Several Simultaneous Eek-uations!

Linear Algebra is strange. Who knew you could do so much crazy crap with matrices and determinants? Dr. DeRise knows. Anyway, I have my first test on Monday, so wish me luck.
I've been continuing to do housework, and I finally planted some of the shrubs. I also decided to recycle most of my bottle collection. I made a list of what I had and threw it all in the bin. Feel free to e-mail me if you're interested in the beer list. I made a database that included all the pertinent information. I also got two Black & Decker storage cabinets, and those do a wonderful job of keeping the garage looking tidy. I'm turning into the "Anal Retentive Carpenter." I hardly use my tools, but they look really nice in their little cubbies.

My Last Weekend of Freedom

Monday starts my quest to master both Linear Algebra and Microeconomics. I'll have to remember to bring my eye patch so as not to damage my eyes when viewing the very tiny economies through the microeconomiscope. Sonya and I are still trying to decide how to best make use of this last weekend. I'm pretty sure a haircut is in order; I'm back to my Luke Skywalker look. Stupid straight hair. I would like to head to Richmond a make a pilgrimage to Kuba Kuba and perhaps get a Shockoe Shake. MMMM. We also have some yard work to finally get done.

Frank: I told my wife I wouldn't drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You guys have a great time. College Student: A big day? Doing what? Frank: Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.

Great Meeting!

My meeting with Anita Hazel Taylor at VCU went smashingly. The new wing of the Engineering school was just completed and it looks fantastic. I believe I will be quite happy there. Upon meeting with Mrs. Taylor, I've learned several things that make me excited to go to VCU. First, as I said in my last post, I can drop Chem II from my summer schedule. What I didn't know is I can drop Spanish II as well! VCU gears its students towards an MBA to go with the BS, so I will be taking Microeconomics this summer along with Linear Algebra. Mrs. Taylor told me I don't need to take Linear Algebra, but I've been looking forward to that class for a while. I will stay at TNCC through the fall and transfer to VCU in the spring. I could actually stay at VCU through the spring were in not for TNCC not offering Thermodynamics, but missing that class would put me behind schedule. My last semester at TNCC I'll be taking Vector Calculus, Dynamics, Physics II, and Bowling! I could actually drop the bowling, but that would be just crazy (and it lets me keep my full-time status.) My first semester at VCU will be Differential Equations, Circuits I with the lab, Thermodynamics, and Strength of Materials. The spring will be my first experience in a true Engineering School, so I will be the dumbest guy in the building.

Meeting at VCU

Today at 3:00 I will be meeting the recruiter for the VCU School of Engineering. Sonya and I have been debating the pros and cons of moving away to school, and it just does not seem reasonable to try to sell the house so I can go away to school. ODU is in Norfolk and I have no love for Norfolk. Also, I don't want to have to rely on either the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel or the Monitor Merrimack Bridge Tunnel, so VCU is the best option. The only issue with VCU is they do not offer Civil Engineering, but that's no skin off my back. The only difference in lower division classes between Civil and Mechanical is I don't need Chem. II for Mechanical. I have no great love of studying Chemistry, so Mechanical it is! Avoiding Chem. II also means my summer schedule just got a whole lot better, so I can take Spanish II over the summer or just have an easier summer. Also, I may transfer to VCU in the fall before I finish TNCC if the folks at VCU think it'll work better for transfer. I don't want to waste time at TNCC with classes that do not transfer. Stay tuned...

Hitting Homeruns

It was brought to my attention that it's confusing when I post on Sonya's blog, so here's my update on housework. You can refer to my to-do list from Children of a Lesser Dog. So... anyway, I can scratch several items of my list after today. First, I'm just about done with the gate for the deck. I need to get a latch and it'll be all done. I'm pretty proud of the gate because it was my first attempt at actual joinery. I used an end lap joint reinforced with four galvanized screws at each corner. The span of the gate is pretty wide, so I needed a system that would prevent the gate from sagging out of square. The gate is attached to a handrail post which could be pulled out of plumb by the torque of the gate in the closed position, so I made a foot to keep the gate from dropping too far. The latch should keep the gate level when it's closed. After I finished the gate, I made my new hose storage. It looks pretty cool, and I got rid of some scrap wood. I may still make a lid. The reel on the side of the house never gets used because it leaks and its a pain to use. It's just so much easier to coil a hose.Once that was complete, I got to work on the lattice. I finally devised a system for cutting that garbage. Lattice is tricky stuff to cut even with a circular saw.I still had a couple fence slats to make from the fence repair we did a few months back. All I really needed to do was cut the dog-ears with my miter saw.After all that was done, I cleaned most of the scrap out of the garage. I swept, I vacuumed, and I drank a beer. It's been a good day.

Sophomoric Humor

I have finally caught up with my sophomoric humor. I am a sophomore. I took my last final today, so I am done with Spanish I, Calculus II, Physics I and Statics. My physics professor was kind enough to post the grades the same day we took the final, so I got an A in Physics I!!! I don't know how I pulled that off, but I do know the easy A in the lab helped out a ton. I put all my studying eggs in that basket, so I have to hope I knew enough about everything else not to bring my averages below an A in any of the other classes. I get two weeks off, then its Chem. II and Linear Algebra. Truth be told, I will probably start reading the Chemistry text on Monday. Eight weeks is an awfully short time for that class, so I'll need a little head start. I have to admit, this semester burned me out a little bit. Two weeks without classes should bore me enough to motivate me for the summer semester.