Fear the Crab

I’ve found that doing the homework assignments immediately after covering the material in class greatly helps my understanding of it. Of course, that’s probably a given to many studious types. Still, it bodes well for my hopes of passing the class. Right now I am .02 points below 50, and according to the professor, anything below 50 means I’m in trouble. Hopefully I will do well in my assignments and have some modicum of success with my exams. The material we are covering now seems a bit more straightforward than previously encountered, so I don’t know if that’s the only reason why it seems I’m doing okay.

Tomorrow is the big interview with the City. According to some inside sources, the interview part will likely consist of questions pertaining to the office’s function of property assessment, such as tax rates and basic exemptions due to age, disability and low income. I understand all of that for the most part, though technical aspects (like the exact amounts) are unknown to me at this time. The written test may possibly involve some basic math and blueprint sketches. The math I’m not too worried about, since it deals primarily with geometry and areas. I know how to read blueprints, though if you were to ask me about details I wouldn’t know oak from redwood and the differences between a house built tongue-in-groove versus otherwise. Aside from the test and office knowledge, the rest is pretty much up to me and what I answer. So long as I give the impression that I’m a hard worker, easily trainable, and willing to learn and work well with others, I have a shot at getting this job.

My dad says they may also ask me which softball team I want to play in. I’m shooting for team A, because I already know a lot of the guys there, and my dad says they’re pretty cool when it comes to playing badly (ie they laugh at you instead of yelling).

The Kikaida DVD is set for release on Oct 15. It will have episodes 1 through 5, and if I get it from Costco I can look to spend about $20 for each. The 15th is a Tuesday, which means I can pick up the DVD after school. I’ll likely buy three if I can get away with it; one for George, one for my brother, and one for me. This also means that I no longer have to worry about taping the darn episodes and missing any, but it also means that my brother will likely have to wait longer for the entire collection. I’m sure he can handle it, though.

Didn’t post yesterday because I was too busy trying to figure out this last math problem. Took me two hours from the time I returned after picking up my parents at the airport, to the time I went to bed at 2200 hours. I think I blew a neuron.

Not much else to write about in regards to yesterday.

Didn’t meet up with Maile after work as originally planned, but it’s not as bad as one might think. We both had a lot of studies to catch up on, and tonight was the best night to do it. It turns out for the best, because I was able to finish my math assignment, leaving tomorrow totally free to see her. Maile should also be done with the work she has left to do. We might watch a movie, or rent one and kick back at home with some popcorn.

I read in the news that the factories in Japan have started to airlift the parts to the factories on the mainland, so the US can start production of their cars once again. This bodes well for the arrival of my truck, regardless of whether or not it was assembled prior to the lockout. There’s also word that Hawaii will be exempt from the lockout because we’re so dependent on shipping for most of our goods and supplies, so that’s a good sign that consumers won’t feel as big a backlash as we once thought.

Took my two exams today. I think I bombed my math exam. At least, a good half of the answers I either started guessing, or don’t feel as comfortable with. Each question was worth a different amount of points, but I never took the time needed to figure out if those questionable questions were heavy weights or not.

As far as the programming exam, I feel a bit better. I knew a lot of the material, and it’s just a matter of whether or not I got some of the technical aspects down. I had the concepts in my head and had a cheat-sheet full of the methods to use, and I think I organized them into an effective program, but only time will tell if I was absolutely correct.

Spent the rest of the day bored. There were probably a million things to do, but I felt lazy and didn’t do anything. That, of course, means I have no excuse to be bored, but some days you just don’t feel like doing crap. I did watch Reservoir Dogs, finally, and must say it was quite an interesting movie. A good question for anyone who has seen it is, “Did Mr White shoot at the end?” One could argue it both ways.

I must remember to do the laundry tomorrow. Otherwise I won’t have any shirts to wear to work.

Spent the day studying for my math and programming exams. Took my parents to the airport, and was a bit nervous driving the van back home and parking it in the garage, but it turned out okay. The City called me and scheduled an interview for the 11th, which is a Friday, at 0830. They first wanted me to go in on the 10th at 1030, but that’s when I’m at school. They want me to bring a simple four-function calculator because I’ll be taking a written test. I don’t know what kind of test, but if it involves a calculator it’s gotta be something math-like. Perhaps it’s more geometry.

We got slammed today at work. It was as busy as we had been in years past, but I have to take into consideration that back then we had a lot more people on staff. Perhaps it was simply because we are short-handed that it felt busier. After all, in the duty free section there used to be 4 people working any given night; now it’s just 2.

Maile called me after work. She had some trouble falling asleep, so we talked for a good hour, even after I finally reached home. Having insomnia sucks eggs, especially if one has to wake up early the next day. Maile usually has an early run on Saturdays, and often wakes up at 5 to get in to the lab. I hope she’s all right tomorrow.

George won’t be working tomorrow. I found that out when I saw him tonight as I started and he was leaving. I don’t know if he has vacation or switched a day off, but it doesn’t really matter to me because it’s his time off. He’s not one to normally take a day off just because he feels like it. Tomoko made some kind of wisecrack about calling him in to work, saying that I was going to call in sick. After she said that, the thought briefly occurred to me that I, too, could use a day off. I have two exams next Thursday, one of which is the dreaded Discrete Math. Top that with the homework assignments that I have due for both classes, and that doesn’t leave much time to get any studying done. The 211 homework can actually substitute for studying, because the coding itself will be similar to what I’ll have to do in that exam. That doesn’t mean I can rest easily, however, because a lot of my programming is done through heavy references to my notes and materials.

Speaking of notes, for both classes I will be allowed to bring in one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with whatever notes I want, and use it in the exams. I wanted to use my time tonight to jot some things for the 241 test, but as mentioned before, work was too busy to even take a glimpse at my current pile of notes. I also need to consider how I’m going to format my “cheat sheet.” I plan to use both sides of the paper (it’s allowed), but I haven’t decided if I’m going to write all my notes or use the tiniest legible font on my computer. The problems with doing it by hand are that I may not recognize my own writing, there won’t be much organization, and I may lose efficient space. The problem with doing it on the computer is the risk that a special symbol may be lacking, forcing me to leave some space to fill it in by hand.

Forgot to mention in previous entries that my mom’s painting was shown in the local paper. There’s an article about an art fund raiser for the REHAB hospital, and the sole painting displayed is the one made by my mom. The only time I ever had my name in the paper was when I was on the high school bowling team and scored a 222. Coincidentally, that was the only game we had ever won, and it was against Iolani. My name was written in the sports section (obviously) in the tiniest font possible. I think someone clipped that statistic article, but I have no idea where it is after 12 years. Anyway, I’m currently trying to find a way to either scan or digitize her painting, so I can post it on the web page.

Went with Maile to LCC as she took a Psychology test. I spent the idle time studying for my 211 quiz that’s coming up Thursday. There was the very rancid smell of manure towards the back of the campus, and I thought some toilet had overflowed because I only smelled it when I went past the bathrooms to get something to drink. Maile told me afterward that was the Agriculture department. I guess they have a full garden/crop field or something. There’s a lot of brush behind the campus, so it’s plausible that it’s back there.

Keoni irritates me to no end. Perhaps I’m making too big a deal of this, but there are just things people do that piss me off. One such thing is saying, “I going take some cigarettes, okay?” To me, that is the rudest thing you could say to someone. The polite thing to say is, “May I have some cigarettes?” or something to that extent, where the request is actually a request. A question, if you will. Not some statement of what you’re going to do. That’s just assuming the other person will be okay with it.

Not to mention, he took over half of her pack.

I somewhat finished my applet for ICS 211. Fixed a bug involving the deletion of pets. If there were two pets of the same name, and you wanted to delete the second one, the program would only attempt to delete the first, and never move on to the second. I fixed it by requiring not only the pet’s name, but the owner’s name. Unfortunately, I haven’t solved this other glitch where the program accepts duplicate entries. I used to have a check that ran to see if a pet’s name and owner’s name were already in the database, but when I converted the program to an applet, it didn’t seem to work. At least I have a whole week to ask for help.

Today I wore one pair of those women’s hiking socks. They fit well, as expected, and were a bit more comfortable than what I used to wear. Shoes are shoes, though, and when standing around all day, feet hurt no matter what you wear. When I got home my feet had an imprinted pattern on the top. That’s what happens when you wear socks like that.

Today I kept craving a cigarette. My mind tried to justify the craving, but thankfully the mere thought of having to shell out $6 kept it to a minimum. Maile said my mind is not ready to quit smoking, and I believe her. I just feel I should “get a head start” on quitting, and now is as good a time as any. I must maintain my discipline, and hopefully this discipline will spill over to other areas, such as car maintenance and my homework.

Irene called me up at midnight this morning, and wanted to know about some unemployment papers she got after reapplying (or extending) her benefits. I confirmed that she only needed to send the checklist if the information listed was incorrect. She also asked if I sent in my tax forms for unemployment, but I had to admit to her that I did not receive such documents, and thus could not help her. I did refer her to George, though, because I believe he had received said items.

Then she asked me if I had been sleeping, and to that I responded that yes, I had been alseep since 2100 hours. She was very apologetic, because she had thought I got off of work at 2315, when I had the early shift and wanted to get a full night’s sleep for school.

As it turned out, it was all for naught. After the phone call I couldn’t go back to sleep. Everytime I tried to close my eyes, they’d pop back open again. The weather was muggy and warm, too, which made it uncomfortable. I decided to just stay up, and now my mind and body is paying for it.

It is interesting to note that when Irene called, I saw her name and number on my caller ID. As I picked up the phone, I had momentarily thought my voice would sound sleepy-like and groggy, but instead I probably had the most pleasant-sounding voice I ever had. I still must have sounded sleepy, because Irene picked up on it. And Maile has seen and heard a difference when I speak on the phone to people, depending on their gender.

Today was a blur, no doubt because of my sleep-deprivation. I do remember that in 241, after four weeks of instruction, I got one of the in-class examples correct, without help. Of course, next week’s notes will likely revert me back to square one.

In 211, I earned an audience participation point. My exact words to earn that point were, “Uh… yes.”

We’re still learning probability in 241. I understand the concept, but when presented with a problem I have trouble figuring out the different details and what’s expected of me. I suppose this is the same as how some people can’t stand word problems; perhaps it’s a failure to understand and notate the different variables.

In 211 we’re going to convert our big programming assignment into an Applet, and run it off the web. I already started trying out the code, but the GUI isn’t what I thought it would look like. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m forgetting something, or some of my parameters are off. For example, I wanted a text field that was 80 characters long, flanked by a label and a button. Instead I got a big label, text field of 20 characters long, and a big button. Perhaps in class Thursday we’ll find out how to adjust these things. We still haven’t learned how to make the buttons and stuff do anything; right now we’re simply designing the layout.

If the Applet thing works out, I’m going to post my JavaQuest game on my web page. Unfortunately, whoever plays it won’t be able to save their game. I can’t save it on their machine, and I sure as hell don’t want them to save it on mine! Still, it’d be an experience to do that, and I can leave it on my page for no other reason than to brag.

I took a two-hour nap, so now I’m awake. This might not be so good, because I have to wake up early and go to work for an extra day tomorrow. If I stay up late I’ll be very surly in the morning.