ktheory.com the personal weblog of Aaron Suggs

The whole winter quarter was pretty excellent. I became good friends with Margaret from my math class. She0ˆ9s really funny, and whenever I say something that0ˆ9s the tiniest bit bullshit, she calls me on it (which is frequently). This has been one of my best quarters academically, and I liked my classes a lot. My math and computer science professors were two of the best I0ˆ9ve had at the University. Study groups are a wonderful thing, I0ˆ9ve learned — they not only keep you on the ball in the class, but they0ˆ9re a good way to get to know people socially from class. If you find someone interesting in class, invite to your study group and see if they0ˆ9re still interesting. Then, it0ˆ9s an easy segue to hang out with them sometime.

Also, I was accepted into the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies in Science and Medicine (HiPSS) program. HiPSS 0ˆ6stud[ies] science in terms of its historical development, conceptual structure, and social role.0ˆ7 It0ˆ9s an interdisciplinary program that only accepts 5 to 10 students per class, so I0ˆ9m really excited to be accepted. Given my interest in the philosophy of science and the effects of technology on society, HiPSS allows me to take course from several different departments and combine them into a Bachelor0ˆ9s degree. I also plan to get a degree in Mathematics with a specialization in Computer Science because I enjoy taking those classes as well. There are more courses offered at the University that I want to take than I0ˆ9ll be able to in four years, but if I pick a certain set of those courses, I can double major, although I0ˆ9ll be giving up a few electives, such as Economics or Philosophy courses. The point of double majoring is that I0ˆ9m interested in both Math and HiPSS, and it0ˆ9s not terribly inconvenient to do both. Why do I always sound like I0ˆ9m trying to convince people of my reasons for double majoring?

Another good thing this quarter was that my friend David and his girlfriend Amy visited me from NYU. Over their weeklong visit, they split the time between staying with Adele at Northwestern, Amy0ˆ9s extended family in suburbs, and me in Hyde Park. We had a good time hanging out and retelling stories from high school to my college friends, and 0ˆ6doing Chicago0ˆ7. We ate at Gino0ˆ9s East, Clark0ˆ9s, and Valois, went to Second City, attended a punk rock concert, and saw the St. Patrick0ˆ9s Day parade.

So, good things about this quarter include me enjoying and doing well in my classes, getting close to new friends and seeing old ones, and being an all-around more responsible person than usual. Unfortunately, the girl to whom I am much attracted has a boyfriend despite me being an 0ˆ6interesting0ˆ7 and 0ˆ6attractive0ˆ7 person who she wishes 0ˆ6to get to know better0ˆ7. But that0ˆ9s okay too.