I Went to Spring Break and all you will get is this Blog
Hey everyone,
Well I made it back from Spring Break all in one piece and am getting back into high gear with all my school work. I went on a cruise with a bunch of friends on my water polo team and we all had a blast. The cruise left from Charleston, SC and traveled to the Grand Cayman Island, then on to Cozumel, and finally at Key West before heading home back to Charleston. I don't want to bore you with all the details of all my adventures but I will let you know that a bad day in the Caribbean beats a good day anywhere else... except JMU of course.
Coming back home was a little rough as is to be expected. I had to hit the ground with my feet running because this past Tuesday I had a midterm in my Wilderness Techniques class. I don't really know how well I did on the test which makes me uneasy since I have no idea. But I can't stress out about it now because what will be will be.
In other news the job hunt is coming in full steam. I'm going to a career fair next Monday, where the U.S. Census will be represented. I never really thought about a job with them before and I'm not really looking for a career right now, but it's a starting point to go off on, so any job is a good job at this point. I'm also applying to more jobs online. I don't know what will come of these but it can't hurt. It's scary to think there are only 8 weeks left in my college career, so I don't really, but the job searching doesn't really allow me the liberty to let my mind wander too far from the subject. It's been a good run though so I can't complain.
Well that's all for now. Hope everyone has a good day.
Posted by Simeon on March 15, 2006 at 09:20 AM | Link | Email Simeon
One step closer to the BIG step
I know there is still a little more than half a semester left in my undergraduate career, however I still can't help but feel the push to find a job. A lot of my friends have already secured jobs for next year and now I'm really starting to feel the pressure as well. It's crazy to think that in just a couple of months, for the first time in 18 years, I will not be going to school next year. Life for me has been pretty good and consistent. There were a certain number of things that I knew always would happen, the sun would rise and set, my mom would nag me about having a dirty room, and I would go to school. Now that is not the case and I don't know what to do. Well really I do, but still the thought of going out into the great unknown is scary and exhilarating at the same time.
I am applying for several year long internships through the organization "The Student Conservation Association." Now I'm applying for these interships because they offer me the opportunity to travel and live outside of the VA area. The SCA actually will provide me housing and a living stipend for the year, so I have taken this opportunity and applied for internships in Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, and even Hawaii. I don't know when I'll find out about these but then again I'm not in the biggest rush right now either, I can always just bum off my parents for the time being (just kidding Mom).
Besides the internship I've also applied for several jobs mostly in the VA/DC Metro area near where I live. No harm in living at home and saving up money so I can get my own place sometime soon. This is just one option right now, but we'll see where it takes me.
Well that's all for now, Hope everyone has a great day!
Posted by Simeon on February 27, 2006 at 03:44 PM | Link | Email Simeon
The Snow was just a big tease
Well what an action packed week once again for the ordinary life of Simeon Teopaco!
Last week was my birthday and so I got to celebrate it, which I am really thankful I was able to do considering how sick I was the week before. Turning 22 isn't that special. I didn't have anything to look forward to - in fact I felt like it was the beginning of me getting old. However I got over those feelings quickly, and had a great time on my birthday. My best friends took me out to Outback where we continued to stuff ourselves to the point of gluttony. I usually don't eat out that much so this was a real treat. On Saturday my family came down and I celebrated my birthday with them again. We didn't do much but talk and I enjoyed it a lot. Not until I see my family again do I realize how much I miss them sometimes.
In my classes there isn't a lot going on. In Advance Remote Sensing we're still working on a project with Blacks Run Greenway on doing spatial analysis of the creek that runs through Harrisonburg and a lot of Rockingham County. Right now we haven't done that much, but I think in the next week things will really start to pick up because with spring break coming up all the teachers feel the push to get a lot of assignments in before we go on vacation. Another project I am beginning to work on is one in my GPS class. A group of us in the class are working with Potomac Appalachian Trail Club plotting a section of the trail which the club oversees. I'm really excited to begin working on this project because I'm going to be applying my skills in a real project, which is always beneficial and fun, and this means that I'm going to get to do a lot of hiking and camping, which is definitely a lot of fun.
Well that's all that's been going on with me, Have a great day!
Posted by Simeon on February 22, 2006 at 02:30 PM | Link | Email Simeon
So guess who was sick all weekend
Well this weekend and part of this week I was about the most sick guy at JMU. No exageration... really. I stayed in bed all weekend, for the most part. I suffered from about the worst sore throat I've ever had, so eating was not really an option. It was kind of bad timing as well because this weekend was the heaviest snow storm we will probably receive this winter and I did not get to have any fun in it. Oh well, at least it wasn't on my birthday which is this Thursday. I'm not that excited about this birthday because I'm turning 22. It's all downhill from here I think. There's nothing for me to look forward to anymore. It's kind of depressing really.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was assesment day. JMU makes all Sophomores take assesment testing to test how much they all know. Seniors take assesment tests too, but it is up to the discretion of the department. For our department, we took a quick test and then had a meeting with the Department Head of the ISAT and Geography programs. It was really great timing to have this talk because we were just notified last week that the Geography Department is going to be restructured. The department is going to gear its degree towards more GIS oriented classes. Right now there is a lot of confusion on what is happening, but after the meeting yesterday I think a lot more things were cleared up and will only continue to get more clear.
Talk to you all later, Have a great day!
Posted by Simeon on February 15, 2006 at 08:51 AM | Link | Email Simeon
I don't know if you remember me...
Wow...that's all I can say right now due to the long absence from my blog. I apologize to ALL my loyal readers and promise that a drought this long will never happen again. A lot has happened since I last wrote - I mean, a lot will happen to anyone in 2 weeks. Classes are rolling along, especially my Advanced Remote Sensing class. We are still working on the project of the local stream here, Blacks Run. So far we have been doing a lot of image analysis on the area surronding the stream, and the factors which affect it. Soon though we will be done with Blacks Run and will be taking on our own projects for remote sensing, so it should be interesting to see what I will eventually work on.
My basic acting class is going along superbly. I really enjoy the class, and it is so nice to try a curriculum entirely different than the one I have been doing since my Freshman year. We are starting to do scenes now and soon I will be acting out in front of my entire class. I'm really excited about it.
I would really like to write more right now but I can't. I think I'm coming down with the flu and it is really taking its toll on me. My throat is sore, and my body aches. I think I'm going right to bed after I write this.
I'll talk to you all when I'm all better.
Posted by Simeon on February 09, 2006 at 01:23 PM | Link | Email Simeon
In the 3rd Week of Classes Already!
Wow time flies, I can't believe it's already the third week of classes for me. I have a lot in store in the next couple of weeks so let me recap.
In my Advance Remote Sensing class we are continuing work on our environmental assessment project on Blacks Run. Last week we did some GPS on several points around the stream so that we can use them as georeference points later on, to help us with the correctness of the data that we our analyzing on the stream. It was really nice getting out of the classroom and just walking along Blacks Run recording GPS coordinates. I am now working with my professor, Michaela Buenemann, on analyzing the history of Blacks Run and to see how the run has shifted over the years by looking in JMU's archives of aerial photographs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. I'm really excited to have this extra work because any experience I can get with such a real project I know will help me in the future.
Last week I also had the Mr./Ms. JMU Greek Pageant. I'm a little embarrassed to say but I actually won the pageant. It was a lot of fun doing it, although a bit nerve racking at times. But I knew it was all in good fun, and more importantly for a good cause, i.e. The Big Event. What was also really great though is that as part of my prize I won my organization $200 to put towards our philanthropy so I was really happy that I could contribute in such a way.
Some other really exciting news is that tomorrow I am going down to Tampa, FL! I know it sounds like a crazy random road trip, but I am actually going to a Water Polo tournament down there. The teams down there are usually really good so I don't know how well we'll do, but I'm not too worried about that. What I'm really looking forward to is the warmer weather, and the beach. It should be a nice change from the Shenandoah Valley, although lately the weather has been really nice here as well.
Well that's all for now, hope everyone has a great day!
Posted by Simeon on January 25, 2006 at 03:01 PM | Link | Email Simeon
One more week closer to the end of my undergrad career
Well, last week came and went with a blur. A lot happen in the days that I had not posted a blog and for that I apologize. Hopefully I will be able to recap everything else I had done the rest of the week. Well I have three other classes that I have attended besides the two I told you all about last week. I am also taking Basic Acting with Thomas Arthur, Wilderness Management with William Cook, and GPS with Dr. Jack Gentile.
Wilderness management sounds like it will be an interesting class. It won't be your standard lecture according to Professor Cook, but instead we will be going out into the field into areas that are designated as wilderness areas. Here we will learn about qualities which the government looks at when making it a wilderness area. We will also be investigating the wilderness in general to learn to appreciate it more. In the classroom we are learning about government regulations, because the government determines which areas will become protected and which areas could be used for timber, and other industrial resources. Learning all of this will hopefully prove me well in the future because I would like to try out the field of wilderness conservation at least for a while in my career.
In my GPS class we are learning the basic fundamentals of GPS. This is one of the classes that I am really excited about because GPS is turning into one of the fastest growing and most in demand technological fields in the geographic and business community. So far we learned the basics of how it works, and later on are going to learn how to collect data in the field with one of the several GPS units the GIS program has, as well as learning to process the data. It seems really interesting and I look forward to going to the class again.
Finally I have a class which seems to come stright out of left field, Basic Acting. An easy elective... maybe... but I think I could learn a lot in this class as well. I know that when I graduate I want to work with people, and what I am already learning is how to present myself better in front of my peers because of this acting class. Overall the class makes me more cognicent of my actions and words, and so I think taking this class will prove to be beneficial in the way I present myself. Plus I'll admit it, I like being the center of attention, so acting class seems like a natural fit.
Besides classes, last week I also got back into Water Polo. I did a lot of swimming leading up to the begining of practices. Also last week I started rehearsal for the Mr./Ms. Greek Pagent at JMU. The pagent is a fundraiser to help raise money for a campus wide volunteer event known as "The Big Event" wherein all of the JMU community comes out and volunteers in Harrisonburg. The pagent is between all of the Greek organizations that were willing to participate. I am representing my Honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi. Honestly I am just having a lot of fun with it, so I really am not taking this or myself to seriously and my talent and the way I dress I'm sure will show that. Hopefully there will be a photographer at the event so I can post some pictures of it later.
Also I enjoyed a long weekend this past week due to Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, so me and 8 of my friends spent the entire day hiking at a mountain a couple minutes from Natural Bridge called Devil's Marbleyard. Now I know I am not the most experienced hiker and definitely do not even consider myself a climber but the Marbleyard was probably one of the best, most fun, and coolest hikes/climbs you could probably ever do. I called it a hike/climb because the entire mountain consisted of huge boulders that we climbed all the way to the top. It was such a great view to look down from once we made it to the top, and it was also perfect weather. It was cool but not cold.
Climbing the marbleyard, and the creek on the trail up to the mountain.
Me and my best friend Sam having some fun crossing the creek, and maybe 1/7th of the mountain we scaled.
Overall it's been a great week and I can't wait to share more of it with you all later!
Posted by Simeon on January 19, 2006 at 08:31 AM | Link | Email Simeon
