Let me quickly introduce myself. My name is Neil Pernick and I've been in this same routine for 4 years now. I am currently the Men's Equipment Manager on the Penn State Crew Team. Don't let the title fool you. I'm just a regular member of the team, with a few added responsibilities added in here and there.

     After laying out my things for the next early morning, I then load my gym bag up with essentials for the next day of classes. I throw in the basics (clothes, shoes, deodorant) but I also throw in a towel and soap for the on-campus, after practice, shower. All this and it still isn't 11:30 PM yet. It's all about organization when you are on the crew team. Things that are always routine become scheduled events. Without a doubt, I have a better concept of time management now than I have ever had in my life. Crew teaches you these things.

     "Beep, Beep, Beep…" as I roll over and hope that it is the sound of my roommate's alarm clock and not mine. See, I live with 4 other guys, 3 still on the team and 1 that is no longer able to due to knee trouble. So there is a good chance that it isn't my alarm. Get up out of bed, stumble to the bathroom, brush my teeth, quickly get changed, eat something little, and the 4 of us are off to practice at the White Building.

     There isn't much life in State College just before 5 AM. Well, that's if it isn't a Friday morning. We walk in to practice, put our stuff down and start the day. Am I tired? Yes. Do I want to go back to bed? Definite yes. After some stretching and a bit of a warm up, the guys are told to go on a run. Not just any run, but one that the team likes to call ROTCy Heaven, named for the army recruiting/training base there. We leave the White Building and run down past the stadium, all the way to the Route 322 by-pass. Then begins the assault on the 5 hills that make up ROTC-y Heaven. All told, the run lasts just over an hour and covers about 6 miles. Not bad for a morning run. It feels good to get 6 miles in before 90% of the campus has even thought about getting out of bed. We get back to the White Building with just enough time to stretch a bit and partake in an ab circuit. At crew practice there is no 6 o'clock hour. Time virtually stays put at 5:00 am until 7:00 rolls around. At 7:00, practice is over, but the day as just begun.

     Quickly taking a shower with a significant majority of the guys' team doing the same and then promptly getting dressed is the prelude to the best part of the morning. I walk over to Pollock Commons and fill our trays high with omelets, pancakes, French toast sticks (God's gift to breakfast), hard-boiled eggs, fruit, and anything else that can be piled onto a plate. After a great run like we had, chewing is the last thing on my mind. With 6 or 7 large rectangular tables pushed together in a great big line, the crew team has successfully taken over a corner of the Commons. I eat and socialize, while keeping a watchful eye on the clock. I know all too well that my 8 o'clock class looms.

     With my tray placed on the little motorized conveyer belt, I begin my trek to West Campus, where I'll spend almost my entire day. This is not a normal trek either. Nothing gets stranger looks than a kid wearing 2 bags on his shoulders, both busting at the seems. Put it's ok; it's what I do. The next few hours go by only as a blur. I would like to say that I never fall asleep in class and never have to worry about doing the famous "head-bob," but I do. Some classes keep my interest for longer than others, but that just delays the inevitable. It's really all dependent on the amount of sleep I get the night before. If I'm in bed by 11, then the next day isn't too bad. But anything later than that makes keeping my eyelids open a job in itself.

     Before I can complete my day, I stop in at the HUB and find the Crew Table. Usually it's located at the bottom of the main stairs and consists of anywhere from 3 to 10 people at any given time. After sitting there for a long time and talking to the people there, I finally get to go back to my apartment. At this point I would love to sit around for the rest of the day, but nope, I can't do that. There exists a point where sitting on the couch watching tv becomes boring and you know that you must do something productive. This period usually lasts about an hour for me. This is a critical hour though. If it wasn't there, I would go insane, and hungry. I amaze myself at how hungry I am after sitting in class for a while. On to emails and instant messenger for a bit before I have to leave my apartment once again. This is some more down time to let me forget that I'm tired, sore, and unproductive.

     My appointment with Mike, one of the trainers in the White Building, is at 6:30. But it isn't like I can just go there and come home. I have to again pack a small bag and my school bag so that I can be prepared for the evening ahead. I arrive at the White Building and Mike proceeds to make my legs feel like jello, lime jello to be exact. After Mike officially kicks my butt, I change and head for an officers' meeting. So my day has repeated itself in a strange way. In the morning, I went to practice and then sat in classes, and this evening I went to lift and then had to sit in an officers' meeting. These meetings are critical for the future of the team but seem to last forever. This meeting ends at 9:00 and now I'm really starting to feel the adverse effects of being up at 4:40 am. But homework and studying calls, so it's off to Pattee Library. At about 10:30, my brain officially shuts down and I stagger home with my enormous baggage hanging from my shoulders.

     I walk into my apartment, go straight to the computer (the life blood of any college student) and do my thing. In between talking to my roommates and people on the computer, I get ready for bed. It's funny how going to bed at 11:00 or 11:30 seems normal to me. Most people in college would find that early. I would probably say the same thing if I wasn't on the crew team. So at 11:30 it's lights off and off to bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out. Just in time to get up the next morning and do it all again, just like I've been doing for 4 years.