I've got to be honest...

Follower (we just picked up a new one: hey Fred!), 

I have made it through my first semester of college! It was quite a journey, but that's not really what I want to post about. 

I hate to be 'that guy' (not really), but I would be remised if I didn't say something about how  Appalachian goes about Christmas. Now keep in mind, I'm from Charlotte which is like Manhattan compared to Boone, but I was completely baffled at the amount of 'Christmas' in Boone. 

Christmas trees, red ribbons, poinsettias and 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' as far as the eye could see. Now I realize that it is "Christmas time" but I guess I'm just not used to such flagrant 'Christmas-ness.' Charlotte is obviously more culturally diverse than Boone, so I grew up with more festively neutral silver's and whites instead of green's and red's. And perhaps it's just my commie liberal political correctness, but for public institutions to plaster "Merry Christmas" every where almost hits me like an obscenity. 

And I'm sure there are many of you, like my father, getting irritated with what I've just wrote and think "We are a christian nation... blah blah blah GOD, blah blah blah tradition, blah blah blah." I'm not asking anyone to re-write their traditions or beliefs, just be polite and considerate to others (write that in an etiquette book, thank you!)  

But, do what you've got to do, Boone. After all, I'm just a simple city boy... :)

Blog Followers, IT IS COLD!

Hey guys!

I haven't posted in forever, I am sorry. Life has been crazy busy. It is the week before exams and I'm genuinely concerned the my floor is going to break into riot next week as our stress levels continues to rise. 

Procrastination is not your friend.... well, let me rephrase. In life, you are going to meet people that you adopt as "on the surface friends." That means that these people are a good time at parties or in clubs or when other "on the surface" fun activities, but when it comes down to talking to the cops or downplaying the significance of the trouble to your parents, they are a huge nuisance. That's kind of like procrastination (I have another metaphor for it... but it's not really appropriate for this forum :D ) it is a lot of fun when you do it, but then... well, you know. 

So, I implore you (in vain I realize) to nip your procrastination habits in the butt BEFORE you come to college... because you are SOO going to opt out of studying for your final once people come around looking for volunteers to help out vandalizing your neighbors doorway for their birthday! 

Winter Break is right around the corner.... hope any prospective students are getting excited about getting notified in January of whether or not they were accepted to App! 

Boone Time

Valued Readers,

So, if you are considering a four year tenure at Appalachian State University you should know one little thing about the speed of which things happen in the town.

BOONE TIME is SOOOOOOOO slow! 

Whether it's the people who live here, the business that operate in town, or at times, even the University itself, the time in which I am accustomed to things being done. 

Perhaps it's not the worst thing, having to slow done. But I am an American, and we love instant gratification!

Just a Thought

Valued readers. It has been quiet a while since I've posted anything, but the blog was taking longer than expected to be posted on the admission's website and I didn't want to bore people with months old post once the link finally did appear. 

It has been quiet a crazy few weeks.

I contracted a strand of influenza right before exams, great right? I had to reschedule two midterms, and possibly broke some federal laws on the permissible amount of pharmaceuticals allowed in one dorm room (the Student Infirmary hooked me up). 

I spent most of Fall Break recovering back home in Charlotte, but I still managed to have a bit of fun in my city! 

I meet comedian Kathy Griffin at a book signing, and then saw her perform stand up (you have to party hardy when you return to an urban environment, Boone lacks anything comparable to the Epicenter back in Charlotte). 

But, I'm back to reality in Boonetown, and academics seem to have retaken everyone's focus, (I have some hall mates that really dropped the ball on midterms) so it is papers, required reading, and studying from here out... well, at least until we stop caring again next week. 

If anyone has a topic they would like me to discuss, hit me up on the blog. I would much rather answer your questions than do my math homework! 

La Jugo de La Vida

Valued readers (there are now 7 of you)!

 Since the likely hood of me getting an offer to do a column for The New York Times seems to be looming ever closer thanks to the explosive growth of my modest little blog, I feel it is my duty as your guide to Appalachian State University to tell you about the greatest place on earth before I am whisked off to NYC.

 Sorry Walt, but it’s not Disney World. 

 In my humble opinion (which isn’t really that humble), BeansTalk on King Street is without question my favorite place in the entire world.  For those of you that don’t know, BeansTalk is a coffee shop right across from campus. It is a two-story building, but is still only about the size of my future apartment in NYC, small.

 Let me give you a little context as to why I proclaim BeansTalk to be the possible site of the second coming.

 If Congress were to pass a law tomorrow criminalizing the consumption of coffee beans, I would be the first to start a Coffee Cartel, smuggling that sweet elixir of life into our country for consumption by sleep deprived college students everywhere! Make no mistake valued readers, I would happily do hard time, as long as it meant I was able to wake up to a hot cup of Joe.

 So do yourself a favor and visit BeansTalk the next time you pass through Boone. Ask for an Iced Mocha Chai (it’s a combination of a Café Mocha and a Café Chai). It taste like Christmas and frankly, its life changing.  

 After you’ve grabbed you drink, go up the stairs to the warm and relaxing sitting area and look for me. I’m the tall skinny guy sitting in front of his Mac, not doing his math homework (God, this continues to be a really negative trend in my life…). 

"Where is my umbrella??"

Loyal blog followers (all two of you!) I feel it is my duty as a blogger to inform you that it has been raining here in Boone for almost 10 days now. 

While I wont try and refute the value of a good days worth of rain, 10 days straight of gloomy skies and endless rain puddles begins to hamper the soul, and lets be honest.... the hair.

After these almost two weeks of endless showers, I have concluded that London and Seattle are officially marked off my "Cities to Live In" list. 

But this monotony of eternal rainfall does seem to come with a few perks. Umbrella's are a must! And while your first impulse as a dude might be "anti-umbrella," I would implore you to rethink. Nothing helps one's "game" more than offering others shelter from the elements. And that goes for everyone! Guys, girls, EVERYONE! An investment in an umbrella is not only an investment in the dryness of oneself, but its also an investment in "friendship" *cough cough* (God, I'm going to get in trouble from admissions for talking about improving one's "game" via umbrella's). 

Hope its dry where ever you are, valued readers! 

-LMH

P.S. I wrote this while I was supposed to be doing math homework before class. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!!!! 

Peace and Quiet…right…

I’m doing something right now that rarely happens. I’m doing work in the lounge on my floor. This is such a rarity because this room is typically over flowing with my hall mates and there is only so much loud talking and projectile food I can handle before I lose it.

 However, at this moment, things are a bit different. I live in Green Living Community (no, I’m not a hippie. We will talk about that at a later date) and we have to take a freshman seminar class titled “Contemporary Green Living.” That class is held every Monday and Wednesday at 3:30, and it is now 4:25 on Wednesday, so put two and two together: I skipped.

 While Appalachian State University nor myself condone class skipping, I will say that when you are tired from writing a COMM paper the night before and don’t feel like talking about a VERY poorly written summer reading book (*cough cough* Three Cups of Tea) you just skip and chill out in the empty, QUIET lounge and write your blog!

 So basically, I am hurting my academic carrier so that I can write for the 3 people that are reading this (thanks Mom and Grandma).

 Forget about quiet and alone time in college. It’s going to be term papers and blaring blue grass from the room next to yours from here on out. Well, if you get in that is...

 So get off the computer and go study! But check back soon! 

Salutations and all that Jazz!

Its Sunday morning, and I’m sitting on the Sanford Mall, soaking in the mountain sun, and contemplating on the best way to start this blog I am writing for the Admissions Department.

Even with the informal nature of blogs, a trend I plan to carry through with my own blog, I still think that a formal introduction may be in order. My name is Landon Matthew Hill (my Mother is the only person that ever uses my middle name). I’m from Charlotte, NC and at this moment (and it has been subject to MANY changes) I am a Public Relations major. I love to write, ingest copious amounts of coffee and spend time with my close friends. I’m incredibly sardonic and cynical, so if you are looking for a “prim and proper” synopsis of what a possible future at Appalachian State University might be like, you might be better off checking out another blog. However, if you want the skinny on what college life is really like from a freshman perspective, then I am your man! 

I’ve been on campus for about three weeks now. Originally, I was going to be an intern writer for The Appalachian, the universities student newspaper, so I was luckily able to move in four days before the rest of my classmates (move in day is chaos).  And while I have an immense respect for the friends I made during my three-day tenure at The Appalachian, I felt that in the end, our “creative differences” were too much for my freelance nature to handle, so we parted ways amicably and now all my time and energy will be devoted to the prolificacy of this blog (right…)

The weekend before classes started was a bit awkward. For the most part, my fellow freshman explored their new surroundings, mapping out where their Monday morning classes would be, and trying to find someone that could direct them to that nights hot spot.  But really the only “bad” thing about “Welcome Weekend” was running into people you were Facebook friends with, and debating whether or not it would be a good idea to speak to them, or just lower your head and continue walking (needless to say, most people chose the latter).

Classes started off at eight AM for me, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu, as I ran from class to class with my map of the campus in one hand, and schedule in the other, (the horrors of re-living that first day of freshman year of high school).

But all kidding aside, I’m kind of in love with this university and the town around it. I’m a “city-boy,” so the adjustments from a “Booming Metropolis” like Charlotte to a sleepy little mountain town like Boone was a bit of a culture shock. But, with each passing day, the annoyance of stores not being open on Sunday or past nine PM, or the fact that the closest mall is actually a cluster of stores I could walk through in 7 minutes flat, are actually beginning to add to the, dare I say it, charm of the community.

I want to make this an interactive blog. Even if your parents are making you read this, take time to comment on a post, or send me a question. Because really, how will you ever learn the best places to dodge the police… I mean, the best places to study UNLESS YOU ASK?