So, if you are on the quarter system (for school) it is likely that your Spring Quarter just started. Even if it didn't, mine did, so I decided to take note of all the going-ons, first impressions, and general shenanigans that happened this week. And yes, I had to legitimately take notes to remember all of what happened.
Monday: First, I had Linear Analysis. I am not the biggest fan of math, so lets just say I wasn't looking forward to this class. Most of it went off like any other class. The professor passed out syllabi to all of us while we awkwardly looked around at each other to size up the class (most likely determining the amount of math-savvy people so we could estimate the kind of curve we might expect during midterms and finals). However, part of the way though passing out papers, we ran out of syllabi, to which a student exclaims "We need more syllabuses." Now, just as a quick note, I am sometimes a stickler for grammar. The plural form of syllabus is syllabi. But by NO means do I ever correct someone, especially on the FIRST DAY OF CLASS, unless I already have some relationship with that person (in which case, I am probably giving them a bad time). The girl behind me, though, obviously took some offense to the use of the word "syllabuses", and corrected the guy with a quick and demeaning "It's syllabi." This girl proceeded to got though the entire class period answering every question the professor asked, but not in the "Oh, oh! I know the answer!" kind of way. No, she answered them with the "If you don't know this, you are stupid" tone. Other then Hermione Granger behind me, there was also this guy who sat in front of me. Now, normally, I like to wear my beanie that I have. Anyone that knew me throughout high school will vouch for the fact that I was almost never seen with it off. However, I have been trying to change this, so recently, around spring and summer, I have started to wear this black Castro-hat I got up in the mountains. The guy in front of me, though, obviously thought it was still snow season, because he was wearing both a nordic beanie (the ones with the stringy ear pieces) and goggles. That was pretty much it for Linear. Oh, and the girl next to me was reading a book and using a Pokemon leaflet as a bookmark. There is nothing special about this, but as a video game geek I feel obligated to mention it.
On to Statics. For those of you that never have to take science class again (or at least physics), or maybe you just haven't reached it yet, statics is an area of physics that involves making sure things don't move. This is applicable if you want to build a bridge, or suspend something from a rope, or whatever nonsensical example physicist can think up (and lets face it, science professors, no matter what focus, can think up some pretty ridiculous situations). But yes, that is statics. An entire class were you answers should all essentially turn out to be zero. The building this class is in reminds me, for some reason, of the scene in Indiana Jones were he is teaching. I don't know why, the classroom is pretty modern, but maybe it's the awkward position of the building and the poor lighting. The professor of this class is also unintentionally funny, at least to me. Just the way he talks and his mannerism crack me up, and I have no clue why.
After Statics, I went on to get my books from the bookstore, so, you know, I could actually DO the work that my professors had begun assigning. Finding the books wasn't to hard, but the line, OH MY! It snaked back and forth on itself four times at the front of the store, then proceeded to wrap around half of the rest of the store. All I can say was, at least I got to look at the art supplies while I was waiting.
Tuesday: Tuesday wasn't all that exciting. Linear again. This time, the guy with the beanie decided to take it off in class, and LO AND BEHOLD HE HAS A RED MOHAWK! Instantly, this guy jumps up near the top of the "People I don't know but think are cool" list (which also includes this guy at my school who has a bald head which makes him look like Billy Corgan, the lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins). Miss Granger still insisted on answering every question. One thing that did strike me as odd, though, was the fact that my professor's age is really hard for me to tell just by looking at her. From certain angles, she looks young, but others she looks old. She has the mannerisms of an older person, but at the same time, she dresses like a not completely old person (but not completely young person either). I don't know, but I'm sure I'll figure it out sometime this quarter.
Yay for hour breaks! I had time to kill between Linear and Healthy Living, so I was able to get lunch. Vegan chili and a salad, yum!
Anyways, Healthy Living was PACKED! Just for reference, the biggest class at my school is approximately (at least to my knowledge) 180ish or so students. A majority of classes are around 30-something students. So to see Healthy Living in one of the bigger lecture rooms completely full took me by surprise. In all honesty, though, next class will most likely have half the amount of students. Healthy Living lasted for only an hour (it's supposed to be two), most of which was the professor taking role so that he could add wait-listed people. While role was being taken, I was able to read the most absurd sentence in all of syllabus history. The first sentence of my professors syllabus begins with "Your success in this course requires more than intelligence." Now, I know what he means, but the way it is worded makes it sound so ridiculous. But the worst part of the class, though, was the fact that I found out the book I got wasn't the only thing I needed. No, I also needed an access code for this website. Basically, I had to pay fifty dollars so that I could turn in homework online.
Wednesday: Oh Wednesday. I haven't missed a single class all college. I haven't even been late to one. But my welding lecture on Wednesday might break that record. It's at 7 A.M., so each Wednesday I get to wake up at 6 to ensure that I have enough time to make it to the Silo (our name for the lecture room that it is in, due to its shape) going at my slow, meandering "I'm tired" pace. On the plus side; I get to see the sunrise every Wednesday. This welding lecture is by far the biggest class I've ever been in at around 160 students. Looking around, though, I would say that a good 152 were most likely sleeping that entire hour. This brings up my biggest concern about this class. Just as a note, I have welded before. I am by NO MEANS an expert, though. But I do have enough experience to know that welding is something you have to pay the UTMOST attention to when you are doing it. Basically, the way welding works is that you have your electrode, and it arcs from the welder to the piece, which is grounded to make a complete circuit. Then, you have your filler (oftentimes the filler and electrode are the same) which melts and bonds the two pieces of metal together. Now, I was never any good with numbers, so I can't give you exact (or even approximate) power outputs, but I can give you an example of what welders can do. To put it simply, the power welders can put out is so hot, that just being CLOSE to it without the proper protection can burn you. It's so bright that looking at it without eye protection is like looking directly at the sun (it can blind you). Saying that touching it will cut through you like a hot knife through butter is an under representation. To sum it up, welding is very dangerous.So I am not very sure who thought it was a smart idea to learn how to operate these hazardous machines at 7 in the morning, when most of the students will be asleep in class, but they really need to rethink that.
After that was more statics. Nothing special. Still the same old Indiana Jones building, and the awkwardly funny professor.
Thursday: Thursday I would have had Linear and statics again, but apparently my school finds it necessary to give us Caesar Chavez Day off, so, no school for me! My roommates and I did go eat sushi which was awesome. Other then that, I guess I just screwed around and did normal Spencer stuff all day.
Friday: Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But yea, Friday. For the first time since I want to say Kindergarten, I was actually excited for school! Today was the day I was going to be able to weld! To my disappointment, we did not get to weld in welding lab. However, we did get to take a tour of the lab, which was awesome (at least to me. I geek out at machines and whatnot). And the teacher for the lab was hilarious! I can already tell that welding lab is going to be my favorite class this quarter by far.
More Linear and statics after welding lab was over. More of the same boring old stuff. At this point, I already realized that I am burnt out on math.
