Carolina

So sickk....yet I am getting out of bed to do some studying. Carolina breeds excellence and stupidity! I should be in bed!

PAIN!

Last night I got the H1N1 vaccine that was provided for Ehringhaus residents. This morning I woke up feeling extremely weak, with a sore throat, coughing up endless amounts of phlegm and I feel extremely weak. I read over the information and it said if there were any side effects they would only last a couple days. I have an LFit exam tomorrow however that I reaaaaallly do not want to go to =(

Vaccines in the middle exams... not a good idea!

End of the semester split moods...

As classes wind down, and people start to stress more...there's a huge split in the moods of people throughout Carolina. It seems as if everyone is either very happy and chill, or very sad and stressed. It's hard to find an appropriate medium.

I myself am either extremely excited classes are ending and I can go on break and start fresh come January, or I am freaking out and worried that I'm going to miss work, do badly in my classes, or overall fail!

As I have mentioned in at least 1 or 2 posts before Carolina has unhealthy stress levels. I think it would be highly beneficial for a program to be created that would allow students to partake in a variety of activities to relieve stress. Games, movies, music, yoga, jogging, talking, reading, etc would be ideal...I'm aware that there are specific clubs and sports that are designated to do this, but I feel like there is no club specifically for relieving stress....One should be created and for a long-term purpose, not just for exams.

Oh so Suite love!

Many people have commented on the difference between girls' suites and guys' suites. People seem to feel that guys suites are more bonded, happy-go-lucky, and overall closer. My suite in particular is extremely close. We are made up of 4 rooms, two people each in 3 of the rooms, and a single person in the 4th room. Two of the double rooms contain all freshman(including me). The third double room is made up of Seniors that are on south campus to be closer to the undergrads, as they are leaders in Inter-varsity (a Christian organization). Finally, our last room is just a shyer guy in the room to himself.

Our suite is so close in fact that 4 of the 7 of us will be requesting a suite together next year, but switching up roommates to mix it up some. Also keep in mind 2 of our 7 are graduating...so almost all of us will be together again.

I think what keeps us together are overall personalities, backgrounds, and traditions. Every Tuesday we have Pokey Stix night. It's something we started either the 2nd or 3rd week here at Carolina. Smash Bros is another tradition. We are constantly playing, even when we shouldn't be!!!!( I don't like the game as much as everyone else)

Other reasons guys suites are better/closer:

- Girls are catty and hold grudges
- Guys get over issues rather quickly
- Girls are more mindful of annoyances
- Guys are more willing to hang out doing nothing
- Girls stick to familiar friends
- Guys are more open to strangers

Housing Communities

I'm currently hanging out in Horton on 4th floor with my friends JuJu and A-Gri! I've noticed recently how different people are in the different dorms. My E-Haus friends are somewhat different than my Horton friends, and my Horton friends are different from my Koury friends.

It's almost like each dorm gives something special to their personality. E-Haus for example is sorta slummish unlike Horton and Koury which are pretty posh. I don't think that people from Morrison think they are better than people in different dorms at all. There is just almost a certain aura about them that is unlike the other dorms.

If I were to assign certain colors (just for fun) for the different dorms' auras they would be as follows:

Ehringhaus - Rusty Red
Hinton James - Forrest Green
Koury - Yellow
Horton - Aquamarine
Hardin - Purple
Craig - Brown
Craig North
Avery - Lime Green
Carmichael - Blue
Parker - Pink
Teague - Biege
Winston - White
Granville Towers - Sapphire
Cobb - Off white
Joyner - Teal
Upper Quad - Violet
Lower Quad - Salmon
Odum Village - Orange
Rams Village HJ - Bright Red
Rams Village WC - Ivory

Bored Days

I feel like everyone at UNC works too much! It can't be that healthy. Countless times I have overheard people or just friends who say this: "I'm bored, maybe I should go do some work or something..."

Does anyone just relax anymore? When the mood strikes me that I am bored... this is my attitude: "Hmm I'm bored... I'm just gonna sit and watch a movie or tv, or just sit in general!" I almost feel bad for having this desire when everyone else does work when they are bored... For me to do work, I have to be in a productive mood. I'll go through random moods where I want to work a lot, clean a lot, eat a lot, or sit a lot. Anyone else go through these moods? Anyone just not do work sometimes? It's healthy! Try it!

People Watching

Last night at Rams I saw two of my friends sitting at those round tables as soon as you enter the dining hall. I asked them why they were sitting at such an awkward table in the dining hall. They told me that they were people watching and that they got to see everyone that came and left the dining hall this way. Personally I thought you could see much more interesting things in the middle of the cafeteria.

Like my friends, I am one of those people that just enjoys watching other people go about their everyday lives. It's just fun to see people walking around, how they act, what they are wearing, and listen to random parts of peoples' conversations. By the way, if you like listening to funny random bits of conversation, facebook has group called Overheard at UNC. People post the funny or otherwise interesting bits of conversation they hear as the pass people in different locations of campus. Check it out!

Lost and Found

Soo I was sitting in my room the other night checking my email, when I clicked on a message sent to me by one of Ehaus's RAs. It was to let me know that someone had found my OneCard outside of the building and brought it to the front desk and that I could pick it up before midnight. Until I had received the message, I had no idea that I had lost the card in the first place. I guess it fell out of my gym shorts on the way back from working out that night.

Yesterday I had my OneCard all day. I used it to get into rams twice, and to buy a drink at the market. Last night I went to go to the gym to discover that I had lost my card again. I have looked all in my room, in my clothes, my bag, etc. This morning I even got up early to see if I had left it in Rams. I also retraced my steps all the way to Chapman ( where I have my 7pm Astro Lab). Nothing!

So I'm interested in if UNC has a lost and found... I'm also curious how many people actually take things that have been found. I personally think that it would make much more sense to leave whatever is found with someone in charge of that location. For example if you find a OneCard in dining hall you should leave it with the people at the front of the lines.

How do you guys feel about LOST/FOUND?

NC State Rivalry?

So it's long been known that there is some animosity between UNC and NCSU, but is there a rivalry? I think not.

This past weekend UNC's football team beat themselves against NCSU. The final score was UNC 27 NCSU 28! One point!! Immediately following the game I was bombarded with not only annoying Facebook messages, but also hateful text messages. One reads: "We just kicked your ass!!!" another reads: "NCST 28 UNC 27 EAT IT!!!!!!!!! HAHA IN YOUR FACE!!!!!"

Is it truly necessary for State kids to act like children to show they finally won something? UNC's overall standing currently for football is 8-4, NCSU's overall standing is 5-7... UNC also qualifies for a bowl game as NCSU does not!

Finally, the most annoying aspect of this whole situation is the fact that UNC's rival is DUKE!! NOT NC STATE!!! It's very cute that State kids think they are our rivals, but someone needs to set them straight.

PS: Does State even have a rival?

Sitting at home..

Soo anyone miss the hill yet? NOT I... I'm so glad to be home and away from the work, the food, the amount of sleep, the walking.. etc! It's a nice day in my neighborhood!

I was wondering if anyone else is having this issue: My mom wants me to be home every second of the day! I love my mom and family to death, but I also love and would like to see my friends. Sometimes when you haven't been with your family in a while they want to be selfish with you, which is 100% understandable because they haven't seen you. I also; however, have not seen my friends in a long time...and depending on where you from its harder to get to see old friends than it is to see your family, because they are spread across the country.

Today I will be having lunch with my friends at Applebees!! I know that I am supposed to be cleaning and preparing the house for all the people coming over tomorrow...but for a couple hours I am going to see my friends!!!! Peace people! Have a great THANKSGIVING!!!! =DD

Illness

So I've been sick since last Wednesday, and I've noticed that being sick today is wayyy different then being sick a year ago. When I go to do errands, because the world doesn't stop because I'm sick, I can't help but cough occasionally and I get the worst looks ever. People shirk away, glare, go out of their way to avoid you, etc... Since H1N1 has become a problem people are no longer nice to sick people... .they are mean.

Stress

Stress seems to be a huge thing here at Carolina!

I have heard countless stories of people breaking down (myself included) over work, studying, or tests! I can't believe it is only the first semester in college and people are having so much trouble with the stress (myself included again).

For the first semester of school, it seems like we shouldn't be stressing this much.

Another question: If we are paying and picking our classes, should we be stressing?

Gender Roles

Why is it that steadfast religious advocates try to keep women down??




Gary (Pit Preacher) to girl: Do you like to cook!?

Girl: No.

Gary: Do you like to clean!?

Girl: No.

Gary: You are condemned to Hell!

Girl: Why?

Gary: It's the woman's job to take care of her man!



It seems to be a pattern that people that are not so religious want to help women reach a status of equality, and people that are really into religion play into gender roles! Why?

Cocktails

Carolina has a variety of traditions in student life. Studying, Sports, Volunteering, Parties, Raves, Pit Events, etc... A part of Carolina that some people experience all the time, or just sometimes is Greek Life. There are about 54 chapters of fraternities and sororities on campus, each different and the same. Greek life consists mainly of: brotherhood, sisterhood, volunteering, community involvement, parties, mixers, and cocktails.

Since I have been to Carolina I have been to two of Kappa Kappa Gamma's cocktails. This sorority usually gets a lot of heat from others for ridiculous stereotypes that I won't discuss. Both of my times with the sorority, I had soooo much fun! We went out to some really nice restaurant to eat and then to some place on Franklin to dance. I enjoyed my time with the people, the music, and the dancing.

I feel like a lot of fraternities and sororities endure endless stereotypes because of what the media shows us, or rumors by word of mouth. Some of the stereotypes are probably true, but all stereotypes are based of little truth. If people gave these organizations a chance; however, I feel like people would find that they enjoy them a lot!

Copy Cat

Recently I've come across a friend of mine with a unique way of ordering from restaurants. I met this person after about a month here at UNC, and just took notice of her interesting habit. She orders what the person in front of her orders wherever she goes. She of course doesn't order things she just doesn't outright hate, she also would not order something she is allergic to.

This method seems radical and a little crazy at first, but after further thought it makes a lot of sense. She gets to try new things daily. She doesn't get bored with restaurants she knows she likes. She gets to learn what she does and doesn't like. Finally, it just seems fun!!

So far I've done this now a few times, but mostly I forget to do it... I am; however, going to try to remember to copy people more often! Try it out and comment!

Sadddness

So... It's 11:57pm, and I am sitting in bed back home in little 'ol Raeford, North Carolina!

AND I miss UNC SO much!

=(

College is a battlefield...

So I've decided that college is a battlefield!

Never in my life have I been as clumsy, unlucky, or allergic up until college. Since I have gotten to college I have:

- Been chased by someone on crutches, resulting in a splinter in the dead center of my heel
- Stepped on a clipboard the next day and gashed open the other foot
- Tripped on countless bricks
- Got and kept shin splints the first two weeks at UNC
- Tripped getting off the P2P
- Slipped in the bathroom
- Fell on my elbow trying to kick higher than my roommate
- Fallen asleep on buses, resulting on missed stops
- Got on a wrong bus and been driven into Chatham County
- Got on a wrong bus and been driven into away from campus
- Missed countless buses after running after them
- Got lost in the Granville parking lot for about half an hour
- Ate bad sushi and had a extremely bad stomach ache
- Said the wrong things to wrong people resulting in people pissed at me
- Had my life wasted by a games as stupid as Smash Brothers
- Stayed up till 4 in the morning playing the wiki game and had to be beaten to wake up

And NOW!!!!.... I have pink eye!

Before college, I never got sick *knock on wood*, was a very careful person, and pretty fortunate. I don't understand what's wrong...is it the amount of people here compared to high school? Is it the hands-off environment? What's the deal?

NC State

It's surprising how many people go to State on the weekends to party.... Why would you want to go to State on the weekend to party, when there are pretty good parties here? We also have a better version of Hillsbourough...FRANKLIN! We have so many great things on Franklin... [B]Skis, Cluck-U, McCallisters, Players,...etc etc...

I think unless you are going to visit friends...you will not find much! I've been to State since being here, and in my personal opinion... It was totally not worth the 30 minute drive and gas! The people were in general not as open and nice. The campus was not as beautiful. The streets were dirty. The stores and restaurants were few and far between. It was just not pleasant.

Had I not met some friends....I would seriously not have done a single thing. All the parties were being broken up, people were just walking around searching for non-existent events.

Why do you go to State?

No reply...

If you read my last post....you may have been wondering if I received a response from my professor after emailing her with a polite apology.

I DID NOT!

I'm almost freaking out about the entire situation. I feel like I'm going to go in today, and get glared at all period! I've decided that soon, if no resolution is discovered I will be going to the department head! Hopefully he can resolve this issue. If not, I'm screwed!

UNC Math Department disappoints....

So I got into my first confrontation with a professor ever yesterday! I know it sounds soooo bad....but here's what went down:

As I have said before I took AP Calc in high school and I am currently taking MATH 110 as a hour filler, and also as a pre-req to take calculus next semester. I got my second test grade back yesterday, and I was extremely unhappy about it. I recieved a 77 on my test despite only actually missing about 2 questions. I was penalized 1 point here, 2 points here, 3 points here....for skipping steps and not answering the question exactly step by step as the MATH 110 professor taught us. Never have I EVER been docked points for answering a quesion differently than the way I was taught! So I turned my test back in as I was told, so that I could come talk to the professor about my grade. I return a couple hours later to their office hours to discuss my test, and it did not go as I planned AT ALL.

At first the converation was polite and civil. I was trying to understand exactly what the teacher wanted from me... As I ask more questions about why I got points off here and there, he teahcer began to get impatient and loud with me. In human response I gradually began to take a defense one and became loud as well. Eventually I just left extremely pissed off and worried that my professor was out for me. Today I sent a very nice email apologizing despite my true feelings, asking to meet with them a second time.

I'm extremely confused about why I got a 77 on a test I should have gotten an "A" on, because I had all the right answers.... I am also extremely disappointed in UNC's Math Department...

Anyone have an stories similiar to this?

College Curves

Does anyone find it weird that Professors grade students according to how well you do as compared to other students? It is interesting in the least...but I'm not yet sure if it will help or hurt me!

My syllabus for astro reads: "Final grades will be assigned on a curve at the end of the semester, however I will let you know how you did compared to your classmates after each homework and exam. All that matters is how well you do compared to your classmates."

Strangeeee....

PS: First Astro 101 test tomorrow.....wish me luck!

Game Day!

Game day in Carolina is like a giant family reunion. Everyone is so nice and excited to see you bleed Carolina Blue, just as they do. We play together, fight together, win together, lose together, and die together! A tarheel born, a tarheel bred! No matter who the opponent, Carolina fans come out and unite under a common passion.

Part of this giant family includes my very funny, very interesting senior suite mates. Today after the game, they learned that body paint in the blazing sun will leave it's mark. Both had giant letters painted onto their torsos, hand prints on their backs, and their last names across the top of their backs. After returning to the suite...they washed of the paint to find that area unaffected by the sun. They now have giant tattoos where the sun burned around the pictures and left a pale outline of hand prints, writing, and giant rectangles!

Good luck with future body paint endeavors!

GO HEELS!

PS: What a horrible game today =(

Econ 101

AHHHH First econ 101 test today! I'm scared! Why is econ so hard for me to comprehend? Why is there math in everything? I hate math! Wish me luck! Peace!

Meal plans suck!

So I've known now for a while what a rip off meal plans are, but I've just been so pissed about it recently that I feel it deserves a blog entry! Tuesdays mark the end of the week for a week's worth of meals. When Wednesday rolls around, we again receive 8, 10, 14, etc etc.... meals that we will never use up. A typical meal at either Ramshead or Lenior is about 9$ - 10$! It is definitely not worth the cost in the slightest!

SOOO I find myself extremely annoyed today when I am constantly returning to Rams to eat about 1$ worth of food...so that my pitiful meal plan won't be in vain. I would rather just use the flex points to purchase food with no tax cost... I'd even prefer flex only, but no! The dining service has found a way to con us all.... You are not allowed to purchase flex unless you buy a meal plan to go along with it. (I have the smallest meal plan, 8 meals a week, and I still do not use them all!!) Next semester I suppose I might just use cash for everything...but I'm not yet exactly sure...Any thoughts?

Volume

Last night a couple friends and I are on the P2P headed out to Franklin Street to have a good night, and we are quickly disturbed from an unlikely form. This very petite girl, who had had obviously wayyy too much to drink, immediately demanded the attention of the entire bus. She was talking to her friend that was sitting just inches from her, but at the same time she was talking to the entire bus. She discussed how hungry she was, how "hot" she was, and how loud she was being. I'm not exactly sure why people feel the need to be extremely loud when discoursing with individuals inches from themselves. I'm especially confused as to why drinking amplifies this desire. If alcohol impairs judgment, it must also affect more than just one or two senses. This young girl thought that she was whispering to herself, we all knew differently.

Safety Txt!

So apparently today the University is testing their Carolina Alert systems by setting the sirens off for an extended amount of time from like 12:00pm to either 1pm or 2pm. I thought I would have to sit at work today at my little desk in Avery listening to the Siren for my whole shift. Thankfully I have not heard the alarm at all!!! This is great news and scary news!

I do not have to listen to the annoying alarm all day but I'm slightly disturbed, because if this had been a real situation I'd totally be uniformed by the siren. Therefore, I'd be completely unaware of what might be happening. I did however receive the nifty text messages from Carolina Alert that informed that a drill was taking place. I then received a text a little later to let me know that all is clear and that the drill was over.

If you haven't registered you cellphone to receive texts from Carolina Alert you should do so as soon as possible!

http://alertcarolina.unc.edu/go/doc/1395/194468/

The link above, will hopefully help!

Back Tracking

I am currently in Math 110 (college algebra). I am taking this for a few reasons.

1) German was full
2) Spanish 203 is hard!
3) It's an easy "A"
4) I needed to fulfill my credit hours to be considered full time

When I finally decided I was going to be attending UNC.... I never, EVER, thought that I would be learning about the X & Y axis... but here I am! I took AP Calc in High School, and I was never amazing at it, but I thought for sure I'd score at least a 2 and place out... NOT! All's good though, because with this class I'll be able to take Calc next semester.

What's very annoying about this class is not knowing who actually takes the class serious. I don't want to offend people by my instant griping. I'm not sure who knows what's being covered and who doesn't. I would think though that to get into UNC you would hopefully know the difference between the Y and X axis!!!!

The most annoying thing about this class though, are the older students (Adults with children who should be at work). I'm all for adults going back to college, but I feel like having older students in a generally first year based class takes away from the experience of having an easy class. First years in college algebra do not typically ask lots of questions. We mostly nod and scribble the notes on solving quadratic equations, skipping steps as we go along. Adults; however, ask loads of questions. They almost seem to ask questions just to show that they in fact know the information, and are not 30 years behind.

Overall, I hope that back tracking doesn't cause me to forget what I learned in Calc. Hopefully it'll be a good refresher!

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Friday in my giant Econ 101 class I noticed an obvious change in the reactions of students who are awake, to those who are not. The first week of school, possibly even the second week, people were extremely polite and seemed to genuinely care if the immediate people around them were passed out and missing the lecture. I noticed some people tap shoulders, whisper quietly, or if they were friends a sharp jab with a pencil followed by a not so quiet laugh. It was nice to see that people cared enough about their peers to keep them up during their common lecture. This is no longer the case!

As we entered our 4th week here at UNC it seems people care significantly less about how much they pay attention in class, much less their peers paying attention span. People play a variety of games in class including online poker, Solitaire, Vista's Purble Place, and even online Monopoly. People hold video chats on Skype and Oovoo, and chat using every instant message service known to man! Hiding cell phones seem to be a precaution of the past. Students blatantly hold SKYPE CHATS! It's crazy what people do in big lecture halls.

As I mentioned before, the big event that led me to notice the lack of attention throughout my lecture classes occurred last Friday. A kid sitting two seats to my right began to fall asleep, and was eventually passed out on his laptop. A string of "H's" streamed across his word processor for 10 whole pages before he woke up and noticed what was happening. Instead of anyone waking him up to save him the embarrassment, people snickered and laughed. I myself laughed for a bit. Should I have woke him up, or should he not have fell asleep in the first place? Probably both... Bottom line... we should all pay a little more attention in class, especially those boring lecture classes.. hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Kick- Off!

Hey my name is Eddie, and for the next semester I will be blogging at least twice a week as a part of my English 101 class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! Hopefully this will be an easy and fun assignment!

I will be blogging about the everyday things I see around campus that I deem funny, strange, or otherwise interesting. I may also write about a trip to our surrounding campuses or trips to Franklin or back home. I don't intend to hurt anybody's feelings like some of the blogs I have read online, or lash out at certain groups. I will however, write freely and frankly. This blog is titled "Rough Heels," because I will be delivering raw social commentary!

Thanks to any readers, and feel free to leave comments!