Posted by alexandra_k on May 1, 2014, at 4:01:23
In reply to Re: going ahead, posted by alexandra_k on April 29, 2014, at 20:43:30
had a funny (odd) couple days.
i just started to get into a bit of a routine with studying in the actual library from 8-10 and so getting to keep the 2 hour loan book... renewing it before 9am... renewing it within 2 hours... then not needing to return it till just before class at 12... that was sorta seeming workable... but i was also a little... uh... unsettled by the thought of the fines that could rack up if i forgot to renew...
anyway... last night i borrowed it... but it wasn't showing up on my library record when i went to renew it. so, uh, after much deliberation (including the odd nightmare) i've decided to keep it till the end of the semester. since the library has at least 4 copies of it and i've never seen any less than 3 other copies sitting there on the shelf each and every single time i get one copy... it isn't like people are playing tag for them...
i met the first year coordinator for biosci (across the board)... and she was really pleasant and friendly. she reassured me (seemingly quite genuinely) about my not needing to worry about lots of students because you never see all of them at once (because they are split over about 4 classes, i guess) and that i'll have good practice with labs in doing bio next semester and the rooms will be the same... and the course books will probably be the same... but there is a new Campbell's Biology coming out... which I probably will buy... anyway... i think she may have been primed a bit for me (maybe chemistry lady talked to her) because she offered the information that they were going to try and get the powerpoints up before lectures next year... and i didn't raise that at all... so...
the biology building is... really nice. historic. and there are exhibits all over the show... different animal skulls... models of different animal brains... museum feel to it... felt... at home there. in a way i don't quite over in chemistry. chemistry feels... weirdly industrial. trying to extract course outlines out of them is, i don't know, like trying to extract trade secrets or something...
i caught up with a dear friend... i think a great deal of her but we are always a bit awkward together because we are both a bit awkward apart. but she is lovely... always positive and friendly. we did a couple circuits of the parks - which i quite like... and then i was going to go to drinks with the phil grads but... i got this weird panic thing... about whether i was really welcome there or whether they were just putting up with me... and i left. that always was my social anxiety. i haven't felt it for a while... but there it was... sigh. and people have been very gentle and very welcoming and i'm not sure what was up... except i think i was pooped out after catching up with my friend. after the semester break... where i really do go days without talking to anybody. there is an aspect of habituation... it isn't good for me to have too much of a break from things or it is too hard for me to get back... anyway... if i get to the seminar then things are more natural... just turning up and trying to co-ordinate actually going to drinks with people is a bit harder. because i don't know any one in particular well enough to go bug them in particular... and i'm not good at just milling about and striking up conversations... anyway...
the textbook thing is kinda important. for me. i've managed to fill in my manual properly in a way i'm confident about the information being accurate (finally!)... but i don't find it the most straightforward presentation of material... the textbook is good for me - but it goes into more detail than what we need. so need to jump about a bit between the Powerpoints and my course notes and the textbook... Trying to learn HOW to study for it... mostly the struggle is in setting up the equations properly and getting the units right... converting units... scientific notation... almost at the point where i just need to do lots of problems - but not quite there yet. It is really hard going for me... But good practice for physics next semester, I guess. I should have brought the textbook, in hindsight. I think I've learned my lesson on that. Next year... Sigh. Maybe it will be close to $1,000 on that. Damn it.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1064649
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20140312/msgs/1065015.html