Once again, I have nothing good to contribute to my blog, so I figured I should do another edition of The Ramblings:
My sister Andrea, her friend Meg, and my Dad visited me this weekend. We all went to the Illinois - Ohio State game, which turned out to be cold and dissapointing. It was a fun weekend none the less.
Tried to register for my classes today and was DESTROYED by U of I. Why must it be so difficult. Why.
After eating dinners that come in bags and take out for about the 100th straight night, I’m ready to go home and have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Immediately.
Saw Quantum of Solace this weekend. Excellent addition to Casino Royale. The theme song, by Jack White and Alicia Keys, is also very good.
Other movies I’ve seen lately: Apocalypse Now, great movie, but quite eery and disturbing, and American Beauty, another excellent film.
I had an epiphany the other day. I was on the phone with the company who manages the apartment I am currently leasing (aka The Worst Leasing Company In The World) restraining myself from screaming at the woman on the other line. I’ve lived in my apartment for almost eight weeks now and our toilet has worked correctly for about half of those weeks. Needless to say, the toilet is a key part of a man’s apartment. After countless phone calls, teeth-pulling, frustrated visits to the management office, I finally managed to get them to replace the toilet completely.
Back to the epiphany. As I was half yelling at the lady on the phone, I realized that this is the real class period. An academic education is certainly an important part of the collegiate experience, but nothing compares to the experience of finally living on your own, with no parents as a safety net. I have learned that you can’t keep milk for more than a week or so before it goes bad. Apparantly you have to pay for electricity? And, oh yeah, doing laundry sucks worse than Chicago sports teams right now. Last year, living in dorms, I didn’t have this experience. Meal points dictated how often and essentially what I ate every day. Now, if I don’t go to the store for a while, as was the case over the past few weeks, I don’t eat, or at least not anything worth eating.
Had I been home, my Dad would have been on the phone with the leasing company, my Mom would have bought my Honey Nut Cheerios from the store, and I would have been oblivious to all of this. Here, I was forced to do all of this myself. I am starting to have to make decisions and take actions that resemble that of an adult. Scary.
Education, not just in the class room. Cost: $25,000 per year.
You people are lucky. Had I been blogging at this time last year, you would have had to read a painful, painful blog post about leaving for college for the first time. I surely would have posted some sappy, cliché song (if you are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five and that happens to be one of your favorites, don’t be ashamed, I feel you). I would have written about the countless memories I had with family and friends, about the time so-and-so broke a window or how my friends and I had a great time at prom. I also would have written how I was “super excited” to start the next chapter of my life as a college student, meet new people, make new friends, go to college parties, finally learn about “stuff that matters”, etc.
If I were you, I probably would have thrown up in my mouth a little if I had to read something like that. It may have been painful to read, but it would have been written honestly. The truth is, even as much as it is played up in movies, going to college is completely life-changing. A year ago, I was a different person than I am today. I have experienced things that have made me a better person, just as I have experienced things that I would not be comfortable telling my grandmother about. It’s impossible for me to describe the way I lived my life last year at school to someone who has never experienced college. College is not a chore, college is a party. I don’t mean that in the literal sense, although that is certainly true. Responsibilities and expectations of normal life do not exist while at school. It is truly a surreal experience. All the guys act like they are fifteen, and all the girls try to act like they havn’t gained weight (I kid, I kid).
I’m not sure what I am getting at, other than if you still have college ahead of you, it is something to look forward to, and if you are out of college, I hope you look back fondly on those years. As I’m sure all of you already know, I decided in the spring to transfer from Indiana to the University of Illinois. Although I will be a sophomore academically, I feel like an incoming freshman inside. I am just as excited as I was last year, and just as nervous. I know this year will bring many new experiences, good and bad. In the next year’s time, I will live in my own apartment for the first time, turn 21, and move one year closer to being in the real world. I wish you all good luck, whether it be at a school you love, a job you hate, or in whatever it is you may be doing. Go Illini!
I’m back from a short hiatus. Since my last post, a lot has been done and a lot has changed. I have gone through “finals” for the second time of my college career. Much like the first, I was very stressed out, didn’t study enough of some, studied too much of others, and overall did alright, but not quite as good as I should have done. In between finals (and studying), I played Mario 64, all day every day. Despite being nearly eleven years old, it is still arguably the best and “funnest” game I have ever played.
For those who don’t know, these were my last finals at Indiana University. I have decided to transfer to the University Of Illinois Urbana Champaign. I still love IU, but I feel that U of I is a better fit for me. More to come from U of I.
On a more musical note, I am going to begin to introduce some of my favorite artists that all 6 of you have probably not heard, or atleast not heard in the way they should be heard. I am always self-concious when telling people about music I really like because music is a very personal thing, but maybe me talking about a band or artist will ignite your interest in them. If not, that’s okay too.
I have been trying to settle on a site design/color scheme for a while now. This will certainly continue to change, so don’t get used to it. Also, on the right —-> you can now see which tracks I have recently listened to. Using Last.FM, you can track your listening habits too. Check it out.
I hope all of you come back and leave comments. I ALWAYS want your input or opinion on a topic. Take Care!
