DG Honors Update:

She was placed back into the Honors classes today. I received an email informing me that there was room after they placed all the GATE-qualified students first. I did my best to ignore the implication that it was somehow a gift, given that she has met the Honors criteria every year since she was tested for the GATE program. The outcome was the right one for DG, so it’s all good. I just wish we hadn’t had to go through a week of angst and drama to get there.

Sticks is looking more collegiate by the day:

Sticks did his first round-trip commute in the new car today…and is now beginning to understand the love affair Californians have with their cars. We’re trying to give him incentives to keep riding the train, but he has such a weird schedule — classes end around 12pm T/Th and the first train back doesn’t leave till 5 — that he’s lobbying for driving 3 of 5 days per week. We’re pushing for driving 2 of 5 days, with train commutes on the days where he doesn’t have late rehearsals to 9pm. Today he spent 4 hours in the practice room…always a good thing.

College has been an adjustment for him, musically. His first jolt was when he didn’t pole-vault into the top bands on the first round of auditions, and I’m glad to say that he has handled it with grace. (My personal reaction was relief…it’s about time he had a challenge to rise to instead of hitting the big time on the first round…) He was a little bit bitter about one placement, but not that bad, and he freely admits that the top drummer dogs in the jazz department are awesome musicians that he can learn a lot from. Good for him for being humble instead of arrogant…I remember a time where it wouldn’t have gone that way.

So now it’s computer purchase time. The dilemma: Mac or PC? Honestly, the PCs I’ve seen don’t impress…it’s been nearly 2 years since I bought this laptop and I’m not seeing much that makes me sit up and want another PC. Macs, however, are another story. They are definitely looking good to me and also to Sticks, particularly since Parallels allows for a Windows XP installation and the ability to run software we already own.

The dilemma is that if he buys a MacBook, he won’t have enough $$$ left to get the new version of Sibelius, even at the student license rates, which he would have if he bought a PC. On the other hand, the machine of choice on this campus (especially in the music department) is a Mac. Decisions, decisions….

Technorati Tags: back to school, mac or pc