What is this, November?

It was freezing out today. What the hell?! The weather was SO nice up until today. The shorts were put away and I had to wear jeans and...a sweatshirt. Yeah, talk about disappointment. Gloominess once again overshadowed Storrs as a recently jubilant student body put their frowns back on for a depressing day. God damnit, it makes being in the engineering lab look like a ray of sunshine. Whatever, I got a ton of work done today. That doesn't mean today through Friday won't be busy, however. Luckily a weekend full of fun festivities helps, including the Wiz concert. April's going to be packed, but hey, the madness ends in the early days of May.

I've noticed something about college, at least for me. I'm not saying this is true for everyone, because it's probably not. But I feel like college life takes away pieces of who you are. What I mean by this is, your personality and what you like to do. Maybe it's just because everyone around here is from a small town in Connecticut where there is nothing else to do, but honestly drinking does not always spell a good time for me. Call me lame, whatever. I've had my experiences and I've seen enough to know that there's way more out there to entertain me than booze. However, in a college setting, that's one of the main things people do. It's almost like a limiting factor (especially when you go to school next to cows). In addition, your routine includes Sundays almost always being for studying. Classes are at random times and in between there's not much time to do anything constructive. Basically, what I'm trying to say is college stripped me down to a class going, homework doing, facebook stalking, alcohol drinking zombie. Yeah, I said it. I want my life back!

That's where graduation comes in. Working during the week = money for the weekends. Money for the weekends = fun things to do. I'll have free time to do things I enjoy, which will probably be getting back into baseball , bowling in leagues again, starting a computer repair business, and mastering the stock trading game. No time for any of that nonsense in college. Try it, it won't work out.

So yeah, as you can tell pieces of me are starting to accept that I'll be a 9-5er in a few months. It's certainly a start, and I absolutely have a lot I want to accomplish. For now though, I think I'll enjoy not having to get up before 9am, creating legendary stories on the weekends, and pretending I know how to cook a decent meal.

Peace out for now.

Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUVCQXMUVnI

Shout-out to Kevin Corrigan, a gentleman and a scholar.

It's Been a While

So yeah, kind of stopped blogging for a while. Last we left off, I was just starting my spring break. The week ended as expected with me leaving Binghamton Sunday to come back to UConn. The past week was typical, school work and then the weekend. Spent today doing work, and here we are now in the early hours of Monday for the start of another school week.

The school year, sadly, is coming to a close. April is upon us, which is the last month of my college career. Reflecting back on my years here in Storrs, I've got bittersweet feelings about leaving. It was a bumpy ride for me when I got here as a freshman. Myself and the relationships I've made here have really developed over the years, and I've made some great friends that I will try to keep for life. Let's do this... I'll highlight my years here in a nutshell.

Freshman Year

The beginning of first semester was tough. I didn't blend in well, not at all. It didn't help that I was living on a side of campus with close to no freshmen. It took me a couple of weeks to realize that something had to give for anything to change. I knew I had to get involved, because the way I was going things would have continued to suck.

I joined a few clubs, started branching out to people in my classes. It wasn't long because things got a lot better. I ended the semester with a solid group of friends, so I was content. It wasn't till my second semester that I joined APO, which obviously helped with meeting more people. Freshman year ended on a really good note.

Sophomore Year

This year was really different as I literally moved to the completely opposite side of campus. Suite style living proved to be really different than traditional dorm life. Made a lot more friends this year, and went out as well as a lot of parties in the suites. Got much more involved in APO, which at this point was the biggest thing I was doing outside my major. Ended the year on a high note as well, with APO banquet and UConn's last "real" Spring Weekend. Definitely some of the best college memories.

Junior Year

Busby Suites take two. New room mates, same suites. Lived with a friend from engineering and his friends who were in TKE. This year was different though, since more people I knew were living in the building. There were also some big changes on campus. Construction everywhere as new academic buildings were being put up. Fall was fun, having a car on campus was awesome. Tailgated at multiple football games. Hardest classes of any year by far, but I made it through. APO was starting to be different though. Friends I had freshman year, that I held onto by a string sophomore year, were now out of the picture as room was made for new ones. Things were changing, and I realized time was sadly running out as three quarters of my college career were gone.

Senior Year

Finally, an apartment. My own room, a kitchen, a living room, awesome parking, and RA's who don't give a shit. This year was definitely solid. Turned 21, secured a job, and (am still) working my ass off on senior design. The road seems paved for the next step. But I don't really want to walk down it...

I've accomplished a lot in four years here. New friends, new interests, overall a better and way less sheltered outlook on life compared with high school. Sure, there's things I wish went better. But that comes with anything you do in life. There's perks to not being in college too, like working. Steady money coming in will be nice. Free time will be valued and nice items will be purchased. And oh yeah, Europe in May.

That's it for now. I'll try post more frequently in the coming days

Song: In the End, Linkin Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4&ob=av3e

Change of Setting.

Yep, I'm home for the week. UConn was completely deserted by 4pm Friday, making me one of the last people to leave this morning. Home has proven to be the same as usual, boring and even worse because barely anyone is home. It's kind of scaring me for after graduation, I want my twenties to be exciting. I want fun people around me but who knows what will happen to my friends in the months to come. I feel like everyone is going to do their own thing, which some already are.

So what's the deal with friendship anyway? It really is a funny thing. Think back to a few years ago. Were you hanging out with the same people you are now? Maybe yes, maybe no. I guarantee there's at least one friend that you will think of and be like, "wow, what happened to that person? we had so many good memories together." I guarantee you'll remember someone you're GLAD is out of your life, but overall you'll be surprised at how different things really are. This especially applies to my situation at college. Sophomore year, I talked to easily five times the amount of people I do now. I've noticed what has happened; as the college years passed by friends group became smaller and closer, with certain people being "weeded" out. You would think the opposite would occur, that the more time you spend somewhere the more people you'd meet over time. But no, not many people stay in the picture for very long. You could spend two years sharing laughs and spending evenings with people, only to barely know them anymore a year later. I really hate that feeling...

Ideally, I'd love to have a big group of friends who all knew each other and got along. Nothing is worse than a group of friends that are split because certain people can't get along. I know first hand, because I've been one of the people who couldn't be around another. It sucks to do that to your friends, it sucks to be the problem. Either way, the worst feeling when it comes to friendship is when you lose a friend. Whether it be through a fight, natural drifting, whatever it is. It's horrible. You are so naturally used to hitting them up and it takes you a second to remember that things are different now. Especially when you can't replace them, because your friends group just keeps getting smaller.

Moral of the story? Before you stop chilling with someone, take a look at the big picture. What are you throwing away? Is it really worth it? You never know when you'll throw away the wrong person and lose a really important part of your life. So yeah, pace that shit.

Song of the day: Say It Ain't So by Weezer.

Good night everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENXvZ9YRjbo&ob=av2e

Chicken Bacon Ranch.

Also known as the best end to any day. Your day could be good, bad, or anywhere in between...chicken bacon ranch makes it just a little better. Luckily, the weather proved to be just as beautiful as yesterday's, so today realistically wasn't so bad to begin with. Of course, there was the loss to Orange. But that's life...I experienced UConn winning a championship once in my time here and that's all I could have asked for. I'll never forget how great March was last year, the campus was insane. Everyone was on the Kemba Walker train and loving it. It's part of what made junior year here fun, of course participating in the shenanigans of a suite with 5 other guys was also a good time. Sure, sometimes I was the kid getting pranked. Either way, things were always exciting. You always had people to eat with, always had people to play video games with, drink with, anything. Living with frat guys didn't exactly hurt for knowing what was going on for the weekends either. Sure, it proved to be distracting from schoolwork. And sure, my lifestyle this year has brought my GPA up and showed me the difference between working hard and being lazy. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. The older you get, the more you mature. The more you realize you need to get your shit done, and the value of doing so. That being said, I thought my last semester would be easier with just 12 credits. But of course, that isn't the case. I guess an engineering student about to graduate SHOULD be working hard. But dammit, I should be able to have senioritis without any consequences.

Spring break starts tomorrow after my last class. Some people have already headed out for home/their trips, while others anxiously await a week in some form of paradise. As for me, I'll be here until Saturday before I head home for my dad's birthday. I'll work on some schoolwork and go to planet fitness until heading to Binghamton on Thursday, where I'll see my friends. I love my trips to Binghamton. They party way later than UConn does, no one even goes out until midnight. I like it better, because I don't feel rushed to pregame. Taxis are nice too, because who needs to worry about sober drivers when there's guys begging to drive you downtown for a buck a person. Oh, and they HAVE a downtown. A change of setting will do me some good I think. I love UConn, but damnit this winter has been depressing.

So what's the deal with frat parties. Assuming you are a guy who isn't in a frat and actually gets into one of their parties, it means you must know the right people. Most frats here are full of preppy white waste products who have trouble communicating with anyone outside their own greek letters. Good luck with that mentality in the real world bros, you'll need it. Anyway, luckily I know some people. So frat parties. You've got your overly drunk freshmen who either pass out there or have to be sent home early. Then you've got the kids who look nervous the entire time, like someone is constantly going to fight them. I can't count how many times someone bumped into me and profusely apologized as if I was about to beat them senseless. Relax, guys. Of course, then you find the guys who actually will fight you if you bump into them. Get a life, guys. As for the girls. similar cliques to the bars, but usually not old enough to get into them. To be honest, I thought the bar would be the greatest thing in the world. Even as a senior, I like parties more. Probably because it's cheaper, and for some reason people are friendlier.

I'm tired, I've got work to do. And my sandwich is staring at me. So for now I'm done. Song of the day, in honor of graduating in two months (hopefully) and because it was my high school graduation song as well.

Peace out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQ8N1KacJc&ob=av3e

It was GORGEOUS out today.

Title is self explanatory. Walked outside with a jacket expecting the same cold chill that would put me in my melancholy daze as I walked toward the dreaded busby hill and down to class. It was a pleasant surprise to be greeted by warmth, something I hadn't felt outside in ages. That aspect alone made walking around campus ten times more enjoyable than it usually is. Something about changing into Spring season up here- I'm not quite sure what it is. People are happier, the atmosphere is friendlier, and much more than personalities come out to play around this time. Whatever it is, I love it. I actually WANT to walk outside in the morning. I actually ENJOY being out and about. People were playing basketball outside, everyone seemed to be enjoying the day and I wasn't faced by a million faces tucked down into their north face jacket rushing to get inside the nearest building. Spring should really be longer, especially when you go to college in New England.

Enough about the weather. You guys were there, you know it was nice today. Perhaps you didn't enjoy it as much as I did, maybe you did. Got through with my midterm today and got to catch Project X after. Sickest movie I've seen in a while. If you're not into movies about partying, you probably wouldn't like it. But when I say this movie took it to the next level, I mean it. I don't think the previews did it enough justice. It had action, comedy, and other aspects added too. If you're in college I'd be shocked to hear that you didn't enjoy this movie.

So what's the deal with UConn bars? I mean, you've got Huskies which is dead 90% of the time on weekends. Occasionally you'll get that one good night where you pass by on your way to thirsties and see that there's actually life in there. Does everyone think the same up here? Is there one sporadic moment where everyone just decided it's a Huskies night? It's bizarre. Especially since Thirsties on a Friday or Saturday is usually solidly packed. Well, whatever. It's usually pretty easy to find one bar to go to on the weekend. The whole thing is kind of weird to me though, it's like .."let's go drink with the people we came with, only talk to the people we came with, and then leave at 12:30 am". I've never met someone at a bar that I didn't already know. It's super cliquish, which in theory makes no sense. Bars, aside from alcoholics, are for social people...even more so on a college campus. However I rarely see any mingling going on between groups, including my own. I'm usually content drinking some beers with the guys and running into people I know, but damn. Try to talk to someone you don't know, they look at you like you have three heads. I'm 95% sure it's a New England thing, but who knows. You could make the argument that Thirsties is too loud because of the music and is more of a dancing atmosphere, but then you have Teds which is the same thing minus the music. (I hate Teds).

I got pretty into that topic. Maybe this is how the blog will go, a little on my day and then go off on some tangent. As always feedback appreciated.

Song for the day is in honor of Project X, since it was on the soundtrack and is pretty much a classic of our generation. Until next time, peace out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xzU9Qqdqww&ob=av3e

Yeah, I guess I'm blogging...

So I don't know why exactly I'm starting this. I don't know if anyone will care to read it, I don't know if it will be any good. I think I just have a lot to say, and this is a way to get it all out. So here's the first post to my blog, I'll basically keep it to what I want to say and try to add a song on the end describing my feeling/mood for the day. Here it goes...

I graduate from college in two months. What the hell? Where did the time go. I promise you it feels like last year I was a freshman and had my parents and sister drop me off to my dorm in Alumni. It was weird bypassing all the traffic to the freshman dorms (aka Northwest) and heading to a deserted side of campus, where all of eight freshmen moved into my building. I was scared shitless to start college, coming in with preconceived notions that were completely wrong about what it was going to be like. I was looking forward to the four years ahead of me that in a way presented a bubble from the "real world", which seemed like such a long time such that it would never come to an end. Four short years later I'm facing a full time job upon graduation and talking about 401K's and holy crap how did this change occur.

But enough about that for now. I've still got two months of college left, so why not enjoy them and reminisce when I've got nothing better to do. Surprisingly, I've been managing my time well lately. I've got sort of a nerd/wannabee meathead thing going on. I wake up for lifting at the gym, then head over to the engineering building where I spend most of my day. The two just don't seem to add up. But hey, who wants to fit stereotypes anyway, and who says nerds can't get huge.

As usual the weekdays at UConn are dry and uneventful. Apartment life proves to be more lonely than dorm life, since you basically lose tons of social time because of not having a meal plan. You'd think (at least in a guys apartment) it would be a bunch of guys eating wings, drinking some beers watching some sports game. Nope, that rarely, if ever, happens. People fend for themselves and eat on their own time. I'm used to it out, but I guess I realize I'm more of someone that needs to be around others than I thought.

Fridays are (and probably everyone elses) my favorite day up at college. The routines of the school-work week are put to rest and the whole campus dynamic changes. The homebodies/antisocial people go home, your acquaintances disappear, and a few good friends you made plans with stick around for a good time. You hit up the gym in the morning Saturday after a night out you enjoyed, spend the afternoon napping or watching a movie with the roomies. Round two comes Saturday night, which is somehow not as enjoyable as Friday. Then of course Sunday comes around and you join the endless supply of facebook status about how miserable the day is because of studying/work needing to be done. Almost 4 years here and not much has changed about that routine(except for my gym attendance, that has varied...)

Spring break is somehow 3 days away. Am I doing anything? sort of. If you count visiting your friends from home up at their college then sure I'm doing something. Am I upset that I'm not going to Florida or on some cruise, not really. Why? I'm going to Europe for 17 days after graduation. I'll be visiting places I've already seen (Greece/Italy) while exploring new territory(England/France). I'll see some badass castles, at least I hope. It's going to be nice letting loose for 17 days with no homework, no senior design, no job. Just a good time overseas seeing things I'd probably never see otherwise. Any then I come back to start putting in 40 hours a week until the day I retire.

That's where I'll end this for now. I think what I ultimately want for this is to let me express my opinions, but it seems I've posted a record of my thoughts instead. How this will develop, I don't know...but I'm going to roll with it.

So I'll leave you off now. Mood? I'd say content. Things for the most part are smooth lately. So I'll post a song in honor of Wiz Khalifa, because hell yes I'm seeing him at UConn later this month.

Peace out until the next post people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWWP4xtxXXE&ob=av2e