Around the daytime it snowed and in the evening it subsided. The remnant snow from the canopy blew from the wind, creating a snowstorm. After class, I took the bus to the mall to get toothpaste. Essentially, that's all I needed. I window shopped around, weaving my way in and out of stores from Macy's to Best Buy, yet nothing especially caught my eye.

The mall wasn't packed nor empty. A few shoppers were here and there, aimlessly strolling around. Store clerks stood, walked, sat. some were glancing at their nails, others blankly staring in space. A Taylor Swift-esque country song was moderately playing from the ceiling speakers.

Coming back, I headed to the library to type up a document. On Friday nights it was quiet as ever. A few hours later I strolled my way to the campus center to wolf down a sandwich. Norah Jones was my personal background music. Outside the sky had gone dim. Sheets of snow ghastly blew off from the bitter wind. Where was everybody at this time? I thought, staring at the occupied chairs and tables.

Meanwhile my good friend, Star, had recently met a girl and was starting to go on dates with her. The other day he and I attended an event--a meet-and-greet for new, international, and or transfer students to get to know more people. Although we weren't new students, we figured it was a good way to not only get free pizza but to also make connections. It was there when we met her, an international Chinese student. The criminal justice major was a decent 19-year-old girl with a keen interest in classic rock music, especially the Beatles and Nirvana. And her appearance--ripped skinny jeans and a black hoodie-- did not hide us from showing that fact. Her ash-grey hair went down just enough to hide her ears, and her eyes, round and brimming, exuded a sense of innocence and curiosity. The three of us mingled for about an hour or so, and in the end, exchanged contacts. After a few days, he had gotten a contact from her, and since then, had been continuing his streak of texting her.

"I think I'm going crazy," he said. "I didn't mean it but we keep texting."
"If you're going crazy then I think she potentially means something to you."
"I don't know yet," he said.

Tonight he was out with her for dinner. Their first date together. And sooner or later, he was going to swirl into her world.

Snow day was today-- I mean, uh, yesterday. Spent the day mostly indoors, writing and reading. Around six I headed to the dining hall, which was moderately packed with students. I had some vegetarian minestrone soup, salad topped with tuna, tomatoes, and black olives drenched in lite balsamic vinaigrette, two chicken wraps, spaghetti mixed with Alfredo sauce and broccoli, meatloaf, and cantaloupes and a slice of pear for dessert. I actually ate as much as a horse without even realizing it merely because I basically skipped lunch. Ended up eating with a friend I often bumped into whenever I ate at this dining hall.

On the way back I managed to catch the shuttle bus back. The snow had subsided. I had lost my earphones at some point once again, and I was for a few days, devoid of music flowing in my veins.

In general the school life was very bland. I only knew a limited number of people on campus. I met the same people in and out. But just recently I met three students from China at some social event. They spoke in broken but understandable English, and we talked for a good hour or so about just who the hell we were and what we did. In the end I happened to get a ride back home.

It's sometimes a nuisance to see that people who smoke mostly only hang out with other people who smoke. What about the people who don't? Where are they going to fit in?

I feel like in this college unless you drink or smoke, you can't really have fun because that's what most people are doing. And unless you have a car, you can't really get to the decent restaurants and stores. You're basically stuck on campus. So what do you do to pass the time? Nothing but study.

What a sad thought.

the start of the spring semester

The spring semester began about a week ago and it's off to a dull start. Not much news. Snow continued to accumulate, and my roommate was always out cold in his bed. Most of the time whenever I was up he's asleep and whenever I was asleep he's up.  

When it came to women I was going nowhere. So much that it became a foreign concept. I've given up having interest on this one girl after hearing rumors that she's been up to no good. The other girl graduated already so she's no longer here.

The people in most of my classes were the same from last semester so not much changed. Thus I had very little opportunities to get to know new people in class. I guess I reached that stage in college. The professors weren't so new either. 

If I had to force myself to blurt out something new, it would have to be the fact that the suite got a new suitemate. The 22-year-old computer science major hailed from Long Island and was known to type extremely fast. And that's about it. 

Two friends and I trekked our way to an Asian grocery market that was supposedly not very far from campus. We took a bus and got off right in the middle of the street. We ended up walking in the narrow, icy sidewalk for fifteen full minutes in the bitter cold. The grocery market was like no other. It was a large house crammed with all sorts of asian goods-- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. There was a meat and seafood department, along with Asian fruits from dragon fruit to Asian pears. It was surprising to see that they had a wide selection of natto, along with seaweed paste and salted seaweed.  In the back they had packs of rice and Japanese shampoo and facial wash, and bowls and pans. Literally they had everything asian.

On the way back we trekked our way back. One friend slipped from the ice as if he was moonwalking. Overall it was a day full of good memories.