Wow, sashiburi, ne. . . .
It's been two months since I updated, and for that, I do apologize. There have been some issues that have prevented me from contacting anyone, and 80% of that is college life and the negative sides it brought. Nevertheless, you all deserve to know what's been going down these past 8 weeks.
Even though Winter Break has already started for OIT students, I'm not back at Hillsboro right now. I'm staying with my biological sister until the 19th, so expect me in town on that day, although I probably won't be able to arrive until late afternoon. Needless to say, it's been very dry and boring here. My sister hasn't changed. As I expected, she's more hospitable towards her own friends than me, and simply treats me as though I'm the same sibling that she left behind so long ago (as in, just dropping in and asking me what I'm doing, then going off and doing her own thing).
She's picked up a new habit of playing WoW, and virtually spends all of her free time on it. She tried to get me to play, but when I told her that I preferred to spend time with people by actually DOING things with them instead of just communicating with them through headsets, she gave up on me immediately.
Needless to say, I think I made the right decision.
Her fiance tries to interact with me, but he knows my sister's wrath, so he keeps it to a minimum. It also doesn't help that he's a WoW addict as well. -_____- Overall, I'm counting the days until I can get back to Hillsboro.
The reason why I haven't been talking to anyone very much is because I've been getting sick a lot. As in, throwing-up-constantly-and-rejecting-food-of-all-kinds sick. My days have been taken up with going to class and getting back to the dorm room in one piece, making sure I don't spew any guts on my HW or on my carpet (which I nearly failed at times). I threw up the night before I was supposed to take the train to Eugene, so I was feeling peachy on the ride there AND the bus trip to Corvallis (it also didn't help that my sister didn't seem to understand that when you're sick, you tend to forget packing certain things, so my greeting from her was less-than-pleasant). It's also freezing where I am, so I haven't been able to fully recover just yet (I have managed to pick up the good old habit of eating, though), so if this journal entry is incessantly sporadic, that's why. However, I am alive and functional, just a little bit on the unhealthy side at the moment.
But that won't stop me from talking about how I'm doing academically. Fall Term came and went, along with all my finals. Here is a run-down of my classes once again:
Psychology 201: This class became a struggle after I got sick, partially because it was at 8 AM in the morning and I had to wake up in time in order to be there. My grades became so bad that I had to take the final in order to get a decent grade. The final itself wasn't too bad, even though the length took me by surprise (it was as long as a regular quiz in class: 30 questions). With the extra credit and test scores, my grade is either a high C or a low B, depending on whether or not my professor decides to "drop" my lowest test score (since she's been known to do that in order to fluctuate your grade). Overall, this class was fun, and I'm hoping I'll be able to do better in other Psychology classes next term.
CST 102/Intro to Computer Systems: THIS class was a bit of a bother. This was a lecture/lab class where the students are required to be in a team of 4 people for the entire term and do labs together (which consisted of building robots with Legos). I'm not very good at working with teams because I always get shoved to the wayside, and this was an all-team class. I was told that if I don't develop a personality that is compatible with my team, I will probably struggle throughout the year should I choose to stay in this major. With that, I tried every possible way to exert my personality. It kind of worked, since my teammates acknowledge the fact that I'm a good observer (better than nothing, right?), but I was severely disappointed with myself at the end of the term. Grade-wise, I'm ok, but in the future, I am going to try to be a better team player.
CST 162/Digital Logic: THIS CLASS WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS AND I AM SO GLAD I WILL NEVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT AGAIN X___________X My class and I had to petition against the professor twice, TWICE, before we could finally learn something in this class. The professor usually had no idea what she was doing, erased her examples before she finished them, and pretty much wondered why none of us were getting the HW. She even said "I WISH YOU ALL COULD GET THE RIGHT ANSWER SO THE HOMEWORK WOULD BE EASIER TO GRADE :DDDD" Regardless of what happened, I did get a lot out of this class, mainly because I had to teach myself the material, along with my other classmates. Now I can do binary conversions with ASCII and BCD, add and subtract binary numbers, recognize and draw Logic Diagrams with Logic Gates, reduce Boolean Algebra with Truth Tables, K-Maps, and Theorems, and partially use Ohm's Law (shut up, I failed Physics, remember?). So, I guess it's safe to say that I feel a little smarter thanks to this class ^___^ Hopefully next term will be all right since I'll have a new professor.
By the way, teacher evaluations were treated as a joke in this class XD
Math 100: This class was my most stressful one, because by the end of the ninth week (Dead Week), I was nowhere close to a C, and I was really worried that I would have to take this class again. My advisor said that if I took Math 100 again next term, I would be really behind on my major. X__X I really didn't want to be behind in any way, so I studied my butt off for the final (which probably made my sickness worse, but that's okay).
And
I
PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ALGEBRA II ANYMORE!!!!!! I CAN MOVE ON!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::does happy dance::
Basically, I feel like I've flown 10,000 miles with this class, and I can't ask for anything else. I'm moving on to a higher math class, and that alone makes me happy. I have made a promise to myself that I would be more studious next term, and I intend to keep that promise.
Writing 122: I didn't have a final for this class, only a final presentation and a portfolio to craft (kinda like Art Seminar was). My presentation had to be on my term paper, which was written on a controversial topic that we all chose about 3-4 weeks into the term. Mine was on the unfairness of ethnic-based scholarships. The assignments in this class were all meant to prepare us for writing the term paper, so it was a big chunk out of our grade. The stress was. . . immense to say the least X____X
The presentation itself wasn't too bad, only I didn't save it on my Z drive, so I had to use someone else's USB drive to get it. By the time I had to present, I was out of breath, so I was coughing throughout my entire speech (hazukashikatta~!) However, my professor was very nice to me, and gave me an A for effort, which earned me an A for the class, for my work ethic. The class was fun, but I am really glad that I don't have to do any more argumentative writing ::is not my forte:: ^^;;
I'm really looking forward to next term, and I have already registered for classes, which I will reveal in my next entry. I need to get some rest ^____^
Even though Winter Break has already started for OIT students, I'm not back at Hillsboro right now. I'm staying with my biological sister until the 19th, so expect me in town on that day, although I probably won't be able to arrive until late afternoon. Needless to say, it's been very dry and boring here. My sister hasn't changed. As I expected, she's more hospitable towards her own friends than me, and simply treats me as though I'm the same sibling that she left behind so long ago (as in, just dropping in and asking me what I'm doing, then going off and doing her own thing).
She's picked up a new habit of playing WoW, and virtually spends all of her free time on it. She tried to get me to play, but when I told her that I preferred to spend time with people by actually DOING things with them instead of just communicating with them through headsets, she gave up on me immediately.
Needless to say, I think I made the right decision.
Her fiance tries to interact with me, but he knows my sister's wrath, so he keeps it to a minimum. It also doesn't help that he's a WoW addict as well. -_____- Overall, I'm counting the days until I can get back to Hillsboro.
The reason why I haven't been talking to anyone very much is because I've been getting sick a lot. As in, throwing-up-constantly-and-rejecting-food-of-all-kinds sick. My days have been taken up with going to class and getting back to the dorm room in one piece, making sure I don't spew any guts on my HW or on my carpet (which I nearly failed at times). I threw up the night before I was supposed to take the train to Eugene, so I was feeling peachy on the ride there AND the bus trip to Corvallis (it also didn't help that my sister didn't seem to understand that when you're sick, you tend to forget packing certain things, so my greeting from her was less-than-pleasant). It's also freezing where I am, so I haven't been able to fully recover just yet (I have managed to pick up the good old habit of eating, though), so if this journal entry is incessantly sporadic, that's why. However, I am alive and functional, just a little bit on the unhealthy side at the moment.
But that won't stop me from talking about how I'm doing academically. Fall Term came and went, along with all my finals. Here is a run-down of my classes once again:
Psychology 201: This class became a struggle after I got sick, partially because it was at 8 AM in the morning and I had to wake up in time in order to be there. My grades became so bad that I had to take the final in order to get a decent grade. The final itself wasn't too bad, even though the length took me by surprise (it was as long as a regular quiz in class: 30 questions). With the extra credit and test scores, my grade is either a high C or a low B, depending on whether or not my professor decides to "drop" my lowest test score (since she's been known to do that in order to fluctuate your grade). Overall, this class was fun, and I'm hoping I'll be able to do better in other Psychology classes next term.
CST 102/Intro to Computer Systems: THIS class was a bit of a bother. This was a lecture/lab class where the students are required to be in a team of 4 people for the entire term and do labs together (which consisted of building robots with Legos). I'm not very good at working with teams because I always get shoved to the wayside, and this was an all-team class. I was told that if I don't develop a personality that is compatible with my team, I will probably struggle throughout the year should I choose to stay in this major. With that, I tried every possible way to exert my personality. It kind of worked, since my teammates acknowledge the fact that I'm a good observer (better than nothing, right?), but I was severely disappointed with myself at the end of the term. Grade-wise, I'm ok, but in the future, I am going to try to be a better team player.
CST 162/Digital Logic: THIS CLASS WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS AND I AM SO GLAD I WILL NEVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT AGAIN X___________X My class and I had to petition against the professor twice, TWICE, before we could finally learn something in this class. The professor usually had no idea what she was doing, erased her examples before she finished them, and pretty much wondered why none of us were getting the HW. She even said "I WISH YOU ALL COULD GET THE RIGHT ANSWER SO THE HOMEWORK WOULD BE EASIER TO GRADE :DDDD" Regardless of what happened, I did get a lot out of this class, mainly because I had to teach myself the material, along with my other classmates. Now I can do binary conversions with ASCII and BCD, add and subtract binary numbers, recognize and draw Logic Diagrams with Logic Gates, reduce Boolean Algebra with Truth Tables, K-Maps, and Theorems, and partially use Ohm's Law (shut up, I failed Physics, remember?). So, I guess it's safe to say that I feel a little smarter thanks to this class ^___^ Hopefully next term will be all right since I'll have a new professor.
By the way, teacher evaluations were treated as a joke in this class XD
Math 100: This class was my most stressful one, because by the end of the ninth week (Dead Week), I was nowhere close to a C, and I was really worried that I would have to take this class again. My advisor said that if I took Math 100 again next term, I would be really behind on my major. X__X I really didn't want to be behind in any way, so I studied my butt off for the final (which probably made my sickness worse, but that's okay).
And
I
PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ALGEBRA II ANYMORE!!!!!! I CAN MOVE ON!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::does happy dance::
Basically, I feel like I've flown 10,000 miles with this class, and I can't ask for anything else. I'm moving on to a higher math class, and that alone makes me happy. I have made a promise to myself that I would be more studious next term, and I intend to keep that promise.
Writing 122: I didn't have a final for this class, only a final presentation and a portfolio to craft (kinda like Art Seminar was). My presentation had to be on my term paper, which was written on a controversial topic that we all chose about 3-4 weeks into the term. Mine was on the unfairness of ethnic-based scholarships. The assignments in this class were all meant to prepare us for writing the term paper, so it was a big chunk out of our grade. The stress was. . . immense to say the least X____X
The presentation itself wasn't too bad, only I didn't save it on my Z drive, so I had to use someone else's USB drive to get it. By the time I had to present, I was out of breath, so I was coughing throughout my entire speech (hazukashikatta~!) However, my professor was very nice to me, and gave me an A for effort, which earned me an A for the class, for my work ethic. The class was fun, but I am really glad that I don't have to do any more argumentative writing ::is not my forte:: ^^;;
I'm really looking forward to next term, and I have already registered for classes, which I will reveal in my next entry. I need to get some rest ^____^