Highmoon's Ponderings

The final grades were posted today, so that means that, officially, the Spring 2011 semester is over and done. How did I do? Overall, not bad.

• Human Anatomy: B
• Human Anatomy Lab: B
• Survey of Chemistry: C
• Chemistry Lab: B+

When the dust settled, my cumulative GPA is now 3.52.

This was the last semester of my pre-Nursing stage. Yes, I do still need one class, which I am taking now in Summer A, but really, this was it, the one semester with the heavy science classes, and the last one before I put in my application to the Nursing program at FIU by next week.

It wasn’t an easy semester, simply because both of these classes were all about memorization of tons of information. Seriously, it’s all about learning the info they threw at you by heart as much as possible. Especially Anatomy, these are foundation sciences, so they had a ton of material to cover in little time.

Overall I much preferred Anatomy; though I got a B, it was more due to a problem I’m noticing I have with exams (exam paper blank-out, I call it) than with not knowing the material. In fact, I know it well, and while I’m far from being to recite body parts like my professor, I can recall a huge amount of the anatomical info we covered. And let’s face it, this is the class with the Lab where we had four cadavers to study from. Little test tubes simply do not compare.

Chemistry was a nightmare, seriously. If I say that it was my least favorite class in my entire university career I would only be upsetting Statistics at being made to share that title. I found it tedious and of little interest. Though I give the professor credit for trying her best to make the class amenable, and kudos for being really good about explaining things, I have to take points away since she rarely, if ever, brought all that chemistry into the Health Sciences context. This class is specifically for Nursing, OT, PT, Nutrition, Health Sciences students, so you know the topic that is of interest to us: couch the chemistry in terms of our interest! Nope. The result was apathy on my part. Much like I don’t care in general how this blog, browser, software work in the back-end, just that they work for me on the user side, that’s how I feel about Chemistry.

Could I have done better? Always, really. I gave it my best most of the time, and pushed through the tiredness and despondency when they attacked, and here I am now, done.

A 3.5 is a good GPA, but I don’t know if it will be good enough for the Nursing program at FIU. I do have the ace in my hand that is my previous degree, which does add points to my GPA for purposes of their admissions calculations, so I’m hoping that, and my essay on why I wanna be admitted, will do the trick.

Next Tuesday, I start the Nursing Concepts class and next Friday I take the HESI exam (Nursing school entrance test), so I’ll report then.

Filed under: Nursing Tagged: FIU, Nursing

As I write this, Spring Break is soon to be over and honestly, for all that I’m happy that I had this week off, I’m ready to go back to classes. Don’t get me wrong, this mental vacation was needed and appreciated, but after a week off, I’ve lost my routine and thinking of going back to classes now makes me all bleh. Feeling bleh about my classes is not something I can afford, so I’m looking forward to using this break as a chance to recharge and mount a new, stronger attack upon my classes.

So what did you do during your spring break? Travel? Go to the beach (lord knows Miami Beach has been infested with the lot of you for the past 3 weeks and counting)? I’ll tell you what I did. Fundraising.

As my spring break vacation started, Japan got hit by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a 10-meter ensuing tsunami that, a week later, is still making its effects felt and revealing the lives it took (more than 8000 as of this writing and rising). I spent Friday putting together a fundraising bundle based around one of the roleplaying game sourcebooks I sell via my company, Highmoon Games, which is all about Tokugawa-era Japan. I then got in touch with a fellow geek and over the weekend we put together another 20-page RPG sourcebook based around Mythic Japan which as of Tuesday I announced as an incentive towards donations to help Japan. As I write this, the Japan Relief bundle has raised more than $1000 and the second product I co-wrote has driven at least half that much in donations to various organizations.

Some people have called me a good man for having done all this. I thank them for their kind words, but honestly, I am simply doing all that is within my power to help Japan recover from the 5th most powerful earthquake in recorded history. I made a decision that I would try to lead my life making an impact in the world, helping others whenever possible. This was just putting that in practice.

As I head back to classes, how am I doing so far? Honestly, I could be doing better:

• Anatomy Lecture: I got a 95 in exam 1, and a 78 in exam 2.
• Anatomy Lab: I got an 88 in exam 1, exam 2 is next week.
• Chemistry Lecture: I got a 76 in exam 1, 60 in exam 2.
• Chemistry Lab: No exams, but been doing well in my individual labs.

Of all those grades, the 78 in Anatomy is the one that hurts the most. I knew that material well, but there was just a lot of stuff to cover (skeletal and muscular system) and I missed enough details to drop like that. I still have two exams to go, so I gotta work to bring that up. I really want an A in Anatomy.

In Chemistry, though those numbers look horrible, the curve is such that those are actually a B and C. I have to put actual effort into this class–I simply do not like it–because I don’t want it to mess up my GPA at the end of the semester, but I can tell you, it’s gonna be hard work.

There’s just one more month of classes left and from now on I also gotta get ready to take the Nursing entrance exam and apply to the FIU School of Nursing as well as to other Nursing programs in the area, just in case. Lots of work, lots to do.

Filed under: Nursing Tagged: Charity, FIU, Nursing

Well, first month and a half, but who’s keeping track. Keeping the tradition from my last semester, this one has also been a busy one right from the start.

Over the winter break I started working at the FIU Bookstore, administered by Barnes & Noble, and it’s been a great little job. It also means that I’ve had little time off since the start of classes; if I’m not in class, I’m at work. Which is a good, if tiring, situation to be in. Though the start-of-classes rush has now died down and hours have been scaled back, I was kept past the temp period which bodes well for me. We’ll see once March rolls around as that’s when they have to make a choice if to keep me or let me go.

As far as classes, I was hoping this would be my last Pre-Nursing semester, but that won’t be the case. I am taking:

• Human Anatomy
• Human Anatomy Demonstration (Lab)
• Survey of Chemistry
• Chemistry Lab

In those four classes I have 9 credits, which is actually a lot for 2 classes and 2 labs. And let me tell you, that’s a good load right there. I was hoping to add Intro to Nursing to finish off my pre-reqs, but the class had a name change that wasn’t reported on the School of Nursing website so I couldn’t register on time. I’ll be taking it in the summer.

Anatomy is a survey of the human body and it’s at 6:40 AM twice a week. Yes, 6:40 AM. That’s just the way it is; no other sections, always at that time regardless of the semester it is taught. It’s not that bad, the early wake-up time aside. The professor is good and animated, a must for such an early class.

The Anatomy Lab is taught by the same professor and entails identifying on models and cadavers the various parts we study in the lecture. I was proud of myself for not batting an eyelash at the cadaver on the first day of class. Touching it has been a bit weird but I’m getting used to it. I will never eat beef jerky again, though. Yeah, you’re welcome.

Survey of Chemistry is, well, boring. Not really, Chem is interesting, but we’re going so fast over basic concepts in order to cover General, Organic and Bio Chemistry, that all it amounts to right now to me is “math with letters.” I’m finding I remember more material from my high school days than what has been taught in class. But I gotta trudge on.

Chem Lab is your standard mad scientist setup and as we start mixing things up in flasks and seeing strange reactions it gets better.

By now I’ve had exams in both classes and the Anatomy Lab. I got a 93/100 on my Anatomy lecture test, which was awesome, and while I just took my Anatomy Lab exam and have not seen the results I do expect to have done well, too. On my Chemistry lab I am not so sure; I think I did ok, but how ok is what remains to be seen.

Overall a good semester, a busy semester with lots of material to learn and memorize, plus work. I can see that Nursing program already on the horizon, though.

Filed under: Nursing Tagged: FIU, Nursing

Geez, has it been a semester already? I feel like it was one of those paradoxes, where time flew yet stood still. But, with the posting of final grades today that means the Fall semester is officially over, and with it, my first year back in school. I’ll tackle that milestone in a separate blog post; this one is all about the semester that just ended. To start, let’s look at what my grades looked like when all was said and done:

• Introduction to Microbiology: B
• Introduction to Microbiology Lab: B
• Principles of Nutrition: A
• Introduction to Statistics: C

First of all, let me say WOOHOO, I PASSED STATS!!! That out of my system, this is how this semester went down.

Frankly, this was a lot tougher a semester than I thought it would be when I registered for it. Though it was only 3 classes and a lab, it somehow drained a lot of my time: between learning 8-9 chapters of information per Microbiology exam, doing the near-endless stream of inane projects for Nutrition, and slamming my head against any and every hard surface I came across due to Statistics, I was challenged constantly to change my ways when it comes to learning and studying. In many ways, I was still relying on the techniques I learned while I did my English degree–things like mnemonics, batch memorization, association of general concepts in order to deduce the respective details from those later on–and while this certainly worked in some classes (well, really, only in Nutrition), it proved only of partial help in Microbiology and of no help in Statistics. Which means I had to re-learn how to study as well as dust off that ancient mystic art of crammin’.

On a personal level as well, this was a challenging semester, which added pressure and stress to my already heavy load. Midterms week, for example, was just bad all over, resulting in my worst Midterm’s performance ever, and I mean ever, including the years oh-so-long-ago when I went to school to eat shit. Thankfully I was able to recover from it and ended up with grades that I am actually happy with.

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Geez, has it been a semester already? I feel like it was one of those paradoxes, where time flew yet stood still. But, with the posting of final grades today that means the Fall semester is officially over, and with it, my first year back in school. I’ll tackle that milestone in a separate blog post; this one is all about the semester that just ended. To start, let’s look at what my grades looked like when all was said and done:

• Introduction to Microbiology: B
• Introduction to Microbiology Lab: B
• Principles of Nutrition: A
• Introduction to Statistics: C

First of all, let me say WOOHOO, I PASSED STATS!!! That out of my system, this is how this semester went down.

Frankly, this was a lot tougher a semester than I thought it would be when I registered for it. Though it was only 3 classes and a lab, it somehow drained a lot of my time: between learning 8-9 chapters of information per Microbiology exam, doing the near-endless stream of inane projects for Nutrition, and slamming my head against any and every hard surface I came across due to Statistics, I was challenged constantly to change my ways when it comes to learning and studying. In many ways, I was still relying on the techniques I learned while I did my English degree–things like mnemonics, batch memorization, association of general concepts in order to deduce the respective details from those later on–and while this certainly worked in some classes (well, really, only in Nutrition), it proved only of partial help in Microbiology and of no help in Statistics. Which means I had to re-learn how to study as well as dust off that ancient mystic art of crammin’.

On a personal level as well, this was a challenging semester, which added pressure and stress to my already heavy load. Midterms week, for example, was just bad all over, resulting in my worst Midterm’s performance ever, and I mean ever, including the years oh-so-long-ago when I went to school to eat shit. Thankfully I was able to recover from it and ended up with grades that I am actually happy with.

In Microbiology, it took the professor curving the grades a bit, but a B is a great grade, especially when Ds abounded in the 300+ class. This was the first time I have filled an entire spiralbound notebook cover to cover with class notes. Seriously, the entire notebook. I have classmates that actually used one-and-a-half notebooks! It was insane. It was this class that made me understand why doctors have such horrible handwriting. I don’t have much to add about Lab, except we got to see up-close a whole lot of microbes and I learned a bit too much about the lifeforms that live in various parts of my body. I’m gonna start charging them rent, is all I’m saying.

Nutrition was an okay class, but honestly, it was a wasted opportunity. The professor never made it more than just the slides she read from (badly, I might add), and by mid-semester she had just lost the class. Seriously, people went there to be present, but paid little attention. She just lost us, and never fully regained us as an audience. Whatever I learned there I learned on my own, and it sucks that I paid a couple hundred dollars simply to have a grade added to my transcript. It’s a shame, there was some info I really could have used now that I am taking better care of my body and doing exercise.

This was my second time taking Statistics, and frankly, as much as I hated the subject with a passion, I have to give kudos to my professor because he truly taught me and made me change my perceptions. Yeah, I could actually see myself liking statistics at some point. In the future. Maybe. But the possibility is there. He was also a funny professor to have, a non-nonsense, sarcastic German with a thick accent and a dry sense of humor that I found completely hilarious. I wouldn’t say I did great in the class, however this is one of those cases where grade achieved does not equal actual learning: I actually learned a lot more than my grade would suggest, I just had problems with the examinations (damned binomial distribution!!!). After the final I was not sure I would score high enough to pass the class, and have spent since last Friday agonizing over the possibility of having to repeat the class a third time. Thankfully I managed to get the C I needed to pass the class, so I’m done with math for the time being!

I’m glad it’s over. I was mentally exhausted coming back from Thanksgiving; I’m not entirely sure how I plowed through those last couple of weeks. I did a lot of prioritizing of assignments, even leaving some undone because I needed the time to work on something else that would be more influential in my final grade. It all paid off.

Next semester’s classes are already chosen and as soon as I can find one more class to make up the 12 credits I need for full-time status, I’ll be enrolled in the last semester of my Pre-Nursing phase. Bring it.

Filed under: Nursing Tagged: FIU, Nursing

Though I’ve been back at FIU since the start of this year, it’s only now in the Fall that I’m taking a significant number of classes in the main campus down south. It was in the Graham Student Center where one morning I saw this amazing beauty (click to enlarge):

This is the FIU Cruiser, a fully restored and customized steel-framed cruiser meant to be the pride of Florida International University.

I first read about the FIU Cruiser in a news article posted to FIU News back in August. Allow me to quote a couple passages:

John “Jay” Stewart has spent the last couple of months creating the ultimate FIU bike. It was a labor of love for Stewart, who works in Campus Services at Modesto A. Maidique Campus. He says he wanted to give the university, where he’s worked for more than 20 years, a token of his appreciation. He spent 40 hours stripping the 1950s era replica, painting it and adding all the bells and whistles.

Let me tell you, it is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty of a bike. Check out this video for some words from the creator:

It is currently being exhibited at the Barnes & Noble @ FIU Bookstore in the Graham Student Center at FIU Modesto Maidique Campus.

I wanna see the baby roll around campus, though. I wanna see it at all FIU games and events, and I want to see it at general city and county events where it can promote the university. Like, say, the upcoming Bike Miami Day in Downtown Miami.

If you can, drop by the university to check the bike out. If you’re an FIU student or alumnus, you almost have no excuse not to.