I guess I should probably put something here
Well, so I’ve been in Pittsburgh for 2 weeks and 5 days. It’s been bad and good. I mention them in that order because it came in that order. I arrived to find the house in a state of disarray, due to both the subletters and the previous renters. I was depressed and in a somewhat bad mood for a few days because of this. There was a piece of meat at the bottom of the fridge that took 3 hours of straight ammonia to release from the fridge. There was a ¼” layer of coagulated ramen and broth all over the stove. The inside of the stove had thick black crusties all over the whole thing. The basement had 100 boxes, an overflowing bin of dryer lint that was all over the floor, and about 20 bottles of empty laundry detergent scattered about. Well, we finally got all that crap cleaned up and I felt a lot better at the end. I probably did more cleaning in that first week than I’d done previously in my entire life.
Week 1 was ROTC orientation. I was a Classroom Instructor, a PT (physical training) instructor, and a Drill Instructor. It was fun, but was hard work. At least I got a few hours off each day.
Week 2 was incoming freshmen orientation for the University. I didn’t have an official job, but I helped with SDC (Student Dormitory Council) events doing watergun fights and House Wars and more. On Thursday Josh and Dave arrived, which meant that roaming around the house naked was a little more…awkward. On Friday we all went to Costco in Josh’s BMW SUV and spend $600 on groceries. After we somehow managed to fit almost all of it into the car, we only had space for me or a broom. Well we gave the broom to a homeless man and I actually fit nicely into the broom-sized space when I turned sideways. Saturday and Sunday I went backpacking at the Laurel Highlands with the Explorer’s club. It was the freshmen orientation trip, which happens near the end of orientation. I was a trip leader—we had about 40 freshmen participants total, split into 6 different groups, based on abilities. The Laurel Highlands is about 1.5 hours east, and has a 70-mile long trail which doesn’t really go anywhere. Each group did a different section. This was quite a different experience than hiking in WA. The campsite had adirondaks, running well water, and fancy toilets. The trail was always crossing over service roads and was never really challenging (though people were always talking about the huge 400 foot climb we had just done, or something like that). Rather than the trail accessing more remote parts of the area (as in WA), it was pretty much just there to entertain people who enjoyed hiking. The views sucked, comparatively. It’s not that it sucked, it was just very different. It was very nice not having to take a tent, and as it was summer in Pittsburgh, I went without a sleeping bag as well. I would have done well to bring a hat, but I was just fine.
Week 3 started classes. I’ve got the most messed up schedule ever. On Monday and Wednesday, when I’ve got to get up at 5 am for PT, I don’t have class until 12:30. On Tuesday and Thursday, when I’ve got no PT, I’ve got class at 8:30. Why oh why couldn’t it be the other way around? And then there’s the class that goes from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM!!!!. Fortunately it is a drawing class and will be one of my favorites.
Classes: Some good, some bad. I’ve got 4 classes in my department, which is a lot. Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Numerical Methods, and Engineering Graphics. Dynamics will be like Physics 100 but with differential equations included. To me this will be…crappy. Heat Transfer is underground and is quite like hell. The prof. has a reputation for locking the doors at the start of lecture, so no one can get in. OR OUT!!!! I guess there has to be a way out…Numerical Methods should be sort of fun, but also hard since I’m not exactly the best programmer in the world. Graphics will be the best and easiest of those four. I’ve never taken a drawing class before. Though it is technical drawing, it should be a nice change of pace. I’m also taking Social Psychology from an African American lady from Mississippi. This class should be very cool. There aren’t too many papers/exams, and mostly I just have to sit and listen to her awesome lectures.
Josh, my new roommate, worked at a camp over the summer. He has 2 girl friends (one from UK, one from Australia) who had an extra week after camp before going home. They made a tour of the east coast and stayed with us for 2 days. They were quite entertaining. It was nice that it was the first week of school and we could hang out without having to worry much about classes and homework.
The weather has been very nice lately, as it has been much cooler than normal and I have rarely wished we had an air conditioner in the house. It’s nice to step out of the shower and feel clean 30 minutes later.
Well, I’ll probably be too busy to post for a while. I’m supposed to go climbing in a week in WV, and this weekend I might go to Cedar Point theme park in Ohio. We’ll see if I want to spend $35 or not.