Happy Movember!

So, remember when I said I would be posting weekly LSAT prep updates and lots of content?  Well, obviously that was a lie.  This month has been far more crazy than I was anticipating, and I literally have not had time to get out my tablet and draw up a little check list.  Suffice it to say that prep is going well, and that I probably should stop using it as an excuse to not do my actual homework.

This past Friday, however, I let myself have a little fun by going to my university's basketball game.  It was a very special game in that the basketball team decided that they wanted to show their support of No-Shave-November (aka Movember).  They did this by attempting to break the world record for the largest gathering of people all wearing false mustaches.  Yes, this is a very strange world record (kind of makes you wonder who decides what to actually record, doesn't it?).  They passed out free mustaches and wristbands at the door and we recorded our attempt on video during half-time.  It was a really fun event and I have to admit that I don't look half-bad with a 'stache.

Happy Movember, everyone!  If you guys would like to know more about the mustache-movement and their quest to raise awareness for men's health issues, you can check them out HERE.

It's... August??

Well, Hobbes, here we are at the middle of August, and this is exactly how I feel!  We're driving back to San Francisco on Thursday, and it's pretty bitter sweet.  I'm excited to get back to school and friends and classes, while not really wanting to leave my beautiful home again!  What with such an incredible summer Olympics, this vacation was extra sweet and I don't want it to end.

At least I know I'm not the only one!

(Belated) Bay to Breakers

I have good news! My computer, which I thought was toast, is functioning again! The day after my dad and I dropped it off at the UCI repair shop, he got a call saying that he could come pick it up. Turns out they were able to turn it on, no problem, and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. So, while I may not know why my computer decided to crash for one day and then fix itself, I get to use it and it's working fine. And the best part is that I didn't lose any of my files! I'm now on a weekly backup schedule, just in case my computer designs to act up again.

I now know that you can never be too careful with things like this.

And now, as promised, here are some of my pictures from last month, when I went to Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. 

Justine loves America!

Thor, one of the first people we met. Looking back, he was one of the tamest!

Black Swan. It seemed to be a popular theme this year.

"Come on ladies, don't be scared."

SF's finest.

Uh, yes, that is a jersey made of back hair.

The Black Swans at it again.

Have a lovely week, everyone. And hope the sun finally comes out!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all an amazing Easter! And (because I'm cool like that), here's a picture of an Easter egg as the famously bearded Giants closer, Brian Wilson. Or is it Wilson as an egg?

Thanks to Amanda Moore on Twitter for painting the egg and uploading the picture for all of us to enjoy!

That's What Friends are For

This has been a tough week. I've had so much work that for a few days, I literally felt like I was drowning, or at least having a hard time keeping my head above water. Then last night, Wade and I were hanging out, and I showed him some of the songs I had recorded on Garageband. This led to a whole evening of goofing around with the default tracks that come with the program, which we recorded in this little improv video. It was so much fun, and just what I needed to relax, but "singing on your feet" is harder than you would think!

The Great Flood

Tonight was a very nice night. My living-learning community put together a big Thanksgiving feast, and it was really nice. Then we returned to the dorms, and were hanging out in the hall when all of a sudden water started trickling out of the boy's bathroom. Before long, it had turned into this:

Poor Justine got stranded in her room! The nice thing about being in such a close community is that everyone genuinely cared about saving other people's rooms. We all grabbed extra towels and tried to keep the water from seeping into the doors of people who weren't there. The university was also very good about responding. The hall director was up on our floor within fifteen minutes, checking rooms for damage and keeping us updated on the situation. And the maintenance staff had the water almost completely cleaned up in just 45 minutes!

Thankfully, it happened early enough in the night that we weren't all trying to deal with it at midnight or later. Also, because to day is the last day before Thanksgiving break and most people are gone anyways, the maintenance staff will have plenty of space to deal with the situation. Hopefully they replace the carpet, because if not it is nearly guaranteed that we'll be getting mold. And one of the girls on the floor recently developed a mold allergy...

It wouldn't be college without at least a couple crazy stories to tell, now would it?

Reflections in the Hall

The living community I belong to has a Catholic mass every Tuesday. Tonight, the presiding priest ended the mass with this lovely little poem by Richard Wilbur. I thought I'd just share it with all of you.

Right now, while we are finishing up some homework, my roommate and I are also waiting up with the girl next door. Her roommate has started making a habit of bringing random soccer boys back to their room late at night, and then kicking her out of the room. This roommate has been occupied by her current boy for two and a half hours now. The most disturbing part? They left the door somewhat open, but we're all too scared to touch it.

Quite frankly, we just want to be there when the guy goes staggering back to his room. But at this rate we're going to fall asleep way before they call it quits!

I wish you all a lovely rest of the week.

As the week comes to an end...

Hello, everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I wrote, but now that I'm a fully fledged college student, I find I have a lot less time than one would expect. Since the last time I wrote, orientation finished up and I started classes.

On the last night of orientation, there was a hypnotist show. He went through the audience picking volunteers, and they did some pretty crazy things. Here they are, all "passed out" from first going under...

...and here they are "fanning" themselves. The hypnotist made them think that it was super hot, and they all started rolling up each other's pants. It was hilarious!

In other news, I've had all of my classes at least once. I'm taking Ancient Philosophy, Greek and Roman Literature and Culture, and Advanced Writing Practicum, all of which are interesting but involve a lot of reading. Hopefully I can get most of it done this weekend so I can start over fresh next week! I'm also taking a physics class entitled "Einstein, Black Holes, and the Big Bang." There isn't too much math involved, but just enough math to be intimidating. But all of my teachers seem great; they are all very into what they are teaching, and I have yet to have a class that was boring.

I guess you could say that I'm adjusting to life at college fairly well. I know enough people that I don't feel awkward talking to anyone. It really does help that I know Wade from high school, and that my roommate and I get along splendidly. The food continues to be an issue, though. And it's not that the food itself is bad, it's the environment. When I get nervous, the first thing that happens is that I find it harder to eat. Some people cry, some people get crabby, I have problems eating. Breakfast is fine because there are never that many people in the cafeteria, and they always have eggs and rice and hashbrowns and the works. But for both lunch and dinner there are so many people in the caf that it is absolutely crazy in there and I just can't eat. My roommate and I were talking about it and she can't stand it either. We're both kind of nervous eaters. So I think I'm going to stop at the grocery store this weekend and pick up some stuff to keep in the room.

Oh, well. That just means more midnight snacks!

Hopefully I will be able to write more regularly, as I get used to my class load and whatnot. Well, off to Greek and Roman!