(no subject)

[seiberwing]

So, first week report of college.


Roomie is nice, although she's a touch OCD (literally) and makes her bed every time she leaves the room and is excrutiatingly neat. She put all my dishes in a neat little pile near the sink before I got there. It's not her boyfriend in the service, it's several of her friends, but you were close. I sense incoming tension if she encounters the Socialist Union here.

Book prices are horrendous. I've spent over $650 just on them, and over a hundred was just for my Organic Chem book. *is so glad we can sell them back at the end of the semester*

Classes...therein lies a funny story. See, I tried to get into Chadwick's Academic Writing class. She is a rather scary woman with a brutal sense of humor (read: poking fun at students at the expense of their dignity). When she asked how many students were trying to get into her class, five of us raised our hands and she kicked us all out. So I went whimpering to my advisor, who pulled up my record...and found out that my AP score in AP Senior English actually exempted me from that class anyway. Not only that, but my collected hours from my various AP tests combined with my hours last year gives 33 hours. I am, technically, already a sophmore.

At any rate, I didn't feel like just taking 12 hours this semester even if I didn't need more, so I've added a 4 hour Ancient History class (also a prerequisite, so I'm getting more stuff out of the way) to my schedule as a replacement and dumped Health and Fitness for now.. The teacher there seems pretty cool and I think I'll like the class.

Organic Chemistry is renowned as being the sort of class that doesn't use lube, but I'm getting a tutor assigned to me. It might not be as bad as all that.

My Research Methods I teacher also seems to be pretty cool, if silly. He referenced Contact on the first day of class, so he can't be all bad. He's like Mr. Froening's more interesting twin, in some respects.

Comments

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

I cartainly can't help with Organic Chemistry -- well I don't think so anyway. A tutor *there* is better anyway! But, I "feel your pain." I took Organic Chemistry once -- actually twice. Yep -- the whole 3 quarter sequence twice. :-( I can show you my transcript ....

Book prices *are* obscene -- captive audience and all that crap.

New roomie?

Good luck!

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

It's supposedly the make-or-break class for premed, or something like that. Everyone I talk to asks "why the hell are you taking that?"

[beckyh2112.livejournal.com]

Why are you taking that class? *is curious*

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Because...

*embarrassed* Because my parents want me to at least prepare for med school and my advisor said you needed to take that class in order to do so.

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

Same here. It's the pre-med Flunk-Out Class.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

That was the impression I got.

...is that good or bad?

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

It can be both. When I had it it was heavy on memorization -- and I don't memorize worth squat. (at least not memorizing just to be memorizing). It was an interesting class though. It is a difficult class -- because it's weeding folks out. If you can memorize ok, you should be fine. The text and the instructor can make all the difference in the world. The first time I took it, we used the 3rd edition of Morrison & Boyd -- now that's an *ugly* book. The 2nd time I took it, the text was about a 3rd the size of M & B ...

I'd go give it a whirl. It just might float your boat -- and then you can say "nanny-nanny poo-poo" to all the nay-sayers! :-D If after you go for a week or two, and it's *not* going to float your boat, then drop it.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

This book's big and huge and ugly and the words in it do not fit into my brain. And the instructor is not so much good with the instructing.

I figure I'm in it, I might as well make the most of it.

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

Making the most of things can be a good thing.

Based on personal experience -- don't be so afraid to say "no" that you shoot yourself in the foot. Once screwed, a GPA is not easy to rebuild. There are worse things in the world than dropping a class.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

I know.

[zylly.livejournal.com]

*is so glad we can sell them back at the end of the semester*


So glad college is behind me now. As for books, on the whole, expect maybe, maybe, maybe to get a third of what you paid for them back. And that's the best case scenario.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I figured. *sulks* But some of them are your basic Epic of Gilgamesh, Aeneid, etc. Might trade them in at Mr. Kay's or something.

[beckyh2112.livejournal.com]

Cool things on the Internet: Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org). If it's out of copyright, you can probably find a copy of it there. (And if it's not there and you have it, consider typing it up for them.)

Out of copyright under American law, by the way, is anything written before the 1920s.

[nightwind69.livejournal.com]

Organic Chemistry = Hardest class that I ever took. I wish you the best of luck with it. I found that I had to concentrate so much energy on it that every other class got neglected. Hope your other classes are less attention-needy. :)

Good luck this semester! :D

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Every time I even mention that I'm taking that class, I am made more and more depressed about it. It rather isn't helping.

[nightwind69.livejournal.com]

I can offer one piece of advice, if that helps! For me, the problem with organic chem is that I am not a very visual person. Org chem has a whole lot do with how the atoms are configured in a molecule, and they same compound can have their atoms arranged in different ways. I recall "right-hand" and "left-hand" versions, off the top of my head. My difficulty was visualizing in my head the differences between the two. (They react differently.) It wasn't until I really learned how to use my model kit that it clicked and then it wasn't nearly so difficult for me.

So that's my suggestion: Learn how to use your model kit. If you're anything like me, it'll help greatly. Other than that, try not to sweat it too much. And, like I said, try to keep your other classes not so difficult/time-consuming, if you can. I was dumb and tried to take Org Chem and Comparative Physiology at the same time. NOT a good idea. :) At least, not at my school. :)

[koilungfish.livejournal.com]

... god, the American education system confuses me. Good luck.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

What's so confusing?

[viragostonewall.livejournal.com]

Woo! Join the "WTF I'm a sophomore already?" club. ^^

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

You too?

[viragostonewall.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Same way?

[viragostonewall.livejournal.com]

Yep

[ravenclaw-devi.livejournal.com]

Not only that, but my collected hours from my various AP tests combined with my hours last year gives 33 hours. I am, technically, already a sophmore.

Rock the f**k on, Seiber!

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

*rocks out*

[kyra-neko-rei.livejournal.com]

What is it with you catching the asshole teachers?

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Huh? All my teachers are pretty cool this semester.

[kyra-neko-rei.livejournal.com]

I mean the one from last semester, and the lady who kicked you out, that you just mentioned in the post. You didn't stick with her, but you had to experience both of them. I'd hate that. (That was you, wasn't it? With the creative writing teacher that sent you a nasty, condescending email after you'd argued with him in class?)

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the prick last semester was mine. Her...well, she didn't have room for the ones who were trying to join late, but I wish she'd been more nice about it.

[kyra-neko-rei.livejournal.com]

Yeah . . . I'm remembering the guy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he singles her out and is just an asshole, and if it were me, I'd've interrupted his little spiel with a "never mind, you're too much of an asshole for me to put up with, bye!" I hate people like that, and at the same time love them, because I can be rude to them without feeling guilty, but I couldn't've stayed in that class with that jackass you had last semester.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

I needed the hours, or at least thought I did. Never again.

[kyra-neko-rei.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes.

Mayyyybe I coulda sucked it up for long enough to get a grade, but no apologizing, and after grades were submitted and posted I'd be seriously tempted to reply to the email and give him hell. Or else inject some superglue into the lock on his office door. Maybe a semester afterwards so he thought it would be some disgruntled student from the next semester.

Or some such shit. I'm vengeful and nasty that way.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

I'm not so much good with sucking up.

[kyra-neko-rei.livejournal.com]

Me neither. Hence the bribing of myself with the prospect of revenge later.

[seiberwing.livejournal.com]

I figure if I can hold a grudge long enough, I might do something silly to his door in my senior year.

[kyra-neko-rei.livejournal.com]

Like I said, I recommend the superglue. Or quick-hardening epoxy. Or if it's the type you open with a card, cutting a slice of cheese to the proper dimensions and inserting it, is also quite useful.