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Good lord.
21 May 2013 23:47My first day of class and I'm already red-lining.
Okay, so brief synopsis of what my days look like for the next 5 weeks:
Monday:
9:15 AM- Technical Communication. I'm basically learning how to write memos, SOPs, and instruction manuals. ...And this is the easy course so far.
Tuesday:
1:00 PM- Human Communication. A 2.5-hour-long course where I get to learn how to give a speech. Long, tedious, and mentally draining.
4:30 PM- Leave house after a brief stop to grab a bite and use the facilities in order to get out to Eagle River before rush hour traffic sets in and turns a 10-mile trip into an hour-long ordeal.
6:00 PM- College Algebra. Our very first class and she assigns 4 hours worth of homework...adding insult to injury, the class is scheduled to be done not at the UAA campus in the town but at the high school, and, due to stuff going on there, this week we're at the Eagle River middle school instead, meaning I have to somehow squeeze my sorry ass into a 6th-grader's chair...which has added psychological bonuses for me due to what my 6th grade math teacher did to me*.
Basically being in class for 8 hours straight, with a minimal lunch-as-dinner break and possible traffic jams therein. No wonder I'm wiped.
Wednesday:
9:15 AM- Tech Comm.
1:00 PM- Human Comm.
Thursday:
See Tuesday....meaning I get to look forward to all this again. Joy.
Friday-Sunday:
If I'm able to, I have to squeeze in an online Computer Tech course that basically teaches us how to use Word, Excel, and Access...in other words, I get to relive my first run at college life all over again. At least this one's more of an at-my-own-pace class, because if how I feel right now is any indication, by Friday I may be running on fumes. I nodded off twice just writing this.
After June 20th the Human Comm course goes away, which is both good and bad. Good because that's one huge slice off the plate, bad because it means that I'm getting a whole semester's worth of class crammed into 5 weeks, meaning that until it's off the plates it's going to be jam packed.
After July 12th, the online course also goes away, meaning I'll be down to Tech Comm and Algebra. I just have to make it that far without bombing out...
Mind you, I have good reasons for worrying about failing a course. I'm not paying the bills on this, the VA is through the GI Bill. I fail or drop a course, they redeem the credit-hours of assistance I used for it....by billing me for the amount they had to pay for the course. Anything below a C- in a course will cost me thousands, which right now will basically bankrupt me.
I'm wondering if maybe I bit off more than I can chew.
EDIT: It seems I owe my MATH A107 instructor an apology. I misunderstood how she assigned our homework assignments. On one side of things, she didn't assign 4 hours of homework, but rather 13 hours worth. However, I apparently forgot about one of the best bits of advice I ever got:
DON'T
As it turns out, not one bit of it is due until June 4th, when our first exam is. What this basically amounts to is that I can do one section a night, which at current pace has taken me about 45 minutes to an hour, and have it all done with days to spare.
So, umm...yeah. Oops.
Monday:
9:15 AM- Technical Communication. I'm basically learning how to write memos, SOPs, and instruction manuals. ...And this is the easy course so far.
Tuesday:
1:00 PM- Human Communication. A 2.5-hour-long course where I get to learn how to give a speech. Long, tedious, and mentally draining.
4:30 PM- Leave house after a brief stop to grab a bite and use the facilities in order to get out to Eagle River before rush hour traffic sets in and turns a 10-mile trip into an hour-long ordeal.
6:00 PM- College Algebra. Our very first class and she assigns 4 hours worth of homework...adding insult to injury, the class is scheduled to be done not at the UAA campus in the town but at the high school, and, due to stuff going on there, this week we're at the Eagle River middle school instead, meaning I have to somehow squeeze my sorry ass into a 6th-grader's chair...which has added psychological bonuses for me due to what my 6th grade math teacher did to me*.
Basically being in class for 8 hours straight, with a minimal lunch-as-dinner break and possible traffic jams therein. No wonder I'm wiped.
Wednesday:
9:15 AM- Tech Comm.
1:00 PM- Human Comm.
Thursday:
See Tuesday....meaning I get to look forward to all this again. Joy.
Friday-Sunday:
If I'm able to, I have to squeeze in an online Computer Tech course that basically teaches us how to use Word, Excel, and Access...in other words, I get to relive my first run at college life all over again. At least this one's more of an at-my-own-pace class, because if how I feel right now is any indication, by Friday I may be running on fumes. I nodded off twice just writing this.
After June 20th the Human Comm course goes away, which is both good and bad. Good because that's one huge slice off the plate, bad because it means that I'm getting a whole semester's worth of class crammed into 5 weeks, meaning that until it's off the plates it's going to be jam packed.
After July 12th, the online course also goes away, meaning I'll be down to Tech Comm and Algebra. I just have to make it that far without bombing out...
Mind you, I have good reasons for worrying about failing a course. I'm not paying the bills on this, the VA is through the GI Bill. I fail or drop a course, they redeem the credit-hours of assistance I used for it....by billing me for the amount they had to pay for the course. Anything below a C- in a course will cost me thousands, which right now will basically bankrupt me.
I'm wondering if maybe I bit off more than I can chew.
EDIT: It seems I owe my MATH A107 instructor an apology. I misunderstood how she assigned our homework assignments. On one side of things, she didn't assign 4 hours of homework, but rather 13 hours worth. However, I apparently forgot about one of the best bits of advice I ever got:
DON'T
PANIC
As it turns out, not one bit of it is due until June 4th, when our first exam is. What this basically amounts to is that I can do one section a night, which at current pace has taken me about 45 minutes to an hour, and have it all done with days to spare.
So, umm...yeah. Oops.
