This is it...

I took two of my four exams, the latest being my CS exam. I feel OK about them. It's the ones tomorrow I'm dreading -- DiffEQ and Chemistry, and I'm a hair from failing DiffEQ. Wish me luck.

Most of my stuff's packed. In a few hours -- 7 AM to be precise -- Mom comes with the van to take me back to a world of dialup and boredom, of spare-time computer projects and tiring paid work, of guilt-tripping relatives and no friends nearby, of byzantine bus schedules and little on-foot mobility. I wish I could stay in Blacksburg, but, alas, I cannot. The past year, despite the hard work, little sleep, and other things, has been a blast. You people make my life bearable, even fun at times. But for now, that comes to an end. It's funny -- when I first got here a year ago, I was dreading it. I spent the week before classes pining for those I left in high school. Now I find that my high school friends don't hold a candle to anyone I knew in college -- enough that I want to stay in Blacksburg. I guess that's the Black Hole for ya.

This will most likely be my last post from Blacksburg for a while. I may be on once more, but I doubt it. I hope everyone has a good summer, and, with luck, I'll see some of you come time for Origins.

I'm Home.

I'm now back in Charlottesville. The stuff's unloaded from the van. Mom and I are watching TV right now. I haven't really unpacked anything; I've been too tired. I'm going to set up my desktop tomorrow, and possibly move some stuff around so I can get to it better.

Predictably, loading the van took about 8 hours. The elevator in Newman broke down on Friday, so we had to lug everything up and down the steps. And, as Mom is no spring chicken, she pooped out near the end. Eventually we got everything loaded, and then I spent the better part of an hour tracking down the RA on duty so I could check out. Oy.

Mom's been talking about my former job. Apparently, they've filled my spot at the lab, so I can't go back there. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I never really liked that job. OTOH, I have to find a new one. One of Mom's friends is looking into one for me, but I'm going to start looking around anyway. Either way, I'm going to tadakimacun's graduation -- Mom said she'd lend me what money I'd need. Origins, however, is another story. I'm still planning on going, though.

I've forgotten how much stuff I still have in my room. It's cramped enough to make my dorm feel roomy. But it's liveable, and I can compute there, so it's good enough for the next few months. Unfortunately, I'm still stuck with dialup, and even that's getting spotty. No more big downloads for me. Good thing I grabbed some stuff off of BitTorrent before I left. Plus, Mom got DVDs of Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, and Lost in Space, so if I'm feeling bored, I can pop one of those in. And Mom's working nights, so I can have the living room to myself.

I still miss Blacksburg, though. It's not as humid down there as it is up here -- it was very muggy while I was unloading stuff, and I was sweating like a pig. I'm going to miss more of it soon enough, though -- the big fields of green, the regular gaming, the broadband, the geeky humor...

*sigh* I'm sorry for being so thoroughly depressing about coming back to C-Ville. But I'm still trying to deal with the fact that for the next three months, I'm going to be living in a virtual cage. And, on top of that, I have no job. So life kinda sucks right now.

Anyway, I'll be watching some more TV and then going to bed. I miss you guys.