Wow, busy weekend. Yesterday the sport extravaganza started at 3:00 with Aggie Baseball against Arkansas (we won 7-5). Emily, Jeff, and Ryan (Jeff's roommate at Michigan) came with us. Next Matt and I dropped in on softball for a bit, and then we headed out for some BBQ at Rudy's. Then back to Olsen Field to see the Aggies defeat New Mexico 2-1. So Friday produced three stamps for the old 12th Man Team Rewards Card.

Today we headed out early to watch some men's tennis at noon against UTSA. We won 7-0. We wandered over to Reed Arena to see the last men's home basketball game (they lost to Colorado 70-76...way to go, 0-14 in the Big XII). Emily joined us at this point for some softball before baseball at 3:00 against New Mexico (we won 11-10). We were late because of softball and had to sit in the right field bleachers. Boo. Then some more softball (lost), tennis (won), and baseball (lost 4-6, first loss of the season)! We left baseball pretty early to get some dinner at Souper Salad. Now we're home (whew).

All told, Matt and I got 10 stamps on our cards in the last 48 hours. We both hit the 24 mark and got our maroon A&M visors - very spiffy. Now we're not worried about being able to make it to 36 for our baseball jerseys. Some things learned during this remarkable sporting journey:
-sitting in the right field bleachers isn't fun...there are little kids there screeching and people don't do all the yelling and heckling you get in the student section
-softball is boring...and tiny - like, 20 of their fields could fit in Olsen Field
-tennis is surprisingly fun to watch. it made me want to play it too, which is more than i can say for softball
-the arkansas 1st base coach really needs to get in/get out of the box and for god's sake, stop squatting like that ( oh, and touch his butt)
-the men's basketball team SUCKS...how can they get so close to winning so many times and NEVER win? i feel sorry for them...especially for scrappy (leandro garcia-morales) - i like him, he's like a little steve nash
-aggie baseball rules

Tomorrow I need to get some homework and studying done. I'm determined to do more periodic studying and less last minute studying for anatomy. Hopefully it works out. I should probably study for microbiology too (test Thursday). I am SO pumped about going to the mini-ranch next weekend. I hope the weather's as nice as it was the last couple days (sans wind, that was a little excessive).

Test update update: I got a 94 on my genetics test! Whoop!

The average was an 81, and my prof was super impressed. He said that he knew it wasn't because he was a good lecturer but because we'd studied really hard. And then he said that the rough letter grade distribution would be 83-100=A, 72-82=B, 62-72=C, etc...with the average being a B, this didn't make much sense to me...but I'll accept it! And he revealed that the final exam is optional. WHOOP!

Test Update: I got my biochemistry test score just now - a 77. Which doesn't sound good right off the bat, but this is the class where the prof says that you can consider something 20 points above the average an A, 10 points above the average a B, at the average a C, etc. And the average was a 56! So WOHOO! I'll probably get my genetics test back tomorrow, but so far all my test grades are acceptable. Happy Cameron.

Yay, I'm done with my first round of tests!

Today's good news: I got an 88% on my anatomy test! (44/50) When I saw the 44 on my paper and thought it was out of 100 points, I was like "yeah, I guess I'm not really surprised..." but was really happy when I found out it was out of 50 points!
Today's bad news: My biochemistry test was really hard. There were 25 multiple choice questions worth 3 points each, and I guessed on maybe half of them. I'd think "maybe it is (c), no wait, that's in another pathway, no I'm thinking of glucose-6-phosphate, not glucose-1-phosphate...is that phosphatase or kinase or synthase...cytochrome a, b, or c?...huh?" The good part is that there actually is a curve in that class, so I still have a chance.

I finished Deathbird Stories (#18 on the list) today. It was really a disturbing collection of short stories (the author had a caveat lector in the front of the book telling us we shouldn't read them all in one sitting because they were disturbing). I didn't really like most of them, but the last two stories were really good. I don't know that I'd recommend the book overall, but I would recommend those last two stories ("Adrift off the Islets of Langerhans" and "The Deathbird"). It was a nice way to end the book.

Well, I'm going to relax tonight and be happy that I don't have another test until next Thursday! :)

Not too much to report, but I feel I should post a weekend update...

We (Matt, Em, and I) left College Station after my biochemistry class on Friday. I studied in the backseat during the car ride. Matt and I went to the Stars game on Friday night, which totally rocked. We kicked Colorado's butt 5-1. It was so insanely awesome that Matt and I were able to forget we both were sick (he got my cold, which I apparently got from Emily - thanks, Em). On Saturday Mom and Dad trundled down to the ranch (after feeding me pancakes, yum). So I studied more biochem and told Murphy the names of all his bones. Saturday night saw me dining with the Roberts (yay for family #2!) and then Matt and I saw Eurotrip. We knew it wasn't going to be high-class humor, but we were a bit disappointed overall, not because it wasn't funny but because it could've been so much funnier. Today I got up, had some excellent Peggy Sue brisket for lunch (still no parents to be seen), took the dog on a walk in the most gorgeous weather ever, and then got ferried back to College Station. We got stuck in a ginormous traffic jam that took about 45 minutes to clear, which was unfortunate, as Matt also had a test to study for. I was in the back seat studying away. Emily was up front, refusing to stand up through the sunroof to see what the hold-up was (we never did figure it out).

And now I'm back here in College Station, studying more. Yuck. Time for dinner.

Happy Birthday Leslie!
I hope you're having a marvelous day relaxing, not teaching, and enjoying yourself!


A little less than a year ago, I was on a quest to find some quality books to read. I came across the Science Fiction Book Club's list of the "most significant SF & fantasy books of the last 50 years, 1953-2002." [Here] So I printed it out, crossed off what I'd already read (#1,5,10,23,26,27,29,37,42,48) and found out which of these books were in A&M's library. One source of annoyance - A&M has a huge SF collection that isn't allowed to circulate. How annoying. But still, lots of these books were available to be checked out, so I got to work. I read Stranger in a Strange Land (#4) and The Colour of Magic (#16) and then promptly lost the list when I moved out of my apartment. I discovered it a while back but didn't start making the effort again until recently. I read Neuromancer last week and The Caves of Steel yesterday.

Impressions: SSL was really good until it started getting really weird. And it unnerves me that someone took that idea and made a real church out of it [The Church of All Worlds]. You grok? The Colour of Magic didn't really do anything for me. Neuromancer was pretty interesting, I managed to get into it, but it was also pretty confusing. This may stem from me really being more of a fantasy person rather than a SF person. However, The Caves of Steel, which I just finished last night, I loved. I'd never read Asimov before, but now I definitely want to read more.

So anyway, has anyone out there read these or any of the other books on the list and feel like commenting? I know several of you out there have read Snow Crash, which I will read as soon as the person who checked it out of the library returns it. Okay, anyway, time to get ready for school.

So it's two tests down and I have a full-blown cold. Nice. As far as my tests went, genetics was just fine and anatomy was moderately awful. It is always frustrating when you feel that everything you did know wasn't on the test and everything you were fuzzy on was. Moral of the story: study sooner, longer, and harder. Message received. The rest of the week will see some efforts to study for Monday's biochemistry test and a welcome escape to Dallas this weekend for some hockey and relaxation. Maybe some homemade chicken soup will be in order too. And I'm definitely feeling the call of the individual cheese pizza with light cheese and light sauce from Amore. So yeah, I'm sick, tired, glad my two tests are over but dreading biochem next week. Blah..cough cough...sniiiiiiiiff.

And I'm bummed that I didn't get to see Leslie while she was in Texas. :( I wish my birthday were tomorrow.

i'm totally getting sick, which is awesome, but the really good news is that the blob i just found in my hair was lint and not dog fat from anatomy lab as i first suspected.

Quotation of the Day: "The butt is my favorite part" - my microbiology lab TA, speaking on Triple Sugar Iron Agar (TSIA) slants.

He later admitted that he just likes saying that.

So tests the next two days...awesome. Speaking of that, I really should study, since that's what I'm skipping my pre-vet society meeting to do.

It's amazing how a little sunshine and a clean bathroom can make me feel so much better.

A quick update: Valentines was great. We didn't have baseball on Friday because it was rained/sleeted out, but Matt and I did have our nice dinner that night. My roommates make-uped me in a very amusing (for them) and painful (for me) process. It wasn't actually painful, but it did remind me why I don't wear make-up. But it was actually kind of fun - I felt like a movie star with two people working on my face at once. So yes, Italian food for dinner, and then we came back to the duplex and watched the first two episodes of the West Wing (I got Matt the 1st season on DVD for Valentines, along with the American Wedding DVD and a Phish CD [a Dallas concert]; he got me a very soft and comfy maroon A&M sweatshirt).

Yesterday was the first Aggie baseball game of the season - Matt, Emily, and I went despite it being 35 degrees out. We saw George Bush throw the first pitch of the game (he did pitch in the College World Series when he was in school). We only lasted three innings, though, because we couldn't feel our extremities. That was all we needed, though, since when we left we were already ahead by about 12 runs. Final score: A&M 15, A&M-Corpus Christi 0. Last night was more West Wing episodes and watching Return to Me - one of my favorite movies of all time!

Today I've just been studying. I have a genetics test Tuesday and anatomy on Wednesday. Then biochemistry next week. I'm going slightly crazy. So I may not write again for a while. Oh, also we're going to Dallas next weekend so Emily can see Jeff and Matt and I can go to the Stars game on Friday. Fun times! :) Hopefully I can make it until then...

So much for baseball. I think the sleet this morning might have had something to do with the cancellation of the game.

On an unrelated note, nothing gets you feeling romantic like a trip to the "women's clinic" at Beutel.

On my way to my car from work today, I ride passed the Academic Building. My timing today was perfect - I got there just in time to see a senior corps guy greet his girlfriend under the saber arch, walk her to the bench under the Century tree, and propose. Awwwwww! I love A&M. (and I love how all these random people like me will gather to watch when they sense a proposal is in the works)

Well, now that I have this mostly all set up, I should probably post something of substance. But since of you might be joining us with little idea of what's going in my life, I might as well start with that...

Right now I'm in my last real semester of my college career. I have to get through this spring and then some summer school, and I'm outta here in August. This semester is making me very ready to get out. I'm taking anatomy, microbiology, genetics, and biochemistry II. Weee... Anatomy is really cool. We have our dog that we dissect on twice a week and it is interesting ... but we have to know SO much that it is pretty overwhelming. You think bones are easy? Wait until you have to know every single bony prominence, groove, joint surface, etc on all of them. So that's anatomy. Really interesting but hard. Then microbiology - by far my easiest class. Thank god. I needed one. It is also not too interesting, though, but hopefully it'll pick up now that we gotten past "the cell and you" chapters. Genetics...probably my most interesting class. My prof is insanely smart (and cocky, but we won't get into that). He expects a lot of us, but I think genetics is really fascinating and I'm enjoying learning about all sorts of genetic disorders. Then there's biochemistry. I thought last semester was bad. My prof this semester has the most monotone voice ever. All his lectures are these really bright, highly animated powerpoints. He expects us to know everything about metabolism biochemistry. We all hate the class (which is sad, because it could be really interesting). I fear an uprising is coming. I'll be laying low in the back of the class to avoid the bloodshed.

So that is this semester. This summer I'll be taking anthropology and physiology and then I'll be done. Then I'll go home and live with Mom and Dad (whoop!) while I work on getting some "animal experience" so I can get into vet school. And then the really hard classes will start. :)

Some other thoughts...
-I'm supposed to be getting a horse to live at the mini-ranch. I'm beginning to think it was a trick.
-Matt and I will be celebrating our sixth Valentine's Day together this weekend. Goodness...we're going to dinner. Lots of Aggie baseball was going to be involved in the weekend celebration but since it has been raining for 12,000 days now, we find that unlikely.
-I wish I had a cat.
-Hopefully I can work it out with Leslie and Bryan so that I can have some pictures up here. Eventually...
-My room smells a bit like formaldehyde. Great.
-Morrowind is a highly addictive game. If I make sub-par grades this semester, I will blame Elliot for introducing me to that game.

That should keep you occupied for a while. I have to go to class. Whizzeeeeeeee...[boom]

Okay, so I've made enough modifications of the blog so that I'm somewhat satisfied with its appearance. I think I can share it with the world now, even though I think the comments are still a little iffy. I'm sure Clare can help. :)

So world, I give you kokiri.blogspot.com. 10 points to the first person who can tell me where I got the name.

Cheers, Cameron

I don't think I got the comments to work. Hmm...this stuff is trickiness.