September-2-2005

My name is Mitch Turow and I am a resident in Geary Hall. I was here in the summer and I am also a State College native, so I am pretty experienced with Penn State life. My favorite things to do are playing pool, playing high-stakes poker, going to parties, and just hanging out with friends. Penn State is one of the best places to be because no matter what you are into, there are other people here that are into it as well. Some of my favorite places to hang out on campus is the game-room in the Commons, Pi Lamda Phi, and my dorm room. My second night here for the Fall semester, I played at a $20 no-limit poker table in the game-room and built my chip-stack up to $120. An hour later, I was dealt the second best hand you can get in poker and lost all the money in a single hand. It's always a blow when something like that happens to you, but you always know there is a possibilty when you play poker. Pool is another game I spend a lot of time on. I have been playing for about four years and have competed in tournaments at Champs Sports, Northland Bowl, and the Corner Pocket in the HUB. I would not call myself a pool hustler or a card shark, I just enjoy playing both games, and I love to compete. I will also be playing on an intermural basketball team in December as well. I will be attending the Smeal College of Business here at Penn State, and hope to be a management major. Another goal of mine is to be a LEAP mentor to incoming freshman who come in the summer next year. I want to do this because I know how beneficial coming in the summer can be, and I want to help out the kids who choose to do this.

MitchTurowNar

September-4-2005

I just finished writing my essay for English class, I think it went pretty well. This week has been really fun. Penn State football, wild parties and meeting new people have all been responsible for that. I don’t have much to say because I just used all my creative juices on my English paper. Hopefully I will write another entry later on tonight with some more exciting news.

September-5-2005

Today was probably the most boring day since I've been at Penn State. For most of the day, I chilled in my room and watched movies. However, I don't have clas tommorrow until 2:30 so maybe I can do something tonight that will make this day less boring. Anyways, that's all I have to write for now but if something sweet happens tonight, I'll update. PS- I'm glad theres so many Jewish people in this class, I haven't met many since I've been at Penn State.

September-6-2005

Like a few of the other kids said in their blogs, I am pretty confused on the assignment given on the 5th. I have no idea about how to link the stuff or whatever it was. Anyways, not too much to report. I guess I suck as a blog writer because I can never think of anything exciting to write about. I'm going to play in a poker tournament at Pi Lamda Phi so hopefully that will go well.

September-7-2005

Today was one of those days that helps you cope with all of the college stress you feel at the beginning of the semester. In math, I found out that all the hard stuff we were working on isn't going to come into play for another couple of weeks. The class is really hard for me because I'm really bad at math and it doesn't help that the teacher doesn't speak clear English. Also, English class made me feel better because the teacher made the linking stuff a lot clearer for me. I'm going to work on my self narrative, if something cool happens, I'll update later on.

MitchTurowFinalNarrative

September-8-2005

After reading through other peoples journal entries, I noticed that I share some of the same views. One girl was talking about being skeptical towards joining a sorority. I am going through the same feelings, but I'm really close with the guys at Pi Lamda Phi, and I know it would be fun to be a brother. But I don't know, we'll see what happens. Another blogger was talking about how he thought all of the girls on campus looked alike. I sort of agree, but fad-styles have been around forever. Looking around, it looks as though big sunglasses and bleached hair is in style for girls. It's hard for me to comment on that because I have been called a "metrosexual" a million times and I still don't know exactly what it means. If it means it takes me an hour to get ready to go out, then I guess I am. Anyways, I played cards in the game-room last night from 8 PM until 2:30 AM, and it was awesome. After all those hours, I only made $50, but I love to play and it was awesome to play for all those hours.

September-10-2005

Yesterday was awesome. I helped host a wild party and it went really well. The Red Sox lost to the Yankees, but other than that the day was pretty much perfect. Tonight I'm going out really early because I'm not the type of guy that's into dancing and stuff, so the guys at Pi Lamda Phi said my friends and I could come early and they'd give us our own supply and our own beer pong table just so we could hang out. I made a promise to myself I would be more social at parties when I came to college, but it's pretty hard for me. I know it sounds sort of lame, but I'm pretty shy around girls I don't know, so I'm really trying to get better at that. Anyways, I hope everyone has fun tonight and Penn State wins.

September-11-2005

Revision of JeN14FinalNarrative

Growing up with a brother four years older than me was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it was great because I would get to learn from his mistakes, and also learn from the good things he did. However, somtimes it was tough because he was always better at everything. It didn't matter if it was Boy Scouts, Little League, or YMCA basketball; every time I tried to be as good as him, I would come up short. After spending a lot of time at his baseball games, I truly decided I was going to be as good as him. On my team, I started to execute the same style of play that he used when he played in his games. From there, I started to stand out from the rest of the team. My desire to do well in baseball grew with every game I played, but thinking back, I think all I wanted to do was be better than my older brother. As the years went on, I continued to play the game. However, I believe there is no coincidence in the fact that when my brother went off to college, I stopped playing.

My family consists of four people, my mom, my brother, my dad, and me. We all get along fairly well, and for the most part, are an average family. However, it is certain that my brother and I are the closest out of the four of us. I find it so interesting that as the years go by, the more we become alike. When he was sixteen and I was twelve, he'd be embaressed when my parents made him bring me places. Six years later, we hang out every oppurtunity we get. Now that he graduated Penn State and is off working for Pepsi, I regret wasting all that time competing with my brother, when I should have been enjoying every minute of the time we had together.

September-11-2005

This weekend was interesting. On Friday, I partied really hard. On Saturday, I stayed in because one of my good friends was sick from the night before, and I didn't want to leave him behind. From there, we played some cards in the commons, and watched Three Ninjas (awesome movie). All in all, it was fun because one night was wild, and one night was chill. Today is Sunday, so I usually do all my work-related stuff today like laundry, homework, and cleaning the room.

September-11-2005

Today I was a lazy bum. I had a whole to-do list and I didn't get any of it done. I was supposed to go buy some books I need with some money my parents sent me, but I spent it all at Abercrombie instead. That's all for now.

September-13-2005

I missed English class today even with two different alarm clocks set. I don't know how I'm going to help myself get there on time, but I'll think of something. Well, today I went to all my other classes, slept for a few hours, did some homework, and played poker for 7 hours. I made about $120 so now I can go buy the English books I need with last nights winnings only. Hopefully I see you all on Wednesday.

September-13-2005our diary thing so

GratePhish: like that we had a convo

ShOrTE014: does it have to be about the project? like actually discussing our topic?

GratePhish: ya i think thats wut he said in the cyllabus

ShOrTE014: ok

GratePhish: alright go ahead lol

ShOrTE014: well what are you interested in doing your project on

GratePhish: well im thinking something political is always good

GratePhish: and its easy

ShOrTE014: hm. i dont kno a lot about politics

ShOrTE014: but i guess i could certainly try

GratePhish: ya its always easy

GratePhish: ok i guess for now, im gonna say why the presidential age should not be restricted to 35

ShOrTE014: does this mean this is definitly what our final project is going to be on or just a choice

GratePhish: im not quite sure

ShOrTE014: ill have this conversation with you, but you have to bring up the points bc i have no idea!

ShOrTE014: but i could always throw in my opinion

GratePhish: ur name is megan right

ShOrTE014: correct

GratePhish: ok megan, all were doing is having a discussion about wut each of us wanna do for our project

GratePhish: like any ideas we have

ShOrTE014: ok sounds good

GratePhish: ok so wut are ur ideas

ShOrTE014: maybe voting, either the age limit, or women's rights..

ShOrTE014: i guess that is considered politcal as weel

ShOrTE014: *well

ShOrTE014: or something with music downloads from the internet..

GratePhish: lol well thats random

GratePhish: alright ya that sounds good

ShOrTE014: haha im just tryin to think of stuff that is related to us in some way

GratePhish: alright well i think were good

GratePhish: i think just copy and paste this into ur diary thingy

September-15-2005

I believe knowledge is any piece or pieces of information that will eventually benefit you in one way or another.

September-17-2005

What a night last night was. Last night was the first Friday night I haven't gone out to parties (including Summer session). The reason was Card Player Magazine came to Penn State to host a poker tournament. The cost to enter was $50. The way it works is, Friday night, one half of the players played, and tonight, the other half will play. The final 7 from each day will converge on Sunday for the final round. Well, I MADE IT TO THE FINALS. Not only that, but I have the second most amount of chips out of anyone in my entire day. Everyone please wish me luck for Sunday or just stop by the Commons Game Room Sunday any time between 7PM and 2AM. The top prize is $1200, and the lowest prize is $250 and the top 7 people from the final 14 get paid so I have a very good chance of making a lot of money. WISH ME LUCK! Oh yeah, and we're going to get to be in the magazine too!

MitchTurowDefinition

MitchTurowFinalDefinition

September-25-2005

It's been a while since I've written. Not too much exciting information to report. I came in 5th in the tournament which is kind of dissappointing. However, I may get an internship at Card Player Magazine which is cool because I love poker and I love to write so it would be a really exciting thing for me to be involved in. Anyways, I have to go study French, I will see you all tommorow.

September-26-2005

School is going really well. All the papers and tests I've gotten back so far have been A's so I'm really happy. Not much else to say. I hope I do well on my defenition essay.

September-29-2005

Every time I go to write in these things it makes me feel like such a boring person because I never really have anything cool to write. Well, I hope PSU wins because that will give us the determination to beat Ohio State aswell. The Red sox lost last night, but I'm not worried.

October-1-2005

Happiness=Freedom

The analogy I will use for this entry is how being happy and being free are the same. My reasoning behind this is that in order to be completely happy and content with your life, you must be able to make your own decisions and decide what makes you most content. For instance, if you want to look back at your life and feel that you made it all that you could, you must have had the ability to decide what life works best for you. If someone was to argue my point they would say that some people are submissive and like to be told what to do. My response to that is: people like that are spiritually weak and have no motivation to be what they want. In my eyes, a person like that needs to go through spiritual realization and decide if that is really what makes them happy.

October-2-2005

The only exam I have left for mid-terms is one on Nazi ideology, not the most happy topic to think about. Other than that, this week should be pretty light when it comes to work. I denied the bid I got from a frat. I figured this was a good decision considering it's a waste of money, not to mention me and three other guys are living in an apartment next year.

October-3-2005

As the weeks progress, I find myself constantly changing my mind on what my potential major should be. All through high school I figured I'd be some sort of business major and now I am enrolled in the Smeal College of Business here at Penn State. However, now I am finding that I'm pretty skilled in other subjects and, more importantly, I enjoy them a lot. The first one is history. I am History 143 which is the history of Nazism and Fascism. I have gotten all perfect scores and every one of my essays has received recognition from the professor. Another subject I feel I have been doing really well in is this one (English). I got an A- on my first paper but now that I know what to fix on my future essays, I feel I will never get anything lower than an A. Also, these papers have really been enjoyable to write and I look back on them and feel I did a really good job. So maybe I could look into journalism or German history major. Both are now possibilities. I think that is what makes college really enjoyable, the ability to look beyond subjects you have looked past through high school.

MitchTurowAnalogyDraft

October-5-2005

I am in Math 21 and I've never felt so lost when it comes to material. My teacher barely speaks any English and I have no idea what is going on in the class. I have like three friends attempting to help me, but each one shows me a different way to do the stuff and it just gets me even more lost. It sucks because every other class is going so well and this one is really holding me back and making me constantly frusterated.

MitchTurowAnalogyFinal

October-10-2005

I get frusterated when I forget to write these entries at least 5 times a week. It's such an easy task and we get credit for it. My goal is to write at least 5 a week from now on. This weekend was, of course, amazing. I don't need to talk about PSU football and the whole atmosphere surrounding it because I'm assuming everybody knows. Anyways, this week should be cool because it is short, and it just happens the Friday we miss is one of my 5-class in a row days. Me and a couple other guys are going to the Turning Stone Casino this weekend because you only have to be 19 to go. We are all playing in a $200 buy-in tournament which will take all weekend. I am really pumped about it and it will make the week go by really quickly. I will see you all this morning and I hope no one is too sick from this crappy weather.

October-11-2005

The following link is talking about how a woman if fighting to keep custody of her unborn daughter even though her husband is a sex offender. The courts disagree with her because of the way the babys father was. I believe that the way the womans husband is should have no bearing in the decision. It only matters what condition the mother is in because that is who the custody of the baby will be in. http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/10/11/unborn.custody.ap/index.html

October-12-2005

I'm so proud of myself. I've written consistently in here for the past week. Nothing really exciting going on in my life. I have a big French test tommorow and I feel really confident about it. I'm really excited because this weekend is going to be really light homework-wise. Anyways, I really hope all of you have a good weekend.

October-15-2005

We just got back from out mini-road trip to the Turning Stone Casino in New York. I'm happy to say that Penn State was represented very well. Frankie made $700, Matt went up $300, Paul made $80, and I made $100. I could have made a lot more but I wasn't playing as well as i wanted to play. Anyways, it's early and I'm going to go back to sleep, I just wanted to make sure I got my blog in for the day.

October-16-2005

I really don't think I need to blog about what happened in the PSU game yesterday; everybody already knows. It was so frusterating to watch that because when they got that extra two seconds, I didn't even care because I figured it would be irrelevant. Soon, I would find out that that 2 seconds is what ruined Penn State's undefeated record. I just woke up so I'm going to go watch some TV and do some homework, I'll maybe blog later on in the night.

October-19-2005

"Stigmergy is a method of communication in emergent systems in which the individual parts of the system communicate with one another by modifying their local environment." I'm not sure if Kem wants us to think of our own defenition or not but this is from the wikepedia. This defenition is the one I understand most out of all the ones I saw.

October-19-2005

Once again, I'm not sure what Kem wants when it comes to the evaluation assignment. For now, I'll just do my own version of what we did in class today.

-When going to the grocery store, you must evaluate a few things:

October-23-2005

Plagiarism is any material, thought or idea that you steal from somebody else and play off as your own.

October-30-2005

O wow, I haven't written in a week. I'm really dissappointed in myself considering it's a huge part of my grade and it's very easy. Anyways, this weekend was insane. The game was really cool, and the night life was very exciting. It's so weird that girls turn every costume into something slutty. I started thinking that maybe that's how girls want to dress all the time but Halloween gives them an excuse to do so. There's nothing wrong with that haha

October-30-2005

MitchTurowMovieReview

November-2-2005

I had not really thought about what I wanted to write about until today. And right now, I still have no idea. The proposal is not due until Wednesday and I plan on using all of the time to think of a perfect topic instead of rushing into one.

November-2-2005

I contacted the Centre Daily Times about writing in their newspaper and they asked me to send them two sample writing pieces. For one, I revised my movie review I used for this class. I can't want to see if they accept me. If you want to see the sample i sent CheckItOut

November-4-2005

MitchTurowProposal

November-6-2005

Megan1354

MegSmith

November-13-2005

Ok once and for all, I am going to start writing in here everyday. Anyways, this weekend was pretty lame. A lot of my friends are in frats or sororities so they were all gone because they went canning. Today, I've pretty much just sitting in my room watching the History channel and playing Counterstrike on the computer. If something exciting happens tonight, I'll write about it

November-13-2005

Nope, nothing new happening, just watching a Roseanne marathon on Nick at Nite

November-17-2005

I'm having trouble fixing my proposal. The problem is I'm having trouble getting the motivation. I think this is because I'm a writer that likes to do everything on the first try. In other words, I never use rough drafts or brainstorms. Every English paper I've written for this class; my rough draft and final copy are identical. In other words, I would rather just write the 10 page paper then spend time on a propsoal, it will only hurt my final product.

November-20-2005

Well, today is Sunday, and like every other Sunday, there is a lot to get done. It's all good though because this weekend was pretty fun. I went to all kinds of parties, and chilled with a lot of people. I'm really pumped about Penn State and the BCS so of course I had to celebrate that last night. I played in a pool tournament Saturday afternoon and came in 4th/25, so that made me pretty happy. Ok, time to go finish some odd's and ends so I can watch the new Simpsons and Family Guy.

November-21-2005

MitchTurowFinalProposal

November-22-2005

I'm leaving PSU in a couple hours. Even though I live only three minutes away, I've realized that Penn State and State College are truly two different places.

November-28-2005

Wow it has been a long time since I have written in here. My Thanksgiving break was really awesome. It was so cool sleeping until 2pm everyday and having home cooked meals three meals a day. My family was really happy to see me but it was not as exciting for me as other kids considering 95 percent of my high school is at PSU anyways. I have been progressing well on my paper. Although I haven't written a single word yet, I have done enough research and have enough hard evidence to comfortablly write my 10 page paper. Right now I'm watching Monday Night Football and playing some internet poker. I hope you all had a good break.

November-30-2005

Today the weather is really rainy but those are my favorite kind of days. It makes you look forward to coming home after a long day of classes and watching movies in your bed. Today I probably did that for longer than I was in class total. I've been progressing really well on my final paper and I think the final product will come out successfully.

December-3-2005

MitchTurowFinalDraft <--------Just getting started

December-4-2005

I hate slacking on English papers but for some reason I can't get any momentum on my final paper. I think of myself as a pretty good write but up until this point the most I've ever had to write is 5 pages. If it was a story instead of a position paper it would probably be easier for me. I don't know, maybe I'm just having writers block.

December-6-2005

I'm really starting to get some momentum on my English paper. I'm going to get back to work on it so I don't lose my creative juices.

December-11-2005

Wow what a night this was. I played pool at the bowling alley until 2 am and then played poker until 8am. I just wanted to have fun on my last weekend at PSU before break. Now I am headed to put the final touches on my final paper for English. This will most likely be my last diary entry so it was really nice meeting you all and good luck to everybody in the future. -Mitch

December-11-2005

MitchTurowFinal

MitchTurowBibliography