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-- Post From My iPhone

Perception

We often hear that we should strive to be good people. Follow the rules, be kind and caring.

But the reality is that it's irrelavent if you're a good person or not. You can be good, or you can be bad. You can strive to be morally straight, or you can do whatever makes you feel good - it makes no difference.

What does matter is how the others percieve you - at least initially.

Your surface image is what determines, for better or worse, how others will recieve you and interact with you - which can make or break any further relationships.

It takes great maturity to look past the cover and into the pages right off the bat - and that's what I've been appriciative of over the past couple months.

But once the relationship has formed, who you really are is revealed over time.

In the end, who you truly are matters - we can only hope that others will let us get there.


-- Post From My iPhone

Housing

Note: This will also appear in the next mentor newsletter. Here's the unedited preview.

As the second half of your first year at Washington State draws to a close, reality soon begins to set in that the resident hall room in which you currently reside in will probably not be home any longer. Since the freshman live-in rule no longer applies to you, the world of Pullman becomes accessible to you. But where should you live? Who should you live with? What are my options? These are some of the issues we will be touching on over the next few paragraphs.

Housing in Pullman essentially breaks down into 3 popular categories: resident halls, on-campus apartments and off campus housing.

The residence halls are where you likely spent your first year at WSU. While you experienced a part of what the resident halls have to offer, there's a lot more to explore and take advantage of. Age restricted housing in places such as Rogers and Orton offer age restricted housing, offering single rooms as standard, optional RDA and a quieter living environment. You may also want to try living in the new $26 million dollar Olympia housing, there' plenty more Resident Halls can offer.

On-campus apartments like Chinook and Chief Joe are popular because they are close to campus, maintained by the university, no leases are required and it's affordable. It takes the best parts of living on campus and mixes it with the freedom and independence of off campus living - Chief Joe even pays the electricity bill for you!

Off campus housing can be tricky because they often require leases and require dealing with a third party. Benefits of off campus housing include the ability to own pets and begin to attempt independent living. Some popular off campus managers include DABCO and Hill apartments.

What does this mean? Here's a simple flow chart. If you consider yourself irresponsible, too lazy to cook, lack a car or access to a car and are financially stable, your best bet is to probably stay in one of the resident halls. Otherwise, if you prefer a close location to campus, prefer dealing with the university for rent and are looking for affordability, you should explore on-campus apartments. And finally, if you'd like to own a pet, want extra perks like dishwashers and inside washing machines, might stay in Pullman for the summers and have no transportation issues, off campus housing may be the best option for you.

As far as roommates go, your best bet it to not necessarily live with your best friends. Rather, the best thing to do is live with people who match your style and personality. Try to find roommates who have the same biological clock, cleanliness and responsibility level as you. Otherwise, early birds may get sick of insomniacs, OCD cleaners may hate slobs and punctual bill payers may get irritated by late and forgetful roommates. If you happen to be friends, even better, but the priority should be to find others who share your personality.

The bottom line is to find housing which will match who you are as a person. Just because it worked for your best friend or parents doesn't mean it's the best option for you.

And, as always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate in asking one of your friendly student mentors.

Procrastination Pays Off… Now!

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I'm late to everything… no matter how early I get ready to leave or plan to arrive.

2. I strive really hard to listen twice as much as I speak… despite the fact that I love speaking.

3. I have an inner hunger and drive to succeed… but I try not to step over others to feed it.

4. Yes, I am Chinese… but I absolutely hate math and science.

5. I love driving… although I'm the first to admit there are better drivers out there – I'm too aggressive.

6. This might seem like an oxymoron… but I try to be as humble as possible.

7. I like taking charge… but only when I sense I have the support of the group.

8. I love my mom like no other and give her the utmost respect… even though I'll be the first to admit and concede her many flaws.

9. I am a huge tech geek and love technology… but I hate coding and programming – I can't believe that coding and technology are related.

10. I love playing my violin… even though I rarely play it these days.

11. My biggest fears are failure and disappointing others… although I've come to accept that others will disappoint me.

12. My favorite beach is Makapuu… but parking there sucks and big days make the waves untamable.

13. I love getting to know people… but I get turned off when their mannerisms are nonexistent.

14. I admit, I'm a lane changer… even though I know it doesn't save time – I like being in control, okay?

15. The iPhone is the greatest thing ever… but only when jail broken.

16. I consider myself competitive… but I'm working on channeling and containing that energy.

17. I grew up resisting my mothers' effort to teach me Chinese… one of my biggest regrets today.

18. I have over 60 GBs of music… and have never spent a penny on my collection.

19. I hate watching TV because I feel it's a waste of time… but I'll watch a competitive sporting event any day.

20. I prefer the versatility of bodyboarding over surfing… even though I'll probably end up surfing when I get older.

21. I love to sing… even though I'm terrible at it and most wouldn't call it singing as much as they'd call it talking loudly.

22. Along the same theme, I pick up the lyrics to songs fairly quickly… no looking up necessary.

23. I desire to one day be the father I never had… just not anytime soon.

24. I have this thing for hats… while I could care less what my shoes look like.

25. I never follow the trend and do what everyone else is doing….

~~~

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Be sure to tag the person you received it from!


1. Where is your cell phone? Jeans.

2. Your significant other? Huh?

3. Your hair? Short.

4. Your mother? Heroic.

5. Your father? Lazy.

6. Your favorite? Music.

7. Your dream last night? Nice.

8. Your favorite drink? Milk.

9. Your dream/goal? Succeed.

10. What room you are in? Lobby.

11. Your hobby? Technology.

12. Your fear? Failure.

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Focused.

14. Where were you last night? Room.

15. Something that you aren't? Average.

16. Muffins? Yum.

17. Wish list item? Wisdom.

18. Where you grew up? Honolulu.

19. Last thing you did? iTunes.

20. What are you wearing? O'Neill.

21. Your TV? Old.

22. Your pets? Died.

23. Friends? Love.

24. Your life? Solid.

25. Your mood? Distracted.

26. Missing someone? Home.

27. Car? Toyota.

28. Something you're not wearing? Glasses.

29. Your favorite store? Amazon.

30. Your favorite color? Blue.

33. When is the last time you laughed? Recently.

34. Last time you cried? Cry?

35. Who will resend this? Dunno.

36. One place that I go to over and over? Beach.

37. One person who emails me regularly? Bischoff!

38. My favorite place to eat? Pho.