Laundry Day

Laundry is an essential aspect of campus life.

I clean my clothes at the laundromat a block off campus.  It's cheaper than using the on-campus machines, and if you have more than one load to do, it's usually quicker too.  (Plus, it's kinda fun to watch the clothes swirling around in the machines.)

If you don't happen to have a girlfriend with a car who can drive you to the laundromat, the washers and dryers on campus can get the job done.  All the major residence halls have them.  Half the machines are coin-operated, and half are card-swipe, drawing cash from an account linked to your student ID.

SU's Spring Concert: Jack's Mannequin

Saturday night we headed over to Weber Chapel Auditorium for evening full of the piano-driven rock music of Jack’s Mannequin.

When I’d heard SU’s spring concert was going to be Jack’s Mannequin, Holly and I each bought two tickets, two for ourselves and two for my friends Jimmy and Sheri from back home, because Jack’s is one of Jimmy favorite bands. He’d seen the band twice already, but Saturday was Sheri’s first concert ever.

And, lucky for Sheri, it was a great concert. The second opening band, fun., had this really great rock-and-roll sound you don’t hear too much anymore, an ELO/Queen/Blood, Sweat, and Tears kind of sound. I downloaded their album Aim and Ignite off i-tunes three days ago and haven’t stopped listening to it.

Fun. playing a show in Los Angeles.

After fun. finished their set, Jack’s Mannequin took the stage, and they didn’t disappoint. They opened with a song called  “Crashing,” then Andy, the band’s pianist and front man, told us all how excited he was to be here at “Sus—ka—honna.” After the fans crowded around the front of the stage corrected him (“Sus—qwa—hanna!”) he played a great high-energy set. At one point in the show he was actually standing on top of his piano stomping on the keys.

For the encore, Andy came back out alone and played “Swim,” one of my favorite Jack’s Mannequin songs, and then the rest of the band joined him and they finished off the night with “Dark Blue.”

It was a great time.

"Swim" by Jack's Mannequin

Fat Tuesday on Friday - aka Mardi Gras at Trax

Friday night Holly, Karen, Andrew, and I followed the railroad tracks to Trax, Susquehanna's on-campus student-run nightclub, for some drinks and some dancing at the Mardi Gras party.

Trax frequently has "wristband" nights throughout the semester, nights where Trax serves free alcohol to students 21 years of age and older.  Students of age receive a three-tabbed wristband upon entering Trax to ensure no one gets overserved.  Students who aren't 21 yet are also welcome at Trax on wristband nights; they just get their hands stamped instead of a wrist band.

So after showing off some of my (terrible) dance moves, I had a glass of Land Shark Lager.

The Mardi Gras party also included mask-making, a raffle drawing for a flat screen HDTV, and lots of dancing.  DJ Novocane, a student DJ, took requests all night—Shakira, Lady Gaga, the Black-Eyed Peas, "The Cupid Shuffle," that sort of stuff.  At one point during the night, there was even some spontaneous break dancing.  It was a good night, a good good night.

• More on Trax

Bagels at Benny’s

I’m not a morning person. I like to wake up slowly and ease into the day.

Benny’s Bistro is usually my first stop on campus each day. I’ll grab a bagel and a cup of coffee and then read for twenty minutes or so until it’s time to head to my first class of the day.

Benny’s Bistro is one of four on-campus eateries. For breakfast they serve eggs, hash browns, and all sorts of bagels. My usual is either a salt bagel (it’s like a soft pretzel for breakfast) or just a plain bagel, though if I’m feeling really adventurous I may get something exotic, like cinnamon raisin or poppy seed.

For lunch and dinner, Benny’s offers pizza, soup, salads, sandwiches, burgers and fries, stuff like that. I’m a big fan of the chicken tenders wrap (with hot sauce, ranch dressing, and pepper jack cheese). It’s definitely not the healthiest option, but if you’re looking for quick college food, Benny's is the place.

• More on Benny's Bistro

Hands-On Science: The Whitaker Center

Saturday morning the six of us piled into Holly's car and Jeff's jeep, and we headed forty-five minutes south into Harrisburg. Our destination was the Whitaker Center, a hands-on science museum. We were definitely the biggest kids there, but I'm pretty sure we had just as much fun as everybody else. See for yourself, check out the pictures below.

Kelsey and Holly enjoying the 3D IMAX movie Dolphins and Whales.

Holly learns about levers.

Eric and Andrew race to see who can be the first to burn

one hot dog bit worth of calories.

Me, experiencing F1 hurricane-force wind in the Hurricane Chamber.

Andrew, Holly, and I have fun with pulleys.

This is what we think of the Whitaker Center: two thumbs up.

• More about the Whitaker Center

The Sock Hop

I showed up at Trax a half-hour early to help set up, but by the time I got there everything was already done. “Here,” Collin, the VP of SU Swings, said as he dropped his hat onto my head. “You look good.” And then there was nothing left to do but listen to the band warm up and wait for everybody to show up.

The Sock Hop hosted by SU Swings was well attended (thanks, in part, to the free root beer floats and milkshakes). The student jazz combo played a great hour-long set that we all danced to, and then it was DJ’d swing music until 2 AM. There were beginner lessons upstairs by the pool tables and free-dancing downstairs in front of the stage.

It was really a great Saturday night. My girlfriend looked beautiful in her green dress, and I don’t think I looked half-bad in Collin’s hat (but judge for yourself). It’s always a huge amount of fun dancing with so many of your close friends. All in all, it was an awesome evening, full of inside turns, outsides turns, dips, leans, cuddles, milkshakes, barrel rolls, pretzels, and even a few never-ending loops.

• More on SU Swings
• More on Trax

Chilling at Charlie's

At 8:30 PM my long Wednesday was finally over—class, work, class, a meeting that ran long and made me late for dinner, and then I led an Intervarsity Bible Study. It was third long day in a row, and Thursday was promising to be even longer. What I needed was a break, some time to relax. What I needed was Zombieland.

Every Wednesday night (Friday nights too) Charlie’s Susquehanna’s student-run coffee house, plays a movie that’s left theaters but hasn’t made it onto DVD yet. I’d seen Zombieland at the Selinsgrove Cinema Center with Rob and Holly back in the fall and had been completely surprised to find that it wasn’t terrible like I’d expected it to be. It was actually really hilarious—especially for a zombie movie.

Anyway, Zombieland was just what I needed. I met Alice, Casey, and Eric at Charlie’s and for two hours completely forgot about how jam-packed Thursday was threatening to be.

Charlie’s is great. It’s home to both the best hot chocolate on campus and the university’s most comfortable couches (Get there early if you want a good seat!). They serve hot and cold drinks as well as all kinds of snacks. Occasionally they also do “mocktails,” and during football season, they have free wings. In addition to showing recent movies, Charlie’s also has live music, football games on the big screen, poetry readings, open-mic nights, and all sorts of other stuff.

It’s one of my favorite places on campus.

• More about Charlie's