DEADTHINGSSSS
So yesterday was my first day back at school. I totally was NOT pumped about this at all. This semester I'm taking statistics, calculus and a WHOPPING 5 hour taxonomy-intensive course called vertebrate natural history. All have labs too, so that's some serious ass.
Much to my surprise, the statistics course is going to be super easy! We don't even have a final! All we have is an optional cumulative test that will replace our lowest test grade. What a relief there. My calculus professor is a freaking saint. Last semester I tried calculus and got 29 points slashed off my first test for not writing "limit h->0" before every step in solving the problems, despite getting the right answers for them all. The professor was just balls. He didn't explain anything EVER. I just felt like I was memorizing crap that I didn't even know what it meant and than mindlessly spitting it back out. It was a cryptic mess. This new professor walked around the class today while we were doing examples and came to me, caught me not carrying the limit through to the end (STILL ugh), and he told me WHY I needed to do this. I could have hugged him really tight right there. This crap makes sense now! So huge props to both my math classes. I thought I would really have a nasty semester because of them.
OK. Now for vert. I was so freaking pumped about this, I can't even put it into words. The first day I was shaking in my desk, because I was so excited. Today we had our first lab, and I walked in to find jars of specimens all over our lab tables and little trays with MORE specimens in them! jkdshflkasjdfhladskjfhgljk ghdfl! I was so excited I actually got nauseous. I was sitting right in front of a big fat skate with the fleshiest tail EVER, a lamprey, lungfish, ratfish (<33333), and a hagfish. Holycrap YES. My professor, Castleberry, is the coolest man ever. Me, Emily and Tara stayed back and had a good time touching all the open specimens and thoroughly poking through every jar in the lab. There was even one FULL of fetal armadillos. I practically died, and I'm pretty sure I shouted something dumb out when I caught sight of them. Gosh I'm such a dork. We learned about a ton of fish today for 5 hours. 5 hours of pure AMAZING. I really need to calm down for that class though. I got so worked up during the class and lab that it was really making me uncomfortable. I'm so glad I'm going into zoology. I want to be surrounded by amazing stuff like this for the rest of my life.
So really, this semester is turning out to be just grand. Castleberry said I could come into the lab after hours with my camera if I wanted to take pictures to help study. Um, YES. I do believe I will be doing that soon. Very soon.
Much to my surprise, the statistics course is going to be super easy! We don't even have a final! All we have is an optional cumulative test that will replace our lowest test grade. What a relief there. My calculus professor is a freaking saint. Last semester I tried calculus and got 29 points slashed off my first test for not writing "limit h->0" before every step in solving the problems, despite getting the right answers for them all. The professor was just balls. He didn't explain anything EVER. I just felt like I was memorizing crap that I didn't even know what it meant and than mindlessly spitting it back out. It was a cryptic mess. This new professor walked around the class today while we were doing examples and came to me, caught me not carrying the limit through to the end (STILL ugh), and he told me WHY I needed to do this. I could have hugged him really tight right there. This crap makes sense now! So huge props to both my math classes. I thought I would really have a nasty semester because of them.
OK. Now for vert. I was so freaking pumped about this, I can't even put it into words. The first day I was shaking in my desk, because I was so excited. Today we had our first lab, and I walked in to find jars of specimens all over our lab tables and little trays with MORE specimens in them! jkdshflkasjdfhladskjfhgljk ghdfl! I was so excited I actually got nauseous. I was sitting right in front of a big fat skate with the fleshiest tail EVER, a lamprey, lungfish, ratfish (<33333), and a hagfish. Holycrap YES. My professor, Castleberry, is the coolest man ever. Me, Emily and Tara stayed back and had a good time touching all the open specimens and thoroughly poking through every jar in the lab. There was even one FULL of fetal armadillos. I practically died, and I'm pretty sure I shouted something dumb out when I caught sight of them. Gosh I'm such a dork. We learned about a ton of fish today for 5 hours. 5 hours of pure AMAZING. I really need to calm down for that class though. I got so worked up during the class and lab that it was really making me uncomfortable. I'm so glad I'm going into zoology. I want to be surrounded by amazing stuff like this for the rest of my life.
So really, this semester is turning out to be just grand. Castleberry said I could come into the lab after hours with my camera if I wanted to take pictures to help study. Um, YES. I do believe I will be doing that soon. Very soon.