The Pirates of South

I've been back at CLU for a few days now. The Res Life staff has been somewhat frantically trying to put everything together for the start of the Spring Semester. The theme for our complex was "Disneyland" (so original) and our hall, South, happened to take on a Pirates of the Caribbean persona hence the "Pirates of South" door tags. Classes start up in a few days.
The classes:

• Biology: Ecology & Evolution
• General Chemistry II with Lab
• Postmodernism: The Politics & Philosophy of Art (my Sci Fi film class got dropped)
  
• Music Theory II
• Musicianship Skills II
• Keyboard Harmony II
• Band/Orchestra/Applied Lessons

Alas...20 units again.

Our trip to Colorado was great. It was nice seeing that Grandma is doing so well. We didn't get much fresh snow while we were there but what was on the mountain was pretty good. I took a half day ski lesson the first afternoon just to get a few pointers to work on for the rest of the trip and it really helped out. Ski trip in the future anyone?

The only positive aspect of a devastating tragedy like the recent Haiti earthquake is how it brings humanity together. When describing the aid given it's been said numerous times in the media how people pitching in to help as they can really demonstrates a sense of common humanity. However, it truly disturbs me when certain prominent individuals (i.e. Limbaugh, Robertson, Glover, etc) abuse their public forum and make some type of politically charged commentary or accusation with regard to the catastrophe. Simply pathetic.

Recent studies have shown that Choline, a micronutrient found abundantly in a good old fashioned bacon and eggs breakfast, can help boost the intelligence of an unborn child when eaten during pregnancy. There you go...bacon and eggs will make your kid smarter.

Pigeon: Impossible. A rookie secret agent is faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase. A problem I run into occasionally.

That's all for now...I need to spend some quality time admiring the intense rainfall.

A New Decade

Happy 2010!

A little poll: Will the year 2010 will be pronounced "twenty-ten" or "two-thousand ten?"

It's somewhat bothersome how quickly winter break seems to be moving along. It's nice having the time off and I'm getting used to the wake-up, go for a run, do a little reading, practice some clarinet, mess with the Wii, go to bed routine. I've been up in Thousand Oaks two days each week for winter RA duty during the nights and the hospital during the days. Despite the lack of sleep inherent in accepting a schedule like that, it's been kinda fun. I've only been in the OR for a month and have already seen some amazing cases. There's been lots of orthopedics but a fair amount of general and emergency surgery procedures also. Some of the doctors are really great at explaining things and letting me get up close to see. It's definitely one of cooler experiences I've had.

I met Casey, Julian, and Sheena in Pasadena last week at one of the annual Rose Parade Bandfest shows. PCC with it's 9 QH members looked and sounded great as usual. Even though it was pouring rain it was good getting out there and hearing the unique sounds of beefy marching bands. The parade looked great today also...I couldn't imagine the weather would be more perfect. My parents and I are off to Colorado the first part of January. I can't wait to get up to the cabin and fit in a few days of skiing. The Fitch family was up there this week and apparently the powder is amazing.

I've never been a huge fan of New Year Resolutions. Not only do they fail the vast majority of the time but the concept doesn't make a lot of sense. If you really have a burning desire to change an attitude, habit, vice, etc then why wait for a new year? To make a "permanent" lifestyle change it would seem to be much more effective if a single concept or behavior was implemented voluntarily at the time of motivation rather than making a list in late December that you'll talk about for a week and forget next month. Just a thought, if yours work out then more power to you. This little rant was brought to you by Calvin and Hobbes (dripping with Aristotle).

The news of security issues leading to the Flight 253 Christmas Day episode has been all over but there's also been a twist to the story circulating online with a growing presence in the past few days. Passenger Kurt Haskell has come forward essentially accusing multiple US Government agencies of altering events and "lying" to the American people. I'll let you read the details yourself. I heard an hour long radio interview with him on the way back from TO the other day. There's a lot of people out there ready to believe but I have a really tough time buying it. Mr. Haskell seems to certainly be enjoying the press and interviews. I don't quite understand why none of the other passengers have come forward corroborating his unique eyewitness accounts. Certainly someone else must have seen something suspicious if there was anything to see. And even if the "sharp dressed man" or "man in orange" theories are true, for the sake of national security I would hope that a thorough investigation is taking place. This generally means that a video tape isn't going isn't going public anytime soon. I can gladly accept lack of information if it means there's less of a chance others can use it against us.

2009 in review, complements of JibJab.

That's all for now, I've got a rough evening of Wii Fitness ahead.