Goodbye 2010—BEST OF THE DECADE

By Brandt Danals..

Well as the title tells you this blog is going to be a wave goodbye to the last decade. To do so, I will be going through a wide variety of categories to select the “best” or “most memorable” moments of the decade. Much as any reward show you see on TV I will be giving you a list of nominees and then revealing the winner. I realize some, if not most, of you will not agree with my decisions, but due to my level of intelligence.. haha.. they should be widely accepted. Hope that you enjoy, as this is my first blog in like a year now, but I will be returning shortly as I have a lot of free time on my hands now as I begin my pursuit of a teaching job for next fall.


Let’s get it started…

Best Athlete of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Jimmy Johnson, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods

And the winner is... Jimmy Johnson

Now I’m not normally promoter of NASCAR as a sport by normal standards, however, it is becoming widely accepted amongst the American public. It is hard to ignore the streak that Johnson went on to end the decade. He currently is a consecutive five time champion in his respective sport, a streak that has been unmatched throughout history.

Best Song of the Decade...

And the nominees are… Lose Yourself..Eminem, Love Story..Taylor Swift, Amazed.. Lonestar, Hey Ya!.. Outkast, Party in the USA.. Miley Cyrus

And the winner is… Hey Ya!

Shake it like a Polaroid picture!!! Clearly this song was one of the most popular of the decade since its release in 2003. It continues to play on the radio, as well as in movies that are releasing to this day.

Best Male Artist of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Lil’ Wayne, Justin Beiber, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley

And the winner is… Lil' Wayne

Virtually every song this guy touches turns to instant gold. His combination of intelligence and “swag” make his style very popular to the younger generation. It seems like he released a new hit single every few months for the majority of the decade. Even while imprisoned he continued to release hit songs from behind bars.

Best Female Artist of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus(Hannah Montana), Carrie Underwood

And the winner is… Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana

Towards the middle of the decade with the help of the Disney network Miley and here alter-ego Hannah Montana took off and grossed billions in earnings. Popular songs, the TV show, even a hit movie led to her selection as Female Artist of the Decade.

Best Sporting Event of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Yankees vs. Red Sox.. Game 7 2003 ALCS, UConn vs. Syracuse..2009 Big East Tournament, 4 x 100 Meter Men’s Freestyle Relay.. 2008 Olympics, Texas vs. USC.. 2006 Rose Bowl, Boise State vs. Oklahoma..2007 Fiesta Bowl.

And the winner is… 4 x 100 Men's Freestyle Relay 2008 Bejing Olympics

I feel like this is this decades version of the Miracle on Ice, all of America was standing up yelling at their TV’s for SWIMMING?! Yes.. SWIMMING! All you have to do is watch Amazing Finsh and you’ll understand.

Best Movie of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Lord of the Rings Return of the King, Avatar, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Dark Knight, Book of Eli

And the winner is… Lord of the Rings Return of the King

Thought not my favorite, this movie did a multitude of things. I probably should have also included a Harry Potter movie on the list, however, Avatar and The Dark Knight were close seconds, not to mention the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.


Best Invention of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Garmin GPS, Apple iPod, Apple, iPhone, Apple iPad, Facebook

And the winner is… Facebook

Facebook has singlehandedly changed the way in which people live their lives. Our brothers, sisters, moms, dads, and sometimes even grandparents are now on Facebook. We live for seeing people update their status and telling the world what we are doing. We creepily browse through others pictures as we enjoy knowing what is going on in other people’s lives. The invention of Facebook made all of this possible.


Best Gaming System of the Decade…

And the nominees are… PlayStation 3, XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii

And the winner is… PlayStation 3

Probably will take a lot of heat for this, but consider the benefits. Not only does PS3 play host to a built in blu-ray player, but it also allows for free online play with other gamers around the world, where as with its competitors, you have to pay. Graphics in my opinion are also superior, but to each his own.

Best Video Game/Video Game Franchise of the Decade…

And the nominees are… Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Madden, FIFA

And the winner is… Call of Duty

This was tough for me, because I LOVE sports games; however it is hard to ignore the dominance of the Call of Duty franchise in the latter half of the decade. It was hard to weigh that and the dominance of Grand Theft Auto at the beginning of the decade. However, the advancement in gaming systems, and the amount of people that play nowadays, gave the slight edge to call of Duty. But when considering longevity, Madden is probably the best video game franchise of all time next to Mario Brothers.


** The Final Award


Most Influential Moment of the Decade…

And the nominees are… September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina, Development of Facebook, 2008 U.S Presidential Election, Steroids in Baseball

And the winner is… September 11, 2001

This was pretty cut and dry. I can undoubtedly say I will never forget exactly what I was doing when I learned of the events of this tragic day. September 11 will probably go down as one of the most influential moments in all of American history, not just of the past decade. To all of the people that were lost and all of those effect because of the aftermath, you truly will never be forgotten.

In Closing…

The 2000’s were a pretty good decade. It’s hard to believe that not too long ago everyone was fretting over Y2K, now we are already on to the next decade, with another fear of the world coming to an end looming in 2012. Ya’ know... You never really know if these things are true, so take what you have, run with it, and enjoy you’re life while you can.


Until Next Time... Much Love,

B

B’s Risk Taking Chapter 7—Twas’ the Night Before the Season

By Brandt Danals.. But Please.. Call me B

Well as most of you know, I play basketball (sort of) for Ashland University. The following is my take on the season opener for my final season as a college basketball player. Go Eagles!

Well tomorrow night is it. The culmination of all the hard work, dedication, board slap lay-ups, one on one games versus assistant coaches after practice, line drills, secret trips to the water station during practice, and all of the other “dirty” pieces of being a bench warmer in Division II Basketball. Tomorrow I will play (hopefully) in the last, first game of my life (barring the possibility a European team picks me up for my excessive speed and athleticism). I would tell you that I am super nervous, or kind of sad that it is all coming to and end, but I haven’t gotten nervous for a sporting event since I trembled my way into the batter’s box to face a pitcher throwing 95 miles per hour on my high school fall baseball team (I might add this jackass had the audacity to hit me square in the back). But no, tomorrow will be just another normal game. However, my normal game is unlike anything that any of you have ever seen in the world of college basketball. Let me explain how my day will go.

First I will wake up somewhere in the realm of 8:51am and proceed to stumble into my 9:00am class (at which, I will take a full page’s worth of notes, mostly consisting of drawings of my professor and scribblings of “I hate this class” in the margin). From there I will head to breakfast to begin to nourish my body for the immense amount of effort I will need to exert in warm-ups. Then I will repeat this process for my remaining two classes (as you can tell I’m quite the little note taker). Following class I have to go to walk through and make sure that I fully execute the other teams plays so that we are able to guard them in the game, probably watch some film, and proceed to once again go over the scouting report, that I could type on here with my eyes closed by this point in the week. Then it’s off to our team meal, and back to my room to begin to get in the mindset of being a bench warming All-American.

5:30pm.. Head to the Gym.

5:35pm.. Training Room to Get Taped

6:00pm.. Take the floor and begin to warm up.

6:30pm.. Showtime Begins.

Following coach’s brief pep talk and last minute thoughts on Ohio Dominican, it is my time to shine. This is where my personal goal for the season finally comes into play. I suppose I will throw this out to any challengers out there in Division II Basketball as well, of who would like to think they have the skill set and determination to top me in my endeavor. I am quite positive that following my rigorous workouts this off season, I am primed and ready to lead Division II in “PpWu” (Points per Warm-up). I’m quite positive this isn’t a documented stat, but it damn well should be. As I wow the crowd with my numerous “board slap” lay-ups, behind the back passes, and 24 ft. three point shots, I will be on my way to setting the NCAA record (All Divisions) for “PpWu” in a single season. But just wait… It gets Better! Following my display of pure athleticism and talent during the 25 minute warm-up, my school actually trusts me to take the microphone into my hands and bless the crowd with my voice before the game. Now.. I know what you’re thinking, and sadly no, it’s not to sing the National Anthem, but rather to read the Conference Sportsmanship Statement. I mean.. What better candidate could they have chosen then me? Following the crowds luckiest moment of the night, it is once again my time to shine. I get to stand at the end of the line during the announcement of the starters and do LeBron and Shaq-esque style handshakes, though it’s highly unlikely we’ll be pulling off any type of bowling skit, it is clearly my opportunity to show all of the “swag” located within in my veins. Then it’s tip off!! The rest will be history, I will be thoroughly cheering on my teammates as we race to Victory #1 on the season, waiting for my chance to really shine in the final moments. Look out Ashland, should I get in the game, I will be “raining” 25 footers and making people in the stands think.. “Fuck that was deep!” Or.. rising up to dunk on a fast break(or in my case, mildly quick break), hearing all the oo’s and aw’s before rolling my hand over at the last second to perform the best finger roll lay-up you have ever witnessed.

Tonight I can not sleep.. Because tomorrow is not only my time to shine, but more importantly it is also my team’s, the 2009-2010 Ashland University Men’s Basketball Team. I was unaware that a former NBA legend even knew me, but I am honored to have him talk to the media about me.

"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team." -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Hope to see all of you at the game tomorrow, and remember.. Go Eagles!!

Much Love,

B

B’s Risk Taking Chapter 6—The Much Awaited.. Homecoming Weekend

By Brandt Danals.. But please.. Call me B

Early this summer when I decided to start jotting down exciting moments in my life, via my blog, mostly inspired by the kids of the Summer Camp that I worked at, I went about my writing much differently. I wasn’t nearly as philosophical, warm hearted or sentimental as I have tended to be lately. To spell it out for you, I was an asshole. Now, not to argue that I ever really changed much, I’ve always been a self-admitted asshole, but my writing really did take a turn. I decided to begin taking risks and going out in search of the perfect story to write about in my blog. To be completely honest, that worked out great, and I will probably continue to do so. However, have you ever gotten that feeling where you were digging through your closet looking for an outfit to wear, and you find your favorite old t-shirt. You know.. the shirt that is old as fuck that you’ve been wearing since you were in middle school. The shirt, that when you go in public your girlfriend feels the need to sit two seats away at the movies, but you’re so in love with the shirt that you don’t care and wear it out anyway. Well that is the feeling I got with this situation in my life. I’ve come to the conclusion that humor is best created naturally. Yes, someone can create a funny situation and we can all sit around and laugh our asses off about it, but the funniest moments in life come when you just take a situation that is already bound to be humorous, and run with it. My blog originally started on another page and I went about writing them completely different. I didn’t go through the day listing times or simply telling a story. I wrote about the people in my life at the time, and told the story through my experiences I had with them along the way. The blog you are about to read is going to be a combination of my past writing, and current style. I know what you’re thinking.. “I have an erection already.”.. Well relax, it probably won’t be THAT good, but I really do think you’ll enjoy.

**Warning: The weekend you are about to read about is 100% true. It is told through my interpretation of the weekend, cloudy as that may be. The following is a depiction of Homecoming Weekend in Ashland and my hometown. In the words of Terrell Owens, “Get your popcorn ready!”

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Mom and Dad.. So I suppose my weekend started on Friday night with my visit to my house. I know what you’re thinking, “Why the fuck would you go home to start your college’s Homecoming Weekend?” Well there are two good reasons. (1) Ashland is generally about as exciting as watching one of those God Forsaken Gospel Church shows they have on TV on Sunday mornings. You know, the ones where the “minister” is on stage saying how he has the power of Jesus in his hands and he touches some loser who magically appears to have regained the power to walk?!.. Yeah.. THAT EXCITING! And (2) This was the week of the Loudonville Fair (I’ll describes it’s importance in a bit.) But anyways, back to Mom and Dad. For those of you that know my parents, they are actually super chill, and let me get away with more growing up than any rational parents should have. Partly because they were relaxed and easy going, but mostly because they figured I was a lost cause by then anyway. My Friday night started by my parents and I walking down to the fair. For those who you reading this, the Loudonville Fair is nothing like fairs you are probably thinking about. It’s on one little street, by little I mean the street consumes our whole town, and is nothing of great magnitude. So.. five minutes later, we complete the lap of the fair, and my Dad, god bless him, suggests we go to the bar to have a “few” drinks. Now, knowing my Dad, I know that when he says a few drinks, it means that we are going to be at the bar for a “few” hours, and that I am going to get more than a “few” free beers out of him. So naturally, I convince my Mom into making the trip with us. My Dad did not disappoint, and kept a cold beer in my hand over the next two and a half hours while telling his often inappropriate and crude, yet always hysterical jokes to myself and my friends. When my Dad starts to tell his jokes, roughly ten beers into the evening, I can tell my “Friday” is going to be out of control.

In walk.. Travis and Mike.. Travis and Mike are the next two people in my evening, and probably my two best friends from home. At one point, before I moved to Pennsylvania, we had a streak of 27 straight weekends drinking together; I think currently Travis and Mike are in the 40’s. It seems strange to me that this is the first time these two have been included in my blog, because every time we get together we seem to have a moment that is “blog” worthy.. I’ll have to write about some of those in later editions. To fully grasp how our night went you need to get the idea of just who Mike and Travis are. I’ll start with Mike. Mike was always the crazy one growing up through school. He’s the kid from school who mooned the entire student section at a basketball game, seems crazy, but he actually got kicked off the basketball team for this. He also is the only one of my friends who currently has a job and financially supports his own alcoholism, the rest of us are still pulling every last ounce we can out of our parents before we head into the real world. However, Mike never disappoints. He always comes ready to be the life of the party, and usually by the time he leaves, he’s ready to be the life of whatever couch we have to drag him to. Travis on the other hand is the complete opposite. Ultra-conservative and always had a girlfriend while we were growing up. Actually the stories of these girlfriends are what make Travis who he is. His relationship mishaps, that often provide the humor for Mike and I during our drinking nights, will never cease to be funny. Travis, despite is extremely long streak of weekends consuming alcohol still is, and will always be the “lightweight” of the group. Not only can he be completely hammered after four beers, but if you talk him into chugging the fifth one, you are going to need to find yourself a mop and bucket to clean up the mess. This also usually results into a lot of humor for Mike and I, as we always encourage him to drink more than he can handle. I can assure you, this Friday was no different.

Kari, Ashley, and Sammie (Or as they prefer S.A.K).. Well, it is beyond me why any three girls in their right minds would want to be referred to as a SAK, but you can take that for what its worth. As with Travis and Mike, I’ll tell you about these three lovely ladies before I get into the night we all had together. I suppose I’ll start with Kari (ahh.. the one that got away) Actually I’m partly kidding, okay no I’m not. She broke my heart my freshman year of high school, but nonetheless we remained friends. Kari is slightly older than me, yet she has been dying to be included in my blog, so naturally seeing me out at the bar was her chance to harass me for her “shoutout.” How can you possibly say no to a pretty girl holding a beer? Then there is Ashley (ahh.. the other one that got away) Actually I’m partly kidding, okay no I’m not. Ashley and I have been friends for years, though our relationship got slightly rocky when I came up behind her little sister and screamed “snake” and she decided to swan dive off a ten foot bridge into six inches of water. Girls…I’ll never understand them, clearly snakes can’t yell, why would you even be scared? And then there is Sammie. My best friend for the better part of two decades, my next door neighbor for a short time, and recently one of my better drinking buddies.

The Reason for the Voyage Home.. The Triangle.. As I previously told you this “Friday” was particularly special in my hometown because of the fair. But that isn’t the only reason it is special. Along with the fair comes the once a year tradition, known as the Triangle. You see, while Loudonville is a small town, it still has its fair share of bars. The Triangle is a fair time tradition that states you have to visit all three of the bars, and still be able to walk out of all three of them when you leave. While on paper this doesn’t sound too terribly difficult, I dare you to try, it’s harder than it may appear. Once you get into a bar that you can barely move in, you don’t really want to move. So what do you do? You order more drinks, then you order more drinks, then after a short while you order a few more drinks. Then a few hours into it, you realize.. Fuck.. I’m still at the first bar. Then you repeat the entire process for the other two. Now, call me biased, but the best part of the Triangle is Beano’s Buckeye Ballroom. Arguably one of the best bars in Ohio, it is one of the reasons that Loudonville is full of alcoholics who still reminisce on the glory days of “when our football team used to be good.” I suppose this makes my town sound like a town full of losers, but I can proudly say I wouldn’t want to be from anywhere else. Drinking with all of these guys, especially if you ever have the privilege to make it to the Triangle, or better yet an Ohio State Game at Beano’s, is truly a time you will never forget, and I say that for all the right reasons.

Okay so I suppose you are saying to yourself, that my Friday sounded like it had to have turned out pretty decent, and I can assure you I did, as it took me roughly 45 minutes to stumble the four short blocks to my house upon completion of the Triangle. However, I’m sure most of you chose to read my blog so that you could find out about the title, “Homecoming Weekend”. Well, don’t change the channel yet, you won’t be disappointed.

Saturday started as normal… Tyler.. As most of you know, Tyler is just about as much of a main character in most of my blogs as I am, this one was no different. This might have been the craziest I have seen Tyler get in my time at college. Let it be known, that for his last Homecoming at Ashland, he definitely did not disappoint.. Even if he did drop my John Elway-esque touchdown passes during our tailgate party. From the time we woke up, near 9am, (much earlier for me, due to my drive back to Ashland) when we forced the girl that Tyler had stay over to cook us eggs, to the time we went to sleep, when the same girl rudely walked in on something she clearly wasn’t invited to, (ha, I’m gonna get murdered for including this) Tyler went harder than I’ve ever seen him go before. I mean, lets be honest, he didn’t drink near the amount of volume of liquids that I did, but for Tyler, he definitely took his partying to a whole new level.

Katy, Nikki, and Oh.. Jen too.. Besides my friend Clare, these three are probably the best friends I’ve had at school that lack penises. Katy and Nikki, both of whom no longer attend this fine institution decided that they could no longer live without me in their lives and came to see just how wild we could get together for Homecoming. To say the least, I was intrigued by the thought. Katy came to town sporting her two newest additions, coming by the way of surgery. May I add, should any of you ever run into her surgeon, please, stop, kiss him on the cheek, and just say thank you. Even though she came to town much more top heavy than her last visit, Katy still brought with her, her undeniable ability to be able to be the life of the party. Nikki.. Of whom I had previously thought fell off the face of the planet, due to my lack of contact with her over the last year or so, pulled up in the same car as Katy. Both of them came to down ready to party, and for that I thank them, they made the weekend that much more enjoyable. Jen is just that girl that I love to hate. We truly have that relationship that you can describe as a love hate relationship. Normally we love each other, however when I’m beating Jen at beer pong, she tends to hate me and throw beers across her living room, because apparently you aren’t allowed to bounce five balls in a row into the cup at her apartment.. Who Knew?!

The OTHER Rosenberger.. and Friend.. Yeah.. as crazy as that sounds.. Tyler does have a brother.. a younger one. Kyle and his friend Jake made the journey to Ashland to also participate in the Homecoming festivities. Kyle and Jake, go to Bowling Green State University (More commonly known in Ohio as STDU), and they had the audacity to think they could compete with Tyler and I when it came to drinking. Just let it be known, that Tyler and I definitely represented for the small schools of the world.

The Dare at Casa Fiesta(Or whatever it’s called now).. Casa Fiesta, even though it is named something different now (I refuse to recognize the name change) is a Mexican Restaurant in Ashland. While struggling, partly due to the economy and mostly due to the deportation of fifteen of its illegal immigrant workers, it is still one of the better places to eat in Ashland. Following the football game, the group of us, all those mentioned above from my “Saturday” decided that we needed to go get some tacos and margaritas. Naturally, we all order our own pitchers of frozen margaritas, and the fiesta begins. This is where the dare comes. By this time, as you’ll find out in a second, I was preeetttty drunk. Tyler’s brother Kyle and I got into an argument about who was crazier. So I dared him to take ten drops of habanera sauce, straight on his tongue. Fuuuck.. He actually did it. Naturally I had to top him. So we went to the table to find something I could do that would top his task.. They decided to make me snort a line of salt off the table. I can assure you, this was no small line of salt, in what seemed to be to be about half a salt shaker, I proceeded to put a straw to my nose and take all of the salt through my right nostril. Never in my life have I felt that type of burn, my nose felt like it was on fire, and soon started to bleed. Never in my life will I ever inhale anything else up my nose. However, I did exit Casa Fiesta as Challenge Champion!

The WAVE.. The Most Famous Event of the Weekend.. All of the famous stadiums in the world, The Ohio Stadium, Yankee Stadium Wrigley Field, Citizens Bank Park, the Rose Bowl, and as much as I hate to say it, Fenway Park, are all sports venues, that at sometime in their existence have had the wave run through them. But as you look back on that history, how many of those places can name one person, as the guy who started the wave for the first time within their walls. Well, at Jack Miller Stadium, the 23 million dollar football stadium at my campus, I can proudly say I started the wave for the first time. I walked into the stadium probably drunker than I have been all school year, and everyone in the stands could tell, as I fell walking up the steps to my seat, that I was going to be in rare form. I did not disappoint. Not only did I lead the entire student section in chants for the duration of the game, but midway through the second quarter I made my way down to the field to “organize”. I went the length of the field telling everyone the plan then back to the beginning and took off running. To my surprise, on the very first try, the Wave took off! It went down and back, down and back, down and back, and we all witnessed the first Wave in Ashland University history. I later heard from my grandma, that she saw my demonstration of school spirit on FoxSports Ohio. Needless to say, I’m a celebrity. Now, every time I walk around campus on game day, people ask if the Wave is going to happen.

**Well basically that is an account of the entire weekend, I would tell you about my Saturday night, but to be completely honest I can’t account for much of the details due to my state of inebriation. I hope that you all enjoyed the story of Ashland’s Homecoming Weekend.

More blogs to come in the future, and until then..

Much Love,
B

Risk Taking Chapter 5.. A New Man’s Perspective

Risk Taking Chapter 5.. A New Man’s Perspective

By Brandt Danals.. Sort of...

You know, with rising popularity and fame, everyone that you know wants to get a taste, or a feel of what it is like. As can be assumed, my blog is no different. Normally I would be reserved in allowing someone else to partake in my beautiful masterpiece, however my good friend Tyler, the main character of a number of my adventures that I’ve written about came to me with an idea that I couldn’t let pass my blog by. He wanted to tell you all the story of his college life. But more importantly he wanted to tell you what college should be like. I guess basically that is what I’ve been getting at for the last few months in my blogs. Finally, someone else caught on. Now I promised Tyler that I would be coming out soon with the homecoming edition, but I wanted to make sure I got his on here first.. and he basically set me up perfect for that homecoming edition. Hopefully, if some more of my friends want to follow though, they can come up with a blog and place it in here.. I think it would be nice to get accounts of college life, or funny stories from all over the country, and for my friends abroad, all over the world.. Well with no further delay.. Here is the blog by the man that needs no introduction, Tyler Rosenberger.

Until Next time.. Much Love,

B

What College Should Be

By Tyler Rosenberger

Everyone is told to go to college so you can grow up and get a great job. Parents want all of us to get good grades and study hard. That’s all fine and dandy, but college is just an escape from the real world. It is a place where if you don’t party or drink, then you’re a douche bag. It’s a place to skip classes, fuck studying, and spend money that you don’t have. Going into college, I was all about playing sports and a little partying, focus on my classes, and get good grades. The funny thing, looking back at it, I wasted too much time studying and not enough time making memories with friends that will last a life time but when I wasn’t studying, I was doing work. Let’s take a moment to reflect back on the past four and a half years of my college experience:

Freshman Year: Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t party that hard. However when I got to campus, I was placed around a group of alcoholics that would corrupt me into being just plain stupid about shit. We had a basketball house and the parties that we would throw there can never be matched or topped. Out of my four years, this year defiantly was the best for parties because the po po knew better than to fuck with us. As soon as I stepped onto campus, I was the designated person out of all the basketball guys to organize events at the house. Not a job that I really wanted to do but it helped me meet tons of people. The first party that I got a lot of people to go to, I was so fucked up that I had one of those blackout nights. Fun right? Ha however, the next morning the best. It was a Sunday morning and I lived in the dorm at this time. I’m not exactly sure what time it was when I woke up but I will never forget what happened. As I started to wake up, I was laying on my back, looking at the ceiling, with the sun in my face. I thought to myself, “Why the fuck is the sun so bright?” I always had my blinds closed so nothing would shine through. So I look around and find out that I’m not in my room, the place that I “thought” I passed out in. As I sit up I realize something, that I was completely naked! Not one ounce of clothing was on my body. I was not only naked, but I found myself lying on a couch in the lobby of the dorm. What the fuck? Haha So I do what anyone else in my position would do, I get up and run to my room as fast as I possibly could. I’m pissed, shocked and confused at the same time but I said fuck it, I’ll worry about the details later. So I run up three flights of stairs to my room to find my door was locked! So I’m naked, standing outside my door, trying to knock that bitch down. I start freaking out and ran down stairs to the second floor where one of my friends lived. Hoping that his door was unlocked so I could grab some clothes and pass out until my roommate came back to my room! Thankfully his door was unlocked and I was able to grab a towel and a credit card (you could use a credit card to get into any room in that dorm) and I finally got my door opened! Maybe the best part of the story comes when I walked in and found my clothes were everywhere. Shirt on my computer, pants on my roommates bed, underwear under my pillow and a HUGE wet spot by the door where I must have pissed before I went on my sleep walking journey. Just another night to forget, but always remember. If that makes any sense? Ha ha

Sophomore Year: This year was probably the worst year of school. It defiantly was like the song “sophomore slump or comeback of the year” by Fall Out Boy. It was filled with a lot of women and a lot of drama. Things that no one really needs to go through. However, this was the year that Brandt and Steve made their presence known on campus. There were some memories that were made but it was just another boring ass year of school.

Junior Year: This was a rebuilding year. I was 21 and nothing was going to stop me this year. One of the best memories that happened during this year was that the basketball guys found this bar and we made it our home all year long. Now this bar, it a “true” towny bar. People still smoke in there and my dude even brought his dog named “lucky” in there all the time! This place is something else. Every night they have a DJ of whom I am always too drunk to remember his name, but he is a great dude. So one night, a group of us go to the bar, called “Bullshooters” and like usual, we get to drunk. So its 2:30 in the morn and someone has the great idea to get a hotel room and keep partying. I have no idea why but Steve Gansey ordered a love suit at this shitty ass hotel that had to have cockroaches living in all the rooms. However, there was a hot tub and one bed. Now there was like 10 of us. We all tried to pile into this hot tub and being as drunk as we were, we filled the bathtub with water and used that as a hot tub as well. Just plain stupid. As the night went on, we kept drinking and slowly people started to leave. Before I knew it, I was in the hot tub with another person and Steve and someone else is passed out in the bed. What the fuck happened to everyone? So I got out of the hot tub and tried to sleep on the floor. The floor was saturated from the front door to the bathroom. It was cold and I was debating walking back to my dorm which was 5 miles away. Not the greatest idea, but I obviously wasn’t in the right state of mind. Steve and this person eventually woke up and got a different room, so I could sleep in the bed. The next morning, I had class at 10 and on the ride back from the hotel, no one said a word. We conquered that shitty ass bar and hotel. We left our mark, which is what our intentions were.

Senior Year: I will not comment too much on this year other than this. Your senior year should be the best year of college. You know how to study, what classes you can skip, and how much you can afford to spend. Well we all make huge mistakes and I made one the whole year. I was in a relationship where I blew off all my friends and acted like a douche bag. Drama everywhere and it was just a mess. The lesson that should be learned from my experience is that, love is blind. You want to believe that the person you love, loves you the same back. In my situation, that wasn’t true. So guard your hearts and you have to find yourself before you can find the person that will truly love you.

The Extra Semester: Once again I will not comment about the beginning of the extra semester of school that I have gone through. Other than this, when or if you ever realize that the person who you are with lies to you and their parents all the time, there is a problem. Get out while you can. Because being cheated on (like my situation) is a horrible feeling that no one should have to go through. However, someone has to go through it and it was me! So after the first miserable month and a half of school, things started to really take off! Ashland finally would let students drink in the parking lots before the games so you know we had to hit those places up right away. Being stupid and drinking a lot summed up about a month of this extra semester. Since the semester is not over yet, two main stories stick our so far. The first one was the trip to Tiffin to support of football team. Now, our football team is really good but we haven’t found a way to pull out the big wins. So the morning of the game, there were 7 of us that piled into my minivan. At this point of time, the back seats of the van were not there so everyone was sitting on the floor. Real smart right? So the whole way to the game, everyone was having some road pops and we were having a great time. The best part of the story comes when we roll into the parking lot where the president of Ashland was there cooking out with many other high level staff that was with him. Once we opened up the door and some beer cans fall out of the door, everyone had to be thinking, what the fuck? So we walked over and started talking to everyone and Brandt decided he was going to drink 40 beers in one day. Now all of you should know how Brandt is by now and he can put beers away with the best of them, but 40? I didn’t think he had it in him. So the bet was on. As we tailgated, for some reason the Tiffin football team walked out of the locker room and all were stretching together right by the tailgate. I have never seen Brandt run so fast as he sprinted over to the fence that separated us from the team. If you have never heard anyone talk shit before, Brandt talked enough that I thought the whole team was going to jump over the fence and kill all of us. So it was time for the game and like usual, we were yelling at all of our friends that were out there. Halftime came and to all our surprise, Brandt passes out in the student section. Like he was out cold! All the cheerleaders that were with us were taking pictures and just loving it. Eventually, we got everyone in the van and went back to Ashland where we went to Skaggs house and partied even more. The moral of the story, Brandt really did drink 40 beers and he might have mild alcoholism. Hahaha The next story that stood out was home coming but I will let Brandt tell that one because, well, he was homecoming! Haha

Having the honor and privilege of being a guest on B’s blog has been great. This last semester, I am trying to accomplish everything that I have always wanted to do. Writing on this blog is one of them. Hope everyone enjoyed! Sorry if the story telling isn’t up to par compared to B’s but it is what it is.

Love,

Tyler “T-Ro” Rosenberger

B’s Risk Taking Chapter 4—Ten Things Everyone Should Experience—Part II

Well I suppose by now most of you reading this blog know that it is part two in a short mini series I had to develop due to the length of each of the blogs. I honestly meant to sit down and write this part two weeks ago, but to be honest school, and admittedly basketball have been getting the better of me lately. Basketball workouts keep getting harder and harder, but I suppose that is the life of a college athlete. School on the other hand is a joke. In a schedule that should be a cake walk for me; I am having trouble finding the time to do all of my assignments.



My schedule consists of:


Golf 101

Acting for Non-Majors

Education- Learning Disabilities in the Classroom

Crime Scene Investigations

Early Republic

Enterprise and Progressivism



If you can’t tell, I’m being slightly sarcastic when I say my workload is too much. However, I actually did have a productive weekend in which I did more homework than I did drinking, so cheers to me! I really just needed some time to myself for a bit with no writing, no homework, no partying for a change and reflect on some things in my life. Those things will come in a later blog I’m sure. But this blog, as you probably already know will consist of the final 5 things that everyone should try to do at some point in their lives.



I’m going to interrupt this portion of the blog to tell you briefly about my weekend with my good friend Steve Gansey. Steve not only is one of my best friends, but also my former roommate, who basically I owe full credit to starting my crazy college life. This weekend he showed up on Friday and he, Tyler, and I had a wild Friday. We went to the Japanese Steakhouse (SAKI SAKI SAKI), and then ventured to Bullshooters, our favorite bar in Ashland. It’s always a good time when Mr. Gansey comes to town.



Though this weekend was fun, it’s been brought to my attention by one of my more, shall I say ancient (GASP!!) I’m only teasing; I’ll go with slightly older friends that sometimes, while funny, it is boring to read solely about my drinking binges. I gave it some thought, and came to the conclusion that sometimes it’s boring to write about my drinking mishaps. But hey, I’m in college and that’s my life. However, in this edition of my blog you won’t be brought to boredom with any of my drunken escapades over the years of my life. Hopefully you all enjoy!!


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And so we continue at:

#5. Go to an Ohio State Football Game

Well I suppose this appears for obvious reasons. What kind of person could live in Ohio and not think that this is one of the best things to do in our state, unless of course you are from that shithole of a northwest corner we call Toledo and enjoy being a Michigan fan. All that aside, Ohio State Football games are incomparable to other athletic contests held within our state, and probably most states in the Union (Yes, I said Union, not Confederacy for all of you Southern people who still think you indeed won the “War of Northern Aggression. Get over it, I’m tired of hearing you’re bull shit in my history class! Fuckin’ Ashbrook Scholars.) Where else in the world can you go to a tailgate party with about 250,000 people all ready to walk into a stadium where they just know that their team is going to win. Rarely does Ohio State ever lose at Ohio Stadium, unless of course they are playing a high ranked team, especially in the last few years. But nonetheless the game is something you truly have to experience. The chills you get on the back of your neck when the band comes through the tunnel and the little crazy conductor dude with the feather on his hat (drawing a blank as to what he’s actually called) runs out to the 50 yard line, bends further backwards than any male should be able do and pokes his little feather into the ground. Then of course you get Script Ohio, arguably one of the greatest traditions, if not the greatest in all of sports. The excitement as it finishes and the tuba player takes off high stepping to dot the ‘I’ is an experience you have to live through. Then you have the game itself. 107,000 people all screaming their hearts out is enough to make the hairs on your neck stand for the duration of the game. The thundering bell that comes about during third downs that uniformly brings all in attendance to their feet is awesome. Then you have the singing of Carmen Ohio at the end of the game by the team, band, and all left in attendance. However, all of that can be attributed to a normal football game, it just the experience of being in Columbus for the game that one has to live through. The best game of all to go to in Columbus is without a doubt the Michigan game. The Ohio State v. Michigan rivalry is undoubtedly the best in sports, I refuse to take on any arguments stating otherwise, because you have to witness the hatred between the fans and players first hand to truly understand the rivalry. On game day in Columbus, if you show up wearing maize and blue, you better bring an umbrella, or you will be going home with more beer on your clothes than you were able to throw into your stomach. Not to mention the profanity, crude gestures, and other insults you will take throughout your day. I strongly recommend to anyone, even if you are not a fan that you make it to an Ohio State game at some point in your life, you will not leave disappointed, well unless of course you are a Michigan fan. But please.. Michigan fans you are more than welcome, I’d love to pour some beer on you!

#4. Road Trip with a Friend

Okay.. all of you out that there that actually know me, (which to be honest according to the reports I heard this weekend about all the people out there reading my blog, might not be that many of you), know that I love to have a great time. What better way to do this than to take a road trip with your friends. Now I’m not talking about a little girly road trip that chicks take to the mall to buy the latest pair of stilettos, I’m talking about an epic road trip I’m sure most of you have never been on. I’m talking about the kind of a road trip where you and your buddies get together, rent an RV, gather up all of the necessities for a great trip, (beer, and money for strippers) and hit the road. I’ll be honest, never have I taken a trip of this magnitude, but I can tell you one is coming this summer. It is already in the works to get the RV and drive to Seattle to visit my buddy. Other road trips will also work. An RV is just a bonus. As most of you know my recent trip to Philadelphia was sort of the type of road trip I am talking about. Not only do you get to find out about all of the shit that’s been on your friend’s mind for the last 22 years, but you also get to have an epic adventure, without worrying about what the people around you are thinking. I realize this is short, but do recognize the comedy in taking one of these road trips, you really have to do so by experiencing it. You can’t write that shit.

#3. Take a Real Family Vacation

I fully realize that this sounds like probably the lamest item on the list. But let me assure you, a family vacation can be one of the best experiences of your life. There is just something about an entire family getting together that provides instant comedy. I’ll tell you about my favorite family vacations, though it’s not very funny, I think about some of the stuff and just laugh at random moments in my life. My mother, father, brother, and I went to visit Florida Tech (my brother’s college) his junior year in high school, I believe I was a seventh grader. We were in Florida for two weeks, one of them in Clearwater, and one of them in Cocoa Beach near the school. We stayed at this nice hotel that had a Denny’s attached to it (I’m really not lying; I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but it was a nice hotel with a Denny’s attached). My dad thought it was necessary to eat virtually every meal for a week at this Denny’s. Never in my life will I again have any craving whatsoever for Denny’s. The next thing I remember from this vacation is the sun burn I got and the shit I took from my family for it. I was burnt to a fucking crisp. I couldn’t even put a shirt on, and as I wake up in the morning my family decides it is a wonderful day to go to Disney. FML. Not only was I miserable the whole day, but I had to walk around Disney in 98 degree weather again getting baked like a Thanksgiving Turkey in late November. However, while these memories serve me well, the best part about a family vacation is the traveling. My family has flown several times, but that doesn’t even compare to a car ride. If you know anything about my family, my dad is hilarious, I like to think I am equally as funny, my brother is really quiet (like never speaks), and my mom somehow manages to put up with all of us. However get us all in a car and it creates an interesting environment. My mom usually ends up taking the majority of jokes from my dad and myself, and my brother sits there and laughs until I pick on him long enough to make him finally burst out and hit me. Moments like these are something that I will never forget, and I look forward to taking many more vacations with my family, and hopefully my own family in the future. (Assuming I can con some girl into settling down with me.) Family bonding is something that is often underappreciated and taken for granted, so anytime you can have a chance at taking your family vacations I suggest you jump at the opportunity.

Okay.. I’ve put a lot of thought into #2 and #1 and they actually coincide, so I decided to combine them into one paragraph. They are as follows:

#2. Fall in Love and Have it Fail.
#1. Fall in Love and Have it Work.

Well initial thoughts.. “Man.. that’s fucked up.” And “Man.. that’s corny.” Let me tell you, for the most part I agree on all accounts. However, these are two of the most important things someone needs to go through in life. My friend Tyler is gonna put me on blast for this but he claims this to be the best pick up line he’s ever used.

Him..”Have you ever been in love?”
Her..”I think.”
Him..“What is love?”
Her..“What?”
Him..”Like how do you define love?”
Her.. “Some typical bullshit cliché answer.”
Him..”No.. How do you love your mom? Okay.. Well when you finally find someone that you feel the same about as you do your mom, then you are in love and know you are ready to settle down.”

Okay.. Personally I think this is the worst idea ever (not to mention the WORST pickup line.. but he claims it works) Haha. I feel like if I ever go to the point with a girl that I felt like she was my mom, I would never again be able to sleep with her, not that that’s what love is about, but eventually it would come in a relationship, assuming it went that far. But nonetheless, I used this example of Tyler to show that, everyone has their own definition of love.

My theory on the entire thing is that you have to legitimately fall in love at least twice in your life to find one that will truly workout for you. Trust me, I realize you’re probably sitting there thinking “Why would I want to fall in love and get my heart broken?” Well here is why. Unless you truly fall in love and have it fail, then you don’t know how great it can be. Once you fall in love and have it blow up in your face, then you can realize what it means, and appreciate why you want it to work out for you.

Finally, once you get lucky enough to find that love that “works” for you, you truly will not want to fuck up and let it get away from you. I think often times people rush into these relationships and marriages without truly recognizing what love is, and then six months down the road they crash, and then what the fuck do you do? So my advice to you, don’t worry if you get in a relationship, fall in deeper than you ever have, and see it all go away, because it will truly make you appreciate everything love has to offer.

Okay, so I guess I completed the list, thanks a ton for your patience with me, I realize it took forever for the second edition to come out, but trust me in the coming days I’ll be hitting you all up with the Homecoming Weekend at Ashland University Blog.

Until Then.. Much Love,

B

B’s Risk Taking Chapter 4—Ten Things Everyone Should Experience—Part I

B’s Risk Taking Chapter 4—Ten Things Everyone Should Experience—Part I

By Brandt Danals.. But please.. Call me B

To be completely honest, I sat down about five days ago with all intentions of writing a masterpiece of a blog. However, for the first time in about 2 years I sat down behind the keys, and what I wanted to say didn’t exactly come out as I had planned, so naturally, I said “fuck it” and deleted the entire thing. I went back to the drawing board to try and come up with something more creative and enjoyable to read. I’m still not sure I’ve come up with something you’ll enjoy reading, but nonetheless I am more pleased with it.

You’re probably going to read through this and think to yourself, “Wow.. He must have had a pretty relaxed weekend. In all actuality, it was quite the opposite. I actually had a crazy weekend, and no for once I’m not exaggerating, but it really had no significance in terms of life importance, or lessons learned. Just your typical get drunk Thursday, get even drunker Friday, get dared to drink forty beers on Saturday while tailgating with your college President, and accepting the challenge weekend. No big deal. Shocking as this sounds, this isn’t where I found my inspiration to write. Since I started seriously blogging at the beginning of the summer, I have been reading other writer’s blogs to see the type of things they come up with. One of my favorites is by a fellow college basketball player, Mark Titus. Mark plays for the Ohio State Buckeyes and founded Club Trillion, his own blog website where he gives his point of view as a college basketball player from “the end of the bench.” (Notice the Parallel) Anyway, in his latest edition he talks about how great of a summer he had and goes through the experiences he had. He goes on to explain why he had the best summer ever. Now I’ll be honest, I could have spent this entire blog writing about my summer, because in all honesty, I put his summer to shame in terms of excitements, and crazy stories, but that wasn’t the route I chose.

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I firmly believe, that along with risk taking, there are some certain things that every person should try to do in their lives. My list is extremely long, but I think I have narrowed it down to ten pretty good ones, some of which are for comical purposes, and some of which I whole heartedly believe in. All of which, I guarantee you to have a good time doing, or at least pull away some memories that you will carry on with you forever.

#10. Go to a NASCAR Race

Admittedly, this is a little bit of the hillbilly coming out in me, but going to a NASCAR Race will provide a fun filled weekend. Coming from small town USA, my fellow townspeople can probably tell you every single driver on the circuit as they tediously watch 43 cars drive around in a circle from their living rooms every single Sunday afternoon. Not to mention that early in February for the Daytona 500, some people have parties bigger than they do on New Years, Christmas, and for all of you Jewish readers out there.. (GASP).. your ridiculously expensive bat/bar mitzvahs. Now, as much as my friends and I make fun of the people that sit there and yell at Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson from sofa’s like they went to grade school together, I have to admit, when viewed live, a NASCAR race is like no other sporting even. Aside from the countless empty beer cans, immense piles of chew spit, and un-ending long wavy Joe Dirt-esque mullets in attendance, the races create an environment enjoyed by all in attendance. Now, you have to get there early on race day so you can get the entire experience. You walk around to all of the team trailers and see memorabilia and driver t-shirts. You go to the different events they have such as tire changing contests, and driver simulators. But the best part is the tailgating. Unlike any other sport, virtually every person (namely redneck) that walks through the gate at a NASCAR race is stupid drunk. After all, how else could you convince yourself to go watch a car drive 500 laps around an oval, while the sun beats down on your body. This creates an environment in the parking lot like no other. Everyone is more than willing to share beers, shotgun them with you, and if you are lucky enough you will find that crazy hillbilly of a girl (presumably from West Virginia or Kentucky, not to offend any residents from this area, but lets be honest) that is more than ready to show you her breasts. Once inside the race you can feel the rumbling of the cars as they roll down the front stretch and still hear the loud road as they round on to the back stretch. What a feeling. (AND!! Don’t forget you get to experience that feeling 500 times per race!!) I truly do recommend, if you have nothing better to waste roughly $60 on, you get some friends together and travel to Bristol Motor Speedway where you can get the best NASCAR experience. (Assuming you don’t get to watch Uncle Bart and Cousin Joey throw beer cans at the TV during the Daytona 500, because Tony Stewart blew a tire on lap 53).

#9. Go to a Strip Club on a Friend’s Birthday.

I whole-heartedly recognize this makes me sound like the typical “horny college boy”, and to be honest I don’t have much argument against it. But this actually comes from something I went through in High School on one of my friends 18^th birthday. (Honestly, Mom I know you’re reading this, it was a FRIEND’S birthday.. haha) Aside from the initial excitement that one might have for his first trip to a strip club, strip clubs are in all actuality quite boring, especially the ones around my home in Ashland and Mansfield, Ohio. I don’t recommend a visit to any of the nearby establishments, due to poor quality of dancers, but you know what they say, once you’ve seen one set of boobs, you want to see them all. So even after I put up a huge argument explaining to all of my friends the reasons we shouldn’t go, after two seconds I was out of reasons, and we loaded up the car and went out to celebrate. Mistake number one, telling one of the strippers it was our friend’s birthday. Literally within two minutes they had him up on stage. Not only were they beating him with whips, but they where slamming his body into the pole, on the chair he was sitting on. Now, aside from my uncontrollable laughter, I kind of felt bad for him, it looked quite painful. It was so funny though, so of course we talked the strippers into round two, isn’t that hard when you flash some money in front of their faces, along with my charming smile.. (I mean, for those of you who know me, my smile gets me everywhere in life) So much to our friend’s chagrin, he was again drug on stage and abused by about seven strippers. To my delight I got my twenty dollars worth and had more fun that night than any other time I’ve been to a strip club. (Honestly, these times are limited, somewhere between the number of one and two hundred, but I’ll always remember that trip.) I strongly recommend that if you ever get the chance to embarrass a friend like this on his or even her birthday, if you ladies out there are feeling risqué, that you take them to a trashy strip club where they humiliate them in front of all the old men in sweat pants who are dying to get a lap dance from a girl with about seven teeth.

#8. Experience a TRUE College Weekend

I’m saying this a bit sarcastically, but I also completely mean it. I fully realize that not everyone will be able to experience the TRUE college weekend (Sorry Mom and Dad, and anyone else in their age group), but anyone who still has the opportunity should. I realize all of you old people out there (once again, Sorry Mom and Dad) think that your parties back in the day were every bit as wild as college parties of today. Guess again. An entire college weekend, done the right way, is something that can never be out done. If done right, it will put Animal House, American Pie, and other college movies of the sort to shame, and probably come just short of competing with the Hangover, though I’d like to argue I’ve had some weekends on the brink of that. Everyone knows that at most schools, with the exception of the College of Wooster, (mostly because seniors spend their entire year working on one lame project, but also because clearly they enjoy their partying) start their weekends on Thursday. (Wooster starts theirs on Wednesday) “Thirsty Thursday” is just short of being considered a national holiday on college campuses across the nation. It is the one weekday where college students abroad drink themselves into drunken stupors with the hope of somehow making it up for their 9am class. (Rarely do they actually make it). Follow this Thursday, with every Friday being a challenge to get drunker than you were on the night before and you have the makings of the beginning of a great weekend. Typically after a Friday night, at least at most schools, you feel as if you can’t possibly consume anymore beer for the weekend, that is until about 10am roles around and you decide you need to go to the football tailgate parties, or just start drinking in general. This is when the craziness begins. Recently, I went on an adventure to Tiffin to watch my school’s team, The Ashland Eagles, destroy the lowly Dragons of Tiffin University. Much to my appreciation they did. However, somewhere along the way a good friend of mine bet me that it would be impossible to consume forty beers before midnight. Normally I wouldn’t take this bet, but he assured me that I couldn’t.. so I had to go for it. I fell just short, finishing number forty at 12:07am, but I still insist that I won the bet, because I went on to drink two more beers before passing out for the evening bringing my days total to 42. Only in college is it perfectly normal for one human being to consume around 75 beers in a weekend, and not have it be considered alcoholism. College weekends are all about doing things you can’t do during the week. You get as drunk as possible, see how many girls you can take back to your dorm room without having the other ones find out, and see what all you can get away with, without having the cops called on you. (I can assure you, that in Ashland, as I learned this weekend that is not very much. Thankfully they appreciated my birthday suit celebration). So all of you young kids out there thinking you may not want to go to college, even if you don’t do it for the degree, (which lets be honest, they aren’t helping people get jobs in today’s market anyway) DO IT FOR THE WEEKENDS!! You’ll thanks yourself twenty years down the road.

#7. Work at a Summer Camp

Now obviously, I included work at a summer camp, because I did so this summer and honestly had the time of my life doing so. But there are honest reasons why I believe people should follow in my footsteps. First, I guarantee you will meet people that you will want to be friends with for the rest of your life. This summer I met some jolly ole chaps from England, some kangaroo riders from Australia, some shark watchers from South Africa, a jolly little leprechaun from Ireland, as well as people from all over the States. Some of the relationships I developed with these people are better relationships than I’ve had with people throughout my entire life. And it is true what they say; no one parties like kids from England. These kids just go crazy, they kick back beers like they are chocolate syrup, and never really slow down. Second, there is the food served. Let me tell you it is delicious!! Okay.. I’ll be honest, it isn’t very good, but to the camp’s credit, it was FAR FAR better than I was expecting from a summer camp feeding around 400 people per day. Third, at least in regards to the camp I worked at, there was never a day that I woke up that I didn’t look forward to doing my job (except fucking rainy days when they made me do it anyway). But honestly, you got to pick which sport or activity you wanted to be qualified in, and teach it to the campers, virtually all day. I spent my entire summer playing basketball with kids. What better job could I ask for? Finally, the kids are what truly does make the summer enjoyable. For the first four weeks of my life there, I thought I had it the worst. However, now that I’ve had time to reflect on the kids peeing the bed, shitting on the floor, and waking up in the night crying for their moms, and I’ve realized this is what made camp different from my everyday life, and now I can look back and appreciate it. There were some days when I just thought it was awful, but as I reminisce about it, I realize, seeing those kids smile when I’d pick them up and run around with them or the beaming joy on their faces when I gave in and told them a bedtime story is what being a kid is all about. Enjoying things when they are good, and being shitty when they aren’t. Kids have the beautiful ability to be able to show what they are feeling, they aren’t worried about offending someone because they are upset, or being so happy they pee themselves, they do what they feel, and I think people lose sight of those things in life. I learned a lot from those little rug-rats this summer, and as frustrated as I got with them sometimes, I will not only never forget them, but I will be eternally thankful. As wild and full of surprises as the little kids are, the older kids are just as crazy, if not more. I also got my fair share of them at camp. They present their own challenges, asking you about sex, drugs, and other things that you wouldn’t think a fourteen year old would ask you about, but nonetheless they want to know. Of course you have to brush of their questions, and they get frustrated, but they also know where they can and can’t go. The cabin life is the best part of camp. Interacting with the kid’s everyday, getting to learn about them and their lives, and what they want to do when they “get to high school” and beyond is fascinating. It makes you realize how awesome it was to have dreams that no one could ever tell you were impossible. It’s beautiful as a future educator knowing that kids I’ve spent eight weeks living with, in some cases, are aspiring to go to college with the hopes of some day turning those dreams into a reality. Sincerely, if you get a chance to go to summer camp, do it. They told me this quote at the beginning of summer and I kind of brushed it off, because I thought it was a bit cliché, but they said, “I promise you, working at this camp will forever change your life.” That quote proved to be more true than I could have ever imagined.

#6. Go to a Professional Baseball Game

To be completely honest, I would have never even thought about including this on my list until I turned 21 years old. However, being able to drink at a MLB game makes it an out of this world experience. Cleveland is an amazing city to attend a pro sports contest in, (even though most of our teams suck) our fans are crazy, and our stadiums are insanely nice. I’m talking about Cleveland, simply because Indians games are the ones I have the most experience with, though I have been to several other ball parks throughout the States, never leaving a game disappointed. There’s just something about sitting at a game with a cold beer in your hand, and peanuts flying in and out of your mouth that makes watching a baseball game enjoyable. The atmosphere of the fans, whether it be a little boy at his first ballgame with his dad hoping to catch a homerun, or the fat lady who sat down next to you and is pissing you off because she stole your arm rest and keeps trying to eat your peanuts, is what makes the game. The anticipation of the first batter coming to the plate, and the famous “PLAY BALL” call by the umpire is something that everyone can look forward to. The best part of the game, I really don’t care what anyone else says, comes in two phases. First, at Jacob’s Field (I still call it this because I refuse to honor the name change) there is the “hotdog race”. Anyone who has been there knows what this is. They have ketchup, mustard, and onion, dressed up in hotdog mascot costumes, and they run around the field. Admittedly, I probably find this so humorous, because by the time the sixth inning roles around I’m so drunk anything is funny, but this is the time when you and your friends all pick a different hotdog and you go nuts for it. I always cheer way louder for ketchup than I ever cheer for the Indians. In fact, I think from now on when I go to an Indians game, I’m going to tell my friends I’m going to watch Ketchup’s race tonight (because honestly it’s more entertaining than any Indians game since the late 90’s). And finally, arguably the best thing about any baseball game is the 7^th inning stretch when everyone in attendance takes part in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” usually led by a drunk celebrity. I swear someday I want the chance to lead this at a game; I will rock that mic like Sinatra. As utterly drunk and belligerent fans, this is the time when you and your friends lock arms, sway back and forth, and try to remember all the words to the catchy little song. (It is also sadly last call for beers, so you have to stock up on a few for the final innings). You can never go wrong by going to a baseball game. Make sure you take your friends, and plenty of money, because most stadiums around the country tend to charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $26,000 for a hotdog and beer nowadays. (Slight exaggeration.. but not much, especially at the new Yankee Stadium, or so I hear).

Well you are probably wondering where the rest of the list is. I feel like I’ve been writing forever.. That is why I have broken this blog up into 2 separate parts. Trust me, you’ve been reading long enough, and the last 5 are unforgettable. You will want to read them at a separate time so you can prepare yourself.

Until then…

Much Love,

B