Conclusion of Summer I

The first summer session at CCCCD has concluded and I’m so grateful that it has…

I’ve been burning the candle on both ends for far too long and never really had time to cool off and enjoy my summer. My weeks have been filled with a schizophrenic routine of early mornings and late nights, never getting enough sleep and only one day of the week to really enjoy my time: Sundays (always over too soon.)

Nearly every sunday this summer I have, or Astrid has, driven to our respective places of summer dwelling, happily only 30 miles apart from each other and spent the afternoon with each other. It worked out marvelously, I couldn’t ask for anything better given the circumstances. I have a wonderful, wonderful girlfriend and I couldn’t ask for anyone better either.

Over the fourth of July weekend, Astrid and I went down to The Woodlands again and had a wonderful time being away from North Texas, I certainly enjoyed my time out of the house. We watched the fireworks on the fourth along the waterway and I lost my sunglasses (yes, the wrap-around ones) in the canal. A five hour road trip goes by pretty quick when you’re with someone you love.

The rest of the week was composed of school from 6 to noon, and half of the school week work from 3 to 7… Friday and Saturday were up for grabs, usually to my chagrin. This weekend is the first weekend I’ve had in a while where I have no obligations to school and only one day for work, it’s such a relief, because this summer has been absolutely crazy…

I noticed early in June that I had lost some significant weight, in fact I’ve probably lost a few sizes, from a 29 to perhaps a 26… In total I’ve lost nearly 25 pounds since last year this time and I have no idea where they went. In other news I found a small lump, turns out that it’s just fluid (according to the radiologist) and my doctor didn’t find anything wrong with my blood work but requested that I have it performed again in a month. Regardless, my body is currently eating itself alive either from stress or something else.

Work has been beneficial though, it’s kept me off the street, out of bars, and put money in my pocket, something I’ve been running low on lately. I can’t say that I really love where I work, in fact, quite the opposite, it’s boring, hot, tiring, and stressful, but I can definitely say that I’ve worked food-service, and yes, it is a horrible job. Go find something else before you try to take that role. With minimum wage going up at the end of the month it almost makes sense to find some place else to work, but alas, that would probably not happen, no one wants to hire someone who’ll only be there a few weeks at longest.

I’ve encountered some rough areas in what I believe, spiritually, sometimes it’s as if nothing’s there at all. Actually, most of the time that’s how it feels, kind of always has.

On one final note, I love The Woodlands, if I had the chance I would try and take up residence there, too bad it’s not the cheapest and construction regulations are so stiff, it’s just in a really good spot…

I hope I haven’t bored you,

Paul

2009 NHC Hurricane Season

Hurricane Ike 12:05 p.m. CDT on September 12, 2008

NOAA gives the Atlantic Basin a 70% of 14 named storms (three major hurricanes (Category 3+)) this season but due to global weather patterns the Administration is saying the accuracy of this statement may be tested as the season progresses. For this season, the following names will be used to identify tropical storm strength or greater systems:

Ana
Bill
Claudette
Danny
Erika
Fred
Grace
Henri
Ida
Joaquin
Kate
Larry
Mindy
Nicholas
Odette
Peter
Rose
Sam
Teresa
Victor
Wanda

So far, no named systems have evolved in the Atlantic Basin, a tropical depression, TD ONE was expected to gain tropical storm strength on May 28th but dissipated over cooler waters. As of the time of this writing, its remnants are extra-tropical and circulating near the Azores.

Have a good evening,

Paul

Cutebombs

AW! ^.^

RT @donttrythis: ssssssssssSSSSSSSS http://neatorama.cachefly.net/misscellania/ottermom.jpg (the sound of a #cutebomb going off. Enjoy.

There are many things in this world that are ridiculously cute, pictures passed around on the internet like a hash pipe on 4/20. We can’t seem to get enough of the cuteness amid the muck, mire, and illegal-in-all-50-states-of-the-union junk on the internet; there’s just something that keeps drawing us back for more.

How Can You Resist a Face Like This?

Happiness can sometimes be found in the goofy expressions of small, ridiculously cute animals, such as this red panda, Toby.

My brain is melting, must... cuddle... too... cute...!

If you’re feeling down, for what ever reason, remember, there’s a world of cuteness out there.

Paul

Start Of The Summer

School’s out, everyone’s happy, right?

Not me. No, I’m not happy at all, in fact, I’m not quite as mad as hell and I can take it some more (using and modifying without permission, sorry.) Now that I’ve established the tone for this piece, please allow me to elaborate on these deep, intrusive and consciousness pervading feelings.

Looking back, I should have scheduled things a little differently.

How so? Well, for starters I look back and think that it would have been the prudent choice to have taken physics my freshman year instead of waiting until the summer of my sophomore year to take the classes required for my major. Then I’d be taking physical chemistry next semester instead of biochemistry and perhaps I wouldn’t be in McKinney, but that’s one of those unlikelies.

On the flip-side…

I might never have decided to take biochemistry, and for some reason or another, it looks rather enticing. I wouldn’t be here in McKinney working at Braum’s earning a fair chunk of change and I wouldn’t be getting two credits this summer which would make me a senior before most of the rest of the junior class. I might not have been able to spend time with Astrid this summer either, and that, friends, would make Paul a very sad person.

I Don’t Particularly Like Living With My Parents… Even For a Week.

Having to deal with their rules, the usual twenty-year old’s torment. I’m trying to reach out to the world, to live on my own, independently, but nope! Time to go home.

On the flip-side…

I’ve got a roof over my head, food in my belly, and family that loves me, can I really ask for much more? Well, I can, but that’s besides the point…

I Hate McKinney and Frisco (Equally.)

Truly, I do. I despise suburbia, the sprawling cancer that grows along the major arterial roads that criss-cross our great state. I get bored sometimes and go for a drive, looking for something concrete and green that looks interesting, but whenever I go west it’s always just concrete and dead. Frisco is the worst violator, there aren’t a lot of trees out there and that annoys me to no end. In addition, summer in North Texas, is, well, not pretty. There’s not a lot of green, mostly brown as the grass blonds up and the fields get ready for the fall harvest. I’d really like to go some place where the grass stays relatively green for a while longer to continue the trend of color the trees leave. There’s very little rain and when it does rain it’s always short and unsatisfactory. I usually wait for a tropical depression, storm, or hurricane to whip up in the Gulf. Oftentimes at the end of summer I find myself crouched over a computer reading forecast discussions, waiting, impatiently, for something interesting to appear. No, I’m not a sadist, no I don’t want people to lose their lives or property, it’s just that the end of summer is so boring that I’m looking for any excitement at all.

On the flipside…

There is no flip-side. I want to get out of North Texas as soon as possible and go south-east, or north-east. Period. I am sick of this place.

Grrrawrr!

Anyway.

I guess it’s time that I wrap this up. While I’m not looking forward to living here this summer, I guess there could be a lot worse things going on in my life right now. I have a family that loves me, a wonderful girlfriend whom I get to see every weekend, and a few friends still in the area. It’s not that bad after all, is it?

…But I still hate this geographic area…

-Paul

Termination

The light turns red and we slam on the brakes, missing the stop line by fractions of an inch and in the seconds that follow quietly chuckle to ourselves as the stressor leaves our mind. The semester is finally over.

Finals Week

That’s right, kiddos, friday marked the last day of class for me, and tomorrow will the one and only review day before finals week kicks off to a roaring start with an organic chemistry final first thing tuesday at 9AM. What joy, what unrelenting joy. Yesterday, Astrid and I took some of our stuff down to McKinney to lighten the load on move-out day, see, she lives in Houston and will be coming back up here for the summer to perform research in the biology department. So, being a kind sort of fellow I’m holding some of her things before she comes back up, a week and a half after summer break commences.

Anywho,

I really don’t want the semester/year to end, it just feels so abrupt and unpleasant, a little like slipping in some mud and catching yourself, the shock tends to be uncomfortable.

It’s almost lunch time,

Cheers!

Hits You Like a Brick

When you’re lying in bed one morning and suddenly come to the realization that your roommate is talking in his sleep (in Chinese), and your girlfriend is Dutch (and speaks Dutch + English + Spanish) you feel like an illiterate gringo in your own country.

It’s funny, that’s all.

Favorite Will Rogers Quotes

A lot of them have significant relevance to the present administration and our beloved legislators…

Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now what’s going to happen to us with both a Senate and a House?

On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does.

Our constitution protects aliens, drunks and U.S. Senators.

There ought to be one day– just one– when there is open season on senators.

This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.

I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

But, one of my favorites:

I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.

This last one is especially true for the opposite side of the political fence nowadays. The Republicans haven’t been able to have a cohesive vote ever since the bottom fell out of the economy and the Bush administration came to a close, then they make a big fuss about capping executive pay for corporations the government has propped up, seriously guys, what are you thinking?

“Are you thinking?” is in bold, for a very good reason.

Is anyone thinking? Or are we getting so wrapped up in our emotions and political motives that we can’t distinguish fact from fiction, and right from wrong?

Departing To The North

Tomorrow morning at around 8AM my parents and I are getting in their silver 1997 Honda Accord and hitting the road, wheels rolling all the way up to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

We’ll fly up US-75 through Oklahoma, passing through Durant, McAlester, Atoka… insert small city name here… and take I-40 east to Fort Smith, Arkansas, from there we’ll meander through the Ozark mountains until we finally arrive at our destination some time in the afternoon. It’ll be a long drive up there, but I’m pretty used to that, I don’t think I could suffer a drive all the way up to Canada though, Kansas and the other gradient-free states would probably melt my brain from its terrible flatness.

We haven’t been on a vacation as a family since 2006 and this will definitely be a boon (To use a word from senior year) to all of us, barring any unfortunate catastrophes. The last trip we went on together was our visit to Galveston Island during the fall. The second day of a three day trip was rainy, but the ride down (first day) and the ride back (third day) were gorgeous, isn’t that just how the weather is supposed to behave? Perhaps not.

According to the NWS the next few days up there in Arkansas are supposed to be beautiful, highs in the mid to upper seventies.

I’m going to go hunting for geocaches while I’m there too, ought to be fun. Of course, I will have my camera with me, I must take pictures or else this trip will likely disappear into the recesses of my memory.

Anyway,

I have to conclude this, so I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I’ll see you soon.

Paul

Well Now…

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I think so, and I think it’s time for some sort of update.

Over JanTerm, I met someone that I’m rather fond of now.
That is all, for now.