August 28, 2014 - "B Day"

Today was our B Day of classes, meaning that it was our Tuesday and Thursday class schedule.  That meant History of the Medieval World, and Theology of Christian Marriage.  History of the Medieval World was interesting, but it turns out that I don't have the right books for it - we're supposed to have a sourcebook and then a textbook, but it looks like the books they gave me in the book room are two sourcebooks, both different editions.  That's not particularly helpful.... I'll have to talk to Doctor Hass later.

The lecture today, we talked a little about the formation of the empire once it had gotten really large and under the rule of Diocletian.  A lot of it sounded weirdly familiar to me, so some of that history reading and that Omnibus class Mom had me do must have gotten through my thick head at one point or another.

I think that class will be interesting enough.  My problem is that I'm feeling really swamped with all the papers we're going to have to be writing - probably because I don't have enough knowledge of the course material to think of a topic or any arguments for any of them, but I also am starting to freak about getting the work done already.  I need to stop being such an overachiever because it's going to drive me crazy.

After that we had Theology of Christian Marriage.  Let's be real, I was absolutely correct - there are roughly 9 or 10 guys in the class and 50 girls scattered throughout.  To make it worse, Professor Cassidy sounds like Stoick from How to Train Your Dragon, but far harder to understand, talking five times as fast.  (He has a heavy Scottish accent.)  So I'm pretty sure we covered a lot about Marriage, but I can't be sure because I didn't understand everything he said.

I'm not sure how he plans to make an entire class out of that material.  We already covered a bunch about marriage just today, like about how it's a sacred covenant made before God with human witnesses, a union between man and woman who promise fidelity to each other in an environment where they give themselves to each other in the flesh, with the promise of a safe environment to create and raise children.  How are we supposed to cover 15 more weeks with that?

My entertainment is that I somehow ended up sitting behind three of the most good looking popular guys on campus, so I guess if I get bored I can just stare at the backs of their necks and enjoy the view and I'd still be focusing on the course material.

Later that evening Clare and I walked down to the Spar and I bought some chocolate bars for my family when I come home, if they'll let me take them through Customs.  They have this special chocolate called Milka bars that they sell in the grocery stores.  I also got a bottle of nice looking wine which I selected for A) The fact that it was only 4 euros, B) it's not white wine, and C) it has a pretty red label.  Also plastic cups for the wine, which is really classy.  Oh yeah.  I still haven't even touched the lemon lime beer I bought to try later, so don't worry about me getting alcoholic real fast.  I took three days to finish my very first shot, because I just got myself to the point where I was happy and warm, and then I quit.

Liqueur tastes kind of like it has nail polish remover in it, by the way.  The kind I had was chocolate creme, and it was basically a chocolate bar with rubbing alcohol.  I think I'd enjoy liqueur more if it tasted fruitier.  Asaph told me I ought to go to the Keller downstairs sometime and see if they had anything.

For both of my philosophy classes I have mandatory attendance required for at least one of the Philosophy on Tap sessions that the professors hold, where they bring everyone down to the Keller and get everyone beers and then we talk about philosophy in relation to more modern topics, like Facebook and the human evolution, etc., etc.  So I have to remember to get to those.  I think it sounds really interesting actually.

Later in the afternoon I went to the weightroom again for a few minutes and was pleasantly surprised to see nobody there. I also did my laundry during that time.  Then Clare and I intended to go for a run, so we went exploring out in Gaming, but we had only jogged a short way before we found a bridge that went off to the left off the street, so we decided to go up that path.

Turns out it was some sort of 4-wheeler path or something, and it was filled up with rainwater from yesterday, so it was really muddy and sloggish and we got really dirty, but it was super fun.  It was more of a hike than anything.  When the path ended, Clare ended up sitting down to do some sketching while I stretched and listened to music and wandered around above her in the bracken off the trail.  After that I came back without her (she wasn't done drawing yet), and watched some girls go creek jumping.

There's a spot across the street from the Kartause that has a path where students go jump off into this creek which has a deep deep spot.  It looked like a lot of fun but I didn't really know the girls, so I hung back and watched them and sort of awkward-interacted with them, the way you do with people who don't really want to know your name but don't mind you being there.  I also helped pull some of them out because they got stuck down there in the creek, so I got a little muddier hauling them up.  That cliff is pretty steep.

I sort of want to go creek jumping but don't know who would go with me, I don't really have the means to gather together a group of people who want to go get soaking wet, and I'm not sure Clare would appreciate it?  We will see when she reads this post and tells me off for not asking her first.  ;)  She's reading Plato right now... I ought to be doing some sort of reading like for History but I don't have the right books, and I'm not sure I want to read all about marriage at the moment.  Maybe I'll follow suit and do some drawing.

After that I went to dinner and Clare and I sat down with Asaph.  A bunch of his friends showed up and sat around us and were really accepting and just goofed off.  There's one girl named Anna Boehk who's crazy extroverted, Dominic Gentile who she makes fun of a lot and (according to her) is a lady-killer, which I don't doubt.  Then there was Melissa who was quieter but apparently got a real kick out of my facial expressions, and also Katie who just laughed a lot and seemed really entertained and loved by the entire group.

So I've been doing some thinking lately about staying at Franciscan - I don't know, it just seems like I've made some friends here and I've actually had a really good time feeling on my own in Austria with a bunch of people that don't mind quite as much if you ask to join them at a table, and it's just a smaller atmosphere.  I've really liked getting to know people better, and I have sort of had in my mind the thought that maybe I could keep some of my friends if I went back to Main Campus, even if I hate a lot of the ways people do things there, and it really bugs me.

Asaph and I ended up talking about it right at the dinner table (Clare and Melissa were still there), for a really long time. He said he thought that people had acted wrongly at Franciscan and that I hadn't gotten a very good experience there, but that he thinks that better things could happen, and that it's important to understand that everyone is flawed and that it's good that I recognize that they are flawed in a particular way, but to still love them.

He also said that if I think that I have had a good foundation and am secure in my own identity, then it wouldn't be bad if I were to go to a state university and be an 'example' to others, and that you can learn to love everyone no matter where you were.

But I think he really wants me to think about staying, and I don't know, it sort of felt like he was talking down to me even if I know he didn't mean it that way, and it feels like there is almost literally no one who wants me to leave Franciscan and I'm wondering why nobody ever wants anything that makes me happy, they all want me to do what they want me to do. It really pisses me off actually, I don't know.

In any case I thought Asaph was really nice, and he's a truly caring person who thinks about other people and he was just super sweet about it regardless of if it was a little accidentally condescending, so I teared up.  Not sure if it's because I'm mad that everyone wants me to stay at fricking Franciscan, or because he was nice.  Either way, food for thought.

Right now I'm blogging, I think I'll do some drawing later, listening to music, drinking some lemon lime beer stuff.  I think i'll go downstairs later and see if the piano is free.