originally posted january 15, 2002
let's try this again
So 2001 wasn't a year to remember. For most purposes, it was a year that I'd rather forget. Now, as I sit on the precipice of my most grueling semester yet, I look forward to what will make or break 2002.
work can wait
For the first time in two years, I am not working any part-time jobs this semester. The cue for this came last semester, when a full academic schedule coupled with two part-time jobs ended up a little much for my life. Too many hours of work made for some unwanted compromises. Additionally, the pressure of being a TA meant that I had to balance my own homework with that of my students. This semester, my classes promise to be more demanding than ever before. For that reason, I'm trying to regroup and get my grades back up.
3.5 or bust
Last semester, my grades knocked a couple of hundredths off of my GPA, but I'm still within striking distance of the magic 3.50. If I can average about a 3.70 between now and December of this year, I would be eligible to graduate with honors. That's not a huge priority, but every little bit helps. What I really hope to do is improve my sagging in-major GPA.
and away I go
My passport renewal is in the mail, but that's just step one. This summer, I hope to leave this continent for the first time since 1997. It's just a little embarrassing to commit myself to a Japanese minor only to be the only student in my class who has never actually been to Japan. While an internship would be great, I will likely end up doing a homestay for a month or two with a family abroad.
self control
According to the popular stereotype, students tend to gain a lot of weight when away at college. I do just the opposite. My weight dropped about 10 pounds to 145 over the last semester, although I managed to gain that all back in the three weeks or so that I spent lounging around at home. Regardless, it can't be healthy to let my weight fluctuate that much. I won't be running around as much this semester, so it shouldn't be as hard to find time to eat.
Every year I say I have to get in shape. I could say it this time, but I'd just be kidding myself.
the good movies project
Recently, I realized that most of the movies I saw in 2001 were lousy. Over the summer, I dropped several hours' pay to see flicks like "Tomb Raider," "Swordfish," and "A.I.," which might have been worth the $1 it cost to see them on campus in the fall. After watching a borrowed copy of "A Clockwork Orange" on DVD, I realized that there are a lot of great movies that I've never seen. Thus, the Good Movies Project was born.
On December 9, 2001, I looked at the IMDb's Top 250 films as voted by their users. Of the top 20, I had only seen eight. That left such gems as the first two "Godfather" movies, "Citizen Kane", and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." With a DVD player and a comfy chair at home, I rented these remaining twelve movies over winter break and watched them all. It was a good bonding experience with my parents, who saw some of these films decades ago, and with my younger brothers. Now that I'm back on campus, I realize that there are still a lot of great films on the list that I haven't seen yet. If I can find a couple of hours each week, I hope to polish off the list eventually. Of course, there are still great movies coming out, like last year's "Memento" and the recent "Lord of the Rings."
time mismanagement
"Start early" is the mantra of every TA, including me last semester, to preach to their students. Of course, time rarely permits this. I test well; last semester I managed to get a 92% on the final in a course where my homeworks ranged from average to flat-out bad. Since high school, I've tracked my tasks using an electronic organizer, but those are still organized by their due date. Last semester, I bought a white board and now use it to track all of the things I need to do. The white board is great for organizing information by urgency using simple spatial and color-driven cues. Unlike my organizer, which sits in my jacket pocket most of the time, I can't help but look at the white board several times each day. The real hard part is still mustering the willpower to actually get up and do what I need to do.
class by class: first impressions
Another year, another set of torture implements.
15-412: Operating Systems
I have every reason to be scared to death of this course, but at least I've found a competent partner. I know the professor and one of the TAs well, but it all comes down to how early and how often we code the projects.
36-247: Statistics for Lab Science
This shouldn't be too bad, although the complacency problem is there. I already know much of the content, and I don't need to take the course; I'm just in it for a way out of OS and because two friends of mine are taking it too.
80-311: Computability and Incompleteness
Yet another discrete math course. I'm not crazy about the idea of more proofs and theory, but I have to take the course some time. Fortunately, everyone I know is taking it too. Regardless, it might be the first course to go.
82-372: Advanced Japanese II
Same very hard subject matter, but a new professor and a new semester. Only four people showed up the first day. This will still be quite demanding.
82-374: Technical Japanese
I don't quite know what to expect from this course. Still plenty of reading and homework.
Back to January 2002, or to the year 2002.
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