August 28th, 2015 - A Day of Readying

     The day began with an alarming wake up at 7:45 (alarming because of the alarm I set). Q stayed asleep, but I began the day, setting what I now realize would be my morning routine for the next year, potentially longer. Nourishment came in the form of a granola bar for breakfast, and I met up with Weddle and Stu. A couple friends were moving in a quad over, so we went to help them. We first found Elie, a Tech God and fellow Eagle Scout, along with his family. We made short work of his things, and stampeded down the stairs to the lobby, detouring the hectic and sporadic behavior of the Move-In Day Elevators. Quickly finding Tim, a good man for a joke, and his kin. Once again to work we went, wasting no time in our brief foray as a moving crew. As we waited for Kev, the last of the Triple of La Plata, a somewhat passionate conversation struck up on the topic of the video games we’ve missed playing in the short time we’ve been gone from Home. Unfortunately for Kev, the move in window closed, and so we took our leave of the Ellicott Quad, returning home briefly to watch Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe (a valuable reminder of why we needed to stay in college), and preparing for the day’s Adventure: Classroom Scouting. It didn’t take long, and we didn’t have much trouble in finding our way around. Not much to tell really on this Adventure, except that President Loh’s parking job was… a little off kilter, but to me rang as an important reminder: all the staff here are people, fallible and imperfect, and therefore easier to approach than I may think.

                Speaking of Dr. Loh, he gave an absolutely amazing and inspiring speech at today’s New Student Welcome. I keep finding myself more and more pumped for the start of classes, because I am so ready for the learning and discovery that this place is going to offer me. After the Welcome, Weddle, Elie, Kev, and I returned to their room for a few games of Smash, where I began to get into the swing of using Marth, my old stand-by in the Smash series. At 23:00, we went to The Stamp to watch Avengers 2®. On the walk home, Weddle and I talked with old friends turned to new again.

I don’t have as many stories to tell tonight, and I kind of want to get some measure of rest tonight, so I’ll think I’ll wrap this up here.

See y'all later

DFTBA

August 27th, 2015 - Adventures of Move-In Day

     The day began as a relatively early wake up compared to the majority of the summer, but in comparison to my high school schedule and the schedule I’ll probably have to maintain for college, Lordy Lordy did I sleep in! My family and I wrapped up my college packing, finished my Urbana ties, and shipped out for College Park. Arriving here was a cacophony of confusion, with checking in and moving in and getting everything sorted out. I met Quentin Korn, my roommate for the year. Were I given a word to describe him, I would probably use something along the lines of intriguing. He is a tall man, slightly shorter than six foot, with hair that passes his shoulder blades, almost draping him in a shroud and coif of black locks. His family (mother, father, brother, and sister), was very pleasant and kind, and were incredibly enjoyable to be around. Having now mostly moved in, I’ve gone on several adventures, and spent some time enjoying Q’s vocabulary and his musicianship as a guitarist.

The Squirrel in the Cup:

                After ice breakers with the RAs and floormates, the 7^th floor of Easton Hall absconded to the North Dining Hall, where I enjoyed an interesting sandwich called the Maryland Club, which was essentially a BLT with turkey and (with my own addition of) a little hot sauce, turned out to be an amazing meal. For something like $7, it was pretty dang good. After leaving the dining hall, Krystal and Q joined me on a walk to The Mall. On the way, we came across a strange and ultimately hilarious situation. Somehow, a squirrel had gotten its head stuck in a parfait cup, and couldn’t get out of it. The suddenness of it brought on a round of laughter, which very quickly shifted into concern for the animal. After debating our options briefly, we decided that we should try and help it, since it wouldn’t be able to eat with the cup stuck on its face. We tried to get it to shake it off, which drove it up a tree, causing the deeper, non-lid part of the cup fell off. While this opened up the squirrels ability to eat, it did leave a dog cone on the squirrel.

The West Wind Blows:

                After the Squirrel in the Cup, I attended a Carillon Community Ice Cream Social, where I experienced for the first time the almost divine sensation caused by the consumption of UMD dairy product. Oh! What heaven that ice cream was! It was smooth and sweet, standing betwixt the balance of soft and cold, with a beautiful mint and chocolate taste to it. I’ll never forget that feeling. We then engaged in a large icebreaker of what I can most easily describe as The West Wind Blows.

Capture the Mace:

                At 22:30, Stuart, Weddle, and I left Easton on a journey to McKelden Mall, where we engaged in war. Kind of. Not really. It was a giant game of capture the flag (except the flags with NERF® maces with glow sticks on them. The teams were split into three battalions, with each man and woman given two white foam balls. We had to try to steal the oppositions maces while guiding our own, all the while chucking the balls at each other. It was almost like a battlefield, with armies marching upon each other. After tense moments of waiting, a whistle cried out, and a great din sprang forth from every man, woman, boy, and girl on that field. Tyler charged forward, leading our pack by 20 yards, on to the onslaught of Green players. Chaos and mayhem erupted and ensued, as the maces became lost, and white balls hummed in the air, soaring over me, and around me, as if warning me of their presence. I threw my rounds, not waiting to see if they hit their mark, and ran on. I searched for Tyler in the confusion, and when we met, we had to yell to be heard. We rallied players with us, and just as we were about to charge, the Greens sent forth a surge, giving out a cry as they rushed. White lit the air, and the thwop of round striking flesh sounded. We had beaten back their advance, but at the cost of our firepower. Having nothing better to do but charge on, the command was given, and forward I ran, weaving through people and round a like, searching for the flag, though it was to no avail. I circled round, regrouped with more Reds, and charged again, only to be struck from behind by a Red-thrown projectile. As we prepared for a third attempt, the Third and final flag crossed the boundary onto our side, and the game had ended.

                Now that I’ve recounted my adventures, I simply must sleep, because heaven above its four in the morning.

August 24th, 2015 - Endings and Beginnings

     Quick little notice: Even though I said that this blog was for the summer only, I've decided that I'm going to keep it going into the Fall, mostly because I don't want to go through the hassle of starting a new blog and getting a bunch of people to look at it again, since I ask enough of my friends already. I guess that that doesn't really count as much of a an ending or beginning, so I'll get onto the real topic of conversation for today.
     Yesterday (technically) was my last day at my summer job, thus ending the last tie I have to home as far as obligations and activities. The next big step in my life is finalizing all the packing for college, and then moving in. It's kind of hard to accept that the tutorial for life (which is what I like to think of the first 18 or so years of life as) is over, and the real game is only just about to begin. I'm really excited, kind of sad, and, to be honest, sort of scared. Sure, living on a college campus isn't completely the same as living on your on for the first time, because everyone there is looking out for freshman that are way too in over their heads, unlike the real world. In the real world, there aren't as many people to help, and often, if you go in over your head in this real world, you drown. It's being one step closer to that "real world" that's got me spooked a bit.
     Luckily for me, I've got a little something in my back pocket that let's me know that I'm ready for the real world, because as of Monday, August 17th, 2015, I am an Eagle Scout in the BSA. For those of you who don't know, the Eagle Scout Rank is one of the highest honors in Scouting, with only 4 out of every 100 Scouts ever achieving it. It warrants an instant pay-grade boost for enlisted men, is on the resumes of two of the men who walked on the moon, and has been the focus of my life for the past 13 years. So, it's kind of a big deal to me. Just a little bit. Though it may seem like the pinnacle of a Scouting career, I've got to say that this is more of a beginning than an ending. I only get to spend eight years of life as a Boy Scout, but I get to spend the rest of it as an Eagle Scout. Pretty neat, me thinks.
      Anyways, it's kinda 1:25 in the morning, so I think I'll stop this here.
See y'all later!
DFTBA
    

August 1st, 2015 - Tyler the Sniper