My Shit

I like hiking. I'm out of shape. When I go hiking my shoulders and hips hurt from the weight of the pack. I lug a pack around every day for school. I put a 10lb weight in my pack last night to help build myself up for regular hiking. Today was a short day, and things seemed to work out well. Maybe in a week or so I'll add in some more weight.

So I've been driving the girlfriend's car (fun because it is stick and mine is broke again), but it pulls to the left. Today it rained and it has NO wet traction. I decided to look at the tires. Now, I had said that the car might pull to one side or the other because of a bad tire, but with today's technology that seemed highly unlikely. Well, with having such horrible wet traction I decided to look at the tires to see if one was slick or something. I have to take back what I said about new tire technology. That is only true if you buy name brand tires. The tires on the girlfriend's car, and I kid you not, are called (are you ready for this?) fate-O tires.

A new set of front tires and a front end alignment are two likely upcoming events for the new used Mazda.

Holy Crap

I think one of the greatest days in my life was the day I realized that I was invincible. I simply came to the realization that there was nothing the world had yet handed to me that I had not dealt with. I do understand that there are things I cannot handle, but all of the little things I had worried about for so long just suddenly became rather unimportant. It was a really good day. Occasionally I have to remind myself that I really can do just about anything I want, and many of those things, I can do very well.

I think everyone should come to this realization. It is quite uplifting and provides such a sense of freedom. It, unfortunately, seems to be something that someone has to come to on their own, and I doubt many really do. I don't know if I would call it self-confidence, though that may be all that it is. It sure feels like more the self-confidence. It is also something quite a bit less than arrogance. Just because you feel like this doesn't mean you cannot still behave in a humble manner.

To change your life, first change your mind.

I'm not used to the short Thanksgiving Break. At RHIT the Thanksgiving break marked the end of the quarter and entailed about two weeks off. Now, here at Georgia Tech it is just a few days off. I enjoy the additional amount of time in each class to learn stuff, but having two weeks off from school right now would be great. I really want to go hiking, and that isn't going to happen.

Oh well, back to the writing ...

Nothing to report; I've just been working my ass off.

If you must have tidbits of information I will provide you with the following:

• Atlanta was recently ranked as one of the nations most unsafe cities
• Dr. Mason got a chance to speak on the television show called Inside Indiana Business about the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology MSEM program (of which I am a 2004 graduate)

Alright, back to the work.                     /free time

One of my biggest complaints about my iBook was that it wouldn't drive dual displays in an expanded mode. In other words, when I plugged in an external monitor all I got on my external screen was a mirror image of what was on the laptop screen. The PowerBooks, and other nice computers, will actually allow you expand the desktop across two screens.

As it would turn out, there is a hack that allows a person to modify their iBook so that it will drive two displays. I don't know why, but Apple actually puts the same video chip into their low end and high end stuff. All it takes is one simple program and boom, I can have an expanded desktop too.

I promised myself that I would not have any alcohol after the wedding stuff was over until sometime this weekend. I just have too much going on. I did real good even after I got home from my Two-Test-Day-Of-Hell. I did some reading and took care of some stuff, but by 10pm I was just finished (the normal life of the PhDBoy doesn't usually end until midnight or 1am). I just had to stop and take a break (break meaning fold and hang all of my laundry) and then watch some TV. Two Martinis helped my cause. Now I'll be good again. Good good good.

I am still alive. My head is still above water but only just.

This past weekend, where I had to go out of town for a Monday wedding, was ... not exactly what I had hoped for.

Now I have two tests today. One down and one to go. I think I over studied for the first. But I may have under studied for the second. I've got two and a half hours to try to make up for that deficit.