Finally got a new image posted at the top of the blog. Spent part of my slow going Saturday to work on it. Used a tutorial on how to enhance the color of an image in order to make it look halfway decent. But one of these days, this site will need an all over makeover. This weekend was alright, I was hoping to go out with some of my friends Saturday night. In the end, it became a night of extreme phone tag between me and two friends. But the hope isn't completely over. My friend Teresa is on her way over now so we can practice a song that we co-wrote, featuring 16 bars by my friend/neighbor, Roscoe. The plan is to get the song recorded and mixed down tonight so that it can be shopped around to different labels real soon. If anyone reading this (for the few of you that do, thanks), that may know someone, please feel free to email me. If not, its still cool either way, we're still on a mission either way. :)

Too bad that this type of real world projects weren't available to me as a freshman business student three years ago, but its good to know that the college is changing its curriculum to reflect the changing times.

Sorry. the friday five is on hiatus this week, but it will be back next friday.

Made it through the first day, can't ask for anything better. Only had Management Integration at 8am, then I went to work. On my way home though, I met a Freshman who just completed her first day. We sat at the bustop for what seemed like forever, due to all the afternoon traffic. It's ususally that hectic the first week bad, but eventually dies down by midway into the second. With the lack of parking spaces, now more than ever with the countless construction around and within the perimeter of campus, there will be a lot of people circling the blocks waiting to catch an open space. But I digress. I hope that the girl that I met does well this quarter. It takes a few weeks to get settled in with the whole college experience, regardless if you're a commuter, or stay on or nearby campus.

Tomorrow I start yet another Fall quarter. I am hoping that this will be the next-to-last one. Not that I'm trying to rush out of school or anything, but I'm not planning on staying forever either. Hoping to find a happy medium one day. I had also hoped to get a new layout done for the blog, okay, a new image for the top of the page. Those design skills are still limited, but I try my best. One of these days, I will learn something new, besides how to use those PSP brushes. Nothing too out of the ordinary went on since the last post. My Mom and I did go grocery shopping yesterday (had to stock up on the snacks), and afterwards. I went with my cousin, who's a senior in HS to a college fair at her school. A rep from Thomas More College (right across the bridge in KY) thought that I was a Senior too. I suprised her by mentioning that I'm almost a senior myself, but in college. I don't mind being mistaken for a high schooler in some situations, but not all. Its good to keep people gussing, I enjoy the mystery. And as for today, didn't do to much of nothing, just cleaned up, got my hair done, and ran into a friend while out shopping--for cereal. I remembered to by some milk on Monday, but forgot the cereal. I need to get two things that match on a shopping trip sometimes! Other than that, just a whole bunch of blah went on.

An edit from the last post (refer to question #2): Its just that one song that I can't stand by Camron. His part on "Santana's Town" was cool, I guess.

Haven't posted in a week, about to be busy again with classes, partied hard last night @ a friend's house, and now I'm doing the Friday Five a day late:

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
Janet Jackson. She's just so amazingly talented, but then again, look @ who is her big brother. I've been inspired by her since her Control days. I remember watching "The Pleasure Principle" video as a kid and was in awe by her dancing.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
Neither, its a rapper, actually. Right now, I'm not into Cam'ron at all. He raps like hella slow!!! The best example I can think of is his verse on the "Never Scared" Remix by Bone Crusher. Really, how long does he hold the word dog? Like 20 seconds or more?! Come on!!

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person? If Janet wasn't in the business, I would still probably like her as a person. She comes off as being humble and sincere.

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
Yes, I've been to a few, but not many (as of yet). My favorite was seeing Aaliyah when she came to Cincy as a part of the Coors Jazz Festival, which got moved to Detroit (boo).

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
I don't understand the RIAA's logic in trying to sue people for downloading music. If it was like that, then they should sue everyone in the world who has downloaded any music for free. To me, its like an update version of when people taped television shows and sports events using VCR cassettes. Honestly, I see no harm in it, because the artists and their respective recording and distribution companies are still making profits. In a way, downloading a few songs online may persuade the person to actually buy the cd in the store. Don't take it personally, but that's just my opinion. I'm going to step down from my soapbox now to go and download more songs. :)

Call me a dork, but I don't care. This morning, I was up early watching Clifford, the Big Red Dog on PBS (don't get it twisted, I love cartoons, and this one is very cute!), and later found out that John Ritter had passed away! That's so sudden, and sad too! The same goes for Johnny Cash too. It's such a shame how all these talented people are taken before their time. All the evil beings should pass on first.

The Friday Five:

1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed?
Yes.

2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
I would change my first name to Erica. It's the female equivalent of my Dad's name, Eric. I was told by my parents that I was almost named that.

3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?)
Thanks to my lovely Mom, I was named Shamekko. :) She told me that her friend's daughter was named Emiko, and she like that name a lot. My Mom put her own little spin on the name to come up with mines. Another bit of info I learned was that Emiko means "beautiful" in either Japanese or Chinese. One of these days I'm gonna have to check up on that.

4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?
I hate and love the name Nicole. I hate it because its such a common name; I went to school with at least 4 people with the first or middle name of Nicole. I love it because it balances well with my name: Shamekko Nicole. An odd first name with a common middle name; it seems to balances out. A name I truly love is Erica, cuz of my Dad. I thought of naming my first born daughter (whenever that will occur) Erica, or Imani (I like that one too, it means 'faith').

5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com / triggur.org / astroexpert accurate? How or how isn't it?
@ Kabalarians.com , 'Shamekko' isn't even part of their database. Guess they're not up on their 'around the way" names. I just put in a request to add it to the d-base.

@ Triggur.org:
Expression
Shamekko knows more about nothing than anybody.
Personality
Shamekko draws strength from the weakness of others.
Natural
Shamekko regularly practice cannibalism.
Emotional
Shamekko is a quiet loner.
Character
Shamekko starts most of the arguments.
Physical
Shamekko could use major dental surgery.
Mental
Shamekko has a horrible, horrible secret.
Motivation
Shamekko would sell relatives for a buck.

And finally, @ Astroexpert , their results were confusing.
Some of those comments from Triggur were mean, but I find the Motivation one funny.

Doin' the Friday five, on a Sunday. How lazy.

1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Washing dishes, and taking out the garbage.

2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?
I don't mind cleaning my room, when there's not that much to pick up. Also, I don't mind washing and drying clothes.

3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?
I just clean as needed, or when I get complaints from my Mom. :P

4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?
No, not that I can think of.

5. What was the last thing you cleaned?
My file cabinet.

So far today has been pretty easygoing. The weather is comfortable, and not too humid for once. I may take the long way home just to enjoy it a bit more without having to sit outside on the porch with all the neighbor's kids running and screaming up and down the street. Yesterday was fine too; I actually put up some money for driving lessons. It was 80 bucks for a 90 minute session; if I had spent 10 dollars more, then I would have paid a dollar per minute for instruction. The instructor that I had said that my road driving was good (minus the few unnecessary stops and waiting too long; I was nervous and a bit timid), granted that I haven't been out driving in months. The entire aspect of driving is a 'close to home' topic. Its difficult to get any practice in when there is hardly anyone that is willing to help. For the ones that want to, they have other things to deal with, and I wouldn't feel right just asking them to help me. Another big issue is that I don't want to be seen as a charity case. I'm not the type of person that seeks out pity from others. I'm extremely stubborn about that.

But also, in a way, I'm not going to sweat over it that much. Things will fall into place soon.

The labor day holiday was so, average. My plans to go and see the Riverfest fireworks fell through. Tried calling a few friends, was only able to catch up with one of them before Monday. Can't complain, I did talk to them. My day right now seems so slow and quiet. I'm at work right now, maybe its time to take a break.

Actually, I think I'm realizing, and bummed out that summer is officially over, and there's three weeks left before I start full-time classes. A bittersweet ending to a partially lazy summer.

And now, for this week's catch-up post:

It's almost a week later, and I'm still recovering from last Saturday's family reunion. I was driven to the point during the afternoon to ask my Mom to kindly "Take me out of my misery". In a way, it was that bad. I really didn't have too many people to talk to on a real level, without having to be asked the usual questions about school and such. There is more to my life than school! I wonder what my relatives will ask me after I graduate from college? How's work? With the exception of a handfull of people, most are just being nosey. Trust me, I'm not letting them into too much information. All of my goals and accomplishments will be a big suprise. By the time the day was (finally) overwith, I was emotionally and physically drained. I was happy to leave from the park. As a way to top off the night, my friend Teresa invited me to go out with her and another friend, Ben. We ended up at this bar down in the Main Street district downtown. We were having a good time, until, someone on the third floor (we were on the 2nd) pulled the fire alarm. We didn't care, it was a well needed, and well deserved night out for all three of us. It was just one of those days for the three of us.

As for this week, it was okay. I switched my work days around because Tuesday would have been my Dad's 55th birthday (God, continue to rest my Father's soul). We went out to the cemetary and decorated the plot with flowers, balloons, and a blue pinwheel that I bought last summer for him, but never made it out there to actually stick in the ground. Honestly, I've been extremely hesistant about going out to the cemetary. They make me uneasy. But I am proud to say that this time, I was calm. I had to be for my Mom, she misses Dad a lot. I do too, but with loosing any loved one, everyone has their own way of coping. I'm now discovering my own way of coping. On Wednesday, I wrote a poem to my Dad about our trip out there.

Thursday, my day orbited around watching the VMA's. I wasn't too enthused with the "big kiss" between Madonna and Brittney. Justin Timberlake wasn't either. How bold and somewhat of the camera men to switch so that we could see Justin's reaction. I did enjoy Mary J. Blige's performance though. It wasn't as over the top as Beyonce's, although she's one of my favorites right now.

Also, since yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech in Washington, D.C. , his son, MLK III, was in Cincinnati (which could use some serious uplifting these days). Its sad to hear that the dream has not yet been achieved, 40 years after the fact.

Through all of this catching up, I'm at work with a few more tasks to finish before going home. I wish that it would stop raining by the time that I leave.

The Friday Five and stuff:

1. Are you going to school this year?
Yes, I am. I'm looing forward to this being a relatively decent year, and possibly, my last full year of college. My goal is to be completed by June, 2005, but I'm just now learning to pace myself and take classes at my own speed, regardless of when I finish them.

2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate?
I'm in college right now, at the University of Cincinnati (whoo-hoo!), and I graduated from Walnut Hills H.S. in 2000.

3. What are/were your favorite school subjects?
In h.s. I enjoyed Art, Algebra, and Study Hall. :P
So far in college, my favorites are Psychology (when I learned about child development), and Sociology (which wasn't as bad as I expected it to be), and Women's Chorus. After this fall, I'm hoping to add Creative Writing: Poetry to the growing list.

4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects?
I loathed Chemistry (anything Science related, for that matter), Geometry, and Pre-Calculus.

5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite?
Dang, I have a few favorites from high school, so I'll just list them at random:
Ms. Williams - Art; she was just an all around good person. She encouraged me to work harder at my creativity.
Mr. Williams (no relation to Ms. Williams) - American History; another positive force during the hectic high school years.
Mrs. Macintosh - had her for Algebra I and Statistics; she was a sweet and down-to-earth teacher. I stil have the birthday card that she sent to me for my 14th birthday! :)
Ms. Kombrinck - Ms. Kombrinck wasn't even a teacher, but she played a major role in my senior year at Walnut. She was the school pshychologist, but she allowed students to visit her during 4th bell study hall. She was definately my escape from being in the aura of chaos and stupidity of some of my fellow classmates of the c/o 2000.
Mr. Cheeseman - Medieval History, Yearbook Journalism; Mr. Cheeseman was the only teacher that I had all four years of high school! :P He was a new teacher to Walnut during my freshman year, and it just went from there. He was another postive
Although the coursework was extremely challenging, these teachers made each day a bit more pleasant.

With college, my favorite professors so far were: Mr. Jacubovic (everyone called him by his first name, 'Bob'), who I had for two quarters of English Comp freshman year. He always encouraged me to improve my essay writing, which, in the long run, I have. Mr. Ghee, who I had for a section of Psychology two summers ago. Too bad it was only a 3 week course, but he made the course worthwhile; who would have thought that "The Simpsons" would relate to in the two types of child rearing: passive (like Marge), or authoratative (like Homer)? Mr. Ghee definately made learning Psychology entertaining and educational, which he called, "edu-tainment".

The Friday Five:

1. When was the last time you laughed?
This morning, when I was watching Jerry Springer before leaving the house for work.

2. Who was the last person you had an argument with?
My Mom; we were in a 'dispute' about some decorations for our family reunion that's tomorrow.

3. Who was the last person you emailed?
Uhh, I email a lot of people. I think the last person I emailed was my friend Teresa. (hey girl!)

4. When was the last time you bathed?
Yesterday.

5. What was the last thing you ate?
Some cinnamon Teddy Grahams and a Dr. Pepper. I'm craving a double cheeseburger right now...mmm cheeseburger! (channeling Homer right now)