| One fuckin fortnight (or, for my vocabulary-deficient readers: two weeks) |
[May. 11th, 2007|02:13 am] |
A little less than two weeks until I home sweet home.
I don't have a job yet. I'm not sure how excited I can be about going home if I don't have a job. I have some irons in the fire, some hotter than others. But still, I've yet to sign on any dotted line.
On the job front, I met with my career advisor the other day to help with finding print/media/marketing companies around home. She hooked me up with a list of about 150 places of mixed relevance. So, I picked out about 6 or so and cold-called them just to inquire about any possible summer internships. Only one guy actually got back to me. He left me a voice mail saying that he didn't have anything for me since his actual print operation has been dead for a number of years. Yet the more he talked about his background and where he was at, the closer our career goals fit. He himself moved from print-digital publishing just like I had. So, from that voicemail I called him back and sparked a dialogue on that, saying that we might just be able to work something out after all. He has turned out to be a really cool guy. Kind of eccentric and out-there in a way, but really personable and someone I would certainly want to work with. We plan on keeping in touch in the coming weeks to see if we can work something out. Since he's head of a one-man operation, he'd have to make room for me to come in and work. So, I'm not sure what's gonna happen with that, but, even if it doesn't pan out, he'll certainly be a good contact and a good person to keep in touch with down the road.
I think I'm close to getting a semi-relevant but completely mundane job with my brother's girlfriend's company in Ridgefield. I think it'll involve just enough to keep me interested, but, not enough to make me feel fulfilled. Whatever, as long as it pays, right? I think if I got it I'd be making around 12-14 bucks, and I'll surely take that in a second.
My apartment is a done deal for next year. It's nothing special. Actually, kind of on the shitty side. But, it's pretty close to campus, and near all the stores and stuff (I can see the entrance to Wal-Mart from our front stoop). And quite cheap too. With rent, digital cable, internet, and a few other things, my monthly bill will prolly be around $400, maybe a touch more. The place is layed out like so: http://www.eastwoodmanagement.com/clayton/images/ClaytonArms_2br_garden.gif. I'll be populating the smaller room, since it was my roommate Tony who found the place. It'd be just the two of us, which is fine. I would have liked to somehow live with Alex, but, I don't think his parents were gonna budge on the off-campus thing. I can't say I'm looking forward to it per se, but, it'll work out. It's certainly not a bad thing, but, it'll be different. I'm still not sure on what I'm gonna do about a car to drive. I obviously need something to get me around if I'm gonna be living off-campus, but, last my dad said on the matter was "we'll discuss it over the summer." I have two possible conclusions in mind: 1) he pays for the lions share of a run-of-the-mill used car, which would be fine be me -or- 2) he tells me that it was my choice to live off campus and that I'll have to pay him back for the majority of whatever car. Each option is fair, ofcourse I'd rather the first one, but, we'll see. I wouldn't think that he/we are in a comfortable enough financial situation to just outright buy me a car. Especially since my sister is fucking hitting him up for money to pay for her school, which is bullshit (a topic for another day). Anyways, we'll see what happens with that. I don't wanna put my dad in any more of a bind, but, I kinda feel like I've earned it.
Then again, I am getting booted from Honors...which is $1000 more per year out of my dad's pocket (tentatively). It's not even because of my grades or because of any disciplinary issue. It's because I didn't do the required community service project that we need to do each year. I'm not gonna blame anyone else but myself, although there were some things out of my control. I was supposed to help with the design for an honors newsletter, and I had to wait for people to write articles and gather content for it. That was put off and put off and delayed for a while before it was axed alltogether, leaving me to fend for myself. I did nothing in the meantime to cover my own ass. So, that whole thing makes me feel pretty shitty. Not because I got kicked out of the honors program or that I didn't help the Rochester community, but that I let my dad down. And that I have to tell him that we're $1000 shorter next year. Now, hopefully I can land some other scholarships that I've applied for. But, the fact remains that we could have been $1000 than we already are. Shitty on my part...
It's cool that I have no love life to speak of...that's always good. Nothing. No prospects. No maybes. No possibilites. It's basically me by my lonesome. And it's been that way for quite a while. I guess it can no longer be chalked up to bad luck. I dunno, is it my breath? I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Sure, I don't help my cause by not putting myself out there, but at the same time, I'm not a complete hermit. I make moves when I think the time is right, and still, nothing. It's really wearing me down. Anyone who knows me know that I like having people I can be close to, both friends and beyond. And it's been bothering me that I haven't had anyone I can be really close too in far too long. I'm very heavy-hearted right now with all of that. Problem is: anything I drum up over the summer will probably live and die in the summer. Been there, done that. Not a great situation for someone like me, and something I don't want to go through again if it's to have the same ending. I really want to try and take more chances. Nothing to lose, right? If I fail, I'm back to where I've been. "Take chances with the females" has been added to my "To-Do" list.
I've been eating so much better lately, and better overall since coming to the apartment. It makes such a difference. To not feel like a fat cow after a meal. To have some energy to do things. Alot more fruits and vegetables, and tons less fried shit. It doesn't take much, but that means a great deal at the end of the day. Instead of candy or chocolate or whatever, I just turn to Goldfish. Instead of soda, vitamin water. I'm really proud of how I've been able to stick to it. Now, let's see if that continues over the summer...
I went on a spur-of-the-fuck-of-it run last night. In a word: invigorating. Definitely intend to make that a semi-regular thing. And I really impressed myself with how far I actually ran, since I've never been any kind of distance runner.
I realize I've been going on and on and probably lost many readers along the way. Let me close with this—it's 3 in the morning, and campus safety just got around to breaking up the deaf party in the next building that has many people outside making all kinds of ungodly sounds. I just looked out the window to see what I'm pretty sure was a kid pissing on the back of the campus sop's SUV and one of his boys taking video of it on his phone....
Get me out of here.
2 weeks. One fucking fortnight. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 13th, 2007|12:29 am] |
Listen up. I got some things to say.
1 - Don Imus should not have been fired. The whole situation was a complete clusterfuck and was blown entirely out of proportion. He apologized several times and fully confessed that his comments were out of line, out of taste and completely wrong. He was humiliated and shamed by it. His suspension of 2 weeks is actually quite a big deal in the radio business, so, he wasn't getting off scott free. He was being made very aware from many people that his actions weren't going to be tolerated. When he returned to the airwaves, he was bound to find fewer advertisers and far less fans awaiting him. That being said, he should not have been fired. The bigwigs at CBS caved to the pressure of the rabid hounds known as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. They inflated this issue entirely too far, and Imus has to bear the consequences of it. To think, two men who so proudly flaunt their "Reverend" title know not of the concept of forgiveness. Even after Imus' numerous apologies and concessions, they still beyed for blood. A really unfortunate issue all around. Ofcourse I admit and agree that Imus' comments were wrong on many levels, but, in the context of it all, he shouldn't be fired.
2 - Kurt Vonnegut passed away, and I couldn't care less. I didn't like any of his books, and I especically don't like how he is constantly fellated in English classes and the like. I don't see the big deal. I really disliked his writing style, and I sorta felt that as he was writing his books, he was jacking himself off at how clever he felt he was.
This is what an asshole looks like:
Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.
Okay, I'll get off the soapbox now. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 28th, 2007|01:33 am] |
Hope Springs
Reasons I am excited for the nice weather:
• Baseball
• Baseball
• Actual color in the RIT surroundings (besides gray, white, and brick)
• Baseball
• Closer and closer to being done
• Closer and closer to summer
• Closer and closer to going home and being with the people I love most
• Not dreading going outside for fear of hypothermia
I'm sure I could come up with more. Warmer weather just makes life alot better. Especially when juxtaposed with shitty Crotchester winter, even the slightest hint of spring feels like a complete improvement.
I'm so fucking excited for baseball season. Football is nice, and it certainly has its place, but, it can never compare to baseball in my heart. The start of the season is less than a week away. It's so close I can taste it. People who aren't baseball fans or don't appreciate the game at all don't get why people enjoy it so much: it's slow, it's boring, it's too hard to watch on TV. I don't really know how to counter that because so much of watching baseball is in the ambience of it. I have fond and vivid memories of last summer watching baseball games out on my deck. My dad rigged some extension cords so we could reach the tiny kitchen TV out to the deck for some baseball games while grilling and eating dinner. That hour or so in the evening was so relaxed and so awesome. Another example is just dashing down to Pippa's to meet friends for a burger and the game that evening. This doesn't even take into account the indescribable experience of watching a game live. The sights, sounds, smells and all that make up a stadium scene are what I live for. I can't wait to get to a Mets game. Hell, I can't wait to get to a Red Wings game either. I'm really gonna try and take it all in a bit more in my trips to Shea this year. Not only will that place only be around for a few more years, but, it's an experience I know I'll miss if ever I'm unable to relive it as often. I hope that fate doesn't befall me.
As always, I meant to write alot more about a variety of issues, but, I just don't have the desire. It's one thing for me to open up to someone who I'm talking to directly via IM, phone, face to face, whatever. But, it's another to open up to a stranger who didn't even provoke me to. That's just me. I guess I'm not LJ's model member. Oh well. If you care, know that it's the same old shit with me. Nothing to report. Nothing special going on. Same ups, same downs. I wanna go home. |
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| A long long overdue legit LJ post |
[Feb. 26th, 2007|04:54 am] |
| [ | music |
| | "My All" by Mariah Carey | ] |
I'm gonna follow the same format that I used for my last end-of-quarter recap. I plan on writing alot more for this one than I did last time, considering it's been months since my last real entry.
Winter Quarter, Nov 2006-Feb 2007
Projected Grades, Links to Projects & Course Summaries:
Elements of Graphic Design - A
[EGD Projects and Reflections]
click project name to view
Graphic Translation: Lollipop
((This was our first real project for the class. We had to represent a 3D man-made object in vector form. We had to convey depth and size through line weights and shading techniques and what not. Mine is pretty simple. I chose to do a Tootsie Pop for nor particular reason. Most people chose more complex objects, which made mine look like shit in turn. It wouldn't be the first time that would happen in this course. I don't care really, but, at times I was a bit jealous that I didn't have the same artistic balls that they did.))
Morning Glory Logo
((As far as the final product goes, this was my favorite project of the course. Our objective was to create a company and design a logo for it. For this company, we had to define certain aspects of it, like who their target market was, what they provided/sold, and some words to define the company/how the logo should look. I created Morning Glory, a restaurant/bar that served breakfast 24/7. But not plain diner breakfast that you'd get at Denny's, this joint would serve traditional breakfast fare with flare and prepare it as you might see on 'Top Chef' or 'Iron Chef' or something. Very trendy, very LA. At night there is an adjoining bar that would basically take over, so, it was certainly geared toward the younger crowd. You can see what I ended up with at the link above. I didn't post all the previous sketches, but you should know that this is far and away better than anything I had had up to that point. My original sketches were just a plain old flower with no sex appeal to it. I was just screwing around with the shapes and lines and stuff one day and voila--I had this. I'm really proud of it. I just looked at it for the first time in a while and really like what I did. I hope you like it too.))
Visual Hierarchy (Text dominant)
Visual Hierarchy (Image dominant)
Visual Hierarchy (Harmonious)
((The three links above are all part of one project [Sorry for the huge images]. We had to take a photo, some text, and display them in three different ways: one where the text was dominant, one where the image dominated, and another where they were both seen simultaneously. I got the idea for the text "A man. A plan. A canal. Panama" first [If you can't tell, that's a palindrome, meaning it reads the same forwards and backwards. Same as "pop" and "kayak"]. Frankly, for this project, I just kinda did what the teacher recommended without any personal stake in the final piece. I like how it turned out, but, it wasn't anything I put alot of "me" into.))
Song Poster: "Daydreamin'" by Lupe Fiasco
((This project was alot of fun to do. Since this was our final and was meant to be an culmination of everything we had learned to that point, the gloves came off and we were allowed to do whatever we pleased. We were instructed to design a poster that conveyed a song, but it didn't matter if it was a single lyric, the chorus, or the whole song itself. I chose to do "Daydreamin'" by Lupe Fiasco. Not only was this project assigned right before I went to the Lupe concert [more on that later], but the symbolism in that song is very obvious. I got a number of images in my own head listening to it, so, this project was putting those images on screen. I really like what I ended with, and it has gotten alot of compliments. I like projects like this because there are so many things to look at at one time, so its fun for me to design all those different items.))
I don't see why I wouldn't get an A in the class. Besides my Morning Glory logo, I never thought my work was the best in the class. Alot of people impressed me with their projects, and it was good to see people improve throughout the quarter. The professor's really cool, she was likeable from day 1. She was nice and funny, but didn't let that get in the way of the project at hand and made many critical suggestions that helped my work. At times it was hard to tell what exactly she wanted out of an assignment, or what she meant by certain terms, but that was minor. A good, fun, easy course, and it's always good to have things to add to my portfolio. After some of the things I learned in this class, I want to go back to the vaults and redo projects from the DHS days and apply what I've learned.
Principles of Marketing - A
Since I want to minor in Marketing, this class is required. I like these types of classes because the teacher made it really easy to participate and join in certain discussions. He kept the topics interresting by showing us commercials in class and providing examples of marketing concepts by using companies we know about. Yeah, that sounds kinda corny to say, but, it really did make things more interesting.
He welcomed most things we had to say, although he should have looked the other way when some people raised their hand. This one guy, "Gio" [his real name is George], is a 24-year-old deaf and gay nuisance. Everyday, without fail, he would raise his hand and say the dumbest things imagineable [he wouldn't speak himself, he would sign to the interpreter who would speak his words.] The things that came out of this kid's...hands on a daily basis were just ridiculous. They ran the gamut from inappropriate to retarded to pretty damn racist. The racist comments had to come during a presentation my group was making just last week. Our presentation was based on a group project we had to do where we took a company and created a marketing plan for them. Our company was Kenwood, the audio component company, and our plan was to create a line of car audio parts geared to young minority consumers in southern urban locations. We presented some basic data to back everything up and explain why we targeted these consumers, and "Gio" chimes in with something to the effect of "I'm from the city and white people like loud music and people will show off their cars if it's cold." I figured a question like this would be asked, and I replied accordingly. Then, at the end of our presentation, he raises his hand again and says "I don't think your products will sell too well to black people because black people just steal these stereos." It took everything in me to not humiliate him verbally. I looked away and replied "no comment." I was so pissed that he not only said that during my presentation, but said that in the first place. I truly regret not unleashing 10 weeks worth of frustration that he's caused the whole class in that moment. Ugh.
The paper that was the larger part of that presentation was a bear too. 20 pages, with sources galore. I ended up writing most of it, part by choice, part by necessity. It was me and two other kids, one was incredibly helpful and did more than his part in getting research and coming to meetings and whatever. The other was a complete waste of space. I had 0 confidence in him and he certainly didn't do anything that would encourage me to think otherwise. So, it was basically me and the trustworthy partner writing 95% of the paper. I didn't mind so much, because we had plenty of information on the topic. And useless partner got his--each group member had to delegate a certain number of points to their other group members. If you had 2 partners, you had 200 points to give. 3 partners, 300 pts, and so on. Out of the 200 points I could have given, 165 went to valuable partner, 35 went to the tool. All in all though, a good, engaging, enlightening class. More positive than negative experiences, but, the negative ones provide better material.
Imaging Science Fundamentals - B
Lab class. Needed to fill requirements. I hate science, and it shows in my grades. I did pretty well on the final and all the labs, so, I may just get an A after all.
Science, Technology, and Values - A
Easy class. Basically a whole course on cloning/global warming/genetically modified food/space exploration and similar topics. It was hell to sit through 2 hour lectures twice a week, just because the professor just kinda showed slides and talked without much interaction. He's the nicest guy in the world, really kind and soft spoken, but, didn't really do much to engage the class. Still, I felt bad skipping his class or playing around on my computer because he was so cool. So, I had to gut it out everyday to pay attention. Somehow, I made it.
Bowling - (avg for 9 weeks: 173, high game: 217)
When I came back from Christmas break, I found my bowling ball had a crack all the way around it. It must have been too cold for it during the break, although that doesn't make much sense. Either way, that's the only logical assumption. So, I had to bowl the rest of the term without it, which turned out to be kind of a good thing. I needed to get back to basics, and a simple alley ball forced me to do that. I ended up bowling much better with the house ball than my own. For 3 weeks with my own ball, my high game was a 187. In 6 weeks with the alley ball, my high was a 217, and I beat 187 5 times.
General Life:
Sanity - B
I'm not sure what it was, but this quarter wasn't nearly as bad as fall in terms of my mental/emotional well being. Christmas was enjoyable. I didn't exactly do anything that I wasn't doing before. I leaned a little more on home friends to get me through, and they helped alot with that. Those people may never know all that they do for me.
Social Life/Party Scene - B
Thinking back, I didn't really go to that many parties in the last 12 weeks or so. There was one big bash right before Christmas at Amanda's house which is still talked about. Great fun. Met new people, got sufficiently tipsy, a very intoxicating atmosphere. At home, I managed to have the house to myself on New Year's, so, I hd to have people over. That actually went better than I could have hoped, with everyone getting their drink on, but, it was pretty well behaved and quiet enough to not arouse suspicion. Back to school in January, Alex and I went to a birthday party for a mutual friend's boyfriend, who has become a decent chum of mine. We didn't really know many people there, so, Alex got acquainted with the sauce. Next thing anyone knew, he was holed up in the bathroom, making out with the toilet for a good 3 hours. I'm surprised he made it out of there alive with the rough condition he appeared to be in. Turned out he was just unwilling to pick his carcass up off the floor. That wasn't fun to deal with, but, he's allowed. Since then, I don't think I've been to any parties. No matter. I don't require them to blow off steam like some people. And for the better part of the last 8 weeks, hockey games have been the focus of the weekend.
Love Life - ??
Still where I was previously. I really don't know what to make of it. There are some options. Some better than others. But, I'd really like some answers, and I have none. I'm gonna try to fix that in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
Feeling of Accomplishment - B+
After last quarter, which took a huge chunk out of my ass in more ways than one, this one went alot easier in many areas. Winter quarter at RIT will always be the longest, most arduous quarter, but this one went as best as I could have hoped. Classes were fairly easy in the grand scheme of things. I think I could have and should have applied myself a bit better in all of them, but that's a chronic problem of mine.
Job Status - A
SportsZone is the one bright piece of my school/work duties at RIT. I hardly ever dread working (although SZ work isn't really your typical "work"), or going to meetings. Hell, I get paid for going to most sporting events, you can't beat that. It helps that RIT hockey teams kicked ass this season, that made things really fun. To boot, one of my best friends here, Larissa, became an even better friend recently and hooked me up with a spot in her UC apartment for next quarter. So, that's a major plus. SportsZone is about the best thing I have going at RIT.
General Health - B-
Been getting a liiiittttllle better on the sleep, but, I still eat crap almost exclusively. I did start drinking more water though, if that means anything.
TV Watching - A+
Once again, I kicked all kinds of ass in this department. I discovered a persnickety blonde vixen named Veronica Mars and quickly fell in love. Heroes continually sucks me deeper and deeper into the story, and I can't wait for each coming episode. The Office gets better and better, although Michael is getting pretty annoying. This season of Extras was phenomenal, but I still think the first was a bit better. I probably watched alot less TV than usual, but I usually had some TV show playing on my computer.
Sports Team Success - B+
The only reason the grade is so high is due to the incredible success of the two RIT hockey teams. The mens team just won their conference this past weekend in just their first season as a member. However, due to NCAA regulations, they can't play in any postseason tournaments because they recently transferred into division 1. No matter, they won the biggest prize that they could, which is pretty awesome. They were always fun to watch, and I'm gonna miss hockey games til they're back. The womens hockey team was also excellent. They were undefeated for most of the season and finished ranked #5 in all of womens d3 hockey. Our best player was a girl who transferred from one of our rivals, Danielle Nagymarosi. She led the country in goals, points, shorthanded goals, and game winning goals. Overall, she's a really tough, cocky player which I just naturally root for. She was always exciting to watch. It's pretty cool to have the #1 (and #2 and #5) scorers play for your team.
As far as the pros, the Cowboys stunk it up. Nothing more to say, except that they kept it from being an A-grade season.
Living Situation - A
Roommate is ofcourse still the coolest. He made many impossible times go alot easier. Unfortunately, he and I have developed far too many inside jokes that manifest in any annd every situation. We can literally read eachother's thoughts at times, which is scary. My move to an apartment next quarter has nothing to do with him, though. It's pretty much a can't-afford-to-pass-up chance that I had to jump on. It's not as though he and I won't be friends anymore, so, all is good there.
[Overall Grade - B+. I really don't know what that's based on per se, but I do know that this quarter went alot better than the last one. Again, I'm still standing, so, all's well that ends well.]
I don't get to go home til late on Friday, despite being done with exams in 14 hours. This should give me time to pack up alotta my shit to bring some of it home and some of it over to the new place. It'll also be good to lay low for a few days, eventhough I do that pretty much all the time as it is.
I can't wait to go home. As always, there are so many people I want to see and so many things I want to do. Again, as always, there probably won't be enough time for everything. Such is life. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 14th, 2007|12:01 am] |
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HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, LOVERS ♥ |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 24th, 2007|10:33 pm] |
Suppose I kept on singing love songs,
Just to break my own fall.
Just to break my fa
-ah-
ah-
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all. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 13th, 2007|03:30 pm] |
Last night's dinner was excellent. If you're ever in town, I recommend.
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 7th, 2007|01:57 am] |
I'm done with sports. I hate them, and they don't like me either.
It's a mutual decision and I think we'll both be better off because of it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 1st, 2007|03:30 pm] |
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HAPPY NEW YEAR, BITCHES |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 25th, 2006|12:14 pm] |
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MERRY CHRISTMAS, BITCHES |
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| I can promise anything that I do is just to satisfy you. |
[Dec. 18th, 2006|03:38 am] |
I will gladly take Sundays like these if they follow Fridays and Saturdays like the awesome ones I just had.
Friday
Got up to go to the SZ writers' meeting. Followed that with a haircut, and for the rest of the afternoon did alot of nothing. Roundabout 9 it was time to get ready for Amanda's Holiday Party at her apartment. It was to be semi-formal/dressy/classy/nice attire, and you know me, I had something in mind once I got the invite. I wasn't sure what to expect before going into it, being that I didn't really know anyone that was gonna be there. But it turned out to be a blast. Met some fantastic new people, didn't do much drinking but the atmosphere was intoxicating enough. In retrospect, our group of 6-8 may have been "those people" in the overall party of roughly 20-25, but, we sure didn't care. Fun times were had by all I knew, and that's all I care about. Definitely something we want to do again ASAP. ( pics found here )
Saturday
Alex and I woke up way early to hit Eastview Mall (about 15 minutes away) for some serious Christmas shopping. My God there were a million people there. Turns out I really didn't know what to get people. I thought I had prepared...
I did end up buying about 4 presents, which made the trip worth it. As always, I saw more things for me than for others. But that's neither here nor there.
Eastview Mall is a nice place, but I really dislike the layout. Everything is spread out on one level, and in kind of a confusing manner. (http://www.eastviewmall.com/Stores/Map.aspx). Makes me yearn for the simplicity of good ole Danbury Fair Mall: two levels in straight lines with short branches eminating from the main corridors. Impossible to really get lost. Eastview is a whole different story.
After something like 4 hours there, we had battle ugly Henrietta traffic to get back to campus just in time to leave for dinner at Lindsay's. I've been there 4 times and every trip is better than the last. I love her and I love her folks. We played Catch Phrase, and I've only just latley gotten over what was a crushing defeat dealt by Lindsay and Alex 3 games to 1. I definitely want a rematch.
Nothing like a home-cooked meal, an envigorating game and a nice movie to get someone sleepy. I wasn't long for the night after all that.
An exhaustingly fun day. Nothing like it. Got me all excited for Christmas.
Today was about as lazy as can be. But after all that, I'll take it. Did about 65% of a lab report I was dreading. It's due Tuesday, so, I put myself in good position to finish it tomorrow night. Layed around and watched football. Went out and got "real" Chinese food. Not a bad day per se, but, I was immediately reminiscent of the last two days and nights.
Til next time.
(A week til Christmas. Joy.)
-Daniel |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 13th, 2006|01:54 am] |
"I know that I oughtta find someone new,
but all I find is myself always thinking of you."
"I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)" - Expose |
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| I will do anything, girl you need only ask. |
[Dec. 9th, 2006|04:32 am] |
First week of classes is done. Both of my science classes are gonna make winter quarter drag on unmercifully. I really should have saved the lax schedule for winter, because I really would like to sleep in and take it easy when the weather is so nasty and S.A.D. is at its worst. Marketing and Elements of Graphic Design will be worth waking up for, but I don't think they can save what is going to be a struggle of a quarter. Bowling every week will be great fun. Monday I bowled a 187 and a 177. Honestly, both games should have been 200's that I just fucked up. It felt good to bowl again though, that is unti my hand ached like a bitchassnig.
I dunno, nothing much to say. My life here is school, and little more. SportsZone, some food, occasional visits from the few friends I care about and a whole mess of TV. It's gotten to the point where I really don't mind or care that I'm living such a (I'll say it) boring life here. Okay...I care, but, only when I step away from myself and see it how someone else would. What can I say? I don't like it here. That has never really changed. But I decided to stay in hopes that it will benefit my future. After all, that's what I'm here for, no? And doing nothing all day is what I'm comfortable doing. How's that for carpe diem? I'm just not at all comfortable here in many settings, it's not my kinda place. People see me as I am now and say I'm anti-social. I can't disagree with that, since that is pretty accurate.
...I really hate to sound like I'm so opposed to the people here or breaking the shell that RIT has forced me to construct, but, it's the only thing that seems to be working. I care that I don't do much, but more for myself than for other people. Like...I don't like not doing much simply because these years are the last "free" years Ill ever have, not necessarily because "I'm missing out on all the cool parties with cool people." No, not that at all. The people here are...not my kind of people. And if they're out there, well, I haven't met them yet.
Oh well. As crummy as it all is, it hasn't changed, and I don't see it getting any better or worse. So, if it stays like this, I can deal with it.
The holiday season makes me miss and appreciate my home friends so much. I'm not sure those people know how much I love them. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 1st, 2006|01:32 am] |
but it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you. |
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| Bulletproof under t-shirts because they hate us. |
[Nov. 25th, 2006|02:10 am] |
| [ | music |
| | "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner | ] |
Woke up at 6:30
showered
hit Staples for 1GB jump drives for $15 which is a crazy good deal
then hit the mall for a couple things
(and a couple things for myself)
home at like 11
ate leftovers
watched Golden Girls
Sass called me up for a pickup football game
got the lads together
i was quarterback
we played in the mudpit that was the Shelter Rock field
we came back and won 15-14
fun stuff, good game, the mud made it awesome
came home all achy
showered again
dicked around for a while
watched some Breakfast Club on Comedy Central
I love that movie
I love Molly Ringwald
I love Ally Sheedy
drove brother to liquor store then to his friends
then went to Chris' for a bit of booze and alot of Wii
I'm not too sure I like the Wii
it's interesting, but just not for me
ofcourse we all caused a ruckus
and after people passed out one by one
i figured i'd better dip
all in all, a pretty sweet day |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 22nd, 2006|02:23 am] |
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I hate pretending... |
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| You're at your best when the going gets rough. You've been put to the test, but it's never enough. |
[Nov. 16th, 2006|12:25 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  relieved | ] |
Fall Quarter 2006-07 is in the books.
Projected Grades, Links to Projects & Course Summaries:
Intro to Multimedia - A
[IMM Projects: Final Project]
I wish I could be a little more confident about this grade, but, I didn't do incredibly well on the final [B-ish]. An easy class that I probably blew off a little too much. I did really well on the projects though . I'd say I'm about 85% sure I got an A.
Intro to Programming for New Media - A
[PNM Projects: Meet The Mets // Shoofly // Let's Go Huntin'!]
This class was tough. First off, I didn't take the pre-req for it [supposed to be taken last year, but I switched into this major 2/3 through last year]. Still, I didn't have a super-hard time making up for lost time. The pre-req was just to get familiar with the Flash program, not really do much programming. Also, I don't have the mind for programming. It takes a really pragmatic and thorough person to master programming, which I didn't do. That being said. I learned alot from it. Not so much programming-wise, but learned alot about how I work/think, what I'm good at, and how to handle those kinds of tasks. I'm not gonna become a programmer in my future, I think that's clear. But what I did learn and do was pretty interesting. This class was largely project based, and I got A's on the first two, no reason I don't on the third.
Honors Literature and The Simpsons - A
[HLS Projects: Marriage & The Simpsons]
Honestly, this class wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought it was going to focus more on the show and branch out from there, but it did the opposite. And we didn't do very many discussions on what we saw in the show. The first 5 weeks of the course were basically "read this and this and this, we'll talk about it, and hey look, 'The Simpsons' kinda talks about it too." If you ask me, pretty lame. The remaining weeks were focused on presentations of groups' projects. We were supposed to investigate an aspect of the show...[meant to be very open-ended, something else I didn't care for]. My group did marriage and how the show presents different types of marriages in America (nuclear family, divorce, same-sex, arranged, etc.), and whether they're presented as "beneficial" or "successful" scenarios. Other groups did blind faith, conflict in education, and consumerism. Frankly, I thought ours was the best as far as content. We had some kind of focus and really stayed within the show to do our analysis, being that we were supposed to use the show as a focal text. We also had a thesis and made an argument, something I don't think any other group did. It didn't hurt that we had a resident Simpson-ologist [yours truly] on the team, so, all of the episodes we showed were pertinent and hammered home what we were trying to say. As far as the professor goes; he's a really cool guy, really knowledgeable about tons of topics, but I kinda feel like he dropped the ball with the class. Obviously I wanted more out of it and wasn't completely satisfied. No reason I don't get an A in the class, though [unless he reads this critique...]
Data Analysis I - B
I hate math.
General Life:
Sanity - C- [m-i-n-e-s]
A rough 12 weeks. Unsure of my future for most of that time. Never a good feeling.
Social Life - B
Did more partying than I ever had before at school. Not as wholly unsatisfying as I thought the RIT party scene would be. Other than that, I was generally by myself. All things considered, with the shaky psychological + emotional state I was in, that was probably for everyone's good.
Love Life - ??
Haven't got one. Next.
Feeling of Accomplishment - B-
It always feels good to reach the end of the quarter in one piece. With each passing term, that is a more and more satisfying feeling. Especially this quarter, with all that I was figuring out, to battle through programming and actually do fairly well was quite an accomplishment if I may say. The B- grade is because in other areas of my life I was pretty stagnant. It's all good though.
Job Status - A+
Started the quarter/year at the Corner Store. Not a bad job at all, easy stuff. But I was soon promoted at SportsZone to Director of Sports Info., which is quite a step up from stock boy. I get paid really well, my opinion/input is valued, I've been doing actual work, and creating a nice niche for myself that should be paying huger and yooger dividends as the weeks go by. It better pay those dividends in a big way, as it's the #1 reason I decided to stay at RIT.
General Health - C+
Don't get shit for sleep. Haven't been eating too well either. I don't binge on shit, but, I'm not exactly eating celery stalks and strained beets as my meal of choice. At the same time, I was playing racquetball 3 times a week for a good while, and drinking OJ almost exclusively. Only stopped playing rcquetball because schoolwork kicked up.
TV Watching - A+
I'm so good at that. Arrested Development. Family Guy. The War at Home. Futurama. The Office [UK/US]. Seinfeld. My new favorite show: Heroes. Do yourself a favor and get into it. It's so good.
Model Citizenship - B-
I'm no saint, but I did find an ID on the sidewalk and tracked down the owner via facebook. Also held doors for people like it was my job.
Sports Team Success - D
The Mets were going so well for a while there. Then I forget what happened next...I still can't wait for next year though. If my heart and my fandom can deal with that tragedy, they can deal with anything. Bring it on 07. Elsewhere in the sports world, the Cowboys have been up and down almost by the week. I don't even bother getting worked up over them anymore, atleast not after what I went through with the Mets. RIT had a number of teams have good regular seasons and then blow it in the playoffs. Both mens' soccer and womens' volleyball were #1 in the Empire 8 and hosting the championship game, and both lost to cross-town rival Nazareth [on the same day, no less]. Not a fun day. Last but not least, my adopted college football team, the Michigan Wolverines, are undefeated and #2 in the country. Silver lining.
Care for Technology - C-
Laptop screen stopped working early in the quarter. Not my fault though. Finally going to send it away to be fixed tomorrow. iPod dies a little more each day. I've dropped my phone a billion times, but it's hanging in there. Big points off in the grade because of computer malfunctions.
Living Situation - A-
Thank God I have an awesome roommate, because this hall is horrible. The recent addition of digital cable is a big boon to the grade.
[Overall Grade - B-. Does that grade make any sense or really reflect how my quarter went? Ehh. I suppose I'm still standing, so it couldn't have been that bad. I have a feeling that all that I went through will pay off someday, so, I suppose the B- is a pretty fair grade for the previous 12 weeks.]
Random Things About 061 I Enjoyed:
-Little Miss Sunshine
-Lindsay Power
-Drunk MarioKart
-Baked beans
-Autumn wreath and Cinnamon appleberry
-FileBot + Herkimer
-Lemon lollipops
And tomorrow I make my way home for two weeks of homing and lots of turkey.
I'm so excited. |
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dan_casaz's journal
