Yesterday, Jean the grad coordinator of the masters program suddenly said outloud after I told her about my plans for leaving the burgh in May, \”I was trying to think of a way to get you and Sam to stay another semester! Just one semester!\”

I laughed, \”But my leaving has already been delayed. I was supposed to leave in December!\”

And as she went on and on, cheerfully talking to students, I started feeling wistful. When I first came August 2004, I almost wanted to leave. I thought I didn\’t fit in. That I couldn\’t mesh well with this…world. That perhaps the hci program wasn\’t for me. But I have gotten used to it. And by that point, I have to leave.

Turns out I didn\’t bomb the Google interview. Thankfully.

\”Bonnie [our advisor] said \’don\’t date within the program\’,\” someone said yesterday during the guys\’ night out (where yes, i had crashed in the last event).

\”Incest!\” I quipped.

But really, is it a bad idea to date within the workplace? It seems like the only negative part is the discomfort and awkwardness when something isn\’t going right. And moreso when someone gets preferential treatment. It\’s the common story in the movies.

You spend so much time with another person that you can\’t help but notice special qualities. Is that what it is?

When I was at rescomp, there was a line in our rulebook, if dating occurs between the unit supervisor and the rcc, one person must transfer to another unit. A way to control the power? Perhaps.

Dating is a very delicate thing. An attraction between two people.

\”I don\’t want to bring someone into a world of suffering and pain,\” my aunt once said when asked why she decided not to have children.

What would it be like to have a child with cancer? A child always on the brink of a health disaster? I have a few friends whose family is centered around the life of a hospital. The montly, weekly…daily visits. When I went to the hospital several weeks ago for my hand, I was surprised by how accustomed everyone was to all the problems patients their faced. Brittle bones, the diseases, and the like. Almost like the daily routine in life.

The mini-dvi to vga adapter for my 12\” powerbook is the easiest thing to lose in my world. This is one of the biggest design flaws of the powerbook. The fact that I have to carry this thing just so that I can use a second monitor or make presentations. This tradeoff doesn\’t make the world any brighter, buddy.

I have a friend who leads an ordered life. He wakes up every morning at 8 am. Showers. Eats breakfast shortly. He eats lunch at noon. Thirty minutes max. Works. Dinner sharp at 6. Sleep. Every day must be planned.

I too like order. Randomness is too startling to me, but I refuse to be without serendipity. I plan a part of my day so that spontaneity can occur. A random lunch. An adventure around a city I do not know. A comewithmetogetyarn. Cafe. Because without it, we would never discover those little things we miss so quickly.