EPTI'm currently sitting in my new computer chair in my new room at school. Part of the reason why I haven't been on TL so long is that I started looking for this place about one month ago. That's right, I started looking for an apartment for school one month before the fall term started. Naturally a lot of the good places were already gone, but there were still many places available. I remained optimistic and found a great place!
I finally got my new room organized in a way I'm pretty happy with. The previous student living here left ALL of his stuff, so I was able to cannibalize some of it. This included my chair, a pair of speakers, 25W practice amp that I gave to my brother, all-in-one printer, and his DESKTOP. My roommates are also pretty decent and although the place could use a little cleaning we all seem to be getting along.
+ Show Spoiler [Graphics Card] +
In this dandy is a Sapphire HD 4380 Dual DVI 512Mb PCIe graphics card. Noobie I know, but compared to my 32Mb ATI Radeon X300 it's a dream. If only the damn thing would fit in my computer!
![[image loading]](http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/316376_947260281867_122611594_44960419_76610812_n.jpg)
I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but the graphics card fan has this plastic frill on it that bumps right into the cover for my motherboard's processor heat sink, which prevents me from inserting the card. I'm pretty sure I can cut off this piece if I wanted to with no ill effects, but I'm going to check the performance of the other computer first. The thing is though that I'll probably have to format the other computer just to be able to use it, so it'll be a lot more work.
I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but the graphics card fan has this plastic frill on it that bumps right into the cover for my motherboard's processor heat sink, which prevents me from inserting the card. I'm pretty sure I can cut off this piece if I wanted to with no ill effects, but I'm going to check the performance of the other computer first. The thing is though that I'll probably have to format the other computer just to be able to use it, so it'll be a lot more work.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sRxLB.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/xLfbs.jpg)
My room isn't the only thing that's looking up. I'm starting my 4th year of Mechanical Engineering at Waterloo, and I most recently got appointed to be my class rep. It's mostly a figurehead position but I treat the responsibility of handling class affairs with great pride. I also joined a student design team and registered for intramural sports, and I'm looking forward to being really socially active and visible this term among my class. I like being this busy. I feel like I'm really accomplishing something for myself by doing so.
Even though engineering is in full swing and the stakes are higher than ever, I'm also going out a lot. I think I've danced with more girls in the past week than I have in my entire life up until now. I have friends at school who will actually go out, and I'm meeting all kinds of new people.
A few months a go I was feeling really down on myself because of what happened with my ex-girlfriend. In reality though it's opened up so much more for me than was ever closed. Hell, I hadn't really even discovered much good music in the past 5 years let alone all the other opportunities I'm about to have on my own.
+ Show Spoiler [Music] +
Really, check out Crystal Castles, You Love Her Coz She's Dead, The Hundred In The Hands, and Skrillex RIGHT NOW if you have never heard of any of them. I've discovered a lot more, but these are my favorites.
I also recently discovered Ludique, but you've heard of him already.
I also recently discovered Ludique, but you've heard of him already.
I just really like this feeling that things are heading to a great place. It is not without effort though. I only just finished week #1 and I've been up until 3am writing programs; firing off resumes; meeting with professors; meeting with employers; had 12 hour days at the school, and my reward is I get to write a 7000 word report for this weekend. You know what though? That is the price, and I will pay it gladly for 32 more weeks.
I owe a lot of my current happiness to the Starcraft community, because it's provided me with an outlet for my past frustrations. Watching Day[9]'s dailies and participating in the TL community has provided me with entertainment and advice for almost a full year now. I'm starting to see why Day[9] loves the Starcraft community so much, because everyone is just friendly and accessible no matter what your level of involvement is in the game. I've had HuK post in my blog; I've seen Day[9] post in Riku's blog, whom I talk to in threads occasionally; I've had conversations with with Cambria, who's friends with Day[9]; everyone is interconnected. People like FFGenerations, Servius_Fulvius, OpticalShot, and Chef reply to my forum posts a lot and I'm glad for it. I've even had the honour of an ILOVEKITTENS reply.
So thank you to the Starcraft community, and thanks to TL for being such a great place to hang out and talk. I look forward to many more years with you, and I love you all.
+ Show Spoiler [P.S.] +
If you're in Waterloo and you want to have a beer PM me!
