I feel like its been too long since I've had time to be on here... I guess that means I've just been busy though. So some fun things have been going on recently, so I really think that this summer is going to be INFINITELY better than last summer... (We don't talk about last summer anymore...).
So first things first, a couple weeks ago I had the chance to go back to Valdez to see my brother's graduation and my family which was pretty nice. I don't get to see them all that often now that they've moved to Ohio. But I didn't just sit around while I was there. I arrived in Valdez (just barely due to weather) on Thursday night and the first thing I did was visit Doug and Kasey. Why? Because Iunno. The next day I spent the entire day helping with graduation setup for the live streaming that the tech department does and helping the band practice for Pomp and Circumstance. Yep, I played with the high school band again! Then that night at graduation I played with the band and had a surprise solo... Because I had agreed to sightread their piece that they chose to play before Pomp and Circumstance and I quickly found out that the horn part had a solo halfway through the song as I was playing it.... Oh well, I didn't really mind and I didn't screw it up so pluses all around! The rest of the weekend was spent with family and friends around town until I left Sunday afternoon.
But then the fun REALLY started. Because a couple weeks ago on a Tuesday morning I started work at Golden Valley Electric Association as a Computer Student Intern - Helpdesk. I think I enjoy this job the most out of any job I've had in the past. Basically what I do is I answer phones, help our customers with whatever issues they have, and occasionally escort people into our Data Centers at work (which, by the way, are super awesome). Sadly enough, I can't take pictures of it to show anyone (its Data Center policy) but take my word for it when I say its totally worth seeing if you ever had the chance. For me it was my first view of a REAL server room. ANYWAYS, I really think this job has made me happier than any job I've had in the past. I get to do tech work, be social all day, work with a great group of people, and I really feel like I'm appreciated with the work that I do. Maybe they'll let me stay during the school year.... But that's a question for later.
As for the rest of the summer, its really good to still have some free time in which I can hang out with my friends. Some of them I barely saw during the school year, so its really nice to be able to see them now. And other than that I just kind of relax. Its nice having little to no stress over deadlines or homework during the summer. I actually feel like I have a break.
Summer is a great thing.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
In Closing
Finals week was one of those weeks where I wish I could have seen the sun, the people, and the sanity in my life. Needless to say, that didn't happen. It was a little painful and I literally spent two whole days in my room writing finals. From Monday to Wednesday night I wrote over 10,000 words in essays, exams, and other assorted documents for my classes. But I still managed to make it through with a pretty good GPA, so it wasn't all bad.
Then came closing for Skarland. That was insane. So many checkouts, goodbyes, projects. It consumed my life. But then everything stopped for a moment. Nothing to do, no expectations, just waiting for a call on my job and then doing whatever I want on top of that. Its been pretty good. Yesterday I was really, REALLY sick though to the point where I couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a time due to the pain in my kidneys, but I think I'm almost over it. I'm pretty sure there is nothing that Gatorade can't fix.
So now here I am waiting for that call still and hoping that this summer stays as fun as I hope it does.
Then came closing for Skarland. That was insane. So many checkouts, goodbyes, projects. It consumed my life. But then everything stopped for a moment. Nothing to do, no expectations, just waiting for a call on my job and then doing whatever I want on top of that. Its been pretty good. Yesterday I was really, REALLY sick though to the point where I couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a time due to the pain in my kidneys, but I think I'm almost over it. I'm pretty sure there is nothing that Gatorade can't fix.
So now here I am waiting for that call still and hoping that this summer stays as fun as I hope it does.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Political Machine
***Protip - I have opinions. Deal with it.***
As a student, I like to think I have a voice in how my college is run. We have a student government here at UAF called ASUAF, or the Associated Students of the Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks, and they are here to be the voice of the students when it comes to campus matters.
As stated in Article I of the ASUAF constitution, they are here "To provide an official and representative student organization with powers to receive complaints, investigate student problems, and participate in decisions involving the student body." This to me means that ASUAF is here to take student concerns and hopefully be instrumental in helping settle those concerns in the most efficient way possible.
Needless to say, from what I can tell, that doesn't happen under the current administration. This is where my problem lies.
So this last week we had "elections" for ASUAF President, Vice-President, and Senate members and the chance to vote on ballot measures for the upcoming year. Now, notice that I put elections in quotation marks. Why? Because this election was a joke. It was nothing more than a joke, a sham, a waste of everyone's time. I felt embarrassed to even be a part of that process. Every incumbent position (President, Vice-President, and Senate seats B, E, F, and H) were unopposed. That's right, there was no voting really. I was pigeon-holed into one decision for every position on the ballot.
That is unacceptable. I wasn't particularly happy with ASUAF's contributions this year under the administration of Freitag and Ball, so even the option of another candidate would have been a nice bit. However, that didn't happen. Instead UAF has the same officers as last year (with a few new Senate members). How can we feel as if we have adequate representation as students if we have no choice in who's elected? I mean, there are write-in options, but in reality those are just for those people who have nothing better to say in terms of a vote.
But lets put those problems aside for a second and look at an even larger problem with the ballot. So ASUAF ballots have 3 main purposes. They have officer elections, ballot measures, and survey questions. I've already established the officer elections as a complete joke, so lets look at their second purpose. Ballot measures are supposed to be the student voice making a choice for their school on a matter that the student government has deemed to be important for the student body. This election had only one. Just one. And what was this measure you may ask? It was a measure to determine whether there should be 14 or 20 senate seats within ASUAF. Now how does that really affect the issues that plague students here at UAF?
The answer: it doesn't.
Just another reason to show why this election was a joke.... Maybe one day it will be better.
Here's a link to the ASUAF constitution
http://asuaf.org/constitution
And here's the election results
http://asuaf.org/sites/default/files/Unofficial%20Results.pdf
And an editorial in the campus newspaper speaking about the same thing
http://www.uafsunstar.com/archives/13900
As a student, I like to think I have a voice in how my college is run. We have a student government here at UAF called ASUAF, or the Associated Students of the Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks, and they are here to be the voice of the students when it comes to campus matters.
As stated in Article I of the ASUAF constitution, they are here "To provide an official and representative student organization with powers to receive complaints, investigate student problems, and participate in decisions involving the student body." This to me means that ASUAF is here to take student concerns and hopefully be instrumental in helping settle those concerns in the most efficient way possible.
Needless to say, from what I can tell, that doesn't happen under the current administration. This is where my problem lies.
So this last week we had "elections" for ASUAF President, Vice-President, and Senate members and the chance to vote on ballot measures for the upcoming year. Now, notice that I put elections in quotation marks. Why? Because this election was a joke. It was nothing more than a joke, a sham, a waste of everyone's time. I felt embarrassed to even be a part of that process. Every incumbent position (President, Vice-President, and Senate seats B, E, F, and H) were unopposed. That's right, there was no voting really. I was pigeon-holed into one decision for every position on the ballot.
That is unacceptable. I wasn't particularly happy with ASUAF's contributions this year under the administration of Freitag and Ball, so even the option of another candidate would have been a nice bit. However, that didn't happen. Instead UAF has the same officers as last year (with a few new Senate members). How can we feel as if we have adequate representation as students if we have no choice in who's elected? I mean, there are write-in options, but in reality those are just for those people who have nothing better to say in terms of a vote.
But lets put those problems aside for a second and look at an even larger problem with the ballot. So ASUAF ballots have 3 main purposes. They have officer elections, ballot measures, and survey questions. I've already established the officer elections as a complete joke, so lets look at their second purpose. Ballot measures are supposed to be the student voice making a choice for their school on a matter that the student government has deemed to be important for the student body. This election had only one. Just one. And what was this measure you may ask? It was a measure to determine whether there should be 14 or 20 senate seats within ASUAF. Now how does that really affect the issues that plague students here at UAF?
The answer: it doesn't.
Just another reason to show why this election was a joke.... Maybe one day it will be better.
Here's a link to the ASUAF constitution
http://asuaf.org/constitution
And here's the election results
http://asuaf.org/sites/default/files/Unofficial%20Results.pdf
And an editorial in the campus newspaper speaking about the same thing
http://www.uafsunstar.com/archives/13900
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Accept ALL of the Betas!
I've noticed that I've been in an increasing number of video game betas in the last couple of years or so. It's really kind of interesting to be a part of them, because then you get to see how they develop from the early stages of being crappy games to being incredibly awesome over the span of a few months as they fix up all of the bugs in the programming.
This kind of sparked my interest because this morning I was sent an email to be a part of the Ghost Recon Online Closed Beta. Why? I dunno. But while I figure out why, I'll just continue to download the client and see what its all about.
So now I've been in these betas:
Ghost Recon Online
Minecraft
Team Fortress 2
Tribes Ascend
APB Reloaded
DotA 2
Not that I have any time for these betas... I have so much work to do in the next two weeks that I really should just lock my computer away in a box somewhere. But then I realize that I need the computer to do my work, and so I get distracted. Lets work on that....
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Time flies when you're busy
Man, I've been really bad about being on my computer lately. I'm on every so often for a game or two with my residents, but most of the time I really haven't been on my physical computer. That's really why I haven't been posting lately, but now I'm hoping to be back here more frequently than I have been.
I also realize I have like 3 blog drafts that I never actually finished, so here goes this one!
So a lot has happened in the past 3 weeks. First off, I didn't end up getting the ARD position for Nerland, but I am going to be a RA there! I'm pretty excited for that to happen because that's really where I want to be for next year. I've really enjoyed working with freshmen this year, but I think it will be good for me to be in an upperclassmen dorm with some of my friends from here in Skarland and some I've met along the way. My staff ought to be pretty fun as well, so I really don't have any complaints with my position. I mean, I really enjoy being a RA as well, so could I really complain anyways? But Nerland is basically perfect for me. Its a gaming hall (not actually, but that's the tendency), its a dry dorm by choice (which means no alcohol), and I know a lot of people that are going there.
Music in my life is also going pretty dang well. The Wind Symphony also had a couple concerts in the past couple weeks which were really fun to play in. I've had more 1st horn parts lately, so I've been making some rapid improvements in terms of my playing. I think I'm going to go get the recordings of our concerts sometime this week so I can go listen to how we did from another perspective and see if I can pick myself out in the music. Jeremiah and I are also nearing completion of the Zelda Medley we're transcribing for a horn quartet (hopefully to be performed early next semester). I'll hopefully put up the arrangement we've done once we finish it but we do know at least what songs are going to be in it. We have (in this order):
- Zelda's Awakening (Windwaker)
- Ocean Theme (Windwaker)
- Song of Storms (Ocarina of Time)
- Song of Healing (Majora's Mask)
- Midna's Theme (Twilight Princess)
- Ballad of the Goddess (Skyward Sword)
- Zelda's Theme (Ocarina of Time)
- Epilogue (Windwaker)
I'm really excited to get it finished because then we can start playing it as a group and it will be AWESOME. Plus, if we can manage to have one of the faculty give us permission to play it in a Music at 1 I'll be ecstatic. I mean, how often would I have the chance to play a Zelda medley that I've created in a public setting? Basically never.
My new computer is almost complete as well! The last 3 pieces of the machine are now on their way to me after I got my wonderful tax return in the mail. I'm really excited to finally build this massive beast of a computer. Hopefully I'll have it up and going by the end of the weekend next week, although that is SpringFest and project weekend so we shall see how that goes. I know I really need to get those projects done and SpringFest is all hands on deck for RAs, so I know I'll be super busy for the entire weekend... Hopefully I'll still have some time to myself so that I can stay sane, but who knows.
I'm also changing my major soon. I still love Computer Science, but I have a ton of trouble with coding. I have neither the attention span nor the will to just do coding. So I'm hopefully going to change my major to Systems Administration instead. That way I can pursue what I really love about Computer Science, which is the Information Technology side of it, and hopefully end up as a Sysadmin sometime in the future. I think its a good choice for me and for my GPA, plus that kind of work is super awesome.
So that's my life as of late in a nutshell!
I also realize I have like 3 blog drafts that I never actually finished, so here goes this one!
So a lot has happened in the past 3 weeks. First off, I didn't end up getting the ARD position for Nerland, but I am going to be a RA there! I'm pretty excited for that to happen because that's really where I want to be for next year. I've really enjoyed working with freshmen this year, but I think it will be good for me to be in an upperclassmen dorm with some of my friends from here in Skarland and some I've met along the way. My staff ought to be pretty fun as well, so I really don't have any complaints with my position. I mean, I really enjoy being a RA as well, so could I really complain anyways? But Nerland is basically perfect for me. Its a gaming hall (not actually, but that's the tendency), its a dry dorm by choice (which means no alcohol), and I know a lot of people that are going there.
Music in my life is also going pretty dang well. The Wind Symphony also had a couple concerts in the past couple weeks which were really fun to play in. I've had more 1st horn parts lately, so I've been making some rapid improvements in terms of my playing. I think I'm going to go get the recordings of our concerts sometime this week so I can go listen to how we did from another perspective and see if I can pick myself out in the music. Jeremiah and I are also nearing completion of the Zelda Medley we're transcribing for a horn quartet (hopefully to be performed early next semester). I'll hopefully put up the arrangement we've done once we finish it but we do know at least what songs are going to be in it. We have (in this order):
- Zelda's Awakening (Windwaker)
- Ocean Theme (Windwaker)
- Song of Storms (Ocarina of Time)
- Song of Healing (Majora's Mask)
- Midna's Theme (Twilight Princess)
- Ballad of the Goddess (Skyward Sword)
- Zelda's Theme (Ocarina of Time)
- Epilogue (Windwaker)
I'm really excited to get it finished because then we can start playing it as a group and it will be AWESOME. Plus, if we can manage to have one of the faculty give us permission to play it in a Music at 1 I'll be ecstatic. I mean, how often would I have the chance to play a Zelda medley that I've created in a public setting? Basically never.
My new computer is almost complete as well! The last 3 pieces of the machine are now on their way to me after I got my wonderful tax return in the mail. I'm really excited to finally build this massive beast of a computer. Hopefully I'll have it up and going by the end of the weekend next week, although that is SpringFest and project weekend so we shall see how that goes. I know I really need to get those projects done and SpringFest is all hands on deck for RAs, so I know I'll be super busy for the entire weekend... Hopefully I'll still have some time to myself so that I can stay sane, but who knows.
I'm also changing my major soon. I still love Computer Science, but I have a ton of trouble with coding. I have neither the attention span nor the will to just do coding. So I'm hopefully going to change my major to Systems Administration instead. That way I can pursue what I really love about Computer Science, which is the Information Technology side of it, and hopefully end up as a Sysadmin sometime in the future. I think its a good choice for me and for my GPA, plus that kind of work is super awesome.
So that's my life as of late in a nutshell!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The waiting game
So I was trying to wait to write this until I had heard back about the job I applied for (so I could have some exciting news), but that obviously didn't work. Maybe I jinxed myself... Because last Thursday I applied for the Assistant Resident Director position here at UAF for Nerland Hall and then I was told "You'll know the result early next week." Needless to say, that didn't happen. Next came "Well, you'll hear this week" (again, didn't happen), followed by "You'll hear in the next 48 hours" (see where this is going?), and now it has hopefully stopped at "You'll hear on Monday." Now this doesn't seem too strange at first, but tomorrow we have RA Rush. Its the time when all the new and returning RAs come together and find out what hall they're placed in and meet their new (or old) pro staff member. That confuses me because someone who applied is going to be pulled and there are several halls who won't know who they're working for. Now, I know I'll find out eventually so this really isn't anything to get too worked up about, its just a minor inconvenience and a stress tester. I guess tomorrow I'll just find out where I'll be working if I don't get the ARD job.
Now for some old news.
Last week on Thursday I had my soccer finals for the first Spring quarter league and we won the championship! Hopefully we will have our shirts at some point this week to go with our team shirts that we have already, because we are just that cool. I really enjoy soccer, so I'm really glad that its offered here at UAF (but it would be better if it were a Varsity sport).
And now I'm just cleaning my room and then hopefully getting some more Subway later tonight before crushing Robert, Andrew, and Skye at Mario Party again :P
Now for some old news.
Last week on Thursday I had my soccer finals for the first Spring quarter league and we won the championship! Hopefully we will have our shirts at some point this week to go with our team shirts that we have already, because we are just that cool. I really enjoy soccer, so I'm really glad that its offered here at UAF (but it would be better if it were a Varsity sport).
And now I'm just cleaning my room and then hopefully getting some more Subway later tonight before crushing Robert, Andrew, and Skye at Mario Party again :P
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Midterms and programs and break time, oh my!
Its been a while since I was last back here... About 2 weeks I think. Its been a hectic couple of weeks as well.
So not this previous week, but the week before was midterms week. That. Was. Hard. The biggest pain was my 8 page single spaced Computer Science midterm. Luckily it was a take-home exam, but it took me over 8 hours to complete it... But, I got a 98% on it! WOO! The rest of my midterms/group projects went by pretty well too, that CS one was really the midterm of note though. So after that week of torture and work and not having time to do anything it was Spring Break!
Break started off with a bang as I went down to Nerland to do a full playthrough of Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain is an interactive drama for the PS3, and let me say: it is intense. The crazy kind of intense where everyone who's watching is having a good time and the one playing it is scrambling like a madman to keep everyone alive through 8 hours of quick-time events... That is a lot of quick-time events. A lot. But I finished it in about 9 hours with the happiest ending possible, so I can take solace in that. The rest of my break was really comprised of work and video games with some of my awesome residents. So it wasn't too terrible.
And now school has started back up. Time to get that brain working again.
So not this previous week, but the week before was midterms week. That. Was. Hard. The biggest pain was my 8 page single spaced Computer Science midterm. Luckily it was a take-home exam, but it took me over 8 hours to complete it... But, I got a 98% on it! WOO! The rest of my midterms/group projects went by pretty well too, that CS one was really the midterm of note though. So after that week of torture and work and not having time to do anything it was Spring Break!
Break started off with a bang as I went down to Nerland to do a full playthrough of Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain is an interactive drama for the PS3, and let me say: it is intense. The crazy kind of intense where everyone who's watching is having a good time and the one playing it is scrambling like a madman to keep everyone alive through 8 hours of quick-time events... That is a lot of quick-time events. A lot. But I finished it in about 9 hours with the happiest ending possible, so I can take solace in that. The rest of my break was really comprised of work and video games with some of my awesome residents. So it wasn't too terrible.
And now school has started back up. Time to get that brain working again.
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