Mon Mar 22, 2010
Final's week. It was good news because I wanted Winter '10 quarter to end. Finals began on Tues. Today is the last day of regular classes; however, classes that meet Mon only have their finals today. My Payroll class final is today.
I had trouble waking up. What else is new? I ate an apple pie and Twinkie for breakfast. Then I went to the computer lab to check my email. There was a student in my Acct 1B class. We small talked on our way to class. The instructor completed chapter 12 material for the first half of the class. The second half of the class we reviewed for the final.
I went to the library to study for the Payroll final. I was hungry. I went to the cafeteria to buy a bag of chips and donuts. The snacks helped me study before I ate dinner at 5:30pm. After the cafeteria, I went back to the library to finish studying. The studying helped little. I absorbed nothing. I focused only on the highlighted key concepts from my notes. I ate dinner in the cafeteria at 5:30pm where I met with another classmate. We talked about the final, eating unhealthy, and our Spring '10 classes.
In Payroll, first we reviewed the third mid-term. I got a 98. Then we had our final. The final was 76 multiple choice questions. Almost all of the questions were concepts. There were seven problems. Studying the problems was a waste of time; for example, there were no questions calculating the federal income tax. I expected more problems than concepts. The final was open book. There was too much to know. One final completed. I have three more finals including one final requiring studying.
Tue Mar 23, 2010
My favorite day of final's week. I wanted to sing my final song and complete singing class. I requested an advanced student to help me sing my final. I got a student. Halfway through my singing, the instructor asked another advanced student to help me sing. I have problems listening to the tone. The instructor said I should sing with my ears. Agreed. I have tone problems ever since I was a child. That explains why I talk loud and nobody realized it. It wasn't my fault. I didn't talk loud to get attention. Today, I talk softer and I listen harder.
Wed Mar 24, 2010
The Acct final is Thur at 11:30am. My class was dance. We reviewed the four dances we learned: west coast swing, cha cha cha, waltz, and salsa. The instructor thank those who attended the Dance-A-Thon fundraiser. I attended and I had a great time.
I talked to a student before we danced. She took singing class before. She reassured me and said the problems I experienced were common. There was nothing to worry about. For example, beginners who sang up in front of the class sang quieter.
Thur Mar 25, 2010
I concentrated studying chap 17 and chap 12, the chapters that were the focus on the comprehensive final. I couldn't concentrate on reviewing the previous chapters. Too much information.
The final was expected. Most of the problems were chap 17 and chap 12. I understood some of the questions from earlier chapters. I hope the questions I didn't know I guessed correctly. I needed at least an 85% on the final to get an A in the class. I looked at my group project. We got a 22 out of 25.
After the final, I went to the computer lab to catch up on my email. The campus was quiet and dead.
Highlights
Winter '10 quarter was a quarter to forget . . . and remember. Most of the events and experiences were lowlights; however, there were lessons to learn from the lowlights. Most of us want to forget anything bad. I admit I want to forget, too. On the other hand, I want to remember the bad because there are lessons to learn not to repeat. Anyway, I start with the one highlight.
*Lesson #3. The one highlight that saved me from a disastrous quarter was lesson #3. The lesson is go with the flow. There were many unfavorable and uncontrolled events. I went with the flow. Control what I can control and don't control what I can't control.
(Lesson #1 is growing up and lesson #2 is everyone is human.)
*I don't want to go to school today. Everyone didn't want to be in school on the first day. The mood everywhere was like, "Let's start school tomorrow." The mood really didn't get any better through the quarter. Most of the students and classmates I talked to said Winter '10 was a down quarter.
*Singing class. I should have dropped singing on the third week. I didn't get into the class. The class was not what I expected. The lessons I learned at the beginning were enough for me to play Beatles Rock Band. And the instructor lost her voice for three weeks. We had class meetings were the instructor and the students didn't feel like singing. Furthermore, the instructor admitted to lessons she failed to teach. She corrects the mistakes in Spring '10. I didn't sign up for singing in Spring '10.
Singing class was the only Tue night class. Driving to campus just for singing and not enjoying some class meetings were a waste of time.
*Going with the flow with a last minute project. I wanted real life experience. The group project was an example. My group and I completed the group project last minute. The lowlight was the two students cut one of their classes to complete the project. It was nobody's fault. It just happened.
*Sick on Chinese New Year. The turning point of my Winter '10. It went downhill and continued going downhill. I became out of shape at the gym. I'm getting back on my workout schedule.
*Salsa lessons. I attended free salsa lessons. There's nothing wrong learning salsa. Salsa is my weakest dance. I realized if I attend a salsa lesson and skip a gym workout, I have trouble dancing. I'm out of shape and I can't dance well. Gym is priority over dance. I find other ways to dance outside De Anza and on days off from the gym.
*Too much Peachtree. Peachtree class was a self-taught course. The first month I attended class in the computer lab reworking the homework for additional practice. That was good intentions. I completed the homework at home. The computers in the computer lab were slow. I stopped going to the computer lab for additional practice after I got sick. Looking back, reworking the homework was a waste of time.
*West coast swing for dance demo. The instructor did different dances for the dance demo. The dance demo is an event where all the dance classes dance in front of their peers on stage. The Monday night class danced east coast swing and the Wednesday night class danced west coast swing. She wanted to compare the two dance styles. The class had mixed feelings. The intermediate class was supposed to dance the quick step; unfortunately, the dance was too hard. That class danced the cha cha cha for the dance demo. My Wed class was not a good class. Fall '09 dance classes were better. The students were better and we learned lots of dances.
*No Monday classes. Winter '10 was the first quarter I took classes on holidays. I thought missed classes because of holidays were made up at the end of the quarter. I was wrong. Missed class meetings because of holidays are not made up. My Payroll class missed two classes because of holidays. Lesson learned. Take Mon classes in fall quarters.
My spring vacation plans are to catch up, relax, reset for Spring '10, and seek new adventures and new experiences.
I Continue To Find Myself Finding Raymond Mar
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