jotsheet

well well. LOTS of stuff to write about, considering i i’m just now getting around to updating the jotsheet after a bit of neglect. the server went down–for reasons still unbeknownst to me–so that accounts for some of the big update. i guess i’ll just divide it up…

two: computer crap

ahh, so let’s get the computer crap out of the way first.

the server went down. i don’t know why. i had no remote access to it, so i couldn’t fix it. i guess there’s no reason to believe it isn’t going to happen again. for some reason, the server seems prone to dying after running for a week or two. i don’t get it!

when i got home this weekend, i plugged in a monitor to get console access. nothing. the computer was running, but it was dead. then, when i rebooted it, fsck complained and i had to screw with that. ugh. and apachectl was having trouble starting httpd, but i still don’t exactly know what was up with that.

anyway, it’s up, for the time being, and i’m going to try to leave it alone and keep it happy. keep your fingers crossed.

three: NU stuff

well, as i write this, week 2 of junior year at Northwestern is over. and i can say, without a doubt, that this year has begun quite a bit better than the previous two.

i’m still getting settled into the twentysomething, living-alone-in-an-apartment thing. it’s not bad. i like my apartment. it has charm. it’s an old Chicago-style building, with portruding pipes and a brick exterior with casement windows. i’m right by the L, which is loud, but i sort of like it. the building is quiet, which i’m happy about, and i’m still getting free cable!

the new job is good. i work afternoons, sit at a computer, respond to webmaster@northwestern.edu e-mails, and do various things for the tangled knot of pages that comprises Northwestern’s web site. it’s kind of what i do anyway, on my own time, but i get paid for it. right on.

and classes. classes are really pretty easy this quarter, at least so far. it doesn’t look like i’m gonna have a heckuva lot of work later in the quarter, either. i feel kind of guilty. maybe i should have scheduled harder classes? taking “tools and tech of the www” might have been a mistake…

four: observations about NU

so yeah, i got up to Evanston, and it’s kind of a shock, you know? i’m sensitive to places. and Evanston has a feel, an atmosphere… anyway, i’d been away from Evanston for six months, basically–if you don’t count my trip to NU for Dillo Day–so i definitely had a period of readjustment.

oki. non-revelation #1: a lot of rich kids go to NU. no wait, a LOT. and if they ain’t rich, they sure dress that way.

and then there’s the whole feel to being a junior, i.e. an “upperclassman.” it feels different, but not exactly in the way i thought it would. i guess i’m just more relaxed about everything. things don’t worry me like they used to. if i’m late to class, so be it. if people turn and look at me as i walk in, oh well! if i go to a party, i’m not all nervous and shit. i mean, i’ve done this before.

five: this weekend

i drove home on thursday. andy and buddy, with a.j. and becky later, got here on friday, and jason and kent came on saturday. buddy and the gang came for a wedding, and jason and kent came to just hang out for Columbus Day weekend.

this morning, before jason and kent got here, we all had breakfast at the Original Pancake House. i stuffed myself with corned beef hash. then i went to the Sunnycrest K-Mart and stuffed a futon in my car. then i went to my Dad’s house and watched the illini beat minnesota, 25-14, in a fairly entertaining game. it made me feel a bit more confident about my Illini after the whoopin they sustained at michigan last week.

i’ll drive back to NU tomorrow night, and strangely enough, i’m kind of looking forward to it. i enjoy having my own apartment, and all the people in the house is a bit straining for me. i think it’s a really good sign that i’m looking forward to being back in Evanston.

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