Closing In

One of my professors said in class today that we only have 3 weeks left in the semester. I have never really thought about it until now but wow…that’s not much time. It seems like I have so much to do in these last three weeks. It is amazing that my first semester freshman year is coming to a close. This new chapter of my life can almost be put a rest. I remember how nervous I was before I came here in the summer and even dating back to the spring 2008. I was nervous about a whole range of things including moving and living with a roommate, finding classrooms, dealing with the workload, and not being around friends of 14 years. You should have seen me before I went to the Freshman first program, I was a nervous wreck and I probably got a total of two hours of sleep that night. Yet as everything seems to smooth out in my life this transition did as well. I learned how to deal with not only one roommate but two. I started talking to my long term friends by downloading a video chat program called Skype. And finally it only took me around two weeks to get a full feel of this campus and I quickly learned where the buildings were how to get around.

Focus Dates...Oh Boy

It is amazing how in class the other day we were talking about how it is impossible for anyone to be over the focus date in reality. Well., I have been over twice now. I just like to eat at the dining hall. It is so hard because right next to my dorm I have a Chipotle, Boston Market, Noodles and Company, Quizinos, Subway, South Street Steaks and countless other places to grab food. My parents told me that because my education is so cheap in state here at Maryland that I could eat where ever I wanted to. So I have taken advantage of that and in the end I have been over for two focus dates. I tried to let my roommates use my meal points the other day but they got rejected because they don’t look like me on my I.D. Above all I wish I had a kitchen in my suite so that I could have the best of all three situations. I would much rather cook my own meals than eat in the dining hall or eat at all these eateries on route 1. This reminds me that I only have one week until I get to go home and cook with my dad who inspired me to cook in the first place. It is kind of interesting because he didn’t always know how to cook. His food friend Ted taught him how to cook and now my dad is passing on his abilities to me.

Wrath of the Lich King

I was so excited last Thursday because the expansion of world of warcraft came out which I had been waiting for, for over two years. I know, I know call me a nerd but this game has truly grasped me by the collar for the last few years. The thing that I love most about this game is the fact that I can play with my brother (who lives in Boston), my tennis coach (who still teaches in Baltimore) and my good friend who goes to Penn State. It is great to be able to interact with these people and not just talk with them on Facebook like many of my friends do to keep in touch with their friends. I love getting on, grouping with my brother and questing with him for hours. So last Thursday Blizzard entertainment finally released its much anticipated Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft and from what I can see it was a huge success. Initial reports show that over 5 million copies have already been sold to the over 11 million subscribers. That is almost half of the warcraft population purchasing this expansion only 5 days after the release. It is amazing that blizzard entertainment can come up with a game that has lasted this long and has intrigued the lives of millions. I hope blizzard continues to do great work in creating video games and I look forward to seeing their new Starcraft and Diablo 3.

My Roomate and His Living Style

One of my roommates has not slept for 3 days straight and is extremely cranky! Well I would guess so, your body needs sleep. I think I have only pulled an all nighter once in my life and I was a wreck the next day. He says that he has all this work to do but I tend to disagree. He has work to do but he is always on Facebook. In between classes when he has an hour or two to get a load of work done he decides to get on Facebook and talk (I guess). He does this all the way up until a TV program comes on at night that he wants to watch, then he watches TV until the time when I go to sleep. When I wake up he is still in the same spot out in the common room and when I ask him why he didn’t sleep he says he had too much work even though I am starring at his laptop and he is on Facebook once again. I don’t think he even eats anymore; I have seen him eat food twice in the last week. When I woke up this morning he was out in the common room on the phone (with I guess) his mother who he was complaining to about how he has not slept in 3 days because of all this ‘work’. I didn’t say anything but I was thinking about how much of a lie that was. His living habits are extremely unhealthy but meh, its not my life, its his own and his own body that he is ruining.

Living in a Dorm Room Close to the Equator

It is boiling in my suite right now; I don’t think I have ever been this hot when it is 40 degrees outside. For some reason my suite mates turn up the heat to 85 degrees which is insane! Not only is it an extreme waste of energy and terrible for the environment, it is the best way for us all to get sick. It is so warm in here that we think it will be warm outside and under dress while going out with the result of getting sick. And that is exactly the case, everyone in my suite is always sick for this exact reason. Most nights I sleep with my window fully open and my fan blowing on full speed. I have never been so hot at night before. I think one morning I woke up sweating, went outside my room to the thermostat and it read 91 degrees. That is just appalling…I come from a household where the temperature was always 65 degrees and it was your own job to regulate your own temperature by wearing more or less cloths. It is a lot easier to warm up by putting on more cloths than it is to cool down. When I attempt to go talk to them about it they say that they like it warm because, and I quote, “they are from Africa”. That comment kind of disturbs me because they are not from Africa. I know for a fact that they were born in PG County. The university should not trust us with a thermostat because we cannot control it and it is a extreme waste of energy, especially with my window open every night trying to cool off.

So Dark

I hate the fact that on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays when I walk back from math class it is already getting dark outside. This daylight savings time screws me up every year and I hate it. I do not need more light in the morning because I am hardly ever up to see the sun rise! I need more daylight later in the day. I hate walking to the dining hall for dinner and it being pitch black outside, it kind of gives the campus an awry feel at night. I also hate day light savings time because when it gets dark outside I find it hard to continue to do work. I like getting my work done with and out of the way during the day so that I can relax at night. It does not always work out perfectly but for the most part that is what I try to do. It makes it especially hard when it is dark by 5:30 to stick to this plan. I am sitting here at 5:05 typing this because I am tired of studying accounting terms yet I feel that I should be doing something productive. It also makes me so tired, maybe I should just go into hibernation until we regain the hour lost in March or whenever it is. If it were up to me I would get rid of day light savings in the first place so that I could enjoy more of the day and get more work done. I guess I will have to change my work habits and learn how to get more work done when it is dark outside.

Winter Break

I was just thinking about our long winter break and I realized that I need something to do to keep myself occupied. I am thinking about going back to work. Last summer I worked for a construction company working with the crew was a memorable experience. But I hear working construction during the winter is brutal, you can’t wear gloves while using most of the tools and you end up eating lunch in a car with heat blasting. I have to say it was good money though and I would not mind making another 1500$ over winter break. I also have the option of going with my friend to Deep Creak Lake for a week or two over the break. He owns a house there and is planning on taking a large crew of people there. I can only imagine how messy that house will get with six 18 year old guys living there for a week. Would be a crazy place to have a party though, its right next to the lake and we could even throw a party out on his boat one night. That would be super fun but I might get tired of being around the guys after a week. Its still open for discussion but I know I need to find something to do over that 5 week period or else I will get terribly bored. Yet again it is a while away, I have Thanksgiving to look forward to even before I start to think about winter break and oh yeah a little thing called final exams in between that I need to focus on.

We Did It!

I will always remember where I was at eleven o’clock on November 4th when our country named its first black president. This is something that I never thought would have happened or certainly not for a long time. President Elect Obama came into our homes and won over the hearts of many Americans over the last two years and now he is the president elect of the United States of America. This is monumental for our country and now we can say to any child that he can truly do anything he desires in life. Barack Obama has inspired millions of people and shown us that no goal is out of reach. I cannot wait until January 20th when Obama is sworn into office and begins to fix the shit hole that the republicans have left us in. In my opinion he needs to first and foremost fix the economy and lower the unemployment numbers. Secondly he needs to end the war in Iraq responsibly. He has said he wants to take troops out of Iraq and send them to Afghanistan to eliminate the head of Al Quada, Osoma Bin Ladin. He is the head of this terrorist organization and I do not understand why we were not always fighting in Afghanistan, it makes no sense to me. Thirdly Obama needs to fix healthcare and implement some sort of universal insurance for everyone. Those should be his top priorities and he needs to take advantage of having control of congress on his side.

On The Eve Of......

I lasted so long without getting sick but it has finally hit me. All of my roommates have been sick for almost a month and I have resisted getting sick by taking a number of different vitamins and anti-bodies but I have finally given in. I started to feel the sore throat last Friday morning and only got worse throughout the weekend. Now it has fully hit me; cough, congestion and I don’t know how else to explain it but my whole body just feels tired. At the moment I am eating soup and watching the pre-election polls as well as analysis’s on CNN. From what I hear 1/3 of Americans have already voted from early polls but the lines will still be extremely long tomorrow. I hope people do not leave the polls just because of the long lines. People should clear their schedules tomorrow and even skip work if they have to because this is an historic election. I wonder if John McCain or Barack Obama will get any sleep tonight awaiting tomorrow, I know I wouldn’t if I was in their situation. And what does the losing candidate do after tomorrow; it sure will be hard for him to go back to ‘normal’ life after this dog fight of a campaign for presidency. For John McCain I think this is the last time he will ever consider running for president if he does not win where as I think Obama has many chances in the future if this is not his time now. Whatever happens it will be extremely interesting.

Cooking

I have to say that the one thing that I miss the most while at college is not being able to cook. I love to cook and it is one of my favorite hobbies. The other weekend I went home and cooked a piece of flank steak, fried some potatoes and prepared a nice house salad. It was so much fun. My dad first taught me to cook when I was ten years old and I have loved cooking with him ever since. Yet I hate cleaning! That is the great thing about cooking with my father is that he is my sue chef and cleans up after me. For a long time I wanted to go into culinary arts until one summer when my parents got me cooking lessons from a professional chef and I realized how much prep work goes into cooking dinner for dozens of people every night and not even being able to enjoy the food you cook. From that moment I decided that I would only cook as a hobby for my own pleasure and the pleasure of friends of family. I cannot wait until I get a kitchen in an apartment. I am so jealous of my brother because he just moved into an apartment in Boston and he gets to cook all the time. Also cooking for yourself and not eating out (e.g. the dining hall) is much healthier for you. I love eating balanced meals that I prepare myself and will continue to do so.

Thanksgiving and Beyond

I cannot wait for Thanksgiving, not only to eat great food but to see my high school friends who I have not seen for four months. I am planning on throwing a thanksgiving party at my house for my friends. It will be great to catch up with them and will be a great preview for winter break. Winter break will be amazing, I just realized the other day that we have five weeks off. That is quite a jump from what I am used to. In high school we only had 2 weeks off for winter break. I was thinking that maybe I should take an online class during those five weeks and get a few credits under my belt. Tyler was telling me the other day how hard the online classes are which gave me second thoughts. I am not sure how well I would learn without having a physical teacher or professor in front of me. I have learned that I am an extremely visual learner and I am not sure how well I would do at listening to a lecture and not ‘seeing’ the lecture. I guess it is worth a shot. Either way I will probably take another class over the summer to get a few credits at the Towson University. I want to keep ahead of the credit curve so that my options are open come junior or senior year if I want to do a work project for the Business School.

Electoral College

I really wish that I could have voted in a swing state of this upcoming election. Voting in Maryland is a give away to the Democrats. As one of my friends said the other day “even if Brad Pitt ran for the democratic office he would still win Maryland. It is very true that Maryland is an extremely blue state along with New York and California but I have to keep telling myself that my vote still does count even when I vote in Maryland. I sometimes wonder how different it would be if we used the popular vote and not the electoral college to determine our president. There have been a few times where the popular vote did not result in that president winning the presidency. That seems strange to me, that you can get the majority of the vote yet you do not win. This is prominent in the 2000 Bush Gore election. Gore won the popular vote yet because of a miscount in Florida the delegates voted for Bush and Bush won the presidency. I wonder what it would take to reform the system to go by the popular vote and not by the electoral college. Some say that it would push candidates to campaign in strictly cities with a high density of voters. I think that we need to push to get rid of the electoral college and implement the popular vote.

From Last to First

I was so glad that the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series because as I have stated before, I hate the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays lead off this year with change. They first changed their uniforms from lime green to dark blue and changed their names from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the Tampa Bay Rays. This leads me to my next point which is that the Orioles are getting new uniforms next season! Maybe this will change our luck and maybe the Orioles can follow in the Rays footsteps of last to first in one season. Yet I highly doubt this because in reality it takes more than just a new set of uniforms to change around the abilities of a team. The Rays reformatted their entire pitching staff along with new hitting prospects who turned out to be magnificent. The funny thing is that the entire Rays team’s salary was just over that of a single Yankees player. Just goes to show that money cannot buy everything in life. Yet this Rays team will probably sell most of their players over the upcoming years because now all of the major league baseball has seen their talent and will pay much higher salaries for these once underrated players. Who knows, maybe the Orioles will pick up a few of these Tampa Bay Rays, we sure have enough money for them, its just a question of whether or not our idiot owner is willing to put some cash aside for them.