As Halloween approaches, I feel the need to get into the festive spirit. While some see Halloween as a simple marker for the beginning of the "good holidays", there are others that feel Halloween is awesome in its own right. Whether it's the cooler temperatures outside or the beautiful colors on the trees, there is something about Halloween that makes everything seem calmer.
That is, until you go to the Haunted Houses in Kansas City. I just went there with a large group of people, and it is sufficient to say they are more ready to make sure you do not sleep for a while after you leave.
The house was a quarter mile of darkness, lights, empty rooms, and rooms full of people just waiting to make you scream. There was even a real live python (in a cage, obviously)! Anyway, it really got me into the spirit of Halloween, and I felt the need to make up my own little top five list of Halloween movies:

5) Hocus Pocus - while some may not think this belongs here, it is just one of those movies I grew up watching, and it will forever be a classic to me

4) It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - I love Peanuts, that's all that needs to be said

3) The Amityville Horror (the original) - this movie just scares the crud out of me every time I watch it. Like a candy cane, it's good all the time, but it always tastes the best at a specific time of year.

2) Beetlegeuse - not specifically a Halloween movie, but, again, it is better to watch it in October. Michael Keaton is hilarious, and the rest of the movie is done almost perfectly.

1) Sleepy Hollow (the Johnny Depp version) - this movie just captures everything that Halloween is about. It is scary, entertaining, and has a happy-ish ending (All right, not really. But it could be.)

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, you can check out all the cool stuff that happens at Rockhurst around this time of year. There is a haunted physics lab, and the school hosts a party on Halloween for all the people living in the areas around the school. It's a lot of fun, and everyone has a great time doing it.

Time for a break!

I just went ahead and came home this weekend. School and work have combined to really get me down, and I just needed to get a break. I came back to Jefferson City in order to bet a break in, but I still have to do a little homework before Monday.
These breaks are necessary for anyoe that is in school, and students at Rockhurst are no exception. The semester is hitting its final stretch, because Thanksgiving is in just a couple weeks, and finals are the only thing between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. This means that all the work I have been putting off thill the end of the semester needs to be done.
This is the reason that I wanted to come home this weekend, to get a little rest in right before I hit the most stressful part of the semester. This got me thinking about what the top five things to remember during this time is:

5) No matter how bad it gets, you cannot give up. After all, you don't want to have to take the classes over again.

4) If the tests, papers, and projects were impossible, the teacher would not have assigned them. Try different ways of approaching the challenges.

3) Take a multivitamin (or exercise and eat right) in order to avoid getting sick. The stress level combined with the changes in temperature have taken down more than one person with sickness.

2) Prioritize. Make sure you have organization in what you are doing, that way you should definitely get everything done.

1) Do what you can. You shouldn't try do to too much, and you definitely need to not do too little. Just keep in mind how you will feel after, and use that as motivation to work hard.

For any other questions about the calendar of classes for Rockhurst, you can look here

RESEARCH!!! I HAVE TO DO THAT HERE!!!

WOW!! Who would have thought college would require so much research!? I have several papers to write this semester, but luckily Rockhurst has me covered. At Greenlease Library, here on campus, there are numerous research tools for students to take advantage of, and I definitely do. You can look through some of their online information, or just look at the books that they have. This got me thinking of how great it is to have all these resources right where I can get to them. You can look at the online catalogs and the rest of the library website as long as you are connected to the schools wireless internet. If you are off campus, they have a system you can use also. Basically, no matter where you are, Greelease goes with you, and you can find out for yourself at the website.

Fall Break is Upon Us

Fall Break is finally here. For many students, this means a nice and relaxing trip home to spend some down time with family. For other students, like myself, it means a great break in classes so that they can get caught up on their homework. Either way, it is a nice break to have at this point in the semester. I have been able to get my homework caught up, and get some of my homework caught up as well, so it has been a successful break for me.
However, I not only have all this homework to catch up on, but I am also taking a class at UMKC. While this is inconvenient, I do like that I have the option to do that. KCASE stands for "Kansas City Area Student Exchange", and it lets any student here at Rockhurst take one class per semester at UMKC, or any other KCASE school, for free. I have done it twice, and it has saved me from having to stay at Rockhurst for an extra semester in order to graduate. Some people may have a lot of questions about academics at Rockhurst, and looking here should help. Rockhurst and the KCASE program aim to help everyone get the opportunity to take the classes they need right when they need them. The top five things I have enjoyed about having the option of KCASE are:

5) I get to meet new people from a different school, which is always fun

4) I get to experience a different style of teaching than what I am used to at Rockhurst (I prefer the styly at Rockhurst, but at least I experienced something else)

3) I get to have a nice walk over to UMKC a few times a week. I enjoy having those 5-10 minutes to just walk and get all my thoughts in order

2) It is a fun challenge for me, because I choose to work on my own instead of going over to UMKC and studying with other people in my class. At Rockhurst I always study with other people, because it is just easier.

1) I get to graduate on time, which was my goal from day 1. Rockhurst was not offering 2 classes that I needed right when I needed them, but UMKC was. I needed Computer Science and Geometry. CS is not offered at Rockhurst anymore, and Geometry was not offered until the semester when I student teach, so I could not wait and take it. In short, KCASE is letting me graduate thie May!!!

Homecoming Week!

Wow! Homecoming week was a blast!
There were plenty of activities throughout the week, culminating with Rockhurst Day on Friday, but my favorite had to be the events of Saturday. The Homecoming dance was that night, and I got to go eat at the Hereford House steakhouse before the dance. It was so much fun, in fact, that it took me a full week to gather my thoughts about it enough to write this blog describing just how much fun I had.
Unfortunately, I had to work on Friday, which was Rockhurst Day, but I was able to enjoy the events vicariously through these photos on the website. While it looked like a lot of fun, I chose to make sure and have work off for the dance on Saturday.
As I mentioned, I got to go out and eat at the Hereford House before the dance. I enjoyed a delicious KC Strip with twice baked potatoes and some delicious cheesecake afterwards. Then, we let the food settle in our stomachs a little bit, and we were bused to Bartle Hall in downtown KC where the dance took place.
This was my last Homecoming, but it was a good one.

PS I wound the night down after the dance with a wonderful jaunt out to IHOP, and I recommend this trip to anyone else who goes to the dance.