Getting ready for the fall semester

I signed up for classes on Tuesday, and though I'm pretty sure I'll get the classes that I've not offically signed up for, I'm not done with it.

 

They have freshman restrictions for Earth and Atmospheric Science class that I'm taking (once that's done, no labs for the rest of my time at Tech) and the special problems class for Industrial Engineering, which I need a permit signed by Dr. Tovey. I attended that class last fall, unofficially, as I got to know about it much later on as a pledge in Delta Sig.

 

But yeah, going ahead with 21 hours, if I manage to get everything. It's kinda scary, as it is the maximum load any one person can take. Thankfully, one of the classes, International Affairs, is a pass/fail class, so I can afford to step back for that one class. Even then. I should probably have figured out from last semester that taking anything more than 18 is going to be pretty hard, but since I've really learnt time management, I'm gonna give it a shot.

 

I was talking with Sandesh about the possibility of taking classes while working, and I've looked up some classes that are offered. Fortunately, an accounting and a material science class is offered at 4:30 onwards. I could possibly bring the idea up to my supervisors and see if they approve, as it will enable me to cut down on my class loads, and if everything works out, I might not have to study for the last summer session and graduate in Spring 2008. That would be fantastic. I was thinking of taking online or night classes in some other university, but I'm essentially a registered full-time student at Georgia Tech while working, so I don't think Tech will allow me to be registered in two different places at one time. First off, I have to ask my co-op advisor if that's possible, and secondly, I have to ask RubberNetwork if they're okay. I'll probably take few hours off from normal working hours for the days of the classes, but I'll put those hours back on the days where there aren't classes. Since major bulk of the work is done in the morning, I'm pretty sure that will be fine.

 

I'm pretty happy that I've managed to catch quite a lot of films over the past few days. Let's see, I completed watching 'Kama Sutra,' 'Psycho,' 'The Passion of The Christ' and 'La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful).' All of them were class acts. I really liked the original 'Psycho' and to think it was made in 1960 is amazing. 'Passion' was rather painful, due to the torture scenes, and I can imagine how Christians felt when they were watching the film. 'Life is Beautiful' was very well made as well, and I was having problems getting the subtitle file to work, but found out that the downloaded movie was an English dubbed version, so it worked for me.

 

Surpringly, I have 5 movies left to watch that are stored in my laptop. But almost all of them are ones that last for at least 2 and a half hours. However, all of them are considered one of the greatest film of all time, and if I'm not wrong, all of them are ranking in IMDb's top 50, if not the top 100, so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

This week somehow passed by a little faster than I expected. 2 more weeks til work ends. Sheesh. Next week's going to be a pretty important week, as we have a major meeting. Oh, and yes, I'll be working as a 21 year old from next monday onwards. No more restrictions on anything, for now, I guess.

 

I'm such a sucker for books, when I buy them, I buy a whole lot. But I make sure I finish reading them. I bought a number of books related to Supply Chain Management off from eBay, maybe around 8, all A class books, and it so happened that 4 of them came all on the same day on Tuesday. It's not something that needs to be read urgently, so I'm gonna take my time and read each one of them over the course of my time at Tech. I'll be sure to have a great awareness of how the industry functions and whatnot. Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Supply Chain Strategies and whatnot.

 

Also, I got the two books on 401(k) investment plan. A colleague of mine who occupies the cubicle opposite mine told me some things about investing in the retirement fund and showed me this spreadsheet which calculates how much things you accumulate over the years, and it was fascinating. He advised to start investing from now, as the portfolio I build from such a young age will prove to make such a difference when I'm over 55, I saw it in black and white. Though it was only an estimate or a projection, it was pretty clear that I'll be the biggest dumbass on earth if I do not do anything about it. Millions are losing out by starting way too late in their careers and it does not make any sense or benefit for them, but if I were to contribute a sizeable amount, I think it would be greatly beneficial. Since I don't really spend, I could contribute quite a bit from my pay, starting from next working semester. I have until then to read the two books, learn about the facts and make sure I'm knowledgeable before I put my funds in.

 

I've picked up many things from this semester. I wish I could pick up more, but theres a time and pace for everything. I'm gonna be learning how to use a major integration software next semester, which is exciting, as when I go and get a job after graduation, these knowledge and skills could come in very handy.

 

Alright, time for me to go for today.