November 2005


Louisiana Tech Jazz Ensemble

I got up well before nine this morning, just because. Professor De Mattos covered several topics during French class this morning. The class is a bit behind so he’s been rushing through things during this last week of classes. Among other things, we went over household vocabulary and superlatives. After class, I went to the student center and got something to eat before taking a seat. The Louisiana Tech Jazz Ensemble performed this afternoon at 12:30. They have a 20 piece band, all competent musicians, some particularly talented. They played a number of songs, 50’s to 70’s jazz music and some swing. They sounded fantastic and it was a very enjoyable concert. It’s been a good while since I saw a live jazz performance. I went back to my room after the concert. I spent some time looking for some new music for my MP3 collection. I remained in my room until about five. I went to Tolliver Hall for a while. I intended to make my way to the cafeteria for dinner but I was never that hungry. I did, however, have an unproductive conversation with Khadijah before returning to my dorm for the evening. I didn’t really do much aside from watching The Boondocks.

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Countdown to Finals

I barely made it this morning’s economics class on time this morning, but this was the one day it didn’t matter. Professor Blackstock’s assistant handled the student evaluations before class actually started, a little over five minutes after ten o’clock. Class was rather short, the professor just briefly went over what would be on the cumulative final exam and took a couple questions. He dismissed anyone who wanted to go and tool more questions after that. I didn’t have any myself but I was curious what would be asked by the 30 or so students that remained for an additional fifteen minutes. When the questions ran out, class ended at about 10:30. I walked back to my room to do that sociology homework I brushed off last night. There were some questions on demography that provided the first necessity for me to crack open my textbook since I got it. The chapter in question didn’t look all that organized so I just used Wikipedia to find out what demographic transition is. Not too long after finishing that, I walked back across campus to the Dawg House for lunch. Kasey from history class greeted me shortly after I seated myself. I ordered the same hamburger that I got the first time I went there, only because I didn’t remember how difficult it was to eat without making a mess. After lunch I walked to Tolliver Hall and remained there for over an hour until I had to leave to go to my sociology class. Today’s final lecture session was about population and the environment. Class ended a little earlier than usual at three. I went back to Tolliver afterward to wait with my laptop until this evening’s history class. Tonight’s lecture was about the seventies. Apparently some events actually took place. After class I went to the cafeteria for dinner. I wasn’t really hungry and didn’t eat much. Afterward I went home for the evening.

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The Kennel

Today’s French class covered a few new words can’t quite remember all of it. I took a peek at the galleries in the art building on the way back to my dorm. I remained there until about half past six. I went to ‘the kennel’ this evening, a recreation area under the bookstore with pool tables and bowling alleys. It was open to the public for free this evening as a Union Board event. It was nice and crowded. I got some free pizza and coke. Darren was there. We eventually played a game of pool with some other folks from Cottingham. I left there sometime after eight and went to Tolliver for a while. John saw me around nine o’clock. He said he was going to Wal-Mart to get a couple things. I wasn’t busy and I forgot a couple things myself so I tagged along. John just needed some food items. I bought an ink cartridge for my printer, which was actually priced higher than it is at the campus bookstore. I never got around to doing my sociology homework this evening.

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Interest

This morning’s economics class was about interest. Among other things, professor Blackstock explained how a person could retire a millionaire by saving a little money each month over one’s entire working life. I went back to my room after class. I had some lunch, listened to Rush and browsed the net for a while. Today’s sociology class was about health and health care just more variations on a theme. I sat it Tolliver for a little while between classes. Today’s history class was about 60’s counter-culture. Christy IM’d me during class and we talked for a little while. She said she’s be returning to New Orleans, which was mildly surprising after our previous conversations. I went to dinner after class. I think I ate by myself but I’m not sure. After dinner I went home for the evening. I talked to Ami online for a while. Even after upgrading her online photo gallery, she was still unable to login to it, which is rather perplexing since it works fine on my computer.

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Monday

Today’s French class was covered clothing and questions. It was a very pleasant session. The class finished with us filing out our student evaluations. Before I went back to my room I went to the lab in GTM to print out some reading assignments. I later did the reading quiz in my room after having something to eat. Shortly after five I went to Tolliver hall for a little while because the internet was down in Cottingham. John bumped into me while I was there and said he was going to Wal-Mart this evening. I had planned to go to a faculty concert but I needed some things. I eventually made it back to my room after getting some dinner in Tolliver Hall. A while after that john and I went to the store. Most of what both of us bought was assorted food items that we could have lived without. I didn’t do anything later this evening aside from watching some TV. The internet was still out in the dormitory.

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Raiders vs. Chiefs

Last night I resolved that I would get up at a decent hour this morning. However, when I first awoke this morning I had absolutely no reason to get up so I slept in again. Today was largely devoid of activity as well. I watched the Raiders game on TV this afternoon, this was the first time I’ve been able to see them on network TV since I got here. It was a decent game, but the Raiders lost on the last play of the game.

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Another Quiet Saturday

Like most Saturdays past, today was devoid on any significant activity. I slept in and didn’t leave my room until three to get something to eat. I watched the Louisiana Tech football game on TV this afternoon. They beat Utah with no particular trouble. Tulane got beat bad at Navy’s homecoming. I went out again for dinner around six. I sat with Darren who was already there. This evening I watched some movies and took apart my laptop to restore tension to a battery release switch.

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The Boondocks

It was considerably warmer outside than it has been the past couple of weeks, although it was still pleasant. The mood in French class was rather light today, maybe because it’s Friday. I can’t quite remember what was covered in class today. I went back to my room after class and remained there for the better part of the evening, although I did go to the cafeteria this evening for dinner. This evening I watched an episode of the new show, The Boondocks on the Adult Swim web site. The episode wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was entertaining and the characters provide a lot of potential material.

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Thursday

I didn’t arrive in CAB as early this morning as I usually do for economics class, but I was still on time. We just went over the exam we took on Tuesday. Class was pretty short but it took a while to pass out each person’s answer sheet and test copy to some 115 students. I got a ‘C’ on the exam, which was pretty disappointing. I would have done a lot better had I remembered the GDP formulas. I walked over to the Dawg House for lunch after class. I showed up 20 minutes before the place opens but Britney from my French class invited me in. I sat at the bar with a drink until 11 o’clock when I could order something. I had a ham sandwich and fries, which was pretty decent. I walked back to my room after lunch and remained there until shortly before two. Today’s sociology class was about education, and contained many of the same minorities-are-in-piss-poor-shape generalities featured in so many lectures past. Class let out at 3:30. I returned Dad’s phone call after class. We spoke briefly about my upcoming situation with either staying at or leaving Louisiana Tech and returning to New Orleans. I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do. This evening’s history class was about the war aspect of the Vietnam War. I suppose the next lecture will be about all the protests and crap that happened state side. After class I went to the cafeteria for dinner and then went to Tolliver Hall to sit with my laptop. While I was there I did a worksheet on Blackboard for history class. The worksheet pertained to the Vietnam War and required students to go through some maps and writings to find the answers. It was an easy assignment but it was a bit time consuming. I left and 9:30 and stopped by Bianca's apartment to pick upa memorystick I lent her before the football game last week. I talked with her for a little while and made it back to my room just after ten.

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Poolhall Junkies

I can’t quite remember what today’s French class covered, it was a lot of things, including really big numbers. After class I stopped by Tolliver Hall to get my mail. I had a card form grandma and the flip clock I won on ebay arrived. I made something to eat when I got home and had a look at the clock. The flip digits work fine but the radio doesn’t, which I know when I got it. When I first examined the clock I thought it was just a defective switch but it turns out it’s not that simple. I went out for dinner around 5:30. I got some stir-fry and salad. After dinner I walked over to Nethken Hall for CinemaTECH’s last meeting of the quarter. Tonight they showed Heavenly Creatures, a strange film about two young girls who are very close friends and eventually murder one of their mothers true story. The second film of the evening was Poolhall Junkies, a decent pool hustler movie, albeit not as good as the 1961 film, The Hustler with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. I walked home after the second movie ended shortly before 11 and went to bed not long after that.

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Economics Test

There was a test in economics class this morning. I was under the distinct impression the test wasn’t till Thursday so I was at a slight disadvantage having not reviewed some of the formulas I’d need. I think I did alright though. I went back to my room after class. I was back by 11 and I remained there for a while. I was able to listen to most of Rush’s show, eat lunch and surf the net for a while. I stopped by the SGA office after class to send a fax before getting to Madison for sociology class. Today’s session was about various family problems. After class, I sat is Tolliver for about 20 minutes before history. Today’s lecture continued on the civil rights movement. I got some dinner in the cafeteria after class and sat with my roommate’s friend Josh. I went to Tolliver Hall after dinner. Comedian Dan Ahdoot performed at seven. I personally didn’t find the act to be all that spectacular, although I suspect he played down to the college audience. A young lady was sitting next to me taking notes through the performance. I thought she was working for/helping Mr. Ahdoot by gauging the crowd reactions. We spoke briefly after the show; turns out Candace is a writer/editor for the school newspaper. I went home not too long after the show ended. I got on the Internet for a little while this evening. I was shocked to learn of the death of Michael Piller, a writer and producer of three Star Trek series. His death was rather surprising as he was only 57 and I was unaware he was suffering from cancer. Mr. Piller was a significant and positive creative force for the franchise. His open-door policy on scripts gave many writers their first break.

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