January 2005 Archives

I am sitting in the Mac lab at the bottom of Sub. As it turns out, it is a pleasant lab to relax in between my class on MWF. Right now, I am fervently hoping that I can manage to stay awake in my next class, pharmacology. I got into a stupid novel yesterday, and proved my prior point about why I don't read fiction while in school. For me, it would seem it has a cocaine-like effect. I simply can't give it up, even to the detriment of my studies. I have thusly finished the book, and do not plan to pick up another until it is once again safe for me to do so. Perhaps I can attack one during Reading Week.

My apologies for not posting last week. I'd like to say I was incedibly busy, and I was busy. But my lapse in posting was primarily due to apathy on my part. However, not a whole lot happened during the whole of last week anyway, so that is not too big a concern. I will try to put up a picture or two tonight because it will be a while before I can again.

I am approaching midterms this term with the intention of beating them. For too long, I have been complacent, not willing to pay the price to achieve high marks. This semester I have no choice but to outperform in every way. It shall be my last chance to. I am confident about the midterms, but not overly confident. I am pragmatic. I plan to study obsessively for them. I have already started to a minor extent.

More tonight, I hope...

So, I amazed even myself and installed Fedora Core 3 tonight. The majority of my readers will have no clue what this means, so I will elaborate - just a little. It is a specific distribution of Linux that is very easy to install and use. It prides itself on completely setting the average computer user up with no technological abilities. I wound up using it for two reasons. It supports SELinux (a special version made by our friends at the NSA), and it could get my SATA drive to behave. It's really that simple. Since I have no time to troubleshoot this stuff myself, I now rely on something that is made for people without the time to tinker. Fair enough.

My classes are ertainly interesting this semester. With the exception of a few classes that are starting out a little slow, the others have captivated my attention. This is quite an amazing feat, considering that I normally have reflex arc between my ears and my midbrain. I hear the prof and fall asleep. Suffice it to say, the material is now sufficiently relevant and fascinating that I don't usually feel drowsy. The first time in fact I drifted off a little was at the end of my biochem class today.

I am hoping to get a fair bit of studying done this weekend. As the jobs that I hoped to get have not materialized, I am going to have to go with second tier, IGA or Safeway, perhaps. This could get interesting.

I had my first Microbiology lab today, and while it did seem a little tedious at times, it was also quite interesting. It was certainly my first exposure to an actual electron microscope, which is quite useful for viewing bacteria. They are sizeable machines, and the price tag isn't so small either. Just one of them will put you back a good $300,000. I also saw an eSEM (environmental Scanning Electron Microscope), which was almost cooler than the former. It takes topographical scans, allowing you to see microscopic structures as if they were life size. They had a fluit fly's head blown up to poster size. That machine was quite loud, and I can only surmise that this was the pump to keep a vaccuum in the chamber.

I went afterward to Costco, Wal-mart, and Superstore. I picked up a heck of a lot of grcoeries and assorted other junk. I got the job done, but carrying the 45 pounds in my arms for 2 miles had them shaking by the time I got back to my room. Needless to say, I am more than ready to call it a night and see what tomorrow brings.

Well, this is exactly why I love the Ada Lowell 5. This picture was actually taken over the Christmas holidays, but I am a little slow. The best thing about this? This is the only theater I know of where you can rent out the entire thing for $12, with a student discount of course. Dan and I got the theater to ourselves to watch Meet the Fockers. Kinda nice, really.

This weekend I have truthfully accomplished very little. I have kinda been reorganizing and cleaning my room, but my progress is laclustre, mostly due to my constant breaks to watch TV or a movie or play a game. In fact, I am beginning to wonder if this room will ever get cleaned... OTher than that, not too much schoolwork this weekend, and so far, no great leads on a job. I am still waiting to hear back from some places I applied to...

It is Friday of my first week of the new semester, and I must say, this should be quite interesting. I am registered in all but one of my classes, that one possesing a weird glitch. So, I hve to go down to the registrar to complete that one. This semester looks like it will be quite challenging, but hopefully interesting too. With classes like pharmacology and biochem in the lineup, I am quite sure I can stay busy. Now if I could only fix my job problem, I'd be all set. Hopefully, I will get a call back from one of the resumés that I sent in. If not, well, there is always a phone sales company out there. Ugh.

In the meantime, with the slow start to classes, I have been playing a few games, and I have to say, Far Cry is absolutely outstanding. Nothing quite like the excellent AI and the beautiful viusals. Not saying I spend a whole lot of time in it, but every once in a while, I don't mind loading it up a bit and trying my luck.

I think it is always hard for me to end a holiday, unless it has gone exceptionally bad. I have been enjoying my time in Edmonton, but truth be told, I really don't feel like going back yet, but then of course, I never do. It is a sad cold hard fact of reality that a vacation can never be too long for me. At least, it sure seems that way right now. Any way, it looks like I have about 2 hours of sleep before my flight, so I will put up some photos tomorrow when I am back in Edmonton on my good connection.

Well, I may very well be on my way to my third cold this season. Something's gotta give. I can't say for sure this is one, but the back of my throat is feeling pretty odd and my nose is a little runny, so this could be it. If it is, I am going to ticked. Once a season is good enough for me. I am praying that this doesn't go any further...

We got dumped on with snow last night. Dan and I were out to see a movie (Meet the Fockers), and the drive back got interesting. After doing a few donuts, we took it easy. A pretty site, but the roads were so bad 5 hours later or so they cancelled just about every school there is around here. The best part about the whole deal is the type of snow. It is the good thick stuff and plenty of it. Hence, I got to go snowmobiling for the first time in at least a few years. The ride was nice, if not a little short due to a goofy headlight. Hopefully I can go again on Saturday or something.

I am just about done registering for classes (procrastination), and I don't think I am going to be able to slide into the Violent Weather class. The thing is packed at 454 students. Unless I get lucky, I am going to have to shop around for something else. This semester has got to be better. I say that every time, but my improvement is too slow. Last semester was a lot better than the previous year, but not nearly as good as I needed it to be. We'll see about this time around.

I spent half the night playing Xbox, so I am getting kinda sleepy. I think I am going to cut this off here...

Well, so far the first day of the new year has been uneventful. Given the hour, I do not really expect there to be any new problems either. In fact, the only problems look to be those experienced on the road, as we have a freezing rain advisory right now. I cannot fathom why everytime I come back to this state, I cannot get enough snow to just go snowmobiling. Actually, it is getting kind of annoying. Just once, I would like to be able to enjoy winter sports while I am down here.

I am dismayed at seeing my break swiftly fly through my fingers. I already have to leave in a week. I have no idea how I am going to sneak my computer on the plane back to Edmonton, either. I am hoping (praying) to get something done this week before I go back. Heaven knows nothing will get done when the second semester starts... I need a job and good grades, and all other concerns must be secondary.