Lumberjack Update #8: Time To Say Goodbye

Hi all!

Let me start with a short note. A few of you might be wondering why the heck these mails are in crappy Arizona English all the time. No, it's not because I wanna impress anyone... it's just a matter of logic. It's often way easier to elaborate on activities and happenings in the same language as I experience them—and that's, of course, English! Yeah!

What a feeling! What a relief! The semester is over, my 100+ assignments are handed in and it's time to say goodbye to all the (close) friends, NAU and Flagstaff. It's time to clean my room, do laundry, call FIXED (the on campus maintenance agency) so I won't get charged for any damages, broken lights, blinds and the like. Party time at Tinsley 207, at San Felipes and other locations come to an end. AND: How should I pack all this pent-up stuff from the last ten month into my baggage?!?

I look back with mixed feelings. There were so many unforgettable things I'll miss for sure and other stuff that will take some time to fully understand and realize! Of course, it was great, awesome, terrific, gorgeous... and no, don't worry, I won't tell you the whole year in this email again. No, just the last few highlights... and a short outline informing you on what's next.

The following story occurred a couple weeks ago: It was late Saturday afternoon and I updated my computer regarding security and other kinds of issues. I got this nice little free network security tool from LANguard. All in all, I had a pretty okay weekend, so far so good... at least until Monday morning.

The phone rang at 9:37am: «Hi, this is Gary Fetter. I'm from ITS—Information Technology Services—and I'd like to have you come to my office. [...].» Totally surprised, I made an appointment for the next day (at that time I wasn't really sure why I got the call). The next day at his office. «So, tell me about the DHCP thing you did.» After having organized my thoughts, I had to smile benignly but remained serious and started off. Oh, well... I told him about the port scans I did, nothing illegal, however, not in accordance with the NAU Network Policy for Students and ResNet Guidance stuff (...). And here came Gary again: «[...] and I guess you know, you also scanned some NAU mail servers [...] and that's a very bad thing! [...] And if you wanna harm or even hack a network that's where you start!»

BTW: He wasn't happy about my question when I wanted to know if there had been any previous attacks... sorry guys, don't take it too serious, it's getting ridiculous... it was just for fun, without any bad intentions. Moreover, would I really use my own IP to mess up the system—probably not. Anyway, I received my punishment: «Now you go home, read the policies, and call me this afternoon or tomorrow morning... and we'll talk about it.» At this point it was really hard to keep my emotions in check and not to start laughing—but bite your tongue and behave! After trying to reach him for a couple times I left a message on this voice mail: «Hi Gary [...] I've read the policies, respect and understand the context... and I won't do anything BAD (stressed!) again [...] for me this issue is cleared! [...]»—Oh yeah for sure another funny NAU story.

There's some more good news: finally, we did sell our Ford Taurus 1994. Puh, I gotta tell you... nothing else than problems with that car. You all know the beginning of our mobile experience. The end couldn't be any better! After advertising our sweet green Ford in the Arizona Daily Sun we got a couple, not to say dozens, of calls... looked as if the Mexican Mafia wanted to do some business here. We were assuming that every single member of the clan tried to undercut the advertised price! Anyway, the initial offer was set at $550 (yep, I know a huge write-off...), however, how much would you pay for a car with a broken transmission pump (estimated replacement cost: $1,200 plus labor)? Finally, we got together with our Mexican friend and agreed to sell the car for $375—we MUST sell! So far so good! Let's go to the DMV and do the title registration stuff. Well, the lady at the counter informed us that this car belongs to a towing company... huh, interesting! So no deal, no money, still with a car! We also learned that we have to bring in the car for checking issues. Problem there: how do you drive a broken car? Let's give AAA a call: «Sorry we don't tow cars to the DMV, just garages or homes. No discussion.» Mmmh, the problem was getting worse. Luckily the Mexican was in a pretty good mood and willing to pick up the car from the parking lot and tow it with his device from Mexico (the Ruble is rolling!) to the DMV. Well, in the end everything worked out fine. But I can tell you... .

What else? Oh yeah, Michelle Branch, who was born and raised in Sedona, gave a concert at the NAU Skydome. Well, pretty disappointing! The pre bands were better, longer, and knew how to cheer the audience. Michelle blew it quite a bit but we spent a good time and that's what counts!

There was another BBQ at Pat's place, some final international parties, some last talks to my peers, the last squash game at the Rec Center, the last meal at Java.com, the final wrap, the last walk to the post office and so on. I guess you can imagine!

And sorry, I think I should hurry up... there's still some stuff to organize for Mexico. My bad but that's it for this Lumberjack Update! Tomorrow, Patrick and I are leaving for Mexico where we'll hopefully spend an unforgettable time! We'll fly into Mexico City from where we take the bus down to San Cristobal de Las Casas. Oh yes, after that it's gonna be scary and dangerous—the Chiapas are waiting for us. Later on, we keep going eastwards—visit all the Maya sites—until we get to our final destination: Playa del Carmen. On May 24, we return to Flag, get our baggage (Pat has probably twice as much as I do), say goodbye to our beloved Flagstaff, and take off to new discoveries. While Patrick is going back home to Tübingen and is starting his Diploma Thesis with Märklin (yes the model train company) in Göppingen, I'm gonna do some more traveling: North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee are the destinations. Biking, rafting, and hiking... just a lot of cool stuff. On June 7 I'll be hitting Swiss ground again.

I'm more than happy to meet you all and tell and elaborate on some of the stories, experiences, and souvenirs from my exchange year here at NAU.

Hugs, kisses, and lots of love to everybody from Flagstaff—They don't make towns like this anymore.

Andreas

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