Slightly Hectic, Always Dramatic

I will write more sometime this week, when there isn't a major assignment and/or exam within the next 24 hours of when I sit down.

Here's a recap of the last 5 days or so (since my pointlessly dramatic week obviously fizzled out):

Tuesday
Finance exam went well- the TA asked me how I got some of my answers, since I used an indirect method. I can't tell if she was entirely impressed when I responded "guess and check," but I came within a few hundredths of the correct responses so I figure I can't lose too many points. Wind Ensemble that night was only an hour ... a huge morale boost for anyone who knows the organization or Professor Diggs. That reminds me that I haven't practiced outside rehearsal more than once in the last two weeks, and I'm very much missing playing on a regular basis. Maybe after tomorrow?

Wednesday
Inconsequential day mired in pointless IBE work and three meetings. The meetings went fairly well and I received only minimal assignments from them, though, so no complaints. Looking back, I probably could have done more studying on this day to prevent the traumatic events of Thursday. I also spent about three hours on Wednesday prepping the first part of the Systems project ... Professor Perreira seemed to like it when he glanced over what I had, so good times.

Thursday
My interview with Air Products took place mid-afternoon. It was a very unusual interview ... once again, the company sent an engineer rather than a Human Resources rep. To my experience, it seems like engineers don't really know how to interview in the conventional sense; everytime one has spoken to me, they'll ask me some general, background-based questions, then talk about the company for about 20 minutes, then shake my hand and I leave. This one was no different, although at the end he did say he thought I'd be a "good fit" and that he'd "recommend me for the next level of the hiring process." Hopefully his rec, my thank-you letter to him, and my resume will be enough to carry the day ... it was just so hard to discern how the thing went.

What made the interview even more exciting was that it was on the hottest day of the fall (temps in the mid to high 60's), we were sitting in the tiniest room in Rauch, the window was closed, the sun was shining in, he was 250+ lbs., and I was wearing my full suit. What ensued was an absolutely disgusting sauna-like environment in which I sweat what seemed to be two or three pounds of my total body weight over the course of the interview. I didn't know whether to wipe my face or let cascades of sweat pour down it as he droned on about his own work at Air Products ... in the end I wiped, but by that point it didn't make much of a difference. My undershirt and dress shirt were completely soaked by the time I got back to the apartment, and I can honestly say I haven't experienced swamp-ass like that since Finals night at the Cadets. So, so gross.

Following the interview I had a gryphon staff meeting, staff dinner, and then studied for a total of about ten hours for the two exams of the next day. ECE studying was 8:30-12:30 AM, Fluids was 1 to 7 AM (with a nap from 3:30 to 5). I felt like a million bucks by the time I was in the shower getting ready for the exams themselves.

Friday
ECE was at 8 AM, and barring any major mistakes or algebraic catastrophes, I think it went pretty well. As always, I'm aiming low and hoping for a 75-80 (with the average being about 60-65). Fluids also went well (arguably better), and I'm hoping for 80-85 on that one. What's funny is that the studying I did for both of them was somewhat unnecessary; everything that appeared on the exams was stuff that I knew fairly well. The rest of the material that I tried to cram into my brain was superfluous ... oh well. Sleep is for the weak.

After that I handed in the Systems project, went to finance recitation, enjoyed chicken finger Friday (some people have church, I have CFF), ran errands for gryphoning, and went to IBE lab. As I walked into IBE, two friends of mine were discussing how tired they were and how they were excited that the week was over. Our professor made some comment about how he never understood why we were so tired, and why we never got any sleep. One friend of mine told him that I had it the worst, since I'd pulled an almost all-nighter and had a bad week. Our professor, apparently in a state of super-grumpy-poopy-pants, looked straight at me and said, "All-nighters are the result of poor planning. If you'd known what you were doing, that wouldn't have been necessary. I didn't pull a single all-nighter in college, not even once."

Thanks, Dr. H. You're a swell guy on Friday afternoons at 2.

IBE lecture notwithstanding, the week then ended swiftly and I was able to enjoy a very relaxing, very fun weekend that I shall cover in a future entry. To say that it was epic is to not do it full justice, as such a description would place it on the same plane as The Iliad or The Aeneid or even Dante's Inferno. Oh no ... this weekend was so much more than that.

As for today, I'm going to grab lunch, do IBE work, make the IBE decision with the group at 2:30, call the rents, and then begin studying for Systems (the last exam of this cycle, happening tomorrow at 11 AM). Once systems is done, all that's left is a week of regular homework before Lehigh/Laf and then Thanksgiving.

I can't tell you how excited I am.