FYE101 – August 7, 2007

5:34p.m. Sitting in class now. Big Surprise, huh? Well, I dropped off my books, went to a lab to email Diana, and just got back.
After I had gotten out of the van and started toward the school, I looked back at the front of the van, and noticed that somebody ripped the Ford emblem off. So, I emailed Diana, asking her to look around the lot at home for it. Damned neighborhood kids. They have apparently grown tired of throwing mud at my car, and have decided to vandalize the van. I wish I had the money to put an alarm on each car. But what good would that do? It would just be another thing to entice them. They’d be getting a thrill from setting the alarm off. And it doesn’t help any that Diana had yelled at them a short while ago.I’m sure that all that did was make them want to do more damage to the premises. Kind of a challenge. Really. Think about it. By yelling at the kids, and telling them she was going to report them, she was challenging them. I was so pissed off at her for doing that. What’s worse is that she had done so while we were loading up to leave for the evening. I’m surprised that I still had a windshield in my car when we came back that night.
Oh, I’m tired. I need to get just a little more rest in the evenings.
So, I wonder whose group I’m in. I know that someone named Tammy is a member, but I don’t know who Tammy is. I don’t pay attention to things like that.
Oh, yeah, I missed class last week. Diana begged and pleaded for me to stay home because the kids were sick.
Oh, crap. I need to see about being advised. I’ve got the rest of the week, and next week to do it.
Tired.
My knees hurt. My knees have been hurting for the past week. I really don’t know why.
I really cannot see the clock from where I am sitting. I believe that it says something like 5:53p.m. If so, then Laura is early. She just walked in. Looks like we may be watching a video tonight. I dunno. Guess I’ll – wait she’s taking the wrap off of it. So that would be a yes.
Seven, no, wait, eight now.
Now I know who Tammy is. She’s the nurse that works for a urologist.
Ooh, that one girl has a nice tattoo. Sorry, I just noticed it. She’s the one with the cute southern accent.
Handing back an assignment. OOPS! I got 15/20 on it. Whoops. I had skipped over a part. Oh, well. Stuff happens. Hey, but I got a 20/20 on the other one.
Taking roll now. 6:10p.m. Eleven students in attendance.
Took break at 7:19p.m. Went to smoke. Spoke with the tattooed girl. Saw a little more of the tatt. Looks like it covers her left side. Wonder what the whole design looks like. She asked me where I was in the KEY class. Told her that I had no clue. She said she’d hitting around 20 wpm. I said I was around 45-50wpm, which kinda crushed her, until I confessed that I wasn’t doing it properly. I explained that when I type correctly, I’m averaging around 25wpm. She loved hearing that – made her feel so much better.
7:39p.m. We’re still B.S.-ing around. A lot of that goes on. Ah, getting to it now. Question posed, “what did you learn?” in response to the video… Oh, yeah, Gabby is her name – the tattooed girl, that is.
Random writing here – just when there’s non-pertinent discussion.
Everybody bitches about how cold it is here. I love it.
I need to read those textbook handouts, and do the exercises in the Step by Step text.
8:08p.m. – start group activity.
9pm go to lab…

July 24, 2007 – FYE101

Once again, this entry was written in the classroom…. you know the drill by now…
Well, shortly after I got here, I went to work typing up notes for my class. Well, the first thing I did was go to the classroom, and after I had discovered that the room was not configured as it usually is, I tracked down my instructor, and notified her. Following that, I went outside and had a smoke. Then I went to one of the labs and typed my notes. Now class is starting.

July 17, 2007 – FYE101

The following entry was originally wrote in class, and has been transcribed at a later date.
So, its fifteen after five, and I’m sitting in the classroom. Have forty-five minutes to wait. Tonight is FYE.
I just came from the computer lab across the hall – I had been there finishing up an assignment. We’re supposed to take notes on each chapter we read. I hadn’t been. Hell, I hadn’t been reading either. So, I spent this afternoon outlining the chapters we were supposed to have read up to tonight. Six of ’em. Typed notes. I came up with eleven pages worth of notes.Wasn’t fun either. I had to do one through five at the office, because the power was out at home. Just did number six here.
Well, I don’t know. Maybe it was fun.
Almost 5:30.
I’m tired. I wanna go to sleep. Oh well.
I missed last week. Damned car. I had no brake pads on the rear passenger. I did have the fortune of riding in with Shandra last Wednesday, however. That was fun. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow. I want to feel  the wind again. Knowing my luck it’ll rain, and she’ll have to have the top up. Oh yeah, she’s giving me a lift tomorrow, too.
I had breakfast about an hour ago. I had been out this morning, so I never got the chance.
Now it’s 5:30.
Only thirty more minutes of sitting, waiting for class to begin.
My handwriting is getting worse. Damned computers. Not much need to write by hand anymore. Only need to know your name – and even that can be replaced. Biometrics. Finger-print technology. Just stick your thumb, and you’ll be set. I’d much rather do that than sign my name. Even though my signature is rather interesting. I like it anyway.
Sleepy. I am sleepy.
Little more than twenty minutes to go. I’d go have a smoke, but I’m nearly out of cigarettes.

FYE – the class; not the music store…

I’ve got a little over an hour until I have to go to leave to go to school. And I’m bored.
Tonight is FYE101. First Year Experience. A.k.a. Information Literacy. Fun stuff.
The class is a sort of primer, I guess. It’s supposed to, well, I really don’t know how to describe what the class is supposed to do. Here’s a description of the text, yanked from Amazon:

Book Description
Succeed in college like never before! STEP BY STEP TO COLLEGE AND CAREER SUCCESS shows you how. With the authors’ signature “12 Steps” approach, you’ll see how small changes can make a big difference. Whether you’re looking for better grades, stronger academic skills, or a successful transition to (or advancement in) the working world, STEP BY STEP TO COLLEGE AND CAREER SUCCESS is the textbook you need to get there.

Why twelve steps? I dunno. Maybe they wanted the process to be familiar to students who are recovering addicts.