Ground control to Major Tom...

So I know those avid readers of mine (whom I can count on one hand...) are quite concerned at this point. You've probably assumed I've been eaten alive by some math professor, or murdered in my sleep by my roommate. Well, unfortunately for you, think again.

No need for my mother to return the Frigidaire, or for Amber to hunt for a new roomie, because I've survived the first five weeks barely scarred and with no Swine Flu. Though this blog entry is sponsored by that tricky little N1H1, and the resulting Flucation. Yes indeed, there was a flu outbreak at LSMSA, and yes indeed they felt the need to close the school for a week to wipe it out. Am I thrilled about this? Not particularly. Class and test schedules are all thrown off now, and quite honestly I miss being there. Home is nice and all but, eh. It gets old.

So where to begin. I'm not going to go into too much detail for your sakes, but I'll try and give you a general idea of what goes on up there. Here's a brief rundown of my teachers:

Brad Burkman, College Algebra: If you know me at all, you know I hate this subject with a fiery passion that could destroy several large cities. But this guy makes me think that maybe (just maybe, let's not get carried away...) math teachers have souls. Now I'm not saying they can function normally in society or anything like that, but this is a cool guy. He has screen-caps of this incredibleness hanging in his cubicle, teaches class with the lights and air conditioning off, rides his bike everywhere, and gives quizzes on the backs of scrap paper ranging from old sheet music to poetry left over from English classes. He also doesn't let his students use calculators or text books, but I'm maintaining an A in his class, so no complaints there.

Dr. Sumie Shima, Chemistry and Chemistry Lab: Really, the Science Department's cutest little Japanese woman. I mean, I'm borderline failing her class, but come on, her accent is adorable. And she gives out candy (including but not limited to, "Tutie Rolls"). And uh, I'm working on the failing thing.

Dr. Rodney Allen, Composition/Literature: Well, obviously my favorite class. But all previous biases aside, this guy is awesome. Arguably crazy liberal atheist with a Ph.D. from Duke, what's not to like? Class is almost entirely awesome political discussion, and within a week of class Dr. Allen and I impromptu recited the entirety of a Yeats poem together. Plus the fact I have a 100 A in his class is nice, too.

Victor Feske, American History: Ph.D. from Yale. This man is so intense. SO INTENSE. He quite possibly knows everything. EVERYTHING. We're talking, I have over 100 pages of notes from less than ten classes intense. And I have the first exam next week. Hahah, GPA, hahah.

Kate Riley, Acting I, Stage Production, Academic Advisor: Again, you don't have to know me very well to know I like her classes. But uh, she's pretty cool too. She knows her stuff more than your average "Bring me the magic!" or whatever the hell drama teacher, and is fun to work and play with. I'm stage managing for the Fall Repertory show (The Miracle Worker - yeah, the choice in shows is kind of laughable, but the job involves me getting work service credit AND making Helen Keller jokes. Come on).

And the rest of the teachers are basically unimportant/not interesting enough for a character bio. I mention no names. But that's a basic run-down of my academic life, and the rest is really too extensive to bother you all with. People there are cool, dorm life is cool, cafeteria food is lame - it's all pretty predictable stuff. But I will leave you with this picture from Sadie Hawkins. Jacob and I were Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. We danced like Caucasians, ground up classmates we dislike into meat pies, and fun was had by all (except the unsuspecting classmates, of course).

But anyway, there's an update for those who wanted it (or at least humored me by suggesting you did), and now I plan on trying to have a productive flucation before dropping off the Earth's surface again next Sunday.