Pre- Post-Semester Analysis
I was going to write one big long huge thing after the semester ended, but I'm stuck at the computer lab with one final left to take and I'm pretty much ready for it, so once again LJ is the only thing left on the internet with any entertainment value. Someone needs to send me good links. Oh! Here's a good one! This guy is crazy! Take a look, it'll only take up 11 minutes of your precious time. It's proof that Stanford kids have too much time on their hands. Their work needs to be much harder.
In super great news, I got finally got the software to edit my videos. That stuff is too expensive, so I'd been putting it off a long time (over a year). Then, Thanksgiving comes around and man how I love those post-Turkey sales. The software I got is $100, but there was a $20 instant rebate, plus $80 mail-in rebate. So yes, I got it for about $5, damn government taxing me on money that I, in the end, am not spending. But who am I to complain? After I got the software, I realized that I didn't have the hardware. I needed a card for my computer, and a cable might be nice, too. I ordered those off the internet super cheap (Patrick thinks they're stolen, but I operate under "don't ask don't tell" when it's convenient) and now I could send people videos of stuff they'll probably never watch. (Just because they're on computers now doesn't make home videos any more interesting, right?) I haven't had the proper amount of free time necessary to mess around with it due to finals, but I can't wait for tomorrow. (I'm currently in Golden and I'll be spending the night up here.) I'll be home pretty late because a friend is hosting a dinner at 9 to accommodate for the late-final takers, but I bet I'll have some stupid video editing trick down before I go to bed. I have all sorts of plans for my newfound toy and its new accessories, but I never realized all the things I'd have to do just to produce a decent home video. I have to figure out which shots I want to keep, transfer them, and then I have to make sure they're pretty. Next I decide what order they go in and all the transitions and effects and sounds that I'll use for each clip. Did I miss anything? I'm not sure, I'm sure I'll get to know the whole process very well. After, I'll decide that it's perfect, burn it onto a disk, have a viewing party and realize that everyone else thinks it sucks, and start all over again at square one. Or if they love it, I go home to do another one so I can bask in their love yet again, and still end up at square one. I love the things you can do with computers, but I hate being the one programming them.
That, I think, provides a decent segueway into ranting about classes. I never want to be forced to write another program again. I only had two computer science classes this semester, but those programming assignments took up so much time, especially since the professors didn't see a need for teaching how to do them before we started. I don't want to guess what my grades are because I'll be pretty disappointed. I know I will. Even Japanese might turn out badly! I had high expectations for this semester, but I forgot how much work and all the commute drains me. All things considered, I guess I'm not doing so badly. I refuse to push myself any harder because I don't think it's necessary, and I don't know if I can take it... but I can't get all worked up about it. When you try to do too many things, something's gotta give. In my case, I'm still taking everything on, but nothing that I do is as good as I know it could be. Except work. That's still super easy. I got my boss to serve me cocoa one time. That was the highlight of the week. Okay, technically it was only hot water, but we're going to work our way up.
Onto a happier note, I went to Vail this weekend. We didn't do any snow activities, so the trip might sound pretty pointless to people, but it was nice getting away from home, away from school and taking a mental break after the insane last week of classes that my friends and I all had. In fact, that's the reason we didn't do much. Long story short, a couple of them arrived in Vail at about 6:30am, 6 hours after we got there, and so we let them sleep most of the day. It was very very good. I enjoyed it, and I'm glad that I didn't have to drive. Plus I got to know some people better than "Oh hi, I know you, you're in a couple of my classes, let's sit here and talk for a while before one of us has to go to class." Everyone has a story to tell. And some of them are actually interesting.
After Vail, I should have studied the rest of the weekend after being refreshed, right? You should know me better than that by now. I ended up going to the Nuggets game to see Paolo, Mr. Head Ball Boy himself, in action. You should have seen the way he mixed that Gatorade and folded those towels!
Now that the semester is almost done, here's a list of things I hope to accomplish:
1. Make sample video and send it to everyone I know
2. Make videos of friends stuff, family (wedding) stuff, and France stuff, or at least transfer the files onto the computer
3. Clean room
4. Clan bathroom
5. Revive that damn cactus
6. Find my chapstick once and for all
7. Sleep at least 6 hours a night
My friend is going to Japan for break. She asked if there's anything I want her to bring back for me. Can anyone think of anything? I bet I'll think of about 50 things right after she leaves (this weekend), just like I thought of so many other things I want right after posting my list to my Super Santa.
Speaking of Japan, that's where I want to go after I graduate. Forget all of my other plans, which were just there so that I'd have something to say when people asked what I'd be doing. Now, I found a program that sends people to Japan to teach English. How much more perfect for me could that be? I loved my experience in France. All I wanted to study there was the language. Pretty much I'll get paid (about $36,000) to do that, then stand up in front of high school or college kids and speak in English. The Peace Corps I'll save for later. I still intend on doing that, but right now I have too many financial obligations to get paid $7,000 for two years of work. I don't think anyone believes me that I want to do this since I keep having different plans every few months, but this one feels right. This one gets me excited about my future.
In super great news, I got finally got the software to edit my videos. That stuff is too expensive, so I'd been putting it off a long time (over a year). Then, Thanksgiving comes around and man how I love those post-Turkey sales. The software I got is $100, but there was a $20 instant rebate, plus $80 mail-in rebate. So yes, I got it for about $5, damn government taxing me on money that I, in the end, am not spending. But who am I to complain? After I got the software, I realized that I didn't have the hardware. I needed a card for my computer, and a cable might be nice, too. I ordered those off the internet super cheap (Patrick thinks they're stolen, but I operate under "don't ask don't tell" when it's convenient) and now I could send people videos of stuff they'll probably never watch. (Just because they're on computers now doesn't make home videos any more interesting, right?) I haven't had the proper amount of free time necessary to mess around with it due to finals, but I can't wait for tomorrow. (I'm currently in Golden and I'll be spending the night up here.) I'll be home pretty late because a friend is hosting a dinner at 9 to accommodate for the late-final takers, but I bet I'll have some stupid video editing trick down before I go to bed. I have all sorts of plans for my newfound toy and its new accessories, but I never realized all the things I'd have to do just to produce a decent home video. I have to figure out which shots I want to keep, transfer them, and then I have to make sure they're pretty. Next I decide what order they go in and all the transitions and effects and sounds that I'll use for each clip. Did I miss anything? I'm not sure, I'm sure I'll get to know the whole process very well. After, I'll decide that it's perfect, burn it onto a disk, have a viewing party and realize that everyone else thinks it sucks, and start all over again at square one. Or if they love it, I go home to do another one so I can bask in their love yet again, and still end up at square one. I love the things you can do with computers, but I hate being the one programming them.
That, I think, provides a decent segueway into ranting about classes. I never want to be forced to write another program again. I only had two computer science classes this semester, but those programming assignments took up so much time, especially since the professors didn't see a need for teaching how to do them before we started. I don't want to guess what my grades are because I'll be pretty disappointed. I know I will. Even Japanese might turn out badly! I had high expectations for this semester, but I forgot how much work and all the commute drains me. All things considered, I guess I'm not doing so badly. I refuse to push myself any harder because I don't think it's necessary, and I don't know if I can take it... but I can't get all worked up about it. When you try to do too many things, something's gotta give. In my case, I'm still taking everything on, but nothing that I do is as good as I know it could be. Except work. That's still super easy. I got my boss to serve me cocoa one time. That was the highlight of the week. Okay, technically it was only hot water, but we're going to work our way up.
Onto a happier note, I went to Vail this weekend. We didn't do any snow activities, so the trip might sound pretty pointless to people, but it was nice getting away from home, away from school and taking a mental break after the insane last week of classes that my friends and I all had. In fact, that's the reason we didn't do much. Long story short, a couple of them arrived in Vail at about 6:30am, 6 hours after we got there, and so we let them sleep most of the day. It was very very good. I enjoyed it, and I'm glad that I didn't have to drive. Plus I got to know some people better than "Oh hi, I know you, you're in a couple of my classes, let's sit here and talk for a while before one of us has to go to class." Everyone has a story to tell. And some of them are actually interesting.
After Vail, I should have studied the rest of the weekend after being refreshed, right? You should know me better than that by now. I ended up going to the Nuggets game to see Paolo, Mr. Head Ball Boy himself, in action. You should have seen the way he mixed that Gatorade and folded those towels!
Now that the semester is almost done, here's a list of things I hope to accomplish:
1. Make sample video and send it to everyone I know
2. Make videos of friends stuff, family (wedding) stuff, and France stuff, or at least transfer the files onto the computer
3. Clean room
4. Clan bathroom
5. Revive that damn cactus
6. Find my chapstick once and for all
7. Sleep at least 6 hours a night
My friend is going to Japan for break. She asked if there's anything I want her to bring back for me. Can anyone think of anything? I bet I'll think of about 50 things right after she leaves (this weekend), just like I thought of so many other things I want right after posting my list to my Super Santa.
Speaking of Japan, that's where I want to go after I graduate. Forget all of my other plans, which were just there so that I'd have something to say when people asked what I'd be doing. Now, I found a program that sends people to Japan to teach English. How much more perfect for me could that be? I loved my experience in France. All I wanted to study there was the language. Pretty much I'll get paid (about $36,000) to do that, then stand up in front of high school or college kids and speak in English. The Peace Corps I'll save for later. I still intend on doing that, but right now I have too many financial obligations to get paid $7,000 for two years of work. I don't think anyone believes me that I want to do this since I keep having different plans every few months, but this one feels right. This one gets me excited about my future.