rosaaaaaaaaaaaaanne

nerdforlife @ 2008-01-26T23:00:00

2008-01-27T07:20:21Z

Ok. This is going to be a long, complaining post, where I mostly talk about how busy I am. Consider yourself warned.

(Also: please note the EMPHASIZED WORDS. They are the ones in CAPITAL LETTERS. You can't miss 'em. ;) )

Ok, so yesterday was a baaaaad day. I hate fridays. Sooooo much. Hate, hate, hate! I don't know, I just always get really, really depressed. It's pretty terrible. Anyway, I'm just glad that's behind me... until next week. But let's talk about this weekend, ok? Because I am DYING in school.

We have a take-home exam for diffy q. That class is INSANE. This man, oh my gosh... I can't even explain. Apparently we also have a TA, and we can go to her office hours to get help. I'm thinking I really might have to take advantage of that. Anyway, as he was giving us her name/office number, he was like "oh, and she's an undergraduate, but she's taken all of my graduate classes, so she's good. She's also a physics major, not a math major." OH. GREAT. So I'm just the dumb physicist that can't even handle the one undergrad class he teaches. Whereas this other chick isn't even a math major, yet she's TA-ing because she took ALL of the graduate classes in a subject that isn't even her MAJOR. Ahh! So, this take-home exam. I haven't started yet. That's tomorrow. Our teacher: "DON'T make any STUPID mistakes. CHECK your answer. If you make a STUPID error, that's BAD. If you think I do problems quickly, you should see me grade your exams!" This does not bode well for me. Because that man does problems ridiculously fast in class. We were doing one yesterday, and he was like, "well, this is really a very simple problem. I've already solved it in my head, I know the answer, but let's see, I guess we can write some stuff out." He also says he won't give us a test he can't finish in 4 minutes. I believe it. The man is a freaking genius, but I am so incredibly inadequate that I just CAN'T HANDLE IT. I would also like to point out that I'll be taking this exam, when I have yet to get a SINGLE PROBLEM CORRECT this entire semester. sigh.

Programming assignment due on wednesday. It's the same assignment as last week, but now we have to use functions, and while I'm finally grasping them, for some reason they confuse the heck out me. I just HOPE I'll have time to work on it tomorrow. Or maybe not, maybe I'll do it monday/tuesday/wednesday, so I can finish other homework tomorrow. Even though the math will take me like 4 hours. And I AM NOT exaggerating. An hour per problem is NOT an over-estimate. :-\

Quantum. I actually almost finished the assignment, today. I just have one graph that is NOT cooperating and I don't know what I'm doing wrong with it. There's also this insane derivation that I'm utterly and completely STUCK on. Like, I just don't have any more ideas as to what I can try to do to the equation. I guess I'll have to ask Kris or Kent or some other guy in my class. I feel bad, I'm ALWAYS having to ask for help. I can never seem to complete a whole assignment on my own. And a few of my other problems had very "fishy" answers. For different reasons, they each just sort of "felt" wrong, but my math was telling me that, in fact, the velocity is 0. I mean, maybe it does make sense, but why would they ask that as a problem if that's the case, you know? etc etc etc.

I haven't even started my thermo homework. It's due thursday. Wednesday might be a VERY PAINFUL NIGHT. If I don't have time to get to it until later in the week, because I'm trying to finish other stuff... ug I don't even want to think about it. I really should try to get at least some of it before tuesday class, though... That is such a cool class, really interesting, but it's freaking hard, man. I leave that class, and my head is swimming in math.

Wow, I just realized something: I'm pretty freaking good at math. I mean, I know I feel terrible at it, but... with the exception of diffy q, I'm pretty good. I mean, maybe I don't always understand it all at first glance, but looking at all the crazy math in quantum/thermo, and being expected to know/understand it, I know it's not really like, way beyond me, or anything. How exciting. Anyway!

I'm not even trying to do my reading for UH anymore, either. Screw that.

Also: In case I didn't have enough due this week, all of my internship applications are due either wednesday or thursday. I'm done with.... 3? 2 to go. Oh geez. I hate writing these dumb essays. "In reality, I don't entirely want to get this internship because it requires working. But on the other hand, it would be cool. Just make the decision for me, please, thanks."

In other news, I decided I'm going to run a half-marathon in may. As you may or may not know, one of my Goals In Life is to run a marathon... so I better get my butt in gear, right? Anyway, as you also may or may not know, I am NOT a runner. I don't run. EVER! I'm like the queen when it comes to the elliptical, and I mean, I'm not in terrible shape or anything, but I just don't run. So! With 4+ months, I need to get to 13ish miles. Today, I tackled one of the only pieces of gym equipment I have NEVER confronted before: the treadmill. HOLY CRAP that think KICKED MY BUTT! I managed 3.75 miles in 35 minutes. I was sweating so freaking hard, I don't think I've had such a good workout in a LONG time! I did another 35 minutes on my normal elliptical, but holy crap. My muscles are sore! It was good, but... geeez! Time to whip myself into shape, right?!

nerdforlife @ 2008-01-15T22:28:00

2008-01-16T06:33:25Z

Stress, stress, stress, stress and a little bit more STRESS!

HOLY CRAP. How is it even POSSIBLE to already be this overwhelmed and stressed out. I just want to curl up in bed and CRY. FOREVER.

I SUCK at differential equations. I had ONE problem to do for homework, and I have NO IDEA how to solve it. I tried reading the book, but I can't even find the right section (the problem was from a photocopy of a different edition), and even if I COULD find it, the book is impossible to understand, anyway. I SUCK at thermodynamics. We spent like half an hour deriving this crazy approximation and I DO NOT understand it, I just scribbled it down trying to make sense of it but I don't even KNOW what it MEANS, much less how to duplicate the results. I SUCK at programming, and I do NOT want to have to go over my program and figure out if I did things wrong, because it doesn't make SENSE and I don't REMEMBER all these things. I can't really say I SUCK at quantum yet, because we haven't actually been assigned anything, but I'm just sort of hoping I understand things in class.

In summary: I SUCK AT LIFE.

(Yes. To me, math + science = life.)

nerdforlife @ 2008-01-14T22:16:00

2008-01-15T06:19:37Z

I officially feel like a geek now because I have now officially coded my own, first program! Ok, so I didn't finish the assignment, but I'm ALMOST done, and I just got sick of it. And it's sad, because it is so ridiculously simple, and yet, I'm already like, just having to copy the form of the examples, and stuff.

But, you know, if you ever need to find the area of a triangle, or solve a third-order polynomial, or a few other things liek that, let me know. I've got you covered.

(grrrrrr at computer science!)

P.S. Geeks are cool. Really. I just find it hard to see myself sitting around writing computer programs. I'm not exactly a computer person. Ahh.

nerdforlife @ 2008-01-07T21:11:00

2008-01-08T05:21:59Z

I spent $560 on books, today. My physics books are RIDICULOUS.

Modern book

Thermodynamics book

Basically, even though you might not be able to tell from the pictures, they are ridiculously scary looking. Like, I feel like I'm supposed to be really, really smart to just LOOK at these books..... much less take a course for them and use them and underst and themand LEARN them!

My math teacher is soooo...strange. Differential Equations is strange, but maybe it's only because I don't know what is happening. He's sort of insane, though. The way he talks... It's sort of frightening. He's very loud, and animated, and enthusiastic, and he never stops, and he doesn't use notes because he has a ridiculous memory, like he wrote down a table of (what seemed like) 20 random number (all decimals), and assured us they were the right values for the error function of something-or-other, and that he could reproduce the same table later, he just has a really good memory, and we only have take-home exams because the university thinks that the only way that you can learn anything is to scare the hell out of you, but we don't NEED that pressure, in the real world nobody CARES if we can solve the problem in 50 minutes, and we can look up references, so why make us do it in school, and mu of x is e to the negative x squared, and we should memorize that because what if there was a guy with a machete waiting outside the door who would chop us down if we didn't know that, and since this function is multiplied by an exponential, and the function is set to zero, and the exponential can NEVER equal zero, so if this is true then obviously these inner terms equal ZEEEROOO. Seriously, he talks just like that. ZEEEROOO. It's so funny.

And he said "ergo" in his lecture about 5 times. I am NOT even kidding.

The man is INSANE. He said our class is the only class he teaches that isn't a graduate class, but still!

History junk is boring. The man reminds me sliiiiiiightly of Mr. Raydar, but not annoying. Computer Science is STUPID. I already can tell I'll hate it. Sigh.

nerdforlife @ 2007-12-16T11:14:00

2007-12-16T19:15:25Z

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=288773>1=7703

:( :( :( :( :(

nerdforlife @ 2007-12-14T19:19:00

2007-12-15T03:20:36Z

FREEDOM!

nerdforlife @ 2007-12-13T22:39:00

2007-12-14T06:46:52Z

Sooooooo..... I really suck. Really suck at studying, especially.

All day, I've done nothing. Well, no. I did some linear algebra, but it was hardly any. I haven't reviewed ANY of the old material. I sort of DON'T CARE, at this point. And I haven't studied for spanish at all. Which is in... about 10 hours. I should look through the vocab, and verb tenses, at least! See, I suck. I can't be made to CARE!

The physics test SUCKED, by the way. I mean, just in case you were wondering. It was loooong and I took 2 hours and was finally like "you know what I don't know let's just turn it in." I made some stuff up, and at least I boxed an answer for every one, but... yeah. One of the questions asked us to derive the equation for beats, given two wave equations. Now, when it comes to beats, I just remember ƒbeat=ƒ2 –ƒ1. I mean, that's really all you're doing. But no no no, this was using the two waves, Asin(2piF1t) + Asin(2piF2t), so I just sort of.... combined terms, added the amplitude, and took out a 2pit in each, using some trig identity, even though I don't think it was really mathematically legal. And my result was something like 2Asin(2pit(f2-f1)) so at least it looks a little bit like it?

In any case, it was ridiculous.

Ok I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to be studying. I'm going to regret my lack of studying tomorrow. Ehhhh......

Ughhhh, break is soooooooo clooooseeeeee........

I'm also all alone in my suite. Normally there are 5 other girls around, and now I'm all alone. :( lonely!

nerdforlife @ 2007-12-10T19:44:00

2007-12-11T03:47:06Z

No more calculus. Ever! Class, at least. Differential equations, here i coooooome. The final sort of sucked, but I'm fairly confident I passed the class. :-P I hope.

PHYSICS on the other hand. you'd laugh if you could see me at my desk right now. in order to type, i'm stretched way accross my book, piles of scrap paper, a semester's worth of old homework and solutions, and my notebook. I know...pretty much nothing. Ceq=(1/C1+1/C2+1/C3+...)^-1 for capacitors in series. There, I know one thing. Now let's add twenty million more things.

Basically, I am so beyond screwed, I'm going to CRY.

nerdforlife @ 2007-12-08T18:31:00

2007-12-09T02:38:56Z

ohmygoshohmygoshohmyFREAKINGGOSH.

I am going to absolutely DIE.

Calculus final monday morning. On the bright side, this means I will never have to take another calculus class ever again. That's only because it means I will have completed all the calculus classes that exist, and instead I get to do fun stuff like take an entire class devoted to differential equations (kill me now!) but even so!

Physics final tuesday afternoon and HOLY CRAP I CANNOT STUDY FOR THIS I DON'T REMEMBER A THING! lasdjflksdjf

Biology final wednesday night, but studying for that class will consist of reading my notes once. IF that. The class is such a joke; I have a 98% right now. I'm not too worried.

Spanish final friday morning. I'm glad I don't have to worry about spanish, because otherwise, no se como podria estudiar para el examen. Tengo vocabulario para aprender y formas de verbos y conjugaciones para revisar, pero no es nada dificil. Que bueno.

Linear Algebra final friday afternoon. As long as I can study thursday and learn, it's not too bad. I have an A- right now. So if I can scrape by with a B+ at least overall, I don't mind.l

BUT CALC AND PHYSICS ARE GOING TO KILL ME. Especially physics. Math, at least you can do problems, and work through it, etc. And I've gotten through a few sections in the last few days, and while I am by no means ready for the test, I feel much better about it. Physics, on the other hand, is impossible. There is no way in heck I am ever going to remember all the equations from one chapter, let alone all 14 chapters that the test will cover. I got through like 5 problems so far. I don't understand. I don't remember how to do anything and nothing makes sense. I freaking hate this.

Can I pleaaaase just not think ever again?!

nerdforlife @ 2007-12-03T23:00:00

2007-12-04T07:01:49Z

So, I get to go home in 12 days. Finals next week.

And I have nothing left to say to you.

nerdforlife @ 2007-11-20T17:38:00

2007-11-21T01:43:42Z

Well, I'm home. Which is wonderful (for the most part... coughfathercough). However, there is a new installment in the rollercoaster story that is My Major Or Lack Thereof.

I'm back to physics. I'm pretty much "not allowed" to change, apparently. Whatever. So I dropped all the FSHN classes and stuff, and re-registed for physics...The only problem is the comp sci class, which is now FULL, but I NEED it. Sooo we'll see. Anyway, there is a new development. I decided a new thing that I want to be: a patent attorney. No, really! Patent agent would work too, so I'm not sure which, but we'll see. Seriously, though. Beacuse you need a science degree, and you need to be able to write/communicate, and it's basically sounding really, really good. Still on the "cutting-edge" of research, supposedely... You still do science-y things, and help inventors with their inventions and stuff... And you also get paid a TON. I'm sorry, but any job where entry-level positions pay $115,000 a year with no experience is a good job, in my opinion. ;) But really. When I first heard about it I was like "ew, that just SOUNDS terrible" but then I looked up some info on it, and it's looking very appealing. So that is my plan. The end.

nerdforlife @ 2007-11-15T23:32:00

2007-11-16T07:38:21Z

I AM SO FRUSTRATED!

Yesterday, I finally did it. I dropped my physics/math/comp sci classes for next semester, and registered for my new major-- Food Science and Human Nutrition.

I told my dad. He was/is? not pleased. Anyway, that sort of made for a pretty awful night. Tonight, I decided I needed to get all sorts of info together to convince him it was a good major. I sort of accidentally found out that my future schedule was going to be weird, so I worked it out, and then I realized... Oh, crap. There are a TON of extra class requirements for Honors, and I don't have enough free credits to meet them. So either I pay a TON of extra money, and take a bunch of EXTRA classes (Gee, sounds like loads of fun), and HOPE that all the other little assumptions work out (ie: take spanish at everett community college, because apparently they're the only ones that have a transferable class, and then go on this trip to Brazil this summer to get credit for another class, etc), or I... well... or else, I don't know.

As of right now, though, this is were I stand: I am registed for a major that will not work.

WHAT THE HECK, MAN! I finally convinced myself that it's OK not to do physics, and now I'm trapped. WHAT. THE. HECK.

And I can't drop out of Honors beacuse then I have to meet all the normal University requirements and I'd probably have to take the same amount of stupid classes to make up for it.

nerdforlife @ 2007-11-14T18:59:00

2007-11-15T03:00:11Z

Hi my name is Rosanne. And I just changed my major.

nerdforlife @ 2007-11-05T19:03:00

2007-11-06T03:07:56Z

Because I know you really care about being updated on my life:

- There are less than two weeks left until Thanksgiving break, and then after that, two weeks + finals week, and then it is Christmas. This makes me very happy.

- I have come to realize what my ultimate goal for my entire WSU career: date a baseball player. I won't go into it, but really, I'm pretty sure this is a big deal.

- I suck at making myself do homework unless it is due TOMORROW. It's beginning to be a problem.

- My mommy came to visit last weekend and it was amazing.

- Vitasoy has a soy holiday nog that I really really really can't wait to try.

- I might be changing my major. I really want to, but I'm also afraid. We will see what happens.

- Daylight savings time is the most ridiculous thing on this planet. I'm done with classes AFTER THE SUN HAS GONE DOWN.

nerdforlife @ 2007-10-19T22:56:00

2007-10-20T05:59:00Z

I got a massage today, and it was amazing. I think I relieved years'-worth of muscle tension. Especially after a particularly "fun" physics test last night, it was good. And at $20 for an hour.... yeaaaaaah, i'm loving the Moscow school of massage. ;)

I have to get up and be in the basement of webster at 8am tomorrow morning. for the second week in a row. joy.

but my mommy is coming to visit next week, so yaaay!

again, it's supposed to snow tonight/tomorrow morning. of course, they've been forecasting it for a while now and i have yet to see any snow, but even so.... sigh.

nerdforlife @ 2007-10-10T17:52:00

2007-10-11T00:54:27Z

YOU MIGHT BE A PHYSICS MAJOR...

if you have no life - and you can PROVE it mathematically.
if you enjoy pain.
if you know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
if you chuckle whenever anyone says 'centrifugal force.'
if you've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.
if when you look in a mirror, you see a physics major.
if it is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
if you always do homework on Friday and Saturday nights.
if you know how to integrate a chicken and can take the derivative of water.
if you think in 'math.'
if you've calculated that the World Series actually diverges.
if you hesitate to look at something because you don't want to break down its wave function.
if you have a pet named after a scientist.
if you laugh at jokes about mathematicians.
if the Humane society has you arrested because you actually performed the Schrodinger's Cat experiment.
if you can't remember what's behind the door in the science building which says 'Exit.'
if you have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.
if you are completely addicted to PhysLink.com.
if you avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.
if you consider ANY non-science course 'easy.'
if when your professor asks you where your homework is, you claim to have accidentally determined its momentum so precisely, that according to Heisenberg it could be anywhere in the universe.
if the 'fun' center of your brain has deteriorated from lack of use.
if you'll assume that a 'horse' is a 'sphere' in order to make the math easier.
if you understood more than five of these indicators.
if you make a hard copy of this list, and post it on your door.

After reading it, her response was merely:

"oh my gosh, you're like that whole thing"

nerdforlife @ 2007-10-08T22:58:00

2007-10-09T05:59:49Z

Why don't I have a boyfriend? :(

and:

I can't wait until the holidaaaaays.

end.

nerdforlife @ 2007-10-06T17:04:00

2007-10-07T00:12:05Z

I got up at 6am this morning for polo. Geeeez. Anyway, it was good, except for the minor issue of me having a super fun experience which included me, a horse, a wall, and the arena floor. Good times. Technically, I fell twice, but the first was more of a controlled, slide-off-and-manage-to-stay-on-my-feet sort of fall. The second was much more...violent. But hey, that's what comes with learning something new, right? Anyway, I felt pretty fine afterwards, my head and back hurt a bit (naturally) but nothing bad. I hopped back on the horse, and continued practicing. It wasn't until after I got off that I started feeling realllly badly. And about an hour or so later, when I started riding again, I started feeling REALLY bad. By the time we were unmounting for the day, I was like, ok, I can't do this. I couldn't get the dumb saddle over the rail. So, while everyone else worked, I sat and felt like I was about to die. My head, my stomache, freezing, about to fall asleep... No fun. The general concensus was a concussion. Anyway, on the ride back to Pullman, I finally started feeling better-- in fact, 45 minutes later, as I got out of the car to figure out how to get into my dorm (I was a genius and left my keys on my desk), I felt almost normal. I feel a billion times better now, and if I just sit and don't move, I feel like nothing is different, it's only when I get up and move around I sort of feel it in my head. Anywaaay that was my exciting day. Needless to say, I skipped on going to the game (I know, I know, it was even homecoming...), but since it was a depressing loss anyway, I'm not too broken up over it. I should be doing homework/LEARNING PHYSICS. But I'm not. I'm going to try and make the meeting in a bit, so we'll see how that goes.

The end!

nerdforlife @ 2007-10-05T18:53:00

2007-10-06T01:58:23Z

Ok, so polo is really cool. I went to my first practice last night. It is soooooooooooo cold, and there's no heating, so I was hardcore shaking by the time we headed back to Pullman at 11:45pm. I am so screwed. But, still fun! Even though I'm really incompetent when it comes to horses.

In other news, I'm having a major crisis. As in, a crisis regarding my major (aka, being a physics major). Although it is sort of major, so I guess it's a major major crisis. Basically, I suck at life.

My dad was supposed to be visiting this weekend. But now he's not. That only adds to the depressed-ness. Life is pretty strange right now. Good things are happening, so half of the time I'm happy. Stressful things are also happening, so the other half of the time I'm trying not to burst into tears. Convenient.

nerdforlife @ 2007-10-02T20:32:00

2007-10-03T03:34:16Z

OH GEEZ.

The weather forecast for Pullman for Friday:

High of 49, Overnight low of 29.
AM Rain/Snow showers.

Yeah, that's right. 29 degrees. Snow.

I think I'll go shoot myself, now.

nerdforlife @ 2007-09-24T21:31:00

2007-09-25T04:35:29Z

Oh geez.

I'm sick, which is really no fun at all. I woke up this morning, all sweaty and dizzy. I only went to 2 classes today, and even skipped orchestra, which is a big deal, considering how ridiculously strict they are about that.

I have two midterms tomorrow afternoon/night. linear algebra and a calculus 3. i am so excited. NOT. More like, I am so screwed!

And oh my gosh, missy just told me she's switching majors. My physics buddy is no longer a physics major. This is big news. I sort of feel like part of my world has just disappeared.

I am SOOOOOOOO excited for the holidays. I'm starting to really miss home. Autumn in seattle. With family. Sigh.

I'm super excited to start playing polo, though! First practice on horse is next week. :-D

nerdforlife @ 2007-09-20T12:31:00

2007-09-20T19:35:39Z

Just in case you missed the e-mail (or, rather, in case you aren't a nerd like me who is on the Tully's e-mail list...):

http://www.tullys.com/menu/#green

This news literally made my day. I love Tully's to death. I'm a huge believer in the value of organic products (for both health and environmental reasons). I'm so big on recycling it can be ridiculous sometimes. Add all that together, and you can see why this news is like the most exciting thing since I discovered the wonder of sugar-free caramel soy lattes. No, really! I even e-mailed corporate to tell them how amazing it is. That's how serious I am. ;)

In other news, my physics mid-term is in t-minus 4.5 hours. I need to study. I sort of know nothing, and I definately don't understand. Disk of charge, here I come!

(physics major... whyyyy?!?!??!)

nerdforlife @ 2007-09-17T19:53:00

2007-09-18T02:53:38Z

Me?

Horse Polo?!

.... :-D!

nerdforlife @ 2007-09-14T20:10:00

2007-09-15T03:18:22Z

Every thursday, I bang my head against my desk and cry "whyyyy?! WHY am I a PHYSICS major?! I HATE physics!"... (note: physics homework is turned in on friday)

Anyway, I am at the point to where I have gotten so overwhelmed by charges, and electric fields, and currents, and electric potential, etc, that my brain has pretty much gotten really, really confused between them all, and has shut down. As in, I have suddenly tried to understand SO much, that I completely forgot everything I had learned. I sat there last night, staring at my quiz, completely at a loss as to what Gauss's Law is. For those non-science people, that is pretty much the eqivalent of forgetting how to add two numbers together.

Oh, yeah... and I have an exam next week. Great.

Anyway, I decided "hey, chapter 29 has been the only chapter I haven't read... and it's just now that I suddenly don't understand anything. Maybe if I read it, something amazing will happen, and I will understand! So, here I am reading Chapter 29: The Electric Potential, when the introduction reminds me why Physics is cool, and this is a pretty good textbook:

"A system without a source of energy is not terribly interesting; it just sits there. You want your lights to light, your computer to compute, and your stereo to keep you neighbors awake."

nerdforlife @ 2007-09-10T23:36:00

2007-09-11T06:36:49Z

AHHHH FINNEGAN IS DEAD!!!!!!

:'( :'( :'(