Afternoon Fun

What a great weekend here at Redeemer! The weather was beautiful and it was so nice and relaxing. Right now is the period of the semester when people really start to do papers and get their homework done, but on Sunday afternoon, not too many people were doing homework. It was a gorgeous afternoon, it was way to hard to stay inside and get things done.

The afternoon had some sweet events going on. The first was Kid's Club Day. All the kids from Kids Club on Tuesday and Thursday (separate groups) came to Redeemer for the afternoon. There were about 30 of them from down the mountain in Hamilton. They came here all on a bus and when they got here they headed to the rec centre for some games and for a hot dog lunch. After lunch they headed out to a couple dorms in smaller groups and did some Easter egg hunting! From there they headed to the gym to see a sweet presentation by a Mad Scientist. He taught them how to make slime (uh oh for us leaders) and showed them lots of cool things about science. Then they played games in the gym until it was time to go home, the afternoon lasted about 4 hours.

Another thing that happened Sunday afternoon was some pick up soccer behind Augustine Hall. It was a little muddy but that made it all the better. We had around 40 people come out to hang out and have fun. We played soccer and listened to some live music from some on campus musicians jamming outside in the sun. It was tons of fun! All over campus people were outside in shorts and t-shirts playing games, soaking up the sun, and hanging out.. what a good Sunday afternoon before a great Church in the Box that evening!

And the Year Winds Down.....

Well, the Redeemer banquet has come and gone (in fact, there are pictures all over facebook to prove it). I really enjoyed myself - it's always fun to get the community together for a delicious meal followed by some dancing and mingling. The banquet also gives the girls an excuse to dress up and buy a cute dress, so really it's just a win-win situation all around. The banquet hall was gorgeously decorated, and the annual dance off competition was, as to be expected, highly impressive. After watching two students perfect the art of swing dancing, I was quite inspired to learn some new moves myself - unfortunately my coordination is lacking in that department. We were also treated to some break dancing, which was also extremely impressive. It was so much fun to celebrate the hidden talent of Redeemer students.

For me, the banquet sort of marks the beginning of that "end of the year" feeling. Suddenly, exams don't seem like a foggy, far away idea - and those huge papers no longer loom distantly in the horizon. Yes, it is a little scary. However, I know that stressing about it won't help the situation either, so I'll try to remain positive. It's hard to imagine that as a third year student next year, I will no longer be living on campus. I am super excited to live in a house with some of my best friends in Ancaster- however, I will miss campus life a little bit. Truth be told, it has been quite fabulous. A few of the perks include: dorm dinners, communal, sitting outside in the sun with our neighbors, being able to stroll over to Williams whenever I feel like it and movie nights at Augustine Hall. Oh, I almost forgot, being able to take naps between classes is also an added bonus of dorm life - something that often helps me get through the day...hehe.

To end, I think I will list a few goals for next year: getting involved in the city of Hamilton, writing for the school newspaper, balancing homework with an on campus job and participating in class discussions. I guess I could strive to meet these goals right now, why wait for third year right?

Well, I guess that's all for now guys. Thanks for reading!

Guys Night

This past weekend was sweet! On Friday night I headed out to the theaters close to Redeemer with some guys and saw a movie, and then after that around 12am a brand new event started in the Rec Centre: Manfest.

I know the name sounds weird but the event was far from it. The purpose of it was to build community amongst the guys here on campus and to just have a lot of fun hanging out and playing all sorts of games. The night went like this, from about 12 -43o ish in the morning we hung out in the Rec Centre (a building Redeemer has for sweet events and hanging out) and had pizza and pop and snacks and played games. We had three on three soccer tournaments in the upstairs with a small ball so nothing would get broken, and 8 person Halo 3 games, mario kart, pool, board games, and music! It was a lot of fun just getting the chance to hang out with guys and play games and such. Definitely a memorable event and I will definitely be going again next year!

the first half of 2nd semester

Hello fellow Redeemer readers and students!

I find it hard to believe that it's February already! Second semester is just flying by. I wrote my last midterm today, and it feels really nice to know that I have a week ahead of me to just relax and catch up with family and friends. So, in light of that, it seems only fitting to take a moment and reflect on the highlights of the past two months. The start of the 2009 winter term was excellent. I found the Crossroads conference really interesting, and it left me with a lot of new ideas to chew on. I think it was a good way to set the wheels of my brain in motion. I am not a philosophy major, but I think it can be a really engaging subject. I was really impressed by the variety of speakers that Redeemer hosted. A personal highlight for me was Calvin Seerveld's lecture about art and its role in our culture. I can only hope to absorb some of his wisdom, and apply it to whatever creative assignments that might come my way.

The Social Justice Conference was a worthwhile event too. I would highly recommend it! Some of the information was difficult to digest, and we all came back to the dorm with a lot to think about and mull over. The seminars addressed HUGE issues like poverty, slavery and the aids crisis. While it is easy to feel overwhelmed, helpless and guilty when we are presented with such difficult material, we must work hard to take what we've learned and apply it to our daily lives. It encouraged me to open my eyes and become more aware of the suffering that happens around me.

February has proven to be a pretty exciting month too. Redeemer's Fiddler on the Roof was fantastic. Wow, what an amazing performance! the singing, the choreography, the acting -- all of it was splendid! I was completely blown away. Professor Loney is quite an actor and the rest of the cast was fabulous too.

All in all, it's been a busy but enjoyable few weeks. I hope everyone has a wonderful and rest-filled reading break!

zoom zoom

Tonight was a fun night. It was the last home volleyball game of the regular season and our men's team did very well and beat Humber in 4 sets - it was a pretty amazing game. I love Wednesday's in general though. Somehow I managed to get a really good schedule this semester, and all my regular classes are done by Wednesday afternoon. Tomorrow, I have my internship and then my reading break starts.

The last few weeks have been crazy, not just for me I think. January is always booked solid with events, conferences, and social activity and, if you are not mindful of it, mid-terms and other schoolwork sneaks up on you. Luckily things have been going quite well this semester nonetheless, and, even though I have had a very busy January, I really have been able to enjoy it.

Reading break should be a lot of fun. First, I get to visit some of my family and then most of next week will hopefully be spent snowboarding in Quebec! A bunch of my friends are heading to Mexico, Mississippi, or downtown Hamilton for mission trips and secretly that also sounds like a very great idea. But, I think I am not in a place to complain.

It is ridiculous how quickly this semester has gone, I can't believe it is the middle of the term. Before I know it I will be graduating...

Eventful Moments on Redeemer Campus

As we continue through our “new” semester, new activities keep popping up all around us. This week our school features the traditional “Angels and Mortals”. This is where anyone in the school, professors, staff members and students have a name or a mortal. During the week, you get to bless your mortal with cool things like letters, cards, candy, serenading or anything else you can think of.In return, you are blessed with the exact same things from your person (your angel).Once again, I am amazed at the school spirit and hope that this will be able to continue for many years to come.

As this week winds down and midterms start coming to a close; other exciting things are coming into arms reach. Reading break starts this Friday and with that comes the start of various mission trips to Hamilton, Mexico, and Mississippi. I am sure there are going to be a lot of exciting stories floating around campus in a couple weeks when everyone returns from their adventures.

february comes already.

Everyone thinks that when they get to the new semester everything is going to be less chaotic; less homework to do and more time to hang out and see people after the Christmas break. You think you have all the time in the world, professors won't actually give you an assignment the first week, but then the second semester begins, reality hits, and chaos returns; all of a sudden you have assignment after assignment and time seems to disappear. Now it is February, midterms are starting and everyone seems to retreat to the library as some sort of shelter, anticipating the upcoming "reading" week that February brings.

But, let's face it, it's not always just homework and assignments, we do find different ways to entertain ourselves. Every Friday night, my friends and I make our way out to the hockey game to support the Redeemer Royals. Hardcore fans, such as ourselves, stop by Timmy H on the way and bring mountains of blankets to warm ourselves as we cheer on the team. (just so you know, they won 5-3 this past week...)

Now, as this week seems to be ending, we look forward to the weekend as it will be filled with sleep, socializing, a little homework, and the most exciting part of the month and the weekend, in my opinion, Church in the Box.