Disconnected in reality yet there in spirit (or When will alaska air offer free internet?)

Here begins the first, and perhaps the only, post in this blog to have been written in the absence of that which so many of us have come to take for granted: a connection to what is known to senator Ted Stevens as a bunch of tubes. Isn't it interesting how the only aspect of this writing process which requires an internet connection is the publishing of the article, yet we (and by we I mean I and most likely other people) feel the need to write the entire post in a web-based editor, which is actually one of the most volatile environments in which to compose (although blogger does mitigate this by automatically transmitting draft snapshots to the server every few seconds). This unique characteristic of of blogging could proceed into an interesting analysis of the medium, but I shall repeat what I have surely said before, that this is not my philosophy journal. And anyway, I have no further philosophy journal assignments, although pending sufficient time I may continue my practice of writing upon interesting teabag label quotes as they surface, perhaps posting them here. But that is just one of many changes which have occurred as the end of the semester draws near, marked also by an rapidly approaching cluster of papers, reflections, and of course the Freshman Design Competition eight days from the time of this writing. But it has also heralded another of those cases which highlights the increased responsibility which accompanies college life. I am speaking of registration. Long-time readers (or those who have discovered the archive links) may remember my first post, in which I spoke of the increased flexibility presented to college students. For the first time, I was almost completely free to choose my schedule. Throughout high school, my schedule was extremely rigid - I technically was free to choose some courses (such as which foreign language to take) but there were definite expectations as to which courses would be taken once one had commenced with a certain track. My first semester here at UP was even more so - I was basically emailed a completed schedule. But come spring registration, all was changed. This may not be the case for all, as there is present within the bulletin a sample schedule. Yet due to my AP credits, which satisfied most of the core requirements as well as two math classes, this example was largely useless and I was on my own. I ultimately decided to plan my schedule around the two majors which I am considering, Electrical Engineering and Computer science, while at the same time taking into account my natural antipathy towards early awakenings which, ironically, I attempted to ensure by arising early the day of registration so as to increase my chances of being permitted to sign up for the classes which I desired. Overall, I was successful. Yet in addition to being a lesson in responsibility and flexibility, this experience also taught me another important lesson. For the Vector Calculus class which I desired closed, and I was forced to sign up for a later class. Which allows me additional sleep time, but also results in a solid block of classes on Mondays from 11:25-5:00 - a situation which shall require careful planning of meals if I do not wish to be devouring chips in CS lab (pun intended). And one which drives home the unfortunate truth that "You Can't Win Them All". Or, as the French might say, "c'est la vie"