Nerds Just Wanna Have Fun

College Freshman. First E-days. Didn't die!

I am spent. I haven't done any homework all weekend, but I am exhausted. Oh wait, I did. What a nerd. Nevermind. But the Mines holiday weekend of the year has left me in want of sleep and normal routine.

The E-Pocalypse started on Wednesday night for some, as a few classes got cancelled. I could hear outside roars of kids making dumb decisions already. But I had NHV to do, and my friends their subsystem analysis, so we pressed on. And were up for quite a while. No matter how late my classes start, getting up after staying up so late sucks. I kind of feel bad for being out of it during a lot of NHV classes. It deserves better. Not! After my last paper I am just so done with NHV and its stupid readings and its stupid research. Blargh. You know, that's not fair- I am just done with school. At any rate...

I had class until Thursday at 4. Then it was E-days (E-DAYS...WOOOOOOO!!!). Mines Activities Council put on quite a few events this weekend (not all of which I attended). It started with the comedian which was alright, but I had to bust out my "Shut up, drunk frat guy!" line already. Afterward people decided to do their own thing, but the friends I hung out with all weekend decided to toss a frisbee. Then we went to explore Chauvenet (the really maze-ish Math building), but it really wasn't that sketch. So while loitering and making our way back to Maple we got stopped by a cop. Security is ten-fold during E-days.

We were going to wake up at 7:15 Friday for the Ore-Cart pull, but we still stayed up late watching a movie. I know, weird: staying up late for fun rather than work. So I was tired boarding the "very special people" buses (seriously, they said this on the back). And the trek ahead of me was 7.4 miles, or over 100 blocks. But it was a great tradition to be a part of. One of my upperclassman friends encouraged me to "commit for a couple miles and pull the Ore-Cart". So a few of us weaved and jogged and caught up until we grabbed on a piece of the rope. It was great and I fill fulfilled in Mines tradition, especially singing the fight song every so often.

At the Capitol building, the lieutenant governor proclaimed it E-days and said some stuff about Mines being the most important school in Colorado. Heck, yeah. And then my feet fell off. I had a blister on each toe.

Some kids took a nap, but I went to Physics homework help and finished after 5...that homework was pretty hard. Sigh...I'm such a nerd.

We watched another movie Friday night- a scary movie. I think we all just wanted to go to bed. You see, I use weekends to sleep in and recharge and do homework. Saturday I woke up at 10 (still too) early and missed the cardboard boat race. The carnival was fun though. The trebuchets were cool to watch and the food was good too. I played this one game where you try to drown frat guys by throwing a softball at a target. I succeeded.

Saturday ended with me being a pretend physics TA again. Before that there was a rootbeer kegger. Sunday I had way too much stuff to do. Oh yeah, at 8am Sunday morning on my way out of Maple I saw a guy passed out on the couch snoring. I don't even think he lives here. But that was E-days. I'd say the Ore-Cart Pull was the best part, since our fireworks show was postponed. Note to future freshies: stay with friends, make good life choices, have fun.

E-DAYYYYSSSS WOOT WOOT!!

Why Did I Come Here Again?

I still can't believe it's November already. I can't believe I'm this old- a "college kid". I still can't believe I'm here at Mines, actually doing this stuff. It's crazy. Midterms finally ended. I can't believe the next round of tests is just around the corner. I can't believe I've made it this far and am still loving it.

There are still times, though. Times where you are in the midst of trying to complete a ton of assignments, while maybe studying for the test coming up. Times you wish you had more cash, or that you already graduated and were rich. Times you wish your floor was more social, or you didn't have all this homework keeping you from just doing things from friends. Times the laundry piles up, and the dumpster outside seems so far away, except for trash day when the trucks wake you up at 6. Times that annoying people annoy you while being annoying. Times you want just one more hour of sleep. Or that your brain would stop working during the designated time for sleep.

College is crazy, man. Mines is crazy. Life is crazy. During those difficult times, the thought goes through our heads: "Why did I come here again?". Other friend's from different colleges complaints about music class's unbearable difficulty sicken us. Or their fear of failing underwater basket weaving- I mean, come on. And we're here learning to be helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva, helluva engineers. The land of evil Chem TA's that make students write 15 hour lab reports and professors that put you to sleep after lunch and EPICS teachers with evil laughs and jokes that aren't funny. The place where math never ends in any subject, except for the few liberal arts writing courses that everyone complains about anyway because they are, well, liberal arts writing courses. The poor nerdy guys can't find a girlfriend. And school is so hard.

Then we remember where we are. But we still try to remember why.

"I like science", "I got the free application", "I wanted to be an engineer since I was two", "I...really don't know" we manage to say. I really do like science, and didn't want to pay to write an essay to apply for college. I always thought Mines was for crazy geniuses, and never considered it until Junior year in highschool. And then suddenly I wanted a good education and a college experience and a high paying job at the end.

Somehow it turned out to be more than that. This sounds cliche, but: I love the small community of Mines, and the fact that we are all here for science, math, and engineering. (Except for Econ majors. I met one. They exist...kinda.) I love how we accept and promote each other's nerdisms. I love that Golden is a pretty town that doesn't stink most of the time. And yeah, it's good that our hard work will turn into a degree that matters.

I'll say it again: time flies. When it's all said and done, will we even remember the evenings at Solid Works session? Or the failed chem labs? And that time will come so soon, if we just enjoy it. And it will all be worth it. One day.