Long time, no type!!

It sure has been awhile, hasn't it? Exactly a month, in fact!

A lot has happened since then... Things have been crazy with schoolwork and whatnot... I've had lots of music stuff going on... Along with tons of homework and classes. It's all been fun... just very, very time-consuming!

I've got some neat videos, though!

For all of you that didn't get to come to our "Fall Family Weekend", here's a little tour video that Kevin and I made over Labor Day weekend...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7833244425515771221&hl=en

Also, for those of you who haven't heard, a few of my friends and I from Weck Hall entered the Homecoming Talent Show! We didn't win (though EVERYONE has been saying that we should have!) but we did have lots of fun! Here's our act!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x3GG4uoJCU

I'll upload pictures from Fall Family Weekend soon, too!

Sorry for the update being so short, but I've got a meeting with my CWRR I Professor!

Love you all,
Lyss

Some Observations...

I've decided to compile a list of little things that I've noticed since moving out here to Millikin...

• Toothpaste/shampoo/conditioner/EVERYTHING lasts much, much longer when not shared between three sisters.
• Just because they keep the ice cream machine turned on at breakfast, doesn't necessarily mean that you should use it then.
• However, bagels with lox make wonderful breakfasts.
  
• Writing two papers in one weekend isn't nearly as hard as people make it out to be... If you're a robot.
• Functioning on three to four hours of sleep is no longer impossible... Quite the opposite, actually... It's the norm.
• Practice rooms have become my best friend.
• It's obviously a miracle that with four girls all sharing the same bathroom, there are absolutely NO fights whatsoever about who showers when or who is taking too long... It's WONDERFUL!
• While it's nice to not wake up and find a mess left by chinchillas, you definitely miss them when you wake up in the middle of the night and now there's no one to talk to.
• When you're not feeling well, there's no big lump of fur to come and set her forty-pound body on you as if she's some sort of lap dog.
• The convenience store on campus is misleading... I see nothing convenient about paying $6 for a box of Wheat Thins.
• Between jazz band, concert band, classes, homework and quintet practices, you fall to your knees in praise when you find enough time to squeeze in three meals in one day.
• Ramen is now a swear word. (Kevin and Maegan disagree.)
  
• Living with all the kids in your Seminar class is an interesting experience... Mostly for the better... but occasionally for the worse.
• Being able to hang out at places other than campus? Yeah, I miss that.
• I've learned what vacuums are for... and I really wish I had one.
• If your RA is cool, you can get away with a lot of stuff... so long as you let her have rice whenever you cook it inside your room.
• E-mailing your professors to do a little bit of schmoozing goes a long way!
• When one of your professors says "C's get degrees... So practice your ass off and do your homework later", take that sort of advice with a grain of salt.
• Having a Mac is considerably less convenient when everyone else on campus with a printer runs PC, so you have to go all the way to the Mac Lab in the library basement to print out your papers.
• Getting the mail will never, EVER be quite as exciting as it is in college... After all, after college, odds are my mailbox won't be full of cookies every time I check it...

... I've got plenty more, but I figure I'll save those for another time!

Lyss

Volleyball?!

So, I suppose I can warrant writing another update for all of you, seeing as I've finished my paper already.

Well, an update on auditions, I DID end up making a jazz band... Jazz Band II, to be exact, which also happens to be the one that Kevin is in! We're on the same parts that we played last year, too... Which is fantastic! I love playing the lower parts in jazz, so I'm set! I'm also going to be in a brass quintet, too... Which should be a lot of fun. I get to play second trumpet in that, too, which is my favorite part for things like that, too... So, all in all, it seems like my music stuff is all working itself out quite well!

Last night, my building, Weck Hall, all got together to play sand volleyball... It was fantastic! I've never been a big fan of volleyball (or sports in general) but this game was intense! I was named MVP after repeatedly going after the ball with various extremities including, but not limited to, my elbow, feet, and face. I also managed to somehow attempt to dive for the ball, ended up with a face full of sand, and when one of my teammates, Spencer, went up to me for a high-five, he ended up punching me in the face! I have a little bit of a black eye, but not too bad... It was an accident, but Spencer still feels awful about it! It actually knocked me off of my feet! I'm fine, though, no worries!

I'm definitely feeling a little bit of the homesickness... I could definitely go for some of Grandma's potato chip cookies, especially! It's kind of weird not having Grandma and Papa come and visit every weekend like they do when I'm at home... I miss the tomato and mozzarella, too, for sure! I miss seeing my parents all the time and even my sisters! ... and of course my boys and my Sydney... Even my bed sounds great (even if my mattress topper here is way better than my mattress at home!) and I would love to be able to dance around, singing to myself like I used to do at home all the time when I was alone... That's another thing I miss a lot... Having my own space... Here, everything is shared... And while sharing is all well and good, it's still nice to be able to say "Hey, that's mine."... but a few more weeks and I'll be able to be home again!

Oh, and here... I've gotten lots of requests for my school address, so I guess I'll just post that up here... If you want to mail anything to me (and please do! One of the biggest things I miss from home was just the simple pleasure of trotting across the street to fetch the mail!!) send it to this address:

Alyssa Esch
Millikin University
Weck Hall, 304
1211 W. Main Street
Decatur, IL 62522-2040

... but if you do send something, make sure that you drop me an e-mail at aesch@millikin.edu, otherwise, I'll have no idea it's in there... So I might not get it!

Also, feel free to leave me comments or e-mail messages! I finally got my Millikin e-mail to stop recognizing all of you as junk, so go for it! Also, make sure that the messages that I send all of you don't end up in the trash... I plan on sending blog updates mostly from my Millikin e-mail, but I'll start off sending them from both if that helps!

Love,
Lyss

... And They're Off!

So, today is Friday.

Do you know what this means?

I've just completed my first week as a college student! (Well, almost... I still have music theory today, but really... Who's counting?) ... and what a week it was!

I realize I haven't updated in quite some time... Some interesting highlights include my roommate being assaulted with a urine-filled vinegar bottle thrown from a car going at 65 mph, me falling all over myself numerous times, two band auditions, me learning to play piano... among others. All in all, I'm having a great time here. I've already got a paper to write, but I figure I'll write that while I'm doing my laundry this afternoon. I've only got one class today (Music Theory at 10:00) and then Concert Band practice later on... No big deal, really... but I sure am happy for this three day weekend! I could use it after all that's gone on this past week.

So, I had auditions for concert and jazz band... My concert auditions went quite well, I guess (personally, I didn't think so) and I made second chair in the second band... Which, apparently, is amazing for a freshman. (Albeit, not as amazing as Kevin who, of course, made the top ensemble) My jazz audition? Yeah, well that didn't go half as well... The prepared piece went well enough (sort of), but the sight-reading was ABYSMAL and I was, apparently, so bad that they didn't even ask me to improvise.
... Ouch.

At the end of my audition, Prof. Rask actually asked me "Are you okay?"... Rather embarrassing... So I guess I won't be participating in jazz this year... but I'll let you know if I'm wrong and, for some reason, they decide to let me in... All that work for nothing... Kevin did well, but again, that's nothing out the ordinary.

It might be a good thing that I blew my audition, though... This way, I'll have plenty of time to focus on my academics and whatnot... I'm really excited to get started on this new paper! I have to write my personal response to an article that we read and it was fantastic. I can't wait!

I'm also learning to play piano, which is something new and interesting for me... I guess I'm not too awful at it either, but then, Kevin's been there to help me almost the entire way. It helps to be dating a boy who gives piano lessons to nine year olds.

Things are still going great with my roommate, though all the campus parties haven't started up yet... I'm wondering if I'll still like her so much after she comes back from a night of alcohol, but we'll see... Only time will tell... I did make her promise not to puke in the room, though, so at least there's that much!

I'm hoping to update this at least weekly now that school's starting, but if you notice me lagging, feel free to shoot me an e-mail to tell me to pick up the pace! You can reach me at either besserliebhaber@comcast.net or at aesch@millikin.edu.

Love,
Lyss

Dorm Photos!

In response to the epic demand for photos of our dorm, I present you with these!

This is my side of the room. You can see me there at my desk... Kevin's taking the photo... Which is why his MacBook and backpack are on my bed.

This is Maegan's side of the room... And that's Maegan there!


Be sure to look for many more photos to come!!

First Day Down... Only a bunch more to go!

Today was my first real lecture! It was actually pretty neat... but long. Two hours and eight pages of notes later, I got through it just fine. It was about ethics and it was pretty neat... but also amazingly dull once she got to the points about ethical reasoning and whatnot... Yawn. I got to meet with my University Seminar professor today, too... and she's a really neat lady! We found out that our service project for the FYLC is to help educate Macon County about what they can do to make their backyard a certified habitat for wildlife... Which is right up my alley! It's really exciting to know that, through Millikin, I can still make a difference in the lives of animals... Even when mine are so far away!

I met some interesting people today, too (even though it did rain... Ugh!)... A lot of kids I hadn't talked to before. I'm getting closer with my University Seminar class, too... Which is neat because we all live in the same building! Maegan and I seem to have the room that everyone wants to hang out in... Which is fine by me! Even our RA, Kelsey (who happens to be one of the funniest people I've ever met!) likes to hang out with us and squeeze the whale that Ellen bought me!

Tomorrow, Kevin and I are doing what we did today... Waking up at 6:30 to go get breakfast at 7:00 and practice until we have our first lecture at 10:00. It works out pretty nicely considering auditions are on SUNDAY... GAH!!!

So far, the food is pretty good... I've found myself enjoying it quite a bit. They had Cajun tofu tonight, which wasn't as good as the other things I've had, but definitely still edible. I've heard great things about the pizza, but I've been sticking to my steamed veggies and salads with a little bit of pasta and chickpeas... Yum! Kevin on the other hand? He's having a bit harder of a time with the food thing... but that was to be expected, wasn't it?

I had my first assignment tonight, too... It was nothing big... I just had to read a packet about homosexuality and whether or not it's ethical... It was actually very interesting and even managed to compare having homosexual relations with orange juice and still make sense... I think I'm going to like college.

Oh, and here's what you've all been waiting for! Photos around campus!

This is New Hall 2... Which is right next to my hall (Weck)... but they all look the same, and this one had the best angle... So just imagine that it says "Weck Hall". Our theme for our hall this year was "ShipWeck".... So everyone ran around as pirates! It was super fun!

This is Shilling Hall. We had our University Seminar class in here today, but typically it will actually be held in a little room on the bottom floor of my residence hall! Neat, huh?

And the night before move in, all through the house...

It's the night before I'm supposed to move in... and I'm getting very nervous and very sad... I'm going to miss my chinchillas, my dog, my family, my friends... Having my own space is pretty high up there as well... Ugh!

If anyone's got any tips for "college life", I'd absolutely love to hear them!

Lyss

Time's Running Out!

So, here I am in the Jamba Juice on Michigan Avenue downtown... Getting ready to hop on the L to go and stay in Chicago for a few days and help out with a 5th grade band camp... I look completely relaxed and my smoothie is delicious... But inside? I'm freaking out!

With only three days left until I make the big move from my cozy little home town to Decatur and Millikin University and, ultimately, the rest of my life... Needless to say, nerves are beginning to take over... Do I have everything I need? How will I adapt to dorm life? Will I ever get over my toilet phobia?

Well, that's what this blog is for. For all of you, my family and friends, to find out the answers to these (and many more questions!) at the same time that I do! I'll be updating this on a (hopefully) regular basis to keep you guys clued in... If you feel it's been too long since I last updated, feel free to drop me an e-mail to keep you guys in the loop! Also, feel free to send me tins of Garret's popcorn... Which I just learned recently can be bought online! Which basically means that if you can read this blog, you can also buy me popcorn as an incentive to keep up with this blog.

... Joking of course... But seriously, I do enjoy popcorn.

If you'd like my cell number or campus address, feel free to drop me an e-mail! I'd love to get mail from you guys if you feel like sending it! As for classes that I'm taking, I'll be taking Music Theory 113, Woodwind Methods, Lab Band, Ear Training I, Piano, Band, Trumpet Lessons, University Seminar, and Critical Reading, Writing, and Research... As for what those actually are, that's for another blog entry!

Try not to forget about me while I'm down in D-town!
Lyss