Lack of Clubs? / Getting Rickroll'd

I would have taken photos yesterday if I had remebered to charge the batteries on my digital camera. Not so smart.

I noticed that there was a significant decrease in desks this time around for the club convention. I wonder why. Anyway, I joined the accounting/finance club. My professor is one of the advisors so it should be kinda cool. (Yeah, I used cool and professor in one sentence!)

Something that I did manage to take a picture of yesterday via my cell phone.

This is the photo of a massive "Rickroll" my entertainment studies professor pulled on the entire class. It was pretty hilarious. The rest of the day, I was humming "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. If you're not too sure on what a Rickroll is, read the Wikipedia article here and find out. Its pointless but totally funny.

We did go on with the lecture but I thought it was a great way to bring back the attention during a split period. Activity period cuts the class time right down the middle so student usually come back tired or completely off off the classroom mindset.

17 Credits in One Quarter

I thought I was going to have a hard time juggling 5 classes in a week. It turns out that its not that bad! Sure, there's tons of studying involved but most of the work is done inside the classroom. That's something I appreciate about going to school here. The lecture classes have a back and forth format where a professor explains a concept and the students can ask for help on it right after class rather than waiting for an appointment. I've been asking tons of questions in my financial class. (Word to the wise: You might want to take Principles of Finance and Statistics together. They have a lot of the same concepts and financial formulas.) I haven't fallen behind in any of my classes either. 4 out of 5 have assignments that are done online. This is a HUGE convenience for me. My time on campus is more limited than ever thanks to my new job. Any time I have on campus is dedicated for gathering tons of notes and grabbing something to eat before crunching in a 4pm to close job. I'm not complaining about that though. Its helping me develop time management skills.

As for tomorrow, its the first activity day of the Spring Quarter! The weather is supposed to be great so I'm guessing that the Club Convention will be an outside event. These are always fun. The tables are set up outside and everyone on campus gets to see each other and see what's new on the club roster in campus. One club I'm really interesting in is the Finance/Accounting club. Call me a "geek" but I like the sound of it. Also, I might rejoin Music Club. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to more meetings (and get my guitar fixed on time.) I'll try to take a camera with me and snap a few photos here and there.

Can't wait to see everybody there!

By the way, if you see Professor Fabes anywhere, give him a pat on the back. He had a major surgery last week and somehow managed to come to school and teach his class one week later. That's major. Props, Professor Fabes.

Berkeley's Facelift

My first class was on the third floor. I had no idea the entire floor was revamped. When I opened the door from the stairwell, I thought I was in the wrong building! It's so bright and shiny and new! I almost got lost a second time when I was looking for room 013. Since when did we can 0 rooms? I went asking around and it turned out the that D rooms are now 012 and 013. (FYI for anyone who hasn't had a class there yet.)

Also, the new student bulletin board in front of the library. It full of flyers for upcoming events! This week is an "Activity Period-less" week. From what I saw on the calender, this quarter's activity periods are gonna be nuts. There's tie-dying, siete de mayo, and my personal favorite, more KARAOKE! I'll have the dates up soon. (Trust me, you'll want to take a study break and hit up the student center for these events.)

This quarter kicked off pretty amazingly. My first class was like a big high school reunion! After class was dismissed, 2 people yelled out my name. I turned around and its two friends I haven't seen for years! Then I step outside and another friend I haven't seen in years emerged! It turns out that a lot of people from the Paramus campus are now attending Garret Mountain. I went to high school in 3 different schools in Hudson and Bergen county so it was about time I saw a familiar face or two.

Also, the classes are great! I have a feeling that I'm gonna rock this quarter. I didn't make it to my 3.8GPA goal last quarter, but this time I'm definitely gonna reach my goal. I'll be kicking my butt every day to keep my grades up AND hold my new job.

Hope everyone's first week is just are amazing. By the way, Happy April Fools Day!

I Wish I Could Chillax Tomorrow

Tomorrow, for all those with time, head over to the Student Center during Activity Period for some mocktails, painting and ~chillaxing!~

Instead of sipping on a strawberry drink out of a crazy straw, I'll be rehearsing lines from A Midsummer Nights Dream for my drama final next Tuesdsay. I'll be playing Demetrius. We have to make a set, memorize lines, design costumes, make a playbill and perform without the aid of index cards. Now, if you ever read Shakespeare, you know why my group is taking all the time we can get to rehearse this.

Also, I had to miss my Statistics class on Tuesday because I had to catch up on so much work. I forgot to hand-in an assignment so I dedicated yesterday and today to catching up. So far, I'm up to date with everything except Statistics. I'm stuck in this subject. Instead of handing in a blank sheet, I'm handing in a sheet full of work that I think is correct. I'm not too confident about it. This weekend, I'm locking myself in my town's library and studying hard for the final. Its cumulative so I have to make sure I have a firm understanding on every little definition, formula and theory.

Man, this quarter went by pretty fast. I can't believe finals are already next week!

And Spring Quarter starts on the 31st! (I gotta get to work on getting those new textbooks!)

If you need any of the books for these classes, feel free to contact me.
Statistics
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Drama

STATISTICS IS THE TAMING OF RANDOMNESS

The title of this entry from the Gallery of Statistics Jokes. If you've taken the course. you will probably understand some of the joke. If you haven't, I doubt you'll understand any of them!

Im in the ASC center in Garret taking a break from my Statistics homework. Honestly, this is the most difficult course that I've taken so far. Its all probabilities and guesses. Nothing is definite in statistics. Even the answers given for homework and tests aren't definite. They're usually given in ranges. I spent 40 minutes on just one problem! My brain is fried at the moment so I'm taking a break. I have a happy Bright Eyes song playing on my iPod. I should be ready for round two of homework after I'm done with this entry.

Middle States has invaded Garret so all the professors and administation are running around the campus. Some classes had to be postponed or put online because the professors had to attend meetings. The Administation Building is full of unfamiliar faces. At least after today, the whole college will have a giant weight off their shoulders. Everyone has been really uptight about Middle States.

Also, check out Blackboard for a whole list of upcoming events like Berkeley Night at NJPAC (Hip-Hop: Out, Loud, and Proud) and the Breast Cancer Walk/Run in Branch Brook Park (which I'll probably be volunteering in.) I'll have a full list of event and details for you tomorrow.

For now, I gotta get back to work. Wish me luck on Problem two.

Train Turmoil

If you live around Essex and Hudson county, you probably know that the weekend storm left plenty of floods and power outages to make the Monday commute all kinds of fun. Luckily, I didn't have a problem getting to school. I can't say the same for my professor. Poor guy takes the trains from Penn Station. Amtrak and NJ Transit had a bunch of trains completely shut down because of the aftermath from the storm's wind and rain. He was a little late for class but still managed to make it. Snaps for the professor! Good thing too, because we had a big chapter test. I studying my brains out last night and it would have been a shame if that "I'm ready!" feeling wasn't satisfied with the test.

Tomorrow, I'm in Garret and the first thing I'm doing is marching up to Student Accounts and paying my bill for the next quarter. Honestly, I don't know how I forgot that I still owed money! If you haven't paid your bill, you probably get this weird pop-up window on Blackboard too. Good thing it was there. Otherwise, I would have forgotten. Ugh. I can't believe I forgot. Note to all: Check your balance. The last day to pay is in about two weeks. Checking right now will give you enough time to rile up enough money to pay for next quarter.

Adding One More Thing to Juggle

Today marks my third week at a new job. I needed to add the the household income. We're hitting some hard times right now so I felt the need to chip in a little more than usual. My job is all kinds of fun and fits into my crazy schedule. Sure, I have to sacrifice a few weekends here and there but, hey, that's life, right? I'm not a wiley 15 year old anymore.

Another plus is that this new job fits into my schedule for next quarter. How awesome is that?

Of course, with every good thing comes a bad thing. I'm coming up on my 7th quarter and I'm starting to worry about internship time. I don't know how I'm going to juggle classes, a job and an internship. I don't have a car, so night-time and weekend classes are out of the question unless Berkeley coincidentally start a shuttle service for those days. If I don't find a way to get to school and back on those times, I won't know what to do. Taxis like to overcharge students like crazy. I don't think I can do $24 roundtrip every night and weekend.

I'm planning on bringing up the shuttle bus idea to the Garrett Mountain SGA and see what can be done about it.

Man, do you know how many students would benefit from something like that? Dorming students can leave the campus to go shopping (for personal items and other things) and be able to come back the same day rather than waiting for the commuter times. I know a whole bunch of students who ride the commuter bus with me that have the same worries about intership time.

I'm crossing my fingers some could be worked out. Otherwise, I might have to transfer to New York or even out of school! All because I can't make it to campus.