Sleepless Nights

Hello, once again I continue the tradition of not updating my blog. Of course you all may want to know what happened these past two days and sadly, I am not going to reveal what happened.

Friday and Saturday saw the rise of many strange events. In fact, they are so strange that I am trying not to relive them in this writing. Nothing that extreme happened but it seemed to go by in a blur that I am still paying for on tonight. All I can say is that I have gotten less than 4 hours of sleep in three days and am now regretting that I slept from 10:00 Saturday morning until 5:30 Saturday evening.

Tonight I did the usual by helping in the cinema. This time I went in to watch Waist Deep and it was fairly alright. It was action packed but the romance scene was nearly delayed and almost not even needed!

But yeah that is what happened over the last time this was updated.

But about one more issue. The days are beginning to become a constant struggle as I am always remembering and sometimes reliving a past event in my life that I really never seemed to address and accept until now. That is probably why I stayed in bed all day. But with the encouraging words from some friends, I have the strength to continue and move on.

Two Days Covered

As usual I miss another day of updating my life story. Well anyway here is what happened. Virtually on Tuesday nothing that spectacular happened. Really the only good thing that did happen was that I got a 100 on my Precalculus test (had a pop quiz in Biology on Mitochondrion/Chloroplasts) and that I was able to buy Mario Kart DS because of a gift card that my friend sent me. Actually having received that card made my day and I was very excited so right now I have kind of forgotten everything else that happened.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was actually a bit more memorable. The day started out with me going to Religion class. It was interesting not because of the material but rather because I was able to use my laptop in class to take notes. I thought it was really beneficial to take notes on the computer versus handwriting them for it will save me time later on. After that class I went back to my dorm to study for my Ethics test later on that night. Because I didn’t realize how much material it covered I did some of it for a bit then put it up and then came back for two hours before the test to study. Needless to say, I didn’t get much done (make a note, in the future I will prepare at least a week in advance by reviewing notes daily instead of waiting until the day of the test). The test was fairly decent. I think I did low A high B—definitely not abysmal like some people have gotten in their other classes, but that is another issue that I think no one wants discussed.

The best thing to happen yesterday was that Shafer began to serve some out-of-the-ordinary food. I think it was Jamaican night or something so we had lots of food from that cuisine type. Sadly people still stuck with the bland American food and missed out on a delicious treat. I enjoyed the extremely spicy and sweet stew as well as the fish stew, I believe and the chicken. You just do not know how good the seasoned chicken was and the chicken was so white and juicy. I hadn’t had chicken that good in a long time.

Back at the room I was able to play my Mario Kart for a while and then I prepared to read a book. I read for forty minutes and then went to bed fairly early (11:20)

Days At A Glance

Sunday

Sunday was a quite great and wonderful day to say the least. It started out with me saying "oh how wonderful today is, it is a great day to be alive and look at the bright sunshine and feel the wind". It was just that sort of that that everything seems all pleasant and well. Well it truly became a very pleasant and warm day. I managed to get up at an appropriate time and was able to study a bit of Biology. I wanted to get a ahead of the teacher a bit (well not actually because there are only 5 chapters on the test and the test is in October so really there is no getting ahead in that class). So I did that for about two hours and then after that came back to the room. In the room I spent loads of time listening to music and finding videos of movies on youtube (it is really silly how the companys will take off the first part of a movie but leave the other parts on). So yeah I managed to catch a few episodes of a show also (they were removed like the next day, and I am trying to figure out why?). After doing that I proceeded to play a bit of my game. It is really enjoyable yet sometimes boring at the same time. But it is really catchy when the story moves along for it is very emotional trying to save others from disasters in a time appropriate manner. That night I went to the Theater in the Commons again and found out we were showing El Mariachi (a movie I had never heard of) I didnt see it because of this but now I wish that I did because it was in honor of hispanic heritage month and I feel bad. However I did watch the Disney Channels program for this month (Cheetah Girls 2 in Spanish and with Spanish Subtitles). That night I was supposed to come back and study however I went over to a new friends room and we played smash brothers for a bit then I just sat there and talked.

Monday

Monday was one of those days that if you didnt wake up on time then your whole week would turn out a mess. However I woke up early and made it to class early. I was enchanted to be in class at a very appropriate time and with an appropriate level of energy. I did not doze off or fall asleep during lecture. Well it was a pretty interesting one for Religion in America. We discussed several cases in which other groups were trying to ascertain religious rights. For example Native Americans traditionally use a hallucinogen in their rituals and the state government had at first ruled against this practive however the Supreme COurt retorted in saying that the rights belonged to the states so the states themselves had to deal with it, so most of the states agreed that they could use it (the case arose because the Native American had taken it to work and was using too much). The other cases involved the Under God in the part of the pledge of allegience. I dont see why people take these cases to court when you arent forced to say it. People dont even think nothing of it. No one is going to stand there and listen, in fact you dont even have to say the pledge at all, you arent even forced. But alas people took it to court and they lost because of that reason. But I dont see how having it in the pledge affects an Atheist???They arent forced to believe in it!!!! (the person bringing the case up is and some say it is about atheist/humanist rights...)
Well apart from that class the day proceeded as normal. I came back to the dorm spent time playinig the game and studied a tiny bit. However after that I went to watch the football game (I think it was literally impossible for the Falcons to win in the SUperdome, could you imagine the consequences if they had won, the entire city would have been in an emotional slum). But yeah that is what I did yesterday. I have also been trying to discover all their is to the Honors Program that I would like to get into.

Boring Dayz

The past two days have been fairly alright to say the least. Friday was a day of studying and work so it was nothing that special to write about. That night nothing that important happened either, although I did get to talk to a highschool friend that I havent talked to in a while. Saturday was a day of more studying. I was just like in the studying mood because I have to read three chapters for Biology by the next class period and type notes for it. BUt it is fairly exciting at the beginning but as I go on with the notes it becomes a drag. I even start to ask myself what is the point if it is only for one class? Other than that I didnt do anything else that was that spectacular on today and yesterday.

Living the Life!

Today was yet another wonderful day to live again. Apart from recovering from a sudden sniffles attack I am feeling quite fine. What I did today was quite simple. I woke up in the morning slightly late. Next I washed up and did all the normal stuff then I went into the room to update all of my internet stuff. I had fell asleep quite early the previous night so I had to catch up on some stuff today. After spending two hours doing that I continued my endeavor of rearranging my side of the room and making it look as neat as ever. I managed to clean out all of my drawers and put the useless extra papers in the trashcan. I converted the huge wardrobe case holder furniture piece into a wardrobe case holder with an enhanced bookcase piece of furniture. This proved to be quite useful for now I can store all of my textbooks within as well as my growing collection of novels and DVD’s. I can also lock them up in there now so that I don’t ever have to worry about someone breaking into the room from the window and trying to ransack the precious books. I have thought of putting the computer within however that wont work as the cables on the computer prevent it from easily coming out of the wall, the battery has a warranty so trying to use it without power will make it catch on fire, it is years old and out of production (dumb technology updates make a six-month old laptop out dated), and its constant bugs will prevent anything from ever being installed on it again (not to mention the broken internet capabilities, she has a mind of her own, if she doesn’t like what you are doing she will not run the process or lie and say that Windows Media Player wasn’t installed correctly, or even lie and say Microsoft Office wont work!), thus it is completely foolish to try to take it as it has so many problems that they would be extremely silly to try to take it off my hands, I tried to buy another one last week!).

After doing that I took billions of pictures and then started playing my DS. I was going to look over the items for Biology but I thought against it as the teacher had summed the chapter into a third of what the book said. So I waited for class. Not to mention that I already know most of the organelles in a cell and the differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. I am going to retype the definitions though soon.

I played my game for a few minutes and then went to eat lunch at Shafer. I wanted to go to the Tropical Smoothie Café and get a salad but I thought against that. I have to conserve all of my money so that I can buy at least one 30 dollar game for the next 3 months and then work to get more money. I already have to spend like 20 dollars a week for additional class materials such as class supplies, books, novels, and even computer ink. Oh let me tell you that. Why is a class going to make you print out a seven page power point presentation with black background, that is like 6 slides per page or 42 slides total. I fear that my ink is now all gone!!!!

Well I went to Biology class with no problems and then I went to Precalculus with no problems. Oh yeah I also went to the Aletheia church at VCU and enjoyed it. It is like bible study at home again. I really enjoy the various topics that are discussed and enjoy sharing with the class. I just fear that there are some who are not believers, but if they keep coming then they will continue to work their way to becoming a friend of god (one who has a relationship with him!). We talked about forgiveness and that Jesus declared that one must be willing to forgive everyone for everything because God himself forgives us daily and to top the delicious wedding cake of life, we owe everything to God for the sin that we do.

This has gotten quite long so I will finish it up quickly. Also I came back to the dorm and went ahead and worked on my Life Science Paper. I find it quite interesting as it declares the effect of “human induced” global warming on the oceans! I present it tomorrow.

Sick!

Yesterday was another great day however because I am and was sick I wont go into much detail about it. Mainly though I got a 90 on my Religion test, so that brings me up to having so far 2 A's out of two tests so far. I am hoping to continue to get all A's so that I can get into the Honors Program.

Studying and Excitement (Updated)

Today was yet another one of those great days. However great it may have been there was still the negative thing that plagued it. Today I started my day by opening a new page in my life--that of studying. After taking the last Biology test and feeling quite unsatisfied with my confidence, I chose to make my next best goal that of studying that text book from cover to cover. Today I woke up at 7:30 and spent about 2 hours pouring over it. I typed up some multicolored notes and literally wrote my own instead of following those that the teacher wrote. Mine followed her same concepts however, I went into more detail. I have discovered that when I know more details that I am able to recall the information better. And it has proven to have worked so far in my Religion in Contemporary America class. Well after spending the two hours I went to meet with my advisor.

My advisor proved to be very nice. I am guessing that it wasnt her first year being an advisor because she knew exactly what to do. We discussed my classes, and then my major, and finally any questions that I had. I inquired about the Honors Program (because I want guranteed housing and more benefits), my credits from Tidewater Community College (I could possibly use these to skip some classes), and finally, well now I cant remember that last question! But after that meeting she asked me to make sure I continue to keep in touch and to schedule another appointment.

After meeting with my advisor I went to the Bookstore to turn in the application to be a Student Ambassador. I am delighted to have the chance to try to be one of the people who do the campus tours. I really do hope I get the position. While I was down there I also went to visit EB Games to see if any games had come out. However because their shipper hadnt brought the packages yet there were none. So I left the store and went back to my dorm to finish studying/reading for Biology. In about two more hours I finished. However I needed to draw two diagrams so I had to run to the bookstore to buy some colored pencils. They ran about $8 for a pack of 36 (I dont know if this was a good deal or not) but I did get 20% off. Then I quickly ran back to my dorm (I was going to recheck EB Games) but I thought that the shipper still hadnt come or I would start to run late for class. So I went back to the room to get my books and switch backpacks (I have a sepearate backpack for each class). After that event I ran to Biology. I didnt have anything to do so I got there about 30 minutes early. I picked an edge seat and started playing my PSP. In about 30 minutes the teacher began. I answered most of her questions and made comments (mainly because I had spent the whole afternoon on the same chapter and thus I already knew the facts and even some of the easy to miss details, she always looks at me though whenever I say an answer). After class I went to the library and then to the dining center to eat. After eating I went to get and smoothie and ended up running 15 minutes late for the math class. So I walked expeditiously to class so that I could get my seat. I managed to reach the Oliver Hall (Mary E. Kapp Wing of Mathematics and Chemistry) just as the professor was coming in. When we got up to the room we discovered that over half the class was already in there. We reviewed some things and then began our test. I found it to be quite challenging yet simple. It was very simple concepts however, being that it was four chapters with five sections each condensed into one 12 question test was disenchanting. However, I managed to go through the motions and hope, and I pray, that I got an A on it. It is my next best goal to get all A's this first semester.

After class I also signed up for several October dates to serve on the Undergraduate Honor Council. I was available all days so that is about a chance to do all six dates (or six cases, or a group of multiple cases within three hours each day). Not only so but I also managed to catch up with several online activities and get part of my work and schedule in order. As I left the library my friends came over to the dorm and we went to talk to one of the floor mates who is from out of the country. I found him to be quite interesting because he was able to experience an exotic land, a wonderful language, and even another belief. It wasnt an eye opener but rather a cultural revelation.

Update: I also was able to check for my Biology Test Grade online and discovered that I got a 89.7 on the test without studying. I find that to be quite exciting, clearly there was divine providence!

Quick Overview

Monday proved to be a great day to go to class. I took the Religion in Contemporary America test with a passion. I know I did super, I am hoping I did super actually. I remember doing the test and because I had studied for such a long time on the weekend, it was easy. It appeared to me that the test was a carbon copy of the syllabus. Fifteen questions came straight from it and I got at east 14 of them right. There were court cases up there and I got them all right. It was a good thing I had made my next best effort that of trying to do them. Well after the test, I went to volunteer with the Sierra Student Coalition club here at VCU and got a few people to sign a petition for better energy practice education here at VCU. I also went to attend the TechKnow fair here (it was really just a huge event to showcase the most expensive products that are available for dorms, such as a 1500 dollar HDTV, PS2, Xbox 360, Asus computers and Nvidia Sound Cards). Of course only a few people went.

After that I went to the dorm to watch TV until the next class. Then after Life Science, I went back to the dorm and stayed there for a few hours. At 7 I went to an extended math study session and arrived a few minutes late. But luckily they had only gone over stuff that I had already known. We went over several questions for a few hours in preparation for the test the next day. I went to the library afterwards to finish the 80 problems I still owed for homework and then left at 1 in the morning (the silly computer lab goes into maintenance mode rendering the keyboard and mice useless so I had to leave).

Anxiety?!

Yesterday was another great day for studying, no lie. It proved to be a day in which I was able to connect thoughts for the Religion test. I spent five hours pouring over the notes, in an attempt to not memorize but to understand the court cases that were within. Not only that but I needed to also link these concepts together and form the basis of why the court made their response. It was simple and after a few hours I had a revelation that was so surprising. It had finally started to make sense.

After studying for several hours, I became anxious to take the test. I ran into the room and tried to go to sleep but dozed on and off for several hours. After a while I got up to switch the music on the computer and fill out an application to be a Student Ambassador. I also went ahead and filled out my schedule for the upcoming week. Soon afterwards I became sleepy and got back in my bed and dozed off.

Study Days

Yesterday was a great day to be alive. After waking up pleasantly to the sound of cartoons (I was able to catch up on a few of my favorite ones as well as a new series) I packed up some stuff and went to get my haircut. I love it now; it is finally cut low again. However I am disappointed that none of my friends said, “Tristan I think you should get a haircut”. They told me afterwards and said, “Oh I was wondering about that”. But it’s all good because at least they said something.

After that I went to the library to study diligently again. This time I rewrote my notes in multiple colors. This proved to be helpful because it allowed me to link themes together from the syllabus with the lecture notes and to the video as well. Then I went ahead and read the four articles that the professor suggested we read (actually required that we read). One was hard to understand so I read it thrice; once I got around the complicating vocabulary (I felt it was unnecessary for it made me lose focus of the paper) it was simple to figure out what the man was saying. I summarized each paragraph of the papers so that I could gain a faster and clearer understanding if I wanted to read them again (or rather because of the test on Monday, I needed to write down what each paragraph said so that I can get more understanding). I spent five hours yesterday doing this and was tired.

The day then went on as usual, with me volunteering at the cinemas again. I did get to see a few friends. And that’s that!

Active Day

Yesterday was another alright day. I managed to go through it well although I didn’t study like I wanted. I went to both classes and watched one movie. I then went to the library and stayed on the computer for a while (I had to order another book for class, so I did that and it is going to get here most likely next week).

The highlight of yesterday was the ordering of the book, the eating of a salad and smoothie at Tropical Smoothie Café, the Ice Cream Social at the Alumni house for the Student Alumni Ambassadors, the volunteering for APB Cinema, and lastly the watching of the Disney Channel/Cheetah Girls 2 with extra focus on Raven. And that is what I did yesterday in a nutshell.

The Worst Day in a While!

Yesterday was another one of those that you wish you do again. Everything just seemed to either go wrong or have a dull tone to it. Although it did have these sour touches, it was still a good day to live. I started the day by waking up and going to the library. I had to do a bit of work. I made it to the library and was disappointed. Every computer that I wanted to use (the four faithful few that I used) was blocked up and taken over. I was like so mad at that! I decided to give in to waiting for a computer so I sat down on a couch on the third floor. I attempted to read over/study my Biology notes, but after fifteen minutes I gave up. I wanted a computer and was distracted by the people doing the most useless things on them! Couldn’t they not see that people had to do important assignments, get files and do research! It was not a time to go on websites and play around by messaging people that is to be done after five o’clock when people are out of classes! So I left in anger and went to find something to do. You may think that I woke up in a sour mood but I didn’t. In fact I had previously gone to do a bit of volunteering and then I ran into a friend, we ate lunch and then split ways.

Well after doing that, I went back to my dorm to see how the room was and to get my stuff for the Biology class. I then went back to the library and stayed there on a computer until about 3:30. It was getting close to Biology test time. Because of confidential reasons I can not discuss the test; however I can say that lots of people were too nervous over the very easy test, if only I had studied like I wanted.

Next up was back to the library (I finished the test in 16 minutes) to get on one of my favorite computers. I went to one on the second floor and sat there until 6:45. Now it was time for Precalculus. Because my textbook is missing 33 pages, I didn’t need to take it to class. We did a quiz that was quite simple although I did make some more minor elementary mistakes, you know the switch the sign, forget the sign change, and the all important input it into the calculator and still come out with the wrong answer maneuver). I think I still managed to get an A. Well we went over division of polynomials and for the first time in my life I finally understood how to do it. It was like the way he said, “You are trying to get the greatest number” awoke and sparked some new sense in me.

After leaving class early I ran over to the Welcome Center to attend an Ice Cream Social. But because my friends were playing around the whole time and were completely unaware, or rather too indulged in their own wishes, I was very late and ended up meeting a locked door. My day was completely ruined from here and I quickly went to dinner and then to the dorm. In the dorm I threw everything down and stayed to myself playing my game.

In summary the day was so horrible and disappointing that I truly wanted to never leave the dorm again and see the horrible and many faces of society. The number of uncaring people in the world was and is too great. If only people were not too indulged in their own wishes and completely ignorant of other people’s needs! Sorry!

Of Yesterday Again and Again

Yesterday was another challenging day. From waking up at an early hour to enduring a class in which people argue with the teacher, rampant things always occur. In the tragic tale of the college life this was bound to happen. The day started off again with me waking up at 7:30, a very early hour. I woke up with the intention that I would not miss class again. So as the alarm rang its annoying sound, I leaped out of bed and washed up. I walked to class and made it there 30 minutes early. I managed to get my favorite seat. The class went by as normal—I got the chance to ascertain the notes that I missed, I was able to finally get the correct date for the test (Monday), and I was able to learn a few new things about Religion in America.

Well class ended early as usual and I raced back to the dorm to switch backpacks. I then waddled to the library computer lab and sat in there for three hours, I believe. I guess it is starting to become my hideout in between classes since everyone is always in class when I am out of class. So I did a few writings, surfed the net, and talked to people. After that, I went to Life Sciences class and was captivated by an interesting movie; I think it is called the Race for the Double Helix??? Anyway it was about Watson and Crick, and a few other important scientists trying to discover what DNA was made of and its shape. This discovery led to many breathtaking inventions, discoveries, and breakthroughs.

After class, I went to an Undergraduate Honor Council Training Session and listened to the Vice Provost, I believe; tell us all about the wonders and details of the Honor Council. Apparently it is a commission in which we determine whether or not students should be punished for their wrong doing or whether or not it was a simple human mistake. Then we determine the intensity of the punishment, kind of interesting to say the least.

Well after doing that, I went to Ethics Class and endured another lengthy but entertaining lecture about morality in current day issues. Because it is difficult to explain ethics, I will not punish you all with the gory details. Next was the Hall Council meeting in which I hope to run as Secretary (I hope no one with an inquisitive mind runs against me). And lastly, I studied a bit of Biology, or tried to. As I may or may not have said before, Biology here is virtually the same as AP Biology in every aspect. So that was my yesterday.

Today and Yesterday

Okay I am sorry for not updating this on yesterday but I was extremely tired and really into a movie on the Disney Channel (Read it and Weep, a really great show I thought). Yesterday started off fairly good, with the exception of oversleeping and missing my first class by ten minutes. I dont know how it happened, however I do know that I did go to bed the previous night late because of guests in the room at a late hour, but I managed to survive though and it was a refreshing sleep. But although I missed that class, I currently have the notes. The test for that class is on this Friday! I hope to do well. Life Science was also on yesterday as well and that was kinda great. For a few seconds I was really into the powerpoint on Ecology.

I did make it to the Scholastic Book Fair and purchased two books by Eoin Colfer (who is a great author who wrote the Artemis Fowl series). The books were the Supernaturalist and Half Moon. I have to find the time to read it. I am also looking onto buying another two books from Barnes and Noble, one is a graphic novel about 9/11 that reviewers said is a must have and the other is a new book by a lady author about some grim and gothic tale of a great author who must write her own biography, the way B & N hyped it up makes it sound really good. I also wrote a letter to my Calculus teacher telling her about how well Calculus has helped me in Precalculus. Currently I believe that I have an A in that class.

Today nothing that great happened, I just volunteered at a table for the Sierra Student Club and went to two classes. Tomorrow I am planning to go to an Undergraduate Honors Council meeting and a meeting for being a Student Ambassador which I hope to get (or rather Thursday).

Relaxation?

Today was one of those days of relaxation. You know, the days in which you put off doing work because you have nothing to do and spend that time trying to find your friends to talk to or to go somewhere and do something. Well it was one of those days. Today I met up with two friends and went to the Out of The Box Cereal Co. to eat some breakfest. It was so tasty to go to a store that sells cereal that you can mix and match for only two dollars. I enjoyed it and will go back again for breakfest, it was better than the breakfest at Shafer. After that I came back to the dorm and went to visit another friend, Kiara, for dinner. The Chicken Alfredo, I think, was delicious. It was so tasty and was also better than Shafer. I have kind of wanted something other than Shafer to eat everyday. Well tomorrow is back to the same old same old, so Shafer all week again. Well that is all that happened today. One more thing though, I am going to start watching TV more because there are a few shows that I want to see. For example on tonight, I watched an interesting show called Wendy Wo on the Disney channel. It was a very great movie, one of their best. And that is all I did today.

Saturday Fun!!

Today was yet another great day. Today started off with me sleeping or rather staying in the bed until like 12 o’clock. I did this because I was really tired last night and wanted to recover from getting only five hours of sleep or less several nights this past week. Well after getting ready for the day, I came downstairs and got on the computer. As soon as I turned it on, my new friend Jane, invited me to come with her and her friend to the Plaza (an art store). Because I was lonely and bored, I said alright. It was the first time in a long time that I had went a bit off campus with someone else. So we went there and got a few supplies for art. After that we went to the Tropical Smoothie Café and I got a Limey Blimey (which is a smoothie with Strawberry, Pineapple, Orange and Lime in it) and it was good. Immediately following that I went to the Video Game Club meeting and played a bit of Super Smash Brothers, Ikaruga (I am thinking that is how it is spelled, anyway it was an old Dreamcast game that is super difficult, like asteroids except more strategy involved) and I played a bit of Beatmaster or maker (it was also difficult because you play with a six pad keyboard and have to match the keys with the beats on the screen, very difficult and challenging). After that I repeated what I did last night and ended up here. And that is in a nutshell that which I did today.

Inactive Day

Of all the things that I dislike, it had to affect my day today. I sadly woke up super late for class. I wasn’t really late for class but I did have to try to rush to get ready and run to class. I made it there at about 9:01 just as the teacher was walking in. Amazingly, I made it there on time. I figured out that on today, I would not be one to ever sign up for early classes; it is just too difficult to try to make it to class at an early hour. But I can figure out what did it for it had to have been related to or caused by my going to sleep at 4 in the morning. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I did homework. I finished all of the 120 math problems and managed to finally create a daily schedule for myself, so that is a good thing. I like evening classes better; they are easier to deal with although you do sacrifice participation in extracurricular activities.

After both classes (Religion in Contemporary America and the Recitation of the Introduction of Life Science) I went over to the library and checked internet email and other things of interest. In regards to VCU, I discovered that the Governor of Virginia was coming to speak at the Commons today at 1:00. I was excited for I had never seen him in person before, so I planned to make it there.

After visiting the library, I raced back to my dorm to get my camera and something a bit more fashionable to see the Governor in. I went to Shafer to pass the time and met up with one of my friends from I. C. Norcom High School, Jalesa. We had a long discussion on our classes and scholarships, and the joys of not working (I didn’t get the call center job but my friend did, that is so exciting!). Immediately following that, we both walked towards the Commons.

At the Commons, Emergency Response Personnel and other booths was set-up, each discussing general safety during emergencies for living in the dorms. The Governor was a bit late but no one really cared (although the multitude of the Press was trying to capture everything that he did). The Honorable Governor spoke about being prepared for an emergency and told us to remember three things (his speech was less than 15 minutes!) 1. Have a safety kit, 2. Communicate to your roommate, and 3. Find a way to get information from the TV, Radio, or the Internet. After that he met some people and spoke to only a few students; however he did thank the ERP for their hard work, perseverance, and dedication to serve well even in the worst conditions. I left and went back to the library. Then I went to the Student Commons to try to access the internet on my PSP to get a network update but my internet couldn’t connect, so I stayed there and partially feel asleep until 5.

At 5 o’clock, I went downstairs to see the Black Awakening Choir at VCU and other people perform for the Mosaic Week: Spirit Fest. There was African and Jamaican food available so I ate that instead of going back to Shafer. After serving as an immediate volunteer to make drinks for the other students, I was able to eat a bit. The little part of the ceremony that I saw was quite great. Immediately following that, I went inside to serve my volunteer shift in the VCU Student Commons Theater. Tonight we showed Breakup and Click. From the response of those who saw it, Click was a funny movie, so I am bound to go and see it tomorrow night. And in a nutshell that is all I did today.

Another Review of a Great Day

Great days are abundant everywhere. Today I woke up with yet more new hope in life. One of my scholarships finally came through so that was 1000 more dollars for my VCU account. After waking up I journeyed over to the Financial Aid Office to get the issue that was involved with the transfer of money taken care of. I am guessing that because of admissions involvement, they could not handle the simple faxing of the form. So I had to leave their with nothing accomplished. I then went to the amazing Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The house is in the old age style of homes: Columns on the outside, huge ornate stairs leading to wooden double doors, multiple fireplaces on each floor, a sprawling staircase that goes to three stories, and a sweet smeeling old smell. So in that house I went to the Admissions Officer and she fazed my form to the location that I needed it. I thanked her a lot for the trouble and left excited. I went to the bookstore next to purchase my last and final book for my class (a book on morality by James Rachels for Ethics and Applications). After that I went to Shafer to eat. The food was alright (the Turkey Chili was the best (I would say teh best for internet emphasis). After lunch I journeyed over to the Student Commons and I met up with a friend Rick and another girl who is I think a Junior here. They introduced me to lots of Asian anime and manga shows and music. It was so mind boggling to just sit and see them talk. I did know about a few of their shows thought because some of them were shown over here on tv and also their books are in the libaries. It was a long conversation though but I had the time. After that I went to Biology Class. The Professor let us out early after going over two chapters in one day (she wanted to go to a third chapter but the class persuaded her not too or rather she chose to not do it). After that event I went back to the Student Commons to attend this new church group at VCU. It is called the Aletheia church and it is quite wonderful. I missed the formal activities but I did manage to catch the Bible Study. It was interesting because we were talking about how you get Supernatural Power and it is about having Jesus in your life. SO in a nutshell their mission is to get more people to Christ through worship and evangelism on campus. I like it because the people are so nice and kind, there are even students too. After that event I went to class (Precalulus) and took a quiz. It was fairly easy but I know I missed one point because I went too fast and forgot about the last part of the problem. But I did get the five extra credit points so I know that I did get an A. It is my goal (I am praying too for it) to get a 4.0 this semester. I must try all that I can to do this cause I have not met a single person to this day that has actually accomplished this goal. So I need to focus a bit more on the Biology vocabulary review (although I know it) and the Religion class (I just have to reread the Crucible, which I also already know). Well until tomorrow.

Student Organizations

Today was yet another great day. With my new diet, I experienced even less pain than the previous day. Rather and in more news, I nearly woke up too late for class. But loe and behold, because of my room-mate's alarm I managed to wake up in time to get dressed and to wash up, I was not going to resort to the steryo-type and go to school in pajamas! So I managed to get to class 15 minutes late or eather 15 minutes before class started (which is late to me because I must try to get to class to get my favorite seat or even to get my seat!). So I made it to class. Because some one spilled their drink on the carpet and the microphone in the room was inadvertadely turned off ,we had to wait for the spill to be cleaned up and for the AV people to come and turn it on (why is the switch hidden underneath the podium). Class mover smoothly (Religion in Contemporary America) and we were out of there in no time. After class, I raced back to the dorm and traded off bookbags. I picked up my planner and went to the student commons to record important dates for crafts (there were some interesting ones like making masks and wreaths) and to also record other dates like multicultural activities. The Volunteer Organization fair was also taking place upstairs so I went to that as well. I found many organizations that I wanted to join. The ones that I know that I really am going to make every effore to take a part in is the Sierra Club (an environmental group), Activities Programming Board (I am already in that), the Cancer Awareness Team (an old friend is in that and it looks really fun), Student Ambassadors (give tours on campus), Undergraduate Student Honor Council (I am in that now), and the Stem Cell Reasearch Support Group, and I cant forget to volunteer at the Intercultural Student Festival, Rowdy Rams, and that should be it (I am also going to check out this other group the Alethia Church since it seems to be the only Group that meets during a time that I can actually come to it). And mainly that is what I did until my evening classes.

Of Health

Between yesterday and today I discovered that which has been changing the way that I have been feeling while I am here at college and before when I was at home. Apparently that which I have been eating for the past few months has caused me to develop this syndrome that is know as the Irritable Bowel Syndrome because from research that has all of the symptoms that I am experiencing. Luckily it is very serious at all because it is very common, and the way to manage it is to just change that which I am eating, so I did just that.

I can not eat these:
whole grain breads and cereals
fresh or frozen fruits (except banana)
dried fruits
fruit juices with pulp and prune juice
raw vegetables
canned onions, corn, olives, pickles, and Brussels sprouts
fatty foods
dried beans
rich dessertsmilk and milk products
alcohol and caffeinated coffee and tea
spicy foods
fried foods

However I can eat these:

bananas
applesauce
boiled white rice
tapioca
white bread
plain pasta
creamed cereals
eggs
potatoes (without skin; mashed or baked)
fish chicken or turkey (without skin)

I also have to do this:

Having soluble fiber foods and supplements, substituting soy or rice products for dairy, being careful with fresh fruits and vegetables that are high in insoluble fiber, and eating regular small amounts can all help to lessen the symptoms of IBS (Van Vorous 2000). Foods and beverages to be avoided or minimized include red meat, oily or fatty (and fried) products, dairy (even when there is no lactose intolerance), solid chocolate, coffee (regular and decaffeinated), alcohol, carbonated beverages (especially those also containing sorbitol) and artificial sweeteners (Van Vorous 2000). Several of the most common dietary triggers are well-established by clinical studies at this point; research has shown that IBS patients are hypersensitive to fats, insoluble fibers, and fructose. (Answers.com)

As one can see it is a change and I decided to do it today. In Shafer I went and ate salade (being careful to avoid cheese (a dairy product) but got Ranch (a bad choice that I am dealing with now)) and anything that was not fried. So I ate a salad, roast beek or chicken, grapefruit, chicken pot pie, and peas and rice (it said make sure to get rice instead of wheat products). I was able to piece together of why I have this condition from knowing which foods cause my stomach to be irritated (dairy products that are not like milk, for milk stops the pain at times), fried foods and burgers and so much other stuff, and now Green Tea.

Also with this news is the fact that I discovered that which has caused many painful headaches. If I dont get enough sleep or too much sleep then I get these extremely painful headaches. So I have to force myself to go to bed and to wake up at 7 or 8 daily! I am hoping that all of these problems vanish so I am going to continue to follow my walk with GOD more closely and do all that I can to make him proud. I will and must do the right thing at all costs even if it means being alone a whole lot :(.

September 5 In Strict Review

Today started out as a very wonderful day. Although one could attribute a day as today as being cloudy, cool, and dreary, I would like to think of it as good. You see, after I woke up I had to run over to my interview at the VCU Surver and Evauluation Research Laboratory Call Center for a job to be an interviewer. I would like to get this job because it would provide with the chance to be able to gather enough money to pay for these ever increasing costs of textbooks and for college. To the dismay of the students here at college, we have to get so much stuff for the classes: clickers for tests and quizzes, notebooks, posterboards, expensive computer software, paying for the activation of the software and the clicker, subscribing to magazines, and the list goes on. It would make someone wonder why we even use a textbook in class. I think my interview went well, I am going to continuously pray that I get the job. Well after that event I came back to the dorm and went downstairs to the computer lab. In the computer lab, I met this girl named Vanessa who was very nice. Because she was having trouble opening up her file and printing it, I offered to print it for her. SO I took her to my room and printed it for her (as usual my computer ruins everything and took a long time to open, Computers are so smart that they like to make the users get mad at them! rofl!). After that event I went back to the computer lab to do a bit of research, which I will discuss in another topic. But after doing that I went to lunch. Lunch was delicious! After lunch I went to the computer lab to get on the computer and stayed there for about two hours hogging my third favorite computer again (I wasnt hogging it to say, I just stayed on the same one). I discovered that the library has a limited amount of fiction books, DVDs, and other books. (Russel Memorial in Chesapeake, Va is much better!). But I decided to play around with the features on the site. I discovered that someone can actually sit there place a hold on the book from their house instead of going to the library to get it. Even more is that when a hold is placed on it, the librarians have to go and get it for you. The only downside is that you have to wait for an email to come to you to tell you when the book is ready. I found it quite funny to place a hold on the book (I am the first to place a hold on a book because no one has ever placed a hold, so the feature is virtually wasted). So while I was sitting in the library I did this extremely long process instead of going to find the book. BUt also it is a horrible library set up. The fiction books are on the fourth floor but they are labeled strangely. SO you have to go through hundreds of aisles to find the book and even when you get to the aisle it may not be there. THe books are so old also that they irritate my nose when I walk through the aisles. At one point I felt that I was going to fall out because the smell was so rotten.

After the library was Biology 151, it was alright today but more of a chemistry review. If you had taken chemistry in high school then you would know this section. Precalculus on the other hand was different. It is like both us and the teacher is learning. We were doing so bad at one point that we all thought that we had forgot math. Come to find out we had drawn the graph incorrectly (thanks for the graphing calculators). I came to the library immediately after that and discovered that I had to do 60 math problems, so I did those in three hours and at after midnight I am still there. I missed the chance to eat dinner because I opted for a smoothie earlier and my stomach is on the edge. I need to get back to the dorm or else I am going to wake up with the killer headache again. I dont know what is going on, it is like my health is changing being around so many people! But I will survive and continue to pray for GOD's all present protection, grace, and mercy as I continue to learn more about him daily.

September 4th in Review

Today was another uneventful day. If I was to look back over my batch of recent updates I would have to say that I live a very uneventful life. However that is not the case, for example on today I did get a chance to read the 23 pages in the Ethics book earlier in the Student Commons.

It rained after that so I came back to the dorm and went to the computer lab at the bottom of the hall. I also managed to go to Shafer and order some tasty shrimp. After that it was back to here after talking to a few friends.

Dull Days

Today was yet another dull day. It started out horrible because I slept so late that I missed churched. Even worse was that when I woke up I had this intense pounding headache that I am still afflicted with at this moment. The headache was so bad earlier that it felt like my nose was gonna bleed and that I was gonna faint. I think I might have slept too late or either need to sleep more, I should probably catch up. Well after waking up I did my Ethics and Applications homework. It was difficult but I know I got a few correct. The remaining homework that I must do is the MyMathLab stuff which is going to be a challenge because I have to go to the library and do it. I might have to go on Tuesday after class and use the underground Computer Lab that is supposed to hold the math homework in it. But the last bit of homework is just two readings: 23 pages for philosophy, which I will do at the University Student Commons on tomorrow, and the 3 pages in Biology, which I will do later on tonight or I might just copy it and read it like that.

Outside of that I talked to my Resident Assistant for quite some time today because there was virtually nobody on the floor. I inquired about being an RA and the benefits and other college stuff. He provided some great advice and inspired me to attempt to become one. But yes that is what I did today.

Rain, Wind, and Family

The day started off rainy. Not just rainy but windy as well. People blown across the street, power lines knocked down, stores closed, and fire alarms, characterized the day. Yes it was just that bad indeed. You see Tropical Storm or was it Hurricane Ernesto came on Friday day. Although VCU was adversely affectred by the wind and rain, it did lose power in four of the Residence Hall. One Residence Hall even expericened upper level flooding. They all faced power outages (mine, Johnson Hall was spared because it was on the other side of the road). Come to find out a tree fell and landed on a power line.

I went to two classes on Friday, the second class, Life Science ended very shortly because of a fire alarm inside of the Life Sciences Building, obviously it was a false alarm but we had ot be safe. I spent the day at the Student Commons to observe the rain and then went back to the dorm (after watching Over the Hedge, which was an excellent movie!). After that I cleaned the room up because the parents were coming over the next day.

Today, Saturday was excellent. The day was shininn bright with goodness, although the other students were out of power it quickly came back on at about six in the evening or later. Nonetheless it came back on. I spent today with my parents. We went to the bookstore (we walked), and then we went back to the dorm. THey put the refridgerator in while my printer replacement was set up. It is now working very well! Not only that but I also got more shirts and got to spend some very valuable time with my parents and my brother, it felt so good too because I hadnt seen them in so long. I wish I could have stayed with them.

Well after that I came back to the dorm and spent a bunch of time getting my assignments ready and printing about thirty scholarship letters.