Cleveland: A week and 3 days

So I've started to settle in to Cleveland a little and I'm enjoying myself. As I said in my first couple posts, my aunt and uncle arrived here a couple days after I did and I'm really glad they're here. I enjoy spending time with them and my family. It gives me a chance to just sit down and relax for a while unlike my last winter break.

I'll put that little bit in perspective. I'm staying here in Cleveland for 16 days of my winter break, then I head back to Fairbanks for a few days before I start Spring Training for my RA job. While in Cleveland, I'm relaxing, spending time with family, reading, and getting the chance to explore a new area. I'm DOING things with my time or intentionally not doing things.

Last year I was in Valdez for 28 days before coming back to Fairbanks for the opening of the dorms for students. Starting the day after I got back I worked 40 hour weeks at the schools in Valdez doing IT work for the entire break. My average day consisted of: wake up, go to work, come home, nap, eat, play video games, sleep. It was hellish, but I made some good money and had been used to waking up at 7am.

And I like it.

Christmas was a fun time too here. Everyone was super excited to open presents and I have to admit, I really like the stuff that I got from my family. Sport socks, a 15-plug surge protector, brain teasers, and a Nook Tablet. I. Love. New technology. This handheld device does a million things that I love. I can use it to remote-desktop to my computer, listen to music, browse the web, play games, and read. Its been so long since I've had the time to just sit and read and now I realize that I missed it. I missed it so much that in the 5 days since Christmas, I've read 5 books: 2 books from different Halo series and the entire Hunger Games Trilogy. That series is really good and I can't wait to see the movie now that I know what the books are about.

As for Cleveland, I've seen a little of it. My favorite trip I've taken so far has been to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens because they were amazing. Something like a living museum. I promise to have pictures up eventually, but at the moment I'm too lazy to get them off of my phone... One of the drawbacks to consistently doing nothing I suppose. I also haven't spent much time on the computer (hence the super late blog update) which I suppose is a good thing considering my conditions here. It's better to spend what time I have not being on my computer.

I head back to Fairbanks in 6 days though and I'll be glad to be there. I miss the cold, the people, the dorm, the classes, and my job. As of late I've also missed the time zone... Q has been keeping me up playing Scrabble until the wee hours of the morning. I'm the competitive sort of fellow who won't just stop and forfeit a game. In our Scrabble series (with the rate that our current game is going at...) The score will sit at 3-2 with me in the lead. I'm losing this game.... BUT I will win the whole thing using that obviously rational 3am brain I have... (Elika and Denali: you can't judge that :P)

So that's my life in a nutshell for now.

Cleveland: Days 2, 3, and 4

Its Christmas Eve! Here in Cleveland, its still green... But there was snow on the edge of the car window this morning! It was about a millimeter high and totally see through. So in all reality, there is no snow.

Also, here's a list of some of the observations that I've made here:

1. Drivers in Ohio are TERRIBLE. I see them cut corners, almost hit each other, and just generally miss the lines in the road entirely while driving. This is why I refuse to drive here.

2. Having the ability to just go to stores is pretty awesome. I finished shopping for a few people today and it was rather amazing that I could do it all within an hour and have it in my hands.

3. My family really hasn't changed since I last saw them in June. For better or worse, they're the same.

Wednesday night I had some delicious Thai food at a local place and last night I had a home-cooked meal that was made up of steaks, mussels, garlic bread, and salad. Now that was a fantastic meal! It was also my first home-cooked meal in over a year. Yep, a whole year.

And now its time for dinner again. 11 more days until my departure from here back to my frigid home, and back to my friends and school.

Cleveland: Day 1

So I made it to Cleveland, OH yesterday at about 1pm local time (so that's EST instead of AKST). That means to me, it felt like 9am. My flights were pretty bad as well, but they weren't horrible. The Fairbanks-Anchorage flight wasn't too bad though. While I was waiting at the airport I realized that there were about 9 other RAs on our flight so I could hang out with them while I waited to depart. Plus, Q was coming in on the flight that I was going out on so I got to see her for a bit as well before I left! It was a good day at the airport to see people! As for the flight, there wasn't anything of note really, so I'll call it decent.

The second flight though.... Man that flight was bad. I was on a 5 hour trip from Anchorage-Chicago and in the airport (prior to boarding) they were asking for volunteers to take another flight set because the flight I was on was overbooked on LAP BABIES. Yes, apparently that happens. Now think of the implications of that sentence.... My flight was at max capacity for babies. For a 5 hour flight that started at midnight. That flight was filled with crying and the entire front of the plane smelled like baby poop. Needless to say, I didn't sleep that much on that flight.

The Chicago O'Hare airport was pretty interesting when I landed and I took the time to seek out the USO there while I was on the ground. For those who don't know, the USO is basically a little hangout area with comfy chairs, nice people, free food/drink, and free internet for military dependents, active duty members, and retired servicemen of all branches. Its basically their way of saying thank you for being a part of our military and having to travel. I really liked it there too. As for the Chicago-Cleveland flight, my gate was switched 4 different times from across the airport and I almost missed my flight. It was rather annoying... I don't know how the flight was though because I passed out almost immediately.

Now I'm in Cleveland! Its really warm here... And rainy. But I don't mind. My family hasn't changed that much either since the last time I saw them at the beginning of June. My brother Connor still tried to fight me while I was sleeping, my mom still does mom things, my dad still throws laundry out the back door. You know, Verfaillie family stuff. I do have my own room here though, so that's nice. I also had a haircut when I woke up at 2pm and I'm convinced that eventually I'll piss off my parents by sleeping on Alaska Standard Time while I'm on the east coast. But now I'm off to go shopping with my family in stores that are actually cheap to buy things in and where the selection of stores to shop at may exceed 10.

And I probably won't post everyday, but I'll update on my adventures when I can.

Running towards the sun

So I'm back again after a long week and a half. Finals have been conquered, homework has been finished, and work for my building has been completed. That means semester number 1 of my Sophomore year has been completed! It's a really good feeling.

As an interesting fact, I'm writing this post in an email while flying towards Chicago, IL at what should be 4:30am if I were in Alaska, but these people claim that it's 7:30am. I call bullshit because right now I can see the sun and if Alaska has taught me anything, it's that seeing the sun is a rare occurrence.

Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit... But you get my point. It's WEIRD. I mean, for the last couple weeks of my life the sun has been SETTING at about 2pm. Now there's full length days again.

Why Chicago? Well it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from Cleveland, OH which is where I'm off to so I can spend Xmas with my family who moved this past summer. I haven't really seen them since then, so it will be nice to see everyone again.

As for the past week, it's been nuts. Finals were a pain in the butt, yet I seem to have pulled it off and done pretty well. I even managed to get an A- on my music jury! After finals I had about 36 hours to myself (which I used in the best way possible) and then us RAs had to buckle down and work our hands to the bone. Cleaning an entire residence hall is quite the task... But us Skarland RAs managed to pull it off in a timely fashion!

Me? Well I'm doing just dandy. I'm happy that the stress of finals is now off of my shoulders. Its about time I had a legitimate break. Plus I've been hanging out with this fantastic girl lately, so that's also pretty awesome.

Life's pretty grand right now. I just wish that in-flight cookies didn't suck...

Delaying the Inevitable

Thinking is a scary thing. Especially for me.... At 3am... Because around that time, all the same thoughts float around in my head (kinda like "the voices" but without all the psychological implications) and give me all these terrible ideas. Those who know me well know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. I promise they aren't actually bad things though. Just... Well.... Dorky, shy, ridiculous things. And when I say "terrible ideas" it really just means that if I want to keep some of my dignity when it comes to social interactions, I shouldn't do them.

So here's a bunch of stuff on my mind that will keep me occupied until I'm done writing this post!

This week was a really disappointing week for intramurals... Or I guess I should say that Wednesday was the disappointing day for intramurals. We had our soccer championship game and lost 1-0 in overtime. It wasn't just that, but it shouldn't have ended that way. A fluke goal that should have been stopped, should have been marked, should have been SOMETHING. But it wasn't and we lost. Including that game though, we only had 3 losses throughout the entire season so its not all bad. Still sad though... We worked so hard for that game just to have it slip through our fingers... But next semester Team Zissou will be ready to go and be fully healed for another awesome season!

Broomball ended similarly. Tuesday we won our first round of playoffs, but on Wednesday the other team was just better than us. Plain and simple. So, while that's disappointing, it was to be expected so it wasn't that bad I guess. But we still lost...

I really hate juries. My music jury is now in about 5 days and its FREAKING ME OUT. I've probably explained this before (in a previous post), but for those who are new to my blog and my music life: a music jury is where I select 3 pieces of music (one memorized, one etude, and one classical solo with piano accompaniment) and I go out in the big Davis Concert Hall and perform those pieces for 5-6 studio heads from the music department. Usually its the percussion, trumpet, low brass, horn, and single reed professors that I play in front of. Also, my ENTIRE grade for my private lessons is based on my performance at this one jury, so if I mess it up, there goes my grade down the toilet.

I miss Elika. She's all the way off in Florence, Italy and I still Skype her often, but I can't have midnight ramen time if she isn't here! Plus Denali is missing her hip attachment (which can't be healthy) and everyone around campus is missing one of our favorite people.

The UAF Wind Symphony had a concert yesterday too. I really like playing the horn. Its a magnificent instrument and so few people play it. Now that I look back on it, I think its kind of crazy that I only started playing it last year. Sure I had played trumpet for 8 years beforehand, but horn is a whole new beast and I'm really glad that I took on the challenge and now I have basically the greatest section a musician could ask for. I even had a small solo in this concert!

Our lovely horn section: Amber, me, Jeremiah, and Theresa

Christmas presents are starting to be delivered to people I know as well! So far everyone seems to be happy with what I've picked for them and I even had one person tell me afterwards "You know how to make a person smile!" So I feel very happy with the choices I have made. :D

Yesterday I almost hit a sign with my car too. I slid off the road and went into some deep snow with my right tires and I managed to pull out of it before I hit the speed limit sign. This has kind of made me not want to drive around when its snowing anymore.... But chances are that I'll end up having to go somewhere and then I'll drive again. For the most part though, I've been a safe driver! Take that parents!

Last, but not least, for tonight is an accomplishment of mine. Sure its nerdy, but I have successfully transcribed the Ocean theme from Legend of Zelda: Windwaker for a horn quartet and we are going to start playing it soon so that we can hopefully perform it in a Music at 1 next semester! That would be AWESOME. Plus the program could say "Ocean - Koji Kondo - arr. Quinn Verfaillie" and I would feel all special and stuff.

Fun fact: this didn't keep my attention away from what it meant to for very long....

Oh well... At least its a happy thought :D

"Keep your eye on the prize because if you decide to let your gaze stray, it may not be there when you look back."

Shooting for the moon

So last night I had our first playoff game for Team Zissou (my intramural soccer team) and we won! Sure we had to make it through 2 halves, a 5 minute "golden goal" overtime, and then a shootout, but we did it! So we were excited. Plus, we beat the returning champions from last quarter so that's a pretty sweet bonus to our win.

Every win comes at a price though. I love soccer, and its a physical sport, but injuries are unavoidable. Especially for us defenders ("Q" and I have got that on lock). I came out of last night's game with a fat lip, bruised face (due to a totally illegal punch), and a nice deep muscle bruise in my calf. Q survived with a kicked-in ankle and a couple lovely bruise blobs on her legs.

And I'm glad our team is pretty good. We have good teamwork, communication (for the most part), and just skill in general. Sure we may mess up every once in a while, but who doesn't? The best part is: we all have fun with it.

But now with injuries in tow, we have another game tonight at 11:45 and we are READY TO ROCK.

Break? What break? I didn't see any break!

Thanksgiving is one of those times to sit back, relax, and take some time off with the family. Unless you're me and you're an RA and most everyone else wants to leave for Thanksgiving. In that case, you work, work, and work some more. I think I'm having over 30 hours put on my paycheck this week (when we normally only get 16 per week) because of all the extra holiday hours and time that I've put in. That's insane!

Plus I have to go do a key audit at some point... But I can do that later. I'm feeling a bit lazy. Other than work, I've spent all of my time doing homework or playing video games. When you're tied down to a building that's about the best you can do. I did manage to go to Fred Meyer and Wal-Mart for Black Friday though and shop a little bit for presents and for fun. Matt and Amber are terrible people for making me buy those things... Terrible, terrible people... But oh well. What's done is done.

But now I can start Christmas shopping for people! I love shopping for presents. Not so much the spending money part, but mostly the challenge of picking something unique for each individual that suits them best.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I take a lot of pride in the gifts I get for people. They don't always have to be expensive, but I'd like to think that I do a pretty good job of picking out things that people would like and that reflect my relationship with them. It's a lot of fun! Plus I also get to go window shopping (online of course) at the same time which is fun.

Though I don't feel all that materialistic. There are very few *things* I really want in life. Most of the time I just like gifts with care. Even if it's just a card that someone wrote something special in; that's my favorite kind of gift in the world. Because things are just that to me: things. Care is something you can only get with something handmade or with a lot of thought put in to them. Not that I mind getting things, but it's not my primary 'want' for Christmas.

So now for shopping! :D

And working more....

I spy with my little eye....

It's been a little while since I last posted anything on here... I guess I've just been busy. Most of that time has probably been sucked into these new projects I have for CS and practice time for my music jury (which is about 3 weeks away....) and some of it has obviously been eaten by all the new video games that I bought in Game Season 2011. They are FANTASTIC.

So the games came out in this order:
1. Sonic Generations (11/1)
2. Modern Warfare 3 (11/8)
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (11/11)
4. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (11/15)

And I must say, I'm really sad that Sonic didn't get the spotlight that he deserved. The re-imagining of older stages and music along side of glitch-less gameplay made for a very happy and nostalgic Quinn when playing that game. I thought it was a fantastic addition to the Sonic franchise, and it was a step in the right direction in terms of game design. Because let's face it, the last 5 years of Sonic games have been complete crap (other than Sonic Colors).

But all that nostalgia couldn't stand up to the overwhelming fanbase of the Modern Warfare series and Skyrim.... Which is sad.... Not to say that they aren't excellent series, but I do think that the little blue hedgehog should have had his time in the spotlight.

As for the college aspect of things, my jury absolutely frightens me. Those of you who saw me last year on the two days before juries know exactly how I feel about them.... I basically turn in to a huge stress ball and do nothing until they're over. My mock jury yesterday didn't go so hot either, which means MOAR STRESS for me. If my lips spontaneously explode at the end of the semester, that's why.

Pie Your RA is tonight too from 8 - 9:30 in the Hess! From what I can tell, I'll be pied quite a bit.... SO BRING IT ON FRESHMEN! Cheeto Face (during RA training) was only the beginning of my whipped cream shenanigans apparently, which I don't mind. This just means some unexpected dry bystander is going to be chased down like a fleeing gazelle for a sticky sugar hug.

This is what happened last time whipped cream and I had an epic battle.

 Life is good.

Layers of Separation

It seems like I've been socially stunted for the past little bit recently. Everyone just seems to be so eaten by their significant others. New relationships have been budding just about everywhere I look recently. Heck, I even tried to be in one (notice the word "tried" and then we'll have enough on that subject). But it starts to wear on me... Because in that whole "budding" phase of dating everyone changes who they are and what they do to suit their significant other. It almost seems like I never see them anymore. Think of them like tumors (in the nicest way possible): it requires skilled surgery to detach them from each other.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that my friends are finding the people for them. I really am! Having that special someone is truly a great feeling and I'm glad they get to experience it. In all honesty though, I may be a bit jealous. Not just for the having that someone, but for the time. People are slowly eaten by their relationships/infatuations. I know last year it even happened to me. But this year its different with the sheer VOLUME of relationships. Even by just looking at my dorm of 6 RAs, 4 of them are dating. That means that 2/3 of our staff is dating someone... That's a lot...

As for my friends over in Moore, it's the same situation but to an even worse degree. I don't see them on a day-to-day basis because they live across the way. I've even lost a "friend" from it (but in that situation, I'm pretty sure that the word "friend" was beaten in a back alley and left for dead in a ditch).

Remember, no Russian.

Anyways, back to what I was saying. I don't really get the opportunity to see them very often. I invite, and invite, and invite... But to no avail... And it really does get to me. It's like I'm missing out on my friends because they've been completely absorbed. It's even starting to spread to some of my friends who aren't in a relationship, but have that one close "significant other" but they aren't dating for a reason or two.

Truthfully, it makes me feel a little left out. But, I guess it will make me find a new active friend group. Or just become a video game hermit in my room... I really don't want to sink that low again. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find my own significant other. Everyone has a chance to, even if my success rate with asking girls out is 5% right now :P

I guess we'll see how it goes.

Like laps on a track

So my birthday was this past Monday. I'm now a legitimate 19 year old. What new comes with being 19? I could smoke! But I won't because that's gross. But, in reality, I circled the sun again, which in a cosmic sense is pretty cool. Haven't you wondered why we gauge our life length based on how many times we orbit a star? Its pretty fascinating.

And my birthday went alright. During holidays/birthdays I never feel all that materialistic, so I base it on how much fun I had with friends and all the good wishes from family and friends. I loved the fact that, even though it was freaking early (for me 8:00am is far too early), my Dad of all people was the first person to call and wish me a happy birthday. He hates talking on the phone, so the fact that he called me was pretty awesome. However, the first person to wish me a happy birthday was Valerie at something close to 12:01am. In terms of gifts I loved the cards I got! A card from my paternal grandmother, a hand made card and a written letter folded into a paper crane from Valerie, and then a loving card from the loving staff here in Skarland hall (plus Derick and Bucky). Denali even made me an origami elephant out of a dollar bill :D

But on the flip side some of my "friends" decided to completely ignore me when I tried to talk to them. That's classy. My maternal grandmother even thought I was turning 20. That's a fail. Things like those do tend to put a damper on my spirits...

However, I did end the day by watching Scott Pilgrim vs. the World with Valerie. That movie is my FAVORITE. EVER.

And then Freak Week started. I call it "Hell Week."

Tuesday I found out that I'll be working extra hours on Saturday night during the dance, which means I can't go to the dance anymore (SHOCKING! I was actually going to go to a dance!). So that ought to be interesting. Wednesday was nonstop craziness as I went from classes, to labs, to work (this went from 9:15am to 11:15pm with almost no break). Thursday I was on duty again but the day wasn't terribly stressful. Friday (today) had the class load and then Zombie Survival Training at night which went alright. Tomorrow I can hopefully rest during the day so I can effectively work until 4am Sunday... Woo.

Then I have Sunday and a new week starts all over again before I can get a legitimate break. I could really use one right now.

I'm also on a new soccer team and I'll be joining a recreational league broomball team too come this week. It's rather exciting! I love all the sports that I get to do here at UAF. Hopefully that can keep me exercising throughout the week now.

Socially things are going alright for me too. Sure I'm dropping some dead weight, but "c'est la vie." I've even made a bunch of new friends here, so I really enjoy the time I get with all my wonderful friends :)

That basically sums up the last week of my life... Hooray for recaps!

The Weirdest Things

I don't think its because I came to college, but I do some really weird things. Like yesterday for instance. Somebody threw out my toothbrush and toothpaste when I accidentally left it in the bathroom and I was really disappointed and I felt kinda gross because I wanted to brush my teeth, so I went to the Campus Cache (for those of you who don't know its like a super-overpriced convenience store located in the bottom of my building complex) to buy a toothbrush and some toothpaste. Only problem was that they didn't sell toothbrushes.... So in all my infinite wisdom, I chose to brush my teeth with a clean sock that happened to have toothpaste smeared on it.

Weird? Yes.

Effective? Also yes.

I bought a video game that has the selling point of "YOU WILL DIE AND YOU WILL DIE A LOT" too. Because a frustrating challenge is something that piqued my curiosity. That and I work a lot and the easiest thing to do while working is playing video games. Yes, my job allows me to hold a phone next to me and play video games so long as I can readily assist residents if I need to. I'm awesome.

Walking around in Yoshi slippers has also become a common occurrence for me because they are amazing! I have Yoshis on my feet! That and I'm just nerdy enough to be able to pull that off without people looking at me like I escaped from a mental institution.

Plus, as an added bonus to the random score, I'm going to be playing an important part in this year's Zombie Survival Training. Because that just sounds freaking awesome and last year it was a blast.

So I think that's it for the random escapades of Quinn at the moment... But do not fret! I can guarantee with 100% certainty that there will be more to come!

Face-checking

I get a lot of really funny looks whenever I use the term "face-checking" in the midst of the general population. Most of my gaming friends know what I'm talking about, but I'll leave a little definition here so anyone who wants to can see what I mean.

So the term "face-checking" comes from the game League of Legends. In this game there is a rather large map that has 3 "lanes" of fighting with area in between and most of the action takes place in these lanes.

Since this is a 5v5 game, the game etiquette says that two characters go in the bottom/top lanes and one person from each team goes into the middle lane. With that being said, there are no restrictions to where you can actually go.

Don't worry, this is leading up to the definition.

Now in the "jungle" (the trees section of the map between lanes) and in the "river" as well as in the bottom and top lanes there are bushes. The interesting function of these bushes is that you basically become invisible within the bush. Nothing in the bush can be seen unless there is Line of Sight (LoS) in the bush for your team. This can be done with sight/vision wards, or by having an allied champion in the bush as well. However, if your team doesn't have any LoS inside of the bush, its a dark abyss with unknown occupants.

This is where face-checking comes in. Face-checking is the verb that basically means "running headlong into the unknown and hoping for the best." Because you could run into the bush and have a  grand ol' time just sitting in there by yourself, waiting to gank (kill using the element of surprise) the next opponent that happens to walk by. Or if luck seems to escape you, the entire enemy team could be sitting in that bush waiting for a kill and you just so happen to run right into all of them... Bushes are a dangerous place.

Now in world of the living, the term face-checking still exists but in a slightly different context. Instead of blindly running into a bush and hoping the enemy isn't there to kick the piss out of you, it exists in a situational sense. For example: face-checking a test would be going into it with barely any knowledge, but giving it your all anyways because there's no reason not to. Sure all the knowledge may not be there and the thought could be "I'll probably fail" but instead its approached from the standpoint of "LET'S DO THIS!!!"

But as of late after listening to myself it seems to relate more and more to relationships and drama between people. Face-checking a relationship would be more akin to the thought process of:

1. See pretty girl
2. Wonder who she is
3. Ask her on a date
4. ?????
5. PROFIT $$$

Well... Maybe not quite to that extreme, but I think it proves the point I'm trying to make. Just going at something knowing failure is a great probability, but its that little glimmer of hope for success that forces the hand and you go at it with the idea of nothing but success in your mind as you make your move.

Sure its a little ridiculous, but maybe this will stop some of the funny looks I get... I doubt it will stop the ones I get for doing the dance for The Locomotion next to the drinks in the Tilly though... Oh well.

This is my Dominion

So today a new game mode came out in League of Legends called "Dominion." To put it bluntly, it is freaking awesome. Plus it has a few new features that I really like about it, like the fact that each game doesn't necessarily have to take anywhere near an hour. The longest game of it that I've played so far has been 18 minutes and the shortest has been 8. That's NOTHING compared to the normal Draft/Blind pick modes available in the regular game.

Also, everything is always happening ALL OF THE TIME. It isn't so much of a waiting game as it is an "always in combat" game type.

I love it. Now to go bury myself in it for hours on end and see how that turns out.

In my personal life, things are doing okay. Not great, not terrible, just a mediocre. Sure I have a frustration every once in a while, but I think I'm done trying to bottle things up. If I have a problem, I'll address it nicely and swiftly so that there isn't any confusion on where I stand.

But classes are going well (for the most part), my job is awesome, my friends are still fun to hang around, my newly met friends are hilarious, and I can now wear the MEB shirt and be alright.

And this is my Dominion. I am what I am in the place I want to be.

And so it begins...

I survived my first full week of classes! Boy oh boy there has been a lot going on as well. Tonight I'm here in the Skarland Hall Office being the RA on duty and tonight will probably put my skills to the test if all goes how I've been told it will go. For tonight is also the Toga Dance...

I really dislike dances. I always have, and probably always will. They're loud, gross, and last FAR too long in to the night for my personal preferences. I think I only went to one dance last year and that was for the Great Nerk because there was a special lady who asked me to go. This year I don't have that excuse. So I opted to let my RA friends have their fun at the dance.

Welcome to a very long night.

In a perfect world, I won't have to deal with anything tonight, but I know that is probably hoping for far too much from a Freshman hall... But I'll stay optimistic until the end! The office is pretty quiet for now though, so I'm hoping things will stay this way. Please stay this way? Please?

On a positive note I think I've made it through the bulk of my emotional trauma! Hooray for perseverance! So I guess here I'd like to make a quick yet powerful thank you to those who helped me out these past few weeks especially and to those who helped me over the summer. You know who you are.

This year my classes should be pretty good as well. Wind Symphony is... Wind Symphony. Basic Ear Training will take some getting used to (because singing isn't exactly my strong suit). Basic Music Theory will actually take work, but I know I can make it through. Its just a bit foreign to me at the moment... Assembly is hilarious with Dr. Lawlor. CS 201 is a joke.

And I'm apparently a tenor singer!

So I heard you like training....

So here I am at UAF with (GASP) free time! Now what in the world is that?

For those of you who don't know, I'm currently in training to be a Resident Assistant (RA) up here at UAF and I'll have my own batch of freshmen on the 3rd floor of Skarland Hall. I have been since last Wednesday and if I didn't know that fact I would have NO way of knowing how much time has really passed... It's been very long. Most days, including the work I have to do for my floor, last from 7:30am when I wake up to 11pm when I finally stop working on door decs and other assorted tasks.

That's a LONG time! It isn't necessarily hard though, most of it is just listening to presentations and then taking some tests. Like today, for example, I took my RA final exam and my Desk Attendant final exam and yesterday I took my policy final exam. Sure the presentations aren't the most interesting things in the world, but at least I'm learning some things? I think? Anyways... My door decs are going to be pretty amazing, I love my staff, and actually getting to do this RA stuff is pretty interesting.

I feel like I fit well in this Residence Life community.

Also, here are a few of the funnier pieces of information that I've learned while in training:

-Res Life does not like children or dirty people.
-A squirrel running around inside is WAY more interesting than Equal Opportunity training
-Iris and Amber should never be allowed to fight EVER.
-Running around drenched in whipped cream is fun
-Driving a UAF van really isn't that difficult.
-Ergonomics are EVERYWHERE (and a part of 5 different safety tests we had to take) GAH!
-Fire hoses are fun
-Crystal meth looks really interesting....
-Playing in vomit is frowned upon by staff
-I'm looking forward to actually having a life

And that about sums up my life since arriving at college. Training, more training, MOAR TRAINING, sleep, repeat.

Yup. Delicious sugary Quinn was delicious.

Success!

So I am super stoked to find out that I can actually update my blog from my iPhone (now that my computer is out of commission)! Its rather exciting. Anywho, my to do list is now almost complete before I leave for Homer on Wednesday morning The only thing that inreally have left to do is finish this mysterious project before I leave. I'm rather annoyed with myself though because I should have had it finished a LONG time ago... But I'm a procrastinator so I get to deal.

I'll finish it, even if I have to do the finishing touches on the ferry, I WILL FINISH IT DANG IT! And all in all, I'm really glad to be leaving Valdez. It was mice working here, but I am totally ready to get back to where I belong.

And now I'm going to stop procrastinating and go back to my project...

The Shiny Nomad

Okay... I guess the nomad isn't ACTUALLY shiny... but there are shiny things! I love shiny things, and by video game standards: If it's shiny, it's probably important.

So this summer I have been quite nomadic so I will adopt the descriptor of "Nomad." Not "Vagabond," or "Couch Surfer," or even "Bum." I'll just stick with nomad thank you. Because I have lived (and will continue to live) in a number of different places this summer. Lets see... To make things fair I'll only count unique places I've lived (as in, it doesn't count as two if I stayed at the same place twice).

So I've stayed with:
-My family
-The Heckathorns
-The Fletchers
-The Clubbs
-The Johnsons

And eventually I will end up back at UAF where I belong (after another stint with the Fletchers for a week.). Which will be incredibly nice... I really despise living out of a bag. Not that it's completely awful, but it definitely increases that feeling of "I don't really have a home." That, and all of my clothes are wrinkly and I'm getting really good at packing my car up with all of my stuff... I've now got it that I can fit all of my belongings in the trunk of my car with space to spare! But it does take it's toll. Of course I'm super appreciative of those who have given me a place to stay during the summer, but I really want to be back at my "home" and right now it's going to be UAF. Weirdly enough, I think UAF might end up being the single most "solid" place I've ever lived in my entire life (if I stay for 5 years). Before that, it was Williamsburg, VA for about four years. But for now I just continue to pack my life into a tote, a duffel, and my backpack. Only two more times to go! WOOT!

On a brighter (and shinier) note, I got an iPhone 4! IT'S EXCITING AND AWESOME. Also, it's shiny. I like shiny things. Basically it does everything I could ever need a portable device to do. Because I know that last year in the dorms, I was rarely ever in my room and it was always super annoying during the day that I would have to go all the way back to my room in order to check my email (or to the CS lab, but that's beside the point). Now I can surf the web, do my banking, check my email, and still call people all from one handy device! Plus, being the dork that I am, I really enjoy new technological marvels.

And since I know somebody is going to say "But Quinn! I heard you hated Apple!" I will turn around and say WRONG! I don't hate Apple. I definitely hate Macs, but not Apple itself. Because (in my opinion) Macs are for the computer illiterate that choose to have a computer that doesn't allow them to mess anything up because they CAN'T DO ANYTHING. Now they aren't bad computers either, I just hate them... And updating 200+ Apple Macbooks and Mac Minis was AWFUL. I deserve cookies for that much suffering...

This upcoming week I will be saying goodbye to my beautiful Asus G73jh as I am sending it down to California for repairs. I will miss my stealth bomber... But on Wednesday I head down to Homer! Wednesday morning that is... Stupid fail ferry times. I'm on the Aurora... It takes 5.75 hours to go the same distance as the Chenega which takes 2.75 hours. GAH.

Hopefully this Homer trip won't give my mother the ability to say "I told you so..." again. But I have faith! Because I'm an optimistic person and I see good in most things!

Also, this weekend is my one shot at a Gold ranking in the League of Legends Season One brackets so if you need to get a hold of me, I'm probably doing that... And owning face. Unlike Skyler. Who sucks. A lot. Derick might do alright though.... Lets all give a hurrah for TEAM NARWHALS!

UAF or BUST! (in 11 days :D)

Spirals

You know, if you really think about it, a spiral is nothing but a 3 dimensional circle (if you see it that way).

And that's how I feel at the moment. Its just one giant spiral of emotions. Its going in a direction, but its always the same circle of thoughts... And I do my best to change them, to ignore them, to fight them. But it feels like fighting a grease fire with water. I have the right idea, just the results aren't exactly what they should be.

That fire still burns just as hot as it did 5 minutes ago, but I'm running out of water.

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.

I see it's been a while since I was last on here.... Strange. Anyways, here's a recap on the last 3 weeks of my life.

-I went to Homer, it was pretty fun.
-Valdez is still absolutely no fun.
-I started house-sitting at a new place.
-Working soccer camp and my regular job at the same time is still a bad idea.
-Shampooing carpets in the middle of summer smells awful and makes everything twice as warm as it should be.
-Blah.

There we go. 3 weeks in a nutshell.

I'm also not sure exactly when I get to leave Valdez anymore... One of our major imaging servers (a Dell/Kace k-2100 if anyone cares to know) basically keeled over and died for no particular reason. FANTASTIC. So that means we hit a standstill and now our new virtual k-2100 isn't exactly doing what its supposed to and I may have to stay in Valdez for longer to help cover the losses. Woot. And so here I am just wishing it all away.

And then some of my energy is going into plan making... I have a problem, I make a plan. Usually lots of them and only half of them are even any good. Too bad I use all of them anyways.... So here's to that as well.

Life will be so much simpler and much more fun once I get to UAF... But in the meantime, I'm surviving.

P.S.
I got an awesome phone call from ELIKA! I was super stoked because she's off living in Coldfoot and took the time to call me :D

Falling Skies

I love the rain.

Whether its just listening to it, walking in it, sitting in it, or even smelling it, rain is fantastic. There was a pretty good rain here last night in Valdez and I just felt like sitting in it. The outside is quiet except for the pitter-patter of raindrops on the concrete, plants, and metal of cars and houses. The bugs aren't out. The air also has that nice humid feel to it without it being the usual stuffy humid of really warm places. For me its a nice way to relax.

And I love the rain.

Proximity

I am:

172 miles away from my girlfriend.
275, 580, and 510 miles away from my best friends.
453, 104, 1311, and 164 miles away from a few of my really good friends.
2958 miles away from my family.
275 miles away from UAF.

Secluded.

A Feeling of Dread

This week is going to be one of the longest weeks ever.... So in addition to the 8 hours of work I do for the school district each day, I will be running (including planning and leading) a soccer camp for little kids here in Valdez. So that's another 3.75 hours a day for Monday - Thursday this week. And as much as I would like to say, "Well I can just take a shorter day right?" I can't. The school pays REALLY well and if they will give me the hours, I will be more than happy to take them because I know I'm planning on a lot of travel expenses this summer. So if I skip lunch by bringing it with me each day this has me working:

7am - 8:30am at the school
8:30am - 12:15pm for the camp
12:15pm - 6:45pm back at the school

The sheer number of hours there is rather intimidating.... And then there is the stress of, "Oh man.... I'm planning a camp that at the moment only has 6 registered kids and I have never done this before and holy crap I am going to be tired by the time Thursday comes around."

I mean, how do you keep 6 kids entertained with soccer for 3 hours in a row for 4 days in a row? That really isn't enough kids to do anything with... At all. Even scrimmages have incredibly few people at that point (assuming none of the kids have hurt themselves or are having temper tantrums and can't/won't play).

Welcome to Hell Week.

And my countdown reads: 18 days, 15 hours, and 22 minutes....

The more you sleep, the less you wait...

My summer (for the most part) is fairly dull. Especially now that I rolled my ankle, its hard to find things to do with my time... I work during the week on a regular schedule (8:30 - 5:30 Monday thru Friday), I come home and play video games in the afternoon, I skype Iris and others before I go to bed, and then I sleep.

Woo. And don't get me wrong, I do like what I do at work so that's usually somewhat entertaining, but for the most part I spend my time longing for school to start back up. This next year is going to be amazing for me. I get to be an RA in Skarland, I'll be able to actually see Iris and everyone else on a daily basis, I won't be hundreds of miles away from my friends, I won't have to buy my own food, I'll have a routine and a set place to stay for more than 3 weeks at a time. It will be like heaven on earth. But for now I just continue to skype and text as much as I can.

I also have 2 trips planned for my summer which I'm SO EXCITED FOR but Valdez tries really hard to mellow me out. Because video games can only keep me entertained for so long... I like hanging out with people more than I like playing video games (by a long shot) and so they get tiring after a while... But they suck up time I guess.

So sleeping is the best form of time travel.

And this is what's in my head at the moment.

Please Wait - Experiencing Technical Difficulties

So I work IT for the school district here and I love most of it. Sure it's a job and it has its ups and downs, but all in all it is totally fun. I spend most days working through the Kbox (our imaging/software updating server) help desk tickets and doing computer repairs. Yeah, its my job to take apart little laptops, mess with the innards, and then put them back together. What's cooler than that???

 

And we have some massive projects for this summer. Like fixing up over 300 laptops (including repairs) for all of the students who are going to have them next year after a year of use by students. That ought to be good. Also, I think we are going to be moving most of the district to Windows 7 from Windows XP which will be AWESOME! I love Windows 7 :D

Also I move into my first house-sitting place tomorrow. It has a doggie! Which makes me laugh because its name is Denali and one of my best friends is named Denali and I'm just going to laugh the entire time about that because I am a mature teenager like that :P

Plus I have a fantastic visitor coming in 6 days, 17 hours, 1 minute, and 10 seconds (at the time of writing this). But who's counting really?

Also I'd like to say thank you to Elika for giving life to my love of countdown timers.

Reflections and Predictions

So here I am coming back to the blog (after a stint of laziness) and going back over college.

College is awesome. I went to the University of Alaska Fairbanks having no idea if it was going to be good at all and with a somewhat open, but somewhat closed mind about how things were going to be. It had been my dream to go to UW - Seattle, but there I was in the frigid North. I am happy to say that my first year at UAF was AWESOME! There were fun things, there were good classes, I made some amazing new friends, and I even came out of it with a Resident Assistant position for the next year!

Look out incoming freshmen... I'll be on the 3rd floor of Skarland for any guys out there who are coming up to UAF.

It even ended well. I had a cumulative 2.95 GPA (so not terrible), I stayed in shape (and possibly even lost weight), I enjoyed my time there, and I have the most fantastic girlfriend. Pretty good stuff right?

But now here I am in Valdez again for the summer... My family moves out on June 8th so I'll be house-sitting for most of the summer and possibly just staying with someone for the last couple weeks of July/first week of August. I have the same job I had last summer (which I love). I'll be in the school district working for IT. Plus the staff there always makes me laugh and it keeps me busy for the summer so I don't go INSANE due to boredom. I mean I've already completed 10 video games from start to finish in the 10 days that I've been here. They were:

-Luigi's Mansion
-Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
-Super Mario Sunshine
-007 Nightfire
-Pikmin
-Ty the Tasmaninan Tiger 2
-Starcraft II
-Oregon Trail
-Lego: Alpha Team
-Pikmin 2

And I have another couple in the works. Like Animal Crossing! Although that won't be done for quite some time.... As my friend Skyler put it, "Quinn. Animal Crossing is not a side project. Not unless you'd also count the pyramids and the Great Wall of China as side projects.
Actually, scratch that. AC prolly takes up even MORE time. =P"

I would say that is fairly accurate...

And for the future part of the summer, I know Iris might be coming to Valdez in a couple weeks or so to come see my Dad's Change of Command ceremony :D Now THAT is an exciting prospect! :D And at the end of the summer I'll be taking the ferry to Homer to go visit peoples and then eventually ride back up to UAF with Iris in time for RA training. Plus work.


I'm sure I'll post more throughout the summer, so ciao for now!

Finals...

Its finals week.... And I have 4 (technically 5) final things to deal with. Lessons, Physics, CS, CS Final Project, and Comm.

Its all rather stressful... And my two most stressful finals were both put on Monday which definitely puts a damper on the fun for the day. Physics kicked my butt this morning, but luckily it went a little better than I was initially thinking that I would do. So I think I'll pass the class with a C.

Tonight at 6:30 I have my music Jury. It's my entire grade for lessons... and I go out before 5 of the important Music Dept. staff and play a memorized piece, an etude, and for my solo I'm playing Scherzo Concertante by Vaclav Nelhybel. ITS FREAKING STRESSFUL. The pieces are hard and the counting is absolutely everywhere.... So I'm kind of stressing out. Sure everyone tells me I'll be fine and a part of me believes them, but it still manages to be stressful and completely nerve-racking.

Tomorrow is my CS final and my Comm final, which I'm really not all that afraid of.

Then packing my life away into a few totes and a duffel bag so I can leave campus. Which is both a good a bad thing. There are so many things about college that I'm going to miss, but my school apathy has been pretty strong as of late....

Woo finals....

Yeah.... I'm just that kid.

I am a dork, I am messy, I am (somewhat) responsible, I am goofy, I am an open book, and I manage to survive while just being me.

With that being said, I failed my room's health and safety inspection yesterday.... Whoops. Apparently Derick wasn't thrilled with the condition of my floor. I HATE rooms that are "too clean." I think its probably from moving so often with our houses having to be in perfect condition while we were selling them, but I now have this need to keep things in disarray. I'll clean it up before 4 so that I don't get fined though... Because that would suck.

I also beat Portal 2 yesterday (instead of doing physics). THE END IS SO AMAZING. And the music for it is now stuck in my head (not the credits song mind you). Symphony go!

And I'm playing through Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door again in Iris's room! This makes me the best kinds of happy. Like you wouldn't believe. That game is amazing.

There is also hair on my face. As in, a significant amount and I have yet to shave it.... Which surprises me.... A lot.

I'm also featured in the newest "Mystery Desserts" episode which my friend Elika puts on about different sketchy desserts at the Tilly. You can check it out here.

And so now here I am just being me, being happy, and loving life just how it is (minus a nickname at the moment...). Its a good time to be me for me :)

Competition

I am a competitor.

It just happens to be part of who I am. I've played team sports forever (since I was 3 years old) and I don't just play: I play to win. Sure just playing to have fun happens every once in a while, but in reality it starts to wear on me if everyone is just off doing their thing and we can't succeed. Like in high school gym classes. We would go play floor hockey and as a hockey player I would know what I was doing, but my team wouldn't. This doesn't mean that the sport itself wasn't any fun, but I have a need to win. I drive for it. I strive for it. I work at it. But one man does not a team make. In floor hockey there are 6 players and I am but one of them working in a team setting.

I need a team.

Not only that, but I need a competitive team. A team that will always try to work as a cohesive unit and understand what it is that makes a team. Not everyone can be right. Not everyone can know what's best. We also need a coach. Someone who has a sense of respect from the team in his/her knowledge of the sport. Someone who isn't a player I think.

I think I'll go crazy if I can't have a legitimately competitive team because I hate being stomped in every team sport here at UAF (except soccer).

It sucks.

Accident Prone

I seem to be really accident/injury prone... It's almost as if I have an injury quota of the day and it usually ends up being filled. In the last week I have had my head bashed into someone's head in soccer, my hand whacked during broomball, a narrow dodge on being punched in the junk, been kicked off of a bed, and frequently I have fallen and hit a desk or something when I try to sit on the floor.

Now I don't quite understand why this happens to me, but it happens quite often...... I think there should be a way to fix it damn it!

Also, tonight I have broomball..... Lets hope I don't become injured tonight.

24 Hours of Firsts

Last night was the first dance I ever attempted to dance to something other than a slow song.

Today was my first practicum (being a stage hand) at UAF.

I started my first speed run of Super Mario Sunshine today.

I created my first plan to murder Derick.

I played my first 3v3 as Olaf in League of Legends.

I repeated my first CS 202 homework assignment.

It is the first time in a long time that I have been as happy as I am right now.

Tourney Time

So today I finished up in a League of Legends tournament at an internet cafe here in Fairbanks. Lately it has been my favorite team based game to play and I'm pretty good at it and I had a good team (myself, Skyler, and Kaleb) so we figured we would head over there and enter in to play. It even went alright, but we ended up losing twice and winning three times within the tournament.

Here's how it went as a whole for us:

There were a few off games... We lost games 2 and 5. But I think I did the best considering those facts.

Compared to my team, I had 9 less deaths than the next closest teammate and my Kills/Deaths/Assists ratio was much higher than everyone else. So I feel accomplished.

Maybe next time we can win... And pick better characters. I think Kaleb should be banned from Xin for a while.. Hahaha.

Broomball..... *Sigh*

Right now I'm captain of our broomball team, This Plus 5 Bananas, and its a really fun sport. I would probably qualify it as a mix between soccer and hockey because it is played on ice with sticks, but there are no pads (with the exception of a helmet) and no skates. Just you, your shoes, your stick, and that funny looking orange soccer ball that we shoot around. I really do enjoy this sport!

However, part of me wishes our team was just a little more competitive. Fact of the matter is we aren't very good. It is still tons of fun and we are always getting better (we have improved a ton since last semester when we first started) but we lose or tie every game (that is a fair fight). And eventually it starts to wear on me. I know the frustrations of losing better than most on our team as well because I play goalie. Meaning: if we are losing, that little orange ball made it past me to get to that point.

In the back though I have Sarah, my defensive angel. I am incredibly grateful for the fact that she shows up to every game and plays rock solid defense because she makes the game a lot less painful for me in the goal. Jonathan and Denali are starting to get the hang of being the chaser on defense too which is proving to be quite nice on the defensive front. I *heart* my defensive line.

Offense (a.k.a. the rest of our players) is starting to get better as well! We can now pass and get the ball down to the other end of the ice without it being immediately taken away. Shooting is still kinda iffy, but it just takes practice and making it to the other goal is the first step in that direction. Hopefully we can score a point soon...

And so everyone is steadily improving in their positions, but recently I have been confused by the discontent in positions. Instead of constantly improving in a single position that they have been playing for 3 quarters so far (for most of them), some want to change up positions. And in some cases I think this could work. Having more versatile players makes for a better team. However, not everyone is suited to every position. For serious. All positions require a certain mindset and skillset in order to be played effectively.

Offense requires endurance for running, ball control, shooting, positioning, and being aware of where your teammates are for passes.

Defense requires full ice awareness, precise positioning, the ability to make snap decisions, hedging, a synergistic partner, and ball control.

Goalie requires full ice awareness, no fear of the ball, the ability to give snap decisions, being able to give orders while maintaining focus, quick reflexes, and knowing what to expect.

Trying to switch from one position to another usually requires learning a whole new mindset as well. It can't just happen overnight. Besides, trying to randomly switch up positions not only messes up the balance of the team, but it isn't all that effective either. So as captain and goalie when I hear during the day "Oh *Jane* decided she is going to play this position." or "*Jack* and I have decided we're going to be switching positions." my usual response is:

Astonished look --> "What?" --> Receive confirmation --> "No."

Another part of me is just annoyed at it too. How does this help the team as a whole? Usually, these switches also make my life harder as goalie as well... It would be just as ridiculous if I showed up to a game and said, "Hey guys, I've decided to play offense today. Now pick a new goalie. By the way, the game starts in 3 minutes." It just doesn't work like that...

Ever.

So I think I'm done with this broomball rant for now... Maybe one day we will win a legitimate game. Or score a goal. Maybe...

Public Speaking... Right...

I despise my Comm 141X class with a passion. More than basketball, more than people who only use the elevator to go up or down one floor, and even more than I hate country music. I would WILLINGLY listen to 3 hours straight of country music if that meant I didn't have to attend Comm for a night. This should tell you something. Its an honors section of the communications class though and it is labeled "Public Speaking," but this in itself is a joke.

This class has no public speaking and will never adequately prepare a student for public speaking. NEVER. I have done quite a large amount of leadership stuff and subsequently I have done quite a bit of REAL public speaking. The kind of speaking that happens in front of the PUBLIC with a PURPOSE. Not me standing in front of 15 of my friends and an over-zealous teacher/grader. No, public speaking is a different monster. However, the Comm monster is stupider and larger. Everything you do and say while speaking is over-analyzed and given to you on a grading scale that can never be conquered. The scale is technically out of 40, but since the Communications Department here at UAF has deemed that no speech may ever be perfect an A is at the 30 point mark. My speech netted me a whole 20 points. The grading criteria is also incredibly subjective to the point where I may as well just give up. There is no objectivity in the grading here because it is solely based on how the teacher feels I met the criteria.

Not on the effectiveness of the speech. Not on the content of the speech (mostly). Its based on things such as: Did you touch the podium? Did she feel as if you talked about your topic enough? Did you follow your outline to the dot? Did you lose your place?

The standards are almost impossible to satisfy fully. As in it will NEVER happen. So this is the kind of class that I feel I will have problems with down the road because it is not my ability to speak or confidence in front of people that matters in a "Public Speaking" class (because that would make sense right?). No, this is a class that every little thing will be judged by a panel of one. The one who carries an iron fist of power and is not afraid to punch your grade in the crotch at any chance she gets. I mean, I lost points because although my informative speech was not persuasive (seriously it wasn't) she felt as if it came close. I had a section on the grading that had nothing but positive comments in it -- Grade on that section: 2/5.

I swear, I think my first persuasive speech will be on why the speech guidelines for that class are garbage and how it should be graded in order to accurately determine the effectiveness of a speech.

That's the other thing, the topics are beyond stupid that we can talk about. There are no guidelines, no expectations, no specific audience or topic to talk to/about. Just whatever you can muster for the 5 or 7 minute speeches. My first 2 speeches were about the "Benefits of Video Games on Society." Come on now, this has no relevance to my class or any group. Half of the topics that are presented would have NO place in a public setting. I wish this class either didn't exist or was actually public speaking... Not this pish posh garbage class that pretends to be a public speaking class. All the other Comm classes (that are not honors) actually live up to what they say they are going to be. Group Context is a class that presents speeches to different audiences based on the topics that they have. Public Context is a class that prepares the students for actual public speaking. But here I am being "taught at a different level than the average student." In this case it really means I'm wasting my time and energy for a stupid required course that may or may not be impossible to pull an A in.

So now I'm off to finish my speech outline for the speech I have to present tomorrow night on "The How-to's and Why it is Important to Tune Instruments."

I hate Comm.... I hate it a lot.

Spring Break Adventures (Part I)

Starting at about 6:45p.m. on Friday I was officially on spring break! WOO! I love breaks. It's when my life finally stops spinning around in endless loops of work and stress and just stops for a little while. I opted to stay up here at UAF for spring break, and I don't regret it at all. Plane tickets are expensive and it could be nice to spend some time in the peace and quiet that is my deserted dorm floor.


So far it has been fantastic. Nuff said.


Friday night I went right after my calculus class to the World Ice Sculpting Championship over in the ice park right here in Fairbanks, AK. Needless to say the works were incredible.

This one was my favorite

The artistic finesse required to do these thing is just astounding. Plus the conditions in which they craft these ornate sculptures are not very hospitable either. It's cold, dark, and you have to spend the whole time outside messing with ice. To me that just sounds like frostbite waiting to happen, but I guess for them it seems like a ton of fun. Plus there are prizes! Who doesn't love prizes? :P


So after a couple hours of fun over at the ice park Denali, Elika, Ashley, and I all drove over to the airport to send Ashley off. She's headed home to spend some time with her family for spring break! Hooray! After our goodbyes the three of us that remained drove back to campus and decompressed for a couple hours. By decompress I mean: we lied on the floor and then watched an episode of The Office and 30 Rock while we waited for airport trip number two.


Trip two comprised of Denali and I driving Elika to the airport for her huge travel itinerary. I don't know if anyone could tell or not, but I think Elika was excited to board the first of her flights heading towards Ecuador. I think I heard her yell "OH MY GOSH!" about 300+ times last week :D She's going down to visit with her emotional twin Valerie who is doing a Baha'i year of service down there (which sounds really amazing by the way). So off she goes to Ecuador!

Valerie and Elika (this picture is on Elika's blog)

Then back to the dorms again for me where I went to go bug Skyler and Kaleb for a while before heading to bed. I like sleep.

Denali headed out early the next morning to hang out with her family in Homer for a while. That should be fun for her. Campus is eerily quiet... But I kind of like it. Having everything just stop for a little while is probably good for me. Skyler, Kaleb, and Marshall headed towards Anchorage today as well to go skiing down at Alyeska.

But so far the single greatest thing about my break is the fact that I now have the time to go skiing. The weather has been beautiful around here for so long now, but my classes are so time intensive when it comes to homework and actual attendance in those classes. So now that everything has stopped, I said "Dude, I can go skiing now!" And so I did! 11k out on the UAF trails after being out of skiing shape had my triceps yelling at me to stop using them... But I did get to go out there for a good hour and took some pictures as well! It was so beautiful and sunny outside yesterday. Plus it felt good to get some decent exercise in.

 
Then I spent the rest of the day messing with Kaleb before they all left. Skyler and I also made some food that turned out pretty well.

And now today has just been a day of relaxation. A little skiing, some music transposition, and some blogging. Plus Diddy Kong Racing! WOO! I love that game so much! If you want to know, I now have sheet music for this video so I can play the music on my horn. Yup, I'm a super nerd.

So that sums up Spring break for me so far. I love having the ability to do nothing with my life for a while :D

I also swear that if Jonathan wakes me up in the morning again I will murder him... Hehehehehe.

Sportsmanship should always be present

You know, no matter what the sport I always admire good sportsmanship on the ice/field/court. Players should be out there to work hard and play a tough game without making it in to a huge spectacle of fighting and swearing. At that point tempers run high and injuries are way more likely to occur (and I am living proof of that... hehehe). Yeah.... I become exponentially more intense as the cheap shots start flying.

Anyways, back to what I was saying. Sportsmanship: its important.

Now last weekend I went down to Anchorage for the Governor's Cup. It's basically the biggest hockey game series in the state between UAF and UAA. They play one game up here and we play one game up there. Rivalry games are amazing, they get even better when there is a massive trophy on the line! But on my way down to the game I was told about this article that was written in the UAA school newspaper, "The Northern Light."

You can read the article here.

It was the single worst article in terms of sportsmanship that I had ever read from a school newspaper. Or even any publication in general. Even if I didn't go to school up here at UAF I would have been appalled at the downright rudeness that was shown by these school writers. I mean, I understand the whole school spirit aspect and the fact that you want to win, but the amount of just downright unsportsmanlike content in that article made me want to gag. People like that truly just make me want to travel down there, find them, and punch them in the face (no I won't actually do it, but the thought is rather satisfying).

There is no need for such blatant bashing of any group of individuals. Ever.

So what I guess I would say to Megan Edge, Patrick McCormick, and Taylor Hall would be this: "I do hope you are proud of what you have published because I'm sure that is all the pride you will get. There is no pride gained from trying to make yourself sound superior, just a general sense of disappointment from your audience. And by the way, you talked all that smack and still ended up losing. I guess that's just karma."

Because we did win the cup. We won the first game 5-1, lost the second 4-1, and won the shootout 2-0. So do actually try to act somewhat sportsmanlike. It won't kill you and in the long run will make you look like a more respectable person in the process.

Speaking of sportsmanship I have a soccer game tonight and a broomball game on Tuesday. Playoffs have started! It ought to be fun :D

So now I'm off to get ready!

Sleeping the day away

Everyone does it. It happens (for most people) every night. But here I am telling sleep to go fall off a cliff because I won't be using it much this week.

I did however take a nap today/yesterday (I really believe that at college, days go from 3am-3am not Midnight-Midnight) and it just seems like such a time suck. Sure I feel better and well rested and stuff, but holy crap there is so much to do. This week I have a physics lab to finish up, calculus homework, and physics homework which are all due on Friday. I think it will take me about 6 or 7 hours to finish it all. Not too bad I suppose. But on the other hand, I have 10 hours of classes (assuming I don't skip or sleep in), 3 hours of pep band, 9 hours for meals, 2 hours for transportation, 2 hours for sports, and a whole bunch of hours up at Birch Hill this week for the ASAA State Nordic Skiing Championship. I'm going to be a wax tech! This will more than certainly eat some more of my time up (probably upwards of 12 hours) and then there is that pesky sleep again. There are only 76 hours left until I board a tour bus and head down to Anchorage for the Governors Cup.

Why must I sleep when there is so much to do?

Other than feeling better, sleep really is not all that productive. I lie there, breathe, and drool. That's it. I could be doing homework, or alleviating stress, or waxing instead with that time! But no, I'll average 6 hours a night on sleep probably just laying there and drooling... Woo.... That is 24 hours down the toilet.

If you do the math, that means there are 76 hours until I leave. Take that 76 and subtract 24 for sleeping, 10 for classes, 7 for homework, 3 for pep band, and 12 for State, 2 for running around, 2 for sports, and 9 for meals. This brings my grand total to 7 free hours in 4 days. Come on now. That means that about 7% of my time this week is free time.

And I really like free time.... It lets me bother Derick, or eat ramen late at night with Elika, or crash on Denali and Ashley's beanbag. Or I guess in this case blog.... I should probably be productive soon... And actually be productive.

So say goodbye to sleep for now!

Bye bye!

Music for body and soul

Music has been a part of my life for basically as long as I can remember. I loved listening to music when I was little and started playing instruments in the 4th grade (technically 3rd grade if you count the recorder, but I usually don't...). I played the trumpet and it was the coolest thing ever to be able to come out of class twice a week and play my instrument in a small classroom from the "Standard of Excellence: Level 1" red book. Volga Boat Song was my favorite (It was number 109!). So I continued playing the trumpet for different schools all the way through the 8th grade. Then I hit high school for the first time.

High school band my Freshman year did not approve of me doing sports. I wanted to be in band again (because even then music was a huge part of my life) and the resounding answer was a direct "No." To be in Symphonic Band you had to be in the marching band. To be in the marching band you had to go to band camp at the end of the summer and give up most weekends during the school year. That just wasn't going to fly. I played D1 soccer in Everett and there was no way that I would give that up.

Not a chance.

So I didn't end up playing my freshman year because of that little problemo. I thought it also applied my sophomore year, but apparently with the new director it would have been fine. So I didn't play my sophomore year either. That was a sad couple of years because I missed music during that time. Music is a fun way to develop skills, lung capacity, and the ability to work within a group towards a common goal. Ensembles strive to make music with a group-wide balance, and when it is achieved, it sounds beautiful.So that was kinda lost for two years of my life. Then I packed up and moved to the great white north world of Alaska and was almost immediately asked to play in the pep band for when the cruise ships came around. Now, this was after 2 years of not playing at all, so it was pretty terrible. Yet I stuck with it and ended up in the Region II Honor Band on trumpet that year.


I think that one event started my enjoyment of music as it is now. I played in the Honor Band, then traveled with the Jazz Band to State Solo and Ensemble that year as a fill in for someone who couldn't go, then started having fun with messing around with instruments. I played the chimes for a choir song that year too because random percussion is fun. Way less stress too when they don't expect any sort of genius skill or memorization, they just wanted me to play it and have fun with it. It was great.

Senior year I played the trumpet for the first semester because of some.... mishaps. Like my first trumpet of the semester I sat on. It still played (kinda) but the bell was bent at something like a 30 degree angle. Never put your instrument on your chair for standing breathing exercises... Then the next trumpet I had broke inside of the spit valve and so it couldn't retain air properly to make the right tones. (That one wasn't my fault either!) But that happened so I needed to find an instrument to play. Why not the french horn? We already have 6 trumpets in the band and no french horns so I'll play that! And so I did. Sure I cheated a whole bunch (I took all the F horn music and transposed it to Bb music, then played the french horn with trumpet fingerings and the Bb key held down the whole time. It kinda worked... But not really). So that started that in my life.

However the funniest music news of the year came with Honor Band auditions. So Kasey and I were doing our auditions on the last possible day after ski practice having never practiced any of the music before. We were there from 5:30 to 11:30. It was great. ANYWAYS, I finished up my french horn audition tape pretty quickly and it was terrible. TERRIBLE. Okay so I had only been playing it for about a month and a half and had been cheating, it was destined to suck. But then since Kasey was still working and I didn't want to desert him, making a percussion audition tape seemed like a logical choice! So I went and looked up what some of the symbols meant in the percussion music (because I am uncoordinated with my left hand and have never played percussion) and gave every song one recording and submitted a CD. My song for mallet percussion took over 5 minutes for a song that was supposed to last for 1 minute (because I am just that awesome). But the tape was really just for laughs.

Except then it became serious when I ended up as 3rd chair for the Honor Band out of something like 24 applicants. CONFUSED. Our director called me in on parent-teacher conference day to ask what on Earth happened and to explain how I was picked. Apparently to be a percussionist you don't really have to be that good, just be able to follow instructions and independently keep a beat. And I was fully intent on playing percussion in the Honor Band! This was hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing! Or at least until I found out the bad news to the story. Kasey ended up as 1st alternate for the Honor Band. Sadface.... So of course I gave up my spot. He's an awesome percussionist and one of my best friends and Region Music Fest was actually in Valdez so I wouldn't take that spot from him.

(It was still super funny though).

I also played the djembe for choir that year.

And the bass drum for Valdez High School's first ever Command Performance at the State Solo and Ensemble competition.

Basically it was an awesome year for music in my life. So now here I am at college and music has stayed with me. I remember walking in at orientation and going to find my room key where Hadassah told me to go and try to join Wind Symphony. Sure I went and auditioned, but man was it UGLY. Dr. Gustafson didn't even let me do the sightreading portion of the audition because it was just that bad. I made it in though! Music in college is way better than it is in high school too. The people actually want to play (for the most part) and the music is a lot harder! And slowly but steadily I have been improving. Like the fact that I can actually read my music and pitches that are written in F now. Its kinda important. Plus my Jury grade was a B! That's exciting for me!

Its my horn!

So now this is semester 2 of music and we are playing all sorts of fun stuff in Wind Symphony and I really enjoy playing music. It is a good way to learn a new skill, learn how to keep a beat, and to listen/play some really good music. I guess this means that the point to take away from reading this is that you should play some music. Whether you have or not in the past, it is really relaxing (so long as you don't take on too many music commitments) and sounds pretty cool too.

Music makes me happy :)

Discrepancies

This is a post dedicated to the two harlequins that messed with my room >_>

- Tonberries are already badass. Although mine does look much classier with a bowtie and sunglasses.

- Tonberries also do not need guns to kill things. Trust me, that little knife is MORE than enough.

- Even though it would be the best game ever, ramen cannot be played on an N64 so it does not belong in the cartridge spot.

- That desk lamp pointed up for a reason, changing its direction isn't very kosher.

- The Game. You just lost it.

Yeah. I saw what you did there and I think I have now found all of it.

Randomness becomes a definition

I would definitely consider myself to be a very random individual in just about every aspect of my life. So I guess you could say that my life is random. BUT WAIT, there is proof of such shenanigans! This proof is comprised of little facts about me, actions I have done, and skills that I possess. Maybe it will help someone out there understand the essence of me. Or just give those that do a good laugh :D Either way works for me. So here's a list of some of the things I've thought of:

-I have nerve damage from the cold on both of my big toes. I guess that's what happens when you go for a winter mountain hike while only wearing tennis shoes and one pair of heavy socks in subzero temperatures...

-Even though I play the french horn (after 8 years of trumpet), I still managed to make 3rd chair in the Region II Honor Band for percussion my senior year of high school. I laughed my ass off at that one because my left hand is VERY uncoordinated.

-I have never seen any of the Monty Python movies. People keep telling me to watch them, but I haven't gotten around to it yet...

-In high school I traveled over 30,000 miles via Buc Bus to all of the sports/band events I was a part of.

-I once received extra credit on a Spanish final (my sophomore year of high school) for dressing and acting like a girl. It was hilarious!

-My spirit animal is the ostrich.

-My favorite sports are soccer, skiing, and hockey.

-I actually manage to pick up on social cues much faster than most guys (who are for the most part oblivious to their surroundings until someone tells them what is going on.... oh Y chromosome....)

-I love the body wash scents at Bath and Body Works. There is nothing wrong with choosing to actually smell good rather than covering up the scents with Axe..... I hate Axe.

-The worst thing about a sports crowd is easily the fact that THEY CANNOT KEEP A BEAT TO SAVE THEIR LIVES. It really isn't that difficult... And it annoys me when they can't.

-I know this sounds strange, but I can accurately judge bra sizes too. Don't ask me how or why, but I can.... And it has been proven too!

-I can also run with my feet perpendicular to how they are normally facing. Its really fun!

-Places I live in need to feel "lived in." It kinda creeps me out when places are too clean... So I make them messier :D

-Electronic and classic rock are my two favorite music genres.

-Even when I don't have a significant other, I always do something special for people on Valentine's Day.

-Frosting straight out of a can is considered a sugary delicacy to my brain/tastebuds.

-Until my freshman year of high school, I was a really short kid. In essence, the shortest in my class.

-I find spandex to be amazingly comfortable. Its AWESOME STUFF.

-There is a very small number of things that can actually make me feel awkward and I'm pretty sure that all of those that do are a form of mental awkwardness, not physical awkwardness.

-I would rather sleep in a cold room than a warm room every time.

-Heights are probably my greatest fear.

-Video games are my biggest hobby. They make me happy whenever I have the time for them as well!

So I hope this has come to help you understand a little more about me. Or at least it has given you a laugh or two!

School, sports, and creativity

My classes are pretty awesome this semester. I enjoy all of them except for Communications and Calc III really..... Comm is annoying. I'm already proficient at public speaking. I'm also not saying that I am perfect at it, but considering the fact that the course is a "skill development" course I really would rather not take it... I mean come on, today I was the only kid in the entire class that gave a speech without any visual aids or notes and I still made it to the time limit without sounding like a complete moron! RAWRG. This class will annoy me. And its 3 hours long every Tuesday.... I hate Tuesdays... Calc III is Calc III. Heh. Math.... I can survive it!

But Computer Science is amazing because I code and do fun things and make projects and confuse my professor with "if statements." Recital Attendance is glorified nap time with beautiful music, so what's not to like? Physics is interesting, but the labs are lame... But it was to be expected. And I freaking love Wind Symphony. Its the best class ever. I go in and play music with a large ensemble 3 times a week and this semester I managed to snag 3rd chair out of 7! FREAKING STOKED! NO MORE 4th HORN FOR ME PLEASE! (This is incredibly exciting. I was 4th horn on every single song except for Hillulah last semester.) This semester we are playing some pretty sweet music too so it will definitely be a concert worth watching!

Our intramurals have also started! As stated before I'm playing basketball, soccer, and broomball. Our games on Monday went kind of like this:

We freaking suck at basketball. It was a painful game in which I was knocked on my ass once, Denali dislocated her shoulder, Ashley was having problems breathing, and Elika forgot how to dribble. It was pretty amazing how awful we were. Heck, we didn't even make it to the second half due to the mercy rule (25 points down at any point). We ended up losing 34-7 with Levi scoring 2 points for our team and I scored the other 5. Maybe we will become better? Or maybe not... I hate basketball, but I love playing sports with my friends so I'll stick with it.

Soccer is going to be awesome this quarter. We all work well as a team and we have a freaking rock-solid defense. ATP (our team) even won our first game 1-0! I think this is a promising start to this season of my favorite sport of all time.

Broomball is getting progressively better. We are still losing, but teamwork is finally allowing us to have some good passes down the ice and some shots on net! Elika, Sarah, Levi, and Denali are beasts on offense for reals. I only came out with one bruise too! It was a pretty exciting game and today we will play against the team from the music department and we had better win.... We should win. For once. I really missed playing broomball as the goalie, but I didn't really miss the losing. Oh well. The game is still fun!

I have also started a new side project/game recently and it is amazing what you can do in that game. Minecraft is awesome. Our floor even has a pretty sweet server that we are putting together with about 10 of us from on campus. I HAVE TAKEN TO THE SKIES! And I love that game. Our most recent production (server-wide) is a road/skybridge (I love my skybridges :D ) project that now spans between everyone's house on the server. Our server will be flourishing for quite some time I'll bet and the finished project will be a sight to behold, trust me.

So I guess that's it for now. And I leave you with a Tonberry.

(I didn't draw it)

What is this "sanity" you speak of?

Insane? I guess that's one word you could use to describe me. I intentionally keep myself crazy busy and still love to be social. So I end up doing something almost all the time. Take this coming up Monday for instance. This quarter I signed up for 3 intramurals here at UAF (Soccer, Broomball, and Basketball (for who knows what reason...)) and they all start on Monday. This means Monday night my evening goes:

Wind Symphony: 4:20-5:40
Calc III: 5:50 - 6:50
Dinner: 7-8
Basketball: 9-10
Soccer: 11-11:45
Broomball: 12 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Yeah. That is a busy night. But look on the bright side! I get to do team sports, stay in shape, stay social, and still end up with about 8 hours of sleep. And I do love team sports, especially the ones that I do with my friends. ESPECIALLY soccer and broomball. I've played soccer forever basically and I play the position of Sweeper because it is the adrenaline rush of quick sprints, full field awareness, constant command of the field, and the "last man standing" feeling. I love having that kind of responsibility, leadership, and ability to be a wall for my goalie. Plus soccer is one of those sports that is about 20 times as fun to play as it is to watch on television. And on defense, especially as last man standing, you can get away with.... stuff in the backfield when chances seem slim. It's quite entertaining :D But all legal! Because there is totally a difference between just hitting someone and hitting someone with enough finesse to make it look like a defensive stop. The second one is much more satisfying.

I guess that also influences my love of broomball as well. Playing hockey was a fun bout for me back in my early high school and middle school days, but after moving to Valdez it was impossible. There was no hockey there. Now that I'm here at UAF I'm playing broomball! Its if hockey and soccer had a sport baby. Its played on your feet, but in an ice rink. Instead of a hockey stick, its a funny shaped, almost lacrosse shaped, stick with a rubber end on it. Instead of a puck, its a semi-deflated size 1 soccer ball. Plus, for this sport I have taken on the role as goalie. We may not have the best team in terms of skill, but I'm quite sure that we have the best team name (This Plus 5 Bananas) and the most fun. And goalie is very fun! I can't really run on the ice like everyone else (I've spent way too long within the crease....) but quick reflexes seem to keep me alive and the ball out of our net. The intensity of those quick responses when someone is crashing down on the net is a feeling unlike most others.

I'm sure one day I may settle down and become a little bit more relaxed with my time, but for now this isn't such a bad way to spend a semester at college. GAME DAY IS TOMORROW!