Tuesday, January 27, 2009

PHY150 Amusings..

I feel compelled to share more about my Physics class. If anything, it keeps me highly entertained. Unfortunately not so highly educated, by proof of the 77% i got on my first test (story and explanation for later!).

Freeky physics kid was back on his A game today, picking and eating away. I also realized why he has splotchy patches of facial hair, and this is because he picks the hair off his face as well. Literally. I must put a name with this mystifying character and at the least introduce myself to him as he very much so is intriguing and looks to be in need of a friend to teach him appropriate public behavior. He sat two rows away today and about four seats more in front, which tells me that my attempt failed of letting him catch me see him pick his scalp and eat it then hopefully get embarrassed and not do it again. He must not be well versed in Geography. Just because you changed locations does not mean i still can't see you. I bet he's the type of person who gets 100%'s on his take home Physics test, unlike my nice high C average. I could benefit from such a friendship.

I also made a new observation today while in Physics. (Maybe if i weren't so busy people watching i wouldn't be getting that 77%'s, oh wait, that would require having something to pay attention to in class other than my i don't speak your language professor.) Anyways, not sure if i can consider this a new observation or not. I did notice this guy. He was "that" guy on the first day of class, strolling in about 10 minutes late, slacker appearance, looks like he should more so be playing guitars in Pot Belly sub shops. Seemed cool, or at least the type of guy i use to hang around in college. He selectively chose the farthest chair in the back nestled in the corner, amidst spider webs practically, and that's where he has remained the last three weeks. I am within a radius of him, and occasionally while chatting it up with my new friend he will pipe in with like a dude, or a hey, where we supposed to turn that assignment in. Typical slacker. But slacker surprised me today, and i loved it, because just when you think you have something stereotyped they totally prove you wrong, which i personally find amazing. It's like finding a *black* sheep in wolves clothing.. sneaky sneaky. So non slacker boy piped up in class today saying he had a question and continued to go on and on about all these contradictions and yada yada's. I wasn't paying much attention at this point because the conversation was beyond me, but surprising nonetheless. This guy obviously is not a slacker and seems intelligence. Maybe I'll make friends with him and can compare take home quizzes.

Which brings me to my next point of this entertaining Physics class. The professor sets up the class so it is fool proof. Probably because if he managed the classroom like a normal professor would none of his students would pass because nobody would know what they're doing from lack of understanding any bit of his lecture due to his extremely heavily obnoxious Armenian accent. So he gives us take home tests all semester long, with 2 or 3 non take home tests in between. BUT, the 2 or 3 tests that we take in the classroom, all are questions off of the take home tests that we get to keep. So really, you'd have to be an idiot to not even get at least a 90%. WRONG! I am no an idiot, and i am actually rather smart, besides the point in saying stupid things, i am smart and always have been. I don't accept anything under an A-, and when anything under an A- presents itself i get mad. It was a TAKE. HOME. TEST.!! Seriously, is there no excuse why one can't get 100%? Well, there must be, because i managed to get a 77%. One more percent and i at least would of had a C+. At least it was the first one, i can make it up and get my A still. Maybe if i gained any useful knowledge whatsoever from my professor, i could have gotten 100%. Let me give you an example, or i should say an example of what i was able to make out, of his rants and raves. This man is very excitable about his work, as most Physicists are I'm sure.

So the lecture starts out about velocity and the relation to distance and time. And he starts charting all sorts of things on the boards and drawing straight lines and explaining finding the area of such and such.. Simple at first, this point to that and it makes a rectangle or triangle on the grid and then calculating the area based on bla ba bla. Simple enough. Then, he spends about 30 minutes on this one graph, the kind of crazy graph that looks like a drunk walking in a "straight" line. It's all over the place, and it's shadowed in, and he's explaining all these complex theories of fixes and saying how this relates to calculus (A- I haven't even had algebra yet, let along calculus, B- and placed into the two "dumb" math courses.). Anyways, he's going on and on about it and in the meanwhile I'm having a mini panic attack because it's again so beyond me and WTF is this guy talking about, but I'm diligently working on taking the notes, two full pages and all... and then he says."zwell, zoo doo hnot heev to elurrn such conzepts." Or in other words, he got excited and went off on this tangent and we're all looking like fire starters with our pencils just working away and then nope, you don't actually have to know any of this, so erase anything you just saw from your minds. Way complex physical equations that we do not discuss in general physics. Oh, and i wonder how i got that 77%? Sure wasn't lack of studying, that's for sure.

So that's all for now. My blog has successfully made my eyes a bit heavier. It's 12:18 and the ambien is kickin in, and i have *work* tomorrow. 2 more days! Can't wait until Thursday when to see what progress i can make with these folks in this self entertaining physics world i have landed in.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Story of a girl named Insomnia

This is a story of a girl named Insomnia. Insomnia's mind doesn't shut off, and her nocturnal clock just keeps on ticking. An exhausted shell of a body, wanting nothing more than to sleep, but Insomnia's eyes stay open.

I remember once in college a time before Christmas break during exam week. I managed to only have exams on Monday so had the entire week off, and my friend Matt had decided he just didn't give a f*ck and figured he'd skip all of his exams. Matt and i had a friendly bet who could stay up the longest. The wager of course being a few 40's of Bull Ice. I stayed awake for 4 nights and 5 days straight, winning the bet of course. We drank the majority of the time, spent a night sledding until we were just about hypothermic on one of the worst snowfalls that year, and all the time in between kept a watchful eye upon one another. We rode back home together that year for Christmas. Somewhere along Seney stretch and sobriety i dozed off. When i awoke i noticed we were just about entirely in the other lane, and then i noticed he had dozed off as well. I drove the rest of the way. A few months later he killed himself by falling asleep at the wheel and driving himself into a ditch.

I don't know why, but every time i decide to not take an ambien and spend the night in a transient phase of restlessness i think of him, and those 4 nights.

So, that was a story of a girl named insomnia, and 4 nights she'll never forget and always remember on a sleepless night. RIP Brunk, I still miss your mug after all these years...Matt Brunky, That Funky Brunky :)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Edumacation

So I've been a bit absent as of late, but it's due to good cause. I started school . This said, i thought i would share some of the wisdom i have gained at school over the past two weeks.

1- Don't wear a faux fur coat to a school where there is a vet tech program. This will not earn you any friends and will only gain you dirty looks and isolation in the student lounge. (Note to self) Go buy a fleece jacket, because 100% genuine leather is no better than 0% fur.

2- As much as your eyes may want to wander towards the creepy kid next to you in Physics class with the Jeffrey Dahmer sense of fashion, keep your attention on the Armenian speaking professor, whether you can understand him or not. Staring at said creepy kid will only result in you physically witnessing him scratch the scabs on his head, roll them between his finger and thumb and then yes... wait for it... EAT IT! This is no lie. This will happen, and continue to happen, if you stare at creepy kid.

3- When the director asks you to sign permission to do a background check for the committee of ethics and explains how any priors will result in forbidance to sit for your board exams, just sign it and then drop out of the program. Don't get up and walk out. We know you're a felon now, and we see you on campus. Let's hope he doesn't make friends with creepy Physics kid.

Of course I've learned all sorts of other scholarly things, but i can't help but find amusement in this old yet familiar world i have landed in. 27 months and 2 weeks left!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

You heard it here

I can be a bit conceited when it comes to my ability of seeking out the next best thing. Usually it deals with music. I revel in the fact that i go against the grain, listening to more folk/bluegrass and most always underground music. Mainstream is for people who don't know anything about the music they're listening too, they're just sheep being herded. I do listen to mainstream, once my underground artist sells out. Yes, I'm a music snob, and i admit it. Only because i know I'm right and you're wrong. But music is really my passion. I just find it hilarious when someone asks me if I've heard such and such and i don't have the heart to tell them, yeah, three years ago. Or i love it even more when three years ago i pinned this artist as the next thing and then now all the sudden they break out. I have little methods of this seeking out of music believe it or not. In the spirit of sharing, i thought i shall pass some knowledge along.

First off, it is never the artist so much as it is the label. It's all in the label. The music execs know their shit, and it is shown in the type of artists they sign. My favorite label is Brushfire Records. From Brushfire, owned by Jack Johnson mind you, one can find other artists such as A.L.O or Animal Liberation Orchestra for short, Zach Gill, who is the pianist and lead singer for A.L.O. and pianist for Jack Johnson, as well as having his own solo career. From there we also have Rogue Wave, Money Mark, G. Love & Special Sauce, Matt Costa, and a few other friends. Usually i find my random artists by seeking out who is opening for them on tour. From such findings i have found Ted Lennon, who opened for Jack on his Japan tour. I actually believe Brushfire just signed Mason Jennings who got his start around Minneapolis.
So it's no lie that I'm always looking for the next best thing, and when that next best thing surfaces three years after i have already discovered it i feel as though they should be paying me some royalties because after all, i discovered them. As i mentioned in the beginning, usually it deals with music. Sometimes it wanders off the path of entertainment. The last best example could be Dane Cook. I was on him like flies on shit before anyone really knew who he was. It was a little bit of an obsession more like it, but now he's mainstream and success follows him anywhere. After Dane sold out and started taking B-rated movie scripts and went off the path of what made him great in the first place, which was doing his OWN comedy, i sought out a new favorite comic. Sorry Dane, I still heart you and shall always quote you. I know you will be back again someday in your original state of what made you great.
So, to those of you who by random chance may have heard of Demetri Martin, i applaud you for being out there against everyone else in the you heard it first club. He has been on Comedy Central once, but i don't think he's quite popular yet and has achieved cult followings. Anyways, i got bored tonight and was looking for the next best thing, or coincidentally "Best of what's around." The reason why i love him? Simple. He merges the three things i love most. The music, art, and comedy, but not necessarily all at the same time. He's also just very simply, obvious, and random. And i like random :) May not be the best up and coming out there, but definitely a fresh face with fresh techniques. I tried to find a good video on the Internet, but couldn't' find anything with my 5 minute attention span spent on the subject, so i have settled for this below video which is a good sampler, minus the guitar being in the skit. If you enjoy his humor much in the way i enjoy his humor, let some peeps know. Demetri Martin. You heard it first! lol

Friday, January 9, 2009

Me+Dentist=NEVER AGAIN

As much of the fully functional responsible adult that I think I am these days, I often still surprise myself with random acts of childlike foolishness. Although I am ashamed to rehash the disastrous workings of yesterday or the events leading up to it, I do find it highly amusing to myself and maintain my open book life policy. So, here goes another life lesson learned!

I am a firm believer in the philosophy of your childhood upbringing doesn’t necessarily dictate the person you become in life. Recent events in my life have lead me to believe my theories are wrong.

My mom was by no means neglectful. However, being a single mom of 4 with a lack of health insurance, I am fully understanding of her not raising us on good dental check up morals. Flash forward 26 years and here I am, still not going to the dentist. After all, my chompers have never bothered me, so if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right? The thought finally occurred to me that I have been paying for dental insurance for 5 years now, and this said dental insurance comes with one free exam a year and two free cleanings per year and it is straight up absurd that I am not taking advantage of this and seeing a dentist regularly. In typical not knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone fashion, I decided that before I lose the insurance at the end of the month I should probably get my free exam and cleaning out of the deal.

How bad can it be? Plop in the chair, suffer through a little scraping, rinse with some fluoride, make my I intend to cancel follow up appointment and be done a half hour later right? WRONG! 2 hours, 9 cavities, and 1 case of gingivitis later I leave the dental office without a cleaning, 2 sets of x-rays due to the incompetent hygienist who messed them up the first round and had to re do them, and 3 follow up appointments. Total value of visit: $2700. Total coverage: 80%. What on earth happened to this free innocent trip to the dentist office before my insurance gets the axe? Why wouldn’t something like this happen to me? I am a poster child for hypochondriacs across America.

Is it wrong to feel dirty after such findings? I am a hygienic person. I will admit, I do only brush my teeth in the morning, and I don’t floss. Who really flosses? Honestly? Who flosses everyday? Apparently I am going to start, as well as brushing before bed and rinsing with Listerine on the hour every hour. In my defense, the cavities were extremely minimal as well as my case of inflamed gums. It’s not like my teeth are rotting and falling out. Is this karma for calling Jon Jongivitis?

Moral of the story. Go to the dentist if you’re due or you may end up with scurvy.