March 1 I suppose I should elucidate by saying that I now have a girlfriend (I think). Not really my word of choice, but I didn't design modern English. I guess I should be embarrassed, since much of the school seems to have heard about it, but oh well. Guess February 27 was an important day after all. Also today, spent time in the darkroom misaligning papers, and time after school practicing for tomorrow's music competition. What I need now is a miracle: a five measure miracle.
March 2 I'm 2 for 2 today. Not bad. In the morning, went up to San Francisco for a recital. I got a "Superior- Commands Performance," on my Copeland flute solos, something I really did not expect. Then I went to a televised Quiz Kid competition in San Carlos. It was not, to put it bluntly, anything like a close match. Final score: 400+ to 180. Looks like we're not out of this tournament yet! After that I went back to San Francisco (30 miles) to play my piece in the recital hall (everyone who gets a "Commands Performance" has to). So today ranks among my more successful days. In other news, my non-single status has now even reached the ears of the vice-principal (and Quiz team organizer) so my reputation is probably permanently scarred.
March 3 Some observant people may have noticed that the dates have been a little screwy on here, ie 3/02/01. Fixed now. Spent much of the late morning and early afternoon going up to the exploratorium. The exploratorium (for the unenlightened) is a sort of hands-on science museum (and authors of the Ridiculously Enhanced Pi Page). Spent nearly 4 hours looking and trying their little experiments. It's amazing how simple most of them are, yet they're still usually somewhat amazing. Hurray for physics! One of the exhibits was a T.V. hooked up to an infrared camera. Quote of the day by someone standing there: "Oh my god, I have no hands!" After that went over the hill with another friend only to miss the intended movie by a few minutes. I guess I'd never have believed in Sunday night traffic before seeing it firsthand.
March 4 Weather seems to be having a tough time deciding what it's going to be. This particular Monday wasn't all that bad, although I did make a number of mistakes. First mistake: attempted to load film onto an unchecked reel. The reel was in fact misaligned, and so I had to go and find another one in the dark. Then, I discovered I couldn't get more than 1/3 of the film onto the reel. Not good. Math class furnished today's most interesting quote: "Brower, in later life, disbelieved his own theorem. We can use Brower's theorem to prove many things, but of course Brower would not believe those either. Afternoon was spent on the uninteresting topic of homework. Ugh.
March 5 Got up early, went to school early, left school early, got home almost early, and most definitely didn't go to bed anywhere near early. Today was a hodgepodge of this, that and the other. Finishing essay for English class, helping decode an unreadable e-mail attachment, trying to procure roses for someone, and trying to stay awake were the activities taking a majority of the day's activities. I listened late into the night for news on the election. The March California primary has been pretty unexciting, but two things stand out: the race for the Republican nomination for governor, and a proposition intended to weaken term limits. I'll have to wait for tomorrow to find out the details though.
March 6 My English essay was magically completed in the wee hours of the morning, just as rain began to come down in large quantities from the sky. The rain was extremely heavy at times, and all but disappeared at others, so I'm not certain what to expect. Went to jazz band for the first time this morning. Looks like I have a bit of work to do, not the least, finding out exactly when I need to show up (apparently neither at 7AM nor at 8AM, but somewhere in between in this case). The rather unexciting day was compounded by the fact that keeping my eyes open proved to be a very difficult proposition at times. Sleeping from 10PM to 5AM just doesn't cut it for me. Fortunately, the various activies of the afternoon woke me up to the point that completing math homework's still a viable option. Oh yeah, and for the election, it looks like the race is Bill Simon v. Grey Davis. The cool part is that president Bush supported an opponent of Simon's. Shows how much power he has in California, I guess. Also, term limits were kept intact, although by a narrow margin. I sure hope the November election is more exciting. Otherwise I'll find it hard to blame the people who don't even bother to vote.
March 7 Awoke this morning with the feeling that all was not well. Realized that the gutter was banging against the wall and it was a little past 4 in the morning. Then got up anyways, and started doing homework. I hope this does not become routine. Spent first through third periods trying to figure out how to remove money from politics. First period: ban all private contributions to candidates. Second period: force all candidates to give up their wealth if they win. Third period: forget it. People simply don't care enough for democracy to work well around here. Fourth period: considered morality in the context of war. Came to conclusions similar to Gandhi: like western civilization, it would be a damn nice idea. Rest of the day was largely a haze, although flute choir was significant, inasmuch as the weather was windy enough to make the car shake while I was searching for my flute.
March 8 Friday. What more can I say? The day began well, and stayed generally quite good. My grade in government class is an improper fraction, so that was nice. Then, I managed to get most of my math homework done. That was nice too. It was even sunny at lunch, so I lounged out in back of the band room, soaking up warmth and talk. Day was otherwise, uneventful...
March 9 Trading volume was extremely heavy today with 15 activities occurring, and the yours truly morale average down 6 points, by a margin of 5:3. This is incidentally about the margin which my team lost to Woodside's in the televised Quiz Bowl tournament. We went from 1st to 8th place remarkably fast. Oh well. As a not so famous soccer coach said to me about eight years ago: "if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose." Of course our soccer team was 2-10 in league play, so draw your own conclusions. I did get to go bowling with friends which was nice. I scored a mind-numbingly low 45, which isn't all that surprising, considering it's my 3rd time bowling ever, and the ball I tried initially is probably bigger than my head (and no, my fingers did not fit in the holes, at all).
March 10 Today was a classic. Our Quiz bowl team went out to Mills College in Oakland to the "Wolfpack III Tournament." It was supposed to be 7 matches. It was 9. There was supposed to be lunch between matches 4 and 5. Lunch (such that it was) occurred between matches 6 and 7. We were supposed to lose to Riordan or Bentley, or MSJ. We didn't. In fact, we won the first 6 games (4 by a good margin) and lost the 7th to Granada by 30 points. However, being one of 4 teams with a 6-1 record, we ended up playing an extra game against Mission. We won by 15 points. That entitled us to a rematch with Granada. A rematch which we won by 25 points. I sure as heck didn't expect that we'd make 1st place of 22 teams, especially after yesterday, but we did. SCORE!
March 11 That, as they say, was a true, blue
Monday, blue being the best description of a day which seemed as
if it was going to strangle right before my eyes. Despite what
seemed to be an adequate quantity of sleep, I spent much of the
day in a sort of a daze. I had the weird feeling that I was an
observer, watching the world through someone else's eyes. I
finally became sure that it was actually my eyes, when I read
Stanford's student newspaper. Headlines:
"Dis-banded," "ASSU Presidential Election to be
'Popularity Contest,'" and "EIC to Usher in new
era of old-style Daily crappiness." After reading the
newspaper, all I can say is that I'm glad that I'll be
going to a university where people know how to laugh. From the
Campus Calendar:
3/15/02
10:30AM
Eternal conflict between Truth and Falsehood to play out
inconclusively.
Building 90, Room 135.
March 12 Looks as if the daze I had yesterday isn't going away. This may be due partly to the headache I received from band class today. Don't get me wrong, band's a great class. But I'd much rather the trumpets were a bit further away from me. That is to say, they're more than a bit louder than the rest of the band combined. The good news from today is that I finished comparing somewhere around 30 different pi programs so the old page can finally be removed. I also got to go out to dinner to a nice Japanese restaurant with a couple of friends, one of which has leukemia and will shortly be undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Doesn't sound like he's too bored in the hospital though. Besides the computer, he has no fewer than 8 gaming consoles!
March 13 The week is gradually picking up speed. I think part of the reason that school is so dazed is that there are a lot of other dazed people too. That would include the poor folks in the school play who've been up 'til 11PM practicing every night this week. The disastrous biology test I had yesterday wasn't quite as disastrous as I expected, mainly thanks to the fact that everyone else did equally badly (and the number of points possible is set to the highest score gotten in the class: namely 78%).
March 14 Bombs continue to rain in Palestine. I think it is perhaps time to mention that in the last week 30 Israelis have been killed. That compares to 140 Palestinians. If the U.S. wants to be viewed as being fair to both, it should place an arms embargo on Israel. It already has one on the Palestinians, so this would simply be treating them with the same policies. I have finally begun developing pictures in photography today. I never realized until now just how much easier printing photos is when the negative is actually properly developed. Suffice it to say that I only need to make 1 test strip, not 4 or 8. This was the last day the professor taught at my math class before the final, and we all gave him a standing ovation. One of the things people don't appreciate until it's too late is a competent, concise and clear professor. Although he was on occasion too concise for my slightly addled mind (ie. I couldn't figure out how he got from step a. to step b.), I think he was a great teacher.
March 15 If it isn't Friday. Sort of snuck up so slowly I never thought it'd come. Began the day off with an invigorating government test, followed by an invigorating biology lab. Actually the biology lab was invigorating, since it involved lying down for 5 minutes so as to get a good measurement of resting heartbeat and bloodpressure. Mine, alas, proved higher than when I was not resting. Either something's seriously wrong with my circulatory system, or somebody screwed up on the measurements. I blame both. Went out to the school musical this evening. "42nd Street" actually turned out to be quite fun, and not at all what I'd expected (not an OMGIYAM performance- Oh my god, it's yet another musical). Went out to dinner before, and discovered that ordinary salads require considerable preparation, at least 25 minutes. Next time I guess I'll just have to leave earlier.
March 16 Saturday! Blue skies (probably due to the rather hefty norwester), and free time. Alas, my only chance to actually enjoy the nice weather was a short walk near the reservoir, but it was still quite nice. Following the morning's flute lesson, I came home and spent a few hours reviewing math and getting a haircut (not simultaneously). The only comment I've received thusfar was positive, so it can't have been that bad. Went over to a friend's in the afternoon for a LAN party. Spend hours of 6-9PM helping people set up their computers (2 still didn't work, even after all that time). Spent from 9-10PM watching people frag each other. I would have played more but I didn't bring my computer (who wants to lug 35lbs to play an hour of UT on?) and the match was predominantly 2 player, since everyone was busy with other things. So was I for that matter. Had to go home at 10, but had a good time nonetheless.
March 17 It really is amazing how much I don't remember from two months ago. Take, for instance, methods to parametrize a sphere. Argh! Looks like the math final is going to be real interesting. I think I need a 3 hour miracle at this rate. Otherwise, today was pretty blank. I did eventually get around to vacuuming my room, for the first time in ages, but that was only because I was getting a headache from staring at my math book.
March 18 Just your usual, run-of-the-mill 17 hour long Monday. The school day was mercifully short, leaving me 5 hours to study in the library for the math final. Final itself was from 7-10PM. By the end, I was just trying to find creative ways to answer questions I knew I'd get wrong anyay. Got home to discover that a number of people had tried to call me. Seems as if people always try to call when I'm not in. Maybe they're just trying to make me think they want to talk to me... College acceptance news seems to be pouring out about now, with the UCs posting there info. online (all but Berkeley). News seems mixed thusfar, and all I can say is that the admissions officers must be doing things on the basis of astrological signs. The terms arbitrary and capricious seem to come to mind.
March 19 And someone said: "Let there be light." And there was. And I had to get up and go to school in the morning. Somehow, I'm not exactly certain, I managed to stay awake. I did not, however, manage to remember that I had a scholarship interview, although I needn't have bothered. Why someone who put Computer Science as his potential major should be interviewed for a History scholarship I can't say, but there I was. When I arrived home, I discovered a largish rectangular box on my desk. Exhibiting extreme restraint, I did not attempt to open the box until well after a rather "interesting" sounding band concert. Every time I think we've hit bottom, someone has to prove me wrong. After the concert I discovered that the box did indeed include 1x PowerBook G4 Titanium. Needless to say leisure time and web-updates are going to be a lot shorter from here on.
March 20 Got up early to go finish my homework before going out to breakfast with a friend. Discovered that I was missing an essential ingredient, namely an answer sheet. Realized I really didn't care. Went out to breakfast only to discover that I wasn't really hungry. Was chastised by the said friend for suggesting going out to breakfast when I didn't really care for any. Oops. School was mercifully short. After school was somewhat busy. I somehow managed to find enough time to repartition my PowerBook's 30gig hard disk. We now have MacOS X: 10gig, MacOS 9: 10 gig, and Linux 10gig. I then reinstalled all but Linux. Couldn't think of a name for the new computer (so far we have Polaris, Odin, Andes, Penguin, Draco and Nova) so I settled for Cygnus. Yeah, I know it's not that original. I Even went to bed at a reasonable hour and in a cheerful mood but with really chapped lips.
March 21 New laptops are tempting toys. Must... Resist... Urge... Went through a normal school routine today. I honestly can't remember a thing that happened at school today. Probably something to do with daydreams of PowerBook that keep flitting through my head, plus a growing conviction that I will not be able to do justice to the 3 biology chapters we have a test on tomorrow. Spent much of after school desperately practicing flute. According to a voice mail last night, the President of Canada College may or may not be visiting our class today. Almost ended up late, due to the one-lane nature of our road which necessitated about 300 yards of backing up with extreme accuracy. Of course the president in question didn't show up, so the rehearsal turned out pretty well. Aside from the 32nd note runs at the end, Jupiter is shaping up quite nicely. My PowerBook too is shaping up well, now that it is connected to the 'net.
March 22 Weather today was mildly odd, alternating between warm sun and torrential rains roughly every hour. This would not have been a problem, had I not left my rainjacket in the car, and had to drop books off at that car between 2nd and 3rd period. I was rapidly drenched. The previously mentioned biology test also proved a definite downer. However, 2 maple bars, 16 wisecracks and 3 hours later I was feeling significantly better. Realizing that you're going to New Orleans in a few months does that to a fellow, even if Bourbon Street has been named definitively off-limits. After school, I went out with the old gang to dinner. The old gang being the 5 of us who hung out last year. A number of memorable things were said, and a large quantity of pricey but excellent Japanese fried food was consumed. I'm not certain, but I think green tea gives me a sort of a high. Probably just as well that I haven't experimented with more potent "drugs" (cough drops? coffee?!).
March 23 I woke up this morning, looked outside, and thought it would be a beautiful day. Needless to say that the rain was coming down in sheets by the time I reached my flute lesson, at the end of which, about 2/3 of the sky was blue. Came back intending on a quiet afternoon, but went out to lunch with friends. I was expecting we'd be a party of 3, instead we were a party of 5. No harm done. Came back afterwards to do English homework, which I accomplished with fair success. My next, much more exciting task, was getting my iPod into a usable state. I can now listen to the soundtrack of LOTR at just about any place around here (I actually had it playing simultaneously on laptop, desktop and iPod, although I couldn't get the timing quite synchronized). Looks like the geek within hasn't quite disappeared, leastaways, not just yet.
March 24 Sundays always have auspicious beginnings. Mine began at 9AM, which sure as heck beats 6:30, like every other day this week. Decided to go on a short hike in the morning. I didn't quite think short would turn out to mean 7miles/3.5hours, but that's what it did. I did get a large number of opportunities to take photographs, but how they turned out is anybody's guess. I've concluded that in order to really take decent black and white photos, I'll probably need to go colorblind. Seeing as how I value the world in color (even if gray and brown seem to predominate here), it'll probably be a while 'til I have any actually good photos. The afternoon was spent working desperately finishing homework, and trying to ignore my headache.
March 25 Last night was perhaps my most miserable in recent memory, so forgive me if I seem to rant. Out of the 9 hours when I usually sleep, less than 5 of them were actually spent asleep. The remainder of the time was spent trying to ignore my headache. Needless to say that when it was actually time to go to school I decided against it, and tried to make up for the sleep I missed. Two aspirins seem to have largely eliminated the headache, thank god. Today thus began at around 12:30PM, and so I can't be expected to have accomplished all that much! I've almost forgotten how much fun it is to curl up in a warm chair and read for a few hours. After an hour of Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang, I almost felt well enough to go outside and torch a convenient billboard.
March 26 I figured that returning to school today would be a good idea. My headache is (mercifully) gone for the most part. However I'm still somewhat lightheaded, and band was a little much for me. You would be amazed how much noise 4 trumpets can make, at least, I was! The weather seems to have finally given up raining at random intervals, so I can finally stop wearing my only quasi-waterproof pair of shoes. Of course, judging from the number of people at school today, it seems I'm not the only one who was sick. After school was devoted primarily to studying for a government test and working on an English essay. I did get to fiddle around with MacOnLinux on my PowerBook, and the short of it is, I can boot MacOS 9, and run apps, directly inside Linux. Neato.
March 27 I don't think I met anyone today who was even a little upbeat. I admit that with a seven-page English essay due tomorrow, I shouldn't really expect beaming optimism from my classmates, but even people who don't have any (noteworthy) homework due, and seem perfectly unaffected by the nasty ailment which is making my thrat raw, are acting generally despondent and grumpy. Hey folks, cheer up! It's spring. Many of us will graduate in less than 3 months! Speaking of which, all seniors today were subjected to an assembly explaining the ins and outs of the end of year. Assuming I do graduate, I am going to need some good ideas of things to attach to my cap. I'm thinking a penguin on the tassel would be a good start, but only a start (maybe followed by a heat sink and a 440BX motherboard attached to the top. Hmm?). My essay is "finished," which is good news, although I at this point, I'm equally finished.
March 28 Up at 5:30. At school by a quarter to 7. Back home at 2PM. I'm sure something happened in between, but the only I can remember is being asked to sit in on a saxophone sectional for jazzband. Keep in mind that a flute doesn't look, sound or play like a sax. I'm not saying which is better mind you, but I think there are definite differences. All my teachers have left me with work for the break (we have this Friday and next week off school), but hopefully I'll still have time to recover from whatever pestilence is afflicting me, and time to drop by the LAN party people are planning. I don't know about the pizza though. GTA2 and UT are a lot easier to stomach than greasy pepperoni or combination pizza when you're stomach is refusing to maintain a definite equilibrium (even if the food is good going down, it is most definitely not as good coming back up).
March 29 With my first day off from school, I can claim to have accomplished almost nothing. I made a pretty desultory attempt to wake up and do homework this morning. But there are two problems, I couldn't wake up, and the homework refused to get done. Instead I found myself curled up in a warm chair, reading of the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and the British Navy, fighting against Napoleon. Mind you, I always had a soft spot for Napoleon, but Patrick O'Brian writes very compellingly, so I won't bother mentioning that he's on the wrong side. In the afternoon, I managed to make myself mobile enough to drive a few miles, pick up a friend, eat dinner, and rent a movie.
March 30 A second day of rest. Being a militant agnostic, I can't say my knowledge of holy scripture is too complete, but with my nose having more leaks than the municipal water system and getting lightheaded every time I stand up for more than a few minutes. This lent itself excellently to my evil plan, which included staying away from computers (they seem to help me get headaches when I have an inflamed head). Rather I read and listened to the radio. I have finished O'Brian's Master and Commander and am well on my way through Post Captain. I would have listened more to the radio, but it lacked anything uplifting after about 12AM, and a one-hour discussion of the apocalypse and a number of doomsday cults associated with it did not improve my general disposition. You can only take so much doom and gloom in one day, and I find NPR newscasts work just fine for that job, no need for any reinforcement.
March 31 The high point of the day was probably eating pancakes for brunch. Admittedly, the pancakes were somewhat interestingly shaped and contoured, but they are one of the few things which taste good despite the nasty mucus in my throat which tries its darnedest to flavor everything I eat. Aside from that, I woke up late, and went to bed late too. Whatever happened in between can't have been too exciting because I don't remember any of it.
