Soooo I am back :)

Sooo, I realized it has been a very very long time since my last post and I apologize profusely. Right now is actually the first time I have felt like writing since my last post.

So lets get on with the updates on my life, but first, the leaves are changing colors!








Roughly two weeks into the semester I had the misfortune of spilling sweet tea on the keyboard
of my laptop. Luckily I did not fry the computer, but I had been plagued with extremely sticky keys since the spill. The stickiness impeded my ability to type and was a cause of much aggravation. I am not sure if it has been a change in humidity or something else, but mysteriously my keyboard has had a 85% improvement in non-key stickiness in the last week and has a been a huge blessing! So whohooo!

Do to a combination of my dislike for math and other things I have decided that I don't want to be a computer science major. I decided that I programming would be something I would love to learn as a hobby but not something I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life. I am not sure what I would like to do, but I still have a semester and a half to figure it out.

I turned the last draft of my first Expository Writing paper and am now preparing to turn in the third draft of my next paper. The paper I am currently writing is assigned to be a detailed description of my day. It is not supposed to be in chronological order but rather is supposed to cause us each to take a deeper look into our own lives and notice the things that give our lives meaning and depth. I have really enjoyed this paper and did not find it all that difficult. I am still amazed at the serious lack of writing ability in college students. I remember when my older brother went to NCSU and received good writing grades and realized that he was a better writer then our mother let him think he was actually. I am kinda getting the same feeling. I will not in any way call myself a good writer or claim that my mother was wrong. I go with the theory that my teacher is so depressed by the lack of writing ability that when he reads my "ridiculous" and "wordy" writing(which i consider to be an excellent writing containing witty humor and mind blowing thoughts... joking.. but seriously...) that he actually sees it has a breath of fresh air. So I throughly enjoying that class.

Last Thursday, in my Freshman Seminar class, my project group gave a brain melting presentation on "The Commidity Chain of Pepper Spice"... Yeah, that is what i said pepper spice.... The project was difficult only due to the fact that it was a group project and every memeber of the group did not have the same work ethic and desire to work hard to receive a good grade on this project. See, this is how I work, I know that I can do a good job on the project. I dont like depending on people I dont know to do important work needed for an "A". Frankly, college students are not generally dependable. So in a nut shell, I am glad that the project went well and am very happy the project is out of the way!

Ummm, actually can't think of what else is going on in my life at the moment. I am looking forward to fall break this upcoming Thursday-Sunday! Whooohoooo! I am getting burnt out and am very ready for a break.

Oh btw, Grammy I checked my mailbox to and recieved the birthday card you sent me. Thank You Very Much!!

Well I will try to write more soon!

Eric

Oh What A Fun Weekend

I had a good weekend to say the least. Friday evening I took an adventure to Wal-Mart with Chris, Corey, Ben, and Sarah I was able to purchase 4 liters of soda for $1.68... opposed to the $1.25 I was paying for a 20 ounce bottle in the Cone Hall lobby.... I only have one word... PREPOSTEROUS! Also had my first encounter with Blue Bell ice cream, it has been highly acclaimed by Chris since we arrived and I decided to spend the cash on a pint... frankly, it was just ice cream to me(when you expect heaven and get normal ice cream, it can be enough to kill a boy's spirit... luckily I am a man and all I did was decide that ice cream is dumbbb).

So on Saturday I took a trip to Compression/Twisted Falls with Chris, Gordan, Ben, and Tyler. It was about a 30 minute drive followed by a 1/2 mile hike down the side of a mountain... by down the side... I mean... like straight down the side of the mountain.


Now the hike was basically running from tree to tree to stop yourself from rolling down the hill, but after we reached the bottom... I decided it was completely worth it.



So we started off by climbing to the top of the waterfall. You can not see it in the pictures, but actually to the top left above and behind the waterfall there is another pool which sits under a 25 ft. cliff, so we went up there and jumped off the cliff and tried our best not to die. Proudly I can say we all succeeded, I actually made it up to the top of another ledge and was able to make a roughly 32 ft jump.... scared the junk out of me.

We then migrated over to the actual waterfall and took turns sliding down the waterfall, it actually just felt like a water slide.. well until you hit the water, I am not sure if it was the water speeding you up as you fell or the water hitting you once you went under, but either way, you hit the water hard.

The hike back up to the car was no where as near fun as the hike down. Climbing a 1/2 mile back up that hill was a nightmare..(my legs still are whimpering.) Anywho, It still was a complete blast and I loved every second of it. I decided I officially love the mountains :p.

Sunday morning Chris and I decided to visit a new church, so we ended up at "Mt. Vernon Baptist Church", it's one of the largest church's in the Boone area and had been recommended by a few people. We showed up right as the service was starting and ended up sitting in the upper balcony. The church was a.. church, the way the lighting was done it actually reminded me of a television service/church, it wasn't bad, but the overall feel wasn't really for me, I also had a bit of trouble paying attention and ended up doing my devotion in the middle of service... lol, came out that Chris did the same thing... So we will be going back to Alliance next week and I can say I am kinda happy about it.

So I decided that since a major part of my life is food, I love food, its a fact, so each weekend I will update you with my favorite cafeteria dish of the week. This week I present "Sweet and Sour Chicken w/ broccoli, fried squash, and a roll.

It actually tasted a whole lot better then it looked! The chicken was not the best, but the fried squash was one of the most amazing foods I have had yet at ASU! It probably even made it under the classification of "Yummy Goodness". All together it was a good meal, i think half the tastefulness came from the fact that I have had alot of burgers, wrapps, salads, pizza, and sandwiches lately and it was really good to have a "different" meal.

Now not much else has happened as of late. Its Monday and I am back to the daily grind of school, I actually feel like I did well on my quizzes last week so that is a blessing, I will be getting those back today and will be interested to see my grade. Chris and I are heading home this weekend to visit family and friends, so that is a big blessing, haven't had a chance to visit since I arrived.

Well I hope you enjoyed the post and thank you for reading,
Have a wonderful day,
~Eric

Apparently alot to say.

I sometimes wonder if the hyperness related to coffee consumption is partially mental? See, if you drink coffee for the purpose of staying up and the general picture you receive from the media is the over exaggerated hyperness of bouncing off the walls, does your brain assume that it is how you should be acting? Basically, when you drink coffee do you sometimes start acting very hyper because you have a preconceived notion that you should? I don't know. Tell me.



Basically, I am in the middle of consuming a large amount of coffee... i am starting to feel kinda the way I just wrote... is it possible to coffee overdose? Anywho, I have been doing pretty good lately, I am in super-student-homework mode, well I was, until i started blogging, but this is for the good of all mankind(you may not think so, but I am inspiring you somehow, just wait and you will eventually realize it), so I will count this as an acceptable break from the realm of studiousness.

I have been doing pretty good of lately, actually sitting in Crossroads Cafe doing my homework because its open mic night and my friend, Nathan Walker, is playing. I have my laptop and coffee and feel very mature. If I had a camera I would take a picture so you could get the full effect of how mature and responsible I look.

I was shocked two days ago. I walked into the downstairs portion of Welborn Cafeteria and could not find a single thing that looked appealing to my very hungry eyes(now my eyes were not actually hungry but I was trying to emphasize my mental state by telling you my eyes were "hungry".... it probably would have been easier to tell you, straight forward, that I was hungry.... but that wouldn't be as fun, and let us not forget that this blog is for my enjoyment a tad more then it is for yours). Anywho, back to the point, I was really hoping that my distaste for campus food would come like, in December at the earliest, but alas, it hit three weeks into the semester... this is not good.

I looked at a gym today, it was a lot less strenuous then actually working out at a gym, but still more strenuous then sitting at my desk looking at digg.com(best site in the world btw...make sure you start at "Top in 24hrs" though). So looking at the gym is currently the middle ground of strenuous and seems to be a good option for now, maybe soon I will work all the up to actually working out, but we wont count our chickens just yet my friends....

So, 2nd draft of personal essay due tomorrow, quiz in Calculus 1 tomorrow, and then quiz in computer science on Friday. Basically study city until Friday then relaxing laziness till Monday..(maybe i will be adventurous and even do some more gym looking.)

Not much else going on with me, actually back from the coffee shop and in my dorm getting ready to finish my math homework. Oh how I despise math, good thing I am a computer science major and we do not deal with it much...(sarcasm for those of you going "Oh that's good!")

Oh on the last note, I got a haircut today! Now alot of you are probably saying, "Sooo? Whats the big deal?" You have to understand that I dont think I have actually gotten a real haircut from a barber in 8 years. That is approximately how long I have had my buzzcut and I have always done that at home(because its free silly). Soo I was sitting in the chair and my barber asked what I would like done....I had no idea! I thought you just sat down they went to work on your hair and then you left... THAT WAS NOT THE CASE! As most of you may know I am not a decision maker but rather a follower, and I had to do some major thinking on the spot. After a long pause my barber asked me questions regarding cutting the top side and everything else and I responded to each with "sure"... so I officially have what I like to call "The Sure Cut".. Anywho, still deciding if i like it or not and eventually may post a picture....

Anyway, this was a huge post! Enjoy, I am off to do homework so I am heading off!

Thanks for reading....
Eric

Fourth Floor Socialization

For those wondering. I am making friends. I actually ventured forth last week from my dorm with the single purpose of meeting other people on my hall. I now have four guys that I am starting to hangout with. Sadly we are all boring and don't have lives. So we created a game last night. I am proud to present to you. "Hall Ball"(aka, guys throwing tennis balls at each other).




(at the beginning I was so focused at videoing I didn't get out of the way, hence the jerking camera when I got hit...)

It tried to run away.

Alas my friends, some of you may heard how my phone ran away from me while I was hiking in the great Appalachian Mountains. The story goes, basically, I went hiking up a waterfall, and put my phone in my backpack to keep it "safe." Well, apparently I wasn't being exciting enough because my phone decided to jump out of my backpack and run away. So i was currently without a phone...Those who have felt out of contact with me no longer have to fret, for my phone after spending two nights in the woods, had realized that life with me is better then life alone and has returned.(WHOHOO). He has apologized and repented, so he now once again an active device in my social weaponry system. So all y'all may text and call away and I shall recieve thy messageth you sendeth to me.

Anyway, in a nut shell for those wondering, I lost my phone on Wednesday a mile up a mountain, on Friday I received an instant message from Rebekah Byram (who was on Sarah's computer) saying that somebody had called Chris's phone saying that they had found my phone!(Chris in turn called Sarah) So I was like Sweeettt!! Then Rebekah said that the person who had found my phone lived in my hall, then she said they lived on my floor, I found it it was Kader and David who lived two doors down from me had found it... IT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING EVER!!!

And that is my story.




(back in its rightful place... my hand)

The Beginning

What to say about the last two weeks?... Well I am officially in college. As some could say college is upon me. Either way you look at it alot has happened in the last two weeks. This blog will take you on a special journey as I write about my "Appalachian Encounter", this blog is for my family, friends, and anybody else who wants a glimpse in a college experience. Most importantly though, this blog is for me, to write whatever I feel like and generally have fun. With the preliminary information out of the way.. lets embark.

Move in day was the 22nd of August. It was an uneventful day and move-in went smoothly. The day flew by and before I knew it I was sitting in my new home with my family heading back to Raleigh.

I am happy with the way my dorm turned out.





Due to some reports of disbelief that my room is actually this clean, I would like to say that my room has stayed this clean (give or take a notebook, shirt, and some dirt)

So what have I thought so far of my college experience?

Overall pretty spiffy. I must say I had no idea how prominent smoking and alcohol usage was among college age students. I sure know now. I was surprised to hear stories of people going out and getting "hammered" the very first night they arrived. Apparently they wanted to make the most out of the their college experience and didn't want to waste a single evening. I just have to say that I am a very nice and caring person, but I will have no sympathy when they fail their classes and end up being homeless, fat, and ugly because they never go to class :).

Anyways, I am taking 5 classes this semester totaling 17 hours.

• Expository Writing
• Calculus 1
• Computer Science 1
• Freshman Seminar
• Discrete Mathematics

My hardest classes as of yet are Expository Writing and Calculus 1. The hardships that come from my wonderful Expository Writing class is largely due to the work load graciously given to my class(I had to turn in a six page draft of a paper 6 days after classes started!). Then there are my bit of a problem with Calculus that is slightly related to the fact that I am rusty and somehow have seemed to forget everything I ever learned regarding math.(seriously. everything.)

Now my writing class has been tough, but at the some time it has been a neat blessing in a special sort of way. Coming into college I really had no idea how I would be accepted, especially once people find out I Christian and I don't party(OMG!). Anywho, as I mentioned before, I had to turn in a six page draft of a paper within the first week of class. Luckily the topic of the paper was "Me - And the things that have made me who I am" (not exactly, but that best sums it up) So, I wrote six pages and afterward I was reading it and realized that it possibly could have too much Jesus in it for a college paper! I mean my mind was thinking that possibly my teachers or peers would read it and think that i am retarded or something for not having a properly opened mind to the world! Oh yes, those thoughts went through my mind... Luckily, I also have something else that raced through my mind: 2 Timothy 1:8-12

"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

In nut shell, I became pretty excited about my paper and was more then willing to turn it in! Now the story continues, the day we turn in the paper we were also "Workshopping", meaning each student was put in a group with three other students and you would read each other your paper so your peers could have the oppurtunity to make comments. My turn eventually came and with a deep breath I read my paper. What was the horrible reaction?! Well it was just to horrible to tell.....(kids yelling "nooo", "tellll usss"), ok, ok, I will, lol, my group told me I was a really really good writer and my paper was cool :D.

See, most of you are like, OK, this story is over now, but no it isnt!!! We had to give each student in our workshop group a copy of our to take home and write comments on, I received one of my copies back with this remark...

"...I personally found it interesting how you turned to religion why you faced adversity. Wd don't really see that too often now a days."

Talk about a totally awesome encouragement.

Here is a link to my paper. Its a draft, so find beauty in the rough edges.

Ok, well this has been a long blog, I hope you enjoyed, more will come soon because I have plenty more to write. I miss all you guys back home, looking forward to making a weekend visit in the near future, and am excited about my next four years at Appalachian State University.

This is Eric Herbert, telling you farewell and to stay spiffy.