December 2003 Archives

Warning: TheThousand.net Interest-o-Meter has determined that the following post will fascinate approximately -1 persons, with an error margin of 1.

Merry belated Christmas, y'all.

I know some of you are devastated and a little embarassed since you didn't get me a Christmas present. Well, that's ok, I forgive you. Really, I do. I'm not really into the whole "presents" aspect of Christmas.

And you know what? You can make it up to me. Here's how: Get me a mini-iPod when they come out January 6th.

Anyways, for those concerned about these sorts of things, Christmas was great. Lots of fellowship with other Christians, which gave the day an appropriately Christ-centered focus. I was struck how the day is completely devoid of any meaning when Christianity is taken out of the picture. It's no wonder how, apart from Christ, many people are overcome by a sense of emptiness and aimlessness during the holidays.

The break's been really good for me. I don't think I'm getting quite as much sleep as I imagined I would during finals week, but I'm getting enough. Most of my day is spent at work, where I'm working hard on getting a new project ready to launch by early next year. The office is often empty, which gives me the opportunity to unplug my headphones and turn up StreamingSoundtracks. So work's been fun, too.

So, uh, everything's perfectly alright now. We're fine…we're all fine here…now, thank you.

How are you?

(Kudos if you know what movie I paraphrased that from.)

I was joking about the presents thing, by the way. Feel free to interpret it as a tongue-in-cheek statement about the over-commercialization of Christmas.

Except the iPod part. I really would appreciate you sending one my way.

As you might guess, I'm posting at 2:30 in the morning because I just got back from Return of the King. The film was absolutely stunning, rich with countless moments of sheer cinematic brilliance, the sort that make your heart twinge and your breath quicken at even the slightest twinkling of a recollection.

Of course, the person behind me who was snoring through the latter hour of the film probably has a slightly different recollection. I could not tell if he was asleep, or merely too inconsiderate to use a tissue. I mean, just imagine what the film was like...

EXT. - OVERCAST - MINAS TIRITH

Thick black smoke from the fiery summit of Mount Doom creeps across the sky, enveloping Gondor like an invading army. Indeed, on the ground below, a vast army mirrors the dread pall; a seething mass of black metal and angry fire, bearing down ominously on the sheer white brilliance of the great city of Minas Tirith, a white beacon of hope in the growing darkness.

The white wizard Gandalf warily eyes the orc army crossing Pelennor Fields, sighing deeply.

Gandalf

We've come to it at last. The Great Battle of our time. The Age of—

*SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE*

For some reason, right around finals week at UCD, my site experiences a small but noticeable increase in visits. The reasons are entirely beyond me. All of my friends are the super-studious, never-procrastinating types, so I certainly doubt that they would be visiting my site when they ought to be studying for history finals.

A number of said friends have expressed their concern for me since I haven't posted in a couple weeks. Typically, I respond with a generic "I've been busy," and this is indeed true, since I've been spending an inordinate amount of time in Kemper Hall (formerly known as EUII).

Truth be told, I'm tempted to respond by saying "Hey, we're friends. Why don't we grab some coffee and have a really good talk?" And indeed, that invitation is extended to all of you: if you don't mind having the talk in the bowels of Kemper Hall, sitting in a computer lab as I weep bitterly before a computer because my program is seg-faulting and dumping the core. Erm, yeah.

As much as I make fun of my major, now that I'm actually officially in it, I feel a certain esprit du corps, and at times I even have the desire to defend my peers against certain allegations. For instance, I'd like to assert that CS majors are, in fact, not socially inept. Ok, well, maybe I'm socially inept, and not the greatest example, but not all CS majors lack social skills. Indeed, if it weren't for the fact that programs are due at midnight on Fridays, most CS majors would probably be quite socially...ept. Yeah. We even laugh at ourselves: whenever someone tells a Computer Science joke, and we all giggle, someone invariably shakes their head and says sadly "We are such nerds." And we laugh even harder at that.

Due to this major, I haven't written a single essay this quarter. One would think that I would rejoice, but instead, I'm a little disappointed: it's like I have an essay in me that's just waiting to come out, but can't. This situation came to a head Friday when I had to write an evaluation for a really good TA and ended getting a little too flowery, saying something along the lines of:

Rarely, does one find an instructor or TA of Mr. T____'s caliber. Indeed, I have never seen such unbridled passion and enthusiasm in a classroom, and it inspires me and spurs me on as a student. Mr. T____ brings an unparalleled depth of knowledge and dynamic charisma to the classroom, and truly exemplifies the intangible qualities of a superior teacher."

Strange thing is, I meant every word I said.

So, yeah. That's what's going on with me.