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