Snow Day
by JS
Google Earth tells me that close to 1688.07 miles separates Brighton, MA from Austin, TX, making me one of the few people to travel so far just to enjoy the seven-year-old’s luxury of a snow day.
Texas doesn’t really do snow. Texas does ice. A preponderance of elevated highways doesn’t seems so smart now, does it? Last nights URGENT emails with CAMPUS CLOSED were a relief, giving me an extra day of jet lag recovery. I know a one hour difference is barely legitimate; I’m talking about a difference in lifestyle, a jet lag for the graduate student set, where your 9:30am is my 3:00am. These are shifts of consequence.
The “all activities and events are canceled” clause didn’t explicitly say “classes” prompting my always insecure id to wonder if by some chance only extraneous activities were canceled – those different then the core reason for being – that the somber educational faucet of knowledge would somehow open anyway. I suppose the ice storm this morning dissuaded me from making any attempt to explore further the vague language of campus CLOSED – trying to twist it into something less awkward than delaying a typical first day of scurrying around in grad school shuffle.
I checked today for signal theory course in EE. I found a course on information theory, open, but oddly restricted. Restricted is the registrar’s magic word, meaning whatever is necessary to remove the ambiguities of intention and qualification that plague the dubious process of course selection. Information theory is like theology for the modern age. Somewhere in those knotty equations is the key to communicating with satellites orbiting other planets. Old wise gurus on the highest hills imaginable.
I’m thinking about internships and updating my resume. The thought brings me pain, but hopefully I’ll work through it. If you know someone in Boston in need of a Summer Intern let me know.
