Getting Ready for Halloween 2019

Happy Halloween everyone! If any of you are like me you might be sitting there thinking, “It’s Halloween and I have absolutely no idea what I am going to dress up as.” It seems like the older I get, the more last-minute my costume idea becomes and I barely find the time to scrape together all of the elements of my costume. When designing my costumes, I always ride a fine line of spending as little as money as possible, while still coming up with something that doesn’t look like complete garbage. Usually, I get lucky enough to design a costume using clothes I already own and the only money I usually have to spend is on face paint or small props that perfect my costume.

This year I decided that I am going to dress up as the devil for Halloween. I know this sounds a little bit out there, but there is a master plan behind this cynical costume. One of my roommates decided that he was going to dress up as Jesus for Halloween, but with a twist. Instead of turning water into wine, my roommate has the ability to turn water into Busch Light. I haven’t decided what my gimmick is going to be as the devil, but I do know that I need to come up with something as clever as my roommate otherwise it is going to be a waste of both of our time. I do know that I will have to spend a maximum of $20 on this year’s costume which means I will have more money to spend on beer this holiday weekend. Once again, Happy Halloween everyone and stay safe out there this weekend!

Unexpected Visits to Our House

When you move into an off-campus housing situation you always forget that you face the possibility of your landlord and a group of strangers walking through your house and looking at all of your different possessions. Last year when my roommates and I were looking for houses to rent we did end up walking through a couple of houses that had people living in them, but when the time came around this year for people to start touring our house we were completely unprepared. As you may infer, living with three other guys and four different animals lead to a rather messy house compared to a house with normal living conditions. That being said, when the landlord texted me on a Thursday afternoon wanting to show the house later that night everyone in the house went into a panic. Luckily, we were able to push the visit off until the following Monday, but there was a substantial amount of cleaning in front of us in order to get the house back up to tip-top standards. 

Over the course of that weekend, we collectively put in about 40 hours of backbreaking cleaning before we finally got the house up to par. For myself, this involved washing the four loads of laundry that have been piled up in my room for the past two weeks and picking up all of the beer caps I have thrown all over the house. There was also a blanket of cat and dog hair that we had to vacuum up from the floor and we went through an absurd amount of air freshener. By 11 p.m. Sunday night the house was finally presentable and we were able to give a tour Monday night. Unfortunately, we did such a good job cleaning the house that the landlord has scheduled two back to back visits for Wednesday night so we are not out of the woods yet, but at least we have a clean house. 

Camping in Hocking Hills

For those of you who read my blog last week, you may recall that I was planning on camping in Hocking Hills, OH over my fall break last week. I must say, it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my entire life. I never would have ever thought something so amazing could have existed in Ohio, but man am I glad I took the opportunity to go on this trip with my friends. The only thing that wasn’t all that great was all of the time I had to spend in a car leading up to actually camping at Hocking Hills. The day before we left for Hocking Hills another roommate and I first had to drive an hour and a half away to Mansfield, Ohio in order to meet my roommate’s mom and retrieve some camping supplies. The next day we spent a total of about 4 hours on the road because we had to stop through Columbus on the way to drop off a different roommate’s dog. 

As soon as we got off the main highway and started driving towards the campsite the landscape around us quickly began changing. For a majority of the drive we drove through the typical flat Ohio landscape covered by corn, but once we took the exit into Logan, Ohio we were surrounded by mountains, rolling hills and sheer cliff faces. As we were driving through the winding roads I couldn’t take my eyes off of the view and I was mesmerized by the absolutely gorgeous scenery. Over the course of the weekend, we were able to visit many of the caves and caverns that have made the Hocking Hills area famous, and after seeing them for myself I can definitely see why so many people visit this area every year. 

Fall Break Camping Adventure

I can’t believe that fall break is already fast approaching us here at Ohio Northern. Typically, I haven’t done much over fall break in the past, but this year is going to be very different. I have taken the opportunity to go camping somewhere I have never been before, Hocking Hills, Ohio. I am very excited about this camping trip because I have heard how beautiful the Hocking Hills area is and I have and I have been waiting for the chance to see it for myself. I have enjoyed camping my entire life and I have had the opportunity to camp out in some pretty remote places over the years. Every place I have camped over the years has been very different from all of the other places in terms of region, climate, geography and overall experience. 

One of the first places I have ever been camping was the Manistee National Forest located in the northwest area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Up there you can just drive down a two-track deep into the woods until you find a place where the nearest person or sign of civilization is miles away. I always love going camping up north, especially during the salmon season in the early fall. Another one of my favorite places that I have had the opportunity to camp at was on the side of a mountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have never experienced anything like that before and it is something I will remember for my entire life. On that trip, Air Force jets flew barely 100 feet above our heads and we got to watch a hot air balloon race across Colorado Springs from the top of a mountain overlooking the city. I really hope the experience I get a Hocking Hills will be something I can look back on in the years to come. 

Summer in September

If you read my blog last year, you may have heard me complain about the weather in Ohio quite often. I used to complain about the unrelenting wind and frigid winters, but so far there hasn’t been anything that I can justify complaining about. For the most part, it has been beautiful outside with sunny skies and warm temperatures. Of course, this weather still doesn’t compare to the tropical-like weather of New Buffalo, Michigan, but it might be some of the best weather I have ever experienced in Ada, Ohio. This fantastic weather is definitely having a positive effect on my overall mood and dare I say it, a positive effect on my grades. When the weather is crappy outside I find it very easy to find an excuse not to go to class that day, but when the weather is nice out it is almost impossible to find an excuse to skip class.

Having 80-degree weather all of the way through September has allowed me to continue doing the same activities I enjoyed over the summer. One of my absolute favorite things to do is have a bonfire with all my friends. Almost every weekend since we have been back in Ada I have been able to have a bonfire with all my closest friends. Another one of my favorite things to do outside in this gorgeous weather is playing bags, otherwise known as cornhole, while listening to music and drinking beer. This combination makes for a perfect summer day and if you have a day of playing bags followed by a night around the bonfire it makes for the ULTIMATE summer day.