...Well hello there mr. feburary(sp?)...haha i know, those words are staples of most 2nd grader's word list, and probably were on mine as well..but anywhoo, no need for all that specificity...the point is just that in a few hours it wont be january anymore, itll be that other month following it...but alas i digress..or fail to progress, because i never really started anything...............
I am now convinced of several things :
1.) it will take nearly forever for me to actually have a 'real' class in my international relations class..not for lack of textbook*its a very nice 2008 edition, with an amaaazing array of interactive resource material online and such* buuuut..ding! ding! problem = the professor is like hot outta the warmer..as of yesterday we had no definite schedule set as far as how class was going to go...but you must wonder: chris its nigh 1/4 of a semester into the class, there must be some sort of order..some sort of pattern!?!..the pattern is along the lines of coming to class, messing with either A. a locked door and waiting for security to amble toward the classroom and ask "is this the room locked up?" ..."ahh, no sir we just decided to have class outside today, but we are focusing on the deeper meaning of what the door could mean, and how its holding back our modern society....'' -hello McFly!! open the damn door....anywhoo, or there's the ever possible choice B.) no students show up until 15, 20 minutes into class..thus forcing little ms. "im new and compassionate" to wait and laugh off their tardiness for a class that isn't some 8am gig...but rather an 11 o clock affair...anywhoo either way the class never kicks off on time..and even if it did...it wouldnt matter because: --> originally we were scheduled to go up to New York for a model UN confrence, so the course would be geared toward pre indoctrinating the selected few to understand how exactly one makes a presentation* i skill i thought most people mastered in high school...ahemm* anywhoo, so the Rotary Club is the one who came up with the whole idea of us goin up to NY..as in they are/were down to pay for it...they presented it to dr.francis..and when she tried to register it turns out it was closed since october!!! its almost funny in that really really sad sort of way...like when you see a fat kid fall down,but you know he's hurtin'..its sad, but still kinda funny...anyway so my baloon was popped since we aren't goin to NY, but if i can get her to push the rotary to fund us on a trip out to the west coast, as i did some research about model UN's still open...we could be on..but we'll just have to see about all of it..BUT the point is, that a class that is based more around the interworkings of multinational governments has been reduced to a little over an hours worth of "well what are we gonna do this time....'ahh come now, don't staart thaat agaaain" (the vultures from jungle book...just read it with an accent...someone, please get it!!) yeah so we have yet to cover little more than an introduction...BUT there was almost a glimmer of hope, in that on about the 3rd day of 'vulture talk' she went ahead and assigned chapters for each memeber of the class to teach...ever the motivated chap that i am..i took the next chapter and was upset to learn id only have an hour to talk about foreign policy :( ...i had this awesome slide show presentation all set up to go, some 33 slides of amaaazing material, with a little of that "cockrell flair" of spice and pizzazz..lets just say all was good to go..and then! the technology fairy just reached down and cut the chord! so no presentation for me...and no sign of me getting to go again...oh well it happens..
In other news, my lit. professor is lame!...really lame, and totally unwilling to listen to another opinion, one that isn't trying to refute his, but just add a different perspective to his more narrow view of things...it sucks...but i get by
no class tomorrow, so looks like its the beach by noon
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sound the alarm!!
....yes thats right folks, as i sit here and type this, yet another round of false alarm fire alarms is going off in my ear...do mind it, well yeah, is it piercing and terribly painful...of course it is...am i used to it by now, yeah..welcome to UVI, where things that should work dont, like coffee machines, computers, videoconfrencing software(just little stuff) and things that shouldnt be a big deal*or need testing* somehow do work way too much, a la this damn alarm system...not once,twice, but three times already today (tis before 10am) has the freakin thing gone off in the dorms...on top of the fact that the night before it went off in regular intervals of 3am,4am,and 5am..to be coupled with the same pattern two nights in a row has become...i should say old...and lord knows the security folks can't seem to fix it, they just let it go, since they,in their '07 avalanches can't hear a blasted thing, really dont mind it...but wait she just pulled up so we'll see what happens...it just went quiet, so we'll see..honestly i give it another minute before we get the resounding peal of another alarm to be sounded...but enough about stupid stuff like that..what have i been up to, and where are my musings on deeper things you ask?
...happy martin luther king day to all! as yesterday seem
ed somehow more fitting for the athleticly inclined to do their thing, then yesterday it was..in typical crucian style, two events where held at the same time after a few weeks of no activities, both a bike race,out on the east end loop, one that takes rides over the same stretch of roadway where the filmed the ending scene to shawshank redemption, driving the corvette around a curve and yeah...anywhoo thats beside the point, but just a little fun fact for ya..but aside from having the bike ride which took the longest person an hour to do the 13 miles, those of us who felt the call a tad earlier *6am,not 7am* took off from ft.christian in christiansted and ran a brutal 15.5miles to the other town on the island, stopping at ft.frederick in fredricksted...all in all it was a good time..never having run through the rainforest, it was a new experience, one that was mostly uphill and rather damp most of the way..aside from a few moments of 'where do we go' out on the run, it went well..since only 8 people did the run, and it wasnt advertised as a race, the competitive spirit wasn't quite there, but this other kid and i from the island came in at the same time after talking our way to the end at the last 3 miles haha...what else do you do when you've been running for over two hours, i got tired of hearing myself breathe and wanted to get inside the head of someone as crazy as me to be up before the crack of dawn to do something such as run across the island..so i did..he's a cool kid, planning on going to either the coast gaurd academy, or the naval academy..he's applied for both..and the first thing i asked him after we had topped the last hill in the rainforest, was 'have you thought about the marine corps?' ..said he had and was still lookin in to it...so it was cool...but other than doing a bit of running during the week on the treadmill, nothing more than 3 miles at a time, i hadnt done a long run in weeks, so i was pretty impressed with my 2:26:51...of course i didnt actually urinate until around 3pm that afternoon, but such information probably shouldn't be shared....buuuut, ha! this is my blog...in other news we don't have cable or internet hooked up yet, though some of my residents have paid for it since...oh just the day they got here, so tempers are starting to flare around the tv room...glad i could care less about watchin' it...although its rather cloudy and rainy, and the alarms keep going off today, looks like ill just have to find something else to do besides lose braincells to another unworthy opponent...ah ha! and now for my little dab of a behavioral rant...
first of all, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands...after you flush of course! thats all im gonna say..as an RA now i tend to notice things a little more that i didnt think id care about...but then again i always noticed that!
...the other day i was getting a burger, as the cafeteria decided to serve some sort of nasty fried fish, fried chicken..rice,of course :), and some nasty vegetables..so it was a burger night..anywhoo im sittin there reading(in public, you'd think its a sin down here) my intl. politics book, when this "cool" dude from rotc last semester walks up asking what was i reading? not that he cared at all, but i told him..he's no longer taking classes because he "lost too much money last semester"...ok dude is a PFC in the national gaurd unit down here..and no disrespect to the national gaurd, but he is a horrrible poster boy..pudgy, lazy, heavy smoker, had almost a full beard when i saw him...and seriously who drops out of school to go pull gaurd duty so he can make 18$ an hour and get hazard pay,since he has a loaded weapon on him...its a joke, it really is...so i said all that just to give you the idea of who and what we're working with in this instance,not some hardworkin' guy, but a lazy mug, who TALKS A LOT! ..he's one of those guys who lives off of the stories of others...after he asked why i was wearing my marine lanyard and t-shirt that said 'officer selection program' he made a few quips about 'jarhead this, and jarhead that' i just let it go...but what i almost couldnt let go was what came after, when he was tellin me how his unit got activated, and he was pulling the new security post and how "awesome" it was...(as its pretty much just a glitch in the system, that they got activated and yet stay put) but whatever...he went on to say how lazy he is, how much he can smoke and still get away with it, and then told me his plans that all he needs is some soldier of the year award and then he can start applying to airborn school, and qualifying for this advanced weapons training and whatnot....but not yet..itll be later on..and he's tellin me this in all seriousness, how he is gonna be the best...later,not now,but later...i couldnt help but laugh....i dont get it..but some people are that way i guess, and there's really nothing to 'get'...enough of that
...they still havent fixed the washing machine so i can wash and dry for just a dollar now...ooo baby is that a deal!!
im off to read and be quasi productive
...happy martin luther king day to all! as yesterday seem
ed somehow more fitting for the athleticly inclined to do their thing, then yesterday it was..in typical crucian style, two events where held at the same time after a few weeks of no activities, both a bike race,out on the east end loop, one that takes rides over the same stretch of roadway where the filmed the ending scene to shawshank redemption, driving the corvette around a curve and yeah...anywhoo thats beside the point, but just a little fun fact for ya..but aside from having the bike ride which took the longest person an hour to do the 13 miles, those of us who felt the call a tad earlier *6am,not 7am* took off from ft.christian in christiansted and ran a brutal 15.5miles to the other town on the island, stopping at ft.frederick in fredricksted...all in all it was a good time..never having run through the rainforest, it was a new experience, one that was mostly uphill and rather damp most of the way..aside from a few moments of 'where do we go' out on the run, it went well..since only 8 people did the run, and it wasnt advertised as a race, the competitive spirit wasn't quite there, but this other kid and i from the island came in at the same time after talking our way to the end at the last 3 miles haha...what else do you do when you've been running for over two hours, i got tired of hearing myself breathe and wanted to get inside the head of someone as crazy as me to be up before the crack of dawn to do something such as run across the island..so i did..he's a cool kid, planning on going to either the coast gaurd academy, or the naval academy..he's applied for both..and the first thing i asked him after we had topped the last hill in the rainforest, was 'have you thought about the marine corps?' ..said he had and was still lookin in to it...so it was cool...but other than doing a bit of running during the week on the treadmill, nothing more than 3 miles at a time, i hadnt done a long run in weeks, so i was pretty impressed with my 2:26:51...of course i didnt actually urinate until around 3pm that afternoon, but such information probably shouldn't be shared....buuuut, ha! this is my blog...in other news we don't have cable or internet hooked up yet, though some of my residents have paid for it since...oh just the day they got here, so tempers are starting to flare around the tv room...glad i could care less about watchin' it...although its rather cloudy and rainy, and the alarms keep going off today, looks like ill just have to find something else to do besides lose braincells to another unworthy opponent...ah ha! and now for my little dab of a behavioral rant...first of all, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands...after you flush of course! thats all im gonna say..as an RA now i tend to notice things a little more that i didnt think id care about...but then again i always noticed that!
...the other day i was getting a burger, as the cafeteria decided to serve some sort of nasty fried fish, fried chicken..rice,of course :), and some nasty vegetables..so it was a burger night..anywhoo im sittin there reading(in public, you'd think its a sin down here) my intl. politics book, when this "cool" dude from rotc last semester walks up asking what was i reading? not that he cared at all, but i told him..he's no longer taking classes because he "lost too much money last semester"...ok dude is a PFC in the national gaurd unit down here..and no disrespect to the national gaurd, but he is a horrrible poster boy..pudgy, lazy, heavy smoker, had almost a full beard when i saw him...and seriously who drops out of school to go pull gaurd duty so he can make 18$ an hour and get hazard pay,since he has a loaded weapon on him...its a joke, it really is...so i said all that just to give you the idea of who and what we're working with in this instance,not some hardworkin' guy, but a lazy mug, who TALKS A LOT! ..he's one of those guys who lives off of the stories of others...after he asked why i was wearing my marine lanyard and t-shirt that said 'officer selection program' he made a few quips about 'jarhead this, and jarhead that' i just let it go...but what i almost couldnt let go was what came after, when he was tellin me how his unit got activated, and he was pulling the new security post and how "awesome" it was...(as its pretty much just a glitch in the system, that they got activated and yet stay put) but whatever...he went on to say how lazy he is, how much he can smoke and still get away with it, and then told me his plans that all he needs is some soldier of the year award and then he can start applying to airborn school, and qualifying for this advanced weapons training and whatnot....but not yet..itll be later on..and he's tellin me this in all seriousness, how he is gonna be the best...later,not now,but later...i couldnt help but laugh....i dont get it..but some people are that way i guess, and there's really nothing to 'get'...enough of that
...they still havent fixed the washing machine so i can wash and dry for just a dollar now...ooo baby is that a deal!!
im off to read and be quasi productive
Monday, January 14, 2008
Well looka-thar'...the ole boy made it back
Happy new year to all..and as ive quickly discovered, down here on the island, you can say happy new year to any and everyone whom you have not seen since the previous year...so im just waiting for someone to stroll casually by in march and give me the blessings of a year already 30% complete, almost takes the punch right out the greeting,but alas i digress...yeah im back down here, have been for a while now, but its been rather hecktic (sp?) with my new job and all..."Christopher Crockell, Student Leader"...ok so they misspelled the last name,but i dont hold it against them, lord knows ive managed to butcher the english language plenty in my short life...on the lighter side of things, this semester i managed to pull down my own room, which happens to be the best in the dorms, its basically the presidential suite,but i can't let word get out on that or else ill have all sorts of residents who'll be wantin to come hang out and such..that just wont do...with its location on the second floor, and two big windows on either end, the breeze i catch is amazing, keeps my flags waving day and night..goodtimes indeed..
now dont get me wrong here or anything, it was great to get home for the holidays and such, get some cold air in my lungs and something besides rice in my system, it was quite refreshing to come back home to 75 and sunny all day..i dont know if its the sunlight that puts one in a decent mood, or perhaps the constant breeze, but whatever it is..it works...since ive been back down here ive only gotten to sneak away to the beach once, but it was enough to get me slightly under the weather...which means im turning into an islander cause i thought the water was 'cold' whenever the sun went behind the clouds and the wind kept goin....now im blessed with a nice little headcold that has stolen precious sleep from my soul..in other news, no one cares about the presidential primarys down here..since they can't vote i understand why they wouldnt have much interest, or the wars in iraq or afganistan...aside from those who have family members in the VI national gaurd, who are currently deployed to iraq right now...anywhoo, there is some talk going around about St.Croix seperating from st.thomas and st.john..i dont really know, but it seems to have gotten the youths a little riiled up...i dont have anything really exciting to report on so i think im gonna go read for a while till my first class starts..oh ill get my camera back here pretty soon, so ill be able to post more pics
now dont get me wrong here or anything, it was great to get home for the holidays and such, get some cold air in my lungs and something besides rice in my system, it was quite refreshing to come back home to 75 and sunny all day..i dont know if its the sunlight that puts one in a decent mood, or perhaps the constant breeze, but whatever it is..it works...since ive been back down here ive only gotten to sneak away to the beach once, but it was enough to get me slightly under the weather...which means im turning into an islander cause i thought the water was 'cold' whenever the sun went behind the clouds and the wind kept goin....now im blessed with a nice little headcold that has stolen precious sleep from my soul..in other news, no one cares about the presidential primarys down here..since they can't vote i understand why they wouldnt have much interest, or the wars in iraq or afganistan...aside from those who have family members in the VI national gaurd, who are currently deployed to iraq right now...anywhoo, there is some talk going around about St.Croix seperating from st.thomas and st.john..i dont really know, but it seems to have gotten the youths a little riiled up...i dont have anything really exciting to report on so i think im gonna go read for a while till my first class starts..oh ill get my camera back here pretty soon, so ill be able to post more pics
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
