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Wow, I cannot believe it's actually Thanksgiving and I am sitting on my old bed thinking about life back in Ohio. Yes, that is correct, I left Ohio and its 30-degree weather around 4 today, to come back to the swamp of 70 degrees and infestation of mosquitoes. Nothing says welcome home like a nice mosquito bite on the arm.
But before I talk about my break, I would just like to say HOW AWESOME WAS THE OSU-MICHIGAN GAME?! I mean it was good for me, just not for UM or their fans. The setting was amazing because I had been brainwashed all week for this event and it was everything I expected and much more. The only downfall was that it was absolutely freezing. (But it was nothing like that Mirror Lake Jump, which was 20 degrees and snowing) It was so bad that my toes were begging for mercy. The three cups of hot chocolate and hand warmers were no match for the cruel wind that swept from the top of Block O and into the rest of the Horseshoe. But looking back on it, the Buckeyes definitely made a statement in this historic rivalry and I was glad I could watch every second of it. Too bad that was the last home game for an entire year... ugh.
So now Thanksgiving: As much as I love being home and seeing my family and friends, it definitely feels weird leaving my dorm and flying down here. I have seen the same people on my floor for almost 3 months straight, walked on the same green and white tiles that line our hallways, and grown accustomed to hearing people coming in late at night and talking into the wee hours of the morning. Now, as I sit in my room, with its completely barren white walls and its reminders of days of old, I reminisce on the past three months at OSU and all I can say is that this familiar place feels rather weird. It's a lot quieter than I've grown accustomed to and there's not the feeling of people sitting in rooms down the hall with their doors open, waiting for me to come in and talk.
But at the same time, I'm glad to be home. In my opinion, there is nothing like a good home-cooked meal, and I definitely hit the jackpot waiting to come home for the first time during Thanksgiving. I know that tomorrow I am going to stuff my face with turkey, pie, stuffing, and all the extremities, and I hope that you all do the same. Thanksgiving is the one holiday, in my opinion, where we can spend quality time with our friends and family and have no excuses to absolutely stuff our faces with food.
So with that being said, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and hopefully if I'm not too fat and lazy, I'll be able to return to my laptop and share my break with you.
I am excited to tell you all this is officially my first "Beat Michigan Week" as a student at Ohio State. All week there have been countless events, food and blood drives, and pep rallies all in order to beat that enemy from "the state up north." Now if you are unaware of the rich, historic rivalry between The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan, I feel that it is my job as a blogger to fill you in:
Way back in 1835, the State of Ohio and the Michigan territory had a brief dispute known as the Toledo war in which both lands fought over a small piece of land along the border of Toledo and Michigan. Of course, Ohio won and now claims this land. This is thought to have been the spark that fused the aggression between the two states. In the following years, Michigan completely destroyed the Bucks and so forth.. (I’d rather not discuss this part of the rivalry) Let's fast-forward to The Ten Year War between legendary coach Woody Hayes (OSU) and his former apprentice at Ohio State, and now head coach at Michigan Bo Schembechler. The teacher fought his student back to back to back for the next ten years, both equipped with teams coming into the game either completely undefeated or in the top of the AP standings. Needless to say, this was the turning of the page in the history of collegiate rivalries. There is so much bad blood between these two states, that this rivalry is often dubbed " The Best Rivalry in All of Sports."
Oh and since The Bucks have had Jim Tressel as a coach, we are 4-1 in the past five years, and looking for a fifth straight win on Saturday- which would be the first time in rivalry history.
But enough with the history, let's talk about what we do at THE Ohio State University to secure a win against the maize and blue. It all starts on Thursday night, when the entire student body gathers around Mirror Lake (which during the day is a scenic panorama of elegance and wonder) and jump into the freezing body of water in order to awaken the spirit of that legendary coach Woody Hayes so he can help us win. Tonight's forecast for the jump is a brisk 33 degrees and snow flurries. Yes, even with this ridiculous weather, Buckeye fans will jump into the ice chest of water to beat the wolverines.
For tomorrow, there are countless events in and around the campus, including THE Beat Michigan Pep Rally and The Hate Michigan Concert. The concert is by far one of the greatest spectacles about this week. A local punk rock band called The Dead Schembechlers aka The Best Damn Punk Rock Band in The Land, sing funny songs about The U of M and its football team. Even though a few of their songs are derogatory, it's all in good fun.
And of course Saturday is THE GAME. This match-up involves a 9-2 Buckeye squad and a 3-8 Michigan team (ha-ha). I'm not going to go into my feelings about the game, but I'm sure you can guess my opinion.... :)
Anyways, besides the fact that this week is BEAT MICHIGAN WEEK, it is also the first time I saw snow fall from the sky! Granted I have seen snow on the ground, I'm not that naive to the winter. In my opinion, snow is the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's almost like magical. Ok I know this sounds a little extreme, but imagine it from my perspective- try going 18 years without ever seeing snow or doing anything such as snow angels, snow mans, or snowball fights. I know-- I'm deprived. haha
So I just got off my shift and am now heading down to Mirror Lake for the infamous jump. Hopefully I'll be able to type another blog because my hands will have thawed out. So in good spirit of any buckeye fan, or future Buckeye fan, I wish you a Merry Beat Michigan Week and of course....
GO BUCKS!!!
GO BUCKS!!!
The Mirror Lake Jump
Before
After
So there are just about three weeks left, until the quarter is over. Classes have hit a progressive halt and the feeling of quarter-itis, my version of senior-itis, is starting to hit. In my opinion, one of the best things about classes at OSU is that classes only last 11 weeks instead of two semesters. So if you dislike a class, you only have to struggle with it for a little while.
But on top of preparing for the end of the quarter, I have definitely been trying to keep myself busy. I am involved in RealLife, the OSU Campus Crusade for Christ, Buckeye Barbeque, and I'm even thinking about Greek Life. But last night I had quite an eventful evening. First, I went to an event sponsored by Real Life, which involved an awesome worship-rock band, different leaders in prayer, an analysis of Scripture, and free coffee. It's a great way for me to forget about the stresses of my daily routine, relax, and grow a little stronger in my relationship with God. I especially love how the people that go there are so genuine and real. But last night, I left a little early to meet up with my friend Jordan to watch another one of our good friends, Alex, play in the OSU Intramural Flag Football Championship. It was a close game from start to finish, and unfortunately my friend's team lost.
But the disappointment was definitely soothed when Alex's dad took us down to a restaurant in the Short North for a Hispanic feast. This was the first time that I had ever left the campus boundaries and headed south to the great unknown of Downtown Columbus. But back to the food: We had amazing sirloin steak on a bed of rice, guacamole, and onions. Nothing better than a little Hispanic loving, especially for someone like me who has been raised on Puerto Rican food and haven't had that craving fulfilled in 3 months. Oh yeah and by the way, I am indeed Puerto Rican, and yes I know I do not look anything like it. (I get it all the time)
Sadly I have a horrible sore throat and don't think I'm going to go out this weekend, which sucks. I'll just be a good student and try to get ahead on my homework, I suppose. Besides, next week is BEAT MICHIGAN WEEK and I'll need all the energy and sleep I can get.
Have a good weekend everyone and of course, Go Bucks!
It's hard to imagine, but all this week the weather has been highs of 70's and lows of 40! This is absolutely perfect flip flop weather. Too bad my flops broke...
This is the saddest thing all week: I was walking back from my early morning Anthropology class when I tripped forward to find that the fabric that connected the thong part of the flop to the actually sole had ripped off. So as I recovered from my embarrassing plunge to the ground, I realized that I had to now walk 10 minutes back to my dorm completely barefoot.
So there were definitely some pros and cons of this: Thank GOD it was 70 degrees and the ground wasn't frozen because I could not imagine walking that far with frozen feet. However, everyone kept looking at me like I was some kind of hippie because I was walking on pavement and such. When I got back to my dorm I immediately took a shower and found interesting things lodged in between my toes.
So all in all, the weather is just the way I like it: perfect temperature and signs of fall. The only thing that sucks is that I don't have flops to enjoy them in. I guess I could just prepare my feet for these things called "shoes" and get ready for the winter =)
Halloween at Ohio State is very different from anything I have ever experienced. There is a hilarious combination of those who dress up to scare people and those who dress in order to reminisce on the great past. For example, since Thursday, I have seen people dressed up as the Grim Reaper and then as contestants from Nickelodeon's Legends of the Hidden Temple. The best part about my Halloween experience was that my Spanish teacher gave extra credit to those who dressed up and stayed in character throughout class. So we had people dressed up as Sarah Palin, a sheriff, a baseball player, a greek goddess, and Amy Winehouse. Oh yeah, and if your wondering I dressed up like a Twinkie.
So if your on campus and your looking for a good time on Halloween night, you have the amazing option of attending costume parties (that give huge prizes for best outfit), trick or treat at the different themed dormitories (ours was Harry Potter), or go to Haunted Houses in downtown Columbus. I am not very familiar with anything outside of campus, but one of my friends went to an old run-down prison that was turned into a haunted house somewhere within Columbus.
Halloween is an awesome experience at OSU that expands from Thursday through Sunday. It's a great way for everyone to forget about school and stress and to act in different characters.
Happy Halloween everyone!
Halloween at Ohio State is very different from anything I have ever experienced. There is a hilarious combination of those who dress up to scare people and those who dress in order to reminisce on the great past. For example, since Thursday, I have seen people dressed up as the Grim Reaper, Donny from the Wild Thornberrys, a bottle of mustard, and then as contestants from Nickelodeon's Legends of the Hidden Temple. The best part about my Halloween experience was that my Spanish teacher gave extra credit to those who dressed up and stayed in character throughout class. So we had people dressed up as Sarah Palin, a sheriff, a baseball player, a Greek goddess, and Amy Winehouse.
Oh yeah, and if your wondering I dressed up like a Twinkie.
So if your on campus and your looking for a good time on Halloween night, you have the amazing option of attending costume parties (that give huge prizes for best outfit), trick or treat at the different themed dormitories (ours was Harry Potter), or go to Haunted Houses in downtown Columbus. I am not very familiar with anything outside of campus, but one of my friends went to an old run-down prison that was turned into a haunted house somewhere within Columbus. She said it was a blast that definitely scare the stuffing out of her.
Halloween is an awesome experience at OSU that expands from Thursday through Sunday. I am definitely going to miss people dressed up giving away free Halloween candy if you guess what they are. Well, now that this is over, I absolutely cannot wait for Thanksgiving.
Happy Halloween everyone!
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