Movies of 2009 and 2010

It occurred to me about a month ago that I have seen a lot of Blockbuster films this year and some that weren't. I actually went through and counted up the films I've seen either on the big screen or DVD and it's a little over 30 films and I still plan to see Sherlock Holmes and maybe (that's a strong maybe) Avatar. I did realize, funny enough, my list of films comprises mostly of action/adventure films. Well, at least from what I can remember of. It's hard finding a comprehensive movie list for 2009!

Anyway, I thought I'd give a recap of my favorite films in different genres for the heck of it and then talk about my favorites for 2010 (Iron Man 2!!!!!!! x infinity)

Stupid Comedy: Hangover - I say "stupid" comedy because it's well, you know, on the stupid end of comedy. :P Surprisingly, though. I rather enjoyed this one in its stupid sense. It's kind of funny how the guys have to figure out what happened to their friend and, in a lot of ways, a clever way to "retell" the story. Runner-up: I Love You, Man

Romantic Comedy: The Proposal - Might almost be my film of the year for me. It was really funny and I haven't laughed that hard during a film EVER. The plus side - Chris liked it too. Runner-up: He's Just Not That Into You

Horror: Zombieland - Not your typical scary, gorey horror film. It's rather funny (though there is some blood and guts - it's a zombie film!) and Chris and I still laugh about "the survival list" - "double-tap" and some others. It was an enjoyable film and one I wouldn't mind seeing again. Runner-up: N/A

Family film (non-animated): Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - You saw that one coming, right? :P It was one of the better family films I saw this year, to be fair. Runner-up: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Family film (animated): UP - Saw that one coming too, right? Since I only saw 2 in this category, kind of limits my options. :P I really did enjoy this film though. Runner-up: Coraline

Action-adventure: Taken - Liam Neeson kicks butt in the film! I mean, seriously, he kills more people in the film than most action film people do. Not a lot of blood flying everywhere either, which was nice. On top of it, the storyline was actually enjoyable too. I've rewatched the film already a few times and still enjoy it through each watching. Runner-up: 2012

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Star Trek - Excellent sci-fi/fantasy film that has it all: good special effects and storyline. Runner-ups: Watchmen and Terminator Salvation

Drama: Julie and Julia - It was a fun film to watch and I enjoyed it and had a few laughs here and there. Got hungry through it, though... Runner-up: Public Enemies

Worst film of the year: Toss up between Bride Wars, Push, and Confessions of a Shopaholic. I think Confessions makes it onto the list purely because I've read the entire series and the movie doesn't even take place in the right city. LoL I didn't like the interpretation of the film either. Bride Wars was just plain stupid and makes me not like Kate Hudson much more...Anne Hathaway is tolerable in some films, but the two of them together is not good. Push had the promise of so much more and fell flat. I hope they either do a better sequel or skip the experience altogether.

Movies I'd like to see on DVD: Up in the Air, Princess and the Frog, The Blind Side, Invictus, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Movies of 2010

Now to next year! Sad to say that I am already looking forward to a number of movies that are lined up to come out.

#1 film I'm excited about: Iron Man 2 (5/7) - Yes, yes, yes! I really enjoyed Iron Man and Iron Man 2 looks just as good as the first one if not better. The trailer just came out for it and RDJ (Robert Downey Jr.) IS Tony Stark. LoL Gwyneth Paltrow is back for Pepper Potts too and she and RDJ had a nice chemistry in the first one. The cast will be good for the second one also. I don't know...I'm just plain EXCITED FOR IT! It's the film I know that people are looking forward to for next year :)

(No particular order now)

Robin Hood (5/14) - It's a Ridley Scott film and I tend to enjoy their films on a B/A- level. I know it'll mostly be fighting, but it'll still be fun to see. (Ridley and Tony Scott (brothers) are producers for Numb3rs, FYI). Maybe a DVD rental over theater watch...Hmm...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2/12) - I really like the book series so I'm excited to see the film. On top of it, Chris Columbus is directing the film and I think this book is right up his alley having seen his work with Harry Potter. The adult cast looks good too. I hope they really blow this one out of the waters or I'm going to be disappointed.

Clash of the Titans (3/26): Looks interesting and you have Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades. Not to mention Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation and Avatar) as Perseus. So...that should be interesting!

Toy Story 3 (6/18): Pixar. Need I say more?

Twilight Saga: Eclipse (6/30) - I admit I'm mildly interested to see the 3rd film. *grumbles*

The Last Airbender (7/2): I am hoping M. Night Shyamalan does this movie justice. Chris and I both, surprisingly, really enjoyed the kids animation tv show of this series. In fact, it's a pretty well liked tv show (only 3 seasons long) and the trailer looks interesting as a live action film. It'll be interesting to watch because there's really only the TV show (no extensive books). So it's not like the movie has anything to base itself on except the TV show (unlike comic books that also have cartoons). I wonder if they'll combine all 3 seasons into 1 movie too. I bet they will.

Secretariat (10/8): A film about one of the greatest racehorses of all time! Well it's really about his owner, Penny Chenery, but it's about Secretariat! It's looking like it'll be a really good film and Secretariat was one of the greats and it's about a horse and...well...Yeah. I'm excited! Not to mention Diane Lane is staring in it. This film really should have aired in May/June, though. I mean...Come on. What better time to have a horse racing film than around the Triple Crown? I mean, he DID win the Triple Crown. LoL

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) (11/19): Need I say anything?

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (12/10): It'll be interesting to see how this film is done since Disney no longer is a partner in the film. Plus, come on, I have to see it. LoL

With that...I'm off :)

Cisco Systems

I am writing a research paper on Cisco Systems and their environmental strategies for my Business and the Environment Class. I just finished reading Cisco's Environment section in the Corporate Citizenship Report 2008. It makes me want to puke! LoL I mean I'm glad to see a company as large as Cisco is taking such huge steps to green itself, but it's like the perfect child or something. The only improvement I can say they could do is to set actual number goals, but they are changing the way their business runs and they're changing how OTHER businesses run too.

They cover it all...
-urban development
-real estate
-company efficiencies (e.g., work spaces)
-carbon reductions (travel and operations) - Did you know 100% of Cisco's power in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, and the U.K. is from renewable energy sources?
-Water
-Air
-Waste
-Employment education/involvement
-Food

Plus, they're partnered with so many government and third-party organizations it's tough to find/research everything. Not to mention they're also working on a global level too. I do think the most interesting thing is that 3rd party rankings list Cisco pretty favorably. You have to be cautious when reading a company's CSR and such because they'll always try to paint themselves in a good light. So it's nice to see that different 3rd parties are also agreeing that Cisco is giving it their all.

Anyway, time to sleep now. I have a CEQA/NEPA workshop from 9am-4pm tomorrow with a quiz/test at the end (to ensure we all stay since the workshop is worth credit). That should be interesting...hopefully it's interesting and I don't want to shoot myself because it's 3 hours, 1 hour lunch, and 3 hours. I have enough trouble sitting through a 1 hour and 15 minute lecture. Not sure how I'll survive 3 hours...

Anita Diamant

I saw Anita Diamant last night. UCSB has this endowment to bring Jewish writers (or prominent Jewish speakers in general) to the campus as a free event. Anita Diamant was the speaker last night. She mostly talked about her new book Day After Night. It was kind of amusing being there because I was one of a handful of "young" people there. I think there was maybe 5 of us? I think maybe only a handful of 30's too. 80% of the audience was 40+ easily. 90% of the audience was female. I sat in front of one of the few males in the audience and he kept going on about how he was one of the only males in the group. Then, when I stood in line to get my book signed, the last guy in line was also the only male in line (getting books signed for his daughters). It's hard to judge the size of the crowd because I sat in the middle and was one of the first people to sit down, but there was probably around 100 people there.

Day After Night is a historical fiction novel about 4 young girls (early teens) who are refugees at Atlit, a British-run internment camp in Palestine after WWII. So she introduced her 4 girls (she read their intros from the book) and also the prologue of the book. Diamant's daughter in high school went to Israel as an exchange high school student and the parents got to go onto the "parent week" version of it. They went to Atlit and Diamant had a kind of connection with it to want to write a book, but it took her many years later before she actually sat down to write it and then it took her over 3 years to write the book. I do see an interesting common thread between authors I've seen speak; sitting down to write is the hardest thing they have to do. They all seem to be "finished" with their novels when it's all over too. LoL They just don't want to see the novel again. Anyway, I guess she went to Israel and Atlit a few more times and did a lot of research for her novel too. It was pretty interesting the whole process she went to writing the book, but I especially liked how she said she likes to write books where there's some redeeming quality at the end. The end of the book may be not be a happy ending, but there's at least a redeeming thing there. I liked that. It spoke about who she is as a person, not just an author.

After her talk (about 45 minutes long) they did a few Q&A and two people got up and said they had family who were at Atlit. One older gentleman said his father was in Atlit for a number of years (7?) and a lady (in her 40's?) said she had a family friend who she called "aunt and uncle" who were also in Atlit. Someone also asked what her day-to-day work is as an author too. The answers are pretty much the same for each other, but it's still interesting how they personalize it. For instance, Anita Diamant used to be a journalist and write monthly pieces. So she's really learned to meet deadlines she sets, which is a rarity for authors (she even admits it). I guess she's hardly ever missed a deadline she's set, which is pretty amazing.

Anyway, I did get a book signed by her. I got the Red Tent signed because it was in paperback. Borders was there to sell the books. :P The poor chums...The sad thing? They had issues on knowing how much money to give back to me in cash. The book was $16.31 (full retail priced book! It hurt... :( ) and I gave them $20.01. They used a calculator (that's fine), but then they had to "confer" to make sure that was the right amount. LoL That was just sad for me. I had to agree and then they were happy and they gave me my change. I guess some of the book proceeds go to the Arts & Lectures program at UCSB. So...I didn't feel SO bad for paying that much. :P

The funny thing is I walked all the way to Campbell Hall, which is about a half mile (little more?). I didn't think about biking and there's a bike rack RIGHT next to the building. *rolls eyes* Oh well. The walk is good for me. I did realize the other day that I bike a little more than 1 mile to get to Bren Hall. That's a LONG walk when I walk it. No wonder it takes me so long. Being on the bike you just don't notice it as much. Last weekend I biked about 6 miles (roundtrip) and it didn't feel like it. The Coast Route Bike Path is REALLY a nice bike path here. It follows the slough/river/whatever it is once the path deviates from the ocean so it's really tranquil. It's also well maintained and has a nice running path right next to the bike path. I actually was biking back to UCSB and passed a classmate who was running the other way. :P

Anyway, with that...Must go!

Small Business and the Environment

I was going to update about classes and such and haven't successfully been able to do that for some weeks now (I keep trying and never finish or I'm too tired to get past a paragraph!). Instead, I thought I'd talk about some of the companies we've had come into 210 (Business and the Environment) and then I'll touch, briefly, upon what's going on in schooool.

Simple Shoes - An eco-friendly shoe. Seriously. And the best thing? Competitive prices! Their prices are no more than I would find buying my Skechers, which is really cool. They have some really odd designs, but they also have some "standard" ones. It was really interesting to hear about how they developed as a company to being eco-friendly. (BTW, they're owned by Deckers, which also owns Teva and Ugg.) The jist of it was that they're a really small company and Deckers, the parent company, was willing to take a chance on the lead people for Simple Shoes. They all truly want to make a stylish shoe that is eco-friendly in any way they can so they've really had to look at suppliers and materials to use. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

Ewing - Not as an interesting as Simple Shoes, but Ewing is a privately owned irrigation products company. So they basically are the middle men for irrigation supplies and their main buyers are landscapers. They do have some private home buyers who come in, but it's mostly landscapers. They do some educational programs and try to provide irrigation stuff that helps make you use your water more efficiently. They also talked about how NV is paying people to pull up their lawns, but how water consumption isn't going down at all because people keep watering their low-water plants the same way. So it was generally interesting, but it's still kind of funny because, really, if people stopped using water for lawns, what are you going to do as a company?! They also mentioned how LEED buildings can not have an irrigation system, which was interesting. So I guess all the plants at Bren are hand watered? Or can sustain themselves.

Eco-entrepreneurship company - I don't remember the name of this company (I should), but it's a company that is trying to make foam that is made from organic material. New buildings that are being built are using foam more and more to help lighten the weight of the building and to reduce the use of concrete but, as we all know, foam isn't the best product for the environment (that one with a certain chemical...LoL Brain is dead). Anyway, their foam is made from soy mostly and is just as resilient as the harmful foam is. It was interesting, but we all sat there during the presentation going "but your foam isn't biodegradable! What do you do when the building is torn down?!" I think they struggled with that. At the same time, they're using less harmful foam too and it's denser so it won't constantly float in the ocean or water systems. It'll sink (is that better?). So, it was interesting.

Patagonia - Or, as we like to call it, PataGucci. Man, it's a shame Patagonia is so expensive. They're making completely recyclable clothes and are eco-friendly too. How cool is that?! On the other hand, by all accounts my classmates have told me, Patagonia clothes last 10-15 years, which is amazing. It was interesting hearing how their CEO is the main driving force behind them being so environmentally friendly. They also donate 1% of their sales to different environmental organizations too and encourage other companies to do the same. So they're doing a lot of good too and, at the same time, doing really well as a company. It was funny because our economics/policy analysis prof (this class started last Mon and ends next Wed) said he once ran into the CEO of Patagonia and asked him, "Is your company environmentally focused because it's successful? Or is it successful because it's environmentally focused?" It's an interesting question and I guess the CEO made an excuse and never answered the question. It's a deep question! For them, they are a small company, but their CEO has a big influencing factor which is different from Simple Shoes where it was the employees and a parent company willing to let them try things. I did find a rain jacket in a reasonable price I liked on Patagonia, though! Women's Rain Shadow Jacket Nice thing about that jacket compared to the other one I like is the fact its hood is helmet compatible. So I could bike with a helmet on. On the other hand, you get more for your money with the other jacket I posted too and it does have side slits (so you can sit on a horse without your jacket bunching up). Both good jackets. If only Patagonia wasn't so expensive...

Anyway, the interesting thing about these companies is the fact they're all small, but pretty profitable in what they do (with maybe the exception of the eco-e company - it's just too new). They all have their different issues in being environmental conscious and still maintaining the quality and standard of what their business is known for. Patagonia has a reputation for making good, long lasting sport's gear (CEO was an avid climber). They are a company that is seeking to make a profit. The same with Simple Shoes. At the same time, they've also managed to push themselves creatively to be more eco friendly too. As our professor has told us, being environmentally friendly is not cost saving.

I've also learned, thanks to this class, that you have to be careful about parent companies! My group for a presentation found out that Dagoba Organic Chocolate is actually owned by Hershey's. You would not find this out on Dagoba's webpage anywhere. You can only find it on Hershey's if you look carefully at their environmental pages and, even then, it's just a "Dagoba uses blah" or "Dagoba does blah." Only because it was so curious that Hershey's would mention the "competition" did I go and find the press release saying Hershey's bought Dagoba a few years ago. Hershey's, it seems, doesn't touch anything really to do with Dagoba, though. That way Dagoba can still keep its reputation and standards, but Hershey's can get a piece of the "organic chocolate market."

I also learned Sprint is one of the "greenest" wireless phone companies. Did you know they have an eco-friendly phone? Made out of recycled materials! And they have a disgusting (in the sense it's too cute) webpage on how they're being eco-friendly. It's pretty interesting.

Anyway, outside of the companies, classes are going okay. It's pretty much "the usual" now. I have 3 ecology hw assignments left, a 203 final (still haven't received our midterms back yet), 251 final (that class that started last Monday), 2 more 251 hws, 1 more presentation for 210 (business and the environment), and 1 10-page paper for 210 due at the beginning of the month. I think that's all I have left. To say the least, the end is close! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's the homestretch! etc. On the other hand, I feel like I might go nuts too. The 251 class kind of throws you off your rhythm you develop at the beginning of the quarter. The class is taught FOUR days a week and we have a discussion once a week too. So it's kind of intense, but, luckily, the professor is enthusiastic and we have a laugh or two during class. It goes by quickly (thanks to a lot of economic diagrams), which is really nice because on Tues/Thurs it's killer. We have ecology (201) and 203 lectures, lunch (sometimes we have events we have to attend during that hour), and then 251. So I sometimes feel like I just want to put myself out of my misery, but it's okay. It's probably my favorite class this quarter. I was kind of questioning my choice to do the EPE (Economics and the Politics of the Environment) as my specialization, but this class has shown me why I wanted to do it originally. I really enjoy the economics. It's really kind of surprising, but I think it's the combination of normative, positive, and social aspects all combined into one discipline. Less normative than positive, but it's interesting! I mean, I just learned how to incorporate environmental externalities and apply how we can produce goods efficiently by command (government just making you do it), taxes, and subsidies. It was interesting.

Oh, I decided to NOT take the writing class next quarter. I heard from various students that it didn't help them really and I decided it was more important to take a class I would need to graduate than a writing class to be "lazy." There's only 15 people (so far) registered for the class, so it's going to be a shock considering I haven't had that small of a class in a while.

Anyway, I need to work on my 201 reading. It's our only weekly hw we have for any class and we have to read a ton for the assignments. Tonight, though, I am going to go see Anita Diamant speak on campus! She wrote The Red Tent. It's a free event (finally! I missed the Taiko Drummers, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, and someone else because it costs money!) and I hope to get a book signed by her too (there's a book signing after the talk). Should be interesting. I like hearing authors talk and meeting authors because it gives me a personality to who writes the books I like or have heard of before. Of course, working at Borders, the Red Tent came up many times and I've seen her other book (Choosing a Jewish Life) a lot because I shelved in that area. So...I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait till David Sedaris comes in May, though! THAT I will pay money to go and see him talk.

With that...Until next time.

Registered for Winter!

I just now registered for classes for the Winter quarter. I'm signed up for 14 units because I'm taking a 2 unit writing course, but I might drop the writing course and take the 4 unit Coastal Marine Law and Policy class, though. I'm eventually going to have to take that class and I don't HAVE to take the writing class, but I think it would be beneficial. Plus, my unit load won't be 16 units, but 14. Not sure, though. I have a few more weeks to decide if I want to keep my schedule the way it is or change it. I can always take the Coastal Marine Law and Policy class some other quarter too. I think if the Coastal Marine Law and Policy class was at a better time, I might go for it too. My Mondays are pretty empty (class from 2-3:15) and the Coastal class is from 8-9:15 M/W. I'd have almost 5 hours in between classes. If I could be productive during that time, it might be worth it, but I have a feeling I probably would end up back in bed or something. LoL My Wednesdays are pretty full, but that seems to be the trend anyway. I don't know, the unit count and the way my schedule is just makes me not want to take it. I'll think about it.

Anyway, school is going pretty good. Next week starts our policy analysis class so that means my Mondays and Wednesdays are fuller than they have been. That should be interesting. It's a two week class with 3 weeks of discussion. Might be nice for a mix-up. Not that my classes are particularly boring or anything...

Anyway, with that. I need to proof my ecology paper and start my 210 research on Cisco again. It's another warm day here. When is fall going to appear?!

Flu Shot

I got my flu shot just a minute ago. :) It's just the general one. I'll probably get the swine flu shot once it becomes available. The flu shots here are free and they had one of the time slots at the San Clemente Center (community room that's down the stairs from me) so it was easy to get and kind of one of those "why not?" moments! My right arm was having some phantom pains for my left arm right after I got the shot, but my left arm is starting to ache just a little if I move it too much. I'm just hoping I don't break out with flu symptoms! If I do, at least I have the weekend to recover. Fingers crossed I don't get any, though.

I'm redoing my resume right now for Bren. I won't finish it tonight, but at least I got it started and reformatted completely. My goal is to finish it this weekend so I can submit it for review. All our resumes are put on-line and made available in a book type thing Bren sends out to companies and different places. So...it's an important thing I do! Plus, I have to have it finished by the end of this month because the main resume person is going on maternity leave come mid-Nov. LoL I would like my resume reviewed before being put on-line. :)

Next on my agenda is my Ecology hw (due Tues morning). I should at least start the reading if I don't start the paper at least. I also want to get a 203 midterm from past years finished this weekend too. If I can get it finished this weekend (as an actual prep for our midterm during Halloween weekend) and feel confident in my answers, I'll be one-step closer in feeling better about the actual midterm! I'm going to try and do another midterm next weekend too. Maybe it'll get me caught up on 203 reading too. I should also look at the 203 homework...It's not due for another 9 days, though.

Okay...time to get back to it! I'm actually getting things done!

Chipotle!!

Tomorrow I've decided I'll go to downtown Santa Barbara. I have to check out a few bus routes, stop at Wells Fargo to ask about my PIN for my ATM card, check out the downtown SB Borders, and wanna look at the mall to see if I can find anything reasonable in the ways of a rain jacket. There's a jacket I like on backinthesadddle.com (removable inner liner that I can wear separately or with the jacket - 3-in-1 design), but it's $140. Too much! So I'm just going to look at a few stores, price things out, and whatnot. I MIGHT stop at the other mall on the way back (it's at the closer end of State street to where I am, whereas the other one is right up from the Wharf) since it has a Sears and is close to another shopping center, but I probably won't. The thing I'm most excited for at the mall I'm going to is Chipotle!! I haven't eaten out since the first day of orientation when I bought that sandwich. All other outings or meetings I've either brought my lunch while everyone else bought or I've only bought a drink. So I figure I'm due a treat and Chipotle is it! I'm EXCITED! Kind of sad, but I'm going to enjoy it regardless. :P I mean...the eating out thing is such a treat that McD's even sounds fantastic. LoL Actually...a burger and pizza sound really good right now...I should buy hamburgers the next time I'm at the store...

I did survive the 1.5 days of rain. I was damp most of yesterday since it was raining yesterday morning and I had to walk in it. My feet and clothes were damp and it just wasn't exactly fun sitting in class. The clothes eventually dried, but my feet were basically damp from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm when I got home. Rain boots I might also think about...

Well...with that...I should eat and either start working on homework or take a nap. There's a soccer game tonight (speakers are playing music already).

Not a whole lot...

It's raining right now! It sprinkled for like 30 seconds yesterday, but definitely was showing signs of a storm to come. The storm came today. I woke up early to walk to class instead of biking. I've biked everyday except the first day of orientation and yesterday when I went back after classes for a specialization meeting (after my horrendous bike ride back from the store, there was no way I was getting on my bike again!). I tell you, it's a rough walk when you can bike the same distance in about 7 minutes. To walk it, it takes about 20-25 minutes at a strong pace. It also gets boring really fast...So I'm glad I downloaded some music and a podcast onto my phone to listen to while I walked the distance. It definitely helped. I just didn't want to bike in the rain since I don't have a rain jacket (I need to invest in one), didn't want water splashed on me, and didn't want to deal with a wet bike when I biked back. Course, I ended up getting damp walking back anyway. My head was dry, though! I also wasn't soaked or anything. I have to go for a group project meeting and I might bike if it looks like this part is over or just a heavy sprinkle as it's been for about an hour now. Yesterday's bike trip to the store was rough because I biked back with a heavy load (my groceries) in my backpack, biked up a slight incline the entire way, and had a strong head wind. It was a LOT of pep talking to get myself back to my apartment.

Anyway, classes are going okay. We're into our third full week of classes. It's just basically keeping up with the homework and reading (not doing a great job at that) and attending classes and workshops. I have found that the hardest class (203 - Earth Systems Science) is the hardest class to pay attention in because it tends to be very technical and dry and hard to follow. The most interesting class, personally, I zone out in the most (210 - Business and the Environment). I think it's because a majority of the concepts I already understand and it's not technical or really difficult. I pay attention the most in 201 (Ecology) and it's kind of funny and sad that I do because I consider it the "least important" class of the 3 I'm taking.

I haven't been doing much outside of school. I think it's mostly because I just want to sit back and relax whenever I get a moment! We don't have that many assignments, but I feel like I'm worked constantly and all day and when I can get a free moment from school, I should really take it. People do say the first few quarters are the hardest for the program and it gets better your second year when you can get away from the core classes and take classes you're really interested in. We'll see!

Anyway, just a quick update on things. I need to look at some reading for Corporate Social Responsibility for my group meeting today. We have a presentation on the pros/cons of it next week and we have to create the powerpoint this week. We're doing our group project on AT&T and Sprint-Nextel.

MISC Bren Stuff

So...while procrastinating on my 110 pages of reading I have to do for classes tomorrow, I thought I'd update on a few random stuff.

1) Bren is doing a student mentor thing this year. It's student started and student run. This is the first year they're doing it. Basically it's a 2nd year student (all volunteers) takes on about 5 1st year students, introduces themselves, and is there as a - well - mentor for whatever we need help with navigating Bren! My mentor has a horse, likes Harry Potter (she only mentioned it because I told her), and is a EPE/CMRM dual specialization! EPE is what I want to specialize in and the CMRM (Coastal Marine Resource Management) is also an interest I have and would like to take classes in, but not dual specialize in. So...she's perfect for me! She just brought her horse here too. She said I can come with her sometime when she goes to see her horse too. :D

2) I have 4 classes this semester. One of them is 2 weeks of lecture with 4 discussions throughout November. But...I have 2 finals and 2 final projects. Three of my four classes have the finals/projects due by Tues, December 8th and that's finals week. If my last class (I have yet to go to it) also has the due date on the 8th, there's a possibility I could come home a few days earlier than expected! (Last day of the quarter is the 12th.) So far I only have 1 midterm too. I will be writing a lot of papers, but that's to be expected in a grad program. It seems like most of the profs (in general) do projects/papers instead of normal "test" finals and they don't have required text books too. That's kind of nice. I think Bren is one of the only programs that realizes a) students don't buy text books and b) students don't buy text books from the campus. We were actually told that Bren no longer requires the profs to submit book requests through the campus. So they have their own "list" they compile each quarter for students to let us get our books however we want. That's kind of nice and a lot of profs, to help with waste, post readings on-line for us to read or print at our will.

3) Today it dawned on me that I'm in a graduate program. Or maybe it's just the format I'm not used to since CSUMB teaches by teachers writing on the board most times; we had classes and labs with the same prof; and we didn't have TAs. Every class has a TA, a lecture, and separate discussion section. It could be because these are core classes so having a discussion with 90 students is not as easy as having 30 students. :P Anyway, it just kind of dawned on me today. Not sure exactly what triggered it, but it did.

Anyway, it's 4:40 pm and I have no excuse NOT to do my reading now. :) I already cleaned my sheets and towels; I ate earlier and have food for tonight; I cleaned up all my Bren e-mails and responded to stuff I needed to do; and updated my planner and school materials for my classes. So...off to read about climate change and ecological stuff.

First Day of Class!

As expected or one would expect, it was pretty boring and non-eventful. We did get to sleep in this morning simply because our first class (ESM 201) was canceled since the professor is out of town. So I got to sleep in about an hour this morning :) ESM 203 (Earth System Science for Environmental Management) started at 11 and it was basically an intro lecture. It's supposedly a very hard class (after talking with second year students that is the consensus), but we'll see how it goes. :) The grade thresholds are pretty interesting...A/A- to 85% and B at 70%. I can't even think about a C because anything below a B (B- and beyond) is considered failing according to UCSB's Grad Division (not Bren). Thank goodness B-'s aren't a normal issue for me!

We had a 15 minute break and got to back into the big lecture hall again for the "Bren Town Hall." It was basically a few key people who were there to answer questions for us and give some information about what they think is great about Bren and what we should do to utilize our time here at Bren. We have a half-hour break now (I'm eating lunch and typing this in our student computer room right now) and then we have math camp from 2-5pm. At 5-6pm is the reception for the entire Bren community. To say the least, it's been a LONG day. I guess it's no different if I had class, then a workshop/colloquia, and discussion after that, but that's even a long day (8:30am to 4pm)!

Tomorrow I come home for Chris's birthday. :) I'm excited to see everyone back home (and the kitties and bunny, especially Jasmine!) and I'll especially be thankful for the cooler weather! I think I may have an issue in the cold...Santa Barbara is much hotter than Monterey (it's 77 now and 62 in Monterey), but it's not SUPER hot either. I am going to have to suck it up and wear more shorts and lighter clothes, though. A bunch of us sat outside in the sun after class for no more than 15 minutes and then went back inside for the Town Hall. I could FEEL myself cooling off in the room. I toasted! I am darker, for sure, but it's not bad. I try to sit in the shade as much as possible (thank goodness Bren's courtyard has lots of trees planted in the middle with benches), but I can't do a whole lot for the fact I bike from one end of campus to the other twice a day. Not to mention my short trips into town to buy stuff (half hour round trip). *shrugs* I must admit it's kind of a novelty to see a blue sky almost everyday...I don't think I've gotten used to it yet and I've been here for 2 weeks now. :) We did have one day of fog (all day) and a few days of it being overcast in the morning, though.

Anyway, I need to go. Gotta go to math camp now. :)

Weekend, Writing Assessment, and MISC

Saturday was math camp at 9am to noon. We got out around 11am and Ashley, Krista, Jane and I hopped into Jane's car and drove 40 minutes south to Ventura to go to Target! Yes, that's right, we drove 40 minutes to get to get to Target. :P I bought a mattress pad for my bed to help make it not so soft. I can't figure out if it's too soft now or if I'm simply adjusting to it. I think I'm just adjusting to it, but it definitely isn't hard anymore. It feels MUCH better to sleep on now.

Chris came down after his Stats test on Saturday. We had some things to talk about, which turned out well and it really good to see him. We went to this place in Goleta called YoYumYum and it's really neat! It's all frozen yogurt and they have about a dozen different flavors (maybe more...). You pick up a container size and you can fill it with however much frozen yogurt and however many types you want. Then they have a "toppings" section afterwards and they have fresh fruit, chocolate, cereals, candy, etc that you can top your frozen yogurt with. How you pay is you weigh your yogurt cup and it's $0.35/oz. So it's kind of fun! It's like you're in a candy store and getting a Coldstone at the same time! The frozen yogurt was really good too. Chris also took me to COSTCO and treated me to some stuff I wanted and I bought a tall mirror for my room (cheap one, but it works!). Sunday Tori came up to see me, which was fun. So I had lots of visitors this weekend, which was nice. We went to Woodstock's (same place I went to the other day with my classmates). It's a quick walk from the apartment.

Today was the math workshop and writing assessment. We were given 7 articles and we had to read 3-5 of them. They were all about biofuels and ranged from negative to positive articles (most of them were pretty much on the negative end). We had 2 hours to write the policy brief and at least 2 people will review our piece and give us areas we need to work on. If it's REALLY needed, they'll recommend we take the 2 unit writing class in the winter (it's coupled with another class of ours). They also have a "communications center" that will also help us with our writing. I'm pretty sure I failed to write a policy brief, but at least I wrote about the current issues/policies around biofuels. Then again, I may have missed a few policies too. Basically, I ended up writing a paper about how biofuels currently aren't good. They aren't looking at our knowledge about biofuels, but rather our clarity, flow, and organization. I think I did pretty well, but we'll see!

It's kind of funny and cool being in such a small program. Not only do we have the career and communications centers, but they're also doing Excel workshops for beginners and intermediate levels for our class. I'll probably sign up for the intermediate one sometime next week.

Anyway, the rest of this week is pretty easy. Classes start on Thursday, but one of them is canceled so I think I only have 1 class that day. LoL Tomorrow I just have the math workshop; Wednesday is the Grad Division meeting and math camp; Thursday is class, math camp, meeting professors social, and the Bren Program reception. So...I guess Thursday will be my busiest day this week. Friday I leave at 9am on the bus for Monterey. I'll be missing the last math camp (mostly review and whatever was missed) and the career workshop on resume and the announcement of the winners from the ice breakers. I'm sad to miss the ice breaker announcement! They'll probably show pictures from that day and I really want to see that. I hope we win, though! Shame I won't be there for the prize, but whatever. LoL

Anyway, tomorrow I get to sleep in! Math camp is at 1:30pm tomorrow. :) I might bike to the shopping center here, but I'm not sure. I thought about going to Albertson's to buy some more food, but I really don't need more food. I'll need to buy lunch meat before the week is out for next week so I might just do that, but other than buying more bread and lettuce, I've been pretty good. I might buy a few miscellaneous stuff I want that I didn't think about before, but they can also wait too. I do need to think up alternatives for lunch. We have a kitchen (microwave and 'fridge) we can use in Bren, which is good, but I've been eating a sandwich for lunch for a week now and it's getting old. LoL Since I'll be bringing lunch, I need to find alternatives that I can easily bring. I'll think up stuff I'm sure. I have been eating more and less, at the same time, here. I'm actually attempting to eat a breakfast every morning (oatmeal, bought more of that at Target) because it sticks with me better; I eat a lunch (sandwich, fruit or veggies, rice crackers, and a drink); and sometimes I eat a snack and dinner or supper and dinner. :P Today was a supper and dinner day. I had oatmeal this morning, ate my lunch, and came back after the writing assessment starving! I cooked up the chicken my parents got me when they were here, had a salad, and some sugar snap peas, but I ended up eating TWO pieces of chicken (granted, they were thinly cut) and was hungry again a few hours later! So I had a grilled cheese sandwich. Which...is not doing well in my stomach. I seem to have gotten to the stage, even with Lactaid, I just can't eat dairy. For one grilled cheese sandwich, I took 4 Lactaid - 4. Two with the first bite and 2 with the last 3 bites. I'm STILL feeling the effects of eating the cheese. So I need to either invest in Yakults, which do help me, or just stay away from dairy altogether. Haven't decided yet... :P

Oh! My Gerbera Daisy, which was dying when I left, is growing new leaves! I'm happy about that since one of the 3 plants really DID die. I at least have 2 plants left still growing. We'll see how it does, though. I'm tempted to just give up on it and get a new plant, but I can't throw away a plant that's still growing. My other two plants are doing well here. We don't get any direct sunlight so I can't get plants that need it, but we get a lot of indirect sunlight so they do well when I open the blinds. I am glad we don't get direct sunlight. It'd be a bummer sitting at my desk, trying to work, and having the sun blaze into my room.

Well...with that, I should hit the sack (try to maintain a normal sleep schedule, especially since my first class is at 8:30). I haven't read much since being here too. I finished one book that I had started back in Monterey. I'm Hoping to get back into reading as a pass time. Should start that soon since I'll be stuck in my room doing homework and studying more often than I am now. :) That reminds me...I need to find the Goleta Public Library...

Orientation: Day 4 and 5?

I can't even keep track of the orientation days anymore...That and the day of the week. It'll be good to start class to help me with that!

Orientation yesterday was the math workshop and Bren 101 (basically going over some logistics from the handbook and stuff like that). Today was the math workshop or "math camp" and resume workshop (I have to redo my entire resume!). Not too exciting for either day. :)

After the resume workshop today I went out with about 10 other Brennies to hang out a pizza place down the road from where we live. About half of us road our bikes over. I just bought a soda and they all bought drinks and we just sat and talked outside. It was nice to get to hang out with my fellow classmates and everything. After that we went to a "sports bar" not even a block away so a few of them could do shots. It was a bar, but it's the smallest bar I've ever seen (course, having only been in 1...I can't base that off of anything!). I think our apartment has more square footage than the actual sitting/standing area of that bar. I kid you not. Plus, it was inside and it was getting cold outside. I, once again, didn't buy anything, but it was fun talking to everyone. After a while, though, I just couldn't take the literal yelling at everyone and my ears/head were starting to hurt from the noise and the yelling. It's hard to yell a conversation and breath at the same time! So I came back early and Jane came with me. I have to tell you, there are a lot of people who came from the San Francisco area.

Anyway, I'm about to hit the sack because there's math workshop tomorrow at 9am, but also because I'm not sleeping well on this bed they gave us. I'm going to have to invest in a memory foam pad or a good pad because the bed is simply too hard for me. It's not soft, so my back doesn't hurt like a bad mattress, but it's too hard! So my back aches in between the shoulder blades instead and I'm waking up a lot throughout the night. I also find I'm sleeping at an angle too. Not sure why that is...I had to switch pillows too. My contour pillow wasn't comfortable with the bed. Go figure...

Jane and I have found, though, as nice as our view is, living next to the soccer field is quickly having its downfalls. This morning at 6am they were mowing the lawn (I woke up to it, no one else did, though). At 7am there was soccer practice (or ultimate frisbee practice?). At 9am it was the other sport (soccer or ultimate frisbee). Also, funny enough, there were a few Killdeer birds outside our window and they make a TON of noise and they woke me up at one point too. Jane and I went on Wednesday to a San Clemente information meeting and I guess the noise from the soccer fields is a pretty common complaint and I guess when the garbage gets picked up it's loud too. We all laugh because it's not the players that are an issue, it's the parents. :P Least for the games. For practice, it tends to just be the teams in general when they yell at each other.

With that, I'm off!

Orientation: Days 2 and 3

So we're 2 days into our math workshop and it's going good. It's a PhD student who is teaching it. She makes it pretty interesting and is a good teacher. I remember now I've never liked intervals and I STILL don't like intervals. I struggle with them (I get the overall concept), but I don't like them! I remember doing them back in 4th grade and making teeth on the little arrow to help with the concept of "greater than" and "less than." You put teeth on the inside of the arrow like a shark mouth opening and the one that "ate" the other number was bigger. Yes, I sometimes still have to refer back to it. LoL That and the bigger side (the opening) was the "greater" number and the pointy small side was the "smaller" number. All sorts of tricks to help me try and remember!

Anyway, it's going good. We're starting limits and derivatives in the next 2 days. It's kind of hard to concentrate in class and those seats we sit in our kind of weird. They're attached and swivel out to one side so you can get in and out, but I never quite sit in a position I really want to. Plus, you're pretty crammed in. It is kind of nice to get into the groove of going back, but it also feels like a false start. I'm trying to treat the class as if it's a real class and not an optional thing. I definitely am ready to start classes and get to know the professors though.

The neat thing (this is for all those animal lovers out there) is the student who is teaching us the calc workshop brings her dog Mattie (female dog) with her. It's a medium size dog, tan, and one of those "scruffy" looking dogs. The dog is really easy going and just sleeps during our entire class. She likes people too. Well...Allison, our instructor, got her as a rescue dog from Hurricane Katrina. There's a local animal shelter/group who went down to New Orleans to help and they brought back 7 dogs and 9 cats. Mattie when brought back was 16 pounds (she's now 32lbs and healthy), had a heart worm, and sores all over her legs. She shouldn't have been a "normal" candidate to be rescued, but they did and now Allison has her and they're best friends and she brings the dog with her everywhere.

Yesterday after the math workshop was computer orientation day. I was the 3rd group and 4 hours between the math workshop and my orientation time so I came back to the apartment (Jane had the first group that started at 1). I called the financial aid office to figure out why my financial aid was missing $87. It turns out it's missing because of transaction fees and some other things for the financial aid. Fantastic. I get money taken out because of fees to get financial aid to pay my fees.

After that I went back to campus for the computer orientation. It was just a basic "here's our username and your password." They also gave us our code to use when we want access into Bren after hours (we got our fingerprint scanned today, which is used to get into the building with the code). They were very strict about our password to log onto the computers, though! They're preset passwords and we don't get to change them and if they find out we ever give our password to someone else, we can get our privileges revoked forever. Other than that, they were really laid back. We can eat in the computer labs, hang out whenever, etc, etc. We also found out we have our @umail.ucsb.edu e-mail addresses from the campus, but we also get a @bren.ucsb.edu e-mail address too. After we graduate, apparently they'll forward all our e-mails to the @bren address to another e-mail address of our choosing. I think it's lifelong.

Today was just math workshop and getting our photo taken and fingerprint scanned. Pretty relaxed, though it did take about 2 hours to get the fingerprint and photo taken. The photo is put up on a password access only website so the professors and us can look at them to learn faces and names. I also found out that our class has 90 students in it. I guess they add 10 students everywhere or something. They probably won't exceed 100, though. Simply because they don't have a room large enough to accommodate more than 100 and then the class is too large to be intimate enough.

Tomorrow is math workshop, Bren 101 (informational, logistics, student handbook session), and the optional tour of the building.

Orientation: Day #1

I probably won't do this everyday for orientation or maybe I will. All I know right now is that I'm exhausted. So much physical activities! LoL Okay, that's not a bad thing, but it's "hot" out right now and I sweated today! SWEATED! I've sweated everyday I've been here!

Actually, I don't think I wrote anything about yesterday. I biked to the small shopping center yesterday. I didn't time myself going there, but coming back it took me about 15 minutes to come back. That's not bad. I went to Kmart to get another cable lock (one that fit through my bike seat) and then decided to go to Borders and Home Depot since I had to cross the street to get to the other bike lane. It made just as much sense to just cross the street than make a left. :P That Borders is about the same size as ours (maybe a tad smaller) square-footage wise. It's definitely smaller product wise. Then again, I think our store is at one of the bigger tiers for product. Anyway, after biking back I just hung out in my room. The funny thing about yesterday was yesterday at 9am an Ultimate Frisbee game started up. I woke up to this cheering and thought there were cheerleaders outside my window (great...). Turns out it was just team cheers! They played for most of the day. Then, lo and behold, SOCCER teams showed up again! So I had ultimate frisbee and soccer to watch outside my window for a bit. It was kind of funny.

Today was first day of orientation and it started at 9:30. Jane and I decided to walk to Bren, which is about a 20 minute walk. Not too bad. They gave us a quick debriefing and EVERYONE went around and introduced themselves (name, where you call "home," where you got your degree, what degree were you awarded, what is a significant job/experience, and what is one thing you like to do in your free time). You learned a lot about your fellow students then. After we finished that it was lunch time! A bunch of us went to the UCen to get lunch and our student IDs. We got the free black and white ones. The colored ones are ACCESS cards, cost $20, and you can use it like an ATM card. Didn't need the ATM card and I'm a poor grad student! I found the Wells Fargo ATMs too. They're RIGHT outside an entrance to the UCen so that's nice. I got a sandwich at one of the food places. I will definitely NOT be making it a habit to buy food at the UCen. My sandwich, as good as it was, was $7.99. Then I got a drink. So my lunch was $10. Yeah...bringing lunches now!

Afterwards we went back for 4.25 hours of the Career Development Team doing ice breakers. We first started with a scavenger hunt, which was kind of fun. It involved a lot of walking, but you could talk to everyone in your team of 6-7 people pretty easily. They had us go all over the place - bookstore, counseling/career development, multicultural building for the graduate division office, the financial/billing place, etc. They had a list of things we had to do and they gave us a disposable camera. We had to take at least 15 photos (including the ones they assigned us - about 8). "Extra points" were given to those who were creative in their photos. We had some pretty funny ones. Like we had to have a staff member in a photo and the staff member we wanted was taking a photo of another team so we all stood around her and pointed to her. We also took one in this fountain that wasn't filled with water (tiles were falling off, etc). We all sat in it like we were in a jacuzzi tub. Another photo was with another team and we all posed like it was a West Side Story fight (one team on one side, the other on the other side). There's another one in this building (Cheadle Hall) where we found a painting of Mr. Cheadle. So we all sat around the photo and looked at it like it was storytime (Indian style sitting). We had some other ones too. Definitely creative!

Next they had us do a few things on the beach. We all stood in a circle and questions like "who needs a place to live still?" or "Who wants to do yoga?" were asked. Those who wanted/did those things went to the middle of the circle and quickly conferred about things. Then we did a team building thing where they had a HUGE beach ball and we were split into two teams. The goal was to have every team member touch the beach ball while in the air without holding it, touching it twice, and having two people touch it at the same time. Our team tried a number of different ways: two lines facing each other, "tap" back and forth between each other, chaos circle where everyone just went for it and stepped out, and one single line where we "tapped" the ball backwards over our heads with some "safety" people on the sides. The last one worked, though it got a little chaotic at the end of the line. :P It was tough! There's about 100 MESM students (the largest class to date) and that's 50 people who have to touch a beach ball without it falling.

Afterward they brought us back for a snack. They had water, Hane's soda, beer (yes, you read that, beer), chips, salsa, a chicken mixture, beans, and cheese. They also gave us a choice of trail mix, snickers, milky way, skittles, starburst, and other candy as a snack to eat while back in the room. I have to tell you, Bren definitely knows how to feed and water us! :)

Back inside they had us do another thing where a team of 6-7 people got together and wrote down as many things they could find they all had in common and one unique thing no one else did. It was fun, though tough to find something we all had in common. It was a lot of everyone but one or two people had someone in common. :P They brought us back in and we read them out loud so everyone got to hear it. There were some really funny things.

Overall, the day was pretty good. I was roasting outside on the beach, though. I'm not burned or anything, but my right arm looks darker. I don't know why only one arm is darker, but it is. I don't have a farmer's tan, but I've got a gradient going. :P So I'll have to watch that. I dislike farmer's tans a LOT. (Mom, I have sunscreen! I didn't burn or need a hat too.) My fellow students seem really nice too. We all got along pretty well and I learned a lot of names (the whole point of today). A good portion of the students are from CA and a good portion of those people are from the SF Bay Area. I did see a few students I met at the Admitted Students' Day again today too. That was neat. We also have students from India, Nigeria, and Japan. A few other students who have lived in the US only a few years (Brazil and another one from India). We have one Chinese student who seems pretty new, but not fresh from another country.

Tomorrow is the first day of the math workshop (9am-noon) and computer orientation. I got the last group orientation so I'll have 4 hours of nothing in between (bummer), but I can go to the SAAB to get my bus sticker at least! I guess there's a special Bren school password you need to access the wireless there. I also found out the significance of why my school e-mail goes "@umail.ucsb.edu." The "umail" changes for each department, I'd guess. At least for Bren's e-mail address it goes "@bren.ucsb.edu."That's used for our listservs and staff/faculty e-mail addresses.

Anyway, I guess that's really all for now. I'm exhausted and sweaty all over! Tomorrow Jane and I want to try biking to campus. I probably will for sure since I'll be returning back to the apartment after the math workshop and then biking back.

Soccer and Biking

I got up today to the sound of soccer being played...Great! I went to sleep to the sound of soccer being played! I feel like the only sport around here is soccer!

Okay, to explain. UCSB (for those who don't know) doesn't have a football team. So soccer is "their" big sport. If you looked at my apartment photos you'll see my view is of soccer fields and a stadium! That stadium is the soccer field for UCSB. Last night there was a game against the Rutgers (NJ school). The game started at 8pm. The PA started at 8:30. People were let in at 7pm (looong line!). We can hear the PA perfectly from our room! I didn't end up going out last night (way too tired) so I ended up hearing every time a goal was made. "Gooooaaaaallllll.....!!!!!" We won 4-0. (Another game on Sunday.)

So then this morning I wake up around 7:30am, up for 10 minutes, and then go back to sleep. Wake up again at 8 and 8:30am. I finally got up at 9am. But, thanks to Jane, local soccer teams (high school? elementary? middle school?) were play soccer at 7:30am when we both woke up then! It is now 4:35pm and they're STILL playing soccer. LoL There are 4 soccer fields outside of our room. We happen to be RIGHT in the middle of all 4 fields. So I've been catching a few glimpses of soccer throughout the day.

Anyway, just a few minutes ago I decided to bike to campus from our apartment to see how long it takes and to see how to get there before the masses of students arrive. It took me 10 minutes and that's with getting lost (I had to turn around once) and biking at a pretty slow pace (wasn't constantly peddling). Not bad! After I found Bren and kind of took my time going back, I decided to see if I could make it to the shopping center close by. Biking straight from the UCen and all the way to the corner of El Colegio and Storke wore me out! LoL I timed it from the apartment and it's about 7 minutes, which is about half the distance. So it'll take me about 15-20 minutes to bike to the shopping center. Not bad!

I keep forgetting school doesn't start next week...Move-in is on the 19th (a week from today). So I get another week to get used to the campus before mayhem breaks loose! Bren also changed the orientation schedule some too. So I'm only missing the math workshop the Friday I leave. Not bad! It seems like they took out some stuff and added in a 3rd group for different things. At least it seems more streamlined now. If you're interested, you can look at the orientation schedule here.

I have a few more things I have to take care of (student ID card, bus sticker, and calling the financial aid office to ask about my miss $87) and then I'll be 100% ready for the quarter to start. I'll take care of all that next week.

Pictures of Apartment

I took some photos of the apartment today and added a few from my dad today. You can view the pictures here.

Today, Jane and I went to the Health center to see if we both could make appointments for next week. Unfortunately for us, the times available were all during Bren Orientation times. So...we have to call next week and ask them to put us into the system so we can make our own appointment and check for more times. I don't get why they couldn't have us all set-up to access our health insurance and appointments by now! Bren has it set-up where our insurance is supposed to start on the 1st of Sept. Everyone else starts the 20th or 24th. Honestly, I basically don't have health insurance till everyone else does and I'm supposed to have it 3 weeks earlier. Something they definitely need to work on!

After that we went to the CSO (Campus Safety Officer) office to get our bikes registered. So my bike now has a National Bike Registry sticker and registration (lasts 10 years, costs $10, and law enforcement offices can access it) and a California Bicycle License. They last 3 years (expire on Dec 31st of the 3rd year) and cost $6. They also stamped/engraved onto the frame of the bike (where the pedals are, underneath there) the county it was registered and the month/year. With my two locks (I'm hoping my u-lock is wide enough...) and two registrations, I can't get more "protection" for my bike than having someone watch it! The CSO said that she lost her seat once (I have a cable to help prevent that), but, after alcohol crimes (not sure what that is), bike theft is the worst thing on campus. Sometimes it's just a front tire, sometimes the seat, etc. She also said bike traffic gets pretty heavy once school starts too. So Jane and I joked saying we're going to be stuck in traffic, but it'll be bike traffic! Jane and I tomorrow and/or Saturday are going to try biking and walking to Bren to see how long it takes. We both want to switch off between walking and biking. We both need to brush up on the bike traffic rules/laws around here. I guess they're pretty picky about the bike rules and everyone yields for a bike on campus. The funny thing about going to the CSO today is we saw the campus police bikes and they're Specialized bikes! LoL So I have the same brand as the campus police bikes.

Jane and I also figured out that the stadium we can see from our window is the soccer stadium. So it'll be nice if we want to see a soccer game we can just walk to the stadium instead of having to drive/park and all that bothersome stuff.

I'm getting used to the planes taking off and landing at the airport too. It's kind of fun to watch when you're just zoning off into space. You suddenly see a plane take off. I still think it stinks that SB's airport doesn't have any flights that go to Monterey. Oh well. One day I will get over that! It's also kind of fun to see anyone who is playing on the soccer field too. I definitely like our view for sure.

Tonight we might go out with some other Bren students to this winery that has live music on Fridays. We'll see. I'm still adjusting to here, but it'll be fine. I'm hoping to rest up between now and Monday. Get 100% over my cold and get some sleep in! My bed seems a bit too hard for me. My back is fine (not my normal problem area), but the spot right between my shoulder blades is starting to bother me a little. It's not unusual for it to happen (I hold tension in that area), but it's particularly sore when I first wake up. I'm hoping it's just me needing to adjust. If it gets too bad, I might be making a stop somewhere to get something to "soften" up my bed a bit.

Anyway, with that. I think I'll grab something to eat and read for a bit. Maybe even nap.

I'm here!

Guess where I am! I'm in my apartment in Santa Barbara! I've finished unpacking everything. I just need to clean the dishes and stuff in the kitchen and put them away, but everything else is put away in a proper place! I'll take pictures later.

The apartment is on the 2nd floor, kind of at the end/middle. It's kind of complicated to explain, but we're in the middle of the complex or "village," but at the end of the row (there's a "pathway" through the middle of the complex). We're actually 2nd to last, but not bad. We have a view of the (or a) soccer field and the "mountains" too. MUCH better than a hallway, the inner part of the complex (view of the other rooms), the parking lot, or road. I also feel a little safer being on the second floor. I can leave my bedroom window open and all that. We have electronic key access into our apartment (think hotel key, but we "wave" this small black square-ish thing in front instead of swiping) and a personal key to our bedroom in the apartment. Kind of funny, but nice too. If you had a roommate you didn't get along with or they had a friend you didn't trust, you can lock your room!

I'm excited to go to class, but the no car thing worries me a little. I know once I get used to it and where everything is it'll be okay, but it still worries me. I do know, even if I had my license (still working on it!), there's no way I could afford the gas, insurance, upkeep and all that. As is, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pay my $60/month phone bill. LoL

I have to buy a few more things, but I have quite a lot already (in the way of things I need). Not a whole lot more I need. I'll mainly be buying food tomorrow. I do wish I had something up on the wall over my bed, though. It's so...plain...I have a calendar up next to the desk and one over the bookshelf next to the door, but the wall over my bed looks too plain. I wish I had brought a poster from home now. I could have brought a movie poster. Or I wish I bought one from the aquarium (more fitting). We'll see, though. I did bring my plants (even though one is dying and I'm not sure why considering I've kept it alive for 4-5 years now), which has helped cheer up my desk and room a great deal. I also have a small stained glass mobile with horse heads on it my mom got me for Christmas. So...at least the right side of my room (desk side) is cheerful. I suppose a bed is supposed to only be used for sleeping. LoL

I admit there are two weird things for me being in this room - so far. 1) I'm using a closet with doors. I know that sounds funny, but you have to remember I've had a walk-in closet for the past 9 years! My closet at home is all "organized." Here, everything is on the same bar. LoL Plus, I have to move doors to get to the other end of my closet. Sad, aren't I? 2) I have to leave my room to get to the bathroom. Again, sounds weird, but I've had my own personal bathroom IN my room for the past 9 years! My room is the old master bedroom. So you walk through my room door and there's a hallway with the bathroom and closet door off to the left. Sharing a bathroom isn't bad (I have done it before with my brothers and Kristi), it's just the fact I have to leave my room to use the bathroom. I am glad that each of us gets our own medicine cabinet, though. I managed to fill mine up somehow...Kind of sad considering I won't use the majority of that stuff much at all. Oh well.

Anyway, with that. I think I'll read and hit the sack. I haven't been sleeping much the past few days. Pictures to come!

The End of an Era: Borders

Monday was my final day for working for Borders. It was sad, but it was definitely time since our store (along with the company) is simply dying. As Chris says, I'm envied and hated by everyone at work. :P Envied because I got to leave; hated because I left. This week we've had a team from another store come in to help us get through our pallets of books we have sitting in our back warehouse (12 pallets?). Also, there's no incentive for me to transfer to another store too. The company doesn't care, why should I? On top of it, I really don't want to work my first two quarters (probably the year). Everyone recommends you not do that, if you can. I have enough loans to cover me through the years, so I am. Course, that means I am jobless! It feels weird since I'm also on leave from the aquarium too. I'll be going to school full-time and, by the way it sounds, I'll need all that time! I will miss my employee discount (33% off books/CDs, 20% DVDs, 10% mags), the ability to check out books from the store (hardcover and large paperbacks), and keeping up with the latest and newest books (almost every book I own I bought from Borders during my time there). I will also miss my co-workers who I got along with and had fun with. But, for all of that, I don't regret leaving or really miss it. It was definitely time.

For kicks and giggles, I thought I'd relive some of my more "memorable" customers/job requests from the past 5 years.

Customer #1: Adoption Lady - This Asian lady came into work to look up books about infanticide (think genocide, but for infants). First off, I've never been asked that at work before and I told her we didn't have anything in store. Then she started to tell me why she wanted it. Basically, because China has the population issue and only one child thing, there's been a lot of infant killings and all that. She was reading about it. She then asked me for another book, which we had in store. She said it was about these girls being adopted from China. I told her it sounded interesting because I'm adopted - WRONG thing to say! She immediately wanted to know where I was adopted from (I told her) and the next thing I know, I'm getting a lecture about how adopted children have suppressed rage and anger issues. I tried to tell her I don't think this is true and I get an ear full about how she adopted two kids from China (her daughter was found along the road) and she proceeds to tell me all about her two kids and their lives. (I feel like I know her kids problems really well...) She goes back to the anger issue and says, "I think I have some authority in this matter, considering I adopted two kids." I'm standing there thinking, "no." I tried to loose her 3 times too, but she'd find me after I helped a customer. FINALLY I got rid of her because I said, "I really need to work." And she said, "yeah, I have to go." *rolls eyes*

Customer #2: Fence Phone Lady - One of the funniest phone conversations I've had. Went something like this.

Me: Thank you for calling Borders in Sand City. This is Bethany. How may I help you?
Customer: Hi. What kind of borders do you have?
Me: Excuse me?
Customer: I'm looking for some borders for my backyard. Like a small fence.
Me: Uh...you called Borders. We're a bookstore.
Customer: Oh! I'm sorry! I'm new in town and I didn't know.

She must have lived somewhere where Borders didn't exist. :P

Customer #3: Phone Complaint Guy - Working at a bookstore, you get a lot of complaints and some of them are off the wall and some of them are valid. In this case, it was completely stupid and happened my 2nd to last day at work. We were busy and the phone was ringing off the hook (pretty normal these days) and I was walking by a customer to help another customer and paged over our walkie talkies for someone to please answer the phone. The customer I walked by said, "Yeah, that phone is really annoying. Turn it off." I said, "I'm sorry sir, we're really busy." He said, "Well, it has the most annoying ring tone I've ever heard." As I'm walking away from him, I say, "I'm sorry, but the other ring tone option we have is even more annoying than this one, if you can believe it." I heard him mumble something, but I ignored it. Really? A phone ring tone? You're going to complain about that?! Especially when you're reading a book in a retail store, for free. Uh-huh...

Customer #4: Needy Customers - There are some instances where I think I work in a information center rather than a bookstore. Here a few examples:

Interior Designer: This guy comes into work saying he's moving into a new place and wants some ideas on what colors go together. His bedspread is a dark red color and he wanted to know what looked good with it. So I take him to the interior design section and pointed out some books for him (paint books). It's pretty standard that when you get something vague like that, you help the customer find a book that suits them or enough of an idea of what to look for that they can continue to shop on their own. Well, this guy was "helpless." He stood there and let ME flip through the books, asked ME what I thought, and when I told him THIS was a good book, he wouldn't take it! So, basically, I was a 15 minute interior designer. Told the guy which colors looked good together (what books were good also) and he walked out of the store not touching a book. *grumble, grumble*

Legal Advice: We get this phone call from this gentleman and he wants to know what the current bankruptcy law is. I have no clue (am I supposed to know everything?!) and I'm trying to find books that'll help him, but, in the mean time, he's getting mad. I come back saying, "I have no clue" and he asks for the manager. Uh-huh, swell. Luckily, the supervisor who talked to him actually DID know the new bankruptcy law. Can't win them all.

Personal Shopper: We love phone calls that go like this, "Hi, I'm looking for books on gemstones. Do you have any?" We say, "yes, we do. Is there one in particular you're looking for?" "No, but I'm looking for a book with this gem in it, can you go tell me which books have it?" So we go, check them out, get them all, tell them every title and the price and they go, "Great! Can you put <blank # of books> on hold for me? I'll come pick them up later." Honestly, can't YOU come into the store and look at them yourself?!

Personal Reader: Do you realize how many customers come to Borders (a bookstore) and then ask us to look something up or read something because they forgot their reading glasses? Honestly, I can't tell you how often it happens. "Will you, please? I forgot my glasses at home. *small chuckle*"

Customer #5: Need help, but not for books - Funny how it works, but working at Borders, you really have to have a general understanding of just about everything.

Directions: I can't tell you how many times I've had to give directions to people to Best Buy, the Aquarium, one particular building at CSUMB, Carmel, etc. It's amazing. We get a lot of people asking us to give directions on how to get to us (that's fine), but people will stop in our store to specifically ask for directions on how to get somewhere. Luckily for us, we sell maps! Not that we sell that many that way, but it helps.

Where to buy something: If we don't carry something in particular (like a game, globe, video game, dvd, cd, etc), we have to have back-up locations on where customers may find something like that - games: Target, globe: Target, video games: Best Buy, DVD/CD: Borders.com/Amazon.com, on-line, book weights: office supply store, etc.

The Kindle: We sell the Sony e-Reader at work. The Kindle is an exclusive amazon.com product (as they made it). I have to know the difference between the two, the pluses/minuses, about how much the books on-line cost, etc, etc, etc.

Customer #6: Germ Lady: I actually haven't seen her in a year or so, but she used to be a frequent customer at Borders. She has a phobia of germs. So she'd have you take her credit card out of a plastic bag, while she held the bag; she'd have us barely touch the bags/books when we handled them; she'd wipe down any chair she sat in and then leave her wipe in the crack of the chair for us to pick up. Oh yes, she was a joy to have in the store...

Customer #7: Russian Dictionary Guy: He got this name because he was first known for buying and returning Russian Dictionaries. He's since then moved on to other things, but we're pretty sure he was scamming us with the dictionaries at first. Now, we're all VERY wary of him and he STILL frequents the store a lot (I saw him last Sat). He also likes to take advantage of any new cashier. He'll purposefully try and get them to ring him up and then try to confuse them into giving him some discount or whatever. I've caught him a few times trying this and I get to walk over (the employee usually gives a "huh?" to him) and tell him the store policy, once again. He never pushes it when an oldie tells him what's-what too.

Well, I guess for now that's where I will leave it. Maybe I'll reminisce again about Borders another time, but - for now - that'll do. :)

Biiikkkeee!

I bought my bike today! I've been looking for sometime, but haven't found anything either within my price range or something I really liked. I finally found a hybrid bike I liked by Gary Fisher (the Tiburon, ironic since that's the model name of Chris's car!), but the cheapest I could find was $400, not within my price limit. Last night I finally decided to just bite the bullet and buy a bike I liked since it'll be my main mode of transportation in Santa Barbara and Gary Fisher is a good name brand. Chris said we'd go to Bobcat Bikes in Salinas today to check them out since they carried bikes and it was the last place around here we hadn't checked (we checked Aquarian - expensive, some other one in Monterey - expensive-ish, and REI - expensive).

They were nice, I liked them. They let me ride 3 bikes (with Chris staying at the place as collateral - LoL) around the neighborhood. (I think I saw 8 cops on my 3 rides around the block - one pulled over a car too.) I tried a Specialized (the brand name) 17" women's mountain bike, a 15" Specialized men's mountain bike ($50 cheaper than the women's one), and a Trek 16" men's road bike. I originally was going to get a mountain bike, then decided on a hybrid, then was going to get a mountain bike on Amazon.com because it was cheaper, and then decided to go back to a hybrid once I found the Tiburon, and went to Bobcat Bikes with the idea of getting a hybrid. As luck would have it, I ended up leaving with the Specialized 17" women's mountain bike. LoL It's a $400 bike with a front suspension and, I think, 21 speeds. It has v-brakes (normal bike brakes, not disc). Chris likes disc brakes better (and they are supposed to be better), but they cost more and, I tell you, it's not easy to find a bike with disc brakes. It was my original intention to get them and that went out the door (along with my original price range of $150 for a bike...) once I realized how hard it was to get them. I also decided to go with the mountain bike because once I got into shape (boy, oh boy, do I need to get into shape), I can go mountain biking with Chris. :) Granted, my butt will hurt a lot (having no back suspension - called a hardtail bike), but it'll be fun. Chris isn't impressed with the shock I have (urban...soemthing...), which is about the lowest brand of shock you can have, but Chris asked the guy why they don't use rock shocks on the bike. The guy told him it made the bike cheap. :P Chris was concerned about how long the shock would actually last me and the guy said if I went biking in Fort Ord 5-days a week, it'd be a problem, but since I'm mostly using it as a road bike, it'll be okay.

To say the least, I bought a nicer bike instead of a Huffy or Schwinn because this bike will last me. Also, Chris is a biker and knows stuff about bikes and he probably wouldn't go near me and my bike with a 10' pole if I bought a Huffy or Schwinn. :P I also bought the bike in-store rather than on-line because I actually got to TEST the bike and check the height and all that. That was, I must admit, a lot of value right there for me. I'm kind of in a funky range for height of bikes and not all bikes are quite the same, so it was nice to know this bike worked for me. On top of it, Specialized on-line sells the bike for about $450 and some other places sell it for a bit more. So Bobcat Bikes really did have the best price. It's also the 2010 model.

Earlier today I was laughing because I told Chris, "Goodness. You got me into gaming; I know stuff about cars now; and now I know about bikes!" Chris says, "You're moving up in the world!" *rolls eyes* I told him I'll have to teach him stuff about horses and he says no because I'll eventually need to buy a car and I'm biking now so I need to know about bikes. I guess he has a point. LoL (He did read the first 4 Harry Potter books for me, though. :P ) From what I learned from Chris in regards to brands, it goes Huffy, Schwinn, Mongoose, Trek, Specialized, then Gary Fisher. Huffy/Schwinn being close and Trek/Specialized also being close.

I now need to buy a bike light, bike seat cover, bike mini pump, and bike lock. *sigh* I'm bleeding money. Why in the world did I think I could quit Borders on the 14th? LoL

My bike on Specialized's webpage. I have the brown stripe one. I think the picture is of the 15" one because the bar on my bike doesn't bend at all. It's perfectly straight. Chris and I found out there's a bend in some of the bikes to enable them to be "lower," but still support you when you stand.

Grad school roomie and apartment

I got my room assignment and roommate last week! My roommate is also a first year MESM student, which I'm very thankful for. It'll be nice to know someone immediately and understand a little of what I'm going through. I've found from CSUMB that rommates in different majors didn't always understand what ESSP students were going through with their workload and all that. So this will be nice.

I have my address for my apartment now and it's kind of weird, but I have one address for USPS mail and another for UPS, DHL, FedEx, and other independent carriers. Kind of weird...Must be how the city lines are drawn. My USPS address is in Santa Barbara, whereas my independent carrier address is in Goleta. The street number and apartment number are the same, just the cities and zips are different.

Other than that, there's a lot of e-mails bouncing around between MESM students, which is kind of nice. It seems like we're all going to get along really well. So I'm glad and excited about that.

My first registration pass starts at 3:45pm on Sept the 3rd. So I have to register ASAP to get the class times I want (we all get into the classes we want, just the times are different for labs). Most importantly, other than the times I want (I've already mapped out the times I want...LoL), I can't get my financial aid till I register for classes! My apartment fees and first rent is due the 15th of Sept and, though I'll get the money back, I'd rather get it deducted immediately from my financial aid rather than my pocket and then have to wait to get reimbursed.

I'm starting to look at textbooks on-line (the recommended ones to look over and one class's required texts) and I'm also going to need to start some writing exercises or something. My writing has deteriorated over the last year and the last thing I really want to do in the winter quarter is the writing workshop (I'm doing the no-credit calc and statistics workshops this fall quarter ON TOP of my 15 class units...).

My last day at Borders is the 31st of August. My last day at the Aquarium is the 30 of August. My shift is going to go out to dinner after shift on the 30th to have a "going away" dinner for me and for another shiftmate who is leaving for St. Andrews in Scotland for college! No clue about work, but I have another week before I leave to hang out with them.

Public Enemies

Chris and I saw Public Enemies yesterday. It's a 2.5 hour movie that, really, doesn't need to be 2.5 hours. It could have been fine at 2 hours or maybe even a little less. It is a shoot 'em up movie, so if you don't want to see practically everyone die, don't see it. Then again, it is a 1930's bank robber movie, so I suppose it's a little more expected. The cinematography was interesting. Most movies have that "touched up" feeling and not that "raw" film look to them. This one at times had a raw look to it, like certain parts they didn't want to touch up at all. They also did a lot of following people around with the camera (obviously not on a stand). So it kind of had a weird documentary/film feel to it at times (not often). The shooting scenes were good, though sometimes long. One in particular I started to zone out in the middle of and started thinking, "those are fake guns that have blanks in them. Look at all the light coming out of the end." Christian Bale did a good job, as did Johnny Depp, but depth lacked in this film. Character development was a little short too. Overall, though, it was enjoyable. Glad we went and saw it (especially as a matinee and not night), but it could have been a  DVD rental movie. B

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Continuing my summer movie reviews...

Chris and I saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs the day it opened (last Wednesday). It was really good. I wouldn't say it's much better (or worse) than the previous two, but I laughed and it was a good film. It might have been a bit better than the previous one (the meltdown), but I've thoroughly enjoyed the entire franchise. All the voice actors are back, which was nice. They're just as good as before and Buck (the one-eyed Weasel) is a great new character. The story pace was a good family film and Scrat is still after his acorn. The film could set-up nicely for a 4th film, so it'll be interesting if they decide to a 4th. I liked it enough that I'd see a 4th Ice Age film. B

Chris and I have a good chance of seeing Public Enemies this week.

Summer Movies

My summer movie list, thus far:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Good CG and action, but the storyline is still subpar to most films. I will say, Chris said this too, we found it more memorable than the first one. I enjoyed the first one, but it's one of those borderline films on whether you really liked it or not. This one I enjoyed, still kind of borderline, but I liked it better. I may buy the series in DVD when they come down in price. I like Bumblebee the best in this movie (I was more upset over Bumblebee in the first movie than anyone/thing else...). There are corny parts in the movie (as a Michael Bay film must have) and its 2.5 hours length can be felt sometimes through the last hour (I think it should have been 2 hours), but it did okay for me. B/B-

The Proposal - Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds...who'd of thought they'd be a dynamic duo? Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job of keeping up with Sandra Bullock. The comedic timing and their acting were great (I still chuckle at certain scenes when I think about them). I laughed so hard during some parts I was crying. The theater was hysterical sometimes too. It's a romantic comedy, but it's the type you feel like you want to/can tell everyone about to go see (which I do). Chris even enjoyed it and recommended it to his friends and mom. The storyline isn't anything original (your normal romantic comedy outline), but Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds definitely make this film. So far, it's been my favorite of the summer and I await its release in DVD. A

UP - Is Pixar ever going to make a dump of a film? I hope not (Toy Story 3 2010!!), but their record is amazing. All I knew about UP before I went to see it is it's about an old man, something about balloons lifting his house up and a boy who's stuck on his porch. Pixar, though, has a good enough record that I knew I wanted to see it and/or own it (even if I never saw it first). Chris and I went and saw it and it just touched something sweet and tender in my heart. Chris didn't prefer it and would have been perfectly fine if he never saw it (it is definitely a PG family film), but it was just a sweet film. I think it has something to do with the fact the main character is older and you get a flash through his life in the first 15 minutes of the movie. The overall storyline was well done and the dogs in the movie are hilarious! Chris and I still joke about them. They were definitely the comedians in the movie. The boy in the film is a nice contrast between the other two characters in the movie who are older. He also brings something new to the main character too. For a sweet, tender, sometimes action packed, family movie...this is definitely a go. A-

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - I liked the first one (I own it on DVD), so I wanted to see this second one. Plus, I'm starting on a Amy Adams kick (I really like her in Enchanted and thought she did a really good job in Doubt). It was enjoyable, though somewhat similar to the first one.  I also can't help but keep saying that one line from the Egyptian dude, "I have come BACK to life!" (It was in the trailer.) I liked Amy Adams in the film, some of the costumes annoyed me (plastic for the Egyptian Pharoh), but it kept my attention. Overall good film and you have to like Octavius and Jed. I'd probably buy it on DVD once it drops below $20. B

Terminator Salvation - Chris's hero, Christian Bale, starred in this film (like no one knows that considering he had one of his famous rages on set and was called on it). I'm not a big Christian Bale fan, he's not bad, but he's not fantastic in my mind either. Anyway, this was Chris's summer pick so we had to go see it. We went with a bunch of co-workers (like 10?) and it was a good action packed film. I like Marcus in the film (he's the center of the film). It also asked an interesting question about what really makes us human (Marcus is a machine, but he has a human heart and thinks he's a human). So it looked at the parallels between Marcus, humans, and the Terminators. It also touched upon second chances. Christian Bale was a really good John Connor (he has that "rallying" type of personality that'll make anyone go to battle). There is one thing at the very end that everyone at work and I laughed about (it's not possible even if the movie takes place a decade later - everything else is pretty "realistic"). Chris was a little affronted we all laughed about it. Overall, it was a good, clean action film and Chris wants to see it again and I wouldn't mind too. B

Angels and Demons - I don't remember a whole lot of the first one, but having seen Da Vinci Code, I wanted to see what this one was all about. I actually liked this one better than the first one. It was a bit more suspenseful and had a twist ending to it. I like those clue finding type of movies/books (National Treasure anyone?) so I also enjoyed that aspect of the film. It was enjoyable seeing it, but I wouldn't see it again because there's just something about this film that creeps me out when I think about some of the deaths in the film. Though, I will say, I do like Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor in the film. They did a good job. B

Star Trek - Not being a Trekkie or really watching the original TV series, I may not have seen the movie in theaters. It wasn't high on Chris or my movie watching list. We (Dad, Mom, Chris, and I) went on Mother's Day to see this since my Dad had seen it already and liked it. I must say, for summer films I've seen so far, it has the best combo of everything: good acting, costumes, storyline, CG, and action. I enjoyed it a lot, but it gives me the feeling of a "family film." That "content" feeling after seeing it (not a "heart racing" feeling like an action). Even though I liked it, I don't know if I'd ever want to see it again, though. Not sure why, but that's just my feeling. I was content seeing it once and glad I did, but I don't need to see it again. A-

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - What can I say about Wolverine...Other than Hugh Jackman being an excellent Wolverine, I don't know what else to say. It was a good action film, but kind of lame in the line of X-Men. (The X-Men series feels like it's never quite lived up to what it could really be.) There was a bad blue screen moment at the end of the movie and some CG I thought could have been done a little better, but it wasn't totally horrible. It was a good film to watch, but I wouldn't want to see it again. Though, I did have an urge to rewatch the X-Men movies again because I now understand a little more about Wolverine's background. At work, a lot of the guys complained about how horrible they botched some of the characters in the movie, but (for someone who hasn't read/seen the comics) it was fine. B-

Upcoming films I'd like to see: Public Enemies, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (!!!!!!!!!!), Julie and Julia, The Time Traveler's Wife (based on the book)

Arrival Date for UCSB

Not a whole lot is going on. Borders is getting worse by the day as an employee who has been there for 5 years. It's a struggle to get through each day there. Mentally, not just the normal "what a rough day." When you get to the point that you HAVE to drag yourself into work...you know it's time to quit. I need to hold out just a few more months, though. The end of this month I'll know whether I won the scholarship or not too. June 24th is when the winners will be notified. Winners get a letter. Non-winners get an e-mail. So...let's hope I win! $10,000 would be fantastic (covers half my fees or my year rent), but I'll get the $2,500 too. :P I'm not picky! LoL

In other news, my mandatory arrival date for UCSB is September 14th (2.5 weeks before classes start). Classes start on a Thursday...Anyway, it's a 2.5 week long orientation. *rolls eyes* It's literally scheduled from 9am-5pm M-F and one Saturday from 9am-12pm for the Calc review. I was planning to do the calc thing, but I definitely will do it now since it's scheduled into our long days as it is. I also get to take a writing assessment and workshop in those days too. Joy, but a good thing since I've been out of school for a year and have picked up some bad habits. The nice thing about my schedule in the Fall (first year is planned out for you) is I have lectures only from 9:30am to noon, but I have labs/discussions in the afternoon. If I can pull it off (missing colloquia and one stat review class) I can leave at noon on Thursday if I wanted to go home for the weekend. The scary class will be our 2.5 week class. It's taught 4 days a week AND has a lab/discussion for three meetings. To say the least, I'm going to be swamped. Between 16 units, stat review (1 month, twice a week, no credit), career workshop/speakers (twice a week), and colloquia (twice a week), I'm doing something for the program from 9am to 5pm most days of the week. The only plus is it's only M-TH. Nothing on Friday! I'm happy about that. I'm planning to do my lab discussion for that 2.5 week class at 8:30am, but it's only 3 times. I think I can deal with it. :P

With that...I must be off!

Catch up: laptop

Okay, okay. I've been remiss I my duties of posting about my computer. In fact, did I even post I was buying one? Probably not. Whoops...

Anywho...a few weeks ago (2 this fri) my new computer arrived! I bought a MacBook Pro, 15.4" with a 320gb hard drive, 4gb of memory, and 2.5ghz procesor. If my memory serves correctly, it's the second tier in the 15" MacBook Pro line (not the cheapest one).

I bougt it from macmall because they did a debate if you bought a mac from them. With the rebate I think I ended up saving something like $300 compared to buying it directly from apple. I know they have the education discount, but I'd only save a max of $200. On top of it, macmall dropped the price of a hp printer and hp is doing a $70 rebate on certain printers whne you buy the printer at the same time of a laptop purchase. I'll need a printer for grad school, so it worked out better. I was going to wait till apple did their iPod and computer sale, but I need a printer more than an iPod and my iphone can double as an Ipod.

I got the one with more memory because I've been playing World of Warcraft with Chris for a month, but he switched to playing Lord of the Rings Online the day I ordered my computer, so we've been playing that since I got my computer. Anyway, since Chris is a pc user and I now had bootcamp, we put windows xp on my computer. I basically had go do that too because LOTRO is only a pc game. Parallels worked (I used it for two days), but it wasn't the same.

I must admit, once we worked out the millions issues with getting bootcamp to work (wireless drivers, using fat32, etc), it's worked pretty nicely. It's kind of a pain to launch in and out of mac and pc, but only because I have go quit and relaunch things ( I never turned my old mac off), but it could be worse.

The only issue I have with my laptop is the fact it has an 800 firewire port instead of the common 400. So I had to buy and adapter that'll covert the 400 to an 800. Luckily, most things are USB now! I do positively love the light up keyboard, which I missed out on my old laptop because I had the low line of the PowerBook with a 15" screen upgrade. So everything in it was for the 13". I like it! It's nifty! I also like the led screen...my old laptop is almost 5 years old, the screen was dying. I get this new one and I had to up the screen brightness over a few days because it was too bright for me. It hurt my eyes! I think I'm at 100% now or only one or two ticks below.

With the rest of life, not much is going on. Just working at borders where morale is so low we want to tell people who ask for apps to not apply. We also don't care about our jobs too. Chris and I are playing LOTRO as I said. It's fun and it's really a game that two players is better. So we always play together.

With that, I should get back to working in the polls. It's slow as all get out today. I just typed all this on my iPhone too. Excuse any weird typos or any in general for that matter. It took forever and is a strain after a while. LOL