Current happenings (July/August 2025)
^ (man, what the hell.)
Summer break arrived, and with it came boiling alive in my room at night, kids and dogs playing on my dang lawn, and having to deal with stupid bikers not staying in their own lane. This has been a very meh couple of months. Even though I have graduated high school and no longer have to take a full course load, preparing for university, working, and taking a summer course have not allowed me to feel totally carefree.
I have not updated my Neocities nor blogged as regularly as I'd like to due to these obligations. Hence, why I didn't have a "current happenings" post in July and I'm combining two months into one blog. By mid-August when I'm near the end of my course, I hope to complete my website to-do list and finish up the blog posts that have been sitting on the backburner.
I am somewhat enjoying my summer Calculus I course. The first unit, limits and continuity, was pretty difficult due to the amount of content shoved in it. Derivatives and integration have been alright by themselves, as they're mostly just "plug and chug" with a set of given rules. I'm struggling a lot with applications of derivatives though--I cannot understand how to do related rates and optimization questions for the life of me. I hate word problems with a burning passion(!!!).
The written assignments and WeBWork for this course have been super tricky. The assignment questions are more advanced than the problems I practiced, and the TAs marking them are kind of nitpicky. WeBWork is a nightmare. Formatting answers correctly makes me want to bash my head in. I'm not totally sure if the professor selects the questions for WeBWork, or if it's drawn randomly from a pool of problems. It stressed me out to the point that I cried and put "Whistle" by Flo Rida on blast to cope. However my saving grace, the final exam, is supposedly very easy in comparison.
About 10 days of my July was spent in Alberta, which is best known for being Canada's petri-dish of MAGA and other right-wing clowns. For the first 3-4 days I was in Calgary with my step-dad's cousin and her family, who are thankfully not the rednecks I was worried about. Urban cities in Alberta including Calgary and Edmonton are quite liberal. The real trouble comes from the insular, blue collar rural communities.
And speaking of, Pierre Poilievre--who lost the recent Canadian federal election and his own riding--apparently wants to run for the Alberta byelection in a conservative riding. I doubt the rural communities who again, are super insular, want to vote in a guy from a major city in the east. It'll be real funny if loses again though.
Near the end of July, I thankfully found a roommate and selected a room for the school year. It was (unnecessarily) very stressful. The residence platform is so painful to navigate that I'm certain a first-year CS student could do better. How are we paying thousands of dollars to the top school in my country while their websites basically take a shit on my lap every time I try to use them???
Other than technical difficulties, the roommate hunt felt like being on Love Island or Survivor but everyone wanted to vote me out. I reached out to at least a dozen different people across various majors, cultures, and interests. Many didn't respond/ghosted me, already had roommate arrangements prior to the selection platform opening, or, after a bit of talking, decided to stay with another person. It was pretty rough. Thankfully I did find a roommate (also in engineering) last minute who I really mesh with! I'm excited to meet them in person!!
For the remainder of this month, I'll be spending my final weeks in this city finishing up Calculus I. I'm almost done this mathematical essay on modelling the physics of getting wet from rain, and whether running or walking is the best method of avoiding it. As well, I'll be packing up for the move, checking off my list for necessary purchases, and spending time with my cousins who'll be arriving later in the month. Somehow I'll also find time to work on this blog and my website.
Until next time.