Happenings in, and around, my life:
– I am finally finished with Midterms. From roughly last Sunday (10/10) to about 11:30 PM tonight (10/19), I have spent easily 5-12 hours a day working on different Midterm assignments and projects for my 4 classes, depending on if I worked that day. (I think I’m paying for it with a nasty eye-headache.) The results that I know so, as well as semester grades (based on a 90-100, 80-89, etc.. grading system, except for C#, which is 92-100, 84-91, etc.):
- Basic Public Speaking (online): I didn’t have a defined ‘midterm’; instead, I had to record a 6-8 minute Informative Speech and upload it to YouTube last Monday (YUCK!), plus I had some reading/questions to answer for this week, setting up for next Monday’s Persuasion Speech. Those assignments haven’t been graded yet. I was sitting at 395 out of 415 possible points – a 95.2% – as of this evening.
- Introduction to Game Development (online): I had a BIG-TIME game design project as a midterm last Monday, plus 2 chapter quizzes and a Chapter assignment due today (I turned them in on Friday and Saturday). I did OK on the quizzes (8/10 and 8/9). As for the rest, they haven’t been graded. Neither has ANY OTHER ASSIGNMENT this semester that doesn’t get graded immediately by Blackboard. We are now into week 9 of the semester….
- Python I (online): unlike Game Development, Python finally caught up with grading. I had a Midterm programming project (due today, turned in Sunday), plus some chapter reading. I aced this midterm and am sitting at 378 out of 385 points – 97.1% – so far this semester. There is a big project due on the 23rd, separate HW due on the 22nd, and the beginnings of a team Final Project due sometime next week (no date has been set yet).
- C# I (on campus): this class is the one probably the most responsible for this headache. I had our 2nd Exam to turn in today (finished earlier this evening) plus a block of 6 coding applications; I turned in 3 of the codes last week, 1 early this afternoon, and a 5th about an hour and a half ago. The 6th one, I’m going to have to take partial credit on – I could not get it to compile and run. I’m going to have to ask about the errors that I was getting in class on Wednesday. As for the grades: an 84 on the exam (a little better than I had thought), full points on the 3 codes I turned in early, and the last 2 haven’t been graded. I am sitting at 460 out of a possible 500 points – 92%, on the A/B line – as of this evening.
– I cannot explain how badly I need some time off… and I don’t mean a repeat of January-April, most of July, and late August-late September, where work was scarce and the checking account rarely stayed in double digits more than 5 days. What I need are 3-7 days of fun, relaxation, and possibly a little travel, where school is an afterthought and money isn’t/won’t be an issue, and possibly a party or get-together. Trust me, I am thankful and grateful that there are hours at work and that school is going well, for the most part. However, there has been very little down time away from HW, almost none in October, and that’s something I need to find a solution to soon… preferably before the end of the year. One thing that will help: one of the larger paychecks of the last 16 months gets deposited Tuesday morning. After bills and groceries, there might actually be enough left over to keep double digits in the bank for a few weeks! 😉
– The University of Louisville football team, my favorite school, has been an enigma this season. Their defense has been pretty decent but has spent way too much time on the field because of offensive woes. The offensive line would have problems stopping a kindergarten Red Rover runner. 2-4 on the season is not where I, or UofL fans, saw this team after 6 games. However, the last 6 games are very winnable, keeping the hopes of a decent bowl game alive.
– It amazes me how many local friends are drooling over Bernie Sanders… yet not one peep about Kentucky’s Governor’s Race. Their beliefs are that our age group (roughly 28-38) will turn out in force to vote for Sanders. If they don’t pay attention to, or turn out for, the race for the STATE GOVERNOR – in 3 weeks – what makes them think that they will magically go vote for a Presidential primary next May? Color me a very dark shade of skeptical.
– I am excited about “The Force Awakens”! It’s not quite to the excitement level of “The Avengers” or “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” (which I STILL need to watch) but I think that will change, the closer Christmas weekend gets.
– After going up about 5 pounds a few weeks ago, I have actually dropped 7 over the last 2 weeks, sitting around 231 again. More focused on toning up than weight loss at this point, but it’s always a pleasant surprise to see results.
– My INR has stayed around the 3.3-3.8 mark, which in the normal range (or just a hair high), for the last 9 months. Unfortunately, it’s inching closer to winter and cold weather, where my INR has a hard time staying steady (it spikes occasionally). It’s not easy, trying to balance the diet (watching Vitamin K and Vitamin E amounts), warmth, hydration, and health (colds/illnesses will spike an INR like crazy), all of which affect the INR. We’ll see how it reacts this season.
Also:
- The new apartment search is still on indefinite hold, until money stabilizes
- The car search is cancelled until I get an apartment
- I haven’t had an active World of Warcraft account since the 6th. in reality, I’ve only played sporadically since early September. However, I am re-activating it by the end of the week, most likely
- There is a local restaurant called Bunz that I highly recommend, if you live in Louisville or happen to be in town. I don’t know if they have indoor seating but I do know that they have call-in and online ordering. Their prices are pretty nice, especially considering the size of their burgers and portions. I tried their “Beer Cheese” burger combo a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic! They offer custom-made burgers, chicken, even portabella mushrooms, plus sides, salads, and drinks. You should check them out:
Bunz
- I haven’t given up on playing and/or marching in, and competing with, a Drum and Bugle Corps. I’m just not going to make the same mistakes and assumptions about money and jobs that I did in 2013. There is a solid-looking opportunity out there that I’m definitely interested in (*no spoilers*). If that doesn’t work, the road to drum corps still has many exits to try: back to Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Minnesota Brass, for some personal redemption or down to Atlanta (with CV) or up to Milwaukee (The Kilties), staying in the South and Mid-West, for starters. Wherever I end up, an even better work ethic and drive to excellence, plus secured funds, will come along with me.
The Nexus 