B. Hudson

Aside from suffering the indignity of being in school STILL at age 30, school is as it always has been.

Crap.

Unlike my younger years when I had sufficient time to take care of all I needed to do with due diligence, I find myself halfway doing things now.  The really funny part, I am making much better grades.  I’m not sure of the connection or why this might be happening but part of it is i have always just known what kinds of things to take down in notes.  Psychic?  Hardly, I think its more or less I’ve had more tests than most Doctors and Lawyers have taken being in school now officially longer than it takes to do either (sort of).  I simply write down the important things that stand out (this, however requires me to be awake enough to notice such things).  Here is the breakdown for what is up with me in the future:

Astronomy - Okay this class if Physics 107 or some such non-sense.  A freshman level course being taught to a guy who made good grades in 300 level physics courses.  I really took this for fun, cause it has always been a hobby of sorts for me.

Problem - This course is insanely hard for a 100 level class.  I don’t have any idea why these students didn’t drop after the first test.  I mean I have studied some string theory, and let me tell you, this stuff is pretty wild.  By the way, we discussed string theory in my class.  And yes I crapped myself.  I did poorly on the first test.  I say poorly because I was right on class average (bad).  I do not think the guy is the “curve” kind, so I’ll have to really kill the next 3 tests (2 other lame-o’s and a comprehensive final) to make my grade what I need it to be.  He goes over 200 tons of crap that is totally unrelated to tests, which scared me to death initially (remember, the poo?).  Then he gives us a test review, which was really quite good.  The problem with this was, while his review was good; The material was really pretty dense.  Not knowing his testing style really impacted me also.  In the end I think I had partially written off the course as one I would drop.  Now I’ve gotten hard headed about it and I’m not going to take less than a B in this class no matter what.  It will not be easy, unless he curves, but I’m going to get it.

History 102 - Notice a trend?  I’m in 2 freshman level courses and surrounded by people who drank/smoked too much of a potentially illegal drug to be even mildly coherent.  This course is required of me, why?  Why is because my department has severe issues providing irrelevant electives.  So this one is on purpose, and its truly surprising.

Problem - … Thats it, there is no problem.  This class is interesting, and entertaining.  Providing me with material that is either fantastically relevant to study or just fantastically neato.  I would have bet you $1 million that this course would suck, and suck badly.  Quite frankly its the class I took for “fun” that is draining at this point.  We have a paper due in this class next week.  I have all my material together I just need to sit down read it, then write up my paper.  It counts as a test grade, so its nothing to sneeze at.  I am not a big fan of writing papers, but the topics seem interesting.  I’ll know in a week whether it sucks or not though.  I know it will suck to write it, but probably not as bad as I think

All in all my professors are intensely well versed in their field of study.  I have rarely met a professor who had as much knowledge as these 2 guys.  History Professor has some loose notes that he (almost NEVER) looks at during class.  He talks almost non stop, but still is really engaging.  My Astronomy Prof, is just wildly intelligent.  I mean the guy rattles all his material off WITHOUT notes.  He has irfanview up displaying a slideshow of IMAGES only.  I know most prof’s don’t have notes they refer to constantly, but these 2 guys are great.  Astronomy prof tries to be engaging, but its not a topic that is conversational really.  I mean, this is stuff that’s been there, and will be there.  There’s no “action packed” astronomy to really lean on in a conversation.  He does okay, but honestly I have gotten the most out of his class when he was actually I think being insulted by a student with little attention span.  He hasn’t been abrasive, but he was very matter-of-fact.  I dig that kinda stuff anyway.  No BS, just facts.  That is all I want and all I hope for.  I sicerely plan on being MUCH more prepared for the following tests in both courses.  I got an A in history for Test 1.  Just shy of A+ if you follow me.

Rockin out with my.. hm.. nevermind.. Just rockin out

Man this class is good.  Well for now anyway, finding out that MOST of the information he is sending our way is kinda “good to know, but not required to know” made the big difference.  Before, I was doing ok.. I mean nothing special, but thats mostly because I’ve had Physics 298, Physics 299 before.

I kinda felt sorry for the freshmen and sophomores in the class… but then again.. they have all day to read crap, and not deal with a job/kids/wife.. etc..

Now that I think of it.. man forget them.. I want an A!

Well, I had assumed that “elements of astronomy” would be a really easy class.  Well think again sir, its rackin my friggin brain.  Firstly, apparently it is just not “astronomy” enough here to get a class called astronomy, so its Physics 107.  Ok, I’ve done classes that were kinda misnomered..

This class, while still interesting, is a lot more than I had envisioned.  I guess that’s okay in the grand scheme of things, but until I take test1 I won’t know for sure how this bird is going to fly.

jeesh!

Ok well I finally got all my stuff together at IUS.  The support departments came along kicking and screaming to finally allow me to get registered, get aid.. etc..

Boom

Wait just a minute, you mean even at a lesser cost than UofL tuition, I get even LESS aid?  Yup.  Well I can’t go there then, period.  I need to have enough aid to cover both tuition and books.

So back to UofL I go!

Well through a crazed attack on student services here, I am now registered in some classes, and attending.  One of them is good for my major (YEAH!) one is just fun(YEAH!).  Books.. Yeah I need books don’t I?  So I swap all my aid over from IUS to UofL, and have that done.. guess what?  When I had to ditch that programming class C# last fall.. I fell below required credit hours for a full year.  So I have to petition to get this money, to prove I’m not some schmuck who wants to just milk the system.  But guess what?  Its week 2 of class, and I have no books.   Those of you who haven’t been to college, week one is mostly bogus anyway, mostly “here’s your syllabus, now go home”.. But week 2 is when the boogie starts to up.  My history class is in FULL tilt boogie now.  Referencing not one, but TWO books.. My Astronomy class, the fun one, meets tonight.. I can only hope the prof didn’t drop 20 problems or a paper on these folks last week having it due tonight.  Either way this is a bad start for ME this semester.

Luckily I have found a benefactor to help me get books till I can get this aid situation sorted out.  Thank GOD!  (no really, I gotta thank Him).

So now I gotta wait on this money, and then GET the books.  More waiting, while my reading assignments pile up higher, and higher.

Wait a minute.. Do I ever READ my books?

hm.. well its a good precaution anyway.. just in case..

Well no sooner did I decide to take the summer off, did a whole month whiz by me..

So now its June, and I need to start getting my ducks in a row for Fall.  Ducks involve FAFSA, as well as actually APPLYING to the school I am going to go to.  So my ducks are not all that ungainly that I can’t do it in a couple hours, but I think I have gotten addicted to my free time.

I despise paperwork with a passion, and this is basically what I need to get done.. Paperwork.

Its just me procrastinating, I know.. I just can’t get past it.  I am going to put a goal that this weekend when my 2 kids go see their “real” dad I will do the Fafsa (which should be significantly more difficult than a college application to a non-ivy league school).

Wish me luck!

Okay well my lab yesterday basically killed my confidence level.

I pounded on it for a LONG time last night (maybe 2, or 3 hours) and got something that works, but doesn’t do everything it should yet.  Babysteps..

Midterm and Assignment#1 are coming in fast, so I have to get this down and under control, or I am a goner.

Still considering going to IU instead of UofL.. They offer online courses for the whole major there, where here I have to fiddle with work/scheduling to get to class.  Which sucks, of course.

I am planning on doing my Fafsa this weekend, and then hammering on my application to IUS, if for nothing else just to get a look/see.  My biggest pause now is that I have 20 hours left in my degree at UofL.  20.  2 fulltime semesters and I have a UofL degree.  Where at IU, I will not transfer 1:1.  So no matter what it will be MORE than 20.  Plus its different there, what if I have MORE problems there?   Then I have to come BACK to UofL, and deal with this crap all over again.

Oh well.  at 1 class a semester this will take a LONG friggin time to finish up that few credit hours.  My GPA is looking good still though.  Well not good.. but its not abysmal either.  So many situations to account for and at the same time, my family is eagerly awaiting me to gain the knowledge/job that will provide for them the way I should be..

yeah.. no pressure..

Holy Smokes Batman.. I seem to be getting it.

How?  dunno.. Why?  dunno..

Are my tactics different?  Not really, as a matter of fact my tactics are pretty much relaxed vs last semester.  While “relaxed” sounds good, it doesn’t convey a “structured, tactical assault on the material”.   Which I’m not doing.  I’m not pounding the book, I’m not really sweating the class now.  I am going to do my best and if I don’t cut it by Midterm, its a drop.  The backup plans have already been made, so nothing going on here is definitive.  I WANT to do this, and I took it off my “need” to do this list.

Am I just goofing around?  No.  I’m seriously doing well.  I have done everything asked of me and am carrying a 100-ish average so far.  looking forward to getting that first real assignment instead of the “labs” and seeing what I can get done with it.  That is a biggie for me.  Last time around.. I couldn’t do the labs.  Something just didn’t fit in my head, and now it does.  Why?  Heck I don’t know.. But at this point last semester I had.. lets say.. less than 100-sh average..

So.. nothing terrible has happened yet.. Now to square away that other class for the semester.. I hope.