I think that it is true that the very cold winter makes you like and appreciate spring more. However, it makes me even more angry when we get a taste of spring like a day that is 60 degrees and sunny, then the next week it snows and is 30 degrees out. I wouldn't mind the winter weather staying around this long if it was consistently cold but I hate it when it gets really nice out just to make you wish it was going to stay spring then goes back to being cold. I suppose I will enjoy spring even more now as long as it comes and stays instead of going back and forth between winter and spring. Also, it is Minnesota and this kind of weather is not strange for this time of year and is something that you have to accept as a Minnesotan. I'm sick of the cold and can't wait until it gets warm out again and stays warm out.

One time when my opinion really mattered was last year, which was my senior year of high school, during basketball season. I was one of the captains so in many ways my opinion mattered. Also, my coach would ask me questions about different things and valued my opinion and what I had to say. Also, in school my opinion mattered because sometimes certain teachers and even the principle would ask me things about the school or about classes to hear what I thought or what I had to say. Another time that my opinion mattered was when I was getting my first car. My dad came car shopping with me but ultimately it was up to me what car I wanted. My dad would help me look for a good, fairly cheap car but the decision was mostly mine since I would be paying for most of it.

I went to the hockey games last weekend when we played the Wisconsin Badgers. The game in Friday night was especially fun because it was such a good game. We were down 3 to 2 in the 3rd period which is when a bunch of my friends left but we ended up scoring before the end of the third to send it into overtime. In overtime not too much happened until the last 2 minutes. We got a fastbreak two on one and scored with 1:46 left in overtime. It was crazy and everyone was freaking out. On my way out of the arena i called one of my friends that had left in the third period before we had even tied the game so when I told im that we tied it, went into overtime, and won he was shocked and angry that he left early. To make it even worse, he was sitting against the glass in the corner that the hockey team jumped into after the game. It was probably the best hockey game that I had ever watched. I went to the game on Saturday too but it was not as exciting. It was looking like it would be because once again we were tied at 3 in the third period and went into overtime but we ended up tying so it was a little bit of a let down. Both games were fun and I feel bad for everyone that left early on Friday night.

I dont really know what to talk about this time so I guess I'll just talk about the weather. I love Minnesota but hate some of the wierd weather changes. Just a few days ago it was 40 degrees and sunny out, now today it is freezing and we're supposed to get a bunch of snow on top of it. I wish that the weather would just pick a season, either stay in winter or go to spring. I especially dont want it to snow again today because I am ready for the snow to be done and for it to start getting warmer out. If it was cold everyday then I would'nt mind it as much but we keep getting a little teaser of good weather then snow and cold. That's my complaint.

What I am thinking of that changed my perspective on something is a T.V show rather than a movie. The show that I am thinking of is called 30 Days. A man puts himself in other people's shoes for 30 days at a time. The one that I saw was about being very poor and trying to live off of little money. In the episode, the man and his wife get jobs and find a cheap house. It was tough for them to stay on top of their bills and other things that dealt with money. Even something as essential as a trip to the doctor cost them a ton of money. This show made me realize that I should be more thankful for what I have.

There are many things that can affect the way that we look at things in life. One movie that comes to mind for me when I think of something that changed the way that I look at things is the movie Super Size Me. This is the movie about the guy that eats McDonlads for like a month straight or something and shows how bad it is for you and what it would do to you if you ate it enough. This changed the way that I viewed fast food. Before I saw this movie I didn't really pay attention to how often I ate fast food, I would just do it. After I saw the movie, however, I started to not eat out as much and to be more careful about what I eat when I do eat fast food. This is one movie that changed the way that I view fast food in a good way.

I would have to say that on of my biggest pet peeves is when someone people bite their nails. When someone sits in class and chews on their finger nails spitting out the pieces after every bite it drives me crazy. I just dont understand the point of chewing on your finger nails. My girlfriend chews her finger nails all the time and I have to keep pulling her hand away from her mouth to get her to stop because she doesnt realize she is doing it. I just dont really see the point of biting your nails,it makes them shorter but thats what a finger nail clippers is for. Whenever I see someone biting their nails it makes me want to go put some mittens on them or something, whatever it would take to get them to stop. Another one of my big pet peeves dealing with finger nails is when someone files their nails in front of me. The sound of someone filing their nails, for some reason, makes me cringe. It is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Whenever Im at home and my mom starts to file her nails I have to get up and leave because the sound just kills me.

I went home with a friend for the weekend to La Crosse. Me and another friend went to meet his family and friends back home. We left on Friday around 4:30 and it was about a 2 and a half hour drive. When we got there we drove around the city a little bit to see what La Crosse was like. Eventually we found something to do so we went to a kid's house becasue he was having some people over. We went there and hung out for a while until everyone started to leave. We stopped at Subway and went back to my friends house and went to bed. The next day we all woke up and went to his little sister's birthday party at a waterpark about 45 minutes away. The waterpark was not huge but it was pretty fun. We left the park and drove back to his house to figure out what to do that night. When his parents got home they cooked us all some burgers and wings. We decided to go bowling at a place nearby so we finished eating and went bowling. Once we had bowled a few games we went started going back to his house but decided to stop at a grocery store where I had to get some Wisconsin cheese curds. We got back to his house and pretty much crashed right away. The next day, we were all pretty lazy, laying around all day watching the Lakers game. Finally, around 7 we left to come back to Mankato. We got back a few hours later, unpacked everything, and took it easy the rest of the night.

I expect from this class this semester to learn a little more about good effiecient ways of writing papers. Also, I expect to get practice in writing some papers. I did not really expect to have to read a book but it was not as bad as i thought it would be. From my instructor in this course my expectations are that he will help in improving our skills in writing through cunstructive criticism of our writings. Also, I think that the one on one meetings that are required will help in doing so. I aslo expect that if I go to the instructors office hours that I can find the help that I am looking for on a paper or anything related to the course. From myslef I expect to do all of the assignments in this course and to not only pass this course but to do well in it. The main thing that I am going to expect from myself, however, is that I will get all of my assignments in on time and will not procrastinate like I always end up doing. I think that what was said at the beginning of the course was true, that we will get out of the course what we put into so I am expecting myself to get out of this course everything that I can.

My name is Brian Cummings. I'm from Maple Grove, Minnesota and have lived in Minnesota my whole life. I have an older brother and an older sister and also a almost 2 year old nephew. I went to school at West Lutheran High School in Plymouth. I am a Freshman and haven't decided on a major yet. I like to play all sports. I played Football and Basketball in high school but I like to play pretty much any sport. Last year, my high school basketball team got invited to a tournament in Arizona so we got to fly out to and spend some time in Arizona. Also, we ended up winning the tournament so that just made the trip that much better. Also, I ended up getting the MVP award for the tournament so it was a great trip down to Arizona. Antoher fun memory for me is when I went to a resort on Lake Kabatogama last summer with my girlfriend and her family. We went for a week and a couple of other families that we know went as well. It was a great time boating, swimming, and doing whatever we wanted. There is a thing at this resort called The Blob where someone sits on one end of it and another person jumps off of a tower onto the other end sending that person flying into the water. That made for some good laughs especially when me and another guy jumped onto it and launched the lightest girl there about 15 feet in the air.