The semester seems to be ending on a good note.  Finals are here and those who still have these tests left they are just waiting for them to be over with.  Though it could be one of the most stressful times of the semester, I think it’s a lot easier to feel such burdens being lifted with each passing day.  There are some semesters when you couldn’t dread finals week any more and other semesters when finals week is about as good as it gets.  Either way, it has always been a very rewarding week to know you’ve made it through another semester here.

This past weekend, I took some breaks from studying and enjoyed a few long and hilarious games of racquetball.  I’ve also been resting more, and I’m finding more motivation in the pool.  Like I said, this can be a very motivating time.  It’s like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I know that I make it sound like it’s been awful here this semester, that’s quite untrue.  Basically, everyone just needs a break at some point.   You do appreciate home a lot more after being away for so long.  Not only that but you begin to appreciate your professors, other faculty, and staff when things begin to wind down.  I mean, I even appreciate the display of various energy drinks my friend has collected through all his late nights this semester. 

I think this appreciation goes both ways though.  Last night the campus had its midnight munch, where staff come out to the main dinning hall at 11:00 PM to serve students an enormous amount of breakfast foods.  It was fun time and encouraging knowing that everyone was going to have some crazy tests this week.  

Posted by Philip Towne at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m not exactly sure of the numbers, but there was a large fraction of the Wabash community in Wisconsin on Saturday; the whole football team, a charter bus of students, parents and other fans, and the swim team.  

The football team was playing in the regional final and the swim team was competing at Carthage in the TYP Classic Invite.  

As Saturday carried on, a violent winter storm plagued all of us up in Wisconsin.  I joked with some of my teammates how it might be possible for half of Wabash to end up stranded in Wisconsin.  I thought it was interesting that we were still being updated on the game from others between events and sessions on Saturday.  These mostly came from our volunteer assistant coach, Hugh Vandivier.  I think it just goes to show that even when we’re all the way up in Wisconsin, we’re still a community.

The meet went extremely well and I was very proud of my teammates.  We ended up placing third out of 10 teams, a very respectable finish for the semester considering the other competitors at the meet.  It was a fun and exciting weekend although the chemical levels in Carthage’s pool were quite awful by Saturday. Most of the guys on the team had some real trouble breathing and recovering after their races.  I  was feeling worse than I usually would if I were sick and all because of poor air circulation in the natatorium.  

“Wabash always fights,” came to mind when I saw guys on the team giving everything they had to come crawling out of the pool hacking and wheezing and knowing they’d have to somehow get their breathing back to normal for the next race. 

For now, it’s time to prepare for my finals this coming week and finish up assignments and the last tests for some of my classes.

Posted by Philip Towne at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)