Good news and bad news

The good news is I'm up early. The bad news is I am also up really late.

I'm really bad at getting work started. Maybe it's that my apartment is not very conducive to studying, especially when there are people around. I think I could have been done with this homework I was doing about 3 hours ago. It's fair to say I might have wasted at least a couple of hours today. Plus the fact that I absolutely had to take a nap when I got home. That was really bizarre, first time that's happened all semester.

One and a half more weeks and we're into exams. That's like, 252 brownies. Embellish to the release :)

My 2006 Finals DVD is HERE!

I picked up my package in the afternoon and immediately ripped the 2005 and 2006 CDs onto my iPod. I listened to Crown 2006 and nearly cried in the computer cluster. Our payoff for the entire summer! Yeah, there's a couple things we wish we could have back, but Matt Harloff said some of the greatest shows ever have moments that the members which they could have back.

As soon as I got home from school and Kiltie Band (It still really sucks, I don't think I'm going to do it second semester. I only really like going to football games.), I watched the DVDs. To sum up:

Shows that I like more than I did this season:
The Cadets - watch the closer high-angle and Alice, pretty cool! I listened to Hop's commentary, knowing full well that it'd be like 2004 when they got 4th: a lot of talk about how the show didn't work!
Santa Clara Vanguard - I had only heard this one from the endzone during the season. They did some cool stuff visually, but I definitely think we were on par with them. I liked it more than I expected I was going to.

Shows that I don't like:
The Cavaliers - My roommate watched the ESPN2 broadcast and when I got my DVD he told me to put the robot people around. I could only watch half of the show when I had to turn it off. Ugh, still can't believe a show like this won.
Blue Knights - the music was kind of cool, but the drill was soooo confusing. I'm still bitter.
BAC - Having finally heard and seen this show........ well, IM me to hear what I think of it.

I have other thoughts... IM me if you want to hear more.

I'm in the process of watching all of the commentary and judge tapes too. Expect little homework to be done this week.

The home stretch

Back at school. I have my first class in 7 hours, but since I haven't gone to that particular class in weeks and have been doing well enough, I may continue enjoying my mornings for the rest of the semester. Plus, gotta watch all the Bob Barker I can before he hangs up his microphone for good.

My DVDs have not come yet! I reeaally want to see them. My friends who have gotten them said Crown sounds and looks pretty good, but there's still some parts we wish we could have back. I mostly want to see the BK lounge (heard they were quite dirty visually, grrr), SCV and BAC (NEVER saw all of their shows).

It's time to buckle down and finish off this semester. I have a 113-exam this week, 73-100 exam next week, two projects due next week, one more 354 hw due this week, and I should be good to go heading into exams. I don't think I will be too overworked, but I think I've tended to be a little bit too optimistic the past couple of months.

Just glad to be able to get my mind on something other than really depressing things like over break. Yeah, it might hit again when I'm home (something about being at home). Maybe it's the fact that I'm not in close contact with friends 24-7 like I am at school, maybe I was just dead bored over break and I spent an inordinate amount of time doing nothing but reflecting (reflection is EMO!). Something's gotta be different when I'm home next time.

Real life

Man, have a neglected this thing.

So what happened this past week? Well, I let work pile up again somehow, and I was programming all weekend. I had a first-round interview with Microsoft for an internship last week, and I'm not sure how it went. I hope it went well, otherwise I need to do some work on how to do a freaking interview!

I'm glad there will only be two weeks in the semester left after this one, because man, am I tired of all the work. Don't see it letting up next semester, but hey, I am just getting my $40,000-a-year's worth.

Crown's first camp was last weekend. Of course I did not attend, since I am not marching. My brother's Phantom Regiment camp is this weekend, he's leaving Friday morning to go to it. I feel more excited than him, if he marches this season I think I'm going to live my would-be season through him.

It feels like all I thought about today was drum corps. My brother's mellophone was out, so I started doing horn moves and body from our show, and I was trying to recount as many tour stories as I could . It kinda carried over into the night when I was out at a movie (Casino Royale) and my mind was wandering into the music (I was thinking about the Cavaliers) and general daydreaming about performing again (more like rehearsing, but the most valuable thing we learned was to practice how you want to perform). I made a drum corps joke and no one (not even my friends who did marching band) got it.

Life without drum corps blows. I miss our world that we lived in for three months, where the most important thing was not hacking or interviews but instead keeping your feet in time, the "pink thing", and that Santa Clara is beating us and that's not okay! The most difficult thing I've ever done actually made life simpler, figure that one out! I didn't have to think about complicated things (that's called a science fair, and we don't like those), just breathe-dah.

Maybe I am having a bad day, maybe I wish I were marching this season (and next season and every season after that as long as my legs would hold out), maybe I just really haven't adjusted to "real life" as well as I should have (call it "drum corps head"). I need something to replace drum corps for at least the next year. It's not even an itch like it was last year, it's a void. I want to feel like I did after the greatest 11 minutes of my life on that Saturday evening in Madison! At the end of Brass Roots on Wednesday night they showed a montage of people at the end of their shows really taking in the moment, and people at retreat sobbing because it's all over. I didn't cry on Finals night like I thought I would (everyone says you will, the biggest clowns and badasses I've ever met cried that day), but it's kind of starting to hit me.

I think once I get my DVD and CDs I might feel better, but who knows, maybe I'll miss it more.

Disappearing act

For the last couple weeks I thought I had a lot of homework. No, THIS week I have a lot of homework. I have an exam tonight, and then 5 assignments due by the ending of the week (CDM Thursday, 2 Econs Friday, Music Systems Friday, 113 Friday) and a big 212 assignment due Sunday. Luckily, I think that will be it until break.

Facebook does not want you to do homework

If you go to your friends page, there's now a tab called "Friends Game" that quizzes you on which of your friends has some text in his profile as a Favorite Movie and various other things. My basic strategy is equating how stupid and general the text is (not kidding, I just answered one that asked who's interest is "hangin' out") with how stupid and general the person is. Now that I've told you this information, go waste an hour of your life trying it out.

Call, raise, or foldr

Yesterday I spent from 6:00pm until 3:00am in the Linux cluster working on the second half of 212 which is due at midnight. Don't worry, I'm done. There was a group of three people in the Linux cluster during that period. I just went in there to grab a pencil that I left there (it is currently 2:00pm), and those three people were there, in the exact same place. I am trying to convince myself that they went home and slept, and that they are not on hour 20 of a marathon programming crunch.

Fruit

I had an interview with Apple today for an internship as a software engineer. I think I did alright. I was asked a lot about Audacity and Allegro and their design, and that was definitely my weakest part since I am actually still trying to figure out what has to be done. I was asked some programming questions which were pretty easy, but almost too easy in that he asked if I learned the solution in a class. Probably should have thought aloud a little more to sound legit. So I definitely think this was more a learning experience than a success. Maybe I'd be better at a Microsoft-style interview with more problem solving.