spring break is here! i am back in chicago for a week long break that i badly need. and though i'll try to spend some time catching back on work, i'll try to rest as much as i can before the onslaught begins.
anyway, about the shananigans of last week... all three tests kinda went pretty bad, in my eyes. i bombed economics and material science. luckily, there was a 7% curve for economics, which means that my average is now a 85, and according to the professor, the optional finals will only improve my grade. i was led to believe that the finals will count no matter how well or bad you do, but now that he mentions that he wont add the finals if it brings the average down, there's an incentive to study for it. anything to get that A. mathematically its possible to get an A without the finals, by scoring full marks for the next 2 tests, and i can only afford to get one wrong for the next 2 tests, but that doesnt seem too realistic. i have to rely on further curves and make sure that i do well, before i consider taking the finals, but A is not a remote possibility.
i thought i did badly for computer science, but i scored a 85, which brings my average up to 87. if i continue to do okay for the homeworks and do decently for the last test and the final, with the extra credit, i just might end up getting an A, which is good news.
i spent most of the week preparing for 2 interviews and the 2 tests, that i was pretty much burnt out for the material science test. it came to a point where i could not care anymore, much to my dismay. i think i did alright, save for the last question, which was fill in the blanks, but unlike the practice test, it was without any words provided, which was a disaster for me. there's no way im getting an A or B for that matter for this test. i have to make sure i do well for my last test before the finals, and i hope that dr. tannenbaum's revelation that we need 85 and above to score an A holds true. i guess we learn more from dr. gerhardt, but the tests are very challenging. it was a shocking sight when one of the girls in the class kinda gave up and told the professor that she couldnt do it, and i assume she thought it was going to be like the previous 2 tests where we were technically given the actual paper beforehand, and as a result, she stopped coming to class and thought she'd get away. she was tearing when she left the room, and as much as she seemed pitiful, she really should have known better that it was not going to be the same with a different professor.
how glad i was when the material science test was over. i quickly settled lunch and did laundry, packed frantically and left for the airport shortly after the computer science lecture.
only to be welcomed with bad news. i was taking a detour to detroit with northwest airlines, and then to o'hare, since that was marginally cheaper, but i was told that the flight will not leave at 7:35pm, but at 9pm. my connecting flight was only 45 mins apart, and i was sure to miss it. the problem with travelling within the united states for multiple cities is that once one of your flight is delayed or cancelled, your whole trip is pretty much screwed. there was another guy infront of me who had to go to milwaukee, and he started getting all worried about reaching there the next day, but to our luck, northwest transferred both of us to a united flight which took us straight to o'hare. what luck. instead of wasting 2 time detouring, i reached chicago 2 hours before the scheduled arrival. since the ncaa tournament started, i was going to be able to watch the georgia tech match afterall!
so i reached chicago pretty fast, in roughly an hour and a half, got my luggage, and left to get the usual taxi ride to naperville. i had a pretty nice ride, with a pakistani driver, with whom i had a very interesting conversation about a lot of things, and the highlight of that ride was that he might have been the turning point in my life right now, regarding religion.
most other muslims will be pissed ot disappointed with the fact that i don't practice, much like an agnostic. but he was very forthcoming with the situation and instead of forcing facts down my throat, he did like like a lecture, where he explained certain aspects and benefits and whatnot, and he very well understood not to press the issue too much. he was a little liberal about a number of things as well. and i think it worked. it kinda re-ignited a possible change in perspective for me. i just might start looking up into re-learning arabic and finding out information. this, together with the gentleness of the islamic touch of ibrahim in 'monsieur ibrahim' is having a pretty good effect on me.
the taxi ride was somewhat like those rides in a movie where the person comes out having learnt a valuable lesson from the driver. he offered me a name card, which he told me to call him a day before i leave, so that he can come pick me up and take me to the airport. i think i will.
and the moment i got back in naperville, i had a shocking news. regarding the national college basketball tournament that just started on thursday, one of the favourites lost in the first round. syracuse. they were champions just 2 years ago, and i personally had put in a bet saying they will go to the final four (national semis). but so did everyone else. so almost everyone's bracket prediction is going to turn sour. and later on in the day, another favourite, kansas, lost too. now my syracuse and austin bracket is completely destroyed. i was doing pretty well, with only 2 mistakes so far, but these two are going to be extremely costly. the only bad decision i made so far was picking UTEP over utah and cleighton over west virginia (which was close). the only real mistake i made was the old dominion one over michigan state. and right now, even gonzaga lost to texas tech. this is not looking good. my chicago bracket is completely intact so far, but i have a feeling it wont stay that way for long. the nickname 'march madness' is very suitable, since there has been numerous upsets which are only the beginning, and many more to follow.
georgia tech beat george washington 80-68 and now faces louisville, which is going to be really tough, and thought i'd very much prefer that tech wins this, i still think that louisville is too hot to handle for tech.
that's all im going to be doing for the spring break, sleeping, watching basketball and catching up on work. it aint too bad, really. hopefully some job offers will come during this week too.
it's marginally colder here in naperville. my real 'spring' break will start once im back in atlanta, where i suspect will start is ascend to hotness in the coming weeks, and it will be back to the region where we can start calling the place 'hotlanta.'
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