Damon 09/10

IT"S SO COLD AT UM-D..............

Hey to All!

How have you been? It’s been a while I know! This past month has been really busy. My fraternity Phi Sigma Phi has been working on hosting a lot of social events and also inducting new members. I myself have had to make time between that and all of my assignments for finals. It really sneaks up on you. Anyway I’m back today since this is this first time in a while that I have had time to sit down and write.

Today I have some more advice. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s gotten a lot colder and has even started snowing. Some of you might like the snow and cold. I however, do not. If you’re like me you are always looking for the best way to stay warm during these cold months. That can be kind of hard when you have to walk across campus to get to class. I have a class in the SSB right after my class in CASL. That is the longest walk on campus so you know I have found good was to stay warm. The best way to avoid the cold is to cut through the buildings. On my trek to the SSB I always head right to the computing wing, walk through the science building, cut through the SLERC, and then brave the cold once more to take a few steps over to the SSB. You could also walk through the ELB and administration building as well but the walk from the UC to the ELB is pretty long. Of course you won’t completely avoid the cold but you can cut down on your chill time.

Any way that’s it for me! Thanks for reading!

-Damon

 

I'm Sleepy................

Hey Guys what up!

Last year I posted some tips for catching some zs on campus. I recommended the 3rd or fourth floor of the library's cubicles. I still consider that a good option but it takes away a cubicle from someone who could be studying so use this tip with caution. Today I have a few other tips for you that are less invasive to quiet study. 

1. Take a nap in your car. I have done this a few times this year. Depending on where you park it an be quite convient and relaxing. 

2. The UC Couches. You probably have noticed the couches upstairs in the UC. It's pretty quiet up there and it gives you a comfy place to rest. 

There aren't too many places but I'm sure you could get creative with it. If you have any places you want to share feel free. Fair Warning though. If you take a nap on campus make sure you have a cell phone alarm set so you wont miss your classes. 

Hope this helps!

Stay Rested my friends!

-Damon

I'm Hungry............

Hey all!

 

How’s it going! Hope all is well! This week I’m going to talk about eating around town on the cheap. I’m sure that I’m not the only one on a tight budget. So it will help to know where you can eat really cheaply. 

1. Fairlane Mall

This is my personal favorite place to eat on the cheap. Their food court has a wide selection of food at dirt prices. I highly recommend Master Wok. You get a ton of Chinese food for only $6.

2.BD’s Mongolian Grill

Great stir-fry and you get to choose what you have in it! Plus on Mondays they have a discount for college students.

3.Panera

They have some healthy stuff for good prices.

4.Fast food

Always a good choice but not too healthy.

5.Bring food from home

Probably the cheapest way to get food.  I do this a lot because I love my Moms cooking!

6. Make your friends buy you food

If you can find a way to pull it off go for it. It’s free food.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Stay full my friends!

-Damon

 

Parking............

Hey guys what up!

    Things have been busy on my end recently. But now it seems things are starting to slow down as they usually do at this time in the semester.  I hope thing are going well for all of my readers as well!

    Well part of the reason I haven’t blogged recently was that I was struggling to find a topic. For the most part my blogs up to this point have been about how to adjust to college life from a freshman perspective. But now I’m a sophomore and my frame of reference is different. It’s a bit of an adjustment but I think it will make this blog more interesting.

            As I mentioned before I’m a sophomore now. I’ve been on this campus long enough to be able to get a feel for how things run. One of the things that I have grown accustomed to, that a lot of you probably noticed as well, is the parking situation. I think this is something that even the new freshman can talk about with a frame of experience. In a nutshell, parking is a bit hard to come by. I find myself getting all excited every time I find a parking space in front to the UC.

            Now what I want to talk about today is how to deal with this issue. I’m sure many of you have found ways to park easily as well but I want to share a few of the ways I have found. 

 1. Get to school early:

Easier said than done. This is what I did all last year. I had some early classes so I had to get up early anyway. But for those who don’t have any morning classes, this might be a bit of a challenge. You might be a bit more tired in the mornings but you will have the parking space of your pick as well as extra time to relax before class.

2.Park in either the parking structure of the field house lot:

This is a solution that works for any time of day. These two places generally have spaces open at all times of day. The only downside is that you might have to walk a bit to get to class. It’s good exercise though and you don’t have get up early.

3. Drive around the lot until someone leaves:

This is probably the worst way to go about parking but sometimes it’s fruitful. It all depends on your luck.

4. Park over at the Fairlane center and take the shuttle:

This is a pretty good solution for most of the day. If you get there in the evening parking gets tight over there as well but for the most part it’s pretty decent.

5. Have someone drive you and pick you up:

Ah…….if only it were this simple. If you have someone drive you, you won’t have to park anything so you won’t have to worry.

 

If any of you have any good tips for finding parking that you want to share, comment on this blog!

 

Hope this helps!

 

-Damon

 

Parking Ninja

 

 

Have I really only been in school a week............

What up all!

I've been really lazy lately and have not found the time to write a blog. You'll find the first few weeks of class are tough. It takes a while to get used to the groove. At least it’s like that for me. Other than that not much has been going on. It's kind of weird for me this semester. The previous three were really busy and I had almost no time to myself but this semester I seem to have a lot of free time. So today's topic is how to adapt to your schedule!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! Get Pumped!!! I know I am!!!!!!!!!!!!! I kind of just decided that would be the topic while writing this so please bear with my horrible segue. Ok, first let me talk to the freshman. You guys have just come from high school so you are probably still a bit in a daze in terms of adjusting to the pace of college life. That was me last year. If you aren't like that then good for you! There really is no easy way to ease into the swing of things but I suggest you try to get to campus an hour early every day if you can manage it. I started doing this early on. It helps you relax before your first class and clearly think about your day. This helped me out a bunch. Before long I was in the groove just like everyone else. If you are an upperclassman than you probably have your own ways of coping but remember to take some time to relax. I don't know what my problem is but I'll get the hang of it soon. 

Also, just as a side note, I wanted to throw in a little plug for Greek life. I'm in Phi Sigma Phi fraternity and I can honestly say that joining a fraternity was the best thing I have done since coming to UMD. Now I'm not saying you have to join us but you should look into all of the Greek orgs on campus at least once. It is the number one way to meet people on campus. You will meet people from everywhere and all walks of life. You will not regret it. Greek life may not be the thing for you but give it a shot. Also check out the other non-greek orgs as well. On this campus, it is the best way to truly enjoy college. 

Well I hope this helps. Looking forward to a great year! Thanks for reading!

Peace & Such

-Damon Tang

Student Blogger

Phi Sigma Phi Brother

 

WELCOME BACK OR WELCOME FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!........

Hey What's up!

 To all of you who already know me , I'm Back and ready for a new semester!

For those of you who don't know me allow me to introduce myself.

I'm Damon Tang, communications major, Student Blogger for UM-Dearborn, and Phi Sigma Phi brother!

Pleased to meet you!

I want to first welcome all of the upperclassman back and bid all of the freshman welcome!

This post is mostly going to be for you new guys. I'm a sophomore now and I have been thinking a lot about my first year in college. It might be too early to get all nostalgic but please forgive me.  A lot happend to me last year and all of it was good! College may only be a small portion of our lives but I believe that depending on how you go about your education it can be life changing. For one thing you are studying for what will hopefully be your future career. That's a pretty big change all in itself. But your education is not the only thing that will change. 

College is a lot different from High school. It might seem like nothing has changed a first but you will start to notice a difference. College gives you a lot more freedom than High school. I guess that is stating the obvious but it's true. How you spend this time is the key.

On my first few days I just went to school and came home. It was boring. I felt like I was still back in my high school. It was then that I knew I had to make a change. The first thing I did was find an organization and joined it. I got to meet some new people and through that I found that I wanted to join a fraternity. Now I know people from all walks of life and different organizations on campus. To me this was a big change. In high school and grade school I was one of the quiet kids. In a lot of ways I still am. But the one thing I have changed is that I now force myself to try new things. College is the perfect place to practice this mindset. There is always something going on. If you hear about something that sounds cool and its also something you have never done, do it. Even if it is something that you normally wouldn't do. For example, I've mentioned that I tend to be a bit shy. I never used to go to parties or anything like that. But now I go to them all the time. Well maybe not all the time but a lot more than I used too. I'm not that cool hahahaha! That's just one example. College is the time to do new things and also the things that you like to do. I can not repeat this enough. If you have an opportunity to try something new, do it! 
You never know where it can take you. Had I not taken a chance and tired to be a student blogger I wouldn't be talking to you now. I saw the advertisement for the application and I thought it was interesting. But I was hesitant at first since I thought I wouldn't be selected. So I finally decided to put in an app on the last possible day. The next thing I knew I was writing my first blog. 

I'm really excited for this new year.

Hope you all have a great start!

Here's being thankful for the opportunity to be a blogger once again!

-Damon Tang

Summer Classes.........Not for the faint of heart..........

Hey Gang! 

Hows your Summer treating you! I'm good now that I have officially Completed my Freshman year! Yeah I'm a Sophomore now! Moving up in the world. Anyway I've been relaxing for a few weeks. My summer classes are over. Taking them made me learn a very important lesson. Summer classes are not for those of us who are easily distracted. I am one of those people. They were a challenge for me. During the summer I am all over the place so it is hard for me to find time to study. But I somehow made it through. (-Sigh of relief-) If anyone is thinking of taking any I strongly urge you to consider how committed you can be during the summer. But if you can stay focused summer classes can be a really great way to get ahead in terms of credit hours. I think that I might be one or two ahead now but I don't think it will make much of a difference on my graduation time. You won't be able to get rid of me that easily! Haha! Well thats it for now! Hope you guys are enjoying your summer! Stay safe! Stay cool!

Peace out!

-Damon

(Enjoying the summer heat!)

I'm back.................

Hey Guys what's up! Happy summer!

    I'm very excited since I was told that I get to be a Student Blogger for another year. I'm really pumped and thankful for the opportunity. At any rate things have been good for me. I've been busy with my summer classes and other things these last few weeks which is why I have not been so active. My fraternity Phi Sigma Phi held a few events to wrap up the year so I was busy attending those as well as my classes. Summer classes are tough though. If you don't have the patience for a three hour class don't take any. I am one of those people. Found that out the hard way. But I manage to find a way to make it through and still complete all of my assignments.

I'm not sure how many admitted freshman for the Fall 2010 read my blog but if you do I want to welcome you to UM-D! It feels weird since it was only a year ago that walked through the doors of this school. If you guys are getting ready for your Freshman orientations I have some advice for you. When you get to the org fair at the end of the day don't just grab your ID and leave. If your are serious about joining a student organization you should stay and take your time to talk to everyone there. I'm not gonna lie. I kind of took off as soon as I could when I got there. I got my ID went to one or two booths then left. It was not a great choice.

When I got to school on my first week I had no idea where to go to join organizations. Somehow I stumbled into the Campus Video Office and ended up meeting some fo the members. Even though I didn't know anyone, everyone was really cool. I ended up making some of my first friends there. It was in that office that I ended up hearing about Phi Sigma Phi. If I had not been there I would not have joined. I also got introduced to some of the people at WUMD radio and got to sign up for a show. It was fun but I only had time to do it for the first semester. The same thing ended up happening with CVN. Most of my time eventually became devoted to Phi Sigma Phi. I had a great first year and I am really thankful that CVN and WUMD helped me start off my UM-D career. 

The point I'm trying to make is that you should take some time at the org fair and get some info on some of the orgs meetings. You never know the people you will meet and the places they will take you. That being said I got really lucky my first year. I barely had any info to go on but I somehow stumbled into some really cool things.

Any way I can't wait to have another great year blogging! Thanks a bunch to all!

-Damon Tang

UM-D Sophomore 

Phi Sigma Phi Brother-Risk Management Chairman

Student Blogger

ITS A WRAP..........

Sitting here in the UC I have come to realize one thing.....having a final at 6pm on a Friday really stinks! I mean I'm glad its my last one but its at the very last moment. I kind of want to start my break. Anyway I'm taking two summer classes for the first summer semester. So I'll be talking about that experience in the coming weeks. I just wanted to thank every one one last time before the year is out. Thanks a bunch to anyone and everyone who read my blog this year! This has been a great learning experience and I'm really glad I was given the chance. Hopefully everyone enjoyed my observations of my first year here at UM-D. Anyway thanks again to all and happy summer!

-Damon Tang

Thankful for being a Student Blogger

The Final Countdown.........

Hey guys!

It's finally here. The last few weeks of school. I can hardly wait till all of my finals are done! This has been a great year. I have enjoyed my first year here at UM-D. But I think I need some time to regroup and prepare for next year. Now I know what to expect and I can make sure that I am prepared. I think that most college freshman run into the school year blind. I know I did. But I think that made this year more interesting. On my first day I thought to myself that I was going to have to force myself to try new things. For example, on the day before the application to be a student blogger was due, I saw a reminder for it on a facebook group. I remember reading the blogs from last year and decided I would give it a shot not really expecting to get selected. But here I am, writing my blog for the school. I have used this same type of philosophy all year. There have been several events on campus that I wasn't sure that I wanted to go to but I forced my self out of my little bubble and went and ended up meeting lots of cool people. If I hadn't done that I would not be in Phi Sigma Phi fraternity. I stumbled into that by meeting some of the brothers at the start of the year at one of the welcome week events. It has turned out to be one of the best things I have done since I started at UM-D. This message goes out to all of you high school seniors out there (the one person who reads this blog). College is a time when you have to move out of your comfort zone and try new things and get involved. I know I have sounded like a broken record in my blogs this year but I really mean it. Every single thing I have done this year (including writing this blog) has been out of my comfort zone and I loved every minute of it. Any way I'm looking forward to this summer and taking a break. I'll have the entire month of May off and then I will start my summer classes in June. This year has been a good one and I'm looking forward to next year as well. Thanks to all of you who read my blog! I am truly thankful for the opportunity to represent the school. This won't be my last blog for the year but I wanted to say thanks any way. I hope you guys have enjoyed my blog this year. Hopefully my anecdotes were at least mildly entertaining. Thanks much and see you all next week for another great blog!

-Damon

One Happy UM-D student!