Below are the 11 most recent journal entries recorded in Jon Rankin's LiveJournal:

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
10:31 pm	I'm done with college Today I took my last exam as an undergraduate, meaning that for all practical purposes I have a B.S. in Cell & Molecular Biology. Unfortunately, I apparently lose my health insurance as soon as the semester officially ends, and I thought I could stay on it until the end of the summer. (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
11:13 pm	(Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
10:32 pm	The rain vs. my closet Anyone who was in Grand Rapids today does not have to be told how bad the rain was. When I was going home, half the bus ride seemed to take place in a river. Once I got to my bus stop, I spent about a half hour at the Ottawa Hills Library hoping that the rain would die down. It didn't, so I decided to make a run for it. I still got soaked, but this was not the worst part. When I got to my bedroom I noticed a dripping sound coming from my closet, so I opened the door and found out that my closet ceiling had a leak in it, and the water had soaked all the socks I had in there. I then telephoned my parents (they are in Ann Arbor until the 4th) and explained the situation to them. My mom told me that they would call the roofers who put in our roof a few years ago, but for now just throw your socks in the dryer (I decided to wash them first). So now a lot of the stuff I had in my closet is in various corners of my room, and I have put 2 buckets in my closet to catch the still-dripping water and minimize any kind of water damage. I am mad, but I am also grateful that nothing irreplaceable was destroyed. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
8:20 pm	My hard work is finally being rewarded A couple days ago I received a letter from GVSU's financial aid office. When I opened the huge envelope I expected to qualify for nothing more than loans, but it turns out that I qualified for a Pell Grant, a SMART Grant, and a Federal Supp Educ Opportunity Grant. Altogether the Grants total $4990 for next year, and since I have a couple thousand dollars in the bank my last year of college is pretty much paid for now. I thought about quitting my summer job, but I figure I should work until I earn $4200, giving me 4 quarters of social security. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
2:57 pm	Final Grades Biochemistry: A. And apparently I got the second highest grade on the final exam. Genetics: A for lecture & lab. I thought Genetics was pretty easy, midway through the semester I quit reading the book because his exams were based completely on his notes. Genetics lab was pretty easy, thanks to my partner being willing to come in at night for the fruit fly experiments. I would have helped her more with that, but I can't drive so I really could not come in after hours. I did my share of work in other assignments though. Physics: A. Apparently no one else in the class got an A. (There were a few A-s but no other As.) I did not like physics one bit, but at least this semester the material was somewhat interesting. And I did not completely blank out on any exams this semester. Terrorism: A-. This was probably the stupidest class I have ever taken. Our grade was based entirely off of two exams, 10 out of 14 online chapter quizzes, a group project, and attendance and participation. The only was to get a 100 in attendance & participation was to contribute something to every class discussion, which was hard as my teacher would ramble on about something completely unrelated for about 20 minutes whenever he answered a student's question. There was also a student in the class who had been in the military and would also talk for 15-20 minutes straight. The chapter quizzes were not tough, but you only had 5 minutes to do each one, making me paranoid that the internet might die in the middle of one. The textbook was also poorly written, in fact it cited wikipedia at least once. After I got 10 perfect quiz scores I stopped reading the book. But all in all, my first year at Grand Valley has been a success. Next semester I am going to do 3 credits of research with a teacher, which should allow me to get my capstone course done next winter. Once that semester is over, I should be getting my Bachelor's. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
11:04 pm	Primary Today I voted for Ron Paul, as I like him more than any other Presidential hopeful. He really doesn't have much chance of winning but I did all I could do. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
8:53 pm	I have neglected my oral hygiene The dentist called me today and told me I need to schedule an appointment for a checkup because I hadn't had one since October of last year. Apparently I did not schedule another appointment after I had my last one, which I found hard to believe as they never let me walk out of there without scheduling an appointment and writing my address on a postcard which would be mailed to be later to remind me of the time I chose. But the phone call did not entirely surprise me, as I had been thinking that it had been a heck of a long time since I sat and got my gums prodded and got bitched at for drinking so much coffee, and I could not find my next appointment anywhere on the calendar. But now I am scheduled to come in the day before Thanksgiving, giving my mouth pain one day and absolute pleasure the next. (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 6th, 2007
12:03 am	Wow, an update! Ok, I got the urge to post a real entry to my journal, so here it goes. Last May I graduated from GRCC with an Associates in Science, and since I was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society I got to pay 40 bucks extra to wear the special stole, cord, and tassel. So I can technically say I am a college graduate even though I don't have a "real" degree. Currently I am at GVSU majoring in Cellular & Molecular Biology hoping to graduate in two years. I also gave up believing in God, which should surprise any of the few people who remember me as being a creationist. I still don't have great social skills, and as a result I don't have a lot of friends. I still haven't gotten around to writing my book about my experiences in 7th grade, even though I wrote the outline years ago. I should probably get around to that. Right now my parents are in the Netherlands, and my sister is gone for the weekend, so I'm here by myself. I was going to go down to a bar tonight, but I spend a lot longer doing my online physics homework than I planned so that didn't happen. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. And before you get the wrong idea, I almost never drink even though I am 21, mainly due to my cheapness. When I do drink I almost always drink beer, as I haven't been able to get hard liquor down since I got severely drunk off of it a year and a half ago. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
11:26 am	Birthday I am now 21! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 24th, 2006
9:16 am	My first post in a year Ok, here are my grades for the Fall 2006 semester, if anyone cares. Microbiology: B Organic Chemistry 1 Lecture: B Organic Chemistry 1 Lab: B+ Moral Choices: A My current GPA is 3.278, so I just barely missed getting on the Dean's List, but my cumulative is 3.619 so I should be able to stay on Phi Theta Kappa. On another note, GRCC wants me to tutor again next semester even though I never finished the 10 hours of training on blackboard. The letter said I could do the training next semester, but since I am going to graduate in May I don't think I'm going to bother. (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 24th, 2005
12:21 pm	My final grades for the Fall 2005 semester BA 254 (Business Statistics) A- BI 151 (Cells, Molecules, and Genes) B+ (Man, that class was hard) CM 103 (General Chemistry 1) A SC 131 (Fund. of Public Speaking) A- My GPA this semester is 3.667, and my cumulative GPA is 3.812. I think I will make the Dean's List again this semester. (Comment on this)