We all have them. Some have more than others. But I'd say they are what make life worth living. What are they?

Friends!

If you didn't get that from the title. Then there you go, I was talking about friends.

I, like most people, have friends that surround me through my days at AC, my nights out, and just about wherever I happen to be.

The people you see here are just a few of whom I spend my time on Earth with. Whether it's going to the movies, going bowling, or just hanging out. I can always count on them to be there for me. But that's enough of the generic stuff I'm sure you've always heard about people and their friends.

It seems like there's always a friend of mine around the corner. Especially since the school year started, I seem to have met a lot of people I don't ever want to lose contact with.

Now it's time for a story, if you're interested that is.
You see...
There's this dude named Bryce Robertson, last spring semester I never talked to the guy. I knew who he was because he's the brother of a friend of mine and I had him in a class, but other than that I never really expected to ever talk to him. Ever!
Over the summer he became a part of the Student Government Association as their Treasurer, and I was their Parliamentarian, but still, I never talked to him very much over the summer even during our weekly SGA meetings.
Then school started in the fall, and it turned out we had all our classes together. So I was kind of forced to see him everyday.
Again, I'm not the best at starting a conversation or talking for that matter.
But since we had our classes together, and were part of the same student organization we saw a lot of each other and eventually became friends.

If someone would have came up to me last spring semester and asked me that we would have been buds and hang out all the time, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

Point of the story?

That you never really know where you're gonna find a friend.
So the next time you're sitting in class next to someone you don't know, go ahead and say hi to them. Because it could easily be the funniest person you'll ever meet.

Has anyone ever told you in your life to, "stop and smell the roses."
Well... that's not exactly my point for this blog, but there is a point though. It's full of point actually.
But instead in this situation I want you to, "stop and read the posters."

*I feel the need to put things in quotation marks because I feel it gets the point across more*

But back to the point.
If you ever find yourself walking around Amarillo College, because you know, that's where our classes are at. Then I'm sure you've seen a poster or two, or three around.
Those posters actually have a lot of work that go into them, and deserve to be noticed.
So go ahead and, "stop and read the posters."

I personally know two of the people who do most of that advertising design work that seems to be oh so pleasing to the eye.

So sit back and relax, and let's get to know these girls!

You've had a rough day. You're stressed, worried, exhausted, irritable...just downright in a bad mood. But you don't really want to be in a bad mood, do you?

Class, work, studying, class, work, studying, class, work, studying. A routine most of us know all too well. Now that the semester is in full swing and mid terms are fast approaching it seems as if we’ll be in school forever. That the only thing we have to look forward to is the end of the semester and, hopefully graduation. Graduation, for most of us means applying to get into another school so we can repeat the cycle all over again. And if you want to be a lawyer or a doctor or any other kind of professional it means that you are far from being done with school.

Here’s the thing though, even though you and I will be spending the next foreseeable future trying to do everything and succeed at it all, there are still good things that happen every day. It could be something big or it could be something so small. Regardless, good things in our lives tend to brighten our outlook and make each day more bearable.


Think about it, your significant other, surprise you at the end of a long stressful day with something considerate that they have done. It can be something big like a home cooked meal, or a foot massage. Or it could be something small, like remembering to throw their dirty clothes in the hamper, or emptying the dishwasher. Things like this don’t seem all that great compared to others but every little thing on a bad day can help.

Even if you are not in a relationship, small things that really shouldn’t change your outlook on life can end up being something that you remember your whole life. I remember last semester I was so busy, working on projects and going to class and working two jobs I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Then one of my teachers decided that we all looked too stressed and cancelled class. I then found out that I have confused the dates for one of my projects and it wasn’t due for another week. Separately these two events were pretty good. But together they totally made my day and it gave me that extra push to get things done.

We tend to take things for granted. Little kindnesses get ignore or forgotten all too quickly. If something as small as finding your favorite kind of juice at the store doesn’t help to brighten your day then monumental events like getting a diamond necklace won’t mean as much. If you can’t get excited about little things than it takes bigger and bigger things to excite you.

So take today as an opportunity, remember one little thing that made you happy and appreciate it for what it is. I found a Mario wallet today, what did you find?

"Banning Pit Bulls would be like banning cars because people get killed in car accidents! Who's responsible, the car or the driver/manufacturer? Any car can be deadly in the wrong hands or if built with defective parts. Same thing with dogs... Any dog. Pit Bulls are no more responsible for the way they are bred, raised and trained, than cars are responsible for the way they are designed, built and driven."

Before I say much there's a few things you have to do.

1. Click on this website link http://www.theasiaproject.com/main.html (or you may have to copy and paste it to your browser).
   
2. Click on the word "Gallery."
   
3. Click on "Video"
4. Then just watch a couple of the videos or all of them if you prefer.

Now, if you like what you saw I encourage you to keep on reading.

You see, I saw some of this poetry when I was in Houston a couple of months back. It was really good. And now, if you've been reading the posters around campus you know that The Asia Project will be here for a joint event Amarillo College is having with WT that will take place at the Party Barn at 7PM this Monday.

They are really great to hear live. And if you happen to have someone special in your life they would for sure appreciate you taking them to this event.

There will also be another slam poet Fire and Rain.

I've never been a big fan of slam poetry, mainly because I never really listen to any of it. But from what I've heard from these slam poets I really enjoy it a lot.

It's going to be a great night if you happen to make it out there on Monday. You won't regret it, but I'll let you be the judge.

There's not much more I can say about this subject other than if you didn't check the website out of The Asia Project, then do it now, or just be surprised on Monday.

Welcome to my fellow bloggers! You both introduced yourselves, so I now feel obligated to do the same...and there's no better time to do that than on a snow day.

Hello everyone, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself since everyone else has. My name is Andrea Godoy and I am the other, other AC Blogger. Y’all will get to know me a little bit more as the semester goes on but I thought I would let you know a few things that might not otherwise be known.
I was actually born in Houston TX and moved to Amarillo when I was five. Which, when you think about it is like living here all my life. On an interesting note I have lived here for almost twenty years, I still get Bell and Coulter confused. No idea why really I just do.
I just graduated from WT with a bachelor’s last December, I’m actually hoping to apply and be accepted to law school for this fall. This will be my fourth or fifth semester at AC, I might have lost count. For the last two years I have been part of the AC Ranger, and the AC Current. Even though I decided to study law I actually came to AC with no idea what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’. I had been pre-med before coming here and I knew I didn’t want to do that anymore, so I picked two things that interested me. Law and journalism, and I took an intro class in each one. For me, making the decision to take a step back and look at the bigger picture instead of rushing to graduate with a degree in a field I would hate was the best decision I could have made.

Ultimately I chose law, or law chose me, but I came to love journalism even more.

Other than that I guess there are a few random things you all might enjoy knowing:

Out of all the bloggers for this semester I am the only one who has not worn the badger costume (something that saddens me immensely)

I want to write a book one day, what kind of book I don’t know. The reason I want to write a book is because of my name and the organizational system of most libraries. On the spine of fiction books the author’s name is shortened to the first letter of the author’s first name and the first three letters of their last name. My abbreviation would be A. God. How awesome would that be.

When I’m stressed I like to cook. Which means that during midterms and finals there is always something to eat.

I honestly believe that Dutton Hall is haunted (more on this later).

I love action movies more than any other genre of film.

And last but not least,

I have an intense fear and mistrust towards things that have more than two eyes or four legs.

Here’s to an interesting semester

-Andrea

Looking out of my window, all I can see is a thick, white sheet of snow. Not pretty snowflakes peacefully drifting to the ground. No. Miserable, angry Amarillo-style snow.

Hoz Fierro, yeah... that's my name.


I guess the whole logical thing to do here is to say something about myself, or something of the sort.
I usually try to sound smarter than I am, and that's probably my biggest goal whilst doing this blog.
Get it? I used "whilst" instead of "while," I at least think that makes me sound smart, but probably not.
Now let's get into talking about something actually important: Me. Again, I joke. Amarillo College is more important.
But I will be telling you a few things about myself, like how I'm just a small town kid born and raised here in good ole' Amarillo, and that's all you need to know.
Of course, you'll learn more as time goes by.
Now, that thing to left is nothing to fear. It's actually me in the Badger suit! I actually think I look more attractive with the suit on, but that's a personal matter.
The badger is a pretty cool animal though.
As my friend Eric Ross likes to say, "...it's a very fierce creature."
I'm sure I'll be making references to the badger constantly in the coming months.
And just so you know, I'm not always wearing the badger suit. There's someone else who does that stuff on a regular basis. I just did it that one day and took a picture to remember the moment I got to be a fierce creature.

I guess to end this blog I can tell you a little more about myself.
I'm very involved on campus. If you've ever been to an SGA meeting on Wednesday at noon in the Oak Room on the second floor of the cub then I'm sure you've seen me as the Parliamentarian of that organization. I really enjoy it, and always know what is happening on campus.
Other than that I'm also a member of the Math Honor Society here at AC. What can I say? Math is awesome, and fun. If it weren't we wouldn't have many engineers or math teachers. And there's a lot of those around.
There's much more I can say, but I'll refrain from doing so until the next blog.
And in case you don't believe it, my real name is Hoz. I've had it since I was born! I'll probably even have the name when I die.

But that's stuff to say in another blog, at another time.

Badger.

We all know that he's the Amarillo College mascot. Billy is his name and he's been around since the school was founded in 1929.

Other than that, few of us know very much about the mysterious creatures. Sure, I could identify a badger if I saw one in a lineup, but before beginning my extensive badger research, I couldn't tell you any specifics.

I was recently talked into helping out with the creation of a badger video for the Ranger Online (which will be posted in the very near future). The video more or less features students who remain completely baffled by badgers and myself dancing around in the beloved badger suit. Not the most informational bit, but high in entertainment value!

After working on the video, though, I really started wondering about the badger...

So, fellow AC students, are you ready to learn what badgers really are?

• According to Animal Diversity Web, most North American badgers reside in the Great Plains region of North America. They can also be found in the western United States, certain areas of Canada and in the southern mountainous areas of Mexico.
  

• Badgers prefer to burrow in dry open fields or pastures.

• They are pretty lazy. Mostly nocturnal and, though they don't actually hibernate, they tend to be highly inactive during the winter months or when it is cold. (Is it just me, or does all of this sound like a typical college student? Our mascot is relevant!)

• Don't be fooled by the adorable face, badgers can be ferocious little beasts. Only a few badgers (no more than five) live in the same 2.5 mile range. They are solitary and they can be territorial.
  

• Badgers are digging machines. Aside from being great for ripping into an intruder, those scary claws can help a badger tunnel through dirt incredibly fast. Animal Diversity Web says there have even been accounts of badgers tunneling up through blacktop pavement and two-inch thick concrete. What!?!
  

• Males are boars, females are sows and the kiddos are called cubs.

• Badgers are primarily carnivorous, munching on rodents most of the time. They particularly enjoy squirrel, prairie dog and gopher for supper, but also eat insects, berries and seeds. You will probably never see a badger chasing down prey in a field, though. They usually hunt under ground, tunneling at a high speed toward innocent rodents who only think they are safe in their home. Bwah ha ha.

• The average lifespan of a wild badger is only around five years, but they have been known to live up to 26 years in captivity.
  

• The average number of offspring for a badger is three.

• Badgers can grow to be about 2.5 feet long and a foot tall.

• To those willing to take a stab at imitating badger noises, thank you for being as willing as myself to humiliate yourself for the entire world to see on the Internet. In fact, badgers make most of the noises all of you came up with...and then some! The badger language consists of about 16 unique calls, according to Badgerland. A variety of purrs, yelps and clicking noises are made by adult badgers while cubs enjoy cooing, squealing, wailing and chirping.

Any other badger questions? Check out the sites that I have linked above, or ask me! I'll do my best to dig up the answer, badger-style.