Change, Change, Change

My apologies to both of my loyal readers for a lack of posting activity as of late. My nonexistent internet connection (caused by my reluctance to learn how to troubleshoot my new MandrakeLinux OS) has made this incredibly inconvenient, if not impossible.

Several things have changed since I last posted.

Charting a New Course
Many people subscribe to the "Do what you love and the money will follow" philosophy. I always have been, too - for other people. It was somewhere halfway through this semester when I realized that I didn't just lack an interest in Electrical Engineering, I despised it. Some of my fellow students talk eagerly about the courses they will take next semester or the engineering internships they hoped to land. My plan had been that this was simply a means to a law school end for me. God forbid that I would ever get a job in engineering and be forced to work in the field for which I had trained.

I joined the ranks of the engineering school dropouts and decided to major instead in something that will get me much further in law school: finance. I'm finally excited about my upcoming courses, the way that I used to be a year ago before I thought that engineering was a good idea. This could actually work.

Of course, GPA and LSAT scores are the two most significant factors in law school admission, and I must take advantage of the direct control I have over the former. I dropped Calculus II like a hot potato before allowing it to become a waste of good GPA points. This means I have no classes for the rest of the semester, but I've still found plenty of ways to use my time. Read on.

Windows Has Been Usurped
I finally, reluctantly, installed MandrakeLinux on my home computer. This, in itself, is not a life-affirming event for most people. However, making the switch has occupied such a significant portion of my time and attention that it's worth commenting on having joined the ranks of the penguin-affectionate geeks. There is one big thing separating me from the people who camp out for Star Wars tickets: I know nothing - and I mean nothing - about Linux.

Case in point: this week, I brought my Linux machine over to a friend's house who is experiencing computer problems. We had trouble hooking it up to an old monitor, so I did some significant desktop configuration and somehow set it to not log me in automatically anymore. Big mistake! As stupid as it sounds, I have never logged in to my own machine since installing the Linux OS. I got a line that asked for the Localhost Login and it effectively locked me out for days because I couldn't, to save my life, recall the password for Localhost. Just when I was frustrated enough to throw in the towel and call my ultimate source for tech support. I happened to try logging in as root. It worked! I logged back out and then in again as myself. Worked again! It turns out, once I got into configuration again, that there is no actual user called Localhost. I am a retard.

Now that I'm back up and running, I'm eager to try the one thing (besides have a stable machine) that I couldn't do with Windows: install Freevo. If anyone else has any ideas of other cool Linux-only things I can do to make me feel like this was worthwhile, please leave them in the comments.

Moving On
About a month ago, my friend April was planning her move back to Houston from Austin and asked me to room with her. I have been looking to move closer to the office, and moving in with a roommate would save me some good money on rent. I jumped on the offer, and we are soon going to be roomies.

I have known April for a long time. We first met in the same fifth-grade homeroom class. Later, in the seventh through twelfth grades, we were in the high school band together. She has spent the last six years in Austin, earning a degree at UT and working. We agreed that we would make the perfect roommates because we're close enough that we can share the same place, but not so close that one of us would ever feel hurt if not invited out with the other and our separate friends. I'm looking forward to the move.

There is actually a lot more going on beyond the scope of this post, some of which involves office scandals and dirty gossip*. To be continued...


*Some of the facts have been exaggerated to induce the impression that I am interesting.

MS 150 Fundraising Update

Since I posted on Monday about my fundraising goal, I have reached $1,030! Thank you again to everyone who made this happen. My biggest cheerleader is a very kind co-worker who put up $160 to get me to my initial thousand-dollar goal. Thank you, Jeff!

On Tuesday night, I talked to my Pedal Partner for the first time. Pedal Partners is a program which gets cyclists together with MS survivors so that we can share stories and have someone to ride 'for.' She was incredibly sweet, and very thankful that I was riding. Our conversation was cut short because her medication prohibited her from getting too chatty, although it's absolutely essential to control the pain. Wow. I'll wear her signed bandana tomorrow, and hopefully it will fuel me up at least a couple of those dreadful hills.

It's not too late to help me get to my new goal, which is $1,200 for MS. To pledge for my ride, please click here.

Whether you pledge or you don't, please give me and the 12,999 other cyclists a thought and a prayer sometime this weekend for a safe ride.

A note from Anna

It is now less than one day before the MS 150, and I'm starting to field the email messages and visits from co-workers wishing me luck and a safe trip. The one I recieved this afternoon from Anna made gave me pause. I never think of myself as a hero of any kind, though I do ride for the purpose of finding a cure.

What she's not writing in here is that Anna is a real hero for MS. It's not all about riding bikes (though that's a lot of fun). It's the money raised for research that makes an impact. Every year, Anna sponsors about a dozen people in the ride, and not for a small chunk of change. It's people like Anna that deserve the cheers from people on the side of the road.

Her message:

Have fun, save lives, be safe, don't chafe

Howdy all you awesome MS-150-ers,

I wanted to wish all of you the best of luck this weekend and let you know how PROUD I am of each and every one of you.

Even if your not able to bike the entire ride, just the fact that you're trying is AWESOME!! AND the fact that you raised so much money to try and help save lives is HEROIC.

You probably don't feel like a hero, but to the person that may have an opportunity to get out of a wheelchair, etc. thanks in part to your assistance, you ARE their hero.

Y'all are great people. Have fun, don't fall, try to laugh, and above all - use that butt cream.

Wahoo!
Anna

Almost there!

The MS 150 Bike Tour is fast approaching, and I am inching closer to my goal of $1,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. My current fundraising total is $870. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me get this far!

As I haven't updated much about my training, the synopsis is that I'm now as ready as I'm going to be. I've been on several training rides with my two fun riding partners (thanks, Wayne and Ben, for sneaking me into the CP rides!) and a few on my own. This past weekend's excursion took me from Pattison to Huntsville and back for a nice 65 mile jaunt. I was even a member of a few pace lines, including a steady-moving 6 person group and a slow-but-fun 13 person [!] double line. The real thing can't get here soon enough for me.

If there is anyone remaining who would like to support my ride from Houston to Austin, please visit my donor page on the MS 150 web site. With only $170 yet to go, I know that my goal is within reach. With your help, we can find a cure for MS!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to walk out of my office wearing idiotic bike clothes and head for my short trail ride this afternoon.