A Trip Down Memory Lane...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

As I mentioned my friend was getting married soon.  The soon happened and the wedding was this past weekend.  It was a perfect day.  The sun was shinning, it wasn't too cold, and the wedding and reception were a blast!!  I want to dedicate this post to her because she has been an amazing friend, keeping me sane through my college life.  A trip down memory lane...

So, how did I meet the wonderful Amanda?  Well, she doesn't go to St. Mike's but she does come to mass at the Chapel.  During my first semester at college I attended the Emmaus Retreat.  This retreat is run through the Campus Ministry department and is a nice way to focus on where you are in your spiritual journey.  It was an amazing weekend away from campus and where I met my wonderful friend.

Part of the Emmaus Group

Throughout the rest of the year we attended events together both on and off campus.  She was someone who I could just call up and be like "Hey want to hang out?"  Her family was also warm and welcoming.  I felt like I fit in perfectly.  We kept in touch over the summer and sophomore year went by in almost a blur.  We hung out more and more.  I even got to see her on Easter when I was here.  We became really close last year.

Us at the VITA Semi Formal in 2010

At the end of this summer she got engaged to a wonderful guy and I was a bit jealous at first.  I haven't got to see her this semester that much due to wedding plans but I still know she is there for me.  When she asked me to be a bridesmaid I was super ecstatic and so happy to be able to spend her special day with her.  It was nice change of the day when I would get off campus and do something non-school related.

Me and a few of the bridesmaids (there was 7 of us)

The day of the wedding was perfect and I couldn't ask for a better man for her.  I also know this isn't the end of our friendship but just a slight change in the name.

The happy couple :-)

Buses, Walking, and an Adventure

So, my friend is getting married soon and her bridal shower is today.  My friends and I made a small collage of pictures for her.  I ordered them and it was supposed to come in today but when I went to confirm where to pick them up, it was in a completely different location then I thought it would be.  This led to my adventure today.

Being a St. Mike's student you get free busing on the the CCTA (Chittenden County Transportation Authority) buses.  It is really nice because that way I can run into Burlington for a couple of things and not have to make the most (even though I normally do) out of paying for a bus fair.  So, I took a look at the different bus maps to find the easiest way to get to my new destination.

I took the bus down to Burlington this morning and found my connection to head down North Ave.  It is very easy because Cherry St. is a major bus stop where just about every bus stops at for connections.  I knew the street name of the stop I was looking for and I lucked out because someone else was getting off there so they knew when to pull the "Request Stop" bar.

From the stop it was only supposed to be a straight shot for about a 20 minute walk but low and behold I was enjoying the scenery too much that I walked straight past the store and down to Lake Champlain.  My 45 minute round trip walk turned into 2 and a half hours!!  Oh well at least with all the pretty colors and warm weather it wasn't that bad of a walk.

Getting back to the bus stop I hit no problems.  It was the simple 20 minute walk I was expecting.  All I can say is if you're not sure where exactly you're going take good directions and have a place that if you get to you know you've gone too far.   Even though my trip turned out to be longer than expected it was a great adventure to find out a new location of Vermont that I probably would never have known existed otherwise.

Rock-tober Fest

Last night was so AMAZING!!  My two friends and I attended the Vermont Christian Rock-toberfest.  The musicians whom performed were Everfound, Lindsay McCaul, Mikeschair, and Matthew West.  It was so amazing to be there with my friends and hear their stories. Upon coming to college, my Christian music selection was pretty sparse and I wanted to build it up.  Going to this concert has now added four new artists to my iTunes library.

The concert was set up in a really cool fashion.  Everfound, Lindsay McCaul, and Mikeschair all performed a handful of songs along with speaking out about their belief and how life isn't always easy but if we keep believing we'll make it through.  When Matthew West performed, his first set followed this fashion.  Afterwards, he played songs from his Into the Light CD where each of his songs was inspired by someone and their story.  Each story was told, either through a video of the person telling or by himself in the person's voice.  It was mind-blowing.

I highly recommend attending a concert like this if every given the chance.  I was given this opportunity through the St. Michael's Campus Ministry department and I thank them for it :-)

Me and Matthew West

Friday Night Fun

So, it's been a busy week.  So much has happened since last Wednesday that I don't know where to begin!! I've had midterms, projects, and events that have took up most of my time.  My friends make fun of me cause I always seem tired and then they give me food and I all of sudden come alive again.  They call it the Maura-Syndrome.

One of the most fun was Friday Night Dry last Friday night.  It is event put on by Student Life early in the semester.  Clubs run activities throughout the night for students to come participate in.  At each event, students win raffle tickets where they can then can place them into a drawing in for a chance to win some amazing prizes.

Celtic Knights, which I am part of, had Irish Step Dancing lessons, trivia, and coloring.  Depending on which activity you took part in depended on how many tickets you earned.  We had an awesome turn out and students loved the idea of learning something new.

I unfortunately didn't win anything but I had a ton of friends who did which was exciting.  The best way to enjoy the night is to go out with friends and just have fun with it.  You may try something you never thought to or show off your skills at something your friends may never knew (or even you knew) you could do.

Here is us performing Walls of Limerick last year at the International Festival.  We taught the steps to this dance to the people who showed up and if they were motivated we walked through it.

A day in the life of...well...ME!!

Now that the semester is on it's way, I thought I could give a simple run down of my typical Wednesday.  My life is so busy that this is constantly changing.  This is an overview if no extra meetings get scheduled or no spontaneous activities happen:

Wednesday:

•      Wake up
•      Attend morning prayer in the Chapel
•      Grab breakfast in Alliot
•      Attend Programming Languages
•      Work on homework
•      Grab lunch in Alliot
•      Attend Operating Systems
•      Relax a bit after working almost all day
•      Organize notes/assignments for the night/week
•      Grab dinner in Alliot or head to Sloane for dinner
•      Head over to the Chapel to do some reading before LINK
•      Attend/Run LINK depending on the week
•      Work on homework due tomorrow 
•      Climb in bed at completion

Now this may seem a bit boring but most of the time my life gets spiced up a bit.  I have impromptu lunch dates or "friend-time" thrown in there.  Also, like tonight's plans, I hang out with people I haven't seen in awhile.  Also, my reading before LINK generally turns into everyone knowing I intend to do this and show up early too and talk to me instead.  Basically, I can't schedule my life to the "T" anymore because half the time, it ends up changing....for the better that is. 

And this is why I love St. Mike's.