Never a Dull Moment In University Life

The past 2 weeks and a half have been frantic – Classes started, my health insurance company disowned me because they failed to tell me I’m supposed to fax them a full-time student certificate for every semester, moved into my friend’s condo, met up with friends before they left for vacation or summer school, went to the hospital, etc. etc. though not in that specific order.

Exactly two years ago, I experienced a medical problem that had my entire family fearing I developed cancer. A procedure was done to investigate the abnormality, and the doctor concluded that it shouldn’t be of anything to worry and sent me off with some prescription medications. The symptoms ceased the following week.

Unfortunately for me, the complications came back last month, and I refused to inform my parents of it because I didn’t want them blowing the situation out of proportion, much like they did the last time, but the symptoms worsened within half a month. Which brings me to a question – Do you think that perhaps the body, given that it is separate from the mind, can understand the mind’s thoughts and, thereby, respond by taking a certain course of action? It’s an elusive argument because you can’t execute an unquestionable experiment to assess the conjecture, but I inquire on such a vexing lemma because after the thought – Perhaps I should see a doctor again – crossed my mind, the symptoms intermitted the following day, as if my body was responding – Hell no, I’m not going to be given sedatives and undergoing that procedure again. Alas, I was reprimanded and a hospital visit was imposed upon me last Tuesday, and the procedure is scheduled to proceed on the 29th of this month, granted that the people working at my health insurance company acquire some brains.

The condo I’m staying at for the summer is moderately comfortable. The only qualm I have of the conditions is the person with whom I live. She’s a dear friend of mine; however, I have yet to see such a degree of domestic incompetence in the past 20 ½ years of my life. Perhaps her ineptitude at such chores is borne of her periodically insurmountable laziness or merely apathy (she is a business major, after all). I haven’t identified the definite cause, yet.

Being here, I feel like a motherly figure again, something from which I’ve been meaning to stray away simply because I want to enjoy my youth while I can still manage to move around without hearing my hip crack. I worry about her ability to take care of herself in the future, but I can't help but break out in laughter every time the thought that one of these days, she will have to manage everything herself acrosses my mind. Unless, of course, she finds an uxorious partner.

Two days ago, I asked her to toss the salad and she managed to "toss" some of the salad onto the floor. Yesterday, I went out to dinner with family friends, and she ended up having half a cucumber for dinner. Fortunately, I was perceptive enough to order an extra rainbow trout entrée and took it back for her. The poor child – Half a cucumber for goodness sake! Today, she wanted to make oatmeal for me, which resulted in an explosion of soymilk-soaked oatmeal in the microwave and then asked me how to come about cleaning it. Watching Wendy commit domestic blunders anon is a laugh and a half; she never ceases to humor me -- This is definitely going to be an interesting 2 months.

Ah, it's nearing 2am, and 8 hours of classes tomorrow to look forward. I best get some sleep.

Until next time, my little munchkins.

I Spy With My Eyes... A Dirt Pile

It's been awhile since I've last blogged through no fault of my own. Once finals time rears its ugly head, there's no telling as to when I'll actually have "leisure time." This semester seems to be different, though. Perhaps due to my willingness to expand my horizon ever-so-slightly socially, my schedule seems a bit more spontaneous. The majority of my time was spent out dining, volunteering, and such. An abridged synopsis for Saturday is as follows (other days not included due to time limit hindrances):

Saturday 5/5/07:

1) Volunteered for Trash to Treasure 2) Transferred 100-some trashcans from someone's backyard to the trunk of a beat-up contraption the workers call a "car" 3) Ripped my favorite pair of jeans right in the crotch area whilst transferring, said, trashcans

* Murphy's Law: "If something can go wrong, it will" -- Pants rip, volunteering location farthest location on-campus, 35-minute walk back to dorm wearing ripped pants the day UIL competitions are held on-campus, i.e. people are omnipresent.*

I received quite a few awkward glances but was unwavering: A mindset was established requiring myself to exude an aura of confidence. My theory proposed that if I act sanguinely it would somehow mask the attitudes and opinions of others. I reached a state whereby I simply didn't care what others thought of the situation. So I have an enormous hole in my pants, you have a problem with that?

4) Gathered a group of friends to assist me in my search for new jeans at the mall 5) Bought 3 new shirts instead of pants 6) Ended up going to CiCi's Pizza to eat 7) Managed to devour 15 slices of pizza 8) Sat around for an additional 3 hours at the restaurant discussing names and causes and effects of low self-esteem (A general consensus was met regarding the name Roy -- It personifies a rapist)

Today was pretty much hell. I had stayed up late the night before because I couldn't resist watching Moulin Rouge on TV, which motivated me to demonstrate my vocal skills... until the wee hours of the morning. An 7am alarm had been set for my Genetics exam (the following morning). I accrued a whopping 1.5 hours of sleep. In order to keep myself awake, I purchased a grande-sized cup of caffèllatte this morning in hopes that I would be able to manage staying awake for at least half of the 3-hour exam. The exam wasn't too horrendous, albeit, I was unable to recall anything pertaining to the functions of the proteins at the polyadenylation site for one of the questions. Anyone know?

Because summer classes don't start until May 30th, I planned on staying at home for a week. I, however, had barely started packing the night before and my dormroom check-out time was scheduled at 2pm (it was 12pm at that time). One suitcase the size of a breakfast table was intended for stay at Austin in my friend's apartment whilst the others needed to be packed and transferred to my car within 2 hours. Running to the garage with my international-travel-sized suitcase took about 12 minutes, driving to my friend's apartment took an additional 10 minutes, and dragging the 60-some-pound suitcase by myself up 2 flights of stairs required another 10 minutes. I then had to drive my friend to work (15 minutes) and acquire a temporary permit (valid for an hour) so I can re-park in the parking lot closer to my dorm hall. By the time I made it back to my room, it was 1:10pm. I then had to pack in a maniacal manner. That, however, wasn't tedious at all compared to what came next. All the moving carts had already been lent to other students so I had to manually deliver each box, bag, suitcase, etc. to my car in the 95 degree Fahrenheit Austin weather. It took 20 minutes for me to get one particular suitcase in my car -- I simply had no strength left to lift the 50-pound luggage up off the ground and position it into the trunk. I honestly don't know how I managed to accumulate all the items in my dormroom, but it took me 6 trips to finish loading my car, and each trip left me panting without breath. My muscles were aching; my head was throbbing; my feet were burning. Heck, who am I kidding? My muscles are still aching.

After loading, I had to clean the entire dormroom spotless -- Mirrors, sink, microwave, refrigerator, cabinets, floor, etc. I suppose I received my fair share of strenuous exercise this morning.

Then came the 3-hour drive home, which brings me to my next point: Texan landscape is wretched. Unless you are driving past a city or well-developed town, chances are, you will only see grass -- And no, not beautiful, emerald green grass but dead, yellow grass. Every once in awhile you'll come across a horse or cow gnawing on this dead, yellow grass. Appetizing. There are no significant landmarks on the majority of the Texan landscape. If you were ever lost, how would you manage to find your way when the surrounding is only comprised of flat, yellow terrain? Whilst on my way from Austin to Houston today, I drove by a mound of dirt approximately 10 feet in height I had never seen before on that road . It alarmed me at first because I thought I had taken a wrong exit unbeknownst to me since that mound of dirt had never been there before. The residents of other cities rely on monuments, buildings, rivers, etc. to help them distinguish precisely where they are. Down in the heart of Texas, away from cities, people recognize their location based on the appearance of dirt piles. Pitiful, isn't it? I'm definitely not staying in this state once I am financially stable. Although, there is an advantage to staying here -- Wide, vast terrain you can drive on to your heart's desire when feeling pensive.

It is time to catch up on my much needed sleep.
'Til next time, my little munchkins!

Rigmarole

Drama, drama, drama. Do you love drama? Everybody else does -- Except me. It appears that gossip seems to be the incandescent light bulb that attracts all insects (and I don't mean that condescendingly, mind you). So, you like drama? Well then, here you are: rigmarole for your entertainment.

Recall that I missed my pop quiz in Medical and Scientific Terminology? I got a chance to speak to my professor Friday morning about it, and he allowed me to redress it -- I received an 86. After that little adventure, I walked back to my dorm only to be affronted by my roommate (she attends the same class). The conversation went similar to as follows:

Roommate: Where'd you go?
Myself: To talk to the professor to see if I can make up my quiz.
Roommate: What'd he say?
Myself: He let me take it.
Roommate: You suck! (Then proceeds to turn the other way and ignores me.)

The professor is the sweetest little man (literally, he's shorter than I am) with the most adorable British accent and he let me retake the quiz that I missed because he takes remorse in over-worked students, which is quite rare at UT, whereas the person that I've shared a room with for the past 6 months and bolstered through all of her issues would rather see me fail than succeed in a class? Throughout the entire course, I've consecutively made grades > 90 on the exams whereas she's obtained < 68's. My apologies if she's slightly not up to par as far as academia goes, but hoping someone else does badly in no way brings up her grade; instead, it makes her appear selfish and Machiavellian. Friends wish for good outcomes among one another, not ill kismet. Needless to say, I was quite offended, especially after all the energy I've devoted catering to her desiderata.

On the topic of her desiderata -- The love interest that she has been pursuing for the past 6 months is finally one no more. To explain the entire story would require far too much time and typing, hence, the general perspective is as such:

Girl likes boy. Boy leads girl on. Girl fails to see but soon becomes obsessed with boy. Roommate of girl warns girl not to get close and to half-heartedly move on. Girl refuses. Boy does stupid stuff and girl gets hurt. Boy apologizes and girl forgives. Girl becomes more obsessed with boy. Roommate, again, suggests she forget about the boy and move on. Girl ignores roommate. Girl becomes so absorbed into boy that she fails exams, cries when boy hangs out with female friends, and constantly calls boy. Boy tells girl's male friend that he thinks she is clingy -- Girl is surprised, roommate is not. Girl gets hopes up too high after boy kisses girl and roommate tries to bring her back down to earth and fails to do so. Girl begins spending weekends at boy's apartment. Girl decides to transfer to boy's university despite everyone's disapproval. Mutual friend of girl and boy tells girl that boy doesn't want a relationship with her, instead, finds her crazy in character and is interested in another girl. Again, girl is surprised, roommate is not. Girl professes interest in boy no more, but roommate remains skeptical.

That more-or-less paraphrases the past 6 months of their relationship (or lack thereof) rollercoaster. Every minute of her life was filled with Blake, Blake, Blake -- She had fallen for this jerk and she had fallen hard. I've recently come to believe that men are simply not worth this sort of agony. Although most of my friends say that I am most likely the first to marry out of all of them, my morale on male decency is cynical beyond repair. Maybe Mr.Right doesn't exist, or I'm simply not looking in the most opportune locales. I refuse, though, to ever step foot in a bar to look for a partner -- That's just... not my character.

Moving on to the next topic -- Summer housing.
Ehh, it is getting late and I have an 8am class. 'Till next time, my little munchkins.

Where Art Thou, Lady Luck?

It is approximately 2:30am currently, and I just finished studying for tomorrow morning's Medical and Scientific Terminology exam. The course itself isn't too demanding, however, the exams are abhorrent. Each exam covers roughly 1000 terms, yet, there are only 45 questions on the entire exam, meaning the other 955 words, (their descriptions, significances, repercussions, etc.) that I spent hours of my time memorizing and understanding were basically a waste of my time. The warrant for today's entry, however, isn't to spiel about futile terminologies; instead, a rant on other matters is in order.

Perhaps it's Karma, maybe I'm whiney, or, possibly, I lack the patience and empathy I used to possess -- I don't know. It seems as though Lady Luck has not been on my side as far as randomly selecting a roommate goes. I potlucked for a roommate my sophmore year of college hoping to expand my social circle, I suppose. Not only did I not become friends with my assigned roommate, I actually developed a fear for her. She's one of those... "angry people," as if the entire universe is somehow indebted to her and must yield to her every demand. 90% of her conversations incorporated some form of expletive, items were catapulted against the dormroom wall to express her frustration, tears were shed and conflicts were sprung when her mother couldn't answer a proposed question. The room was always filled with a cloud of alcohol and tobacco scent because she can't rid herself of her repugnant addiction. She always chose to either scream on the phone, watch TV, or invite friends over (sometimes all at once) when I'm in bed. I had a hectic schedule that fall semester with rowing/weight training from 5:30 - 8:30am, 9 - 3:30pm classes, and 5 - 9pm rowing practice, leaving little time for a nice sleep. She had to ruin the little time I had with her erratic behavior. It's not that I didn't make an effort to be her friend, either. My attempts were often reciprocated with a shrug, glare, or silence.

Come the end of November, I simply couldn't accept that environment anymore, so I filed for a room-change. My new roommate, who ironically has the same first name as my former roommate, is one of those... "vain people." High shrieks of laughter, southern accent, continuous phoning, multiple pairs of shoes of the same style but in every possible color, no sense of "quiet," indignancy, narrow-mindedness, unrealistic sense of self-worth, overly dramatic, and lack of courtesy pretty much describes the aura she exudes. Supposedly, the world revolves around her and her problems, whereby everyone should drop their current tasks in order to resolve her paramount issues. Additionally, she brings paranoia upon herself by over-analyzing the most insignificant elements and forces others to do so as well. She constantly pressures others to provide her with advice, yet, never applies any of them. Analogously, she's a Hummer running on an alkaline battery -- She instantaneously drains the energy shamelessly and directly out of me.

I suppose certain aspects of my life have transformed me into a person who's less empathetic, patient, altruistic, and (in general) nice. I used to be regarded as being "too nice" to a point of unbelievable generosity. I hold a different perspective now -- Help what and when you can, but don't push yourself over the edge. You need enough energy for yourself first before you are capable of truly assisting someone else.

Good night, all.

Food, School, and Life - What a Great Combination

Recently, I've realized that all I've posted on my blog are excerpts from random articles I found whilst surfing the internet, and that is simply unacceptable. I figured I should become a little more personal. So here you are:

Breakfast:
- Soy Milk

Lunch:
- Caesar salad
- Steak with pasta and green beans on the side
- Chicken noodle soup
- Hashbrowns
- Strawberry shortcake

Dinner:
- Peanut butter sandwich
- Beef jerky
- Sour Starburst chews

I've long since realized that my eating habits are (How should I put it?) atrocious. Although I feel pleasantly full and satisfied after every meal, it's definitely not good for my health -- Stuffing my face is certainly not the key to longevity by anyone's book. Henceforth, starting from tomorrow, I shall limit the amount of snacking I used to allow myself.

Other aspects of my life are equally as galling. Due to my excessive workload, I have to attend classes year-round in order to graduate within 4 years. I'm not, in the slightest sense, looking forward to classes this summer -- 9am till 10pm, Monday through Friday, with no breaks but one between 2 and 3 pm. Needless to say, I'll be a walking zombie on campus -- Everyone feel free to bring cameras and take pictures of this living spectacle. Living conditions, additionally, are still unsettled for this summer. My condominium for the upcoming fall semester is still being remodelled, which won't be completed until July rolls around, and I failed to apply for campus housing because I refuse to pay exorbitant prices for a room that resembles a jail cell at best. But no matter, I trust that all the pieces will fall into place (with slight adjustments with a hammer and chisel by my part) when the time comes.

A recent, spontaneous hunger for knowledge has imbued me. I don't know whence it came but it leaves me disappointed at times. All those years I spent bumming around I could have spent wisely accomplishing something productive. I now yearn for trivial information, historical facts, classical mythology, significant figures, computer programming, foreign languages, cultural traits, etc. but simply don't have the time or energy to imbibe all that. I suppose it's a luxury in which I will relish after I retire.

Alas, that is enough for today. 'Til next time, my little munchkins.