I finally got a bike! But let me tell you it was not easy. Michelle, another freshman swimmer, needed a bike as well so we decided to go to Target to purchase a bike. We hopped in her little silver Volkswagen Jetta along with Alexis, who is also a freshman swimmer. When we arrived at Target we were sweating and sticky and gross because we thought that it was a great idea to go get these bike in 43 degree weather at noon. After several different targets and other stores we both end up getting a bright yellow beach cruiser…the same one. You would think the bike is the most important thing to pick up but you need the top of the line lock; something that can withstand any storm, fight, nuclear blast. Pretty much a giant piece of titanium. We find the lock, it’s a beauty, it’s a 40 pound metal link chain with a u-lock at the end. We figured out all our bike business and we headed to our car. Challenge numbero 2, fitting two bikes into a Volkswagen Jetta. We folded down her back seats and stuff the bikes through the trunk but they clearly won’t fit but we still tried. There is no other way so the bikes are sticking out the trunk and Alexis and I are sitting on the folded seats holding on the bikes for dear life. Just a reminder, its 43 degrees out, so everything we are doing is in the hot sun. Michelle jumps in the drivers seat and tries to start the car, oh but it doesn’t start. The battery is dead! Like seriously…this is a joke. We’re all grumpy, pissed, and sweaty. I hop out and flag down the mall cop, she looks like she just jumped out of New Moon. She has the biggest fangs I have ever seen in my life. I can’t take this woman seriously. But on that note, she does save the day. The car was jump started after about 4 pages of paper work (what kind of mall cop asks for paperwork to jump start a car). Anyways we make it to the university after a couple hours of bike searching. On the plus side we have beautiful bikes!
I love this new bike. Its my life. I don’t stop talking about this bike. I even named it Jean. Again its my life. I ride the bike around with the biggest smile on my face, and the best part I always get compliments on it. Anyways, the other morning Michelle and I decided that at 530 in the morning we were going to drive to practice (which was a spin class, so we didn’t think it was necessary to bike there). We get to her Jetta, get in, and it doesn’t start again! Okay, that enough, never taking this car again. We are going to get our bikes and I was telling Michelle how I always have bad luck and she was like “yes you do! Whenever I’m with you something bad happens”…well that made me feel good! I was like I got bad luck, literally 0.98732 seconds later the sprinklers go off all over our bikes. HAHA! I turn to her and smile…oops! My bad. We hop on our wet bikes and make our way to our spin class. While biking there, I would hit some bumps and my bike felt wobbly, strange. I hit this big bump and my seat went from horizontal to vertical and my but was on the wheel. I was laughing so hard! This couldn’t go any worse could it. We were late and I kept on biking. Every bump hurt like hell. I finally made it to the class and I couldn’t even sit on a bike seat anymore my butt hurt so much! On our way back from the class, I had an abs work out I had to balance my body so my seat would rock. I was biking sooo slow! I get to our room and in our bike package we were given a screwdriver and I was in my room working on the bike for 20 minutes. I don’t know if I like this bike anymore. However, right now Jean is treating me well, I just got to keep the screwdriver with me at all times.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First Couple Days of School
The first day of school is always the same. Whether it’s the first day of kindergarten, middle school, or high school. In my case its university, I had the initial nervousness, and the normal questions like “Will I like the course” or in some cases “Will I like this teacher?”
On Monday/Wednesday/Friday I have the same three courses. Music, Psychology, and Math. My first class, Music, is in the student recreation center, which is a 15 minute walk…like opposite side of the campus. The room is about -45 degrees, you walk in and your automatically freeze. Your walking to class sweating and have barely any clothes on but the minute you step into class you pull out your winter coat and uggs. No joke. After being in that artic classroom I have 10 minutes to get across campus, if my music teacher is on time. The normally it would take 15 minutes of speed walking and I only got 10. I step outside in the heat and literally start to run, after about 30 seconds I realize how out of shape I am and start walking. I make it to class just in the nick of time and there is one seat left in the back. For a normal person that okay, but I’m a blind bat so the whole class I’m squinting to see what the professor is writing on the board. However, I make if out alive and I have a couple hours before our team meeting. I decide that this running around is ridiculous so I find my handy danky international binder that has everything to know about the Fresno State and California (I’m serious they really prepared us). I find that you can rent a bike. Wahooo!!! I go to the Student Union building only to find out that they have run out of bikes and to come back in 2 weeks. Is this for real? I need a bike on Wednesday!! I still in search of a bike so if anyone has any ideas or knows someone…I need a bike! I go to our swim meet and get the low down on all the rules and every guideline…One rule is clean out your facebook and untag yourself in most photos that is some thing risky and inappropriate. We HAVE to add our coach!! Our assistant coach, Ryan (that name follows me everywhere!), said that he would prefer if we only had 4-5 pics….HAHAHAHAH really? Anyways after our meeting we went to my math class from 5-6:15. I felt like I was in 7th grade math..we were learning about real numbers. After I finished my grade 7 class, I was done!! After dinner, Brooke and I decided that we wanted to go to a class at the recreation center. We looked on the schedule and we could either do the spin class or this aerobics class that uses weights. I really wanted to do an aerobics/step class so we choose that one. Well let me tell you it was not aerobics it was pretty much all weights no stepping. That was a waste of time, I barely even got a workout!! We came back to our room and crashed!! Finally I finished Day 1.
Second day of school starts at 8am...thats the first class! On Tuesday/Thursdays I have Natural Sciences and English. I make it to the science building 20 minutes early, I am ready, I didn’t even get lost!! I find my room and I enter, I find a seat in the middle of the class. This classroom only sits about 40 people, it’s a small class. I sit there for about 15 minutes until the teacher comes in. He a black professor and has long long dreads and I’m like okay this guy is relaxed this could be a cool class. After about 5 minutes of him talking, he was like “welcome to African American studies, if your not in the class your in the wrong room” well…that was me! I was sitting in the wrong room for about 20 minutes..typical. I weave my way to the door, as everyone is staring at me. That was awkward. My class was next door, I just mixed up the doors. I finally arrive in my class late, and of course everyone is staring…but I guess it’s a good way to make an impression. After I finish that class, I’m on to English 10 also known as “international” English. How am I that international that I need a separate English. I get into that class to find that its all the people that were in international orientation with me. Joy! During the class the teacher is introducing poems from all different languages like Russian, Chinese, German, and she reads them in that language. After that we have to tell the class our name and what languages we speak. Everyone could list 3-4 languages they can speak, then it comes to me and I can only say English. I’m definitely the outcast in that class. Its not like I can say French, cause there’s frenchies there and then would start speaking to me and I’d only understand like one word. So far, great day great day. But what do I expect? Everything to go smoothly, haha that’s a joke cause it will never happen.
Au revoir (cause I’m international right?)
On Monday/Wednesday/Friday I have the same three courses. Music, Psychology, and Math. My first class, Music, is in the student recreation center, which is a 15 minute walk…like opposite side of the campus. The room is about -45 degrees, you walk in and your automatically freeze. Your walking to class sweating and have barely any clothes on but the minute you step into class you pull out your winter coat and uggs. No joke. After being in that artic classroom I have 10 minutes to get across campus, if my music teacher is on time. The normally it would take 15 minutes of speed walking and I only got 10. I step outside in the heat and literally start to run, after about 30 seconds I realize how out of shape I am and start walking. I make it to class just in the nick of time and there is one seat left in the back. For a normal person that okay, but I’m a blind bat so the whole class I’m squinting to see what the professor is writing on the board. However, I make if out alive and I have a couple hours before our team meeting. I decide that this running around is ridiculous so I find my handy danky international binder that has everything to know about the Fresno State and California (I’m serious they really prepared us). I find that you can rent a bike. Wahooo!!! I go to the Student Union building only to find out that they have run out of bikes and to come back in 2 weeks. Is this for real? I need a bike on Wednesday!! I still in search of a bike so if anyone has any ideas or knows someone…I need a bike! I go to our swim meet and get the low down on all the rules and every guideline…One rule is clean out your facebook and untag yourself in most photos that is some thing risky and inappropriate. We HAVE to add our coach!! Our assistant coach, Ryan (that name follows me everywhere!), said that he would prefer if we only had 4-5 pics….HAHAHAHAH really? Anyways after our meeting we went to my math class from 5-6:15. I felt like I was in 7th grade math..we were learning about real numbers. After I finished my grade 7 class, I was done!! After dinner, Brooke and I decided that we wanted to go to a class at the recreation center. We looked on the schedule and we could either do the spin class or this aerobics class that uses weights. I really wanted to do an aerobics/step class so we choose that one. Well let me tell you it was not aerobics it was pretty much all weights no stepping. That was a waste of time, I barely even got a workout!! We came back to our room and crashed!! Finally I finished Day 1.
Second day of school starts at 8am...thats the first class! On Tuesday/Thursdays I have Natural Sciences and English. I make it to the science building 20 minutes early, I am ready, I didn’t even get lost!! I find my room and I enter, I find a seat in the middle of the class. This classroom only sits about 40 people, it’s a small class. I sit there for about 15 minutes until the teacher comes in. He a black professor and has long long dreads and I’m like okay this guy is relaxed this could be a cool class. After about 5 minutes of him talking, he was like “welcome to African American studies, if your not in the class your in the wrong room” well…that was me! I was sitting in the wrong room for about 20 minutes..typical. I weave my way to the door, as everyone is staring at me. That was awkward. My class was next door, I just mixed up the doors. I finally arrive in my class late, and of course everyone is staring…but I guess it’s a good way to make an impression. After I finish that class, I’m on to English 10 also known as “international” English. How am I that international that I need a separate English. I get into that class to find that its all the people that were in international orientation with me. Joy! During the class the teacher is introducing poems from all different languages like Russian, Chinese, German, and she reads them in that language. After that we have to tell the class our name and what languages we speak. Everyone could list 3-4 languages they can speak, then it comes to me and I can only say English. I’m definitely the outcast in that class. Its not like I can say French, cause there’s frenchies there and then would start speaking to me and I’d only understand like one word. So far, great day great day. But what do I expect? Everything to go smoothly, haha that’s a joke cause it will never happen.
Au revoir (cause I’m international right?)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Buna Luck
There is one thing that you have to know about the Buna’s. We have bad, horrible, crappy, shitty, shitty luck. There are 3 basic things you have to know about our luck.
1. If anything could go wrong, it WILL go wrong.
2. Don’t ever wish for something lucky…cause you will just get your hopes up and everything will crash and burn after that.
3. You will always have an adventure.
From the time my mom and I left Victoria on August 15th to today August 19th…let me tell you we have some stories. I will try and keep them brief…I wont wish to keep them short because you know what happens then.
Our flight from Victoria to Fresno has a lay over in San Francisco. That is no shock even if there was a direct flight we would have never been able to make it. In San Francisco we had a 5 hour lay over because “there was no other flights”. Surrrreee that’s what they all say. Anyways our 5 hours went by thankfully to the amazing show “Pretty Little Liars,” and we make our way to our gate. Soon enough our boarding time passed, then our departure time passed. Typical. I get worried, and go to find out what the heck is going on. Well, this one is a shocker, the flight got delayed another 2 hours. Like really? After patiently waiting we finally board our flight. We wait on our airplane for 30 minutes, and the flight attendant finally comes on and asks “Can we have 2 people volunteer too get off and wait till the next flight. There is too much weight on the plane. You will receive a 400 dollar voucher.” In the back of my mind I was like..sweet 400 dollars but then I quickly snapped out of that and I was like hell no! There is no way I am stepping one foot of this plane. After 20 minutes of bribery 2 people get off and we are on our way to FRESNO!
We arrive in Fresno a “couple” hours late. Haha. First stop, AT&T for my lovely, beautiful, precious blackberry. We get to the shop at 5:00 and the store closes at 6:00 (this is important). I immediately go to the torch which is the new blackberry, google it. We set up my plan…as far as I know im golden. There I go again, wishing. Soon we find out that since I don’t have a social security number that we have to have a 500 dollar deposit. That hit me hard. Well I guess we have to do that, so we go to pay with Visa. First swipe, declined. Second swipe, declined. Third swipe, declined. You get the pattern. After many phone calls we find out that our Visa was flagged cause they thought it got stolen. It is now 6 o’clock and we have not purchased our phone. After several back and forth phone calls with the Visa company we are officially un-flagged and ready to buy the phone. BUT now the store machine is blocking our Visa cause we tried too many times. They tell my mom to go across the road to “King Liquor” to the ATM to take out cash. My mom walks there, and 2 seconds she walks back and was like “I am not taking money out from that machine! Its sketch!” At King Liquor there was random Indian guys and drunk girls running around and dancing (that’s not my mothers scene). After all our possibilities were wasted, we end up leaving the phone there and I didn’t get my lovely, beautiful, precious blackberry.
Just to remind you that this all happened in one day!
The next day, I meet my roommate Brooke for the first time. She came down from her hometown, Modesto, which is about an hour and a half drive. We go shopping that day and get our dorm stuff! Thank the lord the day went smoothly; hopefully Brooke’s family thinks were normal?
As an international student I am required to take 2 full days of orientation. Ya I am so international and all, coming from Canada. However, there are no exceptions! They gave us international students a “clearance card” and after every lecture/activity are advisor stamps a section of our clearance card. Every box on this card has to be stamped by October 1st. Great! Lets not get started on the TB test. The first day of orientation was long, tiring, and very overwhelming!
So after that long day Brooke, Melanie (her mom), my mom, and I go out for a nice dinner at the Doghouse. The Doghouse is a really good American grill which has an amazing steak cobb salad…its indescribable. Although, the parking is soooo hard to get cause its so busy. My mom goes and parks down the road in a mall/hotel parking lot. The car is bordering Starbucks and the “University Inn,” these are key points. We eat at the Doghouse for about an hour and half, Brooke and Melanie have to go visit their aunt who lives in Fresno. My mom and I start walking to the car, well, what car? The car was gone. GONE. BYE BYE RENTAL CAR. My mom quickly goes to the University Inn and I call Brooke to come and save us. So much for there nice visit with their aunt. After 5 minutes of talking, the receptionist told my mom that, unless she was here visiting someone she would have to pay 200 dollars for her car back. That wasn’t going to happen!
My mom went and found some random guy. Luckily (this is a new word) this “random guy” was bringing his son to college at Fresno State. This man, Nels, went down to the front desk and talked to the receptionist that we were visiting him. She didn’t believe him so he brought down his son and the sons friend and we had to act like friends. Well funny enough this guy went to school with Brooke in grade 8. Small world. Nels and my mom couldn’t do anything but call “majestic towing”….really they couldn’t have thought of a better name. We just got a number. No address. After several conversations and many impolite words, we got the address. The tow truck company told my mom to bring all cash and to come to the ghetto (literally).
After that conversation my mom called the police to meet us there, so we didn’t get killed. Brooke, Melanie, my mom, Nels, and I all pile into the car and drive off to our “destination.” We arrive at majestic towing with the police (a very short policeman..i felt safe). We arrive at this house, which looked like a trailer. We could barely see the house cause there was no residential streetlights. Skkkeetttchhhhyyyyy. Brooke and I stayed in the car while my mom, Melanie, and Nels are talking/yelling with the people at majestic towing. After many minutes of yelling nothing got solved. The worst part was the policeman just stood there and let the men yell at my mom. Then my mom finally gave in and went to go pay the bill and asked if there was Visa. Oh they said that the Visa machine was broken. How convenient, the visa machine was broken…so you don’t pay taxes. Clever. And side note. The policeman didn’t care…it’s the law. How do you not care! Anyways after many hours we get our little Nissan Versa back and are ready to rock and roll. But not.
Day 2 of orientation. Longest day ever! I met many people let me tell you that, I can even join the Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Mexican clubs all over campus. JOY! But the minute the orientation was done I stepped out of that building I was off to decorate Cedar 162C!
I’m currently in the middle of decorating my room! And I hate to bore you with more stories, but I’m sure there will be more. Remember I am a Buna and I am cursed with bad luck!
1. If anything could go wrong, it WILL go wrong.
2. Don’t ever wish for something lucky…cause you will just get your hopes up and everything will crash and burn after that.
3. You will always have an adventure.
From the time my mom and I left Victoria on August 15th to today August 19th…let me tell you we have some stories. I will try and keep them brief…I wont wish to keep them short because you know what happens then.
Our flight from Victoria to Fresno has a lay over in San Francisco. That is no shock even if there was a direct flight we would have never been able to make it. In San Francisco we had a 5 hour lay over because “there was no other flights”. Surrrreee that’s what they all say. Anyways our 5 hours went by thankfully to the amazing show “Pretty Little Liars,” and we make our way to our gate. Soon enough our boarding time passed, then our departure time passed. Typical. I get worried, and go to find out what the heck is going on. Well, this one is a shocker, the flight got delayed another 2 hours. Like really? After patiently waiting we finally board our flight. We wait on our airplane for 30 minutes, and the flight attendant finally comes on and asks “Can we have 2 people volunteer too get off and wait till the next flight. There is too much weight on the plane. You will receive a 400 dollar voucher.” In the back of my mind I was like..sweet 400 dollars but then I quickly snapped out of that and I was like hell no! There is no way I am stepping one foot of this plane. After 20 minutes of bribery 2 people get off and we are on our way to FRESNO!
We arrive in Fresno a “couple” hours late. Haha. First stop, AT&T for my lovely, beautiful, precious blackberry. We get to the shop at 5:00 and the store closes at 6:00 (this is important). I immediately go to the torch which is the new blackberry, google it. We set up my plan…as far as I know im golden. There I go again, wishing. Soon we find out that since I don’t have a social security number that we have to have a 500 dollar deposit. That hit me hard. Well I guess we have to do that, so we go to pay with Visa. First swipe, declined. Second swipe, declined. Third swipe, declined. You get the pattern. After many phone calls we find out that our Visa was flagged cause they thought it got stolen. It is now 6 o’clock and we have not purchased our phone. After several back and forth phone calls with the Visa company we are officially un-flagged and ready to buy the phone. BUT now the store machine is blocking our Visa cause we tried too many times. They tell my mom to go across the road to “King Liquor” to the ATM to take out cash. My mom walks there, and 2 seconds she walks back and was like “I am not taking money out from that machine! Its sketch!” At King Liquor there was random Indian guys and drunk girls running around and dancing (that’s not my mothers scene). After all our possibilities were wasted, we end up leaving the phone there and I didn’t get my lovely, beautiful, precious blackberry.
Just to remind you that this all happened in one day!
The next day, I meet my roommate Brooke for the first time. She came down from her hometown, Modesto, which is about an hour and a half drive. We go shopping that day and get our dorm stuff! Thank the lord the day went smoothly; hopefully Brooke’s family thinks were normal?
As an international student I am required to take 2 full days of orientation. Ya I am so international and all, coming from Canada. However, there are no exceptions! They gave us international students a “clearance card” and after every lecture/activity are advisor stamps a section of our clearance card. Every box on this card has to be stamped by October 1st. Great! Lets not get started on the TB test. The first day of orientation was long, tiring, and very overwhelming!
So after that long day Brooke, Melanie (her mom), my mom, and I go out for a nice dinner at the Doghouse. The Doghouse is a really good American grill which has an amazing steak cobb salad…its indescribable. Although, the parking is soooo hard to get cause its so busy. My mom goes and parks down the road in a mall/hotel parking lot. The car is bordering Starbucks and the “University Inn,” these are key points. We eat at the Doghouse for about an hour and half, Brooke and Melanie have to go visit their aunt who lives in Fresno. My mom and I start walking to the car, well, what car? The car was gone. GONE. BYE BYE RENTAL CAR. My mom quickly goes to the University Inn and I call Brooke to come and save us. So much for there nice visit with their aunt. After 5 minutes of talking, the receptionist told my mom that, unless she was here visiting someone she would have to pay 200 dollars for her car back. That wasn’t going to happen!
My mom went and found some random guy. Luckily (this is a new word) this “random guy” was bringing his son to college at Fresno State. This man, Nels, went down to the front desk and talked to the receptionist that we were visiting him. She didn’t believe him so he brought down his son and the sons friend and we had to act like friends. Well funny enough this guy went to school with Brooke in grade 8. Small world. Nels and my mom couldn’t do anything but call “majestic towing”….really they couldn’t have thought of a better name. We just got a number. No address. After several conversations and many impolite words, we got the address. The tow truck company told my mom to bring all cash and to come to the ghetto (literally).
After that conversation my mom called the police to meet us there, so we didn’t get killed. Brooke, Melanie, my mom, Nels, and I all pile into the car and drive off to our “destination.” We arrive at majestic towing with the police (a very short policeman..i felt safe). We arrive at this house, which looked like a trailer. We could barely see the house cause there was no residential streetlights. Skkkeetttchhhhyyyyy. Brooke and I stayed in the car while my mom, Melanie, and Nels are talking/yelling with the people at majestic towing. After many minutes of yelling nothing got solved. The worst part was the policeman just stood there and let the men yell at my mom. Then my mom finally gave in and went to go pay the bill and asked if there was Visa. Oh they said that the Visa machine was broken. How convenient, the visa machine was broken…so you don’t pay taxes. Clever. And side note. The policeman didn’t care…it’s the law. How do you not care! Anyways after many hours we get our little Nissan Versa back and are ready to rock and roll. But not.
Day 2 of orientation. Longest day ever! I met many people let me tell you that, I can even join the Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Mexican clubs all over campus. JOY! But the minute the orientation was done I stepped out of that building I was off to decorate Cedar 162C!
I’m currently in the middle of decorating my room! And I hate to bore you with more stories, but I’m sure there will be more. Remember I am a Buna and I am cursed with bad luck!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Goodbye
Goodbye. ¡Adiós. Au revoir. Afscheid. Auf Wiedersehen. Arrivederci. Vaarwel. До свидания.
One word. Goodbye. Who would think that this one word would mean so much when you literally have to say goodbye. Like common, we use it as a see ya later (like a 10 minute type deal) or even as a habit when you end conversation, but to REALLY say goodbye…that’s a whole other ball game. Today I thought, jeez this isn’t that hard to say goodbye to all your friends and family, just a quick hug and send them out the door. However, as the day came to an end and my suitcases started to fill up, every article of clothing, touch of a fabric, and the smell of our organic 100% natural laundry soap brought back a memory. And when I was finally done packing and zipped up my suitcase the reality finally hit; I’m actually going off to college. Even though this was hard to believe that I was leaving I knew that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am going to college in California (where apparently its so hot it will melt your popsicle) how could that get any better! Over this last week people have asked me…are you nervous or excited? Or both? I can’t explain it…its like I am nervous and I have questions on what it will be like there but then that worry is gone in a split second, and I am thinking about what colour my bed sheets are going to be. If I could throw a few emotions out there, a few that jump out are happiness, excitement, fall out of your chair heart attack scared, self accomplishment..oh the list goes on. So for the last time, goodbye Victoria! (however I will be back for all major holidays)
One word. Goodbye. Who would think that this one word would mean so much when you literally have to say goodbye. Like common, we use it as a see ya later (like a 10 minute type deal) or even as a habit when you end conversation, but to REALLY say goodbye…that’s a whole other ball game. Today I thought, jeez this isn’t that hard to say goodbye to all your friends and family, just a quick hug and send them out the door. However, as the day came to an end and my suitcases started to fill up, every article of clothing, touch of a fabric, and the smell of our organic 100% natural laundry soap brought back a memory. And when I was finally done packing and zipped up my suitcase the reality finally hit; I’m actually going off to college. Even though this was hard to believe that I was leaving I knew that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am going to college in California (where apparently its so hot it will melt your popsicle) how could that get any better! Over this last week people have asked me…are you nervous or excited? Or both? I can’t explain it…its like I am nervous and I have questions on what it will be like there but then that worry is gone in a split second, and I am thinking about what colour my bed sheets are going to be. If I could throw a few emotions out there, a few that jump out are happiness, excitement, fall out of your chair heart attack scared, self accomplishment..oh the list goes on. So for the last time, goodbye Victoria! (however I will be back for all major holidays)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)