Wednesday, October 27, 2004
So, how many super-seniors does it take to screw in a light bulb?
The spiffy course catalog was in my mailbox today, and I think I have a rough schedule worked out for next semester. The only question is, should I take Logic and Nature or Intro to Theology? If I take Log & Nat, I'll be free after lunch Monday, Wendesday, and Friday, but if I take the intro class, I'll have a break from 9-9:50 so I can like eat breakfast or something.
Decisions, decisions. I should probabally pick my majors out, too. Computer Science is a definate, but what about English? Or Theatre? Or heck, Education? So many choices... maybe I should just quadruple major and be at BC forever. They call students who're on their 5th year 'super-seniors', so I'd be like a super-senior^4. w00t.
- Paul
Decisions, decisions. I should probabally pick my majors out, too. Computer Science is a definate, but what about English? Or Theatre? Or heck, Education? So many choices... maybe I should just quadruple major and be at BC forever. They call students who're on their 5th year 'super-seniors', so I'd be like a super-senior^4. w00t.
- Paul
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Never did see the arch, tho
First, I want to apoligise to my family for not comming back to Omaha for fall break. I really did miss you guys, and I'm sorry I sorta blew you off like I did at the time. Don't worry, though, the weekend of the 6th should be fun.
Okay, so if I didn't go to Omaha, where did I go? For fall break, I spend last weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. I knew a bunch of people who lived down there, and they were planning to do some fun-sounding stuff, so I went with them for a few days of fun in some city I'd only driven through. And lemmie tell ya, the 4-6 hour drive there was worth it!
I got to see friends of friends, families of friends, and the sights at St. Louis. There's this thing called the "City Museum", for example, that is basically an adult playground. Someone decided to renovate an old building downtown, and the thing now has 3 stories of slides and other crazy things. It was great. I also got to experience the Loop, a cool shopping-type area kinda like Old Market in Omaha or the 16th Street Mall in Denver. The place that we ate at, "Fitz's", seriously has the best rootbeer I have ever tasted in my life. You have to try the stuff to experience it.
I also got to learn this crazy new card game. I can't remember what it's called, but it's... unique. Knowing how my extended family like I do, I should probabally try to remember it soon here so I can teach it to them.
Fall break was a blast, everyone. I don't think Bobby reads this here blog, but I want to thank him and his family publicly for letting me stay at their house. Oh, and having some real home cooking was a nice break, too.
That's about it... Oh yeah, fun news: There's a world civ 'midterm' on Monday, and she only told us about it yesterday. On top of that, I swear we like just had one.
Don't worry about it tho; I'm certainly not going to loose any sleep over it. History's pretty easy as far as essay writing goes, and this is like the squillionth time I've studied the Romans, so things'l work out.
I also promise to blog more. No, really.
- Paul
Okay, so if I didn't go to Omaha, where did I go? For fall break, I spend last weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. I knew a bunch of people who lived down there, and they were planning to do some fun-sounding stuff, so I went with them for a few days of fun in some city I'd only driven through. And lemmie tell ya, the 4-6 hour drive there was worth it!
I got to see friends of friends, families of friends, and the sights at St. Louis. There's this thing called the "City Museum", for example, that is basically an adult playground. Someone decided to renovate an old building downtown, and the thing now has 3 stories of slides and other crazy things. It was great. I also got to experience the Loop, a cool shopping-type area kinda like Old Market in Omaha or the 16th Street Mall in Denver. The place that we ate at, "Fitz's", seriously has the best rootbeer I have ever tasted in my life. You have to try the stuff to experience it.
I also got to learn this crazy new card game. I can't remember what it's called, but it's... unique. Knowing how my extended family like I do, I should probabally try to remember it soon here so I can teach it to them.
Fall break was a blast, everyone. I don't think Bobby reads this here blog, but I want to thank him and his family publicly for letting me stay at their house. Oh, and having some real home cooking was a nice break, too.
That's about it... Oh yeah, fun news: There's a world civ 'midterm' on Monday, and she only told us about it yesterday. On top of that, I swear we like just had one.
Don't worry about it tho; I'm certainly not going to loose any sleep over it. History's pretty easy as far as essay writing goes, and this is like the squillionth time I've studied the Romans, so things'l work out.
I also promise to blog more. No, really.
- Paul
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Not only was it a ghost, but a "sad" ghost too
Theatre, everyone, is great. It's hard to explain the rush of adrenaline you get before walking onstage for your first cue opening night, and I think it's that feeling that makes people like me want to keep doing it. What does this have to do with anything, you ask?
Easy. Ya see, Benedictine is putting on their production of Women of Troy on during this week, and I'm in it. Yes, I'm only in it in a really minor way (my character, "Guard 1", not only doesn't have a proper name but doesn't have more than four lines), but it's still exciting to be involved in something as fun as a play. Plus, no matter what role size you get, that rush of adrenaline always comes along right on cue.
Small shift of gears here, because I want to talk about how high school and college productions are so different. High school productions always seemed kinda amateurish, because with limited high school budgets, large elaborate productions weren't really an option. Collegiate productions are definately something else entirely; because of their much larger productions, professional-level theare can be approached. Mood lighting. Believable sound effects. Spectacular stage effects. The difference just has to be seen to be believed.
While in the midst of the BC fall production, I also got a chance to audition for the 'radio play' planning to be put on around Haloween. Auditioning for a radio play was something I'd never done before, and the experience was interesting, to say the least. Voice acting is the name of the game here, so being able to speak well and believeably is emphasised a lot more than it usually is normal acting. The only vehicle radio plays use to deliver content is sound, so it has to be as perfect as humanly possible. Oh, and I also got to moan like a sad ghost, as well as scream like a monkey.
- Paul
Easy. Ya see, Benedictine is putting on their production of Women of Troy on during this week, and I'm in it. Yes, I'm only in it in a really minor way (my character, "Guard 1", not only doesn't have a proper name but doesn't have more than four lines), but it's still exciting to be involved in something as fun as a play. Plus, no matter what role size you get, that rush of adrenaline always comes along right on cue.
Small shift of gears here, because I want to talk about how high school and college productions are so different. High school productions always seemed kinda amateurish, because with limited high school budgets, large elaborate productions weren't really an option. Collegiate productions are definately something else entirely; because of their much larger productions, professional-level theare can be approached. Mood lighting. Believable sound effects. Spectacular stage effects. The difference just has to be seen to be believed.
While in the midst of the BC fall production, I also got a chance to audition for the 'radio play' planning to be put on around Haloween. Auditioning for a radio play was something I'd never done before, and the experience was interesting, to say the least. Voice acting is the name of the game here, so being able to speak well and believeably is emphasised a lot more than it usually is normal acting. The only vehicle radio plays use to deliver content is sound, so it has to be as perfect as humanly possible. Oh, and I also got to moan like a sad ghost, as well as scream like a monkey.
- Paul
Monday, October 11, 2004
College is sleep's enemy
It's funny how well you get to know people around here at BC so quickly. I've only known my friends here for a few months, and yet it seems like way longer than that. I think it's because I spend so much more time with them than I did my high school friends, out of the mere fact that we all live in the same area. I see all my BC friends constantly; I can't even avoid them at mealtime!
Avoid is definately the wrong word, though, because I enjoy every single moment I spend with them. Last night was a good example of this. Because of various things, my day wasn't going horribly well, and after 9:30 mass I was just planning to get my homework done quick and just go to bed so Monday could come quicker. Fortunately for me, my friends at Benedictine unwittingly changed my plans for Sunday night.
I ran into Tamara a little while after mass. Tamara and I hung out in the same group, so we decided to find Bobby, Rob, etc. and see what they were doing. My guess was that they were over at the McDonald suites somewhere, so we headed that way. Along the way, I had a nice long talk with Tamara about various things. It was good to know there was someone I could talk to, and I cheered me up a bit. We ended up talking for a good 40 minutes, and by that time curfew was approaching (Guys aren't allowed in the girls' dorms after the curfew, and vice-versa). We guessed, then, that they must've headed over to the Roost, and headed in that direction.
Tamara actually decided to go to bed along the way, so I grabbed my homework (yeah, still had some) and headed down to the Roost. Sure enough, Bobby, Rob, Karl, Jimmy, Claire, and Maria were there, all under the pretense of doing homework. We did homework for a while, but mostly just ended up hanging out for hours on end. I know I'm not going to hear the end of this from my parents, but me, Bobby, Rob, and Maria ended up staying up and hanging out until like 5 am. It was fun. Lots of fun. It put me in a much better mood, too. Being in a good mood and at the same time tired as heck is something you can only experience first hand, guys.
Thanks, guys. It's good to know I have friends out there who I can hang out with until the wee hours of the morning. You made my day, probabally without even knowing it.
- Paul
Avoid is definately the wrong word, though, because I enjoy every single moment I spend with them. Last night was a good example of this. Because of various things, my day wasn't going horribly well, and after 9:30 mass I was just planning to get my homework done quick and just go to bed so Monday could come quicker. Fortunately for me, my friends at Benedictine unwittingly changed my plans for Sunday night.
I ran into Tamara a little while after mass. Tamara and I hung out in the same group, so we decided to find Bobby, Rob, etc. and see what they were doing. My guess was that they were over at the McDonald suites somewhere, so we headed that way. Along the way, I had a nice long talk with Tamara about various things. It was good to know there was someone I could talk to, and I cheered me up a bit. We ended up talking for a good 40 minutes, and by that time curfew was approaching (Guys aren't allowed in the girls' dorms after the curfew, and vice-versa). We guessed, then, that they must've headed over to the Roost, and headed in that direction.
Tamara actually decided to go to bed along the way, so I grabbed my homework (yeah, still had some) and headed down to the Roost. Sure enough, Bobby, Rob, Karl, Jimmy, Claire, and Maria were there, all under the pretense of doing homework. We did homework for a while, but mostly just ended up hanging out for hours on end. I know I'm not going to hear the end of this from my parents, but me, Bobby, Rob, and Maria ended up staying up and hanging out until like 5 am. It was fun. Lots of fun. It put me in a much better mood, too. Being in a good mood and at the same time tired as heck is something you can only experience first hand, guys.
Thanks, guys. It's good to know I have friends out there who I can hang out with until the wee hours of the morning. You made my day, probabally without even knowing it.
- Paul
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Floyd needs new strings
Mmm, rain. I woke up this morning to the leftovers of a nice big storm, so it was wet and kinda cold outside when I went to breakfast this morning. I like it like that, though, so it's all good. Actually, the rain is why I'm blogging right now: it's raining again as we speak, and I don't feel like going outside. "So why not blog?", I said to myself. I agreed, so here I am.
Not a whole terrible lot has happened since Family Weekend. After my family left on Sunday, I went down to Maybee Theatre in the Administration building to watch a movie. Maybee is actually a theatre in the sense of the performing arts, but there's this big retractable screen in front of the stage that can be used to watch movies. The film club, of which I am a member, meets here weekly to watch various films. This week was a film called Donny Darko. Don't worry, I'd never heard of it before, either. Appearently it was released in 2001, though, so it's a relatvely recent movie. But yeah, this was one strange movie, guys.
Strange in a good way, though. Fun strange. Unique strange. Cool strange. I liked it. It was especially fun watching it in Maybee on the screen thing. Next week's The Nightmare Before Christmas, another one I've never seen before.
Other than the movie, not a whole lot has happened. I do want to thank my parents, though, for bringing up Floyd and Stan for me. Floyd and Stan, you see, are my two guitars; my mom and brother named them early on, and they sorta stuck. I actually stopped playing guitar more than a year ago, but after seeing people busting out guitars all over campus, I decided i'd be fun to take it up again. An you know what? I guess I never really realized how much I missed doing it. Playing the guitar is fun, guys! I can feel the caluses on my fingers returning already.
Oh, I also bought this cool t-shirt from the Student Government Association. SGA needed money, and I liked the shirt, so hey, why not? It has a pic of the Raven mascot on the front, and a speech bubble with the letters "5, 6, 7, 8...". On the back is our school fight song. Okay, everyone say "ooh" and "aah" with me now: OOH, AAH! Yeah, you know you want one.
Yeah, so that's about it. I'm considering checking my snail-mail now, since I haven't for like a week. That darn rain, though, is making me reconsider. Get wet and get mail, or stay dry in my mail-less room? Hmm. I'll have to think long and hard about this.
- Paul
Not a whole terrible lot has happened since Family Weekend. After my family left on Sunday, I went down to Maybee Theatre in the Administration building to watch a movie. Maybee is actually a theatre in the sense of the performing arts, but there's this big retractable screen in front of the stage that can be used to watch movies. The film club, of which I am a member, meets here weekly to watch various films. This week was a film called Donny Darko. Don't worry, I'd never heard of it before, either. Appearently it was released in 2001, though, so it's a relatvely recent movie. But yeah, this was one strange movie, guys.
Strange in a good way, though. Fun strange. Unique strange. Cool strange. I liked it. It was especially fun watching it in Maybee on the screen thing. Next week's The Nightmare Before Christmas, another one I've never seen before.
Other than the movie, not a whole lot has happened. I do want to thank my parents, though, for bringing up Floyd and Stan for me. Floyd and Stan, you see, are my two guitars; my mom and brother named them early on, and they sorta stuck. I actually stopped playing guitar more than a year ago, but after seeing people busting out guitars all over campus, I decided i'd be fun to take it up again. An you know what? I guess I never really realized how much I missed doing it. Playing the guitar is fun, guys! I can feel the caluses on my fingers returning already.
Oh, I also bought this cool t-shirt from the Student Government Association. SGA needed money, and I liked the shirt, so hey, why not? It has a pic of the Raven mascot on the front, and a speech bubble with the letters "5, 6, 7, 8...". On the back is our school fight song. Okay, everyone say "ooh" and "aah" with me now: OOH, AAH! Yeah, you know you want one.
Yeah, so that's about it. I'm considering checking my snail-mail now, since I haven't for like a week. That darn rain, though, is making me reconsider. Get wet and get mail, or stay dry in my mail-less room? Hmm. I'll have to think long and hard about this.
- Paul
Sunday, October 03, 2004
*applauds by snapping fingers*
Family Weekend was a blast, guys. It was cool being able see my family for three days, especially since I hadn't seen them since I moved onto campus. They got to see what things were like for me, and I got to catch up on a first-hand basis. Oh, and they also got to eat caf food. Mua haha.
Friday was the beginning of this whole shindig, with a 'poetry bash' occurring at the Roost at 8 pm (The Raven's Roost is this new-ish gathering place the college has. It has study areas, a pool table, the Campus Grill, a sit-down restaraunt named "The Monte Cassino Inn"). A group on campus- the English Club, I think- got this jazz group to play music for the event. It was great. Not only did they play some really cool live music for us, but they also played music in the backgroud while people read their poetry. It was fun. I felt like a beatnik, but it was fun.
The poetry was good, too. Let me say, there are some real talented poets on campus, and I envy them like I envy Arnold's Schwartzzeneger's accent: me and poetry don't get along too well, and I'm always impressed by people who can pull it off. These guys did it with music, too.
John, my youngest brother, is a gregarious little fellow. I think having three older teenage siblings explains why he talks so much, but he definately likes to chat. After reading a sweet poem he made about me, as a matter of fact, the leader of the jazz band gave him a signed copy of the group's music. Holy crap, I don't have a single signed free cd, and I'm in college. He's six.
Anyway, the day pretty much ended after the poetry thing. Saturday was definately the full day, guys. There was all kinds of stuff: speeches, talking to teachers, football games, gambling, movies... We were basicly busy all day in a whirlwind of activity. On top of that, after working it out a bit, my brother got to sleep in my dorm room with me, and my sister got to stay with a friend! It was fun. Peter and Sarah got to hang out with all my friends, watch a movie with them, eat donuts with them at 2 am, etc. etc. It sounds like they had a blast. Plus, they got to do all this while my parents went back to the Ramada in St. Joseph. Benedictine > Ramada.
Sunday was a little bit simpler, with mass followed by brunch in the caf. 10 am was the scheduled mass to go to, and lemmie tell ya, I don't think I've ever seen the Abbey Church so full. People were packed like sardines in there! It was cool to see all those familys together at chuch, however, so I shouldn't complain.
Brunch was right after mass, so you can guess that the caf was full, too. It was fun. I got to eat and chat with my family a bit more, introduce them to some more friends, and talk to Rob's (Rob is a friend of mine) parents some more. Plus, I think the eggs were real this morning.
At around 1 pm-ish, I waved my family goodbye. My poor sister Sarah was in tears seeing me leave again, dispite the fact that I'll be seeing her in two weeks. I love you too, Sarah!
Family Weekend is a great idea. I'm glad BC came up with it. And now that it's over, I think I'll take a nap or something.
- Paul
Friday was the beginning of this whole shindig, with a 'poetry bash' occurring at the Roost at 8 pm (The Raven's Roost is this new-ish gathering place the college has. It has study areas, a pool table, the Campus Grill, a sit-down restaraunt named "The Monte Cassino Inn"). A group on campus- the English Club, I think- got this jazz group to play music for the event. It was great. Not only did they play some really cool live music for us, but they also played music in the backgroud while people read their poetry. It was fun. I felt like a beatnik, but it was fun.
The poetry was good, too. Let me say, there are some real talented poets on campus, and I envy them like I envy Arnold's Schwartzzeneger's accent: me and poetry don't get along too well, and I'm always impressed by people who can pull it off. These guys did it with music, too.
John, my youngest brother, is a gregarious little fellow. I think having three older teenage siblings explains why he talks so much, but he definately likes to chat. After reading a sweet poem he made about me, as a matter of fact, the leader of the jazz band gave him a signed copy of the group's music. Holy crap, I don't have a single signed free cd, and I'm in college. He's six.
Anyway, the day pretty much ended after the poetry thing. Saturday was definately the full day, guys. There was all kinds of stuff: speeches, talking to teachers, football games, gambling, movies... We were basicly busy all day in a whirlwind of activity. On top of that, after working it out a bit, my brother got to sleep in my dorm room with me, and my sister got to stay with a friend! It was fun. Peter and Sarah got to hang out with all my friends, watch a movie with them, eat donuts with them at 2 am, etc. etc. It sounds like they had a blast. Plus, they got to do all this while my parents went back to the Ramada in St. Joseph. Benedictine > Ramada.
Sunday was a little bit simpler, with mass followed by brunch in the caf. 10 am was the scheduled mass to go to, and lemmie tell ya, I don't think I've ever seen the Abbey Church so full. People were packed like sardines in there! It was cool to see all those familys together at chuch, however, so I shouldn't complain.
Brunch was right after mass, so you can guess that the caf was full, too. It was fun. I got to eat and chat with my family a bit more, introduce them to some more friends, and talk to Rob's (Rob is a friend of mine) parents some more. Plus, I think the eggs were real this morning.
At around 1 pm-ish, I waved my family goodbye. My poor sister Sarah was in tears seeing me leave again, dispite the fact that I'll be seeing her in two weeks. I love you too, Sarah!
Family Weekend is a great idea. I'm glad BC came up with it. And now that it's over, I think I'll take a nap or something.
- Paul
Friday, October 01, 2004
I'm finally cool now that I'm blogging, right?
I hate e-mail. I'm always forgetting to e-mail people back, and then my friends and family start thinking that I hate them because I didn't respond to that message that they sent for one measly month. Oy. What's a guy like me to do? And then, one afternoon, it happened: I saw a campus friend's blog, and it struck me like a ton of bricks: the solution is to blog about my life! Yes, it's shameless idea-stealing, but it's a good idea so it doesn't count. Hah. So there. Wanna know about my life, huh? Well then read on, dear readers!
I'm actually not entirely sure who will be reading this, but hopefully it'l be a nice combination of family, extended family, Machebeuf kids and Skutt people (Skutt- Machebeuf was my HS in Colorado. Machebeuf- Skutt was my HS in Omaha. Shake hands and meet). Be warned, however: I'm definately not going to be updating this daly or something, so don't hold your breath. A few times a week will be my goal, however, so you guys can 'keep up' with my way cool life in mighty Atchison, Kansas. Feel free to make comments, too, so I know I'm not talking to thin air, or worse, myself...
Okay, time for the blog part:
Family Weekend starts today at BC. I don't know if you college friends out there have anything like it where you are right now, but it sounds cool enough. You see, the campus has all kinds of activities planned for this weekend; everything from poetry bashes to football games. So instead of seeing what college life is really like, my family gets to have a bunch of fun with me for three days! Sounds good enough. I hear the caf is busting out the good silverware for the weekend, too. Rumors of decent food are also floating around campus, although those are probabally unfounded. Since I haven't actually experienced Family Weekend yet, there isn't a whole lot to tell about it. I'll make sure to keep you all on the "DL" once it's over, though, so don't worry.
Anyway, I've completed my first goal: Actually posting my first entry for this blog. Next up is posting every few days. We'll see how that one turns out.
- Paul
