First off, I'd like to wish everyone here in the E2 community a Happy Labor Day. It feels great to get a day off of school, and I'm sure the day off for most of you feels just as good. And for those of you who cringe upon the hearing the words "day off," I hope you get some help.

Well, I finally experienced some of the college life last week. My first day was last Wednesday (for some reason, they had thought that Wednesday would've been the perfect day to begin school, as opposed to the usual Monday), and I like the atmosphere much better than high school. In fact, college is what I had thought high school would be like before entering it (I am so stealing this idea from one of my non-noder friends). After watching countless episodes of Saved By The Bell in my youth, I had drawn up a certain picture of how high school would be like. Unfortunately, it was nothing like that. But college comes closer to the Saved By The Bell style of school.

I've got a pretty decent schedule, but to some it may seem crazy, because I am taking some of the hardest classes which my school has to offer. I am taking General Biology I (which has a 70% failure rate) and General Chemistry I. Most of the advisors advised me against taking two hard science classes during one term (especially my first term in college), but I went ahead and took them. I am taking the two corresponding labs with these courses as well. On top of that I am taking an annoying Freshmen Experience course which they require all incoming freshmen to take, and Philosophical Analysis, which will fulfill one of my core requirements. Finally, I signed up for admissions into the Honors College at my school, which is basically just one extra class a semester. So I am taking that course, which will fulfill my Art requirement.

For the past month or so, I have been on a mission to download every single Simpsons episode ever. Now, due to the fact that I have a pathetic 56K dial-up modem, I can't do all this downloading myself. So I am asking help from a few of my friends with Cable or DSL, and thanks to them I now have over two-thirds of all the Simpsons episodes. I have everything from season eight on (with the exception of a few episodes which are impossible to find). So once in a while, when I have nothing to do, I just sit down and watch a random episode. It's a great feeling to know that you have that many episodes of an animated series which you love so dearly.

"Don't forget to read the message on your board!" she reminded me as I was walking her out of my apartment this morning.

"I won't!" was my reply. And to be sure, I wasn't about to forget.

So, she left the building and I closed the door, locking it as I went. I stood up on my toes and peered from the window to catch one last look at her before she disappeared into her car. I missed her already.

I went back into my room and looked at the chalkboard. It read:


I kept going last
night b/c I don't 
care about me, I care
about you. I want 
you to be happy. I love
you Francis.
	    XOXO
	      Jen

I was, and am, very, very touched.

I love you too, Jennifer.

Something's wrong. I can feel it...not depression but just an infantile desire to tear myself apart...and live through it. The growing preoccupation with food, the unplanned stops at a store to drop a hundred bucks on items of clothing I don't even need...holding it in my hand with a smile on my face, while I contemplate the shallowness of a creature deriving pleasure via retail.

I lie when you ask me, I say that nothing's wrong, anything to get your goddamn hands off of me. Thank God my tear ducts weren't working that night, I'd never be able to get you away from me. Why do people act so concerned with cleaning up a mess when the best thing they could have done was not break the thing in the first place?

You silly girl, you think your feelings matter?
You thought your body belonged to you?
You think you have something to offer?
Did you actually think you're special?

Just another warm body, 97.1 degrees, blood pressure 100/70, staring angrily at the sky because the moon is too bright and washes out all the stars.

The end of a productive packing weekend.

Lesson Learned: Never dismantle a Primus camping stove unless you're certain the butane cartridge is self-sealing

This was a camping burner I was given by a relative a couple years ago. It had been sitting with other gear for 2-3 years. I wanted to dismantle the stove from the butane tank to pack it up for moving safely -- without the butane canister.

Safe indeed. No sooner had I unscrewed the top than the thing started spewing butane gas (and supercooled, liquefied butane) all over the place.

The only thing I could think of is point the spraying cartridge out the window until it calmed down.

Luckily, the laws of physics (PV=NRT) were on my side, and when enough gas had expanded, the cartridge had cooled so much that the butane no longer boiled (around -12°C I think).

Luckily, nothing exploded or burned. I was able to let the remaining butane evaporate safely away from the house.

Note: On the canister, the warning said to `never remove cartridge until completely empty' which is fine except for the fact that it was written on the top where it was hidden by the appliance to which it is connected. Idiots.

Note to self: Buy a self-sealing cartridge next time.

That is all.

Adventures in Moving--Part 2 Next

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