just what the doctor ordered

"dome sweet dome"

I was in anatomy lab on Friday when Dr. Schuman asked my group what our plans were for the weekend. I told him I wanted to go back to Indiana to visit my friends, but I wasn't sure if I should go because there was so much studying to do. He said that I had Monday off and could study then, and that I should go. Twist my arm!! I was on the road after class, and back to South Bend by 10:00 that night.

It was a truly wonderful weekend!! I have always loved ND, and absence makes the heart grow fonder too :-) It was wonderful to see my friends and I am so glad that I made the trip. The game was less than stellar, but I have a few theories about this season. The learning curve is going to be steep, but in the best case scenario we have the chance to watch the team drastically improve from now till the end of the season. I know that might not be what some want to hear, but they're a young team and it's going to take some time. I think this is the kind of situation where coaching can make a huge difference & (hopefully!) I think it's going to be fun to see how it unfolds.

I was really excited to see Jimmy Clausen get in the game and if it were up to me he'd be the starter from here on in. No use developing someone else only to have JC have to be a rookie sophomore next year. As for the fear that he'll get crushed against the Penn State defense, I say that you can't play not to lose. You have to play to win, and if that means he takes a few hits, maybe that will give the 0-line a little inspiration to step it up a notch. Anyway, I'm just rambling, and we'll see what happens!! I'll leave the true analyzing of the season to my good friend Ryan O'Connor, but those are my two cents for what it's worth. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

amy, me, beth, alli and her friend sarah

i ran into mike from the pittsburgh alumni club... small world!

i also got to see my cousins chuck and beth!

A highlight of the game for me was the video about the Haiti program that was shown right at the end of halftime. The NBC film crew went to Haiti at the end of July to film for this video, and I think they did a really good job with it. There's a longer video about Fr. Tom Streit (the director of the program) here as well. If anyone wants more info about the Haiti program or the LF disease, just let me know.

PS. Check out Beth's new blog!!! (Including photos and a video from game-day!)
PPS. I just posted the lyrics to "Psalm 139" in the post below. (It's neat to read the psalm, and then to see how Danielle wrote the song.)