The Day before Thanksgiving: A Review.

My morning was spent on "the paper from hell," also known as a paper for Architecture History class. Oddly enough, I had 2 hours of sleep, turned the paper in, and made it to the lecture hall just less than five minutes late, and missed nothing, as teacher evaluations were given out. Then came a near two-hour lecture. I have to admit, I don't have a beef with the lecture material, it just seems that the stuff flies by you, and this time, I'm so close to falling asleep.

About an hour later, I had my studio crit... nothing great, nothing real bad, either.

I go to the express dining place for lunch... let me just say that history class and studio crit was a much more pleasant experience. Nobody told me that they hired the Deli Nazi. I hate to say this, but I'm glad that Dining Services is closed until monday at OSU, some of the people there act like disgruntled amusement park employees.

Now, I'm free for the next few days, and I head downtown to COSI, which is the big "science museum" in Ohio. It's a place that people I knew in grade school went to, except oddly enough my classmates and myself. Today was "Annual Free Day," which let me check the place out for no charge, and it gave me a great walk across the Scioto River from Broad & High. COSI is located at the former Central High School, which closed in 1982 and sat abandoned for almost 20 years until COSI renovated and expanded it in 1999. Much of the front building of the old CHS, including the foyer and even a stairwell were preserved as part of this otherwise state-of-the-art project. Also free was the giant screen movie, which is sort of an IMAX format, "Hurricane on the Bayou," which was a film that the Omnimax at Cincinnati Union Terminal had previously shown. It was a great film, but having slept for 2 hours within the past 32, it was hard to stay awake for this 45 minute film.

My last stop is the Giant Eagle north of campus... I see my studio professor, but does he see me? I'm shopping there because the convenient yet salty (and I don't mean by the food), and it's a good workout at the supermarket. However, I try to use the redbox DVD rental machine, like bigg's has in Cincinnati, and I have to cope with this lady and her 2 daughters who can't decide on something... "But it's rated 'R'" I want to shout "THEY'RE ALL RATED 'R'!!"" Finally, the woman says to one of them, "go ahead and cry." and I out loud say "I know who's going to cry, me, when I miss my bus!" Not much something Giant Eagle nor redbox can do... Makes me want to visit Blockbuster for once.

My long-awaited return, now in Columbus.

It's been a long summer since I was last here, and a lot has happened since then. I've started and left a part-time job, ridden the new Maverick at Cedar Point, ridden coasters at Geauga Lake for the last time ever, traveled to our nation's capital to ride coasters, see baseball, the Simpsons Movie, and ride their great Metro, and a few other things.

Oh, and for the first time in over 20 years, I've relocated, though it's not truly on permanent basis. I've relocated to The Ohio State University in Columbus, and am studying in the 3+-year Master of Architecture program at Knowlton School of Architecture. Making this move, I believe, and hope, will be one of the best decisions I have ever made. I needed a change of scenery, and it's not too bad, living on the 11th floor of the Graduate Tower on campus. Not only is there a nice view of the campus from above, the view to the south of Downtown Columbus is awesome.

I don't have a car, and honestly, knowing what my first 2/3 of the year has been for me, that can't be too bad, since I can either walk or take COTA, Columbus' bus system to some places. There's a good shuttle out to a shopping center with Target, AMC Theatres, Staples, and other stores. The bus up and down High Street is also great, especially to go to Short North district, the Arena District, Downtown, and north to Clintonville. Downtown has some great pros (and cons), with the Arena District, some good high-rises, theatres, and the like. However, the state of Columbus City Center (mall) has been depressing for the past several years, especially when Lazarus closed its great downtown store. Now Macy's (formerly Kaufmann's) is closing... It's odd how Cincinnati now seems to have the most vibrant downtown now.

As for the schooling, you could say "challenging" would be a nice word to describe it. Up to 12 hours a week in group critique sessions, and "banal" being the new "bullsh**..." it's not combat duty in Iraq, but it can be rough. But like our servicemen and women overseas, I think my role and hard work will mean something one day.