Day Late? Dollar Short?

Not sure if this is technically a day late.. but I figure it is. Um.. I know that a few of you were having issues with viewing the posts in this way, but let me know if you're having troubles now, considering the first time I sent you the wrong address.

I know I promised pictures from a lot of things but I haven't seen Tom to get his, or Don to get his from skiing. The only pictures I have right now are from my cell phone, taken of the campus with all the snow. So yeah, here's that pic:



It's been a while since it snowed and my camera isn't the best.. but yeah. Last week was a bit crazy (what else is new, right?) and the next two should be just as much. I have three more assignments to complete this week and then I'm done for the semester. Just have to, you know, take all my finals. I've got my first final at 7am Monday morning. Whee. My other four are divided between Thursday and Friday mornings. Then, after finals, I get to go home to the Condo and veg on my couch for about two weeks, doing nothing in particular. Oh, and Christmas shop.

What are everyone's plans for Christmas? Anyone traveling anywhere exciting? I wanted to go to Dubai for my break but we could never work the dates out. My unfailing ability to get sick for the first week of any break I have severely limited when I could go.

I'm going to be honest with you guys, I'm runnin out of ideas here on what to write about.. um... I'm sitting in the College of Business at the moment, waiting for my last class of the day, then I gotta go grab Cait. I think today I'm going to challenge her to some sort of game, whether it be Mille Bournes or a video game... I took her sledding last week, after the big snow storm. I was hesitant at first but we both had a blast and froze our bums off. It took a while for the sledding to get good because we had to pack the snow down on our path, but once we did, we were flying. It got to the point where we were almost sliding into the lake that was at the bottom of the hill. I would have taken pictures of the fun with my phone, which I had only brought for emergencies.. but I dropped it in the snow and it froze, literally. I hadn't wanted to bring my camera because I was afraid I'd land on it. I had to pull her the last block home on the sleds (we had walked there) and then I made us hot chocolate with milk and real chocolate, not that powder junk.

Anyway, class is supposed to start soon and I need to get to work on finishing my java lab.. so yeah. Until next weekend (hopefully weekend).

Peace, Love and naps in class,
Tar

Later, But At Least I Did It

So I guess the first thing to say would be that I’m sorry it’s been so long. Several of you have emailed me and I’ve replied to a few of you that I would be sending something out soon.. but that soon has yet to come, until now. I would like to promise you all that I’ll be more consistent with my emails, that I won’t forget to write them, that I will have time for you.. but I can’t. What can I say? I’m human.. and a young one at that, haha. For all I can say right now is that this email’s going to be long.. and I’m going to try and send out another one next week, so take off your shoes, slouch a little in the chair and grab something to drink, cause this is going to take a while.

When we first left our adventurer, she was embarking on- wait a second.. I can’t even remember the last time I wrote one of these. And why am I calling myself an adventurer?.. Okay, ya know what, I’m just going to fill ya in as I remember stuff, okay? Coolies.

First thing I remember is that I’m a college student still. Yes, I haven’t dropped out and they haven’t decided I’m awesome enough to just hand me the degree (yet). I’m taking five courses this semester (which is almost over) and almost enjoying them all. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not enjoying my Computer Structure’s class. There are few in that class that are. Scratch that, none are. It’s essentially a class about the, you guessed it, structure of a computer. Like how electrical signals move through boards and flip little switches and make things happen.. we write programs in binary.. I seriously dislike that class. I take my laptop to it every lecture and play games or do other homework. It’s what the department calls a “pre-req” for another class.. it’s what we call a hoop. Other then that, though, I like all my other classes. I’m taking two history courses (zomg, I love them..), another computer course (not bad, tough but fun), and a business systems course (database design, whee). I’ve already enrolled for next semester. It was going to be all computer science courses, something that will drive me crazy.. so I have a history course scheduled in there too for the fun of it, though I may have to drop it because of the credit load, we’ll see. I’ll describe those courses later, like when I take them or something.

Oh! The other big news in the classes department is that they want me to help teach a course next semester. They designed a web development course around my research from last year and I’ve been helping them do it.. and they want me to help teach it. I was considering for a while using that as an excuse to get more independent study credit (I’m already getting some this semester for the work I did last summer), but I’d have to pay for the course’s tuition, and that’s just a waste of money. I’m really excited about the whole thing.. but slightly nervous. They’ve never done this before with an undergrad student and I think most of my students will actually be older then me. It’s kind of an ego boost.. but at the same time I’m freaking out a little, ya know? So yeah.. that’s that exciting news.

Hmm, let’s see.. I’m still doing research for the universities. I say ‘universities’ because I’m doing research with CSU and UNCC. My CSU research is a continuation of my research from last year, looking at website usability and navigation. My research with UNCC is also a continuation of my work there from the summer. I’m looking at playing video games at a college level and how game play effects the lives of students, as well as the type of students that are open to using a game in combination with lectures. A spin off of that is looking at the learning that happens during game play and how we might be able to capture that learning power and make it more university related. I’m extremely excited about my research.. like, insanely so. It’s just amazing what I’ve found from interviews with students. I could seriously write a paper on it all, oh wait, I am. It’s not gotten very far right now.. I’ve bitten off more then I can chew when it comes to all that I’m doing.. so I plan on working on that next semester. It seriously just amazes me the things that these games are doing.. and what people are doing for these games. I’ve talked about some of my findings to faculty at CSU and they’re excited about what conclusions I’ll make and how I can help them use those to improve the department. Haha.. I’ve been reminded a lot recently about one of the first things my friends heard me say.. *Flashback* We were walking to the Computer Science building to take a tour on our first day of college and I was talking to Fish and Donovan, who I had just met. Erin and Christy we walking behind us, chatting and listening to our conversation when I declared that my goal was to rule the world.. and that to succeed in doing so, I was going to take over the Computer Science department, then CSU, then the city, then the state, so on and so forth until the world was mine. We all laughed.. *End Flashback* but Erin’s starting to say she’s afraid it’s coming true. I can’t leave evidence of my plans behind.. so I’ll just say here a simple “Whahaha.”

(Okay, so I’m going to toss this out there right now that I’m writing this email on an airplane at.. um.. really high height, on my way home from a wonderful week at Vassie and George’s, or Nanny and Papaw, as we like to call them. I would just like to say that I enjoyed my stay so much and I can’t express how sorry I am that I got sick. Everyone there in Melbourne was awesome, and Betty, I’m sorry I never got a chance to come over and fix your computer. I called a few times, but I’m not good about leaving messages.. so it’s my fault, I’m sorry. Okay, yeah, that’s my two cents, back to the email.)

That totally blew my train of thought.. oh, right, work! I was going to talk about my work now. Okay, so I have three jobs at the moment (6 is you include my research and Halbyte.NET). I still work one night a week at Newsom Front Desk, I’m still a live-in Nanny, and I run the Publications Database for the CS department at CSU. The front desk thing is cake, nothing big to talk about there, and the publications thing is easy too. The live-in nanny gig.. well… okay. It’s just terrible. Awful. Just kidding. Heh. Chris and Vinna (the parents of Caitlin) get this email, so I had to kid a little bit. In all seriousness I love it. Caitlin’s great, the dogs are cool, and the old-farts are fun and not-so old. Personally I think that we’re all doing awesome and I couldn’t be happier. (Okay, that’s not true. Vinna, if you’re reading this, I’d be a lot happier with a king size water bed, big screen TV and a mini-fridge in my room. Oh, and can I have your and Chris’s room?) I’m beginning to see Caitlin more as the kid sister my mom never let me kidnap from another family, instead of the kiddo that I have to pick up from school. I had a tough time adjusting to the family life at first but I think I got the swing of things now. Honestly I feel that I’m not pulling my weight there.. it’s just, too easy. I mean, granted, I’m not saying have me do the dishes every night.. but the whole family there is just great. I feel right at home and I don’t have any problems with looting the fridge or asking for something. Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating them. I mean, here I am, an almost-20 (ahh!!) college student living in their basement, eating their food, using their internet, watching their TV and, oh yeah, occasionally playing with their awesome 8-year old. I mean.. half the time I’m the one that asks Caitlin to play. It’s just.. too good to be true. Watch, I’m going to get home and they’re going to ask me to start like.. waxing their cars or something. Darn my honesty. Darn it.

Anyway.. um.. what else is there?.. Oh! Right. I started a radio station. Don’t get too excited, it’s just an online radio station and like.. our average listener count right now is.. 40 or something, but yeah.. I was playing my game a few months ago and one of the guys I play with was broadcasting his music over the internet so we could listen to what he was (he kept typing the lyrics out, it was annoying cause we wanted to listen to Thriller too!) and I got this idea in my head to start an online radio station. So.. a few weeks later FirFM was born. Fir is the name of the guy that was broadcasting his stuff that day and I insisted that the station remain named after him. Another online friend of mine, named Michele, is helping Fir and I a lot with the station (she’s my other half on the net, honestly) and together we’re making a website for the station. It’s still under development (until I get more time), and once the site’s done, we’re going to do a major advertising launch and try to get our listener count up. We’re hoping to eventually get the station so popular that the advertising and donations will cover the server costs, but we’ll see.

Yawn yawn yawn. What’s next? Wanna know how the gang’s doing? Okay! Berlin, my old roommate, dropped out of college. Beth, Rachel and Tirrel live together still. Tirrel is big into bike racing right now and Beth and Rachel are just doing their thing. Fish and Bria are practically married now.. we just call them husband and wife anyway. I honestly don’t know much more then that about that part of the gang because I don’t see them often.. I hang out with Christy, Erin and Donovan more. Christy and Erin are fellow Computer Science students and together we’re earned the name of “The Trio” in the department. We’re the only girls in our class and we’re all making waves, so we’ve earned ourselves names individually and as a whole. Donovan you all love and remember. We’re back to being the inseparable duo again. He lives with two of his friends a black from campus and I’m well known for just camping on his couch between classes. We do lunch together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on the weekends we’re usually hanging out. He cut his hair (no more white-fro!) and shaved, so he looks more human now, definitely. Um.. yeah.. not sure what else to say about Don except that he’s my best friend right now… We went skiing two weeks ago, I’ll make sure to include some pictures when I get them.

Perfect timing. We’re about to land and I can’t really think of anything else to write about right now. I mean, I could tell about my week in Florida.. but I don’t really remember it. I was a little out of it with the cold and all, so sorry. I’ll make sure to include some pictures next time and hopefully they’ll tell their own story. Let me know if you didn’t like this new website thingy and I’ll go back to emails. This is just a little easier for me.

Peace, Love and peanuts,
Tar

It's been awhile, sure. But I still love you.

I know. It's been almost a full month since my last email. I'm sorry. I've been kinda out there lately. This email has a lot of information to get out because of that, I know, but you can free feel to skim or skip or whatever you would like to do with this email.

First off the bat, how are you all doing? I hope that you're all in good health and happiness and enjoying life to its fullest. I know I'm trying to.

Secondly, I have changed email providers, and in doing so I lost my original list of people that receive this email. If you are receiving this email and don't want to, simply reply so. If you're sure that I'm missing someone from the list, please let me know and I'll add them.

Thirdly, I'm writing this email over the course of the next few hours when I have free time, so I'm sorry if I repeat or miss anything. This email will also be posted on the blog at http://tarincollege.blogspot.com All of the emails from this semester (and those from the summer) will be posted there.

Alright! So! Let's start at the end of the summer. It was awesome. My experience in North Carolina, while hectic, was a blast. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I learned a lot about what I like doing in the field of computer science and what I need to do to achieve my career goals. Geez, that sounds like something I wrote for a paper.. well, I might have, heh. I had to write a paper at the end of the summer over what I did. Now I know that most, if not all of you, won't be interested in that, but, if you are, you can find the paper, my presentations from the summer and my weekly blog posts at http://bebopdevelopment.com/Charlotte

After I flew back from Charlotte I had a few days in the Springs to catch up with family and friends before I drove back up to Fort Collins to watch Catlin for the weekend. We had a blast and we still are, just in case you were wondering. Her and I have worked out a little system that works for what we do when I'm supposed to be watching her. I don't really like to call it watching, though. At this point I see her more as a little sister then a.. um.. sitted-kid? I dunno how to phrase that but whatever, that's not how I see her anyway. I take her to school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then pick her up and hang out with her Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

But yeah.. I kinda just spent those two weeks working on websites for clients, getting my room together, getting everything ready for school and hanging out with the kiddo. Then school started and my world kinda exploded again. Ahh for the two weeks of my summer vacation..

I'm taking 20 credits this semester, but don't let that freak you out! 3 of those credits are actually just me earning credit for the work I did this summer in North Carolina, so techinquely I'm only taking 17 credits. I'm taking two history courses (yay!!), two computer science (Ugh..) and a business course (Database Systems Management.. think I really have to try?). My schedule isn't as nice as last semesters but I can't complain. I have enough time inbetween classes to do things like run home to see my kitty and send emails.

...

How many of you saw the kitty comment? Come on, be honest. Hehe. Yes, I got a kitten. I actually got her Thursday.. but yeah. She's very very lovable. I was having a very stressful week and I've been wanting a new pet for about a year now, as many of you know.. so.. I caved on Thursday and went down to the shelter to get her. I had been considering a new playstation or something like that.. but she's so much better. She's one of those kittens that loves to be around you.. she falls asleep curled up in my lap when I'm reading or working on the computer.. if she can't get my lap she'll curl up on my feet. Oh! And she purrs so nicely when I pet her. I sleep with her at night (she likes to sleep on me but she'll settle for the pillow) and I'm glad to say that she likes car rides. I had to take her to Colorado Springs with me this last weekend and she did awesome in the car! She just curls up and sleeps or watches the cars zoom by. Tirrel had her out of her carrier for a bit and she did fine then too. Just sat in her lap and watched traffic. Or me. Yeah.. she's very attached to me. And now, I bet you'd all like to see pictures. Now you know that I had to take a lot.. so I'll just send you the links instead of the pictures. I took most of these the first day I got her, but I have some that are from when we were driving.

http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0243.jpg - What's that?!
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0251.jpg - She discovered under my bed!
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0252.jpg - Look how tiny!
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0259.jpg - no, she didn't pounce after this photo.. oh!1 When she's ready to pouce, she doesn't shake her tail.. she shakes her whole butt!! It's so cuteeeeeee!
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0264.jpg - Okay, it's lame.. but I had to get one of me in there with her (and ignore the brace, it's nothing serious).
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/abby%20003.jpg - She's so tiny!!
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/abby%20010.jpg - This is her asleep on my center console with her head on my water bottle.
http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/abby%20016.jpg - Bailey, Tommy's puppy, doesn't believe in blinking.


I know.. I'm so in love with her. It's a bit sad, huh? That's okay.. Mom loves her too. She spoiled her this weekend. Bought her new toys and a carrier and blankie.. now we know how her grandchildren will be treated, at least. Heh.

Well... aside from the kitty, the gang and I have been hanging out again. I missed them so much.. I mean, yeah, my NC friends were awesome and we had a great time.. but my CSU friends are like my family! Here's the scoop on them: Beth, Rachel and Tirrel are all living together in a house about 2 blocks from campus with their new kitty. Fish (Robert) and Bria have a house about 4 blocks from campus and live with their 2 cats (do you see a theme developing?). Donovan lives with two of his other friends in an apartment about 2 blocks from campus and no, they don't have a cat. Everyone had an okay summer but we're all glad to be back. We (as in most of us) went to Alley Cat (Oh, how we missed thee) and took pictures. Here's our favorite picture from that: http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/thegang.jpg

On another topic, I'm flying out to LA in October to see Vassie and George ( I hope I can go) with my mom. It's a weird setup and I won't confuse you all with it, but yeah. For Thanksgiving I'm flying out to Florida to have my gord stuffed at the Thomas family dinner. My mouth is watering already. For Christmas I'm supposed to be going to Dubai for a few weeks (hello sun tan), we'll see what happens with my passport. My old one was expired so I had to send in for a new one (cause I was a child when I got the last one and blah blah), hopefully the new one will come in soon (Is Oct. 31st soon enough?). I'm not sure what I'm doing for Spring Break or the summer, but I know that I need to stay in the Colorado area this upcoming summer (it's going to be tough.. I love to travel). If you guys have ideas or what not, I'm dying for a roadtrip.

I think that I'm out of things to talk about.. I'm sure that I'm not.. oh! I remember! So there was this massive spider in my bathtub last week. Here's the link for the picture: http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0240.jpg and http://www.bebopdevelopment.com/Kitty/100_0241.jpg (yeah, you thought that it wouldn't make it this email.. but it did! It did!).

Also, Tom and Crystal set a date (April 28th) and I'm going to be a bride's maid, apparently. I like how I found that out from the Maid of Honor instead of my brother.. way to go Tom.

Last bit, I swear. Happy b-day to Tim, George, Tom and happy Aniversary to George and Vassie!! (Sorry if I missed you, let me know.)

This class is going to start soon but the real confusing thing is that I'm not sending this email until later tonight when I can get home and upload and scan pictures. Yeah, most those urls up there don't actually work when I'm writing this. But don't worry! They work now!

Love, Peace and may your weekend be like a summer.
Tar

Sorry

Sorry that it's been such a long time guys, I've been swamped to no end. The good news is I'm back in CO and I'm having a great time with Catlin. Classes start in a week and I'm already getting to spend time with the gang. Fish and Bria live near campus and have already started moving in. I'll probably end up helping them unpack more, like wise with Donovan and Beth & Rachel when they get here.

Just so I don't forget, two weeks ago I went to Boston for the weekend for a conference and got stranded in the Detriot airport. Me being the crazy person that I am couldn't sleep and ended up meeting a senator from Maryland, who gave me her card and asked me to email her. I did, haven't hearc back from her, but eh, it was a good 4 hours hanging out with her. There's more to the story and if you guys wanna hear it, just tell me.

Also, I'm changing over emails to tar3820@gmail.com, so please update your address books. Yahoo has been mean to me lately, so I'm slowly getting away from it.

I have a lot of pictures and I plan on posting on a website eventually (when I find the time), but for now you can go to http://bebopdevelopment.com/Charlotte and see what I did this summer. It'll be updated over the next week or so, so check back often.

Alright, it's late and I need to get up kind early tomorrow, so I'll talk to you all later.

Love, Peace and is it really only 12:30?!~
Tar

Swamped

So the Korean are leaving this week and we have presentations due today and all sorts of other stuff. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get an email out last weekend (I'm acutally writing this right now in a lecture.. shh..), but I did want you all to know that last weekend I had a blast at Ed & Gail's.

Here's some pictures from that I took from that weekend with the camera that Ed and Gail gave me. I'm only sending two and now I have to get back to working in the lecture, instead of sending emails.

This month's quiz: Which tree came first?

Gah! Sorry I'm late!
Tar

OMG, I'm So Sorry

I am so, so sorry. I know, there's no excuse for three weeks, I know. I meant to get one out every weekend, I did, but there was just no time. It's been a crazy few weeks, that's for sure.

To start it out, about three weeks ago when the building I was living in got hit by lightning. It was just the A/C unit, so don't worry. Anyway, it was the weekend and there were only a few of us still there for the weekend when it happened. They offered us all rooms in another building, one with A/C, and the four of us from this project jumped on the chance. We got an apartment together and all was well. Until I found out that the new apartment had unblocked Internet! So I could play my game! Long story short, two of the girls moved back into the old building when it was fixed, and I stayed in the new one with Evie, where I spend most my time playing my game. Or working.

For a tiny cute little story, while the four of us were living together, we got bored one night and decided to have a camp out. In our living room. So! Using 5 blankets, a coffee table, a kitchen table, and a few chairs(and a couch) we made a fort. We made s'mores over the oven burner and played Apples to Apples in our fort to candlelight. Pictures will be posted shortly.

That Thursday we had Chicken Rizzo, made by Lauren, and watched a creepy Japanese movie.

Um.. okay. I was going to do this one event at a time, in order, but I can't remember it all! I remember going to WalMart one night and buying classic cartoons (we're talking the good ol' Bugs Bunny), going to see Click (great movie), had meatloaf one night (awesome, btw. I'm gonna have to make it again.), went running, watched Resident Evil, and oh yeah, worked!

The direction of work has changed a bit. It used to be that we were making quest ideas for the game and then trying to figure out how to build with Unreal Tournament editor. That wasn't exactly workable for the time limit we have, so they decided to modify our assignment. Now we're conducting a research study that looks at the interfaces and game types that students would prefer to learn with/from. We're building two different games with two different engines and then having students play through both. It's all rather involved and I really rather not get into it, cause if I do, I'll remember all that I have to work on (which I'm avoiding right now by typing out this email).

Be assured that I'm perfectly fine and having a blast. I'm really going to miss all my co-workers when I go back home, but the professor is trying hard to convince me to go to grad school here.

Oh! I almost forgot! We're up to our ears in Koreans. The Computer Science department here hosts an international game development program, where universities around the world can send a group of students to learn English and game development. The current group is Koreans and they're a fun bunch. We've been acting as tour guides and teachers for the students for the week they've been here so far, and I tell you what, those Koreans are crazy. There are a few whose English is a lot better then the others, and they're all fun to hang out with.

Um.. oh. Yesterday we took the Koreans to the mall here to go shopping (for five hours) and in my desperation to get a pet, I bought a Tamagotchi. For those of you who don't remember, those are electronic pets in the form of a keychain. I've named it after an inside joke with this group and decided that before I leave, I'm going to go Build A Bear and build something to remember them all by. Back to the pet, he's an easy little thing that I keep with me and play and feed. I must admit, I'd rather have a ferret or puppy, but my living arrangements for the next
five or six years of my life is kinda fuzzy. I plan to go overseas and I can't take any pets with me, so yeah. Hence, Tamagotchi. The good news is that where I'm living for the next couple of years has puppies.

Righto. I need to get back to work. I have a lot of pictures, but they're all on my friend's camera. I'm looking at getting my own camera here in the next few weeks or so to replace my old old one. Oh! Next weekend I'm going to go stay with Ed and Gail for a few days. I'm still not sure how I'm getting there, but I'll figure it out.

Alright, back to work I go..
Love, Peace, and Devastating Slap!
Tar

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

This is a big Happy Father's Day out there to all you dad's, especially my own. You should all remember that a woman, no matter the age, will always be her daddy's little girl. Those of us lucky enough to have daddies such as you all are truly blessed. I mean, who else is gonna teach us how to make the best popcorn? Or that celery can be yummy, with enough peanut butter that is. Hehe.


On a less special note, I'm sorry that this email has taken so long to get out. I've been rather busy and a bit lazy as of late, and I just never found the time to sit down and write it. That's what happens when you're having fun.. time just flies.

Why has time gone so quickly this week? Well! I'll tell you. Last weekend a group of us went and saw Cars in theaters. I highly, highly recommend that movie to anyone that like the Incredibles. It's very cute, and very funny. After the movie we went to the mall and walked around a bit and grabbed a bite to eat. I ended up swinging into a bookstore (gasp!) and found a Learn-to-Knit kit for $5, so I bought it and have been knitting a bit before going to bed.

Sunday afternoon I discovered the wonders of this campus' swimming pool, Tuesday I did it again. We all went out to eat on Tuesday at a local Mexican place and then went grocery shopping. There's a very popular coffee shop near the store, so we all walked over and got milkshakes. I love the shop, it's called Jackson's Java, and it's really a smaller version of Alley Kat. That night we then went to Alex's place and played video games until around 1, at which time we realized how late it was and all went home and to bed.

Wednesday night we rented some movies and a projector and set up in a lounge here in the apartment video. Some people swung by and walked the movies with us, which was awesome cause we projected it on the wall. We ended watching a weird Japanese movie and then The Producers, which is a funny movie, though not something I'd recommend to anyone under 17.

Thursday night I decided to cook for everyone, so I made stuffed green peppers. Everyone was reluctant at first, but in the end they all loved them and now they want me to cook more often. Evie, one of my roommates, went out and bought a bunch of food in the hopes that I'd want to make something with it all and cook it for us to share. Oh how well she knows me.. But later that night had some ice cream, provided by Jordan, and watched another movie with the projector. Then we played video games on it till we couldn't stay awake.

Friday, nothing much happened as everyone had left to go visit their dad's. I'm the furthest from home here, and it's a bit tough to visit my dad, so I'm hanging out alone. Bekka, a girl in the hall we met at the cookout, called me yesterday to hang out, so we went to Goodwill and shopped for a long time. I got some awesome t-shirts and found a lacrosse stick for $5. It's not the best, but it's a decent stick so now I can get my friends to play with me too. That is, if I can get it home. If it comes down to it, I'll just take it apart to fit it in my suitcase.

If you wanna know what I did at work, go to http://bebopdevelopment.com/Charlotte/week3.php and read up. I just don't wanna retype it all, ya know?

Alright, last few things (cause I'm too lazy to send out emails separately).

- Dad, that number you sent me doesn't work in Skype. I don't have a phone card, so I can't call you any other way.

- Mom, I got you a UNCC hat. Since you aren't gonna come out here anymore, you want me to mail it to ya?

- To Dani, Catlin, and anyone else who wanted to send me mail: I really wish I could have you guys send me letters this summer, but for some reason, they're not delivering mail to the interns staying here. I guess they don't want to deal with the forwarding when we all move out. I still love to hear from people, so shoot me an email!


- To Ed and Gail: I'm gonna call you as soon as I send this, but I just wanna leave it in print. I'd love to see you guys sometime this summer and my weekends are pretty free. I'm not available on the 4th of July, and if you give me some weekends to chose from, I'm sure I can find a friend that's willing to drive me to visit.

Alright. That's it. I'm gonna go back to untangling my wad of yarn.

Love ya all.
Tar

I know, they just keep getting pushed back..

I know, I know, I'm sorry. I know I just keep pushing these emails back farther and farther, but I have a valid excuse. I do, I do. You see, I've been having too much fun working to remember to send this out. The only reason I really remembered this morning is because my mommy sent me an email a few days ago. That and I got some pictures last night from Lauren and I wanted to show them off.

Who's Lauren, you ask? Well, she's one of the girls working here in the Future Computing Lab with us. She's in the Visual Humans and Digital Environments department, but she's rooming with Paige, a girl in our gaming department. The other members of our little troop (we're becoming famous as a group, no surprise, I know) are Alex (the only guy), Jordan (crazy Korean roommate who can't remember where to park) and Evie (my musically endowed, hamster, anime loving roomie). Pictures are included.

To get down to the meat of what I've been doing this week, it's pretty much just been having fun. I finished a few games and you can download them at http://bebopdevelopment.com/Charlotte/week1.php and have a good time. The one RPG one doesn't do much. You can read that page if you want, it's my required site for the DMP program that sent me here.

Saturday we had our cookout and I think there's one picture in there from that. It was a great time, though only a few people showed up. I ran the grill and Evie the music, Paige and Lauren entertained our guests.

Monday night we went over to Dr. Barnes' house and started an addicting little (yeah right) game called Iron Dragon. We're still play the game, though it's currently paused. It's kinda a mix between Monopoly and.. just about every other game I've played. I would go further into it, but I dun wanna.

Wednesday we went back to Dr. Barnes' and continued our game, though we have yet to finish it. Thursday morning we participated in a low ropes course here on campus and I think we're all a bit sore this morning.

I'm currently in the middle of pitching a game idea for if/then loops and other conditionals. It's a racing game where you essentially program a car to automatically turn and avoid other cars, racing against other people or computer cars. Everyone's been working on it with me and we all like it, though we're having trouble fitting it into the StormHaven game, something that I really wish we could figure out.

In case you're wondering, my work day usually includes working on websites, playing games, building games, and storyboarding for more games. I know it's a crime to say, but I'm afraid I'm gonna be video gamed-out by the end of the summer. We'll see..

Love, Peace, and I Love My Job,
Tar

Nothing Like Humidity..

That title says it all, people. I mean, really. Who would have thought that the south-east could be so hot and humid? It's like.. it's like it's a whole other part of the world or something. Go figure.

Anyway, yes, I am in North Carolina. I made it on time and in one piece. I have successfully moved in to my apartment, met my roommates and advisers, and gotten to know a lot of new people. So far, I can tell that I'm going to have an awesome summer, so much better then working at Panera all summer.

I'm going to toss this out there, mainly as an excuse, but I'm kinda tired right now. So if there's any typos or terrible grammar, sue me. Actually, just ignore it. I'm too broke to get sued. Hehe.

Okay! Run through of what to tell you peeps: Nanny and Papaw Thomas are da best; Hamilton is the world's best English teacher, and cake is a great way to start a party.

First things first (even though they're the latest), why Nanny and Papaw are the bomb diggity. As some of you might know, Nanny and Papaw were at a concert this last week, up in this part of the country. They were awesome enough to swing by last night and take me out to dinner. The real kicker, though, is that they took me to the store and bought me much needed dishes. Because, you see, foolish me thought that the school would provide things like pots and pans for the students who had to travel here.. go figure. But yes, they allowed me to drive them to the store so I could pick up the goods, a huge help considering I don't have a car. It wouldn't be a big deal in Colorado, but here, the campus is a bit far from the stores. So yes, huge thanks to Nanny and Papaw. And, of course to Mary and.. shoot, I forgot her name!! Oh no! Well, to Mary and her friend who willingly came along for the ride.

As far as Hamilton being the best English teacher, he rose to the call a few weeks ago and sent me some reading suggestions. And I must say, I loved Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins. It's an interesting read, and I want to recommend it to people, but honestly, I don't know if any of you would like it very much. Robbins' writing style is a bit different, to say the least. But, yes, I just wanted to finally give a shout-out to Hamlar.

Now the cake story is of course, typical me. Some of the girl's that live down the hall from me and are working on this project baked a cake Monday night. My roommate and I smelled it while rollerblading down the hall, and swung in to have a piece. One thing lead to another and the next thing you know I'm knocking on every door in the hall, inviting people to come over and have some cake. I think in total we got about 12 people to come over and get some. We all talked about what we're doing here for the summer and decided we should all get together for a barbecue on the weekends, cause there is absolutely nothing else here to do then. So, yeah. First 2 days and I've already managed to organize something which involved the hall. That was the first sign that this is going to be an awesome summer.

The second sign was of course what I'm doing here. Basically, I'm making a computer game that teaches students how to use computers. And I get to design it however I want. So far I've built a few basic games, just trying to learn the editor, but hopefully my team and I plan on getting one or two teaching games started by the end of the week. We'll see how that goes...

I wish I had pictures to send to all of you, but I have yet to get a camera that will do justice to what I photograph. I may or may not get one while I'm here, we'll have to wait and see. But for now, I'll see if I can steal the photos my co-workers have taken.

As promised:

http://www.halfbyte.net/temp/bailey/P5270962%20(Large).JPG - Bailey in her pool

http://www.halfbyte.net/temp/landscaping/Day_13/P5290977%20(Large).JPG - Tom and Crystal in his new backyard

http://www.halfbyte.net/temp/landscaping/Day_13/P5290991%20(Large).JPG - The yard at night

Alright, catch you on the flip-side.
Tar

Quickie

Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention last week, I think, that I was sans internet this week. I have been chilling in Amy's basement (Thank You Amy) and working on her site. Check it out! http://equinaut.net

Anyway.. I'm sorry but this is the best I can do for an email. There's a lot to write, though, so eventually I will be sending another.

Real quick: Crystal graduated (see pics at Tom's site, don't know the url); I got a new client (I think); and I fly out Saturday afternoon for NC.

Peace, Love, and Pie Sacrifice!
Tar

(Yes, there shall be a Pie Sacrifice tomorrow (Friday) night at the Village Inn at Academy and Palmer Park.)

Summer Vacation PWNS

Yes, yes, I know. I'm a week late. Hush, I have a very good reason. I had finals. So ha!

But anyway, what has happened in these two weeks of silence? Well I'll tell you. There was bowling, packing, crashing, playing, singing, laughing and lots and lots of sleeping. Oh, it has been a good two weeks. It starting out kinda shaky, but it's ended well.

Anyway, I think the night of the last time I sent out an email the girls and I went bowling. It was terrible fun and terrible scores, but we've never let lack of skills hinder us before, now have we? Tirrel was a bit down because she had just broken up with her boyfriend, but she was having a good time smacking down pins while imagining his head on them. She came out in first in the end, so I'm sure she had a good time.

Um.. let's see. There was also a lot of packing going on that week of finals. I'm not sure if you can imagine the utter chaos that was Beth and Rachel's room, but it was insane. I was amazed, really, when they managed to get out of here close to being on time. I was a little upset that they left all their trash at my door, but, eh, I'll just call that their final good-bye. I'm proud to say I didn't finish or do my packing until the very last minute. My mother can vouch for that as she spent about 2 hours helping me move things into cars and pack and then unpack again at Vinna's. Okay.. maybe it was 3 hours..

In case you're wondering, my finals went pretty well. I kicked booty on my Stats and Discrete Structures finals and I didn't have to take my Health or Psych final. I got an A in all those classes. Chemistry... well, there's a story behind Chemistry. See, I had work the morning of my Chem final and Berlin ended up in the hospital the night before it. Don't worry, she's doing fine. Anyway, I only got about 3 hours sleep before work and then I kinda got the time of my Chem final mixed up with another final. So, yeah, I missed my Chem final. When I finally got over the shock enough, I called my professor and she agreed to let me take it the next day. So, I got an extra afternoon of studying and blew it out of the water. I ended up getting a B in the class overall, but I can't really complain because if I hadn't of taken the final, I would have gotten a D. Long story short, finals weren't that bad. Actually managed to keep my GPA up. 3.8, Woot.

So, yeah, that was finals. After finals I packed, relaxed, and didn't sleep in. I had the girls wake me up early so I could see them off and I don't regret it one bit. This was of course Friday, the day my mom came and helped me pack up and then we went shopping. My favorite shoes, the ones my mom bought me last year, finally broke. Those things lasted a little over a year, a record when it comes to my feet and sandals. So, mom and I went and got a AWESOME dinner at the Bent Fork (I highly recommend when you want to indulge a little) and then bought me new shoes. And I tell you want, these things just make me want to wear them everywhere.. We also stayed the night in Denver and shopped until we couldn't shop no more. I am now readily equipped for the warm weather of North Carolina.

That was Friday/Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening I went back to Vinna's and unpacked/setup my room. There's still a little bit I need/want to do with it, but overall I'm very comfortable. I've been enjoying the ability to sleep in, maybe a bit too much, and have been working on the CS Department's database still. I didn't get as many entries in as I wanted this week, but I did get the search engine up and working. I'm very proud of the search engine. It took a lot of time and effort, as Vinna could probably tell you.

It's been a good week, so far, just chilling and relaxing, but I tell you what, I'm ready for some action. Bria and I are supposed to get together today and I'm going to her house this evening for dinner. I may or may not sleep there, it really depends on if I feel awake enough to drive back. I'm sure I'll be fine, I have a few friends I can call to keep me awake while I drive.

Oh, Tom's posted new pictures of the backyard, check those out. If you're wondering about the flagstone on his patio, they're going to cement the cracks in a year or so, after they finish settling.

Well, I think that's it. I'm not flying out until the 27th and I'm not sure if anything more interesting if going to happen in the next week, but I'll be sure to send something out to all of you.

Peace, Love, and Have A Good Week!
Tar

Finals Ho!

Arg, ye mateys. I be seeing rough winds ahead. Finals sighted.

That's right, this time next week I'll be completely through finals and finished with my first year of college. Aren't you all so happy to have experienced this with me? Oh, come on, I know you love these emails. You just delete them to save space in your inbox. The fact that you don't read them first is just because you're so busy. I'm going to keep telling myself that, really, I am...

Anyway! Yes, finals. Which means that I'm studying hard, yet still seem to not be studying enough. I made a resolution when I was still play games last night at 11 that I would stop playing games till 11, at least until finals were over. Yeah, we'll see how that goes. But yes, I do have some nasty finals ahead. I'm taking three this semester, four if you count the online one I'm taking this weekend. Overall, these finals should prove interesting. I really need to pull A's in all of 'em, but I've told myself that it's okay to get a B in the classes. I'm going to be happy with a B. You know why? Because I realized that I haven't gotten anything above a B as a final grade in a math class since I was a sophomore. In high school. And all of my finals this semester are in math based classes (minus Chem, but I'm trying to throw it in that category so I'll feel better). Overall, what I'm trying to say is wish me luck. Seriously. And I'm sorry if I don't reply to anyone this week, but I hope you understand.

As far as what the gang and I have done this week, we did a lot. We went putt-putting last Wednesday night instead of skating, and I think it was actually better then skating. I'll send out pictures later.

Um, last Friday we went to a trash fashion show, where all the fashions were made from recycled material. There were some interesting pieces and I think the girls got some ideas. The most entertaining thing of that night was that Bria and I dressed up for the event. I even wore a skirt! And a nice top! And heeled shoes! It was amazing. They took photos so that in the future they can prove I dressed like a chick at least once in my life. And no, you won't be seeing them. Whahaha.

Saturday we did something... and same on Sunday. I just can't remember it. Haha. I'm so tired.. I actually overslept this morning and the girl that works the shift before me had to call me and wake me up. The good news is that it's the first time it's happened this semester and that I only have 1 more week of these shifts left. Next semester I'm still working desk, but I'm working it during the lunch shifts between my classes.

Oh! HUGE shout out to Fish, Bria, and Christie, who have helped me so much this week! The publications database that I've been working on went horribly wrong, so I'm stuck hand entering 1048 entries by hand. Fish and Bria have so kindly donated over 5 hours of time to helping me upload the information and Christie has given me a good hour. I still have about 8 hours of work ahead of me, but they have been no end of help. Doesn't it just rock having friends that love ya? That and are easily bought by Chinese Take-Out... hehe.

Which in a weird way reminds me of this summer. As many of you should know, I'm going to UNC this summer for an internship. Considering it's going to be such an interesting time (oh, I'm so sure), I might just continue these little emails over the summer. I can't promise they will be as exciting as these emails, but I'll be sure to throw in something interesting. So, if you're interested in receiving the summer addition, please reply to this email and let me know. Also, I think I'm going to start a blog for these emails, so that over the summer and next semester, I will be sending out the emails and posting them in the blog. I'm going to continue emailing to those of you who are like me and rarely get anything but junk, and the blog is for those of you who don't read these emails till you've got three in your inbox. If you would like to be removed from the email list and added to the blog update, let me know and I'll change ya over. I'll probably start the blogging next week.

Recap:
- I won't be replying this week, I've got to study.
- If you would like to receive the summer edition, please email me.
- If you would like to be removed from the email list and added to the blog notice, please email me. (If you don't understand half that sentence, you don't want to be put on the blog list.)
- And as always, if you would like to be removed completely from this subscription (I'm a newspaper now), please reply to this email with "BUG OFF!" as the subject.

All in all, just remember: 150 people are born every minute and that the world population will have double by 2200. That and alpha particles are 2+ Heliums.

Love, Peace, and Why Can't I Remember What Injective Functions Are?!
Tar

Back On Track

So I'm back on track for this week, as far as Wednesday emails go. Really it's just because I had an exam yesterday and so no Chem homework right now.

Okay, so some of you may have heard but I know some of you may not have. And I know Tom is just waiting for the email to get to this, so I'll just say it now.

Bum bum bum!!!

Tom and Crystal have gotten engaged.

It happened on Saturday. He proposed during the seventh inning at the Rockies game. The ring is very, very shiny. And big rocks. If you want better descriptions, call me when I'm awake. Or just hassle him for pictures. I would go with the latter, personally.

They've set April 28th, I think, as the date. So mark your calendars. I have no idea what time or where, but they've got a year to figure that part out and tell us.

The two loves birds have also been working long and hard on making Tom's backyard more than a sand pit. The link below is a link to some pictures of the work. They plan on taking pictures after every day they work on it, so you might want to chcek back every once in awhile to see what's new.

http://www.halfbyte.net/temp/landscaping/

What else is new? Well, I got my new laptop! Oh yes, and she's a cute little thing. For those of you who understand and care, she's a IBM Thinkpad, 1400x1050 Screen, 80GB harddrive, 1.5GB RAM, about 3 hours battery life and light as a feather. She's lighter than my Chem book. Maybe even my health book, which is saying a lot. Oh, I love her dearly, if you can't tell. I'm typing on her now. I can bring her to work and play on her. Soooo much better than that old office computer.

See, the general plan is that this summer I take her with me to North Carolina to work on her. And then, next year, I can tote her between campus and the place I'll be staying at. Place I'll be staying at, that's a long title. Can you all understand what I mean when I say Vinna's? Or Catlin's? That I mean that's where I'm living next year? Well, I hope so cause that's how I'm refering to it from now on. But anyway, yes, my little baby is the apple of my eye right now.

Okay! So aside from engagements and new laptops, what else has happened? Um, let's see. Um, yeah, can't think of anything, really. Oh, so I've attached some pictures that I've been promising for weeks. And now I'm going to read my health book and take a final in that, I think.

Bored and Tired,
Tar

Yeah, So I'm Lazy

I'm lazy because this is the second week I've put off sending this out till Thursday. I dunno why, it's just easier to do this on Thursdays. Something about less homework or something.

Anyway, this week has been kinda exciting. There's been Whole Foods, haircuts, Easter eggs, Gingerbread houses, longboarding, and laziness. I'm gonna warn you that this email is probably going to be terribly short. I just don't really have it in me today, maybe I'm too tired.

I think, though, that the most exciting thing that can be mentioned is that Tirrel cut Beth's hair again. Short. We're talking boy haircut short. And is it ever cute! I'll try and get a picture, along with those that I promised last week. It was done mostly because Cox had Tirrel buzz his head yesterday in the middle of our hall, on my tarp, and Beth decided she wanted summer short hair too. About two hours later, Beth had a considerable amount of hair on the floor. I must admit, I am jealous. I want short hair so bad, even more so after having to deal with these long locks for so long, but I know I'll never look as cute as Beth does. How sad.

Um.. Whole Foods is mentioned because while I have known of it for quite sometime, I had never really been there before. Friday night we spent a full hour at whole foods, trying all the samples, and determined that while it is pricey, it is also very good. So yeah, Whole Foods.

I hope you all had a great Easter, I know I did. I enjoyed sleeping in and a day of complete and utter laziness. Everyone else was home for the weekend, so I enjoyed the hall to myself. I did convince the girls to dye Easter eggs with me on Friday night, and I still have one on my desk which I intend to keep till it begins to smell.

Gingerbread houses is mentioned because last night the girls (Beth and Rachel) and I entered a Gingerbread competition. We won, of course, for our beautiful house. The theme of the competition was International, so we made an Asian house, complete with lanterns, patio-decks, koi pond, zen garden, kanji, and bamboo trees. Oh yeah, it was awesome. It's still on display in the dining center, so maybe I'll take a picture of it and send it along when I manage to get the rest of the pictures up.

Longboarding refers to the several days and afternoons I've committed to longboarding lately. Sunday afternoon I went for a nice long ride, and I must say I'm getting pretty good. I find it easier to ride barefoot then with shoes, so my feet are a little sanded, but I think overall I'm doing better then most. I went riding with Catlin on Monday and it was going well until she fell. She's alright, just some scrapes on her knees and shins, and she reopened a scrape on her one knee, but she's a tough kiddo. Walked all the way back to the house after her fall. Did all the wound-cleaning and stuff herself (with a little coaxing, mind you), so yeah, overall she's a tough cookie.

Okay, so I didn't cut it short, but I do still feel like I short-changed you all cause I just don't feel I've put as much detail and what-not into it. We'll see if next week's is better, but I have a feeling they're going to get worse because finals are coming. That makes it sound like their monsters or something, huh? Well they are. They are..

Love, Peace, and Goldfish are YUMMY,
Tar

Day Late and A Day Awake

Okay, so I'm sorry I didn't send this out last night, but I wasn't working, so I didn't have the time to do it. My mommy was in town and I traded shifts so that I could spend time with her and not worry about having to get up at 2. That and I kinda wanted to see what it would be like to actually be awake for a Discrete Structures exam.

Alright, so first thing's first, let's all welcome Vinna (and probably Chris and Catlin) to this little email list. Vinna is the woman who has so graciously offered to let me live in her home for the next few years. That and hang out with her daughter (there's that whole babysitting and nanny thing, too, but who's counting that?). Second thing, the shift key is a bit funny this morning, so I'm warning you now for those kinda typos.

Um, let's see. I think I'll frist send out a music recommendation to all you music lovers out there. I have a feeling a lot of you will enjoy this site, given to me by Tom. The URL is www.Pandora.com and the general idea of the site is to create personal radio stations that get you in touch with more of the music you love by new artists. You simply sign-up (it's free, of course) and then select an artist or song title that you want your station to sound like. The site will then play you a ton of music that is like what you wanted, and you can rate the songs as you go. If you rate a song as 'liked', they'll play more like it. If you rate it as 'don't like' they won't play it again or anything like it. So far this morning I've been introduced to three new artists that I like and think worthy of CD purchase. So there ya go.

I've been trying to think what happened in the last week that was exciting, and I know something did happen. I just can't for the life of me remember. I know Wednesday we went skating and I played the arcade games more than anything. Thursday I slept and can't really remember what I did that night.

Friday I went home for my b-day (yes, it was my b-day) and had dinner at PF Chang's with Tom, Crystal, Tim and Mom. It was a very good dinner and thanks to Tom, I now have the world's longest Suduko puzzle. 21 feet. We'll see how far I get on it this summer. I also purchased the new Kingdom Hearts video game. I love it.. if only I had more time to play. I logged 10 hours last weekend, but I haven't played since Sunday morning. Saturday I slept in (oh it felt SO good) and hung out with my Mom. Sunday I drove back up and then played tour guide for some junior high school students and their mom. It was an enjoyable evening, and I've been told my tour is better than the one CSU provides. What can I say? I believe in showing you the real college experience, golf in the courtyard of Corbett and all.

Monday I went to class. Tuesday, Mom came up and took Donovan and I to dinner. And she bought me a longboard for my b-day. Whahaha. I haven't died yet on it, but I've come close, I must admit. It's a very good board and I'm just not used to riding on one that has such loose trucks. Becca's (the one I've been riding up and down the hall) turns nicely but not nearly as easy as mine. It's taking some time to get used to the better turning radius. We also visit Vinna's and Mom saw where I will be living, and met Vinna and Catlin. I'm assuming it was a good meeting because Vinna and my Mom talked for about half an hour? I can't remember how long, I just know it was a good long conversation.

Um, yesterday I went to class and actually managed to stay awake for it all. Had dindin with Mom again (thank you, again) and did some homework. Then, the girls and I went to a sneak preview of American Dreamz. I don't think I've laughed that hard at a new movie in a long time. It was great. I must warn, it is a parody on Bush, American Idol, Arabs, and America in general. In other words, don't watch it unless you're open minded and have a sense of humor.

Dum, dum. I have no idea what else to write. Sorry this isn't up to par with my normal emails, but I can promise pictures in next week's (Rachie got two rolls developed this week, I just haven't scanned them in yet).

So yeah (can you tell I like that phrase this morning), I'm going to read! Yeah... Eldest is a great book. So addicting...

Love, Peace, and When was the last time I signed like this?
Tar

Extra Crunchy Morning

I'm so disappointed in all of you. No one was able to guess where last week's title came from. It probably didn't help that the title was not sung.. but, yeah. All of you Moulin Rouge fans should be ashamed of yourselfs. Now, to try and redeem yourselfs, someone should tell me why I titled the email as such today. Hint: I had an apple this morning, along with something else.

Alrighty!! I tell you what, this week has been exciting! But before I get into that, this is a HUGE shout out to Nanny Gail, who has responded to every email I've sent out in the last month and a half. See? And you said no one read this things... Pfft.

Anyway, this last week. Well, I'll start with what happened first, which of course would be classes. Now, I've attached a scanned copy of my notes from my 8am class last Wednesday. You might laugh, but that little dude is everywhere on my notes for that class. He really likes to show up on Wednesdays, usually with coffee in hand. I decided to scan him in and attach him today because 1) I know you love to get pictures, and 2) so that you folks and see what I really do in class. The really funny thing is, half the time he ends up on my notes, I don't remember putting him there. I think that's what I'm doing while I'm zoning out, honestly.

After my little alter ego appeared on my notes, I of course went through the rest of my Wednesday, taking a nice long nap around noon and then doing homework and going skating later that night. This week's skating session was a lot more enjoyable considering that Cox came with us. Which reminds me of another thing that happened Wednesday. Now, most of you don't know this, but Rachel, Beth and I all live on the first floor in the last rooms on our hall. We are quite used to people coming up to our windows to talk to us. I've often given Donovan answers to karate class questions through mine. Well, Cox stopped by Wednesday afternoon to say hi and make sure we were still on for skating. Sadly for him, some cops were driving by and saw him. You guessed it, Cox got stopped by the cops while running around to the other side of the building to talk to me through my window. We eventually noticed and got him off the hook, but not before he was questioned and held up by the police. If you knew Cox, you would know how sad and utterly hilarious the whole thing was, because while he looks a bit creepy (balding 20 year old with light orange hair), he's actually the sweetest guy we know. The really funny thing is, Fish got stopped by a cop later in the week for trying to get into our hall by tailing people. I got him off the hook, but it was still really funny to see him stopped for something he's done ALL YEAR long.

So that was Wednesday. Thursday I went and hung out with Catlin, the little girl that I will be a nanny for next semester. Yeppers, I got the live-in nanny job, thank you very much to Aunt Jeannie and Amy. I know some of you are still a bit concerned about it, but don't worry! Mom is going to meet the mom and Catlin next week and we're writing a contract so that I don't get taken advantage of. All in all, it should be a very awesomely good thing.

Um, let's see. I can't really remember anything else big, except that I saw V for Vendetta on Saturday night. Holy Cow. That movie is just plain awesome. It made me wanna read 1984 again, that's for sure. I don't recommend it to those under 16, or those of us who don't normally go to movies, but everyone else should go see it. I know one thing, I'm gonna buy it when it comes out on DvD.

Alright, last thing, I swear. I just want to tell you guys about my ultimate college experience last night. It was a beautiful day yesterday, so in the afternoon the girls and I decided to go and throw a frisbee around. We were out there for about 15 minutes before three guys came up and asked to join us. We of course said yes and expanded our circle. About 10 minutes later, one of the guy's wives showed up and joined us. 5 minutes after that, Cox rode by on his bike and we yelled for him to join us. Within 30 minutes of setting out, we had 9 people, 4 of them strangers, playing with 2 frisbees out on the IM fields until the sun set and it was too cold to continue playing barefoot. That, my friends, is the true college experience. It's not the classes, you can take those anywhere. College is about the social setting. It's about complete strangers sitting around a coffee shop talking about anything together. It's about that random guy that just started talking to you in class after about half a semester, just because he wanted to know what you always listened to. It's about an unscheduled hockey game everyday around 6 between strangers. It's about spray painting your pants out by the bike rack. It's about riding up and down your hall on longboards and $10 Walmart skateboards. It's about going to Best Buy an hour before it closes just to play the video games. It's about concerts out on the West Lawn. It's about people drawing, preaching, handing out flyers, and running for office out on the Plaza. It's about frisbee on the IM fields until your toes are numb.

Tar

I Hope You Don't Mind That I Put Down These Words...

Okay, special coloring book picture to the first person that sends me back an email saying where today's title comes from.

Other than that, good morning!!! I hope you've had as fun as a week as I have. It's just been packed with ways to avoid studying. Let's see: we've been skating, we've watched movies, we've spent hours at Alley Kat, we've painted pictures and we've taken an exam.

The first one on that list is obvious. The girls and I went back to skating on Wednesday nights, but I tell you what. That rink has grown. Last week the floor was full with older couples. We're talking 60's here folks. It was somewhat entertaining, as well as unnerving.

The second one is almost as obvious as the first, really. Really, there's not a lot else to do around here but study, play games, and watch movies. I think I've seen four in the last week, but I can't be sure that it wasn't more than that. I still have about 2 or 3 on my list that I have yet to see. And holy cow, a door alarm just went off for one of the entrances. That was a wakening moment, let me tell you. Don't worry, it's nothing big. The doors have timers on them, so when they're open too long, they go off with loud, annoying sirens up here at the front desk. That alarm has been going off all semester because the wind keeps the door open too long.

Anyway, third item was Alley Kat. See, I've been trying to get back into my more involved study habits, which requires the use of a large table, something that my room is lacking. So last week I roped about 8 people into going with me to Alley Kat a few times. While they played Uno, Skipbo and Risk (Fish lost, Donovan got second, and Bria won) I studied Chem and Stats. I like to think it's helped me, but alas, not as much as I'd hoped. Skipping ahead to the fifth item, I had an exam last night. I've already figured out my grade and I got an 80. It was a toughy, though. Oh well.

Back to the fourth item on the floor: painting. I'll have to send the picture when I get it off Rachel's camera, but Monday night Bria, Rachel and I went to the art studio. While Bria tried to do her homework, Rachel and I worked our artistic magic on an old canvas. The end result was rather unique, if I say so myself. Rachel painted a very beautiful woman while I painted my patient cartoon alter-ego in blue. The final piece was something I don't think I'll forget for some time.

Oh! To add an item in that isn't on the list! My brother got a new puppy! She's a black/brown lab that has a white spot on her chest. She's the cutest thing yet. And Missy (Tom's kitty) love to play together. Oh! And I would like to take credit for naming her. Okay, maybe Crystal had a say in it too... but either way, the dog is named what I thought was the best name. Her name is Bailey, a name that Crystal and I both came up with before we even had talked together on the matter. And the funny thing is, Bailey responded to her name right away. I guess it was just meant to be.

Because I generally find attachments annoying, that and I'm lazy, the following link is of Bailey and Missy. If the link don't work, blame Tom.

//www.halfbyte.net/temp/bailey/

Peace, Love, and I So Want To Be In Bed Right Now,
Tar

Zoos, Karate, and FMA

This email is probably not going to be up to my normal level of awesomeness, but I'm going to try. As most of you know, last week was Spring Break, so I didn't have to get up at 2 in the morning to go to work. This morning I did. I'm feeling that week off, really, I am.

Okay, to swing this one off I wanna let you guys know what I did my last day in Florida. You're going to think I'm a crazy out of control college kid when I tell you this, but stick with me here. I went to the.... Zoo! Heh. That's right folks, I went to the zoo. And I tell you what, those rhinos know how to party!

Ryan, Nanny Vassie, and Nell (Vassie's soul sister) went with me to the wonder that is the Brevard County Zoo on last Thursday. We took many a pictures, but sadly, they are all on Nanny Vassie's camera. If any of you haven't been to a zoo in the last 5 years or so, I highly recommend packing up the kids (who cares if they're teenagers) and spending an early morning at the zoo. I recommend eating before you go, cause zoo food is pricey. But yes, we had a great time. The rhinos were fighting when we got there, and pretty much all the animals were awake. So yeah, the zoo: a cheap entertainment.

Okay, according to my title, now I should talk about karate. Why, you ask? Because Donovan is in karate, and I'm stupid enough to actually spar with him. These last few days I've been trying in vain to kick, punch and basically evade that which is Donovan's crazy skills. Oh, don't worry, it's all in good fun and we never get hurt. If nothing else, everyone gets a huge laugh out of him trying to take me down with formal karate while I fight just plain dirty. What can I say, I'm my daddy's girl.

Okay, last thing on the list is FMA. Now I know most of you have no idea what that is, and probably won't care after I tell you, but FMA is FullMetal Alchemist, an anime Donovan and I have been watching. I just wanted to announce that not only did we finish the series on Monday, but we also watched the movie last night, meaning that we're completely done with it. Now what am I supposed to watch every evening? Anyone, suggestions?

Alright, I need to go finish my DS homework, not to mention the Chem I've been letting pile up the last two weeks... ahh.. college.

Peace, Love, and We've Got Snow!!
Tar

P.S.- Ha, snow is cooler than sunshine. Literally.

Dum-dum-DOM!!!!

So I know I usually send these out at crazy morning hours, but it's spring break, baby! I'm sending it out at crazy night hours now! Go me!!

Alrighty, this week we have the adventure of the ceiling fan, pi day, and of course, the river! For those of you who can't remember anything I say, I'm in Florida this week on spring break. That's right. I flew to Florida to cut lose on sand, surf and sun. Oh, and to visit my grandparents and cousins. (Anyone who knows me will know those two sentences should be flipped.)

So yeah, the great news is that Crystal has received an A+ from about everyone down here. That's right, she's passed the test Tom, stop worrying. For everyone that isn't in Florida (and cares), Tom's girlfriend Crystal can and DOES hold her own against the entire Thomas clan. We're talking Steve, Jeannie, Ryan, Joel, Ethan, Max, George, and Vassie. All at once. I know what you're thinking. No, she isn't a robot he built in his basement.

Which leads me into the adventure of the ceiling fan. Now anyone who knows Florida knows that it's summer year round. Don't let Vassie fool you, it's not as cold down here as you think. So when we all arrived and Tom found that the ceiling fan in his room didn't work, he was a bit worried about the night-time heat. After just one night, he decided he couldn't take it. So Papaw and him went to the hardware store (second time that day) and bought a ceiling fan. Did I mention that it was like 9pm when they got back? Oh, and that we had pretty much lived on the boat that day? Needless to say, we were all exhausted. Well, we all got to talking when they arrived with the fan, so they weren't even ready to install it until about, I dunno, 10:30pm. Alright, okay, so he and Crystal go upstairs to install it. They take down the old fan and Tom takes one look at the wires, sees them arc, and decides they should cut power to that room. No big deal, right? Well guess what! This crazy house has all of its upstairs wiring running through that one single ceiling fan!! Except, of course, the bathroom's. So after they cut the power up there, they try to work in the dark to put up a fan. In the ceiling. In the DARK. With power tools that stop working for them in the middle of it all. So let me put it this way: by about 11:45pm the entire household is upstairs holding lamps and various ceiling fan parts up for Tom who's balanced on a chair and is still trying to secure the main bracket. Papaw finally got the bracket in and then they finished installing the rest a bit after midnight. I know what you're thinking, why didn't some people (like me) just go to bed? Well, I dunno about you, but I need lights to get ready for bed. Especially when all my clothes are in a suitcase spread out on a bed, with my mom's stuff, in the darkest corner of the room. I'd like to report, though, that the fan works rather well and the lights have the ability to blind you like the sun.

Tom loved that fan by the end of the weekend, what with the ability for it to cool his charred skin. That's right, Tommy-boy fried. I can't pick on him too much, though, my nose looked like a tomato for an afternoon. But yes, he fried out on the water that first day. The second day, which was an adventure far too long and involved to write about anywhere but in a book, he remembered to wear some sunscreen. I will tell you this of the second day on the boat: Never, EVER let George Thomas pull you behind his boat while you are holding onto what can only be described as a queen size air mattress tied to it by a long rope. Tom and I learned this lesson the hard way. And while it pains me to let you see these pictures, it's easier than telling you all about it.

Okay, the first attachment is of Crystal and Tom getting onto the raft. Notice the smiles. Now, the second attachment is about 4 minutes later. That splash. Yeah, that's Crystal. See the body part in the middle of it? We think it's her foot. Don't get me wrong! We loved it! But it just goes to show you we're clinically insane because Ethan and his friends wouldn't even do it after two rounds. Tom and I did it about 4 or 5 times each.

The third attachment is the handsome Mr. Max, who couldn't participate in the fun because of a broken collarbone. He's fine, his shoulder just has a weird golf ball like bump of bone growing there right now.

The fourth attachment is Tom being utterly embarrassed at the family cook-out. He was really easy to push around because he was so nervous about the whole Crystal thing. She handled it all way better than him, though. I don't think she blushed nearly a quarter as much as Tom.

The last picture is of Crystal, the cutie. She's probably smiling so big because someone probably just made Tom turn pink again.

Props to Uncle Steve for shooting all of those wonderful pictures, give him a hand folks.

What was the last thing? Oh yeah, pi day! Well, as some of you might know, the math sign pi stands for the irrational number that starts with 3.14. And guess what yesterday's date was! 3/14. So, of course, we must celebrate all that is pi! And what better way than with pie! So last night I went out and got two pies (apple and cherry) and some ice cream, took them back to Steve and Jeannie's, and we celebrated all that is the wonder of pi! Now, normally I celebrate pi day at a Village Inn with Amy and that gang, but I sadly couldn't make it this year, being in Florida and all. So, I hope that they all had a wonderful pi day and celebrated it well!

Alright, folks. I have to send another email out tonight to a family I'm hoping to work for next semester, so I'll talk to you all later. I promise, next week's email will be on time (and probably shorter).

Sun, Sun, and Do I Have A Tan Or What!
Tar

Rainbows and Summer Plans

Now I bet none of you can figure out what I'm getting at when I say rainbows. And sadly, I don't have a picture of it. But I will tell you this for now: never give Beth and Rachel artistic freedom over your pants.

So how's your week been? Mine hasn't been half bad. It's been a bit rushed, considering I have to get everything done by tonight because I won't have time before I leave on Thursday. I have an exam this morning (oh joy) and I'm feeling those three hours of sleep. Went home for the weekend. Had another exam last Friday, another A. Um, yeah, I think that the little stuff in summary.

So as some of you might know, I have been applying for summer internships in the past month or so. I am happy to announce that I have been offered a 10 week research internship for the summer. The slight draw back is that it is in Carolette, NC. I am given a living fund, but it's still not as cool as if it had been in Melbourne or Colorado. Whether or not I take it depends on a few factors, one of those being exactly what I'll be researching.

Another factor is that I have been looking into a job as a live-in nanny for an 8 year old girl and her family. They want the person to start over the summer months, and it's a pretty good deal. They provide food, a room, private bathroom and did I mention that they have a really sweet house? The little girl is pretty cool, too. They're rather flexible to my schedule and I hope that it works out in the end. It's a very cheap way through live through college.

Ok, I have more homework to do and chores before seven, so I'm going to wrap this up with the story of the rainbow pants. Okay, so I have a pair of jeans that I got for about 5 bucks at Walmart. They aren't exactly white college girl pants, if you know what I mean. So I decided that I wanted to jazz up the pants a bit, which of course has to involve Beth and Rachel, our residence clothing painters. Well, long story short, after a few cans of spray paint, some very cool looking plastic, and some stencils, I now am the proud owner of rainbow pants. Oh yes, they look like rainbow pants. Yellow, red, orange, blue, black. Probably will never wear them, at least until that fateful day I'm completely out of clothes, so, yeah. That's the story of the rainbow pants.

Oh, I've also had a head cold all weekend, which is making this week all the more fun! But just think of it, though. Next week, I can sleep in, surf, swim, and generally enjoy home cooked meals.

Love, Peace, and Men In Black Is An Awesome Movie,
Tar

Ugh, Could I Be More Tired?

I think the title explains my current state of wakefulness. So, yeah, I'm not so sure how this here email is going to pan out.

I guess I can start with the past week's most eventful events:

Thursday: Donovan duct taped me to my hammock. The plus side of this was that I got the hammock all afternoon and he had to get up and change the shows we were watching. I think in the end I had a better afternoon because I was taped to the hammock.

Friday: Beth, Rachel, Tirrel, Donovan and I went out for a night on the town. Don't get too excited. We just walked around Old Town and then played chess in Alley Cat. We all decided we were too tired to continue at around 1am. Yeah, we're lame. Go us!

Saturday: My mommy visited me and introduced me to a new hamburger joint. Washington's, mmhmmm.. I highly recommend.

Monday: We made/got free Zen gardens! They're pretty ugly looking, but we figure if we get some shadow boxes instead of plastic trays, they'll look awesome.

I have a question to randomly put in: Who checks their mail at 5 in the morning? I mean really, these guys should be in bed. And then they tell me they're locked out of their room. Jeez! Where were they at 4 this morning?

Anyway, continuing. Monday I also ended up taking down the hammock. I know, I know, it's sad for everyone. The strings were rubbing against the loft and breaking because of the way we tied it. There was no way to rehang it without having the same issue, and that hammock means too much to me just to let it get ruined. So, I traded my loft bed for a floor bed, stuck the one I already had against it, and bam! King size bed, baby. I rotate an average of 90 degrees every night. It's great...

Um... as far as classes go, we won't discuss my last Stats exam grade. But I took another Chem exam last night (part of the reason I'm so tired) and I have two exams next week. And after that week, Spring Break baby! I'm so pumped for a week in Florida. I've been out swimsuit shopping with the gals, but no luck yet. I mean, I have suits but they're for lap swimming. Not hanging out on the boat and surfing. Yeah, I wanna go out surfing at least once, ye Floridans (Mainly Joel and Ryan). I land Thursday night and leave the next Friday, just to let you folks know.

Alright, I'm tired and my book and that movie aren't going to watch themselves, so I'll be off now. Sorry, no pictures (as you've probably already noticed). Also, Colorado Springs peeps, I'll be in town Saturday for your general amusement, and mine. I'm not sure yet if I'll have someone with me, but I'm trying to push Donovan into coming just so I have company on the drive. We'll see.

Peace, Love, and Naps,
Tar

P.S.- Totally forgot your last email Hamlar, but I'm pretty sure you've heard of Postal Service, Snow Patrol, The Faint, and The Shins, which are my newest (to me) rants. The Fray is big right now too, but I haven't heard them, so I don't know. Hope that helps!

Incredible Edible Morning

I watched the Incredibles this morning. And ate an apple. That's what that subject means.

Well, it's official, I'm a 10 year old. Why am I a 10 year old? Because I fell off of my bunk bed last night. Yeah. Ow. I blame my mother, who called me when I was asleep and knowing that no one has my number that didn't know I would be a asleep, I figured I should answer the phone. Climbing down from a bunk bed to answer what you think might be an important phone call while having just woken up is not a good idea. Don't worry, I'm not too hurt, just a very bruised and stiff knee.

Well, I finished yet another book, four actually (not including Eragon) and now I would like to recommend the Chronicles of Narnia series to our readers with younger kids. I know the movie just came out, but I think the books are still worth a reading. This series would be more for kids that can handle things like war and things of the sort. I mean, it's not graphic or anything, but I'd still say 10 and up.

As those of you watching the Weather Channel might know, we've experienced some snow. It's started warming up and melting in the last couple of days, but Wednesday through Saturday was downright chilly. It dumped snow on us Wednesday night, so much so that I wasn't willing to risk my car driving to skating in it. So the gang, disappointed by my desire to not drive, decided they would put the snow to good use and use it for sledding. Now, as some of you might think obvious, college students don't usually keep sleds in their rooms. So what did the gang end up using? Why, cafeteria trays, of course. Rachel was sent to "retrieve" a number of trays from the only open dining hall at 9pm and they all went out to sled and snowtray (like snowboard, but with a tray). I didn't go as it was a Wednesday evening and I was exhausted, but I did get to see the amount of snow that they returned covered in. Needless to say, they had a blast.

Lately the girls (Rachel, Bria, Beth, and Tirrel) have been participating in the Independent Film Competition, so I haven't been seeing a lot of them. Fish is competing as well, with a group of guys from his hall. That has left Donovan and I to watch an absurd amount of Scrubs. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I really wish that there had been fewer seasons of Scrubs. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the show, but I just don't love it as much when I watch about 10 episodes of it a day.

When I'm not watching Scrubs I'm probably organizing my 50 GB of music, which sadly keep growing everyday. All in all, I'm really tired of looking at a computer screen for most hours of the day. Because of this, I'm going to cut this one off after just one more thing.

About three weeks ago, the gang and I all went to Colorado Springs. The attached pictures are all of us at the Garden of the Gods. I figure you guys should be able to figure out who everyone is, so yeah.

Peace, Love, and Slush,
Tar

This is a Yawn in Email Form

Good morning. If I could somehow send a yawn with this email, I surely would. I must apologize now for my language. I have been reading fantasy books this last week, and I fear the latest's vocabulary might be encroaching on my own. Actually, I'm fairly positive it has, reading that last sentence. Anyway, good morning and happy belated Valentine's Day. I hope that you had a pleasant holiday with your loved ones, I know I enjoyed mine.

A lot has happened in the past week that I think would be rather interesting to you, even more so if I had the fortune of having pictures. I sadly got Donovan hooked on Scrubs, so currently most of my evenings are filled with hospital jokes and staring at a screen. I've watched the entire series before, and while I do love it, I must admit that I would rather be wrapped up in a good book. Of course, if I'm not working, in class, or sleeping, I'm probably reading. I've really picked up in my reading this semester and have finished another book since the last email. I'm pretty sure I'll finish another today sometime.

While I know some of you may not have enjoyed my book review as others, I just want to put this out there: The DiscWorld series by Terry Prachett. I highly recommend it to Joel and Ryan, and whoever else that enjoys a good fantasy read that picks on everything possibly imaginable dealing with fantasy. The series so far includes about 15 books, and there are several different reading orders of the books. I have a suggested reading order chart, which I've attached to this email for those who are interested. I would say that the ages for this series would be about 15 up.

Anyway, so yes, my time has been consumed with reading (pleasure and homework), working (though not nearly as much as I should be), Ragnarok (level 48 Mage, go me), and entertaining tidbits in the past week. I think the most interesting, and slightly sickening event would be when Bria and I decided to make cookies and decorate them. Don't get me wrong, the cookies turned out great. The sickening part was all that sugar. I could only eat rice for dinner that night, I was so sugared out. We made chocolate chip and sugar cookies, and decorated ALL of them with frosting. It was whipped frosting and we added various food dyes so that we had colored and plain frosting. We also hand made the cookies into shapes so that in the end, we had, no lie, hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons. We also had some feet (thank you Rachel) and a few flowers (to that we owe Bria). I have a feeling we were loved by the office staff that day, and hated at the same time because the smell of fresh cookies was present for quite a while. Of course, we didn't offer them any... Oops. As well, being college students lacking a proper kitchen, we had to apply the frosting with fingers and everyone knows the natural response when one's fingers are coated in sweets: lick them. My head hurt so bad after an hour I couldn't speak straight. Everyone loved our cookies, though, and the two I had were great, though enough for sugar induced comas, I'm sure.

In an attempt to burn off all that sugar and improve my skating skills, I've started to skate at the University's in-line hockey rink. After perfecting my backwards skill, Bria and I discovered that we could rent hockey sticks and a ball from the Rec Center. Needless to say, we've been playing off and on all week. And I have yet to score on her as much as she on me. Oh, I can out skate her and maneuver and maintain the puck for longer. The problem is I'm a terrible shot. I'm talking missing the goal by feet, not inches. It's no wonder now why I was always defense.

Terrible transition here, but thank you everyone who sent me pictures this last week. And email in general. I have enjoyed them all and am sorry if I have not replied to you directly, but take comfort in the fact that I've replied to no one, heh. What can I say? I'm not a huge fan of email. I prefer the instant gratification of Instant Messaging and phone calls. Yes, I know it's terrible that email is too slow for me. Too bad, I'm a hip new age kid and that's the way it's going to be! Heh.

Alright, last bit, I swear. I know you're probably all wondering what I did on V-Day, but sadly, nothing really special. The only remotely special thing I did was swing into Safeway while running an errand for Tirrel and buy Valentines for my hall mates. I also gave some to my friends and put a bright blue horse tattoo on my forehead for a few hours yesterday. It's gone now, but I feel that it did it's job in making people wonder about my sanity. See, the Valentines I bought were pony ones, like elementary kids hand out, and each one had a pony temporary tattoo. How could I not apply one in a very obvious place? I mean, it's me. Also, the boys/men of Newsom (place I live, folks) chipped together and bought all the girls/women in the hall roses. One per a female was taped to each room door around 4 in the morning. Donovan had a hand in it, he secretly revealed to us at his own risk. It was supposed to big secret, though a bit obvious that the night owls did it. And Donovan is one of the worst night owls I know. Anyway, everyone else in the Group (yes, I decided to make it a proper noun) paired off with their respective boyfriends/girlfriends and I was left with a quiet night of watching House and getting to bed early for work today. Not bad if I say so myself.

And now, my book is calling me again. This time it's Eragon by Christopher Paolin. I should probably study more for that exam I have at 10 this morning, but I'm too lazy, and tired. Oh, 90's on both exams from last week, just in case you cared.

Peace, Love and Please, No More Sugar.
Tar