So what happened dude?

Yeah, what happened?  I say I will blog more consistently and then don't blog the next day.  Hmmm...I wonder what happened?  Could it be I was playing video games?  No, I gave those up.  Was I hangout out with my awesome girlfriend?  I wish, but alas that was not the reason either.  Could it be that you were working really really REALLY hard all night on some work?  

Yeah, it was that last one.  I have spent 15 of the last 24 hours working on one class, between finishing a lab, going to class and going to lab.  Yeah, it has been an intense last 24 hours.  I also rediscovered coffee.  YAY!

Aside from that, I feel I did really well on the test I took yesterday (in a different class).  I felt really well prepared and there was a question on something I had asked about during the review session the night before, so that made me feel good.

I had lunch with The All-Nighter this afternoon, which was great cause I hadn't seen her in a long time.  Finally we said we just had to sit down and do lunch.  So we did and it was fun.  Gosh don't I tell the best stories ever?  We talked a lot about my major and what I liked about it and how she felt she had been doing the same thing forever.  She has, but she is really knowledgeable about that part of microbiology.  I think she is just jealous that I get to go on field trips.

Today my thesis advisor and I also began clearing some space away for me in the lab so I can get ready to start analyzing samples.  It is beginning!

Nose to the grind stone

So today I studied a lot for my test tomorrow and I am about to do a reading response for another class and go to bed.  I am feeling pretty good about this test tomorrow, the professor was really stressing that we should study things that he covered that weren't on the practice tests, but I think I have most of the material under my belt.  As long as I think through all the problems and don't over think them I feel I should be fine.

In other news I am running out of socks.  I have one pair left and they are my super duper thick wool ones.  Normally I would do laundry, but I don't know when!  Hopefully I will find time tomorrow and all will be well.

Chicken fingers and mayo are not good breakfast foods.  FYI to all you out there.

Ok, now to do this and get a good night's sleep.

Getting my priorities in order

So this past week has been disgusting!  Never have I been so unable to harness my incredible ability to do work. 

I have come to the realization that the leisure and fun I had over spring break is clearly unsustainable.  As we all know from the media, doing things sustainable is GOOD and doing things unsustainable is BAD.  As such I will have to drop some things from my life in order to (three words that should be one) increase productivity and the amount of time spent on what is (should) be really important to me.  

As such, my video game playing: gone.  Outta here!  It is a luxury for those who have the commodity to pay for it; namely time.  I can no longer justify the weekly payments that this activity has asked and that I have been willing to pay in full.  Now, I will probably keep with the midnight study break tradition, but the casual playing: indefinitely shelved.

Blog reading: must be cut down.  Though I love reading them my studies over the past week has shown me how much time I actually spend reading them.  Though I will try to keep up and current, I know many will have to be left as a weekend activity.

Web comics: already reduced.  Sale going on now!  I forget the last time I read a web comic.  Clearly this is where I found some of the video game time.  Fun thing about a web comic is though: if you fall behind all you need to do is go to the page and catch up.  This seems like a great Saturday morning activity and it should become only such.

Blogging: must be upped!  Just because I am reducing my time with other things doesn't mean I have to reduce everything!  I do have to round out the fantasy garage and keep this blog more up to date.  Things get boring sometimes in my life, but I should be able to find somethings to write about.  It just starts to flow when you sit down at the keyboard, the trouble is typing those first few lines to prime the system.

Work: ugh, exponential increase.  This is one of those things that one would like to do, but is really hard when you don't have a gun to your head.  Metaphorically, of course.  I can't do my current work schedule and add stuff to it without running out of hours in the day.  Mostly I am looking at the long term papers I have due this month and my thesis work that is going to start demanding my time unconditionally, relentlessly, and with a passion.

Sleep: eh, whatever.  This week was terrible for me sleep wise.  Coming off of 2 weeks of 8-10 hour nights to *BAM!* less than 7 hours every night, sometimes...a couple of times less than 6?  WHAT IS THAT?!  But, I am a university student.  This is what we do, but I am going to try and get to bed...around...before...not too late after...one-ish.  From now on (an watch me eat those words).

Ok, now to go watch the first Formula 1 race of the season!

Greetings from the mangosteen lab

Hi.

I know it's been a long time and I should probably have a top notch excuse as to why I have been so lax with my blogging as of late...but I don't. So deal with it.

This week is the start of the 2009 Formula 1 season. The race is Sunday in the land of Oz. It should be exciting considering the new regulations that have been put in place regarding rear wing and diffuser design and the implementation of the new KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) which gives drivers a 6 second boost of 82hp per lap. It is a boost button like in the video games! I can't wait, it should increase passing A LOT! I am super excited to see how the new cars handle the tracks.

In other news I bought a 4 pound cake for my major's mixer this week to encourage more people to show up. Last time there was a pretty low turnout. My plans for increased turnout might be hampered however by the fact that it will rain tomorrow and tomorrow night. looks like my roommates and I are going to be stuck with a ton of cake to eat...what a shame.

The Old Friend is currently working furiously away at some sociology statistics program. She seems to be having tons of fun, and by tons of fun I mean she hasn't had a nervous break down, and by nervous break down I mean made a scene in this computer lab, and by make a scene I mean yell at the computer because the program is apparently not that easy to use and requires intense concentration. I'll tell more about her adventures in stata later.

I have been using coffee this week as a hardcore crutch in the mornings and I don't like it! I am therefore blaming coffee for the headaches I have at the end of the day.

Movie Review: Eagle Eye

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  Not gonna lie.  It had action and suspense, the kind I haven't felt since...well this afternoon when I saw Knowing, but to keep it more with the genre, since Live Free or Die Hard.

The story centers around Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) as he is drawn into this conspiracy run through the country's electrical grid, cell phones, traffic cameras, etc.  He is called upon by a almost random female voice to perform tasks as she wills them to an end that...well to find that out you should see the movie.

This is an edge of your seat thriller in the same vein as the Die Hard series.  Fast paced, but with a story to keep it going.  LaBeouf is great as the 20-something lead, showing that he does have some depth beyond the teenager that he has played in Transformers and Indiana Jones.

I would highly recommend this movie for people who enjoy action movies.  One thing I found especially interesting about this film that is appearing more and more in popular culture is the single divorced parent.  The female lead (played by Michelle Monaghan) is a divorcee single mother.  This is common, as 50% (or more?) marriages end in divorce, but the rate at which it is being Incorporated into movies these days is remarkable!  And it isn't just movies.  I saw a commercial in which it is alluded that the father figure is single...I am guessing via divorce.  So just thought I would mention that since I found it interesting, but...yeah...action-suspence...good movie.

As Galactica sails into the sunset

Well kids, it's been a fun ride, but all good things must come to an end eventually.  Tonight was the series finale of Battlestar Galactica.  BSG has been one of the best shows I have ever watched.  I haven't been this saddened by the passing of show since..well, since I finished reading Watership Down, and that wasn't even a show!  It was fitting and gave a real sense of completeness.  A fan could ask nothing more from a show.  

But of course the real problem now becomes what do I do with my Friday nights?!  Clearly I will think of something.  For me though this has become a tradition: every Friday this season I have gone over to my friend The K/T Boundary's house and watched it with her and her husband, but now we won't have BSG!  So we will figure out something, it is just too much fun hanging out with them.

In other news being back at university has been super lame!  I forget the last time I was this unmotivated to do work, but I have made some progress: I have done some work on a lab that is due in 2 weeks, I have some papers set aside to read over for a paper I have due in 1 month, and I met with my thesis advisor to discuss more things for my thesis.  So I guess I have been doing some stuff.

In other news: nothing.  Life has been pretty boring.  

I ate some good chicken sausages for dinner last night.  Yay.  Go me?  But the eggplant parm I had to go with them was terrible.  Absolutely the worst thing I have ever had.  I would not have it again...unless I decided to give it a second chance.

I also saw "Knowing" with Nick Cage this afternoon with The Kart (he's back so I'm not so so alone) and it was interesting.  I would write a proper movie review, but I don't want to give away anything.  It was very interesting and worth watching.  Actually very interesting when paired with the end of BSG.  Makes one think that everything happens for a reason or something, huh?  But randomness versus determinism is for another blog post.

For a post that I didn't expect to write, this is acquiring some length.  Shall I keep going?

Oh, no Fantasy Garage today.  That is a job for Saturday Steve.  He will give you what you want.  I, however, am Friday Steve and I am shirking my responsibilities and giving them to Saturday Steve.  Sucks for you Saturday Steve.

Sorry person!

I just realized that I rejected a comment for my Friday post about the VW GTI.  Here is what it said:

ms3 10x better

I didn't mean to reject you, blogger just wasn't very specific about which post it was directed at and I was confused.

Sorry.

Back at Uni

Got back at university last night after a lovely concert Sunday afternoon.  Spent last night catching up with The Scrum, who was here even though we are still on spring break.  What ever, he just left a few minute ago so I can blast my music as much as I want.  YAY!

But I didn't come back early just to stare at the ceiling, I am here to do work.  Today I am going to start getting books and papers together as preliminary research for the papers I have due later this semester.  Also I am going to figure out when all these assignments are due.  That seems kind of important.

I will also start decorating the apartment a little with the 3 posters my brother got from last year's auto show.  Hopefully the rest of my housemates won't mind.  I am just tired of people telling us we need more decorations!  Screw you guys, maybe we like the spartan look of bare white walls.  It gives that "We are thrifty and appreciate empty space" vibe...and the "we're too friggin' lazy to do anything about this" vibe.

Fantasy Garage: GTI

Car: Volkswagen GTI

Options: Six-Speed Automatic DSG with Tiptronic

Price after options: $24, 930

So, it's Sunday.  Not Friday.  Which means...another "regular car", but don't get me wrong.  This is by far not just some ordinary car.  The VW GTI is legend as the hot-hatch of hot-hatches.

Now if someone were to ask me which hot-hatch I would've said the Mazda MazdaSpeed3, no questions asked.  And even today it was difficult to choose which one to put in the garage, but one thing changed my opinion: actually sitting in the current generation Rabbit.  My friend The Car Girl has one and it is so roomy inside that you have a clown car feeling when you get out.  The car looks smaller than it is, plus it has the functionality of a hatchback.

Did I mention that it's fast and handles great?  Oh, can't forget the one option: DSG transmission.  This transmission has become the gold standard for what a performance dual-clutch should be.  And it should since VW owns Bugatti, which also has a similar transmission.

Plus it is affordable, proving that you don't need to spend $50K to get a performance car.

Money left in "Fantasy Garage Account": $151, 219

The Xbox is back

There is a god.

Movie Review: House of Sand and Fog

God was this depressing.  Oh boy.  I watched this because I had never seen it, we owned it, and knew it was supposed to be good.  It was one of those movies where you know from the first few minutes that it won't end well and it is going to be incredibly depressing.  It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

The movie is about a woman who gets evicted from her house due to a mix up at the tax office and the man who buys it for his family.  She has her family coming to visit her and doesn't want them to know her life is in the shitter and he is barely able to make ends meet and need to flip the house at a profit in order to get money to pay for his son's up coming college education.

You can already tell that this isn't going to have a happy ending.  The cinematography is beautiful and the acting is superb and the movie is very well done.  It shows how simple acts of desperation can lead to even more depressing endings.

If you are looking for a "good" movie: watch this.  If you like depressing movies: you'll love this.  If you are looking for a feel good movie: run far away from this one.

The Roommate and the longest goodbye ever

So while saying goodbye to The Old Friend last night as she was in the airport terminal, I was reminded of the long goodbye I had given to The Roommate before he left for study abroad this winter.  It wasn't so much that it was a long goodbye, but that it there was never one, but many. 

This brings to mind an old philosophy I had that there was no such thing as goodbye, but only until next time.  Meaning that we never never see people again, that we will eventually meet up again, whether you are leaving for work and you say goodbye to your wife or saying goodbye to a temp on their last day of work.  I always felt that you would see that person at least one more time or that we would all meet up again someday in some sort of afterlife and that there was no true goodbye.  But the problem with this was that there was no other good way of saying goodbye than: goodbye.  So I have been forced to drop my little ideology and say goodbye to people, but I still think to my self every time I say it that it isn't really goodbye, but until next time.

And now that I'm done being sidetracked: the long goodbye.  It started with the last day of finals, when I said good bye to him as he and The Shrink went back up to his apartment to keep packing.  

That would have been it, but then he went home with The Shrink on his way back to his home.  She (The Shrink) lives the town over from me.  He was supposed to leave, but then there was a massive storm and I hiked through the snow to watch a movie and bake cookies with my friend The Cookies, which is completely unrelated, but an awesome story in and of itself.  

But he was trapped!  And he went shopping with me and The Shrink to get Christmas presents for my mom.  There I said my last goodbye to The Shrink, who I wouldn't see again before she left for the semester abroad and goodbye to The Roommate, for the second, but not last time.  We both knew it wasn't going to be the last time because I was going to visit him in a couple of weeks.

Then I went to visit and had a great time and said goodbye again.  But this turned out to not be the last time either!

He then came to visit me at university one last time before he left for his semester abroad and this is where the goodbyes got tricky.  I had a party for him (and because we were all back on campus) and he came and left quickly.  The next day The Brewmiester and I were going to visit The Baker because she was having a birthday party.  So The Roommate and I said goodbye one last time then before I left.

So, there was not just one goodbye, but many over the course of winter break until I finally didn't see him again until he comes back this spring/summer to do research at university.

Weirdest cold ever

So I have just gotten over this weird cold.  It started with some minor back ache on Sunday morning and a throat tickle.  I say tickle cause my throat wasn't really that sore and it didn't get really sore like when I have other colds.

Then Monday I had a really trippy dream, because I always have really trippy dreams when I get a cold.  But I woke up with intense lower back pain on my left side and had some runny nose issues, but by the end of the day I was right as rain and thought I had kicked the sucker.

But then Tuesday the congestion and gland swelling got worse.  

Same for Wednesday.  

Then Thursday I woke up with a real krink in the left side of my neck (which I still have a little bit of, but not so bad any more) and had a dry cough all day long.  It turns out it was a post nasal drip cough and here is how I found this out.  I had heard from a friend that you should take Musenex for a cough, because most cold related coughs are due to post nasal drip.  Of course, being me, I thought he was full of shit, but yesterday I took a Musenex during the day to help with my congestion and the cough stopped.  So then last night I took another to go to bed and slept like a babe.  So: Musenex for post nasal drip coughs!

But what made this cold so weird to me was the body aches and post nasal drip cough.  Most of my colds are sinus related, but this one seems to have been more body cold than just head cold.

Weird stuff.

Slow couple of days

So much to blog about that I am separating it into separate posts to make up for the lack of posts over the last few days.

First: my brother's wisdom teeth.  All 5 are out and he is doing just fine.  I think he was more worried about what was going to happen than things actually happening.  When the doctor came out to talk to us after the surgery was over (same doc who took out my wisdom teeth) he told us (my mother and I) that when he went in to start the nurses were all talking about how cute I was.  Apparently I won them all over.  It was a pleasant ego massage: middle aged women swoon over me.

When we brought him home he was out like a light and my mom and I had a nice pasta and meat sauce dinner.  Since then he has stopped wearing a scarf of ice and towels and is eating more and the swelling isn't that bad, but that is mostly due ( I think) to the fact that he is already a little chubby.  When I swelled up, you knew it because I am normally pretty slim.  Him on the other hand it isn't as noticeable.  This is all really a plus for him, since he will be able to look fine when he goes back to school next week.

Other than that, The Director and I went out to dinner last night with a teacher from high school and that was nice.  I hadn't seen either of them in a while and it was pleasant to see both of them again, even though I was still a bit sick (wait for second post).  And then The Old Friend called from the airport before leaving for the next 10 days, it was nice to hear from her since her phone had died the day before and I wanted to say goodbye (more related to this in third post) before she left.

Aside from all that it has been pretty quiet around here at home.  Oh, I got to visit a bunch of teachers from my high school.  That was nice to see them all again.  I was talking with them and just so surprised that I had graduated 3 years ago.  It seems like such a long time ago.  Oh how time flies.

Wow stick (the manual kind)

Now that I'm not at university and driving more often I get to talk about cars a whole lot more than I used to.  Starting with how much I missed driving stick.  I have gone from mediocre to competent, just by being away at university.  Now those things might seem to be exactly the same, but I assure you they are different.  Mediocre means I could do drive a manual, not good or bad, but I could do it.  Sure there were times when I would jerk the car, or the very rare occasion when I would stall, but today I was driving around in my very hilly suburb and I was pretty competent.  I didn't roll back to much on the hills, I didn't stall out, and my shifts were pretty smooth (on average).

In other news, I guess you could say I'm a little sick.  I thought I would kick this thing fast seeing as how I didn't really have that much of a sore throat two days ago and I was feeling only a little sniffle yesterday and was expecting to bounce forward today.  Not so much.  Felt worse than yesterday, pretty much all day.  I blame the change of scenery.  I always get sick when I come home from being at school.

Also, when I get sick I usually have really trippy dreams and the past two nights have been no exception.  I don't want to go into details, but Sunday night's dream was really vivid.  Last night's was too, I just don't remember it at all, but I know it happened.

Catching up on the good stuff

Like cars.  I spent most of the day reading up my two Car and Drivers that I have been neglecting and was reminded about why I subscribed to them in the first place.  Great in depth reviews of all the cars that are on the road or about to be.  But the best part about today is that I was able to get a bunch of new ideas for the ole Fantasy Garage.  I hadn't realized almost half of it was American, not that that is a bad thing, but I hadn't realized I loved big engines and muscular styling so much.  Actually, its mostly due to the fact that there are some real gems amid the coals and sand.  

So today I went with my mom to her boss's house to take care of his cats cause he's away on vacation.  Did I mention he owns a 1962-1963 Pontiac Tempest Le mans 2-door convertible?  Yeah, it is really pretty to look at.  But it is sitting underneath a bunch of crap in his garage.  I think it should be out cruising the streets.  Maybe he will be looking for someone like me to take it off his hands some time in the future?  Someone like me maybe?  Perhaps?  One can dream right?  My mother questions whether or not it would be right for me to have such a impractical car as my first, but it has a back seat and a trunk.  What more does one need?  I think it would be awesome to have, yet would set me back several thousand dollars which I don't know if I have (or will have) to part with.  Sounds like a good time to check my bank account...

Fantasy Garage: A4

Car: Audi A4

Options: Premium Plus Trim line, manual, quattro 

Price after options: $35, 850

So maybe yesterday was very busy, but here it is!  Two days late and my choice of new car for the garage is: a simple Audi A4.  My mother has wanted one of these for ever and once my brother goes to college there is now doubt in my mind that she will dump the crossover she has now and get her beloved Audi with quattro all wheel drive.

And what a model to get.  Freshly redesigned off of the same styling cues that have made the R8 and (more importantly) the A5 so drop dead gorgeous, the new A4 is a sight to see.  From its clean styling to its new LED running lights, the new A4 is divine.

I could have gone up market with it, getting the 3.2 liter V6 or the S-line's V8 (or is it a twin turbo charged V6?), but this is a car for my mom.  She doesn't need the frills, just the car.

So this one's for you mom.  You couldn't have picked a more beautiful car.  I got it in white, cause black is silly, silver is over done, and Audis just look so pretty in white.  I did cave for the very Germanic black on black interior.  

But just looking at the car, one can't help but think: god that's beautiful.

Money left in "Fantasy Garage Account": $176, 149

Smooth guitar, 20 pages, and naps after 8

I didn't eat until 6PM today.  That kinda sucked, but I was totally ok, until I stood up in the movie theater after seeing Watchmen (review pending) and was like "Whoa stood up too fast."  But I have recovered...mostly.  Now I just have a slight headache from probably not drinking enough water.  Nothing some tablets (a nod to my kiwi friends) can't fix: your life made better through chemicals.

Also: the oven cooks things?!  I know!  I thought it was just something to put a stove on top of, but it can actually cook things.  Plus, the bread doesn't turn out soggy or like a brick like when you put it in the microwave.  Truly the oven is kinda awesome.

And now I'm cutting this short to go play some Gears of War 2 with The Scrum and The Caow.

Saturday edition of Fantasy Garage tomorrow, which can only mean one thing: something mundane and boring, but it will be a tribute to my mom.  So at least she will enjoy it!

Can you guess what car I'm adding mom?

Movie Review: Aliens

So I might have watched this over the weekend/last Friday and never wrote about it.

And then I finished my midterms!  Oh wait, did I say it again?  Silly me.

But even though it has been a week since I saw this, doesn't mean it isn't any less fresh in my mind.  This movie drops the suspenseful horror of the original and amps up the special effects, action, and science fiction.  All with wonderful results, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion).

So I haven't done this in a while, I guess this is where I used to summarize the story, huh? We last left Ripley floating through space in stasis.  Turns out she floated around for like 60 years and her old bosses are less than pleased that she blew up her last ship and its cargo.  She tells them about the alien and the planet and they say "Oh, you mean the one we are Terra forming?"  People find the aliens, and now they are dead and there are tons (less than a hundred) of aliens running willie nillie over the Terra station.  She is sent with a bunch of marines to investigate and shit hits the fan in the only way they can when people go into a situation with unknown aliens.  Long story short: Ripley is still a bad ass and the aliens have got nothing on her...cause they're dead...again.

There is a lot of character growth of Ripley in this one from post-traumatic stress disorder to full fledged bad ass.  Weaver does a great job and the use of puppets instead of CGI makes everything so much more believable.  Though I am a huge whore for special effects, there are times when they are over used.

Wow, I just said that...moving on!

For those of you that liked the first, this is the same, just with guns and less suspense (sort of, it seems more forced in this sequel).  It is a fine step up from the first and keeps you engaged throughout.  The last movie I saw that I enjoyed as much as this (in the same vein of action/sci-fi) was Doom, which didn't have the acting or story that made this film really shine.

Well now that that's over

Done with Midterms!

I think I did well on Wednesday's.  It was super long; who writes 3 hour long midterms?!  But it was very "fair" in the sense that there were no surprises and it covered EVERYTHING we had done up until that point.  Aside from it being a marathon, it was fine.  

The one I took today was less awesome.  Having come straight off of the first test, I went straight to a review session for today's exam where the professor walked in with all of their lecture notes and said, "Ok, who has questions?"  Now normally I would have been studying since the night before and would have something, no matter how trivial, to ask.  But having just spent the last night studying for the marathon, I didn't have much to go on.  Also there was no review sheet.  WTF?!  That was what made studying really frustrating: the lack of direction.  This is a personal problem I have (that I will elaborate more on in some other post), but when you are trying to study everything it is really hard.  You have to try and triage between what you know, what you need to study because it is important and will be on the test, and what is obscure and doesn't need to be covered.  In the end there are bond to be somethings that fall through the gaps.  For me, there were definitely somethings that weren't on the test that my study mates and I spent a good amount of time on, and certainly some things we had briefly glanced over that were actually on the test.  

Moral of the story: it was a learning experience and now I know how to study better for the next exam.

But more importantly I'm done with midterms (well, for now) and spring break starts tomorrow afternoon, which is pretty sweet.

Why are you doing for spring break Steve?  Well, glad you asked!  I am going home for the first week (yes, my university has 2 week spring breaks, it is kind of the best thing ever) to spend some time with the family.  My brother is getting his 5 wisdom teeth out, the little freak of nature.  So that should be fun to hold my mom's had through that, since...ok, funny story.  So when I got all 4 (cause I'm a normal person) of my wisdom teeth out my mother took one look at me: pale faced, drugged, with blood caked and dripping from my mouth; and she fainted.  Now she didn't "faint" faint, but a nurse had to help her into a chair and get her a juice box.  She was a real trooper.  I was fine, drugged and numb, but I was with it.  Really angry also.  Not at anything in particular, just angry.  My dad told me this was just the way I react to anesthesia and should warn nurses that I "am very disoriented and get angry" when coming out of anesthesia.  So to prevent my mother from passing out in the hospital, I'm going to be there.  Lucky me, but all should go well as long as they don't rupture a sinus or cut a nerve.

Then for the second week I was going to go to Texas to get samples for my thesis...but it turns out my thesis advisor and I have no idea where the samples are located, so there is no reason to go if there is nothing to get.  And I was all set to be the Yankee going to Texas!  Alas...shit happens (family motto, personal philosophy, and a truism).

Instead I am trying to convince my mother to let me come back to school a week early.  I'll probably make it so I have to by scheduling a meeting during the week (hi mom, thanks for reading!).  But in all seriousness, I do have three 10 page papers due over the next month that I need to do research for and write and ten pages is just outside my "pop it out in one night/weekend" threshold.  Six pages?  Whatever!  Eight pages?  Give me a weekend/a couple days. Ten pages?  Whoa, there are papers longer than eight pages?!  So we will see how it will work out.

I could work from home, but it will probably turn out something like this: wake up at 10AM, spend the day running errands with my mother, pick up my brother from school, play with him for a bit, then help with dinner (I know my mother is laughing somewhere at that line, but it is more moral support kinda help), eat, and then either go to bed like everyone else or go out with friends.  Rinse and repeat.  While here at school there would be NO ONE around, and I would have to do work after the first day of nothing but movies and sitting on my ass.  Like I said, we'll see how it all works out.

Super good news: I got approved for grant money to do research over the summer!  Super sweet.  All I have to do now is figure out housing for the summer, but that is no biggie.

So I am going to finish a quick assignment and hit the hay.

I promise to write more frequently!  Or at least try to.

Before the flood

This week I have two midterms: Wednesday and Thursday.

This is so not cool.  As such, even though my blogging has been lax and nonexistent as of late, it will fall off a cliff this week.  But there are a few things I have done that are of note.

I had lunch today!  There was a huge snow storm and the line at the cafe was long, but I hopped across the street to the campus store and got a burger and all was well.

Did I mention the snow storm?  Oh right I did, how about the cold too?  I usually like winter, but today I couldn't help thinking that I'm a little sick of being cold...especially after a very warm end of last week.

The Old Friend (who I'm going out with, for those of you who forgot since I haven't blogged about anything but cars for a while) and I are having lunch with my mom (sorry mom, no fun nickname for you) on Sunday.  I am excited and so is The Old Friend.  It should go really well.  I think the two of them will get along really well.