La fin
So today was the last day of French class. The class was super fun and very informative. We went over a lot of the little grammar nuances in French that I didn’t get from Duolingo. At the same time, the vocab bank I’d gotten from using Duo really helped me during the course, especially at the beginning.
I don’t know if I’ll take the next course in the spring, since I’ll also be teaching AND my mom will be coming up for a month or so, but if I don’t, I’ll definitely take it in the fall. I’d love to get the certificate.
WOO!
French!
I bought my textbook for FRE 100, the French class I’ll be (hopefully) taking next semester!
I’m excited. I’ve never taken a language class before so we’ll see how bad I am at it.
Elementary, my dear?
So my mom and I stopped by St. Mary’s, my old elementary school, and got a tour of it from my old principal, Sister Margaret.
I went to St. Mary’s Catholic School for six years (1st through 6th grade; seven years if you count going to St. Rose’s for kindergarten) and I remember some things about it very well. Since my going there, though, the building has undergone quite a few renovations and changes, including a huge gym add-on and the addition of a few more grades.
But MAN, some of the things we saw on our tour are things I remember very well.
The library. We just did a brief walk-through, but I remember checking out many of the books in there.
The classrooms. They’re so small! So are the desks! But I remember them very clearly.
The multi-purpose room. This lived up to its name back when I went there. We had band, choir, lunch, gym, plays, and concert rehearsals in there.
The bathrooms on the main floor. I don’t know why I have such a strong memory of freaking bathrooms, but I do.
It’s also wild that a few of my classmates from St. Mary’s are now teachers there.
Anyway, it was an odd trip down memory lane, but very cool to see what’s stayed the same and what has changed.
OH GOD THE SPRING 2021 UI SCHEDULE IS UP – COMMENCE FAKE SCHEDULE BUILDING!!!!
(Sorry, I’m excited.)
M/W
ENGL 391: Intermediate Poetry Writing (3:30 PM – 4:45 PM)
M/W/F
MATH 504: Fourier Analysis (1:30 PM – 2:20 PM)
GEOL 435: Glaciology and the Dynamic Frozen Earth (2:30 PM – 3:20 PM)
T
GEOL 404: Geology of the Pacific NW (3:30 PM – 5:00 PM)
T/R
IFIT: Advanced Wall Climbing (9:30 AM – 10:20 AM)
FCS 275: Experimental Foods Lab (12:30 PM – 2:30 PM)
CS 453: Advanced Robotics I (5:00 PM – 6:15 PM)
SUPA FUN!
An Exercise in Fucking Around
What up, NERDS?!?!?!?
So today, let’s do something that – for whatever reason – I’ve never done before: let’s make a semester class schedule for U of C rather than UI!
And just for funsies, I’m going to do one for last semester (Winter 2020) rather than the upcoming fall semester, since COVID botched up everything and the vast majority of classes will be online in the fall. I want to make a fake schedule where I have to actually plan out the course meeting times as well.
Because that’s how I roll with these things.
GO!
M/W/F
CPSC 491: Techniques for Numerical Computation (9:00 – 9:50)
STAT 533: Survival Methods (10:00 – 10:50)
HIST 361: The United States Since 1877 (14:00 – 14:50)
W/F
CPSC 491: Techniques for Numerical Computation Tutorial (13:00 – 13:50)
M
GEOG 310: Landforms and Soils Lab (13:00 – 13:50)
W
ENGL 594: Studies in Creative Writing: Prose Fiction (18:00 – 20:45)
F
STAT 533: Survival Methods Tutorial (16:00 – 16:50)
T/H
GEOG 310: Landforms and Soils (9:30 – 10:45)
ART 341: Drawing the Figure (11:15 – 12:30)
ART 341: Drawing the Figure Lab (12:30 – 13:45)
DRAM 413: Directing I (15:30 – 17:20)
Woo!
Hoy
I miss everything about undergrad…except for finals.
Like, the regular during-semester exams were okay. I never really minded those too much. But finals? I don’t know if it was because I was always taking 7-9 classes per semester and thus had a good amount of finals packed into a 5-day window, but they were always way more stress than everything else.
Which makes sense, of course, but still.
Though having to stand around and invigilate a three-hour final is not that much fun, either. At least nothing too chaotic happened.
Ahem.
I am 100% convinced that my shitty GRE scores were the reason that I didn’t get into any US schools for grad school. BUT LOOK WHO HAS TWO MASTERS DEGREES AND IS SUCCESSFULLY TEACHING MATH/STATS AT A UNIVERSITY NOW, HUH?
Sorry, it’s been a decade and I’m still bitter about the fact that the GRE results outweighed everything else that was stellar about my undergrad performance.
And I’m finally going to say that my undergraduate performance was stellar, ‘cause it fucking was.
Fight me, standardized testing.
Also, for anyone else going into STEM who thinks the GRE belongs in the toilet and should not be used as a factor for deciding admission: check here.
FAKEY FAKEY
I’m super late in doing this, but I finally remembered to make my fake UI class schedule for next semester.
Y’know, like I always do.
COMMENCE!
M/W/F
CS 470: Artificial Intelligence (9:30 – 10:20)
PHIL 325: Historical Figures in Philosophy (11:30 – 12:20)
STAT 516: Applied Regression Modeling (12:30 – 1:20)
W
ENGL 582: Techniques of Fiction (3:30 – 6:20)
T/H
PEB 106: Wall Climbing (9:30 – 10:45)
CS 479: Data Science (12:30 – 1:45)
GEOG 401: Climatology (2:00 – 3:15)
Will I ever stop doing this?
No. The answer is no.
Sigh…
I miss undergrad. Especially that group of math nerds I hung out with while I was getting my math degree. Mostly because we did this kind of nonsense when we were supposed to be studying.
JUBL
It is taking
EVERY
FIBER
OF MY BEING
to resist applying for an undergraduate degree here. Any undergraduate degree. Hell, throw ‘em all in a hat and let me pick one that way.
You know how normal people have these primal psychological/physical urges to do things like eat and sleep and make babies?
I have that for school.
What’s up with that, seriously?
Twas the night before blogmas
Who wants to make a fake Fall 2017 UI class schedule with me?
No one?
FINE SCREW YOU ALL I’MMA DO IT BY MYSELF
M/W/F
HIST 350: The Age of Enlightenment: European Culture & Ideas, 1680 – 1800 (11:30 – 12:20)
PEB 106: Cardio Blast (12:30 – 1:20)
CS 328: Introduction to Computer Game Development (1:30 – 2:20)
MATH 438: Mathematical Modeling (3:30 – 4:20)
T/H
THE 441: Foundations of Screenwriting (11:00 – 12:15)
THE 471: Directing (3:30 – 5:20)
Man, what’s happened to the UI’s philosophy department? It’s dead.
Also, this is getting harder and harder to do without repeating classes I’ve picked in previous fake schedules.
BACK2COOL
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNFFFF I have such an urge to go back to undergrad and get another degree.
I really want to study physics for some reason, though I’m pretty sure I’m not smart enough to study physics. Of course, I never thought I’d be able to get a math degree (or a Masters in stats), so there ya go.
But seriously. Look at all these options at U of C. I want to explore all of them. I’m pretty sure if I ever won the lottery (or somehow ended up with a lot of money some other way) I’d just be a student for the rest of my life. How awesome would that be?
I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM, *YOU* HAVE A PROBLEM
(I have a problem.)
I think I am physically unable to be out of school for any extended period of time. Hell, I work in academia and still want to go take classes.
Certificates that I’d like to get include:
- Creative Writing (I really loved the writing classes at U of I. I just like being able to read other peoples’ stories and get feedback on my own. It also actually forces me to write, because, y’know, grades)
- Database Administration (knowing SQL would be very beneficial if I ever have to get a non-teaching job)
- Graphic Design (because it sounds fun)
- Integrated Digital Media
- Video Production (again…sounds fun)
- Visual Design
Yeah.
I just want school forever, is that too much to ask?
Well, hell.
So there are two main reasons why I should not be allowed to go anywhere on campus other than the math building.
- I’ll get lost.*
- I’ll want to get a degree in whatever random program I happen to witness.
Example: I wanted to hold a review session for my second midterm, so I had to get a room booked that was big enough to hold at most 120 students. Because of the fact that the time of day of this review was still when a lot of classes were going on, my regular room wouldn’t work and I had to get a room over in the engineering complex.
As I was walking to the room, I saw a whole bunch of engineering students working on various projects/gadgets/equations/etc. which all looked super intriguing and made me do the thing I do where I just pick up a major because why the hell not.
So yeah. Math building only.
*I’m not kidding. When I first moved up here and started going to school, it took me an hour to find the campus rec center because I knew you could get there without going outside but I still couldn’t find it and I was freaking out because I had no idea where anything was or how to get back to my building. I think there’s something wrong with me.
SPRING 2017 UI SCHEDULE, BITCHES
Yo.
So it’s time for that semi-annual joy of joys event: making a fake UI schedule for the upcoming semester.
Because even when I’m no longer in school, I’m always in school in my mind.
Let’s do it!
M/W/F
PEB 106: Road & Trail Running (8:00 – 9:15)
CS 210: Programming Languages (9:30 – 10:20)
STAT 504: Introduction to Bayesian Statistics (10:30 – 11:20)
MATH 536: Probability Theory (11:30 – 12:20)
PLSC 205: General Botany (1:30 – 2:20)
MATH 476: Combinatorics (3:30 – 4:20)
T/H
PLSC 205: General Botany Lab (9:30 – 12:20 T)
MUSA 121: Concert Band (12:30 – 1:45)
GEOG 401: Climatology (2:00 – 3:15)
This is a few more credits than you’re allowed per semester, but since when did I ever pay attention to that even when I was actually in school?
Another Anniversary
Today is August 26, 2016.
My first day at the University of Idaho was August 26, 2006.
Today marks 10 years since I started my post-secondary education. If you’d asked me in 2006 what I thought I’d be doing in 10 years, I certainly wouldn’t have answered, “just finishing up school!” Hell, when I first started college, my goal was to get out as fast as possible. Grad school? Sounded like a waste of time. Why would I want to spend more time in school?
That was the plan: get out as fast as possible. And while I usually hate it when things don’t go according to plan, I am actually quite happy with how my educational path has carved its way through the past 10 years. I mean, I’ve gotten five degrees in a decade. That’s not too shabby.
- 2008: B.S., psychology
- 2009: B.S., philosophy
- 2011: M.A., psychology
- 2014: B.S., mathematics
- 2016: M.S., statistics
I also like how each one of these degrees has had some part in making me realize what I really, really enjoy and want to do with my life (teaching stats). No part of the past decade of education was wasted (except for maybe that business calculus class. Screw that class, man). That’s a good feeling.
ALSO, I have zero debt. Zero. This is because of my parents. My dad paid for everything for my first round of undergrad (3 years), then let me stay at his place rent-free during my second round of undergrad (2 years). My mom has paid for all my moving-around-the-continent costs and let me live rent-free with her in Arizona while I worked to save up money to eventually go back to school. That’s pretty amazing. Thanks, mom and dad.
So yeah. I figured a post acknowledging 10 years of college/grad school was needed, because 10 years is a long damn time to be doing anything.
Yay!
THESIS ROUND II
Guess who successfully defended their thesis this morning?
I DID!
It honestly didn’t feel like as big of a deal as my first defense did back in 2011. Maybe it’s because I knew what to expect since I’d done it before. Maybe it’s because I felt more prepared and confident about the subject matter this time around. Maybe it’s because I’m just older and more mature than I was in 2011 and am less prone to freaking out.*
But it doesn’t matter, ‘cause now I’m DONE! I just have a few minor corrections/additions to make, then send the thesis off to the online Vault so that it’s officially submitted.
YAY!
*Who am I kidding? I’ll always be prone to freaking out.
Whaaaaaaaaaat
Holy crap, I did waaaaay better on that STAT 723 final than I thought I did. He must have curved it.
But anyway, that was the last final I’ll ever have to take for the last class I’ll ever have to take.
…
I say that, but then again, I’ve said that several times since 2008, so…
I’m a cayenne pepper. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU????/???
UGH, that test was brutal. Like, the problems were all very similar to the homework questions, but they were all similar to the six most difficult homework questions. The ones that required weird-ass tricks that were somewhat unrelated to the material we needed to know for the class.
But whatever, you know? Either I make it through this class or I have to stay an extra year and torment those who don’t want me around.
Those who shall not be named.
Yeah.
Fake It ‘Till You…Fake It, I Guess
Do you know what time of the year it is?
It’s FAKE UI CLASS SCHEDULE TIME!!!
Let’s do it.
MWF
HIST 411: Colonial North America (10:30 – 11:20)
MATH 310: Ordinary Differential Equations (11:30 – 12:20)
BIOL 120: Human Anatomy (12:30 – 1:20)
MATH 579: Combinatorics (1:30 – 2:20)
TH
CS 360: Database Systems (12:30 – 1:45)
GEOG 301: Meteorology (2:00 – 3:15)
MUSA 121: Concert Band (4:30 – 5:20)
T
BIOL 120: Human Anatomy Lab (8:30 – 11:20)
W
ENGL 582: Techniques of Fiction (5:00 – 7:50)
Yay!
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