Blog #8
What did you do this past week?
I spend the first half of this week cramming for my midterms and finishing up on last minute work, so that I could go home for break and not worry about doing any work.
Two out of three of my midterms were canceled.
What’s in your way?
The coronavirus! I lost $500, have to study for tests I would’ve been done with, won’t be able to play IM football or sand volleyball, can’t ski with my friends at Colorado for Spring Break, and might not see any of my friends for the rest of the semester, including summer. At first I thought it was a blessing, but it’s turned out to be the worst thing imaginable for my college experience.
What will you do next week?
I’m a bit sick right now, so next week I plan to stay at home and grind out work, so I can catch up on studying and even get ahead to give me some time to adjust to the horrifying Zoom classes that we’ll have to deal with. In addition, I want to continue working on my side projects and make some substantial strides of progress. I also plan to see and catch up with my close friends from high school and middle school.
What was your experience of Test 1a?
I thought Test 1a was pretty interesting, and definitely unlike any other test I’ve ever taken. All of my CS classes so far have been a paper and pencil test, so a Hackerrank was a nice change of pace.
It wasn’t the best, though. Towards the end of the test, I was working on my last remaining problem and passing a few test cases, but not all. As I tried to redo my approach, the test ended and the second approach, which was passing less tests, was submitted. The TA confirmed that only the second one would count.
What made you happy this week?
Even though my tests were cancelled, I was a bit happy for that, since I was really cramming for them and I just wanted them to be over. I’m glad my wish was granted, but the unintended consequences are real.
What’s your tip-of-the-week?
My tip of the week is to always monitor how much time you have left during online exams (see Q&A #4 above).
