Hello everyone,
Yes, yes, I know. I haven't updated my blog in close to a month. I've been putting it off, or wanting to get more time to write it... you know, the usual stuff. It's been so long since my last entry that I don't remember all the stuff I wanted to blog about. Okay, and I do realize that people may just glance over my blog and shrug it off as a long rambling. Over the last few weeks, I've been occassionally looking over blogs of my friends and sister and wondering why some people don't give a life update. So, rather than be a hypocrit any longer, I'm taking this time to give an update on life.
As for my blog subject, tonight is the first night that I'm on primary duty for my building. Being a CA in Middlebrook is pretty awesome, and with 25 other CA's, our duty schedules all have nice holes/gaps. Oddly enough, in a two-week interval (from last Sunday to a week from today), I'm on some form of duty seven times! Two of those shifts are filling in for an Office Assistant, so I will be getting some extra funds. If anything, being on duty just takes a lot of time. Sure, I don't do rounds between 9pm and 11pm, but 1-1/2 hour blocks on a Friday means that I either have to watch a movie in long awkward pieces, or I don't get much done. The bumblebee and albatross are the two signs of being on primary duty: the primary duty phone and duty keys. I've only had a few minor calls tonight, and things have actually been going well.
Well, rather than ramble on about duty, I'm going to change the subject. First, some sad news. Shortly after I wrote my last entry, Bandit my oldest dog was put down. He had been dealing with a heart tremor for years, and apparently he was starting to not eat. Then when Dad came home one day and Bandit wasn't really moving at all, Dad decided that it was best to bring Bandit to the clinic and put him down. I know it must have been really sad for Dad, seeing as Bandit was 11 years and leader of our little pack. Dad had been wanting to get another puppy for a while now, and now there is a new puppy in the house. His name is Bear (named after Bandit's father), and he's still a little black runt. In almost all the pictures I've seen of Bear, his eyes eerily glow green. It'll be different going home and seeing a new dog where an old one once lived.
Moving on, classes have been challenging, to sum it up in one word. In all my classes except Mus 5240 and Soc 3090, I've had a midterm and, if I remember correctly, gotten an A or A- on all of them (I'm particularly proud of the writing test in HSci)! I have another complex analysis exam on Monday, so I'll need to take this weekend to study for that, as well as a first draft of my HSci research paper that's due a week from Tuesday. Oh, and I'm now an intern (that is what they are calling me) at the Cedar (a music venue that's really close to Middlebrook), as part of my sociology course. Apparently being an intern exempts me from at least some of the class's larger projects, and like the grad student says, it's a good way to give back to the community. As of yet, I've been basically doing a lot of data entry, but one of the main staff people there wants to talk to me about more involved projects than loads of data entry.
Cryptology homework and Soc & HSci readings have kept me up, which has been leading to losing sleep. Halloween was particularly bad, because I stayed up really late from math hw, tried to take a mid-morning nap, woke up with really bad stomach pains and ended up missing choir. Things are getting better now, and like I told Terry (the ARD for Middlebrook), I'm going to make November better than October and September ever were.
Two weeks ago (it hardly seems like that long ago), we had the collage concert, along with many other music groups on campus. It was pretty awesome, and a lot of people I knew ended up going, including a counselor from CYC. Last Friday, Matt and Andrew had graduate conducting concerts, that were pretty amazing. I really liked the six pieces we did.
Going back to the topic of CYC, I've been offered a position there for next summer. It was definitely an awesome growing experience, but I'm wondering what's the best path for me. Should I try to get an internship here in the Cities? Is there a way to get some plain work experience here? Should I return to the island by the emus (aka camp)? Fortunately it feels like I at least have some more time to think, but I shouldn't keep Rich up in the air.
I know I've been jumping around from one topic to another, but honestly, it's kind of reflecting my life as it is now. For being a math major, I'm not doing a lot of math work, especially when compared to the time I've put in for my non-math courses (sociology, hsci, music). Also, it feels like my CA-ness has been slipping since I've had to focus on different assignments/midterms. We had a marshmallow war that started with 20 people at midnight on Nov 1st... yeah, it's been over for at least 2 hours... Maybe I can get another movie night whipped up before finals start rearing their heads.
Oh, and I register for spring semester at the first possible time: 8am on Tuesday. That came up unexpectedly! At this point, I'm going to see what math classes are interesting, and figure out some other classes alongside (it's odd, but after this semester, I only have one lib ed requirement left, which is to do a math class as a writing intensive). I'm definitely going to do everything I can to avoid a night class.
At this point, there are only little things to blog about. I decided to buy a digital camera online, but I have to wait for my paypal account to be verified. I've been taking time to spend with my CA friends, and last year's 5th floor. Seeing other people outside of that has proved to be more difficult since I'm more likely than not in the building (sometimes tied in, sometimes of my choosing). This complex analysis course has been a good way for me to realize that I don't really like theoretical math.
Well, I should start to wrap this up. Since I do have stuff coming up as early as Monday, I need to make the most of this weekend. I hope everyone is doing well. If you could send a prayer or two towards all the Middlebrook CA's (for health, peace, strength, and endurance), that would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to leave you all with another edition of 15 truths. Have an awesome weekend, talk to you all later, take care and God bless.
~Matt dB
15 Truths (to remind you, 15 of the following statements are true, 5 are not)
1. Thanks to this year, I have actually been to a Gophers sporting event.
2. I want to have earlier classes next semester, partly to prevent sleeping through class.
3. I have yet to play Guitar Hero 3 or Halo 3 since I've been so busy.
4. Another CA and I held a Super Smash Brothers tournament in the building and we had upwards of 50 people show up, which was amazing!
5. My dad has been sending me the comics from the Sunday newspaper back home for the past few weeks at least.
6. My sociology of music class has made me gung-ho about declaring a sociology minor.
7. Despite having all my stuff crammed into a single room, I was able to squeeze out enough room for a cot for when Joe (from MusiCamp) was in town for a conference.
8. The single rooms in Middlebrook are on average the smallest rooms out of all the residence halls.
9. One of my fellow CAs has made a deal with Gophers After Dark to host an Awkward Dance in the Great Hall.
10. I feel like I should try to get more involved in the church, but I honestly don't know where the best place to get involved is.
11. My floor held a rave, without any inspiration from Julie or myself.
12. My current website to waste time on is Youtube.
13. I actually found a dollar while walking across a bridge to go to a friend's place (and the walk over was boring in all other regards).
14. You can tell when I've been putting time in at the Cedar by the pen marks on my hands.
15. One of my side projects I've been working on is organizing all my photos from before college into an actual album.
16. There has at least been one morning when what looks like ice has been floating down the river.
17. I had an experience where I was able to do laundry without anyone else in the laundry room.
18. The collective thought process of Middlebrook CA's has notably changed in the last month.
19. I've noticed that I'm the only Middlebrook staff member that wears his/her watch on his/her right wrist.
20. Life is good. Life is hard. Life is challenging. Life is... life.
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