Something to do in the cold

As the weather gets colder, most people retire to their warm homes and never set foot outside in the miserable cold. But as always, my friends and I never seem to do as we’re supposed to. When the weather starts to turn for the worse we bundle up and get ready to go outside. We put on our hats, gloves, and coats and get ready to bare the elements. We’re not idiots though. Believe it or not we bundle up and go out to get warmer. Every year at this time, when it’s getting cold out but just before the first snow fall, my friends and I have a big bonfire.

In my opinion it’s the best time to have one. Because it’s cold, everyone is forced to stay close around the fire. Usually a couple people bring guitars so all night long we have music. And with my group of friends this is the best part. Three of them write their own music. The lyrics can get pretty hysterical; my favorite this time was “Transvestite Angle”. Of course with every bonfire there has to be s’mores, and with those come countless Sandlot quotes.

All in all, the bonfires are a time for us all to catch up and just have fun with each other. We all can sing along to songs, throw frozen marshmallows at each other, and just be ourselves. If you’ve never had the opportunity to partake in a bonfire I urge you to. If not for camaraderie, at least for the sweet smell of burning logs stained into your clothes for days.

My School Can Look Cool Too

For all of you die hard fans and alumni of my current school who have read my blog (because I know there are SO many of you...) and were offended by the "Oasis or University" post, I apologize. I know its not right to say our campus is not beautiful, that it is dull in comparison to Indiana University. At the time I wrote the post I was naive and new to this campus. I had yet to gain my barring and realize the hidden beauty that my campus has to offer. My school my not be outright gorgeous like that of Indiana's but it still competes.The problem, or really distinctness, about my campus is that its beauty is not straight forward. If you look at all the building on campus you see brick, lots of it. One person can only take so much brick. Honestly, there is a ton of it. It took me quite a while into the semester to finally find the beauty on my campus. The problem as to why I had trouble finding it before was not that I wasn't looking in the right places. the problem was that I wasn't looking at the right TIME. All this time on campus I was trying to find something magnificent looking during the day. I would find some interesting subjects in a back alley or some type of tree or bush. But nothing great. It was not until I realized that our campus looked its best when the sun was down and the moon was out. Until one night I was walking back from church around 830 and something caught my eye.

I was walking past the University building, as I always do during the day, but it looked different, inspiring actually. Something about it at night made it much more pleasant. After a while I realized it was the lighting. The way the building was illuminated made it seem so much more distinguished. The light played off the stairs and handrails, as well as the windowsills and roof. So I began to wonder if any other buildings improved their appearance at night. I walked to others I thought would play off the light well. It was like I had been transported to whole new campus. Every building had a brand new look, like they had been torn down and rebuilt.

The one structure that impressed me the most was the clock tower. On a normal day its red brick put upon the white stone looks decent. It is one of the better looking building here at school, for looks is all it has(the bells are fake, which greatly disappointed me when I found out). But at night, its height along with the four giant spotlights positioned around it make it so much more. Something I didn't realize either, you can see the clock tower almost anywhere on campus. The four tiers capped off by a brilliant white crown. I no longer wish I could attend IU because of its beauty, for I have found here at my school.

The reason I write this is not just for reassuring me I went to the right school or for people I might have offended earlier, but instead I wrote it for the people who read my blog and feel the same way about their college campus. If you don't see anything great in your campus and feel it is just blah, then you need to look harder. Try it at night or in a little alley way you haven't been in before. Every campus has its beauty, you just need to find it.

Under my Umbrella

"Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
Ella ella eh eh eh..."

We all know the song. "Umbrella" by Rhianna. It is a catchy tune. But honestly how many of us have ourselves or seen anyone ever share an umbrella with a stranger or someone they see walking down the street. Not I, says the author. Why would I? There is usually barely enough room under my umbrella for me. It never completely shields me from the water droplets. There is always a part of me that manages to get soaked. Although it always amazes me how little rain it will take people to get out their umbrellas.

I myself always carry my umbrella with me, you know jsut in caste. When i looked out my window this morningI was unsure if i should use the umbrella or notIt wasn't pouring but it was more than a sprinkle. INERT ALWASY CARRYING I wasn't getting drenched but the feeling of the rain ,for some unexplicable reason, felt strange and uncoomfortable. so idecided to to put mup m as sdid the mmost of the other student body.

The Way You Move

One would think the walk to class would be the relaxing part of my day, but, in fact, this is the most stressful part. Everyday I wonder if this is the day I will die or will I be able to turn in one more assignment? What makes the trip so dangerous aren't the side alleys I take or the multiple cars I jump out in front of just so I don't have to wait another thirty seconds, it are the insane kids riding bikes who think they can fit through the narrowing gap between myself and the oncoming walker. These encounters either leave one of the pedestrians having to leap to the side to save their life or getting sideswiped by the bicyclist. I myself have been fortunate enough to never have been sideswiped. Although now that I say this, Monday morning I am sure to get hit at least three times.

What needs to be done to solve this problem is that students need to invest in alternate forms of getting from their dorm to their classes. Now bicycles are probably the most effective way of doing this, but at what cost. How many innocent pedestrians will have to suffer before these bikers realize they need to either take more heed of others around them or find a new way of moving about. Its not like they have limited choices when deciding on other ways of traveling. There are plenty of ways.













After biking the most popular way of going about is by skateboard. Now i don't mind skateboarders, they seem to have a different agenda than bikers. These people use skateboards because they want to get to their destination quickly like bikers, but unlike bikers, skateboarders won't take out anything in their way. They are more relaxed and willing to wait on pedestrians. I have never seen an accident between any skateboarder and walker. I do see skaters doing tricks at random places around campus and this is actually enjoyable. They don't even endanger those around them when they perform these tricks. Something that I did not know until I came to college is that there are multiple types of skateboards, little wheeled ones, giant over sized ones, long boards. Basically a type for any person. Those are two main way people travel, but there are other ways.

Now if you want people to notice you when you are going to and from class you have a few choices. Grant it, you are most likely getting noticed because people are making fun of you, but, hey, it may be worth it. The first of these is the moped/scooter. Now these are great to have, get form point A to point B without doing any physical work, but honestly I laugh every time I see someone riding one. Maybe its the giant helmet they wear or the squatting position they are in, which looks like they're ready take a poo. Whatever it is, it gets me every time. And when you see two people riding, its just twice as funny. Other modes of transportation I chuckle at when I see it are razor scooters and roller blades. Some people know how to ride in style though.

A couple times I have been fortunate enough to see a segway go zipping by. Those are impressive to see because they are at the technological top of personal transportation. Another thing I see parked almost everyday but still never seen in action is the "bike bullet", as I like to call it. As I pass it everyday, I am tempted to cut the lock and steal it. From the looks of it, I wanna say it can go forty fifty miles per hour, but probably not. Even so I am sure whoever owns that, feels like Batman everyday he or she comes to school.

If none of these ways of getting to class interests you, you can do what about ninety-five percent of the student population does: walk. It easy, no one gets hurt, and you don't have to worry about your bike being chained to a tree. I use it and it hasn't failed me yet.
So I urge you, crazy kid on bike trying to get to your class as fast as you can with no regard to those around you, please consider me and all those who fear your presence on the sidewalk. Take your time. This is college, teachers don't mind if you are five minutes late. And if possible, to make the world a better place, use these alternatives I have mentioned.

Pirates!

I was heading towards my mid-day class when I started to hear someone crying out. At first I was alarmed; could someone possibly be calling out for help? But no one else seemed to care. It was very faint but I could tell I was walking closer. As I got nearer to the source of the cries I started to question what I was hearing. These weren't cries of normal people, they sounded different. They sounded angry and I wasn't positive of what they were saying. The words I was hearing were similar to English, but not quite the same. Every now and then I would hear one these mystery people call out a loud "AAARRRRRRR!" Finally the origins of the sounds were visible to me. I could not believe my eyes, PIRATES!

The yelling I heard came from the half-dozen or so pirate clad students. They carried signs saying 'Save the pirates' or 'Help the pirate foundation.' Their pirate king was standing on a bench shouting to those who passed him, "Save the pirates", "Don't let the pirate way of life die" (with a strong pirate accent of course).


At this point I was totally and utterly perplexed. Why would these students come out here and do this? What motivated them? So I inquired in my class. I found out with an overwhelming response that that day happened to be Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19). Following this discovery I found something that would change my life forever. Not only was it Talk Like a Pirate Day, but the glorious and addicting Facebook also was taking part in the great that this day was.

As soon as class was over I ran back to my dorm and followed my fellow classmate’s instructions. At the bottom of a Facebook page there is a language option. Click on it and you get a list of languages, one of them says English (Pirate). Select it and let the fun begin. All the titles and labels are translated into pirate talk. The page is full of many ship references and plenty of AARRR's. If Facebook wasn't addicting enough, this new feature will surely add hours more a day to peoples Facebook enjoyment. So I encourage all of you to try this new form of Facebook and next year when you see a one legged man yelling profanities about scurvy and walking the plank you won't be a perplexed as I was.