World Cup Fever

So today was the first U.S. game in the 2010 World Cup against England. I used to play a lot of soccer and so I enjoy watching games. My dad and I decided to try to go to a Brittish pub in downtown Minneapolis to watch the game. We arrived about an hour and a half early in order to get good seats and the line was out the door. We decided to go to another pub nearby to watch the game. The game turned out to be insane. There were probably about 500 people in this place all screaming and yelling at the game. It completely blew my mind. I had a great time and the U.S. managed to tie 1 to 1. Spain's first game in the World Cup is the day after I arrive and I can only imagine how crazy it will be there.

New Leaf

So, its been awhile since I've last blog but I feel that in the coming weeks I will have much to think about and so I have decided to start it back up. Today is Friday and on Monday afternoon I fly to Spain for a significant portion of my summer. The program is through the University of Minnesota and I will live in an international dorm in Toledo Spain, just south of Madrid. The town is super historic with walls and a castle and is pretty small, only about 50 thousand in the area. I don't know a single person going and I haven't spoken a word of Spanish in a month so we will see how this goes. I've started to become super excited as other students have started emailing and we have started getting lots of information about the program. I expect it to be an experience of a lifetime and I intend to take lots of pictures. Stay tuned....

Sleeping

So this week I remembered why I try so hard to keep a consistent sleep schedule. Due to several tests and projects, I've spent a couple of late nights (like up to 4) studying. Now, it's Thursday, I literally was falling asleep during lab, but now when I have 4 hours off before practice, I am unable to fall asleep. Practice should be as miserable as it was yesterday.....

Quick Update

So......haven't done this for awhile. Anyway now I am back at school about to begin my second semester and I'm cautiously excited. I have a lot on my plate......harder classes, tennis, Lambda Chi, but also many exciting things to come. Winter break was solid. I saw everyone I wanted to and had some good times. My mom also spoiled me, and I made some money. Good to go.

Back to School

It's good to be back. One week of classes are done and orientation week is over and so far, I'm loving it. Sure, there haven't been any "unforgetable nights" yet but it's just great to be back hanging out with my friends. I had a ton of fun during orientation week although it was pretty much a 24/7 job. I've met a ton of cool freshmen that I can't wait to get to know better as well. Sure, I'm ready for the year to pick up and for tennis to start but overall, I'm a happy JR.

Reflecting on Summer

So in about 60 hours or so I will be packing up all my belongings and embarking and the half-day journey back to Coe College. When the year ended, I reflected upon it and when the school year ended, I also reflected upon it (though I don't know if I did online). It's only fitting that I reflect upon my summer as well. This summer definitely fits my whole "life goes in waves" theme. When I first came home, the first few days were a whirlwind of social activities and reconnecting with friends before life settled down. Then I started to get into a bit of a rut until work started. For the whole summer, the pace seemed to go up and down. I feel to some extend I wasted this summer. Although I did make a solid amount of money, it was very alarming today when I paid my parents my portion of the semester and for this years fraternity dues to realize that I only netted about 125 dollars total this summer. Thankfully I have some work at school which will easily get me through the year. In some ways, I didn't reconnect the way I wanted to. There were some people I was around a lot in high school and I was hoping that I would not only reconnect but deepen our relationships. For the most part, this did not happen. The people I was casually friends with were definitely invisible. However, there were a few people this summer I got to spend a good amount of time with that I'm more thankful for than I think they know. It was very reassuring to me that I could come home and not only reconnect quickly but get to know people on a deeper level of trust than I did previously. Hopefully I will be able to stay in touch frequently with them while away at school. One of my biggest fears all year of college was actually leaving college fearing that I had little to go back to. This summer helps sooth my mind realizing that when the day comes in the distant future and I leave college, I can still stay close with the people that really matter to me. Goodbye summer 2009......hello Coe

Next week.......

I will be back at school. Exactly one week from today I will be driving to Cedar Rapids. Summer was fun, seeing all my friends again and getting closer to some but I'm excited to go back to a fast pace, sleep only when you drop, environment for awhile. By October fall break, I'm sure i'll be exhausted but right now I'm excited.

Spammers

So apparently my blog was spamming and was temporarily deleted. It was kind of funny actually. But it's fixed now. Good work.

Summer Living

So summer is a very interesting time for a college student. For me, college is 5 hours away and none of my friends are from closer than 45 minutes away and there are probably only 2 or 3 that are that close right now. So for socializing, I'm stuck trying to fit in time with the people I still talk to but often fail to get ahold of them and end up in awkward social situations with people you don't really like. Take for instance grad parties today. I trotted around for about an hour with a group of people that honestly neglected me in high school. Why did I continue to trot around with them? Who knows. But let me tell you, it was a little awkward. Anyway, I lost badly to a 45 year old in tennis this morning. Apparently he's actually really legit (top ten in the nation for his age) but I still kind of felt like a piece of shit. Whatever it's cool. I start working significantly more Monday and man I'm excited. Not necessarily for the money, but I miss having my schedule somewhat decided for me. It makes me actually do the things I want to because I don't have all day available. Also, some of the little tennis kids are adorable and very funny. If anyone actually reads this, call me up! Summer's starting to get a little bored and if you care enough to read my blog, you must like me.

Waves

Its kind of funny to watch your life kind of go in waves. School is a great example. School work always tends to escalate the week where you're busy one more night than usual and you have to leave for the weekend for one reason or another. Summer is very similar. Sometimes there are more people calling me to do things than I could possibly fit in and still get work done. Other times, such as these last couple of days, I haven't heard from anyone, and I really don't have anything else to occupy my time. It's kind of bizzare. I am enjoying summer however. As much as I miss people at Coe, the 612 is a nicer place than Cedar Rapids and its a good change being able to sleep a full 7 to 8 hours each night. However, I need to figure out how to make money. God damn economy. I should probably get on that right away.