New Semester...
is good! Thus far, at least.
Math: Shouldn't be too bad, it's just Multivariable Calc which is below the other math classes I've already taken, but I need the specific credit. Lame, but shouldn't be overly difficult. Teacher is very enthusiastic, he marched in Birmingham with MLK Jr, so that's cool. Homework load is a bit much, but not ridiculous. Yay.
Shakespeare and Film: Just a lot of reading, besides that this class is great. The teacher is not pretentious in the slightest, quite a change for an English class. It is helping me a lot as far as understanding how to criticize film and recognize techniques and relate them back to the theatrical and see how film developed as its own art...very interesting. The writing load isn't too bad, but it's a Shakespeare play a week for reading as well as an extra 50 pages of commentary on staging for each play and then a film adaptation per week to watch...but it doesn't feel that bad!
Modern Physics: AMAZING. The teacher is great, and this class is just really comfortable for me (besides the fact that I don't fit in at all with the kids in there...oh well). It's kind of what we did in high school...but an actual class, with real math, real work, and real expectations...what you would expect for an upper-level Physics course, basically. I really enjoy it though and I'm keeping a chapter ahead in homework, so that's helpful. The math is way more advanced than anything I've ever done before (I knew but didn't understand that once you run out of the Greek alphabet you start using Hebrew...they weren't kidding!) but the book explains it really clearly and it seems effortless in order to describe the Physics. Yay, we're just doing Relativistic Mechanics right now, but we start Quantum pretty soon! Yay! The teacher also misheard me one day and now thinks I'm a genius. Also yay.
Interstellar Astronomy: Yawn. Easy. Classmates are okay, teacher is one of those who likes to make you talk until you mess up and then jump on it...yucky. We did have a fantastic sub for a day who used the f-word twice in every sentence...I liked him, very entertaining.
Advanced Astronomy Lab: Haven't actually done anything yet really, but the work load seems pretty darn light...maybe I just don't understand how involved these projects are...but I get to use the UGA telescope (30in. Cassegrain for those in the know) and remotely access a telescope in Arizona that is a 4m. Cassegrain whenever I want! I have a key/password and whatnot! Yay! But I have no clue how to work any of the crap yet, so we'll see.
Creative Writing: This class is thus far stupid and useless...but will perhaps improve. The problem is that it's an upper-level honors credit so every honors kid wants to take it to get upper-level honors credit (very difficult to come by, but required), so a lot of kids who never read are in there, which sucks, but it will perhaps improve as the semester goes by. We'll see.
Orchestra and junk: Symphony is good, this upcoming concert will be pretty difficult with Dvorak Symphony 7 (way harder than New World...WAY harder), Torke's Bright Blue Music (impossible rhythms=my death), and Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos (which I get to sit principal viola on for some reason..yay?). The viola section has a guest principal (our doctoral student has a detached retina, so he's taking the semester off...poor guy), a Master's student who got her undergrad at UT Austin. She's cool, but not that loud, but good at leading a section, so I like her. Ooh,Dave Brubeck (very famous Jazz pianist/composer, google him, he's like for real for real) is coming to UGA to perform an oratorio that he wrote and I get to sit principal for that too! Very stressful, but fun. ARCO rehearsals start up again this week...then the recording sessions start up to prep for NY...I think it'll be good. A great resume builder if nothing else! I got the grad student spot for the upcoming masterclass, so that should be exciting (Tim Deighton, from Penn State, supposed to be amazing)...I just have to find an accompanist..ugh. Hindemith is a curse sometimes.
Anywhom, that's enough of that, I think!
Everything here is great, I hope you're all doing spectacularly!
Math: Shouldn't be too bad, it's just Multivariable Calc which is below the other math classes I've already taken, but I need the specific credit. Lame, but shouldn't be overly difficult. Teacher is very enthusiastic, he marched in Birmingham with MLK Jr, so that's cool. Homework load is a bit much, but not ridiculous. Yay.
Shakespeare and Film: Just a lot of reading, besides that this class is great. The teacher is not pretentious in the slightest, quite a change for an English class. It is helping me a lot as far as understanding how to criticize film and recognize techniques and relate them back to the theatrical and see how film developed as its own art...very interesting. The writing load isn't too bad, but it's a Shakespeare play a week for reading as well as an extra 50 pages of commentary on staging for each play and then a film adaptation per week to watch...but it doesn't feel that bad!
Modern Physics: AMAZING. The teacher is great, and this class is just really comfortable for me (besides the fact that I don't fit in at all with the kids in there...oh well). It's kind of what we did in high school...but an actual class, with real math, real work, and real expectations...what you would expect for an upper-level Physics course, basically. I really enjoy it though and I'm keeping a chapter ahead in homework, so that's helpful. The math is way more advanced than anything I've ever done before (I knew but didn't understand that once you run out of the Greek alphabet you start using Hebrew...they weren't kidding!) but the book explains it really clearly and it seems effortless in order to describe the Physics. Yay, we're just doing Relativistic Mechanics right now, but we start Quantum pretty soon! Yay! The teacher also misheard me one day and now thinks I'm a genius. Also yay.
Interstellar Astronomy: Yawn. Easy. Classmates are okay, teacher is one of those who likes to make you talk until you mess up and then jump on it...yucky. We did have a fantastic sub for a day who used the f-word twice in every sentence...I liked him, very entertaining.
Advanced Astronomy Lab: Haven't actually done anything yet really, but the work load seems pretty darn light...maybe I just don't understand how involved these projects are...but I get to use the UGA telescope (30in. Cassegrain for those in the know) and remotely access a telescope in Arizona that is a 4m. Cassegrain whenever I want! I have a key/password and whatnot! Yay! But I have no clue how to work any of the crap yet, so we'll see.
Creative Writing: This class is thus far stupid and useless...but will perhaps improve. The problem is that it's an upper-level honors credit so every honors kid wants to take it to get upper-level honors credit (very difficult to come by, but required), so a lot of kids who never read are in there, which sucks, but it will perhaps improve as the semester goes by. We'll see.
Orchestra and junk: Symphony is good, this upcoming concert will be pretty difficult with Dvorak Symphony 7 (way harder than New World...WAY harder), Torke's Bright Blue Music (impossible rhythms=my death), and Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos (which I get to sit principal viola on for some reason..yay?). The viola section has a guest principal (our doctoral student has a detached retina, so he's taking the semester off...poor guy), a Master's student who got her undergrad at UT Austin. She's cool, but not that loud, but good at leading a section, so I like her. Ooh,Dave Brubeck (very famous Jazz pianist/composer, google him, he's like for real for real) is coming to UGA to perform an oratorio that he wrote and I get to sit principal for that too! Very stressful, but fun. ARCO rehearsals start up again this week...then the recording sessions start up to prep for NY...I think it'll be good. A great resume builder if nothing else! I got the grad student spot for the upcoming masterclass, so that should be exciting (Tim Deighton, from Penn State, supposed to be amazing)...I just have to find an accompanist..ugh. Hindemith is a curse sometimes.
Anywhom, that's enough of that, I think!
Everything here is great, I hope you're all doing spectacularly!