Thoughts, Rants and Subliminal Suggestions

Classes start!

Things have really been flying along nicely. Classes started yesterday and it looks like this year is going to be interesting in both good and bad ways. The classes are going to be interesting but they are going to be hard as hell. I've got Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy with Dr. Morris. Dr. Morris is a fun guy, but his exams suck ass. Plus the lab is going to be just like Invertebrate Zoology only 10 times worse. Gah, I hate memorization. Our first lab even occurred, as in, we had a lab to do, and we'll have a lab quiz on the information next lab meeting! I'm going crazy already. Marine Biology with Dr. Turner is going to be fun. Nearly every lab meeting is going to be out in the field. I've heard that it's really hard to keep up with the lab notebook notes but I think I might actually be good at something like that. Mammalian Physiology is probably going to be my easiest class, which is sad. Dr. Grace is an awesome guy andI although I've heard his tests for this class tend to disable your writing hand, I've had Pathophysiology and Pharmacology at GHAMAS, this can't be much different.
I'm also taking Limnology which is looking to be a really cool lecture. It seems to be Community Ecology all over again but that's okay. If I've already heard the information, it should be easier to remember. My only fear is the stories I've heard of how the professor hates biology students (the class is in another department, DMES) and how his tests are super hard. As in, he'll spend three days on a subject and the essay question will be on a point he mentioned for two minutes. Joy. Limnology is also one of my wierd classes where I'm in class with graduate students. The undergrad and grad version of the course are taught at the same time. Supposedly the only difference is the test version. Hmmmm. My last class is Modeling for Ecology and Biology. This one scares me. It's going to be fun, and I can't wait to learn the material, but oh my god, I have to learn to program. To top it all off, our term paper is a 'program' that we think of, write ourselves that can help out our own research in some way. I'm so freakin scared. MatLab is scary. Please help

On a more positive note, I took a chance and asked Dr. Grace if he knew anything about Astrobiology. On a whim. I am so glad I asked. Apparently people at NASA want to start a program with Florida Tech biology students in Astrobiology. All they need are interested students. I asked at the perfect time! So now Dr. Grace has become my unofficial grad school advisor and is getting me in contact with the people up at KSC. If I'm lucky, grad school will be paid for and I'll get to do Astrobiology AND have an in in the field. I've determined that God exists. If not then I can't explain why all this summer I've kept hearing about Astrobiology topics when I had made up my mind to give it up and pursue Marine Biology. I'm so thrilled!!!!
That's enough for now, I've got to wash dishes, although I could do that tomorrow. But I'm psyched! Maybe I'll read a bit in my textbooks. That couldn't hurt. And clean up my room.

G'Night!

posted by Amy M @ 11:15 PM