Screw organic, I take the genetically modified please.

Many moons ago, when I was a wee 18 year old college student, living large on dorm cafeteria ice cream and cold cereal, I took two different engineering general chemistry courses. I got Bs in both of them and vaguely remember obtaining a 45% on one of the finals (average was a 40%) so I think it is safe to say that I struggled a bit. Several thousand beers later with no review any of it, I am back in chemistry but this time in the form of organic. Let's just say that it hasn't been all peaches and whipped cream.

On my first quiz of the class, I managed to get a 36% which I think is safely in the failing range. Gulp. I quickly starting revising my strategy from 'get an A' to 'need a C or higher for this class to count'. Second quiz, slightly better at a 68%. Third quiz, an 88%. So while I have been climbing up the bell curve with each attempt (with the class average being about a 60% right now), I have a long way to go. Adding to my woes is the fact that I am going to be missing two weeks of class due to trekking the Incan Trail and other fun activities in Peru/Ecuador in November and will be receiving zeros for the two quizzes taken during that time. Luckily they drop two quizzes anyway, but that means my 36% is going to a factor into my grade.

Another exciting development is that I recently realized that I fly back from my great South American adventures exactly 1.2 hours before my third and final ochem exam (worth about 1/4 of my grade). That is if none of my flights from Quito, Ecuador -> Panama City, Panama -> Houston, Texas -> Phoenix get delayed or canceled. If this happens I will miss my exam and win a ticket into the 'no way out of this hole challenge'.

This is exciting. It is the first time I might actually fail a class. Good news is, that this is my first class ever taken at this particular community college which would make this a "throwaway transcript". Never happened, don't know what you are talking about. Stayed tuned for the exciting new series "Will Me Fail Organic Chemistry" at it rolls out.