Rude Wool

In one of the classes I’m taking, my Professor said something today which, frankly, made no sense. The grades on the midterm are based on what everyone else got, so essentially you are in direct competition with those around you. That means that the top twenty five percent of the class gets an a, regardless of the actual percentages people get. While I personally dislike this sort of grading, I’m not going to make a big deal out of it. The part that got under my skin, though, was that she generously decided to grant everyone an additional seventeen percent on the midterm. What I don’t get is why she’s bothering--it won’t actually change anyone’s grades at all. I think perhaps she didn’t think it all the way through.

I’m a little shocked that I’m doing so well in physics this quarter, but the real surprise is that I’m enjoying it so much. Math is, shock surprise, fun. I think I’ll cut way back on the number of fluff classes I take from now on.

The store that I work at is closing soon, and I’ve noticed something that at first seemed very strange. As soon as the “Store Closing” sign went up, the number of customers who are very rude went up sharply. Suddenly, people are leaving candy wrappers and soda bottles all over the place, they’re miss-shelving things, and refusing to make eye-contact or say please or thank you. I actually watched a woman take a pack of stickers down off a rack, look at them for a moment and literally drop them on the floor and walk away. Now, I’m not wildly irritated about all of this, but I do think it’s very interesting. It doesn’t offend me personally that these people are now treating me like I’m an idiot (because of the sign?) because I know that I’m not stupid, but it does make me want to ask why they’re doing it. I doubt that would go over particularly well, though, so perhaps I’ll stick with internal sighs and outward smiles.

I got a new coat, and it’s fabulous. I didn’t realize that wearing an actual coat, made of wool, is so, so much warmer than wearing a cotton-blend hoodie. It’s amazing. Walking to class at seven thirty in the morning, I am no longer just not dead, I’m actually warm. I put my hands in my pockets, and they’re warm too! Toasty.

My earrings keep getting caught in the scarf I’m wearing today, and it is very unpleasant.