Between breaks there is...school.

Today is my second day back from Iowa State University's little gift to students--an entire week off at Thanksgiving. It was good to see a lot of good friends that I see not nearly enough and I hope to see more such people over the Christmas, winter, or semester break, depending on how the reader sees it. Thanksgiving break was great because I got to see Rachel every day and I didn't have to pay for food or heat very often. Also, I got a lot of work in at First Gear and Ace's Place which should sustain my ability to pay rent for a bit. Woo hoo!

The break gave me an opportunity to set aside my school stuff, which I probably should not have done, and begin studying for the glorious tea party that is the GRE. Unfortunately the only times available to take it are during finals week, so I'll have two big finals on December 11th, the GRE on the 12th, and an easy final on the 14th. I thought getting things essentially finished by Tuesday would be conducive of a relaxing finish to the week and hopefully time to watch the third and fourth seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm. You're a wonderful man, Larry David. Oh, and since I'm taking the GRE, I'm looking at graduate schools. My frontrunners are Minnesota, Iowa, and Marquette. Don't worry, I'll always be a cyclone (especially if I end up in Iowa City). Though, if anyone reading this knows of a good job they or an acquaintance would like to offer me, I'll be glad to consider it as an alternative to graduate school.

Ok, so for those who are in college, good luck with the rest of the semester (in case I don't post another blog) and let me know if you'll be around the greater-Dubuque area over break and we'll kick it. Have a great day.

Mid-Semester Crisis

All of the students tuning in are probably quite familiar with the middle of each semester being overwhelming in an I-want-to-quit-school way. It's pretty normal so I'm not too worked up about it. Elsewhere in school--Prof. Mega. is still difficult to listen to and even harder to judge because of attempts to be a good friend of mine outside of classes. I even met his wife. Sen. Joe Biden visited Ames on Tuesday and seems to have a pretty good grasp on domestic and foreign policy and leadership. He has declared his candidacy in 2008--honestly, what wouldn't be a welcomed change...I'm looking through graduate schools and very soon I'll be taking the GRE with a smile and by "taking" I don't mean answering the questions. Ouch. If anyone has any tips as to where Andy should attend graduate school or any good reasons that I should go to graduate school instead of getting a job, let me know.
In the last one, I was looking forward to the Silversun Pickups which ended up to be warranted. Their set ranks near the top, if not the top, of concerts I've seen at the M-shop. Rachel and Alex were also fans. Great, great music. If you get a chance to see them buy a ticket and go because it will be worth it. If you get a chance to pick up any of their albums, hey, why not? Those are pretty great, too. Other new media: Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep is a lot of fun. Syriana is not as much fun but pretty good. Homestarrunner.com's Halloween toon this year is way cool, even Tony Clifton! &c.
Chris Matthews' Hardball came to campus a little bit ago. What a find tea party that was. Matthews was a bit conceited and inconsiderate to anyone within hearing distance and Sen. John McCain continued displays of his fantastic ability to not answer any question even if pushed. Hey, that's cool. He's only elected to represent Arizona, not actually do anything. Continued, therefore, is my personal ban of 24-hour news networks. Big loss for me, I know.
The Bears are still undefeated. Rex Grossman is a benefit to my fantasy football team that was never expected, but gladly accepted. I love the Bears. Further in fantasy news, Joe got me started on fantasy congress. Each team owner chooses a team of Congressmen and receives points for legislation. It's crazy! Let me know if you would like to join our league--Iowa. We so Corny.
That's about it for now...