95 Degrees in November

As my title states the weather lately has been phenomenal. I am sorry ladies but you are going to have to pack your Uggs away and by a fresh pair of Rainbow flip flops. The sun is shining, the surf is good, and its almost the holiday season. I must say life on the bluff is very prime right now. The month of November has been jam packed with events and commitments that honestly haven't really stressed me out. During my weekdays I have the usual routine of being bogged with academics till about Wednesday. My fraternity offers me a extracurricular escape from all the stresses so I greatly appreciate that. In terms of me being an RA, I can truly say I love living in Camino Founders. Every guy in my building is so unique and I'm infatuated by learning all the cool things they have to offer. Although things are starting to get a bit rowdy with mysterious holes plaguing the hallway. One of my favorite times of the week is when I lead the CF RLC. This meditative, faith based group is an excellent support system for students who want to connect at a much deeper level.

I must say I am excited for Thanksgiving primarily because I am offering my house to any resident that is unable to go home. So far I have about five random students that are going to enjoy the most amazing dinner of their lives. This is what makes USD truly unique and great. Because of its size, the community is very tight knit and caring of one another. Once you are a Torero the love will never stop.

Crappy Weather and Crepey Food

Hey everybody I have some alone time right now as I am in the eye of the hurricane. I just completed my Accounting midterm and in about 45 minutes I have my Statistics exam. I figured blogging about my week would be an ample distraction. The past few weeks have been pretty typical. My weekdays generally end with getting a high five from the head librarian as he waits by the door at the 2am closing time. The RA world is getting a lot easier to adjust to as I am getting to know my residents better. This can transition to the highlight of my week which is my Crepe programming event tonight. My mom being a French chef makes it vital for me to learn the art of crepe making. Thus I will put my skills to work in the Founders Hall laundry room where a tiny stove resides.

This weekend is Homecoming so that should be a lot of fun. Friday night Hellogoodbye is having a concert in front of the UC. To be honest I am most excited about the all you can eat tailgate at the football game. Word on the street is that Associated Students has a pretty big budget this year so hopefully they will continue to have legit events.
I am kind of hungry right now so I apologize if I shift this blog into a conversation about food. I recently discovered that the WebFood service works for La Paloma. Basically what this means is that I can go online and order my sandwich and within 15 minutes I just have to walk down to La Paloma where it will be waiting for me. For those who have been to Paloma, it is a very busy place and can be tedious when ordering and waiting in line. So ya thats my food tip for all you incoming freshman. I'll update you all on the sophomoric life of William Woesle next week.
WAW

Gloomy mornings lead to perfect sunsets

Hey what's up everybody. This has been another jam packed week here at USD. It has been so nice to be able to see faces I haven't seen all summer. Walking down Marian Way as a Sophmore is more of a social event than walking to class. I get to see all of my freshman residents, my fraternity brothers, and my sophmore friends. Compared to last year, I find my professors to be much more engaging. I have an eccentric World Religions teacher followed by a humorous, older psychology professor. A few days ago was the Alcala Bizarre. This is basically a huge club fair with raffles, food, and cool swag. I am really looking forward to Fall Rush because of all the sweet events Sig Ep planned. This Saturday we are renting out the Microsoft Store for an Xbox tournament so I am pretty stoked for that. My first night of RA duty was on Labor Day and I got my first write up! It has only been a few weeks in but I can already see that being an RA is such a benefit to my personal growth because of having to be responsible and resourceful at all times. The Padres/Giants game starts in 30 minutes so I am going to have to leave campus and head down to Petco Park. Good thing downtown is only a 5 minute car ride. Aight guys see ya next week.

WAW

Sophmoric?

Hello all!

I am back for the fall semester of my sophomore year woohoo. I have actually been at school since August 14th where I had a rigorous two weeks of RA training. I am currently an RA over at Camino Founders. Being a Maher kid I thought I was going to dread this location. In fact I believe the traditional dorm style of CF actually offers a much better first year experience. There is much more social interaction when conversations occur in the halls, showers, and Johnny Squares. Straight from RA training was Torero Days. Now that it is all over I can officially begin to recuperate voice loss and sleep loss. I am so glad school started because I now have time to do my own thing without being stressed about missing meetings and talking to millions of people. Now that my main job is being an RA I almost forgot how to be a student. That being said I should probably order some books and school supplies right now! See you next week

WAW

I don't want to go home!!

Seriously the past month at USD have been absolutely amazing. I am enjoying the University in all of its facets including the friends I met, campus events, and even my classes. The last month has been clogged with so much, that I have fallen behind my blog! The biggest highlight for me recently was Sig Ep's spring formal in Las Vegas, Sun Cup soccer tournament, and just all the small memories that Maher is creating.

Last week and the beginning of this week was brutal with last minute papers and homework assignments but now the only things I really need to do are studying for finals. I will be honest, this semester I haven't been keeping up with my studies as much so finals is going to be a week long, hardcore study session. I have been busy looking for jobs so hopefully I can land one close to my home. Having my freshman year be over already is bittersweet. Of course the summer will be fun and sophomore year will be better but we are all just so sad that for nine months you are living with your best friends but then three months of the non college life returns. However this is not stopping me from visiting friends. In fact I am planning on visiting my roommate in New Jersey. With the year wrapping up, USD can be summarized as finals, sun, and Lupe Fiasco.

T Minus 5 Weeks

This second semester has been accelerating so fast partially because of a way busier schedule compared to the fall. I am glad I have been able to bodyboard much more often, in fact I went everyday last week. There is a nice shore break in La Jolla called Marine Street that I introduced to my buddies so we have been spending our afternoons chilling there. I finally got a call back from the Census Bureau and I am going to start working for them within the next few weeks. On Saturday the 10th, Sig Ep co-sponsored the Kickin It' soccer tournament on campus. It was a really nice day to just hang out and play soccer for a good cause. Earlier that day, Gamma Phi had their "Moonball" volleyball tournament at the beach. This was also an extremely fun event held by Greek life. Below is a picture of Sig Ep's soccer team a.k.a Team Beautiful

I am glad I don't have any tragic mid terms like last week, but I seriously need to spend time planning my summer and fall academic schedule. Tomorrow their is a Majors Fair, so hopefully I can seal the deal there and finally declare a major.
I am also helping out a lot with Sig Ep's annual Sun Cup which is this Saturday. Basically its a beach soccer tournament with the 3 Sig Ep chapters in San Diego and every sorority from SDSU, UCSD, and USD. I definitely think its a great alternative for those of us who can't go to Coachella music festival.
All of my friends feel the rapid end to this amazing freshman year and we all agree that school should just be year round.

I am a very happy person right now. You know why? Because the sun has been shining perpetually for the past few weeks. These weeks have also been extremely accomplishing for me. All of this happiness has been riding on my acceptance of being an RA next year. I will be living in the freshman Camino Hall with an awesome staff and hopefully sick group of freshman. I got my mid term reports and I am proud mainly because I am doing very well in my business affiliated classes. Lately I have seen unfamiliar faces in huge groups wandering around my dorm; it is definitely tour season. My friends and I always people watching these prospective freshman form atop our balcony and so far we are pretty satisfied with the pool of applicants. This past week was Greek Week at USD. Everyday there were events that are all combined to be a competition amongst all chapters on campus. My favorite was Tuesday's carnival when Sig Ep's tug of war team totally dominated. Our partner Alpha Phi also destroyed the competition. Look how many cans they donated!

Greek Week is concluded with skits (multiple dances). So this past week I have spent about 12 hours at dance practice. It was just a win win situation though: becoming a better dancer and meeting fantastic girls. Thankfully next week is going to be less hectic so I can go back to my regular routine a.k.a hit the gym. Blog you later
PZ
WAW

75% done

I believe after this week of doing nothing but relaxing is over, a new half of the semester will begin. Seriously, time isn't flying, its on a rocket ship breaking the speed of sound. Last week was a bit tough for me due to mid terms. Its annoying that my friends are in the same math class as me and they don't study only to get a better grade than me. But hey, I am trying my hardest. My other tests were in Macroeconomics and Information Systems (which was my first in class test on a computer). Overall I think I did fairly decent; somewhere between A-C. I really didn't do much else that week besides studying a lot and taking breaks laying on my bed. It was the one week where I really needed to buckle down and focus on class instead of being distracted with everything else. For spring break I kind of made a risky decision. I was able to go to various locations around the country, but I made the gamble to stay in San Diego. UNFORTUNATELY, the first few days have been drenched with rain. Its dry now, but extremely windy = no surf. I swear this weather is extremely unusual for San Diego due to the occasional El Nino that comes around every few years. Probably the most exciting thing for me this week was my family's purchasing of baby chickens!

This little chunk will provide me plenty of in home entertainment. Compared to other schools, USD's spring break is super early. Thus, none of my friends are in town :(
Oh well, maybe its better that I am not surrounded by 19 year olds for just one week.
PZ
WAW

the spring is about to break!

What's up guys, spring break is officially one week away but I have so much stuff do to before it! Let me start off with the positives first. This week my fraternity has been keeping me busy with a bunch of cool events such as Thursday's sushi night, and of course tonight's Cowtown Throwdown! The dance is a charity event for the victims in Haiti so it is a win-win situation.

Tomorrow morning, the new members and I are going on an overnight retreat to further our brotherly bondage. I was stoked to find out I won the inter-fraternity council's scholarship. Lately I have been really gung-ho about the leadership opportunities in my fraternity. Anyways, enough about Greek life for now. Yesterday was the start of the Intramural soccer league and unfortunately I hurt my ankle again! But we got the W, and I hope to be at 100% for next week's game. With all of these extracurricular activities going on, I have been taking academics a bit lightly. Since next week is the week before break, all of my major tests and homework assignments are due. Being behind in my readings doesn't help at all, but generally I perform better under pressure. I am currently developing my battle plan for tackling my midterms while also planning my tanning routine for break (just kidding)...
PZ
WAW

My busiest week at USD has just been completed. I am extremely tired and pushed off all my homework for the early Monday morning. Most of my time was spent on extracurricular activities with little focus on homework. Thankfully, the only important thing I had to do was read hundreds of pages of Moby Dick. On the flip side I was super busy trying to apply for a few jobs. I applied for pretty random ones such as working for the 2010 Census and being a Resident Assistant. As of Friday I officially pledged for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. For a week, I spent time with the brothers doing a bunch of fun events such as rock climbing and skeet shooting. I have a feeling its going to be one of the best decisions of my college career. My resident hall has a strong presence of Sig Eps so it's definitely going to be a fun year. If anyone has any questions about fraternities just email me and I will try to answer them.
On a culinary note, I just discovered our amazing sushi chef at lunch time. I encourage all of you to be adventurous and try the special when you plan on visiting USD.

Enthused

WOW I didn't expect the first week back was going to feel so long, but fortunately it wasn't due to hours of lallygagging. Last week I said I was going to talk about my professors and classes so I will give you guys a brief cliff notes on my academic life.
Introduction to Logic, Prof. Wagner- So far we are taking a microscopic look at different types of arguments and all the different components to make one valid or invalid. Wagner is goofy, but passionate.
Survey of Calculus, Prof. Bean- Applies calculus to various business applications so I find it very informative. Bean is very fit and active for his elderly age.
Philosophy in Literature, Prof. Gratton- Read various pieces of literature and deduce philosophical elements from them. Class is very subjective and tangents are common. This is my favorite class mainly because of Gratton's humor.
Macroeconomics, Prof. Lavelle- Currently learning about the types of interest rates and inflation. Lavelle is highly experienced in the economic world (Lehman Bros for 20 years). Instead of strictly teaching concepts and definitions, he gives us his personal knowledge and hints on economic issues.
Information Systems, Prof. Rathswohl- I haven't had this class yet because my professor is sick. First class is tomorrow morning.

This weekend was probably the best I have had all year. I am not sure if I said that a few weeks ago, but this one was it for sure! There were a bunch of parties going on and this was the first time I went out on Friday and Saturday. Here is a picture of my buddies and I strolling along the boardwalk at Mission Beach.

There is a lot going on for me this week. Fraternity rushing begins on February 4th, RA applications are due soon, Ambassador meeting, and my birthday is on Saturday! I am looking forward to rushing because for me joining a fraternity is a way to be active on campus. I also want to become an RA next year so I have been working on my application for the past few days. I think at tomorrow's Ambassadors meeting I will find out my "overnighter" schedule. So maybe one of you guys reading this will be staying with me. Time for me to hit the books.
PZ
WAW

Back to Life

Hey guys my break is officially over and classes start tomorrow! My pulse is finally spiking up again as I ruptured from hibernation and jolted back to dorm life.I was getting pretty nervous when I drove up the Linda Vista bluff, but it was definitely overcome by excitement. Nothing eventful really happened over the weekend except every one moving in and getting a lot of hugs. The freshman girls just finished rush week so it was cool to see where my friends pledged by showing off their flashy sorority shirts. After hearing how much fun the girls had, I am really excited to rush and hopefully join a fraternity in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I don't have any interesting pictures to show, but I did take a picture of my schedule.


At the end of the week I will shed light on my classes and professors but I can already say I am much more academically pleased compared to last semester. Mainly because I don't have an 8 am class :) Well I need to make a Target run and get some school supplies so blog you later!

ps: I haven't ordered books yet because I want to see if I actually use them because last semester I had a few brand new books collecting dust.

PZ
WAW

Summer in winter?

Hello everyone, I am sorry I have been absent from blogging for awhile. I just returned from a vacation spot that was unable to have internet access. With my sharp memory I am going to take things back to about the last week of December. I find it funny that the last week of school is always the most stressful,(insert intense studying, cramming,and insomnia here). But I am so grateful of USD's efforts in order to further our pampering and ease our stresses. I am not sure if this is embarrassing, but the school did bring in a handful of puppies for stressful students like me to casually play with. The method to this softness is the fact that petting innocent puppies reduces student stress levels. Another distraction USD dumped on us was a truck load of snow in front of my dorm! It actually snowed in San Diego!...the university that is :)


I found finals week to be one of my best weeks at school. We all realized we weren't going to see each other for a while. Thus, all of my friends made the effort for last minute good times. I did do a lot of studying without being too distracted with the thought of vacation and I felt very confident with my final grades. As I dropped off my last friend to the airport it started to hit me that first semester was over. I can't even believe that all of my experiences were condensed in just a few months. Being at college has made time fly, but also so much more meaningful. Everything I did had meaning, whether meeting a new friend or supporting the basketball team. I can speak for all of my friends, we all greatly miss USD. I get texts everyday from friends so anxiously wanting to come back to their new home. I will now proceed to talk about my life outside of USD

The period between Christmas and New Years was absolutely beautiful. The sun was out, the surf was big, and San Diego rolled into 2010 with a sweat. Obviously, I spent the rest of my year hanging out with family and friends. A lot of my time was spent outdoors, my favorite being the bonfires at Moonlight Beach. When I am bored I wander around San Diego doing a bunch of different things. For instance, I started my day bodyboarding in La Jolla and ended it hiking in Elfin Forrest.




Before I reveal my grand finale, I would like to give an honorable mention to the Japanese New Years party I went to. Our family friends always put on this unique, traditional festival in honor of the New Year. This includes rice pounding, rice molding, and of course rice eating!

Do you guys remember in the beginning of this long mess when I said I just returned from a desolate vacation spot? Well for one week I was skiing in Big Sky, Montana. How random right? A friend of mine from USD owns a cabin at this exclusive ski club so I couldn't let the opportunity slip. Along with 3 other USD friends, I had an absolutely amazing week. The entire mountain was practically for ourselves. The only other skiers were employees of the resort, oh and also Justin Timberlake. For one week I relaxed in snow, not sand. For one week I was able to actually see the stars. For one week I experienced the vast contrast of bustling San Diego and slow paced Montana. One of my favorite things was a day long tour in Yellowstone National Park. I now understand why people have devout passions for the environment because once you see the glory and beauty that the United States used to be, it is hard to give it a cold, right shoulder.

Now that I am back in San Diego I must think of exciting things to do again! For sure the basketball game between USD and Gonzaga tomorrow night will be a suspenseful thrill.I am going to try to get their super early so I can get a free jersey! And after my visit to the JCP (stadium) tomorrow, I wouldn't have to step on campus grounds for another week. Oh do I love having a summer in winter :)
PZ
WAW