Friday, January 28, 2011
Three in the Morning
The most brilliant plans, theories, and philosophical insights grace human minds with their presence in the sleep deprived state around three in the morning. No drugs, alcohol, or special “brain food” required; simply staying awake with friends until the wee hours of the morning (sometimes until when the sun comes up the next day) somehow gets those “think outside the box”, creative juices flowing. The end result of these sleep deprived conversations is roughly 15% practical plans and ideas, 25% philosophical and serious conversation topics, and 60% absolute silliness.
Such Three in the Morning activities include*: muting a telenovela and re-dubbing it, having a serious conversation about how kids of future generations should read Harry Potter (all at once since they’re all published, or one book a year so the anticipation builds like it was when they were first published?), making detailed and elaborate travel plans, and embarking on artistic endeavors such as a comic book.
To enhance the educational value of a Three in the Morning, consult Wikipedia and link-hop articles for several hours with the occasional detour to Google Images. (I suggest starting with deep sea creatures. There’s some crazy and fascinating stuff living down there!)
*Nope, I’m not your cliche of a party animal college student. Can you tell?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Please Don't Sit Next to Me
Fact: The longest word in the English Language is, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis except not exactly, click on the link to see why there are technically some exceptions. Silicosis for short, is an actual medical term used to describe a condition where volcanic ashes containing silicon dioxide infect a patient’s lungs and cause inflammation.
There are three things I absolutely can't stand about any given semester.
1.) Being in the crowded elevators and the awkward moments that ensue. For example: earlier this week I was in a rush and someone had just made it into the entrance and was running to the elevator as the doors were closing. Unfortunately for that girl she missed the lift but lucky for me I would be in class on time so I turn to the others in the elevator and I smirk (feeling accomplished), in fact, I’m so happy I say, "sucks for her” to which some guy responds “ I was going to hold it open for her but you were kinda in the way,” so I smile and shamefully finish my nine floors up.The awkwardness didn't stop there .... guess who sat next to me in class ...yup...and she even picked up my pen after I clumsily dropped it.
2.) The “melting pot” at this university makes for a great place to meet and mingle except when the pot is actually just one big ash tray. All I have to say to smokers is that I increase my life expectancy by 18 years by choosing NOT to smoke!
3.) Any weekday at the “Potspot” (my dorm whose actual name I won’t reveal for safety reasons) is a day for a party. Basically drinking is fair game anytime between noon and midnight, that’s right people, they aren’t even cool enough to wait until after midnight to get schwasty-faced or high. Which brings me to my great business proposal, inspired by none other then the weed wafting pot posers on my floor, who try and cover up the smell of burning nature by pouring vats of Febreeze or Lysol in and around their rooms. No matter how much they use I can still smell their leftovers, I feel that I could remedy this which is why my future is in the odor removal business. They mostly fear Dave our very laid back rent -a- cop who is actually an overgrown frat boy. I’m not sure if they have figured out that Dave has no power to arrest them and is actually only there so the dorm can put some use to the overpriced rent they charge by giving him a paycheck. Truth is the only way they can be caught is if someone calls the cops…ooo now there’s an idea.
New Semester Excitement!
I’m not being sarcastic when I title this post “New Semester Excitement!” This is the semester I’ve been most excited about! Before I ramble on about its awesomeness, I’ll get a few not so exciting things out of the way first. (Which are thankfully only range from very to mildly annoying.)
What’s not so great:
Textbooks depress me. This feeling is universal for college students. Textbooks are expensive, heavy, and the sell back price at the end of the semester is insultingly low. I could go on about my specific textbook annoyances this semester, but they basically boil down to the obscene cost they add up to.
Quiznos changed their sandwiches. Those who know me well know my love of sandwiches. I could easily eat sandwiches for lunch every day and be perfectly happy. I know all of the sandwich chains within easy walking distance of campus and frequent one so often the employees recognize me and my order; that restaurant is Quiznos. I wasn’t a fan of Quiznos before college, but it was so conveniently placed on campus that I found myself eating there a lot and now it’s one of my usual places. Sadly, this semester the unthinkable happened... they changed their sandwich (at least my usual turkey sandwich). I’ll go back sometime, but probably not as often as I used to.
Caffeine wants attention again. I’m not a coffee drinker. My caffeine intake is made up of Sweet Leaf iced tea and Frappachinos. Over the Christmas break I didn’t touch either and was fine, but I’m back on campus for a day and my body takes that as code for “make her super lethargic in the afternoon, even though today classes were only about going over the syllabus.” Evil. So, one Sweet Leaf later I’m back to my dependent state. Caffeine, like textbooks, is a fact of life for most students.
The combination of allergies and being exposed to thousands of people’s germs again. Last day of the first week was great, minus the whole trouble breathing/stuffed head/upset stomach thing. An annoying end to an otherwise great week back. Speaking of that great week...
What’s awesome:
Running into friends on campus is fun. Whether it’s a best friend or an acquaintance from that one class that one semester, it’s nice to see a friendly face on such a huge campus.
I love my job. It’s fun and I get paid. What more is there to say?
Squirrels. Everywhere! Another thing my friends know about me: I have a slight squirrel obsession. They’re adorable and whenever there’s one within sight I will almost certainly point it out, even if that means interrupting my train of thought. My squirrelly goals this semester are 1) feed a squirrel (I have been snubbed once. The rude squirrel will eat old french fries sitting outside Wendy’s, but he won’t take a bit of my granola bar for him?), and 2) see the albino squirrel on a day I have a test. I have seen the elusive and mystical creature once, but I need to see it on a test day to be able to use its powers.
My schedule rocks. I have Fridays off! Sure, my schedule is pretty tight during the week, but I’ve got a three day weekend for homework, projects, sleep, and socializing.
Upper division film classes are amazing! I took my last intro level film classes last semester, which weren’t as challenging or intense as I would have liked. Thankfully, I’m incredibly psyched for this semester! My professors all seem really into their subjects and there are some amazing projects lined up. I love how the classes are structured; it’s all about perfecting the craft and hands on work. I’ve been told by some people that I’m killing myself by taking this combination of classes in one semester, but I know I can handle it. And hey, if this semester film eats my life, so be it!