Saying goodbye

Last weekend, my hamster Herbie died.

He was probably the cutest hamster to ever have lived. He was really good natured too - a little fidgety when being held but never bit anyone or peed on them. Toward the end of his life, he had gained a lot of weight and was having respiratory problems. I knew it was the beginning of the end when he stopped sleeping in the top section of his cage and moved down to the bottom. I will miss him, but I am glad he is no longer in pain. Stephen and I went out on the balcony and he played taps while I burned a candle.

The next morning, I sold the black VW. Forgive me, but I deleted all the pictures I have of it so as to begin the process of removing it from my memory. This was not a bittersweet parting. I am elated to finally be rid of it. All I have to do now is clean up the orange one a little bit and fix a couple little problems and list it. I'm not so eager to sell this one because it's not nearly as much of a pain in the neck. I can take my time finding the right buyer and the right price.

Apparently, regularity is not my middle name

Not doing so well on the old blogging bit am I? The last few posts (including this one) have been over a month apart. It's not that nothing is going on, it's just that it's escaped my mind and I have been quite busy.

Although I generally don't do so, I actually made a couple New Year's resolutions this year. I intentionally left them vague so as not to set myself up for failure. Firstly, I want to read the Bible more. One good way to get to know God is to read his word. Another is to eat more healthy food. More in this case modifies food, rather than healthy. Most of what I eat is very healthy. I simply am not eating enough to properly nourish and build up my body. Finally, I want to exercise on a more regular basis. I think this will help my appetite and help me gain weight.

School started again a couple weeks ago. I am taking two classes this semester. EE564 (Communication Theory) is with the same professor I had last semester and it's about as much fun as being clubbed by a caveman (no offense intended to cavemen who may read my blog). I'm not terribly happy with his teaching style. The notes and homework don't seem to jive and he doesn't reference the text during lecture at all. EE568 (Error-Correcting Codes) is pretty interesting so far and seems to be straightforward. If this semester ends up going well, I will take the summer off and finish in the fall with two classes.

I am still trying to sell the black Bug. Buying it was probably the worst purchase of my life. I have put maybe 15 miles on it in nearly two years and spent heaps of time and money repairing it, rescuing it from the impound lot, and generally dealing with it. I have learned from the experience though and will never buy another derelict car, no matter how much of a "good deal" it is.

I am prospering at work. I have a couple projects I am on that keep me plenty busy in my 24 hours per week. Both are programming, which I do well. I am attempting to expand my horizons in programming and really truly learn object-oriented C++ programming. What I do now is kind of programming in C and making sure it's compatible with a C++ compiler.

YAM (the college group at church) is shifting - I believe for the better. Laura has stepped back as leader and handed over the reins to a diverse group of four of us college students. I think this will strengthen and solidify the group. I taught last week and was MC this week. I enjoy these types of positions and seem to do well at them, but rarely volunteer.