Drink Responsibly

"I'm not an alcoholic, I just enjoy the occasional 15 shots." These are the famous words of one of my good friends.

He is an avid drinker.

Now drinking is a big deal in college. There's a really good chance your going to come across opportunities to drink wherever you go. If not your first year, then definitely at some point. And if you go through college without ever being offered a drink, you really need to get out more.

That's not to say drinking is a good thing. Nor a bad thing either. You see, it really depends who you are. If you like to just chill and have a beer or so once in awhile, that's totally cool If you get a thrill out of getting so smashed that you can't move, then I'm not going to judge you. Actually, that's a lie, I will judge you. But I'll keep it to myself.

So here's the deal. If you are a fan of drinking, and you do plan on drinking when you get to college, hear me out. There are some bits and pieces of information I feel that you should take into account. You probably know most of them already, but a refresher course never hurt anyone.

Probably the most important: Don't drink and drive. I mean, it's just a bad idea. And don't think I'm looking out for you here. I'm worried about the poor sap you run over during your alcohol crusade. For real though, it's not worth the trouble you could get in. It's a much better idea to hike it or look for a sober ride. And don't hop into a car with a guy that's been drinking either, cause if you do so knowingly your dumber than the guy behind the wheel.

Next thing is to know your limits. If your a lightweight, then drink what you can handle. Don't get peer pressured to an extra 6 shots over your usual. That just ends up being extra cleaning for whoever's place your at. And trust me, nobody likes the guy that adds a hour of cleaning to their agenda the next morning. So if your going to drink, drink what you can, get drunk, smashed, all that good shit. Just know when to stop. If you overdo it you could get your hands on some alcohol poisoning, which is bad. If you didn't already know?

Don't get caught. We all know it's illegal until you hit your junior or senior year usually. It's not worth getting busted and in trouble for something like that. You could get booted out, and then one night just cost you between 10 and 20 grand. That's a pretty expensive night for downing a shot of Bacardi and a few Keystones. So don't drink in the dorms, and when your getting back to your dorm, try not to make it obvious that you're hammered... because that could backfire on you as well.

So ...
1) Don't mix alcohol and vehicles. Just a bad idea.
2) Know your limits.
3) Don't get caught.

Stick to those 3, and you should be okay. So go on, knock yourself out. But not cause of the alcohol. That would be violating Rule 2.

The Writer's Strike

So you may not think that the NBC Writer's Strike is a big deal. Or that it's not college related at all. Well I am here to prove you wrong.

When you get to college, Thursday night becomes real important. Almost as important as Sunday. It's real, real close. You see, Thursday night marks the beginning of the weekend pretty much. When your in high school, Friday is the night. When you get to college, Thursday is the new Friday. People even drink on Thursdays!

Here's the real reason why Thursday is so good. Every Thursday night something excellent happens. For 60 minutes, the world is at peace. Terrorism disappears, racism is absent, and world pollution is vanquished. Everything is good and green in the world.

Why you ask? Because of Dwight and Jim and Ryan, J.D., Turk, and Carla. And I'm not bisexual. It's the Thursday night TV shows. "The Office" and "Scrubs" are cures to the hell that is school. The new episodes play Thursday night. And now their gone!

I sit through 4-7 hours of classes each Thursday. And through insufferable lectures and murderous labs, the only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that I get to watch those two shows. Now their reruns. The "r" word for TV watchers. Now I have nothing to hold on to. Nothing to keep me going.

The Writer's Strike needs to be stopped. I don't know what I am going to do with myself. Thursday has become a day from hell. Like Monday, but not as terrible. But still pretty terrible.

So the writer's strike must end. For the sake of Thursday's, let it end. I will give anything. So if any of the 2 people who read my writing have any power in the world at all, do something.

Yule Time

It is finally December. December is that magical time of year when everyone goes temporarily insane and runs amok in shopping-induced frenzies. The night of Thanksgiving, when most of us were still in our tryptophan-induced comas, some crazed shoppers were already out at stores to start their Christmas shopping. I was one of these shoppers (even though I bought nothing). I went to hang out with my friends while they shopped, since I had nothing better to do at 4 am.

I am one of those people that likes to put off everything until the last minute, Christmas shopping no exception. Last year I didn't start shopping for presents until Christmas Eve. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I will not be doing that again. One of my friends is the complete opposite on this. She will just randomly see thing she thinks someone would like and get it to be a present. She went shopping today and bought a lot of stuff. A lot a lot. Presents for almost everyone in her family and cards to boot. She's sitting behind me right now writing Christmas cards. Now if this was me, I wouldn't have any cards to send out. If I was going to write cards, I would do them somewhere around the 21st, not the 1st.

It amazes me that some people can be motivated to shop this early. After going out on Christmas Eve last year though, I am beginning to understand their motivation. Going out that close to the holiday means it is very hard to find gifts for people. Also, it is almost scary to shop then. Everyone out is in a frenzied rush to find gifts before the stores close. While you (like me) may not feel like shopping early for people, remember not to go out too late. Shopping earlier will save you a lot of time, stress, and frustration on Christmas Eve.

Zombies!

Well, we are right at the end of the semester now. Only this week and finals week to go. Do you know what that makes this week? That's right, dead week. There are two reasons this week is aptly named. The first is that this week is traditionally one with little work given in classes, since the semester is about to end. The activity comes to a 'dead' halt, hence the name. The second reason is that this is the week that practically every single class has a project or something due, making the students stay up all night and act 'dead' all day. I am one of these students. I am dead. Sooo dead.

Compared to some people, I don't have THAT much to do. However, compared to the work I've been doing the rest of the semester, I have a crapload to do. I have three papers and a website due this week, along with most normal work I would have (a bunch of math homework sections, some online chem homework, etc.). Even though I have known about my projects for months, most likely, I haven't started on any of them. You know what I did all day instead of working? I played Kingdom Hearts II. For nine hours. *shakes head sadly* I guess I'm going to be really busy these next few days.

One good thing about dead week is that the libraries are open all day. FINALLY! Having the libraries open all day is the best thing that could possibly happen for all my projects. See, my internal clock runs on Tokyo time. I would probably be waking up at about 3 pm if I didn't have class, but I would be up until 7 am. The libraries being open all hours finally allows me to go and do research in textual sources at 4 am when I have nothing else to do.

Sadly, the dining halls haven't followed the libraries' example. 24 hour dining halls would be so pwnzor! I would eat there at all hours of the night. *sigh* If only, if only.., Well, I'll have to make do without it. I expect my dining expenses to at least double this week. It's hard to work and study on an empty stomach. McDonalds must love this time of year.

Something to remember about dead week is that sleep is the last thing you need. It sounds stupid, but it's true. You can make it through five days with practically no sleep. Besides, you can always sleep in class. It's not like much goes on in class this week. You can also catch up on sleep next week in between finals. Abuse energy drinks and caffeine all you want this week. Sleep is for the weak, not this week. The only thing you need to do this week is get your work done and handed in! Everything else is secondary.

Anyhow, I'm pretty swamped right now. The important thing to remember, if you end up in my situation, is to not panic! Panicking will only cause you to worry and stress, losing valuable working time. Work done while in a panic will be subpar at best. DO NOT PANIC! The best way to do this is to make sure you stay fairly relaxed. Take some time off working or studying if you feel stressed and do someting that will make you feel at ease, like hanging out with friends or playing a video game. Playing music while working will also help stress levels because it will give your subconscious something else to think about besides your overwhelming volume of work. Good music will help your stress and also make you more energized and able to work.

Family appreciates time with you

Now that you are in college you see your parents less and less. Even when I do go home, I still do not spend that much time with my parents. This is because I go out and do stuff with friends when I am home. You have to realize that your parents want to see you to.

When I went home for thanksgiving I did stuff with my family every day. We would usually do dinner together. I would just meat up with my friends afterwards. Also instead of going to someone else’s house, I got everyone to come to mine. I parents liked this a lot since they got to see me more and they also got to see my friends.

My parents actually thanked me several times for spending more time with them. Try to make an active effort when you go home to spend time with your parents. Whether it be helping them with something in the house, going shopping, or having dinner.

End of Semester

As I near the end of the semester several things happen. Teachers realize that they are behind on giving quizzes, assignments, and projects. Students also realize all their procrastination has caught up with them. This means there will be lots of work. Also this being the week before dead week means a lot of tests. Instructors are not allowed to give tests or quizzes during dead week.

When the end of the semester nears the work load increases. This has happened to me many times. Frequently not any fault of my own. Usually a professor will have a plan for the semester of topics they lecture on and assignments. They frequently get behind on their lectures and therefore have to push back assignments. Since there are a limited number of weeks in a semester something has to be cut from the schedule when stuff gets behind. My professors seem to only cut out the time that I have to work on a project but none of the assignment.

A group project was assigned in a class on the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. It is due next Tuesday, giving us two weeks to do the project. The project should have been two weeks longer I believe. Two weeks is a short time to get a project done in the first place. Then you have to realize that half of the time was lost to thanksgiving break. The week that we have left right now to work on a project is a very busy week too. This being the end of the semester there are exams in many classes and projects in many classes. I personally have three group projects, three exams, and one lab exam this week to do. My business is not me alone either. Everyone in the groups for my group projects is in similar situations. This means it is extremely hard to get things done since we need to meet up to get things done.

Know Your Math

When I started off learning my times tables back in the fourth grade, I knew them good. From 1 to 15, I was good. Real good.

Then I learned the magic of the TI-84 Plus. And all of that went to hell. That calculator can do anything. It will do your math homework, walk your dog, cook dinner, and tuck the kids in for bed. Not that I have kids. Or will. Ever.

But you get what I’m saying. It’s a damn good calculator. While it’s also a great calculator, it ruins a person’s math skills. Through middle school, you learn how to do solve all these equations and being able to answer all types of questions. In high school they let you pick up that calculator and you don’t need your brain anymore. You got one sitting in the palm of your hands. It’s quicker, it’s easier, and it’s also got games.

And it’s great. It’s all good. You breeze through high school math, spend a little time with the stuff that requires it, and your all set. Then comes college.

It was a cool, crisp fall morning and I was walking to my first class as a Purdue student. It was Calculus. I had my trusty TI-84 Plus in my hands, and I thought I was ready. I sit down in the lecture hall and I’m ready, I know I’m ready.

That’s when the bomb dropped.

“You will not be allowed calculators of any kind for this course. Once in awhile you will need them for homework. But on tests and quizzes they are not allowed.”

I thought he was joking. There was no way this man was serious. Professor Peter Cook was just scaring us first year students. He didn’t mean it.

Little did I know just how serious he was. In college, you are expected to know all the math that you let the calculator do for you. Now of course, they don’t make you do any ridiculous division and multiplications by hand, but all the graphing and equation solving and all the stuff that you usually just punch a few numbers in and your all set, isn’t that easy anymore.

So here’s my advice for anyone in high school. Use the calculator, but make sure you know what the calculator is doing for you. If you don’t, it’ll bite you in the ass. Hard. Know what you’re calculating, know how to get it. Make sure you do a few problems free-hand, because if you don’t it’s going to kill you down the road. Sure you might pull an A on the test or for the semester, but you’ll be hurting come college time.

So just know what you’re doing when it comes to math, whichever math you happen to be taking. It might be a pain in the ass, but it’ll be a lot worse when you’re bombing tests and paying for it.