Busy Busy

I am finally done with the most grueling part of my school week, the dreaded Wednesday. I have two classes from noon to 2pm. Then, my last class, which is at the downtown campus (shorter drive, but it is my first class there) at 6pm.

It turns out that the bookstore had mislabeled the required book for my class and thus, I purchased the wrong one! This however, worked in my favor as most of my classmates had similar trouble. When the professor asked who had the wrong book most of the class raised thier hands. This led to the early dismissal of class so that we could get to the bookstore before it closed so that we could purchase the correct book (yay!).

The rest of my classes are good. My IS Project management class is ok, but the prof seems to take himself a little too seriously. We don't have any homework in that class yet but I'm sure when it hits, we will wish for these days. My History of warfare prof fancies himself an English teacher as well. "Two classes for the price of one", he said, thinking that we should be happy. However, we knew the truth. Twice the class means twice the work. We were not overly pleased.

My Statistics class is awesome. We will be spending more time in the computer lab working than I spent in my programming classes! The work is easy to manageable, and with the prof's charm and wit classes end quickly.

Now i need to get back to reading the first 48 pages of, A History of Warfare, by John Keegan. He is suppose to be an authority in this area. It should be an interesting read. Nice binding though.

Back to School

And another semester begins, albeit a little more bumpy this time. The Ministry is undergoing an expansion phase. No coincidence that we students have had to endure a steady rise in tuition costs.

Regardless, the construction on campus in conjunction with the thousands if not millions of little freshmen scurrying around has made for a marginally more hectic first day of school. I know i should be more understanding. It wasn't that long ago when I myself was a freshmen. Whatever, those little bastards are always getting in my way. I really need to invest in a freshmen plow for my car. I swear don't they have to go through driver's training?!

More importantly my classes are excellent so far. My IS project management class will have us giving presentations (damn, as if i haven't done enough of those) and learning how to convince business executives to spend lots of money on our toys. Then, I have my statistics class. I really wasn't looking forward to this class as I have come to the conclusion that math was just something that my mind cannot grasp (thank you core math!). However, this teacher is actually quite entertaining. His background is in survival statistics and it took him seventeen years to get his doctorate. It could be the future me! Suffice to say i won't be dropping this class.

Unfortunately, still no new friends. I was told that i must try to at least make one new friend this semester. Clearly they didn't understand the nature of my degree. Oh, you spend how many hours a day on a computer? Then clearly you have no time for social activities like going to the bar, movies, or parties. Bastards... I swear I'm willing to leave my computer alone for a few hrs.... I think.

Yin and Yang

After coming back to my apartment last night i was invited out to the bar by a friend. It was like a toast to the end of the summer and to the start of yet another school year. I didn't drink, since I had already consumed my fill of alcohol earlier in the day. However, seeing some old friends and being back in a familiar setting was nice.

This should be an interesting semester though. I will be finishing all courses deemed necessary by the school... I mean ministry for graduation, I think. If i have one piece of advice for those just starting their college career it would be, find a school you really like and stay there. Take only the required courses and try not to substitute. This makes for an extremely boring education, however, it may be preferable to spending the better part of your twenties going to school like I did/am.

Knowledge is Power

Wednesday a friend and I went to the university bookstore to purchase our books for this semester. The university has implemented a new system where if you present a picture ID and your student number you can charge your books directly to your financial aid account. This is really nice as you don’t have to worry about having money on hand to get books and then getting a financial aid check a week after classes start.

Unfortunately, this streamlined process has not diminished the astronomical cost of books. Being a student of Information Systems makes it especially painful as 90 percent of our books are brand new, and will never be able to sell back. This is because the instant the book is printed, it is obsolete. And since no one wants an out-of-date computer book, they are bought back for only a fraction of the price.

On the other hand, my friend, who is going into elementary education was able to purchase all of her books for all of her classes for less than the cost of my IS project management book. When all was said and done my books cost roughly twice as much as hers did. What a rip!

Moving Friends

I spent the night Sunday at my friend's house so that we could be ready at eight o'clock to go get the Uhaul truck. She moved to a new one room apartment because the room mates she had before in her three bedroom apartment were all moving on to other things. One found Jesus and left for Arkansas and the other is moving back in with her parents. This left my friend the task of finding a new place to live for the coming school year.

We awoke to light rain. Not the best weather for moving, but we were determined to make it happen. We got the Uhaul and started loading it up. We were almost done loading the truck when i overhead a conversation between the apartment manager and my friend. It turns out that because of some ominous smells in the apartment they had decided to replace all of the carpeting.

Good news we thought, until we found out that they wouldn't be starting until 2:30pm. It was now 9:45am. So, we continued to pack the truck up and then proceeded to pack up my SUV. (On loan from the mother unit, bless her!) Then the waiting began. We waited, and waited, and waited... and waited.

We managed to get all her stuff moved in only two trips with the Uhaul and with the help of another of her friends by 9:45pm. She has nice new carpet tho. Score!

So today i am kinda tired. I went for a swim at the pool in my apartment. Something i have been looking forward to since i left for my internship in April. The pool has been renovated and it looks great. Not a bad swim either.

Its still chilly out. But of course its always cool to me after being in Florida for the summer. But at least the rain has stopped. I won't complain about it at all though. Oh yes there isn't any sun out, but the trees and grass are emerald green and lush. The air smells clean and fresh, like the way your dryer sheets are suppose to make your cloths smell.

Super Brief

So much going on and no time to post. I know both of my readers are upset that i have not blogged in a while. I am very sorry! With getting back to Michigan and traveling to see friends and family it has been CrAzY!

Now that most of the school stuff has been taken care of i feel a little better. Classes have been selected and tuition has been paid, curtisy of our federal government! I love you guys! (pound the rock!)

Now to set up some communication lines to my friends in Key West. I miss them a lot but few have been around to talk. I will chalk it up to Tropical Storm Dean who is moving their way and will most likely become a hurricane soon. Curse my bad timing!

Rain Rain

I am back in Michigan and this morning i am welcomed by one of my favorite meteorological events, a rain storm. It has been months since i have seen it rain like this. It feels so refreshing to watch the rain coming down from the sky hour after hour. I am home.

A New Member of The Family

This morning at approximately 1:30am my good friends, Hesaid and Shesaid brought into the world, Babysaid. He came into this world kicking and screaming just like his daddy. Congratulations are in order to them both. I can't get wait to see the little devil.

Also i need to give a shout out to my home girl in TC who is having an awesome birthday party! Holla!

Last Hurrah

It is my last weekend in Key west. I will be going out to say goodbyes and to wish everyone well. The three months in Florida has been wild. However, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. The trip home will be a stir up a lot of feelings. But it isn't the end as i have a return ticket. This means that they still have a hook in me, and thats ok. I kind of like to know that they still have a strong enough desire to see me return when they need me the most and are willing to pay me what i am worth.

I shipped my computer back to Michigan yesterday so i will not have ready access to the internet for the next few days. So my ability to post and read comments may be impaired. Although, my flight will put me next to my friends who have ample internet connectivity.

One last thought for now; last night a dear friend of mine hearing of my imminent departure has offered to give me the ride to Fort Lauderdale for my flight if he has the day off. There are still good people in the world. I am pleased to have found another.

Gone to The Movies

Just got back from watching the Simpson's Movie with some friends. It was decent. I liked it, there were some funny parts, but it wasn't anything profound. It was a spur of the moment thing. My room mates came home from being out at happy hour, or where ever they were. They asked if i wanted to go, and at first i refused. I kind of felt a little off. However, they insisted saying that they needed a forth person to make the group complete. Our neighbor came along as well. And that, is how i saw the Simpson's movie. Random, no?