Criminy, I was convinced I failed this last Algebra test and I got an 81 on it. I swear to God I don't understand how it is that I keep making good grades when it feels like I don't know what I'm doing. My grasp on factoring is so tenuous it's a miracle I managed to complete the test. But even though every page is covered in red corrective ink I still pulled off a B. I had been getting A's but you know, I'm not complaining.

Only 14 more quizzes, two tests and a final to go. Oh, god, the next chapter is square roots. Kill me now....

Made a lot of calls today. SF State said I could stop by and talk to a counselor but there is no longer a department that admits returning students based on their broad life experience and scattered college experience. Previously it was known as Re-entry for Geezers, I believe, but the person who ran it left and there's a hiring freeze on, so no luck on that score. State is history. I'm not going to graduate from a California public school.

However, there are many fine Jesuit universities in the Bay Area and looking at them I feel much better. Kind of. I mean, they are literally 40 times more expensive than a state school. On the other hand they don't have half the bullshit required to get to the good coursework and they have an excellent academic reputation. So I will probably take Biology next semester at WHCC, since I assuredly have to have some science as an undergraduate, and go visit the College of Notre Dame and the University of San Francisco in the spring to talk about transferring.

The nose piercing conversation continues in the forum with the general consensus now in favor of piercing. There is a quiet background of "yuuuuuuck" going on, but the latest comment rightfully points out that someone who sported a mohawk for six years has the internal fortitude to deal with the nose ring style. It's true, people were always commenting on my hair or wanting to pat the fuzzy sides as they grew in a bit, and the oddest conversations grew out of strangers wondering how I could bear to shave my head when I was so obviously a nice girl. I didn't mind. I liked being seen by people instead of fading into the crowd. I'd like to look different again. Just a little, nothing drastic, I have far more dignity now than I did then, but I wouldn't mind surprising people.

It's something that's going to be happening quite a lot in my immediate future, I think. And the most surprised will be me when I pass Algebra at last.

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