other blog

well here's the addy to my other blog since this one is kinda pointless since i'm not in australia anymore, but if things go how i want them to, i'll be back there at least to visit within the next 6 months (i'm hoping within 3 months, but that depends on some things). anyways here is the addy

http://espritsforts.blogspot.com/

ciao

back home

from numerous people i was told i should update my blog saying that i'm home. so that's it, i'm home now. just got done renewing my drivers license (luckly i had some money on me, i didn't realize i was gonna have to pay). not much else, gonna start work tomorrow and work until classes start again, which is mid january. k, that's all, laters

the dreading hour

well its the time right before the test. you know the time where you feel like its pointless to try and study any more because you feel like if you don't know it by now you never will. also it's the time when you dread that you haven't studied enough or didn't study the right stuff that the teacher is gonna put on the test. The only time that is worse before a test is when you are actually sitting in the seat where you're gonna be taking the test at and waiting for them to hand out the test (and while they read off the stupid rules of test taking, yes we know the rules, we've taken tests before).

oh yeah, got another refund check today. it was for the internet connection in my room that i had applied to get a refund for (as i don't have my own comp with me) during week 3 or the semester. it is currently week 17 (actually they only count up to week 15 and then it's testing time). i'd just like to know how it takes like 14 weeks to process it, unless they ended up loosing it and then finding it. i had actually given up on getting that refund back. oh well, now i have a little more money to buy the souveniers (that's not spelled right i don't think) i haven't bought yet although i've been here since the beginning of february.

i could head to the building where my test is gonna be taken, but then i'd just be sitting there and will probably get more nervous than i already am (although i'm pretty sure i know enough to get a good enough grade on the test, plus we get a cheat sheet). i'll probably just surf the net for the next few minutes or so. laters


ps comments are nice (**hint hint**)

random instant messenging

k so i signed into instant messenger and then this person started talking to me. kinda cool although i'm pretty sure i don't know this person and they're speaking spanish (i'm pretty sure it's spanish, what language to people from Bolvia speak?). would be heaps more fun to talk if i only remembered more spanish. i can't even remember how to ask simple little questions. oh well it's kinda interesting trying to communicate. i just don't know how we got on each others instant messenger lists.

well just thought i'd type something 'cause i'm at a computer and really don't have anything else to do but study since nobody else seems to really be online and i really don't want to study yet. laters

no more classes

k so actually thursday was my last day of classes, but i was busy until now. i got my project/presentation and assignments done, which i was glad about. still have one more assignment/project that's due on friday, but it shouldn't be that hard, we just got to analyze the numbers we have and put it on a webpage. unless something really drastic happens i'm pretty sure it won't take that long (might just take a while remembering how to use frontpage or whatnot in order to make the webpage).

lets see, stonefest was fun, although i wish i woulda known some of the bands/songs. i knew about a total of 3 songs the whole time (one of which was a cover song). i knew the song "someday" by thirsty merk (or something like that only 'cause its on a commercial for a tv show) and a song by the living end (which i think was called "society" but i'm not sure on that one). either way it was fun.

also helped a friend (morgan) clean out their garage (well kinda, there's still heaps of stuff in it, but it's better organized). his dad broke his back last week, while at working playing paintball or some sort of training exercise (his dad works for the army, military or something like that). his dad's doing pretty good, he's able to walk, but just not allowed to bend or anything like that. i think his dad is going to be able to get out of the hospital in about a month or so. i think i might try to get some people together and make them dinner or something. oh well.

not much sure of what else has been going on. gonna meet up with some people around 6 and its about 5:30 now (oh yeah i'm now 18 hrs ahead of denver/rapid city). anyways, laters

guess what

well guess what....i'm taking another break from typing my report/project. don't you just hate it when you type something but then realize that you didn't need to type it after all, especially when you spend about an hour typing it? well that's what i did earlier today. i thought i was suppose to type the intro for the report, but nope i wasn't. oh well. im' just suppose to type the discussion and conclusion. which to me is about the same thing. i know it really isn't but in the conclusion it's gonna be just the same points as what was made in the discussion part. oh well.

gonna be so glad when tomorrow is over, or at least after i turn in all of my assignments. i'm stinks that i'm too busy to do the stonefest events, but then again the events/activities are just all drinking. like tomorrow is called "case a day" each person is "suppose" to drink a case (not a 6 pack or whatnot, but a case) during the day. i'm really sure i'm not gonna do that. 1-i have a presentation tomorrow 2-i still will be working on the project preparing for the presentation, not to mention finishing up my assignments and 3-i really don't want to be drunk all day (don't really see too much of a point to it). oh well.

saw the movie In the Blue (i think that was the name of it) last night. it has jessica alba and paul walker in it and its about treasure and drugs or whatnot. it was pretty good. not worth full price to see it (although i don't think any movies are ever worth paying full price to see). oh yeah over the weekend i also saw the movie Down With Love. that was a pretty funny movie. was kinda iffy on watching it but it was hilarious. favorite line in it would probably when one of the guys was trying get his friend to go on an interview and he said "i only have to offer women what you have to offer, you" typing it really doesn't make it sound as funny but when watching it it was just hilarious.

back to homework for a while until i take another break before heading to class.

hw break (again)

ok so maybe not a quick comment afterall, as i'm tired of looking at my homework/project that i've been typing (although it's only been for like an hour). just wish i could type it out (without it costing me like $5 or more). oh well, i should be able to use a friends computer/printer later today. it's just easier to type/write things when you can rummage thru your research and have it spread all over a room (my prefered method) than trying to fit several different Word documents on a computer screen.

there's heaps of things i need to do this week, but it's gonna be really hard to stay focused, well at least on the school side of the things that i need to do. mostly it's because its stoneweek, like i said earlier with all the events/activities that are going to be going on. but also 'cause i want to be spending time with friends and such since i'm gonna be coming back to the states in like 26 days or so. once this week is done though i'll be able to relax a bit.

ok back to hw, at least until i'm suppose to go meet a friend for lunch.

quick comment

hey just letting everyone know that i'm back from melbourne and that it was a blast. but now i have to work double hard as i didn't do any homework over the weekend like i had planned to, but it was worth going and i'll be able to get everything i need to done. probably won't be able to partake in all of the stoneweek events, but that's ok as most of them will involve just getting pissed (drunk) and right now i have better things to be doing that doing that. well anyways, back to hw. laters

yellow dots

there are yellow dots everywhere (kinda) in the computer lab i'm in right now and no i'm not hallucinating. they are yellow sticker dots which are on all of the computers (monitor and tower). i'm assuming that the dots mean that the object is in working condition as this lab was "under maintenance" for the last week or 2.

well things can be summed up in one way SSDD (same stuff different day). although i am heading to melbourne tomorrow morning so that's actually something different. it was kinda a last minute decision as in deciding last night to go (a friend was going and said i could go with him).

and now my computer lab is about to start so i should probably pay attention or whatnot (although i still think that the person that runs it doesn't have a clue of what he's doing as he's just the tutor or whatnot and not the lecturer). laters

k i just realized i repeated myself from my last entry about heading to melbourne but i'm to lazy to erase it, but oddly enough i'm typing saying that i know i repeated myself, go figure.

quick homework break

amazingly i've actually been working on my homework/project that's due next week. similarily it's amazing (actually kinda stupid) that the way that i'm taking a break from typing up my part of the project is to sit and continue typing but on my blog instead. It's about 10:45 (probably will be close to 11 after i finish typing this), but i plan on getting as much done as i can tonight and then again tomorrow. although the only reason i'm working hard right now is 'cause there's some people heading to melbourne this weekend and said i could go with them. the only way i think i can go is if i get a lot of my project part and another assignment done. Good thing i've already started on the assignment as well, just have to do a couple of things on SPSS (a statistics program) for it. on my project i just have to make complete sentences out of the rough draft and notes that i took/made for my part of the project.

although i was also suppose to be meeting someone for coffee on friday, but if i go to melbourne i won't be able to meet. hopefully it won't matter if it gets postponed to monday or whatnot since i've only been to melbourne once and that really wasn't for very long and once again i'll be able to just catch a ride with someone and will have a free place to stay at, which is always a positive. well back to typing my part of the project and it is about 11 now, imagine that. laters

door tried to eat me

ok, so it was actually a couple days ago that a door tried to eat me, but still. it was one of those automatic sliding open doors and it was starting to close but i just kept walking and i don't think the sensor thingy "saw" me so the doors just continued to close. however, i escaped unscathed (one of the positives of being kinda small).

still not much new, just working on projects and assignments (well kinda, mostly just the projects as they're worth more). when the due dates start to get a lot closer (as they already are kinda close) then i'll start working on the assignments, but my main objective now is to do well on the things that are worth more of my grade.

looking forward to next weekend as there's a 2-day concert thing. there's gonna be a dozen bands or so i think they said. i'll have to look up to see which bands are playing. there's one punk band that people keep saying is playing and the name sounds really familiar (although i can't think of it right now) so i'm pretty sure i've heard their songs. i just looked it up and the band i'm thinking of is The Living End. if you want to check it out for yourself the webpage for it is www.stonefest.com.au

well i have class soon. laters

must....focus

must. . . stay. . . . awake. . . . and . . . focused

ok so it is only like 8:45pm here, but still i've been sitting at this computer since like 6:30 and am having a hard time staying focused on my project. it would be so much easier if i could just print out everything i've found, but it's 15 cents a page and i have like 30 pages or more of research (after changing all the fonts to 9 or 10). plus i'm kinda cheap when it comes to that regard (i don't want to have to pay for something if i don't wanna, although i think i'm not the only one like that).

just in case any of you are wondering what i've been doing for my project on alternative fuel for automobiles, so far i've just been finding and reading all i can on biodiesel fuel (already did all i could with solar power) and trying to sum things up so it's easy to read when the report needs to be typed. i wonder if the other 2 people in my group are as bored as i am. i'd give up on working on the project for tonight, but we're having i group meeting tomorrow and i want to make sure that i have all my stuff done for it, as i don't wanna appear to be a slacker (even though i kinda am :o), well sorta).

so back to reading and summarizing, well maybe not until 9:15. laters

oh yeah, 5 weeks left

research = boring

wow i just realized how much my last entry was like i did this, then i did this, then this. sorry about that. oh well

so not much new going on. i heard it snowed heaps in colorado. that's one thing i'm really not looking forward to (going from like 80-90 degree weather to snow). although it might not be that bad as sometimes its not too cold when there's snow.

its nice how procrastination pays off every now and then (well kinda). all the groups in one of my classes haven't really started their projects so the due date might be extended. i'm hoping it's gonna be, but don't want to really count on it. i'm just hoping that after my next group meeting we can move off the research phase of it, as i think i'm running low on webpages that actually have useful info. also i'm getting really bored of just reading stuff, i want to start typing up the report or start the powerpoint. actually i'm not sure we're going to use a powerpoint 'cause from the consensus in class a couple weeks ago, nobody really likes it. i was kinda stunned as you at Tech know, they've kinda drilled how important/useful a powerpoint presentation is. i'm thinking though that the people didn't know how to really make them as they were saying stuff about how people always put too much stuff on the different slides. to me that meant that they needed to take a class like tech comm.

my hands/arms smell like chlorine. just so you know that's not completely random, i was itching my nose and i was reminded of one of the draw backs of going swimming (you smell like chlorine for the rest of the day if not longer). oh well.

i like that phrase a lot "oh well" or i tend to use it heaps. another word i use heaps but didn't realize it until a couple weeks ago is "granted". whenever i'm trying to decide something that's kinda difficult i always end up using granted.

well my stomach's starting to grumble which means its time to go eat something, only to eat again in several hours. might have another post later today still as i'm gonna be heading back to a computer lab to do more research (arrrgggghhh). laters

Rez Ball and Recovery Day

so Saturday was heaps of fun. i was a tourist at the beginning of the day (i went with another exchange student to the parliament house (the new and old one) and a couple other places). but that really wasn't the fun part. the fun part was the Res Ball that started around 6 (kinda). Buses picked everyone up from campus at 6 to take us to the hotel that the formal dinner/dance was at. the dinner didn't really start until about 7/7:30. it was good, the meal was either steak or chicken. the chicken was better as it had a better sauce (i had the steak, but finished a friends chicken). for the dinner it was alternate served (the people to the left and right of you had the opposite of what you had). the dessert was also really good, i had the sticky date pudding (which is actually a cake not pudding). didn't do all that much dancing, mostly just socializing with people i hadn't seen in a while. then around 11:30 there were buses that headed into civic (city center) or back to campus. i went into civic until about 2:30.

sunday was heaps of fun, although it woulda been better if the weather woulda cooperated instead of being sunny for like 5 minutes, rainy/cloudy for 5 min, then sunny again, etc. at Recovery Day there was live music and free drinks all day (it started at 10:30) and pizza showed up at 12 and 3. although if you weren't quick w/ the pizza you missed out as it disappeared in like 5 minutes (just like the weather changed). oh yeah!!!!! there was also a jumping castle. i don't think a person ever really outgrows a jumping castle, well maybe they do after they graduate from uni but i'm in no hurry to test that theory (sorry mom and dad :o). well its about 11pm and i've probably taken too long of a study break now, so back to hw/researching for my group projects. laters

oh yeah, sorry for adding the word verification in order leave a comment, just want to keep from getting spam comments, although i haven't gotten one in a while. laters

bad sign for test???

a little bored and thought i'd take a bit of a study break. is it a bad sign for a test (difficulty wise) when you are allowed to use the book and a page of notes? i'm kinda thinking it is. although the lecturer also said that non of the problems on the test would be like the examples in the book or like the problems we've done in the tutorials (aka recitations for you tech people). unless i mis-heard him but i'm pretty sure i didn't. oh well i'm hoping/pretty sure i'll do fine in it.

the weather being nice makes it pretty hard to study. tried studying a bit earlier today, but i think my first mistake was that i tried studying outside, although i think one of my arms (the one facing the sun more than the other one) is gonna have a nice tan/burn line for a while. i suppose its a good thing that i've already planned to do most of my studying tonight though, as during the days it's just too hard to.

well back to trying to study. actually i'll probably try to find something to eat before i have a to go to my statistics/probability lab later today. laters

oh yeah, the 2 little bumps from whatever bit me are going away :)

blah

well made it back from the concert thingy and all. it was pretty good. i would rate it at about a 7.5 out of 10. i think during the camping or whatnot i got bit by something as i have 2 little bumps on my arm. hopefully if something did bite me it wasn't all that poisonous.

this week is going to be kinda boring, well that is until the weekend when Rez Ball is. i still need to find something to wear, although i am really tempted to just wear jeans. oh well. oh yeah back to this week. its just gonna be a bit stressful, just with an assignment being due and a test later this week as well.

yup, not much else to say.

Polynomial Land

well not too much has gone on since my last post. went to the uni bar (the bar on campus) on friday night, but no body was really there, so really didn't stay all that long. the weekdays have been pretty uneventful. i need to start studying and working on an assignment, which are both due next week. the assignment is only suppose to take a couple hours, although i really shouldn't procrastinate on it like i usually do.

oh yeah this weekend i'm going to a concert where you camp out and such (as it starts friday night and goes until monday morning or something like that). i'm hoping my friends aren't building it up too much that it's not as fun as they say. either way though i'm pretty sure i'll have a fun time.

also, just bought my ticket for the Res Ball, which is next weekend. from the name you can guess its a formal thingy (not too formal though). i keep telling people that i'm just gonna wear jeans and everyone looks at me and tells me "no you're not". i did bring a pair of khaki dress pants so i could always wear those, but who knows. actually i still have the dark green suit i bought last semester for the horse races. anyways the tickets for Res Ball were $85 although that includes a dinner, free beer and a few other kinds of drinks (until they run out), and "recovery day" (which i'm not too sure what it is). i'm sure it'll be a fun time.

not sure what else to talk about, so laters


PS if you're wondering why the title makes no sense as i didn't talk about anything dealing with polynomials its because i couldn't think of a title and i just thought of my lecture yesterday (or a couple days ago, i forget) when my teacher said "in polynomial land . . . " or something like that. laters

Tests done with and Assignment ready to turn in

well i just got done with my 2nd test this week about 1/2 an hour ago. just glad all my tests are done with (for now) and that my assignment is also done and ready to turn in. my last test kinda bugged me. it was for my engineering management class, and was over microeconomic stuff. the part that bugged me was that it was mostly define this term or define that term. just because you can define what the difference is between accounting profit and economic profit doesn't mean that you now how to apply the 2. oh well, it was a 2 hour test, but at least 1/2 the class had left before i did and i was only there for a little over 1 hour. i'm just hoping i was able to define things well enough.

oh yeah and of course it had to be quite nice that last several days which made it really hard to sit inside and actually study and work on my assignment. although if i woulda studied and worked on my assignments during the break i wouldn't of had to do so much cramming, but i was having fun in sydney and melbourne so it was worth it (in my opinion, which may change if i end up getting really bad grades on my tests and assignment).

not much else is going on. might end up going to a movie tonight, although it's not cheap tuesday. oh well, having not been drinking (surprisingly) for like over 5 weeks i have money to spend on other things. its really amazing how much going out a couple nights a week ends up costing (especially when you don't like beer all that much, so you get the mixed drinks and by you i'm refering me).

well i'm gonna go get something to eat and turn in my assignment before i have my lab, which is in about an hour. laters

Back to Canberra and classes.

so i made it to and from melbourne just fine, although there were a couple of times in the city were i just closed my eyes and let the people driving drive.

melbourne was fun though. didn't spend as much as i thought i was going to which was a good thing. spent some money where i didn't think i'd spend it (i went to a ballet). the ballet was Sleeping Beauty. it was definately different than anything else. although not sure if i'd necessarily would go to another one (by the end of the 3rd act or what not i was having a hard time sitting still). another thing i did in melbourne was went to brighton beach, which has heaps of brightly painted huts (i have pics, but i haven't added them to my photo album yet). also, went and saw the 12 apostles along the great ocean road. they're rocks or whatnot sticking out of the ocean, but i don't think there are actually 12 of them. actually i know there's not 12 as one just collapsed in the last month or so, but i think there's closer to only like 8 or something. oh well. i have pics of them too, but some of them didn't turn out very well, or at all. for some reason several of the shots where i was facing the sun, the pics just came out black. on friday we went to the queen victoria markets, which is more or less to me, just feels like a flea market or something. kinda hard to explain. didn't find anything to buy there, but i think that's 'cause i'm too specific in what i buy. did see a crocodile belt and was gonna get it (yes for you alex), but it was over $200, so i decided against it. also thought i'd get a leather jacket, but that was also more than i was gonna be willing to spend. oh well i spent enough on food while i was there.

well i should probably get some studying done now that i'm back in canberra, but just thought i'd let everyone know that i made it back to canberra alright. laters

oh yeah, i saw a couple of old mustangs here, one with the steering wheel on the left and one with it on the right.

1 day of solid study

ok, so the trip to sydney was fun. really didn't do too much while up there, just heaps of walking around and looking at stuff to buy (although i really didn't have the money to buy anything, and the shopping in melbourne is suppose to be better). i did buy a pair of shorts though (only 'cause they were on sale and i liked them, kinda thinking i shoulda got one of the other colors instead though, oh well). oh yeah i also bought a long sleeve shirt as it was only $10, which i thought was a pretty good bargin. went to the beach twice (kinda). the first time was just walking along the beach on a path (didn't even touch the sand) eatting ice cream (although it was kinda cloudy and a bit chilly). the 2nd time actually laid out on the beach for about an hour. didn't go into the water though, a couple people that i was with went in, but not for very long as the water was cold so they say (which was why i didn't even try to go in). and yup that was about the extent of the trip, surprisingly didn't do any clubbing or whatnot, which actually ended up saving me heaps of money as drinks are expensive in Sydney.

there's so much i need to do today in the form of studying and whatnot. actually right now i'm just waiting to meet up with a couple of people for a group project.

....ok little tangent as i just had to change the computer lab i was in, as there was a lab i guess that has the room. the only thing is, is that it is class free period right now so i didn't think they could hold labs for this week and last week. although maybe its just a time that the teacher said that they'd have the lab if they wanted to come in and work on an assignment or something and be able to get help with it. oh well, there's plenty of computers.....

anyways, like i said i'm just waiting to have a group meeting. today is like the only day that i'd be able to meet as i'm heading to melbourne tomorrow afternoon. i'm hoping it's gonna be heaps of fun, which i think it should be as its a road trip, and for the most part road trips are usually fun. along the same line i was talking to some people a while ago and they said that we should take a road trip to melbourne and whatnot, but then went on saying that airline tickets weren't that much from canberra to melbourne. i was really confused as i thought a road trip meant driving (which i said to them). they responding with saying that it was too long of a drive, when i asked how long it took they said like 6hrs. i was kinda laughing on the inside thinking "that's nothing", especially since for soccer we drive 5 1/2 or so just to play a game in aber daber (aberdeen for all you non-south dakotans) and then to drive back afterwards. i'm kinda rambling now, but anyways the point is..?.?...actually i don't know if there was a point, oh well.
oh wait maybe it was that the some people's perception of a long drive is a lot shorter than mine (and heaps of you that read this).

well not much to say and this is already kinda a long blog, so laters

PS i can't wait to get back so i can make fun of you in person as well Ashli :)

Charlie and the Choc Factory

so i saw Charlie and the chocolate factory last night (its only been out here for less than a week). i thought it was pretty funny. not quite sure if i think its better than the first one, but it was funny. my favorite part is definately when Wonka said that everything in the room was edible, including himself, but that was called cannibalism. i was laughing so hard i was kinda crying, i don't know why i just thought it was hilarious.

anyways, kinda sad today, well not too much sad, but not sure what the best word is for my mood. Tina, the exchange student coordinator has resigned and today is her last day of work (Claire, other exchange student coordinator resigned earlier this semester and moved to Canada for a year or so). it's just kinda sad or whatnot that the two people that made coming to UC such a blast with the trips that they had planned and everything else that they did. i guess that there's something about UC not really recognizing all the work that the 2 did, but it's UCs loss now.

oh yeah, also for some reason lately i've been thinking a lot of what its gonna be like when this semester is over with having to say bye to everyone here and whatnot. kinda depressing in a way. it'll be great to see all of you back in the states, but it'll still be really sad to leave here. i can always come back i guess.

on a different note, i'm gonna be heading to Sydney tomorrow arvo and then getting back to Canberra on Sunday. i'll try to make a post on monday as i'm gonna be heading to Melbourne on tuesday around 1:30 and won't be getting back until the saturday or so.

something else, hopefully i'll have some money to spend during this break as i just turned in my scholarship yesterday, so i'm hoping i'll get a check or whatnot written out to me so i can go cash it so i can go spend it (hopefully not all of it though). anyways i'm tired of trying to type this and talk to people on instant messenger. laters

4th Place

Well the team i was on for the vball tourney came in 4th place (out of 4). although it wasn't too big of a surprise as i think the team i was on was just thrown together so there would be 4 teams in the tourney. i think there were only like 3 of us that played in all 7 of the games. for one of the games they had me playing front middle, which in my opinion is a huge mistake since that position is usually for the tallest person, not so much for one of the shortest player. oh well there was a free bbq saturday arvo (afternoon) and free brekkie (breakfast, and i think i spelled it wrong) on sunday.

oh yeah i am going to be going to melbourne this break after all. Lisa one of the exchange students that was also here last semester called and said the she was going down with a couple of friends who were renting a car and she remembered i said i hadn't been there yet. i think it should be a fun trip. its about an 8 hr drive there, yeah for road trips. i really don't plan on driving any of it as i'm still iffy about being on the left side of the road still. we're leaving on the 13th and getting back on the 17th (not sure what days those actually are). not sure when exactly (time wise), but we're getting together tomorrow around 10:30ish and are going to decide when over coffee and whatnot. maybe i'll be able to get a new pair of indoor shoes while i'm there, as melbourne's supposedly the place to go for shoes. actually i think melbourne's the place to go for shopping in general (which means i'll probably be spending $$$ on souvenirs and whatnot as i haven't really bought any yet). i just gotta make sure i'll have room in my suit cases when i come back. although i really didn't buy anything last semester, or this semester for that matter. i did buy a couple of shirts and a pair of pants (but i don't think a couple of the pairs of pants i brought with me are gonna make it back as they're getting a bit holey, really comfortable, but really holey nonetheless).

oh yeah, i have a scholarship check i need to cash or whatnot. although its made out to UC, so i'm not sure if i'll actually get the money for it or if i'll just get credit back (not really me presay, as it was dad's credit card that i used, so he'd be the one that would get the credit back). either way it means that i will either have "more" money to spend or that i don't have to pay back as much when i get back.

hmmm....what else???? can't really think of anything, but i hope everyone (who's in the states and reading this, although i don't know many that would be reading it that aren't in the states) is having a nice fun and relaxing labor day weekend. my 3-day labour day (yes labour not labor) weekend is at the beginning of october or something like that. i just know i'm gonna be going to a concert that last for the 3 days or close to 3 days. its called stumpfest and it happens every year. i think it happens at camp ground or something as i had to (well Laura, the one that talked me into going, had to) figure out tents/sleeping arrangements for both of us. i'm gonna be staying in a tent with some of her friends from back home (nelson bay area). the bands that play are all christian ones, but from the ones that i've listened to (the ones that have songs on purevolume.com), sound pretty good. i'm just hoping that there's not a big religious feeling there (nothing against it, just not for me), but i was told that there really isn't, so it should be fun.

anyways, this is getting kinda long and i'm getting tired of starring at the computer screen. hope all is going well for everyone, laters

updated photo albums

hey so i finally put some more pics in my photo albums. i made new album, which is Surf Trip #2 and i added 3 pics to the UC photo album (pics of my new room). here's the addy again for the different albums: http://photos.yahoo.com/sdbrak18

not much else is really happening since my last entry. i'm done with classes now for a couple of weeks. although i'm gonna be doing heaps of studying and whatnot as i have 2 tests and an assignment due when classes start again.

oh yeah, the volleyball club called me yesterday to see if i'd be able to play in the tourney they're hosting this weekend. of course i said yes, since i'm not going to melbourne (couldn't get hold of the exchange students that were going). i'm just hoping i don't have to help line/ref the games. i'm also hoping the games don't go all that late (that they're all done by 9pm). all i know is that i have a game at 6 tonight. i don't even know how many games i'm going to be playing. oh well, it'll be fun, i just hope i don't roll my ankle again. i'll just have to make sure i wear the ankle brace and/or tape it.

so yeah, that's it for now. i'll let everyone know how the tourney goes this weekend. till then (or until i get bored enough to go to a comp lab), laters

vanilla = car not starting

yup so i'm in the computer lab again just checking my email and such before my next class which is in an hour.

anyways i thought i'd write something funny that caught my attention in my statistics class this morning. the lecturer was saying that there was this person who bought a new pontiac car and that when he went to get ice cream (that his family voted on the flavor for) the car wouldn't start everytime he bought vanilla ice cream, but would start whenever he bought any other flavor. the guy then wrote to pontiac about it and so pontiac sent an engineer to study and figure out why (i think they had some extra money lying around that they figured what the hey this could be interesting). anyways after the engineer rode in the car and studied everything, he came to the conclusion that the car didn't have enough time to cool down or whatnot when the guy was buying vanilla ice cream. the vanilla ice cream was the closest to the door or something so it was the easiest/quickest to get, while the other ones required the guy to be in the store a little bit longer and therefore allowing the car to cool down. i'm hoping i can find a job like the engineer had, but i highly doubt it. oh well.

well soccer last night was fun, we lost but it was still fun. i think i'm about to wear thru the bottom of my indoor shoes, as i've already worn thru the rubber, some of the foam stuff and plus more of the stuff above the foam or whatnot. plus everytime i play indoor more of the rubber gets worn away/torn off from the running, stopping, turning, etc.

oh yeah, got a care package yesterday (thanks mom/dylan). kinda sad there wasn't any random stuff, but oh well. i had some people try the country time lemonade and most of them said it was kinda bitter.sour. i was just like umm....yeah that would be the lemon flavor.

not much else, today is just my busy day (for the most part) since i start at 9:30 and go until 6:30 with a few hour breaks inbetween. anyways i got some other things to do before my class, so laters

another entry, so soon???

hey wow i'm making another entry and its only been a couple days. not much has really happened since my previous blog. i bought a cd (which i've been wanting to buy for quite a while now). it's the newest Fall Out Boy cd, which was a bit more than i would normally pay, but i had some money left over from my budget from the last couple weeks (its amazing how not going out saves heaps of money).

tonight i have rez sport (indoor soccer) against another one of the ressies. it must be getting close to the finals or such of the round robin games as there are only 4 different ressies and we've been playing for at least 4 weeks. i need to get a new pair of indoor soccer shoes sometime as i've almost worn thru the bottom of the ones that i have. oh well i could always just wear my running shoes (actually that's what i'm doing now). i suppose it could be time to just move my running shoes to my regular shoes, since that's usually what i do. i have a pair of indoor shoes or running shoes for a while and then once the old pair gets too worn out they just move down or whatnot.

yup thats about it. i do have some pics that i've had for a while that i haven't put in my photo album. maybe sometime during this week or the 2 week break i'll put them online. whenever i do i'll let yous know. till then, laters

wow time seems to be passing too quickly, as i don't realize its been about a week from when i last updated my blog. oh well, i guess that happens when you're busy.

here's some of the things a did last week (that kept me busy). i had an assignment due (which is worth 10 or 15 % of my grade so that was the main thing i was working on). i have a couple other assignments due later this week as well, so i'll be busy doing those. also i've been trying to figure out what i'm gonna do over the 2 week break that starts on friday at noon for me. i think i'm gonna go to melbourne for a couple days with some of the other exchange students and then come back to canberra for several days and then up to sydney for a few days and then up to nelson's bay for a couple more days and then back to canberra to work on projects and to do some studying for mid-term tests.

anyways other things i've been up to are that i've seen several movies. none all that exciting, but i've seen requiem for a dream, amele (or something like that, its french), another french movie (can't remember the name), and i couple others that i really can't remember. the french one that i can't remember the name to i saw it in a theatre called ElectricShadows, which is a theatre that shows non-main stream films. it was fun seeing the french films as it made me feel more cultured, and it was different. oh yeah i finally finished reading Queen of the Damned, which was sooooo much better than the movie. the movie had left out so many parts, like the backgrounds of the characters, but then again if the movie went into that depth then it woulda been at least 3hrs long (probably longer). now i just need to find another book to read (other than my textbooks as they are dry and boring :o).

just like to tell everyone who's about to start their next semester (or who have already started) good luck in their classes and to not stress too hard about them. also have fun on your co-op andy (if you actually read this, if not i'm sure ashli, or ashley will tell you for me).

not much else. the weather has been getting warmer, at least during the days. could probably wear shorts if i wanted to, but then i'd have to change into pants at night and that's just too much effort (yes i'm lazy). oh yeah played soccer for a little over an hour yesterday. tried to convince the people to play outside since it was so nice, but they kept saying that we didn't have enough people. i tried countering it by saying that we would just make smaller fields, 'cause its not hard to do, but i had no luck. well that's it for now, hopefully i'll have another entry before a week passes again (but no promises). ciao

been a while

so i noticed its been a while since my last post. no i haven't dropped off the face of the earth, just been pretty busy. i had my test last friday, which i think went pretty well. was hoping we'd get them back today, but nope. pretty much i've been working on hw, procrastinating on working on it by reading and cleaning and updating my blog, and just hanging out with friends. oh yeah and sleeping.

i'm still trying to eat healthy and such. last time i went shopping i actually bought bananas, apples, lettuce, carrots, and broccoli (yup i actually bought broccoli). broccoli goes pretty good in various pasta sauces (mostly alfredo, but several others as well). i think i need to do a bit more exercise, but i do tend to walk where-ever i go. also today met up with a group of people to walk around the majority of the lake that's near by (its 7.1 km overall). the walk took about an hour. i think next time we go we're gonna stop by one of the playgrounds and goof around (hey big kids like to have fun too :o)

oh yeah, i think my ankle is healed completely, or so i think as it hasn't hurt for quite a while now (which i'm really happy about, 'cause it means i can go running for sure in like a week). i've gone swimming a couple of times since my last entry as well.

i know there was some other things i wanted to type, but i forget and i don't have the piece of paper that has all the funny little things my lecturers have said that i jotted down.

hope everyone that ended up going to sturgis had a fun and exciting time, kinda sad i missed it this year, but then again i'm in australia so i can't be that sad. also hope everyone (well all the students anyways) had an awesome summer and that you've figured your classes out for your semester and such. and for all those that aren't students, i also hope the summer went well for you and that you were able to relax at some point during it.

well i think i'm gonna get back to my assignment that's due later this week. laters

ducks

just a random thought that just occured to me, actually it occured to me when i was walking across a bridge and saw someone feeding the ducks and the ducks heading towards the free meal. the ducks that were the furthest away where kinda flying but not really 'cause they were also running on the water. i just thought it was hilarious 'cause i thought it would been quicker to just fly instead of 1/2 fly 1/2 run. oh well the duck knows more about how to move itself than i do.

i have a test on friday, it was suppose to be yesterday (tues), but the lecturer was sick for 2 days so we weren't able to review.

well i don't think i'm gonna have time to write more before class (which is in 1/2 an hour), as i'm also having several instant messenger conversations. laters

No Class

yeah i really wish i'd check my email a bit more often at least later in the day, as my workshop this morning (friday) had been canceled 'cause the lecturer is sick. really woulda been nice to know, so i coulda slept in. oh well i've already had my coffee now (well drinking it at the moment even though there's not suppose to be any food or drinks in the computer labs) so i might as well try to get some other things done, like laundry. actually now would be a good time to do laundry as the majority of people are most likely still sleeping (therefore the wash machine will not be in use).

so i don't know what to do with my time other than laundry. i could go to the mall, but i don't really need to buy anything (and don't really have it in my budget to buy anything). still plan on getting a job, but been a bit lazy in applying for the work visa. i think working in a coffee shop could be fun, although then i'd have to deal with customers and i'd probably get more addicted to caffeine. plus i have no clue how to use the coffee machines. i should be able to at least figure that out though if i worked at a coffee shop.

i guess the only other thing that is going on is tonight at the Uni Bar (the bar on campus) is gender bender, which is where guys dress up as girls and girls as guys. really don't plan on participating in this theme. definately not my cup of tea (what a cliche phrase, oh well). might go just to see how many people dressed up, but really don't plan on staying there all that long, have better things to do with my time (and actually i'm getting really into the book Queen of the Damned). so tonight might just end up with me sitting in my room and reading.

'til a later date (i think that saying or similar is from the cartoon Weekender's). not sure why i keep thinking "oh this saying is from this blah blah blah" but anyways. . . laters

SNOW!!

i am so excited, well not so much anymore since it's stopped, but it was snowing earlier today. it was AWESOME!!! seeing australians be amazed at it, especially since some of them had never seen it before. there's none on the ground as it didn't snow for very long and melted as soon as it landed, but i was so happy to see snow. i just want it to snow more now, at least enough to have a snowball fight, but i really doubt it. someone said the last time it snowed in canberra was like 4-5 years ago.

ok other than that, not much else. i have a test next week in one of my classes should be fun. the class in coding theory and it's quite interesting. 'cause did you know that 4+5 can = 2 (that is if you're in mod 7). i think i'll do good on the test, just have to look at an old one and over the notes.

yup that's it. well i guess i have rez sport tonight (both soccer and vball). should be interesting. also i think its a good thing, as for some reason i've had a hard time sitting still today. not sure why and the snow didn't exactly help the matter out either, as it was snowing and i had to go to my only class of the day. yup that's it, can't sit at the computer anymore, at least not today.

health kick

so i'm on a bit of a healthy kick (not sure where that phrase came from, but oh well). i went swimming earlier today (and on saturday) and plan to go rollerblading tomorrow before lectures. who knows how long this will actually last though. i'm hoping for the rest of the time i'm here and even after i get back to the states. i'm thinking though it'll only last for a couple weeks max, as that's how long it usually lasts, well that's how long my not drinking pop usually lasts.

oh i read the first harry potter book too. although i guess its really title is the "philosopher's stone" not sorcerer's stone. it was pretty good, a bit easy to read, but then again it is a book for young adults. aren't the books suppose to get a little harder to read or whatnot as the series goes on? i wonder how long it'll take me to read the other books, as i read the first one in just 2 days. i probably shoulda been reading my text books, but who ever really does that? plus its kinda hard to just sit and read a text book (when its about math and such). i also think i just want to read (as i'm reading Anne Rice's "Queen of the Damned" now) 'cause i get really bored in my room not having a computer. readings probably better anyways than just surfing the web.

hmmm.....what else. nothing really that i can think of. i have a test in my coding theory class next week, hopefully we'll get a review sheet sometime soon. oh yeah i should probably figure out what i'm gonna do during the 2 week break. i could probably go home with someone for some of it (could probably go back with them for most of it, but don't want to feel like a burden or whatnot). i know i definately want to head somewhere where there's a beach and sun (even if the ocean is still gonna be cold).

yup that's it for now. 'til i get a topic or thought that pops into my head that i want to type about (and that i don't forget it by the time i get to a computer)

Quacking vector spaces

i just had to start an entry with a quote from one of my classes earlier today. we were talking about vector spaces and such and my lecturer said "if it quacks like a vector space, then it's a vector space" i just thought it was funny, not sure if anyone else in the class really thought so.

played v-ball last night for res-sports (a round of knock-out the different ressies play against each other). old res won (which is my res). yeah... i'm definately a little too competitive when it comes to vball, like with playing by the actual rules. although last night i didn't get to agro (angry) when people kept hitting the ball incorrectly (ie carries, double hits, etc), but i think that's 'cause my team was winning.

not much else, thursdays are just my busy days as i have 7 hours of lectures/workshops. and of those 7 hours there are 2 lectures that are happening at the same time so i have to alternate weeks. oh well, they have the lecture notes available to pick up, so i can at least know what went on during the lecture.

but anyways, just wanted to say that if you see something quacking like a vector space then it most like is a vector space.

birthdays beach and more

first off, good to know you (Ashley) made it to russia and back alright and had an awesome time. so this means you'll be able to help me thru the reverse culture shock when i get back right??? just kidding

wow its really been a week or so since my last entry. well not too much has really happened. over the weekend i had gone to a b-day party in Terrigal (which is north of Sydney). it was kinda a spur of the moment thing. heaps of people were leaving for the weekend, so campus was gonna be pretty dull so i was trying to find something to do/finding who all was still gonna be on campus (this was around 12:30 or so). anyways i found some people that were going to the b-day party and had an extra spot in their car and were leaving pretty soon (as in at 1). anyways i got packed quickly and had an awesome weekend. friday night stayed in Newcastle at my friend Ringo's (real name Bryan) house and then saturday afternoon went to the beach for about 1/2 to an hour (and the water was a just a bit nippy (heaps of sarcasm)). then after the beach went to Terrigal where lots of fun was had. i was undefeated in pool for the night (although i kinda stopped playing after the 3rd game). met lots of new people, one of their names was Kayel (or something like that i have no clue of the spelling of it). anyways you pronounce it just like the letters kl. oh and let me tell ya the ocean is still cold at 5am in the morning.

sunday was a nice day as well, lots of beach. we were on the beach for several hours, which included some beach soccer, throwing a tennis ball around (at one time only with your least dominate hand), and some v-ball. i started to get a little angry during the vball as there was no net and i'm just a little too competitive. either way it was heaps of fun and then we had fish and chips afterwards. after eating we heading back to Canberra.

I got my last book that i needed for classes and i was really amazed at the price of it. the book itself is about the size of the Tech day planner thingies so when i saw it i was like awesome this can't be all that much. boy was i wrong the book was $87.50. usually at that price you get a book that you'd be able to use as a door stop but this is a book you'd end up using to try and steady a wobbly table. oh well can't do much about it.

oh yeah bought a pair of rollerblades yesterday. found a pair for $35 which i'm happy about as all the ones i saw before were at least $60. anyways there's a lake that's near campus and went around it (at least most of it). the lake itself is like 7.1 km around, but i took a bridge that made the route about5k or something like that. and yup, i'm out of shape, although that's kinda why i bought the rollerblades as i wanted something aerobic i could do other than running (as my ankle really doesn't want me to run). actually i can run as long as i run on the balls of my feet but if i try going heel to toe that it starts to hurt after a while. rollerblading though doesn't hurt it. although i probably should just let my ankle rest as i really haven't done that since i injured it back in june.

well this looks like its starting to get kinda long. hope everyone is doing well

books

so i actually had to buy books this semester. i've only bought 2 so far as the other 1 hasn't gotten in yet. the 2 books cost me almost $200. i'm hoping the one that i'm on the waiting list for isn't all that much. although with one of the books i bought the lecturer had said yesterday that if he knew the book was as much as it was he woulda picked a different one, but he said he was just using the same book and lecture notes from the professor that taught the class last year. i'm just trying to think of what i want to do with the books after the semester as i don't really want to bring them back to the states as it'll just add weight and take up space in my bags. oh well i guess i figure that out when the time comes.

finally got my new student visa today. actually tried to get it yesterday, but didn't take my passport with me, as i thought it was just going to be electronically linked. actually thru the whole application phase of getting a physical, chest x-ray, etc i kinda felt like a mail man as after i had the chest x-ray i had to then take it back to the place taht i got the physical. after a couple of days the hsa (where i got my physical) called and said the results could be picked up and i asked what i was suppose to do with them, and they said to take it to the dimia (Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) office. anyways i thought they coulda just used the mail instead of me having to go pick it up as where i had to pick it up is like a 30 min bus ride from campus. oh well

saw Bewitched last night. don't know if i'd see it again at least in the theatres, but probably on video. there where some pretty funny parts in it. i think the next movie i'm gonna watch at the theatres is either going to be Batman Begins or Sin City, that is unless another movie comes out that i wanna see or if the group of people i'm going with want to see a different one.

thats about it, laters

Car Rally

on saturday there was an activity put on by the residential service organization (rso) called the car rally. not really sure why its called a car rally as it is a scavenger hunt which involves driving places (kinda like the video scavenger hunt thingy intervarsity has (it is intervarsity who holds it isn't it, sorry ashley)). some of the items we had to get was a receipt for a bottle of coke bought at a petrol (gas) station in tuggeranong (i think thats how you spell it, its a suburb of canberra), a lego man, barbie doll, 21 piece kfc bucket (no chicken just the bucket), and heaps of other random stuff. oooo one of the funniest to do was being cling wrapped to a pole on one of the busiest streets in canberra. one of the people in my group had a friend that lived near the street and while we where at the house trying to find the random stuff, she asked if the scavenger hunt was a reason why she had seen people earlier wrapped to a pole. anyways it was heaps of fun, and i'll be able to give you some ideas of what else to do for the tech one ashley.

played a little bit of soccer yesterday, or at least tried to. my ankle i don't think has completely healed yet. its completely fine as long as i don't try to do any sudden/quick turns or whatnot.

nothing else really is going on, i just am anxious for spring to get here, i'm tired of the cold (that is unless it would snow or something). oh yeah i kinda have a cold as well. its more of just a cough/sore throat. it seems like about 1/3 or more of the people in the ressies have a cold right now. stupid winter, oh well not much you can do about except taking cold pills or whatnot. anyways got some emails to type. laters

Semester 2

ok well today Semester 2 begins. i'm pretty sure i have all my classes worked out and now i just have to go pay the admissions office or whatnot. its fun seeing peoples reactions when i tell them which classes i'm taking. i mean does electronic engineering 2b, engineering management, numerical analysis, and coding theory really sound all that hard??? (i'm a little sarcastic there if you can't tell). oh yeah from last semester i passed all my classes (2 passes and a credit, which i think is like 2 Cs and a B).

this week should be fun, as there are suppose to be lots of events going on. i'm looking forward to thursday night, as it is American Night (the theme of the night, like how in the states we'd have Mexican night or whatnot). mostly i'm glad as i don't have to worry about what to wear costume wise as i can just go as myself. on saturday there's the car rally, not really sure how it got that name, but its more of a scavenger hunt type thing.

my new room is still working out pretty well, although i don't think the hot water works all that well on the floor i'm on. oh well, just having a sink in the room makes up for that. i think i want to get another poster or 2 to put up on my walls, but the shelves they have in there make it so a poster will just barely not fit above or below them. i could always just cut an inch or so off the poster, or i could just not buy anymore posters and save my money for food or something.

somehow that just made me think about how the purpose i came to the computer lab was to check the status of my student visa application, but i forgot to bring my passport number with me so i'm gonna have to come back to the lab some other time, or use a mates computer.

hmmm....what else? i don't think i'm gonna play vball this semester unless its just a muck-around game, as last semester cost like $400 for all the fees (league, insurance, etc) and jersey and such. although it would probably only be 200 for this semester since the insurance fees were for a year and i already have the jersey.

oh yeah, the new exchange students are fun, although i was looking at them and hoping that i wasn't like that at the beginning of last semester. Also, with a couple of them and how they acted it i almost felt like they were making a bad impression of the US. mostly likely than not though i thought that way because i've been here for a while and my mind set has changed a bit (or a lot) and also more likely than not the new exchange students will change heaps while they're here as well.

anyways this is getting kinda long, and since i really haven't had breakfast yet, i'm starting to get hungry and i need to go take care of a couple of things. laters

oh yeah

oh yeah i forgot to mention that one of the new exchange students said that i kinda have an aussie accent. actually he said that i had a northern accent (almost canadian) and something else. i'm hoping its aussie and not irish. do i really sound all that irish though? anyways laters

movie review (i'm running out of title names)

saw Fantastic 4 last night. i didn't think it was all that bad. there were some cheesy parts (like the ending), but for the most part i enjoyed it. although i also tend to be amused easily by movies, as the only movies i think i've ever stopped watching were Groundhog Day and Monsters Ball (i know that was suppose to be a good movie, but i just didn't like it). the next movie i think i'm gonna see is gonna be Batman Begins, that is unless another movie i want to see comes out before then.

today is market day again (where "all" the clubs on campus have a little table out so you can see what all they do to see if you want to join the club). last semester i joined a few too many clubs, and actually i think that membership carries over into this semester so i won't have to pay for anything joining fee or anything (unless i join different ones).

hmm....not much else. i'm trying to decide again if i want to get a hair cut or if i want to just let my hair grow. letting it grow will be cheaper, but i'm not quite sure if i like my hair when it gets kinda long. yup, that's it. laters

battle against boredom

well not much is going on like always. just helping out with the new exchange student orientation as there's nothing else to really do (unless i want to spend money).

last weekend was fun. caught a ride up to sydney with friends (on thurs), stayed the night, caught a train up to newcastle, met a friend and then went up to nelson's bay for a b-day. spent the night there, rode back to newcastle, caught a train back to sydney for another b-day, and caught another ride back to canberra on sunday morning. i spent less money on traveling than i had planned on doing, as i was planning on having to pay for a bus ride from canberra to sydney and back.

gonna be going to the movies tonight as its cheap movie night. i think we're either going to see Batman Begins or Fantastic 4. i wanna see both, so which ever one we go to i'll be fine with.

on thursday going to be going with the new exchange students on the learn to surf trip (like they had at the beginning of last semester). this semester there are only 35 or so exchange students as compared with last semester of there being 70 or so. well i think there's free food soon as its "orientation week" again or something like that, meaning that there's going to be heaps of free bbqs again. laters

moving, sydney, orientation

well i've moved into my new room, not the one that they had first assigned me though. the person that was in it hadn't moved out yet, so i could either wait or move into another room. i really didn't want to wait a couple of days as i had already packed my stuff up (as they didn't let me know that the room wasn't ready until the day i was suppose to move in). i'm still on the same floor that i was going to be on, which is pretty good i suppose.

heading to sydney again later today for a couple of b-days. and i'm actually going to be going to a concert (for free nonetheless). the person (Sarah, i think there's an h in her name) i'm catching a ride up to sydney and staying with said her mom had gotten a couple of tickets for us to go to a concert (i think it's old rock or something, but concerts are always fun). i guess her mom has some connections or whatnot. i wonder where the concert is going to be held in sydney. i'm also hoping the weather is nice this weekend like it has been the last couple of days (except for today as it is rainy again). to me the weather feels more just like fall instead of winter, but that's probably 'cause for me winter involves weather that is below freezing other than just a night every now and then.

i'm hoping i'll be back to canberra to help out with the new exchange student orientation (which happens on the 11th). i just think it'll be heaps of fun, as i can be laughing at them for things they might do, but i'll really be laughing at myself as like i said before i'm sure i did the same things when i first got here. that reminds me, i need to go to the reject shop (store where everything is cheap) and get a couple of things before the new exchange students clear the shop out. at least that's what happened at the beginning of last semester, there was almost nothing left in the store. oh yeah i'm also excited about the new exchange student orientation 'cause Tina and Claire (the coordinators) are doing the learn to surf thing again and said i could go as well. i can't wait, although i'm hoping it's not going to be the same weekend as the back to school festivities. although if it is, i'm pretty sure i'm gonna go surfing (i'm not going to leave australia 'til i know how to surf, or i'll be leaving quite reluctantly).

that's it for now, laters

swimming, moving, and not much else

well i actually got up today and went swimming (tried to go running first, but my ankle is still kinda weak or whatnot). i am quite out of shape. after each lap i had to stop and take a rest (although i think each lap was 50m or so, i know the pool was longer than the thornton rec center one). eventually i'll be in better shape, as i think i might also go and get a pair of cheap rollerblades, but who knows, i just know that i have to entertain myself somehow since i don't have a comp or tv. although it's probably better to be doing tings like rollerblading than just watching tv or surfing the web (that is except for when its raining, like it has for the past week or 2).

i move into my new room on tuesday. i was hoping i'd be able to move sooner as i have a doctors appointment on tuesday as well (have to get a physical or whatnot in order to extend my student visa), but i had not luck in trying to talk them into letting me move earlier. oh well, my appointments in the morning anyways, which is a lot better than if it was in the middle of the day.

i definately can't wait for the weather to stop raining. granted australia needs the rain, as i guess they've been having a drought (did i spell that right?, oh well). i really hope it stops raining at least for next tuesday, although it's not like i have anything that will get ruined by getting wet, so it could rain, it would just be a bit of a pain.

after being in sydney and seeing a lot of it, i'm gonna have to make it up there again when it's warm and attempt to surf (again) at one of the beaches, or maybe i could go further north of sydney to brisbane or whatever is the gold coast or sunshine coast as i think they're suppose to have good surfing spots as well. although i think i would just like to have some small waves at first, until i actually am able to stand on the board.

and that's about all that's going on, expect for trying to find ways to fight boredom as the majority of the people went home for the mid-year break. laters

fumigation

i really don't think i spelled that right, but i don't really care about my spelling. anyways, in the ressies i live in they are spraying for pest control today, so they're making us be out of the buildings from 10-2. not too bad i suppose. woulda been better if they sprayed my block yesterday for a couple of reasons. one is that i was still in sydney or on the bus back to canberra. and the second is that tuesdays are cheap movie days so i coulda gone to a movie while they were attempting to kill all of the pests. i really don't think there were any mice or anything in my building but i'm not completely sure on that.

in a way it works out that they're spraying today. it makes me take care of some things that i've been procrastinating on. one of which is i need to get $50 to one of the volleyball people (because of the fundraiser we did, which was saling entertainment books). for those of you who don't know what entertainment books are, you one don't live in a big enough city or 2 you haven't had to do very many fundraisers. i was just surprised that they had entertainment books here as well. oh and for those that are still confused about what entertainment books are, they are a big book of coupons for various things like restaraunts, fast food, amusement parks, etc.

well, all of the other americans/international students have left canberra to either go home or to travel australia before returning home. not to mention that the ressies feel really empty as basically everyone else went home as well for the winter break (they don't actually call it winter break, but it's winter and we're on break, so i'm gonna call it winter break even though there isn't any snow where i'm at). i'm curious for when the new international students get in so i can laugh at them (and myself) for the things they'll do when they get here, as i know i most likely did the same.

speaking of international travel, hope you're having a good time in russia ashley (if you get a chance to use a computer to read this). and then when do you leave for turkey (that's where you're going isn't it) ashli? that brings up something that's kinda fun to ponder. who would have thought last year that with the group i hang out with at Tech, that one of us would be in Australia (me), one in Russia (Ashley), and one in Turkey (Ashli).

well i think i've wasted enough time on a computer (at least for now, as i will most likely be back as there is nobody on campus!!!). hope everyone is doing well and having an awesome summer so far.

sydney

heading to sydney for 5 days, so don't expect any blog entries until june 29 at the earliest. laters

last final exam

so i have my last final for this semester in about 4 hours. i don't think its going to be all that hard. its for my Truth, belief, and science class. for the exam we have to analyse an urban legend (saying what parts make it an urban legend), decide if several arguments are valid or not and explain, and then have paragraph answers on a reading. i think the fact that we are allowed a page of notes and they gave us the reading already is why i'm not all that worried for it.

other than that, nothing much is happening. been rainy/cloudy the last couple of days. oh yeah there was going to be a surprise going away party for john (he's from colorado as well) tonight, but that's 'cause everyone thought his last exam was also today. however his last exam is tomorrow, so it got postponed until tomorrow night, so he'd be able to study and get a good nights sleep for the exam. although tues nights are usually going to the movies (as it's 1/2 price on tues nights), oh well.

well i think i'm gonna go over my notes once more (actually i have time to go over them at least 3 times) just so i won't have to use the cheat sheet all that much.

boo coldness

there's this big stereotype that all of australia is warm all year and i'm telling you now that all parts of australia are not warm throughout the entire year. granted it doesn't snow (so i'm told) except for in the "mountains". the last couple of days it has been cold, well kinda, it's still well above freezing, but i think i had gotten accustomed to the warm weather so it feels cold now. plus its been rainy and windy as well. ok so that's my little complaining for a while.

have one final left which i think shouldn't be too hard. we get to have a sheet of notes (hand written ones) and a dictionary if we want. not sure what good the dictionary would do, unless there's going to be words on the test that we've never seen before.

want to go see batman begins, but i really don't want to pay full price to see it. i guess i'll just have to wait for a cheap movie night (which are tuesday nights).

also can't wait for my foot to be all better. the bruising colors are going away, but it still hurts/aches every now and then. it is starting to be a bit more flexible as well. i should probably go and buy an ankle brace or whatnot instead of just wrapping it up.

oh yeah i have a doctors appointment on july 5 to get a physical type thingy done so i can get another student visa. not sure why they decide that in order to get another visa i have to see a doctor 'cause if i had anything before coming everybody has it already. although they also take a chest x-ray, not really sure why, but whatever.

its kinda sad seeing some of the other international students leave for home or for more traveling around australia. i should probably do more traveling, but i just have fun hanging out with the aussies. during the holiday (break between the semesters) i'll probably see some things as i'm suppose to go to a couple of people's b-day parties.

back to the cold weather, as my brain just though "oooo, coffee sounds good". i'm surprised i have bought any instant coffee mix stuff yet. not really coffee, but mocha or something that is chocolate and has caffeine in it, not to mention that its served warm/hot.

well that's that for now, laters all

study break

i've noticed that i tend to spend about the same amount of time in study breaks as i do in studying. isn't that how you're suppose to study though, so you don't fry your brain? actually i try get myself to study for about an hour and then take like a 30 or 45 min break (although the break i'm on now might be a little longer as all my stuff to study is in my room and i'm at the computer lab). that's really all i've been up to lately.

yesterday was a public holiday (Queen's Birthday). although australia no longer has a queen, and it wasn't even the real (britain's i think) queen's birthday. although fireworks were legal over the weekend (as long as you lit them off after 10pm and before 5am or something like that).

and yup, that's it, so i'm gonna grab something for lunch and then go back to studying.

lovely colors

my foot is now turning lovely colors of blue, purple, and in some small areas greenish. it doesn't hurt as much anymore, but i still have a little bit of a limp when i walk. also i still can't really pivot on it, can only bend the ankle back and forth with little/no pain. i'm just glad that it hasn't even been a week and it is already quite a bit better, still swollen though.

played charades last night. it was pretty entertaining. one of the funniest one's i though was a person had to act out a place (we were using the pictionary cards) which was America, so they pointed at me. the first time i had to act something out my team didn't get. i had to act out a stone. first of all i had no clue how to even start, 'cause how do you try to act out a stone? another funny one was a person on a different team had to act out a bald eagle, but she didn't know what it really was. i just thought it was hilarious 'cause that's one of the animals that all americans learn growing up.

and i'm tired of sitting at a computer right now, plus i have some studying to do. laters

1 down 2 to go

well just got done with my first final. they seem to be pretty strict with the testing. bags have to be either at the front or back of the room (not next to you) and you're not even suppose to have a cell phone on you (even if it is turned off). actually it kinda felt like taking the standardized tests all over again. i can't believe i can't think of the name of the test, i keep thinking they're the A.C.T's (or is that right, i can't think right now). luckly my next final isn't until the 15th.

last night i had a volleyball game again. we ended up losing, but it was against the A team (i'm on the B team). so it really wasn't all that surprising, especially since we barely had 6 people to play. we were going to play with just 5, but they wouldn't let us so our captain (who had rolled his ankle last week) had to change and play. speaking of rolling ankles, i did that as well last night. went up for a block and i either landed on someone else's foot, my foot, or just landed wrong altogether. currently i have it wrapped up but it was still swollen this morning when i woke up for my exam.

and yup thats about the extent of the news that i have. laters

Hog's Breath Cafe

wow its been a while since my last post. well i guess i'll summarize (kinda) whats happened since my last one.

on friday night after the international reception (to say bye to people and get their numbers/addresses) i went with 4 other international students to a restaurant called Hogs Breath Cafe. i guess its a chain and it started in the US, but its Hogs Breath Restaurant in the states. anyways, we were joking around with our waitress (anusha or something like that) and having fun (we got the coloring mat thingies that little kids get, and colored it in for anusha). anyways she asked the 5 of us to meet up with her on saturday night because the hogs breath employees were getting together as a couple people were leaving. i just thought it was weird 'cause to me its usually the group that asks the individual to hang out instead of the other way around (at least when you really don't know each other). i also thought it was funny that on saturday night the international students i was with said it was only like the 3rd or so time they've been into civic at night (about the opposite for me).

on sunday nothing really new happened. had volleyball practice from 1-4. got some bad news i guess on sunday though. for the next v-ball game (on wednesday) my team isn't going to have any centers (taller people that attempt to block spikes) as they are injured. so now the average height of the team i'm on is about 1-2 inches taller than me. this is really going to be wednesdays game interesting, especially since we're playing for 3rd place.

after volleyball practice played soccer for a little over an hour. it was fun 'cause we had about 20 people. i think next time i need to remember to take my cleats with me so i'm not sliding all over the place (although everyone else is as well).

and that's all really. just been studying for my exam on thursday. already had one 2 hour tutorial or whatnot today to help get ready for it and have another one in 45 minutes. at first wasn't sure i knew the stuff all that well, but now i'm thinking i do. yup that's it for now. laters

bump, set, spike into my face

the volleyball games went well last night for only having 6 players (no subs). we ended up playing 8 sets in all. the first game we lost but i think we're going to get the win as the other team wasn't all in uniform and the league is being really uptight about that now. the second game we won the first 2 sets and then the 4th one (barely 26-24). in the first game i really could have gone without being reminded of what it felt like to get the ball spiked in my face. luckily there's no ball prints on the right side of my face this morning/arvo (afternoon). the 4th set of the 2nd game was full of anxiety (not sure if thats the right word). we were losing 12-22 or something like that and then came back to 22-24. they were one point away from winning and had spiked the ball, me and another person on my team went to dig the ball. the other player got there first, hit the ball, the ball somehow went off my knee and deep into the other teams court, therefore giving us the serve. we then ended up winning the game 26-24. i was dead after the games as we had started playing at 6:30 and got done around 9:45.

i guess one of the international coordinators has a fractured pelvis. all i know is that it happened when she was riding to work on her bicycle. don't know any other details other than that. probably know more by tomorrow night, as there is a reception thingy for the international students tomorrow night.

yesterday for one of my classes which was going to be just a review of stuff we should know for the final exam made me kinda angry. the review was more of just 5 tutorials cramed into 1.5 hrs. the lecturer went over tutorial problems, but he went over them very quickly (meaning he read the multiple choice question, the possible answers, and then said the answer). some of us were trying to write down the questions and the answers and he even said that there wasn't time for us to copy it 'cause we had a lot to get thru. personally i would have rather had class/review on tues (the tues class was canceled) and yesterday so we would have had time to write the questions and answers. well thats my ranting for a while.

and once again my stomach is telling me its time to eat, but i can't think of anything else to write anyways. laters

'Roos at 1am

surprising i just realized that the best time to see kangaroos is around 1am (i should have figured this out earlier, but i really don't pay all that much attention to the actual time when i see them). also do you know how freaky it is to be walking on the sidewalk just thinking of what needs to be done the next day and then suddenly realize that you are now within 10 yards of a dozen or so kangaroos (a couple that are even just a couple feet away), all of which that are starring at you. luckily these animals have been on campus so long that they just kind of sit and watch you until you pass them, or just go back to eating the grass.

tonight i have vball games at 6:30 and 8:15, with each game being the best of 5 different matches or whatnot. meaning that i could potentially be playing 10 games if time permits. i think i'm going to be dead after playing. speaking of volleyball i had to buy a pair of navy shorts today because the black shorts weren't good enough anymore (at the beginning, they said that black or navy were fine). i wasn't the only one though that didn't have a navy pair as some people were wearing royal blue shorts to the games. oh well the shorts were only $25, which i was happy about 'cause i was expecting that they'd be over $30.

what else is new??? well i've been trying to go see the international coordinator people to ask a couple questions (one being if either of them would like to buy and entertainment book (a $50 coupon book) as for volleyball everyone is suppose to try and sale one and they're the only non-students i know) but everytime i go they're not in their office. the problem could be that i try to go see them around lunch. i also need to give them my passport number so i can get another CoE code so i can extend my student visa.

well that's it for now

No more assignments!!

well at least for this semester. i finally got all my assignments done (i'm hoping correctly). now all i have to worry about are the finals. one of my finals is worth 55% of my grade, one's worth 40%, and i think the other one is worth 30% or something like that. that's one thing i really don't like is how the final grade of the class rests completely on the final exam (well not so much for 2 of my three classes but still). i liked having 4 or 5 tests thru-out the semester with (depending who's teaching) the lowest one being dropped. oh well, can't really change the system here.

hmm....what else is there. well last week i saw star wars episode 3. it was good although it wasn't as good as i was expecting, although i had built it up in my mind that it was going to be the best movie of the year. but now i want to watch the other episodes again (mostly episodes 4 and 6, since i watched 5 last night). although seeing episodes 1 and 2 wouldn't be all that bad either.

oh yeah, also found one more class that will transfer back to tech, which brings the total up to 3 that i found and am waiting on one more. its called coding theory and to me it sounds like it would be a nice little addition to the other engineering stuff 'cause it somewhat goes over how do pin-point problems and such amongst a lot of other stuff. i'm hoping it will transfer as a technical elective.

a couple other funny things that have happened. on friday night someone asked where i was from and i said america and asked why. he responded with that i sounded irish. do i really sound that irish to everyone? 'cause several people at tech thought i had an irish accent and now an australian thought so as well. i suppose i could have a worse accent or something. oh and the other thing is that the weekends usually involve playing Risk on saturdays and soccer on sundays.

speaking of playing the soccer yesterday was heaps fun. i really wish i coulda seen how high i was off the ground (i kinda went flying after a 1 on 1 with the person playing goalie). anyways they said that i was a good meter or so (3ft) off the ground. i must have jumped or something though 'cause minus just a little bruise on my shin that was the extent of the injuries. i do remember though when i was in the air that i hoped i would land wrong on my shoulder or anything. all in all though it was heaps of fun. i'm trying to decide if i want to wear my cleats next sunday or not though, as the grass is really slippery and my regular shoes don't have that good of traction any more.

anyways i think i'm gonna type some emails to people now. hope everyone is doing well. laters

so i lied again

i figured out i can only sit and type a report without doing something different for about an hour or so. isn't that about how long you're suppose to sit and do anything school related though? 'cause isn't there a study or something that says that every 45 minutes or so you should get up and do something else for 15-30 minutes or am i just inventing studies?

oh yeah, during one of my other breaks from my assignments i finally went and got my hair cut. it was the first time since the end of january that i've had my hair cut. the sides aren't as short as i would like them, but its suppose to be getting colder (i'm waiting for when i actually have to wear a hoodie during the day) so i guess its ok that its a little longer (meaning that the person used a #3 attachment instead of a #2).

well since i'm typing i might as well be typing up my assignment since that's all i really have to do for it (as long as the rest of what i need to type is about 600 words). thats one thing i don't miss though about being in engineering is the stupid word lengths of assignments. oh well after this one i won't have any more word count assignments, at least i hope not. well back to typing, ciao

so i lied

ok so i lied about having another blog entry, but i thought this was kinda funny. here i am sitting in one of the computer labs. the computer next to me is turned off. every now and then a person walks in moves the mouse around or its buttons on the keyboard ('cause they think the computer is turned on). nothing happens so they push the monitor button a couple of times to see if that works, but nope. do they not realize that the monitor has a completely different power button than the actual computer? anyways that's just a random observation i've made while i've been typing up my assignment (i think i'm half way done in typing it and my fingers/hands are starting to get sore since i haven't had to type so much in a while). i do think i'm gonna take a break and go get some lunch. laters

end of the semester

well there's 2 weeks of classes left so everything is starting to be due, meaning that there may not be a blog entry again for a while unless i get bored and feel like walking up to the computer lab (its like a 7 minute walk or so from my room), so i really don't think there will be an entry 'til all my assignments are done. i have to type one up today and then all my other ones i can do by hand, at least i'm pretty sure i can.

i have found classes that i will be able to get into, so its a really big chance that i will be here for the next semester.

anyways back to my assignment before i get hungry and decide to go have lunch. laters

Daz

Procrastination

well here i am sitting in a computer lab trying to type my paper that is due later this week, but i can't really think of how to type it. isn't that how it always is you have everything you need to write a paper, but you just can't think of how to start it. i think i might make it similar to my powerpoint presentation i made on the same topic, which is define parapsychology, give a little history on it and then analyze (did i spell that word right?) several of the experiments, trying to prove if there may be any truth in the experiments done. i also have to say what things from previous experiment have now made the experiments invalid (ie discarding some of the info from the experiments). hopefully i'll get inspired pretty soon or have an ah-ha moment when i figure out how exactly i want to type the paper, since its like 25% of my grade. which also makes me hope that i quote things correctly so i don't plagarize or whatnot. this makes me think of the first assignment we turned in 'cause we were suppose to quote and such on it, but we still haven't gotten it back yet (and we turned it in around the end of march).

well i better get back to the assignment, also so i have time to do some other stuff since my dad's here in australia/canberra until friday. laters

you pick a title

hmmm....what have i done since monday, let me see.

tuesday night went and saw the movie Kingdom of Heaven or whatever the name of that movie is. i thought it was an ok movie, don't think i woulda paid full price to see it (although i wouldn't pay full price to see any movie). three out of the 4 other people i went to the movie with thought it was crappy. john (a fellow coloradan) kinda liked it as well, so i'm guessing its either that australians just don't like it or those i went with just have different tastes in movies. although ringo (one of the aussies) fell asleep during it and was saying it was crap, but we just kept telling him his opinion doesn't count 'cause he was asleep. he tried to say that was why he was sleeping, but he also fell asleep when a group of us saw Constantine, which he said was a good movie. maybe he can see the movie thru his eyelids, who knows.

oh i also made meatloaf one night (think it mighta been monday). i was surprised that it actually came out pretty good considering i improvised on the recipe a bit. i didn't have nearly enough ketchup for it (not even 1/2 the amount needed), so i used some sweet chili sauce. also i didn't have the right size pan to cook it in, so i just used a bigger one and just put it on one end of the pan. i don't think i used enough meat though in it. oh well. also i mashed some potatoes and was surprised i didn't end up peeling several layers of skin off as i was peeling the potatoes. i've never had that much trouble peeling potatoes before.

last night i was suppose to have a vball game but the team we were suppose to play ended up dropping out of the competition. it was nice though 'cause i worked on my multivariate calc assignment which is due today. didn't finish the assignment until earlier today (no i wasn't working on it all night), but the only thing i had to do today was integrate.

starting to really wish i had my computer with me, 'cause it would so much easier than always having to walk to the comp lab in order to check email or to work on assignments. anyways, should probably finish an assignment i have thats due tomorrow. laters

good news

well good news at least for me i guess, and some of my aussie friends. for those that don't know, i may be staying a 2nd semester here as long as i can find classes (and get into them) that will transfer back to tech.

other than that what else is new? well yesterday about 9 of us got together to play a little game of soccer. i enjoyed it mostly 'cause i really haven't kicked a soccer ball since around november or so. found out i've lost my endurance in running. which makes me remember how i had planned to be running in the mornings after i had settled into my room and here it is 4 months later and have i gone running, nope.

oh yeah, also my dad is coming to australia in a few days. excited about that, although i have a somewhat big assignment due while he's here. shouldn't be too hard to do though 'cause i've already had to do the presentation side of it and now i just have to type up the actual report.

well thats all i can really think of right now. hope all of you (at SDSM&T, CSU, etc) do/did well on your finals. laters

getting colder

well its actually starting to get colder here now. its not freezing or anything, its just long sleeve shirt weather. which will be really interesting since i really only brought one long sleeve shirt, unless you count the ones that button down. i do have a couple of hoodies (here all sweatshirts are known as jumpers) and a light jacket, so i should be set until i leave, unless i stay for another semester, which i'm currently trying to do.

not too much else is going on. just got done with volleyball practice. need to work on my presentation i have on friday. thats about it (other than i have to make a little under $700 last for the rest of the semester, which i should be able to do). after all i am a college student and i know how to buy the cheap food. also i can not go out (like fast food) as much as i have. i guess if worse came to worse i still have a hundred or so in travelers checks which i could exchange which would add another 125 or so. and i also remembered i have some american cash as well i could exchange, so actually i'm all set for the rest of the semester, as long as nothing comes up that costs heaps.

well i really haven't had anything to eat today, since i really only got up 5 hrs ago, even though i went to bed around 10pm last night. just didn't feel like getting out of bed. i probably would stayed in bed longer if i woulda had something to do like watch tv, but since i don't have one i was getting really bored and couldn't really keep sleeping longer. anyways, time for food. laters

Daz

well its been several days since my last post so i thought i'd make another. not much has really gone on since the last one. just relaxed for the rest of the break and studied some. need to work on a presentation i have to give next friday. shouldn't be too hard once i get going, but starting is always the hardest part. i do kinda already have a rough idea of what/how i'm going to put the presentation together though.

i forget if i said in my last post or not, but i put the pics of whitsunday in my photo album http://photos.yahoo.com/sdbrak18

not much else to type, laters

sailing trip

hm....where do i start with the sailing trip? i guess i'll start with that i almost missed it 'cause i thought my flight left the day it actually did. luckily i looked at my tickets to check for sure when i left, and it all turned out fine.

after getting up to airlie beach and checked into the hostel i was staying at, i went for a walk to see all of what was there. i walked around the entire town or whatnot and it didn't even take 1/2 an hour. in about the middle near the coast there were a couple of pools which in spots also had a "beach". forgot to take a picture of it, but speaking of pictures i updated my albums. the day before the sailing trip actually begun i layed around the pool area and got sunburned. i put sunscreen on, but on my back there was a nice little strip going across it where i was unable to reach. oh well.

the sailing was awesome. woulda been better if it hadn't rained everyday (all except for the last day as we were heading back to airlie beach). the rain itself really didn't last all that long either, it just seemed to be that about the time we were getting dry from the previous little rain, another downpour would start. they did have rain jackets for us though. if they didn't i'm pretty sure almost all of us woulda been staying in the cabin part of the boat. there was 30 of us if you count the 4 crew members. there was a lot of different countries that people came from that were on the boat; usa, canada, switzerland, germany, and a couple others that i can't think of right now.

oh yeah and on the boat i think i ate better that i had for several weeks, maybe even months. one night we had roasted chicken, and another night we had steak (although i'm not too much of a steak fan it was really good).

can't think too much of what else to type about the trip. never mind i just thought of something. do you know how weird it is to look straight across the deck of the boat and see the ocean almost coming over the side of the boat? this happened everytime we actually used the sails on the boat (although i think the captain was just having fun with all of us non-sailors). when we used the sails, the boat would be a about a 45 degree angle with the water. it was fun seeing at the end of the trip that when we were tilting everyone was relaxed (some even sleeping) unlike the beginning of the trip when we were all holding on for our lives.

well its about noon here now, so i'm gonna go find something to eat.

back in canberra

just letting everyone know that i am back in canberra now. don't really feel like typing too much today, but i do have lots that i want to type about the trip. it'll have to wait until a later date.

didn't do too much last night for the big 21, but will be going out tomorrow night (since its another person's 21st). i may and may not write what exactly goes on, that's assuming i remember it :)

anyways, just letting everyone know that i made it back from sailing and all just fine (peeling from getting burned, but hopefully it will become a nice tan). laters

whitsunday

well i'm at whitsunday right now, so there probably won't be very many posts in the following week. probably just as many posts as i can type before the time on the internet card i bought runs out (45min left now). so hope everyone is doing good. and talk to you later

uneventful weekend

from the comment on my last post i guess the new issue of raver (the tech paper) came out and my article was in it. to those that read it, were there any photos? 'cause when i submitted it, i also sent a couple pics with it, since they said pics would be a plus. just wondering how well the photo actually turned out in black and white (if there was a photo).

not much else is going on. i can't believe that the semester's about 1/2 over here. luckly i only have one test this week, which is on thursday. although i do have another midterm test the week after getting back from the 2 week break. speaking of break, i'm getting really anxious for the break to get here so i can go sailing. hopefully i'll be able to get some really good pics of the ocean, fish, etc. i hope i see a sea turtle, 'cause i'm trying to get pictures of the different fish in finding nemo. so far i have a pic of clown fish, a jelly fish, and a star fish (although the pic i have is of a blue one, not a pink one). actually i would just really like to see a sea turtle.

the only other thing i can really thing of going on this week is that it's the volleyball championship game (for the preseason tourney). i think my team has a good chance of winning, as long as we don't fall into a rut and make a lot of simple mistakes.

Fire Drills

this is going to be a little bit of a complaining entry (at least for the first part) and from the title i bet you can guess what i'm gonna complain about. thats right, fire drills. don't get me wrong, they're good things to do, but not at 7am when the vast majority of people are still sleeping (since the 1st classes don't start until 8:30 and thursday nights are one of the nights to go out). although i suppose the fire drill my block had was better than the other ressies yesterday (their drill was at 6:15am or so). after the drill i tried to go back and sleep, but nope couldn't fall back asleep. i laid in bed for about 1 1/2 hrs before giving up on trying to sleep some more and just got out of bed and so here i am at a computer.

don't really have all that much time to type much more now anyways. got class in about 1/2 an hour, which will last for 3 hrs (1 hr of tutorial, lecture, and then workshop). after classes i have about another 1/2 hr break before the international student get together thingy (which i mentioned in my previous entry, didn't i?). i'm trying to figure out what "award" i might be getting, but i can't think of anything, unless my award will have something to do with sharing a room w/ several girls on the thredbo trip.

well thats it for now, might make another entry this weekend but don't count on it all that much.