Back to School!

Hello! I’m finally back to catch everyone up on how my first two weeks of classes have gone!

I guess I’ll begin by talking about my first day of my senior year, which actually wasn’t anything too spectacular. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but it was rather anticlimactic. Unfortunately, Syllabus Day isn’t a thing anymore when you’re a senior, especially a senior math major—it’s just that much more time for lecture on methods of proof. The highlight of my first day was that I was able to purchase a parking permit at St. John’s, which saved me $70 and LOTS of undue stress of finding a parking spot! According to my friends with OSU permits, you have to be on campus by 8:00 AM just to find a halfway close parking spot, and if you’re not on campus until later in the morning, you might as well go to the overflow lots at the other end of campus. I’d love to understand why OSU hasn't built more parking garages or why they oversell their permits for their parking lots...or why they don’t have more parking in general. They should really consult some of my math professors to help them optimize this process…just saying!

Per my mom’s request, I had Rebecca help me get a first day of school picture! Actually, Rebecca took the picture and my friend William comically gave me pointers on how to pose for the picture (which mostly consisted of convincing me to wear my backpack in the picture)! What great friends!! 

Speaking of friends, here's a fun shot of Rebecca and I from the first student Mass of the year...I love our fancy dresses :)

So, what about my classes? Ah, yes, those. My first class is Educating Exceptional Learners, hereafter to be known as SPED. It is eye-opening to learn about how to educate students with various disabilities, but it is also frustrating, because this is only a two-credit-hour course that really should be a four-hour course. We only meet once a week, which you’d think that I’d prefer, but actually, I’d rather meet twice a week. We have LOTS of stuff to do in this class, including ten hours of service learning and an extensive group project, which will serve as our final. (Hence why I’d like to meet more than once per week.) Next class is Number Theory, which is taught by the same professor who taught Combinatorics last spring. He’s quirky and lots of fun, but his tests can be a bit of a drag…such is life! I also have Math Modeling, which is easily my most confusing class. It consists of doing four group projects using applied math, but our current project still confounds me (and everyone else in the class). I hope that we’ll figure it out soon! After Math Modeling, I have Methods of Teaching Geometry. I love our professor and my classmates, but I don’t love the ridiculous amount of paperwork we have in that class. (By paperwork, I really mean worksheets/junk that I have no clue what to do with.)

All the classes I just mentioned happen on M/MW/MWF, which make for incredibly long, mentally exhausting days! Fortunately, I only have one TR class, which is Geometry. It isn't too bad yet, so here’s hoping I’ll keep up with it! Also, on Thursday night, I have Wine Tasting!!! I enjoy this class and my half British-half French professor, who is pretty funny! For the record, we haven’t tasted any wine yet, but we will in two weeks! Oddly enough, out of all of my classes, I only have finals in Number Theory and Methods—every other class either has a big group project or just doesn't have a final test, and I think I’m going to be okay with that! What a way to end my actual undergrad coursework!

In the background of all of this, I also just finished my first week of tutoring. So far, I've only helped one girl, but I’m sure it’ll pick up as the semester rolls on. It could partially be due to the fact that I tutor so early and for such short times, but I didn't want to completely over commit, so it’ll be fine, I’m sure! As of right now, I only work on MWF mornings, usually for a couple of hours. Also, this weekend is my last weekend working at the lake. Friday was my day of craziness as I tutored, went to class, then came and worked at the lake all evening…not the most ideal set-up, but it’s the only time I’ll have to do that, so I won’t complain too much! I’m excited to get most of my weekends back to do what I wish with them, so yes, this is a little bit of a welcome relief!

Other fun stuff—I woke up very early on my second day of class to get in line to buy a few boxes of Colorado peaches for my mom! They are absolutely fantastic and very much worth getting in line at 6 AM. I ended up buying a box for myself to share with my friends, and they quickly became the talk of St. John’s! Rebecca wanted some fresh peaches so that she could bake a peach pie (she LOVES to bake!) and our friend Andrea also loves peaches, so it worked well. I didn't realize it until last week, but apparently Porter, OK is well-known for peaches and William proceeded to argue that they were much better than Colorado peaches. The jury’s still out on that one, but I’ll continue to stand by my position that Colorado grows the best peaches! :)

Last week was the first Contra dance of this semester, and it was a blast, as usual! There were lots of new faces, who I hope will continue to join us! I’m so happy that I decided to go outside of my comfort zone last year and unlock my love for dancing!!! Lots of great times!

This past week, I also started my Bible study up again! Yes, there were some new faces there, also, much to my delight! On an even better note, one girl from my study has decided to start her own study! I also never realized how much joy I could have found from guiding other young women in the study of Scripture, but it is a joy unlike any I have ever known. I’m excited that all of the girls made the choice to join, (no, it isn't something that is forced on them, in case you were curious) and I love that I get to be a part of their lives in that aspect!

If you have been keeping up with my homeownership woes from the past year, here’s another one for your list! Last Friday, I came home to mow my lawn before going to Contra dancing that evening. This is a relatively simple process, which ideally only takes about 20-30 minutes to complete, because my lawn isn't that expansive. Easy enough, right? Wrong. I've come to realize that Fridays are terrible days for me when it comes to my home. So what happened? Well, back in June, I bought a small push mower that has served me quite well thus far. It doesn't take much maintenance, it wasn't terribly expensive, and it is pretty easy to operate. So, I came home, changed clothes, and lathered up in sunscreen so I didn't burn to a crisp. I popped outside, pulled the lawnmower out from beneath the deck, and wheeled it out to start it up. I yanked the starter cord, and I went to yank it again…until I realized that the cord wasn't retracting. I fought with it for a few moments and realized that nothing could easily fix it. I also discovered that I have a limited supply of tools and that I was greatly spoiled by having all of my dad’s tools at my disposal for years. It appeared as though my starter cord was knotted, but the only way to unknot it was to take the plastic cover off of the top, which could only be done with a socket wrench. I ended up visiting Jeremy’s parents, who had tools I could borrow. Jeremy’s dad hadn't heard of anything like that ever happening and suggested that a spring was out and to call Lowe’s. (Really? Why does every little obscure thing have to go wrong for me?) After spending fifteen minutes on the phone with Lowe’s customer service people who were fairly easy to work with, they told me that they've “never heard of a starter cord being knotted”, to ensure that the mower handles were properly installed (???), and that I should just take it back to Lowe’s for a service call that could easily take 1-2 weeks to complete.

I’d like to pause for a moment and get on a bit of a soapbox. I go back to a conversation I had with one of my male friends about things that are difficult about being a girl. During our conversation, the only obvious thing I could think of was childbirth, but in retrospect I would add having to be a woman needing mechanical assistance. I’m sure that lots of other women have had this struggle—there is nothing I hate more than having to call for parts or customer service on anything mechanical. Even if it is 2014 and women have basically the same rights as men, some men who work in service departments are incapable of talking to women about mechanical things without coming off as condescending. I might not understand all of the inner workings of all motorized things, but I’m not completely ignorant, either. For heaven’s sake, I purchased, assembled, and operated this mower all by myself, and if the owner’s manual had any information that was actually useful, I wouldn't have even had to call this silly service line in the first place!! I have a dream that one day, I’ll be able to talk with any male service person without being talked to like I know nothing.

I digress, but guess what the problem was after all? The starter cord was knotted and easily fixed after I finally was able to remove the plastic motor cover. What started out as a thirty-minute chore turned into a two-hour ordeal that almost ended with the loss of my sanity! I’m over it, and I really hope that things start working better!!

On a happier note, last Saturday was Gina’s birthday and we had a lovely celebration for her that evening! Even better, tomorrow, Mister Cody will turn ten! WHAT?!?! I swear he was just born, but nope, he’s ten, in fourth grade, and almost as tall as I am! Speaking of, I have some wonderful pictures of he, Wyatt, Kyle, and Andy’s first day of school! They are pretty evenly spaced, with Cody in fourth, Wyatt in third, Kyle in second, and Andrew in kindergarten, all at Pleasant Vale and all on the same bus! Before we know it, little Cole will be in pre-K! Yikes!!

(I would include pictures, but I realize that I haven't uploaded them yet. Maybe next time...)

On that note, I’ll end it there, and hope that everyone has a great, safe Labor Day weekend!!!