REFLECTIONS ON WEEK ONE

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I started school last week. (If you're a regular reader of this blog, it might also mean you're getting enough fiber in your diet... but I digress.) I started the first week, of the first year of my Masters In Education, at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). I did my undergraduate, a decade ago, at UCLA, and this is an extremely different environment. (If you're not familiar with the way California schools are structured, there are three tiers, and I've moved from a first tier school to a second tier school, which isn't to say I've taken a step down.)

Here are some general impressions of my first week:

Hot, hot hot! No, not the student body (we'll get to that). I mean the campus. I'm not sure if it is because it is smack-dab in the middle of the San Fernando Valley (UCLA is in West Los Angeles, miles from the beach, so we got that ocean breeze), or what. But this campus is hot and muggy. Which may explain the...

Epidemic of bad skin. No, really. I have a few theories for this one, and they range from the poor air quality to the obvious age (and thus, hormone) differences (younger student body = bad skin). Or it could be that they're a bunch of potheads (marijuana does irritate the dermis, you know). But even if we put the questionable skin aside...

Where are all the hotties? The first tier schools, like Cal and UCLA, are supposed to be harder to get in to (and they are, trust me!), but that should mean the hot, dumb(er) ones go to second tier schools, like CSUN. But the reverse seems to be true, thus far: the hot kids went to UCLA, and the less-attractive ones seemed to end up here, at Northridge. (I wonder if I checked out the last tier, would I find the hidden hotties?)

It's great to be on a modern campus. UCLA is designed to look like an Eastern, Ivy League school, all bricks and European architecture. But CSUN is glass, concrete and steel - very sleek and modern. And it has all the newest technological conveniences. (High-speed internet existed back when I was in school, but wireless internet was in its infancy.) This makes for a different experience - not sure how I feel about this in the long-run. It's making me feel sorta old.

I love the material I'm covering. OK, so grammar isn't that interesting, but it's great to dive, head-on into something familiar, but with new staff and new goals. I'm looking forward to the next two years.