[Digest] Week of October 30, 2005
Nov. 3rd, 2005 04:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edgOctober 31, 2005 - 11:24 AM
I've run into an interesting problem with my transcript, which strongly affects my course load for next semester. (This is even more interesting because I've already turned in my registration card for next semester.) The problem is this: I am told that I have fulfilled the Scientific Inquiry portion of my general education requirement (7 credits across 2 courses, one of which must be a lab course). However, I can't figure out how they've decided this, since the only class I've taken and passed that meets the requirement is Calculus, which was only 5 credits and not, as I recall, a lab course.
What makes this interesting is that I've signed up to take Cells, Genes, and Inheritance next semester, on the basis that it's a science course with a lab portion; and I've signed up for the class specifically because I wanted to fulfill the Scientific Inquiry portion of my general education requirements. But if I don't need to fulfill that requirement... then, to be honest, I'd kind of rather take some other courses in its place. (For one thing, I'll still have 15 upper-level (300- or 400-series courses) credits to fill after next semester, even with CGI (which is a 100-series course).)
So I guess I need to stop by the registrar's office before class today. Yay.
Also I have a paper to write before tomorrow, which is causing me no end of anxiety because I also have a bunch of other stuff to do before tomorrow.
Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure out how to get it all done.
5:00 PM
I like Reading Latin; it's immediately afterward that always makes me kind of sad.
Too much work to do tonight. At least I have my Words & Works paper outlined, and have bought more coffee. ("We're gonna need a bigger mug.")
The registrar's office is going to re-do their gen-ed audit so that I can be sure of what I need to do.
Holy God, I look horrible. Seriously - I don't understand how other people can think that I'm at all attractive. (And no, "everybody feels like that" doesn't make me feel better in the least.)
My house is currently insufficiently lit. I need to buy a couple lamps. (Right after I win the lottery.)
Enough. Back to life, instead of bitching about life.
5:34 PM
Forgot - received my History paper back today. 85. I could have done better. I will be rewriting it.
I had a recurring panic dream about getting my Latin midterm back. Obviously I'm not so confident as I thought I was.
6:47 PM
SAGA debet habere JELL-O. Habetne JELL-O ac non vidi?
9:34 PM
It occurs to me that I may be over-updating this digest in compensation for not being able to actually post it. Also, not being on the MUSH anymore means I don't spend as much time whining to random well-known strangers about my life, so I'm using this as an outlet.
Incidentally, "IOWA! Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Corn" and "MONTANA! The Biggest Sky Allowed By Law Without A Prescription" still make me laugh.
No work has been done. To do before tomorrow:
I guess it's actually not all that much. It's really the paper that's getting to me.
Me out.
10:38 PM
I really need to stop updating this (and being a Latin geek over at Tenser, said the Tensor) and write my damn paper.
It's just that the "and per se and" etymology of "ampersand" never really rang true for me. It sounds too pat, like the bit about how "raining cats and dogs" came from actual cats and dogs living on the roof and falling off when the thatch got too slippery during a storm. (Not true, by the way.) But I can't think of a better etymology (for "ampersand", that is), so I guess "and per se and" is what I'm stuck with.
November 1, 2005
2:07 AM
Okay, seriously, why do I suck so much?
This isn't a rhetorical question.
I have known that this paper was coming for weeks. (Technically, months, but it's only really been on my radar for about three weeks.) I've had a week-and-a-half extension on it already (granted to the entire class). So why on Earth am I only halfway done at 2 AM the night before it's due?
I have got to get on the ball. I think I just need to take Wednesday to myself, turn everything off but the work I need to do, and just do the work. I have an exam in American History on Thursday, a class discussion to lead in Reading Latin on Thursday, a paper due in Poetry on the 11th, a class discussion to lead in Poetry on the 17th, and a presentation due in Words & Works on the 18th; and that's the next three weeks. (I have several papers due in the last two weeks of the semester, and at least two finals for which I need to prepare.) Plus I have paying-job work to do...
Man, when I put it all in one place like that, it's a lot more daunting.
Still. I may just take Wednesday off from everything but working like hell.
11:21 AM
Finished my paper. Turned it in, after a discussion with the professor about how dissatisfied I was with it. We'll see how good it really is.
I am currently missing class for the first time this semester. (Sadly, after this week it will be twice, since I have to miss Words & Works on Friday to attend a wedding.) I got to talking with Mary, my Poetry professor, about style (a question that came up in class), and didn't notice the time until it was well after the start time for American Political Thought. And since Bob (the APT professor) dislikes people walking in late... well, I didn't attend. Instead I went home, emptied my bag of the textbooks I wasn't going to be using anymore today, and picked up![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
crystalskull's Stargate DVDs that I'd forgotten when I left the first time.
I'm worried aboutphosphodae. She hasn't posted, that I can see, for a week; and she seemed unusually subdued in class today. I hope she's okay.
Okay, now to read 35 pages of Herodotus in 60 minutes.
9:06 PM
At least I'm "posting" less than I was yesterday. I really do think my loquacity has to do with barely having anybody to talk to.
I went to the school library today and got my card reinstated. (It had been deactivated since I was off-campus so long.) I also checked out an armload of books; it's only six books, but one of them is more than 600 pages long, hardcover. So now I have a pile of books about, variously, Linear B, Coptic, and Egyptian sitting next to my bookshelf being lonely and wondering when I will have the time to read them. Fortunately it seems that I get five (!) renewal periods; since each borrowing period is 4 weeks, that means that I could, conceivably, have these books checked out until April 24.
I would feel worse about this if there were anyone else in the entire school studying these subjects. Even Steve had to think for a minute before he could name the authors I needed. (Chadwick and Ventris, for Linear B; I didn't ask about Coptic or Egyptian.)
Yes, I'm kind of a language geek; why do you ask?
Something else I found out today is that a full circuit around Brick City is 2/5 of a mile. I've been doing two circuits easily; I might just keep going the next time I feel the need to start walking. Seven and a half circuits (and I can cut across the lawn on the eighth pass) will give me the three miles I want to be walking each day...
Okay, back to actually doing work.
November 2, 2005
3:23 PM
Still worried aboutphosphodae, but less so. At least she posted.
So, I guess my old portable headphones are kind of broken. (I have two pairs at any given time; one is a set of large "studio" headphones, which is attached to my desktop computer, and the other is a set of more portable earbuds which I use with my laptop and MiniDisc player.) I'd noticed that I wasn't getting as much volume as I'd like, but figured that was just getting used to the volume level; I'd noticed that the left bud was having trouble broadcasting anything but bass, and that was what prompted me to see if I could find a new pair. But I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, so I bought a pair of Philips earbuds instead.
Holy cow. Apparently I wasn't just getting used to the volume level; these new headphones are something like 300% louder than the other ones were, and project full bass and treble. I nearly blew my eardrums the first time I put them on, because I had the volume all the way up on my laptop just to be able to hear music at a reasonable level. O_o
Finished workstuff. Have to study for an exam tomorrow and finish reading the Carcopino assignment so I can come up with discussion questions. Stupid work. It'll get its.
5:06 PM
I just got a $135 phone bill.
Half of that is long distance.
Most of that is calling work.
Right; she gets to call me now.
November 3, 2005
12:44 AM
It's quarter to one in the morning. I haven't done any translating. I haven't done any studying. I am so fucked.
(...man, I wish. At least then I'd have an excuse for not doing my god damned work that wasn't "I'm a total slacker".)
Those of you who are interested in Writely may be interested in the new Writely forums. (The only reason I only have five posts there right now is because nobody else is posting. Likefadethecat says, it's a cool thing I'm interested in.)
So. fucked.
I can't even blow off my classes tomorrow because I have an exam in one of them and a presentation in another. I really hope I get enough sleep tomorrow night; I have twelve hours of driving to do on Friday.
8:02 AM
I think I'm going to be posting this tonight.
phosphodae, please rest assured that I wasn't worried because I was uncertain of your strength; I have absolutely no question of that. I was worried because I hadn't heard from you in a while.
I finished my Latin around 2, and right now I'm working on getting some workstuff done before class. Between classes I'm going to be studying for the history exam - it's all stuff I can vaguely dredge up, but I really need a refresher - so I hope nobody's offended when I whisk off or make myself unavailable. (Not that this is any different from any other day; and not that anybody'd be offended is actually reading this; but still.)
People are starting to post in the Writely forums. (And I got recognized in their weblog! Even if not by name.)
This segment of the digest may not reflect this, so I'll say it flat out: I'm having a hard time expressing how pissed off I am right now.
10:00 AM
I honestly don't know why I go to Poetry anymore. I'm not learning anything, I talk but I clearly don't contribute (because if I did, someone would respond to something I said), and it doesn't actually seem to matter particularly whether or not I'm there.
(Actually, no, I have a very good reason for going to Poetry: it's past the drop date, I need the upper-level credits, and I don't want an F on my transcript. So my presence matters to two people: me and the registrar.)
(On the other hand, I could probably put a broom "wearing" a wig and one of my shirts in one of the chairs, with a sign that said "ATTENTION CLASSMATES: [STUFF YOU WON'T CARE ABOUT]", and achieve the same effect.)
(Yes, I'm angry and venting.)
Also, I got either a B- or a C on my American Political Thought exam. I can't tell, and frankly, I don't care.
4:45 PM
Did well on the history exam. Not so much in Latin. APT exam was a B- because the professor gave everybody 3 extra points, raising my 78 to an 81.
Funny how easy it is for moods to change. Not actually angry anymore. Just resigned.
Also, in a moment of uncharacteristic bluntness: I'm really kind of tired of hearing about how awesome Kenneth is. (This is a current-Earlham thing; I doubt more than two of you will know what I'm talking about.) I don't know how awesome he is, and at this point I honestly don't care. All I know is that he's better than I am, and I'm a little sick of having it pointed out to me.
Posting now, because I don't want to forget before I leave.
I've run into an interesting problem with my transcript, which strongly affects my course load for next semester. (This is even more interesting because I've already turned in my registration card for next semester.) The problem is this: I am told that I have fulfilled the Scientific Inquiry portion of my general education requirement (7 credits across 2 courses, one of which must be a lab course). However, I can't figure out how they've decided this, since the only class I've taken and passed that meets the requirement is Calculus, which was only 5 credits and not, as I recall, a lab course.
What makes this interesting is that I've signed up to take Cells, Genes, and Inheritance next semester, on the basis that it's a science course with a lab portion; and I've signed up for the class specifically because I wanted to fulfill the Scientific Inquiry portion of my general education requirements. But if I don't need to fulfill that requirement... then, to be honest, I'd kind of rather take some other courses in its place. (For one thing, I'll still have 15 upper-level (300- or 400-series courses) credits to fill after next semester, even with CGI (which is a 100-series course).)
So I guess I need to stop by the registrar's office before class today. Yay.
Also I have a paper to write before tomorrow, which is causing me no end of anxiety because I also have a bunch of other stuff to do before tomorrow.
Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure out how to get it all done.
5:00 PM
I like Reading Latin; it's immediately afterward that always makes me kind of sad.
Too much work to do tonight. At least I have my Words & Works paper outlined, and have bought more coffee. ("We're gonna need a bigger mug.")
The registrar's office is going to re-do their gen-ed audit so that I can be sure of what I need to do.
Holy God, I look horrible. Seriously - I don't understand how other people can think that I'm at all attractive. (And no, "everybody feels like that" doesn't make me feel better in the least.)
My house is currently insufficiently lit. I need to buy a couple lamps. (Right after I win the lottery.)
Enough. Back to life, instead of bitching about life.
5:34 PM
Forgot - received my History paper back today. 85. I could have done better. I will be rewriting it.
I had a recurring panic dream about getting my Latin midterm back. Obviously I'm not so confident as I thought I was.
6:47 PM
SAGA debet habere JELL-O. Habetne JELL-O ac non vidi?
9:34 PM
It occurs to me that I may be over-updating this digest in compensation for not being able to actually post it. Also, not being on the MUSH anymore means I don't spend as much time whining to random well-known strangers about my life, so I'm using this as an outlet.
Incidentally, "IOWA! Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Corn" and "MONTANA! The Biggest Sky Allowed By Law Without A Prescription" still make me laugh.
No work has been done. To do before tomorrow:
- Write paper for Words & Works.
- Do ANOVA analysis for work.
- Read text for Words & Works.
- Read text for American Political Thought.
I guess it's actually not all that much. It's really the paper that's getting to me.
Me out.
10:38 PM
I really need to stop updating this (and being a Latin geek over at Tenser, said the Tensor) and write my damn paper.
It's just that the "and per se and" etymology of "ampersand" never really rang true for me. It sounds too pat, like the bit about how "raining cats and dogs" came from actual cats and dogs living on the roof and falling off when the thatch got too slippery during a storm. (Not true, by the way.) But I can't think of a better etymology (for "ampersand", that is), so I guess "and per se and" is what I'm stuck with.
November 1, 2005
2:07 AM
Okay, seriously, why do I suck so much?
This isn't a rhetorical question.
I have known that this paper was coming for weeks. (Technically, months, but it's only really been on my radar for about three weeks.) I've had a week-and-a-half extension on it already (granted to the entire class). So why on Earth am I only halfway done at 2 AM the night before it's due?
I have got to get on the ball. I think I just need to take Wednesday to myself, turn everything off but the work I need to do, and just do the work. I have an exam in American History on Thursday, a class discussion to lead in Reading Latin on Thursday, a paper due in Poetry on the 11th, a class discussion to lead in Poetry on the 17th, and a presentation due in Words & Works on the 18th; and that's the next three weeks. (I have several papers due in the last two weeks of the semester, and at least two finals for which I need to prepare.) Plus I have paying-job work to do...
Man, when I put it all in one place like that, it's a lot more daunting.
Still. I may just take Wednesday off from everything but working like hell.
11:21 AM
Finished my paper. Turned it in, after a discussion with the professor about how dissatisfied I was with it. We'll see how good it really is.
I am currently missing class for the first time this semester. (Sadly, after this week it will be twice, since I have to miss Words & Works on Friday to attend a wedding.) I got to talking with Mary, my Poetry professor, about style (a question that came up in class), and didn't notice the time until it was well after the start time for American Political Thought. And since Bob (the APT professor) dislikes people walking in late... well, I didn't attend. Instead I went home, emptied my bag of the textbooks I wasn't going to be using anymore today, and picked up
crystalskull's Stargate DVDs that I'd forgotten when I left the first time.I'm worried about
phosphodae. She hasn't posted, that I can see, for a week; and she seemed unusually subdued in class today. I hope she's okay.Okay, now to read 35 pages of Herodotus in 60 minutes.
9:06 PM
At least I'm "posting" less than I was yesterday. I really do think my loquacity has to do with barely having anybody to talk to.
I went to the school library today and got my card reinstated. (It had been deactivated since I was off-campus so long.) I also checked out an armload of books; it's only six books, but one of them is more than 600 pages long, hardcover. So now I have a pile of books about, variously, Linear B, Coptic, and Egyptian sitting next to my bookshelf being lonely and wondering when I will have the time to read them. Fortunately it seems that I get five (!) renewal periods; since each borrowing period is 4 weeks, that means that I could, conceivably, have these books checked out until April 24.
I would feel worse about this if there were anyone else in the entire school studying these subjects. Even Steve had to think for a minute before he could name the authors I needed. (Chadwick and Ventris, for Linear B; I didn't ask about Coptic or Egyptian.)
Yes, I'm kind of a language geek; why do you ask?
Something else I found out today is that a full circuit around Brick City is 2/5 of a mile. I've been doing two circuits easily; I might just keep going the next time I feel the need to start walking. Seven and a half circuits (and I can cut across the lawn on the eighth pass) will give me the three miles I want to be walking each day...
Okay, back to actually doing work.
November 2, 2005
3:23 PM
Still worried about
phosphodae, but less so. At least she posted.So, I guess my old portable headphones are kind of broken. (I have two pairs at any given time; one is a set of large "studio" headphones, which is attached to my desktop computer, and the other is a set of more portable earbuds which I use with my laptop and MiniDisc player.) I'd noticed that I wasn't getting as much volume as I'd like, but figured that was just getting used to the volume level; I'd noticed that the left bud was having trouble broadcasting anything but bass, and that was what prompted me to see if I could find a new pair. But I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, so I bought a pair of Philips earbuds instead.
Holy cow. Apparently I wasn't just getting used to the volume level; these new headphones are something like 300% louder than the other ones were, and project full bass and treble. I nearly blew my eardrums the first time I put them on, because I had the volume all the way up on my laptop just to be able to hear music at a reasonable level. O_o
Finished workstuff. Have to study for an exam tomorrow and finish reading the Carcopino assignment so I can come up with discussion questions. Stupid work. It'll get its.
5:06 PM
I just got a $135 phone bill.
Half of that is long distance.
Most of that is calling work.
Right; she gets to call me now.
November 3, 2005
12:44 AM
It's quarter to one in the morning. I haven't done any translating. I haven't done any studying. I am so fucked.
(...man, I wish. At least then I'd have an excuse for not doing my god damned work that wasn't "I'm a total slacker".)
Those of you who are interested in Writely may be interested in the new Writely forums. (The only reason I only have five posts there right now is because nobody else is posting. Like
fadethecat says, it's a cool thing I'm interested in.)So. fucked.
I can't even blow off my classes tomorrow because I have an exam in one of them and a presentation in another. I really hope I get enough sleep tomorrow night; I have twelve hours of driving to do on Friday.
8:02 AM
I think I'm going to be posting this tonight.
phosphodae, please rest assured that I wasn't worried because I was uncertain of your strength; I have absolutely no question of that. I was worried because I hadn't heard from you in a while.I finished my Latin around 2, and right now I'm working on getting some workstuff done before class. Between classes I'm going to be studying for the history exam - it's all stuff I can vaguely dredge up, but I really need a refresher - so I hope nobody's offended when I whisk off or make myself unavailable. (Not that this is any different from any other day; and not that anybody'd be offended is actually reading this; but still.)
People are starting to post in the Writely forums. (And I got recognized in their weblog! Even if not by name.)
This segment of the digest may not reflect this, so I'll say it flat out: I'm having a hard time expressing how pissed off I am right now.
10:00 AM
I honestly don't know why I go to Poetry anymore. I'm not learning anything, I talk but I clearly don't contribute (because if I did, someone would respond to something I said), and it doesn't actually seem to matter particularly whether or not I'm there.
(Actually, no, I have a very good reason for going to Poetry: it's past the drop date, I need the upper-level credits, and I don't want an F on my transcript. So my presence matters to two people: me and the registrar.)
(On the other hand, I could probably put a broom "wearing" a wig and one of my shirts in one of the chairs, with a sign that said "ATTENTION CLASSMATES: [STUFF YOU WON'T CARE ABOUT]", and achieve the same effect.)
(Yes, I'm angry and venting.)
Also, I got either a B- or a C on my American Political Thought exam. I can't tell, and frankly, I don't care.
4:45 PM
Did well on the history exam. Not so much in Latin. APT exam was a B- because the professor gave everybody 3 extra points, raising my 78 to an 81.
Funny how easy it is for moods to change. Not actually angry anymore. Just resigned.
Also, in a moment of uncharacteristic bluntness: I'm really kind of tired of hearing about how awesome Kenneth is. (This is a current-Earlham thing; I doubt more than two of you will know what I'm talking about.) I don't know how awesome he is, and at this point I honestly don't care. All I know is that he's better than I am, and I'm a little sick of having it pointed out to me.
Posting now, because I don't want to forget before I leave.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-11-03 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-04 01:24 pm (UTC)The Poetry teacher probably cares a little bit that people are showing up -- if students don't, then that means (to the teacher) that they don't care about the class, the subject, and/or the teacher, I'd think.
So three people, yah? And... I had something witty here, but distractions have blown it quite out of my tapioca brains.