I just returned from a two-hour-long study session with Lisa over the phone. Ha...we were both so tired...and we went through the entire Skills Inventory. I can now officially say that I believe I am prepared for the test tomorrow.
The whole period today was spent on reviewing the concepts we needed to know for our test. I was scrambling to take notes the whole time, while trying to come up with any questions I needed to ask. Unfortunately, the questions only come up when I actually go over my notes at my own pace. Hence, the evident panic and frustration I showed when I didn't understand a certain concept.
Of course, that two hour study session really helped. Thanks, Lisa! *wink*
Tonight, I'm going to sleep on my notes. *grin*
Why, you ask? Well, you see, I have this strategy (that's worked for me in the past). I sleep on my notes/binder, fervently praying that all the information that I need to know will magically lodge itself in my brain.
Don't laugh! It's worked for me before, and I got a 93% on my test! Bwahahahaha!!! *shot*
Ahem. Yes, er, well, I should finish my English now.
Good luck, everyone!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
In which we hold a party for Mujtaba
Ah, today was refreshing. Strangely enough, I'm less tired when I get very little sleep. Remember how I said I was apathetic and lethargic a few days ago? That was when I got eight hours of sleep. Last night, I got about four and a half hours of sleep (due to my stupid Science project), and I feel completely alert today!
I'm very...strange in this sense.
Today we presented the posters we had been working on for the past couple of classes. My group went first, which in this case...wasn't a bad thing. However, Mr. Arkin kept telling me to talk louder when my group was presenting. I got really embarrassed, because to me, it seemed like I was shouting. I...don't cope well with oral presentations. The mediums I am most comfortable with are art and writing.
Then we went outside, into the hall, to put up our posters and copy down any important points we missed during the presentations. There was a problem regarding the way we put up said posters ("Use the grid! The grid!") but in the end, it was resolved.
Our class spent the rest of our period celebrating Mujtaba's newly-obtained citizenship. Congratulations!
On Wednesday, we have our first Programming Test! I'm sort of nervous...but I think I'll do fine - I mean, I did all the homework and made sure I understood everything. But a review sheet would make me feel much, much better. Heh. Just saying.
I'm doing the Code Analysis now, since I'll be leaving at six. So until tomorrow,
Ja ne!
I'm very...strange in this sense.
Today we presented the posters we had been working on for the past couple of classes. My group went first, which in this case...wasn't a bad thing. However, Mr. Arkin kept telling me to talk louder when my group was presenting. I got really embarrassed, because to me, it seemed like I was shouting. I...don't cope well with oral presentations. The mediums I am most comfortable with are art and writing.
Then we went outside, into the hall, to put up our posters and copy down any important points we missed during the presentations. There was a problem regarding the way we put up said posters ("Use the grid! The grid!") but in the end, it was resolved.
Our class spent the rest of our period celebrating Mujtaba's newly-obtained citizenship. Congratulations!
On Wednesday, we have our first Programming Test! I'm sort of nervous...but I think I'll do fine - I mean, I did all the homework and made sure I understood everything. But a review sheet would make me feel much, much better. Heh. Just saying.
I'm doing the Code Analysis now, since I'll be leaving at six. So until tomorrow,
Ja ne!
Friday, November 5, 2010
In which we tie up loose ends
Ah, how I love baths... So warm and comfy...
They're a welcome distraction from the large amount of homework that I have to do after. Then again, so is manga...
Anyways! Today, we continued working on the poster we started last class. (See my previous blog entry for more information on that) My group...didn't cover all the sections outlined in the Programming Guidlines...But we did our best, and hopefully that will count for something!
Then, Mr. Arkin surprised us with a pop quiz! I missed the first one our class had, since I was at a X-Country meet, so I was quite anxious and nervous in the...five-ish minutes...he gave us to clear our desks and get out a pencil and an eraser.
When we got the quiz, I was extremely surprised! It just seemed so...easy! And it was! Even after I handed it in, I had the uneasy feeling that I missed something important - I mean, it couldn't have been that simple! Or maybe I'm just overanalyzing it. I probably am...
On another note, we missed Studio 218 again! It's so sad... Nevertheless, on Monday we'll...have a great time! *wink wink nudge nudge*
Haha, well, I'm off now! Time to go procrastinate by reading fanfic~ I need to catch up on Acerbus-chan's fics! (Er, I highly doubt that anyone knows who I'm talking about, so I'm providing a link. Just a warning though - she writes shonen-ai.)
Ja ne, minna-san!
They're a welcome distraction from the large amount of homework that I have to do after. Then again, so is manga...
Anyways! Today, we continued working on the poster we started last class. (See my previous blog entry for more information on that) My group...didn't cover all the sections outlined in the Programming Guidlines...But we did our best, and hopefully that will count for something!
Then, Mr. Arkin surprised us with a pop quiz! I missed the first one our class had, since I was at a X-Country meet, so I was quite anxious and nervous in the...five-ish minutes...he gave us to clear our desks and get out a pencil and an eraser.
When we got the quiz, I was extremely surprised! It just seemed so...easy! And it was! Even after I handed it in, I had the uneasy feeling that I missed something important - I mean, it couldn't have been that simple! Or maybe I'm just overanalyzing it. I probably am...
On another note, we missed Studio 218 again! It's so sad... Nevertheless, on Monday we'll...have a great time! *wink wink nudge nudge*
Haha, well, I'm off now! Time to go procrastinate by reading fanfic~ I need to catch up on Acerbus-chan's fics! (Er, I highly doubt that anyone knows who I'm talking about, so I'm providing a link. Just a warning though - she writes shonen-ai.)
Ja ne, minna-san!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
In which we do a desk check
Aw man, I thought I already wrote this. Who knew desk checking could take so long? I'm so tired...
Well, the title is self-explanatory, isn't it? Today, we focussed on desk checking. Mr. Arkin gave us a copy of a model answer for Selection Assignment 6, and we were supposed to individually trace the execution of it. Of course, if we needed help, we could always ask a classmate or Mr. Arkin himself.
For me, it was relatively easy - just time-consuming. I performed the desk check three times, once for each possible route. (In which the conversion was cm-to-in, in which the conversion was in-to-cm, and in which there was an error when inputting the conversion choice) The biggest problem I had was remembering that the computer types in pencil, and the user types in ink. There has been many a time when I wrote the user's part in pencil and had to erase it and rewrite it. *sigh*
Then, we got into groups of four and put together a list of features that the code (for Selection Assignment 6) had. Mr. Arkin provided us with a copy of the programming guidelines, so my group used that as a template. I tend to write titles and headings in print (because it's easier to discern it from the actual content), so it was hard to get rid of that habit. However, I made sure the actual points were in cursive. Besides, I normally write in cursive...when it's not a title or heading. *sweat*
It seems like I'm writing my blog entries later and later now. I keep thinking, "what happened to the time?" .
I still have to finish doing some research for Science and further memorize my script for French (our presentation's tomorrow!). But before I do that, I'm going to check the Daily Log in case I forgot anything else.
On a completely different note, my friend introduced me to a website where you can chat like the characters in Durarara!! do. You can find it here. They even have the same icons! It's too bad Shizu-chan never enters the chatroom...I'd love to use his icon, since he's my favourite character and all. *smile* I guess I can pose as Kida-kun (Bakyura) or Izaya (Kanra). If I want to be loved by Shizu-chan, that is...and I do...I really do...
Sorry for the above paragraph. I guess it sort of wasted your time. *wince*
I'm sorry! *bows down*
I'll shut up now.
Until tomorrow!
Ja ne, minna-san!
Well, the title is self-explanatory, isn't it? Today, we focussed on desk checking. Mr. Arkin gave us a copy of a model answer for Selection Assignment 6, and we were supposed to individually trace the execution of it. Of course, if we needed help, we could always ask a classmate or Mr. Arkin himself.
For me, it was relatively easy - just time-consuming. I performed the desk check three times, once for each possible route. (In which the conversion was cm-to-in, in which the conversion was in-to-cm, and in which there was an error when inputting the conversion choice) The biggest problem I had was remembering that the computer types in pencil, and the user types in ink. There has been many a time when I wrote the user's part in pencil and had to erase it and rewrite it. *sigh*
Then, we got into groups of four and put together a list of features that the code (for Selection Assignment 6) had. Mr. Arkin provided us with a copy of the programming guidelines, so my group used that as a template. I tend to write titles and headings in print (because it's easier to discern it from the actual content), so it was hard to get rid of that habit. However, I made sure the actual points were in cursive. Besides, I normally write in cursive...when it's not a title or heading. *sweat*
It seems like I'm writing my blog entries later and later now. I keep thinking, "what happened to the time?" .
I still have to finish doing some research for Science and further memorize my script for French (our presentation's tomorrow!). But before I do that, I'm going to check the Daily Log in case I forgot anything else.
On a completely different note, my friend introduced me to a website where you can chat like the characters in Durarara!! do. You can find it here. They even have the same icons! It's too bad Shizu-chan never enters the chatroom...I'd love to use his icon, since he's my favourite character and all. *smile* I guess I can pose as Kida-kun (Bakyura) or Izaya (Kanra). If I want to be loved by Shizu-chan, that is...and I do...I really do...
Sorry for the above paragraph. I guess it sort of wasted your time. *wince*
I'm sorry! *bows down*
I'll shut up now.
Until tomorrow!
Ja ne, minna-san!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
In which Pearl feels really...really...tired
I'm so glad I read the Daily Log today. Otherwise I wouldn't have known that I had to do this blog posting. My first reaction: "Whaaaaat?" *spazz*
Okay, now that that's out of the way (heh, my shock/disbelief is important), I'll talk about what I did today. Instead of going to school as usual, I went to my mom's office for Take Your Kids to Work Day. She's so organized, it scared me... She had made arrangements for me to go to each one of the sections of the company and get a little introduction. I don't deal well with meeting new people by myself, so it...was a bit terrifying. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the mini-workshops I attended very much.
First, I met with the Recruiting department. They didn't spend so much time explaining to us what they did (it's sort of self-explanatory, anyways) as they did talking about writing a resume. We got a sample resume, and wrote our own based on it. It reminded me of the first day of school, when we were suddenly bombarded with creating a resume. Oya...that was...a surprise.
Anyways, that got me thinking about getting a summer job - preferably at a newspaper office (like the Toronto Star) or a publishing company, but I doubt they'd hire someone with such little experience. So I guess I'll have to start where everyone does - fast food stores!
My second workshop was with the Communications people. Personally, this was my favourite part of the day. We acquired some presentation and communication skills through playing games. It's quite helpful, since I can apply the stuff I learnt to school presentations, or when I'm writing an essay.
One thing we covered was the pyramid theory. In a grouping pyramid, we have the main message at the top; then two to five reasons supporting the main message; then about three reasons supporting each point. It's the type of format I usually use for speeches and essays, so I'm pretty familiar with it. However, in an argument pyramid, we don't start with the main message. Instead, we start with a statement that everyone agrees on, along with a few supporting points which are reasons. Then, we introduce a "but", along with a few supporting points, also reasons. Finally, we suggest what we could do, and the supporting points are actions. The main message comes last.
I prefer using the argument pyramid, but it's much harder to do because there's always a chance that (a member of) your audience might not agree with you on the first statement.
The last thing I did wasn't really a workshop. I sat beside my mom and "shadowed" her. The work she does is interesting, almost secretarial. I wouldn't mind being a secreatary... I've always done quite well in that area. But I'd much rather be a teacher-turned-writer or a video-game programmer. Haha...
By the end of the day, I was exhausted! But we went to Indigos to look at books (what else?) and I stayed there for about an hour, admiring the manga section. Grah... They had Colour Bleach +! It's the newest Bleach fanbook, and it even has 50 colour pages! Fifty! But my mom wouldn't let me buy it. "It's not worth it," she says. Hmph! Well, manga and anime mean a lot to me. Couldn't she have just let it go as an early birthday present...? Even though I'm paying it from out of my pocket...
Well, I still have to alter the ATM outline program to guard against negative values. I'm almost done...
Then I have to post my fanfic up (the raw copy, since I haven't had time to revise it yet) and practice my French script. Ah...so many things to do...
Well, tomorrow I'll be back at school! Until then,
Ja ne!
Okay, now that that's out of the way (heh, my shock/disbelief is important), I'll talk about what I did today. Instead of going to school as usual, I went to my mom's office for Take Your Kids to Work Day. She's so organized, it scared me... She had made arrangements for me to go to each one of the sections of the company and get a little introduction. I don't deal well with meeting new people by myself, so it...was a bit terrifying. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the mini-workshops I attended very much.
First, I met with the Recruiting department. They didn't spend so much time explaining to us what they did (it's sort of self-explanatory, anyways) as they did talking about writing a resume. We got a sample resume, and wrote our own based on it. It reminded me of the first day of school, when we were suddenly bombarded with creating a resume. Oya...that was...a surprise.
Anyways, that got me thinking about getting a summer job - preferably at a newspaper office (like the Toronto Star) or a publishing company, but I doubt they'd hire someone with such little experience. So I guess I'll have to start where everyone does - fast food stores!
My second workshop was with the Communications people. Personally, this was my favourite part of the day. We acquired some presentation and communication skills through playing games. It's quite helpful, since I can apply the stuff I learnt to school presentations, or when I'm writing an essay.
One thing we covered was the pyramid theory. In a grouping pyramid, we have the main message at the top; then two to five reasons supporting the main message; then about three reasons supporting each point. It's the type of format I usually use for speeches and essays, so I'm pretty familiar with it. However, in an argument pyramid, we don't start with the main message. Instead, we start with a statement that everyone agrees on, along with a few supporting points which are reasons. Then, we introduce a "but", along with a few supporting points, also reasons. Finally, we suggest what we could do, and the supporting points are actions. The main message comes last.
I prefer using the argument pyramid, but it's much harder to do because there's always a chance that (a member of) your audience might not agree with you on the first statement.
The last thing I did wasn't really a workshop. I sat beside my mom and "shadowed" her. The work she does is interesting, almost secretarial. I wouldn't mind being a secreatary... I've always done quite well in that area. But I'd much rather be a teacher-turned-writer or a video-game programmer. Haha...
By the end of the day, I was exhausted! But we went to Indigos to look at books (what else?) and I stayed there for about an hour, admiring the manga section. Grah... They had Colour Bleach +! It's the newest Bleach fanbook, and it even has 50 colour pages! Fifty! But my mom wouldn't let me buy it. "It's not worth it," she says. Hmph! Well, manga and anime mean a lot to me. Couldn't she have just let it go as an early birthday present...? Even though I'm paying it from out of my pocket...
Well, I still have to alter the ATM outline program to guard against negative values. I'm almost done...
Then I have to post my fanfic up (the raw copy, since I haven't had time to revise it yet) and practice my French script. Ah...so many things to do...
Well, tomorrow I'll be back at school! Until then,
Ja ne!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
In which we learn about another Selection statement
Konbanwa, minna-san! (In case you didn't know, konbanwa means "good evening", and minna means "everyone". The -san is added on, as the honorific. Sometimes, -sama is used as well.)
Okay, the Japanese lesson is over! *sweat* I sort of went off-track there, didn't I? *wince*
Mm...it's 10 : 30 P.M.
...I started this before ten, I swear! *sweat* I was just...writing something else...for an hour...
Anyways! Today we learnt about case statements. Or well, we reviewed it. Last night, I quickly read over Selection (II), so I didn't really have time to process everything. The only thing I really focussed on was label, and even then, I was still slightly confused.
In class, he clarified everything! So, it turns out that a case statment is basically a more sophisticated version of the if statement; used when there are many elsif options or objects following the keyword or. (Is that what you call them? ...I don't remember... Oh no...)
Er...for example, instead of writing:
if colour_choice = "blue" or colour_choice = "BLUE"
or colour_choice = "Blue" then
colour (blue)
elsif colour_choice = "red" or colour_choice = "RED"
or colour_choice = "Red" then
colour (red)
elsif colour_choice = "purple" or colour_choice = "PURPLE"
or colour_choice = "Purple" then
colour (purple)
end if
put "Thank you!"
You can use a case statement and write:
case colour_choice of
label "blue", "BLUE", "Blue" :
% blue text
colour (blue)
label "red", "RED", "Red" :
% red text
colour (red)
label "purple", "PURPLE", "Purple" :
% purple text
colour (purple)
end case
put "Thank you!"
See, isn't that much easier? *smile* Now that I look back at some of my Selection Assignments, I feel like groaning because it took so long to write if-ladders.
Well, I'm off to check if I finished my whole ATM Assignment yet or not. I think I did...but I'd rather not take the chance. Then again, if I forget today, I can always do it tomorrow, ne?
Which reminds me! Tomorrow is Take Your Kids to Work Day! I'm going to my mom's office, and it's sort of strange because...my mom is setting up "lessons" for me with everyone except her. She said "if one of them is too busy, then I'll show you what I do". Can you believe that? *cries*
Er, yes...I should get going now.
Ja ne, minna-san!
Okay, the Japanese lesson is over! *sweat* I sort of went off-track there, didn't I? *wince*
Mm...it's 10 : 30 P.M.
...I started this before ten, I swear! *sweat* I was just...writing something else...for an hour...
Anyways! Today we learnt about case statements. Or well, we reviewed it. Last night, I quickly read over Selection (II), so I didn't really have time to process everything. The only thing I really focussed on was label, and even then, I was still slightly confused.
In class, he clarified everything! So, it turns out that a case statment is basically a more sophisticated version of the if statement; used when there are many elsif options or objects following the keyword or. (Is that what you call them? ...I don't remember... Oh no...)
Er...for example, instead of writing:
if colour_choice = "blue" or colour_choice = "BLUE"
or colour_choice = "Blue" then
colour (blue)
elsif colour_choice = "red" or colour_choice = "RED"
or colour_choice = "Red" then
colour (red)
elsif colour_choice = "purple" or colour_choice = "PURPLE"
or colour_choice = "Purple" then
colour (purple)
end if
put "Thank you!"
You can use a case statement and write:
case colour_choice of
label "blue", "BLUE", "Blue" :
% blue text
colour (blue)
label "red", "RED", "Red" :
% red text
colour (red)
label "purple", "PURPLE", "Purple" :
% purple text
colour (purple)
end case
put "Thank you!"
See, isn't that much easier? *smile* Now that I look back at some of my Selection Assignments, I feel like groaning because it took so long to write if-ladders.
Well, I'm off to check if I finished my whole ATM Assignment yet or not. I think I did...but I'd rather not take the chance. Then again, if I forget today, I can always do it tomorrow, ne?
Which reminds me! Tomorrow is Take Your Kids to Work Day! I'm going to my mom's office, and it's sort of strange because...my mom is setting up "lessons" for me with everyone except her. She said "if one of them is too busy, then I'll show you what I do". Can you believe that? *cries*
Er, yes...I should get going now.
Ja ne, minna-san!
Monday, November 1, 2010
In which Pearl finally gets to print out her assignments
Today was a tiring day. I felt so lethargic...
I must've yawned at least ten times in French class, too. I hope Mr. Vretranos wasn't mad. *wince*
Well, today we had Computer Science first thing in the morning, so I got to print out my assignments before class officially started. I just have to say, the format Turing prints out code in is awesome!
I'm really weird like that...I just... To me, it's fascinating, okay? *cry*
On another note, today was yet another catch-up day. First, we had a Q&A section (as usual) about HTML. Then, we were sent back to our computers to work on the Selection Assignments in partners. Zarin and I reviewed Question 6, and she showed me the correct format to put it in. And just in time, too! I was about to print it! And that would've been a waste of toner...
We wanted to review Question 9 as well, but just before we were about to do so, Mr. Arkin told us we were going to take a note. As a class, we went over Questions 12 and 13. Personally, I had absolutely no problem with either of them, though, apparently most of the class did. It was slightly annoying to have to sit through that. I wish we could've done Question 9 instead...
That's about it. Hmm... My blog posts are getting shorter and shorter... Ah, whatever.
Ja ne~!
I must've yawned at least ten times in French class, too. I hope Mr. Vretranos wasn't mad. *wince*
Well, today we had Computer Science first thing in the morning, so I got to print out my assignments before class officially started. I just have to say, the format Turing prints out code in is awesome!
I'm really weird like that...I just... To me, it's fascinating, okay? *cry*
On another note, today was yet another catch-up day. First, we had a Q&A section (as usual) about HTML. Then, we were sent back to our computers to work on the Selection Assignments in partners. Zarin and I reviewed Question 6, and she showed me the correct format to put it in. And just in time, too! I was about to print it! And that would've been a waste of toner...
We wanted to review Question 9 as well, but just before we were about to do so, Mr. Arkin told us we were going to take a note. As a class, we went over Questions 12 and 13. Personally, I had absolutely no problem with either of them, though, apparently most of the class did. It was slightly annoying to have to sit through that. I wish we could've done Question 9 instead...
That's about it. Hmm... My blog posts are getting shorter and shorter... Ah, whatever.
Ja ne~!
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