Final Times at Ann Arbor

Well that time of year is here, that it is ending soon. And for some reason everything starts to pile up on you, very very quickly. It started out with a ton of school work, studying and writing papers for all my classes, but I also was able to go to two orchestra concerts, a St. Mary Dance and had a mini dance party at Rina´s house with a couple of buddies. Like to dance salsa or swing? Well, we got you covered! Hahaha it was good to spend time with them before I left. But it was also physically exhausting as I started to get sick in the mix of all the packing and studying and hanging I had to do.
What a memorable time!

The Saint Mary Dance with Mark and Ashley

Me Mark and Brad goffing off
at Rina´s garage

I also had my chatecism kids´First Communion. I had worked with these kids all year,w orking for their first reconsiliation the first semester and their first communion for this semester. I had 5-6 graders and after they figured out I am a cool guy, we started to get really into it. They ended up understanding everthing within context of the scripture and tradition and they began to asnwer so many good quality questions that I am not even accostomed to hear from adults. It was great. And then we had rehersal Friday afternoon and the big mass Saturday. I was so proud of my kids: they were ready to recieve Christ for the first time because of all the work I put into them; they were a product of my hard work and focus. It was awesome that I had a direct effect on their lives and they will always carry that. Wonderful. I wish I had as cool a chatechism teacher as they had.

My Catechism Kids

I have to tell you of my intence philosophy paper. It was over Averroes and his question of wether or not God, an unchanging and eternal being can know the changing and temporal world. The argument goes that if God never changes, how can he know things that do change, like the wether, our beleifs and events. How can his knowledge be one even though knowledge must change according to the change of the world? Anyhow, that was my topic at hand and I had to adress a few issues and at the end I made an awesome 2200 word paper. IT was sweet. Took a lot of work and ended up working up till I had to turn it in. Success is beautiful.

This past week I was loaded as well. Friday was hectic. It was the UCO Final. John asked me to make the slide show. So I started to work on it first thing after my Stats final. It took me all week to study for the sucker and I think I did aweful. But you can only do so much. So I worked a lot on this slide show, from that night till 3am then started first thing the following day and went all the way to 5:20. And I was like awwww, dang it! It was the first time all year that we had 80 degree wether and I was shut up all day in my room working on the slideshow. But it was done and even though the event started at 6, I wanted to play ball! So I did! I went out and owned on the blacktop and then get in like at 6:20 and showered and changed and grabbed my magic props and then left to the place. And it was a beautiful day, just wonderful. And the slideshow went wonderful as well. Check it out and tell me what you think.

After being there for a while I took off cause I had a magic show...yes! I had a magic show! First one in a while! Like a year and a hlaf! For those of you who dont know I did magic professionally for 3 years from 10th-12th grade in high school through the summer until I began college, and once I got here I was so involved with classes and the christian community and basketall that there was just no time. But since things were loosining up here at the end I figured out I could take a show and thats just what I did. I grabbed my bag and left the finaly a bit early and got my game face on and went over to the place. And it was AWESOME! I got there and they delayed it for a while so I got to meat all the people there and get comfortable before I started. And then I went all out, which was only appropriate because the host also went all out. They decorated the whole appartment with magic themed stuff and even had magic potion and magic streamers and a magic flag and had a fog machine that went off for my entrance and after each trick. And they went nuts! They loved it! YOu have no idea! There was so much anticipation going into the show, especially scine most people didnt beleive there was an actual magician that was going to perform. But once I got started, epople were ready and went bonkers! Complete bonkers! Lets just say that I amde a lot of friends that night and had another fan club started here in Ann Arbor. It was great. Absolutely great.

DP the Great!!!

As that face attests, I dazzled everyone

What can I say?
I get a fan club everywhere I go

Saturday, the 24th we had a surprise birthday aprty for Rina who is truning 19. We got one of friends Chris Flanagan who has a bike to pick her up for a short ride and then instead bring her to the huron river where the gang was there awaiting. Then we got conoes and took off. It was so much fun! Then of course it started to rain and hail and thunderstorm, and of course the girls got scrared so we had to go to the side of the river and that ment of course that I had to drag the boat back mostly by myself. Hahaha it was such an adventure and I had so much fun. After that we went to Mark´s house to celebrate and that was good times.

The Survivors

Rina´s response to her guitar birthday cake

Sunday I went to Christ the King for the last time and then went to packing, or trying to pack. Always so much stuff going on its so hard to get down to it. And that followed on monday. I was working on packing. I fannialy got my boxes so I went to work. I had 3 medium to ship with books and shoes and some clothes and 2 large ones to pack with jackets and winter clothes and bedding. And my roomates that are in that same philosophy class were studying up a storm. But I went to a party instead. I went to this blueplex party in Ypsi. Its the women´s household there and they were having an end of the year party cause Eastern Michigan was done with the school. And that was cool. Got to hang out with some women that I have never met before and chill with the guys.

Blueplex party

Tuesday was weird. I woke up and I wasnt feeling good. Like at all. I got up early to start studying on my exam. I was up by 8 and went to study. And all of assuden I feel asleep at 11...and then woke up at 1! I was like, holy cow! ANd right then I get a text message from Will the Head Manager to come meet him at the office to get my Letter Jacket! So I run over and we got to Schembeckler Hall were football is and I got my jacket right away! And It looks tight! Just thing, I will always have this jacket. It is something that I can wear and have and is a simbole of Michigan and I am apart of that great legacy. I see old men come to Crisler all the theime wearing their old letter jackets. Some day I can too. THis is awesome, a distinction, a recognition that I can keep forever. Really really cool. Ad no, its not just like a high school letterman, this si a varsity Michigan Letter Jacket. Its ligit; the real deal.


Then I was on the move again. I shipped my 3 boxes with the help of Bethie. Then I had to go back and forth and get stuff done. And then I took a nap. Slept for liek another 2 hours. I really was feeling light headed and buzzy and my stomach was not good. But I kept on moving cause I had too. Then the dormtroopers went to go play lazertag cause there was a tuesday special. And of course I wanted to go and show my aweful colour blind skillz. But I was still feeling really bad. But you either live happy or die tryin, so that what I did. And it was fun and I didnt do as bad as I thought I would. THen some of my buddies came over to the Dude for the last time to hang with me. Of course there were the dudes but also Rina, Ashely and Bethie and her sister Sarah. It was like the last time we would see eachother to perhaps late August. So we made the best of it makeing fun of eachother in scategories. It was great haha and Brad is so FUNNY! Finally whern his girlfriend left that boy is amazing! He is so funny and so much fun to be with. Dang, Bethany should just stay up there and let Brad be Brad! Jealousy?...yeah, you could say that. But dang he was so much fun. It was a pretty emptional goodbye but its all good, Ill be back in 4 months!



Weds was another full day. I woke up feeling aweful. No work out. Study. Study...cant dang it! I had to pack them last boxes and clean. THen I had to go to the basketball office one last time to pick up some things. Then I had to get a blue book and then this and that. So I finally get to Angell Hall super worn out super tired and sucked out of energy and I had 30 minutes to get ready for my final, of which 10 were spent in the bathroom. Yeah, it sucked. But the final didnt turn out to bad, nt at all. They were either short essays or long essays which allowed me to explain myself. And what was better yet, even thoug I didnt get to go over the topics study wise, I was able to talk and explain most of them with MArk and Ashley the day before. So I had at least thought of responces and I just wrote them out! Wow, that was awesome! Thank God.

But the day was far from over. I got back and did my best to finish packing my boxes for storage. Everything that was not in those boxes had to go with me on the plane. I called Bethie and she came by to take me and the boxes to the Caldwells. That was funny too cause I played a little joke with Rina, saying I was not going to be at her house to drop off the boxes but really went to surprise her only to find that she wasnt there because I told her I wouldnt be there haha. BUt then we found eachother and us 3 went on a tour of Eastern Campus. It is a very clean and nice looking campus, well, except for the dorms. THey have a lot more dorms than I thought they would, being a communer school. I thought, who would ever want to say they live int he dorms at Easter? hahaha. They looked like prison cells! THey really did hahaha. But the rest of campus was very nice and clean. It reminded me a lot of Delmar College here in Corpus. It was nice and modern and clean, but you know what, it had no passion, it had no soul, it had no antiquity of style that really shone off to the rest of the campus. It was not beautiful or while or charming like the Ann Arbor Campus. It was not alive. But thats ok; not every campus has to be as cool as Yale or Notre Dame or Michigan. Haha

I got back to the empty dorm at 9pm to meet with the guys. It was our very last time that the fellowship of the Pentadude would be united. It was the last time. We went to David´s house and built a bon fire and talked and smoked pipes and chilled for a long time. It was great, becasue a lot of these guys are seniors that are moving on. And for the rest of us, well most are in household int he summer there in Ann Arbor but I am back in Texas. So either way, i might not see them for 4-8 months. It was a very special moment...well, besides the fact that I became super sick. My stomach was killing me and I was so light headed and dizzy and baaa it was awesful. I stayed next to the fire to stay warm. But when I left it I was shivering like mad even though I didnt feel that cold. I dont know...all I know was that it was my last night there in Ann Arbor and it was suppose to be super cool but I was feeling awful but I tried to make the best of it.

Last time, baby!
The Pentadude will live forever in our hearts!

Of couse I got back at the Dude at 2:30am and slept in my bare matrice in my clothes and zipper hoody to stay warm. I got up at 6am to get my bags and meet my godmother, Miriam Torrez and drive to the Detroit Airport. And it all worked out. I had to make sure my luggage would change with me cause I was going American half the way and Contenental the rest. And of course I was stuck in the plane for an hour and a half on the runway with American (cause American sucks, every time) and then missed my other flight and got back to Texas 2 hours after the original plan, but the fact was that I was back, in Texas, that once used to be my home and now where I reside for 4 months of the year. It felt like I haddnt been gone. I felt like I jsut seen my parents and brothers, even though my brothers looked taller and my parent slooked older, haha, but you get the picture. It was good to be home, in hot, humid, and sun-killing flat Texas. Its good. Yee-hawww!!