Press Conference

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. That's a black turtleneck.

That's also my empty closet. In my empty room.

Empty. As in devoid of my things. Those things are now in cardboard boxes that are patiently waiting for the nice UPS employee that will be coming on Monday to pick them up and set them on their way in an epic journey across the country, toward their final destination of my family's front doorstep.

I guess I should provide some backstory. When I was first admitted to MIT, I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to come here. I was seriously considering going to Oregon State to major in something related to agriculture. But, you don't say no to MIT. So I came here, and every term was far from perfect. I loved certain things about MIT - the people, the culture, the location - but I certainly hated the academics.

This past term was especially far from perfect. Swine flu, stress and a million other factors contributed, and it was clear that this was not sustainable.

As such, I'll be taking at least a couple of terms off from MIT. My game plan is to attend Oregon State and explore majors related to botany and horticulture (definitely not options available at MIT), catch up a little, and take some time to figure out what I really want to do. It pains me, because I am going to genuinely miss my friends around campus, at WMBR and my sisters in Pi Beta Phi. Unfortunately, this seems to be the best option for me, so I can get back on my feet. Thanks to everyone who's been so supportive thus far! And thanks to Zoe and Ahmed for helping me pack this afternoon.

Steve Jobs

As many of you probably know, Steve Jobs and his turtleneck that he's had surgically attached to his body got up on a stage this past Wednesday and announced that the world would have another Apple product to drool over, even though it was missing a million features normal people would want in a computer-type device because they're logical.

Steve Jobs is a smart man.

For months, geeks everywhere waited with baited breath while their Apple insider blog of choice loaded, hoping that something would pop up on their screen bearing news of a tablet computer. Everyone speculated about the possible features, some people ruthlessly kept tabs on just what Apple was buying. Steve Jobs kept everyone in suspense, so when the actual product was finally released, people were marginally okay with the fact that it doesn't even have a USB port.

I'm going to copy Steve Jobs. Well, copy is probably the wrong word. I definitely have news for you, but I'm not going to wait several months, then have a press conference. Maybe I'll wear a black turtleneck, though (I just found mine in the back of my closet today...). But I am going to tell you that I have news, and I'm posting it here on Saturday. Hell, I'll even liveblog it. Well, it's going to be a blog, so I suppose I'll have to figure out how to liveblog a blog. Anyway.

The only hints I'll give is that I'll explain the past few months of silence, and I'm not releasing iLife 2010.

--

News. That happens to really only be mediocre. This Saturday. Black turtleneck and everything.

Be there.

--

(Some of you already know the news. Don't spoil my fun. The only reason I'm waiting until Saturday is that I don't know what to write and I'm hoping I'll come up with something by then... I'm also super busy.)

Hometown... Represent (?)

Willamina's in the news again. This is getting a tad bit absurd. Honestly, for such a small town, I fail to understand how it manages to end up in the news so often. Nothing really goes on there. Willamina's been in the news for bomb threats, crazy people, controversy over a cat at the library, an "illegal immigrant-free zone", overly-productive teenage girls, and now the H1N1 virus (yep, I'm not going to call it "swine flu" because the CDC is correct in their reasoning for why they won't call it that either). So, I suppose that stuff does go on there, but it's no more than any other small town. I really just don't get it. Maybe all the major news channels want an excuse to send their reporters out there so they can go to the casino (a.k.a. the second largest tourist attraction in the state)? I have no idea.

Can someone in Willamina please just win the Nobel Prize or something, so we don't look so ridiculous in the news? That'd be great, thanks.