So… it’s been awhile. I haven’t been posting because it seems that i’ve been perpetually busy or too ticked off, so sorry for the delay!
I did manage to pass math last quarter, with a solid C+ (rather ashamed that i could be happy about a C). Chem… well, the time spent studying for the math final was taken out of chem, so the final dropped me down to a B, not nearly as well as I should have done. The rest of my classes went well; i miss asian american studies already.
This quarter, I’m taking calculus 21c (reputed to be nearly the hardest of the four), chemistry 2c, engineering 6, and communications. To keep myself sane, i’m also taking a few pe classes.
Calculus is hard (right now i have a C WITH the curve) but i actually really like the teacher, and i’ve started going to office hours, so i’m enjoying the class a lot. Chemistry…. i probably shouldn’t get started, but i will anyway. My teacher doesn’t like the textbook, so instead he wants us to use an online textbook of sorts called chemwiki. It’s similar to wikipedia, a relatively open resource. Any student in his class can write or edit one of the articles/sections for extra credit. Unfortunately, this means people do. And, being students, they get things wrong. I find the thing impossible to study from, between the poor command of the english language (the worst is from american-born, not international transfers, interestingly enough) to the glaring factual errors. Our second midterm is on friday, so i’m going to have to drag through it, counterbalanced heavily with the textbook, since i desperately need to do well. On the first midterm, i miscounted the number of electrons in copper and consequently got an entire 20-point question wrong (5 parts, 3-4 points each, no partial credit. yes, no partial credit… even though the questions were answerable by more than one part and each depended on the last). After the midterm i’m going to go… discuss…. some of my concerns with the teacher, and after the final i fully intend to outline them more fully to the head of the department. The professor himself is completely disorganized, but it’s really the lack of a dependable resource that i have issues with.
Moving on… (see why i shouldn’t have started on chemistry? ) engineering6 is actually mostly about using a particular software (?) called matlab. The class is at 8am, which i’m not too happy about, but the software…. i love it. It is without question one of the most amazing things i have ever encountered. It can do pretty much anything mathematical you could possibly imagine, and it’s used by writing scripts (programs that tell it what to do). The whole programming thing is completely new to me, so i was expecting to be thoroughly lost, but i’m finding it incredibly fun. Of course, that doesn’t mean i never sit here and swear at my computer screen when i can’t figure out what’s wrong with my program, but overall it’s turned out to be one of the awesomest things this year.
Communications… i’ll keep it brief. Communications 1 (public speaking) is a major requirement for all engineers (apparently they think we need some help talking to people. I’d object, but that would require communicating…. >.> ). Me? I’m not good at public speaking. I hate the class. I’m doing my best, but i’ll be very glad when it’s over.
To lighten the academic load a little, i’m taking archery, tai chi, and meditation. Tai chi is proving to be a bit challenging, since i have a memory like a leaky bucket, and can’t remember the movements from one class to the next. (in case you’re not sure what it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi_chuan). Archery is fun, but i seem to lack any sort of natural talent. So far, i’ve managed to to miss the target with at least one arrow in each end (6 arrows; we shoot about 4 ends a class, twice a week), lose an arrow, and bend my bow inside out. I’m surprised they haven’t kicked me out yet, but i’m determined to improve. Meditation i’m taking from somewhere outside UCDavis, at a meditation center (?) in downtown Davis. The thing that probably surprised me most about the class is how much of it i was already doing/had worked out on my own. I definitely like having the opportunity to take an hour or so at least once a week that CAN’T be interrupted, just to slow down and exist for a bit.
My future housemates and i FINALLY signed our lease (possibly more details on the drama later, if you’re interested), so we officially have a place for the next year. There will be four of us (all female), two bedrooms, 1bath. I’m staying with niamh, my current roomate, and the two girls in the other room are also from our building. It should be interesting. One housemate is fairly religous, and one likes to poke fun at religion (naming no names). We’re also a 20-minute ride from campus, which i’m not too happy about, but niamh wanted to live there and i’d rather have her than a short trip (she puts up with me amazingly well).
That’s all for now, since i have to get up at 7am tomorrow morning. Hope everything is going well, and please keep me posted. I might not always reply, but i love to hear from you guys!
