This quarter has 3 weeks left until finals week. Somehow my grades are going from good to not so good. I think there's also the added pressure that you only pass a class in grad school with a B or higher. No B-'s! I'm maintaining at least a B in all my classes right now, but I have one class that definitely has me worried and if I don't continue to do well on the hw assignments and get at least a C on my final, I could be in a "might not pass" area. So I'm worried about that. My midterm was definitely not as high as I'd have liked it to be. Luckily the class average was only a high C or I'd be really worried (class will be curved at the end -- phew!). I still have yet to hear back about my other midterm, which I'm hoping I did better in. Also, that class has a take home final so I feel better about that, whereas the class I'm worried about has another in-class test for the final.
My 257 class has only 2 assignments -- 2 papers each worth 50% of our grade. I'm a little worried about our first paper that's due tomorrow. If I tank it, there's no way I can salvage my grade. I don't think I'll tank it (I'm thinking I might get a B if he wanted it to be more technical on the analysis, if not...I thinking a low A), but it's just an added worry.
Anyway, this week I have 2 hw assignments due at the end of the week and 1 due March 1st. I have two papers due on March 12th and then it's finals week! As long as I do well on my next 204 assignment, I'll only have one more hw assignment outside of what's already due. 202 has a 4th assignment we'll get after this one is due on Friday. So...I can see the end of the tunnel! We also only have 2 weeks left of 241 lectures so I'll only have 3 classes to attend on the last week of lectures before finals. Of course, we don't attend classes on finals week either. Like I said...end of the tunnel! I just wish those stupid papers won't sitting at the end of the week.
I have decided to do my policy paper (for 241) on whether the new California water package will eventually get agriculture to use less water (in my opinion -- ag will never be asked to reduce water consumption). It's a predictive question I'll be answering, but I found the predictive questions more interesting than the explanatory topics. Of course the predictive topics are harder to write to our professor's satisfaction (as she stated), but maybe I'll get brownie points for trying? I just figure I'd be more inclined to do a better job with a topic I like than a topic I feel "so-so" about.
The so-so question (explanatory topic): Why did the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act expand the role of market-based instruments, even while other "cap-and-trade" policies have proven to be politically difficult?
The interesting question (predictive topic): Will the recent water legislation passed by California lead to further legislation to reduce the consumption of water by the agricultural sector? Why or why not?
It's kind of funny because considering my love of the ocean, the Magnuson-Stevens Act would be the "typical" topic I'd pick, but I'm finding the whole water issue in California really interesting of late. It's a classic "man vs nature" problem and it's not like any side can be swept underneath the mat. Magnuson-Stevens Act would be more economics which I also like, but who can resist the gritty topic of "man vs nature"?! Plus, cap-and-trade just doesn't interest me all that much. I get the concept; I know how the market will function with it; and I've heard the bad sides to it. With all that, it just doesn't make me go "wow, let me write a paper about it and how the Magnuson-Stevens Act is so different!" I might also still be scarred from my 200 paper at CSUMB too. I don't remember how long the paper was, but it was ridiculously long and the Magnuson-Stevens Act made an appearance in it and I've never enjoyed the Act since. I should go back and look at it, though. I know so much more about the workings of politics, regulations, etc that I'd probably actually understand it now. Oh well.
Well, with that, I should hit the sack and try and look over our required reading for tomorrow's enviro politics class (our prof gets upset with us since we don't participate enough and assumes we haven't done the reading, which is probably the case for half of us). That class is quickly becoming my least favorite and most interesting class at the same time...Yay 241?
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