It really annoys me that even after making it a point to ask, then follow up with the Billing dept. at Drexel, they do exactly what they said they would not. The incompetence of the place was just a minor bother earlier. I was never directly affected by it. But it’s getting to me now.

According to the financial aid section of Banner, I’ve been a student since 2000-01. On the other hand, my student information says that my first term I registered for was Fall 2001. Oh, and aparently some portions of banner show me as a transfer. I can just feel the next 2 years being a major shaft.

I made dosas today. Masala dosas to be precise. I was very shocked by the results. And I’m starting to enjoy cooking a little. Sure, I do it only once a week, but for the last three weeks, the things I’ve made have been pretty good and the entire process has been kinda fun. This is the same me, who even 6 months ago complained that cooking was the most boring thing ever and was very happy eating Ramen/Maggi noodles. I’m moving on 🙂

For the uninitiated, a dosa is a South Indian pancake, made from a batter of lentils and rice. It’s stuffed with spiced potatos, which is what makes it a masala dosa. Josh, I’ll make it for you when I move in with you, provided I can sustain my interest in the kitchen.

1) A desktop PC capable of running Doom 3
2) A laptop PC that does not weigh as much as a desktop
3) A cell-phone that doubles up as a PDA
4) A 40gb MP3 player that is small and light
5) A GPS device that does roads and maps
6) A digital SLR camera

I could add to this list, incessently. And needless to say most of the additions would be electronics. Flat-panel TV, a kick-ass reciever and speakers, etc, etc. But for now, I’d be very happy with even one of the above 6. Too bad they cost more money that me and all my personal assets are worth.

The Drexel Webmail server has been down for 2 days. No explanation has been provided. There is nothing on the Drexel homepage. Only someone in the know would be able to navigate to IRT’s homepage and find out if there was a system down. Even there, it doesn’t say more than that there is a problem with a storage array. I wonder how many other “technical” schools experience such severe down times. I don’t care so much, but there are tons of students in clases now, and next week is finals week. One can only imagine their plight at not being able to access important e-mails and documents saved in their inbox.

This is how I feel when I don’t recieve e-mail for a while!

It’s funny how often I feel sick these days. Not feverish, or like I have a flu, but I just feel like throwing up.

Someone joked that I could be pregnant.

I also have this constantly nervous, almost sinking feeling in me all the time. This is even stranger, because almost nothing makes me nervous or scared. I can’t describe the feeling very well even. Nervous is mot definitely not the right word. It’s like a little kid, knowing that he’s broken a window, and is dreading his parents coming home, because of the trouble he’ll be in. He knows his parents love him, so they wont send him away, but a punishment is sure to ensue. But now that I put that down in words, even that doesn’t accurately describe it. But I think its pretty close. But I’ve not broken any windows, and my parents are across the seas. I’m old enough not to fear any kind of punishment from anyone.

What am I feeling?

A third first last night. And probably the most interesting and fun. I’m proud of what I achieved. It certainly wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined. And going forward from here, it ought to make things easier.

A couple of firsts in my life today: I wonder if there’ll be more to come. It’s only half the day done. Both were very hard to do, but after the first, the second came much easier.

The party yesterday was good. Dan had a good time, and the rain held off. Although, I’m stuck with extra cans of Bud Light. No one seems to want them. And it does taste too watery.

I’m at a little bit of a loss as to what to do with myself these days. There seems to be nothing to work towards any more. And funnily, I’m not looking forward to the new term of classes. Usually I’m very enthusiatic about classes. And this being the first term with grad classes, its worrying me even more. Hopefully once it starts I’ll settle down into the routine. Also I have to move twice in the space of a month. I’m definitley not looking forward to that.

The website needs more content, so that is something to work towards.

Carly Patterson, 5 feet tall, 97 pounds, all of 16 years old. I wonder if she realises the enormity of what she’s achieved. It is almost unbelievabel that someone so young could be the best in the world at soemthing like gymnastics. It was amazing to watch her rip apart the competition, almost like there was no doubt that she was better than all of them. I’ve got nothing but tremendous respect for her.

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I’m sure she’d kick my ass, judging from the muscle strength one would need to do this things that she did.

I had my first experience with Paintball this weekend. And I’ve got a few bruises and scrapes to prove it. For the uninitiated, paintball is grownup (not really) men (and a few women) bringing their video-game shoot-em-out fantasies to life. The guns are compressed-air powered and shoot marble sized balls of oil based paint at speeds of upto 280 feet per second, upto a distance of 100-125 feet. Games take on various scenarios, with the most popular being a capture-the-flag kind of games. Fields can be upto a couple of acres in size, with all kinds of natural and man-made obstacles that help (or hinder) in taking out the opponent.

The game is certainly not as easy as I imagined it being. I certainly took a beating, but I think I got a few confirmed kills too. I was rather pleased with one of them, which I think was in my third game. After exiting the first two games early, I made up my mind just to stay in the game, whatever it took. So after a lot of early hiding and crawling through the wet mud (courtesy of Hurricane Charley) I found myself behind two trees that had an ideal gap in-between them, through which I could see two opponents. Level, aim, fire, kill! Get killed!

It takes a while to understand the nuances of the game. And each field is unique in the way it plays. After 10 games and 6 hours of paintballing, I was tired enough to not want to talk. I certainly want to keep at the game, but it’s got a cost that is prohibitive enough to keep me away. Plus it’s going to require me to be a lot more fit than I am now.

http://www.splatusa.com -> The field I played at
http://www.paintball.com -> Tons of good info for newbies

Thanks Josh and Travis for introducing me to the game!