Magic & Science

Since I got it together to bring the textbook from Kristin's summer term Chemistry course in to work I've been making steady progress through it. At this point I'm reading about atomic modeling and structure, the same subject matter that was being addressed in the Physics of Superheroes when I set that aside for the time being. It's very cool to me anytime I can identify a direct link between scientific disciplines.

In the documentary The Mindscape of Alan Moore Mr. Moore, my favorite author who many know as the scribe of such groundbreaking comics work as Watchmen & V for Vendetta, suggests that magic is the original all-encompassing science. I am inclined to agree. While it is beneficial for the purpose of initial [a word that should be considered on a generational scale time-frame here] study and familiarization for people to gain a principal understanding of the building blocks and operational systems of the universe, ultimately these distinct threads of learning weave back into one another. The potential exists to eventually identify and verify these very real connections, reassembling what has been deconstructed into separate fields of study into a comprehensive, unified understanding of all existence. The magical understanding of reality of the mystics, shamans, prophets & magi lead human curiosity and inquiry to alchemy, astrology & philosophy which in turn begot the myriad modern disciplines of scientific inquiry; an evermore microscopic analysis of that which is. It seems to me inevitable and necessary that once these increasingly specific fragments of knowledge are sufficiently
explored and understood they will be reassembled into a genuine and accurate understanding of all that is and only one field of study will remain for the student, scholar or philosopher; the all encompassing science for which I as yet have no other word than magic.

Not Much To Report

I haven't been making much noise recently. Since I submitted my financial aid award request paperwork it has felt like there isn't anything much to do. Reading lists won't be posted until next Monday for my classes so I can't even really sweat what textbooks I need.

Now as I write this I am realizing all these things that I could be doing. That I perhaps should be doing. Kristin is done with her Summer semester and her chemistry class freeing up her textbook to be reviewed by me to refresh myself on the subject matter before I take the higher level course this Fall. I have already gotten back into that some (8 chapters down!) but I still have a ways to go.

I've been so focused on school that I've really neglected other things that I could be doing with an eye towards my long term goals. I still need to initiate contact with the professor from the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine who specializes in small ruminants. Thinking about it I believe it would be good to try to set up an informational/occupational interview with her in addition to trying to arrange to log some hands on experience working with the goats on her farm. Investigating other opportunities, volunteer or otherwise, for working with animals might be wise as well.

Then there is the Comic Book College Yearbook. I'm still at war with myself over my submission to it. I've got my six-page brief history of La Guerra Civil (is my Spanish correct there?) ready to go from my original printing back in 2003. I like the text and the presentation structure, but there are some panels that I'm not entirely satisfied with and would like to redraw. I used cross hatching exclusively to ink the comic and in some instances I feel it's pretty hideous looking. There are other things I wouldn't mind changing either, particularly my renderings of Ernest Hemmingway and the representatives of the International Brigades. I just feel I could do better work, but then there's inertia and the requirements of everyday life. On the other hand there are panels that I am very proud of including what I feel is a very well illustrated cartoon reproduction of Pablo Picaso's Guernica. I'm trying to figure out a way, technologically, that I could re-draft just the individual panels I wish to replace without having to re-make the stuff that I like. I could conceivably draw the panels and try to paste them in over what they are replacing on the page, then photocopy a new master, but I don't know how clean that would look. I'm concerned that may generate shadows and/or lead to a degraded appearance for the older panels. Maybe I can make a test run with bare panels to see what I have to look forward to. Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

Geting Those Dollars

I've spent most of my free time during the last day or so trying to sort out my financial aid situation; to get everything in order to get that temporarily free money called the loan, and to figure out the best course of action on that. Since my financial aid award from MCTC included more than enough to cover the six credits I'm able to take this semester, the minimum necessary to receive financial aid, I definitely had some options available to me and this necessitated delving in to the minutiae of the different award types a little bit, so I could determine what type of aid to request and how much.

The offer I received is for $11,000 for the year total, $5,000 of which is assigned as Work Study funds. Now that would be far more than I need for the year and very tempting to take on its own and eschew loans all together, but the usefulness of work study is limited by the assumption that I would have the time (including an accommodating schedule) and energy to work a part time job on campus. Given that I'm only taking six credits because I can't afford to leave my full time, first shift job I find it unlikely that accepting the work study award this year would be practical. That's too bad because it is money that is simply earned and doesn't need to be paid back to anybody at all ever but I just don't see it happening. Maybe in the future if I'm a bit more comfortable with the whole work, school, rest-of-my-life balancing act but not right now.

With work study out that leaves loans. Apparently I managed to make it through my entire initial undergraduate career at the University of Minnesota [Twin Cities] without actually understanding the different loan types . . . at all. Private loans are their own separate entity that I don't even want to contemplate right now (and they aren't awarded by anybody, they have to be sought out) so that leaves Federal loans, which come in two varieties: subsidized loans and unsubsidized loans. Pay attention fellow students who are reading this! If you don't know what I'm about to present it may be helpful information. Subsidized loans are Federal loans that have their interest covered by the Federal government (that's the subsidizing part) as long as the student is enrolled in school at least half time and for a grace period of up to six months. Unsubsidized loans accrue interest from the time they are issued and interest unpaid within a certain time frame capitalizes, becomes part of the principal loan amount meaning that interest will be charged on that new total as time goes on. Payment is not required on either type of direct Federal loan while the student is enrolled in school at least half-time, during periods of deferment, or during the six month-grace period after leaving school (on a temporary or permanent basis.

Given these facts it was pretty easy to decide that since I can get away with it for the moment I only want subsidized loans. I loathe debt. The faster I can clear the balance of what I owe the happier I will be, and the less interest I'm accumulating the faster I'll be in the clear. Ultimately I decided to accept $3,000 in subsidized loans from the total award package. It's more than the bare minimum I need, but I'm sure there will be expenses that I cannot account for at this time so I'm preparing for that possibility.

Oh capitalism, how repellent I find you. How I wish I was in Sweden or some place I could be doing this basically for free. But as the saying goes, "Cash Rules Everything Around Me."

Class Visit

I used a vacation day from work today to attend my Wife's chemistry lecture over at MCTC as a guest. It was pretty cool. The instructor discussed buffer solutions, aqueous solutions composed of a weak acid and its conjugate base that is resistant to changes in pH when relatively small amounts of a stronger acid or base are introduced to the mixture. She also showed the class how to calculate a mixture's rating on the pH scale based on the molarity of dissolved hydronium ions (H₃O⁺) contained therein. I have some catching up to do in reviewing the textbook for the class to bridge this concept to those I have already read about, but I think I understood the basics. I was able to surmise the appropriate means of solving most of the problems on the worksheet that was handed out based on what I've read from the textbook, the day's lecture and what I've retained from taking Pre-Calculus last Spring (I'm extra glad I took pre-calc now); that was pretty cool. Right now, I am super excited for Principles of Chemistry [I] this Fall.

Before I attended the lecture this morning I got up early enough to make some breakfast (I lied it in spite of the portion I burned) and took advantage of the available time to visit the bench dedicated to Abdu’l-Bahá in Loring Park again where I practiced some solitary prayer and meditation. After the lecture I picked up a copy of Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour which Kristin and I successively read with enough enthusiasm that we were both finished within a couple of hours. I felt it was pretty intense as a concluding volume for the six-book series, and very fast paced. Good closure, and I'm still looking forward to the movie.

I am very proudly a geek/nerd.

"Adventure"! That Could Have Sounded Cool.

Having purchased a subscription to Visual Thesaurus for my sister last year as a birthday gift I for some reason receive word of the day emails. Last Wednesday the word of the day was adventure and it presented the following:

"adventureThere is so little semantic association nowadays between advent and adventure that we lose sight of their connection. They were, however, once as closely associated as, say, depart and departure or mix and mixture. Back in the day, adventure meant whatever happens to us -- in essence, whatever came (advent being from Latin for "arrival"). From this developed, by baby steps, the current sense of a wild or exciting undertaking."

Look at that! Essentially, at its origin, that word adventure is a single word for the entire mission statement of this blog: to chronicle whatever I encounter as I journey through my life. If I had known this three months ago I might not have gone with Walking an Invisible Road and may have honored my beloved team of super-hero freaks, the Doom Patrol, by naming this blog My Greatest Adventure. Of course that may have caused problems. For example, if I ever were to submit anything I write in here for, for-profit publication I could run into trouble with DC Comics. Also, apparently there's this guy. And this guy.

Busy-ish

It's been a pretty busy weekend I suppose. I think it would have felt significantly less so if the major interstate linking the core of Minneapolis to the core of St. Paul hadn't been closed requiring me to take four trips from one to the other on local streets. It got to be pretty frustrating. The brutal heat/humidity and near tornado thunderstorm didn't really help either. Can I have some cheese to go with this whine?

Saturday morning I got up relatively early and went to the gym. I went straight to the Baha'i Center afterwards to attend a reflection meeting, my first ever. A reflection meeting is basically a gathering of members of the community to discuss successes and challenges in community building and sharing about the faith and to try to brainstorm personal or group plans for teaching activities during intensive programs of growth [essentially periods of making a conscious effort to proliferate awareness of the Baha'i faith to those who may be ignorant of it, or to educate those who already have an interest]. It was a neat experience and it left me determined to study Anna's Presentation thoroughly until I have a comprehensive knowledge of its format. I believe that this will give me an excellent framework to work from in discussing my faith with friends [or anybody else I encounter] who has questions about what the Baha'i faith is all about.

Following the reflection meeting I went to my local comic book store to reserve a copy of Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour; the final volume of the six volume series of comics from which the upcoming movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was adapted. While there I learned about the Comic Book College Yearbook. Apparently last year the guys at the shop I buy comics from put a zine comic together out of short features by patrons of the store. I mentioned the zine comic I made and sold locally during college, a basic history of the Spanish Civil War, and I was enthusiastically offered the opportunity to have it reprinted in this year's Comic Book College Yearbook. I think I may want to redraw some of the pages, but it's exciting to me that I have this opportunity. Following this I drove for nearly an hour to complete a trip that usually clocks in at ten to fifteen minutes, then spent another 3 hours or so doing laundry at my parents' house before making the slightly less gruelling return drive with detour to pick up dinner.

Saturday evening was pretty laid back. I read a lot and Kristin and I watched an episode of the X-Files and the movie TiMER through our streaming Netflix. It was a really great movie. Probably the best thing I've seen since How To Train Your Dragon (and Kristin and I saw that four times in the theater). I very strongly recommend tracking it down and watching it in whatever format is available.

Sunday was another crazy day. After sleeping in way too late I scrambled to lunch with Kristin then we went to a gathering of friends (including my in-laws) for hanging out and a group photo staging Leonardo DaVinci's The Last Supper (I was positioned as the Apostle/Saint Andrew). This was followed by another very long drive after which Kristin and I ate Sunday dinner with my parents and sister and then headed home. After another too long drive I arrived home to discover that somebody was finally making a serious offer on my desk through Craigslist. I managed to make arrangements for them to pick it up that very same evening. Then I stayed up too late watching more X-Files episodes.

There! It only took me a full day to complete this entry about how busy I was for the last few days. Maybe I'll get to the entry that I actually wanted to make this weekend tomorrow.

Please Take A Picture . . . It's Been a Good Day

Wow! Well it's been quite the day so far. So much has happened. I took the day off from work and slept in [a bit more than I meant to] which is usually nice. After I got myself together I walked over to MCTC to talk to people in admissions and financial aid to figure out how my dropping down from 3 courses to one would effect me. Admissions was my first stop. They informed me that even if I was only taking one class per semester I could still be considered a part time student eligible for a degree program. Good news!

Financial aid was a longer conversation. I learned that I would actually be eligible for financial aid at the level already offered me at any number of credits from a minimum of 6 to as many as 15. With the one class I'm hanging onto weighing in at a hefty 5 credits that means I would only need to tack on a 1 credit course to meet the requirements for federal loan money or financial aid through work study. A quick review of 1 credit courses that I could squeeze into my life includes, "Supervised Activity Programs" from the Physical Education department (basically come up with a personal fitness plan or participatory sport schedule with an instructor and check in every so often to verify that you are sticking to it. I think I could easily do this.) and Medical Terminology as an online course. I think either would be good, I'm going to work out whether I get course credit or not and a greater familiarity with medical jargon will ultimately be helpful (even if the course focuses on human rather than animal medicine), but Medical Terminology has a slight edge for me because my Wife is taking it. Like right now. Literally. I wouldn't even have to buy the book, I could just use Kristin's copy. And based on her description of the course it sounds like something that I could excel at quite easily. I haven't made a decision for sure, but I'm [obviously] leaning towards adding Medical Terminology right now and getting myself some financial aid for the fall.

This reminds me; I need to follow up with the financial aid office and/or my loan consolidation company and see if receiving financial aid as a part time student will make me eligible for loan deferment. How awesome could that be?

Anyway, my business for the day concluded at MCTC I walked home through Loring Park. For a while I have been aware that there is a bench in the Park dedicated to Abdu'l-Bahá, the successor to Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Baha'i faith of which I am an adherent. Recently I learned through Kristin, who learned through a friend within our local Baha'i community, the approximate location of this bench. Today as I walked home through the park I decided to make a point of attempting to locate the bench. I located it just slightly east and north of the horseshoe courts. The inscription into the metal of the bench read [let's see how accurate my memory is], "Abdu'l-Bahá blessed this location on [date during his visit to Minneapolis] 1912 ". It was a very profound feeling to me to realize not only that the bench was dedicated to Abdu'l-Bahá, but that it was also located upon an exact spot that he had visited AND blessed. I sat on the bench and recited one of a few prayers I have memorized. Then in the shade cast by the bench I did some stretching because my lower back and left hip were bothering me a little. I did feel much better afterwards.

I sat on the bench and read some of Catching Fire, recommended to me by my Sister, for a while until I was interrupted by an Ethiopian tourist who asked me to take a picture of him in front of the Minneapolis skyline as seen from Loring Park. And that interesting and unexpected happening inspired the title, antithetical to the refrain of a song I'm fond of, to this very long blog entry. I returned to reading until I finished the chapter I was on and then headed home.

Almost immediately after arriving at home I received a call from Kristin informing me that her Chemistry Professor [to be my lab instructor this Fall] had granted permission for me to sit in on a lecture presentation. Unfortunately class was moments from beginning and there was no way I could make it today, but if I can take another day or half-day from work in the next week or so I should be afforded another opportunity to sit in.

As it happens it isn't so bad that I couldn't make it to Kristin's chemistry class because while it was going on I received contact from an admissions counselor with Animal Behavior College. Animal Behavior College is a primarily web-based, for-profit institution entirely dedicated to technical programs in the field of animal care. We discussed their veterinary assistant program at some length. It is very clear that the program at ABC will not give me the opportunity to fulfill any of the prerequisite academic work necessary for my admission into vet school. However, it is, so far, the most flexible and lowest tuition program I have encountered for becoming a veterinary assistant or technician to date. If I can't turn up any other vet tech/assistant programs that will enable me to complete coursework applicable to acceptance into a professional program to become a doctor of veterinary medicine I may still consider a technical program as a means of expediting the transition out of my career in customer service and into work in veterinary health while I continue to work towards entering vet school. If that is what lies ahead for me the program from Animal Behavioral College seems, far and away, of the best value I have encountered, thus far, in terms of my needs as a student.