Well...I don't know what I was thinking or why I got the impression that the 2nd quarter in grad school would be much easier than the 1st because it's not true! I think I have a heavier workload this quarter than I did last quarter, which just doesn't seem fair! First off, I've had to spend $210 in textbooks, which is not cool. Then, as it turns out, it looks like I will actually have to read almost all the reading the professors assign to us! Then, on top of all the reading, I have to learn two new languages/programs - Excel Solver (which is funky, I don't like it, and it's "quirky") and R (statistical scripting program). Annnnddddd....I have 2 midterms on the same day (right after each other), 2 finals (one take home, one not), 2 final papers, 1 midterm paper, and something like 12 homework assignments total. Of course, you think 12 homework assignments between 4 classes isn't bad, right? Yeah, well, not so much. You NEED the 2-3 weeks they give you to complete the homework and we can use a partner!
Anyway, off the fact this quarter seems harder than the last...The professors seem good. My favorite class I think will be the Coastal marine class (257). The professor is leaving at the end of this quarter to Wellington, New Zealand to do some work out there! So Bren isn't even sure if this class will be taught next year so it's a really good thing I decided to take the class this year. This class is a non-core class so it's just 2 papers through the year and a 15 minute panel presentation. Not bad. The prof is friendly, but he tends to go onto tangents that are important, but not necessarily relevant to the current topic on hand. So we all end up writing notes during the tangents, but don't seem to move far in the lectures. We'll see how it goes down the road.
The stats class (206A) has only 3 homework assignments and it's only taught in 5 weeks, but I have to learn a whole new stats program for this. It's called R and it's basically scripting so we have to learn how to script out what to do. The first lab was pretty much a disaster and I think it was mostly because our actual TA wasn't there (plane scheduling issue). So we had a sub and it was just chaotic...The professor is my least favorite so far. He's a slow lecturer and isn't "smooth." So I start zoning out, waiting for the point, etc. Hopefully it gets better...
The economics class (204 is good. The professor is really good. I like the topics too. This class we have a midterm, take home final, and 4 hw assignments (out of roughly 9) we have to do. This might be my 2nd favorite class. Sometimes maybe my favorite...We'll see how it goes. This class, unfortunately, requires us to learn Excel Solver. We had a workshop on it this last week and it's easy to actually use solver, but it takes some skill in knowing how to set it up - the value you want to know, the changing ones, and the parameters. It's all optimization and the workshops are good (we took an intermediate excel workshop at the beginning of last quarter), but it'll take a little more work to figure out how to use Solver to complete our homework.
Lastly, the biogeochemistry class (202) will be interesting. It's a lot of chemical components to how the world functions, basically. It's not like we need to know everything about chemistry or it's a real chemistry class, but it's a brain sore looking at chemical equations again. This class has 4-ish homeworks, midterm, and final. It's co-taught. The first prof, Arturo, I like. He goes quickly, but he makes sure he stops to ask if there are any questions and he has a very "commanding" presence when he speaks. He speaks loudly and clearly so you just feel like you won't zone out so much. The other professor, Patricia, I'm a little worried about. She lectures this coming week and she lead the discussion this past week and she's a little soft spoken. I hope I don't start glazing over or something.
Other than the gorgeous weather we've been having (constant 70 all week), it's kind of business as usual. Sort of. It's really hard to get back into the swing of things. I think every student had a really hard time coming back. But...Only 1.2 years left and than we'll be finished! Course, that's 5 quarters (including this one), but we try not to think about that. :) Now...to do some homework reading and this week or next I need to send out my feeler e-mails for internships this summer!
With that...later!
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