Category Archives: College

Back Home, Small World

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There was an AudioBlog here, but I wasn’t that impressed with it, and so I dissapeared it. 🙂 It’s still around, so if you want to hear it, let me know.

I came back from Youth and Gov today. I had a good time, all in all. I got there about 11:30 Thursday, and saw a few sessions, talked with Brionna in the Governor’s Office for quite a while, watched debate on several bills, and generally just hung out.

They were in the capitol building this year, after two years in temporary facilities. Normally, they use the Capitol, but in 2001, there was a serious earthquake, and the Capitol sustained some pretty serious damage. The 2001 session, the year before I joined, was at a college because they were still assessing the damage, but the capitol was open for the 2002 session, and we were the last to use it before they closed it for a long overdue renovation, which forced the last two sessions to use the same temporary quarters that the legislators were using–they were a bit tight on space, though. Anyway, it was good to be back in the Capitol Building.

I went up to Nathan R.’s house for the night, which worked out well. It was a bit more of a drive than I anticipated, and there was road construction by his exit, and although traffic wasn’t that bad by city standards, there were still a lot of cars to deal with, so the trip up there was a bit interesting. I made it safely, though, and Nathan and I ended up disassembling his computer and then putting it back together, and trying to install a new motherboard in between. It didn’t boot properly, but we’re not sure what was wrong, other than the computer never even displayed the BIOS on the screen. I’ve never taken a motherboard out before, so it was a learning experience. Good thing for Google, though, as we disconnected the wires to the front panel, and then realized that it wasn’t as simple as it looked to re-connect them. And they are important–they connect to things like the power button.

This morning, I discovered that it is a small world. Nathan’s next-door neighbor stopped by for a few minutes, and we discovered that he had gone to high school with man that works with my dad. Weird the way things work out like that.

I went back to Olympia today, with mainly a repeat of yesterday. The Governor’s Office was busier today, but also better organized. I watched the Governor’s press conference, and then decided to leave (it was about 3) so I wouldn’t hit the Friday night traffic too bad. I got really tired on the way home, so I pulled over, intending to take a short nap, but I couldn’t sleep at all. I got some food from a convenience store, and was not sleepy the rest of the trip home (2hrs). Traffic wasn’t bad for me, with the exception of a 2 mile stretch of Highway 14, from I-205 to 164th, which crawled at about 5-10 mph.

I’m glad I went, I got to talk to a lot of people that I remembered from previous years, and see the program continue on. It’s not as exciting when you’re not a participant, and if I’m not some sort of an advisor next year, I probably wouldn’t go. I’m hoping something can be worked out, though. I don’t know if there’s any way I could attend any of the events before the real session, though. Of course, I don’t know why I’m worrying about that before the session is even over.

When I got home, my mom had me call a man from church, who apparently is looking for someone to move a bunch of wood chips and debris left over from having two trees cut down. He wanted me to work on it, as he can’t do it all himself, so I’m going to be working on that tomorrow. I’m not sure how big of a project it is, but I guess I’ll find out when I get there.Speaking of work, I stopped by the store on my way home, and got my schedule–I start working there again Thursday. For some reason, I’m almost dreading it, although I never had that feeling when I was working there last summer. We’ll see if this continues after I actually get started. I’m currently scheduled on one freight shift, which means that I get to arrive at 5 in the morning on Monday to unload the semi and stock the shelves. And once you get set in a pattern, Troy usually sticks with it. This part, I’m really not looking forward to.

Seeing as it’s nearly 11, and I was falling asleep earlier, and I’m going to be working tomorrow, I wish you all a good night.

–Nathan

Dead Week

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Being that finals are next week, I probably won’t be doing much with the website in the next few days. I have a project due Thursday for my engineering course, but it is simply to turn in corrected versions of three assigments done over the course. They were done on computer, so it should be pretty simple.
Then on Friday, I have a 5-6 page paper about the book we read in English. He mentioned earluer in the year that he would push it out until the time alloted for that class’s final, which is next Monday, but last Monday, he seemed to have changed his mind.
Also on Friday, I have due the last CS program, but it looks like it might be pretty complicated. The paper is due by 5pm, and the CS program is due by midnight, via e-mail.

Then the exams. Monday at 8:00 is english, but the paper is the final for that class. At 10:30, I have the Physics final. 8:00 Tuesday is my Calculus final, and the CS final is at 10:30 Tuesday. At 12:30 Tuesday, I am done with all work for the semester.

Not sure how long I am staying on here–I don’t want to leave too early, so maybe wednesday or thursday. I still have to pack up everything in the room, so I do need some time, and I will probably want to sleep sometime. Of course, if I get packed, I can sleep at home too…

At any rate, I best get to bed so that I can get a good start in the morning. I may post updates as things get completed, if I feel like it.

Until next week,
–Nathan

Founders Day

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Today was Founders Day here, so we didn’t have class. There were several sessions, where Seniors from various majors presented things about their senior project. I went to two of the four Engineering sessions. I had thought about going to the one at 9 this morning, and actually set my alarm so I would be up in time to attend, but decided when I got up that I wasn’t that interested in going and slept for another hour. I went to see one of the 10:15 sessions, and got there a few minutes late. There were a bunch of people crowded around outside the door the website said the presentation was in, and I decided I didn’t want to bother going through all that hassle, especially because I wasn’t sure if I could go in late, or if they were also waiting for a good time to enter. I wandered a bit, and found a paper program. I determined that the presentation was actually in a different room, and so I went to see it. I saw about half of one group’s presentation, about a highway intersection realignment, and all of the second group’s, about a aerial tram connecting the two campuses of a local teaching hospital, OHSU. One campus is at the top of a hill, and the other is at the bottom, near the river an across the interstate highway. There are currently plans to build a tram, but this group designed their own. It was actually pretty interesting. Then lunch, and then I went to another session, this time presenting a remotely controlled submarine and a web based schedule forecasting program. The idea being that if students plan out their entire schedule a few years in advance, they can check for conflicts, and faculty can see which courses will be in demand which semesters, and can see how many students are planning on taking specific combinations of classes in a certain semester, therefore minimizing time conflicts. The software isn’t completely done yet, and I doubt that I’ll be using this program anytime soon, but it’s sure a good idea.

I also went to see the mock-trial program put on a umm…Mock Trial. Interesting, and something I might look into to get involved with. More likely not, but it does look like a bit of fun.

I wrote the following yesterday, but forgot to publish it. I think there was some sort of point that I was getting to, but it is now lost forever.

The weather here the last few days has been pretty erratic. This afternoon is beautiful, and I took several pictures around campus that will be posted in the coming days, but I’m going to go on a bike ride while the weather holds. Yesterday, we had a few downpours, followed by sunbreaks, followed by hail, followed by whatever hadn’t happened in the last few hours, and so on. Today was supposed to be more of the same, but it looks good for now. We’ ll see if I regret this this evening. I’m taking the camera, but my destination is to Fred Meyer. I actually might continue on to St. Johns park again, this time in the daylight, depending on weather and how I’m holding up. Anyways, I’m off.

[Edit 4:36 pm: As soon as I got out the door, I realized that it was starting to rain. And the incoming clouds were solid gray. I guess I missed my chance.]

Birthday Poster

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My birthday posterAs mentioned, this is the less than flattering picture posed in at least two places around campus on my birthday. This particular picture was at the front desk of Villa.

I’ve been posting more pictures recently. I like doing it, and I think I will continue to do so. I think I’ll try to keep pictures and content in seperate posts, just to keep things a bit clearer. The weeds post was an anomaly, because I was trying to save my 100th post for my birthday.

One More Inch

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Okay, this one needs an explanation. Cean W. (my roommate next year), and Matt K. are trying to put the velcro covered bean bag they’re holding on the central velcro thing, and whoever puts it further wins. The bungee is quite strong. It looks like Cean (left) is winning by a mile, but he actually only won by a fraction of an inch, as Matt kept on chugging. A photo finish.

[Edited to put the missing words into the sentence, and to fix the link to the large picture.]

My Birthday Details

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So after I posted the last post, I had Physics, and then went to dinner with a whole bunch of people. I’m starting to become friends with this crowd, and hanging out with them is fun. After dinner, I was in my room playing a video game when Andy, Jake, and I think Michael came in and started shooting me with a little cap gun. (Jake bought a few at the dollar store the other day, and there have been several minor skirmishes in the last few days.) I think I mentioned Jake having shot at me early in the morning. Someone tosssed me a gun, shouting “defend yourself” I started shooting at them, and they ran down the hall. I chased them, and soon we were out into the lobby. Then Jake looked inside, because the doors were closed, and said something like “the obsticle course isn’t quite ready” I didn’t know anything about an obsticle course, but it sounded decent, and then Jake said that Andy and I should go in one door, and he and the other preson would go in the other. We went in, and I saw that the couches had been moved a bit. Then everyone stood up from behind the couches and said “Happy Birthday”.

It was a surprise party. All told, there were about 20 or so there, and they had a cake and a card. We ate some cake, and everyone was still shooting at one another. There was also a pillow fight. About the time the cake was served, my parents called me from San Diego on their vacation. I talked a few minutes, and returned to the party. I called them back later for a longer chat.

All in all, it was a really good birthday. Having that many people show up for my birthday really is a boost to the self esteem. I really like it here.

Happy Birthday to Me! (100th post)

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Yeah, so I could have certainly have come up with a better title, but it serves its purpose.

Registered today, so I have classes for next semester. The online registration wouldn’t accept my PIN this morning, so I went to the Engineering building and registered in person. I discovered that theology 101, a core (and thus required) class, was almost entirely reserved for freshmen, with only 10 slots left available. Kitty, the lady who does Engineering registration, was going to talk with someone to see if I have to wait until after May when they know how many freshmen we have, or if she can register me anyway. I just sent her off an e-mail.

I remember being surprised last year, but this year I more or less expected it–I’m a year older, but I feel pretty much the same as I did yesterday. Nothing all that special about 19 in the States, although everyone keeps pointing out that I can now drink in Canada. That is, of course, when I go to Canada, which could be a while. Like, more than 2 years…

Yesterday after the hall mass, I brought down the cake my mom sent me when I came back from Easter, to share it with everyone. It went over pretty well.

Today, several people have wished me a happy birthday, and I’m wondering if I should be worried about later. I was up at midnight, and about 12:15, Jake and a few others came into my room with little cap guns, trying to sneak up on me. Jake fired, and pegged me right between the eyes. (There was no chance of injury, the rubber bullets don’t really get going very fast, but it is still surprising to see it coming.) Everyone keeps warning me about my 19 birthday spankings coming, but I’m pretty sure that they’re joking serious, as opposed to really serious. Nevertheless, I’ll keep an eye out for the rest of the day.

I did have one pretty good birthday present today. I had a CS test, and after the test, the professor gives you the answers as you head out the door. I got all sis questions correct. There was one thing I forgot the syntax for, so I guessed, but I got that right, too. Not bad for a present, if you ask me. Now I just need to repeat that for my calc test tomorrow.

Not too much new to report.

–Nathan

Next Year

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Well, it’s official. I’ve signed a contract for my room next year. WE ended up with the room I wanted. I would say “room we wanted”, but Cean decided that it was my decision to choose the particular room. I had been pretty open about which wing, and he declared that he wanted to room in 2B/C. He said several times “I picked the wing, you pick the room”, and “I’ll be happy with whatever you pick”. It wasn’t so bad when he was planning to be gone, but plans changed and he was there after all. I had a signed form naming me as his proxy, which would have allowed me to sign his contract for him, and thus pick a room on my own. (All roommates are required to be present when picking a room, unless they have a proxy.) I feel like he would have preferred a different room, but didn’t want to say anything. I was thinking that we wanted a room in B wing, with the modular furniture, which allows more flexibility in how the room is arranged, and allows changes any time you feel like dragging the furniture around. He said something about wanting a river view, but when I asked him if he wanted one, he backpedalled and left the decision to me. As the view is not particularly breathtaking, and would have required a C wing room, I decided to go with room 227, which happens to be the room directly above Cean’s current room. Because I felt like it, here’s a diagam of Villa:

Villa layout.This year, I live at the green star, on the first floor (which is actually one story above ground level in C wing. The red letters are the wing designations, and I marked where the RA rooms are. The hall director is on the first floor, the AHD on the second. Next year, I will live at the blue star, on the second floor. If you hadn’t guessed, the front door is right where it says lobby. There is another door you can enter downstairs by the parking lot. The river runs roughly parallel to C wing, and off the bottom of the image. Obviously, scale is a bit off, as the halls are all about the same width.

I expressed an interest in being on the welcoming crew, and will find out about that next week. The welcoming crew moves in a week early, and assists the freshmen in getting their stuff to their rooms, as well as doing all the decoration for the move-in. There is a contest among all the dorms to have the most/best decorations at move in, and welcoming crew is a coveted position. I suppose it is partly because you get to come back (or leave home) earlier.

Not much new to report.

–Nathan

Housing Selection

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The other day, I mentioned to Celtic that I was in the process of picking my room and roommate. Earlier this evening, she left me this comment:

wait – you get to choose rooms and stuff? You’re going to know before you even leave for the summer? Huh? How does that work? Is it one of those schools where every single student lives in residence the whole entire time they’re a student there?

This sounds so incredibly odd to me.

If the process is confusing to her, it is undoubtedly confusing to others, too, so I will attempt to explain it here.

The process begins a few weeks ago, when everyone decides where they will be rooming next year. If you will be off campus, then you are done with the process. Those who wish to room in the row housing (townhouse style) submit their applications just before spring break, and choose rooms the week they get back. You choose the group you would like to room with, and each group gets a point total, based on the number of credits passed, the number of transfer, AP, and IB credits, and the number of semesters previously lived in the row housing or on campus. There is a big selection night, and the group with the highest total picks first, until all the rooms are filled. Anyone who didn’t fit, or anyone left over (if a group of 7 winds up with a room for 6) can go for singles there, and anyone left over at the end has about 2 days to fill out an application for the traditional halls (dorms). Again, points re awarded, 50 for coming back to the same hall the first year, and 25 for each additional year you come back, as well as 10 points for each semester lived in University owned housing, one point per credit passed, and per IB or AP credit, and half a point per transfer credit. It is heavily weighted to people who are returning to the same hall, and to upperclassmen living on campus. Tomorrow night is selection night. They go down the list of people in order of points, (which has been posted, along with a map of rooms that are available), and when your name is called, you and your roommate(s) choose a room. It is done by highest individual point total, not group total.

If you are going to be a Junior or above, you have the option to “squat”, which means that if you can find enough roommates to fill your room, you can keep it out of the general pool.

This leads to quite a bit of figuring how high you (or your roommate) are on the list, and who is going for triples, and who wants to room in which wing, and so on. Cean, my roommate, probably had quite a few AP credits, as he has 10 more points than I do. He is ranked 19, and the list starts at 6, (due to people wanting singles and squatters), and counting out triple contenders, we are ranked 8 or so. We have our eyes on a few rooms in particular in B wing, and would certainly like to be in 2B/C. It is rumored that Jake will be in that wing next year. He is my RA now, and I really like him. In honesty, though, it’s not that I dislike the other RA’s, just that I don’t know them very well.

So by this time tomorrow, I will know which room I am in next year, and will have signed a contract and meal plan. I think we have a good shot at one of the better rooms, but if everyone else is looking at one of the same rooms, then we’ll have to go somewhere else. Cean wants to go to another event that night, and has signed a letter to let me choose our room for the two of us. We’ve come to the conclusion that we’ll room somewhere in 2B/C, and that any room is okay with him. I’ll try and get one of the ones in B wing, because they are the modular rooms, and if that fails, one of the larger ones in C wing, where the desks are built in. This means that if you want to loft/bunk the beds, you need to build the loft yourself, which means that re-arranging the room later in the year is out.

On the off chance that someone is really interested in the process, the Office of Res. Life has a website devoted to explaining the details.

I started a post today in CS lab, while I was waiting for the professor to get a chance to verify that my code worked correctly, but about that time, she finally got there, and I only wrote a sentence or so. It turns out that the lab instructions were written for an older version of the program, and part of the lab involved selecting an option that was no longer on the “Tools” menu. She was trying to figure it out, but ended up giving up. She had done it successfully on the computer her office, but she must have had a different version. I eventually did figure it out, with a bit of experimenting, and some help from Google, but it didn’t matter anymore. Oh well, I showed her that I’m capable of figuring things out, I guess. You know, half of the computer stuff I learn is from Google. I don’t know what I would do without it.

Being a Catholic school, we get a 4 day weekend for Easter, which is next Sunday. Classes end at 4pm Thursday, and don’t resume until Tuesday. I’m going home for the weekend, but were I not, I’ve had 2 other invitations to Easter dinner, one specifically to me, and one blanket invitation. But I want to go home, and we’re having some company over there. Not that I have to go home, but that’s always nice, at least for a few days. I can see why some people are so anxious to get back, though.

I’d better get back to work, so that’s all for now.

–Nathan