A Crazy Week

I must admit...the past few days have been pretty insane. It's not so much stressful, but keeping track of everything going on can be a challenge.

Thursday, today, and Saturday is the Presidential Scholar Program for next year's class. I offered to help out and ended up being a host to to scholars. They're both great guys and it seems like all of the scholars are having a good time, successful interviews, and good meetings. It's so strange that only a year ago I was in that same place. Time is just flying by.

We had our Spring Break last week. While it was a bit early, it was still nice to have some time off. Most of it was spent hanging with the nephews who are doing well. Saturday was Matt's birthday party...the big 3. That little dude is pretty smart and growing up quick. I met up with some folks in Long Beach on Thursday for Julian's concert and that turned out to be a nice little trip.

I began my internship as a Clinical Care Extender last week. I've done three shifts so far and while it's not the most glorious work in the world, it's definitely a really good experience. I'm sure I'll be able to stockpile some pretty good stories. Also, next week is the Regan Library event and I'm really looking forward to that.

It's been concluded that regular watermelons take up to much room in the refrigerator. The solution? Make them square. Not a bad idea...

Even with the advent of many wireless computer components, many still complain of all the stupid wires getting in the way. Just be thankful its probably not this bad.

While flying isn't typically the most pleasant experience these days, it's nice to see a little bit of wit and humor from the crew. I think airlines should start mandating stuff like this to keep people somewhat attentive.

That's all for now...I'm off to try and enjoy my relaxing Friday afternoon.

Time is Flying...

It seems like the past few weeks (well, years for that matter) have flown by exceptionally fast. I can't believe I'm already 19...it seems like such a strange and unbalanced number. Guess it fits me pretty well. Thanks to all for the birthday wishes and such.

School is going pretty well. For the most part, I'm enjoying most of my classes this semester. It's nice to get some decent science stuff going and I'm definitely keeping busy. It seems that the "stress" this semester is somewhat cyclical. Last weekend I was insanely busy and but now it's pretty chill. Spring break is coming up soon so that will be nice.

I recently got an internship at St. John's Hospital in Oxnard through the "Clinical Care Extender" program. It's basically a glorified volunteer position where we do rotations in different departments. Sounds like we get to do/see some pretty cool stuff after putting in some time in the not-so-glorious areas. I went through the training and should be starting next week so I'm pretty excited.

There's a couple of good CLU concerts coming up. The University Symphony will be doing the Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 the "organ symphony" this Sunday. It should come together quite nicely and be pretty cool, especially with the Chapel organ here. On March 26 the Wind Ensemble will be doing an Americana concert at the Regan Library. It's $20 but comes with a library tour and exhibits. Should be pretty fun.

If you've ever had the urge to ID a fruit by the little sticker that comes on it, this site will prove useful. It's the largest known fruit label database. And I'm sure it's very useful too.

It's always fun to look for the McDonalds when traveling overseas. I knew they made some menu adaptations, but some of them, like the Canadian McLobster Roll, are pretty entertaining.

A few years ago, Ameriquest ran some pretty good "don't judge too quickly" commercials. Here's a nice compilation of the five they ran (never get old), and I'd have to say the last one is probably my favorite.

That's it for now...I'm going to go take a nice Happy Friday nap.

Busy Days...

My apologies for the lack of updates recently. I hoped I would get into a nice Sunday evening routine with the Blog but it's proving to be somewhat of a challenge.

Classes are going well. It looks like the most challenging will be HumTut (ugh) again. The Bio Lab won't be a piece of cake either but I'm sorta looking forward to learning about research and such. Golf is definitely going to be a lot of fun. I thought I'd have more time this semester but I'm definitely keeping busy. I applied to an internship at a hospital in Oxnard. It's basically a weekly shift in different departments. I had the interview today so that's nice to have done with. I should know whether I'll get it in a few days. By the way, happy belated Groundhog Day.

The AV District Honor band had their concert a few weeks ago. I came down and meet quite a few alum. The concert sounded really great, I was especially impressed with the balance. The director was John Carnahan from CSULB and I'm very jealous that I missed him by only a year.

The CLU Wind Ensemble will be playing a concert at the Ronald Regan Library on March 24. It will be a program of Americana featuring Copland's A Lincoln Portrait with the pretty good potential of a semi-well known Hollywood personality narrating. It's $20 but is probably worth it. Also, the Orchestra will be doing a nice concert on March 1 for free.

Remember digging that hold in your backyard trying to get all the way to China? Good thing it probably didn't work because chances are you wouldn't end up in China. If you were ever curious where exactly you would end up, this site is very helpful.

Despite the law, cell phone use while driving still appears to be a large problem. I think this is a reasonable solution.

Bill Gates, speaking at a gathering of professionals in technology, entertainment, and design (TED), decided to make a point about the dangers of Malaria by releasing a swarm of mosquitoes into the crowd. Interesting and slightly scary tactic, but it's getting attention.

That's it for now, I have a bathroom to clean.

Back to School

After a very nice month long winter break I'm sitting back in my dorm fuming over excessively priced textbooks. As nice as the break was, I am sort of anticipating the start of classes tomorrow with a bit of excitement. My schedule is somewhat similar to last semester since Physics, Humtut, Orchestra, band, and lessons carried over. I'm also taking Biology, its lab, and golf (for fun and PE credit). 17 units...should be a good semester.

Our trip to Colorado was great (as expected). When Matt and Micah weren't screaming at 3am, all had an awesome time. The boys got to play in the snow and Matt got on some skis. I was able to get three days of downhill in which was pretty cool. Add that to Gmo's cooking, the view, and the cabin atmosphere and it was a really nice trip.

President Obama was sworn into office a few minutes ago. The little quartet they had play was pretty cool. It was an interesting read how Bush was moved out of the Whitehouse and Obama moved in-- all within a matter of hours this morning.

We had the Wii in Colorado but nobody has really messed with the Yoga too much. It adds a whole new level of excitement when you get Yoga Kitty involved. I keep wondering how long it would be before my cat ended up killing somebody if she were the infamous Yoga Kitty.

Back in the school mood, if you ever want to test some of the laws of mechanical physics, check out the Bouncy Ball game. Be careful though, it is a great time waster.

That's it for now...I need to start searching the internet for used textbooks.

Hats off to Entertainment

Happy 2009!

Christmas and New Years were both pretty swell. Got to hang out with family, swap strange gifts and enjoy an almost semi-white Christmas. Winter break is also going pretty well in general. It's amazing how busy you can feel while basking in laziness. We leave for Colorado, Gmo, the cabin, and Powerhorn later this week so I'm really looking forward to that.

The Rose Parade proved to be a success for all the of the TofR folks. I have to admit that it was a little weird and not as fun without participating but many of the TofR alum from the past couple years got together and went down for Bandfest on the 30th. We saw both shows and there were some pretty amazing groups out there. It was really nice catching up with everybody and getting to see the QHers do their thing.

Other than that, my winter break life has pretty much consisted of sleeping, practicing, volunteering at AVH, catching up with folks, and refining my Wii Fit and Sport skills. My mom's Christmas present to the family was a Wii (the first game system we've ever owned) and I am suffering from somewhat of an addiction. Good thing it won't be at school.

One of my presents from the Stutelbergs was a daily calender with weird and wacky websites, so more than a few of those will be making an appearance here.

Since we've reached a new year, new calenders will be needed. Why not step away from the tradition Gregorian system we're all so obsessed with and take a look at the Julian, Hebrew, Muslim, and Mayan calenders. A good time waster.

In the spirit of Illinois corruption, a Chicago newspaper ran an ad for a furniture store that, in a stroke of marketing genius, claims that they sell more seats than the Governor. I bet they're cheaper and probably last a tad longer, too.

While many of those annoying Hollywood celebrities may be under the impression that they're glamor will last forever, one photoshoper decided to have a little fun and see what they'd look like in 2034.

That's it for now, I must get back to the Wii.

Merry Christmas

Finals Week

Three down, two to go. Monday's three final marathon made for a pretty brutal day. Thankfully I'm done with what I think are probably the two most difficult: Physics and Humtut. I have my music jury in a few hours and a religion final on Friday. After that, the semester is done! It's amazing how fast it has gone.

The annual CLU Christmas concerts were a few weekends ago. Usually it's just choir and strings but there was a choir piece that was accompanied by two clarinets so I got the opportunity to play. It was a really nice program with a lot of very strong music and the nice "warm and fuzzy" Christmas feel. Julian, Tani, and Casey came down for the Friday show and my parents for Sunday so it was fun to see them. Apparently you could see me pretty well in a picture from the concert that made the front page of the campus paper, The Echo. The next day, the picture at right appeared on my door.

As I type I believe it is snowing in the AV. It's pretty cool to get snow this early but too bad it couldn't have waited a week. All we get here is cold rain and wind.

There's a few TofR alum that are planning on heading to Bandfest next Tuesday the 30th to see the many QH folks in it this year. If anybody is interested let me know soon so we can get tickets and such.

Bush's shoe dodging video has made the rounds, but there was actually a photo from another angle that not many have seen. Have to give that guy some credit.

A New Jersey ShopRite store refused print three year old "Adolf Hitler Campbell's" name on a birthday cake this week. I think the bigger question in this whole controversy is why a parent would name their child Adolf Hitler. Yes it's unique, but is that really necessary?

Made in "52 hours on 2 dozen redbulls," this trailer for the action-packed-epic-romantic-war-thriller-drama-saga starring office supplies is pretty dang cool. I think I'd actually pay money to see the film if it were real.

That's it for now...I must go mentally prepare myself for my upcoming jury.

The Elf Cousins

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Fred Astaire

Keep in mind this is 1940.
The things we learn in Music and Culture...

The British are Here

Or at least they were for our first Wind Ensemble concert Friday night. All went fairly well and from those I've talked to it apparently sounded pretty decent. My parents and Casey came down to hear it so and it was pretty cool seeing them.

Since the ride was there, I went home this weekend. I test drove a Subaru Forrester which my parents will mostly likely buy sometime soon. At that point I'll hopefully get the Lexas for next few years and, assuming I don't drop out and take to life on the streets, I'll inherit the Subaru when I graduate. Pretty good deal.

School is keeping me busy. There always seems to be something going on which is a good thing because I like staying active. The other night I got a last minute invitation to Ventura with a few other music students to see John Adam's Dr. Atomic performed by the Met and broadcast live in HD. If you're into contemporary Opera, or like music at all, it's a pretty awesome Oprea and I highly recommend.

I attended a couple lectures by Andrew Newberg-- a medical doctor who specializes in the neuroscience behind spirituality and religious belief. Absolutely fascinating stuff. He has a few books out which I'm going to definitely try to read someday.

After being hit at 70mph, a dog in Italy survived embedded in the grill of the car for more than 15 miles. That's one lucky dog and that's one true Italian driver.

Well it's happened. The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that individuals who are "functionally disabled by obesity" are entitled to two airline seats for the price of one. This whole obesity thing is sounding better and better. You're already a multi-millionaire from suing McDonalds and now you get extra room during flights.

For our Matrix fans out there, it appears some have speculated what would happen if the Matrix ran on on Windows. The subtitle says it all: Take the red pill. Get the blue screen.

That's it for now. Have a happy Thanksgiving and don't eat too much (or do and get an extra seat next time you fly).

My Dorm Smells Like Death

There's either food or a small mammal rotting in here somewhere. I'm taking a break from my weekend long investigation into this progressively worsening situation.

On a lighter note, I played my first concert with the Cal Lu University Symphony last week. I think the Romantic Visions sounded pretty nice. It's fun getting more orchestra experience now. You play with a whole new awareness when you realize that nobody is doubling the part. I think the concert should be up on iTunes U pretty soon, so stay tuned.

Our Wind Ensemble concert is coming up on Nov 21 and anybody is welcome (plus it's free...).

I was able to make it home for Micah's first birthday last Sunday. Presented with cake, the little dude didn't disappoint. While it was pretty chaotic with 5 toddlers running around, it was really nice to see everybody.

After Tuesday's election it's nice to see that the world doesn't hate us as much anymore. It'll also be nice to watch TV without stupid campaign commercials.

Did you catch the SNL Presidential Bash? Pretty good stuff. I think you can catch the whole episode online.

CNN made television history on the night of the election by having a corespondent appear via hologram. Very cool and Star Warsish although I don't really get the point.

Black Friday is coming...anybody up for joining me on the traditional early morning bash?

That's it for now, the quest for the source of the stench continues...

Happy Halloween

Public Transit and Wayne Root

Yes, I know. It's been a couple weeks. I'm still trying to get the routine thing situated here.

School is going well...no big complaints. There are a few papers due this week and some fairly big upcoming tests. I'm definitely keeping busy. There's a lot more reading and writing than I've ever dealt with before, but to be honest I don't mind it that much.

We had our "fall holiday" last Friday so I decided to go on a little adventure and see the folks down in Long Beach. The ride thing got really weird so I ended up taking three different buses (with So Cal's finest) to CSUN to meet up with Casey. It took about 2 hours to go 30 miles. It was definitely a good "experience" that I think all people should tackle at one point in their lives. Kemper and Jamie picked us up and we went down to hear Julian play with the Long Beach State Wind Symphony (not a bad performance...maybe more along the lines of amazing) and hang out for a while afterwards. We spent the night and headed home the next day. Pretty fun little trip.

For some strange reason, the Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate, Wayne Root came to speak at CLU earlier this week. I sat in just for kicks and have to say that guy is pretty out there with some of his ideas. He expects to be in the White House in 16 years. No comment. I was definitely a minority in the crowd so keeping control of my facial expressions was fun. I picked up a pamphlet and button if anybody wants them.

Next time you buy some broccoli be sure to check for dirt and those pesky little human heads that seem to pop up everywhere.

A single freak lightening strike killed 52 cows in Uruguay last week. I now understand why you don't grasp onto metal fences during a lightening storm.

I can't leave you without posting some stupid political video, so here's the top 10 worst political ads of the season. You gotta wonder how a candidate scooping up dog poop in her backyard translates to political experience.

That's it for now, have a happy Halloween.

Bush's Endorsement

Think Big Thoughts

But relish small pleasures.

Every week I receive a postcard from my mom containing one of "life's little lessons." I just got back from the mailbox so it was on my mind.

The last two weeks have been pretty brutal. I've had a total of 4 papers due, 1 test, and 2 midterms. What I've gotten back so far is looking promising. It's always nice to get the first test out of the way so I can know whether or I'm on the right track. I felt pretty good with the two midterms, but we'll see how they turn out.

This weekend is homecoming so my family will be visiting and many returning "home." There's a whole bunch of stuff (carnival, football game, free food, other activities) so it should be pretty fun.

Dodgers took the National League West and are currently competing for the NL title. They swept the cubs (which was awesome), so as long as they don't screw up this series there'll be a lot of excited people around.

Watching the presidential debate the other night was quite frustrating. I'm not a huge fan of the "town hall" setting but what really got to me was how both candidates completely blew off the idea of a time limit. What made it worse is how they took all that extra time to say the same amount of nothing. 25 days and it's all over.

If you haven't been keeping up with SNL's election/debate skits, you definitely must. I know everyone agrees, but I'll just say it again: Tina Fey makes an insanely amazing Palin.

Keeping with the election theme, it appears that over 4000 Harris County, Texas registered voters are deceased. I've always been curious of what the ideological makeup of the dead would be.

I'm in a Bioengineering club here and at a meeting the other day, we watched a video of the Boston Dynamics "Big Dog," which is basically a headless robotic pony that is programed to walk and maintain balance under essentially any circumstance. It's hard to describe how cool this thing is...just watch the video.

That's it for now...I think I'll go take a much needed nap.