“How was your day?” “Fine until I saw this week’s Webwork problems.”

I have been told in the past that when life gives you lemons, the appropriate thing to do is to make lemonade—needless to say, I now run a fruitful lemonade factory [pun intended]. Between now and December, I have two midterm exams, two final papers due, and little bits and pieces of homework that just make life that much more pleasant. Homework and I are like fire and water: we go perfectly together.

One of the many ways the professors at the University of Rochester make the art of assigning ‘homework’ ever so efficient is through Webwork, “an online homework delivery system [developed by the University of Rochester] primarily used for mathematics and science. It allows students to complete their homework over the web, and receive instantaneous feedback as to the correctness of their responses”(Wikipedia). Webwork often arouses my ire. Two nights ago, I spent close to 45 minutes on ONE Webwork problem.

Webwork is as cruel as disenchanted people are to their recently overthrown leaders. But it is also strangely satisfying—like the satisfaction you get when you complete a really difficult crossword problem. So you can imagine my frustration after 40 minutes of calculating the same problem over and over again only to find it wrong each time. ‘Tis a cruel world in which we live. Eventually I caved an asked a friend for help. Main point: Webwork is as useful as it is cruel. If you are planning on enrolling to the University of Rochester prepare yourself mentally.

Webwork aside, this is a rather exciting week for me. I’m part of a student-run theatre company called TOOP, and I’m performing in my first-ever TOOP show this weekend. The show is an original play written by another member of TOOP (Kelsey Burritt). It’s called Threading, and I’m pretty excited at this point. Here’s the trailer for the show:

The play is a modern-day adaptation of the Greek myth about the 3 fates.

What makes this specific show so cool is that we were able to organize with some of the students at the Eastman School of Music, and now we’re going to have live orchestra music playing during the show. The thought gives me chills. That’s really one of the cool things about the U of R: we have the Eastman School, one of the best music schools in America, right here with us. Students at UR can take classes at Eastman and vice versa. I’m actually considering taking some violin classes at some point during my 4 years here.

So if you’re interested in music, you should definitely take a look at some of the undergraduate music programs offered by the University of Rochester: In addition to the Eastman School, the College also has its own Music Department.