This term has worn me out quicker than the traditional high-school three-mile run. And it hasn’t even really started yet.

MATH 451: Numerical Linear Algebra: I actually took this class for a week last year, so starting this year off with it was an odd sort of deja vu. Friendly faces include Yayoi (from the glory days of Advanced Calculus, though I’m probably butchering the spelling of her name), Ryan (sports a ‘fro, and provided colorful commentary in Topology last year), and That Girl (“know her face, don’t know her name”). Before class, That Girl commented that Ryan was awesome; Ryan immediately responded with “I know.” There was a good three second pause, and then three of us (Ryan, Some Guy, and I) all instantaneously burst out laughing. Dr. Faridani sports a German accent, but seems to be genuinely nice and makes sense. Too bad I don’t remember any linear algebra, and I don’t know thing one about MATLAB. Part of this week’s task is to start becoming familiar with both.

MATH 463: Intro to Probability: I’m auditing this class, since I took it last year. (I hope to jump into 464 next term, but I realize that I remember nothing of the subject.) Dr. Thomann has a Spanish accent, and made much less sense than I would have hoped—I was able to follow along, but only because I recalled the material. I can’t imagine learning it the first time this way, which bodes poorly for next term. Hopefully this’ll improve with time. Both Ryan and That Girl made a repeat appearance.

Lunch: I had an hour off at noon, and so wandered over to the Commons to get a slice of pizza. As I walked over, at five-past, I noticed that there was a sizable group of people calmly walking around campus. I became afraid for my lunch at that point; my fears were confirmed when I walked into the Commons and saw lines extending halfway across the room. I never got lunch. Instead I wandered into the Bookstore and had a look at the computers again—where I noticed there was a G5 box on the floor. Curious, I looked at the specs: dual 2.0 GHz processors!

MATH 440: Computational Number Theory: Ryan and That Girl were in this class, as well. The professor, Dr. Schmidt, was quite engaging and looks to be a good professor. I’m guessing this will be my easiest course, as it seems like a decent chunk of the material was previously covered in MTH 399/355. (440 is also for CS majors and others, so not everyone will have had this other class…something I’m banking on, in my assessment.)

BA 352: Organizational Behavior: The course appears to be acronym bin-laden (as Lee would say); the professor refers to the subject as “O.B.”. Much of it seems pointless, and it definitely has a group-work flavor. I sat between Amy, an attractive girl who just couldn’t keep her foot still, and Yunho, a student from Korea who arrived in the U.S. two weeks ago. Yunho, as you might guess, hadn’t quite gotten used to English—but he did a pretty good job, regardless. He hasn’t quite figured out when to keep his mouth shut, though, as he would actually chortle (when I just mentally sighed) when something stupid was said by the professor or a student. The students are all basically younger than me, which somehow makes me care less about what they think, and thus makes it easier for me to speak up and say whatever I want.

Afternoon Exercise: The way I acquired my G4 computer, four years ago, was by walking into the Computer Base one day and noticing that the model I wanted was in a box lying on the ground. After a quick consultation with my dad, I went back and flashed my credit card. Monday I went through the same process, except this time I got a G5. (Yes, my wang just got three inches longer.) I’ll post a picture of my new baby, later.

Problem is, the G5 is one heavy mutha. I completely wore my arms out carrying it to the car, and then downstairs. On the plus side, I did wipe all the dust from the various cords resting behind my desk. On the minus side of that, I took three years off my life by doing so. [Incidentally, the reason I wasn’t really online last night—most notable in the lack of an entry to the blog—was because I didn’t have the computer set up at the time.]

BA 325: Intro to Tax: Taught by Michele, who taught my basic accounting class way back when I started in business. The class looks like it will require a lot of work, but was otherwise hilarious—Michele is quite entertaining. I sat in the wrong seat, and soon found myself charged with the task of bringing Michele a copy of the Barometer every class period. (If I fail, I’ll be sent to get one during the break.) Amy sat to my left, and seemed to be in better control of her foot today.

PAC 160: Ballroom III: This class is all good, save for the fact that I don’t remember anything about dance. That was kind of ugly, though I suspect that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t remember jack. A good third of the gals are ones I’ve had in previous dance classes (some from ages ago), which means I might actually be able to remember their names before the tenth week. Saw Naman on my way out, and chatted for a bit…another person I know! Of course, Naman’s now a grad student….

This evening I made time to go visit the UHC barbecue, where I saw a few (a real few, actually) friendly faces: most notably Kalan and Britt (who were cooking burgers), and Rachel and Caroline (who were eating burgers…I’m so clever). I also met Eric Hill, the new writing instructor for the UHC. Nice guy. Had fun working on various thought-puzzles he would provide me [three guys with three hats, either black or white. Asked to raise their hand if they can see a black hat; all three raise their hands. Asked if they know the color of their hat; one says yes, and then the others do. What were the hat colors?] Lots of fun, but it kinda put off some Organizational Behavior reading. I hate that stuff.

And, last but not least: is there anything that anime can’t make better?

Kidding! I’m kidding! Dang.