Survived My First Exam

I had my first exam today. I was nervous, but I had studied hard for it. It went really well! If anything I was overprepared. I really took the time to make sure I understood everything. There were a few things I was struggling with and I looked them up online or later in my textbook b/c I didn't want to get tripped up.

The exam covered a lot of material, especially the last chapter of the book that was on the test, which was an overview of all the parts of the cell, and was by far the longest chapter we'd covered, and was really dense, chock full of parts and processes and terms and tons of information that was different than the previous material (we basically went from some basic biochemistry stuff, building blocks, lots and lots of chemistry, to cell biology and there were just so many processes to understand).

And really, when I sat down to take it, it was easy. I didn't have to know half of what I had roaming in my brain from the material. I could have gotten away with studying a lot less, but hey, now I really understand some shit that will probably come back later on, so it's all good.

There were a few questions that were a bit tricky, maybe three out of the fifty, that I'm not totally sure I got right, but overall it was a lot easier than I expected.

I have to say I am feeling pretty good. I am not in the concurrent chemistry class that most people are taking, b/c I can't afford to, and even so they are thinking of making the chemistry class a prerequisite for our class, so I was worried about not having that background, but hey, I'm doing fine.

And best of all, I'm enjoying it! I really enjoy the prof. She gives sooo many relatable examples. I always used to think of myself as a physics person when it came to science, and it's like, oh shit, this is way more interesting and feels more, just relatable I guess, more earthly. I am loving it. My prof is funny and always throws jokes in and the only downside is she talks really fast so it can be hard to catch things, but all the notes are on blackboard, so it works out. Today's lecture (after the exame was over) involved erections, LOL. And viagra! But that is exactly what I mean, it's easy to pay attention and stay engaged in the class when you use examples like that. She mentioned tonight that she will be teaching the winter term of the class (up until now, it seemed to be up in the air), so I'm psyched to be able to continue with her as my prof.

I do sometimes wish class wasn't so huge. We have almost 300 people (a lot more of them were there today, since it was test day), so it is a bit hard to get to know people, except the ones in my lab group. I mean the class is just huge. I am taking another one-credit class (needed that to get financial aid) and that ended up being really huge too.

Gotta say, it is so nice to be in school as an adult. I am thrilled to be at PSU, b/c there are tons of other adult students, I am nowhere near oldest in my class, and that is nice. It makes me glad I made the decision for this school. And as I've said before, there are other disabled students (a few others in my class even). It's just nice to feel like I'm not outside of the student body. It also helps that my class is a night class. But yeah, it's great to be in such a different situation as last time I was in school. It's nice that I can come home to my studio apartment, that there isn't the whole feel of college being a big extension of high school with all its social bullshit. It just has a totally different feel to it this time around.

Last weekend in lab (yes I have a lab on the weekend, Saturday afternoon actually), we looked at e. coli and baker's yeast and some other things under the microscope, looked at some pond creatures and fossils as well. It kinda freaked me out, I've had bad experiences with lab classes before, and always kind of dread the microscope because of it, but it went well. I have my lab assistant now, which is a help, but I also did a lot of it myself. She's there to help if I need it, show me things that the TA is demonstrating in the front of the class, stuff like that. And she gets paid by the school. It is a pretty cool system.

Anyway I'm off for a good night's rest so that I can get up and do homework for my one-credit class and my lab, and make sure I don't fall behind on reading for the next test.

Life is good.

Student Life

Some general observations:

Things have changed A LOT since the last time I was in school, which was only seven years ago! I had to learn how to use Blackboard (online class program thing) for all my classes. It has its own separate email for each class, as well as discussion boards, review material, lecture notes, posted grades and assignments (some of which are completed solely via the web). Also, for my first lab class we had to make charts and graphs on Excel, which I've never used (luckily one of my lab partners is proficient).

It's not only the technology, but the material. Back when I was in high school, we had to memorize these classification groups for biology, you know, Kingdom, Phyllum, Order...all the way to Species. It turns out that is a bit outdated. Now they are mapping species similarity using genetics and it turns out that fungi are more similar in genetic makeup to humans and animals than they are to plants or algae. The mapping ends up looking like a tree-ish sort of thing.

I am really, really glad I chose school over the Denver Center. My mind feels engaged for the first time in ages, in real challenging material. I haven't taken bio or chem (and there is a lot of chemistry involved in this first term of bio) since I was in my first two years of high school. I remember parts of it from back then, which helps (and chem hasn't changed), so it's stirring up old knowledge but really expanding it. And we are covering material FAST. This is the start of my third week, and we're already on chapter seven of a huge book, and having our first exam next week. So it's been a lot of material, and challenging material, but I feel like I am keeping up.

And! I have learned some cool things:
My friend loves this one: In the human liver there are two enzymes that break down alcohol, one that does it fast and one that takes more time. Some people don't have the faster one, so their bodies have a harder time handling drinking, and the person gets super flushed (and pretty drunk) like immediately and just in general can't handle much of anything to drink. So if you are ever in need of an excuse to not drink and feeling peer pressure, you can blame it on your enzymes (or lack thereof).

Red blood cells look like donuts with a dimple instead of a hole.

I don't know if other things I've learned will interest anyone (and are a bit complex), but I've also learned about how snake venom works, how detergent (as in laundry soap) works, the basic gist of what causes mad cow disease, and lots of other fun things. Now when I get out of the shower, I think about Hydrogen bonds (water adheres to the body via H bonds, hair is more malleable and less stiff, also due to H bonds). I have to say, it's early, only had five lecture classes so far, but I am loving it. And I really like my prof. She brings in these really practical examples of the processes we're learning about and she takes time to answer questions in class and discuss things, while still moving through the material quickly.

And I feel like I'm keeping up. I'm staying on top of the reading (which is a LOT), getting practice questions right at the ends of chapters, getting questions in class right (it's a huge lecture, almost 300 students, and so we have multiple choice questions in class and we have to hold up our answers, it's not for grading, more for us to check ourselves and how well we're following). The upcoming exam feels intimidating, but I think I'll do well. I'm expecting a lot out of myself, hopefully not unrealistically. I definitely expect straight A's.

Lab is a bit more challenging, mostly for me visually but I should be getting an assistant soon. The first week we played with plant pigments from red cabbage (which luckily had already been distilled and all, so there was no smell), and this past week we extracted our DNA and put it through the same process as you would to do a PCR test (which is what is used for crime scene investigation, paternity testing, testing for genetic conditions, etc) and also got to really visualize and play with the rules of protein folding by playing with big foam noodles!

I am only taking six credits - that was the perfect balance where I could still get financial aid and enroll, and have enough aid/student loans left over to cover living expenses in case it takes me a bit to find a job (apparently the job market here in Portland really blows) - but it certainly feels like a full load of classes. There is a lot of reading for lab which is separate from the reading for lecture and we have quizzes every week (pretty sure I aced the first one, if anything I was overprepared). And then I have a one-credit class on Fridays that requires a lot of thoughtful, written responses, even though it's only one-credit and is pass/fail only.

So yeah, school is great!

For my Orcas peeps - hate to say this but I'm not coming up for Women's Wellness Weekend. I have my one-credit class on Fri, my lab on Sat, and assignments due for both that weekend, and my second exam is the day after the weekend ends, soooo not this time. Hopefully my schedule will be different next term and I can make it for the Spring one and read the shit out of some tarot cards for all the ladies! This time around though, school's gotta come first. It looks different, being older, and paying for school myself, and I feel committed to making it my first priority.

Anyway that's the quick update about classes. Still loving my place and my location, so happy I chose PSU as my school, and really scored on apartment location. My friend Holly is visiting, which has been really nice to have a friend around. We've done some shopping and arranging for my new studio apartment and exploring some of the local places to eat and areas of Portland. It's been fun and after she leaves tomorrow I will have to buckle down for some hard core studying for next week's exam.

Going to a few more upcoming shows too - Ani DiFranco, who I've always wanted to see, and the week after that, Joshua Radin, who I've posted here before. I can't decide if he's a real genuine songwriter, or kind of a tool, LOL, but maybe the live show will help me figure that out. Can't believe I'm actually going to see someone live who I discovered via Grey's Anatomy. What is this world coming to??

Albinism Special on 20/20 Tomorrow (Friday)

Well I've been a bit out of the loop - heard about this awhile ago but didn't know it was coming up until a friend forwarded me an email. Here it is:

UPDATE: 20/20 Special: Overcoming Social Stigma of Albinism
Scheduled to air Friday, October 2nd at 10pm Eastern/9pm Central

Albinism
ABC News has added web articles and video clips to its site promoting the planned hour-long albinism special, scheduled to air on 20/20 this Friday evening. Visit the 20/20site for the latest information.

In support of tomorrow's 20/20 broadcast about albinism, NOAH invites members to contact their local ABC news station to offer to do an interview on the topics of living with albinism and/or living with a child with albinism to bring greater awareness to albinism in your community.

Here is the NOAH site: www.albinism.org.

I don't have TV and it probably won't be surfacing where I usually get my TV shows, so would be curious to hear what others think - I know I have at least a handful of readers who also have albinism. There really are some social stigmas that go aong with albinism - about the eyesight and the paleness. I personally a very glad that NOAH exists. I remember going to conferences when I was a kid, and feeling like those times, along with going to blind camp, were the only times I didn't feel like a complete outcast freak. So, I am glad the condition is getting some more positive exposure. I hope this show will also help clear up some common misconceptions that can still be prevalent.

I encourage everyone who can to watch!

On a side note, when I first got the email about this, I wasn't thinking of the show 20/20 and was just thinking eyesight, lol.

I'll be doing my own part, in a personal revolution sort of way (though a really subtle one) to overcome some stigma (more about visual impairment in general I guess) by starting to maybe take on something. And no, you don't get to know what it is, not unless or until it develops further. Cryptic enough?

Anyway, watch the show!


Currently Listening:
"No Surprises" - Radiohead - it's been in my head since the House premiere. I'm not hugely into Radiohead, and this song has kind of caught me off guard.

A heart that's full up like a landfill,
a job that slowly kills you,
bruises that won't heal.

You look so tired-unhappy,
bring down the government,
they don't, they don't speak for us.

I'll take a quiet life,
a handshake of carbon monoxide,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
Silence, silence.

This is my final fit,
my final bellyache,

with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises please.

Such a pretty house
and such a pretty garden.

No alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises, please.