Turn around, bright eyes.

Well it sure has been an interesting couple of days.. First of all, we had to call 911 for my friend last evening, which is something I would never like to relive. He had been ill for the past couple of days and it just came to the point where his body just couldn't cure itself. While his roommate went with him to the hospital, the rest of the hall waited impatiently in the dorm. His roommate finally returned about 3 hours later with some shocking news. Our friend had suffered from a collapsed lung due to internal bleeding in the chest cavity. He had to receive a few critical blood transfusions also, since he had lost so much and had such a low blood pressure when arriving at the hospital. While he is currently stabilized, it's very frightening to think of what could have happened if we had waited any longer to contact the paramedics. All I ask is for the doctors to fix him as soon as possible.

All of our love and prayers to you. <3

ALAN! ALAN! ALAN!

I would just like to share a quick video with all of you totally unrelated to anything I would have really talked about in a blog post. The Brit's are just so darn funny! 

My favorite is the "Nighttime/Daytime" bird, or the cute like puffins! :]

Time flies when you're..

..busier than ever! I had never anticipated that I would be so busy this semester! I only have 15 credits, but homework on top of that adds so much more time. The advantage to this though is that I am pretty much taking all math and science related courses, so we have basically been covering the same exact material and in every class so far. It seems rather odd to me, especially because it is also concepts that I have been learning since Calculus I. See? I suppose you do build upon your math spectrum as you get older.

I am currently in the 2 North Lounge in Case Hall attempting to study for Linear Algebra and Statics, but this comfortable chair is not helping me any. I've caught myself yawning or nodding off about every five minutes. I think that is an indicator of my immediate need for sleep. Goodnight, World.

I cannot sleep, I cannot dream tonight.

I can't decide if I like my schedule or not. It's not the actual classes that I can't decide on, it's the order in which I have to attend them. I have my four Monday-Wednesday-Friday lectures on average from 9:10-2:40 three days a week with another two hour recitation Monday evening. Then I only have my engineering course on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and that's not even until 3pm. I really love that my lectures are back-to-back with only twenty minutes in between, particularly for three reasons: one, it means I only really have to leave my complex three days a week, since my engineering class is in Wilson; two, it makes the classes go by quicker since they're all grouped together like in high school; and three, it gives me large blocks of time in the afternoons and nights to do my homework, work, blog, and hang out with my friends.

This all seems like nothing to complain about, right? Well, unfortunately, not in my case. My work schedule poses a hinderance on my work ethic, especially on Wednesdays, like today. I was very happy to get a "promotion" at the Bakery, but the hours are less than ideal. I work from 3:45-7:15am packing freshly baked bagels for the dorms and other various orders on campus. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have four classes in a row starting less than two hours after my shift ends. I actually like the work I do, despite the crazy hours. It's just, I found myself dozing in my first two classes. I was totally aware of my self nodding off, but I just couldn't snap myself out of it. I kept telling myself to wake up and pay attention, but my brain wouldn't let me. While it is partially my fault for not going to bed at a decent hour, my hall does not understand the meaning of the phrase "24-hour respect quiet hours." They just like to yell down the hallway, all day.

Honestly, this post took me longer than it should have  because my brain kept shutting down in the middle of writing it. Maybe it's naptime?

Working hard or hardly working?

I'm going to be completely honest right now. I had fully intended on blogging Monday night, but I literally have not had enough time to just sit down and write up a post in what little spare time I have had. As soon as classes started for me at 9:10am on Monday morning, I've just been busier than I ever was last semester! Being an engineering major and mathematics minor, I am currently enrolled in Statics (like physics in equilibrium), Statistics for Engineers, Linear Algebra, Modeling in Engineering, and Engineering Analysis of Biosystems.. so essentially I'm taking all math related courses. Not that I'm complaining, I'm definitely enjoying the classes so far, even if it does mean doing analysis homework every night for the next four months..

Other than my classes, everything else this semester has been going well. I've worked a total of six shifts at the Bakery this week, which has definitely hindered my blog writing availability. It has also screwed up my sleeping pattern, since I now have a Wednesday shift at 3:45am.. don't ask me how I do it, I just do. It's dark and cold when I go in for work and guess what, it's still dark and cold when I leave. I can't wait for warm weather again!

I think I might go take a nap now since I've been mostly awake since 3:20am.. then it's homework time. Ciao!

On the banks of the Red Cedar..

And I'm back! So happy to be back here in East Lansing, even if it means starting a new (difficult!) semester!

To be honest, the semester started off in a fantastic fashion with a SPARTAN VICTORY AGAINST THE WOLVERINES!! It was definitely the best hockey game the Spartans have played all season: they made excellent plays, passes, shots, and goals that led to an overtime win. Great job, boys! Hopefully it will be the same for tonight's game at Yost (Michigan's Ice Arena)!

Today has been filled with cleaning, unpacking, organizing, and just simply get ready for the new semester. I feel really spoiled in the book department. While I'm lending out a few books to my friends who  are taking classes that I have already taken, I'm also borrowing books from other friends who have taken the classes I'm taking this semester. It is a wonderful cycle that has led to my grand total of $0 spent on books this semester. To everyone who is possibly not as fortunate, I would suggest purchasing books from Amazon or Half.com before even thinking about buying them from stores in East Lansing. I also learned yesterday that there is a trial version of Amazon Prime that allows students to buy books without having to pay for shipping, but I have not invested anytime in this subject just yet. Happy shopping, students! And have a wonderful first day of the new semester!

A photo a day keeps the..

..cliche, but I couldn't think of anything to end this phrase. Anyway, I decided that since I was given a new camera for Christmas, I should get as much use out of it as possible. As I have said before, I am very interested in photography, but an ameteur in skill for sure. I would very much like to take a photography class one of these days, all I need to do is fit it into my busy schedule.

So in lieu of the holiday season I have decided that one of my New Year's resolutions will be to simply take more photographs. I won't get any better by studying photography from a handbook; the only way to understand it is to actually use my camera and figure out it's settings and features on a daily basis.

Therefore, I have created an additional blog on www.tumblr.com where I will upload my favorite photo that day for the next 365 days. It being on the second day in, I have held to my promise and very much enjoyed carrying my camera around with me as I go about my normal activities. It's actually very interesting to see how my views of my surroundings change as my brain switches into creative/artistic photography mode.

If you would like to see these photos, click here. :] You can also access them at the following link: http://flashflashphotoop.tumblr.com/

Oh, and ah, Happy New Year! It's 2011 already?