It's finished!

I turned in my FINAL capstone assessment tonight - 5 minutes early! I couldn't believe it. I think I sat there for like 5 minutes just staring at the "send" button and staring at the short 3 sentence message I sent with it. I sat at my computer paranoid for about 10 minutes too. I kept thinking "did I remember to do this?" "add that?" "did I make this sound better?" etc. But, you know, it's gone. It's all up to Judy now on how good it actually is. I feel sort of at a loss...I've got a week to make my presentation and then on finals' week I will be practicing it like mad (2 required ones for the class and probably at least once for Judy/Bonnie). Friday at 1:15pm is my time slot for the presentation. 15 minutes (including Q&A session). Wow...gotta learn how to consolidate well!

Anyway, I am feeling perpetually behind schedule right now. Getting sick this past weekend was NOT in my plan and it has knocked me for a loop. It's 12:40am right now and I'm blogging instead of writing my marine cons lit review (last one!!). Tomorrow during my 4 hours in between class, I have to study for my last grad class quiz. That thing is 50 points and is worth 10% of my grade! I'm pulling a 91% in the class right now. I don't even want to think about what my grade will end up being if I don't do well on this quiz. Quiz is only two questions too.

Anyway, with that...I just wanted to say my capstone is FINISHED. Judy e-mailed me saying "relax and enjoy the rest of the term." Relax?! Hahaha...right...

Anyway...off to do my lit review and hit the sack. I'm running on 4.5 hours of sleep right now.

Well, there went that idea...

Okay. I'm NOT reorganizing my capstone. It'd be better (easier for the reader to follow along), but would simply take too much work to reorganize it at this late of a date. I interwove some sections too tightly to be able to just cut-paste sections to where they need to go. I'd have to restructure entire paragraphs, rewrite some other paragraphs completely, etc.

So I e-mailed Judy to let her know. We'll see what she says. She did say in the last e-mail if it wasn't too much trouble. It is. Thus, it's not happening. LoL

Is it over yet?

It's a quarter till 2am right now as I right this. My final capstone assessment is DUE in...*counts*...about 18 hours. I'm feeling pretty good about my capstone and actually not feeling rushed to the last possible minute.

I've gone through all the prelim edits from everyone whose read my capstone. Those took a few hours. I'm moving around the order of my capstone now. Once I do that...I've got a list of things I need to do.

• Fix last paragraph in abstract
• Add "systems approach" to intro (worded and then appendix actual diagram)
• Make clearer my accomplishments and limitations through my paper so others know where to make this paper have statistically significant results (Judy sort of did that for me in my conclusion, but the rest of the paper needs a bit of work)
  
• Move methods part from intro to beginning of methods (debating that move)
• Start with research questions/hypotheses at the beginning of methods (debating that)
• Write an intro to my results and discussion section
• Check tense of results
• Eliminate first-person writing (wherever I have it left)
• Read over results/discussion sections to make sure they flow and don't repeat too much

Yup, that's my list. I also realized (I almost forgot about this) that the LAST Academic Planning Committee meeting is tomorrow from 12-2pm. Ugh. There goes 2 hours of potential writing!

Once my capstone is in...I have to write my marine cons lit review (last one!), study for my grad class quiz on Thurs, start writing my marine cons paper (due on Tues), and create my marine cons pres (for Tues). That's what I have to do in a week. After that...I need to create my capstone pres (need it in 1.5 weeks), do my physics demo/paper, study for finals, and get through my last two physics hws and quizzes.

Is that seriously all I have left? Wow...I also need to sleep, eat, get better, and address my grad announcements.

Okay...Time to finish this capstone junk for tonight and SLEEP!

Capstone First Assessment

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!! I got a 28/36 on my first assessment of my capstone. That's an A-! (I know, technically that's a C+, but the grading scale for capstones is different.) I almost passed the first time around, except I missed an entire section (oops) so I got a zero and that automatically disqualifies you from passing your assessment. This is an amazing relief that I'm so close now. LoL I seriously thought I wouldn't pass a few sections all together. So I'm so excited I ended up with an A- my first go-around. I thought it'd be a B or less.

I just need 3 more points to get an A (31-34 points) and be eligible for distinction in my major!!!!!!!

Sections - points:
Cover letter - 3/3
Abstract/summary - 2.5/3
Systems approach to environmental decision making - 0/5 (oops!)
area of depth in policy competency - 4/5
Natural science competency - 5/5
Clarity of writing - 3.5/5
Project originality, complexity, and student initiative - 5/5 (I better have gotten a 5 on this section!)
Real-world application - 5/5

*rant*

People are idiots.

[Disclaimer: I apologize to anyone who does this and reads this, but I have to say it somewhere and there is NO way I'm responding to this listserv like others have.]

I got onto this listserv from Penn State because of the GRE. They sent this e-mail about a new degree to probably hundreds of people and the e-mail address is a listserv from Penn State. These STUPID people keep responding saying "please remove me from your list." Of course it sends the e-mail to EVERYONE on the listserv. So I've been getting like 20 e-mails a day from people asking to be removed. If they just didn't RESPOND no one would keep getting these e-mails! A few people have responded saying "don't respond to this e-mail because it fills up everyone's boxes," but of course no one is listening. How stupid are people? Really! It annoys the heck out of me that I keep getting all these emails with "please remove me." I simply delete them so it's not that big of an issue, but people just don't get if they don't respond, they won't get e-mails. It makes me want to bash my head into my keyboard or something. Stupidity I tell you! Stupidity!

[/rant]

This Saturday is the Award Convocation. I will be getting my cord!

I found out tonight my grad class final is on Monday the week of finals instead of Thursday (when our class is) because our professor is leaving early for the summer. Lovely. That means I go from 2-5pm for my physics final and from 6-9pm for my grad class final. Woohoo! Of course, both profs don't think either final will take 3 hours, but they give us the entire class time. Tuesday, the week of finals, is my physics demo and my marine conservation bio final. Wednesday and Thursday will be capstone presentation practices (not too bad). Friday is capstone presentation. Saturday is graduation. AHHHHHHHHHH

3 weeks from this Sat....Oh.my.gosh. I am SO not ready for the semester to be over with. I need another week or two! Capstone assessment two (and the final assessment) is due next Wednesday. I still haven't received my first assessment back, yet. *raises eyebrows*

Okay, with that. Time to sleep

Why are tests so expensive?!

So I was looking at application deadlines for grad schools and was trying to figure out Edinburgh's deadline. I never found it, but I did find out (I think this is the case) that I have to take an English test to indicate I know English. I have to take the IELTS (closest test center is in San Fran and the test costs $160) or the TOEFL ibt (MIGHT be able to take it in Monterey at $150 anywhere). Yay...Though, I'm hoping I only have to take one or the other and not both. I figured this out AFTER I e-mailed the department I'm interested in at Edinburgh. Oops. Oh well. I'm still not 100% sure I HAVE to take the test or whether I have to take both (that'd be kind of dumb if I have to take both...) so that e-mail response will still be useful. I'll have to go back and check deadlines again.

I found out University of Washington (Seattle) is on a quarter system. I've never been on the quarter system and I've always heard it's not as good as the semester system...so that's a bit of a bummer. UofWA has its advantages, though. It's got a nice program (many graduates from the GSP were from UofWA); Judy knows at least one person there; they've got a few HAB experts up there; and it's "cheap." It's a competitive program, though. It says on the the Marine Affairs page that it's competitive and high GRE scores help. Uh...that's not me! So I guess I'm definitely taking them over again. Shucks. There goes another $150 and a drive up to San Jose. Why is trying to get into grad school so expensive? I guess it makes up for my lack of effort and expense for my Bachelors!

I still need to look at some other schools too. I've only been looking at Edinburgh, Washington, and Columbia (my top 3 in no particular order).

Okay, off to bed I go.

Grad School Stuff

So...I was informed of this totally cool thing that NOAA does. It's their Graduate Sciences Program. A classmate told the class about it when we had a speaker come in.

The GSP is for graduate students (MS or PhD) and NOAA pays your tuition, fees, health insurance, and gives you a housing allowance to get your MS/PhD as long as your MS/PhD fits into NOAA's "mission-related occupational fields." The way you get this is you actually become a full-time employee of NOAA and you have to work 16-weeks in a year. You get a salary, benefits, travel expenses paid, etc. The 16-weeks of work is basically as a trainee in a particular area. So that's the cool part - degree paid for and full-time NOAA employee. The catch is for every year of university level training you receive, you have to give 3 years of federal service. So if I got my MS in 2 years, I'd have to work for the federal government for 6 years.

Luckily for me, I've always wanted to work for NOAA anyway (in some capacity) since I've decided to go the Federal route than NGO. I don't want to do state because it's unstable in my field. But...6 years?! That's a LONG time. 3 years I'd have no problems doing, but 6 years is a bit long. I wonder if I could get my PhD paid for during those 6 years...

Anyway, I'm thinking of going ahead and applying for it. They get about 40 applicants a year and, on average, have accepted 5 students a year (most is 7, least is 2). I'll probably try applying before I accept at a college and if I don't get in, I'll try again for my last year (if I end up doing a 2-year MS). Applications for the GSP open in October (when you know what departments want/need a GSP). I'm going to try to do early application deadlines for grad school, so I'll know by Dec-Jan what colleges have accepted me. That'll give me some breathing room on the GSP since they'd like you to already be accepted to the college and the deadline for applications for the GSP is Jan 31st. If all else fails, I can just send with my GSP application where I've applied. I need to take the GRE again, which means I should take it sometime this summer if I'm going to try for early applications to grad school (need to pad myself about 1 month for official scores).

So...yeah, that means my summer is going to be packed with grad school stuff. I also need to make a timeline...so, anyway, that's my current ambitious goal in regards to grad school! I'm also going to look at other grants/scholarships, but some of them I won't be able to do until I get accepted to a college since lots of those send the money TO the school. NOAA does some other scholarships/grants, but if I end up getting the GSP, I can't accept those since I'll be an employee of NOAA. So, we'll see!!

My current post-graduate plans (assuming I didn't get a job at the college I graduated from or somewhere else) was to come back to Monterey and try to get an in with the Sanctuary since that's run by NOAA. So, who knows, maybe if I get the GSP I can figure out a way to come back to this Sanctuary anyway! Or, I could end up anywhere else in the country. LoL

Off of that....I turned my capstone in for the first assessment on Wednesday. I expect it to get torn apart again. I didn't manage my time well enough and ran out of time, once again. It went to my 2nd reader, so that's why I think it'll get torn apart again.

Anyway, with that. I should be off. 29 days till graduation!!

Capstone Draft

This blog really should be titled "Bethany's School Life." LoL Obviously school tends to run my life.

Anyway...I got my draft of my capstone back last night from Judy. I made myself open it today and read over her comments. Good thing my Word is default to GREEN font for reviewing, else there'd be a LOT of red everywhere. All good points, lots of word changes, etc. She basically said it's a good start. A draft is a draft so it's nothing to get worked up over, but my results were torn up and down. Though, honestly, everything she pointed out (the large problems with my results) I already knew about (though forgot about). So it wasn't that big of a shock. It's just daunting and a bit of a downer looking at how much I have to fix on my capstone. This is the reviewing process, but...eh. At least I know it'll be good by the end of it. I'm also glad I learned not to become attached to anything I write with her. Things get changed and, most times, I'd say for the better. So I try not to take it peresonally (since it's not) and say it's good criticism and it'll be okay in the end. I just can't sit here feeling down and overwhelmed. If I did, I'd NEVER get this capstone finished and I do want a) it off my plate and b) to graduate. Anyway, enough of my pep talk to myself. LoL Her overall things were my grammar, precision (or tightening) and clarity. I also made some assumptions I shouldn't have and I had this one paragraph where I just used all the wrong words (e.g. "undereducated" instead of "not well informed" or "questionable" instead of "uncertain"). Small changes with large impacts in the paragraph and lots of PC terms. Oh well. Learning I am, learning!

I set-up an appointment with her for Monday to go over my capstone with her. I'm looking over what she wants me to change and making a list of things to talk to her with about. I won't actually start revising (the large stuff) till Monday after I've spoken with her. I just don't see the point. First assessment is due April 16th at 8pm, so that's a bit scary, but it is first assessment. Second assessment is the final version and no more re-do's. Least, this is what I'm trying to tell myself. First assessment we get graded on and it goes to our 2nd reader along with our 1st reader. AHHHH

So...I'll try and kick out the homework due next week this weekend. Should be doable. That'll make me less stressed come Wednesday night after I've turned my capstone in and I have two homework assignments due Thursday!

Okay, with that. I should finish eating and get back to work.

Last weekend

Wow...has it almost been a week since I turned my capstone in? Bummer...that means I've got my draft coming back to me tomorrow. Assessment one is due a week from tomorrow. AHHHHHHHHH Means another stress overload for Sun-Wed. LoL

Last week really was a stressful week on many levels...In the end, though, it turned out okay and Tori and Andy came up on Friday!! When they got here, Tori, Andy, Chris, and I went to dinner with two old co-workers. Jen cooked for us and it was GOOD. We had a good time and many laughs. After dinner we went to Borders to say bye to Anthony because it was his last day. It was fun surprising him because Chris and I walked in first and then Tyler, Jen, Tori, and Andy walked in. He was surprised so that was nice. Then we went back to Jen's to have our finishing milkshake (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).

Saturday was the Aquarium's Volunteer Gala. That was a lot of fun! Tori and Andy came up for the gala (i got them in) so it was fun getting ready with Tori. Tori, Shae, and I went to the beauty college and got our hair done. Then Chris came over and we all 4 took pictures and took off in Tori's car. The food was fantastic at the aquarium (as usual). They had two salads (one was a "Farmer's Market" one that was butter lettuce, some other greens, strawberries, feta or bleu cheese, and some vinagerette dressing - excellent!), steamed vegetables, sourdough rolls, braised chicken with pickled red onions, carved beef tri-tip with some mushroom thing, pacific sable with something, avocado salsa (for either the tri-tip or fish, can't remember), and mac and cheese. I miss the multi-buffet tables they've done in past years (except last year) because you had SO many food options and the themes were always great, but the food quality hasn't gone down or anything so I'm okay in the long run. LoL Chris and I ended up not getting any of the dessert (long lines FOREVER and other stuff). It was tiramusu, some shortcake/raspberry thing, cookies, and the fresh fruit with option of chocolate sauce. I don't think I've ever seen so many people at the Gala too. I think this year made my 6th one and it was just PACKED. It was fun seeing everyone all dressed up and stuff. We sat in front of the Outer Bay Window, which I think are the best seats in the entire aquarium.

I've been doing a really good cleaning on my room the last two days. Basically because I'm procrastinating. LoL Cleaning lends itself to a great excuse because it's something that needs to be done eventually and if you're in the mood, you're in the mood! I've cleaned my sheets, towels, clothes, vacuumed, uncluttered, and even did a little dusting and cleaning out of old clothes. I also cleaned my bathroom before Tori and Andy arrived. So my room is CLEAN! It's a nice feeling and it's nice to be in now. LoL I suspect with only 6 weeks left of school, I will be doing a lot of sitting/thinking/writing in my room.

With that...enough procrastination. I need to rewrite my abstract, intro, and discussion of my physics lab.

Laters!

It's TURNED IN!!!

Ladies and Gents, it is my pleasure to inform you that my capstone draft has been turned in!!! I turned it in promptly at 8pm. 11 minutes later, Judy sent me a question back about my data. Lovely. I can see this next week isn't going to be THAT much of a break from my capstone. I will probably be fencing questions/comments/suggestions from her for the next week (maybe this weekend?). Which, when it comes down to it, is a good thing. But, well, you know...LoL

She has a week to get it back to me and then April 16th is the first assessment. First assessment means...First grade through by my advisor (Judy) and the 2nd reader (James, my marine cons professor). April 30th is when the FINAL report is due. The 2nd assessment is the real cruncher because you're either accepted or not accepted. If you don't pass on the 2nd assessment, you get a PR (or RP?) and that means I don't get my diploma until the report is turned in and accepted. :P So...we're not going for that. We're going for a full acceptance on my capstone. LoL

Okay...time to go do all my homework reading for tomorrow. I think I'm just going to do my lit review tomorrow after Physics...I'm tired...