Brain Dead and Ashamed

Oh man, this week killed me. It's like my brain went on vacation without telling me. What a jerkface.

So we had 2 weeks to finish this project in my GIS class. It was due on Friday and the only real instructions were to do something new and different from the other projects we've done so far. We could pick anything to do the map on. Well obviously I went straight to trying to make a map of Japan. My original idea was going to be to make a map of my mission and mark all the areas that Andrew and I served in. Simple right?

Well I have since learned a few things about the great country we live in, the USA. Number one being that our military likes to develop new technologies and then put them out for public use. GPS anyone?

Japan is not like that.

In America, I can download any number of GIS applications and files for free and super easily. Can't do that in Japan.

I spent the first week of the project just LOOKING for the files. Then I finally found them and downloaded what I needed and started working on geocoding the churches in my mission. Then (this was Wednesday) I found out that all my files were in Japanese and my GIS program couldn't read them. The font was a bunch of squares. Not helpful.

So fast forward to Thursday, day before the project is due and I have no project because it just isn't going to work. I can't find ANY more Japan files so I can't attempt to map a watershed area or do an elevation map, nothing. I have to start from scratch. So at 10 pm Thursday, I download a bunch of files of Rainier National Park.

Well, in the US, there are different levels of available free information. In Utah, because Mormons love collecting and storing data (insert your last R.S. lesson on journaling and family history here) there is a plethora of free information for use. In Washington, most of that information belongs to University of Washington and LOOKS downloadable, but only if you have a U-dub ID. DANG IT!

So finally, midnight on Thursday I finish the crappiest map I've ever made because I just don't have information. It was a really sad map and I am very ashamed of it but I had been at the computer for 8 hours that day (not counting the 4 for work) and I was tired.

Friday, I slept through my first class and then typed up the essay that had to go with my map. One of the questions I had to answer? "Tell me why you deserve full points on this assignment"

"Honestly, if I looked only at my map, I would give me 2 points MAYBE, and that is being generous...but hear me out." That's pretty much how I started. Maybe he'll give into my sob story?

But in the meantime, to add insult to injury, I work really hard on my maps. I try so so so hard and my LAST map if you remember was featured on the board as an example of a good map. So when my teacher sent out an email to the whole class saying how proud he was of all of us and how he wants to keep some of the maps for future classes as examples, I died a little inside because my map sucked and I knew it.

Good thing I had easter weekend at Andrew's aunt and uncles to unwind and hopefully get my brain back. Nothing like 2 year old dyeing easter eggs to cheer you up. =P

POST SCRIPT: It's ok, by some miracle I ended up getting full points on the assignment. :)