grades!

so, first off... if you don't know: i'm still taking classes. that's what happens when you wait 'till you're 25 to start grad-school. i am really looking forward to the day when i never have to sign up for another required course again. that being said, i got my grades back today and have to say for how much i hated the class i've been griping about for the last few months i'm happy with a solid b. i was somewhat worried about my potential grade after the midterm (which i muffed) but managed at least to pull it together in the end.

you should realize that in grad-school, a b grade is more like an undergrad c, but my gpa is still quite good, so who gives a crap. next semester is the first time i'll be taking just the classes i'm really interested in: tectonics and climate change, geomorphology seminar and field tectonics seminar. they all have to do with active tectonics, structural deformation and geomorphology. if they hold my attention, i'll be looking at a return to the glory days of school when i actually got straight a's. it's strange how my grades tend to be directly proportional to how interested i am in the subject... supposedly it should be tied to the difficulty of the course, but in the past i have aced difficult/interesting courses while nearly failing boring easy courses. advanced kinematics vs. intro computer programming for one example.

several of my friends have recently reiterated how they tend to think in if:then clauses and "for" loops because they spend so much time dealing with code. blech! give me a geologic map, some colored pencils and drafting tools anyday over lines and lines of eye-crossing code. one reason i enjoy working with my advisor is his description of what he does for a living; "i make pretty pictures".

~t