Full Throttle

No Giving Up Yet

I thought for sure I'd never come back to this blog. I had walked away and slacked off so much that the blog was medically dead, no amount of CPR could provide restitution. However, this crazy, stressful semester is almost over and I find myself longing to write and think like a man might pine for Hedi Klum. Finals approach and while always a guarantee of stress and crazy, they signal the end of what has been the most... different semester and the beginning of some actual damn freetime. I had wanted to write about my experiences as a freshmen consoler but it's proven way too weird to actually write up; there are things that are just better left unsaid and unrecorded.

This semester has been incredibly stressful. The job has demanded much different time schedules then I originally expected, wrecking my sleeping patterns and eating gobs of time I had expected to invest in other projects. The classes I had were much different then anticipated. Most of all, my attitude has been one that can be summed up quite easily: burnt out. I have way too much college in front of me and I've done way too much college already. It's tough to summon up the will to keep the GPA at a 3.5 when it appears the parade of classes are never-ending.  However, it's necessary and needed; I've rearranged stuff and struggled on to keep the all-important GPA from taking a massive hit.

This semester has had a number of interesting spots. One is that I've met a number of exchange students who've provided a pretty interesting look at another side of the world. We've taken up snowboarding and it's incredibly fun. Good way to blow off steam and pick up speed. I've bought some kites for kiteboarding, which is also both incredible and fun. Another spot is that I'm becoming increasingly libertarian. Dealing with immense bureaucratic institution that do nothing but flounder around, sinking further in the mud, has convinced me that what America needs is a good solid cutting down to size. 

It's also been an interesting semester due to some relationships that have completely died out and some relationships that have, slowly, been born again. It's not what I've expected at all. Individuals from the old circle of friends have disappeared, others that have disappeared have reemerged and some have not changed at all. Every single one was not the person I had expected either.  It's a shame to lose old friends but new ones are always around. This semester has had a plethora of that. I always seem to be lucky (or blessed) to fall into circles of good people no matter where I am. Throughout highschool and the first few years of college I always had good people around and this semester has been no different.

I've also laid down some framework to very interesting organizations. The University Media Group is showing incredible promise and we have numerous projects that are upcoming. UMG put on a 24-Hour Film Competition, in which you had 24 hours to write, film, edit and produce a five minute movie. The result was incredible with fantastic entries. My team (comprised of distant voice actors and Russian students) suffered a corrupted file and a backup only yielded a short entry so a short entry is what we yielded.  You can view  it here:

Thanksgiving was good; I brought over a number of good friends. Students from Russia, it was their first time experience a real American holiday. Being with these students has been a great experience. Not only have I learned that I am Koly the Kroota, how to speak and write a bizarre Martian language and that Russia really IS all about vodka and fighting but also that Stalin the Superman is the funniest thing ever.  It was an interesting Thanksgiving. After the holiday, we did Black Friday shopping and hiked the Butte. All was successful. Next weekend, I am going to the production of the Broadway classical The Producers with some lovely ladies, followed by Neon Bowling at an extreme bowling alley/club and snowboarding on some slopes.

Ahh, college. How I hate and love you.

Speaking of college, here is my new class schedule for Spring:

Tuesday-Thursday 10:00-11:15 Econ 324 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Tuesday-Thursday 11:30-12:45 Per 141 Beginning Basketball

Tuesday-Thursday 2:00-3:40 Span 201 Intermediate Spanish I

Monday-Wednesday 1:00-2:15 English 307 Lit of the United States II

Monday-Wednesday 2:30-3:45 Math 272 Applied Calculus

I might be adding a dance class to that, depending on a few scenarios. I am a classy individual and the ability to sweep someone across a dance floor in a tuxedo all but confirms such adjectives.

- Caleb (Kolya)

The Drought

What is this? Time for myself to actually write? Impossible, I say! And yet it is true. Training for my Peer Mentor position is finally over and today is the last day we are moving in the freshmen. For two weeks I've been undergoing thirteen-hour training days. Sexual assault, domestic violence, identifying narcotics paraphernalia, small conflict resolution, dispute mediation; we've been through the entire goddamn gauntlet. But I'm finally done, free of boring staff retreat camps and endless team-building exercises. I'm sitting here in my nice Peer Mentor room at the end of my first-year student wing, looking down the hall and monitoring my residents. Some have described this job as being the hall psychologist, others have said it's basically being the Mayor. Others have said that my job is to be 'touchy-feely'. I am sure I will be both touching and feeling by the time this semester is over.

My check-in shift starts at one today, having just finished a midnight run to Fred Meyers by the entire hall, endless procession of University shuttles carrying hundreds of students to the store. Already I've identified myself as the guy who answers questions; my door is constantly open while I'm in my room and almost every resident has popped in to ask questions. Last night, several residents and I had a Nerf shoot-out with the desk attendant on station. It's only been a day since everyone has moved in and already residents are arming themselves with vast arrays of Nerf guns after I told everyone I was organizing a Nerf war. It will be a deadly semester.

I am sure this job will have much material for entertaining stories. Tales of party busts or passed out naked drunken students vomiting in the stairwell will no doubt fill these pages the next few months. It will unequivocally be interesting, if nothing else.

I have just purchased a HeadBlade razor, a specially designed contraption for men who sport the sexy and attractive bald domes. It arrived a few days ago and I instantly tried it out, shaving off long locks of red hair. It works beautifully, I highly recommend it. The only downfall is that since it's shaped so oddly, it takes awhile to get used to it. Thus the back of my head bled all yesterday as I nicked it several times trying to get the cuts down correctly and tufts of stubborn hair stick out around my ears like besieged, belligerently castles surrounded by scorched earth. I find it interesting that the most oft-requested thing from the females in the halls is to grow my hair out while the only possible haircut my accursed head can sport is that of skin. Any other design looks so incredibly stupid, swooping to the front of my skull instead of the back thus creating the affect that my hair is literally nosediving off the front of my face, that everyone quickly agrees that limited hair is the best. My cross to bear, I guess.

I am such a soldier.

And that's the life and times of myself,

- Caleb

Updates

I am a now a Peer Mentor for the University, living in the freshman dorms and providing social and academic support for students as well as manning the Hall's information desk. I'm looking forward to the job, I know a lot of the incoming freshman from my work with New Student Orientation and it's a good bunch of kids. I'm already starting to pack up to begin moving, I only have about three weeks to move.

Still working on getting www.neuralanvil.com up and running. Webdesign is both grueling and boring. I've been so busy with both summer classes and our orientation weeks at the Office that I haven't had any sort of time. Now the office has given me both a statistical database project and the project of handling more marketing for their publicatio I've also got an appointment with a guy from the National Guard, considering the possibility of joining the Army Guard next year or so to help college pay for itself and to rack up those military experience. 2nd Lt. Caleb Lovelace, I like the sound of that...

More later, I think. I really need to get cracking on some video projects, an offer came down from a community filmmaker to put some stuff on a local cable channel that broadcasts local filmmakers. Opportunities, opportunities everywhere and not any time to think!

- Caleb

Weakness and a sermon

The weakness is my lack of writing for the competition. The sermon was my father's. I spent the weekend out at my parents' house, wishing my mum a happy birthday. Today my father, an Elder at his church, gave a terrific sermon on the need to be spiritual and not religious. This is a major peeve of mine. Too many times, I see young kids accepting Christianity and then wanting to strongarm everyone else into their newfound "cause". That's the trouble with youth, they bullrush into making everything happen on their own strength rather then relying on a bit of a faith. Strength of the flesh rather then the strength of faith. That's a long entry for another time, a lengthy rant upon my own failings as a person. Onwards and ever upwards, so we toil.

Speaking of failings, I failed to get a chunk of writing done, as I spent most of time today and yesterday with my parents and little brother, who I do not get to see as often as I'd like. Since they live in the country, it's tough to get together and see everyone. So it was a nice interlude from the busy life, getting out to Valley. Going to church today reminded me I desperately need to find my own church out here in the city. I need good spiritual people around me, I miss that fellowship.

As I hung out with my folks, we talked about the next several years and the things upcoming; my father wants to bring his RV up to the state, our desire to build some form of vehicle, tuition costs and financial status, my plans to move to Seattle after the University and so on. It dawned on me that I will be 21 next year. Twenty and one. My parents had been married for one year at that point.

I think I'm at the point where I want some form of long-term committed relationship. I don't think I was really ready at other points, what a long-term relationship really meant hadn't dawned on me. Now as I look at where I'm at in life and realize I'm looking at the start of a career by next year, I think I'm ready for the next step. I want... stability. I want foundation. I'm living here in the city by myself, with a steady job and solid educational framework. Next year I can pick up a more lucrative career with the police department as a reserve or part-time officer.

We'll see what's in store. I have faith, I've learned (through some very bitter and painful lessons) that whatever the Lord has in store is what I want. So it's cruise control for me, just lean back and have faith. No managing, no strong-arming. I will not create what I think I want. I will simply follow the path before me. Doors are opening faster then I can go through them, so it's working. The next few years will be very interesting.

I just hope I'm ultimately in Seattle by 2010 with a wife, a Seattle Police Department job and a hectic Master's degree program at University of Washington.

I also hope that tomorrow you will see my 1,000 words. I have yet to see Jay's go up, so hopefully I'm not horribly behind.

In living,

- Caleb 

And so it Begins!

Well, Jay and I have embarked upon a massive contest. A marathon struggle of will, as it were. We are going to conduct a mini NaNo WriMo write-off. We have until the end of July to finish a novella, with the goal of 1,000 words per three days. An easy amount, since we each like incredibly intense and busy schedules. So we are off on our own race, with the goal of finishing a nice, tidy story at the end of July. It can provide practice for NaNo WriMo and get us back into the groove of fiction writing. Lord knows, I've stepped away from writing too long and I find the concept of past participles foreign and remote.

From now on, I'll be posting updates every three days, with the passage that I've completed for that writing window. Each window of three days I must finish at least 1,000 words. Each of us will be posting our status via our personal blogs and this status bar will be updated with every 1k of words I write. If I do the minimum of 1,000 words every three days, I should hit around 17,000 by the end of July.

0 / 17 (0.0%)

I'm currently figuring what exactly my story should be. It'll either be a story about an emperor's daughter, an Irish mobster or a loose retelling of the Odyssey set in the future and Odysseus as an Arabic Catholic space captain.

Follow my progress here and follow Jay's progress here!

The Minors

Work has been extremely hectic. My major project, creation and publication of the UAA freshmen booklet called the Paw Print and it finally got back from the printers. I did the covers, complete layout, numerous logos and over a dozen pages of content on the inside. All together, it's a 63-page softbound book. It was a good project, it added Adobe InDesign CS2 to my portfolio and expanded on my capabilities with Illustrator CS3. I then shifted to making contact with incoming students, providing advice on what their next step is now that they started the admission process and pushing them towards signing up for orientation. I got around 30 students clocked into orientation, the office staff joked that I should be a telemarketing.

What a lofty ability.

Now I'm looking at running the entire office tomorrow as we cram to get ready for our next set of orientations. Confirm participants and speakers, working on creating placecards for our resource fair, running the other orientation leaders through our introduction routines and selecting videos for our entertainment section all has to get done tomorrow. Working late again. Grumble.

However, I'm getting good training. They sent me to a several-hour seminar on Final Cut Studio Pro 2, talking about the new features in it and how to use them. I now really want the new Final Cut Pro, especially the color-grading tool they just released called Color. That's awesome. Next few weeks I'm going to get training on Banner, the Oracle software that we use to track the database of all incoming students. Now I can assist students in their academic status and admission process when I'm talking to them on the phone. Eventually I'll be focusing on the major project, the huge video resource they want done that covers a "virtual orientation". That's going to be a major job.

But that's boring. What's exciting is I finally got all my paperwork in for my major, and now I'm also in the Honors College. An awesome guy in Enrollment Services, with a click of a button, destroyed the roadblock that was keeping me from being approved. I've chosen to get two minors, one in Spanish and one in History. This adds over four Spanish classes, three History classes and four Honors classes. I'll be here three years instead of the two I wanted but eh, it's not so bad. I'll be coming out of UAA with the education I want and the means to go to Graduate School, so perhaps it is all for the best. I shifted my schedule around to create an extremely busy semester now. Insanity will be my watchword. Plus, factor in workouts, College Republican meetings, Union of Students meetings work at New Student Orientation and Alaska State Defense Force unit drills.

 

Monday: 10:00pm-15am Modern Economic History

     11:30-12:45am [Honors] Enduring Books: Churchill's Marlborough

Tuesday: 8:30am-9:45am Trigonometry

                4:00pm-5:40pm Elementary Spanish II

Wednesday: 10:00pm-15am Modern Economic History

      11:30-12:45am [Honors] Enduring Books: Churchill's Marlborough

Thursday: 8:30am-9:45am Trigonometry

                 4:00pm-5:40pm Elementary Spanish II

                 7:00pm-8:40pm Fingerstyle Guitar I

 

I've also decided to run as a Student Senator and start assisting the student government here. The University is essentially controlled by a single fraternity and for the past seven years they've placed their people in student government as student president. With the election of John Roberson, a non-frat president, it appears that the balance of power may be shifting. So, it should get very interesting.

Well, that's pretty much what's happening right now. At some point this blog will be more then a simple recap of my life but for right now it is merely a pool in which I leak my wonderful life.

I've leave you with that wonderful mental image.

Would You Say I Have A Plethora?

For I do indeed have a plethora, a plethora of topics to touch upon! I will start off with the humdrum and from there slowly build a torrent of awesome so at the very end your mind will explode, spraying forth a mass of what was once your brain. So pop on Tribute by the D and listen to my tale.

Classes

I finally got all my classes figured out for the Fall. A major problem that sucks is the current error with Enrollment Services (go advisor for not telling me my paperwork for admission into the major program was never done) will prevent me from taking any upper-level classes this semester. Frustration! My academic career keeps getting extended....

However, I get to pack my schedule with the last bit of lower-level classes that are left! My current schedule is pretty good, with a lot of room to work 20 hours a week which is needed. Hopefully I'll be with the University still or moved onto the Transportation Security Administration positions they got open.

Monday: 5:30pm-6:45pm Introduction to Statistics for Business and Economics

Tuesday: 8:30am-9:45am Trigonometry

      2:30pm-3:45pm Computer Concepts in Business

                4:00pm-5:40pm Elementary Spanish II

Wednesday: 5:30pm-6:45pm Introduction to Statistics for Business and Economics

Thursday: 8:30am-9:45am Trigonometry

       2:30pm-3:45pm Computer Concepts in Business

                 4:00pm-5:40pm Elementary Spanish II

                 7:00pm-8:40pm Fingerstyle Guitar I

I'm pretty pumped about learning guitar. I've wanted to do that for a long time and it'll be nice to finally learn it. I've also decided to re-pursue a Spanish minor to add to my attractiveness in the Law Enforcement fields. Once these classes are done, all I have left is the Intermediate Micro and Macro sequence, Calculus, six upper-level Economics classes, and three upper-level Spanish classes. Also packed into that is my Honors classes (assuming I decide to enter the Honors College). I probably won't graduate until '10 or even '11. Not too bad, really.

I'm also thinking about taking next semester off and only doing Calculus (which will be a lot like this), Spanish and one Economics course while I do an EMT I and Wilderness First Responder certification courses. Plus, next year I can start doing Reserve Police Officer stuff, which will be very nice.

College Republicans

Jaren Hoffman, the Chair of the Alaska College Republicans, asked me to be his Vice-Chair of the entire state. I'm pretty excited about working with the Statewide organization and we've got a lot of stuff planned. UAA's Chapter, of which I am the Chair, is plugging along, with Erik Swanson agreeing to be our Chapter Vice-Chair. I've formed a rough agenda for the Fall Semester and have a few club officers picked out. We are going to be pretty active! It's turning out to be a solid group of guys and gals that have signed up so far. I think it'll be great.

We just now got a MySpace profile up at www.myspace.com/uaacollegerepublicans. Feel free to add us or shoot us an email at uaacollegerepublicans@gmail.com. I am really enjoying the opportunities the College Republicans present and I think I can work to present Republicans in a different light then they are right now (yes, we actually DO believe in smaller government!). Hopefully my Economics professor Larry Ross will agree to be our faculty advisor.

I need to get business cards and a vinyl banner made up for our chapter still. So much work to do, so little time!

I'm also going to try and run for USUAA Senator, to help the guys out in student government. With Roberson as the USUAA President I think it'd be a blast to start working with everyone in there. I'm going to pass around the petition packet over the summer and hopefully get the 120 signatures I need to get on the Senate. 

Microsoft's Surface

Ok, by now everyone should have seen this. Popular Mechanics has been talking about Surface, the new multi-touch technology from Microsoft.

Gattis took out a digital camera and placed it on the Surface. Instantly, digital pictures spilled out onto the tabletop. As Gattis touched and dragged each picture, it followed his fingers around the screen. Using two fingers, he pulled the corners of a photo and stretched it to a new size. Then, Gattis put a cellphone on the surface and dragged several photos to it — just like that, the pictures uploaded to the phone.

This is pretty neat. I've been waiting for something like this for awhile. This is really the advancement in technology, seamless integration. It's the future of computing. However, it is unrefined and as is, not really all that incredible as it seems. While everyone is going nuts over this, there are a few things to point out:

• As a table, your ability to use it is limited. It's basically quick interaction device and will not replace any form of computing we currently have. Drop a camera on there, play with your pics or check out a video and that's it.
• Only super fancy clubs or restaurants will have these and really, how will it impact your outing experience in it's current form?
• Don't expect to see this everywhere in your house like everyone's been saying for at least another thirty years.

Look at television. That started out in the 50s and it wasn't really until the late 90s that pretty much everything had television built into it. While Surface might be the shape of things to come, that shape is still in the early process of molding.

That being said, it sure is damn sexy.

I've got more I wanted to cover but it's late and I need to press on. I'll try and get some more writing done tomorrow about all kinds of stuff. For right now, I want to point you to a really good site ran by a friend of mine. http://www.socialstrategist.com/ is a great site focusing on innovation in communication. I highly recommend subscribing and checking it out, it's a fascinating read. In fact, it is so highly regarded that corporations are now hiring him merely to write words packed with the power of incredibleness for their corporate needs.

That's pretty cool.

Victory!

The Quicking

I'm hunched over a small keyboard on a small chair in my small office. Being the only one in the office, projects completed and calls made, I exist only to man the phones for a brief amount of time while I await the return of my boss. In this lull, this eye of the storm if you will, I turn to a solace I have not turned to in a long time. Like a sorrowful, dejected lover returning home with flowers and profuse words of apology, so I return to helm this fully armed and operational battlestation.

Only a paragraph in and already a Star Wars reference. I still got it.

There is not much to elaborate on why this blog sat silent and motionless, hemorrhaging the few readers it had. I am sure by know this blog is wandering in the vast desert void of all life, a lonely desolate existence. We'll see what we can accomplish on that front. Current status? Summer is here and I believe that is all the status needed. Wonderful, blissful summer. Full-time employment followed summer, so now I work for the University of Alaska Anchorage in the office of New Student Orientation. It's a combination of freshman babysitter, secretary and cinematographer. Yes, once again I managed to find work that included in some function my favorite activity. Chalk it up to luck or fate or just plain awesomeness.

"Cinematographer" essentially means figure out how to make a professional grade video for incoming freshmen to view on a minuscule budget, working with a huge university system that appears to never have heard about the concept of moving pictures. The only department that has reasonable aptitude in this category is Athletics. Not even the men who get paid to deal with technology can help me create a work of art and so we turn to the sports jocks to assist. Incredible, isn't it? No, not really. It's actually boring so let us turn to other matters.

College Republicans has taken flight in a manner that my wildest dreams would have never dreamed. I am now the Vice-Chair of the Alaska Federation of College Republicans. Not bad for wanting to start a small club of conservative students some three months ago. Now we have plans, members, funding, fancy spreadsheets and lots and lots of phone calls. The Young Republicans are even throwing us a party at a nice, upscale club called Platinum Jaxx. Many politicians and party officials will be there and the party's official reason for existence is to introduce the UAA College Republicans. I'm incredibly excited for the UAA Chapter. We are going to be a very active club, a big presence on campus. We have a large-scale recruitment drive in the works for the Fall semester, including barbecue socials, tables, speakers, Seawolf game appearances and more. This next semester will be a veritable cornucopia of busy and awesome wedged together.

One reason for this plethora of fun is that I'm moving, again. Sometime in July (I hope), several friends and I are going to be moving into a large house for rent near the campus. It's going to kick some serious ass. I have already deemed the residence the Mansion of Awesome. Nearby neighbors will see nothing but an emitting glow of cool from the plot of land. It's a big wooded plot and pets are allowed, meaning I can finally have a dog. I am trying to obtain an old barbecue, because what is a party house without some BBQ in the backyard during the game? It is a house of lies, is what.

Been following the Republican candidate debates? I worry greatly about our chances at the big house, it seems that even if we put a favorable candidate in, we still gain a fairly liberal president. McCain and Guiliani do not have strong stances on critical conservative issues and Romney simply swapped on a lot of important issues as soon as he announced his run. Who is our next Reagan? Tancredo? Brownback? There are rumors of a purported champion by the name of Fred Thompson but can he really win the candidacy? We shall see...

I suppose I should put together a resemble semblance of a project together this morning so time to get going. If you are reading this entry on my Facebook, be sure to actually come visit the blog. It's been redesigned to look much better, thank God.

Singles can still enjoy V.D.

Valentines Day sucks. And doesn't work as an abbreviation, that much is clear.

Jay Leno and Dennis Miller make an awesome combination. Tonight's show was superb.

Lots to write about but tomorrow is my first Theater class test so I should really hammer out some studying. Then tomorrow it's time to cram for the mathematics test. Grumble.

Not dead yet folks, more later.

- Maddog
she was killing me in that mini-skirt

Dreams

I've had a lot of vivid dreams lately. Dreams are unproductive. They accomplish nothing and convey stuff you'd rather not think about, people you've tried to move past and things that are just so bizarre. Sleep itself is an abomination. Wasteful. Disgraceful.

Really feel like a huge pressure has been lifted off me, not sure how to relay that via the written word so instead I'll proclaim my newfound love of Futurerama. Adult Swim is the best thing ever to a college guy. Except the stupid new Ted and Eric Awesome Show and Moleman shows. Stuck to cartoons man, not craptastic live action.

Bunch of other stuff but I'm tired and Futurerama is almost over. Classes start at 11:30 tomorrow, so it's off to uselessness activities during the night (innuendo?).

- Maddog
much as i love comics and videogames