Done!!!

Done with my final, all homework assignments are in even if they're not all correct, and I now have a week off!!

I'll have a chance to redo and correct assignments so I'm not stressed about them, the important part was getting them submitted with a really good faith effort. No more school till April 8th!!!!!

Leaving in the morning for Vegas, now I have to find a way to keep myself busy between now and then. Must.... resist... the ... need ... to .... buy... more ... plants!!!

So looking forward to this trip, four days in Vegas just doing stupid shit, such a needed break.

Oh and the size six jeans fit well today thank you! Assuming I didn't totally fail the final I'm doing well today =)

Countdown to Spring Break

It's really hard to stay focused when I'm counting the days until Spring Break. I have a ton to do between now and then but the motivation factor is really low. I'm leaving on Friday morning for Easter but I have a ton of work to do that weekend so it's not really a vacation. Then it's one week and then Vegas!

Arthur C. Clark

Here is something that someone else wrote that sums out my feelings pretty well:


Arthur C. Clarke, RIP

For me, Arthur C. Clarke was never defined by hard science; he was defined by the unknowable. Whatever lay on the other side of the monolith. The agenda of the aliens in Childhood’s End. And of course, what was for me his most resonant work, Rendezvous with Rama. These are not stories that offer understanding — they offer, instead, mysteries a bit too big to fit into one book, one story.

Sure, he may have invented the communications satellite, but what he may be best remembered for in the end is an aphorism: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. As we live in an increasingly magic world, it’s good to remember that there are always horizons — that any sufficiently familiar magic is merely technology — and that there are always new magic just over the horizon, barreling towards us and presenting new mysteries to attempt to resolve.


Thanks Raph for expressing what I was thinking, and thank you Arthur C. Clark for some wonderful stories that helped kindle my love for Science Fiction and Fantasy.

My Dog

Needs to go on a diet.....

Oh and I got a 90 on the midterm. Not bad but it means I don't have the padding going into the final that I like to have.

Midterm Done

Turned in the midterm, not sure how I did, which is unusual. Usually I can research and figure everything out but I'm kind of waffling on this one. This is way important stuff too so I may need to go over things again.

Still have tons of work and work work to do but I think I'm taking tonight off, let my head decompress a bit. Tomorrow is homework and project stuff, I have a bunch of research done but I need to put things together and write a 5 page paper, and then another one =) But if it helps me understand these algorithms then it's way worth it, just harder.

Midterm tomorrow and money issues

One of the biggest issues with going back to school is money. Time can be found, things can be learned but being able to pay for it is the real challenge. I've been blessed with dead relatives who believed very strongly in education so I have some help, but I'm still taking out student loans. Because of said dead relatives I can't get any grants and the only student loans I can get are the 'unsubsidized' ones which pretty much suck.

Tuition is high but books, textbooks are a huge racket. Thankfully I have choices on where to get them, Barns and Noble has consistently been the best so far, but these books are relating directly to what my chosen profession so I want them new and I'm going to keep them. Not only that but then I have supplemental books that will only help me, but these things get expensive. I spend around 100 a class and that is lower than a lot of Universitiy's requirements.

I read somewhere once something that I agree with wholeheartedly. By the government giving out loans it allows the schools to raise their tuition and fees because it's all paid for anyway, and all it accomplishes is saddling students with huge debts. The best part is the govenment only gives so much and that doesn't even cover tuition at most places. Then you have to get a 'private loan' which has variable (and high) interest rates which aren't regulated by the government and you need a co-signer on.

I own a house, I have dead relatives money and I still needed a co-signer because I don't work 40 hours a week. Few students work 40 hours a week (though sadly it's becoming more and more common) so now it's saddling other people with the astounding debt. I finally transfered my student loans to my home equity account giving me a significantly lower interest rate and to get my mother off of a loan, freeing up her credit. Most students don't have a house and they're just stuck with obnoxious levels of debt.

My government guaranteed unsubsidized loan is coming through this month, adding another 10.5 k to my debt but allowing me to go to school with only my internship to support me. This is insane and only deters people from going to the better schools. Hell even the California State Schools which are 'tuition free' aren't as they charge fees larger than my tuition. As a taxpayer in California I pay to subsidize boards of trustee's salaries instead of student's educations. I'd much rather pay for someone to go to school than to to pay some professional to sit on a board and decide to raise their own salaries.

So here I am, in a better position than most students and my situation still sucks.

I remember when I dreaded getting my grades...

... but not now! I got an A in Data Structures and Algorithms in February.

My GPA is up to a 3.378 so I'm on track to getting it back up to a 3.5. Just have to study and work hard, yadda yadda yadda but it feels good.

This month is Algorithm Design which is much more indepth and actually kind of interesting. I've been told that these two classes are very uber important for my chosen career which makes me even happier about all of this.

I talked to my Lead Faculty the other day and it appears most of the rest of my courses are theory and not really programming, with a few exceptions. Because of this I ordered some books on Ruby and I'm going to get some on other scripting languages next month. He recommended just getting the books and working through the projects they have and learning as many as I can on my own. Amazon.com is going to love me.

Lots of work to do both at work and for school, midterm this weekend and then next weekend is Easter. Then home for the last week, project due and final, and then off to Vegas!! I plan on taking full advantage of Spring Break and ignoring school completely.

Passive MMO Game

Kind of a fun site

http://pmog.com/

Got sent there by a friend's blog. It lets you leave things around the net for others to pick up. Possibly a bit intrusive but I'm entertained.

Days Off

There is something nice about a beautiful day where I have absolutely no school work pending. I was going to do work stuff but that got postponed so today I just got stuff done, down to and including picking up an xbox 360 for a friend of mine.

I missed one errand, kitty's got no food, but got groceries, car's oil changed and washed, mailed stuff out (though of course there is always more) and made a real dent in the laundry/room situation.

Looking at where I live, just in my room not the 'public places', I would give neat freaks anxiety attacks. My goal is to, by the beginning of class tomorrow, have this room to the point I can run the roomba. I have an issue with the nest the dogs have made out of my reach under the bed, but one thing at a time :)

Final done!

Finished my final, still have some homework to do. I feel good about it, we'll see how I do. I'd like a full A to bring up my gpa but we'll see.

Time to relax a bit =)