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. 

Random Update (3.25.13)

On Friday morning I sat down with Jennie, a senior who went to the school I'll be at in Barcelona. I get more excited to go each day, but it's also kinda weird that over half of my physical time at Boston College is already over. Actually, it's really weird. That afternoon I played soccer in the bubble for a little while, until getting kicked out around 5:00 PM by the stupid BC bubble staff even though no one was scheduled until 8:00 PM. And no one I mean no one was in there for us to bother by playing soccer. I don't want to talk about that. It gives me a headache. Anywho, I went back and took a shower, and then Lorena, Jim and I took the T downtown to Wilbur Theater to see Demetri Martin. He was hilarious. And we all got his book autographed after the show.

On Saturday I spent a few hours in the library with Lorena and her friend. She edited my short Spanish paper after I finished most of it. Then, it was off to Chipotle around 3:30 PM for a late lunch with Miguel and some other people. Around 5:00 PM, we played soccer again. It was a smaller group, maybe around 20 total. However, 7-8 varsity seniors came out to play and really stepped up the level of play. That was great. After 2 hours of soccer, I ran over to an acapella concert that a few friends of mine sing in. They are called The Acoustics. Best song of the night was "Creep" by Radiohead. The dude killed it. It was great. After getting back and showering, Jose and I went over to Voute, a residence hall on campus, so see some friends and enjoy some Venezuelan cooking. Fried cheese balls and empenadas. SO. GOOD. Also, my friend Nick played "Creep" on guitar which was awesome, too (Nick was my roommate last summer). After the cheese balls and guitar, Jose and I went off campus to one of his friend's apartments, where I got to practice speaking Spanish, which was great. I love opportunities like that. Also, Spanish music. Love that too. 

Sunday we had club soccer practice at night. And that morning I did laundry. I had a HUGE blister on my left foot that still hurts today (Monday). No soccer until after break, methinks. 

I still don't think it was real.

Random Update (3.20.13)

I just got lunch today with Jeff, my roommate from last year. I think Jeff says it best: "Today does not feel like the first day of spring." Yesterday we got about 8" or 10" more snow, and all morning classes were cancelled. It is so cold and wet and nasty outside. I picked a good year to run the marathon, because I don't think I would do any of the training runs in this kind of weather. However, people running this year probably won't have to run in 90+ degree heat. 

Last week was pretty nice. I had a physics test on Tuesday which was pretty easy, and also a problem set due in my economics class. But as for school work, most of that had already happened before spring break.

It was a big, sad week for professional soccer. Arsenal beat Bayern Munich, but still did not advance in the tournament. A couple club soccer teammates and friends went to Roggies for some food and the game. It was a great game, especially after Giroud's early goal. But still, I had a headache for two days afterwards. 

It was a big, awesome week for BC soccer. We played pickup in the bubble (the bubble is the football field with a big bubble over it) on Thursday and Friday, plus club practice on Saturday. I was exhausted on Saturday night. 

On Thursday after soccer, I got food with some of the guys who played, and then had a Spain mentoring sessions with Ethan and Both, two seniors who went abroad last year. I could listen to those guys for hours. 

Sunday a big crew went into Boston for St. Patrick's day. We missed the parade, but got some pizza and then had dessert at this chocolate place that was really good. Here's photo.

Alex, Kara, Angela, me, Jonathan, Rafa, and Miguel

Yesterday I managed to walk through the nastiness to the Office of International Programs (called OIP for short) and dropped off my packet of paperwork for Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. I hear back in May with my official, final acceptance, so it is now time to sit tight and enjoy BC. 

This Friday, Jim, Lorena, and I are going to see Demitri Martin. Oh. Yeah.

Random Update (3.10.13)

Spring Break! Here goes.

Friday: Left with Pat's cousins for Portland, ME. Alex was late, and we hit heavy traffic. Five people + luggage in a Toyota Corrolla made for a tight back seat. We stopped at McD's on Route 1, and eventually made it to Pat's house around 8:00 PM. We unpacked and took showers, played some ping pong and darts in the basement with Pat and his younger brother, Tim (Junior in high school). Later that night, we played an insane board game called Arkham Horror. It is a board game based on H.P. Lovecraft's stories, so, it's pretty wild. 

Saturday: After a lazy morning, I brainstormed for a summer grant application I'm applying for through BC and thought about/investigated summer things to do, like NYC and internships and stuff. That afternoon, Pat, Alex, Tim, two of Tim's school friends and I went to the YMCA and played 3v3 basketball and soccer. It was a little chilly outside, but it was very fun, and we beat the high schooler challengers (they wanted practice for their intramural league). We went back to the house to shower, and then Pat's dad cooked some steaks and fries. After dinner, we went bowling with Alex, Pat Tim, Tim's friend, and Tim and Pat's little sister, Mary (11 years old, a Jane-type person). I bowled my first turkey and scored a 173, which was surprising. Alex lost to Mary, which was not too surprising. I actually won some money off of that (not really). After we got back, Alex, Pat, and I watched The Incredibles. Such a quality film. 

Sunday: Another lazy morning, although I believe Pat got up to get a haircut from his mom, who was repaid by Pat going to church. I brainstormed things for an hour or so over breakfast. That afternoon, Alex, Pat, Tim and I played Dominion, another board game, but more medieval and not-Lovecraftian. Around 6 we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for some buffalo wings, which were quite tastified. After dinner we played Spectrum, a card game similar to Spades, with the same crew + Mr. Jerome and Mary. Later that evening, Alex, Pat and I watched the classic 1978 animated Lord of the Rings. Compared to the modern version of the early 2000's, it was a comedy. We laughed heartily. But back in its day it was nominated for a Golden Globe, believe it or don't. 

Monday: Blueberry cake for breakfast! And lunch. And late night snack. We played some darts and ping pong, some spectrum, and late into the evening I had some coffee ice cream with raspberry syrup on top. Wow, what a combination of tastes. 

Tuesday: Alex, Pat, and I got up at 8:00 AM to eat, pack, and go to the airport around 10:45 AM. We flew through LaGuardia, which was supposed to have a Five Guys joint, but didn't. Before the plane to Jacksonville, I had to check my bag because there wasn't room in the overhead space. So me and a nice guy from New Zealand waited for them to check our respective bags while everyone else sat seated in their sitting seats. Soon we landed in JAX airport, and met up with Zach, Veb, Hannah, and Granny! Granny is awesome and really funny. What a lovely person. The drive to the house was a little over an hour. She made spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, and afterwards we watched Granny's favorite modern movie, The Other Guys. That's a funny one, folks. Mid-movie, we took a driving tour of the town of St. Simons Island, and finished it when we got back (plus ice cream!). Then we went to bed. 

Wednesday: Angela arrived early in JAX, Hannah and Granny went to get her. I brainstormed more in the morning and started writing the grant proposal. Granny had gathered together 7 bikes (1 recumbent- Pat claimed that for his own) and we attacked the beach with blankets and a soccer ball. It was so unbelievably windy. Pat and I had to build an impressive wind shield to rest comfortably in the sun. Also, the soccer ball disappeared! We think it got blown outrageously downwind and out to sea by the wind while we weren't paying attention. Afterwards, we biked to Sal's Pizzeria for some good, good pizza. When we got back to Granny's house, we played Spectrum while people took turns showering. After showers, we went to Chic-Fil-A (YES!) and introduced the deprived people of New York and Maine to the chicken sandwich. Then we went bowling with everyone. After a low-100's performance, Pat and I decided to have a speed competition with the 6lb balls... I believe he won with a 24.57 mph throw. However, we both developed powerful techniques which, when they hit anywhere within two pins of the center, were extremely successful. And throwing bowling balls that fast makes really cool noises. When we got back to the house, we played Balderdash and watched Rat Race. 

Sal's pizza.

Beach ballin.

A disappointing shot.

The Great Wind Wall. 

Thursday: Lazy morning, we got going around 1:00 or 2:00 PM. We biked to 'the village' where there are some shops and the pier and water and overall nice things. It was sunny and really nice out, we threw a frisbee around in the park, and then walked over to mini golf. I lost by one stroke because on the last hole, my ball hit a piece of mulch. It was tragic. We went to a nice little coffee shop and I had a delicious apple pastry thingy with sugary coffee. Coffee isn't too bad. I feel so old saying that. After biking back to Granny's, we showered and then had some bar-b-que sandwiches. Later that evening, we all went to a bar/lounge called Rafters and played some darts and pool. After the festivities, Alex taught everyone how to play Truco, a Brazilian card game. We played until 3:00 AM. 

Friday: Lazy morning again (theme of the trip), we biked to the beach, where it was less windy and much warmer. We left to catch a 4:00 PM showing of Oz, which is a decent movie, if you aren't a harsh movie-going person. It is geared towards a younger audience than ourselves, though. After biking back to Granny's, we had some homemade shrimp and grits, which was really delicious. Later that evening, Hannah and Angela and I went to go pick up a pizza and a card + gift for Granny. After everyone signed the card, we presented Granny (her name is Ms. Delea, by the way) with her gift, which she really seemed to appreciate a lot. Around 10:30 PM we all drove over to a gelato place. This one flavor called 'summer peach' was really, really good. Tasted like summer. After dessert, we played a final game of balderdash before relaxing on our last night in St. Simons. 

Saturday: Departure! Just a lot of traveling. Pat and I would have arrived after midnight on our original flights, so we decided to switch to tickets on the direct flight (which Alex was going on) for $50. Since we arrived back earlier, we could take the T back to campus, and avoid a large taxi fee. So it kinda evened out... saved about 3 hours of a layover in JFK, so that was worth it too. 

Everybody on Friday afternoon: Zach, Pat, Hannah, Veb, Angela, me, and Alex.

Random Update (2.24.13)

It has been a while (maybe even two whiles) since my last post, I do apologize. Let's bring it back to Wednesday (the 13th). 

After counting concentric interferometer rings in a modern Michelson-Morley experiment with Olivier, who's from Amsterdam, I went down to Cleveland Circle with a bunch of people to watch the Real Madrid vs. Manchester United champions league match at Roggies (a bar/restaurant). It was basically the most expensive game in the word soccer in terms of player salaries, transfer fees, television rights, etc. Since it was a soccer game, though, they tied 1-1 (boo, we want a team that wins). I ordered a pizza and enjoyed that (I missed lunch on purpose, the game came on at 2:45 PM). (I've been using a lot of parenthetical statements). I am not usually around pubs in the mid-afternoon. However, watching soccer games with soccer people has taught me a few things about bars in the mid-afternoon. Namely, the people who don't come to bars in the mid-afternoon to watch soccer are very sketchy.

Friday night I went with Alex and a few other people to a house on Co. Ro. (college road) and that was a lot of fun. A friend of ours from Duchesne had just moved into her new room and was having a shindig. Let's see, then Saturday (the 16th) I went with Alex and Vinny to our friend Sebastian's apartment in Cleveland Circle for his birthday bash. I got to practice speaking Spanish mucho, because I was one of the few united statesmen there (because American is too vague a term at this party). On Sunday, I somehow danced. Five of the eight roommates danced: Pat, Zach, me, J.M. (choreographer) and Veb (choreographer). It went by really quickly. I think the song was about 2-3 minutes long, but it felt like 30 seconds. We were in the 2nd act, so we sat in the crowd and watched the first act. The show was called "Parampara" which means happiness or something in Hindi (it was the South Asian culture show). Here're some photos.

J.M. and Veb doing a jump kick, I'm on the left.

Zach being confused. Jajaja.

85% of the group, after the show.

Now I am finally back to the beginning of this past week. On Tuesday, me and Will (from club soccer) and Airen went to Roggies again to watch the Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich game. Final score was 1-3, despite my lucky classic Arsenal jersey arriving. That night, Miguel, Alex, Luiza, Christine, Jonathan, and others made their way up to Upper campus for free Samba lessons from the Brazil club (Alex and Luiza are from Brasil). After that, Christine and I went to the Boston College vs. Maryland basketball game, which we won 69-58! It was a great game. This one skinny guy named Odio had 6 blocks and dunked right in Maryland's huge center's face. It was really fun. 

On Wednesday I studied for my Macro exam, which ended up being extremely easy (finished in 15:09, my friend Matt finished in 14:30). On Friday, I spent Christmas cash at Fogo de Chao, an amazing Brazilian restaurant. Alex, Jim, Veb and I suited up and went out to lunch. It's $30 flat for all you can eat meat. And it's good meat. And they have cheesy bread. And amazing mashed potatoes. And fried platanos. And deep-fried bananas. Oh my goodness. Alex had been before, and convinced the rest of us to go as well. Wow, what a meal. Then that night, our 8-man sponsored a Duchesne West reunion (the dorm we all lived in last year). It was nice to see almost everyone together, because for some reason, that sort of floor/hallway dynamic is completely lost by sophomore year. We are not as close to everyone on our hallway this year as we were to people on our hall last year. Which is unfortunate, but then again, you can only have so many friends before you have too many friends and not enough friends. If that makes sense. It does to me. Kind of. 

Yesterday, Miguel, Alex, and I went into Boston just to kind of get away from BC for a little. We got some Chipotle, then went to Newbury Street where I spent more Christmas cash on some white pants at H&M (I borrowed J.M.'s for the Parampara show; I felt I needed to invest in my own). Miguel tried to get a haircut, but it was closed, so we ended up going to an Italian cafe, getting some coffee, and watching the 2nd half of the Sevilla vs. Barcelona soccer game. Last night, J.M. persuaded me, Christine, Hannah, and Angela to go to a Latino dance team party. He gave me a crash course in Bachata, and it was pretty fun. I got to wear the new white pants. Pretty sure I wouldn't actually have gone if I didn't buy those that same day. 

Today I did some physics lab homework and messed around on my keyboard (came in the mail on Friday, merry Christmas, me) trying to learn "Flapper Girl" by the Lumineers by ear. It's tricky and I resorted to youtube for a few of the left hand cords. I am prepared to spend a inordinate amount of time perfecting this song.