Okay, so I'm not the greatest blogger in the world. Sue me. I don't update my page as often as I should/could because my life is filled with non-exciting things that aren't worth the time to share. I've also realized that no matter how short and concise I struggle to make my blog entries, I always end up with long posts which even I find somewhat unbearable. I've made the executive decision to put forth a concerted effort to reduce the length and wordiness of my posts. So far, this post has failed that initiative. But I'm gonna try...at some point.
So here's the latest on me for anyone who doesn't know. I am not actively working because I was hurt during a training exercise. I've been to the doctor and I officially have a completely torn ACL and a tear in my meniscus in my right knee. I will be scheduling surgery soon and it will most likely be towards the end of September. After that I will have rehab and the recovery process may take months before I can walk without a brace on and possibly nine months or so before I will be able to use my knee at full capacity. That's if everything goes to plan. Awesome.
Also, I've started taking a Spanish class which I've been wanting to do for years now. I have also been trying to plan out a trip to Costa Rica for a month or two after this semester is over. I figured an immersion trip would greatly increase my spanish fluency and also give me a kick ass vacation at the same time. I am fearful my knee may slow down my progress from spanish class by forcing me to have too many absences. The teacher's policy is that after four missed classes, regardless of reason, the student automatically receives a failing grade. He does this to encourage attendance and hopefully I may speak with him and work some deal out but I am not overly optimistic he'll be sympathetic to my situation. I am not even concerned about my grade, mostly. I am in the class to actually learn the language, not satisfy some school requirement in order to progress academically or graduate. On the other hand, being as competitive as I am, I will be very disappointed if I don't receive an "A" or maybe an "A+++," if they give those.
I had a lot of things I was looking forward to doing in the upcoming six months or so. The spanish classes, the Costa Rica trip, a trip to Eugene, Oregon to take a bicycle mechanics course for work (and then visit my buddy Scott in Portland while I was on left coast), maybe some other traveling, I have my vacation coming up in a week, trips to Atlantic City (which may occur in October with some work buddies who told me about the trip last night), and other things.
I am hoping to hobble my way through all of these. And blog about them of course. But not lengthy, long worded blogs. Short, concise blogs that don't have much flowery language. Or short sentences. One day I will get it right.
Good day to you.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Mi nombre es Billy Madison
Remember Billy Madison's first day of high school (the second time) when he drove up in his Firebird rocking out to Billy Squier's The Stroke? I felt a twinge of that same older-person-in-younger-atmosphere on Monday, the first day of classes of the fall semester.
I had registered for class, paid my tuition, had my lunch packed up and boots tied tight and was on my way to the first day fall semester classes Monday at the illustrious university known as Northern Virginia Community College. I had attended this fine institution for a short time earlier in life just after high school but am now returning in order to acquire some Spanish skillz.
There were a few key differences that I noted right away. The first is that the school added a new building in the past few years and the majority of the classes are held in that building instead of the old. The parking lots have been expanded and some landscaping has changed, but the old building is pretty much the same. The library has the same 1970's look and feel to it, save the updated computers. I was pleased for the school to notice that while they still had desktop computers on their desktops all of the monitors were flat screens. It shows that the school can make some progress, even if it is just progressing to the early 2000s.
As I was walking on the sidewalk to find my Spanish class I observed two Indian girls (dots, not feathers) speaking with one another. This is a typical scene because those people are everywhere so I didn't pay much attention to it. As I looked away from the girl who was talking to the girl who was listening I immediately had a moment a clear recognition. I recognized the listening girl as Jyoti Ngongogo. That's not her last name but I guarantee it's eerily similar. I never knew her last name, just her first. I knew her as a fellow student who also participated in the same process I did to transfer to Virginia Tech. I walked past the two girls without saying anything. We weren't really friends then and I don't want to be friends now. That would be an interesting conversation though. "Hey, Jyoti. Remember me from a biology class we had here over ten years ago?" "No."
While walking through the new building toward my third floor classroom I noticed the campus buzzing with people new to the "college life" and just hanging out between classes. Those were the days. No real focus, no real responsibility. It all reinforced how far I've gone from then till now and hammered home those differences. There were some basic differences between my first NOVA experience and this one. First, I drove my own car, not my mom's. It seemed that everyone who was hanging out and not engaged in gossiping about their most recent Facebook extravaganza was on a cell phone, half chatting, half texting. I also noticed a handful of people waiting along the curb waiting to be picked up by a parent or friend. This is also when I realized that the majority of these people still live at home.
I got to the classroom and took a seat in the little desk/chair combo things. It's been a while since I sat in one of these and it brought back fond memories of learning. The teacher walked in and the class eventually quieted down. He took "roll" and everyone was said "here" except for one girl who should probably be in an advanced course because she apparently knows some Spanish already. When her name was called, she he said "aqui."
The teacher appeared to be in his fifties, wore khakis with a tucked in polo shirt which was stretched over his belly, grey hair, and had dark-framed glasses. You could kinda tell by the way he walked in, but when he began speaking you could tell he was super Fabulous!
I think the teacher and the class will be great. I've already connected some dots of Spanish that I already had. I feel like I may pick this language up with no issues and be great at it.
Wish me Bon Chance! ...I mean, Buena Suerte!
I had registered for class, paid my tuition, had my lunch packed up and boots tied tight and was on my way to the first day fall semester classes Monday at the illustrious university known as Northern Virginia Community College. I had attended this fine institution for a short time earlier in life just after high school but am now returning in order to acquire some Spanish skillz.
There were a few key differences that I noted right away. The first is that the school added a new building in the past few years and the majority of the classes are held in that building instead of the old. The parking lots have been expanded and some landscaping has changed, but the old building is pretty much the same. The library has the same 1970's look and feel to it, save the updated computers. I was pleased for the school to notice that while they still had desktop computers on their desktops all of the monitors were flat screens. It shows that the school can make some progress, even if it is just progressing to the early 2000s.
As I was walking on the sidewalk to find my Spanish class I observed two Indian girls (dots, not feathers) speaking with one another. This is a typical scene because those people are everywhere so I didn't pay much attention to it. As I looked away from the girl who was talking to the girl who was listening I immediately had a moment a clear recognition. I recognized the listening girl as Jyoti Ngongogo. That's not her last name but I guarantee it's eerily similar. I never knew her last name, just her first. I knew her as a fellow student who also participated in the same process I did to transfer to Virginia Tech. I walked past the two girls without saying anything. We weren't really friends then and I don't want to be friends now. That would be an interesting conversation though. "Hey, Jyoti. Remember me from a biology class we had here over ten years ago?" "No."
While walking through the new building toward my third floor classroom I noticed the campus buzzing with people new to the "college life" and just hanging out between classes. Those were the days. No real focus, no real responsibility. It all reinforced how far I've gone from then till now and hammered home those differences. There were some basic differences between my first NOVA experience and this one. First, I drove my own car, not my mom's. It seemed that everyone who was hanging out and not engaged in gossiping about their most recent Facebook extravaganza was on a cell phone, half chatting, half texting. I also noticed a handful of people waiting along the curb waiting to be picked up by a parent or friend. This is also when I realized that the majority of these people still live at home.
I got to the classroom and took a seat in the little desk/chair combo things. It's been a while since I sat in one of these and it brought back fond memories of learning. The teacher walked in and the class eventually quieted down. He took "roll" and everyone was said "here" except for one girl who should probably be in an advanced course because she apparently knows some Spanish already. When her name was called, she he said "aqui."
The teacher appeared to be in his fifties, wore khakis with a tucked in polo shirt which was stretched over his belly, grey hair, and had dark-framed glasses. You could kinda tell by the way he walked in, but when he began speaking you could tell he was super Fabulous!
I think the teacher and the class will be great. I've already connected some dots of Spanish that I already had. I feel like I may pick this language up with no issues and be great at it.
Wish me Bon Chance! ...I mean, Buena Suerte!
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