Week 9: 02/22-02/28

Week 9

     02/25 - Tomorrow is the career fair. Ahh! So today I'm hardcore polishing shoes, prepping my resume, and researching companies. This week's post should have a professional photo, which I'll take later tonight or in the morning.
    02/27 - The career fair went well I think. I talked to about 9 companies, many of them out-of-state. Hopefully I'll get a sweet internship.
    02/28 - So my brother, Brendan, Big Sic, Bleck, and some kid named Geary decided that because they couldn't be here for Unlfficial next week, that they would stop by UIUC for a night. It was quite the night. We had a lot of fun just goofing around and acting like stupid boys, reminded me of being home. Also I met I some Swedes and tried to explain how I'm Swedish slightly, they weren't having it.

Profound thought of the week: "Internships are a great way to explore the country, you may as well be available for travel while you're young and have no real responsibilities."

Week 8: 02/15-02/21

Week 8

     02/19 - Spring Break plans are well under way. We have booked a place with someone in Memphis named Felizita, who sounds cool. It'll be good to have a local's advice when picking out places to see and eat. In Gulf Shores, we got a condo across-the-street from the beach, which is baller. Now we just have to figure out the New Orleans leg of our journey. Oh, and "we" officially consists of myself, David, Melissa, Katie and Kathleen. "Walking in Memphis" will become the trip theme...
     02/20 - First of all, shout out to all my pears! Secondly, shout out to my friend Melissa's blog for giving me a shout out earlier. So many shout outs, so little time. Finally, it may behoove you to know that I've never used behooved in a sentence before and it may be the wrong context. Also, the Spring Break Clan (hereby known as SBC) has officially booked our paradise getaway. Below are some pics I stole from a website: <insert stolen photos>
     02/21 - Home sweet home. I thought I'd make a trip home to see my parents and such. I won't be  back for Spring Break so I thought I'd stop in. It's been a good couple of days, I got to see my grandma and cousins. On Saturday night I enjoyed going to Neighbors bar to watch a local band The Steevie Nicks perform. The band members are all old friends of my parents so it's cool to see them play. Right now I'm watching the movie Avatar on TV, which is a good movie even thought it's basically a remake of Disney's Pocahontas.

Week 7: 02/08-02/14

Week 7

     02/09 - So if you look you'll see that I recently added a "Project" and several "Recipes" to the blog. I've finally reached a point in my "Song of Fire and Ice" books that I'm PAST the TV show. This is a big deal because it took like 3000 pages to reach this point. I'm now in the 4th book but I've heard that the 4th and 5th books cover the same general timeline but from different and new perspectives. This is bothersome because when the new season of the show comes out in April, it's quite possible that I will see content from the 5th book though I'm technically "ahead" in the 4th book. Because of this, I must either not watch the show...or read really really consistently for the next two months. When I was younger and had nothing to do reading a 1000+ page book per month was no biggie, but that's not quite the case anymore.

     Twice now at the gym I've opted to make my cardio session of exercise one in which I read whilst on the exercise bike. If I make a habit of this I just may get through both books in time...

     02/10 - Looking back through the past couple weeks I realized that I've already mentioned my friend Kathleen twice, but nobody else, which is annoying because everyone deserves a spot on this page. As to not play favorites and to bring some interesting lists into this blog, I will now list all of my close college friends in the order and circumstances in which I met them:

1. John - my first roommate, who I decided I could live with for an additional two years. I never had to worry about him doing anything stupid, which is exactly what you want in a roommate.
2. Brad - my freshman year next-door neighbor who has that "Brad Reputation." His freshman roommate peed all over his room and he's my go-to for video game advice. I feel like he also basically introduced me to the next few people on here, so I owe him that.
3. David - also a neighbor at Newman, I think mostly we met from having physics together but we hung out a lot at Newman obsessing over film and Walking Dead. So naturally we've lived together at bropartment for two years.
4. Aubra - I met her through Brad I do believe, but it's hazy because we all kind of hung out all at once. Instant friend, completely dependable. Also, easy to scare with zombie makeup.
5. Will - also met through Brad at the same time I think...he's especially hazy because you never quite know where he is or what he's up to. He's the oldest in my grade so naturally he became the rum-runner for everyone.
6. Katie - Katie came around at the same time as the previous two, we all hung out in the Lewis Lounge a lot (lol). All jokes aside, Katie is basically my main nigga and we have a super-chill-hipster kind of connection.
7. Kathleen - For the past four years I've associated Kathleen with Katie so I assume I met her at the same time too...but it may have been slightly after. Regardless, Kathleen redefined for me what it means to be busy with homework, idk how she does it. If I want a good laugh, I turn to Kath.
8. Melanie - I met Melanie at the same time as the bulk of the group, probably through Katie or Brad. I was confused when she went to China for a semester because I don't think anyone told me. Now she is gonna kill terrorists, so that's cool.
9. Andy - Now I think I remember I met Andy at some point late into freshman year through John probably because they share a major. Basically we all did HW together in the caf till like 3am daily. When it was time to choose an apartment, Andy, John, and David were the obvious choice of roommates. As a musician, he's the John Paul Jones to my Jimmy Page.
10. Kelly - Kelly, Gail, Matt, and I suffered through TAM together in our freshman/sophomore years. Kelly is also a structural engineer so we continue to joke around about the hell that was: TAM. Also we both like Seinfeld and that somehow comes up way too much.
11. Peter - I didn't actually meet Peter at Newman but he's a structural engineer so I think we met in classes like sophomore year then I realized he was a Newmanite. He's the only person on this list that I know for sure I could not out-drink. I might live with him if I go to Texas.
12. Dwipayan - So I'm fairly certain Dwi was blackout drunk when I met him. He kept trying to sit in a chair in the caf but was failing at it hardcore. I remember thinking he was hilarious and one of the most cheerful people ever, both drunk and sober. He moved into the bropartment senior year after John moved out and has been spreading insightful wisdom ever since. Dwi is the only other person I live with who consistently likes spicy food and vegetables.
13. Melissa - I met Mel like first semester sophomore year maybe, definitely at the Newman caf. At first I was confused as to who she was exactly because Aubra and Katie seemed to know her very well but I had never seen her before. This past year especially we've come to rely on each other for advice and support, definitely someone to have in your corner.
14. Kevin - So one of the instances in which I was eating lunch with Aubra, Katie, and Mel this character showed up and launched into a fantastical story of a seemingly ordinary encounter. After about the third time this happened I indirectly realized he and Mel were dating. At first I guess I just thought he was the local storyteller stopping by to spread his stories. 
15. Marylynne - So one day John showed up with a girlfriend and that's the story of how I met Marylynne. Since then she's probably spent more time in my kitchen than anyone else has and I would definitely hire her as a babysitter someday.
16. Tommy! - So Tommy! always has an exclamation point after his name, as far as I'm concerned. I know for sure when I met Tommy! because it was Mom's Weekend 2014 and we were all with our moms at the Shack. At the time he was just Katie's new beau and now he's a part of the family. If I ever need a pep talk before a run or major decision, or if I just want to engage in a rap battle, I'll go to him. He's the only person on this list who didn't live at Newman (maybe?).

So, apart from Tommy!, literally all of the people on that list lived at Newman for at least two years. It's a hell of a place. Also, to those of you on this list, correct me if the circumstances are not correct. Though freshman year felt like yesterday, apparently my memory isn't what it once was.

     02/13 - So yes, as you can see in my picture for the week, I finally shaved after like 6+ months of a well-trimmed beard. I don't really like how cold the world is now but I'll keep things in line until post-career fair mumbo jumbo.

Profound Thought of the Week: Sometimes a selfish quest can lead to a selfless act. I stopped by a store on my way home one day to look for some sales/stuff that I could buy for myself. I didn't really need anything but I felt like spending money. Well when I went in there I ended up getting nothing for myself and leaving with a gift for someone else, something to brighten up their day/week/life. If I hadn't have had that "selfish" desire to spend money on myself, I wouldn't have bought the gift.

Week 6: 02/01-02/07

Week 6

^^^So I didn't realize that the volume buttons on iPad take a picture when camera is open...this is what happens, candid this week.

     02/01 - Super Bowl Sunday...or should I say, Katy Perry Sunday. I hosted a party, but we all mostly just wanted to watch KP. Well, actually we just wanted to watch Kathleen watch KP. (For those of you who don't know, Kathleen loves Katy a bit too much...) But yeah, it was good "last college Superbowl" for us all.
     Anyways, I'm kind of liking not being swamped with homework, go figure. Rather than pursue a job or research, I've decided I'm going to look into getting grad school scholarships and contacting people at ALL the schools I've applied to. That way wherever I go I (hopefully) already have something set up. We'll see what happens!

     02/04 - Let's see...So I clearly need a shave and haircut though I'm not really ready to act/look like a professional yet, is that immature of me? I think if I start getting into that mindset I'll be better motivated to apply for all those scholarships and such. If I look the part I'll be ready for any random research or job interviews that may pop up....

     02/07..so yeah, haircut didn't happen this week. What DID happen though is I finally got around to working on one of my mini construction projects: The Bike Trailer. If you head on over to the "Projects" page I posted some initial designs and work pics...also, I've decided that it would be good to pursue research this semester after all, so I'll contact some profs about that.

Profound Thought of the Week: Be an encouraging person. It sounds stupid but really, so often I've found that even the smallest words of encouragement can go a long way. Most people, myself included, tend to just say nothing or say little when someone is going through a hardship because we don't want to give off the wrong impression or be "embarrassed" by it. It doesn't really make sense to withhold encouragement.