Blog #14

This is it, my final blog post. At the beginning of the semester, when Robin told us about the assignment, I thought that it was going to be terribly hard and it was at first. Once I got started though, my blogs just started flying onto my page. The ideas that I could never come up with, just started coming into my head. I had a system that insured me a good grade on this assignment, and now that the year is over I think that I will share it with everyone. Once Robin told us that we had to not only write 14 blogs but also comment on other people's blogs to get an A, I got an idea. My plan was to comment on three other blogs right after I had finished my blog. This plan worked perfectly. At first it was just so that I could get an A, but halfway through I realized that I was giving real feedback, and I was enjoying reading my classmates' posts. I really enjoyed this assignment. I feel that by writing these blogs, my imagination and my writing skills have improved. I wish that more teachers would incorporate more assignments like this one into their class plans every semester. So I would like to say thank you to Robin for assigning our class this blog idea because without being made to do this, I never would have attempted it. And no Nick, I know you are thinking, "Mark is trying to get brownie points." Or maybe you are saying to yourself, "Hey Mark, you've got a little something on your nose." Regardless of what you think, I did enjoy this assignment, and I enjoyed this class; It also doesn't hurt that I got 6 credit hours for it, but that is neither here nor there. Because of this class I now have 15 new people that I can call my friends. I have also met 15 new people that I can say "hey" to on campus, which will no doubt insure that i will beat my girlfriend, Kelly, every time we play the "University of Alabama How Many People Do You Know contest." So after this long ramble I will wrap this final blog up with a Roll Tide. See you guys around campus.

Christianity

I have never been one of those people that forces my religious beliefs onto other people. If someone asks me what I think, then I will share my beliefs with them, but I will not push myself onto them. I am a Christian--and I'm proud of being a Christian. I don't think that it is important exactly what denomination people are but only that they believe that Jesus was sent to die for us to save us from our sins. For the record though, I am Catholic, and I don't travel to many other churches. This morning however, I attended a Methodist service downtown with my girlfriend who happens to be Methodist. As I walked into the sanctuary, I was very surprised to see another familiar face. My English teacher, Robin Mozer, was sitting with the children on the side of the church. It turns out that Robin was leading the music for what i presumed the children's choir. I never knew that she could sing so well. After the children were finished singing, Robin went and changed and took her place in the choir. I was filled with the love of the Lord as I listen to the choir sing, and it really made me feel good that I knew someone that was singing the Lord's praise so beautifully. I really enjoyed my first visit to the Methodist church downtown, and if we had another Sunday left in the school year then my girlfriend and I would probably go back for another Sunday service.

Study Time

As I write this post, I find myself once again procrastinating. Currently I am sitting in the Gorgas Library trying to study for my exams next week, but I am finding studying very difficult. Maybe I can't study because I'm not too worried yet about my exams or maybe its just because I really hate the Gorgas Library. Earlier I tried to study at the Bruno Library but it was closed. Go figure, a major library on campus closed the weekend before final exams? This makes no sense at all too me. Why is the University closing libraries this time of year? Bruno happens to be the place that I study best, and I can't even go there to study. Since Bruno was closed I had to come to Gorgas and it really sucks. There are tons of people here and many of them aren't studying anything. Some students are sitting at computers looking at their Facebook, some are eating food and watching tv, some are just screwing around (like me), and some are actually studying. Maybe I'm not the only person that tried to get into Bruno tonight and that is the reason for all of the nonsense at Gorgas. Maybe none of the students really want to be at this library tonight, but they were forced to come here because their favorite place to study was closed. Yes, I even checked Robin's favorite hangout the McClure Library and found out that it was closed as well. I really should get back to studying now, so I will end this frustrated blog with, wtf?

Just Random Stuff

This post really has no point. It has no topic. I just happened to find myself bored out of my mind at 9:00 on a Sunday night with nothing else to do, so I decided to make my 11th post of the year. Now people may not think that 11 posts isn't that hard, but I'm calling bullshit on that. I have sat down at my computer many times wanting to post about something and I just couldn't think of anything to write about. A prime example is right now, so I just decided to make this post just about random stuff. I however look at 11 posts and I am proud of myself. Now I might not have very many pictures and my posts may not be very long, but they all have character. Now you may be asking yourself "What does this mean?" And just to be honest with you, I have no idea either. Webster defines character as, "one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual." After thinking about this, I have decided that my posts don't have character. They are just merely words on a page. Okay, that's plenty of randomness about my blogs. How about we discuss Vault Energy drinks. Just for the record, I love them. Last Thursday I drank two energy drinks back to back and I was wired. I, along with with the rest of my English class, found out that two drinks really packs a punch. I couldn't sit still at all. I somehow got the idea in my head that I needed two cases of Vault for exams week, but to get the drinks I had to sweet talk the people giving them out. I eventually won over Donte and was able to obtain his cell number. Much to my dismay though, every time that I called him he didn't answer. I guess that this might have been a blessing in disguise because I think that two cases of energy drinks would have ruined my week. I would have gone from being extra energized to crashing pretty hard, and I don't know that my body would have been able to handle that.

CrimsonRide

I am not a big fan of the CrimsonRide to say the least. I think that is slow, unreliable, wastes money, and causes pollution. There are 41 bus stops on campus. This is a ridiculously high amount of stops especially since some of them are no more than 300 feet away from each other. This plus all of the traffic congestion on campus makes the buses very slow. The buses cost over $150,000 a year to run off of their current diesel fuel, and that number will nothing but rise as time goes on. I think that the best solution to fix the problem of expensive diesel fuel is to run our buses on biodiesel. Biodiesel is much cheaper to buy, and it much cleaner to use. Diesel exhaust is very harmful for people to breath. It contains high amounts of sulfur which on in the atmosphere deplete the ozone. By running biodiesel in our buses, we can reduce the amount of sulfur content that we are putting into the ozone by almost 100%. The above picture is one that I took yesterday of an empty bus. With these buses driving around empty, our university is only losing money.
Even with all of these negatives the CrimsonRide does present a few good characteristics. It provides a shelter from the rain and a nice cool place to sit down when it is extremely hot outside. The CrimsonRide also provides a shuttle service on game days. This really helps with traffic problems on campus on days when Alabama plays at home.

Weekend Fun

I spent this past weekend back home on the farm. On Thursday afternoon I talked to my dad and he asked me to go home and help out on the ranch. He told me that there was kind of an emergency, but he didn't tell me what it was. When I arrived home I was welcomed by escaped cattle and dying chickens. While the chickens were a big deal, the escaped cattle had priority. For some reason, unknown by our help, 50 steers had escaped from the pasture that they were in. This means that there was 50 head of crazy cattle roaming the woods and highways around our farm. We got lucky because about 30 or 35 of the steers wandered their way back into the pasture when we put out feed, but this still meant that there were about 15 still out running through the woods. After a few hours of searching, night began to fall. This posed another problem, not being able to see. We decided that there was nothing we could do at night so we just went home. Well that next morning, as luck would have it, all of the cattle were back in the pasture. During the night, the steers that we already caught must have lured the escapees back. I was really excited to see that the cattle had returned, and I didn't have to do anything. I was then able to turn my attention to the dying chickens. There was really nothing that I could do about that either except for just turning on more fans and improving the air quality in the house.

Alabama Softball

Last Sunday I went to my first Alabama softball game as a student. I'm not a huge fan of softball, but this game was a little different. I was surprised at the number of people that were at the game. Every time that I have driven by the stadium it has been half empty, but this afternoon was different. I think that a lot of people came out that day because it was so pretty outside. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the game. It is really a fan friendly place to watch games and I had a great time at the game. I had to leave before it was over so I don't know if we won or not, although I'm sure that we did because we have the number one team in the nation. I really enjoyed spending the day with my friends and experiencing something that I had never done before. I am defiantly planning another trip back to the ballpark. That afternoon was so much fun.

Honors Registration

Last Wednesday at 1:30 I was able to register for my classes for the fall semester. I sat down at my computer at 1:25 and immediately began to get frustrated. First I couldn't find my advising checklist that had all of my classes on it. Then I couldn't find the UH Programs Course Descriptions sheet that listed all of the UH classes on it. Then I didn't know where to go on MyBama to even register. Just when I thought my head was about to explode, I had an idea; call Kelly. Kelly really saved the day for me. She told me where to go to register, and she told me about the UH classes. All I did to relieve my frustration was find my advising sheet. Once I had everything, I began to look up classes. I think that the best thing about being in the Honors Program is the priority registration. All of the classes were available except for the Southern Values class that I wanted to take. I have a really easy semester for the fall. I have no classes on Friday and only one on Monday, and it starts at 5. I am taking Women's Studies, Legal Studies, EN 219, Tennis, a UH class, and Accounting 210. I have all of the classes that I wanted, and they are all at great times.

Wishin' I Was Fishin'

On Wednesday, my buddy, Hunter Spidle, and I went fishing in his hometown of Livingston, Alabama. The whole adventure started with the original idea that we would go on Tuesday afternoon, but after I learned that I had to attend a Commerce Associates meeting that night we had to change our plans. So on Wednesday at about 2 in the afternoon we headed out for Livingston. After about a hour ride, Hunter and I arrived at our destination. We got our poles and coolers out of his truck and loaded the boat. It was a beautiful day outside with little wind and a lot of sunshine. Hunter and I fished for about 4 fours that afternoon, and we only caught 9 fish. It was a little disappointing to catch only 9 fish, but we had fun doing it.
Fishing is a very relaxing pastime that lots of people enjoy. Being from the country, I have grown up around fishing. It is something that I am very comfortable doing. It is also something that is very local to this area. With the Tenn-Tom Waterway, the Black Warrior, and Lake Tuscaloosa so close, fishing is a popular thing to do around here. We had such a good time on Wednesday that we are planning another fishing trip for Sunday afternoon.

Spring Break

This past week was spring break and man was it fun. On Friday, Hunter Spidle, Chase Elmore, and I drove to Orange Beach to stay at Kelly's condo. She and some of her friends followed us there. We hit a ton of backs roads on the way, but about 7 hours later, we got there. The first night we were exhausted from the drive so we just hung out at the condo. During the day on Saturday, we all went to the beach and tanned. I however did not tan, I burned really badly. We did the same on the day Sunday, but on Sunday afternoon are 4, we drove to Destin where Kelly had 22 of her pledge sisters staying in a house there. Chase, Hunter, and I stayed in Destin until Wednesday. While we were there, we partied, played putt putt golf, tanned, and just goofed off. Hands down that was the most fun beach trip that I have ever been on. After I got home, I went straight work. I only got to work on Thursday though because I got sick. I spent the rest of my break just trying to recover from my sickness and get ready for school.

Party Night

After my last post about the KA house, I started thinking that a lot of people might not have experienced the party scene at a fraternity house on a football home game weekend. The following video gives a little insight about what goes happens on Friday and Saturday nights before football games. The following opinions and interviews in no way reflect the opinions of myself or other fraternity member at the University of Alabama. I do not condone underage drinking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi06k5qmCHQ

The Kappa Alpha Order

My favorite place on the campus of the University of Alabama is the KA house. I have fell in love with the house last spring when I was invited to attend rush parties. Its massive size, elegant beauty, and storied history make it such a remarkable place. Another thing that makes the KA house so great are the people that are associated with it. Our house mother and our staff are hands down the best on campus. The brothers there are great as well. In them, I have found many great friends, and the friendships that I forge with them now will last me the rest of my life. Any other person that is or was part of a fraternity know the strong bonds that you have with your fellow pledge brothers. They are the ones that you will be able to count on as you progress throughout your life. They will be there when you are short on your luck and need a job or just someone to talk to. KA has taught me many great things. I feel that I am better prepared for life just based on what I have experienced as a member of KA. I love the Kappa Alpha Order, and I cannot imagine college life without it.

Paul W. Bryant Museum

The old saying, "You learn something new everyday," is so true. Last Thursday when my English 103 teacher gave us the assignment to walk through the Paul W. Bryant Museum and write down things that we didn't already know about it, I thought that I already knew everything there was to know about the museum. She also asked us to write down the most unusual thing about the museum. As I was walking through the museum, I realized that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. I had no idea that Bear Bryant's first season at the University of Alabama was the first winning season that Alabama had had in five years. In his second season as the head coach, Bryant led the Tide to a win in the first Liberty Bowl. That bowl game started a streak of 25 straight bowl game appearances by Alabama. I also didn't know that Paul W. Bryant was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award the is presented by the President. Bryant was given the award for becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history. Bryant's career record at Bryant Denny Stadium was 72-2. As for the most unusual object in the museum, I chose the crystal replica of Bear Bryant's hat. The Paul W. Bryant Museum is an amazing shrine to the greatest coach of all time and to the University of Alabama.

Taco Casa

I'm not really sure how to start this, so here goes.....Taco Casa is the shit. The Casa, as i like to call it, is a franchise that only exists in Tuscaloosa. Not only are their tacos fabulous, but their sweet tea is the best in town. Anyone that is looking for a special place to eat in Tuscaloosa needs to go to Taco Casa. I order the same thing every time that I go. When I go to The Casa, I order three soft tacos, mild, with no tomatoes and I add sour cream, one taco burger, mild, with no tomatoes, and a large sweet tea. Taco Casa also has very reasonable prices. My meal costs $9.38 every time that I go. Taco Casa is truly eating locally.
I used to not like Taco Casa. When I was younger, my mom wouldn't take me there. She liked Taco Bell, so I never got to experience the greatness of The Casa. Because I only ate at Taco Bell, I thought that I hated Taco Casa. When my friends would go there and take me with them, I would complain that I didn't like Taco Casa. Man was I wrong. After eating there only a few times I fell in love with the place. Someone that tries The Casa for the first time might not like it, but within the next five visits they will be hooked.