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good guys always win contents: chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 | chapter 6 | chapter 7 | chapter 8 | chapter 9 | chapter 10 | chapter 11 chapter 4 (7.26.02) I finished my freshman year with a 4.0 GPA. I mentioned that I had an A- in geometry, but an A+ in gym class did the trick for me. I say this not because a 4.0 really mattered -- what counted at JP was the "weighted" GPA, which took into account the level of classes you took. I had a peek at my class ranking one time when I was visitng my guidance counselor to talk about my schedule, and I was ranked 10 out of over 400. It was something to brag about at the time because I would never see such a high ranking again. Which leads me to ask: was freshman year a case of beginner's luck? "Shit. I got a 78 on that last Algebra II test," Warren said, showing me a piece of paper decorated nicely with numerous red penned X's. "Don't worry, man, I got a 54," Wally said, doing Warren many more X's better. Welcome to sophomore year. It started off with a big stink: low grades, cluelessness, and a lack of motivation. Here is a run-down of what my schedule looked like my sophomore year: Period 1 - United States History: Having the first class of the day is a huge disadvantage, not only because you feel groggy and tired from having gotten up only an hour before, but because you have no clue what is going to be on the quiz or test. After first period, every class will know what each quiz and test will feature. By twelfth period, in which Head and Warren conveniently belonged to, it was a matter of looking like one was actually taking a quiz or test; they had all the freaking answers! Period 2 - French: This class was very tough. The teacher began to speak more French, and I had a hard time following along. It was also a very lucky situation for me because for the first and last time ever, I was with the majority of my crew in the same classroom. Warren, Wally, Nigi, Ligi, and I all sat on one side of a room. Head was unluckily placed in the first period class. It was near impossible to cheat on the tests because we were forced to spread our desks. Period 3 - English: This class was hands-down the hardest class I took at JP. It was a class dominated by smart Jewish kids and ruled by a self-righteous feminist-orientated teacher, Mrs. V. My essay scores were atrocious and never went higher than a 93. I was able to maintain an A- with dazzling performances on long-term projects that required immense effort and even a degree of obsession. Another problem with sophomore English was that there were so many teachers for the honors level. Welton had some hippy young guy as his teacher and Warren had this other teacher who was married to a chemistry teacher. Head sat behind me, but was of absolutely zero help. I got to know Fat Boy better from this class. Period 4/5 - Computer Science: Don't mind the stupid 4/5 thing. JP used a 4/5, 6/7, 7/8, or 9/10 period label because it had four different lunch periods to give everyone a chance to eat in the cafeteria. Comp sci (C++ and Pascal) was a total failure for me. I used to think that I was a whiz at the computer. I taught myself DOS commands as a kid and easily figured out HTML before web pages even became popular, but when it came to the hardcore real stuff, I was logically deficient. I gave up on even trying and became an expert at "comsmetic" programming, which required copying a program and making it look like it was my own through varied spacing and arrangement style. Period 7/8 - Algebra II: HARD. But having Head, Wally, and Fat Boy around made it fun. I saw moments where a row of kids would add their scores and it would still come out to less than 100. The Algebra II woes HAD to be conquered. Period 9/10 - Biology: I was "stuck" with a kid named Jason Fan, who everyone seemed to think was a big loser. His hairstyle was constantly mocked because of its frizzy-trying-to-look-straight nature, and he was one skinny mofo. I was no better than anyone else, and I acted mean to him and made fun of his physical features. What made me reverse my opinion of him was that he would make music CDs for girls just so they would act nicer to him. These same girls who ordered him to make their CDs would turn around and make fun of him even worse than I did. What I didn't understand was that Jason knew that they dissed him behind his back and completely used him, and yet wanted to feel accepted. As we collaborated more and more on labs and talked more about ourselves, I treated him with more respect and advised him to drop the pandering to the bitches. I asked him to join our Hoching venture and become the primary manufacturer of our music mix CDs. He became involved in various activities, and we developed a strong friendship. Fanman may have his eccentricit ies, but he's genuinely a good guy. As for the biology class itself, it was one of the easier classes I had as a sophomore, and I had a great time producing eye-pleasing projects. Period 11 - Study Hall Period 12 - Gym. Clearly, success as a freshman set the stage for a big sophomore jinx. How would we respond?
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