Sunday, October 10, 2004
This weekend rocked my face off. If you do not want to read a novel about what an awesome time I had in Indiana...dont read, cause I am definitely doing to go off on it. And, because this weekend was so great, and so many wonderful things happend outside of my weekend that just add to it, I am almost afraid of what tomorrow brings. I feel like I had a mountain top experience and I am about to get slapped in the face with something...a little apprehensive about it actually. But, for now, I'll gloat in the awesomeness that was this past weekend.
Ok...thursday I was so rushed to get out of town that I forgot to do a million things. weather and traffic were awful in houston and i BARELY made it to my flight. luckily all that was NOT an indicator of how the weekend would go! I flew for 3.5 hours, rode a bus for 3 hours, and got to notre dame around 12:30 thursday night. Phil and Katie met me at the bus stop, greeted me with big hugs, and took me on a mini tour of campus. SO GORGEOUS. I would like to go off on how incredible the landscape is, how intricate the architecture is...but words can not express. I was moved. There was a point on campus we stood where the first thing in front of me was a statue of Mary, and far behind it but large in my view was the golden dome with another statue of mary on top(in pure gold, of course). Gorgeous view...surrounded by orange, red, yellow, and green leaves and huge lawns of grass very well maintained. We walked around all the dorms and saw the amazing structures they have. I always knew my dorm looked like a bomb shelter, but I thought EVERYONE's did. No...theirs are incredible. I dont even know the adjectives to describe it. We went to Ruckers, their version of poor yoricks, and then we went to the grotto (sp?). It is an amazingly beautiful place on campus where students light candels and kneel to pray. We all lit a candle and knelt and said personal prayers. It was an incredible thing for me.
Friday Phil, Katie's friend Sarah, and I had lunch in their dining hall (which was the model for the harry potter dining hall) and phil gave me a tour of campus. Again, gorgeous. ALL the buildings (with very few exceptions) are built to look like they are from the eighteenth century or something (i dont know the era but they are incredible) and the spacious campus is awesome. I think if I traveled to every campus in the nation I would not find one more gorgeous than Notre Dame. I know I am gloating on it...dont think for a second I find it better than aTm...the campus is just the most beautiful place I have ever been and, most likely, will ever go. I cant even tell you. Friday evening was their pep rally which was fun...though there was ONE disappointment we will get to later. It was neat that they had so much spirit. It reminded me of the scene in armageddon where liv tyler asks ben affleck "do you think it is possible that someone else is doing the exact same thing at the exact same moment?" and he says "i hope so. cause if not, what are we trying to save?" (not word for word) It made me think of that because I have always been so into the tradition, pride, and spirit of aTm and there is no place in the world I would rather be...but at the same time i always felt as if it was a lost cause because no where else has this kind of spirit, and that is a sad thing. but, i found out that, though their spirit will never match the aggie sprirt :), it comes close and the tradition there is incredible. The similarities are striking, while they are so very different. but, it did motivate me to know that there was anotehr institution with the spirit and tradition we pride ourselves on. Friday night we had dinner, watched some movies, and went to sleep.
Saturday I experienced my first (and hopefully not last) fightin' irish football game. Which, just like in college station, is so much more than a football game. There is the step off, concert on the steps, inspection, Irish guard, march in...so much. It was awesome. My friends Phil and Katie are in the band so it was awesome to be a band groupie there too. I swear, I was born to be a band nerd. :) The game was excellent. Lots of unique traditions (my favorite of which was shaking keys on a defensive 3rd down because it is a "key play"...and i bet 95% of the keys were to BMWs...) lots of cheering and yelling, and overall lots of spirit. Again, only ONE disappointment which I will get to in a second. We won the game, 23-15, and by the end I knew all the hand motions, all the cheers, and I even knew the Irish step dance thingy. :) (apparently I didnt catch the name of it) After the game the band was EXHAUSTED after being up since 7, so we had a mild dinner, went to ruckers, and watched the terminal for $3 in one of their classroom buildings. Movie was...ok. Tom Hanks: awesome. movie plot: terrible. Overall: decent. We got the bed around 2 and this morning I made a quick stop at the main building to see the amazing paintings inside before catching my flight back home. like weekends in college station, it flew by...but i had the experience of a lifetime. it was incredible. I LOVED all of katie's friends and wished I could bring them home in my suitcase, and I DEFINITELY need to go back every semester. But, walking onto the plane, I was happy to be coming home. Yes...I loved every minute of being there. But, it solidified my thought that there is no place better in the world for me than aTm. IF there was ANY school I would love as much, it would have to be ND. But, it is just not for me. Loved it...absolutely loved it...and cant wait to go back. But it is a great place to visit and a great place for them.
The ONLY 2 things I didnt like: 1.) at the pep rally TWO coaches pleaded with the fans to come out to the game and BE THE 12TH MAN!!! One of katie's friends, erin, had a friend, erin, in town who also goes to aTm. (btw...she is SO awesome and i had SO much fun with her) we both looked at each other in disbelief. a tradition filled school...and they go and take someone else's THING? I was trying to explain to notre dame erin the significance of the 12th man at aTm and I told her it would be the equivalent of if our band up and TROTTED in one of their halftime shows. She, too, was disgusted at the idea. Phil and Katie were both disappointed that it happened too just because there is so much tradition at ND...no need to steal someone elses. So, i am going to send them 12th man towels to let them spread the word: it is OURS. :) 2.) the overall sportsmanship of the fans. not as bad as tech (but then again who is) but disappointing. There was profanity, a LOT of drunkenness, flipping off of refs, booing of the other team, rudeness to fellow students...the aggie spirit was definitely not alive. (however, the ol' ags sure didnt have aggie spirit at the soccer game 2 weeks ago, did they kris???) It made me very proud to go to a school that is prided on its sportsmanship. Prided so much that our battallion had an article that said: "Clemson fan Edward Strom enjoyed his time in College Station so much that he sent a letter to the 12th Man Foundation with a check for $500. Part of the letter read: I can safely say that I have never met finer fans than I have met in College Station"
So...in closing on my weekend in south bend: it was INCREDIBLE and I will have to show you pictures. Katie and Phil: thank you SO much for such an AWESOME time and such great hospitality.
Now, on to the other details that made this weekend to spectacular. First and foremost, we won our temporary court case. Please say a big thank you prayer to God for looking out for us and guiding us through it all. He really blessed us. I will give details in person if you are interested, but basically we have custody of emily (as long as rebecca is in arkansas) until our final hearing in January, where the judge will most likely rule in our favor again. So, thanks for your prayers and support. And, the last bit of good news (besides my 100 you already know about ;) is my email from austin. I always love to hear from him. He was very high in spirits this time, which is awesome, and said he is enjoying his work in Iraq. Send a letter to John kerry: there are soldiers who SUPPORT the war...whoda thunk it?!?! btw, i was FUMING at his abortion comment in the debate. just a side note. So, all is well over here! sorry this is so long...but trust me, it could have been a million times longer. have a wonderful week, hope it is stress free, and i will ttyl! au revoir!
Ok...thursday I was so rushed to get out of town that I forgot to do a million things. weather and traffic were awful in houston and i BARELY made it to my flight. luckily all that was NOT an indicator of how the weekend would go! I flew for 3.5 hours, rode a bus for 3 hours, and got to notre dame around 12:30 thursday night. Phil and Katie met me at the bus stop, greeted me with big hugs, and took me on a mini tour of campus. SO GORGEOUS. I would like to go off on how incredible the landscape is, how intricate the architecture is...but words can not express. I was moved. There was a point on campus we stood where the first thing in front of me was a statue of Mary, and far behind it but large in my view was the golden dome with another statue of mary on top(in pure gold, of course). Gorgeous view...surrounded by orange, red, yellow, and green leaves and huge lawns of grass very well maintained. We walked around all the dorms and saw the amazing structures they have. I always knew my dorm looked like a bomb shelter, but I thought EVERYONE's did. No...theirs are incredible. I dont even know the adjectives to describe it. We went to Ruckers, their version of poor yoricks, and then we went to the grotto (sp?). It is an amazingly beautiful place on campus where students light candels and kneel to pray. We all lit a candle and knelt and said personal prayers. It was an incredible thing for me.
Friday Phil, Katie's friend Sarah, and I had lunch in their dining hall (which was the model for the harry potter dining hall) and phil gave me a tour of campus. Again, gorgeous. ALL the buildings (with very few exceptions) are built to look like they are from the eighteenth century or something (i dont know the era but they are incredible) and the spacious campus is awesome. I think if I traveled to every campus in the nation I would not find one more gorgeous than Notre Dame. I know I am gloating on it...dont think for a second I find it better than aTm...the campus is just the most beautiful place I have ever been and, most likely, will ever go. I cant even tell you. Friday evening was their pep rally which was fun...though there was ONE disappointment we will get to later. It was neat that they had so much spirit. It reminded me of the scene in armageddon where liv tyler asks ben affleck "do you think it is possible that someone else is doing the exact same thing at the exact same moment?" and he says "i hope so. cause if not, what are we trying to save?" (not word for word) It made me think of that because I have always been so into the tradition, pride, and spirit of aTm and there is no place in the world I would rather be...but at the same time i always felt as if it was a lost cause because no where else has this kind of spirit, and that is a sad thing. but, i found out that, though their spirit will never match the aggie sprirt :), it comes close and the tradition there is incredible. The similarities are striking, while they are so very different. but, it did motivate me to know that there was anotehr institution with the spirit and tradition we pride ourselves on. Friday night we had dinner, watched some movies, and went to sleep.
Saturday I experienced my first (and hopefully not last) fightin' irish football game. Which, just like in college station, is so much more than a football game. There is the step off, concert on the steps, inspection, Irish guard, march in...so much. It was awesome. My friends Phil and Katie are in the band so it was awesome to be a band groupie there too. I swear, I was born to be a band nerd. :) The game was excellent. Lots of unique traditions (my favorite of which was shaking keys on a defensive 3rd down because it is a "key play"...and i bet 95% of the keys were to BMWs...) lots of cheering and yelling, and overall lots of spirit. Again, only ONE disappointment which I will get to in a second. We won the game, 23-15, and by the end I knew all the hand motions, all the cheers, and I even knew the Irish step dance thingy. :) (apparently I didnt catch the name of it) After the game the band was EXHAUSTED after being up since 7, so we had a mild dinner, went to ruckers, and watched the terminal for $3 in one of their classroom buildings. Movie was...ok. Tom Hanks: awesome. movie plot: terrible. Overall: decent. We got the bed around 2 and this morning I made a quick stop at the main building to see the amazing paintings inside before catching my flight back home. like weekends in college station, it flew by...but i had the experience of a lifetime. it was incredible. I LOVED all of katie's friends and wished I could bring them home in my suitcase, and I DEFINITELY need to go back every semester. But, walking onto the plane, I was happy to be coming home. Yes...I loved every minute of being there. But, it solidified my thought that there is no place better in the world for me than aTm. IF there was ANY school I would love as much, it would have to be ND. But, it is just not for me. Loved it...absolutely loved it...and cant wait to go back. But it is a great place to visit and a great place for them.
The ONLY 2 things I didnt like: 1.) at the pep rally TWO coaches pleaded with the fans to come out to the game and BE THE 12TH MAN!!! One of katie's friends, erin, had a friend, erin, in town who also goes to aTm. (btw...she is SO awesome and i had SO much fun with her) we both looked at each other in disbelief. a tradition filled school...and they go and take someone else's THING? I was trying to explain to notre dame erin the significance of the 12th man at aTm and I told her it would be the equivalent of if our band up and TROTTED in one of their halftime shows. She, too, was disgusted at the idea. Phil and Katie were both disappointed that it happened too just because there is so much tradition at ND...no need to steal someone elses. So, i am going to send them 12th man towels to let them spread the word: it is OURS. :) 2.) the overall sportsmanship of the fans. not as bad as tech (but then again who is) but disappointing. There was profanity, a LOT of drunkenness, flipping off of refs, booing of the other team, rudeness to fellow students...the aggie spirit was definitely not alive. (however, the ol' ags sure didnt have aggie spirit at the soccer game 2 weeks ago, did they kris???) It made me very proud to go to a school that is prided on its sportsmanship. Prided so much that our battallion had an article that said: "Clemson fan Edward Strom enjoyed his time in College Station so much that he sent a letter to the 12th Man Foundation with a check for $500. Part of the letter read: I can safely say that I have never met finer fans than I have met in College Station"
So...in closing on my weekend in south bend: it was INCREDIBLE and I will have to show you pictures. Katie and Phil: thank you SO much for such an AWESOME time and such great hospitality.
Now, on to the other details that made this weekend to spectacular. First and foremost, we won our temporary court case. Please say a big thank you prayer to God for looking out for us and guiding us through it all. He really blessed us. I will give details in person if you are interested, but basically we have custody of emily (as long as rebecca is in arkansas) until our final hearing in January, where the judge will most likely rule in our favor again. So, thanks for your prayers and support. And, the last bit of good news (besides my 100 you already know about ;) is my email from austin. I always love to hear from him. He was very high in spirits this time, which is awesome, and said he is enjoying his work in Iraq. Send a letter to John kerry: there are soldiers who SUPPORT the war...whoda thunk it?!?! btw, i was FUMING at his abortion comment in the debate. just a side note. So, all is well over here! sorry this is so long...but trust me, it could have been a million times longer. have a wonderful week, hope it is stress free, and i will ttyl! au revoir!
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