Saturday, January 15, 2005
Happy to be home
Just finished moving back up to school. Classes start Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to this semester, have a lot of interesting-sounding classes.
Pictures of my dorm and the roommies are coming as soon as I retrieve my USB cable from my house. Oh, yeah, and I got this really pretty Chinese outfit I need to show off.
Unfortunately the bursar's office was closed today, so I'm going to have to wait until Tuesday to yell at them. First they send me a check for $3000 in the mail--then they send me a letter complaining that I haven't paid my tuition and charging me $25 in late fees! This sort of thing happens all the time here at UTA. Each student has two accounts: a tuition and registration account and a housing and food account. You pay the total amount owed, which goes into the first account, then is supposed to carry over to the second account. Unfortunately, 50% of the time it DOESN'T carry over, they charge you late fees, and you have to go yell at them.
I don't see why each student can't just have one account. Or maybe they could hire one of the computer science students here (college students will work for peanuts... or at least ramen) to FIX the software so it WORKS CORRECTLY and transfers the money from one account to the other like it's supposed to. Of course, that would make SENSE, and no self-respecting bureaucracy can allow that, can it?
Then there's all the semesters where they've started charging late fees... before the scholarship office has paid out the scholarships. It's not MY fault the scholarship office is running late!
This is one subject on which it's probably best to just ignore me, as I have very few positive things to say.
Instead, I'm going to think happy thoughts about my dorm. I'm glad to be back. I'm glad to see my roommates again. I'm SO glad to be back in my wonderful, cozy little dorm room. I'm eagerly anticipating my classes.
Life is good, except for those %#@$ people at the bursar's office.
|
Pictures of my dorm and the roommies are coming as soon as I retrieve my USB cable from my house. Oh, yeah, and I got this really pretty Chinese outfit I need to show off.
Unfortunately the bursar's office was closed today, so I'm going to have to wait until Tuesday to yell at them. First they send me a check for $3000 in the mail--then they send me a letter complaining that I haven't paid my tuition and charging me $25 in late fees! This sort of thing happens all the time here at UTA. Each student has two accounts: a tuition and registration account and a housing and food account. You pay the total amount owed, which goes into the first account, then is supposed to carry over to the second account. Unfortunately, 50% of the time it DOESN'T carry over, they charge you late fees, and you have to go yell at them.
I don't see why each student can't just have one account. Or maybe they could hire one of the computer science students here (college students will work for peanuts... or at least ramen) to FIX the software so it WORKS CORRECTLY and transfers the money from one account to the other like it's supposed to. Of course, that would make SENSE, and no self-respecting bureaucracy can allow that, can it?
Then there's all the semesters where they've started charging late fees... before the scholarship office has paid out the scholarships. It's not MY fault the scholarship office is running late!
This is one subject on which it's probably best to just ignore me, as I have very few positive things to say.
Instead, I'm going to think happy thoughts about my dorm. I'm glad to be back. I'm glad to see my roommates again. I'm SO glad to be back in my wonderful, cozy little dorm room. I'm eagerly anticipating my classes.
Life is good, except for those %#@$ people at the bursar's office.
|
Friday, January 14, 2005
The coming evidence issue
I was just thinking earlier about the historical evidence, or lack thereof, that I'm going to leave behind. I think that pretty soon historians are going to start running into major problems finding sources for the Internet age.
Let's all pretend that someday I become really, really famous. (Okay, you can stop snickering now.) What will historians be able to learn about me? They can find information on me in newspapers... as long as paper newspapers last. They may be able to dig up my social security card or birth certificate. Stuff like that.
But I never write letters. I HATE writing letters. So all my correspondence is by phone or e-mail, which is a highly impermanent medium. I won't leave any records behind of my thoughts, my opinions, my personality--who I am as a person.
I'm studying Constitutional history right now, and I've thought several times how lucky we are that the Founding Fathers were all such prolific writers. Otherwise we wouldn't have any idea what in the world they were thinking when they created our government. The entire field is heavily dependent on personal correspondance. If they'd used e-mails, we wouldn't have any records of large chunks of their lives.
I think as we become more and more dependent on computers and the Internet, later historians will have more and more difficulty learning about us, because we won't leave anything behind for them to study.
|
Let's all pretend that someday I become really, really famous. (Okay, you can stop snickering now.) What will historians be able to learn about me? They can find information on me in newspapers... as long as paper newspapers last. They may be able to dig up my social security card or birth certificate. Stuff like that.
But I never write letters. I HATE writing letters. So all my correspondence is by phone or e-mail, which is a highly impermanent medium. I won't leave any records behind of my thoughts, my opinions, my personality--who I am as a person.
I'm studying Constitutional history right now, and I've thought several times how lucky we are that the Founding Fathers were all such prolific writers. Otherwise we wouldn't have any idea what in the world they were thinking when they created our government. The entire field is heavily dependent on personal correspondance. If they'd used e-mails, we wouldn't have any records of large chunks of their lives.
I think as we become more and more dependent on computers and the Internet, later historians will have more and more difficulty learning about us, because we won't leave anything behind for them to study.
|
Pondering Music
As I was driving to Austin the other day, I had plenty of time to listen to music in the car. I chose to listen to a Christian dance CD by a group called Raze. Very fun music, actually. Kept me awake the entire way, even though I had to wake up at an ungodly 6:45 in the morning.
But the entire genre of Christian dance music puzzles me. After all, the crucifixion just doesn't make me want to dance. "Jesus died! Let's get down!" Not to mention that there's no way to actually DANCE to this music without being excessively crude and lascivious (unless you tried to waltz or something).
My favorite song on the CD is, naturally, the one in a minor key. Why is it that any song becomes about ten times cooler if you play it in a minor key?
|
But the entire genre of Christian dance music puzzles me. After all, the crucifixion just doesn't make me want to dance. "Jesus died! Let's get down!" Not to mention that there's no way to actually DANCE to this music without being excessively crude and lascivious (unless you tried to waltz or something).
My favorite song on the CD is, naturally, the one in a minor key. Why is it that any song becomes about ten times cooler if you play it in a minor key?
|
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
If I get any more excited,
I may hurt myself. But oh! what a lovely way to die...
I'm in love. Madly, passionately in love. Insane with love.
And short about $800.
But they're SO COOL!!!
UPDATE: "Do not eat iPod shuffle." Heh. I want one!
|
I'm in love. Madly, passionately in love. Insane with love.
And short about $800.
But they're SO COOL!!!
UPDATE: "Do not eat iPod shuffle." Heh. I want one!
|
I hate needles
Had a doctor's appointment today. Blah.
On the one hand, those bits are rather sensitive, thank you very much, and I'll thank you kindly to keep your paws off them.
On the other hand, the cure for my low blood pressure and lightheadedness: eat more salt. THERE'S a prescription I can get behind. And I think we have some ramen and Pringles, too. Today is looking up.
|
On the one hand, those bits are rather sensitive, thank you very much, and I'll thank you kindly to keep your paws off them.
On the other hand, the cure for my low blood pressure and lightheadedness: eat more salt. THERE'S a prescription I can get behind. And I think we have some ramen and Pringles, too. Today is looking up.
|
