round two of four

Alright world, tomorrow is the first day of my second semester of grad school and I am and am not looking forward to it. I've enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing this last month, but I do also enjoy my program. It's for the best I get back to doing things.

Have had a quick flurry of ups and downs so far in the new year, but the stabilizing power of a school schedule will hopefully help me out. They say the first semester is the worst, but I will be doing more extracurriculars than I was previously.

I spent half of yesterday fixing my modded iPod Classic. I ditched Rockbox for good, the classic interface is just better and rockbox kept nuking itself on my 6th gen. I also was able to get a copy of Pitch Perfect on there at a stunning and modern 240p!

Other things:

Assigned reading before the semester starts makes me sad
I may run for city council in 2026, assuming I will be able to stay here after I graduate (which I very much want to)
I got to see my cohortmate run at a meet this weekend! I had no idea how wicked fast she is.
I will be getting initiated at my local lodge this week :-)
My new dumb phone isn't getting shipped until March-April, while originally the goal was this month. The perils of pre-orders make themselves apparent. I am still glad to support the project though!
I wish I had a study. My good friend and mentor John has one and I am jealous! I had a great time a couple nights ago talking with him about current events. It's very special having a friendship across generations.
I came to the idea that democracy is radical. Historically, tyranny has prevailed much more often. Democracy requires commitment, hard work, and is truly a fragile thing. In America and much of the Western world we take it for granted and assume it to be a sort of standard. A commitment to Democracy requires courage. It's a bit of a paradigm shift!
Still no snow.

I hope you are well reader and have a great day.