Heather's First Day of School
As I mentioned some time ago, I am a bit of a college student again. I'm taking an Introduction to Meteorology course at the local community college, and last night was my first class.
It. was. awesome.
I meant to take my digital camera so that Amy could snap photos of me with my backpack on my way to class, but of course, I forgot in all my excitement.
The class only meets once each week, so Tuesdays from 7:30 to 10:20pm are now chock full of good nerdy weather material for me. Last night I decided to make a time diary logging how I felt and what I was doing during class. Enjoy.
7:15pm - Arrive nerdily early for class. Wander through campus with giant smile on my face, wanting to cheerily greet each student I see. I resist the urge.
7:18pm - I enter the classroom and see I am not the only one to arrive nerdily early. Two other students sit before me. Average age so far: maybe 19.
7:19pm - Remove exceptionally organized binder, paper, and pens from my backpack and copy down everything from the projected computer screen before me.
7:20pm - Holy crap on a stick, the professor works for NOAA. This class is going to be awesome.
7:22pm - Fellow female classmate opens mini-blinds in classroom so she can stare at her hair in the reflection.
7:23pm - Still no prof. I hope he doesn't let us out early, because I friggin' paid friggin' $400 for this class, dammit. More students are arriving. Average age update: 20.
7:25pm - Becoming more apparent that no one else is taking this class for fun.
7:26pm - 18-year-old sitting next to me stops texting on his cell phone long enough to ask me if he's supposed to be writing stuff down, too.
7:27pm - Same guy realizes he bought the wrong book for this class. I tell him I got mine off Ebay for remarkably cheap. He looks at me like the nerd I am.
7:31pm - Still no prof. Tick tock, tick tock, professor, I can hear my $400 wasting away. Average age update: 22.
7:32pm - Professor shows up, looking everything the disheveled nerdy meteorologist should look like. He's also wearing his NOAA pin, and he uses the word mitigate several times during the first several minutes. I am excited.
7:36pm - He tells us the college print shop screwed up and didn't deliver him any of the handouts he wanted copied, so he can't give us any handouts. Dammit! $400!
7:37pm - Attendance is taken. I contemplate answering to my name with a very nerdy, "Present!" but resist. One person in the class is a high school student.
7:40pm - He does work for NOAA, and more specifically, for this department. Awesome. Maybe I can become enough of a teacher's pet to earn a chance to see that office.
7:42pm - YES! He's planning a FIELD TRIP to the NOAA headquarters in March. I am about ready to run up front with pen in hand to sign up when he says he'll take sign-ups later. I write it down in huge letters on my notes: "Frickin' sign up for the field trip!"
7:50pm - He says because this is only an intro course and survey course, he won't be getting into math very much. I want to hug him.
8pm - He takes a moment to rip on TV meteorologists, saying they're not real meteorologists because they don't do all the schooling. I scoff, because I know what it takes to be a TV forecaster. And while he's right that it doesn't take the same intense study as just being a regular meteorologist, that does not mean it's an easy thing to do.
8:30pm - We go around the room and introduce ourselves. The best introduction is from a high school student who's taking the class. He says he hates high school and thinks it's dumb. I introduce myself as a nerd who's just taking this class for fun. Some in the class stare.
9pm - I start thinking up good nicknames for people in the class. There's Mr. Physics, Annoying Artist Girl, Punk Ass, Bored Mom, Zombie Guy, and Mall Queen.
9:50pm - The Professor is engaged in a deep explanation of basic physics and math, all while constantly saying, "I'm not going to be getting into math, but I have to explain this." And amazingly enough, I understand what he's explaining and find it fascinating.
10pm - I am the only person left in the class who is still paying attention. I'm pretty sure I'm only one who's been paying attention for the past 1/2-hour.
10:20pm - The bliss ends for the week. I skip out of the classroom and outside so Amy can pick me up. I *heart* school!
I can't wait to do my homework.
As I mentioned some time ago, I am a bit of a college student again. I'm taking an Introduction to Meteorology course at the local community college, and last night was my first class.
It. was. awesome.
I meant to take my digital camera so that Amy could snap photos of me with my backpack on my way to class, but of course, I forgot in all my excitement.
The class only meets once each week, so Tuesdays from 7:30 to 10:20pm are now chock full of good nerdy weather material for me. Last night I decided to make a time diary logging how I felt and what I was doing during class. Enjoy.
7:15pm - Arrive nerdily early for class. Wander through campus with giant smile on my face, wanting to cheerily greet each student I see. I resist the urge.
7:18pm - I enter the classroom and see I am not the only one to arrive nerdily early. Two other students sit before me. Average age so far: maybe 19.
7:19pm - Remove exceptionally organized binder, paper, and pens from my backpack and copy down everything from the projected computer screen before me.
7:20pm - Holy crap on a stick, the professor works for NOAA. This class is going to be awesome.
7:22pm - Fellow female classmate opens mini-blinds in classroom so she can stare at her hair in the reflection.
7:23pm - Still no prof. I hope he doesn't let us out early, because I friggin' paid friggin' $400 for this class, dammit. More students are arriving. Average age update: 20.
7:25pm - Becoming more apparent that no one else is taking this class for fun.
7:26pm - 18-year-old sitting next to me stops texting on his cell phone long enough to ask me if he's supposed to be writing stuff down, too.
7:27pm - Same guy realizes he bought the wrong book for this class. I tell him I got mine off Ebay for remarkably cheap. He looks at me like the nerd I am.
7:31pm - Still no prof. Tick tock, tick tock, professor, I can hear my $400 wasting away. Average age update: 22.
7:32pm - Professor shows up, looking everything the disheveled nerdy meteorologist should look like. He's also wearing his NOAA pin, and he uses the word mitigate several times during the first several minutes. I am excited.
7:36pm - He tells us the college print shop screwed up and didn't deliver him any of the handouts he wanted copied, so he can't give us any handouts. Dammit! $400!
7:37pm - Attendance is taken. I contemplate answering to my name with a very nerdy, "Present!" but resist. One person in the class is a high school student.
7:40pm - He does work for NOAA, and more specifically, for this department. Awesome. Maybe I can become enough of a teacher's pet to earn a chance to see that office.
7:42pm - YES! He's planning a FIELD TRIP to the NOAA headquarters in March. I am about ready to run up front with pen in hand to sign up when he says he'll take sign-ups later. I write it down in huge letters on my notes: "Frickin' sign up for the field trip!"
7:50pm - He says because this is only an intro course and survey course, he won't be getting into math very much. I want to hug him.
8pm - He takes a moment to rip on TV meteorologists, saying they're not real meteorologists because they don't do all the schooling. I scoff, because I know what it takes to be a TV forecaster. And while he's right that it doesn't take the same intense study as just being a regular meteorologist, that does not mean it's an easy thing to do.
8:30pm - We go around the room and introduce ourselves. The best introduction is from a high school student who's taking the class. He says he hates high school and thinks it's dumb. I introduce myself as a nerd who's just taking this class for fun. Some in the class stare.
9pm - I start thinking up good nicknames for people in the class. There's Mr. Physics, Annoying Artist Girl, Punk Ass, Bored Mom, Zombie Guy, and Mall Queen.
9:50pm - The Professor is engaged in a deep explanation of basic physics and math, all while constantly saying, "I'm not going to be getting into math, but I have to explain this." And amazingly enough, I understand what he's explaining and find it fascinating.
10pm - I am the only person left in the class who is still paying attention. I'm pretty sure I'm only one who's been paying attention for the past 1/2-hour.
10:20pm - The bliss ends for the week. I skip out of the classroom and outside so Amy can pick me up. I *heart* school!
I can't wait to do my homework.
posted by H at
11:05 AM
6 Comments:
Are you learning about stars? Or is that astronomy? Because Melissa & I could have used someone with astronomy knowledge at Pub Trivia on Monday.
okay, so this post made me laugh out loud. thanks for sharing it. so funny. i would have love to see the photos of you with your backpack. your wife must be so proud. lol.
shannon
http://www.livejournal.com/users/divinemaddness
Silly Tara, meteorology is about meteors.
Dork.
EricM
I don't recollect you being nearly this excited when we jointly scoffed at our Intro to Macro Economics professor every day for an entire quarter. Perhaps it was due to the overabundance of equilibrium in the room...
Just had to share this with everyone: My best friend was reading this post with me when she got stuck on the professors comments at 8 pm. She looks at me, wide-eyed and says in this incredulous voice, "I don't understand how they are not 'real' meteorologists. They have seals and EVERYTHING!"
Thank you for the very amusing insight into your weekly meteorology class...and I'd like to say that I did fair-to-middlin' on astronomy at pub quiz considering I haven't been into astronomy since I was, I dunno, eight.
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