Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Punxsutawney Phil
Happy Groundhog Day! I hear from my sources that Phil saw his shadow, so we all now get to live through six more weeks of winter. Yeah...it's 72 in my room right now. And to think...I could be in West Lafayette, Indiana right now. Ha! Hooray for southern California.
So, how have things been with me? All right, I guess. I've still been very busy, so I don't have all that much outside of school to talk about. Maybe a few things...let's get into that now.
Friday, like most Fridays have been, was kind of low-key. I enjoy my day off, but since everyone else I know has class, I can't usually go out and do fun stuff with them. So Fridays generally serve as days I do errands an go to open labs and things like that. This Friday? I spent a couple of hours in the electronics manufacturing CAD lab finishing the design of my power supply. I did some other homework. And I watched Drumline with Heather. So very exciting!
Saturday was kind of...bleh. I had grown tired of putting off my homework until Sunday night, and for one weekend I had resolved (is that proper word usage?) to get it done early, so that's what I had planned for Saturday. However, Rosalie called around noon asking if I wanted to go to the beach with her and a few others to have a picnic and study. Beaches are great and all, and normally I'd be all for that. But I knew that trying to study at the beach was pretty much going to be a waste of my day. I needed to read, and having other people around causing distractions makes that very difficult. I also am not very good at doing homework on the floor. I need a chair or a desk or a table or something. This all ran through my head while I talked to Rosalie, but I, of course, still agreed to go. And, as predicted, I did not get very much homework done that day. I could not make myself comfortable without something to lean against. It was kind of cold, and it was very windy (there's still sand in my chemistry book). I eventually gave up on trying to get anything done so I killed time by napping, walking out on the pier, and sitting on the swings at the playground. That all would have been fine except that everyone else was doing homework. So yeah. The worst part of it is that I knew it was going to happen and yet I still agreed to go. This is one of the biggest things I'm dealing with in college: the question of how much stuff I should do/try/experience. I know I'm supposed to be trying all these new things, and there are so many times when there's some event that I go to just because I feel guilty if I don't. I'm pretty sure the sad truth is that I simply don't do all that much stuff to begin with, and I don't know whether that's okay or not. But blah blah blah...I know I've griped about this issue here before, so I'm just going to go ahead and move on to the next topic.
Sunday was another low-key day: church, brunch, homework...nothing specific actually comes to mind, which I'm pretty sure is because I didn't do all that much specific stuff. In no time it was already Monday, then Tuesday, and now Wednesday...and I pretty much have the same things to say about them as I do about Sunday. Sorry...
In academic news, I got an 86% on my IME test (that's the one with the booooooring book). I was quite thrilled...I'm not going to be depressed in the slightest if I don't get an A because I really hate the lecture part of that class and I'm not going to kill myself just to raise my GPA by a couple hundredths of a point. An 86% is quite satisfactory, considering the class average was 64% and the high was a 92%. Besides, the lecture's only half the grade in the class, and I've been putting a lot of effort into the lab.
Last Monday I had three classes...and in them I had one midterm, one quiz, and one speech. The midterm was in my EE class, and I have since learned that I achieved a perfect score. Woot! I'm more proud of the chem quiz, on which I also earned 100% - the only perfect score in the class. I'm happy that chem isn't turning out to be as difficult class as everyone said it would be. As for my speech: it was a sales pitch, and I spent a good three minutes convincing the class that flexible drinking straws are worth the extra money to purchase over inflexible straws. It sounds stupid, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. My original idea was to discuss different cell phone service providers but I decided that it was too complicated to discuss all of the possibilities in three minutes. So I went with an obscure object about which no one has any preconceived opinions. Seriously, though...buy flexible drinking straws.
And yeah...I again have not much other than school stuff to talk about. Sorry about that...but I do expect that it's probably going to be that way for most of the quarter. Spring should be a little easier, though...so maybe I'll do some interesting stuff then.
Oh! I almost forgot. I have come across another possible solution to my housing dilemma. I was having a conversation with Rosalie about housing, and she's in the same boat as I am: neither of us have many potential roommates (because both of us tend to relate better to members of the opposite sex and thus the opposite sex makes of the majority of our friends). So she's been looking into living by herself next year. Living alone had never occurred to me, mostly because I've pictured myself living in some three-bedroom apartment, the cost of which would be tremendous if it wasn't split three ways. But Rosalie says you can find decent studio apartments off campus with competitive prices. As a result, living alone next year has become a great possibility for me. Here are my thoughts about it: I fear turning into an antisocial hermit who only leaves his hut for class. Do you think that would happen? I'm open to discussion on this issue. I was talking to Kevin about it and he said that he thought living with someone was part of the college experience, and that he wouldn't want to live alone just because he was "too lazy to ask if people wanted to be his roommate." I do not think that this is the case here...it's not that I'm too lazy to conduct a roommate search. It's just that I don't know anyone who I would like to live with. If I had a couple of friends that I really like and with whom I do everything, then I'd be all for getting an apartment with them. But I don't. And let's face facts: I'm independent. I grew up without brothers and sisters and without ever having more than one other person in the house. I know that that is unusual, but I'm also pretty sure that it's not bad. I personally see no reason to room with someone just to have "the college experience." Really, who defines this experience anyway? I'm at college, and whether I do things their way or my way I still experience things. Therefore, even if I'm not having the college experience, I am having a college experience. Besides, I think I'm capable of living by myself and still being social. I mean, I didn't live with any of you guys back at home, and we still did stuff together. And let's also remember that I have had/will have a roommate for the rest of this year.
So those are some of my thoughts on the situations. Honestly, I would like to know what you guys think about the idea...post a comment...or write an email if you don't want everybody reading what you have to say. I like hearing from you guys anway. For now, though, I'm going to sign off. It's past midnight...and there's class tomorrow...you know. So good night. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Cheers,
Josh
mood: emotionally okay, but I've been a little sick for the past couple of days. I tend to have a new set of symptoms every day. Today? Sore throat and coughing.
music: I was watching Friends but I turned it off because I was having trouble concentrating on what I was writing.
location: dorm
Quoted Randomness:
[After the Mustangs took a three-point shot that missed the basket by a few feet and went sailing into the crowd] "That wasn't a shot! It was a pass...to God! Where were you on that one, God?!"
--Brian Adamson (fellow trumpeter)
"Dearly departed...I mean, beloved..."
--Priest, during Sunday mass
The next four quotes must be read in a strong Russian/Hungarian/Armenian/forgive-me-for-not-knowing-which accent.
[Commenting on the style of one of our windO pieces] "You think this melody is so pretty and beautiful that you cry when you hear it? Hell no!"
--Rudolph Budginas (guest windO conductor)
[To silence the loud drummers] "Percussion, you don't have to play so loud. The girlfriends in the audience will hear you. If you need more attention, move around more."
--Rudolph Budginas
[After telling us to play a couple of notes in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" longer than written] "You don't follow and you break all the rules, you sound better."
--Rudolph Budginas
[Don't ask me about the context of this one] "One, two, one, two, one, two, sausages!"
--Rudolph Budginas
[Seen on a T-shirt] "I have gone to find myself. If I get back before I return, keep me here."
--David (who wore the shirt in my speech class)
"My shower caddy broke...a little bit...okay, a lot."
--Joanna Bossi
And, my personal favorite:
"Plants are like small children: you can abuse them and they'll thank you for it later."
--Kevin Bussett
So, how have things been with me? All right, I guess. I've still been very busy, so I don't have all that much outside of school to talk about. Maybe a few things...let's get into that now.
Friday, like most Fridays have been, was kind of low-key. I enjoy my day off, but since everyone else I know has class, I can't usually go out and do fun stuff with them. So Fridays generally serve as days I do errands an go to open labs and things like that. This Friday? I spent a couple of hours in the electronics manufacturing CAD lab finishing the design of my power supply. I did some other homework. And I watched Drumline with Heather. So very exciting!
Saturday was kind of...bleh. I had grown tired of putting off my homework until Sunday night, and for one weekend I had resolved (is that proper word usage?) to get it done early, so that's what I had planned for Saturday. However, Rosalie called around noon asking if I wanted to go to the beach with her and a few others to have a picnic and study. Beaches are great and all, and normally I'd be all for that. But I knew that trying to study at the beach was pretty much going to be a waste of my day. I needed to read, and having other people around causing distractions makes that very difficult. I also am not very good at doing homework on the floor. I need a chair or a desk or a table or something. This all ran through my head while I talked to Rosalie, but I, of course, still agreed to go. And, as predicted, I did not get very much homework done that day. I could not make myself comfortable without something to lean against. It was kind of cold, and it was very windy (there's still sand in my chemistry book). I eventually gave up on trying to get anything done so I killed time by napping, walking out on the pier, and sitting on the swings at the playground. That all would have been fine except that everyone else was doing homework. So yeah. The worst part of it is that I knew it was going to happen and yet I still agreed to go. This is one of the biggest things I'm dealing with in college: the question of how much stuff I should do/try/experience. I know I'm supposed to be trying all these new things, and there are so many times when there's some event that I go to just because I feel guilty if I don't. I'm pretty sure the sad truth is that I simply don't do all that much stuff to begin with, and I don't know whether that's okay or not. But blah blah blah...I know I've griped about this issue here before, so I'm just going to go ahead and move on to the next topic.
Sunday was another low-key day: church, brunch, homework...nothing specific actually comes to mind, which I'm pretty sure is because I didn't do all that much specific stuff. In no time it was already Monday, then Tuesday, and now Wednesday...and I pretty much have the same things to say about them as I do about Sunday. Sorry...
In academic news, I got an 86% on my IME test (that's the one with the booooooring book). I was quite thrilled...I'm not going to be depressed in the slightest if I don't get an A because I really hate the lecture part of that class and I'm not going to kill myself just to raise my GPA by a couple hundredths of a point. An 86% is quite satisfactory, considering the class average was 64% and the high was a 92%. Besides, the lecture's only half the grade in the class, and I've been putting a lot of effort into the lab.
Last Monday I had three classes...and in them I had one midterm, one quiz, and one speech. The midterm was in my EE class, and I have since learned that I achieved a perfect score. Woot! I'm more proud of the chem quiz, on which I also earned 100% - the only perfect score in the class. I'm happy that chem isn't turning out to be as difficult class as everyone said it would be. As for my speech: it was a sales pitch, and I spent a good three minutes convincing the class that flexible drinking straws are worth the extra money to purchase over inflexible straws. It sounds stupid, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. My original idea was to discuss different cell phone service providers but I decided that it was too complicated to discuss all of the possibilities in three minutes. So I went with an obscure object about which no one has any preconceived opinions. Seriously, though...buy flexible drinking straws.
And yeah...I again have not much other than school stuff to talk about. Sorry about that...but I do expect that it's probably going to be that way for most of the quarter. Spring should be a little easier, though...so maybe I'll do some interesting stuff then.
Oh! I almost forgot. I have come across another possible solution to my housing dilemma. I was having a conversation with Rosalie about housing, and she's in the same boat as I am: neither of us have many potential roommates (because both of us tend to relate better to members of the opposite sex and thus the opposite sex makes of the majority of our friends). So she's been looking into living by herself next year. Living alone had never occurred to me, mostly because I've pictured myself living in some three-bedroom apartment, the cost of which would be tremendous if it wasn't split three ways. But Rosalie says you can find decent studio apartments off campus with competitive prices. As a result, living alone next year has become a great possibility for me. Here are my thoughts about it: I fear turning into an antisocial hermit who only leaves his hut for class. Do you think that would happen? I'm open to discussion on this issue. I was talking to Kevin about it and he said that he thought living with someone was part of the college experience, and that he wouldn't want to live alone just because he was "too lazy to ask if people wanted to be his roommate." I do not think that this is the case here...it's not that I'm too lazy to conduct a roommate search. It's just that I don't know anyone who I would like to live with. If I had a couple of friends that I really like and with whom I do everything, then I'd be all for getting an apartment with them. But I don't. And let's face facts: I'm independent. I grew up without brothers and sisters and without ever having more than one other person in the house. I know that that is unusual, but I'm also pretty sure that it's not bad. I personally see no reason to room with someone just to have "the college experience." Really, who defines this experience anyway? I'm at college, and whether I do things their way or my way I still experience things. Therefore, even if I'm not having the college experience, I am having a college experience. Besides, I think I'm capable of living by myself and still being social. I mean, I didn't live with any of you guys back at home, and we still did stuff together. And let's also remember that I have had/will have a roommate for the rest of this year.
So those are some of my thoughts on the situations. Honestly, I would like to know what you guys think about the idea...post a comment...or write an email if you don't want everybody reading what you have to say. I like hearing from you guys anway. For now, though, I'm going to sign off. It's past midnight...and there's class tomorrow...you know. So good night. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Cheers,
Josh
mood: emotionally okay, but I've been a little sick for the past couple of days. I tend to have a new set of symptoms every day. Today? Sore throat and coughing.
music: I was watching Friends but I turned it off because I was having trouble concentrating on what I was writing.
location: dorm
Quoted Randomness:
[After the Mustangs took a three-point shot that missed the basket by a few feet and went sailing into the crowd] "That wasn't a shot! It was a pass...to God! Where were you on that one, God?!"
--Brian Adamson (fellow trumpeter)
"Dearly departed...I mean, beloved..."
--Priest, during Sunday mass
The next four quotes must be read in a strong Russian/Hungarian/Armenian/forgive-me-for-not-knowing-which accent.
[Commenting on the style of one of our windO pieces] "You think this melody is so pretty and beautiful that you cry when you hear it? Hell no!"
--Rudolph Budginas (guest windO conductor)
[To silence the loud drummers] "Percussion, you don't have to play so loud. The girlfriends in the audience will hear you. If you need more attention, move around more."
--Rudolph Budginas
[After telling us to play a couple of notes in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" longer than written] "You don't follow and you break all the rules, you sound better."
--Rudolph Budginas
[Don't ask me about the context of this one] "One, two, one, two, one, two, sausages!"
--Rudolph Budginas
[Seen on a T-shirt] "I have gone to find myself. If I get back before I return, keep me here."
--David (who wore the shirt in my speech class)
"My shower caddy broke...a little bit...okay, a lot."
--Joanna Bossi
And, my personal favorite:
"Plants are like small children: you can abuse them and they'll thank you for it later."
--Kevin Bussett
