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Good news on the Senior Project
Well after working on my senior project all semester it is finally coming to an end. I have done a lot of reading, a lot that was really hard to decipher, and a lot of messing around with data that was so big that it would crash my computer on several occasions, but I am almost done with my project. I just had one of my final meetings with my adviser, Professor Dan Shaffer, and all I need to do is make a new map and write up a report. It will all be done by Friday, and then that is one class down, and only a couple more to go. This news was greatly appreciated because a lot of things haven't gone my way this week. I got my test back in computer science, and I definitely did not do as well as I hoped to, or at least realistically thought I did. It's really frustrating but I have to move on and make up my efforts with my remaining assignments and the final. Speaking of which, finals are only 4 weeks away! Incredible! That may seem like a bit of a while, but considering Thanksgiving is next week time is REALLY going to fly.
I really look forward to going home. Although I have gotten to see a lot of my family, and even my pets, I really miss home. Plus it's going to be a lot of fun being at home with all my friends hanging out. Even in the summer rarely are we ever in town all at the same time, so we really take advantage of the holidays when we are all in town at the same time. Plus how can I overlook the best part of all, the food! Now I know JMU is a well deserved #6 in food rankings in the country, but nothing will ever beat a meal made by my mom. Turkey, mashed potatoes, and my favorite canned cranberry sauce (I especially like it when it still is in can form.)
Well enough day dreaming about what is to come, and back to my usual marathon Wednesdays. Have a great day everyone!
Posted by Simeon on November 16, 2005 09:45 AM | Link | Email Simeon
Another Great Weekend at JMU
Well another weekend has gone by, and another week approaches. Thursday I took my CS test and it was not fun. I never expect tests to be fun, but still I was particularly overwhelmed with the information. I'm glad I did study as much as I did however, because despite my misery I think I did decent on the test - well, that is to say I don't think I failed the test. I'll find out my grade soon enough, but I'm just glad there are other things that we are graded on for the class other than exams. I can't believe my next test in that class will be my final! Where has the year gone?
Well this weekend my mom and grandpa came down for the football game, and my mom brought tons of great food. We were the best tailgate out there by far, food wise, and the DUKES WON! thus making another great Saturday.
Me, with my Mom and Grandpa at the game. Click to enlarge.
The rest of my weekend was pretty low key, not doing much except hanging out and watching TV. I've had a lot of work in my other classes the past week so this week doesn't look that stressful for me. I'm hopefully wrapping up my research with my Senior Project soon. My advisor is looking to have it done by Thanksgiving, so I'm going to try to wrap that up for him soon. And because of my CS test that class won't start giving me work until at least Tuesday, so I'm going to relish the time I have off before its back to the computer screen and the Java language.
Not much else to write for now, have a great day!
Posted by Simeon on November 14, 2005 01:57 PM | Link | Email Simeon
This week is flying by
I can't believe it's Thursday already! I seriously thought that I just wrote a blog entry yestersday. Well my week has been a particularly interesting one. This week has been a water polo free one, so I've had a lot of time to do the things that I wouldn't normally be able to do because I was always at practice, or making up work that I could have been doing had I not been going to practice. I had a study session for my upcoming computer science exam, and had a fraternity meeting. Also a lot of my friends have been getting the flu so I made a couple house calls and ran some errands for them because they were too sick to get out of bed. I think the people at the drug store were looking at me funny because I bought 2 bottles of NyQuil.
Wednesday was a really interesting day for me because I had a administrator shadow follow me all day. As you may recall I am in a leadership class taught by our Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Warner. Well Dr. Warner also teaches a class for directors of various administrative areas, about student administration leadership. In this class he made the directors shadow a student for an entire day. Dr. David Onestack, the director of the Counseling and Student Development Center, was assigned to shadow me. So he and I went to all my Wednesday classes, meetings, my work, and other appointments I had that day. Basically all we did is go through my normal routine, and just hold casual conversation all day. We talked about everything from what I'm looking forward to, and what being a senior is like, to what a Facebook account is. In turn we also talked about what he does. It was really interesting talking to him, and finding out more about a service that I really don't know much about. The CSDC is an incredible service available to all JMU students, and it's run by some pretty incredible people. JMU students are so lucky, and I don't know how many even realize it.
Today is going to be a very relaxed day. I don't have any classes because my one class of the day is computer science and the lab was cancelled because of our test later tonight. So besides writing this blog all I'm doing today is studying, relaxing, and eating brainfood so my brain is good and fresh at 7pm tonight.
Well that's all for now, talk to you all soon.
Posted by Simeon on November 10, 2005 09:28 AM | Link | Email Simeon
Water Polo This Weekend
Well this past weekend my Water Polo team hosted our second tournament of the season. This weekend was our championship weekend and it was, as alway, an enjoyable time. My mom came down for the weekend to watch the games and for us to catch up. I haven't been home at all this semester, except for that one night when I went up to University of Maryland for another water polo tournament, so it was really great to see her. We spent our whole Saturday at UREC pool either watching or playing water polo. Our team did really well this weekend. We were ranked 3rd going into the tournament, and won our first two games against two solid teams. One was UNC who won Championships last season, and then VT who we lost to at our last home tournament two weeks ago in overtime. The Tech game was a particularly satisfying win considering we barely lost by 1 goal in the final seconds last time we played. We unfortunately lost our third and last game of the day, 15-12, to Duke. So we ended up 3rd in our division this year. I was so proud to consider myself a member of the team this year. This team was an especially great one that I'm glad to be a part of. Great season guys!
Besides my mom watching me play polo, she also took me out grocery shopping (one of the best parts of my weekend honestly). Parents visiting is the best! My mom totally spoiled me. We got ready for the final tailgating of my JMU career by buying lots of food for the game next week, as well as lots of food for the desperately empty refrigerator that I came home to for the past 2 weeks. She also took me out to eat, which I haven't done a lot considering I am your typical poor college student who can't afford to go out to eat a lot. With all of this weekend so packed with sports and family, I really didn't have time to do a lot of other things *coug*schoolwork*cough* so Sunday was a bit of a crazy night for me. I had to complete another programming assignment, and I'm also starting to study for my CS test I have on Thursday. I did fairly well on my last test, so I'm hoping to get a lot of studying in, because I have a bad feeling that this test is going to be A LOT harder. I'm not looking forward to it, but I can't wait until it is over.
Well that's all for now. Hope everyone has a great week!
Posted by Simeon on November 7, 2005 03:15 PM | Link | Email Simeon
I Love JMU
Well, first off sorry it's taken me so long to update you on the exciting life of me. As I told you last time, this past weekend was Homecoming weekend. It was by far the best Homecoming I have had yet. Unfortunately we didn't beat Richmond and now we have no chance of making the playoffs which is very dissapointing, but there was so much more to celebrate this weekend that I didn't stay upset for very long.
On Friday I went to volunteer at the Big Brothers Big Sisters club house to meet my newly assigned little brother. Well unfortunately my little brother wasn't there, so I didn't get to meet him which was dissapointing. But I made plans with the club house and now I am going to volunteer there 2 times a week. I'm really looking forward to it because I get to play basketball and hang out with elementary and middle schoolers all afternoon. It's going to be a great way to destress I'm sure. Nothing like talking with a 9 year old and learning how much of life they see through their eyes and how much I miss.
After going to the BBBS club house, I went Halloween costume shopping. We had a lot of ideas but we decided on going as "Care Bears", and it was hilarious. Two guys over six feet tall dressed from head to toe in baby blue and pink respectively is a sight to see. It was a lot of fun preparing the costumes as well. After that we went to the Homecoming parade, where we watched all the different organizations display the floats they had worked on and grab all the free candy they were throwing out. Also another chance for my friends and I to get a free picture in with the Duke Dog. After the parade we went to the Pep Rally where we received the legendary JMU "Purple Out" shirts. For all of those who may not be familiar with this tradition, every year at the Homecoming Pep Rally our SGA gives away over 2,000 of these shirts. And they are about the most coveted shirt on Homecoming weekend.
click to enlarge
Saturday I had to wake up early to help volunteer and coordinate UREC's annual Homecoming 5K. It was pretty chilly, and considering it was 8am nothing had warmed up yet and I froze cheering on the racers. Saturday we also had a tailgate with the alumni in my fraternity Phi Sigma Pi. It was great to see them all. I saw a lot of them last week at our friends wedding, but it was nice to hang out with them yet again. This was my last Homecoming as a student at JMU and it got me a little sentimental, but it's nice to know that I will come back to this next year as an alumni as well.
This past monday I registered for all my classes. I'm taking all the ones I explained in my previous entry. I'm taking Advanced Spatial Analysis, Wilderness Techniques, GPS, and Cultural Geography. But I also preemptively signed up for a class that is way left of what I am used to. I'm taking Basic Acting, a theatre class. I've never done anything like this before and that is precisely why I'm doing it. Over the summer I realized that I enjoyed being on stage and acting out, although I was just being myself, in front of people. I want to see what I have when it comes to the theatre and how it is done in a more professional manner. Plus, it being my senior year, when am I ever going to have another opportunity to take acting lessons? This is what college is about, stretching your borders and discovering more about yourself then even you realized.
Well that's all for now, have a great day!
Posted by Simeon on November 2, 2005 01:34 PM | Link | Email Simeon
