Dinner at the Jones'...

So if I haven’t told you already, I run cross-country. I’ve actually never ran for a team until I came to Cascade, which is kind of strange that they wanted me to run, but whatever. Although there are only 3 girls and 7 boys who make up our team it has been really fun! So in other words, if you actually are a cross-country runner or even if you aren’t, but think it would be pretty cool, come to Cascade! You’ll have an amazing time and get to hang out with some pretty cool people! Speaking of hanging out with some pretty cool people…

The other night our cross-country team was invited to dinner at Dr. Jones’ house, aka the Academic Dean. However, due to illnesses and classes, only a few of us could make it. While we were waiting in the van, our friend Sarah came over to talk to us. Sarah doesn’t run cross-country, but we wanted her to come with us, so we pretty much kidnapped her. It wasn't anything too severe, no bandanas or duck tape in the mouth, but still.

The cool thing about being a college kid is that everyone wants to feed you dinner because they know that you are too poor to feed yourself. Sometimes the food is good and sometimes you are better off eating grass. We were a few of the lucky ones because we ate the most amazing spaghetti. It was homemade and everything!

Following dinner we decided to have a marathon of arm wrestling. I of course won each match.
Well, maybe not. Our coach, Willie Steele, and another guy from our team wrestled for like an hour. Willie won!




All in all, if you don’t go to college to learn, at least go to get the free food!

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo...

Last weekend was Fall Break and it seemed as if everyone and their mom was going home. It would have been too complicated and costly for me to go home, so I decided to stay here and get ahead on my homework. Well, that’s what I had in mind, but instead I decided to spend my time in a much more educational manner, and we all know that there is nothing more educational than a trip to the zoo! So bright and early Friday morning, five of us piled into a car and headed for the zoo. I think I was more stoked than anyone because the only other zoo I had been to was in Abilene, TX. It basically consisted of an elephant, 2 giraffes, a few ostriches, a tiger, and some snakes. It definitely wasn’t the coolest thing in the world.

We stayed at the zoo for five hours and it was the coolest thing of my life! I think the five of us "adult", "college", "intellectuals", were more excited than the little kids that were there on a field trip. I would have to say that my favorite animals were the polar bears and the bats. The polar bears just look cool and all they do is walk back and forth all day, and who wouldn’t want to be a bat and hang upside down?

Here are some pics of our adventures...



MONKEY PIC
This crazy monkey had a mind of his own and was trying to grab a huge twig and pull it through a chain-linked fence. Ya, it didn’t work, but he looked cool.











PENGUINS PIC
Sarah and I made friends with the penguins. They are neat.











SKELETON PENGUIN
That’s really sad when you think about it- "Hey, why don’t we scare all the little kids (who love penguins) with these dead penguins so that they will run off crying!" Smart thinking Oregon Zoo people!

Party in the lobby...

According to my calendar, September 22nd was the official last day of summer. Yesterday however, I heard an interesting fact about this past September. I might not have the exact numbers, but they are close and that’s what matters, right?

"According to meteorologists, this past September Portland was reported to expect only 7 days of sun. This year however, not only 7 sunny days popped up, but 15!!!

















*Ok ok, I didn't take that picture, I got it off the internet, but you get the idea!*

Even though I find that amazing, I am one of the strongest advocates of the fall. I love everything about it; the changing of the leaves, pumpkins, gloves and scarves, Christmas music, and not to forget my grandma’s homemade fudge!

Here is another interesting fact about September:
September 30th is so important that it has a song written especially for it. You might have heard it once or twice, it’s called, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Greenday. In honor of this momentous occasion, Danelle and I decided that a party was needed. So, at exactly 12:00 a.m. on October 1st, 4 of our fellow September fans cranked up the song and danced gracefully through the lobby.








Although our hearts were saddened that September was over, we did our best to celebrate that great month and now wait eagerly until next time.