Busy day, worth remembering

See title.

After going through the usual routine of ECE 4175 and PHYS 2022, I go get lunch in the student center at noon. The lines are the longest I've ever seen them... ever. After waiting an extremely long time for both food and the ability to pay for said food, I take a seat at the long window table. Next to me are two girls who look like they could be a part of this big group that is undoubtedly causing the long lines. I get up the nerve to ask (1), and it's exactly the case. I talk with them a bit about what the group's all about (all-female Connect-with-Tech, essentially) and try my best to not come off as annoying. The girl who talked more said she was looking more for the "college experience" and was more impressed by Clemson. I'm just happy to give them a perspective, though they didn't have much to ask.

After lunch, I check my PO box to kill time. I see the same guy sitting at his desk across the post office as he has since my freshman year (and likely longer). I've said to myself that I really must see what this "student beliefs survey" is all about, since I've been passing it by for years. At best, it's a progressive, open-minded guy like me who rejects a lot of the bullshit around today. At worst, he's a young Earth creationist. Turns out, after taking his survey (very obviously a Christian asking a more secular college base about their beliefs), that he's a very respectful man. Respectful, if not long-winded. I was hoping to have a bit of back and forth with him on some of his common arguments, but he talked the vast majority of the time until I had class to go to. Really, though, I felt like a made a bit of my case and heard him out; it was one of the more pleasant conversations I've had on the subject. Of course, that's probably his goal, anyway, and I'm not as bothered by that. Still, another person I got the nerve to talk to out of the blue (2). Oh, and it was nice to see some friends pass by that I don't normally see during those times.

PST 3127 and ECE 4001 pass by with little interesting beyond me now knowing that the Kuwait War was somewhat justified on a lie. During my last class I goof off on Reddit and CA while "absorbing" the lecture on accounting. Ever since watching FMA: Brotherhood 46 (which I was posting about), I've been thinking a lot on the primary romantic relationship in the series between Ed and Winry. Well, "thinking" is a nice way of saying "longing". I guess this is how all those females feel about Twilight. Should I feel bad about this? Well, it's generally regarded that FMA is a good series, and I'm not gushing over this stuff publicly and annoying people. Psh, I'm avoiding the point: I'm including this because it's been the center of my attention of late. It's a visible relationship growing and changing over time that I find both interesting and engaging.

So after all my classes, I try to get my design notebook for my project class from my professor, but he's not around. When I finally do meet him later, he doesn't have it, anyway. No big loss. So, instead of going back home, I decide to make my microcontroller for ECE 4175. Over about 2 hours I solder all the parts in, asking tons of questions from helpful people (3) who really assisted me in understanding this stuff more. After it's all together, I turn it on... and... the LCD doesn't work. Oh! I remember. "I have to adjust the contrast!" Bingo. Worked on the first try. Awesome. I get it checked off, but utterly fail at cleaning the damn thing. I'll work on that later. I almost forget to go back to the apartment and get ready for pep band practice!

Another win: no playing. The meeting is short and sweet, and I have enough time to visit the observatory for astronomy class. It was quite hard to find, but once I got up there, I knew I would love it. Now would be a good time to mention the weather and how awesome it was today. That reached its peak enjoyment while enjoying the cool air on top of one of the tallest buildings around. Beautiful view, both naked and scoped: I looked at the Orion Nebula, Mars, the Beehive Cluster, and the Orion Nebula again. In some downtime I asked the professor (4) about Carl Sagan (something I'd been meaning to do for a long while). He responded with some praise and criticism, which was different from what I expected, but refreshing. Then, after most people had left, the small group that remained looked at Saturn. It was very, very cool.

After leaving Howey, a reporter (local news) waved me down and wanted to ask me about the concealed carry stuff going around the city and campus. I don't really have a strong opinion on the subject, which I told her, but I felt a bit bad for leaving her with nothing. I tried to direct her to central campus, where there would naturally be more people. So, no, I won't be on TV tonight, but it was a bit of a surprise.

Finally, just a bit ago I sent five emails to five of my professors about the classes I'll be missing for the Men's ACC Tournament. Crazy, eh?

So, to summarize and synthesize this day, I'm glad I took the time to talk to people when I was unsure or perhaps uncomfortable. I'm really proud of my new microcontroller. I really liked seeing Saturn with my own eyes. I'm going to be missing a lot when I leave on Wednesday.

Thanks for toughing that one out (if you did). This entry is a lot like my old high school diatribe, but thankfully less cryptic. I'd like to think that this is all just for myself and permanent posterity, but it's also a substitute for sharing it all directly with someone who'd care.