Day Two..

I have mixed feelings about how Day Two went. The beginning of the day was mostly fine but then end of the day had me frustrated beyond belief.

Just a quick note before I start talking about classes – ECU buses are driven by work-study students. Yes, these big ass buses loaded with 60 or more students are being driven by other students who can’t even rent a car without paying a special rate. I kind of suspected this on the first day based on the demographics of the two drivers I encountered on my first day and common stereotypes about bus drivers, but on Day Two it was confirmed.

After being rattled by that realization early in the morning, my first class was Calculus. I’ve said before that I think this class will be fairly easy because it should just be a refresher. I now think that I may be wrong. I really just don’t know any Trigonometry. Calc II at Guilford was Trig based and I still don’t know any of it. I will have to spend additional time to learn the extra math which is not an exciting prospect. I’m pretty sure I’d rather get my back waxed. Now that I think about it, Christina would probably prefer that I get my back waxed too. As long as I can learn some  basic Trignometry fairly quickly, I am still hopeful that the class won’t take up too much of my time.

Next up was Biology which was the first really big class I have had so far. The class was completely packed but it wasn’t as horrible as I imagined. The professor looks like someone I would hang out with on weekends. He’s entertaining and doesn’t seem like a tough grader. Right now I’m still thinking that this class will be an easier one. The worst parts were the cigarette stench coming off the girl to my left and the conversation between the two students at my right about what they want to be when they grow up. Seriously. Not what their majors were but the actual words “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up” in a totally non-ironic way.

I was back in the same classroom for Organic Chemistry. There were a couple of nice things about this class. First, I already knew it was going to be hard so I didn’t freak out when the professor started talking. Also, his name is Dr. Love. That’s enough for me to like him. Another plus is that I felt more comfortable in this group of students. They didn’t seem quite as green as the folks in my other classes. There’s even a guy who’s older than me! WOOT! And not just a little bit older either – he looks to be in his 50’s. That means less attention to my age and more attention to his.

After OChem the day took a downhill turn. I tried going to the library to print out a document and dammit if I couldn’t figure out how to. I’m still too frustrated to explain the actual details but I am no idiot and I just couldn’t get it. Of course I don’t like to look clueless and draw attention to myself so I didn’t really try too hard or actually ask anyone.

This started my frustration but what really put me over the edge was losing my calculator. It was a brand new $150 calculator (no I didn’t pay that much but someone in America probably did) that apparently fell out of my bag. While this might be mildly annoying for some people it is absolutely maddening for me. I’ve always been the kind of person who loses things, or breaks them, or messes them up somehow. My Calculus book at Guilford had some sort of candy all over the edge of it because it never occurred to me that I can’t put candy in my bag, put the book on top that candy, and then go outside on a hot day. So screwing up is pretty much my thing. Except that I am SUPPOSED to be changed/changing to get through this. I have been fastidious through this process and really have made sure I paid attention to every detail. Losing my calculator just brought up a lot of insecurities about where I came from and where I am now.

I know I’m completely nuts. I’m insecure and neurotic and way too concerned about what other people think of me. At least I’m willing to admit it! Today I will attempt to navigate the cafeteria. Don’t be surprised if my next post is about how the cafeteria is a stupid place and I never walked through the door.