Okay, I know I’m way outside of my generation, but has anyone actually ever listened to Frank Sinatra? Here I sit outside with my laptop, cigarette in mouth, and a glass of Shiraz. Sinatra’s “My Way,” is playing and two things have occurred to me: the first is that I appear to be channeling Sinatra (boozing it up in the middle of the day) and the second is that I can’t think of anything more accurately descriptive of a college student’s situation than this song (except maybe the hooch, but I digress). “And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain.” It’s the home stretch. It’s the end of the line. Welcome to finals week, ladies and gentlemen!

This is going to be my next-to-last blog posting. This would of course be a more sentimental occasion, except for the fact that I’m from Texas and we have no emotions. Guns, yes … no emotions. It has been great, though and I’d like to thank Mrs. Jamie Satter, Assistant Director for Admissions here at SNHU, for offering me the opportunity to do this for her and for this college which I have come to appreciate so much. On a personal note, Jamie’s just had her baby girl, Celina, and is on maternity leave; I’m thrilled for her and will be sending her a bottle of Advil and scotch. I call it a “2AM feeding for Mother.” Jamie, I say to you, from one Southerner to another, congratulations, “Momma.”

Even though I’ve got my summer courses to plow through and the fall semester as well, I can’t help but feel a little depressed at the end of a school year. Many of the people I’ve come to know and befriend are graduating; this may have something to do with it. Of course, reality snaps in and I realize that most of my friends live in New England. You people have no idea what a long drive consists of. Texas freeways have gaps for hours with no scenery but a tumbleweed and the occasional cacti patch; remember that the next time you’re driving up to the mountains, the beach (which only results in hypothermia if you try to swim in the ocean), or into Boston. All in all, though, it’s been a fantastic year and I’m truly sad to see it come to an end.

As the saying goes, though, “all things good must come to an end,” and life goes on. Look for the silver lining and other trite phrases that you’re now rolling your eyes at, because you have even more disdain for them than I do. For instance, I’m happy because I’m not going to be sweltering in the Texas heat for three months. If it weren’t for the impending visit by my mother and grandmother, it’d be a perfect summer. I’m only joking! ---------- “Perfect” anything doesn’t exist. Happy summer, everyone! See you next year and to my mother and grandmother who are reading this … I love you, I’m teasing, and don’t disinherit me.

Posted by Chris Dupuy at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here I find myself, one o’clock in the morning, still recuperating from God-knows-what in the way of a lung infection (as if shingles wasn’t enough) and writing a series of papers for various instructors, in an attempt to exercise a punishment so severe it would make Torquemada blanch. Oh, yes, welcome to the end of a semester.

Illness, I’ve decided, is best reserved for the middle of any semester. Too early and you miss important information, too late (my fate it seems) and you’re catching up on assignments, totally neglecting any study-time for finals. This blog, originally a source of concern (time-wise), has actually turned out to be a good venue for ranting. Incidentally, thanks for wasting your otherwise valuable time.

So, the run-down looks like this: classes until the fourth of May, summer classes starting the thirtieth of April, and finals from the seventh to the eleventh, during my second week of summer classes. I’d say I was suicidal, but that might be too optimistic at this point. At least it can never be said that I wasn’t dedicated to my schoolwork. I’m graduating in December come Hell or high water!

On the political side of my meager existence, things are going well with my chosen primary candidate (Mitt Romney). I’ve been doing some volunteering for the New Hampshire campaign and it’s been a blast. There’s more than a few quirky people you meet and you learn to appreciate them. This appreciation either comes from mutual respect, or the person is higher on the food chain than you, so you kiss a lot of (insert your more-than-just-obvious explicative here).

At school, on the other hand, I’m falling behind with the SNHU College Republicans. My co-chair and I have been so busy lathering up with Rogaine and popping Prozac like they’re Skittles to get the organization more … well … organized. We’re talking to the campaigns about setting up fall events and that’s actually going pretty well, but all the minor stuff (like increasing membership, setting up meetings) is falling by the proverbial wayside.

Alas and alack, I must depart. It’s now ten until two o’clock in the morning and frankly I’m spent. I’ll try to keep this thing regularly updated, but in the event you see no more blogs under my name, you’re safe in assuming I’ve probably snapped and been sent to a very lovely padded cell. Ta.

Posted by Chris Dupuy at 1:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, let me give you a run down of my week. Seven days ago, I started feeling sharp pains on the left side of my body. I didn’t pay too much attention to it; I just tossed it up to being the chilly weather that my Texas blood hasn’t adapted to. Maybe it was the flu (yet again). Oh, if only it were that simple. Five days ago, the pain was unbearable, so I drag my butt to the emergency room at CMC, where the 9 year-old they just made a doctor informs me that I have shingles!

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox as a kid, the virus lays dormant for years and when someone is under severe stress and lowered immunity … boom! Shingles. I swear I could have knocked the doctor to the floor when he asked, “Hmm … are you under any stress?” Let’s review: full-time student, full-time employee, campaign election volunteer, and I have a whole host of other school-related duties to attend to. Stress? No, say it isn’t so!

Well, to make a long story short, because it’s a virus, there’s nothing I can take to get rid of it. However, the intense pain is no more. Percocet, my friends, is a wonderful drug. I’m not advocating the recreational use of it, but when in pain … whoa, Nelly! Yeah, so I’ve slept most of Spring Break, but who cares? For one thing, I’m too loopy to realize it and for another, it’s not like I’d be partying with this stuff running its course anyway.

I wouldn’t worry too much about suffering my fate; I’m either just odd or exceedingly unlucky. No 23 year-old on the planet is stressed out to this extent, I assure you. I’m just juggling way too much. For me though, being in New Hampshire, being at SNHU, it makes me want to do everything that I do. I love it. I enjoy being active and involved and this college and community is beyond satisfactory. Yeah, yeah … I’m in love with the politics and all of you find that weird and incredibly un-cool. Almost as un-cool as actually using the word “un-cool.” Seriously, though, I can’t stress the importance of politics in our everyday lives and the opportunities SNHU can provide for acquainting oneself with those issues is astounding.

As I mentioned in my last post, there are many political events coming up this semester. For instance, my liberal friends are excited that Senator Barack Obama is coming to speak at Commencement this year. You’ll forgive my lack of enthusiasm; I don’t much care for the liberal empty-suit from Illinois, but he’ll be here. As the campaign season heats up, though, SNHU will play host to staffers and their candidates; the College Republicans are trying to put together a weekly forum for the fall. C’mon, everyone! Get excited! These are people who will invariably affect every aspect of your lives from tuition costs now to student loan repayments later. I’m suffering from shingles for this, dang it … so get involved!

Posted by Chris Dupuy at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, I don’t mean the baseball team. I feel the need to clarify, only because one use of the colloquialism “yankee,” can get a Southerner in more trouble than he likes to bargain for. In this case, it’s simply the word we in the south use to describe “y’all” north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

My name is Chris, I hail from the great State of Texas, and I’m the token southerner here at SNHU. I’m a Political Science major, with a minor in Philosophy. It may seem like quite a leap, Texas to New Hampshire, but for my desired career path … not really. New Hampshire is a fantastic state to get involved in politics and so is SNHU. We’ve got various political forums that are held each year and last semester we even had a Political Science Fair that featured candidates for governor. Yeah, I know … boring to most of you, but I eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff. With the Presidential Primary Season heating up earlier this time around, there’s bound to be a renewed sense of political awareness here on campus and there’s a push to get some major candidates to come and speak to our students.

Since transferring here last September, I’ve had to deal with all kinds of adjustments, but it has mostly been a positive experience. Going from my own home, my own room, and my own life to one that is very much shared in every way was an initial shock. Then you just get used to it; you loosen up, make friends, and all is well. For obvious reasons, the weather proved to be the biggest adjustment. If I hear one more person tell me this was a “mild” winter, I think I’ll just die. It's cold, people! There’s white stuff falling from the sky and ice on the road! Ice belongs in a freezer or the Antarctic. It does not belong on the corner of North River Road and Bicentennial Drive. This is where the SUV you purchased before driving 2300 miles from Texas does not want to climb the hill, because for some reason unbeknownst to you … snow tires exist. A little fact your admissions counselor neglected to mention.

Nah, in all seriousness, this is a fantastic and exciting place to be. The best part about SNHU, believe it or not, is the instructors. My department features two professors you’re bound to cross paths with at some point, regardless of your major. One is the chair of the department and he also teaches a couple of introduction to politics courses; he’s highly intelligent, quirky, and a lot of fun. The other teaches philosophy and political theory. I’m not telling you anymore about him; I think he thrives on shock-value. You’ll love his courses, though, I can guarantee that.

Alright, I’m running out of steam for now and have lots of stuff to do before tomorrow. Until next week, take care.

Posted by Chris Dupuy at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)