I just got back from my Computational Media final, which marks my last final this semester. This week has been hectic to say the least, but all seems well and good now. I even passed computer science which was by far a shock to me. The past few days I have been pulling all-nighters back to back. Last night, the fire alarm went off not once, not twice but three times – all after midnight. After coming back from my final this morning, it had gone off yet again. Gah. To top that off, earlier in the week, East Campus and the library completely lost power around midnight. That must have been a horrible situation for those that had finals in the morning.
The third fire alarm on Thursday night, around 2am.
Finals week wasn’t all study study though. I got a few chuckles in the library bathroom after seeing this. I also spotted a stall where someone had written “Georgia Tech: Where your best hasn’t been good enough since 1883.” That’s the kind of the you see sprout up during finals when stress is at its peak.
UGA is Georgia Tech’s rival.
So, what did I learn this semester you ask? LCC2700 taught me that computers are a powerful medium which can be used to express things and concepts about ideas in the surrounding world. LCC2400 clued me in on all the different types of media, their history and their evolution while I informed the class about blogging, Web 2.0 and podcasting. HPS1040 is a required class for all majors and told me to exercise and not eat fast food, as fortified by watching Supersize Me in class last week. HIST2112 taught me how to think historically and that your professor can remember who you are based on the hat you always wear, which comes in handy when he needs to bump your borderline grade up. Finally, CS2260 taught me that I really don’t like C programming for media device architectures, that C has horrible type checking and that it is vital to procure smart friends in any computer science course from early on.
A bright student teaching the class at a midterm review session
Outside of class I learned that living on campus is just about the worst decision any student can make. We’ve had the toilet explode, the toilet flush itself continually on its own, the A/C not work for months at a time and the lightbulbs go out at the most inopportune times. Having other three roommates doesn’t help either (sorry dan, matt, chris). Toilet paper was always scarce with one of us often making midnight runs to Publix in times of crisis. Sharing a mini-fridge seemed impossible at times, with people overbuying every week and having to waste the extra food. There was always that three month old half-gallon of milk rotting away in the corner of the fridge as well. That didn’t help the smell too much. The new College of Computing or “SuperCoC” construction has left debris in the road, putting two nails in my tires while the parking dept. has given me tickets within a paid parking deck.
The great toilet flood of February 2006.
No matter how hard I try, cooking is an impossible feat.
I found an answer to my hypothesis that geeks suck at dodgeball intramurals (we do). I completed my thesis on how much dining hall food sucks. Finals are a meal best taken with caffeine and written finals are the worst kind of finals.
Notice cupcake, cheese and bread. They had nothing else to eat.
Finals fuel.
For my LCC2700 final.
Now comes the task of dismantling my electronics, packing away my gadgets and compressing them into my car for the 14 hour journey to Houston that shall commence on Saturday. I need to defrost and move my 5.5 cu. ft. freezer across campus so that Chris can store it at his frat over the summer. Once all of this comes to fruition, then and only then can I get back into my normal blogging schedule. Many things have piled up in my mind over the last week or two. I can assure you I have some top-notch content waiting to take off. After that, this is what I have to look forward to… off-campus housing!
1231 sq. ft., 3 floors, a deck and a garage.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
If it provides you any comfort, the same crap (fire alarm, no good food) happened when I was living on campus at the University of Minnesota. I thought it was ironic that the nights I cared most about sleep (finals week) were the nights where the fire alarm was most likely to go off.
So Blue Books have a cutesy slogan now? There is nothing I want to see _less_ on a frickin’ Blue Book.
Hah, what a fun experience… I especially agree with the living on-campus. Not only am I off campus, I’m not even living in Boulder. I hope the toilet was only full of water when it flooded…
I think I just lost a whole comment. Anyways, here it is again…
Grats on being done with your finals. Your classes look more difficult than mine… oh well, I’ll enjoy it :P. Yeah, dorms were really crammed for me last year. I got out of there as quickly as I could. Your upcoming place really looks nice… what’s with 3 stories for just two people… lucky!
Anyways, enjoy being done! I still have 5 weeks left… *sigh*.
man, envious. still have all my insanity yet to come.
the photos are cool.
@Zach: Akismet accidentally caught it and when I went to retreive it I accidentally hit delete all… doh.
I’m jealous of your new place. I’m living in a 850ft^2 one bedroom with no garage, and no outdoor place for my grille.
To top it off, I’m paying ~$1200 a month split between my girlfriend and I.
Granted, I am about 4 blocks from the beach though :-)
California sucks at times.
$999 per month divided by 3 people =D
Where is the off campus housing? I am still the last person on the housing wait list and probably won’t get it. I am looking for alternatives.
Centennial Place, a 5 minute walk from the football stadium.
Kudos on your finals, I just started studying, and home work already on the first day. Anyway, hope your toilet was not a smelly one. Look on the bright side, at least, you weren’t studing on the floor and fell asleep, wouldn’t have been the “wet dream” you were looking for
Congrats! I finished my “real” finals on Tuesday, but turned in my take-home, Calc.II final yesterday. What’s with your course numbers? “In the West,” ours are six digits, like MTH242, not LCC7000 (refrigerator? :P).
That looks like a nice piece of bread too. Certainly nicer than our tacos (the only meal served 3 times a day, 7 days a week!)!
Lol..somehow, I’m glad I finished university a month ago, even if I didn’t experience all the above problems.
(mainly because university was like 500m from home)
Congrats for getting a year closer to the real world. :) It’s been fun to see first-hand (if you can call you telling me stories through AIM first-hand) the experiences at a larger college than my alma madder.
Although the slogan “use your imagination” on the top of the dreaded blue books scare me. Like… if you do badly on your exams for writing about kitties and flying dogs, then you can blame the book. Well, then that’s not such a bad thing. :)
Sorry that you’ll have to miss DriftAtlanta though. Don’t worry, you won’t miss it THAT much.
Update: I’m somewhere in Alabama where I’ll be staying the night. At least there’s wifi…
Have a safe trip home!
Paul, 333 a month for that area? Sounds great. Up in the U.P. of Michigan, we’d pay about $200 a month to split a joint between 3 guys. Not bad. I’m sure that area is much more modern that Houghton, MI.
Enjoy your summer, Paul.
Blue Book’s have slogans? Oh god… That’s nearly as bad as the, “Shoot for your best” on the CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System) answer sheets…
Congratulations though, I’ll be in college eventually.
Congrats for finishing your finals Paul! :)
What are you up to now?! I love your, finals fuel, i’m gonna do just that and spread the word. Thanks
You’re lucky you could afford to live on-campus or move out. Due to Sydney’s extortional rental rates (try $AU150 + utilities for something really basic near my uni… that’s a week… per person…) I had the joy of travelling 3-4 hours a day in total to and from my uni. I would have loved to move closer, but finances prevented it.
Anyhow – enjoy the break + the new place.
I am very suprised that our dorm’s fire alarms have not gone off yet. Last sememster they went off over 13 times. Congrats on finishing Finals! I have two more to go.
Hey, thanks for the K2 tips, they came in handy for me today! Keep up the great work!
Well done Paul!
Your photos have given me great ideas on how to attract traffic at the next career fair I work at Tech. :)
Cheers!
Oh yeah, you should check out Cooking For Engineers if you want to rectify your cooking deficiencies.