autumn tactics

So I’m back. The cable internet guy came by today around 4 and set everything up. $23.00 a month for the first three months of broadband and they provide the modem, coax cable and ethernet cord. Can’t beat that.

I registered for classes today in the midst of a bureaucratic maelstrom. The college is small, so it isn’t strictly necessary to register via computer, but this year they tried to do so anyway. What this means in practical terms is that all the activities (registration, financial aid, internet passwords, parking passes and such) were moved from the chapel, where they were last year, to the individual offices of those responsible. And while this avoided having to lug a gaggle of computers to the chapel, it meant that anywhere from 20-30 students stood in clusters in the hallways outside various offices in the main building, coming and going, talking, carrying on, often with no idea of their place in line or where they were to proceed next. It was a small step above chaos. Early on I discovered the trick was simply to stand as close as possible to the door of the office in question, not to bully my way in, but there were several bewildered upperclassmen trying to coordinate everything, and the closer I stood to the door, the farther they thought I had advanced through the line, and I got precedence over many students who had been waiting much longer than I had but had to step out for whatever reason.

I was done in a couple of hours. Out of pocket expenses for supplies, books, tuition and flight time were only a hair above $500 for this semester, praise God. Scholarships and loans covered the rest. That was much better than I was expecting to do and frees up money for a washer and dryer, among other things.

Around the house:

My oak tree. Makes me smile every time I pull up to the house. Its shade is incomparable.

The front side of the living room. The only way I could make the coffee table accessible to all the couches and chairs was to arrange the couch diagonally nearly through the middle of the living room. This left a sort of triangle-shaped area in the front corner, in which I’ve placed the telescope and the plant. I want a low table to go underneath the window, for a key basket or something.

The back corner. The seating arrangements all face the television and the fireplace. I’m still working on filling the bookshelves. All my cds and vinyl records are there, but I still have quite a few more books to come from the house.

Where I am presently. You can see the UNC Surplus $5 chair and $20 file cabinet at left. This bedroom is more of an actual bedroom than I’ve had in a long time.