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Hey all,

Sorry about slacking this last week. I wanted to wait until I had things to say in terms of work and school stuff, but that was probably Wednesday. Yesterday I was just ridin' the lazy train. Well, not all day. I did stuff in the morning.

So here's what's new.

This coming Monday, Melissa has Mini #1, part 1 (it's a two-parter, I guess). Minis are tests, generally smaller and less weighty on grades than the Final, but still significant benchmarks. The funny thing is, the minis don't have a consistent number of questions on them. The tests are made like this: for each hour of lecture during the chunk the mini is covering, 2 questions will be put on the test. So depending on how many hours of lecture there have been, that's how many questions you have. It also means that for studying purposes, it's advantageous to spend more time on the subjects that you've had more lectures on (and they can't surprise you with 10 questions from one random lecture). For timing, they give you 70 seconds per question. Just like that. So every test is potentially a different length, but you can figure out how long you'll get. So that's basically what Melissa has and will be doing this week/weekend. Studyfest.

Not that I won't be busy on Monday as well. I have my first training session to be a Standardized Patient, or SP. As an SP, I will be given a 'script' detailing a certain patient with some disease/disorder, and I will learn the part of this ill person. Then med students will have to interview me and take a patient history, as well as practice their patient rapport. For each session that I do, I will be required to give feedback about how they did. I'm not sure if this means that I have a part to play in the grade they get, but I'm working under that assumption for now. So basically they're paying me to act sick in a specific way. Good times, I'm sure. 

Also, I've officially put my foot in the door at the Prep school. I've started volunteering on Thursdays with a Social Studies/Math teacher, and I'm pretty sure they have me scheduled as a substitute on a day when the new hires have to go to a training seminar. Also, the principal sent my information out to the parents as a certified math tutor, for a little extra money on the side. The trick there is just finding a price that works for both me and the parents. The kids I've met so far are pretty good, but it just takes a little while to readjust to elementary/middle school students. 

Also, I emailed the IM cricket coordinator. The first step has been taken...

Anyway, those are some new things. I hope you found it illuminating. 

- Eric


P.S. Fun fact: I cannot spell "hour" right the first time I type it ever. I always write it as "our". Those darn homophones.