around two-thirty i completed my physics problem set and handed it in at mclennan physical labs

then i went to robarts library
last night i had conducted a search on the comics-related material UofT holds (and it’s actually a lot more than i’d expected)

so i finally through trial and a lot of error figured out how to navigate robarts (all sorts of elevators going all over the place) and checked out scott mccloud’s understanding comics as well as the first volume of superman archives

i also wanted to read the captain canuck #1 that the university has in its thomas fisher rare books library

that’s where they have old and … rare books under relatively tight security
so you check your bag and coat as you enter the little place, then take an elevator to the basement, where you tell a librarian what book you want to read (naturally, you can’t check it out) and then you’re directed to a reading room where you take a seat, then someone comes up to you and gives you what it is you want to read

captain canuck #1 sucked, the art is laughable at times, the story is bollocks capitalist-god-is-on-our-side-the-communists-are-all-evil type of a plot that seems uninspired
the hero seems more american than canadian (other than his costume) and he looks like a dimwit who can’t do anything but spew campy cheesy quasi-patriotic lines
mind the book was written in 1975 … and it’s full colour, wow
self-published little classic of canadian comics that is now rare, rare enough to be kept under guard at UofT’s rare books library

it was comical to go in there and see all the people reading old old books and important looking things as i leafed through a comic book
i wonder what else we’ve got at the UofT

after that i went to my math tutorial and wrote my quiz

as i headed home i got off at scarborough town centre and met a friend (steph) after a long time, she was with some exchange-group from BC (i think she’s er … guiding them around)
that was good

as i headed out from STC i decided to drop by krispy kreme’s 24-hour drive-through and pick up a donut
the attendant asked through the intercom thing if i were interested in the fresh out of the oven original glazed, and i said i just wanted a creme-filled glazed
so i drove up to the window and i handed him the payment for my single donut
the young apparent man of african descent smiled as he gave me back my change, then handed me the bag saying “i threw in an original glazed for free”
i thanked him and drove on
note: it was fresh out of the oven
at a red light i pulled the original glazed donut out and took a bite
now some people say that heaven is in the arms of a loved one, or that heaven is in your eyes, or something
but right there i found heaven to be in my mouth
that fresh out of the oven donut was the epitome of delicious as it virtually melted in my mouth
i savoured every last bite and i thanked that attendant for his generosity

when i got home i took a look at the receipt
the attendant’s name was gabriel
and that’s when my suspicion was affirmed
that donut was divine

after having had the most uneventful winter break anyone could have i’ve realized that i should have done all my homework sometime rather than leaving it for now
but the truth is i realized that the first day of the winter break, and every day after that
even up until yesterday i was thinking about starting my homework
even earlier today when i started watching the classic 12 Angry Men and after i finished i was thinking about doing homework
and even as i’m typing this up i’m thinking about it
my math is here in front of me
heck it’s stuff i should’ve caught up on during the academic year, but i’m doing it now — the last sunday of the winter break
ha.. ha… this is sad

i’ve noticed that in the past few days i’ve been receiving a lot less junk mail than i usually do … wasn’t there some anti-spam law passed in the states?

also, if pasta is good before a marathon, is it also good for marathon studying before an exam?
during the exams earlier this month i ate pasta every hour or two to keep myself awake and studying for one of them … i don’t recall how well that went because i woke up realizing i hadn’t completed my studying
i don’t even remember what exam that was

ah well

i did my research the night before, there was a math tutorial in MP118 that began immediately after my lecture ended in MP203 on friday
i asked adam if he wanted to play a prank — on who? a whole class
so we made our way to MP118
there were several students waiting outside, including a girl from agincourt — who i nodded at (though it took her a while to recognize me)
i decided to open the door, and seeing that no one was in there, walked in
as i did so the girl from agincourt gave an expression that said “that works” and followed and asked “you’re not noaman are you?”
in a hushed voice i said, “indeed i am, but sshhh and watch”
the students entered the class and i went to the teacher’s table
i put my bag on it and proceeded to extract the math textbook and solutions manual (i don’t usually carry it around, but did so specifically for this purpose)
putting on my british accent i asked if this was the math tutorial class, students said yes, i said — i’m your TA
“this class is supposed to start ten minutes after the hour, but we’re here now on the hour — and that’s good, it’s good to be early, but we’ll start ten minutes after the hour from now on”
and before i even wrote anything a girl came up to me and said “i have a question for you — i know we have a quiz next friday, but that day is also my commencement, so do you know what i can do about that”
i simply said “you know what, i’ll get to your question in a few minutes, why don’t you take a seat”
then i turned to the class at large and said “my name is captain nomes” and wrote it on the board
“don’t ask why i have such an odd name, i have odd parents and i am odd myself”
then i wrote my ‘e-mail address’ under it — captain.nomes@math.utoronto.ca
i noticed several students copy down the information from the board
i then turned to the class and said “basically, this tutorial is me answering questions from the book, from your homework — the problem sets. i’m not going to be teaching anything from the course… so … are there any questions?”
a youth put his hand up and asked “yeah, i have a question about a problem in — i think it’s section 2.6 –”
i interrupted him and said “oh, i have a class plan and i’ll be going according to that — i was saying does anyone have any questions about the course in general?”
no one said anything
so for a few seconds i waited there, kept glancing at the door to make sure the real TA didn’t come in
then i asked the class, “how many of you have seen catch me if you can?”
and quite a few of them put their hands up
so i said “well you know the scene where he walks into the class and pretends to be the teacher, but he’s not really there teacher? well i’m not really your TA” and as i switched back to my normal accent smiles sprung up on many faces and i said “i’m actually a first year student in life sciences, and i’ve just played a joke on all of you” and erased “captain nomes” off the board
i then asked “how many of you believed me?” and none of them put their hands up “oh yeah, right, you miss came up and asked me a question about your commencement — btw, i think the answer is that you go and talk to mr. professor lam about it”
a student asked me why i didn’t use the real TA’s name — “i don’t think mr. roberto-gonzalez would be too happy” i said
i then started packing up and said “i’m not even in this tutorial, you’ll find them pretty useless, i skipped mine” and started walking out, adam walked out before me
and before i actually left i turned around, did a semi-bow and put my hand up
all the students were looking at me, some smiling
the agincourt girl was smiling throughout the joke and it was all adam could do to stop from bursting out in laughter

basically a repeat of the prank i pulled on tuesday, but this time better done

unfortunately i don’t think i’ll be able to do a repeat any time this year
because these were the first time the math tutorials took place

perhaps for the CHM138 and CHM139 tutorials as they start later this academic year

lots of fun, more fun than a barrel of monkeys

today i visited jeff’s maths tutorial
there were some students, but the T.A. had not yet arrived
so i strode right up to the front of the classroom, put down my bag, took off my coat, and faced the class
some of them muttered “he’s the T.A.”

“is this the maths tutorial?” i asked, i received a positive response
“well i seem to be a bit early, i believe the class starts ten minutes after the hour?” — again the students nodded
so i turned around and started erasing the board
halfway through, i turn around again, face the class
and ask
“how many of you have seen the film ‘catch me if you can’?”
some of the students responded in the affirmative
“well, you know how he walks into a class and pretends to be a teacher, but he’s not really a teacher? — well i’m not really your teacher” i said
and the class then realized i’d played a joke on them
“i was joking, you’ve just been pranked” i said
and i sat down beside jeff with the rest of the students

it was, to say the least, funny

first bio lab — analyze insects
pretty funky things
the hissing cockroaches were huge, and very strong (you can barely pull them off any surface they hold on to)
the australian leaf insect, looks like a leaf — or tries to — complete with thorny and hard, autumn leaf coloured complexion … it wouldn’t let go of me — it grabbed on tight and just wouldn’t let go and the tiny little thorns dug into my skin
finally got it off
then the walking sticks (insects that look like … sticks) have these tiny pins at the end of their legs that they kind of dig into whatever they’re holding onto
fortunately they only have six legs, and the one on my arm only had five legs
finally got that one off using my pencil to pry it away

fun class nevertheless, a bit slow at times

back in agincourt c.i., there used to be a sign on the physics room’s door

it said PHYSICS IS PHUN

whoever came up with the tasteless pun must have forgotten that there are other, less flattering words that also start with the “F” sound

i have never liked physics, i can understand if someone likes it (long as they don’t rub it in my face), but personally i dislike the subject

sure it’s essential and blah blah blah but damn it’s so twisted and demented

this rant brought to you by the physics problem set #2
of which a question i cannot answer…

boo

– utaps application – check

dedicated to all the late appliers and morons who get high:

i was gonna go to U of T
but then i got high
all i had to do was click submit
but then i got high
now i’m in community college
and i know why
(why man, why?)
because i got high
i didn’t apply
because i got high