Cory's Blog

I am sure you all are just sitting on the edge of your seats, anticipating and waiting breath for the finale of “Cory Jenks: International Celebrity” but first I have to talk to you about something. Something special. Something rare. Something that I just realized when I went to satisfy your craving for the cliffhanger I left you last time. I will be celebrating my second anniversary of blogging here in the next few weeks, and along the lines of blog longevity or “blogevity” as I just made up, I realized that my next post would by my 200th!The BICENTENIAL so to speak. As such, my international story of celebrity had to wait so that I could make my 200th blog extra special.

A lot of milestones bring with them sappy, overdone tributes that look back at the past. Others, like television shows celebrating certain milestones, just take the lazy route and use clips from their previous episodes leading to their milestone. I think I’ll go ahead and be lazy and take the “montage” approach.

Although I say this is MY 200th, I have to admit that it has been OUR journey. I have written them, but you all have followed my trip through college via my blogs. Where have we gone? Well, way back in 06’ you heard about when baseball’s Hit King Pete Rose called me out when he came to campus to speak to us. You were there when my friend Jenna surprised my for my 20th birthday (what a way to get me out of my teens!).

Moving on to 2007, I shared with you my love of the (now defunct) Banana Pudding Wednesdays and you were there when I got “The Call” saying had been admitted to pharmacy school. We have shared the thrill of victory when we won our intramural basketball championship and you felt the agony defeat (several times) when we were unable to bring in the intramural softball crown (or racquetball, or flag football, or basketball...again).

We took a fun vacation to Chicago, and saw Wrigley Field for the first time. There was the excitement of starting pharmacy school, and the harsh reality of all the work that came with. We took a trip to Virginia for Thanksgiving, and got stuck in Houston for 5 hours on our flight back home to Arizona. Then we learned about Nuclear Pharmacy (and how to pronounce it) and to also make friend with federal prosecutors that you play racquetball against.

So we are here, now, at the start of a new school year, blog number 200 and going strong! Thanks for sharing all the time with me, and here’s to many more! And as always…take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So by now I am sure you all know that I am pretty much a national celebrity. What, with my appearance on ESPN and numerous USC mailers that have gone out to prospective students, I am practically a household name and face by now. All of that fame is nice, it really is, but what about INTERnational fame? Am I known from countries across Europe and down through the Middle East. As a matter of fact, I am! Allow me to let you in on those details!

In case I have let it slip and not told you, I am from a faraway state known as “Arizona” where there is no grass, the green on trees is found on their trunk (google “Palo Verde tree”), and the rivers contain no water. Despite my efforts, it appears I have left some sort of mark on the folks back there because they seem to remember me a little bit for some reason. Anyways, I realized my international celebrity status this summer when my well-traveled friend Jenna was spending her time abroad in Spain. I had just arrived home from work when I saw a message on my phone. I picked it up and proceeded to hear the most interesting/exciting message in the history…of the world!

Apparently, my current awesome USC friend Jenna had met a couple of girls in Spain at a restaurant. Nothing spectacular right? Well, as the conversation continues and Jenna learns that Jodi and Melanie are students at Arizona State University. Jenna says, “How weird, I have a friend at USC from Arizona, but he was from Tucson and he played baseball in high school etc. (and by etc I am sure much more glowing facts about her AWSOME friend Cory). Jodi and Melanie look at each other and proceed to explain that THEY had a friend in high school back in Tucson who also played baseball and went to USC. They then asked, and I am not even kidding, “Are you friends with Cory Jenks!?”

Needless to say the following scene was pretty exciting indeed. I mean what are the odds: two people whom I went to high school with…in Arizona running into my friend from here in South Carolina. Oh ya, and said meeting to place in SPAIN! I will tell you what the odds are: pretty high when you consider what a national and INTERnational celebrity I truly am. I can only assume that the next several minutes were full of more glowing praise for yours truly.

Unfortunately I was at work and was not able to take Jenna’s phone call, and had to hear about this afterwards via Jenna. Despite getting the play by play at a later date, it doesn’t take away from my INTERnational fame if you ask me. As amazing as this meeting of Cory’s friend was, it was not the only time it happened during the summer. That story deserves another blog for another day, so you will just have to wait in anticipation for my next tale of INTERnational fame! Adios and take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah yes, getting back to school. I have spoken of the hospitality of the fine folks such as myself who were at the service of the incoming freshman, breaking our backs and our Saturday plans mind you, to help them get settled, moved in, and feel welcome. There was the convocation, the first year reading experience, and several other back to school events that made students from freshman to even fourth year pharmacy students feel welcome and happy to be back here at Carolina. However, I think there were a few people who didn’t get the “welcome back” memo.

Don’t get me wrong. These are some pretty good people (don’t you just love those descriptive adjectives!) that I speak of, but for some reason they didn’t make me feel very welcome at all. I suppose I should just go ahead and put this little blog into some context that you have a chance of actually understanding.

Let us travel back to last spring. The year was 2008. The month was March/April”ish”. It was my third year of college, and I was taking advantage of the fantastic intramural program we have here. I was doing my best to make the trip up the racquetball “ladder”. My athletic journey was going well. So well in fact that I was in the semifinals of the racquetball ladder where I was pitted against Stoyan, a graduate student from Bulgaria. He stood between myself and the finals, and I was not going to yield. After a couple of quick sets, I was the winner and in the finals!

Waiting for me there was my friend Charlie, who had taken the sport a mere year before in the spring of 2007. Seeing him in the finals just a year after beginning playing showed he obviously came a long way from when we first started playing. So far in fact that he beat me in the finals…but that’s just boring details. That’s the past and who wants to dredge that up.

Back to this week when I met Charlie and Stoyan for my “rude welcome back.” I had not had the chance to play any racquetball since I left Arizona back in the beginning of June, and despite continuing to work out over the summer, I was definitely NOT in racquetball shape. Any doubts I may have had were quickly erased by a 15-3 thrashing at the hands of good ol’ Charlie. He had me running all over the court, and by the time I was done, I was actually a little embarrassed and very happy to be over with our first match.

Perhaps Stoyan, the one who I had actually BEAT in the playoffs would be an easier match. He asked how my first match with Charlie had gone, to which I replied, “He embarrassed me.” Stoyan simply said, “I’d like to do the same.” I think a little revenge was on his mind. Anyways, he got his “revenge” to the tune of a 15-4 shellacking at my expense. By the end of the matches, I was tired, sore, and downright frustrated at the prospect of a semester of racquetball like this!

Not to worry though sports fans! After my short walk back across the Assembly Street bridge to my apartment, I realized that they had been playing all summer while I had had no practice until a couple of days prior to our matches. I also looked back and realized the kind of player I know I am when I am in “shape.” So, I think I will take it a match at a time, remain calm, and maybe work in a lot of extra practice when I can! Until next time, I will try and get a little bit nicer welcome from the other people I haven’t seen all summer. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 05:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Monday, the battle began, and no I am not taking abut the battle against finals. No I am talking about the annual battle of the classes in the college of pharmacy. The annual tilt pitted me and my P 1’s against the P2’s and P3’s in a daily “theme” war culminating with the much-anticipated “Spring Games” on Friday. It was a chance for us all to show some spirit and have some fun along the way.

As I mentioned above, each day last week was a “theme” day. Monday was pajama day, and I obliged by wearing my Carolina PJ bottoms to class. Tuesday was Favorite Sports Team Day, which was not hard for me at all. A Cubs jersey and hat took care of my daily spirit. Wednesday was when things started to get real interesting, as our theme was Tacky Day. Seeing as how I am pretty much the world’s sharpest dresser, wearing something tacky was just not going to be able to happen. However, thanks to a little creativity, some masking tape, and a box of thumbtacks, I had my tacky outfit: a simple t-shirt and shorts, complete with that box of tacks taped onto my arm. Thursday was especially fun because it was hat day. For me, hat day is usually every day so I needed to bring my best. Lucky for me I just happened to have a sombrero hanging around (don’t ask me why) and I walked into class complete with a big ol’ sombrero! It was a good thing the people sitting behind me are sort of tall, and were sort of absent, or else they would have had a pretty rough time seeing the front of class.

All of this brings me to Friday, which was class color day. For the P1’s, we had to wear red, which was no problem. The really big deal on Friday was our class picnic, complete with the “spring games,” a competition between the classes. The P2’s were bragging pretty hard since they were the defending champs. I had high hopes for our P1 squad, but after a weak showing in the hoola hoop contest (with no help from me!), an embarrassing exit from the tug of war (you should see the SIZE of those P2’s!), and a heartbreaking loss in our volleyball match, it didn’t take a pharmacist to be able to count our chances of winning as pretty much nothing.

In the end, our class did bring up last place, but most importantly, we all enjoyed ourselves. While there was definitely some good natured ribbing going on, it was all in the spirit of fun and after a long year, or in the case of the P3’s three long years, of pharmacy school, it was great to get out and enjoy ourselves before we jump headfirst into finals. Despite the good fun, I would have liked to have brought home the win, and mark my words, we will be gunning for those P2’s next year! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What time did you get up on Saturday? 9, 10 o’clock. Maybe you got up really early, like at 8. Myself, I wanted an early start, so I set the ol’ alarm for 3:45. That is 3:45 AM in case you were wondering. Why such an early start? I needed to get up and going to drive down to Charleston for the 31st annual Cooper River Bridge Run.

So, with barely four hours of sleep under my droopy eyes I drove over to Chad’s apartment and he, his wife and I made the drive down to Charleston. Normally I wouldn’t be getting up that early to run 10k, but this was a special event because for the second year in a row the College of Pharmacy has run as a group, complete with our own t-shirts and post-run party at none other than the Dean’s house!

All of us pharmacy school members met at Dean DiPiro’s house and headed over to the start the run at around 7 in the morning. Once we got there, it was a sight to see around 40,000 other runners, joggers, and walkers, many dressed up in costumes from a banana to a wedding cake! At 8 the race officially began, and with little room to maneuver we were forced to walk for a bit, but then were able to jog it out for about a half mile. At that point a few (untamed) members of our group didn’t want to run, so for the sake of fun (and the fact that certain members had the car keys) we walked the majority of the race, which was alright with me too. The views were breathtaking, especially once on the bridge.

The race ended as we ran along King Street, flanked by all sorts of restaurants tempting me with their aromas, but there would time for eating at the Dean’s house. Once we had finished and gotten back to our car, we drove back to the Dean DiPiro’s house for some relaxation and tasty food!

The spread was fantastic, from burgers to barbeque and all sorts of goodies in between. I think I broke more of a sweat pounding down the food than I did walking the race, but the important thing is that I broke a sweat. Aside from the tasty food, it was fun to see other pharmacy schoolers out of the school element just relaxing and enjoying themselves. It was a fantastic way to socialize, and to top it off several of our professors made the trip to run and over to the Dean’s house. Seeing our Patho teacher just schmoozing around and not teaching us the repertory system was a nice change of pace.

At the end of the day, the rumored rain had held off, we had enjoyed a fun race, and gotten to enjoy ourselves at the Dean’s house. Not to mention we got back to Columbia almost twelve hours to the minute after I had woken up that morning. All in a day’s fun I guess. In any case, I am already looking forward to next year, and (certain members) of our group are determined to run the whole race next year. I can’t wait! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is a holiday for me. And while literally I am on “holiday” since spring break is this week, there is an official holiday I am celebrating. I’ll bet you are having some problems figuring it out. Here is your first hint: today’s date is March 11th, or, numerically, 3-11. Getting any ideas here? I have a final hint for you that will most likely just give it away, but I must be moving on in this post so here it goes: my favorite band is…311! Alas, it is 311 DAY! Time to celebrate by listening to some 311 tunes, wearing my 311 shirt, and while I couldn’t make it to the big concert celebration in New Orleans, I will share with you some of my favorite 311 lyrics that hit home, inspire, and help me to get through some tougher days of class and life in general. Without further adieu, here are three of my favorite lyrical lines:

"When the day is done, what you receive is the sum of what you took out from what you put in”

This comes from the song “Paradise” from their album “Music.” I try to look at this line, which is posted prominently on my desk, at the end of each day and ask myself if I really put all I could into that day. It also helps me reflect and improve on what the next day will bring. On top of all that, I find it a catchy line that keeps me from any slacking so at the end of the day, I can at least feel I have gotten the most that I possibly can.

"If there’s a shadow in your life then there’s sunshine”

The second lyric comes from the song “Speak Easy” from their most recent album “Don’t Tread On Me.” I really like this line because even when life is going along great, something can come along and really knock you off your feet and get you down in a hurry. Maybe a test didn’t go so well, or you have what seems like a million things to get done during the week, or perhaps that person in your group project slacked off so you are stuck with the work. Let me tell you from experience, it is no fun at all. Lucky for me, when I feel down, I think that even when there is something in my life that isn’t great, or if I am feeling a little blue, there is still some “sunshine” hiding out there somewhere that is casting the shadow on me and if I can just keep going with my current poor situation, it will eventually end and be alright in the end.

Finally, the third 311 lyric comes from the song “All Mixed Up” from their self-titled album “311.” It goes a little like this:

"You’ve got to trust your instincts, and let go of regret. You’ve got to bet on yourself now star, cuz’ that’s your best bet. Watch me now with the wickety wow!”

These particular lines come in handy for me on a daily basis as I am faced with all sorts of choices (for anyone who has eaten out with me, they know I have notorious food ordering qualms) from what classes to take, what I want to do with my day, and if that answer on the exam is A or B (or is it all of the above?). A lot of the time, these decisions are not so easy, and it comes down to just going with what you believe will be the best for you, so trusting your instinct and letting go of any regret that you may have allows you to make those decisions with confidence without looking back with a second thought. Oh ya, that line, “watch me now with the wickety wow”, is open to your own interpretation. I see it as just relaxing, being yourself, and perhaps acting a little goofy at times, but most importantly having fun with what you are doing.

So, that is my ode on 311 Day, I hope that even if you are not a big 311 fan, you can appreciate just a small sampling of their introspective lyrics that definitely have a big impact on my life, from finding inspiration from lyrics to just relaxing myself in the music at the end of a long day. That’s all I got for you for now, but let me end my post with the same words that 311’s lead singer, Nick Hexum, leaves us fans at the end of each concert: “Stay positive and love your life.” Take care!

Posted by Cory at 06:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

in case you were wondering, today is Wednesday. Sounds really simple right? Well, in some circles Wednesday is known as “hump day” or “the middle of the week” or, if you remember a classic blog from last year, it can also be known as “Banana Pudding Wednesday.” However, for the past three years during a glorious 4 to 6 months of the year, Wednesday has also been known to me and some friends as “holy cow did you see what happened on ‘Nip/Tuck’ last night!?” day.

lengthy name indeed, but true nonetheless. Before I came here as a freshman, I had gotten heavily involved in watching the controversial Tuesday night drama about two plastic surgeons. As luck would have it, Brad, who lived on my floor, also enjoyed Nip/Tuck. So, ever since freshman year it has been a Tuesday night tradition to sit down on and watch some “Nip/Tuck”.

year, it was exceptionally easy to catch every Tuesday night episode since we lived together along with my fellow pharmacy school companion Nick. However, this year, Brad moved off campus, and so watching every episode was a little more complicated. Oftentimes one of us was too busy to make the drive to each other’s respective place of residence. So, this year more than the last two Wednesday was all about debriefing the previous night’s episode.

, last week was the final episode of the season, and in true Nip/Tuck form, they left us with a “doosy” of a cliffhanger to keep us coming back for the next season. Not that they needed something like that to keep our attention, but it makes me pine for next year’s season that much more.

then, I guess I am just going to have to find something to do with my Tuesday nights and Wednesdays until next year’s season. Frankly, I am at a bit of a loss for what to do, but hopefully I can find something productive to occupy my time. Perhaps you have some suggestions? Anyways, take care!

Posted by Cory at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you all can think back to last fall, you may remember I had a post called “Roasted”. It was about the fall social oyster roast between the campus in Columbia and Charleston that was held in Folley Beach down in Charleston. We had a nice tour of the campus, a delicious spread, and, my personal favorite, karaoke. Well, this Saturday, it was Charleston’s turn to come on OUR turf up in Columbia and see what life was like sitting in our seats and what we do for fun in OUR city.

The day began at around 1 in the afternoon with a relaxing lunch in our student study lounge in Coker Life Sciences. We then got a presentation about financial planning and building a resume. Both were very informative, and the financial planning one really caught our attention. Not to mention it got me thinking about retirement already. I mean, retirement? I haven’t even graduated yet and now I should be adding retirement to my list of things on my mind.

While the lunch and presentations were nice, the real fun began when we migrated over the Jillian’s in the Vista for the “social” part of the day, themed (to my enjoyment) “Spring Training: Play Ball!” The social was great because it got people from both campuses up and moving around and meeting one another. You notice I said “people,” not just “students.” You see, the social was not only for students but several faculty members made the trip up from Charleston and from here in Columbia as well. I must admit I was just a little surprised to see our Med Chem teacher rubbing elbows with us students (especially the day after our grades came out from our first test!).

The evening really got going when the trivia started. Everyone got into teams of 5 or 6, with the top three finishers getting some pretty nifty prizes. Everything from politics to movies was questioned of us, and while my particular team did not land in the top three at the end of the game, the evening of quizzing was still something I would like to get out and do again sometime soon!

With trivia behind us, it was time for the fan favorite of karaoke! Now, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the spotlight just a little bit, and so when nobody was brave enough to sing the first song, I got up on stage and stayed true to my Blues Brothers roots. It was no “Soul Man” this time, but a little “Everybody Needs Somebody.” The crowd response was through the roof. They were even throwing plush baseballs at me because they liked me so much! (At least that is what I have kept telling myself). Several other brave souls got up there and showed off their pipes before the night was done as well. I don’t know if they lived up to the standard I had set, but overall it was quite a sight and sound!

So, Charleston came, they ate, mingled, and even sang a little bit. I hope they had a good time as well. I know I certainly did. In fact, I can’t wait until our next social in the fall when we get to meet back up with our pharmacy peers to the South on I-26. Until then, I think I need to start working on my random trivia knowledge and singing voice! Take Care!

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            I have never really been one for oysters. In fact, I have never been a huge fan of seafood. I would go so far as to say that I really don’t like seafood at all, and the thought of it alone is enough to set my face to “icky” as I imagine that distinct taste and smell. Knowing my disdain for food that swims, what then, was I doing at an oyster roast in Charleston on Saturday? The answer, my anxious readers, it that it was a social event put on by the South Carolina College of Pharmacy to bring the two campuses (Charleston and the one I go to here in Columbia) together for some food, fun, and even some singing performances.

            My day began as I drove down to Charleston with Ryan, Chad, and Chad’s lovely wife Jen: Ryan and Chad both being in pharmacy school with me here, and interestingly enough Chad’s wife, Jen being a graduate of pharmacy school here. We arrived at the campus at MUSC in Charleston around noon and were treated to a tasty lunch of sandwiches, followed by a presentation, and one of the coolest parts of the day: a tour of their campus.

            The unique part about the pharmacy school at MUSC is that it is built right into a hospital. So as you leave class, you are immediately immersed in the bustle of an actual hospital. Along the tour we got to see their classrooms, as well as the most interesting part, their “patho lab”. The patho lab is basically a collection of specimens of different diseases of the human body preserved in formaldehyde. So, in case you were wondering what a lacerated liver looked like, I could describe it to you in great detail thanks to my visit.

            Once our tour was over, we headed to Folly Beach for the oyster roast itself. Lucky for Chad, Jen, and myself, there was plenty of food that was not oysters. We all enjoyed some good ol’ all American hot dogs, chili, and macaroni and cheese. Here is a picture of me waiting to pounce on my plate mac and cheese.

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            Perhaps the only thing that was better than the food was the spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean the party afforded us. We were there early enough to get a chance to see the sunset, and boy was it a beauty! One of the prettiest I have even seen. Some scenery that may not be quite as breathtaking, but still cool to me is the picture below of me, Ryan, and Chad, left to right along the boardwalk.

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            I mentioned earlier about some “singing performances” and I just know that you are on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what that could mean. Lucky for us pharmacy students, there was a DJ there to spin some tunes. This DJ did not just bring music; he brought an instant party on a screen. That’s right, I am talking Karaoke! Immediately, I was there to put in my request. It wasn’t that I HAD to be first, but we were planning on leaving early to go see the USC basketball game, and time was a factor.

            Lucky for me, I was the first to put my request in, Are you ready for my selection? Alright, for about three and a half minutes, I put on a show for the ages to the tune of “Soul Man” by the Blues Brothers! It is my karaoke specialty, and in my humble opinion, I nailed it! The audience seemed to enjoy it almost as much as I did!

            So, with a belly full of food, a mind full of beach images, and a performance of a lifetime, it was time to head back up I-26 to Columbia. It was nice to finally have a relatively free weekend to completely relax and enjoy myself. The only problem is it makes me wish they were all like that! Unfortunately, it is not meant to be. In fact, I have to be hitting the books for a final test and quiz before Turkey Day break!

Take care…from the Soul Man himself!

Posted by Cory at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Looking back in the past at a sad or tragic event is not something easy to do. I am sure we all look back at the loss of a friend or loved one, and remember how much it hurt, how tragic it may have been and how deep the wound still may be. The shock and sadness can be overwhelming, but in that darkness there often comes a light. For me personally, I remember the night my grandmother passed away, I was playing a baseball game, and as soon as it ended, I cried my eyes out. Her passing, however, gave birth to a new and closer relationship with my grandfather that has carried on to this day. Did it make all of the hurt go away? No, but something positive was still able to arise.

            What is the point of relating this sad story? Because within the last two weeks, USC has endured a terrible tragedy that has brought sadness across the campus, yet has allowed us to become more unified. The event, as you may have seen on the news, occurred at a beach house in North Carolina where six USC students, and one Clemson student were killed in a fire.

            When I heard the news, I, like the majority of campus reacted initially with shock. We could not believe that something so terrible could happen to our fellow students. I was left searching the internet and watching the TV for news and updates, as in those first few hours the information was sporadic, and it wasn’t until the middle of the week when we learned the names of our classmates.

            While collectively we mourned as a campus, seven memorials were set up on Greene Street in front of the Russell House where cards, flowers, and notes were placed. Vigils and services were held, and as a student body we came together to honor the seven students. In addition to these memorials, our football team wore a sticker with the inscription “Forever to Thee” on their helmets this past weekend in the students’ honor. In case you were wondering, the words “Forever to Thee” have a very deep meaning at Carolina as it is the last line in our alma mater.

            Why didn’t I write about all of this right when it occurred? I decided to wait a while before writing about this because I wanted some time for things to settle down around here, to wait until emotions subsided a bit, and so that I could try and put together a clearer picture for you of how we as a campus reacted, came together, and continue to cope with our loss.

            Did I personally know any of the students killed? The answer is no. It doesn’t matter though, because this event shook me as a Carolina student. When those members of our community were lost, we all felt it. We all felt the pain. We all felt the sadness. We felt the shock. One thing was for certain though: we all came together.

Posted by Cory at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            As the saying goes, “it’s like school on Friday, no class.” Hold on, isn’t it supposed to be like school on Saturday? Usually the answer would be yes. However, today the college of pharmacy had no class! The reason you ask? Since we are merged with the campus at MUSC in Charleston, and today was their “research” day, and they have no class on research day, neither did the campus here at Columbia! I say it was s about time that we pharmacy students finally got a break from class!

            I was puzzled with how to spend my time since I normally do not get to have entire days off. So what did I do? First things first, I slept in! It was everything I had hoped for and more. After catching up on my Z’s, I headed over to Blatt for an early morning workout in the weight room. With some reps under my belt, it was time to eat lunch, and since I wasn’t rushing around going to classes, I was able to actually meet my friend, Jenna 09’, and sit down and talk over lunch at Russell House for an entire hour! An hour to have a relaxing lunch has certainly become a luxury these days.

            When lunch was over with, Jenna and I parted ways, and I headed over to the Barnes and Noble Bookstore Café in the bookstore to get a quick hour of studying in because I had plans later in the afternoon. What kind of plans? Why my weekly golf outing with Brad 09’of course! We met up and drove over to the Northwoods Golf Course and got a quick 9 in before the sun went down.

            This Class Free Friday was not over when the last ball found hole on the 9^th green, because us two boys were hungry! We agreed pizza sounded good, and decided to split a pie at Village Idiot in Five Points. Brad had never eaten there, and needed some convincing to go, but within a couple of bites, he was convinced we had made a good choice. His only disappointment was that he hadn’t eaten there sooner!

            So, that was my “classless” day in a quick nutshell. A lot of fun, a little work, and no time spent in Coker Life Science 211 (our pharmacy classroom). Not a bad day in the least, and there is more fun to come tomorrow. Stay tuned for that! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alright boys and girls, it’s time for us to join Mr. Peabody and Sherman and take a trip in the “Wa-baac” machine (excuse the Rocky and Bullwinkle show reference) to a time when we all were in grade school. Join me as I take my personal journey to an era when having time to watch Saturday morning cartoons was a luxury I thought would never end. One of my favorite shows, albeit not a cartoon, was “Bill Nye: The Science Guy.” Remember? Remember how he made science cool (not that it needs that much help, I mean, c’mon, science rocks!)? Remember how it all related to real life? And remember, most importantly, the awesome theme song? You know the one I am talking about. Does the chant, “Bill Bill Bill Bill?” evoke some memories? That is what I thought.

            You may be wondering why I am bringing up such a wondrous figure from our childhood. The answer, quite simply, is that I and many of my close friends here at USC got to see him LIVE and IN PERSON last night at the Koger Center. It was a blast from the past as the slightly aged, but ever energetic, passionate, and dare I say nerdy (in a good way, and in all fairness it takes one to know one) Nye treated us to a night of science, space, and a glimpse of the future.

            He spent a lot of time relating his time working on space projects to the current missions in outer space. In addition to his commentary on space, he devoted a lot of time to showing us the science behind a lot of today’s global problems. There was one aspect of Nye that was ever present, and that was his passion of inspiring us to great things with our minds. He challenged us to, in his own words, “Dare I say…change the world.”

            His time on stage definitely opened my eyes to possibilities of using our resources more efficiently, helping the environment, and living up to his phrase “Get more from less.” Even as a 20 year old college junior, I felt like the 8 year old that grew up watching the same man on TV, complete with my same laughter, wonder, and excitement with what the world can bring.

            While we were sad when his time on stage was finished, the students were all left entertained, with a bit of that childhood wonder still in their faces, myself included. I feel like going out and trying to save the world right now, but I think that I will stick to what I can do around here, for the time being that is.

            Until next time, remember, science is cool! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Have you ever been home while your parents went away on vacation, and they trusted you to keep the house clean and neat until they got back? You know, wash the dishes, take the dog out, and no big parties! Of course you never do what they ask you, and just hours before your parents come home, the house is a mess, and you have to frantically clean it up.

            Well, my parents were coming to visit as part of their vacation this week, but the process was still the same: Sunday morning it was time to clean out the sink, put the dishes away, and make up for a few weeks worth of not dusting so that the pad looked pretty for the “P’s”.

            So, with my apartment clean, I went to pick them up from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, which is just a short 15 minute drive west of campus. I hadn’t seen them in a couple of months, and to be truthful, I think I may have been more excited to see them then the other way around! Either way you look at it, all parties were happy when the plane was on the ground and I was driving my parents to campus.

            We hit the Publix first to do some grocery shopping (hey, when your parents travel 2000 miles from Arizona to see you, you gotta milk it for all its worth!), dropped the goodies off at the newly cleaned apartment, and were off to a delicious dinner at California Dreaming on Main Street.

            After dinner, my parents took my car down to my Aunt and Uncle’s place in Hilton Head for the week ,but rest assured, they will be back Friday for all of the festivities of parents weekend coming up! So stay tuned for that, and in the mean time, do your parents a favor and clean a dish or vacuum a room or something! I am sure they’ll appreciate it! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            We have all heard how the song “Yankee Doodle Dandy” goes right? It goes a little something like “Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his cap, and called it macaroni.” and so on and so forth. Today, I was able to rewrite the original lyrics thanks to my own goofy antics.

            Allow me to set the stage: I was sitting in Coker Life Science Room 211, which is basically my home away from home, taking in my Physiology lecture from Dr. Hofseth. I had a pencil in one hand and a highlighter in the other, at the ready to take copious notes. While I was ready, my mind, as well as the majority of the class, was thinking about the Biochemistry test coming up in the next period. So after drifting through fifty minutes of lecture about inflammation, I put my Physiology notebook away, clipped my highlighter to my hat (do you see where I am going with this?) and was locked and loaded for my Biochemistry test!

            Fast forward through 45 minutes of scouring over the test, bubbling in answers on my scantron test sheet, double checking my responses, changing a couple, and it was time to get out of class and be free for the day! I put my pencil away in my backpack, turned my exam in, and I was out the door to sunny Sumter Street!

            As I was walking out, I noticed I was getting some strange looks, I mean, more than I usually get that is. After a couple more people looked at me with their heads cocked to the sides, I noticed a weird shape in my shadow on the ground that was sticking off of my hat. Wouldn’t you know that I left my highlighter clipped to my hat!

            In my worry about the test, I had completely forgotten about my improvised “storage” unit for my highlighter. Needless to say, I immediately took off the highlighter, feeling pretty embarrassed to be honest, but I couldn’t help but laugh at myself anyways. After a weekend of studying for my biochemistry test today, as well as a calculation and terminology quiz, I needed a good laugh, even if it was at my own expense.

            So, in my head, the “Yankee Doodle Dandy” title was switched to “Cory Doodle Doofus”. I also came up with lyrics, try and sing along!  It goes a little something like “Cory Michael, went to class, worrying ‘bout his biochem, stuck a marker in his hat, and everyone points and laughs at him!” I don’t know how well that works with the tune of the original song, but it helped ease my tense mind after my exam, and hopefully you got a chuckle out of it as well.

            That’s all for now, until next time, I’ll try to keep from looking foolish, and y’all take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Pharmacy students, as whole, are pretty high strung. Alright, we are very high strung. In fact, sometimes it feels like after all the nights of studying and sweating out our numerous exams, that we are like a guitar string that is just a note away from snapping, messing up the harmony of a beautiful song (pretty cool analogy huh?).

            Luckily in our class here at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, we have three great officers: Elliot, Doni, and me! Together, we decided to plan a P-1 Outing (P-1 being our class standing in pharmacy, we are the lowest of four years, kind of like freshman) to help relax our stressed minds, have some FUN and get to know our fellow classmates

            We began a couple of weeks go by looking over our test schedule to find a clear time when we wouldn’t have a test looming the next day, which is no easy task. In reading through our calendar, we found Tuesday to be good, as it came on the heels of a pretty intense week of two tests, two quizzes, and a presentation for everyone. More important though was that it came with the fact that we had no test on Wednesday to worry about.

            Now that we had our date, we had to figure out what to do. Since this was our first outing, we decided to keep it simple and try for dinner. After mulling about a couple of possibilities, we decided on the aptly named “Mellow Mushroom” pizzeria for our relaxing outing of stressed students. We picked Mellow Mushroom because of their good pizza, good prices, and the crucial ability of them to host around 55 hungry students!

            You are reading that correctly, we were able to get 55 of 110 students in our class to come out. That may not seem like a huge number, but trying to get 55 people in the same room for class is hard enough, but to get them all to come out and eat dinner on their own time is pretty good if you ask me! We sweetened the deal by offering a gift card to a local sandwich shop to everyone who could get their money in to us early: A crafty move by the officers, if I do say so myself.

            Overall, we had a fantastic time, and with a day of a test and quiz behind our class, everyone was ready to relax and chow down! While the tests don’t seem to end, I think that an outing like tonight can help end our apprehension, or at least our hunger for pizza!

            Until next time, take care and mellow out!

Posted by Cory at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Question: What have I and literally thousands of other students at USC been waiting for since April? Fact: We were waiting for this past Thursday night. Question: What was the occasion? Fact: The season premiere of “The Office.”

            Question: Why have I started my blog with these weird “question” and “fact” phrases? Fact: This is how Dwight Kurt Schrute, a character from The Office talks, and I was alluding to him.

            Sorry if that opening paragraph confused some of you who aren’t “Office Nuts” like me. I’ll bring us back to the real world where Dunder Mifflen is just a fictitious paper supply company in Scranton Pennsylvania and where I and several friends had an “Office Party” Thursday night to enjoy the season premiere. Yes, there were many questions to be answered and laughs to be had in the daily lives of the bumbling life of Michael Scott’s (Steve Carrell’s character) office and we were ready for it all!

            My friend Doni, who is a fellow pharmacy school student, invited me, Nick, and several others of us over to her apartment for some pizza, brownies, and fantastic TV. Let me tell you, after a very hard week, us three pharmacy majors were especially ready for a break and a good laugh. Lucky for us, The Office picked right up where it left off with its hilarious antics, zany characters, and developing romance of two of the office members (Oh ya, it is getting interesting between Pam and Jim!).

            The show left us in stitches, and afterwards, the whole crew watched the season premiere of “Gray’s Anatomy.” That is, the whole crew minus me. I got out of there before Gray’s started because to be honest with you, I just really can’t get into it. People tell me I’m missing out, but I think I’ll stick to the original medical drama, ER!

            I don’t want you all to get me wrong, while I do enjoy a good TV show, having the time to devote to an hour straight of the “tube” is not common for me, as I am typically too busy, but once or twice a week, it is nice to just sit down and let the television do the talking for me. My TV time is usually limited to The Office, an episode of Pardon the Interruption or two, and usually a baseball game or two per week.

            Anyways, those are my “facts” about our little “Office Party.” If you have the time this week, do yourself a favor and catch The Office. I promise you, it won’t disappoint! That’s all I got for now folks, time to start counting down to episode two! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 06:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            The term “suitcase college” was thrown around a lot over the last two summers while I worked orientation. The phrase was brought up by parents who were worried that USC didn’t have enough to do on the weekends, and so their students would “pack up their suitcase” and go home every weekend. Some parents wanted their student to have something to do on the weekends, while others just seemed to want little Suzy or Johnny out of the house for good!

            For those parents genuinely concerned about students having opportunities to have fun and enjoy themselves on the weekend, I could say without a doubt that USC is most certainly NOT a suitcase college. In the fall, we can always count on Carolina Football games to give us all an event for Saturdays. However, what about those weekends when Coach Spurrier hits the road with the squad? Should we just expect to pack up the suitcase and head home to Mom and Dad for some home cookin’? Well, for an out of state student like myself, this is not an option, but luckily USC and the City of Columbia in general have plenty to keep us busy.

            This weekend is a prime example of what I am talking about. The Gamecocks are on the road at LSU, and so what should we do without football to watch? Well, the City of Columbia is offering up its “Greek Fest” this weekend. A short trip down Sumter Street will take you to all of the food, music, and fun of Greek Culture.

            Friday night also offered a couple of fun options. First, a student run sketch comedy group had a show at Trustus Theater, which is a five minute drive to the Vista. On top of that, out on the Horseshoe, you could go “Shagging at Midnight” where one could practice the native South Carolina dance, the shag, with fellow classmates. In fact, the problem Friday was not having enough to do, but having too many choices: a nice problem to have, if I do say so myself.

            Aside from these events, I was able to volunteer at the USC open house on Saturday through my honor society, which illustrates another point: getting involved automatically gets you meeting new people and offers an outlet for fun weekend events. I met most of my friends that I hang out with on the weekend through my student organizations and intramural teams.

            What I have just told you is still only one weekends worth! I have barely scratched the surface of what else there is to do on the weekends, but my fingers are getting tired, and I want to get up, get out, and get going on to a new weekend adventure. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            We all need a good laugh now and again. A good chuckle is great for the soul, and it’s good for you too. As a future health professional, I plan on taking the phrase “Laughter is the best medicine” to my patients and hopefully use some humor to help them feel better.

            Sometimes though, the one doing the healing needs some help as well, and let me tell you, I needed a good laugh this Tuesday after my “long day” of the week, going from 8 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon in the classroom. Luckily for me and my fellow Gamecocks, Carolina Productions, the student group that brings entertainment to campus, had booked a hilarious comedian to soothe my long day blues away with an hour of uproarious laughter.

            What talent was Carolina Productions able to bring in for the Tuesday evening show in the Koger Center? He is a prominent comedian today, having a comedy central special to his credentials, not to mention a number of very funny Sierra Mist commercials. I am speaking of the comedicly gifted funnyman Jim Gaffigan!

            When my friends and I heard that Jim Gaffigan was coming here, we were overjoyed with the prospect of hearing his hilarious bits on “Hot Pockets” and his other classic comedy material. All day as I sat in class, I was eagerly anticipating the hilarious antics of Gaffigan, and when I finally got out of Community Practice Lab, I was ready for the day to be over and the laughs to begin!

            I walked down Greene Street to the Koger Center with Jenna 09’ and my three roomies. We arrived fifteen minutes early, and were still relegated to the second to last row in the bottom tier. It was not a problem as the acoustics were just fine, and we heard every one of Gaffigan’s comedic bits, followed by his “self comments” that varied with the audience reaction.

            He spent the majority of his time talking about his favorite pastime: food. Along this subject, he gave us an in-depth analysis of our nation’s admiration for the breakfast meat, bacon. Ten minutes later (yes ten minutes just on bacon), he ended with his customary, yet brilliant series of jokes about “Hot Pockets.”

            Needless to say, he left the audience rolling in the aisles, and at the end of a long day, despite my exhaustion, I could feel the difference his comedy had on my state of mind. I am really buying into the laughter as the best medicine theory. Us students had Carolina Productions to thank for this fantastic event, which promises to be one of many great acts brought here over the year! I know who else is coming, but I think I will tease  you a bit and make you keep reading to learn the surprising scientific (perhaps a hint?) act coming later on in the semester.

            In the meantime, you may want to check out Jim Gaffigan on Youtube to see what you missed out on. Do yourself a favor because an extra chuckle just might help get you through the day. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Alright loyal readers, it’s time for a celebration! What’s the occasion? I have reached a major milestone in my blog career. This post makes it an even 100 that I have authored for your reading pleasure!

            Hard to believe isn’t it? Just about a year ago I started this gig, and now I sit 100 blogs later, still going strong. I have to be honest with you, when I started this last October, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, what I was going to write about, and to be honest, I was pretty unsure of how my finished products would look. However, 100 blogs later, after discussing everything from comedians to sporting events to the rigors of class, I have to say this has been a blast!

            One of the perks of this job on top of interacting with all of you out there in cyber land is that I get to chronicle my journey through school. So, if I have forgotten something I did over the course of the year, I can just look back over what I have written and relive all of those great times I had here at USC!

            I think I am going to end this one right about here. 100 blogs is a lot of typing, and my fingers are tired! Here’s to many more! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            So many choices, so little time and energy. Alas, this was my conundrum as I strolled through the USC student organization fair Wednesday on Greene Street. Here at USC we have nearly 300 organizations (294 to be exact) to choose from. We offer everything from social fraternities and sororities to sports clubs, honor societies, political groups, and student media. I could literally go on for pages describing all of the organizations and what they do, but I won’t, because my fingers would get too tired!

            On top of all these USC organizations, now that I am in Pharmacy school, I have several more opportunities to get involved! Here is where time management, planning, and the ability to just say “no” to some groups come into play as I will try and balance out my school life and my extracurricular life.

            As of now, I am taking eight, yes, eight classes in Pharmacy school for a total of 16 hours. Outside of class, I am an advisor for Alpha Lambda Delta, my honor society, a captain for my softball team, a committee chair for the Out of State Mentors, and, of course, I write this blog!

            In addition to these activities, I plan on running for some sort of office of my class in pharmacy school, and trying out to be a University Ambassador (the people that give the tours when you come and visit). Also in the School of Pharmacy, I will most likely be in two student groups, with a level of involvement that is yet to be seen. On top of that, I will try and work out five to six times a week. Needless to say, my plate is very full, but that is the way I like it!

            The point of this post is to show how important and fun it can be to get involved be it in college, or high school. I made the majority of my friends and important contacts by playing intramurals and becoming heavily involved in my organizations. I did make the mistake freshman year of joining a few organizations because I thought it was what I “was supposed to do” but quickly found out that it is quality over quantity, and dropped out of them because I wasn’t truly interested.

            I am now in a leadership position in my honor society, the out of state mentors, and was also the president of the orientation leaders. The moral of the story is to find something, or things in my case, that you are passionate about, and make the most of it, much like I did in my role as the intramural chair in Alpha Lambda Delta.

            However, now I have to go organize my life as I try and fit all my extracurriculars in on top of my class load. It is a nice problem to have here at USC with all of these options, but it doesn’t leave a lot of time for the school part of college! Until next time, take care!

Posted by Cory at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            My apologies to all of you David Beckham fans, but I am just not buying into the new “soccer craze” that is supposedly coming to America. It has yet to materialize in the last 20 years, and I just don’t see it happening in the next 20 either. I tried to get into the sport as a young lad, but after 3 not-so-fun filled years with only scoring one goal, I decided that pretty much any other sport but soccer was for me. However, there is always a lesson to be learned. What is it, well, I think we have all heard the call when a player (very rarely) does score a goal, there is the over the top soccer announcer who yells “GOAAAAALLL!”

            You are now probably thinking how does that even resemble a lesson? You see, the call of “goal” in soccer reminded me of the importance of goal setting. I have set goals ever since high school, and when I arrived here freshman year, that practice stayed the same. Goals were something that I have set over my first two years and for the most part, were able to achieve.

            Like I said, I accomplished them “for the most part”. I still haven’t won that elusive softball championship or racquetball crown, but just because I haven’t accomplished those goals doesn’t make me a failure. Sometimes, you must adjust your goals based on the results or circumstances. For example, my first semester in the racquetball ladder, I didn’t win the championship, or even make the playoffs, so the next semester I adjusted my goal to get into the playoffs. Then it was to win a playoff match. This semester it will be to win the whole thing.

            Other than my racquetball championship goal, another intramural related goal will be to win the softball championship after two bitter years of coming up just short. Sports aside, another goal of mine will to get all A’s, which I think will be the hardest to reach due to the hard pharmacy school curriculum.

            Another important goal lesson is to not just make all of your goals performance based, because if you don’t reach it, you can become easily discouraged. So, a few other goals of mine will be to remain positive, get the most out of everyday, and try and learn something new daily as well. These goals sit in the “attitude” department of goal setting. Along the attitude lines is one more goal: to simply do the best I can in all that I do. Kind of a “catch-all,” but if I honestly put my best effort forth, I will have nothing to worry about when the semester comes to a close.

             A few daily goals will be to review my notes and study just a little bit each day, so that when its comes time to prepare for an actual exam, I will already have, little by little, gotten myself ready so that the final review won’t be as difficult.

            As you can tell, I have attitude goals, semester goals and daily goals, but I even have myself narrowed down to hourly goals. For example, on a day where I need to study, I will make a goal to study for an hour, or get through a certain chapter before I can take a break. It is amazing how simple some small goals can make life go by a little bit easier. Heck, I even have goals about how many blogs to write, when to write them, and I how many paragraphs I write at a time!

            So there you have it, some of my thoughts, insights, tips, and actual goals for the upcoming year. Be sure to get going on some your own goals because I really do believe they help you have a vision of where you want to go and how to get there. Now get GOaling! (By the way, another goal of mine is to have less lame word plays and bad jokes in my blogs).

Posted by Cory at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

   Hey there folks, I am back in South Carolina, down in Hilton Head with my aunt and uncle until school start. I have written some blog about my vacation, so the following four or five posts are about all the exciting times I had on my vacation. Enjoy!

            (This is the first in my series of blogs about my vacation to upstate New York and Chicago. The following was written while in New York in the present tense at the time.)

            I am not one to sound full of myself, but it is pretty hard to pull of a surprise on me. It seems like I have a pretty good grasp of what is going on and what is about to happen. With the noted exception, of course, of my fantastic surprise birthday party this past December. However, on the first leg of my trip to Upstate New York, I had one of the biggest surprises that I can remember.

            Allow for me to set the stage: I had planned to fly from South Carolina up to New York, then after a week there, meet my parents and my aunt and uncle in Chicago. These plans had been set since last March when we had booked the tickets.

            Now, my flights had a bit of a delay, and I arrived in Syracuse about an hour and a half late. All day long I had tried to call my father and let him know that I was going to be late but he didn’t have his phone on, which really wasn’t anything new since he never seems to have it on (hint: this is a bit of foreshadowing). When I finally arrived in Syracuse, waiting there were my Grandfather and cousin David. We picked up my luggage, and had planned on eating supper at my Uncle Steve’s house. For some odd reason, my Grandpa has a real interest in my phone, and he took it and was looking at it all trip home.

            Anyways, we arrived at the house, and I came in and saw my Grandma and Uncle, as I expected. However, out from a hallway came, who else but my dad! I was speechless, I literally could not speak! How had he pulled this feat off? Well, about a week after I booked my trip, he decided he would come out, but it was not just my dad, but also all my family and friends who knew about it. Everyone was in on it but me! They got me!

            After I got to New York, all of my family had the same question “So did you know?” and could honestly say I had no idea. Anyways, that was quite the way to start off my vacation this summer. Who knows what other surprises await?

Posted by Cory at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Well, the Koger Center is empty, there are no lines of food in the Russell House Ballroom, and the 16^th floor of Capstone is empty. This can only mean one thing: Summer 2007 orientation has drawn to a close! We had our last day on Friday, but I was so busy moving my things out I haven’t had a chance to post.

            Anyways, my summer of orientation was a lot of fun, but now it’s time to move onto “phase 2” of Summer ’07. On Tuesday, I am flying to visit my family in Upstate New York. My cousin is graduating from high school, and it is time for a big family party to celebrate. I am talking a giant tent, dozens of family members young and old, and, of course, delicious food as far as the eye can see (down the picnic tables at least). I have been to a couple of these big time small town throwdowns, and I can attest it is quite the fun experience.

            After my time with the “fam” in New York, I am flying to Chicago to meet my aunt, uncle, and parents for the second part of my trip. There I will finally catch a Cubs game live and person at Wrigley Field, as well as visit the Second City and see all it has to offer.

            Yes, I’ve worked hard this past year in the classroom and at orientation to earn myself a nice vacation, so I will be out of touch for two weeks, but rest assured I will be coming back at the end of July rested and ready to bring you tales of my time off Not to mention preparing to start my four year journey of pharmacy school! Until next time, ya’ll take care and keep on enjoying your summer!

Posted by Cory at 02:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            It appears as though I have earned myself a new nickname in my first two weeks here at orientation. It started about a week and a half ago when the dining services employees started calling me the “drill sergeant.” Within the last few days however, it has been shortened to “Sarge.”

            Now, I am sure you are wondering why I, fun loving easy going Cory, got to be nicknamed the “Sarge”. The answer is pretty simple: my job entails making sure the orientation day runs smoothly, and to make this happen, I have to make sure everyone is where they need to be and that everything works, down to the smallest detail.

            My most “drill sergeant-esque” moments occur during the morning when students are walking from the Koger Center up Greene Street to the Russell House. I make sure that all the incoming freshmen are keeping up with their orientation leader by encouraging them to keep up. How do I encourage them? Well, I typically go with phrases such as “Hustle!”, “Keep up, because we’re not coming back for ya!”, and my personal favorite “We don’t lollygag here at USC!” Keep in mind, please, that I am saying this in all good fun with a smile on my face. The intent is not to intimidate, but just to get their attention and keep em’ moving. Trust me; it is all in good fun!

            I do have to lay down the law sometimes without joking too. Please take note all of you who may be coming, or who are even still in high school: it is very disrespectful to be on your phone talking and texting or joking around with the person sitting next to you when a teacher, professor, or other university official is talking. So, when I see this going on, I usually have a seat next to the student and let them know what I think. Again, I am not trying to be mean, but simply letting the student know what acceptable behavior is. If you could all do me a favor and please respect your teachers, parents, and others by putting the phone away for a few minutes and paying attention, trust me, it does not go unnoticed.

            Anyways, that is the story so far. I am now Cory the “Sarge”, and I am enjoying every minute of orientation. I hope that you folks are all having a swell summer, and I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you with questions. Take care and behave!

Posted by Cory at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

            Good directions can get you a long way in life, but bad directions can get you lost in a hurry. Over the last week or so, I have learned a lot about both giving and taking directions.

            Let’s start with my experience in giving directions: as I have mentioned in a previous blog, my work as an Orientation Team Leader allows me to delegate duties to the orientation leaders. A lot of this delegation involves giving detailed directions and instructions on everything from how to explain the nuances of parking to seating students at lunch. It is important to be able to give detailed directions that they can quickly and accurately follow so the day can flow smoothly. So far, I guess my directions must be pretty good because the days have been going well so far.

            Another time I give directions during orientation is typically to students and parents trying to find their way about campus. Now, when I first came here I thought I would never be able to find my way around, but just two short years later I find myself giving simple, yet effective directions dozens of times a day to the freshman students and their parents. It is important to empathize with those that haven’t been here before as simple landmarks such as the Russell House or the Horseshoe don’t have the same meaning as those crafty veterans of USC such as myself. As with the directions to the Orientation Leaders, the ones I have been giving to the “orientees” seem to be doing the trick.

            However, anyone can simply give directions; it takes a real special person to actually be able to follow them. As for me, I am pretty good, except when it comes to driving directions. For some reason, I always seem to find myself lost and frustrated. Unfortunately, I think this lack of direction runs on my father’s side of the family, and I inherited the “lost driving” gene. This lack of directional ability was put to the test this weekend when I drove to Atlanta to see my Cubs take on the Atlanta Braves (let us not discuss the final score of said game). I printed out the directions from trusty Mapquest, and set out west to Atlanta. Despite the large and intimidating city driving, I found my way all the way to my hotel on my own! I was so proud of myself! I proved to myself that I can find my way as long as I have good directions to follow.

            The moral of this blog? Directions in life are pretty darn important, and you better be able to not only give them to people, but really be able to listen and follow them as well. While it may be a simple idea, it can get you a long way here at school. That’s all I got now. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            I guess I never really have thought of myself as the “bossy” type, but me and the other three team leaders on staff here at orientation have had to be a little bossier to make sure everything runs smoothly. You see, last year my role during orientation was that of an orientation leader and as such I got to have more interaction with students.

            Coming into summer, this was the role I had become accustomed to. However, as I and the other team leaders trained this year’s orientation leaders, we have taken on a stronger leadership role in preparing the orientation leaders and helping to make sure the orientation day moves along smoothly. What does this mean for us? Basically we have less one on one time helping students because we work more behind the scenes throughout the day.

            Although we do work behind the scenes, we also have the natural instinct to try and do some of the work of the orientation leaders. However, our boss (who is, by the way, the Director of Orientation and Testing services here at USC) has had to tell us to step back and just make sure that the orientation leaders do the job because it is no longer our roles.

            The key word in our jobs when it comes to utilizing our staff is delegation. Even though delegating work may seem to be an easy task and a nice way to get out of working yourself, it is a delicate skill to make sure the staff is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done and by the correct staff member at any given time.

            If anything, the first three days of orientation as team leader have started me on a track of learning crucial delegation, time management, and to some extent coaching skills for later in life. The first week here has been hectic, but fun as well, and I think everyday the orientation leaders, as well as myself learn something new about ourselves, the skills we need throughout life, and most importantly incoming students such as you loyal readers!

            Speaking of incomings students, I have had a blast getting to know a few of y’all who I have had the chance to interact with over the course of the week and I look forward to many more days of learning, growing, and meeting more of you exciting freshman! As for now, I need to get to bed because another early day beckons me tomorrow morning. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

            With a week of orientation training in the books, I was ready for a fun filled sunny weekend here on campus. Perhaps I could get a chance to see Carolina play its regional in the College Baseball World Series, maybe take a relaxing stroll down the river, or just sit on the horseshoe, read, and catch some rays. Unfortunately, Tropical
Storm Barry had other ideas. He decided to cover Columbia with a blanket of clouds, rain and wind. So my plans shifted, and by Sunday night, so had the clouds away from here luckily.

            This episode of nasty weather reminded me of how much weather here in Columbia can change on a dime, even in the summertime. Last week it was beautiful, sunny and in the 80’s, but by Friday night, ominous clouds, rain, and the winds of Tropical Storm Barry were hitting Columbia. A helpful hint is that as you come to orientation in the summer and school here in the fall, while it will still be quite warm and muggy, a rain jacket may not be a bad idea. I know that personally I carry an umbrella with my everyday to orientation even if the weather is sunny in the morning because thunderstorms have a way of developing in the afternoon and leaving by the nighttime. Just today, we had a fifteen minute torrential downpour that soaked the majority of our staff on our way to supper. Then, just like that, the clouds had shifted away and the sun was shining. This is a testament to how fast the weather can change here.

            Other than the rainstorms in the afternoon, Columbia in the summertime is a haven of hot sunshine with temperatures resting in the 90’s with heavy humidity during the day. I like the heat myself, but it’s important to remember to stay hydrated and keep the sunscreen smothered on. This advice goes for everyone, in and out of Columbia as summer heats up. Anyways, the weather report is over for now, as I must be going. Take Care!

Posted by Cory at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quick question: when you were a kid, did you ever watch the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show? If you did, you probably got to see the cartoon with “Mr. Peabody” the dog and his friend “Sherman.” Together, they would travel back in time and visit some of the biggest historical events in the world’s history, often with hilarious results. To get back in time, they would travel in the WABAC (pronounced “wayback”) machine. Well, tonight, sitting in my old room, I took my own personal ride in the WABAC machine.

            I was sitting here watching Law and Order when I heard fireworks going off. These loud booms, along with making my dog go crazy, reminded me that it was my old high school’s graduation night because they end the outdoor graduation with fireworks. The fact that today was graduation really hit home because it took me back to two years ago getting ready for my graduation. For me, it was a hectic time because I was getting ready to fly out to South Carolina to spend the summer working and living with my aunt and uncle. I was trying to pack up to leave, finish my finals, and say goodbye to all of my friends!

            Looking back from where I am sitting right now, these two years have absolutely flown by, and it seems like just yesterday I was sitting in my cap and gown waiting to get my name called. Then, just 24 hours after tossing my cap into the air, I was in Hilton Head, South Carolina getting ready to start my “new life” waiting tables and getting ready for my freshman year at USC. I guess I am just living in the past, but tonight really took me back.

            Anyways, I would like to give you all some advice as graduating high schoolers getting ready to “take on the world.” If I were you, I would definitely enjoy the time you have left at home with your high school friends because you never know when you will get to see them again after you part ways. There are friends I had for years that I haven’t seen in two years because of our different schedules of when we are home. Also, enjoy the little things about home, be it your dog or your favorite meal your parents cook because I have really learned to appreciate those little things when I get a chance to visit home.

            That is all the advice I have for y’all. Remember to just have fun and please be safe in your last few days in high school. Now it is time for me to get out of the WABAC machine and zoom on forward to the present day. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Captain’s Log: Day 8. I have been home in Tucson for a full week now, and things are hot and desperately dry. Please send water and sunscreen…

            Sometimes it really feels like things couldn’t be any hotter and dryer, but in all seriousness, I actually like the heat and it has been great being home. The consensus I get from folks back in South Carolina is that since I am from Arizona, I have grown up with a simple “dry heat” meaning that it doesn’t feel as hot as the humid climate back at school. To this I say “false.” I have a rhetorical question for you: your oven is a “dry heat”, so when you cook with it, does it not feel very hot? Exactly. In my book, hot is hot, whether it is the hot and dry of Tucson, or the hot and humid of Columbia. Get this, I got to come back home on the first day that the temperature hit the century mark in Tucson this year. How about that? Lucky me!

            Aside from talking about the weather, what have I been up to you ask? Well, since getting back in town last Thursday night, I have attended out my old high school’s state championship winning softball game, played racquetball with my pops, went to our Triple A baseball team’s “Two Dollar Ticket Tuesday” game, enjoyed lunch with my Poppa, caught up with some old friends, and spent some quality time with my family (including my faithful sheltie Bruiser). Oh, on top of that, I have definitely been enjoying some home cookin’ and food from my favorite local eateries. As you can tell, this trip back home has been chocked full of activities, but it has to be as I only get two weeks before I head back to Columbia for orientation.

            While my trip home has been brimming with stuff to do, it has also been relaxing as well, which was definitely something I needed after another hectic semester of classes. I personally believe it is important to take some time off for yourself because the year can be a grind, and you need a chance for your body, and more importantly, your brain to take a breather. For me, it has been amazing having time to play some videogames, watch my favorite TV shows, hit golf balls,  and just do nothing without any worries about the next test or paper coming up. However, I think I am nearing the end of my “doing nothing” rope, and have had enough down time! Luckily for me, I will be back working at school in a week and half, and I will be plenty busy.

            For now, I think I am going to head out, but not before I drink about a gallon of water and layer on the sunscreen. One must stay hydrated in the dry desert heat! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            You guys and gals still in high school have something that those of us in college seemed to have forgotten about. Can you guess what it is? I’ll just go ahead and tell you because I don’t have all day! I am talking about yearbooks! I can still remember senior year getting all the big signatures and messages to last a lifetime! Alright, I must admit,  it wasn’t that important, but it sure was fun. So enjoy it while you still have the chance!

            What is my point about all this yearbook nonsense? Well, I honestly just wanted a chance to use the term “H.A.G.S.”, short for Have A Good Summer. It was a classic way to tell your friends you cared in their yearbook while keeping the signage time to a minimum. I honestly want to just take this opportunity to tell all of y’all to have a good summer!

            It is your last summer before college starts, so have some fun; maybe get a job to gain some valuable experience not to mention spending cash! Most importantly, enjoy yourself because I can honestly say the summer before freshman year was so exciting because of the nervousness/excitement/unexpectedness of what college was to bring to me.

            Whatever your summer plans consist of, enjoy yourself. Now, in case you were wondering, here are my summer plans:

            First, I am going to spend the first two weeks back at my home in Tucson where I will be sending you guys updates and hopefully putting up some pictures of the desert landscape and some of my local favorite places to eat and hang out, just to give you another little window on the world.

            Following my sojourn in the desert, I will actually be returning to campus (luckily not to take classes!)  to work as an Orientation Team Leader. I did it last summer, and it was a blast, and I am hoping for M.O.T.S. (Short for “more of the same”, I am kind of on an abbreviation kick in case you couldn’t tell). How will it be just as awesome? By getting to meet all of you fabulous incoming freshman.. So when you come on down for orientation, come say hey to me, I definitely would like to meet y’all!

            Following my work at orientation, I shall be taking some “Cory Time” as I spend two weeks on a vacation as a gift to myself for getting into pharmacy school. I will spend a week in upstate New York with my father’s family enjoying a family graduation party for my cousin, the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, and of course, Grandma’s cooking! After my time in the upstate, I am heading to Chi-Town, aka Chicago. I plan on meeting up with my parents there and catching all of the glory of the Second City, but most importantly FINALLY GETTING TO SEE A CUBS GAME AT WRIGELY FIELD! In case you couldn’t tell, I am pretty excited about this.

            Finally, when I return from all of that vacation fun, I will have about three weeks before I move in. This time is a wild card, and I am not sure what I will end up doing, but either way I will be spending my time in Hilton Head with my Aunt and Uncle preparing myself for my first year of pharmacy school!

            So, that’s the plan as it stands now folks. Let me know about your summer plans if you are so inclined to, and like I said, say hey at orientation, it will make my day to meet a real life reader (that is not my Mom) who can critique my work! Take care everybody, and…

                                                H.A.G.S.!

Posted by Cory at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Hello ladies and gents. Today I am coming to you not from my cozy room in Woodrow, but from the fifth floor of the Thomas Cooper Library’s computer lab. The reason? You see, my laptop had a little “incident” this Tuesday. When I say “incident” I mean that my monitor stopped “working” and won’t “turn on”. Have no fear, the laptop itself hums along like a dream, but the screen is so dark it is useless for me to use. How convenient, too, that the warranty ran out on March 10^th? Not exactly the luckiest situation for me. As far as dealing with my problem, for the week I have been stealing moments on the computers in the Library to check me email.

            This situation brings up some common questions I hear from incoming freshman. The first is “Do I even need a computer?” The answer to this question is no. You do not need a computer. All of the academic buildings on campus have computer labs for your use. In addition to these buildings, there are labs in the Bates House residence hall, as well as Columbia hall and Patterson hall. So, if you are in one of those residence halls, you will have computer access. However, there is still the lab in the Thomas Cooper Library at your disposal as well. One of the benefits of the computers in the library is that since the library now stays open 24 hours a day during the week, you can always get to a computer.

            The second question I typically get is “Should I bring a laptop or a desktop?” The answer to this comes down to personal preference. A laptop is nice because it is convenient and there is wireless around campus should you choose to take your laptop around to work. Also, there is the ease of bringing it home with you as well. However, a desktop is cheaper, and as far as access around campus, I find that simply using a flash drive beats lugging around your documents to work on at computers around campus without carrying an expensive laptop with you.

            So, there you go. I have given you the “tech talk” that most students and parents are curious about. Personally, I have gotten used to having a computer all the time in my room, so going without one is a little weird, but I have adjusted. Also, since it is just the screen, I can go get a nice flat screen monitor to hook up, and it should (hopefully) work just fine.

            Anyways, I hope you have learned a little something about computers on campus. Now, I have to go get me a nice monitor so I can get back to writing to y’all from my cozy room in Woodrow. Have a swell weekend!

Posted by Cory at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            This is it, the big event that I had promised y’all was coming. Now, if I just went ahead and told you what the event was in the first couple of sentences, that would spoil the fun of the teaser I have had dangling in front of you all for the last week and a half. So first, I will give you a couple clues: first, it was a concert event that Carolina Productions put on. It was a hip-hop performer. He is just now really starting to get big. Finally, he is the only big time hip hop performer that sings about skateboarding (that I know of at least). Do you give up? I am talking about the Lupe Fiasco!

            There you go; the BIG event was a Lupe Fiasco concert this past Tuesday. It was definitely an exciting concert, but as the title of this blog suggests, there was a sort of “fiasco” that came along with the event. You see, the group Gym Class Heroes was supposed to open for Lupe, but they were sick, and had to cancel. This was disappointing to hear upon entering the Koger Center for the concert, but they promised us that they will come back to make up the show for us.

            The show itself did cost us 5 dollars, but this is much less than what you would pay for most typical concerts because Carolina Productions brought him here with part of their budget helped reduce the cost.  Lupe engaged the crowd, performed some of his hits, and I have to say the best part of the show was when he came into the crowd while he performed his “skateboarding autobiography” (my humble interpretation of the song, not his own words), the song “Kick Push”. He came right in front of Nick, Melisa, Tim and me. Melisa got a close up video of him as he came by too!

            Alas, there was a sad moment in the show. You see, Nick, Tim, and I had our playoff basketball game down Assembly Street at the Strom, so we had to duck out before he had completely finished, but it was worth it as we did win the game!

            So, I hope the buildup for this post was worth it. I know the buildup of waiting for the actual concert was worth it. We all had a blast, and hopefully we will get a chance to see Gym Class Heroes before the end of the year too.

            As for me, this weekend I am going to be in Aiken, South Carolina for the state intramural slow-pitch softball tournament. We will be playing other colleges from around the state, so wish me luck, and I will try to bring back some good stories (hopefully about a victory) for y’all! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            I think that we have all seen those “talking heads” on CNN or MSNBC. You know, the ones who claim to be an “expert” and have all the answers for solving the world’s problems. Well, tonight, we had one of those “talking heads”, but he isn’t what you would call traditional. I speak of one Mo Rocca. Perhaps his name sounds familiar? He has been a correspondent on the Daily Show, and has appeared on numerous television shows portraying such an “expert.”

            His goal tonight was to educate us on how to be an expert at sounding like an expert and in doing so to also help us realize that who we see on TV may not all be the “experts” they claim to be. I know that may sound a little weird (not to mention an “expert” word overload), but you see Mo’s entire existence on television is based on his uncanny ability to deliver satire while portraying an expert. If you have caught any of his work on the Daily Show, you understand what I am talking about. To help give you another example of his work, Rocca has appeared on the “I love the 70’s 80’s and 90’s” shows on VH1, delivering his expert pop culture satire. Hopefully now you have a better picture of what his personality and work on TV is all about.

            As far as his actual lecture tonight, he gave us all a hilarious PowerPoint Presentation about his life, satire included. He ripped on former presidents, his old job as a writer for the children’s TV show Wishbone (that’s right, he worked on Wishbone!), and led us up through his tour of Presidential cemetery sites. The PowerPoint included some hilarious pictures that were quite obviously photo shopped to add humor, but it didn’t matter, because he kept the entire audience laughing.

            His final test to the audience to see if we had learned how to “sound like an expert” was to have four volunteers come up on stage in the Koger Center, and act out a script of them as “talking heads” for various networks. The funniest of the four volunteers was up on stage as a Food Network “talking head.” Every one of his responses included the famous phrase “BAM!”

            Mo Rocca’s point seemed to be that those who are on the cable news shows may not always be the “experts” they claim to be, and to not take all of their “expert” advice directly to heart. In any case, Carolina Productions hit another home run in my book by bringing in more great entertainment. This was one of the two “surprises” I promised you guys in one of my previous blogs. Stay tuned for the second one coming up in the next week and a half. It won’t disappoint. Take care. BAM!

Posted by Cory at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            It is hard to say the name Zach Galifianakis without laughing. It is just a funny name, and last night, the comedian with the funny name and scraggly beard came and performed for us. You might be familiar with his line of work: a Comedy Central special, a role in the movie Out Cold as well as a few other television cameos. In any case, I was quite excited to get to see him perform.

            His performance came during Late Night Carolina, an event put on one Friday every month in the Russell House. It is a great opportunity to go and have some fun. Last night they had a “make your own music video” area, two caricature artists, and they opened up the game room in the Russell House for free. These were all on top of the “main event” of Zach’s comedy.

            The funny bearded man came on at about 11:30 and performed his funny shtick for about 45 minutes. During this time, he played the piano as he made social observations from his point of view, ripped apart Larry the Cable Guy and Dane Cook (sorry if you are fans of them, but either way, it was really funny!), and did a few “impressions” such as the pretentious illiterate guy ( I told you, I cant read.) It’s kind of hard to give you the full affect through the typed word, but trust me; he kept as all rolling in the aisles of the Russell House ballroom.

            In any case, it was yet another example of the great work Carolina Productions does of bringing in very entertaining performances. They have another couple of big names coming in the next couple of weeks, but you all will just have to wait and see what they are on my blogs. See what I just did? It is called a teaser, and it just keeps you coming back for more…hopefully at least. That’s all I got for you now, I have to go and enjoy this beautiful Carolina Saturday!

Posted by Cory at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            My favorite kind of pie is apple I think. Yep, Dutch apple pie with a little vanilla ice cream suits me just fine. I got served some pie last night, but it wasn’t for dessert. It was in my shag class, and it was a heaping slice of “humble” pie.

            You see, I have been doing pretty well in that class. The steps and turns have come fairly easy to me. Although I have been challenged in learning them, it has still been a lot of fun. However, last night, we were working on our “pivot”, and I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. I did just fine in knowing the rhythm and how to turn on my own, but when I got with a partner, I just wasn’t smooth, as the teacher says.

            My problem seems to come when I am supposed to be spinning on my left foot. Even though I do spin, apparently I bob up and down, kind of like a pogo stick. The basic problem is that it just doesn’t look good, or at least good enough for our teacher.

            I think the worst part of it was she would walk by, and I would try it, and I still was not getting the hang of it. She watched me quite a few times and couldn’t quite put her finger on what my problem was. So, the whole time, my poor partner had to stand there and listen to the teacher and I try and figure out my problem. She was really nice about it, but it was still mighty frustrating.

            I left class feeling a little dejected, because even though I legitimately had tried my hardest to learn the new move, I was still not getting it. My reign of dominance over beginning shag has fallen, and now I have to practice practice practice to get back up with the rest of the class.

            That, my loyal readers, was my serving of humble pie last night. I have to say that it was kind of bitter, and definitely overcooked. I am off now to practice my pivot, and hopefully next week I can proudly write that I am back on my shag game! Take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            I think my week down here in Hilton Head has made me spoiled. I have had a chance to rest, eat great, and, most importantly, gone out in the sunny, warm weather to the beach. Well, today, the forecasters are calling for rain, and it is cloudy out. So, it looks like no beach for me. The worst part is that even though it is pretty cloudy, every now and then the sun peaks through, as if to tease me. I get my hopes up, and then wait a few minutes, and the clouds come back and hide the sun’s warmth and rays.

            At least I made it out to the beach three times this week, which is still pretty good. The water was still too cold to go in, at least for me. All week I have seen people dancing around in the waves, and they must be crazy…and most likely tourists. Tourists must feel like since they came a long way for vacation they not only need to go to the beach, but go in, even if the water is still 55 degrees.

            I know how cold it is from experience because last spring break Nick (my roomie) and I went in, much at the urging of Nick’s girlfriend Melisa. Well, she got Nick to go, and he wasn’t going to go it alone. Long story short, I think we were both shivering the rest of spring break.

            This year, there were no shenanigans in the ocean, just some running, reading, and soaking up some rays. Some rays is the key. I made sure to double down on the sunscreen since I have a tendency to burn pretty easily.

            I did see something interesting yesterday though: I was running up the beach when I looked out to the shoreline and noticed a guy dancing, just him and his headphones. He was doing a pretty good robot up and down the beach. I have to admire him though, not only did he have some sweet moves, but he also didn’t even care about all the people staring at him!

            So, like I said at the start of this blog, while I did have some good times at the beach this break, there will be none today. Not to worry though! I will be watching basketball until my eyes fall out! Take care everybody, and I will be posting again when I get back to the “real world” of school.

Posted by Cory at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Last night, Carolina Productions put on an event that hit home with a lot of us who have grown up watching Fox cartoons on Sunday nights. That is to say they had Mike Henry, a writer and producer of the hit television show Family Guy. Since I am a fan, I decided to truck it on over to the Russell House Ballroom to see what one of the masterminds behind the hilarious comedy was all about.

            He was introduced by first showing a video of some of the characters whose voices he does. In case you are familiar with the show, he is most known for his voice of “Cleveland” and “Herbert.” When he came out, he gave the standing room only crowd a few of the voices we love to warm us up. Then he went on to explain as well as show a video of the process of coming up with and producing an episode of Family Guy. I did not know this, but it takes up to ten months to produce just one half hour show! I knew that producing a show took a lot of work, but the amount of revisions and rewrites they have to do; in addition to syncing with the animation was pretty incredible stuff. He even gave us some sneak peaks at some surprises for next season!

            Now, aside from the typical explanation of the show, Mike gave us his life story of how far he has come from working at the Gap in Hollywood to pay his bills as a struggling stand up comedian, to his now successful life as a hit TV show producer, and how he wishes to eventually get into movie directing, as that is his true passion. What was really cool was how he had worked in an advertising firm, but hated it so much that he quit to move to California to pursue his dreams. This was the basic lesson he left us with: to go after what you truly want to do. Although it is a fairly simple and common message, it is always useful to reinforce it when you see someone who truly follows that belief in their life.

            He ended with a question and answer session, along with a “Go Gamecocks” in each of his signature voices. Along the way, he kept us all laughing with his stories from inside the writers and, of course, his hilarious voices.

            This event is just a scratch on the surface of what Carolina Productions does, as they get great entertainment all school year long. For example, every Thursday through Sunday they have a double feature movie in the Russell House Theater in addition to the events they put on throughout the week. About once or twice a month you can expect a “big name” event as well. In any case, they do keep a high level of entertainment on campus… just in case you were wondering. That’s all I got for now folks. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            The equation for the torque of an electric dipole, the force of an electric field, the 6 functions of the liver, and where I left my car: all things I needed to know for this week. One of which I forgot. Can you guess which one it was? I will tell you in case you couldn't guess from the title: it was where I left my car. In all of my studying to prepare for my “trifecta” of tests this week, I forgot where in the Bull Street garage I had left my car!

            Let me set the scene for y’all: I had my first softball game tonight, and I needed to drive down to the field where we play our games. The last time I used my car was about a week and a half ago when I took Brad 09’ to have his car fixed. I kind of remembered where I had parked in the Bull Street Garage, but I wasn’t sure if I had used my car since then. Well, after about ten minutes of wandering aimlessly searching in vain for my car, I called Brad to ask where I had parked. He told me it was out in the open area, which was where I had looked. I still couldn’t find it though. So, I called Jenna 09’ and was going to have her drive me around the garage to help me find my car. She responded with a resounding “WHAT!?” She couldn’t believe I was struggling to find my car, and thought it was pretty funny. I didn’t think it was so funny though, because time was running out of time to find my car and get to the game in time for the start.

            Well, after about ten more minutes of wandering, I ventured out farther from where there are covered spots, and, lo and behold, there was my white Pontiac Sunfire, complete with Cubs license plate and Arizona plates. Relieved, I called Jenna and told her the search was off, I had found my set of wheels. She chuckled and congratulated me on my find. Then, it was off to the field and on time for my first softball game.

            In all honesty though, I am pretty embarrassed at myself that it took almost a half an hour to find my own car. I guess I will try and make a better mental note next time I park, but I think having all of that class knowledge crammed into my brain didn’t help matters. So, that was my absent minded moment of the week, and I prefer it came trying to find my car than during one of my exams. After all this week, I am ready to go to bed. Now I am off to catch some shuteye. Y’all take care!

Posted by Cory at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            A common worry among freshman this past summer at orientation was finding something to do when they got to campus. Everyone wanted to stay busy and get involved on campus with something. An easy answer to this was to say to join one of the many student organizations on campus. We have 13 different kinds of groups, ranging from social fraternity and sorority, to honors groups, service, and club sports. While having all these options is nice, it can still be kind of daunting to try and sift through the crowd of them and find one to your liking.

            There is, however, one event that can dramatically help to sort things out for you at the beginning of school. I am talking about the student organization fair. There is one held at the very beginning of school in the fall, and then again in the spring. Today was the spring organization far. I helped staff the Alpha Lambda Delta table for my honor society. I was only there to help set up out in front of the Russell House on Greene Street, but it was still quite a job with the cold and the wind that we had today. All the other organizations were having issues keeping their pamphlets on the table. Despite the weather issues early on, the day went well, with a lot of interest from many students.

            Walking up and down Greene Street, I saw the Women’s Rugby team tossing the ball around, the alumni association giving away free coffee and donuts, and my own professional group, the Carolina Association of Pre Pharmacy Students, giving out candy and pharmacy information. Overall, if you wanted to find an organization to a part of, the fair on Greene Street is definitely a prime place to look.

            That is all I have for y’all today. Just know that when you decide to come to Carolina, you will have the organization world at your fingertips each semester. It is up to you to take the steps and get involved!

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

            The theme of weather is defining my life right now. It’s either talking about the weather, feeling the effects of the weather, or feeling under the weather. Let me start from the top. I have been talking about the weather every time that I call my family back in Tucson because my mother constantly checks the weather channel website to see what I have to deal with. I can always expect an “Are you warm enough?” or “Are you staying dry?” or even the occasional “I am jealous of you right now” when the weather is really nice here. However, this past week, she brought news of white weather back home. That is correct. In the middle of the desert in Tucson, Arizona, there was snow last week. The whole town shut down, and my little niece had a day off from kindergarten. I showed the picture my father sent to all of my friends here, and they were just as surprised as I was. Now, I understand, the weather back in Arizona is probably not of much interest to y’all, but it brings up a good point: it is important to keep in touch with how things are back home. Knowing simple things like the weather can keep you from getting homesick. Not that I feel homesick much at all, but I felt that discussing the weather offered a seamless transition to relating to homesickness and my next topic.

            Ah, yes, the weather here in sunny South Carolina, the reason so many people came here for school, to get away from the cold and snow. Well, let me tell you all what I have dealt with the last couple of days. While it has been sunny, yesterday hovered around 50 with some fierce wind gusts. Last night, the wind seeped through my window and rattled my blinds all night long, and I awoke to a wind chill of 18 degrees! I have never been in weather so cold in my life before. This morning’s 8:00 AM Sports Psychology made me bundle up with two pairs of socks, my pajama bottoms underneath my sweat pants, a long sleeve shirt, two sweatshirts, beanie, and gloves. I resembled the kid brother from A Christmas Story. Luckily it did keep me warm enough, although I didn’t have too much upper body range of motion. The weather seamlessly brings me to another point: while South Carolina is known for its beautiful weather, it can still get pretty cold and nasty in the wintertime. So, should you end up coming next year, don’t forget a heavy winter coat and some sweatshirts for days like today.

            Finally, my last “weather preposition” is “under” the weather, which is how I have felt for the last few days. Last year around this time, I had a small cold, and decided to play racquetball. This turned out to be an infamous decision, as the simple cold led to a month long battle with pneumonia. The moral of the story? It is better to rest than to try and push yourself too much while at school. Personally, I find it very hard to step back and not work out everyday, but I learned that a couple days off is definitely worth it in the long run. Also, last year, I was unprepared to battle with my sickness. Ironically as a pharmacy major, I had very little medication. So it is always an important idea to have a small “pharmacy” stocked with whatever helps you deal with getting everything from a small cold or the flu.

            Thus ends my “weather diary” of the day. I hope you all are feeling better than I am, although I am on the mend, and should be better in the next couple of days. Take care, and stay warm. I know I will be trying to!

Posted by Cory at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Two weeks in, and I am just now starting to get into my comfortable routine. There were a couple of developments in the past week or so that kind of have kept me on my toes. The first was that I switched my physics class back to the professor I had last semester. After a couple of classes with the new professor, I learned that I was just more used to the other teacher. So, I made the switch last Sunday, and the plus side is that I only have one class on Fridays now, and I am done at 9. The downside is that I now have my three sciences (Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Anatomy) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with two days with double the fun with a two big time tests. Again, like last semester was, I will just have to adjust and use my time to be ready when they come.

            My next “development” so to speak is in my Organic Chemistry class. My friends and I are still getting used to our new professor. He is not bad, but it is just that we were used to Dr. Lavigne last semester. We have talked about it, and we agree that when we study together, it shouldn’t matter who the professor is, we can do alright. This reminds me to tell you, this is a good lesson for you when you get to college. Study groups are a great way to study efficiently, make it more fun, and do better.

            In other new news, intramural basketball starts this weekend, and our team with Brad 09’ and Nick 09’ as the cornerstones, are looking to grow on our success of last year. We got second place, and we would defiantly like to get first this year. Also, I am about a week away from watching my beloved Chicago Bears from playing in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, next weekend is before my first “big week” of tests, so I will have to budget my time wisely to watch them and take care of my school business.

            Well, that is all I have got for y’all today. I am actually out to hit some golf balls with Mark 09’. He is another pharmacy major, and one of the only people I know who brought his golf clubs with him. So, as I get back into the swing of things here at school, I will going to try and get into my “swing” of things at the driving range. Have a good weekend!

Posted by Cory at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Rhythm. I have rhythm! My shag teacher even told me so! Allow me to back up and tell the story for you from the beginning. The “hottest” class here at school is PEDU 177, aka Beginning Shag. The reason I call it the “hottest” class is that it is usually one of the most difficult classes to get into. Typically seniors who get the first pick at classes fill this one up before us mere mortal underclassmen even have a chance. It is so popular because it teaches the state dance of South Carolina, the “shag.” I would describe it to you in more detail, but I have only had one class, and am hardly versed in the steps or history to even attempt an explanation.

            As I told you all, the class is extremely difficult to get into, especially when you are an underclassman like me. Such was my luck in November when I went to sign up for classes. Not getting in was not a big deal, but I knew it would be a lot of fun if I got in because my friends Jenna 09’, Gray 09’ and Chad 08’ had taken it last fall and loved it. Well, I’ll fast forward to a few days after I registered and I was in the Blatt PE center to lift some weights when I saw a sign on the door saying that males were needed for PEDU 177 Beginning Shag. Apparently all those senior girls get the upper hand at signing up and there was a shortage of guys. So, I went and saw the secretary of the PE department and she got me right in. Needless to say I was very excited indeed.

            This leads me up to tonight, when I had my first official shag class. The teacher seemed very nice with a good sense of humor, and a great deal of empathy for those of us without a lot of dance experience. We started class with the usual introduction of the syllabus and expectations, and then moved right into “dance warm-ups.” These consisted of closing our eyes while she turned on a very soulful Temptations song, and just moving to the rhythm. I have always felt that I lacked a sense of rhythm. However, she complimented me on my “moves,” if you can call them that. Either way, it helped me relax and feel better about myself.

            After the warm-ups, we learned the basic step, which in and of itself is not too entirely complicated. However, just trying to remember them, and then doing them to music proved to be a bit of a challenge. She assured us that we needn’t worry because we’ll have 12 weeks to “smooth out” our step. I am not too worried myself. If she already thinks I have rhythm, then I think I am on the right track to be a pretty good shagger! Anyways, I am off to an early bed, the 8:00 AM classes roll on.

Posted by Cory at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

       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)

“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)

            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)

            (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)