Mike's blog

2005-12-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I'm not taking any English classes next semester. This will be the first time since I started my schooling that that'll be happening. English has always been one of my best/favorite subjects, so it's gonna be pretty weird to not have in my schedule.

But thank goodness this semester is over. The last few weeks have been so stressful, it'll be so good to just unwind for the break, then start fresh next semester with new classes.

2005-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

The due date for the final paper being pushed back again is pretty sweet. I had a lot of stuff to do on top of the paper, so now that I have more time, I can take it a bit easier.

I started my Christmas shopping yesterday. I went to Half.com, which is like a branch of eBay that has music, movies, video games, and books marked down to like 80% less than store prices, and it has an awesome selection. Buying stuff online is so much easier than going to the store. I wish I had a debit card last year, it would've made things a breeze.

2005-11-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving break is over, and what a sweet break it was. Seeing all of my friends and family members for the first time in months was exactly what I needed. Plus Christmas break is only like 3 weeks away already. Awesome. I love being home.

2005-11-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

Man, registration is such a pain. I can't wait for this to be over already. Hopefully it'll be less annoying next year.

2005-11-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what to get anybody for Christmas this year. First of all, I really hope I get a good amount of money for my birthday (December 3) so I can use it on Christmas shopping... if not, I don't even know where the presents are gonna come from. But even after that, it's a matter of guessing with most of the people in my family. For some reason, they hate to tell you what they want, but at the same time they get mad if you don't tell them what to get you.

Ugh.

2005-11-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

I think it's funny that my friends always complain about all the boring stuff they have to read/do for their INTD classes, like research hurricanes, or read ridiculous amounts of stuff about Buddha, and when they asked me what my assignment was, I got to tell them "I'm reading 'A Christmas Carol'." They hate me.

2005-11-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

I just saw my first Christmas commercial of the year. And it's funny, because whenever that happens, I think "Oh cool, Thanksgiving must be coming soon!" It's kind of ridiculous how trained I am to not even think that Christmas is right around the corner with the arrival of Christmas ads. But then again, I guess it's true when they say that they start earlier every year.

2005-10-31T16:47:00.000-08:00

I remember reading a play version of A Christmas Carol in high school, and I'll be damned if it had this many footnotes.

2005-10-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

Ah, my fourth paper is finished. It was definitely more challenging than the other 3, but I think I did a pretty good job on it.

Last week was so hard in terms of my workload. I either had something due or a test in each class all within 3 days of each other. It looks like the coming weeks up until Thanksgiving break will be fairly less stressful, thank goodness.

2005-10-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know how detailed my draft for the fourth paper is going to be, which feels sort of awkward. Previously, my draft paper had been a "pretty much done" kind of deal, but it doesn't look like that's gonna be the case with this one. However, I know the assignment allows for a sort of loose draft, and now I can see why.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Christmas is coming sooner than I think. More and more I find myself counting down to Thanksgiving break, when I can finally see all my friends from Long Island again. I have always thought of Thanksgiving as one of my favorite holidays, because of the holiday itself, because it is so close to my birthday, and because it is so close to Christmas. So if I'm counting down to Thanksgiving already, that must mean that Christmas isn't too far off. Sometimes it's kind of scary to think about.

2005-10-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm terrible at remembering to post in this thing.

I went home to Long Island this past weekend, and had a lot of fun seeing friends and family. During a big family dinner on Saturday night, my all of my family members were asking me if I knew what I wanted for Christmas yet. They do this every year... if I had my way, nobody would be thinking about what they wanted for Christmas until December. I hate telling people what to buy me, it makes me feel really awkward. I guess it's just something I have to get used to. Then again, it's been going on for 18 years now and I still haven't gotten used to it, so I dunno how that's gonna fly.

2005-09-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

When I found out that today's class was cancelled, I was ecstatic. I had been feeling very sick for all of yesterday, and I was still up in the air about whether or not I should force myself to get to class. Since this is my only class on Fridays, I was able to sleep in and continue to recover. Hopefully I'll feel better by the end of the weekend.

2005-09-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

As I'm reading the given assignments on eRes, I couldn't help but think how incredibly odd it is for these two guys to care so much about the author of this centuries-old poem. Honestly, I can see how the topic is interesting, what with all the controversy surrounding the true author... but even if I were a journalist and a relative of one of the supposed authors contacted me for help, I just don't think I could force myself to care so much about something that is, in my opinion, ludicrously insignificant.

2005-09-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to writing this "devil's advocate" paper. Whatever I choose to write about, I'm sure it will be both interesting and challenging to try and make an argument for a point of view that I do not agree with. I think this will be a good experience for everyone in the class, because most of the time people do not give much credence to other peoples' views on important issues. Hopefully I will start it tonight, presuming I can settle on something to write about.

2005-09-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to an unreleased song by The Used called "Alone This Holiday", and it reminded me of this class. It's about how it's the holiday season, and he's breaking up with his girlfriend, and it's like, cold both temperature-wise and emotion-wise, and I guess he thinks that's pretty deep stuff. I dunno, I don't even really like this band or this song, but I figured I'd use it as an excuse to update this sweet blog o' mine.

Whoah oh oh oh sweet blog o' mine. Hahah.

2005-09-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

My family has a few Christmas stories that are told fairly often, but there is one that is by far the most popular. My cousin Rebecca's birthday is on December 24, so when she was little, she would always get upset that she was never the center of attention on her birthday (especially since that side of my family has always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve). My other cousin Brendan (her brother) had just gotten a big present and everyone was watching him play with it, so Rebecca started a fight with her younger brother. They brawled around the floor until Brendan pushed her, sending her forehead smashing into the corner of a glass table, destroying both the table and most of the skin on that part of my cousin's head. My whole family had to leave immediately and take her to a hospital where she got 15 stitches in her head. She did wind up getting all the attention she could handle for the next few days, so I guess the ending was kind of bittersweet for her.