I am pretty luck. My family lives in Houston. In fact, my parents live less than fifteen minutes away from the campus. So whenever I begin feeling homesick or need to do my laundry, I commute back home.

I did that Sunday morning, not because I was feeling homesick, but because I needed the peacefulness of my house in order to study for the Introduction to Philosophy test I have on Tuesday and prepare for another quiz on the same day.

I prepared for both exams most of the morning, but once church ended and my parents and three younger brothers stormed through the front door, I knew my studying opportunity was over. Not that I minded, of course. I love my family and I enjoy spending time with them.

My two youngest brothers are Josiah, who is five, and Noah, who is three. Both youngsters decided to assist me in washing my car, which was coated with a thick layer of sand from Galveston.

I don't often get the opportunity to wash my car, let alone hang out with the coolest little brothers on the planet. But I was able to do both Sunday.

The best part about working with them was how they washed the car. Both would take the washrags and dump them into the bucket, attempting to load as many bubbles onto their rags as possible. Then, shielding the bubbles from the wind, they would carefully walk to the black car and fling all of their bubbles onto the vehicle. And they washed everything more than three times.

Here are some pictures of the fun:

Noah with soap on his face.

Josiah.

Posted by Daniel at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I drove back to Houston last night from Mandeville, LA, where I have been working for the past week with my uncle.

This spring break has not been that bad of a break. I had a lot of fun with my extended family, who I am really close to, and I made money while doing manual labor. I also got a tan, threw bubbles at a 14-foot alligator, had my first car accident and turned 19. How can I complain?

About the tan: I cleaned boats without sunscreen on, and when you are in the sun for more than six hours without a t-shirt, the heat starts to turn your back lobster red.

About the alligator: We cleaned a sailboat. It was my first time to ever be on a sailboat, and I'm buying one as soon as I get out of Harvard Law. I was swabbing the deck when my uncle, who was cleaning the side of the sailboat in a pirogue, stopped talking and pointed across the bay toward a mammoth alligator.

The gator stretched out on the marsh weeds. Its sides were layered with dry mud that cracked whenever the behemoth inhaled and exhaled, and its black eyes stared at us, unblinking, with the look of a kid about to inhale a Happy Meal. I felt like prey. My uncle said a prayer that sounded French.

I helped him pull his pirogue out of the water, and we stood on the bank watching the gator for a while. Eventually we went back to work, but my uncle did all of his cleaning from the deck, as did I.

About the wreck: It was more like a fender bender. My fender isn't even bent, that's how pathetic of a wreck it was. Everyone was safe, but that wreck was annoying.

About the birthday: I turned 19, but I don't feel a day over 50. I celebrated my birthday with my extended family. My parents and several siblings were supposed to drive into town to visit with everyone in time to celebrate with us, but my mother caught the flu, so they were not able to attend.

There is so much that happened over the break. Those are just a few of the highlights. But school is back in session, and it is time to get back to the grind of college life. I am ready for the final five weeks of this semester.

Posted by Daniel at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was my first day back at the University. As I was heading to class, I could not help but notice the randomness of this plant.

Posted by Daniel at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Someone must have pushed the fast forward button, because these past few days of my life have been a blur. So we are going to rewind the tapes a bit and start off at the beginning: Wednesday night.

I had 12 hours to complete a presentation for one class and finish response journals for another. My body ached from sitting in the chair for hours already, but I had to keep researching and I had to keep typing. Midnight strikes and flares out like a dying match, but I keep working. Those espressos that are sold in the Corner Pawket about the Baugh Center will really keep you going, especially after downing three of them. The pages of copy flew and before I could break a sweat, it was 5 a.m. and I completed both projects.

Three hours later, I gave my presentation in Introduction to Mass Communication on Wikipedia. The presentation was scheduled to last 20 minutes, but because of the amount of information I had (I am kind of an overachiever) and the interest of the class, my professor had me continue lecturing for the entire hour and 15 minute class period.

I enjoyed everything about teaching the class, and because I was well prepared for the presentation and excited about the subject, I did well. Being well prepared for a presentation is critical to performing well.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my busy days. I have 15 hours of classes spread out on both days. They can be stressful. Fortunately, I was able to spend a few minutes with a special someone and completely prepare for my other classes.

For those prospective Honors scholars, the freshmen year Honors College courses are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Normally classes last from 2:00 - 4:50 p.m. Our classes were cut short that Thursday because Dr. Louis Markos, professor of English and a frequent guest lecturer in the Honors College, was delivering a lecture titled The Song of the Scapegoat: The Birth of Greek Tragedy at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as part of its monthly Artful Thursday program that the Honors College was attending. All of the scholars including myself enjoyed a very pleasant Subway dinner before the lecture, which I was not able to attend because I had to drive to Louisiana after class.

That brings me to my next point: Never drive six hours in the rain with busted windshield wipers on two hours of sleep. You will die. I almost did nearly half-a-dozen times.

I played Frogger with semi trucks, dodging them and their "wake" for six hours. I stopped multiple times to purchase those little energy shots that have become popular lately. I do not remember precisely, but I must have had four. I also discovered that belting out your favorite songs, like this one, does not keep you awake.

I pulled into Mandeville, LA, where I am staying and working, at 12:30 a.m. I am staying at my grandparents house and cleaning boats with my uncle, which is actually a really entertaining job. Look forward to hearing all about it in the next part of this series.

Posted by Daniel at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mark your calendars. On Wednesday, March 11, Robbie Seay Band and Charlie Hall will perform in the Dunham Theater located in the Morris Cultural Arts Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m.

From the HBU news release: "The first 500 high school students, grades 9-12, to RSVP will receive free admission. The concert is also free for all HBU students with a current student ID. Tickets for everyone else will be available at the door for $5. Tickets can be purchased with cash or check only; credit cards will not be accepted."

You can also purchase tickets to the show on RSB's myspace.

I am really excited about this concert. I do not know Robbie Seay personally, but a lot of my coworkers on The Collegian staff do. My brother, a junior at the University, goes to Ecclesia Church, where Robbie Seay leads worship and his brother, Chris, is the pastor.

Even KSBJ is getting in on this concert.

Posted by Daniel at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)