Thursday, September 30, 2004
Twelve Peers
Mom called today. I've been summoned for jury duty. Whoopee. I'm not sure what will come of this, but Mom's sending the notice along so I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.
Today I went to the second meeting of my Intro to EE Lab. I was supposed to have read the lab printout thing before I came to class, but I couldn't understand much of it so I only got most of the way through it. (I actually ended up bringing my laptop to the class because I didn't want to print out all 15 pages of the lab, which Professor Gerfen had emailed to us. I discovered how light my laptop is. I'm going to have to start bringing it to more classes...) Anywho, when we got to class Prof. Gerfen spent the first hour lecturing at light-speed (which, by the way, is 300,000,000 m/s, as I learned today) about Ohm's and Kirkoff's laws and about transistors and oscilloscopes. And I didn't understand a word of it, save for the stuff I learned last year in Physics E&M. But when we actually started the experiments part of the lab, I had things figured out pretty well. I think the point of this lab was to learn how to use the equipment more than it was to understand how and why the equipment works. I will say that there's an awful lot of equipment in that lab, and from what I saw today it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun when I figure out how to work it all. (Hey, I understood the simple voltage source & resistor circuits, so I'm doing pretty well.)
A few of the people from Tower 2 and I went to the Avenue for dinner. (The Avenue is a food court that has Chinese food and a deli and chicken sandwiches and Mexican food, and some other stuff.) They had the presidential debate on in the eating area, and after we had finished eating we stuck around to watch. I was actually very interested in what the candidates had to say. Me, interested in politics. Isn't that something?
After the debate I was walking back to Yosemite, but I passed the music building so I decided to stop by and practice piano a little on one of the baby grands they have in some of the practice rooms (which I'm entitled to do now that I've paid my $10 music use fee). Playing that piano was wonderful. The building was almost deserted, and I didn't have to worry about making too much noise or getting in anyone's way. It was pure me time, which I haven't had in a while. Such bliss!
I forgot to mention that between class and dinner I watched the marching band rehearse for about an hour. And man, they're awesome!! They play all these songs that you've heard before, and they dance and shout things, and it's all about having fun (as compared to Mr. Cole's band, which tends to shy away from anything that isn't "professional"). I want to be in the marching band! I sent an email to the trumpet section leader to see if it's too late to join, which it probably is. But they do learn a new show for every football game, so it might be possible for me to join after the game versus SDSU this Saturday. (Not San Diego State, South Dakota State. That's right, Stacie.) Oh, and yes, I know I'm going insane with all this band stuff, but what else have I got to do? I'm just exploring the options...
I'd like to wrap this up with something that's been on my mind today. Yesterday I was in the common lounge talking to some people when one of the guys from this floor, Catch, said, "Stop rolling your eyes when you talk. I HATE it when you roll your eyes." I wasn't being sarcastic or rude while I was talking...I think I just roll my eyes at certain points in my speech to accent what I'm saying. At any rate, that comment didn't make me feel all that great. And from that I got to thinking that I've been trying so hard to be like these people and to want to do the same things they want to do so I can fit in. So, in response to all of that, I'd like to share with you all this quote, which I've kept with me since I used it as my "favorite quote" when I was nominated for homecoming king:
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss
Josh
PS - I enjoy tollhouse cookies, but I can't stand chocolate chips. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the PS in the previous entry.)
mood: relaxed
music: none, but the whirr of the mini-fridge in our room is quite soothing
location: dorm
Today I went to the second meeting of my Intro to EE Lab. I was supposed to have read the lab printout thing before I came to class, but I couldn't understand much of it so I only got most of the way through it. (I actually ended up bringing my laptop to the class because I didn't want to print out all 15 pages of the lab, which Professor Gerfen had emailed to us. I discovered how light my laptop is. I'm going to have to start bringing it to more classes...) Anywho, when we got to class Prof. Gerfen spent the first hour lecturing at light-speed (which, by the way, is 300,000,000 m/s, as I learned today) about Ohm's and Kirkoff's laws and about transistors and oscilloscopes. And I didn't understand a word of it, save for the stuff I learned last year in Physics E&M. But when we actually started the experiments part of the lab, I had things figured out pretty well. I think the point of this lab was to learn how to use the equipment more than it was to understand how and why the equipment works. I will say that there's an awful lot of equipment in that lab, and from what I saw today it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun when I figure out how to work it all. (Hey, I understood the simple voltage source & resistor circuits, so I'm doing pretty well.)
A few of the people from Tower 2 and I went to the Avenue for dinner. (The Avenue is a food court that has Chinese food and a deli and chicken sandwiches and Mexican food, and some other stuff.) They had the presidential debate on in the eating area, and after we had finished eating we stuck around to watch. I was actually very interested in what the candidates had to say. Me, interested in politics. Isn't that something?
After the debate I was walking back to Yosemite, but I passed the music building so I decided to stop by and practice piano a little on one of the baby grands they have in some of the practice rooms (which I'm entitled to do now that I've paid my $10 music use fee). Playing that piano was wonderful. The building was almost deserted, and I didn't have to worry about making too much noise or getting in anyone's way. It was pure me time, which I haven't had in a while. Such bliss!
I forgot to mention that between class and dinner I watched the marching band rehearse for about an hour. And man, they're awesome!! They play all these songs that you've heard before, and they dance and shout things, and it's all about having fun (as compared to Mr. Cole's band, which tends to shy away from anything that isn't "professional"). I want to be in the marching band! I sent an email to the trumpet section leader to see if it's too late to join, which it probably is. But they do learn a new show for every football game, so it might be possible for me to join after the game versus SDSU this Saturday. (Not San Diego State, South Dakota State. That's right, Stacie.) Oh, and yes, I know I'm going insane with all this band stuff, but what else have I got to do? I'm just exploring the options...
I'd like to wrap this up with something that's been on my mind today. Yesterday I was in the common lounge talking to some people when one of the guys from this floor, Catch, said, "Stop rolling your eyes when you talk. I HATE it when you roll your eyes." I wasn't being sarcastic or rude while I was talking...I think I just roll my eyes at certain points in my speech to accent what I'm saying. At any rate, that comment didn't make me feel all that great. And from that I got to thinking that I've been trying so hard to be like these people and to want to do the same things they want to do so I can fit in. So, in response to all of that, I'd like to share with you all this quote, which I've kept with me since I used it as my "favorite quote" when I was nominated for homecoming king:
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind." --Dr. Seuss
Josh
PS - I enjoy tollhouse cookies, but I can't stand chocolate chips. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the PS in the previous entry.)
mood: relaxed
music: none, but the whirr of the mini-fridge in our room is quite soothing
location: dorm
