All About School

Ok now it is time to catch up. I need to take a break and a little time for myself.

U of M – Flint is awesome! I love it. I can’t believe how much I love it. The campus is beautiful and the views of Flint from the campus are actually quite pretty. It is easy to get parking. I don't have to walk too far to get to my first class and once I am in that first building I don't have to go outside again until I leave for the day. All the buildings are connected by enclosed sky walks. That is nice - no getting rained on or freezing my ass off as I walk to class. Another great thing about UM Flint is, not only are there 3 computer labs, the whole campus is wireless so I can bring my laptop to campus with me and get on the internet from anywhere. And there are many comfortable places to sit and study.

I saw my friend Phil from Mott a few times on campus. He loves UM-Flint too. He said he doesn't feel like he is in high school anymore - the students are more mature on the UM campus than at Mott. I feel this too.

Even though I love UM Flint and I am thankful to be attending school there, I am still a little scared. I have 5 classes! 16 credits!! I originally only wanted 4 classes (that is considered a full load at 12/13 credits), but I signed on for 5 because I was waitlisted for one of my classes (a psych class I need) so I signed on for an extra class to make sure I would have a full load just in case I did not get into the psych class. Well I got into that class but I really wanted to keep the other class I signed on for too. It looked really interesting (it is a Theatre class) so I kept it. Now I have to struggle through this semester.

I arranged my classes so I only go 2 days a week. That is convenient and saves on gas. My first class of the day is college algebra – yuck. Not my favorite subject. This one is going to be difficult. The professor used to teach high school math in the community I live now, where my husband went to school. It would be pretty funny if my husband had him in high school. This professor seems nice enough but he is not organized. I miss my old math professor from Mott. She was super organized and made algebra seem easy, even though she made you feel like you were in grade school.

The second class I have is Elements of Literary Analysis. This is going to be fun (I think), but a ton of reading. This is the kind of class I have been waiting to take. We already had to read a book (Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee) and write a small paper about it. Luckily the book was only about 150 pages. The professor seems nice. She just moved here from Iowa and this is her first job as a college professor. She just received her doctorate. She is pretty funny. She says she likes the grittiness of Flint. She said “at least there is always something interesting on the radio, not just Celine Dion playing 24 hours a day.” She indicated that people seem more real out here. I guess in Iowa, at least the town she lived in, they were all ‘Stepford’ perfect people. Hahahaha I think I am really going to love this class. We get to discuss all forms of literature. We also have to write quite a few small papers. That sucks. I get a little frustrated with this class though. Sometimes, while we are discussing the literature, I can't get a word in.  The professor talks a lot (she will ask a question of us but then talk, talk, talk) and some of the other student’s observations are so, um … obvious or boring. There is this one girl in class that is so annoying too. I actually had her in a class at Mott. She talks a lot (just to hear herself talk) and interrupts people. She says she has ADD. She is just super annoying in my book. I know I am mean but deal with it.  The prof actually shut her down today. She asked this girl "You always have to be the first one to speak don't you?" Hahahaha.

Next is my lunch break. I have almost 2 hours between classes. That is nice. I walk on over to University Pavillion and get lunch and study. Last week, during lunchtime,  there was a party in the middle of campus.

http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/09/number_of_higher_education_stu.html

All the clubs were out in McKinnon Plaza trying to recruit new members. I got some free school supplies, a t-shirt, and there was free food too! That is one of the great things about UM Flint - there is always something going on, and there are usually freebies. Heck, the university gives you $16 on your campus ID card so you print out your notes and assignments in the computer lab. I like that.

 

After lunch I have the class Research Methods in Psychology. This is going to be a challenge. I like reading about research and experiments but I have never had the desire to conduct my own research. That is all this class is - learning about conducting research and experiments. It is a requirement; I have to take it to move on to the upper level psych classes. This is the class I am most worried about - we have to write 2 papers and the tests are all short answer essay question tests, not to mention the experiments we have to set up. Maybe I am worrying for nothing, things have been going OK so far. I actually had my first test for this class today and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but I will have to see how I did. I guess I am most worried about the papers I have to write. I have yet to write a psychology paper. SCARY! Again I find myself missing a Mott professor - I miss Dr. McCain. Oh my current professor is nice but she doesn't seem to have the charisma that Dr. McCain has.

 

The fourth class of the day is The Structure of English. This class is pretty much all about English grammar. It is a linguistics class. Parts of it are interesting but parts of it are boring too. I thought it would be a good idea for me to brush up on my grammar, to help me strengthen my writing and also my foriegn language skills (eventually). The professor is really interesting. She is from Holland. She has lived in the U.S. for about 14 years. She has a slight accent, which is very cute. It is also interesting to learn about English from someone who is not a native speaker. She has shared some great anecdotes/experiences with us. She is a linguist and she challenges us to think about language(s) is a new way, a more open minded way. She told us about how a word, the sound of a word puts an image into our head that may not have the same meaning/image for someone else, for example... a bad word in our language, the word cunt, actually conjurs up a beautiful image for her. Where she is, in her native language (German I think) from the word kant (pronounced cunt) actually means lace.

 

My last class of the day is a theatre class, Drama as Performance. Most of the students in this class are theatre majors and are very fun. I so want to get involved in theatre at U of M - Flint. I just don't think I have the time. I may have to make the time because I am actually contemplating a double major - Psych and Theatre. This class is much like the Literary Analysis class - we are reading plays and analyzing them. Some of the material in this class is the same as in the Literary Analysis class so that is a plus. There is a lot of reading for this class as well as quite a few papers (mostly smaller 2 page papers though). We already had a paper due, which I got an A on. Woohoo! Now another paper is due this Wednesday.

 

So that is a summary of my school day and that has been my all that has been going on in my life lately. Busy, busy - between school, trying to work (even just part time), driving my husband and stepson (the boys, hahaha) around, (My stepson is very busy lately with marching band; practices; Friday night football games; and now competitions every Saturday) and trying to feel better (yes, I am still sick and tired - exhausted really). This is all I have time for.

 

Other things of interest (to me anyway) are:

 

Today at school I checked out the library. It is pretty nice. Three huge floors of books, periodicals, reference materials, and computers. There are beautiful views of the campus and the Flint River from the library. 

 

 I also toured the Recreation Center. The Rec center has everything you can think of - pool, indoor running/walking track, cardio room, weights, exercise machines, raquetball, indoor tennis, volleyball, basketball courts, etc. AWESOME!! I am going to go and work out - it is free for students so I have to take advantage of that.

 

And finally, there is a lady in my psych class who is in the symphony band. I was pleased to find out there is a symphony band at UM - Flint. I miss playing the trombone - miss being in band. Heck, you know I miss performing.  She said they will take anybody. I want to join so bad but I already have a class when the band meets. So I am definitely joining soon as my schedule permits. Now I can't wait until next semester.

 

First 2 pics (below) are from the New Student Convocation, where the University welcomed all the new students before the beginning of the semsester. That was lovely.