12 October 2007
11:02 PM
Academic update: C on my first WRIT 140 essay, C+ on my POSC 130 essay.
I'm totally over it. I'm just gonna let my GE classes fuck my GPA. But they can't be so screwed that I don't get the MGM Mirage Family Scholarship next year. My mom needs all the help she can get to pay for my tuition =/
I only managed to squeeze out a little over four pages for my essay about political cartoons that was supposed to be 5-7 pages long. Most other people I talked to had trouble writing a lot, too. That's good for me because I won't be the only person who failed to meet the length requirement. I'm just glad I got anything written down after putting the thing off for so long. I started writing the essay at like, 5:00 PM the day before it was due. I might've worked on it over the weekend if my friends weren't in town. Speaking of... Let's move on to the fun stuff =)
I stayed up pretty late on Thursday night waiting for the guys to show up, but not late enough, since Dallas' car was running too hot on the way here, so they had to drive slower, and since they got a little lost just before they got here. They woke me up at about 4:20, when they were outside. They parked in one of the lots that required a parking permit, and as a result, found a ticket for $50 placed on the windshield the next day =x. Whatev. We decided to split it four ways to make it even. We chilled in my apartment for a couple hours before going to sleep, getting set up with the bed situation and whatnot.
When I woke up Friday morning and got ready to go to Calculus, it definitely didn't look like anybody was willing to go with me, as they had all planned to. The only one consciously awake when I left was Dallas, who would've gone if I didn't have to be in class in ten minutes, or if he had had his own transportation (I was in my rollerblades, as always).
I should mention here that a couple weeks ago, I replaced my rollerblade wheels and bearings. For the first couple weeks, the back wheel on my right skate rolled funny, like it was lop-sided. I just figured it had slid too much once while breaking, and that part of the wheel was worn down too much. After long enough, however, it became apparent that the case was not the condition of the rubber, but of the wheel itself. The plastic casing was actually what was broken, causing part of the wheel to bend in every time I put weight on it. Eventually, the break in the plastic got worse, and it got to the point where I couldn't take it. So, I borrowed Charles' bike and headed out to Sport Chalet. Keep in mind that Charles' bike was designed for children under 4' tall, that his front tire was flat when I first got on it, and that the area around USC isn't the safest place to be traveling alone. I rode the bike to the nearest car wash to fill the tires up on air, and then proceeded to ride the rest of the 7.2 mile journey to Sport Chalet. Crazy, I know. It wasn't a good idea, considering I don't know the streets in LA at all and by the time I left Sport Chalet, it was already dark. I think it was good for me, though. It got me out of this little bubble of a neighborhood I've been in since I moved here, and it helped me gain some knowledge of the businesses around here, not to mention I have new wheels that are about two centimeters wider than my old ones, which makes going over cracks in the sidewalk a lot smoother.
Well, now that I've gone completely off topic...
I went to class, bought some milk on the way back so the guys could have breakfast, and then hung out in the apartment for awhile. After everybody had showered and gotten ready, we left for the movie theater to catch Across the Universe. Well, we got kinda lost on the way, and since it is LA, we hit decent traffic, so we didn't make it to the movie theater on time. Once we got to The Grove, where the movie theater was, we decided to go instead to see Resident Evil: Extinction first, and then movie hop to Across the Universe. I really enjoyed both movies. The plots of the Resident Evil movies are decent, and those movies are filled with action and sexy actresses, so I don't have anything to complain about. Across the Universe was really, really good. I know I always say I'm an Elvis guy as opposed to a Beatles guy, but this musical-movie was spectacular. It made me wish I listened to more Beatles music, because if I had, I'd have understood more of the little quirks that related to the Beatles. Maybe I will start listening to them more.
After the movies, we came back to my apartment, hung out for a bit, and then went to Parkside Restaurant for dinner. On the way there, I made a deal with the guys that I would pay the share of the parking ticket to the person who stole me the most silverware, because the silverware I currently had had already rusted. It was a fair trade, getting silverware for $12.50 plus the $36 of my meal plan's dining dollars I had to pay to get the guys into the restaurant because they wouldn't let me use my meals on anybody but myself. In the end, Dallas, with 21 pieces of silverware, lost to Chris, with 24 pieces. Though, it was an even closer call than that, because Chris took two soup spoons, which I totally don't think I'm ever going to need to use, haha!
While we were eating, we talked about a lot of stuff. Nothing really specific - nothing that stuck out in my mind - just talked. We joked around a lot, and couldn't stop laughing because of it and because of the noises that Dallas and Chris' pockets were making with so much silverware in them. I think it was at the table that night in the cafeteria that I realized how much I was enjoying myself. I hadn't been that happy or had that much fun since before I left Las Vegas. It made me realize that these guys will always be my best friends. No distance or time interval between our visits will limit the amount of joy we bring each other by just hanging out and being ourselves. It gave me a real feeling of security.
After dinner, we laughed our way back to the apartment, Chris and Dallas' pockets jingling all the way. The initial plan was to find some parties on Friday night, but we were a little worn out from the day by the time night rolled around. Dallas fell asleep early, followed by Chris, and I crashed out waiting for Niki to finish his online poker tournament. The next day, all of us but Niki were up by noon, and went to Chipotle for lunch. We brought Niki back a burrito, but he didn't eat much of it, so he left it in the fridge for me to finish off. It was a good thing that I didn't invite a whole lot of people to my place to party that night, because we decided instead to go visit Dallas' cousin Chris O in Mission Viejo. We drove the 60 miles out to his house, met up with him and his friend Ashley, and then drove out to T-Street, the beach relatively nearby. It was kinda fun trying to catch waves on boogie boards, but I think I enjoyed tumbling on the beach the most. The last time I had gone to the beach, I could do a standing back tuck, but I couldn't do many back handsprings in a row. I think I did at least seven or eight in a row on the sand.
After the beach, all of the guys quickly showered at Chris O's house and then we went to the football game at Mission Viejo High School. The home team was playing a team with a higher rank than theirs, but everything about the game was impressive nonetheless. The stadium seats were concrete, as opposed to the really shitty ones at Durango High. Since the other team was nationally ranked, the game was nationally televised. The field was a rich green and it was painted with just as much vibrance. The marching band, which Chris O tells us is the best high school marching band in the nation, was amazing at the half-time show. The cheerleaders were pretty good, too. I didn't see any of them do any fulls or anything like that, but I'm sure they could have if they wanted to, because their back tucks were really high.
Shortly after the start of the second half, we all decided to leave because the game had already been lost to the visiting team. We went back to Chris O's, all but Chris and Ashley went out to pick up Taco Bell, and after we finished and Chris O's parents had gone to sleep, we started to drink the Bacardi and Skyy I brought. Chris went to sleep, because he didn't want to drink. I played a little ping-pong, which was fun, but nothing was really that interesting while it was just Niki, Dallas, Chris O, and me drinking. Later in the night, Chris O's friends Bryce and Kaya came over with a couple of girls, Michelle and Allie. I thought Allie was pretty cute, but by the time everybody showed up, I was too drunk to do anything about it. We drank a little more, then decided to go down the street to the park by Chris O's house. I got the bright idea in my head to do more back handsprings, which went well... until I collapsed in the middle of one and bit the inside of my upper lip/lightly scraped my upper lip/nearly broke my nose. Haha! I also participated in a foot race at the park, for some reason; don't ask me why. After heading back to Chris O's, I don't remember much at all. I woke up the next day and asked everybody to assure me that I hadn't puked at any point last night. Chris O told me I snored so loud that people left, haha. Niki also said that I got in some kind of dispute over which Soulja Boy dance is better. After I woke up, I was still a little drunk/hungover, and it showed when Chris O's mom talked to me about my SAT's and I couldn't quickly add up my score from the first time I took them. Other than the addition, I guess I managed to hold a decent conversation.
We drove back from Chris O's, everybody grabbed their stuff, and we headed out to Dallas' car to say our goodbyes. Once packed up, however, Dallas' car wouldn't start. We couldn't tell what was wrong with it, but eventually, after letting it sit long enough, it did start. We said goodbye one more time and they were on their way.
That entire weekend was the best I've had in a long time. I can't wait until I have a car. Whenever I get a weekend that isn't too restricted by homework, I'm going to drive up to Vegas to hang out with my friends.
Well, here it is, October 12th, and I've kept my word from a couple entries back. After all was said and done, I managed to maintain my financial goal. After transferring $25 to Chris for the parking ticket, paying for the things I did over the weekend, and transferring $10 to Niki to protect him from overdrafting, I had $233.26 left in my bank account. My mom added $200 to that on Tuesday, which made just enough to buy my Powerizers for $429.99. I ordered them as soon as I got a chance. They're in transit now. By the next time I post, I should have a little bit of practice time in on them. I'm pretty excited, heh. Until next week, though, I have to manage not to spend anything, because I only have $3.13 left in my bank account ($0.14 to Chris to save him from overdrafting).
My tumbling gets better every time I go out to the quad. Yesterday, I did a standing back handspring, back tuck, back handspring, back tuck, back handspring, and I think I did a few good X-outs, too. I also joined some people yesterday who were playing frisbee, and caught the frisbee once in mid-backflip. Though, I for sure need to get better at throwing frisbees, haha.
I went to this thing in my RA's apartment last night that was kinda about the Islamic celebration of Eid. The only informative thing about it was contained in a couple of printed pages that explained it, but it was a fun experience nonetheless. At first, people were waiting for others to show up, so a couple of guys and I started a small poker tournament - no money involved, just chips. I played a fairly tight game, and ended up in second place. I probably could've won if the other guy and I had played seriously at the end, but by then, there were enough people there to be, as Anthony Cools says, 'sociable,' so I just ended it. I met a lot of Pakistani people and others, most with names I couldn't say correctly at first, much less spell. One girl reminded me a bit of Nikita, with her sarcasm and such, but if I got to know her more, she'd probably turn out to be cooler, probably because Nikita's a titch. If I can find her on Facebook, I'll talk to her - if not in pursuit of a relationship, then just for another friend around here, which I still need more of.
I'm done writing for now. I hope you enjoyed. I certainly did.
Be easy
Vaniah Schwenoha
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