wishes

DISCLAIMER: My computer messed up the other day. The computer is still down so sorry if I am slow to respond to emails. I am using the computer as often as I can get to one. So this is Monday's post! Sorry for the delay... especially to Joel's Aunt Nancy!

Ok. Here we go. I'm transcribing for my good friend Joel...

"Happy Birthday Aunt Nancy! Have a great night on your birthday and I love you! Hope to see you soon!"

There we go. Shout outs from Joel. With love.

The guys got to school and back today on their own. This week I started heading to my practicum (observations at a middle school) early, so they were responsible for getting ready and being on time this morning. They did great. I will be leaving around 7 every morning and they are all up by then but just getting ready for the day. They leave around 8 to 8:30 every morning to head to classes.

Everyone seems to be getting into the groove of things. Although, we still mess up from time to time. Joel cleaned his phone really, really well this weekend, Justin learned how to pick a lock, Ben's computer seems to have a hatred of the internet, and I keep leaving my ID in the apartment when I go outside... therefore I feel like I am constantly knocking on our apartment door. My roommates at PC would have made me do something stupid to get back in (do a dance, sing a song, give them food). Thankfully my new roommates are much nicer. Each seems to be taking these speed-bumps in stride. No one has stressed out too much over the situations, but handled them appropriately. Definitely learning some things.

The guys are getting along very well too. They are very respectful of each other's things and space. They are starting to hang out a little more too! It has been great to see that progression. I think they are starting to feel comfortable around each other.

I have heard that our blog is stretching out a little more than anticipated. I'm going to try to do a post about the program later on this week, then do some bios of the guys and myself after that. Any other suggestions?

Ben, our resident weatherman, said today that fall is coming soon. He said it is going to be sunny and feeling great the rest of the week. Fall is my favorite season... I hope Ben is right!

Jason

weekend #1

Well... I'm back. Feels good to be home. The wedding was amazing. Good friends, good fun, good dancing, good food... you get the point. I got to wear a seersucker suit and a bow-tie. Good change from the usual tuxedo. Pictures coming soon. Anyways...

They guys seemed to have a great weekend. A ClemsonLife alternate Matt filled in for me while I was gone. The guys loved him. They started off on Friday night with dinner and a movie. Matt took them to grab some food, and they watched the movie Hitch. They hung around Saturday, cleaned the apartment (it looks great), then went to the volleyball game that night. Ben talked about singing the Clemson fight song... and I got excited. If you don't know, Tiger Rag is Clemson's fight song. It pumps me up every time I hear it.

This morning Joel went to church with Matt. They went to Newspring Church in Anderson, SC (www.newspring.cc). It's a great church. Joel LOVED the music. They have some videos up on their website if you want to get a peek at what Joel experienced. When they got back from church, everybody grabbed a quick lunch and then went grocery shopping. They all got breakfast food and some great snacks. Should last them the week.

Tonight the guys cooked dinner on their own. Ben heated up a burrito. Joel and Justin had their first Ramen noodle experience. They forgot to get something from the grocery store to eat for dinner so Amy (LifeCoach next door) donated two bags of Ramen noodles. I was appalled that neither Joel nor Justin had never had Ramen before today. Ramen noodles are an essential part of the college student life. I wonder how many packs of Ramen noodles is gone through in a week here at Clemson. That would be an amazing statistic to find out. Any guesses?

This week should be an easy one. The guys have the bus schedule figured out. They'll be braving the trip alone tomorrow morning. Back to bowling and life skills. Lunch and dinner on campus. I will probably only be updating every few days from here on out... there's not that much stuff to talk about. Let me know if you want to hear about anything specific and I'll be sure to investigate. Thanks for reading!

Words from Justin:

hi mother what's up with you? Everything is great here at Clemson University. How are things going with you back home in Atlanta, Georgia. The Classes are great, The roommates are awesome especially Jason my Life coach he's the best roommate that i ever have in the apartment complex, the teachers are great as well. I have been going to the gym every single day at the university. I am looking forward to see you on sunday at the apartment.

Thanks Justin. I'm glad I can be a good roommate. Ben's sculpture class went well today. The guys are picking up their schedules and the bus systems well. Tomorrow they are heading into school by themselves. Should go fine. Justin went over and hung out in the girls apartment tonight and played some Wii. Ben joined later. I will have to say that the girls are a little more talented at Wii Sports than the guys. I am ashamed and will fix this as soon as possible. No work, no class, no sleep until we become pros in every Wii Sport... OK. Maybe that's not the best idea. Or is it? I'm pretty sure the guys would be ok with it.

What else... hmmm... Joel has been working on his homework tonight getting ahead. They are doing some response writing and money management type stuff. I think the two prompts for the homework tonight were "What do you do if you miss the bus in the morning?" and "What do you do if you miss your bus stop?" Both are great things to think about and could be stressful if it does happen. Thankfully our guys stick together and have done well with the bus problems so far. No worries.

I will be gone all weekend. I have a wedding to go to in Columbia, SC. One of my best friends from back home is getting married. So I will be out from tomorrow until Sunday afternoon. They should have a great, fun-filled, packed out weekend. More to come on that on Sunday. One of the ClemsonLife volunteers is staying here this weekend. Ben knew the guy and said he was awesome. Have a great weekend. I'll get the guys to take some pictures this weekend and I'll try to have them up Sunday!

Jason and Justin

Wednesday: Day of firsts

Today has been a great day. The guys came back from classes excited. There is some fun stuff to tell you all about. It has definitely been a day of firsts...

First off (no pun intended), I got an email today from Sharon to ask Joel what happened in bowling today. I was a little unsure of what his comment would be. I asked him about bowling on Monday and he said he met a lot of girls. As exciting as that can be, I know that Joel and the guys are going to meet plenty of girls during their stay here at Clemson. No big deal. But his comment was not about girls, yet he had his FIRST spare in bowling today! Isn't that amazing! He was so excited. I think bowling is a favorite among our group... how could it not be?

Another first came this afternoon... the guys took the CAT bus home by themselves! This is a big step. The CAT bus routes are not too complicated but not the most straight-forward either. I got a call from Ben around 6:50. I was a little worried, but Ben just called to tell me that the bus was running a little late. Evidently, the bus driver had to sweep out the bus real quick so he asked the riders to step off for a few minutes while he took care of that. They handled the situation with ease... no worries there.

Ben is starting his sculpture class tomorrow and is really excited. And... we just had our first fire drill. Everyone did great. I guess I haven't said much about Justin yet. He's going to take care of the post tomorrow night. So more to come from him. He's doing great though. Currently working on his English homework that's due tomorrow.

Last of all, they have their first big sporting event planned. They are going to a volleyball game on Saturday with some volunteers. Then... drum roll please... next weekend is the start of football season! Only the best time of the year. I can't wait. If you have never been to a Clemson football game, it is definitely worth coming up for a visit. The energy in the stadium is incredible. The guys are going to LOVE it! I'm getting pumped up just thinking about it...

Well I can't think of much else that was new today... so i'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading!


Jason

Q & A with Joel

Welcome to question and answer time with Joel.

Coming to you live from 14b. (Queue the cheesy music)

Jason: Hi Joel. How are you today?
Joel: Good
Jason: How are you liking your classes?
Joel: They are fine.
Jason: What is your favorite part about Clemson so far?
Joel: Everything.
Jason: Everything?
Joel: Yes.
Jason: Have you met some cool people?
Joel: Ah yes. Mostly women.
Jason: Mostly women?!?
Joel: Ah yes. They are nice. Very nice.
Jason: Do you miss your family?
Joel: Almost.
Jason: Joel your parents are going to read this. Do you miss your family?
Joel: Almost.
Jason: Ok. Sorry family. I tried. What are you excited about?
Joel: About living here. On my own.
Jason: Is there anything you want to say to your parents?
Joel: I love them. And my sisters too.

I think he's trying to kiss up now. Oh well. As you can tell... we are having a great time. The guys are getting ready for bed (for the most part) and hopefully thinking about tomorrow's classes. It has been a learning experience for us all these past few days. With my schedule of doing my student teaching away from Clemson and traveling back and forth, I'm not as able to help with the guys during the day. But Sharon and Karen have done a great job getting volunteers and coordinating everything so they'll adjust with ease.

As of now, they have been to all of their classes (except for Ben and his pottery class). They seem to like them. I haven't heard much about what they are learning. Last night they had to fill a paper bag with five things that told something about themselves. Karen told me today that they had a lot in common which is great. Until today I was unsure of how the apartment would "fit" together, but it seems to be coming along just fine. They are all enjoying the freedom of their own room without parents nearby. Joel has been watching the Little League World Series every night. Justin has his awesome game shows and Star Wars has been on the last two nights. Good movies. Ben floats back and forth between his room and the living room where I am stationed currently. He's been working with his computer a lot lately. I think his internet has been fritzing on him so we're gonna put in a call to CCIT (the computer people on campus) and get it fixed.

I'm doing great. Busy, busy. Thanks for the nice emails and such. It's great to know the families are there if we need you guys. But as for now, I need to go finish up some stuff before my own class tomorrow. Anything you want to hear about here on the blog? Let me know!

First Day of Class

Sitting here with Ben...

"Started out at Tillman Place this morning. Life Skills class. Talked about what we are going to do now that we are here at Clemson.

Worked out at Fike after. Walked around the track.

Lunch at Harcombe was great. I had some Mongolian beef. It was good.

English after.

Then dinner at Harcombe. More good food. Then I rode the CAT bus back to the apartment."


Now we're all lounging around and tired. Real tired. It's been a packed out day. And everyone has homework. They keep us busy here. I guess today was the official "first day." I'm calling it a success.

It seems like the blog was well received. I know the first week is a big one so I'll try to update daily for a while. Thanks for all the support.

Go tigers!

Jason and Ben

Day 1

Well... I have a little down time, so I figured I would give this a shot.

Things seem to be coming together. Everyone is unpacked (except myself) and getting settled in. The mood is pretty calm tonight. I think everyone is anxious for the big day tomorrow. Amy and I cooked a welcome home dinner for our two apartments... and I think we did a fine job: baked chicken, cheesy potatos, corn and a salad. Yum.

We all hung out for a while, played some Wii, and had a little intro meeting. Don't worry... we reminded them all to call their mothers. We talked about their schedules and what tomorrow looks like. Bowling in the morning for Joel. Life skills for Justin. The opposite on Tuesday. Ben is the veteran so he has a little different schedule. But I found out he is taking a pottery class and I am jealous. I love messing with clay.

Thanks for all the great stuff in the apartment. It's going to be a great year. I'll leave you with a quote from our very own Joel today. Joel said "It feels like home." Indeed it does.

~Jason~