God is Good:

The last two weeks have been crazily busy, but God has helped me overcome any stress and is in control.  As of tonight, the remainder of this week and next should be slightly less complicated. 

October 6th: One of the piano teachers hosted a concert because she was leaving for the semester because she was expecting. :)  It was a lovely concert.  She played a Bach Fugue, Beethoven Sonata, and two pieces by Rachmaninoff.  After the hour-long concert, I returned to my dorm to discover Sara watching a Dr. Who episode.  It was then that I watched my first Dr. Who episode.  Sara had been persuading me for weeks.  Surprisingly I enjoyed this Dr. Who episode.  We like to joke that I am getting two educations.  One is in public policy and the other in the world of Dr. Who and sci-fi movies.      

October 7th was my roommate's birthday.  We had planned a surprise party for her after her last class which ended at 9 p.m.  Unfortunately, when the guests arrived, there was no Hannah.  After a couple of phone calls, it was discovered that she had a commitment, so we postponed the party for 45 minutes.  Once we actually hosted the party, it was filled with laughter, donuts, chocolate cake and a giant 52 inch teddy bear.  

October 8th our choir put on a wonderful concert.  A couple of the local high schools had been invited.  The choir sang some songs in German, Capella, and had some amazing harmony.  Sara is in the choir.  It was extremely enjoyable. 

October 14th was our first Theology test.  This is my first and only class on Tuesday and Thursday.  I like having tests first thing in the morning.  You can scare your roommates and tell them it was really hard. lol  I feel like the Theology test went well. (still waiting on the results) Later that evening Sara and another friend sat outside late that evening to work on our essays because it was an extremely warm fall day.  It was crazy trying to complete an insanely long Logic assignment and finish a paper due the next day.  I did manage to get it all completed before 1 a.m. :)

October 17th was prospective students day.  Since we have an extra bed, we hosted an overnight guest.  Even though I had homework due the next morning, it was wonderful to have a guest.  She was very sweet and even left a kind note on our dry erase board.  During lunch that Friday, Sara and I sat with a prospective student from Colorado.  I really enjoyed asking questions and getting to know them.  Next semester I want to get a job as a student ambassador.  Later that evening Sara and I attended a self-defense class that one of the girls from our wing put together.  That evening we talked about the physiological factors of self-defense.  I learned so much.  

October 18th was the most activity filled day I've had yet.  At 9 a.m., we attended the second session of self-defense.  Sara and I practiced with each other on various slaps, kicks, and quick-releases.  After that we only had less than 2 hours before our dance class.  One of the favorite parts of my week is dance class.  During class we learned the Cha-Cha and built upon other dances.  I hope to become a good dancer.  Immediately, after dance class we had to run (literally) to our extra-credit book discussion on Benjamin and William Franklin.  After that was over, we had only a couple hours until our Hoedown!!  The Hoedown was at an actual barn.  It was a bit chilly, but after the first line dance, we were all warmed up.  At the end of the dance, there was a pumpkin pie eating contest.  Sara had mentioned that she might compete, but wasn't really serious.  I begged her to do it and she did.  There were 7 contestants, 5 guys v. 2 girls.  They guys had to eat without any utensils or hands while the girls could use a fork.  Hannah and I laughed so hard until we cried.  Sara was one of the first ones to finish all of the pie, but she couldn't swallow the dry crust.  Unfortunately, Sara didn't win, but we were all very proud of her.  Sara had pie all over her face, because she had plunked her face into the pie at the beginning before using her fork.  We had a blast!  I don't think Sara will be interested in pie for a long time. 

October 20th was our second U.S. History exam.  The night before, Sara and I spent much of the evening quizzing each other.  It has been concluded that Sara and I have the best study parties.  When trying to memorize the differences between the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists, Sara drew an amazingly hilarious comparison chart.  It was so funny, we couldn't stop laughing. Nevertheless, it did help us to memorize.  This was an amazing test, because there was no essay!!! 

The day continued to escalate in craziness.  

This week is also our campus wide Moot Court tournament.  Our first round was that afternoon at 4 p.m.  I was the first speaker.  We don't get our results back until the end of the week, but I feel confident about that round.  I was able to answer all the questions well and used all 9 minutes. 

We also had a 6 page research paper due that evening.  Thankfully, I had written a significant portion of it in early September.  Despite my head start, by the time I had correctly finished formatting it, we had less than 5 minutes till class. 

After our class at 6 p.m., we went grocery shopping since we had missed dinner.  We purchased pre-cooked baby back ribs and cooked those in our microwave. :) I have learned how to cook many things in the microwave.  Each morning I enjoy hot Pillsbury cinnamon rolls.  Yum. :)  Pillsbury makes the morning so much more enjoyable.   

October 21st we had to register at 7 a.m. for spring semester classes.  I had awaken with plenty of time to get all the classes I wanted, but because I couldn't figure how to disable a popup, it cost me 10 minutes and 2 of the class times I desperately wanted.  Even though I don't have all the class times I wanted, during drop/add time, I think everything will work out. 

October 22nd was another busy day.  After all my morning classes, I worked with my Moot Court partner for 2 hours.  We had a round at 8 p.m. after our 6 p.m. class.  In this round we were Respondent, which means that I am the third speaker.  However, the round did not run normally because portions of the other team were missing.  The round began 15-20 minutes late.  Instead of being the third speaker I presented first.  I don't mind speaking first; in fact, I enjoy it.  Our round lasted longer than expected, but it still went very well.
Prior to the rounds, I had been slightly worried over the questions I would be asked and whether I would have persuasive answers, but God gave me the right words to use.  Despite my last two crazy weeks, I have been getting at least 6 1/2 hours of sleep.  Even though life gets crazy, God is good All the Time!    

Study, Study, Study

The last 11 days have been very busy with numerous tests.  Finally, I am over that hurdle for now. 

First, I would like to mention an exciting activity that happened a couple weeks ago Saturday, September 20.  As previously mentioned, whenever a guy gets engaged he is always "bobtized" in Lake Bob.  This was my first time witnessing a "bobtism."  Around 10 p.m. a large crowd flocked outside one of the main academic building while a dozen guys entered to kidnap the innocent victims. Within a couple minutes the guys returned carrying the 2 unsuspecting guys.  Then the unsuspecting guys were carried to the flag pole where several men prayed over the men.  Next, the procession headed toward Lake Bob.  The unsuspecting 2 guys were carried into the lake and then plunged into the semi-chilling water.  Usually the guys are "bobtized."  Our RA had never wanted a Candlelight Ceremony, so our wing kidnapped our RA and proceeded to pitch her in the lake.  It was awesome being getting to see 2 guys and 1 girl dumped into the stink of Lake Bob.  That has been one of the most enjoyable things I have participated in so far. 

Two Tuesdays ago, after I had gotten ready for class I discovered that our Theology class had been cancelled.  That news was so thrilling that I went back to bed for another 2 hours.  If only I had checked my email after getting up, then I would have known I could have slept.  Oh well. 

Last Monday was our first Western Civilization test.  This is my first class of the day at 8 a.m.  In addition to several multiple choice questions we also had to prepare for 2 out of 5 essay prompts.  It was not disclosed which essay prompts would be on the test.  Thankfully, my professor allowed us the choice of whether to take the essay on Monday or Tuesday.  Sara and I had chosen to take the essay on Tuesday.
  

On Tuesday, Sara and I prepared to take the essay at noon.  When we got our essay prompts, Sara and I both received the questions we wanted.  My question was about describing Alexander the Great's conquests and impacts.  Although I do not particularly enjoy Western Civ. because I have never studied this subject, I was able to hand write 12 pages on my essay.  The time it took me to write this essay took a grand total of 2 hours and 15 minutes.  I was extremely pleased with my essay.  The difficult part is waiting 2 weeks for the results. :(  (I just received my essay grade today, and I got an A!!!!!!)

After completing our multiple choice and essay portion on Monday and Tuesday, we also had a Logic test on Wednesday.  I enjoyed the logic test and feel that that I did pretty well.  Later that evening, Sarah and I celebrated our first wave of tests by watching Mission Impossible 4 and popping popcorn.  I am not a sci-fi or superhero movie fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  Wednesday night also marked the beginning of Homecoming.  The first kick off activity of that evening was dodge ball.  I chose not to attend dodge ball because of impending homework.  As might be assumed, the senior class won dodge ball.  

Thursday night homecoming activities included ice cream and the banner competition.  The four classes were given the challenge of designing a banner centered around this year's theme, around the world.  Once again, I did not attend Thursday's activities because of pending homework.  The results of this contest was senior, sophomore, junior, and freshmen.  

Also, Thursday was our second grey glove.  Since we knew what to expect, we weren't as worried and didn't have to dedicate as much time for cleaning.  Within 4 hours our room was spotless.  I am pleased to announce that our clean room passed with flying colors!  We are so happy because we have passed 2 times in a row.  

Friday was one of the best days of Homecoming, it was Spirit Day.  As long as you wore a college branded tee-shirt you could wear jeans.  The only thing that did not contribute to this wonderful day was the rainy weather.
If your class had a 95 or higher percentage participation in wearing Spirit attire, then your class would receive a 1,000 points toward the overall Homecoming prize. Unfortunately, our class missed the 1,000 points by 2%.
Later that evening was a competition of various acts of singing or skits.  Some of the songs were beautifully composed by the students and others were silly songs.  There were also several skits performed.  The show lasted for an hour and was super hilarious!!  I could have died from laughing.  

Sunday: 
Not much occurred on Sunday with the exception of that Sara and I learned a fabulous new card game!  It is called Schnapsen.  Also, over the weekend we had a couple guests.  Sara had a friend over and we also hosted a prospective student.  Our room was cramped with 5 guests in a room meant for 3 people which only had 4 beds.  Despite our lack of space, it was enjoyable.

Reading List:
Every time I blog I will try to either explain something I found interesting or a new book we are reading.  During our wing chapel, we have recently started reading A Prodigal God by Tim Keller.  It offers a whole new perspective on the story of the Prodigal Son.  Although we haven't gotten very far, I really enjoy it.

Cheers and hugs to all.  Fall break will be here in 3 short weeks!!!