New Orleans

Ok, so Mobile, AL is about 2 hours away from New Orleans, LA. For this reason, many students at UM like to take random trips over there when they have free time. I have always heard about random groups of my peers driving to Cafe Du Monde at 3 in the morning, or just driving out to visit the French Quarter on a Saturday. Such stories filled our campus. The thing was that I had only ever heard the stories. I was never able to tell them. This is because I had never visited New Orleans. I know, what is my problem, right? That is exactly what my friend, Mary (who recently received The Best Person Ever Award) thought. I told her I had never been, and apparently that was like some kind of heresy or something. Apparently this is a place that everyone needs to experience. Anyway, to make a long story short, we had that conversation on a Tuesday night, and the following Thursday Carrie, Mary, and I set out for NOLA (slang).

We spent the majority of the day in the French Quarter, which was a pretty cool place. While eating lunch, we actually sat across from a couple who were speaking French. The neat thing about the area was all of the shops. There were a bunch of art galleries which featured all different styles. I thought about buying one, but then decided that $2,796 was a little high for a painting of a dog.

I think that one of my favorite shops was the Tabasco Sauce store. I don’t even like that particular variety of hot sauce all that much, but the store was awesome. They even had neck ties with their logo on them. And you could buy these tiny bottles of sauce for $.59. It was unbelievable. My world was rocked.

And let’s not forget the legendary Cafe Du Monde. We stopped there to get some Beignets. I will go ahead and tell you that they are not pronounced the way that Hooked on Phonics would lead you to believe. They were pretty good though. Ever had a funnel cake? They taste a bit like that. But they are much cheaper than funnel cakes. And they give you much more powdered sugar than the average carnival snack stand.

Anyway, it was a good day, and I was glad to be able to spend it with good friends (I do consider my sister to be a close friend). Sadly, both Carrie and the best person ever have graduated, but I am hoping to see them both at Starcher’s Senior Recital.

Have a great day! God bless

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A Little Late… :D

The last  few weeks of school, CPA students had many performance opportunities.  Whether it be CPA sponsored events or Covers, the community in addition to University students had many opportunities to see our talented students in action. I recorded a lot of  the performances and I’d love to share them with you! So here are a few videos from the Opera “Il barbiere di Siviglia”, the UM CPA Finale, SOUNDS final performace, and COVERS!

James Berrian Sings “Largo al factotum” from the Opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WxNvVRcqqs&feature=channel_page

Lydia Bru Sings “Una voce poco fa”from the Opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROuB8aCrgnY

Peter Lake and Ethan Hardy in ” Il barbiere di Siviglia”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAy6eEm5h-g&feature=channel_page

Lucas Scott Lawrence Sings “La calunnia è un venticello” from the Opera Il barbiere di Siviglia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0aAzvVVHfQ&feature=channel_page

Chamber Singers @ the UM Finale 09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwTb2LFdb3k&feature=channel_page

VOICES of Mobile @ the UM Finale 09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_fuhy_Kc1U&feature=channel_page

SOUNDS of Mobile guys singing “It Takes Two”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwNVlSsURjU&feature=channel_page

SOUNDS of Mobile ladies singing “Mama I’m a Big Girl Now”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDC0e06Cvys

Peter and the Lakes singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” at Covers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yimrPLwUSfk&feature=channel_page

Oh Ramland …

I miss college.

Life After Finals

I did something this year that I did not do last year. That something was (*drum roll…*) staying on campus the week after school let out. I know what you’re thinking; you’re saying, “Adam, really? Did you really do something that crazy?!” The answer is yes. Yes I did, my friends. I did so because I did not feel like going all the way home for a week, only to turn around and come back for my sister’s graduation. So I stuck around, and I am glad that I did. I had some very fun times with some awesome people, which were even better when I stopped and thought about the fact that I had no assignments I should have been working on. During the school year I often find myself feeling guilty for going to do something fun when I know full well that I should be working on something for a class. I realized that, at least for a little while, being at school is great when you don’t have school work to worry about.

I first thought about this on the Sunday afternoon following the week of finals. I was pretty tired, so I laid down to take a nap. Now I do this most Sundays when I can, but I usually end up feeling guilty because I know that I should be writing a paper, or studying, or something. This was a weird Sunday because as I laid there I realized that I had nothing else to be working on. So, I took a very long nap. And it was awesome.

For the rest of that week I did all kinds of random things with friends who were still around. I watched movies, went out to dinner, hung out outside in the evenings, went to the mall, and even went to New Orleans.

I will dedicate more time to describing the New Orleans trip in my next blog. I will let you know that I had never been there before, and that it was a lot of fun.

Unitl next time, be safe and God bless.

The first of several new blogs…

Ok fans, I know that I have not written for you in about a year, and I also know how much you all thrive on my words, so I would like to apologize for failing to write. I would also like to take this opportunity to inform you that I will be posting several new blogs, of which this is the first (*see title*).

Here is a quick update: I finished up with my semester a couple of weeks ago. I stayed in Mobile until graduation and had several good times. Graduation occured as planned, and my big sister, Carrie, along with many other scholars, including the Best Person Ever, recieved diplomas (or at least the covers to them) and we all clapped. Although, we are all very sad that we will not be seeing these people next year. Let’s be honest, when you have people like Carrie and the Best Person Ever at your school and they leave, it’s just not going to be the same without them. However, we are all very happy for them, and we wish them the best in all that they do.

Anyway, I am home in Chattanooga now, and I am working. It should be a good summer, and I am sure that I will be ready for school again come August.

I will write again soon. Until then, be safe, and God bless.

One Week, Graduation, and a Cow

My last blog was technically the final one, but I decided to blog again.  I had to blog this! 

Wow!  One week has gone by…I have not done anything, but fill out applications and unpack.  I have gotten to spend time with my niece though who is almost a one year old.  She is so precious!  She has taken some steps and everything is “da da”.  It is so cute!

The Univerisyt of Mobile’s 43th Commencement Ceremony (aka graduation) was good.  I did not realize how many people I knew were graduating this year.  It was quite sad finally realizing that I will probably never see any of them again.  That makes me want to try to make use of the time I have with the people I am in contact with.  I am going to miss the graduates of this year. 

After graduation, Ashley, Jessica and I were in Hurley, Mississippi driving to Ashley’s house, when we see this cow trotting along the road.  It was funny and really random because there was no farm in sight from where we saw the cow all the way to Ashley’s house.  I said that the cow was going to California where the “happy cows are”.  Jessica said they were going to McDonald’s to be slaughtered.  Ashley was putting up a status about the cow on facebook.

That is pretty much it though!  One week down…about thirteen more to go…I think! 

The Final Final, Time for Adventure and the Day the Dorms Threw Up

It was Thursday, April 30th, at 10:23 AM. I sat in Weaver 311, anxiously sifting my way through a Statistics final. Sheer elation began to fill my being as I neared the completion of the last conundrum to solve; though amidst my personal coaxing to “slow down, check carefully …. okay done!” I promptly fled the classroom entertaining the marvelous reality of being completely done with the first full year of college. But now, I’m not sure what to do with myself.

Finals week came and left without excessive difficulty. And the true mayhem came at the end of the week when the dorms threw up all over the place. The possessions of hundreds of college students went flying all over the place and the campus population swelled to three times its usual size as friends and family members came to help on move-out day. I managed to successfully dismantle, transport, and unpack my dorm room into an upstairs closet at home in less than 6 hours. Though saying goodbyes and leaving campus was bittersweet, it was mostly sweet because we have Facebook to keep in touch and the summer shall hold many intriguing adventures.

Speaking of which, during my first week of summer I embarked on a nautical adventure to the Bahamas (aka, the Music Boat cruise. It was grand), and I plan on working and studying Arabic for the next three weeks until my next adventure. One of the many perks of college is having summers to flee the country, see the world, and come back a little wiser. Which is exactly what I plan on doing for the remaining two months of summer. Then, I’ll come back to Ramland and spend the year pursuing wisdom once again.
Oh, life is good.

And that’s why I love college.

Oh, living the college life

I love college. It is amazing! I mean this past semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays I only had one class from 9:30 till 11! I mean how awesome is that??!!
Also, there is no uniforms! Having been to private school all my life, we always had a uniform that we wore every day, so it was great coming to college and not having to wear one! If I feel like dressing up for class, I do. If I feel like going in soffees and a tshirt, I do. Most of the time, I just wear jeans and a tshirt. I mean, how awesome is that!!
I get to live in a room with my roommate, so there is constant companionship. Also, living on a floor full of girls means that there is always someone around to go places with, be it the Wal Mart, to tan, or to go get food!
Classes are great, and if you have an assignment due, you have almost all day to do it because you aren’t in class from 8 till 3 like high school!! It is amazing!!! I love college life! And I cannot wait to get back on campus in August!!!

Moving Home

I never realized how much stuff I could accumulate in a year! I also never realized how much I could hate and love moving home at the same time. I hate having to leave all of my friends, my little dorm room, and moving out of the room. I never realized how much of a pain moving out of a dorm room would be! I had to pack up all of my stuff, which took hours, then take it to the car, only to find that there was no more room because I had already put too much stuff in the car. Then, I had to wait for my parents to get there and take all of my stuff to their car, only to find out that I really needed another car to also help, but we had to make due with what we had! Then we had to move all of the furniture back to where it was, and leave the room looking like we found it. It was a little depressing leaving the room barren like that, but I guess everyone does it and there will be another occupant soon!
I love moving home because I really missed my family. I missed my bed, my room, my dog, my bathroom, and most of all my mom! I even caught myself missing my brother! I love being home now, even though all of my stuff from the dorm is sitting in a pile in my room, waiting to be put up. The stuff will probably sit there for a while, because I have no room for it anywhere else! I don’t know where all of the stuff came from, or where I am going to put it when I eventually decide to put it up! Oh well, I’m sure I will find somewhere!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful year, and that everyone has an amazing and safe summer!!!

Friends Become Family

One thing I have learned in the past few weeks is that my college friends have become my family. I am going to miss sharing a room with my roommate and sharing a bathroom with my suit mates. I’m going to miss seeing all of my friends on a daily basis, and I might even miss eating with them in the caf!
I have always heard that you leave your college friends become your family, but I never thought it would be this true!
The good news is that I will get to travel this summer to go visit my new family members, and trips have already been planned for the beach this summer!
Goodbye is bittersweet, and so I will not say goodbye to them, I will say until next time!