Hallowhat?

Boo!

Hey all and welcome back. Thanks for stopping by and reading what This Guy Over Here has to say about life on the Purdue Campus. At my bible study on Tuesday nights through Campus Crusade, we do something called "Happies and Crappies," and so I thought I would implement that into my blog because I like the idea, and it is a catchy way to tell people about what has been going on since the last blog. SO, since last friday, there have been both some Happies and Crappies. I am always hesitant about which to start with, but for today, I will start with the crappies just because they are shorter. My major crappy for this past week is that the New York Yankees lost in the ALCS to the Texas Rangers. I am a Yankees fan, like it or hate it, but I was very disappointed when the pinstripes went down. Anyways, let's get off the toilet. On the other hand, I had a fantastic weekend that consisted of a water park, making lots of new friends, and a skit that was so good it could have been written by the Shakespearean legend himself (or Ronald Dahl).

As the Purdue students have gone through the week, they have probably noticed one of two things. The first is that this weekend is Halloween. That should be obvious. It's the only thing that anybody talks about. What are you going to dress up as? What parties are you going to? What are you going to dress up as? Wait did I already mention that? Oh well, what are you going to dress up as again? It's like a contagious virus that is spread throughout campus. Speaking of contagious viruses, the other thing that most Purdue students should have realized is that this week marked the kick off of Humans Vs. Zombies. Who knew that nerf guns and thin strips of orange cloth could cause such a controversy. As I was standing outside my math class today, I overheard this dialogue:

"AMBUSH!!! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF"

"Ouch!" followed by a banging noise, and the sound of someone being tackled (this does have a very distinct noise)

"Gotcha. Alright man give me your feed code."

"No way man. You totally got sideshot before you poisoned me."

"Really? You're going to be that guy?" (To which I responded: I'm This Guy Over Here. Not really. But I should have)

They say nerf guns are for children. I think not. Especially with their wicked sideshots that can kill zombies. Anyways. Enough with that. Back to the first main thing going on at Purdue. Hallowhat?! Halloween! When I was little, I used to dress up in these awesome hand made costumes courtesy of my mom and my best friends mom. Now with no one to make my costume, I am a bit lost in the wardrobe department. With so many possibilities out there, it's a bit hard to narrow down the options. However, I have never really understood the idea of Halloween, and that is what I want to talk about for the remainder of this blog. Hallowhat?

Halloween!

Halloween is the one day of every year where kids and grownups alike can dress up as whatever they want to be. According to history.com, Halloween was originally an ancient Celtic practice. It was one day that straddled the seasons of fall and winter, and it was a say where the dead could return to earth. Now that is some scary stuff. However, throughout the centuries, this custom has been watered down to now degradative image that we see reflected in every skimpy and sleezy halloween costume.

The more I got to thinking about Halloween, the more convinced I became that Halloween actually accomplishes the complete opposite of what it intends to do. Halloween is meant to be a time where individuals can dress up and disguise themselves with costumes and extra weird make-up. However, I believe that people already do a pretty good job of putting on different masks to fit in with different crowds in everyday life, and therefore, I've concluded that on Halloween, the good majority of people actually behave more like themselves than they do on any other day of the year. They feel more comfortable being who they really are because people won't judge them. How can they? It's Halloween.

Do you ever think about who first started the idea of trick-or-treat? I always pictured it as a creeper looking to rob a house, only to find that the owner is inside. This owner just happens to have quite the sweet tooth, and so he keeps a giant bowl of candy right next to the door. The creepy guy peeks in, takes a handful of candy, and runs off with his loot. He then precedes to make every other homeowner in the neighborhood feel guilty by showing them just how good of a neighbor the sweet tooth home owner was for allowing him to take some candy. And so starts trick-or-treat. Fact.

I think that sometimes, we as a society don't really think too much about the reasons why we do something. We simply base our actions on the merit of tradition or norm, but what is norm when it comes to halloween? Is it scary movies? Haunted Houses? Maybe. Is it creepy guys trying to rob houses only to come up with a bag full of candy. Possible. Or is it a day in which people are actually the most open and real with each other? I haven't really decided yet, but one thing I do know is that everybody at Purdue will keep on talking about Halloween, and they probably will keep talking for a solid two weeks after this weekend. It's that legendary.

In terms of the future, I emailed the student newspaper, as I am trying to get them to run something called the "Unheard Voices of Purdue." This would be a small section somewhere in the Exponent that would feature blogs or commentaries that are written by Purdue students that are more underground. It would be similar to a "Letters to the Editor" type of thing, except it wouldn't be random one time blurbs but updates on actual sites or maintained social critique. So far I haven't heard back from them, but I'll keep you all updated on any advancements. If you have any ideas for the future, or any topics that you want me to blog about, feel free to leave them in the comments section along with your name, so I can give you a shoutout!

Finally, as many of you have realized by now, at the end of every blog, I include a line about how I "throw down The Rock." In case you didn't know, this was a reference to my roommate, Evan Staton. It was originally the nickname that I had given him for the purposes of this blog; however, my dorm floor has come up with something a bit more classy, and so from now on for all extensive purposes, you will see that I refer to Evan Staton as Mr. Easy Rider (The Mr. is not always necessary, it just gives it more flair).

That's it, and thanks for reading the thoughts of This Guy Over Here.

Closing tip for the week: If you ever need a really pathetic way of getting out of class, go to the corner of Martin Jischke and third street where the dorm hall Meredith sits. There is a tree out front, and on this tree are some berries. These berries smell like an awful throwup, especially when they are smashed. Saying this, scoop some up, go to class, crush some of these berries right outside your building and make sure that you get some residue in your shoes or on your fingers. Make sure that your hair is ruffled, and you look like you just woke up. Walk into class coughing, and tell your teacher that you are sick and that you are throwing up. The smell will confirm it. You will get to miss class, and you will get brownie points for dragging yourself to class to tell your professor personally that you were sick. Double bonus.

Closing Quote for the week: "There once was a man that was never born. He was made." ~ Me.

Think about it.

Throwing up the NW333 and ghost riding with the Easy Rider,

Signing off,

JD

Click!

Welcome to the wonderful world of West LaLa. This Guy Over Here is bringing you the latest news on campus, as well as some social critique. For some students, this week consisted of setting up meetings with advisors and trying to figure out what classes to take next semester. Some stood in line on Tuesday night for reserve basketball tickets, whose value went down significantly with Hummel's injury. Other's are still trying to figure out how to differentiate this week from any other week previous. As I'm having lunch and simply observing people in their everyday life, I wanted to talk about something that I have been mulling over about. It can be defined in this one sentence: "how do you be someone that other people want to follow?"

This seems like a pretty easy question right off the bat. Many people would simply answer that if you are nice, polite, and intelligent, people will want to follow or listen to you. However, to those people I am quick to bring up that sometimes the nicest people can't persuade even the dullest person to follow their cause, because there is something almost scary about a person that is too nice. Even the most polite person still has trouble gathering a following at times, and the smartest people in the world can't always find people to back up their causes. So how can you insure that others will willingly follow and support you?

It is a combination of different skills, and this combination has to be finely tuned. Imagine each different characteristic or attribute as a knob on a giant control panel. You can mix and match the values of these knobs, and therefore, you are given an endless possibilities of possible talentry. Some people may be really good at public speaking, but they lack in the one on one conversations. Others can be really personable, but they can't communicate to a large group. The trick to being someone that other people want to follow is by finding the right combination of settings that your "knobs" should be set on. So how do we find this combination?

Well first of all we need to practice. Practice makes perfect right? Well not necessarily, but it does make your further attempts a lot easier. But then we stumble along the problem of how do you practice different lifestyles? We don't wake up one day and decide to adjust our character to certain degrees. So, I want to lay out the three most important characteristics to monitor and practice in order to make other people want to follow you.

1) Confidence

This is the most important character trait, and it is also the hardest because in today's society, confidence is so easily mistaken as ego. There is a huge difference between ego and confidence; however, we can cross over from one to the other without even knowingly trying. It is a known fact that people follow people who seem to have their life together. People are attracted to people who are confident and sure of themselves. Note that the last statement does not read that people are attracted to people who are so sure of themselves that they do heed advice (egotism). The confidence factor is one of those traits that has to be just right. You have to be extremely confident and comfortable with yourself, without coming across as egotistical, and that is very hard to do.

2) Funny

This trait is something that you either have or you don't, because everyone knows how annoying the person is that tries to be Mr. Funny. For those of us who did not get the funny gene, we are at a disadvantage, and therefore have to find other ways to make up for this lacking. However, lacking the ability to always make people laugh is not a bad thing. If you are the class clown, the funny person, or the person in the group that everyone turns to for a laugh, then it is much harder to be taken seriously. Also, if you are that person, being funny almost becomes an expectation, and that can be a lot of work in and of itself. Saying this, people usually tend to follow individuals who make themselves feel good.

3) Intelligence

People listen and respect individuals that are intelligent. However, like confidence, an intelligent person can very easily come off as being cocky or even belittling. People with above average intelligence also have to figure out ways to communicate this intelligence in ways that everyone can understand. Only then can they really be an effective leader. If we took a group of high school students and sat them down in a Astrophysics lecture being held by the Director of NASA, they wouldn't necessarily want to follow this speaker simply because of the intelligence of the lecture.

The hardest part of being a leader is making other people want to follow you. Sure we can all go out and tell the next 50 people that we see that if they back us up on this or that then they win $100. But that's not real leadership. True leadership comes when others join with us simply because they like the direction that we are headed in. It's as simple as that.

This relates to us at college, especially at a big college like Purdue, because with close to 40,000 students, what are you personally doing to stand out and be a leader? Are others around you willing to follow you based on these characteristics above? These are not the only characteristics of leadership by any means; they were just the three that I thought were most relevant and useful. So be a connector. Branch out. Find out what makes you uncomfortable and do it. Adjust your personal knobs so that you can be the best you that you can be!

I came across a bit of exciting news a few days ago, but it was just confirmed today. My blog will now be hosted on boiler.camp.us and so I will be blogging for two different sites, but if you are used to reading on here, don't worry blogs will still be on the way. I am hoping that this will help expand my readership and get me more involved with the students of Purdue.

Closing tip for the week: Hicks Undergraduate Library was voted one of the best places on campus to study. There is a reason for this. It is AWESOME! Go there and check it out if you haven't been there yet. If you have, I am sure that you would agree with me. If not, go to a psychiatrist.

Closing quote for the week: "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." ~ John. C Maxwell

Throwing up the NW333 and throwing down The Rock,

Signing off,

JD

Carpe Diem

Sieze the day. A phrase that has been steady throughout the ages. Sieze the day. A way of life that exists on the purpose of spontaneity. Sieze the day. A saying that gets really really annoying if you keep repeating it after every sentence, but is still so true that it needs to be said after every sentence. Hello and welcome. Today is Sunday and I am about to start my team building meeting for engineering; however, I had a little bit of free time so I decided to fire up the comp and jot down some of the thoughts/events of the weekend.

The first thing that I would like to bring to the attention of anyone who reads this is the campaign called Swipe out Starvation. It is being run by Campus House at the moment; however, it is really more of an idea that we are trying to make happen on campus. Basically the idea is as follows: Every student at Purdue that has a meal plan gets a certain number of meal "swipes" per week. Yet, every week, students find themselves coming up with a certain number of swipes left over that they do not use. This is especially true of holiday weeks. Sure, Purdue already has a system where you can go to "On-the-Go" and get food that is definable to an equivalent of a meal, but some students do his and still have extra swipes, or they do not want the extra food and therefore swipes go to waste every week. What if we could not let those swipes go to waste? What if we could take the equivalent of food or money that is involved with one swipe and find a way to turn those equivalencies into tools to help those around us who are less fortunate. The Swipe out Starvation campaign is going to aim to do just that. There have been some concerns raised, and these concerns are a main reason why this is still an idea and not a project; but hopefully, it will soon be a experiment, and then a project, and finally something that is installed into everyday life at the Purdue campus. That is just a heads up of a new project that is relevant to all of us here at Purdue.

So moving onward.

If you have been on campus at all in the past week, you have seen the 'Maker' campaign that is popping up all over the place. I am a maker. I like the general idea; however, someone told me that the school was trying to get their name changed from Boilermaker to maker. I am totally against that. The cool part of the saying right now is that there are so many words/phrases that go with maker, i.e. difference maker, peacemaker. Boilermaker fits in that category, and therefore symbolizes that we are all of those phrases that are associated with 'maker'. Don't change the name.

If you saw the 'maker' campaign, you were probably around to hear the tragedy that befell all purdue students and fans alike this weekend. The news hit the student section of the football game in the 3rd quarter and spread like a wildfire. Just after we had gotten over the ACL injury that Robbie Hummel suffered at the end of last season, that ended his season along with the hopes of Purdue basketball, this happens. This season, with Johnson back and Hummel back and healthy, Purdue was ranked in the top-5 for pre-season polls. Yet, nothing gold stays, and last saturday during a practice, in one second, Robbie Hummel single handily destroyed all Boilermakers dreams and hopes of a National Championship when he re-tore his ACL. I am not blaming Robbie, and we will still have a good team, I just know a lot of grown men that cried themselves to sleep on Saturday night (I was not one of them. Maybe)

Well it's time for my meeting. Thanks for reading and feel free to post any comments. Hope your week is fabulous!

Tip for the week: At the football games, buy one of the bottomless cups. It may be a bit more expensive at first, but if you save it, you can bring it back into the later games. I have done this the past two weeks and saved $21 dollars on drinks. You may have to sneak the cup in, and if you get caught, this guy didn't tell you anything. (I am not supporting crime, just enlightening the Purdue students)

Closing quote for the week: "Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week." ~Spanish Proverb

Throwing up the NW333 and throwing down The Rock,

Signing off,

JD

Myth Debunking: Pumping some Iron

So Purdue's fall break is over which means that we actually have to go back to class now. The only good thing about break being over is that we only have a three day week which is always nice. Professors think that just because we came back from break we are suddenly rejuvenated. We are the complete opposite. Well most of us. Nothing too exciting has been happening since I returned to Purdue. I've been studying quite a bit, catching up on some homework, and I even made it to the gym a couple of nights ago. Since I like to point out common roles and norms of society, I had a great time coming up with a list of the average people you will see at your local gym. They are as follows:

1) The really strong guys who grunt/ make loud awkward noises.

Okay so your arms are twice the size of my head. Congratulations. While you were busy trying to catch up to Arnold Schwarenegger and taking your steroids, I was out being a bit more productive with my life. It's perfectly okay to work out but unless your going for the Strongest Man In the World competition, it's not something that has to consume you to a point where you look like Hulk Hogan or other wrestlers from WWE. As for the steroid use.. no we won't even go into that.

(I am not inferring that every really strong person uses steroids. Just the good majority of them)

2) The awkwardly strong girl

Guys love girls that are in shape. Key words: in shape. Not the girls that can bench press more than us. I mean come on if you want to take that approach, chop off your hair and call your self Mike (sorry michelle). There is a fine line for women between what guys consider working out, and actually working out. As tricky as that may sound, there is a difference. Be careful girls just how strong you get, because that is something that guys get easily offended at, and that is where most of the allegations of steroids and beaver tranquilizers comes from.

(Again, unless you are competing for the Strongest Female in the World, which I am not even sure if that exists, then you should really moderate your workouts.)

3)The weak guy who always tries to do more weight than he should.

So for a really long title, this role is actually pretty common and pretty self explanatory. There is always one gentleman; one young guy who thinks he is really stronger than he is. I know I know you are thinking how will I ever get stronger if I do not try more heavier weights. You're scared because sometimes you can't lift the weight that you go up and you are now thinking that you are this person. No, that is not necessarily the case. This person is more clear-cut. He usually doesn't visit the gym very often, and therefore he does not know proper gym etiquette (look it up). If you do at any time feel like you are becoming this guy, or you know that you have been in the past. I would recommend going and getting the second lightest set of dumbells and cranking out a quick 20 set. This shows that you can do some lifting, while not being so degraded to have to lift the lightest set.

4) Marathon Runner- The guy/girl that runs on the treadmill... FOREVER!

Whenever you go to the gym, there is a guy or a girl, sometimes both, who are running on the treadmill when you get there, and they are still running when you leave. It's like they are running every second of every day, on this journey to be the next Forrest Gump. The first problem with this is that they hog the treadmills. Good for you marathon man you can run for hours on end, so go outside and run and leave the treadmills to those of us who actually need them.

5)The Averagers.

Basically, most of the other people fit into this category. They are the people who just go to the gym because it is something to do. They run, they life, bike, whatever, but they don't get super serious about it. It's more of a hobby for them than a lifestyle. There are so many more roles inside this category, but it would take too long and be too annoying to describe them all. Some of them include: the sweaty guy, the Stair master, the Ab pro, and the Wanderer. However, when taken at a larger angle, all of these people are really just common goers, who are there without fail.

Now I have described some of the pretty common roles at the gym up on Purdue's Campus; yet, these are the common roles for most gyms. The people change but the roles are pretty consistent. How do you know if you are falling into one of these roles and what can you do about it? Well, the first thing would be to ask your friends. The second would be to video tape yourself working out. Just kidding. Don't do that, we don't need another Richard Simmons workout video out there floating around.

So next time that you go to the gym, if ever after reading this, you will know the common roles that people fit into. You may even be able to try and pull out some of this knowledge in a really pathetic pick-up line to the hot girl who is currently on the treadmill like

"Look, I know you're a marathon runner, so I am just going to run next to you and maybe by the time I turn 25 we can have a drink somewhere." Perfect. But seriously, guys that try to go to the gym just to get a hook-up are pitiful. It's a place to exercise, not to date.

That's about all I have for today's blog! I have to run to class so I'm going to wrap this up with the usual stuff, but I hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend and I will post something within the next week!

Closing tip for the week: For all of us people who live from Meredith and farther west (Shreve, Earhart, McCutcheon, Harrison, Hillenbrand), I am sure that you are all perfectly aware of this, but if you aren't then this will be helpful. There is a back entrance to the CoRec that makes things so much easier and quicker. Look it up

Closing thought for the week: "I don't like going to the gym because I don't like being with people I don't know in that intense environment. " ~Utada Hikaru

Throwing up the NW333 and throwing down The Rock,

Signing off,

JD

You Just Got Served

I know that most of you do not even know what 2:00 a.m. in the morning looks like because you have never been up that late, but for those of us who are night owls, let's just say this is when the fun begins. But seriously, what am I doing up this late, and why of all things would I be writing this? Those are two very good questions that I am going to answer right after I finish this extremely long sentence that really has no purpose but to delay the inevitable. So one, I am up this late because I could not sleep. Two, I am writing because it helps me express my thoughts and it's almost like a way of talking to myself, which sounds overly creepy and makes me look like I need some sort of psychiatrist, but it's a good way to kinda just let everything out. Moving forward.

Today officially marked the start of Purdue's fall break, and it also marked the first time that I have ever seen tumbleweed rolling across the street. For such a large campus, you would be amazed at how quickly it vacates. However, I decided to stay up on campus tonight, partially because of my crazy random desire to be different, and partially because I am an avid sports fan and our volleyball team just happened to be taking on the Penn State Nittany Lions, who ranks among the best volleyball teams in the nation. I have made it to 6 of the 7 home volleyball games this year (something that I am very proud of), and I did travel down to IU for the IU vs. Purdue Volleyball game so that makes up for my one home game that I missed. For all of you out there who think I am a little off my rocker for liking volleyball so much; I will just pretend that you aren't thinking that because I know that if you had a student section that was even a tenth as good as the Block Party, you would love volleyball too.

So I showed up to the game, grabbed a front row spot next to my friends Becky Wilson and Michael Dunbar, and got ready to see some good old big ten competition. The girls got down quick, losing the first two games, and as Phil Morton said at the half-time break, "Everybody better be ready to stay, cause this thing is going into five!" And he was right. The Boilermakers ended up coming back and beating Penn State in the 5th game, giving Penn State their third loss in the last three years (it was the first time that Purdue had beaten Penn State since 1987). I was just happy to be a part of it. I was going nuts, the gym was going crazy. It was a great cap to a pretty good week.

After the game, I went and caught the movie Social Network. It was very, very good. I would recommend it to all age groups. However, it was leaked that the movie was not completely accurate, that Zuckerburg was portrayed as someone that he wasn't, and that there were other various details that didn't match up with what really happened. It throws me for a loop that someone that was relatively the same age that I was created something that has changed the entire world. As I walked back to my dorm room after the movie, I was really thinking about what it would take to change the world, and why more people don't aim for this. Taking religion out of the equation for a second, what is our purpose in life? If you don't believe in higher power, than why are you here? Why am I here? What does our lives mean? How do we measure success? Is it by how much fun we had while we lived, or how people remember us when we are no longer here? Is it both? How can I change the world, and should I even be concerned with that? Why not?

I saw my third shooting star tonight that I have ever seen in my entire life. Maybe it's a sign or something. This is coming from the guy that keeps every single fortune cookie fortune, because I have yet to get one that I cannot apply to my life somehow. That's about all I have for right now, if you have any comments or suggestions feel free to leave them below. They are much appreciated! Make sure you do your part and tell your friends or someone about this blog, and I'll keep up my end of the bargain and keep the posts coming. To follow This Guy Over Here, just make an account. It's that easy. twss

Tip for the weekend: At most of the dining courts, make sure to check out the hot chocolate dispenser. It is usually near where the coffee/ice cream is, and it is surprisingly delicious. Perfect for a chilly day.

Closing thought for the weekend: "When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."

~Author Unknown

Throwing up the NW333 and throwing down The Rock,

Proud to be a Boilermaker.

Signing off,

JD

It's Fall Break Time

Hey all. It's a beautiful wednesday up at Purdue, and I am siting on the porch of Meredith just taking it easy. I had my first engineering test today. It was a bit crazy, but what's over is over. Let's move on. Today, I want to bring up a few topics that have popped into my head over the past week, and sort of fill you in on what my week has consisted of since my last blog. For Purdue, our Fall Break starts this weekend and goes until next Wednesday. I feel really bad for the students at the colleges that don't offer a Fall Break, and by those colleges I mean IU (hey their students have to catch up in intelligence somewhere!). That last statement was probably uncalled for; however, if you go to Purdue or go to any Big Ten school that has a rival, so can sympathize with me because since day 1 I have had it drilled in my head that IU sucks. We are two different schools with specializations in different areas, why can't we just exist in a quiet and uninvolved harmony. We can be competitive in athletics, but then again, what Big Ten School isn't? We even have a school that is mixed between IU and Purdue, yet we still act as if we cannot stand one another.

Another thing that I have been thinking about as Fall Break is approaching is this sense on entitlement that everyone gets the day before a vacation to skip or leave early. This was a huge factor in high school with spring break, as our Spring Break really basically started on the thursday night. As Fall Break is right around the corner, I've noticed that the same principles apply in college, at least at Purdue. Teachers are canceling classes (I am not complaining about this), students are making travel plans that include skipping what classes they have remaining on Friday, and others are even leaving two days early. What I have been wondering is where did this sense of entitlement come from? Why do we think that we are owed this extra day before a vacation? I'm not really sure what the answer to that is, but it is always something that I have wondered about.

Let's see, what has been going on in the past week... Well as I said before, I had my first engineering test today so that has been my primary focus for the last 5 days or so. On Friday night, I went to a "creative date" with some girls from church, and it was this giant murder mystery game. My character was Kenny Kickit, a jock during high school who turned into a free lance assassin. I thought it sounded pretty cool, but I never obtained one of the murder weapons, so I couldn't even break out my stealthy ninja assassin moves (the ones with the ninja stars and that long wicked sharp chain). INstead, my services as a body guard were hired out and so I used all 6 feet, 150 pounds of myself to protect michael (a.k.a Rohan) from harm. And let me tell you I was a darn good body guard. If I was a little bit bigger, I think I could make a profession out of it. Note to self: check if they is a professional school for body guarding.

Because I had so much studying to do, I stayed in on Saturday night. (See how I used the studying as my excuse? It works. You're in college now if you ever don't want to do something, just say you have to study. Every college kid can study a little bit more.) I legitimately needed to study though, so it worked out both ways. Anyways, I ended up watching 'The Departed', which was a very confusing movie. I did my best to keep up at 2 in the morning, needless to say I was a little bit tired for church the next morning.

The rest of my week passed without anything too exciting or adventurous. The Brunch Bunch doubled its previous attendance in one week, so I think that we are moving in positive directions. My President's Leadership Class went to the low ropes course on Monday night, and I learned how to climb over an 11 foot wall with the help of one of my friends. I unfortunately watched bits a pieces of another dismal Colt's loss, but I have to give it up to the Jaguars' kicker. That's about all I have for this week, I'll be sure to update you all on what's happening at Purdue, and keep you up to date on anything that strikes my fancy! Also, I am adding in a new part to my traditional closing. Hope you enjoy!

Tip for the week: When at a friendly bonfire with people that you do not know, and these people just so happen to be making smores, take and hold onto the bag of marshmellows. This allows you to control the distribution of marshmellows, but more importantly, it allows you to meet people and make new friends. Try it!

Closing thought for the week: "Vacation used to be a luxury, but in today's world it has become a necessity." ~Author Unknown

Throwing up the NW 333 and throwing down the Rock,

Signing off,

JD