Monday, December 08, 2008

I think I've adjusted back into the old time zone. I'm still staying up a bit later than I'd prefer and sleeping a bit later too, but at least I'm down to the old eight hours routine. I'm also sort of caught back up in my coursework, though I kind of skipped a lot of the stuff I was behind on. I'm mostly concentrating on my next assignments and the material I need to study for them. Once they are out of the way, I can focus on learning at a less frantic pace.

While at my parents' house, I helped my youngest sister with her pre-algebra homework. Luckily enough I had just studied the exact same thing about a month and a half ago, and I remembered it well. Then my other younger sister asked for help with her precalculus which I was happy to give--once my father explained it to me. Did I remember it? Hardly. But I understood it easily enough, so I think subconsciously I do remember it from my high school days. A lot of the mathematics I'm studying now are skipping from discipline to discipline. At the moment I'm studying matrices which I seem to remember studying when I took college algebra at age 16/17. But then when I studied pre-algebra, I was 12/13. My math history started with arithmetic, then pre-algebra, algebra I, geometry, algebra II, trigonometry and college algebra, and finally calculus. This math class I'm taking now seems to jump from each branch extremely quickly. If I had not studied all this previously, I think I might find it a lot more difficult.

And my software class, which is also an introductory course into the subject, is quite difficult. I had a very brief sojourn with HTML as a teenager, and a brush with Java. The HTML was easy to pick up. I struggled with the Java. And I'm struggling with the programming basics of this course as well. We're not studying a specific programming language but it's all so new to me I really have to concentrate to understand it. It's the course I'm taking the most time with and not skipping anything. Still, I am enjoying the challenge and I enjoy learning new things.
Just for fun, here's a video Partner took during our sojourn into the Narrows. I'm briefly visible in the shot, as is my mother. My father also pops in for a moment.

1 comment:

Gilbrides said...

Hi Galadriel, I know it's been forever since we've talked but it's so good to catch up with you. I wanted to send you a Christmas card but I couldn't find your address. I know it won't make it in time, but if you don't mind giving me your address again I'd love to send it so you can have it before New Years. :) (if you want, you can email me at kathysuemerrell@hotmail.com) I am so glad you were able to spend time with your parents. I am sure they were so glad to spend the time with you! I hope all is going well for you--I'd love to catch up.

Kathy