September 2002 archives

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Monday, September 30, 2002

gauntlet #1

We all knew that it would come to this at some point.

It was only a matter of time, I knew, that a one-week or two-week period would come along that would just be so loaded with stuff to do that I would feel absolutely inundated. Then I would truly know that Ph.D. does indeed stand for Piled Higher and Deeper.

Those two weeks have come.

In the next two weeks, I have a homework assignment due in one class. I have a project due in three of my classes. I have a midterm in my hardest class. A couple of weeks after that, I have a project due in the fourth class.

This past Friday night, I actually did work on a project. This was a first for me in all my years of school. Beforehand, Friday night was sacred, a time to celebrate the weekend having come. Unfortunately, I knew that I couldn't do that this particular Friday.

I started working on my CIS 6930 project. Why? Because I'd done everything that I could on my COP 5725 (databases) project, and I didn't know how to start my COP 5615 (operating systems) project. I actually got it practically complete by the time the night was over, and finished it up Saturday evening after football (which I will not give up no matter what deadlines loom).

This still leaves me with my COP 5615 project, which I started working on this morning and for the most part have worked on all day. Then tonight, I looked on the course announcement page and saw the magic words.

"The deadline for project 1 has been postponed to 10/10." Woo-hoo!

Now, this doesn't mean that I stopped working on the project. It just means that I didn't have to remind myself to breathe every now and then while doing so.

Monday, September 23, 2002

catching up

It's been a while, I realize. At least it has been for me.

Let's see. So what's happened since I last posted?

• Got back my first homework grades. It's nice to know if I completely fail everything else in COP 5615, I'll have a 1.88.
• Actually read textbooks. What is this? You're not supposed to have to read the books.
• Solved at least 10 crosswords.
• Played in quite a few boggy-pong games. Realized that this is a game that Alabama's BCM could have fun with, except that Bill would kill everyone in it.
• Paid huge first bills for power, home phone, and cell phone. Account goes way, way down. Remembered that I'm a college student - having less than $200 in my checking account is a way of life.
• Discovered there's a cheese that I don't like - Monterey Jack.
• Car had a radiator go out. Fixed.
• Went to my first Florida football game - a torrential downpour almost the entire game. Wore my rainsuit. Was one of only three in my party with a rainsuit.
• Car had a headlight go out. Fixed.
• The first two tellings of the "cycle of death" story occurred, with predictable results.
• Car had a tire go flat. Fixed.
• Actually been associated with a school that beat Tennessee. Now if it can only happen again on October 26...
• Found what I believe will become my church home here at UF.

Amidst other things. But that's what comes to mind right now.

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

in rememberance

I was one of the lucky ones. I had three and a half more hours in the old world than most did.

At approximately noon on September 11, 2001, I awoke and started my daily routine, the first thing of which involved breakfast. I don't remember what I was getting. I just remember saying good morning/afternoon to Mr. Guy (what I call my grandfather).

"Boy," he answered, "have you seen this about the plane flying into the building?"

I hadn't, I answered, and continued to get whatever it was I planned to eat. Then I went into the living room to see what he was talking about.

Suddenly, I wasn't very hungry anymore.

For the next few hours, I stayed glued (as most did, I'm sure) to whatever news source would give me updated information. A lot of the time, that was the web. Of course, I got the initial story from a hindsight perspective, but the following stories came in fast and furious.

I was in shock. As I'm sure we all were. After all, we'd just had our last hours of time in the old world.

We now know what we think is the entire story. We know that American pride is not as lost an idea as we all thought it was. We learned that we are not immune to the evil that this world has to offer, nor are we so unreachable that other nations will not rally to our side.

We've deployed into the field, and continue to deploy, men and women that we know, that are close to us. We worry about them. After all, we're not living in the old world anymore.

Now a year has passed. It's September 11th again. Today people will have birthdays and celebrate anniversaries (my friends Matt and Heather among them). Today most people will more or less live their daily lives as they did back then. But not all of them. There will be people, whose lives were so changed by this single event that life as they know it now is completely different, irreparable because of tragic loss.

I feel for them. And I know that you do as well.

This is but one of I'm sure thousands of entries that will be posted about the events of the day and how it changed their lives. Others will probably respectfully decline to post anything today, and I completely understand that as well.

But I write to make this point: believe it or not, some good things happened as a result of this. We were immediately made aware of our mortality in a way that none of us could have imagined before. We'd never thought of planes themselves as instruments of war before. But it brought home the knowledge that it can happen at any time to you, no matter what your state of body or mind.

As I said earlier, we came together as a nation. And that's important. But even more, we came to God a little more as a result. And as something completely counterproductive to what the terrorists were trying to accomplish, I think that's a little more than irony, don't you?

These two things combined should serve as a witness to us that since the days are indeed few, we need to take the time to tell our fellow man. To those who are Christians and reading this, that means you, and that means me.

To any of you who are not Christians, I'd like to extend to you the opportunity to e-mail me any questions that you might have. Obviously, I can't reach you face-to-face, but at the same time, I'd like to help in any way possible. E-mail me (link is in the left-side menu, under "contact"). I'll go ahead and tell you. I don't have all the answers. But I know where I can look to find them.

Thursday, September 5, 2002

German's first law of graduate school

I'm convinced that 90% of questions asked in a graduate class are primarily an attempt of the inquirer to prove his or her high intellectual capabilities to the rest of the class.

Wednesday, September 4, 2002

men's Bible study commitment

Last night, I signed up for a men's Bible study every Tuesday night at the BCM. We're going to be using the book Disciplines of a Godly Man, by R. Kent Hughes. I've read the introduction to it already, and it looks like it will be pretty good.

I'm of two minds concerning this study.

One side of me says, "This is a good thing. You're going to be studying the Word of God more often, and with other men who are seeking His will in their lives as men. You'll get a good understanding from the book and from their insights as well. Plus, you'll just plain get to know these guys better."

The other part of me raises an eyebrow and asks, "Come November, do you really think you'll have time for this, what with everything else that will be coming down on you? Projects, papers, homework, et cetera?

I'm thinking that this second part of me stems partly from a "still intimidated by the whole Ph.D. program" mentality. And I realize that it will be difficult, but will it be much more so if I use an hour or two each week to read the chapter we'll be looking at and another hour or two at the actual study? Somehow, I think I'll be more productive if I do so. And of course, that leads to the other part of me, the soft, flabby Christian who really doesn't wanna put in any effort to study God's word if he doesn't feel compelled to. I can't stand that part of me. You'd think I wouldn't listen to it as often as I do.

Well, this time I'm not. Ph.D. program or no, I think that this will be beneficial for me. And so I bought the book and I'm going to do it.

Monday, September 2, 2002

UA Football Facts - Week 1, 2002

The first game's edition of UA Football Facts is now up and ready.

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