[Round Two O.C.T.O.B.E.R XXX] TBT pre-empt: “First!”

30 October, 201330 October, 2013Noah Weiss Journal Tags: arrangement, bagel, Chicago, Daily Prompts, logistics, move-in, Northwestern University, O.C.T.O.B.E.R., orientation, Skokie

Today is Wednesday, but due to a suggestion from “The Daily Post”, which was “First!”, I’ll bring in my Throwback Thursday post today. Tomorrow will have the same post that I originally planned for today.

The “First” that I touch on is my first day of independence in Chicago. This was Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Day -13

The bed [in the Skokie DoubleTree Hotel] was so comfy that I slept until 830h (wow!!) after hearing Mom talking in the bathroom. Dad was still asleep, so I managed to do some journaling from yesterday. But this time, I didn’t nearly get as far as this sentence! I may consider cutting down some of the details in the future, or maybe not. We’ll just have to wait & see what happens. I followed Mom downstairs for her requisite coffee, and ice for the ice chest.

Once Dad arose at 940h, we left the hotel in short order. The van took us down to Bagels & Bialys, via Skokie Boulevard, toward Dempster. We got several different types of bagels & bialys, as well as a few cookies. We drove to Evanston to find the spirit shop [actually, Becks Book Store on Clark], and Mom got some magnets while Dad was illegally parked…

STRIKE THIS! Make this current paragraph “Paragraph 2!” While we were downstairs in the lobby for coffee, I was wearing my Israel Defense Forces T-shirt. One of the hotel employees came to me and asked me if I went on Birthright. Her name was Martha Schwartz, and Mom engaged in a short “Jewish” conversation. Martha gave us a “Guide to Chicago Jewish Living” that I should peruse before too long. Back upstairs, before Dad woke up, Mom gave me some ideas for housekeeping. There are some things I should accomplish before I get too busy with schoolwork and such. It’s all very overwhelming at this point, but I will manage it and thrive once I’m in the swing of things!

We got to Engelhart, and I started eating the bialy. It was a good choice, and is something I will have again. The bialy place at Dempster had a good deal on lox, if I want some later. I wasn’t finished eating, but I escorted Mom & Dad. They took a few pictures, and Mom didn’t lose any tears at this point (that’s a shocker!) After they headed off toward Nebraska, I headed upstairs and finished lunch.

Next, I assembled my bike and took off after bringing it down on the elevator to the lobby. It felt good to get back on my bike for the first time in five days! I biked off toward campus, using Davis Street [sic: it was actually Emerson]. At the Arch, I hung a right and turned onto Campus Drive. Heading down, around the buildings, I went up a slight hill to the Norris Center. I locked up the bike and headed inside. A sign directed me downstairs, so I took a ramp to get there. The further subterranean stairs led me to the WildCARD office.

Down there, I went to fill out an application for the card. This was obviously followed by a photo-taking. The card-making machine was noisy and clanging, but it was something that obviously amused me (go figure!) Unfortunately, they have none of the “protective sleeves” for the card to protect against magnetic fields, so put that on your To-Do list. Next, I returned upstairs and looked around. People were eating, there were tables and a view of the Norris backyard, and there was Sbarro, nuSushi, and a crepes place. Across the food court, I peered in the bookstore. Interestingly, they will accept Barnes & Noble gift cards. YAY—a way to use all of those unused ones!

After that, my bike took me to the police station at 1819 Hinman. It looked like another old house! They didn’t have any bike locks directly on hand, but they had some in the basement. I requested a bike registration as well, wherewhich I went outside to check for my bike’s serial number. I actually got a copy of the registration form this time—keep it with the reference items!

Feeling more secure in that way now, I ventured onto the sidewalk and buzzed down Sheridan, with clowns (academic offices) to the left of me and jokers (academic buildings) to the right. I take my bike for granted, whether that be a good thing or a bad thing [ED: preview of tomorrow’s post]! I arrived at Tech, double-locked up and entered, feeling dwarfed by the place (once again!) Inside, I hung a left and turned into the M-Wing, catching an elevator about halfway down. Zipping up to the fourth floor, I entered the main office for the Applied Math department.

I would have had some paperwork to fill out, but I didn’t have my Social Security card or any similar document on me. The doors will be re-keyed soon, so I didn’t get a key either. They showed me to the office, and it’s M-445. One of my officemates, Chris [last name withheld], was there, and I went to talk to him about first-year stuff. He’s a second-year, but already has a master’s degree from UCLA. Before too long, he showed me to Dr. Miksis’s office, albeit missing him. He was meeting with another first-year!

Eventually, the other first-year, Hannah, left and swung by our office, introducing herself to us. She lives in Engelhart too, on the third floor, and may be a good advice-giver on stir-frying. After that, I went to talk with Miksis. Between Chris and Miksis, there were some useful things that I learned. Here are the quick hits:

I will have three classes on Mondays & Wednesdays, but only one each on the other days
Assignments are involved and may take quite some time. You may not have much free time
The “[Schaum’s] outlines” publications give good practice problems for the prelims
The prelims are theoretical, but ensure that you know “how” to use the theorems. They’re not proof-based, luckily.
You may be too busy during the quarter to prepare for the prelim during the quarter
The prelims happen the first week back, IN ADDITION TO CLASSES
It’s a team effort in preparing homework and for the prelims! Use people’s offers!

After these conversations, I left campus for the day. So, I biked the distance down Sheridan, and came downtown. I sought out Radio Shack, and attempted to navigate all the one-way streets en route, while not knowing the exact address. The cars didn’t try to run me over, even if I was tentative in how I biked. I saw a lot of interesting venues for later if I so desire. I found Radio Shack eventually, and got a cable for $9.99, but then found that SALES TAX here in Evanston is indeed ten percent. Ouch! After that, I snaked the one-way streets to get home. The (projected) stats for the day: 24:14, 4.18 miles, and 18.4 max [projected because the speedometer crashed on me after the police station].

Upon returning to Engelhart, I figured that unpacking would be a good thing. But first, I had to do the in-out form. There are a lot of paint chips all over the apartment, and many marks on the wall too. I filled out the form quite inefficiently, because I chatted a bit with Don too, talking about sports, demographics, activities, and much more. Maybe he’ll be a travel buddy with me! After I finished the form, I went down to the office to submit it. Lo & behold, Alex [one of the Community Assistants, and the one who helped me move in] was there!

Getting my room broken in is a current priority of mine. Thus, I spent the rest of the day unpacking and re-arranging. This is fine, because better now than when I’m involved with classes and more activities! One tough thing that I did, unassisted, was to move the bookshelf and the dresser (swap their positions). As the original arrangement was, the cable and Ethernet ports were blocked. So, I had a successful attempt at plugging in the TV’s cable, did a cable scan, and … YES! Cable TV is now available! I turned the TV to ESPN, where the US Open for tennis was in full swing. I unpacked books and arranged the underbed during this time. Serena Williams won the match in straight sets as I watched en-passant. Don’t record this one in your sports log, though.

I then did some journaling, but with the TV on, made little progress. That’s OK—unproductivity at this point won’t kill me. I reheated the steak from EJ’s and had that for dinner. I got the veggies too, and it tasted better on the second go-around! Whether I make food or go out, I should anticipate having lots of leftovers! If Don wants them, great! If not, I’ll just have to… oh, what was I about to say?

Next, I continued unpacking and arranging. All the gory details will be spared here, but I had a lot of stuff, and the boxes included lots of extraneous kitchen stuff. It was good to empty the hampers so that I can start using them. The clothes are now in the dresser, and my room looks a lot better, but is still in unpacking disarray. It was about 2230h as I plugged in my PC, and I ran the backup device and checked e-mail for the first time in a few days. There was nothing critical there, so I let it run, brushed my teeth, and crashed shortly thereafter.

>>TO BE CONTINUED…

======================================

Today is the thirtieth day of O.C.T.O.B.E.R. That makes four weeks and two days.

Since some other posts have tagged me in them, I should reciprocate.

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