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Spider Diaries

Archive for March, 2009

Care Package!!!!

March 27th

Another insane week here on-campus. I have a ton of stuff due next week and I’ve been trying my best to get it done as far in advance as possible. So, I’m afraid that I don’t have very many exciting events to report to you this week. I’m sorry. Hopefully next week will be better. So, it goes without saying that homework has been one of the top things on my mind lately. This has always been the case, but I’ve just had a lot of extracurricular work and academic work pile up at exactly the same time. It was for this reason that receiving a care package from home was so appreciated. I got a box full of candy, snacks, and treats from home. It had been a long, exhausting week and I haven’t seen my family since January (and will only see them for five days total before August), which made it even better.

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Care Package from home!!!
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A taste of home for me

Monday night was also a lot of fun for me. Some of my friends and I went to Capital Ale House for Dollar Burger Night as has become a regular tradition. It was delicious once again. After dinner in downtown Richmond, my friends and I went to the basketball game on-campus. Our team had made it quite a way into the tournament and we were playing for a chance to get into the semifinals of the Collegiate Basketball Invitational. It was a fantastic game and we played really well. We won that game, but were knocked out of the tournament when we lost later in the week :(

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Having our traditional Monday night at Capital Ale House

The other basketball tournament has also been quite entertaining to me. Actually, I am watching as the Sweet Sixteen become narrowed to the Elite Eight right now in the NCAA Tournament. It’s not a very good game, which is why I’m taking the time to blog.

Two other events happened this week which wrapped up two of my organizations for the year. The first was Student Government. I will not be returning next year to be the Class President because of conflicts with other organizations and their meeting times. Technically, though, I still have to plan a class-wide barbecue for later in the spring since our original date from this week was rained out.

The other culminating event was a reflection for the Collegiate Disaster Relief Team. We all reunited to talk about our experiences from our Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans with our advisers. While my work with CDRT is still far from over, it is nice to being wrapping things up.

That’s all that I have for now. If you have any questions about life at Richmond, feel free to contact me via the link at the top of the page. Best of luck with the decision process for all of you prospective students. Your letters should have been issued this week, so you probably have a lot on your mind. Just remember that you applied to all of your schools for a reason and will be happy wherever you go. Take a deep breath and realize that this decision, while important, should be one that you enjoy. Get excited for next year and take care.

Quote of the Week: “Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” -Albert Camus
Shout Outs: Brian, David, and Emily
Thought to Ponder: If the funeral procession is at night, do folks drive with their lights off?
YouTube Video of the Week:

John, this is for you

Published by Ben on March 28, 2009 in Dollar Burger Night and Student Government. 0 Comments

March Madness

March 22, 2009

Hey everyone, March Madness is upon us and I don’t just mean basketball. I’ve definitely been watching my fair share of the tournament (sadly, Wisconsin lost in the second round :( ) but I’ve definitely had my fair share of other things to keep me busy as well. Because I still have a lot of work to do, I’ll keep this post short. I don’t have any pictures from the week, so that will keep it even shorter.

The main event of the week was my hosting of a prospective student. He was a pretty cool guy and he was here interviewing to be a Richmond Scholar, which is an amazing opporutnity. I am one as well and we get full tuition, room, and board as well as priority course registration and housing and so many other amazing perks. I just learned that he was offered the scholarship and he is planning on coming here next year, which was exciting to hear. So, as a host, I attended tons of receptions, talks, dinners, and other events over the course of his 3-day stay. During those events, I met some amazing individuals and I am really excited to meet the rest of the University of Richmond Class of 2013.

I also have been running a Medallion Hunt for InterVarsity, which has been a lot of fun, but it has taken a lot of time. Each day, I issue a clue in the form of a riddle or word puzzle that leads the participants closer and closer to the location of the hidden medallion. Right now, it is so close to the end that I think someone will find it tomorrow. Like I said, it’s been a lot of fun to create the riddles, but it’s distracted me from my other work as well.

For some fun and relaxation this week, I attended an a cappella concert, the showing of “Seven Pounds” in the Pier, and also had some game nights with friends. All of that, of course, was in addition to the hours of the NCAA basketball tournament that’s been on TV. That’s all I’ve got for you right now. I’ll close with the embedded video of a slideshow that I created to reminisce on the Alternative Spring Break trip that I went on. It’s 15-minutes long, but I enjoyed making it and am equally fond of sharing it.

CDRT Slideshow (Part 1 of 2)

CDRT Slideshow (Part 2 of 2)

Quote of the Week: “Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath” -Wilt Chamberlain
Thought to Ponder: In the song Yankee Doodle, is he calling the town, the pony, the hat, or the feather “macaroni”?
Shout Outs: Addie, Addie’s mom, and all of the other prospective students
YouTube Video of the Week:

Pool Mishaps

Published by Ben on March 22, 2009 in Artsy Performances and InterVarsity. 0 Comments

Asbestos, Beignets, and Spring Break….. where else but New Orleans?

March 15, 2009

So, I know it’s been a while since I posted. Sorry about that. I was caught in the midst of a crazy midterm week and then had to leave right away for Spring Break. I won’t waste much time talking about midterms. I had four midterms in 48 hours. I got through them. I’m pleased thus far with my grades. The end. Now for the most important thing…. SPRING BREAK!!! Most people are excited to go home or somewhere like Mexico or Florida, but I went to New Orleans again this year. I have been on Leadership for the Collegiate Disaster Relief Team (CDRT). We brought twenty-five students and two faculty members to New Orleans to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. It was an interesting week. It began and ended with an eighteen hour drive through the night for me and several other participants. We had to get tools down there and I was one of the lucky drivers. The rest flew. The way back for me was spent driving for several hours on end starting at 3:00 AM in the pitch black and pouring rain after a long week of hard work. I’m back, though, but still recovering.

I’ll keep the writing short and simply tell you that we demolished a post office from the 1800’s. It turned out to have asbestos and Leadership had a tough conflict on our hands. We got through it just fine, though. We also painted Rock N’ Bowl which is a popular local commercial establishment which offers bowling in addition to dancing to live music. The last few days were spent sheet-rocking a home and painting another home. Speaking to the homeowners and hearing their stories was incredible. One person stayed in New Orleans and rode out the Hurricane. The five days after the storm were spent having a feast at a local bar with the stockpiled food of others who remained. Another homeowner was born and raised in New Orleans and was desperate to return from Texas. Yet another survived the storm and stayed at a church where he brought supplies through five feet of floodwater. After a few days staying at the church, he was evacuated at gunpoint during mass with his 98-year-old mother. Given only fifteen minutes to evacuate, he and the priest each ate 400 communion wafers since they had been already been consecrated and must be consumed, as is tradition in the Catholic faith. These are only a few of the stories we heard this past week.

In addition to the service, we met with the head of the New Orleans EMS as well as a professor at Tulane, visited the famous lower ninth ward, and did so much more. We stayed only three blocks from Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, so we had our fair share of beignets at the world-famous Cafe Dumonde, tours through beautiful Jackson Square, and many other cultural experiences. The trip was great and everyone learned a lot in addition to helping some of those in need. It had its ups and downs, but it was well worth it. I have many new friends and fond memories. I’m not sure if I’ll return next year, but I’m glad that I returned this year.

Here is a video that I put together of some service from the week:

CDRT Service

Here is the week in pictures:

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The post office we demolished…
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which we later learned had asbestos…
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which required protective gear.
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Painting a house damaged by Hurricane Katrina
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Visiting the levees breached by Hurricane Katrina…
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as well as the Lower Ninth Ward in which all that remained
of several homes were the bare foundations
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Speaking with a professor from Tulane University
about crime in New Orleans
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Talking to Russell, the homeowner of the house we painted,
about his experiences with Hurricane Katrina
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Driving eighteen hours to New Orleans in a 12-passenger van
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Making new friends…
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and even more friends
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Visiting beautiful Jackson Square
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and touring Bourbon Street near where we stayed.
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Enjoying the local cuisine with crawfish pasta in the French Quarter…
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and an alligator link sausage po’boy…
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and beignets at Cafe Dumonde

Quote of the Week: “If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and actions, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day” -Alex Noble
Thought to Ponder: Did you know a full-grown bear can run as fast as a horse?
Shout Outs: Fran
YouTube Video of the Week:

Everything’s amazing, nobody’s happy

Published by Ben on March 15, 2009 in Breaks. 1 Comment
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