School again
I was planning to write a first day of school entry, but I didn't feel much like writing when I got home that day, so I'm doing a midweek update instead. My class schedule this semester is going to be rather rough despite being only 15 credit hours, largely because 2 of those credit hours are from a lab with 6 official hours of class and god only knows how many hours of extra lab time. Unfortunately, I've only got one class that's supposed to be anywhere near easy, but I saved enough money over the summer to not need to work this semester, and I'm not trying to run a game like I did last semester. With a little luck and a lot of staying on top of things and doing my work early, I should be okay.
I found out Monday that one of my professors was in Georgia when the Russians attacked. He made it out okay but is currently stranded in Turkey due to visa issues and might not be back for a couple of weeks. That's a shame because he's one of my favorite teachers (I'm taking his class solely because he's teaching it) but I'm mostly just relieved that he's okay.
As for my not so favorite professors, my thermo professor neglected to tell the bookstore what text he was using, and Amazon needs to special order, so I won't have the text for more than a week if I'm lucky. This wouldn't bother me so much if the professor didn't expect us to be reading a chapter a class from the text or assign homework due early next week from the book. A direct quote: "Not having the textbook is not an excuse." What's worse is that he has a copy of the book, so I know that he picked the book out at least a couple of weeks ago and probably much earlier. We're supposed to xerox pages from the reserve copy in the department, but as undergrads, we don't have access to the department copier, and I don't have enough free time tomorrow to be sure that I can access to the book to do Friday's reading.
I actually have another professor who didn't tell the bookstore what book he was using, but since he's offering to get us books for about $20 less than Amazon, I'm not upset with him.
In sort of awesome, sort of "I'm really glad I have a reasonable amount of savings right now", I have a new computer. My old laptop started having issues with making sufficient contact with the power cord, which was the latest in a long line of problems but the one that actually motivated me to get a new computer because buying a new power cord every three months after normal wear on the electrical contacts prevents it from charging (especially since last time it happened was right before finals when I had a major paper due in less time than it would take for a new cord to arrive) didn't make sense when it was becoming increasingly apparent that I'd need to invest in a new computer soon anyway.
I now have a brand sparkling new Toshiba Satellite U405D, which isn't top of the line but is a step up from my old computer, weighs only four and a half pounds, and cost less than I was expecting to pay. (Hooray electronically inclined boyfriends who know how to find good deals!) It's one of those ultra-glossy finishes which I find annoying because I don't want to have to use a micro fiber cloth every five minutes to keep it decent-looking. I'm not sure I like Vista yet, and I'm a bit irritated by the amount of random junk offers I have to clear out, but I'll live with it. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy.
I found out Monday that one of my professors was in Georgia when the Russians attacked. He made it out okay but is currently stranded in Turkey due to visa issues and might not be back for a couple of weeks. That's a shame because he's one of my favorite teachers (I'm taking his class solely because he's teaching it) but I'm mostly just relieved that he's okay.
As for my not so favorite professors, my thermo professor neglected to tell the bookstore what text he was using, and Amazon needs to special order, so I won't have the text for more than a week if I'm lucky. This wouldn't bother me so much if the professor didn't expect us to be reading a chapter a class from the text or assign homework due early next week from the book. A direct quote: "Not having the textbook is not an excuse." What's worse is that he has a copy of the book, so I know that he picked the book out at least a couple of weeks ago and probably much earlier. We're supposed to xerox pages from the reserve copy in the department, but as undergrads, we don't have access to the department copier, and I don't have enough free time tomorrow to be sure that I can access to the book to do Friday's reading.
I actually have another professor who didn't tell the bookstore what book he was using, but since he's offering to get us books for about $20 less than Amazon, I'm not upset with him.
In sort of awesome, sort of "I'm really glad I have a reasonable amount of savings right now", I have a new computer. My old laptop started having issues with making sufficient contact with the power cord, which was the latest in a long line of problems but the one that actually motivated me to get a new computer because buying a new power cord every three months after normal wear on the electrical contacts prevents it from charging (especially since last time it happened was right before finals when I had a major paper due in less time than it would take for a new cord to arrive) didn't make sense when it was becoming increasingly apparent that I'd need to invest in a new computer soon anyway.
I now have a brand sparkling new Toshiba Satellite U405D, which isn't top of the line but is a step up from my old computer, weighs only four and a half pounds, and cost less than I was expecting to pay. (Hooray electronically inclined boyfriends who know how to find good deals!) It's one of those ultra-glossy finishes which I find annoying because I don't want to have to use a micro fiber cloth every five minutes to keep it decent-looking. I'm not sure I like Vista yet, and I'm a bit irritated by the amount of random junk offers I have to clear out, but I'll live with it. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy.