Gurgle...
Today was almost as surreal as the day I lost my current keys and then found the keys I'd been missing for five months, but not quite. Today was perhaps as stressful as that day was bizarre. This first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my fish Bubbles, lying rather lopsided on the bottom of his tank. He wasn't dead, but he also wasn't really moving. My first thoughts were "Ah, God, no! I've only have this fish for three days; it can't be sick!" And I really couldn't think about it much further because I had class in 13 minutes. The first thing I did when I got back was look up Beta fish illnesses and remedies online, which got me nowhere. So then I called my mom, who for years served as the primary care physician of my family's many fish. But there wasn't much she could do except refer me to Petco. At first I called the big store that actually sells real plants and fish other than betas in little plastic tubs, but I was told their fish specialist wouldn't be in until after 2:00. Okay, time to call the sketchy, little Petco where I bought Bubbles. They told me that because I as using Claremont tap water there shouldn't be a problem with the pH, and that I should replace the water, this time adding more tap water conditioner. It took me about 40 minutes to complete this process, during which the lady that cleans our L told me that I had to get all of the boxes I had piled at the end of the hall into storage as soon as possible, or F&M would throw them and their contents away. It was almost 11:00, I had class at 1:15, and I had to finish my first news article for "The Student Life" before then, all while wondering if my fish was going to live or die. By 12:45 I'd submitted the article, moved all my stuff into storage, and put the finishing touches on my homework that was due later today. All I had to do was print it out at academics before my next class. So I hopped on my bike and rode down to Galileo, location of my classroom and a laser printer, and found that the laser printer wasn't working. Crap. Class started in 15 minutes, and I had 14 pages to print. I would have gone to the LAC, which is closer to academics than my dorm, to print them, but as of yesterday neither of the LAC printers was working either. So I biked all the way back to my room and waited very impatiently as my inkjet printer churned out one page after another. Despite the water change, Bubbles didn't look any more active. But I had to get to class, so back on the bike I went, and somehow I barely made it to discrete on time.
On Monday and Wednesday I have class from 1:15 to 6:15, with two 15-minute breaks: discrete, Fourier, and Documentary Fact and Fiction. I sat down in discrete next to Scott, who's also in my documentary class, and he said to me, "So, about that HUM quiz..." "Shit! Like the HUM quiz about film terms that I completely forgot about and constitutes 10% of our grade?" I thought. Thinking quickly, I devised a plan to study for the quiz before class. Between discrete and Fourier I'd bike back to my room, get my laptop, and then I'd sit in the very back during Fourier and study the film terms from the course website instead of taking notes. I didn't really need to take notes anyway since Prof Yong always posts his impeccable electronic notes online. I just had to hope there was a good wireless connection in the classroom. But as I biked through the entrance to Case, a couple of upperclassmen loitering outside said that the power was off. "So we're not allowed in our rooms...?" I asked, as I saw in my mind my HUM grade drop ten percent. "No," they said. "There's just nothing to do inside anymore."
As I biked back to academics, laptop in tow, I noticed that and unusual number of classes (i.e. more than zero) were gathering outside on the grass, and it didn't take long for me to find out that the power was out everywhere, not just in Case. So then I began to wonder what would become of my Fourier class. Yong always writes notes on his computer and projects them onto a screen. Would an absence of electricity cancel class altogether? But when I reached the classroom there was a note that read "Go to Yong's office." A couple of other students in the class and myself were almost there when we passed the back entrance to Beckman and saw the rest of our Fourier class gathered on the cement steps and the lawn outside, and Prof Yong writing on an enormous pad of paper that was determined to blow away in the wind. Shit! The one day there weren't going to be any Fourier notes posted online was the same day I forgot about a HUM quiz until a mere three hours before I had to take it. Now I had to take notes in Fourier. I turned on my computer anyway, and found that my plan was all for nothing, because there wasn't a wireless signal outside. I couldn't possibly study for the quiz now.
And then, just like that, my luck began to change. It was simply too hot outside and Prof Yong's pad of paper was too determined to strew itself across the road; Yong ended class early AND announced that he would write up notes for the day's lecture and post them online. Oh, and the power came back on. I biked back across campus for the sixth time that day, and got back to my room with just enough time to study for the HUM quiz. But when I accessed the website and read the syllabus I saw that the quiz was actually next week. Now all I had to worry about was Bubbles. And biking down to academics again to turn in my physics lab report. The next three hours actually passed fairly uneventfully. I fell asleep three times during the demonstration in documentary class about how to properly light a set. I think Meredith, who was next to me, would have let me sleep, except she woke me up each time I nodded off because, as she said, I was "breathing heavily." Ah, great. Such composure I have. The demonstration was excruciatingly boring, and was made all the worse because the entire time I was wondering if the minute that had just passed had been Bubbles' last on this earth.
Later, while waiting for Greg to return from dinner so I could borrow his car key and take Bubbles to Petco so his water could be tested, the usually clear blue sky above Claremont decided to impersonate an Impressionist painting. Parts of it were still blue, but other parts were streaked with glowing golden clouds, illuminated by the setting sun. To the east the sky was dark gray, indicating a looming thunderstorm, and arched completely from one side of campus to the other, from north to south, was a rainbow. Oh, and even though it was sunny in patches, it was sprinkling and the air was as humid as is physically possible.
By 7:15 Bubbles and I had made it safely to Petco, whose employees has told me over the phone earlier that day that if changing Bubbles' water didn't perk him up, I should bring him in to be looked at. And what was I told? Bubbles is fine. His water is also completely fine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him, except for the fact that he was swimming around like a normal fish for three days and then suddenly decided to become compulsively lethargic.
Oh, well. Back to Mudd we went, and back into his tank went Bubbles. Although I think he's doing a little better now...
On Monday and Wednesday I have class from 1:15 to 6:15, with two 15-minute breaks: discrete, Fourier, and Documentary Fact and Fiction. I sat down in discrete next to Scott, who's also in my documentary class, and he said to me, "So, about that HUM quiz..." "Shit! Like the HUM quiz about film terms that I completely forgot about and constitutes 10% of our grade?" I thought. Thinking quickly, I devised a plan to study for the quiz before class. Between discrete and Fourier I'd bike back to my room, get my laptop, and then I'd sit in the very back during Fourier and study the film terms from the course website instead of taking notes. I didn't really need to take notes anyway since Prof Yong always posts his impeccable electronic notes online. I just had to hope there was a good wireless connection in the classroom. But as I biked through the entrance to Case, a couple of upperclassmen loitering outside said that the power was off. "So we're not allowed in our rooms...?" I asked, as I saw in my mind my HUM grade drop ten percent. "No," they said. "There's just nothing to do inside anymore."
As I biked back to academics, laptop in tow, I noticed that and unusual number of classes (i.e. more than zero) were gathering outside on the grass, and it didn't take long for me to find out that the power was out everywhere, not just in Case. So then I began to wonder what would become of my Fourier class. Yong always writes notes on his computer and projects them onto a screen. Would an absence of electricity cancel class altogether? But when I reached the classroom there was a note that read "Go to Yong's office." A couple of other students in the class and myself were almost there when we passed the back entrance to Beckman and saw the rest of our Fourier class gathered on the cement steps and the lawn outside, and Prof Yong writing on an enormous pad of paper that was determined to blow away in the wind. Shit! The one day there weren't going to be any Fourier notes posted online was the same day I forgot about a HUM quiz until a mere three hours before I had to take it. Now I had to take notes in Fourier. I turned on my computer anyway, and found that my plan was all for nothing, because there wasn't a wireless signal outside. I couldn't possibly study for the quiz now.
And then, just like that, my luck began to change. It was simply too hot outside and Prof Yong's pad of paper was too determined to strew itself across the road; Yong ended class early AND announced that he would write up notes for the day's lecture and post them online. Oh, and the power came back on. I biked back across campus for the sixth time that day, and got back to my room with just enough time to study for the HUM quiz. But when I accessed the website and read the syllabus I saw that the quiz was actually next week. Now all I had to worry about was Bubbles. And biking down to academics again to turn in my physics lab report. The next three hours actually passed fairly uneventfully. I fell asleep three times during the demonstration in documentary class about how to properly light a set. I think Meredith, who was next to me, would have let me sleep, except she woke me up each time I nodded off because, as she said, I was "breathing heavily." Ah, great. Such composure I have. The demonstration was excruciatingly boring, and was made all the worse because the entire time I was wondering if the minute that had just passed had been Bubbles' last on this earth.
Later, while waiting for Greg to return from dinner so I could borrow his car key and take Bubbles to Petco so his water could be tested, the usually clear blue sky above Claremont decided to impersonate an Impressionist painting. Parts of it were still blue, but other parts were streaked with glowing golden clouds, illuminated by the setting sun. To the east the sky was dark gray, indicating a looming thunderstorm, and arched completely from one side of campus to the other, from north to south, was a rainbow. Oh, and even though it was sunny in patches, it was sprinkling and the air was as humid as is physically possible.
By 7:15 Bubbles and I had made it safely to Petco, whose employees has told me over the phone earlier that day that if changing Bubbles' water didn't perk him up, I should bring him in to be looked at. And what was I told? Bubbles is fine. His water is also completely fine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him, except for the fact that he was swimming around like a normal fish for three days and then suddenly decided to become compulsively lethargic.
Oh, well. Back to Mudd we went, and back into his tank went Bubbles. Although I think he's doing a little better now...