06-02-2004, 03:30 PM
Hail,
I went to Purdue Univerisity (West Lafayette, IN; USA) to study in what they called at the time "Computer Programming Technology" or "CPT" for short. They later changed it to "Computer Information Systems Technology" or "CIST" for short, but that was about a year or two after I left.
I originally applied to Purdue to be a pilot, since they have a pretty elete aviation program. I didn't get into it, though I had originally been accepted into the program. (100 spots open in the program, and as upper-classmen and incoming Freshmen with flight experience came in, I got bumped down the list. At semester start, I was number 102 on the list of 100 - hence, I didn't get in.)
I stuck with the CPT program for 3 years, before I got so fed up with the experience that I bailed. Here's what happened....I went and looked into the Co-Op program (Cooperative Education program, where you go and work for a company for a semester, head back to school for a semester, then head back to the company, and so on and so forth for 4 years, which would have delayed my graduation by 2.5 years, but in the long run, would have given me an edge over my fellow graduates. I recommend doing this. Work experience will take you a long way, especially if it's with a large company. I worked with Kraft Foods in Chicago.)
The department head at the time when I was in my second year was going to retire at the end of the year. Two of the professors were jockeying for the position. One prof was the head of the Co-Op program, and the other one was the most stuck up guy I've met in a long time. His claim to fame is that he roomed with the guy that came up with the Ethernet (network topology/methodology). I got off on the wrong foot with him the first day of my networking class because he said that something would never, ever happen in reality, though it's supposed to work in theory. Here's how this conversation went (in the middle of class):
"......so that will never happen, and you will never see it implemented. It won't work."
"That's not entirely accurate."
"You'll never see a company implement it on thier network. Are you saying that you have and it works?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Kraft Foods in Chicago."
"And how long ago was that?"
"Everyday for the last 8 months."
Okay, so I had and issue with the guy, partly because he was so cocky, but the fact of the matter was that he was wrong. And I guess he didn't appreciate a student correcting him. But the battle for being department head was raging. The two professors were grouping students around them like pawns on a chess board. And it was really hard to stay out of that whole thing. Everywhere you turned, you could see the students picking sides. It was sick.
I got through that, and then went back to Kraft Foods, where I was once again feeling right at home. That ended after another 8 months (originally supposed to be for the duration of the semester, but Kraft and I liked each other, so it was extended another 4 months to include the summer semester). I went back to school, and moved into an apartment to help out a friend, who decided that he wasn't going to be going back to school. There's where I really entered the 7 inner circle of hell.
My two roommates were the absolute worst kind of losers on the planet. They were both in a Chemistry fraternity (co-ed educational frat), which I couldn't join because I wasn't a Chem major. I didn't have a problem with that, since I had a lot of friends that were in it, and I was always looked upon as the official unofficial member. The sad part was that one of my roommates was the fraterity's president, and I was more active in the fraternity than he was. But I would come home to find that both roommates were throwing a party that I didn't know about, wasn't asked about. I walked in and confronted on of my roommates with the simple question of "WTF?" (You see, they broke into my room, took my stereo out, speakers and all, and put it in the living room, but breaking my CD player in the process - Kenwood 6 disc magazine with a single CD tray as well. Originally about $400.) The roommate's response was "Oh you're home...Before you get mad, I need to talk to you..." My response was "Too late."
My retaliation for them breaking my CD player, moving my stereo, and throwing a party without asking if it was okay with me (it was agreed in the beginning of the year that all parties thrown had to be approved by all three of us) was to hit them where it hurt them the most. You see, they sat around that played the PlayStation (which wasn't mine) and watched TV all the time. I gave the TV to my older brother, who was married and also going to school at the time the following day. Granted, I had to listen to them complain for the rest of the year that I got rid of the TV, but I made it clear that they were not to touch my stereo again. And as far as getting rid of the TV, I had Diablo (the original) at the time, which was more than entertaining at the time.
About 4 - 5 weeks before the year ended, both roommates discovered pot. One roommate was a senior, and the other a junior. I'm sorry to say that the senior was already locked into being able to graduate. I watched the junior's grades plummet. I thought about turning them in, since they filled me with such angst on a daily basis. They smoked it in the apartment, and I'm fairly sure that they kept it in the apartment, thus putting me in jeopardy as well. The last thing that I wanted was to have law enforcement kicking in my door, taking all my possessions, and hauling me off to jail because my roommates were stupid. And knowing those guys, they probably would have brought me down with them.
I packed my stuff 2 weeks before the end of the year (and I moved out the day after the semester ended), but I kept finding that my room had been invaded, and boxes that I knew had been packed were unpacked, and pots and pans that I had packed and sealed in boxes were on the stove. I was furious about that, but thankful that I had my computer password protected, though I would find them every once in a while trying to get onto it during that time.
That was my last year there. I had gotten fed up with the politics, and the lousy roommates.
I guess the moral of the story is this:
1) Be VERY careful choosing your roommates.
2) Don't get involved with office politics at the university.
3) Password protect your computer.
4) When looking for an apartment, don't bother trying to help a friend out. Go on your own if you have to.
5) Stay away from those performance enhancing drugs (Hey, the IOC says they are...)
6) If possible, lock your bedroom door at all times (whether you're in it or not).
7) Don't place too much trust in roommates...ever.
8) Get a Co-Op or an Internship. It'll do you wonders when you're out in the working world.
9) Keep your nose the the grindstone, be it work or school.
10) When living at school, life/pack light. If you can't fit everything into one full sized van (car), then you probably could lose some stuff.
11) Despite what happens, always try to have fun.
12) An internet connection when you have an apartment is essential
13) A good game to play when you have an apartment is essential
That's all. Sorry for the long read. Hope that helps you.
-SaxyCorp
I went to Purdue Univerisity (West Lafayette, IN; USA) to study in what they called at the time "Computer Programming Technology" or "CPT" for short. They later changed it to "Computer Information Systems Technology" or "CIST" for short, but that was about a year or two after I left.
I originally applied to Purdue to be a pilot, since they have a pretty elete aviation program. I didn't get into it, though I had originally been accepted into the program. (100 spots open in the program, and as upper-classmen and incoming Freshmen with flight experience came in, I got bumped down the list. At semester start, I was number 102 on the list of 100 - hence, I didn't get in.)
I stuck with the CPT program for 3 years, before I got so fed up with the experience that I bailed. Here's what happened....I went and looked into the Co-Op program (Cooperative Education program, where you go and work for a company for a semester, head back to school for a semester, then head back to the company, and so on and so forth for 4 years, which would have delayed my graduation by 2.5 years, but in the long run, would have given me an edge over my fellow graduates. I recommend doing this. Work experience will take you a long way, especially if it's with a large company. I worked with Kraft Foods in Chicago.)
The department head at the time when I was in my second year was going to retire at the end of the year. Two of the professors were jockeying for the position. One prof was the head of the Co-Op program, and the other one was the most stuck up guy I've met in a long time. His claim to fame is that he roomed with the guy that came up with the Ethernet (network topology/methodology). I got off on the wrong foot with him the first day of my networking class because he said that something would never, ever happen in reality, though it's supposed to work in theory. Here's how this conversation went (in the middle of class):
"......so that will never happen, and you will never see it implemented. It won't work."
"That's not entirely accurate."
"You'll never see a company implement it on thier network. Are you saying that you have and it works?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Kraft Foods in Chicago."
"And how long ago was that?"
"Everyday for the last 8 months."
Okay, so I had and issue with the guy, partly because he was so cocky, but the fact of the matter was that he was wrong. And I guess he didn't appreciate a student correcting him. But the battle for being department head was raging. The two professors were grouping students around them like pawns on a chess board. And it was really hard to stay out of that whole thing. Everywhere you turned, you could see the students picking sides. It was sick.
I got through that, and then went back to Kraft Foods, where I was once again feeling right at home. That ended after another 8 months (originally supposed to be for the duration of the semester, but Kraft and I liked each other, so it was extended another 4 months to include the summer semester). I went back to school, and moved into an apartment to help out a friend, who decided that he wasn't going to be going back to school. There's where I really entered the 7 inner circle of hell.
My two roommates were the absolute worst kind of losers on the planet. They were both in a Chemistry fraternity (co-ed educational frat), which I couldn't join because I wasn't a Chem major. I didn't have a problem with that, since I had a lot of friends that were in it, and I was always looked upon as the official unofficial member. The sad part was that one of my roommates was the fraterity's president, and I was more active in the fraternity than he was. But I would come home to find that both roommates were throwing a party that I didn't know about, wasn't asked about. I walked in and confronted on of my roommates with the simple question of "WTF?" (You see, they broke into my room, took my stereo out, speakers and all, and put it in the living room, but breaking my CD player in the process - Kenwood 6 disc magazine with a single CD tray as well. Originally about $400.) The roommate's response was "Oh you're home...Before you get mad, I need to talk to you..." My response was "Too late."
My retaliation for them breaking my CD player, moving my stereo, and throwing a party without asking if it was okay with me (it was agreed in the beginning of the year that all parties thrown had to be approved by all three of us) was to hit them where it hurt them the most. You see, they sat around that played the PlayStation (which wasn't mine) and watched TV all the time. I gave the TV to my older brother, who was married and also going to school at the time the following day. Granted, I had to listen to them complain for the rest of the year that I got rid of the TV, but I made it clear that they were not to touch my stereo again. And as far as getting rid of the TV, I had Diablo (the original) at the time, which was more than entertaining at the time.
About 4 - 5 weeks before the year ended, both roommates discovered pot. One roommate was a senior, and the other a junior. I'm sorry to say that the senior was already locked into being able to graduate. I watched the junior's grades plummet. I thought about turning them in, since they filled me with such angst on a daily basis. They smoked it in the apartment, and I'm fairly sure that they kept it in the apartment, thus putting me in jeopardy as well. The last thing that I wanted was to have law enforcement kicking in my door, taking all my possessions, and hauling me off to jail because my roommates were stupid. And knowing those guys, they probably would have brought me down with them.
I packed my stuff 2 weeks before the end of the year (and I moved out the day after the semester ended), but I kept finding that my room had been invaded, and boxes that I knew had been packed were unpacked, and pots and pans that I had packed and sealed in boxes were on the stove. I was furious about that, but thankful that I had my computer password protected, though I would find them every once in a while trying to get onto it during that time.
That was my last year there. I had gotten fed up with the politics, and the lousy roommates.
I guess the moral of the story is this:
1) Be VERY careful choosing your roommates.
2) Don't get involved with office politics at the university.
3) Password protect your computer.
4) When looking for an apartment, don't bother trying to help a friend out. Go on your own if you have to.
5) Stay away from those performance enhancing drugs (Hey, the IOC says they are...)
6) If possible, lock your bedroom door at all times (whether you're in it or not).
7) Don't place too much trust in roommates...ever.
8) Get a Co-Op or an Internship. It'll do you wonders when you're out in the working world.
9) Keep your nose the the grindstone, be it work or school.
10) When living at school, life/pack light. If you can't fit everything into one full sized van (car), then you probably could lose some stuff.
11) Despite what happens, always try to have fun.
12) An internet connection when you have an apartment is essential
13) A good game to play when you have an apartment is essential
That's all. Sorry for the long read. Hope that helps you.
-SaxyCorp