U of A... hockey team?

So University of Arizona has a hockey team. It's just a club, but we still have one. Go figure. Andrew invited me to go with a bunch of the guys from his dorm, so I, having nothing better to do, tagged along. Good thing I did because it was an amazing game. Plus, it was against ASU, so I had to be there when we shamed them. However, ASU was ahead the whole game. We went into the third period 1-4. We end up scoring two goals, bringing it to 3-4. 26 seconds left on the clock, and we score. Game goes into a 5 minute, 4 vs 4 overtime. Less than a minute in, we score and win. Crazy stuff. The best part was, after every one of our goals, the whole stadium chants "He shoots, he scores! Hey goalie, you suck. It's all your fault. It's all your fault. etc..." Fantastic. I ended up very happy I went, one of the best $6.75 I've spent my whole life.
Also, for those of you curious, I did do laundry today, but nothing worth noting. Other than each "laundry room" is exactly that. A room with one washer, one dryer. I was expecting a few more than that, something more substantial than I have at home.

My (not so shiny) new toy!

Today, I bought me a bike. Found it on Craigslist yesterday, contacted the seller, and took the deal.It was $50 for the bike, a lock, front and back lights, and a bicycle pump. Awesome. Plus, the girl I bought it from said it had never been ridden, I figured she was just trying to make it more desirable. No, aside from some dust and dirt, it looks like it has never been ridden. But of course, my first time riding it, I mess up the gears and make the chain fail off. Off to a good start. Got it fixed though, so can't complain. The front tire might have a leak though, not sure. While we're on a transportation topic, check out my insoles. Pretty impressive, if I say so myself. Gonna need a new pair mom and dad. That's about all I have worth writing about, life has settled down considerably. I do have to do laundry tomorrow, so maybe I'll blog about that, who knows.

Rainy Daze

First really rainy day since I've been here in Tucson. It's just a constant light drizzle though, so I can still walk without too much issue. However, because it has been raining non-stop, there are some sizable puddles in the streets. As I was walking back from lunch/breakfast at Jack in the Box, a cop car sped through a puddle as I was walking on the sidewalk. Fortunately I saw it coming and got as far from the road as I could, but the cop still managed to soak my shoes. Also, Jamie decided to come for a day visit, so I saw her for an hour or so, her best friend is also down here so she's been hanging with her. But man, if I thought regular Sundays were boring, rainy Sundays are way worse. Also, 2 photos from an adventure yesterday.This is the statue (for lack of a better word) that sits in front of our Student Union, which is supposedly supposed to mimic the U.S.S. Arizona. Anyway, once the wind blows hard enough, it jingles, which is cool. Until you realize what's jingling. The things hanging between each of the points of the cross are dog tags of (I think fallen) soldiers involved with the U.S.S. Arizona. So if you're around that thing when the wind blows, it's pretty depressing.
And then this is the behemoth that is the Gould-Simpson building, where the computer science department is located. This is the building I took all those scenery shots from, from the 7th and 9th floors.

Shopping Trip Adventure

Thursday being my day with only one class, I decided to do something productive with my time. I dared to venture into the "ghetto" that I've been told appears the second you step off campus. My reason? A real grocery store with real prices. I found a Safeway that's only like 5 blocks off of campus. Could I make it there safely? Well, I did, and this is the scene I was greeted with (careful, these pictures are extremely graphic).
Don't let the run-down exterior fool you, it's actually nice on the inside.
It was a horrific neighborhood. They even had a church... how can anyone live like this?
But seriously, wow. I can't believe how ridiculous people are. The neighborhood was nice, I followed a major road to get there, and it was as nice as any Safeway down in Scottsdale. Now for my booty.
This is probably the best thing I've seen since I've been on campus. They don't sell bread on campus. I've been wanting a dang peanut butter sandwich for a week. In fact, I am eating one right now. I think I'm going to make my shopping trip a weekly thing, just so I have something to do on Thursdays.
Update: Just did the math on a PB sandwich. 30 cents. Nice.

McKale, with picture!

Played basketball in McKale again today. Got a picture (with my phone unfortunately). Played with some of the guys who are gonna be intramural with me. However, I think we have seven now, all of which are significantly better than me, so I'm gonna try and sit out of as many games as possible. Getting picked last during basketball is a rather rude awakening XD Needless to say, it hurt a bit, so I don't really feel like keeping the team back. They say it's just for fun, but we're all male so you know inside they're all competitive and hoping to win. So I would rather not hamper that. Plus, I don't really enjoy looking like an idiot in front of a bunch of people. Also, I left my shampoo and soap in the shower yesterday and have no idea as to where it would have gone. So I'm sweaty, stinky, and without the proper materials to undo said conditions. Awesome.

Spanish Homework

Watching this video is literally my Spanish homework. We were given a sheet of lyrics with blanks to fill in. Awesome. For anyone curious, it's Sabes a Chocolate by the Kumbia Kings. Kinda catchy actually.

First Day Off

So none of my teachers gave any serious homework, so I have the whole three-day weekend pretty much for myself. For today, I decided to finish my self-guided tour of the campus by checking out the northern part of campus. Pretty much all that's there is the medical facilities, however, they are huge. Had to take three pictures to get all of it.

I also ran into the first Catholic Church I've seen here on campus. So if I ever feel the need to attend a mass, I know where to go now.

It's a nice enough looking place. Might stop in if I'm ever in the area again.
One thing I didn't realize is how Tucson is surrounded by mountains. If I'm not mistaken, these are the Catalina Mountains. Pretty good scenery in my opinion.

Painted on a garage of a house I passed on my walk (I ended up walking about three miles). Thought it was cool enough for a picture.
This stuff is part of the sidewalk for a good one-to-two miles of the sidewalk. Sometimes it switches sides of the sidewalk, sometimes it zigs and zags. Didn't know why, so I figured I'd follow it.
Yeah. It just ends at a rock. I was hoping for a pot of gold or a snake head or something interesting. Nope. That's pretty much the definition of lame.

Of All the Times...

Of all the times to forget my camera! So the guys I met invited me to go play basketball at McKale. I was under the impression McKale was the dorm with a basketball court outside of it. Lo and behold, McKale is actually McKale Memorial Center, the basketball court where the U of A team plays their games. So of course, I don't have my camera, and here I was playing basketball on the best court in Tucson. Sure, I have it all the times I walk to class or go eat and never have anything to take a picture of. Sonofagun. But I got invited to play intramural with them, so I have an intramural basketball team now. I'm the worst on the team, but I figure with a little practice I won't be terrible (Dad, I'm gonna be looking for pointers when I come home). However, the guys want to make basketball a weekly thing, hopefully I can take pictures next time.

Second Day of Class

Another low key day. My stomach is returning back to normal and I ate about as much as I usually would. Only had one class today, nice and easy. Devney came down on a work trip and took me out to Cold Stone in a big ol' white hummer that almost didn't fit into the parking garage. College life is already seeming normal to me, I'm actually pretty surprised at how quickly I got comfortable with everything. I also have almost all of my accounts and what-not set up and taken care of. So everything is going pretty darn great. Just gotta make it through tomorrow and I get my three day weekend. I'm already living for the weekends. Doesn't take long does it?

These pictures are from the ninth floor of the science building.
It's almost worth being a comp-sci major for the view from this building alone.

First Day of Class

Today was pretty good. Got to all my classes on time or early, all my instructors seem decent (although ratemyprofessors.com says otherwise on one of them). Still haven't made any friends, but I keep running into high school friends, which is nice. But I'm in a dorm full of strangers, surrounded by strangers in all my classes, and am trying to be friendly, so I'm sure I'll make a friend eventually. The campus is actually really nice, haven't run into a mean/rude person yet. And although the buildings are rather bland (red brick and concrete) the architecture and scenery aren't too bad. I have to say I was skeptical the first few days here, but I'm starting to warm up to college life. Nothing worth taking photos of today, so no pictures to post. However, there's a dorm get-together tonight so there may very well be another post on that. Lastly, feel free to comment on my posts. It would be nice to have a little confirmation that someone is reading these other than me!

CatCard

Is this not the most awesome ID photo ever? It looks like I'm standing on the wall the way my hood and hair are positioned. Woulda been nice if the photo lady had told me I looked like I just got off the special bus. And I gotta live with this for the next (possibly) 4 years. Sweet.

Orientation - Day 2

Day two flew by. Really not a whole lot to report. Everything is pretty much taken care of. My adviser said not to worry about math and to just make sure my scores get sent over. So that was my biggest worry off of my shoulders. Got all my classes set up, and I'm not taking math or English, so this will be an interesting semester. My classes are: and intro to computer science, spanish 102 (I tested out of 101, woohoo), Justice and Virtue, and Philosophy and Perspective of the Individual Mind. Pretty neat stuff. Also hung out with Trevor and Andrew, two of my friends from high school. Had a good time and learned some good stuff that they don't tell you during orientation =). Just to finish, I thought I'd share the awesome view from the ninth floor of the science building (where I met my adviser today).

Orientation - Day 1

First day completely on my own. Scary? Check. Awesome? Double check. Smooth? Check. Despite my nerves and worries, today went absolutely fine. Don't have my math placement figured out, but hopefully it'll get worked out. My adviser didn't seem too worried.

Figured I should start the day with breakfast, so I found this bagel place on Google. Walked there, about 10 minutes away, got my bagel and milk and left. I decided to keep walking around and get acquainted with the campus. Took my first bite of the bagel, and despite my best efforts, could not swallow it. You never really realize how nervous you are until you have to eat. I ended up shoving it in my pocket and having it for lunch. Anyhoo...

Found this during my evening adventure, you can't see it, but the football stadium is behind this sign. Thought it was kind of a cool shot, might try to get it when there's some light out.
My first sit down meal here at U of A was, you guessed it, at Jack in the Box. Stomach still can't handle anything standard, so I just wanted some simple chicken strips. Worked out well.
On the note of firsts, this was my first adventure on my own here on campus (on Sunday). I was thirsty and wanted some snacks, so I walked down to 7-11. Man am I living the high life.

Moving In

My first day on campus, thought I'd upload some pictures of my new home.

These are of the front of Yuma Residence Hall (my home).
This is what you see when you walk in the door.
My desk.
My bed (top bunk baby!)
My in room sink (living in luxury, you're jealous, I know).

And my closet, which is way bigger than I had hoped. I actually feel like I didn't bring enough clothes because it's so empty.