Temporary Freedom
Exams are over. I feel pretty good about all of them except two: Quantum Mechanics and Networking. Today, I handed in the final report for the IC design I've been working with all semester. Now, there is nothing left to write, nothing left to hand in. There is temporary freedom.

The past week or two has seen interesting weather, from extreme snow conditions to extreme cold. When the weather is snowy, the lights on the house glow and create the perfect winter scene. Then there are days like today, where (with wind factor) the temperature was -41C.

My laptop is being sent back to Dell tomorrow, as the screen problems that have been intermittent in the past have become permanent, and it is not pleasant to stare at with lines down the screen. Of course, this happened two weeks after the warranty expired. Hopefully the repair is not too costly. Dell parts quoted me $740 + tax + shipping for the motherboard, and I am quite certain the problem is with the motherboard.

While looking forward to relaxing over the next several days, I've decided I should resume some small effort on my hobbies. As such, the last week or so has been spent hand-drilling out windows on the Enterprise-D. With over a thousand windows, of which I am cutting out about a half, at a time of three minutes per window... it takes time. But the end result will look great when it is properly painted and lit. I am considering making it a goal to spend 20 minutes a day on hobbies next semester, as it effectively relieves stress.