The Pnebleu Blog

Today didn’t start out so nice, but quickly improved!  I woke up early (negative) and went to class.  The class turned out to be cancel and replaced with an online lecture, but the professor felt bad because a couple of us came, so she gave the lecture in person anyway (positive).  After that class, I walked to my bank to find out if I was going to need to apply for another debit card when my current one expires; I don’t, another is sent in the mail to me before the old one dies (positive).  I had an hour and a half until my next class, so I decided to walk from my bank to Wehner, probably about a mile, along University Dr. (positive).   It was very interesting, I don’t know why, but I felt a sense of adventure and exploration.  When I arrive at Wehner I still had an hour left, so I got a Blue Bell ice cream sandwich, the cookies ‘n cream kind, and a Starbucks iced coffee (positive).  The total was less than $5 (positive).  Next, I had class with a few friends (positive).  After that class, I had Marketing class.  At first I thought it was going to be as boring as it normally is, but today we discussed some of the marketing campaigns Texas A&M University is using and came up with ways to improve or add to them (big positive).  It was a lot of fun in my discussion session today.

At work, I was able to complete or, at least, send several ISER’s on their way (positive).  After 5 PM, I worked on a project to upgrade all of the PC’s in one department to Office 2003.  This involved uninstalling Office 2000, installing Office 2003, and running an audit program that scans the PC for software.  All of the PC’s except one were updated and most PC’s had successful audits (moderate positive).  I’ve almost completed that project task (positive, I really like completing things, it gives me a sense of accomplishment).  So, I was able to leave work at 8:30 PM (moderate negative, it could have been later), totaling a little more than 22 hours for this week (positive).

I made it home in time for Battlestar Galactica and I will watch Battle 360° when it repeats at 1 AM (positive).  When I checked my email, I discovered that I might be getting a second job as a web designer from my former boss (major positive)!  This has really got me excited!

Later this evening, I’m going to take a hot shower (positive) and go to sleep for close to 11 hours (big positive).  I hope everyone had and will have an excellent day!

I’m tested out. I had two tests today: History of Landscape Architecture in North America and Finance. I feel moderately satisfied with the LAND test, but I feel really good about the FINC test! Normally, the exam keys are posted online after the test is over, but they are not up yet. I’m anxiously awaiting them. I need to make an A on the finance test to have the chance to get an A in the class. I could make anything better than a C on the LAND test. My brain is a little fried this evening.

Two quizzes, two online lectures, and a paper are due Friday for my lame/boring Marketing class. The material could be presented in a much more engaging manner this it is currently. On Friday’s, we have breakout discussion sessions. These are used for simple group projects and, obviously, discussion of the topics. They are the worst part of this class. They are a waste of my time and don’t increase my understanding of the material in anyway.

Mays Business School will be “experimenting” with differentiated tuition this coming fall semester. One of the main reasons sited for this cash grab is the increase in the number of classes with breakout sessions. Most of the classes offered currently are of a large lecture nature, usually with 150+ students. My largest is about 350 students. The administration wants to reduce this number for the discussion sessions. My questions is why? Every breakout session I’ve had in the business school has been mostly a waste of time when I could have been learning more material in a lecture or just studying on my own. One of the reasons I love Texas A&M University would be the fact that most of the classes required are large lectures with 150+ students. I like the anonymity and unidirectional nature of these classes. I wanted to be a number: ***-00-**** (hidden for my safety).

Update: I just discovered that I made another 88 on my finance test.  This is the third test and the third 88.  I’m a little frustrated.  I’ll talk to the TA to discover the problem with one answer that I’m not sure why it’s incorrect.