So, at the beginning
of the semester, I had big plans about writing a blog post every single week!
Yeah… we all see how well that's worked out thus far. I haven't really had a
whole lot to write about. Peter and I have gotten back into the routine of school,
and not a whole lot changes for us. I still don't have a ton of homework, which
in turn decreases motivation to do any of it--terrible, I know. (Don't worry,
mom, I am getting it done :P). I have
really enjoyed using the tablet I got through the CSIS department. It's so much
lighter than carrying around my laptop. That thing seriously doubles the weight
of my book bag.
I guess I can talk
about school a little bit. Three of my classes seem to play off of each other
some: Computer Organization and Architecture, Microprocessors, and Operating
Systems. Architecture is fairly
interesting, if a little slow-moving.
I'm learning a fair number of Linux commands in Operating Systems, which
is good since I don't have a whole lot of experience with Linux.
Microprocessors, let's just say that the only reason I understand anything in
that class is because I'm sitting next to James. We are building a tankbot, and
I think it could be a kind of fun class. The problem is that the teacher
explains everything at once, and/or explains the next step like 1-2 weeks
before most of the class is ready for it, and then expects us to remember it
all and just do it. Plus, I think he
assumes we have more background knowledge than we actually do. So, I just plug
along, and when I get to the next step and have no idea what I'm supposed to be
doing, I turn to James and he explains it to me. What's nice is that he doesn't
do it for me, but explains every little piece I have a question about, so I
actually do end up with at least a semi-complete understanding. We'll see how
well I truly understand it during the
midterm, I guess.
Mobile Apps is one
of my favorite classes because we're doing what I actually love about computer
science: programming. The only drawback
is that since we're learning Objective C (the language used for programming iPod
and iPad devices), I can only use a Mac because the best program for writing
Objective C is Xcode-- which is really good, but the only version is for
Macs. And seeing as I don't own a Mac
this becomes a problem (anybody want to lend me one? Haha, just kidding). I
really would like to practice Objective C and work on my homework assignments
at home, but I haven't found a way to make that possible. So I guess I'll start scheduling more time to
be at the school so I can work in the Mac lab!
Finally, I'm taking
a forensic science class. This one is
basically an in-depth review of other classes I've taken. However, the teacher has told me that in
replacement of the final paper, I can give a presentation in class on Computer
Forensics during that section of the semester!
Truth be told, I'm kind of excited for it.
Peter and I are both
taking the Doctrines of the Gospel institute class, albeit at different
times. The teacher is Sister Cox and I
love her. The class is great! I've really been enjoying it. It is the highlight of my
Tuesday/Thursdays. Plus, it counts as a
scripture-based class, which I need to graduate. Win-win!
I can't tell you
much about Peter's classes, but his schedule is lighter this semester,
too. He is enjoying the Master's level
class he is taking, which is good because it is down in St George, and I think
it would be really hard to make that trip each week if he didn't like the
class.
Also, the company
he'll be working for after he graduates (Café Zupas) came to the career fair
this week, and while they were here his recruiter and the COO (Chief Operating
Officer, for those not too savvy with business terms) took him and their other
hire-ees here in Cedar out to dinner to make sure they knew they weren't
forgotten. :D The COO was also the speaker for the
Business department lecture series today, and Peter went to all of that. I came for the tail-end (I had work for the
first part) and got to go with Peter to the luncheon afterwards, where he
officially introduced me to the COO.
In non-school
related news, last month our stake did it's annual Marriage Symposium. The symposium has been fantastic both years
we've gone. They have speakers come in
and talk to us about how to build happy marriages. One of this year's speakers was John
Bytheway! He was really funny, and gave
some really good tips. The second
speaker is a family life professor at BYU, Mike
Goodman, and he
actually spoke to us about marital intimacy--not about the mechanics (of
course) but about the spiritual aspect of it and how men and women think about
it differently. It was an awesome talk,
especially since it's not a topic we usually talk about in church but one we as
young married couples need to understand better. Another cool thing they've done at both the
marriage symposiums we've gone to is a text message survey. They ask questions about things we're doing
or our opinion on different things, and you text your response in. The niftiest part is that the results show up
live through the website that hosts it, and we get to see the answers from all
the other married couples immediately!
They had questions geared toward the brethren as well as questions
geared towards the sisters, such as, "What does your spouse spend too much
time doing?" For the sisters to
answer, the choices were like watch sports, play video games, homework,
etc. For the brethren to answer, the
choices were things like social media (Facebook, pinterest and the like), talk
on the phone, and homework. I really
enjoyed both the marriage symposiums I've been to; and to any married couples
living in Cedar next year, I would highly recommend going.
Well, I think I've
covered a month worth of stuff fairly well with this little post. I will try to be better. I should have something more to say during
the next week, what with Valentine's Day being tomorrow. Love y'all!
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