T-minus Two and Counting

well, the worst has passed. I think. I suppose I shouldn’t speak too soon... but it seems safe, at least for the moment.

I managed to (arguably) survive Con Law yesterday morning, the exam which I had dreaded the most. I dread receiving that grade the most, as well, because the course is essentially comprised of overaching theories and interpretations of abstract concepts that the exam answers are so subjective I have no idea how I did, roughly akin to Criminal Law last semester. This time, though, I didn’t walk out and try to find a rope right away… figured I’d at least give life one more chance and stay alive to watch the season finale of the Gilmore Girls.

Two more days! Two more days! Thankfully, my Friday exam is at 8:30 (till 12:30, it’s a long one!) and then (ARGH) I have to go to one last Intro to Advocacy mini-class to pick up my Appellate Brief and receive a lecture on what a moron I am. That second part is simply speculative, but reasonably accurate based on previous experience. I’ll have Fuzzbutt tucked in my backpack in his little traveling case so we’ll be all set to burn rubber after class. I did get invited to an end-of-school party, but the chances of my electing not to attend are, as Bill Murray says in Groundhog Day, one hundred percent.

I picked up my laptop from Best Buy and it looks like new - they just installed a new keyboard and boda-bing, off I went. Unfortunately, the hard drive was corrupted in the spill, so I had to do a system recovery to restore everything - I reinstalled all the programs and, miracle of miracles, everything works! I couldn’t believe it. Still can’t. I keep waiting for the thing to spontaneously combust.

Cold, dreary and dank today, but at least sill in the seventies. I spent the evening cleaning my apartment so it’s all set for the summer when I burn rubber Friday morning. To keep myself occupied in the tedious organization and packing process, I rented The Family Stone and played it in the background. It wasn’t bad... mildly entertaining, but certainly not meritorious of a repeat viewing.

Not that it’s any of my business (although, when does that ever stop anyone?) but the Koreans didn’t get home until 2:30 last night. I know because they slammed the door to ceremoniously announce their return. Big party? Happening evening? It’s a Tuesday night!

Potentially Triumphant Return

All right, this is getting ridiculous. I’m all in favor of thunderstorms, but we’re under yet another severe storm warning. Maybe we’ll get golfball-sized hail, like earlier this week! Rah!

Some homicidal maniac of a bird positively dive-bombed my car with little white droppings, to the point that it looks like a giant domino. Literally - I could play connect-the-dots and come up with a whole host of constellations.

In other local, potentially good, news… I called the Geek Squad again (persistence = productivity) and it turns out my computer is (allegedly) on its way back to the Champaign Best Buy, having left the store yesterday. Apparently (they never informed me of this, by the way) if the repair estimate is under $150 they just go ahead and repair the computer without waiting for the owner’s authorization. So the $144 keyboard repair job has been completed, and I should (should, should, should) have my computer back by the end of the week. How cool, huh?

A Mystical Hamlet

This whole “honor code” thing at school just blows my mind sometimes. People will leave their backpack open and belongings strewn about a desk to go to the bathroom or visit the cafeteria, purse clearly discernible and laptop prominently displayed…. and nobody touches it. Any place else in the world, those items would be picked over in minutes, but not here. I, of course, won’t go anywhere without my stuff surgically affixed to my side because I don’t trust anybody under any conditions, but that’s another precautionary tale.

It’s a “reading day” today, which in legalese roughly translates to “last day to panic for your first exam.” The school is largely deserted - I have an entire classroom to myself, and the building feels abandoned. Everyone’s congregated in the library, which I studiously avoid due to the oppressive, generally frantic atmosphere that I absorb like a sponge. I don’t need any help driving myself insane, thanks; I’m doing a superb job on my own.

We’re supposed to reach the upper 60’s today before coaxing through the 70’s for the ensuing work week. The big news is an imminent threat of “severe” thunderstorms this afternoon, capable of producing hail and damaging winds. You know, I really don’t like Wisconsin, but living next to the lake certainly has its advantages - we’re rarely subjected to particularly zealous weather conditions.

I called the Geek Squad about my computer today. The answering Geek looked in the system and confirmed that “they” received the computer and it was assigned to a tech on the 27th, but said militant has yet to enter a price estimate. The Geek claims she’ll call this afternoon and attempt to procure one for me, but I’d equate the chances of that happening akin to a solar eclipse tonight, so I’ll just phone every morning right at 10 when the store opens until the Geeks are so sick of me they do something about it. On a related note, who is “they,” anyway? The computer was “sent out,” but sent where? To some mystical hamlet in the sky populated by technology wizards?