The World

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but it's never come out right; however, this time I'm going to write it either way this time.

Last year as the leaves changed color and the snow fell, I found it aggravating that the phrase "entering the real world" found it's way into so many of my colleagues plans for the upcoming year. It would fall casually out at Downer, Senior Dinner, or at Graduation. College is not some play time phase of our lives where we study in the candy land forest and stroll down gum drop lane to class. My four years at Lawrence stand in stark contrast to what I'm currently doing, but I've never felt that the experiences I had, the growth I underwent, friends I made, challenges I overcame, and things I learned at Lawrence are not real. Lawrence was four years where I lived in a real bubble.

Soap

Only I didn't say fudge.

The Year 2007

The year 2007 is coming to a close and the best of lists are going to come flying of the press and rolling out of the blogs. Top ten albums, films, books, celebrities, homes, and anything else you could imagine. I don't have any top tens, and I don't feel a need to classify my thoughts, moments, and hobbies into a calendar year, because it's not during the moment when I exclaim "happy new years" that I get a new set of interests or trends. Forget that.

Fastidious. I like that word. Not for what is stands for or means, but for how it sounds. "Fastidious." There I said it.

Last week I ended up in a mall to purchase pants. I forgot it was christmas season; that's a mistake I'll never make again.

Like usual I need a haircut, and this post has lost it's direction.

The Year 2000

Until I dated my rent check December 4, 2007, I had completely overlooked the fact that it was December 2007. There were small clues lurking in the background these past four day; the morning I realized that I had forgotten to say "rabbit rabbit" or the light flurries that dusted the ground on my trek to work, but it sunk today: this is December. For me the year 2007 happened in the future, and I watched the milestones stampede past me - graduate, get a job or go to school, find some health care, move to a new place, pay loans, give up a car, learn how to cook. After some turbulence, things fell in place; I ended building a place to live out of duplo and lego - a bit of a mismatch but with a touch of finesse all the pieces fit. Now here I am in DC 6 months removed from graduation, 4 months removed from Chicago, and closing in on 2008. It's a year I've never thought about; probably because I was never really sure if it was possible. Here it comes, and I won't be surprised if I feel the same way in one year.

Here's a picture of my neighborhood.

Monday

I need a half day today in order to ease myself back into working.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I enjoy having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. For the most part it's candy for breakfast, and that's delicious.

Confused in October

My body is physically confused. The calendar says that October is coming to a close, but the leaves are still green, the barometer is still sitting over 80 degress, and I haven't started school yet. What happened to Fall?

Around Town; College Town

My building has the oddest elevators. It's ten floors total, and I live on the 9th floor; however, I never seem to ride the elevators with anyone. Up and down all day with out any company. Occasionally, in the morning it stops on the 7th floor to pick up the 14 year old who is on his way to school, but other than that it makes the building feel like a ghost town with empty carts oscillating between the floors. Anytime of day, I flow up and down with only the slight ding breaking the silence to remind me to exit.

This evening when I was riding back from a quick but urgent trip to McDonalds for french fires, and I found myself in the strange position of riding up the elevator with an older couple who, according to the elevator buttons, live one floor above me. They must have been over 80, and have lived in the building since it first opened.

She looked me up and down and inquired about my sweatshirt "Lawrence...is your name Lawrence?"

"No, I went to school there."

"Oh, have you heard of Miami University in Ohio, Oxford, Ohio? I went to Miami. Miami in Oxford, Ohio. I loved it, beautiful campus."

"Yeah, I have a friend who went there."

"Oh, wonderful! I loved Miami."

I wonder if I'll feel like that about Lawrence in 60 years. At this point I'm not sure.

Today

Today I don't have to work. Today I'm going to get a couch, and plants.

Storage Closet

I had to leave work today so I could make it home before the metro closed.

Work Life Balance

Work-Life Balance - one phrase I'll never be fooled by again.

Zoo

I went to the Zoo today. I took some pictures with my new camera.

ATM Cards

Why do ATMs withhold your card until the end of the transaction? I head to the ATM to get cash, deposit money, etc...when I'm finished the transaction and I have my money: mission accomplished. I got what I went for; however, I still have to get wait for the card. That is unintuitive, and that's why ATM machines have successful eaten both of my ATM cards this past week.

Commute

Every morning at some point in time before I wake up the Wall Street Journal is tossed in front of my door. When I leave work I pick up the paper. On the metro, I attempt to read the paper. Unfortunately, I'm still too distracted by the crazies. I wonder when I just won't notice them anymore.

My new camera came this week. Photos coming soon. It's still hot here, I don't know how I'm going to survive summer next year.

My bed

I spent a week sleeping on the floor. Now I have a bed. I love my bed. My best investment ever. Recently, I've gotten into the habit of misplacing everything: ATM card, iPod, headphones, carrots,.... It makes life difficult. I'm glad that I can't misplace my bed. Some people might be curious to see this.

I can't say that I'm proud.

Internet is too much.

Facebook now says that I'm "Lawrence Alum '07." If Facebook says it's so, it's so. It still doesn't feel official. People like to say that college is not real life. I'm not sure what they mean by that. At Lawrence, I was challenged, part of a community, and made great friends. Not paying bills does not mean, it's not real. I'm glad I didn't let it slip through my fingers.

Best Buy, I need to stay away from you for a month. I'm going to pretend you are not a few metro stops away.

I have two CBS channels. It was strange to get two CBS broadcasts. "Why does the US Open need to be on twice, at the same time," I thought. "Hmm, this news is only about Baltimore. Oh, that's why I have two CBS channels."

I live in the District. I get taxed by the District of Columbia. I can vote for a mayor exclusively. No Senator, no Congressman, no State Senator, ...wait, why do I get taxed more than a state.

Kickball starts in one week. Play Hard!

Loose Change

Loose change is dangerous when you have a vending machine in your building. It's still 90 degrees here. Too hot. I still don't own a couch.

Treading Water

After moving, it takes a while to feel that you actually live there. Not settling in - my stuff is here and in its place; however, I don't understand what it means to live here. I'm still foraging for my rhythm in the District. My body has adapted, and it knows when to get up - too early - I'm the first person to work. The problem is that my mind is still confused; it doesn't know what day of the week it is, what lamp to buy, what groceries are needed, or which way to walk. Going there will take how long?...it will be busy...? Is this an extended vacation? The questions stretch through the urban sprawl of DC flowing over the Potomac into Virgina. The District swimming in a plethora of options, and it's taking a while to discover the right subsequence for each day. I'm exerting myself everyday, and I'm just treading water; hopefully, one day I can float effortless with the waves. In the ocean, on vacation in North Carolina.

Settling In

The process of moving doesn't seem to stop. Every apartment has it's own nuances from where the living room light switch is to where the cabinet door handles are, and it takes a several moments of confusion to break the old muscle memory. Sometimes, it's continent how we can easily forget that what is not in front of us.

Homes just don't come with everything you need. Normally they just come with a refrigerator and a stove. Everyday I discover something I don't own. Thursday, I spilled Cheerios. "I'll clean this up," I thought. Then, I realized I don't own a broom. Back to CVS. Saturday, "Oh, I'll just reheat what I made on Thursday for lunch." Wait, I don't have a microwave. Back to Linens 'n' Things.

The CVS across the street has a strange habit of selling out of everything I want - besides candy.

The National Symphony played a free show on the Capitol lawn last night. They hadn't rehearsed much for it, but the warm summer evening and the illumination of the Mall behind the stage made it worth seeing.

Nationals vs. Marlins on Wednesday: $5 tickets.

Starting from scratch

Moving-in was a chore. It is arduous process that took several attempts, and isn't over yet.

Last Friday at the Atlanta Airport:
According to our captain, our flight was stuck in afternoon rush hour traffic. There were ten or elven planes ahead of us on the runway. As I found out, in Atlanta time that means two hours.

We waited on the plane with no air conditioning for two hours. Fine. Delays happen. Why then? I had to move in two hours later than expected - ten minutes after storage and CVS closed. The lease was waiting for me when I arrived. I signed and signed and signed. My apartment was just a skeleton of what I envisioned of a home - empty, smelled of new paint, white walls, and a strange echo of every noise.

Unable to get my pillow out of storage, I wrenched out my clothes from Orlando - t-shirts, undershirts, anything soft - used them for a pillow and slept in my coat on the floor. On the floor like a crazed artist living in a studio located in the heart of Brooklyn, I slept on my cold hardwood floors. Worst night of sleep ever. I couldn't wait until the CVS opened at 7 am. I bought soap. I showered. I found out what it's like showering without a bathmat - terrible; drying yourself off in a puddle.

Saturady - Ikea:
Unbelievable. I felt as if I was fed into a giant blue machine. I grabbed my score card and followed the arrows up the escalator diving through the multiple living rooms, dens, bedrooms... A hour later, I had pieced together my media center and dinning room set: black-brown and sand. All earth tones for my space-age bachelor pad.

Sunday - Target. Crowed, I had to walk out to the parking lot to get a cart.

Monday - Ikea furniture arrives.
I hate putting together Ikea furniture. If I have to see another tiny screw or wooden peg again I'd rather poke myself in the eye. My TV comes next week.

Vocabulary

Training is over. That means I've learned something. Whether that something is useful will probably be a question I'll struggle with over the next two years.

Let me share the new vocabulary I've learned:

Networking (v.) - Drinking on the weekdays, typically at an open bar that only serves beer and cheep wine.

Staffed (v.) - to have ability to charge hours to the client.

Deck (n.) - a printed version of a PowerPoint slide, commonly for a proposal. Each slide should to look like it was worth $400/hour, regardless if that is the true value of the information it conveys.

PowerPoint (n.) - Everyone's favorite program, where templates don't work the way they should.

Add Value (phrase) - a catch all saying that describes what we're supposed to do.

I'll have to look into that. (phrase) - answer to a question that you didn't understand, but might be valid; however, there is a high probability that the question is gibberish.

Solving Complex Business Problems (phrase) - making PowerPoint presentations.

The Wall

Wow, well this blog hit the wall when I started working. On the flight home from Dallas I started a post. It died shortly after I got off the plane. There's no internet during flights; there are only small seats and no snacks - unless you fly Midwest then you get their signature cookie service. I swear they bake those cookies in-flight.

The English language and I are engaged in a constant struggle. It throws new words and phrases at me everyday, and my mind lets them dissolve into a gray abyss. It's time to fight back. Someway some how. Maybe I'll read with a dictionary at hand - my strongest tool.

I should get back to paying attention during training, but I'm going to post this now incomplete before I decide against it.

Here's what I wrote in-flight on August 10, and never posted:

"There’s something exhausting about sitting down all day. I feel that it’s fitting to start my first weekend since I started my 9 to 5 on a plane. Well, calling it a 9 – 5 is an ineffective way of describing it. It’s more of an 8 am to 10 pm (half day Saturday). The wheezing air conditioner above my head blends well with the white noise of the aircraft, and the Dallas concrete expanse drifts away from my sight. These seats are small. I am not small. Therefore, I do not fit in this seat. I would call this argument reasonable, but not logical. There’s no concept of scale in the argument.

For the majority of last week, people talked at me, but not just me – rather a room full of 250 analysts. With two 20 foot projector screens behind at their backs, a lavalier mic, and a clicker in their hands they talked. And talked. I felt that I was in an infomercial for a pyramid scheme – a painful one.

I have this strange habit of blogging in flight. I thought about making it a concept blog. How about write as much about the person next to you until they speak up? Well that would only be amusing to me, since the reader wouldn’t have the same perspective. There has to be something I could do to amuse both you and me."

Finding an Apartment (part 2)

Second stop: Woodley Park 5:00 PM
Constantly frustrated and my shirts sticking to me from sweat, we cut a path down Connecticut Ave crossing into Woodley Park: more of the same.Standing on the corner of Conn. Ave and the bridge, we asked do I want to live here...maybe let's check one more place - just one more. It was a half ass effort. We choose the first building off the corner. Just happy to be in an air-conditioned building we were willing to stand in line for the leasing agent. There were three parties there: one woman, one student, and us. The woman said she would keep looking but she might be back. The student, my father, and I went up to see room 509. Just poking my head in the door, I knew it was a good fit. Good neighborhood, good place. I had to snatch it up. After heading up to the roof top deck to see some of the amenities, we traveled down to see the lease. It was already being signed by the student. Crap. They had a place available for August 4th or 5th. Too late. We decided to ponder it over ice cream - ice cream is always a good idea. Over ice cream on a 95 degree day, we choose to take it. I'm not in DC for a while anyways (training in Dallas), so save the rent. We crossed the street (yes ice cream is across the street) and went to sign the lease. There was one person seeing the apartment we wanted, and another waiting to see it. Then one woman came back in, and wanted to sign the lease. This was it I thought - game over - but she made the mistake of saying that she was going to see other places before deciding. I would call that getting out of line, as did the leasing agent. Point and apartment for Charles. It's not huge, but DC is hella expensive; my budget was already blown. The metro is 30ft out my back door, and there's a door from the Metro Center stop into my building: commute time ~10 minutes. Here's the floor plan (it's listed as 525 sqft):

Apartment Hunting (part one)

Looking for an apartment is difficult.

The beginning: Friday July 6, 2007 9:00 AM EDT

Friday day morning we arrived in DC - Reagan National, had a quick breakfast, and we were on are way: airport to subway to hotel. We checked in, and then settled into our room; which for me meant that I drop my suitcase on the ground and took some items out of my messenger bag. Then we were off and running just about until we hit our first stop.

First stop: Cleveland Park 10:30 AM EDT

Cleveland Park is in NW DC about 3 miles from downtown. My first impression was "This looks like a suburb full of people in their 30's." Trees lined the streets, a non-chain shopping center, restaurants along one strip, and ever expanding apartment buildings dotted along the main drag: Connecticut Ave. With the blazing summer sun creating a dome of humidity around my body from my own sweat, I glanced at my father; without word his crunched eyebrows and static, devoid of emotion face he asked "you really want to live here?" But it seemed like nice place to live, so I gave it a chance. A block away from Connecticut Ave the noise died, and families were having picnics. My suspicion snowballed whie I staggered downhill to our first stop. The first building we found didn't have a vacancy until August 10. We viewed the demo unit. Nice, definitely livable. The leasing agent was pleasant, but there was something - something I couldn't pinpoint - covered by her pleasantries that unnerved me. I eventually spotted it when she spit out "yeah, this places sell themselves." She wasn't trying to sell us on the apartment, she was merely going through the motions. Show the room, show rooftop deck, show the sauna, show the fitness room... From the rooftop deck, the view was horrid you could see a tiny of the national cathedral and midget trees that blocked everything else.

We continued on our journey. Unquestionably discouraged by the neighborhood, but we forged ahead on our journey which was more of the same - no vacancy, ugly, supper small, falling apart, disgruntled leasing agent. We found some nice agents, and others that didn't care what I rented rather they only wanted me to rent from them.

"I have a place in Cathedral Heights for 1250/month."
"No I'd like a place close to the Red line."
"Oh Cathedral Heights is a great place to live."
"I think it would be annoying to commute from there. No thanks."
"What about Tenlytown?"
"No thanks." Click.

No worries I turned them down. I'm not living in Cathedral Heights or Van Ness, and they'll find someone. The rental market is too tight for it to stay vacant past today.

Lawrence Lives

Since graduation, many of my fellows from the class of 2007 have changed a specific facebook habit: they change their activities frequently. They've removed the clubs and hobbies from Lawrence, and added the small tasks of summer: thank you cards, exercise, go to beach... They use it as a to-do lists. Then in a couple of days, they cross the tasks of the list after the activities have been completed, or they don't feel like following through with the mundane task. Either way it's convenient, and it's a fresh picture of their lives - the part that I used to hear about every night at downer.

I should get better at emailing and calling.

Eaten Alive

Cicadas have left, and the mosquitos have come. While I was sound a sleep, they launched a sneak attack. I woke up this morning with 20 bites from those horrid parasites. Most of the battle marks simply appear as a tiny red buldge on my skin, but they've gone too far - or low I guess - to my feet. I have two fresh marks upon the top of my right foot. Every step I make, move I make, it itches me.

Arkansas

Sometimes I forget that Illinois is only one state away from Arkansas. Other times in my mind I combine Maryland and Delaware. Geography is deceiving.

My mind is slowly being corroded by daytime TV; I need a hobby.

Grocery Shopping

I always have a taste for something sweet after grocery shopping. Probably because the last image of the store I have is the colorful array of second rate candy bars that litter the checkout lane. I'm glad that I don't succumb to their grand allure.

12 Packs

Does anyone remember what 12 packs of soda looked like before the legendary fridge-pack? I don't.

I can safely say that I'm not going to Flash Taco today.

When Worlds Collide

The cleaning people came today; we went to breakfast. They changed my bedsheets. My bed is currently sporting light gray sheets with floral pillow cases, one of the cases has a lace trim: hot.

Today was the first time of summer that I have woken up before 8:oo am. I've also realized that in my attempt to do nothing, I end up hearing the same sport stories at least for times a day: morning Sportscenter, Around the Horn, PTI, and evening Sportscenter. I should get a hobby. When I'm bored I eat something, then when that doesn't satisfy me I take a nap. This can't be healthy.

iPhone

iPhone hype: Every day my RSS Feed delivers me a handful of articles pushing the iPhone. Captivating commercials showcase the beautiful simplicity of the phone. Right now geeks are busy typing away and yapping at the new national holiday: June 29th; however, I just can't believe the iPhone will instantly create a dramatic shift in cell phone consumers.

Three weeks after you buy get a new phone and lock into a 2-year agreement, a glossy hipper phone flashes on the screen for 30 seconds during your show. Companies create a constant feeling that your phone is old and clunky even if you just bought it. Then the 2 year replacement comes up, and the customer opts in instantly: new phone, new plan, 2 more years.

Look at the cost if you're currently under contract for a phone company that's not AT&T:
$599 + tax for an iPhone
$40 Activation
$150 cancellation penalty
that's and initial cost of $789 just to make it work.

Too many people are locked in to plans to make it feasible for 3 million iPhones to be sold in 6 months. Too many people have learned that cool phones constantly come out, and waiting can be a good thing. Those who live and die with their email at their side already have Treos or Blackberries. They are not going to all jump on the bandwagon.

What I see as value in the iPhone:
The iPhone doesn't do anything new. I can't find a main feature of the iPhone that is not currently available on other phones. Apple's ability to integrate those applications and features with one another is what makes the iPhone stand out. Other smartPhones have taken the stance of "I want to do this" whether it's email, take pictures, or listen to music. Then the company crams those features into once device, and says it can make phone calls too. The disjointed applications function in an appropriate manner and sync to your computer, but the applications don't function with one another. The iPhone takes those same ideas and weaves an important link between them. Take for example the Google maps commercial. The movie is paused, the location and info are shown, then instead of reverting back to phone application to dial the number, the user simply touches the number. The idea of each piece working together to make a unit is critical, because while it has multiple functions, it takes advantage of how each part can work together. That's why the iPhone is worth it, but it's also why worth waiting for. I'll take the 2nd generation, thanks.

The Horror

This explains everything. I just found out the coffee I'd been brewing while at home was Decaf. The package was unmarked. I feel betrayed.

Dear Caribou Coffee,

You have a world of work ahead of you in order to regain my trust. You may have gotten comfy there on Roosevelt Road - all alone high and mighty - but if you looked down the street you'd see Starbucks. Now don't get me wrong; I'm saying this in confidence, but don't make me go there. Don't.

Sincerely a Groggy Customer,
Charles

No Touching.

A Virginia school has outlawed all forms of touching. No hand shaking; no high-fives. VA School's No Contact Rule At least they'll stop the spread of cooties.

Ever year summer comes around, and time seems to slip through my hands. I'm not sure where it goes, most likely to bad TV.

Cicadas enjoy two things in their 5 week life span: buzzing and flying into my face. I have a feeling that in 17 years when they come back they'll still enjoy hissing and flying in my face. There is a cicada trapped in my car. I can't find it, but I can hear it.

July 6th - 9th I fly to DC to find an apartment. I'm going to live in an expensive postage stamp, but a lively one.

One Week

As of tomorrow I'll have been home for one week. I haven't unpacked my stuff, and I don't have a light in my room. Thursday I hit the pinnacle of laziness when the only reason I got out of my pajamas was to get milk; returning from Oberweiss with milk, I promptly put my pajamas back on. I'm becoming a pro at doing nothing - this is a first.

For this summer, I've set my goals high. I spend most of my time making a To-Do or goals list. Then I plan to finish one item from the list everyday. Wednesday I sent out thank you cards. Thursday was the milk incident. Friday I went to Christine and Mike's BBQ. Saturday I went to Trader Joe's. Today I'm going to unpack, but I must do it before the sun sets - I don't own a lamp and my stuff is in my room.

Junk

Somehow I manage to accumulate junk when I'm away; I don't know where I'm going to put all my stuff from Appleton.

Well that was fast.

Fastest four years of my life. For the most part, I feel the same today as I did June 9th 2007, August 16th 2005, and September 17th 2003. In September of 2003, each member of the class of 2007 was doing the same thing: moving in; on June 11th 2007 we are all doing something different. Sunday afternoon, we dispersed, quicker than I thought possible. 2pm the cars rolled up to the dorms, double parked, popped their trunks, and loaded up. Express check-out for real.

College

Last final, ever: Done. Now I just have to return my keys and I'm good as gold. Summer.

Finals Week

3 hours until my first final. It's going to be long.

Three articles that hit the spot today: Advice to Graduates, More Advice to Graduates, Google all thanks to the NY Times. The first two are self explanatory - money advice for people who will be living on their own. The third provides a interesting glimpse into how Google remains the search king.

Some people feel that reading the NY Times is pretentious - it's not - and it bothers me when people insult me over it. Bottom line: it's the best paper available. The quality, depth, range, and exposition of their articles is superior to every US paper I've read (no offense Tariq; the Wall Street Journal is a quality publication). In addition their website has a clean look similar to the front page of the printed version allowing the user to easily peruse the site as if was a paper. Publishing continues to move online, and in 20 years the physical paper my disappear completely. More papers need to invest heavily on the look and feel of their website. An ugly site can be an immediate turn-off and reduce credibility. I'm constantly confronted with clumsy, ugly websites, and I'm not convinced that newspapers put enough emphasis on their online presentation. Maybe they can get their act together soon; newspapers should be experts on look and feel - they do layout everyday. Anyways, thank you NY Times you keep me entertained during every class. Favorite columns: Frugal Traveler or Your Money, favorite section: Science.

I'm constantly hungry, and our kitchen is constantly filthy - that's not a good combination. I can't wait to have my own place. For how much I love clean clothes; I hate paying for laundry.

Looking forward to: seeing a movie, going home, having my own place, graduation, taking my last final, and July 30th.

I'm Close Enough

It seems that on every journey you get to the point where you think I'm close enough. Every drive home from school right after I get on 88, I think "I'm close enough. If I lived in Oak Brook I'd be home now." But all I can see from the exit ramp are anxious bright red taillights backed up for a mile jostling each other for position as they attempt to pass through the toll booth. I had my last class today; unfortunately I have two finals left. Four years ago, I applied here on a whim - on a small gut feeling - and luckily Lawrence may have been the best thing that ever happened to me; however, I'm close enough. Let's make the best of it.

Math happy hour was refreshing; I'm finally in that picture senior picture. It's great to know that you're professors care about you, whether they're officially your adviser or you graduated 20 years ago.

Senior Send-Off is tomorrow at High Cliff. I want to bike there so does Lombargo, but it might rain. Lombargo said he was up for the trip anyways.

It's way past my bedtime. Goodnight.

June 1st

Today is June 1st. It's the first day of June, and my last day of class ever.

10 days left, I have time for one more deep breath, and then it'll be over before I know it.

Two Days

Tired of mulling over it and waiting for an email, I wandered over to the Sage computer lab. For 15 minutes I avoided checking my email, it definitely crossed my mind. When I went back to my room, I had a missed call from a strange number. 404, what area code is 404? As I thought about it that number rang again. Caught off guard, I didn't know what to say, except that's great news. I start July 30th in Washington DC. I liked DC, I liked the Office in DC - I'm excited. It's 83 degrees out; I better get used to it.

Senior Dinner is tonight. I feel that it will be more of a rite of passage than a good time.

Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Flight number 7

The interview is over; no turning back. Now, I'm crammed into my 7th airplane seat of the week, and I have one seat left to stuff myself into in approximately 2 hours. The interview could have gone better, and now I'm stuck alone to mull it over. They gave me a welcome package - earphones, folder, company information, playing cards, pen, and an apple. I promptly ate the apple. One of the managers said on his way out of the room after the second interview, "I hope I see you in the office in July;" however, the other one just said it was nice meeting you. I don't know what to make of it yet. I've never done this before. I hear sometime between Tuesday and next Friday. I can't wait for June 1st. Until then I'll continue to check my email compulsively; only airports without a free wireless connection will stop me.

One flight left, probably means one more blog to write.I don't want to write my paper, or give my presentation. I just want things settled. The United ticketing agent for my flight looked like a Texan version of Andy Kaufman. I could see myself living in DC...I can't handle all of this waiting. IM Basketball playoffs tonight, radio show, and senior night. Every night is the weekend until June 10th.

Hotel

Cable, hot tub, king sized bed, room service: Everything.

From the plane

Midwest Airlines is my hero. I'm sitting coach, but the armrest is wide enough for two arms - just like first class. I fit in the seat - no cramped legs. They give you pretzels - and you know how I feel about snack packs. They serve Alterra Coffee. Washington D.C. here I come. Apparently, they also have a signature cookie service. After the drink cart came along a cart only serving cookies - warm, fresh baked cookies (I swear they have an oven on this plane). Anyways, they don't ask you if you'd like a cookies, rather they simply say "Would you like extra cookies?" Then when you refuse, they look quite puzzled and hand you two cookies (If you say yes you receive 4 to 5 cookies). The older woman next to me who is wearing a black jumpsuit got extra cookies, pocketed two of them, and then seemed upset that I took the "normal amount." I should have taken extra and given them to her to pocket.

I've spent a lot of time alone traveling the past few days - it's been alright there's always a Starbucks around. Maybe this will be what next year is like - writing UseCases and drawing domain diagrams as I fly back to DC in a suit.

I've really enjoyed having this blog. I hate saying this, but it feels nice to write regularly. I don't want it to be a journal - journals are written as private, but dying to be read - that's a disaster.

Writing was always a passion of mine, but after taking fiction writing I couldn't bring myself to do it. Something in me was lost, or at least hidden. I think it was good for me to take some time off; I needed to mature and move away from everything that was happening. I tried again in Budapest, but there was too much going on in my head. It was a giant clutter of thoughts and emotions. My sentences droned on, and my focus was placed on spitting the information out into an email rather than a coherent narrative. I need to read more. My writing is devoid of humor; I used to be a humorist (not my direct words). I don't know what it was that I did before, but it worked. I don't think this is a coincidence that I start this again. My whole family seems to be writing. Every time I see someone reading Bring Down the House I thing "oh it is possible." I'm interesting, I own a thesaurus, okay so my laptop has a thesaurus, well anyways I could maybe write something funny.

June 10th, Commencement, a beginning.

Milwaukee

My flight from Appleton was canceled. United switched me to Midwest Airlines Washington National via Milwaukee. Now here I am in Milwaukee. The last time I spent an extend amount of time here, I was at the Greyhound terminal. I vowed never to go back. Surprisingly, the airport does not differ much from the bus station.

In the past week I've been to Appleton, Detroit, Boston, and now Milwaukee. I've been unsatisfied with each airport. They continue to try and charge me for wireless, not gonna happen. I'm currently sitting in a TCBY UNO combo restaurant where the only flavors or yogurt are vanilla or chocolate and the personal pizzas have been shipped frozen from Chicago there were improperly reheated in a pizza oven similar to one owned by Downer Commons. They seemed bothered to serve me - I would have been too, I ordered a personal cheese pizza anyways. It didn't taste like home.

One of the woman working has the same accent as Marija from school; annunciates well with strong high pitched accents on every other syllable. She appears to be the manager. Invigorated by her job, she bounces back and forth between the register and pizza, slicing and serving with a funny accent and flowing with pleasantries. A man wearing a Salmon colored shirt just walked behind the counter and helped himself to ice cream. No one was looking; success - no one stopped him, not even Marija. "Can you wait one moment for the cheese pizza please? I'll cash you out on the cash register right there."

The passengers walking by seemed intrigued yet disappointed by the shop. They pause for a moment where the carpet and tile meet - the division between the terminal and restaurant - with their rolling suitcases at their sides. Their lips purse eyes wander as they survey the stand. Then a heavy breath flows from their lungs, and they turn to the Starbucks. I'm unable to figure out why they leave; the walk over here from the gates says "Restaurant" and points in this direction. Maybe they were expecting more than one restaurant. They should have read the sign.

The adolescent employees here were just informed that if everything is clean in 30 minutes, they can eat. I've been here for 20 minutes, and this is the time I've seen them lift a finger. I take that back, one of them filled a cup of soda, which they preceded to drink themselves. Some of the passengers that paused, stared longingly, and moved on are back; they must have realized that this is the only restaurant. They're out of ice cream, the crowd is getting restless.

Starbucks here I come. After that Washington National here I come. I've set this to post via email. I'm not sure how this will work, but as soon as I get a connection it will wend the post.

Class Once Again

Once again, I find myself in class unable to concentrate after 10 minutes of lecture. Thoughts on the weekend:

The official ceremony was at the Fleet center with a Jumbo-tron, Dunkin' Donuts, and popcorn. People seemed to revert into game mode at an arena. I'm glad I went to Boston this weekend: saw my family, got away from things, played gameboy, finally got a good start on Omnivore's Dilemma, celebrated, and saw Bill Russel talk. As fun as a vacation can be it's always nice to come home. Every mundane thing feels comfortable: your own towel, room, lunch table, midday class, food, and familiar faces. I've been up since 4:30 am EST, and I have class for another 3 hours...I'm going to have pound some more coffee, keep my head down, and power through.

June 10th:
I have to keep in mind that commencement means "a beginning." June 10th is a beginning; I should not be afraid. It's another phase. Every senior seems to be feeling and having similar thoughts. It's about time I start living everyday like the weekend. 20 days - power through.

Subway

I took the subway from Logan International Airport Boston, MA to my dad's condo today. I just missed the shuttle, then watched in horror as the blue line clattered away, and finally saw the orange line screech it's way down the tunnel without me. Sometimes it just works out that way: maximal waiting. Standing next to me while I waited on the platform for the Orange line train were two typical hoodlums. With baggy jean shorts, wide open pinstriped jackets, and sideways San Diego padres hats they seemed harmless. Then I continued to survey the rest of the platform. Turning back to the hoodlums a few moments later, out of the corner of my eye I see one of them peeing on a broken ladder lying against the wall. Then when turns to wait for the train, the hoodlum, who didn't urinate, in public hands him HAND SANITIZER. I never would have guessed that they carried Purel in those baggy shorts.

Corollary: Public transit in Boston is a joke. Subway rides are $2; however, they take forever and they only go down the block. The green line is not a subway; it's a tram. I'll never pay two dollars for a subway ride here again.

My glasses are consistently dirty. It's nice to be here; I'm glad I came.

Travel

I've grown a great affinity for phones that ring with no one to answer them, particularly phones in busy areas. On Wednesday I heard the house phone ringing. Rather than shouting "phone phone" I made my way to the hallway to find Sam staring at the phone as it's old time bell ringer belabored his ears. I watched him for another ring or so and then picked it up. It was just Chris Wilye on the other line looking for Andrew Blair, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to miss out on the story of the other line. The phone at Gate A7 has been ringing off and on for the past 20 minutes. It's a bland series of electronic beeps, so I don't mind the noise amidst the clatter of the travelers; however, I'm tempted to pick it up, and find out who's on the other line. They'd probably detain me.

I'm currently in the Detroit Wayne County Airport awaiting my flight to Boston. They don't have free wireless here; I must post this later. If I was a mayor I would make sure that my airport had free wireless, what is this 2003. I have a premonition that my luggage will be lost, when I post this that issue will be settled so it's not something to concern this blog.

My life is in my backpack today - my computer, DS, favorite pencil, discount card, and eraser. Hold on tight. At the Outagamie County Airport in Appleton, WI I ran into a one Wayland Radin. He was coming to Boston just as I was going literally. We chatted just long enough to make Heather worry.

I'm going to miss my favorite tree this weekend.

Curmudgeon

I'm officially the old man of the house, and luckily I don't smell like moth balls or wear Depends.

I purchased some new travel accessories: Mario Kart and Atonement; I'll need them for my extensive journeys coming up.

I've always thrived at times of transition, but I'm stalling this time - probably because I'm biking against the wind. I hate the wind.

Emails to HR

It has never taken me so long to write two sentences.

Weekend Recap

Weekend recap: Sumo wrestling, M&M's, snack packs, grilling, baby carrots, tunnels, “September,” shacks, Mario the master carpenter, and a favorite tree.

Bernard Bolzano is one of my favorite Mathematicians. I feel like a nerd admitting that I have a list of favorite mathematicians, but I do; Bolzano is on the list – maybe number one. Or number 2 behind Archimedes, it's to be determined – stayed tuned. Anyways, Bolzano strove for rigor, an understanding of the infinite, a foundation of the real numbers worth standing on, and an analytic way to think of limits at a time when Calculus was still thought of in terms of infinitesimals. He never published the majority of his work in his lifetime; rather, it was all for intellectual curiosity and a desire to understand. The first substantial collection of his works was published in 1962, 114 years after he died. “Weirerstrass and Bolzano march arm-in-arm together through the history of mathematics, but not nearly enough seems to be know about Bolzano,” George Simmons Calculus Gems

The more often I clean my room, the more often I'm reminded that my life is falling apart at the seams – always. But I figure I'm a pretty good seamstress, so it's okay. The midterms I neglected turned out fine. One day this will all catch up to me, until then I'll never learn.

Thoughts on Lawrence

Recently I read the LUCC news letter. Each new officer explained their position and gave a few words of advice. The new VP explained the budget process: where the funding comes from, how's it's used, etc... He then encouraged students to become more involved on-campus. One of his main lines of reasoning was that students pay an activity fee, so they should join clubs and be involved; doing something other than that is apathetic. I'm all about clubs, and extracurricular activities have always been a large part of my Lawrence experience; however, I'm tired of people using this broken logic to tell people that they should join clubs. It is a required fee; as a student you do not have a choice to pay the fee or not - if you are on-campus, you pay it. When you pay for something you are not required to use it.

The second part also bothers me. If someone doesn't join a club it's not necessarily because of apathy - they may not be interested in any of the clubs; I'm sure there are plenty of students who come away from the activities fair in the fall with nothing more than a root beer float. Further, their interests may not warrant a club - maybe just a game of Blokus between friends - so claiming then that they should start their own club is also unfair and a poor generalization. There is something to be said to the student who is completely shut off, ignores the white boards in every dorm, the numerous posters around campus, copious amount of facebook invitations, or online Lawrence Calendar. Those students are being apathetic, because they do not think about what's happening around campus; however, simply not going to events or joining clubs is not apathetic - you may have an interest in the events. Sorry but this drives me nuts. There are plenty of clubs that I would never think twice about joining - Meele or Swing Dancing.

With all of this said it is difficult to bring people to events on this campus. Even when you put on a good event they don't turn out. I will never say that people should go, or they're sorry to miss it; rather I would encourage people to approach clubs and events in a different way around campus. If you see a flyer for a movie playing in Wriston look up what it's about before you decide not to go, same goes for a concert - listen to the band before deciding if you're going. Also many times it's a shared blame for poor turn out at events. People are so quick to hold the others who didn't come accountable; however, maybe the club has lost credibility in the past by putting on boring events or didn't advertise well this time.

Tomorrow

High of 76 degrees tomorrow. I ran out of granola. I still have homework to do; here's to spring term.

Reading Period is Over

Reading period just collapsed on top of me.

Here's a quarter personal that I'm going to put in the Lawrentian: "Dear Graduation, you're coming up fast. Can you hold on for one hot second?"

I have class tomorrow, that's bad. I wish today was warm enough for a bike ride.

Coffee

The house is out of coffee besides the hazelnut creme; that's bad. Last night I can only remember one dream: I found a large case of Caribou Mocha Java beans in my room; I was overjoyed. That's all that happened in it; I didn't even end up making it. I'm not even sure I was looking for it - it just fell in my lap. Maybe I need some more coffee, or maybe I need to go home for a day.

My back hurts, probably from picking everyone up and giving piggy back rides. Yukon Ho played last night for the last time; Pete has a ticket to Alaska on May 29th.

Reading period is about to come to a screeching halt where I remember that I do have class work to do, I have a lot of class work to do, I still have class, and only 4 weeks left. Anyways, here's to the best reading period ever. Only during reading period, can I cook dinner, spend a whole morning making granola, play roof ball all the time, spend 5 hours in a coffee house, take multiple bike rides, see Yukon Ho, and dislocate my arm. Okay so someone else cooked the dinner, but I helped with the grocery shopping. This entry took me way too long to write.

Reading Period

We are on the verge of reading period. Let us celebrate with roof ball and basketball in the setting sun this evening.

I found this article the other day, it is a graphical description of the song "This is why I'm Hot" by MiM, courtesy of the Village Voice. Hip Hop has been in the news lately for propagating crude misogynistic language and behavior. It's unfair that members of the media try to pin comments that Imus' or others make on one specific part of our culture, especially when Imus has nothing to do with Hip Hop. When I formulate my thoughts more formally I'll make on the issue, I'll post more, but until then I need to study for my midterm.

Weekends

This term, I've lived for the weekends. Saturday I biked 26 miles, yesterday biked for an hour and a half, played an hour of roof ball, and an hour of a full court basketball game. My legs are doing fine, but the pedals on my bike are busted and the front derailer is off.

When I woke up today, I was so hungry it hurt.

On Sunday the mercury hit 80 degrees; I was dying. I'm not going to be able to handle summer.

I haven't been this physically active since track in high school, maybe I'll finally get back into shape one of these days.

I am the worst person I know at crossword puzzles. They should put logic puzzles in the paper; I'd destroy those. I need to get off campus; time for a morning ride.

Adventures in a State Park

It was a casual ride there, only one crash and no wind. The park smelled slightly of dead fish, and the senior class was no where in sight. Using the merry-go-round Max and I performed several angular momentum demonstrations for the peanut gallery. Then a small girl came over, and informed us that she was going to show us how to use the merry-go-round. She grabbed the side and started running, pushing the merry-go-round round and round. "Then you jump on." The merry-go-round slowly came to a stop, and Veronica approached the playground. The small girl looked at Veronica, turned to Max and asked "Does your mom wanna try?"

The wind beat me to death on the ride back. I was peddling twice as hard, but it still took almost an hour to get back. No matter which direction we turned it seemed to slap us in the face. Shortly after dinner, I crashed.

At 10pm I woke up in a daze. Searching for a glass of water I made my way to the kitchen where there was a creepy red light, a sea of nerds (in role not just costume), and strange cheese platters on the counter. From that moment onward my evening was out of whack. The VR was full of alumni, ORC was hanging out on their porch, and my house was full of nerds. All I wanted to do was lie any which way I chose on a king sized bed with a heavy comforter and a remote control. I'd watch some bad TBS movie, fall asleep, and wake up with room service bringing me coffee. That's the ticket.

Paper cuts

This post hurts - figuratively and literally. My paper cut is underneath the nail of my middle finger of my right hand, and every keystroke brings about mild pain in my fingertip. The other reason this post hurts is that I'm in class. Senioristis kills. On Wednesday I was the lamest person I know. I was in class sending facebook messages, then I farted, and to make it worse I was in my comp sci class. On Thursday, I thought that I hit a new low; I received an email from the career center about starting a career with Family Video. I went from a potential mathematics graduate student at a respected program to working every weekend until midnight as a video clerk who doesn't wash his face and tries to convince everyone to check out Monty Python and the Holy Grail along with Firefly. I'm sorry Family Video, but I deleted that email. Other than that things are looking up: WLFM Hip Hop show tonight then High Cliff here I come.

Closure

This morning Andrew was sorting the mail. I'm a big fan of mail. I headed over to the mailboxes to check my mail. Inside my box was a small envelope from University of Utah. Finally the last school I was going to hear back from; with this envelope I would get closure. It was small, my hopes were up, and after opening this rejection letter I thought I would finally be able to move on with my decisions for next year. Nothing would be lurking in the back of my mind as slim possibility taunting me about what I could be doing. I casually opened it up. The first line was the usual mumbo-jumbo: we've reviewed your application. But the second line was different - it was an acceptance letter. Then it gave me a paper cut. I'm not excited. I would have been excited if this came a month ago, but as of now I've moved on. With one small envelope my life and choices were rolled back to December. It seems that once I get excited about next year, an assembly of idea of what might happen, or something seems to happen everything changes in a instant. An envelope with my name on it printed by a computer with a photocopy of signature on it and no word of financial aid has thrown me in the mud and is kicking me in the face like Nelson. The first question is simple: who sends an acceptance letter in a small envelope? The second is why so late? I've made up my mind, and here I am thinking about. I need to make a choice. There's no going back this time - my decision is final - well at least for next year. I complain about being accepted into a top 25 program. I have a great opportunity to try what I want, but I'm complaining somehow out of spite. Am I this spoiled? I have no clue what I am going to decide; I have until May 15th.

Two songs

Sun Shower by Busdriver and Bullet by Rhymefest are two songs I can't get enough of right now. With simple beats and poignant lyrics there isn't much on a explanation why they play on a constant loop. Woodman's didn't have any sugar snap peas. The employee recommended I try the snow peas. She clearly doesn't understand. Snow peas are the scrawny little brother of the more satisfying sugar snap - with a crisp juicy slight sweet taste, sugar snap peas cannot be rivaled. Woodman's please.

Dear Google, please remove your April fools joke from the front page of gmail. We compulsively check our email, we've seen it. We are not living in an age where information travels like molasses. Either make another joke, or just say welcome please sign in. In addition, if you desire to make another joke please consult Will Ferrell. Pearl: "I want my money!" Hip Hop show this Friday. Live interview with Diverse on Can't Stop, Won't Stop this Wednesday, 10pm CST. Tune in, turn it up - wlfm.net

Blaze of Glory

This year senioritis has always loomed in the distance as my impending doom. Each weekend it slowly gained steam as it claimed the lives of more and more seniors, but this week there was a collective wave of senioritis that crashed into main hall green and took everyone in the tide. We've declared and embraced it. We have seven weeks to go out in a blaze of glory. On Friday, I road tripped to Chicago to see RJD2. He open playing with his band; it felt like we were watching George Harrison after the Beatles broke up, but his 35 minute turntable set was glorious. I spent Saturday outside listening to music, jumping on a trampoline, and teaching some math. Sunday after brunch, senioritis hit me personally. I didn't make it home on the short walk back from downer, rather I laid in the sun until 2:30 only to return to the sweet siren call of roofball coming through my window. It was at that moment, when I realized that the day was over. Right now, a cool breeze is coming through my window and hitting my face and covering my sun burned nose. I have a midterm tomorrow, that will be interesting. Here's to the quickest four years of my life.

No, you turn off your TV.

We are on the verge of the one week of the year, where we ban together in order to purge ourselves of TV. Turn off you TV week starts next week, but I need more clarification. If this was 1995, turn off you TV week would mean exactly that: turn your TV off for a week; however, does youTube count as TV? Do DVD's count as TV. Do movies that I download count as TV. Whoever is in charge of this event please let me know. I'm very excited for this week. The increased silence in the mornings, or the increased conversation during the dinner time. For one week, social interactions will be forced, but stories will be told. I can't wait.

Coat, Keys, and Peas

Yesterday evening, my long shadow and I went for a nice walk. I had to go to the bank, so we went there first. We perused the city; not for something to do, but just to peruse: over the tracks, behind Flanagan's, next to Walgreens (but not inside). Then I was feeling a little drowsy, so we stopped by Brewed Awakenings. My shadow didn't want to go inside, so I was the only one who got coffee. My shadow still wanted to hang out, so we went to the park. With a warm orange glow on the skin and a soft touch to the eyes the sun hit the park just right. Last evening was an evening well worth a stroll.

I Want to be a Widget King.

Every internet/computer/technology/new/any company seems to be battling it out to be Widget king. Widgets integrated into Vista! New improved Yahoo! widgets. Google Desktop - every imaginable widget included. Mac OS X, hey didn't we try this first, ours are still good. I can't tell the difference between any of them anymore. They just clutter my desktop and mind. There's only so much news I can exposed to rapidly; there's only so many ways I'm willing to check my email; there's only so many ways I'm willing to use my computer to chat with others; there's only so many ways I wanted to be informed about the weather. Enough is enough.
Dear Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and Apple
Widgets are nice, but they don't mean the world to me. Not even close. Productivity tools are great, but there are only so many you can have until you need productivity software to manage your productivity software. So please stop pushing widgets in my face like they will change my life. They save me 3 minutes a day if I'm lucky; 3 minutes I would have spent staring aimlessly.
Charles

Computers

Last week I went to WLFM and discovered that the computer was dead. I jumped through the usual hoops: calling the help desk and moving operations into the studio. The next day, they took the computer, and left me with an empty desk. After a week it was still missing. The monitor laid naked on the desk, the only image it displayed was my distorted face, and the cord dangled beneath the desk. Left with no option, I called the help desk again; it pained me, it always does, but I had to. It wasn't ready yet. Today the computer was back, sitting idle like nothing happened, like it hadn't turned it's back on me and died. But I don't forget that easily.
Dear WLFM office computer,
you have some hard work ahead of you in order to win me back.
Charles

Music

For the most part I like working in silence. When I first studied math, I would always play music in the background; however, now I find that it ruins my internal dialog. My thoughts get mashed up with the beat. More and more I've come to appreciate silence. That's why I like mornings, the only noise is the shuffling of my feat and the gurgle of Mr. Coffee. Sometimes I wake up too late, and the custodian is around. She doesn't like to talk, which is good; however she creates a cacophony that my ears don't want to hear so early. It's okay, cleaning is a good thing, and she doesn't sing while she cleans. Mornings are great: no one is around, the whole day is ahead of you, and there's always coffee.

Mornings and Jobs

I was in a foul mood this morning. Everything was on par with normal: I woke up, didn't talk to anyone, had coffee, watched Sportscenter, avoided eye contact with the custodian, and showered. Showers normally wash away my frustration, but not today; the warm water seemed to pierce and chip away at my skin, maybe the water was extra hard today. I spent the rest of today at WLFM. On Monday I sent my resume to a Lawrence alum; today I got a follow up interview from a college recruiter for his company. Good sign - I think. I replied right away. The position is in Washington DC. I don't know how I feel about DC. It has a high crime rate, and feels segregated. Anyways, those were my impressions after I visited in 7th grade.

A job is a job, and I need something that will get me started. I continue to find articles predicting that the job market is strong for entry level positions. This is contrary to how most Lawrence seniors feel right now. For the most part companies direct us to their website where we submit our gleaming resumes into a black hole of a database. The first time I submitted a resume online, I felt like I had accomplished something. I took up the process in an excited frenzy. I spent spring break scanning hundreds of jobs, soaking in each line of the descriptions and requirements. Finally a match. I scurried to hit apply. Page after page, I filled in personal info, professional info, miscellaneous info, info on info, until I was at page 172 of 172 where I was instructed to review my application before officially submitting it. I meticulously overlooked each part of my application, triple checked my resume, and stared at the submit button for an eternity. Then, in an exhilarating instant, I clicked it - the page reloaded, only to leave me with a long winded thanks. Then silence. Nothing. No email, no gmail. Nothing. No yes, no No. For several days I waited, but the only response I received was that long winded thanks. It was after that I decided that applying online was not how anyone got a job; I was only going to get a job by banging on doors, asking alumni to give me a job, applying to any career center job, talking to family friends, and then repeat. Repeat. Repeat. The best part of being an undergrad are the options, you can be any major and do anything; however, upon graduation you have three options: Repeat, starve, or live at home. I guess I 'll continue to Repeat - banging on doors until someone lets me in.

Spring

Baseball is officially underway. That means I am going to compulsively check the status of my fantasy team until the free trial of StatTracker expires. After few weeks of experiencing the slight pain of non real time stats, I will break down and buy the StatTracker, and consequently return to compulsively checking my team. My relationship with baseball is regrettable. Regrettable is a bad word, because I never chose to like baseball or the Cubs; I just did - much to my Summer's dismay.

Intramural Basketball season starts on Wednesday. Prediction: same teams, 8 weeks, 16 games, one championship for East John St. Ballers.

Snow and Spring

It snowed today. It's April. Sometimes I forget that I live in Wisconsin. I need a change. Not in the worst way, but in some way. College is marathon that ends very quickly after realizing you are out of breath, and then you precede to fall across the finish line. Shortest four years of my life. I don't always feel this way, but sometimes. Just like Math. I love it, and hate it. It frustrates and amazes me in one line or even just two symbols. I watched a NOVA on Archimedes today. I don't know if the Earth will ever again see a thinker who is 1800 years ahead of his time. I could read about Archimedes every day. No one will read this, and that is great.

I'm literate, so do I need to pay $450 to read an essay?

Do I really have to pay for Microsoft Office? No. Most people have a casual relationship with MS Word or Excel: they receive a word document every once and while, or sum some numbers in Excel. So what justifies forking over $450 dollars for an office suite that allows me to open an essay? While there are some features that are only for MS Office, there are several good OpenSource alternatives that will do all of the common tasks of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and more.

OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) is the most common alternative. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X using X11, and it writes most file formats that are used in MS Office. It's look and feel are mirrored after MS Office, so it provides for an easy transition from MS Office. With a dedicated base of users and developers, OpenOffice will continue to grow and improve. Download from OpenOffice for free, size about 120MB. For Mac OS X users check out NeoOffice. It is a port of OpenOffice that integrates with OS X's Aqua UI. It has some release lag, but is a good option if you are looking for the traditional Mac appearance and installed fonts and printers.

ThinkFree Office is an online based Office suite. It contains about 50 -60% of the features that MS Office has, but it contains everything you would use daily and is compatible with almost every MS Office file format. What distinguishes ThinkFree from OpenOffice is that it's online, and almost as fully featured as OO. After creating a ThinkFree account, you are able to run each program as an applet in your browser. This enables a user to run ThinkFree from any computer with an Internet connection and a Web Browser. A great bonus to ThinkFree is the online storage; a user is able to access their documents from any computer or share their documents with other ThinkFree users. Registration is required, but free. ThinkFree also has a proprietary version that can be purchased, installed, and run like a regular Office Suite. ThinkFree, http://www.thinkfree.com/

Google Docs is much less featured than OO or ThinkFree, but it provides a quick way to view and edit simple Word and Excel documents. If you have a Google account just click docs and spreadsheets to get started.

There are several other options available, but these are my favorite and the easiest to use if you're switching from MS Office.

This blog

I've started this blog in the midst of one of my best terms at Lawrence. I don't have class on Wednesday or Friday, and most of my time is dedicated to the radio station. I wrote one editorial for the Lawrentian, and I hunger for more; however, in a different way. That what this is, but I'm not sure what exactly it is; I might post short stories or narratives here, or articles about cool new stuff I find on the Internet. I guess in many ways this will be my website, but website are so 1995 so it's a blog. Wait blogs are 1999. Maybe I should do a video blog on YouTube. Do people really want to hear everything I say. It's much harder to skim videos. Well, I don't know what this is. But I don't really need a mission statement, the best ideas for start-ups evolve out of almost nothing, which this pretty much is. Anyways whatever my mission statement might be it won't give you an accurate account of my life, rather, in many ways it's probably the exact opposite, I'm going to write whatever I feel like. It might be interesting or it might be something that bothers me. I'll try my best to make it humorous, but I'm a little weird so you might not agree. I've never written a blog with any sort of passion; this is my last attempt. Let's go all out; let's go all out together.

A letter to Seely G. Mudd

This is a letter to the Library that I wrote around this time last year (unedited):

I think it's time for me and the Library to break up. We've had good times together laughing, crying, shouting, studying, but it's time. I'm done with you Seely G. Mudd. I know that you may be upset with me, frankly I'm a little upset with you. It just didn't work; there was no communication between us. I mean I barely know you: What does the "G." stand for? What Science journals do you subscribe to? What are the security camera's for? Do you even trust me? This is why it can never work. And you know what else: you're too loud, full of too many distractions, people who are never doing any work, and sketchy townies who look up online dating sites and porn. You always give away my favorite tables - the round periodical or the 3rd floor window table - do you even know my name anymore. If I scan my ID into your computer would you recognize me? Because I'M NOT SURE. But really, don't take this to heart; I know it might hurt, but you've got some work to do if you're going to win me back. It's constructive criticism; think over what I say while you cry alone. And yes, yes I did cheat on you with New Science, and I might even do the same with Briggs. It's actually quiet there, I can use my cell phone where ever I damn well please, and they have white boards all over the place. In New Science, I practically drown in whiteboards; when I'm there it's like I can't escape the clean white sheen that emanates from the fresh boards. Oh and the pleasure of snapping off the cap of a fresh marker and defiling a virgin board with equations and numbers is just something you could never give me; you made me get a study group of 2 or more people just to have the pleasure of a chalk board - a want to be white board. You're just too demanding. Good bye Seely G. Mudd, goodbye forever...well at least for a few days.