I didn’t really have a lot to do today (I had a reasonable load of homework and a case of writer’s block), so I decided to get out and go for a walk. Grabbing an apple for a snack and a coat for warmth, I stepped out of my house and started walking around Wabash’s Campus.

My path took me first past the arboretum. For those that are not from Crawfordsville, or just unfamiliar with Wabash, the arboretum contains every single tree native to Indiana, and it’s got a lot of trees. As an Oregonian, I like spending time around trees, since it reminds me a bit of home. Anyway, most of the trees haven’t lost their leaves yet, but as I walked further I found a few that were in the process of losing their leaves or had already lost them. Oregon doesn’t have a lot of deciduous trees in comparison to evergreens (personal inference; there always seems to be more pine trees and similar trees and not many deciduous trees, so this was nice to see). And with a nice apple to snack on, that segments of my walk really felt like a nice fall afternoon (kind of like what I experienced in New York when I was really little).

After passing the arboretum I crossed in front of the chapel, where there were a few more pretty trees to behold. I also caught a glimpse of the football team out at practice, but sports was not my priority so I ignored them for the most part. Unfortunately, I ran out of apple and had to walk with no snack for the rest of the way, and that made me sad… well, sort off. It was nice outside, and that made the walk worth it.

I passed by the Athletics Center, and here things start changing. There are fewer trees, more houses and other facilities. This isn’t a bad thing, but I liked the first leg of my walk a bit better, since it was prettier. Anyway, I saw a few others out walking, although I didn’t necessarily interact with them beyond just a nod and a simple hello. I’m okay with this; going on walks is a good way to clear your head, and sometimes it’s best to go alone (although having company is good, but most of the people I’d like to walk with are back in Oregon). Soon, though, I was getting back to campus, and the trees came back. Yay me.

The last leg of my trip took me around the arboretum one more time. There were a bunch of nice flowers over by the sign. I bring this up because other than the trees Wabash is slightly sparse when it comes to landscaping; a few shrubs here and there, but not much in the way of flowers. Maybe it has something to do with the weather; I imagine that if it got cold enough all the flowers might suffer a severe case of dead, so that’s why there are so few here compared to Oregon.

But I digress.

Anyway, I finished up my walk and started work on this blog post… I really needed that walk; just a chance to get out and clear my head, without the usual distractions of being around a lot of people. We all need moments like this, since we can focus on what’s going on in our heads and plan out just what we are going to do in the weeks to come. And, for a writer like me, it does wonders in getting rid of writer’s block.

Wish I had brought my phone, then you guys would have gotten pictures. Oh well…

Prospects!!!!1!

We’ve got more prospective students coming in today. I know I talked about prospects earlier this year, but it’s still pretty important. All colleges live on  prospects, and since we’re kind of small it’s vital for our continued existence to draw in prospects.

And this time, I actually got a chance to meet some of the prospects.

The first encounter I had with prospects was around 10 this morning, when a few of them sat in on my History 101 class. I introduced myself, saying I was one of the freshman bloggers and I asked how their day at Wabash had been going. From my first impressions, they seemed to be enjoying themselves… although they did initially sit further back in the room when we actually got in to class. I have nothing against that; after all, Wabash has a bit of a set rhythm, and while I have faith in the intelligence of prospects I doubt that they have been studying network connections in Pre-Renaissance societies.

This isn’t even half of them

That being said, the did get involved in some of the exercises (although some of it is a bit confusing; it’s like jumping into the middle of Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s last season and being expected to understand just who’s who and how they interact with each other). And if they get involved with the classes then they get a good impression on what classes are like around here (another aspect of why I came here; Morillo is awesome).

Later, some of them came over to the house I’m staying at (yes, I’m in a house). I got a chance to talk to some pretty interesting guys, and I think they enjoyed themselves here. And they got an impression of campus life and some of the interactions of the students (whether the impression was good or bad is up to them, but it is an impression nonetheless). Personally, I think some of the upperclassmen should have connected with the prospects a bit more, but that’s just me. The upperclassmen were doing their thing, and that helps the impression given.

Although, maybe opening up would help a bit more.

There’s a line from Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy” that goes along the line of “The only question I/ Ever thought was hard/ Was do I like Kirk/ Or do I like Picard?” Why am I bringing this up?

Because Picard is awesome, that’s why!

…

Okay, explanation; I’m a member of the Dork Club, Wabash’s gaming club. We’re a bunch of guys who get together once a week (Wednesday) and we play various tabletop games like Warhammer 40K, Food Fight, Settlers of Catan, Magic: The Gathering, Munchkin, and in this case Star Trek: Attack Wing. It’s a time where we can kick back, relax, and laugh at each other’s misery when the Plutonian Dragon eats them or cheer when the U.S.S Enterprise one-shots every single Romulan and Klingon ship they can find.

Nice knowing you, Klingons

Enterprise on the hunt for some Romulans

So far the Plutonian Dragon thing hasn’t happened, but the Enterprise bit did (I got really really really lucky).

I love going to Dork Club, partially because it allows me a chance to turn my brain off for a few hours. I can goof off and be me, more or less, and I don’t have to worry about deadlines or studies and the like. I come out of Dork Club with so much tension burned off, and I think I work better when I don’t have any tension.

So yeah, shameless plug for Dork Club. Everyone should go to Dork Club. It’s fun.

Another thing I noticed: not much has changed around Wabash… during this break, at least.

I don’t mean that “Oh, there’s a bunch of new people here and now they’re not here”. I mean nothing really has changed; with no one around the grass has gotten rather long and the living arrangements are in a state of semi-neglect. It’s a bit sad, actually… Well, in a few days everything will get back to normal.

Now, in regards to this break… well, it was just that; a break. It’s not a ground breaking, life changing event that everyone and their mother should plan ten years in advance for. I’m sure a lot of us needed a break from school, a chance to gather ourselves and meet up with friends and family once more (yeah, I’m still rather jealous of the people from Indiana). Still, just because we’re on break doesn’t mean we get to goof off all the time; we’re still Wabash men, after all, and we’ve got to act like it. You can’t just go around, trashing living units and such, and expect that there’s not going to be anything to come of it. I mean, the least you could do is clean up after yourself but no! You just think “Hey, it’s break; I can do whatever I want”. It doesn’t work that way!

…

…

I apologize for that rant… It was childish and immature… but it helped, I guess.

So yeah, break’s pretty much over. Back to work on Monday

So, Midterms are over (for the most part; I still have to take a test on Monday), and now Wabash is quiet… to be honest, I don’t think I got the best idea what Midterms are like.

I say this because I only had one class where I really had a final (Latin) and all the others I had dealt with in the previous weeks. So while that did leave me with some free time, I feel like I am not as prepared for what is ahead of me next semester… Well, maybe that’s exaggerating a bit (I do that from time to time).

Also, Midterms brings up another thing: there’s no one here.

Really, there isn’t. The entire campus is deserted save for a handful of students. I can’t really go home, Oregonian and all, but as a lot of the people here are from Indiana it makes sense that they’d get away for a few days. Yeah, I envy them a little; I’d like to go home, sleep in my own bed, see my parents, girlfriend and other friends, eat a decent piece of fish (and Ruben’s Pizza). But I would also like to spend more time than just one or two days; that’s good for a short break, maybe go out a few times with friends, but fly across the country? Kind of much, especially since Thanksgiving break is in a few weeks and I’ll be going home for a whole week, more or less.

I’ll have more to say on this when the week is over.

And now for some shameless self-promotion; these are some of my Space Marines that I use at Dork Club, Wabash’s Gaming club. You should go to Dork Club, because it is awesome