We’ll all float on, okay
so the organic chem lab final last night went surprisingly well. it was harder than i was expecting, but not unreasonably so for something only worth 18% of the final grade.
i think the most notable thing about last night’s exam is that it was the first one i have ever written in a university setting with classical music. the lab director asked for any objections at the start of the test and then provided a meagre (but adequate) disclaimer that if anyone found they couldn’t concentrate, they could raise their hand and she would turn it off. everyone around me seemed a bit surprised, but no one dissented. the classical CD started up.
for the first five minutes, i was so distracted i thought my head was going to explode. then i settled into an amazing groove and sailed through the rest of the questions.
another first for me from UNBC: cheat sheets allowed in final exams. my organic chem (lecture) prof announced last week that we would be allowed one 8.5×11″ sheet of paper with as much info as we wanted to cram on both sides for our final on april 16th. this freaking blows my mind. my writing may not be neat, but with the right motivation it sure can be small!
taking a little recuperation this weekend in the form of “less computer” and “more outside”. easy to do when the sun is shining (right now). tougher – but still manageable – in furiously frustrated wet spring flurries (the rest of today). floating along, okay.
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March 30th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Do you remember what the music was? I’m just curious.
March 30th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
‘grats `jen. another chapter down, another chapter starts :)
March 30th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
:) what a great idea ~ i’ll bet the music somehow helped everyone to concentrate more in the end …
oh those cheat sheets ~ i’ve had classes that allowed them and its genius really because by the time you’ve painstakingly decided what to put on and figured out how to write it all out to achieve maximum capacity of information, well, you don’t need it because its burned into your brain, lol ~ at least that was my experience with the cheat sheet ;-)
glad its going well and thanks so much for the warm fuzzy … made my day and it came at a time when i really needed it … hugs!
March 31st, 2007 at 8:36 am
gillian – honestly, i’m nowhere near fluent enough in classical music o be able to identify it. i think vivaldi is the only artist i could pick out blindfolded. it was quite peppy though, with some seriously jarring piano bits in the middle.
kev – thanks! the lab coat and safety glasses have been thoroughly hidden from sight in a storage bin. i hope whatever chemicals were on the sleeves don’t corrode the box. ;)
daisies – i was thinking the same thing! the “cheat sheet” exercise will be an interesting experiment. :))