I realize I haven’t been updating much lately. For the most part, I’ve just been rather busy with school work and other things.

Mainly, I have a nasty habit of procrastinating, so when it’s the night before I plan to make a post and I have to choose between writing out a post or doing the homework that I put off, I end up choosing the homework and don’t have enough time to write out a decent post. Of course, my lack of time management is my fault and I do apologize for the infrequent updates. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to have a regular schedule.

That and I’ve been playing Fallout 3. A lot, actually. Fun game!

So luckily, my TA for a discussion section on Tuesday night decided to cancel it due to the election, so I was able to watch the results fully as they unfolded.

As I mentioned earlier, I am an Obama supporter, and at first I was a bit anxious watching the votes come in — while Obama was doing well, he wasn’t winning anything Kerry hadn’t in 2004. But as the night went on, he began to do better and better, and of course he ended up winning it.

Although I disagreed with him on many issues, I do have a good deal of respect for John McCain and I think he was a reasonable candidate. Had McCain been our president for the last 8 years instead of Bush, I think our country would be in a different position than it is now. But, in the end, I feel that Obama’s stances are more along the lines of where we need to go.

The rest of the Western world was pretty in favor of us electing Obama, and I think we’ve begun to redeem ourselves for a lot of what’s gone wrong over the last 8 years.

How Obama will do remains to be seen, but I’m optimistic.

So, we finally have come to Election Day in the United States.

This is undoubtedly a big election, one in which a lot more people have been taking interest. Without interjecting too many of my political beliefs, I would guess the surge in interest comes from many believing that the United States is headed in the wrong direction, and so many want to have a voice in what direction the country takes. This election could sport one of the best voter turnouts ever.

There has been a lot of attention throughout this election. The primaries, normally a rather fast process, were drawn out quite a bit (see: Democrats), and the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain’s vice presidential nominee definitely spiced things up a bit as well. A lot is hanging on this election, from decisions about Iraq and the economy to decisions about healthcare and education. There is no doubt that our choice of president will greatly influence what path the country takes for the next four years.

Although it’s much too late for me to encourage people to register to vote, it isn’t too late for me to encourage registered voters to go to the polls. So much is hanging on this election: to simply turn a blind eye is to show a complete lack of care for the potential effects on the lives of many Americans.

I voted already via mail-in ballot, and I personally voted for Obama. I have my reasons, just as voters for McCain have their reasons. I have been following FiveThirtyEight lately, and am a bit curious how accurate their predictions are.

Regardless of who wins, I’m hoping that this election is not plagued by cheating (from either side), though undoubtedly something will come up. I just want an honest election, where the candidate who becomes president is truly what America wanted.

So without further ado, the big daddy:

Seeing as today is Halloween, I was wondering about trick-or-treating.

Ever since I was a kid, trick-or-treating was the big highlight of Halloween. Each year, I would plan to hit even more houses than the year before. Once I was old enough to trick-or-treat with friends, we would try to find the areas with the most homes, where hopefully we could get the most candy. In reality, each year our plans ended up failing due to one reason or another: once we went to a neighborhood where nobody was giving out candy, another we spent looking for a friend’s girlfriend, and one year we were just simply too lazy. in the end, I never actually fulfilled my dream of “The Jackpot”.

Halloween is the ultimate holiday as a kid

As my friends and I grew older, we started hearing the inevitable line from adults handing out candy, “Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating?” I first heard it in 6th grade, and I heard it more every year after that. The last time I went trick-or-treating was during my sophomore year of high school (when I was 16), and I was hearing it quite a bit that year.

During my junior and senior year, I didn’t have any interest in trick-or-treating because other opportunities came up — one year I went out with a girl, the other year I went to see a movie and spent some time with friends. However, if the group decision had been to go trick-or-treating, I would still have been willing to go out. Now, though, I finally feel too old to go out, perhaps a result of being away at college, or maybe because I finally realized I can buy candy any time I want. I would still love to hit The Jackpot, but beyond that I really don’t have much interest in walking around. I’d rather spend Halloween at a party, with friends, or even just watching scary movies and handing out candy to kids.

What do you think?

Beyond that, I’d like to wish everybody a happy Halloween. Since it’s on a Friday this year, there are many more opportunities than normal. What interesting things are you up to this year?

On the list of college dorm necessities, I mentioned that you might want to bring a pair of flip-flops to college for the showers. There’s a pretty good reason for this, and if you don’t have a pair of flip-flops for showering, you should really get one.

Showers are a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi.

College dorm showers are an ideal place for bacteria and fungi to grow. Showers are moist environments, and all it takes is one person with athlete’s foot or some other foot condition to make life worse for everyone on the dorm floor.

You aren’t at home, and there’s no way to know what other people do in the shower. Chances are you don’t want to know: some people have really disgusting shower habits. Believe me — I’m male, we talk about these things from time to time. With as many as 10-20 people using the same shower daily, things can get gross fast. Even if the common bathroom showers are cleaned daily, you do not want to shower barefoot. In fact, you should never even enter the dorm bathroom barefoot. Always go in with socks, flip flops, shoes, or some sort of protection for your feet.

The best way to solve this problem is to go to Wal-Mart or some other store that sells very cheap shoes. You can buy a cheap pair of flip-flops for only a couple of bucks. Don’t worry about style or if they aren’t the most comfortable things ever — you’re not going to wear them around while walking nor in public. Plastic ones are especially nice (as opposed to very foamy ones) because they’ll dry much faster.

When it comes time to wash your feet in the shower, simply do it one foot at a time — pull one foot out of your flip flop and balance on the other foot.

After you’re done showering, keep your flip flops in a place in your dorm where they can air out and dry off properly. This prevents any fungus from growing on them. You may want to dry them off with your towel if you don’t plan on reusing it before washing it.

For a cheap investment of only several dollars, a simple pair of flip flops can save you a lot of hassle and embarrassment from foot fungus or other bacteria at college. Showering with shoes on may be awkward at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll be glad you made the switch.

If you’re aspiring to go to a UC or a CSU, it’s important to keep a close eye to make sure you’re going to meet all of the A-G Requirements.

When I was in high school, the counselors drilled all of them into us, so that by the time we were in our sophomore year, we knew them by heart. However, I know that not all schools do this, and some may not even have heard of them at all. The A-G Requirements are basically an addition to your high school’s graduation requirements. They require you to take so many years of each subject and to pass.

Chances are you’re already doing a lot of work to prepare yourself for college and to look great for your applications, but it can be very easy to miss one or two essential requirements, disqualifying you from eligibility from both sets of schools.

What are the A-G Requirements?

The A-G requirements are as follows:

1. Two years of social science/history class.
2. Four years of English
3. Three years of math, although four are recommended.
4. Two years of lab science, three being recommended.
5. Two years of a foreign language. Three are recommended. You must use the same language, so you can’t take one year of Spanish, then one of German, and expect it to count.
6. One year of visual/performing arts.
7. One college prep elective. Basically, take another year of something on this list beyond what you’re required to take.

There are some slight stipulations about what classes you can take. If you follow the typical college prep path through high school, you should be fine, but to be safe, you should check out the UC’s webpage for the A-G Requirements.

Remember, you need to pass these classes. Although most high schools consider a pass to be a D or higher, UCs and CSUs will not consider you to have passed the class unless you earn a C or higher. This is a pretty big deal — you may earn a D one semester, and even though your high school gave you credit for your class, you still will be missing one semester when it comes time to apply.

What do I do if I’m missing a class?

Hopefully, you’re looking at that list and not seeing any red flags. Hopefully, you’ve taken (or are taking) all the classes you need and have passed with a C or higher. But if you haven’t, you need to take the classes you haven’t and/or retake the classes you haven’t.

If you’re a senior, you know that time is short. Whether you’re missing a semester or a whole year of a class, do your best to switch into it next semester, provided you don’t switch out of another class you need. Talk to your counsellor as soon as possible to arrange a switch. If you’re missing a full year, I believe you can make it up in summer school. On your UC/CSU applications, you will have to indicate this to show that you are planning to still fulfill the requirement. The best thing you can do is to meet with your counsellor immediately to try to work something out.

If you’re below a junior or younger, you’re in luck. Simply try to arrange to take the classes next year so that your schedule stays in line with the CSU/UC requirements. If you’re missing too much already, you may have to go to summer school in order to make up what you need.

Last year when I submitted my college applications, I remember wondering often if I was sure enough of where I wanted to go to school. Now, my girlfriend is beginning to apply to schools, and she’s feeling anxious because she’s really not sure where she wants to go still.

You do not need to know which school you want to attend when you submit your application

Obviously, before turning in college applications, you have a nice variety of colleges to choose from. But once application due dates start hitting, your options will become much narrower. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing, depending on how you want to look at it.

But whichever way, it’s important to feel at least some level of certainty with the schools you chose to apply to. You want each school you send an application to be a potential choice for you, not just some school you choose for the sake of choosing. Unless you have enough money to apply to schools simply for bragging rights, applying to schools on a whim is going to cost a lot of money (and time).

Here are some ways of helping to feel good about your choices:

Make some lists

For each school you’re applying to, stop and think, “Why am I applying here?” Try to make a list of things you believe are good about the school, maybe its reputation or its location. What’s the main reason you’re applying to the school? See if you can come up with a good list of things better than “I chose it randomly”.

While you’re at it, go ahead and make a small list of negative aspects about the school too.

Do some basic research.

If you’ve never looked into the school at all, now is the time to start. You don’t need to thoroughly research the school at this point, but it’s important to catch any red flags early on. StudentsReview is a great site for doing some basic research on what students have to say about the school.

Compare what you read to your list. See how many of your points still stand and which ones have changed, and decide if you’re still interested in potentially attending the school.

For example, I applied to one school, and after applying I learned it really wasn’t somewhere I was interested in attending. Had I done some research beforehand, I could have saved the time and money of applying there.

Backup school

Even though your backup school is simply a backup, it’s somewhere that you want to be able to see yourself at as well. In theory, the main difference between a backup school and the other main schools you’re applying to should be that your backup school is less selective.

So when selecting your backup school, try not to think of just a school that’s easy to get in to. Remember, in the worst-case scenario, you could end up actually attending that school. Select a school that you would honestly give some thought to if you knew you had no chance at the more selective ones.

Don’t worry if you can’t choose between where you’ve applied to

If you already have a main choice of the schools you’ve applied to, that’s great! But if you don’t, then don’t worry. You still have many months to make that final choice. At this point, you don’t need to have a preference of the schools you’re applying to.

However, you want to have reasons for why you’ve chosen to apply where you have. Even though you may not be able to apply to every school, or there may be other schools that offer what your choices do, that’s fine. But for the schools you’re applying to, make sure your reasons for considering the school are fairly solid and that you could potentially see yourself attending that school.

When I turned in my applications, I had no clue which of the schools I would end up attending, and in fact, at the time I was even leaning against UCSC. But for each of the schools, I knew why I was applying there, and in the end, that was more than enough certainty.

Before leaving for college, I remember telling my mom, “I won’t get sick at school — I have a great immune system!” I honestly believed it too — I rarely ever get sick, and when I do, it’s usually nothing more serious than a cold.

But sure enough, within only two weeks of moving in I started to feel my first illness coming on. With so many people around, it becomes incredibly easy for diseases to spread. My disease, however, didn’t come from contact with anybody at school — I actually contracted it while at home, and it was hitting me for the first time. And, unfortunately, this was no common cold: this was mono.

Being sick at college can be pretty miserable

As I’m writing this, I’m finally getting over my illness, and it’s not a moment too soon. I’d like to share a few things that I’ve learned firsthand about being sick at college that might help you if you ever find yourself in a similar position as I was in (let’s hope not!).

Being sick when you’re away at college is completely different than being sick back home while you’re in high school. Back home, Mom could take care of you and you could more easily afford to miss several days of school in order to regain your health.

But when you’re sick at college, you’re on your own, and you have to manage on your own. When you first discover that you’re sick, this is definitely a bit daunting — it’s really tough being sick when you’re alone and away from home. But there are ways of managing! This post contains some pointers about how to manage both your health and your schoolwork while sick, as well as some other general tips to keep in mind while sick.

What do I do if I’m starting to feel sick?

If you’re starting to feel sick, it’s important to begin living healthy to help keep your immune system strong. By starting early, you may be able to curb the illness of some of its power, letting you recover faster or maybe not be as sick as you otherwise would be.

• Start sleeping more. Try to be in bed a little earlier than normal, and, if you have time, take a nap during the day. It’s rare that you’ll get enough sleep in college, but if you can manage to get an extra hour or two of sleep each day, that can help you a lot.
• Eat healthy. Maybe say no to that ice cream and instead opt for an apple. Find foods in your dining hall that are healthier, especially ones with Vitamin C (oranges are classic). You also might want to take vitamins to make sure that your body is receiving what it needs. When I got sick, I bought some Emergen-C. Whether or not it helped, I’m not sure, but I felt good to know my body was getting its vitamins.
• Keep a close eye on your symptoms. Is this something you’ve had before, like a common cold? As soon as any symptom because oddly severe or an unusual one appears, it’s time to see a doctor. You might have an unusual illness that can be treated. Don’t be afraid to see a campus doctor — they are there to help you.
• Talk to your parents. Let your parents know that you’re not feeling well. If possible, you may want them to come down and help you with some odds and ends that become especially bothersome while sick (laundry comes to mind). Going home for the weekend may be a good choice, but you shouldn’t stay home for the week unless you’re very ill — that’s a lot of class to miss.

Handling your classes

If you’re feeling especially awful, inevitably it’s going to interfere with your classes. If you’re not feeling healthy, missing a class can definitely be a valid option. However, since college classes are far less forgiving than high school classes, you need to choose carefully which ones to miss and not miss more than you have to. Luckily, professors are human, and most are more than willing to cut you some slack when you need it.

• Inform your professors once you start feeling bad. If you think you may have to miss a class in the future, talk to your professors and give them a heads-up. Tell them that you haven’t been feeling good lately, and that you may have to miss a class. If possible, do it in person — this is always more genuine, and they’ll be able to tell how sick you are. If you have to, e-mail will work too. Even if it’s a large lecture class, it’s always worthwhile to talk to a professor, since they may work out a deal so that you can miss class and recover.
• Decide whether or not to miss class. You have to decide if, by sitting in class, you’ll gain enough useful knowledge to make it worth the strain on your body. What might you miss? Can you receive the notes from somebody else? Will missing this class likely come back to haunt you? Also consider if you are a distraction to others: are you coughing/sniffling loudly, or are you likely to vomit?
• Choose which classes to miss carefully. If you have a discussion class followed by a lecture and you know you can only handle one, choose to attend the lecture. You may not be able to make every class in your schedule, but you might not have to miss all of them either. Do your best to attend your most essential classes.
• If you do miss a class, send an e-mail. If you just aren’t up for going to class, then you should send the professor an e-mail afterward to apologize. Hopefully you’ve already informed him or her that you’re sick, so this e-mail won’t be entirely unexpected. Simply inform him/her that you had to miss class because your illness finally became too much. Ask if there’s anything you can do to make up what you missed, and be sure to thank him/her.
• Don’t do more schoolwork than you have to. If you’re feeling terrible, it may be better to procrastinate the work to a time when you’ll be feeling better. Trying to do college homework while sick is tough even for the best of us. If you think you’ll feel better enough in a couple of days to try it then, then by all means put it off a little. If you don’t have that choice, do the exact opposite: spread out your work load, working on it in little sections at a time. This will keep you from being overwhelmed and allow you to rest in between sessions.


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