Today...absolutely embarrassed in the matroid class when Jim personally asked me which exercise I can do, and I said none. Sigh...I really tried hard...but maybe not hard enough. Because once I saw the solutions, they became quite simple...but there is just some strange mental block that prevented me from thinking about them the right way. Oh well...looks like I'll have to work a lot harder next time. I guess what made it even more embarrassing is that after class, I went to my mailbox and saw my assignment there, with the comment that I should ask for a hint if I'm stuck. Well, looks like I got that comment one class too late...so no wonder Jim was disappointed when he heard that I couldn't do anything. So was the trip to wonderland worth enough to endure this kind of embarrassement? Yup...definitely wouldn't have traded the trip and the chance to be with these soon-to-depart friends with anything else. Now the question is, how will I do with the supervisor meeting tomorrow?

Questions about friendships: What are friends for? How is a friendship different from a brotherhood in Christ? Is it necessary to "fit in"? Why do I get attached to a select few of them? Why did God bring me really good friends just when they are about to depart from me? Why do I have so little contact with people who used to be good friends with me and are now away from me? How did Christ feel about being rejected by the very people whom He had just called friends? What does it mean that He calls me a friend?

Finally got the courage to send another email to Francis. As expected, the only reaction I receive is silence.