Last night marked the eighth night since I started camping out in Boeheimburg. And even though it was terrible at first, it has gotten easier.

My group has had some bumps along the way. Someone opened the emergency doors of the Dome blowing our tent over twice and a huge puddle formed underneath the tent soaking everything inside, but we changed locations and everything seems to have dried out.

For me, the cold isn’t really an issue anymore. It’s warmed up a little. At this point anything above 0 degrees is great and 30 is practically bathing suit weather.

Though we started out with one sleeping bag and one blanket in our tent for the coldest of the days, we now have double-bag sleeping bags. It gets so warm I’ve had to remove layers to be comfortable.

That being said, it’s definitely not a walk in the park.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I no longer get to shower on a daily basis and yes, I’ve had to brush my teeth in the bathrooms of Newhouse 3.

In the past 24 hours I’ve been to my dorm room maybe three times, and I’ve been at the tent for 16 hours. I’ve started to pack a 24-hour backpack in case I don’t get back to my room for a whole day.

My body had gotten used to sleeping in my own bed for the last few days and wasn’t happy with me after last night. I woke up feeling like a 60- or 70-year-old man with arthritis.

My neck, knees and back all ached.

For the first time I remembered a pillow – I had been sleeping on my backpack, so essentially a few books and a laptop.

Tempur-Pedic pillows are great for normal use, but it’s like sleeping on a stone block when they get cold. I’m not sure which option is better, the hard pillow or my backpack, but between that and lying on concrete, it certainly wasn’t the greatest sleep I’ve ever had.

A problem with moving our tent is that lights now shine in at all times. When you’re inside the tent you can’t tell the difference between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. I woke up several times thinking I had to go to class soon, only to find it was 3 in the morning.

The night wasn’t all bad, though. Around 7:30 p.m. there was a list check and we were surprised with Tully’s chicken tenders donated by an alumnus. Then we got Insomnia Cookies later in the night.

If there’s anything greater than free food, I don’t know what it is.

Last week was the hard part, but now the fun starts. The food, along with players and coaches visiting the campout.

If I’m not there when Jim Boeheim shows up, I’ll have to try again next year. But I don’t know if I’ll do 13 days next time.

Published on January 27, 2014 at 6:57 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus