Wow. This week was boring.

That about sums up my first week of the semester experience. Of course, you really can't expect much from the first class: "Here's a syllabus, this is when the tests are, yadda yadda yadda." Of course, the variation on that is a syllabus and explanation that makes you want to put your head between your legs and run away screaming and crying because the class sounds extremely unpleasant (like, say, my Honors Seminar... had some quality cries over that class). Luckily, I don't think I have any of those this semester. Here's what I do have:

• Mammalian Physiology: What more do I need?! Its like Rohal except probably easier. I love the professor--had her for Bio I freshman year-- and we're apparently going to be learning to interpret lots of lab and radiological tests. Yay, doctor skills! What could possibly not make this class my favorite, you ask. Sophia. This girl reminds me of Megan (Stevens) and wow, I cannot stand her. She wants to get together and quiz each other before tests. Oh, let's!
• Physics: So I "1-upped" in the physics dept. Instead of taking "Physics for Life Sciences," I'm taking General Analytical Physics. This is calc based and supposed to be "harder." Or, ya know, not a joke. Of course, I'm really just judging from the first two meaningful classes here, but I am not entirely sure this will be remotely challenging. Oh yes, the words "equation sheet" were mentioned.
• Superlab: I hated this class before I even went to it. 6 hours of lab plus one hour of lecture a week. What more can you do to ruin a perfectly good afternoon? After having gone twice, however, I don't think I will hate it as much. If not having done the stuff myself, I am at least somewhat familiar with about 75% of what we're doing this semester, so that's a plus. Also, I can work all the instruments (pipettes, oh my!) and do stuff very efficiently--all, of course, from having worked in a lab for a year already. We'll see just how much I do or do not hate this class after the first real experiment next week--Coomassie, oh yes! I love being blue for days. I do, however, anticipate asking "And just why doesn't research get me out of this?!" fairly often.
• Microbilogy: If any, I think this is the class that I am most concerned... or concerned at all... about. Micro is notoriously tricky stuff and although, I'm sure Dr. Castric is a great teacher, his voice makes me sleepy. Also, I hate protists. With a passion. I, however, cannot really say much more about this class since he wasn't here this week. We still had class though, of course, since I think having Santa used up all of my "class is cancelled" karma. But overall, I don't think this is going to be so bad. He gives quizzes fairly often, so that means by test time, we'll actually already have been tested at least twice. Hurrah for no studying. Also, I'll finally get to learn about fungi again.... I like the fungi.

And now I am off to spend the long weekend with Duane. Somehow, I'm thinking that will not be so boring. Teehee!

I don't wanna....

Go to school!

Classes start tomorrow and I am not at all excited about that. I am slightly excited, however, that there is no physics lab this week, so I do not have to get up for an 8 am tomorrow. But that doesn't really change the general unhappiness of school starting.

I can't quite figure it out--I just feel really off. Kinda pissed, kinda nervous. Mostly just funny about starting classes tomorrow. I only have four classes (plus research) so that is nice. But I'm still feeling very anxious, uneasy... I guess you could say. Heh, actually I think I'm having a mini-quarter life crisis. We're juniors this year. Holy balls, that is old! And I don't want to be a grown up!!!! Kind of freaks me out.

Well besides all that profound "I don't want to grow up" stuff, I am also a touch unhappy about not really having much of a summer. I got home at the end of the spring semester with just enough time to unpack and repack to come back for URP. And, well, I think that could have worked out a little better. Certainly wasn't the most fun I've ever had... And then I got home at the end of URP with just enough time to unpack and then box up just about everything and move back up here. Of course, there were two weeks between moving and now, but still, I was short on relaxation time. It is hard to lay around and relax when the house is covered in boxes of your stuff and packing is hanging over your head.

And the one week of "summer fun" I was looking forward to (camp) turned out much differently than I was expecting. I still had lots and lots of fun, but the whole experience this year was much more sobering. And it was definitely very emotionally taxing to answer all the "How's Ty doing?" questions early in the week, especially since it was quite obvious that the answer was "kinda crappy." But he did perk up at the end there, saving the week.

Also, I took a random mini-vacation to Kalahari with Duane and his cousins on Wednesday and Thursday. That was pretty awesome. I would say it was a perfect way to end the summer, but since I don't want to end the summer, it doesn't exactly work.

Haha, oh well, at least this summer was blissfully crazy people free.

Moving On Up!

Hurrah, hurrah! I'm all moved in and fairly settled at my Brottier apartment. Its almost like being a real adult. Damn, living in the ghetto and having to swipe the ID still.

Anyways, I'm actually quite impressed with our humble little studio. We do have quite a bit of floor space, which is nice since I was worried the furniture would somehow not all fit, although the kitchen is pretty much microscopic. And there is no counter space. That makes cooking difficult--very, very difficult. I predict third degree burns at least once. But no matter, the closet is AMAZING! And, yes, I'm aware that it is just a closet so I shouldn't be so excited, but still, this baby is huge! More shelves than you can shake a stick at (or than I can reach *blushy*). The bathroom is also fairly nice, although there is one errant hot pink Hawaiian flower on the wall. How did they miss that?

The best part of it all, however, is the view! Check this out!!!! I would keep the blinds wide open all day to admire it, but I think I might roast with the extreme sunlight and all. But the nighttime view is certainly where its at. I've watched the Gateway Clipper ships go by several times and load/unload at Station Square and I can see all the pretty sky scrapers downtown with their lights and such. Definitely better than staring at Stevenson St. and Mercy's Nursing School, which, btw, was built in like 1850 and has most certainly seen better days. *happy sigh* Its just so pretty!

Oh yes, one more thing. NO MORE TRAIN! I've seen the train go by across the river but haven't yet heard its obnoxiously loud whistle or the cars bouncing along the tracks. We will have peace!

756

I'm sitting here in my very, very cluttered room--boo, packing!--watching tonight's Pirate game, and the announcers are talking about how they will be in San Francisco this coming weekend.

Oh grand.

Barry Bonds still needs to hit that record breaking homerun. *cough, cheater, cough* And, well, nothing solves a batter's hitting problems like a Pirate pitcher. Seriously, I watched the opposing team's pitcher rip one over the left field wall the other night. THE PITCHER!

But anyways, I'm rather unhappy about the fact that, as I see it, fate will shake its cruel fist at the Pirates once again and he will hit his undeserving record #756 against our awesomely bad Buccos.

Edit: No sooner did I form this thought, type it out and click post than did Bonds hit that homerun. He doesn't deserve it, of course, but hurrah, it wasn't against the Pirates!

Are you kidding me?

I've been home for a few days now, and with that, incessant boredom follows. No one is home, the dog isn't around to pester anymore :(, and even if there were someone to do something with, it is Weirton. That eliminates pretty much all fun right there.

So what do I do? I watch TV. A lot of TV.

This extreme television viewing has lead to me seeing the same commercials over and over again. And one of them, a commercial for Valtrex, drives me freaking nuts!

Valtrex, if you're not familiar, is an anti-viral that's used to treat genital herpes. Not to ruin anyone's dinner... or the next week's worth of meals... or anything, but let's just say that the picture of genital herpes that was in the anatomy book from Rohal's class wasn't pretty. If the caption had no identified that particular part of the anatomy (female, btw), I would have never known what I was looking at--too covered in nasty blistery things.

So on that note, I think it's safe to assume that there's nothing cuddly about herpes. Why then, I ask you, is the Valtrex commercial so lovey-dovey and cuddly?!?! The couples in it are all happy when they're like:
Person 1: "I have genital herpes!"--Seriously, how can anyone be excited about that?
Person 2: "But I don't!"
And then they cheerfully talk about wanting to keep it that way. Again, how can you be excited about that? "Gee, honey, you're looking a little crusty down there... hope I don't catch anything!" Said while smiling, of course.

Come on now!