Faster Than Light, Story 2

{I thought it best to host this here, instead of plugging Seattle Whispers up with game-stories like this. Plus, this blog hasn't been updated nearly enough}.

After being reinspired by playing FTL for a few hours, I decided to dramatically narrate the following game, no matter if I was shot down in my third jump, or made it all the way to the end. The following story is a little long, but I feel I wrote it in an enjoyable way. Those who have played FTL by Subset Games may find more humor and awesomeness in it, though.

I walked out into hidden, Federation hangar, escorted by a short man with worried eyes and jittery hands.

"Are you sure you can get it to the base safely?" he asked quietly.

"Don't you know, safety is no promised thing out here," I said somberly. He nodded and shook my hand one last time, and scuttled back into the depths of the base. It was hidden on a backroads planet, out of the sights of the Rebels. We were never too careful, and needed to head out.

Late night story

As I was falling asleep last night (much too late after reading more of Neil Gaiman's American Gods), I turned off my light and couldn't fall asleep. Just before I had turned off the light I had seen the small scatter of coins on my bedstand, and some prose started composing itself in my head. Not wanting to lose the stream or forget it by morning, I grabbed a pencil, and the closest paper to me, and wrote.

This is what came out of the pencil.
(Only slightly edited from its raw, late-night format)

Productive Summer!

So, during my sophomore year of college I started dropping the ball on doing things: One of them was updating my other blogs. Starting today I am using a productivity helper called Don't Break the Chain to make this summer productive. (The video below will explain it). My charts will have me focusing on reading, blogging, doing art in some fashion, and staying organized.

First Day!

Wow, I've been procrastinating too much! Last quarter, just completely gave up on blogging for here, but no more! I'm planning on having a much better time in 2012, starting with planning and organizing better. And today, the first day of the quarter ended up really good.

Finally woke up before noon (my body was very selfish during the break, and my sleep schedule was way off), got some important emails sent off, and then had breakfast--all before my first and only class of the day. As per usual, I dressed up all nice in grey slacks, a grey button-up, and wore a maroon tie (no pics available).

2012 - No excuses!

Last quarter hit me differently than last year, and I had a difficult time updating this particular blog, especially during the Human Versus Zombies week. After that, I had a hard time updating at all (since my last post was October 29...)

Anyway, this year I am aiming to stay on top of it a little more, but also know that I may not update this one as often as I have in the past. I will be focused on my other blogs, and still plan on writing the End of the Quarter posts and Humans Versus Zombies the next game for here.

Have a great 2012!

Typing as therapy from boredom

Last week I had to do three loads of laundry, and I waiting until later in the evening to start so more of the machines would be available. Like I mentioned last week, I began typing out a rough intro to a story, and people seem to like it so far. Hopefully I kick my butt and actually see it through to completion--ink and color and all--for at least this first part. Even though I have up to Part Three typed, we'll see how far I get.

Since last week people seemed to have enjoyed the story I posted, I thought I'd share Part One of this odd story. At the bottom of this blog are scans of the original, typed sheets. You can also see some of my sketches to get better ideas of the story and characters on my Northwestern Artist blog.

 By the way, I'm calling it:

Posthumorously: Ridiculous Stories of the Afterlife

Posthumously: Works published after the creator has passed away.
Humor: See above.

David: At first, I thought it was all a big mistake...
    Hello?
    ...Hello?
David: Boy, was I wrong.
    Hello?!
    Hello! Is anybody out there!?
    Help! Can anybody hear me? I’ve been trapped here against my will.
    Hellooooooo!
((Above, slow pan of skeleton, from either feet up, or from the fingers with a Wedding Band, then up the ribcage to the skull. Words are coming out of the skull)).
Hand enters the frame, taps on the skull, and begins to draw out David from within. Forming him from a small, clay-like thing into more of a resemblance of who he was, but not quite right yet. Still nude.
David: W-Who are you?
Figure: Not quite sure yet? Just look around.
David can’t see anything in the darkness.
David: Do you know where I am? I’ve been trapped--
Figure: --against your will, I get it. Now come on, this way.
Figure leads David into the darkness, which fades into a red room. In another frame it looks like an elevator, with the mount of buttons, a level readout, and doors--except it is Really long, like a hallway.
Figure ushers in David.
Figure: Watch where you step (chuckles)
Figure locks the elevator grill, and pushes a blank button. The level-readout begins changing.
David: You still haven’t answered me, who are you, and what am I doing here? (Just noticing) And why do my hands look so weird?
Figure: Because, you don’t Remember yet.
David: What does that mean? I am David Co--
Figure:  Cozanowski. Born June 3, 1982. Happily married to a beautiful wife and are a proud father. As to Where we are, I’m afraid only You can answer that.
David: Why me? You happen to know your way around here, you shuttled me here and knew what button to push.
Figure: (chuckles), it actually doesn’t matter which button I push.
Panel is revealed to have all blank buttons. Also, this whole time the level-readout has been changing between only two levels in the scenes. Attention is drawn to this when David notices. Maybe something like ‘Dead’ and ‘Alive’, or black and white?
David: Why isn’t it going anywhere?
Figure: Flicker effect. Apparent motion. Beta-waves (use correct terminology).
Dictionary style of words, like the title.
David: You’re not making any sense! Who are you?!
Figure: I am but a messanger, summoned forth by you to help you on your quest. I may seem all-knowing, but let me assure you, I only know as much as you know, even if you haven’t quite realized it yet.
David: I’m not buying any of it. I demand to be released. I demand you bring me back to my---
Figure: --house.
The elevator dings and both of them are now out front of David house (NY-style apartment?). The scene is now blue, framed by the elevator, which is now just the doorway, panel, and grill. David rushes out to go to his house, but as he rushes out he stumbles and falls down into sand.
He looks up, and now his house is just a cardboard panel on a sandy beach, with an ocean or other body of water stretching into the distance. Crows circle overhead.
View of crows circling, reveal that the scene that David sees is the only thing revealed--all else is covered in darkness, as if out of the spotlight.
David is now kneeling on the sand, watching sand sift through his fingers. They look more realistic and Human-like.
David: (through tears, looking up at Figure) You know what is going on--
Figure: --tell me.
They are now in a restaurant, looking at David sitting down at a table. Both Davids are exactly the same--meaning David has refigured himself to fit his true image (starting to remember). Little details in the restaurant are off: clocks don’t have hands, people don’t have faces, etc.
Sitting-David gets up and leaves the restaurant, walking down the street by himself. David and Figure follow behind. David continues down the street and comes across a dark alley. He gets frightened, and then runs down the street, where he falls and collapses.
Figure: Never were the most courageous. And so begins your humorous afterlife (grinning).
David now looks at Figure, which now has the appearance of David. Cut to David’s confused eyes; they shut.
They open, he’s fully waking up. He is in the dark again. There is a tiny crack of light just in front of him. When he pushes towards it, the casket he’s in falls open and stumbles out, blinded by the intense light.
Caretaker: Welcome back.
Caretaker is sitting at a desk with a typewriter and a hookah on the desk. Everything is natural colors, for the moment.
David: Where am I? Was that all just a dream?
Caretaker: Nope. You’re dead as disco right now. How you feeling?
David: Umm. I’m not sure what to feel right now, actually.
Caretaker: Have a seat. I’m the Caretaker. Everyone comes through here before they Acclimate. Now, let’s look at your Record.
Caretaker is an all-black character with a skull and skeleton of white over his face and body. He’s a real slow talking, relaxed and take it easy kind of guy. The Record is on the typewriter, which is fed by a huge spool of paper.
Caretaker: David M. Cozanowski. Male, obviously. Aged thirty-one. Born June 3, 1982, died March 15, 2013. Passed away after falling on concrete face-first. Paramedics called in DOA. (Smiling) Well, just be glad that I’ve seen worse, and funnier. You okay, son?
David: I really am dead...
Caretaker: Hey kid, you get used to it. Look around, explore a bit. You’ll find that being dead isn’t half as bad as everyone claims it is. You never know what somethings like until it happens to you.
David: What do I do now, exactly?
Caretaker: Whatever you want, really. As long as you’re ready to leave this room, you can leave. But only if you’re ready to face being dead. Hell, you can stay and talk all day if that’s what you need. I have plenty of Time.
David looks around the room, noticing details about it. Very bare room, only a few pieces of furniture: a window, a shelf of books, a lamp, a casket, the desk, typewriter, hookah (ghosts), and hourglass.
Caretaker: I know, it looks a little droll, but its a nice place. Care for a hit? (Offers hose to David).
David: I think I’m fine for the moment. What are those books?
Caretaker: All different books of worship. It helps for some people to sit down and read them, or just skim their favorite parts. Makes them feel comfortable. But just like everybody else, they have to Move On, eventually, that is. If you’re still not ready, you up for a game of chess?
David: I’m actually feeling a bit better. Will I be able to come back again and play another time, or am I passing up the only opportunity?
Caretaker: Oh, don’t worry Mr. Cozanowski, you can come back whenever you need to. Here, take my card before I forget. All you have to do is read the directions when you need me. I may be a busy man, but I have all the time i the world.
Gestures to the hourglass, which is flowing upwards. Also, detail shows that the grains are all clocks.
David looks at the card, which is all white, except for a small red symbol.
Caretaker: It will guve you directions when you need them. Well, if you’re all set, then you can move on to Acclimation. (He opens the door) Of course, you have to Sign-In first.
He closes the door, which has slightly fogged glass with his “name” on it. Very detective-noir-esque.
David looks at the card, it now reads: Don’t forget to smile.
He looks up, and sees a hallway ahead of him completely FULL of people.

[[END PART ONE]]

New Year, New Order

It is now officially the year of 2011! And that means resolutions! I didn't make any resolutions (so I can't technically break any this year), but I thought I'd try to stick to a schedule from here on out.

• I will write at least one piece for College Collection each week.
• Add to the Jones Soda Saying of the Day at least once a month
• Completing prompts for Megan Writes 365 the week they are published
• Post more of my free-writes
• Short stories, poems, lyrical essays
• Stay up-to-date with the What I've Read series (as I finish six books)

I think this will help keep stuff flowing and ready for people to read. Also, it should stop me from slacking and spending all my time free time on Halo: Reach this coming quarter.

Happy New Years Day!

Diving Once More

It seemed like my last post about getting stuck on my English paper was very helpful in getting me to find my topic and just going for it. So, this is me trying that again. Below is the sandbox for random thought processes, lines of inquiry, segues, and ramblings [...I think].

--------

[Insert Creative, Unique, and/or Witty Title Here]

Society is obsessed--worships--Success and Independence. Two very hard things to pin down their exact meaning, especially within Society as a whole. Most readily, Success is linked with the accumulation of  things. Some examples include wealth, material possessions, and ideals that many people group together: big house, full of luxurious and expensive items getting married; a steady-paying, 9-to-5 job; having kids, enough money to live comfortably.

Hungarian psychology professor, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi explains in his essay What Is The Self? that personal objects help create an ideal image to those around someone, while "the objects one collects in the home seem to serve a different function. As they are more private, their function seems to be to create inner order and clarity in the owner's conception of self, rather than making an external impression." (256)

Whoever says the choice for careers is "college or flipping burgers" clearly has never seen Dirty Jobs.

I have a one-liter bottle of water next to me while I'm working on my paper, and I'm wishing it's some other kind of drink. Is there such thing as "liquid courage" for college--something like "liquid inspiration" or "drought of productivity"??

We want our women in seductive, form-fitting clothes that don't easily allow other things--like a wallet or cell phone--to be carried without disrupting the appeal of the clothes. Are we secretly wanting our women to be completely dependent on us during dates? The solution for women: purses.

The violent wind slams the unrelenting brick, slapping against the windows, slowly stirring a revolution in the air within the rooms: to join its cause and spread an icy domain within the dorms.

The Saints coolly light their cigarettes while the wind whips outside. Their halos are undisturbed by the violence.

Diving So Deep You Sink

So, at the moment I'm working on a 5-page working draft due tomorrow, and am somewhat floundering. I dove so far into my line of thought and paper that I'm treadmilling. Wishing to stay away from the idea-beaching shallows and sandbars I dove into the deep-end of the bay to find the pearls of wisdom I sought, but have found the waters more vast and engulfing than originally expected.

I'm going to use this open, and less formal-feeling post page as a proverbial anchor to tie myself to; a raft to collect my thoughts; and a float for support between dives. 

Perhaps this "informal" venue will act as an old, experience-weathered fisherman who is teaching his apprentice (me) in thought-diving, whispering nuggets of advice and seasonal-teachings in this lost art. From the stationary raft he watches me take a deep breath and sink into the dark, mysterious depths of Thought. As the water laps around the raft he remembers the light and lightness that can be discovered in those deep, dark waters. Diving too quickly and too deep, one becomes disoriented, and may even dive deeper instead of rising above and viewing the writing as a whole. One has to breath from time to time. A safety line is almost always required, just to find which way is up.

You as a reader will more than likely not see, read, or experience what happens between my dives, but at least I've given a somewhat entertaining and fresh look at writing, assigned or otherwise.



Yeah, I got an A- on this one! Hoorah, for diving!

College: Intra-Urban Geographies

Edit: Nov. 25, 2010 - Pictures added

Today, the Bellingham Weather System decided to stop denying that it is officially fall in Western Washington, and it's been chilly and raining all day. Because of this torrent of water, more and more puddles are forming all over campus, especially where there's tons of brick (which is everywhere).

One vast expanse of brick is known as Red Square, and today walking between classes I have discovered a hidden quality of it: there's a miniature terrain in the bricks.

Through age and imperfections in the Square, brick-lined estuaries, lakes, straits, islands, peninsulas, and other water-land relationships are created in miniature. As rainfall increases, there is a miniature urban flood that only conflicts with foot traffic through the square.

This accidentally man-made landscape slowly redirects the ebb and flow of students between classes. Those who wish to avoid getting soaking socks choose increasingly hop-scotch-esque routes among the "dry" brick-islands, while those with tall shoes, rainboots, or aren't concerned with wet feet, merely walk undaunted through the tiny lakes, creeks, rivers, sloughs, and channels that are created. Everyone that walks through Red Square in the rain is a wayward explorer, landing on dozens of unnoticed islands and mini-continents that will remain unclaimed.

Of course, there is the possibility that the apparent "flaws" in the way the brickwork sits may be on purpose. Perhaps a team of brick-layers worked together to replicate familiar (and perhaps imaginary) landscapes and terrains through the reaction of brick and trapped water.

On this track, I was immediately reminded of the plaza on campus just a little further south, Haskell Plaza. According to WWU's Walking Tour with Artists--Part of Western's Outdoor Sculpture Collection, Haskell Plaza is a miniature, familiar terrain:

"As you walk from Hamrol’s work further into Haskell Plaza, you will notice an increase of segmented, grassy mounds. These mounds along with the patterned brickwork represent the San Juan Islands just beyond Western and Bellingham Bay. The landscape architects, Campbell & Campbell of California, wanted to connect us through its miniature version to the larger world outside campus." [*] p.22

Whether on purpose or not, Western Washington University has at least two miniature worlds that connect students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the outside world; even if it is not as obvious to most people. Perhaps an intra-urban cartographer will one day map out the wavering brick-archipelagos and lake systems that are located within Red Square on particularly rainy days.

This line of thinking has me wanting to go browse through Geoff Manaugh's BLDGBLOG some more. Even of you aren't one for architecture (like I used to be), you should still check out his stuff!

Since tomorrow is my "off day" and it should be rainy out, I'll try to snap some pics of people interacting with these miniature systems and post them here.

I seriously have no idea why it took this long.

Examples of the micro-environments located in Red Square, Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. Tried to take the shot from the same angle on various days to show the changing aquatic elements, as well as the way people travel around them.

Pi

 

[*] - http://westerngallery.wwu.edu/WalkingTourwithArtists.pdf

Sex on Campus

Now, I know many of you clicked on here just for the title alone, and I know just as many are more than likely appalled that I would blatantly talk about this particular topic.

While I can say that this is college and sex does happen on (in, near, around, etc.) campus, this is not the particular topic of this post. I'm talking about sex as in gender, and the inequalities on campus (and in general).

It was recently brought to my attention (by a friend) that in a neighboring residence hall, in one of the ladies' bathrooms is a stall known as "The Hottie Potty."(I also like"Man Stall"). Within this stall are tons of pictures of male models in various stages of (un)dress. My friend who told me did not know of this before going to said stall one day, and it surprised her seeing so many men staring at her. When she told me this story, I honestly chuckled at the idea.

Today in class (math of all things), my mind related this to the apparent inequalities between men and women, in which certain social "protocols" are overlooked in favor of women. In high school, many girls in my grade (actually, every grade) pinned up similar male model pictures. Any time they opened the door to grab a pencil, there was some hottie in barely-waist-high jeans trying to make "sex eyes" at who ever was looking. I remember saying in high school, "If a guy posted a bunch of women models in their lockers, they'd be practically forced to take them down."

I think this hypocritical stance would happen in our residence hall bathrooms. If a bunch of guys on a floor posted up supermodels in one of the stalls, word would get out, and some one "higher up" would order they be removed. Now, I have no word of if the ladies' "Man Stall" has been found out and eradicated, but I'm just using this as a parallel to show some "inequalities" in social behavior concerning the sexes.

Another "inequality" I recently found (on a forum) was about a local character. Many stories are circulating about how a woman goes around looking for guys coming back from a party, giving them a ride, and sexually assaulting them. Now, there are other stories saying it's a guy dressing up as a woman to assault other men. According to the stories, the cops aren't out in force to find the suspect. Now, this is all from a forum and no real evidence either way. I'm just using the conversation as part of my thought process.

What jumped into my previous segue was something that was said in response to the woman assaulting men story; paraphrased, of course: "If this was a guy picking up women and raping them, the whole city would be after this guy!"

As a male writer, I'm not here to gripe about some of the few inequalities that are in favor of women. Only once women have equal rights to their men counterparts, then we could knit-pick about the little things like "Man Stalls." (Although, sexual predators of either gender should be taken seriously). As a writer, I ask you readers (and hopefully a few responsive writers) what your thoughts are on these "social, sex-based inequalities"? Should men let the women have these "little victories" or should there be a movement of men to stop women objectifying them?

Personally, it goes both way as objectifying goes, but I'd love to hear from some readers--whether they post anonymously or not, that's your choice. I just want a conversation (i.e., not a debate) started about social nuances such as these.

(Again, I have no research into the forum issue, so I can't say one way or the other what is fact, I was merely using the discussion I read about the topic to add a perspective).

The Portrait of a Cheater

-Subtitled: A College Tale-

While some of you that know me personally may have initially thought of my past relationship when you read this title, it is actually referring to what secondary educational institutions call "academic dishonesty."

Today was my Art History's first exam of the year (of three-with no final), and I was feeling really up to it. I knew a majority of the material very well, I did all the readings, and knew the dates and eras of specific works were going to get confused in my head--but for the most part I'm pretty confident that I did very well. In between classes I had half an hour, so I did some very quick scanning through all my notes and the study guides, so that helped freshen everything up.

However, many people weren't so prepared for this exam; or as calm. One of these people happened to sit next to me. Dark brown hair, about a head shorter than me, shifty eyes, and a nervous tick.

Her knees were always bouncing, and she was constantly fidgeting. I know some people just get nervous during tests--especially when they're titled "exams"--so I didn't pay attention to her.

It wasn't until halfway through the test I realized that she seemed to be looking at my answers for practically every question. I kept hearing her eraser to change answers. Apparently, I fill in multiple-choice bubbles in a way that gives off an aura of confidence. I had no idea I even had an aura of confidence (dressed in everyday clothes, of course--pinstripes are my Superman-suit).

So, I started to write my answers, and cover them up with my pencil as the teacher showed slides of the artworks we had to identify and write about. After I started this tactic, the assumed "snoop" next to me periodically leaned back against the chair-back to make it look like she was stretching. It felt like she was looking for someone else to look off of?

After the last slides were shown, I finished the rest of the answers fairly easily and left the room early.

I hope for my sake and hers that I did very well for the first half of the test, and she didn't misread the bubbles. Or perhaps she was merely someone who was just really nervous, and my suspicious mind misread her body language.

Maybe a class like "Body Language 203" is one I should take next quarter to help distinguish the difference?

Lost and Found Sorta Day

I woke up this morning knowing that I wanted to do a post about the types of things that jump out at me during the day. And then when I got back to my dorm from the shower I realized I left my keys in the room, and had to call my roommate to wake up and open the door...

Little did I know that's just how today was gonna go...

So this post will go thus, I'll list the things I've lost today, and then list the awesome sights that I found throughout my day--just so I don't end on a negative--so bear with my grumbling (and excessive use of ellipses).

Lost/Forgot:

*Keys, as already grumbled...

*Halfway through my day I realized I left my jump drives in a classroom that I won't have class in until next Wednesday...

*Jacket in math class...which I fortunately rescued before the next class began.

*To load extra $$$ on my washer/dryer card...I was able to do it later in the day, though.

*The detergent when I went to wash my clothes...all I had to do was go back up seven flights of stairs to get it.

*Used my washer/dryer card to try and get in to the dining hall...I had my real card on me, at least.

Found:

*Sea of fog-banks pooling over the Bay, while a pillar of white steam wafts into the air. The cold, morning air sometimes spawns a huge amount of fog coverage in and around the Bay, and I'm loving it every morning. We keep our blinds open at night because of it. Or at least I keep them open, and my roommate doesn't say anything.

*Two guys walking up a hill, continuously looking around, wearing bright orange armbands. Today was the first day of WWU Humans Versus Zombies. If you're interested, check the link, it's really fun to watch. I didn't know it would be this soon in the year, so I don't have any Nerf guns, but I'll definitely sign up next round. (PS - When I checked the count this morning, there were 30 zombies. Now it's up to 92).

*Spider-silk line from the top of a light pole to a tree limb. Showing us once again, nature--in big or small ways--will always prevail, and keep going where we left off.

*Soft sunlight on the grass coming back from class. The grass looked electric, and like a rug of emeralds between the bricks. Just a really relaxing sight that helped me just relax and enjoy and focus what was around me--rather than dwell on the things I kept losing all day.

*The unique and "tagged" bricks throughout campus. There are bricks everywhere on campus, and a few of them have special tags people/students/staff have marked in some way. I think they're just bricks that were created, and then placed in the big walkways when no one was looking. Some of dates, some have quotes, and I even saw one that looked like a street-tag graffiti, relief style.

*This wasn't a sight, just a find: Two quarters from someone else's load of clothes. Gonna keep looking throughout the year.

*Orange glow and lights of Bellingham at night. As you can see in another post, the city at night is just awesome. I'm going to take more in the future to show it off some more.

College Fitness, Part Two, and Sustainability

So, last week I talked a little bit about trying to be healthy on campus. I said I'd try to count my footsteps taken during a busy day for me. This won't be happening, as I found my pedometer uses different batteries than are sold at the AS Bookstore. So, I'll save that one for another time.

In the meantime, I can keep going with the healthy feeling and also talk about sustainability and being eco-conscious.

Living in a dorm, you begin to realize that you are disconnected from water utilities, bathrooms, and a kitchen in a way that probably never happened living at home. Every time I make a mess or need to wash my hands, I remember that I have to walk down the hall to get water to clean with. It really makes you realize how often it's needed (depending on how messy you are).

I usually drink a lot of water, just to stay hydrated and healthy. The first week my roommate had a case of water bottles; we'd finish one, throw it in the recycling bin and grab another. After a time, we had very few bottles, so I decided to start reusing mine. Now, I am constantly refilling two, 16.9 fluid oz. water bottles and a bigger one I carry in my backpack--so once every two hours or whatever it is (I haven't timed it), I'm going down the hall to refill these bottles, and clean whatever dishes I've used.

I think this technique is really good, because it keeps me aware of my dish and water-use, as well as what I reuse, recycle, and throw away. It's a pretty good way to stay eco-conscious.

Further use of eco-friendliness is we keep our window blinds open during the day. It's so bright, we don't usually need extra light unless we're doing homework or reading at our desks/beds.

For those that don't know, Western is very much about being green. There are recycling bins everywhere, stickers in bathrooms reminding about water/paper/electricity usage, and even has a small plot of land for growing food on campus.

Also, this happens to be Campus Sustainability Week. See? It all fits together.

College Fitness, Part One

Update: 8:15 p.m.: New stair tallies seen below.

A lot of people are worried about the so-called "freshman fifteen" on campus. A lot of people are going to the gym a lot, others are trying not too eat too many sweets and trashy food, and some just make small adjustments throughout their day.

I'm not one to worry about my diet and my weight. My body does what it needs to do, and I try to balance things out. Of course, having big batches of home-made cookies within arms' reach while I play Halo: Reach isn't exactly helping...but for the most part I try to be more healthy overall than not.

This morning, I decided to take some tallies throughout my day. Originally I was going to track my total number of steps on my busy days (when I have three classes all across campus), but this morning I found my pedometer is out of batteries. So, I decided to count the total number of stairs (up and down) I stepped today.

Total number of stairs: 445
Walking up: 215
Walking down: 231
Overall trend: -16

New Tally:

Total number of stairs: 794

Walking up: 389

Walking down: 405

Overall trend: -16

Due to different routes to and from classes, the numbers are different up and down. Today's trend was I took 16 more stair steps going down than going up. One can say today I was "lazy" but I can refute that saying I didn't take any elevators--and that I go to the fifth floor to two rooms I go on my busy days.

When I first posted this, it had tallies of right after I get off class. I hadn't considered what would happen the rest of the evening--like going to dinner. The overall tally almost doubled, but it's curious that the trend was still sixteen. Must be one of the routes I take across campus that I don't repeat later.

Just keep in mind how worked someone gets when they have to go across campus, and then up at least three flights of stairs; all in ten minutes between classes.

And that's what my busy day feels like. I'm hoping to have a battery by Monday, so everyone can see total steps throughout my busy day.

Long Night

I thought I'd have something substantial to talk about in this post. Basically, I'm bored, and edited some pictures that will be up on my art blog, Northwestern Artist very soon.

Other than that, not much happening. I realized some of my ideas for blogs I can't do until my busy-scheduled days (Mon., Wed.). You will soon know what I mean.

In the mean time, you can share my geeking out over a new way to multiply polynomials, and the very interesting and strange critters in my room.

Enjoy, and keep an eye out for new posts this week.

This was actually created on GIMP so I could share it with people on Facebook. My math teacher put it on the board as an alternative for sketching a square and using the FOIL method. You may or may not really appreciate this.

This strange fly/moth flew in my room, and perched by my light. I just snapped some macros while it was there, and I haven't been bitten by it (yet), so I'm not complaining.

Awarded Works

For all of those curious about my awards at the 2010 Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest, here they are:

All pages are owned by La Conner Weekly News, and used with editor's permission.

When opening and zooming in on files, be patient and let them load completely. The text should be legible, although the pictures seem to degrade in quality in this format.

Second place - Best Story of the Arts: "Giving life to stone"

Third place - Best Government Reporting: "Voters quiz and candidates spar" - cover, cont'd

Third place - Best General Feature Story - Short: "Fire in the blood"

Third place - Best Sports News Story - "A great show at Homecoming"

-Enjoy!

Newspaper Weekend!

Back from my two-day WNPA Better Newspaper Contest conference in Wenatchee, WA.

My English teacher would be so proud, I was making connections all weekend! Oh, and I obtained four awards for my writing with the La Conner Weekly News; but more on that in a little bit.

In English class, we're reading sections of the book The Young and the Digital by S. Craig Watkins. In it, Watkins explains the cultural migration of tweens and young adults to the internet and digital, social media. The concept of the book is that all of this media communication is making people evolve in their communication, rather than stunt it. The internet is just an extension of real-life relationships, and is the next social adaption.

Now, the newspaper industry is going through something similar. As my editor from the La Conner Weekly News said this weekend, "There are some dinosaurs here. We have to evolve from dinosaurs if we want to survive."

There is a migration of news-related media to the internet. I know you're thinking that the big news stations like Faux News and everyone else has already been online. I don't classify "TV news" as actual news, not in the same way as locally-produced newspapers.

At the convention, there were several workshops on various topics, and all of the ones I attended were very informative. The first one was in two parts, and was basically the business plan of the future, and it revolved around the idea that multi-media, internet/social media-driven news sources were the next step in evolution.

It really got my editor thinking, and now they're going to experiment with different things, including more on their blog and starting a Twitter account.

Anyway, the paper won fourteen awards total, with a clean sweep in our group for Best Government Reporting. (The papers are grouped by circulation, and we are in Group I for having < 2,500 in circulation every week).

Of the fourteen, I won four awards:
Second place - Best Story of the Arts
Third place - Best Government Reporting
Third place - Best Sports Story
Third place - Best General Story - Short

Oh, and I was the youngest person attending.

The convention was a great experience for me. I got to hear from long-time industry professionals, learn from these professionals, and meet several interesting people, including the President of the WNPA--we sat at his table and got away with it.

Later this week I'll actually post the articles I won these for. For now, adieu.

Sounds of College

This morning I woke up and decided I needed to do a post about college life; and I had no idea what to do, and then it hit me: The sounds I hear in a day of college.

So, I'll list notable sounds that stuck in my mind today. And I'm using a list just to get the sounds out there. Hopefully by the end my mind will have congealed a few sparse ideas into a clever conclusion. If not, you get to a personal, audio-tour of my day.

*A whole room of people studiously typing on keyboards. Seriously, there was no other noise in the room for like ten minutes. The teacher commented how cool it sounded.

*Guy singing while playing guitar. Some guy was walking around Red Square with a guitar and singing. Couldn't tell the song, but it perked up my day a bit just seeing/hearing him.

*Everyone talking on phones. Just a huge scramble of conversations between classes. Felt very ethereal and white-noise-y when I decided not to focus on any and just hear the chaos.

*Musical bricks on the way to class. Most of campus has laid brick for walkways, and some of them shift when people walk, causing a clinking sound. One area is notable for it, and so it's constantly clinking between classes.

*Bikes flying by. There's a hill I walk to go to the cafeteria, and everyone zips by on the road on their bikes, whizz-clicketing away.

*Hum and buzz of conversation. I like that drone/hum in the air when a lot of people are talking all at once, like in a cafeteria. It feels energetic and alive.

*Soft singing. During a candlelight gathering, a group of people started to softly and somberly sing.

*Group of guys celebrating. A few rooms in my hall got yards and yards of ethernet cables and LAN-lined their XBoxes together in a big match of Halo. The victors ran down the hall yelling and jumped into the room of the people they beat.

*Doors at night. Our dorm doors are very heavy, and if you aren't careful, they slam shut. Of course, when you hear other doors slam, it sounds like deep thumps up and down the hall.

*Trains at night. Like I said before, I'm always hearing trains everyday, but at different times. It's something I missed about Santa Fe, but didn't truly realize it until I started hearing them more consistently.

Yeah...got nothing. Maybe next time. Good night!

College: Week One

This week I have learned about the true seductiveness of temptation. Almost sounds redundant, but it's true.

This week was my first full week of college. Technically. Even though my first classes started on Wednesday, I've been living on campus and experiencing college for a full week. So there.

And speaking of temptation...my roommate and I are tempted by a few things already, including Halo: Reach, snack/junk food, and taking breaks from school work. And we have both given in to these temptations. A lot.

Although, we've both been able to get each other to finish homework, even if it was so we could play Reach online for hours. Some motivation is better than no motivation.

I myself have found and given in to another (cliché) temptation: Going home for a weekend [and getting laundry done at home].

It so happens this weekend was my friend John's family's annual cider day, and I just couldn't miss it. So, I packed a vacation bag to go home (an odd thought/feeling), and then worked with apples all day yesterday. Picking, washing, grinding, pressing, straining, pouring, and finally enjoying all-natural cider. Can't be beat, and it was a relaxing (and productive) weekend. Now, back to school!

Also, here are photos of my dorm, for those that have been wanting a taste.

My side of the dorm. The lofted bed adds a lot of room.

Another view of my side, with more of my work zone shown.

An angle looking out of my window, overlooking Bellingham Bay.

Pretty much exact same view, but at night. I love these orange-laden fog banks at night.