Now that we've taken care of that...

I am done with school finally, but not done with work. I still have to write a paper comparing something with the Baltics. I don't know what I will be writing on, but I need to get it done in the next few days.

I also have to work on my thesis. There are at least three books I want to read before the break is over. Hopefully, I won't be lazy and actually read them.

This blag should update more often now that I am not actually having to read almost 20 kids work every other night.

My Phone

A few months ago I came into a Blackberry 8800. It is a nice smart phone with push mail and a decent calendar. It also has a GPS which I can use with Google Maps and a web browser that allows me handy access to the Internet. I am rarely without my phone. As my contact with the world and my nanny (that great calendar) I would be lost without it.

That said, I am not sure if I would like another smart phone again any time soon. There are many times I find myself wanting to create a .doc file or see a web site in flash. I know there is at least a program for me to have a BB version of Word, but is it worth the money when I would only use it every so often?

Because I have it I plan to use it to the best of its abilities, but I am already dreaming of my next technological step. I know this is the pitfall of a geeky guy, but hear me out. I think I would like a laptop that I could carry with me everywhere I go. Right now I have a nice 17' PowerBook G4, this is an awesome computer and I plan to make it work for me for the next several years. I don't run anything too fancy just Firefox and NeoOffice mostly, along with iTunes when I am not needing some quite, but I would like a smaller notebook that could go every where with me. Those MacBooks are looking really nice...

Now this might be the pipe dream but it is what I want. I would like a phone then with at least a 3G connection (none of this EDGE I have right now) and the ability to connect to my computer as a sort of modem. That way I can always be sure to connect my computer to the World even without a hotspot.

Until then my Blackberry and I will honor each other. We still have over a year and a half before we are done with each other.

2nd Life? Who has time?

I went to Charlie's soapbox on 2nd Life. It was mildly interesting, nothing too new or exciting, but it was done very well. I am glad he put together a very good little presentation.

For anyone not in the know, 2nd Life is sort of like one of those MMOs like World of Warcraft, but without the competitive aspect. You can build just about anything there in 2nd LIfe though. Charlie for example built a room based on the lobby of Farris Hall. This place is a new place to interact with the world.

I barely have time (read: I don't have time) to blog. How am I suppose to interact with the world all the time! I have books to read, papers to write, things that need organizing! Who are these people that hang out on 2nd Life? I know it is not me.

That said it looks like I need to do some work, otherwise I will let my roommate down. He needs me to read the one book he can't seem to enjoy reading.

1st Day of Class

I remember my first day of Honors freshman year. We talked about where the self was located. I liked this idea, and when I was asked to write out just where I was I had no problem doing so. I was in a town square. Around me were vendors of all kinds. Their wares included ideas, experiences, feelings, and knowledge. I wanted as much as I could get from all of them.

Now I feel like there are still plenty of vendors selling things I have yet to try, but I am not sure if I have the time I felt I did before to get around to them all.

All I can do now is make sure that the freshmen I have been charged to help, are able to see that what was once true for me is now true for them. I want them to be able to let their selves experience all life has to offer. I want them to do more than stick to one flavor. I want them to see that while the world is pretty big, it can also be experienced.

Moving in

I like moving in at least a day before everyone else because I can then spend the day seeing all the people moving in. I am not a nostalgic person, but I find seeing everyone again comforting somehow. Of course, there are people I don't really know and people I wish I did not have to see, yet there are so many people that I love to say "hi" to. I doubt I will get to hang out with most of them unfortunately. This is okay though. I have done this for two years now. I am happy to just know that these people are doing alright. That they made it through the summer and are back here in this place with me is comforting.

Maybe it is because I like to think of my life in terms of a TV show. Every end of summer is the start of a new season. I as the main character have wacky adventures and dramas every so often, but just like The Simpsons' Halloween episodes and Friends' Thanksgiving shows I have some specific episodes that are always the same event, but with a new perspective. These perspectives compound with reflection. And now I share this year's with you...

Freshman year was new and exciting. I was busy setting up a living room in Bardon with Nathan and meeting people who understood my taste in somewhat obscure song quotes. I was in love with everything college could be for me. As the week went on I felt like I had found a home in which I would be able to prove that I am a big deal.

Sophomore year was still very new. I had recently fallen for a cute redhead I had befriended freshman year, and knew I was going to meet so many more new people. Unfortunately, I lost many friends in at least the ability to hang out with them due to a few social faux pases on my part and theirs. As the week went on I saw that my year was going to full of choices to shape the rest of college.

Junior year had me declared. I never wanted to declare, but they made me. I was also in a position to meet lots of people because I would be living with them, unlike the last year. I was ready to do just that, but school tends to keep that from happening. I was ready to show those freshmen that one day they could be like me.

Now... I'm a PA, still with my wonderful redhead, and about to start the thing that has always signaled the end of college to me: my thesis. I keep saying that I might stay another year, but that is out of fear. I don't know what's next. I don't know how this can be my last move-in to my happy Honors home. As itchy as my feet are, I don't relish the idea of not being back here. I should be more worried about finding a grad school, or at least a place to be after college. I should be ready. I should want to move on. I don't want to though. I just want to know that I will have this episode again and hope that when it comes around again I will be ready for it to be my last.

God, it is my first day back and I am already thinking about next year!

Why Did I Dream That?

So last night I had this dream that involved a guy I have not seen in 3 and a half years. He was an interesting friend from back in the day, but as we got older he got more annoying. So we parted ways. He was kind of an Opie type and will probably be a motivational speaker one day.

So he was in the place I stayed in Pärnu and just sort of hanging out. Why would I put him in Estonia? I really liked the place I was in there, but I have not even thought of him in over a year. I get why Rachel Smith was there. I at least saw her a few months ago. Of course, why was she using a computer? What was she looking at on-line?

Dreams are funny things, half the time I feel like I am living out some sort of "what if" of my life, but others I am just living out some sort of life remix. This one was the later, and I don't ever know how to dissect those.