Saturday, May 16, 2009

I love college

Greetings, Friends. It is with great pride that I announce the end of my undergraduate career. (Sort of.) The last few weeks of college were without a doubt a fun ride. However, recent developments have made me question whether I have been in college at all. Sure, you can see my transcripts. Call the bursar, my account has been paid. But, well, perhaps Asher Roth and I did not have the same college experience.

Without further adieu, a walk through the last few weeks of my college career:


1. My kids

This is what my friend Colleen and I referred to our lab group as. Colleen and I shared the duties of guiding six students in their gross anatomy dissections this semester, and after spending every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon with these sophomores, they sort of become like family. This picture was taken at a celebratory pizza dinner at the end of the semester at Angelo's.


2. Campus Renew Picnic!

After my grumblings in Campus Ministry for about a year, faith sharing groups came to campus this spring in the form of Campus Renew! I would say our group was probably the most successful of all and I loved getting to know everyone. Here is a picture of our dinner outing that turned into a picnic. In the back are myself and Dave, affectionately known as the grandparents of the group. Everyone else was a sophomore.



3. Visit from Baraboo

Here's Nicky and me at dinner on a weekend when Gina, Lindsay, Molly and others from Camp came to town.


SENIOR WEEK

At Marquette, an entire week is devoted the the enjoyment of the senior class following finals and before graduation. Many official events are planned, many more opportunities for fun are had. Here's a sampling of the ridiculousness:

1. Last Day of Finals

I may or may not have missed a work meeting Friday afternoon of finals week because I was at the bar. I don't regret it. An afternoon of joy with some of my absolute favorites.



2. The La Perla Challenge

After spending the afternoon watching Titanic and decorating shirts for our evening out, we headed over to the Mexican restaurant La Perla for margaritas and jocularity. La Perla is known to the underage crowd as a hospitable locale, so we decided it appropriate to pay the Perl a visit as card carrying members of the legal crowd.


These are the ladies, with the shirts we made of puffy paint.



Yes, La Perla does have a Pepper Cam (the chili pepper in the background is ride-able. I know.) This was a shot of us posted on their website.


Somehow we all got invited to a private party post-Perla. No one knows quite how, but we rocked the dance floor on the second floor. Minus Mary Kate.

2. Tuesday Night Mass at Joan of Arc

This was a standing room only Mass celebrated by the one and only Fr. John Naus. Fr. Naus is at least 200 years old, wheel chair-bound and in the the nursing home, but he still comes to campus every Tuesday to celebrate Mass with over 200 Marquette students. The man used to be a circus clown before joining the Jesuits, as evidenced by his superior balloon animal skills and his class offering of "The Philosophy of Humor". It was nice to celebrate Mass Naus-style one last time as seniors. Even Mandi (the heathen) came!! :)


3. Senior Ball

Held at the brand new Harley Davidson Museum (yes, you can say "Only in Milwaukee...."), senior ball was a wonderful night.


Residents of Strack Apartment Z...and the squatter.


Praem and I, discussing whether we will spank our children. Don't ask.


4. Senior Tailgate at the Brewer's Game

While this experience was made moderately uncomfortable by me being an apathetic Twins fan sitting between a die-hard Brewer's and cut-throat Cubs fan, the game and the day was absolutely wonderful.


5. Around-the-World Progressive

Truly, no special occasion is complete without a progressive party. For our part, we chose an around-the-world theme with each of the consecutive apartments providing both food and beverages to regale their guests with. The participating countries included:


CUBA, complete with daiquiris, guacamole and of course...

...free health care.


ITALY (see it? their homemade dresses match the flag) complete with vino and pizza rolls.


GERMANY, featuring pretzels and beer.



And BELIZE complete with Coke (from legit sugar cane, not syrup), tropical fruits, and obviously dancing.

Now, should a person find his or herself in the precarious situation of not having a hosting apartment, they might wonder if they can participate in these aforementioned festivities. The answer to this query is of course, yes. Because no trip around the world can be complete without...

TOURISTS.

Or even tourists-turned-tour-guides, manning the crowds as we traversed the streets of Milwaukee.

This was an event that will go down in the Marquette history books. At least for us, anyway. It was a blast.

Senior week was capped off by graduation, of course, but since I didn't graduate, I wasn't there. Look for those photos next May. And in the mean time, keep keeping up with the blog. Thanks for reading.

Friday, May 1, 2009

What I do between classes...


This could legitimately be my greatest collegiate acheivement. Enjoy!