AMC

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Nursing School Second Salvo

Yeah, so applying to one school didn't work out and all. I'd like to claim that it wasn't totally my fault, that it was at an odd time of year so it was the only one around to apply to (true, in MA), and that it was the shortest program I could find (true). But I could have gotten an earlier start and applied for the schools I'm appling to now a year ago...

Anyways, I've learned my lesson.

This time, there are five applications. Two have been entirely completed, three are just waiting on some pieces. Here's the status:

Simmons: Complete.
UMASS Worcester: Complete.
Northeastern: Waiting on two recs.
Regis College: Waiting for those same recs.
Curry: Complete, but I haven't mailed it yet because I forgot I wasn't waiting for recs for it.

This time, several of the programs are direct-entry masters programs, which means I'd come out of it as a Nurse Practitioner. I'm not sure that's what I want but to in order to broaden the scope of the applications I decided to go for it. As long as I get in this time.

Linux Installation Update 2a

Alright, panic was unwarranted. I did what I should have done in the first place, and put the Debian disk in. Linux reinstalled easily - but slowly, since I checked a lot more boxes this time and read things more carefully.

Moral of the story: I can now get the monitor up to a whopping 800x600! Yee haw.


Also, never use a windows install disk when a linux one will do the job just as well.

Linux Installation Update 2

So I was moving along smoothly and all, I was getting really good at installing things and stuff, and I decided to try to change the monitor resolution.

Bad move.

See, I was trying to change what monitor the system thought I had, but the command I ran in the terminal asked me to set a lot more than than. Stuff I had no clue about. So I... uh... just hit enter right through it all. Then it said it was done. I still coudn't change the resolution, so I decide to reset the computer.

Nothing happens.

Oh well, I've screwed things up on computers before, not a problem, I'll just take the Screensaver's epic advice and reinstall and try again. So I reset, set the cd drive as my primary boot device, and use the Windows 98 CD because I know how to format the drive from there pretty easily.

D:\WIN98>format c:
Invalid drive specification

Holy shit.

I can't even... not even... drive C:!??!? Oh man. This will take some doing.

Linux Installation Update 1

I have successfully installed Debian Sarge 3.1 on L-UJ. It was obscenely easy. I had this idea that it would be very picky and need me to make a lot of choices that I wouldn't have any clue about. But it was easy, and now I have what looks like the bastard child of Windows and Mac-OS on my secondary machine.

So of course, I've got to find ways to make it more difficult. To that end, I'm reading a reference manual to try to figure out how to do stuff in the terminal interface. Wooooooooo!

And as Chris had prophesied, man is my friend.


You see, it's funny because "man" is the command you use to call up the manual page on a specified topic tihin the terminal. Hahaha!

Christopher Walken

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The Pixies - Surfer Rosa

Allow me for a moment, as I know you will, to speak on the subject of Surfer Rosa, and album that I have recently become obsessed with.

I didn't really see it coming. I got it for my birthday, played it once, and liked it well enough, and then put it up. I ended up putting it in my car player, just to give it another chance to really impress me, and it didn't.

But I didn't take it out of my car.

It's a short album, so you can be pretty sure that even if you only really like a couple songs they'll pop up a lot, especially on longer car trips. I just kept thinking, I'll leave it in to hear Where is My Mind again, then change cds. It's the song I knew best before getting the album, and it really stands out. I always thought of it as being perfectly crafted to present the particular lackadasical feeling it delivers, but within the very loose album it becomes clear it is... not accidental but simply a representation of what the album stands for.

Now, I think Oh man, I can't take it out now, Broken Face is up next!

I didn't even like that song at first. A number of elements have won me over though - not just for that song but for all of them.

• Aesthetic - Each song is very loose and raw indie rock, but never dipping into self-indulgent emo. Just up tempo rock. Nothing too heavy, but nothing too light.
• The songs are very elemental. Surfer Rosa preceded like-minded bands such as Weezer or modern indie rockers to the point that the music seems to be the gregorian chanting to their renaissance chamber music. The elemental melodies occur throughout.
  
• Rhythm - There are several instances where I have been particularly struck by an effective juggling of rhythms. I'm just like that.

So yeah, I like the album. I'm glad I gave it a second chance.

I think I learned a valuble lesson kids.

Here's where I learned to tune my guitar (again).

Here's where I'm remembering how to play chords.

And dear god now I remember what it was like. How I felt about her. Which is to say how she felt.

Truely, I love E minor. Such a tender chord. Full of remorse.

And soooooo easy to play.

Yes, E minor is the slut chord.


But I still love her.

Gonna Tell Me When to Start?

I tuned my guitar today, for the first time since not doing it in high school.

This time, I'm not going to give up and get my hair cut.

I'm going to install Linux as soon as Chris recommends a good version to me.

I've got a webcomic that about 6 people read (including my parents) - and that's the way it should be.

The nursing school applications are progressing as planned.

This time, I'm doing it right.

Rock On.