12.12.07
24.9.07
Culture fest and VA Beach
Alright, it's been a while and I've been on a lot of great trips in the past couple weeks, so without further ado . . .
Culture Fest 2007
The weekend of September 14th - 16th was spent in Pipestem, WV for the 4th annual Culture fest. Most of the festival was spent listening to folk music on a rather large stage (for the venue). A group of five of us from Tech drove up and camped out for the weekend. I got a chance to try out my new tent: the LL Bean Microlight. Here's a brief breakdown of the day's events:
Friday: Arrived in Pipestem, WV to find out that we were not on the guest list, even though we had bought tickets. Much of the evening was spent sitting in a car in the parking lot waiting to get are bracelets. An hour later, we set up camp, which happened to be right next to another campsite full of gypsies! The gypsies tried to tempt us with their belly dancing and laughter, but our camp managed to resist, aided by some Magic Hat No. 9. Point us.
Saturday: Basically listened to folk music all day. The most memorable part was playing frisbee in a field while a band called "Sponda" played. Sponda is a group from Ohio who uses really old mantras in songs. Hard to explain, but really entertaining.
Sunday: Most of us realized that we drank way too much the day before, and woke up with third degree sun burns. Not fun!
Me playing the guitar
The Culturefest stage
Kristyn in the Microlight.
The gang.
Virginia Beach
This past weekend, my office mate Eric, his fiancee Caroline, Kristyn and I went to visit my aunt Dudie at Va Beach. We skipped work Friday and arrived at the beach around 2:30. All of us were pretty eager to get into the water, so we spent the majority of the day at the beach, although it was a pretty overcast day. The evening was spent on the boardwalk.
Saturday morning greeted us with blue skies and sunshine, so we packed a cooler full of beer, and headed back to the beach, this time with boogie boards. Due perhaps to an abnormally warm water temperature, we managed to see 50+ dolphins close to shore. Eric and I wanted to inspect them closer, so we jumped on the boogie boards and swam out to them. We were both literally 10 feet away from the dolphins, who, being the curious creatures they are, swam around us and blew their blow holes at us. Oh, and they had babies with them. Very cool!
Satisfied with our dolphin experience, the rest of the day was spent playing frisbee and sunning on the beach. That evening, we went to the Abbey Road Restaurant, where I managed to catch glimpses of the PSU - Michigan score. I'm not going to get into that here.
After dinner, Kristyn and I went to a mirror maze, which was very disorientating. We then met up with Eric and Caroline, and played a round of Jungle golf. Caroline and I ended up tying, with Eric coming in second, and Kristyn . . . . well she gave up after the fourth hole. Fun times were had by all.
Culture Fest 2007
The weekend of September 14th - 16th was spent in Pipestem, WV for the 4th annual Culture fest. Most of the festival was spent listening to folk music on a rather large stage (for the venue). A group of five of us from Tech drove up and camped out for the weekend. I got a chance to try out my new tent: the LL Bean Microlight. Here's a brief breakdown of the day's events:
Friday: Arrived in Pipestem, WV to find out that we were not on the guest list, even though we had bought tickets. Much of the evening was spent sitting in a car in the parking lot waiting to get are bracelets. An hour later, we set up camp, which happened to be right next to another campsite full of gypsies! The gypsies tried to tempt us with their belly dancing and laughter, but our camp managed to resist, aided by some Magic Hat No. 9. Point us.
Saturday: Basically listened to folk music all day. The most memorable part was playing frisbee in a field while a band called "Sponda" played. Sponda is a group from Ohio who uses really old mantras in songs. Hard to explain, but really entertaining.
Sunday: Most of us realized that we drank way too much the day before, and woke up with third degree sun burns. Not fun!
Me playing the guitar
The Culturefest stage
Kristyn in the Microlight.
The gang.
Virginia Beach
This past weekend, my office mate Eric, his fiancee Caroline, Kristyn and I went to visit my aunt Dudie at Va Beach. We skipped work Friday and arrived at the beach around 2:30. All of us were pretty eager to get into the water, so we spent the majority of the day at the beach, although it was a pretty overcast day. The evening was spent on the boardwalk.
Saturday morning greeted us with blue skies and sunshine, so we packed a cooler full of beer, and headed back to the beach, this time with boogie boards. Due perhaps to an abnormally warm water temperature, we managed to see 50+ dolphins close to shore. Eric and I wanted to inspect them closer, so we jumped on the boogie boards and swam out to them. We were both literally 10 feet away from the dolphins, who, being the curious creatures they are, swam around us and blew their blow holes at us. Oh, and they had babies with them. Very cool!
Satisfied with our dolphin experience, the rest of the day was spent playing frisbee and sunning on the beach. That evening, we went to the Abbey Road Restaurant, where I managed to catch glimpses of the PSU - Michigan score. I'm not going to get into that here.
After dinner, Kristyn and I went to a mirror maze, which was very disorientating. We then met up with Eric and Caroline, and played a round of Jungle golf. Caroline and I ended up tying, with Eric coming in second, and Kristyn . . . . well she gave up after the fourth hole. Fun times were had by all.
17.9.07
Culturefest 2007
I recently got back from a music/folk festival in Pipestem, WV. Details posted later in the week when I have time. If I don't get to it before the weekend, then I'll tell you all about the Va Beach trip (this coming weekend). Later.
31.8.07
Back to blogging
The following is an abridged version of my life since the last post:
Relationship
Kristyn and I are now in the full blown couple scene. In order to get to this stage, you have to 1) like each other, 2) have everyone in your department know that you like each other, and 3) call each other disgustingly cute pet names, like "schmoopie!"
We are already trying to plan holidays, and for those of you who will be in town for Christmas, you will get a chance to meet the lucky lady at Rousapalooza '07, which is tentatively being planned for December 27-28. Hope to see you all there!
Work
I am now into my second week of classes and teaching. The two classes that I have (Advanced GIS and Active Tectonics) are incredibly easy so far, and I hope they stay that way so I can focus on honing in on what kind of teacher I want to be, and get my research project off the ground. When I say easy, I don' t mean that they are stupid . . . I mean that they are much more effective at getting the information across than undergraduate classes. In undergrad, instructors swamped you with busy work in the hopes that digging yourself out of it, you would pick up something. Grad instructors understand that you have enough on your plate in graduate school, and assign you the bare minimum needed to get the information across to you. It's quite refreshing.
I'm still trying to develop my own teaching style for the Physical Geology Lab I'm teaching. While most of my colleagues have a half an hour powerpoint presentation before each lab, I give a ~10 minute "chalk talk" and send them on their way. My reasoning for this is two-fold: 1) most of the labs are longer than they should be/ undergrads are stupid and can't finish on time, so the more time they have to work on the lab, the better, and 2) all of my students are non-majors that could care less about rocks and minerals, and I can empathize with that. I remember being the freshman engineering student in the physical geology lab at Penn State, wishing my TA would shutup so I could get the lab, do it, and leave. I assign the students a pre-lab every week to make sure they go over the lab before they come to class. I review the basic principles needed to do the lab, and make myself available to answer the questions they have while they do the lab. Any thoughts on my current methods will be appreciated.
Music
I've started using Pandora to find some new artists to listen to, since I'm no longer sitting right across from Mark Zorzie, the indie rock guru (I miss you!). My new findings can be found on my facebook profile, under bookmarked songs and artists. Enjoy!
That's all I have for now.
Relationship
Kristyn and I are now in the full blown couple scene. In order to get to this stage, you have to 1) like each other, 2) have everyone in your department know that you like each other, and 3) call each other disgustingly cute pet names, like "schmoopie!"
We are already trying to plan holidays, and for those of you who will be in town for Christmas, you will get a chance to meet the lucky lady at Rousapalooza '07, which is tentatively being planned for December 27-28. Hope to see you all there!
Work
I am now into my second week of classes and teaching. The two classes that I have (Advanced GIS and Active Tectonics) are incredibly easy so far, and I hope they stay that way so I can focus on honing in on what kind of teacher I want to be, and get my research project off the ground. When I say easy, I don' t mean that they are stupid . . . I mean that they are much more effective at getting the information across than undergraduate classes. In undergrad, instructors swamped you with busy work in the hopes that digging yourself out of it, you would pick up something. Grad instructors understand that you have enough on your plate in graduate school, and assign you the bare minimum needed to get the information across to you. It's quite refreshing.
I'm still trying to develop my own teaching style for the Physical Geology Lab I'm teaching. While most of my colleagues have a half an hour powerpoint presentation before each lab, I give a ~10 minute "chalk talk" and send them on their way. My reasoning for this is two-fold: 1) most of the labs are longer than they should be/ undergrads are stupid and can't finish on time, so the more time they have to work on the lab, the better, and 2) all of my students are non-majors that could care less about rocks and minerals, and I can empathize with that. I remember being the freshman engineering student in the physical geology lab at Penn State, wishing my TA would shutup so I could get the lab, do it, and leave. I assign the students a pre-lab every week to make sure they go over the lab before they come to class. I review the basic principles needed to do the lab, and make myself available to answer the questions they have while they do the lab. Any thoughts on my current methods will be appreciated.
Music
I've started using Pandora to find some new artists to listen to, since I'm no longer sitting right across from Mark Zorzie, the indie rock guru (I miss you!). My new findings can be found on my facebook profile, under bookmarked songs and artists. Enjoy!
That's all I have for now.
22.8.07
Lame update . . .
Hello everyone,
It's been a busy month with Kristyn back and teaching starting. Everything is going great. That is all for now.
-B
It's been a busy month with Kristyn back and teaching starting. Everything is going great. That is all for now.
-B
29.7.07
The Tao of Who?
Upon Markus' recommendation, I picked up The Tao of Pooh at the VT library today.
According to Lao-tse, the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by the universal laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance. The more forcing, the more trouble. Whether heavy or light, wet or dry, fast or slow, everything had its own nature already within it, which could not be violated without causing difficulties. When abstract and arbitrary rules were imposed from the outside, struggle was inevitable. Only then did life become sour.
Words to live by my friends . . .
According to Lao-tse, the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by the universal laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance. The more forcing, the more trouble. Whether heavy or light, wet or dry, fast or slow, everything had its own nature already within it, which could not be violated without causing difficulties. When abstract and arbitrary rules were imposed from the outside, struggle was inevitable. Only then did life become sour.
Words to live by my friends . . .
28.7.07
Random
I've been listening to a lot of Weezer lately. It's rather nostalgic, not because I listened to them in the mid-90's (which I didn't), but rather everyone else did.
26.7.07
And so begins our odyssey . . .
Well folks, things just seem to have a way of working out for me lately. Somehow I have managed to find myself in a relationship. For those who don't keep up on the blog (or don't feel like reading through the last post) her name is Kristyn, and she is a grad student in my department. I'm going to spare you the romantic reasons for why I like her so much, and just tell you that I think this thing is going to work out for a good long time . . . Kristyn is currently on her way to Italia to tour Tuscany, Umbria, and Florence with her family. It just so happens to be the same exact tour my parents took in May. She'll be getting back August 19th.
While I am slightly saddened that this new cool and interesting person is going to be gone for a while, I have more than enough activities scheduled to pass the time. The rest of this week (and early next week) will be spent finishing up my Ph.D. research proposal. It involves looking at the erosional processes that have occurred in a bedrock stream in Alaska since the Little Ice Age. This will involve me spending several summers in Alaska, getting airlifted to my field site, and frolicking with grizzlies!
I plan on going home next week, stopping in Pittsburgh along the way to see Mr. Chris Stetson at the Heinz Ketchup Factory. I will probably remain home until August 4th, at which point I will return to Blacksburg to partake in some New River rapids until I'm required to be at school on the 13th.
I am getting pretty pumped to start teaching classes. I will be attending a TA orientation August 13th -17th, after which I will be able to mold young minds as I see fit. The orientation week will also give me the opportunity to meet the other incoming grad students. Classes and teaching responsibilities begin on August 20th. I'll be taking three classes (Fluid Mechanics, Advanced GIS, and Active Tectonics, if you cared) and TA'ing two Physical Geology lab sections a week. The TA appointment is going to take a lot of brushing up on rock and mineral identification on my part, as I haven't done anything like this in four years, and when I did have the class, I didn't pay attention (Hey! I was an engineering student). But, I think things will work out just fine, it seems to be the general trend down here in Virginia.
While I am slightly saddened that this new cool and interesting person is going to be gone for a while, I have more than enough activities scheduled to pass the time. The rest of this week (and early next week) will be spent finishing up my Ph.D. research proposal. It involves looking at the erosional processes that have occurred in a bedrock stream in Alaska since the Little Ice Age. This will involve me spending several summers in Alaska, getting airlifted to my field site, and frolicking with grizzlies!
I plan on going home next week, stopping in Pittsburgh along the way to see Mr. Chris Stetson at the Heinz Ketchup Factory. I will probably remain home until August 4th, at which point I will return to Blacksburg to partake in some New River rapids until I'm required to be at school on the 13th.
I am getting pretty pumped to start teaching classes. I will be attending a TA orientation August 13th -17th, after which I will be able to mold young minds as I see fit. The orientation week will also give me the opportunity to meet the other incoming grad students. Classes and teaching responsibilities begin on August 20th. I'll be taking three classes (Fluid Mechanics, Advanced GIS, and Active Tectonics, if you cared) and TA'ing two Physical Geology lab sections a week. The TA appointment is going to take a lot of brushing up on rock and mineral identification on my part, as I haven't done anything like this in four years, and when I did have the class, I didn't pay attention (Hey! I was an engineering student). But, I think things will work out just fine, it seems to be the general trend down here in Virginia.
15.7.07
Of relationships and such
As promised, here is the follow-up to the possible relationship post:
I have become quite attracted to one of my co-workers, the grad student whom I've been helping in the field since I arrived at Virginia Tech a little over 3 weeks ago. It all started on a weekend outing in the New River Gorge, WV. We had plenty of down time to talk about everything under the sun, and eventually we arrived at the subject of relationships.
My view on the subject, and one of the main reasons I am still single, is that I am looking for someone just like me . . . only female. My reasoning: the "opposites attract" paradigm works well in the short term. Both parties are enthralled about this new world they get to experience through the other person, and all is good. Eventually though, you run out of things to discover, and you make the biggest mistake you can make in a relationship: you start to change. Don't get me wrong, all relationships involve a degree of give and take, but when these give and takes result in you changing your fundamental ideals, then you have problems. You eventually become bitter towards the other person for somehow turning you into something you aren't, and the relationship dies. So naturally to avoid this situation, one would look for someone with similar interests and ideals to them. Kristyn (the grad student) happens to share just about all of my interests and life ideals, effectively making her a "female Billy." Sounds great, right?
Wrong. While she has confessed to me that I am "everything she is looking for in a relationship," and really wants to try this out, she has some loose ends to tie-up before we can start this thing. She is currently still involved with another guy in the department. While this guy is great in his own right, he does not share the same ideals as Kristyn regarding relationships. While Kristyn wants a serious relationship, this guy wanted to remain single but still have benefits . . . you know the type. Why did Kristyn get into this "relationship" in the first place then? Because, dear reader, this guy was the only single person available to her, and she needed someone during the transition to grad school. She has since recognized that this guy is not for her, and she has turned into something she doesn't like because of him. So, not a problem, right? Just dump the guy and move on to greener pastures?
Wrong again, reader. A day after our "bonding" experience in the New River Gorge, she received a phone call from this guy. I'm not privy to the details, but apparently something really bad has happened to this kid. So bad that his license was taken away because of his mental state due to this situation. She is concerned for his life, and as such does not want to abandon him and start something new until he stabilizes. I spoke with her last night about the situation, and let her know that I am not trying to rush any decisions on her part. We both acknowledged that we share a special bond that you don't find every day, and that bond will still be there when we can finally be together.
We then laid awake in bed all night, sharing stories and goofing off.
I have become quite attracted to one of my co-workers, the grad student whom I've been helping in the field since I arrived at Virginia Tech a little over 3 weeks ago. It all started on a weekend outing in the New River Gorge, WV. We had plenty of down time to talk about everything under the sun, and eventually we arrived at the subject of relationships.
My view on the subject, and one of the main reasons I am still single, is that I am looking for someone just like me . . . only female. My reasoning: the "opposites attract" paradigm works well in the short term. Both parties are enthralled about this new world they get to experience through the other person, and all is good. Eventually though, you run out of things to discover, and you make the biggest mistake you can make in a relationship: you start to change. Don't get me wrong, all relationships involve a degree of give and take, but when these give and takes result in you changing your fundamental ideals, then you have problems. You eventually become bitter towards the other person for somehow turning you into something you aren't, and the relationship dies. So naturally to avoid this situation, one would look for someone with similar interests and ideals to them. Kristyn (the grad student) happens to share just about all of my interests and life ideals, effectively making her a "female Billy." Sounds great, right?
Wrong. While she has confessed to me that I am "everything she is looking for in a relationship," and really wants to try this out, she has some loose ends to tie-up before we can start this thing. She is currently still involved with another guy in the department. While this guy is great in his own right, he does not share the same ideals as Kristyn regarding relationships. While Kristyn wants a serious relationship, this guy wanted to remain single but still have benefits . . . you know the type. Why did Kristyn get into this "relationship" in the first place then? Because, dear reader, this guy was the only single person available to her, and she needed someone during the transition to grad school. She has since recognized that this guy is not for her, and she has turned into something she doesn't like because of him. So, not a problem, right? Just dump the guy and move on to greener pastures?
Wrong again, reader. A day after our "bonding" experience in the New River Gorge, she received a phone call from this guy. I'm not privy to the details, but apparently something really bad has happened to this kid. So bad that his license was taken away because of his mental state due to this situation. She is concerned for his life, and as such does not want to abandon him and start something new until he stabilizes. I spoke with her last night about the situation, and let her know that I am not trying to rush any decisions on her part. We both acknowledged that we share a special bond that you don't find every day, and that bond will still be there when we can finally be together.
We then laid awake in bed all night, sharing stories and goofing off.
13.7.07
Tattoo you
Arts Fest weekend has kicked off here at PSU, and that means tattoos!
Well, maybe not. After all, this is my third Arts Fest, and I am just now sporting my first tattoo. For those with bad eye-sight, it's a tattoo of a compass pointing to the northeast. The compass symbolizes outdoorsiness and direction. The bearing is to remind me where I have come from. All in all, I am very happy with it.
The getting a tattoo experience was less painful than I had anticipated . . . but it sure was painful! Jessie ended up getting a tattoo on her wrist before I went, which she described as feeling like a small electric shock. This was not my experience at all. Mine felt like the guy took a dull swiss army knife and cut the shape into my arm, then poured some ink into the wound to give it some color. He mentioned before I got mine that women tolerate tattoos a lot better than men, and I can second this.
Will post early next week on the rest of the happenings of Arts Fest.
Well, maybe not. After all, this is my third Arts Fest, and I am just now sporting my first tattoo. For those with bad eye-sight, it's a tattoo of a compass pointing to the northeast. The compass symbolizes outdoorsiness and direction. The bearing is to remind me where I have come from. All in all, I am very happy with it.
The getting a tattoo experience was less painful than I had anticipated . . . but it sure was painful! Jessie ended up getting a tattoo on her wrist before I went, which she described as feeling like a small electric shock. This was not my experience at all. Mine felt like the guy took a dull swiss army knife and cut the shape into my arm, then poured some ink into the wound to give it some color. He mentioned before I got mine that women tolerate tattoos a lot better than men, and I can second this.
Will post early next week on the rest of the happenings of Arts Fest.
11.7.07
Thou didst mold us . . .
After a long 6 hour drive, braving the thunderstorms plaguing Virginia, I arrived back at dear old state around 2 this morning to partake in Arts Festivities. My day was spent talking with professors and reacquainting with old friends. The department put on an ice cream social on the ground floor of Deike Building, which was one of my main reasons for coming down early. I had two bowls of PSU Creamery's Wicked Caramel, and about made myself sick. Good times.
I'll update later regarding the rest of Arts Fest and details on a possible relationship . . .
I'll update later regarding the rest of Arts Fest and details on a possible relationship . . .
27.6.07
Hardly education, it was somewhere in between . . .
Alright folks, I've been down in Blacksburg for over a week, and I think it's time for an update.
My work week this past week has been anything but. My time has been spent in a canoe on the New River, helping an office mate with her research. It's a tough job, but those streams aren't going to characterize themselves!
I picked up a kayak at Dick's today: the Old Town Otter XT Sport. Since my advisor is on vacation until July 6th (and I have nothing to do until he gets back), I spent the afternoon paddling around Claytor Lake State Park. I hope to get out to the lake at least twice a week.
This weekend I will be camping and canoeing along the New River to get some high resolution data sets collected for the office mate's thesis. The crew will consist of myself and three other grad students, so it should be a good time. I'll let you know how it goes!
Oh, and for those who haven't seen this . . . IT'S A TWAP!!!
My work week this past week has been anything but. My time has been spent in a canoe on the New River, helping an office mate with her research. It's a tough job, but those streams aren't going to characterize themselves!
I picked up a kayak at Dick's today: the Old Town Otter XT Sport. Since my advisor is on vacation until July 6th (and I have nothing to do until he gets back), I spent the afternoon paddling around Claytor Lake State Park. I hope to get out to the lake at least twice a week.
This weekend I will be camping and canoeing along the New River to get some high resolution data sets collected for the office mate's thesis. The crew will consist of myself and three other grad students, so it should be a good time. I'll let you know how it goes!
Oh, and for those who haven't seen this . . . IT'S A TWAP!!!
17.6.07
Pictures of my room . . .
. . . are now up on facebook. I've decided to use facebook to update all photos, since blogspots photo importer iz teh suck. I'll be sure to let you know when I update photos.
Oh, and we carried it all soooooooo wellllll
Well, I made it down to Virginia Tech in one piece. I'm just finishing up the move in process and will post later in the week about how the job is going.
10.6.07
Artsy Fartsy
I went to the Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo today. Nothing was purchased, it was just nice to get out of the house for a while. Five more days to go . . .
9.6.07
Well, it would've been, could've been worse than you would ever know.
A week from today I will be moved into my new place. Until then, I've been trying to keep myself occupied. I've washed the car, taken the dog for walks, played Wii with the siblings, even read up on my Essentials of Geology textbook to prepare for TA'ing. But it is all getting rather old. Suggestions?
6.6.07
This room is too small . . . too small . . .
I went down to Penn State last Saturday and had a lovely time with the ol' roomies (and Tom) at the Sports Cafe, watching the Sens v. Ducks game. When I awoke Sunday morning, I packed up my things and headed down to Virginia Tech, not knowing where I was going to stay for the night. Luckily, during my dinner stop at Burger King, I found a travelers coupon magazine with an Econo Lodge in Blacksburg for $35 a night. Great success!
Monday morning was kicked off eating my continental breakfast at the Econo Lodge (consisting of one lousy donut). I then went to Derring Hall to stop in and say hi to my advisor and to fill out the required paperwork so that I can get paid. First pay-day is July 2nd! I then went and checked out my residence for the next year, which I lovingly refer to as "The Castle." It's a large stone building on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg. I will be living with five other grad students, none of which are in my department. Some of the amenities include:
1) a large yard surrounded by concealing hedges for privacy
2) a huge living room complete with wall mounted projector and projector screen on wall for TV/movies/games.
3) full basement for plenty of storage
4) two refrigerators and large freezer to keep food from spoiling
5) roommates who like to camp
I then went and checked out my bedroom . . . and all I can say is f@%k. It is the tiniest bedroom I have ever laid eyes on. Think of Tom and Kevin's dorm room freshman year, then cut a couple feet off of the length, and that is this room. Basically, I have room for a twin bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a dresser. And that's it. Hopefully I get along with the roommates well, because I sure as hell won't be spending much time in my room.
My room is above the left door.
Monday morning was kicked off eating my continental breakfast at the Econo Lodge (consisting of one lousy donut). I then went to Derring Hall to stop in and say hi to my advisor and to fill out the required paperwork so that I can get paid. First pay-day is July 2nd! I then went and checked out my residence for the next year, which I lovingly refer to as "The Castle." It's a large stone building on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg. I will be living with five other grad students, none of which are in my department. Some of the amenities include:
1) a large yard surrounded by concealing hedges for privacy
2) a huge living room complete with wall mounted projector and projector screen on wall for TV/movies/games.
3) full basement for plenty of storage
4) two refrigerators and large freezer to keep food from spoiling
5) roommates who like to camp
I then went and checked out my bedroom . . . and all I can say is f@%k. It is the tiniest bedroom I have ever laid eyes on. Think of Tom and Kevin's dorm room freshman year, then cut a couple feet off of the length, and that is this room. Basically, I have room for a twin bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a dresser. And that's it. Hopefully I get along with the roommates well, because I sure as hell won't be spending much time in my room.
My room is above the left door. 5.6.07
800 miles is a long drive inside a car . . .
Just got back from PSU and VT. Will post details later.
31.5.07
The waiting is the hardest part.
The Sentra is all patched up and ready to go. My possessions are piled up in the corner of the basement. My apartment is waiting for me in Blacksburg. I just need to get through one more week living at home, which is far tougher than I originally anticipated. The boredom takes a little piece of my soul every minute I am here . . .
I went to the Dr.'s this afternoon, and my blood pressure was 116/76 - much better than before. He doesn't seem concerned, so neither am I. Could have been all that beer drinking at camp that elevated it. In other medical news, I am now weening myself off of my anxiety medicine, which I am pretty pumped about. I'll take the lowest dose for about a month, and then go without and see how I do.
Mike is still a bum.
The Sentra.
I went to the Dr.'s this afternoon, and my blood pressure was 116/76 - much better than before. He doesn't seem concerned, so neither am I. Could have been all that beer drinking at camp that elevated it. In other medical news, I am now weening myself off of my anxiety medicine, which I am pretty pumped about. I'll take the lowest dose for about a month, and then go without and see how I do.
Mike is still a bum.
The Sentra.
30.5.07
29.5.07
The poor get poorer.
I took the Sentra in for it's annual inspection and to get the exhaust system replaced, which is going to set me back $304. What really pisses me off though is the fact that they didn't have the parts in to do the repair, even though I called them a week ago and told them it would need done. Not happy . . .
I had lunch with Chris today at China Jade, and ended up running into Mr. Sarver. He was with his chemistry class, reviewing for their final exam, though I fail to remember a time he took us to a restaurant to review. He hasn't changed a bit over the last four years, though he said I had (referring to my thinning hair, which he described as "cool").
I'll be back in North East this Thursday for my doctor's appointment and to have work done on my car. After that, it will certainly be a while before I am back again.
I had lunch with Chris today at China Jade, and ended up running into Mr. Sarver. He was with his chemistry class, reviewing for their final exam, though I fail to remember a time he took us to a restaurant to review. He hasn't changed a bit over the last four years, though he said I had (referring to my thinning hair, which he described as "cool").
I'll be back in North East this Thursday for my doctor's appointment and to have work done on my car. After that, it will certainly be a while before I am back again.
28.5.07
Getting my rocks off . . .
This past Saturday I said goodbye to dear old State for the last time. After four wonderful years in Happy Valley (and $28,000 in debt), I am officially a college graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Geosciences. While some of my peers are off to reap the benefits of their new college degrees via high-paying jobs, I am joining the ranks of the poor and the sleepless - I will be a graduate student.
I will be heading down to Virginia Tech (insert gasp) June 14th to begin research on my thesis. As of right now, I know that it will a) be in Alaska, b) have something to do tectonics, and c) will include fluvial geomorphology (the study of surface processes). I am currently planning on going straight into a Ph.D program, which means I will be in the Blacksburg area for the next 5 years. Here's hoping I can pass the comprehensive exams!
I spent this past Memorial Day weekend at Rouse's Roost with my grandma, Cherie, Kathy, and Sean. Sean and I transported the fire pit from the front to the backyard, and it now sits happily where the original Roost fire pit once stood. Kathy ran a blood pressure clinic Sunday, and I found out my blood pressure was 140/90 - not good! I'll be calling the Dr.'s office later in the week to check on this. Markus and Hannah came to visit Monday for a quick hike at Chapman's Dam. We were blessed on our Memorial Day hike by the presence of both a bald eagle and a real live US soldier, which I consider to be equivalent to seeing Jesus on Christmas (or at least a passing satellite that looks like Rudolph).
I will be heading down to Virginia Tech (insert gasp) June 14th to begin research on my thesis. As of right now, I know that it will a) be in Alaska, b) have something to do tectonics, and c) will include fluvial geomorphology (the study of surface processes). I am currently planning on going straight into a Ph.D program, which means I will be in the Blacksburg area for the next 5 years. Here's hoping I can pass the comprehensive exams!
I spent this past Memorial Day weekend at Rouse's Roost with my grandma, Cherie, Kathy, and Sean. Sean and I transported the fire pit from the front to the backyard, and it now sits happily where the original Roost fire pit once stood. Kathy ran a blood pressure clinic Sunday, and I found out my blood pressure was 140/90 - not good! I'll be calling the Dr.'s office later in the week to check on this. Markus and Hannah came to visit Monday for a quick hike at Chapman's Dam. We were blessed on our Memorial Day hike by the presence of both a bald eagle and a real live US soldier, which I consider to be equivalent to seeing Jesus on Christmas (or at least a passing satellite that looks like Rudolph).
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