Old News & Events
(What went down...)
Monday, 4 September 2000
Berkeley, CA --
It's been awhile. A long while. Well, here I am. Settled in Berkeley. Actually, as of Saturday I'll have been here a month. Let me say, so far it's been fun. Where to begin? Well the apartment is great. Nicely furnished with a nice new entertainment unit, completely with TV, stereo, DVD player and Nintendo 64, the last three items thanks to my roomate. Cable modem internet access so I can update my webpage at blazing speed (right...) and plenty of cookware for all the pasta and cookies we've been making. What healthy eaters we are. Of course we are not without our moments of total breakdown where we just have to go out and get Zachary's Pizza. In all seriousness, it's actually nice getting to cook meals ourselves and not depend on the dining hall for our well being. So everything is out of boxes and the books are on shelves, the clothes are hung up...it really looks lived in. I like it alot. Tours are daily at 4pm.
So classes began last week and those have definitely proven interesting so far. My neuroscience class is pretty much what I expected, as the Professor would supplement our reading of the text book with his own insights and expertise. He uses video animations throughout lecture which makes it less monotonous than most. Linear Algebra is also what I expected. I sit in a lecture hall with about 500 other engineers, computer scientists and physics majors listening to my romanian professor explain the wonders of systems of equations. Economic Systems hasn't really gone anywhere yet, but at least from what the Professor told us on the first two days it should get better. Finally The World Economy in the 20th century has started out on a good foot where I'm concerned. We first talked about Economic Growth which is one of the most fascinating things about Macroeconomics, which, recently, has taken off. Basically this course is an opportunity to apply the theories we learned in Macroeconomics, in essence, seeing just how bunk that stuff was.
In other news, I'm getting back into quiz-bowl again, which so far is kinda drab for the experienced players as we're trying to recruit new talent and see who's willing to stay on with us. I do know that I'll have the opportunity to travel again and play in a few tournaments, one of which I'm running in October. So that will be a commitment. I'm also working as dorm security again, a job I had last year, in which I work to ensure the safety of University residents. All while making $7.55 an hour. I've also been attending meetings of the Orthodox Institute. It's an organization for Orthodox Christians to meet and get together to discuss issues and their faith. The people are very nice and I'm planning on going back there tomorrow night. Then of course Saturdays are football games. It's not as if I don't have plenty to do. I love being busy. Busy to but not the point of overwhelming. Which I think is comfortable. With the added responsibility of taking care of the apartment, I'll still have my work cut out for me. But I'll be fine. It's good to be writing again. Hopefully I'll be able to do it somewhat frequently. So take care for now and be well.
"...the results are always perfect...but that's old news..."
- Curt Kirkwood
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Tuesday, 8 August 2000
San Diego, CA --
Well this is it for now. I don't know when I will once again have internet access so I figured it would be a good idea to stick in a last update.
I am in the midst of packing clothes and books and so on, getting ready to embark on a 500+ mile drive into the depths of Northern California. Eventually this computer will go too. I remember the first day of summer like it was yesterday and it, in actuality, seemed to have gone by so quickly. In retrospect it was a certainly different summer. Most of my summers are spent looking for jobs. This time I found one. It was not the greatest one, but it was close enough to my home to make it worthwhile. I was able to stay active by playing soccer and working out which I don't always get the opportunity to do during the school year. I was able to read on my own time, independent of my studies, which I also enjoyed. I've had the pleasure of getting to know and spend time with some really terrific people too. I've made new friendships which I will certainly cherish. I more importantly am a year wiser than the last, and ready to take on my 3rd year of college even more focused than I was before. I am more than thrilled to have my own apartment: a new and interesting responsibility that was only a matter of time before I had to take on myself. I have better formulated what it is that interests me, coming into myself as an individual. I think all these things have made these past 82 days memorable. I can only hope that such fair fortune will continue to come upon me. I can only hope to wish such wonderful things on other people as well. Between the baseball games, the soccer, reading, working, visiting with friends I can verily say that indeed this summer has been one of if not the best.
Until then.
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Monday, 31 July 2000
San Diego, CA --
Good evening! I am just now getting around to writing this up because I've been in Berkeley for the past three and a half days. As I noted before, I went up for a quiz-bowl event with my friend Steve. We left the San Diego area around 6am and actually made it up to Berkeley in, what I would consider record time, 6 and 1/2 hours. So He and I did some stuff around Berkeley, such as buying a few things and checking up on people. Then we crashed in my currently underfurnished apartment. The next morning we went to campus for a mirror of the Chicago Open Tournament (mirror meaning that the same questions were read in Berkeley as were in Chicago...the wonders of e-mail). I wound up reading questions for this tournament, which was won by the team from The California Institute of Technology. The next day was the Eric Hilleman Singles tournament, which, as the name implies means that individuals competed against each other. I played in this one and wound up taking 4th place in the lower bracket of two. The winner was Berkeley graduate Philip Huang who did a great job. Mike Usher, a guy in our club I've only known for a year did an outstanding job directing the tournament. He had to assemble and make copies of the questions as well as devise a format for the tournament. He will be attending MIT for graduate school this fall. Rightfully so, the guy is brilliant. If you're interested in know about CAL's quiz-bowl team and what we do,check out our page.
So I have four more days of work beginning tomorrow. I cannot wait for that to end. I'll be back in Berkeley a week from Wednesday. That's all the news I can think about right now. It was nice seeing everyone and being up in Berkeley again. I did miss it a bit...at least the food :) Until next week.
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Saturday, 22 July 2000
San Diego, CA --
Hello again. I just handed in my two-week notice at work as a formality. Friday, August 4th will be my last day. My boss knew i was leaving anyways. I've been furiously buying furniture for the new apartment, in fact, I'll do even more today. I'm getting really excited now that it is starting to coming along.
Additionally I've started to purchase several textbooks online, seeing as how the CAL bookstore is out to rape us all, i figure saving $50 on a $99 textbook and having it shipped to my doorstep is not a bad deal.
Today is my brother Blake's twelfth birthday. He's just getting back from boyscout camp, so we're gonna do something for him tomorrow.
Well I'm getting into a few books. I've been, for the past month about, reading "A Short History of Byzantium" by John Julius Norwich which chronicles the 1,123 year existence of the longest reigning Christian empire on earth. Just yesterday, I bought a book called "Central Banking in Theory and Practice" by noted Economist Alan Blinder who one of my Econ professors, Peter Orszag (former Special Economic Advisor to President Clinton, yes, let the name dropping begin), talked about frequently. He basically talks about a central banks roll in monetary policy, or, in layman's terms, what Alan Greenspan and Board of Governors are responsible for. So that effectively balances out the economics side.
I'm going up to Berkeley this coming Friday for a quiz-bowl event, which will give me a chance to move some stuff up to my apartment early. Then I'll return to San Diego Sunday evening. I'll be going with a guy named Steve who is also on the club and happens to be from the San Diego area. Otherwise, take care and have a good weekend!
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Friday, 14 July 2000
San Diego, CA --
Well this is to be the first installment in what I hope will be the frequently updated "News" section of my webpage.
So Let's get to it.
I am going to be starting my 3rd year at CAL, a place which, though it has taken awhile has grown on me. I really enjoy the bay area: a big and yet at times welcome change from San Diego, the city which i've called home for 18 years.
I'm going to be living in my own apartment for the first time, with my roomate Matt (who hails from that Central Valley Haven known as Modesto), a fellow economics major who I met this past year. We have a two-bedroom place in North Berkeley (which constitutes anything on or north of Hearst Avenue), and though somewhat removed from the chaos that is Southside (i.e. Telegraph and Bancroft), is still close enough to realize that yes, indeed, you're in Berkeley.
Berkeley's liberal atmosphere can be unnerving to me coming from a quasi-conservative town and background. 4 years of Catholic High School may be some sort of testimony to that. On the other hand no one says you have to participate. Thus, I've learned to sit back and watch it all as it unfolds before my eyes, and so I've survived.
So that's the news as of today. Indeed it's friday and the weekend's here, which I've welcomed with open arms after spending a week working a meat slicer for about 4 hours a day. I will be leaving for Berkeley in about 25 days and I am greatly looking forward to it.
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Send mail to rkeeper@uclink4.berkeley.edu