Once More Unto the Breach

Today was the beginning of a new semester for me. I have four classes this time around, and I had three of them today.

The day started with math at 8:35. The professor let us know that we're going to have homework due at the beginning of every class period, typically about 10-15 problems. Yes, it's time-consuming (I've spent about 90 minutes on the first one this evening), but there's really no other way to learn the material than by doing it. I ended up sitting next to a guy who's recovering from a difficult semester, too. He spent a lot of last semester at home with this wife, who was recovering from severe post-partum depression. He's retaking BioChem, too. I have a feeling we're going to be something of a mutual support group.

Thermodynamics was next at 9:40. In his introduction of himself to the class, the professor showed us a little of his family tree. The chemistry building is named after his father, and his brother's a Mormon Apostle. The professor's a nice enough guy, but the material is a bear. I'm going to have to dig up my old GenChem book and review the chapters on thermodynamics, I think.

Then it was off to BioChem at 10:45. The class is taught by the biology department in the spring, so I found myself in the biology building's largest lecture hall, taking notes with two hundred and fifty of my closest friends. The professor told us that he was going to teach the metabolism section, which covers about half the semester, while two other professors would share the rest of the time on other topics. I heard one of my classmates make a semi-covert comment about the "three-headed biology monster". No, Derek, I don't think it has anything to do with your music.

Then I made my way to the student services building (there's a contradiction in terms) to find out if my appeal had been decided upon and if I could realistically plan on staying in school for the whole semester. The line was dreadfully long, so I went to the union building and got a bite to eat. When I came back the line was a little shorter, i.e., not quite as long as the line to ride Space Mountain. So I got in it and waited. And my waiting was not in vain. The financial aid gurus had decided that it was okay for me to rack up a few thousand more dollars in student loans in the name of continuing education. So I'm in.

From there I went to the bookstore. I normally avoid the place, especially when it comes to buying textbooks. I've done a little tracking, and I typically save around 30-35% by buying my books at Amazon. But with the funding situation so uncertain, I decided to hold off buying books until I was sure I would need them. Unfortunately, that means that I can't afford to wait two to three weeks for textbooks now, so I'm going to have to use the book$tore. I need three books for this semester, one of which I'll use for about six weeks. They're going to run me about $350 total. Ish. I'm in the wrong line of work.

Tomorrow marks the start of my fourth and final class, an advanced lab. It requires three hours of class time and eight hours of lab time per week, but only for the first half of the semester. I'll be writing five ACS-style lab reports for this class between now and the third of March. After that, I can relax and concentrate on the other three classes.

And that will wrap it up for today. I anticipate a soothing night of R.E.M. filled with vector operations. To sleep, perchance to dream....