Shortly after starting my job at the telephone company back in 2004, I mentioned that when one starts on a new challenge, there comes a moment when you finally “get it”: a time in which the scales tip in your favor; a moment when all the puzzle pieces that have been floating around in chaos come together to make some sort of picture. It’s when everything starts making sense.
As a full-time college student at nearly 39 years old, I’ve quickly learned that I have a lot of cobwebs in my brain. After successfully completing my first semester this past spring and currently in one intermediate algebra class for the summer, I’m holding my own but I always feel like I’m sort of hanging on by my fingertips. It had been 20 years since I had last done any sort of studying, and I was really never that serious about the practice to begin with. I guess I had forgotten how to study.
This week has been a turning point for me. I’m finally feeling like I have a grasp as to what’s going on and what’s required to really make the grade. While I’ve enjoyed the school experience a lot, now I’m really enthusiastic about my decision to go back to school.
Tuesday night I spent a couple of hours working on algebra problems for the two homework assignments we have due next week.
Bertha is driving a Yugo southbound on the Northway at 65 MPH. Maureen is driving a Honda northbound on the Thruway at 70 MPH. Bertha is in Plattsburgh, Maureen is in Kingston, 302 miles away. Both left at the same time. At what time will they meet at the New Baltimore Service Area to share a Cheddar Melt at the McDonalds?
Since the homework isn’t due until this coming Monday, many of my classmates haven’t or hadn’t completed the work yet. We had a quiz on Wednesday to make sure we were grasping what we needed to know to successfully continue the course. To prepare, I just did my homework early. Two birds, one stone. It turns out that the quiz problems were identical to the homework problems, just with different numbers.
So now I feel like I’m getting it. And my quiz score validated that point. Maybe I’m just paranoid and should just settle down a little bit.
By the way, the answer to the problem above is “undefined.” McDonalds hasn’t served a Cheddar Melt in these parts in years.
Let me know when you get to Venn diagrams and truth tables. Those were my favorite parts of algebra.
Word problems and the quadratic formula, not so much. =/
Also, I think Bertha is lying because it would be very hard to get a Yugo to go that fast. 😉
Plus, Bertha would likely break down on the Northway and none of those emergency phones would be working for her to call for help.