Seasons to Cycles
At the moment I am operating on what must be the slowest internet connection AirOrange has to offer. It's ridiculous. But, considering that it took me an hour and half to get my computer to start up properly, I suppose this is a minor issue. I'm writing in between loading sessions of the various websites I'm looking at, which are kinda substantial. Netflix alone is taking FOREVER...
After a month of decompressing, lounging around and not doing much of anything, I am back at Syracuse for what will (hopefully) be my final semester. And unlike most of my friends, who essentially have this semester off to finish off various credits for graduation, I still have some core courses to chug through. Oh well...one more semester. I'm really ready to stop taking classes and actually work on something practical. At least, this time, I've got a senior design project to tackle in place of a basic theory class. Still have 2 of those, but at least not 4 like last semester.
One of the biggest new issues that has come up in the past few months is my newfound interest in musical aptitude. Starting with Guitar Hero, I've moved on to the actual guitar and started to really learn how to play it. I've had the thing for 8 years now and picked it up every now and then to learn how to play an occasional song that I like, only to find that it's way too hard to play and I get bored. Well, now that my finger coordination has been spruced up from playing GH all the time, I've decided to actually learn how to play the thing rather than picking out songs. I bought a new set of strings and restrung my guitar, something it needed desperately considering they had never been changed before. I also bought 2 instructional songbooks, which are teaching me how to read notes and play without looking at my fingers. So far I've gone through the songs on the first through fifth strings, and I think once I get through all 6 strings they start bringing in chords and other stuff. I think it's actually working...each song seems pretty hard to play at first but by the next day it becomes pretty easy. And at the very least, I know a series of short melodies (Jingle Bells, Amazing Grace, Saints Go Marching In, etc.) and 1 song: Soul Meets Body by Deathcab For Cutie. The book didn't teach me that, I learned it on my own, but it was fairly easy.
In other guitar news, Dragonforce, a UK-based power metal band, plays hands down the fastest and longest guitar solos I have ever heard. Even better, their songs resemble drawn-out verions of Journey on steroids, which makes me happy.
Anyway. I spent the entire day cleaning the suite, which was trashed when I left it in December. We were too busy working on projects and studying for finals to care about it at the time, so everything was a dirty mess when I got back. I rearranged the common room, picked up everything off the floor, organized messy desktops, cleaned the bathroom...it was a productive day.
I'm managing my Netflix account right now, and the site FINALLY decided to wake up and process. I get free unlimited rentals for the next 3 months, which is quite a sweet deal when you consider the option of burning. First on my list is all of the Family Guy seasons that I don't have on DVD, followed by Scrubs season 6. After that, I don't know...probably random movies that I've wanted to see but never rented. I could go with Transformers, but I won't resort to a burned copy of that movie...that one deserves a purchase.
Well, this is getting to the point of rambling so I think I'll come up with a way to finish it off. I'm going to expect a couple of things to happen this year, and I'm going to try my best to see them through.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS:
-Graduate with above a 3.0 GPA
-Play guitar well enough to the point where I no longer feel guilty inside when I tell people I can play guitar
-Score more than 1 point in the BIG EAST outdoor meet (7th or better)
-Get a (real) job
-Clean my room and suite more than 3 times in the entire semester
-Spend more time down the hall
-Finish the Orion CEV project
In years past I would probably throw in something abut changing who I am as a person, becoming more sociable or having a different outlook on life. Not this time, though. I feel oddly comfortable with who I am, where I am and where I'm going.
Class in 7 hours and counting...
After a month of decompressing, lounging around and not doing much of anything, I am back at Syracuse for what will (hopefully) be my final semester. And unlike most of my friends, who essentially have this semester off to finish off various credits for graduation, I still have some core courses to chug through. Oh well...one more semester. I'm really ready to stop taking classes and actually work on something practical. At least, this time, I've got a senior design project to tackle in place of a basic theory class. Still have 2 of those, but at least not 4 like last semester.
One of the biggest new issues that has come up in the past few months is my newfound interest in musical aptitude. Starting with Guitar Hero, I've moved on to the actual guitar and started to really learn how to play it. I've had the thing for 8 years now and picked it up every now and then to learn how to play an occasional song that I like, only to find that it's way too hard to play and I get bored. Well, now that my finger coordination has been spruced up from playing GH all the time, I've decided to actually learn how to play the thing rather than picking out songs. I bought a new set of strings and restrung my guitar, something it needed desperately considering they had never been changed before. I also bought 2 instructional songbooks, which are teaching me how to read notes and play without looking at my fingers. So far I've gone through the songs on the first through fifth strings, and I think once I get through all 6 strings they start bringing in chords and other stuff. I think it's actually working...each song seems pretty hard to play at first but by the next day it becomes pretty easy. And at the very least, I know a series of short melodies (Jingle Bells, Amazing Grace, Saints Go Marching In, etc.) and 1 song: Soul Meets Body by Deathcab For Cutie. The book didn't teach me that, I learned it on my own, but it was fairly easy.
In other guitar news, Dragonforce, a UK-based power metal band, plays hands down the fastest and longest guitar solos I have ever heard. Even better, their songs resemble drawn-out verions of Journey on steroids, which makes me happy.
Anyway. I spent the entire day cleaning the suite, which was trashed when I left it in December. We were too busy working on projects and studying for finals to care about it at the time, so everything was a dirty mess when I got back. I rearranged the common room, picked up everything off the floor, organized messy desktops, cleaned the bathroom...it was a productive day.
I'm managing my Netflix account right now, and the site FINALLY decided to wake up and process. I get free unlimited rentals for the next 3 months, which is quite a sweet deal when you consider the option of burning. First on my list is all of the Family Guy seasons that I don't have on DVD, followed by Scrubs season 6. After that, I don't know...probably random movies that I've wanted to see but never rented. I could go with Transformers, but I won't resort to a burned copy of that movie...that one deserves a purchase.
Well, this is getting to the point of rambling so I think I'll come up with a way to finish it off. I'm going to expect a couple of things to happen this year, and I'm going to try my best to see them through.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS:
-Graduate with above a 3.0 GPA
-Play guitar well enough to the point where I no longer feel guilty inside when I tell people I can play guitar
-Score more than 1 point in the BIG EAST outdoor meet (7th or better)
-Get a (real) job
-Clean my room and suite more than 3 times in the entire semester
-Spend more time down the hall
-Finish the Orion CEV project
In years past I would probably throw in something abut changing who I am as a person, becoming more sociable or having a different outlook on life. Not this time, though. I feel oddly comfortable with who I am, where I am and where I'm going.
Class in 7 hours and counting...