September 2005

Sep302005

Painting Framed

This morning’s French class dealt with numbers and time, both formal and conversational. We also spent some time writing out numbers in French. I back to my dorm after class. Sarah picked me up and one so I could go pick up Ami’s painting from the framing shop. It was leaning on the floor against the wall with the shops other recent work, including a mint poster of Pope John Paul II pointing his finger, with the text “The Pill Is a No-No.” The frame and painting look fantastic. Although the price was painful, the shops workmanship is superb. Sarah took my back home and I hung the painting in my room. At present it’s the only thing on any of the walls in my dorm. After a little while I went to the cafeteria to get something to eat and then to Tolliver Hall. I was there for an hour or two. I did a little work on the website. Khadijah called me sometime around three and invited me to join her and two of her friends who were going to a nearby Chinese buffet. I had just eaten but company was nice to so I joined them. I didn’t exactly get my money’s worth. A lot of the conversation upstaged me as a geek kung-fu movies and role-playing games. After about an hour of that I walked back to Tolliver Hall. I think I remained there until shortly before sundown. I watched some TV and got a couple loads of laundry done this evening. Ami called really late and I talked to her on the phone for a while. I went to bed sometime after two.

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Sep292005

Taking Down Tables

I woke up at 9:30 this morning not much time to get ready and get to class, but enough. This morning’s economics class covered some simple formulas for computing consumer behavior. I went to the cafeteria for lunch after class. Class ended well early enough for me to beat the noon rush. After lunch I probably went to Tolliver for a while. I went back to my room to exchange laptops before my two o’clock class. Today’s Sociology class was about bureaucracy. Most of the lecture material seemed painfully obvious. “Bureaucracies have rules for everything.” Yeah… fascinating. After a shorter lecture than usual there was a class exercise, so titled the moon game. The scenario was a ship crash-landed on the light side of the moon and the survivors have to walk 200 miles to the moon base. There was a list of aobut 15 items which needed to be numerically ranked by their usefulness. Items included oxygen tanks, water, a parachute, parachute, matches, etc. First we ranked them ourselves, then in small groups. After that the professor read how NASA ranked the items. The whole point of the exercise was to prove that better decisions are made in groups. I was one of four of the 114 students that did better alone than with group input. After class I went back to my room to switch computers again and then went right back to Madison and sat in the classroom until my four o’clock history class started. Today’s lecture was about the US acquisition of territory after the civil war through post WWII. I got some dinner after class and then went to Tolliver for a while. I read a number of articles and Tutorials about CSS and creating tableless websites. I’ve wanted my website to be pure XHTML and CSS for quite sometime but never bothered. I went back to my room after eight and worked on my website for a while. I got started on that lofty goal. I eliminated the tables in the body layout, although all my content pages remain. I talked to Ami online for a while and finally went to sleep sometime after one.

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Sep292005

Fixing the CSS Switcher

This morning’s French class dealt with numbers and telling time, among other things I can no longer recall. I went to lunch in the cafeteria after class and sat with John for a while. I think I went to Tolliver for a while after lunch and read some pages of the French textbook for homework. I went back to my room later and cleaned up a bit. cleaned my swiss army knife fascinating stuff. Later in the afternoon I went back to Tolliver hall where I remained for a good while. I spent a few hours working on the CSS switcher on my website. It’s never worked fully because I couldn’t get the cookie to be read site-wide. Rather than tweaking the JavaScript one I had in place, I decided to use a PHP one from an article on A List Apart. I spent at least a couple house on it without success. At some point I got it working but it immediately broke. By then it was after eight and I hadn’t had dinner so I decided to give it a rest and eat something. Having had my fill I went back to my room and soon after had another look at my website. I eventually found some code online that actually worked and was quite pleased with myself.

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Sep282005

Easy History Test

I got up with just enough time to get ready and get to my 10:00 economics class. Today’s session was about elasticity of supply and demand. After class I went to Tolliver to get something to eat quesadillas. Lindsey was sitting at a table next to an outlet for my laptop so I sat and talked with her for a little while. After lunch I went back home to take a shower as I had to skip that step this morning. This afternoon’s sociology class was a continuation on ‘socialization,’ ‘resocialization’ in particular. Afterward, I had almost an hour before my four o’clock class so I went by the bookstore to glace at chapter 21 of the economics textbook, which I really don’t need to buy. I finally bought a pair of sandals, which should save my feet from all the evils of the shower floor. I walked back to my dorm to unload my purchase and switch laptops before heading back to Madison for my history class. We had our first exam today. It was all multiple choice and wasn’t difficult. I got something to eat in the cafeteria after class and then went to sit in Tolliver for a while. Comedian Tom Cotter performed in Tolliver Hall at seven this evening. He was pretty funny although his routine was a bit crude, catering to the audience nicely however. A little while after the show I stopped in KLPI to say hi to Khadijah as on the way to the library to print some things out for French homework. I ended up hanging around with her for a while. I was able to print my things up in the station office. Soon after Khadijah wanted something to eat and we went back to Tolliver. Her friend Steve joined us. After a while I went back to my room for the evening.

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Sep272005

A Reason to Drive

Today’s French class started with a quiz, a first. Although I couldn’t say for certain, I suspected it had something to do with disappointment over the test grades. The remained of the class was spent on some cultural matters in French-speaking regions, including Quebec and Louisiana. I went to Tolliver Hall after class to sit with my laptop until the lunch crowds died down and I could get something to eat without waiting around for a while. While there I met and spoke with a student from New Orleans named Elisabeth who was attending UNO. We spoke for about an hour after which I got something to eat. Khadijah saw me in the cafeteria and we ate lunch together. I was gonna tag along with her for a little while after lunch but I got a call from Bianca about a possible job. I had to go to the financial aid office to make sure I was eligible for work study, which I am. I went back to my room for a while after that until Bianca called me again to ask me to come down to Bogart Hall to meet Gene Murphy. He's in charge of maintaing the COES computers and needed a computer repair tech to work in their shop. The position would have been perfect for me but the position requires a driver’s license, which I don’t have. I went to kill some time in Tolliver after the ‘interview.’ Bianca joined me a while after I got there and we went to get dinner after a while. We met my room mate John in the cafeteria and sat together. At six thirty I went to the library to meet Kasey, a fellow student in my history class. I had agreed to meet him to study for the upcoming test. He relayed the information from the review session professor Anderson conducted this evening, and I forgot about which was a shame as I wasn’t exactly busy. After about an hour of that I went back to Tolliver Hall to try and print some things out but didn’t have any luck. After that I went back to my room for the evening.

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Sep262005

Clear Skies

I got up rather late today and went to get something to eat around one. It was largely clear outside today and there was little visible evidence of yesterday’s nasty weather. I went to visit Khadijah this afternoon for a while. We went to an evening church service together at six, at the same place we went to a couple weeks ago. The hour-long service was about being a good student of the Bible. Khadijah was going to do her laundry at the church after the service so I got a ride home from Randy-Lynn, a young lady Kali introduced me two a couple weeks ago. I did a load of laundry this evening. Bianca visited our dorm briefly this evening and talked about some dental work she may need.

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Sep242005

Brush with Rita

This Saturday was the beginning of my second weekend at Tech. Things are especially dead here on weekends. The weather was rather unpleasant today as Hurricane Rita brushed Ruston today. It rained sideways on and off. There were wind gusts around 30 miles an hour. Even with an umbrella I got pretty wet when I went to eat around one. I spoke with Dad on the phone for a little while this evening. He introduced the possibility of meeting him in Baton Rouge next weekend for a Tulane football game. Speaking of which, Tulane beat SMU this evening, 31-10, although I did not see or hear the game. Late in the evening my roommate John and I went to Wal-Mart. I needed a couple things but I didn’t make a list so all I bought was paper towels and some snacks. I was up pretty late for no particular reason, although I did get a load of laundry done.

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Sep232005

French Test

There was a test in French class this morning. Most of it involved the teacher asking a question or saying something in French, after which we’d write it down. I think I took about a half hour on the test and probably didn’t do very well. I think I went to lunch after the test and then to Tolliver for a while. Later in the evening I watched Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Atlantis before eventually making it to bed.

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Sep222005

The Frame Up

I got up a bit later than I would have liked this morning, but I still had plenty of time to get ready and get to class this morning. I didn’t have time to buy my Economics book before class though. This morning’s Econ class dealt with supply and demand. I got some lunch after class, stir-fry and salad probably the healthiest meal I’ve had since I got here. I went back to my dorm after lunch. Sarah took me to a custom framing shop at noon so I could drop off Ami’s painting, which I’ve been meaning to have framed for over a year and a half. Sarah took my back home after. I was there long enough to do my sociology homework and get to my 2:00 class. This afternoon’s sociology class more-or-less dealt with the nature vs. nurture argument. Of course there’s be no Sociology if genes determined everything so there wasn’t much ‘nature’ talk. I spilled Dr. Pepper on my pants during class so I had to go back to my dorm after and change before my four o’clock. This evening’s history class was about the post-reconstruction economythe advent of big corporations and their opposition. I went to the cafeteria after class for dinner. I was joined by Bianca’s friend Josh and a couple other guys. I was there for a good while and then went to Tolliver. I ran into Lindsey when I walked in and spoke with her briefly. I sat in Tolliver for a couple hours and got up around nine. I was going to go home but ran into Khadijah and ended up sitting with her in the KLPI office for a while as she did some work. I made my way back to my dorm around 11 and watched a Deep Space Nine episode before bed.

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Sep212005

Up Late

This afternoon’s French class dealt with some proper names, mostly countries and nationalities. I got some lunch a while after class. I talked to Ami on the phone for a couple hours this evening, our first conversation of circumstantial length since I arrived in Ruston. I went to Tolliver late this evening for dinner after watching a jetliner make a risky landing its front landing gear was not locked in place. I was in Tolliver pretty late. Khadijah joined me late in the evening and two of her friends, Derek and Will, joined us not too long after that. I went home at about two.

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Sep212005

Opportunity Cost

Like yesterday, I had enough time to get some orange juice before class today. This morning’s economics class dealt with opportunity cost and free trade. It was pretty amusing as far as classes go. The professor has a fine sense of humor. I went to the computer lab after class to print out my sociology homework and got some lunch in the cafeteria. After that I went to Tolliver for a while and fought with the wireless internet, which wasn’t working very well today. This afternoon’s sociology class was about culture and it’s influence on people’s behavior. I got something to eat after class before returning to Madison for this evening’s history class, which dealt with the economic boom after reconstruction. After getting dinner, I sat around outside for a while before heading back to my room.

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Sep192005

Hangers

With my first and only class of the day at 11, I was in no rush to rise this morning but I still got up at a decent hour with enough time to get ready and grab some breakfast on the way to French class. Among other things, this afternoon’s session dealt with definite and indefinite articles. I had lunch after class and probably went to Tolliver for a while. Later in the afternoon I heard from Khadijah and we went to Wal-Mart. I still needed some things. I finally bought hangers. I tended to my clothes in the evening and did a load of laundry. The Saints lost this evening. Late this evening I completed a short essay for Sociology.

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Sep182005

Sunday

I woke up at a shameful hour this morning and finally made it to breakfast shortly before one this afternoon. I sat in Tolliver for a while in the afternoon but the internet appeared to be down campus-wide. It stayed down all day which exacerbated the existing boredom. I didn’t really do anything all day.

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Sep172005

Tulane vs. Mississippi State

I was in no hurry getting up this morning as this was Saturday. I was in line at the cafeteria around 10:30 this morning. What looked like the whole Tulane football team and most of the coaching staff was already there. I went to Tolliver for while after breakfast as I really had nothing better to do. The campus looks a lot like a ghost town on the weekends as many students go home for the weekends. That and there is very little for anyone who remains to do. I took a little walk this afternoon as I needed some quarters to do laundry and the cashier at the cafeteria wouldn’t help. I ended at a Subway on the edge of campus and got something to eat, and quarters. I was in my dorm for the better part of the evening. It was a while before I was able to get at the lone washing machine in Cottingham. At seven this evening I watched Tulane’s football team play a ‘home’ game versus Mississippi State in Shreveport. Tulane played pretty decently considering and had their moments, but a couple critical mistakes and missed opportunities cost them the game. The final was 21-14, Mississippi. I spoke with Dad briefly after the game. He and Mom made it back home in New Orleans. There’s power in the house but no phones. I finally did get my laundry done this evening, just before midnight. If only I had hangers.

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September 2005

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