I've done it again

Yep, I've fucked up a good thing... again. I don't think my scholarship will be around much longer because I HIGHLY doubt I will pass calculus. This time I'm not sure I can only blame myself, because even though I didn't put my best effort forward, I didn't just give up. This last test for example, there were two or three sections that he didn't even put on the test, and over half of it was focusing on one section (which fucked me over big time.) I should have dropped the class much earlier, or even better taken the AP credit. But no, I didn't feel "ready" and so I went ahead and stayed in the quicksand that is MATH 200 with Professor Ludwig Coco. What the hell am I gonna do? More importantly, is there anything I can do? Am I just one giant magnent for bad luck? Because it certainly seems like it, I mean sure I have my great things, but god damn if I haven't seen more than my fair share of bad luck/shitty experiences to last me more than my lifetime.

I got a new toy

I ordered a green laser pointer for $18 during the last woot-off and I just got it today. I was a little disappointed because we had some awesome fog last night and it would have been fun to mess around with it in the fog. In a dark room you can see the beam a little bit, but it just isn't the same. I need to be careful though, this thing is bright, it reflects a lot of these white walls that surround me.

Anyway, it is finally the last week of classes and I've got 90% of the stuff I need to do for this week done. I took my last calculus test tonight and I've got my essay finished for tomorrow. It is actually a good thing I went back over the guidelines because I thought it was one 1500 word essay for both people, not one 1500 word essay for each person. Oh well, I used my free time semi-wisely, I just need to stay focused better. One day down, seven left. Well nine if you count the weekend (or more if people don't finish presenting this week...)

I've done it...

Yes, I've registered for my spring semester classes. I was scheduled to take 18 credits, but since MATH 201 filled up before I could register (there was an issue with my hold and it wasn't removed until 9:30), but I love what I got.

So, without further ado:

Monday: Engineering 2-250 and again from 5-650

Tuesday: Physics 930-1045 and again from 3-450, FI 1230-145

Wednesday: Engineering 2-250, Physics 3-350

Thursday: Physics 930-1045, FI 1230-145, Philosophy 4-640

Friday: Zip, nada, nothing. Oh yeah!

That totals to 14 credits, but I've put in a request for an override into a MATH 201 class, but the one I requested isn't on Friday. I'm looking forward to next semester now.

Robotics and Exam season

With December just around the corner that means that exams are very near and there is only a month until Robotics starts up for the 2009 season. Yesterday showed a sign of what was to come. I volunteered yesterday at the FIRST workshops, which are meant to teach people the basics about the various parts, pieces, functions, and how to program the robots. So I spent over half of the day in Engineering East setting stuff up, signing people in, helping people find their way, kept the kids in line waiting for lunch (that was fun...), and then cleaning up after everyone and everything. And did we get a free lunch included? No, we got last dibs after everyone else, including the adult volunteers not connected to our student organization. Our club had to pay to order pizza for us because even though we were doing the bulk of the work, we weren't important.

Oh well, it was tiring, but I feel proud of what I did, I don't do it for the adults who fret about everything being perfect and make sure things are done right, I do it for the kids so they can stay interested in engineering and have fun doing it. Most of the adult volunteers have good intentions, but a few really could care less about the work myself or any other college student did yesterday, and it showed. It is sad to see when people think that just because they are older or hold more power, the ones working for them or under them mean nothing or know nothing. It's degrading, and not to mention it puts a general feeling in people that their help isn't needed. Enough ranting, my life doesn't suck that bad, I just complain too much. But nothing will change if you don't complain about it, you just need to be careful about how often you do it.

Anyway, I really am looking forward to the Robotics kickoff January 3rd, I have no possible clue what the game or challenge will be this year, but if the past trend continues, it isn't going to be easy.

Winter is here

Yes, it is my least favorite time of year. Winter is finally here and it showed possibly a things to come with that brief snow shower on Tuesday. I was pleasantly surprised to see it walking to class, until I realized that A) I wasn't wearing proper clothes to deal with the wind AND the cold and B) I was freeing about every extremity off and the snow was just making things worse. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow. I've grown up in a couple of places (Ohio and Missouri) where during the winter snow is common and you get more than 1/2 an inch. But the people around here bug me, one inkling of snow and they go into armageddon/YAY THEY'RE GONNA CANCEL SCHOOL mode. The first I find rather funny, the media around here sensationalizes a lot of things that really could be just left alone as normal news or weather. The latter just pisses me the hell off because I know that A) It most likely won't snow, and if it does it won't stick and B) I'm used to having to get a lot of snow (4-6 inches) to have school canceled, and that is if the roads weren't pretreated beforehand.

Actually, just last winter on a weekend we spent in West Virginia at a house in the mountains, my brother and I walked 2 miles to the house in 6 inches of snow during a near blizzard because my moms car couldn't make it up even the slightest incline. THAT is what I call snow, and THAT was probably one of the most fun times I've ever had in the snow (besides some sledding adventures I had in my younger years.) So with the cold comes the promise of me freezing my ass off day in and day out, no matter how many layers I wear. It sucks, I'm just skinny, I try to eat more to gain even a little weight, but my metabolism won't have anything to do with that. Oh well, I am hoping for some snow this year because I want to go on a day trip up into the mountains to go sledding or tubing, I haven't done either of those in a long time.

Political Correctness

This is a subject that bugs me constantly. Society is becoming bland and stuck up because of political correctness. Seriously, I don't see what the big deal is. If I want to say something raunchy, you better damn well not tell me it's politically incorrect. Seriously, I believe society needs to get their heads out of their asses and wake up. One example is how the acronym STD is being replaced with STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) because "it doesn't sound as bad." Seriously? Are people that sensitive? An STD is not a good thing, so why should I give a damn if STI "sounds better?" My philosophy is that there are more important things in life than to get all butt hurt over a statement or a joke. Which reminds me, since one of my favorite shows is The Office, I've been ever more aware to comments that would make perfect "That's what she said" jokes. I saw a commercial the other day for a new racing video game, and a girl says something along the lines of "You're in deep, just where I want you." God I laugh so hard every time I hear that... If it weren't for the gutter, my mind wouldn't have a home.

Forgot this place existed

Yeah, so after that blog post last week things went to hell with my laptop. It began crashing every 20 minutes or so. I took it in Thursday morning to be fixed, the guy said I would be able to get it back that night since it was an easy fix. Yeah right, I got it back late Saturday, so I was ticked. Then it started crashing, randomly, for a completely different reason. So needless to say, I've been avoiding it unless I absolutely have to use it.

And another thing, I hate the cold. My body is not built to like the cold. I am skinny and my metabolism is off the charts. I eat until I'm full, but I can't gain weight, no matter how hard I try. I bet a lot of people wish they had this problem...

I'm a little pissed...

First off, my mini biography is coming... eventually. Second, I'm writing this after one of the worst mornings ever. I fell asleep at 2am because the celebrations kept me up (don't get me started, I didn't want either candidate, but the worse of the two won in my opinion) only to be woken up at 345am by the fire alarm. We stood in Monroe Park for almost an hour and a half, and once we got back in it went off 15 minutes later. Turns out the problem is in GRC 3, which happens to be where I am... Great. So I'm pissed off, tired, and more importantly scared of what the future holds. Today is gonna be an interesting day.

Insert witty title here

So I had an awesome weekend this week. It started off Friday evening with the homecoming game at my old high school (we got slaughtered). But the highlight of that evening was the fundraiser we had for the Robotics club. We sold Krispy Kreme donuts to raise money for the team, and we were sold out by halftime, all 125 dozen were gone. We raised over $300, and next time we hope to make more by getting more donuts, and by including a donation jar at our booth.

With Saturday came the homecoming dance (which is odd since the first time I would be going to homecoming I'm out of high school) and setting up for my parents Halloween party. I spent most of the afternoon decorating the house and setting up the home theater that my dad manages to keep screwing up. We went as a small group to dinner at Mile Post 5, a seafood restaurant in Midlothian. The dance itself was awful, the administration was being completely anal about how people were dancing, and even stopped playing certain songs part way through. After I dropped off everyone, instead of hanging out at home with a bunch of loud, drunk adults, I went back to my dorm for a few hours. It was relaxing.

Sunday was a very relaxing day. I slept in until noon, I went to my brothers soccer game (even though he can't play since he has a fractured ankle), came home and watched football, had a steak dinner, then packed up my stuff (plus some more) and went back to my dorm. My parents graciously allowed me to take the little flat screen TV they had on the screen porch back with me since I fixed it, so now I have a TV!

Finally, yesterday was awful, just awful. I had to get up early for a chem lab exam, came back and slept. Went to my engineering lecture at noon, and by god it was colder than it was in the morning. Then to make matters worse, when I went to calc at 7, it was raining, and 39 degrees. I was not happy to say the least.

Anyway, expect a little biography about myself tomorrow since I only have one class, and that is calc at 7pm... damn it.

This space is for rent.

Update

Wow, what an eventful week. I was on TV Monday, I was interviewed by CBS 6 about the Rodney Monroe controversy. Which is ironic since it was brought up in the class I had just left when the guy stopped me walking back to my dorm. Then I had a calculus test that night that I absolutely bombed (I ended up with a 10.... %). Thankfully since over half the class didn't pass the professor is allowing us to retake the test anytime between next week and Thanksgiving.

Anyway, my weekend was pretty interesting. Friday I had an orthodontist appointment, and since it was raining I found a way to spin out my car leaving my neighborhood. Fun stuff, thankfully I have learned driving techniques outside of Driver's Ed and Behind the Wheel so I knew what to do (more importantly what NOT to do). It was embarrassing , but thankfully only the UPS guy saw it and drove up offering me assistance.

Then that night I needed to take my girlfriend to the mall so she could look for a homecoming dress, but my little sister had to tag along since my parents were gone. It made things easier on me since she has a lot more fashion sense than me. We didn't find anything Friday, or Saturday. With Sunday though came the looming prospect of mowing lawns. My brother is crippled now (not really, but it's fun calling him a cripple) since he had his ankle fractured in a soccer game. That's not good for me (I have to mow lawns for him, but the money is really good), him (he can't play soccer anymore this fall), or his team (he's a star player, he plays defense and is a team captain).

This week has been been ok otherwise, but the cold weather is starting to get to me (I'm skinny as hell, virtually no body fat to keep the heat in). And to add insult to injury, the AC likes to run in the middle of the day and makes it freezing in my room. Oh well, guess I'll pick up some extra blankets this weekend. Hmm, what else is there to bring up? Oh, the Robotics club that I was president of last year is running into some "issues". My girlfriend keeps telling me about how hard it is to deal with most of the members, and they waited until 2 days before the Homecoming Parade to start work on the float, and they didn't finish so now they are going to finish it in the few hours they have after school before the parade... But I'm gonna be there and there will be blood shed (figuratively) if they screw around, I don't want the same results we had last year.

It's bed time, I don't know why the hell I stay up this late, especially when I have an 8am lab tomorrow. But I'm not tired, so I figure I'll use this time to write a blog post.

This space is for rent...

Picture Time!!!!

Ok, it's early Friday morning, I should be asleep since I have to be up at 6:30am, but here I am wide awake bored outta my mind. Figure I'll post some pictures from my trip to New Zealand.

Here's the story in a nut shell. My dad was born in New Zealand while his dad was stationed at an air force base with the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. So my grandma made a promise to take all her grand children that wanted to go to New Zealand for their 16th birthday. So in the summer (winter down there) of 2006 we went for my 16th birthday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.




These two photos are from Hobbiton, the only outdoor set left in New Zealand where they filmed the Lord of the Rings. These are the Hobbit Holes where the Hobbits lived.



This is the Auckland skyline from a distance. I snapped this picture on the way up a dormant volcano. Crappy camera led to a crappy shot, but it works.



Got this photo at Goat Island National Park. Just a cool looking picture I guess.



The northern most tip of New Zealand from the farthest point north you could walk. No, they wouldn't let you go down there.



Can you see the face in this rock face? Got this photo at the Franz Josef glacier.



This is the Franz Josef Glacier, we got to climb up onto the solid shelf before we had to turn around so we could get back before dark. One of the coolest parts of the trip, no pun intended.



One of the passenger ferries that runs from the North Island to the South Island. Got this photo on the South Island on the Queen Elizabeth trail.



This waterfall is called Huka Falls, once again , I just thought it was a cool picture.

So leave some comments, tell me what you think. But I'm going to bed, busy day later.

I survived, this time.

Made it through the issue, turned out to be nothing in the end so it wasn't a big problem. I got sick Thursday night and missed class Friday afternoon because I slept too long, oh well. All in all I am looking forward to only having four classes left until the weekend, but I'm considering not going to Calculus. Unfortunately, knowing my teacher we will probably have a quiz so I'll end up going. Did some interesting things this weekend, went Halloween shopping with my girlfriend and one of her friend's. Apparently the plan is for me a be a pimp and there will be girls in slutty outfits and a few guys cross dressing. Oh well, should be fun, and interesting. I guess I should share some awesome photos I have with you guys since I don't have much to write about.

This is a "pretzel rod" i pulled out of a bag earlier today, maybe I should put it up for sale on eBay, it may be the next hit Jesus item.

My girlfriend and I at the Robot Rumble at the State Fair two weeks ago.

Aston Martin DBS at the State Fair as part of a promo for Regal Theaters and the new James Bond movie. I love the car, but the movie looks iffy.

Our robot from the Robot Rumble. The eyes were added after I noticed the pool noodle looked like a mouth.

One more photo, I'm sure I will post more at a later date, mainly because I have too many I want to share.

This photo is from the trip I took to New Zealand in the summer of 2006. I'll get into that more when I go through the photos again and pick some to post, this one is just my favorite. I really love how the sun beams show.

It's much like a roller coaster

Yup, that pretty much describes my life right now. Great things happen and then instantly they are dragged down by something else. I'm writing this from the comfort of my new room. I got to stay in GRC and I get the privilege of living in one of the single rooms in phase 3. But with this awesome room assignment came a huge personal blow to me. I'm not going to go into it now because I don't even know anything much about it yet, but if things play out the wrong way I could find myself in the biggest pickle of my life.

But talking with some people in experience with the matter has reassured me that things will be all right and I shouldn't have anything to worry about. If there was ever a time that I wished I hadn't stopped believing in religion, now would be that time. I'm not sure whether to pray to God to get through this, or curse him for letting it happen to me in the first place. But alas, I stopped believing a while ago so I guess it could just be fate. More to come (possibly) as I gather more information.

Enough is enough

Do I really come off as being weak? Sure I can assume why you'd think that because I'm short and skinny, but really, do I appear weak? Because I cannot begin to fathom why my soon to be ex roommate is such an asshole to me. Whatever, I don't care anymore, I talked to my RA and she is gonna see what the choices are. I really hope he's the one who has to pack his bags because I haven't done anything to deserve this. Plus, I've had to switch schools before because of bullying issues (I guess I'm just a magnet for hate...) and that worked out fine. But absolutely do not want to let him have the last words be having me be the one that moves.

I'd really like to thank my suite-mate Nate for stepping in when he heard the exchange, especially since I felt like I was about to be the crap outta my roommate which would have not ended good for me. Unlike most of the guys in our suite he didn't know about the issues between us so he had a neutral view of it. But it kinda pisses me off that I've put up with this, no one tried to stand up for me, or even themselves because they are all too afraid of this guy, so he really needs to go. I'm really sick of all this shit I've had to put up with, I didn't choose to be the way I am , I just kinda became it when I went through depression a few years ago. This crap is definitely not healthy for me either, because if I go into depression again, I might as well drop out and try again once I get my shit together.

I'm so glad I have something taking me away from him for the weekend, because I really need a break from this jerk. Oh well, it's late, I should be sleeping since I had a test tomorrow, but I'm still shaking because I'm so pissed off right now. I really hope the next person I may or may not roommate with is a lot more accepting.

Not much to talk about

Yeah my life is pretty uneventful right now for the most part. I'm currently volunteering for an organization at the State Fair that requires me to bike 8 miles total to and from the raceway. But it's good exercise. I actually racked up 26 miles on Saturday since I rode to my girlfriends house after getting back from the track.

Otherwise my roommate has finally plucked my last nerve, I've reported him to my RA and after getting my side of the story she will talk to him tomorrow (well later today) and then all three of us on Wednesday. She did say however that she has noticed he is extremely abrasive and immature. Things are looking to go in my favour here since she said if he continues after our talk, the University can actually force him to move out of the dorm. I'm not in a healthy environment right now, especially since he has voiced that he isn't afraid to hit me/beat me up, and he is almost twice my size.

I'll let you know how it goes later this week.

Today was just a bad day

Alright so let me start off by saying today was my first dose of reality. Of the two classes I had today I missed both. I woke up on time fine because I remember turning off my alarm, but I don'te remeber what the hell happened after I turned it off. Next thing I know I'm awake again except know it is 930 and I missed my chemistry quiz. Great. So I proced to get up, take a shower, eat breakfast and settle in before my next class.

Then around 1030 I guess it was I heard some jackhammers, but they sounded like they were right outside my window. I couldn't think at all while they were going. So anyway 1220 rolls around and I head out to my class, but the problem is my class started at 12. Great, what the hell, I might as well just slept all day! So I didn't go to class today, and I've had an on and off headache for most of the day. Now I'm going to go to bed and be thankful that bad luck doesn't strike me often.

Well at least I got an A

We were scheduled to have a Calculus test tonight at 7pm, but it didn't happen after the debacle that was the pop quiz we got last class. Our professor said only a handful of people got scores that were high enough for them to be comfortable with the test (I got a 10/10 so I was one of a few). So he postponed the test until Wednesday night and reviewed the quiz with us again. I didn't have to stick around for this, but I decided to because I wanted to catch anything else he might go over.

But anyway I went home this weekend for hopefully the last time until October, I just had to get away from my roommate. Friday I went to my old high schools football game with my girlfriend. It was down to the wire, down by 5 with 50 seconds left and a receiver makes a great catch and breakaway until he was taken down inside the 5 yard line. We then proceed to get a false start penalty followed quickly by an incomplete pass. With 15 seconds or so on the clock they make one last ditch effort, and my god if the quarterback couldn't have screwed up worse. He repeated the same play he had tried twice earlier when he got flushed out of the pocket by pressure, a low toss over the pile that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. So on this particular play the QB was 3 for 3... to the other team.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Mowed the front yard on Saturday, almost died because of the humidity. I also went to meet Mr. Linn since I got in contact with him and he had said he wanted to meet me. From that I picked up my girlfriend and brought her back to my house for a make your own pizza night which as always was a blast. We also watched the first half of the USC vs. OSU game and I got to watch my least favorite team get their asses handed to them in spectacular fashion.

Sunday started out bad and ended better. I had to finish mowing the lawn, but since it was mostly shaded on the hill it was still wet. Well while trying to go up this wet hill I managed to twist me knee, fall down, and pop my kneecap out of its socket. It has happened before so I knew how to fix it, just shake my leg until it pops back in since I can't bend my leg until it is fixed. But I toughed it out and finished since walking seems to dull the pain more than standing around or sitting. But anyway I then later managed to lock myself out of the house for a good 30 minutes before I realized that one of the back windows was open and got back inside. And finally my girlfriend and I finally went to see the Dark Knight and I have to agree with everything said about it. It could have ended about three separate times and the way Batman spoke was infuriating.

Oh and I'm looking for things to do and I'll be straight I'm a rather shy person. So it would be awesome if you just kinda come up to me and introduce yourself and start a conversation, I'm not too comfortable with that. It is kinda ironic though since I've been to 9 different schools since kindergarden, you would think I wouldn't be shy about meeting new people. Oh well, this is Josh signing out for now, I'll post more later, maybe let you know more about me...

Remembering 9/11

On this day seven years ago terrorists attacked our nation, killing nearly 3000 people. To reflect on this I'd like to quote a post I made on a robotics forum I am a member of.

"I was in the 6th grade back in St. Louis, MO. I remember a parent coming into our history class and talking to the teacher for over 30 minutes, which was odd because our teacher hated interruptions. Anyway she didn't tell us anything, but I found out in Spanish what had happened. We were all terrified at what had happened, and when I got home me and my mom just watched CNN for hours. And Mr. Linn, I never had the honor of meeting Karl, but I have heard nothing but great things about him. It was and honor to serve as the president of the team he helped co-found and it was also an extreme honor to receive the scholarship set up in his memory. I for one will never forget the sacrifice he made for our country."

The Mr. Linn I reference there is the father of Karl Linn, a James River High School graduate and a co-founder of the James River High School Robotics team. Karl was killed in Iraq in 2005 while serving in the Marines. Unfortunately this occurred before I had even moved to Virginia and even joined the Robotics team. So I took the position of president, a roll which he once held, with honor last year. I was then extremely honored to be presented with the scholarship created in his memory at the senior awards assembly.

This day brings about feelings of great tragedy, but many others forget to realize that they should also celebrate the sacrifice of the heroes on that day: the passengers on flight 93 who fought the terrorists to keep them from attacking their target, the firefighters and police officers who risked and lost their lives to save others, and finally all of the volunteers who risked their health and safety to begin clearing the rubble searching for survivors. So I'd like to think of today, not as a day of celebration, not as a day of tragedy, but a day of remembrance and reflection of the events of September 11th, 2001.

Sometimes I'd rather forget the past

So today my roommate decided to make some comments that lead to a very vicious verbal exchange. I don't even remember how or why it started, but all I know is I nearly broke down. I had a hard time in middle school with bullying, and this attack I took today felt all too familiar and brought back feelings that I though I had erased from memory. So for the up and coming future I will be spending the weekends at home with my family until we work things out. I can't stand to go through this anymore it did too much damage to me mentally the last time it happened. He is a great guy and all, but our personalities are sometimes too different and that can and will lead to conflicts in the future unless things change.

Labor Day

I'm using this opportunity to reflect a little bit. Up until I moved to Virginia I hadn't been to a school that didn't start before Labor Day, and now that I'm in college it is right back to being that way. The past two years I looked at Labor Day as the last day of summer, but now I get to look at it again as a long weekend and a break from school. I took full advantage of the weekend and came back home so I could use my car, it is a little incentive my parents wanted control of to get me to come home. I would have to say that is a good move on their part. And another bonus, they filled the car up since they needed to use it, so on my trip to Busch Gardens yesterday with my girlfriend I didn't need to needlessly spend any extra money to fill it up.

When it rains it pours...

Two days... That is how many days this month it has rained, and that would be yesterday and today. And with the rain came the infuriating downpours that conveniently started right after I had left a building to head back to my dorm. But at least it helped me wake up this morning since I had to get up for my first 8 AM class.

And It's Up!

Well after pondering for a witty display name for a while, I finally got my blog set up. I hope to keep this updated regularly with thoughts on things going on in the world and what is going on in my life. Feel free to leave comments as I begin to post more, but if they end up getting out of hand I am not afraid to censor or remove them them.