Testing.

Testing. 1, 2, 3.

No, I'm actually talking about school tests, specifically ones in a class for a grade. At my school, there's two types of tests. You can take them in class, and you're timed, and limited to only the length of the class period. And there's a testing center on campus.

They both are kind of yucky. The in class tests are, obviously, timed. They can be really annoying and stressful, but I don't find them particularly so. I'm fast. That doesn't mean I'm smarter than you are, but I'm darn fast at taking tests in class. If I'm not one of the first three people done, then there's something wrong, and I'm stuck somewhere.

In the testing center, there's no time limit. I generally find this to be a bad thing, as it means that the teachers feel that they can just put everything on the test, because you can't run out of time to take the test. This can lead to much longer tests. Yes, they're harder too, but that's cool by me. I love me a good challenge, and I have yet to meet a test that's too hard.

The testing center has some bleh restrictions, though. For one, you can't use the restroom. It makes sense, but it's still annoying when you're in there for hours on end. Also, no cell phones, food/drinks, and if you're taking a test that allows a calculator, you aren't allowed to bring the cover in.

The restrictions make me sad. I'm in school for one reason. I want to get a degree, so that I can get a job. And to do my job correctly, I have to know what I'm doing. That means that, if I'm taking a class, I want to learn the material in the class. I also just love learning. Yes, I'm weird like that. But it means that I'm not the kind of person to be cheating, and so I find the restrictions unnecessarily sad, and resent the people who do cheat, the people that the restrictions are written for.

It also makes it a nuisance to take a long test. Among other things, I get headaches when I'm dehydrated. But I can't stock up and drink before I go in, because if I need to go, I have to leave the testing center, and then I'm done with the test, no matter where on it I was. Nor can I bring in anything to sip on. So I just really hope that I don't get a headache, basically.

My campus also has the smallest testing center of any campus. I took a math test yesterday, and I had to wait an hour and a half to get in, through the line. It then took me about an hour and twenty minutes to actually take the test.

The teacher had told us to allot 3-4 hours, and because it was my first test in the class, I was trying to be smart and allow that much time. I'm so glad I was able to take it about as quickly as I usually do, because, while there's no time limit, the testing center closes after a certain time. And with the line, by the time I got in, I didn't have a full 4 hours left.

Moral of the story. Get good at taking tests so you don't have to worry about this stuff. And please, please, please. Don't invent another method of cheating. I don't want to have to, you know, take tests in my underwear because of you.

Hair.

Hair is awesome. I have way too much of it.

I have hair that's about 12-15 inches long, and I keep it tied back in a pony tail, pretty much all the time. Yes, I'm a guy. But I like my hair, and it's staying where it is. I wash and brush it daily, it's not offensive or harmful to anyone, and there's no reason not to like it.

But people can still be bullies, and will hate on anything. I used to get called a girl A LOT when I was younger, and people seemed to enjoy pulling on my hair. Jerks.

So, I have a respect for guys with long hair, because I know what they have to go through to have the fashion they want. Kudos if you're one of those guys.

My Calculus teacher in the spring, Edgar Fisher, had long hair. I instantly liked him. Plus, he was one of the most awesome teachers I've ever had. If you are going to ACC, and take a calculus class, he's an awesome person to take, I highly recommend him.

The day after spring break, first class back, I went in to his office hours, and asked him about a homework problem. There was a guy in the office who looked exactly like him, but with short hair. He said he was Elliot Fisher, Edgar's twin brother, and was subbing for the day. He answered my questions, and sent me up to class. Several of the other students also came up, after having gone to his office hours. We all started to wonder.

He came up and taught class, and did everything that Edgar did, including shooting baskets in the trash with chalk. But he called role, and called our names, saying he didn't know anyone, and insisted that he was Elliot the entire time. Right at the end of class, he finally admitted that it was a trick. He was our regular teacher. And he was so happy that he had tricked us for the entire class period, and gotten us to debate it. He's just awesome like that. Although I liked the long hair better.

Book.

So, I'll admit it. I've been going behind your back, Mr. Blog. I'm sorry. I've admitted it.

What have I been doing? I'm trying to write a book. I don't know how long it will be, but it has been a lot of fun. I've been spending what writing time I have, amid my schoolwork, working on that. I know this is fun too, but I guess I get more satisfaction from writing a book for two reasons.

I can make stuff up. Here, I typically write about reality. Reality can be darn boring some times. This is also why I play games, music, do math, and read books, to some extent. Games and books are obvious, you can escape to another world with almost no effort. Music, well, good music can transport you to another world, or at least it can for me. And math? The math I love the most is totally abstract and useless. But it can describe another world, or it can be so abstract as to BE its own world, and have no connections to ours.

It's also longer. And thus, completing more and more of it, gives me a huge sense, a huge feeling of satisfaction. And I like being satisfied.

So, I'm writing a book. Will it be any good? Probably not. But I'm enjoying the heck out of it. I'm keeping this post short as I'm going to go do schoolwork, so I can finish that early and write more of my book. :)

Nerds.

Here's a great info-thingy. Go read it.

So, we were introducing ourselves in class the other day. I made the comment that I'm a Mathematics major, with a possible double major in Computer Science. In response to questions, my GPA is a 3.97, and I'm taking 19 hours this semester. The teacher's comment? "I always hated kids like that."

EXCUSE ME? Number one, you're being very rude. Number two, Um... Excuse me. I work hard. I'm not a genius. I earned every single one of my grades, my test scores, and everything. I'm sorry, but did you just say you hated me because I worked harder in school than you did?

As I said a few days ago, people seem to think that, just because I'm a home schooler, I don't have any social skills. I replied with a "Thanks...", and left it at that, despite what I was obviously thinking. The teacher was the one who made the rude comment. I noticed that after that, as everyone else went around and introduced themselves, they were a lot quieter about majors and grades, and all that stuff.

I'm keeping this one short, because it's basically just a rant. I'll leave you with a quote I had from a conversation with a friend, a few months back.

Me: Something about being nerds...

Friend: Hey, it's okay. Nerds will rule the world some day.

Me: We already do. We just haven't told everybody yet.

Do You Worry About Your Social Skills?

No.

I do not. I was home schooled, and this is the first question I get so often when I tell people that I was home schooled. It is seriously about the rudest thing you can say to me. It's the equivalent of me asking you, "Don't you worry about your education?" when you tell me you went to a public school. And my question is probably more relevant.

When you ask me this, all you are doing is conforming to an untrue stereotype. When I was in middle school, I was on the middle school math team, science team, I played on the chess club, I went to week long camps several times a year, I was in Boy Scouts, and did so many other things that are slipping my mind at the moment. In high school, I was on the high school math team (And won a nice handful of awards), on the science team (We went to the national competition one year.), took classes outside the house, took classes at ACC for the last two years of high school, continued Boy Scouts, took group guitar lessons, and continued attending summer camps. I also signed up to volunteer with several groups, including the ACGS, and others. I was in a high school honor society.

I say all that not to brag, but to show you how socially involved and exposed I was. I did a lot of activities, and so many of them were run at a more mature level than classes and events at public schools that I honestly feel that I got a much better social experience than many of my peers.

When I meet people, I don't tell them that I was homeschooled. Why not? Because I don't want their preconceived notions to color their perception of me before they know me. I let them get to know me first. And then, when I tell them I was homeschooled, and they inevitably ask, "Don't you worry about your lack of social skills?" I can then say, "You've known me for several months, we have had class together, hung out a fair bit, talked, worked on projects together, and you've seen me interact with several other people. You didn't even know until I told you that I had been homeschooled. How do YOU feel about my social skills?"