Mad Hawk Comes to Visit!

Thursday morning October 22 I was trying to pay attention to the film in History, but I just couldn't... I was directing Mad Hawk off the Amtrak and on to the Metro via text message!! As soon as I got out of class I grabbed a shuttle bus to the Vienna Metro station to meet him as he got off the train. We came back to GMU to deposit his stuff and get some lunch at the JC.

Then into the City we went!! We got on the Metro to the Brookland/CUA stop so we could go to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the Catholic University of America campus. We transferred to the red line at Metro Center. While we were waiting on the train Mad Hawk says, "There's a Franciscan." I say, "What?" and he points out a man in black robes wearing a ball cap. We determine he is probably going to the same place as us and we follow him. Sure enough, he also gets off at the CUA stop and we follow him halfway to the Shrine.

The Shrine was incredible! The entire place is covered in billions of tiny pieces of glass making up hundreds of mosaics. I had the good fortune of traveling with a theology major, otherwise I would not have understood anything :)

After a walk to the Ukrainian shrine up the hill (it was locked), we got back on the metro to the D.C. Mall/Smithsonian area. We went up to the Museum of The American Indian, but it was 30 minutes till closing time so we decided not to try it. Instead we wandered around on the mall taking pictures and found ourselves at the World War II monument. At this point we were both exhausted, so we caught a train back to Fairfax.

We went to dinner at The Rat on campus. We were very excited to discover they have Old Dominion Brewery Root Beer on tap :) This was my beverage of choice for the evening, Mad Hawk tried the Old Dominion Brewery Dortmunder Lager. The rest of the evening was spent watching "Flight of the Conchords" and Football.

Friday morning was fairly relaxed. We got up, I went to my one class and Mad Hawk worked on his thesis. When I got out of class, we packed up our stuff and met mom to take us to the National Firearms Museum. Two gun enthusiasts on 9 hours of sleep in a building full of 2000 guns... Happy, happy :)

I had a great couple days and I think Mad Hawk did too. Hopefully I will be able to visit him in the spring and we can add to our adventures.

Weird Week...

This has been the weirdest week schedule wise.... Let me outline the week for you.

Monday -- No classes for the holiday.

Tuesday -- Scheduled to attend Monday classes instead of Tuesday classes... My second class got cancelled so it felt like Friday to me.

Wednesday -- I had a test in my first class that I completed in 20 minutes so I had extra time before my second class.

Thursday -- The other discussion group met in my first class this morning, my group will meet this Tuesday. My second class was cancelled due to a sick professor so I had no TH classes this week.

Friday -- Was a fairly normal Friday, I had my class and came back to my room to do homework. The weirdness started when my roommate brought a friend over and I went to the hall living room to work and talk to Mad Hawk.

Being off schedule is not good for me... I am in a bit of a funk right now because of it. Next week is going to be weird too, but in a much better way. Mad Hawk is coming to visit Thursday and Friday and I am going home for the Haflaween on Saturday. I can't wait!!!!

The only downside is I caught myself thinking, "If I can make it through my quiz on Tuesday, I will be okay." I can't stand it when I start living for the future instead of right now... It puts me further into a funk.

**I know that was a bit depressing, but I needed to vent. I am doing fine otherwise.**

Now, I must study for that quiz I speak of... HIST 100 is going to be the death of me.

Has it Really Been Two Weeks?

I cannot believe that it has been two weeks since the book fair and my last post!! It is mid-term time and my work load has been bordering on ridiculous. I have done some fun things recently... Thursday was Cultural Fusion Field Day and I went to watch the belly dancing. I was caught in the act by the photographer from Connect2Mason and I am pictured 20 seconds into this video: Cultural Fusion Field Day.

This weekend is Columbus Day break and I am home for the first time this semester. I am really glad to home for a few days. I missed my family, my cats and my room.

The next two weeks are going to be even more hectic then the last, but I am so excited about Mad Hawk coming to visit October 22 that I probably won't even notice!

Trip to the City!!

Mom, Sarah and GG came for a surprise visit this weekend! Saturday we went to Washington D.C. to go to the Book Festival and to Pentagon City. It was great fun and it was wonderful to see my family!!!!

Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor Speak on their new book.

The Book Festival was on the mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol.

Fall for the Book

I have discovered a huge benefit for going to school at a University.

Big cultural events.

This week is Fall for the Book here at GMU. This is a huge event happening on campus all this week. I plan to attend a lecture by Prisoner Activist Victoria Law on Friday. I will be blogging on that experience.

That's all for today, I have response papers to write.

P.S.

Here is the website for Fall for the Book.

http://fallforthebook.org/

Back to Where She Belongs -- The Woods!

I went back to the woods this weekend. The SJAC/NRA Shootaround at Camp Shenandoah was this weekend. It was so much fun!! I shot Air Rifles, Archery, .50 Muzzleloaders, .22 Pistols, 20 and 12 gauge Shotguns, and .22 Rifles. We also learned about tying flies and casting a fly fishing line. I suck at pistols and shotgun, but totally owned the archery and rifle ranges!

Shooting was the point of the event, but not the only fun part. I also got to see Mom, Dad and Sarah!!!! It was really great to see them and spend the weekend outside.

I had a great weekend... I hope week three of University is good too!

Dinner :-)

Oh the joys of pizza delivery... I ordered pizza online, paid with a credit card and it was delivered to the outside of my dorm! Great pizza too! I highly recommend Boli's in Fairfax if you are ever in the area.

Dorm Room

I think you can all guess which side is mine :-)

Classes!!

Well, I have been to each class once now. I think I am going to like at least 3 of 4.

ADJ 300 is going to be great, I like the instructor and the material is going to be good.

WMST 100 may kick me a few times, but I like the subject. The fact that there are only two guys in my class could make it interesting...

HIST 100 will be fine. A lot of writing, but it is a freshman level class it couldn't be too bad :)

FREN 329 is going to kill me. Lots of confusing material, an instructor that speaks heavily accented English and a confusing period of switching instructors. I will keep you updated on this one for sure.

The whole living with 5 other females thing is going well. I like all of my roommates and they seem to be tolerating me :) I am getting the hang of going to the dining facility at the right times when I can actually sit and eat. I am still working on getting a mailbox...Mail services was a zoo today.

Move In Day!

Wow. What a day. Woke up this morning seriously thinking I was going to throw up. I have never been so terrified in my life. I was able to pull it together and pack up the car though. Drove 250 miles and 4 hours to arrive in Fairfax VA. Unloaded all my stuff and Sarah and I spent the afternoon unpacking and organizing. I will post pictures of my room tomorrow :-) Went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and I am now back to Northern Neck for the night. Mom, Dad and Sarah are at a nearby hotel and we are going to do some exploring tomorrow.

Welcome!

Hello World!

This blog is going to be a place for me to relate my experiences at George Mason University. I leave on August 29th for this next leg of my life's journey. We will see what it brings!