I am about a third of the way through this semester at CSULB.
Class I like
So far my energy conversion class is going well. I am enjoying the class and the work makes sense. I got back my midterm last week and I did well. I got an 87, which was the second highest score in the class. The average was 58, with a high score of 100 and a low of 24. Somehow I have become friends with a wide cross-section of the students. Of my three friends in the class, one got the high score, the other the low score, and the third about average.
The one thing I need to fix is how much time I am putting into the homework. I am not finishing all of the problems or doing my best on all of them. It is not an issue of difficultly, I am just not putting in enough time. While homework is only 10%, I need to pick up every point I can.
Class I despise
The second of my two classes is communication systems. It is not going well for anyone. It is a waste of time for me, the other students, and the professor. So far he is the worst math or science professor I have ever had. He spent four weeks talking about Fourier transforms, but managed to avoid working out even one example. Most of the time he walks around the room pointing to people and asking them to answer the question he asked five minutes ago. "I don't know" and "What is the question?" are the most common responses, even for me. However, I usually manage to say something that is completely wrong when I am called on.
I think I am more confused about Fourier Transforms that when I started the class. If you are working on a campaign to end the tenure system, he is a great poster-professor.
So far I have perfect grades on the labs for the class. I have the good fortune of having a great lab group (see the person who scored 100 above). However, there has only been one homework assignment, which no one fully understood. Most people completed less than half of it, and even then it was a lot of scribbles on paper instead of intelligent work. There is a midterm on Wednesday and I think it will be a disaster for everyone.
Fun people
I am happy I am getting to know some of the students in my classes. In my waste of time class, I sit in the corner with my lab group and talk about the latest episodes of Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead (which just so happens to have its season premier tonight on AMC) before class.
As for the girl in class I like, I think things are moving along well. A few days ago I asked if she wanted to do something fun with me this weekend and she said she was babysitting for her out of town relative. I will ask again this week.
Fun project
Since I do not have any experience working on an engineering project, I joined a computers and robotics club. They have different teams working on various projects, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, a fire fighting robot, and a mechanical arm. I am on a team of people (all two of us) that is building a micromouse. It is a small robot that is programmed to navigate a maze and find the shortest route from the corner to the center. Neither of us has built a robot before, so this will be fun.
Overall I am happy with how things are going at Long Beach. I wish I would have thought of going there a year or two ago.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Weekly Meetings
This is a summary post about what I have been doing at church that ends with commentary about the Bears.
For the last year I have been involved with a retreat program at church. It started as just one weekend, but it continued with weekly meetings. While I started out as a participant, I eventually joined in the planning and leadership for future retreats.
I helped plan the last weekend that was scheduled for August. However, the weekend had to be canceled because only two people signed up. Then the leaders of the group decided to stop holding the weekly meetings.
In case you are keeping track, this is the second weekly group I have been involved with at church that has died after I got very involved with it. The last one was a young adult group that died in the summer of last year.
That day in August was the end of the retreat program, or at least it should have been. However, one of the people did not want it to end. He talked to me and another person and we decided to keep meeting to keep the group alive. For the last few weeks the three of us have been meeting and planning how to restart the program.
When we met, there is prayer, discussion on the readings for the upcoming Sunday, and then I give a short presentation on a topic we are interested in. I have talked about Divine Mercy, basic Bible organization, how to use the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the mysteries of the rosary. At one point I was identified as a scripture scholar, which is something I never expected.
Right now we are finding a second time to met every week because someone's work schedule was suddenly changed. Also, we are preparing for a dinner with the pastor. I do not know why we are meeting with him (it was other people in the group who planned it). I am worried because the presentation these other people created is very boring; I did not even read all of the first page. However, I created an exciting presentation plan to share with them.
This has taken up a few hours every Wednesday, a meeting this past Sunday, a meeting yesterday, and a couple of hours on the phone in the last week.
Weekly Bible Study
When I started taking classes at Long Beach, one of my priorities was to involve myself with the student life. My first day on campus I was approached by a student who invited me to a Bible study.
This is a one on one study of a different Gospel passage every week. The student (who is a good teacher) has brought up some good points. For example, being Christian is more than putting in the minimum of going to church and being a good person. It requires living for Jesus. However, the studies are more like reading comprehension exercises and lectures. The questions literally ask me to read a verse and answer a question. After I answer the question, which I am usually told I answered correctly, the person launches into a few minutes of explanation and commentary.
Today I was going to tell the person that I am not getting anything more out of the readings and our meetings. He gives great speeches and brings in some good examples, but I am beyond where he is teaching to. In addition, my commitments to my current church group have significantly increased, as I wrote about above.
However, I had to tell him I was not going to a retreat he invited me to attend. He was disappointed, so I did not want to tell him I would drop the weekly Bible studies as well.
As for attending his retreat, this is my choice: Cal at UCLA football game with friends I know from church I see once or twice a year, or a Bible conference with people I have never met. Which one would you chose?
On a related note, if you live in Northern California, are looking for blue and gold spirited excitement on October 29th, and want an excuse for a road trip, I heard about a promotion (which I think is still going on) to get two free tickets to the Cal at UCLA game. Let me know and I will tell you more.
For the past 5 years I have been to the football game the Bears play in Los Angles every year and I do not plan on breaking my streak. I have also been to every one of the Bear's bowl games since the 2008 season. I will go to the game this year, but the Bears need 4 more wins to be bowl eligible. UCLA, Oregon State, and Washington State are the most winnable games, but they still have to win one against Oregon, USC, Utah, Andrew Luck's team, or ASU.
As a reminder, Thursday night is the first of two consecutive Thursday night games the Bears will be playing. The Bears will be playing at Oregon this week, and host USC next week.
For the last year I have been involved with a retreat program at church. It started as just one weekend, but it continued with weekly meetings. While I started out as a participant, I eventually joined in the planning and leadership for future retreats.
I helped plan the last weekend that was scheduled for August. However, the weekend had to be canceled because only two people signed up. Then the leaders of the group decided to stop holding the weekly meetings.
In case you are keeping track, this is the second weekly group I have been involved with at church that has died after I got very involved with it. The last one was a young adult group that died in the summer of last year.
That day in August was the end of the retreat program, or at least it should have been. However, one of the people did not want it to end. He talked to me and another person and we decided to keep meeting to keep the group alive. For the last few weeks the three of us have been meeting and planning how to restart the program.
When we met, there is prayer, discussion on the readings for the upcoming Sunday, and then I give a short presentation on a topic we are interested in. I have talked about Divine Mercy, basic Bible organization, how to use the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the mysteries of the rosary. At one point I was identified as a scripture scholar, which is something I never expected.
Right now we are finding a second time to met every week because someone's work schedule was suddenly changed. Also, we are preparing for a dinner with the pastor. I do not know why we are meeting with him (it was other people in the group who planned it). I am worried because the presentation these other people created is very boring; I did not even read all of the first page. However, I created an exciting presentation plan to share with them.
This has taken up a few hours every Wednesday, a meeting this past Sunday, a meeting yesterday, and a couple of hours on the phone in the last week.
Weekly Bible Study
When I started taking classes at Long Beach, one of my priorities was to involve myself with the student life. My first day on campus I was approached by a student who invited me to a Bible study.
This is a one on one study of a different Gospel passage every week. The student (who is a good teacher) has brought up some good points. For example, being Christian is more than putting in the minimum of going to church and being a good person. It requires living for Jesus. However, the studies are more like reading comprehension exercises and lectures. The questions literally ask me to read a verse and answer a question. After I answer the question, which I am usually told I answered correctly, the person launches into a few minutes of explanation and commentary.
Today I was going to tell the person that I am not getting anything more out of the readings and our meetings. He gives great speeches and brings in some good examples, but I am beyond where he is teaching to. In addition, my commitments to my current church group have significantly increased, as I wrote about above.
However, I had to tell him I was not going to a retreat he invited me to attend. He was disappointed, so I did not want to tell him I would drop the weekly Bible studies as well.
As for attending his retreat, this is my choice: Cal at UCLA football game with friends I know from church I see once or twice a year, or a Bible conference with people I have never met. Which one would you chose?
On a related note, if you live in Northern California, are looking for blue and gold spirited excitement on October 29th, and want an excuse for a road trip, I heard about a promotion (which I think is still going on) to get two free tickets to the Cal at UCLA game. Let me know and I will tell you more.
For the past 5 years I have been to the football game the Bears play in Los Angles every year and I do not plan on breaking my streak. I have also been to every one of the Bear's bowl games since the 2008 season. I will go to the game this year, but the Bears need 4 more wins to be bowl eligible. UCLA, Oregon State, and Washington State are the most winnable games, but they still have to win one against Oregon, USC, Utah, Andrew Luck's team, or ASU.
As a reminder, Thursday night is the first of two consecutive Thursday night games the Bears will be playing. The Bears will be playing at Oregon this week, and host USC next week.
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