Showing posts with label Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Living. Show all posts

I still have a life, am living it

As warned, blogging has been cut down quite a bit since school has started. I am still alive, however. So that is good news.

I am taking 12 credits worth of classes, working about 12 hours a week, and spending time with my internship at Unnamed Media Company (UMC). And I do not feel that stressed out... yet. Any deviation from my schedule might do just that, however. 

Tuesday nights this summer were spent bowling with some friends. I have decided to keep that up over this semester, to ensure that I make at least some effort to socialize. Some semesters I bury myself in homework and barely see any friends - apart from the ones I work with - so that has been great for me as well. Except since the semester started, the stress has obviously kicked in and affected by bowling game, bringing me down from scoring 100+ a game to being fortunate to get 70 points. I think I need to use the bumpers.

I have two discussion classes this semester. These 400-level classes are spent with students doing reading and talking about what was read, while the teacher facilitates what goes on. This works great for one class where it is just four people talking. 

I have more or less adjusted to the Grand Valley State University Allendale campus. I know where my buildings are, and I think I know where all the other classes are. I can get from building to building in just a few minutes. Most buildings are not too big, either. Except for Mackinaw Hall, where one can expecting to find a shopping mall hidden inside that labyrinth. 

Grandpa J. had a small stroke. He's fine. He lost half his vision. That's about all I can say in a nutshell about that.

I assume the rest of the family is doing okay. I barely see them. 

The new television season is starting to come back. I have never missed 24 less. 

Heroes decided that "villains" means having some generic no-good-doers look menacing while everyone else becomes morally ambiguous. The Office decided that after receiving harsh criticism for their hour-long episodes last season to open this season with another hour-long installment. Smart! 

Bones has not yet found a replacement for Zach in the lab. This past week's episode seems to hint that we're just a season away from the serial-killer-apprentice being reinstated to the land of the squints. House remains as comfortable has it always has. If only they would update the theme song with the other half of their cast. Ugly Betty remains the brightest thing I ever did see. Now that the show is filmed in New York City, I can try to identify places they are filming at that I recognize. So far: Times Square, and maybe that sprawling graveyard, which were all over the ride from LaGuardia to Manhattan. 

I'm looking forward to the return of 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies and Private Practice. And Chuck, but, they debuted it one week prior to television broadcast, so it's already kind of come back for me.

Work is going fine at the Family Dining Establishment. People start, people leave, it's the perpetual revolving door. I get sad when people cut back on their hours. Then I remember I did the same this semester. It feels more wrong when others do that, though.

The internship at UMC is going good. A little... (complicated?) at times. But I am very fortunate to be working with some very nice people. I was afraid it would be a "stereotypical" newsroom with angry, egotistical people, but, I also have not met everyone. Those I have, do not fit the mold. Unless I am one of those people and I just don't recognize others like me.

I will probably be getting some more free time in a few weeks. The ratings for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have been hemorrhaging lately. If that gets cancelled, I'll gain an hour on Monday nights. Until Samantha Who? comes back, that is.

IKEA Idea

Yesterday, I traveled with some of the family to the IKEA store in the outer metro Detroit area. My goal was to purchase a couple lamps. I did not really go in intending to buy anything else. I even gave myself a small spending limit.... which I maxed out. I went from not buying anything there to turning stuff down because I would go over my budget.The store, if you have never been to one, is separated into two parts. The first part, located on the second floor, is the "showroom," in which they have all their furniture and decorations used in real-life settings. There are dozens of model bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms, and the like scattered throughout. This gives you an oppertunity to see their products in a relatable setting. Then the second floor is the actual store, where you can buy the items you just saw.The items I bought would go to my eventual apartment, dorm, house, or back alley. I bought: - The 2-pack of GRÖNÖ lamps - An ironing board, on sale for $8 - Pot holders, $0.99 - Toilet brush/holder, $0.99 - 3 rubber spatulas (2 black, 1 white), $0.59 each - 3-piece kitchen utensil kit, $0.59 - Kitchen shears, $1.99 - 3-piece knife set, on sale for $0.89 - 3-pack of heat pads, $1.99 - 2-pack of bendable chopping boards, $1.79 Yes, I got an ironing board. It was on sale, and I'll need one someday. It's not pretty, but, it is functional, and that's all that I require out of an ironing board. I do look forward to going back to IKEA in the future, and spending more time in their store. Especially their kitchen area, which, if you didn't notice, is where I got a lot of my items this time, and where I'm sure to buy from again.