fourteen years later, i still suck

[rone]

This winemaking class is kicking my ass.  I've rediscovered my intense distaste for writing papers which, combined with my mildly improved but still chronic procrastination habit, has left me in a hole, depressed and ashamed.  I'm not even certain that what i'm being asked to do has enough relevance with what i'm learning; i understand the fundamentals and the process of making wine, but the papers and midterms have been centered around extreme situations that are, in my view, advanced topics.  These are all things i could have brought up to the teacher and TA if i had gotten an earlier start on things.  Despite the fact that the first two weeks of the class were a total loss for me due to things at work hitting full-bore, i didn't try hard enough to acquaint myself with the difficulty level of the class.  Now i'm trying to tread water.

It's not a lost cause yet, and i believe i can earn a passing grade.  But i wasn't ready for this, and at this point i'm regretting taking the class.

Comments

[haloumi.livejournal.com]

It creeps up on you. I remember when I was studying winemaking - we started with 'add yeast' and then moved fairly quickly up to 'high temp, high nutrient, high oxygen ferment - what happens'. The instability of winemaking conditions in Australia, due to our high temperature conditions and vast amounts of sunlight, requires a fair amount of control so we train for extreme situations from early on.

I'm a little rusty, as I haven't been employed as a professional winemaker for a couple of years, but yell out if I can help to clarify anything.

[bungo.livejournal.com]

Sort of like a good red, really. First couple of glasses are okay, flavourful, aromatic, and all that... and then *whammo*, in come the tannins and the drunkenness, and next thing is you're left wanting nothing more than a large glass of water and some aspirin.

Or something like that.

[mrbalihai.livejournal.com]

I'm not even certain that what i'm being asked to do has enough relevance with what i'm learning

In my opinion, that's the instructor's problem, not yours. Most institutions of higher larnin' that I've been involved with are focused on pedagogy, and haven't a clue how adults learn stuff. Hint: it ain't by writing papers.

Despite all that, I don't think it's too late for you to have a talk with the teacher about your struggles and see if you can get some sort of dispensation of grace.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Thanks. A big problem is that there is a TON of reading, which is very scientific and dry.

[elmuchacho.livejournal.com]

Papers don't help anyone learn. They are the instructors way of determining whether you absorbed the knowledge or not. The best way to figure out if a student can talk the talk and walk the walk is by talking to them and watching them through the process. However, our system of education is saturated with to many students and not enough teachers, so we have to write academic papers. And cheer up Rone because from the sounds of it they are teaching you extreme attention to detail, something that only comes with years of wine making experience. A difficult subject even for veteran wine makers.

procastinador tú???? JA

[(Anonymous)]

mi vida, me has hecho reir. Bien has algo al respecto y nada de deprimirse, escribe lo que tengas que escribir y ya, el tiempo vuela, aprovecha la juventud y la vida, te adoro, mom

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

¿Te hago reír porque sufro? Ya veo cómo eres :p