do or die

I love this time of year. I love fall. Its football, sweaters, coats, chilly weather. Something about it just makes me feel better. A few things to touch on…

Well theres my schedule for this semester. insane on paper, even more insane to actually pull it off. Im off school wed and fri so its really just work. apparently some of my professors this year dont like people being late. but ive yet to talk to them and explain what im trying to do so im sure after a good talking to theyll be ok with it.

Oh and can you believe rutgers-newark isnt what it used to be. its....better? im not sure what this exactly means but the campus isnt so dead anymore. its starting to thrive actually. parking is even worse. i used to know the timing and rhythm as to when i can still get parking on decks 1 and 2 but its way different now. apparently 2008 has brought the biggest number of freshmen to newark. crazy i know, but what can you do.

The weekend of my birthday completely made up for the totally lame birthday. It was good to just spend time with my mom and siblings. The movie game, portuguese food, and coldstone icecream was the shit. it was a pretty good way to spend the weekend.

and for anyone hasnt seen yet, ive got a tattoo now. its pretty cool i think. for those wondering it means brother in arabic. its pronounced "akh." i knew what i wanted when i went and it means a lot to me so it was only fitting. i looked at the word brother in other languages and it was more...aesthetically pleasing in arabic. it did hurt, especially the part where it curves. it felt like someone was constantly pinching you. it wasnt bad but if your threshold for pain is low, then i dont think its for you. the best part? i can now say "you looking at my ink?" a la will ferrell in blades of glory. hahaha.

another place where I take some time to myself, when im not dead tired that is, is this 24 hour chapel. It doesn’t close so you can just go there to pray if youre in need of some quiet time. But that’s really not the best part. Not for me at least. Theres a statue of the virgin mary in front of the church and its usually lit up by these two huge floodlamps. But one of them is broken and the statue gets an eerie kind of glow where one half is lit and the other half is in the dark sort of.. Anyway its another one of those places where its quiet to help me cope with my week.

Oh and seeing as how my time is going to be stretched thin this semester its my last chance to read for leisure. I chose marley and me by john grogan and the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz.

I finished marley and me in one shift at work cuz its really good. Its about a dog and his relationship of 13 years with his family. Im a dog lover so it was a good read. Its been made into a movie with jeniffer aniston and owen wilson due out this holiday season.

Oscar wao is about this Dominican family’s life in new jersey of all places. Set in Patterson and Rutgers and wildwood and the DR. its pretty funny. The author mixes spanglish in his writing so theres some parts that might not be clear but nothings lost in the book. Oh and its pretty crude language. oh and it also won a pulitzer if that counts for anything,

Im finishing Oscar wao this week (finished yesterday at work) so I can get started on required reading. Oh how I hate that crap. Anyway go pick em up.

That’s it for now. Ill update when things get better.