4 weeks to go

I know "they" say the older you get the faster the time goes. I am amazed how quickly the last few months have gone. I am curious what my classmates thoughts are about taking an online class. I have learned a lot over these past weeks and the convenience of not having to be at class is a big help. Of course there are some aspects that we miss out on, like not having the benefit of Kenya in a classroom environment being able to speak in person. Email is a great tool however and Kenya always answered mine in a timely manner. I know that for myself the biggest issue was staying organized. The first couple weeks of class were a little confusing to me and I missed a few assingnments because I wasn't prepared. Overall I think online classes are very useful.

Spring Break

It felt more like Christmas break than Spring Break. What is going on with this weather? I was studying on the fourth floor of the library and a big snowstorm blew through as I watched two giraffes in the zoo walk by,pretty crazy! The week consisted of watching the snow fall,mailing a bunch of packages,taking my shoes to the "shoeguy"and studying chemistry.
My friend Alan and myself did however manage to flyfish the South Fork of the Boise river. It was a pretty nice day in Boise but the South Fork is north of Mountain Home and it's elevation is almost 5000ft. It was 35 degrees when we got there and the wind was howling. We try to tell ourselves it's great to be outside and not in class but it didn't quite feel the same. We did manage to catch 4 to 5 each but the cold weather and wind made us cut the trip short to drink coffee and smoke cigars. Overall not a bad week of having some time off.

A&P

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has commented on my blog. It makes class go a little easier when you know other people have went through the same thing. One of the problems for me is when you have a class like anatomy and physiology with 180 people in it, it's very difficult to have any type of discourse within the class. In other words if you have a question, forget about asking it in class, there is no time. I know a class like this is a weeding process but I feel strongly that there is a fine line between knowing the information and taking a test. I studied pretty hard for the exam I had taken last Friday and got an 80. I have this feeling after every exam when I get a B especially a low B that I really know more than the grade I received. For me then it becomes how the test is structured. Does it really mean I don't know the information as well as the person who got an A if he/she is better at taking tests than I am? One question had so many opposing statements I wasn't even sure how to answer it!
I will study harder for the next one though.

Chemistry

I'm taking chemistry 105 which is an accelerated class it combines chem 101 and 102 into one semester. The class meets twice a week for two hours and we cover a chapter a day. The first exam covered five chapters which were not that difficult if you studied. The exam itself is one hundred questions worth a point a piece and we have two hours to take it at the testing center. I got a 93 which I was happy with. We also have a twenty five point quiz every week which I miss one or two at the most. So the second exam which I had taken last Friday I got a 65 (the class average was a 65). I'm not one of these people that gets upset about screwing up an exam but I studied my butt off for this thing and was not happy with a D. It brought my total grade down to a B but we also can drop one exam and this will be it for me. This was also the hardes test for the class so it's nice to have it out of the way and hopefully I can pull my grade up.

Time to quit the job and lab time.

I thought when I started school that I would be able to work on the weekends however the problem with that is my wife works in the evenings Saturday and Sunday whereas I worked during the day. We knew we would be busy, passing each other at the door but after a semester and a half of competing for study time I'm calling it quits.
I really do not understand how BSU comes up with the class crediting. I'm taking chemistry 105 which is 5 credits and Anatonomy Physiology which is 4 credits both which have a lab that is three hours long. The chem lab is worth 2 credits you do the lab, take an easy pre quiz and you're done. The Physiology lab is worth 1 credit and and is a class in itself. The amount of work required does not compare to the chemistry lab whatsoever.
This makes a difference if you are trying to balance your schedule because these labs start to add up and essentially are another class themselves. In my opinion somebody needs to evaluate the credit system for classes with a lab based on workload.

Playing Catch Up!

I mentioned last week that the three of us were sick so that put us all behind with our studies and now I feel like I'm really behind. I took an exam in Anatomy and Physiology last week, the class average was 73 and I scored a 74. It was probably the hardest exam I have ever taken and that includes airline training.
I'm also taking an accelerated chemistry class. We cover a chapter a day two days a week and it is also really picking up. It is hard to remember why we do this, going back to school for the second time that is but as I have stated in previous posts it is a great time to be in school.
Ofcourse as life goes by too quickly, school will be over someday, my kids will be in college and maybe I will walk my daughter down the aisle someday.
In the meantime I will study harder get less sleep, probably quit my part time job and enjoy the time as it comes to me.

Everyone is sick

All three of us became sick this week. I don't know if we ran ourselves to the end of our rope or if the sickness gods decided it was our turn, It's one thing when you get sick but when your little daughter gets sick for the first time it tough because she doesn't realize why she is having a hard time breathing or coughing up junk. I've read that the common cold (although this felt much worse than the common cold) runs it's course in seven days and true enough this is the seventh day and we are all starting to feel normal.
I'm not sure if I believe in this idea of Dayquil and Nightquil because the Dayquill makes my head spin just like the night stuff does. Has anyone else had this experience?
When you operate on such a tight schedule getting sick is not part of the program. It's not easy to study when your head feels like a balloon or have to think about chemistry. So now that we are all starting to feel better it's time to catch up on the homework we have put off for a week!

A little fly fishing

Studying with a seven month old

Ah the days of immobility are now days of the past for Ada. She started crawling about three weeks ago and as excited as we were to have her move on her own, it has created a new set of issues. The first and most important is trying to study and make sure she doesn't hurt herself. I had recently watered the plants and Ada thought that the ficus tree might make something fun to play in especially since she has never played with mud before. I walked out of the room for a minute to come back and find her covered in dirt and somehow managed to take her pants off.
Anyway school is a constant challenge not just because of my daughter but my wife went back to school full time as well. Time to study is the major issue with us.
We are in constant competition for study time but somehow we manage to get things accomplished. It makes both of us wonder what we did with all of our "free time" before we had Ada and started school.

My daughter and the Super Bowl

I was not really that concerned with who won the Super Bowl since the Steelers were not in it but I was hoping that the Saints would be able to pull it off anyway.
That afternoon Ada (my daughter) was taking a nap and I was thinking the timing was perfect; she would wake up and I would feed her then head over to my friend Alan's to watch the second half of the game. When she awakened from her nap it started with screaming that lasted for about twenty minutes until she was calm enough for me to give her a bottle. That was good for awhile until the car ride, which I think Ada might be the only seven month old that does not enjoy a drive even if it is only ten minutes.
We arrive at Alan's, Ada is still screaming, tears running down her face by now and I cannot get her to stop. I walk around outside with her for awhile hoping she will calm down but cries for another twenty minutes.
Finally she runs out of tears and I feel terrible, the neighbors are wondering who is pulling their kids arms off so we go inside.everything is going great until Alan's wife wants to hold her and the crying starts all over again.
Is this seperation anxiety? She was never like this before, her age might have something to do with it now that she is more aware of things and people.
So we watched the rest of the game the Saints won, she fell asleep and woke up as I was putting her in the car carrier and cried the whole way home and fell asleep in my arms, pissed at me for taking her away from home but at least the SAaints won the Super Bowl!

It is great time to be in school

I lost my job almost two years ago as a pilot for American Eagle Airlines. I have chased aviation as a career for almost twenty years and finally decide it was time for a career change.

The next question was what would I do at forty years old? My wife has a friend that is an MD and suggested that I should be a Physicians Assistant. I thought that nursing might be an option but at Boise state the facilities are limited so I decided to go with a pre-medical degree and on to graduate school to be a physicians assistant.

It is a great time to be in school because the job market is so limited it is difficult to find any type of a job. I decided not to be one of those people that is looking along with everybody else and instead increase my options by continuing my education.

I had forgotten how great the lifestyle is in college especially in a town like Boise. I live a short distance from the Greenbelt and commuting on my bike is beneficial in many ways. College campuses are like miniature cities, everything is there that you need. Restaurants and the gym they are all close by.

Another great benefit after losing my job is having health care. My wife is attending Boise state as well, for her teaching certification, so we are both covered. Having health care gives me a sense of security and knowing we are broadening our horizons, giving us more options in life.
It is a great time to be in school.

25 Things

1 I love my family
2.I love to learn
3.I love fly fishing
4.Boise is the best spot I have lived in along with Greece.
5.Kids are great especially when they are your own.
6.Go Steelers (next year anyway!)
7.Flying is better as a hobby not a career.
8.I'm from Pittsburgh
9.I wrecked on my mountain bike and spent the night in the hospital while my eight month pregnant wife had to come and get me.
10.I went fishing the day before my daughter was born.
11.Ada was born the day my mother died six years earlier.
12.I like the sun
13.Boise get around 280 days of sunshine a year.
14.Pittsburgh gets around 90 days of sunshine a year.
15.Going back to school is always good even if you think you're too old to learn.
16. You're never too old to learn.
17.Carp are a great fish to catch on a fly rod.
18.I wonder how old my daughter will be when and if she learns how to fish.
19.I used to manage a restaurant in Hatteras North Carolina.
20 I was a bartender.
21.I met a lot of great people as a bartender.
22.I love food.
23.I love beer.
24.I love wine.
25. It's all good.