Deezil.us

Happy Birthday.

I doubt I’ll be as sober for the rest of the birthday celebration, it’s mah birthday today, so happy birthday to me.

Let us retire to the nerdery.

So I was at a party drinking heavily out in the ghetto a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, I know, drinking probably wasn’t the best idea after the night I had, but a fifth of rum later, I didn’t really care that much any more. But I noticed, even in my drunken fervor, that the word facebook flew more that I had ever heard it at a party. Were the pictures I was taking going to be up there, we’re we friends on there so you could tag the photos, I’ll facebook you tomorrow and maybe we can go do something, ad nauseum. In that instant, I realized one immutable truth (and for those that have been around that long, yes there was an entry with that name. Quite a while ago.). It’s now socially acceptable to be a complete and utter computer nerd. People are now attached to their technology more than ever before. And it makes a computer nerd like me sick. I used to be in a position of power, behind my keyboard, wielding the wordly secrets as I traversed the internet, conversing with people across the nation, even the earth, and being content at staring into the screen for hours at a time. Now, I’m just one of the mindless, faceless masses attached at the hip with facebook, instant messaging, myspace, online gaming and a whole plethora of other things that are centered around the computer. I still feel solace with the fact that I am one of the upper echelon of the users, knowing not just what things do, but why and how, which does separate me from the masses.  But I can say that it still hurts because my hallowed digital ground is definitely not as pristine as when I started years and years ago.

The brain hurts.

So it’s no secret that I absolutely loathe some of the students I am in charge of helping out. Don’t get me wrong, my usual bitching on here is anywhere but the norm. The bulk of students are well-mannered, attentive, and have helpful questions to ask.

But then, there are the stupid ones.

The frustrations that these students have been placing upon me this semester have kept growing and growing to the point that I cannot wait until I turn 21 so I can drink before the night class in order to stand it better.

Let me demonstrate some of the finer points:

1.) A secretary that works on campus is in a certain special section of CSC 199. She works with office documents all day. Yet, when she steps in here, she forgets everything. It’s like she’s never touched a computer in her life. The more stinging part is that I have it on excellent authority that she gets the students in her office to complete it for her. Not only is that the true definition of academic dishonesty, but in some small part, my tuition is paying for her to a.) waste my time and b.) to cheat and get the grade.

2.) We have a foreign student in one of the day labs. He doesn’t have the finest grasp on the English language, but he can understand what you are saying. However, as far as I as well as some of my colleagues are concerned, he is one of the most frustrating students we have. He constantly comes in late then expects us to catch him up, without trying to go through the book and doing it himself. Then at the end of class, myself, the other lab assistant, and the GA all have to play 20 questions. Bad part is, he asks us all the same questions every time. Usually to all 3 of us. And then, at random, he’ll have one of us answer selected questions again. I wouldn’t be so upset if he didn’t demand so much, and I don’t get paid enough to help to translate as well. If he had a better grasp on the English language, I do believe he could absolutely excel in this class. But that’s something that I can’t and wouldn’t provide.

3.) The airhead. *sigh* Everything is a struggle with her, as she really means well, but asks some stupid questions and forgets some of the basic things at the most inopportune times. It turns into trouble, because I have to retrace the steps with her. And sometimes once isn’t enough. And for some reason, the book doesn’t help her enough as she gets lost in it easy when she has to turn back and forth to try and find the concept we already covered.

4.) The people that already know me. Those that know me know that I am a patient, giving man. I’ll do just about anything for you, even when I may miss out on something that I really wanted to do. The only thing about this is that you have to understand that I’m a student as well, and that when I’m not in class, I’m not a lab assistant, I’m a person studying, taking classes, just like you. There are some people that know how giving I am before I take the class, and then keep asking of me like they always have whenever they get into the class. I usually don’t mind, but some are known to kick it up a notch. And those are the ones that can really hit on my last nerve.

I guess that’s really all the bitching I have for now on the subject of that class. By far the most organized bitching I’ve had about the class before.

I met you long long ago in another life.

College is one of those odd experiences.  For 4 (or more) years, you are placed in a small area with any number of thousands of other students, expected to live, love, and learn, and then get thrown back out in the fray of real life.  And in the coursing and pulsing that occurs during this time away from real society, you start to connect things back to that former life.  It’s inevitable that you will find everyone who you found in that previous part of life again, just reborn under a different name, and a few different rules.  Just like my friend AllieM, who reminds me of a friend from high school named Kristen, except that Kristen was, and still is very religious, whereas Allie is quite a bit more liberal with her values.  Like one of my brothers, Leonard, is a cross of two good friends in high school, Tony and Reggie.  It’s just odd how much some people you meet here, and swear you have known them forever, really are like their previous counterparts, and how nice it feels to surround yourself with those people again.

Tuesday’s Lunch

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Be jealous.

For those old, blind people, it’s a cheesestick from Matt B’s.