Jake's Blog

Why people wouldn't think hip-hop is my favorite genre of music:

• I am white
• I am from Indiana
• I drive a Honda Civic
• I dress "preppy"
• I go to Butler

Needless to say hip-hop is not necessarily the music of choice here in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood, but the release of 2 new hip-hop CDs this week was one of the highlights of the week for at least one person in the area....

Kanye West released his new "808s & Heartbreak" CD (left) and Ludacris released "Theatre of the Mind" (right)

Two of arguably my favorite hip-hop artists in my short 22 year life, both releasing their new albums on the same day.  Of course I still support the music industry, so I was quick to make the trip to Best Buy and purchase the albums rather than ripping them off the internet.

It's hard saying this soon where their albums stack up all time in my book as I own 3 other Luda (Word of Mouf, Chicken and Beer, Red Light District) CDs and 3 other Kanye (College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation) CDs.  Each CD has plenty of current hits as well as some tracks that will move their way up the charts.... Well, I feel like I am writing a review so I will discuss the rest of my break....

CVS- So I finally made it back to my place of employment after over a month off.... It had been so long that I don't even get my discount at the store anymore.  However, that was countered by the fact that I had a paycheck waiting for me at the store, so that served as a nice little holiday bonus.  Anyways, I put in 32 hours of work to help pay some bills, get some Christmas money, etc., etc...

Butler Basketball- So far 3 games are down (2 mens, 1 womens) and 1 game left to go tomorrow.  It is coming to that time of year when college basketball slowly but surely takes over my life....  The Dawgs are currently 4-0 btw...

Michigan City- Of course I had to make a trip up to MC to spend Thanksgiving there.  We hosted our family (all 20 or so of us) at my house.  It was nice to see everyone and catch up a little bit, as I haven't been there since August.  I think I spend roughly 10 or so days out of the calendar year in Michigan City, which is kinda sad.  But it is nice to get away from Indy every now and then even if you do love it as much as I do.

Well I have clusters next week, so that should keep me busy.  My procrastination with studying never ceases to amaze me.  Say a prayer for my success and well being this week.

 -Jake

Was that Heaven?.... No, it was indeed Iowa- the great state that played host to my weekend trip.  The Bulldogs traveled to take on the Bulldogs (of Drake) on Saturday night.  As you may have read in my last blog post, I predicted a Butler victory by a score of 65-54.... I guess I was not far wrong as the final turned out to be 58-48 in Butler's favor.  The environment at Drake's Knapp Center left something to be desired.  There is no way I would have guess that this was a team that had only lost 5 games last season and that sold out almost every home game.  I guess the bandwagon deflated when they lost 3 of their starters.  Here are a few other tidbits from the trip:

-Jethro's BBQ:  If you are ever in the Des Moines, Iowa area this should probably one of your first stops (http://www.jethrosdesmoines.com/).  This local sports bar provided me with a great pre-game meal and left me so full that I needed no further sustenance for the next 24 hours.  Of course I walked into the sports bar with my gameday outfit on (blue wig and blue and white bib overalls), but since Drake has the same colors and same mascot as us I was mistaken by many as a Drake die-hard.

-Fighting Illini:  Friday night, after driving from Indy after class, we made a pit stop in Champaign-Urbana (well Savoy, IL technically) to stay at my roommate's house.  I seldom like to party at universities other than Butler (in fact, I have only visited one other campus since I have been a student), but U of I can throw down.  We first made our way to the Illini Inn, a hole in the wall bar about the size of most living rooms.  We did stop by the Delt chapter at Illinois.  The house was huge, but it made my appreciate my own Delt shelter so much more, as there were broken bottles and messes everywhere.... not really something you want in your "home".  From there we made our way to a few house parties and then crashed pretty early in preparation for game day.

I apologize for the lack of pictures or anything fancy in this blog... I had brought my camera with me, but I just can't bring myself to snap photos during the games, as I normally am way too focused on the task at hand.  This week we have a few more men's and women's games at Hinkle (how I have missed it), so my devotion pretty much shifts to college basketball for the next few months.  Hopefully I will be able to stay on top of everything else, but I will always sacrifice the finer things in life for a Bulldog victory....

This evening I accepted an invitation from Drake University's student radio station to talk about the upcoming Drake vs. Butler game.  I had never done a radio interview, as I prefer face-to-face communication... but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.  The interview was held with the host, Drake's "Dogpound" President, and myself.  So you would assume there would be some banter between the two "Dawg/Dog Pound" Presidents, but we kept it professional.  We covered a lot in the 20 or so minutes.  Here's a brief overview:

• Butler Football: Few people know that Drake and Butler are in the same conference for football, but we dedicated a good portion of time talking about the football team.... something that I really wasn't prepared for.  However, we have the upper hand on Drake in that we did defeat them 21-15 earlier in October.  We talked about the fact that Butler and Drake are in a conference that is spread across the nation... something that is fairly odd for college sports.  Our conference has teams all over the country, spreading from San Diego to Jacksonville to the Midwest.
• Butler Basketball: Pretty much the focus of the show (and my life at this time), we devoted a greater portion of the time talking about how the season has been and what is to come for the upcoming year.  Of course I was really excited to talk about our new, young guys on the team, as most people are unaware of the talent level they bring to the table.  After doing extensive research about the Drake squad, I was prepared for pretty much anything the Drake crew was going to fire at me.  They kept it pretty lax though, just asking me who has performed well and who I expect to see do big things this weekend.  I was pretty disappointed that they didn't ask me my prediction for the weekend... FYI I am predicting a Butler victory 65-54.
• Fine Arts Majors:  Yes, believe it or not, we talked about the fine arts departments at both universities and wondered why they just don't seem to be in to sports.  The Drake Dogpound President is a biochem major and we both discussed the fact that science majors have a love for sports... either that or we use it as an out to get away from studying.

So there's my radio show in a nutshell.... I honestly think it'd be cool to get something like that started here at Butler.... hell, I wouldn't mind starting it myself.... I would be looking for a co-host, so if anyone is interested shoot me an email.  I will be making the 7-hour voyage to Iowa (aka "God's Country") this weekend to watch the game, so I hope to get some pics and updates next week.

 Go Dawgs!

-J. Ski

Considering my 160 lb. frame, I consider myself to be one of the most powerful eaters that this campus has to offer.  I consider myself to be a modern-day Kobayashi, with a deceivingly thin appearance, but an overwhelmingly large stomach.  I had a chance to showcase some of my ability this Saturday at the men's basketball exhibition game.  During a media timeout, Penn Station rolled out a table with 3 large Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches.... 1 sandwich for each contestant.  We were given 30 seconds to stuff down as much of the sandwich as possible.  Here is an action shot....

My tactic: As the sandwich is sliced into thirds, I decided it was best to take it one section at a time (as you can see, some opponents opted to do otherwise).  I began by opening the sandwich, scraping the meat off, and tackling that portion of the sandwich first.  As I knew the bread would slow me down, I opted to approach this second.

The faults: The best way to learn is through experience... and this experience taught me a few lessons.  For starters, I bit off way more than I could chew, literally.... My mouth was stuffed so full that I found it near impossible to swallow and nearly had the dreaded "reversal" just seconds into the contest.  Secondly, I need to utilize the water.  If you have ever watched competitive eating with bread products involved (i.e. the hotdog eating contest on the 4th of July) you probably noticed that many contestants choose to dip the bread in water and flatten it, decreasing the volume and making for ease when swallowing.

The result: After a hard fought 30 seconds I came out on top.  It was not an overwhelming margin of victory, but it was good for my first outing.  I only managed to stuff down about 1/3 of the sandwich during what seemed like 5 minutes, but it was sufficient to get the "W".  Here is a post-chow shot with my reaction....

The future: This competition is not a 1-game series.  As a result of the win on Saturday I have been invited back to compete in the finals, which will take place during the last men's home basketball game of the year (Feb. 28).  Every game prior to that will have the same competition, with the winner from every game advancing to the finals.  So I am blessed with a chance to scope out my competition at future homegames and with the chance to observe tactics and strategies that I, myself, may implement.

The prize: For winning the qualification match, I was given a new Butler t-shirt and cup... (and a free sandwich I guess).  This would be a small consolation prize if I fail to win the finals, which comes with a grand prize of free Penn Station sandwiches for a year.  I hope it will be similar to Happy Gilmore, how he just gets a card that is good for "free Subway for life"....

So with Christmas right around the corner, I will be looking to receive a lot of Penn Station gift cards.  It'll make a perfect stocking stuffer.... and if I win I just may return the favor to you and let you share in the free sandwiches.  Just keep me in mind this Christmas Season.

-Jake S.

Just as I have finished up studying the monthly cycle in females for Principles of Drug Action, I will let you, the reader, study mine... But it's not increasing and decreasing levels of estrogen, progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone, etc..... It's a rise and fall of lifestyles.... For you visual learners, I have applied my lifestyles in graph forms.  I will go through them one at a time.

 *Note: Days 13-15 are indicative of exam time of the month

Here we see what is probably the most important to any college student: sleep.  As you can see, the beginning and end of my cycle appear pretty balanced, even slightly above baseline.  However, somewhere near midcycle you notice a dramatic decline in sleep, brought upon by exam time, which begins at day 13 of the cycle.  A dramatic decline precedes this trough beginning around day 7 (aka, the day I release I need to start doing work).  A spike in the graph then occurs, showing the completion of exams and a time of relaxation.

Next we will take a look at the studying graph.  As you can see, most of the cycle appears below baseline with an increase again starting around day 7.  When comparing the sleep and studying graphs you may notice that they are inversely proportional.

The physical activity graph shows some very distinct points as well.  A level slightly higher than baseline is maintained for roughly 2/3 of the cycle when I decide "yes, I will get myself in shape this month".  That mindset usually disappears early in the cycle and a trough shows up around day 11.  The cycle then shoots up around day 16 thanks in part to an increase in sleep, decrease in studying, and decrease in stress... which will be discussed next.

Clearly, my stress levels remain fairly low, which is always a good value to shoot for.  As displayed by the graph there is a surge in stress at mid-cycle, follow by a rapid decline and a "stress-free" zone from days 16-21.

Finally we will discuss EtOH, or ethyl alcohol if you will.  This fairly flat graph has a few sharp peaks in it, noticably around day 16 (aka- the end of exams).  A few other aftershocks are seen on the weekends following, but the graph levels out fairly quickly in preparation for a new cycle to begin.....

So there you have it.... a brief summary of Jake's lifestyle levels throughout the cycle.  This material will be covered on the exam, so I expect you to have the information mastered.  Supplemental reading (Jake's Autobiography) is not mandatory, but will better help you grasp the material.  Good luck students.

 -Professor

What's happening everyone? Well, I just got back from a nice Fall Break weekend in the lovely city of Las Vegas, Nevada (aka "Lost Wages" or "Sin City"). My family has had this trip planned for months, but I didn't dare mention it as me, my sister, and brother-in-law surprised my dad in the Vegas airport for his birthday (I know my dad frequently checks out my blog, so I didn't want to give anything away). We flew in Wednesday night and I felt as though my good luck had already started on the flight out there. To liven up the crowd, the flight crew had random questions and quizzes on the flight with the prize being free drinks (I am of age, of course). The first question posed was: Name the 4 states in the US that have the same first letter of state and first letter of state capital. After a few minutes of deliberation I was able to come up with the answer and I scored myself a free Jack and Coke. FYI- it's Indianapolis, IN, Honolulu, HA, Oklahoma City, OK, and Dover, DE.

We stayed at the Palazzo Hotel right on the strip.  Our room was insanely nice with 3 LCD TVs including one in the bathroom.  Below is a pic of me and the old man in front of a fountain in our hotel.

Thursday consisted of a lot of walking around and exploring.  Exploring my hotel, exploring the casino, and exploring the entire Vegas strip.  One great thing about Vegas is the buffets.  That morning we went to a buffet at the Paris Hotel.  Needless to stay I am one of the most powerful eaters in the state of Indiana, so one meal was enough to hold me over for the entire day.  Here are some pics that were taken during our adventures.  The first one is a pic of the entire family in front of the Bellagio Hotel (which is known for its pretty sweet fountain show every 30 minutes) and the second one is a pic of my mom and me in the older part of Vegas, which is pretty well-lit to say the least.... You can tell by how lit up we are in the pic....

Friday we took a trip to the historic Hoover Dam, which was built during the Great Depression to prevent flooding caused by the Colorado River.  It has enough cement in it to lay a highway across the entire United States.  It also has water driven generators that supply power to Los Angeles, Vegas, and parts of Arizona.  The project actually paid for itself with all the power it supplies.  Here are a few pics from the tour, one outside the dam and one looking at half of the generators.

Now to the gambling..... I didn't lose all my wages I guess.  I played some poker, blackjack, and caribbean stud poker, as well as some machine games.  It was fun to watch people putting down bets of hundreds of dollars like it was nothing, but it's definitely not something I could do.  I was content playing the minimum bet and just enjoying the ambiance.  I didn't necessarily come out a winner, but it was easily worth the entertainment value.

....This is one of the values that my fraternity holds very true.  This past Saturday we lived this value by volunteering for Rebuilding The Wall, an organization that gives inner-city families the opportunity for homeownership by renovating vacant properties.  All of the work is done by volunteers, saving thousands and thousands of dollars in labor, allowing the low-income families to afford the homes.  Here are the shirts that we had made for members of my fraternity and some freshmen we invited:

This was my fourth year participating in this event with the fraternity.  I must admit it is a very tough thing for college students to do- get up at 8 AM on a Saturday morning to do volunteer work.  Howver, the feeling of accomplishment cannot be matched.  Normally, since we do bring a group of about 50 men, we are given the task of demolition and construction.  Saturday however, we were given the task of finishing the process and helping 2 families move in to their newly finished homes.  We moved furniture, cleaned, put up blinds, cut some closet doors, and put the final touches on the families' homes, which was quite the satisfying feeling, being able to see the happiness that was brought to the families.  Many of the families that buy these houses are becoming homeowners for the first time, so it is an exciting experience for everyone.

After all was said and done, the hard work and fresh air had taken its toll on me and I was ready to do what Tyler is doing in the picture below (FYI- this is a 4-year old's bed that we put together and Tyler decided to test out)....

 Until next time.....

-Jake

So another round of clusters is in the books for me.  Granted it is only cluster set #7 out of 18, but it felt great to get the first one of the year out of the way.  I actually performed fairly well on the exams ("well" by my standards differs vastly from "well" for some other pharmacy majors).  Even though my feelings about the test are always far from consistent, there is one thing that will remain as long as the term "clusters" hangs around: Celebration.  Sure it was a Monday afternoon, but that doesn't stop the students at IU... why would it be any different here?

The Game:  As you can see by the picture below we wanted the celebration to be both massive and extensive, so we devised a 78-cup mega pong game.  It was a 1-on-1 matchup, more a battle of stamina than accuracy.

The Progress: Early into the matchup it was pretty much neck and neck, with my opponent pulling away towards the very end.  (note the ball springing off the cup in the righthand picture.... that was almost the game)

The Result: So I was defeated by my opponent 78 cups to 75 cups which, as anyone with experience in the game knows, is not a big margin.  The way I see it though, there are no losers in these kinds of games.

The Aftermath: By the end of the game I was pretty worn out and was quick to make it to bed (after being tucked in by some caring roommates).  For those of you wondering, I was up bright and early the next morning to make it to PDA in preparation for the next set of clusters and, better yet, in preparation for Celebration Round 2.....

...than studying. So I have made it through 3 of 4 exams.... and it hasn't really been all that bad. Granted I have put in quite a bit of time "catching up" this week, so I am a little burnt out. Therefore I thought it would be appropriate to make a list of the top 5 things I'd rather be doing.

• 5) Going to a White Sox game: Yeah, sure... they just got swept by the Twins and their playoff hopes are pretty much out of their own hands (and in the hands of the superb Kansas City Royals), but what could be better than watching your team play in late September with everything on the line?
• 4) Running: This busy week sure has put a damper on my physical activity/overall health. My diet basically turns into energy drinks, snacks, and food on the go. I wouldn't mind being able to get out in this great weather and work off all the garbage I deposited into my body this past week.
• 3) Xbox Live: Yesterday we finally set up our Xbox Live in the "Black 5". What better way to relieve stress than to mic up and talk some trash while playing some Halo, one of the best selling video games of all time.
• 2) Sleeping: I don't really lose too much sleep during clusters week, but in all honesty, who doesn't love sleep? I have had a few early mornings in the past few days in order to review notes and such, so it has taken its toll on me. Next week will be filled with plenty of sleep for sure....
• 1) Post Cluster Celebration: Probably in the top 2% of days out of the year (falling just behind Homecoming, Bid Day, Holidays, etc.) for all pharmacy majors. Monday night will be a night of shear debauchery, celebrating the fact that I am that much closer to picking up that "coveted" degree....

My roommate and fellow pharmacy major dropped a great quote on me today; one that really put everything in perspective. He said: "We study in the bottom 10% of all pharmacy majors (referring to time spent) and we are usually right around the 50th percentile... The way I see it, we are playing with the house's money".... ....and with that, it's time to check a few things off of that list.

-Jake

"care plans=hell"

"studying, still..."

"in the library for the next 2ish weeks"

"beating my head into my computer aka writing my first care plan...AHHHH!!!"

.....Ever seem like pharmacy majors complain a lot?  Well, yeah, they sure do.  It's no wonder why pharmacy majors get the reputations they do.  Day in and day out it's the same thing- pharmacy majors publicizing just how hard they have it here at Butler University.  (Note: the above quotations were taken from AIM away messages and Facebook statuses, but the identity of the people behind the quotations will be protected to protect them from being the butt of any pharmacy-related jokes).  If you've ever been to an all-campus event such as Freshman Skits or Spring Sing you will see how pharmacy majors are portrayed- as high-strung nerds, for lack of better words, who act like pharmacy is life and life is pharmacy.  Let me take a few minutes to list just a few of the reasons why pharmacy majors may act like this:

• Clusters- As most are aware, pharmacy majors have a 3-day stretch once a month where they have exams in all their classes.  Why is it bad?  Because it requires a lot of studying over a 4-5 day stretch.  Why is it not as bad as pharmacy majors make it out to be?  Pharmacy students have all classes during this time cancelled, so they can simply focus on the task at hand.  I know people in several other areas of study who have had multiple exams, presentations, portfolios, etc. within the same week.... but they still have to go to class.
• Friday Class- Yeah, as pharmacy majors we have class on Fridays.  Not just a few classes, but hours and hours, while a large portion of campus does not have class.  Why is this bad?  Because it really hinders the ever-popular participation in "Thirsty Thursdays"- a craze that is hotter than Razr Scooters in '98.  Why is this not as bad as pharmacy majors make it out to be?  We have our down time as well.  I am currently writing this on a Thursday, a day where I only have one class.... that didn't start til noon.
• 6 Years!?- Pharmacy majors are required to have 6 years of education before receiving the coveted "Doctor of Pharmacy" degree.  But this is legit.  After all, we will have peoples' lives in our hands.  Why is this bad?  Well, cost obviously.  Two extra years of school is not cheap by any means.  Not to mention our 6th year where we work and, instead of getting paid to work, we pay the university to coordinate our work experience.  Why is this not as bad as pharmacy majors make it out to be?  I don't know about every other pharmacy major, but I absolutely love college life.  If I could freeze myself in one time it would be my time here at Butler... What's a little work when you get to experience the high life that is Butler University?

Alright, so this may not be the case for every pharmacy major, but after hours of calculations I figured the ratio is roughly 8.7:1 typical (mentioned above) pharmacy major:atypical pharmacy major.  So next time you hear a pharmacy major referencing any of these points just bust out one of the "why is this not as bad as pharmacy majors make it out to be" counterpoints, tell them "Happy Thirsty Thursday!", laugh, and carry on enjoying your experience at Butler University.... because it flies by faster than you will ever imagine.

-Jake "pharmtard" Ski

So, many of you probably have read Ashlen's blog post "A Day in the Life of a Pharmacy Student".  Seeing as though Ashlen and I are classmates, I thought it'd be fun just to share my own schedule and see how they are similar and different.

Wake-Up: As Ashlen mentioned, 9 AM is pretty much the standard start time for classes for us.  While Ashlen is a commuter student and has to get up about 2 hours before class, I have the luxury of being a solid 5 minute walk from the infamous Jordan Hall Room 141.  So I normally wake up at 8 AM to Kanye West "Good Morning", then hit the snooze, only to wake up to the same beat 5 minutes later.  A quick shower, followed by a quick check of the email (1 of roughly 40 times through the day I check it).  Walking out the door around 8:46-8:47 AM usually gives plenty of time to get settled in.  Note: I am possibly one of the faster walkers on campus so my travel times are usually pretty low.

Class: For example sake I will use Mondays.  Principles of Drug Action leads off the day where we draw structure upon structure of drug molecules and talk about what they do in the body... pretty sweet.  An hour later, 10 AM, it's off to grab a quick bite, check email again, print off some Dawg Pound stuff and catch some Sportscenter in an on campus lounge.  At 11 its back to the grind with back to back classes of Self Care Lab (where the name says it all), a group session where we learn different diagnostics that you pretty much can do yourself (blood pressure/cholesterol screenings, pulse, heart rate, etc.) and Dosage Forms (again self explanatory), where we listen to Dr Motlekar ("Malt Liquor" as I pronounce it) lecture on different drug dosage forms like solutions, suspensions, tablets, etc. and how they are affected by different variables in the body.  Another hour long break follows where, instead of being productive, I normally find someone to socialize with in Starbucks.  At 2 PM we take it to Gallahue Hall, the science building, where 120 of us (all on the same schedule) sit through a 2 hour Self Care Lecture, learning about over the counter items and self treatment methods.

Post Class: Just like Ashlen, it's normally straight home after classes.  Here, it's normally a good half hour break where I can just flip through and see what sports are on, chat with the roommates, or just stare off into space.  I normally like to use the 5 o'clock hour to work out, be it with a nice 3 or so mile run or a trip the HRC to do some lifting.  Either way, it's a nice stress relief and a necessity (Side Note: I need to make a chart showing my weight fluctuation over the past 2 months.  During the summer I worked over 40 hours a week for CVS.  With the fast pace of the job I rarely would sit down and enjoy a nice meal.  So needless to say, I cut some weight over the summer... roughly 12 pounds.  Unfortunately the celebrations that come with Welcome Week and days or weeks near have let me put that weight back on in a hurry).  By 6 PM, its back for a shower and dinner.  My dinners are usually pretty quick, as I am no gourmet chef.  I do a lot of frozen food, pasta, or recently, egg sandwiches.

Evening: I normally do force myself to go to the library in the evenings, but I normally find myself being less than productive.  I guess I am sitting in the library now and I have not touched a book.  Again, it's very easy to socialize and/or stare into the parking lot.  I will normally print off the day's notes, just to say I did something semi-productive.  After the library, its back to the "Black 5" (see previous post) where I again socialize or play ps2.  I am currently playing a dynasty for NCAA Football 2005 and have won 5 straight National Championships with Miami OH.... pretty sweet huh?

Bed: I guess I live by the whole "early to bed, early to rise" phrase, as I try to get to bed before midnight.  It is usually companied with the Sportscenter nightcap or any other catchy show that might be on.  Can't forget to set the Kanye "Good Morning" alarm for the next morning.....

In a nutshell I would venture to say that I am not your typical pharmacy major by any means.  Pharmacy majors often get a bad reputation around here for constantly studying and doing work.... I am pretty much the opposite.  I often think to myself that my peers have to wonder how I am still enrolled in the program.  I can answer that by saying for one week or so out of the month, test time (aka "clusters") I pretty much disappear and devote my life to catching up and cramming it all in, which is what clusters are designed to prevent you from doing.  I do have some advice to any pharmacy majors or prospective pharmacy majors that may be reading this:

• Get notes from someone who has already taken the class- I have the luxury of having several different sources to rely on to hook me up with notes.  Professors are absolute robots when it comes to lectures.  I will look at my notes that a previous student has taken and realize that they are word-for-word what the professor is speaking at that second.  It sure makes life a lot easier.
• Stay involved both on and off campus- As I just mentioned, pharmacy majors have a really bad reputation as people that isolate themselves into a corner of the library all night just memorize and regurgitating their notes and lectures.  It's not hard to spice things up and get involved in a bunch of other fun stuff.
• Allow yourself to get behind, but not too far behind- If there's an event going on and you want to go to it, even though you think you should study, put the books away.  You have more free time than you realize, you just need to learn how to manage it.

For those of you that are curious and want a less wordy schedule, here is what tomorrow looks like for me:

• 12 AM: Sleep, snooze alarm at 8 AM
• 8:05 AM: Get up, shower, email
• 8:47 AM: Walk to class
• 9:00 AM: Principles of Drug Action (probably check email twice during class)
• 10:00 AM: Look for something to do around campus- possibly join up with a tour and ask random questions
• 11:00 AM: Lunch at good old Atherton Union
• 12:00 PM: Dosage Forms
• 1:00 PM: Sit and wait for lab.... probably play some poker, check email, etc.
• 2:00 PM: 3-hour Dosage Forms Lab
• 5:00 PM: Walk home and socialize
• 5:30 PM: Go work out
• 6:30 PM: Shower and Dinner (maybe a pound or so of pasta)
• 7:25 PM: Go to library, print off notes, check email.... maybe, just maybe, read some of those notes
• 9:15 PM: Back home to socialize, check email, facebook stalk, dominate ps2, random snacks, etc.
• 11:30 PM: Get in bed and watch Sportscenter, hoping that the Sox win and Cubs lose as this may just set my mood for the next day
• Midnight (or thereabouts): Sleep and do it all again

Alright, well I am in the library and I just saw someone I know... time to go socialize.

Until next time.....

-Jake Ski

August 15, 2008 was the starting date of the biggest project of my life to date.  It was move-in day at our 6 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 3 story, college student dream home on the infamous Butler Knoll.  But this was no ordinary 6 person home- it was a shot right out of the movie Animal House.... absolutely disgusting.  I will be honest with you, I may be a little OCD when it comes to cleanliness, especially for my own living quarters, so I knew I had my work cut out for me.  Let me share with you a few aspects of the work that has been done and the work that still lays in the midst....

"7 2 Black 5":  Yes, this is the address of my current residence.... but you may be asking "why black 5?".  Well it seems as though during an evening of Midwest tornadic weather or just shear debauchery the number "5" was torn down from the address on the house.  Instead of simply replacing the number with a new one, the previous residents found it sufficient to write the "5" in next to the "72" with a black Sharpie.

 This has become pretty much a signature for our house, and I really don't see myself fixing this... adds character if you ask me.  The funny part is that we found the missing "5" simply lying on the ground below the address, but we decided to keep the "Black 5" just how it is.

Plumbing/Water: Another hassle has been the water and plumbing issues.  Our half bath on the first floor has a toilet that just doesn't want to cooperate.  Even after countless efforts to caulk and solve the problem, the toilet still leaks and floods into the adjacent laundry room. -- When we first moved into the house, in order to get running water we contacted Indianapolis Water.  The service man kept his appointment to come out and get service running.  However, in order to do so he needed to install a new meter.  After scoping out the situation the service man comes upstairs and asks me, "Do you have any idea where your water meter would be?"  I was absolutely clueless, but after some investigation it turned out that the meter had been covered up by some new drywall that was put in downstairs in the basement.  After kicking in and ripping out the drywall we solved that problem. -- The dreaded 4-letter word that all people in real estate hate was another big problem.... yes, that would be "mold".  Our sump pump in the basement is less than functional and with even the slightest bit of rain it is puddles galore in the basement.  Over the summer when the rain was torrential the water levels rose to about 2 feet in the basement.  I was not living here at the time, but the water and mold lines on the walls were a pretty good indicator of this.  So again I got on it and replaced and repainted the drywall slabs in the basement and I am simply praying that everything gets fixed before the next big storm hits.

Construction:  I never considered myself to be really good in this field.... that is until I disassembled an entire room in the basement (both drywall and studs) and used the lumber to construct a bar.... pretty good transition if you ask me.  Top this with the fact that I have patched up and applied new drywall to various areas of the house and have repainted them and things are starting to look up.

Cable/Internet:  The fine people at Brighthouse sent out a service man a few days after move-in to set up our cable and internet.  Little did I know this was an all-day project.  Everything was still all set up from the previous residents of the house and no repairs needed to be made... just simply activating it was all that was necessary.  After a good hour of work I checked the progress of the work only to see that the cable still was not working (after I was told that it should be good to go).  Frustrated, I headed into work late and let the man continue his work.  I received several updates via text message from my roommate throughout the afternoon informing me that the service man was still there and was making little to no progress.  After coming home from work I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I changed setting upon setting and finally at roughly 4am, the wireless internet that was supposed to be done a mere 16 hours earlier was up and running.

Cooling: A fairly recent incident.... in the past few days it seems as though our breaker for our AC unit has been overheating and tripping off.  I will admit that I enjoyed living in the AC-free Ross Hall, but the heat is not really something I want to experience again in late August.  Temperatures have risen to a less than comfortable 78 degrees in the "Black 5" and there is little relief in sight.  This battle is still being fought and hopefully will be resolved shortly.

Landscaping:  I will generalize our yard by saying that we have the finest desert in the state of Indiana.  Overhanging trees and wear and tear on the yard have left us with an arid, dusty front yard.  Granted we have made several steps to improve the looks of the yard by mulching, digging out a fire pit, etc. but it still has some work to be done.  Below are a few pics of what we came into upon move-in. 

I am all about comfort, but the couches in the front yard were a little too much for me.  Upon cleaning up the yard I have had 2 outbreaks of poison ivy- once on my arm and once on my face.  A small price to pay to have a clean desert rather than a trashy one.

Miscellaneous:  A few odds and ends have led to several improvements in the house.  A fresh coat of paint was applied to almost every room of the house.  The carpet was steam cleaned, but still looks pretty rugged.  I installed a threshold between our kitchen and living room to prevent further fraying of the carpet and chipping of the tile.  The dryer had probably 2 pounds of lint behind it, which not only is disgusting, but also quite the fire hazard.  Door knobs.... probably not the first thing you would think of when moving into a house, but the previous residents, rather than using a key to get into the house, simply took the knob with them if they left.... This is probably less than secure, but certainly is an interesting tactic.

As you can see, the tales from the "Black 5" are many in number and almost scary in detail.  It certainly has been a character builder and a life changing experience for me.  However, it is all part of the college experience, showing that the majority of learning at college is done outside of the classroom.  That is from me today.... Have a great weekend.

 -Jake "Plumber, Construction Worker, Landscaper, Painter, Electrician, Cable/Internet Specialist" Ski

Well, today I turn the milestone age of 22... Not really a milestone I guess, but boy I am starting to feel old.  Top this with the fact that a greater percentage of this year's freshman class was born in the 90's and it makes me feel ancient.
It is nice that my birthday falls on Labor Day weekend, so I get an extra day to relax after an exhausting first 3 days of class.  My birthday has been treating me pretty well so far.  Last night I was taken downtown for dinner at Palomino.  I indulged in a great appetizer of calamari and a main course of fettuccini with scallops and shrimp.  Tonight my Greek Big Sis and Lil Sis are making me chicken parmesan (probably my favorite).  Another thing that is great about birthdays away from home is all the mail you get.  I have received either a letter or package every day for the past few days.... it's the little things in life that are the most exciting.  I still remember back to freshman year when my friend Jared and I would walk back to Ross after lunch and check our mail every day in the hopes of getting something.  Tonight we are having a gather at my house on the knoll where we may break fire code with the amount of people we have in here, but that is fine.... I will let everyone know if my house is still standing after the weekend.

Yesterday was the first philanthropy event held on campus.  The women of Kappa Kappa Gamma spent the week raising money for Coburn Place, a safe haven for abused women and their children. 

The week of fundraising culminated with a cookout and kickball tournament at the KKG house.  As you can see from the pics below, it gets pretty intense and people get pretty into it.  That is one thing that many of the Greek houses take great pride in- raising huge amounts of money and spending countless hours volunteering for their philanthropy.... it really is amazing.

Well that is all from me for now.  I am off to enjoy the rest of my birthday.  Don't worry.... I will be back in just a few days with another update.

-Jake

Today marked the official "end of summer".  It certainly has flown by.  I guess I can admit that I am ready to get back to the grind, but that attitude will probably only last a few weeks before I am ready for another break.  Today we had what is known as "Block Party".  This event, targeted mostly for the incoming freshmen, is basically a chance for students to get information on/sign up for campus organizations.  Roughly 130 student organizations set up tables on the mall from 5-7 this evening, handing out flyers, free stuff, and signing up prospects and new members.  There certainly was a wide variety of organizations, ranging from academic clubs to club sports, Greek houses to service organizations.  As President of Dawg Pound, I feel safe to say that we had one of the busiest tables.  We had a ton of stuff to give away, but boy did it go fast.  We gave away leftover shirts from last year, Butler towels, Butler wristbands, Dawg Pound decals, and Dawg Pound banners.  We signed up just over 600 new members today (which breaks down to about 5 new members signed up per minute of Block Party)... pretty crazy.  This puts our current total already over 1000 members, and this is before the school year ever started.  Last year Dawg Pound had a record 1326 members, a total we hope to eclipse this year.  After Block Party we went straight to our office (AU306) to count the new members and the money from sign-ups.  The money went straight into an on campus safe because, at $20 a pop, I did not feel comfortable carrying that money around for long.  We plan on having more sign-ups at a later date to help us reach our membership goal.  Dawg Pound has a lot of new things planned for the upcoming year, but I will post about that later.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of classes for the year.  This semester I have 14 credit hours (a record low for me), but with labs and group sessions I am in class for 20 hours.  My day begins at 9 AM with Principles of Drug Action where we will be getting lectured on histamines (sound exciting?).  My other classes include Dosage Forms, Therapeutics, and Self Care (all pharmacy classes).  One downside to my schedule is that I have 6 hours of class on Fridays, beginning at 8 AM.  So while most people are enjoying the hustle and bustle of Thursday nights on campus, I will be going to bed early in preparation for my busy day.  That is all from me for now.  I look forward to updating my blog frequently, so check back often.  Future blog posts will include a retrospective post about my history (basically an introduction), the joys of renting a house, and new Dawg Pound stuff for the year.  Good luck to everyone who is starting classes tomorrow.

 -Jake Ski