The calm in the eye of the storm

It's odd. My first day on campus (and the two weeks before, probably) I was worried about a hundred things that now are so commonplace that I just laugh. I was actually worried about getting my books for class. Was worried about finding a bus when I needed it. About walking to class in time. Managing my meal plan. Bah. Piece o' cake.

But of course, I picked up a new set of worries. I've been here a month and I'm already thinking about jobs, internships, co-opping, graduate studies, exams, my gpa...didn't take long. There is hope, however. Cianan (pronounced Kee-nan), my Chem TA, and Ryan Royer, my RA, both helped me realize that this is the end of school. The final stop. No more "working my ass off to get a perfect 4.0" to get to the next school. Of course, that doesn't mean slack off (not that I could if I tried), but it does mean that Purdue is a tough engineering school, and a 3.5 is excellent. Relax a bit, have some fun, do some things besides schoolwork. Cianan put it best, I suppose, when he said "if you get a 4.0 your Freshman year, you're a fuckin' nut case...chill out." So I'm trying to keep things in perspective.

Which is good, because I had an interesting pair of days today and yesterday. Wednesday, of course, is the day before 90% of my week's work is due, so it's my night to stay up late working, which I did. For several hours. I ended up working with Sarah at one point on an Excel based spreadsheet to determine some investment problems...on the way back to my dorm, I definitely tried to hop through a closing door, misjudged it, and got hit in the face with the door. I got back to the dorm and the phone rings. Who calls this late? It's Alisha. She's crying, and stuck on her online chemistry homework that's due in 19 minutes. Strangely enough, I am able to help her (I'm as shocked as you are, folks) and just barely help her solve all the problems in time.

Ran a tad bit late to Calclulus recitation Thursday morning. Then a physics lecture. Then I had an hour before my chemistry lab. Usually this hour is spent doing the prelab...but I napped for half an hour and couldn't figure out the prelab for some reason. Turns out I was doing the wrong experiment. Not "titration with KMnO4" (I SO remember that lab from Wilburn and AP Chem), but some other decomposition lab with hydrogen peroxide. But I managed to do the whole prelab in 5 minutes when I went to the lab and somebody pointed that little tidbit out. Muddled my way through a titration lab with Thomas...thank god one of us knows what's going on. Thomas is in Air Force ROTC, so I handle the chemicals so he doesn't spill on his dress blues. After the lab we catch some lunch, and go our separate ways.

So I ended up with an hour before my Engineering lab. Not really having anything to do, and with a natural curiosity, I went exploring. Having come from such a quiet small town, the bustle of a huge college campus is very different and very tempting to just explore. I went into one of the larger buildings (which one I won't say)...and I quietly snuck around, poking my head in a few doors, etc. Just for fun. Just to find someplace I don't normally go. To find something new. And I pause, for just a moment. I hear a faint piano. Checking to make sure nobody sees, I duck into a small creaky staircase and follow the melody up a few flights. I open a door, quietly, and there in an otherwise empty room sits a piano and a student hunched over, playing quickly and beautifully. His back to me, I stand for a minute or two, simply enjoying the serenity and tranquility of the moment. He finishes the song, and I clap softly. He jumps, startled, and stammers out an apology "I'm sorry...I didn't know anybody was listening."
"It was beautiful," I said "please continue...don't mind me"
He pauses, shrugs, and continues to the next song. I set down my bookbag, pull out a newspaper, and simply watch the cars and people come and go from my window in this room. The only sound is the piano. The sun is bright, there's a cool breeze from all the open windows. We sit without a word between us for a good 15 minutes. Checking my watch, I realize that it's time for me to get to my lab. I get up, thank him for playing. His name is Jeffrey, he tells me. Maybe I'll go back there sometime, if for nothing else than to just relax and listen for a minute or two...

My Engineering team and I completely demolished the lab. Finished all our tasks with time to spare. Turns out I'm gaining a reputation in that class for "reviewing my assignments when they're returned and finding grading mistakes." Three weeks in a row I've handed back a graded assignment to my TA and told him "he might've made a mistake." I think they're getting sick of it, but they're my points, damnit.

Half an hour later I'm standing in front of Elliot Hall of Music to take my Chemistry exam. The exam seemed pretty tough, but I honestly have no clue how I did. I think it's a decent grade. Supposedly, grades are to be posted early next week. Late dinner at Earhart, then homeward bound for Physics homework. Andy saves the day once again.

I get to sleep in tomorrow and I couldn't be happier. Plans for this weekend include Improv, watching the Purdue vs. Illinois game, working out, and doing some actual homework.

---

Oh.
Jason and Jasmine are liars. They set me up and played me like a fool.


I took the Blogging Personality Quiz at About Web logs and I am...

The Writer
Words captivate me. And, I like to capture words. Blogging enables me to write often. It also provides a place for me to share what I write with a reading public. I can be funny, inspiring, intelligent, cynical, or morbid. It doesn't matter what I write about in my blog. It only matters that I write.