Random Prejudices

I find it very helpful to identify which of your prejudices are "random" and which have some basis behind them. For instance, a random prejudice of mine is a dislike of umbrellas. There is nothing wrong with the umbrella, in fact it is a generally good thing, I think all would conclude. I couldn't explain my reasoning behind my prejudice because I have absolutely none. Even still, every time the smallest amount of precipitation falls on campus I am utterly discouraged by the sight of so many umbrellas.

A non-random prejudice, a very just prejudice, is my dislike of same-sex bathrooms. Of course, I have been using a "same-sex" bathroom my whole life: few homes have facilities designated for women and men. But this is different. On every floor of the library, right next to the elevators there is a woman's restroom and a men's restroom, where the sexes can be with only their same kind, except on the second floor. For some reason the second floor is well-advertised as have two same-sex bathrooms. What's the point? The whole character of the bathroom is lost. There might have been a girl in my men's bathroom! The men's room should be a place where you can be away from the other sex! So, while I normally I abide on the third floor, reading St. Theresa's "Life", or on the fourth floor, studying Wheelock's Latin, yesterday I was on the second floor doing Calculus (learning why e^(Pi*i)=-1, in fact!) and I had to use the restroom. It was quite a dilemma for me, because I refused to support the misguided same-sex bathroom. Fortunately I had enough time to run up to the third floor, and entered the small, most perfect, men's restroom. I even had to wait for another fellow man (so much better than waiting for a girl) before I could relieve myself.

Excel

I found myself with nothing to do this afternoon, which is always an unsettling feeling, so I decided that I was going to make a liturgical calender using Excel in these stretches of time. Actuaries use Excel alot, and it's a pretty nifty program to boot (which is probobly why they use it), so I figured I ought to know how to use it.

Well, as you know, Easter falls on a different day each year (anywhere from March 22 to April 25 in fact). The calculation actually has to do with the lunar cycle: "Easter day is the first Sunday after the 14th day of the lunar month (the nominal full moon) that falls on or after 21 March (nominally the day of the vernal equinox)." Needless to say it gets quite difficult. The other liturgical dates aren't nearly as difficult: the First Sunday in Advent, which is comming upon us quickly, is 4 Sundays before Christmas.

So I figured that it'd be best to tackle Easter first. I used dateofeaster.net (conveniant...) to figure out how it was actually done. I used a different column to calculate the letters for each year and when I got the finished column (the date of Easter) I opened up another handy Microsoft product, Word, and used the "Replace" function to consolidate my formula. Unfortunately Excel cut me off at 9000 characters for my formula, so I needed to use two columns and hide one (oh, but I will have victory one day). My formula was so long because of the steps where you need to determine the day of the week and then do different things for each day; I did this by determining the day of the week, and then having a different "if" statement for each day, which takes 7 times the charachters I think it really ought to. I also found a more simple algorithm by a certain Carl Friedrich Gauss. But after quickly figuring out the First Sunday in Advent (which took a measly 350 characters in comparison!) I'm calling it quits for today.

The Early Bird Yet Again Gets The Worm!

This weekend is homecoming weekend. I first realized this was the case because the Most Honorable Emmet Horan All-Male Sanctuary is on ultra-super-secret lock down. Residences of this Most Honorable Hall must enter through the front door only, and show their school I.D. to go to their rooms. I'm quite amazed that I wasn't woken up by drunkards last night, as usually happens on Friday nights, and would especially happen on such a riotous Friday night. No, I slept like a baby and arose at 5:35 this morning, just in time to pray Lauds, take a shower, throw on some clothes, and arrive at mass with enough time to collect my mind. Though collecting my mind was quite difficult this morning; as I was putting on my last articles of clothing (red socks for St. Ignatius!) I heard the unmistakable sound of several sousaphones (the tubas you see in marching bands the wraps around the player). As I exited the building I saw no less than 15 sousaphones in the middle of the basketball courts which are in the middle of the residence halls, playing the UW Platteville fight song (our opponents in the football game later today), and after than simply making a ton of noise. It was a glorious sight. As they continued playing shouts rang from all around them: "no wonder nobody likes band geeks"... "you suck!". To fully appreciate the situation you must understand that the dorms make a square, so everything echos quite well. An exuberant conversation 100 yards away is easily picked up. The flatulant sounds these guys were making echoed quite well. I could still hear them when I was 400 yards away.

The joys of getting up early...

The Weather!

I forgot to add that the weather today is almost perfect. It's just a bit too cold, and not enough leaves have fallen to make the slight wind completely effective (you know how you get those huge gusts of leaves flying everywhere...), but it's getting there. I am wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt which I affectionately refer to as my "Carmelite sweatshirt", because it is Carmelite brown. I'm suspecting that when I get back to my dorm I could crack the window slightly, put on a cardigan, brew a glass of hot tea (I've only had iced tea so far) and have a hey-day.

Parties

About 3 years ago the use of the word "party" became applicable to a far greater variaty of gatherings. For example, when we changed into our concert dress for highschool band, us 25 boys who were crammed into the small bathroom refered to the gatherings as "changing parties". So too, when a study group is formed, you don't call it a "calculus study group" but always a "calculus party".

Last night I cut my hair with my newly purchased pair of clippers over the bathroom wastebasket. What was a rather humble ordeal quickly became a party, as pictures were taken, onlookers voiced their approval, and some even joined in on the festivities, betraying their curly locks for the regimented buzz cut. It was quite a party.

And again this morning, I stopped into a bathroom to blow my nose, and at least 2 others were there for the same purpose. A nose-blowing party.

Rainy Friday

Today had hopes of being a rainy, dreary Friday, but alas, the sun ruins everything. There is no joy like a rainy day, especially one that is a bit nippy. You can open your window and put on a cardigan and smell and hear the fresh rain, while you contemplatively go about your day. The sun light offers no such joys: its oppressive. You can't open your window, or don any special types of clothing. There are no sounds to be heard, no freshness to be enjoyed. No, give me cold rain before hot sun any day!

I don't have any homework this weekend. I can't understand that for the life of me. I'm going to do two chapters of odd (as opposed to even; odd problems are answered in the back of the book) math problems because they are fun, and I feel like I have to do some school work. Many of the problems I've been doing lately involve finding the volume of jugs like you see women carrying on their heads:
My grandpa recommended I try instant oatmeal to fill me up in the morning (you'll recall my earlier difficulties). I've tried eating cherrios, going to class, and then eating a proper breakfast around 9 o'clock, but then I'm not hungry for lunch, but I know that if I don't eat lunch I'll be starving at 2, not to mention that I'd lose weight like crazy. I have gained 2 pounds since last week, which is reassuring. Yes, so I'm going to go and get some instant oatmeal, perhaps on my way back from mass (though, unfortunately, this is not a blue sock Saturday).

I learned a cool word today: stevedore - one who loads logs onto ships. Perhaps that's not a readily useful term. I also learned that polygyny (a husband having multiple wives) is extremely common in the world, and is in fact more common than monogamy. In many countries women will divorce their husbands if they do not marry another woman and they have the means to do so (the second wife acts as a helper... it actually makes a lot of sense). I don't think I'm ever use that either, at least as long as I'm living in America.

Last night I attended my first Calculus party. One of the party goers was visibly disgruntled, and has been so for the past few days, and I recommend that she sing a hymn, because, no doubt, singing a good hymn will always cheer you up! There is no misery a line of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent" won't illuminate, or frustration that a strain of "Praise to the Lord!" won't remedy. Unfortunately she didn't know any good hymns, so I printed some of my particular favorites and gave them to her this morning.

Well, other than that little ditty the week as a whole has been quite uneventful. I am 1/60th done with college as of today though. Only 118 weeks. That makes about 1,416 classes, which means something like 1593 hours of class left. Some people have 4 hour long Chemistry labs though! I sat outside a geology lecture today, and I think I'd take even that over a 4 hour lab.

Sing a hymn!

The College Timezone

I've been having a particularily difficult time adjusting to the wildly different timezone college operates in. I get up at 6, eat ready, eat breakfast and go. I'm in that sort of "lets take over the world today" morning mood when I get out the door, in fact the first words I pray every day are "Come, let us rejoice in the Lord!" [Psalm 95], only to find a ghost town. There are bikes and cars everywhere; I have evidence to believe that there are living, breathing humans on the campus, but they are all huddled up behind their closed curtains.

I should add here that breakfast has also been a difficulty. On days I have class the dining hall opens at 7, yet my first class is at 7, and I have class until 10, so I can't eat breakfast there. And on days I don't have class they open at 10 (ridiculous, huh?), which is awfully late to have breakfast. I normally eat what is really two meals, and don't go back until dinner. I'll tell you, at this very moment I'm waiting until I can eat a proper breakfast. I say a proper breakfast, because I do have food in my room. At first I was eating Cherrios every morning, which, no matter what quantity I eat them in (I could have the whole box, two boxes, three!), only serve to make me wildly hungry in less than two hours. I would be less hungry having half a piece of toast than a box of Cherrios. Luckliy a friend of mine sent me some granola which not only tastes good (I was initially sceptical... both for taste and political reasons, actually), but also does a better job at filling me up. Yet even still, right around 10:30 I get awfully hungry.

I think that the morning is the most grevious loss for college students. It's such a wonderful time of day. The sun is shinning, you are full of energy (provided you go to bed on time...) and you have a full 12 hours ahead of you. The problem is that college students don't go to bed on time. Right around the time that I pray Compline, which is the very last thing I do in the day, everybody else is starting the partying. Thursday, as I prayed "Out of the depths have I cried until thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice!" [Psalm 130], there was a salsa dance going on in the basketball court outside my window. When I was praying "Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled. My eyes have seen the salvation you have prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people, Israel," [Luke 2:29-32] everybody was going to the football game (I should point out that for college students, going anywhere is not a passive action simply involving walking or riding, but rather it is a very active action which involves the whole body, particularily the vocal capabilities; in less sperfulous English: college students are LOUD!).

So yes, my day seems to operate in direct opposition of this University.