Kennedy Creek

Hey everyone, I'm back on campus now and have a super clean and organized room. Over the break i left my bike in my room and had dirt and laundry all over. I have just finished cleaning my room, and it feels much bigger now. I had a lot of fun over the break and saw many friends and got many excellent bike rides in! Last Friday my class went to Kennedy Creek which is about twenty minutes off campus. This was an very fun and interesting trip. Salmon are finishing spawning right now (swimming upstream, laying eggs, then dying) and we got to witness this first hand. We also learned about how the future of salmon doesn't look to good and how big of a role the environment plays. It was super smelly here due the amount of dead salmon washed up from the river/lack of water. Its good to be back and there hasn't even been rain yet!

Day Off!

Today i had a day off, and was able to relax a bit. This week has been busy with reading and work, but is slowing down now. Tomorrow my class is going on a field trip to Kennedy Creek where salmon are supposed to be spawning and swimming upstream. However, Ezzy's class went there today and she said the place is covered in dead fish and really smells. I get to drive tomorrow, but dont worry, the rides short. Today was very rainy, yet i felt like going out. Elan and me went into town and explored around. We got food later then headed back to campus where i then met up with Ezzy. I cant wait to come back and soak up the sun in the bay!

Filming

Yesterday was a very nice day. It hasn't rained in a while, but is supposed to soon. After some work i went and hit the gym, my ankle is beginning to feel better and should be better soon. Later my film group got together and we shot some footage and did some interviews. Its a lot of fun learning to use the cameras and film editing software.

Fun Friday

Friday was a very fun day. I had class from 930 to 430 and we did many interesting things. In the morning we had a writing workshop and seminars. In the afternoon we had a field workshop were we learned about identifying trees and concepts regarding landscape, ecology, and plants. After class i went to the sauna. Then Ezzy and me went into town got got some very good Tai food. On the way back we went grocery shopping and i purchased some slippery elm bark and ginko tea. It is very good. We also got ice cream and went back to the dorms and watched a movie and had ice cream. Today was very nice and sunny again!!!

The sun has returned!

Today was beautiful!! I was able to sleep in a little(was woken up by leaf blowers), and awoke to a sunny day. The weather report says sun for the next few days which im juiced about. I did some work in the morning then played racquetball, went swimming, and did some sauna. After diner i went to a lecture with Ezzy. Krishnammal Jagannathan was the main speaker and she had many interesting stories about growing up in India. She actually studied with Gandhi and met Martin Luther King Jr. She talked a lot about Gandhi, "the untouchables", and nonviolent movements. Well i have a full day of class and filming tomorrow so im off to bed.

Stencils

These past few days have been a blur. On Monday i did school work and other things i had been trying to get done such as change my meal plan. On Tuesday i had a full day of class and we did ceramics and learned about the seasons and five elements. Today i had a half day of class were we planned and formed proposals for the light sculptures we are going to be building. After class i went swimming with Ezzy and then did some sauna. I have also began to do more art in general and have been working on paintings, drawings, and stencils. Here is a stencil i just finished. I am currently working on a few other stencils and am having a lot of fun creating these. Cant wait to see you guys soon!

Door mat!!!

My little room is one step closer to a home thanks to Ezzy, who made me this fabulous door mat.
Also here's a pic of my updated mask, i still have a little more work though. I had a nice swim today and am very sore because swimming uses different muscles from biking and running. I cleaned up my room today and also got lots of work done.

Relaxing Weekend

I got to sleep in today which was very nice! Its very relaxing to sleep and listen to the rain. I grabbed some bfast in the greenery because the meal plans expire soon so i have to use mine up. Then i did some work and decided to start some stencils. Im also officially done with my 2 credit class community connections. I turned my final portfolio in on Friday!!! Later i went swimming and then did some sauna. Not much is going on this weekend so i will try to get many things done. It also finally cleared up a bit, but i think it will start raining soon.

Lots of Rain

It has been raining nonstop since last night, and is not supposed to stop soon. Unfortunately during a run yesterday i slipped and hurt my ankle, so im trying to take it easy. Plus i think im getting sick again. Im using today as a work day, and hopefully i can get a swim and sauna in. There are so many leaves falling, and the paths are covered in them, its very beautiful.

OBAMA!!!

I had a very exciting day yesterday due to the election. I had an interesting day in class were we worked with clay, hexagons, and forms of art. After class i did some homework and then kicked it with friends. After dinner i watched the election and once it was declared Obama was the winner the campus erupted in noise which pretty much lasted all night. Everyone seemed to be celebrating, and after doing some work i went and enjoyed my new found optimism with lots of people. I had a slow class today because everyone was worn from the night before. I wasn't feeling to good and took a nap after class. Im going for a run soon in an attempt to get some energy back. It also gets dark super early here, and by 5 its pitch black.

Battle with a Bee

I had a very relaxing morning, did some homework, played racquetball, and went to the sauna! All very nice until i came back to my room and had a bee buzzing around in it. I usually keep my window open to get fresh air and sometimes moths and other bugs fly in, but they don't really bother me. However, i could not get any work done with a bee around so i had a battle with it. I was finally able to get it out my window and the tranquility has returned! back to work now

Halloween

Friday was an awesome day filled with many fun things. In class we learned to classify plants based on the leaf, and did some artwork with them. After class i went to the sauna(it was very rainy so i was lazy), and then i meet up with Ezzy and we went to dinner with some friends. I dressed up as a Alb star(wore a bunch of Albany gear) and Ezzy was a pumpkin. We kicked it with a bunch of friends and explored around. There was a pumpkin dropping event which we arrived late to, but it was still very cool(they dropped pumpkins off the tallest building Adorm). After this we went to a party a few blocks from campus and had a lot of fun. They had a dj playing cool music and my friend Elan was freestyling. There were some crazy costumes. Eventually we left and went back to campus where we kicked it with more people. It was a very fun night and i also had plenty of candy to eat.
After waking up very late on Saturday, i went and got some bfest with Ezzy. I then went to the sauna and took a nap. Ezzy and i left around 4 to go see a speaker on poverty in town. THe class community connections wanted us to attend. We had a nice walk in town, and we passed many beautiful sites. Right as we arrived at the event it started pouring and we both got soaked. We heard Willy Baptist and a few other people speak about ending poverty. After the event we wandered back into town and got some dinner at QB. I had a really good tofu taco. We then caught the bus back to campus and kicked it for a while. All night it was raining super hard, but it has finally stopped and the sun might come out!