We've cooked almost all of our meals too and our families bought our first supply of everything.  Turns out, we both are pretty good at cooking . We even made really good smoothies in our awesome blender.

I'm already back at work, and I can't wait for my schedule to even out. It's really weird at the beginning of the semester before newbies are trained and even hired. This is my first semester as not one and I'm dragging today. Yesterday's shift seemed long, even though it was shorter than my Summer shifts at home!

<( ' )

(________)*

Kelsey

- Michael

We both already ordered our books online, because the lines are crazy  right before school starts and the shelves empty quickly. We both got better deals too. Price comparing is great, I got one of my books for half price and it's brand new :>>.

I'm actually quite ready to go back. I'm ready for school. It's so exciting to be starting my new major that I actually enjoy so far!

Post more details tonight if I can; if not, I will definitely be back tomorrow!!!

Kels

Right now, Michael and I are both back in our hometown for the Summer. We are both working full time, but he can tell you his side. I'm working in a doctor's office catching up paperwork full time. It can definitely be monotonous, but I'm really thankful for a job.

I'm really excited about the apartment!! I actually am excited for school. I changed my major from English [pre-law] to Atmospheric Sciences. I know it's a huge leap, but that's my next post. I'm just pumped for the new type of work and to be living in an apartment and not the dorms. My R.D. [resident director] was awesome and I did meet some great people, but it wasn't my scene. I do know some people who thrived in the atmosphere though.

Promise, I'll be back soon!

Kels

I got a job after we returned from break that I'm really liking. I work at Zorbas now, which is a local, family run restaurant. It's primary food is gyros and everything comes on pita. It's encouraged me to try a lot of new things. I had never eaten Feta which may be sad, but true and I really enjoy it. There's others, but don't want to bore you.

If you haven't done it yet, then fill out your FAFSA! It's due today I believe for first chances, but it's still worth the time to do it. If you don't know what FAFSA is, the link is fafsa.ed.gov/, or you can google fafsa. It's a government run program that decides whether you're financially needy, basically. Everyone should fill one out whether your parents make tons of money or very little. The costs of college are ridiculous how it is and on the rise rapidly.

Unofficial was the Friday before last and hectic! It just is a day where a lot of kids on my campus at University of Illinois celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It actually stands for Unofficial St. Patricks Day, surprise! Basically, it means that a huge percentage of the student body is getting as drunk as possible. Don't worry, this doesn't include Michael and I. Getting drunk and looking ridiculous in public isn't really our thing. I had a midterm that morning and had to work for a large part of it, 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM. We only had a few really drunk people come in, but apparently everyone who works there is really really beautiful according to one stranger.

The midterm I had on Unofficial was for English 210, which is surprisingly much better than English 200 from last semester. We've read some interesting poetry and Frankenstein, as well as currently reading an original Sherlock Holmes story, The Sign of Four. I'm loving Sherlock Holmes, it's so interesting and not particularly like the ninja Sherlock from the 2009 movie, but awesome just as much.

Spring Break in T minus three days and I'm thrilled. I'm ready for another break. I'm actually working in a doctor's office over it, but I don't mind at all. Mainly, I'm excited about being able to sleep in my own bed once again.

For now this is all, but I'll be sure to update you on some other recent developments over the next few days!

~Kels

---->So in my last post I mentioned that by taking ECE 190 I hoped it would help me decide on whether I would want to continue to pursue electrical engineering, or if I wanted to switch to computer engineering. Well, actually now I have decided that neither of those is really what I want to do and that I think I will be happier in Computer Science! I’ve really enjoyed our programming assignments and challenges [as opposed to solving circuits and building memory from gates =(] so this will be a good change for me. I can’t officially change my major until after the college sees my grade for ECE 190 this semester and for CS 173, a class I plan to take next semester. So I am going to go ahead and pretend as if I am already in the program and take my classes based on that.

---->Registration is coming up soon, I am still considered a James Scholar so I get to register super early on April 5^th while Kelsey has to wait until the 15^th (=P). I put together a schedule for next semester and it looks like I’ll be getting up pretty early every day, with classes starting at 9am every day. But I will be done by 1pm three out of the five days of the week. I helped Kelsey make her schedule as well and they are fairly similar, but she has to be in class by 8am on a couple days. I’m really looking forward to next semester as I think it will be a lot more enjoyable for me. Moving out of the dorms and into the apartment will be a huge change for the better, and I can’t wait to finish Calculus II (Calc III is supposed to be easier).

Well that’s all for now, be looking for more posts soon. I’m going to try to get Kelsey writing something as well.

Well, now that the first week of class's rush is finally over I have found some time to share how it has been so far.

-----> Winter Break was fun; it certainly was needed after those finals. It felt really good to sit around and rest with no deadlines lurking about in the back of my head, gently injecting me with doses of unnecessary stress. My dad brought me back to the dorms bright and early in the morning just as the opened so that he could get home in time to watch football. I am pretty sure I was the first person back on my floor and the place seemed deserted. However, my grandma came with me and wanted to take photos, so not having a bunch of other students there certainly lessened the likelihood of any embarrassment that could have ensued.  In preparation I had already ordered almost all of my textbooks online before reaching campus so that I would simply have to go pick them up at the bookstore. My books were considerably cheaper this semester which is a plus for my parents, lol. I have a feeling that this trend will continue as I find most of my more specific classes have class notes or manuals written by the professor in lieu of traditional texts.

-----> My course load is a bit heavier this semester, but as far as I can tell, it is going to be more enjoyable. I am taking a couple philosophy classes (one based on religion and the other a introduction), Calculus II, Physics: Mechanics, and ECE190 (Intro to Comp. Sys.). I decided to take the philosophy classes both for their general education credit, and to branch out, exploring other areas I may be interested in. They both are going to be fairly easy grades as long as I keep up with the reading and pay attention in lecture. Calculus II is already throwing a lot of HW and such at me and I can already see that it is going to demand a lot of time from me. The physics class seems quite easy so far, we have just been covering some basic things I learned thoroughly in high school (thanks Mr. A), vector addition/relative motion/etc. ECE190 is really the most important class to me as far as my interests as concerned. It deals with basic programming and some introduction into computer engineering. I am depending on this class to really show me if electrical engineering is really the right major or if computer engineering is more engaging to me. I will make a decision after this semester which to pursue and base the remaining 6 semesters around it.

-----> Either way I look at it, the most important thing is that I get the education I need to enter a career that will interest me and provide a positive environment for the fostering of my own happiness. Anyway, here I am. 2:53AM, embracing my half-10x10 dorm room ("cell"), and wishing you all a good January (by the way its technically my birthday right now, yay).

Michael