Category Archives: the road to edumacation

the road to edumacation

I find this funny.

Not funny, ha-HA. Funny strange, if anything.

Acct Info Sys prof sent an email today saying that she added 10 points to our chapter 2 test scores because we only had 60 minutes to take the test, instead of the 90 minutes we were supposed to have. Which does me no good, because I aced the test.

She then went on to say that the averages scores on the tests for chapters 1 and 2 were 80.5% and 73.5%, respectively. A similar email went out today from my Int Acct prof saying that the average test score on the chapter 1 test was 85%.

Seriously?

These classes are major course REQUIREMENTS, and the average test scores so far are a B, a B-, and a C-? That’s scary.

And it makes me wonder, what is so different about me? I honestly don’t know. I am just doing my best. Isn’t that what everyone does?

Apparently not.

looking through the lens, the road to edumacation

I have GOT to stop thinking my work is shit.

I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but two of my classes this semester are retakes, Intro to Photo and Acct Info Sys. I’m retaking those classes for two reasons: 1) to remove the “drop” from the calculation and get my GPA up from a 2.79 and 2) to actually finish those classes. Those E’s on my transcript haunt me. Every. Day. To go from A’s and B’s to basically nothing? It’s killing me. I have to fix it. After this semester, I only have one more retake left, Object Oriented Programming II (basically Java II).

Some might think it’s weird for me to be taking an introduction to photography class. It’s really not, though. Two years ago when I was enrolled in the same class, I was just starting out with my business. I was still shooting in Auto. I was still shooting JPG images. I was enrolled in that class long enough to have two assignments graded, before I dropped, and in those two assignments, I learned A TON. I haven’t shot in any mode BUT Manual ever since. Shortly after that, I realized the benefits of shooting RAW, and have never looked back. (Side note: I’ve had to change back to JPG for this class, which I need to remember before I shoot my next session.)

The professor for this photo class is even better than the professor I had two years ago, and I thought he was pretty damn good. Tri has related really well with everyone in the class. This is a gen ed class, but I can tell that he really wants us to learn. He doesn’t talk down to anyone when he answers questions and he explains the terminology in layman’s terms. Plus, he clearly knows his shit. And when he not only described his wife as a “nerd,” but showed pride in his wife’s geek status, he moved up even farther on my scale.

We turned in our first assignment yesterday. It was the exact same assignment I completed two years ago, and it dealt with understanding how your camera worked. We did some images to understand aperture, some for shutter speed, some for camera shake, some panning (THOSE. ARE. HARD.), and some for color shifts from indoor lighting. I was interested to see the difference between the two sets of images, although I still haven’t compared them side-by-side yet. I did notice that, while I certainly don’t know everything about it, I am MUCH more familiar with my camera than I was back then. I was even able to help some of my fellow students figure out theirs. But at the same time, I learned something new. Good times.

When I got my assignment together, I felt pretty good about it. But then the thing happened that usually does with me, I started to panic. The images weren’t good enough, not by a long shot. In my mind, I fully expected Tri to give them back to me and say, “Not even close, moron. Try again.” Yes, I do know he would never actually say something like that, but at the time, my mind was going into negative overdrive. Logic was completely ignored.

Once everyone uploaded their images, Tri chose some (names redacted, of course) to give us a better understanding of what he’s looking for when grading. His comments were very constructive, not hurtful at all, and yet I still sat in the back repeating the same phrase over and over in my mind. “Please don’t pick mine. Please don’t pick mine. Please don’t pick mine. PLEASE DON’T PICK MINE.”

He picked mine.

My first thought was, “Crap.” Then as he went through them, I realized he wasn’t tearing them to shreds. Then I looked more closely at the images on the screen. The exposure looked pretty damn close in most of the images. Since we were working on equivalent exposure, I started to relax about how well I completed the assignment. Tri laughed at the images of Ash doing jumping jacks (shutter speed images to show blur/freeze action), commenting on the things we ask our kids to do to get shots. A fellow student also told me they were good pictures. It will be interesting to see what my grade is on the assignment. Then I will have to dig out the old one and compare.

Next assignment due is on depth of field. Not as many technical components this time. Not as many images required either. Now I get to play.

dating diary, hook 'em \m/, random, the road to edumacation

Recap

I haven’t written here in a while. Quite a while, in fact. My many unfinished posts didn’t show any real signs of finishing, so here they all are in one big recap.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is a milestone. And a pretty big one too. I still can’t believe it’s here. Kind of crazy, huh? And yes, I’m being vague on purpose. But don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough. You only have to wait a few more hours. Think of how long I’VE been waiting!

It’s been over a month, and I still haven’t found my go-to style for this haircut yet. That is why you haven’t seen many pics of it. Well, that’s one reason why anyway. An A-line bob should be easy to style, right? I guess it is easy to style, but none of the ones I’ve tried so far scream, “YES, YES, YES!” In fact, most of them scream, “MILE-HIGH FOREHEAD!” I have figured out that my conservative choices for an easier transition from long to short is just not cutting it (pun very much intended). My next appointment will be me telling my stylist, “Stack that shit! STACK IT! AH! AH! AHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Speaking of my hair, we’ve reached the start of the “visible root” phase of this latest color. Which means in about a week or so, I will post a pic holding it out, threatening to chop it all off and go for a brunette Susan Powter look. If you’re old enough to know who she is, say it with me… “Stop the Insanity!” If not, Google people. If it’s not your best friend yet, pfft!

So, mah boys. Pretty good showing in the first (season) game under new management, right? Well, I was pretty happy with it. And at least I got to watch most of the second half (gawd damned greedy college and their stinkin LHN). Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived, though, because there is no rest for the wicked. Especially when next Saturday’s game is against BYU. And your QB is out for concussion symptoms. And two of your offensive tackles are suspended for violation of team rules. What. The. Fuck. We are so screwed.

Oh, and by the way? I’m a Bruin again. I know that you know that I’m back in school this semester. And you know that I know that you know I’m back in school. But did you know that SLCC’s mascot is a BEAR? Well now you know. Kind of fitting when you think about it actually. Especially during a certain time of the month.

School is going pretty well, even though it’s only been a couple of weeks. I’ve gotten ahead in both of my accounting courses, so that I make sure to not get behind. What I mean by that is I have completed all homework due through this Sunday in those two classes. It was done over last weekend. But that’s not enough. After two years of homework every weekend, I want more of them freed up. I will pretty much have photography homework every weekend during this semester, which is fine. I just want to stay way in the black on my accounting homework. I’m figuring out if I can work ahead even further. Just not sure yet if it will be possible.

We’ve completed step one of Move 2014. One notice to vacate has been submitted; the other one will go in at the end of this month. We know the areas where we want to live, or I should say the areas we need to live to keep the kids’ transition to a minimum. Now it’s time to start looking. By the end of October, we will all be in one place together, as a family. We’re really here. Crap. Am I ready for this?

A friend of mine is going through a really rough patch right now, and is faced with making a very hard decision. I want so much to be able to hug her and tell her it will be ok. I hate the fact that she and I live so far away from each other. I will be there for her in anyway I can, though, just like she was for me when I went through it.

Lacy panties are totally the bomb. Enough said.

I keep dozing off while writing this, which probably means I should try and get some sleep. I keep reading what I’ve written so far, to make sure it sounds at least semi-coherent, and it does. I just wish it sounded as funny as it did in my head earlier today. Oh well.

P.S. I made pulled pork over the weekend. It was fantastic!

P.P.S. I also made coleslaw from scratch. Look at me, all Susie Homemaker and shit!

dating diary, looking through the lens, the road to edumacation, TMI? perhaps, truthful tuesday

All the news that’s fit to print (and some that might be questionable).

I’m praying to the Monster gods this morning, but so far they don’t seem to be listening. When will I learn that three hours of sleep just does NOT cut it? Apparently never. Ok, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. Maybe I should just go with I might learn once Tim and I are no longer maintaining two households, I’m not fitting in my photography around a full-time job/school/family, I’m worrying about my health, I’m not worrying about Tim’s health, Tim’s out of school, I’m out of school, THE KIDS are out of school… Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more I could add to that list, so perhaps it’s not that much of an exaggeration after all.

Ash passed on Schnoz Plague 2014 to me, because apparently she is all about giving to others right now. And this would, of course, be AFTER she killed our tissue reserves. So, I may be telling the therapist tonight that we need to rethink this whole “sharing” thing she has Ash working on. Sometimes you really can share too much, IMHO.

Graduation is next week for both Z-boy and Tim, which reminds me that I haven’t accomplished anywhere near what I wanted to this past month. I had an awesome list of all the things I wanted to get done before the arrival of Hurricane Tim’s Mom, like remove a layer (or two) of dust in my apartment, uncover the source of the eau de Marley that still plagues me (after what, a year now?), clear out the forest floor that is my balcony, and hit the gym. HARD. Sadly, none of those things have been done, especially that last one. I had a grand goal of being down at least ten pounds by now. Unfortunately, with everything we had going on this month, and my recent diverticulitis diagnosis, the gym has been one of the last things on my mind. So, last night, as I was figuring out my wardrobe for next week (bcuz even though I feel like crap, I am still going to look damn good for both events), I realized I have to become reacquainted with my old “friend” Spanx. And to be honest, I had hoped we cut our ties for good after the last time. *sigh*

My first senior session is nearly put to bed. YAY ME. I admit that I was thoroughly freaked out when I first started this project, even though it was 100% my idea (and my grad gift to the senior). After the first round of images was finished, I felt fairly positive about the session. But I also felt it needed more, like a new outfit, a new location, etc, so we scheduled a second round. Those images are nearly finished now, and my outlook on the session has gone from fairly positive to DAMN I’M GOOD. I had a blast working with this senior, and I honestly think I captured his personality. I also found areas of my work that could use some improvement, but I am taking them for what they are – learning tools. Some of you know what a perfectionist I am when it comes to my photography, so for me to accept a self-critique like that is HUGE.

Ok, I guess it’s time to get back to work. Short work weeks have their pros and cons, that’s for sure. As I wrap up this latest edition of This is My Life – It Could Always be Worse*, I’ll leave you with this parting thought:

Lately, I wonder what shower sex looks like with a height difference.

For a friend.

 

*Not a real thing. Or a real thought. I actually think my life is pretty great right now.