Cory's Blog

Whew! What a relief. I took my final physics test today, and, judging by the score my roommate and I figured out by comparing our answers, I should have an A on it, and in the class. While I don’t count my grades until I see them in front of me from the teacher, it looks like all that hard work and worry and studying paid off, and there are few more satisfying feelings than that during the semester. To sacrifice your time to study and to actually see the results makes all the hard work worth while. Now, back to that A I am “pretty sure” I got: normally, going into a final with an A is nice, but it is even nicer in my physics class because we can choose to not take the final at all! Looks like that is one final I will not be worrying about. Not to fear my faithful readers, I’ll still have Organic Chemistry and Anatomy to take care of on the science side, with Statistics and Speech to finish off strong in as well.

Posted by Cory at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            I think by now that if you have been reading mine, or anyone else’s blog, you will have seen how busy college can be. Now, I know high school is busy too, don’t get me wrong, but when you get here to college, you really need to learn how to manage your time well. There is one skill that is quite useful that I am still trying to master myself: multitasking. Taking care of two or even three tasks at the same time can do wonders for freeing up, well, free time.

            Let me give you an example of my most recent multitasking adventure, but first let me set the story up for you: I have my organic chemistry lab today, and with it comes a quiz. So, naturally, I need to study for that, which I have been doing a little bit for the last couple of nights. However, that isn’t the only thing on my plate. I also have to study for my physics test that I have tomorrow. On top of that, I, being the health conscious young man that I am, must try and fit some exercise in on top of that. Unfortunately, I have a statistics and speech class cutting my day in half. So, I have to fit in studying for my quiz, my physics test, and getting some exercise in. How did I do it?

            Well, to start, I woke up and did some sit-ups in my room, simple enough right, a little exercise right there. Then, over my raisin bran, I looked at my organic chemistry lab. So, there’s, a little exercise and a little chemistry studying.  Then, I took out my flash cards I made for physics (flashcards are amazing in by the way), and headed out to the horseshoe. To sit and study? No way! I took a nice brisk hour walk around the horseshoe while reading my flashcards. Let’s recap now: I studied for my organic chemistry quiz, got a little exercise, and came an hour closer to memorizing my physics equations, all in two hours. I’m pleased with the progress, and I still have about an hour and a half between speech and organic chemistry lab to study for me quiz, and after chemistry lab, there will be no multitasking, just physics and more physics. It’s worth it though, if I get a high enough grade on this test, I can exempt the final and be done with physics…for the semester at least! Also, it will free up more time to study for other finals I have coming up in a couple of weeks. So, a little extra work now means a little easier time later; some advice to live by if you ask me. Take care everybody!

Posted by Cory at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

             I am very lucky to go to a college with such a beautiful campus. Honestly, when I came and visited for the first time, it took only about half an hour on the horseshoe to fall in love with the aesthetics. There were several times last year when I would stop on my way from my dorm in Maxcy to my 9 AM biology class in the Coker Life Sciences Building to just stop and take in the light filtering in through the trees on the horseshoe. It was just such a peaceful, pleasant place to be and take in nature. In order to keep USC so beautiful, the maintenance crews must work very hard to keep things looking so nice and I really appreciate the job they do, but more on them in a bit.

Well, fast forward to today, and  coming from Arizona, I had never really experienced the true meaning of the season of “fall”. True fall being when the temperatures drops, and most importantly, the leaves turn from green to yellow, and fall off. A by-product of these leaves falling off is that somehow that have to be picked up. That’s where this morning at 8 O’clock, and every morning at 8 O’clock for the last three weeks for that matter, those kind, hard working maintenance crewmembers that I mentioned before and their leaf blowers step into action. At 8 O’clock in the morning! Last year, I didn’t mind so much, because my room in Maxcy was tucked away from the front where the leaf blowers did their job, but this year, living in Woodrow, I am right on top of Greene Street, where it seems the maintenance crews start their days bright and early at 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning. So, it is to the sound of roaring gasoline engines I woke up to this morning, and many mornings in the last three weeks in fact. In all fairness, I needed to get up anyways to get going down to the Blatt PE center for my morning work-off-Thanksgiving-Weekend-workout. Sometimes though, those leaf blowers with their loud, roaring motors can cut right to me, especially after three weeks straight of early morning "festivities". However, while it can get annoying to hear, it is worth it when I get to see and be a part of this beautiful campus everyday. From the trees on the horseshoe, to the pond in front of the Thomas Cooper Library, walking around campus here is really a joy because of the pleasing sites all around me.

Now, with that story behind me, I must be off. My week of school work beckons me: a physics test on Thursday, a speech to finish, and an Organic Chemistry Lab quiz to prepare for. Not to mention playoffs for volleyball start tonight, after my semifinal racquetball match. Good thing I got all rested up this weekend!

Posted by Cory at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Wow! No number of exclamation points can emphasize the excitement today. Let me put it to y’all in simple terms: We beat our biggest rival, Clemson and we locked up a spot in a bowl game. I went absolutely bananas upon the last play. We couldn’t have simply beaten Clemson easily, as we should have with several opportunities to put the game away. No, that wouldn’t be excruciating, I mean, exciting enough. We had to throw three interceptions, lose a fumble on the goal-line, put in a quarterback that has played one game all year, and then rely on a missed field goal in the last twenty seconds, but we did it, and tonight the Gamecock Nation shall rejoice. I think that you all might have heard my yelps of excitement upon the final play, a missed field goal by Clemson, but a victory always brings excitement immediate calls from Jenna ’09, my father AND my mother, who both finally realize the significance of the Carolina-Clemson rivalry. Yes, you all are getting an inside look at the pride that I have in the school right now, and I will tell you one thing, had we lost this game, I would still root just as hard, be just as devastated after a loss, and be just as happy with a win as I do now that we truly have won. THAT is what being a Gamecock is all about.

Posted by Cory at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Well, I had a fine thanksgiving, and I hope all of you can say the same about yours, wherever and however you spent it. Today, while 98% of everyone was enjoying the Post-Thanksgiving Sale-a-Palooza, I was out playing golf with my Uncle and his brother-in law. I do enjoy golf, much like I enjoy most other sports; the only problem is that I don’t really find the time to play much during school. However, I did find a nice little practice range on Harden Street about 5 or 10 minutes north of Five Points, so that will probably be a destination more next semester when I have the time. Unfortunately, the lack of practice time really showed today. Let’s just say I won’t be quitting school to go out and challenge Tiger on the PGA Tour anytime soon. The closest I’ll come to taking on Mr. Woods is on my Playstation 2. The highlight of my round today was the 40 foot putt that I sunk, and the low being how that putt was to save a score of 8 on a par four. Ouch! Very rough day on the links indeed. Oh well though, I suppose I cannot complain, for it was definitely a nice break from the grind of classes. This time off has given me a chance to catch up on some sleep, and I got to check out the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale (maybe the best Bond ever!). However, I only have a couple of days left to relax before the reality of class and work sets back in, but I think I will be charged up and ready for it.

            As for now, I think I will start mentally preparing myself for USC’s big rivalry game tomorrow against Clemson. I am not as lucky as my friend Melissa ’09, who actually will be attending the game, so it looks like I will have to watch it on ESPN instead. That’s ok by me though; my aunt and uncle have a very large, very flat, very high definition TV that will make me feel like I was up in Clemson watching the game in person. Take care everybody.

Posted by Cory at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Whew! My whirlwind of a week is finally over. Three tests, a quiz, two volleyball games, a softball game, and a round of playoff racquetball are behind me, and now it is my turn to kick back and relax. Tuesday was my last day of tests, with only my organic chemistry test standing between me and freedom. I think it went really well, I studied all weekend for it, and I understood the material. The weird thing is that as I started to understand it, the studying wasn’t stressful, but actually more enjoyable seeing how everything came together and worked! I guess I really am a nerd at heart. After blasting through my Organic Chemistry test at 8 in the morning, I had to go and sit through anatomy. About half the class had already started their vacation were not there, and I got the feeling the professor had one foot out the door as well because he fumbled through the lecture and had a few laughs, but I don’t blame him one bit, I think after more than three months of school, everyone needs a break, even professors.

            My own personal “Cory, you need a break” epiphany came after anatomy class when I headed down to the Blatt PE center for a Pre Thanksgiving workout. I usually warm up by practicing my racquetball and then hit the weights, but today I met another guy who wanted to play a couple of games. As I am always looking for a game, I agreed. However, halfway through the first game of the two that we played, my body decided it wanted to quit on me and I was huffing and puffing for the next 45 minutes of pretty uninspired racquetball. After that, I knew that my previous busy week had finally caught up with me, and it was time for some time off. So, I got through out my last class of the day, physics, and it was time to leave for Thanksgiving break.

            I must tell you, while I am from Arizona, I do not go all the way home for Thanksgiving break. My aunt and uncle live here in  Hilton Head, South Carolina, so that is where my normal destination for short breaks and the occasional weekend is. Well, long story short, it was a two and a half hour drive down to Hilton Head from Columbia in the freezing cold and rain, and even some rare South Carolina snow, but I made it. So after my strenuous test and sports filled week, I made a promise to myself: No homework, studying, or any otherwise mentally strenuous activity (at least until Friday that is) because I really feel like I earned and need it!  Well, I am sure all of you out there have earned a break too, I remember my Senior year of high school was pretty stressful itself, especially with getting college applications in and keeping my grades up. Which reminds me, you want to try and get your application in here by December 1^st. Perhaps a Post Thanksgiving Day Project? I will leave you all with that to think about. Most importantly though, have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and I look forward to posting to you next time with more energy, and probably a couple extra pounds after my Thanksgiving meal tomorrow!

Posted by Cory at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

    Sorry I have not had the chance to blog to you this past week, but I have something I must confess: the title of my blog, “The Life of a Pharmacy Major,” is false. For in fact, the last seven days I have had no life. I do not mean to sound pessimistic, it is just a part of my life that comes around about every three or four weeks when I have a string of tests and I turn into a studying hermit that inhabits my room and the library in my free time. The fun started last Tuesday with a test in my Physics 201 class. I must tell you, physics is definitely my least favorite class. It is in a large lecture hall with 299 of my closest friends, the teacher is very vague and poor at explaining concepts, and the old tests he posts online for us to practice on have some answers that are marked incorrectly. Long story short, it is quite confusing indeed. On top of that, the test we had was more difficult than any of the practice problems, and it actually had two problems we could not even do because he left out information! I was not happy with this professor, who shall remain nameless. Luckily for us, he realized his problematic test, and kindly gave us a ten point curve, so all is not lost. Needless to say otherwise, I am not taking his class for Physics 202.

With Wednesday came my organic chemistry lab, which normally is not a big deal; we have a quiz before we do the lab, which, if you study for, you can do well on. However, this week was a “special” lab. It consisted of a quiz on “Infrared Spectroscopy” or IR for short. The lab teaching assistant pretty much said that this was the quiz that ruined people’s grades last year, so to "beware". Now, allow me to give you a little description of IR: You get a graph the energy from compounds, and based on the height and position, you have to figure out what the compound is. It is basically looking at a scribbly graph, labeling the parts, and picking which of four compounds the graph is representing. So, after memorizing a page of physics equations, I had to throw those out of my head and memorize the graph characteristics for about 15 organic chemistry groups, and apply those to my quiz. It basically felt like another test, but luckily I got through it, and I think I did good enough to keep up with the good grades I have been making. Well, I had finished that one, all done right? Time to relax, right? Please? Nope, this magical mystery tour of tests was now just half over…

            Thursday morning is when I have my organic chemistry lecture at 8 in the morning, followed by anatomy at 9:30. Well, this day, I had an anatomy test that I had been studying for a week for. Like on the previous Saturday night, when everyone else was out playing and having fun, I was going over my flash cards, reading my notes, and clarifying from the book. The days leading up to my Thursday test had been a whirlwind of physics, organic chemistry, and anatomy. So, Wednesday night I spent clarifying every last bit of the muscular and nervous system as I could into my frontal lobe (aha, do you like my active use of anatomy brain vocabulary? It is a nice way to trick myself into learning). Thursday morning came, and I paid attention the best I could in organic chemistry and trekked on down into the basement of the Coker Life Sciences building to take on Dr. Bowman’s anatomy test. I felt like I really knew the material well, but it was one of those tricky multiple choice tests, and I think there were just enough to keep me from the A I was looking for. Luckily, he usually curves the test a couple of points, and I may catch a break, but for now I will just have to wait and see. That test was behind me, so I could relax now? Right? Come on! PLEASE!? No such luck. Dr. Lavigne’s Organic Chemistry test awaits on Tuesday.

            Which brings me up to where I am right now, taking a study break. I studied Friday night in my room, Saturday night at the Library and the Barnes and Noble Bookstore Cafe which is nice enough to stay open until 2 in the morning, and about 4 or 5 hours in the Library already today. Dr. Lavigne is a great teacher, good enough to where I will take him at 8 o’clock in the morning twice a week. He has a nice grade policy: You take three tests and have a quiz average from our recitation period that meets with on of the graduate assistants once a week, and of those four averages, you can drop the lowest. Luckily for me, I have done well on the first two tests and the quizzes in recitation, so this test carries a little less weight as I will be able to drop it if it is not as high as it could be, but it is still crucial to understand the concepts as they form a large part of the final exam and for organic chemistry 2 next semester. So, it seems as though my blogging time has come to an end, and I must get back to the grind, but do not beware, Turkey Day break beckons in two short days, and I promise to bring you happy tidings of food, relaxation, and studying for finals…Oh jeez, how did that last one sneak in there? Well, it must be my subconscious that keeps me on top of things. Until the next time!

Posted by Cory at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“You win some you lose some” I’m sure that you all have probably heard that one before. Well, it seems like that being a Gamecock fan, you seem to lose more than you win. I have to say, after last night, I am really starting to understand that idea, a little too much if you ask me. We lost to Florida by one point, and had a chance to win, but we had the field goal blocked. It was the THIRD BLOCKED KICK OF THE GAME! My goodness, my friends and I watching the game could only sit in stunned silence as another opportunity to win against a top opponent slipped through our grasp. I must be honest, it really hurts sometimes, but I would not want to be rooting for any other team. I love the Gamecocks, win or lose. I think that is what sets USC fans apart from others in the country, win or lose, we remain fiercely loyal and hopeful that next game we can pull out a victory. Whether the team is doing well or not, you can bet your dollar that Williams Brice Stadium will be packed to capacity with passionate Gamecock Fans. Well, here’s hoping that next week we can pull out a Gamecock Win in our LAST home game of the year. Wait a second, last home game? Holy Cow, this year has flown by!

Posted by Cory at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            (Note: for the purposes of the following blog, the name PETE ROSE will appear in all capital letters to emphasize the fact that I had an incident with the all time hit king. Another note, while my view of loving the Cubs is revealed, it in no way takes away from my undying loyalty to the South Carolina Gamecocks.)

Well, I believe one of the highlights of my year happened last night. Pete Rose came and spoke here, and we had, let’s just say, an “incident”. Allow me to set the story up for you: I am, in a nutshell, and lifetime die hard Chicago Cubs baseball fan (yes, even though I am from Arizona, us Cubs fans, were EVERYWHERE), and Mr. Rose was opening up his talk, and he just so happened to get on the subject of my beloved Cubbies. Well, I was sitting in the third row, and he asked if there were any die-hards in the audience, to which I firmly raised my hand and shouted. The Hit King himself, Charlie Hustle, PETE ROSE then looked at ME, directed his speech to ME, in the Koger Center’s filled auditorium, and asked, “Why?” It got a lot of laughs from the audience. He then made a couple mundane Cub jokes, somewhere along the lines of “Why don’t the Cubs have a website? Because they can’t put three W’s together” (a W standing for a win of course), and “What did God say to the Cubs? Don’t do anything until I get back.” Needless to say, he was ruthless in his assault on me and my Cubdom. However, I did not care, because it was PETE ROSE talking to me, CORY JENKS, from TUCSON ARIZONA. I have to admit I was thinking, “How the heck did I end up here in Columbia, South Carolina arguing with PETE ROSE about the Cubs?” Luckily, I did choose to come here, and USC does a great job of bringing in talent, such as major league baseball HIT KING PETE ROSE. USC plugs aside, after PETE ROSE had finished his talk, I left the auditorium, and ran into several of my friends who HAD to know, “Cory, were YOU the Cub fan that PETE ROSE argued with?” To which I could proudly proclaim YES!

It was quite an unforgettable evening indeed, and a nice distraction from the next week and a half that lie ahead: Physics, Anatomy, and Organic Chemistry test. I guess that they really want you to earn that Turkey Day break. However, I am still having trouble focusing because I am still thinking about my cool little PETE ROSE altercation/story, and now, I can proudly tell my future Cub fan grandkids that Grandpa talked to the man with the most hits in the history of baseball and kept his Cub loyalty. Take care everybody.

Posted by Cory at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I suppose this is my first blog that I will treat you all to. In case you missed my “about me”, my name is Cory, and I came here to USC all the way from Tucson (that’s in Arizona for those of you all who aren’t quite geography savvy, believe me, I am the same way about my South Carolina geography). I am a sophomore pre-pharmacy major, and I find out if I get accepted into pharmacy school sometime in March (stay tuned for that folks). I live with two other Pre Pharmacy majors, Nick 09' and Brad 09', from North Carolina and Ohio respectively. We met last year living in Maxcy, and from about the first month of school on, have been known as the pharmacy “trifecta.” That was one great thing about living in a residence hall my freshman year, the sense of community that was built, and as you can tell by my current roommates, you tend to find and make friends with students of the same major rather quickly, as you take a lot of the same classes. Even though USC is a rather large campus, I am amazed how often I see the same people in the same classes. I have gotten to know several people from my chemistry and biology classes last year (along with Nick and Brad, of course), who are toughing it out now in anatomy, and organic chemistry…and physics. It seems like the work does not end, but luckily the past week or so, thing have been relatively quiet on the school front (only a speech and a statistics test this past Friday), but this week I will be studying for the final stretch of tests before Thanksgiving break. What was nice about having that time is that I was able to enjoy the homecoming events the last week. Friday night culminated a week of festivities with what is known around here as “Cockfest.” It is basically a night where Fraternities and Sororities work together to perform skits based on a theme. Which, this year, was “Rock on Carolina.” What was really cool is that Carolina Productions got Randy and Jason Sklar to emcee the event. In case you are not familiar, they are on the ESPN Classic show “Cheap Seats”, and have had a Comedy Central Special. If you knew them or not though did not seem to matter, as they had the rather large audience at Williams Brice Stadium roaring with their takes on over the top news helicopter commercials and their own take on Charlie Daniel’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Add their fine comedy skills in with some very creative and funny skits, and cap it off with fireworks, and it made for one very fun night. I was unable to make it last year, but this year definitely made up for it.  I am also looking forward to this week because Carolina Productions is coming though again, and this Wednesday they have gotten Pete Rose to come and talk. As an avid baseball fan, I am really interested in what he has to say. Along with Pete Rose, a week from Tuesday, Carolina Productions has gotten Ben Folds to come and play a concert as well. They really do a splendid job in getting high quality entertainment to come to campus. In the past year they have gotten Bob Saget and Dierks Bentley to come as well. Needless to say, staying entertained during my time here has not been a problem, now if only Carolina Productions could find a way to make those 8 O’clock lectures as entertaining, I would be all set. Anyways, that is all I have for you folks today. Feel free to drop a comment or a question if there is something you would like to hear about. Until next time, I hope you’ll keep Carolina on your mind.

Posted by Cory at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)