Thanksgiving Break

Sorry I didn't get a blog in last week, I had a lot going on in preparing for my Physics test on Friday and totally forgot. 

Anyways, today I'm going to write about Thanksgiving break and how fantastic of a time it really is.  It's a very close second in my favorite breaks (out of three...) behind Winter break.  It's just so perfect getting away for a week right when the academic grind starts to get really tough.  Obviously, the food on Thanksgiving can't be beat either, it's just superb.  Hanging around the extended family, with drinks, food and football is just something that can't be beat. I'm especially excited for this Thanksgiving to just talk to all of my family members and brag and boast and tell stories about Virginia Tech. My conversations last year were mostly along the lines of, "OH, Andrew how's RPI?" "It's okay, really tough." "Yeah I bet, and it's cold up there too, how's lacrosse?" "It's hard too, we've had a lot of snow and sub twenty degree weather". Something like that. I wasn't completely set on transferring at that point but it was a thought, so I wasn't extremely enthusiastic about it all. But this year's going to be different and I can't wait.  And because of Summer classes it's been a while since I've gotten to spend time at home or with my friends so that's exciting as well.  I'm even leaving early on Thursday with a friend of mine to spend some time visiting friends at UVA, so that'll be fun as well.  Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving break!

Side note: Here's the Men's Lacrosse schedule for the Spring in case you guys want to make a game.

Sat.	3/1	1:00 PM	South Carolina	Salem, VA
Sun.	3/2	1:00 PM	Wake Forest	Winston Salem, NC
Sun.	3/9	1:00 PM	Cal Poly	San Luis Obispo, CA
Tues.	3/11	7:00 PM	UCSB	Santa Barbara, CA
Fri.	3/14	2:00 PM	Loyola Marymount	Los Angeles, CA
Sat.	3/22	2:00 PM	Pittsburgh	Blacksburg, VA
Sun.	3/23	12:00 PM	Georgia	Blacksburg, VA
Fri.	3/28	7:00 PM	Clemson	Baltimore, MD
Sun.	3/30	12:00 PM	Connecticut	Baltimore, MD
Sat.	4/5	3:00 PM	Kentucky	Lexington, KY
Sun.	4/6	1:00 PM	West Virginia	Knoxville, TN
Fri.	4/11	8:00 PM	Tennessee	Blacksburg, VA
Sun.	4/13	3:00 PM	George Washington	Blacksburg, VA
Fri.	4/18	8:00 PM	Liberty	Lynchburg, VA
Fri. – Sun.	4/25 - 27		SELC Tournament	Duluth, GA

Bus Rides

So today our lacrosse team leaves for Clemson and I decided to write about my experiences with away trips during my just more than one year long collegiate career to this point.

All of the trips, up until this coming spring break, have been taken on coach busses.  Very comfortable but, when taken for long periods of time just get outright boring.  Of course there are always movies, phone games, sleep and whatever else you can think of to entertain yourself.  The longest of which came last spring break when my team made the trek from Troy, New York to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  A total of 27 hours, just about 13 hours each way was absolutely brutal.  The year prior, when they’d gone to Florida, the team all went out the night before and in turn everyone got their fair share of sleep on the short plane ride.  But our coach wasn’t too keen about the cost of flying so he chose a bus last year.  We ended up playing a game that Friday, leaving that night and driving all through it.  It was brutal to say the least.  On the trip there, the kids who were already sick got everyone else sick. We lived in four houses, so those who weren’t sick by then got sick. And on the way back, when all the formerly sick kids felt better, they caught the cold again. So that was unpleasant.  But more or less it was a fun trip and I enjoyed being out of New York for the week.

Another notable trip we took last year was up to “North Country” as referred to by locals as the area above “Upstate” New York. We were on our way to play Saint Lawrence University and on the way we stopped in Lake Placid, New York and visited the Olympic facilities there and even got to see the hockey rink where the Miracle on Ice happened, that was really awesome. Here’s a 120 foot ski jump we saw that was used in the 1980 Olympics:

Our trip to Rochester to play Rochester Institute of Technology was pretty strange. The hotel we stayed at that night had 3 groups staying in it: The RPI men’s lacrosse team, the Philadelphia Wings (professional indoor team) and the Erotic Arts Convention of New York… So that last one included people of all shapes and sizes and to say the least, I saw some strange, disturbing outfits and people that I’d rather not remember.

This Spring the Virginia Tech Men’s Lacrosse team is heading to beautiful, sunny California! I can’t wait. We’re going to visit the Santa Monica pier and have the opportunity to play some very competitive MCLA teams in UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. It should be a great time, but right now I know everyone on this bus has their minds set on this weekend in Clemson.  Should be a big statement tournament for our team and program as a whole. I’ll be sure to write next week about how it all goes down.

Have a good weekend!

Relief

So for the last half hour I've been sitting with my laptop in front of the television with absolutely no idea what to write about.  I could write about Halloween last night but I'm not sure there would be a ton of substance in that. I could write about how stressful all the studying and work have been in the last two weeks but I'm sure you all are completely aware of that struggle.  So I'm going to write about the bright side of hell weeks, when they're over.

In the last two weeks I had tests in Physics II and Multivariable Calculus. I know two tests in two weeks doesn't sound bad compared to what some have scheduled but these last two weeks were crucial.  My first tests in both classes did not go as planned to say the least. Because of that, the two tests that I just had are going to be very important when it comes to grades.  Just a little cherry on top of the stress sundae I was eating. Luckily I did well on my Physics exam, scoring 28% better than my first one. Thankfully the two weeks are over and I have this weekend and next to unwind. I can't wait. Having less to worry about when it comes to school is the greatest feeling, absolutely divine.

On top of being done with tests for a few days, the end of the week brought Halloween weekend which is always a great time and a laugh.  It also brought us a week closer to the VT Men's Lacrosse teams 2014 season debut in our tournament at Clemson next weekend. With a revamped program and a lot of returning and new talent, we should send a serious message with our games this coming weekend. I'll absolutely be back to blog about those games once they've happened, and ideally pictures will be included.

So that's my thoughts for the week. hope everybody has an exciting and safe Halloween weekend. Enjoy it. Don't take the weekends for granted because all of us need a breath of fresh air among the stress that comes with going to college. Sit back and relax, even if you don't think you have the time to.