I aced the stats quiz we took on Tuesday (which I didn't mention in that entry. Apologies). So while they went over the quiz I looked out the window, but there was really nothing interesting going on. A couple times I've seen sports practices, and Tuesday there was a guy running laps around the parking lot, but nothing of that sort today. A little before they finished going over the quiz I started flipping through my notebook and saw a note that I wrote when I thought the teacher's explanation of something was more complicated than it had to be: "THIS ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE!" I am actually learning stuff that I didn't know how to do before (though how often I'll use some of it is questionable), but none of it is hard to grasp if you've got a grain of common sense and actually use that grain.

After going over the quiz and the homework, we went over the review sheet for the test next Thursday. The teacher read every question and then gave us the answer. Now, if she was explaining how to do the problems, I would understand her reason for reading them. But she didn't; she just read the problem and gave the answer. I realise that some of the people in the class aren't the most intelligent in the world but I hope that all of them are capable of reading, and were I teaching the class I would assume as much.

As part of our homework in Marketing we had to take an online health assessment (which doesn't seem so odd when you're aware that my marketing teacher works at the local hospital). I got a good laugh out of the results. It told me that my eating habits are terrible because I don't pay attention to how much fat I'm consuming and because I use "too much" salt. It said I'm not getting enough calcium among other vitamins in my diet, but it didn't think to ask if I take vitamins and calcium pills to make up for that (which I do). And if they knew the kind of food they serve in the dining commons, they wouldn't be so quick to criticize, methinks.

It also said my exercise is "too inconsistent for us to give a recommendation." I'm not sure what's inconsistent about running/jogging for 20-40 minutes a day five or more times a week. But who knows? The guy that runs it said himself it's not a very smart system.

And it said I am "to be commended" for refraining for drinking alcohol. If only it knew that I don't avoid drinking alcohol for my health; I avoid drinking alcohol because I have no desire to drink alcohol. I guess the health thing does factor in a little bit, but if I were to rank my reasons for not drinking in order from most important to least important, it would go something like: (1) I don't like the taste. Of any of it. (2) It's illegal; I'm not yet 21. (3) I don't like the idea of not being in control of my judgment. (Actually, 1, 2, and 3 are really tied for first; I can't really put one of those over either of the other two.) (4) I don't like the idea of not being able to remember the night before. (5) Lying in bed with a hangover is not my idea of the best way to spend a morning. (6) It's expensive. (7) I don't see the point. (8) It's not healthy. And actually, I read an article once (though I'm not sure if I believe it or not) that said one or two beers a day can actually be good for you. But when it's that far down on the list, it really doesn't make much of a difference anyhow.

So anyway I got to marketing about fifteen minutes early (which is about the time I give myself for every class), which surprised the teacher because usually he's not there until about five minutes before the class starts. He was early today because we had a guest speaker. He noticed my Kurt Warner jersey and said, "Wow. You must be a pretty dedicated Rams fan to be wearing that jersey." (For all the non-football fans out there, they haven't won a single game yet this season, and Warner's out with a broken finger). So it turns out that this teacher, who already has elevated status for being a U2 fan, is also a football fan. Can't ask for much more than that. So we talked football for the remainder of the pre-class period.

The guest speaker was the guy who ran/designed/maintained (or something to that effect) the health assessment that we had to take and described the marketing strategy behind it (see? It all comes together now). After that there was a question/answer period, then we got out a half-hour early.

I'm listening to Bruce Cockburn's Last Night Of The World and the girl across the hall just came in and asked if that was me playing the intro guitar. I just laughed and said, "Are you kidding? I only wish I could play that well."

At 9 tonight the fire alarm went off. Someone burned some popcorn bad enough that it triggered the smoke detector. Couldn't tell where it happened because you could smell it throughout the entire dorm, but it was strongest around forth and fifth. I feel kinda bad; two engines, a ladder truck, and two ambulances came for a bag of burnt popcorn. Alas, it could not be saved. Moral of the story: Don't drink and attempt to operate a microwave.