The Weekend Awaits

... but not until classes finish for the day. Yesterday was quite interesting - again, I didn't want to get up, but I did get to class ten minutes early. This lecture class was Introduction to Politics, with Dr. Innes, and I sat in the front row. Because I like sitting in front. The lecture was very interesting -- along with Matt and Matthias, I got to talk a lot. The class encourages participation, which is nice.
New Testament followed Poli, and I was a little less excited about that class. It was taught by a new adjunct - he also pastors in the Village, so he's pretty busy. During class, he offered a T.A. position - to which I applied. I felt it would be a good way to get a better feel of the professor. We did discuss an interesting idea regarding belief circles, and a rather extensive discussion ensued, actually pulling us slightly off track.
We had a forty minute lunch break before Western Civilization, but I made the mistake of going back to the Vogue instead of going to Subway or something like that, putting me in WCiv three minutes early - the last person in class. Western Civ looks like it will be fun as well - the extra credit opportunities were intuitive, and seemed interesting. Anyway, at 1:50, I was done for the day. I went to the King's library for a while to work on Politics, and sat at the same desk as Provost Olasky. That was neat.
Had leftover spaghetti, used the last of the meat for burgers, and had an otherwise slapstick supper. Went up on the roof with Matt after the meal -- talked with Matthias, as well. Then some sophomore girls came up, and Matthias played some of his guitar compositions. We got embroiled in another discussion (I don't remember how it started - it gradually became transubstantiation and later deistic evolution), and I walked off to call Mom. Eventually, Angie came up to invite us to one of the guy rooms, where they were watching the original Die Hard. We all moved downstairs ... I must admit, I fell asleep for part of the movie. I think I got the gist, though.
After the movie ended (around 1:30), Matt and I walked the girls home, and then hit the sack at 2. Good thing there is no class on Fridays ...

C-1 -- First Day of Classes

Classes started yesterday at 9 AM. I got up at 7, read the Wall Street Journal, ate breakfast, jumped in the shower, and ended up four minutes early for class. Since most of the class was already there, I got a couple odd looks when I walked into Macroeconomics. The class was very interesting, and it looks like it will be challenging (read:difficult). Following Macro was College Writing I. CW looks like it will be interesting as well, especially since it is a "Introduction to New York" course, as noted by Prof. Campbell. Class wrapped up around 11:50, so then I went back the apartment for lunch.
In the afternoon, I went to get my ESB building pass ... ended up waiting for an hour as those who came in before their 2 PM Logic class flooded the office. After that, I worked on my Macro assignment - doing my "entry interview," ten questions answered in 100 words or less. After four years of King's, every student takes the same "interview." Apparently, it's a way to judge how well you learned.
Later in the evening, Chris Ross called to tell us about a party we and some other rooms were invited to attend. The party, held in Herald 3C5, ended up being two rooms of freshmen boys and Chris' room. Apparently, 3C5 is the "sister" room to Chris' room, and the girls wanted to adopt us as "little brother" rooms. They did feed us (banana pie!), and there was French press coffee, and we had a stimulating discussion about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Then the discussion broke into smaller parts, and I talked to Emily and Matt for a while about the Founder's competition last February. Matt actually determined that there was five Founder's winners in our room at one time, which was intriguing.
Around 11, the conversation shifted to the sophomore level Plato & Aristotle class, so the remaining freshmen (Emily, David, and I) took our leave of the party. Quite enjoyable, overall. When we got back, we had another brief discussion with Zachary, who stopped by to say hello. I think I ended up in bed around 12:30.

NSO - No Small Operation

Or simply New Student Orientation, part II. It all started with photos taken for our King's ID, plus free breakfast wraps and OJ. A surprisingly good combination, actually. Then we went to the City Room for an address from the interim President of King's - following that, we learned about the Interregnum event (basically, a three-day period of focus on our yearly theme, Civilization - along with House competition events), and then we had a ceremony to sign the Honor Code.
The Honor Code states, "A student of the King's College will not lie, cheat, steal, or turn a blind eye to those who do. Every student is honor bound to report any other student who violates the Code." We were called up by House to sign the Code, and then our staff advisor came over to pray with us for the year. The signing of the Honor Code marked our entry as students to The King's College.
We were on our own again for lunch, and my room actually ended up coming back late to the Time Management seminar at 1. Oops. It was good to hear the reinforcement of sleep, eating, and study habits. I learned that one hour of massage is roughly equivalent to four hours of sleep ... very good to know, actually. After the TM seminar, the Great Race began.
I was on the planning team for the Great Race. This meant that I and five other Lewisians were given nine riddles that we had to solve. Each of these riddles pointed to a structure or location in New York City, and we had to determine where and (here's the tough part) send our team of runners to the location. There were six runners (including my remaining roomies), and they had to find the faculty member assigned to the location, and get their picture taken with him. They could also answer a "five-minute bonus" question on Robinson Crusoe for extra points.
Due to an ... ahem, tactical error, on the part of the planning team, the runners got sent up to the MET, which wasted half an hour, and moved us from a likely championship to fifth place. Reagan (hissss) won. We hope to redeem ourselves soon -- as soon as the next competition occurs.
For supper, we made Mac & Cheese, and cooperatively cleaned up. It worked well. Later that evening, we visited Chris (our Chamberlain) for brownies and a "roommate pact" discussion. It was actually a lot of fun, and we learned some things about each other that could've caused conflict later. And the brownies were excellent (completely homemade!).
Around 11:30, Zachary (Helmsman) came by to chat, and we had a discussion for about an hour, at which point we collectively decided to go to bed in order to get up the next day for classes. Got to bed around 12:30. Again.

NSO - "North," said Oscar

Actually, NSO is New Student Orientation, and we were quite involved in it yesterday. The attire of the day was business professional, and it was pleasantly warm in the City today. However, pleasant quickly became "suffocating." We were fortunately in the CUNY Graduate Center, a conveniently placed building around the corner from ESB, that included an auditorium. New students, parents, faculty, and student leaders were in attendance.
The morning lecture was 9 to 11, then we had a little discussion about the house system, and I ate lunch with Dad, Matt & family, and some of the Lewis leadership. It was good to hear their vision for the house this year.
At 2 PM, there was an information fair in the Lower Lobby of ESB - the only productive thing I did was get my network access and email configured. Then I hung out for an hour, met another admission guy, and headed back to the room.
Met back with the Lewis guys at the Lounge for House pictures and a night out on the town - went to Lombardi's just north of Little Italy for some brick-oven-baked pizza - excellent! Our president, Dustin Pope, gave us a little pep talk, and then I talked to David Lapp, our scholar, on the way back. It was fun.
Later in the evening, some girls from SBA (Susan B Anthony) came by to invite us to a rooftop worship event on the roof at 10 PM - went up, Matthias Clock played the guitar (excellent!) and we sang for about 45 minutes. Then more people came up and the group decayed. Ended up going to bed around 12:30 again. Big day, and bed was delightful. Tomorrow will be even better.

Church & Costco

So Sunday morning was rather confusing. When I woke up at 7:15, I had no idea what church I was going to attend - I didn't even know when the varied groups were leaving for services. After asking around within my room, I discovered that Kyle was visiting Morning Star New York (MSNY) with his parents. I looked the church up on the web, and it seemed fairly innocuous, doctrinally. So Dad and I went over there for the 11 PM service - we had to walk around ten blocks, which was not bad at all.
The service was excellent. Worship was powerful -- one of the most powerful I've ever witnessed. Then the message was well-presented as well - contemporary, yet insightful. I was compelled to take notes. Next week the church is moving to a new location, but it should still be within walking distance, and I plan to attend.
After church, Dad and I headed back to the apartment so I could change and we could get some lunch. However, Kyle's family arrived shortly, as did Matt, so we skipped eating and moved right into planning an afternoon food run. For an hour and a half, we debated the merits of going to Costco in Queens as opposed to Trader Joe's in Manhattan. Dad, Matt, and I ended up heading to Costco, while Kyle & his parents went to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's, however, was right next to the CUNY campus, with thousands of new students moving in that very day. So it was crowded. Costco was about ten blocks off the subway in Queens, so it wasn't that bad. After we filled it up with $150 worth of groceries (two suitcases full), hauling it back through the streets and subway turnstiles was quite the experience. It probably took us 1.25 hrs from Costco to the Vogue - about 2 miles. But it was worth it!
In the evening, went up on the roof again - talked to some Reaganites for a while. We are rooming next to the freshman Reaganites, so we've gotten to know them well. Hit the sack about 12:36 - latest of my room.

Moving Day

Yesterday was rather busy. We arrived safely in New York via the New Jersey Transit train, and then walked to the Vogue from Penn Station, not more than half a mile. No sooner had we arrived at the Vogue when 5-8 King's students and staff mobbed us, taking my bags, sending me up to check-in, and so forth. Then, since we were the first to arrive at the apartment, I quickly selected a bottom bunk, as recommended by our House Chamberlain. Dad swept the floor while I unpacked - then the remaining three roomates showed up -- all within ten mintues of each other. The situation quickly became chaotic.
On a side note, our apartments were much more spacious that I was expecting. We have a small kitchen/kitchenette, a rather spacious living room, four large closets (about twice as much as I was expecting), a linen closet, a coat closet, a cramped bathroom (to be expected), and a good-sized bedroom (with two bunk beds). We also have a balcony -- but no view whatsoever. Air conditioning, high-speed Internet, even a dishwasher ... better than home! I may post some pictures on Flickr.
The rest of the day was spent unpacking - I brought the least amount of stuff, by volume, but I don't know how much more is being shipped. There is still plenty of room regardless. In the evening, we had no pressing committments except to attend a student reception at 9 PM in the Student Lounge. We played an icebreaker game (called "Bunkbeds") and mingled for a while. After they kicked us out, twenty or thirty students were assembled on the roof of the Vogue, so I joined them with some of my roommates. I took an early night around 12:30 PM.
Church today, and free time later. We might go to Costco - there's some stuff we need to get.

The Tribulations of Travel

Getting to New York is proving to be half the experience. I left home yesterday, accompanied by my father and sister. We drove in our Honda Civic from Washington, IA, to Pittsburgh, PA, in just over 13 hours. Assorted stops aside, a good trip. No one got sick. Stayed with Dad's sister and husband overnight.

Tonight, we are flying out of Pittsburgh to Newark via Continental. Newark, however, has a low cloud ceiling, so our 5:50 PM flight is delayed until 8 or 8:30. This gives me a great chance to use the airport's free WiFi.

I said goodbye to my sister today ... she didn't seem real torn up about my departure. Mom cried yesterday morning, but that is to be expected. Now I just have to bid Dad farewell on Monday ... and then I will be completely on my own. Until Thanksgiving.

I'm just ready to get started - moving, meeting people, everything. I guess the waiting is important too - I can catch up on my required reading for this fall.