Superbowl Reflections

Bah. I dislike the Colts. At least to the degree that I was disappointed when they won. But not to the degree that I would watch, although I wanted to. But I had too much work. I hear it was a really interesting game, and my roommate said the halftime show was phenomenal. Or something to that effect, because what he actually said is probably too weird to post here.

But for the first time in several years I couldn't watch the Superbowl. Ugh. I just hope I won't be so busy next year, especially if I team I actually like has a chance of winning. And there are a few of those, not just the Steelers.

It felt weird even thinking about football today, even if it was about the fact that I couldn't watch. I guess it was because by the time the Pittsburgh Panthers were done, the Steelers were already so far out of the running it was almost laughable. So I just paid no attention in December and January. I think it was even a few days after the Conference Championship games before I knew who was playing tonight.

Grr. The Colts won. Oh, well. Better luck next year.

Colts 29, Bears 17.

Swamped

I'm just a tad swamped this weekend. As usual. Just thought I'd let you know.

Choir camp in Highland Park was fun on Saturday, but took a chunk out of my schedule. My father happened to have to come down to Pitt for a recertification class in the morning, so he met up with me over our lunch break. Which was very nice.

Which reminds me. A few days before camp, our director gave us a list of buses we could catch to get to Highland Park and the times at which they would come. Checking a map and a bus schedule for the map of the route because I was convinced that I would get lost, I happened to notice that he had used the weekday schedules for one of the buses. Seeing that it was going to be cold at about the time people would be catching buses (officially it was 7°F at 08:53), I sent out an email to the distribution list we have set up alerting the members of the choir to this fact, providing correct times, and reproducing the rest of our director's list just out of convenience.

The next morning, I received an email in response that said, and I quote: "Bite me, Tim!"

The best part was that he replied to all, which was only two email address: me and the D-list. But that meant that everybody got his response. Then my inbox received several side comments like "Whoa," and "Let's keep the biting to [a] minimum." And I think just about every choir member who talked to me Saturday mentioned it in some way or another. So now one of the numerous inside jokes that the various choir classes have is centered around me. Which I guess is fine.

But all fun aside, if you can call that "fun," the main reason I'm swamped is that CHEM lab reports and homework problems are due every Monday afternoon. So that's what I'm taking a short "blog-break" from right now. Then this afternoon I'm meeting with the service learning group because we have a sizable project proposal due on Tuesday, which will be reviewed, and ultimately presented to our "client," DRS, on 15 February. Yikes! Here's hoping the one-page outline we were given explains things well enough. And somewhere in there I should at least look at the MATH review worksheet for Wednesday's exam and do a little more work on my PS paper.

And later today I have to turn in my housing deposit for next year, now that Dad gave me the check. The deadline's fast approaching, and they're sending constant reminders telling us to beat the rush and the long lines. And when Pitt says "long lines," they mean long lines.

So basically, unless something spectacular happens (which, knowing Feb'y, is likely), I won't blog much until Thursday evening or Friday at the earliest once this coming week's events are over. Which is just fine, because lately I've been ahead of my normal pace anyway.

Random tangent: Superbowl kickoff at 18:25 ET today. My Illinois-native acquaintance is back in Illinois to appropriately celebrate the Bears' Superbowl appearance with his family.

A Newer New System

To those who read and commented on my 30 January post, "A New System," thank you. It's now deleted from this blog. As you may recall, I was fairly negative in that post about a wide variety of topics, having reached a boiling point on many issues. Most of the problems I mentioned in the original post have since been rectified, and the remaining ones are working toward that point. Much like the last time I blogged when I was angry (May 2005, and that's been deleted, too), it received poor reviews. However, this one was exceptional in that it was given a parental rating of "No, Tim."

As such, I must repost an edited version, as a good portion of it was legitimate and not vindictive in the slightest. My only concern is that people would be more likely to miss my shorter post from 01 February, "Feb'y." So if you haven't read that, make sure you do when you're done with this. If you've already read both posts, you may as well stop here; I'll spare you from reading over 1,000 words you've already read. But the rest of you must read on.

And so, for the benefit of those who hadn't yet read it, here is the pared-down version of the original post, "A New System," from Tuesday 30 January:

Right about this point in the term (Week 5), I get to the point where I can no longer "play by ear" what needs done when. I need a functional system. Yesterday, 29 January, being the first time we've had classes on consecutive Mondays, I have realized that I am in need of a new system for Mondays.

As you'll recall by looking at my schedule for this term, my Mondays are quite horrible. Granted, I have hours off at 10:00, 12:00, and 17:00. Generally, however, I spend the 10:00 hour getting ahead (or catching up) on work, sitting in my seat ready for my 11:00 class. The 12:00 hour is spent eating and reprinting my CHEM lab report due at 13:00 after noticing all the errors that got printed the first time. And the 17:00 hour is finally where I can usually squeeze in a break to head back to the dorm to drop all of my books, pick up new ones, and maybe even catch a "Z" or two before heading off to MATH recitation at 18:00. For people like Andrea who are occasionally concerned about me finding time to eat, I typically do that around 18:55 when recitation lets out. The dining halls aren't as crowded then, so I can easily be done in time to make the 19:30 lecture.

During the day, though, it's not what I do that's the problem. It's what I take with me.

Notebooks for CHEM and PS. That makes sense. But then considering the fact that the CHEM lab period is both a lab and a recitation, I also have to bring my textbook, lab manual, data booklet, any relevant papers, my calculator, and my high-impact chemical splash goggle. And yes, if you only have one, it's just a goggle.

My backpack is filled to the brim all day, and in the evening I exchange all but the calculator for one flimsy notebook. Not to mention the fact that if I finish my CHEM lab early, I'm somewhat expected to stay until 16:50 doing calculations in the lab, something that Shane (one of my lab partners this week) mentioned could be done much more quickly using Excel. Which is very tempting because the calculations are half of the work in these lab reports that take me a good portion of the weekend to complete.

It is thus evident that something ought to change in the quite near future. Optimally, now.

Shane's suggestion made the premise of bringing my laptop for post-lab calculations more appealing because, after all, that's half the reason I got a laptop and not something else (by which, of course, I generally mean a desktop). But lugging that around with my textbook doesn't seem so appealing.

Then it hit me: The main reason I bring my textbook to recitation is so I know what the homework problems are. Why not take a small fraction of the time I'd save each weekend by doing post-lab calculations in lab, and use it to scan the two or three pages of homework problems each week, so that I can just carry a couple sheets of paper instead?

That works well. If only I'll remember that plan this weekend when I have to act on it. Which is why I think blogging about it will help. A bit.

But why stop there? For my homework due each Wednesday, I can intersperse something fun on Monday nights and Tuesday mornings. For example, I've been writing this post in small chunks between PHYS problems. I don't know if it'll work in the long run, but I do know that my PHYS homework is getting done already. And I still have another night to do it.

All in all, I'm feeling good about myself, both relating to my new system that may fail after just one week, and to life in general. Granted, staying up late to finish all my CHEM work Sunday night didn't help me get up Monday morning this time around, so it took a good amount of caffeine to get me where I'm at. But we started partial derivatives in MATH last night, so that helped. Because it seems as though I like partial derivatives, and functions of multiple variables in general. At least for now. We'll see what happens on 07 February when I have my first exam.

The first PS paper was assigned on Friday. Seven to ten pages on some recent public opinion polls, and what we would tell the President if we were interpreting the results in terms of how seriously he should regard them and how he might go about the task of making such results more favorable in the future. Not an entirely tough topic, but it might be a tough length. Thank goodness the professor understands, and gave us enough time to accomplish the task. An optional draft is due 09 February, Laurel's birthday, and the paper itself is due 23 February, Craig's birthday. Total time: 4 weeks. He advised us "not to wait 3 weeks, 6 days, and 23 hours" before starting. I certainly won't.

The DRS project is going fairly well, depending on how you look at it. On Friday, we were instructed to borrow a wheelchair and basically go around campus trying to get into various buildings. Some were easy. Some were not. Slush on the ramps didn't help us novice wheelchairers out, either. So on the client side of things, everything is dandy.

It does aggravate us, though, to some degree, that we are the tenth of ten groups in the first session. And the professor goes around to each group each day, starting with the first. As other teams are seen, they get to go out and do their work. But, as time runs out, we rarely get that, which means we have to spend more time outside of class completing our tasks. And because our schedules are barely compatible, that means a short period on Friday afternoons and Sundays. Which may come to be the ultimate demise of my System for Mondays.

Random tangent: Superbowl this weekend. Not as exciting as last year's, though, in my opinion. Although, there's an Illinois native across the hall who will surely be rooting for the Bears, loud and proud. But that aside, I'm really quite happy about things in general. At least for now...

Feb'y

It's an abbreviated month. I'm giving it an abbreviated name. It looks kind of cute, doesn't it?

At least on the outside. But there's deeper meaning here.

On the inside, the first week or so of Feb'y generally is bad. Bad things happen. Two of my worst days ever were 02/05/05 and 02/06/06, but I didn't let on at the time. Pure coincidence, I'm sure, but I can't help but wonder... So what's on tap for 02/07/07?

Well, normal CHEM, PS, and PHYS. Normal homework due in PHYS. Then in seminar, a "Department Selection Student Panel," preparing us for department selection, which apparently is actually 14 February, not 28 February. No homework will be due for MATH, which is a good thing, but it's because that's the day of my first exam this term: Calc 3. So, here's hoping that goes well. And I'm sure it will, because if anything goes wrong, it won't be in anything on this list, because that's just the way my life works.

And of course, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the slew of relatives I had die the first week of February 2001. That was hard to deal with, too.

Granted, some very good things have happened in the first week of Feb'y, too. I made a new friend, and the Steelers won the Superbowl. And of course, the last couple years, it coincided with District Choir, which as we all know, turned out well in the end.

But notice how the new friend post was posted very early the morning of 02/06/06. I was at an emotional high, as Ben had helped me recover from earlier events. Then everything came crashing down hours later, even worse. It was a good thing he was there to help me through at that time...

Ah, we'll see what happens. I'm not getting my hopes up, but I'm not inhibited by fear, either. What shall pass shall pass. And that will be that. It's all part of the roller-coaster that is, was, and always will be Feb'y.

Random tangent: And since it's Feb'y, the Cousin Club blog is decorated to reflect it. Check it out!