1st Day Down!!

So I'm done with my first day of classes! It was a pretty fabulous day! The weather was beautiful, I met new people, I ate great food, my classes were pretty sweet. All around amazing. Here's a recap of the day:

First I started off my day by eating breakfast at the Ike Schaffer Commons with AP. On the way there I saw the cute boys I met the other night at the Pancake party. That was nice. At Ike I had a delicious cheese omelet, some bacon, and some tots. Perfection. I then preceded to my first class, Introduction to Information Systems.

I was running a bit late because the famous omelet line took forever so I went straight to my class though this was my first time in the ever-so-beautiful brand-spankin-new business building, Hyland Hall. I didn't exactly get a chance to look around.

The class didn't seem like it's going to be to hard. I was fortunate to have Angie Milkie, a friend from RHA as well as a co-staff member and AJ Ettlie, a guy I went to high school with, to sit next to. The professor, Andrew Ciganek, is new to UWW this semester and could not emphasize enough that he wanted to make the class interesting and fun so that we want to come to class and won't fall asleep doing so. He is fairly young and has some fresh ideas. Such as, our first project we are going to be working on is a team project in which we will be playing fantasy football. Now, granted, I cannot stand football but he definitely gets an A for effort and fortunately, I know people who consider themselves legends in fantasy football.

It was pretty sweet because half-way through the class he demonstrated that the room was highly equipped with (insert correct powerful name here) Internet that is 3x faster than any other hotspot on campus as well as cameras and microphones. What are these instruments for? Most may guess security and surveillance, but no, they are so that every class/lecture will be taped and automatically podcasted online so in case anyone were to miss a class, they could just hop online and view the class. Way high-tech. Super cool.

After this first class, I had a 3 1/2 hour break so I did a multitude of exciting things. First I went to the bookstore. I needed to acquire the starter kit for my online psych class as well as purchase a book for my information systems class. I was able to obtain the starter kit, however, the "Access" book needed for my computer information systems class was a whopping 55 smackers!! Not only did I not have the dough for this at the time but I also heard I could find it for cheaper on half.com so I did not make the lofty purchase.

I then returned to the beautiful Hyland Hall to take a gander at the what everyone had been talking about. The building was freaking beautiful! When you walk in you are presented with a giant colorful fiber glass sculpture on the wall, 16 panels fitted together to create a giant 10 foot TV on the wall, and electronic scrolling advertisement screens. You then make your way to the lounge/cafe area where you are shocked by a coffee table with a touch screen game table built in. Very futuristic. Way cool. I was instantly drawn to this but it was taken at the time.

I sat at a high table to set up a my online Psych class. I was greeted by my friend Jake. He sat down at the table next to me to eat his sandwich he packed in his lunch box since he now lives off campus. It was adorable. I went through the course syllabus and assignment deadlines for my class. One thing really caught my eye. Throughout the semester we will be using a software program that allows you to raise a virtual child from birth to age 18 where you will be making all the decisions in the child's life and will be able to experience the psychological effects of your decisions. It looks super cool! I'm pretty excited.

I got bored of the online class quickly (I could foresee this being a potential problem) and I noticed that the touch game table had opened up so I went to test it out. I sat down and tried a few of the games but ultimately ended up playing checkers against the computer.

After a few games of dominating the easy setting on the computer, a girl walked up to me. She was Latina, very pretty, reminded me of my brothers ex-girlfriend Phoenix. She had an accent. "Are you playing checkers?" she asked me. "Yes," I said. "Do you mind if I play with you?". "Sure!" I said. After a few games and great conversation, I learned that this sweet girl was an international student from Ecuador. She spoke English very well, I wouldn't have guessed she was international. She told me that coming to school here was her very first trip on an airplane and how exciting the past couple weeks have been. However, she hadn't made many friends because she hasn't been able to sign up for any of the freshmen orientation stuff because she is only 17 years old. I told her I was a Spanish minor and told her I had thought seriously about travelling abroad to Ecuador. She told me how beautiful the country was and that I should definitely go there sometime. Here is a picture of her and the wicked awesome game table!



I then had some delicious pasta at the UC and headed back to my room to watch my soap and unload some of my books. I forgot how much it sucks to have to lug around a backpack all day. They're SO freakin heavy! It hurts! Then I made my way back to Hyland Hall (yes, all of my classes are in this beautiful building this year and probably every year from here on out, after all, I am a business major). On my walk back, I couldn't help to notice that I no longer recognize anyone on campus. It's kind of depressing. Everyone my age has now moved into apartments and houses and campus is drowned in freshman and sophomores. It's weird. I feel like the new kid again. I don't know anyone. Strange, kinda lonely.

I eventually made my way to my second class for the day, Business Statistics. This class was interesting. I didn't really know anyone else in the class except for a guy who is an RA in another complex, Jason. The professor is an Iranian woman, Massomeh Hajilee. She has a thick accent but she knows it and she tries very hard to speak very clearly. She is funny though and she knows her economics so I think the class should be interesting. It has a lot to do with math so I think I'll be pretty good at it.

After this I had another break, this time an hour and 15 minutes. I went to the UC and had some fries and ranch (my good friend, Lisa, and my favorite snack :( I wish she was still here) and then headed to my last class a little early.

My final class of the day is entitled Organizational Behavior. It's a management class with a bit more of a psychology base that focuses on the behavior exhibited by individuals within an organization. I have this class with Jeremy Gritton, one of my favorite people on this campus, and David Rasmussen, a guy I went to elementary school and middle school with and worked with at the Small Business Development Center for a short time. My professor is Jeff Janz, the current Dean of Student Life. He oversees several areas on campus, including Residence Life. I have seen him speak several times throughout my past two years at RHA meetings and RA training. Since I arrived to class early I had some time to introduce myself to him and talk with him a bit one on one. He is a very nice, intelligent man. Unfortunately, as of September 30th, he will no longer be Dean of Student Life at UWW. He is moving to Marquette University. However, he will continue to teach our class throughout the semester. I think this is going to be a really interesting class that I will do very well in.

Overall it was a pretty great day! I am really looking forward to this semester! It's interesting the opportunities life presents when you least expect it. I have so many friends right now I don't even really know what to do. This hasn't really happened to me before but it's a great feeling.

Tomorrow I am having homemade taco night with AP, Ali, and Ali at AP's condo. I'm pretty excited. It should be fun. I love Ali and I haven't seen her in like 4 months or something. Then I am either hanging out with Natalie and some boys from the LaCrosse Team for the night, or having a movie night with my new friend Jess and the cute boys we met at the pancake night. Then Sunday I'm going to Six Flags with AP and LISA! And finally, Monday I am going to the Walworth County Fair with my mom. This is going to be a great year! I'm so excited!!

I need to go to bed now! It's super late, or should I say early?

NITE!