On the Horizon

Today was chemistry day. I had discussion sections for all three of my classes. It started at 7:30 with Quantum Mechanics. The TA told us what he thought we ought to know for next Wednesday's exam. The professor did the same in class yesterday, and they seem to be on the same page. Good. I'll spend the next few days (re-)reading the material and trying to get a better grasp on it. But I think I'll be okay.

Next was Inorganic. We talked a little about bonding and structures for the Group III elements. We've got a quiz next week in discussion section about Groups IV to VI. We're also probably having an exam the week after that over everything from the Alkali Metals to the Noble Gases—in other words, pretty much everything except Hydrogen.

Then came Thermodynamics. We're having an exam next Wednesday in this class too—right after the QM exam. My skull hurts already. Seriously, though, it shouldn't be too bad. We went over some stuff for the exam today, then had a short quiz. Gregg Easterbrook once said, "Torture numbers, and they'll confess to anything." That was the theme of today's quiz. The calculations weren't too difficult, but there was a lot of unit conversion to do. That's not unusual in chemistry; I had a professor once who had us convert velocities from meters per second to furlongs per fortnight. If you're interested, the conversion factor is ×6048.

But the best part came between QM and Inorganic, when I spent some time with my advisor. We reviewed my DARS report to make sure I was on the right track for graduation in December. All I have to do is pass my classes for this semester and pass the Senior Comprehensive Exams next month. I was a little concerned about the comps, because I wasn't really sure what was involved.

Now I'm feeling more secure. The comps are a series of four two-hour exams, each of which consists of about 50-75 multiple choice questions. The tests are standardized, and the results are compared against national averages. Then the results of the four tests are averaged for a final score. This is good news. I've always been pretty good at standardized tests. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.

I can see the end. It's hard to believe, after so many years, but I can see the end. There is no formal ceremony for December graduation, but I will be done. My advisor told me I could come back and do the walk in May if I wanted to. Will I? Unless my situation at the time prevents it, I'll turn to Gretchen Wilson for my answer: Hell yeah!

And there will be a celebration of some sort in December, believe you me.