Holiday Bowl Adventures, the conclusion

Holiday Bowl Adventures, Part II

So we did get our fish tacos- from some place on the corner of 5th and C street. They were absolutely delicious. We got them to go and took them down to the boardwalk to eat. We were entertained by one of the bicycle carriage drivers with a dirty mouth but a keen sense of humor. He and a local were discussing lots of interesting subjects which were highly entertaining but not for discussion in this forum.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and then onto the game. Definitely a good idea to take the public transit out there- it delivered us right up to the stadium. As far as the game itself, you probably know that we got killed, but I'll try to make some other interesting comments.

First, our band (as always) kicked butt. They didn't have time to do the 4-way cross, but they were amazing none the less, and kicked the pants off the Golden Bear band, both in pre-game and halftime shows.

Secondly, I found out I don't much care for bowl games. They aren't about football, they are about a production to showcase a city and to thank all the corporate sponsors. Sometimes I was supposed to go to Wells Fargo for all my banking needs, other times Bank of America... oh well. I understand corporate sponsorship, but this was ridiculous. Too much production, not enough football. The halftime show was atrocious. They had all these high school bands standing out on the field while they piped rock and roll through the PA at ungodly levels and poor sound quality. I don't think the bands were even playing- you certainly couldn't hear them, and they weren't marching. They had some cool pyrotechnics above the stadium, but we couldn't see them from our seats.

Thirdly, Qualcom stadium is no Kyle Field. It looks nice, and is kind of cozy (but much smaller than Kyle). There isn't a bad seat in the house, but there isn't really a good one either. Because the seating goes all the way around in a circle, the seats at the fifty were so far away from the field that they weren't even that good of tickets. Also, by the end of the game it was evident that all the best fans had all the worst tickets, as the only people who even bothered to watch the fourth quarter were the Aggie and Cal faithful all crammed into the East endzone.

Ok, after the game we waited forever to get back on the trolleys and went to Wendy's in downtown. We waited in line with some Aggies, and some UC Berkely people- they broke all the stereotypes and were very gracious. They hated hippies as much as we do. That's all for now- breakfast and then the road.

Holiday Bowl Adventures

Right now I'm sitting in our hotel room in downtown San Diego near the historic Gaslamp district. I'm using Drew Garrison's computer- he's out exploring.

Anyway, we left from my parents' house in Dripping Springs, Texas, around 4pm yesterday. Fortunately, my mom was nice enough to let us use her Honda Odyssey for the trip. We made quite a few stops early on. First at a filling station in Dripping Springs for everyone to get some snacks (I really don't know why we made this stop). Our next stop was in the next town- Johnson City. We stopped at the Wittington's for some of their famous beef jerkey. It was pretty good- not sure if it was worth $2.50 a stick.

After this we went straight out Hwy 290 to IH 10. I had driven this far, but Jordan wanted to take over, so we switched out in Junction, Tx. Jordan and I took pictures wildcatting by the Junction city limits sign (you aggies understand). Our next stop was for gas and dinner in Fort Stockton. You know, one of McDonald's competitive advantages is that when you're in a strange town, you can always expect the same quality of food and service. In Fort Stockton, this was not the case. The restraunt was filthy- there were hairs on the benches- not a clean table and chairs in the whole place. There was a pile of oddly strewn about wrappers and things behind the counter. The bun was stale, and when I took it back, I got a slightly less stale bun. Drew never got his food, and we left very angry.

We had agreed earlier not to stop in El Paso for any reason whatsoever. Unfortunately, Drew likes to take down lots of fluids. We had already stopped once on the side of the road, and he hadn't even bothered to go to the nearest bush- he just went right there on the roadside. Anyway, we saw a Dunkin' Doughnuts, so we thought we'd go there (this was about midnight, now mountain time) . There was a woman standing outside just sort of loitering. She looked to be in her late forties and was either a lady of the night or a just homeless- either way she was going to ask for money. The only question was whether she wanted to do it in exchange for services or not. Anyway, Drew would have been willing to go, but there was a Whataburger, so we went there instead.

After we got out of El Pisso, our next stop was across the New Mexico border in Las Cruces for gas. We filled up, and Drew started driving. Under the policy of two people awake at all times, and seeing as how I had gotten about an hour of sleep before the El Paso incident, I was riding shotgun for Drewski. Jordan and Adam were knocked out in the back- not everyone is cut out for life on the road. We made it all the way to Tuscan, Arizona. Our plan was to get gas, find a Whataburger for breakfast, and find a Starbucks for Drew. About 30 miles out, I realized that I was hopeless- there wouldn't be a Whataburger in Arizona. The worst part was they teased us- there was a sign that the shadows made look like a Whataburger, and then a building that also had orange and white stripes. We had been listening to some great music all throughout, by the way- SRV, Pink Floyd- good stuff.

Anyway- as we exit we see on the exit sign----- a Whataburger- we became giddy like little kids, only hoping that the dining room would be open at 5:15 am. If not, we'd just wait 'til six. Drew and I were so proud of making it through the night that we were ready for a good break- we were also well ahead of schedule. Anyway, breakfast was great, and I took over the driving as Jordan and Adam refused to wake up, even for a Whataburger breakfast. We kept driving, and were fortunate enough to be driving through the mountainous Arizona desert at sunrise. We stopped a few times to take pictures of the sun coming up over the mountains and of ourselves with the Suguaro cacti. We filled up with gas in Yuma, Arizona, even though we didn't need to (at this point Adam was driving because I was about to conk out) . It may have been $2.39 a gallon, but we knew it'd be worse in California.

So we enter California, which by the way is just a desolate desert- at least the way we came in- until we got to the mountains, which were beautiful. Anyway, we finally get to San Diego and eventually get to our hotel (someone forgot directions). We decided to shower up and start exploring downtown.

We were looking for a particular restraunt, rumored to have the best fish tacos- a San Diego treat. We got to the intersection, but no fish taco restraunt. We see a building called "downtown information center" so we go there, and they got maps and brochures and all that jazz. We ask the lady behind the desk a simple question "What is your favorite place for fish tacos?" She gives us directions to a restraunt right on the bay and how to get there- we're excited. We start walking, and it gets windier and windier as we get to the Pacific. Anyway, we get to the restraunt, get seated, meet some fellow Ags, and get our menus- no fish tacos and very little under $10.

We've been hosed by the misinformation center lady, but we'll make the best of it. We've got a window seat on the bay, a very sweet waitress and a nice restraunt, so we justified our expenses and ate lunch/dinner (it was about 3pm local time, but we all felt like it should be about 8pm because we were not only hungry, but in a different timezone). Anyway we ate and went back to the hotel (about 20 blocks away). We turned on a football game, but we were all out cold by 5pm. We slept like logs- all four of us on two beds, until 11- I woke up first and woke up the other guys for Midnight Yell (Drew was too tired to go).

Yell was in a parking garage because of Marxist California outdoor sound regulations. It was about 12 blocks from our hotel (seriously, great hotel location). Anyway, we got back and crashed again until about 7:30 or so- Drew woke up earlier than everyone else and is still out "exploring" as I write this. Jordan, Adam and I had the continental breakfast and have just been chilling since- waiting for lunch and the game. Jordan and Adam also got haircuts. And so- That is all for now. We're going to try to find fish tacos again for lunch and then we'll take the trolley to Qualcom stadium for the game.

Study Habits

So, yesterday Jordan Red asked me to share my study habits with him. I thought I might share them here so that they could be accessed online and that others might gain an advantage from them.

To begin, let me share a couple points on my theory of studying and trying to get good grades:

1. Grades are important and one of the main reasons for being in college. However, they are not everything, and my goal in any class is to do the minimum reasonable amount of work required to get an A in a class.

2. Always, always, always shoot for an "A" in a class- just because a "B" would raise your GPA is not an excuse to be content with it- always shoot for the "A" as long as it is theoretically in reach (and with most professors it is almost always within reach).

3. I don't mean to brag, but God did not make all minds equal. He made me a quick learner, and an auditory learner. This is very convenient for college where most learning is from the lecture. If youa re not an auditory learner, you may have to record lectures and listen to it again to get all your notes straight. Additionally, if you are not as quick of a learner, you will probably need to spend more time on repitition than I do.

Now onto the habits

-First of all, always attend class- being sick or tired is not a valid excuse to miss class. Professors are very vain people and want everyone to know how smart they are- by listening in class, you can find out exactly how they want you to respond on an exam.

Generally, I will study very hard for my first round of exams. I will take tons of notes in class, I will read the text book, and I will do all available practice problems until I am confident that I will do well on the exam. Usually I will concentrate more on lecture notes than on the text book because most professors test much more strongly on what they say than on what someone else wrote.

I usually like to be pleseantly surprised by how easy the first exam was- this happens by being over-prepared for it. When and if this is the case, I will re-evaluate how I need to study (concentrate on lecture notes, concentrate on slides presented in class, concentrate on practice problems, or concentrate on the text book). This varies with each class. In FINC 341, for instance I concentrated on practice problems, which included lecture notes. In MKTG 322, I found out the prof concentrates mostly on the text book, so that's what I studied. In MGMT 450 and 452, I studied the powerpoint from class. In most classes, I'll end up concentrating on my own lecture notes.

Many times, instead of being able to relax after the first exam, I am surprised by the difficulty and have to buckle down more- maybe read everything in the text book (which sucks)  or do more difficult practice problems.

I do this and re-adjust after every exam throughout the semester. Before finals, I calculate my grades in every class and find out what I need to get an A in each class. I then divide my leisure and study time appropriately- in one class I need a 62 to make an A- I'll look over my notes once or twice. In another I need a 92 to make an A- I study by butt off.

Also- never pull an all-nighter before a test- get your sleep. Also, I've found if you have to cram right up until the hour of the test, you're already in bad shape. Take that time to relax, sing some old gospel songs or hymns and prepare mentally for this opportunity to excel.

That brings me to another point- don't get in the mindset of- "How am I going to pass this test?" or "How can I miss as few problems as possible?" Instead think of an exam as an "Opportunity to Excel"- that is something my high school English teacher taught me, and it's really good advice- think about how bad you're going to BTHO that exam- pump yourself up to do well on it.

Note-taking

I think a lot of people have problems not because they don't take notes, but because they don't take notes well. For me, I type much, much faster than I write, so I bring my laptop and type my notes, and I think this helps a lot. If you get to the point where you are thinking about what you are writing instead of listening to the prof, you're in trouble. I would highly recommend bringing your computer to class and using that to take notes. Addtionally, good note-taking software is extremely helpful. Let's be honest: Microsoft Word sucks for taking notes. However, Microsoft OneNote is very very good software, and well-worth the student price of $50. I think you can buy it online as a download, and I highly recommend it.

Basically, I write down the prof's main points, and the examples used to illustrate the main points. Usually you can figure out by the things the prof spends more time on which things the prof thinks are important. Don't try to write down every word, just put it in your own words in a way that will help you remember it. I often write my notes in a narrative way that reads easier for me.

Book Reading

In many classes, the only extent to which you need the book is the glossary in the back. Write down the words and their definitions and memorize these. These will almost always be the words in bold in the text. More often than not, if a prof is taking some questions from the book, they will be from a question bank, and they will be about the words in bold- sad but true. Also, some profs will ask "only a few" questions from the book that aren't in the lecutre (ask the prof about this prior to the exam). This means the prof is going to look through the glossary for terms he didn't cover. You can do the same thing and find out exactly what the prof is going to ask- then you feel really, really smart when you see that question on the exam. This semester I had my first ever class where I actually needed to read the whole book.

Lecture Slides

A lot of profs today use powerpoint to assist their lecture. Some will even post these slides online- it is tempting to rely on this to study, but I've found it's a mistake. If at all possible, take your own notes as the prof lectures. You'll find that when you compare your notes to the slides posted online, there is a lot of extra "fat" on the slides that you probably don't actually need to study.

Practice Problems

In some business classes, like FINC 341, ACCT 229 &230, and all of my INFO classes, the exams mostly involved working out some math problems with business applications and then answering specific questions about the pieces to them. The key to studying for these is repition, and if you get a wrong answer while practicing- that is a good thing! Find out where in your process you made the mistake and learn the process better. While taking the first exam, find out if the prof is asking for the end result or intermediate steps. If they are only looking for the end result, your graphing calculator (if allowed) can be your very good friend (like in INFO 303). If they are looking for intermediate steps than you better know the whole process in addition to how to do the problem on the calculator. For FINC 341, for instance- you should be able to do all the problems only doing simple arithmatic on the calculator. Even when using the TVM solver on your calculator, it is essential to know what is going on, not just which buttons to push.

Other Advice

1. Ask lots of questions- don't just find out what the answer is, but find out WHY things are the way they are. If you know the ins and outs of a concept, test questions become very easy

2. Talk to the prof. After the first exam, find out what questions you missed and how to do those problems correctly. It never hurts for the prof to like you and to know that you are trying hard in the class.

I hope this helps Jordan as well as any other friends who want the advice of someone who has managed to do pretty well in college. I suppose it is especially aimed at underclassmen.

What has happened to economics education in this country?