Sweeeeeet Friday :)

Hello!

Today went by extremely fast. I had four classes in the morning and received zero homework in all but one! Tonight's gonna be a good night.

I just got back from a girls team dinner at Annie's. We ate pasta, bonded and told embarrassing stories! The girls are all very nice and I feel like I am part of the team already. Although I am still very excited for practice to start. I can't wait to get back in the water.

Earlier this afternoon I got a call from the Offramp Duquesne catering service. They left a message on my phone about a care birthday package that was perishable. I couldn't believe it! I was actually getting mail that I could eat! I walked over to Offramp to find a giant cookie cake with Happy Birthday Caitie written on it! Under the cake was a card signed by my parents, Justin, and puppy Jackpot. This brought a huge smile to my face:) Thank you!

As for now, we're all walking down to south side!

Caitie


I'm sorry that I didn't get my post up in time last night! But anyways, yesterday was very exciting. I only had 2 classes in the morning and then a class at 4:30 that was optional but I went just to see what it was like. I got most of my homework done yesterday afternoon, so I don't have any this weekend YAY!

I got mail yesterday from my mom and Thiago. I was so excited when I opened my mail box and there were TWO letters! Thanks guys!

The senior girls invited all the girls to their house to have a pasta dinner. It was so good to have a home cooked meal. I miss my mom's cooking so much. After we ate, we went around the room tell things about us like what our major is, what we swim, where we are from, and a random fact. After we got through the introductions, we went around the room and told the our most embarrassing story. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to start the season.

Thanks for letting Caitie and I blog for the first week of college. It was fun and I'm so glad I got to do it!

Miriam

The city is pretty

6:15 came way too early. This morning the swimming and cross country teams had a compliance meeting. Afterwards I decided to take a swim. I completed Coach Sheets' workout and decided to do a little extra. Normally I would have a class @ 925 but my professor had another obligation and cancelled! It kind of felt like a 2 hour delay or a snow day. I'm not complaining!

I only had two classes today. And both of them were in Fisher Hall. For those of you who don't know where Fisher Hall is in reference to the dorms, you're in for a bit of a surprise. It was about a ten minute walk each way to and from St. Ann's. These classes are definitely the easiest of my course load by far. University 101 helps student athletes make the transition from high school to college. It focuses on the balance between school work and athletics. About an hour later I walked back to Fisher for my Technology class. Let me just say that you are definitely getting a good workout here. I feel like I am constantly on the go. I'm always running! As my Dad would say, it's free exercise.

Later on, I studied some theology and philosophy and then decided to meet my friend Lauren for dinner. As I walked outside of the dorm, I really got a good look at the city of Pittsburgh. It truly is the best city in the U.S. The sun was setting behind the skyline. It looked like a scene from a movie. Most people would probably argue that cities are not typically pretty. However, Pittsburgh is pretty. It's pretty in it's own way. And I pretty much love it.


Tomorrow's friday!
Caitie

Thursday!

I was up and ready to go by 6:15. At 6:30 A.M. we had a meeting for swimming about NCAA ruling. So this morning bright and early we sat in a Lecture hall listening to some guy tells us what to do and not to do as an athlete. Let me tell ya some of these rules are really stupid. But anyways, we signed our name about a million times on a million different lines and we're released. I went back to my dorm and took about a half an hour nap. I got up around 8:40 for my 9:25 class.

Bio lecture was intense. There was no way I could ever write that fast to get all the information down before she changed the slide. So I stopped writing and tried to listen to what she was saying instead of getting mad because I wasn't getting it all. Later to find out, I did the right thing because the slides that I was trying to write, she puts on blackboard after the class. So I'm in good shape.

I had a new class today. I only have this class on Thursdays. Research and Info Skills! It seems like that class is going to be fairly easy, but also help me out in a lot of different ways.

Like I said yesterday, I was done by 1:05. I checked my mail...nothing today, and headed to the dorm to grab my suit. When I got to the pool, there were only a few people there; Erin, Adam, and me. Before I jumped into the water, Coach yells out of his office, "Erin, wait for me. I'll be ready in 10 minutes". (I don't know if I got that qoute exactly right but close enough) The next thing I know coach is in the pool with us doing the practice. Way to go Coach!!!

Today was a long day, but I learned a lot, had some study time, and got to hang out with some friends over lunch.
'Til tomorrow!
Miriam

Smiles for Wednesday :)

Finally, it's Wednesday! Yay! We are halfway through the week and it feels awesome:)

This morning I went the power center and rode the bike for about a half hour. It is absolutely gorgeous inside. Everything is top of the line and equipped with TV's I watched Saved by the Bell and enjoyed laughing at adorable Zach Morris. It was a great way to start off my morning. On my way back to St. Ann's I ran into Starbucks to grab a caramel macchiato. I was officially awake by 8:15 after the bike ride and a few sips of coffee.

My first class started with a quick philosophical lesson on Meno, continued with a well thought out discussion on the Christian faith in Theology and finished with a short math class focused on word problems. After class ended, I went to the bookstore to exchange a book, waited in line for twenty minutes, and realized that I forgot my receipt back in the dorm! I started up a conversation with the guy in front of me. He mistakenly thought I was senior which totally blew my mind! :)

Afterwards, I went to the pool with meg and found out it was closed due to chemical problems. Then I decided to meet my friend Lauren for dinner at Options. It was pretty good!

All in all, today was long but pretty sweet. Can't wait for the weekend! Nice job Phils!

Caitieeee:)


It seems like every day gets longer and longer. I had a night class from 6:00 to 8:40. Then after the night class I hit the books at the library. I got my pre-class assignments done for my research class tomorrow, and I got some of my Bio done too. It always feels good when you accomplish something. I learned a valuable lesson today. Time is very important and it will fly by if you don't use it wisely. I didn't get to swim today due to chemical problems at the pool. I hope they are fix tomorrow. But the time I didn't spend in the pool today, I spent in my room studying. Wednesday is my longest day of the week.

From 12:20 to 2:50 I had a Bio Lab, we watched the heart beat of a Daphnia (water fleas). It was pretty cool. The first water flea I picked was like almost about to die. That water flea's heart rate was 18 beats per minute, which is extremely slow. The second one I picked was a fast little booger. His heart rate was so fast we couldn't even count it. Finally he (the flea) calmed down and we recorded his heart rate at 164 beats per minute.

Tomorrow I'm done at 1:05. Maybe tomorrow I can grab some dinner unlike tonight. Instead I went to Starbucks after my night class, and got a little treat. Ha.

I got my first thing in the mail today. My weight watch scale! I'm so happy with it! I can't gain that freshmen 10 or 20 or whatever it is. So far I'm good!

If you have read all my blogs this week...Thank you and I appreciate it!
'Til next time! Bye!

Miriam

Tuesday brings tons of work!

Hello again! Today was another busy yet enjoyable day. Everyone on campus was extremely friendly and accommodating. I feel bad when I meet new people. I shake their hand and they say their name, but for some reason five seconds later, I can never remember what I should call them. Although when you share the same name with five different people on your floor, you are forced to remember who they are.

Anyway, I had my first teaching class today. It went fairly well until someone asked why the room smelled like chlorine. I worked up enough courage to raise my hand and let everyone know that I was a swimmer. The class started laughing which was a nice icebreaker. The teacher assigned us forty pages to read and a paper to be completed by thursday. I'm going to be very busy for the next few days.

Later I went to Offramp, picked up a salad wrap which was delicious and a yogurt parfait. I've come to the conclusion that you just cannot eat at Towers for every meal. It just doesn't work. It's either hit or miss when you walk into that cafeteria. Breakfast is by far the best meal that they serve. How can you possibly ruin a bowl of cereal or a bagel?

That's all for now. Four days and counting until my 18th birthday. Cheesecake Factory here we come.

Caitie

Today I got to sleep in 25 more minutes than I did yesterday. I know that may not sound like a lot, but every little bit helps. Instead of having 2 classes like yesterday, I had 3. A little bit longer day but I was still done by 1:05! After class, I met up with some of my newly made friends and headed to options. Today I got something different; a chicken wrap! Let me tell ya it was GOOD! We left options and went to the bookstore. I don't even know how many times I have been there already. But anyways, my team leader, Trisha works in the bookstore, (love her) helped me out. I got most of my books yesterday but I had to make a special order for 3 of them so that when they did come in, I would difinitly get a copy. After the little bookstore run, I went to swim. Today we had a challenge set. 8x100...2 on 1:30, 2 on 1:20, 2 on 1:10 and the last 2 were on 1:05! I made them all! It is always exciting when you make ALL of the challenging sets! Swimming works up your apetite so I was off to dinner at Towers once again. I had a huge salad and a piece of pizza, and I grabbed an apple for later. After dinner, Erika and I watched some of the boys soccer game and the headed abck to the dorms to get some homework done. I have my first lab tomorrow. Pray it goes well. Thanks for reading this blog and I can't wait for what tomorrow holds! Bye!

Miriam

Monday is fun-day :)

Hello, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Caitie Zajko. I'm from Allentown, Pennsylvania which is about 5 hours from the 'Burgh. I'm majoring in elementary education and I swim breaststroke and IM. For the next week, my roommate and I will be blogging about our first week of college. Enjoy!

Today was the first day for many things. It was the first day of classes. It was the first day of swim practice. And it was the first day I've done laundry since I arrived on campus last tuesday. The "first time" for many things can be nerve-wrecking, exciting, and scary. But today I didn't feel any of those. I felt relaxed and calm. Surprisingly, I actually had fun! And that's how college is supposed to be, right? Classes were exactly what I expected. Lecture. Lecture. Lecture.- but in a unique way. During my thinking and writing class we experimented with a boys vs. girls game to explore the writing process. (Of course the girls won) But anyway, we had fun while we were learning and that's what's important. Later on, I decided to go for a swim. Practice went well, although it's pretty difficult to motivate yourself to swim lap after lap with no one cheering you to the finish. Next week should be a lot better as we start practicing as a team. After practice, I was forced to head down to the laundry room. Over an hour went by, and I was still in line to clean my clothes. Finally, when it was my turn, I realized I forgot the detergent upstairs. Luckily, the girl behind me in line was nice and decided to lend me some detergent. About a half hour later, I took my laundry out of the washer to find that my white sheets were covered in blue spots! Apparently, the blue detergent didn't rinse out and had left some noticeably large blue spots. Oh well, blue and white polka-dot sheets are much more fashionable than plain old white sheets. I've finally come to the conclusion that Duquesne University is perfect. I love it here. Now I'm heading to Offramp!

Swimmingly yours,

Caitie


My name is Miriam McGeath. I'm from Roanoke, Virginia and I'm 18 years old. It took me about 6 hours to get on campus. I am a Physical Therapy major and I swim the 400 IM and the 200 breast.

Well, this was the first day of classes. I had Calculus and Interpersonal Communications. I thought for the first day of college it went very well. I saw my advisor today about my schedule and she was very helpful. My schedule is full and I will be pretty busy with 18 credits. Open swim also started today. It was felt great to get back in the pool. I know this may sound weird but I was excited to get back to school and swimming. I can't wait to start my routine schedule again. After swimming, i went to the bookstore to get the right books I need for my classes. They are so expensive!
College has been everything I thought it would be and more. I loved orientation and all the activities I have done thus far.
Oh yea, a couple more things, Dining halls! Towers is okay. The good thing about Towers is that it is all-you-can-eat!! I ate at options for lunch today and it was amazing. Off Ramp...I hear they call that the grease pit. I went there for dinner but it was too crowded, so I went to Towers instead.
Dorm Rooms! I am living in St. Ann's. The rooms are kinda tight with everything you need. But Caitie and I are doing great!
Laundry Room! What is up with only having 6 washers and 6 dryers?? There are about 300 people on the girls side that need to do laundry. I just think we should have a couple more!

Miriam

Moving Day

The day is finally here for our incoming freshmen! For three months campus has been very quiet...until yesterday when all of the freshmen made their way to "The Bluff" to begin the next chapter of their young lives. I was able to walk around campus the last few days, speak to "the new group" of swimmers and some of their parents. As I meandered I saw many emotions such as confusion, excitement and anxiety.

I am certain as orientation passes, classes begin and we ease into the swimming season, each one of the new faces of Duquesne Swimming will begin to feel more and more at home. As a matter of fact, two of our new swimmers, (Caitie Zajko and Miriam McGeath) will chronicle their first week of campus life and classes here at Duquesne. Hopefully we will all get a better idea of what a typical freshmen deals with as they assimilate into their college surroundings.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Juniors and more

As I sit here in Dulles Airport waiting for my connection to Pittsburgh I thought I would give all of you an update on the trip to Seattle. The meet was very, very, very fast, Seattle is a beautiful city and former Duquesne Swimmer, Kathy Smucler 04' is doing very well.

I arrived in Seattle on Wednesday evening after a long day of connections in St. Louis and Denver. Fortunately I was able to take in finals Wednesday night, which in turn, helped me to adjust to the three hour time change. I caught prelims and finals the next two days where I was able to witness a lot of fast swimming. I would consider the trip a great success. I was fortunate enough to speak with all of the swimmers (after the completion of their last event, of course) I went out to watch as well as their parent's. I feel very confident in the type of student-athlete we are recruiting at Duquesne. Of course, all of them were great swimmers but upon speaking with them face-to-face, I believe they are all people of great character that will help our program from many aspects. There is always a lot of down time between sessions so I was able to connect with Kathy Smucler on Thursday and Saturday.

Kathy is doing very well for herself. She is a "traveling" nurse that works when she is needed. This gives her a great opportunity to travel (she just finished up a contract in San Diego) and is now working in Seattle. On Thursday between prelims and finals Kathy took me to downtown Seattle where we toured the city; walking along Elliott Bay, Space Needle Park and toured the famous Pike Market Place. We did not get to see them throw any fish but Kathy and I enjoyed ourselves, throwing down free samples of anything that was available. On Saturday, Kathy and I undertook an adventure that I will remember for a very long time. We both decided to travel 1 hour south to Mt. Rainier National Park to "hike" a trail with the possibility of seeing the mountain. For those of you that know Kathy, when your with her, you always get a little more then what you were prepared for.

The day was very overcast so visibility was not very good. Kathy had the great idea to travel up to Paradise, one of the visitor centers in the park closest to Mt. Rainier. We decided to take a 2 mile round trip hike towards the mountain. We departed Paradise with one bottle of water and a 1 oz bag of cheddar rabbits each. I did not know that Kathy was planning to take me on a "death march" towards Camp Muir, the base camp used for individuals attempting to climb the entire mountain. When we reached our 1 mile destination, it was still cloudy so Kathy suggested we keep going.......we did. It did not take long and the rabbits and water were gone. Thankfully part of the glacier was melting so we did have our own water source (Kathy and I both partook in eating a little snow....thankfully it was not yellow). As we continued to climb, me in my New Balance sneakers and t-shirt and Kathy in her hiking boots and tank top, continued to see people with wind burned faces, large backpacks, and snow axes working their way down the mountain. I thought to myself "maybe we are not equipped appropriately to make this climb?" One hiker even warned us of the snow and crevasses we were headed for. Regardless, we pushed on. As we continued to hike the clouds lessened and the mountain became very visible. At one point we turned around and saw we had actually climbed above the clouds and saw nothing but beautiful blue sky and Mt. Rainier. We pushed on until we could not climb any more because the snow had gotten too deep to walk through and the common sense of the dangers that loomed won out. All-in-all we ascended about 8,500 ft up the mountain and were only 1500 feet shy of Camp Muir. It was a great experience and the beauty of our surroundings astonished me. Thanks, Kathy.

See you around the pool,
Dave

Off to Junior Nationals

With the start of school right around the corner, recruiting starting to pick up and the beginning of commitments for official visits this fall, I will be heading out to Junior Nationals in Federal Way, WA to watch some of these swimmers. This will be a great opportunity to put names with faces, watch them swim and once the competition is over have face-to-face conversations. Hopefully it will not be all business and I can take in some of the sights of the surrounding Seattle area.

See you around the pool,
Dave