This has been a very blah week. I know I haven't posted in awhile. It's just one more thing I have to do. The end of my (hopefully one and only) senior year in college is winding down, but the course work is building up. I am currently working on four video/editing projects for my one post-production class. One is due monday, the other wednesday, the next one a week from wednesday, and the other one in about a month. That's just one class.
I have a group project in my other class, a couple audio projects in another, and two more wonderful finance tests to look forward to. I love finance. (Note: use sarcastic tone when reading previous statement). On our last test, not a single person passed. Then he gives us a bell curve. So while the person who failed by only a few points gets 50 points added to his/her test, I only get 30 points added to mine, not even giving me a C. And we have another test in two weeks over three chapters. We didn't even cover half of one chapter this past monday.
It's at times like these I begin to wonder, why me? I mean, I have been working for four years to graduate in only four years. I worked hard to make sure all my credits transferred correctly so I wouldn't have to retake any classes. And now it seems as if this one class is going to keep me from that. I studied the entire weekend before my test and it did nothing. My teacher isn't even a professor, just some guy with years of business experience and negative years of teaching experience. I almost want to quit.
I'm tired of it. I'm tired of school, I'm tired of being taught book knowledge, I'm tired of being in Orlando. Though I still haven't been to Disneyworld. Instead of telling me how to use a computer-based video editing system, show me how. I'm tired of reading all about "what makes a nicely framed shot." I could do all the things a book tells me and still not have a good shot. The only way to know is to go out there and shoot. Books are fine, but hands-on, real world experience is better.
I am running sound for the news show at school and I hate it. The "talent" never gets there on time. I'm setting up all the sound equipment then I wait around to do mic checks and levels. But they don't get there when they are supposed to so I'm running around until 2 minutes before the show starts trying to fix problems and running out of time and then I get "yelled" at after the show because sound stuff wasn't right and told I need to look over my script before the show. I would if I got the script more than 15 minutes before the show and had time to look over it and fix problems. I hate news.
I'm also running sound for some live field productions, like sporting events and concerts at school. That's fun. People are there on time, doing their jobs and I'm getting real-world experience. Sure, the days are long, but they are fun. It's always different. Why can't I just be graduated already? Just let me pass finance and be done with school. I don't want to go back. Once I'm done, I'm done. Only 41 days to go. They can't come fast enough.
Welcome to the world of randomness, ramblings, and reflections. Enter with caution.
20 March 2004
24 February 2004
does not compute
K, so I reformatted my hard drive cause it kept getting stupid programs on it hiding themselves from termination. Well, I don't have those little pests anymore, but apparently my computer doesn't seem to recognize that I have a sound card, a modem, or a network card. So until I get that all up and running, I have to take time and go up to the labs at school. I hate my computer.
10 February 2004
U Can't Finish = UCF
i hate school. No, really. I hate school. I only have three classes this semester. Not hard, right? Shouldn't be too bad, right? Wrong.
My video post-production class isn't so bad. Didn't do well on the test, but did well on the first project. Tests only make up like 20% of our grade, it's the projects that carry the most weight. And I tend to do well on my projects.
My media class, piece of pie. I got a 93 on the first test without even trying, and an 83 on the second. If I actually studied for that class, I would make even better grades. And studying for it isn't so hard. A couple of chapters and most of it is stuff I've heard before in my other classes.
Then there was finance. I'm the only person in my finance class (or the only person with enough guts to say so) who hasn't had a statistics class and is not a business major. My teacher is under the impression that statistics is required for the class. It's not. I checked. He even has the prerequisites listed on his syllabus and there's no statistics listed there. It's not even required for the minor.
So we get back our first test and because of a 12 point curve (to benefit, not punish, yeah right) I got a 69. That means I would have had a 47 if there was no curve. Did he teach us anything that was on that test? No! All he does is tell stories of how he married a woman 23 years younger than himself, about the time he went golfing with the CEO of International Paper Company, and so on. When he does actually talk about financial stuff, he uses terms I've never heard before, and yet won't explain them. I talked to him after class last week for about 20 minutes explaining to him that I didn't understand even half of what he was saying and asked what I could do, or if he could explain things. He said "I've found that the first 60% of the class students will struggle with the terminology." I'm thinking, if you know we won't understand what you're saying, why say it without explaining it? He also told us before the test that only 20% of the class, if that much, would get more than half of the questions right. Why give us the exam if you know most of us are going to fail?!?!
The highest score on the test (before the curve) was 28 out of 40. The lowest was 12. Average was 19. I only got 17 out of 40 right. Less than half. And that was the easiest test we were going to have? What's wrong with this man?!?!?!
So I go to the finance department today and explain that I am not understanding anything my teacher says, that he just tells stories, and he's expecting us to have had statistics. I ask if I can get switched to a different teacher's class so I can actually learn the material. It's apparently too late in the semester to do that. The said there's a help desk for this course, though. I thought great!! My teacher isn't even using the same book as all the other teachers, which is the book the people at the help desk use. I'm beginning to wondering if my teacher knows that my class is the introduction and overview to finance. Then I thought, the help desk could be beneficial, they said they could still probably figure out what's being covered in my class. But if I don't know what we need to know, how am I going to get help with those things so I can pass the class? What if the things I actually do understand isn't on the test? I feel helpless right now. I feel stupid in my class because I don't know what's going on, and I am so tired of school; I just want to be done with it.
UCF. No wonder they call it U Can't Finish.
My video post-production class isn't so bad. Didn't do well on the test, but did well on the first project. Tests only make up like 20% of our grade, it's the projects that carry the most weight. And I tend to do well on my projects.
My media class, piece of pie. I got a 93 on the first test without even trying, and an 83 on the second. If I actually studied for that class, I would make even better grades. And studying for it isn't so hard. A couple of chapters and most of it is stuff I've heard before in my other classes.
Then there was finance. I'm the only person in my finance class (or the only person with enough guts to say so) who hasn't had a statistics class and is not a business major. My teacher is under the impression that statistics is required for the class. It's not. I checked. He even has the prerequisites listed on his syllabus and there's no statistics listed there. It's not even required for the minor.
So we get back our first test and because of a 12 point curve (to benefit, not punish, yeah right) I got a 69. That means I would have had a 47 if there was no curve. Did he teach us anything that was on that test? No! All he does is tell stories of how he married a woman 23 years younger than himself, about the time he went golfing with the CEO of International Paper Company, and so on. When he does actually talk about financial stuff, he uses terms I've never heard before, and yet won't explain them. I talked to him after class last week for about 20 minutes explaining to him that I didn't understand even half of what he was saying and asked what I could do, or if he could explain things. He said "I've found that the first 60% of the class students will struggle with the terminology." I'm thinking, if you know we won't understand what you're saying, why say it without explaining it? He also told us before the test that only 20% of the class, if that much, would get more than half of the questions right. Why give us the exam if you know most of us are going to fail?!?!
The highest score on the test (before the curve) was 28 out of 40. The lowest was 12. Average was 19. I only got 17 out of 40 right. Less than half. And that was the easiest test we were going to have? What's wrong with this man?!?!?!
So I go to the finance department today and explain that I am not understanding anything my teacher says, that he just tells stories, and he's expecting us to have had statistics. I ask if I can get switched to a different teacher's class so I can actually learn the material. It's apparently too late in the semester to do that. The said there's a help desk for this course, though. I thought great!! My teacher isn't even using the same book as all the other teachers, which is the book the people at the help desk use. I'm beginning to wondering if my teacher knows that my class is the introduction and overview to finance. Then I thought, the help desk could be beneficial, they said they could still probably figure out what's being covered in my class. But if I don't know what we need to know, how am I going to get help with those things so I can pass the class? What if the things I actually do understand isn't on the test? I feel helpless right now. I feel stupid in my class because I don't know what's going on, and I am so tired of school; I just want to be done with it.
UCF. No wonder they call it U Can't Finish.
08 February 2004
i hate windows
Somehow my Windows operating system seems to be constantly allowing programs to load themselves on my computer, making it impossible for me to access the internet from my computer. So until I wipe out my hard drive, this is the last post for a little bit. This also explains why I haven't been able to post for awhile. I need a Mac.
30 January 2004
Whoo-hoo!!!
I just bought tickets for Third Day!! May 7, 2004 is my favorite day of the year!! Happy Birthday to me!! Thank you, Daddy! Third Day is the best band ever!!! Finally something goes right for me. I'm going to see Third Day!! Whoo-hoo!!!!!
27 January 2004
Orlando Weather
10:30 a.m. - I can't get the a/c in my car to start fast enough.
7:30 p.m. - I can't get the heater in my car to start fast enough.
And I thought Texas was weird.
7:30 p.m. - I can't get the heater in my car to start fast enough.
And I thought Texas was weird.
25 January 2004
H2O
So I'm trying to find a church out here in Orlando. I'm only going to be here for a couple more months, but I figure it's something I need to do since leaving the church I was attending.
I went to H2O, a church currently meeting inside of a movie theatre on sundays, and I enjoyed it. A very casual church. I could go in my big camo pants if I wanted to and not feel out of place. Worship was interesting; it was like being at UBC where David Crowder leads worship, only David Crowder wasn't there. His songs were, though!!
I enjoyed the sermon, too. The pastor wasn't a shouter. I don't like shouters. Anywho, it was cool. We'll see what happens.
I went to H2O, a church currently meeting inside of a movie theatre on sundays, and I enjoyed it. A very casual church. I could go in my big camo pants if I wanted to and not feel out of place. Worship was interesting; it was like being at UBC where David Crowder leads worship, only David Crowder wasn't there. His songs were, though!!
I enjoyed the sermon, too. The pastor wasn't a shouter. I don't like shouters. Anywho, it was cool. We'll see what happens.