Calculus Update

I should update my progress in my Calculus Class. This has been a geek's adventure, I assure you. Tonight begins my fourth week of the eight-week summer course. Normally, it's 16-weeks which is to say I'm really bustin' my hump to learn this shit in a maniacally fast, compressed course. Do you think the instructor will cut us any slack as to how much material we cover? Nope. The entire textbook is listed on on syllabus and she's right on track with all of it so far.

Yeesh. (And if you think the word "yeesh" is outdated and old-fashioned, you're right. Who cares?)

Last week's experience was an eye-opener: We had our first big exam but before I tell you how I did, you have to listen to this story first. Unless you hate my stories, then skip to the bottom and find the score. And on your way down there, blow me.

So, the weekend before last, July 2, to be precise, I spent all evening after work on Friday studying until 10:00pm. Then all day Saturday studying from 8:00am to 10:00pm. Then Sunday, I taught piano from 9am to 10:30am, then did bookkeeping work for a client until 2:00pm, then came home and studied from 2:30pm until 10:30pm. Monday, I had the day off from work and studied from 8:00am to 6:00pm and my brain finally said, "Fuck you, Wag. I'm not working on this any more." I told my brain, "Me either," and closed everything up and went to a movie with my woman. Spider Man 2, I think.

And after all that, I didn't feel any more competent with derivatives and differentiation than I had on Friday evening before I started that marathon. Damn.

Tuesday, I studied at lunch time and got nowhere. That evening, I asked the instructor a couple of questions and she cleared some things up. That night, I was able to make some headway, and I studied until 11:00pm. Next day, lunch, same thing; evening, instructor cleared some things up; evening study session, made a little more headway. Thursday, the day of the big exam came and at lunch, I was able to make things click. FINALLY!!! I went through the review with no troubles at all. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Whatta relief! I finally felt ready for the exam.

That evening, the instructor lectured for an hour on the next section of the class. Then a short break. Then the big moment! I was ready to shine. She hands me the test and I looked at the first question! Nothing. It was like looking at an essay about the ancient Egyptians, written in Ancient Sumerian. Crap. As I have on past tests, I read through the entire thing to see if I could at least do a couple of other questions and at least get SOMEthing right. Still nothing. The entire test was a mystery.

I turned back to page 1 and read the first problem about 500 times. Still nothing. Looked around the room at 45 other students, busily working away. Bastards. They knew what they were doing. I felt like an alien from another planet. Or at least from some other country. Damn. Now there are people getting up handing in their completed tests. Either they are 90% brains or they just gave up easier than I do. I nearly got up and surrendered myself.

What the hell. I looked at the first question again, sweat pouring from my brow. (Okay, the A/C was turned off and it was hot in there just on general principles but doesn't that sound cool? ". . . sweat pouring from my brow." Sometimes, I crack myself up!)

For whatever reason, a crack opened up on some remote part of my brain and a little pinpoint of light shone forth. "I think I understand this question all of a sudden and for no real reason at all." The answer made sense. I got excited and colored in the little box on my scantron. The next question popped out at me too and I colored that box in too! The third one as well! Hey, I'm starting to get this! (Later, I discovered that I got the third one wrong but that's the breaks.) I began working and the test was making more and more sense. I worked through everything and by the time I was done, I was one of three people left in the classroom and triumphantly handed in my test. Whew! I was done and I was confident I had actually done a good job! Well, I had.

The instructor gave me the answer key on the way out the door and I realized I had missed three questions, 9 points. I had gotten a 91. And the three I missed? One of them, I missed a minus sign. Another, I used the wrong bracket symbology. (Yes, there is a difference between "()" and "[]" if you ever take Calculus.) The third I just flat out got wrong and I suspect it was because in a long list of algebra, I missed a minus sign early on in that one too. But who knows for sure.

But a 91. Wow. I was suprised at myself, to be real frank about it. And pleased, to be sure.

And that's about as exciting and adventurous as I can make a post about Calculus. But since that's the only thing really going on in my sorry life at the moment, you'll have to take it or leave it. If you want something better, read the "Dental Times" post from May in the archive section. ;-)

--Wag--