Apathy Rules!

School. The semester is drawing to a close. If all goes well I will most likely have two A's and two B's. I wouldn't mind higher than a 3.5 but I'll take it. Calculus is the suck. Accounting is accounting. Intro to Business is a joke. Astronomy is still interesting. 2 more weeks until temporary freedom and then summer school in July...

State of mind. I've been in a much better mood after getting accepted to UMD. That was one hump I really needed to get over. The next hump is actually getting admitted to the business school which I can't unfortunately join until the spring term since I'm one required class behind. Assuming I don't botch my GPA the first semester at UMD I should be accepted.

Reading. I didn't think I would start reading for pleasure until summer came around but the temptation was too strong. After falling in love with Dune last year I read the the first book after watching the David Lynch movie adaptation. Then I watched the recent miniseries as well as the Children of Dune miniseries which was actually quite good. Instead of reading the second and third Dune books which COD was based off of I jumped right into book 4, God Emperor of Dune. This is much more philosophical than the first book which is saying quite a bit. I'm enjoying it even though I partially know how it ends. Hopefully I can get through Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune over the summer.

The Suns. I knew this would be the make or break year especially after the Shaq trade. At first I thought it was a terrible idea like everyone else but I've warmed up to it. Sure Shaq is definitely nowhere near his prime but he has helped out the team quite a bit after the initial adjustment period. I was actually hoping we'd get to play San Antonio in the first round as odd as that seems. We traded for Shaq to take care of Duncan. In the first 2 games against SA he had an outstanding performance. The first playoff game was terrible since he only had 5 minutes of playtime in the first half due to foul trouble. Hopefully the Suns can get over that double-overtime heart breaker and come back in full force for game 2. I purchased tickets for games 3 and 4. Hopefully they won't be the last home games the Suns play this year.

Women. After knowing where I would be in August has given me some peace. I don't need to concern myself with finding companionship while I'm still here. I just want to go out and have fun with women. I've taken a fancy to a girl in my accounting class. She's kind of ditsy and likes to talk a lot but I don't care. I'm not looking for anything serious. I've flirted with her off and on and she seems receptive. I asked her to join me to one of the aforementioned Suns playoff games and she said yes. Hopefully this goes somewhere. She knows I'm leaving soon so if she's cool with a short term relationship then I'll be glad.

Two years ago I made a promise to myself. I made a promise to get out of the mediocrity that my life had become by going back to school. I was a slacker in high school and had a pretty shitty run when I went to college the first time. Since I made the decision to continue my education I've made strides. From a 2.4 GPA in high school to honor roll status I think I've come a long ways. Even with my new attitude towards school and the grades to back it up I still had doubts I would be able to attend to the schools I wanted.

Earlier this year I applied to the University of Maryland and the University of Oregon. Earlier this week I received my acceptance letter back from Maryland (haven't heard back from Oregon yet). I haven't decided on which school I am going to yet (assuming Oregon accepts me) but for me this is perhaps the biggest milestone in my life. While some people wouldn't think much about getting accepted to a state school it means so much to me. Through all the self doubt I've had these last few years this acceptance letter made me truly happy for once. Whatever else happens to me this year at least I can savor in this one moment as something I did that bettered myself.

Now I have the next five or so months to bide my time. At this point I don't need to concern myself with finding any kind of long term companionship while I'm still anchored in Arizona. A few dates here and there would be nice but at least the pressure is no longer a factor.

Enjoy me while you can folks because I'm sure going to miss all of you come August or September.

Back to back updates?! Surely something isn't right. Or maybe its because I'm stuck at the motel here in Eugene with my uncle who snores louder than thunder during a lightning storm. I have to enable noise-canceling on my headphones and and crank up Miles Davis on my iPod to deafening levels to get past the snoring. I'm starting to feel the same way the narrator of the Tell-Tale Heart felt to some degree. If this keeps up I'm going to buy a six pack of beer and hope I pass out.

So here I am in the city of roses after being absent for almost 4 years now. I'm glad that I'm visiting extended family I seldom ever see. Staying at the Joys is always an experience. Since my arrival we've visited some of the various attractions of Portland such as Powell's Books and one of the Rogue Breweries brewpubs. Powell's is amazing because it is a multistory bookstore that has pretty much anything you could ask for. I found a copy of the out of print Dune Encyclopedia for $75 which is the going rate. It was in near pristine condition so I was happy with my purchase. Rogue's brewpub was nice even though they didn't have a lot of beers on tape that I was dying to try. Maybe if I move back I'll be able to sample their entire beer selection.

• The morbidly obese disgust me beyond words.
• Life isn't fun when you're depressed and angry.
• 5 hours of sleep isn't enough.
• Questioning my living situation.
• Watching someone throw a cigarette butt out of a Toyota Prius window made me laugh.
• Books are fun. I wish I had started reading for recreation a long time ago.
• Props to Boston College even though I was cheering against them.
• Astronomy lab isn't nearly what I expected it to be.

Masterchiefdog

I'm about to make the worst economic choice in my life but I don't think I'm going to regret it. I've decided that I'm going to move out next year so I can attend school in Oregon or Washington. I haven't been admitted yet but I don't think getting in will be a problem unless I botch my GPA this semester somehow. Why is this the worst economic decision I could make? Well friends let me digress...

If I decided to transfer to ASU next year instead of out of state I could practically go to school for free. In state tuition by itself is less than $6k a year (not including books) and my employer pays just over $5k in tuition reimbursement alone. After I graduate I'd have little to no student loans to pay off (excluding my current one from my last college years ago). If I attend school in Oregon or Washington I'll be paying almost $20k a year at the non-resident rate. I've looked into residency requirements but it seems I'd have to take a year off without attending school for that to happen. This is something I'd rather not do since I'll be at least 28 by the time I obtain my degree.

To fund this endeavor I will be taking out student loans and possibly cashing out my 401k to live off of. I am already aware I'm losing at least 30% right off the bat as part of the early withdrawal penalty. If I was to cash out now I'd have just over 13k after tax + penalties which isn't all that much. This should give me some decent money to pay for rent, bills, etc so I can work a minimal amount or not work at all for a period. As a prospective finance major this seems like the worst decision you could make but if I land a decent job I can make this money back fairly quickly (even though it compounding now would be nice).

I've been asked why I'm doing this. There's a few reasons but not all of them are practical. It really boils down to wanting a change of scenery and the fact most of my friends will be gone within a year anyways. I've lived in Arizona for 17 years now and I have grown weary. As you've probably heard me bitch about it before I don't care for the lack of culture here, people aren't friendly on the whole, and the music scene is terrible. The environment and monotony of life hear has made me bitter to some degree. The other big fact is that almost all of my friends that I've made in the last few years have left or will be leaving after graduating. While I wish they could all stay I know that's not reasonable.

I'm ready to start the next chapter in my life. It's been a goal to move back to the state I love for some time now but I haven't tried to make it a reality until now. I don't expect that moving will solve all my problems but I think it's a start. At least I'll be closer to some of my extended family and can finally remember what snow is.

Once again it is that time of year when school is starting back up. I am now on my third full semester at CGCC. I was looking forward to this semester mostly because of my fairly cool schedule. I've dropped my work hours down to 30 so 25% of my paycheck is now gone. Guess I'll have to curb my spending on those diamond crusted grills and spinning rims I always wanted. This term I'm taking MAT151: College Algebra, AST112/114 Astronomy: Stars & Galaxies, ENG102 First Year Composition Part 2, and ENH254 Special Topics in Horror Film and Literature.

Math. This was my first class of the week and boy did it get off to a bad start. My awesome teacher from the last two semesters was supposed to teach this course but about a month before class started he e-mailed me and said they gave it to another teacher instead. This really pissed me off because I was planning my new work schedule around this class and now my teacher can't even teach it.

I went to classes on the first day where there weren't enough seats so at least 4 people had to stand in the back. I was trying to gauge the teacher to determine whether she would be cool or not. She seemed alright until she started going over the syllabus. There were multiple group projects that involved meeting up outside of class hours and one or two writing assignments. Yes, fucking writing assignments and outside group projects for a math class. This immediately put me in a sour mood so for the next few days I kept looking at the registration page to see if there were openings in another class. Sure enough there was one after my Astronomy class. I went to it tonight and it was far better than the other class. The teacher was cool and even identified my Radiohead tattoo. The book is also optional as is homework which made me happy. I think I'll be enjoying this class much more.

Astronomy. I've been on an astronomy binge for the last month or so just trying to soak up as much general knowledge as I can. I've been watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos series and it's presented in such a form even non-science people such as myself can grasp it. I think Carl Sagan is now my hero. I'm very sad he passed away almost 11 years ago. He brought astronomy to the general public and I thank him for my new found interest.

As far as my astronomy class goes I'm really enjoying it so far. The teacher is an older gentlemen but he is really friendly and looked happy when I told him I was watching Cosmos, etc. During our lab today this guy I was sitting next to was chatting him and the teacher talked about how the sun will lose it's energy in the next 4-5 billion years and turn into a red giant and eventually a white dwarf. When this happens it will destroy the first four immediate planets and part of the asteroid belt. The student in question was questioning if that was possible and starting bringing up creationism. I'm sure you can imagine the rolleyes I was making. Creationists really don't belong in astronomy classes.

591px-Redgiants.svg

What a fucking week this has been. I finish out the semester, my brother graduates from college/moves down to Phoenix, second round of the NBA playoffs is in full swing, and I somehow manage to get a girl's phone number. It's been sensory overload and after sensory overload. Normally I don't have to deal with this many happening in such a condensed period of time.

The spring semester finally came to a close. I haven't received all of my grades back but I managed to get A's in both my Algebra class as well as Microeconomics. I'm not sure of my Jazz history grade and my teacher did a piss poor job of keeping us informed of our grades on a regular basis. I think I did well enough on the last test to put me at a B, which I'm fine with. If I get a C I will be very saddened with myself. I'm trying to keep a near pristine GPA to ensure I can get into the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU or possibly the school of Global Leadership and Management. This is time for me to step up and prove to myself that I'm not the same lazy fuckup I was in high school. If you're a Phoenix Suns fan the motto this season is "Eyes on the Prize." I'm making this my own slogan but instead of an NBA title it will be a piece of paper showing that I made something of myself and overcame my own obstacles. One year down, three plus more years to go...

So Ryan and Amanda have moved down to Phoenix to start post-college lives. It looks like I will be seeing a lot more of them than before which is fine but I wish they didn't have to live on the polar opposite side of the valley. Hopefully Ryan can get a job soon and join the rest of us saps in the workforce.

Basketball. For most of my life I have never really been an avid sports fan. Last year I decided on a whim that I should start watching sports. Initially it started with college football which I really enjoyed then in October I started watching the Phoenix Suns religiously. As of this writing they are down 2-1 against the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs. They played like shit yesterday. I wish I could say better officiating would've helped but they did it to themselves. Hopefully Nash can step up and Stoudemire can stay out of foul trouble. If we can't win this next game we might as well call it a season. The Golden State Warriors are my backup team right now. They knocked Dallas out in the first round but now they are having their shortcomings against the Utah Jazz. They lost earlier tonight so they are now down 3-1 when they should be up 3-1. Come on guys, you've made it this far. Don't lose to a team whose fans are all Caucasians.

Here's the kicker for my week. There is a girl (I use this term loosely) in my math class who is ten years my senior (34 for you folks not in the know). Before we took our final I was talking to a mutual friend and asked if she was single (she is). Said friend throws out the idea of all three of us go out for drinks after class to which we all oblige. After the drinks were consumed I asked this girl if she wanted to get drinks this weekend. She said sure and proceeded to give me her phone. I wait the standard two days before calling her (who makes up these rules anyways?). She doesn't pick up so I leave a voice mail for her to call me back. That was Thursday, it is now officially Monday and I haven't gotten a response. I wasn't emotionally invested in this girl but it was a big blow to me. I can't seem to catch a break these days.

Springtime

Rumskib

Earlier today Ryan calls to tell me that Amanda is going to be eating for two. Looks like I'm going to be an uncle. I've always joked with him that I can be that rich, creepy uncle that never got married. Phase 1 is now complete, now I just need to hold up my end of the bargain... I look forward to the next 9 months of making offhand fat jokes to Amanda while hormones and emotions are flying high. Enjoy the next 9 months Ryan because everything is going to change after that. Congrats to Ryan and Amanda, it may not have came at the most opportune time but I'm sure everything will sort itself out.

Inside

UNKLE

What a great day it has been for science. Not only did we discover an earth like planet that's only twenty light years away but Stephen Hawking was able to experience zero gravity for a short period of time. Space is just so cool. I would give anything to go into space, even if it was just for an hour or so. It's quite scary yet enlightening to know just how vast our universe is. As I lay in my bed I ponder what's out there that won't be discovered by humans for hundreds if not thousands of years from now (assuming we don't become extinct in one way or another). I really hope I do well in my Astronomy course in the fall. I think I'll enjoy it but it will be challenging for me. I almost feel like watching 2001: A Space Odyssey right now but I'm tried as hell. When is it going to come out on HD-DVD already?!

Here's some of my favorite space videos.