Summer at Stony: Week Two

While week one here at Stony Brook University seemingly marked itself by being busy with personal obligations, adjusting to new people, and coming to grips with the new situation I found myself in, week two could have been considered just more of the same – but with different twists.

Classes on Monday gave me a first, specifically my first project due for a class this summer. In HIS 103 (America to 1877), my group and I gave a 20-minute lecture on colonial slave trade in the Thirteen Colonies, specifically referencing two advertisements given to us to base our project around. While the group before us was spectacular, I felt we did our best in the five days we were given and produced a respectable project. My other history class, History of Modern India, was later on that day. Nothing major to report on, but I surprisingly am finding myself interested in the class’ content.

Tuesday brought my sign language class, SLN 111, and my first quiz of the summer. I was terrified of this quiz going in, even if I didn’t show it while sitting with my classmates before class started. However, the professor took the quiz very slowly and deliberately, allowing me to feel very well about the results. My girlfriend came to visit later on that night, an unexpected surprise that boosted my lowering morale, as noticed last week.

Wednesday was a bit different. History 103 flew, but History 340 later that night seemed to be stalling. It might have been the pure fact I had a map quiz of India, a country whose geography, politics, and neighbors I know little to nothing about. Amazingly, in roughly 24 hours, I had learned about 90% of what I needed. The quiz, in turn, wasn’t so bad. Class was cut short by the instructor since he wasn’t feeling well, but it was no big deal for me – a friend had called and we picked up some dinner together.

On Thursday, my class was cancelled due to another professor’s illness. My weekend would start early and I took advantage of this by going home for my cousin’s birthday.

One note I’d like to make is on campus dining. With Chartwells gone and Lackmann in, the food content and prices have changed. I’ve tested what I can at the SAC dining hall. While prices here and there seem, on the average, up, the food content is way up. I’ve got a little bit of an addiction to the food being served because the taste is so good, or perhaps just so much better than what I remember from the last two years I’ve been here.

While my week might feel easy to a reader, it was still full of work and studying, mixed with personal moments and cooking. I have yet to experience my first “normal” week where I don’t go home and spend my entire weekend here. I’ll have more, I’m sure as I really start to adjust to summer life here at the Brook.

Don’t forget to follow along on Twitter on the trending topic #summeratstony!

Summer at Stony: Week 1 Conclusion

Please Note: This version of the blog entry is a raw and unedited version of the one that can be found the Stony Brook Independent blog section. There are slight changes there that were of importance. Sorry for any confusion.

Loneliness, surprise, fun, and hunger.

All those words could sum up my first week of summer classes here at Stony Brook University. It’s not like it’s been horrible, but it has been obviously a bit lonely without my friends here. It’s something that I came to grips with on Saturday night, feeling a bit of regret. However, a phone call with my girlfriend and I was talked through it. Woke up yesterday morning feeling great.

Obviously, this place is very intimidating when one’s friends aren’t around to simply say “hi” or have a bite to eat. It’s very different from my last few semesters, but has brought me some joys. In American Sign Language, I’ve found a new form of communicating that doesn’t involve me rolling my tongue or accenting my words. It’s English, relatively speaking, with my face and hands. Amen!

While cooking or making my own food isn’t completely new to me, having to do almost everyday is. When I can, I catch a bite at the redesigned SAC, but relatively keep to my own food making practices. I find myself a little more hungry before and after class, but come on- it’s a three-and-a-half-hour class each time out. I’m bound to be hungry sometime.

I think my biggest surprise so far has been where I’m living – the legendary West Apartments. In Building B, we have two doubles and two singles. I’m living in a double with a student from India. He’s very cool and rather interesting to talk to. Having lived in doubles in both Roth Quad and Tabler Quad, I can easily say that this room is the biggest I’ve ever had by far. Even after some moving around, I’m some 8-10 feet from my roommates bed when I’m sleeping. Finally, I can breathe without waking someone!

Overall, the first week has been hectic. Between extreme amounts of homework and readings to traveling back and forth for personal events, I’ve been a little fatigued, but doing well aside. In all, my experience is compeltely different from last summer, where I commuted for a single class, and I’m pretty content to say it’s going to be worth it.

Don’t forget to follow me daily along on Twitter at #summeratstony.

Summer at Stony: Day 5

Oh noes! I missed a few days! I’m not worried, are you?

Good.

Day 3 gave me my first American Sign Language class, which I surprisingly enjoyed more than I ever have in any other language class. Teaching is nice enough, but hasn’t spoken once! I wonder whether or not she truly is deaf. It doesn’t matter, but I’m waiting for the day of the final for her to surprise us by saying goodbye.

Rush after that for the Academy of St. Joseph prom with my girlfriend, Melanie. Great time, good music, and awesome people. I got to dance with Melly to “I’m Yours” (of Jason Mraz fame) by ourselves. It was amazing.

Got back to Stony Brook for Day 4 after a rough night in the wee hours of the morning. Sleep was hard to come by and went to HIS 103 finally. I really thought I’d like this professor, but he’s dicked me twice in one class. He interrupted an answer I was giving to a question he asked the class, which annoyed the fuck out of me. I couldn’t believe the group project on Monday, but really got annoyed when I was assigned the first project of the class which had little or no information to go on. Great. There were other ones we could have had, but he randomly chose us to go last.

I hate researching colonial times for a 100-level class. Stuff there is impossible to find easily.

HIS 340 was more of the same. Poor instructor stutters a lot through his accent like Porky Pig, and then he had to deal with a hippy-like kid who thought he was the shit and proved to be annoying. Good job.

Oh, and I learned Gandhi only lied once in his life. Yeah, okay…

Today was a little different – only one class. Encountered some usual SBU annoyances in the main Library SINC site- construction and ONE printer able to be used. Some moron decided to print about 40 pages… which caused the printer to run out of paper. I printed a second copy of my homework and ran upstairs to class. Again, class was good. I can’t get over how much I like ASL. It’s still going to take some studying (it’s not History or Journalism), but I’m not totally dreading a quiz on Tuesday. I want to get my colors, numbers, and fingerspelling down by Monday.

I actually cooked my first meal here today –  hotdogs and mac & cheese. Wasn’t too bad, but I also cooked my burgers later to make sure they’d last since the freezer makes me weary. It seems capable of freezer burn on an unknown level.

Overall, the experience is pretty good. I’m a little lonely not having any sign of my friends around, obviously, but being off campus a few times this week will keep me going. Wish me some luck on this stupid project. Ugh.

Summer at Stony: Day 2

The lamp so effed up, it's broked.

The day from hell.

Started out with a shock of a surprise… well, sort of.

I slept pretty well, waking up two or three times before 9 with my alarm set for 11. I was finally awoken by someone coming in at around 10, so I forced myself to wake up. My eyes, blurry without contacts or glasses, saw someone not like Alex, whom I was expecting. My words out of my mouth summed up the thought, actually.

“Hey… you’re not Alex…”

Seriously, first words this morning. Anyway, my new roommate is a senior from India. Good kid. Quiet, dull headached morning for me however. I spent twenty minutes shaving, then trying to find which bathroom I’d use. Shower closest to me scared me a bit by filling up the tub (think Roth tub room) while showering, so I chose the other one. Dressed and set, I had breakfast and left for class.

HIS 103: America to 1877. The professor, Mark Chambers, seems like a nice enough dude. RateMyProfessors says he would focus a lot on minorities and he showed that immeditatly. I don’t mind or anything, but just saying it was noticeable. We spent about an hour on a map that is rarely accepted by scholars and then he decided to let us have a 10 minute break 1 hour in. Kay…

Back in the room, he assigns us a group project for a summer class! The fuck dude?! We finally start taking notes when the power suddenly cuts off. Great, another power outage. I figured it was Physics/Math only since the guys were doing construction next door. Chambers continued for a bit, but realized it was getting hot in there and cancelled the rest of class. I think he noticed people weren’t exactly paying attention after that. It’s cool, it happens.

My humble media center... hah.

Saw my friend Theresa after and discussed the class. Headed to the SAC to find… the power out there too. Crap. I went home and moved my milk to the freezer… which led to another thing. Talked with the roomie and suitemates and then left in search of food. Forgot I had no cash and headed back for my bag. Then class was on again.

The view from my window... preeeetty!

HIS 340: Topics in Asian History – Modern India. If anyone was following on Twitter, the power came on AS I sat down in here. Great. Instructor spent about ten minutes hooking up his laptop to a project, rearranging us in the room and balancing the projector. It was something out of Looney Tunes, I swear. Class was a little on the boring side, mainly cause I have trouble following accents due to my dull ears. However, it’ll pick up with better slideshows and what not, so fear not.

Came home to a frozen gallon of milk and frozen burgers. Fuck. I hope the milk isn’t that bad, I need that for breakfast! Add to this burgers that wouldn’t thaw and a horrible headache – Dominos it was. Thus, the 2nd day ended.

Tomorrow should be better – sign language, then my girlfriend’s prom. I’m pretty excited to go and party after. I just have to figure out how I’m doing this. Oi. I am a last minute guy in a planner’s world.

Don’t forget to follow along on Twitter, when possibly, live each day at #summeratstony.

* Pictures are from yesterday.

Summer @ Stony: Day 1

Let’s start off with a simple “it wasn’t what I expected.”

Sure, the West Apartments beat Roth and Tabler Quads any day of the week, but my cousin made it a point that these seemed like they were more like West Philly than a Miami-like apartment complex. I’ll admit, West A-D are not like the E-I I’ve seen.

My kitchen isn’t as spectacular, the living and dining room is a little smaller, and my bathroom has a tub. I saw West II’s showers… and I have a tub. Talk about lowering expectations. I mean, the tub has a shower nossle, so no big deal, but that’s not the point.

The room is, as Alex described it, pretty big. Makes my Tabler room look small and Roth look smaller. I know I’ll have issues moving out with the fact that I’ve got somewhere between 6-8 ft between my roommate’s bed and mine. Weird when I’ve been introduced to barely 4 ft in Roth and maybe 5 in Tabler.

My day, however, started off way earlier than I wanted it to. Expecting to be woke up at 8am, my dear mother wakes me at 6 to pack the car. For a forty minute drive. At noon. Great. I got a bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich out of her for waking me so early and, yes, I was one pissed off guy. Who tells someone they’ll wake them up at 8 and then goes and does 6?! Did I add I didn’t get home until 1:30am the night before and then talked to my girlfriend until maybe 2:15? Jeez.

Ride out here was cool and easy. Got my suit for the prom, etc. etc.

Arriving at West B, I noticed immediately that there are no RHDs. I’m spoiled by the Katie Musars and Ozzie Del Rosarios of SBU since they would meet you for the signing in, but here I was walking around B with no sign of authority. I mean, it IS an apartment complex, but shit… where is everyone?! I was eventually told my new suitemate, (God, I’m going to spell it wrong) Gene that I had to go to commons. Yay. Quick sign-in, got my key, and opened my room.

My room has a nioc view that looks out towards Schoemberg and West I, and the LIRR, I guess. In my room, however, is the giant floor lamp that the old residents demolished. This thing is on Alex’s side leaning like it belongs in Piza. It’s shot. They better replace this.

Overall, my experience so far has been noticing my existence here is rather… lonely. I mean, I did see Adam, Joe, and Ashley today, but none of them are living with me again here, so I won’t see them much. Alex didn’t show up and most other people I know on campus have other friends.

I knew it would be like this, but no matter how much you prepare yourself for it, you’re never ready. I’m feeling it worse now because it’s quiet and I’m tired, but I get to call my girl soon, so I might not be so fargone.

However, this is simply Day 1 and not even fully completed until a full 24 hours. I’m not going to count that though, otherwise my day count on here will be redic. Take care all, cause August 20th isn’t coming too quick!

T-Minus 2 Days: Summer at Stony

Consider it an addition, a promise, and a thing to look forward to.

As I will be spending May 31st-August 20th back at my old stomping grounds from two weeks ago, otherwise known to the world as Stony Brook University, I have decided to chronicle every bit of the summer into a series on this here blog.

While I’ll be squeezing 18 credits into 12 weeks, I’ll pour out daily life, rants, and overall noticeable events occurring at the University that never sleeps.

From the West Apartments and cooking to the Staller Film Festival, I’ll cover everything that happens in my little piece of academic paradise.

Stay tuned for Summer @ Stony (Shortened to S@S for fun)!

Stupidity on the Homefront

The close of my sophomore year of college officially ended on May 19th. While I’m still waiting for a grade back from one of my favorite classes, I’ll look back on this academic year with both fondness for how it ended, but dread at the way it was in-between. Technically having started with my Summer Session I class in 2008, I think I achieved a 3.4 average for the 10 classes taken, 1 dropped, and one amazing internship.

However, this isn’t supposed to be about my sophomore year, as the title suggests.

This is about the stuff I come 40 miles southwest home to at the end of it.

Back in the town of Lindenhurst, which hugs the South Shore of Long Island, I have returned after a 4 month absence to find things… as usual… have changed. New buildings have arisen, the trends of clothing have altered in a short time, and a neighbor of mine who I feel I haven’t seen in two years went from pesky and annoying little girl to suddenly 5′6″ beauty. Go figure.

Again, back to today. I was walking into the village to my barber to get my mop of ginger hair cut, since I looked like I was in the electric chair for a while. Lindenhurst is far from a quiet place, hustling and bustling all day long with the tight streets and stores lining Wellwood Avenue from John Street up until about Gates Avenue. However, most people realize that it’s rather rude to rumble through such a residential area with their music blasting and bass thumpin’.

Others, on that other hand, do not, as was the case today. During my walk, I reached the old Chase Bank building when I heard somebody blasting their music to an obnoxious level. I figured it was somebody my age with their car windows down being a typical young adult. Wrong, of course.

Still wouldn't be okay if it was this pimped.

I turn to see a black, pimped out Escalade rolling down the street with the windows ever so cracked. Inside, a young mother and her elementary school-aged son rocking out. To say my jaw was dropped a bit was an understatement. Hell, my mom wouldn’t let me put my music to any higher levels until I was a teen, let alone blast it. I still can’t blast it when I’m in her car.

However, here’s this young mother and her son pushing their eardrums to the bursting point with concert-noise levels. Ridiculous. Thing that made it better was the guy parked nearby who said those same words and then proceeded to tell me he would tail her to tell her to turn it down. Good man.

Review: Epic Pet Wars (for iPhone)

If Nintendo didn’t own Pokemon and decided that, hey, the iPhone and iPod touch would be a great way to distribute a still-widely played game, the result would be very similar to Epic Pet Wars on iPhone.

A relatively high-graphical (okay, clip-art like, but better than pixelated) game invites a user in to “train” a single monster. Training it will help it to battle other monsters worldwide. Gaining friends into one’s “posse” brings the monster more strength. It seems, like its Pokemon cousin, that the pets can be trained to the level of 100, although no user has gotten that high as of yet. Battling usually involves the pets in levels similar to yours, although they can range. In addition to training, you can make the pet stronger by buying items such as weapons, armor, and accessories to help it along.

Magikarp! Use Splash Attack... wait. Sorry. Wrong game.

The program is free off the Apple App Store and uses Facebook Connect to find friends on the social network that also play. The battles can also take place off the iPhone on either their website or as a Facebook app.

Overall, the game sucks you in off the bat. Highly addictive, I downloaded it yesterday at 4:00pm and didn’t put down my iPod for nearly two hours when it died. The flow of the app on iPhone 2.2.1 is so smooth and feels like it belonged on there all along. While more attack options aside from just the general “attack” option would be cool, that might bring the game too close to being like Pokemon. Whether or not they want to become the next Pika-giant is beyond me. The game could be rated, if and when Apple decides to actually do a ratings system on iPhone 3.0, for ages above 5 (Sorry, I don’t want to see little kids trying to give their dogs hammers to have a real-life pet war). While it is free, users, like most Facebook based games, can get more items by paying for them, although the company offers a free 10 respect points (which are traded for items on the game) and pulls you in further. That’s a great system for iPhone! Upgrading by updating.

All I know is, for a free game, EPW does is for me. Simple, addictive, online, and graphically pleasing. Epic win for sure.

Pure Talent Strikes Back

In a world where the talent-less use auto-tune to make their not-so-angelic voice sound respectable, where Disney turns out tween “stars” like rabbits turn out kids, and where shows such as American Idol degrade some who truly have talent in light of those who simple look glamorous, luck has given us the next great voice for our time – and Robin Williams was hotter as Mrs. Doubtfire than she is.

While I have no right to comment on Ms. Susan Boyle’s profoundly noted “odd looks,” which to me looks as if she’s a normal person and not some crazed, beautified goddess, she indeed has the voice of an angel.

She reminds me of my grandma... with good pipes.

If you haven’t heard of this woman or what she did, I suggest a gander and an ear to the speaker as you click here to see here perform on Britain’s Got Talent!

If it’s anything that we, as a people and a culture, suck at, it’s being able to look past visuals. If anyone recalls, a 1960 debate between then-Vice President Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy was broadcast, for the first time, on radio and television. Those watching TV thought Kennedy won, yet those listening thought it was an even debate. Since the beginning of the photography age, looks above all have taken center stage on determining who does what and when.

Let’s face it- Boyle will be a hero to the media for bringing it down. I admit it, as a journalist, it makes her a more compelling story that she ISN’T another Britney Spears or Mandy Moore. She’s just herself and, finally, we don’t feel so intimidated by surgically created looks or computer replicated additions.

Maybe the media is overdoing the Boyle-story, but she’s worth it. If anything our kids need to learn in a society dominated by people who will prejudicially judge you, it needs to be that pure talent and skill will win over anyone anywhere.

Viva La Zebra!

Coming to Stony Brook University in the Fall of 2007, I noticed two distinct things then about the University: a lack of school spirit and diversity of architectural designs put into the buildings here.

The Path as it appears today in red-and-white glory. Photo by spyffe on flickr.

 

 

Having said that, SBU has made some huge strides since I arrived. I felt, initially, I was the only one donning a Seawolves cap, a Stony Brook t-shirt, or a nice SBU hoodie around the campus. Visits to other colleges such as Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT or Marywood University in Scranton, PA showed me we were lacking some much needed focus and togetherness. Naturally, I wasn’t the only one to notice this.

In the middle of the Spring of 2008, my second semester, the famous Zebra Path underwent a major renovation, which was, in light of its fading paint, was necessary. Before I go into detail, I’m sure some of you non-SBU-ers are asking, “What is a Zebra Path?” The path was, originally, a nice slab of angled asphalt in the form of a path leading one from the Student Activities Center (the SAC) between Old Chemistry and the Library to the Chemistry building. Painted at angles and zig-zags in black and white, the aritst, who’s name escapes me at the moment, called it the Zebra Path.

Like “the Bat” at old Yankee Stadium or Times Square, the Path became a place to meet friends and locate yourself when talking to others. A little out of the ordinary, yes, but it was the Zebra Path. While we were Patriots at one time and now Seawolves, the Zebra became an unofficial mascot.

Then came the repainting.

Gone forever were the black stripes that clearly corresponded to the Zebra. Replacing them were “red hot” stripes, ringing in the nickname of “Candy Cane Lane” and accusations of a Communist uprising by the one and only Stony Brook Press.

I haven’t taken much offense at it, but noticed today that, for perhaps the fourth time since the change, the Path had a fresh coat of paint of red and white – the Stony Brook colors. I look around and see more people wearing SBU gear – hats, shirts, sweatpants, and hoodies. I smile, but I feel guilty – we sacrificed the zebra for the rising of spirit.

The Path, black & white, as it appeared in 2004. Photo by uberuday of Webshots.

 

 

The Zebra remains a mascot, of sorts, around the campus. The Career Center, which has always noted its placement at the foot of the Zebra Path in the Library, has the Zebra as its mascot on the website. A cute and cuddly little guy, the Zebra still maintains his rightful black-and-white stripes.

I’m making this last effort, perhaps until the end of my junior year, to return the path to its original coloring. As the days go on, more and more students are graduating and those are the last of the students who recall the days when the Zebra Path was really like a zebra. While I’m all for the support of bringing us together, I will never support the idea that changing art, which this essentially was, or changing an icon of a school simply because “its out.”

I’ll never forget the original path. To me, it’s still in.

Viva La Zebra! :Fist Pump: