Week #26: I LOVE CHEMISTRY LAB (10/21/2013 - 10/27/2013)

On Monday I had my first salad I've had in a long time for lunch and it was surprisingly good. After calculus I went to the MSC with Courtney for dinner, apparently we are in Homecoming week and we got free sandwiches :) There is going to be a ton of stuff to do this week, things I would love to go to (the parade and the carnival) but it's simply not the same without your friends. I ate some Chick-Fil-A for dinner while we did our math homework together. After that we went to the Engineers Without Borders meeting for our essay we have to write for Foundations of Engineers Lab class, and we mostly discussed about a color run they are doing to raise funds. I always have a good time with Courtney :)


On Tuesday I was suppose to go out for a run in the morning but I went back to sleep.. And to top it off I had kind of an unhealthy dinner, I had so many carbs :( At noon I was suppose to skype with Alex but she couldn't because something happened with her dad, my package from Forever 21 came though so that recompensed the skype date. I was so afraid I wouldn't like anything I ordered, surprisingly I loved it all! I ordered another onesie! This one with a zipper and it's so fluffy and cozy, I love it! I also got a new pair of snickers that look so good :) And I also got a blue dress that I love, maybe I'll use it for my grandpa's surprise birthday party in December. After Foundations of Engineering I met up with Ricardo and Victoria to plan out our oral presentation for chemistry lab, David was suppose to come too but apparently he dropped the class. We figured out what to do in about 5 minutes and then went to Subway to laugh and complain about David while having dinner. I really like my chemistry lab group.

On Wednesday I went to a Scholarship Workshop in the morning, which was really useless because I didn't learn anything I didn't know. After that I went to chemistry and had a good time with Armando, then I went for lunch at Champion's Choice and this creepy guy (kind of geeky) automatically puts his book on my table and walks away .-. without asking me if there was someone sitting there, he had a beard in his cheeks o.O Before calculus I met up with Victoria and Ricardo to make our poster for chemistry lab, we didn't really get anything done so after calculus Victoria and I gathered to finish it, we would still be working on it if it weren't for Courtney who saved our lives. She sent me her power point presentation and it helped us a lot! For dinner I had a TropiChop from Pollo Tropical, and I thought that was going to sky rocket my calories for today leaving me with a red mark but it actually didn't.

On Thursday I had my oral presentation for chemistry lab and we did very well, everybody was like "WHAT?! Did David really dropped the class?! *they sounded kind of relieved" hahaha, it has been long since I've had fun a a chemistry lab, and I'm definitely loving this class. Our TA, Justin, is so funny and my two remaining lab mates are beyond awesome. After lab I finished the first half of "Wooden on Leadership" book, which is the book I had to read for my book club meeting for my leadership program. I had stomach ache in the morning but it turned out just to be gas. Oh! Something I must write is that today is freezing! It's supper cold and cloudy, when I go to chemistry lab it's usually cold because the sun hasn't come up yet but today it stayed cold even after lab class, we were at 16 celsius, that's about 64 fahrenheit. The day did got hotter thanks to the sun and right now (2 PM) we are at a comfy 21 celsius. Oh, also in chemistry lab there is this group that has two people from the Middle East, you know, the know it alls and in every presentation they would ask the hardest things making the group look bad; in our turn this guy made a question that we didn't even understand and our TA was like do you even know that? Justin let us off the hook knowing how douche bags these Middle Eastern guys were and bombarded them when it was time for their group, HA! Karma bitches. Weeks ago I applied to this Photographer position in the Housing Office of Campus and Greg Bowers asked for my portfolio and I have an interview scheduled for Monday!

On Friday I had my chemistry test and I don't feel I did very good :( I'm so sad right now. At 4 PM I went to an Advisor Appointment because I had a hold and to release it I needed to attend a mandatory first-year appointment with my advisor, after that I came back and watched non-stop Grey's Anatomy. Also my chemistry grade was posted and I got a 76, which is a B in this class, I'm kind of relieved but I was really hoping for an 80+. Today marks three weeks I've spent without drinking soda! And I'm still counting my calories, I also noticed that my blue pants from Gap that kind of fitted okay now feels a little loose. I don't want to get me hopes up but I'll keep on not drinking soda and counting my calories.

Week #24 (10/07/2013 - 10/13/2013)

On Monday I went to lunch with Armando and two of his friends, Marc and Zach. We had Pollo Tropical :) After that I went to AMS and did my first test. The test gave us 12 terms/quotes about the material and we had to write a short paragraph about each, I think I did well, let's hope for the better. Calculus was endless, two hours of that is enough to kill yourself. I understood nothing about what we saw today. For dinner I had beef broth, a chicken sandwich and a salad. I now have lasted 9 days without drinking soda! Of course I drank last Tuesday to donate blood but that was necessary and I only drank less than half the can. After dinner I went to the library and finished my chemistry lab report within an hour. And I spent the rest of the evening watching Grey's Anatomy, I'm now by season 3.

On Tuesday the Foundations of Engineering lab class was very interesting, we went over through tips for being an engineer and some jokes about being an engineer major in college, I really like my professor. In Foundations of Engineering I was hoping not to bump into Ahmad because things have gone really weird and awkward but my luck didn't go that long, he sat next to me and he smelled weird... He stood up to look for his resume and then he disappeared and never came back, I was so relieved. I know it's kind of mean to feel this way but I don't know, he's just a little weird. At night I skyped with Alex, and we talked and talked and talked :) We should talk more often. After Alex I skyped with Rod and had a good time talking :) I did no homework today and I feel terribly guilty.

On Wednesday I felt so tired in calculus, my eyes were itchy and I was just... I couldn't take it anymore; anyway I went after calculus to meet up with Victoria and David to discuss what we were going to do on Thursday. Victoria had it all figured out so I went to eat Champion's Choice for dinner, I installed back the lose it app and I ended the day with 89 calories under budget! I even had the chance to eat a brownie and drink an iced tea from Starbucks. I thought the iced tea was going to suck since all the iced teas I've had in the US are unsweetened, but it was really good. I finished all my school work before 9! And I ended the night watching X Factor and Grey's Anatomy.

On Thursday I was hoping to see french toast for breakfast but darn my luck, I had to do with scramble eggs. Our chemistry lab turned out pretty good, well... really REALLY good :) I still feel sad that there will always be a unit that will not work yet think they are the boss of us. I have been craving french toast all week and decided to bike to IHOP to get some, the round trip was about 8 miles! and it took me close to an hour in total. It was not really worth it, sincerely I like more the ones they serve at Fresh Foods. I ended up my day with 100 and something calories under budget, and I got there by going to the gym. If I had not gone to the gym I would have surpassed the counter by about 800 calories! All the biking and exercise I did was for my trip to IHOP haha. I watched Glee's memorial episode for Cory, I didn't like it very much but I did cry. I successfully finish all of my homework before 8:30, and I feel kind of proud. My mom told me she booked the airplane tickets for thanksgivings! I don't know is Patty is coming yet, I hope she is, she asked in the group when was my mom flying here so that could be a sign :D Mom is coming from Wednesday before thanksgivings until Tuesday after thanksgivings.

On Friday I finally had some french toasts for breakfast! I only had one serving because I'm sticking to my Lose It! app, and in total I had over 500 calories just for breakfast XD so now I have to watch out for the ret of the day. Today is gonna be a very boring day because I have to do my geography assignment, and it is really really boring, I'm thinking about dropping it and adding an in-class next year or whatever. Every term I get the urge to drop that one course, in spring it was biology (which I ended up with an A), I just hope I can improve my geography grade :S

My mom is right now at the "Feria Internacional de Artesanias Aileen" in Panama, selling my grandma's sawdust decorative bottles, and her left over sewing kits. I really hope they can sell it all :)

Mornings are very cold in here, I still can't get used to these mornings, on Thursday when I had to wake up before 7 AM for my chemistry lab the weather marked 17 celsius. And I wanted to go to Michigan XD Still, I like the coldness :) I like wearing hoodies and fall and winter like clothing.

Week #20 (09/09/2013 - 09/15/2013)

So on Monday I was super tired, I didn't even wake up to Kaitlyn's alarm at 7 AM. I went to Chemistry and Armando sat next to me again, I like that people look for me to sit next to me; I like Armando :) After Chemistry I bought some Pollo Tropical and ate in my room while watching my daily vlogs (usual mondays). Then I went to American Studies and at 4 I went to Calculus, thank God I remembered Calculus is at 4 not 3:30 because I have gone twice at 3 thinking it is at 3:30. Later in the night I hear a lot of chatting and when I look all of my suite mates (except Abby) are gathered in the other common room, so I go there and do some social life. I really like them all, they are so funny and cool to hang out with. Kaitlyn was really hyper though, I think it was the coffee she drank. Anyways, she went downstairs to open the door to Chris and we decided to tease her and we all hided in my room. When they turned off the lights and saw my wall full of stars they went like "wowww" hahaha. It was a nice ending to my Monday.

On Tuesday the guy from the Study Abroad finally replies to me and says I have to meet up with the advisor of my major, so I made an appointment with John for Thursday. Before class I went to the bookstore to buy a weekly planner because I feel I'm forgetting so much stuff, but when I got there I realized I left my wallet! This is the second time these past two weeks! So I went to Fresh Food Co. and grab some food to go. I feel bad because they didn't have any healthy stuff, so I had a lot of carbs for lunch. At class, remember I told you I felt like I was forgetting stuff? Well I had a quiz on Foundations for Engineering Lab, luckily it was in group and you actually did not need to have read the chapters. After that class I went and bought my weekly planner and also a USF t-shirt, because I feel I don't have enough. I went to my other class at 3:30 and saw Ahmad, I feel so bad because I have not texted him in a very long time and he told me that he felt sad, either way we worked that out. After class I went to Champion's Choice for dinner (I love that place) and I had mashed potatoes, a meat I don't know from what animal came and a tofu salad. After that I had a group meeting with the guys from my Foundations for Engineering class, Nick and Chad, and we accomplished to do something. Chad and I are lucky that Nick is a Junior because he knows a lot of stuff we still don't. On my way back I decided to stop by the Pod Market to see if they sold any Whoppers but they don't. Last weekend I went to Target and bought everything I needed except my Whoppers, and now I crave them everyday! Vicki message me through Facebook today and she invited me for Thanksgiving at her house, so I guess I'm going to Miami on November :) Before going to bed I had a nice chat with Kaitly about piercings, thanksgiving, and other stuff, this is the Kaitlyn I like; not so hyper and weird but not that much.

On Wednesday I went to my usual classes, however, at noon I went to Lunchtime with Leadership for my Certified Leadership hours and today's topic was about "Leadership after a crisis" since today is 9/11 and it really inspired me you know? Also before the lunchtime there was a Volunteering Fair at the MSC and I got really interested in one called Metropolitan Ministries, I liked that one because it has tons of area in which I can help, including photography! After all my classes I went to dine at Champion's Choice and while I was eating alone Olivia came up to me and asked if she could join. I felt happy because I haven't talked that much with Olivia. We had a great time :) After that I came back and changed into my work out clothes. Today has actually been a very stressful day because I have to read 7 chapters of "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe by tomorrow. So while I was working out I was also reading. I really can notice when I'm interested in what I'm reading because 400 pages' books that I like take me about three days, while this one I read only 10 pages in 25 minutes while jogging. I didn't get a chance to skype with Momo because of that book. Anyway, today was a really busy and productive day.

Thursday was a very stressful day, besides the fact that I have to wake up for my 8 AM class, the class is Chemistry lab! I hate it. I got really stressed out because we have to do a billion things just for that class. Anyway, after the living hell lab we had I went to my advisor so he could approve my course for the Study Abroad next year, he did but I also need the approval of the course's department. So I biked all the way to the other side of campus, it was seriously a long bike ride (about a mile and a half). So I get into the building and get send to the other side of it. I got lost and asked for help and a boy named Evan (looked like a student) helped me go where I was supposed to. I had to go to room 2632 and when I got there it was a sign next to a coffee table.. I was like 'are you kidding me?'. So a guy found me and took me to the secretary, the lady said that the guy I was looking for was not there so I left my number and email. When I got out of the building it was freaking pouring outside, and of course I left my umbrella, AGAIN. I stopped by the mail room to pick up my new Asic running shoes :) When I got to me room I was soaking wet and changed my clothes, then I realized it had stopped raining so I change clothes and went out to the trail to try out my new running shoes. At first they felt good but as the time passed I could feel the impact in my heel.

On Friday I went to my Chemistry class, and practically what we are doing right now is the same I did in my three years of Chemistry in high school, so no pressure. For lunch I had discovered Thursday that Champion's Choice has those sticks that chinese restaurants serve! Those you can buy packaged in Panda Express, I call them "palitos". So now whenever I wanna eat I go to Champion's to eat some "palitos" :P hahaha. I still have tons of homework but I really don't feel in the mood to do them, I did some of it but I still need to write a couple of lab reports, study and do homework. The USF library at the beginning of the semester announce that they would not have the 24/5 schedule they've always had but we protested and from this Sunday it will be 24 hours! So maybe I can hibernate at the library this weekend and finish all I have to finish.

I also installed my cup holder
for my bike :)

Week #19 (09/02/2013 - 09/08/2013)

Happy Labor Day! I really had nothing planned for today. At noon I went to Fresh Food Co. and ate a salad with bits of ham, or as I like to called it: ham with bits of lettuce. After lunch I was browsing through the Recreational Center's site, and I found about the Riverfront Park, which has Stand Up Paddle. I've been wanting to do that for more than a year, and I found a place exclusively for USF students that charges only $5 for a two hour rent. The lake was beautiful :) to get there I had to bike about 2 miles. I really loved doing SUP (stand up paddle) and I hope it becomes kind of like a leisure activity I'd do regularly. The view while in the lake was amazing, I even saw a crocodile! I wish I had brought my phone with me, I though it would get wet. But if you don't fall off or anything you don't get wet. Next time I'll bring my old iPhone in its life proof case and listen to music while paddling while also taking pictures. Back at the dorm I had easy mac for dinner, and Ricki (one of my suite mates) also gave me a homemade brownie. The rest of the night I just chilled in my room. Now I understand when Dorianne used to tell me how lonely she felt, at least she found some panamanian gals to make her company; and now Alex is going to Penn State so there will be more. I feel so lonely... Yesterday Jose and I were skyping and he was like go out and make social life, tell your roommate to go with you and see a movie. But I just can't do it, a lot of people may not understand but THIS IS NOT EASY FOR ME. The only one who understands is Rod, and thanks God he's the one who understands. I do have this thought in my mind that I could make the four years without a good friend, maybe I'm wrong and crazy but I do hope I can get a good friend. I'm just preparing for the worst. I thought I had a good relationship going on with my roommate but it seems that she's having more fun with our suite mates.. So now I'm all alone.

Tuesday started pretty awful, but thankfully ended amazing. I set my alarm at 9 AM to go to the gym, but guess what? I could not get off my bed, so at noon I went to lunch at Champion's Choice. My favorite on-campus place to eat. Ever since I've known the kind of food college offers and the free gym and other stuff to help you be healthy I've proposed myself to lose weight and tone up. Although I'm not going to the gym as much, I'm definitely eating a whole lot healthier. LET'S KEEP IT UP! I also found out in the morning that I had a Chemistry Lab quiz due today! And the material the professor gave us for the quiz was really long. So after my classes I went directly to the library and start reading. I get a text from David, one of the members of our lab group, and he texts me that he's also struggling with it that if I wanna come and help each other out. So I went to his hall, just before going there I stopped by the bookstore to buy my lab supplies since David told me they were going pretty quick. He lives at Kappa, and the interior is pretty much like Lambda. He was really tall, which I did not expect, and pretty Floridian. He did the quiz while I had the content out and vice versa, we both got 10/10. The conversation was pretty awkward, I don't know if it was me but he was all the time stuck to his phone. So when I left, it was pretty awkward. I had dinner at the library before going to David's, I had bought sushi from the MSC and a smoothie from Jamba Juice, I hope that counts as healthy. Back in the dorm since I finished the Chemistry lab quiz, and all the stress was relieved I started doing my Foundations of Engineering homework. Olivia and Kaitlyn were watching Greek while I was doing homework, and at one time Olivia asked Kaitlyn if she wanted some pop corn right in front of me. Like, she gave her a whole bag and totally disregarded me. So I'm all like, in my mind, I like pop corn too :( That's typically how my relationship is with my suite mates. I also forgot to tell you that I got bored of reading "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot, and now I'm reading the 4th book of the "I am Number Four" series! "The Fall of Five" by Pittacus Lore. I know it's a bad timing because right now I'm obsessed with the Percy Jackson series, but I think that's just how us readers feel when they have to wait too long for a sequel. Anyways, I'm on page 295/355 after just beginning on Sunday! It's not has fast as I used to read Percy Jackson but now I'm so much busier, so being on the mid 70% on my third day is amazing progress.

Target gave me a stuffed animal!

On Wednesday I did my usual, I got 20 minutes early to my Chem class so I sat down next to some guy. It was until something happened that I introduced myself and he was like "I already know you", it was David! From my lab group, omg how embarrassing. This is the first class I don't take notes, read chapters ahead or anything; I feel so irresponsible. After Chem I went to the Internship and Part Time Job Fair held at the Student Services area. I took information from Target and Busch Gardens, but I think I can't apply to those jobs because I'm international. So before my Calculus class I applied to a couple of jobs on campus. I'm not searching a job for the salary but for the experience, my resume is completely blank in that area. After Calculus I met with David and Victoria, my lab group, in the library for our project. We have to do a bouncy ball. We ended up having dinner together, well just me and David because Victoria met up with another friends. He was more talkative this time than yesterday thank God. When I came back to my dorm I did some homework and I logged into YouTube, then I discovered Judy and Benji are expecting! AND THEY ARE HAVING TWINS! I'm so happy and excited for them. After that I skyped with Rod :) Just before going to bed I finished the 4th book of the "I Am Number Four" series, I thought this would be the last book, apparently not. So now I'll have to wait for a fifth book :( Anyway, I rate this book 4.2 starts out of 5.

On Thursday I woke up a 6:45 AM because I had my Chem Lab class at 8 AM. I woke up Kaitlyn but I'm not sure if she was really awake because she just went to the bathroom and fell back asleep. I went to Fresh Food Co. and grabbed a banana, since I was walking because I had left my bike at the CMC because of the rain the day before I tried to hurry. I got about 30 minutes early and just sat waiting. I saw David by the door so I stood next to him, then I saw Victoria and the a guy who I later met as Ricardo. I put my lab coat, and googles. I hate the googles, they mess up with my ears. We did the bouncy ball experiment and it was actually cool. At the end of the lab I did one for myself, which I colored blue. After lab I went to retreat my bike at the building where I take Calculus I and went to the Engineering III Building for my meeting with the Academic Advisor. I had to meet with one for one of my Foundations for Engineering assignment, and show him my semester, weekly and graduation plan. His name is John Morgan, and he was REALLY cool (reminder: always schedule with him). He was very impressed with my assignment and checked marked me all down. After the appointment I picked up some food from Pollo Tropical and ate it at my dorm. Then I biked, which I calculated now and it's 3.1 miles, to Riverfront Park to do more Stand Up Paddling. It was really tiring this time around. It may have had something to do with the song and the height of the paddle (which was way too short). I came back EXTREMELY tired and drank a couple of glasses of Sprite, and then fell asleep in my bed. I woke up with Abby and Olivia making noise, and then Kaitlyn came in so my nap time was over. Grace came over to our room and talked with me and Kaitlyn for a while. They saw the photo album I made :) I went to the library around 6:30 to do my Chemistry homework, and had to leave early because my battery was dying. The homework was really long, so I haven't finished it yet. Before coming back to the dorm I bought some Panda Express (the usual). At night I skyped with my grandparents and Cristy, I felt guilty that when I called to their house to ask for the credit card's number, Apo greeted me with a huge amount of happiness and surprise and telling me how much she missed me. So I had to skype with them, because that phone call made me miss them too. About the credit card thing, I biked 3.1 miles to the park and when I got there I realized I had forgot my credit card! So I had no way of paying and my mom can't use hers because it reached it limit.

On Friday I went to my Chemistry class and Armando sat right next to me, if I forgot to tell you I met him on another of my Chemistry classes and he's from Puerto Rico but has lived here for a long time. After that class I went to the Grad Studies office to investigate about Cristy's masters but she was right, there are no Masters in Logistics here; I also went to the Education Abroad office but no one was there so since I was at the MSC I bought Chik-Fil-A for lunch. I also realized this morning that I was accepted into the Florence Spring Break 2014 program! Just one night after I applied! I'm so happy! I was doubtful at first because I would be studying about mental health instead of Michael Angelo and the field trips to mental hospitals (creepy). But there are only two visits to a mental hospital, the rest are art exhibitions and wine field trips. So I accepted. Around 5 I went out again because I had to print some stuff and in my way to the library I bought a parfait at Jamba Juice, I liked it a first but there was too much granola. For dinner I went to Fresh Food company and ate some pork and bread. Back in my dorm I finished my Chemistry homework and tried my best at math.

A pic I took on Thursday of the sunset in front of the memorial of Martin Luther King Jr.
here at USF.