Bowling, Twister, Campus Day Blisters

This Wednesday was Campus Day, a yearly event where all classes are canceled and all the students are encouraged to volunteer in some community service projects. I signed up for the Habitat for Humanity group. My volunteer time was scheduled for noon to 5:00, so I enjoyed a nice sleep-in and a few hours of relaxation.

At noon we went to the HFH's storehouse of donated furniture, the ReStore. Half the group stayed to help them while the others and I went to a nearby church and dug post holes for a handicap-accessible ramp that was going to be built. Talking to each other made the work go faster, which was relatively rigorous because the soil was so rich in clay. We had to stop an hour early when the rain became too heavy for us to continue. So we returned to the ReStore to help the rest of the group finish building a wall.

We finished pretty much on time and returned to campus. Dinner was served at the KC, and it was spectacular! It was a welcome break from the regular dining hall food. They served plenty of salad, pastas, potatoes, rolls, roast beef....

After dinner I took a shower and went with some friends to the giant Twister tournament at the KC. KCPB spread out several mats on the floor and the action went in rounds. Generally two people faced each other on a single mat, and once one fell, the other got to go to the next round. As the numbers dwindled, the play became more difficult, with four players to a mat. Finally it was down to the last two players: Nick Michalenko (another Freshman) and myself.

Now, I hadn't played Twister since about the fifth grade, but I was doing very well that night. I never realized how flexible I am. I'll have to take up yoga... But anyway, Nick and I had a veritable battle of the wills on that Twister mat. It was hard work staying up on feet and palms, stretching from spot to spot. Everyone was astounded with our endurance. Neither of us would give up, and the whole ordeal of the final round lasted about half an hour! Several times there some rather... awkward positions we had to contort to, to get to the only available spots. Sammy, the man on staff who captures pictures of everything on campus, was sure to get all of it, and was kind enough to let me post them here.

After a while I came to a point where my leg just couldn't possibly reach the called spot, whether it went over or under my arms. Even if balance were not an issue I couldn't move my leg there, and I toppled. I was exhilarated, and second place didn't seem bad at all after a show like that!

Here are some pictures of the whole tournament...

After Twister, a bunch of us went to Garrettsville to play cosmic bowling (it was college night at Skylanes). With me were Aimee and Heather (my neighbors on 4th Whit), Karen, and Claire. Phil and Nanda took the lane next to us, so Karen didn't get any pictures of them. But here's another snazzy little slideshow of us goofing off at the bowling alley:

See, Hiram's not boring. There's always something to do. Just look for it.