. Since I hadn't jumped in yet, I felt like now was the time to do it. So I climbed down to the creek, and jumped in. The water was freezing cold! I learned later that the water never warms up. Once I got in the water, I got out as fast as I could. It was too cold for me.

Final day and flight home: The last day that we were in Austria was a day of cleaning and packing. I was constantly busy. I had to make sure that the stuff fit in my suitcases. I had to do so much cleaning. It would seem that there was always something else that had to be cleaned in the room. Once the room was all cleaned out, I then checked out of my room. There was a bon fire, followed by midnight mass in the chapel. Once mass finished, we then boarded the busses for Vienna Airport. By the time we got to the airport, the sun was starting to come up. Our flight left Vienna around 10:30am. The flight lasted for about 10 hours. I was sad to leave Austria, and there was a part of me that was afraid that I would never get back to Europe. We got into DC around 2pm, and went through customs. After customs, we then boarded the plane for Pittsburgh. Originally I was going to stay with one of my household sisters for the week of graduation. Unfortunately that did not happen. My parents had to come down to Steubenville so that they could drive me home. I wanted to stay for graduation, but it just didn't work out. At least I got to see my household sisters before the end of the year.

It's still hard to believe that this semester is done, and that Austria is over.

A lot has happened since my last post

2011-04-24T10:40:00.002-04:00

I know it's been a very long time since I updated. So here goes nothing.

Poland: Poland was very moving. When we got to Poland, we got to see the unveiling of the Black Madonna. I could hear the trumpets and drums in the back of the church. Later on, we went to Auchwitz. It's really hard to describe how I felt when I saw the concentration camp. I was just beyond words. The weather in Poland was actually warmer than in past years during the spring semester. I've heard of people who have gotten frostbite when they went to Poland. It was above freezing when we went to Auchwitz. So we could pay attention to what the tour guide was saying rather than thinking about how cold it was. Krakow was a beautiful city, and I was amazed how affordable everything was. On the way from Poland, we stopped at Wadawice...which was Pope John Paul II home town. We got to see the church he was baptized in. And we got to try his favorite cake, dubbed the "pope cake." It was delicious!

Rome/Assisi: I LOVED Rome and Assisi, especially Rome! We were there for Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. Normally the students who go to Rome in the Spring don't get to see Mardi Gras because it would have passed by the time they got there. but anyway, there was a section in Rome where all of the festivities would be held. I went there one day...it was a lot of fun! I pretty much mastered the metro, and took it all the time. We did so much walking! We had the wednesday audience on Ash Wednesday. I loved being able to see the Pope. The weather while we were there was fantastic! It only rained the first day we were there. I got to go to Old Bridge, and had gelato for 2 euro...it was so good! I also went to Soprani's to get some religious goods. Their prices were really good. After Ash Wednesday, we went to Assisi. It is such a beautiful and peaceful town. But there are a lot of steep hills! The food in the hotel we stayed at, hotel dei priori, was really good. We had so much food (and pasta) there. We would get seconds, and even thirds! And we had a lot of bread. I went to the leather store, and got some sandals (I needed sandals anyway). Other people also ordered covers for their bibles and prayer books.

Medjugorje: This was an interesting place. We stayed at a place called "the castle". Since the town is in a desert, we couldn't use much water. Plus the showers only had cold water. But the town is really beautiful, albeit very rocky and dry. The church, St James, was always filled with Italians. There was also a crucifix in town that had a tear like substance seep out of the knee, and people don't know where the liquid is coming from. We also got to hear one of the visionaries speak. It seemed like she always had a smile on her face. While we were in Medj, we got to climb Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain. They were very difficult to climb, but the views from the top were amazing!

10 Day in Romania: I had the opportunity to do a mission trip to Romania during 10 day. I originally wanted to do the Lourdes Mission trip during 10 day, but didn't think that I could raise the money. Plus my mother didn't like that it was almost $600. A funny thing is that many of the churches in the town we went to had an our lady of Lourdes grotto. So it was like Lourdes came to me, since I couldn't go to Lourdes (especially since my other household sisters did the lourdes mission trip). Anyway, we took the train to Romania, and got there around 11pm eastern european time. We went to a town called Baia Mare. We stayed near an orphanage there. There's an organization there that runs an orphanage for girls, and runs a daycare center during the day for poor children whose parents work during the day. Some of us worked at the daycare center, while others spoke to high school children about American culture. Some of us went to the pediatric ward of the local hospital and painted disney murals on the walls of the hallway. It was really fun. In the evening, we would give English lessons to the volunteers, and would give a catechesis on different topics such as chastity and adoration. We also got to see what the town looked like. Many of the communities have locked gates, and have guard dogs. Many also have chickens, and could hear the roosters crow early in the morning! In the old part of town, there is a baroque church and buildings that are very similar to the ones in Vienna. We learned that at one point, that part of Romania was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. While we were there, the people fed us very well. Italians did the cooking, so we had pasta with lunch and dinner. And there was a lot of food. By the time we knew it, it was time to leave for Austria. The religious sister who was living at the orphanage made us a huge sack lunch, with four sandwiches and lots of cookies and water. Clearly I couldn't eat it all. But it was such a good trip!

Well, it's time for dinner in the mensa. I'll update some more another time.

Classes, Prague, and soon to be Poland

2011-02-17T10:40:00.002-05:00

I haven't updated in a while. Classes have been getting busy. We're really getting into the swing of the semester. It's strange that my weekday mornings start off with class with Dr Asci. I have him for Christian Marriage and Christian Spirituality. My classes have been going pretty good so far. I really like all of my classes. I feel that I have gotten into a rhythm with my classes. I love how tight knit the people at the Kartause are getting. Since there's only 143 of us, we're at the point where we all know each other. It's amazing to think that I wouldn't have known some of these people had it not been for Austria.

I've found that the food in the mensa is ok, but is not the greatest. Not that the caf is any better. There are some things that I wish the mensa would do, such as keep the coffee machine on after breakfast and offer a greater variety of food. A few nights they were really good. One night we had frankfurters, and another night we had hamburgers. I just wish they'd offer those more often...they sell them in the Spar.

Last Saturday, I went to Prague. It was a beautiful city. But it was a long trip. We left the Kartause after 5am (11pm back east). We got to Prague after 10am. I noticed that once we got into the Czech Republic, the language was completely different. I saw all of these accent marks, and couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words. Once we got to Prague, we had free time. So we went walking around the town. We went to the church that had the Infant of Prague. It was really nice how they had the Infant Jesus wear real material clothes. There was also a gift shop inside. Some of us had lunch in a cafe close to the church that has the Infant of Prague. The prices were really cheap, and the food was really good. And they accepted euros, which was really great. The server was really nice too. After lunch, we went back to the church with the Infant of Prague, and climbed up the tower. The whole city skyline could be seen from there. It was really nice. But by the time we knew it, it was time to go home. So we boarded the busses, and headed back to Gaming. It was a nice day trip, and I really enjoyed it.

This weekend we're going to Poland. We leave for Poland later on tonight. I've heard so much from friends about their experience in Poland. Some good, and some bad. So I am hoping that this will be a good trip, and that the weather will play in our favor while we're over there. I still have to pack, but that won't take that long. I just hope that this will be a good weekend, and that I don't get frostbite (it's been cold there the last two times the spring semester Austria students had gone). Hopefully I won't...I have warm boots! :-)

Classes, Salzburg, and Munich

2011-02-03T13:18:00.002-05:00

So we just finished the second full week of classes. I'm really getting into the swing of things here with my classes. Certainly there a lot of work. But they're not as bad. And I feel like I'm not as busy this semester as I was last semester. Last semester I had a paper due almost every week. This semester, I don't have any papers to write. I'm auditing German, so I don't have to take any of the tests and exams. My Survey of Physical Science class has no midterm, mostly quizzes. My theology classes have a midterm and final. But since there's so many people in the classes, the exams are sure to be mostly multiple choice and true/ false. So I am hoping that I will do really well when this semester is over. I need to do well so that I can get my GPA above a 2.5 so that I can then apply to the Catechetics major. But anyway, I really like my classes and my schedule is really good. I like that my early classes start at 8:40am and not 8am. That's a lot better. It gives me enough time to get ready and go to the mensa for breakfast (and hope they have something decent to eat). The latest that my classes go to is 5pm. And this is the first time in a very long time that I have no Friday classes (purposely done by Franciscan so that people can travel).

In other news, I went to Salzburg and Munich this past weekend. I'm sure some of you saw the photos on my facebook. But anyway, we left for Salzburg early Friday morning. It took us a little more than 2 hours to get to Salzburg from Gaming. Once we got to Salzburg, we walked to the church where we had mass. After mass, we had lunch in a restaurant (whose name escapes me right now). After lunch, we had a walking tour of Salzburg. While walking through Salzburg, I found that it was very easy to get lost walking around the winding streets. But it was interesting to see the different locations where different parts of The Sound of Music was filmed. Many of the statues and fountains were covered by plexiglass to protect it from the snow. After the tour, we walked back to the hostel to check in. It was a really nice hostel...it was almost like a motel with the private rooms and showers. Once we checked into the hostel, we then had some free time. I went with some of my friends to look in the different stores and shops. Afterwards, I went with some other friends to the St Peterkeller, which is the oldest restaurant in Salzburg. Clearly I got the wiener-schnitzel, since it was the cheapest thing on the menu. I also had an apple strudel with vanilla ice cream. It was really good, although I don't expect to go to restaurants like that every time I go on a trip. Otherwise it could get really expensive. After dinner, we went to hear a concert featuring music by Mozart (who happens to be from Salzburg). It was really good, although I was getting really tired near the end. But it was a good concert.

The following day, we went to Munich. It was about an hour and a half drive from Salzburg, and we didn't have to show our passports because it's in the EU. I noticed while we were on the road that the speed limit in Germany is faster than the speed limit in Austria. In Austria, the speed limit on a major highway is 100 Km/hr (62 mph). Whereas in Germany, the speed limit is 120 Km/hr (75 mph). Plus the exit signs said Ausfahrt, which is German for exit. Anyway, once we got to Munich, we got to have mass in the same church where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass when he was still cardinal. After mass, we went on a tour of old town Munich. It was very short. Afterward, we had some free time. I got to see the glockenspiel go off at noon. I loved it. I don't get to see that everyday. Then, after not being to be able to find my friends to spend the afternoon with, I spent the day with two of the TOR sisters. We had lunch in a Filipino restaurant, where I had sweet n sour chicken. Then we went to the Deutsches Museum. It was so big. There was so many things to look at, and it was very interactive. We spent the entire afternoon on just one floor, and there were six. After we left the museum, we went to get some dinner. After we went to dinner, we then went back to the buses, where we then headed back to Salzburg. One thing that I got while I was there was a German flag. So now I have an Austrian flag and a German flag. I've decided that I am going to get a flag of every country that I go to. I figured that would be a cool thing to collect.

On our final day of the weekend, we had mass in the cathedral in Salzburg. This church had no heat. So it was freezing cold during the entire mass. Speaking of mass, they had a full choir and orchestra in the choir loft. The mass was all in German. The strange part was that when the sung parts of the mass came (like the gloria of the credo) the congregation sat down. I found this to be particularly disturbing during the creed, which I thought we should have remained standing. The music was beautiful, but honestly I felt like I was at a performance rather than a mass. It was just a strange, and very cold, experience. After mass, we went to Mondsee. There, we had lunch. We then got to see the church where the wedding scene of The Sound of Music was shot. It was such a beautiful church. Plus I loved looking in their gift shop. I took so long in the church however, that I almost got left behind. I had to call on of the RDs, who then had to come back to get me. Otherwise I would have had to take a bus or train back to Gaming. I wouldn't have known where the bus or train station was while in Mondsee. But at least that didn't happen. Anyway, we got back to Gaming after nightfall. It was a really fun trip, and I'm glad that I came. I'm looking forward to the next trip, what ever it may be.

Classes and Vienna

2011-01-23T11:15:00.002-05:00

Classes started this past Thursday. I ended up changing one of the classes I was originally registered for. I had originally registered for Foundations of Ethics, thinking that Siefert was going to be teaching the class. Then I get to Gaming, and find out that someone else is teaching Ethics (Seifert was only teaching Human Person, which I took already). So I figured that I'd at least see what he's like. So I went to the first class, and I find out that we had to write a 7-10 page paper with 11.5 font and 1.5 spacing. No professor I know has ever had us write a paper using that size font. So I really wasn't feeling that good about the class, and wanted to switch to a different class. So one of my household sisters told me about a class that she was taking. It was called Survey of Physical Science. It's a class where the professor teleconferences the class from main campus. So I decided to switch classes. Hopefully it will work out in the end. Other than that, I love my classes. I have Dr Asci for two of my classes: Christian Spirituality and Christian Marriage. And I have Dr Cassidy for Theology of the Church. I love his Scottish accent! Plus he's really nice. I'm also auditing German I. I think that will come in very handy here.

Yesterday we went to Vienna. We started the day by having mass in one of the churches. Afterward, we had a tour of Vienna. It was very cold and windy that day. We got to see the different buildings and churches in Vienna. After the tour, we went to a restaurant where we had wienerschnitzl. It wasn't that bad. After lunch, we had some free time to explore Vienna on our own. I went with some of my friends and household sister to look in the different shops in Vienna. We later on had some coffee and dessert in a cafe. We later boarded the bus and went back to Gaming. I had such a good time, and it was so fun. It was really great.

Am now in Gaming Austria

2011-01-18T14:22:00.002-05:00

So as the title now says, I am now in Gaming Austria. The packing for the trip was very stressful. I was trying to jam everything into my suitcases without making them too heavy. My parents drove me down to Philadelphia International Airport. I couldn't believe how much security I had to go through. We never had to do anything like that when I last flew in 1985.

Anyway, I found other franciscan students at the airport. I was happy to see familiar people because I thought I would have had to fly to DC all alone. So the flight to DC was a quick one, but a turbulent one. Once we got to DC, we saw a whole bunch of franciscan students. we waited to the plane for about an hour. Once we got on the plane, we got to watch movies and listen to music. You could choose whatever movie you wanted to watch. So I watched Beauty and the Beast, and the Social Network. Both were good. I didn't sleep much while on the plane. I think if I got two hours sleep, I was lucky. Anyway, the dinner they served us was very good. We had the choice of pasta or chicken. I had the chicken. It seems like it wasn't too long before we were served breakfast. For breakfast, we had a ham and swiss sandwich on a bread stick, a muffin, and yogurt. It wasn't that bad.

We arrived in Vienna at around 8:15am Central European Time (2:15am Eastern Standard Time). The people from the school were there to pick us up from the airport. I got my bags from baggage claim, and made my way down to customs. It was harder leaving the United States than entering Austria. All I had to do is present my passport, and I was in. It was too easy. The buses were there to take us to the Kartause. It was really interesting to see the street signs, and how different they are to those in the united states. All of the lines on the road are white. The speed limit is in Kilometers per hour, and not miles per hour. I'll see the speed limit signs say "100" and have to realize that it's in kilometers, not miles.

Anyway, it took us about two hours to get to Gaming. Once we got there, the children gave us flowers and brought our luggage to our rooms. I got a single. I'm on the 6th floor. My room is in samuel hall, or "six track" as people affectionally call it. It's not too bad. I've had worse housing at Rutgers, so I'm not that worried about it.

So these last few days, we've been having orientation. We've been learning about the Kartause, and about Austria and Europe. Yesterday we went to an old monastery in Melk. We're going to Vienna on Saturday. And next weekend is Salzburg/ Munich. And classes start on Thursday. So I hope I don't oversleep like I almost did the other day (where I slept for almost 10 hours). But I think that this semester is going to be absolutely amazing. I hope it's better than last semester.

I leave for Austria in five days

2011-01-10T20:33:00.002-05:00

As the title says, I leave for Austria in five days. It's hard to believe that it's finally happening! I'm really excited about it. I'm looking forward to going over there and seeing the Kartause for myself.

As for the Lourdes mission trip, I'm probably not going to be able to do the mission trip. There's a few reasons for this. First of all, I only got the application a few weeks ago. I wasn't able to print the application until last week because of printer problems. Plus my mother didn't like how expensive the mission trip would be...almost $600. So what I may do is just go to Lourdes on my own during 10 day. This way I can visit other places in Europe like Disneyland Paris and the Berlin Wall. 10 day isn't until early April, so I have time to figure things out. At least it won't be freezing cold by then.

I just pray that there won't be any problems with the weather or the flight over to Austria. Some of my friends are flying to Ireland before going over to Austria. As much as I would have liked to have seen Ireland, I didn't want to freeze. That's ok. I'm flying from Philly to DC to Vienna. So I'm sure there will be a lot of Franciscan students on the flight over to Austria, since it's with Student Flights. I'm just glad I'm not going alone. It should be a fun flight. I guarentee that I'm the oldest person from Franciscan going. I'm probably the oldest person at Franciscan to have ever spent a semester over in Austria.

The next time I write, I will be in Gaming.

Groß Gott!

Got my car back, and I got my passport and visa

2010-12-18T14:52:00.003-05:00

I finally got my car back after almost a month of getting fixed. A lot of things had to be replaced in my car, including the engine. I don't know too much about cars. I just know how to start it. But anyway, the problems seem to finally be fixed. The car is now running good. It's too bad I won't be taking it back to Steubenville until August when the fall semester begins, since I'm going to Austria next semester. But I'm glad it's fixed. I just hope that I don't have problems with it when I go back to campus in August.

I also got my passport and visa in the mail yesterday. So now I'm all set to go to Austria. It's hard to believe that I leave in exactly four weeks. It's starting to become more and more real that this is really happening. The people who were in Austria for the fall are now home. So now it's our turn to experience Austria! I'm really looking forward to going. Although I'll miss everyone at home. But it's so much easier to stay connected with people now than when my father went to Italy with the Navy in the 1960s.

Semester is now over, and the grades are now in

2010-12-14T14:54:00.002-05:00

So I got all of my grades back. Most of them were fairly good. I didn't do as good as I would have liked in Theology of Christ, and didn't expect to get the grade I got. But it could have been worse. And that just means that there's room for improvement next semester in Austria. So I got a C in Catechetics, a D+ in Theology of Christ, a C in Mariology, and a B in Catholic Social Teaching. They could have been better, and did not expect to get a D+ in Theology of Christ. Hopefully next semester will be better.

Bridge over troubled water

2010-12-07T15:23:00.002-05:00

Originally I was going to post a song that was sung by Voorhees Choir at Rutgers, but blogger wouldn't let me upload audio files. So this had to be the next best thing. Anyway, I feel like this song just sums up this semester. I feel like there have been so many things that I've had to worry about: from problems with my car, to trying to find someone to sublet my apartment (with no success), to missing friends who are currently in Austria. Through all of that, I know that things will be alright. I just feel like this semester has been such a stressful semester. It hasn't been a hard semester. Just stressful with all of the papers and assignments due. I just pray that my semester in Austria will be my best semester ever.

What a difference a week makes

2010-11-28T16:32:00.002-05:00

It's amazing what can happen in a week. A week ago, I didn't think I would be able to get the Eurail global pass. But after realizing that single tickets could cost hundreds of dollars, the global pass seemed to be a better deal. I also realized that if you divide the price by ten, you can see how much each ticket would cost. In the end I made my mother see that the global pass would be a better buy than buying single tickets. So I just bought my Eurail Global Pass just before, and it should arrive here in a few days. So I will be able to travel with everyone else after all! I'm really happy!

On a side note: I had quite an adventure trying to get home for thanksgiving break. I left Steubenville on Wednesday. Once I got into Weirton, I started to experience problems with my car. My car had almost no power, or acceleration I should say. I ended up having my car towed and serviced a couple of times in Pennsyvania. I ended up spending the night in Breezewood, Pa. There was some work done on my car, and then made another try to get home. I got as far as mile 228.2 on the Pa turnpike (I-76 east). I ended up having it towed back to my parents' house in NJ, 183 miles away. When my mechanic looked at my car the following day, he said that there were a lot of problems with the car. Basically I either got a bad engine (from when it was put in in August) or it just went bad really fast. The people who put the engine in in Ohio are working with the mechanic in NJ, and it may not cost anything to get fixed.

While that car is being worked on, I will bring my father's Dodge Intrepid back to campus...since we only have a week and a half left in the semester. Once the semester's over, I'll then head back to NJ with most of my stuff from the apartment. Then my parents and I will go back with the van to bring home the big things such as the desk and stuff like that. After that, I will just give my landlord the keys to the apartment and be completely moved out. Then a new chapter of my time at Franciscan will begin.

Less than two months until I go to Austria!

2010-11-21T13:39:00.002-05:00

As the title says...I leave for Austria in less than two months. I am really looking forward to it. Although I think the people at the Kartause are going to be surprised to see a resident my age. It's not like people who were born the same year as myself never went to Austria. The Austria program started in 1991. So clearly there have been people who are now older than me who have gone. The only difference is that none of them have gone in their mid thirties. I will be the first. Hey, there's no age limit...and there's nothing that says I can't go. Besides, I'm thirty six. I'm not very old...I'm not even middle aged yet. I have grey hair, and so do the traditional aged students. So I'm not too worried about that. It'll be interesting when I get my Austrian dress (whatever it's called). I'm young enough to be able to wear the same styles as the other girls.

In other news, Stella got five new stars! They're mostly sophomores, and they'll all be on campus next semester. We currently have eight stars in Austria this semester. Next semester there will be three stars going to Austria (myself being one of them). I wish there was more, but it's better than one or two. I remember last fall we had 14 stars and one twinkle in Austria. There always seems to be more people going in the fall. Probably because the weather is nicer. I would have liked to have gone in the fall, but next semester is the only time I could go. It was either go to Austria next semester, or not go at all. I would rather go and have the Austria experience than to not go and wonder what it might have been like if I had gone.

Global pass definitely out of the question

2010-11-06T18:20:00.002-04:00

Why you may ask? Because the prices for the global pass has gone up. A 10 day adult flexi pass is now over $800. I won't dare ask my parents to help me get that pass because they'll tell me to get lost. I'm not even sure if they'll help me pay for the select pass (or any pass for that matter). I know that things will work out.

In other matters: the semester is quickly progressing. I've had a few people contact me concerning my apartment. One person has even looked at my apartment. Hopefully someone will want to sublet it. Just keep praying.

Also, we are now in Warrior Week. The twinkles have been wearing their camo this week. Because of fall break, warrior week started on Wednesday, and will continue until next Wednesday. This Tuesday is Mission Night. So keep the twinkles in your prayers on that night.

Concerning train travel

2010-10-30T21:19:00.002-04:00

I was looking around at the eurail passes, and the eurail select pass may be a more affordable option for me. I could get an adult eurail 3 country select pass for 8 days in 2 months for $535, and an adult 4 country select pass for 8 days in 2 months for $584. That's a lot better than about $750 for the adult global flexi pass. So we'll see what happens.

Update on schedule, and about Lourdes mission trip

2010-10-27T18:47:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to update everyone on my schedule. I audited the German class. This way I can learn German and won't be weighed down by the tests. Plus I'm done with my language requirement anyway.

Concerning the Lourdes mission trip. I learned from one of my household sisters that I can do fundraising for the mission trip. That I can probably do. And it shouldn't be too hard paying for the trips to Salzburg and Poland. I figured that I could do the excursions that the school is doing. This way I can travel. I don't plan on traveling every weekend. Growing up, I only went on vacation once a year...to Florida. Besides, I'm already paying for room and board. I might as well get my money's worth. I'll get plenty of opportunities to see Europe. Not to worry!

Registered for classes today!

2010-10-25T20:12:00.002-04:00

Like the title says, I've registered for the spring 2011 semester in Austria. Right now I'm registered for 15 credits, although I may audit one of the classes. So right now this is my schedule for the spring 2011 semester:

GRM 101 Elementary German I Prof Franz Schneider
PHL 212 Foundations of Ethics Prof Maria Seifert-Wolter
THE 214 Theology of the Church Prof Robert Cassidy
THE 341 Christian Marriage Dr Donald Asci
THE 409 Christian Spirituality Dr Donald Asci

Almost forgot...intensity has started

2010-10-19T10:55:00.002-04:00

I almost forgot to mention that intensity has started with Stella. This week is covenant week. This is where the twinkles focus on the covenant. They also wear blue, yellow, and grey all week. Last semester I was going through intensity. It's strange being on the other side now. But it's good. Stella has five twinkles, mostly sophomores. So it's a good class. I'd welcome more, but that's alright. Just pray for the twinkles as they spend the week meditating on Stella's covenant.

Options with traveling by train.

2010-10-19T10:31:00.003-04:00

After considering my options concerning traveling by train, I think my best option would be to just buy the train tickets when I need them rather than buying the eurail pass. I am too old to purchase the Eurail youth pass (who would be in 2nd class). I could only get the adult pass, which if I got the adult global flexi pass, would be over $750 (and would be in first class). Everyone else that would be traveling with me from Franciscan would be in second class since they're under 26. I could sit in second class if I wanted to with the adult class. But why should I have to pay more for sitting in the same class as my classmates? I definitely wouldn't sit in first class all alone. So my best option would be to just buy the individual tickets (since you have to make a reservation anyway). This way I can travel throughout Europe and not go broke. Would I like to get the global pass? Sure. Do I have the money for it? No. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for the trips to Poland and Lourdes. God willing I'll find some way to pay for it...even if it means working on campus all summer to pay for it.

Eurail pass

2010-10-17T19:22:00.003-04:00

After considering my options concerning train passes, I might be able to get the 10 day global flexi pass. I figured that I can work on campus during part of the summer to pay my parents back for the pass. This way i can go to Lourdes and travel to different countries. So maybe there's hope after all. I just hope my parents will go for it.

May not be doing too much traveling while in Austria

2010-10-17T12:42:00.003-04:00

Why not, you may ask? Because I can't afford to buy a Eurail pass. I'm not sure how I'm going to find a pass that is affordable. I'm too old to qualify for the youth price, and I can't afford the adult price. What makes this harder is that I feel that God wants me to go on the Lourdes mission trip during 10 day. How am I supposed to do what God wants me to do if I don't have the money to do it? I need the Eurail pass to get to France, and I don't have the money to get the pass. I just wish I could find a pass that is affordable.

Update on Household and Austria

2010-10-16T10:45:00.002-04:00

I have booked my flight to Austria. Originally I was going to go through JFK, but realized that it would be too expensive. So I am flying out from Philly to DC, and then to Vienna. I can take the NJ Transit trains to Philly, and then take one of the Philly subway trains to the airport. So I wouldn't have to drive to the airport. I could take the train from Rahway to Trenton, and then take the train to 30th st station in Philly. I would then take the Septa Airport line from 30th st to the airport. By having my flight go out from Philly, I save $200. Plus it doesn't cost too much to take the train the the airport. Anyway, I have my return flight coming to Pittsburgh so that I'll be at the school for graduation. Plus I'll have a chance to see everyone before the summer break. So all I have to do now is find someone to sublet my apartment for the spring. Anyone interested?

Household: Stella now has five twinkles. We had one after Tuesday morning mass, and one after holy hour on Thursday. Personally I'd welcome some more...but we'll see. It's looking like a good class. They're going to learn how to shine.

Oh, and I'm finally done with midterms! Yay!

Update on Austria, and other things

2010-10-11T19:29:00.002-04:00

I figured it was time for an update. So here we go!

Austria: I have since had two more Austria meetings. I look forward to these meetings because it's at the end of the week, and I'm done with all of my classes by then. At the second meeting, we talked about flights to and from Austria. I will probably fly out of JFK, since it is close to NJ. The flight would depart JFK at 5:30pm on January 15, and arrive in Vienna at 8:30am the following morning. There would then be a bus that will shuttle us to the Kartause in Gaming. At the third meeting, we filled out the application for our visas. They have my passport photos and my passport. So all I have to do now is buy my plane ticket. I also have to find someone to sublet my apartment for the spring semester. So far I haven't found any takers. But hopefully someone will want it for the spring. Just pray that someone will want to sublet it.

Tentative Austria Schedule: I've been figuring out what classes to take for next semester. I think I've come up with a good schedule.
Art 205 Art Appreciation Healy, Jennifer
PHL 212 Foundations of Ethics Seifert-Wolter, Maria Michaela
THE 214 Theology of the Church Cassidy, Robert F.
THE 341 Christian Marriage Asci, Donald P.

Household: Stella now has three twinkles! Very exciting! It's strange being on this side now, being a star. But it makes it very exciting when I see a sign that says that we have a new twinkle. It tells me that someone wants to intent my household. I'm hoping that we'll get some more this week.

FOP: We had a FOP a few weeks ago. It coincided with Homecoming, and there were a lot of alumni there. As always, it was a blast!

Midterms: Midterms are underway. I had three midterms last week. I haven't gotten them back yet, so I don't know how I did yet. Hopefully I'll find out soon. I felt pretty good on them. So we'll see. I have one more (Mariology) on Thursday.

Hopefully the next time I update, I will have purchased my plane ticket to Austria. It'll be the first time I've flown since 1985!

Got my 6 photos for my visa in Austria

2010-09-14T10:32:00.002-04:00

As you can see from the title, I got my photo taken for my visa while in Austria.

There are a few things that I'm finding that are different from the States. One is the type of outlet that Austria uses. It's different from the one in the U.S. So I have to get a plug adapter so I can plug electronics into the outlet. Plus I have to make sure that it can handle up to 240 volts. My laptop will work over there. I just need the plug adapter. One thing that will not work over in Austria is my cell phone. My phone does not have international capabilities. So I will have to use the phone that Franciscan will give us when we get to Gaming. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do that because I like having the phone I have now. I've seen a photo of the phone that we will use in Gaming, and it reminds me of my old Nokia phone. I just hope that my parents will be able to call me once I'm in Austria. I guess we'll see.

First Austria meeting

2010-09-11T00:02:00.002-04:00

So we had the first Austria meeting today. We got an idea of what to expect. We also got a folder full of info about the necessary things that need to be done. We also had a sheet that had the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Glory Be in German. I hope I'm able to learn them by the time I go in January. I will probably have to increase the amount of financial aid for next semester so I can cover all of the costs. Most likely I will have to get a loan or something like that. Hopefully it will work out. But I am definitely going to Austria because I got a spot in the program! Thank God! I'm glad I didn't wait any longer.

Update on Austria

2010-09-09T14:53:00.002-04:00

After making some prayerful considerations, I have decided that I am going to go to Austria for the Spring 2011 semester. I just feel that it's the best thing for me, since I have regrets about not going this semester. Plus, since I'm going in the spring, I won't fall too far behind with my major. This is mostly because a lot of the classes I need are offered in the fall. So I can concentrate on working on the Theology major, plus take a couple other classes. So I will probably take Theology of the Church, a Theology elective, and two philosophy classes. I figured it would be good to take some more philosophy classes in case I decide to got on to grad school. I can then take Content and Curriculum along with another theology class. I should be able to graduate on time. So the first meeting is tomorrow morning at 11am.

I'm happy that I'll finally get to go to Austria! :-)

Another Update

2010-09-06T19:46:00.002-04:00

So I figured it was time to update what I've been doing.

My Car: So you all remember the problems that I was having with my car. It turned out that it did need a new engine. So I had the mechanic do the repairs that the car needed, including the new motor. I had to rent a car so that I could get back to NJ to renew my license. I was home for just a few days because I had to come back to Steubenville to do Orientation. I was on the Orientation team. Once I got back to Steubenville, I had to get rides to and from my apartment, since my car wasn't ready yet. I then got my car back the day before the start of the Fall semester. But once I got the car back, I noticed that there would always be some kind of liquid on the ground underneath my car. Plus my car ran kind of rough. Then one day, I drove to the Kroger in Wierton. I parked in the parking lot, went in to get something, and then went to my car. I turned on my car, but it would not go into drive. It wouldn't go anywhere. So I had to have it towed back to the BP. It turns out that there was a hose that had to be replaced, since it was leaking oil. So I had to get rides to and from campus from my household sisters (especially for 6:30am mass...I wasn't going to walk in the dark from my place). I even spent one night in Tommy after Stella business meeting because I had an 8am class the following morning. But anyway, I got my car back this past Friday. It now works great. I'm really grateful to have my car back, especially since it had looked like I would have had to buy a new car.

Orientation: I was on the Orientation team again this semester. I was with the Grad - Non Trad group. This is the same thing I did last semester. I really enjoyed meeting the new students. Although it was a little stressful not having my car with me during orientation. But I enjoyed all of the different events at orientation. It's funny that I remembered a lot of the skits from my orientation a year ago. And I remember Fr Dominic Foster's address to the new students, where he wants to see adults four years from now and not eighteen year olds.

Household: Even though I've been a star for a few months now, it's weird being on the other side. I'm no longer a visitor or a twinkle. So I feel a sense of responsibility. I tabled at the household fair this past Friday with Genevieve. I found that I had a harder time trying to explain about our household than Genevieve did. But that might be because she's been in household longer. We haven't gotten any twinkles just yet. But it's still early.

People in Austria: This semester there are a lot of my friends that are in Austria. And a lot of them are Stars. I used to eat lunch in the Caf with them. Now when I go to the caf for lunch, I end up eating lunch by myself because everyone I would sit with for lunch are now in Austria. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to go to the caf for lunch anymore because I'd end up all alone. I really miss everyone, and am just tired of having to eat by myself. I mean, I live by myself. When I go to the caf, I want to sit with someone. If I want to eat alone, I could just go to my apartment and have lunch. It's also hard because I would have been in Austria this semester. Why didn't I go, you may ask? Well, the main reason is the cost. And considering that the last time I flew on a plan, Ronald Reagan was president (in 1985). I mean, I'm happy I'm at school. But there's a part of me that's wondering if I made a mistake by not going to Austria this semester. I hear so many people who talk about how amazing Gaming is. And it breaks my heart to think that I may never get to see it. I don't have to go for a semester. I just want to see the Karthouse for myself. I have a passport, and I've never used it other than to renew my drivers license. I just wish that I could go to Gaming.

Car update, plus orientation

2010-08-11T19:20:00.002-04:00

So I figured I'd update about my car. So originally I thought that I would have to get a new car because my other car had too many costly repairs. Then my mother suggested that I bring it to another mechanic to get another opinion. So I had it towed to the BP gas station on University Blvd. What a difference. When the mechanic opened the hood, he noticed that the mechanic from the other garage left one of his tools in my car. Plus all of the hoses were undone and not put back together. In other words, the guy who had first looked at my car didn't know what he was doing. So my car doesn't need a new engine (which is essentially what they said that my car needed). It's getting a tune up, new spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, and a catalytic converter (I think that's how it's spelled). So my car should be ready by tomorrow. Either way, I am heading to NJ tomorrow. I don't care if I have to leave Steubenville at 5pm, I'm going home tomorrow. I'll then be in NJ until Tuesday, since I'm on the orientation team (I'm with the Grad-Non Trads). I'll be sure to update about that. I can't wait to see everyone, especially my household sisters!

Thank you all for your prayers!

My car

2010-08-09T17:13:00.002-04:00

I just learned that my car has so many costly repairs that it would be less expensive to replace the car rather than get it fixed. This car is ten years old, and I've had it since 2005. So right now I'm trying to find a way to get to NJ. And I will probably have to get a new car, unless I want to walk to class and commitments. So if you all could say a prayer for me, I would greatly appreciate it!

Another summer update

2010-08-08T20:59:00.003-04:00

I figured I'd update my blog again.

Class: This week has been very busy. I had a paper that was due this past Thursday. It ended up being really long. But I figured that it's better for the paper to be too long than too short. Anyway, the final was on Friday. I think I did much better than the final. I still don't know what grade I got in the class though. Hopefully I'll find out soon.

Mass: This week, I started going to Mass at St Peter's Church on 4th St (Downtown). Originally I thought that they just had a 5:15pm Mass. But I found out that they also have an 8am Mass. So I went to the 8am Mass at St Peter's. It's about a six minute drive from my apartment. But this church is so beautiful. And the priest is so nice. Plus there's an adoration chapel downstairs. I just loved it!

Work: I finished my summer job on Friday. Now I don't have work until after classes start for the fall. I think it'll be better then because the students would have moved back in.

My car: After I left from work, I took rt 22 west. I was going to Fort Steuben Mall. As I was approaching the exit for Lover's Lane, my car stalled out. I later learned that I ran out of gas, and that there are other problems with my car. I'm hoping that it'll get fixed because I'm planning on going back to NJ for about a week. I have to get my driver's licence renewed. Just pray that they can fix my car, otherwise I'll be stuck in Steubenville for who knows how long.

Back in Steubenville/ Summer class

2010-07-24T15:37:00.002-04:00

So I've been back in Steubenville for a few weeks. So I figured I'd update on what I've been doing.

Summer class: I've been taking a summer class. I'm taking Sacraments. It's an interesting class. We're learning all about the sacraments. It meets five days a week. Since the class gets out after mass starts at Christ the King Chapel, I've been going to mass at Holy Family Church. They have an 8am mass. I sometimes see people from Franciscan at mass there. But anyway, we're more than halfway through the class. There's about eight people in the class, which I suppose is a good number for a summer class. We had the midterm last week, and the final is in less than two weeks. Plus we have to do a paper, which is due by the last day of class. So hopefully I won't do too badly in the class. A bunch of people in the class have been getting together to prepare for the final, so maybe that will help.

Work: While I've been taking my summer class, I've also been working in the dorms. I've been working primarily in Tommy, although we've been working in Marian the last few days. During the year, I didn't mind working in Tommy. But it's so different during the summer. During the week, the building is empty. So I end up spending the entire time working without seeing anyone. It can be lonely when you don't see any of your friends while you're working. Plus it gets really crazy when it's a conference day. On those days, you have to stay busy. I think perhaps if I stay in Steubenville for the summer for summer classes, I'm not going to work. If I do work, I would work for the summer conferences. But I'm not going to work in the dorms during the summer again. It's just not the same as during the year. If I don't take summer classes next year, then I will just spend the summer in NJ. I think it's just better for me. That way I can spend my summer with my family.

Believe it or not, the fall semester starts in about a month. Hard to believe that the summer is almost over.

Summer update

2010-07-02T16:49:00.002-04:00

Well, I figured I'd update on what has been happening during my summer. I spent the first part of my summer working at the physical plant. I didn't mind working, but I missed everyone. It's really strange working in an empty Tommy. It can be lonely at times. Especially since I live by myself. It just seemed that, outside of seeing people at mass, that I was always alone. It was just lonely. So this would go on for five weeks.

After working for five weeks, I then went home to NJ to visit family. It was good to come home and to see my friends and family at home. While I was at home, I got to go on vacation with my parents. We spent two weeks in Wildwood, NJ. It was really nice. It had a boardwalk with rides, games, places to eat, and gift shops. It was nice to see the ocean. But the vacation went too fast. I had a good time though. Once I got back home, I then spent a week at home. It was nice to see my friends at church. I was also able to get the car inspected.

This coming Monday, I will then travel back to Steubenville for my summer class. I will also be working, but not as much as before. That class (Sacraments) starts on Tuesday, and goes to August 5th. Once the class finishes in August, I will then go back to NJ until the beginning of the fall semester. I'm hoping that I will do good in that class. I usually do well in summer classes, considering my tract record at Rutgers, Middlesex, and in high school.

Either way you look at it, this summer is just flying by. It seems like it will be over as soon as you know it. It's too bad winter can't fly by like summer seems to do.

Hope everyone has a happy fourth of July!

Update

2010-05-18T18:41:00.002-04:00

I figured it's time for an update, so here it is:

Classes: Classes are now done for the spring semester. Overall, it was better than the fall. I got a C in Intermediate French, a B in PBS II, and an A in Christian Moral Principles. I had the drop Catechetics because I had failed the midterm, and it didn't look like I would pass the class. So I'm going to take Catechetics again in the fall. Hopefully I'll do better this time around. So this is my schedule next semester:
CAT 204 Catechetics 3.00 Bolster, Ronald Edward
THE 213 Theology of Christ 3.00 Sirilla, Michael George
THE 305 Mariology 3.00 Miravalle, Mark I.
THE 320 Catholic Social Teaching 3.00 Pattee, Daniel J. T.O.R.

Summer: My summer is going to be pretty busy. I'm spending the first part of the summer working for the Physical Plant. So far I have been working in Tommy cleaning the rooms and bathrooms. It is so strange seeing Tommy so empty since I spent the year working there. When I left work today, all of the rooms on the second floor were completely empty. The floors are going to be waxed. The bed frames lined the hallways. I don't think they were able to put any furniture in the Stella common room since there was so much stuff in there to begin with. But anyway, the rooms on first and third have already been waxed.
For a few weeks in June, I will be going back home to NJ. I have a dentists appointment. And my church is having their church carnival, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. After getting the car inspected in July, I will then go back to Steubenville for a summer class. I will be taking Sacraments with Dr Hildebrand. That class lasts four weeks. After that, I will then go back to NJ for a few weeks. I have to renew my licence for one thing. I will then go back to Steubenville right before either orientation (I applied to be on the orientation committee) or the start of the fall semester.
I'm sure the summer will go by very fast.

Household: Stella had 22 seniors graduate this past May. One of them was my big, Jenny. I went to the Baccalaureate mass thinking that I wouldn't be able to see the graduation in person because I didn't have a ticket. But on the morning of Graduation, Jenny called my cell phone and told me that she had an extra ticket. So I was able to see the graduation in person! I was really happy. Not only did I get to see my household sisters graduate, but I got to see my big graduate too. I will miss the seniors, but I know that they can always visit. Plus there are other ways to stay connected, such as facebook. It's strange to think that in two years, it will be me walking across the stage to get my diploma from Fr Terry, and becoming an alumna of Franciscan. I just hope that my family will make the trek to Ohio to see it happen. Hopefully they will.

This year sure has gone by fast. I'm sure the next two years will go just as fast.

I'm a Star of Mary!!!

2010-04-20T14:13:00.002-04:00

As you can tell from the title, I'm now a Star of Mary! We had inductions last night. Like I had said earlier, I didn't know when inductions was going to be. Our ladies week went on for a week and one day. But anyway, my twinkle class was inducted into Stella Mariae household last night. I wasn't really expecting it, though I wasn't sure if it would happen that night either. Mama Poyo was to give a talk to us twinkles. She had the twinkles sit up front and close their eyes. That's when we were blindfolded and lead to inductions. I can't tell you what happened at inductions because it's a secret. But I can tell you that it lasted a long time, and that a lot of people were taking lots of pictures. I was so happy to finally be a star. Now I feel like I have a sister, times 60+. I'm honored to be a Star of Mary, and to be the oldest ever star (I'm older than the founders by a few years).

This morning, my door was all decorated. My big, Jenny, did a great job.

I hope and pray that I will live up to the standards of the covenant I signed last night.

Mary, our Star of the Sea, pray for us!

More Household stuff

2010-04-13T09:35:00.002-04:00

Warrior week: As I mentioned last time, last week was warrior week. All week, we had to wear camouflage. The shirts I wore were from the common room. Part of the covenant is that we are warriors in Mary's army. So the twinkles were called PFCs, while the stars were called Sargent's. Tuesday was welcome to warrior week, and Wednesday was Mission night. I'm not going to say too much about them because I don't want to ruin the surprise to others who may not have experienced them. But it was intense. I figured that there is a reason for what happened at Mission night, and that it was to only make us stronger and to unite our twinkle class. I now realize that if I can make it through mission night, I can make it through anything. Because at the age of 35, mission night was the most intense experience of my life. I'm just glad it's over.

Ladies week: Now it's ladies week. This week (or weeks...depending on when we get inducted) we are to dress up and look pretty. We are to dress like a lady. It hasn't been too bad dressing up. The hard part is wondering when we're going to be inducted. Could it be this week, or maybe even next week? It's hard to tell at this point. It's just a matter of waiting. Inductions will come. We just don't know when. I'm sure the stars either know or will find out real soon when inductions will be. It's all about practicing heroic patience, one of Mary's 10 virtues.

Mary on the Mount: It is located in Pittsburgh. This church is connected to the founding of Stella back in 1999. As you can see from the photo, there is a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Although it's hard to see, there is also statues of Mary and John beneath the cross. This church is soo beautiful. And it turns out that the priest there used to be in AMDG. Just can't get away from AMDG, can we? Anyway, we did some praise and worship there. And the Stars prayed over the twinkles. I'll tell you, I felt such a peace while I was there. I just fell in love with this church. I just found it to be so funny that the founders of Stella found this church by accident. Perhaps it was by divine providence.

So perhaps the next time I write here, I could be a Star of Mary. Could even be tonight for all I know. We shall see. Mary, Star of the Sea, pray for me!

Update since spring break

2010-04-06T10:52:00.002-04:00

So I figured it's been a while for an update, so here it is:

Spring Break: So I went home for spring break. It was good to see everyone at home, including my cats. And everyone was happy to see me. While I was home, I caught up on some homework. And I was able to go to daily mass while I was home.

New cell phone: Yes, I finally got a new cell phone after having my old Nokia phone since 2002 or 03, somewhere around there. I got a Samsung Alias 2, and I love it! It has a double hinge, and can flip both ways. I can call people, and it has a speaker phone. The keys automatically change from vertical to horizontal, and can change from numbers to a QWERTY keypad. I can go on the internet too, although I use it mostly to go on facebook. It also has a calculator and a calendar. It also has a camera. Overall, it is a great phone. And it works really well. It also wasn't that expensive either.

Intensity: As soon as we got back from spring break, intensity started.

The first week was Covenant week.

Here, we focused on the covenant. We also wore blue and yellow all week.

Next was Star week.

During this week, we wore our twinkle shirts all week and wore a star around our necks. We also had to say "Lord let your light shine unto others through me." whenever a star called us twinkle.

Now it's Warrior week.

This week, we have to wear camouflage and wear a shield. And people try to steal this shield. I don't understand why they have to steal it. Can't they just get their own?

Stella retreat: A couple of weekends ago, we had household retreat. We spent a weekend at one of the star's parents' house. One memorable aspect of the weekend is that the twinkles had to put on a skit for the stars. So we did a spoof off of the covenant, titled "The covenant Fr Gregory has not seen." A lot of people liked it. Overall, it was a fun retreat.

Easter: I spent Easter at Franciscan. It's the first one that I've spent away from home. But I really loved the services that they had during the Triduum. I went to the Tenebrae prayer service and the way of the cross as well. The Easte vigil lasted a long time. The line to get into the feildhouse stretched all the way back to Starvagi. During the vigil, they read all of the readings. There were 3 baptisms, and quite a few confirmations. There was a resurrection party after the vigil. It was great.

Well, I have to go. I have a twinkle date I have to go to. Talk to you later!

Got my big and my Twinkle shirt

2010-03-12T20:13:00.003-05:00

As the title says, I got my twinkle shirt and my big. I took pictures of my twinkle shirt. My big revealed herself at the caf after morning mass. Her name is Jenny, and she had intented Stella last semester. I had no idea it was her. She had me completely fooled. But I'm happy. Stella now has a twinkle class of 12.

Guess what?

2010-03-11T11:01:00.002-05:00

I intented Stella this past Tuesday! I intented after 6:30am mass. Originally Meagan Bartnick, who is the Stella household coordinator, was supposed to tell the girls at breakfast in the caf that there is a new "twinkle". Then I would appear from the area where the workers eat their meals. But since this past Saturday's Lord's day was a closed commitment, I went to TTMs Lord's day. One of the girls there told me that Sonlife was supposed to serenade Stella on Tuesday morning. So they suggested singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" right before I made my reveal. So on Tuesday morning, I stopped in the chapel at 6:40am to put up the new twinkle sign, and then went over to the caf to hide. Eventually when all of the girls from Stella got to the caf, they started to get impatient. They were shouting at one point "twinkle, twinkle." Eventually the Sonlife serenaders arrived, and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", and I made my big reveal. I got them a big box of Reeses Puffs, since a lot of people like Reeses Puffs. The following morning, my front door was all decorated. Remember, I live off campus. So I was quite surprised to see the signs. I took a picture of them in case they get ruined by the rain or get blown off the door. It might have been better to put the signs on the inside door rather than the storm door. But that's OK.

So I am now a Twinkle. And hopefully in a few weeks, I will be a Star of Mary (which is what Stella Mariae means in Latin).

Time to update again.

2010-02-26T15:28:00.004-05:00

Well, I figured it was time to update. So here we go:

Winter weather: As you can see from the Franciscan Friar snowman, we have been getting a lot of snow. This all started with the big snow storm that we got on the first Friday of this month. The weather was so bad, that I ended up spending the night in Tommy More (in the Stella wing). It was the first time that I had spent the night on campus. The night started with a humongous snowball fight in the Piazza. I figured at least half of the student population was involved with it. I thankfully was not. I chose to watch from the window in the Stella common room. I heard the following day that a lot of people were sore the next day from all of the snowball hits. But it was fun to watch nonetheless. Anyway, I spent the night in that dorm. Originally I had slept in the Stella common room (which I had the household's blessing, btw). Around two in the morning, the RA's made me move because I wasn't allowed to sleep in the common room. So I ended up sleeping in one of the Stella girls' room. They were nice enough to let me sleep in the bed (which I got to find out first hand how hard they are). It was a level 3 outside, so I couldn't have driven home anyway. Plus I learned later that the power was out in my apartment. So it may have been a blessing in disguise staying in Tommy. The following morning, I went to mass. I got to see first hand how much snow was out there. I think we ended up with about 10 inches. When I went to dig my car out that Saturday night, I had to get help because there was so much snow. I eventually got home. But since then, we've been getting more and more snow. The whole northeast has been getting a lot of snow. And it's snowing as I write this right now. I'll be happy when spring gets here so I won't have to deal with this snow anymore, at least until next year.

Household: I've been spending a lot of time with Stella. Originally, I had a date set to intent Stella. But it was pushed back so that the girls can better get to know each other before they accept intents. They have since begun to accept intents. So I'll be talking to the coordinator and assistant coordinator next week, and perhaps have a date set, maybe. Stay tuned.

Midterms: Got midterms coming up. This semester's midterms isn't nearly as crazy as last semester. It helps that Sr. Johanna's midterm is a take home (which I got on Thursday). My PBS II midterm is on Monday (please pray). My Christian Moral Principles class has five 2-3 page papers instead of a midterm. And my French class doesn't have a midterm. So my midterm schedule is much more manageable.

New Laptop: I just recently (as of this past Saturday) got a new laptop! I went to Best Buy in Robinson (which is near Pittsburgh). It was the first time I had been to Robinson. There is so much stuff down there! I felt like I was back in NJ, around Menlo Park Mall. Anyway, I got an HP laptop with Windows 7. It's 3GB, and it has Microsoft Office. It also has a web cam and wireless. I love it! It wasn't too expensive either. I found this one online, and then went to the store and bought it. Gotta save money some how. I now bring it with me on campus, and am able to go on the Internet while in the JC and the Library. It's great!

Well, I going to head over to Christ the King for 4:45pm mass. Since it's Friday, a lot of households use this mass as their household mass (such as TTM and MOS). And Lent has begun, so a lot of people have given up things such as sweets. I'm not able to go to Stations of the Cross because my French class is at that time.

Forgot to mention one thing

2010-02-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

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

2010-02-02T14:48:00.002-05:00

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

2009-12-29T19:00:00.002-05:00

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

2009-12-14T14:04:00.004-05:00

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

2009-12-10T21:06:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-15T21:39:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-15T15:05:00.003-05:00

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.

Fall Break

2009-10-28T22:12:00.002-04:00

So fall break started today. This is something that is completely foreign to me. This is the first school that I went to that had a fall break. But we have the next four days off. So I will be able to get a lot of work done. A lot of people are going home for the weekend. But I couldn't see going home for a weekend, especially since it wasn't a holiday. Besides, my car still needs to get fixed. Hopefully it will be fixed by the time Thanksgiving break comes. New Jersey is a little too far to walk from Steubenville. In other news...

More midterms stuff: I got my Intro to Catechetics midterm back, and I got a B-. I was quite surprised. After my PBS and Foundations midterms, I was expecting another bad midterm. So I was happy.

French class: We've been studying about ordering in restaurants. We had to come up with a dialog like the ones used in the textbook. We were grouped in groups of 3 or 4, and had to have at least 10 lines. Everything was in French, and had to be memorized. So I had to memorize lines such as "Bienvenu. Moi aussi. Je suis l'autre serveuse." and "Nous n'avons pas de carrots." I had a hard time remembering the line"Qu'est-ce que vous desirez comme viande?". But I managed alright, along with the rest of the class. If you're wondering about my lines, I am one of the servers along with another guy. The plot of the story is that everything that the two girls order in the restaurant is something that the restaurant doesn't have. For example, the restaurant doesn't have carrots and peas, but has green vegetables; and they have lemon cake rather than chocolate cake. The restaurant also doesn't have cheese. Needless to say, the skit got a good laugh.

Registration for spring 2010: I get to register for the spring semester on Monday. I am planning on taking a more manageable 12 credits. I'm planning to take Christian Moral Principles, PBS II (with Bergsma again), Catechetics, and Intermediate French II. I won't have morning classes, especially 8am classes. During the spring semester, I always plan to have later classes in the event of snow early in the morning. Of course, driving to school for 6:30am mass on Tuesdays shouldn't be that much of a problem since there aren't many cars on the road at that time. And since I get to register on the first day (and they're sophomore level classes), I should get into all of them. I showed my possible schedule to my adviser, Prof Bolster, and he said that it looked good. Oh, and one more thing: I've decided that I'm not going to go to Austria. I just feel that I'm not meant to go. Plus I can't afford it. I'm alright about not going. I mean, my life won't be made worse because I didn't go. Besides, I can always see Austria on a postcard.

Time to update again

2009-10-25T15:13:00.006-04:00

So I figured I'd update, and I wanted to upload some photos. The photos should be in reverse order. But I'll deal with it.

My Car: As you can see from the photo, I got into a fender bender. It wasn't my fault though. I was heading to school on Monday morning, and I was at the intersection of Brady Blvd and Oregon Ave. I was heading straight and a green pick up truck was making a left turn. So I have a busted headlight, a cracked fender, and a dented hood. The car runs fine though, it's mostly cosmetic. It looks worse than it actually is. I'm waiting to hear from the insurance so I can then go and get it fixed. Thank goodness Fall break is coming up. I can get it fixed during that time.

Franciscan sign: The sign at the main entrance of Franciscan is being replaced with a new sign. I'm sad to see this sign go because it matches all of the other signs on campus. We'll see what happens though. It did get me to see what Bonaventure and Heavenly Grounds looks like. BTW, I was born on St Bonaventure's feast day.

This was from a while back. It was an open house at the new Friary.

Midterm results: I've been getting my midterms back. As you may remember, I had four midterms in one week. Well, I haven't received my Intro to Catechetics midterm back yet. But I did alright with my Philosophy midterm with a C+. I didn't do quite well on my Fondations and my PBS I midterms, failing them both. I had to retake the PBS midterm, hoping I did better. But I went to Rose Klein to see how I can better prepare for my exams. It turns out that I was trying to memorize way too much information. What I should have done was consolidate the information rather than memorize 20+ terms and definitions. It also doesn't help that I'm taking fifteen credits. I may have to start using the language lab because I'm struggling in my intermediate French class. I know I am capable of at least passing the class. I just need extra help. So I'm going to get help.

Advising and possible Spring 2010 schedule: I meet with my adviser to discuss my schedule for next semester. I've come up with a preliminary schedule, and I wanted to show it to my adviser to see what he thinks. Clearly I am not taking 15 credits again. I've come up with a schedule with a more manageable 12 credits. I'm planning on taking Catechetics, Intermediate French (FRN 202), Christian Moral Principles, and PBS II with Bergsma. I would have two Tuesday-Thursday classes, and two Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes.

Household: Stella Mariae is on retreat this weekend. So I had an opportunity to go to another household's Lord's Day. So I went to Carae Donine. They also have a devotion the Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart. They are a really nice group of girls, but it didn't seem like home to me the way that Stella feels to me. So I think I am going to intent Stella Mariae come the start of next semester. I feel that this is the household that the Lord is calling me to.

Midterms and stuff

2009-10-11T15:29:00.002-04:00

I figured I'd update.

Midterms: I had four this week. Insane, I know. I had midterms in Intro to Catechetics, Foundations of Catholicism, Philosophy of the Human Person, and PBS I. I'll tell you one thing: exams at Franciscan are totally different than exams at Rutgers. When I would take my midterms at Rutgers, they were all scantrons, multiple choice with 50+ questions. At Franciscan, all blue books with short answer/ essay. Everything that I learned about taking exams at Rutgers went right out the window after the first midterm. After the first midterm, I pretty much had to adjust how I study for an exam, since I can't rely on multiple choice anymore. Hopefully I didn't do too bad. Oh, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I had a second test in Intermediate French. I did better than the first test, though not as good as I liked. But it is an improvement. So I have to keep improving my test grades so that I will do well once the final comes around.

Households: So as I mentioned before, I've been spending a lot of time with Stella Mariae household. Well, I was told by a few of the members that I needed to visit at least three households. At that point, I had only visited two: Warriors of the Word, and Stella Mariae. So I needed to visit one more household. I decided to visit Totus Tuus Maria, since I had also considered them as well. They're located in Elizabeth hall, the newest women's dorm (where the tennis and basketball courts used to be). They had evening prayer and rosary. So I went on a Wednesday night. The girls are nice, but it just didn't seem like home for me. So I definitely feel that Stella Mariae is the household for me. Although I did make a friend in TTM, she's in my philosophy class.

Parents Weekend/ FOP: So last weekend was parents weekend. My parents couldn't make it because my father had to work. But in a way I'm glad they didn't come because then I wouldn't have studied for my midterms. My family is always a phone call away, as long as they answer the phone. But anyway, the masses were in the field house all last weekend, starting with the household life mass. For that mass, I sat with Stella Mariae household (since I will probably intent that household come next semester). Each household cheered when they saw their household banner. The following day had mass in the field house, and the St Francis Festival later that day. A Eucharistic FOP was held later that night. I had done some studying while waiting for the start of FOP. I figured I might as well be productive since I had about an hour of free time between dinner and FOP. So I sat in the JC Williams Center and studied for about an hour before it was time for FOP. There was adoration at this FOP, which I liked (though my knees didn't). I don't know how often they have a Eucharistic FOP. The next FOP is on November 7th.

So the semester is about half over. I can't believe how fast it's going. It's also getting colder in Steubenville. We had frost one day a little more than a week ago. I have to make sure that next semester I don't have an 8am class, since the chance of having frost will probably be higher. But this was only the third time I've had an 8am class. Since I am a senior by credits (though I'm definitely not graduating this year), I'll be able to register for classes pretty early. So I have a really good chance of getting into the classes I want.

This Saturday is the celebration of Fr Michael Scanlon's 50th anniversary as a professed Franciscan. That's pretty awesome! :-)

Time to update

2009-09-27T14:06:00.002-04:00

Well, I figured I procrastinated long enough. A lot has happened since the last time I updated. So where should I begin...

Stella Mariae: I mentioned this household before. As a mentioned previously, I've been spending a lot of time with this household. I've been going to their commitments. When I was at Holy Hour with them in the Eucharistic Chapel in Christ the King Chapel, I felt like I was at home. I feel that this is the household I should join. I have to wait until next semester to intent though. But that's OK. I'll get to meet the 15 girls who are in Austria this semester.

Antonian Hall...otherwise known as the cafe: I've come to find out how their food is like after orientation...OK but not great. I'll never understand why the food was great during University Day and Orientation, and not so great after the start of school. You would think that the quality of the food wouldn't change. I guess that's wishful thinking. But, I do like their breakfasts. So it's not a total loss. But I think that they should publish the menus in advance so people can know when to go to the cafe and when to avoid it like the plague.

Classes: Extremely busy with a lot of work, especially in Dr Bergsma's class, PBS I. You have to make sure that you have the reading and the journaling done by class. I'm usually almost completely done by class time. I do love his lectures, and his dramatics and chalkboard drawings (like Moses with the horns). But I don't like that he stuck me almost completely in the back of the class (we have arranged seating, and I'm near the back). I don't know if that's a good sign that he thinks I can do well in the class or whether he just doesn't like me. Who knows. But overall, I like my classes. Prof. Solom is really nice in my Intro to Catechetics class. Dr Healy of Philosophy of the Human Person definitely knows his stuff, and starts the class with an Our Father followed by attendance. In my Foundations of Catholicism class, you have to make sure you have completed the reading, otherwise Dr Donohue will start giving quizes. And I really like my Intermediate French teacher, Prof. Zori. She doesn't go too fast, and I'm able to keep up. Although I didn't do as well as I would have liked on my first test, I'm hoping to do better this time. We're studying about food and about things in France like different industries and different cities in France. I'm glad I didn't retake Elementary French because it would have been too basic for me.

So next weekend is homecoming. That means that the masses will be in the field house. I keep a cushion in my car so I don't have to kneel on the hard floor. I tried one time during orientation, and my knees hurt like crazy. So this makes it easier for me to kneel at mass. Oh, and the next FOP is this coming Saturday. I really enjoyed the last one. I just hope that I don't get knocked over by someone who's slain in the spirit. But I'll probably bring my bible, since I saw people bring their bibles the last time.

St. Francis' feast day is coming up pretty soon. (that was my paternal grandfather's full name, btw) I was born on the feast of St. Bonaventure. It was the 700th anniversary of his death. He died on July 15, 1274, and I was born on July 15, 1974. How freaky is that? And he's a doctor of the Church too. Cool! :-)

Forgot to mention something

2009-09-12T15:01:00.003-04:00

I forgot to mention something. Perpetual adoration started in the Port yesterday. I was there last night...it's a beautiful monstrance. I like that I can go to adoration more often. When I was home, I couldn't go to adoration that much. I usually went to adoration at St Joseph's on Thursdays. I couldn't always make it to Spirit and Truth though, since they have adoration as well.

I have to tell you something. I really like being here at Franciscan. I like the fact that I'm not the only person whom people would consider a "Jesus Freak". Here, everyone's a Jesus Freak! :-) It's inspiring for me to see how devout a lot of people are. And the Friars are great too.

Yesterday there were American flags placed all over campus yesterday in honor of 9-11. I thought that was really nice. There were flags by a lot of the academic buildings and around the rosary circle. I think more schools should follow in their example.

Well, I have to go. Happy Lord's Day! :-)

Been busy

2009-09-11T15:53:00.002-04:00

As you can tell from the title, I've been pretty busy. Last week, my parents stopped by Steubenville to bring down some things that I couldn't fit my my Ford Taurus, like my winter clothes and my printer. Plus I had to get a desk for the apartment so I'd have a place to do my homework while at home. So I got one from Walmart, plus a task chair. So now I've got my own mini office. My parents stayed in Steubenville for a few days. This was the first time my mother got to see the campus and the town. She really liked the Rosary Circle. And my parents took me downtown (during the day, of course) to see what it looks like, since I had heard of rumours of downtown Steubenville being really bad and that I should avoid it at all costs. But anyway, we went downtown. We went to visit St Peter's Church on 4th street (I think. Is it 4th Claire?), right across the street from Steubenville High School. It's a beautiful church. There's so much artwork. I'd have to try to venture downtown more often, just during the day. My parents left on Sunday. They went down to the Tampa area for vacation, and to look for a house (they've been house hunting in Florida for as long as I can remember, what makes this trip any different?). My mother has always said that she wants to move down to Florida and to get away from the NJ winter cold. I have a funny feeling she'll stay in NJ. I feel that if they were meant to move down to Florida, they would have been there by now. But anyway, I digress...

Last Friday was the Household open house. It was in the JC Williams Center. All of the households were there. Some of the guy households can get pretty crazy.

I've been spending time with the Stella Mariae household. They have a devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart. And they're a really nice group of girls too. I really feel comfortable with them.

Oh, I wanted to update on the music ministry. I didn't make it into the music ministry. I think one problem was that I didn't know a lot of the new songs that they sing, considering that I grew up with songs like "Sing to the Mountains" and "Be Not Afraid". I'm slowly learning the new songs. Hopefully by the end of the semester, I'll know the newer songs better.

A lot of people on campus have been sick with colds, myself included. And my mother caught my cold before she left Steubenville.

I have a quiz in Intermediate French on Monday. I've been revieving like mad the last few days trying to make sure I know what I'm doing. I think I've finally got Passe Compose down, and were were going over some of the verbs and countries. I think as long as I practice, I should do fine. I've been praying that St Therese would help me with my French, since she's a fluent French speaker...and a native at that. I have her picture on my desk. Just wish me good luck (ou bonne chance en francais).

Bonne weekend mes amis! (see, I still remember) :-)

OK, off to mass. See you later! God Bless!

Household Olympics and FOP

2009-08-30T22:23:00.009-04:00

So yesterday was the household olympics. Before I went to mass and the household olympics, I took a picture of the steel cross and the new friary.

Mass was at 9:30am in the fieldhouse, followed by brunch. The household olympics was later that afternoon. It was in the intramural fields. I didn't compete with any team. But I did take lots of pictures. Here are some pictures.

So as you can see, there were lots of events. The household olympics lasted for over two hours. It seemed that everyone enjoyed it. Following the olympics, it was time for Lord's day. This time I went to Stella Mariae's Lord's Day in "Tommy" Moore (I feel funny calling St Thomas Moore Tommy). I really liked it, and the girls were really nice. I may go to some more of their commitments.

Later that night was the first Festival of Praise, or FOP. I loved the music. But there was one thing that I had never seen before. During the FOP, a few people would appear to black out. There was one girl not too far from me that had collapsed, and was out for over a half hour. I learned later that she was "slain in the spirit" (I hope I have the right words for it). I had never seen anything like that before. Now mind you, I'm not really charismatic. I did like the music though, and I had almost no voice left by the time it was over. Overall I did like the FOP. Afterall, when you sing, you pray twice.

Oh, my parents are coming down to Steubenville this week to bring down my winter clothes and other stuff I couldn't fit in my car when I moved down to Steubenville. They're supposed to arrive tomorrow. It'll be good to see them. Hopefully they'll stay a couple days.

End of the first week

2009-08-28T21:54:00.002-04:00

Well, the first week just wrapped up. So far things are going good. There's a lot of reading. But that's OK. I've been spending a lot of time in the library, getting my reading done. Oh, and I had signed up for a holy hour shift in the Port, but I have to change it because I'm still in class when it starts. I'll fix it tomorrow.

Today was the Household life mass. it was held in the feildhouse. I could see all of the banners for the different households. I noticed some new students (clearly not freshmen) have already intented households as they wore shirts with the word intent on it. It seems the majority of the households have their own tshirts and sweatshirts. Although I noticed that members of the Little Flowers would wear a white sweater. Tomorrow is the household olympics. That should be fun to watch.

Later on, there was a mini retreat in Christ the King Chapel. It was given by Fr Dominic. I found out the Fr Dominic is the same age as me, 35. But the retreat was really good and very informative.

Classes started

2009-08-26T21:15:00.002-04:00

Well, classes started yesterday. My first class was an 8am class, Intro to Catechetics (Sollom). Following that was Philosophy of the Human Person (Healey). Later in the day, I had Principles of Biblical studies (Bergsma). All of the professors are really good. Although I really like Bergsma (thanks Claire...I told Bergsma that you recommended me take his class). Today I had Foundations of Catholicism (Donahue) and Intermediate French (Zori). Surprisingly enough, I remembered more French than I thought I would. The professor introduced herself in French, and I understood most of it. She's really nice too. If I find that I need help, I can always go to the language lab. Plus I got a French / English dictionary. So hopefully this will be a good semester. Just keep me in your prayers, especially I'm technically old enough to be my classmates' mother (I was a sophomore at Mother Seton when the freshmen were born).

This Saturday is the first Festival of Praise (FOP for short). I want to go to at least one. And on Friday they have the Household life mass in the Feildhouse. I know I want to join a household. I just don't know which one. I was thinking of checking out Stella Mariae. They have a devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart, and I have a similar devotion. They're located in Thomas Moore Hall, I forget what room though. So we'll see what happens.

Job fair, convocation, and ministry fair

2009-08-24T20:13:00.002-04:00

As you can see from the title, the job fair, convocation, and ministry fair was today. The job fair was early in the morning around 9am. I filled out a lot of applications. And I was able to get a job with the physical plant department. It's an office job, and if I remember correctly...it pays $7.50 an hour. They're supposed to call me back about the job. That'll make my parents happy.

Later on that day was the convocation. It was in the Finnegan Feildhouse. During the convocation, we learned that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Fr Mike's profession with the TOR's. Everyone cheered when we heard this. Fr. Mike is so friendly...and he's from New York. But then again, all of the friars are really friendly.

Finally, the ministry fair. I signed up to audition for the music ministry. That will be tomorrow. I don't expect to be a cantor. But I would like to sing in a group. I've always preferred singing in a group rather than singing alone. That's just me. Oh, and I might do one of the missionary trips during spring break. There's one that's going to the Bronx. So it's almost like going home...though not quite. There's a meeting for that next Wednesday.

So I have an 8am class tomorrow. I have three classes tomorrow, all in Egan (reminds me of Mrs Egan, my gym teacher at Mother Seton). I got a locker for the year so I can keep some of my books there rather than lugging all of my books from one class to another. Plus I'd have a place to hang up my coat, once winter arrives.

Well, I'm in Steubenville...and it's orientation time!

2009-08-23T16:36:00.002-04:00

As you can see from the title, I made it to Steubenville. I left NJ early last Sunday. It took me about 8 hours to get there. Once I got to Steubenville, I spent the night in the Holiday Inn. Why, you may ask? Because once I arrived at the apartment, I found out that the landlord didn't live there. The landlord owns a tanning and hair salon, which is located on the first floor. My apartment is on the second floor. The place was closed on Sundays, so I'd have to come back the next day to get my keys and move in. So I spent the night at the Holiday Inn on University Blvd (it's right next to Padua Hall). The following day, I went back to the "house" (which this building technically is), and got my keys to move in. The move in was pretty smooth. The apartment is pretty much a converted attic. It has a kitchen/dining area, a living room space, bathroom, and a wide open space in the back. I've made one part of this space into a bedroom (I have a raised aerobed right now), and I'm planning on making the other part of this space into a study area. There's a door where there used to be a window (I supposed that's what it was when this was a single family house), with wooden steps leading up to the "front door". The "back door", as I call it, leads downstairs to the first floor (the tanning salon). And there's a parking lot in the back. So the apartment is about five minutes from campus, roughly about 1.5 miles away. It's not perfect, but it's home...at least for the next year.

So this week was orientation. Orientation began on Thursday. I got to set up my Franciscan email. And I got to eat my first meal in Antonian Hall. I found out that different places on campus have nicknames. Antonian Hall is called the Caf. St Thomas Moore Hall is called Tommy. And the JC Williams Center is called the JC. I already knew that the Porticula Chapel was called the Port. One interesting thing that happened on the first night is that it began to pour down rain during the grand opening in the Finnegan Fieldhouse. At one point, the power went out...almost on cue. You could hear the rain pour down on the roof, and the loud clashes of thunder. Perhaps heaven was making some noise for the new students (like me), and the rain was tears of joy. All of this happened while Fr Terry was addressing us. Only at Franciscan would something like this happen. Anyway, the students were put in different groups during the weekend. The commuters were in one group, and there were groups for those living in the dorms and Assisi Heights (which was the apartments next to campus that housed low income people). The group I was placed into was the graduate/ non traditional group, or GNT for short. This is the group for grad students and non traditional undergrads (those people who are 23 and older). I'll tell you, the GNT's were so friendly. And I made a lot of new friends. During the weekend, mass was celebrated in the feildhouse. For some reason, their incense smells better than the incense used at St Joseph's church in Carteret (don't tell Monsignor Endebrock). Oh, and I also went to a Lord's Day. The household I visited was Warriors of the Word, which was in Marian. It was really nice. I want to check some of the households out, because I'd like to join a household...I just don't know which one. I'll have to pray on it. Well, I have pretty much have seen the entire campus by now. The only map I'll need by now is the map of the parking lots. Oh, the friars got a new friary. There is a new friary right next the the steel cross. I heard that the old friary was falling apart, and that the friars were using duct tape to fix some things. So what are they going to do with the old friary, you may ask? Well, it will be torn down and made into another parking lot. At least I got to see the old friary before it's torn down. There was a dumpster next to the old friary that was filled with garbage. The new friary is really nice, and the bells ring on the hour and half hour.

So classes start on Tuesday. Let the fun begin! :-)

Tomorrow, off to Steubenville

2009-08-15T15:22:00.002-04:00

As you can tell from the title, I leave for Steubenville tomorrow. I've been getting the car packed. I have just a few more things to pack away. I'm hoping to leave tomorrow morning. I figured if I leave early, I can get to Steubenville before nightfall. So I'm off to Steubenville come tomorrow morning. Just pray that I get to Steubenville safely.

Oh, by the way, I ordered my books earlier this week. I forgot how expensive books were. I was just surprised that my french books were so expensive. The textbook is probably hard cover. It's a good thing I'm not taking any sciences. They're really expensive, and go out of date quickly.

Well, see you in Steubenville! :-)

Almost time to move to Steubenville!

2009-08-04T12:21:00.002-04:00

As you can tell from the title, it's getting close to that time where I move from central NJ to Steubenville, OH. I sent the deposit and first month's rent already. And I let the landlord know that I would move in around August 15. The only thing I have to get for the apartment is a bed. I've been looking all over the internet trying to find a twin sized bed that I liked that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Through my searching, I've realized that I have expensive tastes. Of course my mother has known that for years. But I think I've narrowed the choices down. It's just a matter of figuring out whether I should order the bed before I leave for Ohio, or after I get there. I'll figure something out. So stay tuned.

Oh, and I now have an advisor. I got Professor Bolster as my advisor. And I am officially a Theology/Catechetics double major. Yay.

Change in housing

2009-07-17T17:44:00.002-04:00

Remember last week when I mentioned that I had sent in the lease for the apartment on Oregon Ave? Well, scratch that. The landlord decided to rent the apartment to someone else. I was really upset about that because I had the impression that I had the apartment. So I had to go back to places4students.com to find another apartment. And I found a one bedroom loft apartment on Sunset Boulevard. The rent includes utilities except for cable, internet, and phone. I found that it is cheaper in the long run compared to the apartment on Oregon Ave, since that apartment didn't include utilities. So I was able to get the apartment on Sunset Boulevard. I faxed the lease over to the landlord today, and I have to send her the deposit within five days. So the lease begins on August first. The apartment is furnished with the exception of a bed. I would have to get a bed once I get down to Steubenville. The apartment is a little more than a mile away from campus. I'll have my car, so I can drive to school. So everything should be fine. I'm just happy I was able to find another place. I was afraid I would have been homeless come August. Thankfully I won't be. :-)

Update on school and housing

2009-07-10T14:29:00.002-04:00

I figured I'd update everyone on what has been happening.

So you all remember when I told you about my schedule for the fall semester. Well, my friend Claire was telling me about Dr. Bergsma, and how wonderful his is. He is teaching a few sections of Principles of Biblical Studies I. I had been registered for Principles, but with Dr. Minto. After hearing from Claire how great Dr. Bergsma is, I really wanted to be in his class. But it had been full for weeks. But this past week, one of his sections opened up. And it was at a better time for me. So I called up the registrar, and registered that class and dropped Dr. Minto's class. I can't wait! :-)

Also, the day before my birthday (July 15) is the day students have to cover their remaining balance. So I had that taken care of today. I can now relax for a little bit now that I know that the tuition will be paid. Now just pray I can find a job on campus so I can pay the SWOP award (or whatever it's called).

Finally, I finally found housing. It's not the one I was telling you about earlier. That one fell through. But I found a one bedroom furnished apartment on Oregon Ave, and it's in a really nice neighborhood. And it's a half mile from campus. So I mailed the lease today by express mail, and I will move in in August. It's a 12 month lease. I'll be back home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, the festival of choirs, and the festival at St Joseph Church. But this will be my home for the coming year.

So that's my update for now. I'll let you know what happens.

Home again in NJ

2009-06-15T19:32:00.002-04:00

Well, I just got back from Steubenville last night. As you could tell from my last post, my father was able to come with me to University Day. But anyway, I was originally supposed to head back home on Saturday, but decided to stay another day. So on Saturday and Sunday, I went to mass in Christ the King chapel (I have to make sure I don't get used to parking in the staff parking lots). I really liked the music at the masses. But I wish the Tabernacle wasn't hidden off to the side of the chapel. I happen to prefer to be able to see the Tabernacle. That's just my two cents.
Oh, I forgot to mention the other day that I saw the room I was considering renting. It's on Williams Place, not too far from Oregon Ave and Brady Ave. It's a really nice neighborhood. The landlady is really nice, as is her dog. I saw the room, and it's a good size. The bathroom is across the hall from the room. Plus the house is about a mile from campus. So I told her that I would take the room. She's supposed to contact me in a couple of weeks concerning the room.
So the other day I mentioned that I was advised to take Intro to Catechetics. The only section that fit in my schedule meets Tuesday and Thursday at 8am. Good thing I won't live too far from campus. But anyway, that gives me a total of 15 credits for the semester. That's a bit of a full load for me. But they're mostly theology and catechetics classes anyway. So it shouldn't be that bad. Plus I'm hoping to (hopefully) spend fall 2010 in Austria. I've always wanted to go overseas. Plus they go to Rome and Assisi. So I would love to go. I'd probably be the oldest Franciscan student in Gaming. But I feel that fall 2010 would be the perfect time to go, since it wouldn't be too cold in Austria while I'm there. Plus I wouldn't graduate until 2012 anyway. So fall 2010 would be the best time for me. My dad once went to Rome when he was in the Navy back in the mid 1960's. He was hoping to see the pope (then was John XXIII), but he was out of town. But he really liked Rome. So I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to seeing Assisi, since St. Francis is one of my favorite saints. So we'll see what happens.
So we left for home shortly after going to church. My dad decided to take the cheap way home...via I-80. Bad mistake. We hit construction at least four times while driving through Pennsylvania on I-80. When we had taken the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the way to Ohio, there was no construction at all. I'll tell you one thing...when I move to Steubenville for the fall semester, I'm taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It may cost more, but at least I won't have to worry about construction. Plus now I know how to pump gas (I pumped gas for the first time yesterday). So I'm good to go. Although the gas cap on my Ford Taurus is a pain to take on and off. And I've learned that you can't just tell the gas station cashier that you're going to fill up the tank. You have to give a certain amount, like $20 or $30. That means you have to know how much gas you really need. It's really easy to take that for granted when you live in NJ, and don't have to pump your own gas. I just hope I don't forget how to pump gas before August.

University Day

2009-06-12T17:45:00.010-04:00

So here I am in Steubenville for university day. It's been a very busy day. The day started with mass at Christ the King chapel. Fr Scanlan said the mass...his enthusiasm is contagious. I loved the music in the mass. And everyone sang so loudly. It was great.

After mass, we had a quick breakfast in JC Willliams Center. Afterwards, we went back to the chapel. There we were greeted by the Franciscan faculty. Then we went to the various session for career planning, financial aid, and other logistics that need to be taken care of. During these sessions, I got my ID picture taken, meal plan taken care of (I got the Commuter Plus plan), parking permit taken care of, and even discussed with the theology department concerning academics. I will be a double major in Catechetics and Theology, with a Franciscan Studies minor. Plus I will spend fall 2010 in Austria. So I was advised to add Intro to Catachetics to my schedule, plus to take a class in the summer of 2010 (the name escapes me at the moment). So I should graduate in 3 years, which was my plan to begin with. I will be busy, that's for sure. But I'm happy. I just pray I can pay for this all. You know something, Rutgers was never this involved with my academics as Franciscan is. I don't feel like I'm just a number at Franciscan. That's how it was at Rutgers...there were so many people there that there was no way the faculty could remember who you were. I'm almost tempted to demand my money back from Rutgers, since they did me no good at all. All I can say is thank God that Franciscan has given me a chance to make a new start.

So in between the sessions, we had lunch. The lunch was meatless in respect to human life. I don't usually have meat on Fridays anyway. So the menu included pasta salad, tossed salad, personal pizza, and fish sandwiches. I had the fish, and it was delicious. My father enjoyed the food too. He walked all over the campus, up the hills and down the hills. We even went over to the Portacuna chapel and tomb of the unborn child. Some of those children would have been born in the late 1980s...they'd be in college by now. We really need to pray to end abortion.

Changing the subject, here are some photos from the day.

Housing update

2009-06-05T16:55:00.007-04:00

Remember when I mentioned about the housing the other day? Well, I may not get that listing. Right now it's between the landlord's good friend and myself. And the good friend is the front runner for the room. So I've had to look at other options, since I probably will not get this room. I found one room for rent on the FUS off campus housing site, places4students.com. It's $300 a month, and it includes utilities. And the house is less than a mile from the campus, and in a nice neighborhood. So I told this landlady that I would stop by to see the room while I'm in Steubenville next week for University day. I am hoping that I secure housing pretty soon so I won't have the spend the upcoming school year in my car.

Oh, by the way, I found instructions online for pumping gas. It was at this website www.wikihow.com/Pump-Gas

Now if I lived in any other state besides NJ or Oregon, this

wouldn't be an issue. Next week I get to pump gas for the first

time. Pray that I don't mess up! :-)

God bless!

My father now knows that I am going to Franciscan

2009-06-02T11:34:00.004-04:00

My mother told my father a couple of weeks ago that I am going to Franciscan University. I've been putting off telling him because I was afraid he would get mad at me for going back to school again at the age of 34. But, he didn't get mad...though I sometimes get the feeling he would rather me get a job than to go to school. So now everyone knows that I'm going to Franciscan University in the Fall. I just pray I'll be able to pay for it, God willing.

University day is next Friday. And as of this moment, it is just me going. Why, you may ask? Because of the fact that University day starts with mass at 8am, I would have to leave home on the 11th. My father's long weekend doesn't start until the afternoon of the 11th, and I would have had to have left by then. So my father can't come. And I don't think my mother will be able to go either. So I will have to make the trek by myself. It shouldn't be that bad, though I will have to learn how to pump my own gas (people in NJ aren't allowed to pump their own gas). I know that regular gas is 87 octane, and that most gas stations want you to pay before you pump the gas. Maybe, since I live across the river from Staten Island, I should take a trip over there to practice pumping my own gas. But then again, I'd have to pay to drive across the Outer Bridge to get to Staten Island. Plus gas in NY is more expensive than in NJ. Oh well, it was just a thought.

As for housing, there is one listing that looks promising. I've been in contact with the landlord, and right now it looks good. The house is in a nice area of Steubenville, and it's really close to campus. So I'm hoping this will be the one for the year. Plus it's a nine month lease. So I would move in right before orientation, and then move out when the school year is out. Plus it's furnished. So I really hope I get it. Just keep praying for me. And I thank you all for your prayers.

:-)

God Bless!

Housing

2009-05-22T13:15:00.004-04:00

Well, my options concerning housing just got a little clearer. I found out yesterday that I probably will not live at Assisi Heights. This is because all of the spots for Assisi Heights are full, and there's a waiting list for the returning students. So I will have to live off campus. I've been looking at the Off Campus Housing website looking for places to live, and there's a few that might be good. So we'll see what happens. Just keep me in your prayers as I look for housing.

Oh, and congratulations to Franciscan University class of 2009. I pray that I will join them as a fellow Franciscan alumna in about three years.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I got my schedule for next semester!

2009-05-01T11:15:00.007-04:00

As you can tell from the title, I got my schedule for the fall semester at Franciscan University. I am registered for 12 credits. This is my fall 2009 schedule:

FRN 201 Intermediate French I Prof. Barbara Ann Zori MWF 3-3:50pm

PHL 113 Philosophy of the Human Person Dr. Michael J. Healy TTH 9:30-10:45am

THE 101 Foundations of Catholicism Dr. Patricia C. Donohue MWF 12-12:50pm

THE 211 Principles of Biblical Study I Dr. Andrew L. Minto TTH 11am-12:15pm

So originally I thought I would have registered in June. But I'm happy with my schedule. I like that the classes aren't too early or too late. Plus I have no more than two classes a day. So I think they did a good job. I normally take between 12 to 13 credits a semester, so I'm glad they didn't have me take 15 credits. I tried to take 15 credits once at Rutgers, and it was too much for me. I tend to do better with 12 to 13 credits. I'm sure I'll do pretty well in in the theology and philosophy classes. I'm hoping that I won't do that badly in the intermediate French, since it's been ten years since I took elementary French. But I remember most of what I learned, so I shouldn't do that bad. And if I need help, I can always go to the professor and ask for help. That's what office hours are for. So we will see what will happen next semester. I am hoping I do much better than I did when I was at Rutgers. With God's help, I will.

God Bless! :-)

Things starting to fall into place

2009-04-13T16:52:00.003-04:00

So time is going by, and things are starting to fall into place. I will register for classes at Franciscan University on June 12 (though I was hoping for June 5). And I'm finalizing the financial aid for the next year. Since I am seeking a second bachelor's, I am ineligible for grants. So right now I have a Stafford loan. I will have to get another loan to cover the rest of the balance. I'm hoping this will be the only year I will have to get a second loan. If I can get a part time job on campus, and do well enough in my classes to (perhaps) get a scholarship for next year...then hopefully I won't have to borrow as much money next year.

So University Day will be on June 12. Since I am way over 22, I can't stay on campus for the night. Fortunately there are some hotels close by, so that won't be a problem. I will let you all know how that goes, and will have pictures from the weekend. So stay tuned!

One thing that hasn't been resolved yet is housing. I've been discussing with my admissions counselor about this. Since I'm over 22, I can't live in the dorms. But I'm single. So where do I go? He's told me about a housing option called Assisi Heights. It's for upperclassmen and grad students. So I am waiting to hear if there is a spot open for me for next year. Otherwise I will have to live off campus. I would like to live close to the campus, and I've lived on campus before when I went to Rutgers. So I'm praying that a spot will open up for me for next year.

I hope everyone had a good Easter Triduum. I spent it singing with the choir at St Joseph Church in Carteret, NJ. We sang for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday. So it was very busy. During the weekend, I realized that next year I will be at Franciscan. I'm looking forward to seeing how their Easter Triduum is like. I'll be sad leaving everyone in Carteret, but it won't be for too long. Plus I'll come home for the summer, so I won't be gone forever.

God Bless, and happy Easter!

Oh, one last thing...please pray for the repose of my uncle Al Abramo. He was married to my aunt (my mother's sister) for over 54 years.

Who am I, you may ask?

2009-03-18T17:51:00.002-04:00

My name is Dorothy Sewing, and I'm from Carteret, NJ. I will be transferring to Franciscan University this fall to pursue a second BA. I am planning on majoring in Catechetics, and minoring in Franciscan Studies. I hope to become a high school religion teacher.

A little info about me: I am 34 years old (will be 35 by the time I get to Franciscan). I graduated from Mother Seton Regional High School in 1993. I hold two associate degrees from Middlesex County College: an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts, and an Associate of Applied Science in Education Practitioner. And I hold a BA from Rutgers University: with a Psychology major, and Music minor.

So why am I going for another BA if I already hold one? The answer's simple: I feel that God is calling me to study to become a religion teacher. Since I started at Rutgers, I knew I wanted to go into education. But I always had trouble trying to figure out just where in education to go. So after a few years, and after much prayerful consideration, I felt that God wanted me to go to Franciscan University to study catechetics. I wasn't sure, however, that I would get admitted...since I did fairly well at Middlesex, and mediocre at Rutgers. So I am so greatful that Franciscan wanted to give a chance. Now I just have to pray that I will be able to pay for it. I pray everyday that if it is God's will for me to go to Franciscan University, that He will help me find a way to pay for it. Nothing is impossible to God.

I am looking forward to starting at Franciscan University. I haven't seen the campus yet, but I already begun collecting Franciscan University stuff. I have a couple of tshirts, a couple of hoodies, a cap, ect. I'm looking forward to going there in June for University day. There I can see the campus, meet the faculty, and meet my future classmates. So I am really looking forward to that.

I will be using this blog to record my experiences while at Franciscan University. So I am happy that you could join me on this journey. It's going to be great!

God Bless! :-)