Things I've Read...Catch Up, Part 2

I have one more book to finish and then you'll be getting another dose of this. For the time being, six books I read not too long ago.

• Gaches Mansion: An Historic Landmark Preserved - Janna Gage
  This short little book gives a good insight and history of one of La Conner's most famous and celebrated buildings, from the founding family, to the night it was almost burned down in April 1973. From when it was a home, to apartments, the Museum of Northwest Art and finally the Quilt & Textile Museum that hosts amazing shows all year.
  
• Maus, Vol. 1 & 2 Vol. 1 - Art Spiegelman
  This wonderfully written and illustrated graphic novel retells one man's survival of the Holocaust, and how he is coping during the 1980s. There are two stories in one: that of the Spiegelman's relationship with his father (the subject), and the father's story of the 1940s as it is being remembered. I don't know why I didn't read this book in high school, but I'm glad I was able to get my hands on the two volumes: (My Father Bleeds History; And Here My Troubles Began)
  
• Hunters of Dune - Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
• Sandworms of Dune - " "
  I read these two giant books back-to-back, so just looking back I can't remember where they are separated, but I still count them as two books (1,000+ pages combined). After taking a few years to write and flesh out prologues to the late Frank Herbert's story of Dune, the writing duo Brian and Kevin came back to where Frank left off, and ran with it. Personally, I had to finish this series to have closure, but still feel like they crammed too much into just two final books. Plus, you can't beat the original, Frank-written books.
  
• The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Sartrapi
  Another very compelling and amazingly written / illustrated survivor's tale. Sartrapi was a little girl in Iran during the change in regimes. Once the situation became too dangerous for her (especially with her rebellious nature), her parents send her abroad in Europe, where she comes into womanhood and finally makes it back to Iran. This is another one that I missed out on, but am glad I was finally able to read it. Highly recommended, especially to younger girls and women.
  
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
  Not going to lie, this took me forever to read, I literally trudged through it like one would do in a swamp. I started in early September, and it took me until almost March to finish. Kundera tells the story of three couples, and the interconnections between everyone's lives, as well as the history and reason for why they each behave the way they do. One of the most in-depth and insightful books I've ever read; it is certainly worth the hike.
  

Legalized Graffiti

Now is that time of year, when hopeful young politicians are allowed to duct-tape their faces and promises to the walls of academic buildings, and borderline-solicit people's attentions and votes for half-promises. Yes...

I admit, my current attitude about all this might just be influenced by my coughing and feeling cruddy in the mornings, but I still feel like sharing my thought process ( / rant). By the way, if you disagree with anything I write, or have a different way of looking at it, please share in the comments. I don't want this blog to be like 'You must like my thinking, shut up, and not challenge it and share your views!' Let's sit down and discuss our different thought processes, and we might both walk away enlightened.

Anyway...

The other day I was in Red Square, and my senses were just being bombarded by politics. And it wasn't even like "real politics" with all the mud-slinging, and reputation-ruining, it was just there, all over the place. Hastily-scrawled signs being carried by candidates and their roped-together friends, asking people to stop and listen to why they should be chosen for their prized position, yada yada yada.

It felt like legalized graffiti in a way--people name-bombing their faces and practically begging for votes. At least with name-bombing some of the signatures of the "artists" looked somewhat intriguing. There's very little eye-catching (in a  good way) in seeing someone's face in a cluster of six or seven posters, framed by hideously-colored duct-taped, and skewed, nonetheless. If you're so serious about running for a position, at least try to make a professional effort about it.

[Repetition: Because nothing says competence than the same thing again and again and again...]

I am very much one for creativity, and lately I've been frustrated that a lot of creative and clever pieces of "urban art" (the 'art' part is debatable for some people) that get covered up quickly, but then dumb pieces, like name-bombing and Pedobear "have their way" with campus for weeks on end. Yes, that last line was tailored to be a pun. Go ahead, click the link.

 [This beautiful stencil (Fairhaven Tunnel) will probably gone by Monday]

[While Pedobear will more than likely continue chilling out with the candidates near Red Square]

I just see the unprofessional, crookedly taped posters of smiling students and their one-liners, and I feel nothing for them, their causes, or what they'll do once in office. Maybe its because I came from a small high school (total student population was maybe 250), and every student election was just a show of popularity. Once you were voted into office all that politicking just became a reason for you to skip class once and a while, and you couldn't really notice any changes or decisions that were influenced by the winning students.

The only real exposure I've had to politics in a working manner was when I was sitting in on the town council meetings twice a month for the local newspaper. Also, when there was a public forum for the town council candidates last fall. In those situations, there was a public that was involved, interested, asking questions and one obviously see the changes happening.

I feel in a school setting, especially a university campus, you can't really say "Oh, ever since so-and-so got voted into office for Student Affairs, things have been awesome!"

Now that I think about it though, a lot of politics is all unseen by the majority of the public. Once the campaign fliers come down, the media and audience looses interest. Post-Voter Apathy (PoVA).

Maybe that's just what I have, Pre-Voter Apahty (PreVA). I feel cruddy, so I don't feel like talking to these smiling candidates to learn about their causes, and if I'm given a ballot, I'll just as likely write-in the obviously-joking "Vote Charizard" posters I've been seeing around campus. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see if once I get better I'm suddenly chipper enough to actually stop and listen to a candidate, even for five minutes between classes.

 [Vote Potter for President: Because he's the Chosen One, and Charizard isn't]

Zombie Plague and Other Sicknesses, Part Four (Wrap Up)

Originally, I was picturing maybe three or four posts total to encompass this past week's activities with Humans Versus Zombies, but it's just not possible.

So, Final Mission time:
When I finally got back to my room on Wednesday, I looked at the WWUHvZ website and found that there were a ton of kills earlier in the morning. I myself had helped trap and catch a few, and also witnessed a few Humans "Hugging Away Their Humanity"--welcoming a Zombie to tag you with a hug. One guy said, "I just want it to be over, no more stress."

The Final Mission, Extraction, started at 6, as usual. It was already sprinkling / raining, and there was mention of a full on thunderstorm by later that evening. I was looking forward to a good ending game. At briefing, we were told that the Humans had at least three places that they could go to get information on where the Extraction Zone was going to be, but the Info Drop wasn't going to happen until 6:30, giving Zombies plenty of time to look for the moderators that would be giving the information.

The group I was with stumbled upon a lot of Humans on North campus as they were trying to make it to Bond for the Info Drop (yellow near Haggard Hall on map) there. A few of them got wiped out, in-game and in reality, on the slick, grassy slopes. I went down to mid-campus to witness an ambush at the Info Drop at the wooden sculpture (near Arntzen on map), and then went way South campus for the end of the mission.

Due to confusion about safe zones, a group of about eight humans were at the South Extraction Zone (blue circle--the other blue circle at North campus was Higginson, and only one Human made it there, reportedly bruised and bleeding), and everything had to be settled during a moderator-enacted gauntlet after 7, the End Game time:

About thirty-five of the best Zombies were pitted against the remaining Humans that were in contention. All other Humans at that time did not survive, and became Zombies. Everyone still playing gathered around the final field (green hash on map) to watch.

[Blue is Humans, red are Zombies, green are the skirmishes, green hash was final field, and blue circles are Extraction Zones]

Humans on one side, Zombies on the other. The Humans had to get to the opposite field goal and high-five a moderator to gain the Survivor achievement. A horde of Zombies on the sidelines started the chant: "What do we want? BRAINS! When do we want it? BRAINS!" The rain had lightened to a sprinkle, the clouds broke, and a (double) rainbow formed as the final match began. Zombies basically rushed against the small group of Humans, a few of which were able to sneak around and get to the moderator. Only four Humans survived; making five total for the game.

A group of us Zombies decided to walk to Zoe's to get bagels and warm (very warm) beverages to warm our undead limbs as we discussed battle-plans for next game.

Wrap-Up / Overview

I had a lot of fun during this quarter's game. It came up very suddenly, and I had to ask a favor of a friend so I could go to the registration meeting, but it was well worth it. Next quarter, I'm definitely gonna try and survive longer than one day. But, both sides do have their perks, so I wouldn't be horribly upset to get turned rather quickly.

As a group event, it really brings people together and gets them talking. Anytime you pass people with the orange bandannas, whether it's in-game or not, you each give a knowing nod and smile--even between Humans and Zombies. Non-players enjoy it as well, watching for the next big attack, and asking both teams what the score (population counts) were. There's not a lot of real animosity against the teams; everyone has fun.

At one point during the second mission, a group of Humans were trapped in a building, and weren't being helpful to the mission objective, so they decided to take the time to have fun and try and get some achievements while a moderator was there.
The main one the team went for was ZOMGWTF: "Hit a Zombie with a thrown dart, in the presence of a moderator; this does not stun the zombies. It must also be an active zombie and you must LIVE to tell the tale." Some Zombies were helpful and had fun with it as well, and the moderator there said, "This human group is my favorite group of humans this game."

It was also really fun to listen to people exchange war-stories about the missions and big skirmishes.
"I was at Ridge Tennis courts during the first wave, got shot so many times."
"I've tagged three people. Yes, 'Just Making Friends' award!"
"I was at the Embargo of Comm Building."
"I have no kills, but I helped the horde catch at least nine people."

[ZG Scotty really does look like Cary Elwes from Robin Hood: Men in Tights]

By the way, I finished without any kills this game, for those wondering.

Zombie Plague and Other Sicknesses, Part Three

This the third post in my series about this quarter's Humans Versus Zombies match at WWU, which ended last night. You can go back and start from the beginning to catch up.

Let's see, what happened since Saturday evening...Sunday was a tame day (for many, including myself): Even though Zombies had temporary 4-minute stun times from winning the previous mission, many were sore and tired from that mission; and a lot of Humans stayed in because of the 4-minute stun times.

Monday some hunting was happening, but people were still recovering, hiding, and surviving. That night there was another mission. Humans and Zombies were spawned at separate locations, and the Humans had to locate and transport seven "wounded soldiers"--moderators all bandaged up and wearing their green headbands on their heads. Upon locating the soldiers, Humans had to move them from wherever they were to a designated zone, and the soldiers could only move if they were touching a Human. Zombies' goal was to stop the soldiers from being rescued.

For me, the majority of the mission was just a lot of waiting around, so it wasn't overly exciting for me. Once my group stumbled upon a soldier, we established a very large radius behind the Chem, Bio, and SMATE buildings, and embargoed every Human. For a while there was a group in these buildings, but they never made it close to the soldier. In the end, it was revealed there were about 50 Zombies against 14 Humans, and none of the soldiers were fully rescued. As a reward, Zombies' stun times were reduced to 7 minutes--which, according to the moderators present--is the lowest stun times have ever been at WWU.

 [Humans in blue, Zombies red, and the Wounded Soldier in green. Locked down.]

On Tuesday there was a mission that I was unaware of because I slept in a little bit and was almost late to class--so I rushed out the door without checking the website. Between two of my morning classes, I decided to grab a snack and relax in the sun on top of the "stair sculpture" on the Communications Lawn (south campus). As I sat down and started munching, someone darted over the peak of the stairs and huddled down low near me. They were holding a Nerf gun blaster, a strap of darts slung around their shoulder, a dark bandanna over their face, and had a Zombie headband. I sat there confused as two other Zombies peaked and jumped next to me as well, and then the first person pulled down the bandanna-mask. It was Zombie General Scotty.

I sat munching away at my doughnut and chocolate milk as I was briefed on the situation. As part of the final mission-tree (for Humans that wanted to Survive without making it to the Extraction Mission), the Humans had to track down and tag the Zombie General and get his signature as proof. To confuse and counter the Humans' efforts, Scotty disguised himself to look like a Human and play very stealthily, building-jumping all over campus while not in class. The Nerf gun blaster and darts was a great distraction because Zombies don't usually carry them, but it was still legal in-game because it wasn't loaded. Also, whenever Scotty ran from cover to cover, an escort group of Zombies would run behind him, making the disguise even more legitimate. And even if a Human did catch on, there were always that pack of Zombies to help deter them.

I ran around campus escorting Scotty (codenamed "Robbie" when we talked out loud) before I had to get to my class for a test. Once my classes were done for a while, I joined with the escort group again and we all watched out for the big pack of (maybe 10) Humans that came together and creating a Hunting Party for "Robbie." At one point, the Zombies decided to camp out in the copse outside of Old Main, and start turning Humans in the area. A group of humans figured out that the bandanna'd Zombie was Scotty, and he ran toward the copse, where 7+ Zombies jumped out and overtook the humans.

[Zombies red, Humans blue. Ambush achieved]

The rest of the day consisted of escorting Scotty all over campus, away from the Hunting Party, and trying to get more tags. For a while Humans were trapped in Miller Hall, and we slowly picked them off as they tried to leave. At one point Scotty did get tagged, but by someone he knew and tried to tag himself. In the later afternoon, an escort group of about ten Zombies took Scotty to the bus stop so he could make an appointment.

Wednesday I didn't hunt until around noon, and I came across a pack of Zombies guarding two Humans who had perched themselves on top of a sculpture and were trying to get the I'm Bored achievement: "Stand in a public zone and declare yourself a meal of the horde. Take out at least seven zombies and LIVE!" The two Humans had big guns blasters with them, and a bag full of extra ammunition and weapons. About seven zombies were already there, and more kept coming.

Because the sculpture was so tall one had to jump and then pull themselves up, the Zombies didn't know what to do. A few would occasionally run up to it and jump, but would get tagged. And then, we found out that a nearby tree was designated a respawn point. After that, waves of Zombies would try for the Humans, run to the tree, and back. Then a moderator designated an even closer tree. Finally, the Zombies had numbers full working on their side, and we made it. After the first Human was tagged, the other ran out of darts, threw a few socks, and jumped off the sculpture, and was immediately tackled by about seven zombies.

Read about the final mission and a wrap-up piece.

Zombie Plague and Other Sicknesses, Part Two

I just got back from dinner, after a very long, and tiring mission; so I'll try to keep this concise and not ramble on, even though a lot went down today. If you're confused why I'm talking about zombies, you should head over to the first post to get caught up (n00b).

I slept in and felt cruddy right away--this cough / sore throat isn't working for me--but I knew a nice hot, steamy shower would help, and it did. I had a late brunch and had time to do some hunting before the 2 p.m. mission. The one human I stalked around ended up catching up to a bigger group of humans and ducked into a resident hall, so I just went to the Zombie briefing at Parks Hall.

The mission was revealed to be a Scavenger Hunt around campus, and both Humans and Zombies were looking for three "parts" located in different areas (two pairs of them, though--one for each team). Once the three parts were collected, then they had to be taken to the other team's starting zone, assembled into a "radio," there was a code that had to be given, and the final point was getting back to the original starting zones. Also, Humans became Zombies if tagged, and Zombies that were stunned had to go to either the Humanities Building, College Hall, or Communications to get back to tagging. The mission had a two-hour limit.

The altered Google map below has a general idea of what that game was expected to look like.

[Humans started at blue X, Zombies at red; check point at blue / red circles. Green marks are skirmishes]

A bunch of groups were expected to break off and scour the campus (red / blue lines), with a lot of little skirmishes happening the whole time as the groups were trying to find the parts, and then a massive battle at the checkpoints and final positions. And here is what actually happened (from what I was witness to).

[Again, Humans blue, Zombies red, skirmishes green. Zombie respawn points in purple]

There were a good seven to nine little groups of zombies that split up and scoured campus really well. The group I was with saw a massive group of fully-loaded humans coming across Red Square, to Edens, to Nash (all the North end of campus), and then we dashed to Edens for our first part. I ran with a fast Zombie to get to PAC (our final location, a red circle) to deliver it safely. When we got there, a second group of Zombies (maybe from The Ridge) came up with the second part, and our group leader, Zombie General Scotty, said the final one was inbound (Fairhaven, maybe). This was in the time of ten minutes.

Once all the parts were collected, we saw there was numbers on them, and we needed to call in a codename. The code was cracked quickly: WWU. The group that had amassed at PAC then headed back to Parks Hall to win the match. From here General Scotty said we were done, and now we had to stop the Humans from completing their objective. There were tons of skirmishes, and total-building embargos as the Humans tried to get the final part in Fairhaven.

For a majority of the game, Humans were stuck in the Tech / Engineering Building, Arntzen, and Environmental Studies area. Basically, where all the green is on the map. It was such a good embargo, that the moderators put a limit of fifteen more minutes to retrieve the last part, or the mission was over early. The Humans were able to retrieve the final piece, but got stuck at Parks Hall in the last few minutes of the mission.

At the debriefing, there were a few tagging disputes that were settled over Human versus Zombie matches. The Human has one gun one dart for each Zombie the dispute was with. Then, it was announced that Zombies had won and were awarded 50% respawn times until Sunday at 7 p.m.--and for stopping the Humans so well, we were awarded a permanent 2-minute reduction in respawn times. So, until tomorrow evening, stunned Zombies only have to wait 4 minutes to play again.

Today was a good (although very tiring) day. I felt achey when I woke up, and even worse going to dinner. HvZ is a great workout plan, especially after not using my gym pass like I should (at least once a quarter). I should've weighed myself before Wednesday.

Edit: I just used G-Map Pedometer, and I ran at least 2.4 miles today.

Third write up

Zombie Plague and Other Sicknesses, Part One

So, this week started the Spring quarter game of Humans Versus Zombies (HvZ) at Western Washington University. This is a giant, worldwide sport that is mainly played on college campuses. 

Basically a modified game of tag, Humans try to survive for a set time, while Zombies try to tag every Human by that time. Every one starts with two cards, a Human and Zombie card with their player ID on them, these are used to determine points, as well as separate registered players from people trying to ruin the game.

Humans wear caution-orange bandanas as armbands and can use Nerf guns blasters (approved by Officers) and balled up socks to stun Zombies. Zombies wear the bandanas as headbands, can only tag with their hands, and being stunned by a dart or sock renders them inert (headband around neck) for 10 minutes. If a Zombie tags a Human, the Human card is given to the tagger (and becomes a Zombie after 20 minutes), and the tagger uses the ID to log points on the official website.

Some campuses have rules like 24-hour game play, or if a Zombie doesn't score a tag within a timeframe they are out of the game. WWU's game is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for a week (and without the Zombie-starvation rule). There is an official site for Western's game, as well as an official Facebook page. On the official website, one can look at the Human to Zombie populations. (April 8, 8:30 pm - 201 Z / 128 H).

The game is usually played the week before Dead Week for a quarter (third from last), and during Fall game I didn't have a gun blaster, so I stayed out of it. Spring's game is super early (its only the second week), and I didn't hear about it until the very last day to register--which I was able to do--and started playing on Wednesday. It was at the registration / briefing meeting Tuesday night that I found my gun blaster I had was non-regulation because of the stock--which when you first put together has a warning saying it is immovable once assembled--but I went back to my dorm, and twenty minutes with some borrowed tools made it regulation once again.

[The full version was non-regulation because it looks like a legit rifle from afar, which University Police don't like]

The following day, I was able to stay away from Zombies for a while, mainly avoiding the large hordes of them by building-hopping (buildings are Safe Zones). It was the afternoon that I ran into trouble:

I had a class in Fraser Hall, which is a bad place for Humans, and Zombies had surrounded the place (see below). There were a few of us holed up in there trying to make a plan, when someone with a big gun blaster and belt of darts just ran for it. A horde of like seven people chased him, and that's when the small group's unity fell apart and it was every man for themselves. As I darted out of the Hall, I was pursued immediately by two Zombies. I shook one of them, but the other chased me into the middle of Red Square, and he was fast. As I looked for an exit, another Zombie yelled "Human!" which only brought more Zombies into the plaza. After missing a shot, the Zombie tagged me. I don't feel bad for being tagged on the first day, mainly because I later found the guy that tagged me was like one of the top three zombie-runners on campus.

Also, Wednesday was the day that I started feeling sick, mainly a sore throat, but has since become a light cough. Hopefully it'll go away, and its not the Zombie plague...

 [Aerial of Red Square (Google), with my path (green) from Fraser, and the incoming Zombies (red)]

During HvZ, there are the normally scheduled / regulated gameplay hours, and then there are missions, as well as Gladiator / exhibition matches. Last night was the first mission, and it was fun!

Humans and Zombies started the mission from different points on campus at 6 p.m., and had to complete objectives before 7 p.m. Humans started mid-campus (green, see below), and were given an official objective to go somewhere, and the Zombies started on South Campus (red), with the objective to stop the Humans, without knowing what their objective was. After splitting the Zombies into groups, we all scouted around, and then we got a tip about the tennis courts at The Ridge were an objective. My little group arrived just in time to see about half the Humans in the tennis court (safe zone in blue, 1), and then a huge wall of armed Humans rushing for the safe zone being met with a wall of Zombies. After a flurry of action, lots of yellow, blue, and orange (Nerf colors), there were panting people and used darts everywhere.

A few minutes later, as the Zombies searched for stragglers still trying to get in, we were given a tip about how Nash Hall's tennis court (blue, 2) was the final zone, and so the Zombies headed over that direction to prepare a defense. The final battle at Nash was intense again, as we tried to stop large groups of humans from entering the court the last few minutes of the mission. At seven, the moderators called the game and had a debriefing meeting. Humans won their objective: Finishing the mission with at least 15 Humans in the final zone at 7 p.m. (with exactly 15). As a reward, Humans were rewarded immunity from tags today from 7 to 11 a.m. I bet that was a nice break from being paranoid.

 [Approximate directions of teams during Mission One. Green - Humans, Red - Zombies, Blue - Safe Zones]

There is another mission tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see how that goes. I'll write at least one other part about HvZ next week, so stay tuned! 
I did write another part, the next day!

Third Quarter, Start

As usual, this quarter started on a Tuesday, and as usual, I've been somewhat hypocritical: feverishly thinking of something to write about for this blog, and at the same time procrastinating. To put all this at an end, I'll just write what comes to mind.

Being a freshman, I was low on the priority list of registering for classes. So naturally at the end of last quarter, all the classes I wanted were full; one of them was so popular, that the online class had a waitlist. One of my friends, a talented schedule-sculpture, was able to give me a set of classes that sounded interesting, and would actually satisfy requirements.

I didn't get back to campus until late Monday evening, too late to hunt down my exact classrooms, so I decided to wake up early on Tuesday to find my first class. Tuesday morning, I was 30 minutes early to class, but it turned out to be very fortunate--I ran into my math teacher from the last two quarters. He jokingly asked if I was coming in on the first day (while still on the waitlist), and told me when the class was going to be. Of course, I didn't have a class at the time, so I sat in on the first day. After the class, he emailed saying a few students were dropping the course, and to watch for emails from the Registrar's Office letting me know if I'd be able to register for it.

Not more than five minutes after I read my teacher's email, the Registrar's email popped up saying I had 12 hours to accept the class. On other days of the week, the time of the math class had an interfering class I was signed up for. After mulling it over, I dropped the interfering class for the new math.

Other than that little bit of schedule-confusion, the quarter has started off slowly and blandly. Not badly, just the usual slow and steady start. Things will get exciting later. For now, I'm enjoying the new schedule and its downtimes, and trying to adjust my sleeping schedule to fit accordingly once again. I've actually been reading a lot again, which didn't happen the last few quarters.

Hope everyone is enjoying the (slowly-coming) spring weather. Between the puddles and the rainclouds, there's been a few spells of sunlight that has people reeling, stumbling blindly, and praying for their sins and forgiveness. 

Not really, but kind of.

College By The Numbers, Quarter II

Here is the continuation of my "College By the Numbers" series (first quarter here); helping to break down college down into numbers you can relate to. Everything from change found while doing laundry to textbooks to meal plans.

Western's Winter quarter of 2011 started January 4 and officially ends March 18 (of course, some people were done by Tuesday this week).

This quarter was 2 months and 14 days--equivalent of 10.53 weeks; or 74 days; or 53 weekdays.

(Oh, the wonders of WolframAlpha, go ahead, try it).

And here are The Numbers for...

Dorm Life

• Finished one bar of shower soap
• Used ~2/3 of a bottle of shampoo
• About halfway through toothpaste (which I've been using since September)
• Gone through one toothbrush
• Finished a roll of paper towels
• Killed a bottle of hand sanitizer
• Visited home five weekends, out of eleven weeks.
• Actually used the microwave a lot this quarter--for popcorn mainly.
• Have found only $0.38 in the laundry machines--I didn't check as frequently.
• Didn't play pool in my dorm hall, but did at the Viking Union.
• Spent $4.75 on my Laundry Card, which is rechargeable at the Dining Halls.
  
  Note: It's a good idea to have like $3 on it just in case you need to have an emergency washing or drying cycle.

Class Materials

• Finished off one-and-a-half black, ball-point pens taking notes all quarter.
• Used about half a "vial" of pencil lead for my mechanical pencil doing math problems.
• Filled a notebook and a half with notes between three classes.
• Another eighth of a packet of loose-leaf, lined paper for homework assignments.
• Gone through ~100 Sticky Notes, writing notes to myself and my roommate, as well as make-shift coasters for cups and utensils.
• Spent $245.08 for four textbooks--the most expensive again being math, at $78.75.

College/Campus

•  Every student gets $150 of Dining Dollars every quarter, and any leftover money carries over to the next until summer, then they're wiped. Last quarter I only used $58.89, so I had $241.11 at the start of this quarter. I have used $237.86 buying sandwiches, bagels, and coffee outside of the dining hall--I've counted 51 cups of dirty chai (Chai latte with at least one shot of espresso). 
• Eaten at the dining halls for 176 meals, using all 10 guest passes. This was using the Unlimited Plan, which I've liked a lot because it's flexible and I didn't have to worry about running out. Keep in mind I visited home a few weekends, and the next step down in meal plans is 125 meals. This quarter I kept extensive track on my meals used, since last quarter I estimated the numbers per week--you can see my spreadsheet here.
  An average week for me was 16 meals at the cafeteria, and if I had paid for them myself, rather than using a meal plan, it works out to about $120 a week, or $1,327.50 for 11 weeks (one quarter). According to this file found on WWU's website, the per-quarter cost students pay for an Unlimited Plan is $1,049 during Winter Quarter.
• Spent $12.32 at the Associated Students Bookstore on things other than textbooks. I was given a $100-gift card to the campus bookstore last September--the $12 was what was left of the card after last quarter. Again, I've only spent like $5 of actual cash on campus. Everything else, like meal plans, printing money, bus passes, and laundry fees, are all on cards.
  
  I highly recommend even having a gift-card of $50 just to help buy the random things you'll need like paper, pens, and folders, without taking away from your wallet's cash--you know, for movies and stuff.
  
• Printed out about 200 pages on the school's computers. Each student gets $25 per quarter, which is about 500 black-and-white pages per quarter (Math breaks it down to ~$0.05 per page, non-color). If a student goes over they must pay for additional pages themselves by buying printing cards.
• Have yet to actually use the Bellingham Bus System--and thus my ID card to pay for said system, but I will get there eventually. I walked a few times to downtown with my friends, so no bus was needed this quarter.

Things I've Heard In College, QII

A continuation of Things I've Heard in College, from first quarter. This time most of the funny comments were made by my professors. Remember, it is unedited and uncensored.

"Wait, did you just ask me to compare homework answers and then ask what I put for my name?"

My teacher, an enjoyable older woman:

"My, you're all wet! I saw a young man walking to campus in the rain without a coat. He had on a red shirt and cowboy boots, so I think it was more of an attitudinal thing."

Another teacher talking about test dates:

"They're flexible. Because there could be snow days, or I could get hit by a train; you never know."

Student in coffee shop:

"Holy buckets!...Lookatallthecoffee!" [Yes, as one word].

Teacher talking about ethics and morality:

"What is moral? Let's ask Cameron; he shoots zombies all day."

Guy 1: "Wait, how are you two have a black kid?" 

(Talking to his two white friends: guy and a girl)

Guy 2: "From my penis!"

Girl: "We never explained that he's selectively black."

In the dining hall:

"Yes, I am using America as a unit of measurement in this situation." 

The whiteboards in class had notes from an earlier class that read:

"Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1988)
Pirates of the Caribbean (2008)" and a few other scribbles and odd notes.

My teacher erased all but the "Bill and Ted's..." and justified it with "It was the only thing worth keeping up."

 During psych, my teacher was explaining the differences in experiments and observation:

"What if I studied the reaction of undergrads when exposed to a pipebomb? Set it up, set it off, and watch it; what would this be called?"

"Terrorism!" Yelled a student.

"Okay. What if the pipebomb shoots out mini-marshmallows; or money at a very low-trajectory; or like $20 giftcards to iTunes?" My teacher edited.

"Fun terrorism??" Another student retorted.

Greek literature teacher:

"What did Hesiod say about women that wore short-shorts and shook their hips when they walked?"

Students: "They wanted your food!"

Teacher: "Yes. They were after your barn. They knew you have a granary full of grain!"

Student close to me whispered: "Hey-yo!"

Student to teacher: "Satan has goat feet?"
Teacher: "Well, last time I saw him he did. You can't see them when he wears his stiletto boots, though."

Me to a friend: "You walk slower because you have a leisurely way of life."

Friend: "Yeah, I stop to smell the roses, and I forget I have allergies so I sneeze and start coughing and its just no good."

Teacher during lecture: "Putting electrodes on the brain would give me the sensation of someone feeling my digits--Whoa, that sounds dirty."

Advice from teacher: "Blasting and conceiving should never go together."

Student in line for dinner, "There's a time for teasing--and I always seem to do it at the wrong time."

Teacher: "I'm a mathematician--I'm horrible with numbers."

Scholarships and Financial Aid

A lot of you still in high school may be absolutely dreading this time of year, especially as a forward-thinking junior or senior, because it is scholarship season. That means a lot of meeting with your guidance counselors,  asking your favorite teachers for letters of recommendation, essay-writing, form-filling, non-procrastinating and deadline-remembering; and don't think for a moment that getting to college ends this process.

If you have really generous family or have stumbled upon a glorious, four-year scholarship, I commend you on your good fortune, but warn you not to just shill it away. And if you are not so fortunate, then I must say I am in the same boat as you.

The main forms of paying off college are scholarships and grants, work study, working, and loans.

In my case, the scholarships I was awarded senior year were able to be held for a year; this really helped ease some tensions about my plans to take a year off between high school and college. (I highly suggest this option if possible, so check if the scholarships you are looking at have this option available). While this definitely helped for my freshman year, I must now look to next fall, and my financial possibilities.

Over the long weekend I decided to take advantage of my free-time and start looking for scholarships to apply for. The first step was going to the local library, and spending some quality time in the stacks. I came across the book, Peterson's Scholarships, Grants, & Prizes 2009 (there's a 2011 copy out now, too). Within this book I was able to look for scholarships for my specific areas of interest, as well as some general scholarships for the average broke college student. You can also go to the Peterson's website for more goodies.

I also went back to my email and dug up the password to my Scholarships.com and FastWeb accounts. When you sign up, you create a profile that will help limit what sort of scholarships are brought to your attention. It's a great way to find scholarships and other prizes, but it is still ultimately up to you to follow through and finish everything you need to apply with...on time.

Remember that most colleges have their own financial aid opportunities as well. Western Washington University helps students apply for campus-run scholarships automatically. You don't even have to worry, you just receive a letter saying you were awarded such and such scholarships and are asked to accept or decline the awards. It's a very nice thing they do over here. Also, work study positions are available to students that qualify, and they are very understanding: I applied and was awarded work-study money, only to find that my first quarter was squared away without it. So, I emailed them and was able to let that opportunity be passed on, but still have my name on the list for future quarters.

Of course, I am also taking summer quarter off, so I am going to be working a lot to save up more money. This was definitely a good thing, as I was able to save money last summer (as well as find a new career path, but that's another story). If you don't have a job at the moment, start applying to new places, or contacting your old employers to see if they'd have you back--being of course that the reason you aren't currently working for them is that you were away to college, and not fired or let go. (Hint: If you're in good standing, use the fact that you're already trained to try and win your ex-employer over).

And then, there is of course the final option: selling your soul to a bank for a loan. Just because I am writing to a broad audience, I will go ahead and say that if needed, taking out a student loan is certainly a viable and successful option for paying for college...as long as you remember that one day you will have to pay it off (more than likely years from now). Personally, it is one of my goals to go through college without having to take out a loan, as my feelings coincide with those of J Cole:

"Hell nah, got a degree, but what that cost you?
You make a good salary just to pay Sallie Mae"

--J Cole / "Blow Up" / Friday Night Lights (mixtape)

[Great music, by the way, if free hip-hop mixtapes are one of your cups of tea]

Now then, back to more writing, calendar-checking, asking for letters of recommendation, and money-searching for next year. Good luck in your search as well!