School: It's good to be back!

[CrystalKitten]

So, I started up my first day of classes today. Only had one so far, there's one more starting in another 2 hours. Aside from the fact that I can't afford my text books, or anything really, until I get my osap, I'm REALLY excited. So, I'm going to post all the things I'm looking forward to (or not in a few cases) for each of my classes, and update this thread as more happens. If you're excited about your classes, or maybe even just starting university or college, or anything else, feel free to share

Developmental Bio
This is the class I just had. The prof seems pretty cool. A little fumbly with words, but then.. that's something I can totally relate to, heh. We didn't actually learn anything, but rather went over what we'll be learning in the class. As well as some of the cool lab projects. Two we have to do an actual project on. For one, we're going to be observing some sea urchin embryos and monitoring the effect that temperature variations have on their development, using a control kept at standard sea temperature as a reference. Another, we're getting some zebrafish embryos with known genetic mutations and testing the effects of certain chemicals on their development (we were assured this is before they have any sort of nerve cells, so they won't be able to feel any pain, or anything, which is nice). I'm really excited for both! And for the other labs. We're gonna be working with microscopes, and disecting microscopes, and all sorts of stuff... Seriously.. really excited.

I also asked my prof about my little gecko Nemo (search youtube for "Nemo crested gecko" the video will be by crystalkitten) and whether the causes of his healed deformity might be something we might talk about a bit in class His little flipper bends the wrong way where his elbow should be (it bends backwards) and doesn't actually have a working joint. Also, apparently the backwards bend wasn't THERE when the leg was first amputated and healing (from severe shed issues, there were a few rescuers before he found a permanent home with me). He said it could very well be a mutation on one of the developmental genes we'll be talking about which, in amphibians and some reptiles, causes regrowth of limbs/tails. The reason that's kind of REALLY cool.. is crested geckos DON'T regenerate. From what I've come to understand, they are pretty much one of (if not THE) only gecko which doesn't even regenerate it's TAIL. So excited for this class..

Nutrition
Haven't had this class yet, it's the one I have in a little bit though. I'm.. honestly not overly hyped about this class. It's still bio related, so.. better than some of my other classes, so we'll see.

Edit: Just got home after taking this class. It might not be too bad. The profs at least seem pretty cool (we have one for the first half, one for the second half). They introduced themselves, One's name is David, the other's is Gene (Genevieve), and the female prof put up her had and said "I'm David" and then the other laughed and said "Yeah, if you can't figure out which of us is which, I think you're going to have problems in this course" haha. So, humour right off at the start is always a good sign.

The guy, who we have for the first half, seems very approachable with questions and stuff, which I like. Not that I ask too many, but sometimes I like to relate stuff to specific examples in my life (helps me remember things.. like today, we learned that the average adult consumes about 5lbs of water a day (through food, drinking, and water made from digestion), which I can remember because I typically gain almost exactly 5lbs throughout the day, and then lose it overnight (even if it's not ALL from water, it's a good memory cue!)).

Also, the exams (midterm and final) are all strictly multiple choice. And they'll adjust the weighting on them such that if you do better in one than the other.. they'll make it worth a little bit more than the standard weighting, which is really cool. So.. while still not a class I'm overly looking forward to, it's definitely gonna be an okay class this semester

Vertebrate Structure and Function
This is the class I've really been looking forward to. I checked the outline this morning, and there really is a lab every week (some are every other week, so they can use the same room for different sections, and whatever). The slight downside is it's taught by the prof that I did work study for last year... who wouldn't take me back this year His reason is legit.. but a part of me ALWAYS sees it as a personal issue they must have had with me... So.. I'm thinking this might be one class where I don't sit right up front for (which might work better for the room anyways, it's not exactly one of the newer, more comfortably designed rooms.. so sitting in the front there's a bit of neck craning to see the projector).

Edit: I had this class yesterday. Pretty much what I expected. The prof is a bit quiet, and doesn't always speak entirely clearly, which could simply be an effect as he has a relatively heavy french accent, but, again as I worked for him, I'm a little used to it, so it's not terrible. He's designed his class notes such that we don't HAVE to buy the textbook if we can't afford it, which, is good, but also bad. As he doesn't have a more concise version for the lecture.. so the pacing is VERY fast as he tries to read through (and elaborate on) all the lecture slides... Would probably be better if he would post those notes after class, but have a more.. display-like version for the lectures. I was excited for this class, and still kind of am, but I have a feeling that he MAY not be the most engaging, and interesting profs.

Intro to Genetics
I'm kind of really excited about this one too. I'm pretty interested in genetics and evolution. I find it fascinating how a mix of random chance and life style can cause something like a cat-like creature to turn into a dolphin/whale after thousands of years... And it's amazing how much variety there can be even within a species... I'm excited

Edit: Just had this class today. It seems pretty damn cool as well. We started going over some things like basic concepts for pedigrees, and recessive vs dominant traits, and so on. Pretty much.. The class seems like it's going to be as cool as I'd hoped! And I like the prof we have right now. A bit average, but apparently she reminds us of pretty much EVERYTHING that's coming up. Other than that, it seems pretty standard for a class, but the content definitely seems to be pretty much what I was hoping for. YAY!

So, overall, I have ALL classes that I'm either really excited about, or, in the case of nutrition, I at least don't really mind taking. This semester is gonna be pretty sweet if I can keep myself from getting over stressed... Which might end up being a problem, since in order to afford everything that's necessary this year, I need to keep working through the semester Pretty much every weekend, all weekend. I still have a lot of time on fridays... and some on mondays and thursdays though, as well as an hour or 2 between pretty much each class... So hopefully it won't be too bad <.< That is... if I don't get addicted to raiding.. Someone in my guild (after some unfortunate incidents in the raiding guild we were connected to) decided to start possibly organising some guild raids, and I offered to help (more help when something has actually been set.. like explaining the wowpedia strats for bosses if people don't have vent, or getting they hype up by chatting about it, and all that)

Anyone else starting any classes/programs they're really excited about?

[Nahale]

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[Aritria]

Ah, good to hear! It's nice to be back too, I'm not going to lie. Here's what I'm taking this year:

Voice and Speech for the Actor
This is an advanced class stemming from the Voice and Speech: Fundamentals class offered every fall and winter semester. We get more indepth with the voice for an actor, and we explore it with Shakespeare, gender roles, poetry, and voice acting. My professor has also teached the Fundamental class in the past, and he is SO. MUCH. FUN. He's easy and laidback, with a great personality and always willing to get a laugh from us. He's also the chair of the Drama department, so he's got a lot of stuff going on administrative wise. It's always a treat to work with him, and it'll be a blast to have a whole two hours with him three times a week.

Russian Drama
This class is specifically devoted to...well...Russian Drama, spanning a time from the 19th to 20th century contemporary works. I've had the professor before for History and Development of Theatre I and II, and Canadian Theatre. She's just shy of 5 feet tall, and really spunky. Her style of teaching is straight and to the point. She's also the Dean, so again, lots of administrative stuff goes down with her, but she's always willing to talk for a few minutes in the hallway.

Independent Study
This is a 3000 level course (suitable for third years) to allow for a student to gain knowledge in an area that isn't covered in the regular coursework. I'm doing mine on Gender and East Asian Performance, and creating a 'Bachelor's Thesis' with it, and reveal my findings in a 20-25 page paper. I'm super stoked, and I'll make sure to involve my newly found obsession for Takarazuka.

Technical Portfolio
This is to make sure that students in the Drama department work both on and off the stage. I just so happened to be able to Assistant Stage Manage (ASM) a show this semester. I'd love to ASM Hamlet, one of the mainstage shows the second semester.

[CrystalKitten]

Ari, some of those sound pretty neat. Can't say I'm overly interested myself in performing in the dramatic arts, but it's kind of neat to see the kinds of things you take I've never really known anyone that's done that kind of thing in school as their main focus.

So, I've updated my first post with all my first impressions. The semester is gonna be as awesome as I'd hoped (even if some of the excitement for classes has shifted slightly).

The posts on our discussion board that make you /facepalm and wonder how some people made it this far (2nd year bio science courses)... One guy asked where we can get our lab manuals... But it's been mentioned in class, in the course outline, and we were even sent e-mails with the dates and times... I mean.. it's pretty much been shoved in our face. Oh, and as long as you manage to make it to the right floor of the science complex, there's also signs plastered all over the place "ZOO* LAB MANUALS THIS WAY -->" ...

[GormanGhaste]

Will you be working with D. melanogaster in genetics lab?

[Aritria]

Thanks, Crystal! The subjects I'm taking this semester are all electives for what I really want to do, which is to become a Drama Teacher. I hope to be in the Education faculty for next Fall, and, if that falls through, I'll swich over to a Tech Degree in theatre as a Stage Manager, a position that can be defined as the Director of Techies on the shows you do. Fine Arts (art, music, theatre, dance) are just as important as those who want to persue a career in Science. As Gabrielle Roy once said, "Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?" But, like those in BioChem courses, you must WANT to do it with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. We're a crazy bunch of people, but it's a job like any other.

I'm so pleased that you're having fun in your courses so far. Here's to a new year!

[CrystalKitten]

Will you be working with D. melanogaster in genetics lab?

I don't think we actually have hands on labs for genetics this semester. It's one of the intro courses really (we're going so far to start off as simple as learning how to use Punnet squares o.o). Kind of disappointing, but... My other 2 labs should keep me satisfied I actually have my first tomorrow. No actual dissection, we're gonna learn how to use the microscopes and stuff. I haven't read over the lab stuff yet, but I'll be doing that tonight, probably while I cook(making butter chicken from scratch, yum!)(also reminds me.. I need a new orange highlighter for the important bits!).

But yeah.. I've had 2 lectures for genetics so far, and it's all been pretty much review... "Dominant traits generally over write recessive traits" "Here's a punnet square" kind of thing with touching very basically on how protein synthesis is what causes traits to have their expression (or lack thereof). The only real "new" thing was interpreting a pedigree in order to help us find the risk of offspring x who is y generations down being a carrier, or displaying, a recessive trait.

Ari, That's great! Yeah, my sister is going for music, and she's in a university that lets her do the teachers college stuff at the same time. And oh, I'm definitely an arts person too. But more visual arts (but also, I like to play music. .trying to learn the guitar, damn my tiny hands.. and rockband drums are fun Played a "real" digital set too a few times), and the thing with visual arts is it's all about the portfolio. You can do ANYTHING.. even work on blockbuster movies without a degree if you have the portfolio (my friend, for example, just had a standard art fundamentals certificate, a one year course, but worked in visual effects for a year or 2 before moving to RIM (again, with no formal education).. one of the movies was the last Resident Evil). So, I decided my education should be spent more on the aspect that I CAN'T do without a degree.. animal care! My artistic side could mesh well though with the biology side... Like.. I could end up doing illustrations/diagrams for textbooks, or whatever on the side of whatever else I end up doing...

[Worba]

Neat! Man I wish I could have applied myself back in college... so much interesting stuff to learn... too bad I had the attention span of a gnat...

[CrystalKitten]

Neat! Man I wish I could have applied myself back in college... so much interesting stuff to learn... too bad I had the attention span of a gnat...

My attention span isn't that great either :/ I answered a question stupidly today cause I got distracted by petopia <.< Once i realized, it was a total facepalm moment, haha. I'm REALLY trying to try and NOT get too distracted in class this year though.

Also.. it's never too late to go back I'm a bit older than most of my classmates (I mean.. I'm older than some of the grad/phd students...). Not THAT old... But, still, I was out of school for almost 5 years before finally being able to go back.

Oh.. kind of on topic... I'm thinking of getting a new laptop... My netbook still works.. but.. after an accident involving my cat, and a glass of water.. and then 2 days with it upside down with a fan on it.. The battery life has pretty much gone to hell, and it over heats til it's too hot to touch if i don't fully shut it down before putting it in my bag (which is annoying when I'm just going from class, to lunch (where I take it out again) and then on to my next class.. seeing as it takes like 5 minutes to boot up, and several to shut down...) Now.. it's gonna have to be a cheaper one (I'm hoping to spend under $600.. but cheaper would be better) but at the same time.. I'd like it to last at least a few year.. (or still be in good enough condition to sell it next year and get the shiny one I actually want!)... Any ideas on anything specific to avoid? And no.. I DO NOT want a gaming laptop <.< I can put a few smaller, less addicting games on for those longer breaks.. but the last thing I need is the ability to play WoW on campus.. <.<

[Aritria]

@Crystal: Awww, that's fabulous that she's wanting to get into music! I wanted to become a Voice teacher, but my prerequsites aren't up to snuff, and I'd have to take two years of voice training just to get the equivalents to high school standards. I haz no monies, so a Drama teacher is the best alternative for me. Is she training in Voice, or an Instrument? Maybe sound mixing?

E:As far as your computer problems, I don't have anything to suggest, other than a tiny notebook-style laptop that can run word and maybe a few simple games like Pinball or whatever. Good luck finding one, though!

@Worba: It's never too late to learn what you want! You mind, like your ears and your nose, never stop growing. Even if it's a night course to learn about the basics of photography, for example, it's never too late.

[CrystalKitten]

My sister's main instrument is the flute. Though she also has a piccolo. She has to learn piano and stuff too though. I think pretty much she just wants to be a music teacher. She's considered pretty good too, I think. I kind of want to see if I can get her to learn some of the cool flute appropriate music from WoW.. <.< Some of it IS quite pretty after all, heh. She's not really a gamer though, aside from Sims.

And yeah.. that was similar cirucmstances when I entered my program... I had to do a full semester of JUST general studies cause I didn't have my sciences (BIG issues behind that... it's not cause I didn't have the grades, or didn't realize what I wanted or anything like that...) But.. Now I'm in and it's awesome!

[Worba]

@Worba: It's never too late to learn what you want! You mind, like your ears and your nose, never stop growing. Even if it's a night course to learn about the basics of photography, for example, it's never too late.

Since college I've gone back and aced a bunch of computer related courses, but that's because they were career-relevant, i.e. I had a specific need for them (and by then had been out on my own long enough to also know that the alternative to NOT acing said courses was rather unpleasant); what I'm still not able to do however, is buckle down and learn something purely because it's interesting.

"Okay class, please open your textbooks to chapter 4, page 123, and note..."

*Sees something shiny BAM ATTENTION DIVERTED*

[CrystalKitten]

Haha.. My university doesn't really work that way. Most of the profs try to keep your attention. Okay, well, maybe half of them. There's always going to be a few that just... don't get it. But it's almost like most of them are getting performing/presentation degrees now, heh.

A few notable examples:

My current Nutrition prof puts a comic strip hidden in his lectures somewhere, and generally seems to have a good humor about his class. Asks questions, and tried to get people involved. Apparently today is one of his most boring topics, and yet it was "average" as far as some other profs go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8PbpfMCP6E That guy was my physics prof last year. No lie. He did some stunt demos for us. One involving lightning/electricity, another, he used pressure to blow up a garbage can... It hit the ceiling, and was so loud that people walking by in the hall came in to see if everything was okay. He also told jokes at the beginning of every class. Also, physics in general, they get a LOT of people to go up to the front to help with demos. I got to spin around and around and around on a chair. It was fun.

My psych prof showed some fun videos, used a LOT of relative examples, swore in class (always appropriately) and even told a dirty joke once (in order to illustrate a certain concept).

My calculus teacher (wasn't quite a prof yet) told a lot of math jokes, (kinda cheesy, but hey), and used Shrek analogies to help teach us calculus concepts.

My stats teacher used a LOT of interesting examples, and spoke VERY loudly. Like.. He was in pretty much the largest, most high tech lecture hall we have on campus.. and he didn't use a mic. EVAR. He just yelled. Very characteristically. I can almost still hear "AAAAAAAALRIGHT EVERYBODEH!" with almost a bit of a growl to it... heh.

I'm sure there's more examples.. but Ineed to go take a shower... I have an 8:30am lab tomorrow :/ Gonna get to look at some fossilized sand with tiny fossils in it though! that'll be awesome.

[Nahale]

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[GormanGhaste]

Professional Communication - Well, we had a no-show of the professor the first day. Great start to this class. I'm worried about how much work it will take to get an A here, hopefully it's not too bad. I have heard the professor is not the type to be very firm about anything - instead of due dates, he sets "soft due dates" which means something like "try to finish the assignment by this date, but if you don't, that's ok too", which drives me a little crazy. I guess I'll just treat his soft due dates like real due dates, as that's the only way I will get anything done. Obviously I'm not so happy about this one so far.

Hmm, maybe the course is all about teaching effective communication with non-engineers? Maybe he's trying to model non-engineer behavior!

[Finduilas]

I started university here in Sweden for real this week. Our introduction week is over now and these are my classes:

Viking Age Societies in Scandinavia: It's a history course about how the society of the vikings was structured, how they lived, what gender roles they had and something like that. The course is only online, so I listen to the lectures when and where I want and as often as I want. I started with the first two lectures, but it contained things I already knew from my university back in Germany. But there will be things that I don't know yet and haven't heard about yet, so I'm looking forward to the next lectures.

English A for foreign students: It's basically a course about how we express our selfs at oral exams and during classes held in English, how to write papers, exams in prober English and so on. This course is for all exchange students here in Umea and I hope it will help me to do my papers for the Viking Age course in a good way.

Nyisländska (modern Icelandic): This course will start out in November, so that's still some time left for me. I already did an Icelandic course at home and the language ist REALLY hard. The grammar is just horrible and it's like you want to talk in Latin to someone. Only Latin has less exceptions than Icelandic *sigh* - Latin was easy compared to this... that's why I'm taking an Icelanic course again.

At home I usually have about 35 hours a week at university. Here it is 2 hours (yes 2!!!!) a week for my English course and as much as I want for the Viking Age course (I thought about doing two lectures a week). It feels like paradise here. Ok we'll get a lot more homework to do, but still it seems like holidays to me. And I did take courses for full-time studies - this means I get my 30ECTS like I would have home for so much less work. Wonderful!

@Aritria: This sounds very exciting and interesting, I was thinking about studying Theater-and Media-science at home before I decided to do Scandinavian Studies.

[CrystalKitten]

Some other interesting stuff The history one sounds pretty cool

Okay. I had my first Vert lab today.. and....

AWESOME LAB IS AWESOME!

We didn't even do anything cool. But you walk in, and the first thing you see are all the skeletons, bones, and skulls (real and reproductions) along the edge of class. Talked a bit about what to expect and all that. Then we used a dissecting microscope (two eye pieces, and doesn't really use slides, so you can actually use your hands) to look at some conodont fossils. Now, these things were in little dishes with some sand/gravel.. and many of the fossils were SMALLER than the sand grains. It was for practice in observation skills. But honestly, it was so cool I kept looking at them for like... a full hour.

Then we looked at some lancelete (pretty sure on this, it was brachiostomes anyways) slides. we had one little dish with some full preserved ones, and then slides of various cross sections which we were encouraged to draw and diagram. She also brought some living sea squirts from the marine biology room across the hall, and they had some other preserved specimens, or slides relevant to our lab.

I think the next 3 weeks we're going to be doing types of fish. Oh, and every class she brings some kind of example. SHe had us write down our favourite vertebrates, so she can bring stuff we like.. I couldn't decide.. pretty much said "I like everything. Lately been really into geckos. Cheetahs are a favourite since I was little. Oh, and lately I've been on an elephant kick".

But yeah.. seriously.. Next week I think we're going to be doing some dissections of some kind of fish. I'm SOOO excited. I mean.. this class is so cool. The prof for our labs is pretty awesome, as is our TA, and then we have a peer helper as well. I mean.. This is my 5th day of classes.. and I've already done something so cool, I pretty much can't STOP grinning.

I SOOO can't wait for some of the other cool labs. Seriously... this is going to be a freaking AWESOME semester. The quality of this labs totally makes up for any.. issues.. in the lecture. SOOO freaking EXCITED! I want to bounce... jump around with all the pent up energy I have (I rarely just feel happy.. makes me wanna bounce, and run, annd jump and release huge BURSTS of energy) and that's how I'm feeling right now.. probably why I'm rambling <.< Because typing really fast is about all I can do right now while waiting for my lecture to start... heh

[Aritria]

@Worba: LAWL! I know the feeling. I have ADHD, and being easily distracted is something I do quite of-OOOOOOH, LOOKITHESQUIRREL!!
.....
See what I mean? But most post-secondary institutions have a specific place where those with Learning Disabilities and Difficulties can go, and you can have a letter written up for you for allowance of a multiple of things, including a distraction-free room, extra exam time, and even a scribe if your writing's really bad. Post-secondary institutions are there to help you as much as they can to help you succeed. They understand that its YOUR money (or the money of the government that you'll have to pay back), and that you should be the best at what you want to do in the less time you need. There's also medication that could help you as well, if you decide to take it. The first step is to get an assessment, and then go from there.

@Findu: What you're taking would be so cool to learn as an English speaking person. History has never been a passion in my life, but I've always found it interesting, and I've done little to no research in the Vikings and Norse culture. I've very jealous!

[Nahale]

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[Schwert]

This is my first year being out of school and seeing a thread like this washed over me some odd feelings.

Just the thought of not having to go to classes anymore until it's my choice is beyond anything I would have comprehended earlier in the year. ((Struggling with the school board, bullying and a lack of decent teachers before I joined a "Do it at your own pace" program.))


Just...
Maybe I'm being a bit off-topic but it really is just a weird feeling.