Introduction
Hello there my friends and others who have accidentally stumbled upon this section of the Rhinoland Inc homepage. It's been a LOOOONG time since I've updated. This page is dedicated entirely to a (hopefully) daily journal of my *cough* "activities" here at Northern Michigan University...some of it will be, of course, pure bullshit just to get the craziness bug out of my system. I'll put pictures up on a links page I'm gonna add to later on, but I don't have a digital camera yet, and my birthday isn't till next month where I'll get a scanner hopefully. But for now...on with the posting.
Happenings of the Recent Past to Bring you up to Speed
I arrived at NMU on I think Thursday, August 26th on a mild, yet humid morning. Me and my roomate Ricky spent the entirety of Thursday setting up all the crap we brought with us and adjusting it to fit into this 12'x12' cage of a room we share. Amazingly enough we fit all our juk in here and it actually looks really sweet in here, but that's actually a drawback. I REALLY like this room, so I ended up spending a great deal of my time in here for the first few days or so. Welcome weekend was INCREDIBLE! If you ever have to chance to see a movie in a gigantic room with 500+ rowdy students (especially a great college movie like Van Wilder) I HIGHLY suggest you take advantage of it. There were a bunch of other activities as well, including late night at the PIEF (Physical Education Instruction Facility) where I took one step towards legendary status with a fully clothed backflip off the highdive into the PIEF pool. MUAH HAHAHAHA
1st Week of Classes
The first few days of classes actually held a bit of high drama for me. I dropped a class simply because it didn't apply to my major at all. So then I was down to...um...a few credits...riiiight. Well then I HAD to drop another class because I didn't have the proper prerequisites to take the class. So I dropped THAT class and was down to ten credits...2 credits below full-time student status. After about 4 hours of straight panicking, I finally found a four credit class to fill the gap, and everything was OK.
2nd Week of Classes
Not too bad so far actually. Things were pretty calm here and I was actually kind of glad to be back after a weekend at home. I managed to cart my bike back with me this time, so I finally had a faster way to get to my classes instead of the usual hell hike up Jamrich Hill. The week went by without incident, and I returned home again on Thursday morning for no particular reason at all.
3rd Week of Classes
Dorm room=Sauna week. High humid temperatures made living in these brick ovens a nightmare for a good portion of the week. Classes went by without incident. Managed to struggle through the Cliff's Notes for Animal Farm for my Political Science class only to discuss the book for all of five seconds and then get dismissed...Dr. Ball is an ass and a genius at the same time for that one. Week passed with minimal action. And I went home...yet again on Thursday morning to work a few shifts at my favorite place: Tacconelli's! YAY!
4th Week of Classes
Black Monday...got home feeling pretty good about the weekend. Got to spend some quality time with my friends, made some cash, feeling good. That is until Ricky told me about the fights in the dorm over the weekend and that there was a bike he suspected to be mine lying crippled outside my window. Sure enough...my bike was lying on its side right next to the tree it was tied to with an inch thick steel cable...Back tire bent up like a pretzel, chain cracked, brakecable disconnected and from reflector missing. I hate people... all week long. I need a little break I think...so therefore I am going to go crash a few days at "The Rock" up in Hancock, where my good buddies Wardman, Smokey, and Ormes live while they attend Michigan Tech. I have a feeling this could be exactly what I need.
5th Week of Classes
Visiting with my good buddies did me a lot of good this weekend! We shared some good times, and even discussed the evil plans for my big birthday bash next month! I came back here all fired up about the week to come and a fire lit under my ass to get something accomplished...then I fell asleep in my music class for 3 days straight. Things were good this week. Lately I've been talking to Chrissy Laabs (one of my former co-workers from Dairy Queen who now lives in Colorado) lately and she always manages to put a smile on my face! That should bring it all up to date here...except for today's posting! Sooooo here's the first O-fficial NMU Daze update brought to you in part by the friendly folks at Rhinoland Inc.
10/7/02
YOU KNOW WHAT?!?!? I MISSED THE FIRST POST BECAUSE I FELL ASLEEP! SCREW IT! I WON'T EVEN BOTHER STARTING UPDATING THINGS UNTIL TOMORROW!!! NOT EVEN A BRINGING UP TO SPEED POST! CURSE MY LAZINESS AND SUCH! MWA HAHAHA!!!
10/8/02 Tuesday
Today's Suckiness Factor: 7 out of 10
Wow! Today sure started off with a bang! Freakin horrible breakfast, then a nice little jaunt up Jamrich Hill in the freezing rain to go to Music in Society. Not to mention sit in a 40 degree room soaked to the bone. Now, because today got off to such a "great" start, I've decided to blow off political science so I can go put on some dry clothes and warm up a bit. I'll go to my other class just because it's a painless class to go to and I can probably get away with sleeping throgh half of it. All I have to do is go sign the attendance sheet and I'm almost guaranteed an A grade. So screw today and its raininess! Maybe I'll write up a game review or add some content to this site or something. Not like I've got anything better to do...
10/9/02 Wednesday
CHICKEN STRIP DAY! YAY!!!
Woke up this morning actually feeling rested for a change! Maybe because I got an extra hour of sleep due to the fact that I went to bed at 2:00am instead if 3:00 heh. Breakfast was kind of disturbing this morning due to the fact that there was an awful fish/crap smell in the cafeteria...which made my Froot Loops and chocolate milk almost unbearable to eat. After breakfast I trekked up good 'ol freaking Jamrich Hill to go to music only to find out that yes, music was cancelled for the second time this week. Kinda pissed because I was awake, but happy in the fact that I didn't have to stay awake for that shit. So I went back to my room and sat around for an hour until it was time for Political Science with everyone's favorite Pat O'Neill clone: Dr. Ball! That actually flew by for a change! Hurrah! But on the way back down the hill for class I saw something quite amusing. This hippy guy was throwing crumbs of something to the many seagulls that inhabit the quad courtyard. He was having a good 'ol time until one of them started freaking out and swooping at him. Here's how it went:
Hippy: Lalala..feedin the birds.
Gull:CAW!!! (Starts swooping)
Hippy: Hey man! Chill out! (Throws big crumb of something at the bird)
Gull: (snaps) CAWWWWWW!!! (Lands on ground and starts chasing the hippy guy with its wings spread out)
Hippy: (Eyes get REAL wide; runs) SOMEONE GET THIS FREAKING DUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!
Ryan: But dude, it's a seagull. It's pissed off now. It's like a bee, it's going tokeep chasing you till it gets your eyes.
Hippy: (Gets REAL scared and runs into nearest building, dropping the bag of stuff, which the gulls jump on like freaking sharks)
Entertainment at its best I tell you! Made my day, but for now, I'm off to eat half a billion chicken strips at the cafeteria! CHICKEN STRIP DAYS ROXORZ!!!
10/14/02 Monday Freaking Monday
I went home for the weekend and therefore had no time at all to update. No time to relax at all either, as I spent most of the day Saturday either shoveling gravel for my aunt or working the Caramel Apple Stand at Pumpkinfest. Not to mention working late into Saturday night at Tacconelli's. It was busy, which was a blessing and a curse at the same time as I was already VERY tired, butI also made mad tips! YAY! Today the weather took a nice little plunge into pre-winter mode with morning temperatures in the low 30s. YUCK! Much to my surprise and displeasure, my Music teacher (DIE FLOYD DIE) decided to have a TEST today instead of review FOR the test like he promised he would do. He cancelled class THREE times last week and has a TEST! *@%$!!! Must...get...revenge. Ah well. I have a test in my Russian Lit class tonight and that should be fairly easy compared to say...brain surgery. But for now I'm off to work on the "Picture of the Day" section! Look for it in the links section within the next few days.
10/21/02 Monday
Blah blah blah. I know...haven't updated in awhile. Sorry. Been kinda busy lately since I regained some work ethic. Tomorrow...I PROMISE!!!
10/22/02 Tuesday...TACO Tuesday MWA HAHA
Ahh yes. Sorry about the lack of updateyness lately. Been busy failing tests and whatnot...haha. Just kiddin'. The sanity took a little slip today as I almost jumped upand beat the ever lovin' piss out Dr. Ball today for ripping on Gogebic County and calling representatives from the Upper Peninsula a bunch of retards. He shall feel the wrath. MWA HAHAHA. Anyway. The week has gotten off to a pretty good start. I've been playing Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for Gamecube and generally freaking the shit out of myself in the process. The game employs "Insanity Effects" to make the insanity of the character seem almost real to the player. For example: Try imagining playing the game late at night and suddenly see blood drip down a wall, then suddenly vanish, making it seem like it wasn't there in the first place. Creepiness RULES! I'm still working and the game review and picture of the week section for the website when I find the time, but I've been so busy. Even when I'm not working on schoolwork. I HAVE to do VERY well on my next few music in society tests or else I think I may be in trouble. But the class is so frickin' out there that it's impossible to know what to study! ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! OK...calmness. I'll be fine. IF I DON'T KILL ANYONE FIRST. MUAH MUAH MUAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ah well. Screw it. I'll do fine...I hope. Please God...
10/23/02 Wednesday THE CHICKEN STRIKES BACK!
After a relatively easy day...(BOTH classes got out early!) and a good grade on my political science quiz in the books, I...passed out for an entire afternoon. IT'S TRUE! And it was AWESOME! YAY! I'm so well rested for the first time in so long! And it feels GREAT! I spent the entire day writing in my book after I woke up, and the prologue is NEARLY finished! HURRAH! And...CHICKEN STRIPS WERE BACK FOR SUPPER AT THE MARKETPLACE!!! YAYYYYY. I was INCREDIBLY HUNGRY as I had skipped lunch due to sleep. So U ended up eating 15 Chicken strips and a bigass bowl of cheesy broccoli, along with three big 'ol chocolate chip cookies. Life was good today..and FILLING! I'm going home tomorrow for the weekend, and I HOPE I have some shifts at Tacconelli's waiting for me. I told Karla I was coming home this weekend but that doesn't mean she scheduled me, seeing as how she has yet to contact me...damn it..and I really could use some cash too. Ah well. I'll try to update this weekend if I remember to, but until then have a good weekend.
Monday October 28th, 2002...ONE MORE DAY UNTIL VICE CITY OWNS ALL
Week got off to an odd start again. My CD-ROM on my computer got all busted up over the weekend which means I'm gonna have to sacrifice it to the inept morons at microrepair tomorrow for God knows how long, so this may be the last update in awhile. Anyways. Music in society continues to be the bane of my existence, and my Lit class should prove interesting tonight as he will be asking some of us to read our papers aloud to the class....FUCK. I hate reading my own shit in front of people. ESPECIALLY essays...oh well. The only redeeming light of this week is going to be my MEGA drive to Duluth come Thursday morning to finally get away from here for the weekend, and not just crash at home. FAMOUS DAVE'S HERE I COME! YAYYYYYY!!! On the hometown news front. The old "Great Northern Laundry Supply Company" building is now the property of one Peter Tacconelli, who will eventually turn it into (insert trumpet fanfare of your choice here) Tacconelli's to Go! A pizza and sub shop from what I understand. So YAY for new stuff in Bessemer...but probably not until next year. Well I'm off to go um...NOT sleep until my Lit class...yeah...I'm gonna...um...read...HEH. (Where's my copy of Max Payne gotten to?)
10/29/02 Tuesday...Um...YAY
OK...Tuesdays are very fast becoming my favortie day of the week, and those of you that know me really well will find that weird due to the fact that I've HATED TUESDAYS MY ENTIRE LIFE! MORE THAN MONDAY! "Why like it now then Ryan?" OK first off, who the fuck asked that question and would you please get out of my house? And secondly, they're becoming entertaining for a change. Music in society, while bothersome, flies by on these days to give way to Political science, which has also developed a nice habit of cruisin' by on Tuesdays. Then of course is Patterns and Continuity of the Literary Past, whic is the BEST GPA RAISER EVER! Sign the attendance sheet/post discussion topic on WEBCT/ Play freakin video games the whole class period= an A for me! HURRAH! This Tuesday was VERY uneventful, which makes me feel good, as I am quite tired from Psycho Brownie Training this afternoon. Ask me if you've got questions. But for now, I hear the gumbo callin' me from the cafeteria.
10/30/02 Wednesday...Going Through Pre-Withdrawals...
Wow..did today suck some serious ass! Music in society test on Monday, and I still haven't gotten my computer fixed yet! A CURSE I SAY! On top of that, BOMBED a political science test this morning, but on the brighterside of that, I've gotten 100% on every one of his damn quizzes so far and I passed the first exam so I'm probably pretty good. My sweetass shirt came in the mail today! Better than Ricky's hat! MWA HAHA! But now that classes are over for the day things are going to make a nice turnaround because it is once again CHICKEN STRIP WEDNESDAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! Just gotta wait for Rick to get back from class and I swear to God I'm eating like 15 of them suckers! I have decided to once again skip class tomorrow morning to make a trip to Duluth/Home to buy some stuff/pick up a shift at Tacconelli's/Get my Copy of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Which from what I hear is possibly the NEWEST greatest game on Earth since Grand Theft Auto III. So here's to y'all since I probably won't update again till Monday! PEACE!
11/5/02 Tuesday...MWA HAHAHA
What a great day so far! TWO FREAKING CLASSES CANCELLED BACK TO BACK! I spent the better part of my morning playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and boy is this one shaping up to be my personal choice for game of the year. I spent the better part of my playing time messing around with the freaking helicopters that I've been finding at random places in the city. Truly and awesome game. Anyways...All I have left today is my frickin Patterns and Continuity class and I'm good to go. Probably going to sit down for a good part of tonight and write down some class options that I can talk with my advisor about tomorrow. And right now...LUNCH TIME! YES! So I shall bid you all a fond farewell for today.
11/6/02 Wednesday...No...CHICKEN STRIPS?!?!? Must...kill...
Today was actually pretty sweet to start with. My Music in Society class has been cancelled for the rest of the week, meaining I can go home tomorrow morning right after I register for classes at 7:00am. YAY! I met with my advisor and lined up some SWEETASS classes for next semester, so I AM GOOD TO GO!!! WOO!!! Then no Poly Sci because I um...well...passed out on a couch at the student lounge at the UC. The day passes as usual, played a lot of Vice City until supper...that's when things started to go downhill. Well...that's the ONLY downhill part. And that part is... THEY DIDN'T HAVE CHICKEN STRIPS!!! DUN DUN DUN! Meatloaf! FRIGGIN MEATLOAF! Sure it was good and all, and mashed potatoes with GREAT gravy and peas and sweet cinnamon sugar cookies, but STILL! NO CHICKEN STRIPS! WHY MESS WITH PERFECTION?!? SNARL! Oh well...they'll be back eventually. I hope! CURSE YOU MARKETPLACE!!! Ah well. I get to go home and make some cash again. Probably no updates either, but we'll see. Until next time...I'm off to destroy the cafeteria. MWA HAHAHA!!!
11/12/02 Tuesday of Tuesdays...Food
Ahh yes Tuesday...my LEAST FREAKING FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK!!! Today I update right from my seat in my boring-ass tow hour lecture class. The one where I just have to sign the paper to get credit. Well today Dr. Ventre is guarding BOTH exits and I am without an option of escape unlike usual. Fuck. I really wish I was back at my room right now working on my Russian Lit paper, but honestly it's just not gonna happen. I know I didn't update yesterday...sorry about that. I didn't feel well for most of the day and I fell asleep right after Music in Society. Then I skipped Russian Lit to go and see Henry Rollins Live at the University Center...HOLY WHAT THE FUCK!!! The guy is fucking AWESOME! The stuff he talked about was just so unbelieveably cool, and he was so down to Earth that I felt like going upthere ans asking him if he wanted to hang out after the show. What a guy. I strongly suggest that if his tour ever comes somewhere near you, GO SEE HIM! ROCK! Anyways. I'm bored here in this freaking class and it's the same damn lecture from the last TWO weeks, so I'm calling it World Lit Lec Part III. So...boring. If this was a live chat, I could give you a play by play...but frankly...I'm not gonna type anymore because...I'm...falling...asleep...Have fun and remember...NEVER EVER TAKE THIS CLASS. *thud* ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
11/19/02 Tuesday after the bomb dropped....AFTER MY FREAKING BRAIN IS NOW MUSHY LIKE SKUSHY SLUSHY SLUSH.
OK...part one of "Where the hell have I been?" Well I was hpoing YOU could answer that for me. My mind is fragged beyond belief from the past few days' events. Let's start on the weekend. Last friday anyways... I Worked like a DOG this past weekend. Friday night at Tacconelli's was INSANE. SO many people eating so much freaking food...damn fish fry. Went home that night, ate a Subway sandwich, didn't even go out. Next day was Saturday. Spent the day just slacking off until I was kicked out the door to put up the Christmas lights with my dad. Back pain to the max there on the ladder, twisted in many a way that I SHOULD NOT BE TWISTING INTO. Went out Saturday night to no real avail, other than I ended up at a coworkers house playing Scrabble and Boggle unil 3:00am. Then on Sunday I picked up a copy of a game I was anticipating for a long time: Robot Alchemic Drive. Such a game I have never played in my life. After the grueling drive back to NMU, I sat on the couch and played that game for SEVEN HOURS. Stopping only to watch The Simpsons and King of the Hill. And it's great. Most fun I've had in awhile. The basis is that you control a giant robot by way of remote control, so you're not really a "pilot" per say, because you see the battle in the third person, which is sweet. Best part is that the battles take place in a COMPLETELY destroyable city. MWA HAHAHAHA. Fun to be had for sure. The news teams reporting all thetime gets annoying, but meh, I'll deal. After playing THAT for seven hours, I suddenly had a horrible thought cross my mind... I forgot to do my final paper for Russian Lit. And now for Part II.
The bomb crashed on my brain and set it ablaze. It was 3:00am...and I had not done my final paper for my Russian Lit class. I threw on my shorts and a T-shirt, intending to work on it in the morning ALL DAY until class at 6:00pm. And I didn't sleep...I didn't fall asleep until 6:30am. The alarm went off and I just about died. An hour and a half of sleep...NOT GOOD. I woke up, ate breakfast, and drank a SHITLOAD OF COFFEE. Horrible stuff when you drink it black, but I needed a fix. Iwent to my Music class and came back with EVERY intetion of working, but after researching a topic for two hours, I had written two lines. They were: "Anton Chekov was a great guy. They don't make em like they used to." Mental retardation... I freaked out for a little while after that. Decided I'd just take the 10 points off the paper for a week late. But didIstop? Noooooooo. I kept going. Just driven to finish I guess. The finished product was NOT pretty. I scrapped it and immediately went to the cafeterian and drank mroe coffee. I still had to go to class. So when 6:00 rolled around, I grabbed my syllabus and went for the door, but soemthing caught my eye... a note from Dr. Johnson. "Final papers due Nov. 25th." Another week...to finish. My brain snapped. I hit my head on the wall for awhile and with caffeine COURSING through my veins I ran to class laughing hysterically. So there's the story. My sanity has returned to normal and updates will continue on a regular basis starting tomorrow. I promise. Until then. SLEEP IS NEEDED!
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