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.

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.