A Friday at UCSB. Unfortunatley More Typical Than Not.
The young man arrives in his building's lobby having just given a friend's friend a ride home from the Greyhound station. It's something he's happy to do, he was on the receiving end of the ride at times in the past as well. As he ambles by the formal lounge, he spots a chess game going on, and tiptoes in to have a look-see. The young man is engrossed in what he thinks the next best move is, when he hears the wailing from the lobby. A girl has just come out of the elevator and is frantic, a complete jumble of words and sounds not all of which are intelligible, but both the young man and the young woman at the front desk can pick up the girl's room number, and the words "roommate" and "alcohol poisoning." Better safe than sorry, the front desk worker calls the campus emergency number. Literally before she's finished describing the situation over the phone, a CSO officer arrives via bike at the front door. By this time the young man is out in the lobby curious as to what's going on, and if he can do anything to help. He unlocks the door for the officer who hurriedly moves towards the East tower where the victim is located. Minutes later, paramedics arrive with a stretcher. The young man's eyes glaze over as he watches the stretcher rolled across the floor in front of him. His mind flashes back to the number of times in his short three year experience with this school that he's seen this situation before. He realizes he'll probably see this situation again. A different stretcher, a different person, a different reason, but all because of the same mistake.
Think that basically says it all. It's amazing how the mood around here can go from "bouncy happy cheerful excited let's party" to "slumping sad tearful depressed what have I done", in a mere few hours. I feel like I should be giving some sort of advice here, but do I really need to spell it out?
Friday, April 12, 2002
We All Do Stupid Things.
So when I rearranged my room a month or two ago I suddenly realized after everything was set back up that I was getting no sound from my rear speakers. I'd left them plugged in during the move, so after various testing and unplugging and plugging and discovering they worked when connected to one of the other slots, and software checks and different tests and such I figured the amp was fried at the rear connections. So I've been surfing ebay looking for cheap cool systems among other things, and while I was sitting here about a month later I suddenly noticed that one of the volume knobs on the amp was at the minimum. Sure enough, its the surround one. [looks sheepish]
They call me Mr. Fix It, yep they do.
So when I rearranged my room a month or two ago I suddenly realized after everything was set back up that I was getting no sound from my rear speakers. I'd left them plugged in during the move, so after various testing and unplugging and plugging and discovering they worked when connected to one of the other slots, and software checks and different tests and such I figured the amp was fried at the rear connections. So I've been surfing ebay looking for cheap cool systems among other things, and while I was sitting here about a month later I suddenly noticed that one of the volume knobs on the amp was at the minimum. Sure enough, its the surround one. [looks sheepish]
They call me Mr. Fix It, yep they do.
Chuckle of the Day...
Gonna get crazy and try a link here, because I found it so funny. Go ahead and check this out.
Some poor soul DEFINITELY didn't find what he was looking for, as this page managed to end up at the top of the list in a search at some whack site for "whale of a girl."
Gonna get crazy and try a link here, because I found it so funny. Go ahead and check this out.
Some poor soul DEFINITELY didn't find what he was looking for, as this page managed to end up at the top of the list in a search at some whack site for "whale of a girl."
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Comfy Places for Cozy People
Or maybe that's Cozy places for Comfy people. Hm. Well anyway, I've been on a vendetta to find comfy spots around campus to spend my time when I'm bored between classes, or need to get my reading done, or whatever. I shall now reveal a couple to the select few bored enough to be looking for some as well. Second floor of the HSSB building, on the curved wing, about halfway down there's some nice comfy chairs in an air conditioned room with a vending machine. Very reclusive and quiet. First floor of the Chemistry building, just after you walk in there's some chairs to your left, including a bonus double one that you can basically stretch out on or do what people like me do, get bored and shift your weight or change your position every five minutes between chapters. Sure the library's nice and all, but sometimes you just gotta branch out and forge into new territory.
Finished basically the entire planning aspect of my Vegas trip today, and made almost all of the necessary phone calls and reservations. My account has dwindled as such, but its shaping up to be the most amazing trip of my life in quite some time. Ran into a few snags along the way but it looks like I've got everything all worked out. Oh, forgot to mention due to a few different issues it got backed up a week, so those looking to invade the place should do so from May 10th to the 12th. ;)
Unfortunately it looks like due to lack of funding on my real birthday I'll now be eating the free food in the dining commons. Its all good, its worth it. :)
Or maybe that's Cozy places for Comfy people. Hm. Well anyway, I've been on a vendetta to find comfy spots around campus to spend my time when I'm bored between classes, or need to get my reading done, or whatever. I shall now reveal a couple to the select few bored enough to be looking for some as well. Second floor of the HSSB building, on the curved wing, about halfway down there's some nice comfy chairs in an air conditioned room with a vending machine. Very reclusive and quiet. First floor of the Chemistry building, just after you walk in there's some chairs to your left, including a bonus double one that you can basically stretch out on or do what people like me do, get bored and shift your weight or change your position every five minutes between chapters. Sure the library's nice and all, but sometimes you just gotta branch out and forge into new territory.
Finished basically the entire planning aspect of my Vegas trip today, and made almost all of the necessary phone calls and reservations. My account has dwindled as such, but its shaping up to be the most amazing trip of my life in quite some time. Ran into a few snags along the way but it looks like I've got everything all worked out. Oh, forgot to mention due to a few different issues it got backed up a week, so those looking to invade the place should do so from May 10th to the 12th. ;)
Unfortunately it looks like due to lack of funding on my real birthday I'll now be eating the free food in the dining commons. Its all good, its worth it. :)
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
My, The Freshmen Look Small This Year
It's too bad, too bad
Too late, so wrong
So looooooong.
It's too bad, we had
No time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk.
Random lyrics from Nickelback's "Too Bad", not particularly interesting, catchy song though, and the one my Winamp chose to randomly shuffle to and stick in my head this morning.
There have been a lot of tours wandering around lately, and with Spring Insight this weekend there should be thousands more shuffling around campus their eyes and big as their melons, while their parents go through the age old exchange "Is this dorm where a lot of the parties are? Really? Okay Jimmy let's go back to that ugly looking one on the other side..." Its weird, I still remember walking up the middle of campus for the first time, and I remember what it looked like seeing all the buildings and so forth for the first time. I personally thought it was awesome, and to this day I can't think of a better place to spend four years with regards to weather and atmosphere. I'm sure I'll be helping many of said freshmen move in on that fateful day next year, who knows, maybe they won't be as idiotic as the recent sets (mine included). One can only hope. :)
Wednesday's my busy section day, three in a row from 2 to 5, so I better get studyin for some quizzes.
It's too bad, too bad
Too late, so wrong
So looooooong.
It's too bad, we had
No time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk.
Random lyrics from Nickelback's "Too Bad", not particularly interesting, catchy song though, and the one my Winamp chose to randomly shuffle to and stick in my head this morning.
There have been a lot of tours wandering around lately, and with Spring Insight this weekend there should be thousands more shuffling around campus their eyes and big as their melons, while their parents go through the age old exchange "Is this dorm where a lot of the parties are? Really? Okay Jimmy let's go back to that ugly looking one on the other side..." Its weird, I still remember walking up the middle of campus for the first time, and I remember what it looked like seeing all the buildings and so forth for the first time. I personally thought it was awesome, and to this day I can't think of a better place to spend four years with regards to weather and atmosphere. I'm sure I'll be helping many of said freshmen move in on that fateful day next year, who knows, maybe they won't be as idiotic as the recent sets (mine included). One can only hope. :)
Wednesday's my busy section day, three in a row from 2 to 5, so I better get studyin for some quizzes.
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
He's Makin a List, and Checkin It Twice...
Updated the word doc I'm using to back up this blog, we're up to 150+ pages now. Wonder how long it would take me to type that in one sitting. Long. Very long.
Spent a few hours today planning my Vegas trip slated for early next month, getting all the specifics down, scheduling out the three days and two nights involved, and surfing around looking for the best deals. I figure might as wel see as much as possible while I'm there, who knows when I'll have the money to go back. :) The only reason I have it this time is because its the only thing I asked for on my 21st birthday, which I'll end up celebrating that Saturday, most likely with a full day of entertainment and fun. Compared with my siblings, I've been somewhat shortchanged in the past on a number of issues involving money, so I figure I'm due.
Now for those of you thinking I'm going to go bankrupt losing all my money in the casinos, I can only tell you that's utterly not the reason I'm going. If I felt like gambling, I could take money off the hands of the freshmen on the hall, or drive a half hour north for some random weekend fun. I'm going for the shows, the entertainment, the attractions, and basically the atmosphere. The feeling of wandering around for two days living the life of the rich and famous (well, on a budget) and living it up in the most glamorous city in the world. Sure, I'll end up tossing a random dollar bill in a machine when I'm wandering through the Bellagio between the Fountains and the Cirque Du Soleil show, but I have utterly no interest in spending hours on end in a single casino. Trying to see an entire city in two days requries a lot of planning and a tight schedule, no time to be making millions along the way.
Not that I would mind if one of those random dollar bills happened to reproduce into enough to pay off the whole trip... :) There's a possibility there will be extra room in the room I'm staying in for that Friday and Saturday night (May 3rd and 4th) for those who happen to be in the area needing a place to crash. No guarantees though, check with me first. Going to be finalizing the plans this week it would appear, making the necessary reservations, and all the busywork. Ended up making a huge list of everything I wanted to see and do along with timing and prices for all of it, and then having to go through an agonizing cut off period where I had to eliminate many of the more expensive or more time consuming
My brother and sister have been utterly lazy in updating their blogs, so I've begun using the time searching for new, exciting and interesting people around the world. If you're one of them, and reading this, sign my guestbook with your blog site already, so I can be aware of your existence! ;)
Updated the word doc I'm using to back up this blog, we're up to 150+ pages now. Wonder how long it would take me to type that in one sitting. Long. Very long.
Spent a few hours today planning my Vegas trip slated for early next month, getting all the specifics down, scheduling out the three days and two nights involved, and surfing around looking for the best deals. I figure might as wel see as much as possible while I'm there, who knows when I'll have the money to go back. :) The only reason I have it this time is because its the only thing I asked for on my 21st birthday, which I'll end up celebrating that Saturday, most likely with a full day of entertainment and fun. Compared with my siblings, I've been somewhat shortchanged in the past on a number of issues involving money, so I figure I'm due.
Now for those of you thinking I'm going to go bankrupt losing all my money in the casinos, I can only tell you that's utterly not the reason I'm going. If I felt like gambling, I could take money off the hands of the freshmen on the hall, or drive a half hour north for some random weekend fun. I'm going for the shows, the entertainment, the attractions, and basically the atmosphere. The feeling of wandering around for two days living the life of the rich and famous (well, on a budget) and living it up in the most glamorous city in the world. Sure, I'll end up tossing a random dollar bill in a machine when I'm wandering through the Bellagio between the Fountains and the Cirque Du Soleil show, but I have utterly no interest in spending hours on end in a single casino. Trying to see an entire city in two days requries a lot of planning and a tight schedule, no time to be making millions along the way.
Not that I would mind if one of those random dollar bills happened to reproduce into enough to pay off the whole trip... :) There's a possibility there will be extra room in the room I'm staying in for that Friday and Saturday night (May 3rd and 4th) for those who happen to be in the area needing a place to crash. No guarantees though, check with me first. Going to be finalizing the plans this week it would appear, making the necessary reservations, and all the busywork. Ended up making a huge list of everything I wanted to see and do along with timing and prices for all of it, and then having to go through an agonizing cut off period where I had to eliminate many of the more expensive or more time consuming
My brother and sister have been utterly lazy in updating their blogs, so I've begun using the time searching for new, exciting and interesting people around the world. If you're one of them, and reading this, sign my guestbook with your blog site already, so I can be aware of your existence! ;)
Monday, April 08, 2002
A To-Do List For Life...
This is an idea I've been milling over for quite a long time now and finally decided to sit down and begin. A list as you've probably seen in many other places by many other people, of the things that I personally would like to do during this lifetime.
I've let a relatively sheltered and spoiled existence, and I'm quite aware of such. One just needs to read one of those posters that talk about "If the World had only 100 people" and then gives you the breakdown of how many would be at poverty level or below (60 as I recall) and how many are illiterate in order to realize how "good" most of us (if not all) have it. I surfed around the net taking a look at various other people's list, and travel seems to be quite popular, and that makes sense, why be ready to leave this world if you haven't seen all of it yet. One thing that seems to be different with mine is that I'm lacking materialistic items. People have things like "earn a million a year " or "live in a million dollar loft in New York" or "own a luxury car." For me when I really get down to the nitty gritty what I want to accomplish in life, money seems like a means of getting to certain things, but certainly not the end result. If I could accomplish all the things on my list without any, I wouldn't feel the need to make more than the average Joe. I think I'll be adding to the list continuously, and I don't think I'll ever accomplish everything on it. A lot of the things I've added already are ongoing, such as seeing the Olympic torch whenever it visits the United States, riding the world's fastest roller coaster at any given time (I've actually ridden three of the top five at the moment including #1), and visiting the world's highest observation deck (currently the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada). I'll probably end up categorizing the list to make it easier, because it looks like its going to be quite lengthy. Some physical personal items are running a five minute mile (I came close in high school, but never hit it) and bench pressing my weight. Then you've got the typical travel items, and "crazy" things like skydiving or bungee jumping. Other items are more random, such as publishing a book and an article in a magazine, designing my own house, and giving a performance on stage people paid to see in a musical or show of some sort. Still others are of the far-fetched variety, such as going on a spacewalk, or seeing the earth from space. Who knows though, civilian space travel might not be as far away as we think. Then we have learning sign language, and being a voice in an animated movie..
Well as you can see, the list goes on, and on. I've only mentioned a small portion of the lengthy version I've got so far, and I've still only just begun. Lofty goals sure, getting to do everything on the list would be as close to impossible as they come, but aren't we all allowed to dream?
Was hanging out with a friend at Carrow's tonight and she mentioned that experiencing "true love" was on her list. Frankly yes, I guess finding "the one" will be on mine, but whenever I think about it I always find myself settling for "well, maybe "a" one, or maybe even "anyone"." It's just not an extremely high priority at this time in my life. Through my friends and family I basically fill all the social needs I have, and although I wouldn't mind a singular person to share experiences with on a closer level, I'm not tripping over myself trying desperately to find someone to fit the mold.
Rereading that something tells me if I look back through this journal I'll find contradictory views and wants in other places. I probably change back and forth about how important finding love is to me from week to week, month to month. I guess that's where the title of this comes from, who really knows what I'm searching for?
This is an idea I've been milling over for quite a long time now and finally decided to sit down and begin. A list as you've probably seen in many other places by many other people, of the things that I personally would like to do during this lifetime.
I've let a relatively sheltered and spoiled existence, and I'm quite aware of such. One just needs to read one of those posters that talk about "If the World had only 100 people" and then gives you the breakdown of how many would be at poverty level or below (60 as I recall) and how many are illiterate in order to realize how "good" most of us (if not all) have it. I surfed around the net taking a look at various other people's list, and travel seems to be quite popular, and that makes sense, why be ready to leave this world if you haven't seen all of it yet. One thing that seems to be different with mine is that I'm lacking materialistic items. People have things like "earn a million a year " or "live in a million dollar loft in New York" or "own a luxury car." For me when I really get down to the nitty gritty what I want to accomplish in life, money seems like a means of getting to certain things, but certainly not the end result. If I could accomplish all the things on my list without any, I wouldn't feel the need to make more than the average Joe. I think I'll be adding to the list continuously, and I don't think I'll ever accomplish everything on it. A lot of the things I've added already are ongoing, such as seeing the Olympic torch whenever it visits the United States, riding the world's fastest roller coaster at any given time (I've actually ridden three of the top five at the moment including #1), and visiting the world's highest observation deck (currently the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada). I'll probably end up categorizing the list to make it easier, because it looks like its going to be quite lengthy. Some physical personal items are running a five minute mile (I came close in high school, but never hit it) and bench pressing my weight. Then you've got the typical travel items, and "crazy" things like skydiving or bungee jumping. Other items are more random, such as publishing a book and an article in a magazine, designing my own house, and giving a performance on stage people paid to see in a musical or show of some sort. Still others are of the far-fetched variety, such as going on a spacewalk, or seeing the earth from space. Who knows though, civilian space travel might not be as far away as we think. Then we have learning sign language, and being a voice in an animated movie..
Well as you can see, the list goes on, and on. I've only mentioned a small portion of the lengthy version I've got so far, and I've still only just begun. Lofty goals sure, getting to do everything on the list would be as close to impossible as they come, but aren't we all allowed to dream?
Was hanging out with a friend at Carrow's tonight and she mentioned that experiencing "true love" was on her list. Frankly yes, I guess finding "the one" will be on mine, but whenever I think about it I always find myself settling for "well, maybe "a" one, or maybe even "anyone"." It's just not an extremely high priority at this time in my life. Through my friends and family I basically fill all the social needs I have, and although I wouldn't mind a singular person to share experiences with on a closer level, I'm not tripping over myself trying desperately to find someone to fit the mold.
Rereading that something tells me if I look back through this journal I'll find contradictory views and wants in other places. I probably change back and forth about how important finding love is to me from week to week, month to month. I guess that's where the title of this comes from, who really knows what I'm searching for?
Sunday, April 07, 2002
Typical College, well, UCSB Life...
Nothing like returning home late at night and having to climb over several lifeless bodies strewn about the hallway in order to get to one's door. Even better is going to use the restroom before bed and finding not one, not two, but all three stalls full of stationary subjects in either the bent over "I'm barfing" position or the collapsed "i'm passed out in a bathroom stall" position.
Stranger still is finding a few very large dents in the wall down the hall, and hearing about how the trash can in the restroom was set on fire earlier. That's slightly more dangerous than the usual "let's teepee the bathroom" that involves wasting all the rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom making some sort of strange canopy of garbage.
I had a good night tonight, and apparently its a good thing I wasn't around to deal with all the crap that went on here.
Daylight savings it would appear, spring ahead fall back and all that, another hour gone from the day when I didn't even do anything. Alas.
Nothing like returning home late at night and having to climb over several lifeless bodies strewn about the hallway in order to get to one's door. Even better is going to use the restroom before bed and finding not one, not two, but all three stalls full of stationary subjects in either the bent over "I'm barfing" position or the collapsed "i'm passed out in a bathroom stall" position.
Stranger still is finding a few very large dents in the wall down the hall, and hearing about how the trash can in the restroom was set on fire earlier. That's slightly more dangerous than the usual "let's teepee the bathroom" that involves wasting all the rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom making some sort of strange canopy of garbage.
I had a good night tonight, and apparently its a good thing I wasn't around to deal with all the crap that went on here.
Daylight savings it would appear, spring ahead fall back and all that, another hour gone from the day when I didn't even do anything. Alas.
