Head down
Not much narrative. I'm very focused - even posting here feels like a distraction.
School work takes the bulk of my attention. Physiology is my big course. It's complicated by the fact that the instructor hasn't taught the course at DVC before, so we have no information on how she constructs tests or what she really wants us to know. We've asked for study guides and sample questions. Even so, the entire class is skittish about upcoming exams. (Which are before Pantheacon, thank all the Gods.) Lab work is complicated by a shortage of prepared materials, which derives from a shortage of lab techs to order supplies and make up solutions. We often have to work in larger lab groups of 8 to share what material there is. Our data is often... interesting. Ugly, even.
The stories I've got from physiology aren't as vivid or heroic as the ones from anatomy, so you'll probably be hearing a lot less about how things are going week to week.
Physics lab is an enigma; we don't have a lab manual, so right now each session is a surprise every time I walk in the door. Two weeks ago we learned some graphing tricks with Excel and equation editing with a Word plugin called MathType. This week we learned how to calculate measurement error for functions where measurement error is known for every term. (If your caliper has an error of 0.005 cm and your balance an error of 0.05 g, what's the error in your calculation of density?)
Organic chemistry is fun. This section is a pretty basic course. Most people who need serious background in chemistry proceed from intro general to 2 semesters of higher-level inorganic to 2 semesters of higher-level organic. My class is more a "terminal" course for folks who need just a bit of organic and biochem. Perfect for me! We've been practicing naming hydrocarbons and are just moving into the realm of the benzene ring and polymers. (Plastics.)
This week involved playing with molecular models and looking for isomers. I'm enjoying the interplay between the geometric microcosm of chemistry and the geometric macrocosm of my Golden Dawn thesis (tentatively titled: "Escaping Flatland: Horizontal and Vertical Energies in the Rituals of the Golden Dawn"). Hint: there's tetrahedra in both of them. My spare time, an hour here, three hours there, goes to chipping away at that paper.
Oh: and the other thing I've been focused on is revamping my diet and losing weight. The entire enterprise is new to me; I've never done anything like this before. (My partner M. is doing the same thing, so we are great support to each other, even though we're not even in the same city.) With meticulous attention to detail I've taken off 7 pounds this month. I feel more energetic and more aligned in my body already.
... Off to class.
School work takes the bulk of my attention. Physiology is my big course. It's complicated by the fact that the instructor hasn't taught the course at DVC before, so we have no information on how she constructs tests or what she really wants us to know. We've asked for study guides and sample questions. Even so, the entire class is skittish about upcoming exams. (Which are before Pantheacon, thank all the Gods.) Lab work is complicated by a shortage of prepared materials, which derives from a shortage of lab techs to order supplies and make up solutions. We often have to work in larger lab groups of 8 to share what material there is. Our data is often... interesting. Ugly, even.
The stories I've got from physiology aren't as vivid or heroic as the ones from anatomy, so you'll probably be hearing a lot less about how things are going week to week.
Physics lab is an enigma; we don't have a lab manual, so right now each session is a surprise every time I walk in the door. Two weeks ago we learned some graphing tricks with Excel and equation editing with a Word plugin called MathType. This week we learned how to calculate measurement error for functions where measurement error is known for every term. (If your caliper has an error of 0.005 cm and your balance an error of 0.05 g, what's the error in your calculation of density?)
Organic chemistry is fun. This section is a pretty basic course. Most people who need serious background in chemistry proceed from intro general to 2 semesters of higher-level inorganic to 2 semesters of higher-level organic. My class is more a "terminal" course for folks who need just a bit of organic and biochem. Perfect for me! We've been practicing naming hydrocarbons and are just moving into the realm of the benzene ring and polymers. (Plastics.)
This week involved playing with molecular models and looking for isomers. I'm enjoying the interplay between the geometric microcosm of chemistry and the geometric macrocosm of my Golden Dawn thesis (tentatively titled: "Escaping Flatland: Horizontal and Vertical Energies in the Rituals of the Golden Dawn"). Hint: there's tetrahedra in both of them. My spare time, an hour here, three hours there, goes to chipping away at that paper.
Oh: and the other thing I've been focused on is revamping my diet and losing weight. The entire enterprise is new to me; I've never done anything like this before. (My partner M. is doing the same thing, so we are great support to each other, even though we're not even in the same city.) With meticulous attention to detail I've taken off 7 pounds this month. I feel more energetic and more aligned in my body already.
... Off to class.