Not so much insomnia now
I'll be crashing soon, I think. Super long weekend. Too much happened. Even just Friday. Friday, goodness! I woke up earlier, took care of the car, finally. Had it towed, went to Hibdon's. When we got there, the tow truck broke some sort of seal and was spewing hydraulic fluid all over the place. So HE had to have somebody come help him out. Thankfully, my car was actually down and at Hibdon's before that happened. Otherwise, might have been a little more insane than normal. And after that, I found out my tire didn't just have a little hole. Oh no - that would be too easy. Somehow the side was completely worn. I think I'm lucky the tire didn't burst on me while I was driving. So yeah, purchase of an extra tire, not cheap.

I got that taken care of, then went and did Senior Salute day! Which is basically the "get ready for graduation" thing they have for you. So I got all my papers, although I only got a tassel, because they didn't have robes. I'll get mine later. And I still have my cap, I think. Doesn't matter, 'cause it's free. I do get a nifty extra layer to wear, since I'm a fancy schmancy graduate student. So that's cool. AND I bought a ring! I don't really wear jewelry (not even a watch, which may explain some things), but having a class ring is nice. Since I didn't get one as an undergrad, I thought it'd be good to get one for my graduate graduation, so I have something. And while I was at Senior Salute day (I feel like there should be some sort of fanfare accompanying that), I found out stuff about thesis requirements. Apparently I was listed as non-thesis. Which meant they never sent me the IMPORTANT STUFF I needed to know. Like needing the thesis finished if I want to graduate or even walk in May. And that I have until mid-April to finish EVERYTHING. Which means I don't have a lot of time left. So as soon as I left I called my advisor. He didn't sound too negative on the possibilities, so I've got hope. I can do it!

Yeah, the thesis is going to hit HARD these next couple of weeks. I told my advisor I'd have a preliminary draft of the paper on Monday. Then that night I realized I had a retreat I had voluteered to help at on Saturday. ALL day. From 8 to 11. So that killed my Saturday thesis work plans. But the retreat was sweet! It's called ERIS, part of the Newman Center collection of selfless activities. It's a Catholic retreat for middle schoolers, and it was a lot of fun. We broke into three groups, color-coded. The whole thing was set up in a military fashion, so we had a general, and captains, and commanders, and all the other leaders were sergeants. The kids were all corporals. (We couldn't call them privates for a variety of reasons.) Anyway, we had our three major groups. Ours was the red group, also known as the Charlie company. We were the Charlie's Chaplins! There were a lot of contests, competitions, some of them ended up being musical. Our company ended up winning! Yay! We had an awesome final contest entry, but I have to say it was thanks to effort from everyone. Really, everyone had something to add, and that's what made it work. Good stuff. What? Okay.

In addition to all the crazy school and retreat stuff, there is work. So the magical new set of hours I got to work fits exactly with the time I have to do my thesis. Isn't that splendid? Things couldn't have worked any other way! Which means I may not be able to help finish the work project completely on time. Which makes me sad. It's still Lent. But on the other hand, even if that doesn't pan out, I got a completely random job offer from some friends who I've known for years. They started their own company and it's been working for them rather well. Apparently they're going to need a Java telecom/security specialist, and I just happen to fit that mold. So they asked me - nine months, good work, probably good pay. I just love it when good things land on me. Which doesn't happen TOO often, so I do appreciate it VERY much. I'll meet with them this week sometime, find out the details. We'll see what happens.

Ah, but today it's been super busy with thesis stuff. Trying to write a paper. Mission Improbable. I'm up to eleven pages, and I'll probably have at least four more by the time I meet with my advisor. So that's not TOO shabby, I think. I'm looking forward to the coding part. It's in C! Well, C++. I like C++. It's fast. And complicated enough to make you feel accomplished when you write something functional and efficient. So I'll be writing lots of code. Yay! (If doing the gruntwork of your major/degree makes you say "Yay", then you're probably on the right track.) Do you want to learn more about C++? Need a reference, perhaps?

Ugh. All thesis means none of anything else. No work, no kung fu... it's like a vacation, except it's FULL of WORK. So it's not really like a vacation AT ALL. Eh, oh well. And I need some sleep, so I'm going to get it. And you need a random link. Something I was pointed to a while ago was an interesting page. Although it's not always nice or polite, so you've been warned.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 3:14 AM | 0 comments