Failure is Success

My patience with the calculus/physics course may well payoff sooner than I could have hoped. We worked through a group physics exercise today - it was fairly longer than others that we've worked on recently - and it wasn't trivial at all. The exercise was conceptual and as my partners and I progressed, I realized how dependent I have become on the mathematical analysis at the expense of conceptual understanding. We made mistakes, got useful help from each of the three instructors and actually learned quite a bit. So maybe "failure" is inaccurate but I left with a feeling analogous to the ache I feel after a long run: it was a good pain.

Parking was a bad pain. Even at 9:20 this morning, the main commuter lot was full and I had to park in the West Edge lot then take the shuttle back onto campus. I was probably twenty minutes late for that programming class I like so much. Fortunately, it's my one real college class (in that I can come in late, go to the bathroom, etc. without feeling like I have to ask for permission). As far as the parking business goes, I was especially mad at myself because swore I was going to leave the apartment before 9. That'll teach me.

I've been trying to be actively involved with that group Power Vote that I mentioned the other day because I think they stand for something worthwhile. The idea is basically to give students a chance to make their voices heard in favor of increasing so-called "green jobs" and encouraging investment in clean fuel/clean energy technology. They also plan to have a few days in October when students can come to the MUB and register to vote. It's a non-partisan cause, which makes it easier when I walk around with my clipboard asking students to sign the pledge. I try not to have flashbacks to my sales nightmare; encouraging students to be involved in shaping the future of energy policy is a little easier to stomach. We're having a Save the Ales/Power Vote event at the Stone Church in Newmarket tomorrow night that promises to be fun.

That'll do for now.