First day of classes

Today, September 6th, 2011, was the first day of classes for the fall semester.  I think it was the first time I had a "first day" and I didn't feel nervous.  My first day of college, I barely remember, but I remember feeling very weird and freaked out.  First day of high school was the same way.  But no, today, I just felt anxious that I must have had some commitment earlier than my 12:30 class, and that I would find out as soon as I got to campus that I had royally fucked up my graduate school career already.

It was supposed to rain all day, but when I looked outside, it wasn't raining.  I therefore made the absurd decision not to wear rain boots.  Haven't I lived in New England my entire life?  What made me think that it wouldn't rain?  After all, it had already rained earlier, and it definitely felt like it would rain more.  And I checked the weather and it said, "HEY IT'S GONNA RAIN TODAY."  Nope, wore flats.

I also decided to walk all the way to campus, which actually wasn't so bad.  It took about 35 minutes, which is shorter than my old commute normally was, and the same amount of time as that commute was with no MBTA-related issues.  I got to the biology building (well, one of them) at 12:25 and couldn't find the room.  It wasn't so much an anxiety-producing nightmare situation, although it did have a sort of bad dream, "And then I couldn't find the room!" flavor to it.  I found it within a couple of minutes and found that the professor had already started giving an introduction to the class.  And it looked like almost everyone else was there.  AWESOME.

I ended up not being the last person in the class; someone else had trouble finding the room, too.  But I still felt awkward making all this noise getting settled in, and because of the humidity and the 35 minute powerwalk, I was kind of covered in sweat.  It's great first-day look.

I got a copy of the syllabus, which looked pretty standard.  The professor also explained that instead of having discussions in our discussion section every week, we would take turns giving talks on different subjects; the dates and topics were pre-assigned.  I knew as soon as he said that that I would be going first, and sure enough, I was right.  I'm not psychic; I just know from experience that most educators love alphabetical order by last name.  I get to lecture on protein folding next Wednesday.

Now, if only I knew anything about biochemistry.

You see, the professor, in order to see what people knew so he can adjust his lecture style accordingly, handed out a short quiz.  I knew one answer.  One!  Some of them I know I used to know the answers to (like the structures of glucose or generic amino acid, as well as pH problems).  But I felt pretty stupid.  He made it clear that our answers were just to give him an idea of what level we were at, but it's hard to not feel stupid when you realize that other people in the class have such a head start.  Or that you were expected to know certain things, which you don't.

The rest of the class was spent doing an introductory lecture, which was pretty interesting.  I took the best notes I could, and I plan to rewrite them on my laptop later.  I'm still not sure what the best way is to do that, in terms of doodles/arrows that I usually draw into my notes.  Or should I rewrite them by hand?  I bring spiral bound notebooks to each class, and I would like to not purchase more spiral bound notebooks to rewrite my notes in.  I do have an extra binder and some filler paper; I could rewrite them there, I suppose.

Class ran a litle long; we ended about 20 minutes late.  Then I went with A. and D. to the student union for lunch.  I had to wait forever for sushi, then wait forever to get my items rung up (problem with the cash register), and then I realized that wherever the chopsticks were, I had missed them.  It was sort of that kind of day.

We then chilled for a bit in the grad student lounge before our next class.  I tried to contact student health services to get my insurance information, but I couldn't get in touch with them and never got a call back.  Which is, you know, awesome, because I have physical therapy tomorrow and now will have to pay out of pocket.  I am really excited to pay $80 more than I should have to.  Thanks.

The next class was actually a combination of really awesome and really obnoxious.  On the good end, I absolutely love the professor's teaching style.  He refuses to use PowerPoint, which I really appreciate, and he's got excellent chalkboard skills.*  I can tell that if I struggle in this class, I'll be able to get help relatively easily.  It's also fun to have this class with the other grad students in our program (and another biology-related program).  We're, like, a club.  The lecture hall is also pretty badass.  I'm used to the auditoriums at my undergrad institution, which seemed as if they were designed to put everyone to sleep, and were poorly equipped for lectures.  This room is definitely for lectures; it's got a high tech podium and an impressive set of blackboards.  Of course, it is a new building, so that's expected.  And finally, I actually know some of this stuff.  So I feel smart.

On the other hand?  The class is large with mostly undergraduates.  That means they're all fiddling and whispering and generally pissing me off.  I mean, sure, I was probably more of a pain in the ass as an undergraduate.  But I have decided that I'm a hypocrite.  So whatever.  Shut up, people, I'm trying to LEARN so I don't flunk out of grad school.**

Afterwards, A. and I skedaddled over to our introduction session for the course we're TFing.  We got to sit in one of the lab classrooms, which was a bit weird.  I don't think I'd enjoy being a student in these classrooms.  They're pretty awesome classrooms, with TV screens to show PowerPoints, and they're very clean and organized ... but the benches are extremely low, and we have to sit on stools!  It's awkward.

Our instructor introduced us to the lab course and we found out that we're going to have "Learning Assistants," who are undergraduates who'll be assisting us in the lab.  They're kind of like the undergrad TAs at my undergrad institution (I was one of them), except with more training.  And they're probably more motivated, too; I was mostly like, "Oh, cool, paycheck!"  We went over some lab expectations and received our lab manuals.  I'm a bit disappointed that the first semester of intro bio, the course we're teaching, is ecology and population biology.  I hoped it would be the FUN stuff, like cell and molecular.***  So I'll have to attend the lectures so I actually know at least as much as my students do.  Fun times.

Afterwards, one of my friends, K., was stressed as hell because of the day she had, so she wanted to know if anyone would go out for drinks/dinner with her.  Ca. and I were in, and we hung out while K. talked with our instructor about some stuff she had missed (part of the stress had involved her being late to the meeting).  Then we headed over to Boston Beer Works in the delightful rain for some beer.  It was definitely a lot of fun, and I feel more and more relieved as the days go by that we're all in the same boat.  It's not so much that we have "automatic friends," but it's definitely better than starting undergraduate, where you know no one and you worry about meeting people to hang out with.  We start with each other.

I finally got home around 8:30, somewhat soaked.  Again, I'm not sure why I was stupid enough not to wear my rain boots, but I guess I should just pretend that I was too focused on being a good graduate student.  Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

Tomorrow will be less busy.  I'm heading up to campus for lunch with my friend M., who is starting this week at the School of Social Work.  After that, I'll chill, maybe check out my office, and then go to the intro bio lecture.  It's only 50 minutes and I'll have my laptop, so ... if I get bored, Facebook!  Then, it's off to PT, where I can cry over the loss of $80 extra.  It'll be fun.

Meanwhile, tonight I have to update my calendar to include my exams, reflect any holidays where I don't have class, and to include my new assignments.  I have to read some chapters for biochem and molecular biology, I have to rewrite my notes for both classes, I have to locate and maybe start an assignment for molec, I have to fill out a form for TFing, and ... I'm sure something else.  Why didn't I buy a planner?!

* "Excellent chalkboard skills" observation brought to you by teaching, having relatives who teach, and sitting through too many bad lectures.

** Which will happen if I don't maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.  So it's like ... Jewish flunking out.

*** This is also known as, "Stuff I actually know."