Capture the Brandt Flag!

As I said last week, Ylvi challenged Brandt Hall to a game of Capture the Flag. The two hall council presidents (Justin Marschall and I) got together during the week to set the rules for the game and get things ready. We decided that we would use the whole campus as our battle ground, but encourage play uphill between Brandt and Ylvi. We also revealed to each other on a map, the location of our jails and flags. Separated by the pathway between the Olin building and the Library, both teams met for battle at 2pm on Saturday.

The Ylvi players walked to the pathway, shocked by the number of Brandt players. We were outnumbered by more than 2 to 1. While we were just 12, they were about 38! But, remembering that Ylvi was home to the most athletic of first-year students, we took courage and believed that we could make it. After all, the Persians overwhelmingly outnumbered the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae, but we all know what happened...

As the game started, Brandt players started flooding our half. They brought the game to our half and at first it seemed like we would be unable to suppress the opposition before our flag was captured. But before long, we started decimating their team, rapidly imprisoning the Brandt players. Very soon, we had close to 20 Brandt players in our prison and not even one of our players in theirs. Then, it happened...

One of the Brandt players seized our flag. He was chased out of sight and we all assumed that he got tagged and things were safe again. So, we continued with game as usual. So far, we were doing pretty well. We now had about 28 Brant players in our prison, still with none of our players in their prison. At this point, we figured we probably had more players than Brandt had, so we were planning on rounding everyone up to go and storm the Brandt area and capture their flag, considering there were too few Brandt players to stop us. Just as we were getting our acts together, the Brandt Hall President walked toward us, holding our flag. This was indeed devastating.

Apparently, what had happened was the guy who seized our flag earlier circumvented the field of play, leaving the Luther campus and going downtown. After close to 20 minutes, he finally appeared at the Brandt side of the field with the flag. This was how Brandt beat us - by cheating! We had agreed that we couldn't take the flag outside the field of play. But like I said earlier, the game was similar to the Sparta-Persia battle. We ended up decimating the Brandt team, even though they finally won the battle.

That's basically what my weekend has been all about - trying to capture the Brandt flag. And even though I failed at it, I am happy we organized one more successful program. It was a really fun game [actually my first time playing Capture the Flag]. So, as the 2008/2009 Ylvisaker Hall Council met for the last time a couple hours ago, it was with a deep sense of fulfillment that we ended. We have organized numerous programs for our hall and even freshmen at large during the course of our freshman year. We have led, built connections, and supported honorable causes. In my opinion, that in and of itself completes the freshman experience....well, apart from the finals next week.

[I apologize for sounding so cheesy]

Have a happy week...

3 Slow Weeks...

With less than three weeks left in the semester, there are final projects and 'adventures' coming up. I currently have a final Paideia paper, Math project, and Religion papers all due within the next couple of weeks. I've decided to start working hard on those assignments now so as to make things a little easier down the road. 

Concerning the Paideia paper, we're to formulate a thesis and write an argumentative paper on at least two of the books we have read so far. The first draft of the paper was supposed to be due in class tomorrow, but my Paideia professor decided that we could just bring an outline of our arguments to class and turn in the draft on Wednesday [that helps a bit]. Nonetheless, the bad part about this paper is, for my section, it is open-ended; we weren't given any specific topic to write on. I literally spent half of my day trying to decide what to write on. But finally, I have the outline done. And that's all that matters...

Last week, we (Ylvi Hall Council) challenged Brandt Hall Council to a game of capture the flag. In order to create some tension, we sent them a really provocative letter [they still feel a little mad about it, but that's okay...] Apparently, it worked; they accepted our challenge and quickly sent delegates to discuss the game with us. What's most exciting is that we are going to be using the whole campus to play this Saturday in the afternoon [we hope the weather behaves]. It seems like it's going to turn out really well if we publicize well enough; each hall council is responsible for spreading the word to its residents.

Ylvi Hall council is also organizing a stress relief titled "CocoLoco" to celebrate the World Chocolate Day [we're really just using this as a stress relief for the hall on reading day before the finals]. We'll have chocolate fountains, make cookies, etc. It's exciting things like this that keep one going for these long, final weeks of the semester...

Take Care!

Free Schedule = Low productivity

As much as I hate being stressed out with school work, I have come to realize that having a completely empty schedule is not the best atmosphere for that paper or project that you want to work on. This seems counter intuitive, I know. But it actually took me months to realize this... 

This weekend has been one of the freest weekends for me. All I had was an RA Spring Retreat, pretty simple Calculus problems, and a book to read for Paideia - Copenhagen. Considering how "free" my weekend was, I decided to do some extra studying on Physics to start preparing for the finals. But in spite of my incredibly light work load [compared to my work load in the past few weeks], I actually just fininshed my Calculus and Paideia assignments this Sunday night. I haven't even opened my Physics text book at all...

This has been a common pattern with days like Tuesdays and Thusdays, where I just have one or two classes. Because I have a "free" day, I initially think I'll be able to make a masterpiece of a paper or lab report that I have, but shockingly I find myself highly unproductive due to numerous distractions. At best, I just manage to start the paper or go halfway when I have actually had the whole day to work on it! So, from my experience so far, to work well on an individual project, I need other competing projects, some stress, deadlines, etc. That's why, when registring for classes, I decided to make my days equally full, so as to keep myself productive. 

Next semester looks like it's going to be interesting. I'll be taking Modern Physics [I'm actually pretty excited to learn about relativity], Linear Algebra, Honors 210: Ancient World [It's a class in Luther's Honors Core; pretty cool, too], and Intro to the Hebrew Bible. It also seems like I'll have a manageable workload.

Yesterday, RA's had a Spring Retreat. We played many interesting games, did some planning for the next semester, and finally got our room assignments. We also found out our co-RA's with whom we will be working. It turns out that not only am I remaining in my current hall next semester, but I am also staying on my current floor....

Have a good week!

Getting Pied in the face...

This weekend was a particularly interesting one for me. Yesterday, the Ylvi Hall Council Relay for Life team, Airforce Fun, organized a fundraiser titled "Pie your RA." Residents would pay a dollar to pie their RA's in the face and the money would go for cancer research. We initially planned to hold it outside Ylvi from 6 -8pm but because it was raining, we had to do it indoors.

So, with our disposable plates, whipped cream [instead of actual pie], and protective polythene bags ready, our RA's were all set to get pied. You'll be surprised how willing residents were to pay to pie their RA's. Some even paid over and over again to take multiple shots and work the whipped cream all over the faces and hair of the RA's! As the pieing was going on, I went around knocking from door to door, informing residents of this golden opportunity that they had.

But you're probably wondering: How did I end up covered in whipped cream as the picture above suggests? Well...I never imagined that it would come to that. Around 7:30pm, when all of the RA's present were covered in whipped cream, one of the Hall Council members, for some reason, said, "You know...I would actually pay two dollars to get Luwa pied." Then, others around thought it was a good idea and also wanted to pie Sally, the Secretary. Although it came unexpected and I was completely unprepared for it, I gave in to the persuasion. It was not until I agreed to do it that I knew that Sally and I were each going to get pied by 3 people at the same time! There was no escaping. Soon, my face and hair were completely covered in whipped cream...

So, that was what lightened my mood this weekend. I was glad that apart from the fact that the event was so much fun and many people participated, we were able to raise some money for cancer research. This was, perhaps, what underplayed the great anxiety that usually surrounds weekends like this when I have a Physics exam the following Monday. That is the good thing about college. Even though you find yourself in a sea of homework and upcoming tests, there will always [or most times] be something to lighten you up, as long as you look hard enough...

Have a swell week!

Back from Easter Break

Happy Easter in arrears! 

I went into the Easter break with a long list of things to do, including plenty of homework and projects. For some reason [probably laziness], I haven't been able to get myself to do even half of those things. Right now, I'm just trying to calm down and not freak out because by tomorrow, some assignments are already due. 

So, having said that, how did the Easter break go? First of all, I didn't really look at it as a "break"per se because it was basically a weekend with Friday and Monday off. Nonetheless, it displayed every characteristic of breaks. Luther was very empty as usual and the Cafeteria was closed on Saturday and Sunday. But this time, we students staying on campus did not have to leave our rooms, and the Cafeteria gave us vouchers to purchase food in restaurants close by [that was really nice...] Maybe it was this break 'feel' that kept me from doing very much...

However, it seems like I am not the only one in my situation. I just got back from the library and, contrary to what you might expect, it is full of people working really hard on homework. I had to leave the place because it was looking too tense. 

There's good news, though. We have just 36 days of classes to go! How do I know? Over the break, our hall director hung a countdown on every door in the hall. I will faithfully follow it, marking out every day until it is finals week, and then summer holiday. I'm really looking forward to that because I get to go home to Nigeria!

Oops...thought it would snow...

Last night, it was predicted that we would get about 6 inches of snow here in Decorah, so Ylvi residents requested that they have a snowball fight with Brandt Residence hall. We sent out facebook invitations to Ylvi and Brandt residents to have as many people show up for the snowball fight at 3pm. When I woke up this morning, it was actually lightly snowing, consistent so far with the weather predictions. But gradually, the snow started changing to rain and before 11am, even the little snow on the ground had disappeared. Disappointingly, the weather predictions we got turned out to be wrong. We probably can't have any snow fights until next year...

As part of our job training next semester, the newly hired Resident Assistants are supposed to take staff classes on Thursdays. The purpose would be to give the required preparation and leadership training for the job. Last Thursday, I had my first RA staff class. I really enjoyed it. We had workshops on what to expect on the job, the responsibilities, and minimum requirements RA's have to meet in the course of their job. Although it was very informative, the class was handled such that it would also be interesting.

To fulfil Luther's general education requirements, students have to take a Fitness and Wellness class. The class is for half a semester and I'm currently taking mine for the second half of this semester. Apart from the fact with this class, I now have 8am classes every day of the week [which really sucks], there are good signs that the class will be fun. On Thursday, we had this cool lab where we determined our VO2 max [kind of like how much your body uses up the oxygen you take in]. We also found out how flexible our shoulders and backs are and did some running. I got back to my room a little sweaty, but doing all that exercise felt really good. I'm actually looking forward to my class on Tuesday; we're also going to have another lab.

Although we just got back from Spring break, on Friday, we'll also go on Easter break. Not that I'm complaining [I mean...I would want as many breaks as possible, of course], but I would just have wished the break came when I was just a little more stressed out, close to how I was before Spring break. That way, I would really appreciate the break. Nonetheless, I'm still looking forward to the break [the CAF will be open and we (those staying on campus) don't have to move to other dorms].

The International Student's Break

Spring break just ended and I just moved my things back from Miller to Ylvi Residence Hall. Like during the Christmas break, most of the Residence Halls at Luther were closed and people who intended to stay on campus (mostly international students) were required to move their things to the Towers (Miller and Dieseth), Baker Village, or College Apartments, to stay during the break. This is usually the case during long breaks when some maintenance work is to be done around campus.

This provides an opportunity for the international students and the few people staying on the almost empty Luther campus to come together, thus making the break seem less lonely. Also, considering the fact that the cafeteria is closed, people are able to cook together and it makes things more manageable. However, it could get slightly inconvenient. Searching for a room and moving your things from hall to hall could be slightly tedious [everyone eventually finds a room, though]. Nonetheless, after my first break, I kind of got used to how things worked and got a feel of what I needed to do.

Contrary to what people might think, it's possible to have lots of fun remaining on campus during the break; I actually did some really fun things this break. On Tuesday, my host parents and I went to see the Mississippi river. We ate lunch at a Restaurant just at the bank of the river. After that, we went eagle-watching. Tuesday was actually the closest I've ever gotten to an eagle. They're really amazing. We also saw other birds like cranes and pelicans. Then we had some ice cream and I returned to Luther.

Also, the break is a good opportunity to get together with your professors. Yesterday, my Paideia professor invited Kyo Suk [in my Paideia class] and me to have dinner at his house. He came to pick us up around 6:00pm and showed us round his house. It was really cool. We met his wife and talked about so many interesting things; time flew by so fast. The food was also really good.

Overall, I would say I had a good break. I had time to hang out with my friends and do things I would not have had time to do when school was in session. As a nice conclusion to the break, my friends and I went over to have breakfast in a Chinese restaurant. Really good food.

Now that the break is over, I have to start doing the new Paideia reading and getting my room back in order...

Take Care!

My Craziest Week at Luther

Welcome again to my blog. It's finally Spring break. Although I am writing in the peace of mind and euphoria that usually accompany times like this, I have to emphasize the fact that the path to this break was extremely torturous. This week was, in fact, my most stressful week at Luther so far; you'll be surprised how many things happened...

Last Friday, I felt no excitement for going into the weekend because I knew the enormous amount of work that lay before me. Apart from the fact that I was going into the week of Midterms, just so many projects were due that week. I had a Religion paper due on Tuesday, a Paideia Paper due on Wednesday, a Physic exam that same day, and Paideia and Calculus exams on Friday! I frankly wondered if it was humanly possible to carry out every one of those tasks effectively.

I spent my whole weekend working on my Religion and Paideia papers but had almost no time to study Physics. As you can imangine, I worked tirelesely throughout the day with only very little sleep. On Monday, I explained my situation to my Religion professor and asked if I could get an extension to turn in my paper. He said I could get one, but I would lose half a letter grade for late submission. So, if I was supposed to get an 'A,' I would get an 'A-' instead. After considering my options, I decided it was better to just submit the paper with whatever I had. At the brink of time on Wednesday, I was also able to finish my Paideia paper and turn it in at the right time. The only problem was that I had to take my Physics exam without having studied for it [I probably shouldn't tell you how that went].

But that wasn't all my week was about. On Wednesday night, after the first half of that monstrous week, the Ylvi Hall Council organized a "Stress Relief" for all Ylvi Residents. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwich with kool-aid, while watching The Office. It was very well attended. Personally, I was really stressed out and starved of sleep, so the Stress Relief was something I really needed.

On Thursday, the results of our RA application came out. The anxiety about the results of the application must have also added a lot to my stress level. Nevertheless, I got the job! I'm going to be a Resident Assistant in Ylvi next year! Just looking at the letter I got, I stood there beside my SPO [Student Post Office], not know what to do. I was ecstatic. I spent my whole morning thinking about it and trying to take the news in and, as a result, I didn't finish my Religion homework in time for class. I had to turn that one in late and receive the late penalty [crazy week indeed!]

This morning, I had a calculus exam. It wasn't the hardest of exams, but after all the twists and turns of the week, all that was on my mind was to get it over with. It was with this same state of mind that I took my Paideia exam. To me, all that mattered was leaving that class and knowing that it was Spring break. And I think I was right. I just went through my craziest week at Luther so far and all I want to do right now is relax, catch my breath, and have fun...

Enjoy your Spring break!

Could Profs get any more Approachable?

After two days of perfect weather, I was shocked to come out of my room to face the cold angry winds again. I thought the Winter had finally gone and Spring had come to stay. It's actually funny how our minds and bodies work. Back in Nigeria, there were times when it was so hot that I sweated and wished so much that it were colder. But now, I remember those moments with nostalgia. I wish it were so hot that I would have to wear a T-shirt, shorts, and slippers [not a winter coat and boot] to go out...

On Monday, we turned in the drafts of our Paideia research paper. After lots of workshops, searching for sources, and reading books, it was indeed gratifying to finally write that draft and take it to class. But you know how papers are: The first time you write them, you think it's the best piece of writing ever made, but after a couple days, you realize that it is highly flawed. That was exactly what happened to me. Last night, I reread my paper and realized that I had a lot more work to do. I immediately scheduled an appointment with my Paideia professor because I really needed help restructuring my paper.

At 1pm today, my Paideia professor discussed my arguments with me, read through my paper and made important recommendations. He even suggested some sources that would be useful to my topic. Overall, I was in his office for about an hour and a half and I left there with a clearer sense of direction, knowing just what I needed to do to improve the quality of my paper.

Throughout my stay at Luther, it is difficult to imagine how hard my classes would have been if I was unable to get this kind of help from my professors. Often times, you'll be working on your Physics homework in Valders [Physics building] and your professor walks by and actually stops to ask if you're having any problems with your work. He/she is willing to work with you outside the classroom to make sure you understand the concepts and the class isn't more strenuous than it needs to be. These are the things make the academic rigors at Luther so much more bearable and I really appreciate the fact that you have professors eager to make your work easier...

Wish I had 4 more Hours in my Day!

Right now, I can't wait till it's Spring break. I just need an escape from all the things going on around me right now. Of course, some are actually interesting. But some are just nerve recking. It's funny how sometimes all the difficult papers, exams, and projects seem to come together in one week!  

On Friday, I'll have a Calculus exam covering all we've done in the semester so far. It helps that I actually like the class and I don't think I'm lost. Nonetheless, there's still a significant amount of studying to be done. I have to review the homework and practice tests posted on Katie. On that same day, the introductory section (first 2 pages) of my Paideia research paper [on the blues] is due, and I don't feel like I'm ready to write anything at all. I still have a lot of research to do and I still have to look for sources to support my thesis. We have a draft due on Monday, the same day my Religion paper is due [this weekend should be fun!]

It's interesting how I actually haven't been spending any time in my room lately. In the past few days, I've been using my room just for sleeping. The routine is: I go out for classes by 8:00 am, go for work-study, get bogged down doing homework in the library, go for dinner, return to the library, the library closes 12:00 am, and I go to bed! I know this isn't a good habit and I should probably loosen up a bit. But, given the present conditions this is the best option, until I can get about 4 extra hours in my day...

I'm excited for tomorrow, though. I'm going to have my final one-on-one Resident Assistant (RA) interview. I don't really know what questions to expect, but after coming this far in the whole process, I'm just happy to give the final push. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep my nerves down and do a convincing job in spite of all this stress.

That's all for now.

Take Care!

Thinkin' about RA application, Black-out Party, Physics exam, Math quiz, Paideia Paper!

Trust me when I say this past week has been extremely hectic for me. I spent my weekend studying for my Physics test on Monday. Our Physics Professor already told us it was going to be HARD and told us the usual average in his tests [I won't give you the figures but trust me it's not very encouraging]. So, full of anxiety for this test, I spent my whole weekend studying thoroughly. On Sunday night (around 8 pm), the Professor actually came to do some final revision with us [really nice of him]. 

On Monday morning, we took the test and it was actually harder than I had expected. There were several of those times where you look at a problem but just cannot figure out what to do [absolute brain freeze!] I left that exam knowing that I had bombed it. And that has kept me a little down for a while. In any case today, two days after the exam, the Professor returned our sheets to us and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it would be. Here's the thing with my Physics class and many other similar classes at Luther. Sometimes, there's no fixed boundary for grades. What happens is grades are curved and an individual's grade is determined based on the performance of the entire class. So, although my score wasn't very high, I'm glad that based on the curve, the grade it will get me won't be that bad.

Now, about more fun stuff. Yesterday, I had my Resident Assistant (RA) interview. As of yesterday, there were a hundred and fourteen applicants for just twenty-eight slots! This is clearly extremely competitive. So, after turning in my application form and three recommendation letters, the next phase was to go for a group interview. The idea behind this interview was to assess how well we could work each other to carry out a task. Overall, I would say it went okay. However, I also think so many other people did well and these group interviews might not be sufficient to select the twenty-eight needed. And this explains why we have private interviews next week.

At this point, I realize that many times, all that is required in college is having so many projects, exams, and deadlines looming and still being able to manage all this and stay on top of things. Right now, I'm in such a situation where I really need to stay on top of things. On Saturday, the Hall Council is organizing a Black-out Party for Energy Evolution Month [and I'm sort of heading that]. In Paideia, we're currently working on a Research Paper and I don't seem to be making that much progress [I've been distracted so much by the demands of other classes]. I also have a Math quiz on Friday to think about... 

Nevertheless, the good thing about all this is that you get better and better at managing your time. You keep discovering new techniques to make your schoolwork easier and you find out what work is necessary and what is not necessary to do. For example, I realize that there are clearly some reading assignments that you don't really need to do; many times, all you need to do to keep up in class is just a quick skim [take note, though, that this doesn't necessarily apply to Paideia; it's almost like you have to read everything]. So, although work load increases, you'll find that things get easier. 

Take Care!

Ethnic Arts Festival - "Love"

Hi. Last week, the diversity center held an ethnic arts festival themed 'love.' It was on Valentine’s Day, and being my first Ethnic Arts Festival at Luther, I was both curious and excited about seeing how it would turn out. The festival comprised many events, including cultural display, a dinner, and an evening show. It was indeed a colorful day at Luther, with the international students beautifully dressed in their cultural attires [I know... This isn't my cultural attire. I later went to change clothes]. I had my Ankara and local beads on.

At one o’clock that Saturday afternoon, international students set up tables for the various countries represented at Luther, displaying items peculiar to their home cultures. A student was present at each table to talk about his/her country and the various items displayed. These items included works of art, clothing, musical instruments, jewelry, photographs, maps, currency and lots more. And while some of these items were provided by the Diversity Center, some were brought from home by students. At the Nigerian table, I actually had a slingshot [I played with that a lot as a child] and many records from Nigerian artistes. More people than I had expected – both Luther students and visitors – came and were very interested in knowing more about my country. With great passion, I told them even more than they needed to know!

At four o’clock, we dissembled our tables and headed to the dinner in the Noble Room at four thirty. Tickets for the dinner were available for sale (although I got a free ticket for participating in the events). I don’t think I’ve ever eaten as ‘diverse’ a meal! It was a really nice buffet with delicacies from India, Ghana, Jamaica, Mexico and other countries. It was really good food, too. Although there were so many people there at the Noble Room, there was more than enough to eat. After the meal, we spent time taking lots of pictures, after which we went to the Center for Faith and Life (CFL) for the performances to start at seven o’clock.

The event kicked off with a display of each country’s flag. At the mention of our countries’ names, “flag-bearers” walked into the CFL to display our countries’ flags and walked across the stage. Written beautifully on the stage was the word ‘love’ translated into several languages. Following the flag-carrying were presentations from various groups. Among the presentations were dances, songs, dramas, a fashion parade and more. The presentations were indeed amazing and the audience seemed electrified by the performance. There was an interesting slide show presentation titled “The Africa They Don’t Show You.” It displayed pictures of really stunning sites in Africa and their exact locations. I was so excited when I saw the picture of Zuma Rock in Abuja! After two hours of presentations that had been nothing short of extraordinary, the Ethnic Arts Festival came to a close.

Concerning school work, right now in Paideia, we are supposed to be researching about a particular topic of interest. Each Paideia class has a topic chosen by the professor and my class is focusing on the Blues. Our research paper is supposed to take about 35% of our final grade. Frankly, I think this will be a lot of work, probably more work than I will have to do in my other classes. I really have to try to find a balance because my other classes are also pretty demanding. On Monday, we'll have our first Physics exam. Our professor already told us outright that he likes to set HARD questions so I have to stick my nose to that huge physics textbook all weekend [I don't expect it will be so fun a weekend]...

My First Birthday at Luther

Welcome to my blog. The Spring Semester has just started and I'm already feeling overwhelmed by homework. It seems like this semester might be a lot more challenging than last semester; and certainly, the classes are much more difficult.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I had about 15 calculus homework problems, a calculus mastery test, a religion homework that took forever to do, and seventy pages of Paideia reading! As you might expect, I wasn't able to finish all my homework; I still had to finish it up today. Nonetheless, I was glad I took the mastery test and passed [a mastery test is an optional test in my Calculus II class; you get 15 extra credit points if you pass it the first time]. So, I can slack a bit on my future calculus homework [well...not really].

Last Sunday was my birthday. I turned 19 [the legal clubbing age here in Iowa] and I wanted to exercise this legal right by going to Roscoe's on Saturday night/Sunday morning [In case you're wondering, Roscoe's is pretty much the club in Decorah - patronized primarily by Luther College students]. It would not have been a prudent use of my time [and money] to go after 12:00 midnight so I had to go around 11:00pm. The problem, however, was that if I went at 11:00pm on Saturday, I would technically be an hour short of being 19 years old. All the same, I still decided to go, keeping in mind that I was born in Nigeria [currently 7 hours ahead in time]; which means I was actually already 19 years old by 11:00pm. But now, when I come to think of it: Why was I even bothering myself about all these things? I would have been let in anyway...

It turns out, I was indeed bothering about things that didn't matter at all. The guy collecting the money simply looked at my ID and let me pass without asking anything. I was very curious to see this Roscoe's that everyone talks so much about. And, apparently, it isn't famous for its beauty or any rare marbles in it. What makes it fun, as I discovered that night/morning, is the fact that the place is full of many of your friends who, like you, want to have a good time and relax from the rigors of college work. And Roscoe's is certainly efficacious for that purpose; I really had fun. I got back to my room around 1:00am and, fully aware that I had lots of events lined up for that day, I set my alarm to wake up 8:30am [I had no choice; there was so much homework to do].

I had received a heart-warming call from my parents at 10:30pm the previous night to wish me happy birthday [I was already 19 in Nigeria] and my brother and sister also called me in the morning. After doing homework till about 11:00am, I went with my friends to the Noble Room for Peace Brunch for two of my other friends' and my birthday. [Peace Brunch is a really fancy meal on Sunday; it's much more expensive than regular meals, but the food is great]. We ate, made jokes, had fun, and everyone sang happy birthday to the three celebrants [although there was a bit of confusion at the "Happy birthday dear........." part]. I wish the celebrations continued till now but, sadly, I'm back to dealing with the challenges of college life.

I am currently applying to become a Resident Assistant (RA) for the next academic year. Although there's a lot of sacrifice involved, it gives you a lot of leadership experience and the pay is quite attractive [free room and board]. However, from what I can see so far, it's going to be really competitive, with over 200 people expressing interest and only 20-30 available slots! It seems like it's going to be interesting, though; we are going to have group interviews and private interviews and we have to ask our current RA's and Professors to write recommendations for us. By Spring break, we'll know whether we were selected or not...

Thanks for reading...
Take Care!

J-Break

It's been a wonderful break so far. The temperature has been just a little below 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the last couple of days and, for the first time in two months, I've actually been able to go out of my residence hall without wearing my coat. I've also been able find time to catch up with the CAF food [I'm still not up to a quarter way through my freshman-15].

On Wednesday, I had my philosophy exam. Fortunately, it went quite well. The questions seemed relatively alright and there was ample time to write as much as I wanted. As a result, many of us exhausted the space given for the essay and even got extra paper. Hopefully, when the results are out on Tuesday, they will be satisfactory.

For some reason, Luther isn't nearly as empty as it usually is during the breaks. Only one of the four RA's on my floor is not around, there is a good number of non-international students in my hall, and the CAF is usually quite full. We are currently rehearsing for the Ethnic Arts Festival on Valentine's Day, which I'm really looking forward to.

Generally, I think the break has been helpful in preparing my mind for the anticipated rigors of next semester, with eighteen credit units and fifteen hours a week of work-study to take care of. It's next semester that I write my twelve-page Paideia research paper and find out whether the scary stories I've heard about my next Physics class are true. No doubt, on Wednesday when classes resume, I'll be able to verify them. And hopefully, I'll be able to handle it. We're going to be just about seven in the class so things should be a lot easier.

Although I'm not really looking forward to next semester [at least as far as classes are concerned], one thing still excites me. Next week, I'll be turning nineteen! It might seem like just another birthday but it actually holds some significance. It means, legally, I will have more options during my weekends at Luther [I can now go to the club Roscoe's]. Don't worry, I'm only curious to see what it's like, even if it means just taking a peek; it's not like I'm aspiring to become a "Scoe's regular" or something. In any case, by next week, I'll be able to tell you how everything, including my birthday, went.

Until then...
Take care!

The Winter Luau

When you're in a philosophy class, you ought to expect to hear so many things you would have initially considered bizarre. It is a world where arguments about the fundamental questions could be presented such that they seem indisputable, yet incompatible with everyday life. On Friday, in my philosophy class, we spent such an extensive period of time talking about freewill and determinism (the idea that everything has a prior cause), and a very interesting debate ensued; I found it really exciting.

Yesterday, Ylvi Hall Council [of which I'm president] held a dance party, The Winter Luau, that went from 9:00pm to midnight. After having made arrangements for a DJ, decorations and food, our major concern was whether or not enough people would come. So, in addition to announcing the event on first-year Facebook groups, we printed numerous fliers and put them all around campus - in Ylvi, Brandt, Olson, the Cafeteria, etc. - just to make sure we could get it widely publicized. But, as events unfolded, that actually turned out to be the least of our problems.

We had decided that all the council members would come down to the social lounge at 7:50pm to set up for the party. We had also arranged for a speaker to be sent over to us at 7:30pm and it had not arrived. So, we had to start making frantic calls to find out if we could borrow speakers for the night. Fortunately, while we put up the food and decorated the place, the DJ was able to get us speakers. But that was not the last of our challenges. For, at 9:30pm, we had only about ten people in the social lounge even though everything else was set up.

By 10:30pm, however, the whole place was full of people from Ylvi, Brant, Olson, and of even upperclass students. At that point, I felt so relieved. The music was good, everyone seemed to be having fun and I met new people. The experience was especially gratifying for me because this was actually something we organized ourselves and put so much effort in. Last night, although many of the hall council members were exhausted from all the work involved in setting up the place and/or too much dancing [I was in both situations], we were all happy that everything turned out well.

So, even if I don't do anything else this weekend, I feel like I've had a fulfilled weekend. On Wednesday, I'll have my J-term exam. My professor has already given us a review sheet and it doesn't seem like it will be too scary...

Peace!

Hi, everyone! Hope you had a good weekend. For some reason, I didn't really do much this weekend. I know this sounds nerdy but I actually spent Friday night doing all my weekend homework. Although it felt a bit awkward, I think it's a very good idea, especially during Fall and Spring semesters. 

As I said earlier, my J-term philosophy class is characterized with quite a lot of reading and writing. However, unlike the fall or spring semester where everything is spread out into four months, all the work in J-term is actually compressed into three weeks. So, as you might expect, everyday comes with its own reading and essay and, not only is it somewhat monotonous, but it is also quite some work. And, in order to free myself from the burden and guilt of lingering homework during the weekend, I decided to do my homework on Friday night. Of course, I still had time that night to watch some TV and goof around.

I woke up really late on Saturday, fully aware that there wasn't that much to do. I had a really slow day that I mostly spent in my room. In the evening, however, I saw one of those crazy conspiracy theory movies with friends on my wing. Although quite weird, it was really interesting. On Sunday, the hall council held a meeting to finalize our plans for the our dance party - the Ylvi Winter Luau - this coming Friday. Initially, one of our fears was that the turn-out might be low. But after all the posters we've put all around campus, I'm thinking the Ylvi study lounge might actually be too full on Friday!

Speaking of excitement, there's so much buzz about the Presidential Inauguration tomorrow. Personally, I'm so excited about the historic event. I think it's going to be spectacular. 

Thanks for reading my blog...

Assassin

It's the second week in January term and it's so cold outside. Everyone is in their warmest clothes; you'd be amazed how many layers I wore this morning! Anyway, I'm having a good time so far and I really had a really exciting weekend. J-term has truly lived up to its name with all the fun events, games and activities going on.

On Friday night, my floor - third floor - had forth floor cook for us. They prepared beef and vegetables, which we ate with Tacos. There was enough for everyone to eat and it actually tasted really good. On Saturday, I signed up for the game assassin. Assassin It was played among members of my floor and everyone was assigned a target to 'assassinate' with a 'knife' [ruler or hanger] or a 'grenade' [ping pong ball].

Still playing the game, I had the option of going for the dance party in Americana or going to swim and watch a movie in Regents. My friends and I chose to swim and I really had a good time. We swam, played some cool games and everyone won gifts (I won M&M's and a T-shirt). After having spent about 2 hours at the pool, we set out to return to the dorm. It was on our way back that I got 'stabbed' in the back with a ruler by a close friend with whom I went to the pool! Isn't that sad? I had not even played the game for long enough to get eliminated.

This morning, I had my first shift working at the Technology Help Desk. I'm so glad I applied for the job because I've found it so exciting. Although there's plenty of work to do of different varieties, I've also learned a lot in this short time so it's certainly worth it. My J-term philosophy class is still going as well as it started. The class discussions are quite interesting and I'm convinced I chose the right class.

That's all I've got for now. Have a fun week!

'Back' to School

Hello everyone! Happy new year! I hope you had a good break. So much has happened from the break till now that I feel we have a lot to catch up on. About my last semester results, I'm glad they went quite well. I was very anxious to see my grades, though, because my finals didn't go exactly as I had predicted. So, I'm really glad things went okay.

As you may have guessed, I stayed at Luther during the Christmas break. Those staying on campus, mostly international students, were required to arrange to move their things to Miller or Dieseth hall for the break. So, that made it much less lonely than it would have been if we remained in our various halls. The bad part is that the cafeteria was closed during the break and we had to buy cooking ingredients and cook on our own. Fortunately, I got to stay in Kansas with a family friend for one week and had a really good time there before returning to Luther. And as weird as it may sound, I actually began to wish for the break to end because I wanted my friends to come back. Overall, though, I had a really good break.

Now, it's J-term and it's supposed to be the freest time possible at Luther because you're required to take only one class throughout January. But here's the problem; you'll take that class everyday and, if you're in a class like mine, you will have readings and essays to write for every class. So, after having had two classes of Philosophy: Big Question, I realize that although it's a really interesting class, things might not turn out to be so free for me afterall. Nevertheless, I'm still determined to have as much fun as I can have during this period. 

Speaking of fun, the Ylvi Hall Council is working on a series of events for J-term. We are organizing a party this Friday and an even bigger one in about two weeks, among other events. So, I'm really looking forward to that. I think things are going to turn out really well...

I guess that's it for now. I wish you a prosperous 2009! 

Peace