Hello hello!

I have news!

First of all, on Tuesday 16 November 2010, Bill Nye the Science Guy came to USC to speak! His speech was mostly about the health of the planet Earth, and what we can do as members of the global community to preserve the planet and live in a sustainable manner. He also spoke about the position of the Earth in relation to other planets in our galaxy, like Mars, as well as our entire galaxy, and then other galaxies, and then the entire universe. Basically, it was a talk based on environmental and astronomical sciences.

Did you know that Bill Nye's highest educational qualification is an undergraduate degree, in Mechanical Engineering? :o Man if only society worked like that now too.

Anyway, it was an amazing experience, and as Appa knows, I have loved Bill Nye ever since I was ridiculously young! Hearing him speak live, seeing him on that stage, it made me so happy. ^_^

Unfortunately... He fainted towards the end of his presentation, I was legitimately terrified. He just collapsed onto his side, laid there for ten seconds, and then got up and said, "Woah, that was weird. Did I just pass out? How long was I out for?"

I will not lie to you, I had tears in my eyes. Bill Nye, my childhood hero, had just collapsed on stage in front of me. It was a very traumatizing realization of mortality, considering I had looked up to that man for so many years of my childhood.

You know what really disappointed me? When he collapsed, everyone grabbed at their pockets, pulled their phones out, and began to text. It was a very disturbing sight, as no one leapt onto the stage at first, to help him. Not only that, but people were taking photos of him on the floor of the stage, and of the ambulance and fire trucks that drove up to the building to take care of him. Have they no shame, or respect? I was very ashamed of the USC population at that moment.

The official line is that he collapsed because of exhaustion, you can read the story published in the USC newspaper here:
http://dailytrojan.com/2010/11/16/bill-nye-speaks-at-bovard-about-global-climate-change/
However, honestly it looked to me like he had a miniature stroke... I was terrified.

Apparently though, he's feeling better now, thank goodness. I hope in the long term he's okay. I will keep track and keep you updated!

Anyway, moving on; last Thursday (11 November 2010), I was in my Holocaust class, which is my General Education Category 5 class. The professor handed back my two term papers that I've written so far this semester, out of three total that will be graded this semester. I got A on both of them! I was sooooooooooo happy! I hope I get an A in that class! That would make me so happy, and would be a great start to the winter break. ^_^

Furthermore, today I got my new California State ID in the mail today, I'm glad. Here's a photo;



My photo is better than the last one, thank goodness! Haha.

Anyway, I have to go to a PHE meeting now, so... Blog again later!
^_^

xx michelle