(no subject)
But I might as well anyway.
So, my computer basically shut itself off and then decided to make a machine gun sound. It doesn't take an engineer to know something's wrong with it, so I took it down to the tech guys at work to have a look at it, and they determined it to be either the power supply or the motherboard. If it's the power supply, it'll cost $100, but I'll at least still have a computer. If it's the motherboard, the nall my files, documents, photos and music are pretty much lost down the silicon tubes, and I'm screwed. The tech guys sent it out to a comp repair shop in Lansing, and I'm supposed to hear back from those tech people sometime tomorrow.
So, it's a little hard to do anything like writing into your journal when some random twenty-something guy is tapping his foot impatiently behind you because he needs to check to see if he received an e-mail concerning his internship to crop managament in Zambia, and you're doing something that just makes you look like a self-indulgent douche in comparison. Well, somewhat.
In the meanwhile, the comp neighbor is glancing at the screen, as if the answers to their orgo assignment are just going to magically appear on your screen. Unless they're into looking at forecasting models I'm accessing remotely from outside the lab, they're not going to be hitting academic nirvana from looking at my screen anytime soon.
Last but not least, the passerby that scrutinize the current open window. Whether it's math pre-exam questions, e-mail, or CNN, these are the type of people who seem to get their jollies from comparing computer screens, and I'm sure whenever they look at my seat it just tickles their fancy. I cannot wait to have my desktop back (on the assumption that it is in fact repairable).
In other news, I've been elected Pledgemaster of my fraternity (I ran against one other guy, Eric Kelsey, who's a really great guy and would've made a good p.m. too if elected). This is interesting, because it basically involves lots of flirting with rushees (well okay, everyone's kinda forced to do that), and then when they accept bids to the house, being their conteact between pledge and active member. I get a "pledge educator" to work with as well, whose position is basically like mine except female (remember that my frat has an odd co-ed setup), and while guys are expected to address me as their first contact, ladies are expected to consult her first, and then myself during the pledge process, and the whole complicated setup should make things very interesting (here's to you Emily Nestlé! No beating the shit out of me in front of the pledge class!). Oh, and all of the lovely sexism of it all, my position is more highly regarded than hers.
The not-so-cool thing is that it's basically having a pledging schedule all over again, late night, sudden events, egg week, and all the bells and whistles that go with it. The pledge master and pledge educator are also s'posed to pledges' friends at first, so I know there will be times when events are taking place and I'll be having guilt pangs for not doing more to help/guide etc.
While this has been occurring, the outgoing chancellor of our house, Britt Mosher, was running for a position for the 8-seat IFC Board the other night. The IFC is the InterFraternity Council, which is the group that represeents the traditional greek system at Cornell (versus pan-hellanic for sororities, and MGLC for the multi-cultural greek houses). As one can expect, the meetings, numbering about one hundred, incl. one rep from each house, run the gamut from the stereotypical frat guys to those that aren't. But anyways, since Britt was running for VP of Communications, she would be the only female representative ever on the IFC, from the only substantial co-ed house in the 40-odd system. And although I had dressed up for it (required), the election took a twist when there ended up being a runoff between her and two other guys. The one was from a fraternity that already held the VP genral position, and the other was well-connected. So they had to have speakers. And totally going off of my ass and winging it, and because Scott Tucker kept nudging me, I spoke up for Britt, and he did as well, and so did the other five members of our house who came to the meeting to support her. I cannot believe what I pulled out of my ass in front of these people, but it did a good job. Unfotunately in the end, the well-connected guy one, mainly becaue someone called Britt out for being a woman, and for the guy for giving "redundant" representation (a charmer from Pi Kappa Phi, if I recall). Still, it was first time someone from AZ had tan for the IFC in a great while, and we're all proud of her nevertheless.
As for my classes, I have developed a reputation for accidentally injuring people (seriously, I'm walking accident to others), so I've earned myself the nickname "Brandallmort". The case that started it all was tossing a binder up over my head into the face of a guy who was being a smartass overhead. I only meant to tap him with the face of the binder, but the sharp edge caught his temple, and a not-so-pleasant gash was torn unto his skin...and I gasped when I saw it and began to freak out with "Oh God, what happened to you! Was that me! Holy shit! What the hell did I hit you with?!" As he flailed around trying to clot the two-inch slash oozing blood down his forehead. He has a scar above his temple towards the areas above the left brow, and I have an embarassing story to my name. And someone made a facebook group dedicated to it, top things off.