Friday, January 29, 2010

Snow Day

ASU canceled class last night before the weather even hit. About 7 am this morning I looked out the window and it still looked like it was just water on the ground. Then 10:30 and I look out the window and the ground is white-- SNOW DAY!

They generally come at least once each year around Jonesboro. It is something I've come to expect. Like it or not, it is going to snow and school will be closed.

I will take the day out of classes as a chance to update this blog. Well not only that. There are the countless other activities the snow brings.

Unfortunately it is a dry snow. That means the snowmen and snowballs probably aren't happening. But, we are going to try to go sledding later. That should be interesting. And I tried wind sliding earlier. It didn't work as well as I thought it would. I took a large umbrella and opened it. The wind is gusting up to 30 miles per hour so I think, "If I allow the wind to blow into the top of the umbrella while I stand on the ice it should push me."

Didn't work. Oh well it was worth a try. Now that I have completed my major assignment that was due tonight for work It is time to play. I am sitting watching the snow out my window. It is coming down fast and maybe it will keep on coming down fast and hard.

There is the possibility of 10 inches before tomorrow!

For those who have to get out in it remember to drive safely. Slow down.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Red WOLF Center

***UPDATE 2/11/10***
I was told yesterday that the lockers are actually free. I was told that after entering the area where the lockers you simply ask for a coin at the desk and they give it to you.

After many years of planning and constructing the new recreation center opened at ASU last Tuesday. But was it worth it? I say no.

According to an article in The Herald, the project cost $18 million.

How was that paid for? The article says students paid a five-dollar per-credit-hour fee. As of completion of the center, I have completed 85 hours of class. Therefore I have paid at least $425.

As if that is not enough the new recreation center is offering LIFETIME memberships to those who graduated before being able to use the Student Union or the Recreation Center. A lifetime membership. I paid for the new center for two and a half years. I get to use it for one and a half. That's fair alright.

Students who paid for four years get to have lifetime access while students who paid for almost the same amount of time don't have much time to use it at all. This is especially true for seniors graduating this May. They get to use it for an entire semester before losing privileges. That isn't right.

To make matters worse there are some new policies in effect. One such policy: no one can use the work-out room without having a towel. What? I never had to have a towel when it was located at the Student Union. And on top of the requirment, if you do not bring your own towel they charge you something like $2!

They charge students to build the place and then start making extra charges on top of everything else. I am going to be able to use this center less than the old one. Instead of promoting healthier lifestyles it is going to hinder me from using the facility.

I carry a bag full of bugs around with me every day for class. I don't have room to be carrying a change of clothes and a towel. If I go back to my room, that kills half an hour just going there and all the way back to the fitness center.

The new center looks nice and has some cool stuff but the new policies are unnecessary. Go ahead and charge for towels, but don't require them.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Bad food vs. No Food

Cafeteria Food not so Bad
Most students who live in the dorms at Arkansas State are fully aware of the poor quality of food in the cafeteria most of the time. The selection, wait there isn't much of one, so scratch that.

There is the every night: pizza, grill, or deli line which is pretty much a constant. Then there is the soup line, you can count on chili, some soup that appears to be a mixing all the left overs from the past week, and then maybe a soup that is half-way decent but there is none left.

There is the international line. Most of the time there is not much variety in it anymore since one of their best cooks no longer works there. Count on Tofu fairly often. Sometimes the lunch and dinner menu are the same.

Then the market line. Oh, the market line. Sometimes good sometimes bad. You never know.

To make things worse, the menu's tend to be inaccurate. The food court is closed on the weekends. The cafeteria hours stink on the weekends. Hmm.

Don't get me wrong, sometime they have some good food. But more often than not its bad or mediocre. Saturday night I literally had cake for dinner because there was nothing to eat that was appetizing. I didn't want the same-o, same-o. I was tired of pizza and cheeseburgers. But there was food.

That is more than many people can say. Haiti has dominated the news for the last week or so. Those people don't have much of anything now. They need help. They need shelter, water and food.

I guess the cafeteria isn't so bad after all!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Spring 2010 Semester Begins

Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep beep. The alarm clock is ringing out again for students at Arkansas State University. It is the sound of the first day of classes. Many students are taking early morning classes while others are choosing mid-morning, afternoon, or night classes.

I've noticed already this semester, dragging myself out of bed is seeming to be a little bit harder. Its just so hard to pull the warm covers off and step out of the bed onto a cold floor in a cold dorm room.

Then there is the going to class. It is about a mile from the dorm to my college, the College of Communications. It is even colder outside. A hoodie, and a heavy jacket, a hat and gloves kept me warm today. I guess that is better than going hiking on Friday morning and wearing a scarf tied around my face.

One friend told me last night that she and several other people were all out on the iced over pond behind North Park Quads and the ice didn't even start to crack. Lets just hope the weather is cold, but no more ice storms like last year.

Hope everyone has a good semester and manages to stay warm during the next month or two.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Almost time to Return

Well this break has been a blast. As a college student who can also enjoy childish things at time it has been great! From hiking, geocaching, fishing, boating, skating, touring, bonfires and snipe hunting-- there has been a ton to do.

Recently friends from all over the state, many of which may even read this blog, came down to Sheridan for a bonfire. We took some of them on a snipe hunt. That was definitely interesting, even if my life was on the line because of it.

The weather has finally started becoming cold. The pond at my Mom and stepdad's house is freezing. It took about five punches yesterday in order to break it. It was about an inch thick. It had refrozen by last night and I broke it again. This morning it was at least an inch thick again when I broke it. I put my weight on my hands and it broke, yet my friend still tried to stand on it and broke it.

When we got back to Conway we drove down to the lake by the house. I decided to find some rocks to throw and try to break it. Evidently someone else had the same idea at some point-- there were rocks all on the ice. I never managed to sink one through the ice. I did break it in places but they continued to slide. Finally, I slid myself out on the ice a little and took a picture while it was cracking around me.

It should be an interesting winter if things actually stay cold. Arkansas might finally see one!