Today I took my final for my US government class at Eastfield College. It was cake.... but we'll see when my grades come in. It was a different experience, going to Eastfield vs. UT, but I lucked out and got a pretty cool professor that was really opinionated, somewhat cynical... and just weird enough to make class interesting.

For those you of you unaware, I feel compelled to tell the sad tale of how I ended up going to Eastfield (~23 miles roundtrip) instead of Richland (~16 miles roundtrip).

It was my first day at Richland... I had printed out a map of the campus and my schedule off the internet.... and I was ready to go. I got there early too.... so I wouldn't have to worry about finding my class. My classroom was N212... So I found the N building.... but apparently room 212 doesn't exist! WTF mate? So I asked around and somebody told me there's a government class in 210, "It was probably just a misprint", somebody suggested.

So I sat in the class and when the teacher came and announced that this was a government 1 class (I was supposed to be in government 2), I realized I had screwed up.

So during break I went to the registrar and told them about my situation, and a large woman asked what room number my class was supposedly in. After I told her... she gave me a funny look and said, "Nope... there's no room with that number here. What's your professor's name?"

After I told her I got another really weird look. She typed it into the computer and squinted at the screen to make sure she was reading it correctly. Then she told me, "Hun, that professor teaches at Eastfield. You're at the wrong college..." Shit!

I must have accidently registered at Eastfield somehow... even though my second summer semester was all set for Richland. Go figure!

But now I'm done and will be attending Richland, and saving an ass-load on gas money too. Lesson learned.

I guess I should be more aware of the subtle clues I seemed to get. For example... next to my class room number there was "EFC" printed. What does that mean??? I had no idea until I realized it stood, of course, for "Eastfield College." Whoops!

-Brandon Valosek, clueless student

In regards to days I'd have to say that this one was pretty interesting.

I saw one of the most bad-ass things I've ever seen in a pond: a little turtle riding on top of a bigger turtle. I wanted to grab the little one and take him with me to my class... but I didn't want to traumatize the 3 year old kid looking on... although it would've been awesome to have some company in a room full of stale EE kids. Not to mention that fact that he most likely would be more intelligent than some of the guys in there... which brings me to the next topic of interest in my day.

Some people are just complete dumb asses. I'm afraid they have no hope... especially this guy I had the pleasure of sitting next to. He was attempting to do one of the labs in my EE class wherein you have to design a circuit on the computer and implement it in real life (see Nerdgasm).

First of all, he was a whiny little bitch. Calling the proctors over for every little step because his insignificant little mind couldn't even grasp the simplest of instructions (which could've easily been understood by a 5 year old), and complaining that his lab "just wasn't working." Not understanding the concept that computers do just what you tell them to do... he assumed that OF COURSE he was doing everything right and that "something was wrong with the program." Finally getting things straightened out (after 10 minutes of help by the TA) and getting his program onto the board, he couldn't get it to work!

He tried everything... re-downloading the program... checking the connections... flashing the ROM... nothing! Man his board must be bad! What terrible luck! No matter what buttons he pressed or switches he flipped, nothing would happen.

I guess he didn't notice that the board was clearly divided into two halves, and that one was labeled "FOR STUDENT USE" and one was labeled "FOR PROCTOR USE" in huge bold, black lettering.

And I guess he didn't notice he was mashing away on the unprogrammed "FOR PROCTOR USE" side.

But I definitely managed to zap a pic of his dumb ass before I left. He never did figure out that he was on the wrong side, and finally just gave up, slammed his books down, and threw his arms up in desperation (and realization that he really is a complete idiot), and walked out.

He walked back in about 5 minutes later to get his backpack he had forgotten.

After getting my lab done and checked it was time for me to head back home... in the pouring rain.

So as I said earlier, today was a day of days. If I can make it past this week of tests and survive finals... then I'm hoping to have a great summer... A summer of summers if you will.

Until next time!

I'm updating even though tonight I have to do laundry (which I haven't started), diffeq homework (which is most likely impossible) and a physics lab (which is pretty lame). Oh well... 'tis the life of a college student.

So spring break came and went... and it was awesome. I could go on and on about how extremely amazing it was to spend 5 days with my best friend and just relax and catch up, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't accurately portray how perfect this break was. SO I won't even try.

Something I CAN talk about is the nastiness that is the post-spring-break blues.

Here at UT we're done with holidays and breaks, so everyone has one more round of midterms and then the oh-so-dreaded finals week standing in front of the beloved freedom of summer. There's nothing like doing nothing for 9 days only to be hit hard by the realization that "OH SHIT! It's not summer yet!"

It seems now that everyone is just drudging on long from one homework to the next, murmuring "man I can't wait until this class is over..." and anxiously awaiting summer to get here. What a nasty feeling!

Summer can't get here soon enough.

If you didn't already know... I'm a vibesman.

I'm all about the vibe... the feeling... the mood. Blues jams, college apartments, nice restaurants, rock music... the vibe is so crucial! It can make or break a situation/event/place...

You know that feeling... when you're playing a sweet little slowjam in G minor with your broseph on bass and you on the 6 string... when it falls right in the pocket and you get the feeling that maybe you should be smoking pot right now even though you don't... but you're just so chill you almost wish you did.

Or what makes a shitty little apartment complex better than something $2500 more, because the more expensive one is just too nice for college students and the area is just too quite. You need something a little shittier that's a little more fun. Who cares if the pool was filled with dirt (or did it just accumulate naturally over time? or is maybe the water just that dirty?) and turned into a garden at the cheaper place... when it comes down to it you know that you'll be happier in the crap place. Why? It's all about the vibe.

I might sound like a hippie but ... that's def. not the case (i don't even like greenpeace or other environmental activist groups... or animal activist groups for that matter... but that's a different story). I just appreciate the finer subtleties of life and recognize their extraordinarily important role in the grand scheme of things.

You gotta take time to stop and smell the roses, and while you're there enjoy the vibe.

-B.S. Valosek, vibesman

Spring break is underway and I'm loving the break from school. I'll be loving it even more when I'm OUT of rowlett and visiting the lovely ms. nicolle perez at tulane U. Is it ironic that during my spring break, i'm visiting another university campus AND bringing in tow quite a bit of homework? Who knows... but it will be great.

I've been driving my jeep a lot lately... man i really missed that. I'll have it next year in austin too... sweeeet. Anybody who's been without their car for a while can relate.

Driving is a mix between being in love and riding a bicycle.

Like a bicycle because... you never forget duh.

And like love... after not seeing each other for a while... there's always that weird period. Nothing's changed... the handling, the response, the power.. it's all still there, but you're timid. You're not sure if you should just jump back in and drive all over town as if you were driving just yesterday... even though you want to. But then after that... it's just perfect. Just you and the car... and not a care in the world. All the time that you were separated disappears as you and the car are now back to being just like you were before you left.

Damn... i love my jeep.

And if you think that's weird then obviously you aren't getting enough out of your diving experience and maybe you should consider the way you approach transportation and/or life.

-Brandon V, driving enthusiast