Don't sweat the small - or easy - stuff

Today I had my first lab practical in geology. Again, it was mostly review - just rocks and minerals from my physical geology class that I took before I was arrested. All we had to do was identify the rocks and minerals by their names and identify what type of rock they were, all multiple choice. I scored higher on this test than any other so far - 109 out of a possible 110. The only point I missed was a word in my answer on the bonus. I wish I had bigger challenges. It's kind of annoying to me to receive 100's on everything because I don't feel like I'm really being pushed to learn.

The same thing is happening in the Bible study that I go to on Tuesday nights. Tonight we stayed on topic, but the topics were either information that I'd heard many times before or so stretched in their spirituality that I didn't feel comfortable. I didn't want to speak up because I don;t want to confuse the other guys in the class or look like I'm contradicting the teacher. I think I'll give it a couple more weeks before I make my decision to leave the class or not.

Little tests

I took two exams today, back-to-back, in a Wednesday doubleheader. After the dust settles and the synapse firing was over, I emerged victorious. Both were aced; no battle scars this time.


I was a little worried about the anthropology test. It wasn't so much the material itself, but the depth that I wasn't sure about. Most tests I take I don't have to do much more than a quick scan to be comfortable with the information covered. I'm pretty good at the multisensory learning - hear, see, write - so the info is retained well. For this test, I actually spent some quality time getting to know the chapters. It turned out that only minimal recollection was required for the exam. I still don't mind keeping in line with the Boy Scout motto - Be Prepared.

The geology exam was a breeze, just like the previous one. The material was still review from the last geology class I took, so it was fish in a barrel for me. I know that it's going to get tougher when the biology stuff appears. I'll be ready.

Dead creatures in rocks

This historical geology class isn't as interesting to me as the physical geology class I have already taken. I like all the earth-shaping stuff, like volcanoes, earthquakes, and the like. Flipping through the textbook it looks like a lot of what we cover is going to be dead creatures found in the rocks.Lots of biology-type stuff, which is probably my least favorite science.

So far the material we've covered has been a review for me. We took our first test today and I aced it, bonus question included. I don't think the rest of the session will be very difficult, even if it is biology.

The instructor is in his late fifties and is definitely born-and-raised country. He has a thick, unmistakable Texas drawl. A few of his ancestors fought in The Civil War - he calls it the War Between the States - and he seems to still be bitter about the loss in a joking sort of way. Yesterday he told the story of a short layover that he shared with an old classmate in a New Jersey airport. After watching the behavior of people around him, he turned to his friend and said, "Walker, now I know why we went to war with these fellas." Certainly makes for an interesting class.