Picking Up Speed

It's been raining off and on all week here in Tucson. On Monday, there was record rainfall, and the medical school affiliated with the U of A in Phoenix actually completely shut down due to the weather. The governor declared an emergency because, as nobody plans for rain in the desert and rocks are hard, there is not much of a drainage system. The streets turned into rivers, events were cancelled, and it was one of the few times that there was nobody tabling on the Mall. It didn't matter whether or not a person wore a rain coat, had an umbrella, wore good shoes or absolutely nothing - there was no avoiding getting wet. I should know. I had to go cross campus multiple times to get to class. By the end of the day, since everything else was soaked, I was walking around in just shorts and a t-shirt.
And just about an hour ago, a nice quick rain shower interrupted the pep rally going on on University St. and it's still wet outside.
There's a beauty to Tucson after it rains, even though people complain about the humidity or the general wetness. You can finally see it without the dust and grime that accumulates over time, and with the strong sunlight that inevitably follows these monsoon rains, rainbows are very common and PREETTYY as anything.

After the rain, I went on a quest for jazz shoes for my Theater Dance class, because the only shoe/dance store within biking distance is only open on weekdays. Mission successful there.

The rest of the week has been pretty boring. There's been homework, a couple quizzes (easy), and a lot of studying going on. We're all kind of in the same boat with that right now, so that's kind of nice.

Also, last year's Rube Goldberg machine has been broken down and ravaged for parts. (That's the current president and president emeritus with some spare nuts and bolts.)

This year's machine - the current theme is The Modern Kitchen, which will allow us to create exploding blenders, speed-of-light toasters, self serving ovens, cats on Roombas, and the like.

Also, like last year, there was beautiful 9-11 tribute in front of the Administration building - a reminder of all the lives lost.

Anyway, that's been my week. This week's song of the week - "American Pie" by Don McLean - and this awesome town who did a lip dub to it - the entire thing.

Tucson in the Rain

There seems to be three approaches to Tucson in the rain. 
The first is wearing everything and hoping your skin stays dry. The second is wearing little and hoping you dry off quickly inside. As everything is still air conditioned, both methods leave you cold and wet. I tried both of those today.
The third is to stay home and hope to catch the notes online. This was the approach of about half the people in my classes.
(And indeed, the thunder was terrifying).
*from Facebook - first one in a while to reach the 10 like mark*

Here We Go Again

Two weeks have gone by faster than I expected. We're actually doing work in class, and extracurriculars have officially started.

A breakdown:

• I had my first physics lab - we did basic circuits. My TA does not object to people calling him "Hey, You!" because that is, in fact, his name - You.
• "The Brotherhood of Man" has been stuck in my head because we've been learning a dance to it in Theater Dance. By this point, I know how to mambo and grapevine, and I can almost touch my toes again.
• Vector Calc and Statics are both doing the exact same thing, still - resolving vectors into components. One professor seems more enthusiastic about it than the other.
• We've gone over some basic phonetics and the effects of migration patterns in my American Indian Languages Class.
• I'm on Hall Council this year - I got on the Executive board in a slightly ironic position. I'm also helping to design the Historic Haunted Dungeon this year - I'm super excited about that.
• We're going to take some hammers and drills to last year's Rube Goldberg machine tomorrow. We haven't decided what we're going to do this year, other than in the end, it has to shine a shoe.
• Sophie, my roommate, took me to the International Student Association's first meeting (she's an International Studies/Chinese major and didn't want to go alone). I met a bunch of Indian guys, a couple from China, and a Pole.
• Sophie and I also tried Zumba earlier today. She loved it, I'm not enthused. My hips can't lie - they don't move that way.
• I'm still hanging in there.

So, I'm holding up okay so far. It's been a good week, and things are actually starting to get interesting.

This week's song of the week - "Yellow" by Coldplay, for no other reason than it has been stuck in my head. I always think the guitar is trying to say "blue" in answer to the yellow.

First Week, Mark 2.0

School is back in session for me and for tens of thousands of fellow Wildcats. There was the usual pandemonium, including the free-crap-everywhere rushes, the I-can't-find-my-class 8-balls, the do-you want-to-take-a-survey evangelists, and, of course, the mad mob that follows anyone and everything promising free food.

My semester is going to be all about vectors. My physics, math, and statics courses all heavily rely on mathematical vectors, while my teacher in dance talks about body vectors. Hopefully the synergy  between these classes will help my GPA move in a positive direction by a large magnitude. So far, my classes are interesting. Most of my professors seem to at least speak English and know what they are talking about, which are always plusses. Vector calc promises to be a paradigm shift - it will take a little time for my brain to shift from thinking in two dimensions to thinking in three. Electricity and Magnetism is pretty basic so far - Coulomb's Law is as far as we've gotten. In Statics, we're basically just going over how to use vectors - nothing fancy yet. My non-major classes are American Indian Languages, which promises to be pretty low key but also pretty interesting (DYK - More than a third of all world languages used to be used exclusively in North America), and Theater Dance, where it is undeniable that the teacher has been a dancer her whole life.

Outside of school, I played my first game of Quidditch (a ground based version of the Harry Potter sport of the same name). I went to the first meeting of the semester of the Rube Goldberg club (we're shining shoes this year). I've met a lot of great people in my dorm. I have gone to church. I went to Comedy Corner's first show.

I have a roommate this year. Her name is Sophie, and we're getting along fantastically. She is very passionate about international relations and learning languages. She also loves Harry Potter, so we understand each other.

I'm looking forward to  going to the UNLV game tonight, and getting further along in my classes. I've met a bunch of new people, and this semester is going to be great.

Edit: And because I'm late, I'm giving you 2 songs of the week - my pump-up song "Fooling Yourself" by Styx
and, for the video, "The Writing's on the Wall" by Ok Go.

Some Updates

This is not a "how am I doing" post. This post pertains directly to the blog , how I'm going top be running it, and some changes I'm going to make this year.

First, and probably most importantly, I will do my very best to post an update on what is going on in my life sometime before 8:00 PM on FRIDAY. My Thursdays after class will probably be busier than I would like, and yes, sometimes I procrastinate on Friday's homework (I'm trying not to make that a habit, but it happens). So Friday's the day. Please do not bug me about blog posts before. Thank you.

Secondly, I want to publish more opinion pieces - posts that are not necessarily about me, but about how I see current issues. I tend to be somewhat indecisive. My New Year's Resolution was to fix that. This is my attempt. I will do my best to cite sources of anything that is not common knowledge (yes, I know Wikipedia, Buzzfeed, the Huffington Post, and the like are not reliable sources). Those will be coming whenever I feel like it, but about biweekly, depending on circumstances.

On that note, I would like to mention that it is possible to comment on any and all posts by going to the post's page by either clicking the title or clicking the link in the sidebar (you can't comment on the home page). You should be able to comment whether or not you have a Google account (although I do like knowing who you are). If you do, please keep it civil and on topic. Trolls will not be tolerated. That being said, I welcome all relevant input and constructive criticism.

Also, anything I post on Facebook that gets 10 likes or more will get posted here, no matter how short. Likewise, links to each new post will again be posted on Facebook. Since I am aware that most people who follow my blog do not follow me on Facebook, and most people who are on Facebook do not follow my blog, this should hopefully fix that.

Finally, there will be a song of the week for the purpose of making sure everyone gets the same song stuck in their head or can possibly help me figure out the kind of psychiatric care I obviously need (if you're into that).
This week's - "Obladi-Obladah" by the Beatles! You're very welcome.

As always, I appreciate all readership and welcome all input. Thanks for being loyal and sticking with Dragon Scales!

- G

What I Did Over Summer Vacation

I know I haven't posted in a while, and I apologize, but now, since I'm back in Tucson, I might as well get everyone caught up. (More on Tucson later.)

At the beginning of the summer, I got a ride back to California with a friend. I knew we were getting close to home when the signs started advertising  things like "Pacific Moving" or "Coastal Storage" and the occasional trees (with leaves) started showing up on the side of the road.

The first thing I did when I got home (besides deconstruct the Tetris puzzle that was the trunk of the car) was take a walk to the beach and stick my feet in the water. Then was when I knew I was really home.

I chilled the first few weeks back from school. I got myself reacquainted with the local library, the local street names, and the state of entropy that my room tends towards. Then, I started searching for a job - and found one.

At the beginning of June, I found myself working as a cashier at a beach hut/food truck called Baconmania with a bunch of Irish guys. Yes, we served everything with bacon. Yes, the food and the view were absolutely spectacular. Yes, we did laugh at any vegans who tried to figure out some thing they could order. It was a great experience, and I can now say I am a pro at wrapping things (artichoke hearts, dates, hot dogs, chorizo, mac n cheese...)in bacon. So I made a little money over the summer and new have a t-shirt that says "I ♥ BACON."

I also volunteered at my church's vacation bible school. I ended up having to corral 13 excited 3rd graders for a week (I did have help). That was a ton of fun, although the songs got stuck in my head for the next month or so. 

My mom started taking me to Irish dance classes at Celtic Gold, which has a completely different style of dance than Claddaugh, the dance school I went to until I was about 13. I met a bunch of great ladies and learned some new ceilis. I'm debating about whether or not I should do the set dance special at Oireachtas (the regional competition) since it's in Phoenix this year.

Along the way, I spent valuable time with my family - nuclear and extended - and got to relearn my hometown. It's strange how little things change just enough to make it feel weird to come back.

So, now I'm back in Tucson, the l;and of all beach and no ocean. I've spent the last week as part of the Hall Involvement Team (move-in crew) moving people in and going to leadership and school survival workshops. I've met a bunch of great people, and I'm really looking forward to starting school.

By Popular Demand...

Today I feel like a scarlet lady-
Very skinny and appeeling.
Oh my bright star, 
You have kissed me and given me bright feathery angel wings
As I ran to you.
I burn in the light of your affections.
You make me feel like I am falling apart,
But still, my body rejects
Your warm embrace. 
It hurts, it hurts to feel
What you make me feel,
And yet,
I cannot live without your presence.
And so, I've learned my lesson -
I'm not forgetting sunscreen again. 

Happy summer, everyone.