My Meteorology final was last Friday, so for this week that left Physics, Calculus II, and Computer Programming. Physics was Monday night from 5:15-7:30pm. I am not a night person. By that time I'm usually getting ready for bed. I've also had a cold.
I packed a sensible lunch to eat just before my final and headed off to school to get settled before the test. When I got to campus I realized I had left my lunch on the couch. Booo!!!
More than anything else, food is my most important value. More than good studying, more than a good cheat card of notes, more than coffee. Food is most important. More than sleep really. I would have to get Jamba Juice and hope for the best.
Also I have a cold.
I took Sudafed, Tylenol, and Motrin and headed off to the Jamba Juice on campus. I had two tissues in my pocket. After ordering a smoothie with whole grain boost (more filling), I turned around and eyed the Peet's Coffee behind me. Sure, why not? I ordered a double shot of espresso while I waited for my smoothie.
Off I headed through the rain to my Physics exam. I slurped the smoothie as I waited for my espresso to cool, downed the espresso and continued on the smoothie. Finished it off, peed for the last time before the exam and settled in.
Not even halfway through the exam my tissues were used up and unable to be re-used. It was cold in there, so I had a jacket on and therefore could not access my sleeves. Ugh. I sniffled out of control until the end of the exam.
I went home, blew my nose, had dinner and took a hot bath. I splashed the hot water on my face to soothe my sinuses and said loudly "Mushy brain, mushy brain! Ugh!"
And then remembered how thin my walls are. I wonder what my neighbors think of me sometimes.
Tuesday I was off. I went to the gym and came home to tackle studying for Calculus and Programming. They would be back to back Wednesday morning, starting with a 2 hour calculus exam and then on to a 2 hour programming exam.
My friend in the other section of calculus texted me after he had taken the exam and told me it was on rocket science. The whole thing. I'm a spaceman with a rocket ship. Ready go. Crap.
I studied as much as I could of the other stuff we were supposed to know, made an epic cheat sheet and left room on there for rocket science.
I googled calculus and rocket science. I pulled up NASA's webpage and a couple others and proceeded to dive into a crash course on rocket propulsion. Exhaust velocity, thrust, varying masses, air drag. Just to name a few. I walked through their equations on a launch as well as flying a rocket at constant velocity on earth and then in space. I put the equations on to my cheat sheet and then attempted to study for Programming.
Nope.
Wasn't going to happen. Oh well. Tomorrow morning.
I got a good lunch all pulled together and went to bed.
I got up this morning and studied for Programming, ate a good breakfast, packed my lunch (and remembered to bring it with me). I was prepared. I had a protein shake, a pear, rice and beans, sweet potato with cottage cheese, cheese curds for if I needed a snack during the calc exam, a small thermos of coffee, a bottle of water, a roll of toilet paper for my nose, a small bag to throw used toilet paper in, my calculator, cheat sheets, pencils, erasers, and an attitude that at this point, I have done what I can. I can do no more.
I took no Sudafed, only Tylenol and Motrin. I didn't need to unnecessarily get my nose going. It's already raw.
No joke. The calc test was on rocket science. How did I do? Who knows. Here's the interesting thing about my calculus class. No one knows where they're at. The average test grades for both mid terms were F's. Apparently he grades on a large curve. I also failed both mid-terms, but the second one I didn't fail as badly as most people, which is the important part. Just gotta stay ahead of that curve.
I finished the exam 20 minutes early which gave me plenty of time to eat and pee before my next exam. The girls were happy to see me walk in as they all wanted my notecard to copy-which was crappy anyway. I talked them through a few examples I had written down. I downed some coffee, blew my nose, set up snacks, tissue and my trash bag around my desk.
Off we went. We had a written part that was slightly more challenging than I expected. Then we had a programming part. Parenthesis got the best of me today. In two different programs I struggled and tried to work around errors. In the second program there was no working around it. Something was wrong with my code and it wouldn't run. Why can't the operands be used for this case?!
The computer likes to give vague errors for your program but not any suggestions on how to fix it. The instructor announced there were ten minutes left. And I had no idea how to get my code to run.
Aaarrghh!!!!! I wanted to yell. I was so frustrated.
I clicked back and forth between different codes.
Then....
Wait....
How many parenthesis are there....
Oh geez. I added a couple more and it fixed everything. My plot popped up and I almost yelled out loud. I may have jumped silently in my seat, I don't remember. I made a legend, saved it, and copied it to my instructor's folder.
Now I'm home. I've taken out the trash. Beside me sits a cup of hot chocolate with a few shots if Irish Cream in it. We get our grades on Christmas Eve. Nice. That's when I will know whether or not I failed calculus. Great Christmas present.
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