AHH.
Where did my life go? School and work have consumed it.
In other news, I got an A on my databases test for which I didn't study. :) Good job, everyone, keep it up.
You try giving away 20 hours of your life every week.
Listen. Going to school and working at the same time is hard.
And I think I'm getting my wisdom teeth in.
But despite all the stress and tears and nervous breakdowns, I'm still trying to find things to look forward to. Granted, this IS a difficult thing to do because all of my seconds have to be consumed doing school work. But I might have time to, I don't know, decorate my room since all I have next week is two tests and a project due. And a homework. And a lot of reading. But that's it though, and it's an awful small amount compared to what I usually have to deal with.
Anyway, I got David the best Valentine's Day present ever, but I can't tell you what it is because sometimes he reads this.
Ok. Time for a fun-filled day of: CS2200 studying, IOS research, laundry, and probably more CS2200 studying.
Studying is relaxing to me. :)
Research has begun.
So I'm in this organization called Intel Opportunity Scholars. Basically it provides undergraduate research opportunities to minorities at the College of Computing. So since I'm a girl and all they let me in. J/k, there was an interview process and stuff.
Anyway, we had our first meeting today, and although it isn't required this semester, I am accustom to blogging about our meetings as a way to track our progress.
So here we go.
Preface: Our research is in the field of game theory.
This semester we (my partner in crime, Terris, and my PhD candidate mentor, Jose) will be focusing on characterizing the way game review outlets review their games. Basically we're doing a content analysis of game reviews. We will be looking at these game reviews and critically analyzing them so we can get a sense of their common components. Our goal is to get to the point where we can say, "Game reviews primarily focus on graphics, then plot, then this, then that, etc." There is a general impression that game reviews focus too often on the artificial characteristics of a game such as graphics. We're not necessarily trying to prove or disprove anything. We're just looking to see what findings will emerge from our data. That's a fun thing, no?
The outlets we will be looking at are magazines and websites (because what else is there?). We have chosen IGN.com, GameSpot.com, EGM, and GameInformer as they are the top in their industries as far as web traffic and subscriptions go. Our method is as follows:
1. Gather data: First we will compile all the game reviews from these four game review avenues from January 2007 to December 2007. (We chose a one year time frame based on the fact that games are not evenly distributed throughout the year. They tend to get released most heavily around Christmas and at the beginning of the summer).
2. Preliminary analysis of data: We will then look at our compilation of reviews and decide which reviews we want to analyze, being careful to select a sample set with an even distribution of consoles, authors, etc.
3. Develop coding scheme: Lastly we will be extracting common categories from these articles and finding common components.
So that's that. Should be fun. I really like both Terris and Jose. :)
Things are different.
Things are different when you pay for school yourself. Things are different when you pay for your own car, insurance, maintenance, gas, and all, and they're different when it gets hit while it's sitting on the side of the street and no one leaves a note.
Things are different when the burden of paying for your own medical expenses rests on your shoulders. They're different when you have a heart condition related to stress, and your "friends" stress you out by being unsupportive.
Things are different when everyone wants a piece of your time, but you don't even have enough time to watch a movie with your boyfriend or go to your brother's basketball game or visit your dad who's only in town once a month. And they're different when you miss your mom when she's not even far away.
Well I realize that I'm different than everyone else, just like I hope you realize that you're different too.
And when people push me around for not taking a "one hour" break on a Saturday to go to Maggiano's, I'm sorry, but I'm going to say things are different for me. I know what I have to do to keep myself happy, and I know what I have to do to succeed.
It's the times when I feel most alone that I feel like I can conquer the world.
So thank you for reminding me that I'm different.
Don't let your boyfriend go to East Side Market three days before Valentine's day.
I just wanted to say that the world is smiling at me again now that that horrible test is over. I don't know how or why it took over my life.
I have another test tomorrow, but I quite enjoy studying for math.
About David's Valentine's Day present. (Is "day" supposed to be capitalized?) I can tell you a sad story now that I already gave it to him.
So a couple of months ago David and I were at Wal-Mart, (Why? I dunno, don't think about it) and he really wanted some Shock Tarts. Well he couldn't find any, and anyway they're not called Shock Tarts anymore, they're called SweeTarts Shockers, and they're extra hard to find. So I thought it was a brilliant idea to buy him a twenty-four roll box of them online (like the boxes you see at gas stations) for Valentine's day. They came in on Monday. :)
David texts me on Monday night to tell me that East Side Market (the convenience store on the east side of campus) has Shock Tarts and he's so happy and he bought four rolls!!! x.x *death* So naturally I started crying, partly because I was exhausted and partly because WHY IS MY LUCK SO BAD LATELY. Anyway, then I started laughing because honestly, why is my luck so bad lately? This only happens in the movies. But that's ok, 'cause I like movies, and my luck is going back to normal. ^^
Anyway, so I gave him the Shock Tarts because I couldn't stand watching him eat the ones he bought. Lol. The end.
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays! This is one of my art journal pages that I made for David (at Christmas lol). It's framed in a silver shadowbox. *is obsessed with shadowboxes*
Please excuse the bad scanning quality. I'm still learning.
Have a lovely day!!!
I can breathe again.
*sigh of relief* A lot of times these days it's hard for me to look ahead and remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So this weekend's unexpected amount of non-schoolwork time was HIGHLY welcomed. And much needed. That was a rough couple of weeks. :)
Honestly though, I AM having fun. I was getting bored of working ten hours a day. Going to work AND school AND having extracurriculars is quite the challenge. But I enjoy it. I love challenges.
So about this weekend. David and I had to do Valentine's Day on Friday because he had three tests to study for on Thursday. So I was starting to get really disappointed because all he had given me for the occasion was a heart-shaped box of Reese's. Don't get me wrong, Reese's ARE my favorite, but I dunno? Maybe I've been spoiled in the past.
Anyway, so I knew that he had made reservations for this sushi place called Silk. But THEN he surprised me with tickets to go see Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare Tavern!!! I was so excited because I've wanted to go for so long. : )
Then yesterday I got to go to my brother's basketball game and my mom and sister went, so I was so. excited. Then we went home and my mom cooked yummy steaks and we talked for a little bit and then I had to leave.
Then I got back to my apartment and we (David, Spenser, Adrian, Jenny, Alyssa, and I) decided to go to Jenny's house to hang out in her jacuzzi.
And that was pretty much it. A much needed break from school work. And now I'm going to use today to get a head start on next week. :)
I don't have time to go to class.
In order to reiterate and support my claim that I have absolutely no free time (since no one seems to believe me), I would just like to say: I don't even have time to go to class.
Honestly, I've never skipped so many classes in one semester. It's become a weekly occurrence, skipping a day of class to finish my assignments...and I only have class twice a week.
I don't even procrastinate. I started this effing 2200 project a week before it was due, and I still didn't get it finished. I started my freaking tech comm paper a week before it was due, and I still didn't have time to finish it.
I think I've lost hope in getting straight As this semester. Can I have permission to cry yet? Really, all I ever do anymore is cry and do homework. I'm not even kidding. Don't tell Kevin I worked on my CS project a little bit at work yesterday.
So anyway, I promise I'm not lying when I say I don't have time to hang out and that I have work to do. I promise I'm not ignoring your instant messages, I'm usually not even at my computer.
I promise I will be normal again after this semester is over. I hope I never have to work part-time and do school at the same time again.
February 05, 2008 :: Tuesday
Where did my life go? School and work have consumed it.
In other news, I got an A on my databases test for which I didn't study. :) Good job, everyone, keep it up.
Posted by Amanda at 7:23 pm in school
0 comments
You try giving away 20 hours of your life every week.
February 08, 2008 :: Friday
Listen. Going to school and working at the same time is hard.
And I think I'm getting my wisdom teeth in.
But despite all the stress and tears and nervous breakdowns, I'm still trying to find things to look forward to. Granted, this IS a difficult thing to do because all of my seconds have to be consumed doing school work. But I might have time to, I don't know, decorate my room since all I have next week is two tests and a project due. And a homework. And a lot of reading. But that's it though, and it's an awful small amount compared to what I usually have to deal with.
Anyway, I got David the best Valentine's Day present ever, but I can't tell you what it is because sometimes he reads this.
Ok. Time for a fun-filled day of: CS2200 studying, IOS research, laundry, and probably more CS2200 studying.
Studying is relaxing to me. :)
Posted by Amanda at 8:05 am in school
0 comments
Research has begun.
February 08, 2008 :: Friday
So I'm in this organization called Intel Opportunity Scholars. Basically it provides undergraduate research opportunities to minorities at the College of Computing. So since I'm a girl and all they let me in. J/k, there was an interview process and stuff.
Anyway, we had our first meeting today, and although it isn't required this semester, I am accustom to blogging about our meetings as a way to track our progress.
So here we go.
Preface: Our research is in the field of game theory.
This semester we (my partner in crime, Terris, and my PhD candidate mentor, Jose) will be focusing on characterizing the way game review outlets review their games. Basically we're doing a content analysis of game reviews. We will be looking at these game reviews and critically analyzing them so we can get a sense of their common components. Our goal is to get to the point where we can say, "Game reviews primarily focus on graphics, then plot, then this, then that, etc." There is a general impression that game reviews focus too often on the artificial characteristics of a game such as graphics. We're not necessarily trying to prove or disprove anything. We're just looking to see what findings will emerge from our data. That's a fun thing, no?
The outlets we will be looking at are magazines and websites (because what else is there?). We have chosen IGN.com, GameSpot.com, EGM, and GameInformer as they are the top in their industries as far as web traffic and subscriptions go. Our method is as follows:
1. Gather data: First we will compile all the game reviews from these four game review avenues from January 2007 to December 2007. (We chose a one year time frame based on the fact that games are not evenly distributed throughout the year. They tend to get released most heavily around Christmas and at the beginning of the summer).
2. Preliminary analysis of data: We will then look at our compilation of reviews and decide which reviews we want to analyze, being careful to select a sample set with an even distribution of consoles, authors, etc.
3. Develop coding scheme: Lastly we will be extracting common categories from these articles and finding common components.
So that's that. Should be fun. I really like both Terris and Jose. :)
Posted by Amanda at 2:50 pm in IOS research
0 comments
Things are different.
February 10, 2008 :: Sunday
Things are different when you pay for school yourself. Things are different when you pay for your own car, insurance, maintenance, gas, and all, and they're different when it gets hit while it's sitting on the side of the street and no one leaves a note.
Things are different when the burden of paying for your own medical expenses rests on your shoulders. They're different when you have a heart condition related to stress, and your "friends" stress you out by being unsupportive.
Things are different when everyone wants a piece of your time, but you don't even have enough time to watch a movie with your boyfriend or go to your brother's basketball game or visit your dad who's only in town once a month. And they're different when you miss your mom when she's not even far away.
Well I realize that I'm different than everyone else, just like I hope you realize that you're different too.
And when people push me around for not taking a "one hour" break on a Saturday to go to Maggiano's, I'm sorry, but I'm going to say things are different for me. I know what I have to do to keep myself happy, and I know what I have to do to succeed.
It's the times when I feel most alone that I feel like I can conquer the world.
So thank you for reminding me that I'm different.
Posted by Amanda at 8:35 am in life
0 comments
Don't let your boyfriend go to East Side Market three days before Valentine's day.
February 13, 2008 :: Wednesday
I just wanted to say that the world is smiling at me again now that that horrible test is over. I don't know how or why it took over my life.
I have another test tomorrow, but I quite enjoy studying for math.
About David's Valentine's Day present. (Is "day" supposed to be capitalized?) I can tell you a sad story now that I already gave it to him.
So a couple of months ago David and I were at Wal-Mart, (Why? I dunno, don't think about it) and he really wanted some Shock Tarts. Well he couldn't find any, and anyway they're not called Shock Tarts anymore, they're called SweeTarts Shockers, and they're extra hard to find. So I thought it was a brilliant idea to buy him a twenty-four roll box of them online (like the boxes you see at gas stations) for Valentine's day. They came in on Monday. :)
David texts me on Monday night to tell me that East Side Market (the convenience store on the east side of campus) has Shock Tarts and he's so happy and he bought four rolls!!! x.x *death* So naturally I started crying, partly because I was exhausted and partly because WHY IS MY LUCK SO BAD LATELY. Anyway, then I started laughing because honestly, why is my luck so bad lately? This only happens in the movies. But that's ok, 'cause I like movies, and my luck is going back to normal. ^^
Anyway, so I gave him the Shock Tarts because I couldn't stand watching him eat the ones he bought. Lol. The end.
Posted by Amanda at 6:54 pm in life
0 comments
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
February 14, 2008 :: Thursday
Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays! This is one of my art journal pages that I made for David (at Christmas lol). It's framed in a silver shadowbox. *is obsessed with shadowboxes*
Please excuse the bad scanning quality. I'm still learning.
Have a lovely day!!!
Posted by Amanda at 2:09 pm in holiday
0 comments
I can breathe again.
February 17, 2008 :: Sunday
*sigh of relief* A lot of times these days it's hard for me to look ahead and remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So this weekend's unexpected amount of non-schoolwork time was HIGHLY welcomed. And much needed. That was a rough couple of weeks. :)
Honestly though, I AM having fun. I was getting bored of working ten hours a day. Going to work AND school AND having extracurriculars is quite the challenge. But I enjoy it. I love challenges.
So about this weekend. David and I had to do Valentine's Day on Friday because he had three tests to study for on Thursday. So I was starting to get really disappointed because all he had given me for the occasion was a heart-shaped box of Reese's. Don't get me wrong, Reese's ARE my favorite, but I dunno? Maybe I've been spoiled in the past.
Anyway, so I knew that he had made reservations for this sushi place called Silk. But THEN he surprised me with tickets to go see Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare Tavern!!! I was so excited because I've wanted to go for so long. : )
Then yesterday I got to go to my brother's basketball game and my mom and sister went, so I was so. excited. Then we went home and my mom cooked yummy steaks and we talked for a little bit and then I had to leave.
Then I got back to my apartment and we (David, Spenser, Adrian, Jenny, Alyssa, and I) decided to go to Jenny's house to hang out in her jacuzzi.
And that was pretty much it. A much needed break from school work. And now I'm going to use today to get a head start on next week. :)
Posted by Amanda at 9:41 am in life
0 comments
I don't have time to go to class.
February 26, 2008 :: Tuesday
In order to reiterate and support my claim that I have absolutely no free time (since no one seems to believe me), I would just like to say: I don't even have time to go to class.
Honestly, I've never skipped so many classes in one semester. It's become a weekly occurrence, skipping a day of class to finish my assignments...and I only have class twice a week.
I don't even procrastinate. I started this effing 2200 project a week before it was due, and I still didn't get it finished. I started my freaking tech comm paper a week before it was due, and I still didn't have time to finish it.
I think I've lost hope in getting straight As this semester. Can I have permission to cry yet? Really, all I ever do anymore is cry and do homework. I'm not even kidding. Don't tell Kevin I worked on my CS project a little bit at work yesterday.
So anyway, I promise I'm not lying when I say I don't have time to hang out and that I have work to do. I promise I'm not ignoring your instant messages, I'm usually not even at my computer.
I promise I will be normal again after this semester is over. I hope I never have to work part-time and do school at the same time again.
Posted by Amanda at 4:00 pm in life
0 comments
