Finals are almost over, and I'm feeling very well. Last week at this time, I realized that I knew absolutely nothing I needed to know about my Microeconomic Analysis final. So, over the past week I learned all the economic models, theorems, applications and stuff for the final. During my stressful week of learning all of this dense material about economics, I was told by my professor that the models and theorems that he teaches in the course are only seen by most econ students once they start a master's of economics program. This econ course at Yale was hands down the most difficult thing I've ever studied and learned, but I am very proud to say that I learned it all very well and did VERY well on the final... a 3 hour test composed of 11 essays and 6 short answer (2-5 sentences) questions.

Next semester I'm all set to take:
- Mathematical Game Theory
- Mutli-Variable Calculus
- Macroeconomic Analysis

and since the NROTC program requires me to complete a cultural awareness course....my personal favorite:

-Himalayan Cultures... I tend to push what counts for certain NROTC requirements to the limit...why would I want to take something cliche like "Southeast Asia in Politics" when I could learn about Himalayan cultures? In addition, the professor's office in the Asian studies department is only two doors down from my office at the European Studies Council office, so office hours will be easy to go to, and the class is only once a week.

Along with

-Naval Science Lab
-Sea Navigation

So next semester will be hectic, but I should be done with the prerequisites for my Mathematics major and already halfway done with my Economics major by fall of this coming academic year.



Yesterday morning I drove down to New York City to pick up my girlfriend from the airport, and it was on the tail-end of an all-nighter. It wasn't an intentional all-nighter, but my buddies and I were up until 3 a.m. figuring out a particularly complex series of economic models for duopolistic firms, and then by the time I got in bed it was 3:30 and I wasn't able to go to sleep. I had to get up at 4:45 anyways to get up, shower, grab a coffee, and bundle up then walk a couple miles north to pick up the rental car. Anyhow, I really  enjoyed the drive down to NYC...as I drove past all the seaside port cities in Connecticut like Bridgeport, Greenwich, and Milford I was reminded of just how beautiful America is and how proud I am of this country. As I began drive up and over the George Washington Bridge in New York City as the sun rose up over the Manhattan skyline, it was great to be an American and see the Freedom Tower (the new World Trade Center and the tallest building in America) dominate the iconic skyline. I love this country.

Of course, it was equally enjoyable to pick up my girlfriend and drive back up the interstate to New Haven (colloquially called "The 'Have") and enjoy my time with her. We are supposed to head down to Manhattan to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall tomorrow night, but we are forecast to get 4-6 inches of snow and ice tomorrow, and I'm not feeling brave/stupid enough to drive in that weather... especially after totaling my SUV two weeks ago pretty badly when I slid off the road and flipped. It's kind of a bummer we may not go, but it gives me time to study for calculus and have a snowball fight on Old Campus with my buddies and girlfriend... NOT TO MENTION THE ARMY NAVY GAME TOMORROW. Go Navy, Beat Army.

Anyways, two more days and I'm home for Christmas. I can't wait.

Today it snowed on campus. Unfortunately I had to study a lot and wasn't able to get out much in the snow. But I did take some pictures of it as it was falling, and then I also got a picture of the Catholic church on Hillhouse Avenue near the math department's building this evening with the moon in the background. Here are the pictures:

 This is the view from my bedroom window of Old Campus.

 This is Cross Campus with the Yale Law School in the background.

 This is where my office is at the European Studies department. 

I think this is a really neat picture I got of the church with the moon in the background. 

The other night we had our freshman Holiday Dinner in our huge dining hall, Commons. It was pretty cool...here are some pictures. Me and my buddies ate off and on for a solid 3 hours at the feast. Check out some of the pictures. Yale went all-out for this feast - huge ice-sculptures, eggnog fountains, and lots of other things. It was like the calm before the storm of finals week, haha.

And the next picture is of the big Christmas tree on the New Haven green (the town square) one block down from my suite. New Haven did a great job this year.

And now I have to tackle two term papers and two finals ( microeconomic analysis and calculus) while having my girlfriend fly up here on Thursday. Instead of taking long breaks to go grab food to eat while studying, I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought a few gallons of chocolate milk, 2 boxes of Nilla Wafers, and a big jar of JIF peanut butter. Since I'm studying and typing papers for the next week all day, I just consume massive amounts of the aforementioned food instead of wasting time getting food aside from my three meals. Last night, I consumed over 1500 calories in less than three minutes, so I guess it's good I maintain a workout schedule. 

I can't wait to be back down home next week. 

I'm officially done with 1/8 of college already. Man, time flies. It really seems like just a few weeks ago that I was counting down the days until I left for college. It sure has been a fun time, that's for sure.

At this point in the semester, I have one week left until I go home, so I've just gotta finish studying and turn in my term papers. My plan is to take it easy and have a stress-free final exam period. Why stress anyways? If I study hard and prepare, there's no reason to get worked up. Two-a-day workouts and studying between should be a magic recipe for success on my econ and calculus finals.

I snapped this picture of New Haven with the Christmas decorations out:

 It may just be a lit-up snowflake here and there, but it does add a bit of festivity to the otherwise dull city.


And I can't leave you without a motivational Naval Aviation video. The link following is a video of VFA-137, The Kestrels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6fBlSSFx5k

God Bless America.

Alright. One more day of class.

All day I've been listening to motivating music to get pumped for finals, but I ended up just spending way too much time listening to music and contemplating how to study. Tomorrow I'll cut back on the music and just push through all of the calculus problem sets from the semester to review. Then I'll do the same for econ, and maybe I'll feel prepared for the finals. I'm not stressed out yet... I'm confident that I'll be good to go by the time finals roll around next Friday afternoon.

Today was our semesterly Commanding Officer's inspection of our unit, and it went very well for me. As the CO got to me, I went from parade rest to attention and stated my name and major (Economics and Mathematics) and then he inspected my entire uniform.... no drunken eagles or smiling covers. He said "Midshipman, your uniform is outstanding," and moved on. I'd say the time lint-rolling, ironing and shoe-shining were worth it. One more day flying under the radar. I'm living the dream.

And I got a great workout in at gym today, which is always fun. We have our Physical Fitness Assessment for spring 2014 as soon as we return from Christmas break in January, so I've got to stay in top shape over Christmas break.

New Haven is all decorated in Christmas lights now, and as much as I prefer a rural lifestyle, the city looks great during Christmastime. I cannot wait to get down to Manhattan in a week or so with my girlfriend and walk down 5th avenue and see all of the nice shops and then grab dinner before heading to Radio City Music Hall. It should be a great night.

I didn't think I would, but I do miss sailing on Thursdays. Sailing was a great opportunity to get away from the city and get out on the seas with my buddies. I definitely will be excited when sailing rolls around next fall.

I read an article written by an admissions officer at MIT, and one of his pieces of advice was to make a playlist every month or two during college, because the music you listen to will always bring back the memories from college in ways that simply thinking back on college cannot. I think I may take up that advice and begin making a playlist every semester at least. Who knows? I may just appreciate it when I'm older.

Anyways, I should probably go do some actual work now.
CHRISTMAS IN 21 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think today was the ideal day for my life as a college student.

First off, let me preface my day by saying I went to bed at 9:30 last night and didn't wake up until 8:30 am. 11 hours of sleep never felt so good.

I woke up this morning and ate a huge breakfast then went to furniture class...only one more class of furniture left this semester! I have maintained all semester that the biggest challenge in this class is staying awake at 9 a.m. in a warm room surrounded by lots of comfortable sofas and recliners. I stayed awake easily and then actually went to calculus today. After calc I came back into the room and slept for 3 more hours then went to dinner. AMAZING day.

In less than two weeks I'll be back home in Atlanta!!! I'd take Atlanta traffic any day over the north...

On another note, the pecan pie was great tonight. I'll leave you with a picture of the tasty dessert.

Last night I got back to New York around 11:30 pm and then caught a 1:00 am shuttle to Yale. I arrived in New Haven around 2:45 am and got a few hours of sleep before my Naval Science final this morning. The good thing is I have less than two weeks until I'm home again! And this trip home I get to travel with my girlfriend.

Next week I'm heading down to the Big Apple to pick up my girlfriend so she can stay with me for a few days and then head back to Atlanta. That should be a blast. Everybody up here is ready to get back home for the holidays. Christmas break will be one month of absolutely nothing to take care of.... I can't wait.

THREE MORE DAYS OF CLASS. Then reading period for a week before finals next weekend.

Wednesday is our inspection for the semester, and then the unit is heading down to Rockefeller Plaza to attend thee NYC Christmas Tree lighting. I probably won't head down there though...we'd be getting back really late and I need to study for finals...plus we'd be taking the same train line that crashed yesterday (the second train crash on this rail line in the past 6 months).

I had my Naval Science final this morning....and we all kind of screwed up. The good thing is that we all use the same study guide, so we all screwed up on the same things. I am now 1/8th done with my Naval Officer training.