In teaching others we teach ourselves

Dear Reader,

Greeting from SLO - City of Beautiful Green Hills, Busy Weekdays, and Lots of activity.
To summarize my week I'd like to start with a story. (Warning, the following paragraph may have greater significance to me in my present situation than to you!)
It all began Monday night - the weather was charming - Cold wind thrashing the rain as it poured down in sheets. Some say, San Luis Obispo was underwater! In an attempt to study for the coming midterm I sat down in the library and worked on some problems... I got through most of them and was doing fine until it hit me that my friend, Alex, was probably studying on his own also... Taking action, I sent him a text message detailing my position. He quickly responded in the affirmative and after a few moments he had arrived at the library to study with me. We sat down and began... For the next two hours, he and I beat the tar out of every question in the Chemistry book. We then switched to calculus 141 and hashed out another set of related rates and derivatives questions. Keeping each other focused we pushed through until 7pm when we quit and went home to eat. I was glad to have his company and as I was walking home, I realized just how much I finally understood the material. Anytime he got stuck, I was able to give him a hint and often teach him what I knew. Conversely when I struggled with a trig function or algebraic definition he could help me out. The rest of the week followed with more study, more running, and more classes.

Architecture Class- Today we learned about a Cock Fighting arena in Guadalajara Mexico.

Very ironic, because Friday morning I was chased by turkeys while I was running.

Me - Running from Turkeys at 7AM

Games, Food and Friends - Friday night we had a lot of fun, maybe too much for our own good.

Study Group photographing my art work. Moments before, I was explaining the lost art of Bacon Wars... Only the Gamble family will understand this...

Calculus Equations and Identities - Is this two much to learn? NOT BY the PROFESSORS STANDARDS!

I know my story might seem trivial but the personal growth gained was applicable to many other events which happened during the week. In the end, on Friday, I went to class knowing exactly what was on the test. Save for a select few, I was able to "drop kick" the questions and finish under the time limit! I am grateful to Alex and my professor for the help and coaching they gave to me and hope to do well on the next quiz also. I am sure the coming final will be equally challenging, but I am sure with the help of friends and teachers I will continue to improve.

Welding or Brazing

This is a demo of Oxy Fuel Brazing. This differs from welding in that the base metal is not melted but rather a filler metal with a lower melting poin is melted into the joint. This process is very strong when properly done. My braze joint was actually stronger than the base metal in tension.

This is a demo of Oxy Fuel Welding of Carbon Steel. The torch is fueled by Acetylene and Oxygen and a filler of ultra low carbon steel is being added to the weld pool.

Five Miles too Far...

The bike trip grows to legendary proportions as the story of my immense strength and power is told repeatedly among the wheelmen, with respect and awe. 73 miles on a bike, up to the highest local peak, all the while riding with the A group, wow. Of course, only I know the consequences of such a feat. Did I expect my body to hold up to that kind of treatment without recourse? Was I really thinking a 3000-foot climb was that easy? Was I really that... well....maybe.


Now I realize my mistake, for in the following days I grew weaker and weaker... my body struggling for time to recuperate and rebuild. There is no rest for the weary as I went out again, deliberately killing myself on hills 3-4 times in repetition... (the exact number evades me due to lack of clear thinking at 7am). 


Tuesday was the last day of normalcy before it happened. Again, I went out running on a beautiful sunny afternoon, the wind in my hair, healthy muscles working their way up the hillside. Upon returning home and feeling fine, I fell asleep, unaware of what the morning would bring...

Wednesday morning, in a totally unexpected sequence of events, my body fell first to stomach sickness and then to fever, only to grow worse as the days flew by. Friday, I faced an oncoming chemistry quiz with incredible weakness. I had spent two hours every night of the week preparing for this one quiz. To compensate for the intense stomach pain, the collection of food ingredients, which I had scavenged over the weekend, had been gathered in my room for comfort. Soups, yogurts, and apple juice made my days so much more enjoyable, as the rampage on my stomach and studies continued.


 The days were filled with memorizing chemistry equations and periodic table rules, and drinking lots of fluids, and nights were early to bed. Thursday night was the peak, as I lay in bed hot, sweaty, and feverish. Restless and coming in and out of consciousness, gallon after gallon of sweat poured off my body.

On Friday morning, I awoke, feeling utterly still, so calm. I went running. To my surprise, there was no pain, no sore muscles, no dizzy headaches... I was healthy again, Praise God! Excited, I went to class and arrived right on time to take the quiz. 


Now came the test to see if my week of studies could pay off. Did I learn my lessons about test taking? Was I prepared for the questions and did I understand the material? I was about to find out...
 
I was thinking about the past week and began to see a series of steps leading up to this point. Shopping on Sunday gave me an awesome feeling of paying attention to detail and searching for the best food product, much like finding the perfect answer on a test. 
This also made me think about the whole chicken I gutted, cooked, and consumed since Monday. Though the experience wasn't pleasurable, I came away a more experienced chef and confident in my own cooking skills.

Finally, I thought about all the other tests and quizzes taken over the past 6 weeks. I considered my revised study techniques with the new understanding of how the tests are written. Based solely on the lecture notes, the test was prepared for by spending the better portion of my week reading notes and practicing homework questions. I know this test taking technique will benefit my future tests also. Through these many experiences I came, ready for the test, not overly confident, but sure of the material.

I opened the test and skimmed the test. Instantly I recognized 3-4 questions I had done only days before. Then there were two others I had practiced but were only slightly altered. Skipping over the two I was uncertain about, I quickly finished 7 out of 10 of the questions. After only 10 minutes, I was done, more certain of my answers than I had ever been. Confidently, I reviewed my answers and was surprised to find a misunderstanding on my part. Carefully, I fixed the hasty mistake and completed the paper. What a victory, I thought to myself... of course it was hard but I could do it... I could meet whatever standard the professor set and go beyond even that.

Success is my focus now, as I go into this next week with great expectations. Having a grasp of understanding the skills and knowledge expected makes me feel at ease. I know this was a long post but I wanted to share my victory with family and friends and to thank you all for taking the time to read it. I hope you all took something away and enjoyed hearing about my challenging but fun adventures. 


Good luck in your own challenges, Jordan Gamble

Jump salmon Jump!

Happy Valentines:)
This past weekend has been such an exhilarating yet fatiguing series of events that I find it difficult to put my feelings into context. First, it started with an awesome worship fellowship time on Friday night. Saturday morning I joined the A-Team on a 78 miles bike ride up to Black Mt, the highest point in Slo County.

Later Saturday night, Alex and I played some board games... I lost... Badly.

Then came Church, which, again, was awesome! Tim, my small group leader spoke to the students on Desiring God and afterwards I got help on my PC from a friend. Shopping, Laundry, and Valentines Dinner Party. I cooked spaghetti and other people brought brownies, pie and ice cream! SWEET! Then we all watched Bella, a beautiful film on the struggles of a young single woman in New York City.

Finally, Monday is free from classes and I am cooking burritos for Alex and I as we are planning a picnic on this beautiful afternoon. Alex has also offered to help me in Math which is much needed. Thank you for this wonderful weekend! I look forward to this next week with much excitement.

God Bless you All
Love,
jordan

Pasta Putinesca

Bonjour Les Salutations el San Luis Obispo,

I make tortellini tonight... its very good, o mama mia!

My week has been filled with feeling of frustration, success, gritted teeth, relaxing runs, intense bike workout, and the completion of my first half of freshman year! I am so excited to get these classes over with and really look forward to finals day so I can say to my professor, "see, I told you I could do it!" Sometimes, It feels like everybody out to get you and nobodies there but then, if you poke your up out of the mists of studies, there is light! That's what I found when I began my search for roommates... It is truly amazing how many people there are who are just like me - Searching for friends. I suppose the idea that everybody has friends is old by now but its still hard to reach out and introduce yourself to new faces, new activities, new habits. I guess that's what college is all about: finding your SELF in a place of many possibilities. I know I am finding more and more a personal desire to trust God with all my heart, all my hopes, and all my fears. This is true happiness for me, to see God work in the hearts and minds of people around me and in my own heart also. Praise be to God! Good Pasta!

Engineering Classes and Lab! FUN!

Greetings from Southern California- The Small town of San Luis Obispo. Home of the great Cal Poly Mustangs. It is such a blessing to have gotten so many birthday cards and wishes from all my friends and family.

This week has been especially tough because I took a Chem Midterm that didn't go over so well. After studying and taking a midterm last week I was shocked to see that grade I received. Not knowing where I had stumbled I went to my professors office hours. In speaking with Prof Nguyen I realize my understanding of the material was not lacking but instead a test taking inability and attention to important details. For example, the instructions in one problem stated clearly the requirements. This being my first Midterm, I was feeling rushed and I hurriedly read over the most important details, thereby losing myself in the sequencial problems. A problem that should have taken 20 seconds ended up 2 minutes later. This is why I was guessing in the last minute on all the easy questions!

Through this experience I have realized I do need help and practice in test taking and I hope with my profs guidance will do much better on future tests.

Until Next Time,

Jordan Gamble