Camp Gundyville- Tornadic Chaos.

Angry. Infuriated. Stressed. Frost bitten. Hatred. These words could easily sum up my emotions in the last couple days concerning Columbia's malproduced item they claim is a "tent". As most of you know I'm a die-hard OSU Cowboy fan; therefore, me and 9 buddies "camp out" by the football stadium in order to get front row seats to all the home games. I've come to the realization, with help from my over logical brother, that maybe just spending extra cash for assigned season tickets would be worth it considering the pain and time commitment necessary for this so called "privilege". Probably so. But I’m a college student, which means I must make irrational decisions on a daily basis, right? Back to the point of this post.

Sure, this tent looks great. The nice colors and unique design trick us consumers into thinking this product would be worth having on a camping trip. Well ladies and gentlemen, stay away from this tent. Stay far, far away. I'm not sure how to explain this in text, but similar to most tents, this tent has the meshy/breathable material on the inside so campers won’t die of CO2 poisoning or heat exhaustion. But unlike a majority of well made tents, whose meshy substance is on the ceiling, this entire tent is made of this mesh. Yes, Close to 90% of the material is mesh, thus the rain cover covers such a large surface area of the tent. Seems great. Seems nice. Nice work engineer team. Not. Imagine 60 mph wind ripping along side of a massive structure such as Boone Pickens Stadium. So strong, that no old man or tiny toddler could safely walk 10 meters. So strong, it can tear tent poles and plastic hooks. Accompanying this skin ripping wind from God Almighty is rain pouring as if the flood gates of heaven were opened. In a literal since. Not a good combination for a meshified tent. My buddies and I awoke to this tornadic (Yes in fact there was a tornado watch) nightmare in a daze. We thought the world was ending. Maybe this was how the rapture happened. With thousands of thoughts flowing through our head, our first instinct was, "Grab the plasma TV and xbox360"! Easily, the most valued possessions of any college student. With everything soaked, we sprinted our way towards the cars while the 35 degree breath of God ripped our tiny pores apart in waves of overbearing gusts. Horrible, horrible night. After awakening in the cars with stiff necks and sore backs, we observed the catastrophe. Memories of the Oklahoma City tornado came to mind as tent poles were cracked and thrown 100 yards away. Pathetic rain covers were nowhere to be found. People squeezing out their water-logged pillows, shivering from the cold devastation. All I have to say is that OSU better beat Texas. And better beat them bad to make it up to me. I've sacrificed sleep, comfort, and possibly sanity for this football team. They finally owe me something.

P.S. Dear Columbia, take your stupid tents back. Keep to making your oh-so-popular fleece jackets.

Diversity

Just a quick little post.


As I walked to class this morning I thought about the multitude of diversity there is on a college campus, especially a large state campus. I'm not talking about the regular diversity we see every day by living as far south as we do. I mean in every aspect of the word, is there a more diverse place than a university? As far as ethnicity, just on my way to class this morning I saw Asians, Latinos, Indians, Arabians, whites, blacks. It's amazing to think they all live in the 3 square mile campus of Oklahoma State University. Where else can you see Bio-Chem nerds and music majors eating lunch together? Or aerospace engineers and elementary school teachers walking to the library together? In fact, there is a Japanese culture dinner at the Union tonight for anyone willing to eat obscure, mysterious food. It just blows my mind, the amount of diversity there is in a couple square blocks of land. I'll never be in an environment like this one again. I hope I never take it for granted.

5 Steps to Dominate a Week in College

The past two weeks have been 'living hell' for me as I strive to do my best in my school work. Let me concisely recap for my audience the pain and misery Stephen Cliff was forced to limp though. Last week: Four exams all worth a third of my overall grade. Unfortunately, two of them on the same day! This past week: one paper and one project. Not just an ordinary 'project' either, I'm talking a 27 page project. I can remember the days when I'd sit in my room and tell myself that nothing could ever compare to the stress and pain of High School calculus or biology. I was greatly mistaken. 24 hours is not enough time in a day. Every college student or working individual has come to this conclusion at one point in their life. From the opinion of an experienced pro, let me inform you of 5 easy steps to succeed under highly stressful situations.



1) Plan ahead. This might be the most overlooked tip, but it never ceases to amaze me at the lack of this ability. I'm not talking about the typical college student version of planning ahead, "hey bro, I got a Chem 2 exam at 3 this afternoon. I'm going to study one chapter an hour and I'll be golden." For the first time in my life I started studying for these exams one week ahead. Scores for the 3 exams I studied in advance for: 91, 91, a 92. For the one test I let get pushed back: 76.

2) Avoid specific websites that humanity has created souly for the purpose of numbing the mind and distracting college aged students all across the globe. Such as: Stumbleupon.com, Face book applications, or blogs : ).

3) Texting. It's funny how when I have so much to do, the random things and random people all of a sudden become a vital part of my social life. I say to myself, "Oh this is so important I must text this person this question. There is no way I'll be able to study if I don't know the answer." The mind seems to work in humorous ways sometimes!

4) Not study groups. This commonly used term, in actuality, means to gather with friends or unknowns and talk about the latest news: "Is Dez Bryant coming back?", "This professor is so selfish and stupid.", or my personal favorite "If we had a good professor than I probably wouldn't fail this exam tomorrow." For some reason college solicits these study groups because they try to avoid thousands of people sitting alone in their dorms. But be serious, shut the door, turn on music, put your phone on silent, and WORK if you'd like to make a good grade or be productive.

5) Toss down 5-6 Coffees, or Redbulls. Whatever may be your preference.

"Slice of American Pie"

Generation Y kids, including myself, have gotten the privilege of growing up in one of the most unique cultures ever known to man. The innovations of the television, cell phone, computers, and all things technologically advanced have drastically transformed American entertainment culture that we know today. "Family Time" in America today can be defined as eating dinner on TV trays and watching the latest episode of The Office or Monday Night Football. Although I can remember when my father received his first cell phone and we bought a desktop for the house, I still never got to grow up in this pre-tech era. Sometimes I hear songs like "Slice" by Five for Fighting and my mind wonders to a time that once existed. It always seems like people were happier then. Am I the only one who wishes they could live a month back when there weren’t computers, cell phones, or TVs? Back when apple pie was for desert, families ate dinner together, and baseball occupied our free time. Back when music was first exploding on the entertainment stage. People checked yes or no to "Date Me?" instead of "Infected?" and God was the center of families. I sure read the stories and hear the songs and I just wish I could go back and experience life then. Sometimes I get bogged down in our microwaved society of "more, more more, faster, faster, faster" production based lives. I'm not a hippie by any means, but I think it would be nice to experience life then...