College Update
Well guys, it's been a week of college so far. What can I say about it? Lots actually. I've been so busy that the days melt away in a blur of classes, special events, new places and new faces. Right now I'm trying to get into the swing of things...adjust as it were. Lots of things to think about. Lots of people to meet. Lots of holes to fill. Lots of worries and lots of things to look forward to. I'd describe the experience so far as "dynamic."
I guess I'll start with my classes. They are, of course, scattered at random times throughout the week (I did have SOME say in how my schedule looked like however.) I actually have a General Chemistry lecture tomorrow morning (or this morning) at 7:30am. Nice huh? A half hour before classes even begin for you guys. The nice thing is that Wednesday I only have one class (Calculus) at 2:00pm. So meh. There are trade-offs.
Other classes I'm taking: Cultural Anthropology, Intro to Aeronautical Engineering (mmm...rocket science), and, of course, Aerobic Running/Interval Training (for one half credit!) Chem will of course be a bitch class...why, just this evening I was reminded of how much I hated this subject when I endured a THREE HOUR CHEM LAB ABOUT WATER. Yeah, we didn't even get to play with dangerous acids or radioactive plutonium...just water. Whatever.
Calculus is ridiculously easy. The AP Cal course at AHS is so much more than this. Remember all those equations I used to randomly vandalize on school property? Yeah, I won't get those till next year. Psh.
I probably won't transfer out though. An easy A (from a wothwhile subject) is hard to come by nowaways...did I mention that an A- in college earns you 3.8 GPA? Yeah that's right. If you want to get a four oh here you'll havta get 95% or higher in all the classes...dern.
Anyways, enough with the classes.
Dorm life is different. What a concept eh? I'm meeting a lot of new people of course. The only familiar face I see on a regular basis is my roommate Erik (Bryan Wong's brother). But yes, I'm making new friends. There are actually a lot of cool guys on my floor who I manage to hang out with everyday, time permitting. Albert, Drew, Brian, Earl, Jamie, Ben, John...heh I'm starting to remember their names already. Albert in particular I see myself spending a lot of time with...he plays Magic (actually managed to get me a box of the new set for $30 off the retail price!) and is generally a really nice outgoing guy.
What else? Ah yes, lest not forget the other gender. The girls here are for the most part fine (pun). Kinda on the blonde party girl side, but eh, they don't seem ditsy or anything. One girl in particular catches my eye...guess we'll see what happens with that. I do need to get over my shyness though. I have no excuses this time around...
And what would college be without drinking? Officially, the weekend here starts on a Thursday, which is fine by me since class doesn't start till 2 on Friday. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights were spent frattin...unfortunately that's where most people go for their weekly escapades. Frat parties are OK I guess...big crowds don't suit me though. Especially when a girl gets hit in the face with a beer bottle, or one of my floormates gets hit by a car...yeah...I can see why Davis is trying to cut down on the party scene...
If I'm not eating at the dining commons (which is pretty good), hanging with people, frattin, running errands, or going to class, I manage to squeeze in some running time at the new state-of-the-art rec facility. I talked to the head track coach and he said that if I follow the middle-distance workouts, do some weight-lifting (especially in my quad/hip/abdominal area), and get myself in good shape that he'll time me in the 400 and see how I fare. I probably won't make the team this year (this is a division 1 school that competes with the top schools in the country), but that if I train enough I'll proabbly make the team sophomore year. If I can clock under 52.5 in the 400 that I'm good to run a sub 1:55 800m (and probably make the team from there). So, if you didn't really catch all that, I'm going to be training my ass off for a while.
Of course, if that all fails, I'm perfectly willing to start a track club as an intramural sport, which I'm surprised doesn't exist.
Well I guess that's it for now. All in all college is/will be fun, new, different, etc. Which is what I really need from a personal perspective. There is still, however, a longing in me for the good ol days. The Alameda days I call them. But I think they're dead...or they need to die, because the future is coming and I can't stop it. Sometimes I stop and reflect...what I wouldn't give to do this all over again. Would you call me crazy if I wanted to go back to school...High School...Middle school...hell even Elementry school? The world is moving a million miles per hour.
Overall, I'm adjusting alright. I like to think of that as one of my strengths. I don't terribly long for home, and so far I have had no problems living in a completely diferent place.
O well. Here's to growing up.
I guess I'll start with my classes. They are, of course, scattered at random times throughout the week (I did have SOME say in how my schedule looked like however.) I actually have a General Chemistry lecture tomorrow morning (or this morning) at 7:30am. Nice huh? A half hour before classes even begin for you guys. The nice thing is that Wednesday I only have one class (Calculus) at 2:00pm. So meh. There are trade-offs.
Other classes I'm taking: Cultural Anthropology, Intro to Aeronautical Engineering (mmm...rocket science), and, of course, Aerobic Running/Interval Training (for one half credit!) Chem will of course be a bitch class...why, just this evening I was reminded of how much I hated this subject when I endured a THREE HOUR CHEM LAB ABOUT WATER. Yeah, we didn't even get to play with dangerous acids or radioactive plutonium...just water. Whatever.
Calculus is ridiculously easy. The AP Cal course at AHS is so much more than this. Remember all those equations I used to randomly vandalize on school property? Yeah, I won't get those till next year. Psh.
I probably won't transfer out though. An easy A (from a wothwhile subject) is hard to come by nowaways...did I mention that an A- in college earns you 3.8 GPA? Yeah that's right. If you want to get a four oh here you'll havta get 95% or higher in all the classes...dern.
Anyways, enough with the classes.
Dorm life is different. What a concept eh? I'm meeting a lot of new people of course. The only familiar face I see on a regular basis is my roommate Erik (Bryan Wong's brother). But yes, I'm making new friends. There are actually a lot of cool guys on my floor who I manage to hang out with everyday, time permitting. Albert, Drew, Brian, Earl, Jamie, Ben, John...heh I'm starting to remember their names already. Albert in particular I see myself spending a lot of time with...he plays Magic (actually managed to get me a box of the new set for $30 off the retail price!) and is generally a really nice outgoing guy.
What else? Ah yes, lest not forget the other gender. The girls here are for the most part fine (pun). Kinda on the blonde party girl side, but eh, they don't seem ditsy or anything. One girl in particular catches my eye...guess we'll see what happens with that. I do need to get over my shyness though. I have no excuses this time around...
And what would college be without drinking? Officially, the weekend here starts on a Thursday, which is fine by me since class doesn't start till 2 on Friday. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights were spent frattin...unfortunately that's where most people go for their weekly escapades. Frat parties are OK I guess...big crowds don't suit me though. Especially when a girl gets hit in the face with a beer bottle, or one of my floormates gets hit by a car...yeah...I can see why Davis is trying to cut down on the party scene...
If I'm not eating at the dining commons (which is pretty good), hanging with people, frattin, running errands, or going to class, I manage to squeeze in some running time at the new state-of-the-art rec facility. I talked to the head track coach and he said that if I follow the middle-distance workouts, do some weight-lifting (especially in my quad/hip/abdominal area), and get myself in good shape that he'll time me in the 400 and see how I fare. I probably won't make the team this year (this is a division 1 school that competes with the top schools in the country), but that if I train enough I'll proabbly make the team sophomore year. If I can clock under 52.5 in the 400 that I'm good to run a sub 1:55 800m (and probably make the team from there). So, if you didn't really catch all that, I'm going to be training my ass off for a while.
Of course, if that all fails, I'm perfectly willing to start a track club as an intramural sport, which I'm surprised doesn't exist.
Well I guess that's it for now. All in all college is/will be fun, new, different, etc. Which is what I really need from a personal perspective. There is still, however, a longing in me for the good ol days. The Alameda days I call them. But I think they're dead...or they need to die, because the future is coming and I can't stop it. Sometimes I stop and reflect...what I wouldn't give to do this all over again. Would you call me crazy if I wanted to go back to school...High School...Middle school...hell even Elementry school? The world is moving a million miles per hour.
Overall, I'm adjusting alright. I like to think of that as one of my strengths. I don't terribly long for home, and so far I have had no problems living in a completely diferent place.
O well. Here's to growing up.
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