Let’s start with a quick exercise, shall we?


South Carolina ________ Normal Weather
a. is synonymous with

b. never has

c. generally experiences

d. has no concept of


If you answered “b” or "d," give yourself a prize. You would think that, living the entirety of my life a mere two hours from Furman, I would be used to the bipolarity that is winter in the South. However, this is not true.

“Bipolarity? Weather?” You ask. Yes. Take this week for instance. Monday brought with it highs in the 30’s and promises of a monstrous snow storm (which never materialized, by the way.) Yesterday (Saturday) brought with it balmy temperatures in the mid 60’s and blue skies logically leading to the today’s weather: mid 40’s and cloudy. If that isn’t bipolar weather, I don’t know what is.

Now, I’m all for cold weather, and for hot weather for that matter, but it really messes me up when both occur within 5 days of each other. But I guess such is life here in the upcountry of South Carolina.

In other (unrelated) news, the new semester is in full swing. The adjustment from semester to semester in college is a lot different from the transition in high school. You have to figure out a new eating schedule, sleeping schedule, studying schedule…pretty much anything that you thought you had figured out in the first semester flies out the window. But as a college student, adaptability is a skill that will quickly be learned.

To those of you who will be learning this lesson at Furman next year, Congratulations! I can’t wait to meet y’all! Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions! To those who haven’t found out or decided yet, don’t stress, you’ll be in college before you know it.

P.S. - Email me at graysonknowsitall@gmail.com or just leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Well, no.

Contrary to my lack of post-age lately, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

So what did happen? End of term.

And trust me, it happened in a BIG way.

Really, it is was exactly what you might expect for the end of term in college: piano juries, a 40-page paper, a music technology project, a Spanish essay, creation of two 70 minute recital programs plus program notes…
Oh…. And I forgot. Studying for those pesky final exams.
Joy abundant.

But, it’s all behind me know, so I can relax and enjoy Christmas break. Which, incidentally is the first one in a couple of years that I won’t have final exams to look forward to when I come back (Weird, I know. Blame North Carolina’s screwy school schedule).

In happier news, Christmas is fast approaching! ‘Tis the most wonderful time of the year (…with those kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you…fine. I’ll stop.) One of my favorite things about Christmas at Furman (besides getting to sing with the Boston Pops, which, by the way, was fantastic.) is that Furman actually puts up Christmas decorations.

I can’t tell you how depressed I would be if it didn’t look like Christmas around here. But luckily there are several trees, garland galore and even some presents in the music building. Its wonderful.

Minus the schizophrenic, seizure-inducing, flashing Christmas tree in the DH. I could do without that.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and I shall post again in the New Year!

I have a confession to make.

I didn’t know that Furman had a Theatre Department. Oops.

BUT, I do now, and my I just say, I am quite glad to be enlightened.

This weekend marked the final performances of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. I was fortunate enough to have a ticket to last night’s performance.

‘Twas spectacular.

Wonderful acting (I got chills occasionally, and it takes a lot to give me chills), nice set, clever lighting, the works.

Furman actually has two theatres, McAlister and the Playhouse. You’ve probably (actually, definitely) seen McAlister if you’ve ever visited campus, but you might have missed the Playhouse. It’s tucked behind McAlister in a small, unassuming building.

The actual theatre is a black-box theatre with a thrust stage. (My thespians out there know what this means. For the rest of you, Wikipedia was created for a reason.) This means that you get really up close and personal with the actors, which is a cool thing, particularly in such emotionally intense material as The Glass Menagerie.

The Glass Menagerie was the Theatre department’s second production, following Copenhagen which follows Neils Bohr, his wife, and Arthur Heisenberg during World War II and the development of atomic energy. Heady stuff, if you ask me.

In the spring, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be put on, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Maybe I’ll see you there?

Weekends. God’s gift to mankind.

This past weekend I went on an excursion. Turns out the mountains are a lot closer to Furman than I had thought. A quick thirty-minute drive found me within the splendor of a mountain fall.

Ok, really, most of the leaves were gone by this point, but it was still pretty.

A couple of friends and I decided to go hiking at Raven Cliff Falls last Saturday. So we drove around some nauseatingly curvy roads and found ourselves at the start point for several trails that wind through the mountains.

Before we started hiking, we had to register that we were going to hike the trail by slipping a piece of paper into a locked box. I personally wonder if the box is ever opened, but who am I to question the park rangers?

So we set out on a lovely little 4-mile hike to see the falls. And after a couple of near death experiences, we arrived at the falls overlook, which must have been at least two miles away from the falls. Naturally, the arrival was slightly anti-climactic. Oh well.

Then someone had the fantastic idea of forging our own path through the woods, which we all agreed to, of course. During this foray, we found a rock that was eerily similar to Pride Rock (yes, that Pride Rock).

A Lion King reenactment ensued.

Then we wearily traipsed back to the car, slipped another slip into that lock box to certify that we were indeed still alive, and wound back down the mountain to Furman.

Word to the wise: NEVER try to break in a new pair of shoes on a hiking trip. You would not believe the size of the scab on the back of my heel where my shoes rubbed it raw. Not fun.

So much to do, so little time to do it…

It’s the mantra of a Furman student. I don’t mean this in a negative way, of course. Sure, there’s a lot of work for classes, but it is certainly manageable.

Nope, I’m talking about extracurricular activities. You know, those things you probably joined in high school for the sole purpose of beefing up your college application?

(don’t be ashamed, we all did it)

Believe it or not, in college you join clubs because they are fun…
…Shocker, I know.

Furman has a club for any interest you could ever dream of having. And if you can’t find one for your interest, it’s just a matter of creating a club of your own.

How’s about a list of some of my favorite organizations?

• BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) – Weekly meetings. Tons of fun.
• MCF (Mere Christianity Forum) – Like stimulating conversation? You’ll like MCF. Plus, Sunday = AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS $4 dinners.
• AED (Alpha Epsilon Delta) – PreHealth society. For the nerdy future doctor in all of us.
• Furman Singers – see prior entry
• Heller Service Corps – help others, in your area of interest. Sweet deal.

And some more that I would love to join, but won’t unless days suddenly become longer.

• IFS (Independent Film Society) – Indie Films. Homemade cookies. Need I say more?
• Pauper Players – Student-run theatre company. Awesome.

And trust me, there are literally hundreds more. All so that you will never be bored. EVER.

The amazing tree that sits right outside my window. (And yes, I am aware that this has absolutely nothing to do with this entry. Deal.)