Capstones, Journals, and Games
I am very frusterated with the way my last fall semester is turning out. Working 6 hours a week on one job, 16 hours a week on another, two lecture courses, and two senior capstones is getting the best of me. Whenever I do have free time, or at least when I can get by with procrastinating on homework, I am often too burned out to do anything but watch my roommates have fun with whatever video game they are playing that week.
*sigh*
Despite continuous trouble on my computer science capstone (for instance, the bizzare lag time between being awarded funding and actually receiving it), that project is falling into place well enough and I think it will come together. The greatest challenges with it will be the computer vision aspect and *gasp* I will begin tackling that component this week.
My mathematics capstone is perhaps more troubling. I have completed my study on the basics but am at a loss as to where to go now. There is no requirement in undergraduate capstone projects to leap ahead and explore unanswered questions or topics, but certainly something along that line is more exciting than a mere “study and learn” project. And the problem is not simply that I cannot immediately think of where to take it – I really just do not put the required thought and passion into it. I feel like I only have time to get excited about my CS project and my math one just goes where the pages land on the floor.
*sigh*
Alright… now to talk about this Journal… I feel that my opinions on this have been well discussed with my friends. Nonetheless I will reiterate them here. Not entirely long ago we received an e-mail from the resident assosiation providing instructions on the so called journal we have to write up in order to comply with our residency contract. The part that kills me the most is that this is the first we heard of anything beyond the “you must write a journal of some-sort.” In fact, my roommate Ray asked about the journal when we signed the contract and we received the very clear impression that they had no idea what the journal actually was. Moreso, Ray actually received permission to use his web site as the journal. Of course that was back when everyone was under the assumption that journal meant a daily log – which is now clearly not the case. The journal is a 1000 word essay.
That is total crap. And apparently the professors are not keen on the idea either. And why would they be? The professors know as well as the students that many of us do not have the time to write an essay that is worth nothing academically and professionally. This essay is worth nothing except to satisfy some residential committee, who probably pass the essay along to whoever donated the most money to the construction. Heck, come to think of it, I once received a message in my UC box last year demanding that I fill out a form and submit an essay about how Pacific University has changed my life in order to pass it along to the wigs handing out money to the school.
Of course back then I signed no prior contract, and the message itself was dated a full month before I actually received it – which was a mere two days before the “mandatory” deadline. I felt disrespected by the short notice and felt no guilt ignoring it. But this time around they got us. We signed the contract. And we knew the journal was on it.
But whatever. We asked ourselves what they could do. Throw us on the streets? Of course not, they need our money to pay for the building. But then someone suggested they fine us. Yeah, that is totally their style. Whatever. I’ll submit to their damn essay. I do not care anymore. The best way to stop bitching about the stupid journal is to write it and be done with it. And while I really did not want to designate any time for it, I was content with spending someone else’s time! I found some unsuprevised time at Intel and wrote my 1000 words in 2 hours. So there you have it – I was payed $22.50 to write an essay about donating my time to community service!
And finally… what ever happened to my RPG? You ask me. So far this fall I have been spending one weekend on the thing every three weeks. That is a pitiful way to meet my goals. Technically it is not too late to meet my 50% Complete goal during Thanksgiving weekend. But it will be difficult, and may not happen. It hinges on two things: (1) How busy I will be next month, and (2) if I can motivate myself enough to work on it. I have not been destracted on video games yet – but it has been so long since I played one it would be like putting a spark on a field of dry grass. And then that would be that.
One thing is for sure: Twilight Princess is set to come out this December, and that is exactly what I will be doing during the holiday break.