Well, it outlasted most of our expectations, but alas, the Pretzel place is gone. No more walking past an empty storefront and feeling sorry for the owners, no more "I'll buy a pretzel next time I'm drunk", no more hot girl at the counter.

Now that I think about it, I've never bought a pretzel from that place before.

A sense of loss.

There has been some resentment on the OS newsgroup about the midterm. Many people complained that it was too long, and that it had material not discussed in class.

Ragde also had an interesting discussion about random acts of violence on Friday. Was the Algorithms midterm a random act of violence? Or is expecting too little from the students and then handing them the marks the real random act of violence? If we all know that the marks will be "adjusted" at the end of the course, and no more than, say, 20% of the class will fail, then what's the point of exams? Really, it's more of a formality than a necessity.

Many people have been complaining about the accessibility of education. But is totally accessable education the ideal? Won't people just delay their entry into the real world by going to "free" university? I'm sure there are a lot of people in university today who don't really want to be here, but are pressured either by family or society. What good does it do them now that they're in university? Would their post-secondary education really teach them something they don't want to learn? Does it really benefit society after the university hands them a degree for not failing the courses they weren't allowed to fail by unspoken policy?

I'm going to make a resolution to stop complaining about my education, and actually try to make something of it.

Algorithms is in 18 hours. Ragde said that it will be difficult, and there is no filler. This worries me, as he also said that Eugene Zima, the other instructor in the course, could not immediate do some of the questions he came up with.

I'm afraid that there won't be enough time to finish the exam, and/or I won't be able to come up with the algorithms/proofs/analysis. And if I don't do well on this one, it'll bring me to an all time low on exam performance, since I don't think msci and OS went that well, and graph theory on Monday definitely won't.

Oktoberfest photos from the Karlsberghaus.

The weirdest that happened at the Aud was that I bumped into someone I hadn't seen in about 5 years. I still can't believe he recognized me, cause I wouldn't have recognized him.

OS is tomorrow, Algorithms is on Thursday. I'm dead.

Add to the list of "Ming hates ..." people who crowd directly outside of busy doors in between lectures.

When I have to walk halfway across campus in 10 minutes (possibly 5 because the prof gave "bonus" lecture time), and there is a human obstacle course in my way, it makes me mad. If you want to talk to your friends, go off to one side, and chit chat all you want, don't stand right in front of the doors and block my shortest path to the next classroom. It's like the grade nine kids just starting highschool, and how they either always gather in the middle of the hallway, or sit directly in front of my locker.

And why do we have philosophy classes in the Math and Computer building, and math courses in the engineering building? It doesn't optimize my walking at all. Those planners really fucked up this time. It's not even that hard of a problem, keep the math courses in the math building, and the others can go wherever they want. My dream would be to never have to leave the MC at all for any of my courses.

Rob from Survivor: "I don't really like you, so I'm voting you out. Nothing Personal."

Maybe that's why they have the substring "moron" in the word oxymoron.

I walked across the grass today on campus. It felt fake, like those sheets of imitation grass they put on floats where all the blades are plastic. It's weird how southern Ontario gets the double "green" season, one at the beginning of summer when all the flowers blossom and fields turn green after a harsh winter of sleet and snow. Then July and August rushes around the corner, and the blaring sun dries everything out, and the dull brown patches begin to take over the landscape. But in September and October, the rainy season passes by again, and everything is lush and green.

On a different note, being grown up is a lot harder than I perceived it to be. When you were little, you couldn't care less about what you did. There were no consequences (outside of a slight whopping), and there were no repercussions. But in the adult world, one has to watch one's actions. And if a consequence turns out differently from the expectations, one ponders on where one went wrong. This complicated schema is beginning to get to me. It is reaking havoc on my mental state, and is affecting my though patterns. Maybe I overthink things, but I don't think I can be an adult anymore.

I had it all figured out that I'd do so much homework during my time home. I'd finish my two C&O assignments for sure, and start on CS.

Alas, I had forgotten that every other time I come home, I get absolutely no work done, and this time is no different. Now it's quarter after 12 on a Monday morning, and I'm feeling a little stressed. Especially with 3 assignments due next week and 3 midterms the week after. That and I have an OS project to do, as well as a MSCI case study to prepare.

I should really stop whining and just do some work. But it's late, so maybe I'll sleep on that idea.

The dean of math wants a meeting with me. Does that mean I'm in trouble?

Bomber without drinks is just not as fun as Bomber with drinks (had to code and debug, couldn't drink). It's 2 am, and we're still at the lab, testing our OS.

We're on a tight schedule, alpha last night, beta tonight, production tomorrow (actually today now that I think about it).

Raptors.

I feel like I have nothing to say. Out of touch with the world. I often feel this way when I'm in school. I get so caught up with assignments, projects, readings that never get done, relationships that never exist, and going out to get drunk, that I feel uninformed. The only major events I know are what Regis and Kelly tell me every morning at 9 am when I wake up, walk down the stairs, careful not to bump my head on the ceiling, grab my cup of milk, and sit in front of the television. When I come back from campus every night, it's dinner, more homework, some TV (lots of TV on Thursdays), and sleep.

I don't know how people manage to do so much extra curricular stuff during school terms. All these people playing sports, joining clubs, volunteering. I wish I could do those fruitful things too, but I always feel I either don't have the time or the motivation. It's probably mostly the motivation, but I've been very busy this term with school.

I can see my rant coming to an end because I really don't have anything else to say.

Adam is famous.

I've been deathly sick this week. Waking up in the middle of the night and coughing my self to sleep. It seems that everyone around campus is sick too (and the majority of my housemates). Everyday in class, all I hear is sniffing noses, dry coughs, and sneezes.

Funny how the change of season brings on a flood of viruses.

I just remembered that a couple of days ago, as I was walking home from school, listening to J Ralph's One Million Miles Away, two Jettas zoomed by me. I thought it was rather humourous.

If you didn't think it was, then watch this commercial.