End of Freshman Year

The end of this school year is fast approaching. i still cant believe that ive been through a full year of my college career. it has gone by pretty fast for the most part. as we near the end of this spring semester, we look forward to finals, and papers, and just getting to the end. luckily, i only have to take 2 finals, and write an in class essay for my finals. thats a very nice way to end my year. ill have a final in psychology, and a final in health.

im not really worried about this health final. its like im taking middle school health all over again. theres a little more information than we learned in middle school, but still, its not a hard class. so im really not worrying about that one at all. now, the pysch final. that's a different story. i didnt really enjoy going to this class. its not really a thing that i like to study. it didnt catch my interest. either way, i will be doing a lot of studying for this final. luckily half the final will be on stuff that i kinda like listening to and learning about. so ill at least do good on half of it. the other half, ill have to do a lot of studying for.

have u ever tried doing work on a nice day? yea, it doesnt really work out does it? you see all your friends outside and other people just chillin out there in the nice weather. the weather has been getting better. yesterday was definitely one of the nicest days of the semester. i took some of the stuff in my room here, home so that when i go home for good in a couple weeks, i wont have to take it all at once. when i got home, i dropped off some stuff, and the thermometer in the car said 94 degrees. it was even nicer at my own house. i cant wait to go home after i take my health final. ill be home the 17th and ill be home for the summer. thats all im looking forward to at this point.

im guessing most of us will have a summer job when we go home. or maybe youre staying in cortland for the summer. i know that i have a job waiting for me at home. i will be painting lines in parking lots and stuff like that. sounds like a weird job yes, but it will definitely be a good one. im looking forward to it. the last 3 years i had worked as a lifeguard. they are making a lot of changes to the pool this year, including a cut in pay. i dont really wanna work somewhere where i get paid less, so i found a new job. i had been a part time guard the first two years, and was full time last year. that included teaching swim lessons and lifeguarding on certain days. it was a good job, working outside in the sun all the time and being around a pool which is what i like to do. but i dont like pay cuts. haha and i dont think you would like it either if you knew what it was going to.

so, ive been in need of a new ringtone and im not really sure what to get. there are so many different songs out there that are good, but i want to find the right one. past ringtones ive had include: santeria, by sublime, the office theme song haha, fresh prince theme song, up up and away by kid cudi, and dont stop believing by journey. that is only a few of the ones that i have on my phone. what do you guys like to use as your ringtones? i would really like a new one. so suggestions are always welcome. lemme know what you guys think.

i also dont really like my phone anymore. i wanna get a new one. i have the voyager right now and i just got sick of it. i guess ill live with it for now so whatever haha.

does anyone like commercials? because i sure do not. theyre so annoying and pointless. i did find a commercial that i do like. im sure youve all seen the staples commercial with the guy yelling in the store when he looks at the prices of the things they have at their store. its definitely my favorite commercial. and i sure do hate them a lot. but if you havent seen or heard of the commercial im talking about check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kExTJ6SLXV4

well, as we come to a close on the school year, we will all be taking tests, finishing up papers and all that stuff. good luck to all of you that have to take finals and stuff. peace.

'Never shall innocent blood be shed, yet the blood of the wicked shall flow like a river. The Three shall spread their blackened wings and be the vengeful striking hammer of God.'

-the boondock saints

HMMMM

so i dont even know what to write about. i have no topic to write about, i have no ideas of what to write about, and i dont really wanna write this but i will. im just gonna write and see where it goes. this could be very interesting, im just gonna throw that out there.

this past weekend was pretty fun. we had a bunchh of recruits come up and visit our school and our team got to meet them. at least half of them are planning on coming here next year which is pretty cool. i remember last year when i had come here for an open house as well and realizing this was the place i wanted to come. its like that for a lot of these prospective students as well. they were unsure of where they wanted to go until this past weekend. i know that the open house and our team really helped them decide.

there is actually a guy from my high school thats gonna be coming here next year. i swam with him for the last 5 years. and now ill get to swim with him for another 3. its cool to see people from my school come here. there are a couple other people from my high school that are coming here, but arent gonna swim. theyre looking to play other sports here thats for sure.

so, since my season has ended i have found some things to fill my free time with. since im done with my classes by 1:30 everyday, i have a lot of time to just sit around and do nothing. i have been trying to fill that time though and i think i have done it well. i have been trying to do some work outs since im in the off season of swimming. ive been running every now and then and ive been trying to hit the gym every now and then. also, i play basketball at night with some of the guys from the swim team. we go over to park and just play with whoever's there. usually theres a bunch of people there to play with, so its fun either way.

why has the weather been so bad lately? its awful and it sucks. the weather that we had a couple weeks ago definitely needs to come back. i wanna go cliff jumping again before the school year ends. there are some awesome cliffs up in ithaca that we went to at the beginning of the year when it was still pretty hot. hopefully by may itll be warm enough to go and jump off the cliffs. there are a couple spots to jump from. the cliffs vary in size from 6 feet to around 60 feet. i havent gone off the 60 footer yet, but i plan on it the next time we go. we usually take 4 or 5 car loads up there for a couple hours and just jump for a long time. its a good time. a park ranger usually comes and tells us to leave, but that never happens. its too fun. yea, it might be just a little dangerous, but cmon, let us have our fun. they can never get us to leave. everyone that goes there has a great time. one time we were actually there and some of the guys from the cortland football team were there too. some of them wouldnt jump... i thought that was a little funny. not to put down football. but yea...

well, since were on the topic of facebook statuses, lets talk about those. haha yes i know we were never on that topic at all during this post. but whatever. what do you guys like to put up as your status? i always hate the ones that are about them being depressed and sad and all that annoying crap. honestly, i dont really care how you feel. well, thats a lie. i do but i dont. when youre being all 'ohhh the world sucks, and everyone hates me and i hate everyone' just go away. i have no time for that. sorry, but thats just me. the ones i like the most is when people get on their roommates computer or someone gets on and changes it to something funny. i must say, one girl got me pretty good. changed my picture, status, and messaged some people. it was good. i laughed. anyway, lets keep our statues happy. i dont wanna hear your sob stories. please and thanks! hahaha

well, thats pretty much all i have left in my head for tonight. im gonna go watch pink panther 2. from what ive heard, its pretty funny haha. i guess well see. maybe ill that to write about for my next post instead of just rambling on and on. although it was pretty fun i must say. well see. have a good night all. ill be back, no worries.

"Oh man, Friday, I really wanted an egg salad sandwich and I was just obsessing about it and I was like, 'Man, I'm gonna make one of those.' So Saturday, I went out and got, like, a dozen eggs and then I boiled them all and I just, I spent, I dunno, probably three hours, like three and a half hours making, you know, the mayonnaise, and the onions and paprika and, you know, the necessary accoutrement. And then, by the time I was done, I didn't really feel like like eating it."

Weather

the weather is getting sooo nice now! it definitely isnt winter anymore and it's a really good thing. i was really sick of the coldness that we kept having here. the past couple days its been well into the 60's and today it was even in the high 70's. its fantastic!
this is the weather that i truly enjoy. cold weather sucks. but the warm weather is where it's at. when the weather is like this, there is so much to do! yesterday i played a nice game of ultimate frisbee on the field next to the field house. we got a bunch of the swimmers and played a good game of ultimate. it was nice to get outside and play in the nice weather. we also got to go to the baseball game. it was a pretty good game. they beat st. joe's 3-2. very close game.
today was even nicer than it was yesterday. when i checked the temperature of the day it said 77. for the second day of april, that is very warm. it doesnt get much better than this. instead of staying inside all day a bunch of us played ultimate frisbee once again. might as well be outside where the weather is nice and the sun's out. there were people all over campus just hanging out in the sun. girls were laying out trying to get tan, and guys were playing lacrosse, soccer, and lots of other stuff.
hopefully from here on out the weather stays like this. im not really sure what the weathers gonna be like because im not a weather man. but i would really enjoy it if it stayed like it has the last couple days. its so much nicer when the weather is nice.
im also going home this weekend to visit my family and maybe see some of my friends. i was just home, but itll be nice to be home again. my aunt and uncle will be there again. im leaving tomorrow morning. well celebrate easter on sunday and enjoy the company thats there. itll be nice.
oh, major league baseball also starts very soon! i cant wait for the season to get underway. the red sox (my favorite team) open their season on sunday against the reigning world champion yankees (who are my least favorite team). well see how the start of their season goes. i predict the red sox win their opening game 4-2. but i have no clue. have a nice weekend and enjoy the nice weather.

'Ah, well, sir, I feel like a, like a slice of butter... melting on top of a big-ol' pile of flapjacks... yeah.'

one of my favorite movies, Pineapple Express.

laterrrr!

Nothing New

i had a fantastic spring break, that's all i have to say. it was great going home and being with my family and friends. the first weekend i wasn't actually home. i went to visit my sister and her husband. they live in alfred, new york. my sister is pregnant and they are in the process of finishing the baby's room for when it comes. the baby's due in june sometime. when i was there, we did some painting and cleaning up around the room. it wasn't too bad. i had a good time doing it. we went out to dinner a couple times and one night we had home made pizza. it was a good way to spend my first weekend away from school.
i then went home for the rest of my break. that was a good time as well. since my brother still had school, i didn't really have much to do at home by myself. i found stuff to do, and was able to keep myself unbored. the first few days weren't too exciting but as the week went on it got better. i played a lot of basketball with friends that were home from school as well. that was what i spent a couple of days doing.
my sister was having a baby shower the upcoming weekend so her and her husband came up to visit vestal along with my aunt and uncle. my aunt and uncle are from massachusetts. they always come to visit which is nice. luckily i was home when they came to visit. that was convenient. on saturday, my uncle, father, brother in law, and i went to my brother's high school volleyball tournament. it was a good time. my brother's one of the better players on the team. me watching my brother play a sport was different for me. he's always been the one to watch me. it was cool seeing him play and do so well for his team.
the team did really well. they advanced to the semi finals but couldn't get further than that. it was an accomplishment for them because they weren't exactly sure of where they stood against the other teams. except the ones that they played.
spring break was a really nice time off from all of this school stuff. only 7 or so more weeks left til the summer. the last final push to the end will be tough now that the weather is getting nice. hope you all had a good break as well!

-I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.-

I Don't Have A Title.

this past saturday, i spent a couple hours in my hometown where i grew up. i was raised in vestal, new york, only 45 minutes south of here. it is very convenient to live so close, seeing as most of my friends are more than two hours or more away. i decided to take the trip home to see my high school basketball team compete in their sectional game. it was very exciting, to say the least.

my friend sean has his car here on campus. hopefully ill get mine up here next semester. i miss driving. so, saturday afternoon around 2:00 pm sean, laura; my friend, and i took off south. lets just say with sean's driving, it didnt take 45 minutes. much less actually. but no need to talk about that. i like car rides. especially car rides that lead to my house. my parents are always asking me to bring home my friends from school because they love them so much. and, my friends are always asking me to go home so they can go with me. its a great relationship we all have. in the time we were in the car, we listened music and rode in the car. not too much more to do.

as we arrived at my home, sean laid on his car horn and my mom came running out to greet us. she gave us all hugs and welcomed us as she always does; with cookies. my mom makes some of the best cookies ive ever had in my life. theyre by far the best ive ever had. we sat around enjoying each others company. we only had a little time since the basketball game was about to start. we ate a bunch of cookies, drank some milk and it was off to the game we went. we would return home in a little bit.

going to my old high school brings back some memories, good and bad. i always like going back and seeing the friends that i still have there. theyre always excited to hear about how college life is and all that fun stuff. laura, sean, and i sit in the bleachers and wait for the game to start. my brother has also come along, but hes in 1oth grade so he stands with all the high schoolers that will stand all game.

there are a couple new faces on the basketball team from what i remembered. i guess that will happen when you go away to college. i know a bunch of the players on my team either from track when i ran, or just from being friends. the game lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes with my team coming away with the victory. the coach was old gym teacher so i went to congratulate him. he actually graduated from cortland a couple years ago. it was good to see him again. he was definitely my favorite teacher.

after we finally found my little brother we were able to leave. it was about 5:45 and we were pretty hungry. my parents decided to go on a date while we went to the game. i drove us all home in 'the shaggin' wagon' as all my friends call it. its a mini van. no big deal. anyway, when we got home my mom had prepared omelettes for us to eat for dinner. they were incredible. my mom is the greatest cook. that is for sure.

it was nice sitting at my own dinner table with my friends and family. we got to stay for a little bit. we decided that we would leave at 7. by the time someone checked the time, it was 8:45. the whole 7:00 thing didnt go so well, but none of us minded. we were having a good time enjoying each other.

the drive back to cortland was the same as when we drove to my house. loud music, and riding in the car. i will be home in a week. i cant wait to get back home again. dont get me wrong, i do love it here at school, but its always nice to sleep in my own bed haha. hopefully i can make it through this week strong and then hit that spring break hard. well see what happens. see you all later!

-between two evils, i always pick the one ive never tried before-

Swimming's Over

swim season is officially over. from 2:45-6 i now have free time that i havent had since the summer. everyday since i arrived here at school, ive had some kind of practice for swim. but now, its over. til next season that is.

im not really sure what to do with myself now that i have this free time. i finish up my classes everyday around 2 o clock. i have a couple hours there to do whatever i want. yes, i do my homework and sometimes use that time wisely, but sometimes i dont. the past two days ive just watched movies and took naps. real productive i know... i must find something to do with my time, or things could get bad.

i think im gonna start going to the gym again starting next week. i havent lifted weights since the beginning of the season and i definitely want to get back into it. my roommate and other teammates have been going to the gym since last week. i am gonna join them next week for sure so i can fill some of my time. also, i want to stay in shape.

my season went well as i explained to you all in a post before. complete success and a great time. i can and cant wait for the next season to begin. definitely have some mixed feelings about it. we had recruits here this past weekend and it looks like we have some cool kids coming in. also a lot of fast ones! they are going to be a big help to our team as we lost so many good seniors. next year is going to be just as good, that i know for sure.

until then, i will fill my time with something, and that something has not been determined yet. wish me luck in finding that 'thing' to do with my spare time.

if you have time, check out this video. i watched this before every race i swam. it's a great one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4x-yQlWoT0

this is the commentary that goes along with it...

'The Theory of Evolution claims that "only the strong shall survive". Maybe so, maybe so. But the Theory of Competition says "just because they're the strong doesn't mean they can't get their asses kicked". That's right. See, what every long shot come from behind underdog will tell you is this: The other guy may in fact be the favorite, the odds may be turned against you. Fair enough... But what the odds don't know is this isn't a math test. This is a completely different kind of test. One where passion has a funny way of trumping logic. So before you step up to the starting line, before the whistle blows and the clock starts ticking, just remember: out here, the results don't always add up. No matter what the stats may say and the experts may think and the commentators may have predicted, when the race is on, all bets are off. Don't be surprised if someone decides to flip the script and take a pass on yelling "Uncle". And then suddenly, as the old saying goes, "We got ourselves a game".

Swimming

So this past weekend i participated in the SUNYAC Championships. they were held in buffalo, ny at erie community college. we left on wednesday and swam thursday, friday, and saturday. so essentially, we swam for a full weekend. that weekend was one of the most mentally and physically draining i have experienced in a while.

when we arrived, we just checked into our hotel, and stretched as a team and did a little warm up. our hotel was about fifteen minutes from the pool so we had to take our travel bus there every time we had to get to the pool. wednesday was a quick day since it was 3:30 by the time we arrived. the next three days would be fun, but stressful at the same time.

thursday was the first day that we had to swim our events. the team was up at 6:30 that morning to stretch together and eat breakfast together. luckily our hotel had free breakfast. that was really nice! we left around 8:00 to get to the pool. as we got to the pool my body was just waking up. i havent been up that early in a very long time. warm up was 8:30-10:00 since the meet started at 10. i was in the pool as soon as i could be. it got crowded really fast which made it hard to actually get swimming in. but i managed to get a good warm up. that day i swam the 200 individual medley. i didnt do as well as i should have or wanted to, but i still dropped time and went a lifetime best time. it felt great to go that fast. i didnt end up making it back to finals at night, but i was okay with that. it felt great to just go fast.

friday was the same as thursday except i swam a totally different race. friday was the day i swam my primary event, the 100 breast. going into the race i was seeded with a 1:03.60 and was in 7th place. everyone was fast. in prelim's i went a 1:01.63. that was a lifetime best! going into the evening session of finals, i was seeded 9th. so not where i could have been, but i made it back for finals. at finals i went even faster. i swam a 1:01.13. it was great! i didnt think i was actually gonna be able to go any quicker but i did. that day was great. i was really happy with the way i had swum.

saturday was another repeat of thursday and friday. again, i swam a different race. i swam the 200 breast on this day. i dont really enjoy this race at all. it's too much breaststroke for me. i can deal with the 50 and the 100. any more than that, no thanks. in prelim's i was ranked 14. i needed to get higher than that and that's just what i did. i got 12th. two spots higher was just enough for me. i came in with a time of 2:24. i dropped 5 seconds. i finished my day with a 2:19.

by the end of the weekend i came out of SUNYAC's tired and completely done with swimming. as a freshman i did really good. i had met the expectations of all the coaches and i was glad i could do that for them. i am already looking forward to next year and how fast i'll go. i plan to work harder and swim even faster!

'Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.'

-Danny Mac-