Jack's What to Bring, III (Dorm: Furniture)

sponsored by 
La Crema Coffee and Roastery, 
La Conner, WA

Most dorm rooms come equipped with some furniture, usually a bed, some drawers, a desk, and a chair (well, at WWU anyway). Beyond that, students must bring what they need to feel more at home. This blog may be a little short, but should still get the job done.
Jack says: [That's what she said!]

Extra seating (...)
University-issued chairs can be back and forth. Some people get rigid, wooden chairs and some will get flexible, plastic and wheeled chairs. It seemed to be mainly on which dorm hall you lived in. Either way, one chair per person isn't enough. Bring at least one fold-up chair, or a couch of a manageable size to help with the seating and space issues.
[I personally use a fold-up camping stool I found on a beach]

(True story, here it is):

... And extra bedding
My roommate and I had a big cushion we kept on the floor, and it was essentially a dog bed; except we used it store-bought-new. It was a great place to sit and watch / play games, and it doubled as an extra bed if someone stayed over. This could work for certain rooms, but it's just a good idea to have a spare set of pillows and / or covers for any additional sleepers. This isn't exactly "furniture-level," advice, but if you get a large dog bed like we did, it counts as furniture.


Food
If you have food in your room, chances are you need to keep it fresh, have a way to prepare it, as well as store it. The shelves and drawers in my closet helped with some of the stuff like macaroni, ramen noodle packets, and cans of tuna just fine. I have a small, two-in-one fridge / freezer that was most useful the first quarter, when we actually kept food in it. Also, a microwave that got more an more use as we ate more and more midnight-on popcorn.
[Just think of your room as a boat: limited space, and there should always be food and rum...unless you're underage, of course].

Storage
The dorms I was in had built-in closets with built-in drawers, which helped for clothes, cleaning supplies, shoes, boxes, etc. Some of my friends on my floor had various sizes of shelves to suit their needs of storage vs. space. You might want to wait until the second or third week to bring in shelves, because usually by then your room will be in a semi-permanent state--as far as furniture is involved--and you can find the best type of shelving unit to use.
[Best to be creative in solving problems: Just grab an old, flattened box, and use it as a make-shift shelf].

Entertainment
A lot of people lately need ways to entertain themselves, and a majority of people are using appliance-grade ways of killing boredom. These are usually known as televisions, XBox (360)- / PS- (1, 2, 3) / Game Cube- / Wii- / Dreamcast- / Atari-ses (basically, any video game systems), and laptop computers. If you are one to use these, and won't use them as an excuse from homework (too often), then I recommend you bring them.
[Trust me, you're going to use electronics a lot].

Looking for good coffee in La Conner, WA? Look no further than La Crema Coffee and Roastery for your caffeine needs. Great coffee and timely service,  with seating, Wi-Fi, and parking available.
Personally, I like the dirty chai.

I claim no rights to Captain Jack Sparrow, Disney does.

Jack's What to Bring, II (Dorm: Daily)

sponsored by 
La Crema Coffee and Roastery, 
La Conner, WA

Last week, my co-host Captain Jack Sparrow was involved in an unfortunate accident while in the dark depths of the Adidas baqpaq, but is well on his way to recovery. That is why this week's post is late, but he will make a brief appearance in this week's list of things to bring to college.

Before the accident, showcasing a blended dirty chai

Jack says: [Over the next few posts, there may be some overlap with things to bring to college. This is because a few things I'm suggesting to bring weren't that easy to say 'they were just this category, and not that one.' So just take another swig...of apple juice...and keep reading.]

This post will center on many of the items I used on an almost-daily basis within the dorms. Most of it will be like 'well-duh' category, but it's always nice to have a reminder.

Bathroom and Laundry Supplies
Everyone needs the essentials, for obvious, hygiene concerns.
[Just because you're taking college advice from a 18th-century pirate, doesn't mean you have to smell like one].

• Toothbrush / -paste
• Towels
• Shampoo & Soap
• Sandals (some people prefer them for in or just after the shower)
• Other personal items
• Big, loose bag for laundry (plastic bins are big and awkward at times)
• Laundry detergent and dryer sheets: possibly split with roommate--I had lots of detergent left over
• Laundry card (if provided by university)
• Clothes for wearing and washing are good, too. If you need help deciding what kind, follow me.

Cache of food
Even with the best meal plan, you're still limited to the hours the dining halls are open, and you're in college--which means you'll get peckish at midnight and all those odd-hours. Having at least a constant cache of chips, bread, or granola bars will stave off hunger until dawn. Also, a water bottle to refill is really handy, especially since you have to stay hydrated.
[Some form of a plate and cutlery will generally serve you well in this as well--but I'm fine with my hands and teeth].

Greenbacks
You should always have some means of currency on you, whether it be a few greenbacks, such as Washingtons ($1), Jeffersons ($2), Lincolns ($5); checks (yes, the kind your grandmother writes for your birthday), or cards, like credit and / or debit and / or gift. You never know when you might have an opportunity to go on an adventure. Also, having like $50 for the AS Bookstore is helpful for those days you need to buy a folder, pens, CDs, or a nice WWU-branded sweatshirt.
[You can always bum off a generous (and slightly more prosperous) friend. As long as you don't give them the duck and actually pay them back in a timely fashion, that is].

Office-like supplies
These are just downright helpful when you need them, and relatively cheap. And you can even let your friends use them!
[There you go! You can repay that debt you just got from last night's adventure].

• Sticky notes
• Stapler
• Scissors
• Pens
• Paper clips
• Rubber bands
• Folders
• Surge Protector 
• Ethernet cable

Painter's tape
I had a roll of this with me in my art supplies, but little did I know how useful this stuff can be. Anything paper I needed to stick somewhere, I grabbed a bit of this tape. Something was falling down--tape.  Something broke--tape. I would recommend it for its helpfulness, and ability to leave wall-paint where it is.

[It's a miracle!]

Looking for good coffee in La Conner, WA? Look no further than La Crema Coffee and Roastery for your caffeine needs. Great coffee and timely service,  with seating, Wi-Fi, and parking available.
Personally, I like the dirty chai.

I claim no rights to Captain Jack Sparrow, Disney does.

Jack's What to Bring, I (Clothes)

sponsored by 
La Crema Coffee and Roastery, 
La Conner, WA

The weather here in Bellingham is fickle in such a particular way. It will jump around from rainy to snowy to windy and sunny, and almost all in the same day. Having gone through a cycle in my first year, I feel pretty confident about what you should bring clothes-wise to adapt with the weather.

Thick rain or hiking boots - I myself have hiking boots that are just a few hairs too big, so they're comfortable when I lace them up, and I don't get too hot if I have to wear them all day. Also, you don't have to be scared about getting your socks wet when walking through campus, which is notorious for puddles. Just relax, and have a moment of childhood nostalgia just splashing through the puddles.

[Jack suggests: "Wearing boots without holes...or made by Disney in China."]

Jackets / coats / sweatshirts - It is a good idea to have a variety of cover, from light to heavy. Then you're ready for the sunny-yet-not-warm days, the truly-rainy days, the suddenly-sunny days, as well as the days the sun takes a break: snowstorm-days. Umbrellas are a good accessory, but be wary--the use of an umbrella is oft-seen as a non-Washingtonian trait.

["One word: layers."]

Cold-day clothes - Layers and boots go a long way to keeping warm. As do gloves and / or mittens, a scarf, and a hat. A hat or hood of some sort is perfect for keeping your head / hair dry. To stay with the "in-crowd," I suggest a beanie, hooded sweatshirt, fedora, or any hat you feel comfortable with.

["Tricornes are perfect, and proven against even the saltiest weather."]

Sunny-day clothes - Once and a while, the sun will decide to visit unannounced, like traveling relatives, and so it is always a good idea to have appropriate apparel for these fleeting moments. Whatever you wear during warm days, whether its short-sleeve shirts, tanktops, shorts, unbottoned-button-up shirts, sandals, etc., that's what I recommend to bring, even during Fall and Winter quarters--just in case.

["You have to learn to take in the sun, especially with some rum."]

Fancy / Dress-up clothes - Many times this year, I've seen groups of people all dressed up as if there was a fancy dance. Most of the time, it was for an off-campus party, or just a group of people wanting to be randomly fancy at dinner or late night. If you are one to wear ties and / or nice dresses, it won't hurt to have them available.

["Make anything look good."]

The main point is to be ready for almost any kind of weather at any time of the year up here.

Looking for good coffee in La Conner, WA? Look no further than La Crema Coffee and Roastery for your caffeine needs. Great coffee and timely service,  with seating, Wi-Fi, and parking available.
Personally, I like the dirty chai.

I claim no rights to Captain Jack Sparrow, Disney does.

College By the Numbers, Year I

For those that are curious, I've compiled some numbers from my freshman year that may be useful. This info has been gathered from each of the quarters (Fall, Winter, and Spring), so you can click the links for more quarter-specific numbers.

Edit: It has been requested that I reveal the numbers on living expenses in the dorms. According to this WWU document, dorms (w/o meals) cost $5,571.

Each student is given a Laundry Card to use the washer and dryers on campus. Initially the cards have $1.75 on them, and then each student is responsible for reloading their card by going to the dining halls and paying cash at the converter. While doing laundry this year, I spent $19.50 from the card ($17.75 of cash onto the card), and found $8.39 in the machines, hidden in wet piles of lint, hair-ties, lipstick, and paperclips.

-17.75-8.39

[-$9.36]

In total, I spent $960.80 on 13 textbooks. Most of them I was able to sell back to the bookstore for some cash, but I'm going to try and do more student-to-student transactions when possible, to keep costs down and cash-back a little higher.

-960.80

[-$960.80]

Each quarter, students with certain meal plans are given $150 Dining Dollars on their ID cards. This money is for buying food and beverages at the on-campus diners and markets. The leftover money is carried over each quarter, except for summer, where it disappears. Of the $450 given to me, I easily spent it all.

450-450

[$0]

I paid for an Unlimited Meal Plan for three quarters, with the combined cost of $3,179. The unlimited plan allowed me to eat whenever the dining halls were open, without worrying about using up all of my meals.  I've been keeping track, and I've used 161 meals which equates to $1,233.75 if I had paid for each meal myself. Each quarter there were 10 guest passes available, and I used all 30.

Meals, 146 (1,125 of 1,208), 176 (1327.5 of 1049), (1233.75 of 922)

3686.25-3,179

[$507.25]

Each student is given $25 a quarter for printing off of the school's printers. With black and white costing $0.05 and color $0.25, that's 500 and 100 pages, respectively. Out of the $75 available to me, I only used $38.10, and all in black and white (762 pages). If students run out of this free account, printing cards can be purchased and reloaded in the library.

75-38

[-$37]

At the beginning of the year I had a $100 gift card to the Associated Students Bookstore to buy things other than textbooks. All of this money was used to buy pens, pencils, paper, CDs, surge protectors, and a few other things I needed throughout the quarter. I found it was really good to have the card on me, as I didn't have to spend my cash--which could then be used to buy other things, like bowling or hot dogs in Bellingham.

College Rat Move-Out

During Finals Week, I had a lapse of humanity, and started to express a possible instinctive trait carried down from rodents after the Great Chasm in Earth's biological evolution from germ to demi-god-germ. The specific trait I am talking about is shared with birds, rodents, pregnant she-humans, and many other organisms discovered and hidden: nesting.

The definition of nesting instinct (according to Wikipedia) includes phrases such as:

...nesting instinct refers to an instinct or urge in pregnant animals to prepare a home for the upcoming newborn(s). It is found in a variety of animals (both mammals and birds) including humans...It is commonly characterized by a strong urge to clean and organize one's home...

[--All-Knowing Wikipedia]

It is thus that I have a confession to make...I am having a nesting instinct because I'm pregnant: with ideas! Also, I was moving out at the end of the week. Here is a selection of picture-images of the sequence of chaos.

My side of the room after I took it un-lofted it (lawfully). I had a fridge, microwave, locker, drawers, and box of food beneath it, so it had to be moved into the open middle.

My roommate's bed before taking it apart (top), and then the following chaos of his bed on my bed [uncensored].

Through the scattered remains of the bed, I noticed that our Jeweled Doorhandle Owl was leering at us. And then I realized his bed was suddenly de-lofted like mine!

This is how my closet and fridge / microwave combo looked until the moment I moved out. The other power plugs were either taken, or inaccessible due to other displaced stuff. So, it was all plugged into my closet.

This clutter intrigues me, and terrifies me at the same time. It's like the image of hiding yourself away in the middle of a huge museum of paintings, or shelves and shelves of books--I'm drawn to that idea, but I'm afraid that once I start, I won't stop.
It is this image of being nested within something inspires me. I want to be enveloped in it. Also, the nesting thing may also be my mind cradling all these ideas in my head--some of which will be taking fruition soon, and some I have yet to start tilling.
Damn, my metaphors and literary devices are scattered today.

Jack's What to Bring, Intro

The full title is actually Jack's What to Bring to College, but it will be shortened for future posts.
This summer, with the help of Captain Jack Sparrow and La Crema Coffee and Roastery, I will explain things to bring with you when you go to college, from clothes to ideas to dorm-living. Hopefully this will be an entertaining little project to keep posts going for a while during summer break.

If you have any suggestions, write them here (anonymously, or not), or post on the Facebook page for Alex Kramer Blogs.

College By The Numbers, Quarter III

Herein lies the continuation of my "College By the Numbers" series. You can click through these links to find the numbers from first quarter, as well as second quarter.

Western's Spring 2011 quarter started March 29, and officially ends June 10. That makes the quarter 2 months and 12 days--equivalent to 10.4 weeks; or 74 days; or 53 weekdays.

[Wolfram alpha is amazing]

Now, time for The Numbers for...

Dorm Life

• Finished one bar of shower soap
• ~2/3 of a bottle of shampoo
• About a quarter of a tube of toothpaste
• One tooth brush
• Visited home four weekends of the ten weeks
• I actually found $0.74 in the laundry machines...
• While spending $8.75 on my Laundry Card
  
  Note: It's a good idea to have like $3 on your card, in case you need to have an emergency cleaning.

Class Materials

• Went through two black, ball-point pens taking notes in four classes.
• Used another half "vial" of pencil lead.
• Between four classes, I went through two-and-a-half  notebooks.
• Almost finished off the last of my lined paper, mainly with math.
• Spent $492.59 on five textbooks--the most expensive being accounting, at $132.

College / Campus

• Every quarter, I have $150 available on my Western ID card to use at the campus markets and coffee shops. Any leftover money goes to the next quarter--but ends up getting deleted when summer starts. Last quarter I had $3.25 left over, so a total of $153.25 at the start of this quarter. [Enter total here]. I had 17 cups of dirty chai (chai latte with at least a shot of espresso--usually two).
• I ate at the dining halls a total of 161 meals, using all 10 of my guest passes. This was using an Unlimited Plan, which I've liked particularly for its flexibility and I don't have to worry about making the meals last the whole quarter. Just like last quarter, I kept extensive track of my meal-usage.
• An average week had 14 meals this quarter. If I had paid for all my meals with cash, it would've been $1,233.75. According to the file I found on WWU's website, the cost of an Unlimited Plan during Spring Quarter was $922.
• I printed about 202 pages using school printers. Each student gets $25 per quarter, which is 500 pages, or $0.05 a page (black and white. Color is $0.25 a page). Students that need more may add money to a card to use with the printers.
• I used the Bellingham Bus system a lot this quarter. The first time I tried, I had to pay because apparently after that much non-use, my account was dropped from my card, but the next day I had it sorted with a quick, three-minute visit to the right offices.

Things I've Heard In College, Quarter III

Girl at the dining hall to her friends (and half the room): "I have a big announcement to make: I know how to make Baja Blast! It is basically blue gatorade and Mountain Dew!"

Woman outside of a house party, "I know how much I weigh: 93 pounds, and five shots."

"Hey, dude, were you in my Econ class last quarter--sat in the back--drank Four Loko in class."

"Yeah, I don't know why everyone made a big deal about it."

"With the utmost respect and love, I call you guys "The Scroll Down Generation.""

Cinema teacher holding a strip of film from a reel: "What if I fell off a spaceship from Mars, that was somehow orbiting Bellingham, Washington--the supposed cultural center of the Universe--how would you explain this to me?"

"We've all seen a Godzilla film, buzzed at 3 a.m....Was I the only one? (somewhat-silence) It was a great spring vacation."

"I don't mind breasts, but I'd rather not show you cockfighting in class. Is that weird for anyone?"

Pack of guys sitting in Red Square, watching the ladies walk around.

Guy 1: "The one thing I have discovered in college that I love: yoga pants."

Guy 2: "Really? You've never seen them before?"

Guy 1: "Nope. I went to a Catholic high school. So this is awesome right now."

"NASA should have cheerleaders! You would get up at 4 a.m. to watch something get shot off into space if NASA had cheerleaders."

"Fuck! This Goofy Movie shit is cramping my night!"

Two guys walking around: "I love this weather! All the booty shorts are coming out and the tank tops are showing!"[They high-fived]

Guy in line ahead of me swagging it up with the barista while ordering coffee.

Barista: "May I help you?"

Guy: "Yes, but I'm not sure what I want. (Looks at menu a moment). You look like a woman with great taste. Why don't you surprise me with something you like, and I'll try it."

The barista winked at him and wrote down the mystery drink on the cup (and maybe even her number by the way she smiled).

Accounting teacher talking about depreciation of items: "We can't make the computer disappear, like with Harry Potter's wand magic. What would it be...not 'disappear'...Anyone know how to cast a wand spell?...'Disappeario!' (wand-flick motion)...Sorry, I really like Harry Potter."

"I find it strange it's okay to show kids peoples' heads blowing up and sing-alongs with purple dinosaurs, but people freak out the moment a woman's breast--something they will actually see in life--is shown on television."

"Don't ask me to draw: I can't draw a straight line with a ruler."

Me during Halo: Reach: "Sorry, that was my grenade. I threw it like an hour ago."

Roommate that was inadvertently targeted: "It's okay, I watched Dodgeball."

Film teacher: "Seems like a lot of people are under the impression that 4-20 is an actual holiday. All of you nice enough to be here will be rewarded, and not in a way related to the date."

A student in the back of a big lecture class (with slanted, concrete floors) knocked over their glass bottle (of V8, Starbucks, or Whiskey, I don't know). It rolled down quite a ways, and then hit something and shattered. From the moment it was knocked over, the attention of the class and teacher was on the sound. There was a moment of "They're gonna get it" silence after the glass shattered, and then the teacher smiles and says, "You guys are seriously giving me flashbacks." And proceeded with the lecture like nothing happened.

After watching The Graduate in class, teacher ends with: "Contrary to popular belief, people from this era did have a sense of humor, and procreated once and a while."

"You should take a bat, hang it from the ceiling, and smash the pinata against it!"

Teacher scans the lecture hall before starting class: "Oh, a lot of you are imitating empty chairs today. Well, it is a beautiful day, and it'll only get harder as the quarter passes, but you should still try to make it to class, I'll make it worth your while."

"If I had 1% of what Avatar made, I would buy an island! I wouldn't be here, you'd have to come to me to learn about cinema."

When asked about if a question would be on the math final, teacher says: "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of said question on the final--to cover my ass about it."

End of Quarter Procrastination

The final quarter to my first year of college is winding down, and I can't get my mind to focus on one thing for too long. So many possibilities and things to do! I blame the excellent weather, except it was cold and borderline-rainy all day. (It was so sunny this weekend). I jump from immediate things like study for tomorrow's math test,watching YouTube videos, snacking (etc.), to working his summer, working on paintings, and packing for fall's quarter. Long gaps in time between those two, I know.

I find it ironic that in order to procrastinate from something as vital as math studying could turn into somewhat "productive" (possibly more extensive work) of wanting to write this blog, or read a book, or find out a percentage of my paychecks to set aside for next year's taxes, or calculate how many "deaths" the new series Mortal Kombat: Legacy has caused (total time watched vs. average lifespan of humans). It also makes me want to do things of less "productive" value, such as take pictures for this summer's blogs, or watch videos about red blood cells, or play some more rounds of Halo: Reach. 

This evening's path of procrastination as gone thus:

• Dinner
• Check all emails
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Watching all new subscription videos (vlogbrothers, sxephil, relmvision, and tobuscus, to name a few)
• Catching up on Hank Plays Portal 2
• Looking up random articles on Wikipedia
• Thinking of reading more web comics, but realizing I've read all the updates to my favorites
• Watching Charlie McDonnell's video on procrastination (seen below)
• Studying for math
• Remembering and doing something for Biology
• Writing this blog
• Remembering and watching Hank Green's video on Red Blood Cells (link above)
• Reflecting on art
• Watching new  last week's episode of Superjail 
• Studying
•  Posting this blog
•  Sleeping

Here is the Charlie McDonnell video I was telling you about. I guess I have to unplug the internet more and revert to my laptop being a giant iPod, or just take my typewriter and homework upstairs for a little retrocity.

I've been where the sun doesn't shine...

It is on campus, and it is called "Mac Lab" at Haggard Hall. Literally, the sun doesn't shine there because there is no windows, and it is in the middle of the building. You can be in there for hours at a time, and you don't know if it is still day or when dinner was (unless you use the clocks, but still).

With a group of dedicated members, we have edited a 5-minute and 30-second video in roughly 20 hours since Monday evening. This project was due for a film class today (Wednesday), and the reason it took so flippin long was because editing 3.48 GB of HD video files on Adobe Premiere 8 can be...frustrating.

I'm mainly writing this as a warning, rant, and praise at the same time.

Warning: When people tell you that during a film project, editing takes up a majority of the time, listen to them. Our group knew this going in, but a few switch-ups in our filming schedule, as well as people going home for weekends pushed back the days we could actually edit our footage.

Rant: I love what computers and programs and technology can do for us, but sometimes, I just want to back-hand it all back to 1983 and rewrite everything knowing what we know now. At times, all the data, scripts, RAM, disc space, and everything gets too jumbled and complicated and interfering that they actually do the exact opposite of what you want to do. We had to hold our breaths and literally get on our knees and pray for the video to render, save our edits, save as a certain file, and burn to a DVD to be turned in. I even went to the white board, and started conjuring up any amount of luck that I could by drawing lucky things on the whiteboard.

Bottom right, counter-clockwise to center:

Oriental dragon, pig, salt, horseshoe, toad, cricket, ant, crane, turtle, garlic, amulet, four-leaf clover, pentagram, rabbit's foot, praying mantis, and heads-up penny. Also, I drew this while crossing fingers, and our director has a heads-up penny in each shoe. Luck, galore!

Praise: I'd like to praise WWU for having such accessible computer labs all over campus, W7 / Snow Leopard dual-booting Mac desktops, a really awesome student-tech center, and the ability for students to check out equipment. I'd also like to thank my entire group for the project--who knew that randomly meeting strangers in class and relying on them for a grade would work out so well--lots of professional teamwork, productivity, and focus; I loved it!

Video will be "released" to the public later in the future; the director says after Monday.