The end of summer
Today was my last day of work at Fish City until I come back in December. I made good money today ($56 plus my $17 bank) and broke a personal record on Tuesday night. Of the few jobs I've had, this has been the best. Sure, the hours aren't as good as at Canoesport and there's not the fulfillment of civic duty like at the campaign but the pay is pretty good (though I've gone down from expecting about 60 a shift to 40 with this economic downturn--don't let people tell you it isn't real), I have good relationships with my managers and coworkers, I get to deal with customer service, and I get to sell food, specifically seafood, which I'm pretty passionate about (okay, that's really all food). I made some friends and some money and I"ll be looking forward to coming back for a two month stint in the Winter. I didn't really get many stories out of it though, so I haven't been updating (that's another topic). And you know what? Waiting tables is my new skill.
So how did classes go? Well, somehow I spectacularly failed Statistics. I'm not sure how, but somehow, after preparing for two days for the penultimate test and getting every single calculation problem on the quizzes right, I made an 8 on the actual test. That's not a typo. And that's out of 100. I got the copy myself and saw that it was an 8. Now I didn't get a copy of the test questions and made the mistake of throwing it away thinking that this class wasn't going to count (it was), but I have a feeling its because I used the wrong number of decimal places in my calculations (and Ms. Pontius always said to use 4 in statistics). Anyway, with that being yet another big waste, I took Calculus for Business and Life Sciences. Not real calc, I know, but I did learn and actually found it the best math class I'd taken in a long time. I had a great, old-timer teacher who taught by doing. I did skip the last week though because this time it really didn't count.
Clare came to town for a weekend two weeks ago, which was great. We went to see the Dark Knight in IMAX (which was awesome), went to a baseball game, checked out the Menil, and I took her shopping at the Galleria. It wa sa very fun weekend and great to get to see her again.
Dad went to Philmont again. I mean seriously. The third time. Not just that, but as long as he's been involved in scouting this is the third time in four years. He first went when he was 50. Dude, nobody goes to Philmont 3 times (let alone starts at 50)! But he had a really fun time, which is actually awesome.
Even though I've given up basically all of my Houston life in favor of one at Hendrix, I did get to relive one part of it while I was at home. Sure, I hit up a local concert but seeing the old friends generally just hasn't been satisfying when I've done it before. But one thing I did this summer was drive (I hypermile now, but that's another issue--but I will say I've improved my mixed use driving milage from 25 to 30) and for me driving means music. There weren't that many albums keeping me company in the car but I learned them well. Soem stuff I had before but never listened to (that Beau Brummels CD I got in Australia, The Great Escape by Blur), classic alternativey stuff (debuts from the Modern Lovers, Stiff Little Fingers, and the Violent Femmes), just plain weird (Ween's Chocoloate and Cheese), or new stuff (most recent R.E.M., Alejandro Escovedo, and Gnarls Barkley), I got to listen to music again. Since leaving high school, I just haven't learned music like I used to even though I'm acquiring it faster, which is a shame. Here's why: when I drive around with my 6 disc changer, I wind up listening to new music repeatedly and focusing on it more than if I'm not in the car. It's great. I miss it already.
I'm going back to school on Saturday. Early, I know, but I've been approved for early move-in on the 21st but am going to hang out with Clare while she still has free time (her being an RA and all). I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing in the downtime, but I'm sure watching the olympics, general preparation for classes, and a mountain biking trip to Little Rock will be involved. Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to getting completely bored and ready to work by the time classes start.
So how did classes go? Well, somehow I spectacularly failed Statistics. I'm not sure how, but somehow, after preparing for two days for the penultimate test and getting every single calculation problem on the quizzes right, I made an 8 on the actual test. That's not a typo. And that's out of 100. I got the copy myself and saw that it was an 8. Now I didn't get a copy of the test questions and made the mistake of throwing it away thinking that this class wasn't going to count (it was), but I have a feeling its because I used the wrong number of decimal places in my calculations (and Ms. Pontius always said to use 4 in statistics). Anyway, with that being yet another big waste, I took Calculus for Business and Life Sciences. Not real calc, I know, but I did learn and actually found it the best math class I'd taken in a long time. I had a great, old-timer teacher who taught by doing. I did skip the last week though because this time it really didn't count.
Clare came to town for a weekend two weeks ago, which was great. We went to see the Dark Knight in IMAX (which was awesome), went to a baseball game, checked out the Menil, and I took her shopping at the Galleria. It wa sa very fun weekend and great to get to see her again.
Dad went to Philmont again. I mean seriously. The third time. Not just that, but as long as he's been involved in scouting this is the third time in four years. He first went when he was 50. Dude, nobody goes to Philmont 3 times (let alone starts at 50)! But he had a really fun time, which is actually awesome.
Even though I've given up basically all of my Houston life in favor of one at Hendrix, I did get to relive one part of it while I was at home. Sure, I hit up a local concert but seeing the old friends generally just hasn't been satisfying when I've done it before. But one thing I did this summer was drive (I hypermile now, but that's another issue--but I will say I've improved my mixed use driving milage from 25 to 30) and for me driving means music. There weren't that many albums keeping me company in the car but I learned them well. Soem stuff I had before but never listened to (that Beau Brummels CD I got in Australia, The Great Escape by Blur), classic alternativey stuff (debuts from the Modern Lovers, Stiff Little Fingers, and the Violent Femmes), just plain weird (Ween's Chocoloate and Cheese), or new stuff (most recent R.E.M., Alejandro Escovedo, and Gnarls Barkley), I got to listen to music again. Since leaving high school, I just haven't learned music like I used to even though I'm acquiring it faster, which is a shame. Here's why: when I drive around with my 6 disc changer, I wind up listening to new music repeatedly and focusing on it more than if I'm not in the car. It's great. I miss it already.
I'm going back to school on Saturday. Early, I know, but I've been approved for early move-in on the 21st but am going to hang out with Clare while she still has free time (her being an RA and all). I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing in the downtime, but I'm sure watching the olympics, general preparation for classes, and a mountain biking trip to Little Rock will be involved. Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to getting completely bored and ready to work by the time classes start.