(no subject)
A full semester, J-term, and then some have passed without an update. I've been slacking off, I know. I'd like to say my social life has exploded and I have had absolutely no time to update, but I'd be lying. However, last semester was incredibly more busy than my previous two years here at Taylor. Mostly I fault some incredibly hard, or, at least, time-consuming classes. My schedule said 16 hours, but actual time spent in class was more like 21 hours a week. And you know, this semester isn't looking too much better. O-chem takes up way too much of my time and the tests, wow, they're killer. It was the same with my Comparative Anatomy Lab tests. I worked harder on those two classes than I can ever remember. Luckily Comparative is over, but O-chem still owns my soul this semester. Well, O-chem and MCAT studying. We started the MCAT prep class in Mid-October, which means I've been waiting up for class at 9AM every Saturday. However, I did increase my practice MCAT score 6 points over the semester, which make me. Another 4-6 points this semester and I'm golden. But, seeing more work this semester than last, I'm not really looking forward to to it.
Last semester did have it's highlights however. The floor picked up a bunch of new freshmen and transfers; Center Section alone getting 8 new guys. All real quality guys. But we've also lost guys. Peter decided to join the army last semester and won't be back, leaving me with my own room for a semester. Spencer skipped last semester, but is now back. Dalton, one of this year's transfers, decided to go back to IWU. Even A.J. decided to transfer 4 days into this semester. Plus some of us are really missing the seniors from last year, they're just something missing from the section, but I guess you feel that way every year. Old guys leave, new ones take their place. The lack of work over J-term helped me get to know the guys better. I was pretty reclusive 1st semester because of my workload and I feel it'll overtake me again.
This year, we also have a pretty sweet sister floor, all of 3rd English, and we're actually doing stuff with them unlike the last two years. Having 3rd English meant a lot of Foundation guys got to go on Broomball, including myself. I learned to change a tire at 3AM that night as well. A few other great things from this semester have been:
Being an freshman orientation group leader
Our floor retreat at the Indiana Dunes (including a trip to the dentist with Hoseef)
Making a movie about Dr. Chang's encounter with a raccoon
spending a weekend with Adam at IU (and getting kicked out of a state park without even getting out of the Durango)
Intramural football - I caught a TD pass, and KO'ed a guy
Erin's birthday party at Johnny Carino's
Missions Conference with the Pre-Med club in Louisville
Bowling nights with the sisters
Kelly's Mexican Dinner for Andrew and me
Shadowing Dr. Davis
Driving all the way to Ft. Wayne just to see a dollar movie
The sweet, sweet freedom of J-term
Winning the Morris Poker tournament in the Olympics (If Moneymaker can with 4-5, so can I :) )
Tackling someone during a intramural Basketball game
And quite a few I can't remember at the moment...
The first three weeks of the semester have progressed nicely. Not much work, some reading I need to catch up on, but I'm about to hit a big string of tests in the next two weeks (one in each class), but I'm trying to be prepared. So if I'm lucky, they won't be a problem.
I made a few goals for myself this semester. The craziness of last semester let me know I needed to get my stuff together. One goal was to be way more organized and foresighted instead of letting stuff sneak up on me. So the first thing I did this semester was make a calendar of the entire semester and fill in tests and assignments as I know about them so I can't forget. This is working fantastically. I've been using my time a little more wisely and I like it. Since I have my own room this semester, I made it a goal to be a lot cleaner. I don't have any excuses for my room being messy because all the stuff in here is mine. I can't blame the mess on a roommate anymore. The downside of having your own room is it's kinda lonely. I got used to having a roommate who was around a lot and I could almost always spend time with, so I've also made it a goal to spend less free time in my room, and use it mainly for studying type activities. Another goal was to increase my church attendance, which I haven't missed since getting back from Christmas break. I switched from the easy-choice church, UCC, with their 11AM service to going to Muncie Alliance's 9AM service with Andrew and Nathaniel. I like the church a lot better and it's worth getting up earlier for. Something about it just makes me want to be a better person. (Adding the Sunday 9AM service also means now I'm up by 9AM every morning of the week, which is a lot more draining than I thought it'd be.) I haven't been real good about Chapel attendance, devotions, money management, or keeping ahead of the reading in class, but those are goals I still have to work on.
Last semester did have it's highlights however. The floor picked up a bunch of new freshmen and transfers; Center Section alone getting 8 new guys. All real quality guys. But we've also lost guys. Peter decided to join the army last semester and won't be back, leaving me with my own room for a semester. Spencer skipped last semester, but is now back. Dalton, one of this year's transfers, decided to go back to IWU. Even A.J. decided to transfer 4 days into this semester. Plus some of us are really missing the seniors from last year, they're just something missing from the section, but I guess you feel that way every year. Old guys leave, new ones take their place. The lack of work over J-term helped me get to know the guys better. I was pretty reclusive 1st semester because of my workload and I feel it'll overtake me again.
This year, we also have a pretty sweet sister floor, all of 3rd English, and we're actually doing stuff with them unlike the last two years. Having 3rd English meant a lot of Foundation guys got to go on Broomball, including myself. I learned to change a tire at 3AM that night as well. A few other great things from this semester have been:
Being an freshman orientation group leader
Our floor retreat at the Indiana Dunes (including a trip to the dentist with Hoseef)
Making a movie about Dr. Chang's encounter with a raccoon
spending a weekend with Adam at IU (and getting kicked out of a state park without even getting out of the Durango)
Intramural football - I caught a TD pass, and KO'ed a guy
Erin's birthday party at Johnny Carino's
Missions Conference with the Pre-Med club in Louisville
Bowling nights with the sisters
Kelly's Mexican Dinner for Andrew and me
Shadowing Dr. Davis
Driving all the way to Ft. Wayne just to see a dollar movie
The sweet, sweet freedom of J-term
Winning the Morris Poker tournament in the Olympics (If Moneymaker can with 4-5, so can I :) )
Tackling someone during a intramural Basketball game
And quite a few I can't remember at the moment...
The first three weeks of the semester have progressed nicely. Not much work, some reading I need to catch up on, but I'm about to hit a big string of tests in the next two weeks (one in each class), but I'm trying to be prepared. So if I'm lucky, they won't be a problem.
I made a few goals for myself this semester. The craziness of last semester let me know I needed to get my stuff together. One goal was to be way more organized and foresighted instead of letting stuff sneak up on me. So the first thing I did this semester was make a calendar of the entire semester and fill in tests and assignments as I know about them so I can't forget. This is working fantastically. I've been using my time a little more wisely and I like it. Since I have my own room this semester, I made it a goal to be a lot cleaner. I don't have any excuses for my room being messy because all the stuff in here is mine. I can't blame the mess on a roommate anymore. The downside of having your own room is it's kinda lonely. I got used to having a roommate who was around a lot and I could almost always spend time with, so I've also made it a goal to spend less free time in my room, and use it mainly for studying type activities. Another goal was to increase my church attendance, which I haven't missed since getting back from Christmas break. I switched from the easy-choice church, UCC, with their 11AM service to going to Muncie Alliance's 9AM service with Andrew and Nathaniel. I like the church a lot better and it's worth getting up earlier for. Something about it just makes me want to be a better person. (Adding the Sunday 9AM service also means now I'm up by 9AM every morning of the week, which is a lot more draining than I thought it'd be.) I haven't been real good about Chapel attendance, devotions, money management, or keeping ahead of the reading in class, but those are goals I still have to work on.