Well yesterday I finally got my laptop back , which I was very pleased about. I'm back in my virtual element. I am thankful that this time I had a loaner, but a four-year-old, bulky, slow laptop that I wasn't supposed to install too much stuff on just wasn't cutting it anymore. Back in May, my laptop charger broke (it started spitting out sparks and trying to kill me) and due to less-than-careful conditioning practices, my battery life was horrendous. Less than 30 minutes. I needed a charger. The laptop shop was out of both chargers and batteries, so I had to wait 2 or 3 week for them to come in. Unluckily for me, this included FINALS WEEK. Not fun. This time, the problem was more complex, yet it didn't hurt as much. A big portion of my screen effectively died. It was all white. The laptop shop and I both assessed it as a busted video card. They sent it out to IBM for repairs (I'm under warranty for the duration of my STJ career) and gave me an older model to borrow until mine came back. With that in the past, I'm back on track and free to use my own computer once again. If I didn't back up my files to an external hard drive on a semi-regular basis, I don't know what I would have done.
Today, though, I had to take a statistics test. WOW. This test redefined the concept of impossibility for me. I never knew a test could be so awful. There were concepts on that test that the professor assured us we shouldn't study because he didn't feel they were important enough. All tests and quizzes in this class are open-book and open-notes, but even that doesn't help if you don't know how to apply the various concepts and formulas. I don't see how I did well at all. He is infamous for giving epic curves, though. My only hope is that the rest of the class did equally poorly, requiring him to curve the test liberally. We shall see.
And that brings me to now. I'm hanging out in the library at the moment. I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat in a minute, but for now I'm just enjoying one of the few quiet places on campus. Lately I've really been appreciative of quiet. It's a wonderful thing. Loud noises really bother me more than ever before. I've been using my noise-canceling headphones a lot, especially at home.
There's always some kind of noise at home. Someone is always listening to talk radio or music, or watching something on TV or the internet. Not to mention the conversations that always seem to follow me into whatever room I'm seeking refuge in at the moment. It's pretty frustrating. When that happens, I really wish I had my own place. Just being able to control the noise would be totally worth it. Independence, I shall yet attain thee!
Do I sound like a whiney kid? I sure hope not. It's just so annoying sometimes. Off to lunch and then theology. I'll pick up the "Podcastin'" series again soon, I promise! Now that the election is over, I don't have that consuming my mind anymore, so I can get back to blogging for fun. That doesn't mean I'll completely refrain from politics. It just probably won't be the main thing on the brain anymore.
