To thy happy children of the future...

[roku_kyu]

...we of the past send greetings.

That saying, well known by University of Illnois at Urbana-Champaign students and alumni, is carved into the base of the Alma Mater statue that stands at the entrance to the main quad at UIUC. The words always seemed a little "Huh, that's nice, but boring," to me as a student, but it resonated in my heart for the

Comments

[anonymous]

oh college, I spent 7 hours of my day smelling the library coffee myself though not at UIUC seeing as how that would be some trek to library from Ithaca, NY. I must say you are starting the college search early! I didn't even start looking till like the summer after 11th grade and I didn't know where I wanted to go until like october of my senior year. I followed that quick decision up with an early admission application less than a month later, which worked out, making it so I only ever had to fill out ONE college app. yay! While I recommend this one app thing to anyone as lazy as myself (it saves time and money) it does kinda cut it close; I live dangerously, what can I say?

-Etrurielle

[roku_kyu]

Yeah, we're starting early, but then The Sequel has been suffering through a ton of homework and a truckload of tests in her freshman year. Between those pressures and the stress of being denied the university of her first choice, I thought I'd better show her that there -are- greener pastures ahead. ^__^

Living dangerously is not a choice for us, since (1) I have appalling luck, as evidenced by losing my NU job of eleven years practically on the cusp of the tuition payoff thingy and (2) UIUC is a tough university to get into, due to its international reputation and its relatively low tuition for in-state students. Although applications are technically accepted until January each year, generally you're considered a bit late if you don't have your application in by September of your senior year. First come, first serve--and the competition is fierce!

Thanks for dropping by!

[lizstarsky]

It sounds like a pretty good trip, and I'm glad that the Sequel enjoyed her time there. I know how set she was on NU, so I'm glad she's willing to look into other options. And wow, a whole building for foreign languages? That sounds excellent. *__*

Anyway, I'm glad to see an update from you; I miss hearing what's going on in Roku's Modern Life. ^_~

[roku_kyu]

I've been terribly uncommunicative of late; the job has gotten ugly, what with the loss of Kris, the advent of a bunch of newbies, and the everloving aggravation of dealing with pharmaceutical company idiots. If I did my job as half-assed as they did theirs--well, you know the rest.

But yes, we had a great time yesterday, and it really set my mind at ease that The Sequel enjoyed the UIUC campus. Her life has been a real pressure-cooker lately, so I try to give her little fun outlets whenever I can.

I'll be emailing you soon with an answer to your latest question--see you then!

[nekonezumi]

Yup, ixnay on the Arciagay Izzapay for the Ouse-chan-may.

When I was there, Pokey Sticks from Gumby's Pizza were pretty much the rage, though far from gourmet, and not my personal fave. Aw, this post really made me wax nostalgic for UIUC! Ahh, Greg Hall, haven of history. And the creaky English building. And I think they moved all the natural history museum stuff out of the natural history building and relocated it to someplace across from the Krannert Center, didn't they? I loved that big stuffed buffalo.

I could definitely see The Sequel at U of I--and I really bet she'd love it. She'd have a blast studying all the foreign languages she could cram into her head! And don't forget the Stacks!!! The Stacks were my favorite thing in the world. I think it's like the third biggest library in the nation, or something, but I'd have to check my references on that.

And a sign from the heavens--fifty-degree weather!!!!!!!! It's meant to be. :P

[roku_kyu]

Yes, UIUC really does inspire nostalgia in its alumni. And I apologize a hundred times for my previous confuzzlement that you didn't like Garcia's Pizza, though you might have liked it in its heyday, back when it was not only edible but melted in your mouth. Sigh

[nekonezumi]

Ooh, Number One?? Even better! I'm so proud of it! ♥

For the sake of solidarity in this time of seishi dropping left and right, I'll definitely sign up for NaNo. I reckon we'll both lose spectacularly together, though--since I'm mostly editing, it's gonna be a painstaking process. XD; I adore Freddie, but nowadays I'm sort of looking forward to being able to start a fresh story. I'm hoping for NaNo '10 to be the start of that--or else I'll use '10 to finish the Andy story so it can be finished. My favorite part of writing is writing the first draft, because everything seems so limitless. Wistful sigh.

I'll be rooting for Mute, too! As a matter of fact, I'm gonna be wild and put forth the possibility that you'll actually finish Draft One this November. How's that for a goal to nip at your heels as you write?? ^_~

[roku_kyu]

Okay, I just looked up info on The Stacks--and to be fair, they are the Largest Public University Library in the world, not the largest library, period. Although the resource doesn't specifically say they aren't, though. :P Which now makes me wonder--what is the Largest Library in the World, since UIUC Stacks has over 10 million books? Who else has 10 million-plus books stored somewhere? (The Vatican? Oxford? Some new skyscraper in Dubai? Hee