[tigerfan88]

My iPod arrived today! I am currently loading it with 2500+ songs. Yay!

In other news......tomorrow I leave for a weekend retreat with my sister and mother. I won't be back until Sunday and, most likely, will not have any sort of internet connection. This may actually be a good thing as it will allow me to really be disconnected from all distractions and read my Bible more.

[tigerfan88]

I just got my midterm grades back. I'm making As in my computer classes and English class, a B+ in Music Fundamentals and a B- in Logic (very tough course). Not too shabby considering how difficult a couple of the classes are and considering the fact that Calculus previously took up an enormous amount of my studying time. I need to bring up that Logic grade, which I can and will do now that I have more time, and hopefully bring up the Music Fundamentals grade to an A-.

I'm looking ahead to the Winter semester. It is looking like I will be taking a lighter version of Calculus, English literary analysis, C++ programming and Microeconomics for a total of 14 credit hours. I'm tempted to add in a required spreadsheet online class, but don't know if I will or not. These should be easier classes than the classes I am in right now. I'm looking forward to them.

I'm spending more time on web development, as I've built a couple of sites. I'm also still doing my job for the university's assessment department--updating their part of the site and making it better. I want to do some more freelance work as well, hopefully earning a little extra cash.

I've played my guitar the past couple days, something I haven't done in a while. It is awesome. I'm trying to teach myself several songs and I want to start recording my own music soon.

And right now I'm in Programming class. That's all.

[RK_lover]

Those are pretty good considering you're a first-semester freshman! My overall midterms aren't back yet, but I can tell on some classes, and I'm doing pretty well, all As and Bs.....
How was the retreat? Do you feel recharged?

[tigerfan88]

Yeah, I'm happy. The classes haven't been easy, so I'll take what I can get. I already anticipate doing better next semester. I'm sure your grades will be stellar.

Retreat was good, and actually spurred a lot of spiritual thought in me. It made me realize that I need to really study Catholicism more to determine if it is really where I belong. I'm a believer in God and Jesus Christ and always will be. I am a Christian and am more solid in that than ever before. What I'm trying to seek right now is which branch of Christianity is right for me. I'm planning on reading a lot of theological books over the next few weeks and months, possibly visiting a couple different churches and just seeing where God leads me. In short, I'm more awake spiritually than I have been in quite some time. It's a good thing, because this is the time in my life where I'm gonna need His guidance the most.

[RK_lover]

Originally Posted by tigerfan88

Yeah, I'm happy. The classes haven't been easy, so I'll take what I can get. I already anticipate doing better next semester. I'm sure your grades will be stellar.

Retreat was good, and actually spurred a lot of spiritual thought in me. It made me realize that I need to really study Catholicism more to determine if it is really where I belong. I'm a believer in God and Jesus Christ and always will be. I am a Christian and am more solid in that than ever before. What I'm trying to seek right now is which branch of Christianity is right for me. I'm planning on reading a lot of theological books over the next few weeks and months, possibly visiting a couple different churches and just seeing where God leads me. In short, I'm more awake spiritually than I have been in quite some time. It's a good thing, because this is the time in my life where I'm gonna need His guidance the most.

Ha, thanks for the encouraging words! I'm sure you'll do well too!

That sounds like a really good retreat! I think it served it's purpose well; the only other thing I would say to read is the Bible! That's where everything is
laid out for us! I know how you feel, trying to determine which church to
attend and stuff, and I'll be praying that God will reveal his plans!
Sayonara!

[tigerfan88]

Yeah, I'm working on it. I'm very much seeking right now. I feel like God is leading me toward it.

I guess it's been over a week, so I should probably type up a little update:

I'm doing well with college, still. I found out my Programming grade is 96.6%, just shy of an A+. Not too shabby. Logic is hard, but I'm raising my grade. Music is hard, but enjoyable. English is fun and easy--just got back my last paper and it earned an A. Over the next month or so, I'll have tests, projects and a research paper due. I'm thinking about doing my research paper on a dead musician, possibly Jim Morrison. My Prof suggested doing a biography-based paper, if we wanted to. I think I'd enjoy researching a musician like Morrison and then writing about it. I'm a pretty big fan of the Doors, so, yeah, it'd be cool. It's either that or a paper on something related to Microsoft/computers.

Work is going good. I've been doing my web design work for Assessment and Accreditation for about 2 weeks now. I met with my boss a couple days ago and she was very pleased with the progress. I'm working 10 hours a week with that, all done from home. I get paid $8 an hour for this, pretty good considering it's work study. I'm also doing some Freelance article writing, mainly just to earn some extra cash before Christmas.

3 weeks from now I see Alter Bridge live in concert. I cannot tell you how excited I am about that. It should be a great concert. My plan is to get a place in the front row and hopefully try to shake hands with my guitar idol, Mark Tremonti. I'll let you know if that works out.

I was gone to my brother's house today. We ended up playing Guitar Hero 3(greatest game ever) and watching MSU/UM. It was much fun. I ended up receiving a gift card to JC Penney and money from my brother, so I plan on probably going out shopping tomorrow.

[tigerfan88]

I decided last night that I would accomplish a lot today. So I woke up at 8AM after sleeping for only 6 hours (I stayed up later last night to play a game online with a friend), ate breakfast and drank some cinnamon tea. I didn't want to get up, but I did, which is a big thing considering the fact I'm prone to giving in to the temptation of sleeping in, lol. Anyway, I did some recording--namely, I recorded myself singing "I Love You" by Sanctus Real and "One" by U2. It was the first time I sang in a long time, and, actually, didn't turn out too bad. I have good recording gear, so I guess that helps somewhat. So I ended up singing ILY twice and "One" once. "One" is a pretty tough song to sing vocally, particularly that bridge. But I think I did alright with it. My plan now is to record the guitar parts for both songs and then mix the vocals in. I'd like to start recording original songs soon as well.

I'm also planning on doing some work (both web design and writing articles), prepping for a Programming quiz, working on a Music chapter review due for Monday and doing some Logic homework. All today. So it's gonna be busy, really busy. But it all needs to be done. I'm starting to realize that procrastination = bad, especially when the end of the semester is drawing near.

[tigerfan88]

Getting paid = awesome. I just received my first work study paycheck yesterday for $172 after taxes. Not really bad considering I did all the work from home and only worked 22 hours. I'm doing my freelance work on the side and am going to make some money from that. Considering the Holidays are coming up and I'll need cash for presents, as well as the next semester, this money is coming at just the right time. I'm very blessed.

Let's see....school is going good on the whole, aside from Logic. That's really tough, but I'm working as hard as I can to get better at it. I'll be glad to be done with it, though. I have a research paper due on the 6th of December. I'm doing it on Poverty. It shouldn't be too hard, but I need to start writing it within the next week to avoid getting too stressed out.

I'm pretty sure I'll be taking Calculus for Business, English, C++ and Macro-Economics in the Winter semester for a total of 14 credits. I won't be sure until I talk it over with my Academic adviser and officially switch majors. No Music classes, as you can see, but I'm planning on continuing next Fall with Music Theory I, if it fits into my schedule.

Umm, I'm working on recording music now. It's moving along slightly slower because of my school schedule but, yeah, it's coming.

Other than all of this, I'm counting down the days til the Alter Bridge concert on November 23.

[tigerfan88]

Today I picked up two books I plan on using for my research paper on Poverty. They are "Ending Global Poverty" by Stephen Smith and "The End of Poverty" by Jeff Sachs. I haven't read the former yet, but I am reading the latter and it has been quite the eye-opener for me. The statistics are incredible: 8 million African children die every year from preventable diseases. These diseases can be prevented by a mere 20 cent shot. Thousands are dying from AIDS every day when the medicine costs just a dollar a day per person. Can you believe that? 5 young lives could be saved for the cost of a dollar menu burger. Or one person suffering from AIDS could be kept alive for $1. Children wouldn't have to become orphans if their parents were kept alive for $1.

Think about our society. We're all about material goods. We have our computers, our iPods, our televisions, our cars, our big houses, our junk food. These people in other countries--even in our OWN country--have nothing. They're going to bed every night hungry, while we're eating a twinkie or a bag of doritos after having 3 filling meals during the day.

I recently paid $200 for a new iPod that is one of my "prized" possessions. But when I think about this purchase, I feel so much guilt and sadness and anger. That $200 could have saved 1000 kids from dying. Now I have to ask myself, is this iPod I hold in my hand equivalent to one life, let alone 1000? And if this iPod is worth more than so many lives, then I have to ask myself, what have we become? Do we really care this little about human life? Have we no compassion, no love, no caring for our fellow man? The poor are the same as us, with one big difference: they're dying all the time......because of our indulgence.

I just cannot fathom that in this day in age, people are still dying for such a stupid reason. As Bono put it, it's stupid poverty. It's poverty we can actually DO something about. And yet, we continue to choose to look the other way. We don't want to be confronted with the fact that all these people are dying as we go to sleep in our warm beds with a full stomach. We'd rather look away and focus on us, no one else. You know what? I'm not going to look the other way anymore. I'm going to do something--anything--to change things. I don't know what that something is going to be, but I know God will show me where to go. And I pray that more people realize that the time to act is now. We can make a difference.

[tigerfan88]

I am officially on Thanksgiving break! No classes until Monday. I wish I could say that I'm completely getting away from schoolwork, but, alas, I'm not. I need to work on a research paper (which is coming along quite nicely), a programming assignment and Logic homework. It shouldn't take out too much of my time to get this done, so I should still be able to take it easy.

We're going to my brother's house in Grand Rapids for Thanksgiving this year. It should be fun, as we'll be playing lots of Guitar Hero 3.

Two more days until the Alter Bridge concert. Yay!

[RK_lover]

Originally Posted by tigerfan88

I am officially on Thanksgiving break! No classes until Monday. I wish I could say that I'm completely getting away from schoolwork, but, alas, I'm not. I need to work on a research paper (which is coming along quite nicely), a programming assignment and Logic homework. It shouldn't take out too much of my time to get this done, so I should still be able to take it easy.

We're going to my brother's house in Grand Rapids for Thanksgiving this year. It should be fun, as we'll be playing lots of Guitar Hero 3.

Two more days until the Alter Bridge concert. Yay!

Nice! I hope you get plenty of R&R!

Sweet! Check out the expert song by Dragonforce......

SWEET! You'll have to tell us me all about it!

Happy thanksgiving!

[tigerfan88]

Yeah, so, the past week's been good. I had a nice, long weekend (still had to do some homework). Thursday was spent at my brother's house, playing Guitar Hero 3, watching football and eating (A LOT!). I didn't win as many GH3 games as I thought I would. I guess I was just off that day, lol.

And that Dragonforce song is unbelievably hard. Not as hard as "Devil Went Down to Georgia", though.

I finished my English rough draft last night and had to bring it into class today. One of my classmates read it and, much to my surprise, really liked it. He said he really learned a lot from the paper and that "it should be shown to as many people as possible." Wow, that's a pretty big compliment. Yet, I'm still not completely confident in it. I won't be until the Professor says it's good, haha. But, yeah, I guess it's a pretty decent paper, packs a lot of information. And if it makes people think about Extreme Poverty and really consider just what is being done to fight it, then I'll be thrilled.

The semester is (finally) winding down. Actually, it hasn't been THAT long, but I'm ready for it to be done. At least some of the classes, like Logic. I register tomorrow for my Winter semester classes and learned that one guy I know will be in the same computer class as me. That's cool.

So, within the next few weeks, I should have a LOT more time to myself and to my music. I'm looking forward to that and sleeping in.

Oh, and the Alter Bridge concert? It rocked.....HARD!!! I had a blast, can't wait to see those guys live again. Next time, though, I will be front row.....GUARANTEED! I forgot to mention before that I am seeing the Foo Fighters on February 24. That should be a fun show.

[tigerfan88]

Wow, I almost had a scare. Actually, I did freak out, but thankfully, things worked themselves out. I registered this morning for classes for the Winter semester; already had all of them picked out. So I registered for Macro-Economics, English and C++ programming. I went to register for Business Calc and much to my surprise, the thing would not let me. So I got freaked out, because the class was filling up and only had 8 places left. I took a quick shower and then left to go down to college to see my adviser. I officially changed my major to computer information systems and, thankfully, he was able to get it so I could register for Business Calc. Apparently, a code hadn't been put in because before, I didn't have to worry about Business Calc. So I am now all registered for my classes. That's a huge relief.

I have to say, I'm happy with my schedule. I am done with classes by 1:40PM all 5 days--two of the days, I am done by 10:40AM and 12:15PM. It is a much better schedule than this semester and should leave me with plenty of time for guitar playing.

[tigerfan88]

"Oh how quickly life can turn around, in an instant" - Creed

It is now November 30, 3 months and 1 day since I started college. The past 3 months have been crazy, a definite roller coaster ride. I've gone through a lot of emotions--sadness from leaving homeschooling behind, nervousness about being in a new environment and happiness in going to college and enjoying classes. I have to say that right now, I am the happiest I have been in a while. I actually like going to college. It still surprises me how quickly I adjusted to the whole thing. I thought I'd be miserable. But after the first few classes, it got easy.

Work is going good. My boss is really cool. It's a cushy job. I'm doing a web site for the assessment department at the university and will continue on into next semester. There could potentially be more work for me in other departments doing this same thing. Apparently many people are not yet familiar with CMS, or they're just too busy to learn it. I also am doing freelance writing which keeps me busy.

I have to say that one thing I've struggled with is feeling inadequate. I'm not the best socially in person (online is no big deal, lol), so I really don't have a lot of friends. However, during this semester, I have talked to people in all my classes and made some friends. The first few weeks, I hardly talked to anyone at all, but the past month or two, I haven't gone to a class without talking to someone, whether it's about music or poverty or guitar. I'm starting to have an easier time talking to people. It's like I'm breaking out of my shell, starting to embrace being social. I don't feel as alone anymore.

Speaking of friends, today was awesome, by the way. A friend of mine from around here (a homeschooler) came down to college and we chilled for a while. We played some arcade games and watched TV. It was really fun, he's a cool guy.

But, um, back to the whole point of this post. Basically, I'm really excited right now. I'm starting to realize that I am beginning to become the person that God has intended me to be. I'm seeing where I am headed toward. And the place I'm going, it's an exciting thing. I can definitely feel God's hand in my life leading me, showing me where to go.

As this semester comes to a close, as this year comes to a close, I can reflect back on it and say I've had a significant amount of growth in my life. I've grown spiritually, socially, mentally. I look forward to the next semester and the next year and look forward to continuing to find out who I am in God's plan.

[tigerfan88]

I have an awesome Winter schedule, praise God! My schedule is:

Mondays/Wednesdays:
9:30-10:40AM Calculus for Business
11:00-12:15PM Macroeconomics
12:30-1:40PM C++ Programming

Tuesdays:
11:00-12:15PM English 112
12:30-1:40PM C++ Programming

Thursdays:
11:00-12:15PM English 112

Fridays:
9:30-10:40AM Calculus for Business

As you can see, I no longer have to make two trips a day down to college 4 out of 5 days a week. I go there for 1-3 classes, then I am done for the day. This gives me around 8 hours after I get home to get homework done, work and play guitar. That's a lot more flex time than I've had this semester. So I am happy about that.

In other news, I put a new amp in lay-a-way at Guitar Center. I should get it Saturday or Sunday.