A New Beginning

I decided that because I am bored right now, and I have nothing better to do seeing as my laptop is broken right now (otherwise I would be playing a SNES rpg game) that I would reflect back on the past few months of my life. The reason I titled this blog "a new beginning" is because I got married this past summer to my lovely wife, Cassandra. We found each other at no other than the infamous Pizza Hut in Provo. She was actually my manager, but that's not important. What's important is that I would like to say how interesting it is to be a married man. It is a little difficult going from a single, not a care in the world, life to one where I am not single, and only have a couple cares in the world. The transition hasn't been that hard, even though I do think it will take time to get completely comfortable with the situation. There are, however, many benefits to being married. I wont' go into them, but I can say that the extracurricular activities that my wife and I are involved in are pretty amazing.

On another note, I am reading this book for my biology class called "Voodoo Science." It is actually a good read so far. I enjoy the author's humor and the way he points out how some things that people think are science really aren't. One of the things that he points out is the reason we are building a space station. None really other than the fact that it looks cool. In the beginning it was to make new medicine and new alloys, etc, etc. But we aren't doing that. We are just spending lots of money in order to keep the space program alive. Another thing he talks about is homeopathic medicine. From what I read it sounds like it is just placebo. I mean the dilution that they use for it basically says that you will be lucky to find one molecule of the drug in the solution. That really sounds like it will help me get better. There are a many other good things that he points out, but there are just too many for me to write about. I could spend all day doing it, and trust me, I would enjoy it. But I don't have the time.

I don't know, life is an interesting thing. We are constantly learning new things, and yet some of the things that we learn aren't truth. That's what we need to look out for. For example, why do raccoons wash their food before they eat it. Some would have you believe it is because they have no salivary glands, so they need to moisten the food. But taken from the experience of a man who has seen with his own eyes (not me, but the author of Voodoo Science), raccoons have just as much ability to salivate as Pavlov's dogs. Interesting don't you think? So what is true, and what isn't. Well you can take comfort in the fact that the scientific method works. If you are in doubt just test the hypothesis. You'll get some kind of answer in the end.

The Weekend Before Finals

The weekend before finals is an interesting time of year for students in colleges around the country, probably world at that. It comes down to the time when you can't procrastinate any longer, and you have to start studying for those dreaded finals that you aren't prepared for. I know that I have been in this spot for a few semesters now. But, I always think it is interesting to see how students cope with this time of year. A select few, the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before their finals start, feel that if they study that they will be able to do well on their finals. Me, personally, I don't think that this is a very good thing to do. I am in that 90% who take this rare opportunity to play and stay up really late. My first semester up at college some people in my apartment building and I figured out that we all played DotA, so we got together on the lan network and played it for hours, even during finals week. It was amazing. I have found that even if you do study that your brain won't retain all of the information that you pump in to it anyways. I figure it's either you get it or you don't. So my approach to taking finals is to study a couple hours before by going over my notes that I have taken all year. For the most part this strategy has worked for me. There have been a few classes where studying wouldn't have helped out at all because I would have done poorly anyways. That's the way it goes sometimes.

I try not to make this time of year stressful for me, because stress just makes everything worse. That is why I take the time to play instead of locking myself in the library mulling over books and notes. First off, I try to avoid the library as much as possible because to me it symbolizes focus and study, two things which I don't like to do at all. I'm glad that I have a semi-photographic memory, so I remember a lot of the things that I learn in class which really helps me out a lot. But I am just one person among the sea of kids who call themselves students. Each person has their own system that works for them. If that system is to study the weekend before finals, then that's the way it is, as flawed as it may be. Also, I just think it is an excuse that girls use to get out of dating guys that they aren't really interested in. Just an observation that I'm throwing out there, but it is true, I think.

So here's to you college students who have to put up with this dreaded time of year. Don't sweat it, if you fail you can always retake the course next semester with a different instructor. Remember, don't stress out about finals, because that only makes your situation worse. Take time to go outside and play. Throw the football around with your buddies, or if you aren't in to that, stroll around the mall with you gal pals. Whatever you do, don't waste a perfectly good weekend studying, or cramming at the very last minute. The best thing you can do is study the night before. Your brain will remember more. So there are just a few tips of how to study for a final. And remember, this time of year only lasts for a week, so it gets over pretty quick. And there is always a bonus at the end of it, either winter break, or summer vacation. Good luck to you all!

A Class Worth Mentioning

This semester at college I took a course that was, well let's just say that it was fun. I had a really good time in it because basically all I had to do in the class was work with computer applications. The name of the class is "Communications in Geology" (seeing as geology is my major), but I just think that it is a front for geology majors having a good time. The real title of the class should be, "Having fun with your tuition dollar" Seriously, if you don't have fun in this class you are a boring person. If anything learning how to use Adobe Photoshop so you can do practically anything you want to a picture is one of the most useful skills you learn in the class. Yea, we went through basically all of Microsoft Office apps, but there were some pretty neat shortcuts that I learned that will save me a lot of time, plus I learned how to make a 4 1/2 page paper be 5 pages.

I also got to work with a beast of a program called ArcGIS. It is basically a mapping program that lets you do some pretty amazing stuff. At the beginning when I was learning it it was like I was learning a second languauge, well third actually because I already learned how to speak cambodian as a second language. But once you start getting it down you can make some pretty cool maps. The map over to your left is one that I made using the program. Pretty sweet huh? Don't you just wish that you were a geology major now?

I think one of the best things that I learned in the class, though, is something that my instructor told us, "If you don't feel like swearing, you aren't learning anything." Very practical knowledge that I am going to take with me to my grave. It was those times that I felt like ripping my hair out and screaming at the top of my lungs where I learned the most. The things you figure out of frustration are the things that you are going to remember most. I speak from personal experience. I am a delivery boy for Pizza Hut, and those addresses that I get lost trying to find are the ones that I will never forget. During the times of me letting out a few choice words and trying to reorient myself so I can deliver the pizza, I am remembering every turn so that it will never happen again.

Overall I would like to say that it was a very good course. The structure of it was very organized, and it provided me a basic knowledge of some of the programs that I will be using as a geology major. I am very excited now that I am more prepared to be able to write and publish research papers . And what makes it even better is the fact that my instructor plays WoW. I love video games! So props to you Kirsten, job well done.

Thanksgiving Break

There is one word that describes my Thanksgiving break, "lazy." I did absolutely nothing for 10 days, and it was amazing. I was supposed to write a paper during the break, but I got an email from my professor saying that he was setting back the date a week, so I happily went along with my break. The drive down wasn't so bad because I didn't do it alone this time around. We left just a little after 6 in the evening and arrived home just before 2 in the morning. Passing through Las Vegas at night was pretty cool, I've never seen so many lights in such a concentrated area, and I now understand how you can see them from space.

At around 6 I had to wake up, meaning I only got 4 hours of sleep, because I had an event that I needed to attend. One of my brother's friends got married so that night I went to his reception. After that I went with my best friend to go to a surprise birthday party. It was a pretty chill time. I always enjoy partying it up. I spent a good deal of time at my best friend's house, and for the most part we just played DotA. During the week I went to another birthday party for another friend. This one happened to take place at Chuck E. Cheese's. Even though everyone was older that 18 we all still managed to have a fun time. Just goes to show that you don't have to be 4 years old to act 4 years old.

Other activities included spending time with my brothers. It has been awhile since all four of us have gotten together and done something. Thanksgiving morning we went and played in the turkey bowl. Unfortunately not many people showed up this time so we only had a 4 on 4 with two little kids. It turned out to be pretty fun, but if there had been more people like there have been in years past I think that it would have been better.

Thanksgiving dinner was fun. We got together with my mom's side of the family and ate at my uncle's house. It was good to see my relatives again seeing as I don't have much opportunity to see them much. I also got to see one of my cousins whom I haven't seen in over a decade. It was a good dinner too. The turkey was deep fried, and the beans had bacon. I got my fill of food, plus I got the honor of eating one of the drumsticks. It was huge. My mom got a picture of it, but she hasn't sent it to me yet. So that is what Thanksgiving is all about. Being with the family and eating a good meal. If you take one thing from this blog, that should be it.

The rest of the week went well. Saturday is always a good day in the fall because of college football. My brothers and I got our fill of football that day, especially the Auburn vs Alabama game. Auburn won which was good. Later that night we chilled in our spa and watched a movie. Then on sunday we made our triumphant march up to school again. I hated leaving SoCal behind because it is such a wonderful place. The whole week had been going well until we got about 30 miles outside of Las Vegas heading towards Mesquite. All of a sudden I heard a noise and the car started to swerve out of control. I quickly got control and for a split second I was in denial that I had a blown tire, but I put that aside and decided that it was a blown tire. I pulled over to the side of the road and we proceeded to change the tire. This was the first time that I ever had to change a tire, but it really isn't that hard. The bad thing was that it made our trip a whole lot longer because we had to drive over 300 miles on the donut spare going 55 mph. It was really hard for me to drive that slow. It was just the ending I needed to a perfectly wonderful week. But that's the way things go sometimes. Now I am back at school having to do school related stuff, plus work. I'm just glad no one got hurt and we made it safely back. That is what really counts.

My Dream Car

Ever since I have been a little kid, my dream car has been a Lamborghini Diablo. I have always been fascinated by this car because it is fast, and it has a unique design. When I was younger I bought this Hot Wheels Lamborghini Diablo, and it was one of my prized possessions. I love the scene in Dumb and Dumber when Harry and Lloyd pull up to the hotel driving a Diablo. I love how the car doors go up, and not out.

Of course the chances of me ever owning such a car is pretty slim. I don't see myself making enough money to support me getting this expensive luxury car. Even though I am a pretty good saver I am sure that other expenses would supersede the funding that I would have to put in in order to purchase a car of such magnitude. If money were not an issue though, I would buy one in a heart beat.

I know that it isn't a practical car to own, but it would be a pretty safe car to drive in terms of it having a small chance of being stolen. I heard a story of how in England there are only 2 in the whole country, a black one and a red one. This meant that if one ever got stolen it wouldn't be too hard to find it. I have told my best friend that when we are old farts that I would buy one and we would cruise around in it just for fun. What a wonderful dream it is. I'm sure that by the time I reach "old fart" status they won't make Diablos anymore, and I would have to buy one on Ebay or something. I have already looked at some on Ebay already just in case you wanted to know.

I love to drive fast, and this car would definitely satisfy my need for speed. I would have to learn how to drive a stick, but if I had this car I would expend all the energy I had to become the master of manual driving. It would have to have a spoiler because Diablos without one look crappy. I am fond of the purple paint job with yellow racing stripes. Either red or black would suffice as well. So there may be a day that I get to sit in the driver seat of this awesome beast and rev that v-12 engine sitting at my back. What a thrill that would be.

Christmas is Starting Earlier Each Year

I have noticed over the years that as soon as Halloween is over you start to hear advertisements for Christmas and radio stations start to play Christmas songs. It has always puzzled me because you haven't even hit Thanksgiving (which is practically a full month away) and there is already pushes for people to spend money on the Christmas season, which is still two months away. Commercialism has really taken the holiday season and condensed it down. For me I wish that they would spearate the two seasons again because they both have their unique aspects, and of course they are both times to sit back and relax for a bit. I am a huge fan of the holiday season, and like most people, it is my favorite time of year. It isn't because of the gifts that I receive or anything like that. No, during this time of year I see a general shift in the personality of people going towards the good side. People are more kind and giving this time of year. I don't know exactly what it is, but it always causes me to smile inside when I see acts of charity being done. I wish that people would be like that the whole year round, but that's not the way it is.

The Christmas season has always been an anticipated thing in my family, but we have usually abstained from doing anything Christmas-like until after Thanksgiving. We enjoyed both holidays to their fullest. On Thanksgiving we would go over to our grandparents house and have Thanksgiving dinner. That was always fun to have the family together. I never really had opportunity to see my extended family much, and this was a time that I could. The day after Thanksgiving is when the Christmas season started in my family. That is when my dad would break out the christmas tree that we had (it was fake because my mom was allergic to the real thing, and it was more economical) and my brothers and I would participate in decorating the tree. After the Christmas decorations were set up around the house is when you would start to hear Christmas music playing throughout the house. Within a few weeks of this my dad would put up the Christmas lights around the house.

Growing up this way I felt a greater appreciation for the holiday season. It is a great time of year, and I think that commercialism has rushed this feeling for most people. They don't get to enjoy the full aspects of Thanksgiving, and they are rushed into thinking about what they are going to get their friends and family for Christmas before everything is sold out. To me, that is not what the holiday season is about. Of course I didn't always feel this way. I was a little kid once, and I couldn't wait for Christmas, but now being older, I see the bigger picture. I still anticipate the holiday season, but I have a greater patience now for it. If we as a nation would just sit back and let it come then I think that it would help us all to appreciate better what this time of year really means.

The Weekend

What is the weekend for? Well according to a paper that I just wrote for my Greek and Roman Mythology class, the weekend is the time for people to unwind from the structure of the work week. I hold fast to this principle, even though right now in my life I don't really have any type of weekend because I am working as a delievery boy at Pizza Hut. But during the day on saturday I get to enjoy myself for a couple of hours. For example, this past saturday I went with some friends and played mud football. It was really fun running around bare foot in the mud tackling people. Although my body is still pretty sore from the intense exercise.

So what am I getting at with this? Well, seeing as I am in college some people would say that I should use the free time that I have to study and get homework done. I say that is a horrible idea. I hate doing anything school related on the weekend because I get enough of it during the week. I need that special time to relax from the everyday and do something unique and fun. That is why I usually get the stuff I need to done before the weekend, or I wait until sunday night to do whatever it is that I need to do. So far it has worked out pretty well for me.

So my message to all of you out there is to find a way to have some kind of weekend that is not plagued with homework, or work in general. Sit down and watch a good college football game or just get out and do something. We need that time to unwind from the stresses of the week. If we don't then eventually we will break and something unwanted might occur. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and it is supposed to be fun.