AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
When I was talking with a really good friend of mine from the States, I relaized that he had only a very general idea of where I live. I now think that many people wonder, so I am throwing up this reference map toshow everybody where I am.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
I think I will have a job tomorrow, which is good news, even though the pay isn't great. I am studying hard for my classes now. Not much else to say. Today was just a work and study day. More on the way tomorrow...
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
I did not post last night due to last minute studying for my inorganic chemistry lab final. I think that the studying paid off, though, and I should have a pretty good grade to complement my poor ones. I got quite a bit done today, and for that I am quite happy. I did not get as much studying done as I would have liked. I have class all day tomorrow, so I have a feeling precious little will get done as far as studying goes. Dodgeball game against 6 Kelsay was a complete flop. We got completely beaten; it was disappointing. That is the first time we have been swept. I think I need to work on my accuracy and endurance; which seem to be somewhat universal problems. I think I might start running again (groan) so I have enough strength to last through the entire game at full performance. Running is the one surefire way to help that. I talked with an old youth Pastor today on the phone. It seems he was up in Anchorage taking his kid to the dentist when I called him. He is kind of weak on the maintaining contact with letters and email. I figured I would try his number and see what I got. He tried to convince me to go up to the Alaskan Bible Institute, but I am not so easily persuaded. As I told him, I have beer down here . Actually, I could care less about alcohol, but I still have my reservations about A.B.I. Anyway, time for bed, Arigato. PS. Check out the photos page for updates and the link on the left about my roommate. Recent additions...
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
Regretfully, tonight I have not been able to get the article online that was published in the Gateway on Thursday. I am working on this, however, and it should be up tomorrow. But, I am borrowing the scanner, so I cannot guarantee anything. I am sort of gearing up for my lab finals which start next week. They are absolutely critical if I hope to pass my classes. I am hoping that they go absolutely flawlessly. That said, I am sure I can expect some serious errors. That is the way of things for me lately. I had a good fight with Denton today when things took a turn for the weird, and somebody got the bright idea to "cage rage". So, I figured I'd give it a go, and I have to admit, it was pretty fun. Denton laid quite a haymaker on my chin, so I have a pretty good bruise, but because of the cage, I doubt that happens very often at all. I think I might take a picture of the shiner and throw it up here for grins... He wants a rematch. I nailed him prety good. I actually got XBox Live! up and running. It has been such a long time since I was on. Due to networking issues, and running cable out to the TV, thus far I haven't played around with it, but I decided to give it a try today, and using Ryan's 50 footer and my 40 footer, we actually got it setup. Quite a bit of good fun. I am looking forward to playing a little tomorrow. After all, I do have lab finals to think about. We had our floor dinner tonight. It was actually quite welcome since we basically had Thanksgiving dinner, which I won't be having this year during my traditional time. It reminded me a little of home around this time. Of course, I had to do dishes, but whatever... The stuffing was certainly tasty, and we had so much cake left over, I think I can scam some more off tomorrow. Anyway, it is 4:16 AM. I gotta go to bed.... Night.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
I spent this afternoon crafting a furious response to the Gateway's obscene ad. I hope to have the ad and my response (hopefully published) on this page by Friday or so. Things are starting to get crazy with finals coming down the pike. I found out today that I may be stuck in Alberta 5 days after I get done with exams. I think I am going to call the airline and beg. Not that I have any problems whatsoever with being here, but I don't want to miss any potential time relaxing at home in Michigan. I am disappointed with recent court decisions in the US with regards to gay marriage. More on that tomorrow. I want to get some sleep, so goodnight all.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
This morning started a little early, due to church, but it was all good. I did get enough sleep that I didn't pass out during the middle of the sermon. The Pastor there is excellent, and if I can figure out how to get there, I think I'll go next week. It is a mammoth church, and I think they have thousands in attendance because they have multiple sermons. He spoke on money today, which was interesting because I have little. It was an excellent sermon, and one quote stands out especially (caution: I may have murdered this) "A man's life can be defined by two things, his watch and his wallet." Wow. Quite a succinct way to make a profound point. Money and time are the two most basic things a person has to give, and what he does with them, defines his life. Powerful. I went out to brunch with my Aunt and an important governmental official in Alberta. He will remain anonymous to protect the guilty. No, he was really a great guy and I was grateful to both him and his wife for their wonderful hospitality. I would welcome seeing them both sometime in the future. After brunch my aunt took off and I spent the afternoon doing boring stuff -- cleaning the room, laundry, dishes, etc. We played our game tonight and got spanked. "In the Middle" was quite good, and showed some serious flaws in our game play. We have much to improve. Should prove to be fun and challenging. Most everybody was icing various appendages after the game, most commonly the arms or shoulders. Must get more sleep than I have as of late. I have a lot to do yet on my biology report, but at least I am a good ways into it. I will have to finish tomorrow afternoon. So, with that, farewell.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
Our team triumphed over all challengers this Saturday. The Mac Daddies reign supreme at the moment. In case their is general bewilderment, the Mac Daddies refers to the 9th/10th floor dodge ball intramural team. Sooo much fun. It would have been better had I not totally thrown out my my arm during the warm up for the second game. That was an interesting (read: painful) experience that I do not recall having ever experienced before. We pasted our nicknames on our shirts using hockey tape. My nick is Merlin from Top Gun. I think our next game is tomorrow. I went to my lab this morning at 9 AM, and I can't help but say that it sucks to lose a Saturday morning. I wound up spending it centifuging plasmids, which is all well and good, but I would rather sleep. And speaking of biology, I have a lab report due on Tuesday, so I was plinking away at that today. I have my article and stuff, but I have to go to the library to get it and copy it off. I also prepped my graphs and they look pretty decent. I just have to get a lot of typing done on the main body of it. I watched the Matrix Revolutions tonight and I definitely would say I have mixed feelings on it. The directors made some serious sacrifices in the plot and characterization to make a statement about the world and choice. I will write more on the topic I think, but not tonight, I would rather discuss it after sleeping on it. My aunt was here today from out of town, so we went out to the grocery store to do some shopping. It was so nice not to have to carry back armloads of groceries. There are some serious benefits to having a vehicle. We are supposed to meet tomorrow to go to church and then get soem lunch, and I am looking forward to it. I will have to miss going to the water park, but I can use the ticket later, and my aunt will not be up again. I can't really afford to spend an entire day at the park right now either. I have to get the rest of the lab report done, and my prelabs for chem and biology. Before I get really incoherent, I think I am going to cut this one off. Night everybody... PS. Threw on a bible verse at the bottom that changes everyday, NIV version. If you prefer Spanish, just let me know.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
By my own personal determination, repeated failure can shatter dreams and goals like no other. While I am aware that this is quite common knowledge, it always feels different when you experience it yourself. In this matter, I am probably stupid. I think I will continue on with my studies as if my studies were going excellent. I think at this point, however, I am going to need an action plan if I want to satisfactorily pass all of my classes at the end of the semester. I am now absolutely determined to do well, as I have a good chuck of change invested in this and I don't have the money to turn back now. If that means I make an ass out of myself, well, then so be it. I have much to do tonight. Principally among my tasks are working on my lab report and doing the entirety of my stats assignment, which is due tomorrow. I have Safewalk from 5 - 8 tonight, so I have my work cut out for me. I can't wait. I am hoping that it clicks with me and it goes fast, but if it does not, then God help me. I am in for it. I am aware that many of you would like to see some more pictures on here, which I am working on, but that kind of stuff is on the back burner while I assess (and cry) over my current scholastic situation. It's a war now, and I've lost the first salvos -- there's no time for a vacation now. I got my organic chemistry midterm back today, and found out that I scored 9% below the class average. Something has to give here, and it is not going to be my ego. Now that my grades are universally low, now is the time to figure out what to do about it. Any suggestions? I am dying to hear about them (maybe literally). Send me an email. You can get my address from my contact page. Adios.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
Sleep deprivation seems to be a chronic problem afflicting nearly all higher learning institutions. I have slowly become aware that most students desperately want more sleep, but then foolishly deprive themselves of it. I myself have struggled with the issue. It is a tough world out there when you are prone to fall asleep 10 minutes into a crucial lecture. I fear there is no easy answer to this problem, save caffeine and electroshock therapy. I took my chemistry midterm today, and I actually think I may have passed it. Unbelievably, I may have actually passed the class average. This one certainly went better than the last, which I think the prof had planned as a "shock and awe" demonstration. She shocked me right into a stupor, and hence, never got around to the awe state... Whatever. As long as I pass my classes, I guess I am satisfied. My aunt is coming up on Friday, which is good news for me. I could use a fern, which is difficult to lug around on a bus/train. I am also looking forward to seeing family and going out for real food for once. Hopefully I will be able to get most of my biology lab report done tomorrow and my stats homework as well, but somehow I doubt it. I am supposed to Safewalk from 5 to 8 PM, and so that leaves me with precious little time to tackle difficult problems. I need to at least finish my prelab and stats crap. Not only do I have Safewalk, I have a meeting with a business guy from College Pro, to see if a little training and a business plan (entrepreneurship) could increase my wages next summer by a bit. I am hoping to avoid as much much loans as I can. Scholarships seem to be out of the question, so... So here we are again at the end of the night. I complain about lack of sleep and I am posting this as 12:30 AM. Time to say buonos noches.
AUTHOR: NATHANIEL VOS
My thoughts have turned to what kind of career I might choose if I fail in university. As you might imagine, life at the University is very good at inspiring a parachute plan. I sometimes wonder if that is what it is best at doing. Surely thousands of students before me have despaired at midterms and final exams, worried about their future, hesitant about continuing with their studies. I know that after a few hours of organic chemistry and maybe the results of midterm, my dreams broaden to the glorious careers of counterwork at McDonald's, drainage systems technician, and small time scam artist. It is these thought, I think, that push me to continue with my studying. The thought of those, while very nice, somewhat "unfaltering" jobs somehow conjures up enough horror in my confused mind to push me into studying further. I think the dilemma is somewhat exacerbated by the scholastic institution I attend. As we are in the heart of cattle country, I have long suspected that the university takes its lessons from that industry too seriously. As a result, we now have what I affectionately label, "Meatgrinder U". Whose goal is to process what it considers a very fatty piece of meat into something that would be tasty to a vegetarian. Thus, even the best part of the meat only survives as ground round, mangled and dazed, and the rest is well... pushed off into the illustrious future of the proletariat. The downtrodden of the world. I have a solution for myself. Since the university is obviously no longer interested in the fat, I'll go to someplace that is! Where you might inquire, is that? Government. Yes, the one place that still values inefficiency and burgeoning bureaucracy. Perhaps I can become a mindless civil servant, pushing papers labeled "A" to the "B" pile. Sure, not exactly fascinating, but an easy slide into mediocrity. With the liberals at the helm, my job will never be threatened, my workload reduced by the year, and I will get a fat retirement to boot, at 35. Seriously, I had a very long and lazy weekend. I accomplished precious little, save reorganizing my room a little. Tomorrow I have a midterm that I am desperate to pass, inorganic chemistry. While I think I am well prepared for it,I am not going to take any chances. Tomorrow I will be studying a great deal leading up to the exam. Pray for me, this one's important. (On the upside, I did rediscover the wonderful virtues of Garrison Keillor. His work is absolutely hilarious, and it is available in the archives of the web all the time. . Check that link out, it is well worth 20 minutes of your time to listen to the stories from Lake Wobegone) That's all for tonight. And may you join me again when my spirits are high, my bank balance low, and the music blaring in the background.