Man of Science, Man of Faith » luke damron

Fall 2009 Semester, Gone Already

bryan — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:28:34 +0000

It seems like just two or three weeks ago the fall semester was starting up. I feel like I just got settled into the rhythm of classes. Now it’s a week past over and honestly feels like it was gone in a blink. I have it on good authority that time flies when you’re having fun.

And what would any semester be without a wrap-up of all the folks who made it possible? Here we go:

Circuits: Zach Pemberton, Brenton McCuskey, Caitlyn Davis-McDaniel, Zach Burns, Juliana Phelps, Coleman Johnson, my occasional lab partner Jessica Warner, and last but by no stretch of the imagination least, my usual lab partner Lauren Hays.

Physics. Oh physics. This class was a joke. A big, fat, stolen joke. But there were still people in it, albeit fewer and fewer as the semester went on. The notable were: Jessica Meadows, Zach Pemberton, Jese Vance, Julie Ball, Philip Hatfield, Lauren, Brennan Skeens, Monica Urrutia and Brittany Whited. I’m sure that while we may forget the material, we will never forget Wilson.

Physics had a lab as well. I have to thank my lab partners here – they were my life raft in a sea of broken Engrish. Sara Lilly and Kayla Johnson, you ladies were wonderful. I also have to give a shout out to Lauren, Brennan and Audrey Smith who were the group next to mine.

Statics: Lauren, Brennan, Jese, Julie, Philip, Monica, Kristen Bobuk, Tyler Spurlock, Zach Burns, and JD Stanley. See you all next semester in dynamics, I’m sure.

This is not by any means an exhaustive list of everyone in every class. It is a list of the people I actually spoke to.

I also need to give a shout to some fantastic friends for supporting me in my endeavors and follies: Luke Damron, Leigh Williams Fregia, Jennifer Scott, Jennifer McComas, Melanie Grieco and Tiffany V.

Day 128

bryan — Sat, 09 May 2009 03:01:41 +0000

I took my calculus final bright and early this morning at 8. I’m glad it is done. This is a Good Thing. Grades come out Wednesday. I remember the good old days when one could see their grades as they were submitted and posted to MILO. Alas, someone decided it would be a Good Idea to hold grades until students had been kicked out of the dorms and professors were two days into their summer vacations. I believe this is to keep the number of grade appeals down.

In keeping with tradition, this is the part where I do my shout-outs to the folks I’ve rolled mad and deep with.

In Cusick’s Calc II class: Patrick Shoemaker, Anna Maria Firth, Jessica Beres, Tyler Spurlock, Kristen Bobuk, Zach Burns, Greg Sowards and the rest of you too.

In chemistry, Luke Damron, you’re pretty much my one and only. Except in the lab. That was all Greg Sowards and Lauren Hays.

For Engineering Computations: Tyler, Kristen and Zach I’ve mentioned already but I’ll include Rachael Parlock, Harley Bullard, Seth Bartrig and Richard Six.

For Engineering Econ: Lauren and the other 4 people who sat close. Sorry – I didn’t catch your names. Not even after 16 weeks. But I know you are CS majors. Does that count?

To all of you, thanks for making it a good semester. I’ll see some of you next semester, I’m sure.

Good to know I’m not the only fossil

bryan — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:06:34 +0000

I managed to make it through the first week back in classes. There are several standout items.

First, I feel like a fossil. I don’t consider myself to be an old guy, but the majority of other students running around seem to me, at this point, to be aged about twelve. Indeed, I am nearly a decade older than the youngest of them. I remember the first Bush. Heck, I have vague memories of Reagan. They’re all so young and full of life. That’ll pass.

Second, I passed Ed Mondolfi on my way to a class Monday. At the time, I had a little chuckle about it since the two of us graduated high school together. Turns out that he is in my Friday chem lab. We’re totally lab partners. This may or may not turn out to be a good thing.

Third, on Tuesday while waiting to get into my calculus class, Luke Damron passed in the hallway. He didn’t see me so I tapped him on the shoulder and we caught up a little bit. He and I somehow came to very similar realizations. His was that newspapers are a dying industry and that he needs a better job. He is back pursuing a biology degree on the way to med school.

Fourth, I own 100 shares of Journal Register, a dead newspaper stock. It died after I bought it. It shows no signs of coming back to life. I continue to hold on to it. It is quite literally worthless, so selling it would be stupid – the only place you can go from the bottom is up.

Fifth, my brain is rusty. Very rusty. I jumped right into calculus. The last math class I had was statistics and that was in the fall of 1999, so 9 years ago. Prior to that, my last semester of high school was devoid of a math class which puts my last high school math class at the beginning of my senior year. That said, I don’t seem to be any further behind than my classmates who have hopefully had more recent mathematical exercises.

Sixth, if it hadn’t been for Don Rogers, I really wouldn’t be prepared for any of this. The stuff I learned in that class has stuck with me.

That’s all for now, I’m sure there will be more later.