Today, I finally broke down and just bought him a hooded litter box. I bought the “jumbo” size to ensure that all 12.4lbs of him would fit in there. Because of its large size, though, I can no longer keep his litterbox in the bathroom as I previously did. Now I’m struggling to find the optimal spot for it. However, Dixon seems thrilled to have a normal-sized litterbox again and to be able to dig his way to China… without getting litter absolutely everywhere.

Besides turning my cat’s world upside down, I’ve also been making some changes in my own life. For example, I’ve gone vegetarian. It’s a month-long experiment to see how a meat-free diet makes me feel. So far, so good. I’m feeling much healthier, more energetic, and just generally happier. And it’s only been 5 days! Maybe it’s a placebo effect, maybe it’s not. Either way, I’m enjoying learning new ways to incorporate fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc., into my everyday life.

With my new vegetarian diet, I’m noticing that I’m throwing out a lot of items (e.g., egg shells, peels, coffee grounds, etc.) that decompose naturally. I’m not comfortable sending these things to the landfill. So I’m looking into starting my very own compost bin. I learned that the city has a compost project and that I can get a bin for about $20. I emailed my local project site and asked when they’ll have some of these bins in stock. I’m looking forward to beginning this project! I can start with lawn clippings and tree leaves and go on to add all of the produce items mentioned previously. In a couple of months, I’ll have nutritious fertilizer for the flowers and vegetables that my mom has growing in the yard. That’s exciting to me.

Additionally, I’m trying to cut back on the amount of plastic that I use. I’ve invested in a stainless steel water bottle so I am no longer dependent on plastic bottles. I’ve also purchased a faucet water filter so I can have clean water straight from the tap. I also bought reusable shopping bags so I can finally stop using plastic shopping bags when I go shopping. (I was recently cleaning up in my kitchen and decided to tackle the cabinet that I used to store the copious amounts of shopping bags that I’ve amassed over the years. I was appalled.) I’ve been trying to reuse the bags I have when I go shopping but I always forget to take them with me. The last time I went grocery shopping, though, I noticed that there is a bin in the vestibule with a sign that reads: “Recycle Plastic Shopping Bags Here.” So I’m going to round up many of my bags and deposit them there. (I’m going to retain some to use as liners for the small trashcans that are kept throughout my house.) Once I get rid of all of the plastic bags, I’m going to throw some of the reusable bags in my purses and store some in Alex’s car, so we’ll always have some when we go shopping. Like the nerd that I am, I’m looking forward to this also.

We got to the venue at 6 PM, one hour before the show was to start. We met up with Alex’s cousin, Gabrielle, and her friend, Britney. They found a spot right at the base of the stage. Alex and I didn’t think we wanted to be so close so we wandered away from them and went to get beer. We ended up putting down $18 for 3 cups of (supposedly) Brooklyn-brewed beer. Ridiculous. At least they allowed water bottles in, provided they were still sealed. (My guess is that they didn’t want anyone sneaking booze into the place.)

Finally, the opening act (Rogue Wave) took the stage. They seemed to have decent music but I couldn’t understand the lyrics! The singer kept his lips way too close to the microphone. They were also kinda mellow, making it difficult for the audience to really get into the music. The drummer was wearing really short track shorts, which were the highlight of their act. (”Who wears short shorts!” screamed Britney.)

Finally, Death Cab for Cutie came on. The crowd went insane; much clapping, screaming, and yelling ensued. Everyone took out their cameras and started snapping photos. When the music started, though, everyone kinda mellowed out. They opened with a song off their newest album, Narrow Stairs, entitled “Bixby Canyon Bridge.” Mid-song, the backdrop came unfurled to reveal the cover art for Narrow Stairs, causing the fans to roar wildly with excitement. It was followed by “The New Year” (off Transatlanticism), which is probably one of my favorites. You can bet I was lip synching right along with Ben Gibbard. (Who, by the way, was directly in front of us and no more than 10 feet away, on a stage that was approximately 6 ft. off the ground.)

During “Grapevine Fires” (again off Narrow Stairs), Ben’s guitar stopped working. He took it off and waited for his new guitar. Meanwhile, the song went on with just one guitar (manned by Chris Walla) while Ben provided the vocals. Towards the end, a new guitar was finally brought out and Ben finished off the song.

By this time, Ben was also sweating profusely. It was just rolling off of him as if he’d just stepped out of the shower or walked in the rain. (Hmm… Foreshadowing?) Have I mentioned that it was almost 100°F that night? New York was in the middle of a heatwave when Death Cab came to town.

After a heart-wrenching rendition of “I Will Follow You into the Dark” (off Plans), wherein Ben sat alone in the foreground with an acoustic guitar in his arms and a microphone in front of him, the band played “I Will Possess Your Heart” (off Narrow Stairs). With the amount of sweat rolling off of him, I am surprised Ben was able to stand, let alone perform another solo (this time on the keyboard). Then, during “Cath…” (again off Narrow Stairs), Ben’s guitar broke. Fed up, he hurled it across the stage and grabbed the mic, bellowing the lyrics into the transducer. He unwound the cord from the mic stand and attempted to walk across the stage. However, the microphone cord was too short and he ended up accidentally unplugging it. As stage technicians scurried onto the platform, Ben simply started singing the song without any instruments or amplification devices. It was actually kinda beautiful.

It was at this point that Ben approached the edge of stage and reached out to the audience. The fans just swarmed to him. I was jostled in the process, as a 16-year-old fanboy standing next to me (who, in a hipster attempt at dance, tossed his hair the whole night) ran towards Ben. Eventually, Ben walked to the other end of the stage and some of the people moved with him, giving me room to breathe.

The next song Death Cab played was “We Laugh Indoors” (off Photo Album), with which aforementioned fanboy (whom I have dubbed “Hair and Elbows” for his hair tossing and arm waving) heartily sang along. As soon as the band stopped playing, he yelled out, “Thank you for playing that song!” Then, he turned to his friend and quietly said, “That’s the one song I wanted to hear them play tonight.” Then, turning towards the stage again, he yelled out “Thank you!” one more time. Aw, what a polite kid. I just wish he tucked his elbows in more.

The final song of the night ended up being “Sound of Settling” (off Transatlanticism). Normally, this is a song just like many of DCFC’s other songs: mellow and zen-like. However, this is when a heavy wind picked up. The backdrop suddenly picked up air and began waving in the background, like a glorious flag. Ben moved to the center of the stage and approached the edge. With his hair flowing in the wind, he put one foot on a speaker (or woofer or something), raised his microphone, and sang his heart out. (It looked like a scene from a movie. At one point, I seriously thought, Who turned on the wind machine?) The audience was cheering wildly, suddenly energized by the electricity in the air. Meanwhile, the stagehands started making hand gestures for the band to get off the stage… now. (The light fixtures hanging above the stage were swaying dangerously in the air.) The band, however, was not budging. Ben finished the song, threw both arms victoriously in the air, thanked the audience for coming out, and ran off the stage with his band-mates.

Suddenly, dust was flying everywhere. The waterless pool was transformed into a vacuum, moving dust and debris in circles. People were shielding their eyes and mouths with their arms moist and sticky with sweat. It seemed like there was a tornado on the way. Then came the lightning, followed shortly by the thunder. Thousands of people made their way (surprisingly peacefully) towards the exits.

As Alex and I approached his car, it began to rain. As we pulled out of our parking spot, it poured. It was difficult to see out the windshield, even with the wipers turned on to full speed. We were barely able to make out the people running across streets and bicyclists riding dangerously in the street. We finally found the highway (which was not an easy feat due to the rain and the fact that we are not from the area) and made our way home safely to Staten Island.

The storm ended almost as quickly as it had begun. It seemed that the skies opened up to offer momentary relief for the suffocating heat experienced by millions of New Yorkers over the last few days.

Really, the night could not have been more perfect.

The following is a complete setlist from that night:

1. Bixby Canyon Bridge
2. The New Year
3. Why You’d Want to Live Here
4. Photobooth
5. Crooked Teeth
6. Long Division
7. Grapevine Fires
8. A Movie Script Ending
9. Company Calls
10. Company Calls Epilogue
11. Soul Meets Body
12. I Will Follow You into the Dark
13. I Will Possess Your Heart
14. Cath…
15. We Laugh Indoors
16. Sound of Settling

Getting my permit was the first step. The second step in my plan was to learn to drive. I bugged my dad for months to go driving with me. You know what, though? All that bugging paid off because, by the time my 17th birthday rolled around, I had my license. (That was also partly due to my taking a Driver’s Ed course that allowed me to get my license a year earlier than normally allowed in New York.)

The third step? Getting a car. I bugged my parents for that, too. But that paid off, too! During my senior year of high school, I drove a 2000 Mercury Cougar. I loved that car. It was small, it was sporty… it was mine! I drove it to my 3 (!) classes that year, I drove it to work, I drove it back to school for Yearbook, I drove it everywhere. I only had it for two years, though, before my parents sold it. It made sense — my parents had two cars and only ever had one out at a time. So the idea was that my sister and I would share the other car. However, it turned out that my sister got a little greedy with it and I can never use the car without asking her in advance if I can use it. However, this wasn’t a big deal since Alex got a car and I began commuting to school with my parents. It was just a nuisance that I had to deal with every once in a while.

Next year, though, I’m going to need my own car. I’ll continue living on Staten Island, NY, but I’ll be going to Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ, while working at the Brooklyn College Library in Brooklyn, NY. (Speaking of which: I may be hired as an Adjunct Reference Librarian in the fall. I’ll know more about this later in the summer.) So that’ll be a lot of driving.

Needless to say, I’m looking to get a fuel-efficient vehicle for my driving needs. This is why I’m considering getting a Toyota Prius. The numbers just add up: it gets an average of 45 MPG for about $200/mo for a 36-month lease. Getting a Honda Civic Hybrid — which also gets about 45 MPG — will cost anywhere from $80 to $130 more per month for the same 36-month lease. (For some reason, Hondas are very expensive to lease.) So my current plan of action is to save up as much money as I can from my current gig at the Brooklyn College Library so I can put down a decent down payment on a Prius so I can pay less per month. I don’t have too many other expenses (I don’t pay rent, I don’t pay for groceries, I don’t pay for my cellphone service…) so it shouldn’t be too hard.

I will have to figure out how to pay for graduate school, though. By the time I get my MLIS, I will have spent over $30,000 on school-related expenses. I’m going to have to take out a loan, obviously. However, I know nothing about these things. Anyone have any suggestions?

I’ve actually been experiencing something akin to panic attacks when I think of two of my classes this semester: CIS 46 (UNIX Programming) and CIS 60.1 (Independent Study). I’ve fallen far behind in 46 and I don’t think I can climb my way back to the top. I’m going to have to email the professor and ask that she have pity on my soul. We’ve had one test so far and I did OK on it. Our next test is on Tuesday and, if I delegate some time today and tomorrow to study for it, I think I can do as well on this exam. My only problem is the homeworks. I’ve done 1 out of 6. That’s disgusting and I’m ashamed of myself. I can only hope the professor doesn’t fail me or give me an incomplete.

For CIS 60.1, I have to create an original piece of software. My plan is to create a Facebook Application that is also relevant to the work I do as an intern in the library. However, I’m running out of time and I have no code written. I hope that I can write at least some basic, bare-bones version of my application. I’ll email the professor and ask him if unfinished code warrants a grade of F or if it’s understandable that a project (on which only one person is working) may not get completed in a set amount of time.

My tummy hurts thinking about all of this.

On a lighter note, the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies has “recommended [me] for admission”! So, assuming that all of my paperwork is in order and all of that, I’m pretty sure that I’ve been awarded admission to the #6 rated graduate school for Library & Information Studies!

In other news, I’m a dumbass. I came in to work today with the sole purpose of working on a project for one of my CIS classes. (I’m writing a Facebook application. More details will come out once the project is nearing completion.) In fact, I brought in a couple of books related to the subject in addition to my laptop. However, I forgot one crucial piece of equipment: the AC power adapter for the laptop. I was in such a rush this morning to get out of the house that I completely forgot to grab the power cord. Well, at least I didn’t forget the laptop. That would’ve been much more embarrassing.

Since I can’t write in PHP on the computer that I am currently using at work, I think I’ll be heading home soon. (I’d rather work on my own machine. That and I don’t think I even have the administrative rights to install PHP on this computer.)

Have I mentioned how much I like working at the Brooklyn College Library? I can’t imagine working anywhere else while I’m working on my MLIS… and as soon as I complete my library school education. I enjoy coming to work! This is the first time in quite some time that I feel like I actually belong — in this workplace and in this field. As a programmer, I always felt like an impostor. As a librarian-to-be, I feel like I found my niche.

The exam is in two weeks, on Friday, January 25. I’m hoping this will give me enough time to prepare for it, considering I don’t even know what the GRE looks like. From what I understand, there are three parts to it — much like the current version of the SAT. There’s a verbal section, a math section, and an analytical writing section. That’s pretty much all I know. I took the SAT four years ago and did OK. (Out of a possible 1600 points, I got 1280. It’s not the best but it’s average.) I’m hoping I retained some of the knowledge and that I’ll have an easier time preparing for the GRE. I’ve also read that 2 weeks is about all a person needs to review for the exam, provided that at least 1 hour out of each day is devoted to studying.

Either way, application deadlines are quickly approaching. I need to take this test as soon as possible to make sure that the schools get them on time. Next on my list: personal statement. I have no idea what to write for my essay. I’ve only just begun my foray into librarianship. I don’t even know why I’m going into librarianship. So until I figure that out for myself, there’s no way in hell I can put it down into words for the admissions panel. There are some LiveJournal communities on graduate & library schools that I’ve been checking out. Some users post their statements of purpose for review and such. Maybe I’ll get some ideas from these people because, honestly, I don’t even know where to start.

I should also be looking into scholarships. I’ve had it easy the last four years, having my tuition paid-for by the school. (I actually get money from my school every semester. My scholarship pays for the tuition, my financial aid pays for textbooks — whatever is left over is given to me in the form of a check. It’s pretty sweet.) I don’t even know what it’s like to pay for school. I’ve never had to worry. Why can’t that continue into graduate school? That would be nice. Anyone want to give me, like, $30,000 for library school tuition? ‘Cause librarians don’t get paid very well… so, y’know, I’ll need all the help I can get.

Life’s getting hard.

Besides, I have just secured an “internship” at my school’s library. I will be volunteering there for 10-20 hours per week next semester. One day, it may actually turn into a paying gig… which would be really, really nice. (Currently, I have to continue working at my current place of work because I need the income… Even though my heart’s no longer in it. I find this to be incredibly sad.) That way, I can go to library school while simultaneously working in a library. I would then have a much better chance of getting hired for a full-time position right out of grad school, since many library listings — such as this one — require “3-5 years Library experience.”

Another nice thing about volunteering in the library will be finding out in which departments/units I really enjoy working. As one of the three librarians with whom I met yesterday said, “You might find out, for example, that you absolutely hate working in Reference. You’ll say to yourself, ‘I never want to see another patron ever again.’ At least this way, you’ll know which areas of librarianship to avoid.” With this experience, I will be able to take appropriate classes in grad school that will assist me in getting the job that I really want. I will also have an easier time looking through job listings once I know the exact position I want to attain.

That’s something else that one of the other librarians pointed out yesterday. She said that with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, I should not have problems getting hired right out of library school. “So many librarians have degrees in English, History, or even Anthropology,” she said. “Not many of them have degrees in Computer Science. The stronger your background in computers and technology, the more valuable you become to a prospective employer.” So that was nice, as she assuaged my fears of being unemployed and homeless with a Master’s degree. (I also passed this information on to my mother, who seemed to be somewhat pacified.)

In the meantime, I will be volunteering at my school’s library, working on various projects (e.g., sprucing up the library’s FAQ page, making it searchable by implementing a database) and shadowing several librarians. I will also get to work closely with the school’s AIT crew, improving the library’s website and creating a student-friendly web presence. I am very excited about this opportunity to gain valuable library experience.

The one thing that I am not excited about concerning the upcoming semester is my workload. I will be taking 6 classes (18 credits) while continuing part-time work at my current programming job, with the added workload of volunteering at my college’s library. I hope to graduate in May 2008 so that I can enter library school in September 2008. That means that I have to pass all of my classes this semester… and I am seriously in jeopardy of failing one class. If I fail this single class, my May graduation goes out the window. I will need to re-take that class in a different semester, which will be either next fall or even spring. What I may have to do is email this professor and beg him to give me a D in his class, which is actually a much more detrimental move since I cannot get rid of a D. (If I get an F in this class, my college allows me to take the class again another semester and replace the F grade. A grade of D, however, is not replaceable.)

I’m too close to the end to be failing now. Wah.

That’s when I hesitated. With a B.S. degree in Computer Science, my starting salary would be around $50,000. With a Master’s degree in Library & Information Science, I would only start at $30,000. (That is pretty insane, I have to admit.) When I told Sveta the average salary, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “No… No, no. We can’t have you going into librarianship. How about Speech Pathology?” Huh. That’s funny. I don’t remember asking you for career advice. (And, really? Speech Pathology? That’s your suggestion?)

The difference in the salaries had me worried, of course. I can’t live on a $30K salary in New York City. A one-bedroom apartment would cost me $1,500 - 2,000 per month. Rent alone would cost approximately $21K a year. I would only be making enough to pay my bills… and that’s not a life I want to live. However, I am not planning on earning such a paltry salary for too long. Worse comes to worst, I can live with my parents until I get a raise or find a new position. (Hey, I have my own apartment down here in my parents’ 2-family home. And it’s completely free. I could definitely do worse.) The only problem would be transportation to my workplace, since Staten Island is so damn far away from everything.

Option B would be to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in a neighborhood closer to my place of work and rent out a room. Of course, this has its own drawbacks, like strange roommates. Living with a stranger seems like a very unnerving and rather taxing situation. You never know what you’re going to get: Neo-Nazis, tree-hugging hippies, evangelical Christians, convicted sex felons, nudists, or otherwise mentally imbalanced individuals. And, with a roommate, you can’t know when you’re going to see the other half of the rent.

Whatever I have to do, I am willing to do it. I have looked into public librarianship and it really seems like the right choice for me. I would get to provide knowledge to the masses! I would be surrounded by books and other information all day. I will get to meet new people everyday. (And although that scares me, I think it’s more exciting than sitting alone in a cubicle, writing and testing code. There is interaction, of course, but it’s nowhere near as diverse as in a public library.) But, best of all, I’d be making a difference: helping kids with their reports, assisting immigrants in English lessons and other relevant information, and teaching people how to read. What could possibly be more rewarding than that?

My internship last semester taught me a lot. However, the project on which I worked was a side project. No one really cared whether it got done or not. At my new job, everything I do matters. There are budgets, there are deadlines, there are customers. (I’m working for a consulting firm specializing in mobile technology.) This is why I am so afraid: I am terrified of disappointing my superiors. I don’t want to let anyone down. This probably stems from my low self-esteem. I never have any faith in myself. So instead of attempting to learn C# 2005 and public-key cryptography, I am procrastinating. I’m already convinced that I’m doomed to fail. So instead of trying and failing, I’m just not trying.

Of course, I’m going to sit down with my book(s) & my laptop and learn the material that needs to be learned. In fact, it’s probably going to be very easy for me. However, it’s in my nature to put things off until they just can’t be put off any longer. I am going to try to change that, though. Tomorrow, I will study the code that I was sent and try to understand the concept behind asymmetric cryptography.

Alex and I will be celebrating our second anniversary on Monday, August 6th. Weather permitting, we will climb Mont Royal in the afternoon. We might pack a lunch and have a picnic atop the mountain. Hopefully, by the time we decide to come down, it’ll be late enough so that we can catch the sun set on Montréal. Later in the evening, we’ll go to a fancy restaurant and drink wine with our souper.

We will be back in New York City the following Saturday, August 11th. Probably with lots and lots of photos.

Other than my new pet, there is not much else going on in my life. I’ll be turning 21 on Sunday, I guess that’s something. To celebrate, I’m planning a small get-together on Monday night. (In my family, the actual birthdays are always reserved for family and family friends.) So far, the plan includes a trip to a Mexican/Spanish restaurant in Manhattan, followed by a trip to a nearby comedy club. By the time it’s all over, it should be 11 PM. I don’t have anything planned but if my party and I are in a mood to continue our night, we’ll be in the Village, so I’m sure we’ll find something to do.

The next big thing that’ll be happening in my life is my week-long trip to Montréal with Alex in early August. We’ll be celebrating our second anniversary there. To prepare, I’m trying to learn some French. (After all, French is the official language of Québec. At the very least, I need to pick up some basic words and phrases, no matter how ugly and uncomfortable I consider the language to be.) I am also brushing up on some Montréal history, so as not to venture into another country without prior knowledge of the region’s past or present. I’ve purchased some guidebooks that I’m perusing in order to figure out which sights, attractions, and restaurants we’ll want to visit. I’m also keeping a close eye on the Montréal LiveJournal Community, gathering tips from fellow travelers. However, I am willing to listen to everyone’s suggestions. Therefore, if you (or someone you know) have been to Montréal and have some recommendations, répondez, s’il vous plaît.

Standing all alone in Cadman Plaza, this jumble of metal was simultaneously easy to spot yet difficult to notice. The aluminum sculpture, consisting of basic geometric shapes, was unlike its surroundings. For one, it was metal while everything around it was either cement or stone. (There are trees there, too, but they only awaken in warm weather.) Secondly, it was blood red. However, I had no idea how long it’s been standing there. (I only noticed it once I’d become comfortable with my morning routine, finally being able to look anywhere but simply straight ahead, no longer afraid that I was going to get lost.) What the hell is that? I’d wondered to myself as I walked past it, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. Besides providing the passersby with some kind of interesting visual focus, this sculpture seemed to serve no purpose.

One day, on my way home from work, I decided to walk up to this red beast (and a beast it was, hovering a good four feet above me) and figure out just what is it exactly that I’ve been eyeing for the past several months. Much to my surprise, I found no plaque or other explanation next to it. Inscribed in the base, however, was what looked to be the artist’s signature: C. F. Smith. That can’t be it, I thought to myself. You put a nine-foot tall sculpture near Borough Hall and that’s all you have to say for yourself? I circled the figure several more times, trying to find some explanation for its existence. I finally gave up and went home.

Curious to find out more about C. F. Smith’s gigantic metallic mess, I Googled the artist’s name (which, in its entirety, is Cheryl Farber Smith) and discovered that the title of the sculpture is Leaning Firm. Ms. Smith, I found out, was attempting to “create a composition that simultaneously suggest[ed] motion and repose.” At first, I could not understand what that meant. How can you be moving at the same time that you’re standing still? I asked myself. (If you haven’t noticed yet, I talk to myself quite often.) But then it hit me. Thousands of people pass through Cadman Plaza on their way to work or school (the Brooklyn Law School is idyllically located behind the Brooklyn Courthouse) everyday, constantly in a hurry. And yet I’ve caught dozens of people – myself included – stopping to look at this strangely beautiful piece. Thanks to artists like Ms. Smith, busy New Yorkers are constantly reminded to slow down and take it easy. Leaning Firm, and other pieces like it located all over the city, encourages us to bask in the beauty that surrounds us every day.

This magnificent sculpture (9’4” H × 7’5” W × 5’7” D) will be taken down in July 2007.

Therefore, I’ve been devouring books rather passionately — and very quickly. I just finished Time and Again and Flowers for Algernon. Next on my list: The Idiot.

• JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
• Learning C# 2005
• ASP.NET 2.0 Step by Step
• Visual Basic 2005 Step by Step

During the interview, I was told that they program in the Visual Basic language — which I don’t know — and that they’re planning on going online with ASP.NET — which I also do not know. I was also told by one of the project managers that I “should really know JavaScript.”

What’s the C# book for, then? Just to learn C#. The CIS classes I am taking this semester do not teach any new languages (we’re being taught Operating Systems and Analysis of Algorithms)… so I am going to attempt to learn something on my own. (The other three aren’t enough, it seems.)

I almost feel like throwing up. I was not expecting this.

At 9:20 this morning, I entered a lecture hall on the third floor of my college’s Humanities building. I took a seat in the second row from the front, near a window. As I was removing the cap from my pen, in comes in the instructor. I was expecting a male professor (as the name listed on my program belonged to a man) so I was quite surprised when a young woman walked in. I wasn’t even sure if she was the instructor as she was dressed like the girls in the room. As it turned out, my CC 1.2 (Art History) instructor is a graduate student. She seems like she enjoys her major and that is very evident in class. However, she is not cut out to teach. She threw up a projection of a handful of vocabulary terms on the board and then zoomed right past them. She showed us some pictures that she only briefly described. It seems like she expects us to know a lot of the history behind the art — which is ridiculous, considering this is an introductory art history class. I am hoping that, since today was only the first day, this was a quickie lesson. (We were even let out half an hour early.)

Next on the list was HIST 44 (History of New York City) on the fifth floor of the History/Economics building. About 15 minutes before class started, my cellphone starts vibrating in my hands. Who is calling me at 10:30 in the morning? I muttered as I stared at the strange phone number.

ME
Hello?

MAN
Is this Alevtina?

ME
Yes. Who’s this?

MAN
Alevtina, hi. This is D—- B——- from the MTA. How are you?

ME
Oh! Hello. I’m fine. And yourself?

MAN
Good, good. I am calling you about the internship position. Are you interested?

ME
Of course! But… is that allowed? Ms. W. told me that if we were to meet, it had to be before Friday afternoon.

MAN
I’m sure it’s okay. You know what, though? Let me get in touch with Ms. W. I’ll call you right back.

ME
OK, but you know what? I have class in 10 minutes. Would you be able to call me back in that time?

MAN
Uh, sure. OK, take care.

ME
Thank you so much. Good-bye.

I stood by the window in the corridor with my cellphone in my hands, clutching at it as if my life depended on it. However, class started at 10:50 and I couldn’t wait anymore for Mr. B.’s phone call. I went into my assigned room and took a seat by the window. (Are you beginning to see a pattern?) The professor was a few minutes late… but he completely made up for it with his pedagogical personality. He breathed life into the subject that, to me, seemed completely lackluster. He’s intelligent, humorous, and techno-savvy. Despite the man’s request for three papers to be written throughout the semester, I think I will thoroughly enjoy the class. I mean, hell, we’ll be taking three walking tours of New York City neighborhoods! They’re all voluntary… but being the dork that I am, I am going to go. No excuses.

My next class of the day, CIS 25 (Operating Systems), was to begin at 12:15 PM. However, when 12:40 rolled around, there was no instructor to be found. (I ended up making an origami frog to pass the time.) Finally, two male students from the front row decided to go to the department office and find out what had happened. They returned three minutes later, saying, “He’s here. He’s coming. He said he was given the wrong schedule.” About two minutes later, in walks a man I’d never seen before. (While I haven’t personally met every professor in the CIS department, I am somewhat confident in my abilities to place faces to names, whether it be in passing from fellow students or from photos online.) He is of Middle Eastern descent so he speaks with an accent, making it somewhat difficult to understand him. However, he, too, is a graduate student. He even seemed to be a little nervous standing in front of the class. (His hand shook as he was holding up the syllabus.) He also had a hard time articulating the material. (Grad students seem to think that, because they understand it, there is no need to explain the subject any further than what was already stated. Either that or they are simply incapable of explaining the material.) I’m not too thrilled with the actual class (learning about operating systems? snore…) but I’ll try to think positive thoughts.

At 1:40 PM, I entered another lecture hall. Since the class was CC 3.21 (Biology), however, it was on the first floor of the Science/Math building this time. When the professor arrived and unlocked the door, several dozen students poured into the classroom. I picked a seat that was close to the front of the room and near an exit. (In actuality, I sat in the first row by the door. My preference is to sit next to walls or windows, as I tend to get claustrophobic in all other situations.) This turned out to be an unfortunate seating arrangement, as I noticed a cricket or cockroach of some sort near my feet towards the end of class. I tried not to stare at him too hard or bring any attention to the critter (especially since he didn’t seem to be able to move too well, as he was on his back and making unsuccessful attempts at turning himself over, so he was perfectly harmless) but I couldn’t help but feel panicky for the remaining 20 minutes of class. The professor’s magic tricks (!) couldn’t even keep my mind off the brown bug on the floor. However, from what I was able to retain, the professor is an energetic guy who enjoys cracking jokes. (I find them funny… but, then again, I’m easy to please. Sometimes maybe too easily impressed?) The only downside to this class is that there will be no actual “laboratory” component. All lab work is to be done online — a concept that boggles my mind. I can’t seem to understand how the part of the class that used to be so hands-on has gone completely online. But you know what? One less class meeting to attend each week, which always cheers me up.

The only other class through which I have yet to sit is CIS 23 (Analysis of Algorithms). I will be meeting the professor and my classmates on Wednesday morning. This is probably the class that I am dreading the most. But, again, I need to keep my chin up and my thoughts positive.