Final Exam #2: English

Well, Freshman Composition... technically. Not really English.

The way that my composition final works is that they give us a packet of readings (five or six articles over both sides of an issue) that we have to read before the final and then write an essay over during the allotted time for the final. The things is, while we are given the readings (and thus, the topic) we aren't given the prompt until we get there. I had a bet with myself (ten bucks!) that my prompt would be a proposal and that it would take me an hour and a half to write. Well, I lost my bet, so I technically owe myself ten bucks, because it was a persuasive essay and it took me 1:45 to write.

The topic was whether civil service should be mandated by the government. I decided that I was against this and managed to write four pages about how I was against this. It was very easy to take a "that's unconstitutional!" standpoint... and so I did. There's not really much else to tell.

Dunno if you've noticed, but writing has never exactly been a weak point of mine... so I was not expecting to be challenged. And I wasn't.

My next final is Geology on Wednesday, but I think that I will take a nap then continue on with what Hermione told me to do. (For the record, I am still accomplishing what I said I would!)

Well, Abby has just informed me that she wants to do some moving, so we're going to load up my car with some of her stuff and take it to her house. So much for taking a nap! (No... I did offer her my car. So I did expect it.)

Final Exam #1: French

My life has officially been sucked up into the world of final exams. This afternoon I took my first exam: French.

I'll be honest, while I did study a lot (A LOT. Did you see what Hermione made me do?) but I was a little shocked by how hard some parts of the exam were. There were words that I could have sworn that I've never seen before... and there was a listening portion of the exam that was about famous French people that we never learned about in class (but were apparently in the book?) that was pretty difficult. But overall, I am confident that I got the grade on the final that I needed to get an A in the class.

Tonight, I'm going to start studying for my other classes, just like Hermione told me to. On the agenda is Geology and English.

Not really a blog

This isn't really a bog, but an amusing observation. I was reading the Paisano online and found the web poll. The results greatly amused me...


That's the life of a college student, eh?

(For the record: I said "work".)

ETA: I happened to check the results at a very amusing time... if you check the results now, things are a lot more spread out... but still. Amusing, right?

Catching Up

I am sorry I have been on a trend of only remembering to update before my Geology class once or twice a week. I do feel bad about it, however my life has turned toward final exams and I have become busy trying to fit a lot of things into my day.

So, over the weekend I went home and saw the St Mike's spring musical - they performed Guys and Dolls. The production was so good and I laughed and got chills the whole way through. It was really fun and they had clearly put a lot of work into it! Was still a little weird not to be onstage with them, but my time there is done.

Saturday was a long day. Brandlyn and her family are moving across town, and so I volunteered myself (and my mother) to go help them pack up their house. Unfortunately, it turned out that I was having a really awful allergy day (Brandy's dog Bella is adorable, but I just don't have the immunity built up to her that I do my dogs) so after spending around three hours packing and going through almost an entire box of tissues, Brandy practically kicked me out of the house. I went home, took some sudafed and slept for the whole afternoon.

That night was a lot better... I was fuzzy-headed (oh, sudafed...) but I had recovered from the allergies and so we went to see Bob Schneider.


BOB! (I like the lighting in this photo.)



(I like this photo of us! :D)

(Isn't this picture so cute?)

We had a real good time! It was my first Bob concert, and now I understand why Mom has wanted to marry him for the last few years. (However, lately when you tease her about this, she insists that she is happy with Mike.)

So last night, because I was a bad girl over the weekend and didn't do what Hermione Granger said I should, I had to play a bit of catchup and study the chapters I didn't do over the weekend. It took me around two and a half hours, but I did eventually finish. (I now have covered about half of the ground I need to for the final, and have created a nine-pages of a study packet.)

Today, I have a busy day ahead of me, but none of it will be bad. I have to go to class (I am in Geology now...), I have to do a bit of cooking (we're having a party in my French class tomorrow, and I volunteered to make some food), and tonight I have the Paisano dinner tonight. I am looking forward to the dinner. I enjoy spending time with the other editors and writers and had a really good time last Christmas. I have a feeling that it will be even more fun tonight, just based on the fact that I know the people better.

Class is in full swing now, so I must go!

Hermione Granger was WRONG

So Hermione Granger didn't come through for me last weekend when I posted my review schedule. She got a few things wrong, so here is the corrected schedule:

(This is more or less for the sake of my Mother, who will stalk my study habits whether or not I want her to. Love you, Mama!)


The differences are that with the previous schedule I did not know exactly how my finals (and their reviews) would be set up, and I assumed (like the professors told me at the beginning of the semester) that the finals would be cumulative. Since then, my Geology and History professors have changed their plans (so that the final only covers the last few weeks of the course) and my Astronomy professor decided that he was going to post a final review instead of just telling us to study off the tests.

The only things that haven't changed are French and English. Although, depending on my mood, I'll probably cover more ground with French each day than what I have set up. That's the way it happened last semester.

Another Blog before Geology

So here I am, sitting in the lecture hall and blogging before my Geology class again. I have created the habit, have I not?

The week has gone by more or less uneventfully. I have gone to my classes, started studying for finals (which start in NINE DAYS) and finished a sock (which I will photograph when the pair is finished.)

The weird thing about this week is that I am so ready for finals that I seem to have zoomed ahead to nine days from now and can't concentrate on normal stuff: stuff like remembering what day it is, what we did in class yesterday, and what finals are cumulative. (In case you were wondering, I just remembered that my Geology final is the only non-cumulative one. This pleases me.)

Tomorrow, there is a half-day holiday (for a reason which I am completely unaware of) which means, like you may have noticed on my Twitter, means that I can hit the road back to Austin at a decent hour and not feel guilty about it. I was planning on going to my Astronomy class anyway, but I certainly wasn't looking forward to the traffic around 3:30-4ish.

Speaking of Astronomy, my last article for the Paisano is online right now! It's an article about the open constellation sessions that the astronomy and physics department here on campus is planning to do. They're opening the telescopes to the public and teaching people about stars, planets, and constellations around once a month. If I weren't goint to UT, I would definitely be attending!

Well, class is now in full swing, so I suppose I should pay attention now! (We're talking about renewable energy alternatives today.)

To the zoo! Or not.

Dad, Pippa and Tom came to visit again! We had plans of going to the zoo, but by the time we got off the highway, we realized that it wouldn't be worth it. The traffic to get off the highway alone took us about half an hour! So we turned around and headed downtown.



We ended up having a lunch/dinner (linner? dunch?) along the Riverwalk and then moseying over to see the Alamo (which was closed, since it was after 5 when we got there.

There is dad playing with his iPhone trying to use the GPS. (I have another picture that is practically the same from a few years ago while we were in Barcelona... except that he's looking at a map. Technology, ftw!)

And although it was closed, we made Tom pose for a picture, anyway!)


As you can see, it was both bright AND he was not happy to have his picture taken. (I think he is beginning to take after a certain other brother of mine!) This was him swinging his arms back and forth.

There's Dad and Pippa in front of the Alamo.

We had a lot of fun just hanging out and talking, and I am so glad they came down! Pippa even made a cake and I have been resisting the urge to eat even more of it. It's so good. (Thanks, Pippa!)