Random Update (4.29.13)

Last weekend, after the events on Friday, was pretty normal. I think most people were comforted by how well the police dealt with the situation and by the fact that it was only two people in a city of couple million. Here are some photos from the Boston Marathon I forgot to add last week. 

Here they come.

...and there they go.

On Saturday (April 20th) we had the first spring club soccer game against BU. This was also the last. We packed into various cars and drove over to a park Cambridge. On the way, we realized we were driving by the Target that was smack-dab in the middle of what the WAR ZONE MASSACHUSETTS news headlines were talking about. A little eerie, to say the least. We lost 2-1. A late first-half goal off of a poor give-away was disheartening. But we got one back a few minutes into the 2nd half. With 5 minutes to go, a poor refereeing decision allowed a questionable late goal. After getting back to campus and showering, I went to two student shows. One was an acapella concert, the other a sketch-comedy show. Both were really good. On Sunday I played pickup soccer with a bunch of people. 

Last week was quite busy. I got my computer screen fixed. I helped Alex film some more. I had my last physics lab meeting. I had a physical at BC health services for studying abroad. I had a bunch of homework. I was sorting out what I'm doing this summer. Unfortunately, I did not get offered the internship in New York. Alas. Oh, and it was also gorgeous outside, so the temptation to nap was much smaller. Anywho. Friday was a nice end to the week, though. I had my 10 AM Spanish class, where we finished watching the movie "Volver." After class, I went to the library to print, sign, scan, and email a contract to the folks at the summer camp that my friends Sam and Zach, and I will be working at this summer. It's in California, it's outside, and it looks like a really good time. While in the library, I also printed off lots of student visa documents for the Spanish consulate. After all of that, a few guys went to Yamato at 1:30 PM, an all-you-can-eat sushi place off-campus. Alex, Rafa, Jonathan, Miguel, and Vinny were all there. While sushi is not my favorite, it is slowly moving up the list. Friday night I hung out with some people in Voute, then the Mods, and then played some FIFA back in the room with some friends. 

Saturday I slept past noon! I haven't done that all semester. I basically got up, washed up, and went to go play soccer. It was another beautiful day, and we had a big group of people out in Alumni Stadium. Saturday night, Rafa, Alex, Andy and I went to see "Avenue Q," a Sesame Street inspired musical put on by BC students in Robsham theater on campus. It was really well done. That night, Jim, Jose and I watched some M*A*S*H and hung out. Sunday was the most gorgeous of the gorgeous days. Here are some photos from Brighton campus to prove my statement!

Random Update (4.19.13)

Marathon Monday weekend is usually one of the best weekends of the year - there are events all over campus, it's a long weekend, warm spring weather is just arriving... it's so nice. This year was no different, up until Monday afternoon. I was sitting in the dining hall eating a late lunch with Alex, Rafa, Jonathan, Christine, and Anne when we noticed the breaking news on the small television in the corner of the room. In five minutes, nearly everyone was crowded around the small screen trying to understand what was happening. Almost everyone's first thoughts were for their friends who were running the marathon and who had passed by BC's campus not 45 minutes beforehand... anyone familiar with the remaining distance to the finish line and the average pace of marathon runners knew that there was the terrible possibility that someone they knew was nearby. Thankfully no BC students were directly next to the explosion when it happened. Chalk one up for the Jesuit Pope looking out for his universities. I texted multiple friends who I knew ran it (Jeff, my old roommate, for one) making sure they were ok. As it turned out, a few friends were under 0.5 miles away from the finish line when it happened. But they were all ok. Scared, but ok. Many of them had to walk for +1hr back to campus (after running almost 26 miles) because public transportation was shut down temporarily and taxis were in high demand. There were some nice stories of people giving free rides for the poor marathon runners who were stranded downtown. St. Ignatius, the big church on BC's campus, was used as a temporary refuge (water, blankets, etc) for runners still running at the time of the explosions. Having run the marathon last year, I can imagine how terrible it must have felt not to be able to cross the famous finish line after so many months of training. I imagine it was the only thing more heartbreaking that day than heartbreak hill itself.  

Fast forward to Friday. I woke up this morning at 7:00 AM to the following text. An hour or two later, I got another.

We turned on the news immediately to learn that there was some sort of shooting at MIT and a pursuit of two suspects across Boston. One was killed, one still "on the loose." It was an easy decision to stay indoors, despite my stomach wanting an omelette and orange-mango Honest Ade. I took a nap until 12 noon after watching the news for an hour or so. Ironically it was a beautiful day outside... nice temperature, overcast. It did drizzle for a few minutes in the late afternoon, but that was it. Sirens have been going off all day. BCPD have been rolling around campus in their cars and on their motorcycles, which is both reassuring and not at the same time. I think everyone kept telling themselves that it is only one person; nonetheless, this one person was in a neighborhood not a mile away from BC's campus. 

The "shelter in place ban" was lifted around 6:30 PM. The second suspect was reported as being surrounded near a house in Watertown around 7:00 PM by most news stations. About 10 minutes ago, at 8:45 PM, he was reported as being in custody. It is a sigh of relief. Very enthusiastic "U, S, A! U, S, A!" chants can be heard. Obviously the law enforcement people have done a great job, and that deserves recognition. As for the enthusiasm... I think I'll side with the silent majority who are pleased that the emotional roller-coaster in Boston this week may finally be nearing a decisive finish. 

Random Update (4.10.13)

The week following Easter Break held many midterms and papers and problem sets for many people. However, I was not one of those people. On Tuesday we finished up Brothers Karamazov in Western Cult and then later in Modern Physics, we made my only physical homework due that week, a physics problem set, due the following Tuesday, instead of Thursday. What a pleasant surprise. In Spanish, we are reading a novel call Sin noticias de Gurb by Eduardo Mendoza. It's about a pair of aliens who arrive in Barcelona. It's a parody and social commentary/criticism. Very fun book. Although I am a little behind in the reading for this week. We have an essay due a week from today (Wednesday). We have been having consistent club soccer practices, usually Tuesday and Thursday from 5-7 PM. Last week I think I kicked a ball around every day, if only because of the weather. It has been gorgeous! Friday in particular was nice. However, yesterday took the proverbial cake. I'll come back to this day in a moment. 

Last weekend was not too eventful. On Friday, like I said, the weather was outstanding. After Spanish class I had a Skype interview for a really interesting marketing internship this summer. I won't bore anyone with details, but I really hope I get offered the position. An hour or so after that, we (~40 guys) played pickup soccer on Alumni (the football turf field) before being kicked off by women's club rugby practice (what?). We took the bus to Newton Campus and played until dark. After dinner in Stuart (the dining hall I ate at almost every day last year) I showered back in the room and lay down for a little bit before venturing out into the night. Miguel (Texan, avid FIFA 13 player) and I hung out in his room where a few of his roommates were jamming and having a few people over. He lives in down a few floors from me. Then it was off to the Spanish-speaking world of Boston College yet again. This has become my favorite thing to do on weekends. Go out and meet international students who speak Spanish. Jose, my roommate, and Pozo, another friend who plays soccer, both met up with Miguel and me at a friend's house off campus. I left slightly earlier than those guys though because my legs were exhausted from a week of soccer. After a nice snooze, I got up and got lunch with Miguel in lower before heading back to the room to do some homework before going to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops in House of Blues with Sam, Matt, and Zach around 5:30 PM. Show started at 8:00 PM. We took the T downtown and stopped at Panera before the show. The Carolina Chocolate Drops (aka The Drops) have an amazing stage presence. They are much better live than on computer or iPod. The play banjo, fiddle, bones, and guitar. Sometimes at the same time, sometimes not. The main guy, Dom Flemons, is an inspirational character. He looks like he was plucked out of the late 19th century, but he is only 30 years old.

Dom Flemons second from the right with guitar. 

After the show we watched the end of the Michigan basketball game, and then took the T back to campus. Back at the room, Jim and I chatted about life for a little before hitting the hay. Sunday was full of lab reports and more soccer and helping Alex film his short film for 5 hours. 

And now I'm in this week! This week has been even more outstandingly gorgeous outside. I had class outside today, chilled in the new grassy quad with some amigos, kicked a ball around... the tour groups full of prospective students going around today must have been like, "Is this... paradise...?" in their heads because it was amazing although I did not take any pictures so I apologize deeply.