Chapter 7: Week 8 halfway through second semester

Monday 3/26/12 : Started the week with little motivation. Why? Because Thursday would be the last day before spring break. So I went to theatre and all we did was watch a movie called A Raisin In the Sun. I don't know about you but I had never heard of it, probably because it was a play and also wasn't good. Walking back to my car after that class I ran into something I have yet to seen at Harbor College.

Yes, that is a gang of rolly back packs. And yes indeed they are rolling deep... no pun intended. The rolly backpack is by far my favorite thing about Harbor and to see them migrating in threes was really classic. I also like how they are rolling in a v kind of like one of my favorite movies the Mighty Ducks.

Wednesday and Thursday 3/28, 3/29 : Wednesday didn't really have anything going on besides turning in my first essay for English. It was also the teacher's birthday so he was being really cool. Let me remind you as long as you turn in the essay the day it is due, you can rewrite it until you get an A. Since it was his birthday and we turned in the essay he let us out 20 minutes into class and I was really happy. 

I set my alarm for 6:30 am to get to weight lifting at 7 am. I woke up and rolled over and looked at my phone to see a text saying weight lifting was canceled. So far so good I got an extra half hour of sleep which felt like about 2 minutes... hate that. Well on I went to school and was not looking forward to Philosophy. The class was totally empty as it was the day before Spring break. "Mr. Novak" began class by mentioning he accidentally posted the answers to the test online and that a few students were fortunate to see that and will obviously do well on the test. In this class every test we have is a take home exam but they are still really difficult so I was really bummed I didn't see the answers posted and kept kicking myself for that. The class went by and again I didn't learn anything but he did promise those who came, which was about 15 of us, would get extra credit on the next test. On my way out I took the same route to my car and was walking next to a kid in the class. We had a friendly conversation and I asked him about the test and low and behold he was one of the students who got the answers and had the pages printed in his binder. He let me take pictures of the exam and to say that I was stoked would be an understatement. Take that "Mr. Novak"!  

This day was already great and I could honestly say it was the best day I've had this semester. But could it get better, or would Harbor let me down like always? I journeyed to my math class and guess what? The teacher had lost her voice so the class was going to be a complete joke. She struggled explaining the curriculum as her voice was more quiet than a whisper. She didn't assign an in class assignment and I couldn't have drawn up a better way to start Spring break. 

The first half of this semester has been quite eventful and I'm sure I'll have more to write about when I return from Spring break. Thanks for reading the blog, really appreciate it. 

Chapter 6: Week 7

Monday 3/19/12 : I woke up not necessarily looking forward to another week at harbor... but who could blame me right? As I walked to class with my friend Brian, we were saying how great it would be if the theatre teacher didn't show up. So when we got to class our hopes of that happening looked like they were going to come true as I didn't see a man wearing a very feminine pink polo with a pot belly... yes that's his style. Well he didn't show and I was out of there in a record 8 minutes so I drove on home and took a nap which later would turn out to be incredibly helpful. Usually when I go back to school for my third class of the day, English at 2:20, I am completely drained and want to sleep. However for the first time all semester I felt rejuvenated and it was incredible how quickly class went by. To be honest I don't know if it was because I was having a good time on instagram (@zmirons9) or I was wide awake. Monday was pretty solid and the week was looking promising.

Wednesday 3/21/12 : Again I woke up hoping the theatre teacher wouldn't show up, but of course he did. In this class there are plenty of obnoxious students whose only goals in life seem to be trying to impress the teacher by analyzing simple, irrelevant plays that a kid in the 6th grade would have little difficultly doing. To your right you will see one of those kids that annoy me all day long. If you can't see, yes he is wearing a childish panda beanie with ears that come down to his waist. AND and classy leather jacket... quite the combo if I do say so myself. Now I didn't have any experience in project runway, but I know that's not a great outfit.
Skipping over my math class because I don't like to write about that, because it bores me. As I was leaving school after math I took an alternate route going home because they were doing construction on my normal route. So I flew down Anaheim and as soon as I passed Normandie I looked to my right and saw a Mexican male walking his dogs. He was wearing a classic gray tank top which made his pecs look like breasts and had long hair. I did a double take and noticed he was carrying something in his hand. What could it be? Don't bother guessing because you would never come up with the right answer. Yes, he was carrying a trumpet... yeah a trumpet. This was arguably the most random thing I have seen in my life and was really bummed that I couldn't take a picture. So after my hour and a half long break at home I drove back over to Harbor College. I pulled into the parking lot and got a spot in the shade. I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed the sheriff talking and about to arrest someone. Now who could be getting arrested on campus? YES SIR! The dog walking, trumpet playing, Mexican male!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I was so shocked that I encountered him again.

The picture is kind of hard to see but the guy on the left with the breasts is him. And you can faintly see the trumpet on the hood of the car. Well whatever he did, whether that be sound pollution or animal cruelty (thanks Erin) the cops were not happy with him. A few minutes passed and I guess he talked his way out of the situation and was off walking his dogs again and playing a beautiful tune on his trumpet. I dedicate this post to you Trumpet man, until next time my friend... keep up the good work.

Chapter 5: Week 5

Monday 3/5/12 : Woke up at that sweet time of 7 am on the button, showered and went to the borefest called Theatre. From the boring redundant lectures to the lack of leg room, I can't decide what my favorite aspect of the class is! Anyways we watched a performance on video from the Reduced Shakespeare Company and I played Scramble with Friends for a majority of the class. The video consisted of every play by Shakespeare condensed into 90 minutes or something like that. It had as many cheesy jokes as rolly backpacks seen at Harbor College... yeah a ton. Being told that we had a quiz next class on "An enemy of the people" by Henrik Ibsen, I thought it would be a good idea to get the book. Na I'll pick it up later, I am going to go home and relax. The rest of the day went by smoothly and I eventually purchased the book for a mere $7.56, yes a total waste I might add.

Tuesday 3/6/12 : There is now a better way to start off your mornings... no not a hearty breakfast, but an hour and a half long philosophy class. If you didn't catch on that last sentence was oozing with sarcasm. We turned in our take home test which was pretty difficult to be honest and some of the students got harassed because they got the wrong scantron... classic. That class went by, like always, I learned nothing but enjoyed some of the sarcastic comments from the kids sitting near me. I left class in a hurry to get to my car because I wanted to get home and relax again. On my way to the car I encounter some trendy... not not rolly back packs... but uggs.

Now these caught my attention. I mean the purple is great, but they also have some glitter and the metallic appearance. For the ladies out there reading this, I urge you to invest in a pair I promise you'll get a lot of attention and they go well with basically anything. Another great fashion statement.... HARBOR COLLEGE SWAG!

Wednesday 3/7/12 : Started the morning off with a test in theatre on the awful play called "an enemy of the people" as previously mentioned above. Easily got a perfect score by using sparknotes to find out who the characters were. Sparknotes were about as clutch as me whipping out my phone and snapping pictures of the rolly backpacks and cute uggs. Anyways that class tugged along and he posted our grades. Looking for my grade through the swarm of people, I came to find that I had 369 points out of a possible 370. Now let me fast forward to after school when I told Julie, my mom, about this. After stating the amount of points I had, she asked, "is that an A?" Really? Come on J, what a classic moment.

In math we have continued to go over stuff that I learned way back in Ms. Stengel's Algebra 2 class sophomore year. I sit in that class and it's literally silent, and when she asks questions no one says a thing. So I kind of got fed up with it and have started to show off my intelligence and answer every question while everyone sits in awe at how I came up with such a simple answer. For example, we went over completing the square, one of my favorite things in math due to its simplicity and no offense to others but they just sit there and don't have a clue to what is going on. No wonder why I qualified for any math class offered at Harbor College.

Basically English was as classic as ever with "Mr. Harrington" rambling on about how school is pointless and I love every bit of it. Two quotes from the class by "Mr. Harrington" that I am still laughing about. "If a marathon of cribs comes on, I will sit there all day and watch. I also have seen every episode of Jersey Shore... I just really love those shows, they interest me." "People want nationwide health care, do you really want the people who run the DMV to run our health care?" The first quote is just classic of who this teacher is and the second one is right on the money. I'll keep politics out of this but he is totally right.

At 7 pm I went back to Harbor College to see a play for a theatre assignment. First of all I'll start by saying I was really annoyed that it interfered with me watching the clippers game which is far more important. Anyways I knew this would be a waste of my time but it will get that assignment taken care of. So it was called the "Lively art" or something, I don't really know but it started off and I knew it wasn't going to be anything special. I had my phone by my side checking the clippers game a la ESPN commercials where the guy at dinner checks the game instead of paying attention to his girlfriend, but in my case the girlfriend was this garbage play. So there was something like 12 separate performances and some of it was a little funny but overall it was average at best. The last scene was completely outrageous with people from the crowd emerging to sing some Indian tribal song. So mesmerized, I wanted to get up and sing myself and if the theatre teacher wasn't the director I honestly might have.

Thursday (3/8/12) : Thursday was just like all the other Thursday's. Attended philosophy class, everyone got destroyed by the first test, including myself but I managed to squeak out a C. Math was pointless  yet again and I did the same thing as Wed. When I came home from my lovely beach run, might I add that it was an absolute gorgeous day, I checked my email to come across probably the most prestigious award I've ever won.

WOW, I qualified for the Dean's Honor list!!!!! After reading the email a second time, I noticed that you can take 6 units and qualify. Uhhh two classes, are you serious? That is probably the easiest thing ever. I am truly humbled by this award and will probably celebrate by eating at chilis with my gift card. What a way to end my day, man oh man still can't get over how great that is! 

The incoveniences of Harbor College

This section will be a list of all the irritating things about the school and how it is run:

1. Transcripts: I needed an official transcript to send to a school for soccer. I went to the admissions office to see how I could get my Fall transcript so they had me fill out this card. I was very confused because the people at Harbor College are often as helpful as those employees of the DMV. So I asked a few questions and could tell the lady was kind of irritated so I walked away and filled out the card. I opted for the 3 dollar transcript for obvious reasons and gave the woman the card containing the information. She said I would get my transcript in a week and it would be mailed to my house.... why? I was too frustrated to even care so I said that was fine, but then she said I couldn't get my transcript because I hadn't paid my SPRING tuition yet.... what kind of stupid rule is that?!? What does the spring tuition have anything to do with getting a Fall transcript????

The following week after I paid my Spring tuition, I went back to get my transcript... again I filled out the card, this time opting for the 10 dollar one I could pick up right then and there. However that wasn't the case. I had to take some paper to the cashiers office which is a decent enough walk from the admissions office. Pay for the transcript there, wait in that lame line, then go back to get my transcript. Surely there is a better and more efficient way of doing that, but nope this is Harbor College.

2. Buying books: Since I don't walk around with hundreds of dollars in cash, I buy my books with a check. Every time you buy one of these overpriced books from the classy bookstore with a check, you must have a meaningless printout of your classes. Why? I don't really know but that is just another stupid rule they have implemented to frustrate the students. And every time I go to buy a book, I always seem to forget about the printout and then they send me to the cashiers office just like the transcripts and have me get a printout which costs a dollar (if you didn't figure out the philosophy problem this is where the missing dollar went... to harbor college).

3. The ease of communicating with Harbor College Employees: I call Harbor College, the DMV of colleges. Everyone that works in the front offices seems to be super grumpy and having a really bad day. However on rare occasions you encounter a compassionate being there to help you out. The ratio of unkind to kind employees is approximately 7:1. Just like the DMV, the employees want nothing to do with you, but yet it's their job? Maybe you should work some place where you don't have to deal with communicating and helping others... just a suggestion.