Bertha

Well, I Was Wrong

Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Oct 152008

Last Thursday I posted that our Business Finance teacher was giving us a take-home test to work on over the fall break. Since we had six days to work on it, and had our books and notes to refer to, I couldn’t think of a reason not to do well on this test.

Clearly I’m lacking in imagination.

With every assignment we have to turn in, our instructor (who I shall call State Fan, as she is a fan of our nearby college’s sports teams) stipulates that they are due at the beginning of class. Before she starts the lecture, she’ll make a last call for homework to make sure we’ve all remembered to turn it in. Anything turned in after that is late and gets marked down.

For the take-home test, same deal. State Fan made sure to remind us last Wednesday that we would need to turn in the test at the beginning of class, and late tests would be marked down twenty points. This should have been a clue to all that she was quite serious about tardiness.

Ten or fifteen minutes after class started this morning, one of the students strolled in and took her usual seat. A few minutes later a second latecomer arrived. The State Fan continued with her lecture and I forgot about them until the end of class, when I overheard them expressing shock and dismay that their tests would be marked down twenty points for being late.

I wonder if the instructor went back to her office and banged her head against her desk for a while. I know I would have.

Back to School

Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Oct 142008

Sunday morning was a new experience. I went to my first shooting lesson, along with my husband and eldest son.

I tried to sit down and write a post about it yesterday, but it had been a long, tiring day and everything came out like a poorly-written incident report. So I’ll suffice to say that I have now fired a .22 semiautomatic and a .38 revolver, and a .38 makes a much bigger bang than a .22 (not to mention a larger hole). My grouping wasn’t bad with the .22, but my shots were high, right, and scattered when firing the .38. Apparently I’m gripping too hard with my left hand, probably in anticipation of the bang.

Next week I’ll be going out to the range with my dad to try it again, so we’ll see if I improve at all with practice. It was a lot of fun, in a slightly scary, oh-my-god-this-thing-could-kill-someone kind of way.

Tomorrow our fall break is over. Frankly I don’t feel like I’ve had a break anyway; I still had to get up early every morning, and run around doing most of the same work I do every day, and still had homework. So it won’t be much of a transition to go back to class tomorrow. Maybe I’ll show them all my used .38 shells. That should generate some conversation.

Vacation!

Accounting Stuff, Geek Wannabe, General Comments Off

Oct 092008

Wake Tech is having fall break—yesterday was the last day of classes until next Wednesday. As our Business Finance instructor reminded us yesterday.

“Woo hoo!” I exclaimed.

“I’ll try not to take that woo hoo personally,” she added, handing us our tests.

She gave us take-home tests to be done over the holiday. As with the extra credit, the take-home is an attempt to help the students who didn’t do well on the first two tests. We’re not allowed to help each other, but we can use our books and our notes, and we’ve got six days to do it. I can’t imagine any excuse to do poorly on this test.

I’ve discovered something in recent years, though. I don’t really like vacations. I don’t know what to do with all that free time—other than all the stupid chores that have piled up, which I don’t really want to do.

The Alpha Geek is rambling around at loose ends today as well. He took the week off so he could make a final push to get his pilot’s license, and has been flying every day in preparation for his check ride. But today the weather isn’t cooperating, so he doesn’t know what to do with himself, either.

I’m about to go upstairs and do my take-home test. That should fill up an hour.

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