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Austin's blog
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 Somewhere only we nap...
Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 1:23 PM
Phones need recharging, cars need fuel, and college students need naps. It's a simple fact of the life away from home. After class or perhaps following a meal – there's never a wrong time to stretch out on your bed, let the California sunshine keep you warm, and doze off for a little bit. Well, actually, I take that back – it may not be your wisest choice to fall asleep during nationally broadcast Pac-10 football games. Take that from me.
I will admit I have a hard time getting to settle down enough for a nap. My roommate is a champion sleeper – a minute is just about all the time it takes for him to go from awake to unconscious. I just can't quiet my mind enough to pass out for a few hours – there's so much to do here! A bike ride? A trip to Safeway? Multivariate calculus? The mysterious and omnipresent et cetera, perhaps?
Some thoughts:
1.Stanford beats USC 55-21. I applaud you, gentlemen. The Pac-10 is no longer dominated by a USC dynasty.
2.Or maybe 1(a)? By the mascot transitive property, a pine tree with googly eyes beat the spit of a bunch of Trojans. That's something to ponder.
3.It's really pleasant outside. My friend's crew coach says this is winter in California, 'this' being 70ish and clear. I'm disposed to believe him.
4.The Engineering School is awesome here. We have opportunities to compete and exercise skills learned in the classroom all the time. This is one of the major differences between high school and college. Actually, scratch high school and college – this is a trait specific to small, undergraduate-focused universities in areas ripe with business and technology. This is a number of schools I believe I can count on one hand. And you know, I wouldn't have it any other way.
5.It might be time for a nap.
Yeah, it's time. I can feel it coming on. Peace out.
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Mood for a Day, Mood for a Night.
Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 1:18 PM
Hey all!
It's been a long week, and it will be a long week. I have a math midterm, a chemistry test, and an essay rough draft due on Wednesday, as well as class sign-up for next quarter coming up soon. The pressure is on for the time being. All of this, I guess, is a long-winded way of excusing my absence-of-late from the blogosphere!
A lot has happened in a short while, though. Besides classes, I attended an open forum last Wednesday regarding diversity here at the university. There was an off-campus incident, unrelated to the university, which offended many SCU students, particularly those of non-white racial background. I'd heard about it earlier, but I wasn't sure whether I would attend, since the issue at hand seemed to have no connection to me. But then a close friend of mine, who lives on the same floor as I do, told me he was planning on speaking at the forum, and asked me to come. I left that night with a completely new perspective. The university, in providing a place to speak openly about a sensitive topic, brought to light the thoughts and feelings I never knew existed of students here on campus. People of all different backgrounds shared their sentiments on the issue at hand for an hour and a half, and the whole experience was eye-opening. I hope in posting about this I am not making a mountain out of a molehill, or vice versa – I just found the forum extremely interesting, and I was glad Santa Clara hosted such an event.
On a lighter note, this weekend, sans haunting the library trying to get some homework for this week done, I made another CalTrain pilgrimage north (not nearly as exhilarating as last time, I assure you) to discover more of the lay of the land. Not to Fisherman's Wharf, or Berkeley, or the Haight – no, this time I stopped short a zone. I went to Stanford.
Stanford, this weekend at least, was enemy territory. They hosted my top ten-ranked Oregon Ducks in what is perhaps the most recognized collegiate contest of will: college football. My friend and I, decked out in yellow and green, marched proudly into Stanford Stadium, ready to watch my home team crush the Cardinal, just like all the predictions said. And four quarters later, we left quietly, head bowed, and slunk back to the CalTrain station in shameful fashion. We lost to unranked Stanford 51-42. Nine out of ten times that game is played, Oregon wins. And yet, the one time, not one after the biggest upset in the Pac-10 this season, we coughed up the biggest hairball this season. Ugh.
I returned to campus and found, much to my chagrin, that one of the community facilitators on my floor had returned from the game as well. Her loyalties, however, lay with Stanford. This meant for me that all the jeering and taunting I'd hit her with earlier came back to bite me in my green and yellow butt. The other shoe has to drop sometime, I guess. I was just hoping it would drop some other time.
As a final thought, it occurs to me, in looking around the Harrington Learning Commons (which is Santa Claran for “the library”) that this place is quite the establishment. I come here anytime I want to get some serious work done. At least 75% of my Sunday has been spent here, blasting through a chemistry lab report and English homework. It's difficult to study in the residence halls because it doesn't feel like you're really in any kind of crunch – many people will be playing video games, or there might be beach volleyball just outside your window, and yet you're the only reading Proust. No thanks. In the HLC, though, everyone is busy working, and productivity is a virus you quickly catch. Harrington Learning Commons is the kryptonite to distraction.
I suppose I'll end on that ironic note, seeing as technically, I should be working. The best laid plans of mice and men, though, eh? Essays don't just write themselves, though I soon hope to engineer something that will do just that.
Happy trails!
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Week 5!
Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 1:28 PM
Salutations!
What a weekend! I just got back from San Francisco and UC Berkeley about 8 hours ago, and have since decided not to go to sleep. Instead, I've been puttering about while my motivation to do homework meets in an epic battle with the desire to get on Facebook. Out of a madly swirling confluence of apathy, English assignments, insomnia and excitement, this blog post emerges (for the record, my watch reads 6:52 AM – class starts at 9:15).
Where to begin? After class ended at 3:30ish on Friday, I quickly gathered the bare essentials and made the pilgrimage to the CalTrain station. At first it was quite an intimidating prospect, but everyone at the station was very helpful to me in explaining how I was to buy tickets, where to transfer, which transfer to take, and so forth. The ride turned out to be extremely enjoyable, and there's a certain sense of accomplishment one derives from being able to get place to place – independence, perhaps? The BART is even more fun – like “roller coaster meets city tour” fun. Unsurprisingly, the daily commuters didn't share my enthusiasm, but I'd never been on public transportation so glamorously space age before. I felt straight out of an episode of the Jetsons!
In a matter of an hour and a half I had arrived at the Downtown Berkeley station, where I met my friend. He's a current student at UC Berkeley, and went to high school with me. This is the first time since I left that I've reunited with an old friend, and it was quite the experience. It made me miss home a little bit more than usual, but also provided an unusual sense of security, knowing somebody else was going through the same things I was – completely new place, all new faces, and of course, new challenges. Who better to gripe about doing your own laundry with than an old friend?
I stayed through Sunday, spending time both at home base and out in the city. On Friday, I explored much of the Berkeley area, which is really cool. I highly recommend a trip out there with a little spending money – between all the great places to eat, buy books and music, and anything else a college student could want, it's impossible not to indulge. I personally came back a couple items of clothing and about six CDs richer.
On Saturday, the focus of my excursion shifted towards the city. We took the BART to the Embarcadero station, which is within walking distance(or you could take a bus, but that would be lame) of Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. We got some fish and chips at the latter location, which were excellent. I don't recommend feeding any to the seagulls, even though it's fun to watch them squabble for it. Very quickly, innocent feeding of the gulls can turn into something resembling Alfred Hitchcock's “The Birds”.
Extensive exploration of the pier area on Saturday was followed by a day of relative inactivity on Sunday (namely, sleeping). I believe we woke up right around 2, and went straight for a shower and breakfast. A little more touring around the Berkeley area soon found 7 o'clock and time to leave. So I packed up and made the two or three hour voyage back home. It was nice to return to quiet, relaxed, familiar Santa Clara after a weekend of bustle in the city, and after dropping my bag off in my room, spent much of the evening carousing with some friends. Gooood weekend.
Well, it was a good weekend, anyway. It's 7:30 AM, which means Monday is more than current. Now begins the downhill side of the first nine weeks at school, and the homestretch for the first break. I say that, of course, knowing full well I have a midterm coming up on Wednesday. Time to get studying, I suppose!
Sayonara,
Austin
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My class is early in the morning, so I stayed up all night to be awake for it.
Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 1:21 PM
Hey all!
Right now it's raining, which I feel is appropriate given we've had so much sun in the past couple weeks, not to mention the past couple hours. Turn on a couple of warm lights, curl up with a latte and grab a book or some homework, and you're set until the storm doth cease. Or, put on a jacket, jeans and some old kicks and stroll the neighborhood – rain doesn't happen just everyday!
It's almost Halloween (which should be a CRAZY good time) – another week or so. It's so strange to think that already I'm over the hills, through the woods, and headed to grandmother's house (sorry – done with midterms, nearly five weeks elapsed, and halfway to Thanksgiving break, where assumedly there will be a grandmother or two). Sure, there'll be more hills between here and there, but seriously, I feel as though I could have been here for a week. The college pace picks up quite a bit of slack that high school left behind.
This past weekend was Alumni Weekend. Now, I know most of you have seen Animal House, and many of you have even been to college, so you probably have notions about the college party scene. So when I tell you that the alumni took over campus, carousing, eating, singing and dancing, it should come as no surprise to learn that they know how to have a good time. What should come as a surprise is that they were up past when I went to sleep (on a Saturday night) doing all those things. I guess the real world doesn't slow the Broncos past down one bit!
So, update on the San Francisco trip – it's actually going to happen this weekend. I mean that sincerely, with all possible candour. I talked to my buddy this weekend and it looks like I'll be able to stay with him up at Berkeley, which should be way cool. I'll also have my maiden voyage on the CalTrain/BART, which from all accounts is quite the cross-section of humanity. Let's do this thang.
Signing off,
Austin
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Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend
Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 2:13 PM
Hey all!
Week 3 has come to a complete close; 2 hours from now, Week 4 will commence. Midterms are imminent if not already upon some. In fact, I'm in the Orradre Library right now, blogging and watching everyone else stress out. I only have one midterm this week, and it's not even on Monday, so I feel pretty good right now. That said, I do have 100 pages to read before I go to bed tonight, so I shouldn't really be so lax.
On Friday night, I went with a group to see “Couples Retreat”. The group's original intention was to go see “Paranormal Activity”, but we boarded the 60 Southbound, not the 60 Northbound. Oh, well. The movie was pretty excellent anyway – I found myself laughing most of the time, and I hadn't expected to. After the movie, we went to the bus stop only to find the bus doesn't run past 10:30.
Hold on.
Reread.
The bus doesn't run past 10:30 on a weekend night? Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority, what were you thinking? In any case, we made an adventure of it. We walked the couple of miles back to campus, courtesy of Google Maps. We may or may not have made up for missing “Paranormal Activity” by spending a little extra time on the walk back in or around the cemetery. That's how we Santa Clarans do.
The area around campus is calm late at night. I've elected to start making my run a nightly ritual, because although the fitness center is awesome, sometimes it's crowded (which assuredly attests to its niceness). I tend to get a much better workout when there's no distraction, so I've taken to the campus loop – 1.73 miles of relatively peaceful running. Doing the loop twice or thrice every night, and suddenly I feel much better (Secret to Getting Through College #173 – Get those endorphins moving during midterms).
By this time, I've figured out how to balance my schedule, and have had more leniency in exploring the area. I figure reviews of some of the local fare are in order:
Blondie's: If what you're looking for is a frozen yogurt experience paralleled by none, look no further. The pistachio flavor is excellent.
Quality establishment.
Frozo's: Self-serve frozen yogurt? So wait, that's like, frozen yogurt you serve yourself? Absolutely, along with the largest assortment of toppings this side of the Mississippi. Raspberry, Froot Loops, and chocolate syrup, anyone?
Stuft Pizza: All-you-can-eat pizza lunch for a measly $6. 'Nuff said.
Wrap This!: This eatery has a special place in my heart. I found it quite by accident, laaaate at night. I came back the next day to try it, and let me say, the gyros are to die for. I haven't even tried anything else, and I've been back several times. Blissful.
As a footnote, I'd like to mention that we had an EPIC storm on Tuesday.
Nothing like pouring rain to motivate a little quality time with the homework.
I guess that just about completes this installment, fresh off the blog press. I'm going to try for the fabled trip to San Francisco this weekend – wish me luck! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures! Oh, and a shout out to our first tour groups of the year! Good luck in the college application process! Hope to see you here next year!
Peace out.
PS -- Included are some pictures from orientation and two of my visits to the school. New ones forthcoming, but until then, I hope these will
do :)
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A Freshman's Sophomore Blog Post
Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 1:23 PM
Hey all,
Welcome to a freshman's sophomore blog post! It's been a week, which is ideally more time than I'd have liked to wait, but I'll get on the stick next time. It's about 8:30 o' the clock as I write, and there's plenty to tell.
I'll begin this time with a plug for the ultimate frisbee team. All summer long, my friends and I had played midnight ultimate with a lighted disc and had an amazing time. We played through sprinklers and police patrols, good days and bad, rain or more rain, and we had a blast. I miss that group of friends, and although we still talk, there's always a little hole in my soul where those midnight ultimate sessions once were.
Fast forward a month or so.
I found myself in a room full of my fellow students, some of whom I recognized and most of whom I didn't. We were there united by a common interest – a good old-fashioned game of ultimate frisbee. The meeting started, and the meeting ended. Everyone left laughing, joking, talking about plans for the weekend, and excited to get out and throw the disc around. A week in, it's been an awesome experience. Not only does it get you out and moving around, it provides a nice study break, you get to meet people from other residence halls, and it's the coolest sport going. If you're lucky, you get a colourful nickname, too.
As far as other things go, school has been school. This week seemed to just blast by, as opposed to last week. Maybe it's getting adjusted to the pace of things here, or maybe it's just that more and more things are finding their way into my schedule. On Friday I had my first Mech 10 lab, which is basically the lab attached to a design and drafting class. If there are any potential engineers reading, take the plunge! All my classes thus far have been challenging and entertaining, but on Friday from 2:15-5:00, this lab takes the cake. It's absolutely a creative outlet. During calculus, I crunch numbers. During English, I read and write. During Mech 10, I create. Don't let anyone tell you that engineering is all work and no play. That, after all, would make Jack and the rest of the Santa Clara engineering undergraduates dull boys and girls.
Footnotes:
1. Go home, Gonzaga. Santa Clara men's soccer scores a penalty kick with 40 seconds left to win 1-0! The sun is shining in Buck Shaw Stadium today. :)
2. Listen to the Strokes, if you haven't already. I haven't stopped playing Electricityscape since I started 2 and a half weeks ago.
3. 'Footnotes' looks suspiciously like last post's Miscellaneous Bin.
Hmmm.
4. FIRST COLLEGE ESSAY due this week. Yikes.
5. Sobrato Hall has awesome entertainment rooms! A couple of friends and I watched Monty Python while playing ping pong and pool. I know where I'm going for my table tennis fix now...
Okay, I have to go. My editing buddy just got back with my FIRST COLLEGE ESSAY and it's time to rewriiiiiite. Sunday nights, sheesh...
PS -- Many more pictures to come. I just have horrible luck with the "right place, right time, camera here" thing.
Live long and prosper!
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Blog Post Numero Uno!
Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009 2:07 PM
Hey all!
I'm sitting inside on what has been a particularly chilly day (I think it might have dropped down into the high 70s), laptop atop lap, deciding how exactly to begin this first blog post. There's been so much happening this past week, it's hard to know where to start. Between meeting, greeting, reading, eating, studying, and sleeping, I'm not sure how many more -ings I can squeeze in.
First, I guess, a little about myself. My name is Austin, and I'm a freshman here at Santa Clara in the engineering school as well as the honors program. I'm originally from Portland, Oregon, the land of great food, poor weather, fixed gear bicycles, and vintage clothing shops (not to be confused with Seattle). My hobbies include playing lacrosse,ultimate frisbee, tennis, mountain biking, drawing, trying new places to eat, and of course, basking in the sunshine.
To begin, let me say that summer dragged its feet all the way to move-in day. I think the list of things I accomplished this summer include memorizing the Food Channel's daily line-up and successfully going an entire day in pajamas.
Life between now and then has been a bit of a whirlwind. Leaving the family behind and coming down to school evokes a feeling something like that of being thrown into the deep end of the pool, but here at Santa Clara, it's impossible to drown. The transition here has been so smooth and super easy. All my professors have been very approachable, and the staff in Dunne Hall is awesome. The Residential Learning Communities (I'm in Modern Perspectives) make getting to know everyone a piece of cake, though I can't promise remembering all their names will be.
The classes here are challenging and intriguing, but coming into school I was expecting to get hit by the metaphorical freight train. Thus far, this has not been the case (knock on wood). In fact, the workload has been very reasonable and has allowed plenty of time to go exploring, hit the gym, take naps (mmmm...), and so forth. Incidentally, I do have an essay due at the end of the week I should probably get started on.
On the flip side of things, Welcome Weekend was a blast. Kid Cudi, root beer pong, lots of new faces – what's not to like? Santa Clara also holds a vendor fair, to pick up those last minute accoutrements(decorations, if you'll pardon my French), sign up for Ruff Riders, and much more. On Sunday evening of the first weekend, there's also a club fair, where one can sign up for anything from lacrosse to swing dance to SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers). It's great fun, and probably the most important event to attend all weekend.
Some things from the miscellaneous bin:
1. Peanut butter and/or Nutella make anything a meal.
2. You will have more time than you know what to do with. Sign up for that club you were maybe-kinda-sorta considering.
3. Extended periods of privacy are a thing of the past. Embrace communal living.
4. Flip-flops are acceptable on every occasion except chemistry lab.
5. Take advantage of free food! That way, you can spend your meal plan points at 1AM in the Bronco. They make some mighty fine chicken strips.
6. Leave your door open! This is the quickest way to find out if there's a beach volleyball game going, or if there's a dorm-wide barbecue on the Kennedy Commons, or if your friends are going to the Giants game on Tuesday.
7. Laundry is easier, cheaper and faster when you're colour-blind. Don't worry; all that Bronco gear won't turn your whites pink.
8. Homework is sort of like the last couple slices in a loaf of bread: you say to yourself that you'll finish it later, but instead it ages and turns green and fuzzy (no, really, it does), and then you don't want to touch it. Much less painless to finish it right away.
9. Don't use Bay Area/NorCal lingo if you don't know how it works. The Californians know, and they are the only ones that know. They will find you, and they will correct you.
I might revisit the miscellaneous bin periodically; I don't really know yet. I just took an hour long break to go play Nintendo with Chris Madrugas, the resident minister here in the Modern Perspectives RLC, and eat some delicious chocolate chip cookies. To put it flatly, my train of thought careened off the rails and is wrecked in a sugary, virtual universe. Bed beckons, and I answer.
'Til next time!
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