Well, here's the second rant about the upcoming candidacy exam that I'm taking in just over two weeks. The exam itself has two sections, physical and dynamic meteorology. For most people, this really isn't a problem because both the sections could easily come up in their research. For me, however, being not in the norm as usual, the physical section is essentially irrelevant to me. One of the subjects in the physical section is cloud physics. Now I did enjoy the class when I took it, but since I'm pursuing a PhD in the oceanographic realm, cloud physics seems utterly irrelevant, because, and this is a big shocker, clouds don't form in the ocean! Yet I have to study it well enough to potentially answer a question or two about it. The second subject is radiative transfer. This might actually be somewhat relevant, but I don't think the specifics of it are really necessary for me to understand when I'm studying the ocean. Plus, the whole subject is so abstract, that I don't think anyone, except for maybe Drs. Clothiaux and Bohren, really understand it very well. But, again, I have to study it and attempt to understand it well enough to potentially answer a question or two about it. Yay.
That's my second rant about the candidacy exam, and it may not be the last because I get to study while I'm at home for Christmas. Woohoo. Now on to some more random thoughts that I don't really feel like putting in separate posts.
- Next semester I get to TA. I'm having problems with that for a couple different reasons. One is that I didn't even know that I was supposed to TA until I got an email in early November asking us for input as to which classes we wanted to TA for. I'm not a big fan of surprises like that. At least I'm teaching something I've taught before: Meteo 3, or as we grad students call it, Weather for Dummies. Actually not all the students are stupid, but there are always a few who tend to make life a living hell. But even that I'm not that upset about. What upsets me the most is that I have to TA for a student whose doing a combined undergrad/grad degree, which is basically something like a super-senior, except he's getting two degrees in less time. The main issue I have with this is I don't expect any of his students to have a lick of respect for him, because he hasn't even obtained any degree in meteorology. Plus, he'll be at most maybe four years older than most of them, but if there are any seniors in the class, they'll basically be the same age. I know I would have a problem getting taught by someone my age. The only thing I have to say is that the department absolutely needs to be in desperate need for people to teach this course. Because I think it's a little sketchy that a technically-undergrad student is teaching other undergrads.
- Yesterday I drove to Greensburg, PA to visit with my best friend from undergrad, Ingrid. The drive down there was interesting in that all the snow we've gotten recently was melting. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm very happy that the roads are salted so that there is little chance of ice to form. However, I do think there is such a thing as oversalting. Honestly, parts of my car were completely white by the time I got to Greensburg. I know I should wash it, but since I'm driving home tomorrow, it seemed like a waste of money to get it washed when probably the same thing will happen again. Plus, I didn't really have time to wash it today.
- I realized today that I've been woefully underpreparing for my drive home tomorrow. I got back to the apartment tonight and realized I had to do so much stuff before leaving. It looks like I'll be getting a somewhat late start tomorrow. Maybe. I'm still not sure about how much more I want to do tomorrow before leaving. I probably should vacuum, but I don't really want to. We'll see what happens.
- I get to bring my bunny home for the holiday, which I'm sure will thrill her. The last time I took her home, she seemed slightly different when I got home. But, I don't really have a choice. I knew that most people have left or will leave for whatever holiday they might celebrate (see prior post). So, it's a little inconvenient for me and her, but we'll both just have to deal.
- I've kind of realized lately that I'm not thrilled with how television seasons are run. It seems like shows are only writing for the few sweeps periods that there are. After November is done, most shows show repeats for the month of December, and then they come back to being new episodes in January to get people hooked again for February sweeps. Even the soaps sort of do that, not so much in showing repeats, but the storylines all come to a head during the sweeps months. I'm not complaining too much, though, since that frees up so much time for me to study. And there are some shows that I could watch over and over again and not get sick of them, like Gilmore Girls.
- A couple weeks ago I went to Ben & Jerry's for my weekly smoothie, and two of the workers were talking about Grey's Anatomy. I could tell because the guy said something about the quints (if you've seen the show, you know what I'm talking about), and I was just kind of excited to hear some other people talking about what is becoming one of the best shows on TV at the moment. Gilmore Girls is still number one in my book, but Grey's is a close second. I'm just glad other people are realizing it.
Well, I think that's about it for now. I should really get to bed soon to get enough sleep so I'm not too tired or dependent on caffeine during my drive tomorrow. Happy Holidays, whichever holiday you celebrate!
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