More Strange Professors

Odd professors seem to gravitate in my general direction as though I possess a magnetic force  attracting such things. In the past I've had a professor insist that B-flat and A-sharp sound different when played on the piano (on the same key of the piano), a professor who brought her unsocialized cat to class every day, causing allergic students to become physically ill, a professor who illegally keeps a mountain lion on her property, one who is such an ardent environmentalist that he advocates the use of reusable feminine hygiene products, and a  professor who thinks Star Trek is real.

This quarter appears to be no different than my previous university quarters in terms of the uniqueness of my professors. One of them told us that she doesn't wear underwear and that we shouldn't, either. Another one is a major conspiracy theorist. His class will probably be interesting, at least; I could sit and listen to the rantings of a conspiracy theorist all day without suffering from boredom.

I have a medical accommodation which at this point is arguably not necessary, but since it has not been revoked, I'll continue to use it.  The accommodation allows me to be informed in the first week of class of the details of any assignment that comprises 20% or more of the final grade in any one of my courses. The professors are automatically informed of this by email when I enroll in one of their courses. Additionlly, I speak to them during the first week of class. Usually this is adequately covered by the course syllabus each professor presents and discusses in the first class session, and I ask questions either in class or afterwrd if I need any clarification. This allows me to complete nearly all the coursework in the first few weeks of a quarter and prevents me from undue anxiety. I have difficulty sleeping well until I have read all my assigned materials and completed all major assignments. Once I've finished the work, I can sleep.

My dad hassles me about this a bit. he tells me that if I go into medicine, my patients won't get sick in advance so I can treat them all ahead of schedule, that if I go into law, that people won't commit crimes or sue each other  at times that are convenient for me, and that if I choose teaching as a profession, I won't be able to teach my students everything they need to know on the first day of the week. Duh. Why didn't I think of that?. The accommodation is necessary mainly because if I get sick,  I might not be able to complete any assignments for the duration of the illness. Some students would just say, "whatever," and not worry about it. I would worry about it, so I need a provision that allows me to have the information necessary to complete my work in advance. When I'm in a profession, whether it happens to be law, medicine (not all that likely), or education (even less likely than medicine), someone else will have to do my job if I am incapacitated due to illness, injury,  or even incarceration. (I added that for you, Pseudouncle Scott, just so you can let your imagination run wild as to what I might do that would lead to my incarceration.)

I'm very nearly finished with the readings and major assignments for this quarter. I would be completely finished if i had stayed home Friday night, but I went to my pseudoaunt's house, and she wouldn't let me bring my books or my computer. It's OK, though. I'll finish things this week. Then I'll have a relaxed remainder of the quarter.

To all of you taking high school or college courses, I sympathize with your workload. It always seems like we will be so incredibly relieved when a test is over, or when a quarter or semester is finished, but something else always comes up, and we are never totally without something hanging over our heads.

This, too shall pass. Then we'll be in the working world, with its own set of stressors. Stress = Life.  There seems to be no way around it. We just have to learn to deal with it.

Ciao.