So, Dis-Orientation was today. To clue y'all in, orientation runs the first weekend you get to college. The upperclassmen are really careful not to drink at all that weekend. No bad parties happen. They set freshman guys up with girls for dances. Its all wholesome, Catholic fun with some freak dancing and profanity. Some dorms go a bit above and beyond with the initiation, but its all in fun (Stanford, the most laid-back dorm on campus, does nothing particular to initate freshmen aside from teach us to hate other guys dorms). So the following weekend, when the parents are good and gone, the upperclassmen do their best to get the froshie's wasted. And teach them what party life at ND is really like. For my dorm, they invited freshman to drink a 40 as fast as possible. I, sober chap that I am, spent the two hours swimming and missed out on the 'festivities'...and 1,600 dollars in fines that were handed out to participants when they were busted. Later, they headed off campus...only to have cops crash the party. Must say, being dry has never seemed so rewarding. Plus, I got to make fun of all the drunkards.
The Cake/Akon concert was tonight too. Cake rocked...my roomie and I single-handedly started the "Encore!" "More Cake" and "Short Skirt!" chants that brought them back onstage for another couple of songs. Before this, I hung with some other sober dudes in a girls dorm...awkardness is having a girl ask you to come check out her room and then having girls barely covered in towles scatter as you come upstairs. She had good music, though, and her roomie let me steal the hairbrush for a while. After the concert, we headed back to our basement for a dance with farely. I and the other "non-single" dormie kinda hung out while others attempted to have sex with clothes on. A couple girls groped each other in a corner, which was pretty funny.
All in all...ND is everything I thought it would be and everything I was afriad of. Its hard as hell not having you here. I didn't realize how hard it would be. I'm fighting hard, though. Distractions up the wazoo. I knew it'd be a "wet" school, but I think I got people to respect my desion to stay dry. And not party like they do. This place really is beautiful, classes are interesting, and its like a bigger JHS with slightly less love and rules. We'll see if I can deal with the distance...I'm not convinced this wasn't the biggest mistake of my life yet. Only time will tell, love.
I love you!
So, freshman orientation at ND has ended. I suppose I now know more or less what's happening, where I should be when, and what life here is like. Right.
I might as well start with a vauge play by play. Thursday night I arrived in South Bend but slept in a hotel cause it was too late to move in. Friday I moved my junk in with the help of the Frosh O staff, bought a fridge and lamp, unpacked, toured campus, and mostly hung with the parents until the party that night. We picked up Farley, a girl's dorm, and took them to the local dance club at Legends for a karaoke party. Saturday I overslept and ran over with some other 3NS boys to the dining hall where we ate with cavenaugh. Saturday night was Domerfest, a big dance party thing in the Joyce center. I mostly hung with a few guys and talked to some St. M's chicks. They actually had no idea how to get back to St. M's, so we walked 'em halfway. Sunday we did a mass, said goodbye to the parents (which was...remarkably hard. It made me realize how real it was that I'm not going "home" for a while. And that this is supposed to be my "home".) Then we had a dance with St. M's that night, after learning the football cheers. The girls we talked to forgot the shuttle didn't run that night, so it was almost 1:30 before we began heading back...down the dark unlit path where girls are raped and guys are robbed. Guess we were too manly, as nothing happened to us. Monday I had a seminar to get faculty opinions, met with FT and my RA, went to a soccergame, and pretty much hung out. Tuesday (today) was the first day of classes. For engingeering we did a group project where we had to get a golf ball from point a to point b without touching it. I had the brilliant idea to just put it in a playdough container and throw it. The teacher loved it and called my team brilliant. Gotta love praise from the teacher on the first day. I guess my daily lesson is that the simple answers are often best, even if they feel like cheating. My psych class got switched, but the teacher seems cool. He's a flaming liberal, which is fun, but is quite intelligent. Looks like my grade in that class is totally participation and term paper based...no final. That'll be nice.
What else to say... homesickness isn't a sickness. There's just that ever-present feeling of lacking, knowing something's missing. Things just aren't the same here. ND is awesome, its like JHS 5 times bigger (or more...) but some JHS things are lacking. I keep looking for my friends. I keep wondering why it feels like I haven't seen my family in a few days. I think I'm lucky I did a lot of long days during school. Its the only thing letting me get through this. Well, that and knowing I have people that will love me no matter what. And the tastes of home I get every day.
Life certainly changes...I feel older already. Added responcibilty and all.
I love you! (and miss you so much...)
So, this is it -- my last night in Portland for the next two months.
Yeah, I'm lucky enough to come back for a few days mid-October...if you'll be here, or at OSU, talk to me and we can hook up.
Yesterday was my last day of work. I felt strange walking out without my badge or pager, knowing my "team" would be working without me. Funny how I grew attached to a job I was never sure I'd want, doing manufacturing work.
I apparently missed out on a "farewell party" last night. Sad, I suppose. I can't complain, as I failed to throw any parties this summer. However, I may be throwing another kick-ass birthday/christmas party come winter...depends on my energy level and location during break.
Seems a lot of people made touching posts saying goodbye. That's not really me. I don't say goodbye at the start of summer, even though there's a ton of people I know I won't see for several months. Same thing here. I look forward to the opportunity to see you all, my friends, again later this year.
It rained this morning: I enjoyed the final glimpse of Oregon as I've always known it. This sunshine has been fun but disconcerting.
To contact me at school, my old AIM SN will still work, I'll check the same email addresses, and I've started a beta flickr account if you want to see photographic documentation of my college experience... assuming I take pictures.
I want to thank you all for a great 4 years and wish you the best of luck in college over the next few months.
I love you!
-JB