back when we were young

2008 Election Prediction: 10/29/08

2008-10-29T11:21:00.002-05:00

Here is what I see happeneing on November 4. Just my prediction and it will probably change every few days until the election.

Needed to Win: 270
Total Obama: 283
Total McCain: 255

Map via CNN's Electoral Map Calculator

Sub-leasing Marie's House this Summer

2007-05-30T00:02:00.000-05:00

i'm glad you are moving in because 1. it gives me extra money, i hope. and 2. jessica is going insane there alone
*pause*
and 3. you're cool...

Thoughts on New Orleans

2007-05-28T22:01:00.000-05:00

French Quarter
Okay, well, the French Quarter is cool because it's the French Quarter. That's about all it has going for it. Other than that, it's a 12x7 block section of New Orleans that is full of buildings that are falling apart and haven't gotten a coat of paint for what looks like 25 years. The streets are really narrow so it's kind of hard to appreciate the architecture because you can't get a good view of it. However, there are a lot of cool things in the French Quarter so I guess that's enough to keep people coming back.

Hotel
We started out staying in the Holiday Inn - French Quarter. It was kind of crappy. The room was nothing like we expected and neither was the location. We had a courtyard (read: big cement block that had six hotel room doors leading to it with a lovely view of a taller building's wall) but our door didn't lock. The elevators were roughly the size of my closet and we waited 19 minutes to get an elevator we could fit in to checkout. We left a day early and went to the Embassy Suites, which is where my dad is staying the rest of the week for work. Not in the French Quarter but much nicer.

Food
If there is one thing New Orleans has going for it, it's food! Great shrimp and crawfish (which I had never had before). Also ate enough Beignets from this place to last me at least three life times.

Delta
Never fly Delta. I will not book tickets with them again. We apparently paid $500+ per ticket to have "most likely reserved seating." After two hours and two different supervisors, we got confirmed seats.
However, our plane coming home didn't use a jet way so, when getting off the plane, we just walked down a flight of stairs right on to the runway. That was pretty cool. I kind of felt like the President (just with a smaller set of stairs and a much less impressive plane).

Bourbon Street
I'm really waiting for a news story about the bars collapsing on people. Other than that, just another street. Not too impressive but at night (I only saw it during the day), I imagine it lives up to its reputation.

Art
So many artists in New Orleans it is unbelievable! Some on Jackson Square were so good. My dad is thinking about going to get a painting sometime this week. I told him we definitely need one. I also found out about George Rodrigue. He paints the Blue Dog pictures. My favorite is Hot Dog Chili. Contest: whoever buys my that silk-screen is my new best friend for 2 years.

Other Random Stuff
* We saw the house that Tennessee Williams lived in when he wrote Streetcar Named Desire.
* Apparently, New Orleans had a big fire too. Copy cats.
* St. Louis Cathedral, the standing Catholic church in America (or something cool like that).
* The signing location of the Louisiana Purchase.
* The Mississippi River (uh, yeah).
* The Superdome, complete with it's new shiny white roof.

All-in-all
All-in-all, it was a cool trip. I'm glad I've seen New Orleans and when people talk about it, I can say I've been there. Would I go back? Probably not. If my dad's company is paying for it again, sure. Family vacation? No. Much better places to visit. Once is enough for me.

Random Stuff and Turning 20

2007-05-18T09:12:00.000-05:00

Turning 20
Today I'm 20 years old. Not really a big deal (what good is 20) but I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm sure that has some kind of meaning to me that I just don't really realize.

New Phone
My dad's phone completely died two days ago. Wouldn't even turn on. Mom said our contract was up the begining of the month so we went out and all got new phones. It's crazy how expensive it is to upgrade phones. We're all done now though and have brand new phones. I have a Black RAZR. I know, I always said I didn't want one because everybody has one. Well, I think I've figured out why everybody has one. It was the only cool phone Cingular (yes Cingular, I refuse to call it AT&T) has. The only other phone I wanted was the Samsung Blackjack but it was almost $200 and it wasn't that cool.

New iPod
Also, since my iPod died about three months ago, I got a new iPod for my birthday. I got the black 30gig. I did the refurbished thing and got both an iPod and the two-year extended warranty for the same price as a new iPod. It'll probably come while we're in Indy. Figures.

Do-It Best May Market
Leaving for Indianapolis today for the Do-It Best May Market for work. I'm there Friday-Tuesday. On Saturday night we go to the Indianapolis Speedway for an exclusive tour of the track, a garage tour, open admission to the Hall of Fame Museum, a buffet-style dinner, and a chance to meet Dario Franchitti. I don't know who he is but he sounds important in the world of racing. I know, I don't like racing either, but the speedway has always fascinated me. Apparently, Vatican City, the Roman Coliseum, the Kentucky Derby track, the entire Wimbledon campus, the Rose Bowl Stadium AND Yankee Stadium can all fit inside the Indianapolis Speedway. Sounds pretty cool to me.

New Orleans
I get back from Indy on Tuesday and our family leaves Friday to go to New Orleans. It's the first time my mom, sister and I have been there. Dad has been there once before. My dad is working down there for a week and the boss is flying our family down and the three of us will be there Friday-Monday. I'm totally stoked for this trip. We're staying in the heart of the French Quarter and only a block away from Bourbon Street. Jackson square is like three blocks away. It's going to be amazing!

Late Homework Night in the Lobby

2007-04-09T23:02:00.000-05:00

So I am up late doing homework/studying in Hillenbrand's lobby. Since I am now writing an English paper, I am on my computer and just happen to be IM'ing in the process. At mid-night, this is what transpires:

"So the Asians are leaving to get some McDonalds."
"That's nice that they told you, did you ask them to bring you back some fries?"
...
"I don't talk to those. I just overheard."

My Celebrity Look-Alikes pt.2

2007-04-02T01:00:00.000-05:00

I don't like Sen. Thompson? Apparently, I dont.

2007-03-29T23:19:00.000-05:00

From CNN.com:
"We were pleased to learn from his spokesperson that Sen. Thompson professes to be a believer," said Nima Reza, a Dobson spokeswoman. "Thompson hasn't clearly communicated his religious faith, and many evangelical Christians might find this a barrier to supporting him."

Last I checked, I hadn't given James Dobson (a semi-psycho, mind you) permission to speak for me at all! Contrary to what a lot of people think, he most certainly does not speak for all evangelical Christians.

To go along with that, why does Senator Thompson have to be an over-the-top, radical-right-ring Christian to be President? Why can't he just have morals and values and that be good enough for us? Apparently, it's not. We need some crazy fire-and-brimstone pastor as our President. I'm here to tell you that all evangelicals do not think like this and that I most certainly do not.

Jazz?

2007-03-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

For those of you that don't know, I listen to jazz (Smoothjazz.com - 128kbps from iTunes radio) when I have a lot of homework to do. I feel it keeps me from getting frustrated and I then actually complete all of my homework. A song came on just a second ago and its first line was "See that girl...she wants my stuff".

Jazz... who knew?!

Spring Is Coming!

2007-03-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

That's right, by Wednesday of this week it's supposed to be in the mid-60's! With that temperature, I think I'll be able to get over the fact that it's raining all week.

"The Riches"

2007-03-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

I will admit, I was a little excited that I would be able to watch The Riches premier since I was going to be home on Spring Break. This show is TERRIBLE!! There is nothing here to grasp on to except a plot line that doesn't fit together. The show was advertised to be about a family who was experiencing a little bad luck that moved into a millionaire's home and pretended to be them.

Fast forward to the premier. All of a sudden, the show has Minnie Driver as a heroine addict, a son who's not sure if he is gay or not, a man trying to convince the wife to leave her husband and, last but certainly not least, some guy hunting the family for money.

This was painful to watch, which was why I didn't watch the full hour-and-fifteen-minutes. I kept switching the channel and coming back. I give the show three months. It can't touch Dirt with a ten-foot pole, and, even though I love Dirt, that's saying something!

Stupid Old Spice Test

2007-03-05T23:46:00.000-06:00

I'm a sucker for stupid online tests. This one fits the bill perfectly. I got a 52% which makes me a "Manfume-Wearing Sissy Man." I would normally be offended but the test was entertaining. Take the test yourself and see what you get. http://www.experienceoldspice.com/

Humor on Yahoo! News

2007-03-04T23:00:00.000-06:00

So I just found this website and it's pretty hilarious. My two favorite headlines:

Bush: I'll Bring Troops Home on JetBlue

and

Supreme Court Gives Gore's Oscar to Bush

Check out Humor on Yahoo! News for more.

Purdue's Handheld Chemical Thingy

2007-02-28T17:10:00.000-06:00

So I read a lot of blogs and today, I happened to stumble across this article in one of the blogs I read every day. The article is here.

From engadget.com:

"Purdue researchers craft handheld chemical analyzer, likens Tricorder

Hot on the heels of being crowned the most prolific pirating university in the land, Purdue is donning its halo once again by kicking out yet another invention that will surely make the world a better place to reside. The Mini 10 prototype is a handheld chemical analyzer that its creators have likened to Star Trek's "Tricorder," and while the internal abilities should genuinely impress, we're handing out a round of golf claps for the uber-glitzy motif it's got going on. The sophisticated sensing system measures just 13.5- x 8.5- x 7.5-inches and weighs in at 22-pounds, which is around 30 times less than conventional mass spectrometers, and aside from its ability to be completely portable via battery power, it still sports the same sniffing capabilities as its mammoth-sized siblings. In order to cram such potent chemical sensing abilities into such a small package, a miniature mass spectrometer is "combined with a technique called desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)," and can display the chemical composition of materials in a "matter of minutes without harming the samples." Interestingly enough, the prototype has already analyzed garb, food, and actual cocaine, and while we're not quite sure when you'll be able to snatch one of these up to "check in" on your mischievous teen, a couple of Indiana-based firms are apparently already looking into commercialization options."

Sad (dead?) iPod

2007-02-20T22:50:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, I turn on my iPod to get the sad iPod icon (literally, that's what it's called). This wasn't good. After some (and by some, I mean like an hour-and-a-half) hardcore Google searchage, I get the iPod to actually turn on. Okay, good step, right? Apparently not. Now my iPod will start but it has no songs on it. My playlists are still there but nothing is in them and there is nothing listed in the music folder.

I had restored it while trying to fix it so all the songs being gone isn't that weird. I hook it up to my computer and everything just completely stops working. My iPod doesn't do anything and my computer completely locks up. Not good. Restart the computer and plug in the iPod, same thing. Try this three more times over two days and same result.

This is a little bit of a hassle and dilemma for me. I'm taking it into the Apple store whenever the next time I can is (which will probably not be until after Spring Break sometime, or summer) and they are probably going to tell me that my hard drive died and they'll have to replace it. Now, since my iPod is fairly old (it's the version right before the color screens), I'm guessing it's going to be expensive to fix. Probably expensive enough to where it would make more sense just to buy a new iPod, which I really don't want to do either. Anybody have any suggestions?

Advertising & The Super Bowl

2007-02-06T18:27:00.000-06:00

This year's Super Bowl (Go Colts!) was the second most watched Super Bowl in history. About 140 million people watched the Colts stomp all over the Bears. A 30-second ad this year cost about $2.6 million. That translates into about $54/person. I wonder if everybody that watched the Super Bowl went out and bought $54 worth of Doritos or Snickers. I doubt it.

For those wondering, my top three commercials of the Super Bowl were:
1. Rock Paper Scissors
2. Live The Flavor
3. Dalmatian (Spot Wink)

The Dalmatian spot reminded me of the Budweiser Donkey commercial a few years ago (::sidebar:: I met the Budweiser Donkey at Sea World a few years ago. I have pictures if you don't believe me).

Anyway, the Sierra Mist commercials really creeped me out. So did the Sprint one (connectile dysfunction). Also, if you're not going to make a new, original commercial, don't advertise on the Super Bowl. It's a waste of money.

The Cold War

2007-01-31T21:56:00.000-06:00

Roomate: What do you know about the cold war?
Me: Well, I know that a lot of people think that the cuban missile crisis was it but it was actually a lot longer. The whole thing lasted like 5 or 6 years. (my answer was much longer but for the purposes of this post, that is what I said)
*a few minutes later after I got curious and looked it up on wikipedia*
Me: okay, so apparently the cold war lasted like 50 years.
Roomate: hmm... who knew?!

Interesting stuff on Wikipedia about it.

Two Days Later

2007-01-30T22:04:00.000-06:00

Two days later, I still have two items on that to-do list and 55 emails in my purdue inbox. I haven't checked my Yahoo mail for three days so I don't even want to know what that looks like.

On top of all of this , my backspace key is not exactly working either. It works, if I press down really, really hard. Now I have to take my laptop to Chicago to get fixed! Grrr!

Sunday Catch-Up

2007-01-28T11:58:00.001-06:00

50 e-mails and eight major items on my to-do list. Will it ever end?

On My Way to San Diego

2007-01-16T12:13:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm heading home and then the entire family is on its way to San Diego, California. This will be the second time I've been to California and the first in San Diego. We'll be there for five days, Wednesday-Sunday. So far, we're planning on checking out the Old Town Trolley, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Hollywood, and the USS Midway. We're staying in the Marriot Hotel & Marina (picture), which is right on San Diego Bay.

The forecast currently says it will be in mid-60's the entire week, with a high of 65 degrees on Friday. The timing couldn't be more perfect as we had our first snowfall just yesterday.

Making fun of West Laf - But It's So True!

2007-01-06T22:06:00.000-06:00

How do you know you're attending a game at Ross-Ade Stadium?

You hear: "There's a 1997 John Deere 8300 in the parking lot with the lights on" announced over the PA system.

State's I've Visited

2007-01-01T03:18:00.000-06:00

create your own visited states map

I don't have an accent... this is how people are SUPPOSED to talk

2006-12-18T23:07:00.000-06:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

My Family...

2006-10-08T13:42:00.000-05:00

Maggie: Nice purse Grandpa (referring to my grandpa carrying Grandma's purse since she was in the bathroom).
Grandpa: Yeah, does it make me look like a faggot?
Maggie: *Stops walking and a long, long pause* My grandpa just used the word faggot...

That's Quotable

2006-09-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

"Flying by myself in a tiny aircraft over lonely woods, I have no one to blame if I make a bad judgment, and that laws of physics won't listen to my excuses. What would my life be like if I always had to take full responsibility?"
-Mark Olson
The Way I See It #128 on my Starbucks cup

Chicago's Living Wage Law

2006-09-14T00:05:00.000-05:00

Chicago City Council upholds living wage law veto

All I can say is THANK GOD! Maybe I'll elaborate later.

September 11, 2001 - 5 Years Ago Today

2006-09-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

America awoke to an ordinary morning.
For the last time.

Five years ago today.
Buildings fell.
Heroes rose.

The world changed.
Forever.

Midwest Weather

2006-09-01T10:54:00.000-05:00

I left my umbrella in my room today becuse it was not supposed to rain. Well, I walk out of the PSUB office in the union to find it raining. Not terrible rain, but enough that I didn't want to walk all the way to Windsor to eat lunch because I would have pretty much been soaked by then. I waited a minute or two and it was still raining so I decided to just eat lunch in the union. So I go down to the Union Market, get some General Tso Chicken and rice, a drink and sit down. Halfway through my lunch I look up at the window and it's not raining anymore. So, I just wasted $4.25 on lunch today when I still have 10 meal swipes left (with only 2 dinners, 2 lunches, and 2 breakfasts left to use them and, let's face it, I will never make it to breakfast).

I hate the midwest weather!

Anybody want something from On-The-Go?

First Day of Class

2006-08-21T06:42:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I decided to get up insanely early this morning. I don't have class until 8:30 and here it is, 7:37 and I am completely ready to go.

Today I start off with Business Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Calc. I'm done by 1:20 so that's really nice.

Maybe since I'm up so early I'll go to breakfast. Yep, I'm going to breakfast. Good luck with classes everyone!

Cirque Du Soleil's Corteo

2006-08-06T14:35:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon I went to see Corteo and all I can say is WOW! It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. It's so much different watching it in person than on TV. On TV you see one thing happening and it's always very cool. Live, there are three or four things happening and they're all very cool. All of the acts during the show are just amazing. My favorites were easily the Bouncing Beds, Juggling (not like normal juggling... extreme juggling that you have to see to get) and Teatro Intimo.

My dad and I had seats in row G (9 rows from the front) on the left side. Well, with the Cirque Club I can also get better seats (the ones that were reserved for whatever reason but didn't get used that particular show). We got upgraded to row D center. Perfect seats.

The actors/acrobats in the show are the best of the best. Some of the stuff they did was just absolutely mind-blowing. A guy did back flips across the entire stage without stopping or hesitating at all (and the stage must have been at least 150 feet long, if not more).

You really don't notice on TV how perfect the music matches what they are doing on stage. If someone is landing a big jump or something, the music is right there exactly when he or she lands. It was amazing. The drummer dude really got into it too. Sometimes it was fun just to watch him play.

If you ever get a chance to see a Cirque Du Soleil show, go see it. It is worth the ticket price!

Oh the Parents...

2006-08-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

Dad: Maggie, Jamie, Lindsay and Amy are going to see a movie.
Mom: What movie?
Dad: Josh Turner.
Mom: No, Josh Turner is the country singer I like; it's Joe Turner.
Me: Actually, both of you, it's John Tucker.
-pause-
Dad: Yeah, they're going to see that.

Toilets, Cuts and Spray Paint

2006-07-26T18:45:00.000-05:00

Today at work I had one of those moments where you think "Man, this could only happen to me."

I was carrying a broken toilet (sitting on the shelf so it was never used) to the dumpster. I tossed it in there and noticed a hissing sound coming from the dumpster. I thought that was a little weird so I started walking towards the front to see what it was. After a few steps I noticed I was cut in two places from the toilet. I had a cut under my index finger that was bleeding pretty profusely and a cut about half-way up my forearm that was bleeding but not badly. I notice this and am like, "Wow, I cut myself on that damn toilet." Well, in this process I don't stop walking and turn around to go back into the store to wash my cut (I had forgotten all about the hissing noise at this point) and when I tilt my head up from looking at my cut, a can of spray paint sprays me all over the side of my face. Yep, found the hissing noise. A can of spray paint had a little hole and the pressure must have been forcing the paint out... and onto my face.

Today was just one of those days...

Washington Gay Marriage Ruling

2006-07-26T17:49:00.000-05:00

Just today, the Washington Supreme Court upheld a 1998 law that bans gay-marriage by a vote of 5-4. Now, I'm reading this article and here is a quote from one of the four dissenting judges, Justice Mary Fairhurst:

"Would giving same-sex couples the same right that opposite-sex couples enjoy injure the state’s interest in procreation and healthy child rearing?"

Okay, first, the child rearing issue. Could gay parents be good parents. Yes. I have seen that. So I understand where she is coming from on that. I don't think I could support it, but I can at least see where she is coming from.

However, would giving same-sex couples the right to marry hurt a state's procreation... umm, YES! No matter what you say to me, the fact doesn't change that same-sex couples cannot have children of their own. Some would argue that gay and lesbian persons wouldn't have kids anyway, whether they are married or not. Agreed, they most likely would not. However, I don't think unmarried same-sex couples should have children either. I believe that children should be birthed to married parents. It is too difficult for a single parent to raise a child, both for the parent and the child.

Many people tell me that we should leave this up to the states to decide. Well, go ahead. That is fine with me. Why? Because forty-three states already have a statute to limit marriage to same-sex couples. Twenty of those states have passed constitutional amendments. I believe I heard somewhere that the state constitutional ban is ratified with something like 71% of the vote in every state that has put it up for a vote. Many people think we should leave it to the states because people will vote it down. Well, when people say that to me I just simply smile and say, "I agree, let's have all the states vote on it."

Sources:
New York Times article
Status of same-sex marriage

Update: Good map showing what the laws are in each state here.

Rock On

2006-07-21T19:09:00.000-05:00

My rock star name is Sir Styler. Kinnda lame. Try it yourself and let me know if yours is better (I hope it is).

Rock Star Name Generator

What is the Internet?

2006-07-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

Trying to explain what the Internet is to somebody is very difficult. However, I think one of our Congressmen hit the nail on the head.

"The internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's, It's a series of tubes."
-Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)

Who knew they even had the Internet in Alaska?!

Watch The Daily Show Clip

Holiday World

2006-07-14T20:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally time for 2006 family vacation 3 of 3. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon for Holiday World (Santa Claus Land) and we're getting back Monday night. I'm really excited because they have three very, very famous roller coasters there. The water park is supposed to be very cool too.

We're going to the park on Monday. We're getting to the hotel in Owensboro (KY) Saturday night. We're visiting with a lot of family (my dad's side) on Sunday. I haven't seen this family for a very long time so it's going to be great to see them again.

Best part of the whole trip... Holiday World has free pop in the whole park. Yeah, I just walk-up and get a Pepsi. I think that is extremely cool.

That's Quotable

2006-07-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

"I have never felt that anything really mattered but the satisfaction of knowing that you stood for the things in which you believed and had done the very best you could."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
November 8, 1944

That's Quotable

2006-07-04T21:43:00.000-05:00

"We in America are blessed with lives of tremendous liberty: the freedom to govern ourselves and elect our leaders; the freedom to own property; the freedom to educate our children, our boys and our girls; and of course the freedom to think as we please and to worship as we wish. America embodies these liberties but America does not own these liberties. We stand for ideals that are greater than ourselves and we go into the world not to plunder but to protect, not to subjugate but to liberate, not as masters of others but as servants of freedom."
-Secretary Condoleezza Rice
June 14, 2006

Florida Pics

2006-06-15T20:38:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to unpacking my camera and computer and got my pictures from Florida online.

Photobucket Album - Florida Summer 2006

Hope you enjoy. I'm off to unpack the rest of my crap.

Florida Here I Come

2006-06-05T15:55:00.000-05:00

In just 24 hours I will be... well, I will be sitting in O'Hare's B Terminal waiting for our flight to start boarding. But in about 28 hours, I will be in the pool in beautiful Bonita Springs, FL. I'll be down there for a week swimming in the pool, laying on the beach or eating breakfast on the lanai watching the dolphins in Bonita Bay.

Random Thoughts

2006-06-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

Amy has left to work at her camp for the summer. I miss her.

Melanie went to visit Marie and I also miss her. We should still go to the Art museum and spend the night on her boat. I've been looking forward to that.

Entourage is a very good show. If anybody has the first or second seasons and would like to let me borrow them I would appreciate it.

My cousin is now officially married. The wedding and seeing all the family was very cool. It was very cool to also be in the wedding and get to walk my Aunt out after the ceremony.

Three days from right now I will be sitting in beautiful Bonita Springs, Florida. I'll be gone a week, Tuesday to Tuesday, and am really looking forward to it.

I went to buy new shoes today because the ones I've had for 3 years are falling apart (literally) but no store had my size.

I'm like 90% sure I'm going to San Diego in January. Hopefully the teachers will be as cool about it as they were when I went to Orlando last January.

We were in Houston on Sunday and so we went to church with my grandparents. We figured we should go to the largest church in the country since it was only 15 minutes away and on the way to the airport. They meet in the old Houston Rockets basketball arena. Yeah, it's big.

Went to Marren's softball game a few nights ago. I have some pictures for her too.

I got a digital camera for my birthday. I used it to take pictures of Marren at her softball game.

My grandparents are on their way back up from Florida now. They'll get back about the time our plane takes off to go down to their condo.

My cousin graduates high school on the 6th (I believe). She's going to college on a softball scholarship. She's worked really hard for it and talked with a lot of colleges so it's awesome that everything finally worked out.

Too Early!

2006-05-25T22:51:00.000-05:00

My alarm clock will be going off at 3am tomorrow so I can be out the door by 4:30am (when it's that early in the morning I am going to need lots of snooze button time). Get to O'Hare and fly out at 7am, land in Houston at 9:45am.

I'm really looking forward to this trip. My cousin getting married is cool and being in the wedding is just awesome. I get to see my grandparents which is nice because they have decided to live in Texas year-round now because of my grandpa's knees and my grandma's mini-stroke this winter. Plus, I get to be in Texas and anybody who knows me can tell you that I love that state. Also, anyone who knows me knows that 3am is just too early for me to possibly wake up.

Weathermen and their Words

2006-04-30T20:01:00.000-05:00

So, I like to know weird and random facts. Most people who know me know this (if you don't believe me, ask me the difference between a Evacuation A or Evacuation B at Disneyworld). Anyway, when the weather report is given on TV I always thought the weatherman just said that it looks like it's going to be breezy so he called it breezy. Anyway, it turns out that wind and cloud cover have official terms.

For example, if there were going to be sustained winds of 23mph I would call it windy (windy is 20-30mph).

If there is a 30% PoP (probability of precipitation) there is a chance of rain. There will also be scattered rain.

45% cloud cover? It's Partly Cloudy/Sunny

So yeah, you might think I'm a dork but I find this information fascinating. If you are weird like me and think it's interesting, check this out.

Finals Week

2006-04-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

Finals start tomorrow. Yeah... Should I be studying now? Yeah... but I'm not. I'm on here. Oh well. I'm not very happy with my final schedule but there is nothing I can do about that so I will jut deal with it.

Mon- Math 154 3:20pm
Tues- Earth & Atmospheric Science 3:20pm
Wed- Entrepreneurship 8am (Ouch!) and History 3:20pm
Fri- Theatre 1pm

What am I happy about? I am very excited that most of my finals start after noon (except for that Entrepreneurship). That makes me happy. And I have a tour for the Visitor Information Center on Thursday but I enjoy those. Anyway, Here's to Finals!

Air Drums Are Cool, Dude

2006-04-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the lobby of my Residence Hall right now finishing up a project (I'm in the lobby to get rid of distractions, mainly the TV). Anyway, there is this rather large kid a few chairs in front of me that is listening to music on his laptop. Okay, cool. Most people are doing homework but it's cool if you want to come down here and listen to some music (and I am positive he's not doing homework, I can see his screen and it just switches between AIM and iTunes).

So far normal, right. Right. Well, the thing is he keeps on drumming in thin air. Now we all play air guitar and stuff, but not in public. This is something you do in the privacy of your room with the door locked when your roomate is in class (not that I've ever done it). He drums for like 20 or 30 seconds, looks around and stops.

Now, doing this once I can maybe see. But he's done it 6 times! OMG! So perfect! He just started again!

Oh well, I needed a break from my project and I thought you would like to know this.

Wallyball

2006-04-22T16:14:00.000-05:00

I am still sore from playing wallyball last night. But that's okay because it was AMAZING!

I'm a Funny Guy with the Alcohol!

2006-04-19T22:30:00.000-05:00

Mike: "We should go visit them."
Me: "That would be a GREAT idea!"
Mike: "Yeah. Wait, are you serious?"
Me: "No... I'm drunk."

Fountains are Back On! Hell Yeah!

2006-04-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

So who else is FREAKIN' EXCITED that ALL of the fountains are BACK ON!!! I know that I AM!!! I have been waiting for this ALL WINTER and now it FINALLY FEELS LIKE SPRING!

Today Is A Beautiful Day

2006-04-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Today was just amazing. First, it's 78 outside and I wore a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. Can't remember the last time I got to do that. I had a lot of downtime today so I got to lay on the engineering lawn for a little over an hour with the sun beaming down and my ipod turned up. Oh, and did anyone notice the Engineering Fountain is taped off? You know what that means... in a few days we will have a fountain again! I have been waiting all winter for the fountains to be turned back on. Memorial and the Lion Fountain were turned on a few weeks ago but their small and don't really count.

Tonight I get to hang out with my VIC people and then go to a BGR meeting so tonight should pretty much be amazing.

I Always Thought I Looked Like Jude Law

2006-04-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

So, there is this site called MyHeritage.com where you upload a picture of yourself, it analyzies your face and then it tells you famous people it thinks you look like. Whats even BETTER is that it doesn't look at gender, it gives you both guy and girl celebrities you look like! It's amazing! My top matches for each?

resulted in:

Jude Law and Emma Watson.

Other celebrities I look like:
Kirsten Dunst
Joshua Jackson
Julie Andrews
Heath Ledger
Jennifer Aniston

I Want Free Software

2006-04-03T10:11:00.000-05:00

So, this company is giving away free software if enough people mention it in their blog (well, something like 250) and I really want this piece of softwre. It's AppZapper. For those of you that know Apple computers, they don't have typical uninstall, you just drag the icon to the trash bin and it's uninstalled. Well, this takes care of all those little pieces of the program that remain behind. So there, I did my part. Now, I want my free software!

Last Night...

2006-04-01T15:09:00.000-06:00

Last night was a night full of firsts. When I got to Alpha Xi Delta, I got a mug shot taken, fingerprinted and handcuffed. Then, I got on a bus and went to a dance. The dance was awesome. I got caressed and danced on by Purdue Pete (yeah, you're jealous). Then I had my first experience at Harrison Grille.

Last night was AWESOME!

Why Studying is Bad for Me

2006-03-27T18:15:00.000-06:00

I have decided that studying is bad for me and I can no longer participate in this activity. Why you ask? Well, you see, when I study I eat. A lot. Like today, I was studying for my History exam for about two hours and I ate many snack packs, some trail mix, some poptarts, and a bowl of apple jacks. Why? I don't know. I'm not hungry, but this is what studying does to me. Therefore, in order to stay the healthy and physically fit human being I am, I am no longer allowing myself to study.

The Way I See It

2006-03-21T11:43:00.000-06:00

Actually, the way Tiana sees it. This is from my Starbucks cup today:

They told you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What they failed to tell you is that it is best seen with the eyes closed. What you look like isn’t important. What is important is who you are inside and the choices you are making in your life.
-- Tiana Tozer
1992 Paralympic silver and 1996 bronze medalist, women’s wheelchair basketball.

Quote

2006-03-02T17:23:00.000-06:00

I was studying for my math and was a little stressed (not as much as last time, but back to the point) and I remembered something I heard while sitting in my room Monday night after our fire drill that made me kinnda happy.

Mark: Garrett (our RA), what's going on?
Garrett: Fire drill... did ya' miss it?

The Problem With Global Warming

2006-03-02T13:36:00.000-06:00

All of you that know me know that I am not a tree-hugging environmentalist. That being said, am I a little skeptical of global warming? Yes. But do I believe it's happening? Yes.

However, I'm not that worried and it seems like many other people feel the same way I do. I think this blog entry pretty much explains why.

The OC Quotes

2006-02-13T21:27:00.000-06:00

As you all know, I love The O.C. We are re-watching season 1 so Brandon and Shannon can catch up on what is going on. In the last two episodes we watched, there were two fo my favorite quotes from the show (I had always remembered them but watching them again made me want to post them). Both of these are from the first season.

Caleb's Hot Girlfriend: "You must think it's weird, me being with an older guy."
-pause- Ryan: "I live in a pool house."

Summer: "Come on, get off the bed. Be a gentleman."
Seth: "Chilvalry's dead, sugar."

Today at lunch...

2006-02-01T22:53:00.000-06:00

Today at lunch, I was waiting in line for the fruit bowl and Melanie, myself, and Marie were very out of it at this point. So then the line moves forward, as lines tend to do, and I grab my tray to push it along the counter. Well, I grabbed the guys tray behind me and only realized it because it ran into my tray. At which point, I let go and grabbed my tray and continued moving forward. The guy was cool about it and seemed to find it funny and just laughed, but it was still embarrassing.

Florida Pictures

2006-02-01T22:48:00.000-06:00

Here are the pictures from our trip to Florida this January. Commentary coming soon. You don't get to get it before the Grandparents do.

http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/11972/thumbnails
(Click on a photo to make it larger, see the caption or leave comments.)

Wow, It's Been A Long Time

2006-01-31T13:48:00.000-06:00

Just got back from 5 days in Florida. I'll write about that later. I also have pictures but I have 90-something so I have to figure out how to get them on the internet.

Colts Lose, Friends Console

2006-01-15T16:04:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, the Colts lost today. Roller coaster of excitement and disappointment for the entire second half. Anyway, they did end up losing and so now there is no SuperBowl for the Colts. Some of my good friends send me some nice consoling messages via IM and I sincerely appreciate it and I would like to share some of my good friends' comments with you:

Marren: tough break man colts in 2007!!

Melanie: how are you holding up?

Then, we have Amy:
Amy: haha, colts lost!

Those Crazy Math Teachers

2006-01-09T13:07:00.000-06:00

First day of classes today... going well so far. My entrepreneurship teacher seems pretty cool. It's his first time ever teaching and he's "just stealing everything [his] wife does because I don't know what I'm doing and she's got it down and it's workin' for her."

My math class is 200 kids and that's not cool but the teacher is frickin' awesome! He's hilarious! I've never had a math teacher that's been that much fun before. Anyway, I still have my speech class later today but then I'm done.

Math Teacher Quotes:

"I know 11:30 is early for some of you buy you have to evaluate your drinking habits... ya bunch of drunks."

"We still have some kids lost in LILY from last semester who couldn't find their room. What drunk designed LILY anyway? You think you're in the right hallway but by the time you realize you aren't it's too late and you just have to throw your stuff down and spend the night because you can't make it back before dark."

"...and the book publishers, the rotten bastards, put out a new version every three years and we're forced to use it because they stop printing the old one so everytime the rotten bastards come out with a new book we have to change, those rotten bastards."

Who Goes to Florida in the Middle of Winter?

2006-01-05T18:01:00.000-06:00

Oh wait, I do! My dad is going down to Orlando for some Winter Expo MarketPlace thing for work and his boss is flying our entire family down there for five days. So, January 25-29 (yes, the coldest time of the year in the midwest) I will be sitting in sunny (well, more sunny than here) Orlando, going to theme parks, and enjoying the coolness of this awesome hotel.

I'm getting picked up from school Tuesday night, we're getting picked up and flying out Wednesday morning and I'll be getting back home on Sunday night and get back at Purdue early Monday morning, just about an hour or so before my 8:30am class.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T11:33:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas everybody!

And like I said, my favorite traditional Christmas song
O Holy Night

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

#1 Favorite Christmas Song

2005-12-24T19:30:00.000-06:00

Strange Way to Save the World by 4Him

Sure he must have been surprised
At where this road had taken him
'Cause never in a million lives
Would he had dreamed of Bethlehem
And standing at the manger
He saw with his own eyes
The message from the angel come to life
And Joseph said...

(CHORUS)
Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade
Why Him, with all the rulers in the world
Why here inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she's just an ordinary girl
Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world

To think of how it could have been
If Jesus had come as He deserved
There would have been no Bethlehem
No lowly shepherds at His birth
But Joseph knew the reason
Love had to reach so far
And as he held the Savior in his arms
He must have thought...

(CHORUS)

Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say
But this is such a strange way to save the world
...this is such a strange way to save the world...Saving the World

#2 Favorite Christmas Song

2005-12-23T13:19:00.000-06:00

Christmas is All in the Heart by Steven Curtis Chapman

In a one bedroom apartment on the humble side of town
There stands a little Christmas tree, looks a lot like Charlie Brown’s,
And underneath there’s one little gift for him and one little gift for her.

After six months on the new job, they’re still barely getting by,
So in the way of decorations, there’s nothing there to catch your eye;
But both of them would be the first to say:
We’re together, we’re gonna have the merriest Christmas anyway.

CHORUS:
‘Cause Christmas is all in the heart, that’s where the feeling starts,
And like a fire inside, it touches every part,
‘Cause Christmas is all in the heart,
And even if no white snow falls, that’s all right (okay) because
The joy can still be found, wherever you are,
‘Cause Christmas is all in the heart.

Two little blonde haired boys with big dreams, tried to sleep but sleep wouldn’t come;
We’d be tearing into presents, long before the break of dawn,
With Mom and Dad and cameras making sure we’d never forget that day.

Now I’m the one who’s taking pictures, in the middle of the night,
Of my own blonde headed dreamers that just can’t wait until daylight,
And in my sleeps eyes the spark still glows;
Well I guess there’s just some things a kid never outgrows.

CHORUS

No, it’s not in the snow that may or may not fall,
And it’s not in the gifts around the tree;
It’s in the love heaven gave, the night our Savior came,
And that same love can still be found wherever you are,
‘Cause Christmas is all in the heart -
It’s all in the heart.

#3 Favorite Christmas Song

2005-12-22T12:44:00.000-06:00

Winter Wonderland by Avalon

Sleigh Bells ring are ya' listenin
In the lane snow is glistenin'
A beautiful sight we're happy tonight
Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Gone away is the blue bird
Here to stay is the new bird
He sings a love song
As we go along
Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say "are you married?"
We'll say "No man,
But you can do the job when you're in town!"

Later on we'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unfraid the plans that we've made
Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

(instrumental)

(Oh Yea!)
Hey come let's go out into the snow
To a Winter Wonderland
Hats, Gloves, Boots, Ya'll
Better make sure you've got em' all
Please take my persuasion
'Cause outside everybody's havin' fun!

In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he's a circus clown
We'll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman
Until the other children come around
(Until the alligators knock him down)
knock him down

Over the ground there's a mantle of white
A heaven of diamonds shine down through the night
Our hearts will be thrillin'
In spite of a chillin'
Let's go walkin' in the snow
In this wonderland (Come on everybody)
Let's gooooooooo...!

We're walkin in a Winter Wonderland

(Merry Christmas everbody!)

My Gift To You

2005-12-21T15:30:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas music. Anyone who knows me knows that. So, as my gift to you this Christmas season, I have decided to list my three favorite Christmas songs for the next three days. And on Christmas morning, I'll put up my favorite traditional Christmas song. Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas everyone!

Oh Mamma!

2005-12-21T11:56:00.000-06:00

This morning, my mom offered to give me money to go get a coat I want for Christmas. I said that me buying my presents kind of takes away the surprise and also, what if Santa gets it for me. Begin:

Mom: "Well, if you want Santa to get it for you you better be Pacific." (trying to say specific)
Me: "Santa is buying us a house in California?!"
Pause.
Mom: "Just go buy your coat."

I'm Home - Yay Sister!

2005-12-14T17:31:00.000-06:00

Maggie: "Dad, you hit me in the fetus!"
Me: "I think you mean ovaries."
Dad: "Unless you want to tell me something..."

Final #3 of 3 - Psychology

2005-12-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

Well, even though I was worried most about this final, I feel most confident about this final. I think I did very well. It was weird taking a final in the track & field building though with just 1,000 folding chairs with desks.

Oh yeah, and this one TA, instead of using the microphone to make announcements she just yelled them out. Anyone more than 10 rows in front of her couldn't hear her so she had to repeat her announcements at least 5 times. And since they kept finding problems on the pink exam (thank God I had blue) she did this like 4 times during the exam. So instead of bothering us for a minute with the microphone she interrupted us for five minutes by walking up and down the aisle yelling directions. That seemed just ridiculous but I guess some people aren't as smart as I. :-)

Final #2 of 3 - Forestry and Natural Resources

2005-12-14T12:13:00.000-06:00

So my Env. Conservation final was at 8am this morning. Yeah, that sucked. Also, I get in there and on the screen it says find the seat that has your name attached to it. Keep in mind this is a 400-seat lecture hall and I got there at like 7:58am so I was walking around looking at empty seats and finally found my label and took my exam. It wasn't too bad. I didn't do as well as I have done on past exams but I don't think I did awful either.

Final #1 of 3 - Math

2005-12-13T15:22:00.000-06:00

I took my math final today. Yeah... it owned me. It owned me good. I completely guessed on six of the questions. Now, you may be thinking educated guess. Well, let's take that idea a different direction like, "Sam had no idea and randomly just filled in a bubble." There we go, now you're on the right track. Keep in mind too, that six questions is 1/6 of the final, an entire letter grade! Actually, now that I think about it, two! Well, here's to hoping for a C.

Tonight I'm going over to Tri Delta to study some Environmental Conservation so it doesn't have the satisfaction of owning me like the math final did. Then I'm up late studying for Psychology. I've pretty much just accepted the fact that math will have to share its ownership of me with psychology. Somewhere in there I'll pack because I'm leaving right after my Psych final on Wed. (which ends at 3:00). I'll do it when my eyes are starting to go cross-eyed from looking at the notebook for so long. Yay finals week!

Goodbye English

2005-12-02T15:25:00.000-06:00

Guess who just went to the last English class of his Freshman year of college?!

Wait... A... Second!

2005-11-30T07:25:00.000-06:00

When I left for my math class (over an hour ago) it was 28º. It is now 27º. How can that happen? Can that even happen?!

I Just Want Life to be Simple

2005-11-29T19:20:00.000-06:00

WARNING: This is a rant by me similar to the October rant of Eliminating Waste.

You have been warned.

Today, I got a message on Purdue's voicemail. I haven't used Purdue's voicemail forever (hello, I have a cell phone) so I don't remember how anything works except how to log in since I do it whenever I see our little message light blinking.

Well, I log in, and it tells me to press 7 to play my messages. Um... why else would I call my voicemail?! Why can't they just play my messages for me. And after the message is done playing, it takes forever for the lady to come on and tell me what buttons to press (like to delete, keep as new, etc.). It just seems like it could be a little easier.

Useful Information for your Everyday Life

2005-11-28T13:55:00.000-06:00

Click Here: 18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

Someone Needs to Fix This

2005-11-24T01:58:00.000-06:00

http://www.findyourspot.com

Honestly, can anyone picture me living in Hampton, Virginia?

Rocky Road

2005-11-20T20:41:00.000-06:00

I got Edy's Rocky Road Ice Cream today from the Boiler Junction tonight because I have been in the mood for ice cream for a few days now. Well, this Rocky Road has marshmallows in it. I have never had Rocky Road with marshmallows in it. It was a new and exciting experience.

Get Me Away

2005-11-18T15:56:00.000-06:00

I don't know if it's because it's the end of the week and it's been a busy week or other stuff, but I really just want to go to sleep now and not wake up until Monday morning. This way, I can't be annoyed or anything at all. That would be wonderful.

Thanksgiving Dinner (a week early!)

2005-11-17T15:50:00.000-06:00

THANKSGIVING DINNER IN THE DINING HALLS TONIGHT!!!!

I'm not SUCH a Nerd! coughLindaycough

2005-11-16T17:21:00.000-06:00

Overall, you scored as follows:

75% scored higher (more nerdy), and
25% scored lower (less nerdy).

You Get to Help Me Get an A in Psychology!

2005-11-14T14:48:00.000-06:00

Here's the deal. I got a C on my last Psychology exam. Now, with the two exams, I have a B in the class. I have an A in attendance (10% of grade) though so it's now up to a high B. The final exam is not cumulative and is worth the same as all the other exams (30%). I can get my last exam grade up from a C to a B if I do some extra credit. So, here's how it works and here is where you come in:

The experiment is to write a one-page paper on a person on television/in a movie with a psychological disorder. Now, all the rest is up to me and there's no use telling you what I have to do since nobody knows the difference between an Axis I and Axis II disorder, let alone has even heard those terms. I need you to tell me what movies/tv shows you watch where you think one of the characters has a psychological disorder (something you would go to a shrink for).

Any help is so greatly appreciated! I need to write ten of these so any input is greatly appreciated!

The Weekend

2005-11-11T15:46:00.000-06:00

This weekend, I am going with Ferrini and her family (as well as Mike, Eric, and Amanda) to DePauw University to go to the Monon Bell Classic Saturday afternoon. Then, Sunday we're in Indy just hanging out downtown. Downtown Indy is quite possibly one of my favorite downtowns I have ever been to. This weekend is going to be awesome!

Fun Friday

2005-11-11T12:43:00.000-06:00

Here's the drill. iPod. Random. First 15 songs. Could be embarrassing.

California - Atherton
Thank You - Simple Plan
HELP! - I am Sam Soundtrack (Howie Day)
Across the Universe - I am Sam Soundtrack (Rufus Wainright)
Low - Coldplay
My Doorbell - The White Stripes
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Disappearing World - David Gray
Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith
Assessment - The Beta Band
Golden Slumbers - I am Sam Soundtrack (Ben Folds)
Come On Back to Me - Third Day
Move your Feet - Junior Senior
Love of the Loveless - The Eels
A Lifetime - Better than Ezra

Does this give a little insight into my life? I don't think 15 is quite enough, but, then again, I only have 226 songs.

Toby

2005-11-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I was talking to my mom on the phone and, all of a sudden, she starts yelling at the cat. He was chewing some of my dad's papers and, while he's always liked paper, he has been chewing an awful lot lately. My mom thinks he has a vitamin deficiency. I think she might be overexaggerating but who knows.

Gotta Love Psych 120!

2005-11-10T22:49:00.000-06:00

Today, at the end of my psychology class, our professor said to get out a half-sheet of paper and we were going to do an experiment. She said, "If you could do one thing, with absolute, complete, 100% assurance you would never get caught or that nobody would ever know you did anything, what would you do?" So, we write our things down and pass them to the middle where the T.A.s collect them. There were a lot of expectable ones like "Rob a bank." but then things got a little more interesting.

"Fire my Computer Science 290 professor." (lots of applauding)

"Kill Paris Hilton. What a slut." (lots of laughter)

"Have sex with the T.A." (laughter and not knowing if it was to the guy or girl... and who wrote it)

Then, Dr. Donnelley picks one up and looks at it for a few seconds. "I'm not going to read that one." Well, of course, the entire class starts yelling to read it. She thinks about it for a second and then says, "Well, I won't read it but maybe he can read it." She hands the piece of paper to a guy in the first row and puts the microphone in his face. After a few seconds, he replies, "I'm not reading that."

By this time, the entire class is screaming for someone to read it. So I, sitting in the second row, tell Dr. Donnelley that I will read it. So, she hands me the paper and puts the mic in my face. I read the paper to myself first and here's what I read:

"After speaking to my boss, I would grab my dick and
slap her in the face and say fuck you get back to work."

Well, I'm a little confused now but the entire class is waiting to hear it so I start talking into the microphone:

"After speaking to my boss, I would grab my... male part and
slap her in the face and say f you get back to work."

Everybody starts laughing hysterically. I was a little embarrassed. It was only in front of my Psychology class though. All 489 of them.

Seriously, Can You Pull Over a Bike?!

2005-11-09T13:26:00.000-06:00

Today, walking to class, I heard a screeching sound and turned around to see if there was going to be an accident. Well, all I saw was a police car in the left turning lane and a bike on the left side of it, both just sitting there. I look back maybe 20 seconds later and see the cop to the side of the road with his lights on and the bike in front of him. He then proceeds out of his car and talks to the guy on his bike.

Now, everybody is thinking "Of course cops can pull over bikers! They have to follow the same rules as cars on the roads, we learned that in Drivers Ed." Well, apparently you have never seen this sight. It is rather funny to see a cop car with flashing lights pulling over a bicycle. I should have gotten a picture on my phone but I didn't think of it.

Online Math Homework

2005-11-07T16:30:00.000-06:00

If math teachers are going to give me online homework and require it for a grade in class, make sure the piece of shit website works first!!

Back to Normal

2005-11-03T22:11:00.000-06:00

It's Thursday and I just watched The O.C. and Reunion. The world is back to normal and I can now continue with my life as planned.

Math Exam

2005-11-02T08:58:00.000-06:00

Guess who just aced the math exam? I can't remember either. Oh wait, it was ME! I got 14/15 (93%). The one problem I missed, I missed because I didn't plug the answers in and find that one didn't work. I even went through that with my teacher on Wednesday before I took the exam on one of the practice exams. I totally could have had 100% if I had remembered to just check! Oh well, I am still totally stoked with a 93!!!

YAY for Cool Teachers!

2005-11-01T17:12:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving Break, for us, starts Wednesday, November 23, so, our last day of classes is the 22nd. Well, my General Studies teacher had cancelled our class on the 22nd long ago but my Psychology class (4:30-5:45) was still a go... until today. Dr. Donnelly cancelled class on the 22nd so I officially don't have any classes on the 22nd. Meaning... I can go home anytime after 3:30 on Monday, the 21st and get an entire extra day of break. I am excited about that and you should be too.

Halloween

2005-10-31T12:10:00.000-06:00

Today is Halloween ( I say that like you don't know it already). As expected, some people on campus were dressed up. Unfortunately, none of my teachers were. I was looking forward to Dr. DeVault being a Stephen's Kangaroo Rat or California Gnatcathcer, but, alas, he was not.

There is a dancing ninja walking around campus (complete with his own boom box). Also, the awesome guy that works the swipe-in machine for breakfast was dressed in drag. This guy is like 60 too so it was freakin' awesome!

Last night, Me, Garrett, Ross, and Mike decorated our floor for Halloween. I'll take some pictures tonight (with Mike's digital camera) and put them on here. It turned out awesome and the hallway decorating contest is our bitch. We even have a 4' inflatable mummy. Honestly, there's no competition. Tonight, the trick-or-treaters are coming around. We are all ready with the candy and the little sign to hang on our door.

I think we're getting a scary movie for tonight but that is still being worked out.

Eliminating Waste

2005-10-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

WARNING: This is a rant and will most likely be long.

Today, while sitting in the School of Management Advising Office, I realize how much waste there is. Mostly, wasting of my time and helping me become angry. Now, I know that it is only an advising office but they should still make some accommodations for students since that is who they are there to serve. I came up with a list of the things I found wrong with the Management Advising Office while I was waiting for my appointment. Don't get me wrong, I love my advisor and I do not think this problem extends to advisors. All these problems are front-end problems and the actual advisors aren't even involved, so don't think I am taking a shot at them.

1) I call the appointment line and get told different things every time. One time, I was told I need to come in to make an appointment even though it was something as simple as the classes I picked for Spring semester weren't offered, so I needed to put different ones in there. The man wouldn't give me a reason why, he just said that that's how it's done. I called the next day and a lady told me I could make the appointment over the phone with no problem.

2) The front desk is in total chaos if there is more than one person at it. When I got there, I was the fifth person in "line." Nobody knew where the lines were going since there was nothing to tell us. The receptionist was completely overwhelmed and just wanted to pull her hair out. THERE WERE ONLY FIVE PEOPLE THERE! IT SHOULDN'T BE HARD!

3) I had to check-in twice. First, I have to check-in with the receptionist. She marks that I am here. Then I have to go to a computer to check-in... even though I just checked in with the receptionist (more on the computer in #4). Wouldn't one be enough? To top it off, advisors don't ask the receptionist anything, they just come out and look for you. I sincerely doubt they check the computer either, but maybe they do before they leave their office (which, again, I doubt because advisors come out all the time looking for people who aren't there).

4) Here's when I just about went insane. The computer check-in. First off, I have to type in my name, even though they knew I was supposed to be there two weeks ago and could have put my name up on the screen to just click. Then, they make me type in my Social Security Number. This is linked to my name in Purdue's system, shouldn't the computer be able to figure it out. Then, I select my advisor. My advisor is, once again, linked to me in Krannert's system (and I even told them which advisor I wanted to meet with over the phone and they made an appointment for that advisor. Then, to top it off, it asks me what the purpose of this appointment is. Once again, I TOLD THEM THAT ON THE PHONE. All of this should already be in the computer, waiting for me to just tell the computer I am there. At my orthodontist, I make the appointment over the phone and give them all my information and, when I go in, my name is on the screen, I click it, and it says Thank You! Please have a seat. The doctor will be with you shortly. There is no reason I should have to give all that information twice.

5) Lastly, the advising office CLOSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CLASS DAY! From 12-1pm, the advising desk is closed and an appointment cannot be made. Now, considering Krannert is the most inconvenient building on campus (especially from the dorms) and that students would never be near it unless they have a class in there or are at the Union for something, they should be open while students are sure to be on campus. This way, since we have to go in to make certain appointments, we can go in any time between classes, when it's convenient for us. I understand that people need to eat lunch. That's fine. Can't we at least get a student aide or somebody in there to simply write down appointments. I can't imagine it's that hard (after all, we give all the information to the computer before our appointment anyway).

I understand what people have been telling me about the MAO now. I don't blame people for not wanting to deal with them. I hate dealing with the front desk but I have to. I would love to see what they are doing while they're asking me these questions on the phone. The just plain shouldn't, since I will just have to tell them later. To me, that's a waste of my time. Advisors don't want their time wasted and neither do the students. We have homework, papers, projects, online homework, and classes to deal with, and I think that is enough without having to find time to hike over to Krannert for them to waste our time.

Quality English Class

2005-10-24T15:02:00.000-05:00

"Mah-new-plew-ate"

This is my English teacher. That is what is wrong with this country, we hire teachers who can't even say words correctly. (He was trying to say manipulate.)

Colts Game

2005-10-18T21:53:00.000-05:00

This may surprise some of you who know me and know that I'm not the biggest football fan, but the Colts game this Monday was AWESOME!!! It was such an exciting game and so much fun to be in the crowd yelling and screaming (my voice sounds really weird) and high-fiving the drunk people who were really nice. They aren't like the obnoxious drunks at baseball games. They were all really nice drunks. It was so much fun. By the second half, I was even jumping out of my seat and yelling when we got interceptions, touchdowns, long runs and the like. So amazing. And good news too, the Colts will be on Monday Night Football two more times this season. I see a Superbowl!

Monday Night Football

2005-10-16T23:15:00.000-05:00

Everybody should watch Monday Night Football this Monday (Oct. 17) with Colts vs. Rams because I am totally going to be there!

Amazing Library!

2005-10-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'll write about it later but the Humanities Library (in Stewart Center) has these amazing Self Check-Out systems. Oh my God, it was AMAZING!!! You have no idea how amazed I was at this machine. I'll tell you about it later, hopefully in person because it's better that way with the hand motions and all. But no, seriously, there are no words for this machine's greatness. It even prints out a little receipt to tell you when your books are due back. I'm so glad I live in this day and age.

Are We Ready?

2005-10-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

I don't know if we've quite recovered from the last time they invaded, but FURBY is BACK! And... they're even better. That's right, as if they weren't creepy enough already, Hasbro has made them even more FURBYlike. Now, I admit that I enjoyed Furbys when they first came out... until I got one. It was the single most annoying toy I ever had but I am still amazed by the FURBY.

The new FURBY, though, has some new features. First of all, it has facial expressions. When it's sad, it will change to a sad face. This is all thanks to Emo-tronics. Yeah, we should all thank them. This new FURBY is also better at English than the old one was. No more "ah-may koh koh" and us trying to figure out what the hell that meant! (Just FYI, it meant "Pet me more.") To get its attention, just say "Hey Furby!" and it will wake up and start talking with you. Oh yeah, and it's bigger than the old one too so it's not as easy to stuff in a drawer when you want to sleep and it's still talking.

The best thing, though, is that it's so much easier to get the Furby to sleep than it used to be. Say "Hey Furby! Go to sleep." or, if it doesn't want to, you can just turn it upside down and switch it to off. That is definetely something that used to be missing... an off switch.

Well, here we go again. Do you remember trying to get the Furby our 6th grade Christmas? It was impossible. I guess it's kind of like a blast from the past.

Oh yeah, FURBYs come from FURBY Island. They're going to put the whole story out soon. I kind of want to read it but I'm not sure why.

Indiana Lawmakers Don't Fail Me Now

2005-10-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

A forklift going full-speed through the Wetherill/Stanley Coulter plaza during a passing period with its forks at knee level has to be against some kind of public safety law. Do I even need to explain why?

Funny Line

2005-10-12T07:03:00.000-05:00

From an MTV "MADE" Commercial:

Trainer: "Focus!"
Girl: "I'm trying but I think my cat is peeing in my closet."