Today I uploaded my pictures from my trip to New York City. A lot of them turned out beautifully, but since the museums prohibited flash photography, some of my museum pictures are blurry. I have some great pictures from a garden at The Cloisters, the medieval armory at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a quick snapshot inside Chinatown.

The Belltower, Mount Aloysius College's newspaper, arrived earlier this week. My two articles were on the Johnstown Folk Fest and the College's Student Government Association. I love having my work published. My next two articles are going to focus on the New York City trip and a brief profile on the new Vice Presdient of Student Affairs, Dr. Jane Grassadonia. She is a great addition to the College family, and I look forward to her new ideas.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have to be at the mall in Johnstown by 6 a.m. to help the Salvation Army. I am volunteering for Project Bundle Up. It should be an interesting day. Well, since I am going to be busy tomorrow, I guess I should start some of my reading for next week.

John

Posted by John Porter at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, All!

I had a great weekend. The movie we watched on Friday, Return of the King, was amazing. The pizza was delicious as well. Our trip to NYC was a blast, too. The Cloisters were amazing. There is so much history and information to take in. Did you know that the art, bricks, and buildings date back from 900 to 1500? Everything was moved from Europe and recreated in Upper Manhattan. It was a very peaceful environment, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was even more amazing. There is so much to see and do that we could only walk through the first floor. There were pieces from the Middle Ages, Ancient Rome, and even a temple and mummies from Ancient Egypt. There were also pieces from Colonial America. We almost became lost in the museum, but we found our way to the lobby.

After the museum, we decided to head down to Little Italy and Chinatown. I had over twenty people following me! Getting twenty people on the same packed subway car can be a difficult, if impossible, task. Thankfully, everyone got to where they were supposed to be, and everyone made it back to the bus safely. Chinatown was my favorite part of our little excursion. The blending of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, American and other cultures, made Chinatown into a unique and exciting place. We stopped in some shops, bought a few items, and then settled down for some great cuisine. It was a while since I had Chinese food, so I was a little nervous, but the food turned out to be delicious and filling. After we ate, we headed back to the bus and made our way home.

Sunday's Open House went very well. I met some great new faces and made popcorn for everybody who went to the Steelers party.

Anyway, I am off to do some homework, so I will talk to you later.

John

Posted by John Porter at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After an eventful week, I am looking forward to an exciting weekend. Tonight, Laura, Jenna, Justin, Petey, Amber, and I are going to order some pizza and watch The Return of the King.

Tomorrow, the Honors Program is going to take a trip to New York City. I love the Honors Program. It is a great way to advance your writing and analytical skills. The great events and trips that the Program offers are awesome bonuses as well. We are leaving at four in the morning and returning around midnight. It is going to be a long day, but well worth it.

When we get into the city, we are going to spend some time at The Cloisters. I do not know much about The Cloisters, so I will fill you in later. After our visit at The Cloisters, we are going to head downtown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We are free to roam the city after that.

On Sunday, Mount Aloysius College is going to have an open house. I love meeting and talking to potential students. Well, I have to get ready for our movie, so I will leave y'all here...the Arkansan in me is emerging.

John

Posted by John Porter at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had a pretty busy day yesterday. After rooting the Mountie soccer teams on, we made a trip to Altoona. We went to Gabriel's and browsed their selection of merchandise. I bought a VeggieTales notepad for a dollar, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I loved VeggieTales when I was younger, and I sometimes like to watch their movies now and again. Justin and I purchased some bandanas for National Talk Like a Pirate Day at AC Moore. Then we ventured to the Logan Valley Mall, but we only bought a few items. Afterwards, we ate at Arby's and headed towards Wal-Mart to buy some groceries. I had a great time, even though it was a long day.

Petey, Justin, Billy, and I got together and watched some football. The Steelers play on Monday, and I am excited. I hope we win! I also did some of my laundry, and I read The Iliad for Honors. Next Saturday we are going to New York City to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It should be fun. Sunday is the first open house/fall visitation day of the new year, and I can't wait to meet the interested students. Well, I need to get some more work done for tomorrow, so I will end my blog here...

John

Posted by John Porter at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I cannot wait for Play Production to begin. It should be a fun class and Professor Hartland is a great teacher. I had him for my Introduction to Theatre class, and I really learned a great deal of information. A couple of my friends are also in the upcoming play for this semester, so I will be able to work with them as well.

Today we had our second Children's Advocacy meeting. It went very well, and we have some great new members. I know we are going to have a great year. I think we have a great chance of earning Club of the Year for the second straight year. I am President-Elect, as of now, and I should be taking over as President in a few weeks. I hope I do a great job. I am glad that we have so many great members, because I am going to need a lot of help to make this year a successful one.

This Saturday, the men's and women's soccer teams play at home. I plan to attend so that I can root our Mounties on! LET'S GO MOUNTIES!!!! Well, I need to get some more reading done for my next class, so I will write more soon.

John

Posted by John Porter at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past week was very exhausting. My classes are going great, but I have a lot of work yet to do by the end of the semester. I think this is going to be the most challenging semester of my four years here. I am taking seven classes, so that is probably a contributing factor to my workload, but I will be able to get through it.

This weekend, I finally got to see the first two Lord of the Rings movies. They are really excellent, and I am going to have to purchase them for my own collection. I can't wait to see the final one. Saturday night, Danielle, Laura, Petey, Jenna and I went to Super Sheetz on 17th Street in Altoona. I had a slice of pizza, a cup of fries, and a cup of coffee. It was so delicious. We had a great time, and everyone enjoyed his or her "nutritious" dinner.

On Sunday, my roommate and I watched the Colts and Giants football game since the Steelers played last Thursday. The Steelers did surprisingly well even though Big Ben did not play. I am glad that they won, but I hope Ben gets to play in the next game against Jacksonville. I also went to Weis in Altoona and bought some groceries. Hopefully, I can get some of my reading done on Monday so I can enjoy the rest of my week...

Ciao!
John

Posted by John Porter at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, All!

I had an exciting weekend. On Saturday, I went to work and then a few of my friends and I watched the movie Failure to Launch. It was a GREAT movie. Some of the new residents came down to watch it with us, which was fun, too.

On Saturday, a couple of friends and I headed into Johnstown. We stopped at Big Dogz for lunch. One thing I like about Mount Aloysius is that it is in a great location. There are so many things to do within a few miles, and Altoona and Johnstown are only a few more minutes down the road.

Folk Fest was enjoyable. They had many bands playing various types of music: jazz, gospel, rock, etc. There was a variety of food from several ethnic backgrounds. We also stopped and browsed the arts and crafts booths. You could buy things from a Pittsburgh Steelers oven mitt to jewelry and clocks.

I hate to cut this short, but I need to get ready for my next class...

John

Posted by John Porter at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week has been exhausting, and I am grateful that it is over. I have a lot of reading to do for next week, but at least I know that I am going to be learning a lot of new and interesting information. One of the things I love about Mount Aloysius is the classroom atmosphere. Even though we have only been in session for a week, I have already made many new friends. I really like my professors this year, and I am looking forward to a great semester.

I am now a staff member on the Mount Aloysius College newspaper, The Belltower. I will also be working on the upcoming plays for this semester. I know this weekend is going to be exciting. A couple of my friends and I are going to head into Johnstown to attend Folk Fest, an annual festival celebrating the many ethnicities and cultures that surround our region. I hope the weather gets a little better for the event. It has been raining for the past few days, but thankfully, my room in the residence hall is dry and cozy. Well, I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend. I will see "y'all" a little later!

John

Posted by John Porter at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)