Whew, sorry folks, I've just been way too busy having a nightlife to tell you about it.

Yeah, that's a lie.

Anywho, so last spring, I was in Montpellier, France. It's a beautiful city in the south of the country. It's about 5 1/2 miles from the Mediterranean, and by train you can get virtually anywhere (I use anywhere loosely). So, clearly, being back here in Penn State this fall has taken a bit of an adjustment. Where as in France, I may or may not have spent many nights buying bottles of wine and sitting outside, or in La Place de la Comedie...here..I'm forced to sit outside at 210 or the Den and somehow I always manage to spend at least $4 on a drink. boo. (See, I suffer from this time problem...I can never make happy hour because, well, because I am a slow person and I just rarely can get wherever I say I will be when I say I will be there.)

So, with that said, I want to point out that these pricey adventures State College force me to be a part of (on the nights I want to grab a drink) are frustrating. However, I have to give props to the atmosphere. I love being able to walk downtown and find a bar within 5 feet, or catch a film at the State Theatre, or make the trek to the Old Main lawn where I fancy eating fruit and discussing life. The proximity of this tiny, overly congested town is what makes it something I know I will miss when it's time for me to leave.

So, hey, I can take a $6 drink, as long as if I get bored at the bar I can find something else near by to tickle my fancy.

Hundreds of alumni, students and State College residents gathered in the streets of Penn State's campus and downtown State College tonight to witness the Homecoming parade.

The parade began at 6 with fire trucks from many different fire companies, members of ROTC and the Air Force. Then, the members of the Homecoming court and Homecoming faculty court were driven in convertibles along the parade route.

Despite instructions from the security committee, several people walking and in floats threw things -- including key chains, T-shirts, paper planes and candy -- into the crowd.

All types of organizations showed off their floats and banners to the crowd. Organizations ranged from greeks to student athletic teams, such as the ski team, to alumni chapters from all over the country.

The Homecoming Banner winners were Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity followed by Triangle fraternity and Association for Women In Science in second and Society of Women Engineers and Sigma Nu fraternity in third.

Check back later for an update on the float winners.

-- Erin Shields, Collegian greeks reporter

Andrew Estes and Elizabeth Kernion were crowned the 2008 Homecoming king and queen, respectively, Friday night at the pep rally following the parade.

Estes and Kernion said they were both "shocked" by the win.

"It's all been a lot of fun," said Kernion, as she and Estes allowed themselves to be embraced by enthusiastic family and friends. "Tonight's been a really good end to a fun week."

-- Alison Hoachlander, greeks reporter

This is it, senior year, when everything stops becoming what it is and becomes something more: a countdown. My last time going to the first day of fall semester classes, my last midterm exam, my last homecoming. For the latter, I couldn't have asked for more. It seems like the Class of '09 came in with a bang, and is going out with one too.

This weekend's Homecoming 2008 was a success by all standards. The parade was amazing (as always, I loved the floats, and hope everyone checked Alexa Santoro's review today,) and we dominated Michigan...looks like we have a number three spot right now. As a senior, it's beginning to look a lot like freshman year with a winning season and high spirits.

As someone who went through high school without a Varsity football team, Penn State homecoming weekends each year have made up for that and more and its obvious why alumni are so eager to return. Graduates ranging anywhere from Class of '08 to '49 either cheered on the sidelines of the parade or took part in it, helping to remind me that even though this is my last homecoming as a PSU student, I'm looking forward to many more after graduation. At the same time, however, I know it will be an entirely different experience and that change is just another sign of growing up and moving on.

--Nikki

So, I feel like a hypocrite. This will be my second weekend away from Penn State. I don't have football tickets (yes, something I don't want to talk about). The homecoming football game was watched from TV in an apartment in Brooklyn. (Fear not, I still cheered, cursed, and drank beer like a true fan.)

But this weekend, I'm venturing to Philadelphia. No, hailing from upstate New York, this is still a Penn State-related trip for me. The thing is, I'm going to go shopping. Please don't judge me, every single pair of shoes I have but one have holes in them. And, I swear that is not a lie. But, the Ohio State game is number two on my list of things to do after purchasing some new footwear. Will we win? I don't know. Will I watch? Most definitely.

And you know, outside of that particular spectrum, there's actually a ton going on in town this weekend.

I don't know about you, but The Soup makes me laugh more than a good 96 percent of what's on TV right now. And KP Anderson is doing stand up at The State Theatre tonight at 8 p.m.

And if that's not enough for you, No Refund Theatre will be putting on a show both Friday and Saturday in the forum for free! And, it's a musical, which is neat because NRT doesn't usually put on musicals!

Also, if you don't want to hear people sing, how about you check out Olympians bend and twist at the 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars. Friday at 7:30.

Or, you can always be entertained by Comedy Central's Lewis Black. Because, hey, he's making a stop to do a little comedy routine at the BJC on Sunday too.

I don't know about you all, but we as State College folk should feel super special this weekend.

So, watch the game, don't ditch town to go to Philadelphia to shop like some of us (geez... I suck.), and take the opportunity to check out some fun things that may diversify your weekend.