I realized a while ago as I was going through the family blog, as well as the many blogs that I am a part of, that I have not written on this one for a while. I feel bad about that, but hey life catches up with the best of us right? So a quick update, I am entering the meat and potatoes of my degree which means that this blog may take a very analytic/scientific approach. Constantly thinking in this way throughout the week really does lead to this. It is with great pleasure that I let you all know that I am doing really well in school, and that I am also so busy that there is no possible way for me to get into any trouble whatsoever.
Current reading list:
Chemistry: A molecular approach ~ Nivaldo Tro
General Chemistry Laboratory procedures and methods ~ assorted college staff
Genome ~ I know that I have read this before but I love the simple straight forward way the author shows the reader the information
The Hobbit ~ JRR Tolkien *After watching the movie I had to read this again.
I know that these books seem a little strange, but hey that is my life at this time. I enjoy the challenge of reading so many books, but my for fun books may take a back seat as I tackle Kinetics, electrochemistry, and radiology. Should be fun right?
Chemistry Class:
This is the last of my generals before I get into the real science of my degree. From here I go onto Organic, Biochem, and Analytic chem. As well as cross cultural communication, virology, molecular biology, etc....
This semester has an interesting start: Kinetics... the study of movement. At the molecular level this gets very heavy in physics and calculus, two of my weakest but most appealing subjects. Needless to say this leads to an excessive amount of math each night. On top of that I have the opportunity to put what I study into the practicum through lab work. One of the biggest parts of the lab is the necessity of completing prelab, postlab, and all of your reports within a week. That adds up to about 15 to 20 hours of homework during the week. The one thing that I am most excited for is the fact that this lab is treated as a professional lab, and not a learning lab, which means that all of our labwork (including notes and notebooks) are technically part of the scientific community. They can be published, confiscated, sent to the government, etc... that being said everything must be done in ink with no erasing or whiting out of mistakes. When we make a mistake we are required to strike it out with a single line through the work, initialed, and dated.
I guess this is to make sure we are diligent in our calculations, as well as honoring the scientific method which allows for some deviation but for the most part each experiment should be done the same way to either add further evidence to theories and laws, or possibly create a discrepancy in the currently held thoughts regarding what we are doing. I know that a general chemistry lab will not be life altering, or lead to any sort of discovery but still to know that this is a professional lab and our work has the chance to be scrutinized by the scientific community is really kind of cool.
Extracurricular activities:
I have started a running program to help my body get to the best that it can be. I am excited every day by the progress that I make and the ability the human body has to improve. I can't run far or even that long, but hey I am getting better.
I also enjoy video games. I know what some of you that stumble upon this blog must be thinking, a science nerd that likes video games who would have though, but hey we all need our outlets. Currently I have been playing World of Warcraft, a time consuming/life stealing game that lets you be whoever you want to be and pretty much do whatever you want to do. Now that school has started up I probably won't be doing as much on this game, but it is still being played pretty regularly as of right now. I am still a total noob at it and but try my best to understand the mechanics of the game so I can join an arena team and move up the ranks.
Purpose:
I have decided the new purpose of this blog is to organize my thoughts and let people see who I am. I will post my thoughts on books I've been reading, rants about other players and myself on WoW, as well as books I'm reading, current events, and really anything that strikes my fancy. I hope people read this and enjoy the day in the life of a thirty year old professional student.
Come follow me on my journey through life.
Steve
