Cory's Blog

       Hello everybody out there. I hope that your break has been as relaxing and fun as mine has. It is definitely nice to wake up and not have to think about class for the day. I have spent my time working out, hitting golf balls, catching up with my friends, and, of course, eating. It is that time of the year again. What time do you ask? It’s the time when everyone recounts the highlights of the year. So, here are my personal highlights from the Fall 2006 semester:

August 18^th: I move myself three floors with no elevator into Woodrow. I sweat a lot.

August 19^th: Along with Alpha Lambda Delta, my honor society, I help to move new residents (up all 16 floors!) into Capstone as part of the campus wide move in day that helps to alleviate the stress of moving in.

August 24^th: A sign of things to come as my first day of 8 O’clock AM classes begin. Not only do I have 8AM classes, but I have my three science classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well. I learn quickly that naps are a necessity

August 26^th:  My roommate Brad ’09 and I take a trip to Atlanta. We take in our first Braves game at Turner Field. That night, we go to a concert featuring my favorite band, 311, along with a once in a lifetime performance from the opening act, The Wailers. Since Columbia is central to many surrounding areas, the trip to Atlanta is very doable, as it is only three hours one way.

September 5^th:  Season premiere of Nip/Tuck. A tradition since freshman year, Brad and I always take the hour out of our Tuesday nights to watch, no matter what we have the next day, be it a test, or well, two tests.

September 14^th: This was my first “double header” of the semester. The consequence of having three sciences on the same day is that sometimes I have two tests on the same day. I took my Organic Chemistry at 8, followed by my anatomy at 930. My first tests of the semester, and I got off on the right foot with A’s in both!

September 17^th: First softball game. A rousing victory for the Sultans of the South!

October 1^st: The USC Octathalon, an event put on by the Bodybuilding and Fitness Club, was on this, the first day of October. Although I had only decided to participate a couple weeks prior, and thus, my training was not quite long enough, I completed the eight event challenge which included a run, flexibility test, various weight lifting events, an obstacle course, and my biggest challenge: a swim. I battled a cold the two days prior, but still met my goal of completion, placing 14^th out of 15 competitors. It was one of my biggest accomplishments of the semester.

October 14^th: I went with a few other members of Alpha Lambda Delta to Anderson, South Carolina to help with the state Special Olympics. I ended up helping a very nice team with volleyball, and learned from the athletes a lot about what it REALLY means to try your best and overcome life challenges.

October 21^st: The big day had come, the day to take my PCAT. The test I need for admission to the school of pharmacy. After my preparation by taking practice tests all semester , I was ready. The practice paid off: I scored in the 90^th percentile!

October 27^th-29^th: I spent this weekend in Boston as part of the National Leadership Convention for Alpha Lambda Delta. Although it was a rainy and cold weekend, I met some interesting people from other schools, and learned a about leadership as well.

November 18^th: A reminder of how fast time flies. The last home football game of the year against Middle Tennessee State.  While we won, it was bittersweet as we won’t see another home game until 2007.

November 30^th: My final physics exam of the year saw me get the grade I needed to exempt my final. Not a GREAT moment, but it definitely made my day.

December 2^nd: I worked at the USC challenge, an academic quiz bowl for high schools in South Carolina. I learned a lot, but mostly about what I don’t know, as the students embarrassed me with their amazing knowledge of all things from pop culture to calculus.

December 10^th: My BIRTHDAY! As you all know I spent my time studying, but did receive a wonderful surprise party from my friends that made my year.

December 16^th: I take my last final in my speech class and I am free for a month! I think that is pretty self explanatory.

December 17^th: I fly back to my hometown of Tucson, Arizona, and promptly make up for seven months worth of not having Nico’s Taco Shop to eat.

December 29^th: Our Gamecocks defeat The University of Houston in the Liberty Bowl, and I am told my shouts of joy are heard all the way in Memphis from my home here in Tucson. Just a fantastic way to end 2006, and get some momentum for ’07!

            Those are my highlights in a nutshell. I hope that you enjoyed reading about what you all missed before I started blogging, and got to relive some of those fun moments I shared. I will be taking a few days off and expect me to come back in the New Year rested, and ready for more. Stay tuned for my year in preview for 2007 as I take a look at what I am looking forward to in ‘07. Talk to you next year!

Posted by Cory at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Just last year, I was loathing the idea of having to leave school, leave all the great new friends I had made, and come back to the place I left the day after graduation. I am talking about coming back to my home here in Tucson, Arizona for winter break. I had just spent seven months away from where I had called home my whole life, and had had the experience of a lifetime. From waiting tables in Hilton Head during the summer, to, of course, learning the whole “college” thing, I had become what I thought a real independent young man. The kind of young man, you know, that doesn’t need  to come back home. I mean, I had so much fun at school, and made such great friends, why would I even want  to come home?

            Fast forward to today, as I sit in my room in “‘Zona”, enjoying every moment I have home. Why the change? Well, I think that part of it was I grew up a bit, and I think part of it is that I just wanted a break so bad; I could have gone anywhere and been happy. The reality is, as most freshman are, I was very happy to have the independence of being away from home, and did not like the idea of going home, simply because I felt I was so happy on my own, but, a year later (and wiser), I now realize that it really is nice to come home and see the family and the circle of friends I still keep in touch with. As far as needing a break, well, this semester was quite trying as far as workload and extracurricular activities. I mean, I was playing five intramural sports at one time on top of Organic, Anatomy, Physics, Statistics, and Speech, so I think any normal person would welcome a break from that. So far though, the effort has paid off, all A’s, and I am just waiting on Anatomy to come back, so keep your fingers crossed!

            As for now, I have a busy day ahead of me: the gym (which is very disappointing after working out at the Blatt PE center and the Strom for all semester), a golf lesson, and then a party with my pop’s workers. Busy? Yes, but still a break from the normal school grind. Oh, before I forget, one more perk about being home: the food. I hadn’t had Nico’s Taco shop or Eegee’s (both local Tucson favorites) for seven months! Imagine going seven months without your favorite food. Let’s just say I have a lot of catching up to do. Time to chow down! It’s great to be home!

Posted by Cory at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            When I played baseball back in high school, I always enjoyed playing a doubleheader, with two games in the same day. It was always a treat, double the baseball and double the fun. I mean, as Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop of my beloved Cubs once said, “Let’s play two!” Well, that was high school, and baseball, not college and final exams. Today, I had my anatomy and my statistics final. Not exactly the doubleheader I enjoy. These two after having to study for my very difficult Organic Chemistry final that I had on Tuesday, which, by the way, I walked away with a 95% on! So, budgeting my time after my Tuesday exam was going to be crucial, but I had been in the same situation before, twice last during last year’s finals.

            Luckily, during finals week, the Thomas Cooper Library stays open twenty-four hours, and on top of that location, I also found a new gem of a place to study: the brand new Barnes & Noble café at the bookstore in the Russell House. They just put it in this year, and Tuesday and Wednesday, when I had had enough studying at the Library, I just shuffled on over to the Barnes and Noble Café, grabbed some dried fruit (coffee really isn’t my thing), dug in, and studied my anatomy. Taking breaks from anatomy was important, luckily I had statistics to take my mind off the Central Nervous System, the structure of the eye, and the path sound takes into the ear.

            Needless to say, I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep these past few days. I made a lot of friends with the workers at the Café, and stayed there until at least 11:30 the past few nights. However, I believe that hard work paid off, as I got through our 100 question comprehensive anatomy final at 9 this morning fairly well. I needed to pull off a 78 to keep my A that I had earned by doing well on the previous three tests, and I think I did just good enough to keep it. As for statistics, it seemed like kind of a let down after  the buildup of the Anatomy final, but that grade counts just as much as any other class. So, I was able to sneak in a couple of hours studying before that at 2:00 this afternoon. I think that Stats went good enough as well, as I only needed a 75 to keep my A. Luckily, we got to have a page of notes with the equations, so I think I scored high enough for what I wanted, the all important A.

As for now, I am just going to relax. I have one more final on Saturday at 2 in the afternoon for my speech class. I am not too worried about that one though, I have a solid A, and the teacher herself told us the final is not too hard. So, I will be able to study for that final tomorrow afternoon and evening. After that final though, I will be taking my roommate, Brad ’09 to the airport, and driving down to Hilton Head to stay the night with my Aunt and Uncle. Sunday, I fly out of Savannah, through Houston, and back home to the desert southwest of Tucson, Arizona, my home. I may be offline for a few days, but if y’all have any questions about here at USC, or anything about Arizona, just leave me a comment. Take Care!

Posted by Cory at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“It’s not how you start, but how you finish”. That’s the advice I have heard since I was a little guy back roaming the desert sands of Tucson. However, it proved to ring true yesterday. Allow me to set the scene: it was my birthday on December 10^th,  and I turned 20. Unfortunately, it fell right before finals week. So, just imagine what was on everyone’s mind this past weekend. That’s right, getting ready for those last exams of the semester.

 Luckily, we all need study breaks, so my friends and I decided it would be good to go out and have a “pre birthday dinner” on Saturday night. Since it was my special day (albeit a little early) I got to choose our restaurant. For me, it was a no-brainer: I wanted chicken wings. Fortunately, there is a new Wild Wing Café that just opened up here in the Vista about a month ago. I had been dreaming of indulging in those wings for about a week, and when the time came I was ready. I ate all 25 on my plate, but it wasn’t as easy as it used to be, as I have been known to down 40 in a sitting. I guess that it is just I am slowing down in my “old age”. After dinner, I went back to my apartment on campus, got my supplies, and it was off to the Barnes and Noble bookstore café at the Russell House for some late night studying. As I burned Organic Chemistry into my brain, the clock passed midnight, and I was officially 20! And how did I celebrate? By finishing off my studying by being kicked out at the 1 AM closing time. Honestly, I didn’t WANT to be studying on my birthday, but you just have to do what you have to do I suppose.

Sunday, I woke up after only 6 hours of sleep feeling refreshed at 8:30, still full from the large meal the night before. Feeling surprisingly energized, I went and did my Organic homework, and came back to my apartment and got several happy birthday calls from my family. It was business as usual in the afternoon, some organic, some anatomy, and finally some racquetball with Tim ’10. I got back just in time to shower and get to my organic review session at 7, which was helpful in the fact that I saw how much I knew compared to the other students who were asking questions that I knew the answer to. Overall, it was a nice confidence booster.  My stomach was aching for dinner, and since the review was at the Jones Physical Science Building, it was just across Main Street from Firehouse Subs, and I wanted to treat myself to a tasty sub. When I told Nick ’09, Melisa ’09 and Brad 09 I was going to eat, they seemed a little surprised, and when Brad asked if I was going to bring it back to eat it, I didn’t think anything of it.

Our room was dark when I got back looking at it from the outside, and I didn’t think too much off it, Brad and Nick were probably taking a study break and playing some Super Smash Brothers on the Nintendo 64, but I thought it was really weird that the door was locked. Why would they lock the door if they were inside? So, I opened the door, flipped on the light, and immediately dropped my sandwich: “Surprise!” The room was FULL of my friends! They had thrown me a surprise party! I was truly surprised, I had no idea it was coming. Apparently, a few of them had gotten the idea for it last week and the whole shindig had gotten organized. Needless to say, I was impressed and didn’t know what to say. It was complete with a cake and a piñata! A piñata! Of course, the only two they had left at the store was a pink pony and Dora the Explorer, so it was a glorious pink pony for Mr. Twenty Years Old (that’s me!) filled with all sorts of goodies. It wasn’t the goodies that I cared about, it was the room full of wonderful people who took time out of there very busy studying schedules for me, and I cannot express how grateful I am. This party is just one example of the great friends I have made here, and I could not ask for anything more. In case you couldn’t tell, I am really happy with it, and I even forgot about finals for a while too! All in all, it was a great birthday that started ok, but finished with a BANG! That’s all I got now for y’all, its time for one last day of studying before my first exam.

Posted by Cory at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Today was a little hectic, but in the end, has given me a break and a little peace of mind so that I will be able to hit it hard tomorrow studying for my finals. Allow me to recap: I had both my final speech of the semester, as well as my Organic Chemistry lab final.  Both went well, if my instincts are correct. I really didn’t worry too much about speech. It seems that a lot of folks don’t really like getting in front of people and speaking. I, on the other hand, seem to relish the spotlight, and really looked forward to giving me speech today. The excitement and preparation paid off, as my speech went smooth and I even got a couple of laughs that I was going for. So, at 315, I was done with that, on to the next adventure…

            At 5:00 was my organic chemistry final. It was a comprehensive test of every experiment that we had done this semester. I had been studying for it since this past Sunday. I must admit, I was a little worried, as I needed to know about 12 structures of organic compounds, which may not seem like a lot, but they start to get complicated after while. On top the structures, I needed to know many definitions as well as explanations. However, once again, the preparation paid off, and I left with a good feeling about it. So, hopefully, I will have locked up my second “A” of the semester, after exempting out of my physics final with an A. At 615, I was all done for the day, and for the semester with organic chemistry lab! It was time to celebrate!

            Yesterday was our friend Tim’s (10’) birthday, but we all had various things to be working on and clubs to be at, so we postponed his birthday dinner until tonight. We had a large crew going out too, it was eight of us: Tim, my roommates Brad 09’ and Nick 09’, as well as Melisa 09’( whose name, by the way, I misspelled last time, so I promised her I would correct it, Sorry Mel!), Sarah 09’, Sean 09’ and Morgan 09’ and myself. The birthday boy, Tim 10’, decided he wanted Olive Garden, and that’s what it was going to be. So, we went to Harbison, which is where the mall, several restaurants (including Olive Garden), and one of Columbia’s main movie theaters are. After a reasonable wait, it was time to grub. I hadn’t been out to the Olive Garden in a while, and it was a treat. Also, the eight of us hadn’t been together like this as a group together for at least a month, since we have all been busy with our various activities on top of school, and it was about as perfect of an evening as you could have asked for. It was a well needed break from thinking about finals looming next week as well. Which leaves me here right now, taking the rest of the night for myself, knowing that starting tomorrow, for a week straight, it will be study mode for Mr. Cory. So, if I do not write a lot, I hope you will understand. 

Posted by Cory at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. I woke up at around 815, and got a nice little morning weightlifting workout in at the Blatt PE Center. It was then time for my final Statistics Lab of the year! We got to test the absorbency of paper towels, what fun. In all fairness, statistics lab is not that difficult, it was just another class to check off the “no more of that for the semester” list. It was then off to Speech class, and to the bank to cash a check at the Bank of America on Gervais and Sumter Street (a short little 5 minute walk from campus.)

            I already mentioned how nice it was out today, although a bit cold, so I decided I needed some outside time. My roommate Brad 09’ and I hadn’t thrown the baseball in a while, and hadn’t done anything baseball related since our final softball game two weeks ago, the loss of which I am still bitter over. So, we headed out to the horseshoe around 4:30 and played some catch, if you can call it that. My arm isn’t what it used to be when I pitched in high school, and so it was more like a game of “chase”, as Brad had to run down quite a few errant throws on my part. It didn’t matter though, because it was the perfect time of the day, and there wasn’t a soul out there, probably because everyone else was already studying for finals. The leaves have turned on the trees, and they littered the ground with their reds, yellows, and oranges, and it was a nice break before starting up and getting into “finals study mode.”

            Well, I needed just one more break, and it just so happened that our neighbors across the hall have newly acquired a Wii video game system. Naturally, I needed to see what the fuss was all about, and it was pretty amazing! I made my own character, and then participated in Wii Sports. I played some baseball (of course), bowled, and played golf. I don’t know if I will be getting one for my birthday (which is coming up here on Sunday, in case you wanted to send a gift), but it is nice to know where I can find one. While most people were having a case of the “Mondays”, I was enjoying a relaxing and gorgeous day. Now, it is time for me to buckle down and really hit the books hard. I have my last speech on Wednesday, followed by Organic Chemistry Lab final. So, I guess now breaks here for at least a couple of days. Take Care!

Posted by Cory at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Humbled. I think that is the word that pretty much describes my feeling right now after volunteering at the USC challenge with my honor society, Alpha Lambda Delta. To help you understand, the USC challenge is an academic challenge for high schools here in South Carolina. We had schools from all over the state come and compete at the Russell House, answering some really difficult questions. Let’s just say that I felt like a pretty smart guy, you know, being in the Honors College here and sporting a solid GPA, but after seeing a lot of those high school students, I was left doubting my abilities (at least for now).

            Today, my job was basically to keep the time for questions, as there was a limit, and to keep score. While I was counting the seconds in my head, I often found myself trying to answer the questions. I honestly think that out of about 150 questions I heard today, I could have gotten about 15 of them correctly. There were questions from ranging from biology, to chemistry, and literature to ancient history. I felt good about answering a couple biology and chemistry questions, but was embarrassed when I didn’t know the majority of them. Most of the time, the moderator couldn’t finish the entire question before it was somehow answered by a student after hearing only a couple of key words. If these students are any representation of what the next freshman class at USC will be like, I am definitely going to have to step up my game in the classroom to keep up.

            In all honesty though, it was really cool to see how these academic athletes applied themselves and worked hard so that they knew all of this information so well. They do all of this on top of the regular schoolwork that they have to do. I think that is pretty commendable. All in all, I walked away with a new appreciation of all the knowledge out there, and I just might have learned that I am not the smartest guy I know. Anyways, that’s about all I got for y’all know. Take care.

Posted by Cory at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)