I am currently sitting the living room of my new apartment in suburban Detroit. It is a definite change for me from the near-country of Hillsdale and the average-sized yet beautiful Traverse City. While I miss both I am happily looking forward to my new life here in Novi. There is a lot more to do here than my previous hometowns but I am sure that I will not be able to take advantage of it. My work, I believe, will consume a considerable portion of time, but I still relish the idea of not having assigned "homework."

I will have a land line here eventually, as they included one in the cable/internet deal I purchased from the cable company. My cell phone number is still the same and my mailing address has changed, obviously, but if you want it I would be happy to e-mail it to you.

This past weekend I moved into a new house in Hillsdale. There are 8 other people living in the house, which has been affectionately named Your Mom's House. Of the 9 of us, 3 are Michigan fans, 4 are Ohio State fans, 1 is from New Mexico and oblivious to sports, and the last would only care if Wagner somehow composed the UM-OSU rivalry (no joke).

I've included a few pictures of my new room. You can also see them at my Flickr page. Keep in mind, I have only lived here for a few days so my room is a bit on the messy side.

Wednesday is the first day of what promises to be an easier albeit very busy semester. Music history, African history and biology are the three courses I am taking. Various 1 credit odds and ends round out the schedule. The highlights for the semester lie in an independent study on German nationalism and the frosting on the proverbial cake, a one-week seminar with historian and author David McCullough. Most recently the author if 1776, Mr. McCullough gained national fame (as well as my own personal affection for his writings) after his biography of John Adams, which was on the New York Times Bestsellers List for over a year. His seminar, which I believe to be about leadership and history (granted I didn't pay too much attention to the course title, I was sold by the author's name), should be an absolute joy for me.

I have thus managed to inform on my overall class takings without posting a copy of my actual schedule. Feel free to e-mail if you feel inclined to know the entirety of the schedule (or if you simply want to correspond).

The musical I am performing in opened Wednesday. It is going relatively well, considering many circumstances. I have linked a news article and two reviews, one from the Collegian and one from the Hillsdale Daily News. Let me know if you have any questions.

Lead in Play Hospitalized

Daily News Review

Collegian Review

Saturday I attended a birthday party for a man I had never met. One of those parties that is a celebration of life, where friends and family from all over gather as an almost "farewell" gathering. Where the party is more of a sentimental send-off than anything else.

I learned a lot about myself at that party. I saw many of the Old Guard, those who have been fighting battles well before I was born. And I compared them to the bright and shiny, well-organized New Machine, the one that is alive today. I noticed how much I am like the Old Guard, more about principle rather than procedure.

I met many honorable men and women tonight. Those who labored for years and years to create a better world. And I am thankful for them. What an honor to meet them.

This past evening the men's choral a cappella group Cantus performed on campus at Hillsdale College. They performed a variety of works from early medieval plainchant to 20th century pop hits. They have an amazing repetoire and an uncanny ability to blend very well musically. I strongly encourage all of you to visit their website linked above and listen to some of the mp3 samples.

This year the Relay for Life had a tug of war contest. I was asked just 15 minutes before the competition to throw a team together as they had an odd number. The team ended up being called "Dean's Sexy Frisbee Players" or something to that effect (Jen or Sharon, if you're reading this let me know). Anyway, here is a picture of us in action.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Mauldin

My sincere gratitude goes out to all of those who donated either time or money (or both) to the Hillsdale College American Cancer Society Relay for Life. When this year's Relay was in place the fundraising goal that was set was $10,000. As of 10:00 this evening we have raised over $15,000; 1.5 times our goal!

Again, my thanks to each and every individual who helped out in any way. This is for Lauren, and Mrs. Kelley, and the tens of thousands of people who suffer with cancer each day. Stay focused and committed and we just might see a cure in our lifetimes.

I picked up Giles (and Margaret) from the airport yesterday and it was hard to contain my excitement. I have to work nine hours today so we stayed up late last night despite the fact that I was falling asleep everywhere we went. Needless to say it is good to be back in college mode with my friends again.

Things are going really well back in Hillsdale. I'm rather stressed out because I have been extremely busy but it has been a positive thing. Lots of transition-type things going on, lots of cleaning of the house as I get ready for people to move back for the school year. Started buying some school books over the past week, plus trying to make some school-year plans already. Do you know how complicated it is to organize a fun trip months in advance? Crazy crazy.