That might have had a different title had I chosen to write it yesterday. But I wanted to get all of my classes finished before I cataloged my first days back in school.
So let's breeze through the summer of driving over 4000 miles from Anchorage to Longview with my family over 3 weeks.
Skip over the news of my Grandmother's cancer.
Ignore the drama of not knowing if I'd have the money for school this year.
Forget living in a travel trailer for a month and a week with the same family while they looked for permanent residence.
Repress the 40 hour Greyhound ride to get to Reno from Longview.
Squeeze by the fact that all my Storage facility guarded belongings are literally and completely Gone.
Mention the new house I live in with (currently 2) other guys in Wolf Run Village, 15 minutes walk from the campus core.
And get to school on Monday, August 27th, 2012.
Waking up at 6:34am, about 24 minutes before my iPhone alarm was set to go (my internal clock can work miracles sometimes, I just have to concentrate as I doze off) I got up and saw Nicole and Kyle heading off to their 8 am classes. I ate a donut that I'd bought the day before at walmart, (did you know donut isn't considered a word to Blogspot's spellchecker), checked email and a few other things, and left the house at 8. I walked to the campus, got to the Ansari building, found the 6th floor, and proceeded to get lost for 10 minutes trying to find room 634. I eventually had success, though still no idea where the stairs are in that building. I am elevator reliant for the time being.
Intro to Proofs doesn't seem like it'll be that hard *knock on wood* although the first few weeks will be trying on my patience as we literally prove that 1+2 = 2+1 (I am not joking, we have to prove it's true for all cases, but it's literally the same thing), among other "are you stupid, or trolling" obvious cases. We have to prove the obvious and pray that eventually we can move on to more advanced proofs. More on that later. So I got through there and decided I'd do something productive with my two hour break, since I had no reason to return home for such a short duration.
So I hoofed it to the Post office, got a text from my mom asking if I was going to check my PO Box while I was on my way, and then she asked if I'd gotten my textbooks yet (which was literally my next stop) cleaned out the 3 pieces of mail in my box, and used the shuttle to get to the Joe Crowley Student Union, home of food, shops, and some semi-official goings-on. Walking in hit me with a shot of memory as I recalled the first time I walked in during orientation last summer. Couldn't help but smile at that one. How things have changed. Got my textbooks for 350, and stopped by Starbucks where I saw a previous roommate, and someone I'd rather not see too much of this year.
Sat in the Education building to wait for yet another non-education-oriented class (French 211) then made my way up to that room which was (big surprise) around 10 girls and 3 guys. I realized the "textbook" I'd bought was actually a looseleaf binder version, so half of my book proceeded to collapse on my desk when I tried to turn the page. The girl on my left was quite amused at my efforts.
So I will probably be bored brainless in that class, but it gives me time to focus on Math more. It'll also be a refresher for my French because there are quite a few written details I've forgotten in my year of not using them, considering all the French I do is spoken or read these days, and that's always to myself. I'm looking forward to it.
10 minutes break gave me time to quickwalk to the Math Building, where my Linear Algebra class is this year, the class I'm repeating because I didn't quite follow it last year. Oddly enough that class was so heavily curved, that I didn't take the final (already expecting to fail it, that's why) and I still got a D. Don't ask me. So it should be easier than last year since I already have a clue of what to expect, but I'll still need to be on my toes in class as time goes by, waiting for that lecture when I finally catch up with what I need to learn.
That was it for Monday. I got 3 classes knocked down, one to go. When I got home, I passed out on the couch for a much-needed hour nap, then was woken by my newest addition to the house, Jordan. He lived in here last year, and apparently the people who moved out were slobs and all the crap in our kitchen and storage areas belonged to them. Jordan says it looks better (regardless of the remains we were afraid to touch) and smells better too. We're going to have a cleaning party soon. Afterwards, Kyle, Nicole and I sat in Kyle's room watching Breaking Bad, a show they've recently become addicted to (pun intended, if you know the show's story, you'd get it) until bedtime at 10. They had to get up early.
Tuesday! Sleep in time! I don't have class until 4! YEAH! So my laptop got a workout, and I ate more of the (now 2 day old) donuts. One box down. I am so going to die before I'm 50. I can feel my arteries clogging already. I can also feel the daggers all my health-conscious friends are shooting at my back as I eat as well.
So at 3 I trekked to class, Intro to Analysis, MATH 310, oddly enough in the exact same room as my first class! I actually recognized about 10 people in there too. So while we were there we learned that 301 was actually a 'bridge' class, and without it, this would be a bit harder. I was ok with that, I can take a challenge. It's funny, the grading scale was: 87%:A 75%:B 60%:C 50%:D so that was slightly intimidating, but I thought it was funny-
Wait. What does that symbol mean? That set is greater than what? Where did that variable come from? How is that even important... So that means that a < q < b for some reason... why is k/b-a less than or equal to n? Where did n come from? Who cares that there is a Natural number between 2 real numbers? (I swear that number 2 was the only number on that blackboard)
I wish I had taken a picture of that board, my head hurt so much and I want to share the pain. For the last 30 minutes of the 75 minute class, my face was reminiscent of the face of a typical jock in an Algebra class. About halfway through my note page (I actually took notes on the first day, that's new, because I usually don't have to take notes on review, aka things I already know) I started drawing a picture of my brain. It was on my desk. In a puddle of brain fluid.
So I'm home now, and dropping that class like a hot potato. Goodbye single-semester math minor, I can wait. Now I am replacing it with the ever-loved Computer Science class that I've been beating my head on trying to pass for the last 2 semesters. That bloody homework will NOT get the better of me this year, I swear it. When this year is done, I'm going to reread this entry and say "Hell yes, I was right, I got better than a C- this time because I actually did my homework."
Next step: job search!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Day One, Take Two.
So I woke up at 7, my roommate Elika unintentionally woke me by not being able to sleep himself. I slept miserably, waking up every hour, so it was hardly a problem for me. So I got up, went to breakfast with 3 friends and got my first omelet of the school year. Afterwards, I had to scram to class at 9, Core Humanities 201, also known as Ancient and Medieval Cultures, where my professor Phil Boardman gave us an introduction to the course, told us how his favorite subject was particularly in Medieval history, and has been teaching the subject since before I was born. Literally.
Afterwards, I went to the discussion for said Core Humanites class, where my discussion leader was more interested in getting us all to know each other than we was into the subject. So first he went through attendance, where he would have us introduce how we wanted our name spoken, then where we were from, and finally... The Grossest Thing We Have Ever Eaten. Not like it was random or anything, but- Yes, yes it was. I think my favorite one I actually paid attention to was Duck Blood. Apparently a girl's father thought it was juice, and packed it with her lunch one day in elementary school. She had no idea, and bam, down the hatch it went. The leader took about 3 minutes per person inquiring into the story behind each experience the student had for food. I circumvented it by simply choosing Black Liquorice. Not much to be said about it, so he moved on with no doubt a slight disappointment that he would have no story with which to associate me.
On to Linear Algebra, my only 300 level class, where the professor decided he was going to intimidate the masses by showing us an example of what we would be using to solve our problems, and just how useful the subject could be in many fields. He used matrices, and I promptly decided I was going to hate the coming semester. Matrices have always been giant pains in my butt, and no doubt will continue to be so in the coming months. So with that out of the way, I moved onto my first break in the week, which lasted from noon until 2 Pm. I used this time to check my PO box, as well as grabbing something that a nearby location was holding onto for me. Once 2 arrived, I was in Schulich Lecture hall, hoping I spelled it correctly in my blog, and waiting for class to start. First words out of the professor's mouth and I knew this was NOT going to be a good time. The professor is German, and has in no way tried to tame his accent. I didn't even understand his name, forget the majority of his lecture. For the parts I did understand, I caught snippets of his life story, and I was one of the most interested students in the entire hall as he-ok I can't even lie about that, I was bored brainless. It's interesting that he worked on nuclear projects that used to be classified, but that's not what I came here to learn, and especially with no idea what most of his vocabulary is comprised of. I respect his work, but I only took the class for the science grade, and I freely admit it. Physics has hated me for years, and I thought I could catch a break with an easy, low-level class. Apparently the God of Physics had other intentions. On the bright side, I do know 2 people who are currently in the class, so there may be hope that we can collaborate and fill in accent-caused blanks on each other's issues.
I don't recall much of what happened afterwards, I was starting to lose focus, and I made my way BACK to Schulich Lecture hall for my repeated Computer Science course, since apparently I can fail a class even while receiving a D. According to certain people. Not my transcript, which says I got all 3 credits, but-ok dropping it. So I was bored to sleep as Bobby went over the same syllabus as last semester, although I did get a few more words in with the Supplemental Instruction leader than last time, hopefully I'll have the time to attend those meetings and improve my performance enough to succeed in this attempt. Then I ran out of the classroom in a desperate bid for my bed. That was delayed by a text conversation, until I rudely cut it off by passing out on the couch in 204. Then I woke to 2 girls laughing at my curled up form and bloodshot eyes due to contacts as I slept. A bloody nose got me to vacate the room and head to my suite to avoid the embarrassment of them seeing me in that state. I really hate the adjustment period as I switch climates from 80% humidity and -15 degrees, up to 40% humidity and 30 degrees. I'm toasty but my nose hates me now. So once I got that stemmed, it was into bed, and off to sleep. Day One, Done. Get it? D(ay)ONE
Afterwards, I went to the discussion for said Core Humanites class, where my discussion leader was more interested in getting us all to know each other than we was into the subject. So first he went through attendance, where he would have us introduce how we wanted our name spoken, then where we were from, and finally... The Grossest Thing We Have Ever Eaten. Not like it was random or anything, but- Yes, yes it was. I think my favorite one I actually paid attention to was Duck Blood. Apparently a girl's father thought it was juice, and packed it with her lunch one day in elementary school. She had no idea, and bam, down the hatch it went. The leader took about 3 minutes per person inquiring into the story behind each experience the student had for food. I circumvented it by simply choosing Black Liquorice. Not much to be said about it, so he moved on with no doubt a slight disappointment that he would have no story with which to associate me.
On to Linear Algebra, my only 300 level class, where the professor decided he was going to intimidate the masses by showing us an example of what we would be using to solve our problems, and just how useful the subject could be in many fields. He used matrices, and I promptly decided I was going to hate the coming semester. Matrices have always been giant pains in my butt, and no doubt will continue to be so in the coming months. So with that out of the way, I moved onto my first break in the week, which lasted from noon until 2 Pm. I used this time to check my PO box, as well as grabbing something that a nearby location was holding onto for me. Once 2 arrived, I was in Schulich Lecture hall, hoping I spelled it correctly in my blog, and waiting for class to start. First words out of the professor's mouth and I knew this was NOT going to be a good time. The professor is German, and has in no way tried to tame his accent. I didn't even understand his name, forget the majority of his lecture. For the parts I did understand, I caught snippets of his life story, and I was one of the most interested students in the entire hall as he-ok I can't even lie about that, I was bored brainless. It's interesting that he worked on nuclear projects that used to be classified, but that's not what I came here to learn, and especially with no idea what most of his vocabulary is comprised of. I respect his work, but I only took the class for the science grade, and I freely admit it. Physics has hated me for years, and I thought I could catch a break with an easy, low-level class. Apparently the God of Physics had other intentions. On the bright side, I do know 2 people who are currently in the class, so there may be hope that we can collaborate and fill in accent-caused blanks on each other's issues.
I don't recall much of what happened afterwards, I was starting to lose focus, and I made my way BACK to Schulich Lecture hall for my repeated Computer Science course, since apparently I can fail a class even while receiving a D. According to certain people. Not my transcript, which says I got all 3 credits, but-ok dropping it. So I was bored to sleep as Bobby went over the same syllabus as last semester, although I did get a few more words in with the Supplemental Instruction leader than last time, hopefully I'll have the time to attend those meetings and improve my performance enough to succeed in this attempt. Then I ran out of the classroom in a desperate bid for my bed. That was delayed by a text conversation, until I rudely cut it off by passing out on the couch in 204. Then I woke to 2 girls laughing at my curled up form and bloodshot eyes due to contacts as I slept. A bloody nose got me to vacate the room and head to my suite to avoid the embarrassment of them seeing me in that state. I really hate the adjustment period as I switch climates from 80% humidity and -15 degrees, up to 40% humidity and 30 degrees. I'm toasty but my nose hates me now. So once I got that stemmed, it was into bed, and off to sleep. Day One, Done. Get it? D(ay)ONE
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Long time no see.
I think I set the record for the amount of @$$-Whole things I could say or do in one day. I swear, by the time it was 10:00 PM I was surprising myself even.
Woke up at 9, planned to eat first, then use the next 2.5 hours before my Music Appreciation Final to cram the listening portion into my mind and know at least half of them. No such luck. I couldn't get out of bed due to how tired I was. I went to bed at midnight after talking about the days' events with 204, I thought that 9 hours of sleep would be enough to satisfy my fatigue. I was wrong. Finally, at 10, I crawled out of bed and got ready for the day. The cereal dispenser at the cafe wouldn't work. At 11:30 I finally had the focus to get onto the website for the listening, and crammed all I could in the short time I gave myself. Made my way over to a lecture hall, the inside of which I'd never seen, and found a spot near a student I'd worked with in another class. We talked about the music, were joined by another classmate, observed a periodic table of elements in the room, and then the room took the test. It wasn't that bad, I'm sure I got less than 40 of the 50 questions correct. So I won't get a great grade on that one. Not worried, the class was simple and I had 80 points (8% of the class total) in extra credit. (Side note, I got 926/1000 in the class, for my first official A in this university.) After that final, I returned to 204 to hang out with them, and after repairing a messed up minecraft server, I returned to the room to find that all of them were gone. And my power cable was in their room still. So a text-hunt later and I met them in the Overlook. I ate nothing, was called skinny, and also got my fatigue blamed on my lack of nutrition.
I then proceeded to accompany Nicole and Sierra to the Post Office. I typically walk, but they took the campus shuttle instead. So Sierra picked up 2 packages, and I peeked into my keyhole to be sure I had nothing to pick up (not that I had my key on me anyhow)
So we took the bus down afterwards, as I usually do this time. During said bus ride, I happened to overhear a couple girls in front of me talking about Teepee, Tent, and The More The Merrier. Curious, I looked over at them, and saw them reading from a book called the Snuggie Sutra. Yes this means exactly what it sounds like.
So when we got back to the dorm, I was busy laughing without trying to be obvious, and then showing the other girls internet findings of the book. Then began my descent into jerkhood. The things I did weren't that bad, it was just the frequency of them that astounded us all. Closing doors in people's faces, mocking the things they said, just being an annoying little prick in general. So the day passed, my laughter progressively getting more frequent, due to more frequent idiocy on my part.
Finally, we went to breakfast. I understand that this makes no sense. The cafe had some special event going on for finals, breakfast from 10-12 in the evening. Thus my douchiness ended. I was brought to sobriety by the sight of someone to motivate deep thoughts. Deep thought Jeremy is quiet and brooding, and not an @$$. After that was over, and I was stuffed, we went back to the dorms, and by 12:06, I was normal again, giving away the last 6 boxes of my nerds gift. And I still thank Kyle Mavrides and Nicole Emmerich for giving it to me a week ago, and helping me accentuate that we are what we eat.
Woke up at 9, planned to eat first, then use the next 2.5 hours before my Music Appreciation Final to cram the listening portion into my mind and know at least half of them. No such luck. I couldn't get out of bed due to how tired I was. I went to bed at midnight after talking about the days' events with 204, I thought that 9 hours of sleep would be enough to satisfy my fatigue. I was wrong. Finally, at 10, I crawled out of bed and got ready for the day. The cereal dispenser at the cafe wouldn't work. At 11:30 I finally had the focus to get onto the website for the listening, and crammed all I could in the short time I gave myself. Made my way over to a lecture hall, the inside of which I'd never seen, and found a spot near a student I'd worked with in another class. We talked about the music, were joined by another classmate, observed a periodic table of elements in the room, and then the room took the test. It wasn't that bad, I'm sure I got less than 40 of the 50 questions correct. So I won't get a great grade on that one. Not worried, the class was simple and I had 80 points (8% of the class total) in extra credit. (Side note, I got 926/1000 in the class, for my first official A in this university.) After that final, I returned to 204 to hang out with them, and after repairing a messed up minecraft server, I returned to the room to find that all of them were gone. And my power cable was in their room still. So a text-hunt later and I met them in the Overlook. I ate nothing, was called skinny, and also got my fatigue blamed on my lack of nutrition.
I then proceeded to accompany Nicole and Sierra to the Post Office. I typically walk, but they took the campus shuttle instead. So Sierra picked up 2 packages, and I peeked into my keyhole to be sure I had nothing to pick up (not that I had my key on me anyhow)
So we took the bus down afterwards, as I usually do this time. During said bus ride, I happened to overhear a couple girls in front of me talking about Teepee, Tent, and The More The Merrier. Curious, I looked over at them, and saw them reading from a book called the Snuggie Sutra. Yes this means exactly what it sounds like.
So when we got back to the dorm, I was busy laughing without trying to be obvious, and then showing the other girls internet findings of the book. Then began my descent into jerkhood. The things I did weren't that bad, it was just the frequency of them that astounded us all. Closing doors in people's faces, mocking the things they said, just being an annoying little prick in general. So the day passed, my laughter progressively getting more frequent, due to more frequent idiocy on my part.
Finally, we went to breakfast. I understand that this makes no sense. The cafe had some special event going on for finals, breakfast from 10-12 in the evening. Thus my douchiness ended. I was brought to sobriety by the sight of someone to motivate deep thoughts. Deep thought Jeremy is quiet and brooding, and not an @$$. After that was over, and I was stuffed, we went back to the dorms, and by 12:06, I was normal again, giving away the last 6 boxes of my nerds gift. And I still thank Kyle Mavrides and Nicole Emmerich for giving it to me a week ago, and helping me accentuate that we are what we eat.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
What do I call this.....Title Here. Thats good.
I've revived this to state that my life is not just revolving around Minecraft, friends down in suite 204, classes, and emotional stress/anxiety. Most of it is, which is why I haven't blogged in too long. People just don't want to hear about those mundane things, or at least not the majority. Especially when it gets repetitive for so many days. So speaking to the audience that I know reads this, I can fill y'all in on my Thanksgiving details, and perhaps even entertain you. Challenge accepted.
So, I'll start with Wednesday, since that's when a lot of significant things happened. Almost all of my friends left, primarily from Suite 204, but also a couple out of my suite. I had to go to 2 classes that day, whereas most of the people I knew had a morning class and were finished. Nope, I got to take a 100 point exam in Computer Science. Time to program my heart out. Or lose my heart to the strain of stressing over it. Happily, it was all programming, and no commenting, which played right into my strengths. I finished the test about 20th, and with 11 minutes to spare, even after filling in the extra credit section. I'm fairly confident in that result. After a MUCH needed Skype conversation lasting almost 2 and a half hours, as well as an exchange of messages with someone else for 39 minutes, I was ready to sleep. By Thursday morning, the place was devoid of life, except me. And Adam. My roommate lives nearby (relatively) and decided to not spend all 4+ days with his family, thus preventing the onset of my cabin fever. I can actually talk to someone besides myself without going to the internet. However, Thursday was also Thanksgiving, and I'd been invited to Ali's house to spend the time with her family, and a few other invitees. 2 from White Pine along with me, as well as an inhabitant of (Spellcheck) Nikiski/Kenai area who had taken a train from Washington, if I remember correctly. So a little over an hour later, the food was out, the green beans reminded me of home (no lie, I swear my mom made it) and we were all stuffed with turkey, cranberries, other assorted dishes expected of the date, and an interesting Jello concoction made specially by Ali's younger sister. We also got to play with bubbles of water on the water-resistant table cover (theres a word for it, but I'm tired.) After that meal at 12:30 or so, they got out the 8th Harry Potter movie, and we simply watched that and I bashed the lack of accuracy to the book as it went along. I'll forever love the series, but I swear some of those scenes make my eyes hurt. There is no logical reason to have Harry and Voldemort jump off of the castle and meld their faces together.
- Ok off topic. So afterwards, a few of us got to get our hands on the new Modern Warfare game, and shot up some zombies. It passed the time, I've never been strong with a console honestly. The Cowboys-Dolphins game interrupted our playtime, as the score was close enough to actually garner our attention. Everyone knows the result, and it felt like the whole house was defeated as the final kick went in. Afterwards, they set up an Apples to Apples game, and the one player who had no experience at all decided to destroy everyone. He won with 10 cards, and the closest runner up had.... 4? I ended up holding 'Delicious' and it's been said that your finishing cards can actually describe you... The worst part was when I had to judge the word "Cool" and two really mean people put down, "Math" (I almost decided to let that one win without looking at the rest) and "Harry Potter" and I swear my heart was torn. I finally used logic to determine that sometimes math can be annoying and difficult, whereas Harry Potter has never ceased to be cool at any point I can remember. Thus Harry Potter won. It really hurt to make that decision.
So after that game was finished, the whole bunch of us sat and lazed about watching volleyball and messing with the dog. The invitees got a ride back to the dorms, and the train rider was carted back to wherever he was supposed to be... Reading and Minecraft finished off that night. Probably should have eaten something else, but the important things escape me the most.
So Black Friday came, and for once I didn't wake up at 6 or earlier. It felt so weird to be up at 9 instead, with Adam not there, he slept elsewhere that night. I knew the nearby cafe was closed, so I simply took a 6-stop-light hike down to McDonalds. Not the best choice for health, but it's the first time I've had it since I left Alaska. Adam was there when I got back, it was just him and me. Two R.A.'s stopped by (I guess to be sure we weren't partying it up.) The rest of the day is a blur of napping, reading, Big Bang Theory on Adam's laptop, and the internet. Until I hiked the 3 stop-lights to Walgreens, and picked up a few things I've been putting off purchasing. My contact solution that just went empty that morning, to start with. Kinda need that.
So the dorm was silent as I got back, the campus a ghost town. Jack stopped by with some people, then left, then came back with a high school kid, then left again, this time saying he'd be back sometime around Tuesday. So I simply popped in my Ipod and let the day pass. It's so nice to be able to sing to my music without worrying about people hearing me and judging me. Then Adam got back and we both silently passed out time on our computers. He went to bed, I wrapped my stuff up online, checked the stuff I deem important, and then proceeded to write this to whomever decides it is worth their time to devour. So, as my eyelids droop, my roommate snorts (no seriously, he just did, even though he doesn't fully snore) and the hour hits 1 am, I say good night, good morning, and hope you had a happy reading. I also hope I didn't miss anything important... Now what do I call this blooming post?!?!?!
So, I'll start with Wednesday, since that's when a lot of significant things happened. Almost all of my friends left, primarily from Suite 204, but also a couple out of my suite. I had to go to 2 classes that day, whereas most of the people I knew had a morning class and were finished. Nope, I got to take a 100 point exam in Computer Science. Time to program my heart out. Or lose my heart to the strain of stressing over it. Happily, it was all programming, and no commenting, which played right into my strengths. I finished the test about 20th, and with 11 minutes to spare, even after filling in the extra credit section. I'm fairly confident in that result. After a MUCH needed Skype conversation lasting almost 2 and a half hours, as well as an exchange of messages with someone else for 39 minutes, I was ready to sleep. By Thursday morning, the place was devoid of life, except me. And Adam. My roommate lives nearby (relatively) and decided to not spend all 4+ days with his family, thus preventing the onset of my cabin fever. I can actually talk to someone besides myself without going to the internet. However, Thursday was also Thanksgiving, and I'd been invited to Ali's house to spend the time with her family, and a few other invitees. 2 from White Pine along with me, as well as an inhabitant of (Spellcheck) Nikiski/Kenai area who had taken a train from Washington, if I remember correctly. So a little over an hour later, the food was out, the green beans reminded me of home (no lie, I swear my mom made it) and we were all stuffed with turkey, cranberries, other assorted dishes expected of the date, and an interesting Jello concoction made specially by Ali's younger sister. We also got to play with bubbles of water on the water-resistant table cover (theres a word for it, but I'm tired.) After that meal at 12:30 or so, they got out the 8th Harry Potter movie, and we simply watched that and I bashed the lack of accuracy to the book as it went along. I'll forever love the series, but I swear some of those scenes make my eyes hurt. There is no logical reason to have Harry and Voldemort jump off of the castle and meld their faces together.
- Ok off topic. So afterwards, a few of us got to get our hands on the new Modern Warfare game, and shot up some zombies. It passed the time, I've never been strong with a console honestly. The Cowboys-Dolphins game interrupted our playtime, as the score was close enough to actually garner our attention. Everyone knows the result, and it felt like the whole house was defeated as the final kick went in. Afterwards, they set up an Apples to Apples game, and the one player who had no experience at all decided to destroy everyone. He won with 10 cards, and the closest runner up had.... 4? I ended up holding 'Delicious' and it's been said that your finishing cards can actually describe you... The worst part was when I had to judge the word "Cool" and two really mean people put down, "Math" (I almost decided to let that one win without looking at the rest) and "Harry Potter" and I swear my heart was torn. I finally used logic to determine that sometimes math can be annoying and difficult, whereas Harry Potter has never ceased to be cool at any point I can remember. Thus Harry Potter won. It really hurt to make that decision.
So after that game was finished, the whole bunch of us sat and lazed about watching volleyball and messing with the dog. The invitees got a ride back to the dorms, and the train rider was carted back to wherever he was supposed to be... Reading and Minecraft finished off that night. Probably should have eaten something else, but the important things escape me the most.
So Black Friday came, and for once I didn't wake up at 6 or earlier. It felt so weird to be up at 9 instead, with Adam not there, he slept elsewhere that night. I knew the nearby cafe was closed, so I simply took a 6-stop-light hike down to McDonalds. Not the best choice for health, but it's the first time I've had it since I left Alaska. Adam was there when I got back, it was just him and me. Two R.A.'s stopped by (I guess to be sure we weren't partying it up.) The rest of the day is a blur of napping, reading, Big Bang Theory on Adam's laptop, and the internet. Until I hiked the 3 stop-lights to Walgreens, and picked up a few things I've been putting off purchasing. My contact solution that just went empty that morning, to start with. Kinda need that.
So the dorm was silent as I got back, the campus a ghost town. Jack stopped by with some people, then left, then came back with a high school kid, then left again, this time saying he'd be back sometime around Tuesday. So I simply popped in my Ipod and let the day pass. It's so nice to be able to sing to my music without worrying about people hearing me and judging me. Then Adam got back and we both silently passed out time on our computers. He went to bed, I wrapped my stuff up online, checked the stuff I deem important, and then proceeded to write this to whomever decides it is worth their time to devour. So, as my eyelids droop, my roommate snorts (no seriously, he just did, even though he doesn't fully snore) and the hour hits 1 am, I say good night, good morning, and hope you had a happy reading. I also hope I didn't miss anything important... Now what do I call this blooming post?!?!?!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Pretty damn good
Yes, this language is necessary for the magnitude of how good this day was. Granted, I could imagine a few events (well just one in particular) that would have made it f*****g good, but I won't go into that just now.
So it started with me waking up at 8 am as Adam slammed the door. I asked him to because I needed to wake up early and avoid rushing to write an essay.
Then I woke up at 8:10.
Then I woke up at 8:20.
Then I woke up at 8:30.
Then I woke up at 8:40.
Then I woke up at 8:50.
Then I woke up at 9:00.
Then I woke up at 9:10.
Then I woke up at 9:20.
Then I woke up at 9:30.
Then I woke up at 9:40.
Then I woke up at 9:50.
Then I woke up at 10:40, and class was at 11. So I got out of bed and out to the class really fast.
Nothing special happened, it was another Calc class really. We started learning something I'd already used in homework before.
Then I went to brunch with Haley, it was cool, we ditched some other guy I didn't know as we left, so that was interesting. Then the fun began. I didn't wake up early, so I got to rush my way through my photo essay. It actually went pretty well, I finished it in 40 minutes, not nearly as long as I expected to take. it turned out well enough, though I was filling it with lies after I got to 1.5 pages. I just treated it like I was analyzing the photos of someone else rather than my own. So I wasted time after that was over. Went to class early next, where we had to place our photos on our desk, then walk around and view the photos of the other students to get an idea of how they interpreted the assignment. I liked quite a few sets of them, including one using cool photo effects to blur the edges, and another using origami to depict animals made of litter in the wild. I was actually surprised at how many people liked mine, considering I'd literally dreamed of the inspiration to take them, rather than thinking it through logically.
The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that the teacher is actually a photographer as a hobby, and he liked my first one as well.
So with a light mind I left to go to CS, where we had one of the TA's as a sub. We simply went through a bunch of practice stuff, but I participated a lot, got certain errors corrected, and it was a very light mood overall as the class progressed. It was probably the best time I'd had in the class since week one.
Afterwards, I went to dinner with Katie, Nichole, Alyssa and Sierra, before I ninja'd out like a pro, leaving them for the silence of Kyle's company back in their room. Until 7, when I went to Music Appreciation, I was feeling pretty good in terms of mood. MUS 121 just bored me to death, listening to 2 presentations from desperate Extra-Credit hounds, and learning about Wagner, Brahms, and Shubert. I swear time goes slower Wednesday from 7-9:45. Its some relativity paradox no one has solved yet.
Afterwards, I went to eat, blew my nose, and had the first bloody nose I've experienced since week 4. I thought I was done with them, but alas, no. So I got that stemmed and then I stayed up til 3 playing Civilization 4 with Alyssa as company, and slowly developed a worse cough than I've been experiencing for the past 2 weeks. Guess that's not going away any time soon.
So it started with me waking up at 8 am as Adam slammed the door. I asked him to because I needed to wake up early and avoid rushing to write an essay.
Then I woke up at 8:10.
Then I woke up at 8:20.
Then I woke up at 8:30.
Then I woke up at 8:40.
Then I woke up at 8:50.
Then I woke up at 9:00.
Then I woke up at 9:10.
Then I woke up at 9:20.
Then I woke up at 9:30.
Then I woke up at 9:40.
Then I woke up at 9:50.
Then I woke up at 10:40, and class was at 11. So I got out of bed and out to the class really fast.
Nothing special happened, it was another Calc class really. We started learning something I'd already used in homework before.
Then I went to brunch with Haley, it was cool, we ditched some other guy I didn't know as we left, so that was interesting. Then the fun began. I didn't wake up early, so I got to rush my way through my photo essay. It actually went pretty well, I finished it in 40 minutes, not nearly as long as I expected to take. it turned out well enough, though I was filling it with lies after I got to 1.5 pages. I just treated it like I was analyzing the photos of someone else rather than my own. So I wasted time after that was over. Went to class early next, where we had to place our photos on our desk, then walk around and view the photos of the other students to get an idea of how they interpreted the assignment. I liked quite a few sets of them, including one using cool photo effects to blur the edges, and another using origami to depict animals made of litter in the wild. I was actually surprised at how many people liked mine, considering I'd literally dreamed of the inspiration to take them, rather than thinking it through logically.
So with a light mind I left to go to CS, where we had one of the TA's as a sub. We simply went through a bunch of practice stuff, but I participated a lot, got certain errors corrected, and it was a very light mood overall as the class progressed. It was probably the best time I'd had in the class since week one.
Afterwards, I went to dinner with Katie, Nichole, Alyssa and Sierra, before I ninja'd out like a pro, leaving them for the silence of Kyle's company back in their room. Until 7, when I went to Music Appreciation, I was feeling pretty good in terms of mood. MUS 121 just bored me to death, listening to 2 presentations from desperate Extra-Credit hounds, and learning about Wagner, Brahms, and Shubert. I swear time goes slower Wednesday from 7-9:45. Its some relativity paradox no one has solved yet.
Afterwards, I went to eat, blew my nose, and had the first bloody nose I've experienced since week 4. I thought I was done with them, but alas, no. So I got that stemmed and then I stayed up til 3 playing Civilization 4 with Alyssa as company, and slowly developed a worse cough than I've been experiencing for the past 2 weeks. Guess that's not going away any time soon.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
I didn't touch my computer the whole weekend.
I've been waaaaay too busy to do anything related to my computer/gaming this weekend. Too busy getting ready for Lincoln Haunted Basement, a mini-haunted house in the basement of White Pine Hall's neighbor hall, Lincoln. Starting Friday at 1, we began construction of the entire project. First the clean out needed to be done, and that required lifting cinderblocks and other miscellaneous materials that weren't going to be used, then bringing them to the new storage room. Then the layout of the individual rooms began. We all had our separate groups, and got to work on the room we had chosen. I was in one of the largest rooms, the (old) storage room. We got to lift student desks and rearrange them in a rectangle, and then work on creating a fake conveyor belt out of tin foil. The worst part was getting the fake walls made of tarp hung up and stable. The best part was getting to know the people in my room, and the happiness when I was recognized as someone who doesn't get creeped out, rather, I just join in and play along. (But the question is: was I actually playing?)
I also was invited to an event on campus, Harry Potter Weekend, where we got to participate in various Potter related activities. There was wand-making, where we used a wood stick and a bunch of art supplies to create our own wand, (we were supposed to only get 1 stick, but I got away with 3) there was Wizard Chess, where the people in charge took forever and a day to make a decision (we won by the way) and then there was Harry Potter Jeopardy. 6 teams of 2 people went through round 1. My team started in the negatives, but then worked our way back up, and after bidding 2/3 of what we had, made it to first place. Then the top 3 teams split into 6 individual contestants to compete for the prize. The funniest thing was, each team had a strong player, and a bit of a tag along Potter fan. I had a heart rate of about 240 as we were playing the game. Katie and Rachel, two girls I had never met until that night, really gave me a hard battle. If I remember correctly, our 3 scores before Final Jeopardy were : 8200-Katie 6400-Me and 8600-Rachel. I just know I was in last of the top 3. The category: Potions. My bet: 4000. My final score: 10400. The winning score: 10400. I was so relieved, and my heart finally dropped out of my throat. So I won a light-up wand. Then there was a raffle, and I won a Tales of Beedle the Bard book. It was a great night, with great people. I was happy to know I wasn't alone in my fanaticism.
Then it was back to the basement to do more work. That construction was an adventure. That lasted the entirety of the weekend, from 1-10 Friday, 12-10 Saturday, and 11-7 Sunday, 7 being the time of judgement for safety and scare-ity. We passed the safety, but lacked loads in scariness. So an hour, and a few extra actors later, we had our act ramped up a ton. We felt gooooood about our room. We even got applause from a very (how to put this nicely) picky... coordinator.
Monday came, I stayed up until 4 am talking about very deep subjects. It felt really good to get back into the philosophical mindset again. I really miss it from the Seminar School. The downside is, 4 am is cruel to the early riser. I was woken at 7 to go to breakfast with friends, and then got 2 hours of sleep upon returning, before I had class. I went to Calc 3, where I'm calculating the volume under oddly shaped functions, and bounded by odd shapes on the x,y plane. Apparently it's some "big deal" for later. And I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, and my mouth closed (yawn) the entire time. Afterwards, I needed to do laundry, so I fell asleep for 2 hours instead. I think I made the right choice, as I felt much better after I woke up to go to English. English 102 is primarily about analysis for my class. This week, we are analyzing Photography. Composition and Subject matter are the main points we look for. Balance of light, colors, patterns, and also the intent of the photographer as they took the photo. So we got to get into the feet of the photographers, and take pictures around campus on a sort of independent scavenger hunt, taking pictures of things such as: a pattern of squares, an insect/animal, Fall season, motion, 2 triangles in the same frame, a path leading to the distance... It was quite fun really. Of course, we have to pick our 3 favorites and send the Professor a paragraph explaining why (in analytical terms of course) we chose those 3. So it's not all fun and games. Computer Science was boring as ever, we learned about Arrays and how to use them, as well as how to use loops to make them useful. The next thing I did was skip SCI 110. I needed to get ready for the Basement, and that class is useless. So with a light heart, I speedwalked back to my dorm to get changed. I also got to avoid the socially awkward fact that somebody in my class knows I'm avoiding somebody else in that class.
So I got changed, grabbed my snacks and my water, and walked down to the basement. Everything was pretty much set up, and I got my makeup put on as the poor throat-slash victim. I was advised to shave my neck before getting liquid latex put on the next night. (Seriously that stuff hurts when peeled off neck hair.) So the makeup was done, and I had no idea how much pain I was in for when I was done that evening.
So the basement opened up at 7, and the scaring was boring. No one was really impressed by any of us. We continued until 9:30 when we had our 7 minute break. After the break, things got good. People were screaming, we changed a few parts of our room, sudden bangs got people worked up, and I even got a couple screams out of people myself. It was a great time. The quotes that came out of that room were priceless as well. The line finished at about 11:30, and we got to work fixing the messed up parts of our room. We had no more foil to fix the conveyor belt, so that was put off for Tuesday. Then I peeled off my throat wound, felt like crying as I massaged my sore neck, and went to bed. No shower, I was too tired. I hope my bed didn't get too bloody, I did change out of my blood soaked clothes first.
I also was invited to an event on campus, Harry Potter Weekend, where we got to participate in various Potter related activities. There was wand-making, where we used a wood stick and a bunch of art supplies to create our own wand, (we were supposed to only get 1 stick, but I got away with 3) there was Wizard Chess, where the people in charge took forever and a day to make a decision (we won by the way) and then there was Harry Potter Jeopardy. 6 teams of 2 people went through round 1. My team started in the negatives, but then worked our way back up, and after bidding 2/3 of what we had, made it to first place. Then the top 3 teams split into 6 individual contestants to compete for the prize. The funniest thing was, each team had a strong player, and a bit of a tag along Potter fan. I had a heart rate of about 240 as we were playing the game. Katie and Rachel, two girls I had never met until that night, really gave me a hard battle. If I remember correctly, our 3 scores before Final Jeopardy were : 8200-Katie 6400-Me and 8600-Rachel. I just know I was in last of the top 3. The category: Potions. My bet: 4000. My final score: 10400. The winning score: 10400. I was so relieved, and my heart finally dropped out of my throat. So I won a light-up wand. Then there was a raffle, and I won a Tales of Beedle the Bard book. It was a great night, with great people. I was happy to know I wasn't alone in my fanaticism.
Then it was back to the basement to do more work. That construction was an adventure. That lasted the entirety of the weekend, from 1-10 Friday, 12-10 Saturday, and 11-7 Sunday, 7 being the time of judgement for safety and scare-ity. We passed the safety, but lacked loads in scariness. So an hour, and a few extra actors later, we had our act ramped up a ton. We felt gooooood about our room. We even got applause from a very (how to put this nicely) picky... coordinator.
Monday came, I stayed up until 4 am talking about very deep subjects. It felt really good to get back into the philosophical mindset again. I really miss it from the Seminar School. The downside is, 4 am is cruel to the early riser. I was woken at 7 to go to breakfast with friends, and then got 2 hours of sleep upon returning, before I had class. I went to Calc 3, where I'm calculating the volume under oddly shaped functions, and bounded by odd shapes on the x,y plane. Apparently it's some "big deal" for later. And I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, and my mouth closed (yawn) the entire time. Afterwards, I needed to do laundry, so I fell asleep for 2 hours instead. I think I made the right choice, as I felt much better after I woke up to go to English. English 102 is primarily about analysis for my class. This week, we are analyzing Photography. Composition and Subject matter are the main points we look for. Balance of light, colors, patterns, and also the intent of the photographer as they took the photo. So we got to get into the feet of the photographers, and take pictures around campus on a sort of independent scavenger hunt, taking pictures of things such as: a pattern of squares, an insect/animal, Fall season, motion, 2 triangles in the same frame, a path leading to the distance... It was quite fun really. Of course, we have to pick our 3 favorites and send the Professor a paragraph explaining why (in analytical terms of course) we chose those 3. So it's not all fun and games. Computer Science was boring as ever, we learned about Arrays and how to use them, as well as how to use loops to make them useful. The next thing I did was skip SCI 110. I needed to get ready for the Basement, and that class is useless. So with a light heart, I speedwalked back to my dorm to get changed. I also got to avoid the socially awkward fact that somebody in my class knows I'm avoiding somebody else in that class.
So I got changed, grabbed my snacks and my water, and walked down to the basement. Everything was pretty much set up, and I got my makeup put on as the poor throat-slash victim. I was advised to shave my neck before getting liquid latex put on the next night. (Seriously that stuff hurts when peeled off neck hair.) So the makeup was done, and I had no idea how much pain I was in for when I was done that evening.So the basement opened up at 7, and the scaring was boring. No one was really impressed by any of us. We continued until 9:30 when we had our 7 minute break. After the break, things got good. People were screaming, we changed a few parts of our room, sudden bangs got people worked up, and I even got a couple screams out of people myself. It was a great time. The quotes that came out of that room were priceless as well. The line finished at about 11:30, and we got to work fixing the messed up parts of our room. We had no more foil to fix the conveyor belt, so that was put off for Tuesday. Then I peeled off my throat wound, felt like crying as I massaged my sore neck, and went to bed. No shower, I was too tired. I hope my bed didn't get too bloody, I did change out of my blood soaked clothes first.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Ok I fail
So I said the game would be in another post. But I procrastinated, which seems to be a common theme this week, and therefore forgot most of the details. One way or another, I had an awesome time yelling myself hoarse, watching a Rebel (UNLV player) superman dive, seeing at least 2 long distance dashes to the end zone, watching a football miss the net to rocket at a crowd member about 7 feet away, rushing the field, seeing someone get paramedic attention, loving the 37-0 decimation that was our team, enjoying the deep voice that comes after I can't speak anymore, and just having fun in general with my friends. It was a good day.
Monday wasn't as great as I expected, the social barrier is up again, making new friends with people in my classes though, so that's a plus. Also watched the talent show, where at least 5 people that I know brought out the sexy while playing the part of pirates. Don't ask.
Tuesday I overslept my Calc class, so I'm behind a lesson on that, not my best move. The computer science lab was nothing but getting papers back, so I had enough time to watch Devil's Rejects with friends. Disturbing, and oddly pointless movie. Then I tried to pull an all nighter and passed out at 4 am. And woke up at 7 am. Then I played the computer until I went to eat, no bacon today, I was sad. And I went to Calc at 11, where the Professor went over part of yesterdays lesson while introducing today's material. Then began the 4.5 page essay writing. I was analyzing the movie GATTACA, and exploring its theme. I had 2 hours and 40 minutes to write 4.5 pages of college level analysis of a 1 hour and 47 minute movie. I succeeded.
Then went to CS where I did the in-class part of the midterm test, didn't have a chance at the take-home section. I might get 50% on that midterm. Fully expecting to fail that class, its a freeing feeling to expect failure, I have experience with it already.
By the way, that was 3 hours of sleep last night. I've consumed 4 bottles of Mountain dew, various flavors, and am working on bottle 5 as I type. Off to Music appreciation i go! Eyes, awaken!
Monday wasn't as great as I expected, the social barrier is up again, making new friends with people in my classes though, so that's a plus. Also watched the talent show, where at least 5 people that I know brought out the sexy while playing the part of pirates. Don't ask.
Tuesday I overslept my Calc class, so I'm behind a lesson on that, not my best move. The computer science lab was nothing but getting papers back, so I had enough time to watch Devil's Rejects with friends. Disturbing, and oddly pointless movie. Then I tried to pull an all nighter and passed out at 4 am. And woke up at 7 am. Then I played the computer until I went to eat, no bacon today, I was sad. And I went to Calc at 11, where the Professor went over part of yesterdays lesson while introducing today's material. Then began the 4.5 page essay writing. I was analyzing the movie GATTACA, and exploring its theme. I had 2 hours and 40 minutes to write 4.5 pages of college level analysis of a 1 hour and 47 minute movie. I succeeded.
Then went to CS where I did the in-class part of the midterm test, didn't have a chance at the take-home section. I might get 50% on that midterm. Fully expecting to fail that class, its a freeing feeling to expect failure, I have experience with it already.
By the way, that was 3 hours of sleep last night. I've consumed 4 bottles of Mountain dew, various flavors, and am working on bottle 5 as I type. Off to Music appreciation i go! Eyes, awaken!
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