Yes, I Can Sew! Dammit!

I'm getting all excited about starting the bulk of the program, come next semester. A few things that need to get done before the clinical rotations begin- sew the patches on the tops and hem the pants up a little, since they're pretty much "one size fits all". I borrowed my mom's sewing machine last weekend and finally got busy with it last night. (Yes, on a Friday night- because I have no life.) I might do the pants tonight- they shouldn't take long.

I got my new white K-Swiss non-marking hospital-looking shoes. My health records are all up to snuff, documented and signed by the right people. I just need my grades to tell me that I'm not doing this all for not!

Until then, I'm bottling beer tomorrow or Monday. Then I'm finally putting that motorcycle back together, so I can get it sold and I can reclaim my garage space back again!!

Time to Bottle

I just put the finishing touches on the beer label. I'm pretty excited to taste how this one turned out, since I've never made an IPA before. I did the bottle count this morning and for the first time every, I don't have to peel labels off of bottles! Normally, there's a few bottles that I might have to do, mainly because we hand out beers and the bottles don't come back. For the last batch, most everyone returned the bottles for a refill. This time around, I'll be capping some larger 22 oz. bottles, as well as the standard 12 oz. jobbers, so there will actually be a little less work to do. Me happy :)

No Rest For the Wicked

So I'm all ready to have a nice four weeks off from school, relaxing, playing Starcraft 2, watch movies, surfing the web. Literally the day after my final, my desktop computer went on the fritz. My video card just suddenly died. Well, the upshot is that now I can upgrade the card, so the machine will be ready for Diablo 3, when it finally gets released.

After shopping online for a couple of days, looking around for what I might want, I decided to take a stroll to my local Fry's Electronics store. While I was cruising the memory aisle, I found an awesome deal on RAM! After the mail-in rebate, a 2GB stick of RAM would only cost me $9.99!! I just couldn't resist, so I bought two sticks. I also found a reasonable 1GB ATI Radeon video card for a reasonable price.

So far, since Friday, I've built an FTP server for my class, reinstalled Windows 7 on a Linux version Asus netbook for a classmate, troubleshot and installed a new video card, a new CMOS battery and 4GB of RAM in my main desktop PC. I'm totally in PC tech mode now, when I really should be in motorcycle mechanic mode! Still next week, I have to build up another PC for my wife, so she won't have to keep using laptops to log into work. (I'll let you in on a secret- Apple laptops ain't all that great- they have problems just like all other computers. But if I paid twice as much for a laptop, I wouldn't admit to anyone that my shit broke too. In their defense, they do have that cool Apple logo on the back and that's got to be worth a few hundred dollars.)

This week should be fun. More computer stuff, some school counseling stuff and lots of motorcycle building. Then my sister and her family blows into town from Los Angeles! I love seeing those little rugrats!

Time to Crack Open a Beer

The Summer session is over. Eighteen chapters in three and a half weeks. All I can say is WOW! I went into the final with a 90%, but that's not good enough for an A. In order to get an A, I need to get a 92%. Since the final exam is only worth 30% of my overall grade, unless I absolutely aced the test, I'm pretty well locked in the B range. The good news is that there's no way that I got less than a 75% in the class.

The test wasn't too bad- 91 questions. Raphael tested us on some medical terminology, which was in his last lecture. Unfortunately, he neglected to post the Power Point notes for that section and it wasn't in the book- it was his own special concoction. Fortunately for me, I have taken medical terminology before, so it was a snap. Others didn't fare quite as well. I'm feeling like I scored in the low 90% range, but you never know...

It's out of my hands now. I just got up from a nap. I already walked the dog. I'm opening up a bottle of home brewed beer and I'm going to kick my feet up and enjoy my month off!

Just Shoot Me Now

Okay, right about now, I think my head is going to explode from the rush of all the material that's building up in my little pea-brain. I survived a quiz yesterday with a score of 9/10 (not bad) and I'm desperately trying to prepare for tomorrow's exam #3. I spent four hours with an impromptu study group in the library today. I hardly feel like going over the chapters in the book again. Ugh!! The upshot is that I won't have to study this material for the following day's final exam!

The Final Push! (No, I'm not having a baby)

Okay, here it is. The final week of my Summer course is coming. Our class got behind in the syllabus, so we're cramming for point now. Here's my class itinerary for this week:

Monday- Quiz #3
Tuesday- Exam #3
Thursday- Final Exam

Brutal, yeah, I know. Apparently, four people didn't pass this class last Summer and this is just the "orientation" class. They were ejected from the Rad program before the real classes even started! (The passing grade is 75%.) Needless to say, students are freaking out. The stress is intense, especially for those who didn't do well on the first two exams.

Me? I got an 89 on the first exam and I'm betting that I got a 93 on this past Thursday's exam. I've got a little room for wiggle, but I would never bet that things are in the bag. This weekend, I read three chapters already, and still have another two chapters to read today. I don't want to feel like I'm reading this stuff for the first time come Wednesday.

I've already got my scrubs and they've been washed. I'm committed. I didn't get in this program to fail.

I'm Feeling More Official Every Day!

Oh, happy day! Today, all my uniforms arrived in the mail! I bought my patches from the school last week at a cost of $9.95 per patch!! It's a good thing that I was able to save so much on the scrubs. Now all I have to do is pass this Summer class! I've got my second exam on Thursday, so I've got to make sure that I put in some quality study time, since Raphael can be a little tricky with his questions- all his answers always look so good!!

Check That Off My List

So Far, So Good

Another week has come and gone. I got my score back for my first exam. Although an 89% is a respectable score, there's still room for improvement. Actually, I do believe that Raphael is going to grant me one more point on Monday, because I believe that one of the questions was incorrectly graded. The real importance of the test was finding out how he writes the tests. I did put in some good quality study time- I read each chapter twice and reviewed the class notes and lecture slides three times for the test. I just need to do a better job of focusing on what the instructor sees is more important.

We're behind on the class syllabus. That's going to make things more difficult, being that we've got the same amount of quizzes and tests to take, but less lecture time to go over the chapters. I've got another exam coming up this Wednesday. I've got six chapters to read over the weekend, so that I won't be reading the material for the first time, while preparing for the test.

Cram Time!!

Well, the first exam is upon us tomorrow. It came so quickly. As always, I'm doing my last day cramming with my 101 point to do list This is actually an easy survey class, so I don't even think the test is going to be that hard. Sometimes I think I just make more work for myself. But I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.

I spent part of my 4th of July weekend studying my notes and re-reading some of the chapters. Today, we got our first quizzes back. I received a 7/10. Not too bad, not too good. One of the questions I just circled the false instead of true, even though I knew the answer! This sleep deprivation thing is going to bite me in the ass! But now I know the types of questions the instructor (Raphael, the Program Director) is capable of asking. At least I have a slight feel for his style.

Today after class, I met up with a few classmates to do a crash study session before tomorrow's exam. One of the guys, Brian, has actually already finished his first year of the program, but is just now circling back to take this class. (Most rad tech students take this class first, before starting the meat & potatoes of the program, but last Summer, a couple of the program candidates flunked this class, so it was over for them before they even got started!! Bummer! But a wake-up call for me- DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS LIGHTLY!) He was instrumental in our study pow-wow, since he has so much more knowledge of how the physics and equipment work. We claimed a study room in the library. It was great to have a whiteboard, so we could draw pictures and formulas, so everyone could more easily understand. I'm glad I was there.

I'm just finishing re-reading the chapters. Next is glossaries, then lecture notes again. I hope I can get to bed at a decent hour, so I can feel rested before the test! Wish me luck!