Okay this is gonna be one big Ol' Blog post, as I have been neglecting my duties to inform everybody. So lets get started! First off, fraternity rush!
The last month or so has been marked by rush. It started off long ago and far away (at least it seems that way now) with open house Sunday, when all the fraternities had open houses and formally began rush. The purpose was to meet and greet the brothers and see who you liked etc. You then had the opportunity to go to 3 open events with the brothers, spread out over the next two weeks. The events included skyzone (a giant warehouse filled with trampolines you could play dodgeball in), Buffalo Wild Wings (all you can eat wings), lazer tag, and demoball (a bizarrely awesome mix of lacrosse/field hockey and bumpercars). After all these events, each fraternity would have 2 closed events, which you had to be invited to, and then finally, on Thursday the 10th (I believe, I'm starting to get the dates mixed up), the fraternities would extend bids, and then you would accept on Saturday the 12th.
Going into the process, I was interested in Kappa Sigma,because I knew a bunch of brothers, and Sigma Chi, for legacy reasons, as well as them being known as the exclusive frat on campus. But as I went on through the process, I became more and more interested in Sigma Nu. I really liked the brothers, and it was a small brotherhood, meaning that the entire fraternity was very very close.
On bid extension night, I was told to be in my room from 9 to midnight from both Sigma Nu and Kappa Sig. I waited excitedly, until a loud knock on my dorm came, and I found two of the brothers from Sigma Nu waiting in suits. They told me to put on my shoes and grab my coat. They immediately took me down to a car, blindfolded me and another ghuy from my floor, and drove off into the night. After many turns and twists, we finally arrived, and were told to extend our right arms and hold onto the shoulder of the guy in front of us. We were led up stairs, and eventually the blindfold taken off, being told to stare straight forward. We were confronted by five men, in robes, candles and a eerily cultish ceremony. They informed us that we had been unanimously chosen by the brothers. At the end of the ceremony, the brothers behind us offered our congratulations, and we were told to come to the house any time after 12 if we were to accept the bids with our signed bid cards. Kappa Sigma did more or less the same deal, although it was just one potential pledge-y instead, making it significantly creepier/more awesome.
In the end, however, I already knew that I wanted to pledge Sigma Nu. I knew four other guys who got bids there and definitely were going to pledge, so it really was no contest. We all walked over at around 6pm to turn in our bid acceptance letters. And before I continue, it's necessary to explain the layout of Sigma Nu. It's kind of convoluted so hand in there. The house layout such that part of the house extends parallel to the walkway of the door, and that part of the house has these panels which can open out towards the walkway/porch. It's a weird mix of window/door, but the point is that they can be propped open and people can go through it. They were propped open when we came up, and as we knocked on the door, we hear screaming, and suddenly, four brothers (including the President) burst out of the window/doors, yelling and cheering. The front door then bursts open too and we're surrounded by brothers who were waaaay more excited than we were (and we, being the little bunny-like freshmen we are, were quite excited).
The next day we had our initiation to become candidates, or whatever. As exciting as this all was, it was intimidating. There were a bunch of events and steps we had to do which would be a lot of fun, but a huge time commitment. As the week went on I became more and more worried/stressed about whether or not I had over extended myself with EMT class, wilderness project, and now Sigma Nu. I met with the pledge marshal, and discussed the dates, and as much as he reassured me we could work around me schedule, ultimately I realized that I would not be happy with this many commitments and that I needed to drop something. Unfortunately, this meant Sigma Nu.
I sent an email to the marshal, and he replied with a very kind email, saying how he totally understood, but was sad that I would not be pledging. That day I got several very nice messages from some of the brothers, saying how they were sad that I was dropping, but they understood. They also invited me to hang out and get to know brothers as much as possible and pledge the next semester. It was very nice of them and really told me that not only had I made the right decision dropping, but I had chosen the right fraternity to join. I've already decided that I'm going to make pledging a priority next semester, as I know that Sigma Nu is an excellent group of guys that I want to be a part of.
But besides frat life, the other main event of the last couple of weeks was the second training trip for wilderness project! FUN FUN FUN! This time we learned more of the basics of camping, like how to work the different types of stoves, how to orient yourself, etc. Again, wilderness project proved to be an excellent decision. The entire time it was simply a lot of basic clean fun. For example, we started playing this game called "How's yours?". A group of people would come up with an object or body part which they all had, such as a childhood, or stress, or a zipper, or a tongue. Then somebody would have to figure out what the object was by asking "how's yours?" to everybody in the group. Some of the responses were quite clever, and almost always made it sound dirty. Simple games like that entertained us for hours and it was excellent to bond with such an eclectically awesome group of people. The only problem was the rain. After a week full of absolutely gorgeous weather, the one day we decide to go camping, it started raining. This would have been fine, as we had prepared for cold and rainy weather. But whoever set up the tent I was in forgot to tuck the tarp under the tent. This would have been fine if they had been able to properly stake down the rain tarp. But they weren't. The result was that a good 1/4 of the 5 person tent was a swamp, so the 5 of us had to cuddle up on the other side. Even when you're good friends, being crushed between the tent wall the other tentmates is never fun. But I survived only a little be water logged. The next morning was absolutely gorgeous, and it made the entire night of rain and cold worth it.
Well that's about all for now. This must be quite disjointed and rambly, I know, but it is the only good way for me to record down all the shtuff thats been going on the last few weeks. Hope it all makes sense!
Love,
-Brendan
Monday, February 21, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
First Week, Round 2
As of 4pm today, my first week back will be officially over. It's been defined by the avalanche of syllabi and paperwork. But I suppose I should back up to the very beginning.
The flight back to St. Louis was quite bumpy, but mercifully short, only 3 1/2 hours instead of 4+ hours, thanks to some crazy tail winds. Arriving back it was surprisingly mild weather which was great. On the plane I happened to sit next to another WashU freshman who was planning on taking a cab with another friend. He asked if I wanted to share the cab, which was nice because it got us back to campus in 20 minutes instead of an hour and for only 10 bucks. By the time I was back on the floor, it was still pretty deserted. At least in terms of guys. Most of the girls had come back a week early to rush, so I got reunited with all of them immediately, but had to wait for the guys to trickle in over then next few days. But by Tuesday, the first day of classes, everybody was back and ready to go!
The first class was a film studies class, Visual Media and Youth Culture, which was a really interesting class, but it has screenings every Tuesday night at 4. Because of this, I decided to drop the class, making my course load the normal 15 instead of 18 credits. That night I had my first EMT class, which was probably the most boring 3 hours of my life. The teacher is a guy that could be accurately described as a big blueberry. He's just a big round guy, that's all there is to it. And I'm sure he'll be a great teacher, but he has a very odd sense of humor and personality. The class itself was really interesting once we got into it, but the first 3 hours were just paper work and describing the paper work which is never fun. But overall I'm excited for the class, especially because I know that our new medic class is going to bond over the painful semester long classes.
But other than rambling about EMT class, my chemistry and physics classes are more or less the same old, although I do have a new chemistry lecture professor. As far as we can tell he's from Romania, and did his graduate work at Standford and taught at Berkley. So at least his resume is rather impressive. I'm not too sure about him as a professor, because we've only had 1 real lecture section, but so far so good!
Last but not least is my Science Fictions (emphasis on the plural) class, which so far has been fantastic. My professor actually a Spanish professor who just happens to love science fiction writing, and how all the stories have influence other works. What's cool about him is he sees all these connections and loves to discuss them, even if it's outside his professional area. He also lived in Argentina for a couple of years so he has a really interesting perspective. Everything about the class seems to be a combination of random but really cool factors.
Also in this last week, we had our first big St. Louis snow. The snow started around 7 and didn't stop till the late into the morning, giving us around 10 or 12 inches. This was awesome, except that I had my first Wilderness Project Leaders meeting. Which was outside. At midnight.
(As an aside, I don't know if I talked about Wilderness Project (WP) is yet. It is one of the pre-orientations programs which is entirely student led, and takes the incoming freshmen out hiking or rock climbing. I applied and was selected to be one of about 25 leaders.)
The instructions were vague, and secretive, telling us to meet on one of the fields under a big tree, with lots of warm clothes. Me and a friend headed over there with lots of layers and boots on (as it had already snowed at least 4 inches) and met there. After a little while waiting, we saw a couple of figures slowly walking towards us, encircling us. The figures approaching us were the previous leaders who were in charge of interviews (called Steering committee) and they quickly yelled to be quiet and shut our eye. They then lined us up and made us hold hands, then led us around campus (with our eyes closed the whole time, in the snow) until we eventually made it to Brookings quad, where we were put into a circle, and could finally open our eyes. We then had a little funny ceremony where we could jump into the circle and say something. It was kind of cheesy but really sweet because everybody was really excited to be there and really excited to bond with everybody. After everybody had gotten a chance to say something to the group (most of it silly), we were again told to close our eyes. The steering committee promptly ran away, leaving us to bond as new leaders. We played in the snow for a while, and it was all good fun, especially because Brookings was gorgeous during the snow.
The next night we had an actual meeting, telling us all the information we needed for now. I didn't realize how big of a time commitment this was going to be but I'm extremely excited for it. If nothing else, it will be an awesome excuse to go hiking a bunch over the semester!
Sorry if this has been so disjointed and rambling, but I tried to hit all the major events that happened over the last week. I think I got it all, but if I forgot I'll update everybody soon!
Hope all is well,
-Brendan
The flight back to St. Louis was quite bumpy, but mercifully short, only 3 1/2 hours instead of 4+ hours, thanks to some crazy tail winds. Arriving back it was surprisingly mild weather which was great. On the plane I happened to sit next to another WashU freshman who was planning on taking a cab with another friend. He asked if I wanted to share the cab, which was nice because it got us back to campus in 20 minutes instead of an hour and for only 10 bucks. By the time I was back on the floor, it was still pretty deserted. At least in terms of guys. Most of the girls had come back a week early to rush, so I got reunited with all of them immediately, but had to wait for the guys to trickle in over then next few days. But by Tuesday, the first day of classes, everybody was back and ready to go!
The first class was a film studies class, Visual Media and Youth Culture, which was a really interesting class, but it has screenings every Tuesday night at 4. Because of this, I decided to drop the class, making my course load the normal 15 instead of 18 credits. That night I had my first EMT class, which was probably the most boring 3 hours of my life. The teacher is a guy that could be accurately described as a big blueberry. He's just a big round guy, that's all there is to it. And I'm sure he'll be a great teacher, but he has a very odd sense of humor and personality. The class itself was really interesting once we got into it, but the first 3 hours were just paper work and describing the paper work which is never fun. But overall I'm excited for the class, especially because I know that our new medic class is going to bond over the painful semester long classes.
But other than rambling about EMT class, my chemistry and physics classes are more or less the same old, although I do have a new chemistry lecture professor. As far as we can tell he's from Romania, and did his graduate work at Standford and taught at Berkley. So at least his resume is rather impressive. I'm not too sure about him as a professor, because we've only had 1 real lecture section, but so far so good!
Last but not least is my Science Fictions (emphasis on the plural) class, which so far has been fantastic. My professor actually a Spanish professor who just happens to love science fiction writing, and how all the stories have influence other works. What's cool about him is he sees all these connections and loves to discuss them, even if it's outside his professional area. He also lived in Argentina for a couple of years so he has a really interesting perspective. Everything about the class seems to be a combination of random but really cool factors.
Also in this last week, we had our first big St. Louis snow. The snow started around 7 and didn't stop till the late into the morning, giving us around 10 or 12 inches. This was awesome, except that I had my first Wilderness Project Leaders meeting. Which was outside. At midnight.
(As an aside, I don't know if I talked about Wilderness Project (WP) is yet. It is one of the pre-orientations programs which is entirely student led, and takes the incoming freshmen out hiking or rock climbing. I applied and was selected to be one of about 25 leaders.)
The instructions were vague, and secretive, telling us to meet on one of the fields under a big tree, with lots of warm clothes. Me and a friend headed over there with lots of layers and boots on (as it had already snowed at least 4 inches) and met there. After a little while waiting, we saw a couple of figures slowly walking towards us, encircling us. The figures approaching us were the previous leaders who were in charge of interviews (called Steering committee) and they quickly yelled to be quiet and shut our eye. They then lined us up and made us hold hands, then led us around campus (with our eyes closed the whole time, in the snow) until we eventually made it to Brookings quad, where we were put into a circle, and could finally open our eyes. We then had a little funny ceremony where we could jump into the circle and say something. It was kind of cheesy but really sweet because everybody was really excited to be there and really excited to bond with everybody. After everybody had gotten a chance to say something to the group (most of it silly), we were again told to close our eyes. The steering committee promptly ran away, leaving us to bond as new leaders. We played in the snow for a while, and it was all good fun, especially because Brookings was gorgeous during the snow.
The next night we had an actual meeting, telling us all the information we needed for now. I didn't realize how big of a time commitment this was going to be but I'm extremely excited for it. If nothing else, it will be an awesome excuse to go hiking a bunch over the semester!
Sorry if this has been so disjointed and rambling, but I tried to hit all the major events that happened over the last week. I think I got it all, but if I forgot I'll update everybody soon!
Hope all is well,
-Brendan
Sunday, December 12, 2010
End of Classes
Well, Friday was the official end of classes. And it was surprisingly sad to say goodbye to a couple of my professors. My chemistry prof in particular. On Friday, he wrapped up the new material and said a good bye, thanking us for the great semester. Everybody applauded and there was even some standing ovation, and it was kind of sad to think that we'll have a new professor for general chemistry! (He's not leaving or anything, he just doesn't teach the second half of general chemistry because that's outside his specialty.)
As sad as it is to say goodbye to my writing 1 teacher and my intro psych professor as well, it is kind of nice to be moving on. I'm very, very glad I took both courses, but I'm excited to branch out a little more next semester and have more smaller, non lecture based classes.
Unfortunately with classes over, this means the finals season is upon us. This weekend was more or less the last hoorah for fun, because starting tomorrow, fun will officially have died, only to be resurrected on the 22nd when finals are over. Think of it like a college version of Easter.
I'm kidding of course, but the next week will be annoying to say the least. Especially because last night was the first snow since I've been here. The accumulation wasn't much, and the university has done a pretty good job keeping the paths cleared, but as of now (6pm, sunday), it's snowing slightly and very windy. The temperature is 17 degrees, but don't worry, the wind chill makes it feel like 0 degrees. And I'm not just estimating. That's what it says on weather.com. BLAH!
But I'm surviving so far. Everybody is all bundled up and looks like marshmallows, and there's been a couple of snowball fights, and to be honest, it is very pretty with the snow. Still, I could go for a good old Seattle winter about now. 45 degrees and drizzling doesn't sound so bad now...
But that's there not here (get it? A play on "neither here nor there"... sorry, I just think I'm too clever...). As Aoife keeps reminding me, 10 days till I'm on the plane home, and I can't wait to be back. This semester has been great, but I could go for some sleep, relaxation, and family time. I can't wait to see you all and miss you guys!
Love,
Brendan
As sad as it is to say goodbye to my writing 1 teacher and my intro psych professor as well, it is kind of nice to be moving on. I'm very, very glad I took both courses, but I'm excited to branch out a little more next semester and have more smaller, non lecture based classes.
Unfortunately with classes over, this means the finals season is upon us. This weekend was more or less the last hoorah for fun, because starting tomorrow, fun will officially have died, only to be resurrected on the 22nd when finals are over. Think of it like a college version of Easter.
I'm kidding of course, but the next week will be annoying to say the least. Especially because last night was the first snow since I've been here. The accumulation wasn't much, and the university has done a pretty good job keeping the paths cleared, but as of now (6pm, sunday), it's snowing slightly and very windy. The temperature is 17 degrees, but don't worry, the wind chill makes it feel like 0 degrees. And I'm not just estimating. That's what it says on weather.com. BLAH!
But I'm surviving so far. Everybody is all bundled up and looks like marshmallows, and there's been a couple of snowball fights, and to be honest, it is very pretty with the snow. Still, I could go for a good old Seattle winter about now. 45 degrees and drizzling doesn't sound so bad now...
But that's there not here (get it? A play on "neither here nor there"... sorry, I just think I'm too clever...). As Aoife keeps reminding me, 10 days till I'm on the plane home, and I can't wait to be back. This semester has been great, but I could go for some sleep, relaxation, and family time. I can't wait to see you all and miss you guys!
Love,
Brendan
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Long Time!
Sorry for the long, LONG time since my last update. It's bizarre to think I was home just a week ago. Being home was fantastic, but it was still good to be back at WashU with all my friends. The only problem is it's going to a frantic couple of weeks till Christmas break. This past week was more or less the calm before the storm. This week I've got a chem test on Tuesday, psych test on friday, chem lab on thursday, a physics lab due on monday, as well as an essay due on monday. After next week I've got another week of calm, because we have reading week, which is designed to be a break between classes and finals, so you can study, and write your final essays. Then all I've got is 4 tests and an essay between me and Christmas break!
Other than school work, it's been a pretty good weekend. Today was spent in the library, but yesterday I slept in, and then went to skyzone (similar to skyhigh in seattle) which is basically a warehouse full of trampolines. WashU sold discounted tickets and provided buses out there. We had a good group going, with the whole place rented out. My friends and I played dodgeball almost the whole time, and it turned out to be a fun little flashback to elementary school PE.
Friday night was equally as fun. I dragged two friends to a show put on by KWUR. The band was called Monotonix, and it was one of the best live shows I've ever been to. These guys were crazy. They're an Israeli garage rock band that have been banned by most of the nightclubs in Israel, and for good reason. They don't use a stage. Instead they migrate throughout the crowd, moving the drum kit and generally going crazy. A good review of the show is here http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2010/12/monotonix_review_2010_setlist_photos_st_louis_gargoyle_december_3_heavy_cream.php and they even have a few shots with me in it!
Overal, it's been a good weekend. That being said it'll be a stressful couple of weeks till I'm back home again! I miss you guys and can't wait to be home again for Christmas!
Love,
-Brendan
Other than school work, it's been a pretty good weekend. Today was spent in the library, but yesterday I slept in, and then went to skyzone (similar to skyhigh in seattle) which is basically a warehouse full of trampolines. WashU sold discounted tickets and provided buses out there. We had a good group going, with the whole place rented out. My friends and I played dodgeball almost the whole time, and it turned out to be a fun little flashback to elementary school PE.
Friday night was equally as fun. I dragged two friends to a show put on by KWUR. The band was called Monotonix, and it was one of the best live shows I've ever been to. These guys were crazy. They're an Israeli garage rock band that have been banned by most of the nightclubs in Israel, and for good reason. They don't use a stage. Instead they migrate throughout the crowd, moving the drum kit and generally going crazy. A good review of the show is here http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2010/12/monotonix_review_2010_setlist_photos_st_louis_gargoyle_december_3_heavy_cream.php and they even have a few shots with me in it!
Overal, it's been a good weekend. That being said it'll be a stressful couple of weeks till I'm back home again! I miss you guys and can't wait to be home again for Christmas!
Love,
-Brendan
Sunday, October 17, 2010
I've got to admit, it's getting better..
This week has been quite eventful, to say the least! I'll start back on Wednesday. It was one of my friend Liz's birthday, so we went out to a middle eastern restaurant on the Loop. For those of you that don't know, the Loop is a cool college-y street with a bunch of cool shops, restaurants and such that's about a half a mile or mile from campus. The restaurant was really good and it was fun to get off campus!
We would have stayed later and enjoyed the Loop, but I had to be back at 8:30 for my final EST interview, which was a doozy. Everyone was told to meet at an auditorium near the library, then we were put into groups of 4 and marched to the bottom of Brookings Hall (which is the iconic castle looking building that WashU is famous for). Waiting for us were a four or five EST members, a stretcher and a couple of large bags. We were told that essentially we were going on a mock call, and that although no medical knowledge was required, we would make the team or be cut based on how we performed. So the first team was told to pick up their equipment and get ready. Without warning, the medics that were waiting for us yelled "GO", and started yelling at the first group to hurry up. As we watched the first group sprint up the stairs up to Brookings, we were a little worried.
When it was finally my 4 person team's turn, we all grabbed the gear quickly and started sprinting. The medics ran with us, yelling at us to go faster, and move as a team. Sufficiently intimidated, we sprinted into Brookings quad, where we saw thirty or so people in a semi-circle with six or seven people laying in the middle. We sprinted over to them, all while the people in the circle screamed at us to hurry up, that people were dying, help them, save them, etc. We ran over and tried to talk to the people in the middle, trying to help them however we could, but it was really to no avail. There was nothing we could do so I tried to just comfort them, all while thirty people were screaming at me. Suddenly, one of the senior medics screams "STOP STOP STOP! What are you people doing! This is supposed to be a medic team. You're neither acting as a team nor helping people. You, you're off the team." And just like that one of our four person team was out. And the thirty people began screaming at us again. After what seemed like hours, another medic screams "STOP! You aren't even trying to help these people! How do you expect us to save people's lives with behavior like this! Take this bag" as he threw a bag into the middle of us, "and use the tools inside it." Everyone in the semicircle then started screaming to open the bag and use our tools. Upon opening the bag we realized that inside were three EST shirts, and we had made the team. Immediately all the medics start cheering and hugging us. It was all very relieving and awesome to know I had made the team!
Apparently of 300+ applicants, I was one of 18 chosen (not to brag or anything...). The guy that was kicked off during the third "interview" was just a decoy, and an effective one at that. It was all very very exciting and fun to start meeting the people on the team. Evidently, most of them know our names already, and know literally everything we put on our application and talked about in our interviews. It was creepy at first when everybody on the team knew my name, but it was kind of endearing.
The next couple of days were fun just relaxing and hanging out with the few people that were still on the floor (literally more than half of my floor left for fall break, which only really amounted to Friday off). Saturday was great fun, because after working for a while, me, Josh (my RA) and five other kids from my floor drove to Forest Park and went paddleboating. Then afterwards Josh invited me and two other guys out to dinner with his friend, so we got a fantastic Italian dinner on the Hill for pretty cheap, and then Ted Drews for dessert!
So overall I think that this week has made up for the last couple. Especially because I'm feeling so much better!
Know I've got an essay to finish and the first EST meeting to go to tonight, so that's all for now!
Love love love!
-Brendan
We would have stayed later and enjoyed the Loop, but I had to be back at 8:30 for my final EST interview, which was a doozy. Everyone was told to meet at an auditorium near the library, then we were put into groups of 4 and marched to the bottom of Brookings Hall (which is the iconic castle looking building that WashU is famous for). Waiting for us were a four or five EST members, a stretcher and a couple of large bags. We were told that essentially we were going on a mock call, and that although no medical knowledge was required, we would make the team or be cut based on how we performed. So the first team was told to pick up their equipment and get ready. Without warning, the medics that were waiting for us yelled "GO", and started yelling at the first group to hurry up. As we watched the first group sprint up the stairs up to Brookings, we were a little worried.
When it was finally my 4 person team's turn, we all grabbed the gear quickly and started sprinting. The medics ran with us, yelling at us to go faster, and move as a team. Sufficiently intimidated, we sprinted into Brookings quad, where we saw thirty or so people in a semi-circle with six or seven people laying in the middle. We sprinted over to them, all while the people in the circle screamed at us to hurry up, that people were dying, help them, save them, etc. We ran over and tried to talk to the people in the middle, trying to help them however we could, but it was really to no avail. There was nothing we could do so I tried to just comfort them, all while thirty people were screaming at me. Suddenly, one of the senior medics screams "STOP STOP STOP! What are you people doing! This is supposed to be a medic team. You're neither acting as a team nor helping people. You, you're off the team." And just like that one of our four person team was out. And the thirty people began screaming at us again. After what seemed like hours, another medic screams "STOP! You aren't even trying to help these people! How do you expect us to save people's lives with behavior like this! Take this bag" as he threw a bag into the middle of us, "and use the tools inside it." Everyone in the semicircle then started screaming to open the bag and use our tools. Upon opening the bag we realized that inside were three EST shirts, and we had made the team. Immediately all the medics start cheering and hugging us. It was all very relieving and awesome to know I had made the team!
Apparently of 300+ applicants, I was one of 18 chosen (not to brag or anything...). The guy that was kicked off during the third "interview" was just a decoy, and an effective one at that. It was all very very exciting and fun to start meeting the people on the team. Evidently, most of them know our names already, and know literally everything we put on our application and talked about in our interviews. It was creepy at first when everybody on the team knew my name, but it was kind of endearing.
The next couple of days were fun just relaxing and hanging out with the few people that were still on the floor (literally more than half of my floor left for fall break, which only really amounted to Friday off). Saturday was great fun, because after working for a while, me, Josh (my RA) and five other kids from my floor drove to Forest Park and went paddleboating. Then afterwards Josh invited me and two other guys out to dinner with his friend, so we got a fantastic Italian dinner on the Hill for pretty cheap, and then Ted Drews for dessert!
So overall I think that this week has made up for the last couple. Especially because I'm feeling so much better!
Know I've got an essay to finish and the first EST meeting to go to tonight, so that's all for now!
Love love love!
-Brendan
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Third Show!
Hey all! I finally have my shows uploaded to somewhere where y'all can access them and download/listen them. They should just be in mp3, so whatever windows media player/itunes will work to play them. Hopefully the downloads aren't limited or anything but I don't know... But anyways, if you want to listen to my radio show in all it's awkward glory, here's the link to do so. Just go to the link and SCROLL DOWN. At the bottom it says Download Link: 10-12-2010.mp3 or whatever the file name is. Click that, NOT the other 20 buttons that say download... those are all ads.
Here's yesterdays show (10/12/10)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gvpmjw
And the playlist
Mountain Man How'm I Doin'
Then for 2 weeks ago, (9/27/10)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/22hgt3
Nat King Cole: Unforgettable
Here's yesterdays show (10/12/10)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gvpmjw
And the playlist
Mountain Man How'm I Doin'
John Lee Hooker The Waterfront
Iron & Wine Sodom, South Georgia
Joshua Radin Star Mile
Jenny Lewis Acid Tongue
Owen Playin' Possum For a Peek
Modest Mouse Perfect Disguise [BBC Radio]
Gustav & The Seasick Sailors Distant Mornings
Caribou Hello Hammerheads
Theodore Abilene
Megafaun Carolina Day
Robert Ellis Cemetery
John Coltrane Bass Blues
Then for 2 weeks ago, (9/27/10)http://www.sendspace.com/file/22hgt3
Nat King Cole: Unforgettable
Citizen Cope: Salvation
Bear Ceusel: Saw It Beating
...Rocky Votolato: Tinfoil Hats
Minature Tigers: Dino Damage
The Senate: Skeleton Line
Dreamend: My Old Brittle Bones
Sarah Jaffe: Stay With Me
Glen Hansard: Leave
Ryan Adams: Amy
Nick Drake: Place To Be
The Shins: A Comet Appears
Elliot Smith: Angel In The Snow
John Coltrane: Dealin’
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Bad Week (part 1)
The last week or so has been kind of rough. It started last Thursday with a physics test, then an essay due and my EST 2nd round interview on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were spent studying for a psych test on Monday, and a chem test on Tuesday. Not to mention a physics lab on Tuesday and a chem lab on Thursday. So all in all it's been a rough week.
The tests were all fairly straight forward. The physics test went quite well, and I ended up getting a 92% which I was very happy with. The psych test went surprisingly well, considering that I had gone to the Vampire Weekend concert (WHICH WAS AWESOME) the night before. But a friend on my floor had sat me down and essentially tested/quizzed me for a couple hours after the concert which helped immensely. The chemistry test was a bear. Rumors had been circulating for a while about how hard the test was supposed to be. Supposedly last year, the average on the first test was a 31%. So all of us were nervous for good reason. As a floor a bunch of us studied together for a long time the night before, and all of us commented how we had never had to study quite like this an exam. The test itself was hard. An hour and a half, and most people I talked to didn't finish. I worked fast, and was able to write down something for each problem which was an accomplishment in itself. I ended up getting a 76%, which was good considering the average was 64%, and an A was a 75% and above!
The EST interview was... interesting. It was set up to have 3 rooms. The first room was a big semi circle of people, everybody laughing and very casual. The room was filled with good karma and general good vibes. Then after 15 minutes or so, they called me out and took me to the second room, which was polar opposite. It was a small, dimly lit room, where everybody was in suits. They didn't introduce themselves, and all their questions were very negative. I knew they were trying to play good cop/bad cop, and intimidate us to see how we'd hold up under pressure, but it was still not a very fun interview. I tried my best to stay positive and friendly, and in the end it worked out. Yesterday, after refreshing my email for the whole week, I finally got an email, and I got called back to a 3rd interview!
But that's about it for the good news. On Wednesday I was feeling pretty crummy, and then Thursday I felt terrible. I ended up deciding not to go to classes, and go to student health services (SHS) and get myself checked out. Turns out I have mono. And a sinus infection. AND I found out that triceratops don't exist. Or rather were never real. So all in all, Thursday was a bad day.
Luckily, SHS was able to call a local pharmacy that delivers to the dorms, and so I got some sudafed, prescription strength ibuprofen, and some nasal spray. Good times!
Today I feel pretty crappy, and literally stayed in bed till 12. Slowly but steadily I'll get better. The real bummer was that this weekend is a huge free concert that's put on twice a week called WILD (Walk In, Lay Down), so I'll be stuck sleeping in the dorms while everybody else is off having fun. But, as my RA said, there are still 7 more!
Anyways, that's the major (long overdue) update.
Miss and love everybody!
-Brendan
The tests were all fairly straight forward. The physics test went quite well, and I ended up getting a 92% which I was very happy with. The psych test went surprisingly well, considering that I had gone to the Vampire Weekend concert (WHICH WAS AWESOME) the night before. But a friend on my floor had sat me down and essentially tested/quizzed me for a couple hours after the concert which helped immensely. The chemistry test was a bear. Rumors had been circulating for a while about how hard the test was supposed to be. Supposedly last year, the average on the first test was a 31%. So all of us were nervous for good reason. As a floor a bunch of us studied together for a long time the night before, and all of us commented how we had never had to study quite like this an exam. The test itself was hard. An hour and a half, and most people I talked to didn't finish. I worked fast, and was able to write down something for each problem which was an accomplishment in itself. I ended up getting a 76%, which was good considering the average was 64%, and an A was a 75% and above!
The EST interview was... interesting. It was set up to have 3 rooms. The first room was a big semi circle of people, everybody laughing and very casual. The room was filled with good karma and general good vibes. Then after 15 minutes or so, they called me out and took me to the second room, which was polar opposite. It was a small, dimly lit room, where everybody was in suits. They didn't introduce themselves, and all their questions were very negative. I knew they were trying to play good cop/bad cop, and intimidate us to see how we'd hold up under pressure, but it was still not a very fun interview. I tried my best to stay positive and friendly, and in the end it worked out. Yesterday, after refreshing my email for the whole week, I finally got an email, and I got called back to a 3rd interview!
But that's about it for the good news. On Wednesday I was feeling pretty crummy, and then Thursday I felt terrible. I ended up deciding not to go to classes, and go to student health services (SHS) and get myself checked out. Turns out I have mono. And a sinus infection. AND I found out that triceratops don't exist. Or rather were never real. So all in all, Thursday was a bad day.
Luckily, SHS was able to call a local pharmacy that delivers to the dorms, and so I got some sudafed, prescription strength ibuprofen, and some nasal spray. Good times!
Today I feel pretty crappy, and literally stayed in bed till 12. Slowly but steadily I'll get better. The real bummer was that this weekend is a huge free concert that's put on twice a week called WILD (Walk In, Lay Down), so I'll be stuck sleeping in the dorms while everybody else is off having fun. But, as my RA said, there are still 7 more!
Anyways, that's the major (long overdue) update.
Miss and love everybody!
-Brendan
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